ASTRONOMY.COM 3 Online Content Code: ASY1910 Enter This Code At: OCTOBER 2019 to Gain Access to Web-Exclusive Content VOL

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

ASTRONOMY.COM 3 Online Content Code: ASY1910 Enter This Code At: OCTOBER 2019 to Gain Access to Web-Exclusive Content VOL 1,000 PHOTOS WITHOUT ELECTRICITY MiniTrack LX2: The First Fully Mechanical Photography Mount LDQ)DWWLQQDQ]L 2019 6DVORQJ1LJKW6DVVROXQJRGD&RO5DLVHU ,WDO\ s3KRWR&ULVW 2019 :LGHƬHOGLPDJLQJDVGHSLFWHGDERYHLVSRVVLEOHZLWKHDVH7KHIXOO\ PHFKDQLFDO2PHJRQ0LQL7UDFN/;PRXQWZRUNVMXVWOLNHDFORFN1R SRZHUQHFHVVDU\1RFKDUJLQJ1REDWWHU\6LPSO\PRXQW\RXUFDPHUD RQWRWKH/;DQGZLQGLWXS(DVLO\FDSWXUHZLGHƬHOGLPDJHVRIWKH %DOOKHDGFDPHUDDQG FRVPRVRQ\RXUFDPHUD tripod not included! &ORFNZRUNPHFKDQLFV ,QWHJUDWHGWKUHDGLQJ 7KHPRXQWZRUNVOLNHDFORFNZLWK 7KH0LQL7UDFNƬWVHYHU\SKRWRJUDSK\ $129$129 PLQXWHWUDFNLQJDOOZLWKRXWSRZHU WULSRGDQGIHDWXUHVWZRWKUHDGV DQGEDWWHULHV6LPSO\ZLQGLWXSDQGJHW )RUH[DPSOH\RXFDQFRQQHFWWKH VWDUWHG 0LQL7UDFNWRDEDOOKHDGDQGFDSWXUH HYHU\SDUWRIWKHQLJKWVN\ 6OHHNDQGFRPSDFW 8SWR2]ORDGFDSDFLW\ :KHWKHURQDƮLJKWRURQWKHQH[WQLJKW The mount enables you to capture WLPHH[FXUVLRQ7KH0LQL7UDFNƬWVLQWR ZLGHƬHOGLPDJHVRIWKHQLJKWVN\)URP HYHU\EDJDQGVWLOOOHDYHVURRPIRUDQLFH ZLGHDQJOHWRWHOHSKRWROHQVHVVRPXFK WULSRGRUDVHFRQGWHOHSKRWROHQV LVSRVVLEOH Scan for 3RZHUIXOVSULQJV\VWHP 3RODUƬQGHUWXEH more info. 7KH0LQL7UDFNUHTXLUHVQR :LWKWKHSRODUƬQGHU FRXQWHUZHLJKWWKHVSULQJV\VWHP WXEH\RXFDQFDOLEUDWHWKH VXSSRUWVWUDFNLQJ6SDUH\RXUVHOIWKH 0LQL7UDFNTXLFNO\WRWKHSRODU ZHLJKWDQGEXUGHQ VWDU0RUHWKDQHQRXJKIRUD URXJKDOLJQPHQW MiniTrack LX2 Article No. Price in $ Photography Mount for the Northern Hemisphere WxHxD in mm 210x78x30, weight 15.2-Oz 55040 129.00 Photography Mount for the Northern Hemisphere incl. ball head 7KH3UHVVVD\V WxHxD in mm 210x78x130, weight 25.8-Oz 56106 159.00 “The resulting star shapes were impressive, showing no sign of trailing Photography Mount for the Northern and Southern Hemisphere ... We would recommend the MiniTrack to users of any experience level DVDVLPSOHPHDQVRIPRXQWLQJEDVLFLPDJLQJHTXLSPHQWIRUZLGHƬHOG WxHxD in mm 250x78x30, weight 17.3-Oz 57993 159.00 Omegon is part of nimax GmbH. Price changes and errors excepted. All rights reserved. imaging.” (BBC Sky at Night) Photography Mount for the Northern and Southern Hemisphere incl. ball head WxHxD in mm 250x78x130, weight 27.9-Oz 60258 189.00 Order online at www.omegon.com 2020 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE TOURS – Chile Solar Eclipse Tour 'HGLFDWHGWR (Dec 9 -16, 2020) &UDIWVPDQVKLS – Chile & Easter Island Eclipse (Dec 3 -15, 2020) $XWR$GMXVWLQJ *72 0RWRU*HDUER[HV $EVROXWH(QFRGHU – Brazil & Argentina Eclipse 2SWLRQ (Dec 6 -18, 2020) 9'& – Argentina Eclipse (Dec 9 - 18, 2020) – Argentina & Chile Eclipse (Dec 9 - 20, 2020) 2021 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE TOURS – Luxury Antarctica Eclipse Cruise (Nov 29-Dec 15, 2021) – Private Jet Antarctica Eclipse *72&3 Expedition &RQQHFWLYLW\ Eclipse Traveler 1-800-276-1168 ZZZDVWURSK\VLFVFRP 0DFKHVQH\3DUN,/86$ www.EclipseTraveler.com 3K A Family of Great Products, From a Family Business, For Your Family to Enjoy! With over forty years of design- ing and building our vision for eyepiece and refractor perfor- mance, along with photo/visual accessories to match, Tele Vue continues its mission to make your observing ”...even better than you imagined.” Call for expert and accurate technical advice. 32 Elkay Drive, Chester, New York 10918 845.469.4551 www.TeleVue.com WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 3 Online Content Code: ASY1910 Enter this code at: www.astronomy.com/code OCTOBER 2019 to gain access to web-exclusive content VOL. 47, NO. 10 ON THE COVER After landing on Mars in 2018, NASA’s InSight spacecraft is studying the Red Planet’s geology. CONTENTS 28 NASA/JPL-CALTECH FEATURES 18 38 52 COLUMNS Digging deep into Mars StarDome and Observe the ice giants Strange Universe 16 Although dozens of spacecraft Path of the Planets Cross Uranus and Neptune off BOB BERMAN have explored Mars’ surface, RICHARD TALCOTT; your bucket list this month — InSight is the first to target the ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROEN KELLY and then go for their moons. Secret Sky 64 planet’s interior. JIM BELL MICHAEL E. BAKICH STEPHEN JAMES O’MEARA 44 Observing Basics 66 28 Hidden treats in the GLENN CHAPLE Explore Ceres’ Golden Triangle icy secrets Three double stars trace the Take a trip to the dwarf planet border of this celestial wonder, 56 2019 9 where minerals and water which harbors a treasure- Our ninth annual QUANTUM GRAVITY blanket the surface, flung there trove of beautiful targets. Star Products Everything you need to by volcanoes that spew ice. STEPHEN JAMES O’MEARA For the ninth time, know about the universe MICHAEL CARROLL Astronomy’s editors have this month: Finding 48 searched the marketplace for the Sun’s history on 36 Celebrate the deep equipment designed to help all the Moon, the concern Sky This Month southern sky of us enjoy our hobby a little over Starlink satellites, Uranus rides high in the Ram. A trip to Costa Rica can deliver more. PHIL HARRINGTON and more. MARTIN RATCLIFFE AND the lifelong dreams of a night ALISTER LING sky you have to see to believe. 70 DAVID J. EICHER Ask Astro IN EVERY ISSUE Will Earth’s magnetic poles flip? From the Editor 6 Astro Letters 8 Advertiser Index 67 Reader Gallery 72 Breakthrough 74 ONLINE FAVORITES Astronomy (ISSN 0091-6358, USPS 531-350) Go to www.Astronomy.com My Science Picture of News Dave’s Shop the Day The latest Universe is published monthly by Kalmbach Media for info on the biggest news and Co., 21027 Crossroads Circle, P. O. Box 1612, Perfect gifts for Gorgeous updates from The inside Waukesha, WI 53187–1612. Periodicals postage observing events, stunning photos, your favorite photos from the science scoop from paid at Waukesha, WI, and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to informative videos, and more. science geeks. our readers. and the hobby. the editor. Astronomy, PO Box 8520, Big Sandy, TX 75755. Canada Publication Mail Agreement #40010760. 4 ASTRONOMY • OCTOBER 2019 SINCE 1975 NEW AN EMPLOYEE-OWNED COMPANY PRODUCTS FREE SHIPPING on order of $75 or more & INSTALLMENT BILLING on orders over $350 Standard Shipping. Some exclusions apply. Exclusions apply. Orion® U-Mount and Paragon Plus XHD Package #22115 $600 2019 2019 2019 Orion® Premium Linear Orion® StarShoot™ G10 Deep Space Orion® 15mm Ultra BinoViewer for Telescopes Color Imaging Camera Flat Field Eyepiece Orion® U-Mount #52054 $500 #51452 $1,100 #8515 $130 #51865 $500 Trust Proven reputation for innovation, dependability and service… for over 44 years! Superior Value Orion® StarShoot™ Solar High quality products at Orion® Magnetic 3-Pound System V Imaging Cameras Orion® StarBlast™ AutoTracker Orion® 10x50 Binocular aff ordable prices Dobsonian Counterweight 1.3mp #51450 $100 Mount & Wi-Fi Adapter Stargazing Kit #7009 3mp #51451 #21189 #10314 Wide Selection $50 $130 $250 $60 Extensive assortment of award winning Orion brand products and solutions Customer Support Orion products are also available through select authorized dealers able to Orion® Classical Cassegrain off er professional advice and Telescopes Orion® StarBlast™ 90mm Altaz MicroXplore 5mp LCD Digital Orion® GoScope™ 80mm Backpack post-purchase support CC6 6" #52138 $500 Travel Refractor Telescope Kit Microscope Kit Refractor Telescope Kit CC8 8" #52139 $950 #20185 $230 #22054 $250 #21187 $220 Orion® SynScan Wi-Fi Adapter for GoTo Telescopes Orion® Truss Tube Ritchey-Chretien Orion® StarShoot™ P1 Polar #7961 $65 Astrographs (sold separately) Alignment Camera with Atlas/ Orion® Monster Mount & Orion® Dynamo™ Pro 155Wh AC/DC/ 12" #51875 $4,300 Pro/SVP Adapter 25x100 Binocular Kit USB Lithium Power Supply 10" #51874 $3,000 #20098 $300 #21186 $800 #2309 $170 Orion® 8-24mm Pro Orion® EON™ 110mm ED f/6.0 Orion® StarBlast™ 102mm Altaz Lanthanum Zoom Eyepiece Apochromatic Refractor Telescope Travel Refractor Telescope #52056 $200 #10031 $1,400 #10283 $300 Orion® StarShoot™ G16 Deep Orion® Dynamo™ Mini 74.88Wh The Great Orion Nebula Space Color Imaging Camera Lithium AC/USB Power Bank Jigsaw Puzzle #51453 $850 #2306 $100 #52597 $15 FROM THE EDITOR Editor David J. Eicher Art Director LuAnn Williams Belter EDITORIAL Senior Editors Michael E. Bakich, Richard Talcott It’s elemental Production Editor Elisa R. Neckar Associate Editors Alison Klesman, Jake Parks As astronomy enthusiasts, we’re most often focused on astronomy, astro- Editorial Assistant Hailey McLaughlin ART physics, planetary science, or cosmology. But I’d like you to stop for a Graphic Designer Kelly Katlaps moment and think about chemistry. Illustrator Roen Kelly Production Specialist Consider the very stuff you’re made from, for example. The average human has Jodi Jeranek CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 7 octillion atoms in their body. That’s 10 to the 27th power. Put another way, it’s Bob Berman, Adam Block, Glenn F. Chaple, Jr., Martin George, Tony Hallas, Phil Harrington, Korey Haynes, Jeff Hester, 7 billion billion billion atoms. Suffice to say, it’s a lot. These very same atoms were Liz Kruesi, Ray Jayawardhana, Alister Ling, Steve Nadis, created in the early stages of the universe or in the bellies of exploding stars long Stephen James O’Meara, Tom Polakis, Martin Ratcliffe, Mike D. Reynolds, Sheldon Reynolds, Erika Rix, Raymond Shubinski ago. As the great astronomer Carl Sagan said, “The nitrogen in our DNA, the SCIENCE GROUP calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made Executive Editor Becky Lang in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” Design Director Dan Bishop EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Right now, you have at least traces of 60 chemical elements within you. Oxygen Buzz Aldrin, Marcia Bartusiak, Timothy Ferris, Alex Filippenko, is the most abundant by mass; carbon follows second, and then hydrogen and Adam Frank, John S. Gallagher lll, Daniel
Recommended publications
  • Mathématiques Et Espace
    Atelier disciplinaire AD 5 Mathématiques et Espace Anne-Cécile DHERS, Education Nationale (mathématiques) Peggy THILLET, Education Nationale (mathématiques) Yann BARSAMIAN, Education Nationale (mathématiques) Olivier BONNETON, Sciences - U (mathématiques) Cahier d'activités Activité 1 : L'HORIZON TERRESTRE ET SPATIAL Activité 2 : DENOMBREMENT D'ETOILES DANS LE CIEL ET L'UNIVERS Activité 3 : D'HIPPARCOS A BENFORD Activité 4 : OBSERVATION STATISTIQUE DES CRATERES LUNAIRES Activité 5 : DIAMETRE DES CRATERES D'IMPACT Activité 6 : LOI DE TITIUS-BODE Activité 7 : MODELISER UNE CONSTELLATION EN 3D Crédits photo : NASA / CNES L'HORIZON TERRESTRE ET SPATIAL (3 ème / 2 nde ) __________________________________________________ OBJECTIF : Détermination de la ligne d'horizon à une altitude donnée. COMPETENCES : ● Utilisation du théorème de Pythagore ● Utilisation de Google Earth pour évaluer des distances à vol d'oiseau ● Recherche personnelle de données REALISATION : Il s'agit ici de mettre en application le théorème de Pythagore mais avec une vision terrestre dans un premier temps suite à un questionnement de l'élève puis dans un second temps de réutiliser la même démarche dans le cadre spatial de la visibilité d'un satellite. Fiche élève ____________________________________________________________________________ 1. Victor Hugo a écrit dans Les Châtiments : "Les horizons aux horizons succèdent […] : on avance toujours, on n’arrive jamais ". Face à la mer, vous voyez l'horizon à perte de vue. Mais "est-ce loin, l'horizon ?". D'après toi, jusqu'à quelle distance peux-tu voir si le temps est clair ? Réponse 1 : " Sans instrument, je peux voir jusqu'à .................. km " Réponse 2 : " Avec une paire de jumelles, je peux voir jusqu'à ............... km " 2. Nous allons maintenant calculer à l'aide du théorème de Pythagore la ligne d'horizon pour une hauteur H donnée.
    [Show full text]
  • Lurking in the Shadows: Wide-Separation Gas Giants As Tracers of Planet Formation
    Lurking in the Shadows: Wide-Separation Gas Giants as Tracers of Planet Formation Thesis by Marta Levesque Bryan In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Pasadena, California 2018 Defended May 1, 2018 ii © 2018 Marta Levesque Bryan ORCID: [0000-0002-6076-5967] All rights reserved iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank Heather Knutson, who I had the great privilege of working with as my thesis advisor. Her encouragement, guidance, and perspective helped me navigate many a challenging problem, and my conversations with her were a consistent source of positivity and learning throughout my time at Caltech. I leave graduate school a better scientist and person for having her as a role model. Heather fostered a wonderfully positive and supportive environment for her students, giving us the space to explore and grow - I could not have asked for a better advisor or research experience. I would also like to thank Konstantin Batygin for enthusiastic and illuminating discussions that always left me more excited to explore the result at hand. Thank you as well to Dimitri Mawet for providing both expertise and contagious optimism for some of my latest direct imaging endeavors. Thank you to the rest of my thesis committee, namely Geoff Blake, Evan Kirby, and Chuck Steidel for their support, helpful conversations, and insightful questions. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Brendan Bowler. His talk at Caltech my second year of graduate school introduced me to an unexpected population of massive wide-separation planetary-mass companions, and lead to a long-running collaboration from which several of my thesis projects were born.
    [Show full text]
  • Where Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps
    W here Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps Abo ut the Activity Whe re are the distant worlds in the night sky? Use a star map to find constellations and to identify stars with extrasolar planets. (Northern Hemisphere only, naked eye) Topics Covered • How to find Constellations • Where we have found planets around other stars Participants Adults, teens, families with children 8 years and up If a school/youth group, 10 years and older 1 to 4 participants per map Materials Needed Location and Timing • Current month's Star Map for the Use this activity at a star party on a public (included) dark, clear night. Timing depends only • At least one set Planetary on how long you want to observe. Postcards with Key (included) • A small (red) flashlight • (Optional) Print list of Visible Stars with Planets (included) Included in This Packet Page Detailed Activity Description 2 Helpful Hints 4 Background Information 5 Planetary Postcards 7 Key Planetary Postcards 9 Star Maps 20 Visible Stars With Planets 33 © 2008 Astronomical Society of the Pacific www.astrosociety.org Copies for educational purposes are permitted. Additional astronomy activities can be found here: http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov Detailed Activity Description Leader’s Role Participants’ Roles (Anticipated) Introduction: To Ask: Who has heard that scientists have found planets around stars other than our own Sun? How many of these stars might you think have been found? Anyone ever see a star that has planets around it? (our own Sun, some may know of other stars) We can’t see the planets around other stars, but we can see the star.
    [Show full text]
  • Glossary Glossary
    Glossary Glossary Albedo A measure of an object’s reflectivity. A pure white reflecting surface has an albedo of 1.0 (100%). A pitch-black, nonreflecting surface has an albedo of 0.0. The Moon is a fairly dark object with a combined albedo of 0.07 (reflecting 7% of the sunlight that falls upon it). The albedo range of the lunar maria is between 0.05 and 0.08. The brighter highlands have an albedo range from 0.09 to 0.15. Anorthosite Rocks rich in the mineral feldspar, making up much of the Moon’s bright highland regions. Aperture The diameter of a telescope’s objective lens or primary mirror. Apogee The point in the Moon’s orbit where it is furthest from the Earth. At apogee, the Moon can reach a maximum distance of 406,700 km from the Earth. Apollo The manned lunar program of the United States. Between July 1969 and December 1972, six Apollo missions landed on the Moon, allowing a total of 12 astronauts to explore its surface. Asteroid A minor planet. A large solid body of rock in orbit around the Sun. Banded crater A crater that displays dusky linear tracts on its inner walls and/or floor. 250 Basalt A dark, fine-grained volcanic rock, low in silicon, with a low viscosity. Basaltic material fills many of the Moon’s major basins, especially on the near side. Glossary Basin A very large circular impact structure (usually comprising multiple concentric rings) that usually displays some degree of flooding with lava. The largest and most conspicuous lava- flooded basins on the Moon are found on the near side, and most are filled to their outer edges with mare basalts.
    [Show full text]
  • Winter Constellations
    Winter Constellations *Orion *Canis Major *Monoceros *Canis Minor *Gemini *Auriga *Taurus *Eradinus *Lepus *Monoceros *Cancer *Lynx *Ursa Major *Ursa Minor *Draco *Camelopardalis *Cassiopeia *Cepheus *Andromeda *Perseus *Lacerta *Pegasus *Triangulum *Aries *Pisces *Cetus *Leo (rising) *Hydra (rising) *Canes Venatici (rising) Orion--Myth: Orion, the great ​ ​ hunter. In one myth, Orion boasted he would kill all the wild animals on the earth. But, the earth goddess Gaia, who was the protector of all animals, produced a gigantic scorpion, whose body was so heavily encased that Orion was unable to pierce through the armour, and was himself stung to death. His companion Artemis was greatly saddened and arranged for Orion to be immortalised among the stars. Scorpius, the scorpion, was placed on the opposite side of the sky so that Orion would never be hurt by it again. To this day, Orion is never seen in the sky at the same time as Scorpius. DSO’s ● ***M42 “Orion Nebula” (Neb) with Trapezium A stellar ​ ​ ​ nursery where new stars are being born, perhaps a thousand stars. These are immense clouds of interstellar gas and dust collapse inward to form stars, mainly of ionized hydrogen which gives off the red glow so dominant, and also ionized greenish oxygen gas. The youngest stars may be less than 300,000 years old, even as young as 10,000 years old (compared to the Sun, 4.6 billion years old). 1300 ly. ​ ​ 1 ● *M43--(Neb) “De Marin’s Nebula” The star-forming ​ “comma-shaped” region connected to the Orion Nebula. ● *M78--(Neb) Hard to see. A star-forming region connected to the ​ Orion Nebula.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Birmingham Milky Way Satellites Shining Bright In
    University of Birmingham Milky way satellites shining bright in gravitational waves Roebber, Elinore; Buscicchio, Riccardo; Vecchio, Alberto; Moore, Christopher J.; Klein, Antoine; Korol, Valeriya; Toonen, Silvia; Gerosa, Davide; Goldstein, Janna; Gaebel, Sebastian M.; Woods, Tyrone E. DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ab8ac9 License: None: All rights reserved Document Version Peer reviewed version Citation for published version (Harvard): Roebber, E, Buscicchio, R, Vecchio, A, Moore, CJ, Klein, A, Korol, V, Toonen, S, Gerosa, D, Goldstein, J, Gaebel, SM & Woods, TE 2020, 'Milky way satellites shining bright in gravitational waves', Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 894, no. 2, L15. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ab8ac9 Link to publication on Research at Birmingham portal General rights Unless a licence is specified above, all rights (including copyright and moral rights) in this document are retained by the authors and/or the copyright holders. The express permission of the copyright holder must be obtained for any use of this material other than for purposes permitted by law. •Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication. •Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of private study or non-commercial research. •User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (?) •Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain. Where a licence is displayed above, please note the terms and conditions of the licence govern your use of this document.
    [Show full text]
  • Naming the Extrasolar Planets
    Naming the extrasolar planets W. Lyra Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, K¨onigstuhl 17, 69177, Heidelberg, Germany [email protected] Abstract and OGLE-TR-182 b, which does not help educators convey the message that these planets are quite similar to Jupiter. Extrasolar planets are not named and are referred to only In stark contrast, the sentence“planet Apollo is a gas giant by their assigned scientific designation. The reason given like Jupiter” is heavily - yet invisibly - coated with Coper- by the IAU to not name the planets is that it is consid- nicanism. ered impractical as planets are expected to be common. I One reason given by the IAU for not considering naming advance some reasons as to why this logic is flawed, and sug- the extrasolar planets is that it is a task deemed impractical. gest names for the 403 extrasolar planet candidates known One source is quoted as having said “if planets are found to as of Oct 2009. The names follow a scheme of association occur very frequently in the Universe, a system of individual with the constellation that the host star pertains to, and names for planets might well rapidly be found equally im- therefore are mostly drawn from Roman-Greek mythology. practicable as it is for stars, as planet discoveries progress.” Other mythologies may also be used given that a suitable 1. This leads to a second argument. It is indeed impractical association is established. to name all stars. But some stars are named nonetheless. In fact, all other classes of astronomical bodies are named.
    [Show full text]
  • Guide Du Ciel Profond
    Guide du ciel profond Olivier PETIT 8 mai 2004 2 Introduction hjjdfhgf ghjfghfd fg hdfjgdf gfdhfdk dfkgfd fghfkg fdkg fhdkg fkg kfghfhk Table des mati`eres I Objets par constellation 21 1 Androm`ede (And) Andromeda 23 1.1 Messier 31 (La grande Galaxie d'Androm`ede) . 25 1.2 Messier 32 . 27 1.3 Messier 110 . 29 1.4 NGC 404 . 31 1.5 NGC 752 . 33 1.6 NGC 891 . 35 1.7 NGC 7640 . 37 1.8 NGC 7662 (La boule de neige bleue) . 39 2 La Machine pneumatique (Ant) Antlia 41 2.1 NGC 2997 . 43 3 le Verseau (Aqr) Aquarius 45 3.1 Messier 2 . 47 3.2 Messier 72 . 49 3.3 Messier 73 . 51 3.4 NGC 7009 (La n¶ebuleuse Saturne) . 53 3.5 NGC 7293 (La n¶ebuleuse de l'h¶elice) . 56 3.6 NGC 7492 . 58 3.7 NGC 7606 . 60 3.8 Cederblad 211 (N¶ebuleuse de R Aquarii) . 62 4 l'Aigle (Aql) Aquila 63 4.1 NGC 6709 . 65 4.2 NGC 6741 . 67 4.3 NGC 6751 (La n¶ebuleuse de l’œil flou) . 69 4.4 NGC 6760 . 71 4.5 NGC 6781 (Le nid de l'Aigle ) . 73 TABLE DES MATIERES` 5 4.6 NGC 6790 . 75 4.7 NGC 6804 . 77 4.8 Barnard 142-143 (La tani`ere noire) . 79 5 le B¶elier (Ari) Aries 81 5.1 NGC 772 . 83 6 le Cocher (Aur) Auriga 85 6.1 Messier 36 . 87 6.2 Messier 37 . 89 6.3 Messier 38 .
    [Show full text]
  • National Observatories
    Sidney C Wolff NOAO/DIR NATIONAL OPTICAL ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORIES NATIONAL OPTICAL ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORIES Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Kitt Peak National Observatory National Solar Observatory La Serena, Chile Tucson, Arizona 85726 Sunspot, New Mexico 88349 ANNUAL REPORT October 1996 - September 1997 October 30,1997 TABLE OF CONTENTS L INTRODUCTION IL AURA BOARD m. SCffiNTDJIC PROGRAM A. Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) 1. The Search for High Z Supernovae 2. Nearby Stars and Planets 2 B. Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) 3 1. The History of Star Formation in Distant Galaxies 3 2. Oxygen Abundance and the Age of the Universe 4 3. The Age of Elliptical Galaxies - Is There Enough Time? 5 C. National Solar Observatory (NSO) 5 1. Results from GONG 5 2. High-Resolution Images of Solar Magnetic Fields 6 3. Active Optics Control Loop Closed at the Sac Peak Vacuum Tower Telescope 7 IV. DIVISION OPERATIONS 7 A. CTIO 7 Telescope Upgrades and Instrumentation 7 1. 4-m Upgrades 8 2. Major Instrumentation Efforts 9 3. SOAR 4-m Telescope Project 9 4. CCD Implementation and ARCON Controller Development 10 5. Existing Small General-User Telescopes on Cerro Tololo 10 6. New "Tenant" Installations and Upgrades 10 7. Other 11 B. KPNO 12 1. Image Quality Improvements 12 2. WTYN Queue Observing Experiment 12 3. WTYN 13 4. KPNO Instrumentation Improvements 14 5. Burrell-Schmidt 14 C. NSO 15 1. Kitt Peak 15 2. Sacramento Peak 17 3. Digital Library Development 21 D. USGP/ScOpe 21 E. NOAO Instrumentation 25 1. CCD Mosaic Imager 26 2.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Detection of Exoplanets Via Radial Velocity Doppler Spectroscopy
    The Downtown Review Volume 1 Issue 1 Article 6 January 2015 On the Detection of Exoplanets via Radial Velocity Doppler Spectroscopy Joseph P. Glaser Cleveland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/tdr Part of the Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! Recommended Citation Glaser, Joseph P.. "On the Detection of Exoplanets via Radial Velocity Doppler Spectroscopy." The Downtown Review. Vol. 1. Iss. 1 (2015) . Available at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/tdr/vol1/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Downtown Review by an authorized editor of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Glaser: Detection of Exoplanets 1 Introduction to Exoplanets For centuries, some of humanity’s greatest minds have pondered over the possibility of other worlds orbiting the uncountable number of stars that exist in the visible universe. The seeds for eventual scientific speculation on the possibility of these "exoplanets" began with the works of a 16th century philosopher, Giordano Bruno. In his modernly celebrated work, On the Infinite Universe & Worlds, Bruno states: "This space we declare to be infinite (...) In it are an infinity of worlds of the same kind as our own." By the time of the European Scientific Revolution, Isaac Newton grew fond of the idea and wrote in his Principia: "If the fixed stars are the centers of similar systems [when compared to the solar system], they will all be constructed according to a similar design and subject to the dominion of One." Due to limitations on observational equipment, the field of exoplanetary systems existed primarily in theory until the late 1980s.
    [Show full text]
  • A Basic Requirement for Studying the Heavens Is Determining Where In
    Abasic requirement for studying the heavens is determining where in the sky things are. To specify sky positions, astronomers have developed several coordinate systems. Each uses a coordinate grid projected on to the celestial sphere, in analogy to the geographic coordinate system used on the surface of the Earth. The coordinate systems differ only in their choice of the fundamental plane, which divides the sky into two equal hemispheres along a great circle (the fundamental plane of the geographic system is the Earth's equator) . Each coordinate system is named for its choice of fundamental plane. The equatorial coordinate system is probably the most widely used celestial coordinate system. It is also the one most closely related to the geographic coordinate system, because they use the same fun­ damental plane and the same poles. The projection of the Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere is called the celestial equator. Similarly, projecting the geographic poles on to the celest ial sphere defines the north and south celestial poles. However, there is an important difference between the equatorial and geographic coordinate systems: the geographic system is fixed to the Earth; it rotates as the Earth does . The equatorial system is fixed to the stars, so it appears to rotate across the sky with the stars, but of course it's really the Earth rotating under the fixed sky. The latitudinal (latitude-like) angle of the equatorial system is called declination (Dec for short) . It measures the angle of an object above or below the celestial equator. The longitud inal angle is called the right ascension (RA for short).
    [Show full text]
  • September 2020 BRAS Newsletter
    A Neowise Comet 2020, photo by Ralf Rohner of Skypointer Photography Monthly Meeting September 14th at 7:00 PM, via Jitsi (Monthly meetings are on 2nd Mondays at Highland Road Park Observatory, temporarily during quarantine at meet.jit.si/BRASMeets). GUEST SPEAKER: NASA Michoud Assembly Facility Director, Robert Champion What's In This Issue? President’s Message Secretary's Summary Business Meeting Minutes Outreach Report Asteroid and Comet News Light Pollution Committee Report Globe at Night Member’s Corner –My Quest For A Dark Place, by Chris Carlton Astro-Photos by BRAS Members Messages from the HRPO REMOTE DISCUSSION Solar Viewing Plus Night Mercurian Elongation Spooky Sensation Great Martian Opposition Observing Notes: Aquila – The Eagle Like this newsletter? See PAST ISSUES online back to 2009 Visit us on Facebook – Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 2 of 27 September 2020 President’s Message Welcome to September. You may have noticed that this newsletter is showing up a little bit later than usual, and it’s for good reason: release of the newsletter will now happen after the monthly business meeting so that we can have a chance to keep everybody up to date on the latest information. Sometimes, this will mean the newsletter shows up a couple of days late. But, the upshot is that you’ll now be able to see what we discussed at the recent business meeting and have time to digest it before our general meeting in case you want to give some feedback. Now that we’re on the new format, business meetings (and the oft neglected Light Pollution Committee Meeting), are going to start being open to all members of the club again by simply joining up in the respective chat rooms the Wednesday before the first Monday of the month—which I encourage people to do, especially if you have some ideas you want to see the club put into action.
    [Show full text]