The Observer of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers

THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

Volume 43, Number 10 October 2018

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

1«Editor’s Choice: September Image – Altair Spectrum 2«President’s Note 3«Calendar of Celestial Events – October 2018 3«New & Renewing Members/Dues Blues/E-Mail List 4«This Month’s Phases of the Moon 4«This Month’s Solar Phenomena 4«CUAS Summit a Great Success 5«Some Pictures from the CUAS Astronomy Summit 6«Minutes of the September 25 TCAA Board Meeting 7«AstroBits – News from Around the TCAA 9«Quarterly Membership Meeting October 16th 10«Updates at Prairie Sky Observatory 10«Education/Public Outreach for September 2018 10«One Public Viewing Session Remaining for 2018 11«ALCon 2019 – First Reminder 12«TCAA Photo Gallery 13«Updates at Prairie Skies Observatory 14«Public Viewing Schedule for 2019 14«TCAA Calendar of Events for 2018-2019 15«HowTimeFlies 15«October 2018: Opposing Lunar Crescents/Venus 20«TCAA Treasurer’s Report as of September 30, 2018 21«TCAA on Facebook and Twitter 21«Renewing Your TCAA Membership

The TCAA is an affiliate of the Astronomical League. For more information about the TCAA, be certain to visit the EDITOR’S CHOICE: IMAGE OF THE MONTH – ALTAIR TCAA website. Visit Astroleague.org for additional information about the League and its membership This month’s Editor’s Choice: Image of the Month is by Tim benefits. Stone. Read more about this spectral image on page 2.

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

THE SPECTRUM OF ALTAIR The OBSERVER This spectrum of Altair is the monthly electronic newsletter of Twin was acquired on 9/22, with City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit educational my 8" Meade Schmidt- organization of amateur astronomers Newtonian and Tony Cellini's interested in studying astronomy and PointGray Chameleon web- sharing their hobby with the public. cam, using a Star Analyzer

200 lines/mm transmission TCAA OFFICERS & CHAIRPERSONS diffraction grating. I calibrated and created the spectral President, Director, & Property Manager Tim Stone 309-531-2401 profile with Rspec software [email protected] from Tom Fields' https://www.rspec-astro.com/. This camera/grating combination gives 5.8 angstroms/pixel dispersion. A huge thanks to Jamey Jenkins for his Vice President & Director/Membership Coord. mentoring and encouragement as I learn how to do this! Tom Willmitch 309-846-2423 [email protected] PRESIDENT’S NOTE Treasurer & Director/Registered Agent Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 We’ve had quite a month in [email protected] September. Finally, the skies cleared and

Secretary & Director/Historian/Editor gave us a whole week of moonless and Carl J. Wenning 309-830-4085 pristine clear skies. I know many of us [email protected] were out observing or photographing. I

Director/Technology Coordinator hope you found some time to make your Justin Meyer 630-649-0611 own observations. [email protected] Inspired by Jamey Jenkins’ fantastic spectrograms published in the last couple Astronomical League Correspondent Robert Finnigan 309-846-9533 of months here in The Observer, I’ve [email protected] personally gotten involved with making spectral photographs. I’m still a novice, Webmaster but it’s a whole lot of fun to do Lee Green 309-454-7349 TCAA President Tim Stone [email protected] something more scientific and research- oriented. I have no idea what I’ll “discover” in this pursuit, but I do know it’s great Lighting Educ. & AL Observing Club Coordinator to learn something new and experience astronomy outside, under the stars. Of Lisa Wentzel unlisted number [email protected] course, I’ll sing a little bit different song in the dead of winter, but… The point here is that it’s exhilarating to try something new and learn about Publicist something you don’t know much about. There are all kinds of opportunities in our Rick Lasher 309-530-2678 club to do just that. [email protected] The Prairie Sky Observatory is being outfitted as a training facility where the The OBSERVER complexities of high-end astrophotography are greatly simplified. You can make a Carl J. Wenning, Editor in Chief good image of a deep sky object in a single night and learn the basics of image data acquisition and processing in the process. It’s a great way to “test the water” and Submission deadline two days before the end of each month. see if astrophotography is something you might get hooked on. That’s exactly how it worked for me! MEMBERSHIP DUES It’s time to begin thinking about our February annual meeting, and whether you’d like to take a role on our Board. Think about it. This is an exciting club with Individual Adult/Family $40 Full-time Student/Senior $25 which to be involved! (Senior status equals ages 60+) Meanwhile, let’s hope October holds some more crystal-clear moonless skies for us. Here’s to nothing but clear air between us and the edge of the universe! To join, send your name, contact info and dues payment to Dave Osenga, TCAA Until then, clear skies! Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., Normal, IL Tim Stone, President 61761-1471.

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ALENDAR OF ELESTIAL VENTS CTOBER EW ENEWING EMBERS C C E – O 2018 N & R M

The following individuals have paid dues for new or MORNING PLANETS (10/15): Uranus renewed memberships as of September 30, 2018. EVENING PLANETS (10/15): Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, (Others who paid after that date will appear in the Saturn & Neptune November 2018 issue of The OBSERVER.)

The following table gives the date and time (24-hour clock) of important astronomical events for this month. All times are Central Daylight Time. Geoffrey Hughes, Tom Weiland, Rick Lasher, Tony Cellini, Jim Gibbs, and Lisa Wentzel

Day Time Event

02 03:45 LAST QUARTER MOON DUES BLUES

03 21:10 Moon at Ascending Node If you have received a “your dues are due” 04 03:51 Beehive 1.3°N of Moon statement along with the email that brought you this 05 15:58 Regulus 1.8°S of Moon issue of The OBSERVER, please remit your dues to Mr. 05 16:29 Moon at Perigee: 366396 km Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., 08 21:47 NEW MOON Normal, IL 61761-1471. Dues are currently $25 for 11 15:21 Jupiter 4.1°S of Moon seniors (60 years of age and over) and $40 regular.

14 21:01 Saturn 1.8°S of Moon SUBSCRIBING TO THE TCAA EMAIL LIST 15 21 Mercury 6.2° of Venus 16 12:02 FIRST QUARTER MOON By subscribing to a group’s mailing list, you will 17 06:03 Moon at Descending Node receive email messages from the group though you 17 13:16 Moon at Apogee: 404227 km won’t have access to the group’s web features (like photos, files, links, polls, calendar, etc.) unless members 18 07:01 Mars 1.9°S of Moon activate it later. The club has an open email listserv. It is 21 11 Orionid Meteor Shower known as the TCAA YahooGroups listserv. It will be used 23 19 Uranus at Opposition to share announcements and reminders about 24 10:45 FULL MOON astronomical and club events. To join this main listserv, 26 08 Venus at Inferior Conjunction you must do the following: 27 07:04 Aldebaran 1.6°S of Moon 1. To subscribe: Send a blank email to TCAA- 29 00 Mercury 3.1° of Jupiter [email protected] Note: You’ll be sent a 30 21:46 Moon at Ascending Node confirmation email from the group. Reply to the 31 09:24 Beehive 1.0°N of Moon confirmation email to activate your subscription. 31 10:40 LAST QUARTER MOON 2. To post a message: [email protected] 31 14:05 Moon at Perigee: 370201 km 3. To unsubscribe: [email protected] http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/astrocal/astrocal2018cst.html

EVENING SKY MAP Click on the icon found here to access a current evening sky map along with a more detailed celestial events calendar.

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

THIS MONTH’S PHASES OF THE MOON

Last Quarter New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Tue, Oct 2 & Wed, Oct 31 Tuesday, October 8 Tuesday, October 16 Wednesday, October 24

All moon phase dates are Central Daylight Time. Additional moon phases for the 2018 calendar year (Central Time) can be found by clicking here. Images provided by J. K. Howell of the Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society & used with permission.

THIS MONTH’S SOLAR PHENOMENA

In the table below, you will find times of sunrise and sunset along with rising and setting azimuths, length of day including difference from previous day, start and end times of astronomical twilight, and the time of solar noon along with the elevation of the midday sun. These data come from https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/bloomington

2018 Sunrise/Sunset Day Length Astronomical Twilight Solar Noon Oct Sunrise Sunset Length Difference Start End Time 1 6:52 AM (94°) 6:38 PM (266°) 11:45:34 -2:38 5:26 AM 7:36 PM 12:45 PM (46.2°)

11 7:02 AM (99°) 6:21 PM (261°) 11:19:15 -2:36 5:32 AM 7:52 PM 12:42 PM (42.3°) 21 7:13 AM (104°) 6:07 PM (256°) 10:53:33 -2:31 5:42 AM 7:38 PM 12:40 PM (38.7°)

CUAS SUMMIT A GREAT SUCCESS

Eleven members of the TCAA attended the September 29th Amateur Astronomy Summit hosted by the Champaign- Urbana Astronomical Society. It was a really rewarding experience for our members who gathered with around two dozen other amateur astronomers from around Illinois include the following clubs: Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society (CUAS), the U of I Astronomical Society (UIAS), Rockford Amateur Astronomers (RAA), and Popular Astronomy Club (PAC). The event began with a flea market of interesting astronomical items followed by an afternoon session of talks at William M. Staerkel Planetarium on the campus of Parkland College. CUAS’s Jim Wehmer spoke about Refurbishing the CUAS 16-inch Cassegrain Dome Telescope, TCAA’s Carl Wenning spoke about Benefits of NCRAL Membership, PAC’s Alan Sheidler and Mike Gacioch described NCRAL 2019: Voyages of Discovery, and CUAS’s Erik Johnson gave a tour of the night sky using the planetarium’s star projector. Following a 10-minute break, those assembled heard the following talks: Wireless Telescope Control by CUAS’s Scott Glick, A Library Telescope Program by RAA’s Keith Short, and In the Footsteps of Edward E. Bernard by RAA’s Walter Pronkowski. All of the talks quite interesting an informative. It appears that our members can away with new insights and inspirations that have potential for our own club. Following the talks at the planetarium, we travel about a dozen miles to the CUAS Prairie Winds Observatory where we toured the facilities and enjoyed a complimentary picnic dinner hosted entirely by CUAS. The sky was overcast, so there was no observing. Attendees begin dispersing shortly after 7:00 PM thankful for this event and looking forward to another such event next year. The TCAA thanks the CUAS for hosting the Amateur Astronomy Summit and members of the TCAA look forward to doing so next year.

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TCAA members who attended this event were the following: Brian Barling, Mark Boulware, Bob & Cheryl Finnigan, Sharon MacDonald, Dave Osenga, Scott & Emily Wade, Carl Wenning, Lisa Wentzel, and Tom Willmitch. William Carney had registered to attend but, unfortunately, was not able to make it. Four members who rode together – Lisa, Carl, Sharon, and Mark – visited the home of Lisa Wentzel on their return. Dick Wentzel feted the group with some amazing Thai cuisine. This was the third such annual event. It originated in 2015 with the TCAA hosting a mini conference in an effort to develop camaraderie among fellow amateur astronomers. It was hold again in 2016 by the TCAA. There was no such event in 2017 due to the total solar eclipse gathering at Camp Ondessonk in southern Illinois. We are already looking ahead to next year when the TCAA might host this mini conference or astronomy summit once again. Waynesville Observatory then should be entirely functional and a wonderful sight to behold.

SOME PICTURES FROM THE CUAS ASTRONOMY SUMMIT

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MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 TCAA BOARD MEETING

The meeting was called to order at 6:40 PM at the • Discussion about a new communications system for the Wenning residence in Normal. In attendance were Tim Board was permanently tabled. Stone, Carl Wenning, Justin Meyer, Bob & Cheryl Finnigan, • A Porta Potty has been donated and set up at WO thanks Tom Willmitch, and Lisa & Dick Wentzel. Carl suggested two to an anonymous donor. A motion was made, seconded, items for inclusion in the agenda. The meeting began with and carried approving the donation of the Potty and the officer and chair reports. donor thanked on behalf of the club. Instructions for its Tim gave an extensive summary of recent updates at use will appear in this newsletter shortly. Waynesville Observatory. Among the most important items • Rich showed a brochure and picture that he has been were that the leak in the roll-off-roof at WO was repaired, working on for pay-per-view, small-group observing the 16” has finally been collimated with the assistance of sessions. He was asked to provide the text of his brochure Dave Tandy, the homing sensors for the 16” Paramount have as an MS Word document so that the Board may approve been repaired the mount is working properly, the 20” dome its content prior to creation of the brochure using InDesign. has been modified so that observers can now enter the Bob has agreed to do this work. There will be printing of a dome when the telescope is in use, the dome for the 24” has limited number of brochures using photocopying. The been installed, and delivery of the 24” AG Optical is drawing expectation is that such sessions normally will be held near. April through October. Agreement still needs to be Bob, speaking for the property managers of PSO, noted reached with SGNC about profit sharing. A 30% figure had that the 17” and 12” telescopes have been outfitted with been suggested. new QHY cameras and guide scopes, and that the club’s 11” Celestron HD has been placed atop a new Paramount. The The Board then turned to New Business with the telescopes are now all fully functional. Tim thanked Bob and following points addressed: Rick for their very extensive work at PSO lately. Carl noted that the mounting plate for the CGEM is being built and that • The club is “go” for a social on October 16th. Tom soon we will have the Coronado Hα telescope ready for use. Willmitch will provide a program at the newly refurbished While absent from the meeting, Treasurer Dave Osenga ISU Planetarium (recently opening after a $300,000 had sent in a report that Carl read: Our checking balance as update) and the event will be followed by a pizza party at rd of September 23 was $1,030.73; our savings balance was Tobin’s Pizza in Bloomington. Details will appear in the $3,017.39; our total balance was $4,048.12. None of the October issue of the newsletter. other officers or chairs had anything of significance to report • Tim will check with his wife Diann to determine if they that would not be mentioned later. Turning to Old Business, might host our Saturnalia party once again. The event last the following points were addressed: December was very well received, and the Board and Chairs fully endorsed “round two.” • Jeff Hunt’s donated pictures were accepted by Angela • Carl noted the BOPI likely will be calling for brochures to Funk on behalf of SGNC so she might sell them during publish during their Print for Good campaign. We need to Autumn Celebration to benefit the Nature Center. assemble the public viewing sessions brochure as soon as possible. Tim provided a list of dates, time, topics, and

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descriptions that the group enthusiastically endorsed. Carl • Carl mentioned the importance of mentoring our youth will prepare the brochure’s layout for final approval. members. We should do this in light of the Astronomical • The Annual Meeting’s many phases were addressed. It is League’s Horkheimer Youth Awards which pay $1,000 and time to set a date and make room reservations. This will provide a free trip to the AL national convention. be left for Dave Osenga to do if possible. Carl noted that • A brief discussion was led by Bob about offering classes we already have a speaker lined up – at least tentatively. dealing with image processing for both youth and adult Tim suggested a back-up presenter should it be necessary members. The idea was warmly received, and both Rick to find another speaker. Tim appointed Bob, Tom, and Lisa and Tim volunteered their services. Sights have now been to serve as an ad hoc committee for nominations. The set on holding a 2-part series at SGNC starting sometime following threw their hats into the ring for the 2019-2020 this autumn or winter. Board positions: Tim, Justin, Tom, Rick, and Carl. Dave • A motion was made by Carl and seconded by Justin to Osenga who could not attend the meeting but is expected accept recent donations of new equipment by to run. Other’s will be consulted about running for the Anonymous: one Paramount MX mount, two Ultra Star Board. guiders, one 400mm guide scope, one 6-inch guide • Carl reminded everyone about the CUAS-sponsored scope, 3 QHY cameras (one color and two monochromatic), Astronomy Summit on Saturday, September 29th. Eight and one QHY filter wheel. The motion was passed TCAAers are currently registered. A total of 32 is expected unanimously, and the donor thanked. at the event. • The next meeting of the Board was set for Tuesday, • Autumn Celebration at SGNC will be on Saturday, October November 27, 6:30 PM, at the Wenning residence. 20th. We need to line up volunteers and print copies of the draft 2019 PVS brochure so they are available for the open The meeting was adjourned at 7:54 PM. house. • It is fully expected that the Hα telescope will be up and Respectfully submitted, running at the time of Autumn Celebration. Carl will Carl J. Wenning, Secretary contact our machinist to find out the status of the work that was expected to be completed by the end of August.

ASTROBITS – NEWS FROM AROUND THE TCAA

ó Just as the last issue of The OBSERVER was being distributed, Bob Finnigan reported that the new 12’ dome had been assembled and the existing 12’ had been modified on Friday, August 31st at Waynesville Observatory. The problem with the existing dome was – in some people’s opinion – a design flaw. It was not possible to open the door of the dome when the clamshell was opened. The observer was in fact trapped within the 7’ high walls. Tim designed a modification for the dome that allows its southern and northern halves to be operated separately. The northern half can now remain up allowing it to serve as a wind screen and permitting entrance and egress which must be done regularly even when observing remotely from the WO control room. ó An anonymous donor purchased and installed a Porta Potty for the membership at Waynesville Observatory over the Labor Day weekend. Supplies for operating the unit were also provided. The club most certainly appreciates this “necessary convenience” and thanks the donor who wishes to remain anonymous. ó The total page followers on the TCAA Facebook page reached 586 at the end of August. Many posts reach hundreds or thousands of Facebook users on some weeks. ó Have you sometimes wondered why you don’t receive your monthly issue of The OBSERVER newsletter? More often than not, it’s due to a failure to renew membership. When dues are paid, accounts are “built” or updated on the website server we use for distributing the newsletter. When issues are distributed by our webmaster (not your newsletter editor), the membership database on that server is consulted. Those whose dues are considerably in arrears have the privilege of receiving the newsletter revoked when [email protected] is used to distribute electronic copies. ó The club’s second clamshell dome, to house the club’s new 24” f/11 AG Optical telescope was fully up and running on Monday, September 3rd. See the images on the next page. The left (western) dome houses the 16” AG Optical and the right (eastern) dome will house the 24” AG Optical once it arrives. The roll-off-roof building to the right of the two domes houses the 10” Takahashi and the 20” PlaneWave. All four telescopes are remotely controlled from the observers’ station shown extending to the left of the two domes. The image shown here was provided by Bob Finnigan. Note how the 24” dome opens. Due to our reconfiguration of the shutters, the northern and southern shutters operate separately of one

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

another. This permits the observer to enter and exit the dome through the full-height doorway while the dome is open. This also permits the northern half of the dome to serve as a wind screen while the southern side is fully retracted, something of importance during observing. The original configuration of the manufacturer permitted neither. Waynesville Observatory construction is now essentially complete.

Here is the latest view of Waynesville Observatory. In the Tim Stone and his son Ben (a pilot) flew over Waynesville th foreground are our two clamshell domes which house the Observatory on Friday, September 29 . While doing so, club’s 20” and 24” telescopes. The roll -off-roof building to Tim snapped this picture of the farmstead where out the right houses the club’s 10” and 16” telescopes. To the observatory is located. The observatory complex is in the lift is the observing ó As Waynesville Observatoryroom. nears completion (the new 24”bottom section of the far AG Optical telescope shouldm complex. be fully operational by spring 2019 according to President and Property Manager Tim Stone), Bob Finnigan thought it would be good to take a look back to where it all started. Below is a “clip” of the Board Meeting minutes from November 16, 2016. Note that after discussion with SGNC, it was found best to build a new observatory not far from Waynesville, IL, where the sky is much darker. Subsequently, 3 additional telescopes from PSO at SGNC were moved to WO. The PlaneWave 17” remains as a training instrument. ó Property Manager Tim Stone got the focuser on SGO’s 17” telescope working on the evening of September 11th. ó On September 12th, Bob Finnigan reported, “Tom Willmitch [worked] all night with the 17-inch [telescope] with very little help. He has closed the last two nights without me, so he has passed the first step in my photo class and is ready for WO.” The editor understands the Emily & Scott Wade have also made very substantial progress learning how to operate the SGO 17” telescope and camera. Before long they too will be ready to move on for a mentorship with President Tim Stone at WO. ó Lisa Wentzel was recognized in the September 2018 issue for REFLECTOR for recently earning her award for completing the AL’s Stellar Evolution observing program. Lisa now qualifies as an AL Master Observer, an accolade earned by very few amateur astronomers. ó Dave Tandy of AG Optical sent us a picture of our 24” mirror on September 13th saying, “We hit a milestone today and safely installed the mirror into its cell. Tomorrow we will install the secondary mirror in the telescope and the scope will be fully assembled. It is huge. Once we get the scope collimated and tested it will be ready to ship.”

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

ó Bob Finnigan recently shared the following clip with the editor, so he could share it with the membership. It is a clip from the November 16, 2016 TCAA Board minutes. This clip shows how far we have gone in less than two years – a major idea moving from inception to completion. Not only will we soon receive the telescope, but we have created an entirely new observatory for it use (and the use of 3 other powerful telescopes) under darker skies than those available at SGNC. Two years on, we are no longer interested in selling the CDK 17” telescope as now Prairie Sky Observatory has been reconfigured as a training observatory for those hoping to use the larger and more sophisticated telescopes at Waynesville Observatory.

ó The Autumn 2018 issue of Northern Lights, the newsletter of the North Central Region of the Astronomical League, was disseminated on September 23rd. If you’ve not yet received or read this issue, you may download it from the NCRAL website at: https://ncral.wordpress.com/newsletter-archive/ You’ll not want to miss the 32-page issue chalk-full of interesting information. ó NCRAL Chair and TCAA member Carl Wenning had an article – Sea Changes in NCRAL – published in the September 2018 issue of REFLECTOR, the magazine of the Astronomical League. Carl wrote the article at the request of outgoing AL President John Goss who recently read the North Central Region’s activity report. He was hoping that the activities within NCRAL would inspire other regions. See page 12 of the latest issue of REFLECTOR for details.

QUARTERLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING AT ISU PLANETARIUM OCTOBER 16TH

Our first quarterly membership meeting will be held on the opportunity for getting to know one another and Tuesday, October 16th. We will gather for a 7:30 PM showing socializing which is so important for growing and maintaining at the ISU Planetarium. Afterward, we will go to Tobin’s Pizza the club’s membership. This will be an excellent opportunity in Bloomington where we will have the back room to for newbies to meet existing club members. ourselves beginning at 8:30 PM. Mark your calendar now so Planetarium Director Tom Willmitch will review the you don’t miss what will prove to be a very interesting event. recent $300,000 planetarium update and then show us a This gathering will not only help us learn a bit more about program Two Small Pieces of Glass. By special request, we the history and workings of the telescope but will provide also will spend a little bit of time viewing constellations of

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

the southern hemisphere. (Carl has volunteered to do this and will do so with Tom’s permission.) There is no admission charge, and free parking is available just north of the ISU Planetarium in university parking lot F67 (east side of School Street). The trip to Tobin’s Pizza is optional, and each person will be responsible for ordering and paying for his or her own food and drink.

Galileo did not invent the telescope, but he was the first person to use the newly-invented device to observe the heavens. Through these observations, the Italian philosopher-scientist concluded that the heavens were not perfect and immutable; rather, he observed lunar mountains, the phases of Venus, Jupiter's moons, and even sunspots. His two small pieces of glass revealed a Universe that was far more complex than previously assumed.

Telescopes have advanced considerably since Galileo's time. Humanity now has large earth-bound observatories and even a couple in outer space. Two Small Pieces Of Glass shows how telescopes work; and how astronomers have used them to scrutinize the structures within our cosmos.

Complemented with spectacular imagery of Saturn's rings, beautiful stellar nurseries, and the spiral structure of galaxies, Two Small Pieces of Glass shares the way telescope development has helped us understand our place in space Please plan now to attend and participate in these This show was created in 2009 for the International Year events. The future of the club depends upon your of Astronomy. Its running time is just under 23 minutes. attendance. If these socials are successful, they will continue to be included in our schedule.

EDUCATION/PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR SEPTEMBER 2018

Despite an overcast sky, 46 individuals attended the club’s next-to-last Public Viewing Session for 2018 on Saturday, September 8th. Members and guests gathered to hear Dr. Jay Ansher speak about Mars: The Red Planet. The talk was 40 minutes long and well received. Afterwards, tours of SGO and PSO were conducted. Emily and Scott Wade conducted the tour at SGO while Carl Wenning did the same at PSO. Also in attendance from the TCAA were the following: Bryce & Mark Heiniger, Daniel & Peter Kates, Tom & Carolyn Weiland, Paul Pouliot, and Brian Barling. Bob Finnigan was out earlier in the day, preparing PSO for the evening. All tolled there were 12 club members and 34 guests. As we go to press, a group from Sugar Creek Church was present at SGNC on Sunday, September 30th, for their annual cookout and social. Lee Green is slated to give a presentation to the group.

ONE PUBLIC VIEWING SESSION REMAINING FOR 2018

Oct 13 Globular Clusters (Mark & Nataya Boulware) 7:00-9:00 PM These star clusters are among the very oldest star systems within the Milky Way galaxy. Today a

swarm of perhaps 150 tightly-packed clusters orbit the core of our home galaxy.

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ALCON 2019 – FIRST REMINDER

TCAA/NCRAL Members,

Make your reservations now to attend ALCon 2019. We discussed this event at the AL’s national Council meeting in Minneapolis this past July, and what the plans calls for is simply amazing. I’m anticipating behind-the- scenes historical tours of the Kennedy Space Center hardly anyone ever gets to see. Following this, there will be a three- day cruise to the Bahamas during which we will hold the actual meeting. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that definitely will be one for the records. You’ll not want to miss it! I’m definitely planning on attending this one, and I hope you will join me. See the ad to the right for details. Additionally, don’t forget to plan for and attend our Regional convention, NCRAL 2019. This event will take place in Moline, IL, May 3-5. It will be hosted by the Popular Astronomy Club and will feature an experimental agenda with a wide variety of activities and events from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. NCRAL 2019 will be the first convention to consider the results of two NCRAL surveys aimed at producing an event that is better than ever. Plan now to join us. Details will be provided here and elsewhere, so get this event into your calendar now.

Carl -- Carl J. Wenning, NCRAL Chair

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

TCAA PHOTO GALLERY

NGC 7331 BY BOB FINNIGAN ~ Bob prepared this composite image M57 BY BOB FINNIGAN ~ Bob comments, “Went out yesterday from photos taken on Monday, September 3rd. It is a composite of (September 11th) and installed new mono (black & white) QHY 167.” four 900-second shots, no flats, no darks. Taken with SGO 17” using This camera will allow for the development of a tracking model for QHY168C camera. the PSO 12” telescope which cannot be done with a color camera.

M17 BY BOB FINNIGAN ~ This image was taken September 13th. It is a composite of five 15-minute exposures with the new B&W QHY 167 camera using the 12” Meade and Ultra Star guider. Focus a bit off.

SPECTRUM OF VEGA BY TIM STONE ~ Tim writes, “Inspired by Jamey Jenkins' recent Observer and Reflector articles, I've finally taken the plunge into spectroscopy. While it had been an interest of mine for many years, I decided now is the time to acquire the needed equipment and software and try it for myself. I purchased a 200 line-per- inch diffraction grating, a 3.8-degree dispersion prism, and Rspec software from Field Tested Software. It was surprisingly simple to get a basic uncalibrated spectrum of Vega with my 80mm ED refractor. This spectrum has been calibrated to identify the wavelengths of the spectral features. This has not been calibrated to the spectral response of the CCD camera I used, or for atmospheric absorption. Like any astrophotographic endeavor, I'll learn acquisition techniques, processing techniques, and how to interpret the spectra I photograph.”

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CYGNUS LOOP BY TIM STONE ~ Tim writes, “Well, here it is, the first draft of the Cygnus Loop with all new data. By the numbers:

Takahashi CC250 [telescope] 2x2 mosaic [4 overlapping frames] 89 total images 8gb of raw data 65 1,800-second Ha subs 24 1,800-second OIII subs 12 900-second R, G, and B subs 53.5 total imaging hours 20 nights beginning 7/6 through 9/14 [2018] Mosaic is 7170x7170 pixels

There's still stuff I don't like about the image yet; it'll take a lot of work to get it to where my mind's eye sees it. But this is already pretty good. This is a [very significant] resize of the original. This makes the image e-mailable and hides most of the embedded sins. ;) Enjoy!

UPDATES AT PRAIRIE SKY OBSERVATORY

11” CELESTRON ON WEST PIER 12” MEADE ON NORTH PIER 17” PLANEWAVE ON SOUTH PIER

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Bob Finnigan and Rick Lasher have been working diligently of late to completely outfit Prairie Sky Observatory with a raster of telescopes. Shown above (page 13) are three telescopes currently in place. A fourth telescope, a 90mm Coronado Hα telescope, is currently being outfitted with mount-to-pier, and this will be in placed in on the east pier shortly. Each of the three “white light” telescopes have been outfitted with cameras and guiders. The facility is and will remain a training facility for amateurs wishing to learn how to conduct astrophotography and make solar observations.

PUBLIC VIEWING SESSION SCHEDULE FOR 2019

April 13: Distance – How do we know how far? 8:00-10:00 PM There is a long history of science behind distance measurement in the universe. We will explore how we so confidently answer the common question: “How far away is that?”

May 11: Spectra – Stories the Stars Tell 8:30-10:30 PM The light from stars illuminates everything in the universe. How do we know what those stars are made of? We will look at the spectra of stars, to learn how we understand stellar composition, and how spectra have enabled us to discover hundreds of exoplanets.

June 8: Telescopes – Why do Astronomers Need Them? 8:45-10:45 PM It seems like astronomers are forever building bigger and bigger telescopes. Even amateur astronomers like us want ever bigger telescopes. We will answer the questions of what telescopes do for astronomers, and how do they work.

July 9: A History of Women in Astronomy 9:00-11:00 PM Women have a centuries-long history of direct involvement in astronomy. For much of that, they were given little, if any, credit for their marvelous discoveries. We will explore some of important women in the history of astronomy and learn how historical attitudes are changing in the current world.

August 10: Meteor Showers – There’s More Than One 8:30-10:30 PM The famous Perseid Meteor Shower peaks in a few days, but the moon will be nearly full. Will you have to wait until next August to see a meteor shower? Learn about other great meteor showers, when they are visible, and what you can expect to see.

September 07: Your First Telescope – Binoculars? 8:00-10:00 PM Virtually every serious amateur astronomer owns a pair of binoculars. If you’re thinking about getting a telescope for yourself, or for a Christmas gift, we will tell you what to look for, how to use them for rewarding astronomy, and why you’ll use them longer than any other telescope you’ll ever own.

October 05: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto – Two Planets, or Three? 7:00-9:00 PM We spend a lot of time looking at the inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Few have ever seen Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. October presents a great opportunity to see all three in one night. We will learn about them, and hopefully have a look at them!

TCAA CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2018-2019

Date Event Coordinator(s) Location Times Oct 03-07 Aurora Borealis Viewing Various Reykjavik, Iceland All day Oct 04-06 Illinois Dark Skies Star Party Sangamon Astro Society Jim Edgar – Panther Creek All day Oct 06 Member Viewing Session N/A WO Dusk Oct 13 PVS: Globular Clusters Mark & Nataya Boulware SGNC 7:00-9:00 PM Oct 16 TCAA Membership Meeting T. Willmitch & C. Wenning ISU Planetarium/Tobin’s Pizza 7:00-10:00 PM Nov 03 Member Viewing Session N/A WO Dusk Dec ?? Saturnalia Party Tim & Diann Stone Stone Residence 7:00-10:00 PM

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

------2019 ------

Jan ?? TCAA Membership Meeting Carl Wenning TBD TBD April 13 Public Viewing Session TBD SGNC 8:00-10:00 PM Apr ?? TCAA Membership Meeting Carl Wenning TBD TBD May 3-5 NCRAL 2019 Popular Astronomy Club Moline, IL Friday PM -Sunday AM May 11 Public Viewing Session TBD SGNC 8:45-10:45PM June 8 Public Viewing Session TBD SGNC 9:00-11:00 PM July 9 Public Viewing Session TBD SGNC 9:00-11:00 PM Jul ?? TCAA Membership Meeting Carl Wenning TBD TBD Jul 25-29 ALCon 2019 (tour & cruise) Astronomical League Kennedy Space Center All day August 10 Public Viewing Session TBD SGNC 8:30-10:30 PM September 7 Public Viewing Session TBD SGNC 8:00-10:00 PM October 5 Public Viewing Session TBD SGNC 7:00-9:00 PM

HOWTIMEFLIES

The Twin City Amateur Astronomers was founded in 1960 through the efforts of John & Bertha Kieviet. Over the years, newsletter editors David B. Williams, G. Weldon Schuette, Gary Skinner, Jim Moncher, Mike Rogers & Jean Memken, Rebecca Wenning, and Erin Estabrook (as well as other contributors) documented the efforts of the club. Now, TCAA Editor and Historian Carl Wenning continues that effort and provides monthly updates about the history of the club going back in intervals of 40, 25, and 10 years. Details about all mentioned events will be found in either the publication Twin City Amateur Astronomers: 1960-2010 or in The OBSERVER archive found on the TCAA website.

40 Years Ago: October 1978 – Carl Wenning presented Indian Skies at the ISU Planetarium to the club on October 19th. Weldon Schuette continues to observe the Salyut space station and is regularly sharing his predictions of passages with interested club members.

25 Years Ago: October 1993 – The club is hosting an adult education course at Heartland Community College. The TCAA involved itself in a Science Open House at ISU. Mike Rogers begins a series in the newsletter titled, “Beginner’s Corner: Astrophotography.”

10 Years Ago: October 2008 – Historian Carl Wenning has begun work on a 50th anniversary history of the club which will be presented in February 2010. Carl continues his “Star Geezer” series in The OBSERVER. Other club members are contributing articles to the newsletter regularly such as Lee Green and William Carney.

OCTOBER 2018: OPPOSING LUNAR CRESCENTS WITH VENUS MOVING INTO MORNING SKY ~ by Jeffrey L. Hunt ~

The month opens with the waning gibbous moon in the greatest elongation next month, it sets less than an hour morning sky near the southern horn of Taurus. The stars of after sunset, before Nautical Twilight. This month it appears the winter evening sky dominate the south-southeastern sky in brighter twilight, low in the western sky. Venus (m = −4.8), before the beginning of twilight. The five naked-eye planets just past its stage of greatest brightness, is 32° east of the are east of the sun, but all are not easily visible. Mercury (m= sun, yet it follows the sun to the horizon only 40 minutes −0.9) is 8° east of the sun, setting only 20 minutes after after our central star. Through a telescope it is 47” across, sunset. It is emerging into the evening sky from its superior nearly 3 times larger in apparent size than Mars, and shows conjunction last month. This is Mercury’s least favorable a crescent that is 16% illuminated. It is heading toward its apparition of the year with the shallow angle the ecliptic inferior conjunction that might be visible to the unaided eye makes with the western horizon during the evening. Added because it appears south of the ecliptic. Jupiter (m = −1.8), to this low angle is that the planet is south of the solar 44° east of the sun, stands about 12° up in the west- system’s plane. In combination, when Mercury reaches its southwest at the end of twilight. It is nearly 7° to the upper

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left of Zubenelgenubi (α Lib, m = 2.8). At the same time, during your observing may help. USNO’s online calculator: Saturn (m = 0.5) is 24° up in the south-southwest, 4.5° to the (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php), Form upper right of Kaus Borealis (λ Sag, m = 2.8). Mars (m = −1.3), B, can be used to calculate the moon’s rising and setting seemingly dimming and diminishing in size each night, is 23° times, and the moon’s rising and setting azimuths for your up in the south-southeast. It is 3.3° to the upper right of Psi specific longitude and latitude. On October 8, look east Piscium (ψ Psc, m = 4.1). Watch Mars move into Capricornus about 45 minutes before sunrise. The moon is 5° up. On the and speed across that constellation this month. During early evening of the next day, about 20 minutes after sunset, look October, Mars sets about 1:30 a.m. CDT. Two bright stars, west. Mercury is 5.5° to the lower left of the very thin moon. Arcturus (α Boo, m = −0.1) and Fomalhaut (α PsA, m = 1.2), To prepare for this, follow the moon in the morning sky as add to the appearance of the planets. Arcturus is about 25° outlined in our daily notes that follow. As the moon up in the west at the end of twilight, while Fomalhaut approaches Regulus, this should give you some indication crosses the southeast horizon at about that time. Terrestrial whether you have a clear horizon for the morning daylight is 11 hours, 15 minutes; from the end of evening observation. On the evenings of October 7 and October 8, twilight to the beginning of morning twilight, the length of look for Mercury about 20 minutes after sunset. This, again, natural darkness is 9 hours, 10 minutes. indicates whether you have a clear horizon for the evening crescent. For the morning observation, note the last time you see the crescent. For the second observation record the time you first see the emerging moon. If you view either crescent, please enter your observations here: https://tinyurl.com/opposing-crescents-2018

October 1: Near the beginning of twilight, the waning gibbous moon (21.7 days old, 61% illuminated) is 1.5° to the lower left of Zeta Tauri (ζ Tau, m = 3.0). If you’ve never located the Crab Nebula (M1, NGC 1952), Zeta Tauri lies about midway between the nebula and the bright moon this morning. This dimmer nebula is about 1° south of the Opposing Crescents, October 8-9: Look for a thin waning ecliptic; in less moonlit skies, for me, it is best viewed with crescent in the east before sunrise on October followed by a averted vision through a moderate power eyepiece that waxing crescent moon after sunset on the evening of the reduces the sky’s light pollution. The nebula is thought to be next day. the remnant of the famous supernova of 1054. While the Opposing Crescents (October 8-October 9): The moon is bright, note where it is in a very low power eyepiece morning of October 8 and the evening of October 9 present compared to the moon and Zeta Tauri. Return when the an opportunity to see very thin crescent moons, a waning moon is far away from this starry background. In the evening crescent before sunrise followed on the evening of the next sky, brilliant Venus (m = −4.8) is rapidly slipping into bright day by a waxing crescent – opposing crescents. The two twilight. It sets only 40 minutes after the sun, but it has an windows to see the two crescents are very narrow, weather elongation of 32°. This planet is nearly 7° south of the dependent, and location critical. Smoke from the western ecliptic, but Jupiter is nearly a degree above the solar wild fires and dust from the fall harvest could influence system’s plane. These two factors combined with the whether the crescents are visible as well. Observing the ecliptic’s low angle, less than 25°, places Jupiter about 14° crescents may require you to change locations, to make both above Venus along with the inner planet’s quick exit from observations and that you use binoculars. The shortest the evening sky. reported interval for viewing opposing crescents is 34.6 October 2: The moon reaches its Last Quarter phase at hours by Robert C. Victor, former staff astronomer at about 4:45 a.m. CDT. hortly after this time, near the Abrams Planetarium, Michigan State University. This beginning of twilight, the moon (22.7 d, 50%) is near the month’s interval is about 36.3 hours. Not a record, but “feet” of Gemini, about 4.2° to the upper left of Gamma certainly a test of observing skills. Shortest intervals occur Geminorum (γ Gem, m = 1.9). In the evening sky, at the end when the New moon occurs near perigee, hence moving its of twilight, the bright outer planets stretch across the sky fastest between the two visible crescents. Because the from bright Jupiter (m = −1.8), low in the west-southwest, to moon’s crescent is less than 1% illuminated, knowing the Mars (m = −1.3), 74° across the sky in the south-southeast; moon’s altitude and azimuth are essential. Using a dimmer Saturn (m = 0.5) is nearly midway between Mars planetarium program like Stellarium (stellarium.org) to and Jupiter. calculate the crescents’ positions is helpful. Using Google Sky

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October 3: Before morning twilight begins, the thick waning crescent moon (23.7 d, 38%) is nearly 8° to the lower right of Pollux (β Gem, m = 1.2). As the moon approaches its New phase, the early evening sky presents M15 (NGC 7078, m = 7), the globular cluster in Pegasus, near the meridian. This 12’ diameter cluster is easily found 4° northwest of Enif (ε Peg, m = 2.4), the nose of Pegasus. In his Celestial Handbook, Robert Burnham described the cluster’s appearance: “M15 is one of the richer and more compact globulars, remarkable for the intense brilliance of its central core where countless stars seem to crowd together in a blazing nuclear mass” (p. 1385). At the time of the writing, Burnham considered the nature of how these clusters stayed together: “M15 was identified in 1974 as a source of X-ray energy, which suggests that the cluster may contain one or more supernova remnants, or possibly one of those completely collapsed stars or ‘black holes’ so popular among writers on speculative cosmology” (p. 1387). In another 50 years what topics of today’s “speculative cosmology” will be considered factual? M15 was the first globular cluster October 4: The waning crescent moon appears near the recognized to have a planetary nebula located within its Beehive cluster this morning. Use binoculars to see the boundaries. You’ll need a big aperture ‘scope to capture this cluster clearly in the same field as the moon. 14th magnitude, 1” diameter nebula near the cluster’s nucleus. Elsewhere in Pegasus, a spiral galaxy, NCG 7331 October 4: Again this morning before twilight begins, look (m=10) is about 4° north and west of Eta Pegasi (η Peg, m = for the waning crescent moon (24.7 d, 27%), 37° up in the 2.9). Viewed at a high angle, this galaxy is 10’ x 2.5’ in size. east, 1.3° to the lower right of the Beehive star cluster (M44, At one time this spiral galaxy (type Sb) was thought to be NGC 2632, m = 4.5). The moon appears near the cluster similar in size and shape of our own Milky Way galaxy. Now again at month’s end. While the moon might be a little we think that our galactic home is a barred spiral (type SB). bright to enjoy the full extent of the cluster, take a look with For those with ‘scopes with apertures of at least 18 inches, binoculars. This morning provides another opportunity to try for Stephan’s Quintet (NGC 7317, NGC 7318A, NGC locate the cluster next to a bright guide to return to view it 7318B, NGC 7319, and NGC 7320), 30’ south-southwest of when the moon is far away from it. NGC 7331. Four galaxies in this group (less NGC 7320) were October 5: Before the beginning of twilight (90 minutes the first to be observed demonstrating that galaxies clump before sunrise) look for the thinning waning crescent moon together in clusters. The single galaxy has a different red (25.7 d, 18%), 25° up in the east, about 7° to the upper right shift from the other galaxies and seems to be in the of Regulus (α Leo, m = 1.3). In the evening sky at the end of foreground. twilight, Saturn, 19° up in the south-southwest, is nearly 1° to the upper right of 1 Sagittarii (1 Sag, m=4.9). With binoculars, M8 (NGC 6523), M20 (NGC 6514), and M21 (NGC 6531) appear in the same field with Saturn. October 6: This morning before twilight begins, the waning crescent moon (26.7 d, 10%) is about 8° to the lower left of Regulus. In the evening sky, Mars (m = −1.2) passes 8.5’ to the lower right of 17 Capricornus (17 Cap, m = 5.9). Use low power to resolve the pair. Venus sets before Civil Twilight (28 minutes after sunset), heading toward its conjunction. October 7: At Nautical Twilight (60 minutes before sunrise this morning), the waning crescent moon (27.7 d, 4%) is nearly 9° to the lower right of Denebola (β Leo, m = 2.1). October 8: At mid-twilight, about 50 minutes before sunrise, the very thin waning crescent moon (28.8 d, 1%) is

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5° up in the east. (See our note above about opposing Lib, m = 2.8), the planet is 9.5° to the east of that star, yet crescents.) The moon is at its New phase at 10:47 p.m. CDT. still among the stars of Libra. At the same time Saturn (m = October 9: At about 20 minutes after sunset, look for 0.5), 21.5° up in the south-southwest, is above the Teapot Mercury (m = ‒0.5), 2° up in the west. The emerging stars of Sagittarius, slowly moving eastward. Bright, but crescent moon (0.8 d, 1%) is 5.5° to the upper right of dimming, Mars (m = −1.0), 26° up in the south-southeast, is Mercury. This is the second crescent in the opposing in Capricornus’ starry backdrop. It is near the star Eta crescent sequence. Caprcorni (η Cap, m = 4.8). Through a telescope it has an October 10: Forty minutes after sunset the waxing apparent size that is nearly one-fourth that of Venus. Mars crescent moon (1.8 d, 4%) is 6° up in the west-southwest. sets just after 1 a.m. Telescopic Uranus and Neptune join the Jupiter is 13.5° to the upper left of the crescent. three bright outer planets in the evening sky, with Uranus October 11: Forty minutes after sunset, the waxing reaching opposition on October 23. The length of natural crescent moon (2.8 d, 10%) is 3.1° to the upper right of darkness, from the end of evening twilight to the beginning Jupiter. of morning twilight, increases to 9.8 hours. October 12: In the western sky 40 minutes after sunset, October 16: The moon reaches its First Quarter phase the waxing crescent moon (3.8 d, 16%) is 13° to the upper at 1:02 p.m. CDT. This evening the moon (7.8 d, 52%) is 17° left of Jupiter and 8° to the upper right of Antares (α Sco, to the west of Mars (m = −1.0), nearly midway between the m=1.0). Red Planet and Saturn (m = 0.5). Mars is 0.1° east of Eta October 13: Jupiter sets at Astronomical Twilight (93 Capricorni (η Cap, m = 4.8). Use low power to resolve them. minutes after sunset). In the evening sky, the waxing October 17: In the evening sky, the waxing gibbous crescent moon (4.8d, 24%) is 12° to the upper left of Antares moon (8.8d, 62%) is nearly 6° to the west of Mars. and 14° to the right of Saturn. October 18: In the evening sky, the waxing gibbous October 14: At 40 minutes after sunset, the waxing moon (9.8 d, 71%) is nearly 6° to the east of Mars. If you’ve crescent moon (5.8 d, 33%) is 2° to the upper right of Saturn. been watching Mars move in front of the stars of October 15: This evening the waxing crescent moon (6.8 Capricornus, the planet is 1.1° east of η Cap. Continue to d, 43%) is 10.5° to the upper left of Saturn. The moon’s watch the planet march eastward compared to the starry illumination this evening closely mirrors the lunar phase background. when Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the moon in 1969. In October 19: This evening, the waxing gibbous moon his book, Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journey, Michael (10.8 d, 79%) is 17.5° to the east of Mars. The Red Planet Collins detailed the reasoning for selecting the landing site: crosses the meridian, about 30° up, just after 8 p.m. CDT. It “The landing site had been picked, in the southwestern continues its eastward March, tonight 1.8° east of η Cap. corner of the Sea of Tranquility. . . [A] good feature of the October 20: This evening the waxing gibbous moon landing site was that its central location was convenient in (11.9 d, 86%) is 3.2° below Neptune (m = 7.8). Last month relation to the equatorial orbit of the Command Module the planet was at opposition. If you missed the opposition, overhead. As you look at the moon [the landing site] appears the bright moon leads you there this evening. 1° above the equator and 24 degrees to the right of [the Magnifications close to 200x should help you resolve the moon’s central meridian] . . . A sun angle of 10° [above the disk. When the moon moves away, Neptune is 0.25° to the lunar horizon] was deemed perfect and seemed to work in lower right of 81 Aquarii (81 Aqr, m = 6.2). the simulator” pp. 318-319. Through a small telescope or October 21: This evening the waxing gibbous moon binoculars, Mare Tranquillitatis is fully in sunlight of the early (12.9 d, 92%) is near the boundary of Pisces and Aries. lunar day. October 22: This evening the waxing gibbous moon At mid-month, the five bright, naked-eye planets are (13.9 d, 97%) is within the boundaries of Cetus. The moon is east of the sun. Mercury (m = −0.3) is 17° east of the sun, but 4° south of the ecliptic; in this section of the ecliptic, a sets 34 minutes after the sun, at about the time of Civil corner of Cetus is only about 1° south of the sun’s apparent Twilight. Venus (m = −4.4), 18° east of the sun, sets at annual path. The constellation is frequently not included in sunset. It is 7° south of the ecliptic and heading for its the names of the zodiac, 9° either side of the ecliptic. It’s not inferior conjunction on October 26. If you can locate it unusual to have the solar system objects in front of the stars during daylight hours with binoculars or a telescope, it of this constellation. displays an evening crescent that is 57” across and 5% October 23: Uranus (m = 5.7) is at opposition. Use illuminated. The trio of bright outer planets are scattered magnifications pushing 150x to resolve its disk. It is in a dim along an 80° arc from Jupiter in the west-southwest to Mars star field, 2.8° east of Omicron Piscium (ο Psc, m =4.2). The in the south-southeast. At one hour after sunset (Nautical nearly full moon is 8.5° to the lower right of Uranus. The Twilight), Jupiter (m = −1.8) is only 5° up in the west- moon is nearly 5° south of the ecliptic this evening. southwest. After its triple conjunction with Zubenelgenubi (α

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

October 24: The moon reaches its Full phase at 11:45 October 27: Before morning twilight begins, the waning a.m. CDT. The moon skims across another section of Cetus, gibbous moon (18.3 d, 91%), high in the southwest, is inside as it is nearly 5° south of the ecliptic again this evening. It is the “V” of Taurus, 2.2° to the upper right of Aldebaran (α 8.3° to the lower left of Uranus this evening. Tau, m = 0.8). As the moon (18.9 d, 86%) rises this evening October 25: Look for four planets in the evening sky, after 10 p.m. CDT. It appears 6.5° to the west of Zeta Tauri (ζ although Mercury (m = −0.2) is difficult to see because of the Tau, m=3.0). low angle of the ecliptic. Start about 20 minutes after sunset. October 28: About 30 minutes after sunset, Mercury (m With binoculars look for this speedy planet. Jupiter (m = = −0.2) is 3.1° to the lower left of Jupiter. Both are very low −1.7), 4.8° to the upper left of Mercury, is 7° up in the in the southwest, less than 5° in altitude. Later in the southwest. Dimmer Saturn (m = 0.5) is 22° up in the south- evening look for the moon (20 d, 77%) in the eastern sky southwest. Mars (m = −0.7) is farther east, 26° up in the after 11 p.m. CDT. It is 2.3° east of Chi2 Orionis (χ2 Ori, m = south-southeast. Look for the quartet during the next few 4.6), in the “club” of Orion’s shape. Add Orion, or at least evenings. part of it, to the list of zodiacal constellations. October 26: Venus reaches inferior conjunction at 9:16 October 29: Before morning twilight begins, the moon a.m. CDT. At conjunction, Venus is 6.5° south of the sun. In a (20.3 d, 75%), high in the south, is 1.8° below Mu clear sky, it could be visible to the unaided eye. Stand under Geminorum (μ Gem, m = 2.8), at the “feet” of the twins. In an overhang that blocks the sun to see it. Carefully observe the evening sky, Mercury is 3.2° to the lower left of Jupiter, Venus through a telescope, because of its proximity to the 30 minutes after sunset. sun. Venus displays a very thin crescent that is less than 1% October 30: Before morning twilight begins, the waning illuminated. The planet is 0.27 Astronomical Units away from gibbous moon (21.3 d, 64%) is 8.3° to the lower left of Pollux Earth and displays a gigantic 61” angular size, although this is (β Gem, m = 1.2). about 3% of the moon’s apparent diameter. Look eastward after 9 p.m. CDT this evening to see the moon (17.9 d, 93%) 2° to the upper right of Gamma Tauri (γ Tau, m = 3.6). Look again in the morning before twilight begins to see how far it moved against the starry background during the night.

October 31: Venus begins to enter the evening sky. It rises 8 minutes earlier each morning for the next several days.

October 31: Before morning twilight begins, the moon (22 d, 53%) is 2.8° west of the Beehive cluster (M44, NGC 2632, m = 4.5). The moon reaches its Last Quarter phase at 11:40 a.m. CDT. An interesting story from my high school astronomy class: One year when we were studying the moon October 27: Before morning twilight begins, look high in and its phases, a student asked whether the full moon would the southwest. The waning gibbous moon is inside the “V” occur on Halloween because there is almost always a full of Taurus. moon on that night, according to the student’s thinking. In retrospect, this is likely from all the classic visuals of

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

Halloween with wind-swept creaky trees, black cats, ghosts, the southwest, is creeping eastward above the stars of the and a full moon. Venus (m = −4.2) rises about 30 minutes Teapot of Sagittarius. Mars (m = −0.6), 48° to the east of before sunrise. Watch it leap into the morning sky during Saturn, is 30° up in the south as Jupiter sets. Mars ends early November. It rises about 8 minutes earlier each day. October 0.9° west of Gamma Capricorni (γ Cap, m = 3.6). It At month’s end, Venus is streaking into the morning sky seems to have zipped across Capricornus this month. Mars and four naked-eye planets are east of the sun. Venus rises sets just before 1 a.m.; when the clock reverts to standard about 30 minutes before sunrise; it appears to be chasing time next month, it sets before midnight. Telescopic Uranus Spica (α Vir, m=1.0) into the morning sky. Through a (Aries) and Neptune (Aquarius) inch along their celestial telescope it now displays a morning crescent phase that is 1’ paths in front of dim star fields. At the end of twilight, across and 1% illuminated. The bright stars of the winter Arcturus twinkles low in the west-northwest. At the same evening sky are on the meridian at the beginning of morning time, Fomalhaut shines low in the south-southeast. The twilight. Late October pre-dawn mornings are great times to Summer Triangle is high in the southwest with the glow of view your favorite deep sky objects in Orion and in nearby the Milky Way arching across the sky from northeast to regions, although the nearly Last Quarter moon is in Cancer southwest. If you’ve not noticed the Pleiades (M45, NGC on the last morning of the month. Mercury (m = −0.2) is low 1432) are in the east-northeast and Capella (α Aur, m = 0.1) in the southwest. It is heading toward an unfavorable is farther north along the horizon. The length of natural greatest evening elongation in early November. Jupiter (m = darkness is nearly 10.5 hours at month’s end, an increase of −1.7), setting at Nautical Twilight about an hour after sunset, nearly 80 minutes for the month. is to the upper right of Mercury. Saturn (m = 0.5), 18° up in

TCAA TREASURER’S REPORT AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018

Checking Account Information

Memo Category Amount BALANCE 07/30/2018 897.22

VOID Check #1024 - Not received as of 8/30/18 Waynesville Observatory 3,000.00 Clamshell Dome - Replaces check #1034 Waynesville Observatory (3,000.00) Geoffrey Hughes Dues Received 40.00 Electrical Service Waynesville Observatory (66.09) Rick Lasher Dues Received 40.00 Tom Weiland Dues Received 40.00 Tony Cellini Dues Received 39.80 Jim Gibbs Dues Received 39.80 Lisa Wentzel Dues Received 39.80 BALANCE 08/30/2018 1,070.53

Checking Account Balance – September 30, 2018 $ 1,70.53 Savings Account Balance – September 30, 2018 $3,017.47 - Includes $0.08 cents interest for two months

Total TCAA Funds – September 30, 2018 $4,088.00

All transactions are reconciled with the bank statements as of this date.

Respectfully submitted, Dave Osenga, Treasurer

Vol. 43, No. 10 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers October 2018

TCAA ON FACEBOOK

Did you know that the TCAA is on Facebook? We encourage users of social networks to follow the TCAA to see what the club is doing and to learn about nightly events that on most evenings only require the observer to step outdoors and view with the unaided eye. You can find us on Facebook by searching either TCAA or Twin City Amateur Astronomers. We no longer are working with Twitter as we have not received the same “traction” as we have with Facebook.

RENEWING YOUR TCAA MEMBERSHIP

The TCAA works to promote in every way among its members and the public an interest in and knowledge of astronomy and its allied sciences, to advance amateur astronomy and observational techniques, to render assistance to other individuals or organizations working in the same or related fields, and to do everything necessary and proper to further such on a formal or informal basis. The TCAA is a Federally recognized non-profit entity organized exclusively for education and scientific purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code. The TCAA currently supports family friendly public observing sessions at SGNC, public outreach events such as the recent May 9, 2016 transit of Mercury and the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse field trip, hosting of NCRAL meetings (2010 and 2016), September mini conferences, and education courses for our membership and the public. The TCAA maintains three observatories including payment of insurance and publishes an award-winning club newsletter. We support Sugar Grove Nature Center through their membership program, maintain a loaner telescope program, and provide many other benefits as outlined in TCAA Guide #2 – Membership and Benefits. Your TCAA membership supports education and public outreach in Central Illinois and regions beyond. Membership dues and the generosity of its members are the club’s primary means of financial support. We receive no grants or public funds. We have unmet needs. By renewing your membership when it comes due, you can help to ensure our continuing efforts.