The Observer of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Observer of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS Volume 43, Number 11 November 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«AstroBits – News from Around the TCAA 5«Members Return Safely from Iceland Trip 7«TCAA Members to Attend NEAF 2018 8«ALCon 2019 – Second Reminder 9«Quarterly Membership Meeting Successful 9«Education/Public Outreach for October 2018 11«November 2018: Venus Sparkles in the Morning Sky 15«Comet 46P/Wirtanen Cometh 16«Public Viewing Schedule for 2019 16«TCAA Calendar of Events for 2018-2019 17«HowTimeFlies 17«TCAA on Facebook 17«Kudos to IDOT for New Lights at I-55/Shirley Exit 18«Renewing Your TCAA Membership 19«TCAA Treasurer’s Report as of October 30, 2018 EDITOR’S CHOICE: IMAGE OF THE MONTH – THE MOON This month’s Editor’s Choice is a collage of two lunar images taken by Tim Stone. Tim notes, “These two moon shots were taken with my 8-inch Schmidt/Newtonian telescope to test the system for The TCAA is an affiliate of the Astronomical League. For spectroscopy work. One shot is three days before full and the other more information about the TCAA, be certain to visit the is one day before full, both this month. The two images are the TCAA website. Visit Astroleague.org for additional exact same scale. The moon's apparent size is related to the lunar information about the League and its membership distance which changed over the interval between the images. The benefits. effect of libration is also clearly visible.” Copyright © 2018 TCAA 1 All rights reserved. Vol. 43, No. 11 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers November 2018 PRESIDENT’S NOTE The OBSERVER As we wind our way toward the end is the monthly electronic newsletter of Twin of the year, we approach the holiday City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit educational season when we take stock of ourselves, organization of amateur astronomers our accomplishments, failures, and interested in studying astronomy and aspirations for next year. I’ll save that sharing their hobby with the public. retrospection for next month’s issue of The OBSERVER, but I’ve already begun. TCAA OFFICERS & CHAIRPERSONS With the full onset of autumn, astronomical activities are slowing down, President, Director, & Property Manager Tim Stone 309-531-2401 and family activities are starting to press [email protected] their way into our lives. This is as it should be. Without the support of our Vice President & Director/Membership Coord. family, astronomy would be a difficult Tom Willmitch 309-846-2423 TCAA President Tim Stone [email protected] passion to pursue. We are out of the house on clear evenings, and even on cloudy nights, we spend time reading or Treasurer & Director/Registered Agent otherwise exploring our universe. Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 Personally, I’m very thankful not only for the support my family gives me in my [email protected] astronomical obsession, but the pride they take in my activities and the images I’m Secretary & Director/Historian/Editor able to capture and share with the world. Hardly a week goes by when Diann hasn’t Carl J. Wenning 309-830-4085 mentioned to someone that I’m “into” astronomy. She shows them some of my [email protected] images, and delights in their wide-eyed “he took THAT?” response. She regales me Director/Technology Coordinator with those stories, and it lets me know that she’s okay with the inconveniences she Justin Meyer 630-649-0611 experiences on those long clear nights. [email protected] I’m delighted to prioritize family time in this holiday season, though almost Astronomical League Correspondent certainly there will be a clear night or two when I cannot go out to image, and it will Robert Finnigan 309-846-9533 gnaw at me just a little bit. [email protected] Let’s all take the time this month to specially thank our loved ones and friends for their encouragement as we look forward to 2019. Perhaps they don’t even Webmaster Lee Green 309-454-7349 recognize how much it means to us. Let them know, and please accept my own [email protected] thanks to you, the amateur astronomy community and the TCAA, for whatever way you are involved. Without you, we wouldn’t have a club and we wouldn’t be in Lighting Educ. & AL Observing Club Coordinator touch with so many other amateur astronomy organizations and their membership. Lisa Wentzel unlisted number [email protected] It’s a truly remarkable thing we do. I’m glad to be part of it, and I’m thankful to all of you. Publicist Have a happy Thanksgiving season! Rick Lasher 309-530-2678 Tim Stone, President [email protected] The OBSERVER Carl J. Wenning, Editor in Chief Submission deadline two days before the end of each month. MEMBERSHIP DUES Individual Adult/Family $40 Full-time Student/Senior $25 (Senior status equals ages 60+) To join, send your name, contact info and dues payment to Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., Normal, IL 61761-1471. Copyright © 2018 TCAA 2 All rights reserved. Vol. 43, No. 11 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers November 2018 ALENDAR OF ELESTIAL VENTS OVEMBER EW ENEWING EMBERS C C E – N 2018 N & R M The following individuals have paid dues for new or MORNING PLANETS (11/15): Venus renewed memberships as of October 30, 2018. (Others EVENING PLANETS (11/15): Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, who paid after that date will appear in the December Uranus, and Neptune 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. None Day Time Event DUES BLUES 01 22:16 Regulus 2.1°S of Moon If you have received a “your dues are due” 02 02:00 Daylight Saving Time Ends statement along with the email that brought you this 05 12 S Taurid Meteor Shower issue of The OBSERVER, please remit your dues to Mr. 06 09 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 23.3°E Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., 07 10:02 NEW MOON Normal, IL 61761-1471. Dues are currently $25 for 08 22:58 Mercury 1.8°N of Antares seniors (60 years of age and over) and $40 regular. 11 09:46 Saturn 1.4°S of Moon UBSCRIBING TO THE MAIL IST 12 11 N Taurid Meteor Shower S TCAA E L 13 08:04 Moon at Descending Node By subscribing to a group’s mailing list, you will 14 09:57 Moon at Apogee: 404341 km receive email messages from the group though you 14 17:14 Venus 0.2°S of Spica won’t have access to the group’s web features (like 15 08:54 FIRST QUARTER MOON photos, files, links, polls, calendar, etc.) unless members activate it later. The club has an open email listserv. It is 15 22:16 Mars 1.0°N of Moon: Occultation known as the TCAA YahooGroups listserv. It will be used 17 17 Leonid Meteor Shower to share announcements and reminders about 22 23:39 FULL MOON astronomical and club events. To join this main listserv, 23 15:11 Aldebaran 1.7°S of Moon you must do the following: 26 00 Jupiter in Conjunction with Sun 26 06:10 Moon at Perigee: 366623 km 1. To subscribe: Send a blank email to TCAA- [email protected] Note: You’ll be sent a 26 23:18 Moon at Ascending Node confirmation email from the group. Reply to the 27 03 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction confirmation email to activate your subscription. 27 14:57 Beehive 0.8°N of Moon 2. To post a message: [email protected] 29 03 Mercury at Perihelion 3. To unsubscribe: [email protected] 29 03:27 Regulus 2.3°S of Moon 29 18:19 LAST QUARTER MOON 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. Copyright © 2018 TCAA 3 All rights reserved. Vol. 43, No. 11 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers November 2018 THIS MONTH’S PHASES OF THE MOON New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Last Quarter Wednesday, November 7 Thursday, November 15 Thursday, November 22 Thursday, November 29 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 Nov Sunrise Sunset Length Difference Start End Time 1 7:25 AM (108°) 5:22 PM (251°) 10:26:41 -2:21 5:53 AM 7:24 PM 12:39 PM (35.0°) 11 6:37 AM (112°) 4:41 PM (247°) 10:04:20 -2:07 5:03 AM 6:15 PM 11:40 PM (32.0°) 21 6:49 AM (116°) 4:34 PM (244°) 09:45:01 -1:45 5:13 AM 6:09 PM 11:41 PM (29.5°) ASTROBITS – NEWS FROM AROUND THE TCAA ó On October 2nd Tony Cellini remarked, “Coming home from Funk's Grove this evening, I noticed that new lights have been installed on all parts of the Shirley exit.
Recommended publications
  • The Astronomical Garden of Venus and Mars-NG915: the Pivotal Role Of
    The astronomical garden of Venus and Mars - NG915 : the pivotal role of Astronomy in dating and deciphering Botticelli’s masterpiece Mariateresa Crosta Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF- OATo), Via Osservatorio 20, Pino Torinese -10025, TO, Italy e-mail: [email protected] Abstract This essay demonstrates the key role of Astronomy in the Botticelli Venus and Mars-NG915 painting, to date only very partially understood. Worthwhile coin- cidences among the principles of the Ficinian philosophy, the historical characters involved and the compositional elements of the painting, show how the astronomi- cal knowledge of that time strongly influenced this masterpiece. First, Astronomy provides its precise dating since the artist used the astronomical ephemerides of his time, albeit preserving a mythological meaning, and a clue for Botticelli’s signature. Second, it allows the correlation among Botticelli’s creative intention, the historical facts and the astronomical phenomena such as the heliacal rising of the planet Venus in conjunction with the Aquarius constellation dating back to the earliest represen- tations of Venus in Mesopotamian culture. This work not only bears a significant value for the history of science and art, but, in the current era of three-dimensional mapping of billion stars about to be delivered by Gaia, states the role of astro- nomical heritage in Western culture. Finally, following the same method, a precise astronomical dating for the famous Primavera painting is suggested. Keywords: History of Astronomy, Science and Philosophy, Renaissance Art, Educa- tion. Introduction Since its acquisition by London’s National Gallery on June 1874, the painting Venus and Mars by Botticelli, cataloged as NG915, has remained a mystery to be interpreted [1]1.
    [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]
  • October 2017 BRAS Newsletter
    October 2017 Issue Next Meeting: Monday, October 9th at 7PM at HRPO nd (2 Mondays, Highland Road Park Observatory) October Program: BRAS President John Nagle will. reveal how he researches and puts together his Observing Notes column for our newsletter each. month. What's In This Issue? HRPO’s Great American Eclipse Event Summary (Page 2) President’s Message Secretary's Summary Outreach Report - FAE Light Pollution Committee Report Recent Forum Entries 20/20 Vision Campaign Messages from the HRPO Spooky Spectrum Observe The Moon Night Natural Sky Conference HRPO 20th Anniversary Observing Notes – Phoenix & Mythology Like this newsletter? See past issues back to 2009 at http://brastro.org/newsletters.html Newsletter of the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society October 2017 President’s Message The first Sidewalk Astronomy of the season was a success. We had a good time, and About 100 people (adult and children) attended. Ben Toman live streamed on the BRAS Facebook page. See his description in this newsletter. A copy of the proposed, revised By-Laws should be in your mail soon. Read through them, and any proposed changes need to be communicated to me before the November meeting. Wally Pursell (who wrote the original and changed by-laws) and I worked last year on getting the By-Laws updated to the current BRAS policies, and we hope the revised By-Laws will need no revisions for a long time. We need more Globe at Night observations – we are behind in the observations compared to last year at this time. We also need observations of variable stars to help in a school project by a new BRAS member, Shreya.
    [Show full text]
  • Effemeridi Astronomiche (Di Milano) Dall'ab. A. De Cesaris [And Others]
    Informazioni su questo libro Si tratta della copia digitale di un libro che per generazioni è stato conservata negli scaffali di una biblioteca prima di essere digitalizzato da Google nell’ambito del progetto volto a rendere disponibili online i libri di tutto il mondo. Ha sopravvissuto abbastanza per non essere più protetto dai diritti di copyright e diventare di pubblico dominio. Un libro di pubblico dominio è un libro che non è mai stato protetto dal copyright o i cui termini legali di copyright sono scaduti. La classificazione di un libro come di pubblico dominio può variare da paese a paese. I libri di pubblico dominio sono l’anello di congiunzione con il passato, rappresentano un patrimonio storico, culturale e di conoscenza spesso difficile da scoprire. Commenti, note e altre annotazioni a margine presenti nel volume originale compariranno in questo file, come testimonianza del lungo viaggio percorso dal libro, dall’editore originale alla biblioteca, per giungere fino a te. Linee guide per l’utilizzo Google è orgoglioso di essere il partner delle biblioteche per digitalizzare i materiali di pubblico dominio e renderli universalmente disponibili. I libri di pubblico dominio appartengono al pubblico e noi ne siamo solamente i custodi. Tuttavia questo lavoro è oneroso, pertanto, per poter continuare ad offrire questo servizio abbiamo preso alcune iniziative per impedire l’utilizzo illecito da parte di soggetti commerciali, compresa l’imposizione di restrizioni sull’invio di query automatizzate. Inoltre ti chiediamo di: + Non fare un uso commerciale di questi file Abbiamo concepito Google Ricerca Libri per l’uso da parte dei singoli utenti privati e ti chiediamo di utilizzare questi file per uso personale e non a fini commerciali.
    [Show full text]
  • A Weekly Journal of Practical Information. Ar T
    (Entered atthe Post OfIlce of New'Ycirk, N. Y., as Second·QIass:Matter.] A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION. ART. SCIENCE. MECHANICS,. CHEMISTRY AND MANUFACTURES. VOJ. XLVlII.-No.eERlEs.] 1S_] [$3.20 perAIIDllm· [NlIW NEW YORK, MAROH 31, 1883. [1'08rAGE PREPAID.] IMPROVED FILTERS. which is in a loosely moving stat the next llner imptlrities e ; our issue of Janua y 7, 1882, we gave an illustrated of r In r are arrested a little further away, where. the current wate descripthn of the" Multifold Filter," manufactured by the being. lowel', the sand is not so much di.sturbed; finer s par­ Newark Filtering Company. That filter was ·composed.of ticles again are stopped further away. by the . stil denser I stlperposed compartment�, the s n s several a d in which wa sand; and so tbe process goes on by gradations, till the water . -- wasbedby means of traveling jets of water comes Band w ich is motionless and compact.' In this . into h plan of washing is the i nvention of Mr. Clark, d. The P. of compact san adjacent to the outlet, the fine and last iie­ Rahway, N. J., while the multi old construction of the fll� maini llg impurities. are obst ucte an d pure water passes f r d, tel' was invented by Mr. J. W. yatt, of Newnrk. Th the D, into the outlet pipe, H e through tubes, C, E. multifohl jet washer filter was a very excellent filtering de This description applies to each of the three varieties of "Vi e , and vcry likely no chau e in the system of filtering Hyatt filters here shown.
    [Show full text]
  • Ocmthlion@Newstelter
    =K":c·k r/ ,,0..: t9-j Ocmthlion@Newstelter Volume II, Number 12 August, 1981 Occultation Newsletter is published by the International Occultation Timing Association. Editor and Compositor: H. F. DaBo11; 6 N 106 Whit2 Oak Lane; St. Charles, IL 60174; U.S.A. Please send editorial metters to the above, but send address changes, requests, matters of circulation, and other IOTA business to IOTA; P.0. Bo-x 596; Tiniey Park; IL 60477; U.S.A. FROM THE PUBLISHER John Phelps reports that the IOTA treasury balance stands at about $2000, so that no membership or ba- For subscription purposes, this is the second issue sic subscription price increase will be needed this of 1981. year, in spite of general inflation and substantial postal rate increases. The only increase (last one o.n.'s price is $1/'issue, or $4/year (4 issues) in- on January I) is the extra price paid by overseas m eluding first class surface mailing, and air mail to non-IOTA o.n. subscribers for airmail delivery. Mexico. Back issues also are priced at $1/issue. Please see the masthead for the ordering address. Some members have suggested that IOTA incorporate as Air mail shipment of o.n. subscriptions is $1.80/yr. a non-profit organization; some advantages of doing extra, outside the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico. this are described below. Our inclination now is to incorporate, but before we do so, we will give you a IOTA membership, subscription included, is $7/year chance to express your feelings about it, pro or for residents of North America (including Mexico) con, by writing to me or to the IOTA address in Tin- and $9/year for others, to cover costs of overseas Icy Park, IL.
    [Show full text]
  • Prime Focus (07-09)
    Highlights of the July Sky. -- -- -- 1st -- -- -- Dawn: Mars to upper right and Pleiades to upper left PPrime Focuss of Venus. Continues until the 9th. A Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society -- -- -- 3rdrd -- -- -- PM: Antares 1º to 4º left July 2009 of Waxing Gibbous Moon. -- -- -- 7th -- -- -- Full Moon -- -- -- 9th -- -- -- ThisThis MonthsMonths KAS EventsEvents AM: 5th magnitude star Mu Capricorni 19′′ NNWNNW ofof Jupiter; 7.8 magnitude General Meeting: Friday, July 10 @ 7:00 pm Neptune 17′′ NNWNNW ofof MuMu WMU Rood Hall - Room 1110 - See Page 8 for Details Capricorni. -- -- -- 15th -- -- -- Observing Session: Saturday, July 11 @ 9:00 pm Last Quarter Moon Delightful Double Stars - Kalamazoo Nature Center -- -- -- 18th -- -- -- Dawn: Pleiades, Mars, Board Meeting: Sunday, July 12 @ 5:00 pm Aldebaran, and Venus form reverse L in eastern sky an Sunnyside Church - 2800 Gull Road - All Members Welcome hour before sunrise. Observing Session: Saturday, July 25 @ 9:00 pm -- -- -- 19th -- -- -- Dawn: Waning Crescent Pleasant Planetary Nebulae - Kalamazoo Nature Center Moon to left of Venus. -- -- -- 20th -- -- -- Dawn: Pleiades are a few degrees to lower left of Waning Crescent Moon -- lowlow inin ENE.ENE. InsideInside thethe Newsletter.Newsletter. .. .. -- -- -- 21st -- -- -- June Meeting Minutes............................ p. 2 New Moon Board Meeting Minutes......................... p. 2 -- -- -- 23rd -- -- -- Dusk: Waxing Crescent Shedding Light on Black Holes............ p. 3 Moon below Regulus. What’s Next for Hubble?..................... p. 4 -- -- -- 28th -- -- -- First Quarter Moon NASA Space Place.................................. p. 5 PM: Southern Delta July Night Sky...........................................p. 6 Aquarid meteor shower peaks (ZHR = 20). KAS Officers & Announcements.........p. 7 General Meeting Preview..................... p. 8 -- -- -- 30th -- -- -- PM: Antares to left of the Waxing Gibbous Moon.
    [Show full text]
  • Sky-High 2009
    Sky-High 2009 Total Solar Eclipse, 29th March 2006 The 17th annual guide to astronomical phenomena visible from Ireland during the year ahead (naked-eye, binocular and beyond) By John O’Neill and Liam Smyth Published by the Irish Astronomical Society € 5 P.O. Box 2547, Dublin 14, Ireland. e-mail: [email protected] www.irishastrosoc.org Page 1 Foreword Contents 3 Your Night Sky Primer We send greetings to all fellow astronomers and welcome them to this, the seventeenth edition of 5 Sky Diary 2009 Sky-High. 8 Phases of Moon; Sunrise and Sunset in 2009 We thank the following contributors for their 9 The Planets in 2009 articles: Patricia Carroll, John Flannery and James O’Connor. The remaining material was written by 12 Eclipses in 2009 the editors John O’Neill and Liam Smyth. The Gal- 14 Comets in 2009 lery has images and drawings by Society members. The times of sunrise etc. are from SUNRISE by J. 16 Meteors Showers in 2009 O’Neill. 17 Asteroids in 2009 We are always glad to hear what you liked, or 18 Variable Stars in 2009 what you would like to have included in Sky-High. If we have slipped up on any matter of fact, let us 19 A Brief Trip Southwards know. We can put a correction in future issues. And if you have any problem with understanding 20 Deciphering Star Names the contents or would like more information on 22 Epsilon Aurigae – a long period variable any topic, feel free to contact us at the Society e- mail address [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • Solar Writer Report for Abraham Lincoln
    FIXED STARS A Solar Writer Report for Abraham Lincoln Written by Diana K Rosenberg Compliments of:- Stephanie Johnson Seeing With Stars Astrology PO Box 159 Stepney SA 5069 Australia Tel/Fax: +61 (08) 8331 3057 Email: [email protected] Web: www.esotech.com.au Page 2 Abraham Lincoln Natal Chart 12 Feb 1809 12:40:56 PM UT +0:00 near Hodgenville 37°N35' 085°W45' Tropical Placidus 22' 13° 08°ˆ ‡ 17' ¾ 06' À ¿É ‰ 03° ¼ 09° 00° 06° 09°06° ˆ ˆ ‡ † ‡ 25° 16' 41'08' 40' † 01' 09' Œ 29' ‰ 9 10 23° ¶ 8 27°‰ 11 Ï 27° 01' ‘ ‰02' á 7 12 ‘ áá 23° á 23° ¸ 23°Š27' á Š à „ 28' 28' 6 18' 1 10°‹ º ‹37' 13° 05' ‹ 5 Á 22° ½ 27' 2 4 01' Ü 3 07° Œ ƒ » 09' 23° 09° Ý Ü 06° 16' 06' Ê 00°ƒ 13° 22' Ý 17' 08°‚ Page 23 Astrological Summary Chart Point Positions: Abraham Lincoln Planet Sign Position House Comment The Moon Capricorn 27°Cp01' 12th The Sun Aquarius 23°Aq27' 12th read into 1st House Mercury Pisces 10°Pi18' 1st Venus Aries 7°Ar27' 1st read into 2nd House Mars Libra 25°Li29' 8th Jupiter Pisces 22°Pi05' 1st Saturn Sagittarius 3°Sg08' 9th read into 10th House Uranus Scorpio 9°Sc40' 8th Neptune Sagittarius 6°Sg41' 9th read into 10th House Pluto Pisces 13°Pi37' 1st The North Node Scorpio 6°Sc09' 8th The South Node Taurus 6°Ta09' 2nd The Ascendant Aquarius 23°Aq28' 1st The Midheaven Sagittarius 8°Sg22' 10th The Part of Fortune Capricorn 27°Cp02' 12th Chart Point Aspects Planet Aspect Planet Orb App/Sep The Moon Square Mars 1°32' Separating The Moon Conjunction The Part of Fortune 0°00' Applying The Sun Trine Mars 2°02' Applying The Sun Conjunction The Ascendant
    [Show full text]
  • September 2016 BRAS Newsletter
    September 2016 Issue th Next Meeting: Monday, Sept. 12 at 7PM at HRPO (2nd Mondays, Highland Road Park Observatory) What's In This Issue? Due to the 1000 Year Flood in Louisiana beginning August 14, some of our club’s activities were curtailed, thus our newsletter is shorter than usual. President’s Message Secretary's Summary for August (no meeting) Light Pollution Committee Report Outreach Report Photo Gallery 20/20 Vision Campaign Messages from the HRPO Triple Conjunction with Moon Observing Notes: Capricornus – The Sea Goat, by John Nagle & Mythology Newsletter of the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society September 2016 BRAS President’s Message This has been a month of many changes for all of us. Some have lost almost everything in the flood, Some have lost a little, and some have lost nothing... Our hearts go out to all who have lost, and thanks to all who have reached out to help others. Due to the flooding, last month’s meeting, at LIGO, was cancelled. The September meeting will be on the 12th at the Observatory, which did not receive any water during the flood, thus BRAS suffered no loss of property. As part of our Outreach effort. If anyone you know has any telescope and/or equipment that was in water during the flood, let us know and we will try to help clean, adjust, etc. the equipment. On September 2nd (I am a little late with this message), Dr. Alan Stern, the New Horizons Primary Investigator, gave two talks at LSU. The morning talk was for Astronomy graduate students, and was a little technical.
    [Show full text]
  • Adrian Zielonka's December Space and Astronomy News
    Adrian Zielonka’s Astronomy and Space News Night Sky 2018 - December Sunrise Sunset Mercury Rises Venus Rises st st st st 1 – 7:52am 1 – 4:07pm 1 – 6:59am 1 – 4:10am th th th th 10 – 8:03am 10 – 4:04pm 10 – 6:10am 10 – 4:02am th th th th 20 – 8:11am 20 – 4:06pm 20 – 6:26am 20 – 4:03am th th th th 30 – 8:15am 30 – 4:13pm 30 – 7:03am 30 – 4:13am Moon Rise Moon Set Moon Rise Moon Set st st th th 1 – 12:34am 1 – 1:55pm 16 – 1:12pm 17 – 1:24am nd nd th th 2 – 1:50am 2 – 2:18pm 17 – 1:32pm 18 – 2:34am rd rd th th 3 – 3:04am 3 – 2:40pm 18 – 1:54pm 19 – 3:47am th th th th 4 – 4:18am 4 – 3:04pm 19 – 2:19pm 20 – 5:02am th th th st 5 – 5:30am 5 – 3:30pm 20 – 2:48pm 21 – 6:18am th th st nd 6 – 6:41am 6 – 4:00pm 21 – 3:26pm 22 – 7:33am (Full) th th nd rd 7 – 7:48am (New) 7 – 4:35pm (New) 22 – 4:13pm (Full) 23 – 8:42am th th rd th 8 – 8:49am 8 – 5:17pm 23 – 5:12pm 24 – 9:41am th th th th 9 – 9:44am 9 – 6:06pm 24 – 6:23pm 25 – 10:28am th th th th 10 – 10:30am 10 – 7:00pm 25 – 7:41pm 26 – 11:05am th th th th 11 – 11:08am 11 – 8:00pm 26 – 9:01pm 27 – 11:36am th th th th 12 – 11:40am 12 – 9:02pm 27 – 10:21pm 28 – 12:02pm th th th th 13 – 12:07pm 13 – 10:06pm 28 – 11:39pm 29 – 12:25pm (LQ) th th th th 14 – 12:30pm 14 – 11:11pm 30 – 12:54am 30 – 12:47pm th th st st 15 – 12:52pm (FQ) 16 – 12:17am 31 – 2:08am 31 – 1:10pm A useful site: www.heavens- above.com A S Zielonka There is a planned launch this month of a Chinese Long March 2D rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Application of Stark Broadening Data Determined with a Semiclassical Perturbation Approach
    Atoms 2014, 2, 357-377; doi:10.3390/atoms2030357 OPEN ACCESS atoms ISSN 2218-2004 www.mdpi.com/journal/atoms Article On the Application of Stark Broadening Data Determined with a Semiclassical Perturbation Approach Milan S. Dimitrijević 1,2,* and Sylvie Sahal-Bréchot 2 1 Astronomical Observatory, Volgina 7, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia 2 Laboratoire d'Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique, Observatoire de Paris, UMR CNRS 8112, UPMC, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France; E-Mail: [email protected] (S.S.-B.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: [email protected]; Tel.: +381-64-297-8021; Fax: +381-11-2419-553. Received: 5 May 2014; in revised form: 20 June 2014 / Accepted: 16 July 2014 / Published: 7 August 2014 Abstract: The significance of Stark broadening data for problems in astrophysics, physics, as well as for technological plasmas is discussed and applications of Stark broadening parameters calculated using a semiclassical perturbation method are analyzed. Keywords: Stark broadening; isolated lines; impact approximation 1. Introduction Stark broadening parameters of neutral atom and ion lines are of interest for a number of problems in astrophysical, laboratory, laser produced, fusion or technological plasma investigations. Especially the development of space astronomy has enabled the collection of a huge amount of spectroscopic data of all kinds of celestial objects within various spectral ranges. Consequently, the atomic data for trace elements, which had not been
    [Show full text]