Observe—Educate—Have Fun March 2020 The Sidereal Times

The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society P.O. Box 50581, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87181-0581 www.TAAS.org

Si nce 1959

General Meeting News Lynne Olson

TAAS ASTRONOMY 101 TAAS GENERAL MEETING Jim Fordice: “All About GNTO Dr. Diana Dragomir: “The Mysteries of Super-Earth Exo- - The TAAS Observatory” planets” SATURDAY, MARCH 7 - 6:00 P.M. SATURDAY, MARCH 7 - 7:00 P.M. Regener Hall – UNM Campus Regener Hall – UNM Campus* Free and Open to the Public FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Prior to the TAAS General Meeting on Mar. 7, our Our featured speaker for the March 7 TAAS General Meet- President, Jim Fordice, will relate the history, subse- ing will be Dr. Diana Dragomir, a Research Assistant Profes- quent expansion and latest additions to our own Dark sor in the UNM Department of Physics and Astronomy. Her Sky Site: GNTO, the General Nathan Twining Observa- Topic: “The Mysteries of Super-Earth .” tory. Just 25 ago, humanity did not know whetherplanets continued on page 4 . . . The observatory has evolved, and is still evolving, from were common in the universe, or whether the continued on page 4 . . . its original building with dome and main scope (the Is- Hoover Middle School New Moon Observing, Bachechi Open Space Party Messier Marathon Public Star Party Tue., March 3 GNTO Fri.,Sat.,. Sat., March 28 6:30–8:30 p.m. March 20–22 5:00–9:00 p.m.

INSIDE 2...... President’s Message 4...... Calling All Volunteers! 8...... Astrophoto: The Jellyfish Nebula 3...... Bachechi Open Space Public Star Party 5...... Astrophoto: The Flaming Star Nebula 10...... TAAS Reports & Notices 3...... Telescope Loan Program Update 6...... Under the Dome 11...... TAAS Directors & Staff

continued on page 3 . . . The Sidereal Times March 2020

President’s Message Jim Fordice

2020 ALCON Volunteers Still The volunteer commitment is about the observatory and the Needed to work at least 50% of the many attractions it offers. conference (12 hours). In return TAAS members, please consider volunteers will receive a Vol- In December, Steve Snider and volunteering your services at the unteer ALCON 2020 T-Shirt, a I met with Sherry Shaffer, the 19th ALCON Conference in Albu- Conference Attendee Bag, and Philanthropy Manager for Low- querque, July 15-19. Volunteers free conference attendance ell. She provided us information are needed for: when not working. To volunteer about the observatory and the contact Marcella Jones (Volun- Giovale Open Deck Observatory • Registration Desk, July 15- teer Coordinator) at kiwi3528@ (GODO), which has a suite of six 18 aol.com. (Also see Marcella’s telescopes we can arrange to • Speaker & Workshop Sup- separate item on this important use. The suite includes: port, July 15-18 • Tour Support, July • 5.5” TEC wide-field re- 15-19 fractor • Conference • 8” Moonraker Victorian re- breakdown on fractor July 19 • 14” PlaneWave CDK equipped with a Mallin- • Photographers* Cam CCD camera • 16” Meade ACF SCT *Photographers are • 17” PlaneWave CDK needed to document the equipped with a Shelyak proceedings of the con- spectrograph vention, including the event. -Ed.) The deadline for vol- • 32” Starstructure Dobso- Awards Banquet on Saturday. As nian much as possible the photogra- unteering is May 30. phers should attempt to identify Let’s Visit the Lowell people in individual photos for I am considering arranging a Observatory the Astronomical League’s his- multi-day trip to Flagstaff in the torical purposes. These photos Astronomy magazine’s Febru- fall to visit Lowell, the GODO, will become part of copyrighted ary issue includes an article and Meteor Crater. If you are in- material for the Astronomical about the Lowell Observatory terested, please contact me at League and the photographers in Flagstaff AZ, which is “right [email protected] may note their credits in individ- down the road” (I-40) from Albu- ual photos, clips, etc. as desired. querque. The article explains all

Page 2 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times March 2020

OPEN SPACE VISITOR CENTER PUBLIC STAR PARTY SATURDAY, FEB. 29 5:00–9:00 P.M. 6500 Coors Blvd. NW Albuquerque Free and Open to the Public

This very popular star party is co- hosted by The Albuquerque Astro- nomical Society and the City’s Open Space Visitor Center at their lovely Editors’ note: Due to unforeseen delays, including health issues, this ar- facility with easy parking and excel- ticle about the Open Space Visitors Center star party is being published lent observing. after the event took place. We regret this, but are pleased to report it was a big success, and there will be a full article about it in the April issue of the The event begins with solar observ- Sidereal Times. ing near the entrance and continues with a Fabulous 50 presentation at Telescope Loan Program Update 7:00 P.M. in the Kiva Room by Phil Fleming on the heavenly objects to By Rick Vergas, Telescope Loan Program Coordinator be seen during this season; a star- wheel-making craft in the lobby; “Cosmos” DVD being shown in the media room and night observing A number of new members have been using the loan program, and en- with an array of TAAS telescopes as joying the skies, despite the often non-cooperative weather. Meanwhile, the sky darkens on the patio on the I am sorting through donated books, scopes, and other items for a silent east side. Sunset is at 5:55 P.M. auction once the weather improves. Remember, you can request any Arrive early for parking, viewing of package in the program. Loan Program Statistics the Sun, to talk with the astrono- # of % on mers setting up their telescopes Scopes # on Loan # Available Loan and to enjoy the visitor center. 35 31 4 89% Please remember that after dark, use red lights on the observing field Type: Reflectors Refractors Catadioptrics to preserve night vision. Always 23 7 12 bring a jacket for evening chill. Size: Large (>8”) Medium (5”-8”) Small (<5”) See www.TAAS.org for details and 12 17 13 map. If you are bringing a scope to contribute to the public’s view- Tracking: Manual Push-To Go-To Tracking ing, please let Jim Roucis (the event 26 5 7 11 —Lynne Olson Owner) know at [email protected]. As of: 2/25/20

Page 3 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times March 2020

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS! VOLUNTEERS are needed for the 19th ALCON Conference ...Astronomy 101 continued from page 1 Albuquerque, July 15-19, 2020

We need volunteers for the following: · Banquet/Dinner – July 18/19 engard) to a landscape of additional · Conference Setup – July 15 facilities, such as telescope pads, · Registration – July 15-18 an imaging dome, kitchen/warm- · Speaker & Workshop Support – July 15-18 ing room, a relaxing area with star · Tour Support – July 15 -19 charts and reading materials – and · Conference breakdown – July 19 room for those who wish to spend the whole night and depart in the The volunteer commitment is to work at least 50% of the conference morning. (12 hours). In return volunteers will receive: a Volunteer ALCON 2020 warming room, a relaxing area with T-Shirt, a Conference Attendee Bag, and free conference attendance star charts and reading materials when not working. – and room for those who wish to spend the whole night and depart To volunteer, contact Marcella Jones - Volunteer Coordinator at in the morning. [email protected]. The deadline for volunteering is May 30. Along with a description of GNTO’s ...General Meeting News continued from page 1 history, Jim will explain how to find and travel to the site, where to park and set up your equipment, what to bring with you, site courtesies and was an anomaly. Dr. Dragomir will discuss how astrono- lots more. mers use both humble and powerful In 1995, a giant planet was discov- Come and learn what association telescopes to gradually reveal the na- ered in a fast 4-day orbit around a main with TAAS can bring you in advanc- ture of this fascinating class of exoplan- sequence star. Since then, the number ing —Lynne your astronomical Olson knowledge! of exoplanets announced every has ets. been increasing steadily, and most are Dr. Dragomir is a rising star herself at unlike any of the planets orbiting Sol, UNM; she will be elevated to Assistant our Sun. Professor in August of this year. She ob- But beginning with the Kepler Space tained her PhD in Astronomy from the Telescope (launched 2009, retired University of British Columbia in 2013, 2018) to TESS (the Transiting Exoplan- and was a postdoctoral scholar at the et Survey Satellite, launched 2018), exo- University of California Santa Barbara planet discovery has now burgeoned and at the University of Chicago. to 4,116 confirmed objects orbiting Her research focuses on the demo- distant . graphics and atmospheres of exoplan- ets smaller than Neptune that orbit A particularly intriguing group of exo- Observe – Educate – Have Fun planets are the “super-Earths”: planets bright, nearby stars, measuring their with sizes between those of Earth and sizes with the Hubble and TESS space telescopes and their masses with a vari- Neptune. While absent in the Solar —Lynne Olson System, they are ubiquitous elsewhere ety of ground-based observatories. in the Milky Way – and yet we know little about them or how they *Go to www.TAAS.org for directions to formed. The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society Page 4 Regener Hall. The Sidereal Times March 2020

The Flaming Star Nebula, IC 405 or ejecting Mu Columbae and possibly 53 Arietis, has been traced to the in the Orion is both an emission and reflection SH2-229 Nebula two million years ago. nebula in the . It surrounds the AE Aurigae, located near the emis- AE Aur is seen to light up the Flaming Star nebula, sion nebula IC 410, home of the “Tadpoles” star- but it was not formed within it. Instead it is pass- forming region. IC405, according to Wikipedia, ing through the nebula at high speed and produc- occupies a feld of view of approximately 37’ x 19’, ing a violent bow shock and high energy electro- is 5 light-years across and lies about 1,500 light- magnetic radiation. years from Earth. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work mathematically. See below* This image, constructed of RGB plus H-alpha data, took fve sessions to acquire. This is largely due to Obviously, something is a bit off. I checked several errors on my part, plus some assistance from the other sources and they give the same dimensions, weather. The RGB data was obtained at GNTO, the almost as if they all got them from Wikipedia as H-α data was captured from my Albuquerque back well. So the lesson for today is, don’t trust Wiki- yard. I used an AT65 refractor with an ASI 1600 pedia too much. That said, much of the rest of this mm camera, on a Losmandy G-11 mount. Guiding description is drawn from the site. was done using an Orion 50 mm guide scope and an ASI 120 mm camera. SGP was used for image AE Aurigae, a blue O-type main sequence dwarf, acquisition and PhD2 was used for guiding. Pro- is believed to have been born in the area of Ori- cessing was done using PixInsight, PS CS2 and on’s belt, now a runaway star that might have Lightroom. been ejected during a collision of two —Vance Ley groups. This collision, which also is credited with continued on page 9 . . . Page 5 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times March 2020

Under the Dome Notes from and about GNTO Jim Fordice

January 25th - New Moon Observ- ing used the Imaging System to take Tom Liles opened. He reported: 10 photos of Thor’s Helmet. Will Dick- observers showed up at the observa- inson was taking photos of the Ro- tory. Some clouds and breezy condi- sette Nebula. tions at the start gave way to clear skies and very light winds by 8 P.M. Adam Sherman used his refractor or so. The balmy 58-degree late af- to look at winter highlights. Benja- ternoon gave way to cold conditions, min Jones hosted Jesse Kaczmarski. down to 28 degrees or so at 1 A.M. Amy Howard Benjamin was using his Dobsonian to work the Herschel II list. Jesse Jonathan and Marla Brown were was photographing Orion. George looking around for what they could Vance was still imaging when the last Friedman used the 16” loaner Dob- view, Allison was looking for “old observer left around 12:15 A.M. He sonian to observe a variety of dark friends,” Jim Stanley was practicing was planning on spending the night so sky objects. Viola Sanchez observed with a club-loaner dob, Jim Roucis volunteered to close up in the morn- the Horsehead Nebula with her was working on far/low south ob- ing. I finished my darks, packed up, nice new Dobsonian. Ben Burnett jects, David Downs was working on and left around 1 A.M. used the Isengard and was hunting Northern , first timer for the C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) Dick Shine was interested in astro- February 15 - 3rd Quarter Moon comet. photography, so picked Vance Ley’s Observing brain! Vance was doing wide-angle Alan Scott was working the Constel- photography, myself doing DSLR lation Hunter list. Jim Roucis snuck imaging of the Rosette Nebula, and I was the Opener on 15 February. in without me noticing him until finally Chuck Higgins. A very good Thirteen people joined me. When well into the evening, He was at the group and all had a good evening. I arrived at 4:40 P.M. the sky was far south end of the field putting clear, the wind was 10 mph, and the his big Dobsonian to good use. I temperature was 60 degrees. By worked on the Advanced Binocular 6:20 P.M. the sky was still clear, the Double Star list. wind as 3 mph, and the tempera- ture was 52 degrees. It was looking to be a very good night.

Will Ferrell hosted Chaz Rowland and Amy Howard. Chaz had a tele- scope and was observing in Orion and Canis Major. Amy was taking Benjamin Jones, Adam Sherman, wide angle photographs. Vance Ley Moving the 16” Dob to the field Jesse Kaczmarski continued on page 7 . . .

Page 6 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times March 2020

...Under the Dome continued from page 5

Vance added that he planned to The clear skies lasted until about stay until sunset — 5:47 P.M. — and 8 P.M. when some clouds started thenUpcoming retire to GNTO process Events: his images. moving through. By 9 it was mostly • cloudy, and folks started calling it rd a night. By 10:40, only Ben, Vance, March 14: 3 Quarter Moon Will D., and Jim were still on site. Of • Observing course, by that time the skies were • March 20: Messier Marathon clear again with the wind at 5 mph, Will Ferrell and the temperature at 47 degrees. • March 21: New Moon Ob- For the 15th of February, it was serving/Messier Marathon quite comfortable. March 22: Messier Marathon • (I am the Opener) rd I put my equipment away and head- April 11: 3 Quarter Moon ed for my sleeping bag in the Ortega When Fernando and I got up at 3 • Observing (Mike Fuge is Building about 11:30 P.M. Vance A.M. everything looked good, with Opener) also spent the night and departed just a few clouds around. But as we waited for the occultation to start, April 18: New Moon Observ- at dawn. I closed the site about 6:45 ing a large cloud formed right above A.M. th February 17 - Special Observing the moon. It looked like we would Session see the occultation but just a few Don’t forget that the GNTO Observ- minutes before it started the moon ing Field is available for use by I opened the site on Feb. 17 in order and Mars moved into the cloud and TAAS members anytime. Check the to observe the lunar occultation of stayed there. So close! TAAS website for the procedure to Mars. I arrived just before 6 P.M. follow. Contact me if you have any Fernando Torres and Will Dickinson Sometimes the weather just refuses questions. were there waiting for me to open Februaryto cooperate. 22nd - New Moon Ob- the gate. Melissa Kirk and Bridget serving As always, check TAAS_Talk and the TAAS website for last-minute de Saint Phalle arrived a bit later. changes and updates. GNTO events are open to all TAAS members and The evening started well with Vance Ley was the Opener. He re- their guests. fairly clear skies, warm temps, ported: For those who enjoy clouds, and calm wind, but by 8 P.M. the drizzle and an empty observing field, we’re here for you. However, GNTO Director: [email protected] or clouds moved in. Bridget left early. 505-803-3640. I headed for my sleeping bag at 10 you could make better use of your P.M. Fernando also got some sleep time by cleaning your optics, refin- before the occultation. Melissa and ing your observing lists or process- Will departed sometime after 10. ing your images.

Page 7 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times March 2020

The Jellyfish Nebula, IC 445, taken with a Full Frame Apogee F16M camera on a TEC 140 scope mounted on a Mach1GTO mount. Five hours of 20 minute exposures using a Baader 7nm Ha flter. Used Voyager software to control everything.

Processed in Pixinsight and used the add-on StarNet to remove the stars, all but one.

—Dwight Talley

Page 8 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times March 2020

...Calculations for Flaming Star Nebula Astrophoto continued from page 5

Remember to notify TAAS when your mailing address, e-mail address, phone numbers, etc., change. Send updates to Doug LeGrand, [email protected], or to Bob Anderson, membership@ TAAS.org.

Page 9 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times March 2020

TAAS Reports & Notices

Welcome to New Location, Location, Location Donations to TAAS or Returning • Chaco Canyon• TAAS Members 6185’ elevation Latitude Longitude 36˚ 01’ 50”N 107˚ 54’ 36”W Amazon Smile Charles Beck 36.03˚ -107.91˚ Simon Arnet Diane Beck 36˚ 1.83’ -107˚ 54.60’ Debbie Conger Megana Dwarakanath • Oak Flat• Peter Eschman 7680’ elevation Joaquin Estrada William Fleming Latitude Longitude Brian Feeney 34˚ 59’ 48”N 106˚ 19’ 17”W Jim Fordice Megan Kennett 34.99˚ -106.32˚ Ron Hospelhorn 34˚ 59.80’ -106˚ 19.28’ Nova Kennett Liang Ming • UNM Campus Observatory• Charles Mullen Peter Kennett 5180’ elevation Latitude Longitude Charles Rowland Robin Rice 35˚ 5’ 29”N 106˚ 37’ 17”W John Sarracino Paul Schmit 35.09˚ -106.62˚ Jim Seargeant Rahul Vasireddy 35˚ 5.48’ -106˚ 37.29’

Courtesy Pete Eschman

For security reasons, GNTO location is The Albuquerque Astronomical Society is a available by request only, so please contact 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are deduct- Explanation of Dues and Jim Fordice, GNTO Director, for GNTO ible as charitable contributions on the donor’s Membership Renewal Date information, e-mail [email protected]. federal income tax return. New memberships are registered immediately if you pay online. If you Membership Services Monthly Membership Report pay by check, your membership is February 2020 registered when your check is re- for: ceived by the treasurer. •Membership Inquiries Membership Current Past Change •Events Information Month Month Renewal notices will be sent out •Volunteer Opportunities via e‑mail beginning 60 days before Regular 249 247 2 your membership expires. If your Contact Bob Anderson at Family 148 148 0 membership is renewed before it [email protected] Educator 16 17 -1 expires or with in 90 days after it ex- Student 13 13 0 for: Military 4 4 0 pires, your new expiration date will be advanced one year from the previous •Membership Dues Honorary 5 5 0 •Address/e-mail changes Total Members 435 404 31 expiration date and your membership will be continuous. Contact Doug LeGrand at Editor’s Note If dues payment is received more [email protected] than 90 days after the expiration The deadline for the next issue of The TAAS Sidereal Times is Monday, March 23. The date, you will be reinstated as a mem- newsletter editors’ e-mail address is ber with an expiration date set as one P.O. Box 50581 [email protected] . year from the receipt of payment. Albuquerque, NM 87181

Page 10 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Sidereal Times March 2020

2020 TAAS Board of Directors/Staff

Jim Fordice, President Steve Snider, Vice President [email protected] [email protected] 505-803-3640 505-249-4066

Doug LeGrand, Treasurer Carl Larson, Secretary [email protected] [email protected] 505-559-0252 408-623-4717

Robert Anderson, Director Jim Fordice, Director Membership Coordinator GNTO Director, [email protected] [email protected] 505-803-3640 505-275-1916

Mark Goodman, Director Bob Havlen, Director Education Outreach Director [email protected] [email protected] 505-856-3306 505-328-6157

Boris Venet, Director Rick Vergas, Director Chaco Events Coordinator, Telescope Loan Coordinator UNM Observatory Coordinator [email protected] [email protected] 505-620-2832 505-507-7838

Astronomical League Coordinator Becky Ramotowski 505-286-8334 [email protected] ATM Coordinator Ray Collins 505-344-9686 [email protected] Chaco Events Coordinator Boris Venet 505-507-7838 [email protected] Education Outreach Mark Goodman 505-328-6157 [email protected] Explora Adult Night Coordinator Bob Hufnagel 505-890-8122 [email protected] Fabulous Fifty Coordinator Phil Fleming 505-870-5604 [email protected] GNTO Director Jim Fordice 505-803-3640 [email protected] Membership Chair Bob Anderson 505-275-1916 [email protected] Nametag Coordinator Billie Sue Patrick 575-937-2154 [email protected] Newsletter Co-Editor, Content Bruce Meyer 917-449-0700 [email protected] Newsletter Co-Editor, Design Gary Cooper 505-227-3974 [email protected] Public Events Coordinator Steve Snider 505-249-4066 [email protected] Publicity Coordinator Lynne Olson 505-856-2537 [email protected] Scout Coordinator Chaz Jetty 505-350-7949 [email protected] Telescope Loan Coordinator Rick Vergas 505-620-2832 [email protected] UNM Observatory Coordinator Boris Venet 505-507-7838 [email protected] Webmaster John Purnell 209-355-5166 [email protected]

Page 11 The Official Newsletter of The Albuquerque Astronomical Society The Albuquerque Astronomical Society

P.O. Box 50581 Albuquerque, NM 87181-0581

TAAS was honored to receive an TAAS was honored to receive an “Editor’s Pick 2013 Best of the City” “Out-of-this-world” award 2011 award from Albuquerque Magazine. from Astronomy Magazine BEST PLACE TO STARGAZE for Outstanding Public Programming. CELESTIAL EDITION

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You can join TAAS or renew your AArticles, personal astronomical clas- TAAS website: http://www.TAAS.org membership online. Just go to www. sifed advertisements and advertise- taas.org and select “Join Us!” or “Renew ments for businesses related to as- The TAAS website includes: Your Membership” from the main tronomy must be submitted by the deadline shown on the Society calen- • Programs . . . menu on the left side. Annual dues are dar (generally the Friday near the new • TAAS 200 $30 for a regular membership, $15 for Moon). Rates for commercial ads (per • TAAS Fabulous Fifty educators and active military, and $5 issue) are $120 per page, $60 per half • Educational Outreach: School Star for students. Only regular members page, $30 per quarter page, $7 for are eligible to vote in society matters. business card size. The newsletter edi- Parties, Solar Astronomy Outreach Our new member information packet tor reserves the right to include and/ • Equipment Trader can be viewed or downloaded from or edit any article or advertisement. • Telescope Loaner Program the same location on the website. You E-mail attachments in Microsoft Word • Telescope Making and can pay your dues on line through or compatible word processor format; Maintenance PayPal, by Visa, MasterCard, or ASCII and RTF are acceptable. One space between paragraphs is pre- . . . And more American Express. To pay by check, ferred. One column is approximately • Online Sidereal Times mail your check to TAAS, P.O. Box 350 words. Contact the Newsletter • Calendar of TAAS Events 50581, Albuquerque, NM 87181-0581 Editor at [email protected] for more in- or give it to the treasurer at one of our formation. • Members’ Guide meetings. • Links to Astronomy Resources and Note that the Sidereal Times is no Members’ Blogs longer mailed. It is posted on the TAAS MAGAZINES website, www.TAAS.org. E-mail: [email protected] TAAS no longer offers magazine Send submissions or correspondence subscriptions. to [email protected]. Members’ Google Group: [email protected]