The Observer of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers

THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

Volume 43, Number 9 September 2018

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

1«Editor’s Choice: September Image – Veil Nebula 2«President’s Note 3«Calendar of Celestial Events – September 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«September 2018: Diminishing Daylight 8«CUAS to Host Summit – Saturday, September 29th 9«First Quarterly Membership Meeting October 16th 10«ALCon 2019 – First Announcement 11«Sea Changes in NCRAL 11«AstroBits – News from Around the TCAA 14«TCAA Photo Gallery 15«NGC 6992-6995 – Veil Nebula 16«A Letter from Rio! 17«Education & Public Outreach for August 2018 18«Remaining Public Viewing Sessions for 2018 19«Recent Spectral Work by Jamey Jenkins 19«TCAA Calendar of Events for 2018-2019 20«Astronomical League Facebook Posts 22«Profiles in Amateur Astronomy: Emily Wade 23«On the Road: More Milky Way Than I’ve Ever Seen 23«HowTimeFlies 24«TCAA Treasurer’s Report as of August 30, 2018 24«TCAA on Facebook and Twitter 25«Renewing Your TCAA Membership

EDITOR’S CHOICE: IMAGE OF THE MONTH – VEIL NEBULA

The TCAA is an affiliate of the Astronomical League. For This month’s Editor’s Choice: Image of the Month shows the more information about the TCAA, be certain to visit the eastern arc of NGC 6992-6995, the Veil Nebula. This image is a TCAA website. Visit Astroleague.org for additional fragment of a much larger area comprising the loop. Tim Stone, information about the League and its membership who took this image, has written a lengthy article about this entire benefits. Cygnus Loop, and it can be found starting on page 15.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

PRESIDENT’S NOTE The OBSERVER Well, it’s that time of year is the monthly electronic newsletter of Twin again, when we start looking City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit educational forward to cooler weather, clearer organization of amateur astronomers nights, and the holidays. It’s also interested in studying astronomy and the time we start thinking about sharing their hobby with the public. leadership for the club. Yes, that’s

right. It’s time to get our minds on TCAA OFFICERS & CHAIRPERSONS who will fill the club’s positions next year. President, Director, & Property Manager Tim Stone 309-531-2401 There are board positions, [email protected] chair positions, and there’s always something for anyone who wants Vice President & Director/Membership Coord. to participate on committees or Tom Willmitch 309-846-2423 [email protected] other business. We have only six board meetings per year, so Treasurer & Director/Registered Agent please don’t think you don’t have TCAA President Tim Stone Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 the time! We deal with mundane business event planning, and generally have a [email protected] good time in the process. The board meeting minutes are published in this Secretary & Director/Historian/Editor newsletter, and the date, time, and location of the next meeting is included in Carl J. Wenning 309-830-4085 those minutes. Won’t you consider becoming more active in our club and [email protected] participate in our leadership? If you would like to do that, please drop any of the

Director/Technology Coordinator board members a line! Justin Meyer 630-649-0611 Our August Public Viewing Session, timed to coincide with the peak of the [email protected] Perseid meteor shower, was a record-setter. We estimated that there were at least

Astronomical League Correspondent 250 attendees who were very interested to see Perseids, as well as to see what we Robert Finnigan 309-846-9533 showed them in our telescopes. It was amazing to see this many people come out [email protected] for an astronomical event. The night was beautifully clear, moonless, and not too warm. A lot of people took advantage of these conditions. It was especially Webmaster Lee Green 309-454-7349 gratifying to see how many children came out with their parents to appreciate the [email protected] beauty of the night sky. I personally talked to several people who had never seen the Milky Way before. To hear the exclamations when people realize what they are Lighting Educ. & AL Observing Club Coordinator seeing is always a wonderful moment. Lisa Wentzel unlisted number [email protected] With just two more Public Viewing Sessions left this year, I hope you’ll come on out and enjoy this experience with the rest of us, do some of your own observing, Publicist and introduce someone to our wonderful hobby. Rick Lasher 309-530-2678 [email protected] Until then, clear skies! The OBSERVER Tim Stone, President 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.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

ALENDAR OF ELESTIAL VENTS EPTEMBER EW ENEWING EMBERS C C E – S 2018 N & R M

The following individuals have paid dues for new or MORNING PLANETS (9/15): Mercury & Uranus renewed memberships as of August 30, 2018. (Others EVENING PLANETS (9/15): Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, & who paid after that date will appear in the October 2018 Neptune 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. Troy Berg; Chris Franklin; Peter, Sharon, & Daniel Kates, Mark Cabaj

Day Time Event

DUES BLUES 02 04 Mercury at Perihelion 02 19:34 Aldebaran 1.2°S of Moon If you have received a “your dues are due” statement along with the email that brought you this 02 20:37 LAST QUARTER MOON issue of The OBSERVER, please remit your dues to Mr. 06 16:42 Moon at Ascending Node Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., Normal, IL 61761-1471. Dues are currently $25 for 06 20:13 Beehive 1.4°N of Moon seniors (60 years of age and over) and $40 regular. 07 11 Neptune at Opposition 07 19:21 Moon at Perigee: 361355km SUBSCRIBING TO THE TCAA EMAIL LIST

09 12:01 NEW MOON By subscribing to a group’s mailing list, you will 13 20:21 Jupiter 4.4°S of Moon receive email messages from the group though you won’t have access to the group’s web features (like 16 06 Mars at Perihelion photos, files, links, polls, calendar, etc.) unless members 16 17:15 FIRST QUARTER MOON activate it later. The club has an open email listserv. It is 17 10:46 Saturn 2.1°S of Moon known as the TCAA YahooGroups listserv. It will be used to share announcements and reminders about 19 18:54 Moon at Apogee: 404875km astronomical and club events. To join this main listserv, 20 00:38 Mars 4.8°S of Moon you must do the following:

20 03:30 Moon at Descending Node 1. To subscribe: Send a blank email to TCAA- 20 20 Mercury at Superior Conjunction [email protected] Note: You’ll be sent a 22 19:54 Autumnal Equinox confirmation email from the group. Reply to the confirmation email to activate your subscription. 24 20:52 FULL MOON 2. To post a message: [email protected] 30 01:06 Aldebaran 1.4°S of Moon 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. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

THIS MONTH’S PHASES OF THE MOON

Last Quarter New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Sunday, September 2 Sunday, September 9 Sunday, September 16 Monday, September 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 Sep Sunrise Sunset Length Difference Start End Time 1 6:23 AM (78°) 7:27 PM (281°) 13:04:32 -2:33 4:46 AM 9:03 PM 12:55 PM (57.6°)

11 6:32 AM (83°) 7:11 PM (276°) 12:38:31 -2:37 4:59 AM 8:44 PM 12:52 PM (53.9°) 21 6:42 AM (88°) 6:74 PM (271°) 12:12:05 -2:39 5:10 AM 8:26 PM 12:48 PM (50.1°)

SEPTEMBER 2018: DIMINISHING DAYLIGHT ~ by Jeffrey L. Hunt ~

September opens with the Winter Triangle ‒ Sirius (α starry background, is 16° up in the south-southeast. At mid- CMa, m = −1.4), Procyon (α Cmi, m = 0.4), and Betelgeuse (α month, it reaches perihelion. Neptune (m = 7.8) reaches Ori, m = 0.5) ‒ well up in the predawn, southeastern sky. opposition on September 7. For our terrestrial day, the Mercury (m = −0.9), 16° west of the sun, is just past its length of daylight is 13 hours, 8 minutes with dawn to dusk morning greatest elongation. This speedy planet has a 16 hours, 25 minutes. (From last month, the radiant position conjunction with Regulus (α Leo, m = 1.3) early in the month. for the peak mornings of the Perseids is in Cassiopeia.) It is heading toward its superior conjunction later in the month. • September 1: Mercury (m = −0.9) is 10° up in the east- In the evening sky, 45 minutes after sunset, Venus (m = northeast, 30 minutes before sunrise. It is approaching a −4.6), 7° up in the west-southwest, shines brightly 1.3° conjunction with Regulus (α Leo, m = 1.3). This morning below Spica (α Vir, m = 1.0). Through a telescope, Venus Regulus is 7.8° below Mercury, and very difficult to locate, shows an evening crescent phase that is 40% illuminated and even with optical assistance and a perfect horizon. In the 29” across. Jupiter (m = −1.9), 23° to the upper left of Venus, evening sky, for most of the month, Venus (m = −4.7) and appears 2° to the upper left of Zubenelgenubi (α Lib, m = Spica (m = 1.0) set at nearly the same time, 85 minutes 2.8). Venus and Jupiter appear to be heading for a conjunction; watch what happens. Saturn (m = 0.4), 25° up in after sunset this evening. As they separate, Venus moves the south, is nearly 5° to the upper right of Kaus Borealis (λ farther south. (Recall that the farther north an object the Sag, m = 2.8) and 45° from Jupiter. Saturn is nearing the end longer it stays in the sky.) As they slide into twilight the of its retrograde. Bright Mars (m = −2.1), still near the Dog’s largest time gap in their setting times is 15 minutes. Country asterism and slowly moving eastward against the Jupiter (m = −1.9) is 24° to the upper left of Venus. At 10 Copyright © 2018 TCAA 4 All rights reserved.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

p.m. CDT, when Mars is near the meridian about 22° up, it features. Walter Scott Houston, the expert chronicler of may provide excellent telescopic views. Mars moved into deep sky observing, noted this in his columns in Sky & the boundaries and in front of the sidereal backdrop of Telescope magazine. Houston explained that certain Capricornus. sections of the sky had many objects that were not • September 2: During the next day, watch the moon. In the identified on charts, especially those in the densely packed predawn sky, look for the waning gibbous moon (22.0 days Milky Way. His articles were compiled into a book, Deep- old, 57% illuminated), 8.7° to the upper right of Aldebaran Sky Wonders, by Stephen James O’Meara. In the chapter (α Tau, m = 0.8). The moon’s Last Quarter phase occurs for September, Houston provided accounts of viewing the this evening (9:37 p.m. CDT). Catch the moon as it rises North American Nebula. Houston’s description: “One of this evening just before midnight. It is 2.5° to the lower the most controversial objects among amateur left of Aldebaran as they rise into the eastern sky. Look astronomers, the North American Nebula, is familiar from again in the morning and notice the widening gap photographs as a large diffuse glow about 3° east and 1° between the moon and star. south of Deneb. There has been remarkable diversity of opinion on how small a telescope can show this object visually” (p. 202). While I have never seen it naked eye, Houston stated that some observers reported seeing it without optical assistance. (If you’ve seen the nebula without a telescope or binoculars, describe your observations for me. Enter your description on this document: https://tinyurl.com/north-american-nebula.) • September 5: In the early evening sky Venus is 21° from Jupiter. Watch the gap continue to close.

September 3: Before morning twilight begins, look for a thick waning crescent moon to the lower left of Aldebaran.

• September 3: During predawn hours, the thick waning crescent moon (23.0 d, 46%) is 5.2° to the lower left of Aldebaran. • September 4: As the moon approaches its new phase, look for the Milky Way arching across the evening sky. Cygnus, with its bright star Deneb (α Cyg, m = 1.2), appears to be flying southward along the soft glow of our galaxy. It ranks September 6: With binoculars, look in the east-northeast for near the bottom of the 20 (visually) brightest stars list. Mercury and Regulus 30 minutes before sunrise. Earlier the Along with Rigel (β Ori, m = 0.2), Deneb is one of the waning crescent moon is on a line with Castor and Pollux. brightest stars in our sky. Both stars are approximately 100,000 times brighter than our sun. Deneb seems • September 6: In the predawn eastern sky, the waning dimmer to us because it is likely twice the distance of Rigel, crescent moon (26.0 d, 15%) is on a virtual line that and it is surrounded by fewer bright stars. It seems less connects the Gemini Twins, Castor (α Gem, m = 1.6) and notable than those stars that gleam from the Orion region Pollux (β Gem, m = 1.2). The moon is 9.2° from Pollux. of the sky. The Cygnus neighborhood is crowded with dim Thirty minutes before sunrise, with binoculars, look in the

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

east-northeast for Mercury (m = −1.1) 1.2° to the left of • September 8: Before sunrise, locate the thin waning Regulus. Mercury is 6.5° up in the sky. In the evening sky, crescent moon (28.0 d, 2%) 1.8° to the upper left of Saturn’s retrograde ends. It is 5° to the upper right of Kaus Regulus with Mercury 4.4° below the star. Mercury (m = Borealis (λ Sag, m = 2.8), the star at the top of the lid of −1.2) is only 4.5° up in the east-northeast 30 minutes the Teapot of Sagittarius, and 45° from Jupiter. Mars and before sunrise. You’ll need a clear horizon and optical Jupiter have the same visual brightness (m = −1.9). assistance to see the trio in bright twilight. Because they have distinctly different colors, do they • September 9: The moon is at its New phase, 6:01 p.m. CDT. appear to be the same brightness to you? While they are • September 10: In the early evening, western sky, the over 70° apart, it is not appropriate in formal astronomy to Venus-Jupiter gap is 18.7°. Mars (m = −1.8, 19.5”) is now compare respective objects’ brightness, but it is a fun dimmer than Jupiter (m = −1.9). activity. Look near the end of twilight because they have • September 11: At 45 minutes after sunset, brilliant Venus nearly the same altitude early in the evening. is 6° up in the west-southwest. The Venus-Spica gap is • September 7: This morning before twilight, the waning 8.1°; they continue setting at nearly the same time. The crescent moon (27 d, 7%) is 6.1° below the Beehive Cluster waxing crescent moon (2.3 d, 7%) is to the upper right of (M44, NGC 2632, m = 4.5), 10° up in the east-northeast; the pair, 15° from Venus. Look for Earthshine on the moon the cluster is low, but worth the view with the pretty this evening and for the next few evenings. This effect crescent moon. You’ll need ultra-wide field binoculars to occurs when reflected sunlight from the nearly full Earth get the crescent and the cluster together. Look for (as seen from the moon) falls on the night portion of the Earthshine on the moon’s night portion. Binoculars accent moon, gently illuminating it. The same effect occurs when that view. (See more about Earthshine in the September the full moon mildly illuminates the ground on Earth, 11 note.) Neptune (m = 7.8, 24”) is at opposition, 1:27 p.m. enough to cast shadows of terrestrial features. CDT. The planet is among the dim stars of Aquarius, 45° east of Mars. This evening it is 0.8° to the lower left of 82 Aquarii (82 Aqr, m = 6.4). The star HIP 113936 (m = 7.5) is nearly between the planet and 82 Aquarii. It is offset slightly to the east of a virtual line connecting the brighter star and the planet. Mars passes close to Neptune in early December, making the dimmer planet easier to spot.

September 12: During evening twilight, the waxing crescent moon appears above Venus.

• September 12: This evening at mid-twilight, about 45 minutes after sunset, the waxing crescent moon (3.3 d, 14%) is 9° above Venus. Jupiter’s slow eastward creep carries it 0.4° below Nu Librae (ν Lib, m=5.2). Use September 8: With binoculars, 30 minutes before sunrise, binoculars to resolve the pair. After its conjunction with look for the crescent moon, Regulus and Mercury in the Zubenelgenubi (α Lib, m = 2.8) last month, Jupiter is 3.6° east-northeast. from that star. Copyright © 2018 TCAA 6 All rights reserved.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

• September 13: The waxing crescent moon (4.3 d, 22%) is 4.1° to the upper right of Jupiter. • September 14: For observers who enjoy the deep sky objects of the winter evening sky, they are now well- placed in the predawn sky before twilight begins during the next two months. Betelgeuse is 40° up in the southeast around 4:30 a.m. CDT. In the evening sky, the waxing crescent moon (5.3 d, 31%) is 11° to the upper left of Jupiter. • September 15: Mars (m = −1.7) is at perihelion, 128 million miles from the sun. It is 25% smaller and three times dimmer than at its closest approach, 46 days ago.

Look for Mars 22° up in the south-southeast at the end of September 18: Use binoculars to locate minor planet Vesta, twilight. The Venus-Jupiter gap is 16°. This evening Venus as it moves through Sagittarius and below Saturn. sets about 70 minutes after sunset; it sets about 2 minutes • : The waxing gibbous moon (10.2 d, 78%) is earlier each evening through the end of the month. This September 19 4.5° to the upper right of Mars. evening the waxing crescent moon (6.3 d, 41%) is 6.2° • above Antares (α Sco, m = 1.0). September 20: The Venus-Jupiter gap is 14.7°. After this evening, Venus sets before Nautical Twilight. Mercury is at At mid-month, Brilliant Venus (m = −4.7) is in the sky for superior conjunction, 8:52 p.m. CDT. about an hour after sunset. While it is approaching its • September 21: Venus is at its greatest illuminated extent. greatest brightness, the planet is about 5° south of the Many of us know this time as “greatest brilliancy.” The ecliptic. Interestingly, it is 42° east of the sun, a large two events are about a half-day apart. The instance of elongation for Venus, but the low angle of the ecliptic greatest brilliance is nearly impossible to see, as we have coupled with the planet’s southern celestial latitude has it noted here; rather, I note the time period when the planet setting at about Nautical Twilight (sun’s altitude is −12°). It displays its greatest visual brightness. The hundredths of a continues to set at about the same time as Spica, but the pair is 10.7° apart. Through a telescope, Venus is 36” across magnitude that distinguish greatest brilliancy are and 30% illuminated, displaying an evening crescent. Jupiter imperceptible to our eyes. Venus has an elongation of 40° (m = −1.9) appears to be approaching Venus for a ‒ midway between greatest elongation and inferior conjunction. They are 16° apart. Continue to watch the gap conjunction. Through a telescope it has an evening close. Jupiter is 4° east of Zubenelgenubi as it creeps crescent phase with a 25% illumination and a 40” apparent eastward against the stars. Saturn (m = 0.4) is now slowly size. With these factors Venus presents to us an moving eastward above the Teapot of Sagittarius. illuminated phase that covers more area of the sky than Later in the month, minor planet Vesta (m = 6.4) passes any other time during its apparition and it is at its Saturn. Mars (m = −1.7) is well-placed in the early evening brightest. (For a more technical explanation of greatest sky, 22° up in the south-southeast, at the end of twilight. In illuminated extent, see https://tinyurl.com/venus- the morning sky, Mercury is only 5° west of the sun, but it is greatest-illuminated.) in the glare of morning twilight. Its superior conjunction is • : Today is Adler Planetarium’s Sky Day. less than a week away. September 22 Today or this evening take a photograph of only the sky. • September 16: The moon reaches its First Quarter phase, Post it on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #skydayproject 6:15 p.m. CDT. Venus (m = −4.8) begins its period of or #adlerplanet. Selected images will be posted in Adler’s greatest brightness, a two-week interval where it displays Welcome Gallery September 22-September 24. The its greatest visual brightness. (See the September 21 Autumnal Equinox occurs at 8:54 p.m. CDT. Today has 12 note.) hours, 10 minutes of daylight and nearly 15 hours of a • September 18: With binoculars begin looking for Vesta (4 naturally illuminated sky including twilight. Vesta, m = 6.4), moving eastward among the stars of • September 24: The moon reaches its Full phase at 9:52 Sagittarius. In a week it passes south of Saturn. Tonight, p.m. CDT. the minor planet is 1.3° to the lower right of 9 Sagittarii (9 • September 25: Saturn is 90° east of the sun, setting nearly Sag, m = 5.9), a star in the central area of the Lagoon 280 minutes after the sun. Vesta passes 2.7° south of the Nebula (M8, NGC 6523). Ringed Wonder. Copyright © 2018 TCAA 7 All rights reserved.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

• September 28: Venus (m = −4.8) and Jupiter (m = −1.8) are upper left of Theta 1 Tauri (θ1 Tauri, m = 3.9). During the at their closest approach (14°). Watch the pair early as night, the moon slowly moves toward Aldebaran and Venus sets about 50 minutes after sunset. There is no passes it. Even though the moon is bright look at the conjunction during this evening appearance of Venus. This Pleiades star cluster and the Hyades star cluster with Venus-Jupiter approach is not close enough to be called a binoculars. quasi-conjunction, as the pair is not within 5°. Venus has • September 30: The waning gibbous moon (20.6 d, 72%) is two conjunctions with Jupiter during the giant planet’s high in the southeastern, predawn sky. It is 2.2° east of next apparition. During the next few evenings and early Aldebaran. mornings watch the moon approach and pass Aldebaran. , the five naked-eye planets are east of This evening look low in the east at about 11 p.m. CDT. At month’s end the sun in the evening sky again, but all are not easily The waning gibbous moon (19.4 d, 82%) is nearly 15° to observed. The most difficult is Mercury (m = −0.9); it is only the upper right of the star. 8° from the sun, setting about 20 minutes after sunset. Venus (m = −4.8) concludes its two-week stage of greatest brightness. Through a telescope it is 46” across and 17% illuminated, an evening crescent. Look for it early as it sets about 40 minutes after sunset. It is sliding into the sun’s glare quickly. Jupiter (m = −1.8), 14° to the upper left of Venus, is 11° up in the southwest 45 minutes after sunset. It is nearly 7° east of Zubenelgenubi, creeping eastward against the starry background. At the same time, Saturn (m = 0.5), 24° up in the south, is 4.5° to the upper right of Kaus Borealis. It sets 4 hours after the sun. Mars (m = −1.3), is 23° up in the south-southeast at mid-twilight, 32° to the left of Saturn; it has dimmed over 1.5 magnitudes and diminished in size to less than 16” since its close approach two months ago, as it moves eastward among the stars of Capricornus. It sets at about 1:30 a.m. CDT. The length of the terrestrial day has diminished to 11 hours, 48 minutes, with dawn to dusk, 14 hours, 53 minutes.

About the Author: Jeffrey Hunt has had a life-long interest in astronomy and astronomy education. He has taught September 29: As the moon rises and midnight approaches, astronomy at all levels from preschool students to university the waxing gibbous moon appears inside the “V” of Taurus. courses. Jeff is a former director of the Waubonsie Valley High School Planetarium in Aurora, Illinois. Dr. Hunt holds • September 29: Before the beginning of twilight, the several degrees including a master’s degree in planetarium waning gibbous moon (19.6 d, 81%) is 12.5° to the upper education from Michigan State University. He writes an right of Aldebaran. Again, this evening look eastward after astronomy blog (jeffreylhunt.wordpress.com) showing easily- 11 p.m. CDT, the moon (20.4 d, 74%) is 1.3° above seen sky events. Currently he is retired with his wife and cat Aldebaran and inside the “V” of Taurus, less than 1° to the in Northern Illinois.

CUAS TO HOST SUMMIT – SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH ~ By David Leake, CUAS President ~

For several years, the Twin City Amateur Astronomers have invited nearby astronomy clubs to join with them to “compare notes” during their Central Illinois Mini Conference. This year, the Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society will pick up the baton and host an event on Saturday, September 29th. We will start just after lunch at the William Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College in northwest Champaign. Then we’ll head to our rural observatory complex southwest of Champaign for a picnic dinner and then observing at our site. We have a historic 15-foot, twin-shutter dome with a homemade 16-inch Classical Cassegrain inside and have just added a 24’x30’ roll- off-roof structure that we’re still finishing.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

The best part is . . . this is all free of charge to you! CUAS members will cover the evening meal. The only thing we ask is that every participant register so we know who is coming and who is presenting. You may register online at the following URL: http://bit.ly/CUAS-AAS2018. Deadline to register is September 25th! Also, feel free to submit a proposal for a 10-, 15-, 20- or 30-minute presentation. A PC computer and projector will be provided. If you have questions, you may email me, Dave Leake, at [email protected].

1:30 PM Set-up at the William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College 2:00-2:30 PM Flea market (bring your astronomical items for sale or trade) 2:30-4:30 PM Presentation by participants in the planetarium dome 5:00 PM Travel to the CUAS Prairie Winds Observatory (southwest of Champaign) 5:30-6:30 PM Picnic dinner provided by CUAS (sunset is at 6:37) 6:30-7:00 PM Tours of the domed observatory and the Prairie Winds Observatory, 7:00 PM - ? Observing, weather permitting

« This event is offered free of charge. « The meeting will still be held if it’s cloudy, but we may cancel the picnic in the event of rain. « Please bring a folding chair for each member of your party to the picnic. Tables will be provided. « The agenda will be adjusted depending on the number of proposed presentations. « If time permits, we will have roundtable discussions on club membership, fundraising, meeting programs, etc.

FIRST QUARTERLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING OCTOBER 16TH ~ by Carl J. Wenning ~

I came to the Twin Cities from Michigan State University new members though our education and public outreach 40 years ago last month. I attended my first TCAA meeting in events, but far fewer than is needed to maintain a club such September, taken there by departing ISU Planetarium as our own. Director Patrick McGee. We gathered at Mark Evans As the minutes from the July 24th Board meeting show, Observatory on the IWU campus. At that time, I found the leadership has agreed to initiate informal membership primarily a social club with just a bit of observing, most of meetings on a quarterly basis to serve the social needs of the which was focused on finding and viewing Messier objects club. Board members and Chairs all agreed that we enjoy and earning the Astronomical League’s Messier Award. Only Board meetings because of the social aspects and that’s recently had Bob Finnigan begun observing and what keeps us coming back. This social aspect of the club is photographing with his monster C14 telescope by then something many – if not most – of the membership lacks. existing standards. We will now hold membership meetings on a quarterly Over the subsequent years, we held meetings regularly basis beginning in October. These will focus on a meal and at Mark Evans Observatory as well as the ISU Planetarium. an activity. No business will be conducted at these meetings; By the late 1990s, the attendance at club meetings had all that’s the work of the Board and each TCAA member is but dried up despite the best efforts of our leaders to welcome to attend those open meetings. increase attendance. Meetings were finally eliminated due Membership meetings will be conducted as an to “a lack of interest,” the Board of Directors took over experiment during the next 12 months – including October business matters, and the TCAA became an observing club. 2018, and January, April, and July 2019. If these events are By the year 2000, we had an observatory in place at Sugar well attended by the club membership, they will continue. If Grove Observatory and that became the focus of activity. All they are not well attended, they will be discontinued. It’s as of this information is documented very well in the TCAA’s simple as that. The future of these events rests in the hands 50th Anniversary historical volume. of the current TCAA members – you and me. During the intervening years, I have often been asked – Our first event will be on Tuesday, October 16th. We will but especially by non-members, “When is the TCAA going to commence with a 7:00 PM planetarium program at ISU, and have its next membership meeting?” I point out, much to then go to Tobin’s Pizza where we will have the back room their disappointment that, “We are primarily an observing to ourselves beginning after 8:30 PM. Mark your calendar; club, not really a social club. As a result, we really don’t hold details will follow. Please plan now to attend and participate membership meetings.” That’s unfortunate because, as we in these events. The future of the club depends upon your all know, it is through social activities that clubs tend to attendance. If these socials are poorly attended, they will acquire new members. In recent years we have garnered once again disappear from our schedule.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

ALCON 2019 – FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

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. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

EA HANGES IN S C NCRAL ~ Carl Wenning, NCRAL Chair (2017-2019) ~

NCRAL is among the largest regions in NCRAL with some We have conducted several surveys to learn about 1,900 members. It is one of 10 ships of state – Regions – that membership wants and needs dealing with goals for the make up the Astronomical League. We have held an annual Region, and how best to improve the Region's offerings so convention each year since our founding in 1947 when we that it might channel potential affiliates into Astronomical came into being along with the Astronomical League. Being League memberships and, by default, NCRAL membership. widespread with seven member states – Illinois, Wisconsin, These results have, or will very soon, be published in the Minnesota, Iowa, North & South Dakota, and the Upper Region's newsletter. Based on both a Post-Convention Peninsula of Michigan – it's hard to maintain any semblance Survey and a Convention Preferences Survey we have of activity throughout much of the rest of the year. The developed our Region's own Convention Planning Guide Region is undergoing a sea change now that should allow it which considers member preferences. We are expecting to to become a greater benefit to its affiliates than ever before. see significant changes in how our Region's conventions In an effort to learn more fully about the wants and operate in the future as a result of these surveys. The needs of our Region, the present leadership reestablished its Regional Council recently approved two Mini-Grant newsletter, developed a self-service email sign-up list, programs. The first deals with affiliate membership developed and conducted several surveys, developed a recruitment and retention; the second deals with affiliate Regional convention guide, developed two grant programs, recruitment which is geared toward getting more and increased the use of a website and social media. The organizations to join the Astronomical League and by default leadership is now working on developing observing NCRAL. The first grants will be awarded at our NCRAL 2019 programs to supplement the work of the Astronomical meeting to be held in Moline, IL, May 3-5. League and to satisfy the interests of our members. We also A surprisingly large number of our affiliates' members are currently holding an NCRAL logo competition. have never completed an AL observing program. In the Our defunct Northern Lights newsletter was resurrected future, NCRAL will be working on several observing programs during the summer of 2016. Each issue contains notes from to help affiliate members transition to completing AL- the Regional Chair and newsletter editor, as well as a variety sponsored programs. Among such programs are Mini- of articles written by members of the Region's affiliates. The Messier Marathons that will consist of seasonal lists that can newsletter is published as a PDF, so an issue can be be completed on a given night without too much effort. This produced in color and widely distributed with no concern reflects the fact that nearly 1/3 of our membership is 66+ about printing and distribution costs. Recent issues are in years old and that more than half is 51-65 years old. Work is excess of 20 pages each. We previously used a network of also underway to develop an Astronomical Bucket List for affiliate presidents, ALCors, and newsletter editors to our Region's members which will focus on viewing celestial distribute the newsletter, but we have developed an online objects "one last time" before we bid them a fond farewell. membership sign up for an email list so that we can get To see the results of these efforts you may access the newsletters and announcements out to the Region on a NCRAL website which documents most of these activities. timely basis. We are also taking advantage of Facebook to Visit us at http://ncral.wordpress.com/. You may also email provide observing updates and reminders about once per the author with your questions at [email protected]. week.

ASTROBITS – NEWS FROM AROUND THE TCAA

ó Carl Wenning met with Scott & Emily Wade at SGO on August 1st to review training in the use of the observatory and the CPC 11” telescope. They viewed the heavens for about two hours. They passed their test and were awarded with an SGO access key. Recently, Bryce & Mark Heiniger were awarded a key. ó On August 2nd Dave Peters reported, “I took my telescope out last night to view. The conditions seemed exceptional. My most distant observed object, M102, was clearer than I remember seeing it in the past. It's interesting to wonder what my backyard would've looked like 45 million years ago, as the light hitting my telescope had left its source that long ago. I had a nice view of Jupiter and Mars. I had 120X power with my 10-inch and 10mm eyepiece. I must admit that I do not extract much detail from the surface of Mars. I also viewed M 27, M 81 and 82, and an unusually nice view of M 51. All in all, it was a good viewing night and much better than usual. That's the report from Flanagan.” TCAAers, please do feel free to send in your viewing reports like Dave does so we can know what you are doing. ó Rick Lasher and Carl Wenning met with SGNC Director Angela Funk on August 8th to talk about the upcoming Funk Family Reunion observatory open house, the transfer of the Hunt Collection of framed astronomical pictures to SGNC for their Copyright © 2018 TCAA 11 All rights reserved.

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benefit, and to discuss pay-per-view observing sessions at SGNC. She was agreeable to the concept and we will now enter negotiations about procedures and fee sharing. ó Also, on August 8th, Bob Finnigan, Rick Lasher and Carl Wenning spent the evening viewing under a beautiful sky. Bob busied himself with a new camera catching great images of M51 with the 17” at PSO while Carl trained Rick in the use of the CPC 11” under the dome of SGO. Rick received his SGO key that evening as well. He joins Bryce & Mark Heiniger and Scott and Emily Wade who also recently earned their SGO keys. If you would like to receive training with the CPC “go to” telescope at SGO, please contact Carl at [email protected] ó Duane Yockey, using his CPC 11” telescope, observed with two grandchildren at SGNC earlier in the month. ó The TCAA’s new 12’ diameter clamshell dome for the 24” telescope arrived onsite at the Waynesville Observatory on Tuesday, August 14th. The 950-lb package was removed from the truck with a fork lift and stored temporarily in the nearby tool shed for later assembly thanks to the good graces of Ernie, the site owner.

ó Bob Finnigan is happy to report that the PSO’s 17” PlaneWave telescope with its QHY168C color camera is now fully operational and ready for use in the training of those new to astrophotography. ó Ever since the AG Optical 16” telescope was moved from PSO to WO, we have experienced a collimation problem. That problem was fixed with Dave Tandy’s assistance. Dave Tandy come in from Atlanta, GA, to aid with the collimation of the AG Optical 16” telescope that became misaligned during its transfer to WO from PSO earlier this year. He was present at WO starting at 8:30 AM on Sunday, August 12th to assist Tim Stone with the recollimation effort. Fortunately, Dave’s family hales from Bloomington-Normal, and he made the visit and provided the service without cost to the TCAA. We are most fortunate for Dave’s generosity. Dave knows the TCAA well because he is also providing the TCAA with its new 24” AG Optical telescope. According to Tim Stone, “The problem turned out to be excessive play with the primary mirror. A lock ring had shifted, perhaps in shipping, and allowed the primary to shift laterally. We had noted this motion before, and addressed it with Dave, but he didn't understand the magnitude of the motion. When he saw it in person, he knew immediately that collimation would be impossible until that problem was corrected. We got down to that lock ring, reset it, and then set about collimation. I performed the collimation procedure under his supervision. I learned a lot in the process. He was a very patient teacher. After iterating six times or so, we arrived at what he feels is the best collimation that can be achieved without a star test. Once we fix the paramount and remount the 16", we will do a star test, and may have to do some slight tweaks, but I anticipate things will go much better now.” ó Astronomical League President John Goss asked NCRAL Chair Carl Wenning recently to write a one-page story about changes in NCRAL for the September 2018 issue of Reflector. Watch the upcoming issue for details. ó On August 18th Lisa Wentzel reported, “We're just heading home now [from the Florida Star Party]. I have never seen as much rain as we had over the past 8 days. It was incredible. We were still able to get our scopes out for two nights of fair seeing. The highlight was some nice views of the comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner in Cassiopeia.” Welcome home Wentzel family! ó NEAF 2019 will be held at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY, April 6-7. One or more TCAA members will fly from Peoria to Westchester (White Plains HPN) airport in order to avoid dealing with NYC. The 2019 theme will be Apollo 11 – the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing by Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Stay tuned for details by watching http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.html

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

ó Despite presence of the first quarter moon, Saturday, August 18th, was a busy evening at SGNC. Mark & Nataya Boulware used SGO to view globular clusters while Bob Finnigan spent time reintroducing Carl Wenning to astronomical imaging. They continued to work on M27. As everyone was leaving around 10:30 PM, Scott & Emily Wade showed up to use SGO for their observing activities. Scott later reported, “It was pretty hazy last night, but we successfully aligned the 11". The viewing was poor for deep sky objects, but we viewed a handful of star clusters, then spent the rest of the evening with Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon. Emily has a Canon EOS Rebel S1 and we spent some time practicing basic time-lapse photography of the sky with just the camera on a tripod.” It was a nice gathering that hopefully will be repeated more often now that cool air and clearer skies of autumn will soon be attending us. ó For those so inclined, Psalm 19 Astronomy is an educational sidewalk astronomy ministry to share with passersby the beauty and majesty of God’s universe. Members seek to demonstrate that science and faith are not in conflict when both are properly understood. They make available files for printing non-sectarian literature for distribution. If interested, check them out at www.psalm19astronomy.org. ó As Secretary, Carl Wenning recently reviewed the membership roster of the TCAA and found that we have some 40 households that are members of the TCAA. He also found that a considerable number of active members (including officers and chairs) who have dues in arrears. If you are uncertain about your date of renewal, contact Carl at [email protected]. ó On August 22nd, Rick Lasher and Bob Finnigan installed a new six-inch guider telescope on the side of the PSO 17” telescope. They returned later that evening to focus the guider and align it with the main instrument. They followed up by imaging M57, the results of which are shown in the TCAA Photo Gallery found in this issue of the newsletter. ó From: [email protected] – NSN clubs are invited to join a special, free online workshop about telescopes from September 24-November 9, courtesy of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific! Clubs that are accepted into these upcoming sessions will be given an activity kit for workshop use, and Galileoscopes for use in their educational programs upon completion of the program. This workshop is FREE for Night Sky Network member clubs. Space in this workshop is limited, so submit your application soon. Only one application per Night Sky Network astronomy club is allowed. The application deadline for this workshop is September 9, and we will notify participants if they are accepted by Friday, September 14. Apply for this workshop: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R7MV7LN Carl has applied on behalf of TCAA. ó The 17th Annual Illinois Dark Skies Star Party will be held at the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area, 25 miles Northwest of Springfield, Illinois, October 4-6. Register now to take advantage of all the potential benefits. To guarantee t-shirts and food orders, get your registration in by Sept. 20, 2018. There will be two main speakers: On Friday – Renae Kerrigan, Vice President of Programs & Planetarium Director at the Peoria Riverfront Museum; “Exploring Telescopes at the Top of the World” – In 2015, Renae Kerrigan became one of nine astronomy educators in the United States to visit some of the best telescopes in the world, through the National Science Foundation funded Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassador Program. Kerrigan will share stories, images, and science from her trip to the telescopes high on the Andes Mountains in remote parts of Chile. On Saturday – Dr. John Martin, Associate Professor of Astronomy- Physics at the University of Illinois-Springfield; “The New Era of Multi-messenger Astronomy” – Astronomy is an observational science based on remote sensing. The universe provides a limited number of ways to do this over astronomical distances. The four “messengers” available to sense the universe far beyond the Earth (in order of their discovery and use) are: electromagnetic radiation (light), cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gravitational waves. Humans now possess the capability to use all four messengers simultaneously to observe astronomical events including black hole mergers, neutron star mergers and supernova. In addition to nightly observing under dark skies and lots of daytime camaraderie, other activities include a Thursday through Saturday Swap meet and a Saturday - Astronomy Bowl (Quiz and Trivia with prizes). T-shirt/sweatshirts: IDSSP black shirts in short or long sleeve, and crew-neck sweat shirt featuring the Orion Nebula. Meal menu: http://sas-sky.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018IDSSPMenu.pdf Maps: http://sas- sky.org/maps/ Observing/Make yourself at home: There are several large group camping areas for your use, which means lots of room to stretch out. Adjacent to the event site are extensive camping facilities for tent and trailer campers, self-contained RV pads and nine lakeside cabins. However, the RV sites and Cabins (electricity available) must be reserved through the ReserveAmerica website at https://www.reserveamerica.com/ ReserveAmerica handles camping reservations for the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources. Registration: You may register by downloading the registration form from the website at http://sas-sky.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/IDSSP2018RegistrationForm.pdf Registration fees are due by the September 20, 2018 deadline to ensure availability of meals and t-shirt/sweatshirt orders. There is a $20 late fee for registrations after Sept. 20, 2018.

(AstroBits continues on page 22.)

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

TCAA PHOTO GALLERY

M27 BY BOB FINNIGAN ~ Bob has been working hard to get the M27 BY BOB FINNIGAN ~ This second image, also by Bob Finnigan shows QHY168C camera on the PlaneWave 17” operating. This image, a the results of an additional night of data. This second image is a composite of nine 10-minute images (no darks, no flats), was composite of all the imaging data collected on the nights of August taken during the August 11th PVS. 11th and 17th.

M27 BY BOB FINNIGAN ~ This third image shows the results of three M57 BY BOB FINNIGAN & RICK LASHER ~ Bob & Rick Lasher took this shot nights of imaging, August 11th 17th, and 18th. Only the two best of M57 after installing a new 6” guider scope on the 17” telescope. images of August 11th were used. This clearly shows that more This image is the result of a single 300-second exposure. The new data often make for better images – up to a point of diminishing combination is clearly working quite well. returns.

SATURN & THE MOON BY JAMEY JENKINS ~ Jamey noted, “Couple of pictures from last night (August 22nd) after getting home from work. Moon was pretty low in altitude, so the atmosphere played havoc with the view. A two-frame mosaic through the 6-inch Bresser telescope at f/8. Saturn can look interesting regardless of the sky conditions. Here's a tiny Saturn through the Bresser at f/16 when she was on the meridian.” (Editor: The lunar image to the right has been cropped for space considerations.)

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

EIL EBULA NGC 6992-6995 – V N ~ by Tim Stone ~

Perhaps the best-known supernova remnant in our sky, It was an image of this arc that first captured my the Cygnus Loop is an outstanding target for imagination and inspired me to a lifetime of passion for astrophotographers. Filled with vibrant color and delicious astronomy and the beauty of the universe. I found it in a textures, it's a feast for our cameras and for our eyes as the book from Life called "The Universe," and spent untold hours images form on our computer screens. The brighter portions staring at it in complete awe and wonder. I now know the are visible to the naked eye in moderately sized telescopes, image was taken by the legendary father of but only in photographs is the complex color and very faint astrophotography, William C. Miller, with the 48" Schmidt nebulosity visible. This image shows the northern two-thirds camera at Palomar in the 1950's. He used the revolutionary of this vast supernova remnant. new Kodak-developed color transparency film we came to Near the left edge of the image, we see the Eastern Arc, know as Kodachrome, and he was meticulous in his color commonly called “The Veil Nebula.” It glows brightly in the calibration. I have a print of that image, and like all his characteristic colors of Hydrogen and Oxygen, but unlike the photography, it serves as a color reference to other nebulae of Cygnus, these gasses aren't glowing by astrophotographers to this day. My two-panel mosaic, the radiation from an energizing star or cluster. They are the very first mosaic I ever attempted, was framed and exposed result of a supernova, a star that exploded thousands of to resemble that image, as my tribute to Miller and his years ago, sending its outer atmosphere blasting into space pioneering color imaging work, to which I owe a lifetime of as a titanic shock wave. As these gasses collide with the intense enjoyment. relatively static interstellar medium, the very energy of the The Veil Nebula forms the eastern boundary of the collision excites them to glow. Where that medium is denser, Cygnus Loop, a very large and nearby supernova remnant. the gasses glow more brightly. This arc is moving toward the The Veil is certainly my favorite portion of the nebula, but left of the image at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour. mostly for personal reasons. There is tremendous beauty in the entire remnant and here we see more, but still not all, of Copyright © 2018 TCAA 15 All rights reserved.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

that beauty. At the right we find the Witches Broom Nebula. could change our perspective? So many things would I certainly don't see a broom, but apparently enough people become much plainer to us, but we can only surmise the did that the name stuck. It forms the western boundary of true structure of this magnificent nebula. the remnant and would be the easiest to see visually were it The interior holds the so-called Pickering's Triangle. not for the 4th magnitude star 52 Cygni situated nearby. In Aside from being an interesting, set of sinuous tendrils that the eyepiece it overpowers the faint nebulosity, making it seem to stretch all the way from one side of the remnant to more difficult to see. the other, this nebula has historical significance. It was The Cygnus Loop is an extremely complex object. Its discovered by Williamina Flemming in her work as a filamentary structure has been the subject of research for "computer" for the Harvard College Observatory. Flemming decades and is still not completely understood. There is not was of Scottish descent and was a maid in the service of the even universal agreement on exactly why the gasses in this observatory's director, E. C. Pickering. He took note of her nebula glow. Does it glow by collision with the ISM, or does intelligence, and began training her to do astronomical tasks, it glow because the shock wave has compressed and heated and she excelled at them. He hired her to the observatory the ISM? One thing is for sure, though; there is more to this staff, and she began examining photographs, where she nebula than meets the eye. These two panels illustrate this eventually noted the faint wisps in the interior of the Cygnus nicely. These frames combine 900 second RGB exposures Loop. She'd discovered a new nebula, but because of the with 1200 second Hα and OIII exposures. The narrowband societal sexism of the day, her discovery became known as data shows very faint wisps of red-glowing hydrogen, with "Pickering's Triangle" instead of "Flemming's Triangle." almost electric-looking blue-green OIII emission added. This Flemming made enormous contributions to astronomy, and faint nebulosity is very difficult to show in RGB frames alone; even in her day received recognition for many of her there is essentially no hint of this nebulosity in the RGB groundbreaking accomplishments. To this day, however, this exposures. With the additional data, we can see that the arc nebula reminds us of the days when male counterparts were itself is not the leading edge of the shock wave. There is a often given credit for the discoveries of women in ribbon-like wave in front of it, which becomes more complex astronomy. as we move from lower left to upper right. The ribbon Year after year, I am drawn back to this object at this breaks into multiple fronts, which even seem to wind around time of year. It still holds mysteries to me, and I always think each other in places. In front of those ribbons, there is even I can do better than I did with last year’s image. This is a fainter hydrogen emission. Perhaps these are "bow waves" wonderful object that provides endless challenges and in front of the main shock wave, pre-shock compressions like enjoyment. There are two more panels needed (to the right) what can be seen in front of a ship's bow as it slices through to finish this image. I hope I can get them yet this year. If the water. Is that what is going on there? It's hard to say. We not, then I’ll already have my imaging goal for this time next look at this image as if it is two-dimensional, but it's really year! three dimensional. What would this object look like if we

A LETTER FROM RIO! ~ by Sunil K. Chebolu ~

Dear TCAAers, few occasions. Here are some of my observations which may be of interest to you. Greetings from the Southern Hemisphere! I am here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to attend the ICM 1. The moon viewed from the southern hemisphere (International Congress of Mathematicians). Besides doing appears upside down in the sky! I have read this fact in mathematics and attending talks, I also had some time for books and it makes perfect sense on a round Earth, but I Astronomy (reading and observing) while I am here. First of was thrilled to see this in the sky for the first time! Such all, on the long flight to Rio, I read Starry Night Companion a phenomenon is not possible on a flat Earth. Therefore, by John Mosley – a very delightful book which I recommend this observation is a proof that the Earth is round! to everyone. 2. I saw Jupiter and Mars very clearly. Jupiter, around 7:00 As you probably know, the night skies in the southern PM (local time) in Rio appeared right at the zenith. I am hemisphere have a lot of interesting and beautiful visual used to seeing Jupiter relatively much lower in the sky treats for astronomers. So, I was rather excited about this when viewed at the same time from Bloomington- trip but unfortunately the weather here has not been great, Normal. Again, this discrepancy is due to the curvature and it has partly ruined my plans of observing. However, I of the earth and the difference in these declination did manage to see a few things in patches of clear skies on a angles can be used to determine distances – an ancient technique used by navigators at sea. Copyright © 2018 TCAA 16 All rights reserved.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

3. I was lucky to be able to see the Southern Cross – a very hemisphere from which the Sun can appear directly prominent constellation from the southern hemisphere. overhead. During the course of the day, shadows move The importance of the southern cross comes from the in the clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere fact that it is used as a reference guide to locate Earth’s and counterclockwise direction in the southern celestial south pole. Note that, unlike the northern hemisphere. I suppose this is the simplest experiment to hemisphere where we have Polaris which is reasonably determine which hemisphere you are in. close (less than 1 degree) to the celestial north pole, 6. Finally, I observed what is known as the Coriolis effect. there is no such bright star close to Earth’s celestial Water going down a drain in water bodies swirls in the south pole. The southern cross is very famous even opposite direction in the southern hemisphere. (It spins though it is the smallest constellation. It appears on the counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and national flag of 5 countries in the southern hemisphere: clockwise in the southern hemisphere.) However, I am New Zealand, Brazil, Somoa, and Papua New Guinea. not 100% sure if what I have observed is accidental or 4. Alpha Centurai is the closest star system to our Sun really the Coriolis effect. (about 4.24 light years away). It is very close to the In the southern hemisphere, on a clear night sky on can Southern cross. (I tried hard to locate it, but the viewing get a beautiful view of the milky way very bright and high up conditions were not great for this.) This is visible only in the sky. I was not lucky enough to see this but maybe that from the southern Hemisphere. Note that the fact that will happen in my next trip to some place below the equator. some stars and constellations appear only in the southern hemisphere and not from the northern Thank you for reading! hemisphere is yet another proof that the earth is round! Best wishes, 5. The city of Rio sits almost on the top of Tropic of Sunil Capricorn (231/2 degrees south of the equator). So, I am currently at a southern most point in the southern

EDUCATION/PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR AUGUST 2018

Sharon MacDonald and Carl Wenning hosted SGO and PSO open houses for the Funk Family Reunion on Saturday, August 11th, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Only about 9-10 visitors stopped by to see our telescopes. We might want to make this an every- other-year event in the future because so many in attendance either have seen our facilities or have little interest. Also on August 11th, the TCAA hosted its August “family friendly” Public Viewing Session at SGNC. We were nearly blown away by the attendance. Carl Wenning started the event at 8:30 p.m. with a 35-minute talk about the Perseid Meteor shower – the theme of the evening. Without the recently acquired public address system, Carl’s voice would not have reached the limits of the crowd which extended in all directions outside the picnic shelter but for the west. Afterward, Carl also gave a brief sky lecture and answered questions from the multitude who has set out their observing blankets and chairs in the area to the north of the picnic shelter while others showed celestial objects with their telescopes set up in the parking lot or using observatory telescopes. Scott & Emily Wade (only very recently certified in the use of the SGO) staffed SGO’s CPC 11” telescope showing Mars to a constant stream of visitors; Tim Willmitch operated the Meade 12” while Bob Finnigan captured colored shots of M27 using the 17”, both of which are part of PSO. Brian Barling, Lee Green, Tim Stone, and Dave Peters set up their personal telescopes in the SGNC parking lot. According to a count by Brian, there were some 220 individuals present for Carl’s talk, and many more – perhaps 50 – in the outer reaches of the nature center. Other counts suggested anywhere from 220 attendees upwards. The sky was a bit hazy due to the smoke from west coast forest fires, but attendees saw numerous meteors over the course of the evening. Also in attendance were Rick Lasher & Carolyn Lasher (plus Carolyn’s two children), Cheryl Finnigan, Carolyn Wenning, and Jay Ansher along with his son Alex. Few if any other TCAA members were in attendance due to vacations, travel, and other commitments. Rarely in the history of the TCAA have so many owed so much to so few.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

REMAINING PUBLIC VIEWING SESSIONS FOR 2018

Sep 08 Mars – The Red Planet (Jay Ansher) 8:00-10:00 PM Every 25 months the Red Planet graces our evening sky. This year Mars will make its closest approach in many years and will appear it largest in decades.

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.

RECENT SPECTRAL WORK BY JAMEY JENKINS

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

TCAA CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2018-2019

Date Event Coordinator(s) Location Times Sep 01 Member Viewing Session N/A WO Dusk Sep 08 PVS: Mars – The Red Planet Jay Ansher SGNC 8:00-10:00 PM Sep 29 Central Illinois Mini Conference CUAS Champaign, IL 1:30 PM start Oct 03-07 Aurora Borealis Viewing Lisa Wentzel 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 Coordinator needed TBD 7:00-10:00 PM ------2019 ------Jan ?? TCAA Membership Meeting Carl Wenning TBD TBD

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

Apr ?? TCAA Membership Meeting Carl Wenning TBD TBD

May 3-5 NCRAL 2019 Popular Astronomy Club Moline, IL Friday PM -Sunday AM Jul ?? TCAA Membership Meeting Carl Wenning TBD TBD Jul 25-29 ALCon 2019 (tour & cruise) Astronomical League Kennedy Space Center All day

ASTRONOMICAL LEAGUE FACEBOOK POSTS

Astronomical League President John Goss has given permission for NCRAL to share AL Facebook posts. Below is the first of two. As Chair of NCRAL, Carl Wenning will be sharing these on the NCRAL and TCAA Facebook pages. Stay tuned to these if you don’t want to miss this sort of information. Facebook accounts are freely available, and you can sign up under an alias if you don’t want to be bothered with communication via this pathway.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

PROFILES IN AMATEUR ASTRONOMY: EMILY WADE

Editor’s Note: From time to time I like to shine the limelight on one of our members. This month, I want to spotlight Emily Wade, daughter of Scott & Stacey Wade of Bloomington, IL. Emily is 17 years old and is enrolled as a Senior at Normal Community High School. What follows are Emily’s own words in response to a series of the editor’s questions.

I have always had a deep fascination with space and the universe. The fact that there is so much knowledge out there waiting to be discovered amazes me. I truly gained a greater appreciation of astronomy and the nature of the universe when my physics teacher discussed the basics of general relativity and how it affects human life. I currently don’t actually own any telescopes, so I greatly appreciate that TCAA allows its members to have access to such fantastic equipment. TCAA is the first astronomy club I have ever been a part of, and I joined about a year ago. Taking my appreciation for astronomy to the next level was a very stressful process, and I felt really grateful that TCAA was so welcoming and willing to help me out. My dad and I joined TCAA together, and I am thankful that we are both able to explore our interest in astronomy and do so together. I think that the entire club shows how diverse and interesting the world of astronomy is. Despite Emily Wade with SGO's CPC 11" telescope. our different backgrounds and age groups, a fascination with the universe breaks down these barriers and encourages the equipment that can enhance our viewing experience. individuals to connect and discover. Before joining TCAA, I never had access to the amount of Astronomy allows the complex concept of life beyond equipment and educational resources that this club has to our world to be visualized. One of the first steps in offer, so I am trying to learn the most I can from the convincing people that astronomy is important is helping outstanding people who are willing to guide me. I plan to them conceptualize the fact that we are a tiny blip of study astronomy and/or astrophysics when I begin college in existence in the universe. I feel that many people tend to a year, and I want to have a greater understanding of the stray away from space exploration due to their fear of the studying aspects that happen outside of a classroom setting. unknown. The unknown shouldn’t scare us, it should I hope that humanity continues to further space empower us to discover all that is out there. exploration for the purpose of education and the betterment I feel that every time I go to look out at the night sky, I of society. However, the economic benefits that some get the same feeling of joy and contentment that I did the people are looking to gain from space exploration cause me first time I ever took an interest in space. The vastness of our to worry about the possible misuse and lack of appreciation universe will forever astound me and encourage me to for the greatness or our universe. discover more. My current goal as an amateur astronomer is to further my knowledge of the physical features of the night sky and

ASTROBITS (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13.)

ó Our WO contractor Dave Lowery, has indicated that the 12’ dome for the new 24” telescope be assembled starting September 1. We were also informed by Dave Tandy, AG Optical, that the 24” primary and secondary mirrors have been coated and that shipping crates are now being assembled. The 24” will probably arrive shortly after the dome has been assembled. That’s the update from August 24th. (AstroBits is continued on Page 17.) ó August 25th was another busy night at SGO despite the presence of the full moon. Bob Finnigan noted, “Rick and I installed the 4-inch guider [on Saturday afternoon] that was on the 17-inch telescope. It had too much jitter; so, Rick took it off and took it home to drill 2 holes to stabilize it. Later that evening, Scott and Emily (Wade) came out at 8:00 PM and stayed till 10:00 PM. We went thru the basics and Emily took two 10-minute pictures of NGC 7331; no tracking error so it seems Rich has solved the tracking problem on the 17-inch telescope.”

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

N THE OAD ORE ILKY AY HAN VE VER EEN O R : M M W T I' E S ~ Tony Cellini ~

(August 28th) Some may be aware that I'm travelling in New Mexico this week, on my way to a wedding in Colorado. After a morning of caving in Carlsbad, I thought I'd try and see some of the best dark skies in the country. To do that, I would have had to go all the way to Cloudcroft, which is where New Mexico Skies is located. Consulting the Dark Sky Finder, I settled on an area southwest of Roswell about halfway to Cloudcroft. The DSF showed this as a black zone, which is as good as it gets. What really got me about this area is the isolation. I was on a well-maintained, two-lane striped county highway and in the two hours I was sitting there, I saw one car. Once you get outside the city centers in New Mexico, people get really sparse. Roads, too. Where in Illinois, we have county blacktops branching off every which way from the main roads, not so here. Between main roads, you might see a gravel road here or there, mostly going to private ranch land. Other than that, once you're on a road, you're stuck on it until in crosses another. Unfortunately, there were some lingering clouds that made the skies less than ideal, along with haze from wildfires west of here. Despite this, I still was able to see more Milky Way than I've ever seen. The Scutum star cloud was apparent probably 40 minutes prior to astronomical twilight. What I thought was a cloud, turned out to be the dimmer portion of the Milky Way that runs through Scorpius west of the Great Rift. I've never seen this from Illinois. Also apparent were M8, M20, M6 & 7, M22, M13, the North American Nebula and M31 visible less than 20° above the horizon. The only camera I brought with me, other than my phone, was my GoPro Hero6. While it does have a "night mode", it's not ideal. But, it does have a really wide FOV. I've attached one of the better results showing both Sagittarius and Scorpius, the central Milky Way and some of the deep sky objects in that area. I've been having a great time out here and would recommend the area for exploration. Tomorrow, I'm headed out to the VLA in Socorro.

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: September 1978 – Carl Wenning attended his first meeting of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers. At this meeting – held at IWU’s Mark Evans Observatory – he met John & Bertha Kieviet, Bob Finnigan, Aubrey & Miriam Johnson, William Carney, Mike Miller, Gary Skinner, and other luminaries who brightened the history of TCAA’s past.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

25 Years Ago: September 1993 – Members were actively engaged in education and public outreach. On Saturday, September 18th, the TCAA hosted a community Astronomy Rendezvous at Ash Park in Normal. Events started with a picnic. One Thursday, September 30th, the club began its Bloomington Adult Education astronomy course at Heartland Community College.

10 Years Ago: September 2008 – TCAAers under the leadership of Lee Green hosted another of a series of talks at Bloomington Public Library. The series is titled, “Conversations with Amateur Astronomers.” The TCAA is also teaching an adult education course at Sugar Grove Nature Center.

TCAA TREASURER’S REPORT AS OF AUGUST 30, 2018

Checking Account Information

Memo Category Amount BALANCE 07/30/2018 857.86

Troy Berg Dues Received 39.80 Chris Franklin Dues Received 40.00 Anonymous Donation 30,000.00 Financial Audit and State and Federal Forms Filed Audit (100.00) Clamshell Dome Waynesville Observatory (30,000.00) Check #1026 Lost in the Mail - HOLD PLACED Waynesville Observatory 30,000.00 Certified Check sent by FedEx Waynesville Observatory (30,000.00) Sharon and Peter Kates Dues Received 40.00 Electrical Service Waynesville Observatory (55.44) Mark Cabaj Dues Received 75.00 VOID Check #1024 - Not received by vendor - 8/30/18 Waynesville Observatory 3,000.00 Check #1028 - Replacing #1024 Waynesville Observatory (3,000.00) BALANCE 08/30/2018 897.22

Checking Account Balance – August 30, 2018 $897.22 Savings Account Balance – August 30, 2018 $3,017.39 - Includes $0.04 cents interest

Total TCAA Funds – August 30, 2018 $3,914.61

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

Respectfully submitted, Dave Osenga, Treasurer

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.

Vol. 43, No. 9 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers September 2018

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.