May 2020 OBSERVER(Small)

Home , 42 Aquarii, Iota Aquarii, Tau Leonis

THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

Volume 45, Number 5 May 2020

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

1«Editor’s Choice: Image of the Month – Venus & M45 2«President’s Note 2«Note from the NCRAL Regional Chair 3«Calendar of Celestial Events – May 2020 3«New & Renewing Members/Dues Blues/E-Mail List 4«This Month’s Phases of the Moon 4«This Month’s Solar Phenomena 4«Newsflash! TCAA Receives Two NCRAL Awards 4«TCAA Calendar of Events for 2020 5«All TCAA Public Viewing Sessions for 2020 Cancelled 5«AstroBits – News from Around the TCAA 7«Venus-Pleiades Conjunctions 8«May 2020 with Jeffrey L. Hunt 17«Renewing Your TCAA Membership 18«TCAA Image Gallery 19«Full Visual Solar Spectrum 20«Newsletter Editor/Historian Needed Starting 2021 22«Lunar Delights! 25«Online Public Talk Topics for 2020

26«TCAA Treasurer’s Report as of April 27, 2020 EDITOR’S CHOICE: IMAGE OF THE MONTH – VENUS & M45

May’s image of the month was taken by Marc Tiritilli on the The TCAA is an affiliate of the evening of April 4th, one day after the closest approach of Venus to Astronomical League as well as its M45 – the Pleiades star cluster. While Venus-Pleiades conjunctions North Central Region. For more occur in the evening sky every eight years (see the associated story information about the TCAA, be on page 7), they are pretty sights and so draw lots of attention. certain to visit the TCAA website at A follower of the TCAA’s Facebook page, Marc took the tcaa.us/ opportunity of a clear sky the day after the closest approach of this duo to capture the image shown here. He used a tripod-mounted Visit Astroleague.org for additional Nikon D80 camera with a 70-300mm zoom lens set at 300mm, information about the League and its f/5.6, to take this 2-second shot at ISO 1000. There was no post- numerous membership benefits, processing other than cropping. including observing programs. Because the apparent angular diameter of Venus (about 0.5 arc minutes) was very tiny in relation to the apparent angular size of the Pleiades (about 1.6° or 96 arc minutes), Venus appears as a Also, visit the NCRAL website at featureless point of light on this image scale. During the evening of ncral.wordpress.com for information the photograph, Venus was a waning crescent 45% illuminated. about our North Central Region. Find The spikes on Venus are an artifact of the lens used. out about our next Regional This is Marc’s first image of the month. We look forward to convention during May 2020. more contributions from Marc in the not-too-distant future.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

PRESIDENT’S NOTE The OBSERVER It seems almost cliché to say, “We live in is the monthly electronic newsletter of Twin unprecedented times.” The nation and the City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit educational world have been under siege from the organization of amateur astronomers inter- coronavirus for over a month now, with no ested in studying astronomy and sharing real end in sight. In these weeks I’ve taken their hobby with the public. considerable comfort in my passion for

astronomy. TCAA OFFICERS & CHAIRPERSONS Though clear nights have been few, there

President, Director, & Property Manager have been a couple spectroscopy quality Tim Stone 309-531-2401 nights where I’ve taken the opportunity to [email protected] work on improving my acquisition techniques.

Vice President & Director/Membership Coord. I acquired an excellent solar spectrum, and I President Tim Stone Tom Willmitch 309-846-2423 have finally had the time to create software [email protected] for processing spectrum data that I’ve always thought, “Gee, wouldn’t it be great if

Treasurer & Director/Registered Agent I had software that could do this mind-numbingly tedious processing for me?” Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 Sheltering in place definitely has its detractions. For me at least, the sheltering isn’t [email protected] so bad when the place is The Universe. 4th Director/Assistant Property Manager We were saddened to have to come to the decision to cancel our Public Scott Wade 309-310-2464 Viewing Sessions for the year. We have opted to produce them as videos and share [email protected] them on our Facebook page, in the hopes of achieving our public outreach goals in 5th Director that way. We have nearly a thousand followers of our page, so we’ll gauge the Sunil Chebolu 678-896-5967 response and see if this is something we’d like to continue. We do hope we can [email protected] reinstate some of the sessions if things loosen up enough by summer’s end. If we Secretary/Historian/Editor do, we’ll communicate that to the club through our groups.io email list, in The Carl J. Wenning 309-830-4085 OBSERVER, and on our Facebook page. [email protected] To date, I’ve not heard of any of our members contracting COVID-19. I’m very Astronomical League Correspondent grateful for this, and it doesn’t surprise me. Astronomers have always been social Robert Finnigan 309-846-9533 [email protected] distancing champions! Let’s continue our champion ways, stay safe and well, and share your observations with us! Technology Coordinator Still yearning for clear skies, Justin Meyer 630-649-0611 [email protected] Tim Stone, President

Webmaster Lee Green 309-454-7349 OTE ROM THE EGIONAL HAIR [email protected] N F NCRAL R C

Lighting Educ. & AL Observing Club Coordinator The Twin City Amateur Astronomers have been honored again this year by Lisa Wentzel unlisted number NCRAL, but this time in two different ways. You can read about two 2020 NCRAL [email protected] awards announcements on page 4 of this newsletter. The TCAA has been a good

The OBSERVER supporter of NCRAL. Carl J. Wenning, Editor Several TCAA members have attended Regional conventions in the past, and the club has hosted Regional conventions in 2010 and 2016. The Region’s affiliates Submission deadline two days before are looking forward to the convention you will host in 2023. the end of each month. Several TCAA members have also recently become involved in the Region’s MEMBERSHIP DUES Messier Mini Marathons whereas only one other club (PAC) and one member-at- large have done so. The TCAA has made available your TCAA Guides to the NCRAL Individual Adult/Family $40 Full-time Student/Senior $25 membership and have given a wonderful example of how to implement a Regional (Senior status equals ages 60+) Membership Recruitment & Retention Mini Grant. The TCAA has, by in large, also produced the Region’s newsletter, Northern Lights. To join, send your name, contact info, and The TCAA is a shining example of all that is good in NCRAL. dues payment to Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., Normal, IL Carl J. Wenning 61761-1471. NCRAL Chair (2017-2021)

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

CALENDAR OF CELESTIAL EVENTS – MAY 2020 NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS

MORNING PLANETS (5/15): Mars (♂), Jupiter (♃), Saturn (♄), The following individuals have paid dues for new or renewed memberships as of April 27, 2020. (Others who Uranus (⛢) and Neptune (♆) paid after that date will appear in the June 2020 issue of EVENING PLANETS (5/15): Mercury (☿) and Venus (♀) The OBSERVER.)

The following table gives the date and time (24-hour clock) of Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! important astronomical events for this month. All events are given in Central Standard Time. New: None

Renewing: Scott Wade, Sandullah Epsicokhan

Day Time Event Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

01 20:49 Regulus 4.2°S of Moon 04 13 Eta-Aquarid Meteor Shower DUES BLUES

04 15 Mercury at Superior Conjunction If you have received a “your dues are due” 05 21:03 Moon at Perigee: 359656 km statement along with the email that brought you this issue of The OBSERVER, please remit your dues to Mr. 07 04:45 FULL MOON Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., 08 15:40 Antares 6.5°S of Moon Normal, IL 61761-1471. Dues are currently $25 for 09 22 Mercury at Perihelion seniors (60 years of age and over) and $40 regular.

10 03:01 Moon at Descending Node SUBSCRIBING TO THE TCAA EMAIL LIST 12 03:40 Jupiter 2.3°N of Moon 12 12:18 Saturn 2.7°N of Moon Welcome to the [email protected] group at Groups.io. This is a free, easy-to-use group email service set up for 14 08:03 LAST QUARTER MOON the TCAA’s communication purposes. You can subscribe, 14 20:00 Mars 2.8°N of Moon visit your group, start reading and posting messages 18 01:45 Moon at Apogee: 405584 km here: https://groups.io/g/tcaa 22 04 Mercury 0.9°S of Venus The email address for this group is [email protected]. After you successfully subscribe, please add this email 22 11:39 NEW MOON address to your safe sender list in your email client's 23 20:40 Venus 3.7°N of Moon contacts, so emails from this list do not end up getting 24 04:53 Mercury 2.8°N of Moon classified as junk mail. Once subscribed, you can set your subscription 24 15:34 Moon at Ascending Node settings here: https://groups.io/g/tcaa/editsub. You can 26 13:43 Pollux 4.6°N of Moon opt to receive all messages in individual emails, 27 12:44 Beehive 1.7°S of Moon collections of messages in a digest, a daily summary, or only special notices. If you do not wish to belong to this 29 02:44 Regulus 4.3°S of Moon group, you may unsubscribe by sending an email 29 21:30 FIRST QUARTER MOON to [email protected] If you have general questions about the group, check http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/astrocal/astrocal2020cst.html email [email protected]. For questions not answered

there, contact the moderators of this group (Deva C., Tim EVENING SKY MAP S., and Carl W.) by emailing [email protected]. Click on the icon found here to access a current evening sky map along with a more detailed celestial events calendar.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

THIS MONTH’S PHASES OF THE MOON

Full Moon Last Quarter New Moon First Quarter Thursday, May 7 Thursday, May 14 Friday, May 22 Friday, May 29

All moon phase dates are Central Standard Time. Moon phases for the 2020 calendar year 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 (Az), length of the day including the change from the previous day, start and end times of astronomical twilight, and the time of solar noon along with the elevation (El) of the midday sun. These data come from https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/usa/bloomington

2020 Sunrise/Sunset Day Length Astronomical Twilight Solar Noon Solar Dist.

May Sunrise (Az) Sunset (Az) Length Diff. Start End Time (El) MIL. MILES 1 5:54 AM (69°) 7:52 PM (291°) 13:57:50 +2:17 4:09 AM 9:37 PM 12:52 AM (64.9°) 93.679 11 5:42 AM (65°) 8:02 PM (295°) 14:19:23 +2:01 3:52 AM 9:52 PM 12:52 PM (67.7°) 93.901 21 5:34 AM (62°) 8:11 PM (298°) 14:37:46 +1:39 4:23 AM 9:23 PM 12:52 PM (69.9°) 94.101

NEWSFLASH! TCAA RECEIVES TWO NCRAL AWARDS

Just as this newsletter was about to be distributed, NCRAL Chair Carl Wenning announced the Region’s 2020 Awards. The TCAA is proud to announce that it has benefited in two different ways. First, the TCAA’s own Lee Green was announced winner of the NCRAL’s 2020 Region Award. Second, the TCAA has been named recipient of the NCRAL’s inaugural Affiliate Recruitment Mini Grant totaling $250. The TCAA Board of Directors nominated Lee Green for the Region Award in light of the fact that he is an absolute master of outreach and more. Described in his nomination was the fact that Lee goes above and beyond the call of duty in an attempt to satisfy the club’s main goal of providing education and public service. Congratulations to Lee for receiving this prestigious award! It is very well deserved. Unfortunately, with the NCRAL Vision 2020 convention being NCRAL 2020 Region Award Recipient Lee Green. Congratulations Lee! canceled due to the recent pandemic, Lee will be presented his plaque next year at NCRAL 2021 in Wisconsin. The TCAA applied for an Affiliate Recruitment Mini Grant though which it proposed to work closely with the fledgling ISU Astronomy Club that operates through the ISU Planetarium under the tutelage of Director Tom Willmitch. The goal is to help the ISU Astronomy Club membership become skilled in presenting sky lectures under the ISU Planetarium dome and to hold sidewalk amateur astronomy events on the ISU campus using the planetarium’s untapped resource of portable telescopes. Details about all these events will be found in the Summer 2020 issue of NCRAL’s Northern Lights newsletter. If you have not subscribed to this free and informative newsletter, you may sign up today by going to https://goo.gl/gsS8SF

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

ALL TCAA PUBLIC VIEWING SESSIONS FOR 2020 CANCELED

Date Event Speaker Location Times May 23 Public Viewing Session Tim Stone Canceled N/A June 20 Public Viewing Session Sunil Chebolu Canceled N/A July 18 Public Viewing Session Mark Boulware Canceled N/A August 22 Public Viewing Session Mark Cabaj Canceled N/A September 19 Public Viewing Session Sandullah Epsicokhan Canceled N/A October 17 Public Viewing Session Lee Green Canceled N/A

The TCAA leadership has agreed to cancel all public viewing sessions and other events for 2020 as a result of the COVID- 19 pandemic. Meeting online via ZOOM on Saturday, April 11th, the Board – in cooperation with officers and chairs – voted to cancel club events as a matter of public safety. A “special event” will be held later this year if the restrictions associated with the pandemic are lifted by that time. Participating in this meeting and the decision-making process were Tim Stone, Tom Willmitch, Dave Osenga, Scott Wade, Sunil Chebolu, Carl Wenning, Lisa Wentzel, Lee Green, and Sandullah Epsicokhan. Following a suggestion by Lisa, it was agreed that public viewing session presentations will go ahead as planned using video and asynchronous communication. Scheduled speakers are hereby asked to record their presentations using an app or program such as ZOOM and to make their talks available online for the general public. It was further agreed that speakers may work with Lee and Sandullah to make the video files available on a TCAA-related site if necessary. The talks’ hyperlinks then will be publicized through the club’s Facebook page that has hundreds of followers who view near daily reports provided by the club. Carl has informed those with the need to know about these cancellations and will handle publicity for these events using Facebook. Lee has already updated the club’s website with cancellation announcements. Further, the 2020 Public Viewing Session brochure must be removed from circulation wherever it is being made available (TCAA website, SGNC, and ISU Planetarium primarily).

ASTROBITS – NEWS FROM AROUND THE TCAA

ó Tim Stone was fortunate to see the closest approach of ó Carl Wenning prepared his first video for asynchronous the Venus-Pleiades conjunction on April 3rd if but for a playback in relation to the previously schedule April 25th moment. Tim wrote on Groups.Io, “This evening the public viewing session. His talk was titled Mars and the clouds broke just long enough for me to get my Events to 2020. Its availability was noted on the TCAA binoculars and see Venus with the Pleiades. I could only Facebook page. It may still be viewed on YouTube at see the brightest stars, but still, it was great to see. I had https://youtu.be/fGhYM0nhrXo (23 minutes) all but given up hope of seeing the conjunction at all.” ó On the evening of April 17th Lee Green saw some two Sharon MacDonald later wrote, “Good for you Tim. I dozen SKYLINK satellites launched earlier. Viewing from looked out the window and was surprised to see Venus, his home in Normal, Lee observed them stream from but it quickly faded away before I could get my SSW to NNE, with each looking like a high-flying airplane. binoculars.” Carl Wenning sat forlornly on his back porch Some were as bright as first magnitude according to Lee. with binoculars in hand waiting for an opening in the All were seen prior to 9:00 PM. Carl Wenning’s friend in clouds. Alas, none appeared. NB. These comments are Brazil, Cesar Negreiros, recently produced a video of such representative of the type of messages TCAA members a passage. This display may be viewed online at this URL: are missing if they are not subscribed to the club’s https://www.facebook.com/cesarnegreiros/videos/1015 Groups.Io listserv. 8746532121535/ ó Sunil Chebolu has been using his spare time during the ó Also on the evening of April 17th, Lisa Wentzel completed Coronavirus lockdown to make some fun math videos for NCRAL’s Spring Messier Mini-Marathon (MM) from her his YouTube channel. Following is a link to his most backyard in Le Roy. She conducted all required recent production about the cosmic distance ladder. This observations manually and is the first in NCRAL to is an abridged version of last year’s public viewing session complete any mini marathon in this fashion. Lisa’s talk for the TCAA about measuring distance in the certificate and pin will be forthcoming from NCRAL. As universe. This video was made using zoom software. Lisa noted writing to NCRAL Chair Carl Wenning, “…your Enjoy! https://youtu.be/Kl7DG0P41vU (22 minutes) MM program is refreshing and enjoyable. It’s nice to have

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

some programs that are attainable with the equipment is the link to a 12-minute video that your editor found most people can afford.” If you don’t know about the both interesting and informative. Sunil states, “I hope NCRAL program, you haven’t been reading the Region’s you will like it. Thank you for watching.” The video can be newsletter Northern Lights. Visit the NCRAL website at viewed here: https://youtu.be/pqAmdzJgcPE https://ncral.wordpress.com/ for details. ó On April 19th, Carl Wenning completed the NCRAL Spring Messier Mini-Marathon observing from SGNC. Imaging that same evening from PSO were Scott and Emily Wade. Emily is now home from the University of Texas in Austin where she is majoring in astronomy. ó On Sunday evening, April 26th, three TCAAers observing at SGNC were awarded with a special “treat.” The sky was clear, steady, and dark despite a bright crescent moon and Venus. Scott Wade busied himself imaging M101 from PSO and Deva Chatrathi worked on his NCRAL Spring Messier Mini Marathon using the CPC 11” under the dome of SGO, while Carl Wenning viewed M-objects from the parking lot with his CPC 8” telescope. Carl, having just completed observing the Coma Cluster of galaxies, looked up at 9:10 PM and saw a 15-degree-long chain of 13 second magnitude SKYLINK satellites – like pearls on a string – passing overhead. He had little more opportunity than to utter “Oh!” before they passed one after another into Earth’s shadow. Scanning the sky a few minutes later he saw another satellite chain rising in the northwest. He started calling out to the others, “Look up! Look up!” He ran to the other observers calling their attention to the event. At 9:21 PM all three gathered and watched as an additional 17 second-magnitude satellites passed overhead and then into Earth’s shadow. This chain of satellites spanned at least 45 degrees of sky.

Before the evening was out, Scott had gotten his pictures of M101, Deva had completed the NCRAL Spring Messier ó TCAA member Troy Berg agreed on April 28th to take the Mini Marathon, and Carl had viewed all the Messier Meade 12” OTA off the clubs hands in exchange for a objects in Leo, Coma, Ursa Major, and several other $500 donation to the club. The telescope was declared constellations for a total of 43 Messier objects. In the “unwanted property” by the TCAA Board of Directors waning moments of his observing session Carl also saw a during its March meeting. The telescope was donated by colorful –4 magnitude meteor shoot toward the Twin (the now late) Bill Mammon several years ago. It was Cities. Lisa Wentzel stated the next day that she was out used for a year or two in PSO but proved to unsuitable observing from her residence and also noted both for long-exposure imaging due to mirror shifting. It was passages. The accompanying image (shown above right) replaced with the 14” now in use at PSO. The 12” Meade by Charlie Taber of Normal was taken the same evening OTA, despite not having a mirror lock, is of excellent and gives a good idea of what our observers saw. optical quality, and best suited either for direct visual ó For the record, the TCAA has 909 followers on Facebook observing or short-term imaging using a DSLR camera or as of April 27th. Over 7,000 people were reached by our similar. Troy, we look forward to seeing the OTA properly Facebook post for the 28-day interval ending April 26th. mounted and out under the stars before long. ó Shloka Chebolu (daughter of TCAA Board member Sunil ó Bob Finnigan and Scott Wade are now helping Property Chebolu) who is in 3rd grade at Grove Elementary School Manager Tim Stone to make final adjustment to get the gave a talk recently. Her topic was Katherine Johnson, a 24” at Waynesville Observatory up and running. The mathematician who worked at NASA and did some of the current problem of balancing (with a new guide scope, most complex calculations related to various space cameras, and filters in place) must be corrected before missions including Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Here the mount can be properly aligned to the heavens.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

ó Inspired by a discussion involving Astronomical League’s out https://www.heavens-above.com/ To get accurate Past President John Goss, Carl Wenning has been inspired forecasts for your location, be certain to input your to write TCAA Guide #10 – The Joys of Amateur observing location. It defaults to longitude 0°, latitude 0° Astronomy. This short guide is not yet complete, but if otherwise which will give forecasts for an equatorial anyone would like to review what the author has written observer located on the prime meridian. to date and perhaps contribute some ideas for inclusion, ó With warmer weather and clearer skies approaching, then please contact Carl at [email protected]. The every TCAA member ought to be giving thought to club’s existing nine guides can be found on the TCAA summer observing programs. The Astronomical League website at http://tcaa.us/TCAAGuides.aspx has an abundance of such programs. Check them out at ó Did you know that you can generate your own location https://www.astroleague.org/observing.html. If you have dependent satellite forecasts for viewing the questions about such programs, contact AL Master International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, Observer and TCAA Observing Programs Chair Lisa and even SpaceX’s SKYLINK satellites? If not, then check Wentzel at [email protected] for details.

VENUS-PLEIADES CONJUNCTIONS ~ by Carl Wenning ~

While many of you might have been prevented from NB. This article first appeared on the TCAA’s Facebook page seeing the 2020 passage of Venus through the Pleiades star on Saturday, April 4th. There are typically 4-5 such posts each cluster due to clouds at the time of closest approach, all is week and sometimes more. This is the sort of thing you are not lost. Conjunctions between Venus and the Pleiades occur missing if you don’t follow us on Facebook! every 8 years. At this interval, Venus and Earth are pretty much in the same configuration with respect to one another and also the sun and stars. Every time Venus completes 13 orbits around the sun, Earth completes 8 orbits. Earth’s orbital period is 365.242 days and that of Venus 224.701 days. Now, 8 Earth orbits equals 2,921.936 days and 13 Venus orbits equals 2,921.113 days. These two intervals are within 20 hours of being the same! If we look at Venus relative to the Pleiades at 9 PM on April 3 during the years 2012, 2020, and 2028, we see essentially the same sight on each of these evenings!

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

MAY 2020: A LEFT HOOK FOR VENUS & PLANETS RETROGRADE ~ by Jeffrey L. Hunt ~

Sometimes, when a clearing All five planets are visible this month, although Mercury breeze blows from the northwest, the makes its appearance in the evening sky during May’s observing in the great Midwest is the waning days. Venus continues to perform in the western sky best of the year during May. As after sunset. During May, it approaches Elnath, Taurus’ morning starts at the beginning of the Northern Horn and then rapidly plunges toward its inferior month, two bright planets are paired in conjunction early next month. Jupiter and Saturn begin to the southeastern sky. Bright Jupiter, in retrograde. Jupiter moves to within 5° of the Ringed Wonder eastern Sagittarius, is to the upper right for a quasi-conjunction. Mars continues its eastward march of Saturn that is in western Capricornus. At this hour, as it travels through the dim star fields of Capricornus and Antares is a few degrees west of the meridian. As Antares Aquarius. Use a binocular to track its movement. represents the heart of the Celestial Scorpion, its body As you observe Jupiter and Saturn during the month, an curves toward the southern horizon in a fishhook shape, interesting effect occurs because of their declinations. with the barb marking the arachnid’s stinger, now just east Jupiter is farther below the celestial equator than Saturn, by of the meridian, but low in the southern sky. The Teapot of a slight amount. As they appear higher at the same time Sagittarius is east of the meridian and west of Jupiter. interval before sunrise each morning, Jupiter appears to the Farther west, Arcturus shines brightly from high in the upper right of Saturn, then to the right. As Jupiter passes the western sky with Spica low in the southwest. Leo lingers in meridian, it appears to the lower right of Saturn. As you look the western sky setting before the sun rises. During the day, at the morning sky, everything to the east of the Jupiter – the sun is in the sky a few minutes over 14 hours, and Saturn pair has a less southerly declination. When they darkness – the interval between the end of evening twilight appear at the meridian, they are higher in the sky that the and the beginning of morning twilight – is only 6 hours, 20 giant planet pair. Also notice that throughout the month, minutes. Twilight has lengthened to 3 hours, 35 minutes that Mars is generally in the southeastern sky each morning. is divided equally before sunrise and after sunset. This If you have been waiting to observe Mars telescopically, interval lengthens to over 4 hours, 45 minutes by month’s the disk is quite small, about 8” in diameter, Large features end. As evening twilight ends, Venus is low in the west- are starting to come into view. The Red Planet reaches its northwest, near Elnath, the Bull’s Northern Horn. Sirius is opposition on October 13, 2020. Now, the contrast with the farther south near the west-southwest horizon. Along a ochre planet and the lighter hued southern polar cap can be diagonal line starting at Venus and drawn toward Sirius, seen. Viewing the planet’s surface features improves as it Betelgeuse is nearly in the middle of the brightest star and appears closer to our planet and higher in the sky. Here are the brightest planet. The arc made by Procyon, Pollux, some sources for planning your Mars observing: Castor, and Capella appears as an umbrella over the setting stars of winter. The heads of the Twins are about halfway up • For the latest news in observable Martian features and in the sky. Farther east, Leo is crossing the meridian. The Big observing conditions, see the Association of Lunar and Dipper is high in the north, seemingly above Leo. Clearly this Planetary Observers (ALPO) website, http://www.alpo- famous shape helps us find the Lion. Follow the Pointer Stars astronomy.org/marsblog/. away from Polaris and you’ll reach Leo. On the first few days • Another source from ALPO describes large-scale events of of the month, the moon is near the Lion. Spica is low in the the planet’s apparition, http://www.alpo-astronomy.org/ southeast. If you trace an arc from Regulus to Spica, moving marsblog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CalendarOfEvents towards the southeast horizon, you’ll pass the traditional CORRECTED.pdf pincers of the Scorpion, Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali. • From Sky & Telescope; To determine what is visible on the Higher in the sky, rusty Arcturus is high in the east. Vega and Martian surface on any date and time, Deneb, of the Summer Triangle, are low in the northeast. https://is.gd/marsprofiler. With the onset of warmer weather, watch the triangle fully appear. Near the time of the summer solstice, the triangle is This month’s notes: in the northeast as the sky darkens, the reason for this moniker.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

• May 2: One hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter, nearly 25° up in the south-southeast, is 4.8° to the right of Saturn. Jupiter continues to inch eastward toward a quasi- conjunction with Saturn later this month. Monitor Jupiter’s place in the stars by watching its position relative to 56 Sgr. This morning, Jupiter is 2.3° to the lower left of the star. Farther east, Mars – over 18° up in the southeast – is 1.5° to the upper right of δ Cap and 1.0° to the upper left of γ Cap. In the evening sky, the waxing gibbous moon (10.0d, 74%) is nearly midway from Regulus to Denebola (β Leo, m = 2.1), but below a line that connects the stars. An hour after sunset. Venus, less than 24° up in the west- northwest, is 2.9° to the lower right of Elnath. • May 3: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter, nearly 25° up in the south-southeast is 4.8° to the right of Saturn. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.4° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Meanwhile, Mars is farther east, nearly 19° up in the southeast. With a binocular observe that it is 1.5° to the upper left of γ Cap and 1.0° to the upper right of δ Cap. In the evening sky, about an hour after sunset, brilliant Venus is 2.6° to the lower right of Elnath, as the planet approaches the star. The moon (11.0d, 84%) is 3.9° to the left of Beta Virginis (β Vir, m =3.6). • May 4: One hour before sunrise, Mars, nearly 19° up in • May 1: Jupiter (m = −2.4) rises at 1:25 a.m. CDT, followed the southeast, is 0.9° to the upper left of δ Cap. Bright by Saturn (m = 0.6) about 15 minutes later. Mars (m = 0.4) Jupiter is 25° up in the south-southeast and 4.8° to the rises nearly an hour after Saturn. One hour before sunrise, right of Saturn. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.4° to the lower these planets span nearly 25° in the southeast. Bright left of 56 Sgr. Mercury is at its superior conjunction at 4:41 Jupiter, nearly 25° up in the south-southeast is 4.9° to the p.m. CDT. Watch it emerge into the evening sky as Venus right of Saturn. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.3° to the lower approaches Elnath. Venus is at its northernmost left of 56 Sagittarii (56 Sgr, m = 4.8). Farther east, Mars is declination, 27.8°. One hour after sunset, the brilliant 18° up in the southeast. Among the stars, Mars is 0.9° planet, over 22° in altitude in the west-northwest, is 2.3° above Gamma Capricorni (γ Cap, m = 3.6) and 1.5° to the to the lower right of Elnath. Farther east, the bright upper right of Delta Capricorni (δ Cap, m =2.8). Use a gibbous moon (12.0d, 92%), nearly 40° up in the southeast, binocular to see Jupiter and Mars in their respective is 2.5° to the left of Gamma Virginis (γ Vir, m = 3.4). starfield. Through a telescope, Mars is nearly 8” across. • May 5: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is over 25° in One hour after sunset, brilliant Venus (m = −4.7), still at its altitude in the east-southeast. This morning the three greatest brightness, is nearly 24° up in the west-northwest. planets – Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars – span nearly 28°. During the next several evenings, watch as it closes in for Saturn (m = 0.5) is 4.8° to the left of Jupiter. In the starfield, its quasi-conjunction with Elnath (β Tau, m = 1.6), the Jupiter is 2.4° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. At this time, Mars Northern Horn of Taurus. This evening Venus is 3.3° to the is nearly 19° up in the southeast. It is 1.2° to the upper left lower right of the star. The pair seem to drop out of the of δ Cap. Venus is 35° east of the sun. One hour after sky during this month. Venus loses about 0.6° of altitude sunset, brilliant Venus, nearly 22° up in the west- each evening at the same time interval after sunset. At northwest, sparkles 2.1° to the lower right of Elnath. tonight’s time interval the gibbous moon (9.0 days past Through a telescope, Venus is an evening crescent, 20% the New phase, 64% illuminated), over 60° up in the south, illuminated and 42” across. The moon (13.0d, 97%) is 28° is 4.1° above Regulus (α Leo, m = 1.3). up in the southeast, 7° to the left of Spica. The moon is at perigee at 10:03 p.m. CDT, 229,692 miles away.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

• May 6: One hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter is over 25° halfway from Arcturus (α Boo, m = −0.1) to Cor Caroli (α up in the south-southeast, and 4.8° to the right of Saturn. CVn, m = 2.8). The fuzzy cluster is about the same In the starfield, the Giant Planet is 2.4° to the lower left of brightness as a neighboring 6th magnitude star. The author 56 Sgr. Farther eastward, Mars, 19° up in the southeast, is writes, “If your binocular is properly focused, M3 will 1.7° to the upper left of δ Cap. Farther west, the moon appear noticeably fuzzy, in sharp contrast to its neighbor. (13.3d, 98%) is 3.6° to the lower right of Kappa Virginis (κ The higher the magnification, the more obvious the Vir, m=4.2). Shield your eyes from the moon’s brightness difference between the two becomes” (p. 40). Our or use a binocular to see the star. In the evening, Venus summary of Seronik’s spring observing list ends with two continues to gleam in the western sky. One hour after double stars in Leo – Regulus and Tau Leonis (τ Leo, m = sunset the brilliant planet is over 20° in altitude in the 4.9). Bright Regulus is composed of two stars 176” apart. west-northwest and 1.9° to the lower right of Elnath. Two The dim 8th magnitude companion is to the northwest of hours after sunset, about 10 p.m. CDT, the bright moon the bright star. The dimmer double, τ Leonis, is near the (14.0d, 100%) is 4.0° above Zubenelgenubi (α Lib, m = 2.8). Leo – Virgo border, 5.8° to the west-northwest of β Vir. • May 7: One hour before sunrise, the bright moon (14.3d, Seronik describes τ Leonis, “The pair consists of a 5th 100%) is above Zubenelgenubi (β Lib, m = 2.6). The moon magnitude and 7th magnitude companion, lying a generous appears to be caught in the Pincers of the Scorpion, 89” due south” (p. 47). Whether in your backyard or Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali. Jupiter, Saturn, and remote location, get outside to look at your favorite Mars are farther east. Bright Jupiter is over 25° up in the objects and explore Seronik’s selections. south-southeast, with Saturn 4.7° to its left. Mars is over • May 9: Mars moves into Aquarius. Ninety minutes before 19° up in the southeast, 2.3° to the left of δ Cap. The moon sunrise, locate it nearly 16° in altitude in the southeast. It reaches its Full phase at 5:45 a.m. CDT. One hour after is 1.6° to the upper right of Iota Aquarii (ι Aqr, m =4.3). sunset, Venus – over 20° in altitude in the west-northwest Use a binocular to see Mars with the stars. The Red Planet – is 1.7° to the lower right of Elnath. An hour later – about crosses the constellation in 47 days. One hour before 10 p.m. – the moon (15.0d, 100%) is over 10° below sunrise, the bright gibbous moon (16.3d, 95%) is 7.4° to Zubeneschamali. the upper left of Antares (α Sco, m = 1.0). Farther east, • May 8: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is nearly 26° up in Jupiter – nearly 26° up in the south-southeast – is 4.7° to the south-southeast, 4.7° to the right of Saturn. In the the right of Saturn. Among the stars, Jupiter is 2.5° to the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Mars is lower left of 56 Sgr. One hour after sunset, Venus – nearly farther east, over 19° in altitude in the southeast. It is 3.0° 19° up in the west-northwest – is 1.5° below Elnath. to the left of δ Cap. The bright moon (15.3d, 99%) is 2.4° to the right of Beta Scorpii (β Sco, m = 2.5). In the evening, one hour after sunset, Venus – about 20° up in the west- northwest – is 1.6° below Elnath. Sirius is 5° up in the west-southwest. In a few evenings it is below the horizon at this hour. As the moon leaves the evening sky, several double stars and deep sky objects are easier to observe without the moon’s glare. Gary Seronik, in Binocular Highlights, suggests several targets. Here is part of his list for late spring viewing: The first target is The Engagement Ring, “A 35’ diameter ragged circlet of mostly 8th and 9th magnitude stars on the side of Polaris (α UMi, m = 2.0) opposite the Little Dipper’s bowl” (p. 34). Polaris is the diamond on the ring. A second target is M101 (NGC 5457), a face-on spiral galaxy 5.7° northeast of Mizar (ζ UMa, m = 2.2). Seronik writes, “Under a dark sky, M101 appears as a small, round, faint fuzz ball in my 10 x 30 binocular.” In his • May 10: Saturn (m = 0.5) stops moving eastward and suburban yard, “it can be difficult to see at all even with a begins to retrograde, 109° west of the sun. The Ringed large binocular” (p. 36). The list includes a northern Wonder is 1.1° to the lower right of Sigma Capricorni (σ globular cluster, M3 (NGC 5272). The cluster is about Cap, m = 5.2). With a binocular during the next several

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

days, watch Saturn slowly move westward compared to sunset, Venus is less than 16° in altitude in the west- the star’s position. Saturn rises a few minutes after 1 a.m. northwest and 1.5° to the lower left of Elnath. CDT, nearly 4.5 hours before sunrise. One hour before • May 13: One hour before sunrise, the gibbous moon sunrise, Saturn is nearly 26° up in the south-southeast, (20.3d, 62%), over 20° up in the south-southeast, is in 4.7° to the left of bright Jupiter. The three morning planets central Capricornus between Jupiter and Mars. Jupiter is now span over 30°. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the over 25° up in the south-southeast, 4.7° to the right of lower left of 56 Sgr. Farther east, Mars – nearly 20° up in Saturn that is nearly 9° to the upper right of the moon. the southeast – is 0.9° to the right of ι Aqr. The bright Mars is over 20° up in the southeast. In the starfield, gibbous moon (17.3d, 89%) is nearly 7° to the right of Kaus Jupiter is 2.5° to the lower left of 56 Sgr, while Mars is 1.1° Borealis (λ Sgr, m = 2.8), at the top of the lid of the Teapot to the left of ι Aqr and 1.5° to the upper right of 42 Aquarii of Sagittarius. In the evening sky, Venus has its closest (42 Aqr, m = 5.3). In the evening, brilliant Venus is 15° up approach to Elnath, a quasi-conjunction or “near in the west-northwest, one hour after sunset. It is 1.6° to conjunction.” One hour after sunset, Venus, nearly 18° up the lower left of Elnath. Venus’ phase is 12.5% illuminated. in the west-northwest, is 1.4° to the lower left of the star. Through a telescope it is an evening crescent, 48” across. This evening ends the planet’s interval of greatest • May 14: Jupiter’s direct motion ends and it begins to brightness. retrograde, 117° west of the sun. It rises at 12:30 a.m. CDT, • May 11: One hour before sunrise, the waxing gibbous 5 hours before the sun. One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is moon (18.3d, 81%), is 1.5° to the upper left of Nunki (σ Sgr, 26° up in the south-southeast, 4.7° to the right of Saturn. m = 2.0) in the handle of the Teapot of Sagittarius. Farther In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. east, bright Jupiter – about 14° from the moon – is 4.7° to Watch Jupiter slowly move westward and pass the star the right of Saturn, now retrograding. Mars is 20° up in the again for a second conjunction. The moon (21.3d, 52%) is southeast 0.3° to the upper right of ι Aqr. One hour after 2.4° below δ Cap and about 9° to the lower right of Mars, sunset, Venus (m = −4.6) is nearly 17° up in the west- while the Red Planet is 1.8° to the left of ι Aqr and 0.9° to northwest. The planet is 30° east of the sun. The Venus – the upper right of 42 Aqr. Use a binocular to see the Elnath gap is still 1.4°, but slightly larger than last night, fainter star. In the evening, Venus, over 14° up in the west- when the small fractions of a degree are included in the northwest, is 1.7° to the lower left of Elnath. Each evening measurement. at this time interval, Venus is lower in the sky, like it is falling toward its inferior conjunction. • May 15: Jupiter (m = −2.5) rises about 1:30 a.m. CDT, followed by Saturn 15 minutes later. Mars rises about 2:15 a.m. CDT. One hour before sunrise, the moon (22.3d, 42%) is 4.5° to the lower left of Mars, nearly 21° up in the southeast. Among the stars, Mars is 0.2° to the upper right of 42 Aqr. During the next few mornings watch the Harvest Moon Effect with the crescent moon. When the Vernal Equinox is near the eastern horizon and the moon approaches that part of the sky, the lunar orb does not seem to move very far each day. While the moon moves about 13° eastward among the stars, the distance is • May 12: One hour before sunrise the gibbous moon (19.3d, shorter compared to the horizon. The effect is very 72%) is 3.1° to the lower right of Jupiter and 6.1° to the prominent when the moon approaches its Full phase near lower right of Saturn. Farther east, Mars – over 20° in the time of the Autumnal Equinox, but it can be observed altitude in the southeast – is 0.5° to the upper left of ι Aqr. anytime when the moon is in the region with the Vernal In the evening sky, about forty-five minutes after sunset, Equinox near the eastern horizon. (Note the difference look for Sirius, low in the west-southwest. A binocular may between the equinoxes. They are times of the year and help. It is nearing its last appearance in the evening sky. points in the sky. An equinox occurs when the sun is on What is the last date you see it? About one hour after that celestial point.) Through a telescope, Mars is 8” across. Farther west along the ecliptic, Jupiter, nearly 27°

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

up in the south, is 4.7° to the right of Saturn. Both planets Antares is a few degrees above the southeast horizon, are retrograding. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, the classic Pincers of lower left of 56 Sgr. In the evening, one hour after sunset, the Scorpion are to Antares’ upper right. During the next few Venus, over 13° up in the west-northwest, is 1.8° to the weeks, the entire critter crawls into the southeastern sky at lower left of Elnath. the end of twilight. In the west, Venus, near Elnath, is in the sky in the west, beneath the arc of stars made by Procyon, At midmonth as morning twilight begins (3:30 a.m. Pollux, Castor, and Capella. During the next two weeks, CDT), the Bright Outer Planets are in the southeast, bright watch the brilliant planet appear to nose-dive into the Jupiter and Saturn are near the other with Mars farther horizon as it approaches its inferior conjunction early next eastward along the ecliptic. The crescent moon is near Mars. month. Antares is in the south-southwest. Its body, tail, and stinger are easily seen. The Teapot of Sagittarius is east of the • May 16: One hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter is nearly Celestial Scorpion, to the right of Jupiter. The Milky Way 27° up in the southern sky and 4.7° to the right of Saturn. rises from the region between the Teapot and the Scorpion’s In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the lower right of 56 Sgr. tail. The glow of our galaxy’s star clouds and nebulae climbs Farther eastward along the ecliptic, Mars is 21° up in the into the eastern sky, gently pierces the Summer Triangle, southeast, 35° from Jupiter. Among the stars the Red slides through Cygnus, and carries Cassiopeia skyward in the Planet is 0.4° to the lower left of 42 Aqr. Use a binocular to east-northeast, as it would on a clear August evening. If locate the star. The moon (23.8d, 33%). Over 13° up in the you’re lucky, you’ll get an early observing season view of southeast, is to the lower left of Mars. Forty-five minutes Andromeda’s Great Galaxy, to the lower right of Cassiopeia, although the spiral wonder is low in the sky. Vega, the after sunset, Mercury (m = −1.4), nearly 5° up in the west- brightest celestial gem in the Summer Triangle, is nearing northwest, is over 11° to the lower right of Venus (m = the zenith, appearing a little east of the meridian. The Big −4.5). As the sky darkens further, Venus is 2.0° to the Dipper is in the northwest as its curved handle guides us to lower left of Elnath. Arcturus, now over one-third of the way up in the west. • May 17: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is nearly 27° up Spica is to the lower left of Arcturus, a few degrees above in the south. The Jupiter – Saturn gap is 4.7°. Saturn is to the west-southwest horizon. Daylight increased 30 minutes the left of Jupiter. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the during the first half of the month. The sky is completely dark lower left of 56 Sgr. Farther east along the ecliptic, Mars is naturally for 5 hours, 30 minutes. At the end of evening 21° up in the southeast, 1.1° to the lower left of 42 Aqr. twilight at midmonth (10:00 p.m. CDT), the bright stars of The crescent moon (24.7d, 24%) is nearly 10° up in the Spring are spread across the southern sky. Leo now leans east-southeast. Notice that a line traced between the toward the western horizon. Its magnificent Sickle brightly moon’s horns is close to vertical. Forty-five minutes after shines from the southwest. Regulus, an ecliptic signpost, anticipates its solar conjunction during the hot days of sunset, Venus is nearly 14° up in the west-northwest, 2.2° August. The triangle that marks the Lion’s haunches and tail to the lower left of Elnath. Mercury (m = −1.0), about 5° in angles upward from the ecliptic. Farther eastward along the altitude, is 9.0° to the lower right of Venus. One hour after ecliptic, Virgo stretches across the meridian. Its ear of wheat, sunset, Betelgeuse is less than 5° in altitude. What is the Spica, is about 10° east of the meridian, over one-third of the last date that you see it in the sky at this time interval? way up in the sky. Corvus the Raven is the distinctive • May 18: The moon reaches its farthest point from Earth trapezium shape to the lower right of Spica. It rides on the (apogee) at 2:45 a.m. CDT, 252,018 miles away. This back of Hydra. At this hour the reptile stretches across the morning is a Jupiter – Saturn quasi-conjunction! For sky below Virgo and Leo. The snake’s dim head is in the several previous entries, the separation for Jupiter and west-southwest. It is just below a line from Procyon to Saturn has been 4.7°. When fractions of a degree are nd Regulus. Its body wiggles eastward to Alphard, a lone 2 considered, this morning the planets are closest in a quasi- magnitude star that’s about 20° up in the southwest. From conjunction, when the two planets are within 5° of each that star, the constellation wiggles eastward under Crater other. This is a prelude to the Great Conjunction that and Corvus. The tail ends about 10° below Zubenelgenubi. The entire constellation spans over 6 hours of right occurs later this year. Jupiter retrogrades faster and begins ascension. Arcturus is high in the southeast, to the upper left to move away from Saturn. One hour before sunrise, of Spica. The Big Dipper is high in the north at the meridian. Jupiter is 26° in altitude in the southern sky with Saturn to Two stars of the Summer Triangle – Vega and Deneb – are its left. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the lower left of low in the eastern sky. Farther southward along the horizon, 56 Sgr. The Jupiter – Mars gap is 36°. The Red Planet is

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

nearly 22° up in the southeast. Farther to the left along the horizon, the moon (25.6d, 17%) is about 5° up in the east. Forty-five minutes after sunset, Jupiter is about 12° in altitude in the west-northwest. It is 2.4° below Elnath. Mercury (m = −0.9) is 6.9° to the lower right of Venus. Watching Mercury’s rapid movement during the next several evenings, you will see it move from Venus’ lower right to its upper left.

• May 20: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is 27.0° up in the south. The Jupiter – Saturn gap is widening, but still measured at 4.7°. The activity of the two bright giant planets is a prelude to their Great Conjunction on December 21, 2020. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Mars, over 22° in altitude in the southeast, is 1.1° to the lower right of Sigma Aquarii (σ Aqr, m = 4.8). Use a binocular to watch the Red Planet pass this star and move away from it during the next few mornings. • May 19: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is nearly 27° up The Jupiter – Mars gap is nearly 38°. Venus’ elongation is in the south, still 4.7° to the right of Saturn. Both planets 20°. Forty-five minutes after sunset, Venus is over 10° up continue to retrograde. Among the stars, Jupiter is 2.5° to in the west-northwest. The Venus – Elnath gap is 3.0°, and the lower left of 56 Sgr. Mars is nearly 22° up in the Mercury (m = −0.7) is 2.8° to the lower right of brilliant southeast. Fomalhaut (α PsA, m = 1.2) is over 19° to the Venus. Through a telescope, the Venus is 53” across and lower right of Mars. Thirty minutes before sunrise, the 6% illuminated, a magnificent evening crescent! moon (26.5d, 10%) is nearly 7° up in the east. In a brighter sky, a binocular helps locate it. Forty-five minutes after sunset, Venus (m = −4.4), over 11° up in the west northwest, is 2.7° below Elnath and 4.9° to the upper left of Mercury (m = −0.8). Betelgeuse is less than 5° up in the west. What is the last date that you see it before it disappears into the sun’s glare? Venus sets at the end of evening twilight, nearly 2 hours after sunset.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

in the southeast. It is 1.0° to the lower left of σ Aqr. The moon reaches its New phase at 12:39 p.m. CDT. In the early evening sky, Venus, Mercury (m = −0.5), and Elnath make a compact triangle. Venus is 1.6° to the lower right of Mercury; Venus is 3.8° below Elnath; and the Mercury – Elnath gap is 3.4°. Tomorrow evening the moon enters the scene. Jupiter is now rising before midnight CDT.

• May 21: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter – over 21° up in the south – is 4.7° to the lower right of Saturn. Among the stars, Jupiter is 2.5° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Mars, over 22° in altitude in the southeast, is 0.8° below σ Aqr. Forty- minutes after sunset, Venus (m = −4.3) – over 9° up in the west-northwest – is 1.1° to the upper right of Mercury (m = −0.6), a conjunction. The Venus – Elnath gap is 3.4°. • May 23: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is over 27° up in the south, 4.7° to the lower right of Saturn. The pair continues to retrograde. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.5° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Mars, nearly 23° up in the southeast, is 1.5° to the lower left of σ Aqr. At 45 minutes after sunset, find a clear horizon to view the scene in the west. Venus, 7.0° up in the west-northwest, is 4.5° to the upper right of the crescent moon (1.3d, 2%). The Venus – Elnath gap is 4.2°. Mercury (m = −0.4) is 3.5° to the upper left of Venus and 3.1° to the lower left of Elnath.

• May 22: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is over 27° in altitude in the south. It is 4.7° to the lower right of Saturn. Farther east along the ecliptic, Mars is over 22° in altitude

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

sets at Nautical Twilight, over an hour after sunset. The observing window is rapidly closing to see Venus during this apparition. The gaps of the two planets and star continue to grow as Venus disappears into brighter twilight. Through a telescope, the brilliant planet is 56” across and 3% illuminated. As the sky darkens to show more stars, the moon (3.4d, 11%) is in central Gemini, over 11° to the lower right of Pollux (β Gem, m = 1.2), and over 17° to the upper left of Mercury.

• May 24: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is over 27° up in the south, 4.7° to the lower right of Saturn (m = 0.4). Among the stars, Jupiter is 2.4° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. With a binocular there is now some evidence that Jupiter is retrograding as the apparent motion is easier to observe. Mars, 23° up in the southeast, is 7° to the upper left of Ceres (1Ceres, m = 8.0) and 2.1° to the lower left of σ Aqr. In the evening sky, Venus (m = −4.2), Mercury (m = −0.3), Moon (2.3d, 5%), and Elnath are near each other. Forty- five minutes after sunset, Venus is about 6° up in the west- northwest. Find a clear horizon to see it. The planets and the star make a triangle. Mercury is 5.5° to the upper left of Venus, nearly midway from Venus to the moon that is nearly 12° to the upper left of Venus, although Mercury is above a line that connects Venus and the moon. Elnath is 4.6° above Venus and 3.5° to the upper right of Mercury. Venus’ elongation is 15°. • May 25: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter – over 27° up in the south – is 4.7° to the lower right of Saturn. Among the stars, Jupiter is 2.4° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Mars, over 23° in altitude in the southeast, is 2.8° to the lower left of σ Aqr and 3.0° above Tau Aquarii (τ Aqr, m = 4.0). Continue to use a binocular to track Mars through the starfield. The Mars – Jupiter gap is over 41°. Forty-five minutes after sunset, Venus (m = −4.1) is about 4° up in the west- northwest. The planet continues to make a triangle with Mercury (m = −0.2) and Elnath. Venus is 5.1° to the lower right of the star, while Mercury is 4.5° to the upper left of Elnath. Venus is 7.5° to the lower right of Mercury. Venus

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

• May 28: One hour before sunrise, bright Jupiter is over 27° in altitude and nearly at the meridian, 4.7° to the lower right of Saturn. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.3° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Mars, over 24° up in the southeast, is 2.4° to the lower right of λ Aqr and 3.6° to the upper left of τ Aqr. Thirty minutes after sunset, Venus is less than 3° up in the west-northwest. The planet’s elongation is 9°, setting only 49 minutes after sunset. Mercury (m = 0.0) is over 10° in altitude in the west-northwest. As the sky darkens further locate the moon (6.4d, 38%), 6.6° to the right of Regulus. • May 29: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter (m = −2.6), over 27° up at the meridian, is 4.8° to the lower right of Saturn. Both planets are retrograding. Watch the gap start to increase without the assistance of optical aid. Among the stars, Jupiter is 2.3° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Farther east along the ecliptic, Mars – over 24° in altitude in the southeast – is 2.1° to the lower right of λ Aqr and 3.9° to the upper left of τ Aqr. Lambda Aquarii is near the ecliptic, about 0.4° below it. In comparison, Mars is 2.3° below the solar system’s plane this morning. Forty-five minutes after • May 26: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is over 27° in sunset, Mercury (m = 0.1) is nearly 11° in altitude in the altitude in the south, 4.7° to the lower right of Saturn. In west-northwest. As the sky darkens further, the moon the starfield, Jupiter is 2.4° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. (7.4d, 50%) is 9.0° to the upper left of Regulus. The moon Farther eastward along the ecliptic, Mars is nearly 24° up reaches its First Quarter phase at 10:30 p.m. CDT. in the southeast. The planet is in the middle of a triangle • May 30: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter is over 27° in made by σ Aqr, τ Aqr, and Lambda Aquarii (λ Aqr, m = 3.7). altitude and slightly west of the meridian, 4.8° to the Mars is about 3.4° from each star. Forty-five minutes after lower right of Saturn. In the starfield, Jupiter is 2.3° to the sunset, Venus – about 3° up in the west-northwest – is lower left of 56 Sgr. At the same time, Mars is nearly 25° 5.7° below Elnath and 9.5° to the lower right of Mercury up in the southeast. It is 1.9° below λ Aqr and 3.9° to the (m = −0.2). Mercury is 5.7° to the upper left of the star. As upper left of τ Aqr. Venus sets at Civil Twilight, 32 minutes the sky darkens further the moon (4.4d, 19%) is 5.9° to the after sunset. Fifteen minutes later, Mercury (m = 0.2) is left of Pollux. nearly 11° up in the west-northwest and approaching its • May 27: One hour before sunrise, Jupiter – over 27° up in greatest evening elongation. As the sky darkens further, the south – is 4.7° to the lower right of Saturn. The Giant the moon (8.4d, 61%) is 7.6° below Denebola. Find them Planet is 2.4° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. At this time, Mars over halfway up in the sky in the south-southwest. (m = 0.0) is 24.0° up in the southeast, 2.9° to the lower right of λ Aqr and 3.4° to the upper left of τ Aqr. Forty-five minutes after sunset, Venus (m = −4.0) is less than 2° in altitude in the north-northwest. The Venus – Elnath gap is 6.2°. If you have a clear view of the natural horizon that is cloud free, you should be able to see Venus at this low altitude. Elnath has an altitude of about 8°. Use a binocular to help you locate the star. Mercury (m = −0.1) is over 11° to the upper left of Venus and 6.9° to the upper left of Elnath. As the sky darkens further and more stars appear, the crescent moon (5.4d, 28%) is 3.3° to the upper left of the Beehive star cluster (M44, NGC 2632). Use low

powers to view the cluster.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

• May 31: Mars rises at about 1:45 a.m. CDT. One hour The Great Square of Pegasus is now visible low in the east. before sunrise, Jupiter is over 27° up in the south, west of At this hour, the Big Dipper is leaning down toward the the meridian and 4.8° to the lower right of Saturn. Among northwest horizon, as it appears in early September, with its the stars, Jupiter is 2.2° to the lower left of 56 Sgr. Farther curved handle cueing us where to look for Arcturus, now eastward along the ecliptic, Mars – over 25° up in the about one-third of the way up in the west. The sun is in the sky for over 15 hours. There is not much more daylight to southeast – is 2.0° below λ Aqr. Through a telescope red- squeeze into the changing season. Darkness occurs for 4 ochre Mars is 9” across. Forty-five minutes after sunset, hours, 45 minutes. The remainder of the 24-hour period is in Mercury (m = 0.2) is nearly 11° in altitude in the northwest. twilight, over four hours, divided equally before sunrise and As the sky darkens further, the gibbous moon (9.4d, 72%) after sunset. In the evening as twilight ends (10:30 p.m. is 3.6° to the upper right of Gamma Virginis (γ Vir, m = 3.6). CDT), the gibbous moon is in the southwest, to the left of Jupiter rises at about 11:25 p.m. CDT, followed by Saturn Leo, now tilting toward the western horizon. Farther 15 minutes later. eastward along the ecliptic, Spica is about 10° west of the meridian with Arcturus higher in the sky. The gibbous moon As morning twilight begins as the month ends (3:10 a.m. is in Virgo. The classical Scorpion continues to climb into the CDT), the meridian cuts through the Summer Triangle. Vega eastern sky. Its pincers reach for the meridian, Antares is in is now west of the meridian, with Deneb and Altair still on the southeast, but the deadly stinger is still beneath the the east side of the line. Farther south, Sagittarius and horizon. Farther northward along the horizon, the Summer Scorpius are tilting westward, with the Milky Way rising from Triangle is in the eastern sky, with Altair now high enough to the horizon between them and arcing upward toward be easily seen at this hour. Cassiopeia is low in the north, Deneb. Antares is low toward the southwest. Farther indicating that the Big Dipper is higher in the sky, now west eastward, the three Bright Outer Planets stretch across the of the meridian. Low in the northwest, a few of the winter eastern sky, from Jupiter, in the south-southeast, and nearby stars – Pollux, Castor, and Capella – linger there. Saturn to brightening Mars shining in the east-southeast.

REMINDER: The next meeting of the TCAA Board of Directors will take place on Tuesday, May 5th, starting at 6:30 PM sharp. As this issue of The OBSERVER goes to press, it is assumed that the meeting will be held online using ZOOM.

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 educational 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 its 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.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

TCAA IMAGE GALLERY

VENUS/M45 – Jamey Jenkins wrote, “Finally caught a glimpse of Venus slipping past the star cluster M45 (Pleiades) during twilight while waiting for the transit of the International Space Station (ISS) at about 8:18pm local time tonight (April 5th). This is a 3-second stationary exposure with a 135/2.8 Nikkor lens on a Nikon D3000. Saw the beautifully bright transit (of the ISS) also which easily rivaled Venus in the sky.”

VENUS/M45/ISS – Astrophotographer and TCAA Facebook follower Baron Weber took the wide-angle time exposure (shown right) also on the evening of April 5th. Note the ISS passing to the upper right of Venus and the Pleiades. Note, too, the V-shaped figure of the Hyades star cluster and part of Orion to the left of Venus. Baron shared this beautiful image through the TCAA Facebook page.

M57, the Ring Nebula, by Marc Tiritilli M13, Globular Cluster, by M Tiritilli M51, The Whirlpool, by Marc Tiritilli

All three of these images were taken from Mark Evans Observatory on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University during the night of April 21/22. These are all single exposures, with brightness curves adjusted in Photoshop to reduce background fog. Equipment used consisted of a Celestron C11 at f/10 with a Nikon D3300. All images 30 seconds at ISO 6400. Stars in the M57 image reach down to magnitude 16!

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

FULL VISUAL SOLAR SPECTRUM ~ by Tim Stone ~

On the afternoon of April 5th, I spent a couple hot hours in the driveway with my 80mm refractor and my spectrometer gathering data for the full visual solar spectrum. I ended up with about 45 spectral images, all of which needed to be stitched together to create a complete solar spectrum. I felt that the time was right to try to automate the stitching process, as stitching 40-something panels together would take days and be so mind-numbing I'd probably not get through it all before going comatose. So, I spent those days writing software that would do the stitching for me. After some trial and error, I'm happy to say that the stitcher works very well. It will probably need some tweaking but, overall, it produced a very satisfactory spectrum. After calibrating it, I wanted to present it in color, so I wrote another program that read the calibrated profile, converted wavelengths to RGB values, and put out a nice color graphic which approximates visual color perception. For the NIR, I faded to grayscale, which certainly mimics visual response in terms of color. Of course, the eye can't see infrared, so lines in that region are synthesized in gray tones. The resulting spectral strip was 26,000 pixels in length, far too long for practical presentation for much of any purpose. I started imaging a poster-style presentation with the color spectrum, the intensity profile, and line identifications and wavelengths shown. The first two items were trivial but identifying all those lines by hand was going to be even more mind- numbing than stitching the panels together. I wrote software that identified line minimums and searched a database of lines and their elemental or molecular sources and presented created a graphic with all of the components. The end result is a really nice poster which I will print as soon as some place to print it opens up. Here is a crop of the Mg Triplet (b1,3,4) lines and the region around them. Also attached is a condensed version of the full spectral strip. This is much better quality than the first such effort I undertook in July of last year, but it is just the warm-up for another attempt at a very high-resolution solar spectrum this summer. To that end, I'm building the new version of the Lowspec spectrometer, and fitting it with a longer focal length camera lens to better match the theoretical resolution of the grating with the pixel size of my camera. It'll be a huge effort, but with these tools it should be within reach. Stay tuned!

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 3628)

The image shown left was taken with the QHY600 camera on the CK17 at SGO on April 23rd by Scott Wade. It was post- processed using PixInsight and Photoshop by Scott Wade and Bob Finnigan. NGC 3628 is a spiral galaxy found in the constellation Leo and located approximately 35 million light years away. A remarkable feature of the galaxy is an obscuring band of dust along the out edge of its spiral arms. NGC 3628, along with M65 and M66, form a triple group of galaxies known as the Leo Triplet. The gravitational pull of these neighboring galaxies is thought to have tipped the plane of NGC 3628.

TCAA NEWSLETTER EDITOR/HISTORIAN NEEDED STARTING 2021

As was noted in the Minutes of the March 2020 Board of Directors Meeting, this newsletter’s editor will be stepping down from his position of not only Editor but as Historian and Secretary with the expiration of his terms in 2021. It appears as though the club has someone willing to take over as Secretary, but the positions of Editor and Historian still await one or two volunteers. The present editor has served since 2013. Because The OBSERVER nowadays constitutes a detailed history of the club’s activities, the newsletter editor can serve as de facto historian. No longer is there a need for such historical volume as the 139-page work produced for the 50th anniversary of the TCAA. Still, another individual can assist the efforts of the editor as historian by documenting day-to-day activities of the club by compiling AstroBits and writing small articles about club events and providing photographic images. If you are interested in stepping up and becoming editor of this newsletter and/or historian of the TCAA, now would be a good time to consult President Tim Stone and begin working with Carl Wenning so that there can be a seamless transition of duties. All that is needed is skill in the use of Microsoft Word. Carl has also served as TCAA Secretary for many years and will be stepping down from that position as well in February 2021. We have a member who agreed to take over Secretarial duties if Carl would serve a 2020-21 term which he is now doing. Ergo, that position should be “covered.” Carl will continue to produce NCRAL’s Northern Lights newsletter until his term as Regional Chair ends, also in 2021.

TCAA ACTIVE ON FACEBOOK

Did you know that the TCAA is very active on Facebook? We currently have nearly 900 followers, and very few of them are TCAA members! We encourage all users of social media to follow the TCAA to see what the club is doing and to learn about nightly events that 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. If you haven’t followed TCAA’s Face-book page recently, you have missed out on a lot of opportunities to view the sky with the unaided eye from town and country.

DID YOU KNOW?

Are you looking for back issues of The Are you looking for information about Are you looking for the TCAA Guides to OBSERVER? Look no further than here: the history of the TCAA? Find out more amateur astronomy? Visit this page: http://tcaa.us/Observer.aspx here: http://tcaa.us/History.aspx http://tcaa.us/TCAAGuides.aspx

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

PINWHEEL GALAXY (MESSIER 101)

The image shown right is M101, the so-called Pinwheel Galaxy in Ursa Major. It was taken by Scott Wade on the evening of April 26th using the 17” CDK PlaneWave telescope at Prairie Sky Observatory. This image was taken using the new QHY 600 monochrome camera set at –20°C. The image consists of twenty-four 300-seconds subs, each of RGB (red, green blue) along with darks, biases, and flats. Scott stacked and processed the image using PixInsight and Photoshop. According to Wikipedia, “The Pinwheel Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy distanced 21 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. Discovered by Pierre Méchain on March 27, 1781, it was communicated to Charles Messier who verified its position for inclusion in the Messier Catalogue as one of its final entries.” We look forward to seeing more such work coming from Scott Wade, a recent graduate of the Bob Finnigan School of Astrophotography at PSO!

Prairie Sky (roll-off-roof) and Sugar Grove (domed) Observatories at Sugar Grove Nature Center near McLean, Illinois.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

LUNAR DELIGHTS! ~ by Tim Stone ~

Mare Imbrium is a vast, circular region of the northwest quadrant of the near side of the Moon, very plainly visible to the naked eye between waxing gibbous and third quarter phases. It is the result of the impact of an asteroid 150 miles in diameter about 3.5 billion years ago. That impact excavated an enormous amount of the lunar surface and subsurface and sent most of it flying away from the impact site at high speed. The collision was so cataclysmic it created a notable feature on the lunar surface at the point on the far side directly opposite the impact site, where the seismic shock wave converged. This impact blew a hole in the Moon’s crust and blasted material outward for a distance of at least 500 miles. The effects of this collision can still be seen today.

When astronomers first turned their primitive telescopes toward the moon, the prevailing thought was that it was a place pretty much like Earth, with mountain ranges, oceans, and such. When they named these features, they often named them after similar features here on our planet. The Apennine Mountains form the spine of Italy, running right down the

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

middle of that grand peninsula for its entire length. Thus, this mountain range on the moon is named “Montes Appenninus: The Apennine Mountains.” This gorgeous mountain range forms the eastern boundary of Mare Imbrium, Like most impacts, it created a crater with typical crater walls. These mountains are what remains visible of that crater rim after the crater filled with magma that rose through the shattered crust. Some of the material ejected by this impact would doubtless have had enough energy to achieve lunar orbit, and some would have escaped the moon, entering Earth orbit.

The large crater in the upper right of the above image is named Ptolemaeus, after the incredible Greco-Roman scholar Ptolemy. It is about 95 miles across, so it gives us a good reference for how large the Imbrium impactor was. It was about the size of Ptolemaeus and the crater south of it, Alphonsus, put together. For a sense of scale, imagine Bloomington, Illinois, where I live, at the top of Ptolemaeus, and St. Louis, Missouri, at the bottom of Alphonsus. The asteroid itself was that big. Mare Imbrium is about 700 miles in diameter, which would cover virtually the entire Midwest, and that is just the crater.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

The region of the moon around Ptolemaeus was almost completely obliterated by Imbrium ejecta, even though the impact site is hundreds of miles to the northwest. The most notable effects are the gouges running diagonally across the landscape. These scars were made by huge chunks of the lunar surface as they hit at low angle and ground to a stop dozens of miles from where they landed. Some of these marks are bona-fide valleys. Others are shallower. The depth and length are related. Bigger chunks left deeper and longer gouges than smaller chunks. The rim of Ptolemaeus was nearly demolished by the storm of gigantic chunks of rock that ground their way across the terrain. Today, what’s left of its rim is deeply gouged, but most of it is simply gone. The floor of the crater remains as a lava plain. The crater floor flooded with magma at some point, with just the ghostly shadow of a buried crater being the only visible remnant of the original interior. Look for it just below the north rim.

The shore of Mare Imbrium opposite Montes Appeninus is a hodge-podge of jumbled ruins. Here, the rim of the Imbrium crater is almost non-existent, with a few peaks still jutting above the floor of the lava flow and huge chunks of lunar crust tossed about almost randomly. Unlike the mountains to the south, this area seems completely disorganized. The resulting terrain is fascinating, with its play of light and shadow. Brilliant bluffs lit by the rising sun cast long, jagged shadows onto their

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

relatively featureless surroundings. What must these scenes look like to someone situated on the surface near them? The gently undulating plain, seemingly as flat as a pancake and extending as far as you can see, is viciously interrupted by this mountain, several thousand feet high, and looking like it just doesn’t belong. It would be spectacular! There has been plenty of action here since the Imbrium impact. Most notable is the large circular crater Plato. Also filled with lava, its floor is pocked by a few small craterlets younger than Plato. To the southeast of Plato, we see the skeleton of an ancient crater, as large as Plato and almost completely submerged under Imbrium lava. It must predate this lava flow, but not the Imbrium impact itself. If it were there before the impact, it would surely have been completely obliterated. From this and other evidence, we can begin to build a timeline of events: Imbrium impact, hidden crater impact, Imbrium flooding, Plato impact. By studying the currently visible lunar surface features, we’ve assembled a reasonably complete timeline for the events that shaped the moon as we see it today. When the Apollo missions visited the surface, one of the primary goals was to gather samples of the surface and bring them back so their age could be determined. The landing sites were chosen very strategically, so we could assign ages to various points on the timeline. For the first time, we finally knew the age of various regions and features on the moon and could say more than “this is older than that.” To me, these scenes are more than geologically interesting They are beautiful to me, which is remarkable because they are the result of a catastrophe, the magnitude of which we simply cannot imagine. There is a lesson to me in this. Beauty can and does emerge from troubles, big and small. If you look for it, you will find it. If you don’t find it, you’re not looking closely enough!

ONLINE PUBLIC TALK TOPICS FOR 2020

While our public viewing sessions for 2020 have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the talks have not been cancelled. The first talk slated for April 25th (Mars and the Events of 2020, Carl Wenning), was made available over Facebook and YouTube. The same will follow in similar fashion for the following topics as well.

May 23: Galaxies of the Spring Sky (Tim Stone)

In the spring, our line of sight on the sky looks straight out of our galaxy into the vast space beyond, showcasing thousands of bright galaxies and millions of dim ones. We will tour this neighborhood of the universe, highlighting some of the most beautiful galaxies in the heavens.

June 20: Navigating with Stars (Sunil Chebolu)

For centuries, navigators have relied on stars to identify directions, compute latitude, and even read local time. We will explore these ideas and also examine the problem of measuring one’s longitude at sea – a fascinating problem that defeated some of the best minds in the world for many years.

July 18: Jupiter & Saturn (Mark Boulware)

Jupiter and Saturn offer stark contrasts when compared to the inner planets. We will review how and why they formed in their current locations and their impact on the formation of the rest of the solar system. We will learn how the two greatest planets are similar yet different.

August 22: Touring the Milky Way (Mark Cabaj)

The Milky Way is one of the countless stellar islands floating in a cosmic foam of dark matter, dark energy, and matter. Humanity is trying to find out what our galaxy looks like inside and out using ingenious observing methods and increasingly more sensitive equipment. Take a tour of our “cosmic home” to see what we know so far.

September 19: The ISS: Past, Present, and Future (Sandullah Epsicokhan)

The International Space Station (ISS) is humankind’s largest artificial satellite. Given the right time and conditions, it can be easily seen orbiting overhead. We will look at how it was constructed, how it is used, what it is like living in space, and where it is headed in the future.

October 17: Missions to Mars (Lee Green)

As we reach our closest approach to Mars for the year, the Red Planet shines brightly throughout the evening. Let’s review the many spacecraft missions we’ve sent there, what they are revealing, and how they are paving the way for a future manned mission to Mars.

Vol. 45, No. 5 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers May 2020

TCAA TREASURER’S REPORT AS OF APRIL 27, 2020

Checking Account Information

Memo Category Amount BALANCE 02/27/2020 952.77 Filing Fee Annual Report Annual Report (10.00) Grant Donation: State Farm 485.15 Sandullah Epsicokhan Dues Received 25.13 Scott Wade Dues Received 140.00 Grant Donation: State Farm 485.15 Insurance Insurance, Liability (174.00) Electrical Service Waynesville Observatory (50.24) Transfer from Savings to create account activity Transfer From Savings 50.00 BALANCE 03/29/2020 1,903.96

Checking Account Balance – April 27, 2020 $1,903.96 Savings Account Balance – April 27, 2020 $2,018.00 - Includes $0.02 cents interest as of this date

Total TCAA Funds – April 27, 2020 $3,871.96

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

Respectfully submitted, Dave Osenga, Treasurer