Morning Star Summer 2016 Contents New Members ____________Pg 1 New Members The annual Stellafane Convention held just outside the town of Springfield Ver- Meetings ________________ Pg 1-2 mont will be Thursday through Sunday VAS welcomes the following new Aug 4-7. VAS President Jack St.Louis member who joined us since the last will provide an overview of the begin- newsletter: nings of Stellafane, what the conven- Angela Gatesy tion is about and what to expect if you Events ___________________Pg 2-3 Joel Greene attend. VAS member Dennis Woos -VAS Events will talk about obtaining telescope eye- - Public Star Gazing pieces and filters at the Swap Tables, - GMAAA Events Meetings/Presentations and VAS member Ron Lewis will pro- Articles __________________ Pg 3-8 Meetings are held the first (non-holi- vide insight on 'making the deal' to get - NASA’s Space Place Articles day) Monday of the month, at 7:30 the items you want at great swap prices. Hubble Shatters The Cosmic Re- P.M. in the Kolvoord Community If you have not yet been to Stellafane, cord For Most Distant Galaxy Room of the Brownell Library, 6 Lin- this meeting is one you do not want to NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite Sys- coln St., Essex Jct (2nd building miss. tem (JPSS) to revolutionize north of Essex 5 corners on the left Earth-watching on Rt. 2A). (see Map on our web site, - Video Astronomy, a Primer top of Events page). Extra parking is - Visit the VAS Website! available in the Bank North parking lot Board Talk ______________ Pg 8 across from the library. For inclement Observer’s Page ___________ Pg 9 weather call Jack St. Louis (802-658- - Mercury Transit 0184) or Paul Walker (work # 802- - Mars - Low Down but Good 861-8640) to confirm. - Saturn July 11 - Gary’s Astronomical Events for the Comradery, Club Members “Talking Shop” Month Note - The library is undergoing - Angele on the Radio renovations so it is not be avail- For Sale / Wanted _______ Pg 15-16 able for July. Instead we will be Announcements ___________ Pg 17 next door at the Senior Center An- Club Info ________________ Pg 17 nex (coming in the the library's main entrance it is on your the left). Stellafane Convention Intro By Jack St. Louis, Dennis Woos and Ron Lewis Treasures at the Swap Tables August 1 Memorable Observations and Experiences Under the Sky By Several Members By Joe Comeau Come hear stories from your fellow It was taken with a 6" RC off my balcony on astronomers and share some of your St. Paul Street in downtown Burlington. own. Most of us have experienced Both planets were imaged separately on the memorable sky events. Some are same evening with a STS-video camera and planned well in advance . Others are processed in Registax 6. Telescope Judging spur of the moment. Still others were Page 2 Stargazing Events All observing events -are weather Permitting un- New Email List for Member Use of less otherwise stated. Bring extra clothes. We want the Hinesburg Observing Site you to have an enjoyable and comfortable experi- 100 Observatory Road, Hinesburg, VT ence. Even a summer evening can be chilly after Currently, there are no planned member star gazing standing still for a couple hours in damp air. parties at GMO. However, for impromptu star gazing we now have an email account, [email protected], Keep in mind that last minute cancellations may oc- for members interesting in observing from the the Hines- cur even if the weather is good, so please check the web burg site ..This will make it easier for members interest- site (www.vtastro.org) Events page for any last minute ed in going to the Hinesburg Observing Site (and cancellations, members will be sent email updates. possibly other sites) to contact each other. You are welcome and encouraged to bring your own scope if you have one. If you are interested in being on this email list con- tact Paul Walker at [email protected] or Events include: Member and Invited Guest Star [email protected] Gazing and Public Star Gazing / Presentations for schools and libraries. All contact information is in blue. See details below and on the following pages totally unplanned and unexpected. And Member and Invited For Star Gazing at Angele’s then there are those experiences that Guest Star Gazing Contact: Paul above or were unexpected and unexplained and Angele Mott Nickerson eerie. Some that we can’t explain to –At the Observatory [email protected] this day. in Hinesburg For Star Gazing at Dennis’s September 12 –At Angele’s in Shelburne Contact: Paul above or –At Dennis’s in New Ha- Dennis 802-453-2360 [email protected] Emu in the Night Sky ven Exploring the Southern Stars If you are not a member, you are By Angele Mott-Nickerson For Star Gazing in Hinesburg welcome contact one of the board Contact: Paul Walker members listed on the last page, one 802-388-4220 (H) of us would be happy to invite you. 802-861-8640 (W) Check your email or the web [email protected] (H), site for last minute updates and [email protected] (W) cancellations. Public Star Gazing at If you know of a group or institution Schools, Libraries, that would like to schedule a star gaz- Image Credit: The Australian National University, Canberra ing session have them contact: and other, groups. Professor Neville H. Fletcher, now an Bob Horton 802-879-7802, emeritus professor at Australian Nation- [email protected] al University, once said: “In astronomy Check our website www.vtastro.org Ron Anstey (802-524-3653) circles it is often remarked — mostly by for any updates. Members can watch Joe Comeau (802-238-1664) envious northerners — that God, in for emails. Jack St. Louis (802-658-0184), creating the universe, perversely located [email protected] all the most interesting regions of our galaxy in the Southern Hemisphere, but constellations and special sights that stars for thousands of years before the all the astronomers in the north.” New only appear south of the equator. arrival of Europeans. If you’ve heard York Times, 12/27/14 Learn a little history of how the south- all about the Southern Cross, the Magel- Here in Vermont we’re used to seeing ern constellations came to be and some lanic Clouds, the Jewel Box, and the the same stars all the time, but travel of the stories associated with the stars. Coalsack and Carina Nebulas this is south and a whole new set of stars and We’ll also take a look at the night sky your chance to expand your horizons constellations emerge. During this talk through the eyes of Australia’s Aborigi- and maybe plan a trip south. we’ll take a look at the southern sky; the nal people to see how they viewed the Page 3 Green Mountain Alliance ton Battlefield! Here’s to eating take as long as twenty minutes to of Amateur Astronomers s’mores by the campfire and seeing truly adapt to the darkness of night. (GMAAA) s’more meteors overhead! So don’t rush the process. All good You need no special equipment to things come to those who wait. All events start about sunset. enjoy this nighttime spectacle. You Members of the Green Mountain don’t even have to know the constel- Alliance of Amateur Astronomers Contact Ron Lewis for more lations. But you’ll definitely want to will be setting up their telescopes for details find a dark, open sky to fully enjoy public viewing of deep sky objects. 802-779-5913 (cell) the show. It also helps to be a night 802-247-5913 (home) owl. Give yourself at least an hour September 3. Saturday, [email protected] of observing time, for meteors in Discovery Night - The Hidden meteor showers often come in Deep Sky Mysteries Unless otherwise noted, all spurts and are interspersed with of Our Universe GMAAA events are at the lulls; with up to 60 meteors per hours the Perseids is a reliably good A tour of the galaxy! A three-day Hubbardton Battlefield meteor shower as the Earth ploughs old crescent Moon sets not long af- State Historic Site. through the debris of the comet ter dark and the night kicks off with 5696 Monument Hill Rd, Swift-Tuttle. If our planet happens Saturn and Mars in the southwest Hubbardton, VT 05735 to pass through an unusually dense above Antares. The Whirlpool Gal- http://historicsites.vermont.gov/ clump of meteoroids – comet rubble axy is still pretty high in the north- directory/ , “Directory of Sites” , – we’ll see an elevated number of me- west, and M13 in Hercules is still a “Hubbardton Battlefield”, “Things to teors. We can always hope! showpiece high in the west. Count- Do”, “Events and Happenings” An open sky is essential because less sights in the summer Milky Way these meteors appear to fly across are there to wow any crowd, and by the sky in many different directions 10 PM Pegasus and Andromeda are August 12-13, and in front of numerous constella- high in the East. Stephan's Quintet Friday night-Saturday morning, tions. However, if you trace the awaits the 18" Obsession, along with Perseid Meteor Shower paths of the Perseid meteors back- jaw-dropping views of M31 and its ward, you’d find they come from a companions. The Perseid meteor shower is one point in front of the constellation It's Labor Day weekend, and a of the main celestial events of the Perseus.