THE OBSERVER The Astronomy Club of Tulsa’s Newsleer Published Since 1937 RON WOOD NETA APPLE SCOTT ROKEBY JACK EASTMAN JENNIFER LAND BRAD YOUNG ANN BRUNN JOHN LAND ACT Joins NASA Space Place CLUBS DARK SITE SEARCH NOW UNDER WAY. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? ? www.astrotulsa.com DECEMBER 2011 The Astronomy Club of Tulsa. INSIDE NOTES THE COVER ASTRONOMER OF THE MONTH (COVER) This month we go way back and celebrate Anaximander (611‐547 B.C., Ionian) who was a Greek philosopher who made the first detailed maps of the Earth and the sky. He knew that the Earth was round, and be‐ lieved that it was free‐floang and unsup‐ ported. He measured its circumference, and was the first to put forward the idea that celesal bodies make full circles in their orbits. One of his greatest contribu‐ ons was the fact that he was the first to conceptualize space as having depth. Cover background is the Christmas Tree Nebula from Astronomy Picture of the Day. Think about a tree laid down from le to right. Here we are at the end of the year again. I To Submit to the Observer: don’t have much to say here, as we have 40 Email your arcle or content with pictures to jer‐ pages this month that I think, may be in the [email protected] please put newsleer in running for one of our best issues. I hope the subject or it might not show up. you all enjoy the Observer this month and I want to thank a few of my best contribu‐ tors this past year, without whose help I could not do the observer. John Land, Ann Bruun, Ron Wood, Neta Apple, Jack East‐ NEW MEMBER CORNER man, Brad Young, and photo contribuons 1. Joey Woodson from Tamara Green and Rod Gallagher. Many others help as well and if I le your 2. Ned Skinner name off please accept my apologies as I will make a big deal out of you in another 3. Marilyn Leaman issue. You won’t be forgoen. 1 THE OBSERVER IS PUBLISHED BY: JERRY MULLENNIX CONTENTS FEATURES 3 Guest Speaker Announcement 4 Message From the President Ann Brunn Northern Lights and Astronauts 5 Northern Lights and Astro‐ Sco Rokeby By: Sco Rokeby Page 5 nauts. 6 Cosmic Magnec Fields Ron Wood 9 Dark Sky Site Search Com‐ Brad Young miee 10 Jack Eastman and Okie‐Tex Jack Eastman Cosmic Magnec Fields. 2011 By: Ron Wood Page 5 14 Astronomy Facts for Beginners Jerry Mullennix 15 Meteorite ALH84001 Neta Apple 19 As The Dome Turns Jerry Mullennix Jack Eastman and Okie‐Tex 2011 By: Jack Eastman Page 10 20 MIRA: A Real Shoong Star NASA Spaceplace 24 Paral Lunar Eclipse John Land 25 Promo Items & Book Review Jenifer Land Meteorite ALH84001 By: Neta Apple Page 15 26 2012 Astro Calendar SeaSky.org 27 Constellaon of the Month SeaSky.org 30 NASA News JPL MIRA: A Real Shoong Star By: NASA SPACEPLACE Page 20 37 Survey Results From Club Din‐ Catherine Kahbi ner THE OBSERVER 2 Come join the Astronomy Club of Tulsa as we Jim “O’Toole” Millers welcome George Flickinger. George is Meteor‐ Astro Words of ologist with many years in the field. George Wisdom: now works for KJRH channel 2 where I am sure we have all seen him as he alerts us to Tornado condions and other weather condions that “Cooking ants on the play such a huge part of Astronomy. sidewalk using the sun and your eyepieces are bad for the coangs” Friday December 9, 2011 at 7:00 PM 3727 East Apache, Tulsa, OK 74115 Room 1603 Building #2 Student Union 1 3 THE OBSERVER Ann Bruun PRESIDENTS MESSAGE It’s that me of year again when the Meeng at TCC Northeast Friday, Dec. order to keep up the Astro 101s we need weather turns cold, and the wind sngs 9th. George Flickinger is going to give us volunteers to present them. You don’t your skin. But it’s also the me of year a meteorologist’s eye view of the Joplin have to be an expert at something to talk when the there are more hours of night tornado. Followed by an Astronomy 101 about it. Just pick a topic you are inter‐ and the skies turn crystal clear. We are tour of some popular and useful web‐ ested in and do a lile invesgang. lured out into the chill by the beauful sites. We have Sidewalk astronomy at When I picked Globular clusters to talk sights available only during the coldest Bass Pro Saturday Dec. 10th. There is a about a couple of years ago I didn’t know months. I love seeing Orion lounging on full moon that night so it should be gor‐ anything about them except that I like the eastern horizon in the evening. That geous. them. Please consider picking a topic and means the Pleiades are already up and presenng an Astronomy 101. If you’d The results of the survey that was hand‐ the open clusters of Auriga are waing like to volunteer contact me at: ed out at the dinner meeng have been for us. Yes the weather is harsh but am‐ [email protected] tabulated. I would like to thank Cathe‐ ateur astronomers are a special breed. rine for pung the survey together and I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday We put up with the discomfort oen also thank everyone who parcipated. season and you all get the astronomy without even nocing because we are so Look for a summary in this or the January toys you are hoping for! captured by the mysteries we discover newsleer. Many of you commented through our telescopes. Ann Bruun you would like to see more Astronomy I hope everyone can make it out to the 101s at the meengs. I agree. But, in ACT President Lasers and Astronomy of our group had anything to do with nothing but the green glare that lit the these events, but It sll does not hurt to cabin and it was extremely difficult to By: Jerry Mullennix point out the seriousness of such acon read my panel as I landed the plane. anyway. IT IS A FEDERAL CRIME TO Some instruments went blank because I am sure most of you remember when POINT A LASER AT OR IN THE VICINITY they are green lit as well and could not we used to just point to an area of the OF ANY AIRCRAFT. I can assure you the be seen” sky with a finger to teach astronomy. FBI does not take this lightly either, as Along came the green laser and from our As astronomers we are acutely aware of they have contacted us in regards to perspecve much changed in poinng how sensive the pupil is to light and finding the individual responsible. our scopes and teaching astronomy. Alt‐ how long it takes the human eye to re‐ hough, I really wonder somemes, how One of my favorite things to do when I cover from light glare and build more much astronomy we really teach when have me is read newspapers from other purple visual, let alone if the pilot had we turn them on and point them? It parts of the world to gain perspecve. been hit in the eye with a laser. It might seems to me if the group is too young One arcle I read in a Russian newspaper never recover. they lose all interest in astronomy and had an arcle about a pilot on approach You couple this with the fact he has hun‐ the quesons turn to the laser itself. at night when he was hit with a green dreds of lives depending on him to land Somemes it happens with much older laser. It was the best descripon I’ve that plane safely and it makes perfect groups. read of what happens in an aircra when sense the FBI would be hunng violators a laser shines in. I am wring this note because in the past down as vigorously as if they had robbed week there were two incidents in the He said “because the cockpit is lights out a bank. Use lasers responsibly people’s area of our observatory of lasers being except for instrumentaon, when the lives and freedom depend on it. pointed at aircra. I seriously doubt any laser shined in all of us in the cockpit saw THE OBSERVER 4 By: Jerry Mullennix By: Sco Rokeby It was a dark a stormy night...well occasional satellite passing overhead as, all I was le with was the North‐ dark and windy any way, Kansas, so providing most of the excite‐ ern Lights! it was expected. Quite clear actual‐ ment. And then....a light. ly. I had drove to Wichita Sunday the As I said it was just happenstance 23rd of October with my friend Ste‐ I can’t really say “lights” as it was tru‐ that I was able to get out at all, so all phen for business, planning to stay ly one light in the beginning, starng I had with me was my cell phone for taking pictures and sadly, it simply through the week. Having checked at the northern horizon and climbing my dark sky map I knew just east was wasn't up to the task. So instead, I to about 60 degrees in to the sky, some good dark sky viewing, so I simply craned my neck back and brought my old 6 inch Meade while extending from the east horizon to stared in amazement.