THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS Volume 45, Number 11 November 2020 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 1 Editor’s Choice: Image of the Month – 2 President’s Note 3 Calendar of Astronomical Events – November 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 AstroBits – News from Around the TCAA 5 Daylight Saving Time Commentary 7 November 2020 with Jeffrey L. Hunt 11 Renewing Your TCAA Membership 18 Waynesville Observatory Use Policy Statement 18 TCAA Image Gallery 18 Did You Know? 19 TCAA Treasurer’s Report as of October 27, 2020 The TCAA is an affiliate of the Astronomical League as well as its EDITOR’S CHOICE: IMAGE OF THE MONTH – WEBO-1 North Central Region. For more information about the TCAA, be This month’s editor’s choice is by Tim Stone. Tim writes, “I certain to visit the TCAA website at started this image in early September, and finally finished it last http://www.tcaa.us/ night (October 12th). This is 12 hours of imaging the region between the Heart and the Soul nebula. Visit http://www.astroleague.org for Neither of those nebulae were my target, though they do make additional information about the an interesting if not unconventional composition for this image. The Astronomical League and its diminutive and recently discovered planetary nebula WEBO-1 was numerous membership benefits, my target for this image. This image was taken with the 10". including observing programs. Its 2.3-degree field of view doesn't give a close-up view of the ring-like planetary, but it clearly shows in the image. It surprises me Also, visit the NCRAL website at how many images I see that include this location but shows no trace http://ncral.wordpress.com for in- of the planetary. Even in narrowband, most astrophotographers formation about our North Central manage to fail to reveal it. Region. Find out about the many I hope to image WEBO-1 again but with the 24" to get a much benefits of your membership from better look at its neat little ring. It's just above and to the right of this site. center in my image. (Editor’s note: See a detailed image and inset closeup of WEBO-1 later in this newsletter.) Copyright © 2020 TCAA 1 All rights reserved. Vol. 45, No. 11 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers November 2020 PRESIDENT’S NOTE The OBSERVER We’re in the next to last month of 2020. is the monthly electronic newsletter of Twin We might be relieved that this memorable City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organiz- year, to say the least, is almost behind us. ation of amateur astronomers interested in While it has indeed been filled with things studying astronomy and sharing their hobby we never expected, it’s also been filled with with the public. happenings and people to be thankful for. This month is thought of as the TCAA OFFICERS & CHAIRPERSONS Thanksgiving Season. I try to live thankfully President, Director, & Property Manager every day, and yet in this time I start to look Tim Stone 309-531-2401 back on the year with an eye toward [email protected] identifying things I’m thankful for. Here are Vice President & Director/Membership Coord. a few of the things on my list that are President Tim Tom Willmitch 309-846-2423 astronomy-related: Stone [email protected] Treasurer & Director/Registered Agent • I’m thankful for the progress I’ve made in spectroscopy. It’s very fulfilling for me Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 to see my results now compared to just two years ago, and I find I enjoy the [email protected] activity as much as my deep sky photography. Assistant Property Manager/ALCor • I’m thankful for the nights, few though they may be, that I was able to image in Scott Wade 309-310-2464 2020. Some of the nights in September were among the best nights I’ve [email protected] experienced anywhere, with transparency and seeing both 10 out of 10. Those 5th Director nights were truly awe inspiring, as this central Illinois sky looked much like the Sunil Chebolu 678-896-5967 sky at the dark site I’ve been to in west Texas. These are nights I will always [email protected] remember, and I’m especially thankful for them. Secretary/Historian/Editor • I’m thankful for the encouragement I’ve received from members of TCAA in my Carl J. Wenning 309-830-4085 [email protected] astronomical pursuits. Every kind, encouraging word means so much to me, and I so appreciate every one of them. Technology Coordinator/Assistant Editor • I’m thankful for getting started in radio astronomy. It’s been a dream of mine Sandullah Epsicokhan 309-828-0227 [email protected] for many, many years to observe the sky at radio wavelengths. To see that dream becoming reality makes me so thankful and has opened my eyes to a Webmaster Lee Green 309-454-7349 whole new view of this awesome universe. [email protected] What are you thankful for this year? Yes, it’s been a hard year in many ways, but AL Observing Club Coordinator this year has given us all an opportunity to slow down and reflect on what is really Lisa Wentzel unlisted number [email protected] important to us. We tend to get focused on who did or didn’t do something we think they should have, or did or didn’t say something, or whatever. Yet we are all still The OBSERVER here, still warm and fed and taken care of. The stars still shine, the moon still goes Carl J. Wenning, Editor through its phases, Mars comes to opposition right on schedule. Indeed, the universe Submission deadline two days before is nonplussed by our 2020 stresses. Yes, we all have so much to be thankful for. the end of each month. Tim Stone MEMBERSHIP DUES TCAA President Individual Adult/Family $40 Full-time Student/Senior $25 (Senior status equals ages 60+) To join, send your name, contact info, and dues payment to Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., Normal, IL 61761-1471. Copyright © 2020 TCAA 2 All rights reserved. Vol. 45, No. 11 The OBSERVER of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers November 2020 CALENDAR OF ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS – NOV 2020 NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS MORNING PLANETS (11/15): Mercury (☿) and Venus (♀︎) The following individuals have paid dues for new or EVENING PLANETS (11/15): Mars (♂︎), Jupiter (♃), Saturn (♄), renewed memberships as of October 27, 2020. (Others who paid after that date will appear in the December 2020 Uranus (⛢), and Neptune (♆) issue of 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 but for the first are given in Central Standard Time. New: None Renewing: Chris Franklin, Geoff Hughes, Tom Weiland, and Anthony Cellini Day Time Event 01 02:00 DST ends: Turn Clock Back 1 hr Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! 01 21 Mercury at Perihelion 03 00:58 Aldebaran 4.6°S of Moon DUES BLUES 03 20:39 Moon at Ascending Node 05 00 S Taurid Meteor Shower If you have received a dues statement email along with this issue of The OBSERVER, please send your dues 06 13:52 Pollux 3.9°N of Moon to Mr. Dave Osenga, TCAA Treasurer, 1109 N. Linden St., 07 13:34 Beehive 2.3°S of Moon Normal, IL 61761-1471. Dues are currently $25 for seniors 08 07:46 LAST QUARTER MOON (60 years of age and over) and $40 regular. 09 04:20 Regulus 4.7°S of Moon 10 11 Mercury Greatest Elong: 19.1°W SUBSCRIBING TO THE TCAA EMAIL LIST 11 23 N Taurid Meteor Shower 12 15:30 Venus 3.1°S of Moon Welcome to the [email protected] group at Groups.io. 13 14:45 Mercury 1.7°S of Moon This is a free, easy-to-use group email service set up for 14 05:48 Moon at Perigee: 357839 km the TCAA’s communication purposes. You can subscribe, 14 23:07 NEW MOON visit your group, read and post messages here: 16 07:27 Venus 3.6°N of Spica https://groups.io/g/tcaa 16 18:07 Moon at Descending Node The email address for this group is [email protected]. 17 05 Leonid Meteor Shower After you successfully subscribe, please add this email 19 02:54 Jupiter 2.5°N of Moon address to your safe sender list in your email client’s contacts, so emails from this list are not classified as junk 19 08:57 Saturn 2.9°N of Moon mail. 21 22:45 FIRST QUARTER MOON Once subscribed, you can set your subscription 25 13:45 Mars 4.9°N of Moon settings here: https://groups.io/g/tcaa/editsub. You can 26 18:29 Moon at Apogee: 405891 km opt to receive all messages in individual emails, collections 30 03:30 FULL MOON of messages in a digest, a daily summary, or only special 30 03:43 Pen. Lunar Eclipse; mag=0.829 notices. If you do not wish to belong to this group, you 30 07:07 Aldebaran 4.6°S of Moon may unsubscribe by sending an email to tcaa+[email protected] This Calendar of Astronomical Events courtesy of Fred Espenak.