alactic Observer GJohn J. McCarthy Observatory Volume 7, No. 6 June 2014 False Impressions A false-color image of the southern hemisphere of Venus, taken by the European Space Agency's ESA Venus Express. The blue is not water, which does not exist on the planet's surface, but the atmosphere composed primarily of nitrogen and carbon dioxide and blurred by clouds of sulfuric acid and metallic snow. About 4 billion years ago, the Venusian climate may have supported life, but the erosion of its magnetic field and a runaway greenhouse effect evolved a dark, windswept desert on a surface shielded from the Sun. Strangely, the weird atmosphere which doomed the planet could possibly harbour life within its narrow, temperate regions. (See more on page 10) Credits: ESA © 2007 MPS/DLR-PF/IDA The John J. McCarthy Observatory Galactic Observer New Milford High School Editorial Committee 388 Danbury Road Managing Editor New Milford, CT 06776 Bill Cloutier Phone/Voice: (860) 210-4117 Production & Design Phone/Fax: (860) 354-1595 www.mccarthyobservatory.org Allan Ostergren Website Development JJMO Staff Marc Polansky It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory Technical Support has established itself as a significant educational and Bob Lambert recreational resource within the western Connecticut Dr. Parker Moreland community. Steve Allison Jim Johnstone Steve Barone Carly KleinStern Colin Campbell Bob Lambert Dennis Cartolano Roger Moore Route Mike Chiarella Parker Moreland, PhD Jeff Chodak Allan Ostergren Bill Cloutier Marc Polansky Cecilia Detrich Joe Privitera Dirk Feather Monty Robson Randy Fender Don Ross Randy Finden Gene Schilling John Gebauer Katie Shusdock Elaine Green Jon Wallace Tina Hartzell Paul Woodell Tom Heydenburg Amy Ziffer In This Issue OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT .................................... 4 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 16 MONS RÜMKER ............................................................. 5 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 18 SATURN ......................................................................... 6 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 18 CELEBRATE THE SUMMER SOLSTICE AT THE OBSERVATORY ... 7 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 18 FAILED STARS ................................................................ 7 PHOTO CREDITS ............................................................ 18 SOLAR SYSTEM SECRETS: OORT CLOUD COMETS ............... 8 SECOND SATURDAY STARS ............................................... 19 PORTRAIT IN RED AND GREEN .......................................... 9 GRAPHIC CALENDAR ...................................................... 20 VENUS - STRANGER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE .................... 10 PUSHING THE ENVELOPE ................................................. 12 PENETRATING VIEW ....................................................... 13 LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER .................................. 13 SUMMER SOLSTICE ........................................................ 14 JUNE HISTORY .............................................................. 15 WOMEN IN SPACE .......................................................... 15 AN EXTRAORDINARY FEAT .............................................. 15 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 16 SUMMER NIGHTS ........................................................... 16 2 • June 2014 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org June AstronomyCalendar and Space Exploration Almanac o d ( 1 w h v 3 t p i http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org June 2014 • 3 “Out the Window on Your Left” T’S BEEN OVER 40 YEARS since we left the last footprint on the dusty lunar surface. Sadly, as Ia nation founded on exploration and the conquest of new frontiers, we appear to have lost our will to lead as a space-faring nation. But, what if the aver- age citizen had the means to visit our only natural satellite; what would they see out the window of their spacecraft as they entered orbit around the Moon? This column may provide some thoughts to ponder when planning your visit (if only in your imagination). The screenshot above shows the elevation profile of a 29 mile (47 km) cross section of Mons Rümker. The total rise in elevation is approximately 2,700 feet (816 meters). The path query tool is available at http:// target.lroc.asu.edu/q3/ and relies upon a data base and global photographic mosaic assembled from informa- tion collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter over the past five years. Lunar "lakes" and "seas" are actually expansive low-lying plains formed by ancient lava flows The view this month includes the northwest re- gion of Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms), a vast expanse of lava flows and a peculiar feature often overlooked by the casual lunar observer due to its low profile. Rising out of the surrounding and younger lava flows is a collection of 30 or more volcanic domes -Mons Rümker. It is the largest known volcanic complex on the Moon with a di- ameter of approximately 40 miles (65 km). It is best viewed around sunrise, approximately 3 days be- fore the Full Moon. The Mons Rümker complex may be as old as 3.4 billion years, more than 2 billion years older than the surrounding mare. While its origin remains unclear, the volcanic complex may be related to two other fea- tures in the area, the Aristarchus Plateau, with the larg- est sinuous rille on the Moon, and the Marius Hills, a LRO image of Rümker domes R3 and R4 from NASA/GSFC/ASU. Image processing by Kurt field of 300 volcanic domes and cones. Fisher (white bar is 3.5 km in length) 4 • June 2014 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Mons Rümker http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org June 2014 • 5 Saturn While the distance between the Earth and Sat- urn is increasing, the ringed planet is still well placed for evening observers in June. As shown on the sky map be- low, Saturn can be found in the constellation Li- bra, east of Virgo and the planet Mars, and west of Scorpio. Saturn’s north pole is now in sun- light (seasons on Saturn are due to its 27° axial tilt and last seven Earth years). Sunlight has illuminated a large stationary hurricane at the north pole, spin- on the very edge of Saturn’s A ring, the outermost of ning inside a hexagonal weather pattern. Cassini had Saturn’s bright rings. While the rings may have con- previous found a polar vortex at Saturn’s south pole. tained enough material in the past to produce large June 30th marks the 10th anniversary of the arrival moons, this process would have depleted the rings over of the Cassini spacecraft at the Saturnian system. time. It is unlikely that a new moon would acquire Cassini’s images of Saturn’s ring system in April significant mass today and may already be falling may have caught the birth of a small moon in progress apart, to be reabsorbed by the icy swarm. Graphic: Heavens-Above.com 6 • June 2014 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Celebrate the Summer Solstice at the Observatory Join us at the John J. McCarthy Observatory on Saturday, June 21st for a rare daytime event. Weather permitting, the Observatory will be celebrating the Summer Solstice from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Activities and topics will include tours of the inner (scale model) solar system, safe solar viewing, sunspot observation, an introduction to the analemma, listening to the Sun via a radio telescope, learning about heliot- ropism (sun-following plants), solar energy demonstrations, space weather, and telling time with a sundial. Classroom presentations will cover a range of topics about our nearest star including its life-giving energy, as well as its destructive power. Since fair weather is essential for solar viewing, the event will be rescheduled in the case of inclement weather. If you are planning on attending, and the weather is unsettled, please check the Observatory’s website for the latest news: www.mccarthyobservatory.org. The Observatory is conveniently located behind New Milford High School on Route 7. Failed Stars When you think of stars, you typically envision blazing, glowing spheres of high temperature plasma. But stars come in all flavors; from small, cool dwarfs to raging supergiants. At the lowest end of the size and temperature scale are “brown dwarfs,” objects larger than the largest planet but smaller than the smallest star. Brown dwarfs failed to attain sufficient mass during their formation to sustain the fusion of hydrogen. While they radiate little energy, brown dwarfs may be common and therefore an important contributor to the total mass of the galaxy. http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org June 2014 • 7 Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) Graphic: Penn State University The low temperature of these smallest and coolest protostars presents a challenge to astronomers surveying the local cosmic neighborhood. Brown dwarfs can be invisible when viewed by telescopes operating in the visible spectrum and barely distinguishable in the infrared. However, NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and the Spitzer Space Telescope have recently found the coldest brown dwarf discovered to date. The newly discovered “failed star” is only 7.2 light years away, less than twice as far as the nearest star system is from the Sun. WISE J085510.83-071442.5 (WISE 0855–0714) is estimated to be between 3 and 10 times the mass of Jupiter, one of the least massive brown dwarfs. Its temperature has been estimated between minus 54 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 48 to minus