August, 2013 Volume 54, Issue #8 The Prairie Astronomer The Official Newsletter of the Prairie Astronomy Club August Program IN THIS Nebraska Star Party Report and Photos ISSUE: What to View in September NGC Objects Nebraska Star Party Featured Photo By Brett Boller: 5 Minute shot of the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way. Taken at NSP, Merritt Reservoir. MSRAL The Prairie Astronomer is published monthly by the Prairie Astronomy Club, Inc. Membership expiration date is listed on the mailing label. Membership dues are: Regular $30/yr, Family $35/yr. Address all new memberships and renewals to: The Prairie Astronomy Club, Inc., PO Box 5585, Lincoln, NE 68505-0585. For other club information, please contact one of the club officers listed to the right. Newsletter comments and articles should be submitted to: Mark Dahmke, P. O. Box 5585, Lincoln, NE 68505 or [email protected], no less than ten days prior to the club meeting. The Prairie Astronomy Club meets the last Tuesday of each month at Hyde Memorial Observatory in Lincoln, NE. Meeting Minutes Jason Noelle called meeting to order at 7:30 PM Tuesday July 30, 2013. No official other business. Some informal conversation about Nebraska Star Party prizes. Last meeting was the annual BBQ and social. No business meeting was held in June. Observing report was presented by Jim Kvasnicka. 3 dates in June. June 28 (9 Next meeting is August 27th with Nebraska Star attended), July 5 (1 attendee), July 12 (6 Party (NSP) recap and slideshow. attended). Next star parties August 2 and August 9, concurrent with Nebraska Star Party. Reminded August 4-9 Nebraska Star Party at Presented Messier List and evening and morning Snake River Campground and Merritt Reservoir. objects. Perseids will peak August 11-13. Detailed some Astronomical League observing Bob Kacvinsky presented treasurer’s report. programs available to members. Audit was completed. Reminded about keeping up to date on dues. Paid dues for insurance and Jason suggested an informal club meeting occur astronomical league. at NSP. Outreach opportunity September 7, 2013 at Business meeting portion concluded at 7:46 PM. Wildwood Historic House in Nebraska City. Dan Delzell was point person. Asked to 3-4 volunteer Program following the meeting was Emily telescopes. Suggested contacting Eugene Moravec presenting on undergraduate research Lanning. OAS may be attending. Will send out a experiences in astronomy at Maria Mitchell PAC list email with information. Association in Massachusetts. NSP Photos–John Reinert Left: A lighter moment shared at the PAC Club campsite Below: Bookended while waiting for the Sunday evening meal. Zach Thompson interviewing Tom Miller. Photos by John Reinert The Prairie Astronomer 2 ANNUAL 2013 PAC Star MEMBERSHIP Party Dates Events REGULAR MEMBER - Dates in bold are closest to PAC Meeting $30.00 per year. Includes club the new moon Tuesday August 27th, newsletter, and 1 vote at club meetings, plus all other January: 4, 11 2013 @Hyde standard club privileges. February: 1, 8 Observatory March: 1, 8 April: 5 , 12 FAMILY MEMBER - $35.00 PAC Meeting per year. Same as regular May 3, 10 member except gets 2 votes June: May 31, June 7 Tuesday Sept 24th, 2013 at club meetings. July: June 28, July 5 @Hyde Observatory NSP August 4-9 (Nominations for Club August: 2, 9 STUDENT MEMBER - $10.00 Officers) per year with volunteer September: Aug 30, Sept 6 requirement. October: Sept 27, Oct 4 November: Oct 25, Nov 1 PAC Meeting If you renew your December: Nov 29, Dec 6 Tuesday Oct 29th, 2013 membership prior to your and 27 @Hyde Observatory annual renewal date, you will (Election) receive a 10% discount. PAC E-Mail: Club members are also [email protected] PAC Meeting eligible for special Tuesday Nov 26th, 2013 subscription discounts on Sky PAC-LIST: @Hyde Observatory & Telescope Magazine. To subscribe send a request to PAC. To post messages to the Newsletter submission deadline list, send to the address: September 15, 2013 Club Telescopes pac-list@ prairieastronomyclub.org To check out one of the club telescopes, contact Ben Rush. If you keep a scope for more Links than a week, please check in once a week, to verify the loca- PAC: www.prairieastronomyclub.org tion of the telescope and how Night Sky Network: https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/ long you plan to use it. The CafePress (club apparel) www.cafepress.com checkout time limit will be two weeks, but can be extended if www.hydeobservatory.info no one else has requested use www.nebraskastarparty.org of a club scope. www.OmahaAstro.com 100mm Orion refractor: Panhandleastronomyclub.com Available www.universetoday.com/ www.planetary.org/home/ 10 inch Meade Dobsonian: http://www.darksky.org/ Available Giant "Twisters" and Star Wisps in the Lagoon Nebula. 13 inch Truss Dobsonian: Credit: A. Caulet (ST-ECF, Available ESA) and NASA The Prairie Astronomer 3 September Observing: What to View—Jim Kvasnicka This is a partial list of objects visible for the M26, M55, M75 upcoming month. NGC and Other Deep Sky Objects Planets NGC 6826: The Blinking Planetary in Cygnus. Venus: Low in the WSW at magnitude -4.0 to NGC 6905: The Blue Flash Nebula, planetary -4.2 during September. nebula in Delphinus. Mercury: To the lower right of Venus, difficult to NGC 6934: Globular cluster in Delphinus. see. NGC 6960: The Veil Nebula western segment in Saturn: Starts the month 18º to the upper left of Cygnus, use an OIII filter. Venus. The gap closes between them and on the NGC 6974/6979: The Veil Nebula central evenings of September 18th and 19th Saturn is segment in Cygnus, use an OIII filter. 3½º above the brighter Venus. NGC 6992/6995: The Veil Nebula eastern Jupiter: Rises sooner and is high by the start of segment in Cygnus, use an OIII filter. dawn. Jupiter increases in brightness from a -2.0 NGC 7026: Bluish-green planetary nebula in to -2.2. Cygnus. Mars: Rises around 3 am all month. Mars will have two conjunctions in September. On Double Star Program List Otto Struve 525: Yellow and blue stars. September 8th and 9th it passes through M44. Gamma Delphinus: Yellow and yellow-green The second conjunction is with Comet ISON at pair. the end of September providing the comet is Zeta Aquarii: Yellow primary with a white bright enough. secondary. Uranus/Neptune: In Pisces and Aquarius. 94 Aquarii: Yellow and pale blue pair. Alpha Capricornus: Wide pair of yellow stars. Messier List Beta Capricornus: Yellow primary with a blue M13: The Great Hercules Cluster, Class V secondary. globular cluster. 36 Ophiuchi: Equal yellow-orange stars. M14: Class VIII globular cluster in Ophiuchus. Omicron Ophiuchi: Yellow and light yellow pair. M22: Class VII globular cluster in Sagittarius. 70 Ophiuchi: Yellow and orange stars. M28: Class IV globular cluster in Sagittarius. M54/M69/M70: Class III, V, and V globular Challenge Object clusters along the bottom of Sagittarius. Palomar 12: Class XII globular cluster in M92: Class IV globular cluster in Hercules. Capricornus. Visible in an 8” – 10” telescope in Last Month: M6, M7, M8, M9, M10, M12, M19, good seeing conditions. It appears as a faint, M20, M21, M23, M62, M107 small, unresolved haze. Next Month: M11, M16, M17, M18, M24, M25, NGC Objects—Jim Kvasnicka The Veil Nebula estimated to have occurred 30 to 40 thousand NGC 6960, NGC 6974, NGC 6979, NGC 6992, years ago. NGC 6995 The Veil Nebula is large, six times the diameter of The Veil Nebula was discovered by William the full Moon. It has a listed size of 230’ x 160’, Herschel in 1784 with his 18 inch refractor almost 4º wide. Because it is so large separate telescope. The Veil Nebula is located in the parts were given their own NGC number. constellation Cygnus and is 2,600 light years away. The Veil Nebula is part of the Cygnus NGC 6960 Loop, the remnants of a supernova explosion Western Segment of the Veil Nebula. The Prairie Astronomer 4 NGC Objects, continued The bright star you see is 52 Cygnus. Because the Veil Nebula is so large you need to NGC 6974/6979 use a low power eyepiece to observe it. An OIII Central Segment of the Veil Nebula. filter is a must when observing the Veil Nebula. The Central Segment contains Pickering’s You may be able to see it without an OIII filter but Triangle which does not have a NGC number. the OIII makes a real difference. NGC 6992/6995 Eastern Segment of the Veil Nebula. Nebraska Star Party—Clay Anderson As a native Nebraskan, I am extremely proud of But the people clearly illustrated why my pride in the state where I was born and raised. I am espe- Nebraska is so well-founded. From Omaha to cially proud of her people; hard working, benevo- Scottsbluff; from Valentine to Red Cloud, I don't lent and kind, with strong moral values that believe you can find a better representation of permeate their outgoing personalities. As an as- true Americans than those that inhabit the Corn- tronaut, many of my pilot colleagues liked to joke husker State. Her natural beauty was also on dis- about Nebraska being the epitome of "fly-over play as I got my first look at the Snake River Falls country," that part of our great nation that bores and the Merritt Reservoir, not to mention the those crossing in automobiles or speeding Black-eyed Susan laced rolling Sand Hills through her skies at 35,000 feet! through which our 5.5 hour drive (from Lincoln) was predominantly executed. Well, after my first trip to Valentine, Nebraska, to participate in the annual (and this time, 20th anni- To my dear friends Jack, Cassie, Zach and versary) Nebraska Star Party last week, I am here Mark..