alactic Observer GJohn J. McCarthy Observatory Volume 5, No. 4 April 2012 B “Sometime they'll send more astronauts to the Moon —and I want to be one of them!” The John J. McCarthy Observatory Galactic Observvvererer 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 Allan Ostergren www.mccarthyobservatory.org Website Development John Gebauer JJMO Staff Marc Polansky It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory has Josh Reynolds established itself as a significant educational and recreational Technical Support resource within the western Connecticut community. Bob Lambert Steve Barone Allan Ostergren Dr. Parker Moreland Colin Campbell Cecilia Page Dennis Cartolano Joe Privitera Mike Chiarella Bruno Ranchy Jeff Chodak Josh Reynolds Route Bill Cloutier Barbara Richards Charles Copple Monty Robson Randy Fender Don Ross John Gebauer Ned Sheehey Elaine Green Gene Schilling Tina Hartzell Diana Shervinskie Tom Heydenburg Katie Shusdock Phil Imbrogno Jon Wallace Bob Lambert Bob Willaum Dr. Parker Moreland Paul Woodell Amy Ziffer In This Issue THE YEAR OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM .................................... 3 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ...................... 11 OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT ................................... 4 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ........................................ 13 BILLY AND MONS HANSTEEN ............................................. 5 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES ..... 13 MISSED OPPORTUNITY .................................................... 6 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................ 13 NEW LUNAR RESOURCES ................................................. 7 COVER PHOTO AND OTHER CREDITS ............................. 14 TWENTY-TWO YEARS IN SPACE ......................................... 8 SECOND SATURDAY STARS ............................................ 15 OUR MYSTERIOUS MOON ................................................ 8 APRIL CALENDAR ....................................................... 16 LIFE WITHOUT THE MOON ............................................... 9 APRIL HISTORY ............................................................. 10 APRIL SHOWERS ............................................................ 10 EASTER AND THE FULL MOON ......................................... 10 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ..................................................... 11 APRIL NIGHTS ............................................................... 11 COMET HISTORY ............................................................ 11 2 • Apr 2012 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org The Year of the Solar System NASA announced on Oct. 7, 2010 that the upcoming year would be “The Year of the Solar System.” The “Year,” however, is a Martian year and, as such, 23 months in length. Some of the highlights of the “Year” of exploration are: Other notable events: • March 3, 2012 Mars at Opposition • April 15, 2012 Saturn at Opposition • May 20, 2012 Annular Solar Eclipse (visible in southwest U.S.) • June 5, 2012 Venus Transit (visible before sunset on the east coast) • July 2012 Dawn spacecraft leaves Vesta for Ceres http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Apr 2012 • 3 “Out the Window on Your Left” T’S BEEN 40 YEARS SINCE we left the last footprint on the dusty lunar surface. Sadly, as a nation founded on exploration and the conquest Iof 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 sat- ellite; 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 view this month is of the southwestern region of Oceanus Procellarum (the Ocean of Storms). Among Portion of wrinkle ridge extending from Mons Hansteen to the northeast. Illumination is from left, incidence angle is 26°, im- age width is 550 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University]. Photo: Hiroyuki Sato crater’s rim appears to be interrupted along the southern portion by a narrow break. Images from the Lunar Re- connaissance Orbiter show few craterlets on the floor of Billy (http://wms.lroc.asu.edu/lroc_browse/view/ wac_nearside); one with a bright halo indicating a rela- tively recent event. The most intriguing feature in the area is located to the southeast of Hansteen and north of Billy - Mons Hansteen, the battered landscape are two similarly sized craters or Hansteen Alpha. This bright, arrow-shaped mountain, – Hansteen and Billy. 15 miles on a side, is younger than either of the adjacent The crater Hansteen is named for Christopher craters (since the mountain rests on top the ejecta from Hansteen, a Norwegian geophysicist, astronomer and the impacts that created Hansteen or Billy, rather than physicist known for mapping the Earth’s magnetic field. being covered with it). The floor-fractured crater, thought to be caused by a Mons Hansteen appears to be a volcanic outcrop- ponding of magna underneath the floor, contains sev- ping; however, the chemical nature of the lava mound, eral ridges and grooves. The crater wall has an ap- as determined by spectral analysis, is much different pearance of a polygon rather than a circular ring and is than the surrounding mare basalt. As such, Hansteen interrupted by a collapsed portion along the northern Alpha is unique in that it is considered a non-mare vol- rim. Exterior to the southwestern rim is Rima Hansteen, canic landform. a short rille, or channel, approximately 15 miles in Hansteen Alpha is grouped along with non-mare domes length. Gruithuisen and Mairan as “red spots.” While similar in size, Billy has a much different ap- Red Spots most likely formed around the time of the pearance. Named for Jacques de Billy, a 17th century Imbrium impact and are characterized by high albedo French Jesuit mathematician, the crater has a dark, lava- (measure of reflected sunlight) and strong ultraviolet ab- covered floor, depressed below the surrounding plain. The sorption. 4 • Apr 2012 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org P Billy and Mons Hansteen http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Apr 2012 • 5 Missed Opportunity Less than six months after Neil Armstrong took the Albategnius and Hipparchusss first step onto the lunar surface, NASA began the diffi- cult task of canceling future flights to the Moon. While most of the hardware had been built, and the incremen- tal costs of flying the last three missions was relatively small, political and public support for the Moon pro- gram was already waning before Armstrong and his crew returned to Earth. Had we stayed the course, the final three flights (Apollo 18, 19 and 20) would have been the most am- bitious undertakings of the Apollo program. Although mission plans continued to evolve with each new flight, the areas of Moon targeted for exploration in late 1969, particularly after Apollo 12 demonstrated the ability to make precision landings, included the craters Copernicus and Tycho, and the Marius Hills. While crews were not officially assigned to the last three missions, the standard rotation of backup crews would have placed Richard Gordon (Gemini 11, Apollo 12) in command of the Apollo 18 mission with test pilot Vance Brand as the Command Module Pi- lot and geologist Harrison Schmitt as the Lunar Mod- ule Pilot. The mission was originally scheduled for February of 1972. Schmitt, the only scientist (geologist) to walk on the Moon, would later be reassigned to Apollo 17 after the cancellation of Apollo 18 in September 1970. Fred Haise (Apollo 13) would have likely com- manded Apollo 19 with test pilot William Pogue as the Command Module Pilot and Gerald Carr as the Lunar Module Pilot. Charles “Pete” Conrad (Apollo 12) would have been in line to command Apollo 20 with test pilot Paul Weitz as the Command Module Pilot and Jack Lousma as the Lunar Module Pilot. Copernicus was listed as either a prime or alterna- tive landing site at the meetings of the Apollo Site Selec- tion Board or the Group for Lunar Exploration Planning in 1969, despite the rough terrain and operational chal- lenges. Unfortunately, with the cancellation of three mis- sions and the failure of Apollo 13 to complete its objec- tives, this magnificent crater (as well as the volcanic domes of the Marius Hills) did not make the final cut. Tycho, possibly the most science-rich target, was the most difficult to reach and was also dropped from con- sideration. The view from inside Copernicus would have been breathtaking. Terraced walls reach more than two miles above the floor, low-lying hummocks of re- bounded rock huddle around its center, and the deep shadows that hide from the Sun create visual voids in the moonscape. 6 • Apr 2012 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org New Lunar Resources NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Cen- ter has released a new tool to assist in planning your lunar observations and sev- eral new educational videos on the Moon. The planning tool (shown on the right) provides the user with the phase and li- bration of the Moon at hourly intervals for any date in 2012. The animation was developed from data gathered by the Lu- nar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). While the same side of the Moon faces the Earth, we can actually see (over time) more than 50% of its surface. This is a result of the Moon’s elliptical orbit, tilt of its axis and inclination of its orbit around the Earth,