alactic Observer John J. McCarthy Observatory G Volume 10, No. 10 October 2017 The Last Waltz Cassini’s final mission and dance of death with Saturn more on page 4 and 20 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 Technical Support It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory Bob Lambert has established itself as a significant educational and recreational resource within the western Connecticut Dr. Parker Moreland community. Steve Barone Jim Johnstone Colin Campbell Carly KleinStern Dennis Cartolano Bob Lambert Route Mike Chiarella Roger Moore Jeff Chodak Parker Moreland, PhD Bill Cloutier Allan Ostergren Doug Delisle Marc Polansky Cecilia Detrich Joe Privitera Dirk Feather Monty Robson Randy Fender Don Ross Louise Gagnon Gene Schilling John Gebauer Katie Shusdock Elaine Green Paul Woodell Tina Hartzell Amy Ziffer In This Issue INTERNATIONAL OBSERVE THE MOON NIGHT ...................... 4 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 19 MONTE APENNINES AND APOLLO 15 .................................. 5 COMMONLY USED TERMS ............................................... 19 FAREWELL TO RING WORLD ............................................ 5 FRONT PAGE ................................................................ 20 THE GREAT AMERICAN SOLAR ECLIPSE ............................ 7 LAGRANGE POINTS ........................................................ 20 LIVING IN SPACE ............................................................. 9 IMAGE CREDITS ............................................................ 20 EYE ON THE SPOT .......................................................... 10 SECOND SATURDAY STARS ............................................... 21 STELLAR NURSERIES ...................................................... 10 OCTOBER GRAPHIC CALENDAR ....................................... 22 IAU APPROVES PLUTO NOMENCLATURE ........................... 11 THE X-37B RETURNS TO ORBIT ..................................... 12 BALANCED ON A TAIL OF FIRE ......................................... 13 SPACE RACE HISTORY .................................................... 13 OPERATION ICEBRIDGE .................................................. 14 HARVEST MOON ............................................................ 14 OCTOBER NIGHTS .......................................................... 15 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 15 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 15 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 19 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 19 2 Oct 2017 JJMO http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org October Astronomy Calendar and Space Exploration Almanac One of the last images transmitted by the Cassini spacecraft, just two days prior to mission end. The raw image, in visible red light, was taken at a distance of 684,000 miles (1.1 million kilometers) and looks down on the rings from above Saturn's north pole. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org JJMO Oct 2017 • 3 International Observe First Quarter Moon the Moon Night Photo: Bill Cloutier CTOBER 28th is the Inter national Observe the Mare Serenitatis OMoon Night (InOMN). The event was first inspired by public outreach events held in August 2009 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) educational teams at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, respectively. In 2010, the Lunar and Planetary Institute and Marshall Space Flight Center joined Goddard and Ames in a world-wide event to raise public awareness of lunar science and exploration. Information on InOMN events is available on their website http://observethemoonnight.org/. The Moon will rise at 2:32 pm (EDT) on the 28th and set after midnight. Approximately 57% of the near-side surface will be illuminated as the Sun sets and twilight deepens. With clear skies, the following lunar features will be visible along the terminator (day/ night boundary): 1. Vallis Alpes (Alpine Valley): a graben traversing the lunar Alps; 2. Archimedes crater: a 50 mile (81 km) diameter impact crater flooded with mare basalt; 3. Montes Apenninus (Apennine Mountains): segment of Imbrium impact basin rim and landing site of Apollo 15; 4. Hyginus crater and intersecting linear rille: likely formed by the collapse of a lava tube roof; 5. Alphonsus crater: a 68 mile (110 km) diameter crater with dark halo deposits from volcanic eruptions. 4 Oct 2017 JJMO http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Monte Apennines and Cassini Launch Apollo 15 Credit: NASA Farewell to ting data in real-time until its project scientists, project alumni, the Ring World thrusters could no longer keep the dignitaries and honored guests, as spacecraft’s antenna pointed to Epilogue by Bill Cloutier telemetry streamed in from the In the early morning hours of Earth. Shortly thereafter, the control room at the nearby Jet Pro- October 15, 1997, a Titan IVB/ spacecraft was vaporized, joining pulsion Laboratory and was dis- Centaur rocket blasted off from the atmosphere of the world that played on movie-house-sized Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s it had been studying for more than screens set up on campus in the Space Launch Complex 40. 13 years. pre-dawn hours. The crowd was Aboard the rocket was the Cassini The end of the mission was reflective, most of the chairs were orbiter and the Huygens probe. marked with tears and accolades. empty, as people stood and With mulitple gravitational assists Cassini was described by those watched, in some cases, the con- from Venus (twice), Earth and Ju- who knew her best as the perfect clusion of a mission on which they piter, the spacecraft entered orbit machine for the mission and she had spent their entire career. around Saturn seven years later in exceeded all expectations right to The end came quickly as the 2004. The mission was a joint the end, transmitting data on the density of the atmosphere rapidly project of NASA, the European gas giant’s atmosphere and its increased and the pressure wave Space Agency and the Italian Space magnetic field 30 seconds longer that formed in front of the space- Agency, with more than 5,000 than expected. The Deep Space craft created Sun-like tempera- people worldwide contributing to Network’s (DSN) antenna in tures. The reaction control system the endeavor over the life of the Canberra, Australia, received the thrusters fought to maintain an- mission. spacecraft’s last data bits. tenna lock on Earth, peaking at 100 Nearly 20 years later, in the I was fortunate to be able to percent power, but the effort was early morning of September 15th, witness the end of this iconic mis- short-lived as the spacecraft started the Cassini spacecraft, nearly out sion from the Caltech campus in to break apart. of fuel, concluded its mission as it Pasadena with my daughter Kyle, The crowd fell silent as the ra- entered the Saturn atmosphere at a an engineer and science planner dio singles from Cassini flat-lined. relative velocity of 77,000 miles on the project, along with hun- The last data packet received was per hour (123,000 kph) – transmit- dreds of mission personnel, believed to be from the spacecraft’s http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org JJMO Oct 2017 • 5 for the Deep Space Network magnetometer - valuable information that may explain the unusually close Artist Rendering of alignment of the planet’s spin axis Atmospheric Entry and magnetic field. NASA/JPL-Caltech The final images captured by the spacecraft’s cameras included, appropriately, the ice-covered watery moon Enceladus setting behind the planet’s rings, Saturn’s largest moon Titan (relied upon over the years to modify the spacecraft’s orbit), a final color mosaic of the planet and its vast ring system, the small moon Daphnis and the gravity waves created along its wake in the Keeler ring gap, a propeller-like feature in the rings created as small, embedded moonlets attempt to open new gaps and a close-up of the impact site within the planet’s turbulent cloud banks. The melancholy mood of the crowd was slowly replaced by a sense of satisfaction – pride in designing a spacecraft and executing a mission far beyond the expectations of the original planners. At Titan, scientists found a prebiotic chemistry and an organic haze. A liquid ocean with active geysers was detected, Ring World possibly heated by hydrothermal Credit: NASA/JPL- activity under the icy surface, on Caltech/ Science the tiny moon Enceladus. Both Institute discoveries present compelling arguments for future exploration of the Saturnian system. The scientists and engineers watching the downlink of the spacecraft’s telemetry were well aware that the mission had ended well before the final data packet reached Earth. A graphic of the solar system displayed the progress of the final bits of data as it made its way Entry Site of the Cassini Orbiter across the void - requiring 83 min- Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ utes to cross the distance between the University of Arizona two planets, despite traveling at the speed of light. Our resident eye upon the diverseArtist moons,