THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS Volume 39, Number 11 November 2014 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Editor’s Choice: Image of the Month……..……………….1 A Note from President Weiland..………………………….2 Telescope Given Away………………………………..…….…...2 Calendar of Celestial Events – November 2014..…...3 New & Renewing Members/Dues Blues……………….3 This Month’s Phases of the Moon……..……………...…..4 TCAAers View Total Lunar Eclipse…………………………..4 Blood Moon………………………………………………….…….….5 TCAAers View Partial Solar Eclipse………………………….6 Image of the Month (continued)…………………………..7 Education/Public Outreach for October 2014……….8 EDITOR’S CHOICE: IMAGE OF THE MONTH ~ commentary by Tim Stone ~ Astrobits ……………….....…….……..……………………… 9 … ….. Sky Interpretation………………………………………….…….11 Stephan's Quintet is a group of five galaxies discovered by Edouard Stephan, a French astronomer at the Marseille Observatory in 1877. New Stoop Adorns PSO Entrance Way……………..…..12 Though he doubtless thought the tight grouping of these nebulae was How Time Flies…….……….…….........................….…....12 somewhat unusual, it wasn't until many decades later that their true significance would begin to become apparent, when Halton Arp TCAA Treasurer’s Reports: October 2014…………....13 explored the notion that galaxies were anything but stable configurations slowly evolving along Hubble's “tuning fork.” In support of his unusual cosmology, he compiled a most useful catalog of images called Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies in which Stephan's Quintet was the 319th entry. Arp attempted to disprove Hubble's Law by demonstrating that supposedly physically interacting galaxies had significantly different redshifts. We now know that four of the five are indeed interacting, but the fifth, NGC 7320, is in fact a foreground galaxy. This galaxy is the bluest one, and is a mere 39 million light years distant. The remaining four of the original quintet are some 300 million light years away. The four galaxies, which could be called Stephan's Quartet, are the tight grouping of yellowish galaxies behind NGC 7320. The two The TCAA is an affiliate of the Astronomical League. clearly colliding galaxies are NGC 7318A and NGC 7381B. NGC 7319 is For more information about the TCAA, be certain to next to them, with grossly distorted spiral arms, a very long tidal tail, visit our club website. and an active galactic nucleus. The quartet is rounded out with the reasonably normal looking elliptical, NGC 7317. (Continued on page 7) Vol. 39, No. 11 The OBSERVER November 2014 The OBSERVER is the monthly A NOTE FROM PRESIDENT WEILAND electronic publication of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a By the time you read this message, we will have officially ended our Public registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization of amateur Observation Sessions (POS) for 2014. Unfortunately for us, and for our guests, the astronomers interested in studying weather was not always cooperative during many of the POS of the season, with astronomy and sharing their hobby numerous evenings of cloud cover. However those guests and members who did with the public. venture out to Sugar Grove Nature Center (SGNC) on those evenings enjoyed excellent presentations on the topics that we had chosen for the year. So, I’d like to thank every TCAA OFFICERS member who set up telescopes or in any way assisted with the observation sessions. I would also like to thank those who prepared and presented at each of the monthly President sessions. The combined efforts of these members made this another successful year for Tom Weiland 309-830-0167 public outreach at SGNC. [email protected] After much deliberation, eight interesting and informative topics have now been chosen for next year. Our monthly public observations at SGNC will resume on March Vice-President 21st of 2015. Our 2015 POS brochure is now available on our website for downloading Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 at www.tcaa.us. [email protected] Finally, I would like to remind you that the TCAA annual meeting will be in Secretary/Webmaster February. The Board of Directors will be confirming a date at our next board Lee Green 309-454-7349 meeting…….more information will follow. This is our annual business meeting with [email protected] dinner and an invited guest speaker. All TCAA members are encouraged to attend. Please check out my email about the meeting when it arrives in your mailbox and add Treasurer/ALCor/Registered Agent that date to your calendar. Clear Skies!! Duane Yockey 309-452-3936 Tom Weiland [email protected] TCAA President 3rd Director/Property Manager Tim Stone 309-531-2401 TELESCOPE GIVEN AWAY [email protected] th The Chad and Kazumi Hartry family of Bloomington won this year’s telescope given 4 Director/Historian/Editor away as part of a free drawing during the October POS at SGNC. The proud winners Carl Wenning 309-830-4085 included the Hartry’s son Tomoya and daughter Haruka. October was only the second [email protected] time for them to attend one of the TCAA’s public observing sessions. They attended our 5th Director session because they are “just interested in astronomy” according to Chad. Robert Finnigan 309-846-9533 Congratulations to our winners. Club members will be working with the Hartry family in [email protected] the future to help them learn how to use this “goto” telescope successful. The OBSERVER Carl J. Wenning, Editor 21 Grandview Drive Normal, IL 61761-4071 Submission deadline is the end of each month. MEMBERSHIP DUES 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 Duane Yockey, TCAA Treasurer, 508 Normal Avenue, Normal, IL 61761 2 Vol. 39, No. 11 The OBSERVER November 2014 CALENDAR OF CELESTIAL EVENTS – NOVEMBER 2014 NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS MORNING STARS (11/15): MERCURY, JUPITER The following individuals have paid dues for new th EVENING STARS (11/15): VENUS, MARS, SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE or renewed memberships as of September 30 , 2014. (Others who paid after that date will appear in the st Question: As noted for November 1 below, why is it that November 2014 issue of The OBSERVER.) Mercury can have good and not so good greatest elongations Heiniger Family (renewing) even if the angle between the speedy little planet and the sun Tony Cellini (renewing) as seen from Earth is the same? See the answer below. Tom Weiland (renewing) 01 Mercury reaches its greatest elongation 18.7 degrees west of the Sun, shining at magnitude -0.5. The best morning DUES BLUES apparition of Mercury for 2014 as seen from the northern If you have received a “your dues are due” hemisphere. statement along with the email that brought you this 01 First Quarter Moon – The moon sets at midnight and rises issue of The OBSERVER, please remit your dues to Mr. at midday. The moon is also in conjunction with Neptune. The Duane Yockey, TCAA Treasurer, 508 Normal Avenue, moon is also closest to Uranus on the evening of the 4th. Normal, IL 61761. Current dues are $25 for senior (60 years of age and over) and $40 regular. 05/06 Taurid Meteor Shower – Unfortunately, with the full moon this meteor shower will be washed out this month. SUBSCRIBING TO OUR E-MAIL LISTS 06 Full Moon – The moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. By subscribing to a group’s mailing list you will Early Native Americans knew this as the Full Beaver Moon receive email messages from the group so you won’t because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before have access to the group’s web features (like photos, the swamps and rivers froze. It also has been known as the files, links, polls, calendar, etc.) unless members Frosty Moon and the Hunter’s Moon. activate it later. The club now has two email listservs. The main email listserv is known as the TCAA listserv. 14 Third Quarter Moon – The moon rises at midnight and sets It will be used to share announcements and reminders at midday. The moon is in conjunction with Jupiter this about astronomical and club events. To join this main morning. listserv you must do the following: 17/18 Leonid Meteor Shower – The Leonids is an average 1. Subscribe: Send a blank email to TCAA- shower, producing an average of up to 15 meteors per hour at [email protected] Note: You’ll be sent a its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak confirmation email from the group. Reply to the about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can confirmation email to activate your subscription. be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. With the moon 2. Unsubscribe: [email protected] new near phase, 2014 should be a good year for viewing. 3. To post a message: [email protected] 22 New Moon – The moon rises and sets with the sun and is not visible. A second listserv – TCAA–imaging – is for club astronomical photographers as well as those who 29 First Quarter Moon – The moon sets at midnight and rises want to view their images and follow their discussions. at midday. The second first quarter moon this month. It is an easy way to keep up with all the stuff we’re doing at the observatories. Answer: There are two considerations when it comes to the visibility of Mercury. The first of these is that the planet’s greatest 1. Subscribe: [email protected] eastern and western elongations are not always the same in angular 2. Unsubscribe: [email protected] size. Greatest elongations can vary from about 18 degrees (at 3. To post a message: [email protected] perihelion) to 28 degrees (at aphelion) over the course of the years to both to Mercury and Earth’s elliptical orbits.