: Fort Worth Astronomical Society October 2010 Established 1949 Astronomical League Member Club Calendar – 2 Skyportunities – 3 Armchair Astronomy – 5 How Comets are Named - 6 Capriconus – 7 Stargazers’ Diary – 8 1 24.8% Crescent Moon by Jim Murray October 2010 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 Top ten binocular deep-sky objects for October: M52, NGC 7209, NGC 7235, NGC 7243, NGC 7293, NGC 7510, NGC 7686, NGC 7789, NGC 7790, St12 Top ten deep-sky objects for October: K12, M52, NGC 7209, NGC 7293, NGC 7331, NGC 7332, NGC 7339, NGC 7640, NGC 7662, NGC 7789 Club Pic-A-Nic Thomsen Found. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Algol at Minima Moon at Perigee New Moon Make use of the New 3RF Star Party 8:32 pm - NW (223,355 miles) Moon Weekend for 1:44 pm 9 am better viewing at the Dark Sky Site Oct. Draconid meteors peak STS-41 Discovery Neils Bohr born New Moon New Moon launched 20 years 125 years ago Weekend Weekend ago. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 New Moon First Qtr Moon Stars Over 2:40 pm 4:27 pm Euless Museum & Club Challenge deep-sky object for October: event. Last Public Very Large Array Jones 1 (PK104-29.1) (Pegasus) Star Party for 2010 dedicated 30 years Challenge binary star for October: ago 78 Pegasi Notable carbon star for October: New Moon Astronomy Day RZ Pegasi Weekend Autumn Columbus Day 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Moon at Apogee Algol at Minima Full Moon Algol at Minima (251,921.miles) 1:21 am 10:14 pm 1 pm NE near zenith 8:36 pm Low in NE Algol at Minima 4:36 am NW near zenith Zond 8 launched 40 years ago FWAS Orionid STS-73 Columbia Meeting meteors launched 15 years peak ago 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Algol at Minima Last Qtr Moon 7:03 pm Last Day of The 7:46 am Absurd Challenge Great State Fair of Double Shadow Low in NE Texas Transit on Jupiter Sunset @ 6:43 11:17 pm High in South 31 STS-131 launch scheduled for November 1st 2 Observing and Outreach Opportunities Weather permitting (FWAS contacts in parentheses) October 2 – Annual Club Picnic at the pavilion & pads at the Thomsen Foundation. See the e-group for last minute details. October 9 - Three Rivers Foundation (3RF) Star Party - 3RF invites you out to Comanche Springs near Crowell, Texas for a night under the stars. The dark skies of Big Ranch Country provide a spectacular view of the universe. The party starts with solar observing followed by a break. Evening activities begin with a short educational introduction to astronomy. The observatories and Star Field are then opened to the public to enjoy the use of many different kinds of astronomy instruments. For more information the day of a scheduled star party, please call 940-655-3384. (Russ Boatright and Doug Brown) (Panhandle Plains, where Oklahoma tucks into the Texas Panhandle) October 16 – Stars Over Euless. This is the club’s annual Big Shindig in Euless at the Bob Eden Park 901 W Mid Cities Blvd. The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History's Noble Planetarium Director Linda Krouse will conduct a power point presentation on different elements in the nighttime sky. Members of the Fort Worth Astronomical Society will bring out powerful telescopes so kids can gaze into outer space and learn about the order and function of stars and planets in the sky. The City of Euless makes a contribution to the club’s scholarship fund in appreciation of the club’s support of this publicized event. Enter the park and go to the back of the parking lot (East end of the long skinny lot.) and we will set up on the large open field through the trees. There is a wide sidewalk leading to the field, but follow directions as to whether or not we can drive on it. Linda and Museum staff will be there with dollies, etc. to assist in getting equipment to and from the observing field. A waxing gibbous Moon rises at 3:30 pm. This will also be the club’s last public star party for 2010 and will resume again in the spring after the cold months are past. (Linda Krouse and Michele Martinez) October 16 — Purtis Creek State Park — Make a star wheel and learn how to use it, learn about the solar system and have an opportunity to view the night sky through a telescope. Weather permitting. Meet at the overflow camping parking lot. Accessible for the mobility impaired. (903) 425-2332 Lunation 1086 at Age: 9 Days, 4 hours, 56 minutes *and everyone knows that the Moon is made out of green cheese.” The picture to the left almost shows what the Moon will Crater Plato th Mons Tenerife Mons Pico look like at 6:40 pm on the evening of our October 16 2010 star party with the Museum at Stars Over Euless. Mons Piton Montes Caucasus This image does not exactly represent what will be visible Montes Spitzbergen along the limbs, because on that night the libration of the Crater Archimedes Moon will be centered almost lunar SE & the Moon’s South Pole and Eastern Limb will appear to be tilted more Montes Apennisus towards us. The eastern limb will be most exposed by 7.5O on the 12th and the southern limb is most exposed by 6.6O on the 21st. At Moonrise, the Moon’s SW will be “down.” Let’s look at a few of the targets in Mare Imbrium which is bracketed north by the Crater Plato, northeast by mountains punctuated by the Vallis Alps (under the “Mons” of Mons Pico), east by the Montes Caucasus and to the southeast by the Montes Apennius. Mons is singular for Mount, and Montes is plural for Mountains. Vallis is Valley, and be sure to look for this knife slash through the mountains which perhaps is an ancient fault line that widened and was flooded with lava. Between the Craters Plato and Archimedes are various mounts that are peaks that peek out from the surrounding lava flood of Mare Imbrium. Take your time and explore the Montes Tenefife and the Mons Pico and Piton. Those should get your ready for the treat of the Montes Spitzbergen which runs north to south and due to the very high peaks here, creates a very nice saw tooth shadow pattern on the lava floor. Spitzbergen is best seen when the Moon is 7 – 9, and 22 – 23 days old. It is a very rewarding target near the 23 day old moon, as there is a very low and wrinkled ridge that runs parallel to Montes Spitzbergen and disappears into the lava near the Mons Pico. It is such a low ridge, that you need the sunset of the 23 day old moon to reveal the shadow. This ridge is maybe 50 to 100 feet high. Background image was borrowed from http://www.stargazing.net/david/moon/day09h4moon.html Do you see the Flagman on the Moon? 3 The Sky This Month – Bob Eden Park, Euless Texas -- 9 pm local time, October 16th (from Heavens-Above.com) The Sky This Month Star Charts: Sky & Telescope Sky Maps http://tinyrul.com/5np8n http://www.skymaps.com Heavens Above International Space Station Transits http://www.heavens-above.com http://tinyrul.com/y8zk5c Planets, Meteors, and Comets! Oh My! Mercury: A Morning Star very early in October and is in superior conjunction on the 16th (8 pm). Venus: Western Evening Star this month. She flirts with Mars at the beginning of month, but that doesn’t last long. A meddlesome Crescent Moon passes between them on the 9th (3O @ 11 am) and after some hallway girl talk, Venus leaves in a huff as she abandons Mars and runs to be in inferior conjunction with Sol on the 28th (8 pm). There’s a word for that. Mars: Low in the early Western evening sky in Libra. He started the month by chatting up the pretty Venus but then the Moon came by on the 9th and trash talked him to Venus, who then up and left him for Sol. Venus didn’t have to tell him how hot she thinks Sol was. Yeah, there’s a word for it. Mars gets all kinds of dejected and goes to sulk in the Scorpion’s sandbox by month’s end. Jupiter Low in the East at sunset and is up and visible most of the night. Dude’s just past opposition and is in retrograde motion as he hangs out near Aquarius’ house and hungry for some fish and chips; on the border of Aquarius and Pisces. Saturn: Was in conjunction the last of September, and comes out from the Sun’s glare into the dawn twilight in the last half of the month. Uranus: Also visible most of the night. Also just past opposition and also retrograding near the Pisces-Aquarius border and wondering why Jupiter won’t talk to her. Is he just not that into her? (This mythology stuff just writes itself.) Neptune: Well placed in the evening sky near the Aquarius – Capricornus border Pluto: Mars thinks he’s dejected??? This little guy’s just hanging out above the teapot like he thinks it’s a Starbucks with free wi-fi. 4 Cloudy Night Library Media reviews by Matt J. McCullar, FWAS Patrick Moore’s Armchair Astronomy by Patrick Moore Published 1984 by W. W.