alactic Observer GJohn J. McCarthy Observatory Volume 9, No. 10 October 2016 Out of this world Oasis? See on inside, page 15 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 It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory Technical Support has established itself as a significant educational and Bob Lambert recreational resource within the western Connecticut Dr. Parker Moreland community. Steve Allison Jim Johnstone Steve Barone Carly KleinStern Colin Campbell Bob Lambert Dennis Cartolano Roger Moore Route Mike Chiarella Parker Moreland, PhD Jeff Chodak Allan Ostergren Bill Cloutier Marc Polansky Cecilia Detrich Joe Privitera Dirk Feather Monty Robson Randy Fender Don Ross Randy Finden Gene Schilling John Gebauer Katie Shusdock Elaine Green Jon Wallace Tina Hartzell Paul Woodell Tom Heydenburg Amy Ziffer In This Issue NTERNATIONAL OBSERVE THE MOON NIGHT ....................... 4 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 15 FINAL COUNTDOWN ........................................................ 4 COVER PHOTO .............................................................. 15 SPACE DIAGNOSTICS ........................................................ 5 CREDITS ....................................................................... 15 NO SO DISTANT NEIGHBOR .............................................. 5 SECOND SATURDAY STARS ............................................... 16 SENTINEL SATELLITE DAMAGED ........................................ 6 OCTOBER GRAPHIC CALENDAR ....................................... 17 LOST LANDER FOUND ..................................................... 6 HIDDEN JUPITER REVEALED ............................................. 7 SPACE RACE HISTORY ..................................................... 8 AN ACTIVE EUROPA ........................................................ 9 PLANETARY THREATS ...................................................... 9 HALLOWEEN RETROSPECTIVE ......................................... 10 OCTOBER NIGHTS .......................................................... 11 SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 11 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 11 COMMONLY USED TERMS ............................................... 15 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 15 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 15 2 • Oct 2016 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Yerkes Observatory Williams Bay, Wisconsin Photo: Bill Cloutier October Astronomy Calendar and Space Exploration Almanac http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Oct 2016 • 3 1 1 International Observe the Moon Night CTOBER 8TH IS THE The Moon will rise at 1:37 pm International Observe the (EDT) on the 8th. Approximately O Moon Night (InOMN). 50% of the near-side surface will The event was first inspired by be illuminated as the Sun sets and public outreach events held in twilight deepens. With clear skies, August 2009 by the Lunar Recon- the following lunar features will be naissance Orbiter (LRO) and visible along the terminator (day/ Lunar CRater Observation and night boundary): Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) 1. Vallis Alpes (Alpine Valley): educational teams at the Goddard a graben (displacement) tra- Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, versing the lunar Alps; Maryland and at the Ames 2. Archimedes crater: a 50 mile Research Center in Moffett Field, (81 km) diameter impact cra- California, respectively. In 2010, ter flooded with mare basalt; the Lunar and Planetary Institute 3. Montes Apenninus (Apennine and Marshall Space Flight Mountains): segment of the Center joined Goddard and Ames Imbrium impact basin rim in a world-wide event to raise and landing site of Apollo 15; public awareness of lunar science 4. Hyginus crater and intersect- and exploration. The McCarthy ing linear rille: likely Observatory will be participating formed by the collapse of a this year with a program open to lava tube roof; the public and starting at 7 pm. 5. Alphonsus crater: a 68 mile Information on InOMN events is (110 km) diameter crater available on their website http:// with dark halo deposits observethemoonnight.org/. from volcanic eruptions Final Countdown JPL Control Room The countdown clock is read- Photo: Kyle Cloutier ing “T-1 year” for Cassini’s plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere and the termination of a mission. The spacecraft arrived at the ringed planet in 2004 after a seven year journey. Beginning at the end of Novem- ber, Cassini will be placed in a polar orbit that will send the space- craft just beyond the F-ring, a thin, active ring just beyond the large, bright A-ring. Twenty F-ring orbits are planned with the spacecraft passing within 4,850 miles (7,800 kilometers) of the outermost, dis- crete ring. The F-ring orbits will take the spacecraft across the ring plane, allowing scientists to gain a detailed look at the structure of the rings along with the moonlets em- bedded within rings. 4 • Oct 2016 http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org In April 2017, the spacecraft sphere and its innermost ring (a and magnetic fields and assist will use an encounter with the gap of approximately 1,500 miles scientists in determining the to- moon Titan to reshape its orbit (2,400 km)). The close encoun- tal mass of the ring system. The for the final time. The “Grand Fi- ter with Saturn will provide un- Grand Finale will conclude on nale” orbits (22) will send the precedented views of the gas September 15th when the space- spacecraft through the gap be- giant’s atmosphere, facilitate craft plunges into Saturn’s atmo- tween the top of Saturn’s atmo- mapping of the planet’s gravity sphere. Space Diagnostics For the first time, DNA (deox- portable sequencer could be used to Rubins was selected by NASA in yribonucleic acid), has been suc- analyze DNA-based life forms on 2009 and trained as the Flight Engi- cessfully sequenced in space. Se- other worlds. neer for ISS Expedition 48/49. She quencing is used to determine the Kate Rubins was born in arrived at the ISS aboard a Soyuz order of the chemical building Farmington, Connecticut and spacecraft on July 9th along with Rus- blocks that make up the DNA mol- raised in California. She has a Ph.D. sian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin ecule and identify the kind of generic in Cancer Biology from Stanford and Japanese astronaut Takuya information carried by a particular University Medical School Bio- Onishi. She is scheduled to return segment. chemistry Department and Microbi- (land in Kazakhstan with her two The sequencing was performed ology and Immunology Department. crew members) on October 30th. on the International Space Station (ISS) by NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins using a portable biomolecule sequencer developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Research- ers on Earth conducted simulta- neous sequencing on samples that were due to those available to Rubins (in an attempt to isolate any differences in the experiment to the microgravity conditions on the space station). DNA sequencing could prove to be an invaluable tool in diagnosing illnesses in space during a long-du- ration mission, monitoring changes in the astronaut’s genetic material, or analyzing health threats aboard a Rubins with portable DNA sequencer (rectangular, spacecraft. It’s also possible that a silver-colored device). Photo Credit: NASA Not So Distant Neighbor The hunt for habitable plan- The newly discovered rocky Life, however, may have a dif- ets in the far reaches of our gal- world (Proxima b) is slightly more ficult time gaining a foothold on axy took an unexpected turn with massive than Earth and orbits Proxima b as Proxima Centauri is the recent discovery of a rocky Proxima Centauri every 11 days. a flare star that undergoes random world around the nearest star While Proxima b is closer to its star and dramatic increases in bright- system. One-eighth the mass of than the planet Mercury is to our ness with accompanying ultravio- our Sun, Proxima Centauri is a Sun, the habitable zone of the red let and x-ray flares. Being so close red dwarf that is likely gravita- dwarf is also much smaller due to to its star, Proxima b may also be tionally bound to the Alpha Proxima Centauri’s lower tempera- tidally locked, showing the same Centauri binary star system. It is ture. As such, it is likely that liq- hemisphere to Proxima Centauri, currently the closest star to our uid water could exist on the sur- while the far side of the planet ex- solar system (4.25 light years). face of Proxima b. periences perpetual night. http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Oct 2016 • 5 board for launch was reactivated to survey the array. The camera was able to con- firm an impact to the solar panel. Engineers estimate that the par- ticle was only a few millimeters in size. It struck the back of the panel, creating a damaged area approximately 16 inches (40 cm) in diameter on the front. The damage did not appreciably di- minish the output of the panel and is not expected affect satel- lite operations. The Sentinel impact was not an isolated incident. The orbit of the International Space Station An artist's impression of the surface of the candidate planet (ISS) is adjusted several times Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. Credit: each year