The Meteor Journal of the Escambia Amateur Astronomers Association

Transcription

1 The Meteor Journal of the Escambia Amateur Astronomers Association VOLUME XLI Numbers 8-10 September-October 2016 ********************************************************************************************* President Ed Magowan (850) Vice-President: Tom Riederer (920) Secretary Richard Walker (850) Treasurer Jim Larduskey (850) Librarian: Jacque Falzone (850) Education Chair: Dewey Barker (850) NWFAA Contact: Dennis Hausch (850) Deep Sky Committee: Dave Haluposki (850) UWF Astronomy Club Contact: Jon Ellard (251) Mobile AS Contact: Rod Mollise (251) PSC Student Chapter officers for : President: Dave Cochran (850) Vice President: AllyKat Francis Secretary- Treasurer: Susanna Rogers Editor and ALCOR: Dr. J. Wayne Wooten, Physical Sciences Department, Room 1751, Pensacola State College Pensacola, FL Phone (850) (voic ) ( ) pensacolastate.edu Please mail all dues to EAAA Treasurer, 4660 Shannon Circle, Pensacola, FL A Saros Ago: The Total Solar Eclipse of August 11, 1999 Weeks and even month before the eclipse, Germany broke out into a huge hype. Germans are superstitious folks who believe in horoscopes and such. Some were concerned that the eclipse would be a bad sign of some sort, especially since the millennium was only a few months away. Nevertheless, everyone was very excited. The little town of Ramstein was supposed to be right in its path. The news emphasized the importance of special eye protection. The glasses were required and sold out quickly. The manufacturers couldn t keep up with the demand, so many people had to share. The night before the solar eclipse I had to work. When I was done working in the morning, I drove straight to my grandparent s house, so they would make sure that I wouldn t sleep through it. My grandmother woke me up right before it started, which was around 11am. We stood in their driveway, put our glasses on and were thrilled like little kids. It was a little cloudy that day and we were hoping that it wouldn t mess up the experience. It slowly became darker as the moon moved in front of the sun. It felt unreal. My grandparents live on a very busy road but when it started every one had stopped driving. Everything around us was so busy at first and then all turned quiet. We couldn t even hear the birds chirping anymore. It was all over in a matter of about 2-3 minutes. Unfortunately I was unprepared and didn t have a camera. Afterwards we heard of long traffic jams on the Autobahn. People had travelled from all over to witness the spectacular. I feel very lucky that I had the opportunity to see a solar eclipse the last time and hopefully this next time as well. Melanie Vaughan

2 The Meteor Volume XLI Numbers 9-10 September-October 2016 Page 2 Amateur astronomers celebrate 40-year partnership with Nation Parks *This article originally appeared in The Corsair in October of September 30 marked the 40th Anniversary of the partnership between The Escambia Amateur Astronomy Association (EAAA) and Gulf Islands National Seashore. The partnership gives students and community members a chance to look up and see the stars or other astral objects in one of Pensacola s Dark Skies locations. It was also the last Fort Pickens Gaze of the season. Among the sightings of the evening were satellites, shooting stars, Saturn with its rings, Messier 4 or M4, M6, M7, M13 globular and cluster galaxies as well as M31, also known as The Andromeda Galaxy. A pass by the International Space Station also took place while visitors were arriving. Astronomical League liaison Dr. Wayne Wooten has been teaching astronomy at Pensacola State College since His career includes numerous accolades for his teaching and astronomical achievements. Wooten, along with EAAA members, has been actively engaged in stargazing and solar flare spotting around the area. When it comes to solar flare spotting patience is the key. You just have to play it by ear. You do not know even 30 minutes in advance, said Wooten. Or you can look and it will be quiet and then we get up there and, wow, here comes a flare that s erupted in the last five minutes! You just don t know.

3 The Meteor Volume XLI Numbers 9-10 September-October 2016 Page 3 Although Pensacola has its fair share of light pollution, there are still some good places to go for stargazing. Along with Fort Pickens, there are also Dark Skies sites (designated areas of little to no immediate light pollution) in the Munson area as well as one located three parking lots to the east of Portofino. We have several observing sites in the Munson area that are great for meteor showers. It s about as dark as it gets in the entire southeastern United States, said Wooten. The association includes many PSC students, alumni and community enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds. Student membership is free; however, $15 includes a student membership for the year with perks including a monocular with a solar filter for viewing sun spots and the solar eclipse next August 22nd. Other perks include access to the Loaner Telescope Program. Astrophotography is becoming more popular at these events. Digital SLR cameras are commonly used; however, with a mount attachment your iphone may be all you need. Wow, that s the shattered remains of a star! That thing blew up, oh, 8,000 years ago, Wooten said of a student photo. For more student and club member photo s, check out the EAAA Facebook page at Although the season is winding down, there are still opportunities to go out and stargaze. On Saturday, October 22, EAAA will be at Big Lagoon State Park which is typically darker than Fort Pickens. A calendar of other EAAA events and observing parties can be found at: --Becca Carlson, PSC Corsair Part Way to Pickens Gaze on September 2, 2016 Five of us went out to the large parking lot located just before the Ft Pickens gate; Richard, Lyen, Dewey Ed, and Michael. Lyen had set up his 8" Celestron, Richard had his 10" Dob and Michael had a 6" Newtonian. The skies were mostly cloudy but did clear up a bit after 8:30 PM and we had two families stop by and one student, Charity Brooks. We showed them Saturn, a couple clusters off Scorpius and Sagittarius and did some constellation tours with our green laser pointers. I left first, around 10:30, Ed and Richard were attempting to capture some wide field Milky Way shots with their cameras and Lyen and Michael were still doing some observing. Not a great night, but still better than sitting at home, vegging out in front of a TV. --Dewey Barker Final Fort Pickens Gaze of 2016 Friday, September 30, 2016, was certainly one of the best Sky Interpretation Sessions at Battery Worth ever. Skies were wonderfully clear, and Milky Way was gorgeous. From the Emerald Coast Camera Club, guest George Cazalet noted, Lynette and I attended last night and WOW what a sharing group! We now have a better appreciation of the wonders that materialize on a clear night. The Constellation tour was great. We also saw the ISS make a pass and as well as two significant pieces of Space Junk! We're hooked!! Maggi Roberts of the ECCC also was very gracious. She notes SO good to see everyone getting out to get shoot of the Milky Way before it disappears... Keep posting your awesome photos! Mark Wright of the ECCC shared some fine scenic shots of the Fort with the Galaxy overhead for all to enjoy as well; thanks for sharing!

4 The Meteor Volume XLI Numbers 9-10 September-October 2016 Page 4 I want to thank EAAA members Ed Magowan, Andy Walker, Thor Garber, John Arnold, Lyen McAbee, Malone Calvert, Ryan Chavers, Caleb Fulford, Tom Lloyd, Dewey Barker, Rick Johnston, Chris Mills, Tom Riederer, and probably others I missed in the dark for setting up. We had 100+ guests, including the photographers from the ECCC, and Park Ranger Bob Gambera to assist with the crowd. This marks the 40th year we have assisted with Sky Interpretation at Fort Pickens as volunteers in Service to the Parks. Caleb Fulford photographed a nice ISS pass about 8:30 that everyone watched crossing the northern sky. A variety ot telescopes and binocs were used. Thor Garber and I were especially impressed by the new 8x40 Simmons binocs on sale at WalMart for $27.50; we compared them with the accepted standard for astro binocs, the 10x50 s (Simmons version at WalMart for $30). The field of view with the smaller binocs is a little wider (360 /1000 yrds versus 341 /1000 yards with the larger 10x) but what impressed us the most was the better contrast and sharper focus we both noted with the new 8x binocs. With my Parkinson s, of course the 8x are lighter and easier to hold steady, but even Thor noted the advantages of the new ones in comparing the rich star fields above the Scorpion s stinger, clusters M-6 and M-7. Despite the smaller aperture, we were seeing just as faint stars against a darker background with the 8x40 version. For me, the ultimate test was the Helical Nebula, NGC 7293 in Aquarius. This large (1/4 degree, half as big as the full moon) but faint planetary was visible in both on this fine night, but was easier to pick out of the SE sky with the 8x40 s. So if you are just getting started, these new 8x40 s will be my recommendation of the best all-around binocs for everyone; many birders already think this is their optimum glasses, and I can see why now. PS: If you have always wondered about how to turn FOV into degrees, here is the math. First, get the angle in radians, being sure to use the same units. So 360 /3,000 (converting from 1000 yards) =.12 radians. As there are 57.3 degrees in a radian (360 degrees/2x pi), this means the new binocs cover.12 x 57.3 = 6.8 degrees, while the old 10X still have an acceptable 6.5 degrees. Get out your own binocs and sweep the Milky Way these clear autumn evenings! Keep looking up! --Wayne Wooten Pensacola Beach Pavilion Gazes for October 7-8. Thor Garber and I drove over Friday afternoon planning to set up the Lunt 60 for solar observing, but bridge traffic was so bad we got there just at sunset, alas. But the crescent moon was out in a fine clear sky, and we immediately started letting folks use their smartphones and the Eon 72 to get great shots of it. As the sun set, we had a fine look at the Belt of Venus in the east, as some high clouds were still pinkly sunlit, but the purple umbra was rising higher by the minute. It was interesting how many of the over 100 guests Friday evening were from the Jacksonville area, which had largely evacuated due to Hurricane Matthew s passing. It was nice to give them a sky show to keep their minds off the storm on the east coast. We had a fine turnout of members and scopes to share the moon, Mars, Saturn, Venus, and brighter deep sky objects with. Many thanks to Adam Licko, Ed Magowan, John Arnold, Thor Garber, Lyen McAbee, Dewey Barker, and others I might have missed in the dark. Thanks to Thor, we were alerted to a fine Hubble Space Telescope pass across the southern sky about 7:50 PM, and I did a sky lore tour just before it appeared. I was not able to make it back out on Saturday, but my student Melanie Vaughn did, and she sent in this report.

5 The Meteor Volume XLI Numbers 9-10 September-October 2016 Page 5 My husband, daughter and I went to the meeting of the Astronomers' club last Saturday. We peeked through a Newtonian reflector telescope to see the moon and Venus and a third telescope, which was a Cassegrain, which was also pointed at the moon. Definitely a cool experience, my 5 year old daughter was very excited. She yelled: "Wow!!! I can see all the craters on the moon, it's so close!!!" --Melanie Vaughn Review of the SkyWatcher Dob I have been meaning to share my thoughts on the 10" Sky-Watcher Collapsible dob donated by Mark to the club. Here goes: The scope has a very good mirror. Proper collimation is important as is letting the mirror cool down. Once this occurs I have had some excellent views of Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. Deep sky views are also quite pleasing. The scope is top heavy. Very top heavy. Some type of counterweight is required to use it. I have plenty of counterweight material around so that not been an issue. Azimuth movement is a little sticky. I plant to take the ground board off and do a little cleaning in the near future. Altitude works well. The type of focuser on the scope is one that I have not owned before. There is a separate piece for 2" and 1.25" eyepieces that has a dovetail on the bottom end that attaches to the focuser. A 2"-1.25 adapter can be inserted in the 2" barrel and you would not need to use the 1.25" barrel. Unfortunately the 2" barrel was not with the scope. The 1.25" barrel was attached to the scope. I contacted Sky-Watcher USA and they sent me a 2" barrel. However, it is made for a newer focuser and will not work on this one. They agreed to send me the correct one and I will return the piece that doesn't work. Fortunately I have a 2" focuser that bolts into the factory holes so I have been able to use 2" accessories. All-in-all this is a very good 10" scope that does a good job on all targets. --Steve Self EAAA Student Chapter Organization Meeting: September 16, 2016 The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM in the PSC Planetarium. Past president Dave Cochran was thanked for his 2 years of service with the EAAA Student Chapter. Dr. Wooten presented him with a painting by his wife, Merry, that accurately illustrates the volcanic nature of Saturn s Moon Enceladus. The election of new officers was coordinated by Dave Cochran. Elected as our new officers for school year were President Jacob Herrera, VP Marcus Hurston, and Secretary/Treasurer Brittany Sharp. As our service project for the new year, we voted to approve the purchase of a dozen Galileoscope kits for purchase to interested students, family members, etc. The amount required is $500 - $600, including club purchase of the Draco Baader solar filters for them. The total cost will include: telescope, solar filter, and shipping. These kits will be assembled by student members for either their own, club, or donated for school use as we did last year. The meeting was adjourned for our program at 7:00pm. Richard Walker, Acting Sec. Minutes of the EAAA Business Meeting of September 16, 2016 Our program was presented by Planetarium director Billy Jackson, and was titled Dawn of the Space Age. Billy presented an informative, 41 minute, streaming, full dome program covering the space programs from the original Sputnik to the International Space Station. At 7:45pm, Dr. Wayne Wooten gave an interesting short program that used the planetarium system to show the evening sky, including the sky south of the equator.

6 The Meteor Volume XLI Numbers 9-10 September-October 2016 Page 6 He mentioned how several of the celestial objects will be positioning themselves over the next few months. Business meeting started at 8:00pm Tom Riederer, Vice President, headed the meeting. There were several students and guests at the meeting. Chris and Gena Gomez mentioned seeing possible space debris burning up while entering the atmosphere. Dewey Barker was contacted by Brandi Pettus about advertising. The club voted to approve buying a $229 ad sale (3 x 1-1/2, about the size of a business card) to appear on 10,000 menus at the Jubilee Oyster Bar & Grill. (Dennis Hausch motion; Richard Walker second; club vote passed) For our next program on October 21, 2016, Richard Mannarino will present the new ap from NASA, Eyes on the Solar System. No new education level awards, but Dewey Barker gave a high level presentation to inform any possible new members about the education program and benefits. He has some text books to sell for any members wishing to start their education program. Dewey also mentioned that he makes small business cards to hand out to members and potential members at meetings and gazes. He circulated a copy of the card template for anyone wishing to print their own copies. Treasurer Jim Larduskey said that there has been no account activity since July Rick Hogue indicated he was able to sell much of Joe Robinson s astronomy equipment and presented $2, from these sales to the EAAA. Dave Halupowski has hats (about $15) and all sizes of shirts (about $15) for sale. He is also able to arrange to have personal items embroidered for a reasonable fee (about $12). is the link to our club calendar. Star Gaze reports appear in the Meteor. Dewey mentioned several recent gazes, along with an estimate of the number of individuals attending them. Local Dark Skies Locations: If you use established or find new dark skies please let the club know about them so we can compile a list with GPS coordinates, aiding other members to find them. The Munson area is being checked out for possible dark sky use in the fall. A member mentioned a new site in the Baker / Andalusia area that is very dark and might be worth investigating. Clicking on any posted star gaze should bring up additional information about that event (Point of contact, begin time, location including GPS coordinates) Dewey Barker also sends out lists of gazes occurring in the near future on our Astro Alerts. At 8:30pm, the meeting was adjourned, followed by a possible outside gaze. The skies appeared to be adequate immediately following the meeting, but deteriorated rapidly. --Richard L. Walker, Secretary EAAA Meeting Minutes for October 21, 2016 Our program for the meeting was by Richard Mannarino NASA: Eyes of the Earth, Eyes on the Solar System, and Eyes on the Exoplanets (applocated at and was presented at 7 PM in room Chris and Gina Gomez then presented their latest fine deep sky video, to be posted on our Facebook links. President Ed Magowan called the business meeting to order at 7:30pm. Will be participating in Pensacon 2017, at the Bay Center event, and officers will be checking into panels, gazes, etc for next February. Dave Halupowski circulated a good diagram for the part of the United States that be able to see the 2017 solar eclipse. Dr. Wooten has solar filter material for anyone needing it. Dave also showed some photographs of spy cameras capable of seeing a golf ball from about 45,000 feet AND photos of the KeyHole NSA spy scopes that are better than and that could replace the Hubble telescope after it retires. Two are now in NASA s inventory, but no money yet to refurbish and launch them.

7 The Meteor Volume XLI Numbers 9-10 September-October 2016 Page 7 Big Lagoon State Park has indicated an interest in hosting deep sky gazes there year around. It was suggested in the off season these be set for the first and third quarter moons. Following up on Richard s NASA Eyes presentation, on November 18, 2016, Dr. Dr. Wooten will present ESA s new Gaia Sky program. Based on new data released a month ago by the Gaia astrometric satellite, it vastly expands our knowledge of stellar distances, motions, and luminosities. It can be downloaded at: There were several students, guests and new members at the meeting. Treasurer Jim Larduskey reports Checking: $430.50, Savings: $7,201.51, Cash: $524.80, for a total of $8, Rick Hogue was able to sell the astronomy equipment from Joe Robinson s estate for $2, and this was put into EAAA savings. Dr. Wooten has ordered the 12 Galileo telescopes that will be assembled by the EAAA Student Chapter as their club project and sold for $30.00 each, including a solar filter if bought by a member. Many thanks to member Terri Van Bargen for also contributing $180 for adding six more scopes to the order! The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has several books that might be of interest to us at: http//secure.rasc.ca/rasc/rasc/store/store_currpub.aspx?category=currpub One of these is the 2017 Observer s Handbook for $27.95 (Canadian I believe). Jim circulated a sign up sheet for the 2017 Wall Calendars, but the Ottewell we love so much has now ceased publication, alas. Dave Halupowski has hats (about $15) and all sizes of shirts (about $15) for sale. He is also able to arrange to have personal items embroidered for a reasonable fee (about $12). He had not new International Dark Skies Report for this month for us. Last Month's Minutes (distributed in the last Meteor) Please let secretary know of any needed corrections. OLD BUSINESS Past Star Gazes - maintained on EAAA calendar at Star Gaze reports appear in the Meteor. Local Dark Skies Locations: If you use established or find new dark skies please let the club know about them so we can compile a list with GPS coordinates, aiding other members to find them. The Munson area is being checked out for possible dark sky use in the fall. NEW BUSINESS Future Star Gazes - maintained on EAAA calendar at Clicking on any posted star gaze should bring up additional information about that event (Point of contact, begin time, location including GPS coordinates) Dewey Barker also sends out lists of gazes occurring in the near future. ANNOUNCEMENTS Information about the October 29, 2016 Ghouls on the Gulf at Gulf State Park can be found at their Facebook page: ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM. Richard L Walker, Secretary

8 The Meteor Volume XLI Numbers 9-10 September-October 2016 Page 8 Calendar of Events Oct. 29 Oct. 30 Nov. 2 Nov. 3 Nov. 6 Nov. 7 Nov. 14 Nov. 17 Nov. 18 Nov. 21 Nov. 25 Nov. 28 Dec. 1 Dec. 3 Dec. 7 Dec. 9 Dec. 11 Dec. 14 Dec. 21 Dec. 22 Dec. 25 Dec. 27 Dec. 29 Jan. 1 Jan. 6 Venus passes 3 degrees south of Saturn New Moon, the Black Moon, second new moon of the month Waxing crescent moon 4 degrees north of Saturn in evening twilight Waxing crescent moon passes 7 degrees north of Venus Fall back to CST at 2 AM today First Quarter Moon Full Moon, the Frosty Moon Peak for the Leonid Meteor shower, but Moon interferes EAAA meets in room 1775 at 7 PM, program is ESA s Gaia Sky Last Quarter Moon Waning crescent moon passes 2 degrees north of Jupiter in dawn New Moon Waxing crescent moon passes 7 degrees north of Mercury in twilight Waxing crescent moon passes 6 degrees north of Venus First quarter moon EAAA Christmas Party at 7 PM in room 1775 (College will be closed for holidays, hence necessary to move the date up a week!) Mercury at GEE, some 21 degrees east of Sun in evening sky Peak for Geminid Meteors washed out by the Full (Long Night) Moon Last Quarter Moon, Winter Solstice at 9:44 AM. Waning crescent moon passes 2.3 degrees north of Jupiter Merry Christmas Waning crescent Moon passes 4 degrees north of Saturn in dawn sky New Moon Happy New Year. First EAAA meeting of 2017, room 1775, Pensacola State College For 2017, the meetings will be on the First Friday of each month. Pay at the next meeting or by mail with a check, payable to EAAA to treasurer Jim Larduskey, 4660 Shannon Circle, Pensacola, FL 32504; call him at if you have questions. Dues are $24 for individual or family membership, $12 for senior (60+) and student membership.