Alamogordo Astronomy A News Letter for Astronomy in Southern New Mexico

Transcription

1 Alamogordo Astronomy News Letter Alamogordo Astronomy A News Letter for Astronomy in Southern New Mexico The March Issue Volume 1, Issue 2 Published 29 Feb 12 On The Internet Amateur Astronomers Group Tonight s Sky Hubble Images omy/tonights_sky Visible Planet Guide earthsky.org The Sky This Month - nighskyinfo Sky Watching Events - space.com US NAVAL Observatory ronomical-applications Produced By P.O. Box 4151 Alamogordo, NM aacwp@zianet.com What Happened In February Weather conditions were mixed in February. Many of the nights provided clear skies over the area. March Upcoming Activities Jim Fox presents in March For our March meeting, we will once again attempt to have Jim The club decided on a Messier Fox deliver his presentation of Marathon overnight at White Observing Variable Stars. Sands National Monument, April 21. Other clubs are invited to Buena Vista Star Party attend. On page 3 of this News The upcoming BVSP is on 24 Letter is information about Charles March. This BVSP will include a Messier, his deep space objects 3% illuminated crescent moon, catalog, and Messier Marathon scheduled to set at The observing events. event will start about sunset The guest speaker was unable to (1819). This event should provide attend the meeting due to the us with views of Venus, Jupiter, and Mars. We may even get a highway being closed. chance to see Mercury (Sets at Buena Vista Star Party 1851). Event duration depends on Weather Conditions, Visibility, and The Buena Vista Star Party Participation. (BVSP) for February included the Times from US NAVAL Observatory. 12½ Newtonian, plus an 8 Meade viewing Venus, Jupiter, Oliver Lee Memorial State Park M42, M36, M37, and Double Night Sky Program Cluster. Venus and Jupiter create a One of My Photos spectacular conjunction while the Orion and his associated This is a photo of the moon going constellations, such as Canis into full eclipse December 22, Major, Taurus, and the Pleiades 2010, taken with my simple 5MP dominate the night sky. Event is Kodak digital camera. March 17, 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM. Astronomy Club Meeting March Club Meeting Topics Messier Marathon Variable Star Observation Local Area Observation Activity Dark Sky in the Tularosa Basin

2 Buena Vista Corner This month s Buena Vista Corner is an article by Mike Mosier. Mike tells about the observatory and his first encounter with this wonder hidden on a typical street corner in Alamogordo. BUENA VISTA OBSERVATORY - By Mike Mosier My first encounter with the Buena Vista Observatory was in I was just getting started in amateur astronomy and had purchased a 3 inch reflector from Edmund Scientific. One evening I happen to drive by the observatory which is located at 19th street and Park Avenue and was amazed that something like this existed in Alamogordo. The door to the Observatory was open, so I stopped to get a look inside. There was a young High School kid inside. It also was full of school desks being stored there. I spent a few minutes looking the place over and talked to the young man about the observatory. I found out that he was a High School Senior and was using the telescope for his research project. Later I found out the young man's name was Alan Hale, the discoverer of the Hale-Bopp Comet {formally designated C/1995 O1, perhaps the most widely observed comet of the 20th century}, and today a well known Professional Astronomer. The Observatory was built in the 60's using a federal grant. At that time they were pushing Science and we were still in the Space Race with the Soviet Union. We have not been able to get an exact date, or who received the Grant to build it. It belongs to the Alamogordo Public Schools, but receives little use by the School System. It has been used by the College for the Astronomy Class but that was in the late 90's, and hasn't been used by them for quite a while. The has maintained and operated the Observatory for over 20 years. In 2002 my wife Sharon was working for the Superintendent of Schools, and he needed an Eagle Scout project for a Boy Scout group he was involved with. They decided to clean up and renovate the Observatory. I worked with them to clean and paint the inside of the Observatory. I pulled the optics from the telescope, cleaned, reinstalled and aligned the telescope. In 2008 the club began having monthly public star parties at the Observatory with attendance ranging from 50 of 60 people to just a few depending on the time of the year and the amount of advertising that the club did for the event. We have also had star parties for the Buena Vista Elementary school, and many of our star parties have been attended by Students from the Public and Private schools in Alamogordo and La Luz. Messier Moment The monthly Messier Moment article will include a selected Messier Object, a Hubble Space Telescope picture of the selected object, and possibly some interesting text

3 NEWSLETTER Astronomy and Geology at Valley of Fires - By John Pijawka Nestled 4 miles west of Carrizozo is one of the most unique geological and astronomical viewing sites in Lincoln County. Carrizozo Malpais, or badlands, at the Valley of Fires Recreation Area has been hosting star parties for the public with the and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) since Geologically, it is one of the most recent lava flows in the United States, dated approximately years ago. It flows a distance of about 44 miles and ranges in width from about a half mile to more than five miles within the Tularosa Valley. It s featured characteristic fluidal pahoehoe flows are made up of alkali olivine basalt that was ejected from the 85 tall cinder cone located 6 miles north called Little Black Peak. Areas in the southern part of the flow have been measured at over 160 thick. An interpretive handicap accessible nature trail is also available within the park. With this in mind, it makes for a great area for hosting star parties! The lava flow engulfs the camping and picnicking area that limits the lights of Carrizozo at night and keeps the wind at bay majority of the time. Think of the campground and picnic area as a kiosk nestled on sandstone rising above the lava flow. However, as some folks can attest, the wind can get out of hand, especially in the spring time! The club usually hosts 2 events a year, usually in the spring and fall. Participation has been the key to these successful star parties. We have had anywhere from visitors partake, coming from all over the United States. We have also plenty of enthusiastic volunteers from the club who donate their time, scopes and knowledge. Potluck dinners, free camping for club volunteers, both tent and RV s, great open horizons, and limited night lighting are some of the perks offered. BLM also waive the entrance fee for day use since not all people attending are from the campground. I would like to thank Bill Murry, the Outdoor Recreational Planner for the BLM, Albert Najar, the Park Manager and the park volunteers who assist us. Without them and our clubs volunteers, these star parties would not be possible. See you all out there this year at the Valley of Starlight. The tentative date for this event is May 12th. In Our Own Back Yard Local area amateur astronomer, and active member, Richard Sass provides us with some of his pictures taken from up in the mountains near Cloudcroft. The Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury. Alamogordo Astronomy News Letter

4 January 2012 Messier Astronomer; Catalog; Marathon Information Extracted From seds.org Students for Exploration and Development of Space Charles Messier (26 Jun Apr 1817) was a French astronomer known for publishing a catalogue of deep sky objects. These objects became known as the 110 "Messier objects". He designed the catalogue to help astronomers, particularly comet hunters like himself, distinguish between transient objects & permanent objects in the sky. The objects' Messier designations, from M1 to M110, are still in use by professional and amateur astronomers today. The catalogue is not organized scientifically by object type or by location, as is the New General Catalogue. Nonetheless, the Messier catalogue Charles' interest in astronomy was stimulated by the appearance of the spectacular, great six-tailed comet in 1744 and by an annular solar eclipse visible from his hometown on 25 July In 1751 he entered the employ of Joseph Nicolas Delisle, the astronomer of the French Navy, who instructed him to keep careful records of his observations. Messier's first documented observation was that of the Mercury transit of 6 May In 1754, he was regularly employed as a Depot Clerk of the Navy. During his many years of searching, Messier discovered 13 comets. The Messier Catalogue The first version of Messier's catalogue contained 45 objects and was published in 1774 in the journal of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris. The final version of the catalogue was published in 1781, in Connoissance des Temps for The final list of Messier objects had grown to 103. On several different occasions between 1921 and 1966, astronomers and historians discovered evidence of another seven deep-sky objects that were observed either by Messier or his friend and assistant, Pierre Méchain, shortly after the final version was published. These seven objects, M104 through M110, are accepted by astronomers as "official" Messier objects. comprises nearly all the most spectacular examples of the five types of deep sky object diffuse nebulae, planetary nebulae, open clusters, globular clusters and galaxies. Because these objects can be observed with the relatively smallaperture refracting telescopes, they are among the most popular targets for visual study and photography available to amateur astronomers. Furthermore, almost all of the Messier objects are among the closest to our planet in their respective classes, which makes them heavily studied with professional class instruments that today can resolve very small and visually spectacular details in them

5 NEWSLETTER The Messier Marathon The idea of a Messier Marathon is to select just the right place and time for your star party so that you can observe all 110 Messier Objects in a single night. Usually, March or April is the best month as far as what objects are up between sunset and sunrise. Even with the clear skies here in Southern New Mexico, we often have cold March and windy April. For those anxious to try this, the next New Moon will occur on March 22, and thus the best Saturday nights in March are 17 and 24. From a good dark sky location, these dates should provide a considerably good chance to hunt down all 110 Messier Objects. has had these events in March and April. Some have been very successful. March was sometimes too cold for some members. The events in April were sometimes windy. There comes a time to put a nail in the ground, draw a line in the sand, or like this time, put our tripod legs in the gypsum. This year, the club has once again planned the Messier Marathon. The Marathon will be a one night campout at the White Sands National Monument, 21 April Selected Sky Watching Information for March From the Space Telescope Science Institute, Hubblesite, web site Evening Planets Jupiter and Venus approach each other in the sky during the beginning of the month, engaging in an apparent close encounter during mid-month. In reality, the planets remain very far apart, but because they currently lie in the same direction from Earth, they appear close together. The two planets part ways later in the month as Jupiter dips into the horizon and Venus climbs higher each night. Mars rises in the east by nightfall. The Red Planet will reach opposition early in the month, meaning it will be at its closest to Earth and visible all night long. This is the best time to view Mars all year. Saturn follows Mars later in the evening. It too will be up for the rest of the night, climbing high into the southern sky. Constellations and Deep-Sky Objects As the brilliant stars of winter progress toward the west, the constellations of spring make their appearance. Two March constellations derived from Greek mythology, Gemini and Cancer, lie in the zodiac. The zodiac is the name for the band of sky through which the Sun, Moon, and planets appear to travel. The Gemini twins lie high overhead. They were among Jason s Argonauts, who sailed the seas searching for the Golden Fleece. The two bright stars are the heads of the brothers, Castor and Pollux. A fuzzy patch lies near the feet of the Gemini twins. Called M35, it is a pretty cluster of several hundred stars. Cancer is often identified as a crab but has also been seen as a lobster or crayfish. In Greek mythology, Cancer was placed in the heavens by Hera, wife of Zeus, to immortalize its tenacious but futile battle with Hercules. It is a much dimmer constellation than Gemini, and hard to see in light-polluted skies. Within Cancer lies the lovely Beehive Cluster. Ancient stargazers called it the cloudy star. This large cluster contains hundreds of stars and lies about 577 light-years away from us. Alamogordo Astronomy News Letter

6 January 2012 Southern New Mexico Public Events for March Bottomless Lake Star Party At Bottomless Lake State Park near Carlsbad, 24 March. For more information, go to Dog Canyon Star Party Oliver Lee StatePark ( and the Amateur Astronomers Group ( host a monthly star party near Dog Canyon, 8 miles south of 70 on highway 54 toward El Paso. This month, Venus and Jupiter create a spectacular conjunction while the Orion and his associated constellations, such as Canis Major, Taurus, and the Pleiades dominate the night sky. Event is March 17, 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM. The club meets on the third Friday of the Month at 7:30 PM (except in December) at the Gerald Champion Medical Center- Conference Rooms 1 and 2 in Alamogordo, New Mexico. At the meeting we will discuss and finalize the Messier Marathon scheduled for April at the White Sands National Monument. Featured in March will be Jim Fox, Observation of Variable Stars. Buena Vista Star Party The hosts the Buena Vista Star Party, free and open to the public. Join us at the Buena Vista Observatory as we view the amazing night sky of New Mexico. In addition to the 12 1/2 Inch Newtonian Telescope of the observatory, local amateur astronomers often share their telescopes and their vast knowledge with the public. It s FREE and everyone is welcome. Bring your Children and your Friends. Location The Buena Vista Observatory is located at Park Ave and 19th St. at the Northwest Corner of the Buena Vista Elementary School Property. Date/Time Saturday Evening, 24 March 2012, from 6:30 until 8:30. Fees/Admission IT S FREE! Duration depends on participation. As always, this live astronomy event depends on weather and visibility. Visit us on facebook Or on the web at