NEWSLETTER OF THE SONOMA COUNTY ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

Transcription

1 NEWSLETTER OF THE SONOMA COUNTY ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY September Volume XXXVI no. 9 Come Volunteer at the Tolay Fall Festival Dates: Thursday through Sunday, October 10th to 13th, and Wednesday through Sunday, October 16 to 20. Hours: 9am to 2pm Weekdays and 11am to 5pm Weekends. - If setting up a scope arrive early enough to be set up 15 minutes before start time. Tolay Lake Regional Park is Located at 5869 Cannon Lane, a left turn off Lakeville Hwy south of Petaluma. Description: The nine day Tolay Fall Festival is a seasonal celebration that connects visitors with the beauty and history of Tolay Lake Regional Park in the hills east of Petaluma. The Fall Festival s activities and displays are low-key, hands-on and educational by design. Over 18,000 attended the 2012 Festival. Weekdays are for (Continued on Page 2) Hello everyone. It s time to get serious, step forward and signup to participate in this years Tolay Fall Festival by ing me at deep6(@)sonic.net, or, if you are a RFO Docent, signup thru the Docent Calendar. Our Solar Observing venue was a big hit last year and it will be again this year. Sonoma County Regional Parks is looking forward to our participation again this year. All the information you need to signup is shown below. So volunteer and show up with a smile and your imagination. Don t worry if your knowledge of the sun is minimal. Plenty of information will be available to bring you up to speed. SCAS General Meeting - Wednesday, September 11 at Proctor Terrace School After a break in August, the Sonoma County Astronomica Society resumes it s general meetings Wednesday, September 11. Held, as usual at Proctor Terrace elementary school Gymnasiium. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Join us for an interesting and informative event. CONTENTS President s Message...2 Event Horizons...3 The Semi-Sirius Astronomer...3 Young Astronomers...4 Nasa Space Place...6 Counting the Perseids...7 Observatories...8 Events...9, 10 April Skychart...10 SCAS Membership, Info...11

2 FROM THE PRESIDENT The John B. Riebli Charter School is in the process of applying for a grant to participate in the Student Spaceflight Experiments program (SSEP) Mission 5 to the International Space Station. They need to fundraise $21,500 and asked me if I knew of any funding sources. If you would like to help in this effort, contact me at scas_prez(at)sonic.net and I will forward the school s Executive Summary of Implementation Plan to you. Does anybody know of places of astronomical interest in or near Paris, France, Bruges, Belgium, or Amsterdam? I will be traveling there from mid-september to early October. I know of the Observatoire de Paris and the Musee d Histoire Naturelle, both of which are on my itinerary. I will also miss - Lynn Anderson SCAS President the October SCAS meeting with my wife s and my annual fall trip up to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I m still waiting for more than the one response I received regarding the concept of creating a lifetime (one payment) membership category. Don t miss the Wonders of the Cosmos exhibit now on display at the Mahoney Library, located in the middle of the SRJC Petaluma campus. The exhibit will be in place until October 10th. There is also planned solar viewing near the library on Thursday, September 5th from 10:00 2:00. (Tolay - Continued from Page 1) elementary school children and some middle school children. Most will arrive by School Bus. Weekends are for the general public Tolay Fall Festival should be on the Regional Parks website by mid summer. Go to - Solar Equipped Telescope - white light filters - Solar Equipped Telescope - H-Alpha - Solar Equipped Telescope - H-Alpha - Solar Equipped Telescope - H-Alpha - Radio Telescope - Volunteers providing information about the Sun and Astronomy - Greeters to promote RFO & SCAS and point out information on the picture boards - Volunteers to relieve the above positions - More Telescopes and volunteers welcome. The following Positions need to be filled each of the nine days of the Festival: - Solar Equipped Telescope - white light filters - Solar Equipped Telescope - white light filters 2 Contact: Dickson Yeager Address: deep6@sonic.net Phone #:

3 EVENT HORIZONS It has been a while since this column has appeared, but the school year has begun and teachers have been requesting telescope viewing nights for their student. Some took advantage of our pre-sale and started booking dates last May. Dickson Yeager has been busy organizing various nonschool telescope activities. The first of which was solar viewing just this past Saturday, from 10:00-2:00 on August 31, at Spring Lake Park Regional Park. SCAS members who participated were Dickson, Len Nelson, Jim DeManche, Leo Bleier, Jill Quigley and Lynn Anderson. Another Spring Lake day of solar viewing is scheduled for Saturday, September 21st. Dickson has also arranged for an evening of telescope viewing at the Bohemia Ecological Preserve on Friday, September 27th. Here is the link to the Land Path website for details departs. Another wrinkle is that his ISP, Sonic, has changed the format and his organized volunteer list has been lost and adding or deleting volunteers has become a cumbersome process. He hope that this will soon be overcome. For those of you who are ready to pledge participation for any of the above listed telescope nights, contact Lynn at astroman(at)sonic.net For those of you not yet on the list of volunteers who want to get involved in sharing your passion of astronomy, use the same to get on the volunteer list and receive announcements about upcoming volunteer opportunities. For anybody who has been on the volunteer list and wishes to be removed, do let Lynn know. Contact Dickson deep6(at)sonic.net ( ) to sign up for either of these events. Here is a quick list of the school telescope nights, so far: Thursday, September 12 Whited Elementary School (Rincon Valley) *Monday, September 30 Credo High School (Rohnert Park) *Tuesday, October 8 Sequoia Elementary (Rincon Valley) *Thursday, October 10 Valley Vista Elementary (Petaluma) Friday, October 18 Pengrove Elementary Full Moon Festival Wednesday, November 6 Rincon Valley Middle School Thursday, November 7 Guerneville Elementary Wednesday, December 4 Dunham Elementary (Petaluma) The dates marked with the asterisk* are during a time when Lynn will be traveling, so as his departure date <Sept 15> gets close, he hopes to have those events staffed before he 3

4 YOUNG ASTRONOMERS We will meet at Dunham Elementary in north Petaluma as we did last year. Start time is 7:30. Sunset is at 7:00. There will be no Moon to illuminate the sky so, if it is clear, we will have observing after the meeting. Future meetings will be on the 4th Friday until we decide to arrange for a different date. Topics? This is your meeting. Tell me what you would like to talk about in advance. I know that Hunter Ward has reviewed the JPL Space Rocks kit and he will probably be able to talk on that subject. I have asked (by request) that one of you volunteer to talk about Comet ISON. We have Yosemite to talk about. Many of you went and we need to discuss what you wish you had brought with you and what you wish you had done that you did not. There is no time like now to plan for next year while memories are yet relatively fresh. Let s lay out ideas for topics for future meetings and who the speakers will be amongst you. No doubt there are m a n y ideas that escape me and if you have any, and surely you do, please contact me. Star parties: Plan to come to the RFO public night on Saturday, September7. Let me know you are coming and I will draw up a list of things for you to find. -Len Nelson I need to hear from you concerning those things that you would like to observe that you have not yet. So, do reply. COOL SPACE FACT: Comet nuclei can range in size from about 100 meters to more than 40 kilometers. They are composed of rock, dust, ice, and frozen gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia. They have been described as dirty snowballs, but recent observations have revealed that they have dry dusty or rocky surfaces, suggesting that the ices are hidden beneath a crust. 4

5 I have a used SKYShed POD XL3 that I want to sell as it no longer meets my needs. It is forest green and includes 3 bays and 2 shelves. Bought 4 years ago for $2,795 + $1,529 for shipping. If someone wants it I will let it go for $1,750. Located outside of Healdsburg in Alexander Valley just off of Lytton Springs Rd. See pictures. Thanks Michael Bailey Mebailey109@yahoo.com FOR SALE SCAS is on Facebook! Read about interesting astronomy news. See what club members are up to and what they re observing. View and post your latest astro images. Check it out! Astronomy Magazine at a Discount To SCAS Members Astronomy Magazine is offering subscription renewals or new subscriptions at discount rate to SCAS members for the amount of $34 for one year or $60 for two years. If you are interested please contact Larry McCune, SCAS Treasurer by the end of September at llmccune(at)comcast.net or you can mail a check made payable to SCAS to: Larry McCune, SCAS Treasurer, 544 Thyme Place, San Rafael, CA

6 Size Does Matter, But So Does Dark Energy By Dr. Ethan Siegel Here in our own galactic backyard, the Milky Way contains some billion stars, and that s not even the biggest galaxy in our own local group. Andromeda (M31) is even bigger and more massive than we are, made up of around a trillion stars! When you throw in the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, and the dozens of dwarf galaxies and hundreds of globular clusters gravitationally bound to us and our nearest neighbors, our local group sure does seem impressive. Yet that s just chicken feed compared to the largest structures in the universe. Giant clusters and superclusters of galaxies, containing thousands of times the mass of our entire local group, can be found omnidirectionally with telescope surveys. Perhaps the two most famous examples are the nearby Virgo Cluster and the somewhat more distant Coma Supercluster, the latter containing more than 3,000 galaxies. There are millions of giant clusters like this in our observable universe, and the gravitational forces at play are absolutely tremendous: there are literally quadrillions of times the mass of our Sun in these systems. The largest superclusters line up along filaments, forming a great cosmic web of structure with huge intergalactic voids in between the galaxy-rich regions. These galaxy filaments span anywhere from hundreds of millions of light-years all the way up to more than a billion light years in length. The CfA2 Great Wall, the Sloan Great Wall, and most recently, the Huge-LQG (Large Quasar Group) are the largest known ones, with the Huge-LQG -- a group of at least 73 quasars apparently stretching nearly 4 billion light years in its longest direction: more than 5% of the observable universe! With more mass than a million Milky Way galaxies in there, this structure is a puzzle for cosmology. You see, with the normal matter, dark matter, and dark energy in our universe, there s an upper limit to the size of gravitationally bound filaments that should form. The Huge-LQG, if real, is more than double the size of that largest predicted structure, and this could cast doubts on the core principle of cosmology: that on the largest scales, the universe is roughly uniform everywhere. But this might not pose a problem at all, thanks to an unlikely 6 NASA SPACE PLACE culprit: dark energy. Just as the local group is part of the Virgo Supercluster but recedes from it, and the Leo Cluster -- a large member of the Coma Supercluster -- is accelerating away from Coma, it s conceivable that the Huge-LQG isn t a single, bound structure at all, but will eventually be driven apart by dark energy. Either way, we re just a tiny drop in the vast cosmic ocean, on the outskirts of its rich, yet barely fathomable depths. Digital mosaic of infrared light (courtesy of Spitzer) and visible light (SDSS) of the Coma Cluster, the largest member of the Coma Supercluster. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Goddard Space Flight Center / Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Learn about the many ways in which NASA strives to uncover the mysteries of the universe: gov/astrophysics/. Kids can make their own clusters of galaxies by checking out The Space Place s fun galactic mobile activity:

7 Counting the Perseids from the RFO I had done this before but, this time, I planned to make the effort easier. I purchased a hand held tabulator (a clicker) at Staples that afternoon. I had also planned to try my luck getting images of the Perseids using a remote shutter release on my tripod mounted SLR camera that I had practiced with at home and found it to work perfectly. I normally do small scope volunteer service at the RFO on public nights but this time I planned to be looking up and advising others to do the same. So, I only brought a large pair of tripod mounted 11 x 80 Celestron binoculars, an anti-gravity reclining chair, warm cloths, coffee and munchies. I was ready! It was a beautiful evening Sunday, 8/11 - calm & clear. The sun set at 8:09 & the waxing moon was scheduled to set at 10:33. The first meteor was sighted at 9:15...just as it became rather dark. I hit the tabulator s entry button. The count had begun. I am not sure who all was there early in the evening but later on and doing the stretch to 5 AM there was Jack Welsh, Leo Bleier, Dickson Yeager and me and until around 12:00, Dave Simons, Bob Johnston and Nancy Cummings. We did not arrange ourselves to view the entire sky. This was not an organized meteor count. We all pretty much faced east and to the zenith while lying prone and with decent peripheral vision my guess is that one can see about 40% of the sky. At the top of each hour, I recorded the 7 total number of meteors observed up to that time. So, from 9:15 until I called it quits at 5:00, here are the numbers: 09:15-10: :00-11: :00-12: :00-1 : :00-2: :00-3: :00-4: :00-5:00 85 Total: 361 Not one of us saw all 361 meteors. It is after all, necessary to blink periodically or happen to be looking in the wrong direction when a meteor streaks over. But, when someone saw one we d voice that observation and declare where it was seen and which direction it was heading. I did not record which meteors were true Perseids (those radiating from the constellation Perseus area) but my guess is that the number of such was about 80% of the total. In retrospect, it would have been nice to have had a separate tabulator to record just the erratics but, that level of coordination, as the night progressed into early morning, was probably beyond me to succeed at. We did note that as the night progressed, there were more bright meteors relative to small ones. We guesstimated that 1 in 4 was a meteor of note. But, near the end of the show, it appeared that ratio had ratcheted up to more like half being rather bright mete- ors. I d guess that at least 10 left smoke trails some of which lasted up to 10 seconds or so. Camera time. At 2:00, I decided to try my luck. However, most regrettably, I could not get the remote shutter release (Vello Wireless SHutterboss) to work on either of 2 cameras I had brought! Later that day (much later) while at home, it still failed. So, I did a web search for a product report on it and learned that the original batteries were not of the best caliber. But, they did test out okay on a charge meter I had so I rubbed the ends of each on my jeans and reinserted them and they have worked fine since. Now, why would that be? :-/ In any case, I took no images but have learned from many prior experiences over the years that having your camera facing the right place at the right time is rather quite challenging and luck must be on your side for any successes. Future Perseids: Next year: Sadly, it s a full moon experience so we ll need to wait until 2015 when we, once again, have close to a New Moon for the Perseids. Then, hope for good sky conditions like we had this year to make it a perfect match! Clear Skies, Len Nelson

8 RFO September 2013 Robert Ferguson Observatory Star Parties Saturday, September 7 Solar Observing: Noon-4pm Public Star Party Begins 9PM The Observatory features four telescopes: A 14-inch SCT with CCD camera in the East wing, an 8-inch refractor under the dome, a radio telescope for observing Sun activity, and a 24-inch reflector in the West wing. SCAS members may set up telescopes in the observatory parking lot to assist with public viewing. Auto access closes at dusk; late arrivals must carry equipment from the horse stable parking area. Fees: No admission fee for solar viewing; donations are appreciated. Observatory night viewing fee: $3 for adults; children 17 and under admitted free. The Park charges $8 per vehicle for entry at all times. Info: Rent the Ferguson observatory! Groups of up to 50 can be accommodated. Astronomer docents provide sky interpretation and operate telescopes, and you can stay up as late as you want! Make your reservation at least two weeks prior to your event. Best times for optimal sky gazing are around a week away from a Full Moon. For information or to make a reservation, visit or George Loyer: gloyer(at)rfo.org. SSU OBSERVATORY Join us at the SSU Observatory for Public Viewing Nights during the Fall semester: Sept 6 8:00-10:00 Planetary Nebulae Oct 4 7:00-9:00 Perseus, Pegasus, & Andromeda Nov 8 7:00-9:00 Fall Galaxies (possibly ISON) Nov 22 7:00-9:00 Comets (possibly ISON) To find the Observatory: Follow the signs from the freeway to the campus. The Observatory is located inside the stadium area at the SE corner of the campus (East Cotati Avenue and Petaluma Hill Road, 2 miles east of U.S. 101 at Cotati). Call before coming if it appears likely that clouds may force cancellation Night Sky Classes Fall Series Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 28, Nov. 4, Nov. 25, Dec. 2 Mondays at 8:00 PM: Series of six sessions. Each class includes a lecture on the constellations of the season, their history and mythology, and how to find stars and deep sky objects within them. Includes observing. Fees: $75 for the series. (Single session fee is $23). 10% discount for VMOA members. Classes are held at the Observatory. The 8-inch refractor at the Robert Ferguson Observatory. NEW DOCENT TRAINING BEGINS SEPTEMBER 4 Sign up by contacting Steve Smith at ssmith@rfo.org For information or to register: (707) , nightsky(at)rfo.org 8

9 CLUB EVENTS: SEPTEMBER 2013 SOLAR OBSERVING AT SPRING LAKE REGIONAL PARK LANDPATHS BOHEMIA ECOLOGICAL PRESERVE STAR PARTY SCAS is doing a Star Party for LandPaths at their Bohemia Ecological Preserve off The Bohemian Hwy south of Monte Rio. The event is free and open to the public, limited to 20 persons. The event is listed on their website. Click on Outings & Events, then Outings Calendar, then scroll down and click on September and scroll to 9/27. Date: September 27, 2013 SCAS will be providing Solar Observing at Spring Lake Regional Park in Santa Rosa. Look for this event to be listed on the Regional Parks website sonomacounty.ca.gov/ then go to Activities then Calendar. Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013 Times: 10am to 2pm with set up at 9:30am Time: 6pm, however sunset is 7pm so observing will start about 8pm. Location: See Landpaths website for directions To Volunteer: Dickson Yeager at deep6@sonic. net. Limited to four telescopes. It is reported to be a very dark sky site. Altitude is around 450 feet. Need to be setup by 7:30. Location: Just south of the boat ramp. Enter at the Newanga entrance station. At the intersection of Summerfield Road and Hoen avenue go east on Hoen one block to stop sign. Turn left onto Newanga and proceed to entrance. To Volunteer: Dickson Yeager at deep6@sonic. net. You need not have a scope to be useful. 9

10 3rd Tuesday 4:30am - The Zodiacal Light is visible in the east through 9/16 4th Wednesday 9am - Venus near Spica 5th Tursday 4:30am - New Moon 6th Friday 8pm - Fall semester public viewing night at SSU Observatory 7th Saturday Noon - Public Solar Observing at Robert Ferguson Observatory 7th Saturday 9pm - Public Star Party at Robert Ferguson Observatory 8th Sunday 4:30am - Mars in M44 8th Sunday 8pm - Crescent moon VERY close to Venus, with the star Spica nearby 11th Wednesday 7:30pm - General Meeting of SCAS at Proctor Terrace School - Open to Public 12th Thursday 10am - First Quarter Moon 12th Thursday Dusk - Astronomy Night at Whited Elementary School (Rincon Valley) 16th Monday 11:30 - At about 11:48pm the mag 5.1 star 46 Capricorni will disappear behind the dark limb of the nearly full moon 84 from the south cusp. 19th Thursday 4am - Harvest Moon 21st Saturday 9:30am - Solar Observing at Spring Lake Regional Park, Santa Rosa 22nd Sunday 1:30pm - Equinox 26th Thursday 9pm - Last Quarter 27th Rfiday 7pm - LandPaths Star Party at their Bohemia Ecological Preserve 28th Saturday 2am - Moon near Jupiter 28th Saturday 7pm - Observing Lab: Star Death 30th Monday Dusk - Astronomy Night at Credo High School (Rohnert Park) 30th Monday 7pm - RFO Night Sky Fall Series 10

11 SEPTEMBER 2013 SKY CHART 11 Special thanks to:

12 Sonoma County Astronomical Society (SCAS) Membership Information 12 SCAS Membership Application/Renewal Annual Membership dues are $25 due June 1. (New members joining after Nov. 30 pay $12.50) Please complete this form and give to the Membership Director or a Board member with your check, payable to SCAS, at the next meeting, or mail your dues to: SCAS, P.O. Box 183, Santa Rosa, CA ( ) New ( ) Renewal ( ) Family (no extra charge) Name(s): (Required for Sonoma Skies) Address: City/State/Zip: Telephone: I am interested in serving in one or more of these areas: ( ) School Star Parties ( ) SCAS Board ( ) Newsletter ( ) Striking Sparks ( ) Mentoring Young Astronomers ( ) Yosemite Star Party ( ) Other New Members please note interests and hobbies you would like us to know about: New Members please share your reason(s) for joining SCAS, and how you heard about the club: Your dues include our monthly newsletter Sonoma Skies, membership in the Astronomical League and its Reflector magazine, discounted subscriptions for Sky and Telescope and Astronomy magazines, great guest speakers at our monthly meetings, the annual Star-B-Que, and opportunities to meet new and interesting people who share your passion for the night sky and many aspects of astronomy and science. Welcome to the SCAS! Meetings: 7:30 PM on the second Wednesday of each month, in the Multipurpose Room of Proctor Terrace Elementary School, 1711 Bryden Lane at Fourth Street, Santa Rosa, unless otherwise announced in this publication. The public is invited. Dues: $25, renewable June 1 of each year. New members joining between December 1 and May 31 pay partial-year dues of $ Star Parties: See the Events section for dates and times. Rental Telescope: Members are eligible to borrow the club s 80mm refractor with tripod. Contact any Board member listed below. Egroup URL: Connect with other members about going observing, observing reports and chat about astronomy and news items from AANC and Sky & Telescope. Hosted by Keith Payea at kpayea(at)bryantlabs.net. Any SCAS member is welcome to join. Visit and click the Join button, or send an to scas-subscribe(at)yahoogroups.com Discount Subscriptions: For Sky & Telescope, new subscribers may send a check for $32.95 payable to SCAS, with your complete mailing address, directly to: Larry McCune, 544 Thyme Place, San Rafael, CA Once you have received the discount rate, you may renew your subscription by sending your personal check with the renewal notice directly to Sky Publishing. Discount subscriptions to Astronomy Magazine occur annually in October. Check Sonoma Skies for details. Library: We have a library of astronomy books that may be checked out by members at SCAS meetings, to be returned at the next meeting. Videotaped lectures on astronomy may be rented for $3 per month. Sonoma Skies is the monthly newsletter of the Sonoma County Astronomical Society (SCAS). Subscription is included as part of membership. Submissions are welcome and are published on a first come, first served basis, space permitting, and may be edited. The deadline for submissions is 7 days prior to the end of each month. Mail to: Editor, SCAS, P.O. Box 183, Santa Rosa, CA 95402, or publicatio ns(at)sonomaskies.org SCAS Elected Board President: Lynn Anderson scas_prez(at)sonic.net Vice-President & Program Director: John Whitehouse jmw(at)sonic.net Treasurer: Larry McCune, (415) llmccune(at)comcast.net Secretary: Eric Swanson, emswanson(at)comcast.net Membership Director: Mike Dranginis mike880(at)comcast.net Director of Community Activities: Lynn Anderson astroman(at)sonic.net Newsletter Editor: Ted Judah tedjudah4sonomaskies(at)gmail.com Cartoonist: Herb Larson hlarsenii(at)yahoo.com SCAS Appointed Positions Striking Sparks Program Coordinator: Larry McCune (415) llmccune(at)comcast.net YA Adult Advisor: Len Nelson lennelsn(at)comcast.net Amateur Telescope Making: Steve Follett sfollett(at)sonic.net Librarian: David Simons davidsimons(at)planetatm.com Visit us on the web at: Sonoma County Astronomical Society is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt social and education organization.