Nene Valley Astronomical Society Stargazer Newsletter January 2019 www.neneastro.org.uk Forthcoming NVAS Society Meetings Friday 4th January: Star Night Observing Session from 8pm onwards. To check that conditions will Monday 7th January: Neighbours - An Introduction To Our Local Group Of Galaxies by Nick Hewitt. 8pm start - doors open from 7.30pm onwards. Admission 3. Friday 11th January: Star Night Observing Session from 8pm onwards. To check that conditions will Friday 18th January: Star Night Observing Session from 8pm onwards. To check that conditions will Monday 21st January: Telescope Evening - if your looking for hints and tips on how set up and get the most out of your telescope then this evening is for you. Bring along your scope and set up in the hall. If clear there will be an opportunity for observing as well. Friday 25th January: Star Night Observing Session from 8pm onwards. To check that conditions will All meetings and observing sessions are held at Chelveston Village Hall, Caldecott Road, Chelveston NN9 5AT Note: Occasionally, it may be necessary to alter the speakers and or subjects at short notice. Where this is the case details will be posted on our website, Twitter and Facebook accounts. Society Officers Chair: Peta Jellis e-mail: enquiries@neneastro.org.uk Events Co-ordinator: Kevin Burton e-mail: events@neneastro.org.uk Membership Secretary: Paul Blackman e-mail: membership@neneastro.org.uk Treasurer: David Jones Web Site Editor: Tony Stock e-mail: webmaster@neneastro.org.uk Newsletter: Steve Williams e-mail: newsletter@neneastro.org.uk Refreshments: Alec Parker & Penny Smith Follow The Nene Valley Astronomical Society on Twitter and like us on Facebook! Northamptonshire s Free To Join Astronomical Society
Information From Martin Braddock Following on from his lecture on Space Medicine to the society in November, Martin has kindly provided the following information for those who would like to learn more about space travel. The two books Martin mentioned on the evening were On The Future Propects For Humanity by Martin Rees and Endurance, A Year In Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly. Additionally there is a much deeper scientific book by Max Tegler entitled Life 3.0. The film mentioned on the evening was The Space Between Us. Finally, some of Martin s articles has had published are available for the Mansfield & Sutton Astronomical Society s website at www.sherwood-observatory.org.uk/the-society/members-articles This Hubble Space Telescope mosaic is of a portion of the immense Coma Cluster of over 1,000 galaxies, located 300 million light-years from Earth. Hubble's incredible sharpness was used to conduct a comprehensive census of the cluster's most diminutive members: a whopping 22,426 globular star clusters. Among the earliest homesteaders of the universe, globular star clusters are snow-globe-shaped islands of several hundred thousand ancient stars. The survey found the globular clusters scattered in the space between the galaxies. They have been orphaned from their home galaxies through galaxy tidal interactions within the bustling cluster. Astronomers will use the globular cluster field for mapping the distribution of matter and dark matter in the Coma galaxy cluster. The study, published in the November 9, 2018, issue of The Astrophysical Journal, will allow for astronomers to use the globular cluster field to map the distribution of matter and dark matter in the Coma galaxy cluster. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Mack (STScI) and J. Madrid (Australian Telescope National Facility) A reminder that the Nene Valley Astronomical Society is active on both Facebook and Twitter. Search for us on Facebook under Nene Valley Astronomical Society and follow us on Twitter @neneastro. Tweets will also appear on our web pages as well.
Nene Valley Night Sky - January 2019 Generated using Stellarium (Stellarium.org),the above starchart shows how the evening night sky will look on January 1st at 10pm, January 15th at 9pm and January 31st at 8pm. The mighty constellation of Orion the hunter dominates the January evening sky, transiting high in the southern aspect of the sky, whilst beneath can be found his faithful hunting hound Canis Major with the dazzling bright star Sirius, the closest nighttime star visible from our latitude at just over eight light years distant. To the east of Orion lies his smaller hunting dog, Canis Minor, with the first magnitude star Procyon. To the North of Orion lies the great charging bull, Taurus, with the ruddy giant star Aldebaren and the Hyades star cluster. Also in Taurus is the famous Crab Nebula, M1. At eighth magnitude you ll need a telescope and a moonless sky to pick this thousand year old supernova remnant up. On a January evening, the Milky Way runs from the south-east, directly overhead and on into the north-west. A wealth of star clusters running across it s breadth worthy of exploring with a pair of binoculars. M36, M37 and M38 lie in amongst the stars of Auriga, M35 in Gemini and the great double cluster of Perseus all beckon for exploration. Towards the east lie the constellations of Cancer and Leo, traditionally referred to as spring constellations, reminding us that the early dark skies of winter will soon be gone, so as ever make the most of observing opportunities! Left: M1 the Crab Nebula. Credit:NASA/Hubble Space Telescope
Total Lunar Eclipse - 21st January Following the largely clouded out lunar eclipse from last July, we have the chance to view an entire lunar eclipse during the early hours of Monday 21st January. The eclipse begins at 02h 37m when the Moon starts to immerse itself into the fainter Earth s penumbral shadow. To most observers this will probably go unnoticed, however as more of the Moon enters the Earth s penumbra a slight shadow will become noticeable. The Moon enters the Earth s umbral shadow at 03h 34m after which point the eclipse will definitely become noticeable! Over the next hour, the Full Moon will gradually become more covered by the Earth s umbral shadow until at 04h 41m totality will commence. A view of the 28th September 2015 Total Lunar Eclipse by Steve Williams Mid- totality is reached at 05h 12m, by which time the Moon will have taken on a coppery to a deep ruddy appearance. Totality will end at 05h 43m as the Moon starts to leave the Earth s umbral shadow, with last contact of the shadow being at 06h 51m. The Moon will leave the penumbral shadow of the Earth at 07h 48m, however this will occur well into the deep morning twilight and with the Moon very close to setting. This eclipse will take place against the stars of the constellation of Cancer and will therefore be visible above the western horizon. By the end of totality with the Moon being just over 20 degrees high, it may be worth checking that you observing site will offer an unobstructed view in advance. Let us hope for clear skies. A partial lunar eclipse will be visible on the night of 16-17 July 2019, with our next total lunar eclipse from this locale will not being until May 2022. The first of the years major meteor showers, the Quadrantids, reach maximum on the night of 3rd/4th January. Named after the now defunct constellation of Quadrans Muralis, the radiant for this meteor shower lies in the north of Bootes the Herdsmen. Quadrantid Meteor Shower - 4th January The Quadrantids are not active for that long and with the often poor weather conditions at this time of year are often overlooked. Nominally active from 1st to 6th January, most of the activity is centered in a very narrow window in the early hours of 4th January. With a Zenithal Hourly Rate of 120 meteors expected on the morning of 4th January, there should be plenty of meteors to be seen and with the Moon being a very thin waning crescent, the sky will also be dark. Ideal observing conditions! A Geminid Meteor Captured By Steve Williams
Sky Guide - January 2019 New Moon On 6th January Full Moon On 21st January A Total Lunar Eclipse occurs on the morning of the 21st January - see previous page for information. Mars In The Evening Mars is an evening sky object amongst the stars of the constellation of Pisces during January. At magnitude +0.5, the disc measures just seven arc seconds across at the start of the month, probably too small now for most of us to image successfully. The waning crescent Moon will pass beneath Mars on the evening of January12th. Mars sets by 11.15pm by the end of January. The Icy Giants Neptune remains in the constellation of Aquarius, visible low in the south - western evening sky. At magnitude +7.9, it can be spotted in binoculars, but is an easier target with a small telescope. The waning crescent Moon lies some seven moon diameters beneath Neptune on the evening of January 10th. By the end of January, Neptune has set by 7.45pm. Uranus, like Mars, is in the constellation of Pisces. At magnitude +5.8 it is an easy spot in binoculars. The Moon lies nearby on the evening of January 14th. Uranus sets around mid-night by the end of the month. Saturn Re-emerges Passing through solar conjunction on January 2nd, Saturn may be glimpsed by the end of the month low in the south-eastern dawn sky. International Space Station Passes of the International Space Station occur in the morning sky for the first ten days of January before transferring to the evening sky from January 23rd onwards. Timings can be obtained from one of the many apps available or from heavens-above.com. Astro-Photography Opportunities On the morning of January 2nd, Venus, Jupiter and the much lower Mercury, line up with a waning crescent Moon in the south-eastern sky. On the morning of January 31st, the waning crescent Moon appears between Venus and Jupiter with Saturn appearing much lower down to the left of all three. Comet 46P Wirtanen Comet 46P remains visible in the sky this month, starting of in Lynx before moving onward to Ursa Major from mid-month. Predicted to be a fifth magnitude object at the start of the year, it is expected to fade to eighth magnitude by the end of January. As it s light is spread out, it has what its termed low surface brightness, so it appears fainter than an equivalent fifth magnitude star. Morning Planets Dazzle The two brightest planets of Venus and Jupiter are both visible in the south-eastern pre-dawn sky this month. Jupiter rises around a couple of hours before the Sun at the start of the month, at magnitude -1.6 it can be found amongst the stars of Ophiuchus. Venus can be found higher up the zodiac in Libra and rises at around 4.15am at the start of the month. At magnitude -4.4, our neighbouring world makes for a stunning sight with the unaided eye. Through a telescope, Venus will appear half-lit at the start of the month, with the phase growing slowly through the month. Also in the same part of the sky as Venus and Jupiter at the beginning of the month is Mercury albeit much lower. At magnitude -0.4, the innermost planet rises around an hour or so before the Sun at the start of January,but will quickly disappear from view. Contributions for future editions of the Stargazer Newsletter are welcomed. Observations, reports and articles on an astronomical theme can be forwarded to Steve Williams at newsletter@neneastro.org.uk The Nene Valley Astronomical Society Stargazer Newsletter Is Compiled & Published By Steve Williams.