OAKLAND ASTRONOMY CLUB

NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER  2007

• Several club members enjoyed the GREAT LAKES STAR GAZE in Gladwin this year.
• The PBS special "Seeing in the Dark" broadcast September 19th got mixed reviews.
• Astronomy on the Beach at Kensington on September 21 & 22 was attended by Dave Bailey who reported a large turnout.
• Twin Lakes Star Party in West KY,  October 6--14.   Bill Barsuhn and Mark Javit attended this event, email reporting moderate temps, mostly clear skies and a great time with about 100 people on the observing field.   Bill also had an     opportunity for some astro-imaging.   See pic below.  
• Ortonbille Scouts, Independence Oaks, October 6th.  Bill MacIntosh and Dave Holt provided scopes for about 35 kids and a dozen parents.  Initial viewing of Jupiter and its moons opened the session, followed by an assortment of Messier  objects  to identify globular  and open clusters, planetary nebulae, double stars and the CoatHanger asterism.
• Lake Orion Girl Scout Space Camp, October 13th.    Dave Holt (alone) provided scope viewing for about 75 scouts and  25 parents.    Target variety limited due to only one scope available.

• FALL INDEPENDENCE OAKS STAR PARTY, SATURDAY November 3rd,  8-10 pm
• Brooklands Elementary on Auburn Rd,  Thursday,  November 8th
• Hugger Elementary, Thursday,  November 15th
• 2008 Independence Oaks Star Parties:

• Cepheus    (The King, husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda)    Selected DSO:  NGC 188, one of the oldest yet little known Open Clusters,  very near Polaris.      See image below      
• Cassiopeia   (The Queen)    Eta N of Alpha is double star,  M52 OC contains about 100 stars NE of Beta
• Andromeda  (The Princess, rescued by Perseus)   M31 Galaxy at 2.5 Mil LY most distant object visible to naked eye
• Pegasus  (The Winged Horse)   Easily identified by "The Great Square"
• Aquarius  (The Waterbearer)  One of the most ancient constellations describes the myth of deluge or flood.   DSO:  M2 N of Beta
• Pisces Austrinus  (The Southern Fish)   Primary star Fomalhaut (Arabic for Fish Mouth)  Dist = 22 LY

• "Bottom Line of the Universe:   Gravity Wells"   How massive objects warp space-time.

• "What is a Planet?"   In contrast to the confusing definitions of shape, size and what-orbits-what, Dave asserts that any object that has never experienced core fusion can be considered a planet, no matter what its location.   His prediction is that Pluto will be restored to planetary status at the next IAU conclave.
  

 
Adjournment: 9:05 PM

                                           

	Discovered by John Herschel November 3, 1831, the cluster consists of about 130 stars.   It is one of the oldest known clusters with an estimated age of 5 billion years.   Also known as Caldwell 1 in Patrick Moore's list sorted by Declination, it appears very near the North Celestial Pole. RA     00:44.5 DEC +85:20 Distance = 5,000 LY Overall Mag    8.1 Size:    14 arc min
Takahashi FSQ106 Refractor, SBIG 10XME CCD, 30 min total exposure (10 min ea RGB)   Processed with Maxim DL   3-24-03	Constellation:    CEPHEUS

ASTRO-FACTOID OF THE MONTH


Image Credits:    NASA

Neptune's Balmy South Pole -
The first temperature map of Neptune's lower atmosphere shows that the planet's south pole is about 10^o C  warmer than any other place on the planet.    Average temp of the atmosphere's lower depths is -200 C.    The south pole is warm enough for gaseous methane to rise into the upper atmosphere says study coauthor Glen Orton of NASA's JPL in Pasadena Calif.   The escaping methane could explain a long-standing puzzle---the presence of methane in Neptune's stratosphere.

Neptune's tilt means that its south pole is heated by continuous sunlight for the past 40 years of Neptune's 165 year orbit around the sun.   Eighty years from now, when it's Summer at the North pole, methane may escape from that region instead.    Large temperature differences between the South pole and adjacent regions may stir up gasses and generate 2,000 kilometer-per-hour winds, the strongest planetary winds in the solar system.    The study used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Paranal, Chile and was published Sept 18 in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

                                                             (Credit:   SCIENCE NEWS,   October 6, 2007)

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FUNZIES

   

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CLUB MEMBER ASTROPHOTO OF THE MONTH

M27  The Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula
Distance = 1,250 LY

                                                              

Image Credit:   Bill Barsuhn
Captured October 13 at Twin Lakes Star Party in KY
Orion StarBlast 113 mm f/4 Newt
DSI Pro CCD Camera
30 images x 1 min each for RGB
Combined, aligned and processed in Pixinsight LE

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HALLOWEEN ASTRONOMY It's time to get out the Milky Way and Mars candy bars, and time again to fill the candy jar with Moon Pies and Starburst chews. It's October and it's time for Halloween. While the kiddies will be out trick or treating on October 31, some of you will no doubt be showing starry or lunar views to them through your telescopes before handing out your astronomically correct treats. Well good for you. But save some scary treats for yourself, too. Here is a list of scary nuggets to savor and devour some dark clear night. Try some now, and save some, just like you save your favorite halloween candy, for later. Mirach's Ghost, NGC404 in AND, r.a 01 09.33, dec +35° 43', mag 10.3, 4.3 x 3.9' gxy The Phantom Streak NGC6741 in AQL, r.a. 19 02.42, dec. -00° 26', mag 12, 9" x 7" pn Ghost of the Moon Nebula NGC6781 AQL, r.a. 19 18.31, dec +06° 33' mag 11.8, 1.9' x 1.8' pn The Spider Galaxy in NGC5829 in BOO, r.a. 15 02.45, dec. +23° 20', mag 13.4, 1.7' x 1.5' gxy The Skull Nebula NGC246 in CET, r.a. 00 47.6, dec -11° 52', mag 8.5, 4' x 3' pn The Witch Head Nebula. IC2118 in ERI, r.a.05 06.9, dec -07° 13' bright neb The Ghost Ring IC5148 in GRU, r.a.21 59.38, dec -39° 22', mag 11, 2' pn Little Ghost Nebula NGC 6369 in OPH, r.a. 17 29.3, dec. -23° 46', mag 10.4 pn Red Spider Nebula NGC 6537 in SAG, r.a. 18 05.18, dec. -19° 50' mag 12, 5" pn Phobos and Deimos (Fear and Terror) - the moons of Mars Hell, Rukl's Atlas of the Moon, chart 64. 33 km crater near Deslandres 32.4° S, 17.7&W Lacus Doloris (Lake of Suffering), Rukl chart 23, 110 km mare 17° N, 9& E Lacus Mortis (Lake of Death), Rukl chart 14, 150 km diameter flooded crater, 45° N, 27& E Lacus Timoris (Lake of Fear), Rukl chart 63, 130 km long mare, 39° S, 28& W Palus Putrendis (Marsh of Rot), Rukl chart 22, 180 km small plain on the prime meridian, near Hadley Rille and Apollo 15 site, 27°N , 0& Epsilon (36) BOO, r.a.14 45.01, dec +27° 04.20, double star, mag 2.5 and 4.9, yellow/orange and blue/green double Mu (51) BOO, r.a.15 24.32, dec. +37° 22, triple star, mag 4.3 and 7 and 7.6 triple, yellow primary, yellow/orange pair Xi (37) BOO, r.a 14 51.26, dec. +19° 6', quadruple star, mag 4.7 and 7.0, with a 9.6 and 12.6 companion, yellow and reddish/orange Happy Halloween

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FALL INDEPENDENCE OAKS STAR PARTY SATURDAY NOVEMBER 3RD 8-10 pm

           
                                                                        

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