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September 2006
The Luz Observatory
High Desert Astronomical Society Newsletter
Uranus Solar Ecilpse
CLUB EVENTS
From an Astronomical news website,
Universe Today, September 5th, 2006.
Uranus, in the image to the right
is a “never-before-seen” astronomical
alignment of a moon traversing the
face of Uranus, and its accompanying
shadow. The white dot near the center
of Uranus’ blue-green disk is the icy
moon Ariel. The 700 mile diameter
satellite is casting a shadow onto the
cloud tops of Uranus. To an observer
on Uranus, this would appear as a solar
eclipse, where the moon briefly blocks
out the Sun as its shadow races across
Uranus’ cloud tops. Though such
“transits” by moons across the disks of
their parents are commonplace for
some other gas giant planets, such as
Jupiter, the satellites of Uranus orbit
the planet in such a way that they
rarely cast shadows on the planet’s
surface. Uranus is tilted so that its spin
Barnard’s Star
01 Sep--Public Observing
at Lewis Center, 7:30pm
08 Sep--Planetarium
Show at VVC, 7:00pm
15 Sep--Planetarium
Show at VVC, 7:00pm
16 Sep--HiDAS Meeting
at Lewis Center, 7:00pm
22 Sep--Public Observing
at Lewis Center, 7:30pm
23 Sep--
axis lies nearly in its orbital plane. The
planet is essentially tipped over on its
side. During the course of its orbit
around the Sun, first one pole and then
the other is alternately illuminated. As a
result, Uranus has extreme seasons
during its 84-year orbit around the Sun.
The moons of
(continued on page 3)
PARTY
at The Deuels, dusk
06 Oct--Planetarium Show
at VVC, 7:00pm
13 Oct--Public Observing
at Lewis Center, 7:00pm
This dim, magnitude 9.57, star is the next closest to our Sun after the Alpha
Centauri system. It is located about 5.96 light-years away in the northernmost part
of the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder; just
west of Cebalrai (Beta Ophiuchi) near coordinates
(17:57:48.5 +04:41:36.2, ICRS 2000.0). The star was
named after its discoverer, noted astronomer Edward
Emerson Barnard (1857-1923), who found in 1916 that
the star has the largest known proper motion of all
known stars (10.3 arcseconds per year). This high
apparent speed is the result of its proximity to the Sun
as well as actual speed of travel through interstellar
space. In fact, Barnard's Star is approaching Sol rapidly
at 87 miles/second (313,000 mph) and will get as close
as 3.8 light-years around 11,800 AD.
A very cool and dim, main sequence red dwarf,
Barnard's Star has less than 17 percent of the Sun’s
mass, 15-20 percent of its diameter, about 4/10,000th
of its visual luminosity, and between 10 and 32 percent
of its abundance of elements heavier than hydrogen,
known as "metallicity".
(continued on page 3)
High Desert Astronomical Society
From the President
September 2006
Who said summer was nearly over! It was 103
degrees today, September 3rd. Ok, so Fall officially
begins on the 23rd. We will say goodbye to the
globular clusters of summer and welcome in the
constellation Orion and his dogs. Winter open clusters, the Great Orion Nebula and numerous other
objects will begin to make their appearance, as will
the chilly temperatures of Fall.
Jupiter is on its last gasps as it is settling in
the west. I guess we will have to be happy with
Uranus and Neptune as viewable planets for the rest
of the year.
But that still leaves quite a lot of other catego-
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ries still to view. There are an abundance of double
stars, open clusters, nebulae, along with a few asteroids and comets. There is always the Moon, if all else
fails<g>. The Astronomical League has some projects to start which encompasses the above mentioned objects. Don’t let the cool temperatures of
Fall and Winter sap you viewing pleasure. A few
hours will get you hooked to the “off season”
wonders. Keep looking up!!
—GFW
http://www.astroleague.org/index.html
is their website. Drop by for a look.
More to come in the future.
Friday, September 8th is the JPL tour. For those that have signed up, we are going to
meet at the McDonalds at the junction of Highway 138 and Interstate 15 below the
Cajon Pass between 10am and 10:30am. We can get a jumpstart on the morning with some breakfast or
coffee and leave as a group to JPL.
In addition, our September 22nd trip to Mt. Wilson has had some sign ups to attend. If you would
enjoy going, contact Gloria Johnson for information. I am not sure if any of our members have been there,
but this is the clubs first trip since I have been a member. I am excited, because I would like to get a group
together to “buy” time on a large scope. Just to see those faint objects that our scopes can’t reach.
Elsewhere in the universe… —Gary Witt
At the last HiDAS monthly meeting I forgot to let everyone know that Cliff Saucier donated several
sheets of "Ruby-lith". This is a red plastic sheeting measuring 18" x 12" that can be cut to the size of your
notebook computer screen and attached with a couple pieces of tape. Thanks to Cliff, we can save our night
vision while accessing our computers. I will be leaving the pieces at the Observatory, so if you need one just
ask. Again, thank you Cliff! —Sue Alley
HiDAS Notes
Reminder…...HiDAS Meeting….September 16th…...7:00pm
September Astronomical Updates
Mercury is not easily observable from the northern hemisphere this month. With each passing day,
Venus sinks farther into the morning twilight. It
disappears from view by the end of the September.
Mars sets about 45 minutes after sunset. Soon after
the middle of the month, the Red Planet is lost to
northern observers until December. Jupiter is low in
the southwest at twilight. The gas giant is 0.5 degree
north of Alpha Librae on Sept 11 and 12. Click on
http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/
planets/article_107_1.asp to determine transits of
the central meridian by the Great Red Spot. The best
chances for northern observers to have a final look at
the GRS until Jupiter reappears in the morning sky at
the end of the year are on the evenings of September
2, 5, 7, 10, and 12. Data on the Galilean satellites is
available at http://skytonight.com/observing/
objects/javascript/3307071.html During September, Saturn climbs through the eastern morning sky.
The Ringed Planet travels eastwards towards Regulus
and is a bit fainter than in recent years, since its rings
are now tilted less than 15 degrees from being edge-
on. Uranus reaches opposition on Sept 5 and is visible to the unaided eye from dark sites. It is about 1.4
degree east of Lambda Aquarii (3.7mag) at the start
of the month and ends the month only 0.5 degree
away from this star. Neptune is positioned slightly
more than one degree north-northwest of Iota Capricornii (4.3 mag) this month. “Dwarf Planet” Pluto is
still fairly well placed in the southern sky in the early
part of September. It lies approximately 0.75 degree
to the southwest of Xi Serpentis (3.5 magnitude).
Another “dwarf planet”, 1 Ceres (8.4 mag) will cross
the border of the constellation Pisces Austrinus into
Microscopium.
During September, the periodic comet 4P/
Faye may brighten to ninth magnitude as it leaves
Pisces and glides through the southern part of Aries.
Comet 177P/ Barnard 2 is passing through Draco
toward Cepheus. Although around 9 mag, the comet
is very diffuse and will become increasingly harder to
see next month.
Asteroid 6 Hebe (8.5mag) moves southward
through southwestern Capricornus this month. On the
night of September 15, it passes between two seventh
magnitude stars.
High Desert Astronomical Society
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Uranus orbit the planet above the equator, so their paths align
edge-on to the Sun only every 42 years. This transit has never
been observed before, because Uranus is just now approaching its 2007 equinox when the Sun will shine
directly over the giant planet’s equator. The last time a Uranian equinox occurred, when transits could have
been observed, was in 1965. However, telescopes of that era did not have the image sharpness required to
view satellite transits on Uranus. When Hubble was launched in 1990, the Sun was shining over Uranus’s far
northern latitudes. Over the past decade Hubble astronomers have seen the Sun’s direct illumination creep
toward equatorial latitudes and the moons’ orbits approach an edge-on configuration. Ariel, named for a
mischievous airy spirit in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” is only one-third the size of Earth’s moon. Ariel
is the nearest large satellite to Uranus. As Uranus approaches equinox, there will be additional eclipses
by the large moons Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, and by many smaller moons.
Uranus Solar Eclipse
continued
Image credit: Lawrence A. Sromovsky of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Heidi B. Hammel of the Space Science Institute, Boulder,
Colorado, and Kathy A. Rages of the SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, created the color composite image from images at three
wavelengths in near infrared light obtained with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys on July 26, 2006.
Original Source: Hubble News Release
Unlike our Sun, Barnard's Star appears to be an old star that formed
before the galaxy became much enriched with heavy elements. Its high
space motion and sub-Solar metallicity suggests that the star is an "intermediate Population II star",
somewhere between a Halo and a disk star. Moreover, its low x-ray luminosity and presumed rotation period
of 130.4 days also indicate that it is an old, inactive red dwarf. While the star may be as much as 11 to
12 billion years old, it may last another 40 billion years or more before cooling into a black dwarf.
Although Barnard's Star was long thought to be a quiescent, old star, astronomers recently
reported a flare that was observed in 1998, making it a surprising flare star. It has the variable star
designation V2500 Ophiuchi.
—Dave Meyer
Barnard’s Star
continued
Reminder….Star Party...September 23th at The Deuels...dusk
Launch preparations resumed at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center's Launch
Pad 39B on Thursday, August 31, as mission managers
set September 6th as the new date for the launch of
Atlantis on Mission STS-115 to the International Space
Station. Liftoff time is 09:29 am PDT. However, the
latest weather forecast have called for a 60% chance of
thunderstorm activity with rain in the area that is critical for a “go for launch” scenario.
With this mission, NASA is ready to get back to
building the International Space Station, marking the
first time in almost four years that a space station
component has been added to the orbiting outpost.
That also means the shuttle program is coming up on
the most challenging space missions ever.
During their three spacewalks, crew members
of Atlantis will install the P3/P4 integrated truss and
a second set of solar arrays on the space station,
doubling the station’s current ability to generate
power from sunlight and adding 17.5 tons to its mass.
Atlantis
Our September Star Party will be held
at Larry and Patty Deuel's home in Hesperia.
This from Patty—
Hi -- we're easy to find.
18615 Lemon St., Hesperia----phone 949-6644
Lemon St. is halfway between Bear Valley Rd
and Main St. We are about eight houses east
of Peach Ave. on the south side of the street.
From Bear Valley Rd head south on Peach Ave.
and turn left at Lemon St. From Main St.
head north on Peach Ave. and turn right on
Lemon St. Just drive through the gates and
we'll all be in the backyard. Lots of room for
many vehicles and telescopes.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/
I hope everyone can make it, the
is the sight where more information may be gleaned.
—Sue Alley
It has a downloadable PDF Press Kit about the Deuel's are fine hosts!
mission, along with other items of interest and a
NASA web-tv schedule.
High Desert Astronomical Society
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www.hidasonline.com
Some of you may
remember the June
issue article about this amazing variable star. Well, I am here to tell you
that it has surpassed expectations this year!! If you haven’t seen it, yet…
don't miss it. Chi Cygni has been unusually bright! This famous variable
was just starting to become visible in binoculars in mid-June. After the
first week in July it was fairly easy to see without optical aid at its
customary 5th magnitude. Then Chi, distinctly red, seemed to burst into
action as it became brighter! The star typically ranges between fifth and
thirteenth magnitude, but Chi Cygni brightened to a consistent 3.7 by the
end of July. It has been 148 years since it was this bright, according to the
well known amateur astronomer John Bortle. I did not miss that event. It
was easy to quickly check every night by just looking to Cygnus. However,
by mid-August it was noticeably dimmer than eta Cygnii (4.0mag), as
expected. Chi Cygnii is now approaching 5th magnitude, but should be
visible in binoculars at least to the end of the month. Follow it and let us
know when you can no longer easily catch it in binoculars.
http://skytonight.com/observing/highlights/3512306.html —G Witt
Chi Cygni, Variable Star Revisited
During September the Zodiacal Light, or false dawn,
can be seen about two hours before the sun rises.
What is Zodiacal Light? It is a faint, roughly triangular, whitish glow seen in the
night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the sun along the
ecliptic or zodiac. In mid-northern latitudes, the zodiacal light is best observed
in the western sky in the spring after the evening twilight has completely disappeared, or in the eastern sky in the autumn just before the morning twilight
appears. It is so faint that it is completely masked by either moonlight or light
pollution. The zodiacal light decreases in intensity with distance from the Sun,
but on very dark nights it has been observed in a band completely around the
ecliptic. In fact, the zodiacal light covers the entire sky, being responsible for
60% of the total skylight on a moonless night. There is also a very faint, but
still slightly increased, oval glow directly opposite the Sun which is known as
the gegenschein. Ok, would someone like to look that one up and let us all
Image credit: Tony and Daphne Hallas know what it is at the meeting.
Did you know ?
On August 26th we finally got a very good night for a star party! Twenty
eight people (plus Mike and Tony’s 2 dogs, whose names escape me) came out to
the Landfill South observing site to enjoy the night sky. While Harold and Gloria Johnson were working on
their Constellations about 8:45, Harold noticed in the north, a big beautiful bolide. He shouted and pointed
in the direction in time for most to see it. It most likely hit the ground somewhere north of Barstow! There
were so many objects to look at, one hardly knew where to start. Neptune through Dave Meyer's Celestron
14” scope was a beautiful turquoise dot, very pretty. There were four 10” dobs, Dave Flowers, Cliff’s, Sue’s
and Gary’s. Tony had his 12.5” Aldebaran dob and Gary his 16” truss dob. We had two guests bring their 4.5”
telescope for assistance in learning to operate them. Tony was instrumental in that assistance to both guys. I
know they appreciated the help. Thanks, Tony. Other guests included two friends of Cliff’s from San Bernardino who enjoyed our skies as well. One of them, Chris, was fascinated to see the Andromeda Galaxy with
binoculars, and kept practicing in hopes of being able to learn the path to finding it on his own.
The evening was great, the sky was dark, the Milky Way was stretched across the stars and just
a gentle breeze made it comfortable. Many objects were chased through the heavens, M13 was absolutely
gorgeous as were the Lagoon (M8), the Wild Duck cluster (M11), to name a few. Dave Meyer was chasing
Barnard’s Star to get a photo of it with his digital Canon 20Da camera. Some new objects were sighted, one
being the Helix Nebula in Aquarius. Cliff and Gary viewed that with an OIII filter and it was a sight to behold.
Similar to M57, the Ring Nebula, but at least 10 times larger.
I heard that Gary was the last to give in, along with Grant Gemel, packing up around 2:30am, as I had
left around 11:00pm.
—Dusty
Star Party Report
High Desert Astronomical Society
www.hidasonline.com
5
HIGH DESERT ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY at
THE LEWIS CENTER
HiDAS Star Party Site
N
HiDAS Star Party Site
Alternate Yucca Loma entrance is a little rough, but shorter.
HiDAS 2005 Board Members
Contact List
OFFICERS
CHAIRPERSONS
Gary Witt
President
240-4422
Harold Johnson
Vice President
868-2001
Judy Pollner
Secretary
247-4785
Larry Deuel
Treasurer
949-6644
Dave Meyer
Lewis Center Liaison/Publicity
245-8020
Gloria Johnson
Gary Witt
Sue Alley
Patty Deuel
Sue Alley
Steve Carey
Bob Schuette
Tim Baggerly
Anthony Rogers
Brian Hotchkiss
Speaker Programs/Events Coordinator
Newsletter
Star Party Coordinator
Historian
Astronomical League Coordinator
Member at Large
Member at Large
Member at Large
Member at Large
Member at Large
868-2001
240-4422
221-2939
949-6644
221-2939
741-9312
949-2199
242-2321
885-2807
553-6395
JUST A REMINDER . . . . . .
The month and year (ex: 04/06) your HiDAS membership expires is shown in the upper right corner of your address label.
-------------------------------------------HIGH DESERT ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
MEMBERSHIP/RENEWAL APPLICATION
DATE:____________________
NAME: _________________________________________________________
PHONE:____________________________
ADDRESS:______________________________________________________
EMAIL:____________________________
CITY:_____________________________ STATE:______ ZIP:____________
NEW MEMBER
RENEWAL
MEMBERSHIP TYPE:
STUDENT $10
INDIVIDUAL $15
FAMILY $20
(Does NOT include magazine subscriptions)
MAGAZINE REQUEST:
SKY & TELESCOPE $32.95
ASTRONOMY $34.00
NIGHT SKY (Bi-monthly) $17.99
(Magazine requests are optional)
DONATION TO HiDAS ENDOWMENT:
_________________ Note: If you wish to claim your contribution to the endowment
on your income taxes, please write a separate check to: High Desert Partnership in Academic Excellence
MAY HiDAS USE YOUR APPLICATION INFORMATION FOR THE HiDAS ROSTER?
YES
Please clip and mail this form, along with your payment (make checks payable to HiDAS), to:
High Desert Astronomical Society, 17500 Mana Road, Apple Valley, California 92307
NO
www.hidasonline.com
October 2006
17500 MANA RD.
HIGH DESERT ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
September 2006
6
APPLE VALLEY, CA 92307
High Desert Astronomical Society