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Observatory News
February 2012
513-321-5186
Published by the Friends of the Observatory
www.cincinnatiobservatory.org
Bill Cartwright, editor
Coming Up At
The Observatory....
FOTO Meeting, Feb 2 , 7:30p
FOTO Kids & Teens Feb 3, 7:00p
Scout Badge Night, Feb 4, 6p
Dean’s Class for Members, Feb, 7p
Astro Thursday, Feb 9, 7p
Astro Friday, Feb 10, 7p
Late Night @ the O, Feb 10, 10:30p
A2Z Astro Class, Feb 12, 7p
History Tours, Feb 12, 1-4p
Museum Comm. Mtg, Feb 13, 7p
Valentine’s Night, Feb 14, 7p
Keeping Time, Feb 15, 7p
Astro Thursday , Feb 16, 7p
Astro Friday, Feb 17, 7p
Dance of the Gods, Feb 17 , 7p
Stonelick Stargaze, Feb 18, dusk
Stargazing 101, Feb 21, 7p
Astro Thursday , Feb 23, 7p
Astro Friday, Feb 24, 7p
Stonelick Stargaze, Feb 25, dusk
History Tours, Feb 26, 1-4p
Binocular Stargazing, Feb 27, 7p
Leap The Moon , Feb 29, 7p
FOTO Meeting, Mar 1, 7:30p
FOTO Kids & Teens, Mar 2, 7p
Marsapalooza, Mar 3, 8p
Questions? Call the Observatory at
513-321-5186.
The Word
By Dale Zoller
On November 9, 2011, Russia
launched the Phobos-Grunt probe on
a mission that was intended to return
a sample from Mars’ moon Phobos.
It would have been the first
spacecraft to return a “macroscopic”
sample from an extraterrestrial body
since the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976.
Unfortunately, the upper stage that
was to power Phobos-Grunt on its
way to Mars failed to reignite,
stranding the satellite in earth orbit.
After numerous attempts to regain
control of the craft, the mission was
finally declared a failure on
November 24, 2011.
On January 15, 2012, the probe
made an uncontrolled re-entry into
the earth’s atmosphere and crashed
into the ocean near Chile. Thus
ended another failed Russian (or
Soviet) mission to Mars. In all, 18
spacecraft aimed at Mars by the
USSR/Russia since 1960 have
failed. But getting to Mars is tough!
Volume 23 No. 2
[email protected]
Of the 39 probes launched in an
attempt to reach Mars, only 19 have
succeeded – a success rate less than
50%.
Not counting the current Mars
Science Laboratory mission, the US
has sent 17 spacecraft to Mars with
11 successes. Mariner 3, the first
US mission to Mars, was launched
on November 5, 1964 on a flyby
attempt. The solar panels failed to
open, causing the mission to fail.
However, its sister ship (Mariner 4)
was launched a few weeks later and
succeeded in returning the first
close-up images of the red planet.
The 22 pictures taken by Mariner 4
were the first to show the surface of
Mars is cratered. Mariners 6 and 7
(1969) were successful flyby
missions which returned over 400
close-up photos of Mars. When
Mariner 9 (1971) was placed into
orbit around Mars it became the first
US spacecraft to enter orbit around a
planet other than Earth.
It returned the first highresolution images of the moons
Phobos and Deimos and channel
like features on the surface of Mars.
In 1976, the Viking 1 and 2 landers
touched down on Mars. The landers
provided detailed color panoramic
views of the Martian terrain. Both
were equipped with experiments to
detect Martian micro-organisms.
1
While the results were initially
reported as negative, they are still
being debated to this day.
The era of the rovers began on
July 4, 1997 when the Mars
Pathfinder landed on Mars. The
Sojourner rover it carried roamed
the area around the lander for 4
months.
The Mars Exploration
Rovers – better known as
Opportunity and Spirit – touched
down on Mars in January 2004.
They have shown that water most
definitely flowed on the Martian
surface in the distant past. Although
Spirit’s mission officially ended in
May 2011, Opportunity has just
begun the ninth year of its planned
90-day mission and has travelled
nearly 20 miles across the surface of
Mars.
The
US
Mars
Science
Laboratory (nicknamed Curiosity)
was successfully launched in
November 2011.
The rover’s
mission is to determine whether
Mars has (or had) an environment
capable of supporting microbial life.
The rover is much larger than the
MERs (about the size of a Mini
Cooper) and will use a totally
different landing method called the
“sky crane.” When it arrives at
Mars in August 2012, let’s hope it
beats the odds and continues our
recent string of success.
January’s FOTO
Meeting
Business Meeting
 Tom East announced the
Globe at Night is having
four observing campaigns
this year: the first is
January 14th to the 23rd,
with activities for all ages
posted on the website. The
other three campaigns are
listed at
www.globeatnight.org
 Dave Bosse announced his
A2Z astronomy class is
meeting on the second
Sunday of each month at
7pm.
 Becky Shundich asked how
the COC T-shirts have been
selling; Scott reported that
the polo shirts have sold
well, the T-shirts less well.
We are thinking of ordering
more polo shirts and also
having COC “hoodies”
made.
COC Director; Craig Niemi:
 Craig stated that the COC
Board has been discussing
the possibility of
approaching big
corporations to fund the
PBS “Stargazers” program
withDean Regas..
 The calendar is filling up
for 2012, with many events
scheduled at COC.
 Craig thanked the
volunteers for all their work
last year.
By Dale Zoller
January’s program Jupiter: The
Brilliant Wandering Star was
presented by FOTO member Dr.
Terry Flesch. Dr. Flesch gave an
excellent lecture about the planet
Jupiter, from Galileo’s discovery of
its moons to the latest information
on the planet and its moons
discovered by the space probes sent
there.
COC
Representative;
Scott
Gainey:
 Thanked the volunteers who
helped with Luminaria
Night
 Showed a display of
meteorites available for sale
in the gift shop.

2012 Calendars: still for
sale in the gift shop.
Valentine’s Night
Of Romance at the
Observatory
February 14th
7-9pm
By Craig Niemi
"Turn the lights down low, the stars
are out.”
There is nothing more romantic than
the night sky. Starry-eyed lovers
have been gazing upward in wonder
for millennia. So, this year give your
Valentine a true, out-of-this-world
experience at the Cincinnati
Observatory high atop Mt. Lookout.
On Valentine’s night, the
“Birthplace
of
American
Astronomy” will offer music,
drinks, chocolate, flowers and
viewing of the planets Venus,
Jupiter and Mars through the
historic
telescopes
(weather
permitting)
Our Outreach Astronomer (and
resident "James Bond of the Night
Sky"), Dean Regas will give a
presentation about red stars of
passion in the winter sky and there
will be tours of the buildings.
This is your opportunity to “wish
upon a star” and perhaps cuddle a
bit
beneath
the
Cincinnati
Observatory's
silvery
domes.
Cost: $50 per couple. Reservations
are required. Space is limited.
Call 513-321-5186 to reserve
your space for the unique event.
2
Leap the Moon
At the Observatory
Wednesday, February 29
7-9 pm
Welcome
New & Renewing
Members!
By Dean Regas
Every four years we need to add
a day to our calendar – a Leap
Day. And this year, the Moon is
in perfect position to view on
February 29. Moon lovers and
Luna-tics will love this program!
Leap the Moon includes
classes and tours by local Moon
experts. The cow won’t jump
over the Moon, but you will
when you see the Moon through
the
Observatory
telescopes
(weather permitting). Stop by
after work or school to celebrate
our extra day this year.
Cost: $5 per person
Reservations recommended.
For further information or to
make reservations, please call
513-321-5186.
FOTOKids and FOTO
Teens
By Dean Regas
Our next meeting is Friday,
February 3rd, 7 pm at the
Observatory. Last month we had a
perfect night for viewing a half
dozen objects in the sky. This night
we’ll have lots to look at if it’s
clear.
Our old favorites will be there:
Venus, Jupiter, and the gibbous
Moon. Also we will try for the
planet Uranus which will be
between Venus and Jupiter that
night. Dress warmly and if you have
binoculars, please bring them. They
will help you find the Seven Sisters,
the Hyades, and Orion Nebula. If
you have any questions please email
Dean Regas at
[email protected]
Terrence & Kelly Anchrum
Rob and Dulaney Anning
Bert & Barbara Becker
Douwe and Caroline Bergsma
John Betsch
John and Tricia Bevan
James Mulloy & Robert Bonney
William Bristol
David E. Burcham
Burdette Family
Tom Busemeyer
Peggy Bustamante
Kelly Byars
Olivia Canada
Bill and Melissa Canon
Janet Canter
Andrew F. and Deborah Chrien
Michael and Minnie Clements
Patrick Crowley
Mike and Lisa Debbeler
Eric Dunn
Tom and Sally East
Paul Dehmer & Kristin Elzey
Amy & Dale Erickson
Charles Fairbanks
Richard and Joan Finan
Bob and Mary Fitzpatrick
Noah and Julie Fleischmann
Andy Foley
William & Dean Foster
Mark Fulton
Larry Gache
Joseph S. Gallagher
Michael S. George
Sandra Haas
Jeff and Lynne Hamner
Robert Heslar
Todd Hofacre
Jeff Howe
Thomas Huenefeld
Nancy & Steve Hurst
Mike Iten
Tom and Amber Klekamp
"Frank B. Knapke, Jr"
James Knapke
Jay Jones & Katie Krafka
Laura Kremer
Marjorie Kuck
Leslie Laine
Kevin Langston
Rob and Katie Magenheim
Eric & Grace Maurer
Lori McElroy
Minnie Mehuron
Rodney and Susan Moeller
Mellen Moors-Dressing
James Myers and Linda Badovick
Pamela Nebel-Logson
Craig and Valerie Niemi
Sinan Ozyol
Adam Penick
Alan & Tina Pfeiffer
Tim Phillips
Matt Pine
Kurt Poppe
Greg Ries
Dede and Basil Rowe
Carl Sack
Richard and Susan Schmidt
Jennifer Schneider
Becky Shundich
George Slama and Margaret Drew
Henry Stacey
Pam & Doug Stadler
David Steele
Carol and Mark Stephenson
Donald and Sheila Storck
Gary Studer
Suzanne and Tom Terwilliger
Ann & Mike Ullman
Joe and Darlene Verkamp
Chris & Nancy Virgulak
Michelle White
Dean and Marcia Wochner
John Zehler
3
Craig’s Corner
By Craig Niemi
Every Child, Every Step of the
Way, Cradle to Career.
The Strive Partnership is focused
on the success of our children. The
partnership
unites
common
providers around shared issues,
goals, measurements and results,
and then actively supports and
strengthens strategies that work.
Education is perhaps the most
important engine of economic
growth and individual success.
Greater Cincinnati leaders of the
education, nonprofit, community,
civic, and philanthropic sectors are
working together to tackle some of
our most pressing challenges, and to
take advantage of some of our
biggest opportunities.
Strive is working on several
campaigns to ensure that students
are supported all along their
academic
careers.
We’re
representing the Observatory in their
STEM Innovation Collaborative.
Science,
Technology,
Engineering
and
Mathematics
represent the 21st century skills that
today’s
students
will
need
throughout their lives. The overall
objective is to increase the number
of students graduating high school
with and interest in and the
preparation for STEM related postsecondary and careers.
Our Grade 3-5 Subcommittee is
working on several fronts but the
main
charge
is
identifying
community partners such as your
Observatory, iSpace, the Civic
Garden Center, the Zoo and others,
which offer authentic STEM
experiences that will capture the
imagination of young students and
find ways to mentor those students
as they move into higher grade
levels.
Working with this long list of
terrific
organizations
we’re
developing the criteria needed to
measure our successes, connect to
grade 3-5 educators and find the
community partners that can help
sustain the program.
There are many talented people
in this region who have dedicated
themselves to education and this
collaborative has become a great
opportunity for all the players to
come and work together on their
shared goals.
To learn more about the Strive
Partnership visit.
www.strivetogether.org
February 2012 FOTO
Planning Meeting
By Dale Zoller
The next FOTO Planning Meeting is
scheduled for Thursday, February
16, 2012 at 6pm at the
Observatory.
The meeting
generally lasts a couple hours. The
planning meetings are open to all
FOTO members. We encourage
your participation in the discussion
of future FOTO activities.
Scout Programs
By Craig Niemi
Scout Badge Night
Feb 4th 6pm
Junior Scouts
Feb 28th 6pm
The Observatory’s evening Scout
Merit Badge Programs provide girl
scouts and boy scouts with a unique
stargazing experience that fully
completes the requirements of the
badge or pin.
$6/participant (includes scouts,
adults,
and
all
siblings)
Private
programs
(Monday,
Tuesday, or Wednesday evenings)
require a $100 minimum group fee.
Contact Leo Sack, Outreach
Educator
at
513-321-5186
[email protected]
www.cincinnatiobservatory.org/sco
utprograms.html
You'll swear the images are from
the Hubble Space Telescope.
$15 each, $13.50 Members,
10
or
more
$10
each
Proceeds benefit the Observatory's
education programs.
Available in the Observatory's
Gift Shop or online from our partner
at Clerisy Press.
(www.clerisypress.com)
Our thanks to Xavier University's
Center for Excellence in Education
for their generous support of this
year's calendar project!
Water on Moon
New maps produced aboard
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance
Orbiter reveal features at the Moon's
northern and southern poles in
regions that lie in perpetual
darkness. The results suggest there
could be as much as 1 to 2 percent
water frost in some permanently
shadowed soils.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releas
es/2012/01/120113210608.htm
4
Late Night at the
Observatory
“Biggest Little” Lunar
Eclipse
Live From Reno,
Nevada
By Dean Regas
February 10th
10:30 pm-12:00 am
Can’t sleep? Looking for a unique
Friday night out? Come see what the
Observatory is like after hours long after the “early crowd” has
gone home. You'll get to use the
oldest big telescope in the U.S. to
view astronomical objects that are
not visible until late at night
(weather permitting). Get a sneak
preview of the next season’s planets
and stars – including Jupiter, the
Andromeda Galaxy, and more – a
month or two ahead of everyone
else. Plus, zoom in on a late-rising
moon, or watch the whole sky for a
meteor shower or satellite passes.
Each night is different and special!
These
programs
are
recommended for adults only. If the
weather does not permit viewing,
we’ll have fun with some of the
crazy science experiments and
“adult” constellation mythology
stories that we can’t share with
family audiences.
Admission is $6 per person
To make reservations please call
513-321-5186
Did You Know That….
Almost all the iron in our solar
system came from a double star
supernova which exploded more
than 5 billion years ago.
On December 10, 2011 there was a
total lunar eclipse – but nobody in
Cincinnati could see it. It was only
visible west of the Rocky Mountains
so I decided to go to a city with a
better angle on the eclipse: Reno,
Nevada.
As part of my work with the PBS
show Star Gazers, the producers of
the show (WPBT2 in Miami,
Florida) wanted to try something
unique. With the help of KNPB
(Reno’s PBS station) we made a live
webcast of the entire thing (at least
until the Moon set). I and fellow
Star Gazer host, Marlene Hidalgo,
gave a running commentary,
answered questions from viewers
and interviewed some special guests
during the eclipse from 4:00-7:00
am. The weather was perfect for
viewing the eclipse from its start to
totality when the Moon set behind
the mountains west of Reno. I
always love that first moment of the
eclipse when the dark shadow of the
Earth can first be seen on the
Moon’s surface. But near before
totality, it really turned orange fast.
During totality the color wasn’t as
dramatic. In fact I thought it to be a
very gray eclipse. A lot of the
redness increased as the Moon got
lower in the sky. It was a great
experience to chase this eclipse, and
share it with so many people who
couldn’t see it. You can find a sped
up video of the eclipse at:
http://video.wpbt2.org/video/217695
7576/ Next up, I plan on traveling
out west twice more in 2012 - to
observe the Annular Solar Eclipse
on May 20 and the Transit of Venus
on June 5. Astronomer: Have
Telescope, Will Travel.
Order Your COC
Polo Shirt or
Hooded Sweatshirt!
By Michelle Gainey
Did the gift shop run out of your
size of the blue, COC embroidered
short sleeve polo shirt? If so, you
can e-mail Scott Gainey with your
gender and size, and he will order
one for you. The cost is $30 for
regular sizes, $31 for XXL or larger.
Also, Scott will take orders for
hooded, fully zippered sweatshirts.
The sweat shirts will be navy blue
with the COC logo embroidered in
white on the left chest. They are of
high quality, 50% cotton/poly blend,
pill-resistant fleece. Sizes: Adult S
– 3XL; children’s sizes XS (4), S (68), M (10-12), L (14-16), XL (1820). Cost: $45.
If you would like to order a polo
shirt or hooded zippered sweatshirt,
please
e-mail
[email protected]. Be sure to
include your name, phone number,
size, and which kind of shirt you
want.
An announcement will be
made in the newsletter and at the
FOTO meeting when the shirts are
available, and they will be held for you
in the gift shop.
5
The Couch Has
Returned
By John Ventre
You might have noticed that in the
front lobby of the Herget Building
there is a late 1800, early 1900,
photograph that shows the John
Quincy Adams oil portrait. To the
left of the photograph you can also
see the open closet with a
chronograph
(time
recording
machine) on a small table, the 1847
William H. Powell oil portrait of
John Quincy Adams, a couch that is
positioned under the portrait, and a
table and chair that are positioned in
front of the couch.
These items have survived the
ravage of time and are displayed in
various locations at the Observatory,
except
for
the
couch. The
Observatory’s Museum Committee
members have been searching for
the couch, or its equivalent, for the
past 12 years.
Marilyn Herget, the daughter of Dr.
Paul Herget and the grand daughter
of Dr. Elliott Smith, both directors
of the Observatory, sits on the
recently returned couch. Her
grandfather sat on the couch in
1907 on his wedding day.
(This picture was taken by
Dr. Al Scheide.)
Also, another photograph shows this
same setting but with Dr. Elliott
Smith and his new bride, Louise,
sitting on this couch on their
wedding day, November 28,
1907. Dr. Smith was then an
assistant astronomer, but he
eventually
became
the
Observatory’s
Director
in
1940. The Smiths’ son-in-law, Dr.
Paul
Herget,
became
the
Observatory’s director following
WWII. Hence there was a keen
interest for historical reasons to
locate the couch.
We sincerely appreciate the
generosity of Stephen Marine,
Assistant Dean and Executive
Director of the Henry R. Winkler
Center for the History of the Health
Professionals and Ms. Doris Haag,
the Center’s Director, who arranged
for the donation and the transfer.
The next time that you visit the
Observatory please pause to look at
the couch, and if you ask “pretty
please” we might let you sit on it!!!
"A Long Time Ago In
Galaxies Far, Far,
Away..."
Dr. Al Scheide and John Ventre
trying out the couch
Miracles
happen. The
couch
eventually was located in a medical
museum in the University of
Cincinnati’s
(UC)
medical
complex. It was acquired by the
museum’s director during the period
in the early 1980s when UC
attempted to close the Observatory
and was attempting to dispose of its
furnishings. When the museum’s
director was informed of the
couch’s
history
and
the
Observatory’s desire to have it
returned the director opted to retain
it in her museum because she had to
pay for it and had it reupholstered.
Miracles
continue
to
happen. Many years pass and an
intermediary informed the current
medical museum staff of our desire
to have the couch, and they very
generously agreed to return it to the
Observatory.
We recently assembled a crew of
volunteers: Michael Helfen, with
his van, Dean Regas, Leo Sack and
John Ventre to transfer the couch
from UC to the Observatory.
Our thanks to Dr. Amanda Bauer for
offering to give a presentation at the
Observatory. Demand was so great
that Dr. Bauer agreed to give an
encore presentation. Nearly 125
friends, family and FOTO members
came out to her terrific talks.
Be sure to follow her blog at
http://amandabauer.blogspot.com/
Did You Know….
Our Moon will continued its drift
from Earth, but will add just 2
seconds to Earth’s rotation every
100,000 years.
6
On January 15th I was solar
observing from Titusville, Florida.
The sky was blue and the
temperature was in the mid 60 ’s that
morning. I know I must have had a
smile on my face as I tuned the Halpha filter on the sun. To my
surprise, the sun was smiling back at
me! So I replaced the eyepiece with
my DMK camera and took the sun’s
portrait. The image below shows a
happy sun.
Two sunspot regions 1401 on the
left and 1402 make the black eyes
with dark filaments and some white
flare regions making the eyebrows.
The mouth is a dark filament that
rounded the solar limb 3 days before
in a display of a large hedgerow
prominence.
On January 19th AR 1401erupted
with an M3 solar flare and produced
a Coronal Mass Ejection. At that
time the two “eyes” had rotated near
the center of the sun and the CME
was directed at the Earth. On
January 22nd the CME slammed into
the Earth’s magnetic field and
produced a green aurora display in
Canada and Alaska. Good things
always come from a smile.
Space Mountain
Produces Terrestrial
Meteorites
A2Z+ Astronomy Class
Save the Leap-Second!
When NASA's Dawn spacecraft
entered orbit around giant asteroid
Vesta in July, scientists fully
expected the probe to reveal some
surprising sights. But no one
expected a 13-mile high mountain,
two and a half times higher than
Mount Everest, to be one of them.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) was due to
vote this past week on whether or
not to do away with the leap-second.
Fortunately (or unfortunately?), the
decision has been postponed for
three years. What is a leap-second,
you ask. Why are they needed? Is
it something like a leap-day or a
leap-year? Are they the same as
say, a regular second? Well,… yes
and no.
In honor of this U.N. official
committee’s non-decision, at the
February A2Z+ Astronomy class
we’re going to delve into time for a
little while. Specifically, we will
discuss the accomplishments of one
John Harrison, who revolutionized
time-keeping in the 18th century. He
saved the lives of countless sailors
by providing a method of
determining Longitude at sea,
simply by knowing what time it
was.
Stop by the Observatory on
February 12th at 7:00 P.M., and
maybe we can settle this leapsecond business once and for all!
The A2Z+ class meets the second
Sunday of each month at 7:00 pm in
the West Wing of the Herget
Building, lasts about an hour, and is
free to any Obervatory member.
The existence of this towering peak
could solve a longstanding mystery:
How did so many pieces of Vesta
end up right here on our own
planet?
For many years, researchers have
been collecting Vesta meteorites
from "fall sites" around the world.
The rocks' chemical fingerprints
leave little doubt that they came
from the giant asteroid. Earth has
been peppered by so many
fragments of Vesta, that people have
actually witnessed fireballs caused
by the meteoroids tearing through
our atmosphere. Recent examples
include falls near the African village
of Bilanga Yanga in October 1999
and outside Millbillillie, Australia,
in October 1960.
http://science.nasa.gov/sciencenews/science-atnasa/2011/30dec_spacemountain/
By Dave Bosse
Most Distant Dwarf
Galaxy Detected
Scientists have long struggled to
detect the dim dwarf galaxies that
orbit our own galaxy. So it came as
a surprise on Jan. 18 when a team
announced the discovery of a dwarf
galaxy halfway across the universe.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releas
es/2012/01/120118165143.htm
7
Asteroid Named for
Dick Wessling
he still makes telescopes, including
scopes for Dick’s mirrors.
diversity of planetary systems in our
galaxy."
Robert Holmes is an asteroid
discoverer, founder of Comet
Holmes, and telescope maker.
Robert discovered Dick’s asteroid
on February 21, 2006, in Charleston,
Illinois, his home. He was the
subject of an article in a recent Sky
& Telescope. He appreciated
Dick’s excellent advice on telescope
optics and construction, including
on the early design stages of a 50”
telescope which will be operational
in the spring of 2012.
This artist's concept depicts an
itsy bitsy planetary system -- so
compact, in fact, that it's more like
Jupiter and its moons than a star and
its planets. Astronomers using data
from NASA's Kepler mission and
ground-based telescopes recently
confirmed that the system, called
KOI-961, hosts the three smallest
exoplanets known so far to orbit a
star other than our Sun.
All three planets are thought to
be rocky like Earth, but orbit close
to their star. That makes them too
hot to be in the habitable zone, Of
the more than 700 planets confirmed
to orbit other stars -- called
exoplanets -- only a handful are
known to be rocky.
The three planets are very close
to their star, taking less than two
days to orbit around it. The KOI961 star is a red dwarf with a
diameter one-sixth that of our Sun,
making it just 70 percent bigger than
Jupiter.
by John Ventre
The Minor Planet Center recently
announced that they named an
asteroid
“Richardwessling”
in
memory of Dick Wessling. Many
FOTO members will remember our
friend and fellow FOTO member
Dick Wessling, who died suddenly
in 2011 at the age of 75.
Dick made hundreds of telescope
mirrors and built dozens of
telescopes
for
astronomers
throughout the United States. He
was President of the Cincinnati
Astronomical Association (CAA),
the mirror grinders and telescope
makers, who met in the basement of
the Cincinnati Observatory.
The CAA was asked to leave the
Observatory in 1969 when Dr. Paul
Herget, the then Director of the
Observatory, needed the basement
space to store his computer
equipment. Dick was employed for
over 35 years by the U.S. Precision
Lens Co/ 3M Precision Optics as an
optical designer and quality
manager. He also operated his own
company, the Pines Optical Shop,
since 1991.
John Pratte and Robert Holmes,
both friends of Dick, arranged to
have the asteroid 2006 DK8 named
“Richardwessling” (242830). John
used to grind mirrors in the
Observatory’s basement, but he did
not meet Dick until in the 1990s.
John currently lives in Illinois where
Kepler Discovers a Tiny
Solar System
Jan. 11, 2012: Astronomers using
data from NASA's Kepler mission
have discovered the three smallest
planets yet detected orbiting a star
beyond our sun. The planets orbit a
single star, called KOI-961, and are
0.78, 0.73 and 0.57 times the radius
of Earth. The smallest is about the
size of Mars.
"This is the tiniest solar system
found so far," said John Johnson,
the principal investigator of the
research from NASA's Exoplanet
Science Institute at the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
"It's actually more similar to Jupiter
and its moons in scale than any
other planetary system. The
discovery is further proof of the
FOTO Board Members
with Date Term Expires
President: Dale Zoller / Oct. 2012
Vice President: Rebecca
Schundich / Oct. 2012
Secretary: Michelle Lierl Gainey /
Oct. 2012
Treasurer: JoAnne Pedersen / Oct.
2012
FOTO/COC Representative: Scott
Gainey / Oct. 2013
Trustee: Dave McBride / Oct. 2012
Trustee: Frank Huss / Oct. 2012
Trustee: Dave Bosse / Oct. 2013
Trustee: John Blasing / Oct. 2013
8
Marsapalooza
Saturday, March 3rd
8-10 pm
The Red Planet is back! Mars,
always a crowd favorite, will be the
featured planet for a viewing
extravaganza called Marsapalooza.
The Cincinnati Observatory will
open its doors and telescopes to the
public while Mars is at its closest
for the year. There will be classes
about Mars, tours of the buildings,
and viewing through the historic
1845 and 1904 telescopes (weather
permitting). The Moon and Orion
Nebula will also be observed.
Cost: $6 per person.
Reservations are recommended.
For more information call 513-3215186.
with sharply different results. Comet
C/2011 N3 (SOHO) was completely
destroyed on July 6, 2011, when it
swooped 100,000 km above the
stellar surface. NASA's Solar 
Dynamics
Observatory (SDO)
recorded the disintegration.
It might be possible to detect
such "comet corpses" as they waft
past Earth. A solar wind stream
containing extra oxygen could be a
telltale sign of a disintegrated
comet. Other elements abundant in
comets would provide similar
markers.
History of the
Observatory
2nd & 4th Sundays
1-4pm
By Craig Niemi
UC Communiversity
Programs for Life-Long
Learners

Choose from our wide
variety of classes
 Explore timely topics with
engaging teachers
 Learn pressure-free (no
tests, grades or papers)
 Discover the convenience of
our locations – on and offcampus
 Come
evenings
or
weekends or try our online
options anytime
 Meet people with similar
interests
 Acquire lots of hands-on
learning in just a little time
 We're ready when you are new
courses
start
continually
Feb 15th Keeping Time By the Stars
Feb 17th Dance of the Gods:
Motions of the Planets
Feb 21st Stargazing 101
Feb 27th Binocular Astronomy
Enrollment is easy –
Just a quick phone call to 513-5566932 or visit www.uc.edu/ce/
Comet Corpses in the
Solar Wind
A paper published in the January
20th issue of Science raises an
intriguing new possibility for
astronomers: unearthing comet
corpses in the solar wind. The new
research is based on dramatic
images of a comet disintegrating in
the sun's atmosphere last July.
Comet
Lovejoy
grabbed
headlines in Dec. 2011 when it
plunged into the Sun's atmosphere
and emerged again relatively intact.
But it was not the first comet to
graze the Sun. Last summer a
smaller comet took the same trip
Our talented volunteer docents from
the Museum & History Committee
weave the fascinating story of the
Cincinnati
Observatory’s
rich
history and the unique cast of
characters that made Cincinnati the
Birthplace of American Astronomy.
An ideal opportunity for our
astronomy program volunteers to
learn more about the Observatory
and incorporate its history into your
programming. No reservations
needed, except groups.
The End
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