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September, 2015 Vol. 26 No. 9

Maybe One of the best Perseid Meteor Showers ? …this year’s event WAS one of the best! Many fireballs! Hope you didn’t miss it!

So What’s the Big Show for September? …How About This:

SUPER, FULL, AND TOTAL ECLIPSE!

Anything else going on this month? (Please see more info later)

How about a DAYTIME Solar Star Party at 9am on September 6…..

Our Next Monthly Meeting: is Thursday, September 3rd, at 7:30pm in the D-Y High School library. Coming to us following many years “on the water” commercial marine experience, new member John Carlisle will speak to us on “Celestial Navigation” As always, public welcome. Reminder: No more Thursday Star Parties this year. The first “Quarter-Moon-Saturday” Star Party (public welcome) is Sept 19th at 7:30pm. We are also beginning once a month “New-Moon-Saturday evenings for Staff and Members only beginning Sept. 12th. Please see more information on both these opportunities with near term schedules on page 3.) In this issue: Lunar Eclipse “at the Dome” / Jon Greenberg Memorial Card /”Quarter-Moon Saturday”, “New-Moon Saturday” Star Parties Begin / Solar Star Party / Autumnal Equinox / Bright Venus / Big Tides /

The Newsletter of the Cape Cod Astronomical Society

On September 27-28 you you can:

View the Super Moon: as big as it will be all year because it is as close to the earth (closest perigee in 2015) as it will be all year.

See a total eclipse in Prime Time: Yes, it will be Full. But it will also run all the way through the earth’s shadow (first umbra at 9:07 pm; last umbra at 12:27am) on Sunday evening. Come to The Schmidt Observatory at 8:30 for a special program (more info on page 3.)

Watch out for high water: possibly highest tides at Cape Beaches this year (11 feet at Cape Cod Bay at 10pm, just before mid-eclipse.)

… or our first “Winter Season” Quarter-Moon-Saturday Star Party at 8:30pm on September 19th?

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Bright New Stars:

We like to profile new members in our Society in this section of First Light each month. If you are a new member and have not yet been so recognized, or might have new information for us (background, astro equipment preferred, interests, etc.) on yourself or someone else, please let us know (email info@ccas.ws).

MEMBERS: PLEASE CONSIDER SUBMITTING AN ITEM OR ARTICLE FOR PUBLICATION IN FIRST LIGHT.

CCAS News Items and Current Events:

Jon Greenberg Memorial Card: Please see page 7 for a Memorial Card remembering former long-time member Jon Greenberg .

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September beings significant changes to Star Party schedules.

Please see the information beginning on page 3 including the new schedule for “Quarter-Moon Saturday” events open to the public, a whole new kind of once-per-month CCAS- Members-only meeting at the Dome, and a special new daytime event for members, guests, and students to study the sun. ________________________________________________

The 2015-2016 Dues cycle began at our July meeting. Dues for most folks are $30/year. We need this money to pay our bills and support our Observatory! Please bring your check to the next meeting or mail right away to: CCAS, 34 Ridgewood Rd. Orleans MA 02653. Thank you. We have several active members who are more than a year in arrears. Please, everyone, “get current” as soon as possible.

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The Cape Cod Astronomical Foundation is now participating in the AmazonSmile program (http://www.smile.amazon.com); please go to this Amazon login page and sign up. Going forward, 0.5% of the price of all your Amazon purchases will be donated to the Cape Cod Astronomical Foundation when you are a signed-up participant. ________________________________________________

CCAS Meetings:

Many thanks to recently joined member Jim Lynch, for his most informative presentation: General Relativity and Cosmology: The Mathematics De-Mystified at our meeting on August 6th. Jim is the recipient of the Robert W. Morse Chair for Excellence in Oceanography, and is a senior scientist in the Applied Ocean Physics and

Engineering Department at WHOI. For most people, Einstein's theory is hidden in forbidding mathematical equations. However, the underlying meaning of the math embodying Einstein’s theories is NOT ”rocket science”, and can be understood by all in rather simple terms. Jim helped us pursue significant understanding of “what Einstein’s math means” in this talk. Please see Gus Romano’s excellent overview of key points from this talk in the Minutes for our August meeting, website reference provided on the next page.

New member John Carlisle will speak to us on “Celestial Navigation” at our meeting on September 3rd. John has an interesting background certainly qualifying him to speak on this topic: he is a long time merchant marine officer having served on tankers and container ships; John has also sailed tall ships worldwide. He has taught marine navigation, specializing in celestial navigation and, in the early 2000's, was a leader in his union school's planetarium, a Spitz A3.

“Telescope Night” at the CCAS October Meeting: As we have done in past years, every so often we have a “Telescope and Equipment Showcase” as the subject for a CCAS monthly meeting. This year we will have this “show and tell” session at our meeting on October 1. The session will include not only ‘scopes and binoculars but other equipment of interest including special items for the astrophotography arena. Key CCAS telescopes, some available for loan from The Schmidt will be available for browsing. Members are invited to bring their own ‘scopes or binoculars. Finally, you may also offer your own equipment for loan or sale at this session. Public is welcome. Y’all bring your ‘scopes too!

Professor Tim Barker, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at Wheaton College, has informed us that he hopes to be able to give a talk at our meeting on November 5th on the Apollo program. If all goes as planned, he will be able to bring some actual samples from the moon, on loan from NASA, to the meeting. Stay tuned.

We are pleased to announce that Professor Larry Marschall of Gettysburg College, astronomer, teacher and always an excellent speaker, has agreed to give us a presentation at our meeting on December 3rd. Information on Professor Marschall’s topic will be published in a later issue First Light or when available.

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Reminder: Gus Romano (or his delegate) “hosts” a Dutch-treat dinner gathering for members and friends on each CCAS meeting night (before the meeting) at the South Yarmouth Hearth & Kettle restaurant at 5:45pm; (the meetings begin at 7:30 at D-Y.) The speaker for each meeting is always invited. Please join the group to dine and talk about all things interesting, including astronomy! The H&K is at 1196 Rte 28, South Yarmouth, about a half mile west of the Station Avenue/Main Street intersection with Rt. 28 (traffic light).

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Mike Hunter, CCAS President, is our Program Chairman. Please contact Mike or info@ccas.ws if you have any leads on speakers for upcoming meetings after December.

Members, PLEASE participate in the effort to recruit good speakers to present programs in astronomy and related sciences at our meetings. Please let us know if you have any leads…

or, even better, volunteer to give a talk yourself!

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Minutes: The minutes of the August meeting are on our website; click on the “Minutes” button at www.ccas.ws or go to http://www.ccas.ws/minutes/ccasminutes080615.pdf _________________________________________

From the Dome: Special Lunar Eclipse Event at the Schmidt

A total eclipse of the moon takes place 9:07pm -12:27am EDT on Sunday, September 27th (penumbral eclipse begins at 8:40pm EDT; ends at 12:55am EDT.) Such a phenomenon taking place at Prime Time hours prompted the Observatory Staff to schedule a special “Star Party” at the Dome that Sunday evening; starting time: 8:30pm. Public welcome. Observations will begin at 8:30pm when the moon is just high enough to clear the sill in the Dome for observations using our 16” Meade telescope. A particular aspect of this viewing will be to observe and record at what times the umbral shadow reaches various craters and other features on the moon as the eclipse proceeds. Will the “touch” times forecast in an article in the September issue of S&T Magazine (p 29) be accurate? A fun exercise. Don’t miss it. _________________________________________

Summer “Thursday” Star Parties End; “Winter” Schedule of “Quarter-Moon-Saturday” Star Parties Begins:

Here is the schedule for “Quarter-Moon Saturday Star Parties” thru January; public is invited; all events begin at the Dome at 7:30pm on the following evenings and end at 9:30pm:

Saturday September19th Saturday October 17th Saturday November 21st Saturday December 19th Saturday January 16th

Want to know what a “Quarter-Moon-Saturday” Star Party is? Our website (“Star Parties and Activities Info” button describes it this way:

From September thru June, we will have one regularly scheduled Star Party taking place at 7:30pm on the Saturday each month closest to the date of First Quarter Moon (about 7 days old) each month. When the moon is near its First Quarter, the terminator (the line dividing light from dark) is favorable for viewing sunlight or shadow on the sides of craters. This time is also good for observing the dark side of the moon occult (cover) stars in the sky beyond it as it moves in its orbit.

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FOR MEMBER ONLY: “New-Moon-Saturday” Work Sessions at the Schmidt Begin.

At its meeting on August 21st, the Observatory Staff decided to initiate a new once-per-month meeting at the Dome for members only. Here is the initial schedule; starting time is 7:30pm:

Saturday September 12th Saturday October 10th Saturday November 14th Saturday December 12th Saturday January 9th

These meetings, held on the Saturday night each month closest to the New Moon, are to provide a regular opportunity for CCAS members to work on projects at the Dome and/or to become better acquainted with our equipment and more involved with Dome activities and operations. If you are a CCAS Member, and not yet involved at the observatory, this is your opportunity to join in, have fun, and share star gazing and learning about observing and our equipment with the Observatory Staff. _________________________________________

Announcing a Very Special DAYTIME Star Party which will focus on our own local star:

This from Bernie Young, Director of Research at The Schmidt: The Observatory will be opened at 1:00 PM EDT Sunday, September 6, (Labor Day Weekend) to observe Sol, our local star, with the 4" Hydrogen-alpha solar telescope. When everyone has seen the features on the sun, we will look at other stars (magnitude 3 and brighter) and attempt to capture their spectra with a diffraction grating and the Rspec software. This is an exercise to expand our daytime observing capabilities, especially for the high school science students. For a video describing spectroscopy using Rspec please see:

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http://www.rspec-astro.com/more-videos/ If it's hopelessly cloudy, this star party will not occur. Call the observatory at 508-398-4765 if in doubt. Wait at least 8 rings before you decide no one is there; (it takes a while to get to the phone from upstairs or outside.) _______________________________________________

As always, “Private” group or individual observing sessions at the Werner Schmidt Observatory may be scheduled by

contacting Observatory Director Joel Burnett at Joelburnett@comcast.net or sending an email to

info@ccas.ws

Our Society exists to promote observing! Help us promote this objective by asking for time at the Dome! CCAS has both 8” and 14” Dobsonian telescopes for

loan to members. Contact info@ccas.ws if you wish to borrow one.

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September Observing:

Observing Resources: Please see resources in the September issue of Astronomy Magazine, pp 36-41, and Sky and Telescope, pp 41-57, and Reference 5 for good guides to the sky. See also the stories on the lunar eclipse highlighted in the next column. See reference 6 for positions of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

Highlights in the Night Sky for September:

A few highlights in addition to the main lunar eclipse event:

• The  autumnal  equinox  takes  place  on  September  23rd  at  4:21am.  At  this  moment,  the  hours  of  day  and  night  (nox)  are  equal  (equi).  This  event  also  marks  the  point  midway  from  the  summer  solstice,  when,  at  all  latitudes,  the  sun  is  as  high  in  the  sky  as  it  will  be  all  year,  and  the  winter  solstice,  when  the  sun  is  as  low  in  the  sky  as  it  will  be  all  year.    If  you  like  cool  weather,  you  are  happy  to  have  reached  the  autumnal  equinox;  if  you  like  hot  weather,  not  so  much.  

• On  September  21st,  Venus  shines  at  its  brightest  all  year,  mag  -­‐4.8,  in  the  pre-­‐dawn  sky.  

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The main event this month, is, of course, the lunar eclipse of September 27th, featured on our front page. Here’s some more information:

“Super, Full, and Total Eclipse”: Here’s some vocabulary to use when inviting your friends to watch the entire event:

• Super:  once  each  month  the  moon  reaches  perigee,  the  closest  it  will  get  to  the  earth  during  that  month.  Tides  are  always  extreme  when  the  moon  is  at  perigee.  But  once  each  YEAR,  the  moon  achieves  closest  perigee  when  it  is  closest  to  the  earth  in  that  entire  year.  When  so  close,  it  appears  just  a  bit  larger  than  any  other  time.  At  this  closest  perigee  for  the  year,  the  moon  will  be  “only”  221,773  miles  from  the  earth:  indeed,  a  Super  moon!  

• We  all  know  what  Full  means.  But  when  the  moon  is  at  closest  perigee  and  full,  it  is  really  “super”  and  highest  tides  take  place.  More  on  the  big  tides  this  month  in  a  bit.  

• Total  Eclipse:  The  earth  has  a  somewhat  dim  outer  shadow  called  the  penumbra;  in  some  partial  eclipses,  only  the  penumbra  will  dim  the  moon  for  an  hour  or  so.    The  earth  alsohas  a  full  deep  shadow  called  the  umbra.  In  some  eclipses,  the  penumbra  will  dim  nearly  the  entire  moon  for  a  while  followed  by  only  part  of  the  umbra  moving  across  the  moon;  part  of  the  moon  is  only  dimmed  while  the  other  is  darkened  during  the  bypass.    But  when  we  are  lucky  enough  to  have  a  Total  Eclipse,  an  entire  sequence  takes  place  in  front  of  our  eyes  as  follows  (all  times  EDT):  

o Penumbra  starts:            8:40pm  o Umbral  Shadow  starts:            9:07pm  o Dark  umbra  first  complete:  10:11pm  o Mid-­‐eclipse:              10:48pm  o Umbra  begins  partial  exit:        11:23pm  o Umbra  leaves  entirely:              12:27am  o Penumbra  last  visible  (?)              12:55am.  

Incidentally,  you  will  also  hear  the  term  Harvest  Moon  this  month.  The  Harvest  Moon  each  year  is  the  Full  Moon  that  takes  place  closest  to  the  Auumnal  Equinox.  The  September  27  Full  Moon  is  a  Harvest  Moon.  Do  plan  to  enjoy  the  eclipse.  Come  to  The  Schmidt  Observatory  and  share  your  experience  with  others.  Do  read  the  articles  on  the  eclipse  in  the  September  issues  of  S&T  (p26,  p45)  and  Astronomy  (p10-­‐  Bob  Berman:  color  changes  during  the  eclipse;  p56-­‐  Main  Story)  Do  prepare  any  camera  or  binoculars  for  this  event.  Consider  using  a  tripod;  if  you  have  a  camera  on  a  steady  tripod  and  take  one  photo  every  15-­‐30  minutes,  you  will  have  a  wonderful  slide  show  to  share  with  others;  if  you  have  photo  processing  software,  you  can  create  a  side-­‐by-­‐side  stage-­‐to-­‐stage  total  event  image  that  shows  the  changes  hour  by  hour.  _______________________________________________

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Don’t Stand Too Close to the Water While Watching the Eclipse!

Because we have a Super (closest perigee) and Full Moon the night of the eclipse, and the sun, moon, and earth are in line with one another, high tide heights at Cape Cod and elsewhere will be extreme on September 27. Here are tide heights expected at some New England locations:

• Boston   11.0ft     11:19pm  • Nauset  Beach        8.2ft   11:49pm  • Sesuit  Harbor    11.0ft   11:23pm  • Pleasant  Bay        4.0ft        1:47am  

Moon Phases, September, 2015

Last QTR, Saturday, Sept. 5th, at 5:54am EDT New Moon, Sunday, Sept. 13th, at 2:41am EDT First QTR, Monday, Sept. 21st, at 4:59am EDT

Full Moon, Sunday, Sept. 27th, at 10:50pm EDT ALERT: Total Eclipse from 8:40pm; ends 12:55am EDT

Caution: SUPERMOON: at this cycle’s perigee is closest to earth as it will be this year; if observing the eclipse at the

beach, be careful not to get your feet wet: this night will see the highest tide there will be at most locations all year.

Minima of Algol1,3, September:

Algol, a variable double star in Perseus, shines normally at mag 2.1 but once every 2.87 days dims to mag 3.4. The dimming is caused by the dimmer of two self-orbiting stars eclipsing the brighter as viewed from earth. There are two convenient evening occurrences of the Minima of Algol this month: Wednesday, September 2nd at 8:15pm (only the brightening will be after dark); and Tuesday, September 22nd, at 9:55pm.

Using binoculars or a small telescope, try to begin viewing two to three hours before the minima to watch the dimming (record magnitudes now and then by comparing Algol with neighboring constant magnitudes) and up to two to three hours after the minima to watch the brightening.

Mooncusser’s Almanac and Monthly Alert1 SEPTEMBER 2015

Object Sept. 1 (EDT)

Sept. 15 (EDT)

Sept 30 (EDT)

Sun R 06:06 S: 19:14

06:21 18:50

06:36 18:24

Moon R: 20:58 S: 09:48

08:41 19:58

20:13 09:49

Mercury (in sun)

R: 08:28 S: 20:05

08:26 19:23

06:39 18:11

Venus (pre-dawn)

R: 04:21 S: 17:34

03:27 16:52

03:03 16:26

Mars (predawn)

R: 04:02 S: 18:18

03:53 17:47

03:42 17:12

Jupiter (near sun)

R: 05:43 S: 19:07

05:03 18:19

04:20 17:27

Saturn (early evening)

R: 12:50 S: 22:43

11:59 21:50

11:06 20:54

Uranus (“all nite”)

R: 20:43 S: 09:42

19:47 08:44

18:46 07:42

Neptune (“all nite)

R: 19:08 S: 06:09

18:12 05:12

17:12 04:11

Pluto (evening)

R: 16:09 S: 01:38

15:14 00:42

14:15 23:43

Declination Tables for the Moon2

during this month please contact your editor for information or sources.

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Jon Greenberg Memorial Card: Most CCAS members know that Jon Greenberg was a long-time member of our club. Jon died November 15th, 2012. Jon was known for his love of studying the sky, his home rooftop observatory (we now have the main telescope and pedestal that used to be mounted there), his knowledge of and interest in the history of astronomy, and his extraordinary talents as a teacher…which included well over ten years conducting a series of weekly classroom sessions followed by night sky observing at his home. We will long miss Jon’s presence and the open invitation he offered literally hundreds of people to love and get involved with amateur astronomy. We wish to thank Alice Greenberg, now living in New Mexico near her son Danny, for sending CCAS one of the Memorial Cards noting Jon’s burial atsea in Cape Cod Bay this past May. Here are images from the card:

It seems pretty clear that all Jon’s family knew well his love of observing the night sky. Thank you, Jon. Thank you, Alice and family.

CCAS Member Interviewed for “Blue Moon” Article: During July, your editor provided some information about “Blue Moons” to Don Wilding of the Cape Codder. The article published too late (July 29th) to highlight in the August First Light. To become an expert on “Blue Moon” check out the online version of the article at: http://brewster.wickedlocal.com/article/20150729/ENTERTAINMENTLIFE/150728818

NOTICE: NEW COPIES OF THE BROCHURE INTRODUCING CCAS AND ITS ACTIVITIES ARE AVAILABLE; INQUIRE AT info@ccas.ws IF YOU WISH COPIES.

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Cape Cod Astronomical Society President Michael G. Hunter 5083643370(cell) Vice President Ed Swiniarski 5088965973 Secretary Gus Romano 7819294770 Treasurer Peter Kurtz 5082550415 Observatory Director Joel Burnett 5082217380 First Light Editor Peter Kurtz 5082550415 info@CCAS.ws Mailing Address: A. P. Kurtz, CCAS Treasurer, 34 Ridgewood Rd, Orleans MA 02653

Cape Cod Astronomical Foundation Chairman Emeritus Werner Schmidt 5083629301 Chairman Mike Hunter 5083859846 Vice Chairman Ed Swiniarski 5088965973 Director of R&D Bernie Young 5083941960 Secretary Joel Burnett 5082217380 Treasurer Gus Romano 7819294770 Observatory Director Joel Burnett 5082217380 Observatory Phone Line 5083984765

The Cape Cod Astronomical Society meets at 7:30 pm on the first Thursday of every month in the library of the DennisYarmouth Regional High School in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Meetings are open to the public. Membership dues are $30 for adults, $15 for students in two year colleges and part year residents, and no charge for spouses or for students in K12 schools.

REFERENCES AND NOTES FOR THIS ISSUE:

1) Information for The Mooncussers Almanac and Monthly Observing Alerts was extracted from Sky Events, Astronomy Magazine Online (Astronomy.com), Stargazing.net’s Planet Rise/Transit/Set calculator (http://www.stargazing.net/mas/planet2.htm), Astronomy Magazine, Sky & Telescope Magazine, Sky and Telescope Skywatch 2011, and other sources. The Observer’s Handbook, 2010 and 2011, published by The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is also an important reference, particularly for information on lunar libration and declination and the minima of Algol.

2) Information on how Libration and Declination Maxima and Minima can make visible parts of the moon normally hidden was reviewed in the January2007/January2008 First Light. Quick recap: Max Long brings to view extra right side; Min Long, extra left side; Max Lat, extra north side; Min Lat, extra south side. Max Dec puts it high in our sky during its transit; Min Dec puts it low.

3) Algol is an eclipsing variable star in Perseus which has its brighter component eclipsed or covered by its companion once every 2.87 earth days. When the dimmer component is not eclipsing the brighter, Algol appears typically about magnitude 2.1; when eclipsed, magnitude 3.3 The minima usually lasts about two hours with two hours on either side to bring it back to mag 2.1. Good comparison stars are γAndromedae to Algol’s west, mag 2.1, and εPersei to its east, mag 2.9.

5) Here is the web address for Astronomy Magazine’s “The Sky This Month” online for September: http://www.astronomy.com/magazine/sky-this-month/2015/07/totalitys-long-embrace 6) S&T’s interactive Java utility for showing the positions of Jupiter’s main moons for any date and time: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/3307071.html for Saturn’s moons: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/3308506.html