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TRANSCRIPT
THE OBSERVER OF THE TWIN CITY AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS
Volume 39, Number 11 November 2014
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Editor’s Choice: Image of the Month……..……………….1
A Note from President Weiland..………………………….2
Telescope Given Away………………………………..…….…...2
Calendar of Celestial Events – November 2014..…...3
New & Renewing Members/Dues Blues……………….3
This Month’s Phases of the Moon……..……………...…..4
TCAAers View Total Lunar Eclipse…………………………..4
Blood Moon………………………………………………….…….….5
TCAAers View Partial Solar Eclipse………………………….6
Image of the Month (continued)…………………………..7
Education/Public Outreach for October 2014……….8
Astrobits………………….....…….……..…………………………..9
Sky Interpretation………………………………………….…….11
New Stoop Adorns PSO Entrance Way……………..…..12
How Time Flies…….……….…….........................….…....12
TCAA Treasurer’s Reports: October 2014…………....13
The TCAA is an affiliate of the Astronomical League. For more information about the TCAA, be certain to visit our club website.
EDITOR’S CHOICE: IMAGE OF THE MONTH ~ commentary by Tim Stone ~
Stephan's Quintet is a group of five galaxies discovered by Edouard
Stephan, a French astronomer at the Marseille Observatory in 1877. Though he doubtless thought the tight grouping of these nebulae was somewhat unusual, it wasn't until many decades later that their true significance would begin to become apparent, when Halton Arp explored the notion that galaxies were anything but stable configurations slowly evolving along Hubble's “tuning fork.” In support of his unusual cosmology, he compiled a most useful catalog of images called Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies in which Stephan's Quintet was the 319th entry.
Arp attempted to disprove Hubble's Law by demonstrating that supposedly physically interacting galaxies had significantly different redshifts. We now know that four of the five are indeed interacting, but the fifth, NGC 7320, is in fact a foreground galaxy. This galaxy is the bluest one, and is a mere 39 million light years distant.
The remaining four of the original quintet are some 300 million light years away. The four galaxies, which could be called Stephan's Quartet, are the tight grouping of yellowish galaxies behind NGC 7320. The two clearly colliding galaxies are NGC 7318A and NGC 7381B. NGC 7319 is next to them, with grossly distorted spiral arms, a very long tidal tail, and an active galactic nucleus. The quartet is rounded out with the reasonably normal looking elliptical, NGC 7317.
(Continued on page 7)
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The OBSERVER is the monthly electronic publication of the Twin City Amateur Astronomers, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization of amateur astronomers interested in studying astronomy and sharing their hobby with the public.
TCAA OFFICERS President Tom Weiland 309-830-0167 [email protected] Vice-President Dave Osenga 309-287-0789 [email protected] Secretary/Webmaster Lee Green 309-454-7349 [email protected] Treasurer/ALCor/Registered Agent Duane Yockey 309-452-3936 [email protected] 3rd Director/Property Manager Tim Stone 309-531-2401 [email protected] 4th Director/Historian/Editor Carl Wenning 309-830-4085 [email protected] 5th Director Robert Finnigan 309-846-9533 [email protected] The OBSERVER Carl J. Wenning, Editor 21 Grandview Drive Normal, IL 61761-4071 Submission deadline is the end of each month.
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Individual Adult/Family $40 Full-time Student/Senior $25
(senior status equals ages 60+) To join, send your name, contact info and dues payment to Duane Yockey, TCAA Treasurer, 508 Normal Avenue, Normal, IL 61761
A NOTE FROM PRESIDENT WEILAND By the time you read this message, we will have officially ended our Public
Observation Sessions (POS) for 2014. Unfortunately for us, and for our guests, the weather was not always cooperative during many of the POS of the season, with numerous evenings of cloud cover. However those guests and members who did venture out to Sugar Grove Nature Center (SGNC) on those evenings enjoyed excellent presentations on the topics that we had chosen for the year. So, I’d like to thank every member who set up telescopes or in any way assisted with the observation sessions. I would also like to thank those who prepared and presented at each of the monthly sessions. The combined efforts of these members made this another successful year for public outreach at SGNC.
After much deliberation, eight interesting and informative topics have now been chosen for next year. Our monthly public observations at SGNC will resume on March 21st of 2015. Our 2015 POS brochure is now available on our website for downloading at www.tcaa.us.
Finally, I would like to remind you that the TCAA annual meeting will be in February. The Board of Directors will be confirming a date at our next board meeting…….more information will follow. This is our annual business meeting with dinner and an invited guest speaker. All TCAA members are encouraged to attend. Please check out my email about the meeting when it arrives in your mailbox and add that date to your calendar. Clear Skies!!
Tom Weiland TCAA President
TELESCOPE GIVEN AWAY
The Chad and Kazumi Hartry family of Bloomington won this year’s telescope given away as part of a free drawing during the October POS at SGNC. The proud winners included the Hartry’s son Tomoya and daughter Haruka. October was only the second time for them to attend one of the TCAA’s public observing sessions. They attended our session because they are “just interested in astronomy” according to Chad. Congratulations to our winners. Club members will be working with the Hartry family in the future to help them learn how to use this “goto” telescope successful.
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CALENDAR OF CELESTIAL EVENTS – NOVEMBER 2014 MORNING STARS (11/15): MERCURY, JUPITER EVENING STARS (11/15): VENUS, MARS, SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE Question: As noted for November 1st below, why is it that
Mercury can have good and not so good greatest elongations even if the angle between the speedy little planet and the sun as seen from Earth is the same? See the answer below.
01 Mercury reaches its greatest elongation 18.7 degrees west of the Sun, shining at magnitude -0.5. The best morning apparition of Mercury for 2014 as seen from the northern hemisphere.
01 First Quarter Moon – The moon sets at midnight and rises at midday. The moon is also in conjunction with Neptune. The moon is also closest to Uranus on the evening of the 4th.
05/06 Taurid Meteor Shower – Unfortunately, with the full moon this meteor shower will be washed out this month.
06 Full Moon – The moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Early Native Americans knew this as the Full Beaver Moon because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze. It also has been known as the Frosty Moon and the Hunter’s Moon.
14 Third Quarter Moon – The moon rises at midnight and sets at midday. The moon is in conjunction with Jupiter this morning.
17/18 Leonid Meteor Shower – The Leonids is an average shower, producing an average of up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. With the moon new near phase, 2014 should be a good year for viewing.
22 New Moon – The moon rises and sets with the sun and is not visible.
29 First Quarter Moon – The moon sets at midnight and rises at midday. The second first quarter moon this month.
Answer: There are two considerations when it comes to the visibility of Mercury. The first of these is that the planet’s greatest eastern and western elongations are not always the same in angular size. Greatest elongations can vary from about 18 degrees (at perihelion) to 28 degrees (at aphelion) over the course of the years to both to Mercury and Earth’s elliptical orbits. The second consideration is the angle of the ecliptic relative to the horizon. When the ecliptic is most steeply inclined to the horizon at sunrise (spring morning) or at sunset (autumn evenings), the planet appears
NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS
The following individuals have paid dues for new or renewed memberships as of September 30th, 2014. (Others who paid after that date will appear in the November 2014 issue of The OBSERVER.)
Heiniger Family (renewing) Tony Cellini (renewing)
Tom Weiland (renewing)
DUES BLUES
If you have received a “your dues are due” statement along with the email that brought you this issue of The OBSERVER, please remit your dues to Mr. Duane Yockey, TCAA Treasurer, 508 Normal Avenue, Normal, IL 61761. Current dues are $25 for senior (60 years of age and over) and $40 regular.
SUBSCRIBING TO OUR E-MAIL LISTS
By subscribing to a group’s mailing list you will receive email messages from the group so you won’t have access to the group’s web features (like photos, files, links, polls, calendar, etc.) unless members activate it later. The club now has two email listservs. The main email listserv is known as the TCAA listserv. It will be used to share announcements and reminders about astronomical and club events. To join this main listserv you must do the following: 1. Subscribe: Send a blank email to TCAA-
[email protected] Note: You’ll be sent a confirmation email from the group. Reply to the confirmation email to activate your subscription.
2. Unsubscribe: [email protected] 3. To post a message: [email protected]
A second listserv – TCAA–imaging – is for club astronomical photographers as well as those who want to view their images and follow their discussions. It is an easy way to keep up with all the stuff we’re doing at the observatories. 1. Subscribe: [email protected] 2. Unsubscribe: [email protected] 3. To post a message: [email protected] Once members join a Yahoo! group, they can manage group and subscription settings whenever it is desired to customize the group experience.
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farther from the Sun in the sky.
THIS MONTH’S PHASES OF THE MOON
Full Moon
November 6
Third Quarter November 14
New Moon
November 22
First Quarter November 29
All moon phase dates are given for Central Standard Time. Additional moon phases can be found for the 2014 calendar year by clicking here. These four images were provided by J.K. Howell of the Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society and are used with permission.
TCAAERS VIEW TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
Several TCAAers viewed the total lunar eclipse during the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday, October 8th. President Tom Weiland noted, “Just a beautiful morning! Viewed the eclipse with my 3-inch refractor... didn't want to drag out the 8-inch… As the eclipse progressed and the sky darkened, I checked out Jupiter and its moons as well as the Orion Nebula (M42) and the Pleiades (M45). Just a reminder that you don’t have use a large scope to enjoy the night sky.”
Carl and Carolyn Wenning viewed the eclipse while sitting in lawn chairs in their back yard. Carl, at the request of a friend in Kentucky, photographed the event with a telephoto lens attached to his Canon camera. The accompanying image taken just after the start of totality at 5:38 a.m. was a ¼-second exposure at f/5.6 with a 250mm focal length lens. The high-resolution image showed three field stars and Uranus to the left of the moon; its blue coloration can be clearly seen in the image. An enhanced-contrast, low-resolution image is shown here and Uranus can be seen as a nearly imperceptible bluish dot about one lunar
distance left of and at about the same level as the moon’s upper limb. The normal-contrast image shown below is a better rendition of the actual moon’s ruddy color perceived by the human eye. Tim Stone took this second image at 5:39 a.m. using the PSO 17-inch telescope.
Dave Osenga reported, “I was out in north Normal and took some pictures on my phone through my 20 X 80 binoculars. This sort of works, but not very clearly. Still, I'm glad I got to see this event.”
Darren Erickson noted, “What a day it's been.... There was a cloudbank threatening the view between 1 and 2 AM, but well before 3 it dissipated or moved away. Got about 200 still frames (including bias and darks), and about 30 minutes of webcam stuff. Couldn't have asked for much better viewing conditions. Here are two jpegs from my Rebel XS, 300mm through a doubler. Plus, bonus: Jupiter! One of these days I'll learn how to expose it correctly. :D” Subsequent to this note, Darren assembled a 4-minute YouTube
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video which is available online.
4:20 AM 4:23 AM 4:27 AM 4:37 AM
4:47 AM 4:57 AM 5:07 AM 5:17 AM
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON, PARTIAL PHASES, OCTOBER 8, 2014, CARL WENNING
BLOOD MOON ~ by Carol McFeeters Thompson ~
Editor’s Note: Carol Thompson is the long-time nature interpreter at Weldon Springs State Park at Clinton, IL. She writes a weekly column for the Clinton newspaper, and this column describing the October 8th total lunar eclipse. It is used with her permission.
On a clear and chilly early morning in which the darkness was a magical backdrop for a silvery full moon and icy twinkling
stars, I awoke to observe the second in a rare cluster of full lunar eclipses, known as a tetrad, each six months apart, in which the moon is completely covered by the Earth’s umbral shadow for four full lunar eclipses in a row.
During a total eclipse, the sun, Earth, and moon align so that the lunar orb slips into the Earth’s shadow. If Earth didn’t have an atmosphere, at mid eclipse, the moon would appear black and invisible, but some sunlight does leak around Earth’s periphery, filtering through its atmosphere and reflecting off the moon.
I watched as Earth’s umbral shadow gradually crept across the face of the moon. The shadow first appeared dark like a bite taken out of a cookie, then gradually shrank to the smile of a Cheshire cat before completely engulfing the moon. At that moment, during totality at mid eclipse, the shadow changed the face of the moon to coppery red because Earth’s atmosphere extends fifty miles above the Earth’s surface and when the moon is engulfed within the shadow, there is a circular ring through which the sun’s rays pass.
Sunlight is composed of different wavelengths. As sunlight passes through our atmosphere, the green to violet portion of the light spectrum is essentially filtered out. The red portion of the spectrum is least affected. When the reddish light first enters the atmosphere, it is refracted toward the Earth’s surface. It is bent again when it exits on the other side of Earth. This double bending sends the reddish light onto the moon. A total lunar eclipse can shift the color of the moon from rusty orange to blood red, inspiring the name “blood moon.”
The prophet Joel described a lunar eclipse (Joel 2:31) when he spoke of the moon being turned to blood before the great
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and terrible Day of the Lord. The ancients believed the moon was wounded, on fire, or being eaten by a dragon to explain the eerie color.
For three hundred years, there were no tetrads. Only seven more tetrads will happen in this century. The 2014-2015 tetrad occurred at the perigee, when the moon is closest to Earth’s orbit, appearing about five percent larger than usual. The next tetrad will occur in twenty years. A full lunar eclipse lasts about four hours, with totality enduring nearly an hour.
TCAAERS VIEW PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ~ by Dave Osenga ~
Tom and Carolyn Weiland and Dave Osenga met at SGNC to setup some viewing equipment to for viewing the partial solar eclipse late afternoon October 23, 2014. Tom setup his 80mm refractor with a funnel projector that was built for viewing the Venus transit in 2012. Dave setup his 11” with a solar filter, and the SunSpotter was also prepared for projection viewing. Lee Green brought several solar viewing “sunglasses” that he had received from NASA just days before this. The eclipse started about 4:40 PM and was first noticed at the 80mm scope. The moon’s shadow slowing cover the sun until it
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was about 30% covered, then a cloudbank came in from the west about 6:00 PM and brought the observing session to a close.
Sunspot AR 2192 was very easy to see, along with a lot of detail within that area, in all of the viewing instruments. We could see what appeared to be mountains or crater rims on the moon through the view in the 11”. At first, we thought they were victims of focus or sky conditions, but they appeared to remain in place as the moon moved, so that’s what we are calling them!
Viewing the eclipse was a family of five, a trail walker, two SGNC staff members, and five club members, including Lisa Wentzel and her father, who witnessed this event. Nataya and DeDe Boulware arrived shortly after the cloudbank rolled in, and so we shared a few pictures with them.
Editor’s note: Carolyn and Carl Wenning observed the eclipse from Colene Hoose Elementary School and the ISU campus parking lot. Darren Erickson also wrote the following: “I was at my workplace. I had some pairs of eclipse glasses, my own welder's mask, my 90mm set up with a 25mm eyepiece and a Levenhuk mylar filter, and my Canon with 300mm lens doubled and a Thousand Oaks glass filter. I had the sun drifting behind light clouds for most of the half hour before. Then I lost the sun completely behind the clouds right at eclipse start and was very frustrated for a couple of minutes - was very relieved when it peeked out again. I had enough cloud breaks to enjoy it immensely. Many of my coworkers came by and took a look and I was very glad I had enough cooperation from Sol to make it work. Finally lost it behind the clouds completely at 17:25. :)”
IMAGE OF THE MONTH: STEPHAN’S QUINTET (Continued from page 1)
There is one other galaxy included in this
image and is as distant as the four interacting galaxies, but does not seem to be interacting with them. Were this galaxy, NGC 7320C, included with the four, it would bring the group back to quintet status. It is a lovely barred spiral galaxy.
The 11 hours of color data for this image were acquired at the Prairie Sky Observatory with the 20" PlaneWave telescope and the SBIG STT8300M camera. The color image was augmented with luminosity data collected at 8.4-meter Subaru Telescope and obtained from SMOKA, which is operated by the Astronomy Data Center, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
E/PO FOR OCTOBER 2014
Lee Green, Tim Stone, and Bob Finnigan hosted a group of approximately 50 from Sugar Creek Community Church having an evening picnic at SGNC on Saturday, October 4th from 5-8 pm. Following a presentation by Lee, the group was able to view the moon through openings in the clouds using the PSO’s 11” Celestron visual telescope. Tim handled the telescope observing session according to Bob.
Carl Wenning gave a 40-minute talk about light pollution to the ISU Student Environmental Action Coalition on October 14th. Eleven students and one faculty member were in attendance. In addition to problems for astronomers, Carl focused attention on health concerns, wasted energy, glare in relation to safety, ecological impacts, and actions individuals and whole communities can take to combat this problem. Carl understands that several Coalition members are staring a campus survey to see what ISU can do about its light pollution problems.
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Tom and Carolyn Weiland, Paul Pouliot, Dave Osenga, Bob Finnigan, Tim Stone, Tony Cellini, Lisa Wentzel, and Scott Woodrum hosted an open house during SGNC’s Autumn Celebration on Saturday, October 18th. The event ran from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Approximately 250 to 300 visitors had a chance to view our facilities during that time. Our guests also learned about the final two scheduled events (October 23rd partial solar eclipse and October POS) for this year and received copies of the 2015 POS brochure.
Dave Osenga orchestrated a public viewing session of the partially eclipsed sun on October 23rd, but that event has been reported on in detail in a separate article above.
Lee Green conducted an observing session on October 23rd at Lincoln College Creekside Outdoor Center for
Environmental Education. TCAA member Mike Starasta had requested a presentation/viewing session at the Creekside Center – a new nature center just north of Lincoln, Illinois. Lee traveled to this new facility where he reported the prescience of a “nice place” with a “full sky view”. Advance publicity in the local newspaper and about 15 'locals' showed up. A group of cub scouts was also at the event. Cloudy skies prevented viewing, but Lee provided 'show and tell' to keep the troops entertained.
Approximately 50 members of the general public attended the October POS on the 25th, the last such event for 20114. The sky was clear and dark with many people arriving at the last minute. Events began at 7 PM with collections of names and email addresses for the telescope drawing. Tom Weiland asked a young girl to step forward and pick out the winning entry. Much to the surprise of everyone, it was her own family’s entry! (Details about our winners can be found on page 2.) Kevin Brown then gave a well-received 20 minute presentation about the Andromeda Galaxy, and was interrupted near the end when the International Space Station passed nearly overhead at 7:25 p.m. Afterward, there was a lot of telescope viewing and a flurry of green laser pointers being used to point out the constellations as well as M31. Attending were club members Tom & Carolyn Weiland, Kevin Brown, Lee Green, Tim Stone, Bob Finnigan, Paul & Eve Pouliot, Lisa Wentzel, Carl Wenning, Tony Cellini, Jim Meeker, Bryce & Mark Heiniger, Dave Osenga, Mark & Nataya Boulware, and Scott Woodrum & his wife.
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ASTROBITS
Tim Stone and Bob Finnigan went out to SGO on Saturday/Sunday, October 4th/5th, and did some updating to the photographic systems. A new Aspen camera with 7-position filter wheel was installed on the 10” Takahashi with the Tak’s “old” Apogee camera being moved to the 20” PlaneWave temporarily. The new Aspen camera on the Tak performed extremely well as shown in the accompanying “first light” image focusing on Vega and M57 – located to the left of center – in the constellation of Lyra the Harp. (This image is extremely detailed though the image to the right does not show it due to compression.) The older (but identical) Apogee camera (Apogee was bought out several months ago by Aspen) was placed temporarily on the 20” to see how it would operate, and it was determined that a new spacer will be required to allow images to be brought into focus. The Apogee camera will have to be shipped to Ireland for repair due to imaging problems that showed up recently, and the 8600 camera will be returned to 20” during the mean time. When the repaired Apogee is returned, it will be placed on the 20” and the 8600 will go on the club’s new 16” expected around the start of 2015. The Apogee camera will provide twice the field of view previously available on the 20” with the former 8600 camera.
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The club’s C14 telescope has been shipped out for repair. Despite having been entirely rebuilt and refurbished at a cost of some $700 about two years ago, the focusing mechanism failed after a short period of use. Attempted repairs by members proved unsuccessful. Once the telescope returns it will be sold with the proceeds going to the club. An anonymous donor will be paying for the repair while the club will pay for the shipping.
The set of three locks securing SGO, PSO, and our storage locker at SGNC have been synchronized. While the observatory keys were already matched, the storage locker was secured by a combination lock that has been hard to read in the dim light of the barn wherein it is located. The locker is now secured with a padlock with a key that is identical to that of the observatories. Again, an anonymous donor paid for the cost of the properly keyed new lock.
The TCAA is now exchanging monthly electronic newsletters with astronomical clubs in Champaign-Urbana (CUAS) and Rockford (RAAA). Carl W. continues to make efforts to increase the number of exchanges in order to build knowledge, understanding, and awareness in the community of in Illinois amateur astronomers.
The image below shows the current state of the Prairie Sky Observatory interior. From left to right are the 10" Takahashi, the 11" Celestron HD, and the 20" PlaneWave – all on white Astro-Physics mounts. A Coronado SolarMax II H-α solar telescope is located on the red mount. The dome of Sugar Grove Observatory shown in the background contains a 17” PlaneWave. (Photograph by Bob Finnigan)
During SGNC’s Autumn Celebration, Carl Wenning took out some time to speak at length with local conservation police
officer Matt Graden. Carl mentioned that both he and others have seen what they believed to be unauthorized vehicular access in the prairie region to the north of the club’s observatories. Officer Graden suggested that if it appears that poaching is taking place (typified by the use of spotlights from vehicles and the discharge of guns), members should call his official, state-provided cell phone immediately at (309) 830-1149. (Angela Funk also made this request last year.) Matt lives only about 10 minutes from SGNC, and he could be there rather quickly assuming he is not tied up with duties elsewhere. It should be noted that Matt has seen the TCAA in action, visited our observatories, and knows that we are active at SGNC during the night. He is clearly one of our supporters. Should you see him, please do feel free to invite him to take a “peek at the Milky Way” if he has a few moments of time to spare.
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Due to a number of travel plans and schedule conflicts, the Board of Director’s meeting scheduled for early November has been rescheduled to November 18th so that all Board members and officers can attend.
The word is out the University High School in Normal has recently started an astronomy club. We understand that technology teacher Brad Dearing is in charge and might be in need of a bit of assistance from time to time. Brad professes that he doesn’t have a lot of background in astronomy but is assisting with this club nonetheless. The membership should be reminded that the ISU Physics Department also has an astronomy club and that it started about two years ago. Bloomington High School used to have an astronomy club, but we haven’t heard from them for about 4-5 years. Might this situation provide an opportunity for the TCAA to do a bit of wintertime outreach now that our public observing sessions for 2014 have been completed and won’t begin again until March 2015?
SKY INTERPRETATION ~ by Carl Wenning ~
The following article is a snippet from my chapter “Sky Interpretation” written for the Master Naturalist program’s
guidebook hopefully to be published by the University of Illinois’ Cooperative Extension Service before long. Over the coming months (when its getting too cold for many of us to observe and we become temporary armchair amateur astronomers) I’ll be highlighting sections of the chapter for our readers. We start now with the introduction… Why Interpret the Sky?
Famed sky interpreter John Dobson once asked a ranger about setting up a telescope in a park to show people the heavens only to be told, “The sky is not a part of the park.” to which Dobson replied, “No, but the park is part of the sky.” What Dobson said was true. Without any doubt whatsoever, we know that the sky is just as much a part of the natural scene as are animals, plants, rocks, and humans. Astronomer Carl Sagan once noted, “We are star dust….” Because the very elements that make up our bodies were forged in the hearts of exploding stars billions of years ago, the sky is just as much a part of us as we are of the sky. This is just one reason to interpret the sky. There are many other reasons.
• People are curious about their entire environment. Humans are curious about their place in the universe, not just the
animals, plants, and rocks that surround them. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people today live in towns and cities surrounded by a landscape that physically blocks the sky from view. At night, cities have a constant glow that also blocks the sky from view. Many of us have isolated ourselves from the environment for matters of convenience. We hide away in our houses. If it is too hot, we turn on the air conditioner; if it is too cold, we turn on the heat; if it is too dark, we turn on the lights. For the vast majority of our lives seemingly are disconnected from the natural world.
• The contrast between city sky and country sky at night is profound. Because the vast majority of America’s population today lives in urban settings, it is only when they travel to parks in dark-sky locations that they actually can see the stars of night. It is an unfortunate fact that by the year 2025 some 90% of the American people who live in cities will never see the night sky in all its glory according to the National Park Service. If they don’t see the sky in today’s rural parks, when and where will they?
• People are amazed when they see a dark night sky. It is not uncommon to hear people who have returned from a camping trip under a dark sky to tell with awe “the stars seemed much nearer the earth”. As a result of this cosmic wonder, astronomy programs have proven to be wildly popular in state and national parks. For some a dark night experience leads to a lifelong memory. It’s easy to see why, considering the amazing beauty of the universe that surrounds us.
• People appreciate looking through a telescope. One look at the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn, a sparkling star cluster, a wispy nebula, a distant galaxy, and it’s all oohs and ahs. No one unfamiliar with the wonders of the cosmos can walk away not being impressed. This is the beginning of both a heightened awareness and a new respect for the world around us.
• People need to understand our relationship to the rest of the universe. Perspectives change when people come to realize that humans – nearly 7 billion strong – occupy a tiny blue marble orbiting in the “Goldilocks zone” – not too hot and not too cold – around just a ordinary star in the vast hostile place we call space. We seem to have a primal need to understand, and this understanding has implications.
• People won’t preserve what they don’t appreciate, they won’t protect what they don’t know about, and they won’t defend what they don’t understand. Earth is a spaceship orbiting a star – one of hundreds of billions that make up the Milky Way
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galaxy; the remainder of the universe – consisting of hundreds of billions of galaxies each with billions and billions of stars – makes up the remaining 99.9999999999 ad infinitum percent of the universe. It is incumbent upon nature interpreters to point out and explain the relationships between Earth and the rest of the cosmos, and help humans understand their place in it.
We had the sky, up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made, or only just happened.
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
NEW STOOP NOW ADORNS PSO ENTRANCE WAY
The entrance to Prairie Sky Observatory now sports a stoop thanks to the hard work of Tom Weiland, Dave Osenga, Tony Cellini, Bob Finnigan, and a donation of stone by Sugar Grove Nature Center. On Saturday, October 11th, our valiant crew installed the stone platform shown in the inset image in order to prevent mud and litter from being tracked into the observatory. This was so often the case with nothing more than a bare earthen patch outside the door. The grass that was located there earlier was worn away by constant foot traffic. While not entirely eliminating the tracking of detritus, it will certainly reduce it and allow observers and guests from stepping into a mud puddle when entering and exiting the building.
Starting at about 1 p.m., the approximately 4-ft-square platform was installed in about two hours. Efforts included digging out the area, tamping the soil, cutting stone to fit, placing gravel for appropriate drainage, and installing and leveling the stone, adding sand between the stones. The limestone slabs were left over from the fire circle added to the north of the picnic shelter this past summer.
The editor understands that Carolyn Weiland spent time inside PSO doing a bit of light cleaning that day in preparation for SGNC’s Autumn Celebration taking place two weeks later.
HOWTIMEFLIES
TCAA Historian Carl Wenning provides monthly updates about the history of the club going back to intervals of 50, 25, and 10 years. Details about all mentioned events will be found in either the Twin City Amateur Astronomers: 1960-2010 or in The OBSERVER archive found on the TCAA website.
50 Years Ago: November 1964 – The editor of The Review of Popular Astronomy informed TCAA member David Williams
that his articles, based on programs and observation over the pages three years, have been well-received by readers and have stimulated similar activities in other parts of the country.
25 Years Ago: November 1989 – Member Sharon MacDonald acquired one of the largest telescopes ever owned by an individual club member. It is a 12.5-inch reflector built by club member Gary Shrum. President Don Johnson noted in his president’s message that “this is a phenomenal instrument”.
10 Years Ago: November 2004 – Dr. Shaukat Goderya, an astronomer working in the ISU Physics Department, gave the membership a well-received talk dealing with automated classification of galaxies using the Hubble “tuning fork” classification scheme. The Board initiates the Eugene and Donna Miller Family Award following a request by Sharon MacDonald and a series of memorial donations to the club following her recent passing.
Vol. 39, No. 11 The OBSERVER November 2014
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TCAA TREASURER’S REPORT – OCTOBER 2014
OPERATING FUND BALANCE – September 30, 2014 - $ 2,391.94 Income
Dues (Tony Cellini) - $ 40.00 Dues (Heiniger family) - $ 40.00 Dues (Tom Weiland) - $ 40.00
Expenses None - $ 0.00
OPERATING FUND BALANCE – October 31, 2014 - $ 2,511.94
OBSERVATORY FUND BALANCE – September 30, 2014 - $ 4,381.65
Income Donation (Tony Cellini) - $ 60.00
Expenses None - $ 0.00
OBSERVATORY FUND BALANCE – October 31, 2014 - $ 4,441.65
INSURANCE ESCROW BALANCE – September 30, 2014 - $ 5,274.00
Income None - $ 0.00
Expenses None - $ 0.00
INSURANCE ESCROW BALANCE – October 31, 2014 - $ 5,274.00
TOTAL TCAA FUNDS – October 31, 2014 - $12,227.59
Respectfully submitted, L. Duane Yockey, Treasurer