vol. 48, no. 7 july, 2017 the w.a.s - warren astronomical … · · 2017-07-06vol. 48, no. 7...
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The W.A.S.PThe Warren Astronomical Society Paper
July, 2017VOl. 48, no. 7
[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@warrenastro.org
Diane HallMark KedziorJeff MacLeodRuth HuellmantelJoe ToccoBob TrembleyBrian ThiemeEntire board
PresidentFirst Vice President
Second Vice PresidentTreasurerSecretaryOutreach
Publications
The Warren Astronomical SocietyFounded: 1961P.O. Box 1505
Warren, Michigan 48090-1505www.warrenastro.org
W.A.S. INTER-CLUB PICNIC& DOB SHED GARAGE SALE
4pm - JULY 15TH at CAMP ROTARY PAVILION
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Society Meeting TimesAstronomy presentations and lectures twice each month at 7:30 PM:
First Monday at Cranbrook Institute of Science.
Third Thursday at Macomb Community College - South Campus Building J (Library) Note: for the summer, we are meeting in room 151, lower level of the library.
July Discussion Group Meeting
Come on over, and talk astronomy, space news, and whatnot!
The July Discussion group will be held at Ruth Huellmantel’s home in Royal Oak, on Thursday the 27th.
613 James Circle Royal Oak, 48067
We are in the Condos at Irving Avenue. I have room for 2 cars to park in my driveway; additional parking is on Irving Ave. The streets in the condo area, are NO parking, by the city of Royal Oak, and you will be ticketed. My condo is a short walk from Irving; we are the 3rd condo in, on James Circle. (Middle street, there are only 3). I will have snacks and soft drinks. But if someone wants something stronger to drink, they should bring.
Snack VolunteerSchedule
July 3...........Cranbrook........Alan/Cheryl KaplanJuly 20.........Macomb...........Bill BeersAug 7...........Cranbrook........Jon Blum
If you are unable to bring the snacks on your scheduled day, or if you need to reschedule, please email the board at [email protected] as soon as you are able so that other arrangements can be made.
In this issue:Discussion Group ReportPresentationsAstrophotographyOver the MoonObject of the MonthStargate ObservatoryObservatory Report & Outreach ReportHistory S.I.G.Meeting MinutesTreasurer’s ReportGLAACNASA Space PlaceFor Sale
345789
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Space PiratesTune in to Captains Marty Kunz
and Diane Hall for live radio Wednesday nights at 9:00pm ET
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REPORT ON THE DISCUSSION GROUP, 22nd of June, instant.
Neither a team of wild horses nor thunder and lightning could derail the Discussion Group -- which has been made Great Again. A prodigious mound of junk foods was deployed. The cheap red wine supply was threatened, however, when one of the Society’s most loved members sent the nearly full bottle on its side, contents partially hitting the Turkish table cloth which has in the past inspired learned discourse. An inquiry concluded the act was not deliberate.
The topics addressed by the savants included, in rough order: Observatory of the Grand Rapids Association and the pending land purchase therefor. The demise of this Writer’s observatory chairmanship. The mechanism of solar eclipses. Reasons for tidal “locking” of satellites or inferior binary components. Availability of inexpensive yet quality used telescopes. Technique for computer aligning of telescopes in altitude/ azimuth. A life’s journey from Syracuse, New York to “downriver” Detroit via Pueblo, Colorado and Russell, Kansas in search of cheap house(s). Level of education required to teach science at community
colleges. The physics graduate “glut” of the1970’s.
A mound of refreshments remained after adjournment, to re-appear at future Society meetings.
G. M. ROSS, sine die.
Day EST (h:m) Event
01 00:51 FIRST QUARTER MOON
01 07:28 Jupiter 2.7°S of Moon
03 20 Earth at Aphelion: 1.01668 AU
05 00:21 Venus 6.5°S of Pleiades
06 04:27 Moon at Apogee: 405934 km
07 03:34 Saturn 3.2°S of Moon
09 04:07 FULL MOON
10 01:33 Mercury 0.1°N of Beehive
12 05:17 Moon at Descending Node
13 18:03 Venus 3.1°N of Aldebaran
16 19:26 LAST QUARTER MOON
19 23:37 Aldebaran 0.4°S of Moon
20 11:13 Venus 2.7°N of Moon
21 17:09 Moon at Perigee: 361238 km
23 09:46 NEW MOON
25 00:46 Moon at Ascending Node
25 08:49 Mercury 0.9°S of Moon: Occn.
25 10:14 Regulus 0.0°S of Moon
25 17:03 Mercury 0.8°S of Regulus
27 00 Mars in Conjunction with Sun
28 03 Delta-Aquarid Meteor Shower
28 20:15 Jupiter 3.1°S of Moon
30 04 Mercury at Greatest Elong: 27.2°E
30 15:23 FIRST QUARTER MOON
Astronomical Events forJuly 2017
If Daylight Saving Time is in effect, add one hour to the times listed.Source: http://www.astropixels.com/ephemeris/astrocal/astrocal2017gmt.html
Discussion Group Report
SAVE THE DATE
JULY 15TH @ CAMP ROTARY PAVILION
4:00pmW.A.S. INTER-CLUB PICNIC &
DOB SHED GARAGE SALE
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WAS PRESENTATIONS
If you would like to present either a short talk (10-15 minutes) or a full-length talk (45-60 minutes) at a future meeting, please email Mark Kedzior at : [email protected]. We have open dates at both Cranbrook and Macomb meetings. Also, if you may have any contacts of possible presenters,
please send them along - that would be greatly appreciated. See you at the next WAS meeting!
Thursday, July 20th, 2017Macomb Community College Presentations
Observatory Chairman Jeff MacLeod presents NOVA: Fabric of the Cosmos, What is Space
Jeff MacLeod is the current Observatory Chair of the W.A.S. and has become a legend among Michigan astronomy clubs as the guy who juggles fire and knives-- sometimes while on a unicycle. He’s also a Solar System Ambassador and astronomy double major at Wayne State University, where he is an officer of the Warren Astronomical Society and currently the observatory manager. He has been obsessed with space his entire life, with a special place in his heart for NASA, cosmology, and Richard Feynman. When he finishes his schooling he hopes to apply for the astronaut corps.
Macomb meeting will be an informational format where members in attendance share observing/imaging tips for the upcoming Great American Solar Eclipse on August 21st.
Monday, July 3rd, 2017Cranbrook Presentations
W.A.S.P. Photo and Article SubmissionsWe’d like to see your photos and articles in the W.A.S.P. Your contribution is ESSENTIAL! — This is
YOUR publication!
Send items to: [email protected]
Documents can be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), Open Office (.ods), or Text (.txt) formats, or put into the body of an email. Photos can be embedded in the document or attached to the email and should be under 2MB in size. Please include a caption for your photos, along with dates taken, and the way you ’d like your name to appear.
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W.A.S Astrophotography
Photo credit: Bill Beers
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NGC 4490, also known as the Cocoon Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It lies at a distance of 25 million light years from Earth.
This is a 2 hour run on NGC 4490/4485 from last night.10” f/8 RCZWO asi071mc cooled to 0 C24 x 300 second subs, stacked in DSSProcessed in PixInsight.
W.A.S Astrophotography
NGC4490 / Photo credit: Doug Bock
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Over the Moonwith Rik Hill
THE POSIDONIUS PENINSULA
What we have here is a more Dominating the center of this image is the great 99km diameter crater Posidonius. Between 3.2 and 3.8 billion
years old it was flooded almost to the top of the crater walls. The remnants of the central peaks can be seen as a broken ring of small mountaintops in the center. On the right side can be seen the remnant wall from a smaller enclosed crater that was completely flooded. The floor of Posidonius is covered with system of rilles called Rimae Posidonius that have several different origins with some being obvious faults and the one on the left side of the crater looking as if it were channel formed by a running fluid.
To the lower right of Posidonius is the ancient crater Chacornac (53km), about a billion years older than Posidonius. On its floor is the vertical system of Rimae Chacornac that you can trace all the way to the lower right corner of this image. Below Chacornac is the flooded cirque Le Monnier
(63km) opening onto Mare Serenitatis. In the upper right corner of the image you can see most of Rima G.Bond. Above Posidonius is non-round crater Daniell (31km) which also has a system of rimae on its floor but hidden in shadow here.
Rik Hill
This montage was made from two images assembled in iMerge and further processed with GIMP and IrfanView.
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July 2017
Object of the Month: NGC 6755
NGC 6755 is an open cluster in the constellation Aquila. This region of the sky contains one of the most concentrated sections of the Milky Way, yet is often overlooked due to the abundance of more renowned objects in
Sagittarius to the south. The cluster has an integrated apparent magnitude of 7.5, an angular diameter of approximately 15’, and a Trumpler classification of II2r. This classification indicates that it is detached from the field stars with some degree of central concentration, is comprised of members having a moderate range of brightness, but is rich in the overall number of stars within the cluster. Although it has not been branded with a common nickname, the Dark Stripe Cluster would seem to be a fitting moniker based on the description below.
Finding the location of NGC 6755 is relatively easy. The cluster is just west of the midpoint of a line between δ Aquilae (mag. 3.4) and θ Serpentis (double star, mags. 4.6, 5.0, sep. 22”), and is about 3° west of the latter. The cluster is fairly conspicuous in a 4-inch aperture, revealing a few dozen stars irregularly arranged around the central region. Telescopes of 8” or larger are capable of revealing a much higher degree of detail, including a dark lane that runs roughly east-west through the cluster, dividing it into two regions. The southern portion is larger and brighter. A nearby cluster, NGC 6756 (mag. 10.6, size 4’), is less than one degree to the northwest and is capable of providing a stunning visual contrast in size, shape, and prominence. However, to see both in a single view, a wide-field low power eyepiece is recommended, as it will frame both objects and allow for the most visually pleasant view. Overall, the objects together provide attractive targets and are
a nice diversion from the usual summer observing routine.
Chuck Dezelah
Objects of the Monthwith Chuck Dezelah
Source: STScI Digitized Sky Survey, FoV = 60’
Source: Cartes du Ciel
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Stargate Observatory
Monthly Free Astronomy Open Houseand Star Party
4th Saturday of the month!July 22nd, August 26th, September 23rd
Wolcott Mill Metropark - Camp Rotary entrance
• Sky tours.• Look through several different telescopes.• Get help with your telescope.• We can schedule special presentations and
outings for scouts, student or community groups.
20505 29 Mile Rd (1.8 miles east of Romeo Plank Rd)Ray, MI 4809682° 55’04” West Longitude, 42° 45’29” North Latitude
Observatory Rules:
1. Closing time depends on weather, etc.2. May be closed one hour after opening time if no members arrive within the first hour.3. Contact the 2nd VP for other arrangements, such as late arrival time. Call (586) 634-6240 .4. An alternate person may be appointed to open.5. Members may arrive before or stay after the scheduled open house time.6. Dates are subject to change or cancellation depending on weather or staff availability.7. Postings to the Yahoo Group and/or email no later than 2 hours before starting time in case of date change or cancellation.8. It is best to call or email the 2nd VP at least 2 hours before the posted opening with any questions. Later emails may not be receivable.9. Generally, only strong rain or snow will prevent the open house... the plan is to be there even if it is clouded over. Often, the weather is cloudy, but it clears up as the evening progresses.
Contact: [email protected]
Find us on MeetUp.com
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Stargate ObservatoryOfficer’s Report
June Open-HouseThe June Open-house was another great success; clear skies and great turnout. Jupiter & Saturn were the objects of the night, as well as several Messier objects. Several members set up telescopes on the field including some new members setting up new scopes. We had a few scout troops on-site that came out early in the night. The Big Dob and the observatory had lines all night. Turnout was around 100 people in all. July Open-HouseThe regular Open-house for July is scheduled for Saturday the 22nd, one day before the new moon.We will have a crescent Moon setting just before sunset. Sunset is at 9:03pm with astronomical twilight ending right around 11pm. Please arrive
just after sunset (or sooner if you plan to set up a scope or do solar observing). A friendly reminder to be courteous if you arrive after dark, dim your headlights upon entry to the park, and no white light flashlights please. If you are setting up a large scope or have a lot of equipment to set up then you are permitted to park on the observing field, with your vehicle lights pointed away from the observatory and other telescopes. Observatory updateWe have been told that the Metroparks is working on scheduling the removal of the aging concrete apron around the observatory.
Jeff MacLeodSecond Vice President
W.A.S OutreachOfficer’s Report
Brian Ottum is asking for help again this year at Camp Burt Shurly. He’d like telescopes to observe Jupiter and Saturn on Monday night’s between July 10th and August 7th. If it’s cloudy on Monday, then he’s like to try again on Tuesday. The camp is a bit of a drive, but the kids always seem to enjoy the experience. (And just like that, the July outreach calendar has filled out!)
I have a request for an eclipse lecture for those who are blind or visually impaired by the Macomb Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (MLBPH).
Mark Kedzior continues his laudable tradition of running telescope classes and observing sessions throughout the summer in Grosse Pointe.
Contact [email protected] if you would
like to volunteer to help out with any of these events.
June 2017 St. Peters Elementary in Macomb Twp.6/1/2017- Andelo DiDonato and Bob Berta gave presentations to a 52 students. The session was well received and much appreciated by the teachers. Cub Scout Pack 77 at Stargate6/2/2017 8-11 PM – 40-50 Cubs- Bob Berta Telescope Class + PowerPoint in Grosse Pointe6/14/2017- Mark Kedzior
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Telescope Presentation and Hands-on in Grosse Pointe6/23/2017- Mark Kedzior
Camp Cosmos – Wayne State University Planetarium6/23/2017 10:45 AM– Bob Trembley gave his Asteroids lecture to about 17 teenaged students. Monthly Stargate Open House6/24/2017 July 2017 Telescope Class + PowerPoint in Grosse Pointe7/12/2017- Mark Kedzior Annual W.A.S. Picnic7/15/2017 4:00 PM Camp Burt Shurly7/10/2017 10:00 PM – 11:00 PMContact: Brian D. Ottum [email protected] volunteers Macomb Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (MLBPH)7/11/2017 10:00 AM – 12:00 PMThey want a lecture about the Eclipse for those who are blind or visually impaired. Contact: Barbara Shipman [email protected] volunteers Camp Burt Shurly7/17/2017 10:00 PM – 11:00 PMNEED volunteers Monthly Stargate Open House7/22/2017– Sunset 9:02 PM Camp Burt Shurly7/24/2017 10:00 PM – 11:00 PMNEED volunteers
Telescope Class + PowerPoint in Grosse Pointe
7/26/2017- Mark Kedzior Camp Burt Shurly7/31/2017 10:00 PM – 11:00 PMNEED volunteers August 2017 Eclipse Lecture - Brandon Township Library8/2/2017- Ken Bertin Camp Burt Shurly8/7/2017 10:00 PM – 11:00 PMNEED volunteers Telescope Class + PowerPoint in Grosse Pointe8/9/2017- Mark Kedzior Hobby Day event at Crosswinds Marsh8/12/2017 9:00 AM - 1:00 PMIntroduce the public to astronomy – solar observing, maybe a W.A.S. table.Contact: Jennifer Panek [email protected] volunteers Telescope Class + PowerPoint in Grosse Pointe7/15/2017- Mark Kedzior The Great American Solar Eclipse of 20178/21/2017 Monthly Stargate Open House8/26/2017– Sunset 8:15 PM
Bob TrembleyOutreach
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History SIG Report
July 1979In this issue: “Summer Problems” by Brad Vincent (dealing with dew) and “Nightwatch” by Rik Hill (he relates the experience of
observing a couple super novae, a confirmed one in M100 and another unconfirmed in M101.)
July 1983With the approach of the Great American Solar Eclipse coming, I decided to feature the cover of this issue. The caption reads: “Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the African Eclipse Cruise, Frank McCullough gives a talk at Cranbrook this month.” On to the articles -
“Boötes - Realm of the Doubles” and “Arcturus” have no author listed, but I suspect it is, with the British spellings, Steve Franks. He favoured that usage (or was lifting articles directly from British publications, a possibility we can’t discount). Steve Franks does take credit for this next article: “Reward and Splendor”, where he regales us with a bit of comet chasing adventure. Comet 1983D IRAS Araki-Alcock, to be exact.
Finishing up the issue is “The Calculating Astronomer” by Kenneth Wilson, with a list of formulas to calculate exposure times.
From the Scanning RoomI fired up my desktop publishing software to recreate the ‘90s’ issues with mixed success. While it does make the process somewhat easier (text flow is wonderful!), not knowing the original font used makes an exact match problematic. But close enough for government work, as the saying goes.
Looking at my list, I have five more issues to scan
and process. Then I can proceed on to the next box of items from the Kim Dyer collection.
Dale Thieme,Chief scanner
History S.I.G.by Dale Thieme
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BOARD MEETING
Present: Diane Hall, Mark Kedzior, Jeff MacLeod, Ruth Huellmantel, Joseph Tocco, Robert Trembley, Brian Thieme
Meeting convened at: 6:37 PM
Officer’s reports
President - Diane welcomed the Board but deferred her report to make more time for others.
1st Vice President - Mark reported that the schedule is light on presentations at the Macomb meetings so if you’re inclined to do a presentation please see him soon. Also, the speaker for the December Banquet has been confirmed.
2nd Vice President - Jeff reported that the open-house was a great success and included a Jupiter shadow transit and a large visiting group of girl scouts. Unfortunately there as been little progress to date on Stargate improvements, mostly because of the slow response from the Park management. There is a Summer Solstice event planned for Wolcott Mills and the Park Management is hoping for support from the club with the Observatory and club members. Jeff plans on providing support and will be looking for some assistance.
Treasurer - Ruth summarized the financial standings and included that the Treasury report is in the WASP.
Secretary - Joe noted that the meeting minutes are published in the current issue of the WASP
Outreach - Bob continues to report on lots and lots of scheduled events, all of which is in his report in detail.
Publications - WASP is on-line!
Old Business
Discussion Group - Gary Ross is scheduled to host the July open-house with Ruth and Parker Huelmantel hosting in August. If you’re interested in hosting, please contact any of the Board members.
Club mailer - Diane mentioned that the mailer was stalled temporarily but will be going out to all members.
Stargate - the Lending Library at the Farm Center (Wolcott Mills) has not been established yet; waiting on approval from the Park management.
Website - No progress has been made on the new website due to the heavy outreach commitments.
Picnic - Assignments were discussed and commitments made by various Board members to make sure the picnic runs smoothly. The picnic will still include a garage sale of astronomical equipment from Stargate as well as from other members.
New Business
Board position elections - Diane expressed the importance of finding active members for positions for the upcoming Board election in December.
MOTION: A motion was made by Joseph Tocco to adjourn which was seconded by Jeff MacLoed and approved by all members.
Meeting adjourned at: 7:28 PM
CRANBROOK MEETING
Meeting called to order at 7:32 PM by Diane Hall, President.
62 members present with many visitors.
Jeff MacLeod presented In the News and In the Sky.
Meeting Minutes
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Diane Hall welcomed the visitors and made a general announcements. Board Officer’s Reports were summarized by the respective Officers. Announcements included reminders about the up-coming club picnic and Dob shed/Garage sale, and the Board election with many current officers being term limited.
Special Interest Group reports were giving by those leaders that were present and the upcoming Discussion Group is to be held at Gary Ross’s home in Royal Oak.
Jonathan Kade announced that Astronomical Dues are coming up and encouraged membership to explore the benefits of AL membership.
Observing reports included; Joe Tocco discussed watching the movements of the Moon and Jupiter in relation to their position in the sky over 3 consecutive nights, Bill Beers talked about his recent trip to Arizona for visual observing through the 36” Aggas telescope at the Apache-Sitgreaves Research Center in Overgaard, AZ and Gary Ross, the Great”Red” Spot is BACK!
Ken Bertin gave an extended In the News report in lieu of the evening’s short talk.
The long talk was also given by Ken Bertin, “Great American Solar Eclipse 2017”
Meeting was adjourned at 9:52 PM
MACOMB MEETING
Meeting called to order at 7:30 PM by Diane Hall, President.
26 members present, 2 visitors.
Diane Hall welcomed the visitors and made a general announcements and summarized Officer’s reports.
The presentation was also given by Dave Bailey, “Meteors After Midnight” and “The Eddington Limit”
Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM
Joe ToccoSecretary
Saw a Fireball? Report it to the
American Meteor Society!
www.amsmeteors.org/members/fireball/report-a-fireball
Support the Warren Astronomical Society by shopping at smile.amazon.com
If you're shopping on Amazon, make sure to use Amazon Smile. It costs you nothing and, if you select us as your charity, Amazon will donate 0.5% of every purchase you make to the Warren Astronomical Society.
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Treasurer’s Report
TREASURER REPORT FOR JUNE 30, 2017
MEMBERSHIPWe currently have 88 memberships, of which 40 are Family memberships.
INCOME AND EXPENDITURES (SUMMARY)We took in $1004.11 and spent 325.53. We have $19,066.31 in the bank and $208.41 in cash, totaling $19,704.22.
INCOME 266.54 Memberships/renewals134.53 AL Membership/renewals25.00 Merchandise, (bandanas) 2.73 Donations: General Fund13.37 Donations: WePay Donation21.00 Donations: Paul Strong Scholarship400.00 Astronomy at the Beach56.78 Snacks84.16 Brian Berta Eagle Scout Project
EXPENSES 21.68 Snacks4.85 Snack supplies reimbursment299.00 Transfer UofM donation to GLAAC account
GLAAC REPORT 6/30/2017Beginning Balance: $5,020.80INCOME$299.00 Deposit from WAS for University of Michigan donationEXPENSESNoneEnding Balance: $5,319.80
Ruth HuellmantelTreasurer
Come visit the breathtaking WAS library, located in the scenic rendering-server room at Cranbrook Institute of Science! In our library, you’ll find six shelves of books about:
• Observing every celestial object imaginable;• Using and making telescopes;• Popular and unpopular science;• Science biography, science history, science fiction;• Archives of our fifty-year history;...and other stuff we can’t classify.
To check out a book, you simply have to be a member in good standing. At Cranbrook, see our librarian, Jonathan Kade, at the break. To have a book delivered to Macomb, simply request a book from the library list from Jonathan. Where do you see the list? It doesn’t exist yet! Hassle Jonathan to post it.
The W.A.S. Library
Club Members
Email [email protected] your personalized name tag
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The Warren Astronomical Society is a Proud Member of the Great Lakes Association of Astronomy Clubs (GLAAC)
GLAAC is an association of amateur astronomy clubs in Southeastern Michigan who have banded together to provide enjoyable, family-oriented activities that focus on astronomy and space sciences.
GLAAC Club and Society Newsletters
GLAAC Club and Society Meeting Times
WAS Member Websites
Club Name & Website City Meeting Times
Astronomy Club at Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti/EMU Every Thursday at 7:30PM in 402 Sherzer
Capital Area Astronomy Club MSU/Abrams Planetarium First Wednesday of each month 7:30 PM
Farmington Community Stargazers Farmington Hills Members: Last Tuesday of the month Public observing: 2nd Tuesday of the month
Ford Amateur Astronomy Club Dearborn Fourth Thursday of every month (except November and December) at 5:30 PM
Oakland Astronomy Club Rochester Second Sunday of every month (except May)
Seven Ponds Astronomy Club Dryden Monthly, see club website for times
Sunset Astronomical Society Bay City Second Friday of every month
University Lowbrow Astronomers Ann Arbor Third Friday of every month
Warren Astronomical Society Bloomfield Hills/ Cranbrook & Warren/MCC First Monday & third Thursday of every month 7:30 PM
Warren Astronomical Society:Oakland Astronomy Club:Ford Amateur Astronomy Club:Sunset Astronomical Society:University Lowbrow Astronomers:
Jon Blum: MauiHawaii.orgBob Trembley: Balrog’s LairBill Beers: Sirius Astro Products
Jon Blum: Astronomy at JonRosieBob Trembley: Vatican Observatory Foundation BlogJeff MacLeod: A Life Of Entropy
http://www.warrenastro.org/was/newsletter/http://oaklandastronomy.net/newsletters/oacnews.htmlhttp://www.fordastronomyclub.com/starstuff/index.htmlhttp://www.sunsetastronomicalsociety.com/SASNewsletters.htmhttp://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/reflections/
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For Young AstronomersNASASpacePlaceAstronomyClubArticle June2017
This article is provided by NASA Space Place. With articles, activities, crafts, games, and lesson plans, NASA Space Place encourages everyone to get excited about science and technology. Visit spaceplace.nasa.gov to explore space and Earth science!
The Shape of the Solar System By Marcus Woo
When Stamatios (Tom) Krimigis was selected for the Voyager mission in 1971, he became the team's youngest principal investigator of an instrument, responsible for the Low Energy Charged Particles (LECP) instrument. It would measure the ions coursing around and between the planets, as well as those beyond. Little did he know, though, that more than 40 years later, both Voyager 1 and 2 still would be speeding through space, continuing to literally reshape our view of the solar system. The solar system is enclosed in a vast bubble, carved out by the solar wind blowing against the gas of the interstellar medium. For more than half a century, scientists thought that as the sun moved through the galaxy, the interstellar medium would push back on the heliosphere, elongating the bubble and giving it a pointy, comet-like tail similar to the magnetospheres—bubbles formed by magnetic fields—surrounding Earth and most of the other planets "We in the heliophysics community have lived with this picture for 55 years," said Krimigis, of The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. "And we did that because we didn't have any data. It was all theory." But now, he and his colleagues have the data. New measurements from Voyager and the Cassini spacecraft suggest that the bubble isn't pointy after all. It's spherical. Their analysis relies on measuring high-speed particles from the heliosphere boundary. There, the heated ions from the solar wind can strike neutral atoms coming from the interstellar medium and snatch away an electron. Those ions become neutral atoms, and ricochet back toward the sun and the planets, uninhibited by the interplanetary magnetic field. Voyager is now at the edge of the heliosphere, where its LECP instrument can detect those solar-wind ions. The researchers found that the number of measured ions rise and fall with increased and decreased solar activity, matching the 11-year solar cycle, showing that the particles are indeed originating from the sun. Meanwhile, Cassini, which launched 20 years after Voyager in 1997, has been measuring those neutral atoms bouncing back, using another instrument led by Krimigis, the Magnetosphere Imaging Instrument (MIMI). Between 2003 and 2014, the number of
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NASASpacePlaceAstronomyClubArticle June2017
measured atoms soared and dropped in the same way as the ions, revealing that the latter begat the former. The neutral atoms must therefore come from the edge of the heliosphere. If the heliosphere were comet-shaped, atoms from the tail would take longer to arrive at MIMI than those from the head. But the measurements from MIMI, which can detect incoming atoms from all directions, were the same everywhere. This suggests the distance to the heliosphere is the same every which way. The heliosphere, then, must be round, upending most scientists' prior assumptions. It's a discovery more than four decades in the making. As Cassini ends its mission this year, the Voyager spacecraft will continue blazing through interstellar space, their remarkable longevity having been essential for revealing the heliosphere's shape. "Without them," Krimigis says, "we wouldn't be able to do any of this." To teach kids about the Voyager mission, visit the NASA Space Place: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/voyager-to-planets
Caption: New data from NASA’s Cassini and Voyager show that the heliosphere — the bubble of the sun’s magnetic influence that surrounds the solar system — may be much more compact and rounded than previously thought. The image on the left shows a compact model of the heliosphere, supported by this latest data, while the image on the right shows an alternate model with an extended tail. The main difference is the new model’s lack of a trailing, comet-like tail on one side of the heliosphere. This tail is shown in the old model in light blue. Image credits: Dialynas, et al. (left); NASA (right)
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For Sale
For sale: Handmade reflector and equatorial mountI have a 6 inch reflector telescope that my father made in his spare time while raising and family and doing all the stuff a father does. He made his own mirror, tube, gearing and other details necessary to couple the scope to a precision motor to drive the scope. Note the timing marks on the assembly as shown in one of the photos. My father was a tool maker by profession and found the time to make this telescope.
I also have a 10 inch telescope mirror that he received from Polaris Telescope store which was on Michigan Ave. in Dearborn and relocated to Arizona sometime in the late 1970’s. He had plans to make a 10 inch scope but never got the time to design and make the scope.
I am selling the telescope as shown in the pictures and the 10 inch mirror . If there is any interest that your organization or members have in either of these items I can be reached via my email address [email protected].
Dan
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For Sale
For sale: Fiberglass DomeI have a 6 foot diameter figerglass dome that I would like to sell. I am only asking $250. I live in the Oxford area. I can be contacted either by e-mail at [email protected], or by cell. My number is 248-802-0408.
Chuck Ward
Seven Ponds Open InvitationWAS members are invited to The Seven Ponds Astronomy Club monthly meetings.
More information about upcoming meetings, maps to Seven Ponds Nature Center, etc. are available at http://www.sevenpondsac.com
Please let John Lines know if you might attend so that appropriate plans can be made: (248) 969-2790, or [email protected]