Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Sky Guide - Beginner's targets for November The Milky Way arches overhead passing through Cassiopeia and Perseus. The Summer Triangle reluctantly departs in the west, but the Square in Pegasus is still high in the south-west. Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus the bull and the yellow Capella stand prominently in the south-east, followed by Gemini and Orion which signal the approach of winter. November Meteors Two meteor showers can be seen this month, the Taurids and Leonids. The Taurids has an extended maximum that lasts for several days either side of November 12th when about 5 meteors an hour may be seen coming from the region near the Haydes and Pliades clusters. The Leonid shower can show up to 15 meteors an hour and peaks around November 17th. Radiating from the constellation Leo. Unfortunatly this year the moon will ruin both shows this year. Telescope Targets High in the sky this month is the hexagonal shape of Auriga representing a man driving a chariot. The identity of Auruga is somewhat shadowy, He is usually said to be Erichthonius, a lame king of Athens who invented the four-horse chariot. These is no mistaking the constellation’s brightest star, Alpha (α) Aurigae, better known as
Issue 48 - November, 2013
Capella and is the sixth-brightest star in the sky. Its name comes from the Latin meaning “little shegoat”, and the charioteer has traditionally be depicted carrying a goat on his left shoulder. Capella is actually a pair of yellow giants forming a spectrospic binary, 42 light years away. The stars Eta (η) Aurigae and Zete (ζ) Aurigae are know as the kids, the goats offspring, carried on the charioteer’s arm. Zeta (ζ) Aurigae is one of two extraordinary eclipsing binary stars in the this constellation. It consists of an orange giant some 150 times larger than the Sun, orbited by a much smaller blue-white star, about four times the diameter of our Sun. Normal Zeta (ζ) Aurigae shines at magnitude 3.7, but every 2 years and 8 months the small star is eclipsed by the red giant and the brightness falls by a third over a six week period. Even more extraordinary is Epsilon (ε) Aurigae, which has the longest known period of any eclipsing binary of 27 years. The main star is an intensely luminous white supergiant shining with the light of over 100,000 Suns and large enough to contain the orbit of the Earth and lies about 2,000 light years away. Auriga is notable for an impressive trio of star clusters, M36, M37 and M38, all three being visible in the same field
Club Notes Club Observing: The club meets every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month for our observing sessions held in the MAC grounds. If you wish to be informed of these sessions please email your name and mobile number to midlandsastronomy@gmail.com who will confirm if the session is going ahead (depending on weather).
Above: Auriga has many open clusters and other objects because the Milky Way runs through it. The three brightest open clusters are M36, M37 and M38, all of which are visible in binoculars or a small telescope in suburban skies. The clusters are about 4100, 4400, and 4200 light years distant, respectively. of view through a wide-angle binoculars. In binoculars they appear as fuzzy patches, but small telescopes resolve them into individual stars. Each cluster has its own distinct character. M36 is the smallest and most condensed of the trio, consisting of 60 or so stars lying 3,900 light years away. In binoculars it appears the most prominent of the Auriga clusters. The largest and richest of the Auriga clusters is M37, containing about 150 stars and is 4,200 light years away. At its centre is a brighter orange star. The most scattered of the clusters is M38, containing about 100 faint stars,
3,900 light years away. Comets C/2012 S1 (ISON) reaches perihelion on the 28th with it expected to peak at mag-4. Current estimates have the comet at mag +10. It starts the month in Leo, heads through Virgo and reaches Libra by month’s end. Beyond the 20th, caution should be taken in trying to observe it as it will be getting very close to the sun. Well, that's about it for November, clear skies and happy hunting. By Kevin Daly
http://members.aol.com/kdaly10475/index.htm
Three open clusters in Auriga, M37 (lower left), M36 (right of centre), and M38 (upper right). by Alexander Jäger
Latest Astronomy and Space News Club News Kids Astronomy Quizzes and Games
MAC is a proud member of
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine MAC meets on the first Tuesday of the month in the Presbyterian Hall, High Street, Tullamore from 8pm.
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A crash course on Comet ISON
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Giant fragment of Chelyabinsk meteorite lifted from Russian lake
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A crash put Pluto’s moons into odd orbits
Club News 9.
Club News
Kids Section 10.
Kids Korner
Quizzes and Games Front cover image: For reasons unknown, NGC 6357 is forming some of the most massive stars ever discovered. One such massive star, near the center of NGC 6357, is framed above carving out its own interstellar castle with its energetic light from surrounding gas and dust. In the greater nebula, the intricate patterns are caused by complex interactions between interstellar winds, radiation pressures, magnetic fields, and gravity. The overall glow of the nebula results from the emission of light from ionized hydrogen gas. The central part of NGC 6357 shown spans about 10 light years and lies about 8,000 light years away near the constellation of the Scorpion. Credit & Copyright: NASA, ESA and J. Maiz Apellániz (IAA, Spain)
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Exercise your brain
Monthly Sky Guide 12.
Beginners guide for this month
Internet Highlights 13.
Special content only available with the online version of the magazine.
Question 2 Astronomers announced in July 2013 that they had discovered the largest ever example of something tucked away in a stellar nursery. What was it? • Dog star • Baby star • Black hole • Little star Question 3 Which southern sky constellation contains the beta star Miaplacidus? • Centaurus • Andromeda • Southern Cross • Carina Question 4 The biggest star on record in 2010 was discovered in a neighbouring galaxy, in a region of space known as what? • Scorpion nebula • Tarantula nebula • Hornet nebula • Busybee nebula Question 5 In 1930, Edwin Hubble put forth a theory about the universe that became known as what? • E=mc squared • Hubble's Theory • Hubble's Law • Universe With No End
Question 7 Which constellation would the star Sirius be found in? • Canis Minor • Canis Canis • Canis Junior • Canis Major Question 8 A prediction has been made that the Milky Way galaxy will collide with another galaxy sometime in the future. Can you name the other galaxy? • Fornax Dwarf galaxy • Ursa Major • Barnard's galaxy • Andromeda galaxy Question 9 What is a variable star? • A star that changes size • A star which can only be seen at certain times of the year • A star that changes color • A star that changes brightness Question 10 And now, for some of us, the most famous star of all - "The Star of Bethlehem" is thought by some to be an appearance of which solar system body? • Hale-Bopp • Ganymede • Miranda • Halley's Comet Confused??? Check your answers on this page.
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up with a theory that explained his observations as a result of the expansion of the universe.
Strange Super-Earth planet has "plasma" water atmosphere
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Answer 1: The correct answer was SN1572. Tycho's Supernova, otherwise known as "SN1572", appeared on 11th November 1572 while he was at Herrevad Abbey.
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Answer 6: The correct answer was Elenin. Scientists always knew that Elenin was really a puny comet that disintegrated and never even got close enough for us to see without a telescope.
Astronomers left baffled by an ‘impossible’ planet
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Answer 2: The correct answer was Baby star. A baby star (protostar), has been discovered more than 10,000 light-years away! In the distant future the swirling clouds will fuse within the star creating a sun more than a million times brighter than our Sol.
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Answer 7: The correct answer was Canis Major. Commonly known as the "dog star", and the origin of the term "dog days of Summer" Sirius is found in the constellation of Canis Major.
10-year-old discovers a 600 million year-old supernova
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Answer 8: The correct answer was Andromeda galaxy. Observations have predicted that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will collide in approximately four billion years' time.
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Answer 3: The correct answer was Carina. The Carina constellation is home to Miaplacidus which is the 29th brightest star in the sky. The constellation also contains the major star, Canopus, which is the second brightest star in the night sky.
Jupiter and Saturn may be rich in Diamonds
Question 6 The comet is coming! The comet is coming! You might have heard these words in 2011 when a certain comet led to predictions of disasters on Earth and other planets. What was the comet's name? • Hale-Bopp • The Mayan • Isom • Elenin
Answer 9: The correct answer was A star that changes brightness. A variable star actually changes its brightness on a cycle over time.
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Question 1 Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer, discovered a new supernova, which has since been known as "Tycho's Supernova". By which other name is it known? • Cassiopeia • SN1572 • Tycho's Brightstar • Stella Nova
Answer 4: The correct answer was Tarantula nebula. The star, known as R136a1, is enormous, approximately 265 times the size of our Sun and more than 165,000 light-years from the Earth.
You can see more about the club and its events on www.midlandsastronomy.com or contact the club via e-mail at midlandsastronomy@gmail.com Meetings are informal and are aimed at a level to suit all ages.
Neptune's "Lost Moon" Observed for 1st Time
Answer 10: The correct answer was Halley's Comet. Many theories have been put forth, but some say that the star could have been Halley's Comet.
All are welcome to attend. MAC also holds infrequent Observing Nights at it's Observing Site in Clonminch, or at a member's house (weather permitting) on the first Saturday of every month.
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Answer 5: The correct answer was Hubble's Law. Hubble, in 1930, came
Latest Astronomy and Space News
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Kid's Korner
Why is the Sky Blue? It is easy to see that the sky is blue. Have you ever wondered why? A lot of other smart people have, and it took a long time to figure it out!
The light from the Sun looks white. But it is really made up of all the colours of the rainbow. A prism is a specially shaped crystal. When white light shines through a prism, the light is separated into all its colours. The light you see is just one tiny bit of all the kinds of light energy beaming around the Universe--and around you!
As the sunlight has passed through all this air, the air molecules have scattered and rescattered the blue light many times in many Like energy passing through the ocean, light energy travels in waves, directions. too. Some light travels in short, "choppy" waves. Other light travels Also, the surface of Earth has in long, lazy waves. Blue light waves reflected and scattered the light. All this scattering mixes the are shorter than red light waves. colours together again so we see more white and less blue. All light travels in a straight line unless something gets in the way What Makes a Red Sunset? to: As the Sun gets lower in the sky, its light is passing through more of · reflect it (like a mirror) · bend it (like a prism) · or scatter it (like molecules of the gases in the atmosphere) Sunlight reaches Earth's atmosphere and is scattered in all directions by all the gases and particles in the air. Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth's atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colours because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time. Closer to the horizon, the sky fades to a lighter blue or white. The sunlight reaching us from low in the sky has passed through even more
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air than the sunlight reaching us from overhead.
the atmosphere to reach you. Even more of the blue light is scattered, allowing the reds and yellows to pass straight through to your eyes. Sometimes the whole western sky seems to glow. The sky appears red because larger particles of dust, pollution, and water vapor in the atmosphere reflect and scatter more of the reds and yellows. Why Does Light Scattering Matter? How much of the Sun's light gets bounced around in Earth's atmosphere and how much gets reflected back into space? How much light gets soaked up by land and water, asphalt freeways and sunburned surfers? How much light do water and clouds reflect back into space? And why do we care? Sunlight carries the energy that heats Earth and powers all life on Earth. Our climate is affected by how sunlight is scattered by forests, deserts, snow- and icecovered surfaces, different types of clouds, smoke from forest fires, and other pollutants in the air.
Neptune's "Lost Moon" Observed for 1st Time Neptune’s tiny, innermost moon, Naiad, has now been seen for the first time since it was discovered by Voyager’s cameras in 1989. Dr. Mark Showalter, a senior research scientist at the SETI Institute announced the result at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. He and collaborators Dr. Jack Lissauer of the NASA, Dr. Imke de Pater of UC Berkeley, and Robert French of the SETI Institute, also released a dramatic new image of Neptune’s puzzling rings and ringarcs, which were first imaged by Voyager. From Earth, Neptune is 2 million times brighter than Naiad, and the two are separated by only one arcsecond. “This is equivalent to the width of a human hair from 50 feet away,” noted collaborator Lissauer. The team of astronomers needed to develop new techniques to suppress Neptune’s glare. Naiad was finally revealed, moving across a sequence of eight images taken during December 2004.
Strangely, Naiad appears to have veered significantly off course. The astronomers are puzzled by the fact that Naiad is now far ahead of its predicted orbital position. They wonder whether gravitational interactions with one of Neptune’s other moons may have caused it to speed up, although the details remain mysterious. In addition to its moons, Neptune hosts a family faint rings and ringarcs. The arcs have been changing slowly in the years since their discovery.Voyager saw a set of four closely-spaced arcs but the leading two arcs have been fading away, and are completely absent from the newest images. The trailing arcs, however, are essentially unchanged. This system of arcs is probably confined by the gravitational effects of the nearby moon Galatea, but the reason for the long-term changes is unknown.
Jupiter and Saturn may be rich in Diamonds According to new research, there may be an abundance of these precious gemstones swirling about in the skies of our solar system’s giant planets. Recent data compiled by planetary scientists Mona L. Delitsky and Kevin H. Baines has been
combined with newly published pressure temperature diagrams of Jupiter and Saturn. These diagrams,
Above: The innermost moons of Neptune, including the newly recovered Naiad and the as of yet unnamed S/2004 N1. A recent image of Neptune has been added. Showalter and his collaborators had previously announced the discovery of a tiny moon of Neptune in July. That moon, which is no more than 20 km (12 miles) across, goes by the provisional designation “S/2004 N 1”. The new results reported today are based on further analysis of the same images, which were all obtained by Hubble between 2004 and 2009. Although 100-km Naiad is much larger than the moon announced in July, it orbits much closer to
Neptune and so has proven to be much harder to detect.
known as adiabats, allow researchers to decipher at what interior level that diamond would become stable. They also allow for calculations at lower levels – regions where both temperature and pressure are so concentrated that diamond becomes a liquid. Imagine diamond rain… or rivulets of pure gemstone.
towards the planet’s core to be eventually “pressure cooked” into a liquid state.
Through the use of shockwave techniques, researchers have been provided with set boundaries for the various states of carbon. From these findings, you would be amazed at the chain of events at what might make diamonds occur. According to Delitsky and Baines, carbon could be generated as soot or graphite from a lightning strike. Since lightning is normal during Saturn’s many huge electrical storms, it stands to reason this elemental carbon would descend to a lower atmospheric level to be compressed into solid diamonds. It would then further descend
“It is always exciting to find new results in old data," Showalter remarked. "We keep discovering new ways to push the limit of what information can be gleaned from Hubble's vast collection of planetary images.” www.dailygalaxy.com
While the idea of diamonds at the heart of planets like Uranus and Neptune has been known for at least three decades, planetary scientists have been hesitant to include Jupiter and Saturn, concluding they were either too cool, too hot, or otherwise not suitable for the production of solid diamonds. Just as Jupiter and Saturn are much warmer at their cores, Uranus and Neptune are much too cold to sustain diamonds in a liquid state. However, thanks to the latest data, researchers are confident that deep inside Saturn there may be diamonds so large that they could be referred to as “diamondbergs”! www.universetoday.com
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
10-year-old discovers a 600 million year-old supernova Young Canadian Nathan Gray, age 10, has discovered a supernova candidate in the field of the galaxy designated PGC 61330, which lies in the constellation of Draco (the dragon). Nathan made the discovery while scanning astronomical images taken by Dave Lane, who runs the Abbey Ridge Observatory (ARO)
which is stationed in Nova Scotia. Incidentally, Nathan may unseat his older sister, Kathryn Aurora Gray, as the youngest supernova
discoverer by a mere 33 days. Nothing is visible at the location of the supernova candidate in prior images of the field taken over the past two years, or Digitized Palomar Sky Survey images. Supernova are immense explosions linked to the evolutionary end-state of certain stars. The explosions are so energetic that they can be observed in distant galaxies. Indeed, Nathan’s supernova could
be some 600 million light years distant. Gazing into space affords humanity the opportunity to peer back in time. Despite the (finite) speed of light being a remarkable 300000 km/s, the light-rays must travel over “astronomical” distances. There are several different classes of supernovae. For example, Type II supernovae are associated with larger mass stars. The Sun will not terminate as a supernova, but may potentially evolve into a standard (or not) planetary nebula. Nathan’s discovery has been posted on the International Astronomical Union’s site, and its presence confirmed by US and Italian-based observers. Its provisional name is: PSN J18032459+7013306, and to get an official supernova designation a large telescope needs to confirm the unique supernova light signature (via a spectrum).
Above: Canadian Nathan Gray (right) is likely the youngest person to discover a supernova. The supernova candidate (left) is probably located some 600 million light-years away (image from the ARO–Dave Lane). Follow-up observations will soon be acquired to confirm the supernova’s class and nature.
Astronomers left baffled by an ‘impossible’ planet A newly-discovered, Earth-like planet has left astronomers mystified because they don’t understand how it can possibly exist.The planet, labelled Kepler-78b, is rocky like our own world, is of similar size and orbits a star that is much like the Sun. But it is far too hot for life. That is because Kepler-78b zips round its own sun so closely, at a distance of less than 1.6 million km, that the surface rocks will be made of molten lava. The mystery is that they cannot explain how it got to be so close to the star which must have been bigger in its early days. It cannot have formed in its present orbit, where a “year” lasts just eight and a half hours, as it would have been inside the star. However, if the planet formed further away and migrated closer in, they would expect it to have been swallowed up by the star already. The astronomers do know, however, that the planet is living on borrowed time and will be ripped apart by the star’s gravity
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relatively soon on an astronomical timescale.
speaking. It couldn’t have formed in place because you can’t form a planet inside a star. It couldn’t have formed further out and migrated inward, because it would have migrated all the way into the star. This planet is an enigma.” Dr Chris Watson, of Queen’s University Belfast said: “This result showcases the tremendous progress in this field, both in terms
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of advancing technology and developing innovative techniques. Just 5 years ago this work would have been impossible, and as we probe deeper and deeper what we are finding is that science fact is weirder than science fiction – the planet Kepler-78b certainly fits this bill. www.skymania.com
It was first detected 400 lightyears away in the constellation of Cygnus. Using powerful telescopes astronomers discovered that Kepler-78b is only 20 per cent larger than the Earth with a diameter of 14,800 km and weighs nearly twice as much. “This planet is a complete mystery, we don’t know how it formed or how it got to where it is today. What we do know is that it’s not going to last forever.” says astronomer David Latham. Colleague Dimitar Sasselov said: “Kepler-78b is going to end up in the star very soon, astronomically
Recent Events “Comet ISON: Comet of the Century?”
Last month our Secretary and IFAS Chairman Seanie Morris gave us a very interesting and enjoyable talk on comet ISON. FOr those that might have missed the talk, everything you ever wanted to know about it can be seen on the centre page spread of this months magazine and on this page.You'll be hearing lots more about comet ISON over the next few months when it "should" be easier for us to see in Ireland.
Also on view will be Comet C/2013 R1 Lovejoy. Lovejoy and ISON will be quite close in comet terms, visually, in the night sky at the beginning of November too. Got an article to share in Réalta? Our editor, John Lally, is always looking for new material to go into these pages. Your observing report, astrophoto, article, or even an astronomical experience that would make others smile, is most welcome. Contact midlandsastronomy@gmail.com for tips and guidelines (if necessary) for article writing and to also submit your piece.
Upcoming Club Events October 1st: “Comet ISON: Comet of the Century?”, Speaker Seanie Morris, MAC Secretary. November 5th: “Photographing The Night Sky”, Speaker Dave Connolly, MAC PRO. December 3rd: “Mini Astronomy Expo”, This will be confirmed later, but the committee are currently talking about a planned Astronomy Expo Night ahead of Christmas with information and advice on all aspects of Astronomy, especially telescopes. More details late. All our lecture nights take place on the 1st Tuesday of the month in the Presbyterian Hall, High Street in Tullamore. They start at 8pm, admission is only €2 that includes the latest Réalta and that month’s SkyMaps. Lectures are aimed at all levels of interest. Got an Astronomy lecture suggestion? Email us at midlandsastronomy@gmail.com or get in touch with any committee member. Science Week November 10th-17th This is a nationwide calendar marker every November to give science a big push in Ireland! Schools, colleges, clubs and interest groups are all invited to do something to mark the occasion. Science Week is a Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) project. DSE initiatives are managed by Science Foundation Ireland on behalf of the Office of Science, Technology and Innovation at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. In addition to MAC’s November lecture, we plan to host an extra event to be confirmed.
Keep an eye out for...
Above: An artist’s impression of planet Kepler-78b close to its home star.
Comet ISON: Also known as Comet Nevski–Novichonok, is a sungrazing comet discovered on 21 September 2012 by Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok using the 0.4-meter (16 in) reflector of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) near Kislovodsk, Russia. This was tipped to be a spectacular comet because of its close pass to Earth, which will be 64million km on December 26th. It passes within 10.8million km of Mars on October 1st. From our perspective, it is a telescopic object at present, and is next to Mars in Leo for much of October, but you will have to get up very early to see it, and with a telescope. It is hoped that by the end of the 1st week of November that it will be a naked eye comet before its November 28th perihelion (closest) pass to the Sun (and in its glare).
Above: A photo from club member and PRO Dave Connelly, this photo was recently used by TV3 during the weather report. Well done Dave
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Giant fragment of Chelyabinsk meteorite lifted from Russian lake
Strange Super-Earth planet has "plasma" water atmosphere A nearby alien planet six times the size of the Earth is covered with a water-rich atmosphere that includes a strange "plasma form" of water, scientists say.
On October 15, a giant fragment of the meteorite that hit Russia on February 15 was lifted from the bottom of Lake Chebarkul in the Russian Urals Mountains. The fragment weighing about 570 kg. (1,257 lb.) proved so heavy that even the weighing machine broke, making it impossible to measure the exact weight.
a fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite. In all probability, it will rank among the top ten largest meteorites ever found,” the scientist said.
Sergei Zamozdra, a professor of the Chelyabinsk State University, confirmed the meteorite nature of the rock.
The meteorite that later came to be known as ‘Chelyabinsk Meteorite”, hit the earth, specifically Lake Chebarkul in the Chelyabinsk Region, on February 15th this year. The chemical analysis of the fragments that have
“Some peculiarities characteristic of stone meteorites prove that it’s
Above: Divers display the large fragment of the meteorite for the press. been recovered thus far has proved that this is ordinary LL5 chondrite, one of the types of stony meteorites. The biggest fragment is believed to remain on
the bottom of Lake Chebarkul. www.earthsky.org
A crash put Pluto’s moons into odd orbits
Astronomers have determined that the atmosphere of superEarth Gliese 1214 b is likely waterrich. However, this exoplanet is no Earth twin. The high temperature and density of the planet give it an atmosphere that differs dramatically from Earth. As the temperature and pressure are so high, water is not in a usual form (vapor, liquid, or solid), but in an ionic or plasma form at the bottom the atmosphere — namely the interior — of Gliese 1214 b. Using two instruments on the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, scientists studied the scattering of
light from the planet. Combining their results with previous observations led the astronomers to conclude that the atmosphere contained significant amounts of water. Located 40 light-years from the solar system in the constellation Ophiuchus, the planet orbits its cooler, low-mass M-type star once every 38 hours, 70 times closer than Earth is to the sun. Its close proximity means that its temperatures reach up to 280 degrees Celsius. Six times as massive as Earth, Gliese 1214 b is less than three times as wide,
A smash-up that created Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, likely sprayed debris four billion years ago that formed the genesis of the other moons scientists are spotting today, a new study concludes. The find could explain why the satellites Styx, Nix, Kereberos and Hydra have orbital periods that are, respectively, just about exactly 3, 4, 5 and 6 times longer than Charon’s, scientists said. “Any initially surviving satellites would likely be destroyed in collisions, but these shattered moons wouldn’t be lost; rather, their remains would stay in the Pluto/Charon system and become the starting point for building new satellites,” stated the Southwest
Research Institute (SWRI), which led the study. “In modeling the destruction of the satellites, the SWRI study found that there may be a method for moving them, or their building blocks, outward, due to the competing effects of Charon’s gravitational kicks and collisions among the debris of the disrupted satellites.”
Available free each month, Skymaps.com offers you an evening sky map suitable for all stargazers and will help you:
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• identify planets, stars and major constellations. • find sparkling star clusters, wispy nebulae and distant galaxies.
Available free each month, Skymaps.com offers you an evening sky map suitable for all stargazers and will help you: • identify planets, stars and major constellations. • find sparkling star clusters, wispy nebulae and distant galaxies. • locate and follow bright comets across the sky. • learn about the night sky and astronomy.
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Above: This photo of the ISS came from club member Michael O'Connell he says "I used TheSkyX to track the ISS. I downloaded the latest satellite data just before starting this attempt. The software that came with the camera was used to record a series of video clips. The videos were then analysed in Autostakkert2 and final processing down in PS CS6."
Above: Artist’s rendition of the relationship between the composition of • locate and follow the atmosphere andbright transmitted colors of light of an alien planet. Top: If comets across the sky. the sky has a clear, upward-extended, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, • learn about the night sky Rayleigh scattering disperses a large portion of the blue light from the and astronomy. atmosphere of the host while it scatters less of the red light. As a result, a transit in blue light becomes deeper than the one in red light. Middle: If the sky has a less extended water-rich atmosphere, the effect of the Rayleigh scattering is much weaker than in a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. In this case, transits in all colors have almost the same transit depths. Bottom: If the sky has extensive clouds, most of the light cannot be transmitted through the atmosphere.
Above: An artist's rendition of Gliese 1214 b traveling in front of its star, shown in blue light. falling between the Earth and the solar system's ice giants Uranus and Neptune in size. The high temperatures of the planet may affect the hydrogen and carbon chemistry, which could produce a haze in the atmosphere. But determining if the weather is clear or perpetually overcast on Gliese 1214 b would be difficult, as differences in the two atmospheres are small. At high pressure and high temperature, the behavior of water is quite different from that on the Earth. At the bottom of the water-rich atmosphere of Gliese 1214 b, water should be a super-critical fluid. Unlike terrestrial planets, the super-Earth doesn't have a solid surface, making the height of the atmosphere difficult to define. Instead, atmospheric scientists introduce a concept called the scale height, a height determined by changes in the increase or decrease of atmospheric pressure by a set amount. On Earth, the scale height is about 10 kilometers, while on Gliese 1214 b it is three times deeper. Originally discovered in by the MEarth Project, which tracks more than 2,000 low-mass stars in search of planets, Gliese 1214 b
was confirmed by the European Space Agency's High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher in Chile. As a planet travels across the face of its star, or transits, it blocks the star's light slightly, allowing scientists to determine characteristics about it based on how much the light dims. Though water is often considered a necessary ingredient for life by scientists, Narita doesn't think that the super-Earth will be promising due to its close orbit, which lies within the star's habitable zone, the region where liquid water can exist. Although water vapor can exist in the atmosphere, liquid water — namely oceans — would not exist on the surface of this planet, so unfortunately, we do not think this planet would be habitable. The scientific team intends to continue studying the planet with spectroscopic observations in the visible wavelength, and anticipates that other astronomers will follow. www.space.com
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
A crash course on Comet ISON Comet ISON is on the way. It might be extraordinarily bright. It might be a dud. It’ll likely be somewhere in between. This visitor from the outer solar system will brighten through October and November on its way to graze the Sun on November 28. If the comet survives its close encounter with the Sun, it may grow spectacularly bright in the eastern sky before sunrise during December for northern-hemisphere observers. Here’s a crash course on Comet ISON, along with a few tips of how and when to see it… Where did Comet ISON come from? Comet ISON likely came from the distant Oort Cloud, a spherical shell of comets far beyond the
a large distance, but it’s less than the Sun’s diameter and 50x closer than the average distance between the Sun and the planet Mercury.
Above: Hubble Space Telescope view of Comet ISON on April 30, 2013.
orbit of Neptune and Pluto. Thousands of years ago, it was likely nudged towards the Sun when it interacted with another comet in the Oort Cloud. It has been moving towards the inner solar system ever since. What’s so special about Comet ISON? Comet ISON is a “sungrazer”, which means its orbital path will take it very close to the visible surface of the Sun. On November 28, 2013, the comet will pass within 1,100,000 km of the visible surface of the Sun. That seems like
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Because it will get so close to the Sun, Comet ISON may grow very bright and feature a brilliant coma (head) and a long tail during the late days of November and through mid December. It may grow as bright as Comet McNaught in 2007, or even as bright as Comet Ikeya-Seki in 1965, the brightest comet of the 20th century.
When was Comet ISON discovered? The comet was first observed on September 21, 2012 on digital images taken with the Santel reflector telescope of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). Who discovered Comet ISON? The comet was first seen by astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok in four 100-s CCD images made with the 0.4-m f/3 Santel reflector of the
International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) near Kislovodsk, Russia.
That’s more than 160 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Where did Comet ISON get its name? Because its discoverers did not actually notice ISON was a comet when they first saw it, the comet is named after the telescope network used to find it.
Will Comet ISON hit the Sun? The comet is not expected to hit the Sun. But it will pass very close to the visible surface of the Sun. On November 28, 2013 the comet will pass within 1,100,000 km of the visible surface of the Sun. It will not hit the Sun, but the heat and radiation from the Sun will turn the outer layers of this “dirty snowball” into a boiling, steaming cauldron, causing the comet to grow very bright as it flies over the surface of the Sun at 684,000 km/h. In these harsh conditions, it’s possible the comet will break up and boil away, never to be seen again. Or it may hold together as swing around the far side of the Sun and remain immensely bright. No one knows for sure.
The official name for Comet ISON according to the conventions of the International Astronomical Union is C/2012 S1. The “C” means it is non-periodic (so it will not return to the inner solar system). The date means it was discovered in 2012. The “S1″ means it was the first comet discovered in the second half of September in that year. The comet is properly called C/2012 S1 (ISON), which distinguishes it from other comets discovered with the ISON network. Will Comet ISON hit Earth? It will not. Astronomers use very precise calculations using wellknown physical laws to calculate the paths of comets and other celestial bodies. They know very accurately the path the comet will follow. The comet will not hit Earth or even come close. At its closest approach to our planet, which happens on December 26, 2013, the comet will lie about 62.4 million kilometers from Earth.
Is Comet ISON a U.F.O? Uh, no. Some reports have surfaced that Comet ISON has actually split into three pieces, two of which are spacecraft escorting the comet to the inner solar system. These reports, and others like them, are total rubbish. It's just a comet. End of story.
Do I Need a Telescope to See Comet ISON? You will need a telescope to see the comet in October and likely most of November. It may grow bright enough to see with binoculars or possibly without optics in mid-to late November. If it survives its encounter with the Sun, it may grow bright enough to see clearly without optical aid in
November 28, it may grow very bright but will lie too close to the Sun to see from Earth. As it moves away from the Sun (and if it survives the encounter), it may grow very bright and remain visible for most of December and much of January 2014. What will Comet ISON look like at its brightest?
Above: Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) from Nov. 1, 2013 to Jan. 11, 2014. Image credit: Virtual Telescope Project). December. When is the best time to see the comet? Starting in mid-November, the comet may grow bright enough to see without optics. On November 18, the comet passes very close (just 0.4º) north of the bright white star Spica in the early morning sky, presenting a great opportunity to see the comet with binoculars or, if it brightens enough, without optics. When the comet passes around the Sun on
Again, it all depends on whether the comet survives its encounter with the Sun. It also depends on the composition of the comet itself, which is not completely understood. As the great comet hunter David Levy once said, “Comets are like cats: they have tails, and they do precisely what they want.” The image below shows Comet Hale-Bopp which visited the inner solar system in 1996-97. It was the last bright comet visible from
the northern hemisphere. As you can see, this comet has a bright glowing head. This is called a “coma”, and it’s usually the brightest part of a comet. The head is mostly glowing gas boiled off as the comet gets within a few hundred million kilometers of the Sun. The head spans a few hundred to a few thousand kilometers depending on the comet’s size and composition. Buried within the coma is the “nucleus” of the comet, which is the solid “dirty snowball” that contains most of the comet’s mass. A layer of invisible hydrogen gas called the “hydrogen envelope” surrounds the coma. The nucleus itself… the only solid part of Comet ISON… is about 7 km across.
The “ion tail” is made of glowing electrically charged particles pushed away by the steady wind of charged particles from the Sun. This tail remains straight and often glows blue or blue-green. Sometimes the dust and ion tails overlap. Sometimes, as in the case of Comet Hale-Bopp (above), they are separated. The shape and size of the tails of a comet often change from night to night. If Comet ISON works out to be a respectably bright comet, its narrow tail may span 15-20º of sky. That’s about the width of your outstretched palm held at arm’s length. www.oneminuteastronomer.com
Many comets develop a tail as they approach the Sun, and ISON already has a small tail. There are two types of tail. The “dust tail” is made of tiny bits of evaporated dust from the nucleus. This dust is pushed away from the coma by light from the Sun. The dust tail shines by reflecting the Sun’s light. It’s sometimes curved in the same way water curves away from the nozzle of a moving hose.
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
A crash course on Comet ISON Comet ISON is on the way. It might be extraordinarily bright. It might be a dud. It’ll likely be somewhere in between. This visitor from the outer solar system will brighten through October and November on its way to graze the Sun on November 28. If the comet survives its close encounter with the Sun, it may grow spectacularly bright in the eastern sky before sunrise during December for northern-hemisphere observers. Here’s a crash course on Comet ISON, along with a few tips of how and when to see it… Where did Comet ISON come from? Comet ISON likely came from the distant Oort Cloud, a spherical shell of comets far beyond the
a large distance, but it’s less than the Sun’s diameter and 50x closer than the average distance between the Sun and the planet Mercury.
Above: Hubble Space Telescope view of Comet ISON on April 30, 2013.
orbit of Neptune and Pluto. Thousands of years ago, it was likely nudged towards the Sun when it interacted with another comet in the Oort Cloud. It has been moving towards the inner solar system ever since. What’s so special about Comet ISON? Comet ISON is a “sungrazer”, which means its orbital path will take it very close to the visible surface of the Sun. On November 28, 2013, the comet will pass within 1,100,000 km of the visible surface of the Sun. That seems like
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Because it will get so close to the Sun, Comet ISON may grow very bright and feature a brilliant coma (head) and a long tail during the late days of November and through mid December. It may grow as bright as Comet McNaught in 2007, or even as bright as Comet Ikeya-Seki in 1965, the brightest comet of the 20th century.
When was Comet ISON discovered? The comet was first observed on September 21, 2012 on digital images taken with the Santel reflector telescope of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). Who discovered Comet ISON? The comet was first seen by astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok in four 100-s CCD images made with the 0.4-m f/3 Santel reflector of the
International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) near Kislovodsk, Russia.
That’s more than 160 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Where did Comet ISON get its name? Because its discoverers did not actually notice ISON was a comet when they first saw it, the comet is named after the telescope network used to find it.
Will Comet ISON hit the Sun? The comet is not expected to hit the Sun. But it will pass very close to the visible surface of the Sun. On November 28, 2013 the comet will pass within 1,100,000 km of the visible surface of the Sun. It will not hit the Sun, but the heat and radiation from the Sun will turn the outer layers of this “dirty snowball” into a boiling, steaming cauldron, causing the comet to grow very bright as it flies over the surface of the Sun at 684,000 km/h. In these harsh conditions, it’s possible the comet will break up and boil away, never to be seen again. Or it may hold together as swing around the far side of the Sun and remain immensely bright. No one knows for sure.
The official name for Comet ISON according to the conventions of the International Astronomical Union is C/2012 S1. The “C” means it is non-periodic (so it will not return to the inner solar system). The date means it was discovered in 2012. The “S1″ means it was the first comet discovered in the second half of September in that year. The comet is properly called C/2012 S1 (ISON), which distinguishes it from other comets discovered with the ISON network. Will Comet ISON hit Earth? It will not. Astronomers use very precise calculations using wellknown physical laws to calculate the paths of comets and other celestial bodies. They know very accurately the path the comet will follow. The comet will not hit Earth or even come close. At its closest approach to our planet, which happens on December 26, 2013, the comet will lie about 62.4 million kilometers from Earth.
Is Comet ISON a U.F.O? Uh, no. Some reports have surfaced that Comet ISON has actually split into three pieces, two of which are spacecraft escorting the comet to the inner solar system. These reports, and others like them, are total rubbish. It's just a comet. End of story.
Do I Need a Telescope to See Comet ISON? You will need a telescope to see the comet in October and likely most of November. It may grow bright enough to see with binoculars or possibly without optics in mid-to late November. If it survives its encounter with the Sun, it may grow bright enough to see clearly without optical aid in
November 28, it may grow very bright but will lie too close to the Sun to see from Earth. As it moves away from the Sun (and if it survives the encounter), it may grow very bright and remain visible for most of December and much of January 2014. What will Comet ISON look like at its brightest?
Above: Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) from Nov. 1, 2013 to Jan. 11, 2014. Image credit: Virtual Telescope Project). December. When is the best time to see the comet? Starting in mid-November, the comet may grow bright enough to see without optics. On November 18, the comet passes very close (just 0.4º) north of the bright white star Spica in the early morning sky, presenting a great opportunity to see the comet with binoculars or, if it brightens enough, without optics. When the comet passes around the Sun on
Again, it all depends on whether the comet survives its encounter with the Sun. It also depends on the composition of the comet itself, which is not completely understood. As the great comet hunter David Levy once said, “Comets are like cats: they have tails, and they do precisely what they want.” The image below shows Comet Hale-Bopp which visited the inner solar system in 1996-97. It was the last bright comet visible from
the northern hemisphere. As you can see, this comet has a bright glowing head. This is called a “coma”, and it’s usually the brightest part of a comet. The head is mostly glowing gas boiled off as the comet gets within a few hundred million kilometers of the Sun. The head spans a few hundred to a few thousand kilometers depending on the comet’s size and composition. Buried within the coma is the “nucleus” of the comet, which is the solid “dirty snowball” that contains most of the comet’s mass. A layer of invisible hydrogen gas called the “hydrogen envelope” surrounds the coma. The nucleus itself… the only solid part of Comet ISON… is about 7 km across.
The “ion tail” is made of glowing electrically charged particles pushed away by the steady wind of charged particles from the Sun. This tail remains straight and often glows blue or blue-green. Sometimes the dust and ion tails overlap. Sometimes, as in the case of Comet Hale-Bopp (above), they are separated. The shape and size of the tails of a comet often change from night to night. If Comet ISON works out to be a respectably bright comet, its narrow tail may span 15-20º of sky. That’s about the width of your outstretched palm held at arm’s length. www.oneminuteastronomer.com
Many comets develop a tail as they approach the Sun, and ISON already has a small tail. There are two types of tail. The “dust tail” is made of tiny bits of evaporated dust from the nucleus. This dust is pushed away from the coma by light from the Sun. The dust tail shines by reflecting the Sun’s light. It’s sometimes curved in the same way water curves away from the nozzle of a moving hose.
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Giant fragment of Chelyabinsk meteorite lifted from Russian lake
Strange Super-Earth planet has "plasma" water atmosphere A nearby alien planet six times the size of the Earth is covered with a water-rich atmosphere that includes a strange "plasma form" of water, scientists say.
On October 15, a giant fragment of the meteorite that hit Russia on February 15 was lifted from the bottom of Lake Chebarkul in the Russian Urals Mountains. The fragment weighing about 570 kg. (1,257 lb.) proved so heavy that even the weighing machine broke, making it impossible to measure the exact weight.
a fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite. In all probability, it will rank among the top ten largest meteorites ever found,” the scientist said.
Sergei Zamozdra, a professor of the Chelyabinsk State University, confirmed the meteorite nature of the rock.
The meteorite that later came to be known as ‘Chelyabinsk Meteorite”, hit the earth, specifically Lake Chebarkul in the Chelyabinsk Region, on February 15th this year. The chemical analysis of the fragments that have
“Some peculiarities characteristic of stone meteorites prove that it’s
Above: Divers display the large fragment of the meteorite for the press. been recovered thus far has proved that this is ordinary LL5 chondrite, one of the types of stony meteorites. The biggest fragment is believed to remain on
the bottom of Lake Chebarkul. www.earthsky.org
A crash put Pluto’s moons into odd orbits
Astronomers have determined that the atmosphere of superEarth Gliese 1214 b is likely waterrich. However, this exoplanet is no Earth twin. The high temperature and density of the planet give it an atmosphere that differs dramatically from Earth. As the temperature and pressure are so high, water is not in a usual form (vapor, liquid, or solid), but in an ionic or plasma form at the bottom the atmosphere — namely the interior — of Gliese 1214 b. Using two instruments on the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, scientists studied the scattering of
light from the planet. Combining their results with previous observations led the astronomers to conclude that the atmosphere contained significant amounts of water. Located 40 light-years from the solar system in the constellation Ophiuchus, the planet orbits its cooler, low-mass M-type star once every 38 hours, 70 times closer than Earth is to the sun. Its close proximity means that its temperatures reach up to 280 degrees Celsius. Six times as massive as Earth, Gliese 1214 b is less than three times as wide,
A smash-up that created Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, likely sprayed debris four billion years ago that formed the genesis of the other moons scientists are spotting today, a new study concludes. The find could explain why the satellites Styx, Nix, Kereberos and Hydra have orbital periods that are, respectively, just about exactly 3, 4, 5 and 6 times longer than Charon’s, scientists said. “Any initially surviving satellites would likely be destroyed in collisions, but these shattered moons wouldn’t be lost; rather, their remains would stay in the Pluto/Charon system and become the starting point for building new satellites,” stated the Southwest
Research Institute (SWRI), which led the study. “In modeling the destruction of the satellites, the SWRI study found that there may be a method for moving them, or their building blocks, outward, due to the competing effects of Charon’s gravitational kicks and collisions among the debris of the disrupted satellites.”
Available free each month, Skymaps.com offers you an evening sky map suitable for all stargazers and will help you:
www.universetoday.com
• identify planets, stars and major constellations. • find sparkling star clusters, wispy nebulae and distant galaxies.
Available free each month, Skymaps.com offers you an evening sky map suitable for all stargazers and will help you: • identify planets, stars and major constellations. • find sparkling star clusters, wispy nebulae and distant galaxies. • locate and follow bright comets across the sky. • learn about the night sky and astronomy.
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Above: This photo of the ISS came from club member Michael O'Connell he says "I used TheSkyX to track the ISS. I downloaded the latest satellite data just before starting this attempt. The software that came with the camera was used to record a series of video clips. The videos were then analysed in Autostakkert2 and final processing down in PS CS6."
Above: Artist’s rendition of the relationship between the composition of • locate and follow the atmosphere andbright transmitted colors of light of an alien planet. Top: If comets across the sky. the sky has a clear, upward-extended, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, • learn about the night sky Rayleigh scattering disperses a large portion of the blue light from the and astronomy. atmosphere of the host while it scatters less of the red light. As a result, a transit in blue light becomes deeper than the one in red light. Middle: If the sky has a less extended water-rich atmosphere, the effect of the Rayleigh scattering is much weaker than in a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. In this case, transits in all colors have almost the same transit depths. Bottom: If the sky has extensive clouds, most of the light cannot be transmitted through the atmosphere.
Above: An artist's rendition of Gliese 1214 b traveling in front of its star, shown in blue light. falling between the Earth and the solar system's ice giants Uranus and Neptune in size. The high temperatures of the planet may affect the hydrogen and carbon chemistry, which could produce a haze in the atmosphere. But determining if the weather is clear or perpetually overcast on Gliese 1214 b would be difficult, as differences in the two atmospheres are small. At high pressure and high temperature, the behavior of water is quite different from that on the Earth. At the bottom of the water-rich atmosphere of Gliese 1214 b, water should be a super-critical fluid. Unlike terrestrial planets, the super-Earth doesn't have a solid surface, making the height of the atmosphere difficult to define. Instead, atmospheric scientists introduce a concept called the scale height, a height determined by changes in the increase or decrease of atmospheric pressure by a set amount. On Earth, the scale height is about 10 kilometers, while on Gliese 1214 b it is three times deeper. Originally discovered in by the MEarth Project, which tracks more than 2,000 low-mass stars in search of planets, Gliese 1214 b
was confirmed by the European Space Agency's High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher in Chile. As a planet travels across the face of its star, or transits, it blocks the star's light slightly, allowing scientists to determine characteristics about it based on how much the light dims. Though water is often considered a necessary ingredient for life by scientists, Narita doesn't think that the super-Earth will be promising due to its close orbit, which lies within the star's habitable zone, the region where liquid water can exist. Although water vapor can exist in the atmosphere, liquid water — namely oceans — would not exist on the surface of this planet, so unfortunately, we do not think this planet would be habitable. The scientific team intends to continue studying the planet with spectroscopic observations in the visible wavelength, and anticipates that other astronomers will follow. www.space.com
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
10-year-old discovers a 600 million year-old supernova Young Canadian Nathan Gray, age 10, has discovered a supernova candidate in the field of the galaxy designated PGC 61330, which lies in the constellation of Draco (the dragon). Nathan made the discovery while scanning astronomical images taken by Dave Lane, who runs the Abbey Ridge Observatory (ARO)
which is stationed in Nova Scotia. Incidentally, Nathan may unseat his older sister, Kathryn Aurora Gray, as the youngest supernova
discoverer by a mere 33 days. Nothing is visible at the location of the supernova candidate in prior images of the field taken over the past two years, or Digitized Palomar Sky Survey images. Supernova are immense explosions linked to the evolutionary end-state of certain stars. The explosions are so energetic that they can be observed in distant galaxies. Indeed, Nathan’s supernova could
be some 600 million light years distant. Gazing into space affords humanity the opportunity to peer back in time. Despite the (finite) speed of light being a remarkable 300000 km/s, the light-rays must travel over “astronomical” distances. There are several different classes of supernovae. For example, Type II supernovae are associated with larger mass stars. The Sun will not terminate as a supernova, but may potentially evolve into a standard (or not) planetary nebula. Nathan’s discovery has been posted on the International Astronomical Union’s site, and its presence confirmed by US and Italian-based observers. Its provisional name is: PSN J18032459+7013306, and to get an official supernova designation a large telescope needs to confirm the unique supernova light signature (via a spectrum).
Above: Canadian Nathan Gray (right) is likely the youngest person to discover a supernova. The supernova candidate (left) is probably located some 600 million light-years away (image from the ARO–Dave Lane). Follow-up observations will soon be acquired to confirm the supernova’s class and nature.
Astronomers left baffled by an ‘impossible’ planet A newly-discovered, Earth-like planet has left astronomers mystified because they don’t understand how it can possibly exist.The planet, labelled Kepler-78b, is rocky like our own world, is of similar size and orbits a star that is much like the Sun. But it is far too hot for life. That is because Kepler-78b zips round its own sun so closely, at a distance of less than 1.6 million km, that the surface rocks will be made of molten lava. The mystery is that they cannot explain how it got to be so close to the star which must have been bigger in its early days. It cannot have formed in its present orbit, where a “year” lasts just eight and a half hours, as it would have been inside the star. However, if the planet formed further away and migrated closer in, they would expect it to have been swallowed up by the star already. The astronomers do know, however, that the planet is living on borrowed time and will be ripped apart by the star’s gravity
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relatively soon on an astronomical timescale.
speaking. It couldn’t have formed in place because you can’t form a planet inside a star. It couldn’t have formed further out and migrated inward, because it would have migrated all the way into the star. This planet is an enigma.” Dr Chris Watson, of Queen’s University Belfast said: “This result showcases the tremendous progress in this field, both in terms
www.universetoday.com
of advancing technology and developing innovative techniques. Just 5 years ago this work would have been impossible, and as we probe deeper and deeper what we are finding is that science fact is weirder than science fiction – the planet Kepler-78b certainly fits this bill. www.skymania.com
It was first detected 400 lightyears away in the constellation of Cygnus. Using powerful telescopes astronomers discovered that Kepler-78b is only 20 per cent larger than the Earth with a diameter of 14,800 km and weighs nearly twice as much. “This planet is a complete mystery, we don’t know how it formed or how it got to where it is today. What we do know is that it’s not going to last forever.” says astronomer David Latham. Colleague Dimitar Sasselov said: “Kepler-78b is going to end up in the star very soon, astronomically
Recent Events “Comet ISON: Comet of the Century?”
Last month our Secretary and IFAS Chairman Seanie Morris gave us a very interesting and enjoyable talk on comet ISON. FOr those that might have missed the talk, everything you ever wanted to know about it can be seen on the centre page spread of this months magazine and on this page.You'll be hearing lots more about comet ISON over the next few months when it "should" be easier for us to see in Ireland.
Also on view will be Comet C/2013 R1 Lovejoy. Lovejoy and ISON will be quite close in comet terms, visually, in the night sky at the beginning of November too. Got an article to share in Réalta? Our editor, John Lally, is always looking for new material to go into these pages. Your observing report, astrophoto, article, or even an astronomical experience that would make others smile, is most welcome. Contact midlandsastronomy@gmail.com for tips and guidelines (if necessary) for article writing and to also submit your piece.
Upcoming Club Events October 1st: “Comet ISON: Comet of the Century?”, Speaker Seanie Morris, MAC Secretary. November 5th: “Photographing The Night Sky”, Speaker Dave Connolly, MAC PRO. December 3rd: “Mini Astronomy Expo”, This will be confirmed later, but the committee are currently talking about a planned Astronomy Expo Night ahead of Christmas with information and advice on all aspects of Astronomy, especially telescopes. More details late. All our lecture nights take place on the 1st Tuesday of the month in the Presbyterian Hall, High Street in Tullamore. They start at 8pm, admission is only €2 that includes the latest Réalta and that month’s SkyMaps. Lectures are aimed at all levels of interest. Got an Astronomy lecture suggestion? Email us at midlandsastronomy@gmail.com or get in touch with any committee member. Science Week November 10th-17th This is a nationwide calendar marker every November to give science a big push in Ireland! Schools, colleges, clubs and interest groups are all invited to do something to mark the occasion. Science Week is a Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) project. DSE initiatives are managed by Science Foundation Ireland on behalf of the Office of Science, Technology and Innovation at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. In addition to MAC’s November lecture, we plan to host an extra event to be confirmed.
Keep an eye out for...
Above: An artist’s impression of planet Kepler-78b close to its home star.
Comet ISON: Also known as Comet Nevski–Novichonok, is a sungrazing comet discovered on 21 September 2012 by Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok using the 0.4-meter (16 in) reflector of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) near Kislovodsk, Russia. This was tipped to be a spectacular comet because of its close pass to Earth, which will be 64million km on December 26th. It passes within 10.8million km of Mars on October 1st. From our perspective, it is a telescopic object at present, and is next to Mars in Leo for much of October, but you will have to get up very early to see it, and with a telescope. It is hoped that by the end of the 1st week of November that it will be a naked eye comet before its November 28th perihelion (closest) pass to the Sun (and in its glare).
Above: A photo from club member and PRO Dave Connelly, this photo was recently used by TV3 during the weather report. Well done Dave
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Kid's Korner
Why is the Sky Blue? It is easy to see that the sky is blue. Have you ever wondered why? A lot of other smart people have, and it took a long time to figure it out!
The light from the Sun looks white. But it is really made up of all the colours of the rainbow. A prism is a specially shaped crystal. When white light shines through a prism, the light is separated into all its colours. The light you see is just one tiny bit of all the kinds of light energy beaming around the Universe--and around you!
As the sunlight has passed through all this air, the air molecules have scattered and rescattered the blue light many times in many Like energy passing through the ocean, light energy travels in waves, directions. too. Some light travels in short, "choppy" waves. Other light travels Also, the surface of Earth has in long, lazy waves. Blue light waves reflected and scattered the light. All this scattering mixes the are shorter than red light waves. colours together again so we see more white and less blue. All light travels in a straight line unless something gets in the way What Makes a Red Sunset? to: As the Sun gets lower in the sky, its light is passing through more of · reflect it (like a mirror) · bend it (like a prism) · or scatter it (like molecules of the gases in the atmosphere) Sunlight reaches Earth's atmosphere and is scattered in all directions by all the gases and particles in the air. Blue light is scattered in all directions by the tiny molecules of air in Earth's atmosphere. Blue is scattered more than other colours because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. This is why we see a blue sky most of the time. Closer to the horizon, the sky fades to a lighter blue or white. The sunlight reaching us from low in the sky has passed through even more
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air than the sunlight reaching us from overhead.
the atmosphere to reach you. Even more of the blue light is scattered, allowing the reds and yellows to pass straight through to your eyes. Sometimes the whole western sky seems to glow. The sky appears red because larger particles of dust, pollution, and water vapor in the atmosphere reflect and scatter more of the reds and yellows. Why Does Light Scattering Matter? How much of the Sun's light gets bounced around in Earth's atmosphere and how much gets reflected back into space? How much light gets soaked up by land and water, asphalt freeways and sunburned surfers? How much light do water and clouds reflect back into space? And why do we care? Sunlight carries the energy that heats Earth and powers all life on Earth. Our climate is affected by how sunlight is scattered by forests, deserts, snow- and icecovered surfaces, different types of clouds, smoke from forest fires, and other pollutants in the air.
Neptune's "Lost Moon" Observed for 1st Time Neptune’s tiny, innermost moon, Naiad, has now been seen for the first time since it was discovered by Voyager’s cameras in 1989. Dr. Mark Showalter, a senior research scientist at the SETI Institute announced the result at the annual meeting of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. He and collaborators Dr. Jack Lissauer of the NASA, Dr. Imke de Pater of UC Berkeley, and Robert French of the SETI Institute, also released a dramatic new image of Neptune’s puzzling rings and ringarcs, which were first imaged by Voyager. From Earth, Neptune is 2 million times brighter than Naiad, and the two are separated by only one arcsecond. “This is equivalent to the width of a human hair from 50 feet away,” noted collaborator Lissauer. The team of astronomers needed to develop new techniques to suppress Neptune’s glare. Naiad was finally revealed, moving across a sequence of eight images taken during December 2004.
Strangely, Naiad appears to have veered significantly off course. The astronomers are puzzled by the fact that Naiad is now far ahead of its predicted orbital position. They wonder whether gravitational interactions with one of Neptune’s other moons may have caused it to speed up, although the details remain mysterious. In addition to its moons, Neptune hosts a family faint rings and ringarcs. The arcs have been changing slowly in the years since their discovery.Voyager saw a set of four closely-spaced arcs but the leading two arcs have been fading away, and are completely absent from the newest images. The trailing arcs, however, are essentially unchanged. This system of arcs is probably confined by the gravitational effects of the nearby moon Galatea, but the reason for the long-term changes is unknown.
Jupiter and Saturn may be rich in Diamonds According to new research, there may be an abundance of these precious gemstones swirling about in the skies of our solar system’s giant planets. Recent data compiled by planetary scientists Mona L. Delitsky and Kevin H. Baines has been
combined with newly published pressure temperature diagrams of Jupiter and Saturn. These diagrams,
Above: The innermost moons of Neptune, including the newly recovered Naiad and the as of yet unnamed S/2004 N1. A recent image of Neptune has been added. Showalter and his collaborators had previously announced the discovery of a tiny moon of Neptune in July. That moon, which is no more than 20 km (12 miles) across, goes by the provisional designation “S/2004 N 1”. The new results reported today are based on further analysis of the same images, which were all obtained by Hubble between 2004 and 2009. Although 100-km Naiad is much larger than the moon announced in July, it orbits much closer to
Neptune and so has proven to be much harder to detect.
known as adiabats, allow researchers to decipher at what interior level that diamond would become stable. They also allow for calculations at lower levels – regions where both temperature and pressure are so concentrated that diamond becomes a liquid. Imagine diamond rain… or rivulets of pure gemstone.
towards the planet’s core to be eventually “pressure cooked” into a liquid state.
Through the use of shockwave techniques, researchers have been provided with set boundaries for the various states of carbon. From these findings, you would be amazed at the chain of events at what might make diamonds occur. According to Delitsky and Baines, carbon could be generated as soot or graphite from a lightning strike. Since lightning is normal during Saturn’s many huge electrical storms, it stands to reason this elemental carbon would descend to a lower atmospheric level to be compressed into solid diamonds. It would then further descend
“It is always exciting to find new results in old data," Showalter remarked. "We keep discovering new ways to push the limit of what information can be gleaned from Hubble's vast collection of planetary images.” www.dailygalaxy.com
While the idea of diamonds at the heart of planets like Uranus and Neptune has been known for at least three decades, planetary scientists have been hesitant to include Jupiter and Saturn, concluding they were either too cool, too hot, or otherwise not suitable for the production of solid diamonds. Just as Jupiter and Saturn are much warmer at their cores, Uranus and Neptune are much too cold to sustain diamonds in a liquid state. However, thanks to the latest data, researchers are confident that deep inside Saturn there may be diamonds so large that they could be referred to as “diamondbergs”! www.universetoday.com
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine MAC meets on the first Tuesday of the month in the Presbyterian Hall, High Street, Tullamore from 8pm.
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A crash course on Comet ISON
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Giant fragment of Chelyabinsk meteorite lifted from Russian lake
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A crash put Pluto’s moons into odd orbits
Club News 9.
Club News
Kids Section 10.
Kids Korner
Quizzes and Games Front cover image: For reasons unknown, NGC 6357 is forming some of the most massive stars ever discovered. One such massive star, near the center of NGC 6357, is framed above carving out its own interstellar castle with its energetic light from surrounding gas and dust. In the greater nebula, the intricate patterns are caused by complex interactions between interstellar winds, radiation pressures, magnetic fields, and gravity. The overall glow of the nebula results from the emission of light from ionized hydrogen gas. The central part of NGC 6357 shown spans about 10 light years and lies about 8,000 light years away near the constellation of the Scorpion. Credit & Copyright: NASA, ESA and J. Maiz Apellániz (IAA, Spain)
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Exercise your brain
Monthly Sky Guide 12.
Beginners guide for this month
Internet Highlights 13.
Special content only available with the online version of the magazine.
Question 2 Astronomers announced in July 2013 that they had discovered the largest ever example of something tucked away in a stellar nursery. What was it? • Dog star • Baby star • Black hole • Little star Question 3 Which southern sky constellation contains the beta star Miaplacidus? • Centaurus • Andromeda • Southern Cross • Carina Question 4 The biggest star on record in 2010 was discovered in a neighbouring galaxy, in a region of space known as what? • Scorpion nebula • Tarantula nebula • Hornet nebula • Busybee nebula Question 5 In 1930, Edwin Hubble put forth a theory about the universe that became known as what? • E=mc squared • Hubble's Theory • Hubble's Law • Universe With No End
Question 7 Which constellation would the star Sirius be found in? • Canis Minor • Canis Canis • Canis Junior • Canis Major Question 8 A prediction has been made that the Milky Way galaxy will collide with another galaxy sometime in the future. Can you name the other galaxy? • Fornax Dwarf galaxy • Ursa Major • Barnard's galaxy • Andromeda galaxy Question 9 What is a variable star? • A star that changes size • A star which can only be seen at certain times of the year • A star that changes color • A star that changes brightness Question 10 And now, for some of us, the most famous star of all - "The Star of Bethlehem" is thought by some to be an appearance of which solar system body? • Hale-Bopp • Ganymede • Miranda • Halley's Comet Confused??? Check your answers on this page.
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up with a theory that explained his observations as a result of the expansion of the universe.
Strange Super-Earth planet has "plasma" water atmosphere
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Answer 1: The correct answer was SN1572. Tycho's Supernova, otherwise known as "SN1572", appeared on 11th November 1572 while he was at Herrevad Abbey.
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Answer 6: The correct answer was Elenin. Scientists always knew that Elenin was really a puny comet that disintegrated and never even got close enough for us to see without a telescope.
Astronomers left baffled by an ‘impossible’ planet
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Answer 2: The correct answer was Baby star. A baby star (protostar), has been discovered more than 10,000 light-years away! In the distant future the swirling clouds will fuse within the star creating a sun more than a million times brighter than our Sol.
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Answer 7: The correct answer was Canis Major. Commonly known as the "dog star", and the origin of the term "dog days of Summer" Sirius is found in the constellation of Canis Major.
10-year-old discovers a 600 million year-old supernova
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Answer 8: The correct answer was Andromeda galaxy. Observations have predicted that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will collide in approximately four billion years' time.
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SUDOKU
Answer 3: The correct answer was Carina. The Carina constellation is home to Miaplacidus which is the 29th brightest star in the sky. The constellation also contains the major star, Canopus, which is the second brightest star in the night sky.
Jupiter and Saturn may be rich in Diamonds
Question 6 The comet is coming! The comet is coming! You might have heard these words in 2011 when a certain comet led to predictions of disasters on Earth and other planets. What was the comet's name? • Hale-Bopp • The Mayan • Isom • Elenin
Answer 9: The correct answer was A star that changes brightness. A variable star actually changes its brightness on a cycle over time.
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Question 1 Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer, discovered a new supernova, which has since been known as "Tycho's Supernova". By which other name is it known? • Cassiopeia • SN1572 • Tycho's Brightstar • Stella Nova
Answer 4: The correct answer was Tarantula nebula. The star, known as R136a1, is enormous, approximately 265 times the size of our Sun and more than 165,000 light-years from the Earth.
You can see more about the club and its events on www.midlandsastronomy.com or contact the club via e-mail at midlandsastronomy@gmail.com Meetings are informal and are aimed at a level to suit all ages.
Neptune's "Lost Moon" Observed for 1st Time
Answer 10: The correct answer was Halley's Comet. Many theories have been put forth, but some say that the star could have been Halley's Comet.
All are welcome to attend. MAC also holds infrequent Observing Nights at it's Observing Site in Clonminch, or at a member's house (weather permitting) on the first Saturday of every month.
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Answer 5: The correct answer was Hubble's Law. Hubble, in 1930, came
Latest Astronomy and Space News
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Sky Guide - Beginner's targets for November The Milky Way arches overhead passing through Cassiopeia and Perseus. The Summer Triangle reluctantly departs in the west, but the Square in Pegasus is still high in the south-west. Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus the bull and the yellow Capella stand prominently in the south-east, followed by Gemini and Orion which signal the approach of winter. November Meteors Two meteor showers can be seen this month, the Taurids and Leonids. The Taurids has an extended maximum that lasts for several days either side of November 12th when about 5 meteors an hour may be seen coming from the region near the Haydes and Pliades clusters. The Leonid shower can show up to 15 meteors an hour and peaks around November 17th. Radiating from the constellation Leo. Unfortunatly this year the moon will ruin both shows this year. Telescope Targets High in the sky this month is the hexagonal shape of Auriga representing a man driving a chariot. The identity of Auruga is somewhat shadowy, He is usually said to be Erichthonius, a lame king of Athens who invented the four-horse chariot. These is no mistaking the constellation’s brightest star, Alpha (α) Aurigae, better known as
Issue 48 - November, 2013
Capella and is the sixth-brightest star in the sky. Its name comes from the Latin meaning “little shegoat”, and the charioteer has traditionally be depicted carrying a goat on his left shoulder. Capella is actually a pair of yellow giants forming a spectrospic binary, 42 light years away. The stars Eta (η) Aurigae and Zete (ζ) Aurigae are know as the kids, the goats offspring, carried on the charioteer’s arm. Zeta (ζ) Aurigae is one of two extraordinary eclipsing binary stars in the this constellation. It consists of an orange giant some 150 times larger than the Sun, orbited by a much smaller blue-white star, about four times the diameter of our Sun. Normal Zeta (ζ) Aurigae shines at magnitude 3.7, but every 2 years and 8 months the small star is eclipsed by the red giant and the brightness falls by a third over a six week period. Even more extraordinary is Epsilon (ε) Aurigae, which has the longest known period of any eclipsing binary of 27 years. The main star is an intensely luminous white supergiant shining with the light of over 100,000 Suns and large enough to contain the orbit of the Earth and lies about 2,000 light years away. Auriga is notable for an impressive trio of star clusters, M36, M37 and M38, all three being visible in the same field
Club Notes Club Observing: The club meets every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month for our observing sessions held in the MAC grounds. If you wish to be informed of these sessions please email your name and mobile number to midlandsastronomy@gmail.com who will confirm if the session is going ahead (depending on weather).
Above: Auriga has many open clusters and other objects because the Milky Way runs through it. The three brightest open clusters are M36, M37 and M38, all of which are visible in binoculars or a small telescope in suburban skies. The clusters are about 4100, 4400, and 4200 light years distant, respectively. of view through a wide-angle binoculars. In binoculars they appear as fuzzy patches, but small telescopes resolve them into individual stars. Each cluster has its own distinct character. M36 is the smallest and most condensed of the trio, consisting of 60 or so stars lying 3,900 light years away. In binoculars it appears the most prominent of the Auriga clusters. The largest and richest of the Auriga clusters is M37, containing about 150 stars and is 4,200 light years away. At its centre is a brighter orange star. The most scattered of the clusters is M38, containing about 100 faint stars,
3,900 light years away. Comets C/2012 S1 (ISON) reaches perihelion on the 28th with it expected to peak at mag-4. Current estimates have the comet at mag +10. It starts the month in Leo, heads through Virgo and reaches Libra by month’s end. Beyond the 20th, caution should be taken in trying to observe it as it will be getting very close to the sun. Well, that's about it for November, clear skies and happy hunting. By Kevin Daly
http://members.aol.com/kdaly10475/index.htm
Three open clusters in Auriga, M37 (lower left), M36 (right of centre), and M38 (upper right). by Alexander Jäger
Latest Astronomy and Space News Club News Kids Astronomy Quizzes and Games
MAC is a proud member of
Monthly Sky Guide Internet Highlights www.midlandsastronomy.com Page - 12
Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine
Internet Highlights Each month we will try and bring you the best if the web for astronomy online resources such as movies, podcasts and free software. If you have any suggestions for content in these pages please contact us at midlandsastronomy@gmail.com Please click on the links provided to view the material and not the images.
Virtual Star Party October 20th, 2013
Weekly Space Hangout Comet ISON Special
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AT9emeYD5w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id_vnHieJ2A
Cosmic Journeys: Venus: Death of a Planet
Podcast: Escape velocity Sometimes you’ve just got to get away from it all. From your planet, your Solar System and your galaxy. If you’re looking to escape, you’ll need to know just what velocity it’ll take to break the surly bonds of gravity and punch the sky. http://www.astronomycast.com/
Podcast: The Jodcast A podcast about astronomy including the latest news, what you can see in the night sky, interviews with astronomers and more. It is created by astronomers from The University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank for anyone interested in things out of this world. http://youtu.be/TR-IWhZZDJY
http://www.jodcast.net/archive/
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Midlands Astronomy Club Magazine Monster Black Holes Follow a basic explanation of what a black hole is an how it forms, this program explores what happen near and even inside a black hole based on current theories of gravitation. http://youtu.be/MlsljXCFcRc
NASA's Next Mission to Mars
What's Up for November 2013
NASA hosted a news briefing at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 28, to discuss the upcoming launch of the agency's next mission to Mars and the first devoted to understanding the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet.
MAVEN, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission, will explore the planet's upper atmosphere and backyard astronomers can watch Comet ISON race towards the sun at 5 degrees a day.
http://youtu.be/o5bi32hZ7bw
http://youtu.be/MwP1UVCH6ck
Useful free astronomy resources Midlands Astronomy Club have created a Google+ page so that our members and non-members alike can: • Keep up-to-date on future outreach events. • Be informed of upcoming lectures. • Have online access to the latest astronomy news as it happens.
IFAS Website
http://www.irishastronomy.org
Stellarium
http://www.stellarium.org
Virtual Moon Atlas
http://www.astrosurf.com/avl/UK_index.html
Celestia
http://shatters.net/celestia/index.html
Sky Maps
http://skymaps.com/index.html
Heavens-Above
http://www.heavens-above.com/
• See photos of all club events and activities. http://goo.gl/jajnw
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