Summer 2004 Event Horizon Volume 11 Issue 9 Up coming Events Event: STARFEST Date: AUGUST 19th-21st Lo cation: Mount Forest More info: www.nyaa-starfest.com Event: HAA meeting Date: Friday September 10, 2004 7:30PM Lo cation: Watch web site for location www. amateurastronomy.org tentatively the Spectator building. Admission: Free. Everyone is welcome! Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Perseid meteor shower (up coming event) Conditions could be ideal for this years Perseid meteor shower. A moonless night coincides with the predicted peak of August 11th and, if the sky is clear, warm Summer air will make for a night of easy viewing. Meteors are bright trails created by small fragments of space debris entering the Earths atmosphere at high speed. Some Perseids may be spotted on nights surrounding the peak but on Wednesday, August 11th, between 9:30 pm and Midnight, The Hamilton Amateur Astronomers will host a Perseid Party at the Binbrook Conservation Area. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend. For more info. check the clubs website at www.amateurastronomy.org or call 905-945-5050. BASEF winners photo Web Watch What Neil & Buzz Left on the Moon http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/ 21jul_llr.htm Why so Dry? http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/ 21may_drought.htm Titan's Surface Revealed http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/ 04jul_titanrevealed.htm Jupiter and the Space Station http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/ 12may_issjupiter.htm The 2004 Perseid Meteor Shower http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/ 25jun_perseids2004.htm Saturn Hailstorm http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/ 09jul_hailstorm.htm Marsoweb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5 Brian Le, one of the BASEF science fair winners gave a presentation on his science fair pro ject titled: "Astrophysics for All" at the June meeting. You can see him pictured above in the center (circled). Chair's report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2 Dot to Dot books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3 Eye Candy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4 Page 2 Chair's Report by Glenn Muller With the right inflection Rochestarfest sounds like a Jamaican festival (Ro-ches-TAR-fest, mon), but even situated in Ionia, NY, this intimate 2-day star party is still loads of fun. While rain was a constant threat for the July 1618 weekend, the weather stayed favourable for most activities. A few hours of clear sky on Friday night proved the site to be reasonably dark, and cloudy skies on Saturday night were of little concern as the keynote speaker, Dr John Delano, kept attendees entertained with an engaging talk about Nasa's Search For Life program. Due to some generous bequests, The Astronomy Section of the Rochester Academy of Science (ASRAS) has a few acres of land on which they've built a nice meeting and storage building, a rolloff roof observatory to house their 17" Cave reflector, plus two smaller domed structures. Also, thanks to a recent donation, they're clearing a spot for a new Astrohaven 12' clamshell dome. Although Gail and I held the distinction of longest drive; a one-way trip actually takes less than three hours including the border crossing. Made to feel at home by this very hospitable club we'll certainly mark our calendar for next year's event. For more information on this club and its star parties, log on to www.rochesterastronomy.org From the HAA calendar, if anyone wondered what happened with Hal Mueller's suggested Moon Madness Marathon, the proposed July 2124 dates turned out to be inconvenient (especially for Hal) so it has been postponed until sometime in the Fall. Our next meeting, at the Spectator Building on September 10, will feature pictures of Italy and Egypt, and some fine astrophotography by club members. We'll also touch on All-sky Cameras, eyepieces, and other related topics. The downside of this cornucopia is that I need advance notice if you have something to present so I can schedule you in. Of course, articles for the EH are always welcome so let Anthony know what you've been up to at editor@amateurastronomy.org. Clear skies! Glenn invites your comments on these topics or any aspect of the club. He can be reached via chair@ amateurastronomy. org Event Horizon is a publication of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers (HAA). The HAA is an amateur astronomy club dedicated to the promotion and enjoyment of astronomy for people of all ages and experience levels. The cost of the subscription is included in the $25 individual or $30 family membership fee for the year. Event Horizon is published a minimum of 10 times a year. HAA Council Hon. Chair . . . . . . . . . . Jim Winger Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenn Muller Second Chair . . . . . . . . Doug Welch Secretary . . . . . . . Margaret Walton Treasurer . . . . . . . . Cindy Bingham Observing Dir. . . Stewart Attlesey Publicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail Muller Editor/Web . . . . Anthony Tekatch Membership Dir. . . . . Ann Tekatch Councillor . . . . . . . . . . Grant Dixon Councillor . . . . . . . . . . . Barb Wight Councillor . . . . . . . . . Ray Badgerow Councillor . . . . . . . . Bob Christmas Councillor . . . . . . . . Cathy Tekatch Councillor . . . . . . . . John Gauvreau PO Box 65578 Dundas, ON L9H 6Y6 (905) 575-5433 amateurastronomy.org Council meetings All club members are welcome to attend the council meetings. Contact info@amateurastronomy.org for details. Email Reminder notice We send email reminders before each meeting which describes the location, time and topic of the general meeting. If you're not on the list, make sure that you receive your reminder by sending a note to: publicity@amateurastronomy.org Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 3 Domain Name and Web hosting for the Hamilton Amatuer Astronomy club supplied by Axess Communications Corporate and Residential DSL and Web Hosting http://www.axess.com support@axess.com Dot to Dot Ad Books by Joan Marie Galat, Author, Instructor, Editor When you look up at the night sky, have you ever wondered how to tell the difference between a planet and a star? Are you curious about where the name for each planet came from? With its bestselling mix of science and mythology, Dot to Dot in the Sky: Stories of the Planets provides the answers. Children can learn the Greek myths about each planet's namesake, along with astronomy facts and tips for observing the planets. Throughout history, the Earth's closest celestial neighbor has inspired and intrigued. People around the world have looked up in awe at the Moon and told stories to explain its mysteries. They imagined that the Moon represented people or animals and believed it to be the cause of strange behavior. Dot to Dot in the Sky: Stories of the Moon is a collection of stories from many different cultures about this intriguing orb. Richly illustrated, with fascinating legends from Greece, Korea, England, China, West Africa and Canada, it also includes facts about the moon and astronomy. Look up in the sky! There's a flying horse, a queen, and even a dragon! The night sky is a treasure trove of stories filled with heroes, wild animals, and adventure. It's just a matter of knowing where to look. Fifteen constellations are portrayed in this fun guide to astronomy, from the easily recognizable Ursa Major, the big bear, to the distinct stars of Orion, the famous hunter. Each constellation features a pronunciation guide, a myth to explain the constellation, and sure-fire instructions on how to find each group of stars. This ultimate guide to star-gazing is the perfect bedtime book- just don't expect to get much sleep! These books are suitable for ages 8-12. You can order these books from http://www.joangalat.com/ Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers amateurastronomy.org Page 4 EyeCandy Venus transit image by Rob Roy from June 8, 2004. Traces from Doug Welch's SID detector from June. A few flares, but mostly quiet. Photo of Comet NEAT, May 11, 2004 by Bob Christmas. Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) directly from the negative of my original 200mm f/3.5 photo. The McMaster All-sky camera caught this Iridium flare. Iridium flares are reflections from the Iridium constellation of communication satellites. Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers amateurastronomy.org Page 5 Marsoweb for important geologic features hidden in thousands of images of the surface. The Web site is located at: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/ index.html Preliminary details about Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE's exploration of Mars are on the World Wide Web at: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/hirise/ NASA scientists are inviting the public to help them inspect images of Mars and find important geologic features hidden in the thousands of photographs in the agency's archives. NASA will be adding a set of surveying tools to their Marsoweb website which allows anyone to navigate around the surface of Mars, and then zoom into any region they like. NASA is hoping people can help them find interesting targets for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) which will fly on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in 2005. The current Marsoweb site includes animated `flythroughs' of some Mars locations. The site also permits users to fine-tune Mars images for brightness, contrast and sharpness as well as make other adjustments. Original Source: NASA News Release After adding `computer tools' to the `Marsoweb' Internet site, NASA scientists plan to ask volunteers from the public to virtually survey the vast red planet to look Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers amateurastronomy.org Page 6 orbit. The advancing front of ejected matter, moving much faster than the solar wind, will accelerate particles in its path to near the speed of light, spawning a radiation storm that can threaten astronauts' health. Look for coming articles for more about space weather and about NOAA's efforts to forecast these celestial storms. Meanwhile, read today's space weather forecast at http://www.sec.noaa.gov/. Kids can learn about the geostationary and orbits of the GOES satellites at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/ goes/goes_poes_orbits.shtml . Space Weather By Patrick Barry and Tony Phillips Radiation storms, 250 mile-per-second winds, charged particles raining down from magnetic tempests overhead ... it sounds like the extreme weather of some alien world. But this bizarre weather happens right here at Earth. Scientists call it "space weather." It occurs mostly within the gradual boundary between our atmosphere and interplanetary space, where the blast of particles and radiation streaming from the Sun plows into the protective bubble of Earth's magnetic field. But space weather can also descend to Earth's surface. Because the Earth's magnetic field envelops all of us, vibrations in this springy field caused by space weather reverberate in the room around you and within your body as much as at the edge of space far overhead. In fact, one way to see these "geomagnetic storms" is to suspend a magnetized needle from a thin thread inside of a bottle. When solar storms buffet Earth's magnetic field, you'll see the needle move and swing. If you live at higher latitudes, you can see a more spectacular effect: the aurora borealis and the aurora australis. These colorful light shows happen when charged particles trapped in the outer bands of Earth's magnetic field get "shaken loose" and rain down on Earth's atmosphere. And because a vibrating magnetic field will induce an electric current in a conductor, geomagnetic storms can have a less enjoyable effect: widespread power blackouts. Such a blackout happened in 1989 in Quebec, Canada, during a particularly strong geomagnetic storm. These storms can also induce currents in the metallic bodies of orbiting satellites, knocking the satellite out temporarily, and sometimes permanently. Partly because of these adverse effects, scientists keep close tabs on the space weather forecast. The best way to do this is to watch the Sun. The NASA/ESA SOHO satellite and NOAA's fleet of GOES satellites keep a constant watch on the Sun's activity. If a "coronal hole"­where high-speed solar wind streams out from the Sun's surface­comes into view, it could mean that a strong gust of solar wind is on its way, along with the geomagnetic storms it will trigger. And an explosive ejection of hot plasma toward the Earth­called a "coronal mass ejection"­could mean danger for astronauts in Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Image caption: This image shows the outer solar atmosphere, or corona, as viewed by the GOES 12 Solar X-ray Imager (SXI). It shows the plasma at 4.0 MK (mil lion degrees Kelvin). Bright areas are associated with sunspots seen in white light images and may produce explosive events known as flares. Dark regions are coronal holes where the fastest solar wind originates. Image courtesy of the Space Environment Center/NOAA. This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. amateurastronomy.org Page 7 on the HGA signal once a DSN station rotates into range. Having only 20 second's worth of signal to work with, the DSN not only established a lock within just a few seconds, but extracted a considerable amount of telemetry during the remaining seconds. "The DSN people bent over backwards to get a lock on that telemetry signal. And they weren't just depending on the technology. They really know how to get flawless performance out of it. They were awesome," remarks Doody. Find out more about the DSN from JPL's popular training document for mission controllers, Basics of Space Flight (www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics) and the DSN website at deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn. For details of the Cassini Saturn orbit insertion, see www.jpl.nasa.gov/ basics/soi. Kids can check out The Space Place at spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/dsn_fact1.shtml to learn about the amazing ability of the DSN antennas to detect the tiniest spacecraft signals. Waiting for Cassini's "Safe Arrival" Call Diane K. Fisher by The evening of June 30, 2004, was nail-biting time at Cassini Mission Control. After a seven-year journey that included gravity assist flybys of Venus, Earth, and Jupiter, Cassini had finally arrived at Saturn. A 96-minute burn of its main engine would slow it down enough to be captured into orbit by Saturn's powerful gravitational field. Too short a burn and Cassini would keep going toward the outer reaches of the solar system. Too long a burn and the orbit would be too close and fuel reserves exhausted. According to Dave Doody, a Cassini Mission Controller at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, there was a good chance the Earth-bound Cassini crew would have to wait hours to learn whether or not the burn was successful. Of the three spacecraft-tracking Deep Space Network (DSN) complexes around the globe, the complex in Canberra, Australia, was in line to receive Cassini's signal shortly after the beginning of the burn. However, winds of up to 90 kilometers per hour had been forecast. In such winds, the DSN's huge dish antennas must be locked into position pointed straight up and cannot be used to track a tiny spacecraft a billion miles away as Earth turns on its axis. "The winds never came," notes Doody. The DSN complex at Goldstone, California, was tracking the carrier signal from Cassini's low-gain antenna (LGA) when the telltale Doppler shift in the LGA signal was seen, indicating the sudden deceleration of the spacecraft from the successful ignition of the main engine. Soon thereafter, however, Goldstone rotated out of range and Canberra took the watch. After completion of the burn, Cassini was programmed to make a 20-second "call home" using its high-gain antenna (HGA). Although this HGA signal would contain detailed data on the health of the spacecraft, mission controllers would consider it a bonus if any of that data were actually captured. Mostly, they just wanted to see the increase in signal strength to show the HGA was pointed toward Earth and be able to determine the spacecraft's speed from the Doppler data. If possible, they also wanted to try to lock onto the signal with DSN's closed-loop receiver, a necessary step for extracting engineering data. Normally it takes around one minute to establish a lock Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Right after entering Saturn orbit, Cassini sent this image of the part of the Encke Gap in Saturn's rings. Image credit NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute. This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. amateurastronomy.org www.perceptor.ca www.fireflybooks.com and Terence Dickinson www.main-sequence.com www.camtechphoto.com www.mec.ca www.oneilphoto.on.ca www.meade.com www.skyoptics.net kendrick- ai.com www.skypieces.com www.starlight- theatre.ca www.khanscope.com Sunday 2 10 Perseid Party, Binbrook Perseid Party, Binbrook Conservation Area Conservation Area 9:30-midnight 9:30-midnight Monday August 2004 3 11 19 20 12 13 Tuesday 4 Wednesday 5 Thursday 6 Friday Saturday Perseids meteor shower until the 15th 9 17 STARFEST, Mount STARFEST, Mount Forest, Forest, www.nyaa-starfest.com www.nyaa-starfest.com 16 24 31 For observing info, call Stewart Attlesey 827-9105, Rob Roy 692-3245, Glenn and Gail Muller 945-5050, Greg Emery greg.emery@mohawkcollege.ca, http://amateurastronomy.org/events.php 18 25 26 STARFEST, Mount STARFEST, Mount Forest, Forest, www.nyaa-starfest.com www.nyaa-starfest.com STARFEST, Mount STARFEST, Mount Forest, Forest, www.nyaa-starfest.com www.nyaa-starfest.com 23 27 30 July 2004 1 45678 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 2 9 16 23 30 3 10 17 24 31 September 2004 1234 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Sunday Monday September 2004 Tuesday 1 8 HAA Generall Meeting HAA Genera Meeting Wednesday 2 9 16 23 30 1 8 15 22 29 August 234 9 10 11 16 17 18 23 24 25 30 31 2004 56 12 13 19 20 26 27 7 14 3 21 10 28 17 24 31 October 2004 1 45678 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 Thursday 3 10 Friday Saturday Labour Day 7 14 21 28 29 For observing info, call Stewart Attlesey 827-9105, Rob Roy 692-3245, Glenn and Gail Muller 945-5050, Greg Emery greg.emery@mohawkcollege.ca, http://amateurastronomy.org/events.php 13 22 15 17 24 20 27 2 9 16 23 30