{"id":1209,"date":"2016-12-22T13:15:36","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T18:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/?p=1209"},"modified":"2019-01-17T08:01:12","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T13:01:12","slug":"janfebmar2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/2016\/12\/22\/janfebmar2017\/","title":{"rendered":"JanFebMar2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong>Recent ASNH Activities<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h3>by Donna Pursley<\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Regional Water Authority Private Event at Lake Gaillard, Friday October 7th<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This has become an annual event for us. We set our scopes up near a dam on the water company reservoir property. I have never seen the reservoir down so low. We had plenty of scopes. There were maybe 20 people that came to look through the scopes. Even though the moon was only a quarter, it brightened up the sky. Plus, it turned out to be a very dewy night. Anyone with a dew heater turned it on immediately, and some didn\u2019t keep up. We were able to show the public enough to inspire them. Everyone learned a little and went home happy.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Madison Moonlight Walk, Madison Surf Club, Sunday October 16<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We all love coming out for this event. We set our scopes up on the deck of the Surf Club. The attendees are there for an easy hike lead by a bagpiper. Then afterwards, they go inside for cider and doughnuts. After the cider, they come out to the deck to look through the telescopes. There must have been over 60 people there. We all had lines at our scopes and binoculars. For the lucky few that showed up early, we were able to show them Saturn, Venus and Mars. We had some lovely views of the full moon after the hike. There was a nice ISS pass to add to the night. It was very windy but the big scopes did just fine.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Silver Sands, Friday November 4<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We set up in our new location by the parking lot. We do have a little problem with headlights, but we have a lot of people because they can find us easier.&nbsp; There were lots of scopes and lots of guests. We were able to show them Mars, Venus and Saturn. We were able to find loads of deep sky objects. There was a nice crowd during most of the night. I thought it was cold, but others didn\u2019t seem to mind. I am glad that we started doing this event again because we have so many people show up and enjoy looking through the scopes.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Young\u2019s Pond Park, Saturday November 5<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Again, we had a nice showing of scopes. Not as many people came out, but that seems to be the norm for this site now. The clouds were on and off but we were able to find enough objects to keep everyone happy.&nbsp; Another cold night, but the sky is better and there were no mosquitos.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Mathewson Elementary School, Thursday November 10<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This is a science event at the elementary school. ASNH had a table with the meteorites and Leo had his scope set up inside pointed at the stars (in the American flag). We were all set to have some star gazing outside, but the clouds did not cooperate. There were some interesting tables set up to show the students that science can be fun. They even had their own \u201cMr. Science\u201d who was doing some exploding tricks.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Trumbull Nature and Arts Center,&nbsp; Friday November 11<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This event had been rescheduled a few times, but tonight we were able to hold the event. We were in a new location this year, just behind the Nature Center building. I liked this better than the old location between the trees. The nature center staff had astronomy items inside the building while we had the scopes outside. It was a very cold and windy night. There was a bright moon and no planets, so we showed the people any deep sky objects that we could find. The visitors were very polite and the staff was very nice. This is one of my favorite outreach locations.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Winter Solstice Dinner, Saturday December 10<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>What a wonderful get-together!!&nbsp; The new location of the Unitarian Church of New Haven was cozy and warm. We had lots of terrific main dishes and sides. I heard a few comments on how good the chili was.<\/p>\n<p>Then, there were the desserts. There were way too many to try every one of them.&nbsp; Everyone goes home happy with a full belly.<\/p>\n<p>We had 2 quizzes this year. The first was a short multiple choice quiz from Wendo. It was 2-sided, which surprised many of us. He picked some pretty hard questions. My memory is failing, but I thing that John Pancoast won this quiz and received a nice book from Wendo and Steve.<\/p>\n<p>Then it was Al\u2019s turn. He uses slides that are sometimes put in upside down, backwards or both. The crowd gave him a rough time that night. There were 3 winners this time. Donna won the \u2018coin toss\u2019 and received the astronomy facts book prize. Bob Carruthers and Barbara received ASNH T-shirts.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone had a terrific time. It is fun to get together with such nice people for the evening. We really do have a great bunch in our organization. This is something to be grateful for.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1247\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Solstice-dinner.jpg\" alt=\"solstice-dinner\" width=\"600\" height=\"298\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Solstice-dinner.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Solstice-dinner-300x149.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h1><strong>October Monthly Meeting<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1222\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Mazur.jpg\" alt=\"mazur\" width=\"380\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Mazur.jpg 380w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Mazur-234x300.jpg 234w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/>At the October meeting, Jim Mazur described how for the past year he has been making observations of asteroids from his backyard, using a 14-inch Meade telescope and an SBIG imager.&nbsp; He sends all his observations to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, MA, where they are added to the extensive minor planet database. The procedure involves finding an asteroid for which observations are needed, taking three or more images of that section of sky over the course of 60 or 90 minutes, and then blinking the images to look for moving objects. Using Astrometrica software, he then obtains precise positions for any moving objects in the image.&nbsp; In some images, as many as five or six different asteroids can be seen.<\/p>\n<p>In the past year, Jim has submitted over 600 observations of about 120 different asteroids, and he has found three new asteroids.&nbsp; He has also recovered four asteroids that were previously observed but had not been seen in many years.&nbsp; There were also a few cases where he observed a new asteroid, but it turned out that the asteroid was previously reported by another observer just a day or two earlier.<\/p>\n<p>The three blinking images below show asteroid 2016 AE3, Jim&#8217;s first asteroid discovery, which he found on the night of January 1-2, 2016.&nbsp; This asteroid orbits the Sun once every 4 years in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.&nbsp; It is probably somewhere between 0.6 and 1.3 miles in diameter.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1225\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2016AE3.gif\" alt=\"2016ae3\" width=\"896\" height=\"672\"><\/p>\n<h1><strong>November Monthly Meeting<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>At this month&#8217;s meeting, Al Washburn continued with his series of constellation posters made by students in his astronomy classes in past years.&nbsp; This month&#8217;s featured constellation was Taurus, the Bull.&nbsp; The posters artistically portrayed the bull and some of its main sights, including the Pleiades, the Hyades, and the Crab Nebula.&nbsp; Al also discussed and passed around a potential meteorite that actually turned out to be of terrestial origin, and a small sample of a true meteorite.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1218\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Washburn-Taurus.jpg\" alt=\"washburn-taurus\" width=\"800\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Washburn-Taurus.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Washburn-Taurus-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Washburn-Taurus-768x450.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Laurie Averill presented a beautiful new CSP banner, which she made for the Society to replace the old and worn banner that has been used for over 25 years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1219\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/CSP-banner.jpg\" alt=\"csp-banner\" width=\"800\" height=\"475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/CSP-banner.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/CSP-banner-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/CSP-banner-768x456.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There was an open discussion of recent observing experiences, including observations of the Moon, meteors, and public outreach events at Silver Sands, Young&#8217;s Pond, and the Trumbull Arts and Nature Center.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h1><strong>ISS Lunar Transit at Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h3>6:03am, 18 Nov 2018<\/h3>\n<h3>by Dave Noble<\/h3>\n<p><strong>To Dream the Impossible Dream<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It seemed almost unimaginable to me: photographing a moving target less than an arc minute in size as it zips across the Moon in a fraction of a second. And yet I had seen the amazing images of the International Space Station (ISS) silhouetted against the Moon\u2019s bright face. How is capturing something like this possible?<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Not so Rare Occurrence<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, ISS transits across the Moon (or the Sun!) are not that rare. With an orbital period of about 90 minutes, the ISS has many chances to be glimpsed between the Moon and the Earth. And far from being visible from only a single point on the ground, the movement of the ISS sweeps out an observational path several hundred miles long during its brief encounter with the Moon.<\/p>\n<p>Another huge factor in my favor was method used for targeting the ISS. Because I would be photographing the ISS transiting the Moon, I wouldn\u2019t need to follow a small and fast moving target, but instead could simply aim for the Moon in advance and simply wait for the ISS to come to me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Location Location Location<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So the real trick to catching an ISS transit becomes choosing the location of the observing site. Fortunately, there are web sites dedicated to helping you find these locations.<\/p>\n<p>One such website, transit-finder.com, is an excellent resource capable of calculating visible ISS transits of both the Moon and the Sun from anywhere on Earth as early as 30 days in advance. The website provides detailed technical data about upcoming transits and even grades events based on angular size of the ISS and the travel distance from your location.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1211\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1211\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1211\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-1.jpg\" alt=\"Paths of upcoming ISS transits with the Moon (blue) and the Sun (red).\" width=\"800\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-1.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-1-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-1-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1211\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paths of upcoming ISS transits with the Moon (blue) and the Sun (red).<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nTiming is Everything<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Since the predictions of transit-finder.com are limited to the next 30 days, I was in the habit of checking for local transits every month or so. When I checked in with the website at the beginning of November, I was excited to see a lunar transit occurring in the New Haven area around mid-month.<\/p>\n<p>I began to prepare for the event by searching for potential observing sites along the path. Fortunately, this path was very close to Yale\u2019s Leitner Family Observatory and Planetarium (LFOP) and so was an easy choice for the observing location.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1212\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1212\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1212\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-2.jpg\" alt=\"Transit data. Four stars indicate very good viewing quality and close proximity to your location.\" width=\"800\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-2-300x137.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-2-768x350.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1212\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Transit data. Four stars indicate very good viewing quality and close proximity to your location.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_1213\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1213\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1213\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-3.jpg\" alt=\"Transit path over New Haven, CT\" width=\"800\" height=\"459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-3.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-3-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-3-768x441.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1213\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Transit path over New Haven, CT<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>ISS Transit (continued):<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>While the positions and timing of many astronomical events are known to incredible precision, the orbit of the ISS is susceptible to changes due to atmospheric drag and the occasional need to adjust orbital height. Because of this, transit-finder.com cautions that \u201cpredictions further than 10-14 days should be treated as a rough approximation &#8211; both the timing and the position of the event may change significantly\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>As the date of the transit approached, the predicted path did change, drifting toward the south, to a new location near the Long Warf area of New Haven. The transit visibility path is only about 2 miles wide, so this meant that the LFOP site would now be just outside the viewing zone.<\/p>\n<p>I scoured Google Maps looking for alternative sites to set up my telescope. Setting up as close to the centerline as possible was important for two reasons. The first reason was that even in the final moments leading up to the transit, the predicted center-line accuracy is only within a hundred yards and so I wanted to improve my chances of being in the right spot. Secondly, I really wanted to nail the image of the transit passing directly through the center of the Moon for aesthetic appeal.&nbsp; Any deviation from the center-line of the path would make the ISS transit appear to be offset or worse, miss the Moon altogether. A near miss just wouldn\u2019t do!<\/p>\n<p>Since the timing of the event was to be around 6am and not in the middle of the night, I felt comfortable with the possibility of setting up at Long Warf Park along the water or even at the baseball fields at Memorial Park in East Haven without raising concerns about my seemingly suspicious activity. Just in case, I spoke to local police to get permission and make them aware of my intentions. But then, only days prior to the transit, the predicted path moved back to the north, this time precisely centered over the top of the LFOP building. Sometimes it\u2019s better to be lucky than good.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1214\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1214\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1214\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-4.jpg\" alt=\"Centerline of transit path directly over LFOP!\" width=\"800\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-4.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-4-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-4-768x439.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1214\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Centerline of transit path directly over LFOP!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>With prior permission from the Director of LFOP, I set up my telescope on the lawn just outside the observatory deck. Setting up in the dark of night is not my favorite activity and it took me longer than I would have liked to get things in position and aligned.&nbsp; I had a rough idea of what camera settings to use but I had wanted to experiment with exposures to improve my chances of capturing good images. I also wanted to collimate the scope since it had been riding around in the back of my wife\u2019s truck for the past 2 weeks.&nbsp; But just as I was attaching the cameras and roughing in the focus, my alarm went off, signaling that the ISS was breaking the horizon and would be intersecting the Moon in just a few minutes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s Showtime!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To capture the event, I used a Canon T4i with a 300mm f\/4.5 lens riding piggyback for a wide-angle view and a Canon 60D attached to the prime focus of my C11 with a 0.6 focal reducer. The whole show would last just slightly more than half a second so the attempting to precisely time the moment in a single snapshot would be next to impossible. For this reason I chose to record video at 60 frames per second, greatly improving the odds of catching the ISS in front of the Moon.<\/p>\n<p>I pressed the shutter releases of both cameras and stood back and waited. The ISS, blazingly bright at -0.1 magnitude, was fast approaching its rendezvous with the Moon. Since I wasn\u2019t convinced that my exposure settings were correct, I glanced at the LCD screen of the wide-angle camera, hoping to catch a glimpse of the ISS coming into frame. In the instant it took me to look down at the LCD and then back up to the sky, the whole thing was over and the ISS was speeding off to the east.&nbsp; Hopefully the cameras had been able to catch it because I missed seeing the actual event!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1215\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1215\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1215\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-5.jpg\" alt=\"Success! The ISS streaks across the sky and the Moon, captured at 60fps.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-5.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-5-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/ISS-5-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1215\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Success! The ISS streaks across the sky and the Moon, captured at 60fps.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h1><strong>View of a Modified Theory on Moon Origin <\/strong><\/h1>\n<h3>summarized by Laurie Averill, SSA<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_1230\" style=\"width: 730px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1230\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1230\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon1.jpg\" alt=\"Proto-Earth with Fluid Disk and Proto-Moon (All images are courtesy NASA and are from a presentation for Solar System Ambassadors on June 14. 2016 titled \u201cOrigin of the Moon\u201d by Dr. Salome, Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute\" width=\"720\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon1.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon1-300x164.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1230\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Proto-Earth with Fluid Disk and Proto-Moon (All images are courtesy NASA and are from a presentation for Solar System Ambassadors on June 14. 2016 titled \u201cOrigin of the Moon\u201d by Dr. Salome, Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Lunar rocks that the Apollo astronauts collected paired with study of the Moon geology has brought the Giant Impact Theory of Moon formation under scrutiny.&nbsp; It does not explain why the iron content of the Moon is lower than Earth\u2019s. &nbsp;Dr. Julian Salmone, Research Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute and expert in modeling how disks evolve around planets and how satellites form by accumulating disk material, described a phased model that extended the era of Moon formation from one to 100 plus years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1231\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon2.jpg\" alt=\"moon2\" width=\"695\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon2.jpg 695w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon2-300x133.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>According to the model, the first phase of Moon formation began with the Giant Impact and rapid formation of the proto-Moon in less than a year.&nbsp; After the collision with the impactor, proto-Earth and impactor materials formed an outer fluid disk around the proto-Earth.&nbsp; (<em>The proto-Earth and its inner fluid disk is on the left of the line representing the Roche limit.)<\/em>The materials beyond the Roche Limit were free of the proto-Earths gravitational tides, immediately clumping and colliding to create the proto-Moon.<\/p>\n<p>After the outer fluid disk formed the proto-Moon, Lunar formation continued much more slowly in the next phase with the gradual spinning off of material from the inner fluid disk of the proto-Earth.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1232\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon3.jpg\" alt=\"moon3\" width=\"743\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon3.jpg 743w, https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon3-300x132.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 743px) 100vw, 743px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When this fluid disk material (<em>in gray<\/em>) overcame proto-Earth\u2019s gravitational tides due to angular momentum, it reached its Roche limit (<em>the center line).<\/em>&nbsp; At this point it broke free from the proto-Earth disk, formed clumps, and collided with the Moon to accumulate on the outer surface.&nbsp; As a result, the model indicates that the Moon has a structure of at least two layers.&nbsp; The inner 40% was formed in the first phase by the low-iron Giant Impact debris that was rich in impactor materials and made up the outer portion of a fluid disk that formed around proto-Earth. &nbsp;The outer layer that is several hundred kilometers deep accounts for about 60% of the Moon was formed in the next phase by the gradual accretion of materials from proto-Earth\u2019s the inner fluid disk containing more proto-Earth-like materials.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1233\" src=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Moon4.jpg\" alt=\"moon4\" width=\"272\" height=\"241\"><\/p>\n<p>Confirmation of the model can be made by drilling deeply into the Moon to explore the impactor-rich materials 200 kilometers or more below the surface.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h1><strong>Upcoming Public Events<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>All of these events are free and open to the public. If the weather looks questionable for an observing event, check the <a title=\"ASNH\" href=\"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\" target=\"_blank\">ASNH website<\/a> before you leave home. There will be a scrolling message on the home page if an event has been cancelled.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tuesday, January 31, 7:00 pm<br \/>\n<\/strong>Yale Leitner Student Observatory<br \/>\nGeneral monthly meeting<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tuesday, February 28, 7:00 pm<\/strong><br \/>\nYale Leitner Student Observatory<br \/>\nGeneral monthly meeting<\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday, March 10, 7:00pm<\/strong><br \/>\nAnsonia Nature Center, Ansonia, CT <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Ansonia+Nature+%26+Recreation+Center\/@41.344984,-73.0557127,17z\/data=%213m1%214b1%214m5%213m4%211s0x89e7de681fe9f6e9:0x40f25413fc9657f2%218m2%213d41.344984%214d-73.053524?hl=en\">(map)<\/a><br \/>\nPublic observing session<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tuesday, March 28, 7:00 pm<\/strong><br \/>\nYale Leitner Student Observatory<br \/>\nGeneral monthly meeting<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Upcoming Events for ASNH Members<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Volunteers with telescopes are needed for both of these events:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday, January 27, 7:00pm<br \/>\n<\/strong>Lyman Hall High School<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong>70 Pond Hill Road, Wallingford CT <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/70+Pond+Hill+Rd,+Wallingford,+CT+06492\/@41.437635,-72.8206836,17z\/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e7ce65e4cad839:0xdf9027567de4efef!8m2!3d41.437635!4d-72.8184949?hl=en\">(map)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday, March 3, 7:00pm<\/strong><br \/>\nMeadowside Science Night<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Features<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>If you have not looked at the newsletter before, check out some of the regular features. There are four useful links in the menu at the top of this page:<\/p>\n<p><b>Calendar <\/b> This is a monthly calendar that includes all the scheduled events of ASNH, other regional events of interest, plus the dates and times of noteworthy events in the night sky.<\/p>\n<p><b>SkyMap <\/b> This page has a chart of the sky as it appears over the New Haven area at the present date and time. It is constantly updated, so you can go to this page on any clear night to see what is overhead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Space Place<\/strong> Read the monthly article from Space Place.<\/p>\n<p><b>Directions <\/b>This page gives directions to all the locations where regular activities of ASNH take place, including the monthly meeting, public observing sessions, and the annual Connecticut Star Party.<\/p>\n<p>Other regular features can be found within these pages:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Upcoming Public Events <\/strong>Many ASNH events are free and open to the public. These include the monthly meetings and public observing sessions at Young&#8217;s Pond Park in Branford and Silver Sands State Park in Milford. This section gives the dates, times, and descriptions of these events.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Upcoming Events for ASNH Members <\/strong>These events are for ASNH members only. Some are private observing nights, and others are outreach events where volunteers are needed with the telescopes and equipment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Night Sky Highlights <\/strong> For those who are new to astronomy, this section lists some objects to observe in the sky during the next few months, whether you are using just your eyes, a pair of binoculars, or a telescope.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gallery <\/strong> This section will feature recent photographs of celestial targets taken by ASNH members and others. If you have a picture you want to share with us, please submit it to <a href=\"mailto:newsletter@asnh.org\">newsletter@asnh.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h1><strong>Night Sky Highlights for January-March 2017<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h2><strong>Solar System<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Penumbral eclipse of the Moon<br \/>\nFebruary 10<br \/>\n<\/strong>For the eastern United States, a penumbral eclipse of the Moon will take place in the evening hours, peaking around 7:45 pm.&nbsp; This will not be an obvious change, but with the naked eye it should be possible to see a very subtle shading or darkening on the northern part of the Moon.&nbsp; It might be visible for an hour or so around the peak time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mercury<br \/>\n<\/strong>Fast-moving Mercury will be visible in the eastern sky before dawn during the first half of January.&nbsp; Then, in the last week or two of March, it makes a fairly good appearance in the western sky after sunset.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Venus<br \/>\n<\/strong>Venus will be an impressively bright object in the evening sky throughout the winter months.&nbsp; Notice where it is located right after sunset, and then on the next clear afternoon, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">try to spot it before the Sun sets<\/span>.&nbsp; It is not that hard to see Venus in the daylight if you know where to look for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mars<\/strong><br \/>\nBright red Mars will be easy to see in the southwestern sky through the first three months of the year, but it is relatively far from Earth, and telescopic views will show only a small disk.&nbsp; It will be very difficult to see any surface detail. As noted below, it will be very close to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Neptune<\/span> during the first few days of January.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jupiter<br \/>\n<\/strong>Always a great target for any telescope, Jupiter will slowly work its way into the evening sky as the winter progresses.&nbsp; In January, it will rise around midnight, but by March it will be rising around 7 or 8 pm, so then it will be well placed for observing later in the evening.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturn<br \/>\n<\/strong>Saturn spends most of 2017 in Ophiuchus (despite what astrologers might say), which means that it will be visible in the eastern sky before dawn throughout the winter.&nbsp; Those who like to do their observing in the evening will have to wait until the spring to see Saturn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Uranus<\/strong><br \/>\nUranus is in Pisces, and it will be conveniently placed for observation during January and February, before it gets too close to the Sun. On <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">February 26<\/span><\/strong>, Uranus will be 0.6 degrees south of Mars. At other times, you will need a map to find Uranus, and this article from the <em>Sky &amp; Telescope<\/em> website includes finder charts for both Uranus and Neptune:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.skyandtelescope.com\/observing\/celestial-objects-to-watch\/planets\/ice-giants-neptune-and-uranus\/\">www.skyandtelescope.com\/observing\/planets\/ice-giants-neptune-and-uranus\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Neptune<\/strong><br \/>\nA very close conjunction between Neptune and Mars will occur on <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">New Year&#8217;s Eve, 2016<\/span><\/strong>. Both will be visible in the same telescopic field, so if you have never seen Neptune through a telescope, this is a great time to look for it. In the first few days of January, Mars will be drifting east at about 1\/2 degree per day, but it will still serve as a useful guidepost for Neptune: Starting from Mars, slowly move your scope the the southwest and look for a tiny blue-green disk. Then, on the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>January 12<\/strong><\/span>, Neptune will be 0.4 degrees south of Venus!<\/p>\n<h2><b>Deep Sky Objects<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Messier 101, the Pinwheel Galaxy<br \/>\n<\/strong>Spiral galaxy in Ursa Major<br \/>\nThis is a face-on spiral, and at about magnitude 8 it should be visible through even small telescopes.&nbsp; However, its light is spread out over a large area. When searching for it, it is helpful to use a low-power eyepiece.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NGC 3115, the Spindle Galaxy<\/strong><br \/>\nSpiral galaxy in Sextans<br \/>\nHere is another spiral galaxy, but we view this one edge-on.&nbsp; It is fairly bright and its very elongated shape is obvious through the eyepiece.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NGC 2392, the Eskimo Nebula<\/strong><br \/>\nPlanetary Nebula in Gemini<br \/>\nThrough a telescope, this planetary nebula does look a bit like a person\u2019s head inside the hood of a parka.&nbsp; It is a bright target, and well worth a careful look.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NGC 3242, the Ghost of Jupiter Nebula<br \/>\n<\/strong>Planetary nebula in Hydra<br \/>\nThis is another planetary nebula that actually matches its name.&nbsp; It is quite round and looks like a faint version of Jupiter.&nbsp; It has a dim blue or green color. There is an 11<sup>th<\/sup> magnitude star in its center.<\/p>\n<p><strong>V Hydra<\/strong><br \/>\nRed carbon star in Hydra<br \/>\nThis is a good candidate for one of the reddest stars in the night sky.&nbsp; Presumably, carbon in the star\u2019s outer atmosphere gives it such a distinctive color.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Harrington 4<br \/>\n<\/strong>Asterism in Auriga<br \/>\nPhil Harrington noted this star group in his handbook on binocular viewing.&nbsp; It is an elongated stretch of stars in the center of Auriga that resembles a staircase.&nbsp;&nbsp; It is a nice target for binoculars or a wide-field telescope.<\/p>\n<p><strong>NGC 2237-39<\/strong><br \/>\nDiffuse nebula in Monoceros<br \/>\nThis is a very large nebula, round, dim and diffuse.&nbsp; It covers about a degree of sky, and that can make it difficult to find through a telescope.&nbsp; On a dark night, try searching for it with binoculars, and use averted vision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Messier 50<\/strong><br \/>\nOpen cluster in Monoceros<br \/>\nThis is a very easy target for any telescope, or even binoculars.&nbsp; It is a rich and beautiful open cluster, with stars seeming to form a spiral pattern.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Messier 93<\/strong><br \/>\nOpen cluster in Puppis<br \/>\nAt about magnitude 6, this is also an easy open cluster to observe. See if you can discern what look like 5 arms\u2014strands of stars radiating from its center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recent ASNH Activities by Donna Pursley Regional Water Authority Private Event at Lake Gaillard, Friday October 7th This has become an annual event for us. We set our scopes up near a dam on the water company reservoir property. I &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/2016\/12\/22\/janfebmar2017\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-13"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1209"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1886,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1209\/revisions\/1886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}