{"id":2248,"date":"2020-09-25T16:49:45","date_gmt":"2020-09-25T20:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/?p=2248"},"modified":"2020-09-25T16:54:40","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T20:54:40","slug":"octnovdec2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/2020\/09\/25\/octnovdec2020\/","title":{"rendered":"OctNovDec2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Monthly Meetings on Zoom<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Beginning in July, ASNH has held virtual monthly meetings on Zoom. We will continue use this format for monthly meetings through at least the rest of 2020. A week or two before each meeting, members will receive an email announcement with a link that will allow them to connect to the online meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just click the link or copy and paste in your browser and that will connect you to the meeting. You can do this on any device that has an internet connection and a browser.  You can do this on a smart phone. You can display yourself if you like with your selfie camera on your device. If you don’t that’s okay, don’t feel you have to.

There is no dial up number to join the meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcoming monthly meetings on Zoom:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, October 27, 7:00 pm
Tuesday, November 24, 7:00 pm
Tuesday, December 29, 7:00 pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cancellation of Public Events and the 2020 Connecticut Star Party<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Because of COVID-19, all of our public observing events have been cancelled through the rest of 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, this year’s Connecticut Star Party was cancelled. We look forward to holding the 30th CSP in September 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Memoriam: Michael Peter Dzubaty<\/strong>
June 4, 1947 – August 24, 2020<\/strong> <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Astronomical Society of New Haven has lost one of its long time members of more than 35 years. Michael Peter Dzubaty passed away suddenly on August 24th, 2020. Mike was born on June 24,1947 in Buffalo, NY. He attended Trinity College, Oklahoma University and Heidelburg University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike was an original member of the ASNH group that planned and carried out the creation of \u201cThe Connecticut Star Party\u201d, now in its 30th year, originally located at Camp Bobriwka Ukrainian Camp, Colebrook, CT. Mike was very instrumental in making arrangements for our club to use the site for many years.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike regularly attended and helped out at many of the Society\u2019s public events whether it was at Eel\u2019s Hill, Bethany Observatory, local school programs or many of the public outreach programs the Society supported. Mike could be found at many astronomical gatherings like Stellafane, AstroAssembly and StarConn. Mike was always willing to listen, learn and was always ready to lend a helping hand. His knowledge of astronomy led him to win many of the Astronomy Quizzes, given at the annual \u201cWinter Solstice\u201d dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike\u2019s cheery grin and gentle disposition will be missed by all and his spirit will live on in all our hearts and minds. Good night Mike and clear skies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al Washburn
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Member Reports<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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From Ray Kaville:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curiosity got the better\nof me.  Approximately 22:16 on July 21, I\nstepped out and found the handle and Arcturus. So I ambled down the driveway\nout onto the street and then walked backward holding my 10×50 binocs (that I\nwon at CSP; Thank You!) until I got visually tangled in the powerlines to my\nlovely neighbor\u2019s house (with the nasty loud hound dogs that you can hear\nthrough the concrete walls in the basement). What to my wandering eyes did\nappear? Yes! NEOWISE in a pretty glorious configuration with a massively long\ntail. I tried without the optical aid, but no dice with all the streetlights\nand porchlights. I can only imagine what it might look like from a dark site\nunder totally clear skies, but this was pretty exciting. According to SkySafari\nit was around 19 degrees up and 315 NW. Just under the cup of the big dipper.\nIf it was pouring water, it would have spilled on NEOWISE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not a fantastic view,\nbut an exciting one. If the situation arises, I will have to find a better spot\nand at least set up the 15x70s. Maybe even the refractor if I get energetic.\nEasy to spot in binocs with a reasonable NW horizon (mine was touching the tops\nof about 60-foot trees).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturn was a pleasure\nand about 10 degrees behind Jupiter if I calculate that correctly. A nice\nevening treat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was\nout on July 27 around 21:30-22:00 leaning on the phone pole across the street\nand searching seemingly in vain through the heavy overcast sky. I knew the\ncomet was about 30 degrees up so I didn’t quit. There it was. Through the\nclouds I discovered the fuzzy nucleus and the main tail. As I covered my eyes\n(10×50) to block out the light I did see the ion tail faintly. Not the greatest\nview, but still exciting. It’s moving away and up the handle from the dipper\ncup. Oh my goodness. It’s almost August. So I guess we’ll see how long we can\nactually track it. Still from all the forecasts I really doubted that I’d find\nit at all in the mist. Glad I did. The Moon is coming on and I also snagged a\ncouple of quick views of Jupiter and Saturn. Almost forced me to drag that\nheavy mount out onto the street and spend some time battling traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear Skies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

From Michael Amato:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My brother Anthony took this photo of Comet NEOWISE while we were observing it. We, along with our friend Joe, observed this comet several times in both the morning and evening and we were able to spot both tails on the comet. On a Sunday morning, we saw the comet and two conjunctions. One conjunction featured the Moon and Mars together and the other was a close encounter of Venus and Aldebaran They were about one degree apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three of us also have been observing\nJupiter, Saturn and Mars. In Joe’s 8″ scope, Jupiter’s two big cloud bands\nshowed up very nicely and Jupiter’s north polar cap was very obvious. We also\nenjoyed watching its moons dance around Jupiter. On Saturn, we could easily see\nthe Cassini Division on Saturn’s rings. We also observed three of its moons, Titan,\nRhea and Tethys. In June, Mars’ South Polar Icecap (SPC) was huge and I enjoyed\nlooking at that. I also observed the SPC with my mounted binoculars.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did get to view the Perseid meteor shower the\nnight after peak viewing. I saw seven fast moving yellow meteors that. With my\nshort tube rich field Newtonian scope, I was able to enjoy many different open\nclusters and asterisms. Viewing the Coathanger is considered best when using\nbinoculars which is almost true but when observing this with a rich field\nscope, it is spectacular!! I also got up well before dawn to observe The\nPleiades with my short tube scope. Believe me, all I could do is stare at this\nwonderful sight. Finally, I observed the Moon and Mars together on the night of\nSeptember 5. Mars was less than half a degree above the moon. What a sight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How I got interested in astronomy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was 11 years old and my brother and next door neighbor were 10 years old when we read in the New Haven Register that bright naked eye comet Arend-Roland would be appearing in our western sky for the next few evenings. We went outside to look that evening when we saw a bright meteor appeared in the western sky. Being new kids to astronomy we mistakenly thought this was the comet. The next day we talked it over and realized we saw a very bright meteor. The Register said the comet would be better placed to see that next night so out we went to hunt it down. This time we found Comet Arend-Roland right off the bat. Coming out of the comet was a bright anti-tail which pointed directly at the sunset. We simply started to jump up and down with excitement before we started looking at it with our 20 power hand held telescopes. We were so focused on the comet’s anti-tail, we never even noticed its other tail pointing away from the sun. Seeing that bright fireball and comet started me off loving astronomy for all these years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Member Reports, continued: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

From Bob Crelin:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bob got an early start on Comet NEOWISE, and he was able to catch it when it was still in the morning sky on July 14. He used a digital camera with a 55-250 mm zoom lens, ISO 6400, and exposures between .5 and 2 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

From John Pancoast:<\/strong>
(Editor’s note: John was an active member of ASNH until he moved to the Washington DC area a few years ago. He still has many friends here who will enjoy reading about his progress in astrophotography.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My astrophotographer\u2019s journey over the past\nyear has focused on trying to get better at deep sky photography. It\u2019s hard\nfrom my apartment here in Washington, DC with no back yard to practice in. I do\nhave access to a handful of dark sites through NOVAC, the club I joined here in\nDC. Still, it seems i am taking 2 steps forward and always suffer one step\nbackward between visits to dark skies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last summer, at the RAC\u2019s Summer Star Party in\nwestern Massachusetts, I started imaging the Western Veil. It\u2019s large enough to\nfill up the field of view of my medium length refractor, but faint enough to\ntest my beginner\u2019s abilities. At the time, I had just started capturing images\nwith Backyard EOS, which I really liked. For some reason, still unknown, my\nCanon camera stopped communicating with the computer that week, and I took it\nas a sign that this was the time finally to get a cooled astronomy camera. That\nled to learning to use new capture software (N.I.N.A.) and many other\nchallenges in the months since. I think I have been out taking images of the\nWestern Veil 4 or 5 times, with and without narrowband filters, often bedeviled\nby erratic guiding and, of course, poor seeing. The best I have been able to do\nis this image compiled from two sessions last month at Cherry Springs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This image represents 3 hours and 40 minutes\ntotal time with the Optolong duo narrowband filter, which captures the H-alpha\nand OIII emission lines in the supernova remnant.  The image scale with\nthe William Optics 110mm \/5.9 telescope and ZWO cooled OSC camera’s 4.9 micron\npixels means that my images are under sampled by half. (Best not to zoom in too\nmuch!) However, I tell myself that I will invest in upgrades only when my\ncapability is actually hindered by the item in question. I did buy a TV 2X\n Powermate that will solve this and also let me image smaller objects this\nfall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a pleasure sharing this with you and my\nfriends in ASNH. I hope you are all getting by safely and with your health\nintact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Member Reports, continued: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

From Rich Asarisi:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Comet NEOWISE Adventures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I saw the reports\nonline about this comet being visible to us in the northern hemisphere I was\ntruly excited.   Since it\u2019s been more than a few\nyears since we\u2019ve seen one put on a decent show for us, I started looking at the information to find\nwhere and when it was going to be visible and plan where I was going to go to\nsee it and photograph it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 14th with the\ncomet being in the NNW at about 20 degrees elevation I decided that the best\nplace to try and find this comet was the Silvermine industrial park in Seymour,\nabout 2 miles from my house and up on the top of a hill.  With my binoculars\nand camera along with my wife Martha we set out about 8:45 to see if we could\nlocate this dirty snowball.  Try as we might, we never did locate it that\nnight, mostly due to the clouds that created a soup low in the northwest right\naround sunset, of course the rest of the sky was clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If at first you don\u2019t\nsucceed… so on the 15th we decided to try again, this time we had Pat Maturo\njoin us for the hunt at the Mathis baseball field at the top of hill in the\nindustrial park.  Due to most events being canceled the park was empty and\nwe had the place to ourselves, except for the Osprey that kept watch over us\nthere trying to figure out what the Hoomans were doing below their nest.\n Again the comet was forecast to be 20 degrees above the horizon and again\nwe didn\u2019t have any success in locating it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So a\nbit discouraged I went home and investigated more about where other\npeople were seeing it and tried to ascertain how high and what\nelevation they were seeing it from.  I came to the conclusion that it\nshould indeed be visible from the location I had been at for the last 2 nights.\n The forecast for the 16th didn\u2019t look promising so\nI decided that it would be Friday night now to find the visitor to\nour solar system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

On Friday I made\neverything ready in plenty of time and had SkySafari checked and double\nchecked, skies looked like they would be clear and now the comet\nwas forecast to be a bit higher in the sky.  I set out about\n8:45 to the same baseball field and grabbed the camera and set it up, about\n9:15 I searched the sky with my binoculars but didn\u2019t locate the comet, I\ndecided that perhaps there is not enough contrast to pick it up in the bino\u2019s\nlet me take a couple shots with the camera.  So with the Nikon D4 and\n70-200mm lens set at about 80mm I pointed it at the sky in the NNW.  Once\nI nailed the focus and the approximate location I  took a few\nshots and pulled them up on the screen to review.  Ha!  It was\nthere!!  Much higher than I thought it would be, and much\nbrighter then I expected.  It pretty much jumped off the LCD screen of the\ncamera.  I took over a few hundred shots of the comet that night trying\ndifferent settings and focal lengths to try and get the best exposure.\n  When I got home and actually reviewed the images I found the best\nones were from after 10pm when the sky was starting to turn black.  So\narmed with this knowledge I knew I had to get the best shots after dark.\n Knowing how high the comet was I pretty much determined that it should be\nabove the tree line from my front yard.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Saturday the 18th I\ntook sky safari and went to live mode to figure out where the comet would be in\nmy NNW sky, from my front yard it cleared the tree line without an issue.\n Once it got dark I set up my camera on the front lawn and set the intervalometer\nto take the shots for me automatically, so all I had to do was sit there and\nwait for it.  While the camera was clicking away I used my binoculars to\ncheck out the comet.  Once the sky got dark it was possible to see it\nnaked eye and the binos showed it had 2 tails streaming from it.\n Another few hundred images later I called it a night.  The comet\nwasn\u2019t high enough to get it in my Planewave or I would have done that instead.\n Using my D4 on a tripod with no tracking makes for short exposures.\n But I did okay with what I had to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final shots I got\nwere on Monday July 20th, since my wife was away for a few days, she\nstill hadn\u2019t seen it so I took her outside and with my laser pointer showed\nher exactly where it was.  I set up the camera to run on auto\nagain and a few hundred shots later I called it a night.  This was a lot\nof fun to plan and shoot, but I do think my Nikon D4 is a little long in the\ntooth now and in need of an upgrade.  I think I might also look for a\ntracker or a small tracking mount to put my lenses on for longer exposures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Member Reports, continued:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

From Marty Connors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have an observing report to share with the\ngroup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date & Time:  Sunday September 6, 2020, 4:AM (approximately)
Location:  Lake Chaffee, Ashford, CT
Object\/event:  Moon (four days past full)\nin conjunction (approx 2 degrees) with a very bright object (turns out to have\nbeen Mars, but I didn’t know it at the time.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details:  I had awakened about 3:30 AM,\ncouldn’t get back to sleep, so I wandered out on the deck and noticed the Moon\nwas extremely close to some other very bright object.  I made a note to\nmyself to check it out the next day (Labor Day).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turns out to have been Mars, and very close to\nthe time at which the Red Planet began the retrograde portion of its visit in\nour sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I further discovered that according to The Sky6, similar events are predicted for October 3 (1 degree) and November 26 (5 degrees). On those future events, I plan on being much\nbetter prepared than I was on September 6!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

From Laurie Averill:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viewing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One morning in late August, I woke up on a slightly misty predawn to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon as a bright meteor streaked toward the west.  What a treat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observing Reminiscences<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My parents had a magical place on northern Lake Champlain in\nVermont that we visited in summer and on some of the warmer, long fall\nweekends.  One October during the\nmid-1960\u2019s my sister and I noticed some unusual flickering in the sky. We went\nto the beach, lay back on the big sun-warmed rocks during the cool night, and\nwatched the ghostly, white aurora licking the sky, horizon to horizon.  The Northern Lights canopied over us and\nseemed close enough to touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From James Menturweck:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After observing with my grand niece and nephew and their mom I stayed a little later to observe Mars. I did discern quite a bit of detail which for 76 year old eyes isn’t  bad.  Equipment was Orion  MakCass 127 at 100x.  The old  University Optics 12.5 mm eyepiece from 50 years ago still provides nice contrasty views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first week of September, watched the moon Mars race in the evenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

From Jim Mazur:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Light of My First Telescope<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was in elementary school, my older cousin Ronald got\nme interested in all types of science, including astronomy.  In the summer of 1960, before I entered 4th<\/sup>\ngrade, I talked my parents into buying me a 3-inch f\/10 reflecting telescope\nfrom Edmund Scientific Company.  The\nprice was $29.95.  It arrived on a Saturday\nafternoon about a week after we ordered it, and that night it was rainy.  But Sunday dawned with a cloudless blue sky,\nand I knew I would be able to get my first looks through the telescope that\nnight.  I couldn\u2019t wait for it to get\ndark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By remembering the phase of the Moon (roughly first quarter)\nand month (August 1960), I recently used TheSkyX to determine the exact date of\nthat Sunday night:  August 28, 1960.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That night Ronald came over to help me learn how to use the\ntelescope.  My parents, brothers, and\naunt were there, as well as all of my friends from the neighborhood and some of\ntheir parents.  Everyone had a great\ntime.  We were amazed by the craters and\nmountains of the Moon.  Jupiter and\nSaturn were both in Sagittarius.  It was wonderful\nto see the four bright moons of Jupiter, and I don\u2019t need to say how much we\nwere thrilled by the sight of Saturn\u2019s rings. \nWe probably also looked at a few bright stars and maybe a double star,\nbut that part I don\u2019t remember.  What I\ndo remember is that I have never been the same since that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t seem to find any pictures of my first telescope on\nits original mount, but the picture below on the left shows my brother Dennis\nlooking through the 3-inch scope mounted on a large box camera I built with the\nhelp of my Uncle Jim.  The photo on the\nright shows me a few years later with an 8-inch scope that I built, and the\n3-inch can be seen riding piggyback on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 60th<\/sup> anniversary of that first night of\nobserving occurred a few weeks ago.  To\nmark the occasion, my brothers and I, along with our families, had a Zoom family\ngathering that evening.  We looked at\nsome old photographs and reminisced about some of our other astronomical\nadventures from our childhood years. \nThat night, August 28, 2020, the Moon was in the southern sky, and\nJupiter and Saturn were side by side in Sagittarius.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

From Leo Taylor:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Saturday before Labor Day I drove an hour each way to\nStamford to watch some friends do some Sidewalk Observing.  Well, not\nexactly ON the sidewalk, but a gravel lot next to the sidewalk of busy\nWashington Boulevard. They were quite successful, the weather was clear enough\nand several dozen people stopped by for a look. There were three scopes set up:\nMark Holden with a refractor, Zane Lander with a classic Coulter Dob, and\nanother fellow with a Dob. I enjoyed chatting with friends, and answering\nquestions for those in line at each telescope.  I think I convinced a Dad\nthat the NASA Hubble Telescope was NOT based on the ground in Arizona! He did\nturn to his son and say, “Correction – The Hubble is 400 miles in space.\nThe Dob owners stayed mostly on Jupiter and Saturn. Mark did turn his GOTO\nscope to the Ring, Dumbbell, Andromeda, and other Deep Sky objects.
\n
\nIt was my first Astro Event of the year and I’m glad I went!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Venus Update<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

by Laurie Averill
Volunteer Solar System Ambassador, JPL<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This fall Venus will greet us in the pre-dawn eastern sky.  When I look at our sister planet, I think of\nsiblings that share so much, but are also very different and wonder why the\nEarth and Venus so different?  Can we use\nwhat we know about these sister planets to identify exoplanets capable of\nsustaining us?  The planets are\nsimilar.  Venus is only five percent\nsmaller than Earth.  It has a similar\ndensity and bulk composition\u2014made up of similar materials with similar\nstructures.  It has similar topography to\nEarth.  Both Earth and Venus have clouds,\nprecipitation, and winds. NASA\u2019s Pioneer Venus 1 Mission also detected lightning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Through dense cloud cover Synthetic Aperture Radar imaged the surface of Venus during the Magellan Mission from 1990-1994.  It revealed mountain ranges, volcanoes, lava flows, craters, wind erosion, with rough, fresher areas reading as light and smooth, older areas reading as dark in the above color enhanced images of Venus.  Based solely on its distance from the Sun, Venus\u2019s temperature should not be much different from Earth\u2019s.  The presence of deuterium hydrogen, a surface marker for evaporated surface water, indicates that Venus once had enough surface water to fill a shallow ocean.  3.6 billion years ago, it may have been the first planet within our solar system\u2019s habitable zone and having surface water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Venus does not have plate tectonics, Dr. Suzanne Smrekar indicated that areas of subduction around active volcanoes may be possible.  Magma may well up from beneath the surface where a volcano releases it.  At the edge of the flow, the lava may subduct beneath the surrounding surface.  This type of activity, when the lithosphere of Earth was much hotter than it is now, may have preceded plate tectonics on Earth. Varying levels of sulfur dioxide gas in the atmosphere are seen as evidence of recent volcanic activity by some scientists including Dr. Justin Filiberto and evidence of a cyclical, oscillations in the circulation of Venus\u2019s atmosphere like El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a by Dr. Emmanuel Marcq based on data gathered by The European Space Agency\u2019s Venus Express. Dr. Filiberto\u2019s research also indicates that the volcanoes on Venus possibly have shield shapes like those in Hawaii that are lower to the surrounding area and produce layers of thin, viscous flows.  Based on simulations of weathering on Venus of iron in a flow\u2019s fresh olivine and basalt into hematite, he believes volcanic activity on Venus has occurred within 2.5 million years, possibly within 250,000 years and even more recently.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Venus and Earth are also different.  Venus\u2019s atmosphere is primarily made up of carbon dioxide, is very dense\u2014the equivalent of being about 92 feet underwater\u2014and traps the Sun\u2019s heat.  On Venus, the clouds obscure the surface at visible wavelengths and are made from droplets of sulfuric acid.  They rain sulfuric acid, but it evaporates before reaching the surface.  The dense, carbon dioxide atmosphere acts as a super greenhouse and traps the Sun\u2019s heat, raising the planet\u2019s surface temperatures to as high as 880 degrees Fahrenheit\u2014hot enough to melt lead\u2014hotter than Mercury\u2019s surface even though Mercury is closer to the Sun.  Venus rotates very slowly in the opposite direction of Earth.  Each day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days.  Recent observations by  the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\u2018s Akatsuki Mission have detected mechanisms for heat distribution.  Thermal tides in Venus\u2019s lower clouds along the equator move 60 times faster than Venus rotates and disperse heat from the day side of Venus to the night side.  A decades-long, global discontinuity of the deeper clouds\u2014those closer to the surface\u2014allows heat to also flow meridionally from the equator toward the north and south poles at slower rates.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Venus Update, continued:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venus may host life in its sulfuric-acid-rich clouds.  Phosphine, a biomarker, has been detected in the upper atmosphere of Venus by the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii and the Atacama ALMA array in Chile.  In this part of the atmosphere, the pressure is at one bar, the same that we feel on Earth at sea level, and the temperature is about 68 degrees F.  The amount of phosphine detected suggests that there may be anaerobic microbes living in the clouds of Venus, assuming that they produce phosphine gas at the same rate as this type of organism does on Earth.  Currently, other processes for producing this amount of phosphene on Venus are not known. This discovery is  based on the work of researchers from Cardiff University, University of Manchester, and MIT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVenus: Earth\u2019s Evil Twin or Just Misunderstood<\/a>\u201d by Dr. Sue Smrekar, JPL\/Caltech Research Scientist and currently Deputy Director of NASA\u2019s Mars Insight Mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAkatsuki reveals a giant cloud disruption unnoticed for 35 years on Venus\u201d <\/a>by JAXA\u2019s Akatsuki Venus Orbiter observations,  Dr. Javier Peralta,  JAXA International Top Young Fellowship Researcher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow waves and turbulence maintain the super-rotation of Venus’ atmosphere\u201d<\/a> by Dr. Takeshi Horinouchi, Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental and Earth Science, Hokkaido University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVolcanism on Venus:  Evidence of Young Volcanism\u201d<\/a> by Dr Justin Filiberto, Lunar and Planetary Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cVariations of sulphur dioxide at the cloud top of Venus\u2019s dynamic atmosphere\u201d<\/a> by Dr. Emmanuel Marcq, University of Versailles Saint-Quentin en Yvelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus<\/a>\u201d by team from Cardiff University, University of Manchester, and MIT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Features<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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\n\n\n

Calendar <\/strong> 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\n\n\n

SkyMap <\/strong> 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\n\n\n

Space Place<\/strong> Read the monthly article from Space Place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directions <\/strong>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\n\n\n

Other regular features can be found within these pages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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’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\n\n\n

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\n\n\n

Night Sky Highlights <\/strong>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\n\n\n

Gallery <\/strong> This section features 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 newsletter@asnh.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Night Sky Highlights for October-December 2020<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Solar System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Orionid Meteor Shower
Peaking on October 21<\/strong>
Under ideal conditions, this shower can produce up to 20 meteors an hour. This year the conditions will be good after midnight as the waxing crescent Moon will set in the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geminid Meteor Shower
Peaking on December 13-14<\/strong>
This is one of the best meteor showers each year, with maximum rates up to 120 per hour! This year the shower peaks at the time of the new Moon, so conditions should be ideal for seeing a lot of meteors in the early morning hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercury<\/strong>
This fall, the best chance to see Mercury will be in the week or so surrounding November 10, when this elusive planet will be low in the eastern sky before dawn. On the 10th, it will be 19 degrees from the Sun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venus<\/strong>
Brilliant Venus will be high in the eastern sky before dawn in October. It will gradually start to approach the Sun and get lower in the pre-dawn sky in November and December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mars<\/strong>
Mars will be closest to Earth on October 6 when its disk will appear 22.6″ in diameter, the largest it will appear until the year 2035. It will be rising around sunset, so it will be well placed for observing in the late evening. Mars will be almost as large through all of October and into the beginning of November. This should be a great time to see what surface features you can spot with a telescope at high power. By the end of December, Mars will still be a brilliant object in the evening sky but its disk will have decreased to 11″ .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jupiter<\/strong> and Saturn<\/strong>
Close Conjunction on Monday, December 21<\/strong>
This is an ideal time to observe these two gas giants. Throughout the fall months they will be within 10 degrees of each other, and in the second half of December they will be less than 1 degree apart. On the evening of December 21 (which is coincidentally the winter solstice), Jupiter will be 0.1 degree south of Saturn, making a spectacular sight both for the naked eye and through any telescope. This is the closest conjunction of these two planets since 1623!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uranus<\/strong>
Located in Aries, Uranus will rise late in the evening during October In November and December it will be in the eastern sky after sunset. At magnitude 5.7 Uranus is theoretically visible to the naked eye, but I have never heard of anyone accomplishing this feat from Connecticut’s light-polluted skies. However, it is easy to see in binoculars if you know where to look for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find Uranus or Neptune with a telescope, you will need a go-to scope or a finder chart such as the one in this article from the Sky & Telescope<\/em> website: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.skyandtelescope.com\/observing\/planets\/ice-giants-neptune-and-uranus\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neptune<\/strong>
Neptune is in Aquarius, appearing at about magnitude 7.8. It rises around sunset in October. In November and December you can start to look for it as soon as the sky gets dark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deep Sky Objects<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Quite a few deep sky objects in the autumn sky can be seen without optical aid, including the famous Andromeda Galaxy, 2.2 million light years away. If you have binoculars or a telescope, there are countless double stars, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies to seek out. To get directions to any object, click on the link to a star-hop chart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messier 31, 32 and 110: Andromeda Galaxy and companions
<\/strong>Galaxies in Andromeda
It is not hard to see M31 with the naked eye, and with even a small telescope you should be able to see its two companion galaxies M32 and M110. M32 is a small fuzzy circle that can be mistaken for a star is you don’t look carefully. M110 is larger than M32 and much more diffuse, so it can be harder to spot. Try averted vision. Star-hop chart<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messier 45, the Pleiades<\/strong>
Open cluster in Taurus
This icon of the autumn skies looks like a little dipper with the naked eye, and some people think it is the Little Dipper. Its blue-white stars are a great view through binoculars or a telescope at low power. Star-hop chart<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melotte 25, the Hyades
<\/strong>Open cluster in Taurus
This is the nearest open cluster to us, about 153 light years away, and its V-shape is easy to see with the naked eye as the face of Taurus the Bull. Bright red Aldebaran appears to be part of the group but it is actually closer, about 65 light years away. This is a great binocular target. Star-hop chart<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kemble’s Cascade and NGC 1502<\/strong>
Asterism and open cluster in Camelopardalis
First noted by amateur astronomer Lucian Kemble, this chance alignment of stars resembles a waterfall stretching across 3 degrees of sky, ending with a splash at the small open cluster NGC 1502. Because of its size, it is best viewed with binoculars or a rich-field telescope. Star-<\/a>hop <\/a>chart<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perseus Double Cluster
<\/strong>Pair of star clusters in Perseus
It is always a treat to observe these two rich open clusters with a good telescope and a low-power eyepiece. While enjoying the view, look carefully at the star colors. It should be possible to spot several red giant stars scattered here and there. Star-hop chart<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mesarthim (Gamma Arietis)
<\/strong>Double star in Aries
This is a nice double, a matched pair of 4th magnitude blue\/white stars about 7″ apart. They can be separated with just about any telescope at medium power. These are two hot stars about 164 light years from Earth. Star-hop chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omicron 1 Cygni<\/strong>
Triple star in Cygnus
With the naked eye, this star forms a pair with Omicron 2, about 5 degrees west of Deneb.  In binoculars or a telescope, three stars of different colors can be seen–yellow\/orange, blue and white.  This is a very attractive group through a low power eyepiece. Star-hop chart<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NGC 1499, the California Nebula<\/strong>
Diffuse Nebula in Perseus
This emission nebula is over 2 degrees long and 1\/2 degree wide, in the general shape of the state of California. You might think such a large object would be easy to see, but because of its low surface brightness it is actually quite a visual challenge. The best chance to see it is with a rich-field telescope and a nebula filter such as H-Beta. Star-hop chart<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mu Cepheus, Herschel\u2019s Garnet Star
<\/strong>Red variable star in Cepheus
This is star is famous for its deep red color. It varies in magnitude from about 3.6 to 5.0, so it is visible to the naked eye. Its color is best seen through binoculars or a small telescope.  A red supergiant, it is one of the largest and intrinsically brightest stars in the sky, about 1400 light years away. Star-hop chart<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Gallery<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Al Johnson writes: This is M13 taken with my new Starlight Xpress SX814 Pro camera and my FS102. I wanted to try my 10\u201d Newtonian with this camera the other night but the smoke in the upper atmosphere put an end to it. There are some interesting images of the smoke’s travels on NOAA.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Monthly Meetings on Zoom Beginning in July, ASNH has held virtual monthly meetings on Zoom. We will continue use this format for monthly meetings through at least the rest of 2020. A week or two before each meeting, members will … Continue reading →<\/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":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2248","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=2248"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2317,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2248\/revisions\/2317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}