{"id":2989,"date":"2023-07-01T10:41:55","date_gmt":"2023-07-01T14:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/?p=2989"},"modified":"2023-08-07T10:26:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-07T14:26:25","slug":"julaugsep2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/2023\/07\/01\/julaugsep2023\/","title":{"rendered":"JulAugSep2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Full information about CSP 33 can be found here:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/asnh.org\/slideshow\/CSPpicIndex.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Summer Solstice Picnic on June 24, 2023<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

By Donna Pursley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The picnic was held at Sleeping Giant State Park. We have been reserving the pavilion to be out of the elements and for the cozy feel it provides. It was a damp and cloudy day and we weren\u2019t sure if it was going to rain so the pavilion was the perfect spot. Cheryl Barker did a great job setting everything up and the cooks were busy with the grill and the coffee pot. This is one of the few times we all get to talk about anything we want to. As usual, there was terrific food and drinks. Some healthy, and some not so much. I think we had just the right amount and of course, we all had to try a little bit of everything. My only regret is that I didn\u2019t get to talk to everyone. Time went by so quickly. Everyone started packing up and leaving a little after 4. Hopefully, many will come to our next public star gazing event at Hammonasset in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recent ASNH Outreach Events<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

By Donna Pursley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silver Sands State Park, Friday April 21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had a nice crowd by 7pm and it was still light out. Even before it got dark, we were treated to an interesting atmospheric phenomenon–a Sun pillar appeared in the west where the Sun had just set. Venus shone very brightly and the 3% moon was a very nice sight. These were the only 2 objects we could see for quite a while because it was still daylight and the sky was half cloudy. We had a good number of telescopes on the field. One had been in the attic for years and this was its first use in years. Later on, we were able to see Mars and a few other bright objects. Then I turned around and the entire crowd had left. It was a good thing because we couldn\u2019t find much else in the sky and the clouds were starting to cover the entire sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cold Spring Farm, Colchester, Saturday May 13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one of the private events that we do in the area. Well, on the outskirts of our area. This is an hour or more drive for most of us. This time we were set up on a small field next to a gravel road. There were many participants waiting for the sky to get dark. The clouds were in and out but we were able to show them Venus, Mars and some other deep sky objects. The ISS topped the night by making two very impressive passes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Recent ASNH Outreach Events, continued:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Silver Sands State Park, Friday May 19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was another night of Mother Nature not cooperating. It was partly cloudy when we set up our scopes. People starting showing up as it began to get dark. Most of the people said this was their first time coming to a stargazing event. Many lived close by. For a while, we were all able to see Venus, and only Venus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because only Venus was visible early on, an enthusiastic pair of children (a young boy and his younger sister) got a chance to try using a 10-inch Dobsonian scope for themselves. They took turns looking through the Telrad to line up Venus in the red bullseye, then they climbed a small stepladder to look through the eyepiece and were delighted to see Venus! It was a great learning experience for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the clouds really started moving in. Many people went home. Just when we were about to call it a night, at about 9:15, the clouds started moving away. The sky became clear, though a little hazy. The larger scopes were able to find a number of deep sky objects. We were all treated to a Starlink train!!  It traveled across the sky for a few minutes. There was also a sighting of the ISS earlier in the evening. We stayed a little late and the last of us were leaving by 10:30. We had a nice crowd so it was too bad that the sky didn\u2019t clear up a little earlier. Hopefully most of the people that left early will stop by for our next event in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hammonasset Beach State Park, Saturday May 27<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of ASNH and the Thames Amateur Astronomical Society (TAAS) participated in this event. About 100 visitors came to look through the telescopes. Highlights of the evening included the first quarter Moon, Venus (also half-lit like the Moon, and Mars. Some of the deep-sky targets included Mizar and Alcor, Epsilon Lyra, the Ring Nebula, the Hercules Cluster, and galaxies M81 and M82.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Young’s Park, Saturday June 10<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the last two scheduled events here had been canceled due to clouds, we finally got to hold an observing session at Young’s Park. We had about 8 telescopes set up and about 40-50 visitors on a comfortable June evening. Many of the visitors were very enthusiastic about looking through the scopes and discussing astronomy, and some stayed for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Observing Reports<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

By Michael Amato<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 4, I observed the area just below Tycho Crater with my 5.1″ Short Tube Newtonian Reflector. At low power, the area I was looking at looked like a city on the Moon. It was so fascinating to look at it. Of course, when I upped the power, I could see I was looking at some mountains head on. I then reduced the power again and there was the “city” on the Moon. I realized if I saw this scene 300 years ago, I would be announcing to the world I discovered a city on the Moon. I continued to look at this amazing sight for another ten minutes before I packed it in. If you catch the Moon at the exact right moment, you will also be amazed at what the moon has to offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the night of April 19, I observed the total solar eclipse online from Western Australia. As the Moon’s shadow crossed the sun’s face, I saw it cover up two sunspots. I then observed Bailey’s beads and then at totality, the Sun’s corona exploded into view. If I was viewing this in person, it would be too risky on the eyes if I tried to see the sudden appearance of the corona. Some people on the chat said they thought looking online is better than viewing it in person. I don’t know about that, but I will be traveling to see next April’s eclipse to see it in person. Meanwhile, I will be viewing all other total eclipses online. Finally, it helped to have a Hi Def computer screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the evening of April 23, my brother Anthony, our friend Joe, and I observed the aurora that the whole country was seeing. We were able to see a faint diffuse aurora in spite of West Haven’s world-famous light pollution. During the 45 minutes we viewed it, the northwest sky had a green haze that brightened and dimmed during the whole time. We also noticed the green was shifting to different parts of the sky. We also noted both a green beam and red beam appearing and then rather quickly disappearing. For us, the aurora was kind of disappointing, but we still were glad we went out to observe it. Hopefully, the next one will be more colorful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image below of the crescent Moon was taken on May 23 by Anthony as he, Joe, and I looked at it through the smoky skies caused by the Western Canadian wildfires. The Moon\u2019s color was quite yellow as a result. At night, I have been pointing my infrared thermometer at the smoke to see how high it is. The temperature has been averaging 0 to 8 degrees meaning the smoke is way up there. One night in mid-May, we were getting whiffs of smoke and sure enough, I pointed my infrared thermometer up to it and it recorded 28 degrees. That means the smokes base was much lower on this one night which resulted in us smelling a little smoke. Needless to say, I think all of us are hoping the smoke clears soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the evening of June 9, I was walking to my car after working my part time job when I came upon a rain curtain in front of me so before it got to me, I photographed it. It’s not too often when I get to see this occur, so I was quite happy to have a chance to image it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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By Chris Predom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 25 while viewing the Moon I saw the following.  In all my years observing the Moon, I have never seen an arrow on the Moon. The picture is not the best. I just held my phone to eyepiece, so the image is not as sharp as it was by eye. But it looks like an arrowhead attached to a curvy shaft. I zoomed in on the picture to enlarge the image of the arrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Upcoming Observing Events<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Members with telescopes are needed for these public outreach events. If the weather looks questionable for an observing event, check the ASNH website<\/a> after 4:00pm. There will be a scrolling message on the home page if an event has been cancelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, August 11, 8:30pm<\/strong> (Rain date Saturday, August 12)<\/strong>
Hammonasset Beach State Park
Meig\u2019s Point Nature Center, 1288 Boston Post Rd, Madison CT (map<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, August 18, 7:00pm<\/strong>
Colchester Land Trust
Cold Spring Farm, 46 Town Road, Colchester CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, September 30, 10am-12pm<\/strong>
Milford Library Solar Star Party
57 New Haven Ave, Milford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, October 14, 6:30pm<\/strong>
Hammonasset Beach State Park
Meig\u2019s Point Nature Center, 1288 Boston Post Rd, Madison CT (map<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, October 20, 7:00pm<\/strong>
Silver Sands State Park
Milford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, October 21, 7:00pm<\/strong>
Young\u2019s Park
60 Blackstone Ave, Branford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday, October 29, 7:00pm<\/strong>
Madison Moonlight Walk
Madison Surf Club, Madison CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, November 17, 7:00pm<\/strong>
Silver Sands State Park
Milford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, November 18, 7:00pm<\/strong>
Young\u2019s Park
60 Blackstone Ave, Branford CT (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Tuesday, July 25, 7:00 pm
Tuesday, August 29, 7:00 pm

We will continue to use this format for monthly meetings for now. 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.

You can also dial in to the meeting. The number and password will be given in the announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Recent History of Weather Cancellations<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

By Jim Mazur<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short-term numbers can be deceiving. If three or four observing nights in a row are canceled because of the weather, it may seem that few of our observing events actually happen. Conversely, if we have a few successful events in a row, we may feel that the weather is often with us. To get a better perspective on how Connecticut weather treats us, we need a larger sample. With this in mind, I looked at our records for observing events scheduled from 2018 through June 2023. (Due to the pandemic, we held no events in 2020-2021.) The numbers below include both public events (Silver Sands, Young\u2019s Park, etc.) and private events (Girl scout events, Colchester Land Trust, etc.).  A few of these events had rain dates, but over 90% were scheduled for just a single night. Here are the data:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Year<\/td>Events held<\/td>Events scheduled<\/td>Percent held<\/td><\/tr>
2018<\/td>8<\/td>18<\/td>44%<\/td><\/tr>
2019<\/td>15<\/td>24<\/td>63%<\/td><\/tr>
2022<\/td>10<\/td>18<\/td>56%<\/td><\/tr>
2023 (through June)<\/td>5<\/td>9<\/td>56%<\/td><\/tr>
Total<\/strong><\/td>38<\/strong><\/td>69<\/strong><\/td>55%<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With this fairly large sample size, the results are pretty clear: Slightly more than half of our scheduled observing events actually took place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Meteorite Lessons<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n
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By Al Washburn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, June 6th, I brought the club\u2019s meteorite collection to the Ferrara Elementary School, in East Haven, CT, to present to all three, 3rd grade classes, one at a time. (My grandson, Aden, is in one of the classes.) Each session was about 35\/40 minutes long, starting with a green laser presentation leading to what is a meteor, meteorite and asteroid. Next was the meteor drop box to simulate an asteroid impact event, which is always a \u201cgreat hit\u201d! They used a croquet ball, which makes a nice, round crater! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, was the magnet test and data sheet for 10 samples, to determine if they were made of iron or not. Prior to, we determined that not all metals attract a magnet. We tried: aluminum, lead, silver and gold! After all data was collected, I showed them the \u201clight box\u201d with our Esquel sample, from Argentina, to complete the three major types as shown on the back of their data sheets. All students went home with having held 10 rocks from outer space!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astronomy Links<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

From Ray Kaville<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good article on the future of space telescopes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After James Webb, We’re Sending a Telescope Beyond Saturn And It Will Change Everything.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists discover what’s in Mars core:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/in-an-incredible-first-scientists-have-discovered-whats-at-the-core-of-mars?fbclid=IwAR26NETbxx_6hF8Va-tlNPBJR_9FpaxgtW-H2xYokuJeCKDkWXH6zk6QmTU<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An amazing image of Formalhaut from the Webb telescope:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2023\/webb-looks-for-fomalhaut-s-asteroid-belt-and-finds-much-more<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little history of Yale astronomical studies and instruments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shipwreck and Starfall – astronomy at early Yale<\/a><\/blockquote>