{"id":3110,"date":"2024-01-01T08:32:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T13:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/?p=3110"},"modified":"2024-01-01T10:05:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T15:05:24","slug":"janfebmar2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asnh.org\/ShootingStar\/2024\/01\/01\/janfebmar2024\/","title":{"rendered":"JanFebMar2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President’s Message<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Greetings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year was the first full year of back to normal events since before the pandemic. We had many accomplishments. Over the summer the membership went to 100 members. We had more public events than the past few years, and new organizations requesting stargazing events. We’ve had more public events with 200+ in attendance than ever before. We had a successful Connecticut Star Party. The library program has expanded tremendously with presentations for the upcoming eclipse and requests for star parties. Public schools are now requesting presentations and star party events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to thank Jim Mazur and Laurie Averill for leading the library event and library scope program. Thank you to everyone that helped out with public events. You did a fantastic job. CSP would not have been such a success without the volunteers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 2023 on the books we now start 2024 and our 87th year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best regards and clear skies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Barker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent Public Observing Events<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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

North Branford Libraries Family Astronomy Night, Friday October 13<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was the first time doing an event out here in a long, long time. There were some bright lights on the field next door but the library staff were able to shut them off for the event. Nice, level, well mowed field. The only problem is that we had to carry our scopes over the low wooden fence between the parking lot and the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the start time of 7pm there were a few stars peaking out and the crowd was beginning to arrive. Before I knew it, we had a very large crowd with lines at every scope. I had taken my Telrad off earlier in the day to clean it so I wasn\u2019t prepared at start time. I was able to find Altair and stayed there until someone moved the scope. I had a long line so I just found a pretty orange star and stayed on that for a while. Other scopes were on Saturn and Albireo and other deep sky objects. There were a fair number of children at an age that was just a little too young to be able to see through the scopes. Some of them were able to and others just couldn\u2019t get it. When the crowd died down, I was able to find Jupiter, Andromeda and the ET Cluster. You could see all 4 moons of Jupiter and the first 2 were very close to the planet. I had to verify this with someone else to make sure I just wasn\u2019t seeing double. The event was mostly over by 8:30 because most of the participants were families with young children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lyman Orchards Astronomy Night, Saturday November 11<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wow.  I can\u2019t remember the last time we had a crowd like this. There had to be over 200 people. Most were adults but there was a fair share of children. Every scope had a line of over 20 people throughout the entire night. The bigger scopes had bigger lines, but we all had long lines. I was a bit separated from the main group because of a light beam crossing the observing area, but I was told that the scopes were on Saturn, Jupiter, the Pleiades, the Perseus Double Cluster, and other objects. There were about 8 scopes for people to look through. Most of us stayed on the same object through most of the night. I moved to some other objects after most of the crowd had died down. All of the people were very excited to see the planets and moons up close. This was an excellent site. We were set up on a hill and the views were awesome. Lyman didn\u2019t have any lights but there was the one street light that we had to avoid. Did I mention that it was a very cold night? It has been a long time since I had ice on my equipment as I was packing up. The crowd was bundled up and many sat in lawn chairs just looking at the dark sky. I think Lyman will be asking us back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young\u2019s Park, Saturday November 18<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was our last public stargazing event for this year. There were 9 scopes total, which is an impressive number. Our visitors came throughout the night so we were able to spend time with each one and show many different objects in the sky. It seemed that most of the people who stopped by had never been to one of our events before. It was good to show the planets to so many new people who had never looked through a scope. It was very cold and our visitors left so we packed up and were on our way a little early. It was nice to end the year on a good note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

ASNH Astronomy Day at Milford Public Library<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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

On the last day of September 2023, ASNH members set up an astronomy program, open to the public, in Milford, CT, that began at 11 am. Greg and Cheryl Barker presented our star, the Sun, its basic qualities, along with stunning video sequences of major solar events in various wavelengths. Greg also spoke of the upcoming solar eclipse, in mid-October, and ways to observe it safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I set up the meteorite collection and after Greg\u2019s presentation he invited attendees to come over to the meteorite display and take a look at them. It was during this time that Laurie Averill headed out on a planetary walk for people to learn about the planets and their relative arrangement in the solar system. Numerous NASA handouts were available for people to select from. The event concluded around 12:30 pm.<\/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

Because Comet Nishimura was so close to the Sun, I was not able to observe it directly. To view the comet, I had to observe it with the Stereo-A spacecraft which is observing the Sun. I watched it over two days around September 26. As the comet was passing the Sun, it suddenly brightened so I could see it easily. The comet’s tail was very bright but as a plasma wave from the Sun hit the comet head on it snapped the comet’s tail in two. That was quite a sight! I read later the tail reformed and the comet went on its merry way. I always look at the solar spacecraft instruments whenever a comet passes too close to the Sun for a person to see it. It was quite a comet to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While my brother Anthony and I were enjoying the October 1 conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter, he was able to take this image. Jupiter is at the lower right. It was a nice sight for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On October 8, with the Pleiades and the Mirfak Association out at the same moment, I decided to observe both with my 10X50 binoculars to see which one appealed to me more. For about 15 minutes, I went back and forth observing them. With the Mirfak Association, the stars were spread out over about two binocular fields and I must say it looked really impressive to me, but the Pleiades with their more bluish stars impressed me more. Also, because the sky was so pristine tonight, I was able to see a lot of fainter stars within the cluster. I also wanted to include the Hyades in this comparison, but alas, the clouds paid a visit.  The next morning, October 9, I awoke at 4:45 am to view Orion under the once again pristine skies with my 5.1″ Short Tube Newtonian Rich Field Scope. The belt stars were surrounded by the Melotte cluster and because the skies were so good, I was able to see many more stars than I usually do. The areas above and below the Orion Nebula both had an impressive cluster of stars. The Orion Nebula also showed better than usual. I then turned my attention to Betelgeuse and it looked much dimmer than Rigel. This surprised me because I just read Betelgeuse is very bright again. Not true. A half hour later, I viewed Venus and Regulus together, separated by less than two degrees. Finally, I also viewed the Sun with my Sun Spotter Solar Scope yesterday afternoon. There was a arcing group on sunspots that were getting ready to rotate of the Sun’s face. What a nice two days of observing that was!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astronomy in the dark skies of Maine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Sunday October15 until Thursday October19 my brother Anthony, our friend Joe and I were up in Palermo, Maine to stay at Joe’s daughter Kim’s Air B&B. It was cloudy and rainy most of the time but on Tuesday, October 17 and Wednesday, October 18 the skies cleared out perfectly for a total of 90 minutes. Five of us including Kim’s partner Jordan shared my 10X50 and my brother’s 8X40 binoculars. The Milky Way jumped out at us and we first admired the summer Milky Way with just our naked eyes. We then scanned our galaxy with our two binoculars where we first landed on Cygnus directly over our heads. The stars in Cygnus overwhelmed us in the binoculars. We scanned Cassiopeia too with the same results. The rift was also seen easily, and that was something I haven’t seen in many years. The Pleiades in binoculars showed many faint stars in the cluster. That was a great sight. We observed M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, with our naked eyes and then when we viewed it with our binoculars. The galaxy covered the whole field of view and it actually looked like the Andromeda Galaxy. For me, the highlight of the trip was seeing the Perseus Double Cluster in binoculars. I couldn’t stop looking at it. It was simply breathtaking! Not to be outdone, the Mirfak Association was spectacular in binoculars. Finally, we viewed towards our east where we observed the winter Milky Way. While not as impressive as the summer Milky Way, it definitely was worth a look, especially with our binoculars. What a trip this was!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comet Lemmon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the evening of Thursday, November 2, my brother and I were able to observe 8th magnitude Comet Lemmon in the western sky through our 5″ MAK. This is our new Unistellar 5″ scope which automatically takes images while you are viewing. It works very well in light pollution which is why the comet looked so good. As the photo taken by Anthony shows, it was a fuzzy green blob. At the time, the comet was at its brightest and will now begin to fade as it leaves our neighborhood until the next time it comes around. Looking to next year, we will be visited by two bright comets in June and October. I am really looking forward to this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before dawn on Thursday morning, November 30, I along with one of my astronomy Facebook friends from another state got up before dawn to see if Venus’s phase would be at exactly half or Dichotomy as we were hoping it would. I observed Venus with my Short Tube 5.1″ Newtonian Scope. To both of us, it looked like we hit the jackpot as Venus did look like it was exactly half phase. It was my first time ever that I saw it at exactly half phase. We both agreed we had achieved Dichotomy of Venus. It was another astronomical first for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

By Chris Predom <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below are images I took a minute before and about fifteen minutes after reappearance of pi Arietis, a 5.3 magnitude star on October 1 around 11 pm.  This star is supposed to be a close double, but I did not see any steps in brightness as star reappeared from lunar limb. I did not time event as I was just doing some visual observing. I viewed Saturn, Jupiter and Pleiades (M45) that night.  If I remember, the night was a little hazy, due to smoke in the upper atmosphere.<\/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

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

Saturday, March 30, 8:00pm<\/strong>
Hammonasset Beach State Park
Meig\u2019s Point Nature Center, 1288 Boston Post Rd, Madison CT (map<\/a>) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Tuesday, January 30, 7:00 pm
Tuesday, February 27, 7:00 pm
Tuesday, March 26, 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

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

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

Information on the future Roman Space Telescope:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will launch in 2027. Here’s how scientists are getting ready<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope?<\/a><\/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

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 January-March 2024<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks<\/strong>
This periodic comet has an orbit of 70 years, and this year it will make it closest approaches to the Sun (perihelion on April 21) and the Earth (closest approach on June 2). The brightness and visibility of a comet is very hard to predict, but some forecasts say it may be dimly visible to the naked eye in March. Some ASNH members have observed and photographed it in the fall of 2023 (see my image on the Gallery page of this newsletter). This comet has had a few cryovolcanic eruptions that led to large and rapid increases in brightness during the fall. If more eruptions occur, it could turn out to be a lot brighter than predicted. It is worth checking out on any clear night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercury<\/strong>
The second half of March will offer a chance to view Mercury in the western sky shortly after sunset. The best opportunities (when it will be highest above the horizon in the evening twilight) will be from about March 20 to 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venus<\/strong>
Throughout the winter months, Venus will shine brightly in the southeast sky before dawn. It is moving away from us toward the far side of the Sun, and through a telescope it will appear nearly round and quite small. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mars<\/strong>
In January, Mars will be in the morning sky but close to the Sun and difficult to observe. In February it moves further from the Sun and approaches Venus. It slides past Venus on February 21 and 22, then loops back and passes Venus again on March 2. However, both planets will be low in the southeast and dimmed by the the predawn twilight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jupiter<\/strong>
The giant planet will be visible in the evening sky all winter, not far from the Pleiades. It will be brighter than magnitude -2, outshining everything else in the evening sky, including Sirius (magnitude -1.5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturn<\/strong>
In January, Saturn will be low in the southwest after sunset. It passes behind the Sun in February, then emerges in the eastern sky before dawn in late March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uranus<\/strong>
At about magnitude 6, Uranus can be seen in binoculars if you know where to look. A telescope at high magnification will show its small green disk. It will be about half way between Jupiter and the Pleiades. A finder chart can be found at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/theskylive.com\/uranus-info<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neptune<\/strong>
In January, Neptune will be in the western sky after sunset, high above Saturn. By March it will be too close to the Sun to observe. Here is a finder chart for Neptune:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/theskylive.com\/planetarium?obj=neptune<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Messier 1, Crab Nebula
<\/strong>Supernova remnant in Taurus
Through a typical amateur telescope, the Crab Nebula appears as a dim oval glow with irregular edges. It is what is left over from a supernova that appeared in the year 1054. It is estimated to be about 6500 light years away.  Star-hop chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messier 50<\/strong>
Open cluster in Monoceros
The constellation Monoceros contains some nice open clusters, and Messier 50 is one of the best. It contains stars of a variety of colors–blue, white, yellow, and red. The cluster has a diameter of about 16′, or about half that of the full Moon. Star-hop chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NGC 2264, Christmas Tree Cluster<\/strong>
Open cluster in Monoceros
This cluster is a bright magnitude 4, and it is more or less in the shape of a Christmas tree, except that the brightest star is not at the top of the tree but at the trunk. The whole area is encompassed by faint nebulosity, including the Cone Nebula at the top of the tree. Star-hop chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NGC 2261 (Caldwell 46), Hubble’s Variable Nebula<\/strong>
Diffuse nebula in Monoceros
This fascinating nebula can be found just about 1 degree to the southwest of the Christmas Tree Cluster. It is a fan-shaped nebula around the star R Monoceros that looks a lot like a comet. Its appearance changes slowly over time, as regions of dust near R Monoceros produce changing shadows. Star-hop chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messier 93<\/strong>
Open cluster in Puppis
Puppis never gets very high above the southern horizon here in Connecticut, but like Monoceros it contains many nice open clusters that are worth finding. A good example is 6th magnitude Messier 93, which includes about 80 stars in a 10′ area. Star-hop chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messier 109<\/strong>
Galaxy in Ursa Major
This galaxy is just 2\/3 degree to the east-southeast of Phecda, the star at the bottom corner of the bowl of the Big Dipper. It is magnitude 9.7 and can be seen through even a small telescope. It is about 82 million light years away.  Star-hop chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IC 405 (Caldwell 31)<\/strong>, Flaming Star Nebula<\/strong>
Diffuse nebula in Auriga
The 6th magnitude star AE Aurigae is surrounded by a large but dim nebula, IC 405. Portions of this nebula, especially those near AE, can be seen with even small telescopes, but a nebula filter can make it much easier to see. Star-<\/a>h<\/a>op chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrington 4, Staircase Asterism<\/strong>
Asterism in Auriga
Less than 1 degree to the southeast of IC 405, Harrington 4 is an asterism that is dimly visible to the naked eye and has the shape of a staircase when viewed through binoculars or a wide-field eyepiece. Star-<\/a>h<\/a>op chart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Castor (Alpha Geminorum)
<\/strong>Double star in Gemini
Castor and Pollux are one of the best-known pairs of bright stars in the sky. Castor is of special interest because it is a close double star, with its two components separated by only 5 arcseconds. The two stars are about 100 astronomical units apart, and take 440 years to complete one orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R Leporis, Hind\u2019s Crimson Star
<\/strong>Red star in Lepus
If you want to see some color in the eyepiece, try Hind\u2019s Crimson Star, a very red variable star.  Its magnitude varies between about 5.5 and 11.7 over a period of about 430 days. Based on its recent light curve, it will probably be around magnitude 10 this winter, so it should be visible in even a small telescope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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

Milky Way from Jordan.<\/strong> Gary Zrelak’s son, who is in the Air Force, obtained this photo from an expeditionary Airman during his tenure in the Middle East. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks.<\/strong> Jim Mazur took this image of Comet Pons-Brooks on November 10, 2023. He used an SBIG STF-8300M imager and a 14″ Meade LX850 telescope at f\/5.5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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