march meeting @ lynnville observatory 7:30 pm – march 17th, 2017 · 2017. 3. 12. · march...
TRANSCRIPT
March
EVANSVILLE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, INC. 2017
The EAS newsletter, Observer, is published monthly. Anyone wishing to contribute articles or photos may mail them to the club’s PO Box: EAS, PO Box 3474, Evansville, IN 47733, or e-mail them to the editor at: [email protected]
March Meeting @ Lynnville Observatory 7:30 pm – March 17th, 2017
Photo compliments of Space Place by NASA
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/
It turns out that our sun is an average sized star. There are bigger stars, and there are smaller stars. We have found stars that are 100 times bigger in diameter than our sun. Truly, those stars are
enormous. We have also seen stars that are just one tenth the size of our sun.
Inside this Issue….
2 – Local Events and information
3 – News around the Globe
5 – Calendar
6 – EAS Business – Minutes
EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
WWW.EVANSVILLEASTRO.ORG Page 2
The Evansville Astronomical Society (EAS) is a
non-profit organization fully incorporated in the state of Indiana. It has, as its primary goal, the advancement of amateur astronomy. Founded in 1952, the society seeks to: 1… maintain adequate facilities for its members and the public in order to extensively study the skies and 2… promote an educational program for those who wish to learn more about the science of Astronomy. Meetings are held the third Friday of each month, except June, when the annual EAS picnic is held. The society also sponsors monthly Open House events during the warmer seasons that afford the public an opportunity to tour the observatory.
EAS 2017 Officers and Contacts
President – Tony Bryan 812.827.3234
Vice President – Scott Conner
Secretary – David M Kube 740.223.6854
Treasurer – Ted Ubelhor
Counselors
Michael Borman Ken Harris
Mitch Luman
Webmaster – Michael Borman
Program Director Tony Bryan
Newsletter editor – Dave Kube
For more information about the EAS or directions to the Observatory, please visit the club’s web
page: www.evansvilleastro.org
Local Events and Information
EAS Schedule Update: Please Note that we have a Regular Meeting scheduled for Friday, March 17th, 2017 @ 7:30pm. Location is to be at the Observatory – Dr. Merlo will be presenting Active Galactic Nuclei.
EAS Update: Please Note we have a members only observing session scheduled for Saturday, March 25th @ 7:30pm – New Harmonie State Park.
EAS Update: Please Note we have an Observation scheduled at Vogel School on Tuesday, April 4th. Observing Time is scheduled starting at 8 pm CDT.
EAS Update: Please Note we have a Moon Watch scheduled for Friday, April 7th at the Museum. Observing is scheduled from 7–9 pm CDT.
EAS Update: Please Note that we have a Regular Meeting scheduled for Friday, April 21st, 2017 @ 7:30pm. Location is to be at the Observatory.
EAS Update: Please Note that we have a Regular Meeting scheduled for Friday, April 21st, 2017 @ 7:30pm. Location is to be at the Observatory.
Telescopes and accessories for sale...
As mentioned in last month’s issue, Mike Borman still has some excellent telescope equipment and imaging accessories for sale. Some of the gear has already been sold. If interested, go to Mike’s web page. Here is the link: http://www.mborman.org/forsale.htm
EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
WWW.EVANSVILLEASTRO.ORG Page 3
This Tiny Solar System Packs Seven Earth-Size Planets.
TRAPPIST-1 has a solar system like no other. The tiny, tiny red dwarf is just barely big enough to be considered a star and is, radius-wise, a hair bigger than Jupiter. When it was announced last May there was some excitement: the system had three Earth-sized planets and they might all be habitable. We’re going to have to revise that, though. It has seven planets.
TRAPPIST-1 is so small that it resembles Jupiter and its planets appear more like the Jovian moons when laid out distance-wise. TRAPPIST-1b has an orbital period of just 1.5 days and orbits at 1 percent the distance between the Sun and the Earth. Because TRAPPIST-1 is so small, though, instead of dooming the planet it could give it just a slightly balmier-than-comfortable temperature.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Astronomers find Evidence of Rocky Planets around a Dead Star and a failed one.
A pair of binary “stars,” marked SDSS 1557, have evidence of a rocky planet. They’re calling it a Tatooine system.
The truth is weirder than that. Both of the two stars in the system are not quite stars. One is a white dwarf, the remnants of a Sun-like star after it exhausts its hydrogen reserves and becomes an Earth-sized husk of white, hot, dense fury. The other is a brown dwarf, a large object that forms like a star, but ultimately fails to ignite and begin fusing hydrogen into helium. They often fall short of the mass of a small star, but are far more massive than gas giants (usually a minimum of 10 times the mass of Jupiter).
Mark Garlick, UCL, University of Warwick and University of Sheffield
A Tiny Little Asteroid came Incredibly close to Earth on March 2nd, 2017
Researchers at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona spotted a small asteroid as it came very close to Earth last Thursday.
Asteroid 2017 EA, which is smaller than 10 feet (3 meters) across passed within 9,000 miles (14,5000 kilometers) of Earth on the morning of March 2. That distance is closer than several communication and weather satellites and about one-twentieth the distance of Earth to our Moon.
Sadly, according to a statement from NASA’s Center of Near-Earth Object Studies (CNES), 2017 EA won’t be back for at least another 100 years.
D. Farnocchia/NASA/JPL
EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
WWW.EVANSVILLEASTRO.ORG Page 5
Up and Coming Events 2016
Regular Meeting – Friday, March 17th
– Observatory @ 7:30pm
Members Only Observing – Saturday, March 25th
– New Harmonie Park @ 7:30pm
Vogel School – Tuesday, April 4th
– Vogel School @ 8:00pm
Moon Watch – Friday, April 7th
– Museum @ 7:00pm
Regular Meeting – Friday, April 21st
– Observatory @ 7:30pm
Moon Phases
New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Third Quarter
April 26th, 2017 April 3rd, 2017 April 11th, 2017 April 19th, 2017
Moon Phases courtesey of Time and Date.com
EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
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EAS MEETING for February 17th, 2017
The Meeting was called to order at 7:32pm by President Tony Bryan. There was a total of 43 people present. 8 of the attendees were guests.
There was a motion to accept the January Minutes as published in the February newsletter. That motion was seconded and the vote was unanimous in favor.
UPCOMING EAS EVENTS
Vice President Scott Conner mentioned all of the following events.
Winter Work Day Saturday, February 25 10:00am @ Observatory Vogel School Observation Wednesday, March 1 6:30 (TBD) @ Vogel School PSW #1 Saturday, March 4 7:30pm @ Observatory Regular Meeting Friday, March 17 7:30pm @ Observatory Members Observing Session Saturday, March 25 7:30pm @ New Harmony Moon Watch Friday, April 7 7:00pm @ Museum Regular Meeting Friday, April 21 7:30pm @ Observatory
VISITOR INTRODUCTION Our 8 visitors stood up and introduced themselves to the group. They were thanked for coming and taking part in our meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
Our Treasurer Ted Ubelhor gave us the treasurers report. Some of the highlights were…
Our insurance only increased by $24 this year. We have 45 active memberships. We still have 2 weekly and 10 monthly calendars left over for this year. The monthly calendars will sell for $5 and the weekly will sell for $10.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Astro-Tech AT8RC 8" f/8 Richey-Chretien astrograph reflector is still in the early phases of construction. No completion date is set at this point.
Storage Room Remodel – Construction status is unchanged status from last report. We have sold the lot of darkroom equipment, which so far totally offsets the material costs expended to date.
OLD BUSINESS
Public Outreach – We are still working details for a springtime educational opportunity for the 4-H Spark Clubs in Gibson County and an early August eclipse presentation at Beall Woods State Park. More to follow as those dates get closer.
A total solar eclipse will take place about six months from now (on August 21st, 2017). Don’t pass this up. Last report from Mitch was that Hopkinsville is set. There will be a reserved observing area for EAS, and details (cost, et cetera) are being worked. Mitch Luman talked about several eclipse trips and programs that are being made available to the general public. They will be made available to club members first. There are two trips planned as well as some weekend programs at the museum in the days before the eclipse. See Mitch or go to emuseum.org to get more info.
EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER
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NEW BUSINESS
Donation to Our Library – We have received a donation to our library from a past member, David Lippman. His donation is a complete set of VHS tapes and supporting guidebooks. It is from the Great Courses on Tape series and the title is “Understanding the Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy.” There are 15 tapes, containing three lectures each. We are currently converting the VHS tapes to DVD. Scott Conner also has the set on DVD.
Donation to Our Equipment – We have received yet another donation to our equipment inventory. Mike Vollmer is donating a Canon XSi full spectrum modded camera, 32GB card, 2 batteries, charger, T-ring and 2” nosepiece. Thank you Mike. We will get an estimated value to give to Mike for his donation.
Winter Work Day – Please come out next Saturday (February 25th) and help spruce up our facility for the 2017 session. We will start work at 10:00 AM. Lunch will be provided.
Vogel School Observation – Planned for Wednesday, March 1st. Scott Conner is coordinator for the event. The program will start at 6:45 Pm and could have between 500-1500 people in attendance. We need help from people with telescopes. This event is weather permitting.
Public Star Watch #1 - Saturday, March 4th 7:30 PM @ Observatory “Occultation of Aldebaran” Scott Conner will be the coordinator for this event.
Members Observing Session – Planned for March 25th at New Harmony. New moon is the 27th, so if the weather cooperates we should have dark skies. Mitch Luman is coordinator for the event. We plan to setup at the Youth Tent camping area.
March Meeting Speaker – The speaker at our March meeting, which is at the observatory, will be Dr. Matt Merlo from USI. He will be presenting on active galactic nuclei. Come out, listen, and learn.
Two Additions to the EAS Calendar – There are two new additions to the EAS calendar, a Moon Watch- Friday, April 7 and a Saturn Watch – Friday, July 7 – Mitch report on details.
Professor Matt Merlo will be hosting an eclipse event on the USI campus for anyone that doesn’t plan to go to the totality location. It will be put on by the Physics Department and will be near the student center. EAS members are welcome to attend, and could provide information to those who are seeing the event.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Our next regular meeting is scheduled for 7:30 PM on March 17th at the observatory in Lynnville.
The program for tonight is ”The Search for Life in the Universe: Habitable Worlds Everywhere!” by Dr. Tom Steiman-Cameron
The meeting adjourned at 7:58pm, and was followed by the program by Dr. Tom Steinman-Cameron.
Respectfully Submitted,
Scott Conner Vice President