April, 2015 First Light Newsletter

April, 2015 (Issue No. 129)

AlachuaAstronomyClub.org

Space Place is an educational website developedand maintained by NASA and the source of our

Space Place article and photo each month.

Are you interested in an embroidered polo shirt or hatto wear to promote the Alachua Astronomy Club?

Our club logo and your name included, call Lynn atStitch in Time, 352-363-0106

North Central Florida's

Amateur Astronomy Club

Serving Alachua County since 1987

Member Member

Astronomical League

MemberNASA Night Sky Network

The Cold Never Bothered Me AnywayBy Ethan Siegel

Featured NASA Space Place Article

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, winter brings long, coldnights, which are often excellent for sky watchers (so long as there'sa way to keep warm!) But there's often an added bonus that comesalong when conditions are just right: the polar lights, or the AuroraBorealis around the North Pole. Here on our world, a brilliant greenlight often appears for observers at high northern latitudes, withoccasional, dimmer reds and even blues lighting up a clear night.

We had always assumed that there was some connection betweenparticles emitted from the Sun and the aurorae, as particularlyintense displays were observed around three days after a solarstorm occurred in the direction of Earth. Presumably, particles

originating from the Sun—ionized electrons and atomic nuclei like protons and alpha particles—make upthe vast majority of the solar wind and get funneled by the Earth's magnetic field into a circle around itsmagnetic poles. They're energetic enough to knock electrons off atoms and molecules at various layers inthe upper atmosphere—particles like molecular nitrogen, oxygen and atomic hydrogen. And when theelectrons fall back either onto the atoms or to lower energy levels, they emit light of varying but particularwavelengths—oxygen producing the most common green signature, with less common states of oxygenand hydrogen producing red and the occasional blue from nitrogen.

But it wasn't until the 2000s that this picture was directly confirmed! NASA's Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite (which ceased operations in December 2005) was able tofind out how the magnetosphere responded to solar wind changes, how the plasmas were energized,transported and (in some cases) lost, and many more properties of our magnetosphere. Planets withoutsignificant magnetic fields such as Venus and Mars have much smaller, weaker aurorae than we do, andgas giant planets like Saturn have aurorae that primarily shine in the ultraviolet rather than the visible.Nevertheless, the aurorae are a spectacular sight in the evening, particularly for observers in Alaska,Canada and the Scandinavian countries. But when a solar storm comes our way, keep your eyes towardsthe north at night; the views will be well worth braving the cold!

Auroral overlays from the IMAGE spacecraft. Shows the Aurora Australis, or southern lights, surrounding Antarctica.

Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory (Goddard Space Flight Center) / Blue Marble team.

Newberry Star ParkBy Andy Howell

NSP has working WiFi! This completes the installation that began whenNSP entered service in 2011. First, damage caused to the antenna wallmount caused by an errant RV had to be fixed. Second, a flat panelantenna was installed at the top of the mast alongside an outdoor WiFiradio. Third, ethernet cable was connected between the WiFi radio anda router inside the building. The antenna receives its signal fromtransmitters located 300 yards away at the main ENSC building.

Andy Howell met with Elite Ball Academy to inquire about mitigation ofthe sodium lights that interfere with viewing. In principle, agreementwas obtained on installation of sensors that would turn on buildinglights when motion is detected. Unfortunately, it turns out that motionsensors do not work well with sodium lights. We are now investigatingother possible solutions such as installation of a barrier that would

block lights from the building and any vehicles that approach on the lime rock access road.

JoAnn Stevener is researching replacement letters for the plywood letters that are delaminatingon the west side of the building. Though expensive, she is currently looking into 12-inch highGemini letters that are designed for outdoor use. We look forward to sprucing up the Star Park sothat it enhances the appearance of Easton Newberry Sports Complex.

Star Parties By Lisa Eager and Ivo Rabell

Register HERE for the April 18 Star Party / Public Outreach atNewberry Star Park!

If weather cooperates, we hope to see a good turnout from Newberryresidents. The moon will be new, with Jupiter in plain view along with deep-sky objects in Leo, Virgo, andUrsa Major. Showing a gibbous phase, Venus will be in the west after sunset.

Schools and Outreach by Mike Toomey

School & Youth Outreach We have four school and youth eventsstacked up this April, listed below. Please note the back-to-back datesof April 24/25 – sign up for both and you won't need to repack your cartwice! Each of these events are posted to the club's web site calendar.When you register for an event, you will receive additional eventinformation. I will be traveling for a few weeks this spring and thereforewill be assigning volunteers to be our “adult in charge” for each event(also listed below). Please help support the club's youth outreachprograms by signing up early and often. This month's outreach datesare (with Adult in Charge):

Thursday, April 2 in Levy County (Mike Toomey) Friday, April 17 in Alachua County, east of Gainesville (TBD) Friday, April 24 in Gainesville (Ivo Rabell) Saturday, Saturday, April 25 in Alachua County, north of Gainesville (Ivo Rabell)

If you are new to volunteering at school outreach events, the school board requires a simplebackground check: just your name as it appears on your driver's license and your primary phonenumber. Only myself and the school board volunteer coordinator keep this information on file – itis not public record. If you attended any school events last year, you do not need to reapply.However, please let me know if any of your contact information has changed, including email.

Mike Toomey has served the AAC in many capacities since 1998, including President, Secretary, FirstLightEditor, Star Party Coordinator and School Outreach Coordinator. Mike resides in Gainesville and is Three

Laws Safe.

Before You Buy Your First Telescopeby Bill Helms

Are you ready to buy your first telescope? Please read this first. It’sa significant purchase, and you don’t want to make a mistake. Youcould end up spending several hundred dollars and owning a telescopethat fails to meet your needs and desires. Here is the most useful pieceof advice you will find in this article:

DO NOT BUY A TELESCOPE WITHOUT CONTACTING YOURLOCAL ASTRONOMY CLUB FIRST!

Alachua Astronomy Club has had many instances of people contactingus after buying a telescope that does NOT meet their needs, and willperform poorly for them. PLEASE DON’T DO THAT!

Your best choice is to attend and join your friendly local astronomyclub. Just Google “Astronomy Club Your State”. I found 30 clubs in Florida alone. Attendmeetings, get to know the members, and volunteer to help out at public events. You don’t needto be a telescope expert. You might help give out literature, babysit telescopes while their ownerstake a much-needed break, etc. But you will get a chance to interact with the telescope owners,and get some expert guidance on what you might want to eventually buy. It is also a good idea toattend club star parties, which are for members only. Here you can get more one-on-one timewith telescope owners, and find out what the advantages and disadvantages of each type oftelescope. There is a good chance you will get to do some observing with a telescope you areconsidering buying.

Please, watch Bill's outstanding PowerPoint presentation HERE.

Upcoming Public MeetingsNext Public meeting April 14, 7 - 9 p.m.

Speaker: James Albury, Director, Kika Silva Pla Planetarium and co-host of the weekly TV show"Stargazers."

Join us for an exciting and interesting evening

Kika Silva Pla Panetarium (Santa Fe College)3000 NW 83rd Street. Building X-129

Gainesville, FL 32606

New members since February 1!

Saptarshi BiswasValerie Eadie

Michael Angelo GigliardiAlex Kulbitskas

Alexandrea MatthewsWinnie McDavid

Paul Widman

PresidentAndy Howell

First Light Newsletter EditorLaura Wright

Name the ExoWorlds

Name the ExoWorldsCompetition has released thelist of the most popular 20ExoWorlds that are eligible forrenaming by someone likeYOU. Altogether, a total of 15

stars plus 32 planets are available forrenaming based on citizen inputs that theInternational Astronomical Union (IAU)receives from astronomy clubs.

So far, no one from Alachua Astronomy Clubhas volunteered to lead our committee that will propose a name for ONE of theseExoWorld systems. This is a unique, possiblyonce-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate inthe naming of an astronomical body.

This is NOT a hoax or commercial profit-making scheme. This is a LEGITIMATEopportunity to propose a name to beannounced at the IAU XXIX General Assemblyin Honolulu, Hawaii, 3-14 August 2015.

Deadline for our Club to propose a name forONE of the ExoWorlds is May 31.

Learn more HERE

AAC Programs Coordinator Needed

This is a reprint of a portion of theAstronomical League's newslettercalled What's Up Doc? reviewingApril's Planetary happenings –"These are the tasks that can bedone this month: The sun sets at

19:57 pm by mid-month. Ceres, Uranus,Neptune, and Pluto will not be visible duringthe evening hours. They are all too close to thesun or late night or morning stars. Sun – Anyclear day is a good time to get those sunspots.But things have been very sparse. Moon: TheMaria requirement can be done any time themoon is visible. Look before 4/13 and after4/25 for the fullest views. The Highlandsrequirement can be done at the same time.The Crater Ages requirement is best done on4/26 and 4/27. The Scarps requirement is bestdone on 4/26. Occultations occur all the time,the bright ones can be found on the internet.Objects disappear on the East side of themoon. Asteroids – Course Plotting andMeasuring Movement requirements can bedone at any time on any asteroid. See aboveto identify the bright ones this month. Mercuryis in Aries and sets at 20:33 mid-month. Venusis in Taurus and sets at 23:15 mid-month.Mars is in Aries and sets at 21:26 mid-month.Jupiter is in Cancer and sets at 03:49 mid-month. Jupiter requirements can be met anytime that Jupiter is visible. Saturn is in Libraand rises at 22:55 mid-month. Any time that

The programs coordinator is a very importantperson (VIP). The programs coordinatorarranges speakers at our public meetingsexcept those at Kika Silva Pla Planetarium.

If no one steps forward to be our ProgramCoordinator, we may have to cancel ourAugust meeting. The position is thatimportant!

Programs Coordinator can be a rewardingopportunity for the right person.CONTACT ME if interested.

Andy Howell

Saturn is visible it is usually possible to do thefour Saturn requirements: the Rings, theCassini Division, Disk Markings and theSatellites."

Best regards,

Laura

(Reprints allowed for educational purposes fromWarner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)

The Night Sky this Month

From the One-Minute AstronomerUsed with permission.

4 April. Full Moon, 13:05 UT. (The “Pink Moon”, “Egg Moon”,or “Grass Moon”).

4 April. A brief lunar eclipse occurs near today’s Full Moon justtwo weeks after last month’s total solar eclipse. Many lunareclipses last an hour or more, but this one is unusually short. Itlasts just under five minutes, from 11:58 UT to just past 12:02UT. Observers in the eastern half of Australia and all of NewZealand and Hawaii can see the entire eclipse. In westernNorth America, the total eclipse will be visible in the pre-dawnsky, but the Moon will set before the eclipse ends. Observersin eastern North America and most of South America will see

the Moon set before the eclipse reaches totality.

8 April. Early risers can see the waning gibbous Moon just 3º from the planet Saturn in thesouthern sky before dawn. Saturn still hovers above the three bright stars in the head of theconstellation Scorpius. The planet grows larger and brighter as it moves towards opposition latenext month.

8 April. Jupiter stops its nightly westward, or retrograde, motion and begins to move eastwardfrom night to night in the constellation Cancer and back towards Leo. The planet is slowlyappearing to dim and grow smaller, but it’s still a splendid sight in a telescope. It lies high in thesoutheastern sky as darkness falls. It far outshines all stars in the sky.

10 April. Mercury lies at superior conjunction and is lost in the Sun’s glare. It quickly moves intothe evening sky in a few days and makes a respectable apparition after sunset for northernobservers at month’s end.

11 April. Look for brilliant Venus near the lovely Pleiades star cluster in the southwestern sky asdarkness falls. Venus is the dominant sight in the western sky after sunset all month. Atmagnitude -4.0, it outshines every object in the night sky except for the Sun and Moon andcontinues to move a little higher each day.

Venus and the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters in the constellation Taurus at nightfalllooking west after sunset on April 11, 2015.

12 April. Last-Quarter Moon, 04:44 UT.

18 April. New Moon, 18:57 UT.

19-20 April. In the prettiest display of solar-system sights this month, the fingernail crescentMoon, Mercury, and faint Mars are visible together in the western sky after sunset. Have a lookwith binoculars after sunset.

22 April. Look for the Lyrid meteor shower late on April 22nd and early on the 23rd. Meteors fromthe Lyrids appear to trace their paths back to a radiant about 10º southwest of bright blue-whiteVega, a point which is actually in what’s now the constellation Hercules. The shower was namedbefore the constellation boundaries were formalized in the early-20th century. The Lyrids aresandgrain-sized pieces of dust and ice left over from the long-period Comet C/1861 Thatcher. Indark sky, you might see 10-20 Lyrid meteors per hour anywhere in the sky.

Moon, Mars, Mercury, and Venus looking westward at sunset on April 20, 2015.

26 April. First-Quarter Moon, 00:55 UT.

30 April. Look for Mercury low in the northwestern sky after sunset. Today, it’s just 2º southwestof the Pleiades and about 10º above the horizon after sunset in the northern hemisphere. In thesouthern hemisphere, the planet is much lower at this apparition and much harder to hard to see.

Mercury near the Pleiades after sunset looking north-northwest on April 30, 2015. The V-shaped Hyades star cluster is to the left.

Copyright © 2015 Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. All rights reserved. Contact email: FirstLight@alachuaastronomyclub.org

Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc.2603 NW 13th St., #161Gainesville, FL 32609-2835

Unsubscribe