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Welcome to the

Cornwall Astronomy Society

Newsletter

August 2014

Chairman Temporally Vacant Secretary Helen - 01326 572995 Treasurer Ann - 01326 341074 External Events Preston - 01872 864065 Publicity Ruth - 01736 762045 Web Master Greg - 01326 340977 Newsletter Editor Simon - 01326 564046 Email: scdunkley@btinternet.com

Affiliated to Spaceguard UK Member of The Federation of Astronomical Societies. Honorary President - Mick Harvey Honorary Vice President - Peter Squibb Web site: www.CornwallAS.org.uk e-mail: info@CornwallAS.org.uk

Observing Evenings CAS Meeting in Aug

Sat 16

th – Perseid Watch BBQ at Degibna. Meet

from 1830 onwards to allow time to eat and clear away before it gets dark.

Tue 12

th - Meteor Discussion at Hall

followed by "free range" Persied observing for those who are able.

Another Event for the Diary (with thanks Ruth) Norman Lockyer Observatory Astronomy Fair 2014 at Sidmouth, Devon on the 9th August. Further details are on the Norman Lockyer website. The Planets in Aug1

Mercury – Is once again at Superior conjunction (on the far side of the Sun) on August 8, so it is not visible at any time during the month.

1 Collins 2014 Guide to the Night Sky

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Venus – Is low in the eastern pre-dawn sky. It is magnitude -3.8 for most of August, but brightens slightly to -3.9 at the end of the month. Mars – Finally leaves Virgo and enters Libra. Beginning the month at magnitude 0.4 it fades slowly to magnitude 0.6 at the end. Jupiter – Is in Cancer, but remains invisible until the end of August, when it may perhaps be glimpsed in the early dawn sky. Saturn – Is moving slowly eastwards in Libra and appears close to Mars in the latter half of the month, when both planets are at magnitude 0.6.

The CAS Stand at The West Cornwall Motor Show Event Report - By The Editor

This year‟s show took place on Sunday 29th June at Wendron Cricket Club. Preston, Ruth, Russell, Matthew and I arrived at about 0830 to erect the gazebo and put up the tables, display boards and telescopes. There was quite a wind that early in the morning so we had to use some additional guy ropes to keep everything tied down. We also helped the girls next door on the „Screwfix‟ stand who appeared to be using their gazebo as a large kite!

Russell and Matthew had set up their telescopes using solar filters and Preston and I focused on distant telegraph poles and chimneys. Greg (who arrived in a huge WW2 Chrysler Army Truck!), Steve and Robert were also able to attend and between us we answered a number of questions from people who seemed very interested in the society and its aims. We also handed out a number of CAS Cards with our contact details on.

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The old copies of The Sky At Night magazine were also very popular „freebies‟ and gratefully received; particularly by the younger visitors. As well as the classic cars, new cars, military vehicles and motorbikes there were also stands from Cornwall Advanced Motorists, The Gurkha Welfare Trust (who insisted on playing the bagpipes every 20 minutes!), Falmouth Helston and District Cats Protection, South West Water, Natural Regeneration renewable energy systems, Beau Beau‟s Beautiful coats for beautiful dogs ( I kid you not!), Devon & Cornwall 4×4 Response, Meet the West Historical Society, Little Harbour Children‟s Hospice, Cornwall Advanced Drivers, Rotary Club, Mullion Gymnastics, Crystal Car Valeting, Police Cadets from Helston, the Army Cadet Force and Screwfix. Our stand was described in the brochure as „Cornwall Astronomy Society - A friendly, relaxed group of amateur enthusiasts with interests in many areas of astronomy, cosmology, observing, astrophotography and telescope building‟. The show also featured a circus workshop called Swamp Circus Penryn and an „Old West Re-Enactment‟ group called The Searchers („entertaining shoot „em up shows to delight - come and see their cowboy town with authentic tents‟) a very talented Elvis impersonator („thank you very much!‟), Wendron Town Band and a Morris Dancing Troop (jingle, jingle). There was also a number of food outlets including a Pig Roast, Victorian Jacket Potatoes, a Deli, Pizza Oven, Spud „O‟ Licious, Lottie‟s Shakes „N‟ Smoothies and a large collection of Burger / Hotdog Stands. The latter gave me the opportunity to award both Russell and Greg with their prizes for winning their CAS Newsletter caption competitions.

T This picture was taken shortly before

Simon ran away to join the circus! And to prove they really do exist:

Greg being presented with his hotdog prize

for winning the CAS April Newsletter Caption Competition.

Russell approximately 0.5 seconds after being

presented with his hotdog prize for winning the CAS March Newsletter Caption Competition.

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Stand Number 4 at the West Cornwall Motor Show- Sunday 29th June 2014

A clandestine shot of Preston and

Ruth looking very pleased to be tucking into (what may well be)

their fourth pork roll.

Lessons Identified for Future Events:

It is very handy to be able to give out the CAS cards (with www. address etc) as they contain all the information potential new members need.

People liked receiving old Sky at Night magazines so keep taking them along.

Always park Preston‟s car behind the stand so we can use it to anchor the gazebo.

Don‟t forget to put suntan lotion on the back as well as the front of your legs.

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CAS Quiz Held Tuesday 8th July Mick put together an excellent quiz which certainly got the grey cells working again! It’s strange how quickly the names of stars fade from the mind when certain constellations (Orion!) disappear for the summer. For those unable to attend the last meeting here are the questions – just to an idea of what you missed (answers, should you need them, are at the end of this Newsletter.

Q 1 Where would you see Polaris if you were observing from: a/ The equator b/ Cornwall c/ The North pole Q2 At the autumnal equinox at what point on the horizon would you expect to see a full Moon rise? Q3 Roughly how much of the incident sunlight is reflected from the Moon Q4 Roughly at what bearing would you expect to see sunrise and sunset in a/ mid summer b/ The equinoxes c/ mid winter Q5 Why is mid August a good time to go meteor watching? Q6 What is meant by „apogee‟ and „perigee‟ of the lunar orbit. What difference does this measure in miles? Q7 What do you know about libration? Q8 What is the most distant object you can see with the naked eye - roughly how far is that? Q9 Where is the Eye Of The Bull: come to that where is the Bull? Q10 What and where is a/ The Coathanger b/ The Scales c/ The Jewelled Handle Q11 Approximately how many Moons are there in the solar system? Q12 Which us the brightest star visible to the naked eye. How far away is it. Q13 What is speckle interferometry (a) dusty lenses (b) taking the twinkle out of stars (c) pinching somebody‟s glasses? Q14 What is degenerate matter Q15 Can you name the stars of the summer triangle Q16 How many stars can you name in the Orion constellation

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Q17 How many constellations can you name of the so called Zodiac – and NO I don‟t believe in that astrological twaddle. Q18 The Sun and its family are roughly how old. Q19 How does this compare with the approximate age of the Universe? Q20 For how long would you say we, humanity, has been making sensible progress towards understanding where we come from.

The Sun

On the Radio Four programme ‘In Our Time’ (first broadcast 0900 on Thursday 10th July) Melvyn Bragg and his guests discussed the Sun

For those able to access it, I think it is well worth listening to either on the Radio Four Iplayer (www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048nlfb) or „On Demand‟ (www.bbc.co.uk/ programmes/b006qykl)

Radio Four Intro - The object that gives the Earth its light and heat is a massive ball of gas and plasma 93 million miles away. Thanks to the nuclear fusion reactions taking place at its core, the Sun has been shining for four and a half billion years. Its structure, and the processes that keep it burning, have fascinated astronomers for centuries. After the invention of the telescope it became apparent that the Sun is not a placid, steadily shining body but is subject to periodic changes in its appearance and eruptions of dramatic violence, some of which can affect us here on Earth. Recent space missions have revealed fascinating new insights into our nearest star. With: Carolin Crawford (Gresham Professor of Astronomy and Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge), Yvonne Elsworth (Poynting Professor of Physics at the University of Birmingham) and Louise Harra (Professor of Solar Physics at UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory), See also Gareth‟s pictures on page 10 of this Newsletter.

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Members Images - Aurora Borealis

A very big thank you to Andy Lewis (visitor to a couple of recent CAS meetings and old ‘shipmate’ of the Editor!) for these fantastic pictures.

Andy took the images during a NATO exercise off the coast of Norway in 2008 when he was serving on board HMS Bulwark.

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2The Northern Lights are caused by the interaction of the solar wind (a stream of charged particles escaping the Sun) and our planet's magnetic field and atmosphere. As the solar wind approaches, it distorts the Earth's magnetic field and allows some charged particles from the Sun to enter the Earth's atmosphere at the magnetic north pole and the magnetic south pole. Then, as these charged particles "excite" gases in our atmosphere, they make them glow - just like gas in a fluorescent tube. The solar wind can cause the Earth's magnetic field lines to disconnect from our planet. When these field lines "snap back" into position, charged particles from the solar wind are again pushed into the Earth's atmosphere, causing aurora. The more magnetic field lines that disconnect and snap back, the further south the Northern Lights can be seen. This phenomenon is known as 'Aurora Australis' in the south

2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26381685

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New Horizons Spacecraft - One Year From Pluto3

Artist concept of New Horizons spacecraft.4

In 2006, NASA dispatched an ambassador to the planetary frontier. The New Horizons Spacecraft is now on approach for a dramatic flight past the icy dwarf planet and its moons in July 2015. After a historic voyage that has already taken it over the storms and around the moons of Jupiter, New Horizons will shed light on new kinds of worlds on the outskirts of the solar system. Pluto gets closer by the day, and New Horizons continues into rare territory, as just the fifth probe to traverse interplanetary space so far from the sun.- and the first ever to travel to Pluto.

New Horizons is nearly 2.7 billion miles (nearly 4.3 billion kilometers) from Earth, speeding away from the sun at 32,950 miles per hour.

At that distance – about 29 times the distance between Earth and the sun – a radio signal from Earth needs 3 hours, 58 minutes to reach New Horizons.

Since launch on Jan. 19, 2006, New Horizons has covered 90 percent of a voyage that culminates with a six-month, January-to-July encounter that includes closest approach to Pluto on July 14, 2015.

3 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons

4 Image - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute (JHUAPL/SwRI)

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Member’s Images

Thanks very much to Gareth for sending these fantastic pictures of the

Sun that he took at the beginning of July.

These pictures were taken with a Skywatcher 102 OTA on an alt-Az3 mount using a Lunt Herschal Wedge and a polarising filter. The closer up one (excuse the English) added a Baader Solar Continuum filter (which turns the colour of the sun through the scope a vivid green - I adjusted the colour in Registax), the camera was an Orion ccd. I shot 4 or 5 bursts of 5 seconds each time, it‟s still amazing how far through the sky the sun moves even in that time! The processing was done in Registax6 which I‟m still trying to work out how to use. Gareth.

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And Finally: August’s Caption Competition:

This month you lucky people are spoilt for choice. Simply fill in one (or more) of the speech /

thought bubbles to be in with a chance of winning a super sausage based treat. Entries to scdunkley@btinternet.com by Fri 29th Aug please.

July’s Caption Competition Results - And the Winner is Greg with:

Dammit! Where did I drop those

keys?

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Items for the September’s Newsletter: The following would be greatly received:

Questions and Answers

Information on Eyepieces, Lenses etc.

Book Reviews

Practical Tips for Observing

Articles on Astrophysics

“Humorous” Articles

Items For Sale & Wanted

Technical Tips

Astro-Photography

Articles on Space Travel

Individual Observing Reports Any of the above, Competition Entries or anything else for the August Newsletter is requested by Fri 29th August.

Newsletter E Distribution List: prestonconnor@aol.com; matmar@yahoo.com; steronydh@gmail.com; t_glozier@hotmail.com; davidsjoholm51@talktalk.net; squibb@btinternet.com; graham_94@hotmail.com; didawesrussell@btinternet.com; gill.fowler@hotmail.co.uk; philwilliams@btinternet.com; helen.m.oakes@btinternet.com; greg.sanders@btinternet.com; anne@mullaly.eclipse.co.uk; scdunkley@btinternet.com; michael.edwards866@btinternet.com; jmh23@btinternet.com; flyingfish1947@rocketmail.com; rbeeman@btinternet.com; rogclarke1@btinternet.com; ruth930@btinternet.com; spds1987@hotmail.co.uk; brian@ridgemead.demon.co.uk; gaileastaugh@hotmail.co.uk

Hard Copies Printed For: Liz, Steve and Lucy.

Quiz Answers: Q1 a/on the northern horizon b/ 50° elevation c/ overhead Q2 Due East Q3 various measures of albedo but accept 7% to 12% Q4 a/ NE 045º , NW 315º b/ E 90º W 270º c/ SE 135º SW 225º Q5 Warm romantic nights Most active meteor shower of the year Perseids Q6 Apogee most distant from Earth - Perigee Closest /Difference up to 26,466 miles Q7 see around the Moon N & S also E & W. Orbital velocity varies rotational doesn‟t Q8 Andromeda galaxy 2.5million lt yrs. Q9 Aldeberan not actually IN the constellation of Taurus ( the bull) ½ way. Q10 a/ Brochii‟s cluster in Vulpecula b/ Libra c/The Moon Sinus Iridium Jura mtns Q11 171 major planetary moons + 7 minor planets Q12 Sirius : 8.611 light years Q13 De-twinklifying starlight Q14 Matter where the electron structure is deformed and compressed rendering super-densities. e.g. Sirius B or the Crab Pulsar etc.

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Q15 Deneb(Cygnus), Vega (Lyra), Altair (Aquilla ) Q16 Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix, Alnitak A & B ,Alnilam, Mintaka A & B, Saiph, Meissa A & B [14] Q17 Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Ophiuchus and Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, [13] NB Abrose Bierce Devils dictionary definition of Astrology “The science of making the dupe see stars. Astrology is by some held in high respect as the precursor of astronomy. Similarly, the night-howling tomcat has a just claim to reverential consideration as precursor to the hurtling bootjack” Q18 Four & half to 5 billion years. Q19 Roughly one third - WMAP put Universe age 13.772 billion years in 2012: Plank ( 2113) made it 13.82 billion Q20 About 400 years. It might be argued that Galileo started the “scientific method” and the fight against ignorant superstition and dogma. Just because the ancient Greeks thought of things in a certain way should not limit the ideas of their successors– experiment, observation and unbiased research are the best way forward. © Mick Harvey