Astral Projections Online February 2022
We will be returning to the Planetarium for in-person meetings starting in February 2022. Wearing masks inside will be required by the college and subject to change as COVID rules change.
Club dues and membership. We are now collecting dues/membership for 2022. If you renew after March 31 you will be renewed as a new member. Please mail it to the address on the form or bring it to club meetings. We will not collect dues during star parties. Forms can be found on our website Membership Info at bottom of the webpage.
Check our Website for updated content at www.astra-nj.com
Club Presentations Wanted:
Does anyone have any astronomy items of interest to share with the membership?
Please let us know at Club Contacts.
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS ONLINE (APO for short) is an email-linked publication for members only. If you exit APO to the club website or other resources you will need to use the emailed link again to get back to it. If you wish to retain a copy please bookmark or refer back to the email. We will make all efforts to post by the first week of the month.
Submissions Welcome: Members are invited to submit articles, photos, news, or stories for inclusion with Astral Projections Online. Please contact the ASTRA Webmaster.
Event Calendar
ASTRA’s next meeting - The February 2022 meeting will be Friday, February 11, 2022, at 7 PM EST. This will be an in-person meeting at the Planetarium and virtual for those that would prefer to remain remote.
Cloverdale Public Star Party - Saturday, March 5, 2022, at 6:30 PM
Jakes Branch Public Star Party - Saturday, March 12, 2022, at 6:30 PM
Jakes Branch Public Star Party - Saturday, April 9, 2022, at 8 PM
Jakes Branch Public Star Party - Saturday, May 7, 2022, at 8:30 PM
Cloverdale Public Star Party - Saturday, May 21, 2022, at 8:30 PM
Jakes Branch Public Star Party - Saturday, June 4, 2022, at 9 PM
EVENT Cancellations: Members will receive email notifications of an event cancellation.
February ASTRA Meeting Presents …
ASTRA Member Vic Palmieri will be providing a presentation on the moon. There are a lot of features about the moon that you may not be aware of and Vic will share his knowledge of our closest neighbor.
The February 2022 meeting will be Friday, February 11, 2022, at 7 PM EST. This will be an in-person meeting at the Planetarium and virtual for those that would prefer to remain remote.
Please be aware this will be our first attempt at casting the meeting remotely in this duel in-person and virtual format.
Upcoming County Park Presentations 2022
Public Outreach, if any member wishes to support ASTRA outreach efforts with the public, please let Vinny, Ro, or Jim know of any interest. Currently, we have one event planned with the county parks.
Note: The County Park events below will require an entry fee and registration.
March 8 - 6 to 7 PM - Prominent Women Figures in Space & Astronomy
Description: Join Rosemarie Spedaliere of the Astronomical Society of Toms River Area. You will be introduced to some of these women and how their small steps for man, have left one giant leap for all humankind.
Website Updates …
Please visit our club website. We continue to have additional updates, if there is some content that would be useful to members please let us know.
"Astronomy taught us our insignificance in Nature."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Poet
ASTRA Meeting - January 14
We opened with a review of the change in meeting plans as related to COVID for the ASTRA Membership meeting for January 14. We hoped we could return in person to the planetarium but were delayed, so we continued with all virtual for January. We now anticipate our return for our February meeting. Turn out for the January meeting was light, so we hope to see more members for the February meeting. Vic Palmieri will be providing a presentation on the Moon for the February meeting at the planetarium.
Vinny Illuzzi provided a presentation on a recent webinar from the Nasa Night Sky Network. It was for a citizen science Globe project related to cloud research.
GLOBE is the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment program and all of it can be done from your cell phone. This is one of many citizen science programs that are available.
The links displayed here can be found on the ASTRA website. There are many programs available and many can be done from home.
Anyone interested in viewing the webinar on this subject can be found on NSN YouTube.
Another Citizen Science Project
You Can Help Discover Exoplanets
Hunting for exoplanets is not just for astronomers with years of training and specialized equipment you too can join the hunt for worlds around other stars! There are many citizen science projects you can join to help find more planets and assist in the search for life around other stars. Amateur astronomers also help confirm exoplanets from their own backyard telescopes and have even made a few discoveries of their own.
For more visit the NSN article “You Can Help Discover Exoplanets.”
APO Editor Note: We have explored Citizen Science in prior membership meetings and will be sharing resources on the club website. We have created a Citizen Science webpage that has been linked to “Astronomy for Kids” and “Online Astronomy Websites” from the Home page.
Other Event Reports
On Tuesday, January 25 Jim Webster provided a presentation on Milkyway Photography and Beyond, at Cloverdale Farm County Park. We also had a segment on light pollution. For allowed COVID numbers we had some good numbers of attendees. The images below were before the guest arrived. We’ll be trimming down the presentation to keep it down to an hour and adding some pricing information. The deeper sky imaging segment “and Beyond” will be moved back to Wide Field DSLR Astrophotography.
Around the Web
Another Comet
Here’s another distant but approaching comet, first sighted by astronomers in 2017. When they spotted it, via the Pan-STARRS survey instrument in Hawaii, they said it was the farthest active inbound comet they’d yet seen. The comet is designated C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS). It was between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus when they first saw it, but will finally make its way into the inner solar system this year. It’ll be closest to Earth on July 14, 2022. It’ll be closest to the sun several months later, on December 19, 2022. If you have a small telescope, you should be able to spot the comet for up to four months this year.
Image extracted from Starry Night Pro 8 for July 14, 2022
Observers using a small telescope (preferably from a dark-sky site) should be able to see a diffuse or fuzzy patch of light (the coma) around the nucleus of comet C/2017 K2. Careful observations using averted vision at the telescope may reveal the coma is really big compared to other comets. A hint of the comet’s tail might be visible, while long-exposure images should reveal the comet and its tail in all its glory.
Image extracted from Starry Night Pro 8 for August 13, 2022
For the full article go to EarthSky.org.
So, what is next for the James Webb Space Telescope?
The JWST has reached its Lagrange Point, L2.
The James Webb Space Telescope is now in orbit around L2! But there's nothing there, so how can it orbit when there's nothing there? We'll show how JWST maintains its orbit around the second Lagrangian Point of the Sun and Earth.
From Launch Pad Astronomy YouTube review:
How does JWST Orbit “Nothing”
As the world awaits the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, what will the first year of observation look like? It will still take up to 3 months for the telescope to return its first image. This is due to a series of calibrations and equipment alignment that still needs to be done. However, once it is fully deployed, the James Webb Space Telescope will be the most powerful telescope at work.
Virtual Telescope Project captures a view of the James Webb Space Telescope at its final destination.
Check it out at Space.com.
The British Astronomical Association has posted a short article that includes a YouTube link for an image clip of the JWST. I think it would be great if some of our Astro-imagers could do the same here from the Jersey Coast. I would suggest finding some way to predict the best date and then we all meet to try capturing it and enjoy the night as well. To view check out the BAA webpage britastro.org.
NASA - Astronomy Picture of the Day
APOD: A Solar Prominence from SOHO (2022 Jan 30)
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, SOHO-EIT Consortium
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220130.html
With all the solar activity that has been going on we should consider doing some solar observations.
We have some members with solar binoculars and telescopes.
This Month-Member Show and Tell
This month member show and tell comes from Matthew Michota. Matthew has proven to be a very talented member and recently produced this work of art. Painted at a recent art class, Matt shared this on the club's Facebook page. Matt said, “I feel like the Bob Ross of astronomy.” I think he may be right, this was an excellent piece of art. I have seen many night sky artwork and for me, this one stands out as better than many that are out there. I know if he decided to make copies, I would want one of his paintings.
Thanks, Matthew for sharing this, looking forward to more.
Outreach material below is distributed free for public outreach.
Let’s Explore Space - What’s in the Sky February 2022?
Witch Head Nebula
IC 2118 is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in the constellation of Orion. It lies in the Orion constellation, about 900 light-years from Earth.
Distance to Earth: 1,000 light-years
Magnitude: 13
Constellation: Orion
Coordinates: RA 5h 2m 0s | Dec -7° 54′ 0″
Distance: 1,000 ly
Apparent magnitude (V): 13
Apparent dimensions (V): 3 × 1 °
Credits: Wikipedia Image: NASA
The Witch Head Nebula should be one of the easiest nebulas to see because of its location to the Orion constellation, one of the easiest targets in the night sky. Orion a winter constellation is viewable from November to May. If you draw a line from Saiph through Rigel you should be able to target the Witch Head Nebula below Cursa. Observing with a telescope you’ll see the fuzz of the nebula, imaging will bring out its spooky image.
Scientists think it might be an ancient supernova remnant. The Witch Head Nebula is categorized as a reflection nebula or one that shines with the aid of a nearby star. In this case, Rigel shines its bright light on the gas and dust to create the reflection that we see. The dust reflects more blue light than red, which gives it its eerie purplish-blue hue.
The chart below has been modified and reposted from last month due to the Witch Head Nebula location to Orion. Orion and its surrounding area is a great winter source for observing many objects as well as imaging.
On the lighter side of astronomy …
ASTRA Member Astrophotos
Tadpole Nebula - IC 410
By Ron Bernknoph - Jan 8
A star-forming nebula is 12,000 light-years away in the constellation Auriga. It is a pretty young nebula only around 4 million years old.
This is 3 hours of exposure. I usually only add Darks and Flat reference frames to my pictures, but this is the first time I added Bias Frames.
Flame Star Nebula - IC 405
By Matthew Michota - Jan 10
An emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga north of the celestial equator, surrounding the bluish star AE Aurigae. It shines at a magnitude of +6.0.
Pac Man Nebula - NGC 281
By Ron Bernknoph - Jan 10
The Pacman Nebula is a bright emission nebula and part of an H II region in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia and is part of the Milky Way's Perseus Spiral Arm. It is 9200 light-years away. This is 63x 3 minute stacked exposures.
Bodes & Cigar Galaxy
By Ron Bernknoph - Jan 11
Here are two semi-near Galaxies. The one in the Center is the "Bodes" Galaxy (M81) about 12 million light-years away and the "Cigar" Galaxy (M82) in the upper left, about 12.4 million light-years away. They are located in the constellation Ursa Major (Big Dipper).
Rosette Nebula - NGC 2244
By Ron Bernknoph - Jan 14
The Rosette Nebula an open cluster is located 5000 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn). It is a star-forming region. Ultraviolet light from the large central stars illuminates the surrounding gas cloud. The age of this cluster has been estimated to be less than 5 million years.
This is 28 x 5-minute exposures.
Thor’s Helmet By Ron Bernknoph - Jan 26
NGC 2359 (also known as Thor's Helmet) is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. The nebula is approximately 12 thousand light-years away and 30 light-years in size. The central star is the Wolf-Rayet star WR7, an extremely hot star thought to be in a brief pre-supernova stage of evolution.
This is 33x 5-minute exposures stacked using Deep Sky Stacker and processed in Gimp.
APO Editor Note Congrats again to ASTRA Member Ron Bernknoph. His image of Thor’s Helmet was awarded "Astrophotography Photo of the Day" by theskysearchers. com website.
Observatories, Parks and More
APO Editor Note: We’ll be sharing articles of observatories and parks that have some interesting history, public access, and more each month in APO starting this month with January 2022.
John Glenn Astronomy Park
The John Glenn Astronomy Park is dedicated to sparking an interest in science, learning, and exploration by sharing with visitors the wonders of the sky, both day and night. Throughout most of history, humans have been inspired by the wondrous sight of a night sky filled with stars.
Located in Hocking Hills State Park of Logan, Ohio.
Named after the late John Glenn, the former astronaut and U.S. senator from New Concord. He became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962 and was a pioneer of space exploration; perhaps his new namesake park will inspire the next generation of space travelers. John Glenn gave his blessing to the park shortly before his death in 2016.
JGAP first opened on June 21, 2018. The four-acre park is located about forty miles southeast of Cleveland, Ohio. Pre COVID the park was open 24x7.
Hocking Hills is one of the few areas left in Ohio where the night sky can be seen in its near-pristine state. The observatory provides a venue for visitors to experience the night sky through a large telescope and with their eyes.
Hocking Hills offer breathtaking views of the Milky Way. Take a "solar system walk" in the park during the day to get a sense of the solar system's size, or view the sun through telescopes with specialized lenses.
Resource Information: Ohio.org, Cleveland.com, Facebook, YouTube
Astronomy & Space Theme Music
“Symphony of Science - Secret of the Stars”
The Symphony of Science is a music project created by Washington-based electronic musician John D. Boswell. The project seeks to "spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through musical remixes."
On February 26, 2013, Boswell released the seventeenth installment, "The Secret of the Stars," for the “Symphony of Science” collection, which explores the beauty of Einstein's concept of relativity, its applications to time, speed, energy, and mass, and its effects on the movement and light of stars. The music video features Michio Kaku, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Greene, Lisa Randall, and Brian Cox. Michio Kaku performs the chorus with Brian Cox, who sings only the first and fourth lines.
Sadly there is nothing on songfacts.com for John Boswell, but linked here is an interview with Scientific American.
For more on John Boswell and support of his work can be found on his webpage melodysheep.com.
What movie or television show was this from?
Can you name what movie or television show this telescope was from? It was a central piece of the story plot.
We’ll reveal it at our next ASTRA meeting. One hint Stephanie Beacham was in it.
Members Submitted Articles & Items
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Crayford Focuser Adjustment
Submitted by Vic Palmieri
All our astronomy gear will need some adjustments from time to time. ASTRA Member Vic Palmieri shared an instruction guide for adjusting the Crayford Focusers on the Skywatcher 80, 100, and 120 refractors. The included link will take you to the PDF file that can be copied and retained.
Dying Star’s Explosive End
Submitted by John Zimmerman
Like living things, stars eventually reach the end of their lives. And the most massive stars die by exploding as supernovae. Now, for the first time, astronomers have obtained images of the last moments of a massive red supergiant star, before it went supernova. For more on this topic shared by ASTRA member John Zimmerman, go to Earthsky.org.
Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1
Video submitted by John Endreson via Facebook
Asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1 is a near-Earth, potentially hazardous big boy! The huge asteroid had a close, but perfectly safe, encounter with Earth on January 18. Asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1 is 1.1 kilometers in diameter — that's two and a half times as tall as the Empire State Building.
Classified as a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It was discovered on 9 August 1994, by astronomer Robert McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in Coonabarabran, Australia.
The orbit of large asteroid 1994 PC1, via Tomruen/ Wikimedia Commons.
To view the video John shared go to the linked YouTube from Gian Masi.
For more on this asteroid event go to EarthSky.org.
Ooh, So Shiny!
Humorous submission from John Deriso, from Virgina club John was associated with.
Saturnalie Nebula in Domus.
Taken painstakingly over eight years, through my Tasco 60 with a Canon Snapshot and cellophane filters, cooled by a duct-taped cube combination of klondike bars, tracking by potato clock. It’s 96 hours of processing with Fortran on an Atari 5600 powered by 19 D cell batteries and a lemon. Unfortunately, Elon’s pet project dashed across the upper quadrant. Still, the colors came through nicely. This was my 23rd attempt at this object. Currently selling my rig to upgrade to a Takahashi FCT-200, all offers considered.
What’s Up: February 2022
Sky Watching Tips from NASA
Provided by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
For more go to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory webpage: What’s Up: Skywatching Tips From NASA
This article and images are distributed by NASA Night Sky Network
The Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach.
Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov to find local clubs, events, and more!
Hang Out with the Twins of Gemini
By David Prosper
The night skies of February are filled with beautiful star patterns, and so this month we take a closer look at another famous constellation, now rising high in the east after sunset: Gemini, the Twins!
If you’re observing Orion, as discussed in last month’s article, then Gemini is easy to find: just look above Orion’s “head” to find Gemini’s “feet.” Or, make a line from brilliant blue-white Rigel in the foot of Orion, through its distinct “Belt,” and then on through orange Betelgeuse. Keep going and you will end up in between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the “heads” of the Gemini Twins. While not actually related – these stars aren’t bound to each other, and are almost a magnitude apart in brightness – they do pair up nicely when compared to their surrounding stars. Take note: more than one stargazer has confused Gemini with its next-door neighbor constellation, Auriga. The stars of Auriga rise before Gemini’s, and its brightest star, Capella, doesn’t pair up as strikingly with its second most brilliant star as Castor and Pollux do. Star-hop to Gemini from Orion using the trick above if you aren’t sure which constellation you’re looking at.
Castor and Pollux are Gemini’s most prominent stars, and often referred to as the “heads” of the eponymous twins from Greek myth. In Chinese astronomy, these stars make up two separate patterns: the Vermillion Bird of the South and the White Tiger of the North. What do you see? The Night Sky Network’s “Legends in the Sky” activity includes downloadable “Create Your Own Constellation” handouts so you can draw your own star stories: bit.ly/legendsinthesky
Image created with assistance from Stellarium.
Pollux is the brighter of Gemini’s two “head” stars - imagine it has the head of the “left twin” - and located about 34 light-years away from our Solar System. Pollux even possesses a planet, Pollux b, over twice the mass of Jupiter. Castor - the head of the “right twin” - by contrast, lies about 51 light-years distant and is slightly dimmer. While no planets have been detected, there is still plenty of company as Castor is actually a six-star system! There are several great deep-sky objects to observe as well. You may be able to spot one with your unaided eyes, if you have dark skies and sharp eyes: M35, a large open cluster near the “right foot” of Gemini, about 3,870 light-years away. It’s almost the size of a full Moon in our skies! Optical aid like binoculars or a telescope reveals the cluster’s brilliant member stars. Once you spot M35, look around to see if you can spot another open cluster, NGC 2158, much smaller and more distant than M35 at 9,000 light-years away. Another notable object is NGC 2392, a planetary nebula created from the remains of a dying star, located about 6,500 light-years distant. You’ll want to use a telescope to find this intriguing faint fuzzy, located near the “left hip” star Wasat.
Montage of Gemini North, located on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, and Gemini South, located on Cerro Pachón in Chile. These “twin” telescopes work together as the Gemini Observatory to observe the entire sky.
Image Credit: NOIRLab Source: https://www.gemini.edu/gallery/media/gemini-northsouth-montage
Gemini’s stars are referenced quite often in cultures around the world, and even in the history of space exploration. NASA’s famed Gemini program took its name from these stars, as do the appropriately named twin Gemini North and South Observatories in Hawaii and Chile. You can discover more about Gemini’s namesakes along with the latest observations of its stars and related celestial objects at nasa.gov.
What can we find in Constellation Gemini?
Gemini with its twin stars Castor and Pollux is best viewed in the winter and spring. Castor and Pollux the two brightest stars in Gemini are the twin brothers from Greek and Roman mythology. There are three other objects that Gemini contains that would be good for viewing as well as imaging and we’ll list them below.
Messier 35 (M35) is a large open star cluster located in the northern constellation Gemini. The cluster consists of several hundred stars, of which 120 are brighter than magnitude 13. The central region has a density of 6.21 stars per cubic parsec.
The cluster has an apparent magnitude of 5.3 and lies at an approximate distance of 2,800 light-years from Earth. It has the designation NGC 2168 in the New General Catalogue and is the only Messier object in Gemini.
ref: messier-objects.com
NGC 2158 is an open cluster in Gemini and is in angle, immediately southwest of the open cluster Messier 35, and is believed to be about 2 billion years old. The two clusters are unrelated, as the subject is around 9,000 light-years further away. The contrasting shapes and densities of M35 and NGC 2158 when viewed from Earth make them great pair to photograph.
NGC 2158, once thought to be a globular cluster, is now known to be an intermediate-age, metal-poor open cluster that is a member of the old thin disk population.
ref: Wikipedia & skyatnightmagazine.com
NGC 2392 The Eskimo Nebula, is also known as the Clown-faced Nebula, Lion Nebula, or Caldwell 39, is a bipolar double-shell planetary nebula. As of August 1, 2020, NASA no longer refers to NGC 2392 as the “Eskimo Nebula.”
It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1787.
This composite image contains X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in purple, showing the location of million-degree gas near the center of the planetary nebula. Data from the Hubble Space Telescope — colored red, green, and blue — show the intricate pattern of the outer layers of gas that have been ejected from the star.
Ref: NASA.gov
“Learn the Sky” is a video education series resource. The linked video details finding Gemini, its history, and more.
Go to the YouTube link for Learn The Sky. … For more on “Learn The Sky” go to ASTRA Webpage.
Tonight’s Sky: February
The Winter Triangle is your guide to the night sky: The northern hemisphere is treated to views of the stars Procyon, Sirius, and Betelgeuse. Keep watching for the awe-inspiring space-based views of the Orion Nebula, which is sculpted by the stellar winds of central bright stars.
Other Calendar Items of Interest
APO Editor’s Note:
Removed previous months “What’s Up” and “Tonight’s Sky” since APO links to prior months postings of APO.
Added Skymaps.com “The Evening Sky Map” and will be posted with each new issue of APO.
Skymaps.com - The Evening Sky Map - Select the current month and download the Northern Edition.
Sky’s Up Global
Astronomy Magazine
Explore Scientific Magzine series going back to 2015. Good information for both the beginner and seasoned observers. A supplier of astronomy products.
Submissions Welcome
Members are invited to submit articles, photos, news, or stories for inclusion with Astral Projections Online. Please contact the ASTRA Webmaster.