Astral Projections Online March 2022
Now that we are back, we will continue to meet at the Planetarium for in-person meetings. 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 March 2022 meeting will be Friday, March 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.
March ASTRA Meeting Presents …
March is the month that hosts Saint Patricks Day. ASTRA Member Ryan Knipple will be providing a presentation on Irish Astronomy & Astronomers.
The March 2022 meeting will be Friday, March 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.
This will be our second duel in-person and virtual format meeting. Issues that were identified in February will be hopefully worked out for March.
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.
April 12 - 6 PM to 7:30 PM - Beginners Astronomy
Location: Cooper Environmental Center, Cattus Island County Park
Description: Ever wonder what it takes to get started stargazing? Join Jim Webster from the Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area and learn about telescopes that can take your night viewing to a whole new level. There is a registration fee of $5, payable to the park. Please call them to reserve your spot.
April 30 - 11 AM to 2 PM - The Problem With Light Pollution
Location: Jakes Branch County Park
Description: Light pollution affects us all! From its adverse effect on our wildlife and ecosystems to our energy consumption, to our dark sky heritage, personal safety, and overall human health, the impact of light pollution can seem subtle but in fact, is very significant. Please join Jim Webster from Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area and International Darksky Association Advocate to learn about the impact of light pollution on our planet and yourself. This is a free open discussion event at the park.
April 30 - 10 AM to 4 PM - Cattus Island Nature Festival - NOTE: This event is still in the planning stage for us.
Location: Cattus Island County Park
Description: This event is being planned and we are looking for some volunteers. It is anticipated that we’ll have a table setup and some solar observations. This will be a long day with anticipated 1,000+ visitors.
May 17 - 6 PM to 7:30 PM - Milky-way Photography
Location: Cooper Environmental Center, Cattus Island County Park
Description: A beginner-level discussion on Milky-way Photography and what is needed with Jim Webster from the Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area. There is a registration fee of $5, payable to the park. Please call them to reserve your spot.
May 21 - 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM - Astronomy with Binoculars
Location: Cloverdale Farms County Park
Description: Ever wonder what it takes to get started stargazing? Join Jim Webster from the Astronomical Society of the Toms River Area and learn about binoculars that can take your night viewing to a whole new level without a telescope. There is a registration fee of $6, payable to the park. Please call them to reserve your spot.
NOTE: The ASTRA Star Party at 8:30 PM is a separate event that will follow and is free for all to attend.
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.
"Astronomers, like burglars and jazz musicians, operate best at night.”
- Miles Kingston, Journalist
ASTRA Meeting - February 11
I am happy to report that ASTRA has returned to in-person meetings at the NOVINS Planetarium and the turnout was a good headcount of twenty-five, with some potential new members. This was also our first dual in-person and virtual meeting as we will continue to maintain our ZOOM presence for those that would prefer to attend online due to COVID concerns. On the virtual side, we had ten members online.
Some lessons learned came out of this event related to the new setup and we will try implementing some changes for our remote members during the in-person presentations.
Vic Palmieri was our first ASTRA member that presented to the membership on our return.
His presentation on the Moon was detailed and provided much information that you wouldn’t see in lunar presentations or videos. We were quite fortunate that Vic has the knowledge that he does and was willing to share it with us.
The image here is Vic during his presentation. You’ll notice the latop that was used to monitor the virtual side of our evening. A second laptop was also used to link the presentation material to the Zoom session. Some may have notice a pause in the slide deck advancing and the laptop used will be getting a memory expansion from 8 Gig to 64 Gig. This should help with future events.
Vic provided us a view of one of the best books on the Moon and it was made even better seeing his own handwritten notes on his observations. We’ll have a link to this document on Amazon below.
Below are crater notes from his presentation.
Crater rays are bright because of the contrast with surrounding terrain which has been darkened by particles of solar winds. Rays are made of deep material excavated during meteor/asteroid impacts.
Mountains, Rilles, and other surface features usually share the name of the adjacent lunar crater.
Smaller craters adjacent to or within the area of a named crater share the name of the named crater followed by a capital letter. For example Godin A, Godin B, etc.
A revised method of crater classification has been introduced. This system appears to be a scientific approach to crater classification which should help scientists understand the statistical intensity and duration of past events.
Another segment of Vic’s presentation was on Lunar Dust and the problem it presents.
Lunar Soil: Lunar soil usually refers to the finer fraction of Regolith having grains 1 centimeter or less in diameter.
Lunar Dust:
Lunar dust is even finer materials <30 microns in diameter and is composed of tiny specks of iron in a glass shell within each Lunar dust particle. Glass shell is made from very fine particles of silicon dioxide glass, iron, calcium, magnesium plus other trace materials. Lunar dust has electrostatic and magnetic properties.
Lunar dust is abrasive and clingy.
Lunar dust appears to be highly retro-reflective.
Lunar dust may limit future Lunar missions unless the problems of dust can be prevented.
Close up view of the Moon
Videos of the of the moon, close up.
YouTube: The Moon in close up color
YouTube: NASA-Tour of the Moon
ATLAS OF THE MOON
ATLAS OF THE MOON publication from 1992.
by Antonin Rukl (Author),
Thomas W. Rackham (Author)
Revised edition from 2007
by Antonin Rukl (Author),
Gary Seronik (Editor)
You can find very few of them available on Amazon and maybe eBay.
Interesting Note: In 1834 Johann Heinrich von Mädler published the first large cartography (map) of the Moon, comprising 4 sheets in size, and he subsequently published The Universal Selenography.
Citizen Science Project - Lunar Impact Monitoring
NASA needs your help to monitor the rates and sizes of large meteoroids striking the moon’s dark side. By monitoring the moon for impacts, NASA can define the meteoroid environment and identify the risks that meteors pose to future lunar exploration. This data will help engineers design lunar spacecraft, habitats, vehicles, and extra-vehicular activity suits to protect human explorers from the stresses of the lunar environment.
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
None for February.
Around the Web
Teaching Mini-Series from NOVA
NOVA Universe Revealed: A five-part series NOVA Universe Revealed explores the cosmos and captures key moments in the history of the universe. State-of-the-art animations illustrate current models of astronomical events past and present—from the birth of stars being born today to the beginning of space and time itself.
PBS Learning Media Universe Revealed
More from PBS Learning Media Earth and Space Science
Filters for Visual Astronomy
Another review on filters. This one is from the blog posting: The Blog Formerly Known as McWiki. It’s a very easy-to-read overview on filters without graphs and science data.
There are no references to Astrophotography for this review, but it will link to a separate article later on.
A variety of filters are available for use with your telescope. These often have encouraging names such as “light pollution filter”, and many have rather deceptive advertising, implying they will produce amazing results.
Some may also include frightening language implying you need them for safety – such as the “moon filter” that protects your eyes from the terrifyingly-bright light of the moon. (In the case of solar filters, for observing the sun, the danger is real. But, unfortunately, there is one type of solar filter often supplied with beginner-class telescopes that is very dangerous. Beginners should leave solar observing for later, when they are more experienced, and when they have learned what kind of solar filtering is truly safe.)
Many beginners buy filters expecting miraculous improvements, then are disappointed. Filters do work, but the effect of most is subtle. Many are not worth it, while some are very effective but only for specific specialized uses. …
For more visit: Filters for Visual Astronomy
Women in Astronomy
OPT is proud to present this special presentation of women in astronomy!
A video presentation about women in the space industry like NASA engineers, OPTeam astrophotographers, and many more!
For more go to OPT - The Telescope Authority.
So, what is next for the James Webb Space Telescope?
The JWST team is currently taking test images to align and focus its eighteen primary mirror segments. When completed the planned hexagonal formation is expected to provide us with some great images, further than we have ever viewed before.
This image shows the result of the 18 randomly positioned copies of the same star, which served as the starting point for the alignment process. To complete the first stage of alignment, the team moved the primary mirror segments to arrange the dots of starlight into a hexagonal image array. Each dot of starlight is labeled with the corresponding mirror segment that captured it.
Credits: NASA/STScI/J. DePasquale
For more on this topic go to JWST NASA Blog.
The alignment process for its eighteen mirrors is expected to take up to three months from the time of when JWST arrived at its L2 Lagrange point. Part of the alignment process is also the Image Stacking process that is currently in sets of six mirrors. The JWST team has a way to go but they are currently pleased with the progress they have made.
This gif shows the “before” and “after” images from Segment Alignment, when the team corrected large positioning errors of its primary mirror segments and updated the alignment of the secondary mirror. Credit: NASA/STScI
Completed Segment Alignment - Shown below, during this phase of alignment known as Image Stacking, individual segment images are moved so they fall precisely at the center of the field to produce one unified image instead of 18. In this image, all 18 segments are on top of each other. After future alignment steps, the image will be even sharper. Credit: NASA/STScI
Completed Image Stacking - Shown above. This hexagonal image array captured by the NIRCam instrument shows the progress made during the Segment Alignment phase, further aligning Webb’s 18 primary mirror segments and secondary mirror using precise movements commanded from the ground. Credit: NASA/STScI
For more on JWST Alignment and Stacking go to NASA Blog.
JWST alignment process is publicly available. You can view it from the link from NASA.
Night Sky Network Webinar Series: Webb Community Events: First Images
Join the NASA Night Sky Network on Tuesday, March 15 at 6:00 pm Pacific Time (9:00 pm Eastern) to hear Anita Dey and Holly Ryer share with us how NSN clubs can share with their communities Webb First Images.
Registration and Additional Information for Members:
Night Sky Network members can join live, ask questions, and get up-to-date information about the resource. Members may register in advance for this webinar(login required)on the Outreach Resource page.
Our Nearest Neighbor
APO Editor Note: Starting with March APO we’ll feature some information on the Moon.
Let’s explore some interesting features, facts, or myths about our nearest neighbor, the Moon. Without it, life on Earth would be totally different, if not at all.
Facts About The Moon
The Moon is the fifth largest moon in the solar system.
The Moon’s presence helps stabilize our planet’s wobble and moderate our climate.
The gravitational force of Earth causes moonquakes. This has led to cracks on its surface.
The Moon’s distance from Earth is about 240,000 miles (385,000km).
The Moon has a very thin atmosphere called an exosphere.
The Moon’s surface is cratered and pitted from comet and asteroid impacts.
The Moon appears upside-down in the Southern hemisphere from that in the Nothern.
Is there now life on the Moon?
Tardigrades can live in the harshest climates and are virtually everywhere on Earth. On April 11, 2019, the Beresheets Israeli moon mission crashed on the moon. They were part of an experiment that may have been scattered on the lunar surface from the crash.
Tardigrades, known colloquially as water bears or moss piglets, are a phylum of eight-legged segmented micro-animals. They were first described by the German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773, who called them Kleiner Wasserbär.
Not all tardigrades live in extreme environments, but water bears are known for surviving extreme conditions that would kill most other forms of life, by transforming into a dehydrated ball known as a tun. Something to think about as they are nearly indestructible and can survive in space. Did they survive?
For more on Tardigrades and the crash go to Livescience.com … Livescience.com(2)
This Month-Member Show and Tell
Nothing new for Show and Tell this month so we’ll leave the painting from ASTRA member Matthew Michota up for another month. This excellent piece of art was recently gifted to ASTRA member John Zimmerman for his twenty-seventh birthday. … Happy Birthday John.
Outreach material below is distributed free for public outreach.
Let’s Explore Space - What’s in the Sky March 2022?
Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus. The common name comes from William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, who observed the object in 1842 using a 36-inch telescope and produced a drawing that looked somewhat like a crab.
Distance to Earth: 6,523 light-years
Radius: 5.5 light years
Age: 1,001 years
Magnitude: 8.4
Coordinates: RA 5h 34m 32s | Dec +22° 0′ 52″
Constellation: Taurus
Length: about 10 light-years … Wikipedia
Cataloged as Messier 1 - M1 Charles Messier observed it in September 1758 and the appearance of this dying supernova remnant inspired him to begin compiling a list of nebulae that possibly could be mistaken for comets. The list eventually became his famous catalog. The actual supernova explosion was observed and recorded by Chinese and Arab astronomers in 1054. Estimated to be magnitude -7 it was easily visible during the day. An easy target under dark skies and can be spotted by binoculars and is best seen from November, December, and January.
On the lighter side of astronomy …
Red and Rover by Brian Basset
ASTRA Member Astrophotos
Pinwheel Galaxy - M101
By Matthew Michota - Feb 7
The Pinwheel Galaxy is a face-on spiral galaxy 21 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. Managed to get some data on M101 Saturday night.. I had some issues with files not being read on stacking software.. I'm not sure what happened.. 24x5mins.
Uranus
By Ron Bernknoph - Feb 10
I had my 8" SCT on my AVX for a week checking out the capabilities for Astrophotography.
On February 10th, I took this image of Uranus before the clouds came in. This was a 10x 3-minute exposure using my DSLR. This is the 1st time I imaged Uranus in 2 years.
Uranus, the 7th planet of our Solar System, is an average of 1.8 billion miles away from the Sun. It is never closer to Earth than 1.7 billion miles. it takes 84.3 years to rotate around the Sun, There are 2 Moons visible close to the Planet. Oberon and Titania
The Moon
By John Zimmerman
Feb 12
John was able to get out recently and took some images of the Moon. Here is one that is being shared.
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. At about one-quarter the diameter of Earth, it is the largest natural satellite in the Solar System relative to the size of a major planet, the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System overall, and larger than any known dwarf planet.
Earth's moon, the longest known of all, was given the name "Selene" by the Greeks and "Luna" by the Romans, each a goddess.
Heart Nebula - IC 1805
By Matthew Michota Feb 14
Had to do it, it's Valentine's Day. The Heart Nebula in Cassiopeia. This is a huge target, and together with the Soul Nebula form the Heart and Soul a beautiful object that looks great in images. This is about 2 hours using a ZWO asi533 camera and the Redcat 51 taken back in September or so at IBSP.
I also want to say happy Valentine's Day to my beautiful girlfriend Ally, I love you
Medusa Nebula - Abell 21
By Ron Bernknoph - Feb 18
This is Abell 21, also called the "Medusa Nebula". It is located in the constellation Gemini. It is an older Nebula located 1500 Light years away and only discovered in 1955 by University of California, Los Angeles astronomer, George Abell.
I used the 6" Newtonian/AVX mount to do this. This is 28x 300-second images. Unmodified Canon T6 DSLR and L eNhance Filter.
Double Cluster - NGC 869 & 884
By Ron Bernknoph - Feb 19
I image a lot of Globular Star Clusters but not many Open Star Clusters. This is the "Double Cluster" NGC 869 and NGC 884.
This is 34 x 5-minute exposures. Stacked in DSS and Processed in Gimp and PS.
The stars in these are fairly young at around 12.8 million years old and each was formed from the same cloud of gas and dust in the Perseus arm of the Milky Way. They are 7600 light-years away and each contains around 300 Blue White supergiant stars.
Seagull Nebula - IC 2177
By Ron Bernknoph - Feb 20
In the constellation Monoceros, near Canis Major is the Seagull Nebula (IC2177). I didn't know how BIG this Nebula was until tonight. I was able to capture the head and part of the neck with my 6" Reflector.
37x 5-minute images. Stacked in DSS and processed in Gimp.
This Nebula is located around 3700 light years away and is 100 light years across. The gas and dust cloud is lit from radiation from the bright star in the center of the "head".
Reflection Nebule - M78, NGC 2068
By Matthew Michota Feb 28
M78 is a reflection nebule in the constellation Orion. This wide-field image took two hours and was a bit noisy.
Astrotech 4" Apochromatic refractor
ZWO asi2600mc cooled camera @-10°
GEM45 mount
Bernard’s Loop - Sh 2-276
By Matthew Michota Feb 28
Bernard’s Loop is an emission nebula in the constellation of Orion. This wide-field image took two hours, a bit noisy and stars are all wonky in Orion. Was experimenting with an Astro-modified DSLR.
Canon T6s Astro-modified
Canon 50mm @f/2.8
Skyguider Pro star tracker
Bernard’s Loop is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex which also contains the dark Horsehead and bright Orion nebulae. The loop takes the form of a large arc centered approximately on the Orion Nebula. The stars within the Orion Nebula are believed to be responsible for ionizing the loop. It is well seen in long-exposure photographs, although observers under very dark skies may be able to see it with the naked eye. This sadly does not include observing in New Jersey.
Observatories, Parks and More
Sperry Observatory
The William Miller Sperry Observatory, also known simply as the Sperry Observatory, is an astronomical observatory owned by Union County College and operated by Amateur Astronomers, Incorporated.
The observatory is located on the property of Union County College on their Cranford, New Jersey campus. … Wikipedia
Sperry Observatory has been operated since its dedication by Amateur Astronomers, Inc. The observatory houses two of the largest telescopes on the East Coast open to the public on a weekly basis. The East Dome holds a 10-inch f/15 refractor built by AAI members and donated to the college in November 1972. The West Dome has a 24-inch f/11 Cassegrain reflector purchased and owned by AAI and installed in October 1974.
Astronomy & Space Theme Music
“Countdown”
Countdown by Canadian rock band RUSH. It was on their ninth album Signals, which was recorded and released in 1982. It was inspired by the April 12, 1981 launch of the Columbia Space Shuttle, the first reusable manned spacecraft.
The band were guests of NASA for the launch at Kennedy Space Center in Florida (they saw it from an area called Red Sector A, which "inspired another song"). Rush drummer Neil Peart wrote the lyric, which describes the feeling of anticipation and wonder as they took in the historic event. "It was an incredible thing to witness," said Peart. "A truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
The song has audio clips of astronauts John Young and Robert Crippens and ground control Daniel Brandenstein. Countdown was dedicated to these same individuals and NASA.
For more go to songfacts.com
What movie or television show was this from?
Can you name what movie or television show this telescope was from?
We’ll reveal it next month.
From Last Month
From February: The telescope was a central piece of the story plot. One hint Stephanie Beacham was in it.
UFO: A 1970 British sci-fi television series about the ongoing covert efforts of a government defense organization to prevent an alien invasion of Earth.
Created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson was a single series of 26 episodes (including the pilot).
You can find free videos for this show on YouTube.
It was discussed on Cloudy Nights that the telescope used for the episode, Destruction was a Dudley Fuller Refractor telescope. Manufactured in the UK, Dudley Fuller had his own company called Fullerscopes, making refractors & reflectors, and joined Broadhurst/Clarkson in the early 70's, creating Broadhurst, Clarkson & Fuller (BC&F). Broadhurst/Clarkson has existed for several hundred years and still exists, but as a retailer, not manufacturer.
Members Submitted Articles & Items
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
The Sun in Twelve Numbers
Submitted by Vic Palmieri
The Sun in Twelve Numbers is a blog posting from the Lowell Observatory Doctor Michael West. For this particular article, he shared a number of sun facts in the linked blog posting. Lowell Observatory
Famous Astronomers Born In February
Submitted by John Zimmerman
Galileo Galilei
Born: Feb 15, 1564, Died: January 8, 1642
Galileo is one of the most important astronomers in history and science, and he made many contributions to it, such as discovering Jupiter’s four largest moons, and discovering that every object falls at the same speed. Happy birthday, Galileo!
Galileo also worked in applied science and technology. His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, observation of the four largest satellites of Jupiter, observation of Saturn's rings, and analysis of lunar craters and sunspots.
Nicholaus Copernicus
Born: February 19, 1473, Died: May 24, 1543
Nicholaus Copernicus', the man who is credited for creating the heliocentric model of our solar system, the model that we use today. Copernicus' model of the solar system shows the sun at the center of the solar system, and the earth (as well as the other planets) revolving around the sun.
Other astronomers like Tycho Brahe created models of the solar system that showed the Earth at the center of the solar system, the sun revolved around the Earth, and the other planets revolved around the sun.
Most people bought this idea, even though it was absolutely insane (not to mention wrong.) At any rate, Copernicus would be 549 years old today. You're still young and fresh, Nicky C! (Sorry I called Nicholaus Copernicus "Nicky C.") Now that I think of it, Nicky C sounds like the name of a rapper. Am I right?
What’s Up: March 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!
Embracing the Equinox
By David Prosper
This (not to scale) image shows how our planet receives equal amounts of sunlight during equinoxes.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Genna Duberstein
Depending on your locale, equinoxes can be seen as harbingers of longer nights and gloomy weather, or promising beacons of nicer temperatures and more sunlight. Observing and predicting equinoxes is one of the earliest skills in humanity’s astronomical toolkit. Many ancient observatories around the world observed equinoxes along with the more pronounced solstices. These days, you don’t need your own observatory to know when an equinox occurs, since you’ll see it marked on your calendar twice a year! The word “equinox” originates from Latin and translates to equal (equi-) night (-nox). But what exactly is an equinox?
An equinox occurs twice every year, in March and September. In 2022, the equinoxes will occur on March 20, at exactly 15:33 UTC (or 11:33 am EDT), and again on September 23, at 01:04 UTC (or September 22 at 9:04 pm EDT). The equinox marks the exact moment when the center of the Sun crosses the plane of our planet’s equator. On the day of an equinox, observers at the equator will see the Sun directly overhead at noon. After the March equinox, observers anywhere on Earth will see the Sun’s path in the sky continue its movement further north every day until the June solstice, after which it begins traveling south. The Sun crosses the equatorial plane again during the September equinox and continues traveling south until the December solstice when it heads back north once again. This movement is why some refer to the March equinox as the northward equinox and the September equinox as the southward equinox.
Scenes of Earth from orbit from season to season, as viewed by EUMETSAT. Notice how the terminator - the line between day and night - touches both the North and South Poles in the equinox images. See how the shadow is lopsided for each solstice, too: sunlight pours over the Northern Hemisphere for the June solstice, while the sunlight dramatically favors the Southern Hemisphere for the December solstice.
Source: bit.ly/earthequinox Images: NASA/Robert Simmon
Our Sun shines equally on both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres during equinoxes, which is why they are the only times of the year when the Earth’s North and South Poles are simultaneously lit by sunlight. Notably, the length of day and night on the equinox isn’t precisely equal; the date for that split depends on your latitude and may occur a few days earlier or later than the equinox itself. The complicating factors? Our Sun and atmosphere! The Sun itself is a sphere and not a point light source, so its edge is refracted by our atmosphere as it rises and sets, which adds several minutes of light to every day. The Sun doesn’t neatly wink on and off at sunrise and sunset like a light bulb, and so there isn’t a perfect split of day and night on the equinox - but it’s very close.
Equinoxes are associated with the changing seasons. In March, Northern Hemisphere observers welcome the longer, warmer days heralded by their vernal, or spring, equinox, but Southern Hemisphere observers note the shorter days – and longer, cooler nights - signaled by their autumnal, or fall, equinox. Come September, the reverse is true. Discover the reasons for the seasons, and much more, with NASA at nasa.gov
The Rings of … Jupiter?
The following is posted with permission from Sandra Macika.
Voyager 1 images gave the first indication of a faint ring around Jupiter. The location of the ring is indicated by the white line. The thickness of the ring is estimated to be 30 km or less. Jupiter is about 142,000 km in diameter. The ring has a diameter of about 250,000 km. North is at 11:00 (Voyager 1, P-21259)
"Sandra Macika worked with NASA for seven years doing Meteor Shower Studies and worked with Lick Observatory for ten years doing Public Outreach in California. She has a collection of over 160 Meteorites, Tektites, and Impactites. She takes them to Schools, Scout Groups, Libraries, and other Public Events. Sandra has been the Astronomy Supervisor for Wayne/Oakland Science Olympiad since 2015. She is a Member of the San Jose Astronomical Association, Ford Amateur Astronomy Club, Warren Astronomical Society, Farmington Community of Stargazers and owns a 14.5-inch telescope."
1979-07-11 Frist photo of Jupiter's Ring - Voyager 2 image
Jupiter’s Rings. We have all seen pix of the brilliant Rings of Saturn. The planet Jupiter also has a system of planetary rings; however, they are very faint. The Jovian ring system consists mainly of dust, unlike the icy rings of Saturn. They were the third ring system to be discovered in the Solar System, after those of Saturn and Uranus. The main ring was discovered in 1979 by the Voyager 1 space probe and the system was more thoroughly investigated in the 1990s by the Galileo orbiter. The main ring has also been observed by the Hubble Space Telescope and from Earth for several years. Ground-based observation of the rings requires the largest available telescopes. High-resolution images obtained in February and March 2007 by the New Horizons spacecraft revealed a rich fine structure in the main ring.
1996-10-05 Jovian Rings with an explanatory scheme, mosaic of five images - Galileo
The above mosaic is shown twice; the top panel displays only the data, while the bottom panel gives the location of some of Jupiter's small ring moons and presents a match between the image and a simple geometrical model of the gossamer rings.
The white vertical arc at the left edge of the top panel is caused by sunlight filtering through Jupiter's upper atmosphere; the white horizontal line in the left part of the figure is the main ring whose arms overlap in this foreshortened view. The next frame of the mosaic, taken at higher sensitivity to detect fainter material, shows (on the left part of this panel) the overexposed main ring and the halo (seen as material above and below the main ring) which is interior to the main ring and has become visible in this longer exposure. The middle panel, shows a tenuous horizontal stripe, which can be made out in the "10 times sensitivity" panel also. In contrast to the main ring, which ends in a narrow elliptical tip, this "gossamer ring" ends abruptly (in the middle of the image) without changing its vertical thickness; the ring is also unusual in that its top and bottom edges are about twice as bright as the central region. Interestingly this ring is only seen to precisely the orbital distance of Amalthea, a small (mean radius of 85 km) Jovian moon and has a half-thickness that is the same as Amalthea's maximum excursion off Jupiter's equatorial plane.
1996-11-08 False color image of Halo ring in forward-scattered light, a mosaic of four images - Galileo. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at: http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov.
Background information and educational context for the images can be found at:
http:/ /www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo
Jupiter's ring system is composed of three parts -- a flat main ring, a lenticular halo interior to the main ring, and the gossamer ring, which lies exterior to the main ring. The near and far arms of Jupiter's main ring extend horizontally across the mosaic, joining together at the ring's ansa, on the far left side of the figure. The near arm of the ring appears to be abruptly truncated close to the planet, at the point where it passes into Jupiter's shadow.
A faint mist of particles can be seen above and below the main rings; this vertically extended, toroidal "halo" is unusual in planetary rings, and is probably caused by electromagnetic forces which can push small grains out of the ring plane. Halo material is present across this entire image, implying that it reaches more than 27,000 km above the ring plane. Because of shadowing, the halo is not visible close to Jupiter in the lower right part of the mosaic. In order to accentuate faint features in the image, different brightnesses are shown through color, with the brightest being white or yellow and the faintest purple.
1996-11-09 Gossamer rings in forward-scattered light – Galileo
Jupiter's ring system is composed of three parts: a flat main ring, a toroidal halo interior to the main ring, and the gossamer ring, which lies exterior to the main ring. The gossamer ring is the extremely diffuse and uniform band that stretches across the center of this mosaic, starting from the main ring and halo on the right-hand side. The gossamer ring had been seen previously only in the single Voyager image in which it was discovered at a very low brightness level; there its brightness appeared to drop from
about one-tenth the main ring's value until the ring totally vanished at a distance of about three Jovian radii. The gossamer ring is clearly visible in this Galileo view; the left side of the image corresponds to a radial distance of about 2.2 Jovian radii. The outer edge of the gossamer ring is beyond the edge of this mosaic.
To accentuate the very faint, gossamer ring, the images were overexposed with respect to the main ring and the halo (both seen on the far right of the mosaic). In these long exposures, some stars are visible; other specks in the mosaic were caused by cosmic ray hits to the CCD. All parts of the Jovian rings scatter sunlight very efficiently in the forward direction, indicating that the particles are micrometers or less in diameter, small than the thickness of tissue paper. Such small particles are believed to have human-scale lifetimes, i.e., very brief compared to the solar system's age.
1996-11-09 Main ring in forward-scattered light with Metis notch clearly visible - Galileo
The west ansa of Jupiter's Main Ring clearly shows radial structure that had only been hinted at in the Voyager images. The plot of the brightness of ring as a function of location, going from the inner-most edge of the image to the outer-most through the thickest part of the ring, shows the "dips" in brightness due to perturbations from satellites. Two small satellites, Adrastea and Metis, which are not seen in this image, orbit through the outer portion of the ansa; their location relative to these radial features will be available after further data analysis. The ring's faint halo is seen to arise in the inner main ring just as it fades. Although most of Jupiter's ring is composed of small grains that should be highly perturbed by the strong Jovian magnetosphere, the ring's brightness drops abruptly at the outer edge.
1996-11-09 mosaic of Jupiter’s Ring System - Galileo
This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/.
This mosaic of Jupiter's ring system was acquired when the Sun was behind the planet, and the spacecraft was in Jupiter's shadow peering back toward the Sun.
In such a configuration, very small dust-sized particles are accentuated so both the ring particles and the smallest particles in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter are highlighted. Such small particles are believed to have human-scale lifetimes, i.e., very brief compared to the solar system's age.
Jupiter's ring system is composed of three parts: a flat main ring, a toroidal halo interior to the main ring, and the gossamer ring, which lies exterior to the main ring. Only the main ring and a hint of the surrounding halo can be seen in this mosaic. In order to see the less dense components (the outer halo and gossamer ring) the images must be overexposed with respect to the main ring.
The vertical bright arcs in the middle of the ring mosaics show the edges of Jupiter and are composed of images obtained by NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1979.
2006-09 Composite of six images of the possible Himalia ring, double exposure of Himalia is circled, arrow points to Jupiter - New Horizons
Jupiter may have a new ring that was created by a smash between moons. The possible ring appears as a faint streak near Jupiter’s moon Himalia. “We were taking an image of Himalia to test the instrument. It was completely unexpected that something else was there,” says Andy Cheng, chief scientist for the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), which took the pictures.
It is unclear if the new ring reaches all the way around the planet. No one knows when it formed, but crucially the Galileo spacecraft didn’t spot it before the end of its mission to Jupiter in 2003, says Cheng. “If we’re right that it was very recent, it might not have existed before then,” he says.
Moons at risk - Because the structure appears so close to Himalia, it may be the result of an impact that blasted material off the 170-kilometer-wide moon, suggested Cheng and colleagues, earlier this month. If so, it must be relatively new, because impact debris would quickly spread out and become invisible. One of Jupiter’s moons, the diminutive 4-kilometre-wide S/2000 J 11, went missing after its discovery in 2000 and could have crashed into Himalia, destroying itself in the process, suggests the team.
The New Horizons fly-by found that Jupiter has fewer moons with a diameter less than 16 kilometers than expected. Researchers have previously suggested that small moons have been eroded away by micrometeorite impacts. But perhaps larger collisions also play a role, Cheng says. He and his colleagues hope to learn more about the possible new Jupiter ring by taking more pictures of it with a ground-based telescope.
2007-02-27 Metis orbiting at the edge of Jupiter's main ring - New Horizons
The New Horizons spacecraft took the best images of Jupiter's charcoal-black rings as it approached and then looked back at Jupiter. This picture from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) shows the well-defined lanes of gravel- to boulder-sized material composing the bulk of the rings; labels point out how these narrow rings are confined in their orbits by small "shepherding" moons (Metis and Adrastea).
2007-02-28 Jovian Main Ring - New Horizons
The upper image shows the main ring in back-scattered light. The fine structure of its outer part is visible. The lower image shows the main ring in forward-scattered light demonstrating its lack of any structure except the Metis notch.
A faint outer ringlet is just outside the orbit of Adrastea. A gap situated between the orbits of Metis and Adrastea is clearly visible. Metis is just inside the bright outer (~1000 km) part of the ring.
The top image was taken on approach, showing three well-defined lanes of gravel to boulder-sized material composing the bulk of the rings, as well as lesser amounts of material between the rings. New Horizons snapped the lower image after it had passed Jupiter and looked back in a direction toward the sun. The image is sharply focused, though it appears fuzzy due to the cloud of dust-sized particles enveloping the rings. The dust is brightly illuminated in the same way the dust on a dirty windshield lights up when you drive toward a "low" sun. The narrow rings are confined in their orbits by small "shepherding" moons.
2016-08-27 Rings as observed from the inside - Juno
More information about Juno is online at http://www.nasa.gov/juno and http://missionjuno.swri.edu.
As NASA's Juno spacecraft flew through the narrow gap between Jupiter's radiation belts and the planet during its first science flyby, Perijove 1, the Stellar Reference Unit (SRU-1) star camera collected the first image of Jupiter's ring taken from the inside looking out. The bright bands in the center of the image are the main ring of Jupiter's ring system.
While taking the ring image, the SRU was viewing the constellation Orion. The bright star above the main ring is Betelgeuse, and Orion's belt can be seen in the lower right.
APO Editor: For more on the Rings of Jupiter check out the links below:
Mission Juno
Space.com VideoFromSpace
NASA Goddard Multimedia
NASA JPL
Tonight’s Sky: March
The stars of spring lie eastward: Look for the constellations Gemini and Cancer to spot interesting celestial features like star clusters M35 and the Beehive Cluster, and NGC 3923, an oblong elliptical galaxy with an interesting ripple pattern. Keep watching for space-based views of the galaxies.
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.
How to View The Moon Through A Telescope
High Point Scientific, a local astronomy distributor from New Jersey has a short article on viewing our nearest neighbor the moon with a telescope. Good information for both the beginner and seasoned observers. A supplier of astronomy products.
Article from High Point Scientific.
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