Congrats to Kevin Bonges Observing 9 Planets in a One Night
Transcription
Congrats to Kevin Bonges Observing 9 Planets in a One Night
November EVANSVILLE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, INC. 2015 Congrats to Kevin Bonges Observing 9 Planets in a One Night Observing Session Recently Keven had a productive trip to Gran Quivira, New Mexico. He wound up seeing all 9 planets in one night, Oct 12/13. Saturn & Pluto at/ after sundown, Neptune & Uranus around midnight, Venus, Jupiter Mars in the Pre-dawn sky. Mercury at dawn then I looked at my feet and counted Earth (9)! Kevin Bonges Observing Site Inside this Issue…… 2 – Local Events and information 3 – News around the Globe 4 – Calendar/ Events 5 – Science with a Twist by Mitch Luman 6 – EAS Business – Minutes The EAS newsletter, Observer, is published monthly. Anyone wishing to contribute articles or photos may mail them to the club’s PO Box: EAS, PO Box 3474, Evansville, IN 47733, or e-mail them to the editor at: dasiceman@yahoo.com EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER The Evansville Astronomical Society (EAS) is a non-profit organization fully incorporated in the state of Indiana. It has, as its primary goal, the advancement of amateur astronomy. Founded in 1952, the society seeks to: 1… maintain adequate facilities for its members and the public in order to extensively study the skies and 2… promote an educational program for those who wish to learn more about the science of Astronomy. Meetings are held the third Friday of each month, except June, when the annual EAS picnic is held. The society also sponsors monthly Open House events during the warmer seasons that afford the public an opportunity to tour the observatory. Local Events and Information EAS Schedule Update: Please Note that we have a Regular Meeting scheduled for Friday November 20th, 2015 at the Observatory beginning at 7:30pm. EAS Update: Please Note that we have a Regular Meeting scheduled for Friday December 18th, 2015 at the Observatory beginning at 7:30pm. This is our Christmas Potluck and Astronomy Quiz. EAS 2015 Officers and Contacts President – Scott Conner 812-.604.7164 ssconner24@gmail.com EAS Update: Vice President – Tony Bryan Secretary – Charleen Kaelin 812.303.1711 Treasurer – Ted Ubelhor EAS Update: Counselors Michael Borman Kent Brenton Ken Harris Webmaster – Michael Borman EAS Update: Program Director Tony Bryan News editor – David Kube dasiceman@yahoo.com For more information about the EAS or directions to the Observatory, please visit the club’s web page: www.evansvilleastro.org EAS Update: Telescopes and accessories for sale ... As mentioned in last month’s issue, Mike Borman still has some excellent telescope equipment and imaging accessories for sale. Some of the gear has already been sold. If interested, go to Mike’s web page. Here is the link: http://www.mborman.org/forsale.htm WWW.EVANSVILLEASTRO.ORG Page 2 EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER New Horizons finds blue skies and water ice on Pluto. The first color images of Pluto’s atmospheric hazes, returned by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft last week, reveal that the hazes are blue. The haze particles themselves are likely gray or red, but the way they scatter blue light has gotten the attention of the New Horizons science team. “Who would have expected a blue sky in the Kuiper Belt? It’s gorgeous,” said Alan Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boulder, Colorado. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI Hubble’s planetary portrait captures new changes in Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. NASA/ESA The youngest crater on Charon? NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI WWW.EVANSVILLEASTRO.ORG Scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have produced new maps of Jupiter — the first in a series of annual portraits of the solar system’s outer planets. Collecting these yearly images will help current and future scientists see how these giant worlds change over time. The observations are designed to capture a broad range of features, including winds, clouds, storms, and atmospheric chemistry. Already, the Jupiter images have revealed a rare wave just north of the planet’s equator and a unique filamentary feature in the core of the Great Red Spot not seen previously. New Horizons scientists have discovered a striking contrast between one of the fresh craters on Pluto’s largest moon Charon and a neighboring crater dotting the moon’s Pluto-facing hemisphere. The crater, informally named Organa, caught scientists’ attention as they were studying New Horizons’ highest-resolution infrared compositional scan of Charon. Organa and portions of the surrounding material ejected from it show infrared absorption at wavelengths of about 2.2 microns, indicating that the crater is rich in frozen ammonia, and from what scientists have seen so far, unique on Pluto’s largest moon. The infrared spectrum of nearby Skywalker crater, for example, is similar to the rest of Charon’s craters and surface, with features dominated by ordinary water ice. Page 3 EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER Up and Coming Events 2015 th Regular Meeting – Friday, November 20 , @ 7:30pm @ Observatory th Regular Meeting – Friday, December 18 , @ 7:30pm @ Observatory Moon Phases First Quarter Full Moon Third Quarter New Moon December 18th, 2015 December 25th, 2015 December 3rd, 2015 December 11th, 2015 Moon Phases courtesey of Time and Date.com WWW.EVANSVILLEASTRO.ORG Page 4 EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER Wednesday November 16th, 2015 By Mitch Luman The public seems to imagine that all scientists and engineers wear lab coats and are surrounded by frothy, bubbling beakers. Science with a Twist is a new, monthly event in Evansville where an expert can have face-to-face conversation in a relaxed setting with other people. It is a place where barriers are removed between researchers and the public. It is a place to show that science can be exciting, relevant and fun. The Science with a Twist format has spread across the globe and the time has come to launch one here in Evansville. Science with a Twist is not lecture, but rather an event where researchers, scientists and engineers can reach out to new audiences. Our event welcomes people who would not typically engage in discussions about science. Science with a Twist meets at the Bokeh Lounge located 1007 Parrot Street in the Arts District at Haynie’s Corner the third Friday every month. The events feature a short trivia contest, a short video, food and drinks for purchase and are organized and moderated with support from the Indiana Academy of Sciences by the Evansville Museum. WWW.EVANSVILLEASTRO.ORG Page 5 EAS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER EAS MEETING for October 16th, 2015 The meeting was CALLED TO ORDER @ 7:36 PM by Tony Bryan. It was moved & seconded to approve the MINUTES as seen on the EAS Internet page. Ted Ubelhor gave the TRESSURER’S REPORT indicating that each account was in the black. We are good shape - ? was raised as to say are we adequately covered for what we have. The UPCOMING EVENTS were announced as the following: Regular Meeting Friday, November 16th @ 7:30 pm There were 12 Members in attendance. SPECIAL PROJECT The 28” TELESCOPE was tested @ Okie-Tex and is in need of just a few minor tweaks. OLD BUSINESS Dave Kube reported that the Folk Festival on September 19 th went well. We had 125-150 guests. Dave reported that he requested a move in location to near the playground and all members (Ted Ubelhor and Glen Bye) agreed that this was a good location for us to setup in the future. Ken Harris reported that the PSW held on September 19th was a success. There were 11-12 guests and we had a good member turnout as well. NEW BUSINESS On November 20th, 2015 there will be our regular meeting at 7:30pm held at the observatory. The PROGRAM for tonight “Adventure at Okie-Tex” by Tony Bryan. The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 PM. WWW.EVANSVILLEASTRO.ORG Page 6