Issue 128 - Mar 2015

March, 2015 First Light Newsletter
March, 2015 (Issue No. 128)
AlachuaAstronomyClub.org
North Central Florida's
Amateur Astronomy Club
Serving Alachua County since 1987
Member Member
Astronomical League
Astronomical League's
Universe Sampler book
Member
NASA Night Sky Network
Astronomical League's Sky Puppies Observing
Manual
The Heavyweight Champion of the Cosmos
By Dr. Ethan Siegel
As crazy as it once seemed, we once assumed that the Earth was the largest thing in all the universe. 2,500 years
ago, the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was ridiculed for suggesting that the Sun might be even larger than the
Peloponnesus peninsula, about 16% of modern-day Greece. Today, we know that planets are dwarfed by stars,
which themselves are bound together by the billions or even trillions into galaxies.
But gravitationally bound structures extend far beyond galaxies, which themselves can bind together into massive
clusters across the cosmos. While dark energy may be driving most galaxy clusters apart from one another,
preventing our local group from falling into the Virgo Cluster, for example, on occasion, huge galaxy clusters can
merge, forming the largest gravitationally bound structures in the universe.
Take the "El Gordo" galaxy cluster, catalogued as ACT-CL J0102-4915. It’s the largest known galaxy cluster in the
distant universe. A galaxy like the Milky Way might contain a few hundred billion stars and up to just over a trillion
(1012) solar masses worth of matter, the El Gordo cluster has an estimated mass of 3 × 1015 solar masses, or 3,000
times as much as our own galaxy! The way we've figured this out is fascinating. By seeing how the shapes of
background galaxies are distorted into more elliptical-than-average shapes along a particular set of axes, we can
reconstruct how much mass is present in the cluster: a phenomenon known as weak gravitational lensing.
That reconstruction is shown in blue, but doesn't match up with where the X-rays are, which are shown in pink! This
is because, when galaxy clusters collide, the neutral gas inside heats up to emit X-rays, but the individual galaxies
(mostly) and dark matter (completely) pass through one another, resulting in a displacement of the cluster's mass
from its center. This has been observed before in objects like the Bullet Cluster, but El Gordo is much younger and
farther away. At 10 billion light-years distant, the light reaching us now was emitted more than 7 billion years ago,
when the universe was less than half its present age.
It's a good thing, too, because about 6 billion years ago, the universe began accelerating, meaning that El Gordo just
might be the largest cosmic heavyweight of all. There's still more universe left to explore, but for right now, this is
the heavyweight champion of the distant universe!
Learn more about “El Gordo” here: http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/april/nasa-hubble-team-finds-monster-elgordo-galaxy-cluster-bigger-than-thought/
El Gordo is certainly huge, but what about really tiny galaxies? Kids can learn about satellite galaxies at NASA’s
Space Place http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/satellite-galaxies/.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, J. Jee (UC Davis), J. Hughes (Rutgers U.), F. Menanteau (Rutgers U. and UIUC), C.
Sifon (Leiden Observatory), R. Mandelbum (Carnegie Mellon U.), L. Barrientos (Universidad Catolica de Chile),
and K. Ng (UC Davis). X-rays are shown in pink from Chandra; the overall matter density is shown in blue, from
lensing derived from the Hubble space telescope. 10 billion light-years distant, El Gordo is the most massive galaxy
cluster ever found.
Newberry Star Park
By Andy Howell
Members of Alachua Astronomy Club gathered on the
observing pad of Newberry Star Park recently to observe
Comet Lovejoy. It was rather high in the southern sky, due
west from Orion. Using Chuck Broward's stabilized binoculars,
it was a perfectly round fuzzy patch about magnitude 6,
roughly the size of the moon. Visually, it looked like an
unresolved globular star cluster.
Visual appearance of Comet Lovejoy on the evening of January 6 from Newberry Star Park. The comet's
tail is exaggerated in this simulated view from Sky Safari Pro.
In mid-January, AAC contacted Brad Carman and Scott Miles of Newberry Parks & Recreation
regarding a long-standing request to install motion sensors on the ball academy lights. We
followed-up with an email on Feb 17 to make headway on this issue. Light pollution is a serious
problem in many cities across the USA, preventing recreational enjoyment of the night sky. It has
gotten so bad that perhaps only 1% of the population has ever seen the Milky Way. We will
continue to work with Newberry Parks & Recreation and the City of Newberry to address this
issue that affects nighttime viewing at Newberry Star Park and in the entire the community.
The May, 2014 public meeting of Alachua Astronomy Club
featured guest speaker Dr. Mario Motta, whom Doug Engh
invited to speak to our Club via Skype. In addition being a wellknown cardiologist in New England, Dr. Motta is past
president of the American Association of Variable Star
Observers and a recognized authority on light pollution. Most
of his talk featured light pollution's medical effects and the
costs of light pollution. The diagram above shows that light
trespass creates glare that makes the outdoor environment at
night less secure than if there had been no lighting at all!
Indeed, light that is directed anywhere except where it's needed
is wasted energy that means higher costs for towns &
municipalities, and leads to additional burning of fossil fuels.
Recently, Newberry Parks & Recreation installed two "Parking Lights Only" signs on two ball field
light poles to advise arriving visitors to turn off headlights. This small reminder helps foster
awareness of light pollution and makes observing at Newberry Star Park more enjoyable. Thank
you, Scott and Mike for this small, though significant step!
On February 20, I visited Newberry Star Park on a routine errand. Upon arrival, I discovered a
major archery event in progress at Easton Newberry Sports Complex. Hundreds of archers, cars,
campers, RVs, and real estate advert signs were posted everywhere. Upon getting closer to
Newberry Star Park, it was disheartening to see many vehicles and RV's parked all around our
building. Campers and RVs were plugged into electric outlets designed for powering telescopes,
not gargantuan RVs. Because RVs, campers, and cars were parked practically on top of the
observing pads, observing that evening was out of the question.
Cars, RV's, and campers surround Newberry Star Park on February 20
Sadly, there was damage to the WiFi antenna mast on the south side of the building. The left side
of the mounting bracket was torn loose from the wall, and a corner of the bracket was bent back.
It seems that an RV bumped into the mast, which tore the bracket loose, causing the mast to tilt at
an angle. This damage was not present one week earlier.
Damage to antenna mast mounting bracket
Regardless, observing at Newberry Star will continue. The skies are moderately dark, and the low
horizon facilitates finding and observing objects. Anyone connected with the City of Newberry and
especially, Alachua Astronomy Club members, are welcome to use Newberry Star Park anytime.
To avoid conflicts with unannounced events, members are advised to call ahead. The Newberry
Parks & Recreation phone number is 352-472-2388.
Upon arrival, visitors to Newberry Star Park should take out a log sheet from the metal box on the
building door. Write down your name and the date & time you were on site. Briefly tell us what
you did. When done, please place the card back in the box. Thank you.
Upcoming Event at Newberry Star Park
April 18, 8:00-11:30pm
The next regularly scheduled event at Newberry Star Park is April 18th, 8:00-11:30pm. Jupiter
will be high overhead, and the moon will be new (no light interference!). Join us for an evening of
deep-sky observing including galaxies, planetary nebulae, globular clusters, and perhaps a comet
or two. Everyone on the ENSC campus that evening is invited to come out and take a look through
our powerful telescopes.
AAC members host another event at Newberry Star Park, July 2014.
Star Parties
By Lisa Eager and Ivo Rabell
Rosemary Hill Star Party Report
February 21, 2015
Ivo gave a "GO" for the Rosemary Hill Star Party Saturday afternoon
with the conviction that the clouds would be clearing around 9pm.
As we all were arriving, setting up equipment, and munching on
assorted goodies brought by all the evening began on a spectacular
note. Sunset treated us with wonderful colors of pink and reds that
intensified as the day ended and night began. A bunch of us were
taking pictures to try and capture the beauty.
A good group of AAC members and guests were present and patiently (?) waited for Ivo's
prediction to come true. There were some (me included) clock watching for the magic time
of 9pm to come and the clouds to go.
In the meantime, Dr. Francisco Reyes and Dr. Howard Cohen were gracious enough to talk with
guests and members about Rosemary Hill and answer questions. Thank you gentlemen for all
the information you were able to share with everyone.
Early evening there were some windows of opportunity to enjoy the crescent moon, Venus, and
Jupiter.
Howard and Marian Cohen had the Tele Vue set up for photography. I did hear Howard explain
that Ivo had promised to pack all of his equipment up for him if the clouds didn't clear. How nice
of Ivo!
Howard got images of the moon, Orion Nebula, Jupiter, and the Beehive. He has plans to share
these with us all. I know I appreciate that he does share these with us, and I don't think that I'm
alone in that!
Ivo Rabell brought out his 18" Hubble Optics and spent some time observing in Auriga M36 &
M38 along with the galaxies M81 and M82. Ivo's friends Bud, Caz and Mike came and checked
things out (yes, Ivo has friends!)
Ed Honkus brought his 10" Schmidt-Cassegrain. Among his highlights were the Owl Nebula,
Spiral Galaxy M108, and a Geo Stationary Satellite.
Terry Smiljanich brought his new 9.25 Celestron and was like a kid with a new toy....and the rest
of us "kids" were certainly admiring that new toy!
Tass Karahalios with his Celstron C-6 put us all through our paces trying to keep up with this
dynamo. I think he's going to test me on what objects I can find on my own. He told me that his
favorite of the night was the Crab Nebula M1 and the open cluster NGC 2477. He also found
comet Lovejoy low in the sky, and it looked pretty bright in the scope!
Bob Lightner was not there but steered a group to visit. Matthew, Amanda, Ward, Josh, and a
name I can't read (sorry). HA and Marlene Grabbe gave the group a quick tour of the sky with
their Dob. After the rush of visitors they were just chillin' out and enjoying the evening.
Frances Seiler had friends James and Peggy come by. They enjoyed the evening but
unfortunately, Frances had trouble located Rosemary Hill and didn't make it.
Club members JoAnn Stevener and Robert Munyer made the trip out to Bronson along with
Margarita Quinteros and her daughter Lizzy.
Jared Feldman brought his Questar 3.5" along with assorted relatives Corey, Cheyenne, and
Savannah. They got comfy laying back to enjoy the sky and their I phones. Anyway, they said
they would hang out with Jared until their batteries died....gotta love family!
ML showed up later in the evening and worked on taking some photographs.
We also had guests Corina McBride and Erik Abemathy come and check things out. Remember
Corina, AAC membership for a student is cheap!
I spent a little time trying to peak an interest in astronomy with a young lady, Aurora, and her
grandfather. Hopefully we'll see more of her.
The group did get a bit of a light show with a pretty good meteor early in the evening, which was
just the opener for what was to come. The absolute Grand Finale of the evening was at
approximately 11 pm when a fireball came through that had some of us thinking that fireworks
were going off and Tass worried about preserving his night vision! What a sight! It streaked
greenish blue, flashed bright white, then seemed to break into pieces with a flashes of
orange. To me it was going from South to North by the Big Dipper. I was just trying to take it all
in so others probably will have their own description....
So, at the end of the evening Howard was telling Ivo "that he was mostly right" about the clouds
... we started the night with a spectacular sunset and ended the night with a spectacular fireball ...
I don't want to inflate his ego too much, but good job Ivo! I really enjoyed my evening, and hope
everyone else did, too. A big "Thank You" to Francisco for letting us come and enjoy Rosemary
Hill.
School & Youth Outreach
by Mike Toomey
My thanks to Chuck Broward, Howard Cohen, Lisa Eager, Andy Howell and
Francis Seiler for volunteering at Hidden Oaks Elementary School on Tuesday,
January 27. Howard set up his lunar observing station while others viewed
Venus, Jupiter and the double star Castor. About 100 students and parents
attended. The kids had lots of intelligent questions. Our host, Robin Parker,
welcomed our volunteers with Zaxby's chicken and bottled water.
On February 5, Howard Cohen, Lisa Eager, Andy Howell and Ivo Rabell attended another school
star party at Littlewood. Over 150 students and parents attended that event. Our volunteers
aimed their telescopes at the wide open star clusters of the Beehive (M44), the Pleiades (M45),
the belt and various nebulae and star clusters in the constellation Orion, the planet Jupiter and
comet Lovejoy.
We had planned on attending Glen Springs Elementary School on February 23. Unfortunately we
were rained out. No make-up date has been set.
Due to standardized testing followed by spring break, we will not have any school outreach
events in March. However, we have 4 school and youth events stacked up in April. These events
are posted to the club's web site. The events are generically listed as “School Star Party” (or
sometime “youth” or “community”) along with the county in which the event is being held. We do
not publish the names of the school prior to the event as a safety precaution. When you register
for an event, you will receive a confirmation email with the name and address of the school. You
can always un-register using the same web site tools.
Thank you note from Hidden Oaks Elementary School
If you are new to volunteering at school outreach events, the school board requires a simple
background check: just your name as it appears on your driver's license and your primary phone
number. Only myself and the school board volunteer coordinator keep this information on file – it
is not public record. If you attended any school events last year, you do not need to reapply.
However, please let me know if any of your contact information has changed, including email.
Mike Toomey has served the AAC in many capacities since 1998, including President,
Secretary, FirstLight Editor, Star Party Coordinator and School Outreach Coordinator.
Mike resides in Gainesville with a chicken named Skewer.
Upcoming Public Meetings
Next Public meeting March 10, 7 - 9 p.m.
Speaker: Antonio (Tony) Ordonez
Title: Pulsating variables in the Local Group dwarf galaxies
University of Florida Cultural Plaza
3215 Hull Road
Gainesville, FL 32611-2710
Meetings are in the Lucille Mahoney Classroom immediately to the left after
entering the front glass doors.
New members since January 1!
Kate Abbey
Brendan Barraclough
Saptarshi Biswas
Alex Creager
Valerie Eadie
Richard Garnsey
Italo Lenta
Winnie McDavid
Robert Munyer
Amber Roux
Paul Widman
Liao Xiaolin
President
First Light Newsletter Editor
Andy Howell
Laura Wright
Alachua Astronomy Club is one
of 426 organizations listed in
the International Astronomical
Union (IAU) Directory for World
Astronomy, and just one of 34
listed in the United States!
IAU Directory for World
Astronomy
As such, we belong to a select group of
The Astronomical League's web
site also includes a store filled with
books to guide the observer
through some of their programs.
1. "Messier Objects: A Beginner's Guide" is
a great way for a beginner amateur
astronomer to learn the night sky. No
GOTO scopes or computers allowed.
organizations that will participate in proposing
a name for an Exoworld, with the winning
name to be selected by the general public
later this year. An ExoWorld is a planet that
orbits another star.
Name the ExoWorlds
As the first step in this process, Alachua
Astronomy Club last month nominated the
following ExoWorlds for naming:
Beta Geminorum b
Epsilon Tauri b
Tau Bootis b
55 Cancri b, c, d, e, f
Epsilon Eridani b
HD 60532 b, c
Upsilon Andromedae b, c, d
Iota Draconis b
Gamma Cephei b
Fomalhaut b
Beta Pictoris b
Kappa Coronae Borealis b
Ksi Aquilae b
47 Ursae Majoris b, c
HD 190360 b, c
Mu Arae b, c, d, e
HD 69830 b, c, d
Certificate and pin upon completion. $8
2. "Sky Puppies Observing Manual" is
designed for young observers under 11
years old. Nine projects are required and
includes audio CD and DIY planisphere.
Certificate and pin upon completion. $8
3. "Universe Sampler: A Beginner's Guide
to Visual Astronomy" will take you
through a journey of all of the objects in
our solar system. Then observe a comet,
double and variable stars, star clusters,
nebulae and galaxies. Certificate and pin
upon completion. $10
4. "A.L.P.O. Guide to Watching Meteors".
Observe the night sky for interplanetary
debris colliding with the Earth's
atmosphere. This is naked eye
observing. No telescope or binoculars
needed. Certificate and pin upon
completion. $3
Check out these and many other books and
guides at astroleague.org.
Best regards,
Laura
Later this month, the IAU will publish the final
list of candidate ExoWorlds. From this list,
AAC will propose and justify a name for the
one ExoWorld that the Club likes most.
Please Contact Me if you want to be on the
AAC ExoWorlds Naming Committee.
The Night Sky this Month
From the One-Minute Astronomer
Used with permission.
If nothing else this month, spring arrives for us beleaguered
stargazers in eastern North America who have endured
another absurdly cold winter. This month’s Full Moon is called
the “Worm Moon” because the ground thaws and earthworms
begin to do their business at this time of year. Though as
March begins, in this part of the world, the worms are still
under four feet of snow. But planets abound this month, with
brilliant Jupiter still resplendent, Saturn rising in the pre-dawn
sky, and Mars and Venus still visible in the western sky after
sunset. The planet Uranus also makes an appearance early in
the month less than a degree from Venus, so if you’ve never
seen this distant ice giant, this is your chance. Here’s what to see in the night sky this month ...
2 March. The waxing gibbous Moon lies near the planet Jupiter. The big planet is nearly a month
past opposition and slowly shrinking and growing dimmer, but it’s still a beautiful sight in a
telescope all this month and next. The planet is far brighter than any star and appears high in the
eastern sky after sunset (in the northeast as seen from the southern hemisphere). The planet
shines at magnitude -2.5 and has an apparent diameter of 45″.
4 March. The planet Uranus passes less than half a degree southeast of the brilliant planet
Venus. If you’ve never seen Uranus before, this is an excellent chance to spot this distant ice
giant. Look for Venus after sunset, and use binoculars or small telescope to spot Uranus just
below Venus. Uranus will appear about 0.1º below Venus in Europe and about 0.3º below Venus
in North America. From the southern hemisphere, Uranus will appear a little less than 0.5º (the
same as the diameter of the full Moon) to the upper right of Venus. Venus is about 10 full
magnitudes brighter than Uranus (which works out to a factor of about 10,000). Venus now lies
about 200 million kilometers from Earth, while Uranus is about 3 billion kilometers away.
Venus and Mars in the western sky after sunset on March 4, 2015. The planet Uranus (not shown) appears
less than 1/2 a degree of Venus in binoculars or small telescope.
5 March. Full Moon, 18:06 UT. (The “Worm Moon”). This will be the smallest apparent Full Moon
of 2015.
12 March. The last-quarter Moon lies just a few degrees northeast of Saturn, and about eight
degrees north of the red-orange star Antares. Look for the assembly in the eastern sky before
dawn. Saturn rises around midnight this month and slowly grows brighter and larger. Its location
favors observers in the southern hemisphere where the planet appears much higher in the sky.
Waning gibbous Moon, Saturn, and Antares as seen looking south before dawn on March 12, 2015.
13 March. Last-Quarter Moon, 17:48 UT
16 March. Though it has faded, Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) remains accessible with binoculars
and small telescopes in dark sky. The comet passes within less than a degree of the star
Ruchbah, one of the stars in the “W” of the constellation Cassiopeia. Sky and Telescope has a
good map of the position of the comet at this link…
20 March. New Moon, 9:36 UT
20 March. Spring begins, mercifully, in the northern hemisphere at 22:45 UT. Autumn begins in
the southern hemisphere at the same time, as the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator
moving north.
20 March. A total solar eclipse is visible in far northern Europe between Iceland and the United
Kingdom and northward into the Norwegian Sea. This is not an easy eclipse to get to. But
observers in much of northern Europe can see (with proper solar filters) a partial solar eclipse.
Much of the United Kingdom will be able to see more than 80% totality. See the Wikipedia page
for this eclipse for maps of where the eclipse can be seen.
21-22 March. The slender waxing crescent Moon moves among the planets visible in the western
sky after sunset. On the 21st, the Moon is close to the planet Mars, and both appear closer to the
horizon than brilliant Venus. On the 22nd, the slightly thicker crescent Moon is closer to Venus.
Mars, Venus, and the crescent Moon as seen after sunset on March 22, 2015
24 March. The crescent Moon passes through the Hyades star cluster in the constellation
Taurus. Observers in northwestern Canada and Alaska can see the Moon pass in front of
Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation Taurus.
27 March. First-Quarter Moon, 7:43 UT
Copyright © 2015 Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc. All rights reserved.
Contact email: FirstLight@alachuaastronomyclub.org
NEW ADDRESS:
Alachua Astronomy Club, Inc.
2603 NW 13th Street., # 161
Gainesville, FL 32609-2835
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