September - Cincinnati Observatory

OBSERVATORY NEWS
September 2013
513-321-5186
Published by the Friends of the Observatory (FOTO)
Volume 24 No. 9
www.cincinnatiobservatory.org
Bill Cartwright, editor
COMING UP AT
THE OBSERVATORY....
FOTO Member’s Meeting Sep 5 7:30p
FOTO Kids & Teens
Sep 6
8p
Stonelick Stargaze
Sep 7 Dusk
Sunday History Tours
Sep 8
1-4p
A2Z+ Member’s Class
Sep 8
7-9p
Educators Expo @ the Zoo Sep 11 12-6p
Astronomy Thursday
Sep 12 8p
ScopeOut
Sep 14, noon-11p
FOTO Planning Meeting Sep 19 7:30p
The Final Frontier *
Sep 20-21-22
Astronomy Friday
Sep 20 8p
The Final Frontier *
Sep 21 8p
Sunday History Tours
Sep 22 1-4p
The Final Frontier *
Sep 22 2p
Sunday with the Stars
Sep 22 8p
Astronomy Thursday
Sep 26 8p
Stonelick Stargaze
Sep 28 Dusk
Great Outdoor Weekend Sep 28 7:3010p
Great Outdoor Weekend Sep 29 7:3010p
FOTO Member’s Meeting Oct 3 7:30p
FOTO Kids & Teens
Oct 4
tbd
A 100 Foot Telescope!
Oct 10 tbd
International Moon Night Oct 12 7-10
* Event held at Music Hall
Save-The-Dates
*Life Out There?
* Behind the Scenes
Oct 23
Oct 29
Meet a Meteorite
Nov 9
The Cornerstone’s 170th Nov 10
*Stargazing 101
Nov 12
*Anasazi of Solar System Nov 15
Luminaria Night
Dec 15
* UC Communiversity
THE WORD
By Basil Rowe
I wanted to thank everyone for
all their help at the annual picnic
on July 11th. Thanks to Tiffany
Groen for coordinating the
event, Jim and Susan Groen for
setting up and picking up a lot of
the supplies, Frank Huss, Steve
and Sue Rismiller and so many
others for all the food and drink
they brought. We had perfect
weather and were able to have
the picnic outside!
It’s time for the annual
elections. Frank Huss and Al
Scheide have volunteered to
serve on the Nominating
Committee. Being a trustee is a
great
way
to
help
the
Observatory, the group is pretty
easy going, the meetings are
friendly, so please have no fears
about joining in. The more
candidates we have, the more
fun the October election meeting
is!
Please contact the Nominating
Committee or any trustee if you
are interested in any position.
Finally, FOTO’s big event,
ScopeOut, is upon us this month.
It’s never too late to sign up for a
task and get free admission (well
except the day of). We need all
the help we can get, even if it’s
just for an hour or two it is
GREATLY appreciated. Please
contact Dale Zoller (see his
article for more information).
September FOTO
Planning Meeting
By Basil Rowe
The next FOTO Planning
Meeting
is
scheduled
for
Thursday, September 19th at
7:30pm at the Observatory (Note
the time change due to the
Mitchel Society event earlier
that day). The meeting generally
lasts a couple hours. The
planning meetings are open to
all
FOTO
members.
We
encourage your participation in
the discussion of future FOTO
activities.
Did You Know….
The asteroid Vesta has an iron
core like the Earth.
1
ScopeOut 2013
Telescope Festival at
The Observatory
Saturday, September 14
Noon to 11 pm
The Cincinnati Observatory
celebrates the telescope with an
all-day (and all night) open
house called ScopeOut.
Activities include classes,
educational
materials
for
teachers, kid’s space crafts, safe
viewing of the Sun, swap table,
meteorites, tours of our historic
buildings and more astronomical
door prizes than you can
imagine. You may even win a
telescope. Great for all ages.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Noon to 5 pm main displays,
classes, and tours. $7/adults,
$5/kids
6 pm to 8:30 pm Dinner and
Keynote Lecture by Emily
Lakdawalla from the Planetary
Society. $25/person, reservation
required.
9 pm to 11 pm
Viewing
through the old telescopes
(weather permitting) $5/person
suggested donation
For more information, please
contact: Dean Regas, 321-5186,
dean@cincinnatiobservatory.org
http://www.cincinnatiobservato
ry.org/scopeout.html
Did You Know….
Mars does not have plate tectonics
as we do here on Earth.
FOTO's September Meeting
By Dave McBride
Our next meeting will be
on Thursday, September 5th, at
7:30 pm in the west wing of the
Herget
Building
at
the
Observatory.
Dave Bosse will present "John
Harrison - Longitude and the
Modernization of Timekeeping."
This topic is a reprise of a 2001
FOTO presentation by Dave on
the strides made during the 18th
century in the science of
Horology. One cannot speak of
the modernization of clocks and
timekeeping without mentioning
Christiaan
Huygens,
John
Harrison, the story of the
calculation of longitude at sea
and the politics of British science
during Harrison’s lifetime. Oh,
yes, and a bit on the physics
involved in the “going” of clocks
(clocks don’t run; they go).
In October
the
Program
committee will host a "member's
night" of brief presentations
given on special interest topics
by our members. This is the
occasion
where
several
presentations that are about 10 to
15 minutes in length are
combined for the evening's
program. Do you have a favorite
area of interest or a topic that
you would like to share with
other members? Member's night
is the perfect time to share it!
In November we look forward to hearing from Mark
Plano Clark and Lee Hite as
they describe the progress of
their project: "The History and
Restoration of the Cincinnati
Observatory Time Ball." This is
one of the latest efforts at COC to
bring some of our fascinating
history back to life.
Aurora season has begun. This
is a phrase that you may have
heard or seen on the internet. So
what does that mean? Quite
simply, the long summer days of
the northern latitudes are getting
shorter and the nights are
coming back. With more hours
of darkness, the auroras are
showing their colors again.
Sue and I were on an Alaskan
Inside Passage cruise in August.
We noticed that the sun set
around 9 pm but it took forever
to get dark! It was 11:30 before
the Milky Way was visible.
Around 2:30 am the Milky Way
dissappeared and it started
getting light again. In the 3
hours of darkness, we could still
see the orange glow of twilight
on the northern horizon. On
August 12, while docked at
Haines, Alaska, we were treated
to some nice green and purple
aurora with a few Perseid
meteors sprinkled in. Thanks to
solar activity several days before,
an active solar wind buffetted
the earth’s magnetic field in our
upper atmosphere and we saw
the start of the northern aurora
season.
To see aurora here in southwest Ohio, the Kp index number
has to be 7 or higher. Keep an
eye on Spaceweather.com to
monitor that Kp index number.
2
Highlights of the August
FOTO Meeting
FOTO Kids and
FOTO Teens
By Michelle Gainey
By Dean Regas
Leo Sack was presented with a
going-away card and gift
(Cabelas gift card) from his
friends in FOTO. He was then
presented with an indictment for
the crime of leaving his position
at COC, by Lina Alkhamhawi,
Assistant Prosecutor.
The next FOTO Kids and Teens
meeting
will
be
Friday
September 6th at 8 pm (note the
earlier time). We’ll try to catch
Venus at twilight and get one
last glimpse of Saturn before it
rides off into the sunset. Our
main program will be “Messier
Bingo.” In the 1700s, Charles
Messier catalogued 110 deep
space objects. These include
some of the coolest sights in the
heavens including the Orion
Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy.
These objects are now referred to
as Messier, or “M” Objects and
are listed from M1 to M110.
FOTO Kids and Teens will work
together to identify these objects
while playing Bingo. If you’d
like to study ahead of time
please visit
http://www.jastrow.net/messie
r/ and practice identifying them
simply by their picture. Not an
easy task! Even if you can’t tell
M2 from M24 this will be a fun
trip through the universe and if
your team gets Bingo first, you
win a prize. If you have any
questions, please contact Dean
Regas at 513-321-5186 or
dean@cincinnatiobservatory.org
Volunteer Opportunities
 Sept. 14: ScopeOut. Emily
Lakdawalla will be the
keynote speaker. Dale needs
volunteers to help with the
gift shop, parking, kids’
activities.
 Sept. 20-22, 8 pm: Cincinnati
Pops presents “The Final
Frontier” featuring music
from Star Wars and other scifi favorites; Dean Regas will
be the co-narrator along with
George Takei (Mr. Sulu).
Program:
In honor of Neil
Armstrong, who died one year
ago, the movie “Neil Armstrong,
First Man on the Moon” was
shown. This documentary gave
a nice overview of Mr.
Armstrong’s life leading up to,
and after his historic trip to the
Moon.
New Business:
Basil Rowe,
FOTO President, mentioned that
elections will be held in October;
he asked members to consider
running for an officer position.
Did You Know….
Mars has 20 major volcanoes.
The Final Frontier
Boldly go with John Morris
Russell, Dean Regas, and the
Pops on a majestic mission to
experience epic scores from Star
Wars and Star Trek, along with
selections
from
orchestral
masterpieces such as Holst’s The
Planets and Strauss’ Also sprach
Zarathustra (popularized in 2001:
A Space Odyssey).
Host and narrator George
Takei, “Mr. Sulu” himself of Star
Trek fame, guides this spacethemed multimedia musical
extravaganza,
featuring
breathtaking NASA images on
the big screen.
Dean Regas will also guest
star to help us distinguish
science fact from science fiction.
Performances
Friday September 20th 8:00pm
Saturday September 21st 8:00pm
Sunday September 22nd 2:00pm
Tickets from $25
513-381-3300
www.cincinnatisymphony.org
Hot Jupiters
An exotic class of exoplanets
called "hot Jupiters" are even
weirder
than
astronomers
imagined. While these worlds
may have Earth-like blue skies,
new data show that they are
anything but Earth-like.
Did You Know….
Our solar system has at least 170
moons.
3
Welcome
New & Renewing
Members!
Jon & Jacqueline Seymour
Reuben Shaffer
Gerald A. Shubs
Joseph Sims
James L. Thompson
Robert E. Turner
Tom Uhl
Horst Guenther & Devorah
Waesch
Stephen R. Wavra
Linda and Jim Weber
Stargazing at Stonelick
State Park
By Craig Niemi
Bill and Cathy Bachelder
Timothy R. Boyer
Charles and Debra Clark
Michael and Minnie Clements
Kevin and Lucy Cocoran
Frank Cogliano
Mike & Jody Crane
Josh and Alison Cumby
Hallie & Mark Dovich
Margaret Drennon
Fred & Mariann Fehr
Terry Flesch
Jane Garvey and John Lanier
Kathy and Bob Hinklin
Christy and Scott Holland
Jim and Carolyn Kite
Jean and Hinrich Knuth
Heru Lasana
Nick and Donna Mancini
Alfred and Regeana Morgan
Mary Mullen
Jim and Marty Neumeister
Jeffrey H. Oberst & Angela M.
D'Andrea
Scott Oldfield
Tom and Adelaide Ottenjohn
JoAnne and Poul Pedersen
Robert Hampel and Lynn Phelps
Lori Pieper
Patricia & Allan Schreiber
Robert Scott
All on Saturdays –
September 7th & 28th
October 5th & 26th
Stargazing begins at dusk. Open
to all ages. Just bought a new
scope or released an old one from
closet exile? Bring it for expert
help setting it up and exploring
the night sky.
Stargazes
are
weather
permitting.
“Friend”
the
Stonelick
Lake
Stargazers
Facebook page for weather and
schedule updates.
ScopeOut 2013
By Dale Zoller
ScopeOut
2013,
the
Observatory’s annual astronomy, science and education fair
will be held Saturday, September
14, 2013 at the Observatory. One
of the Observatory’s signature
events,
ScopeOut
features
family-friendly
activities
designed to promote astronomy
and related sciences. There will
be a kids’ tent featuring
astronomy art and making dryice comets. We will have solar
viewing through the Mitchel
telescope using special filters
(weather
permitting);
solar
energy displays, and “meteorite
hunt” for kids. There will be
vendors and exhibitors in the big
tent including iSpace and the
Mars Society.
During the
afternoon there will be a variety
of astronomy-related talks.
Our keynote speaker will be
Emily Lakdawalla from the
Planetary Society with her
presentation “What’s Up In
Planetary Exploration.” After
the dinner and presentation we
will have night-time viewing
through the historic telescopes
(weather permitting).
As always, we depend on
FOTO volunteers to make the
event a success. We are still in
need of volunteers to cover
numerous activities. As in the
past, volunteers will have their
ScopeOut admission fee waived
– but this applies only to those
who have signed up in advance.
I will have sign-up sheets
available at the September FOTO
meeting. If you would like to
volunteer but cannot attend the
meeting, please contact me at
dale.zoller@fuse.net.
4
Great Outdoor Weekend
Saturday, September 28th
Sunday, September 29th
7:30-10:00 pm
By Craig Niemi
arrow for the first time and try
your shot at archery. And best
of all, all programs are FREE
and open to the public.
You can find a searchable
listing of the weekend’s events
on Facebook.
www.facebook.com/GreatOutd
oorWeekendand and at:
www.cincygreatoutdoorweeken
d.org.
International Moon Night
October 12th, 8-10 pm
Come early to catch brilliant
Venus and lovely Saturn in the
western sky at sunset. View
through the beautiful 1845
Mitchel
Telescope.
Behold
colorful double stars, exploding
stars,
the
very
remote
Andromeda Galaxy and other
celestial treasures. Viewing is
weather dependent, but even if
it’s cloudy there will be plenty to
do.
The evening includes tours of
the historic observatories and
activities for all ages. Amateur
astronomers will be on hand
with their personal telescopes to
help you explore the universe.
Great Outdoor Weekend, an
initiative of Green Umbrella, is a
sampling of the best outdoor
recreation and nature education
activities offered in the region
around greater Cincinnati. This
time around we have over 120
opportunities for adults and
children alike to engage with the
environment around us. You
might get a little dirt on your
hands
learning
about
composting or water on your
feet taking a creek walk. You
might work your way up 60 feet
in the air exploring the tree tops
or you could pick up a bow and
International Observe the Moon
Night (InOMN) is an annual
event that is dedicated to
encouraging people to ‘look up’
and take notice of our nearest
neighbor, the Moon. From
looking at the Moon with a
naked eye to using the most
sensitive telescope, every year on
the same day, people from
around the world hold events
and activities that celebrate our
Moon.
For more information and
educational activities visit.
http://observethemoonnight.or
g/activities/
Did You Know….
Supermassive black holes are a
million to a billion times as large
as a typical black hole. It is quite
simply, gravity gone mad! It
destroys the very fabric of the
Universe!
Sunday With the Stars
Come out and spend a Sunday
Night at the Observatory
September 22nd, 8:00-9:30 pm
By Craig Niemi
Free for Members. Not an
Observatory member? Sign up
and join the all excitement.
On select Sunday nights
Chuck Strubbe will open up one
of the Observatory’s large,
refracting
telescopes
for
stargazing.
Then you can decide whether
you want to try your own hand
at finding celestial objects or
prefer Chuck to take you on a
guided tour. If cloudy, the night
will be open to discussions of
any
and
all
astronomical
subjects. (Chuck reserves the
right to leave after the 1st half
hour if no one shows up).
FOTOKids Looking for
New Leaders
By Tiffany Groen
With Leo onto his next
adventure, we are now looking
for at least two to three
volunteers to take on the
FOTOKids group to help
alleviate
some
of
Dean's
workload. The two groups will
be combined, with the potential
of the FOTOTeens assisting the
younger children with the
activities. Dean will be able to be
a guest speaker on occasion as
well. If interested, please contact
Tiffany Groen
at astrochacha@gmail.com.
5
A Really BIG Telescope!
October 10th
(Time and more details to
follow.)
By Craig Niemi
Can you find the astronomer
in this picture?
Astronomers,
amateur
or
professional, are always seeking
the largest telescopes they can
get their hands on. When
astronomers say they have an
eight inch, twelve inch or huge
twenty inch telescope they’re not
talking about length, they’re
talking diameter.
In 1904 the astronomers here
at the Observatory stepped up
from the original 11-1/4”
telescope to the 16” Clark that is
in the main building. That 4”+
increase in diameter equates to a
two times increase in light
gathering power, brightness and
detail. And everything you’re
going to learn about a celestial
objects is carried by that precious
light.
Can you imagine what you
could learn about the universe
with a telescope nearly 1,200
inches across!
Well,
astronomers
and
engineers can imagine it and are
building it. On October 10th, Dr.
Warren Skidmore from the
Thirty Meter Telescope Project
will present the plans, goals and
challenges of building a truly
giant eye on the sky.
Nomination of FOTO
Executive Committee
Craig’s Corner
By Frank Huss
How fitting that a waning
gibbous moon hung in the
western sky as friends and
family
gathered
for
the
dedication of the Neil Armstrong
memorial tree and marker.
Sitting beside a newly planted
Black Tupelo tree is the marker
stone designed by local artist
and friend of the family, Debbie
Lentz. The marker includes
features taken from the work of
John Ruthven, who was in
attendance.
The annual FOTO nomination
for members of the Board of
Trustees will be conducted at the
regular
September
FOTO
meeting
on
Thursday,
September 4, 7:30 p.m. The
positions to be elected are
president,
vice-president,
secretary, treasurer and two
trustees. Please attend this
meeting
and
consider
nominating those who will be
leading your FOTO organization
in 2014.
In addition to making your
nomination at the September
meeting,
nominations
are
currently being accepted by the
Nomination Committee, Frank
Huss (phone: 513.300.0678, email: fwh3@fuse.net)
or
Al
Scheide (phone:513.541.8544, email: alscheide@fuse.net).
Nominations may be made
until the October 2nd election
meeting.
FOTO Board Members &
Date Term Expires
President: Basil Rowe / Oct. 2013
Vice President: Tiffany Groen
Oct. 2013
Secretary: Michelle Lierl Gainey
Oct. 2013
Treasurer: JoAnne Pedersen /
Oct. 2013
FOTO/COC Representative: Frank
Huss / May 2016
Trustee: Dave McBride / Oct.
2014
Trustee: Al Scheide / Oct. 2014
Trustee: Dave Bosse / Oct. 2013
Trustee: John Blasing / Oct. 2013
By Craig Niemi
Neil Armstrong Memorial
Marker, August 25, 2013
Representing the University of
Cincinnati
was
Board
Chairperson, C. Francis Barrett.
Of course not to let a teachable
moment go by, Scott Gainey and
Terry Endres of the Cincinnati
Astronomical Society, treated
visitors with a view of the Moon.
Then after the dedication Valerie
Niemi thrilled everyone with
close up views of solar flares
while John Ventre shared some
of our distinguished history.
There will be more about the
new marker in upcoming
newsletters but for now we
welcome you to stop by the
Observatory and remember the
remarkable person that was Neil
Armstrong.
6
History of the Observatory
By Craig Niemi
2nd & 4th Sundays.
September 8th and 22nd
Drop in anytime between 1 and
4 pm to explore the fascinating
story of the people who made
Cincinnati the "Birthplace of
American Astronomy".
Wanted! Any information on this
painting of Observatory Founder
Ormsby
MacKnight
Mitchel.
Artist? Date? Location? Details of
his
Civil
War
uniform?
Whether you're an astronomer,
engineer or history buff, you'll
find the Observatory
has
something for all. We'll explore
Cincinnati's past and how the
citizens of Cincinnati founded
the
nation's
first
public
astronomical observatory.
The tours can be customized
to match your interests and time.
These hands-on tours are great
for younger visitors too and are
aligned with Ohio’s 3rd & 4th
grade social studies standards.
$5
per
person
suggested
donation. Free for members.
Group tours available by
appointment.
For
other
Cincinnati
Treasures visit “Museums and
Historic
Sites
of
Greater
Cincinnati”.
www.historicgreatercincinnati.or
g
Educators Expo @ the Zoo
September 11th 12-6p
A2Z Astronomy Class
School’s Out
By Dave Bosse
Early September: most schools
are ramping up classes this time
of year. The A2Z Astronomy
class, however, has a distraction
this month: Scope-Out!
As a
result, The A2Z class will not
meet in September, but will pick
up again the second Sunday in
October, the 13th. If you’ve just
got to have an infusion of
Astronomy this month, be sure
to get your fix at Scope-Out on
Saturday September 14th!
The A2Z Astronomy class
(usually) meets the second
Sunday of each month at 7:00
P.M. in the West Wing of the
Herget Building.
The group
meets for about an hour or so
and is free to any member of the
Observatory. Join us on October
13th for a discussion of all topics
astronomical.
A Magnetar Mystery
One of the strongest magnets in the
universe,
a
magnetar,
is
unexpectedly capable of a strange
new kind of glitch — a mysterious,
unexplained drop in speed.
Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical
Garden
Harold C. Schott Education
Center
This is a fun, free afternoon for
teachers of all grades and
subjects to learn about the
resources provided by the
Greater
Cincinnati
Environmental
Educators
(GCEE)
and
its
partner
organizations
including
the
Observatory. Last year over 300
teachers came out and learned
about Rocks from Space from
John, while Dean, Leo and Craig
revealed the secrets of our sun
with solar scopes outside.
GCEE member organizations
(including the Observatory)
provide programming to both
formal (K-12) and non-formal
audiences (youth and adults).
Since its inception, GCEE has
served dozens of environmental
education
professionals,
hundreds of classroom educators
and thousands of Greater
Cincinnati school children by
providing
resource
fairs,
education workshops, classroom
programs and field trips.
For more information and to
register:
http://cincinnatizoo.org/events
/ultimate-educator-expo/
7
New Star Gazers
With Dean Regas
Star Gazers airs locally on
channels 14 and 48 and you can
watch each month’s episodes on
our website:
http://www.cincinnatiobservato
ry.org/stargazer.html
“Keep
Looking Up!”
Observatory to be featured
at Space and Aviation
Academy
By Craig Niemi
Duke Energy will sponsor a
Space and Aviation Academy at
UC
Clermont
beginning
September 28th and running
until
December
6th.
The
sponsorship highlights Duke’s
ongoing support and UC
Clermont’s
commitment
to
delivering
programs
that
support student interest in STEM
fields. STEM is an acronym for
Science,
Technology,
Engineering and Math.
The Space and Aviation
Academy is hands-on weekend
workshop series designed to
acquaint
students
with
education options and diverse
careers in astronomy, space and
aviation. The program is open to
30 students who are 11-14 years
old.
With
Duke Energy’s
support, cost of the program is
reduced to $100 and covers all
activities, materials, admissions,
an Academy T-shirt, student
meals, and transportation for
two field trips. To participate,
the student must be 11, 12, 13 or
14 years old on September 30,
2013.
“Duke Energy is proud to
support the Space and Aviation
Academy as part of our strategic
initiatives to advance STEM
programs. Programs like this one
contribute to the building blocks
of a desirable workforce and
highlight the talent in this
region." said Warren Walker,
District Manager Community &
Government Relations Duke
Energy.
Program topics are:
Astronomy Exploration
Students travel to the Cincinnati
Observatory and do a series of
hands-on investigations using
light and telescopes to explore
the science of astronomy.
Aviation and Flight
You’ll visit the Tri-State Warbird
Museum
&
Clermont
County/Sporty’s Airport to
learn about pre-flight work,
aerodynamics,
aircraft
instruments, airport operations
and more.
Space Simulation
Includes a field trip to iSPACE in
Sharonville for an interactive,
space-based mission simulation.
The
Wonder
of
Space:
Astronaut
Rick
Searfoss
Colonel Searfoss grew up
enthralled with flying and space
in the amazing days of Apollo
and America’s push for the
Moon.
For more information about
the academy, please contact:
Glenda Neff, Director, Outreach
Services at UC Clermont.
glenda.neff@uc.edu or 513- 5580008.
Mitchel Building
Renovation
By Craig Niemi
Work is finishing up on the
home of “America’s First
Telescope”.
As we reported last month
much work has been completed
in the Mitchel building. Interior
plaster repairs and interior and
exterior painting is done.
The protective cabinet for the
hand crank should be in place by
the time you read this allowing
our visitors to hand crank the
dome just as it was done in 1904.
We’ve come in under budget
so we’ll look at eliminating
other maintenance issues such as
renovating the rollers and
pulleys that operate the dome’s
shutter, and quite possibly
giving the floors some much
needed attention. 25,000 visitors
a year do tend to take their toll.
Our thanks to our generous
funders! The Louise Taft Semple
Foundation, The Sutphin Family
Foundation, The John A. Schroth
Family Trust and the Ohio
Valley Foundation.
Did You Know….
By watching the shadow of the
Earth on the Moon, some of the
ancients concluded the Earth was
curved, not flat.
8
Museums and Historic
Sites of Greater Cincinnati
Museums & Historic Sites of
Greater Cincinnati encourages
an appreciation of history
through tourism, educational
program-ming
and
other
activities.
M&HSofGC
is currently
comprised of over 30 participating sites across Greater
Cincinnati. Each site offers a
unique perspective on local
history and culture through
public
programs,
exhibits,
lectures, and tours.
Through this group the
Observatory has benefited from
exposure to museum best
practices, programming ideas
and
collaborations
and
networking with other resources
such as Northern Kentucky
Universities,
Public History
Professors and students.
Julie Carpenter (Betts House)
and Jean Graves (Taft Museum)
were both very active in leading
the group. Unfortunately they
both are moving on to other
opportunities. The Observatory
wishes them well!
Did You Know….
Astronomers
have
recently
discovered the coldest brown dwarf
star ever, just 40 light years from
Earth. Its surface temperature is just
80 degrees F!
It’s more massive
than Jupiter but smaller than our
Sun. It actually has clouds in its
outer atmosphere.
New Exoplanet GJ 504b Is
Lowest-Mass Alien World
Detected Around
Sun-Like Star
A newly seen alien planet sets a
new record as the lowest-mass
world ever detected around a
Sun-like star using direct
imaging, astronomers report in a
paper to be published in The
Astrophysical Journal.
The
research
team
used infrared data from the
Subaru Telescope in Hawaii to
capture the exoplanet, dubbed
GJ 504b. The magenta-colored
planet is several times the mass
of Jupiter and similar in size.
"If we could travel to this
giant planet, we would see a
world still glowing from the heat
of its formation with a color
reminiscent of a dark cherry
blossom, a dull magenta," Dr.
Michael McElwain, a member of
the discovery team at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md., said in a written
statement. "Our near-infrared
camera reveals that its color is
much more blue than other
imaged planets, which may
indicate that its atmosphere has
fewer clouds."
http://www.huffingtonpost.co
m/2013/08/06/new-exoplanetgj-504b-found-alien-worldstar_n_3713990.html?ref=topbar
Foundations Support
COC Education
By Lyn Marsteller
As school budgets dwindle and
the demand for STEM education
increases, the COC has come to
be an important resource for
school education programs, both
in their classrooms and under
the domes of the COC.
Foundation support like this is
imperative to help reach the
most underserved students and
schools in our region, the very
schools that can’t afford field
trips or guest speakers. We are
pleased to report that since
January 2013 we have received
generous grant support from the
following local foundations to
help further our education
programs:
Andrew Jergens Foundation $5,000 to support student
programs.
William S. Rowe Foundation $5,000 to support student
programs.
Stillson Foundation - $10,00 to
underwrite the cost of buses for
field trips for underserved
schools to visit the field trips to
the COC.
In addition, the COC was
awarded
a
$2,500
NASA
Summer of Innovation minigrant to provide professional
development for 4th-9th grade
teachers.
Did You Know….
A lightning storm on Saturn can
reach around the entire planet.
9
Sidewalk Astronomy
By Dean Regas
In
August
Cincinnati
Observatory members brought
telescopes to the people. August
15th Ryan and Cindy Kelly set
up their telescope at the Ault
Park Dance to show visitors the
Moon.
That weekend John Barnes and
Evan Noga set up telescopes at
Washington Park with the
Kelly’s help.
hundreds of people on August
16th.
James Bongey and Dean
Regas joined Lina and Vincent
for an encore at the Levee on the
17th. This is a great way to
surprise people with stellar
views through telescopes. The
leading reaction was, “Wow!”
Very few people have looked
through a telescope and they are
always very appreciative for the
privilege. Plus it’s a great way to
get the word out about us! We
are planning to set up solar
scopes at Fountain Square the
week of September 9-13 during
lunch hour. At night we’ll be
outside Hyde Park Graeter’s
September 12th and 13th and at
Oakley Late Night September
13th.
If you’d like to participate (even
if you don’t have a telescope) or
would like to recommend a
public place to set up, please
contact
Dean
Regas
at dean@cincinnatiobservatory.o
rg or 513-321-5186. Join the
Sidewalk Astronomy crew!
One Hundred Asteroids
Outside Newport on the Levee,
Lina
Alkamhawi,
Vincent
Hammerstein, David and Justin
Griggs, and Scott and Michelle
Gainey brought their scopes to
show the Moon and Saturn to
By Fred N. Bowman
On 19 July 2013, I reached a
milestone of sorts – I logged my
100th asteroid identification (105
as of this writing). This is a
small accomplishment compared
to the big boys with their superfast computers, the latest data
and automated orbit routines. I
on the other hand do this the old
fashioned way – one orbit at a
time. I began in 1980 with no
more than a slide rule and a
MDAS (multiply, divide, add,
and subtract) calculator.
Identifications are the linking
of asteroid observations made in
separate years; this involves a lot
of comparisons of previously
published orbital elements. My
first identification was found in
1980. My identifications include
members of all asteroid groups,
but mainly Hungarias, Hildas,
and Trojans.
Earth approaching asteroids
had to be seen at two or more
apparitions. Main belt asteroids
had to be seen at a minimum of
three apparitions with at least
one
apparition
after
an
identification was made. These
rules were established to reduce
the number of "lost" asteroids.
One of the benefits of making
identifications is the prospect of
being able to suggest a name for
the object. It is a long process,
first you must make the
identification, wait for it to
receive a permanent number,
then wait for ten years while the
original
discoverer(s)
mull
whether they should give it a
name. After that you can
suggest a name then wait an
additional six months to a year
for it to be published. It is
considered
bad
form
to
announce any new names before
they are published.
I have been lucky enough to
have named four of my
identifications.
Of my 105
identifications, thus far only 47
have received a permanent
10
number, of those 15 remain
unnamed and of those only two
fall under the “ten year rule” for
naming rights. Patience is a
must when it comes to naming
asteroids. All new names are
published in the International
Astronomical Union’s Minor
Planets and Comets Circulars.
Prior to World War II, as soon
as an orbit was computed the
asteroid automatically received a
number. When Dr. Herget took
on the responsibilities of the
Cincinnati Observatory’s Minor
Planet Center in 1948, many
(over
7%)
asteroids
were
considered "lost." They were
“lost” because the astronomers
who were tracking them all left
their astronomical post to go to
war. To reduce the number of
lost asteroids he changed the
criteria for how asteroids were
numbered.
In
1949,
Dr.
Frank
Edmondson,
of
Indiana
University, borrowed the 1906
T. Cooke Astro-Photographic
triplet lens from the Cincinnati
Observatory to look for those
asteroids which had not been
seen in a number of years
and/or were considered lost.
With this borrowed lens he
discovered the asteroid on
September 5, 1954, that bears my
name: (2996) Bowman. This lens
now resides in the basement of
the Cincinnati Observatory.
Currently I have 86 double
designations, asteroids seen
more than once at a single
apparition.
My fascination with asteroids
began in the mid-1960s when
there were fewer than 1500 with
well-established orbits. My quest
for knowledge of them led me to
the University of Cincinnati and
the Minor Planet Center, then
located
at
the
Cincinnati
Observatory.
Now there are over 600,000
asteroids with nearly 400,000
receiving a permanent number.
Since 1978 the Minor Planet
Center operates
under
the
auspices of the International
Astronomical Union at the
Smithsonian
Astrophysical
Observatory, which is part of the
Center for Astrophysics along
with the Harvard College
Observatory.
Launch System rocket and Orion
capsule, perhaps as soon as 2021.
[NASA's
Asteroid-Capture
Mission
in
Pictures
http://www.space.com/22473nasa-wise-space-telescopeasteroid-hunter.html
Editor’s Note:
FOTO’s own
Richard Hunter had a part in
designing the Ku-band data
transmitter in this space craft.
Were Black Holes Common
in the Early Universe?
NASA Resurrecting Old
Space Telescope to Hunt
Asteroids
On August 21st NASA officials
announced they will reactivate
an asteroid-hunting spacecraft
next month to help identify
potentially dangerous space
rocks and flag candidates for the
agency's ambitious asteroidretrieval mission.
The
Wide-field
Infrared
Survey Explorer, or WISE, will
be awakened from hibernation
in September to conduct a threeyear search for near-Earth
objects (NEOs). The probe is
expected
to
discover
150
new asteroids and characterize
about 2,000 others, NASA
officials said.
WISE's
new
work
could help the agency pick a
target
for
its
"Asteroid
Initiative," a bold plan to drag a
small space rock to a stable orbit
near the moon. Once there, the
asteroid could be visited by
astronauts using NASA's Space
Ever wonder what a black hole
looks like? This artist's illustration
gives some insight.
Black holes may have been
abundant among the first stars in the
universe, helping explain the origin
of the supermassive monsters that
lurk at the heart of galaxies today,
researchers say.
An international team of
astronomers has found that black
holes likely contributed at least 20
percent of the infrared cosmic
background, light emitted 400
million to 800 million years after the
Big Bang that created our universe
13.8 billion years ago.
These early pioneers may have
been the seeds that later grew into
supermassive black holes, which
contain millions to billions of times
the mass of our sun, researchers
said. [Gallery: Black Holes of the
Universe]
http://www.wunderground.com/new
s/black-holes-common-earlyuniverse-20130607
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