Report for 2002-06-07
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Brought to you from beautiful Park City, "View-tah".

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Contents
	This Weeks Issue	The Utah Skies Website
	Astronomical Times Viewing Outlook Space Weather Update Mission Update Lunar Phase Planetary Report Hubble Vision Constellation Report Deep Sky Report IDA-Utah Light Pollution Update	Astro-photographer of the Month Deep Sky Observers Hubble Vision IDA-Utah Light Pollution Update Weekly Report

Astronomical Times
Sunrise: 5:56 am	Sunset: 8:56 pm
Astronomical Twilight Begins: 3:52 am	Astronomical Twilight Ends: 11:00 pm
Moonrise: 4:07 am	Moonset 5:48 pm

Viewing Outlook

Skies are staying clear for extended periods of time now. While we've got some much needed rain in the forecast, it's not expected to stay that way for long. Skies are expected to clear just in time for Monday nights Utah Skies Eclipse Party.

Eclipse Party

On Monday evening, June 10, Utah Skies will be hosting an Eclipse Watching Party out at Park City's Trailside Park. We'll have a handful of telescopes setup with solar filters so that you can safely view the event which runs from about 6:00pm until 8:00pm. At it's peak, 55% of the Sun will be eclipsed by the moon.

Parting Shots

The planets Venus and Jupiter made there closest pass of the year last Monday night, June 3rd. With a visual separation of only 1.3°, the two could be covered with one finger. This makes for an interesting paradox given that Jupiter and Venus are physically separated by over 400 million miles.  I took the accompanying image that evening with a 200mm f/5 lens and a 1/2 second exposure.

Space Weather Update

A sunspot spanning nearly six times the total surface area of Earth can be seen drifting across the face of the Sun in the accompanying SOHO image. Sunspot activity seems to have distinct cycles. When activity is high, it's real high... and when it's low.. well...you get the picture.  You can see it yourself using safe solar projection techniques. The active region, numbered 9973, poses a threat for M-class solar flares. These are not as large as X-class flares, but... still pack a punch. Ok... we mentioned safe solar viewing techniques. Another reason that you might be interested in learning about these is that on this coming Monday June 10th there will be a solar eclipse. From northern Utah, you'll be able to see about 1/2 of the sun covered by the moon. Beginning about 6:15pm and continuing until sunset, the moon will partially eclipse the Sun. The eclipse maximum will occur around 7:15 when the Sun is about 20° above the western horizon.  To check the times and the amount of the Sun which will be obscured, checkout the Eclipse Table created on the Astronomy Magazine website.

Checkout this awesome shot of a partially eclipsed Sun taken back on December 14, 2001 by George W. Fleenor on Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida, USA. In this shot, the Sun is setting over the Gulf of Mexico. George used Fuji 200 film and a 600mm telephoto lens at f/11. Nice job!

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) took this image of an erupting solar plume. The plume is more than 50 Earth diameters in length! While the plume was not Earth-directed, it sure makes for an amazing shot.

Mission Update

Is it an Escher, or Mars? Three different types of surfaces visible in the North Polar Cap of Mars morph into each other in a way perhaps reminiscent of the works of M. C. Escher. On the far left dark sand covers the ground, while the center shows a transition to a dune field. On the far right a transition is made to a much lighter surface, likely containing a larger amount of ice. Shadows indicate that lighter material holds the higher ground, with some steep cliffs on the divide. Dune shapes indicate that wind typically blows toward the upper left. Mars Global Surveyor, one of two robot spacecraft currently orbiting Mars, took the above image in early 2001. Recent images from the other orbiter, Mars Odyssey, have bolstered the hypothesis that a significant amount of water-ice lies beneath the surface near the Martian South Pole.  Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)

After almost a week of delays, the space shuttle Endeavour beat the odds and lifted off Wednesday on its way to rendezvous with the International Space Station.   Endeavour was originally scheduled to launch last Thursday. It was held back by two days of weather delays and two days of repairs on a leaky valve in one of the rocket motors that allows the orbiter to make key maneuvers in space.  Checkout the full CNN/Space article for more details.

SPACE SHUTTLE: The space shuttle Endeavour left Earth on Wednesday, June 5th, for a rendevous with the International Space Station. Shortly after launch, the shuttle raced over the Netherlands, where Cees Bassa spotted the spacecraft and took its picture. Both the streaking shuttle (white) and its jettisoned external fuel tank (orange) are visible in his photo, below.

Lunar Phase

The moon will be new on Monday. This evening, the moon will only be 11% illuminated. In this phase, it is referred to as a waning crescent moon.  I took the accompanying image of the waning crescent moon last month when the was at a similar phase of illumination.

Planetary Report

In this section, we visit the planets in the order in which they are currently rising. We do our best to track down the finest images available.  for 2002.  As an added feature, you may also click on any of the planetary images to view a planetary reference page filled with important facts about the planet.

Neptune 8th planet Rising 12:25 am Visual Magnitude 7.87 Visual Diameter 2" Distance 29.49 AU Constellation Capricornus Checkout the accompanying Hubble Space Telescope image of Neptune. It nicely shows the planets rotation. Neptune is a relatively easy target when viewed at the right time. That time, however is not now. Neptune is rising just before astronomical twilight begins. In other words, Neptune never really gets high enough in the sky for optimal viewing before the sky starts to brighten. It'll be best viewed in late summer and the fall, when it will high in the sky for hours before dawn. Almost star-like in binoculars, it shows it's beautiful blue color in telescopes. Neptune gets this beautiful blue coloring from a layer of Methane in its upper atmosphere. Located over 2.84 billion miles from Earth, Neptune has a huge circular orbit -- taking just over 164 years to orbit the Sun. In fact, Neptune's orbit varies by less than 1% from circular. Neptune has a couple of other claims to fame... It has the fastest wind speeds in the solar system with gust at almost 1500 mph. Similar to Jupiter, it is categorized as a gas giant. Neptune is roughly 17 times more massive than the Earth. In another similarity to Jupiter, Neptune has a  Great Dark Spot. William Herschel is credited with the discovery of Neptune in 1781. However, it had been recorded in several catalogs as a star as far back as 1690.

Uranus 7th planet Rising 1:20 am Visual Magnitude 5.79 Visual Diameter 4" Distance 19.67 AU Constellation Aquarius Checkout this shot of Uranus. You can clearly see several of it's moons in this image. At almost 2 billion miles away, this is one tough shot to make from Earth! Uranus is a relatively easy target. However, this is another tiny planet at only 3".  It is also rising at almost the same time as the sun. So... you'll have to wait a few months to seek it out. Additionally, given it's tiny size, It displays absolutely no surface detail. It does however show it's beautiful aquamarine color. Uranus also gets its beautiful coloring from a layer of Methane in its upper atmosphere. Located over 1.92 billion miles from Earth, Uranus has a huge orbit -- taking just over 84 years to orbit the Sun. It is categorized as a gas giant as is Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. Uranus is roughly 14 times more massive than the Earth. Discovered by William Herschel in March of 1781, Uranus was the first planet to be "discovered". All the others are plainly visible, and hence have been known since antiquity. The name Uranus was suggested for mythological reasons. Since Jupiter was the father of Saturn, it made sense to name the next planet out Uranus -- the father of Saturn.

Mercury 1st planet Rising 5:30 am Visual Magnitude 2.61 Visual Diameter 11" Distance 0.61 AU Constellation Taurus The accompanying Mariner 10 image of Mercury's southwest quadrant reveals the amount of destruction brought upon the planet by comets and meteors. Since Mercury has no atmosphere, every object coming its way is able to score a direct hit. This image was taken a the spacecraft made it's closest pass to the planet at a distance of about 120,000 miles. The largest craters are about 60 miles in diameter. Mercury is rising about 30 minutes before the Sun now, so.. you ought to be able to catch it in the morning sky. Saturn 6th planet Rising 6:15 am Visual Magnitude 0.01 Visual Diameter 17" Distance 10.06 AU Constellation Taurus Checkout this absolutely stunning mage of Saturn as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. What an awesome shot. This is the natural color of Saturn. Notice the amount of detail visible in the image. You can easily see the Cassini Division as well as the Crepe ring (the faint line nearest to the edge of the ring).  Saturn has sped past Venus in the last week or so. It is sinking rapidly and is rising only about 15 minutes after the Sun. We've pretty much lost Saturn for the Season. It'll move into the morning sky later in the summer. Bye bye... Mars 4th planet Rising 7:25 am Visual Magnitude 1.73 Visual Diameter 4" Distance 2.53 AU Constellation Gemini Checkout this sweet image captured by Ed Grafton. At this point.. all we have left of Mars is memories. Nice ones... like this image, but... memories nonetheless. Oh, well... we'll get even nicer views of Mars in 2003 makes it makes it's closest pass in 5000+ years. Mars too is sinking fast and should be gone from the western sky shortly.

The Earth continues to pull away from Mars in it's orbit.In fact, the distance between the two planets has grown from about 40 million miles this summer to over 235 million miles. This has caused Mars' apparent diameter to shrink. It is currently down to a measly 4".. a tiny fraction of it's peak of 21" in June. In fact, this is just about as small as Mars ever gets. It has also dimmed significantly as well - currently shining at a wimpy magnitude 1.57 down from -2.4 in June.  Mars will return for an even better pass in 2003. In the mean time, we can live vicariously through the works of the Maple Ridge Observatory. If you haven't checked out their website, I'd highly recommend it. It's loaded with many awesome planetary and deep sky image that'll blow your mind.

Jupiter 5th planet Rising 8:20 am Visual Magnitude -1.88 Visual Diameter 33" Distance 6:01 AU Constellation Gemini Here's a beautiful image of Jupiter. Checkout the incredible detail. Jupiter has just recently passed Venus. It'll be gone from the western sky only to reappear in the eastern sky later this summer or early in the fall.

Venus 2nd planet Rising 8:35 am Visual Magnitude -3.98 Visual Diameter 13" Distance 1.26 AU Constellation Gemini Checkout this cool shot of Venus taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The image was captured in ultra-violet light. Venus is now rising about two hours after the sun... it has slowly but surely moved to take up its role as the Evening Star. Many of you have no doubt seen it blazing away in the western sky after sunset. Watch as it climbs higher and higher over the next few months. By late spring and through the summer and Fall, Venus will dominate the night sky.  Did you know that Venus goes through phases? No... not those kind of phases... Phases of illumination, like the moon. It's true. Venus is currently around 85% illuminated. As it climbs higher in the sky (larger angular separation from the Sun) the illuminated portion shrinks. By the time Venus is only 1/2 illuminated, it will have brightened to mag -4.3. It will continue to brighten to about mag -4.7 late in the fall when it reaches its greatest elongation (angular separation from the Sun). At that point, Venus will be only about 1/4 illuminated, but will have grown to over 44".

Pluto 9th planet Rising 8:15 pm Visual Magnitude 13.78 Visual Diameter <1" Distance 29.52 AU Constellation Ophiuchus Checkout this awesome shot of the solar systems most remote planet. It was taken by... the Hubble Space Telescope... of course Pluto has brightened another whopping .01! But don't get too excited, it's still a tiny, faint little spec in a telescope... any telescope.  It is currently over 2.8 billion miles from Earth. Located in the southeastern sky before sunrise, Pluto is also not very well placed at this point for viewing. You'll have a much better chance of viewing Pluto late in the spring or in the summer.

Hubble Vision

The Hubble Space Telescope has distinguished itself as a premier source of astronomical images. Amazing HST images have graced the covers of major magazines and newspapers worldwide. In recognition of the amazing advances in astronomy and physics which have come from Hubble discoveries, we'd like to devote a section of this report to some of these incredible images, and share some of them with you. Our latest comes directly from the Hubble Heritage Team. We've got a special treat for you in this weeks Hubble Vision section. These are the first shots made public from the new camera installed in the Hubble Space Telescope. I'm sure you'll agree that these shots are even more impressive than previous Hubble products.

Gaseous Streamers Flutter in Stellar Breeze Resembling the hair in Botticelli's famous portrait of the birth of Venus, softly glowing filaments stream from a complex of hot young stars. This image of a nebula, known as N44C, comes from the archives of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST). It was taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in 1996 and is being presented by the Hubble Heritage Project.  N44C is the designation for a region of glowing hydrogen gas surrounding an association of young stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby, small companion galaxy to the Milky Way visible from the Southern Hemisphere.   N44C is peculiar because the star mainly responsible for illuminating the nebula is unusually hot. The most massive stars, ranging from 10-50 times more massive than the Sun, have maximum temperatures of 54,000 to 90,000 degrees Fahrenheit (30,000 to 50,000 degrees Kelvin). The star illuminating N44C appears to be significantly hotter, with a temperature of about 135,000 degrees Fahrenheit (75,000 degrees Kelvin)!   Ideas proposed to explain this unusually high temperature include the possibility of a neutron star or black hole that intermittently produces X-rays but is now "switched off."  On the top right of this Hubble image is a network of nebulous filaments that inspired comparison to Botticelli. The filaments surround a Wolf-Rayet star, another kind of rare star characterized by an exceptionally vigorous "wind" of charged particles. The shock of the wind colliding with the surrounding gas causes the gas to glow.   N44C is part of the larger N44 complex, which includes young, hot, massive stars, nebulae, and a "superbubble" blown out by multiple supernova explosions. Part of the superbubble is seen in red at the very bottom left of the HST image.   The data were taken in November 1996 with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 by Donald Garnett (University of Arizona) and collaborators and stored in the Hubble archive. The image was composed by the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Image Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: D. Garnett (University of Arizona)

Constellation Report

Our Constellation Report is an easy way for people to become familiar with the nighttime sky. We’ll discuss myths associated with a particular constellation as well as describing the numerous deep sky objects residing within its boundaries. No equipment is required to view the constellations, though a star chart can be quite helpful. This ease of observing makes constellations a natural place to begin your journey to the stars.  This weekend we move on to the constellation Draco the dragon. Except for the eyes of the dragon, this constellation is made up of mainly faint stars.

Deep Sky Report
The focus of our efforts this week will be the deep sky objects of Draco. New, for 2002. We've added high resolution star charts for all of our deep sky objects. Along with the map of the constellation which we've always had, clicking on any of the deep sky objects will bring up a high resolution star chart centered on that object. Hope this helps.
Ok, let's start  things off with a nice Barred Spiral Galaxy, NGC4236(mag9.7). This image was taken by Al Kelly. Checkout the star clusters visible in this image. Under dark skies and with a bit of aperture you should begin to see some of these.
Next we'll hit Elliptical Galaxy, NGC5866(mag10). This galaxy should be pretty easy to find given it's proximity to a couple of bright stars as well as it's own brightness. Don't expect to see much more than a bright oval shape even with increased aperture.
Continuing along we come to Spiral Galaxy, NGC5907(mag10.4). These edge-on galaxies are always fun to observe. See if you can spy the central dust lane.
Next up is another Elliptical Galaxy, NGC5982(mag11.1).  How's this for a crowded space. In the field of view we've got a face-on spiral, and edge on spiral and finally an elliptical galaxy. Pretty cool, huh? I was looking at these under some nice steady skies last night and the views were impressive.
Let's wrap things up with this weeks Utah Skies Challenge  Object, Planetary Nebula, NGC6543(mag8.8). Don't expect it to look quite as impressive in the eyepiece as it does in this Hubble Telescope image. Given the number of  Good Luck!
If you are able to find all of these objects, you may be one of the few, the proud, the Deep Sky Obsessed.  E-mail your findings to DeepSkyObservations@UtahSkies.org.

IDA-Utah Light Pollution Update

Light Pollution: The nighttime equivalent of Ridge-line Violations? Recently, in Summit County, lots of attention has been paid to ridge-line violations. Approved projects have been stopped in mid-stream to preserve our ridge-line views. All involved have suffered serious financial hardship. Why is the county working so hard to enforce an unwritten ordinance? In a word... aesthetics. The county is working very hard to protect the natural beauty of Summit County. It is the combination of champagne powder and spectacular views that draws many tourists... and residents to this area. Development which interferes with these amazing views damages that which makes Summit County special. It is the same with light pollution. It is also an aesthetic issue. But, it is much more. Misdirected or excessive exterior lighting destroys the beauty of the night sky. Just as our mountains provide a spectacular backdrop by day, it is the stars above that form the backdrop at night. Summit County is one of the few inhabited areas left in the country where star-filled skies can still be found. It would be a shame to squander such a treasure.  Ok, so... There are many similarities between these two elements. But, there are also many differences as well. Ridge-line violations are simply aesthetics. The destruction of our star-filled skies through light pollution is far worse. To produce all the errant light to destroy the views overhead requires the wasting of vast sums of money. Additionally, it requires the wasting of vast quantities of our limited natural resources. This waste is compounded by the fact that Utah Power generates a large portion of its energy by burning coal. So not only does light pollution spoil our nighttime views, but it also fouls the air we breathe. Another difference. And possibly a more significant one is that Summit County has enacted ordinances specifically designed to control the spread of Light Pollution. It is only due to lack of enforcement by the county itself that the problem even exists. Over five years ago the county enacted ordinances which clearly spelled out the requirements for exterior lighting fixtures. Yet, to this day, contractors continue to get away with installing non-compliant lights and merchants continue to sell non-compliant exterior lights. The solution to controlling light pollution is simple. We need the county to step up and meet its obligations. Ordinances must be enforced... without exception. Forcing a contractor to replace a light is far less drastic than bringing a development project to a halt. It is also far cheaper... and it brings the same benefit. Preventing ridge-line violations keeps our mountain views in a more pristine state. Preventing the installation of non-compliant exterior lighting fixtures keeps our celestial views in a more pristine state. Checkout the IDA-Utah website at www.IDAUtah.org for more information on the harmful effects of improper lighting or for ideas on how to improve your lighting. Please contact us with any questions you may have or to Volunteer to help us in the fight to curb light pollution.

Next Weeks Report

Next week, we'll continue our journey through the cosmos and focus on the constellation Hercules.

 

Stay up to date on astronomical happenings by regularly checking the Utah Skies website at http://www.UtahSkies.org     < | Index | >