Report for 2002-07-26
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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 Index

Astronomical Times
Sunrise: 6:17 am	Sunset: 8:50 pm
Astronomical Twilight Begins: 4:23 am	Astronomical Twilight Ends: 10:44 pm
Moonrise: 10:39 pm	Moonset: 8:25 am

Upcoming Events

The coming week could very well be the busiest astronomical week of the year here in northern Utah. The Astronomical League will be holding its annual conference in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah. Events will get under way on Tuesday evening with a star party hosted by the Salt Lake Astronomical Society at their Stansbury Park (SPOC) facility. The conference itself gets under way on Wednesday and runs through Saturday. This years conference will feature a host of NASA scientists as well as researchers from a wide range of universities and observatories worldwide. Topics to be covered include quasars and galaxies, planetary nebula, the size and age of the universe, mars exploration, preserving the night sky and much, much more. Tickets can be purchased at the U of U.  Back to the sky, the Ogden Astronomical Society will host a star party Thursday night at Antelope Island. And finally....

Utah Skies Star Party

Finally, we'll wrap things up on Saturday night 8/3, with the next Utah Skies Star Party at Park City's Trailside Park. This event will run from 9:30pm until 1:30am. Come on out to view the summer constellations and their awesome inhabitants. We'll see such deep sky treasures as the Ring Nebula, The Hercules Star Cluster, The Veil Nebula, and much, muchmore. Awesome views are to be expected. As a special note... If you have a telescope, please bring it. We'll do our best to help you find some of the above mentioned objects.

Viewing Outlook

Weekend weather forecasts are looking pretty good at this point. A mix of clear to partly cloudy skies are called for until early this week when.... with a waning gibbous moon rising well after midnight... the skies are expected to clear and stay clear. Get out there and observe. The summer offers warm temperatures and some of the most diverse observing of the year. Telescopes and binoculars are absolutely required for summer camping trips. If you've got one... you need to take it with you. The sky views to be found in Utah's mountains and deserts are among the best in the world. Why not take advantage of them?

Breaking up is hard to do

Astronomers at the University of Hawaii captured a comet as it disintegrated on a close pass of the Sun. The comet broke into at least 19 pieces and the debris trail was stretched out over 600,000 miles. For more info, checkout CNN.com/SPACE

Space Weather Update

Checkout these huge sunspot complexes. Given the designations of 36 & 39, these monsters stretches for about 10-20 Earth-diameters. A sunspot this large can easily be seen from Earth... without a telescope even. If you want to see it, make sure that you use Safe Solar Viewing Techniques!

Jupiter, Mars and Mercury are remarkably close together in the sky. But don't bother looking. The trio are too near the glaring Sun; you can't see them without hurting your eyes. The orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), however, can see them. SOHO's coronagraph blocks the Sun's blinding glare with an opaque disk, revealing stars, planets and the Sun's faint corona. SOHO captured this coronagraph image on July 23rd. The three planets will remain in the field of view until July 27th. (Note: the horizontal lines are digital imaging artifacts, not planetary rings.)

Mission Update

Acidalia Planitia The lineations seen in this THEMIS visible image occur in Acidalia Planitia, and create what is referred to as "patterned ground" or "polygonal terrain." The lineations are fissures, or cracks in the ground and are possibly evidence that there was once subsurface ice or water in the region. On Earth, similar features occur when ice or water is removed from the subsurface. The removal of material causes the ground to slump, and the surface expression of this slumping is the presence of these fissures, which tend to align themselves along common orientations, and in some cases, into polygonal shapes. There are other hypotheses, not all of which involve liquid or frozen water, regarding the formation of patterned ground. Desiccation of wet soils on Earth forms mud cracks, which are similar in appearance to the martian features, but occur on a much smaller scale. Alternatively, oriented cracks form when lava flows cool. The cracks formed by this process would be on about the same scale as those seen in this image.   The best example of polygonal terrain occurs about halfway down the image. The largest fractures, as in other places in the image, run from the lower left to the upper right of the image. In some cases, though, smaller fractures occur in other orientations, creating the polygonal terrain. Scientists have been aware of these features on the surface of Mars since the Viking era, but theTHEMIS visible camera will allow scientists to map these features at higher resolution with more coverage over the high latitude regions where they are most common, perhaps giving further insight into the mechanism(s) of their formation.

The International Space Station will make several passes over the area this weekend. To find out when, visit NASA's Space Flight Website. Due to the orbital characteristics of the ISS, these over flights will be a bit longer than usual. Several will be in the 4-6 minute range... providing ample opportunity to view the craft as it cruises some 300 miles overhead.

'N Sync 'N Space

'N Sync singer Lance Bass is headed for space. He's currently training in Russia for a trip to the ISS in October. After a bit of negotiating, he's managed to get sponsors to foot the entire bill. Pretty slick maneuvering for a kid, huh???

Thirty three years ago this past weekend, man opened a new era in our existence. On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on another celestial body.

Lunar Phase

The moon was full on Wednesday. This evening the waning gibbous moon will be 94% illuminated. I took the accompanying image earlier this spring using an Olympus OM-1 with Fuji ASA400 film. The photo was taken at prime focus through a 120mm f/5 refractor.

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.

Saturn 6th planet Rising 3:30 am Visual Magnitude 0.12 Visual Diameter 17" Distance 9:81 AU Constellation Taurus Saturn is now rising about 3 hours before the Sun. Saturn can now be found in the eastern sky before dawn. If you're an early riser, you should have now trouble finding the ringed planet as it is brighter than any of the surrounding stars. Checkout this absolutely amazing mage of Saturn as captured by Ed Grafton. This is a very cool shot. Notice the innermost ring. It's called the Crepe ring and it's almost transparent.  Mercury 1st planet Rising 6:55 am Visual Magnitude -1.39 Visual Diameter 5" Distance 1.34 AU Constellation Cancer The accompanying Mariner 10 image of Mercury was taken as the spacecraft passed the planet. This, essentially, was it's "over the shoulder" view. It reveals the incredible amount of destruction brought upon the planet by comets and meteors through the years. Since Mercury has no atmosphere, every object coming its way is able to score a direct hit.  Mars 4th planet Rising 6:40 am Visual Magnitude 1.74 Visual Diameter 4" Distance 2.66 AU Constellation Cancer Checkout this sweet image captured by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor. Notice how much ice had accumulated at the south polar region.  In the summer of 2003 Mars makes it makes it's closest pass in 5000+ years. Get your telescopes ready!

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 6:00 am Visual Magnitude -1.81 Visual Diameter 31" Distance 6:26 AU Constellation Cancer Checkout this beautiful image of Jupiter and it's Great Red Spot taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Great Red Spot is currently in the news. It turns out that a large "white oval" nearly the size of Earth is colliding with the famous Great Red Spot. These two huge "hurricane-like" storms have been around for quite some time. The white oval has been viewed for almost 70 years, and the Great Red Spot was viewed by Galileo! To find out more about the Great Red Spot or the White Oval, follow the links! Jupiter is now rising about 20 minutes before the Sun. It should be visible above the eastern horizon before sunrise shortly.

Venus 2nd planet Rising 10:10 am Visual Magnitude -4.15 Visual Diameter 19" Distance 0.90 AU Constellation Leo Venus has now moved into the constellation Leo. It continues to brighten. Checkout this cool radar image of Venus. 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 5:00 pm Visual Magnitude 13.85 Visual Diameter <1" Distance 29.87 AU Constellation Ophiuchus Checkout this awesome series captured by Gordon Waite.  (If you don't see anything moving, hit the refresh button) 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.

Neptune 8th planet Rising 9:05 pm Visual Magnitude 7.84 Visual Diameter 2" Distance 29.08 AU Constellation Capricornus Checkout the sweet "passing" shot of Neptune and it's moon Triton. 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 10:00 pm Visual Magnitude 5.72 Visual Diameter 4" Distance 19.07 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.

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.

Beauty in the Eye of Hubble A dying star, IC 4406, dubbed the "Retina Nebula" is revealed in this month's Hubble Heritage image.  Like many other so-called planetary nebulae, IC 4406 exhibits a high degree of symmetry; the left and right halves of the Hubble image are nearly mirror images of the other. If we could fly around IC4406 in a starship, we would see that the gas and dust form a vast donut of material streaming outward from the dying star. From Earth, we are viewing the donut from the side. This side view allows us to see the intricate tendrils of dust that have been compared to the eye's retina. In other planetary nebulae, like the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720), we view the donut from the top.  The donut of material confines the intense radiation coming from the remnant of the dying star. Gas on the inside of the donut is ionized by light from the central star and glows. Light from oxygen atoms is rendered blue in this image; hydrogen is shown as green, and nitrogen as red. The range of color in the final image shows the differences in concentration of these three gases in the nebula.   Unseen in the Hubble image is a larger zone of neutral gas that is not emitting visible light, but which can be seen by radio telescopes.   One of the most interesting features of IC 4406 is the irregular lattice of dark lanes that criss-cross the center of the nebula. These lanes are about 160 astronomical units wide (1 astronomical unit is the distance between the Earth and Sun). They are located right at the boundary between the hot glowing gas that produces the visual light imaged here and the neutral gas seen with radio telescopes. We see the lanes in silhouette because they have a density of dust and gas that is a thousand times higher than the rest of the nebula. The dust lanes are like a rather open mesh veil that has been wrapped around the bright donut. The fate of these dense knots of material is unknown. Will they survive the nebula's expansion and become dark denizens of the space between the stars or simply dissipate?  This image is a composite of data taken by Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in June 2001 by Bob O'Dell (Vanderbilt University) and collaborators and in January 2002 by The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI). Filters used to create this color image show oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen gas glowing in this object.  Image Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University)

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 Sagittarius the Archer. This constellation is typically depicted as a half-man, half-horse creature armed with a bow.
Sagittarius the Centaur

Deep Sky Report
The focus of our efforts this week will be the deep sky objects of Sagittarius. To find Sagittarius, face due south shortly after dark. Sagittarius is due east of Scorpius which we visited last weekend. I always think of Sagittarius as looking a bit like a teapot. Not seeing many Centaurs these days, the teapot is more fitting for me. Feel free to use whatever works for you :) Sagittarius contains probably the most amazing collections of deep sky wonders in all the heavens. It has so many amazing objects, that we'll be forced to limit our selection somewhat. Don't worry... your e-mail box will be busting at the seams when we're done. For lack of a better idea, we'll simply run the Messier object (all 15 of them) in order. Then we'll move on to the NGC's.
Ok, let's start things off with a beautiful Diffuse Nebula with a Star Cluster, M8 (mag4.6). Also known as the Lagoon Nebula, this is typically the first object I view in Sagittarius. By sighting from the base star of the teapot's spout up through the two stars at the edge of the spout, you're pointed right in that direction. Also, at mag 4.6, this object is naked eye visible. It is easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope. In a larger aperture instrument, it is absolutely amazing.
Next we'll hit a beautiful Emission Nebula with a Star Cluster, M17(mag6). Also known as the Omega Nebula, this is another awesome treat. Also well within reach of binoculars, this object is further north than our previous object, and therefore easier to view. In a 4-6" telescope, the nebula is clearly visible. In larger apertures... say 12+" awesome detail is visible.
Continuing along we come to a delicate Open Star Cluster, M18(mag6.9). This object is not exactly a "knock your socks off" object, but... it is beautiful nonetheless. Again, binoculars are all you need to view this. Larger telescopes will, of course, reveal many more member stars.
Next up is a nice cluster with nebulosity... or a nebula with a star cluster... your choice. Anyway... it's cataloged as M20(mag6.3). Also known as the Trifid Nebula, this is one amazing object. It is a combination of emission and reflection nebula with some obscuring dust lanes providing nice dividing lines. Again, this object will be visible in binoculars, but... will blow you away in a larger telescope. You MUST checkout this object. This amazing shot was captured by Russ Dickman.
Next up is a nice Open Star Cluster, M21(mag5.9)
Next up is a monster of a Globular Star Cluster, M22(mag5.2). This is a BIG cluster... spanning 33'... about the size of the full moon. In fact, only Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae are larger. Were this object higher in the sky, it would be THE globular cluster for us northerners. Unfortunately, it's pretty far south... so... we only get to glimpse it's greatness. This awesome shot was taken by Al Kelly.
Continuing along we come to another delicate Open Star Cluster, M23(mag5.5)
Changing speed... just a bit, we come to The Sagittarius Star Cloud, M24(mag4.6). This is not a cluster as we typically see. This is a star cloud... an extremely dense region... spanning about 2°x1°... roughly the size of the Andromeda Galaxy! What an awesome wide-field shot. This is a great place to simply "star-cruise" through the sky. Your eyepiece will be continually overflowing with stars. From time to time, you'll occasionally stumble over a gem.
Recovering from our divergence, we come to another nice Open Star Cluster, M25(mag4.6)
Continuing, we come to another fine Globular Star Cluster, M28(mag6.9). In fact, were this beauty not overshadowed by it's neighbor to the east (M22) it would be much better known.
Continuing, we come to another Globular Star Cluster, M54(mag7.7). Located over 70,000 light years distant, this is the most distant of Messier's Globulars. Of even greater interest is a 1994 discovery which seems to indicate that M54 is actually part of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy... a galaxy which our own Milky Way is in the process of consuming!
Continuing, we come to yet another fine Globular Star Cluster, M55(mag6.3). This is one of the most southerly located globulars on the Messier List.
Continuing, we come to...yup... another Globular Star Cluster, M69(mag7.7). This is one of 3 Messier and 1 NGC globulars which are strung across the southern portion of Sagittarius.
Continuing, we come to Globular Star Cluster, M70(mag7.8)
Continuing, we come to the final Messier Object in Sagittarius...Globular Star Cluster, M75(mag8.6). This one might give you a hard time finding it as it is far away from the bright stars of the constellation in a relatively dark portion of the sky.
Continuing, we come to Diffuse Nebula, NGC6559. This awesome shot was taken by Robert Gendler.
Let's wrap things up with this weeks Utah Skies Challenge  Object, Irregular Galaxy, NGC6822(mag9). Also known as Barnard's Galaxy this is one tough object to observe. It's mag 9 brightness sounds easy, but.. it's fairly extended 10'x14'. The accompanying image was captured over a fairly long exposure. 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 Aquila.

 

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