Report for 2002-08-02
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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: 6:24 am	Sunset: 8:43 pm
Astronomical Twilight Begins: 4:33 am	Astronomical Twilight Ends: 10:33 pm
Moonrise: 1:01 am	Moonset: 3:25 pm

Happening Events

The ongoing Astronomical Leagues 2002 Annual Convention in SLC this week has been awesome. Lots of breakthrough information was made available. Additionally, the International Dark-Sky Association's Regional Meeting was quite productive. Gordon Haight of the Salt Lake City Transportation Department was on hand to discuss the city's plans to dramatically reduce light pollution in the valley. ALL existing city owned streetlights are to be replaced over the next couple of years with fully shielded, dark sky friendly lighting fixtures. It turns out that the city expects to save millions of dollars annually in energy costs by making the switch to these energy efficient fixtures. People from around the world will be watching this project closely.

Utah Skies Star Party

Don't forget... This Saturday night 8/3, Utah Skies will be hosting a 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, much more. Awesome views are to be expected. As a special note... If you have a telescope, please bring it. If you have questions, we'll do our best to help you find some of the above mentioned objects. If you're a pro, we can always use a few extra scopes. You might actually enjoy playing the part of an astro-tour-guide.

Viewing Outlook

After a slide into cloudy conditions, weekend weather forecasts are looking pretty good at this point. Additionally, with a waning gibbous moon rising well after midnight... this should be a great weekend for viewing. 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

Solar magnetic fields became unstable and erupted on Tuesday, July 30th. At 0119 UT, this impressive prominence appeared near the Sun's southwest limb. The magnetic loop, filled with glowing-hot gas, stretches more than 50 Earth diameters from end to end. Image credit: the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.

The face of the Sun is blemished by three big active regions: sunspots 39, 44 and 50. The tight-knit trio span an area 30 Earth-diameters wide. You can see these spots easily--but never stare directly at the Sun. Use safe solar projections methods instead.  Mike Peoples of Monatgue, NJ, captured this image on July 29th using a Nikon Coolpix 950 digital camera (1/30s), a Televue 4-inch refracting telescope and a Baader Solar Filter. Wow! I was looking at the Sun the other day and it didn't appear quite this crowded. Let's hope for a CME which triggers widespread auroral activity.

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

The International Space Station will make several brief passes over the area this weekend. To find out when, visit NASA's Space Flight Website.

An Anomalous SETI Signal

No one knows for sure what caused this signal. There is a slight possibility that it just might originate from an extraterrestrial intelligence. The bright colors on the blue background indicate that an anomalous signal was received here on Earth by a radio telescope involved in a Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). A search for these signals is ongoing by several groups including volunteer members of the SETI League. Time labels the vertical axis of the above plot, and frequency marks the horizontal axis. Although this strong signal was never positively identified, astronomers have identified in it many attributes characteristic of a more mundane terrestrial orgin. In this case, a leading possibility is that the signal originates from an unusual modulation between a GPS satellite and an unidentified Earth-based source. Many unusual signals from space remain unidentified. No signal has yet been strong enough or run long enough to be unambiguously identified as originating from an extraterrestrial intelligence.

'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 estimated to be in the neighborhood of $20 million. Pretty slick maneuvering for a kid, huh???

Lunar Phase

The moon reached last quarter on Thursday. This evening we'll have a waning crescent moon with 34% illumination rising just after 1:00am. At this point, the moon is becoming a "non-issue" in our observing schedules. With skies getting dark around 10:30, this fives us a good 3 hours before the moon even rises. Add to this the fact that the moon is only about 1/3 illuminated and you've got some dark skies. Checkout the accompanying image of the moon by Al Kelly. It displays an incredible amount of detail along the lunar terminator. Al took this image using an 8" telescope from Galveston Texas... a modest sized telescope from urban/suburban skies. This is a great example of what you can see if you just take your telescope outside and point it towards the sky.

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 3:05 am Visual Magnitude 0.12 Visual Diameter 17" Distance 9:73 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 7:40 am Visual Magnitude -0.73 Visual Diameter 5" Distance 1.30 AU Constellation Leo 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 1.73 Visual Diameter 4" Distance 2.67 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 5:40 am Visual Magnitude -1.81 Visual Diameter 32" Distance 6:25 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 10:25 am Visual Magnitude -4.19 Visual Diameter 20" Distance 0.84 AU Constellation Virgo 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 4:30 pm Visual Magnitude 13.86 Visual Diameter <1" Distance 29.96 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 8:40 pm Visual Magnitude 7.84 Visual Diameter 2" Distance 29.07 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 9:30 pm Visual Magnitude 5.72 Visual Diameter 4" Distance 19.03 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.

NICMOS Finds a Golden Ring at the Heart of a Galaxy The revived Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has pierced the dusty disk of the edge-on galaxy NGC 4013 and peered all the way to the galactic core. To the surprise of astronomers, NICMOS found a brilliant band-like structure, that may be a ring of newly formed stars [yellow band in middle photo] seen edge-on.   In the visible-light view of the galaxy [top photo], the star-forming ring cannot be seen because it is embedded in dust. The most prominent feature in the visible-light image — taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) — is the thin, dark band of gas and dust, which is about 500 light-years thick.  NICMOS enables the Hubble telescope to see in near-infrared wavelengths of light, so that it can penetrate the dust that obscures the inner hub of the galaxy. The ring-like structure spied by NICMOS encircles the core and is about 720 light-years wide, which is the typical size of most star-forming rings found in disk galaxies.  The small ring is churning out stars at a torrid pace. The Milky Way Galaxy, for example, is more than 10,000 times larger than the ring. If the Milky Way produced stars at the same rate, it would be making 1,000 times more stars a year.  The human eye cannot see infrared light, so colors have been assigned to correspond with near-infrared wavelengths. The blue light represents shorter near-infrared wavelengths and the red light corresponds to longer wavelengths.  The ring-like structure is seen more clearly in the photo at bottom. This picture, taken with a filter sensitive to hydrogen, shows the glow of stars and gas. Astronomers used this information to calculate the rate of star formation in the ring-like structure.   The extremely bright star near the center of each picture is a nearby foreground star belonging to our own Milky Way.   Rings of developing stars are common in barred spiral galaxies, which have "bars" of stars and gas slicing across their disks. The bars funnel gas to the galactic cores. But gravitational disturbances near the cores cause gas to accumulate into a lane or a ring. The gas then condenses to form stars. Because NGC 4013 is seen edge-on, astronomers don't know whether a bar of gas or some other mechanism formed the ring-like structure.  NGC 4013, which looks similar to our Milky Way Galaxy, resides in the constellation Ursa Major, 55 million light-years from Earth.  The middle picture is a color composite image that was made by combining photographs taken with the J-band, H-band, and Paschen-alpha filters. The bottom picture was taken with the Paschen-alpha filter. The images were taken on May 12.  Credits for NICMOS images: NASA, the NICMOS Group (STScI, ESA), and the NICMOS Science Team (University of Arizona)   Credits for WFPC2 image: NASA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) and ESA

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 Aquila the Eagle. Aquila was the mighty Jupiter's bird... performing many brave and difficult tasks. This is one constellation which actually (kind of) looks like the object its supposed to be.

Deep Sky Report
The focus of our efforts this week will be the deep sky objects of Aquila. To find Aquila, face due south shortly after dark. Aquila is to the north/northeast of Sagittarius which we visited last weekend. Aquila contains a few nice objects in the midst of the summer Milky Way.
Let's star things off by observing Aquila's brightest star, Alpha Aquilae or Altair(mag0.77). Altair is the 12th brightest star in the sky and is located 16 light years, making it one of our nearer neighbors. Altair is a fairly typical star size-wise being about 1.5 times the size of our sun and 9 times brighter. Altair rotates quite rapidly though. It completes one rotation in only 6.5 hours. By contrast, our Sun takes 25.4 days to complete the same rotation.
Next up is Aquila's second brightest star, Beta Aquilae or Alschain(mag3.71). This is a very difficult double to separate. Alschain's companion is a whopping 12.8" away, however the red dwarf companion is rather faint -- about mag 12, making it about 1/1600 as bright as as Alschain. You'll definitely need top notch optics and clear steady skies for this one. Go ahead! Give it a shot!
Let's move out a bit and checkout  Open Star Cluster, NGC6709(mag6.75). This cluster does not have a huge number of member stars. Add this to the fact that it's superimposed against an incredibly dense background of stars and you could just about miss it. But, don't worry. In a small telescope or binoculars, this is a nice object to look at. You should notice the fact that several of the brighter member stars are double stars.
Next up is Spiral Galaxy, NGC6814(mag11.25). This object has a fairly low surface brightness, and so will be a bit tougher to observe that mag 11 would suggest. (Maybe mag11 already sounds tough :) Anyway... you'll be able to find it in most telescopes, but... you'll need dark skies and aperture to really appreciate this.
Let's quickly checkout Triple Star, NGC6859.This is an nice multiple star system. I'm not sure why they added it to the NGC list, but... it multiple star fans will enjoy it.
Let's wrap things up with this weeks Utah Skies Challenge  Object,  Planetary Nebula, NGC6781(mag11.8). This interesting little nebula is located about 2600 light years from us. Located as it is near some reasonably bright stars, you shouldn't have an extremely difficult time locating this object. As usual, dark skies and aperture will help (where have I heard this before :) Also... you might want to try swapping out some nebula filters and see which gives you the best results.   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 Cygnus.

 

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