clearing has provided some wonderful observing opportunities, and with the approaching new moon and a favorable forecast, skies couldn't be better for looking skyward into heaven's depths.
The Summer Milky Way can now be found rising in the east shortly after dark. By the middle of the night, it's running directly overhead, providing a glimpse into some of the most amazing deep sky treasures known to man. No optical equipment is required to view the stars of our Milky Way, just clear, dark skies. Its unfortunate, however, that the number of people who can still see the Milky Way from their homes has declined so markedly through the years. Light pollution from poorly designed and installed outdoor lighting has blotted out this most magnificent of views - our heritage. If your skies are less than ideal, by all means, take advantage of the darker skies found at one of our nations many state and national parks.
Finally, Utah Skies and Basin Recreation would like you to invite you out for a special evening under the stars on Saturday (6/24). We'll be setup at our regular spot... up on the basketball court at Park City's Trailside Park. The event will run from 9:00pm until around 1:00am. Come on out and view some of the wonders of the summer's night sky: The Great Cluster in Hercules, The Ring Nebula in Vega, and the rich clusters and nebulae in Scorpius and Sagittarius to name just a few. Admission to our star parties is, as always, free, so bring your telescope or just bring your imagination.
For more information on what's in the sky on a given night, preventing light pollution, or general astrononmy-related news, browse to www.utahskies.org, your ticket to the stars.
Astronomy News
From Around The World, and Beyond
The Longest Day of the Year
Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 - Due to the tilt of the earth's axis relative to its orbit around the sun, we experience seasons, and today (this morning, actually) was the Summer Solstice, the point in the earth's orbit when those of us in the northern hemisphere are smack dab in the middle of summer (of course, that means our friends south of the equator are in fleece and skiing - Winter Solstice). Interestingly, the earth is closer to the sun in December than in July, but our non-circular orbit has no appreciable effect on our seasons. This image captures the change in sunrises from the beginning of winter, though the beginning of spring, and to the beginning of summer. In the summer, the sun rises more to the north riding high in the sky, in the winter, more to the south grazing the horizon.
Jupiters Famous Red Spots
Monday, June 19th, 2006 - The planet Jupiter is currently dominating the night sky. It is the
brightest star like object and can be seen high and towards the southeast shortly after sunset. Its great red spot has been studied for centuries. Recently, a second spot has entered
the scene and is now competing for attention. Dubbed, Red Jr. this spot is much smaller than the original, but as the two appear to be on a near collision
course, it has managed to bring considerable attention to itself. Interested in viewing Jupiters great red spots? All you need is a telescope and Java Jup to tell you when they will be visible. Checkout Science@NASA for more on these converging storms.
Discovery Ready For July 1 Launch
Sunday, June 18th, 2006 - The space shuttle, Discovery is scheduled for a July 1st launch. This will be the first launch in nearly a year and only the second since the Columbia disaster. Astronauts are looking forward to a 13 day mission that will include the delivery of supplies to The International Space Station as well as the testing of emergency repair procedures. Checkout CNN.com/SPACE for more details.
6th Annual Bryce Canyon Star Party
Friday, June 16th, 2006 - Skywatchers are in for a treat next week at the 6th annual Bryce Canyon Star Party. Running 4 nights, from 6/21 through 6/24, the event features some of the darkest and clearest skies on the continent. Come on out to one of amateur astronomys premiere venues, with incredible red rock scenery by day and spectacular star filled skies by night. Find out more.
Mars Meets The Beehive
Thursday, June 15th, 2006 - The planets Mars and Saturn can be seen here straddling the stars of The Beehive Cluster (M44), in this sweet shot by Tunç Tezel of Bolu, Turkey. Mars actually continued right on through the cluster. Look for the distance between Mars and Saturn to continue to shrink. They'll be in a tight conjunction on Saturday night (6/17). Checkout Science@NASA for more details.
Conjunction Junction
Wednesday, June 14th, 2006 - Checkout this sweet shot taken by Paco Bellido of Spain, it shows the planets Saturn and Mars entering conjunction. The pair will pull even closer tonight. How close? Close enough that you could cover both planets with one finger. That's less than 1* of separation. While you're out, if you have a clear view to the western horizon, you should be able to spy tiny Mercury as well. As an interesting side note, the planet Mars will actually cruise among the stars of Utah's namesake object, M44 - The Beehive Cluster. Check out Science@NASA for more details.
Meteor Strikes Moon
Tuesday, June 13th, 2006 - Check the date. This is not an April Fools joke. On May 2nd, a meteor struck the surface of the moon's Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds). As if this wasn't exciting enough.. it did so under the watchful eye of NASA. They were video taping the surface of the moon through a 10" telescope when this happened. Click here to view the video. Checkout Science@NASA for more details.
Strawberry Moon Tonight
Sunday, June 11th, 2006 - Skywatchers will find themselves under a Strawberry Moon tonight. That's the name given to the June Full Moon. Look for the moon to rise in the southeast just as the sun is setting in the west. If you catch it low to the horizon, it may seem larger than normal... this is referred to as the moon illusion.
The sun is a fascinating subject; it's appearance changes from day to day. In fact, it is the only star in the sky that we can see any details on at all! This week, however, the sun is quiet; there are no large sunspots visible.
Mercury remains visible in the western sky, low on the horizon after sunset. Having reached its greatest eastern elongation on the 20th of June, it is falling back into the sun's glare and it's inferior conjunction on July 18th.
Because of its proximity to the Sun, Mercury is never really viewed against a dark background. Rather, it always struggles to be seen over the light of the setting or rising Sun. Patience (and clear skies) will reward you with some beautiful evening views of this planet.
In the accompanying image, Mercury is seen following the sun toward the western horizon of southern Utah with a slender crescent moon close behind.
Still in the morning sky near sunrise, Venus marks a beginning of the "early-bird's" day. Having attained its greatest western elongation earlier in the year, Venus is continuing its inexorable journey appearing to fall into the sun towards its superior conjunction at the end of October.
If you have a telescope handy, take a peek at the love goddess' name sake; the crescent of Venus is lovely indeed. Venus was beautiful along side the Pleiades on the June 23rd , and look forward to the first of July when Venus rises with Aldebaran, the 14th of July when Venus and the Crab Nebula dance together, and the 26th and 27th of August when Venus and Saturn rise together less than a degree apart!
The ESA's Venus Express spacecraft is now in its mission phase. The ESA reports "On 3 June at 13:42 UT, after 207 days of flight, 43 orbits around Venus and many test activities, Venus Express has formally completed its commissioning phase and has entered the routine science phase...The nominal mission is scheduled to last till the end of October 2007." Venus Express will study the planet in great detail, in particular the Venusian atmosphere and clouds.
While we train our optics skyward nightly, there are visual treasures and marvels to behold earthward. Pictured here is a collection of richly colored rock in the Uinta Mountains, a massive range in Northern Utah carved by glaciers from an immense uplift of Precambrian rock. Some of this rock is exposed as colorful quartzite and shales. The main crest of the Uinta Mountains runs west to east for more than 60 miles, rising over 6,000 feet above the Wyoming and Uinta Basins to the north and south. The highest point in Utah is Kings Peak at 13,528 feet.
The Moon will be new on the 25th, and begin waxing crescent until first quarter on July 3rd, when it will wax gibbous approaching full on July 11th. Those observers that consider the moon "light pollution" look forward to this time of the synodic cycle as the moon travels with the sun, keeping the night sky dark, favoring views of distant, elusive, and faint fuzzies - galaxies, nebulae, and clusters.
Remember, as the moon waxes and wanes, you can look forward to those phases where Moon observations are most fascinating. Features appear - mountains, craters, rilles - as the sunlight casts long, defining shadows. Look along the portion of the Moon separating light from dark, known as the terminator, for the greatest contrasts.
The Red Planet is found high in the western sky at sunset as it moves to it's superior conjunction opposite the Sun later in the year. Look at this sweet shot taken by Utah Skies member Brian Jolley last year when Mars was at its closest. He took this through the historic Clark refractor at Lowell Observatory.
Even without a telescope the view of and around Mars is interesting. Having moved through the constellation Gemini, Mars is approaching a conjunction with Saturn around June 17th. On its way, it will pass through M44!
Planet Jupiter | Solar System | The Utah Skies Report
Jupiter is currently rising late in the afternoon, placing it favorably for those wanting views of the Sun's largest planet before heading off to bed.
This image is an example of what Jupiter has to offer viewers: interesting detail in the equatorial bands and, if conditions are right, swirls and festoons. Much beautiful structure can be seen through a typical telescope, but results vary depending on telescope aperture and sky conditions. Too, the Great Red Spot has some company: another storm has grow in proportion near the GRS, and has come to be known as Spot Jr!
If you have binoculars, point these towards Jupiter. While you won't be able to see any details on the planets surface, binoculars will clearly show you several of Jupiter's brightest moons, and regular observations will show them jockey for position as they orbit the giant planet. The movement is quite apparent, sometimes even in the span of a few hours.
This sweet shot of Jupiter nicely shows its great red spot and some of the incredible details just waiting your observation. Additionally, you can see one of Jupiter's moons eclipsing the giant planet. The round "ink spot" on the planet's surface is the shadow cast by its moon. Watching Jupiter's moons as they orbit and occasionally transit the giant planet is a very interesting part of observing Jupiter.
Saturn is now rising mid-morning and reaching the highest point in its path across the sky in the late afternoon; the spectacular views of the ringed planet will soon come to an end as it moves behind the sun with the passing weeks. Some truely great views of the ringed planet and its satellites are available on the Cassini Huygens pages. This sweet shot was taken by Don Brown of Utah Skies.
Uranus is currently rising in the early morning, about an hour after Neptune.. The Earth and Uranus have ostensibly achieved their greatest separation, and will soon begin to draw nearer again.
This fascinating image was taken from a ground-based telescope in the European Southern Observatory.
Planet Neptune | Solar System | The Utah Skies Report
The planet Neptune, is currently rising several hours before the sun, leaving you precious little time to view the 8th rock. To speed up your acquisition of the planet, look just east of south before first light. Find Deneb Ageldi; Neptune is just about 4.5° west and north of "the water goat's tail". At just a touch brighter than mag 8, Neptune should be visible as a faint star-like object in binoculars or as a bluish object in a telescope. Once you've found it, higher powers will clearly reveal the disk of the planet .
This beautiful image of Neptune and its moon, Triton, was taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft from a perspective that will never be had from Earth. Interesting to note is the gray hue of the planet in this image. The atmosphere of the planet preferentially scatters the light forward from this vantage and so removes the bluish tinge, and reddens the color.
Planet Pluto | Solar System | The Utah Skies Report
Pluto is rising before midnight, giving you the time you'll need to seek this faintest of planets. To know you've seen Pluto is going to require observations over several nights, carefully noting star patterns until you see one point of light move relative to the others: that's Pluto!!! But don't try this at home kids, unless you have some serious aperture, because at mag 15+, you're gonna need it!
This image of Pluto and its moon Charon was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing the improved performance of a space-based observational platform over ground-based telescopes.
Deep Sky
NASA News
Clues to Black Hole Growth Beginning to Add Up
Up to one quarter of the light brightening the universe comes from the massive crush of matter succumbing to the extreme gravity of black holes. Scientists have long understood that amount of light means black holes have the colossal appetite to ingest whole stars and huge amounts of gas. But a critical question has always remained: how they can continue to devour so much?
Image to right: Black holes grow by drawing gas from nearby objects such as stars into an accretion disk. Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss + View Larger Image
For the first time, a team of scientists with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory led by Jon Miller has uncovered the answer. It's based on the notion that what comes in, must go out.
The In and Out of It
Black holes swell by attracting matter from stars and other nearby objects in a snowballing process called "accretion." The sticky wicket is that generally everything in space is to some degree spinning away from the black hole. The hole's gravity may be strong enough to start peeling off, say, gas from a close star, but the gas still has a slight tendency to travel in the same rotating spin and orbit as the star. The result is that the gas begins to head indirectly toward the black hole; it's always curving just a bit. This penchant to spin is a property called "angular momentum" and means that the black hole is always receiving a healthy supply of it. The curving causes the hot gas to swirl around the hole, forming a glowing, momentum-rich accretion disk.
For the gas to continue spinning into the black hole, the disk needs to shed existing angular momentum to make room for the incoming momentum. Think of it as a sort of cosmic waterwheel driving matter into a hole. This means that the black hole must receive and shed angular momentum in equal amounts just like a waterwheel fills and empties with water to keep turning.
Friction from bumping and rubbing molecules together is one way the gas dissipates angular momentum. But some astrophysicists wonder if friction is really working alone. Figuring out the answer is the challenge that caught the interest of Miller and fellow astrophysicists John Raymond and Danny Steeghs.
"By understanding what makes material fall onto a black hole, we may also learn how it falls onto other important objects," said Steeghs.
The team suspected that friction has a thieving accomplice: magnetic field winds.
The theory is that coiled magnetic fields corkscrew into the spinning accretion disk and whip up a wind blowing at 300 miles per second. The wind provides angular momentum out-flowing into space. The Chandra team thinks momentum lost to both friction and wind balances out the incoming angular momentum, sending gas into the black hole and lighting up the night.
Model Behavior To prove their theory, the scientists used Chandra to compare the characteristics of a peculiar wind coming from a Milky Way black hole with computer models of the hypothetical magnetic field wind. When Miller began receiving the array of data back from Chandra, he and Raymond were excited by the caliber of what they saw.
Image to left: Coiled magnetic fields churn into an accretion disk and produce strong winds. Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss + View Larger Image
"The quality of the data was a big surprise," said Miller. "I met with John Raymond and we looked at a large, printed version of the spectrum in a hallway. We spent the afternoon identifying features and soon realized that we had something very special on our hands."
The information streaming back from Chandra showed that wind from the black hole behaves exactly as the computer models predicted.
This powerful discovery not only proved the scientists right, but also disproved two competing theories and validated three decades of previous scientific speculation in the process.
"In 1973, theorists came up with the idea that magnetic fields could drive the generation of light by black holes," said Raymond. "Now, over 30 years later, we finally may have proof."
For Miller and his cohorts, proving the magnetic field winds exist is an inspiring early step in understanding how black holes grow. "It is certainly not the endpoint," finalized Miller. "There is much work left to do."
The Hubble Space Telescope has distinguished itself as a premier source of astronomical images and science. 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 this incredible information.Hubble Heritage Team.
Pluto's Two Small Moons Officially Named Nix and Hydra
A pair of small moons that NASA's Hubble Space Telescope discovered orbiting Pluto now have official names: Nix and Hydra. Photographed by Hubble in 2005, Nix and Hydra are roughly 5,000 times fainter than Pluto and are about two to three times farther from Pluto than its large moon, Charon, which was discovered in 1978.
The names were approved this week by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies.
In Greek mythology, Nyx is the goddess of the night. Among her many offspring was Charon, the boatman who ferried the dead across the river Styx into the Underworld. (Because asteroid 3908 already bears the Greek name Nyx, the IAU changed Nyx to its Egyptian equivalent, Nix.) The mythological Hydra was a nine-headed serpent with poisonous blood. The Hydra had its den at the entrance to Hades, where Pluto and his wife Persephone entered the Underworld.
The team of researchers who selected the names, out of a list of more than two- dozen candidate names, used Hubble images to make the discovery in support of NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt beyond. Team members are based at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colo., the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore and Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.
"You're going to be hearing a lot more about Nix and Hydra in coming years, says co-leader of the discovery team, Alan Stern of SwRI. "Astronomers are already applying for telescope time to study their orbits and physical properties. And when New Horizons flies by Pluto in the summer of 2015, each moon will be mapped in detail."
In making the selection, team members explained that Nix and Hydra honor the search for new satellites and the New Horizons mission to Pluto by starting with the letters "N" and "H." The first letter of Hydra also honors the Hubble Space Telescope that was used to detect the satellites. This has historical tradition. Pluto's name begins with the letters "P" and "L" to honor Boston astronomer Percival Lowell, who inaugurated the search that led to Pluto's discovery. (Lowell did not live to see Pluto's discovery, which was made by Clyde Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in 1930.)
Release Date: 8:00PM (EDT) June 22, 2006 Release Number: STScI-2006-29
This weekend we move on to the constellation Hercules The Strongman.
Hercules was half man and half god. His father was the great god, Jupiter. His mother was the beautiful mortal Alcmene. In an act that would make Oedipus and Freud proud, Jupiter disguised himself as his father and slept with his mother! Hercules strength arrived early and even as a child many were amazed at his abilities.
The focus of our efforts here will be the deep sky objects of Hercules
This constellation sits between Corona Borealis to the west and Lyra to the east. Find Hercules from the familiar, distinctive "U" shape of Corona Borealis. From there, it's just a couple of degrees to the east. Once there, the constellation of Hercules is made up of many reasonably bright stars.
Hercules contains a few nice double and variable stars. First up is Alpha Herculis or Rasalgethi(mag2.78). This beautiful Red Giant Star has an greenish, magnitude 5.4 companion separated by 4.6". This is a beautiful object to go after. These should be a relatively easy split with good optics under steady skies. Next up is an optical double, Delta Herculis(mag3.14) composed of greenish and violet pair with a 22.3" separation. Finally, for a challenge, you might want to checkout Zeta Herculis(mag2.81). The separation of this pair varies from a mere 0.4" to about 1.6". This'll definitely push your scope and your skies to their limits.
Observing double stars can add a fun and easy component to typical observing sessions. For more information on observing double stars, checkout the Astronomical League's Double Star Observing List.
Ok, let's start things off with the granddaddy of all northern globular star clusters, the Great Cluster in Hercules , M13(mag5.8). This object is, without a doubt, one of the finest deep sky objects you'll ever come across. It is extremely accessible in amateur telescopes as it's easily found due to the closeness of a couple of bright stars, and also because it's around naked eye visibility. In larger apertures, this object will just about bring a tear to your eye - it is a stunning collection of jewels.
Utah Skies own Anthony Arrigo took the accompanying image in August of 2003 from Park City, Utah. The shot was a 10 minute unguided exposure at prime focus through a 10" f/4.5 reflector mounted on a Losmandy G-11
As you can see from the accompanying image, this M13 is dense with stars. Estimates on the number of member stars typically range from many hundreds of thousands to several million, and the latest research gives a distance to the glob' of about 23,000 light years. Assuming this distance, the cluster spans over 160 light years in diameter.
Charles Messier "discovered" this object in 1764 and described it as a "nebula containing no stars". His comment illustrates just how amazing his accomplishments were (an the darkness of his skies), being able to find all the objects that he did with a modest telescope of the 18th-century quality.
The accompanying image was taken by the 3.6 meter Canada France Hawaii Telescope located on the top of Hawaii's Mauna Kea.
Next we'll hit "The Other Messier Globular Cluster in Hercules", Globular Star Cluster M92(mag6.5) Were this beauty anywhere else in the sky it would be "the greatest glob in the northern hemisphere". Alas it sits in the shadows of its larger and brighter neighbor to the south. Regardless, this is another treasure easily accessible to amateurs.
Continuing along we come to another Globular Star Cluster, NGC6229(mag9.4), much smaller than M13 and M92. Nonetheless, it's an interesting object deserving at least a quick view.
Next up is Planetary Nebula NGC6210(mag9). Also known as the Turtle Nebula, this tiny object will require dark skies, aperture and magnification. Don't expect your views to match this stunning Hubble Space Telescope image.
Let's wrap things up with this weeks Utah Skies Challenge Object, Spiral Galaxy NGC6207(mag11.6). This object is pretty much a gimme. If you found M13 earlier, you probably glimpsed this in the process. This faint galaxy is about 1/3° northwest of M13.
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.
All light emitting from a fixture should be directed downward.
Floodlighting and spotlighting should be accurately aimed away from roadways and adjacent property.
Lighting should be shielded so that glare is not visible from adjacent property or from the street or highway.
MODERATION OF INTENSITY
Lower lighting levels provide better vision and require less re-adaptation of the eyes.
Excessively bright light spills onto other property and can cause glare even when shielded.
Maximum brightness levels should be established and not exceeded.
ENCOURAGE ALTERNATIVES TO GLARING, EXCESSIVE LIGHTING
Motion detector-activated lighting uses less energy and provides better security than constant light.
Encourage low level lighting which works better with closed circuit television.
Encourage alarms and other security measurers -- more successful than constant lighting.
LIGHT TRESPASS
Light should not spill onto other's property unless they want it too.
Fixture design, placement, moderation of intensity, and aim can help provide needed control from light trespass.
SIGNS INCLUDING BILLBOARDS
Signs should only be lighted internally or from lights mounted on top pointed downward.
Billboards should not remained lighted overnight.
n-premise signs should not stay lighted late or overnight after a business closes.
Dark colored signs with light letters reflect less light than dark letters on light signs.
Lights that flash, pulse, rotate, move, or simulate motion can annoy and distract.
ALL-NIGHT LIGHTING
Only lighting intended for security should be on all night if the business is closed.
ROADWAY GLARE
No light should be installed such that it produces excessive glare or excessive brightness that interferes with the vision of drivers and pedestrians.
A FEW EXCEPTIONS
Sports lighting should be allowed more brightness for the playing field, but directed downward and not allowed to spill into other property.
Christmas lighting, porch lighting, and landscape lighting are usually low intensity lighting not a problem unless it creates dangerous glare or nuisance.
courtesy ICOLE - Indiana Council on Outdoor Lighting Education
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Night Lights
Newsfeed
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Moon
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
The sun is a fascinating subject; it's appearance changes from day to day. In fact, it is the only star in the sky that we can see any details on at all! This week, however, the sun is quiet; there are no large sunspots visible.
Up to one quarter of the light brightening the universe comes from the massive crush of matter succumbing to the extreme gravity of black holes. Scientists have long understood that amount of light means black holes have the colossal appetite to ingest whole stars and huge amounts of gas. But a critical question has always remained: how they can continue to devour so much?
To prove their theory, the scientists used Chandra to compare the characteristics of a peculiar wind coming from a Milky Way black hole with computer models of the hypothetical magnetic field wind. When Miller began receiving the array of data back from Chandra, he and Raymond were excited by the caliber of what they saw.
A pair of small moons that NASA's Hubble Space Telescope discovered orbiting Pluto now have official names: Nix and Hydra. Photographed by Hubble in 2005, Nix and Hydra are roughly 5,000 times fainter than Pluto and are about two to three times farther from Pluto than its large moon, Charon, which was discovered in 1978.
Hercules contains a few nice double and 
Ok, let's start things off with the granddaddy of all northern globular star clusters, the Great Cluster in Hercules , M13(mag5.8). This object is, without a doubt, one of the finest deep sky objects you'll ever come across. It is extremely accessible in amateur telescopes as it's easily found due to the closeness of a couple of bright stars, and also because it's around naked eye visibility. In larger apertures, this object will just about bring a tear to your eye - it is a stunning collection of jewels.
Next we'll hit "The Other Messier Globular Cluster in Hercules", Globular Star Cluster M92(mag6.5) Were this beauty anywhere else in the sky it would be "the greatest glob in the northern hemisphere". Alas it sits in the shadows of its larger and brighter neighbor to the south. Regardless, this is another treasure easily accessible to amateurs.
Continuing along we come to another Globular Star Cluster, NGC6229(mag9.4), much smaller than M13 and M92. Nonetheless, it's an interesting object deserving at least a quick view.
Next up is Planetary Nebula NGC6210(mag9). Also known as the Turtle Nebula, this tiny object will require dark skies, aperture and magnification. Don't expect your views to match this stunning Hubble Space Telescope image.
Let's wrap things up with this weeks Utah Skies Challenge Object, Spiral Galaxy NGC6207(mag11.6). This object is pretty much a gimme. If you found M13 earlier, you probably glimpsed this in the process. This faint galaxy is about 1/3° northwest of M13.
