EYEPIECE Journal of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York

November 2011

Volume 59 Number 11 ISSN 0146-7662

Addressing a large audience at the Kaufmann Auditorium at the AMNH, Dr. Freeman J. Dyson re-

vealed that there are new places to search for life forms

in the universe. The renowned physicist delivered the

first 2011-12 AAA lecture of the season on Friday, Octo-ber 21. His focus was to discuss where we should be

looking for life beyond the current search for rocky plan-

ets in the goldilocks zone.

Dyson stated that the first rule of astronomy should be to search for what is detectable, not what is

probable. Thus, we would be relying on our investiga-

tive tools, which we understand much better than we un-derstand nature itself. Since nature ―loves surprises,‖ we

should be looking for life not where we expect it, but

where we can detect it. One of the recurring themes

throughout the evening was Dyson’s disinterest in defini-tions and his battle against science based on preconcep-

tions. Answering a question on what is ―life,‖ Dyson

said he didn’t like definitions because ―they are for law-yers.‖ Since we have no idea what life beyond Earth

would look like, our search for life shouldn’t be based on

finding life that is highly similar to life on Earth. Dyson

was clear in stating that elsewhere, life might not require anything close to the warmth of Earth’s temperature, or

oxygen, carbon, carbon dioxide or even an atmosphere.

In response to an audience member’s question, he said there was no way to rule out the possibility that some-

where, life forms could already be running on their own

internal nuclear energy.

Instead of searching for life on planets in the goldilocks zone, Dr. Dyson believes that our search for

life should focus on icy solar or interstellar objects, in-

cluding, in particular, Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Dyson

speculated that on Europa or a similar icy body, kelp-like life might form in oceans under surface ice and then

emerge from cracks in the ice, evolve parabolic mirrors

or lenses to focus sunlight and heat up the reproductive organs of ―warm blooded plants‖. Such plants might

look like sunflowers. If such life forms could evolve to

DR. FREEMAN J. DYSON OPENS AAA LECTURE SERIES

By Leo Genn

live in low temperatures, in near-vacuum conditions, they could spread to places like the Asteroid Belt and

from there spread throughout the universe. Indeed, he

said that by such means, the entire universe might al-

ready be ―crawling‖ with life forms. Dyson speculated that such life forms would be easy to find because they

might grow massive and reflect a significant amount of

light that we could see with Earth and space telescopes.

Dyson said that the radio telescope array at SETI was a great way to look for life because, following

Moore’s Law, continuing exponential improvements in

computer processing speed and memory make radio as-tronomy more powerful over time. Dyson said that opti-

cal SETI searching for laser emissions, now being per-

formed jointly by Princeton and Harvard, might prove

even more effective than radio astronomy in finding in-telligent life. Advanced civilizations could already be

transmitting nanosecond broadband optical pulses that

would contain far more data than radio waves.

Dyson praised the important scientific results we are getting from the Cassini and Kepler missions, the

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and Japanese

and Canadian neutrino detectors. He argued that the im-

portant results of these projects didn’t get worldwide attention proportional to their scientific merit. Instead,

media attention generally flowed to bigger budget pro-

jects performed by richer countries. Dyson explained that infrared telescopes had once seemed like they could

be great for finding civilizations throwing off heat. It

turned out that so many planets give out heat for geologi-cal and other reasons that infrared telescopes were inef-

fective in the hunt for life, but that otherwise, they re-

main valuable astronomic tools.

The next AAA lecture will be held Friday, No-

vember 4 at 6:15 p.m. in the Kaufmann Auditorium of the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Fred

Chromey, professor of astronomy at Vassar College will

present ―The Mystery of Beta Lyrae: Astronomical Spec-

troscopy for Amateurs." ■

2

November’s Evening Planets: It’s getting busy in the

evening sky. Jupiter has just passed opposition and is up virtu-

ally all night. Check out its moons and belts. Brilliant Venus is

now visible in the southwest. In the first half of the month, use

it to find Mercury. The bright star Antares in Scorpius makes it

a threesome on Nov 9 and Nov 10.

November’s Evening Stars: The Summer Triangle of

Vega, Deneb and Altair is now low in the west. The winged

horse Pegasus now dominates the south. In the east the mag-

nificent winter stars make their entry – Perseus, Auriga, Tau-

rus, Gemini, Orion and Canis Major and Minor.

November’s Morning Planets: Mars rises about 1:15

a.m. (Daylight Time) on Nov 1 and 11:30 p.m. (Standard

Time) at month’s end. It passes within 1⅓° of Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, on Nov 11. Meanwhile, Saturn rises at 6 a.m.

(EDT) on Nov 1 and 5 a.m. (EST) on Nov 30. It slowly closes

within 4° of Spica, Virgo’s bright star.

November’s Morning Stars: The Summer Triangle is

now low in the west, and center stage is taken by the winter

stars. Before sunrise let Mars point you to the star Regulus in

Leo, and Saturn to Spica in Virgo. Around Nov 17 look for the

Leonid meteor shower.

November Day-by-Day

(times are EDT until Nov 6, then EST)

November 2 – Mercury and Venus are only 2° apart and re-

main close for the first two weeks of November

November 2 – First Quarter Moon at 12:38 p.m.

November 6 – At 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time ends

November 9 – Jupiter is below the Moon and Venus is near

Antares this evening

November 9 – Neptune is stationary, resuming direct motion

with respect to the stars

November 9 – Mars is near the star Regulus in Leo November 10 – As the sky darkens this evening, Antares joins

Mercury. Venus is nearby

November 10 – Full Moon at 3:16 p.m.

November 14 – Mercury is at greatest elongation (23°) from

the Sun

November 17 – The Leonid meteor shower peaks tonight

November 18 – Last Quarter Moon at 10:09 a.m.

November 19 – Mars is well north of the Moon tonight.

November 22 – Saturn is well north of the Moon tonight

November 25 – New Moon at 1:10 a.m.

November 25 – Partial solar eclipse occurs in New Zealand, South Africa, Tasmania and Antarctica

November 26 – Mercury is just south of the Moon at dusk

November 27 – Venus is below the Moon

For more information, go to: www.aaa.org/month1111

AAA LECTURE SERIES TO PRESENT ASTRONOMICAL SPECTROSCOPY

By Dan Harrison

Dr. Frederick R. Chromey Jr., Matthew Vassar Jr. profes-

sor of astronomy and director of the observatory at Vassar

College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., will address the AAA Friday,

November 4 on ―The Mystery of Beta Lyrae: Astronomical

Spectroscopy for Amateurs.‖ The free public lecture begins at

6:15 p.m. in the Kaufmann Theater of the American Museum

of Natural History.

Chromey will discuss two ideas. ―First, I want to promote

the idea of amateur astronomers making practical spectro-

scopic observations. Second, I want to describe the very spe-

cial object Beta Lyrae, and some spectroscopic observations of

it that my students and I are making.

This bright, relatively nearby double star is one of the

rare cases in which the effects of stellar evolution can be seen

on the timescale of a human life. It also presents an opportu-

nity to closely examine the behavior of an accretion disk. Un-

derstanding Beta Lyrae can improve our understanding of ac-

cretion-disk behavior in other astrophysical processes, such as the formation of planets and the generation of energy in qua-

sars and in active galactic nuclei.

Chromey, who holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard

University, was assistant professor of physics at Brooklyn Col-lege before joining Vassar in 1981. He became director of the

observatory in 1990, and oversaw construction of the Class of

1951 observatory building, which began operations in 1998.

Although Chromey teaches all parts of the astronomy curriculum, he particularly enjoys teaching non-scientists, as

well as teaching observational techniques, planetary physics

and observational cosmology.

Chromey worked briefly at the Goddard Space Flight

Center, and has held visiting positions at Kitt Peak National

Observatory and a number of other astronomy centers. His

current research concerns the behavior and spectroscopic

monitoring of bright stars. In 2010, he published ―To Measure

the Sky,‖ an undergraduate text in observational astronomy. ■

Future AAA 2011-12 Lecture Series Dates

December 2: Michael Shara, American Museum of Natural

History, ―How Novae and Supernovae are Connected‖

January 6: Robert Nemiroff, Michigan Technological Univer-

sity and NASA, ―Best Short Astronomy Videos‖

February 10: Glennys Farrar, NYU, ―Getting Photos of Su-

permassive Black Holes Tearing Stars Apart‖

March 2: Charles Keeton, Rutgers, ―A Ray of Light in a Sea

of Dark (Matter)‖

April 6: Debra Fischer, Yale,―Searching for Earthlike Worlds‖

May 4: Alex Wolszczan, Penn State, ―The Astronomical Fu-

ture of Man.‖

For more information, go to: www.aaa.org/lectures1112

WHAT’S UP IN THE SKY AAA Observer’s Guide for November 2011

By Richard Rosenberg

EYEPIECE November 2011

3

Hello Members:

Although it's getting cold, there's a whole lot of astronomy going on.

The club's class in astronomy begins on November 2 and continues until December 14 (there is no meeting on November 23). Each class runs from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The location is 505 Eighth Avenue (corner of 35th Street), on

the 20th Floor. Laird Whitehill will teach the course, which will cover "Evolution of the Solar System". The fee is $45

for members and $80 for non-members (who become club members). More information about the course is at http://

www.aaa.org/currentclasses.

The first monthly presentation in our AAA Lecture Series at the Museum of Natural History was just given on October 21. If you missed it, our next lecture is set for November 4. Astrophysics professor Fred Chromey of Vassar

College will speak on "The Mystery of Beta Lyrae: Astronomical Spectroscopy for Amateurs". Please visit our web-

site for all lecture information.

Our seminar resumes at New York University, where AAA members and students in NYU's astronomy club in-teract. On November 10, Louis Pataki of NYU will speak. Professor Pataki's areas of interest include planetary astro-

physics and the history and teaching of astronomy. The time and location is not definite at this time -- if you're inter-

ested, check the Seminar page of our website, which will be updated shortly, or give me a call.

We have observing sessions throughout the year. In fact, we have a few new ones - Gateway Park in Far Rock-

away on Nov 5 (rain date Nov 6), Fort Greene Park on Nov 12 and the Avenue U Salt Marsh on Dec 3(very dark!). Our veteran locations include Solar Observing in Central Park (Nov 19), Great Kills (Nov 19), Floyd Bennett Field

(Nov 4) and Inwood Hill Park (Nov 11 and 18).

We hope to see many of you at a AAA event soon.

Sincerely,

Rich Rosenberg, AAA President, president@aaa.org (718) 522-5014

A Message from AAA President Richard Rosenberg

AMATEURS DISCOVER ASTEROID

By Dan Harrison

A team of amateur astronomers has discovered a previ-

ously unknown asteroid in orbit that brings it near the Earth,

highlighting the contribution amateurs can make to planetary

defense.

The sky watchers spotted the asteroid, 2011 SF108, in

September using a telescope in the Canary Islands. While 2011

SF108's orbit appears to bring it no closer to Earth than about

18 million miles, it still qualifies as a near-Earth object, the

class of space rocks that could pose a danger.

The team took advantage of an observation slot spon-

sored by the ESA’s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) pro-

gram to make the find. Asteroid 2011 SF108 was discovered by the Teide Observatory Tenerife Asteroid Survey (TOTAS)

team, a group of 20 sky watching volunteers. They used the 1-

meter telescope at the ESA’s Optical Ground Station on Tene-

rife in the Canary Islands.

After examining telescope images from three separate

nights, the TOTAS team was able to determine 2011 SF108’s

orbit well enough to declare it a near-Earth object. Specifics on

the asteroid’s estimated size were not detailed in the ESA an-

nouncement. The telescope observed for four nights, running

automated asteroid surveys using software developed by ama-

teur astronomer and computer scientist Matthias Busch from

an amateur observatory in Germany. Busch’s software flags

potential space rocks, but the finds must be confirmed by hu-

man eyes.

Since starting their SSA-sponsored survey work in Janu-

ary 2010, the TOTAS amateur astronomers have identified

nearly 400 candidate asteroids, 20 of which have been con-

firmed and named. ■

EYEPIECE November 2011

CALL FOR EYEPIECE WRITERS

Those members who enjoy reading Eyepiece may want

to learn more about astronomy by participating as a writer.

For the past two years and now as current editor, I am

constantly exploring leading-edge astronomical events

through research for my articles and attending lectures and

presentations as an Eyepiece representative. I encourage any-

one focused on learning more about science and astronomy to

join us and write about your passion for astronomy.

Please contact me directly to discuss working together.

Evan B. Schneider

Editor, Eyepiece

Email: editor@aaa.org Tel: 212-986-4225

4

at deep sky objects beyond the solar system that were visible

from our city location. These included the M13 globular star

cluster which was a blotch of numerous pinpoints of light,

some showing a distinct reddish color through a 12 inch scope

at 60X power, the M31 Galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

(only the central fuzzy nucleus of the galaxy was visible given

its 2.2 million light year distance) and also its companion M32

Galaxy, a dwarf elliptical galaxy 2.65 million light years away.

The double open star cluster in Perseus (two patches of spar-

kling stardust and some brighter stars like diamonds in the

sky) was also a successful night observing target. The bright

colorful double star Alberio in Cygnus the Swan displaced its

stunning contrasting bright star of topaz yellow and sapphire

blue in one of the larger scopes. Long lines of observers cued

up at each scope waiting in the dark for their turn to view the

images.

All good things must come to an end, though. Our hosts,

the Central Park rangers, gave everyone a half hour closing

notice at 9 p.m. Over the last half hour scopes were disassem-

bled and packed. Visitors and members alike headed for home,

knowing that the universe is an amazing place and that AAA

had brought it all down to Earth and into an eyepiece for their

viewing pleasure. ■

EYEPIECE November 2011

NEXT IN SCOPE: VENUS REAPPEARS

After an absence of just over a year, the "evening star" is

about to reappear. Venus passed behind the sun, as seen from

Earth, back on August 18 in what's known as superior con-

junction. Since then, it has been invisible, mired deep in the

brilliant glare of the sun.

With each passing day it has been moving on a slow

course toward the east and pulling slowly away from the sun's

general vicinity. Finally, during the week of October 24, the

planet emerged as an evening "star" very low in the western

twilight. Continuing to swing east of the sun during Novem-

ber, Venus will soon become plainly visible in the west-

southwest evening sky, even to the most casual of observers.

Appearing as a brilliant white star-like object of magni-

tude –3.9, our sister planet will set at least an hour after the

sun by Nov. 3. It slowly rises higher each evening to adorn the

western evening sky all during the upcoming winter and early

spring.

By New Year's Day, it will set as late as 2 1/2 hours after

the sun. It is brightest in mid-spring as it heads back down

toward the sun, reaching its greatest brilliancy for this appari-

tion on April 30, 2012 at magnitude –4.5.

AAA URBAN STARFEST BRINGS THE COSMOS TO CENTRAL PARK By Joe Fedrick and Evan Schneider

The afternoon of Saturday, October 22 was mostly

cloudy and not promising for night time observing, but by eve-

ning the clouds had disappeared and the sky was crystal clear.

As twilight descended upon the city, bright stars Vega, Deneb

and Altair began to appear overhead signaling the official be-

ginning of this year’s AAA Urban Starfest in Central Park’s

Sheep Meadow.

Greeted at the front gate by board members Dan Harrison

and Jocelyn Wilkes, each guest received a copy of the wonder-

fully informative and updated AAA brochure with the hope

that new members will join our growing club. Thus began each

visitor’s journey into the evening’s event.

The 10 AAA scopes set up on the grass ranged from a

6mm f/15 refractor through a 9mm Makarov to 10 and 12 inch

reflectors. Around 7 p.m. massive Jupiter, 500 million miles

from Earth, rose above the northeast horizon and into the eye-

pieces of our scopes. The planet displayed two parallel

brownish equatorial belts and parallel faint gray belts on its

otherwise pale ivory white oblate disk. The Galilean moons

were all present for viewing as well. Three moons, Callisto,

the third largest moon in our solar system, Io with its 400 ac-

tive volcanoes and Europa with its icy surface, were visible in

a triangular pattern on one side of the planet. On the opposite

side of Jupiter was Ganymede, the largest moon in our solar

system (and larger than even Mercury) comprised of silicate

rock and water ice. Refractors initially showed the three

moons at the three o’clock position and the one moon at the

eleven o’clock position, as images are reversed in these

scopes. The moons gradually pivoted around Jupiter in a

clockwise rotation and past each other as the evening pro-

gressed. AAA members and visitors to the event were amazed

at the clarity of the images. Our members used the opportunity

to talk about the sky and about the many exciting and informa-

tive events available through membership.

As the evening sky progressed, visitors of every age

came to Sheep Meadow. Over one hundred people in all

viewed the sky, moving about in the dark from scope to scope,

sometimes taking pictures of each other and talking with mem-

bers about the experience. Families with young children

brought stepladders for the smaller ones to view the sky. Some

even brought their own scopes and asked AAA members for

guidance. Several older participants walked up to scopes, some

for the first time in their lives, and marveled at seeing the sky

in real time instead of in a photograph. As always, it was ful-

filling as members to share our universe with others.

But Jupiter and our solar system is so close and easy to

observe. Our members also brought the capability to see far

out into the night sky. Several of our telescopes were pointed

5

Stirling Colgate suggested measuring light emanating from

supernovae, the brief and massive explosion of dying stars.

Colgate theorized that the mammoth explosion caused by the

demise of a star might produce a uniform quantity of light suf-

ficient to perform Perlmutter’s calculations.

Until the 20th century, astronomers witnessed one

supernova every few centuries. In the 1950’s, one of the great-

est amateur astronomers in history, Australian Methodist min-

ister Robert Evans began using his telescope to search for su-pernovae. In 1968, he upgraded his search using a ten-inch

Newtonian telescope. Finally, in 1981, Evans found his first

supernova immediately followed by the discovery of nine

more.

As computer technology developed, Perlmutter began to

apply the use of high-speed computers to record newly present

or newly absent traces of light. In September 1997, team

member physicist Gerson Goldhaber plotted the data from 38

Type 1a supernovae, all of which were located in a tight pat-

tern at a great distance indicating that the light originated a

long time ago. Where astronomer Edwin Hubble’s 1929 data

set showed the universe expanding but decelerating, Anton

deftly explains how Perlmutter’s data plots of type 1a superno-

vae showed that approximately 7 billion years after the big

bang, the plotted supernovae started to accelerate away from each other at greater speeds than in the first 7 billion years

after the Big Bang. Since that discovery and as of the year

2000 publishing of Bold Science, scientists had postulated that

from 70 to 96 percent of the universe is not made of conven-

tional matter or energy. Our follow-up article next month will

take this work up to the present, and the concepts of an accel-

erating universe, dark matter and dark energy will be explored

in greater depth. ■

THIS MONTH’S BOOK REVIEW “BOLD SCIENCE…” in the Year 2000

By Leo Genn

Ten years ago “Bold Science, Seven Scientists Who Are

Changing Our World,” (W.H. Freeman and Company 2000)

was presented to readers by award winning science writer Ted

Anton. Although the book highlighted various professionals in

the scientific community, this two part article will focus on

documenting the work of astronomers Geoff Marcy and Saul

Permutter first in the context of the scientific community in the

year 2000 and later in the present. Anton’s analysis of their work lays a solid foundation for some of the most exciting

developments in astronomy today that include confirming the

increasing speed of the expansion of the universe, classifica-

tion of 96 percent of the universe dedicated to dark energy and

dark matter, and the intrepid search for and discovery of over a

thousand planets outside of our solar system, including 50

planets where liquid water and possibly life could form.

In 1982, postdoctoral candidate Geoff Marcy was

frustrated with his stalled research on the chaotic magnetic

fields of stars. Anton quotes Marcy saying, ―I thought I just

didn’t have what it takes.‖ Uninspired by his work, Marcy

changed course and decided to search for planets outside of

our solar system. Finding such planets is difficult because, as

our Sun outshines its planets by one billion times in visible

light and one million times in the infrared spectrum, so do the suns of other solar systems. There was no hope of seeing an

extrasolar planet unless it was at least five times larger than

Jupiter. The success of Marcy’s research was considered so

unlikely to succeed that he wrote his research grant applica-

tions proposing to search for brown dwarf stars, a more attain-

able target.

Following the lead of Canadian astronomers, Marcy’s

team found a way to use iodine in a spectroscope to filter out

certain wavelengths and leave a telltale grid of black lines be-

hind. Combined with an intricate computer program to predict

other variables, this methodology revealed evidence of planet-

induced wobble in a flicker equivalent to 1/1000 of one pixel

among 2,000 pixels. At a distance of 100 million light years,

Jupiter-sized exoplanets would pull a typical star towards them

at the speed of a bicycle.

Although Marcy was clearly on his way to success, in

October 1985 Swiss astronomer Michel Mayor announced the

discovery of the first extrasolar planet, five times the size of

Jupiter. This gas giant planet was approximately 700,000 miles in diameter (roughly 90 times larger than Earth) and

completed one orbit every 98 hours. Though massive in size, it

orbited Pegasi 51 at 299,000 miles per hour, four times faster

than Earth orbits our sun.

Although Mayor found the first extrasolar planet, less

than a year later Marcy announced the discovery of the next

seven extrasolar planets followed by 60 more of the first 100

extrasolar planets. This secured his place in the scientific com-

munity as a planet hunter.

Saul Perlmutter’s lifetime mission began with the search

to find one of two numbers: the speed of the acceleration or

deceleration of the universe. In the 1950’s, fellow astronomer

EYEPIECE November 2011

DR. SAUL PERLMUTTER SHARES 2011 NOBEL PRIZE

This year’s Nobel Prize for Physics has been awarded to

US and Australian pioneers of astrophysics for the discovery

of the accelerating expansion of the universe through observa-

tions of distant supernovae and the effects of dark energy. Dr.

Saul Perlmutter from the Lawrence Berkeley National Labora-

tory and University of California, Berkeley, has been awarded

half of this year’s prize for his work on the Supernova Cos-

mology Project, with the other half awarded to Brian P.

Schmidt from the Australian National University and Adam

G. Riess from the Johns Hopkins University and Space Tele-

scope Science Institute, Baltimore, for their work on the High-

z Supernova Search Team.

―These discoveries led to the realization that empty

space exerts a pressure that pushes the galaxies apart – some-

thing that demands new physics and a new understanding of

space-time,‖ explained Oxford University professor Roger

Davies, President of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Dr. Perlmutter’s interview will appear next month in

December’s Eyepiece along with Geoff Marcy’s interview. ■

6

equipment available to observe phenomena. NASA's flagship

X-ray telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, is part of

NASA's fleet of "Great Observatories." It is specially designed

to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the universe.

Astrophysicist Dr. Kevin Manning discussed how Chandra looks at the hotter regions of gas and dust reaching millions of

degrees and finds phenomena emitting light in the x-ray por-

tion of the light spectrum. . One method of x-ray detection is

by observing photons interacting with the magnetic field-lines

of stars that cause increases in temperatures. These conditions

are visible in the x-rays spectroscopy. Chandra has also looked

into the ejecta field at the center of a black hole which is also

visible in x-ray.

Sobel, is known for her successes as a best-selling

author of “Longitude” and “Gallileo’s Daughter”. She had

wanted to write about Nicolaus Copernicus since 1973 during

his quincentenial anniversary celebration after learning about

his heliocentric theory claiming the existence of circular orbits

of planets and 48 epicycles (although Copernicus used this

term for his heliocentric model, ironically Ptolemy employed

the word ―epicycle‖ to describe other planets’ orbits around

Earth). Sobel’s new book addresses the events surrounding

Copernicus’ life. By 1514 he had an outline of this theory and

through two decades of tedious observations he compiled his

manuscript--truly a mathematical treatise. When Copernicus

was visited by a young German mathematician Georg Rheticus

in 1543, he persuaded Copernicus to have his manuscript pub-

lished (―On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres,‖). Writ-

ten in Latin, extremely expensive to publish and intensely

mathematical, those who bought the book were very serious

about understanding its concepts. Later astronomers such as

Galileo would advocate Copernican doctrine in advancing

scientific understanding.

Established in 1927 (the same year as AAA), The

Custer Institute and Observatory is Long Island’s oldest public

observatory. ■

September marked the Custer Institute’s 33rd Annual

Astronomy Jamboree. This year participants had the opportu-

nity to hear presentations on several important astronomical

topics. From the keynote address by best-selling author Ms.

Dava Sobel (“A More Perfect Heaven,” Bloomsbury Publish-

ing 2011, $15.19) on how Nicolaus Copernicus revolutionized

astronomy by introducing a heliocentric solar system, to the

latest from Planet Hunter science team member Tony Hoff-

man, a broad spectrum of speakers presented their individual

works and perspectives.

The event was carefully crafted to take the audiences

through a progression of astronomical topics. Astrophysics

professor Dr. Mike Inglis began by presenting a review of the

past 50 years in astronomy. With discoveries detecting planets

orbiting distant stars, evidence of ancient oceans on Mars, the

discovery of water in lunar soil, and the intriguing possibility

that our universe may be just one of an infinite number of uni-

verses, Dr. Inglis discussed the origin of black holes, the

search and discovery of other solar systems, and even queried

the ultimate fate of the universe

But knowing that other worlds possibly like our own

exist in far away galaxies is only one step in appreciating the

magnitude of the universe we see through our telescopes.

How far is far? ―Would You Really Want to Walk There‖ was

the topic of the second speaker, amateur astronomer and Cus-ter board member Mal Speer. By explaining stellar measure-

ments and distance calculations such as parallax (a displace-

ment or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed

along two different lines of sight and measured by the angle of

inclination between those two lines), parsecs, arc seconds, etc., Mr. Speer helped answer the important questions of ―How do

you tell the distance to objects?‖ and ―How do astronomers

here on earth actually figure out how far away stars, galaxies,

nebulae, and quasars are?‖ This helped to bring into perspec-

tive the great distances that separate our solar system and the

Milky Way Galaxy from others.

Having established an appreciation for the great distance

challenges in space, AAA board member Tony Hoffman, a key

participant on the Planet Hunter science team supporting

NASA’s Kepler telescope initiative, presented the history, science, and progress of the mission. An avid amateur as-

tronomer, Tony has discovered 117 comets in images from the

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), and has co-

discovered one near-Earth asteroid as a volunteer reviewer for

the Spacewatch FMO project. He has also had an asteroid

named after him: 112900 Tonyhoffman. The Kepler spacecraft

is tasked with identifying the periodicity of planets. Planet

hunters observe the light curves to determine possible candi-

dates. So far Kepler has only been able to detect short-period

planets transiting their stars in days, weeks or months. It has

however, revolutionized the study of variable stars by allowing

a much narrower range of variability to be observed.

How we look at the universe depends upon the kind of

EYEPIECE November 2011

CUSTER INSTITUTE’S 33rd ANNUAL JAMBOREE A SUCCESS By Maya Kushner

Do you have a telescope but don’t know how to use it? Are

you looking to purchase new equipment? This lecture/

workshop will teach you about telescopes and provide practi-

cal information to get set up and observing. After the lecture,

receive hands-on help from the instructor and Custer's Obser-

vatory staff. Bring your equipment with you. Instructor Jeff

Norwood is a veteran amateur astronomer, telescope me-

chanic, & owner of Camera Concepts in Patchogue. Suggested

Donation: $10 Custer Members; $15 Non-Members; $5 Full-

time Students. Admission includes stargazing after the event.

Coming to Custer: Saturday, Nov. 12, 7:00 -9:00 p.m.

"HOW TO BUY AND USE A TELESCOPE"

7

not be seen at all by visible-light and infrared telescopes. The

Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in

the Chilean Andes, a $1.3 billion group of radio telescopes, is

a multinational collaboration that will help astronomers to ex-

plore some of the universe’s coldest and most distant objects. ALMA is a complex of radio telescopes. The array currently

harbors 19 telescopes, with 66 coming online by 2013.

Wobbling Invisible Planet Discovered For the first time, scientists have discovered an

―invisible‖ planet by noticing how its gravity affects the orbit

of a neighboring world. Kepler detected Kepler-19b and Ke-

pler-19c. It spotted 19b, 650 light-years away in Lyra, as it

transited its host star. Researchers inferred the existence of 19c

after observing that 19b’s transits periodically came a little

later or earlier than expected. The gravity of 19c tugs on 19b,

changing its orbit. The discovery of Kepler-19c marks the first time transit timing variation has found an exoplanet. Kepler-

19b usually transits its star once every nine days, seven hours.

Super Earths Revealed When NASA announced the discovery of more than

1,200 potential planets spotted by the Kepler Space Telescope,

almost 25% of them were thought to be super-Earths. Latest

research suggests that these massive rocky planets may be the

result of the failed creation of Jupiter-sized gas giants. More

than 50 planets, including one super-Earth potentially support-

ing life, have been discovered. They include 16 super-Earths, potentially rocky worlds more massive than Earth. One has

captured attention because it orbits at the edge of its star’s hab-

itable zone, an estimated 3.6 times more massive than Earth

with its star about 35 light-years away. This is the lowest-mass

planet in a habitable zone ever discovered by radial velocity.

Senate Panel Boosts Funding For Webb Despite a House appropriations vote this summer to can-

cel the over budget James Webb Telescope (JWST), an inde-

pendent Senate panel proposed $150 million of additional

funding for 2012. The JWST would receive $530 million next

year under the Senate’s bill, about 40% more than the $374 million the Obama administration included in its 2012 budget.

The additional funding falls short of what an ear-

lier independent panel recommended NASA give the project to

avoid further delays. JWST will cost $8.7 billion. Many scien-

tists worry that price tag will absorb funds targeted for other

NASA research projects.

Solar Storms Stronger Than Expected Many storms erupting from the Sun’s surface last longer

and are more powerful than thought. Scientists had regarded

solar flares as one-off events. About 15% have a second peak of strong energy emission minutes or hours later, often out-

shining the first. For decades, scientists have observed and

categorized solar flares by watching their emissions in X-ray

light. Many flares’ second explosion generally doesn’t occur in

X-ray wavelengths. Researchers hadn’t previously monitored

that part of the spectrum.

BRIEFS IN ASTRONOMY

By Dan Harrison

An Astronomical First--Planet with Two Suns A planet with two suns has been confirmed for the first

time. Kepler captured details of a giant planet in orbit around

the stars in the Kepler-16 system, 200 light-years away. Kepler

-16(AB)-b passes in front of both stars, regularly dimming

their light. Each star also eclipses its companion as they orbit

each other. All motions allow scientists to calculate the mass,

radii and trajectory of all three bodies. The planet’s distance from its stars is nearly three-quarters of the distance between

the Earth and the Sun. It’s Saturn-like in size, nearly 50%

more dense, suggests that it is richer in heavy elements. The

planet travels on a nearly circular 229-day orbit around Kepler

-16A and Kepler-16B, which are 69% and 20% as massive as

the Sun, respectively. The stars keep close to each other, only

a fifth of the distance between Earth and the Sun on average,

completing an orbit around each other every 41 days.

Asteroid Family Cleared of Dinosaur Extinction New information has negated the theory of which aster-oid was responsible for killing the dinosaurs 65 million years

ago. Satellite data suggests that an asteroid from the Baptistina

family wasn’t responsible. According to that theory, Baptistina

crashed into another asteroid in the main belt between Mars

and Jupiter 160 million years ago. The collision sent shattered

pieces across our solar system. One large piece was believed to

have impacted Earth, causing the dinosaurs’ extinction. Using

an infrared-sensitive telescope, scientists analyzed sunlight

reflected off more than 1,000 asteroids and determined that the

original asteroid broke up 80 million years ago, not 160 mil-

lion years in the past. This didn’t give collision remnants suffi-

cient time to reach Earth, as the process is thought to take tens of millions of years. Scientists still believe that an asteroid

impacted with Earth 65 million years ago to cause the dinosaur

extinction, but are now unsure of its origination.

NASA Reduces Near Earth Asteroid Count New NASA observations show significantly fewer near-

Earth asteroids (NEOs) in the mid-size range than thought and

indicate that more than 90% of the largest ones have been

identified. Astronomers estimate roughly 19,500, not 35,000

mid-size NEOs exist, which may reduce the likelihood of a

severe Earth impact. With the majority of these mid-size as-teroids remaining to be discovered, more research is needed to

determine if fewer potentially hazardous mid-size objects

(between 330 and 3,300 feet wide) are in orbit. A more accu-

rate sample of asteroids was obtained utilizing infrared detec-

tors to see dark and light objects. It is believed that all NEOs

about six miles across, as big as the one thought to have wiped

out the dinosaurs, have been identified.

Scope Array Reveals New Universe Perspective The world’s most complex array of ground-based tele-

scopes has captured its first image. The shot of a combined view of the Antennae galaxies, which are about 75 million

light-years from Earth, reveals a view of the universe that can-

EYEPIECE November 2011

8

Here Come the Jets Powerful jets of radio waves that can explode from mon-

ster black holes at the center of galaxies may erupt much

closer to these giants than previously thought. Although black

holes entrap anything falling onto them, a vast amount of en-

ergy can radiate outward from matter rushing into the phe-

nomenon. Thus, radio telescopes can spot black holes by

monitoring the radio wave jets created during the explosion.

How these jets form is still undetermined.

Brown Dwarf Provides Weather Clues A small, dim star, 2MASS 2139, appears to be wracked

by a mega storm more violent than any weather seen on an-

other world. Using an infrared camera on the 2.5m telescope at

Las Campanas Observatory in Chile astronomers observed the

brown dwarf exhibiting the largest brightness variations ever

seen on a cool brown dwarf, changing 30% in fewer than eight

hours. Brighter and darker patches of its atmosphere come into

view as the brown dwarf spins on its axis. Scientists think cli-mate patterns on brown dwarfs are similar to those on giant

planets, so this super squall could help to clarify weather phe-

nomena on other worlds.

Type 1a Supernovae Time Bombs Thousands of ticking time-bomb stars are hidden

throughout our galaxy. Astronomers calculate about three stars

explode in Type 1a supernovae every thousand years in the

Milky Way. Within a few thousand light-years of Earth there

should be dozens of stars on the verge of exploding. Our great-

est risk is if we are on plane with these explosions.

Hartley 2 May Match Earth’s Water Signature Comets might be the sources of Earth’s water after all.

Prior studies suggested early Earth was dry. Now Earth-like

water has been discovered in the small oddball comet Hartley 2. This comet originated in the Kuiper Belt, suggesting this

may be a primary source of Earth’s water. Measurements show

Hartley 2 contains water with the same chemical signature

Earth’s oceans. Scientists compared isotopes of hydrogen

found in Earth ocean water to isotopes of hydrogen seen in

extraterrestrial bodies such as comets.

Martian Atmosphere Wetter Than Expected Mars’ upper atmosphere contains up to 100 times more

water than suspected. According to a new study, more water

existed on the Martian surface long ago. Using data from the

European Space Agency's Mars Express probe and NASA's

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, astronomers determined that

water in the upper atmosphere undergoes a process known as

supersaturation, something astronomers thought could not oc-

cur on the dry, dusty planet. Under most climate conditions, water vapor coalesces around dust and particles in the air.

When such dust is sparse, climate models have assumed ex-

cess water in the Martian atmosphere is converted to ice, but

data show otherwise. Observations show up to 100 times more

water vapor can subsist in a state of supersaturation. It’s be-

lieved Mars has lost a substantial fraction, if not a majority, of

its primordial water by escape processes into space.

Martian Rock Could be Key to Surface Water NASA’s Opportunity rover found a rock offering clues

into Mars’ wetter past. Arriving at Endeavour Crater’s rim in

August, it began studying a rock named Chester Lake, a rock

apparently much older than the geologic formations encoun-

tered earlier. Endeavour’s rim represents a period when there

was much more surface water. While most Martian land is

covered over by more recent geological processes, the terrain

at the rim is thought to date back to Mars’ earliest days, 3.5

billion-4 billion years ago. Scientists will clean off a layer of

Chester Lake’s surface to expose deeper material, hoping it

will contain clay minerals that formed in the presence of water.

Ripples May Reveal Dark Matter Scientists may be able to spot evidence of dark matter by

watching for ripples on stars’ surfaces. Such vibrations could

indicate a strange, hypothetical dark-matter object, a primor-dial black hole, has passed through the stars. The ripples could

thus provide observable proof of dark matter.

Mercury Messenger Mission Update NASA Messenger probe reports that Mercury isn’t just

super hot but apparently covered in brimstone (dried up lava).

High-resolution images of Mercury's surface reveal that epic

lava flows created the planet’s smooth northern plains. The

once-molten rock filled craters more than a mile deep covering

6% of Mercury's surface, an area equal to 60% of the U.S. The

data also suggests that Mercury didn’t get as hot as some mod-

els of its formation suggest. The findings indicate Mercury’s

internal heat has declined substantially since forming, consis-

tent with widespread volcanism 3.8 billion years ago.

Giant Egg Discovered in Space Astronomers have captured the best image yet of one of

the rarest classes of stars. The cosmic scene resembles an egg

white around a yolky center. The monster star, a yellow hyper-

giant, is 13,000 light-years away, but also the closest found to

date. The massive star’s width is 1,000 times larger than our Sun. If the nebula were placed at the center of our solar sys-

tem, Earth would be positioned deep within the star itself. The

orbit of Jupiter would be just above the star’s surface. Yellow

hypergiants are in an extremely active phase of evolution.

They experience events that cause the star to eject four times

the mass of the Sun in just a few hundred years.

Supernova - So Near, Yet So Far Astronomers have spotted the closest supernova in 25

years. The Type Ia supernova flared up in the Pinwheel Gal-

axy, 21 million light-years away in Ursa Major.

Scientists: Desert Planets More Habitable Desert planets might be the most common type of habit-

able planet in the galaxy rather than watery worlds. Scientists

reasoned that scarcity of water on a land planet might help if it

had a larger habitable zone around its star. Having less water

for snow and ice reflects sunlight back into space. As such, it

can absorb more heat to better resist global freezing. The

dearth of water in a land planet’s dry atmosphere makes it trap

less heat, thereby avoiding a runaway greenhouse effect.

ries continued on p

EYEPIECE November 2011

9

The Moon Rocks On The Moon’s shadow creates acoustical waves in Earth’s

atmosphere that travel more than 200 mph. This effect was

predicted in the early 1970s, but researchers finally observed it

during a total solar eclipse in 2009. The waves are produced

by temperature disparities created during a solar eclipse when

parts of Earth shaded by the Moon cool down.

The Bolshoi Goes to Pleiades Scientists have generated the largest and most realistic

simulations of the evolving universe with the aid of NASA’s

powerful supercomputer Pleiades. By running the Bolshoi

simulation code on Pleiades, researchers hope to explain how

galaxies and other very large structures have changed since the

Big Bang. Bolshoi is designed to model the distribution of

dark matter across 1 billion light-years.

Crab Nebular Pulsar Emits Gamma Rays Stunned astronomers detected intense radiation pumping

out of the Crab Nebula at higher energies than thought possi-

ble. The powerful gamma rays came from the heart of the neb-ula where a pulsar resides. High-energy emanating from the

nebula is expected, but coming from the pulsar was not. The

pulsar, at the heart of the nebula’s layers of gas, is the remnant

of the original star’s core that collapsed in on itself to form a

super-dense, spinning neutron star. The Crab pulsar spins 30

times a second with a greater mass than the Sun. Its gamma-

ray beams exceed 100 billion electron-volts, stronger than pre-

vious projections, 1 million times more energetic than medical

X-rays and 100 billion times stronger than visible light.

Worldwide Robotic Telescope Network Starting next year, amateur astronomers from any loca-

tion on the planet will be able to operate Gloria (GLObal Ro-

botic telescopes Intelligent Array for e-Science), the three-year

European project that will ultimately include 17 telescopes on

four continents. Not only will users be able to control the tele-

scopes via the internet, but they will also have access to the astronomical databases of Gloria and other organizations.■

ALL ASTRONOMERS ON DECK AAA SUPPORTS INTREPID EVENT

By Jordan Kushner

Finally my night arrived for travelling back in time and

out into space, all from the deck of the USS Intrepid. I left my

house packing 75 lbs of equipment which included an Orion

SkyQuest XT8 Dobsonian, a large case of Tele Vue and Orion

eyepieces, and a stool for sitting, all secured in my astro-cart.

Hoisting my equipment into a cab I rocketed to the West side

to board the Intrepid. Upon arrival I was awed at the size of

this aircraft carrier which had served its nation from WWII to

the 1970’s. Seeing the vintage planes on the deck I could only

imagine what it may have been like fighting in the Pacific

theater. Together with the modern jets I also imagined what it

must have been like flying missions over Vietnam. I was over-

whelmed by a sense of patriotism.

Security was very tight as I approached the ship. Before

entering, I met fellow AAA member Carey Horwitz from NJ

who had an unique portable configuration of observing equip-

ment. It all fit into a small duffle bag. His Stellarvue refractor,

Tele Vue plossl eyepieces, and an amazing Bogen tripod al-

lowed him to place the refractor on the side of the tripod for

viewing the zenith of the sky. I instantly knew that this would

be my next purchase of gear. Carey and I proceeded through

the interior of the carrier and up the elevator to the flight deck

where we were greeted by our gracious host John Lyon.

As director of the museum, John would oversee the eve-

ning’s activities and present an astro-lecture to members from

7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Afterward, everyone would come up to the

flight deck and observe through our telescopes. Peter Tagatac

and Steve Belzer joined us at that point in the evening. Peter

brought his amazing Teleport 10-inch Dobsonian which folds

into a cube that easily fits into one seat of a NYC cab. Steve

Belzer brought his sparkling personality and his 15 x 70 Ce-

lestron astronomical binoculars. We were ready.

With John’s lecture warmly received by the 70-member

audience, children, parents, and grandparents proceeded up to

the flight deck to join us. We were situated at the rear end of

the ship, the farthest most point out on the Hudson, giving us

an incredible 360 degree view of the sky. The deck was com-

pletely dark. Steve, Peter and Carey showed the crowd won-

derful celestial sights including the Moon, the Dumbbell Neb-

ula (M 27), the beautifully colorful double star Albireo in Cyg-

nus, the Andromeda Galaxy and other wonders of the sky. I

then proceeded to give everyone a naked-eye tour of the Sum-

mer Triangle with my hand-held laser.

Realizing what a great location this was for observing I

asked John if this could become a regular site for AAA. How-

ever, as with other large venues, the cost of security to support

using the Intrepid was prohibitive. So I continued my tour of

the sky, pointing out the constellation Lyra the Harp with its

beautiful bright star Vega, Cygnus the Swan with its amazing

star Deneb and Aguila the Eagle with its brightest star Altair.

The children giggled and laughed; the parents and grandpar-

ents were awed. AAA brought the sky to New York that eve-

ning. It was a great success for everyone.

While we all looked out at the sky John discussed

NASA’s assignment of the space shuttle Enterprise to the In-

trepid. The museum is still working on the details as to where

the shuttle will ―land.‖ Given the Intrepid’s flight deck length

of 820 feet, the museum would need to line up 18 Intrepid

aircraft carriers to accommodate the 15,000 ft runway required

for a live shuttle landing. Perhaps the Enterprise will have to

beam down just this once.■

EYEPIECE November 2011

Contacting AAA: Website: www.aaa.org; General Club

Matters and Observing: president@aaa.org; Membership

Business: members@aaa.org; Classes: classes@aaa.org;

Seminars: seminar@aaa.org; Eyepiece: editor@aaa.org

10

central questions at the heart of 21st-century particle physics.

Its focus is to identify any undiscovered principle in nature, learn more about dark energy and dark matter, and determine

whether or not space is multi-dimensional.

After proton collisions, new particles move outward

through various layers and detectors, each of which measure different reactions. The scientists observe tracks left by the

charged particles and data from particles passing through de-

tectors to determine what kind of particle was created, hoping

to uncover more data relating to particle physics. But their

most difficult task is finding the Higgs boson, a hypothetical

massive elementary particle predicted to exist by the Standard

Model of particle physics. Its existence is postulated to resolve

inconsistencies in theoretical physics. Scientists are confident

that the LHC will help them locate this elusive phenomenon.

Observing and quantifying the Higgs boson will complete the

existing Standard Model. Without it the theory produces in-conclusive data. Scientists know there has to be an ―extra in-

gredient‖ that makes the model complete.

The LHC is looking at more than the Higgs particle

and its implications. It is also trying to determine where mass comes from and how it is created. The study of dark matter,

super-symmetry and the fourth dimension are additional focal

points of study and experimentation. Scientists at the LHC are

hoping to create a larger knowledge base to further the postu-

lation of these concepts and theories.

In closing, Randall’s vision of the future was optimis-

tic. ―We are entering a new era in physics,‖ she said. ―Secrets

of the universe are about to unravel.‖■

As amateur astronomers we are always focused on going

up in scale, forever seeking out mysteries in the most distant corners of the universe. An alternative way to understand the

world is to look at the other end of the spectrum - to observe

the smallest of particles and their formation.

In the September 19 lecture at the Hayden Planetar-ium, particle physicist and Harvard professor Dr. Lisa Randall

discussed her latest book, ―Knocking on Heaven’s

Door” (Ecco, $29.99). Science is on the brink of new discov-

eries. They have developed ground breaking experiments to

look at cosmology from a broader perspective. We are on the

verge of understanding our universe on both a small and large

scale.

The most advanced experiments in particle physics

occur at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) installation. The

LHC is the largest and highest energy particle accelerator ever

built. Located 574 feet beneath the Franco-Swiss border near

Geneva, Switzerland in a tunnel 17 miles in circumference, it

is best defined by superlatives. As the largest of its kind in the

world, it produces the highest energy, highest luminosity, and

most effective vacuum, while employing the strongest magnets

in production on an industrial scale.

Randall focused the discussion on the central element of

the LHC—the proton. Although a very basic particle, the pro-

ton is complex in structure, comprised of three valance quarks (two ―up‖ quarks and a ―down‖ quark) which give it a positive

charge. When quantum mechanics are applied there are even

more interactive particles inside a proton. Quantum mechani-

cal theory defines virtual particles called a ―sea of quarks‖ as

hadrons, composite particles of protons and neutrons, the com-

ponents of atomic nuclei. When protons are forced to collide at

high speeds, these valance quarks and all virtual particles,

from gluons to anti-quarks, are possible outcomes.

Why do scientists collide protons and what are their

goals? When particles collide they release energy which in

turn, reverts back into particles. Most of the time these parti-

cles fit the Standard Model of particle physics. Scientists are

hoping that the LHC may create a new kind of particle. New

particles will provide a fresh perspective. Theorists will have

to determine how to differentiate these from the multitude of other standard particles that are being produced. Scientists

hope to have collisions with the highest energy particles possi-

ble and to have as many collisions as possible in order to make

it more likely that new particles will be created.

Randall described two key LHC experiments - AT-

LAS and CMS. Both initiatives are considered general purpose

in nature. Each experiment involves over 2,000 physicists

from 35 countries. ATLAS, the largest-volume detector ever

constructed, is 148 feet long, 82 feet wide and 82 feet high,

weighing approximately 7,700 tons. The experiment is sup-

ported by toroid magnets that bend particles to measure their

momentum. The cavern housing the ATLAS detector array has

been compared in size to the Notre Dame cathedral. CMS is

designed to explore the physics of the terascale, the energy

region where physicists believe they will find answers to the

Distance is our greatest challenge in exploration: Sample

distances from the Earth: Moon: 250,000 miles; Jupiter: 500

million miles; Saturn: 887 million; Uranus: 1.6 billion miles;

Oort Cloud: 1 trillion miles; Andromeda Galaxy: 13 thousand

quadrillion miles. And that’s just in our neighborhood…

________________________

Farthest spacecraft from Earth: Voyager 1 has travelled

10.8 billion miles in 33 years, just now reaching the edge of

our solar system. Travelling at 41,000mph, it covers 1 million

miles per day. Voyager 2 is right behind it at 8.8 billion miles

from the Earth. Signals from the probes take 13 hours to reach

NASA/JPL. At present speed, the spacecraft will reach the

closest solar system in 40,000 years.

Astronomical Facts of the Month

EYEPIECE November 2011

AMNH LECTURER REVEALS OUR UNIVERSE on the SMALLEST of SCALES By Anne Kiefer

11

AAA Events on the Horizon November 2011

Wednesdays, Nov. 2, 9, 16, 30, Dec. 7, 14; 6:30-9:00 p.m., P

Fall Class: Laird Whitehill, Evolution of the Solar System

Cicatelli Center, 505 Eighth Avenue, Manhattan

$45 members; $80 non-members (Pre-registration req’d)

Monday, November 4, 6:15 p.m., P

AAA Lecture Series

Fred Chromey, ―The Mystery of Beta Lyrae: Astronomical

Spectroscopy for Amateurs"

Kaufman Auditorium - Museum of Natural History

Friday, November 4, 8:00-11:00 p.m., P, T, C

Observing at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn

Saturday, November 5, 8:00-11:00 p.m., P, T, C

Observing at Gateway Park Queens

Last session of 2011

Thursday, November 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m., P

Seminar – Recent Advances in Astronomy

NYU, 726 Broadway, Conference Room

Friday November 11 and 18, 8:00-11:00 p.m., P, T, C

Observing at Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan

Saturday, November 12, 5:00-8 p.m., P, T, C

Observing at Fort Greene Park Last session of 2011

Saturday, November 19, 10 a.m.-12p.m., P, T, C

Solar observing in Central Park at the Conservatory

Water

Saturday, November 19, 7:30-11 p.m., P, T, C

Observing at Great Kills Gateway National Park,

Staten Island

Last Session of 2011

Saturday, November 19, AMNH

Beyond Planet Earth Exhibit Opens

Legend for Events M: Members

P: Open to the public

T: Bring your telescopes, binoculars, etc.

C: Cancelled if cloudy

AMNH: For ticket information, call (212) 769-5200; Check the AMNH’s

website at www.amnh.org for an additional listing of other events.

For directions to AAA observing events, check the

club's website, www.aaa.org.

AMNH TO OPEN NEW SPACE EXHIBIT

―Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Explo-ration,‖ an exhibition that offers a vision of the future of

space travel as it examines humanity’s next steps in our

solar system and beyond, opens at the AMNH November

19th and remains on view until August 12, 2012.

The exhibition features a re-creation of a lunar habi-tat, a model of a space elevator rising from the surface of

the Moon, one of the world’s largest color holograms

depicting 1,000 exoplanets and a variety of simulations. The exhibition celebrates the accomplishments of

manned and unmanned space missions, and considers the

partnership of robotic spacecraft and astronauts as hu-

manity journeys farther beyond Earth.

Missions described in the exhibition include engi-neers mining for rare gases on the Moon, landing on or

deflecting a potentially deadly asteroid, traveling to Mars

and perhaps even establishing colonies there. Visitors can download an app before visiting the exhibition, and

then look for 11 icons throughout the show. By using the

camera on their iPod touch or iPhone, they can activate

the icon and unlock animations. Then, visitors can share images by e-mail or post to Facebook and Twitter. A link

to a special site will let visitors collect other icons, find

out the science behind space technologies and share pho-

tos.

Visitors can also glimpse the possible future of

commercial space travel, thanks to a scale model of Vir-

gin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, designed to ferry six pas-

sengers and two pilots into sub orbital outer space.■

STUDENT PLAYS KEY ROLE IN MARS SALT-WATER FIND

A University of Arizona student played a key role in a

finding that salt water could be running down some slopes on

Mars every spring.

Clusters of dark, narrow lines that periodically emerge

and lengthen on slopes in warmer regions suggest briny water

might still be flowing in a few rare places on the surface. Sci-

entists discovered the lines after the student used a computer

algorithm on pictures of the surface taken by the High Resolu-

tion Imaging Science Experiment on the Mars Reconnaissance

Orbiter. The algorithm was capable of identifying subtle

changes on Mars over time.

The images covered a variety of latitudes and span

across three Martian years. The streaks extend down some

slopes during the warmest months of the Martian year. They

fade in winter, and then re-emerge in the spring. While the lines can be hundreds of feet long, they’re only 1.6-16 feet

wide. Salty water would be more capable of staying liquid at

colder temperatures than pure water.

EYEPIECE November 2011

12

Amateur Astronomers Association

PO Box 150253

Brooklyn, NY 11215.

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

First Class

―Cosmos,‖ the 1980 documentary mini-series that ex-

posed the late Carl Sagan to millions TV viewers and those

viewers to the universe, is returning in 2013. A 13-episode

series, ―Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey,‖ will be produced, somewhat improbably, for the Fox network. One of the execu-

tive producers will be Seth MacFarlane, the brains behind

―Family Guy,‖ the Fox cartoon sitcom. Other executive pro-

ducers include Sagan’s widow, Ann Druyan, and astrophysi-

cist Steven Soter, both of whom were collaborators on the

original ―Cosmos.‖

When the original ―Cosmos‖ (subtitled ―A Personal Voy-

age‖) was first shown on PBS from September to December

1980, it was a watershed moment for science-themed televi-

sion programming. Sagan’s look at existence at its most mas-

sive and microscopic, accompanied by a contemplative score

by the Greek composer Vangelis, were eventually viewed by 400 million people in 60 countries, making it public televi-

sion’s most-watched short-form series until the Ken Burns

documentary ―The Civil War.‖

―We’re obsessed with angels and vampires and whatnot,‖

MacFarlane told The New York Times, ―when there are many

more exciting and very real and much more spectacular things

to be excited about, that are right in our own planetary back-

yard.‖

Host of ―Cosmos‖ redux will be Dr. Neil deGrasse Ty-

son, Hayden Planetarium director and a TV personality in his

own right. Two years ago, he introduced MacFarlane to Dru-yan. For several years Druyan told The Times, she, Tyson and

Soter pitched a new version of ―Cosmos‖ to ―the usual televi-

sion network suspects‖ that didn’t see mass appeal in the se-

ries.

―We weren’t interested in going to the audience that al-

ready knew that it loved science,‖ Druyan said. ―We wanted to

go to the largest possible audience and attract people who’d

never even thought about it.‖ The new series will be produced with the National Geographic Channel, which will show epi-

sodes later in the same evening they run on Fox.

―Never more than at this moment in the modern era have

we needed a profound reminder of the colossally important

and exciting role that science, space exploration and the hu-

man quest for knowledge must continue to play in our devel-

opment as a species,‖ MacFarlane said. ―We should be vigor-

ously exploring the solar system by now, and who better to

inspire us to get there than Ann Druyan, Steven Soter, Neil

deGrasse Tyson and, of course, Carl Sagan.‖■

EYEPIECE November 2011

NEXT MONTH in EYEPIECE Here’s a peek at December, readers: Marcelo Cabrera

reviews Dava Sobel’s new book ―A More Perfect Heaven:

How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos‖; Ed Fox

provides us with a insider’s look at a NASA supported

Zero Gravity Experiment; Evan Schneider covers the latest

on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter presentation at

AMNH with Carter Emmart and Apollo historian Andrew

Chaikin; Leo Genn presents Part II coverage of ―Bold Sci-

ence‖ - interviews with Saul Perlmutter and Geoff Marcy

on their current work; Dan Harrison reviews the opening of

the new AMNH ―Beyond Planet Earth‖ exhibit and sends

us his Briefs in Astronomy and more…

'COSMOS' TO BE REVIVED WITH NEIL deGRASSE TYSON AS HOST