Whats Up in the Sky May, 2006

Large Binocular Telescope (LBT)

We live in amazing times, especially in the world of astronomy. In the past decade astronomers have made discoveries that have led to answers to profound questions humans have been asking since we were first able to ask. Most of these discoveries have been made possible by revolutionary new instruments such as the Chandra X-Ray Telescope and the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope. Soon a new instrument will be operational, one that will have a direct link to Holland via Hope College.

The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), currently being built on Mt. Graham in Arizona, should be fully operational by the end of 2007. This instrument is being funded and operated by an international consortium that includes several American universities, astronomical institutes in Germany and Italy, and Research Corporation, the second oldest foundation in the country and the only one devoted solely to the advancement of science. Our communitys connection is Jim Gentile, Ph.D., President of Research Corporation.

Dr , Gentile (pronounced gen TEEL) received his Ph.D. in molecular toxicology from Illinois State University, then spent two years in postdoctoral studies at Yale School of medicine before coming to Hope College, where he worked and taught for 29 years. As Dean of the department of Natural Sciences, he was instrumental in the design and construction of the colleges new Science Center.

After a long and successful tenure at Hope, he accepted the position at Research Corporation and moved to Arizona to begin his new career. He is now directly involved in funding numerous scientific projects, such as the LBT. Jim is proud of the fact that Research Corporation has a long history of helping young scientists get their start, having funded the work of nearly forty Nobel prize winners since 1912.

The Large Binocular Telescope will consist of two 8.4 meter (331-inch) primary mirrors linked through a system of adaptive optics which cancels out the distorting effects of the earths atmosphere. It will have the same light-gathering power as a single 11.8 meter instrument and be able to create images as sharp and clear as a telescope with a single mirror 22.8 meters (465-inches) in diameter. It will be able to see in much more detail than the Hubble Space Telescope, and may even detect planets around other stars. Its unique binocular configuration will enable astronomers to conduct research in such topics as the nature of dark energy and astrobiology.

Hope College can certainly take pride in the fact that one of their own, Jim Gentile, will be at the forefront of this cutting-edge technology because he has always been fascinated by whats up in the sky.

Here are this months viewing highlights:
Planets this month: Saturn and Mars getting lower in west at dusk as month progresses, passing Beehive cluster; Jupiter rises ESE and is visible all night, reaching years maximum brightness this month. Venus continues to dominate morning sky – look east an hour before sunrise. Mercury becomes visible in the WNW after sunset at months end.

May 1: Crescent moon near Mars
May 4: First-quarter Moon
May 6: Astronomy Day. Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter all visible.
May 11: Moon next to Jupiter.
May 13: Full Moon
May 20: Last-quarter Moon.
May 24: Crescent Moon just to the left of Venus, one hour before sunrise.
May 27: New Moon
May 30: Mars, Moon, Castor, Pollux, all lie in a straight line.
May 31: Use binoculars to view crescent Moon near Beehive cluster and Saturn.

Peter Burkey – SAAA President

Whats Up in the Sky April, 2006

Moon Occults Pleiades

As I write this, we have had several clear nights in a row – unusual for late March in West Michigan. Hopefully April will offer more clear nights for there is much to see in this months sky.

We start off with a bang next Saturday when the Moons motion in its orbit brings it directly between us and the star cluster M45, also known as the Pleiades, blocking the stars from our view as it moves past them.

Astronomers call this an occultation, or we say that the Moon will occult the stars.

Go out around 7:30 p.m., face west and look for a thin crescent Moon, about half way up from the horizon to overhead. You should be able to see the dark side of the Moon illuminated by sunlight reflected off the earth (called Earthshine). As the sky darkens, you will see that the Moon is in front of a small cluster of stars, called the Pleiades, the cluster itself being about twice as wide as the Moon.

With binoculars or a small telescope over the next two hours, you will be able to see several stars in the cluster disappear behind the unlit side of the moon and reappear from behind the crescent about an hour later. You will have then actually observed the moons motion in space.

I highly recommend that you mark this event on your calendar. In April, 1979, I witnessed the moon occult the star Aldebaran, the bright star just to the left of the Pleiades. As with this month, this happened just after sunset with a thin crescent moon. I was at a gathering in Kalamazoo with about 30 people and I was only able to convince one other person to come outside with me to watch it. A common reaction from many was, “so what, that must happen all the time.

I have never seen another occultation like that one. I was amazed at how the star just instantly disappeared. And, no, it does not happen very often. The Moon does occult stars periodically, but most of the time it happens when we can’t see it. Either the Moon is below the horizon, or its daytime, or the star is too dim, for example. So to have the crescent Moon pass directly in front of a cluster of stars in the evening on a Saturday in April, is a unique opportunity that should not be missed.

Here are this months viewing highlights:
Planets this month: Mars is high in the SW to W after sunset, Saturn shines high in the south. Predawn skies are dominated by Jupiter in the SW and Venus in the SE. Mercury is to the lower left of Venus about 30 min. before sunrise, but is difficult to see.

April 1: Crescent moon occults Plieades
April 5: First-quarter Moon
April 6: Saturn right below Moon in SW, Beehive cluster nearby – great viewing opportunity for a small telescope.
April 8: Try to spot Mercury low on the eastern horizon around 6 a.m.
April 18: Use binoculars or a small telescope to find Uranus about one-half moon diameter below Venus in the east at 5 a.m.
April 13: Full Moon
April 14: Moon and Jupiter rise together 2 hours after sunset.
April 15-17: Binoculars or a small telescope offers the best way to see Mars move past the open star cluster M35 in Gemini.
April 20: Last-quarter Moon.
April 24: Crescent Moon just to the right of Venus, one hour before sunrise.
April 27: New Moon

Peter Burkey – SAAA President

Whats Up in the Sky March, 2006

The Eyes of the Virgin

Readers from my generation may recall the TV series That Was The Week That Was. I recently experienced a very remarkable and memorable week. This paper recently ran an article about a Global Village trip sponsored by Habitat for Humanity International in which a group of 10 volunteers traveled to Nicaragua to build houses. I had the extreme good fortune to participate in that endeavor, but this is an astronomy column so I’ll get to the point.

My compadres convinced me to bring along a telescope (I have an Astroscan 4.5-in by Edmund Scientific that fit in my carryon). This turned out to be rewarding and very educational not only for the people in Ojo de Agua, the village in which we worked, but also for the other volunteers and even for myself.

One night I arranged an observing session for our group and the recipient families. Lacking the air and light pollution that permeates the North American night sky, we had outstanding viewing. I had never seen the Milky Way appear so bright in the winter sky. My friends were astounded at the number of stars they could see. We observed Mars, Saturn, the Moon, and the Orion nebula through the telescope and were able to see the Beehive cluster and stars down to fifth magnitude with our naked eyes.

But what I remember most is a story told to me by Regan Downs, volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Nicaragua, who was our interpreter and escort on this trip and who, through his excellent translation skills, made my observing session possible. He told me of an elderly gentleman friend, Old Zack, who told Regan, I’m going to give you a star. It is called the eyes of the Virgin and it is difficult to find, but when you see it you will see two eyes looking down on the earth. Regan pointed out the star to me. It is right below Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. He said it took him a while, but he still remembers when he first spotted the eyes – two stars close together.

Now, to me this is just your average dim star, but when I found it in the telescope, sure enough, there were two! No way was this visible to my old naked eyes, but I did some research. The star Regan saw is known as Theta Tauri and it is indeed a double star, the two components separated by 5 minutes of arc (one-sixth the Moons diameter). Since the human eye can resolve things as small as 1 or 2 arc minutes, it is certainly reasonable that he was seeing them both.

Regan told me later that this was the first celestial object he had ever found and now, whenever he looks at it, he thinks of old Zack. It will be a connection for me also as I think about the bonds I formed by observing whats up in the sky.

Here are this months viewing highlights:
Planets this month: Mars can be easily found near the Plieades cluster high in the southwest. Watch it fade and move past the star Aldebaran as the month progresses. Saturn shines brightly in the southeast – binoculars show it near the Beehive cluster. Predawn skies are dominated by Jupiter in the SW and Venus in the SE.

March 1: One hour after sunset, try to spot Mercury below a thin crescent moon near western horizon.
March 5: Nice evening gathering of Moon, Mars, Plieades, and Aldebaran
March 6: First-quarter Moon passes nearly overhead at sunset.
March 8-10: Venus-Jupiter-Saturn span 175 degrees in predawn sky.
March 10: Waxing gibbous moon near Saturn
March 14: Full Moon – Penumbral eclipse of the Moon – best seen from Europe and Africa
March 20: Sun at vernal equinox; Spring begins at 1:26 p.m. EST
March 22: Last-quarter Moon.
March 29: New Moon – total solar eclipse visible across Africa, Turkey, Mongolia.

Peter Burkey – SAAA President