Astral Projections Online November 2023
Check our Website for updated content at www.astra-nj.com
Club Presentations Wanted:
Does anyone have any astronomy items of interest to share with the membership?
Please let us know at Club Contacts.
Club dues and membership. If you renew after March 31 you will be renewed as a new member.
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS ONLINE (APO for short) is an email-linked publication for members only. If you exit APO to the club website or other resources you will need to use the emailed link again to get back to it. If you wish to retain a copy please bookmark or refer back to the email. We will make all efforts to post by the first week of the month.
Submissions Welcome: Members are invited to submit articles, photos, news, or stories for inclusion with Astral Projections Online. Please contact the ASTRA Webmaster.
Event Calendar
EVENT Cancellations: Members will receive email notifications of an event cancellation.
Upcoming November ASTRA Meeting
ASTRA's next meeting will be Friday, November 10, 2023, at 7 PM EST. This will be an in-person meeting at Novins Planetarium - Building 13.
For November, ASTRA member Vic Palmieri is providing a review of Apollo Coda and the current multi-engine rockets presentation.
Upcoming Star Parties
Public - Jakes Branch Star Party - November 18 - 6 PM
Public - Jakes Branch Star Party - December 2 - 6 PM
Upcoming County & State Park Presentations 2023
Public Outreach Presentations, if any member wishes to support ASTRA outreach efforts with the public, please let Vinny, Ro, or Jim know of any interest.
County and State Park presentations require a registration fee, call the hosting park to reserve.
Cattus Island - November 16 - Beginner Astronomy: What to See in the Night Sky - 6 PM
Registration with Cattus Island County Park is required.
Website Updates …
Please visit our club website. We continue to have additional updates, if there is some content that would be useful to members please let us know.
“We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out—and we have only just begun.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Membership renewal time and Elections
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Membership renewal time and Elections 〰️
December is the time to start renewing your ASTRA membership for 2024.
Forms can be found on the website or here.
ASTRA Elections
It’s that time of year to start thinking about the ASTRA Board elections. If there is anyone interested in running for any of the three spots, president, vice-president, or treasurer, please let the current board members know. Elections are at the December meeting, unless there are no takers, then the current board will remain in place.
President - Jim Webster
Vice-President - Vinny Illuzzi
Treasurer - Rosemarie Spedaliere
Event Reports
October 14
Jake Branch Partial Solar Eclipse - Canceled due to weather.
October 21
International Observe the Moon Night at Jake's Branch
The weather was playing with us again, but in the end, it cleared and we were able to get out and do some observing.
Sorry, no photos were available.
November ASTRA Meeting Summary
For November we had two presentations. Vic Paliemi provided a brief show and tell of an interesting item he brought to the meeting. Next up was Lou Casella's presentation on Natural Navigation. This was Lou’s first presentation and held everyone's interest with some good question-and-answer conversation. Hoping to see another from Lou in the future for Celestial Navigation. Below are some highlights and images from this event.
County Park Presentations and Save Barnegat Bay Halloween Event
October 14 - Cattus Island County Park - Solar Astronomy, no observing as it was an overcast day.
October 26 - Save Barnegat Bay Ecco-center - SciStarter / DarkSky first Halloween Trunk or Treat event with some moon observing. We went through six bags of KitKats for the kids at 200+ visitors.
October 28 - Cloverdale Farm - SciStarter / DarkSky event.
Our Nearest Neighbor
Let’s explore some interesting features, facts, or myths about our nearest neighbor, the Moon. Without it, life on Earth would be totally different, if not at all.
The Apollo Experiment That Keeps on Giving
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins departed from the Moon 54 years ago, but one of the experiments they left behind continues to return fresh data to this day: arrays of prisms that reflect light back toward its source, providing plentiful insights. Along with the Apollo 11 astronauts, those of Apollo 14 and 15 left arrays behind as well: The Apollo 11 and 14 arrays have 100 quartz glass prisms (called corner cubes) each, while the array of Apollo 15 has 300.
The longevity of the experiment can be attributed to its simplicity and does not require power. Four telescopes at observatories in New Mexico, France, Italy, and Germany fire lasers at them, measuring the time that it takes for a laser pulse to bounce off the reflectors and return to Earth. This allows the distance to be measured to within a fraction of an inch (a few millimeters), and scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory analyze the results.
Analysis of lunar laser data shows that the Moon has a fluid core. This was a surprise when discovered two decades ago because many scientists thought that the core would be cool and solid. The fluid core affects the directions in space of the Moon's north and south poles, which the lunar laser detected.
The Laser-ranging measurements have deepened our understanding of the dance between the Moon and Earth. The Moon orbits Earth at an average distance of 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers), but the lunar laser ranging has also accurately shown that the distance between the two increases by 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) a year. With renewed interest in the exploration of the Moon, NASA has approved a new generation of reflectors to be placed on the lunar surface within the next decade.
For more visit: NASA JPL
Outreach material below is distributed free for public outreach.
Around The Web
20 YEARS LATER, THE HALLOWEEN STORMS
Imagine waking up to this headline: "Half of Earth’s Satellites Lost!" Impossible? It actually happened during the Great Halloween Storms of 2003.
Turn back the clock, 20 years. Solar Cycle 23 was winding down, and space weather forecasters were talking about how quiet things would soon become. Suddenly, the sun unleashed two of the strongest solar flares of the Space Age--an X17 flare on Oct. 28 followed by an X10 on Oct 29, 2003. Both hurled fast CMEs directly toward Earth.
The Halloween storms pumped an extra 3 Terawatts of power into Earth’s upper atmosphere. Geomagnetic heating puffed up the atmosphere, sharply increasing aerodynamic drag on satellites.
While the Earth's atmosphere protects us from the dangerous high-energy particles and radiation that solar flares produce, technological systems around the world and in space experienced the full effects of the flares and subsequent geomagnetic storms. Satellites, GPS, and radio communication experienced problems or outages due to the severe activity. As best they could the astronauts on the International Space Station had to take shelter.
For more visit: SpaceWeather.com, NOAA
On the lighter side of astronomy …
Members Submitted Articles & Items
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Letter shared by Rosemarie Spedaliere
The Horn - Holmdel, New Jersey
October 21, 2023
Dear Rosemarie,
We have good news to share! On Thursday, October 12th, the Holmdel Township Committee announced its decision to purchase a 35-acre portion of Crawford Hill that contains the Horn Antenna with the intention of preserving it as a public park.
Citizens for Informed Land Use, Friends of Holmdel Open Space, and Preserve Holmdel commend the township for its work to preserve Crawford Hill. Throughout this yearlong campaign, our coalition has emphasized the importance of protecting Holmdel's scientific legacy. This recent action by the Holmdel Township Committee highlights the progress that can be achieved when local governments are willing to listen to and work with the public. We will continue to follow the redevelopment process of the adjoining lot 7, which contains an old Bell Labs building and is not included in the acquisition. Residents are advocating that a museum, science cooperative, parks building, or visitors' center be considered for this lower lot.
Last week's announcement was a victory for all of those who have relentlessly supported this campaign. The petition received nearly 10,000 signatures, demonstrated a groundswell of public interest, and played a key role in capturing the attention of our representatives. Thank you.
We'd love to stay in touch! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook for the latest information including updates, photos of Holmdel's newest park, and preservation plans for the horn antenna. For those supporters who are a bit closer to home, we invite you to stay involved by becoming a member of Citizens for Informed Land Use and Preserve Holmdel or a trustee of Friends of Holmdel Open Space. Keep up to date with local issues and attend free community events like our annual fossil hunt, trail walks, environmental webinars, and candidate forums.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Citizens for Informed Land Use, Friends of Holmdel Open Space and Preserve Holmdel
What’s Up:
Sky Watching Tips from NASA
Provided by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Is usually updated anywhere from the first day of the month to the fifth day of the month. Check back to this linked image if it hasn’t been updated yet.
For more go to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory webpage: What’s Up: Skywatching Tips From NASA
This article and images are distributed by NASA Night Sky Network
The Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach.
Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov to find local clubs, events, and more!
Spy the Seventh Planet, Uranus
By Liz Kruesi
This zoomed-in image of Uranus, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on Feb. 6, 2023, reveals stunning views of the planet’s rings. The planet displays a blue hue in this representative-color image, made by combining data from two filters (F140M, F300M) at 1.4 and 3.0 microns, which are shown here as blue and orange, respectively. -Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)
You might be familiar with Saturn as the solar system’s ringed planet, with its enormous amount of dust and ice bits circling the giant planet. But Uranus, the next planet out from the Sun hosts an impressive ring system as well. The seventh planet was the first discovered telescopically instead of with unaided eyes, and it was astronomer extraordinaire William Herschel who discovered Uranus on March 13, 1781. Nearly two centuries passed before an infrared telescope aboard a military cargo aircraft revealed the planet had rings in 1977.
Since that discovery, multiple observatories have revealed more details of Uranus and its ring system. Most recently, the NASA-led JWST space observatory captured the planet and its rings in detail. This recent image combines just 12 minutes of exposure in two filters to reveal 11 of the planet’s 13 rings. Even some of the planet’s atmospheric features are visible in this image. Even with advanced imaging like that from JWST, much of Uranus remains a mystery, including why it orbits the Sun on its side. This is because only one spacecraft has ever visited this planet: NASA’s Voyager 2, which flew by the distant planet in the mid-1980s.
Planetary scientists are hoping to change that soon, though. Scientists recommended in a report released last year from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that Uranus be the focus on the next big planetary science spacecraft mission. Such a large-scale mission would gain insight into this icy giant planet and the similar solar system planet, Neptune.
Sky map picturing M45, Uranus and Jupiter, Stellarium
If you want to catch a view of Uranus with your own eyes, now is prime time to view it. This ice giant planet lies perfectly positioned in mid-November, at so-called “opposition,” when its position in its orbit places it on the other side of the Sun from Earth. That location means our star’s light reflects off Uranus’ icy atmosphere, and the planet appears as its brightest.
If you spot Uranus without any optical aid, you will see a star, similar to many others around it, i.e. there is little to distinguish it as a planet. You'll also have a very dark sky because Uranus is only just bright enough to be seen with the naked eye; any level of light pollution will stop you from seeing it.
Sky map picturing M45 and Uranus, Stellarium
To find it, look overhead just after midnight on November 13. Uranus will lie about halfway between the brilliant planet Jupiter and the diffuse glow of the Pleiades star cluster (M45). While Uranus may look like a bright blinking star in the night sky, its blue-green hue gives away its identity. Binoculars or a telescope will improve the view.
For more about this oddball planet, visit NASA’s Uranus page: https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/facts/
For additional review visit: Space.com
Let’s Explore Space - What’s in the Sky November 2023.
M92 Star Cluster
Messier 92 is a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Hercules. Wikipedia
Distance to Earth: 26,740 light-years
Apparent magnitude (V): 6.4
Declination: +43° 08′ 09.4″
Distance: 26.7×10^3 ly (8.2 kpc)
Metallicity: = –2.32 dex
Apparent dimensions (V): 14' arc minutes
Other designations: M92, NGC 6341, GCl 59
NASA Hubble Space Telescope image
Discovered by Johann Elert Bode on December 27, 1777, and then published in the Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch in 1779. It was inadvertently rediscovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781, and added as the 92nd entry in his catalog. William Herschel first resolved individual stars in 1783.
Image: Freecharts.com
M92 is located a few degrees north of the Keystone asterism in a relatively blank area of Hercules. It can be found by drawing an imaginary line from eta Herculis (η Her - mag. +3.5) to iota Herculis (ι Her - mag. +3.8). About 3/5ths of the way along this line is M92.
When viewed through 10x50 binoculars this cluster appears distinctly non-stellar, like an out-of-focus star or a hazy patch of light. It has a brighter core, which can be seen with direct vision but is much easier with averted. Small to medium-sized telescopes start to resolve some of the outer stars in the surrounding halo. Compared with M13, the core of M92 is compact and therefore more difficult to resolve. This is particularly noticeable with larger scopes of the order of 250mm (12-inch) aperture or greater. When viewed through such instruments, M92 appears as a large bright ball of stars with dozens of members resolved across the surface, although fewer towards the center.
For more visit: Freecharts.com
Tonight’s Sky: November
In November, hunt for the fainter constellations of fall, including Pisces, Aries, and Triangulum. They will guide you to find several galaxies and a pair of white stars. Stay tuned for space-based views of spiral galaxy M74 and the Triangulum Galaxy, which are shown in visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light.
Visit the STScI which produces Hubblesite.org video overviews for Tonight’s Sky.
They can be found both on Facebook and stsci.edu.
Submissions Welcome
Members are invited to submit articles, photos, news, or stories for inclusion with Astral Projections Online. Please contact the ASTRA Webmaster.