Astral Projections Online October 2024
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 October ASTRA Meeting
ASTRA's next meeting will be Friday, October 11, 2024, at 6:30 PM EST. During this meeting, we will be spending time in the planetarium room at Novin’s Planetarium on the campus of Ocean County College.
Upcoming Star Parties
Jakes Branch - October 5 - 7 PM to 9 PM
Jakes Branch - November 9 - 6 PM to 8 PM
Upcoming Public, County & State Park Presentations 2024
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. Additional help for these events is always appreciated.
County and State Park presentations require a registration fee, call the hosting park to reserve.
October 1 - Princeton Garden Club - DarkSky presentation. - 5 PM to 8 PM - Private event
The October 6 event moved to November 3 - Seaside Community Center USS Challenger Star Trek Fan Group
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM - What to see in the night sky with a telescope. - Public event
November 8 - Cape May Dark Skies at Cape May Convention Center - Starting at 5 PM
This may become a yearly event with several groups participating so far.
DarkSky New Jersey / SciStarter / South Jersey Astronomy and more attending.
November 14 - Cattus Island County Park - Buying Your First Telescope - 6 PM to 8 PM
Website Updates …
Please visit our club website. We continue to have additional updates, if some content would be useful to members please let us know.
“At night, when the sky is full of stars and the sea is still you get the wonderful sensation that you are floating in space.”
Natalie Wood, American actress
ASTRA Meeting - October 11
6:30 PM this month
For our October meeting, we will spend time in the dome at Novins Planetarium. Planetarium staff will provide a presentation of the Clipper Mission. Meeting time in the meeting room will be at 6:30 PM representing a 30-minute early start time. This is because the planetarium dome will close its doors for a 7 PM start time. So don’t be late.
NASA's Europa Clipper is launching Oct. 10, 2024, on the first mission to conduct a detailed science investigation of Jupiter's moon Europa. Scientists predict Europa has a salty ocean beneath its icy crust that could hold the building blocks necessary to sustain life.
ASTRA Picnic - September 21
Our September Picnic for ASTRA 2024 was a great event for those who attended. The weather cooperated with us, with no rain and cooler than the last few years. This year's event was hosted by Vinny and Lori Illuzzi. I would like to thank them for myself and the ASTRA membership. Below are some pictures from the event.
Event Reports
September Star Parties
Unfortunately, our star parties for September were both canceled due to the weather.
Hoping our last two official public star parties for 2024 will have clear skies.
September ASTRA Meeting Summary
Now that the summer is behind us we are back at the Planetarium for our monthly club meetings. For September ASTRA member Rich Brady provided his presentation on “Women in Math and Science”. An excellent review with members asking questions and joining in discussions. Looking forward to the next time Rich wants to share with the members on topics he is interested in.
County Park Presentations
While not a park presentation, Jim Webster did provide a presentation to the +55 community in Egg Harbor on September 14. The presentation was Seasonal Constellations for the Fall, followed by a light pollution review.
The light pollution review resulted in a lively discussion for the 50 community members who attended and expressed an interest in doing something about it for their private community. Weather for this event in the Egg Harbor proved difficult with mostly clouds so community members with telescopes did not set up. There were no images for this event.
Members Submitted Articles & Items
Whatever it is, how you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Contact: Jim Webster, ASTRA President and Webmaster, regarding submissions.
Record-breaking Milky Way map showcases 1.5 billion objects:
'We have changed the view of our galaxy forever'
Shared by Elizabeth Ford Schultz
The 200,000 images were collected by the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile over the course of over 13 years, from 2010 to 2023, as part of the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea (VVV) survey and its companion project, the VVV Extended Survey (VVVX). The images were combined to form the record-breaking map, which covers an area of the sky equivalent to 8,600 full moons (as seen from Earth). For context, it contains ten times more objects than a similar 2012 map released by the same team of scientists.
For more go to Space.com
The Moon: 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.
NASA invites the public to design Artemis moon mission navigation tech called the Lunar Navigation Challenge.
NASA invites the public to design Artemis moon mission navigation tech called the Lunar Navigation Challenge.
NASA is seeking the public's help with innovative solutions to help Artemis astronauts navigate in and around the lunar south pole.
For more go to Space.com
Let’s test this in the sandbox… the Moon sandbox!
Scientists & engineers tested the Goddard-built LEMS (Lunar Environment Monitoring Station) instrument suite in a “sandbox” of simulated Moon regolith earlier in September. LEMS is being developed to fly to the Moon with Artemis III astronauts in late 2026 and will carry two University of Arizona-built seismometers to perform long-term monitoring for moonquakes and meteorite impacts.
For more visit science.nasa.gov
Outreach material below is distributed free for public outreach.
Around The Web
Dark Sky News
Dark Sky New Jersey is a joint venture of Dark Sky International Advocates and Delegates from New Jersey and the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club Dark Sky team. If there is an interest in helping, please let Jim Webster know.
DarkSky New Jersey now has a Facebook page.
State Bill A2196
The New Jersey State Lighting Bill is now with the State Senate and has moved to the Environmental and Energy Committee. Voting for this bill so far has been very promising. For more information the link to the bill is available: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/A2196
NASA APOD
The visible view for us here on the Jersey Shore has passed with rain and clouds from the recent Hurricane.
The new comet has passed its closest to the Sun and is now moving closer to the Earth. C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is currently moving out from inside the orbit of Venus and on track to pass its nearest to the Earth in about two weeks. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, pronounced "Choo-cheen-shah At-less", is near naked-eye visibility but easily picked up by long-exposure cameras. The comet can also now be found by observers in Earth's northern hemisphere as well as the south. The featured image was captured just a few days ago above Zacatecas, Mexico. Because clouds were obscuring much of the pre-dawn sky, the astrophotographer released a drone to take pictures from higher up, several of which were later merged to enhance the comet's visibility. Although the future brightness of comets is hard to predict, there is increasing hope that Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will further brighten as it enters the early evening sky.
On the lighter side of astronomy …
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!
October’s Night Sky Notes:
Catch Andromeda Rising
By Dave Prosper
Updated By Kat Troche
If you’re thinking of a galaxy, the image in your head is probably the Andromeda Galaxy! Studies of this massive neighboring galaxy, also called M31, have played an incredibly important role in shaping modern astronomy. As a bonus for stargazers, the Andromeda Galaxy is also a beautiful sight.
Spot the Andromeda Galaxy! M31’s more common name comes from its parent constellation, which becomes prominent as autumn arrives in the Northern Hemisphere. Surprising amounts of detail can be observed with unaided eyes when seen from dark sky sites. Hints of it can even be made out from light-polluted areas. Use the Great Square of Pegasus or the Cassiopeia constellation as guides to find it. Credit: Stellarium Web
Have you heard that all the stars you see at night are part of our Milky Way galaxy? While that is mostly true, one star-like object located near the border between the constellations of Andromeda and Cassiopeia appears fuzzy to unaided eyes. That’s because it’s not a star, but the Andromeda Galaxy, its trillion stars appearing to our eyes as a 3.4 magnitude patch of haze. Why so dim? Distance! It’s outside our galaxy, around 2.5 million light years distant - so far away that the light you see left M31’s stars when our earliest ancestors figured out stone tools. Binoculars show more detail: M31’s bright core stands out, along with a bit of its wispy, saucer-shaped disc. Telescopes bring out greater detail but often can’t view the entire galaxy at once. Depending on the quality of your skies and your magnification, you may be able to make out individual globular clusters, structure, and at least two of its orbiting dwarf galaxies: M110 and M32. Light pollution and thin clouds, smoke, or haze will severely hamper observing fainter detail, as they will for any “faint fuzzy.” Surprisingly, persistent stargazers can still spot M31’s core from areas of moderate light pollution as long as skies are otherwise clear.
Generated version of the Andromeda Galaxy and its companion galaxies M32 and M110. Credit: Stellarium Web
Modern astronomy was greatly shaped by studies of the Andromeda Galaxy. A hundred years ago, the idea that there were other galaxies beside our own was not widely accepted, and so M31 was called the “Andromeda Nebula.” Increasingly detailed observations of M31 caused astronomers to question its place in our universe – was M31 its own “island universe,” and not part of our Milky Way? Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis engaged in the “Great Debate” of 1920 over its nature. Curtis argued forcefully from his observations of dimmer than expected nova, dust lanes, and other oddities that the “nebula” was in fact an entirely different galaxy from our own. A few years later, Edwin Hubble, building on Henrietta Leavitt’s work on Cepheid variable stars as a “standard candle” for distance measurement, concluded that M31 was indeed another galaxy after he observed Cepheids in photos of Andromeda, and estimated M31’s distance as far outside our galaxy’s boundaries. And so, the Andromeda Nebula became known as the Andromeda Galaxy.
While M31’s disc appears larger than you might expect (about 3 Moon widths wide), its “galactic halo” of scattered stars and gas is much, much larger – as you can see here. In fact, it is suspected that its halo is so huge that it may already mingle with our Milky Way’s own halo, which makes sense since our galaxies are expected to merge sometime in the next few billion years! The dots are quasars, objects located behind the halo, which are the very energetic cores of distant galaxies powered by black holes at their center. The Hubble team studied the composition of M31’s halo by measuring how the quasars’ light was absorbed by the halo’s material. Credits: NASA, ESA, and E. Wheatley (STScI)
These discoveries inspire astronomers to this day, who continue to observe M31 and many other galaxies for hints about the nature of our universe. One of the Hubble Space Telescope’s longest-running observing campaigns was a study of M31: the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT). Dig into NASA’s latest discoveries about the Andromeda Galaxy, on their Messier 31 page.
Originally posted by Dave Prosper: September 2021
Last Updated by Kat Troche: September 2024
Andromeda and Smart Telescopes - Field of View
Several ASTRA members now have Smart Telescopes from the smallest Drawf2 to the biggest and newest Celestron Origins. The field of view (FOV) is the viewable area of the object seen at any given time, and at a fixed orientation, by an observer or a device such as a camera, microscope, or telescope and now smart telescopes. The advantage of the Smart telescope can pull in more data about the target. The disadvantage is the nature of observing as there is no eyepiece in most cases. Below is the field of view for Andromeda M31 related to the major brands.
Field of view for Dwarflab - Dwarf 2 and newly released Dwarf 3, ZWO Seestar S50, and the Unistellar Odyssey. The Celestron Origins, which is now available, field of few is similar to the Unistellar. Only the Dwarflabs can fit in all of Andromeda. ZWO is working on mosaic mode for the Seestar. On Cloudy Nights the discussion is that it is in Beta mode now.
The Field of View tool can be found on ASTRA Astronomy Web Tools Page that can be used for most telescopes and binoculars: Astronomy.Tools
Let’s Explore Space - What’s in the Sky October 2024
NGC 7293 - Helix Nebula
The Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius. Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, most likely before 1824, this object is one of the closest of all the bright planetary nebulae to Earth. The distance, measured by the Gaia mission, is 655±13 light-years. Wikipedia
Radius: 2.87 light years
Coordinates: RA 22h 29m 39s | Dec -20° 50′ 14″
Magnitude: 7.6
Distance to Earth: 694.7 light-years
Age: 10,610 years
Number: NGC 7293
Apparent dimensions (V): 25′
NGC 7293 is a large and well-known planetary nebula located in the faint zodiac constellation of Aquarius. Also known as Caldwell 63, it's one of the nearest objects of its type and a beautiful example of a remnant of a dying star. It contains a double ring structure, not unlike two coils of a spring, hence the popular name the Helix Nebula.
When viewed through a pair of 10x50 binoculars, the Helix appears as a faint featureless oval shaped disk. A 100mm (4-inch) telescope reveals finer structural details. Through a 200mm (8-inch) reflector it appears slightly oval with two thick arcs, gaps and brightness variations across the structure. A nebula filter of the UHC (Ultra High Contrast) or OIII (Oxygen III) variety, especially when combined with averted vision, helps to bring out subtle details. However, it's an elusive object that can be rendered invisible even in medium-sized amateur telescopes with just a small amount of light pollution. The central star of the Helix Nebula shines at magnitude +13.4, and therefore only easily seen in large amateur reflectors.
Tonight’s Sky: October
Crisp, clear October nights are full of celestial showpieces. Find Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek myth, to pinpoint dense globular star clusters and galaxies, and keep watching for space-based views of M15, NGC 7331, and the Andromeda Galaxy.
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.