Prime Focus (05-11) - Kalamazoo Astronomical Society

Highlights of the
May Sky. . .
- - - 1st - - DAWN: Thin crescent Moon
above Jupiter & Mars (½º
apart) and upper left of
Venus and Mercury.
- - - 2nd - - DAWN: Very thin crescent
Moon ~11º left of Jupiter.
- - - 3rd - - New Moon
- - - 4th - - DUSK: Pleiades are lower
right of a thin crescent
Moon low in WNW.
- - - - AM: Eta Aquarid meteor
shower peaks.
Prime Focus
A Publication of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society
May 2011
This Months KAS Events
Astronomy Day 2011: Saturday, May 7 @ 10:00 am
Day & Evening Activities - Please See Pages 3 & 4 for Details
6th
- - - 7th — 15th - - DUSK: Mercury less than
1½º to lower right of Venus
with Jupiter fitting in same
5º fieldfield-ofof-view.
- - - 10th - - First Quarter Moon
- - - - DUSK: Jupiter and Mercury
are just ½º above and 1½º
below Venus, respectfully.
Observing Session: Saturday, May 7 @ 9:00 pm
The Moon & Saturn - Kalamazoo Nature Center
General Meeting: Friday, May 13 @ 7:00 pm
Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center - Details on Page 8
Board Meeting: Sunday, May 15 @ 5:00 pm
Sunnyside Church - 2800 Gull Road - All Members Welcome
11th
- - - 15th — 20th - - DAWN: Mercury is within
1½º of Venus. Mars less
than 5º to lower left.
- - - 17th - - Full Moon
- - - 20th — 21st - - DAWN: Venus forms right
triangle ~2º wide with
Mercury below and Mars to
its left.
- - - 22nd — 24th - - DAWN: Mars passes ~1º
above Venus, with Mercury
less than 4º to lower left.
- - - 24th - - Last Quarter Moon
Observing Session: Saturday, May 28 @ 8:30 pm
Saturn & Galaxies of the Virgo Cluster - Kalamazoo Nature Center
Inside the Newsletter. . .
April Meeting Minutes........................... p. 2
Board Meeting Minutes......................... p. 2
AD2K11: Daytime Activities................p. 3
AD2K11: Keynote Presentation......... p. 4
NASA Space Place.................................. p. 5
May Night Sky..........................................p. 6
KAS Board & Announcements............ p. 7
General Meeting Preview..................... p. 8
www.kasonline.org
APRIL
BOARD
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes
The general meeting of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society
was brought to order by President Jack Price on Friday, April
1, 2011 at 7:15 pm EDT. Approximately 64 members and
guests were in attendance at the Kalamazoo Area Math &
Science Center (KAMSC).
The officers and at-large members of the KAS assembled for
a board meeting on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at Sunnyside
Church. President Jack Price brought the meeting to order at
about 5:11 pm. Other board members present included
Richard Bell, Joe Borrello, Dick Gillespie, Rich Mather, Don
Stilwell and Roger Williams.
Dr. Kirk Korista, WMU Professor of Astronomy and KAS
member, was the featured presenter for the evening. Kirk
called his latest talk Why is the Night Sky Dark (or is it)?
Kirk said the simple human observation of darkness between
the stars has profound cosmic implications. The question of
the darkness of space has been asked and incorrectly
answered by many of history’s most famous thinkers. These
include Lucretius (Roman philosopher and poet), Sir Thomas
Diggs (16th century English mathematician and astronomer),
Johannes Kepler, and Edmund Halley. Heinrich Olbers
(amateur astronomer who discovered many of the first
asteroids) asked this question in 1826 and - for some reason became known as “Olber’s Paradox.” The first person to
correctly explain why the night sky is dark is - believe it or
not - Edgar Allan Poe!
The implications to the answer of this question have to do
with the size and age of the universe. Is it infinite in size and
age? A universe of infinite extent and age, it can be
demonstrated, should be as bright and hot at the surface of the
Sun! In his poem Eureka, Poe stated “…supposing the
distance of the invisible background so immense that no ray
from it has yet been able to reach us at all.” In other words,
he deduced that the finite speed of light and finite ages of the
stars combine to give us our dark sky! The universe is NOT
infinitely old after all. Lord Kelvin gave a more mathematical
explanation in 1901 (he knew nothing of Poe’s insights).
Kirk then gave a brief history of the universe starting with the
“Big Bang” 13.7 billion years ago. Kirk recommended two
books on this subject by Edward Harrison. These include
Cosmology: The Science of the Universe (1981/2000) and
Darkness at Night: A Riddle of the Universe (1987).
Jack gave his president’s report after the snack break. He
thanked Jean DeMott, Mike Dupuis, Don Stilwell, and Roger
Williams for participating in Science Night at Plainwell
Middle School on March 30th. Jean described it as “a zoo.”
Roger showed a nice image of the Sun and commented how
activity is steadily increasing. Joe Comiskey enjoyed some
nice views of Saturn recently. Richard Bell gave a quick
slide show of the recent KAS outing at the Winter Star Party.
Current astronomical news included MESSENGER becoming
the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury and ripples in Jupiter’s
and Saturn’s rings being caused by comet collisions. The
meeting concluded at 9:36 pm.
Prime Focus
Rich Mather started off with his treasurer’s report.
Significant inflows include the Astronomy Day grant from
the Gilmore Foundation, membership renewals, and several
generous donations from KAS members.
The 2011 general meeting schedule is complete. Richard
reported that Michigan amateur astronomer and
astrophotographer Jason Blaschka agreed to give a
presentation on astronomical equipment at the July 8th
meeting. The location for the July meeting has yet to be
determined, but we’re hoping to hold it at the Nature Center
again. Richard also reported that everything is on track to
bring in Terence Dickinson this November.
Jack mentioned a recent conversation with Kalamazoo major
Bobby Hopewell. Jack inquired about the KAS receiving a
declaration from the city in honor of our 75th anniversary.
Mayor Hopewell said it’s just a simple matter of filling out
the paperwork. Jack said he’d speak with either Jean DeMott
or Mark Miller about getting things started.
Richard then went over all the preparations for Astronomy
Day 2011 on May 7th (see pages 3 and 4). Volunteers are still
needed. Several members are working double shifts, so it
would be nice if other members would step forward. Richard
is also planning to hold a door prize giveaway immediately
following the 3:00 pm Cooking Up A Comet show.
The KAS is participating in several upcoming community
events. These include Free Admission Day at the Nature
Center (4/16), Green-A-Thon at the Portage Celery Flats
(4/23), and the Piece Cedar Creek Institute 10th Anniversary
celebration (6/11). Volunteers are always needed.
Richard proposed we bring back the “Supporting
Membership” for out-of-state residents. For $5, people would
receive the newsletter and a membership card. They wouldn’t
be able to take advantage of any other member benefits. This
was unanimously approved by board members in attendance.
The Board also approved up to $175 for a case and
replacement foam for our Coronado PST and a finderscope
for the recently donated NexStar 8 Schmidt-Cassegrain
Telescope. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 pm. The next
board meeting was scheduled for 5:00 pm Sunday, May 15th
at Sunnyside.
Page 2
May 2011
Solar Observing
View our star close up with safe solar filters (weather permitting)
Hands-on Activities
Fan Comet Pluto Globe Constellation Can Star Decoration
Educational Displays
Icy Worlds Mercury Telescopes Member Astrophotography
Cooking Up A Comet
Help Richard Bell build a comet and learn about their
secret lives at the edge of the solar system.
— Shows at 11am & 3pm —
Meet Dr. Mike Brown
Chat with Dr. Brown and get his autograph. Copies of
his new book will be available for purchase.
— From 1pm - 4pm —
astroday.kasonline.org
Cosmic Recount
by
Dr. Tony Phillips
News flash: The Census Bureau has found a way to save
time and money. Just count the biggest people. For every
NBA star like Shaquille O’Neal or Yao Ming, there are
about a million ordinary citizens far below the rim. So count
the Shaqs, multiply by a million, and the census is done.
Could the Bureau really get away with a scheme like
that? Not likely. Yet this is just what astronomers have been
doing for decades.
Astronomers are census-takers, too. They often have to
estimate the number and type of stars in a distant galaxy. The
problem is, when you look into the distant reaches of the
cosmos, the only stars you can see are the biggest and
brightest. There’s no alternative. To figure out the total
population, you count the supermassive Shaqs and multiply
by some correction factor to estimate the number of little
guys.
The correction factor astronomers use comes from a function
called the “IMF” — short for “initial mass function.” The
initial mass function tells us the relative number of stars of
different masses. For example, for every 20-solar-mass giant
born in an interstellar cloud, there ought to be about 100
ordinary sun-like stars.
This kind of ratio allows
astronomers to conduct a census of all stars even when they
can see only the behemoths.
Now for the real news flash: The initial mass function
astronomers have been using for years might be wrong.
NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer, an ultraviolet space
telescope dedicated to the study of galaxies, has found proof
that small stars are more numerous than previously believed.
“Some of the standard assumptions that we've had — that the
brightest stars tell you about the whole population — don’t
seem to work, at least not in a constant way,” says Gerhardt
R. Meurer who led the study as a research scientist at Johns
Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. (Meurer is now at the
University of Western Australia.)
Meurer says that the discrepancy could be as high as a factor
of four. In other words, the total mass of small stars in some
galaxies could be four times greater than astronomers
thought. Take that, Shaq!
The study relied on data from Galaxy Evolution Explorer to
sense UV radiation from the smaller stars in distant galaxies,
and data from telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American
Observatory to sense the “H-alpha” (red light) signature of
larger stars. Results apply mainly to galaxies where stars are
newly forming, cautions Meurer.
“I think this is one of the more important results to come out
of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission,” he says. Indeed,
astronomers might never count stars the same way again.
Find out about some of the other important discoveries of the
Galaxy Evolution Explorer at:
http://www.galex.caltech.edu/
For an easy-to-understand answer for kids to “How many
solar systems are in our galaxy?” go to The Space Place at:
http://tiny.cc/I2KMa
Astronomers have recently found that some galaxies
have as many as 2000 small stars for every 1 massive
star. They used to think all galaxies had only about 500
small stars for every 1 massive star.
Prime Focus
This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Page 5
May 2011
May Night Sky..............................
NORTH
This star map is property of the
Kalamazoo Astronomical Society.
However you may make as many
copies as you wish free-of-charge,
so long as it is for non-profit
educational purposes and full
credit is given to the KAS.
y Late April
12 am
y Early May
11 pm
y Late May
10 pm
y Early June
Dusk
EAST
WEST
www.kasonline.org
This map represents the sky at the
following local times:
SOUTH
T
here are plenty of reasons to get up
before dawn in May. Venus, Jupiter,
Mercury, and Mars spend the entire
month dancing around one another low
on the eastern horizon. A thin waning
crescent Moon joins the party on May 1st.
It’ll be above Mars and Jupiter, but to the
left of Mercury and Venus. Binoculars
and a clear view of the eastern horizon
are mandatory.
Mercury will be a mere 1½° to the lower
right of Venus from May 7th - 15th. Jupiter
will be less than 5° away; easily fitting
into a binoculars field of view. The
positioning changes daily.
Venus forms a right triangle about 2°
wide with Mercury below it and Mars to
its left on May 20th and 21st.
The crescent Moon will be to Jupiter’s
upper left on May 29th, to Venus’ upper
right of the 30th, and clustered with
Mercury and Venus on the 31st.
KAS BOARD
PRESIDENT
Jack Price
343-3193
VICE PRESIDENT
Richard Bell
373-8942
TREASURER
Rich Mather
629-5312
SECRETARY/ALCOR
Roger Williams
May 2011
Page 7
KAS 75th Anniversary T-shirts
Thanks to all the KAS members that pre-ordered a
KAS 75th Anniversary T-shirt. A limited number of
T-shirts are now available in our online store, The
Sky Shop. So, if you missed out, here’s your
chance to get one before they’re gone!
The only sizes available are large and extralarge short-sleeve shirts. They’re 100% cotton
and have been preshrunk.
Shipping is available or you can contact us and
have one reserved.
375-4867
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Joe Borrello
$20.00
Order at:
skyshop.kasonline.org
321-0410
Dick Gillespie
966-9653
Public Observing Sessions
Scott Macfarlane
679-2865
Don Stilwell
963-5856
E-MAIL a BOARD MEMBER
Saturday, May 7th
Features: The Moon & Saturn
Saturday, May 28th
Features: Saturn & Virgo Cluster Galaxies
Gates Open: 8:30pm Observing Begins: 9:00 pm
Kalamazoo Nature Center ◆ 7000 N. Westnedge Ave.
ORDER or RESERVE
YOUR COPY TODAY!
Caltech astronomer and “Pluto Killer” Dr. Mike
Brown is our very special guest for Astronomy Day
2011 on May 7th. He’ll be signing copies of his
new book at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum from
1 - 4pm.
Please contact Richard Bell to reserve a copy
or purchase one through the SkyShop NOW.
Shipping costs can be refunded and you can pick
up your book in person at Astronomy Day.
All proceeds help offset Astronomy Day costs.
$25.00
Kalamazoo Astronomical Society
c/o KAMSC
600 West Vine, Suite 400
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
© May 2011, Stargazer Productions
STAMP