20120810ACADVMin

The Astronomy Club of Augusta held its August 10 meeting at the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, USC Aiken, and seven members were in attendance.  In addition were 25 guests, which included several families with their children.  Ken Beard opened the meeting and introduced the evening’s program:  Astronomy Movie Night featuring IMAX Hubble.

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation.  A 2.4-meter (7.9 ft) aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared.  The telescope is named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble.     

Hubble is the only telescope designed to be serviced in space by astronauts.  Between 1993 and 2002, four missions repaired, upgraded, and replaced systems on the telescope; a fifth mission was canceled on safety grounds following the Columbia disaster.  However, after spirited public discussion, NASA administrator Mike Griffin approved one final servicing mission, completed in 2009. The telescope is now expected to function until at least 2014.  Its scientific successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is to be launched in 2018 or possibly later.

Hubble orbits the Earth in the extremely tenuous upper atmosphere, and over time its orbit decays due to drag.  HST uses gyroscopes to stabilize itself in orbit and point accurately and steadily at astronomical targets.  Normally, three gyroscopes are required for operation; observations are still possible with two, but the area of sky that can be viewed would be somewhat restricted, and observations requiring very accurate pointing are more difficult.  The film focused primarily on the 2009 mission where, unless faulty gyroscopes were repaired, the telescope would be rendered useless. 

The 11-day mission by Atlantis was scheduled for launch in October 2008.  However, the main data-handling unit failed in late September 2008, halting all reporting of scientific data. This unit has a backup, and on October 25, 2008 Hubble was successfully rebooted and was reported to be functioning normally.  However, since a failure in the backup unit would now leave the HST helpless, the service mission was postponed to allow astronauts to repair this problem.  This mission got underway in May 2009 and completed all the long planned replacements as well as additional repairs, including replacing the main data-handling unit.  The seven astronauts were followed as they trained for the mission, four stories under water, at the Johnson Space Center.   

The film concluded with some of the most breath-taking views of the universe; taking us through our Milky Way Galaxy, past Andromeda, into the Virgo cluster of over 2,000 galaxies and out to the edge of the observable universe.   In closing we all gained a renewed perspective of our earth and the fragility of the life that is here.

Following the film John White provided a demonstration of our own “Webb” telescope donated by Tom Webb.  The telescope is an Edmond Scientific model.  John explained that a telescope uses 2 axis and 2 speeds to track an object and follow it as the earth rotates.  Once the desired object is found the observer should stare at it for at least 30 seconds in order to perceive faint, subtle dim light.  John also detailed the repairs that were made to the telescope and his problem solving techniques.  We are fortunate to have the gift of this telescope and the talent of our members to ensure optimal performance of these instruments – thank you John.    John noted that the club’s telescopes may be borrowed by club members on a monthly basis after signing them out.

John also shared information on the “life-finding” satellite “Curiosity” and its 350,000,000 mile, eight month mission to Mars.  There have been seven successful landings on Mars, all by NASA, but Curiosity is by far the most technically sophisticated and expensive with a $2.5 billion price tag.   After nailing the most difficult planetary landing ever (landing within 1 minute and 15 seconds of the expected time in Quad 51) NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told a cheering crowd that the mission as a whole cost the equivalent of a single movie ticket for everyone in the United States.  John remarked on the countless jobs that have been created as a result of this mission.  In addition to its own self-portrait, Curiosity continues to send back vivid pictures of Gale crater and Mount Sharp and will provide an abundance of information on the effects on the geology as it scoops up ground material and drills into the Martian surface. 

Mark Moffatt followed with an update of his lunar observations of Mare Humorum (Sea of Moisture).   Like most of the other maria on the Moon, Mare Humorum was named by Giovanni Riccioli, whose 1651 nomenclature system has become standardized.   Gassendi is a large lunar crater feature located at the northern edge of Mare Humorum.  The formation has been inundated by lava during the formation of the mare, so only the rim and the multiple central peaks remain above the surface. The outer rim is worn and eroded, although it retains a generally circular form. A smaller crater Gassendi A intrudes into the northern rim, and joins a rough uplift at the northwest part of the floor. The crater pair bears a resemblance to a diamond ring.

Mark stressed the importance of keeping a notebook to log observances as they are made.  This should include: the date, time and the number of days into the moon’s cycle.  Instructions for using the Virtual Moon Atlas (VMA) on your computer can be found on the club’s website.  Afterwards Mark shared some of his knowledge of the moon with the visiting families – thank you Mark. 

Reminders:

In closing John reminded the group of the club picnic next Saturday (8/18) and the annual Perseid meteor shower peaking this weekend.   Club members were asked to let Tedda know (via email) what foods they are bringing.         If clouds block your view of the meteor shower you can tune in online for live views of the meteor display from NASA.

New Members:

We are happy to report that David and Mar-Lee Vine, Aiken, became new members.  Welcome David and Mar-Lee!             

The meeting was followed by refreshments provided by Mike and Kay M.  Especially yummy were the homemade chocolate chip cookies made by Kay.  Many thanks Mike and Kay.

Respectfully submitted,
Dot Valentine

20120818ACADVMin

Members of the Astronomy Club of Augusta gathered on August 18, 2012, Saturday evening at 7pm at NMR-DSO for our annual picnic, star gaze and waffle breakfast the following morning. Twenty-five club members and one guest attended.

We were treated to the most g-astronomically delicious food including: sweet peppers, watermelon appetizers, barbecued pulled pork, hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, pickles, lettuce, fresh sliced tomatoes & vidalia onions, potato salad, macaroni salad, cole slaw, carrot and green bean salad, 3-bean salad, baked beans, corn pudding, grilled bananas, fresh pineapple, butterfly & other rolls, and much more, with blueberry cobbler for desert. Many compliments to the fine cooks, contributions of drinks, utensils, and other picnic accoutrements for a wonderful meal and great conversations !!!

For those who stayed on, around 9:30 pm we made our way out to the field where John, Stan, Kenneth, and Mark set up telescopes and binoculars. As the sun, set the evening sky became somewhat cloudy. We got our bearings finding the Big Dipper, Little Dipper (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) and the double star Polaris. Between the dippers we were able to identify most of Draco. Stan caught a view of Saturn just as it was setting. We then tracked the now familiar Summer Triangle overhead and Tedda identified Vega in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus (the Swan), and Altair in Aquilla (the Eagle) for us. We were able to make out the Milky Way, but the cloudiness blocked much of the abundance of stars we had hoped to see. The same was true for the Perseid Meteor shower with less than a dozen meteors spotted throughout the night.

Returning to the handle of the Big Dipper, we Arc’d to Arcturus in Bootes and sped on to would-be Spica(below the western horizon). John pointed out the constellations on the southern horizon: Scorpius and Sagittarius (the Teapot). As the night progressed the recognizable “W” shape of Cassiopeia the queen made its way into view. Tedda outlined the crown of Cepheus the king, and John pointed out the ‘K” shaped constellation Perseus. Stan provided a view of the Ring Nebula (M57) appearing between the southern stars in Lyra. The nebula is passing through the last stage in its evolution before becoming a white dwarf.

By 1 am the clouds forced us to call it a night. The next morning clouds prevented any viewing of the morning stars and as the sun began to rise we retreated to the house for waffles. Ten of us enjoyed the breakfast provided by Stan and Tedda. We enjoyed a lively discussion and shared astronomy experiences. We discussed the possibility of a group trip. It was quite an adventure for all of us, especially those who camped out, and we thank everyone who helped and Stan and Tedda for their hospitality.

Respectfully submitted,
Dot Valentine



20120831ACADVMin

Four members of the Astronomy Club of Augusta gathered informally on August 31, 2012, Friday evening at 7pm to almost midnight at NMR-DSO to observe the full moon. In attendance were Stan and Tedda Howard, Ken Beard, and Dot Valentine.

The sky was slightly hazy with ground humidity later. Stan set up Virtual Moon Atlas on the laptop, and two telescopes: our 9mm Televue Genesis Refractor and our 8" Meade Reflector, both of which provided spectacular views of a brilliant full moon. (The moon rose at 7:44 PM and set at 8:03 AM the following morning.) We observed with low power eyepieces mostly. Later, Stan wowed us with some high power eyepieces.

The Astronomical League’s (AL) Lunar Club provides a formatted log sheet and guidance for observing over 100 features on the moon which Ken and Dot used to log their observations. Using the telescopes, Stan helped us get oriented: actual and telescopic right, left, up, and down. With guidance from Tedda, we identified Tycho with its rays and central cone, which was brilliantly illuminated. From this point we learned to identify:
Maria: Frigoris, Crisium, Serenitatis, Tranquillitatis, Fecunditatis, Humorum, and Imbrium.
Other Craters: Copernicus, Kepler, Aristarchus, Grimaldi, Gassendi, Plato, Aristoteles, and Langrenus.

The “Man in the Moon” was visible with the “naked eye”, and the following morning the “Rabbit in the Moon” was observed by Dot using borrowed club Orion Mini Giant 12 x 63 binoculars.

This evening's experience showed us how much there is to learn about the moon, and that we are able and on our way to joining our local club group of "Lunatics"!

Respectfully submitted,
Dot Valentine