Hamilton Amateur Astronomers September 1999 Volume 6 Issue 9 Ask Stella : Pink Holes T his month's question Stars shine by converting So if we know a star's mass, we comes to us from an hydrogen to helium in nuclear know both how much fuel it has anonymous source on the reactions, so a star's total fuel *and* how quickly that fuel will internet. Our astro-enthusiast supply is determined by the be consumed. By dividing the writes: number of hydrogen atoms first number by the second, inside it. Also, by studying astronomers are able to How long will the stars in nuclear reactions on Earth, we calculate how long a given star constellations be there? know how much energy is will live. To give you an example, released when four atoms of the Sun's total lifetime will be I've heard that stars die. If this is hydrogen combine to form one about 9 billion years (right now true how does it happen? Will atom of helium. So if we know it's about 4.5 billion years old -- the consellations stars die out the mass of a star, we know how middle age for the Sun). But a too? I've never understood this. many hydrogen atoms are inside more massive star like Vega it and if we know that, then we won't live as long as the Sun will. Stella responds: know how much energy the star Even though Vega has more can put out over it's entire fuel, it also consumes it much It's true that stars don't live lifetime. more quickly. Vega's total forever. How long a star lives lifetime is only about. depends on two things: how Astronomers can measure how much fuel it has and how quickly much energy a star is putting out That's half of the answer to your it uses up this fuel. every second. This "energy per question. The stars won't last second" measure is also called forever, the constellations won't power. You can think of it in look the same in a few billion terms of lightbulbs. There are years. dim bulbs that are only releasing 40 Joules of energy per second But there's something else! Stars (1 J/s = 1 Watt) and brighter also move through space at bulbs that are pumping out 200 d i f f e r e n t s p e e d s . T h e Watts. Some bulbs are brighter movements of stars relative to than others. Stars are like that each other is very slow. You'd too. What kind of wattage a star have to live thousands of years has is determined by one thing to be able to detect a change in only: the star's initial mass. the constellations with your eyes Massive stars burn brightly, a l o n e . B u t p r e c i s e while their less massive cousins measurements of stellar are dimmer. positions using telescopes (a (Continued on page 4) Chair's Report page 2 Rob'serving Report page 6 inside... Constellation of the Month page 3 Calendar of Events page 8 HAA Star Party page 5 October Sky page 9 Page 2 Chair's Report II sixth membership year of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers. trust that everyone has had an We are looking for some new enjoyable summer. A few of our members to join the Council starting members were fortunate to be in in November. We need your help to Europe to witness the total eclipse run the club. Please consider of the Sun on August 11. I'm sure donating a few hours of your time we will see some nice slides from each month. There are no monetary that (hint, hint). Other club rewards but I can assure you that EE vent Horizon is a publication of the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers (HAA). members were able to attend one or some of us would not continue to more of the many star parties such serve on the Council if we didn't The HAA is an amateur astronomy as Starfest near Mount Forest, the have a good time. club dedicated to the promotion and Huronia Star Party near Alliston, the enjoyment of astronomy for people of North Bay "Gateway to the I have three web sites for you to all ages and experience levels Universe", the Great Manitou Star check out this month. The first is all Party on Manitoulin Island, the a b o u t t h e " S e a r c h f o r The cost of the subscription is Syracuse Summer Seminar in New Extraterrestrial Intelligence at included in the $15 individual or $20 York, and of course the HAA Star HOME" http://setiathome.ssl. family membership fee for the year. Party at Silent Lake. There were berkeley.edu/. Another interesting Event Horizon is published a plenty of clear nights this summer site is the "U.S. Naval Observatory minimum of 10 times a year. but somehow most of them didn't A s t r o n o m i c a l A p p l i c a t i o n s coincide with the star parties. Department" at http://aa.usno.navy. HAA Council mil/AA/ this site provides data about Hon. Chair Jim Winger The fall is an excellent time for the Sun and Moon such as rise, set Chair Stewart Attlesey observing since it is getting dark and transit times. They also have Second Chair Doug Welch earlier, the nights are not too cold data about past and upcoming solar Secretary Marg Walton yet and there are no bugs. The and lunar eclipses. The Swansea Treasurer Barbara Wight yearly cycle of the stars moving Astronomical Society at http://www. Obs. Dir Rob Roy across the sky tends to be cancelled swan.ac.uk/astra/astro/oldpage.htm Editor Rosa Assalone out in the fall by the ever-earlier has a link to a set of Telrad finder Membership Dir. Ev Rilett sunsets. This results in the summer charts for all 109 objects in the HAJA Coord Rosa Assalone constellations remaining visible for Caldwell catalogue as well as many an extended period. The next few other interesting items. Councillors months offer many opportunities for Stewart Attlesey Ann Tekatch observing, whether at our observing attlesey@interlog.com Ray Badgerow site at Binbrook or your own back Steve Barnes yard. John McCloy Gary Sutton October brings us to the end of the Web Site http://amateurastronomy.org/ Editor's Report I t's good to see this issue of the Event Horizon so packed full of articles. I trust the October issue will be just as full. Send your articles to me at assalor@mcmaster. ca. Rosa Assalone Event Horizon Editor assalor@mcmaster.ca Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 3 Constellation of the Month Cygnus Constellation of the Month Cygnus -- The Swan The Swan Margaret Walton tale of Sinbad. Cygnus is Vega and Altair. T identified as the roc that carried Sinbad during his second Objects to see in Cygnus his is one of the most voyage to the Valley of M29 (NGC6913). Open Cluster. prominent constellations Diamonds where he found and This is a group of 8 - 30 stars during the summer months. A returned with a large treasure. against a rich background of very rich portion of the Milky fainter stars. Magnitude 6.6. Way runs lengthwise through the Cygus is also known as the centre of the constellation and is Northern Cross. As Christmas M39 (NGC7092). Open Cluster. spectacular through binoculars. approaches, the constellation This is a large group of 30 stars. appears to stand upright during It is a very loose, poor cluster. Many civilizations have identified mid evening and appears as a Magnitude 4.6. this group of stars as a bird. It cross. Midnight culmination is has been a flying eagle, a hen, a the end of July. NGC6811. 'Hole in a Cluster'. partridge and a pigeon. Greek Open Cluster. This is a large, myth identifies this as Zeus in Stars poor cluster of about 70 stars. disguise as a swan. Zeus fell in love with Leda, the wife of King Alberio - Alberio is located at NGC6819. Open Cluster. This Thestius of Aetolia. In order to the swan's head and is one of is a large, rich cluster of 150 approach her, he disguised the most beautiful double stars. stars and has a strong central himself as a swan and flew to The stars are a magnitude 3 concentration. Magnitude7.3. her. She played with the swan golden-yellow and magnitude 5 and lay with it. As a result of blue. NGC6826. 'Blinking Planetary'. lying with both Zeus (as the Planetary Nebula. This is a swan) and her husband, she laid Deneb - Deneb means tail. It is bright, large, blue-green disk. By two eggs. From one hatched the a blue-white supergiant and at looking straight at it and then immortal twins Pollux and Helen, magnitude 1.6 is the 19th slightly away from it you can see and from the other the mortal brightest star in the sky. Its the blinking effect. When you twins Castor and Clytemnestra. luminosity is 60,000 times that of look straight at it, the nebulosity our sun. Deneb is part of the seems to disappear. Another legend comes from the summer triangle, along with NGC6866. Open Cluster. This is a large, rich cluster of magnitude 7.6 with star chains and many double stars. NGC6888. 'Crescent Nebula'. Emissions from a Wolf Rayet Star. This is a faint, l a r g e , c r e s c e n t s h a p e d n e b u l a . Although it may be difficult to see and is best seen under dark skies with an OIII filter, it is an object well worth looking for. (Continued on page 4) Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 4 Ask Stella : Pink Holes Cosmology Cosmology Discussion Discussion (Continued from page 1) because the stars in it have subdisipline known as moved in their own separate "astrometry") have allowed ways. Group Group astronomers to catalogue these movements quite well. Thanks for your question. I'll What they've found is that be back next month, when Yesterday (before 1950) we knew a long before the stars in the universe is a bit bigger. lot. We will focus on what Bertrand constellations begin to Russell had to say about our exhaust their fuel supplies universe. We can also look at a lot a n d d i e o u t , t h e of other great thinkers from this constellations themselves period. will actually be twisted out of Astronomically yours, shape. Carl Sagan offers a READING MATERIAL great discussion of this in his Stella book "Cosmos". He notes Betrand Russell writes on the that in as little as 25 000 universe in his years, the Big Dipper will be pretty hard to recognize * Human Knowledge It's Scope and Limits Part 1, Chapter 2 and Part 4, Chapter 7 BD 161.R77 6th Floor Mills Library, McMaster * The Scientific Outlook Chapter 5 Q158.R96, 4th Floor Mills Library, McMaster * reviews of Sir Arthur Eddington Cygnus Cygnus -- T The Swan he Swan in Vol. 10 of the Collected Papers B1649.R91, 6th Floor Mills (Continued from page 3) Library, McMaster (we have been NGC6894. Planetary Nebula. NGC7048. Planetary Nebula. unable to find volume 10 in the 6th This nebula has a bright, diffuse, This is a large, faint, irregular/ floor stacks, however it is circular halo. round nebula. available for reading in the basement Russell Archives) NGC6910. Open Cluster. This NGC7086. Open Cluster. This is a bright, small, poor cluster is a large, rich cluster of about Saturday, September 25th, 1999. with faint nebulosity. 50 stars. Magnitude 8.4. 8pm. McMaster's Burke Science Building room B148 NGC6960, 6979, 6992, 6995. NGC7128. Open Cluster. This 'Veil Nebula'. Supernova is a small, rich cluster of about Free Coffee, Ginger Ale, and Remnant. This is a spectacular 35 stars. Magnitude 9.7. Timbits. object. The brightest parts of it can be seen through binoculars. IC5146. 'Cocoon Nebula'. This Informal discussion, everyone The veil covers a large area with is a small cluster involved in a welcome. a lacy nebulosity. An OIII filter l a r g e e m i s s i o n n e b u l a . brings out the best results. Magnitude 7.2. For further information call Larry at 529-1037. NGC7000. 'North American There are many more objects in Nebula'. This is an extremely Cygnus. In order to investigate large nebula visible to the naked more, check a good star chart, eye. It appears as a region of pick a dark night, and go increased brightness in the Milky exploring. Way 3 degrees east of Deneb. The best view is obtained with a rich field telescope or binoculars. Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 5 HAA Fall Star Party - September 10-13 O O nce again the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers are having a fall star party at Silent Lake Provincial Park near Bancroft. This is a beautiful park with very dark skies. The campsites are large and shaded, so you can sleep in after observing all night. We use the day use parking area, right by the lake, for our observing. During the day there is hiking or canoeing at the park, o r r o c k h u n t i n g expeditions around Bancroft. There are free hot showers. At this time of the year t h e r e a r e n o mosquitos. Last years fall party was notable for the meeting of the year is on e m a i l m e a t incredible 2 nights of Friday night, we may not margw@icom.ca. Hope observing we had; very get there until late that to see lots of people out. dark sky, very transparent, night (if it is clear) or very steady. Hopefully we sometime on Saturday, and Margaret Walton will have more of the same stay through until Monday. Secretary, HAA this year. There is no need Please feel free to pass to make a reservation, just this message on to anyone come and enjoy the you think may be weekend. Put a note on interested. If you think you the message board at the can make it, I would entrance to let everyone appreciate an email letting know where you are. me know, so I have some idea of numbers. If anyone The dates are September needs directions or more 10 - 13. As our (HAA) first information, please just Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 6 Rob'serving Report 'T 'T is the season of events are given on page 116 morning twilight. Jupiter & Saturn. of Sky and Telescope, Sept. 13- Sundials will be 4 minutes issue. There are also many fast today. (Aren't you glad you Jupiter rises at about 9pm and "close encounters" of Jupiter's asked?) Saturn 45 minutes later. They moons with each other in Sept/ 15- Moon near Mars which is 3 appear earlier each day, as fall Oct. deg. N of Antares. progresses through to winter. 23- Autumnal Equinox. Fall For the best viewing, you have Saturn's main attraction is its begins at 7:31 am EDT. to wait at least 2-3 hours for rings, of course. You can look 25- Harvest Full Moon tonight. them to get above the for the divisions between rings, 26- Venus is brightest at atmospheric "crud" close to the the Cassini Division being magnitude -4.6 horizon. The best images are visible in a respectable small seen when they transit the scope. You may be able to October meridian (due south line) at 3-4 see up to 5 satellites, 08- Two week period begins for am for mid-Sept. By mid-Dec. depending on your scope and viewing Zodiacal light in the they will be near the meridian the seeing conditions. Sky and morning twilight. in the early evening, 8-9 pm Telescope, Sept., page 113 local time. has a chart to help you identify which is which. The Planets There are lots of things to see for both planets. Jupiter has its Both Jupiter and Saturn are Mercury is too close to the Sun various bands and other going to be more and more and the horizon for viewing. surface detail. Many astrobuffs prominent in the months to delight in watching the 4 come. Promise yourself to Venus is visible in the predawn largest satellites and their check the charts and plan a sky in Sept., becoming a bright occultations, transits and session to look at something morning "star" in the fall and eclipses. The transit of a specific. Go out and have a winter months. satellite's tiny black shadow good look! across the great disk is easy to Mars, low in the southwest follow even in small scopes. Upcoming Binbrook observing evening sky, is too faint and nights are scheduled for Sept. small for much telescopic Sky and Telescope lists these 10, 11 and Oct. 1, 2, 8, 9. Bret detail. phenomena each month- pg. says that he will open up the 114 for the Sept. issue. Times Conservation area after the Jupiter rises at about 9 pm with are universal, so for us locally monthly meeting if skies are best viewing about 5-7 hours in mid-Sept., check the chart clear. Call Rob Roy (692- later. between 1:00 UT (Jupiter's 3245), Bret Culver (575-9492) rising) and 10:00 UT (morning or Marg Walton (627-7361) at Saturn rises at about 9:45 pm. twilight.) Subtract 4 hours to 7pm for local weather get your local Daylight Savings conditions and to confirm. The Uranus & Neptune are in Time. Jupiter's satellite gate will be opened at about 8 Capricornus after evening phenomena for Sept. can also pm. twilight. be found in the Observer's Handbook on page 187. Monthly In-Sights The Great Red Spot transits Rob Roy, the center line of Jupiter's disk September Observing Director approximately every ten hours. 08- Two week period begins for rroy@idirect.com Universal times for these viewing Zodiacal light in the Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 7 Past and Future Eclipses: The Path of August 11,1999 Ray Badgerow This article deals with the occurrence of Total Solar Eclipses at various points along the path of the solar eclipse of Aug.11,1999. Here is what I found using the software Guide 7 to do my research. I was one of the people who traveled to Turkey for the solar eclipse and viewed it at the ruins of Hasankeyf with the Calgary Center of the RASC. When was the last Total Eclipse at these points? and when will the next one be? Take a look. PLACE DATES DURATION/MAG. United Kingdom 1715 May 3 3m51s Penzance 1999 Aug.11 2m00s 2090 Sep.23 2m31s 1724 May 22 25s Plymouth 1999 Aug.11 1m39s 2090 Sep 23 2m07s France 1724 May 22 2m28s Paris 1999 Aug.11 0.996 2081 Sep 3 2m53s Belgium -922 Jan 18 22s Luxembourg 1999 Aug.11 1m20s 2151 Jun 14 2m19s Germany 1706 May 12 2m02s Stuttgart 1999 Aug 11 2m17s 2151 Jun 14 2m17s 1706 May 12 3m15s Munich 1999 Aug 11 2m08s 2151 Jun 14 1m48s Austria 1485 Mar 25 2m43s Salzburg 1999 Aug 11 2m02s 2151 Jun 14 58s Hungary 1842 Jul 8 47s Budapest 1999 Aug 11 0.997 2726 Jul 21 2m45s Romania 1961 Feb 15 1m59s Bucharest 1999 Aug 11 2m22s 2487 May 23 3m17s Turkey 1661 Mar 30 4m04s Istanbul 1999 Aug 11 0.950 2081 Sep 3 1m59s Sivas 1361 May 5 1m19s 1999 Aug 11 2m07s 2006 Mar 29 2m25s Elazig 393 Nov 20 2m56s (Continued on page 8) Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 8 (Continued from page 7) 1999 Aug 11 2m04s 2135 Oct 7 3m49s Diyarbakir 393 Nov 20 1m37s 1999 Aug 11 1m20s 2060 Apr 30 4m22s Batman 393 Nov 20 46s 1999 Aug 11 2m07s 2060 Apr 30 3m07s Hasankeyf* -584 May 28 3m20s 1999 Aug 11 2m06s 2135 Oct 7 58s Iran Estafan 876 May 27 2m58s 1999 Aug 11 1m33s 2541 Jun 25 2m57s Pakistan Karachi 1914 Aug. 21 1m09s 1999 Aug 11 1m13s 2726 Jul 21 3m10s India Ahmadabad -9 Jun 30 3m25s 1999 Aug 11 0.995 6163 Nov 23 51s Nagpur -9 Jun 30 2m58s 1999 Aug 11 0. 982 3029 Sep 30 4m12s Vishakhaptnam -9 Jun 30 1m36s 1999 Aug 11 0.982 3029 Sep 30 4m29s CALENDAR OF EVENTS * September 10-13 HAA STAR PARTY - At Silent Lake Provincial Park. See page 5 for more details. * September 10, 11 BINBROOK OBSERVING NIGHTS - For confirmation or directions October 1, 2, 8, 9 call Rob Roy at 692-3245 or Bret Culver 575-9492 or John McCloy 523- 4359. * Friday, October 8, 7:30pm HAA GENERAL MEETING - At the Spectator Building auditorium. * Saturday, September 25th 8pm COSMOLOGY DISCUSSION GROUP - McMaster Burke Science Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 9 Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers Page 10 Membership Renewal November 1, 1999 - October 31, 2000 Name: ___________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Province: ___________________ Postal code: _________________ Phone number: (____)_______________________ E-mail: ____________________________________ Type of membership: Individual $15.00/year Family $20.00/year Voluntary Donation: $_____________ (tax receipts will be issued) Total: $_____________ Please make your cheque payable to: Hamilton Amateur Astronomers P.O. Box 65578 Dundas, Ontario Membership renewals are due November 1, 1999 Event Horizon - Hamilton Amateur Astronomers