Astro nerds April 2015

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A S T R O N E R D S | A p r i l 2 0 1 5 | w w w . i c y s c i e n c e . c o m

Peter JenkinsIC 1805 was taken using a William Optics FLT110 and Atik 383L+ on an NEQ6. Darks 12 x 5min and Bias frames (20 used) no flats. Scope with 0.7 x reducer flattener there-fore Focal length = 616mm 20 x 5m each through Ha, OIII and SII filters i.e. 60 x 5 minutes total 5 hours. Guided using a William Optics ZS71 with QHY5LII guide camera. Captured and processed using Nebulosity 3.0 and Photoshop CC

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ASTRO NERDS

Special Thanks:

Liam Tomos Edwards

Andrew Devey

Cover Image: David Blanchflower

Welcome to another edition of Astro Nerds E-Magazine. This is the

last edition of Astro Nerds in its current format. Some changes are

coming to the magazine. Firstly there will be a name change. We

are changing the name to Stargazing magazine, this will be in two

fromats, printed and has a download. A small charge will applied

for the downloaded version. The printed version will be available

on mail order, it can be ordered directly from our website www.

icyscience.com .

Why the change?

Icy Science is looking into starting a project. The project is have a

public observatory built in th Wolds of Yorkshire, UK. members of

the public will be ble to come and view the wonders of the cosmos.

More details coming soon on our website

Editor: Dave Bood

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CONTENTS....

6. DAWN, Mission to the dwarf planets

12. Gravitational Waves

14. The Night Sky

24. Astronomical seeing – can we do anything about it

38. Astro news

42. The Gallery

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Dawn – mission To The Dwarf Planets

Orbiting within the asteroid belt, which lies

between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, are two

bodies of scientific interest. The first is the aster-

oid (protoplanet) Vesta and the other is the dwarf

planet Ceres. Like most other objects in the aster-

oid belt they are the left over’s from the forma-

tion of our solar system. Dawn is designed to study

the conditions and processes of the solar systems

earliest epoch by investigating in detail two of the

largest protoplanets remaining intact since their

formation. ~ NASA

The Dawn spacecraft was launched on 27th

September 2007 and made its way towards Vesta,

using Mars to sling shot it on its way to the aster-

oid belt. On the 16th July 2011 Dawn enters an

orbit around Vesta.

Dawn was going to do something that we have not

done before, and that was to produce a compre-

hensive map of an asteroid. The intention along

with other data collected, will help scientists

unlock some of the solar systems earliest secrets.

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Dawn used visible and infrared mapping spectrome-

ter instruments to map Vesta, the result were unex-

pected and raised questions on the asteroids forma-

tion. Observations were made of huge craters in Vesta’s

southern hemisphere and this is where the unex-

pected results occur. It was assumed that large aster-

oids formed much in the same way as the rocky planets

formed. Our planet would have started with a series

of collisions, the material clumped together and even-

tually the centre would have become hot forming the

core as more material is added and liquid flows from the

core layers are formed. So Earth’s composition consists

Dawn – mission To The Dwarf Planets

<<<<<<< Image Credit:

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLAMPS/DLR/IDA

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of a core, mantle and crust.

In the mantle you will find evidence of this process by the

presence of Olivine. Scientists however found no evidence in

the impact craters of Olivine where clear signatures of olivine

were found in the Vesta’s northern hemisphere. This indi-

cates a more complex evolutionary process than first thought

and models had shown. It is now thought Vesta may have had

partial melting which would create pockets of olivine instead

of a global distribution, it may also be that other material

formed and covers the olivine in the southern hemisphere to

which Dawn could not see below this layer.

Ceres- goddess of agriculture

Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt and is classified

as a dwarf planet. It is composed of rock and ice and has a

diameter of 950 Km (590 miles). In January 2014 water vapour

emissions were detected in several regions of Ceres, which is

strange as this is usually a hallmark of a comet.

Scientists currently believe that Ceres contains a rock inte-

rior with a thick ice mantle; it is also thought that if you were

to melt the ice that it would be more than all the fresh water

on earth.

The vapour given off is most likely ices that are on the dwarf

planet’s surface that melts when Ceres during its closest point

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to the sun during its orbit.

Water vapour was not really confirmed until Hershel’s far-infra-

red instrument got a clear spectral signature of water vapour.

The Dawn Space Craft

Dawn uses a combination of tried and tested technology mixed

with new inventive instruments and equipment. Knowledge

from previous missions has played a major part in the develop-

ment, design and production of the spacecraft.

Instruments

Framing Camera (FC) captures images in three colours as well

as black and white

Visible & infrared Spectrometer (VIR) maps the surface of the

intended targets; it measures the reflective light intensity in

selected wavelength bands to determine composition, temper-

ature and properties.

Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND)- produces maps of

the elements found on the surface.

Gravimetry- Uses audio tracking signal returned from the surface

of the targets to determine their respective mass, gravity, prin-

ciple axes, rotational axis and moments of inertia.

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The Ion propulsion SystemOnce the propulsion choice for science fiction, ion propul-

sion is now the choice for science fact. The Ion system makes

more efficient use of the onboard fuel and electrical power;

it enables spacecraft to travel further.

The technology is used on communication satellites and as

the main propulsion system on deep space probes.

The thrusts expel ions to create thrust, which provides higher

speeds than conventional rocket propelled systems.

Ions are simply an atom or molecule that has been electri-

cal charged. This process is done by adding or removing an

electron. Positive ions gain one or more electron and nega-

tive when they lose one or more electron.

A gas becomes ionized when some or all the atoms or mol-

ecules contained are converted into ions.

Ion engines use electric fields instead of chemical reactions,

as with conventional rockets.

You can find more information on ION propulsion here:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/fs21grc.html

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Although less powerful than traditional rocket power, the fuel efficiency means fuel can

last for years before running out.

DAWN orbit CeresAfter a long journey DAWN, NASA’s spacecraft entered orbit around Ceres on March

6th 2015. It is the first and hopefully not the last spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet.

ALL IMAGES: NASA

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Gravitational WavesIn general relativity, gravity is explained through the curvature of

space. Massive objects bend space, and the curvature of space

tells objects how to move. It is the influence of curved space

that we call gravity. When massive objects move, the curvature

of space must change to follow their new positions. It takes time

for space to react, as information can only propagate at the speed

of light. There are therefore ripples in space, and these ripples

are called gravitational waves. These waves squeeze and stretch

objects as they propagate the space they occupy.

A potential source of gravitational waves is a binary system that

has two high mass objects (e.g. pulsars, neutron stars or black

holes) orbiting a common centre of mass. The 1993 Nobel Prize

in Physics was won for important measurements that were taken

of a binary system that contained a pulsar and a neutron star.

The measurements suggested that gravitational waves are more

than mathematical anomalies. The measured orbital period of

the binary system (called the Hulse-Taylor binary system after

its discoverers) changes with time, and this change is in exact

agreement with the prediction from general relativity, as you

can see from the graph of the orbital decay of the two stars over

time below:

Diagrame Below: Hulse-Taylor binary system

Image Credit: Credit: Weisberg & Taylor (2005)

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Gravitational WavesGravitational wave detectors work by trying to measure the differences in length across a detector produced

as a wave passes. The fractional changes in length are tiny so the effects are extremely difficult to measure, it’s

like trying to measure the distance between the Earth and the Sun to the accuracy of the size of a hydrogen

atom. Also there are factors such as noise and vibrations in the vicinity of the detectors that can mask or even

imitate gravitational wave events. Gravitational waves haven’t been directly observed, but we do have indirect

evidence to support the theory.

Scientists have measured the energy and angular momentum they carry away. This indirect evidence is an impor-

tant step forward to having hard evidence to support their existence.

Article: Liam Tomos Edwards

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14 LOOK UP IN WONDER - A GUIDE TO THE NIGHT SKY BY JOHN HARPER F.R.A.S

As April begins, the Sun is in the constellation of Pisces, but crosses the border into Aries at around 06h00 on the 19th.

The MoonThe Moon is at apogee, its furthest from the earth, on April 17th at 07h00 and again at 04h00 on the 29th, and is at perigee, its nearest to the earth, at around

04h00 on the 17th.

Full Moon is on the 4th at 12h06 and is the Paschal Full Moon, being the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox, as fixed by the Synod of Whitby in

664 A.D. The full moon may be seen rising around 19h in the ESE sky in the constellation of Virgo. It culminates in the south, just after midnight; the bright star 4°

to the lower left is Spica, (alpha Virginis), Virgo’s brightest star. (The name Spica means ‘ear of wheat’.) Try to locate it in the bright glow which may surround the

moon at this time .

April’s Full Moon undergoes a total eclipse for observers in the eastern parts of North America, Hawaii, the whole of the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, Australia, and

parts of eastern Asia. It is not visible in the UK.

Last Quarter Moon is at 03h45 of the 12th in the eastern part of Sagittarius, and may be seen rising at around 02h00 in the SE. This is another

low LastQ. moon.

April’s New Moon is on the 18th at 18h57, in the constellation of Pisces, near to the astronomical Aries border, when the moon passes just over 2° south

of the sun at their conjunction.

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LOOK UP IN WONDER - A GUIDE TO THE NIGHT SKY BY JOHN HARPER F.R.A.S

As April begins, the Sun is in the constellation of Pisces, but crosses the border into Aries at around 06h00 on the 19th.

The MoonThe Moon is at apogee, its furthest from the earth, on April 17th at 07h00 and again at 04h00 on the 29th, and is at perigee, its nearest to the earth, at around

04h00 on the 17th.

Full Moon is on the 4th at 12h06 and is the Paschal Full Moon, being the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox, as fixed by the Synod of Whitby in

664 A.D. The full moon may be seen rising around 19h in the ESE sky in the constellation of Virgo. It culminates in the south, just after midnight; the bright star 4°

to the lower left is Spica, (alpha Virginis), Virgo’s brightest star. (The name Spica means ‘ear of wheat’.) Try to locate it in the bright glow which may surround the

moon at this time .

April’s Full Moon undergoes a total eclipse for observers in the eastern parts of North America, Hawaii, the whole of the Pacific Ocean, New Zealand, Australia, and

parts of eastern Asia. It is not visible in the UK.

Last Quarter Moon is at 03h45 of the 12th in the eastern part of Sagittarius, and may be seen rising at around 02h00 in the SE. This is another

low LastQ. moon.

April’s New Moon is on the 18th at 18h57, in the constellation of Pisces, near to the astronomical Aries border, when the moon passes just over 2° south

of the sun at their conjunction.

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On the 25th at 23h56, the moon is at First Quarter, and is one of the highest FirstQ. moons of the year. It achieves

an altitude, in Cancer, of 50° in the south at 18h00. As night falls, the very bright object you will notice, some

10° to its upper left, is Jupiter. Look for Earthshine’s faint illumination of the night hemisphere at the time of the

waxing crescent moon from the 19th to the 24th, and on the night hemisphere of the waning crescent from the

13th to the 17th.

There is a final chance to see the evening cone of the Zodiacal Light on fine evenings during the first half of the

month. Its appearance is that of a ‘cone’ of pale light, of less intensity than that of the Milky Way, rising up from

the western sky at an angle of 60° towards the south. It is caused by the sun back-lighting a disc of fine particles

surrounding the sun in the inner solar system - all that remains of the accretion disc , out of which the planets

formed 4.5 million years ago.

Jupiter & M44 Taken In March 2015

Nikon D3200 Camer, 70-300mm lens

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The Planets

Around the middle of April Mercury begins its best evening apparition of the year, and by the end of the month

sets just over two hours after the sun in the western sky. The best time to scan for the planet using binoculars is

during the last week of April, when between 20h00 and 21h00, it is within 10° of the WNW horizon. If your bin-

oculars are well-focussed and firmly fixed, at around 20h00, you may locate a much fainter object below Mercury

(assuming you have found Mercury!); this fainter object is Mars. On the 22nd Mercury and Mars are in conjunc-

tion, separated by 1° of arc (two moon widths) and again at 20h on that date may be seen together in binoculars,

5° above the WNW horizon. The one day old waxing crescent moon lies to the lower left of the two planets on

the 19th and should be looked for through binoculars, low in the WNW sky at around 19h45. This observation is

in bright twilight, hence the necessity of using of binoculars and a clear horizon in that direction.

Venus dominates the western sky during the evenings in April, setting at just after 22h at the start of the month

and just before midnight at the end. It shines resplendently as the ‘Evening Star’ (Hesperus, as it was known to

the ancients ). After Full Moon on the 4th, until the 19th, when the moon makes an appearance into the evening

sky once again, there is a good opportunity to appreciate Venus’ qualification as the third brightest natural object

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in the night sky. If you can go to a place where there is no artificial

light on a clear evening, when Venus is shining in a dark sky, hold

your finger up, between Venus and a sheet of paper; you will see

that Venus is bright enough to cast a shadow of your finger onto

the paper. The only other objects in the sky able to do this are of

course the Sun and the Moon.

A treat is in store during the evening of the 21st, when the three

day old crescent moon with earthshine illuminating its night hemi-

sphere may be seen together with Venus in the western sky. The

time to see this beautiful spectacle is around 21h, at which time

the two bodies are some 7° apart. If you look carefully you will also

see Aldebaran (alpha Tauri), the red ‘eye’ of Taurus the Bull, to the

lower right of the moon, three moon widths away. Later in the year,

this star undergoes a series of occultations by the moon.

At the beginning of the month Mars sets just two hours after the

sun. This is reduced to one hour as May begins. Apart from the

opportunities described under the entry for Mercury, it is quite diffi-

cult to spot unless you are using binoculars in the bright Spring twi-

light. Mars is of a similar magnitude during April to the star Deneb

in Cygnus the Swan.

Jupiter is visible most of the night in the constellation of Cancer

the Crab, and by the end of the month sets around 02h30. It lies

to the east of the Praesepe open star cluster M44. The planet’s

apparent retrograde motion ends on the 8th, after which it starts

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moving to the east (prograde) and towards Leo the Lion once again. On the

26th, Jupiter lies 6° to the upper right of the gibbous waxing moon produc-

ing a pleasing spectacle.

Don’t forget to look for the Galilean moons through well-focused and firmly

fixed binoculars as they change position night by night.

Saturn spends the month in the vicinity of the star Graffias (beta Scorpii)

on the astronomical border between Scorpius and Libra, and when visible,

remains no higher than 18° at the time when it culminates in the south at

around 02h towards the end of the month. The rings are open wide to such

an extent that the northern limb of the planet aligns with the edge of the ‘A’

ring (the outer visible ring) behind the planet. Saturn rises just before mid-

night on April 1st, but two hours earlier on the 30th. The gibbous waning

moon may be seen approaching Saturn on the morning of the 8th, and to

the east of Saturn on morning of the 9th, when at 02h, the moon, Saturn

and Antares (alpha Scorpii, brightest star in Scorpius), form an isosceles tri-

angle, with Antares, of the same magnitude as Saturn, forming the lower

apex of the triangle, within 10° of the southern horizon.

Uranus is in conjunction with the sun in Pisces on April 6th, and is not worth

looking for this month.

Neptune in Aquarius, is badly placed in the early morning sky due to its faint-

ness and advancing morning twilight.

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks overnight from the 22ndto the 23rd when up

to 10 meteors an hour may be seen radiating from the vicinity of the bright

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star Vega in the constellation of Lyra. The best time to look for them is during the two hours before dawn starts to brighten the sky in the early morning on the 23rd, and stray Lyrids may be seen for several days before and after this date.

The Lyrid meteor shower is associated with Thatcher’s Comet discovered in 1861. Conditions are favourable this year as long as you are away from bright lights.

Meteor showers are naked eye events and can be seen without optical aid, but remember it can get very cold in April, so wrap up well!

Constellations visible in the south around midnight, mid-month, are as follows: The eastern part of Hydra, Corvus the Crow, Virgo, Boötes and Coma Berenices. The Plough, in the constellation of Ursa Major, is still near the zenith.

All times are GMT 1° is one finger width at arm’s length

Image Credit: Jaspal Chadha- Cigar Galaxy

Imaged from London using Altair Astro RC 250TT

ioptron CEM60 mount

QSI 690 CCD

L: 5 x 5 min

RGB 3 x 10 min

Ha 3 x 30 min

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star Vega in the constellation of Lyra. The best time to look for them is during the two hours before dawn starts to brighten the sky in the early morning on the 23rd, and stray Lyrids may be seen for several days before and after this date.

The Lyrid meteor shower is associated with Thatcher’s Comet discovered in 1861. Conditions are favourable this year as long as you are away from bright lights.

Meteor showers are naked eye events and can be seen without optical aid, but remember it can get very cold in April, so wrap up well!

Constellations visible in the south around midnight, mid-month, are as follows: The eastern part of Hydra, Corvus the Crow, Virgo, Boötes and Coma Berenices. The Plough, in the constellation of Ursa Major, is still near the zenith.

All times are GMT 1° is one finger width at arm’s length

Image Credit: Jaspal Chadha- Cigar Galaxy

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Astronomical seeing – can we do anything about it. By Andy Devey the solar explorer.

Seeing is the term that we astronomers use to describe the optical quality

of the Earth’s atmosphere. The optical quality is defined as the absence

of distortion or steadiness in the image during the period of observation.

Excellent seeing offers a motionless and optically perfect seeing where

as a rapidly changing and grossly distorted image indicates poor seeing.

Seeing affects every astronomer on the planet and is the limiting factor

that will affect any telescope that we chose to use.

Light traverses the universe in an almost pristine condition [except for

any gravitational lensing – a fairly rare phenomenon] right up to the

point where it reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, in the last nanoseconds

of its journey and this has roughly the equivalent effect on it as if looking

through about 10 m of water.

Thermal turbulence in the atmosphere is the cause of degraded or poor

seeing. It is a critical function of whether temperature differences in the

atmosphere are in motion. The mixing of air at different temperatures

such as hot air rising from a road or building causes convection currents

that appear to make the image boil. This looks similar to viewing an

object under rippling water. Further, atmospheric aerosols [dust, water

vapour, combustion products and volcanic ash] can also significantly

degrade astronomical images. Aerosols also create a diffused directional

glow from objects such as the Moon, bright planets or bright stars even

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when objects are completely outside the telescope or binoculars field of view. Aerosols also exaggerate any

effects of light pollution. This can still be a significant factor even when the sky appears to be dark. When

an object is placed in the field of view of an instrument, aerosols can contribute to image blurring and con-

trast reduction even when the amount of thermal turbulence is negligible.

Robert Hook in 1665 was the first to attribute the twinkling of a star to “small, moving regions of the atmo-

sphere having different refracting powers that act like lenses”.

A significant amount of research has been carried out since 1970 motivated by the need to improve the yield

from optical surveillance and mapping satellites to analyze the turbulence. Turbulence develops as thermal

energy increases [heat from the Sun or that rising from the Earth] breaks laminar air flows into very large

cells that pass over themselves as eddies or whorls. These air currents are very poor at dissipating energy

and the system breaks down into ever smaller whorls until the flow viscosity impedes any smaller divisions.

The end result can be a very complex texture.

Next Page >>>>>>>>>

The Komolgorov-Tatarski model represents turbulence at a single boundary between thermally different layers.

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Recent scientific papers now divide turbulence into four distinctive categories:

Instrument turbulence

This occurs inside the telescope and any structure that may shelter it, and is

most often produced by convection layers rising from the surface of reflect-

ing mirrors [mirror seeing] by currents crawling along the sides of a closed

telescope tube [telescope structure seeing] by convection currents from

the observers body [especially in cold weather], by heat rising through the

restrictive opening in an observatory dome [structural seeing] and by heat

rising from the pavement metal or masonry immediately under the tele-

scope [site seeing].

This is my recently constructed obser-vatory. Any heat from the building is behind the telescopes and I would only consider observing/imaging north once ambient temperatures had been reached. The chippings on the floor are small and do not produce heat like a concrete surface would. Image credit Andy Devey.

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Surface Turbulence

This extends from the ground up to a few hundred metres in the

landscape around the telescope. When viewing above a zenith

angle of 60º is within about 500 m of the observing site and

often represents up to 50% of all the observed optical distor-

tion. It is largely due to heat stored on the sunlit earth/struc-

tures during the day. Strong currents can rise from concrete, res-

idences, roads etc and that is why the initial choices we make

when selecting a potential observing site are so important. The

turbulence effects will vary through the full 24 hours of each day

from a minimum just after sunrise steeply rising to a peak during

early afternoon, declining to a secondary minimum shortly after

sunset and increasing to a second maximum peak around mid-

night before returning to a second minimum in the hours just

before sunrise.

As can be seen, once we have chosen a location for observing

the only way we can reduce the effects of surface turbulence is

by making conscious choices for the times to observe or image

that coincide with expected minimum surface turbulence periods.

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I have chosen a location surrounded by vegeta-tion and this helps prevent the ground getting too hot in the blazing sunshine. Image credit Andy Devey.

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Geographic turbulence

This extends from a few hundred metres to a few kilometres above the ground and when observing at a

zenith angle of 60º or more a radius of up to 7 km will affect the site. This type of turbulence typically forms

as several overlying layers of air about 100 to 200 m thick can extend for several kilometres. Above about

4 km the air is generally independent of the landscape and falls to a minimum at altitudes between 6 and

9 KM. Geographic turbulence is caused by air currents being forced upwards by mountainous terrain or by

the disposition of other large landscape features – large bodies of water, urban developments, expanses

of bare ground or large patches of snow as these affect the moisture and thermal content of the weather

bearing atmosphere.

There is very little we can do about the Geographical seeing once the observing site has been chosen except

restrict our observing to favourable low wind weather conditions!

High atmosphere turbulence

This is mainly associated with the jet stream that is normally confined to latitudes above 30º north or south

of the equator and it flows at altitudes between 10 and 15 km. The stratospheric layers above this altitude

are normally rarefied they are almost thermally homogenous and therefore have negligible effect on seeing.

The jet stream affects seeing in two ways, one directly by high velocity movement against lower atmospheric

layers and the other indirectly by bringing cold or moist air from northern latitudes and ocean surfaces. It

forms high and low pressure areas creating an energetic mixture of barometric pressure, moisture and tem-

perature. Further the jet stream his high enough that when observing at a 60º zenith angle it can cause dis-

turbances within a radius of about 25 km of the observing site.

It is now possible to see the position and predictions for the jet stream and decisions can be made as to

when to observe/image or not.

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This shows the Jet stream forecast for 12 July 2014 here is the link to the website that gives forecasts out to

16 days in an animation set at 3 hour intervals (http://www.netweather.tv).

There is no doubt that astronomical seeing plays a major part in visual and imaging astronomy. The top plan-

etary imagers for example set up in Barbados to be surrounded by the thermally stable Caribbean Sea and

close enough to the equator to image the planets at high zenith angles where the atmosphere is thinner and

there are no jet stream effects. In such conditions any equipment will perform very close to its maximum

potential.

http://www.netweather.tv

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This is the BAA seeing scale image where P1 is ter-

rible seeing and P10 is perfect. For more visit http://

www.baalunarsection.org.uk/topography.htm –

image credit BAA.

If we chose to image through our equipment then

technology and the development of software has to

some extent come to the rescue to limit the effects

of atmospheric seeing and this will form the second

part of this paper.

Please come along and visit us in southern Spain to

enjoy the clear skies, to use some high specification

equipment with generally good to excellent seeing

conditions.

Andy Devey

http://www.thesolarexplorer.net/

http://www.thesolarexplorer.net/

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Ganymede’s Deep

Ocean?

The discoveries just keep coming, with news of hydrothermal

vents on Enceladus, DAWN in orbit around Ceres and now

compelling evidence of a sub surface ocean on the King of

the Moons Ganymede.

NASA has reported that data from the Hubble telescope, which

has been studying how the aurora lights dance around the

Jovian moon.

The water under the moon’s surface is thought to be salty and

contain more water than here on earth. What is also inter-

esting is that Ganymede has a magnetic field, which interacts

with the massive magnetic field of Jupiter.

A team of scientists led by Joachim Saur of the University of

Cologne, Germany, came up with the idea of using the Hubble

telescope to peer at Ganymede.

The team determined that if water was present under

Ganymede’s surface then Jupiter’s magnetic field would create

a secondary magnetic field in the ocean which would counter

Jupiter’s magnetic field (with me so far?). The ‘magnetic fric-

tion’ caused would suppress the aurorae, which rocks from 6

degrees to 2 degrees. The 6 degree rocking would happen if

no liquid water is present.Image Source NASA

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Observations were carried out in ultra violet light, sci-

entist think that the ocean is 100km (60 miles) deep

and is buried under a 150Km (95 mile) thick ice crust.

While we hunt for exoplanet’s that are earth like,

maybe life will be found in our own back yard. And +if

like on earth life began in the seas and oceans, then

there is no reason why simple or more complex life

have not developed and evolved in one of the sub

surface oceans in one of the moons in our solar system.

Such organisms could have adapted and evolved that

are not dependant on sunlight.

Hydrothermal activity on

Enceladus?

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and mission never

fails to deliver, with valuable data about Saturn,

the hazy world of Titan or the watery world of

Enceladus. Recent studies have given scientists

a clear indication that Enceladus exhibits signs of

hydrothermal activity, this is not something from

the past, but is happening now. The activity points

to significant geologic activity. The activity could

be that similar to Earth, and like Earth life could

exist and flourish.

A paper released by NASA in the Journal Nature, relates to microscopic grains of rock detected in the Cassini Saturn

system. The results are part of a four year study that data analysis, computer simulations and laboratory experi-

ments have taken into consideration.

Scientists think the grains occurred, when hot water containing dissolved minerals is forced upwards, the hot water

meets cold water and the grains form, the interactions that produce the grains would be at about 90 Degrees

Celsius. The grains are then spewed out through the geezers into space and join the rings of Saturn.

The Cassini spacecraft using its cosmic dust analyzer, detected the grains before it entered orbit around Saturn.

The samples detected were rich in Silica, which here on earth is found in sand and quartz. Here on earth the most

common way these grains are produced is through hydrothermal activity.

Enceledus could have the right ingredients for life, the moons outer thick ice crust will protect any life forms from

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cosmic radiation, there is a source of energy,

heat generated by tidal forces from Saturn and

other moons acting on Enceledus, then there

is a liquid solution.

Other possible candidates are Europa, Possible

Titan if a liquid water is below its surface and

somewhere closer to home Ceres, the dwarf

planets in the asteroid belt.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science

Institute >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Growth spurt In Young Protostar observed

Using an array of equipment and instruments astronomers have observed a ‘growth Spurt’ from a newborn

Protostar. Data from NASA’s Spitzer space telescope and ground based telescopes, have aided the international

team of astronomers in their findings. The young protostar known as HOPS 383 is thought to be an exception-

ally young star.

Astronomers class the young protostar as a ‘Class 0’ protostar; it was formed when a cold fragmented cloud of

gas and dust began to collapse under its own gravity. When the cloud collapses the centre becomes more dense

and hotter, as this continues fusion can take place.

William Fischer a NASA Postdoctoral program Fellow at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in greenbelt,

Maryland says “HOP 383 is the first outburst we’ve ever seen from a Class 0 object, and it appears to be the

youngest protostellar eruption ever recorded.”

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The Class 0 protostar stage is quite

short lived, 150,000 years and is

considered the earliest develop-

ment stafe of a star.

HOP 383 is located near NGC 1977

(The running Man Nebula).

NGC 1977 is located ½ degree north-

east of the Orion Nebula

A paper has been published in the

Astrophysical Journal; HOPS 383: AN

OUTBURSTING CLASS 0 PROTOSTAR

IN ORION

Infrared images from instruments at Kitt Peak National Observatory (left) and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope document the outburst of HOPS 383, a young protostar in the Orion star-forma-tion complex. Credit: E. Safron et al.; background: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Toledo

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THE GALLERY

Partical solar Eclipse From Scarborough, Taken by Geoff Adams >>>>>>>>>>>>

MARY SPICER

Lunar X & V at 6pm 27/03/15

Taken with an 8” Astrograph with focal reducer & Canon 1100D on an EQ5 Pro Mount

Shot through thin cloud

Best 35% of 150 images stacked in Autostakkert! 2 and processed in Lightroom

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Chris Dave Munday- Partial Eclipse from York

Partical solar Eclipse From Scarborough, Taken by Geoff Adams >>>>>>>>>>>>

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Andromeda Galaxy Mike Greenham>>>>>>>>>

Jupiter von heute 18.03.15

http://www.astrobin.com/full/164800/0/

Mak 150/1800

2x Zeiss Barlow und Brennweite zusätzlich verlangert auf 4800mm

Kamera Alccd5II

3200 AVI Frames davon waren gut 2000 über 80% beste.!!

LG Hotte.

45


Jupiter von heute 18.03.15

http://www.astrobin.com/full/164800/0/

Mak 150/1800

2x Zeiss Barlow und Brennweite zusätzlich verlangert auf 4800mm

Kamera Alccd5II

3200 AVI Frames davon waren gut 2000 über 80% beste.!!

LG Hotte.

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David BlanchflowerWaxing Gibbous Moon

It was taken at 2056UT (2156BST) on the 29th March 2015.

Equipment: Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P telescope and Canon 1200D camera.

It was taken at Prime Focus.

Cropped and enlarged using Irfanview. Wavelet processing was done using Registax 6. Some final enhancing

was performed using GIMP

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James Parker: Celestron Advanced VX8 SCT ,Nikon D3100 SLR ,1/250th second Frame

ISO 100 White light filter, processed through Photoshop 6, Photoshop Express, Snapseed.

1.5 hours of processing through software to highlight the sun in the orange colour tone.

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Jaspal Chadha-----Bubble Nebula Taken in 2013 from London UK

Espirt 100ED

EQ6 Mount

QHY8L Colour CCD

4 hours of data

www.jkobservatroy.net

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http://www.awesomeastronomy.com/

http://www.awesomeastronomy.com/

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For more information please contact us via our The solar explorer website for price list and

availabilityhttp://thesolarexplorer.net/

http://thesolarexplorer.net/

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RICHARD J BARLETTON AMAZON

CLICK AMAZON ABOVE TO FOLLOW THE LINK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-J.-Bartlett/e/B00LY84PV2/

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RICHARD J BARLETTON AMAZON

CLICK AMAZON ABOVE TO FOLLOW THE LINK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-J.-Bartlett/e/B00LY84PV2/

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Documents

Astro nerds April 2015