Highlights of the January Sky

- - - 1st - - -

DAWN: Dazzling Venus is 5° to the lower le of a waning crescent Moon.

- - - 3rd - - - PM: The Quadran d meteor shower is predicted to peak at 9pm EST. Anywhere from 60 to 200 meteors per hour is possible.

- - - 5th - - - New Moon 8:28 pm EST

- - - 20th - - - TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE! The Moon begins its passage through Earth’s umbra at 10:34 pm EST and exits at 1:50 am on the 21st.

- - - 21 - - - Full Moon 12:16 am EST

- - - 22nd - - - DAWN: Venus and Jupiter are less than 2½° with red-orange Antares 8° to their right.

- - - 23rd - - - DAWN: Saturn emerges from the Sun’s glare. Use binoculars to spot the ringed world low in the southeast.

- - - 27 - - - Last Quarter Moon 4:10 pm EST

- - - 30 - - - DAWN: A waning crescent Moon is 6° to the upper right of Jupiter with Venus nearly 8° to Jupiter’s le .

- - - 31 - - - DAWN: The Moon is now only 2° to the right of Venus.

KAS

General Meeting: Friday, January 11 @ 7:00 pm Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center - See Page 8 for Details

Board Meeting: Sunday, January 13 @ 5:00 pm

Sunnyside Church - 2800 Gull Road - All Members Welcome

Eclipse Watch: Sunday, January 20 @ 9:00 pm

Kalamazoo Nature Center - See Page 7 For Details

Inside the Newsletter. . .

December Mee ng Minutes..............p. 2

Board Mee ng Minutes..................... p. 3

Observa ons of 2018......................... p. 4

NASA Night Sky Notes........................ p. 5

January Night Sky............................... p. 6

KAS Board & Announcements............ p. 7

General Mee ng Preview.................. p. 8

January 2019

The KAS annual meeting, featuring our 20th Holiday Party, began at 6:30 pm EST on Friday, December 7, 2018. Approximately 40 members and guests were in attendance at the Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center (KAMSC). Special thanks to Joe Comiskey, Rich Mather, and Roger Williams for assisting Jean DeMott with setup. Dinner was served at 6:45 pm. Our potluck hors d'oeuvre and dessert extravaganza was as good as always. These include tasty meatballs (two choices), chicken fajitas, pizza, deviled eggs, kale salad, and more desserts than one could (or should) enjoy in a single evening. Our “hostess-with-the-mostess,” Jean DeMott, supplied the soft drinks and hot wassail again and really outdid herself with the table decorations. This year’s Holiday Party celebrated the 20th anniversary of Owl Observatory. Each dining table featured decorative owl ornaments, while the centerpiece of the main serving table was a custom-made scale “gingerbread” model of Owl Observatory (complete with red interior lighting). Thank you, Jean! Once dinner was complete and everyone had a chance to relax and converse, we played four highly competitive rounds of BINGO. Here are the lucky winners:

• Tim Kurtz – 2019 Astronomy Calendar − Donated by Anonymous KAS Member

• Joe Comiskey – Monocular − Donated by Anonymous KAS Member

• Tim Kurtz (again) – LED Laser Stylus Pen − Donated by Anonymous KAS Member

• Gary Lubbert – Astronomy magazine subscription − Donated by Kalmbach Publishing

Remaining members and guests then reconvened in KAMSC’s presentation center for the Annual Meeting. Everyone enjoyed the 2018 Year-in-Review Slide Show

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painstakingly assembled by Richard Bell. Final nominations and elections for 2019 KAS board members were then held. All nominees ran unopposed (in fact, one Member-At-Large position remains vacant), so members present at the meeting unanimously voted to ignore Article 5 of the KAS Bylaws and forego voting by secret ballot. Please see page 7 for the list of 2019 KAS board members. Richard then proceeded with a brief President’s Report. The main thing he discussed was the tremendous amount of outreach we plan to do in 2019. This is mainly due to the theme of the 2019 Summer Reading Program at Michigan libraries being “A Universe of Stories.” New volunteers will be needed in addition to the same group of members who volunteer one a regular basis. Some of those members, such as Jean DeMott and Jack Price, also encouraged other members to step forward. Not only is community outreach part of our mission statement “to educate the public about astronomical discoveries and events” and good for recruiting new members, but it can also be very fore filling and just plain fun. No special or in-depth knowledge of astronomy is required (or needed) to volunteer in community outreach. In astronomical news, NASA’s Mars InSight lander successfully touched down on November 26th. InSight will monitor for “Mars-quakes” in an effort to learn more about Mars’ internal structure and drill into the surface to measure how much heat is escaping from its interior. NASA's Osiris-REX mission arrived at asteroid Bennu on December 3rd. The next year will be dedicated to scanning and mapping the surface. Then, in July 2020, Osiris-REX moves in for a series of touch-and-go sampling maneuvers. Samples collected from the asteroid’s surface will be returned to Earth for study in September 2023. Finally, New Horizons is on-course for its encounter with the Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 (unofficially referred to as Ultima Thule) on New Year’s Day. The planned demonstration of the KAS Remote Telescope had to be postponed due to cloudy weather above Portal. A discussion was had about an official name for our facility, but no consensus was reached. We hope to try again (on both the demo and discussion) at the January meeting. We then held the door prize drawings (an asterisk indicates the prize was donated by Orion Telescopes & Binoculars). Thanks to all the members that contributed BINGO/Door Prizes. Here are ALL the lucky winners (in order): Joe Comiskey (Universe Definitive Collection Guide); Gary Lubbert (Pocket Sky Atlas, donated by Sky & Telescope); Kathy Patton (Galileo thermometer); Tommy Brown (Quick Phone Adapter); Phyllis Lubbert (2019 Aurora Borealis calendar); Molly Williams (Pluto globe); Nick Hotra (Telescope Observer's Guide*); Katie Weller (Jupiter Map*); Lydia Hoff (2019 Guide to the Night Sky); Klay Woodworth (Electric Fly Swatter); Jean DeMott (Binocular Astronomy Field Guide*); Arthur Woodworth (Mars Map*); Rich Mather (SteadyPix Deluxe Camera Mount*); Karen Brown (2019 Earth & Space calendar);

December Meeting Minutes

The centerpiece of the Holiday Party serving table was a scale “gingerbread” Owl Observatory created by Jean DeMott for the observatory’s 20th anniversary.

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The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society Board met on December 9, 2018 at Sunnyside Church. President Richard Bell called the meeting to order at 5:10 pm. Board members present were Joe Comiskey, Jean DeMott, Scott Macfarlane, Rich Mather, Jack Price, Don Stilwell, and Roger Williams. The Treasurer’s Report could not be given at this time due to a computer crash that kept Rich from printing out the summary pages. Richard urged prompt attention to this problem, since we had not seen a complete and up-to-date report recently. Richard gave a brief summary of December/

January events, featuring a planned albeit unlikely Geminid Meteor Shower Watch at Richland Township Park on December 13th at 7pm (the weather forecast was not promising). The first general meeting of 2019 was set for January 11th at 7pm, with a program consisting of short presentations from KAS members on subjects of their choice. The follow-up topic began with a discussion of Remote Telescope Project matters. Richard had found that there was no quick and convenient method with the internet controller to switch from one telescope to another. He asked Dave Miller (Observatory Solutions) about this and was informed that it would require a new script. Then Dave wrote the required code without even being asked. Meanwhile, Richard was still having problems with the automated autoguider setup, which will require some work. In view of the remaining difficulties, it is now anticipated that scheduled public presentations using the remote telescope will not begin until November, 2019. A $1,000 check for Observatory Solutions was cut by Rich, to be delivered to Dave Miller by Richard. Continuing with follow-up items, Richard reported more than the usual difficulties in lining up speakers for the next year’s general meetings. He had received no response so far from a New Horizons team member regarding the upcoming flyby of Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule. Other topics being considered were Mars InSight mission for May, dark matter cosmology for June, and Europa for September. The latter had received a positive response from Professor Xianzhe Jia (U-M). With respect to outreach activities, Richard had not been able recently to reach his contact at the Air Zoo and to confirm Family Fun Day on December 28th. Jack agreed to confirm the date with the Air Zoo and to be responsible for the event. Enough helpers were available. Don was ready to handle Moon observing at Pierce Cedar Creek on January 19th, and Richard had confirmed Richland Community Library on June 21st. There was a pending request from the Ransom District Library in Plainwell for a day in the range of June 24th - 26th, early afternoon or evening preferred. This one was not dealt with as yet. Richard cautioned that we would need either to get more members involved in this work or to begin refusing requests (which we really do not wish to happen). In New Business, Richard reported that KAS member Jack Bley had offered to donate a telescope to KAS. The details of the aperture and mount type were still fuzzy. Jack Price agreed to coordinate delivery of the generous donation. Richard shared a list of items needed for the proposed Owl Observatory upgrade project and the estimated cost. A draft of a fundraising letter detailing the project was examined. After a motion by Rich and second by Jean, the Board voted to adopt a fundraising goal of $35,000. The motion passed. The letter will be mailed in mid-February. In Other Business, Rich announced purchase of a 55” TV set for use with the remote telescope presentations. With the conclusion of business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:20 pm. The next meeting was set for Sunnyside on January 13, 2019, at 5pm. Respectfully submitted by Roger Williams

Our lucky BINGO winners! From left to right: Tim Kurtz (winner of two games), Joe Comiskey, and Gary Lubbert.

Jonathan Woolf (storage case); Karen Woodworth (Backyard Stars guide); Don Stilwell (Exploring the Cosmos*); Gus Roman (Solar System Wooden Space Magnets); Mike Patton (storage case); Mike Sinclair (DeepMap 600 Folding Star Chart*); Nancy Hotra (National Geographic Space Atlas); Fritz Seegers (LED light); Jack Price (National Geographic Atlas of Space); Roger Williams (Energizer Cap Light); Dave Woolf (2019 Moon Phase calendar); Greg Sirna (Backyard Guide to the Night Sky); Duane Weller (Steadypix Deluxe Camera Mount*); Richard Bell (American Eclipse by David Baron); Sue Sirna (Seasonal Star Map); Ruth Price (Moon Map*); Aaron Roman (2019 Moon Phase calendar); McKenzie Roman (I Need My NASA Space T-shirt); Ellen Comiskey (RedBeam LED Motion Sensing Headlamp*); Jim Kurtz (S&T Jacket); Scotty Macfarlane (Astronomy Fact & Feats by Patrick Moore); Scott Macfarlane (Star Target Planisphere*); Melody Woolf (Saturn Map*). The meeting concluded at about 9:45 pm. Thanks to all the volunteers that helped with clean-up and putting all the tables and chairs away.

January 2019

Short of a great comet or a naked eye supernova, I knew 2018 was going to be no 2017. Don’t get me wrong, both years were filled with the same craziness in the mainstream news, but 2017 provided some much-needed relief in the form of the Great American Eclipse. The past year provided no such epic astronomical event to get lost in, but, with all that said, it was overall another pretty good year for the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society (and astronomy in general). 2018 saw the end of two highly successful missions, but fortunately new missions quickly filled the void. The Dawn spacecraft was deactivated on November 1st after an 11-year mission. Dawn thoroughly explored Ceres and Vesta before that. But now we have the Japanese Space Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2, which began orbiting the asteroid 162173 Ryugu on June 27th. Four “rovers” were later deployed to the surface of the asteroid in September and October. NASA’s Osiris-REX orbiter arrived at asteroid 101955 Bennu on December 3rd and quickly revealed that the asteroid once contained water. Samples of Bennu will be collected in 2020 and returned to Earth in 2023. NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope was retired after running out of hydrazine fuel on November 15th. Kepler’s mission was to search for exoplanets using the transit method (waiting for unseen planets to pass in front of their parent star). To date, Kepler is credited with 2,662 confirmed discoveries. And now we have TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, launched on April 18th. Scientists predict that TESS will discover more than 20,000 exoplanets! In other news, Voyager 2 entered interstellar space when it passed through the heliosphere on December 5th. Voyager 1 accomplished this feat in 2012. Closer to home, NASA’s InSight lander touched down on the Red Planet on November 26th. Several of its primary instruments have

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already been deployed and I’m looking forward to learning more about the interior of Mars. For us here on Earth, Mars was at perihelic opposition on July 27th - the first time since 2003. The KAS celebrated with a two-day Mars Watch at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. Fortunately, our skies were clear on both July 27th and 28th, but Mars was enveloped in a near-global dust storm that began in late-May. This certainly hampered the public’s view of the Red Planet through the telescope, but we had excellent attendance for the indoor festivities. Thanks again to Jean DeMott for making the Mars cookies and to all the other members for providing snacks. Dave DeBruyn, from the GRAAA, presented Mars in 2018 and Beyond, We Are on Our Way in front of our largest audience of the year on July 27th. Yours truly, a long-time Mars nut, presented Observing Mars in front of our second largest audience of the year on July 28th. And speaking of speakers, we had some great ones at general meetings in 2018. We tried something new in January. KAS members Scott Macfarlane & Jack Price, Don Stilwell, Mike Sinclair, and Kirk Korista each presented 10 to 20 minutes presentation as part of Astronomy Open House. Joe Comiskey and I both gave full-length talks. Joe presented Trouble in Paradise: Astro Problem Solving 101 on February 1st. I concluded my four-part seasonal stargazing series on April 6th with The King of Spring. Guest speakers include Dr. Shannon Schmoll (via Skype) on March 2nd (Goodbye Cassini: What the Probe Taught Over the Past 20 Years), Professor Keith Riles on May 4th (Dawn of Multi-Messenger Gravitational Wave Astronomy), Dr. Zachary Constan on June 1st (14 Billion Years of Nuclei), Craig Whitford on September 7th (Michigan’s Extraterrestrial Visitors - Meteorites), and Professor Bill Davis on November 2nd (No Dark in Sight). We already several special presentations lined up for 2019, but beating 2018 will be a tall task. Our Public Observing Sessions were 50% clear and 50% cloudy (better than 50% if we count the clear skies we enjoyed for both nights of Mars Watch). Thanks to Dave Miller of Observatory Solutions, we made great progress with the Remote Telescope in Arizona. As of December 30th, we’re still having autoguider issues but the telescope is fully functional. We hope to begin training sessions in the near future and the Remote Viewing Sessions this November. We will also begin a new fund-raiser (which is already well on its way) to seriously upgrade Owl Observatory in the very near future. If all goes well, members will have access to two premiere facilities by year’s end. Lastly, we finished the year with 166 memberships. This is down from the 179 memberships at the end of 2017, so that boost was likely due to the solar eclipse. However, that still beats the previous record of 151. I can live with that!

Richard waits for darkness to fall with his 130mm refractor at our Messier Marathon on March 21, 2018.

January 2019

Observers in the Americas are treated to an evening total lunar eclipse this month. Early risers can spot some striking morning conjunctions between Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon late in January. A total lunar eclipse will occur on January 20th and be visible from start to finish for observers located in North and South America. This eclipse might be a treat for folks with early bedtimes; western observers can even watch the whole event before midnight. Lunar eclipses takes several hours to complete and are at their most impressive during total eclipse, or totality, when the Moon is completely enveloped by the umbra, the darkest part of Earth’s shadow. During totality the color of the Moon can change to a bright orange or red thanks to the sunlight bending through the Earth’s atmosphere - the same reason we see pink sunsets. The eclipse begins at 10:34 pm Eastern Standard Time, with totality beginning at 11:41 pm. The total eclipse lasts for slightly over an hour, ending at 12:43 am. The eclipse finishes when the Moon fully emerges from Earth’s shadow by 1:51 am. Convert these times to your own time zone to plan your own eclipse watching; for example, observers under Pacific Standard Time will see the eclipse start at 7:34 pm and end by 10:51 pm. Lunar eclipses offer observers a unique opportunity to judge

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how much the Moon’s glare can interfere with stargazing. On eclipse night the Moon will be in Cancer, a constellation made up of dim stars. How many stars you can see near the full Moon before or after the eclipse? How many stars can you see during the total eclipse? The difference may surprise you. During these observations, you may spot a fuzzy cloud of stars relatively close to the Moon; this is known as the “Beehive Cluster,” M44, or Praesepe. It’s an open cluster of stars thought to be about 600 million year old and a little under 600 light-years distant. Praesepe looks fantastic through binoculars. Mars is visible in the evening and sets before midnight. It is still bright but has faded considerably since its closest approach to Earth last summer. Watch the red planet travel through the constellation Pisces throughout January. Venus makes notable early morning appearances beside both Jupiter and the Moon later this month; make sure to get up about an hour before sunrise for the best views of these events. First, Venus and Jupiter approach each other during the third full week of January. Watch their conjunction on the 22nd, when the planets appear to pass just under 2½° of each other. The next week, observe Venus in a close conjunction with a crescent Moon the morning of the 31st. For many observers their closest pass - just over half a degree apart, or less than a thumb’s width held at arm’s length - will occur after sunrise. Since Venus and the Moon are so bright you may still be able to spot them, even after sunrise. Have you ever seen Venus in the daytime? If you have missed Saturn this winter, watch for the ringed planet’s return by the end of the month, when it rises right before sunrise in Sagittarius. See if you can spot it after observing Venus’ conjunctions! You can catch up on all of NASA’s current and future missions at nasa.gov. The Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach. Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.org to find local clubs, events, and more!

January’s Evening Eclipse & Morning Conjunctions

by David Prosper

NASA Night Sky Notes...

Have you ever wondered how eclipses occur? You can model the Earth-Moon system using just a couple of small balls and a measuring stick to find out! The “yardstick eclipse” model shown here is set up to demonstrate a lunar eclipse. The “Earth” ball (front, right) casts its shadow on the smaller “Moon” ball (rear, left). You can also simulate a solar eclipse just by flip-ping this model around. You can even use the Sun as your light source! Find more details on this simple eclipse model at bit.ly/yardstickeclipse

— January Night Sky —

NORTH

EAST W

EST

J anuary begins and ends with a conjunction of a waning crescent Moon and Venus before dawn. On

January 1st, the brilliant morning star will be 4° to the lower left of the 25-day old Moon. On January 31st, the Moon closes in to 2° to the right of Venus. Jupiter can be easily found about 6.5° to the Moon’s right.

A total lunar eclipse, our first since 2015, takes place on the night of January 20th/21st. The eclipse technically begins at 9:36 pm EST when the Moon enters Earth’s penumbra, its lighter outer shadow. The earliest effects of this encounter will not be noticeable until just after 10pm though. The real show, when the Moon move into the umbra, Earth’s

inner darker shadow, begins at 10:34 pm. Earth’s curved shadow will then slowly creep across the face of the Moon. Totality starts at 11:41 pm and lasts 62 minutes. During this time the color of the Moon could range from nearly black and invisible to copper-red or orange. The best way to find out is to see it for yourself, so hope for clear skies!

SOUTH

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 educa onal purposes and full credit is given to the KAS. www.kasonline.org

Late December 10 pm

Early January 9 pm

Late January 8 pm

Early February 7 pm

This map represents the sky at the following local standard mes:

PRESIDENT

Richard S. Bell

VICE PRESIDENT

Jack Price

TREASURER

Rich Mather

SECRETARY/ALCOR

Roger Williams

PUBLICITY MANAGER

Joe Comiskey

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE

Jean De Mo

Sco Macfarlane

Don S lwell

E-MAIL a BOARD MEMBER

January 2019 Page 7

Sunday, January 20th @ 9:00 pm ─ Kalamazoo Nature Center · 7000 N. Westnedge Ave. ─

On January 20th Earth’s ethereal shadow will steal across the Full Moon, providing our first Total Lunar Eclipse since 2015. In honor of this celes al event the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society will be hos ng a Lunar Eclipse Party at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. We’re planning a fun-filled evening under the Full Moon. KAS members will share views through their telescopes and binoculars as this sensa onal celes al syzygy unfolds.

− http://twitter.com/kzooastro/ −

Keep up to date on the latest news and activities of the Kalamazoo Astronomical Society. Stay informed about upcoming events in the night sky.

All this and more in 280 characters or less!

The Kalamazoo Astronomical Society’s Orion ShortTube 80mm refractor, mounted on the light weight and ultra-portable EQ-1 mount, is available for loan. This little scope gives great wide-field views and can be setup in a snap. Visit the Telescopes for Loan webpage and contact KAS Equipment Manager Arya Jayatilaka today if you’d like borrow it.

© January 2019, Stargazer Productions

Kalamazoo Astronomical Society c/o KAMSC 600 West Vine, Suite 400 Kalamazoo, MI 49008

STAMP

General Meeting Preview

Astronomy is a subject rich beyond measure. Topics in the science of astronomy can range from microscopic specks of interstellar dust to walls and filaments of superclusters of galaxies. Then there’s the hobby of astronomy. Topics there include basic night sky observa on to advanced astrophotography and image processing techniques. And don’t forget the rich and fascina ng history of astronomy or space explora on. This month, KAS members will give 10 to 15 minute astronomically-themed presenta ons on topics of their chosen. What will they be? Please join us and find out.

Friday, January 11 @ 7:00 pm Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center

600 West Vine, Suite 400 • Use Dutton St. Entrance

─ Dutton Entrance Locked by 7:10 pm ─