July 2009

July Meeting Monday, July 6, 7:30 PM, at First Christian Church

Sixth and Osage.

Meeting in the Fellowship Hall.

(Please use the East entrance under the awning)

Jim Vogh will display astrophotos taken with a conventional camera using medium and long lenses (no telescope) mounted on a barndoor drive. There will also be time for informal discussion, so bring anything of interest.

SuperNovae Cosmic Rays

According to a new study published in the June 25 issue of Science Express, the expanding shock waves in supernovae remnants can convert enough energy to account for all the cosmic rays that we detect. Cosmic rays are not actually rays (or photons), but are charged particles that have been accelerated nearly to light speed, far exceeding energies produced by our largest particle accelerators. These expanding supernova remnants may actually put half of their total energy into cosmic ray acceleration, accounting for all "intermediate-energy" particles detected on Earth. The paper by lead author Eveline Helder (Astronomical Institute Utrecht, Netherlands) and collaborators studied RCW 86, a supernova remnant 8,200 light years away, which was recorded by Chinese astronomers in 185 AD. X-ray images from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory established that the remnant's shock wave traveled at about 2% the speed of light, while measurements from ESO's Very Large Telescope determined that the temperature of the gas behind the shock front was much cooler than expected. This left about half of the energy missing, and implies that it was likely consumed in the acceleration of cosmic rays. These new results confirm that cosmic ray production is surprisingly efficient, and may also advance our understanding of acceleration processes in gamma ray bursts and radio jets.

<http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/49089086.html>

AMA Advocates for Dark Skies

The American Medical Association (AMA), representing physicians from the entire U.S. and medical societies from all 50 states, recently voted unanimously to support light pollution control efforts. The decision to support light pollution legislation was based on several factors, including public health hazards from bad lighting, and the unnecessary waste energy and CO2 produced by inappropriate lighting.

RESOLVED That our AMA advocate that all future outdoor lighting be of energy-efficient designs to reduce waste of energy and production of greenhouse gases that result from this wasted energy use; and be it further

RESOLVED That our AMA develop and enact a policy that supports light-pollution reduction efforts and glare-reduction efforts at both the national and state levels; and be it further

RESOLVED That our AMA support that all future streetlights will be of a fully shielded design or similar non-glare design to improve the safety of our roadways for all, but especially vision impaired and older drivers

<http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/48814012.html>