February 2014

Monday, February 3, 2014

Bartlesville Public Library Meeting Room

6:45 p.m. Setup and Conversation

7:00 p.m. Club Business

7:10 p.m. This Month's Sky

7:20 p.m. Current Astronomy News

7:30 p.m.

Radio Astronomy

by Mike Maloney

Mike will present a history of radio astronomy and show a video from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) on the scientific contributions of astronomy in radio wavelengths.

From John Land - Astronomy Club of Tulsa

A Type 1a Super nova was just been sighted in the M 82 Galaxy near the bowl of the big Dipper

It was reported at 11^th magnitude on the morning of Jan 22^nd.

It will likely take a 4 to 6 inch telescope or more to identify the Nova

M 82 is a fairly nearby galaxy and fairly easy target for amateur telescopes.

The Super Nova appears to be brightening and should be observable for a couple of weeks ore more

Details at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/Bright-Supernova-in-M82-241477661.html

The latest “What’s Up With the Astronomical League is now available on the League’s website.

This issue features:

Award information for:

· National Young Astronomer Award (NYAA)

· Jack Horkheimer Service Awards

· Jack Horkheimer/O’meara Journalism Award

· Webmaster Award

· Mabel Sterns Newsletter Award

Tribute to John Dobson

Thanks for sharing this information with your membership as your link between the League and your society members.

Carroll Iorg

President, Astronomical League

9201 Ward Parkway, Suite 100

Kansas City MO 64114

816 333 7759

president@astroleague.org

http://www.astroleague.org/

2014 Texas Star Party - Last chance to sign up now!The great tradition of dark sky observing continues with the 36th Annual TEXAS STAR PARTY, May 25-31, 2014! near Ft Davis, Texas Staying on the Ranch in housing, RV, or camping? Staying off-site in other accommodations? Everyone needs to enter the TSP drawing, held in late January. You should submit a Registration/Reservation Request Form to ENTER THE TSP DRAWING before January 22, 2014. This will provide you the highest possible chance of being selected as one of the 500 people who will be able to attend TSP this year. Follow this link to get started! http://texasstarparty.org/get-started/ SIGN UP NOW! You can find out the status of your TSP Registration at any time by visiting http://texasstarparty.org/account/ We have some really neat new stuff for TSP 2014... including The 2nd annual Texas Imaging Symposium, Find out about these and other news at: http://texasstarparty.org/news/ Questions? Visit our web site for the latest and complete details! http://www.texasstarparty.org/ or email tsprooms@texasstarparty.org

We look forward to seeing you next May! Sincerely, the volunteers for Texas Star Party

FREE 2014 Astro Calendar for your Computer, Tablet or Phone

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=32474

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a 2014 Astro Calendar in PDF form

For your computer or tablet. In addition to the usually dates and astronomical events

Each dates is a Hyperlink to an APOD image. The smaller 4.5 meg version works well on Ipads and Tablets.

It may also work on some smart phones but watch your data usage if you click the daily links

The larger 31.5 meg versions are suitable for computers of printing.

For those not familiar with Astronomy Picture of the Day

It can be found at http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ or just type APOD in any search engine.

It features a daily astronomical image along with information and links about the image.

There is also a search engine to its almost 18 years of images and information online.

Current News from Sky and Telescope

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news

Opportunity's 10-year Martian Marathon — January 24, 2014

Can you believe it? A robotic rover designed to last 90 days on the Red Planet is celebrating 10 years of successful exploration on the Red Planet — even taking a "selfie" for its handlers back on Earth.

The End of Rosetta's Big Sleep — January 20, 2014

Europe's comet-chasing spacecraft woke up after a 957-day-long hibernation to begin the most comprehensive comet study to date. Part of its mission: attempt to place an instrumented lander on a comet’s nucleus for the first time.

Galaxies Grow By Snacking — January 17, 2014

Evidence from observations and computer simulations supports a picture of galaxy growth that isn't dominated by the rough-and-tumble crashes of big galaxies. Instead, most of the universe's stellar metropolises appear to feed themselves with nibbles instead of feasts.

Weather on Alien Worlds — January 13, 2014

From high-altitude clouds discovered on a super-Earth to massive, hurricane-force storms on a nearby brown dwarf, a bevy of results show that the age of “astrometeorology” is upon us.

Galaxies Trace Early Cosmic History — January 10, 2014

Astronomers have used the Hubble Space Telescope to peek into the universe's early eras using the light from galaxies that existed several hundred million years after the Big Bang.

Skyweek from Sky and Telescope Magazine also presents a variety of astronomical events for the naked eye as well as telescope viewing.http://www.skyandtelescope.com/videos/skyweek

• • February 14 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 23:53 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Snow Moon because the heaviest snows usually fell during this time of the year. Since hunting is difficult, this moon has also been known by some tribes as the Full Hunger Moon.

  • March 1 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 08:00 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

  • March 16 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 17:08 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Worm Moon because this was the time of year when the ground would begin to soften and the earthworms would reappear. This moon has also been known as the Full Crow Moon, the Full Crust Moon, and the Full Sap Moon.

  • March 20 - March Equinox. The March equinox occurs at 16:57 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere.

  • March 20 - Occultation of Regulus. An extremely rare event will take place on the morning of Thursday, March 20. An asteroid known as 163 Erigone will pass in front of the bright star Regulus in the constellation of Leo, causing the star to disappear. This event will be visible along a 45-mile-wide path and is predicted to begin at 2:07 a.m. EDT. The asteroid’s shadow will move on a southeast-to-northwest path that will extend from New York City to Oswego in New York State and continue northwest into Ontario, Canada. For those in the center of this path, the star will remain invisible for 12 seconds. (Occultation Path and Information)

  • March 30 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 18:45 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2014.html)

2014 BAS Programs

Next Meeting

March 3, Monday. Bartlesville Public Library Meeting Room (tentative)

Newsletter Contributions Needed

Our club newsletter is reaching more people each month, and member contributions in the form of short articles, interesting news items, alerts of upcoming astronomical events or activities, descriptions of personal observations or useful equipment, and observing tips, are encouraged. Recurring columns or multipart articles are also welcome. Please submit your contributions to Mike Woods or to bvilleastro@gmail.com .

Bartlesville Astronomical Society - Membership

B.A.S. is an organization of people interested in Astronomy and related fields of science.

BAS Public Website: http://sites.google.com/site/bartlesvilleastronomyclub/

BAS Yahoo Group: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/BvilleAstro/

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