Astronomy Facts - Building Your Background

Even though you don't need to know the Greek names of the constellations or understand the nature of black holes in order to relish the night sky, you might want to anyway. We provide a rich supply of information and resources where you can get the astronomy facts to enrich your experience.

• Learn astronomy lingo

• Learn to use sky charts and star wheels (or make your own)

• Family-friendly astronomy activities

• Observing Tips by Celestial Object

• Observar el Cielo

You'll also find a growing supply of answers to frequently-asked astronomy questions, be they related to the hobby or science of astronomy.

Read to Go Deeper?

Once you're ready for a telescope, we have more than a few words of advice! You'll want to check out two digestible articles on the topic of choosing your first telescope: "What to Know Before Buying a Telescope" and "How to Choose a Telescope." You might also be interested in our video guides to choosing, using, and equipping your telescope.The naked-eye sky is full of astronomical treasures, and it gets even better with a little magnification. But don't feel you have to go out and buy a high-power telescope right away. Often the best first telescope is a pair of binoculars. Binoculars can give you the wide-field view that's essential to really learning your way around the night sky. Find out more about choosing and using binoculars here.

Once you're ready to take on deep-sky challenges, such as spotting faint galaxies and fuzzy nebulae, prepare for a dive into deep celestial seas with Sky & Telescope's Deep-Sky Observing Collection.

- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-information/#sthash.Aqq0k8nJ.dpuf

HOW BRIGHT IS The SUN from PLUTO?

Pluto is currently a bit more than 3 billion miles from the Sun. ( About 33 times farther than the Earth's distance from the Sun.)

At that distance the Sun will be 1083 X dimmer than the Sun and look like a very bright point of light less than 1/60 of degree wide. However it will still shine as bright as 370 Full Moons. You can experience NOON TIME sunlight on Pluto by going outside 6 or 7 mins after sunset or before sunrise.

To find the exact time go to http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/plutotime/

Scroll down the page and type in your city and it will give you the best time to experience Sunlight from Pluto.

For more Pluto news go to http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html

From John Land

Hello BAS Members --

With so many people interested in AstroPhotography in the group, we have thought of having a "Astro Picture of the Month" competition each month at our meetings.

Entry Rules:

Send one picture of the night sky/ object of the current month with a description of the picture and the equipment used to take this.

Mail it to bvilleastro@gmail.com.

Best picture is chosen in the next meeting and uploaded to our Facebook/Twitter pages with your mention!

So let the entries pouring in for our next meeting on the Feb 2, 2015.

Thanks

BAS President .

Take the Future of Amateur Astronomers Survey

The Night Sky Network is doing a new survey of amateur astronomers located in the United States. We are attempting to understand the landscape of educational outreach performed by astronomy clubs and assess the needs of the amateur astronomy community for the next 5 years. We want to hear your voice.

Please let us know what your needs are and how we can better help you and your clubs by taking our survey, located here: http://bit.ly/2014astrosurvey

Pass this announcement along to any other persons or organizations that would have an interest in this survey as well. Thank you all!

You can see daily images of the Sun on www.Spaceweather.com

See a Fantastic image comparing sunspot to size of earth

http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=18&month=10&year=2014

Sky and Telescope News http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news

Dramatic Features in Pluto Close-Ups

By: Kelly Beatty | July 24, 2015 | Comments 1

New images from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft reveal a bewildering array of geologic features — all carved by or into exotic ices — on the surface of Pluto.

Kepler Discovers Earth’s Closest Cousin Yet

By: Monica Young | July 23, 2015 | Comments 5

The Kepler team announced today the discovery of Kepler-452b, an Earth-size planet in the “goldilocks” zone around a Sun-like star. But is it Earthlike?

(Unofficially) Naming Pluto

By: Anne McGovern | July 23, 2015 | Comments 0

Amidst all the excitement of seeing Pluto’s unique features for the first time, NASA researchers have been using unofficial names to talk science until official terms come down the pipeline.

“Breakthrough Listen”: Giant Leap for SETI

By: Alan MacRobert | July 22, 2015 | Comments 6

A $100 million donation will radically speed up the search for artificial signals from the nearest million stars — and from trillions of much farther stars in the 100 nearest galaxies.

Last Chance to Discover Iceland with S&T!

By: Peter Tyson | July 21, 2015 | Comments 1

On October 15, a group of us interested in seeing auroras and in exploring Iceland will meet in Reykjavík, the capital of this unique island. Want to join us?

High Definition Space Telescope — Hubble’s Successor?

By: David Dickinson | July 21, 2015 | Comments 4

A proposal released earlier this month calls for a giant orbiting space telescope that may revolutionize astronomy.

Buckyballs Solve Interstellar Mystery

By: Monica Young | July 20, 2015 | Comments 1

Soccer ball-shaped molecules lurking in the dusty corners of the Milky Way help resolve a long-standing problem.

The Frozen Plain of Pluto

By: Kelly Beatty | July 17, 2015 | Comments 13

New images from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft reveal an ice-covered plain on Pluto that looks remarkably young and fresh.- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/#sthash.OHisqpJG.dpuf

Naming Pluto’s Features

By: Anne McGovern | July 13, 2015 | Comments 0

How will planetary scientists decide what to call the features they discover on Pluto and its moons?

The Most Luminous Supernova

By: Monica Young | July 12, 2015 | Comments 0

Astronomers have discovered an exploding star that belongs to the "superluminous" class, and it's the most luminous one ever found.

Revealing Hidden Black Holes

By: Monica Young | July 10, 2015 | Comments 0

The NuSTAR telescope has spied high-energy X-rays from five supermassive black holes shrouded in a thick veil of dust and gas, a test run that will lead to a better census of these hidden beasts.

Down-Under Observers Track Pluto Cover-up

By: Kelly Beatty | July 10, 2015 | Comments 1

Deep snow, high winds, and dropped cameras didn't stop dozens of observers in New Zealand and Tasmania from recording Pluto's occultation of a bright star on June 29th.

Pulsar System to Put On a Show in 2018

By: Anne McGovern | July 10, 2015 | Comments 0

Astronomers are looking forward to 2018, when a young pulsar will pass through its binary star companion’s disk.

Black Hole Too Big for its Breeches

By: Shannon Hall | July 9, 2015 | Comments 3

A supermassive black hole in the early universe is at least 10 times too heavy for its host galaxy, raising questions about galaxy and black hole coevolution.

Seeing Signs of the First Stars?

By: Monica Young | July 9, 2015 | Comments 0

Astronomers have come upon the tantalizing signal from some of the universe’s first stars.

Glimpsing Pluto’s Curious Equator

By: Anne McGovern | July 8, 2015 | Comments 3

Here’s a taste of what New Horizons hopes to resolve when it passes by Pluto next Tuesday, July 14th.

C/2014 Q1 (PanSTARRS): Next Naked-Eye Comet?

By: Bob King | July 8, 2015 | Comments 0

Comet C/2014 Q1 PanSTARRS has been skirting the northern horizon since mid-June. Now it's ready to dip Down Under, where it may be visible with the naked eye in evening twilight.

New Horizons Hiccups, Goes into Safe Mode

By: Kelly Beatty | July 5, 2015 | Comments 4

Just 10 days before its history-making flyby of Pluto and its moons, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft briefly lost communication with Earth.

SOFIA Dashes into Pluto’s Shadow

By: Govert Schilling | July 3, 2015 | Comments 1

Despite an 11th-hour scramble due to an unexpected in predictions, NASA's flying observatory was in the right place at the right time on June 29th as distant Pluto briefly covered a 12th-magnitude star.

Photos of the Venus-Jupiter Conjunction

By: Anne McGovern | July 1, 2015 | Comments 10

For the last few weeks, countless numbers of the world’s 7 billion people watched the western evening sky as the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, edged closer and closer to one another. Last night, June 30th, they reached their least separation: 0.3° apart (at the time of twilight for the Americas).

Rosetta Spots Sinkholes on Comet

By: Camille M. Carlisle | July 1, 2015 | Comments 5

The spacecraft orbiting Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has found 18 holes in the nucleus's surface.

Planet with a Comet Tail

By: John Bochanski | June 30, 2015 | Comments 2

Astronomers have confirmed that the planet Gliese 436b seems to be trailing a gigantic, comet-like cloud of hydrogen.

Witnessing Light Echoes from a Neutron Star

By: Anne McGovern | June 30, 2015 | Comments 0

X-ray echoes from binary star system Circinus X-1 are helping astronomers measure its distance from Earth.

Do We Need “Asteroid Day”?

By: Jan Hattenbach | June 26, 2015 | Comments 11

Are we really doing enough to find asteroids, especially the smaller ones that could destroy a city? A private initiative urges a rapid ramp-up of the search effort — but not everyone agrees.

Venus and Jupiter: Together at Last

By: Kelly Beatty | June 25, 2015 | Comments 5

The two brightest planets are gliding closer together in the early evening sky, and their celestial dance culminates with an ultra-close pairing on June 30th. Anyone who pays even cursory attention to the evening sky has surely noticed that the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, have been drawing closer together in the west...

Volcanoes on Venus: Active or Not?

By: Anne McGovern | June 25, 2015 | Comments 0

Hotspots on Venus might be researchers’ long-sought evidence for active volcanoes.

Tour July’s Sky: Saturn and the Scorpion

By: Kelly Beatty | June 25, 2015 | Comments 0

Stargazing in July is warm and pleasant. After sunset Venus and Jupiter are together in the west and Saturn is low in the south amid the stars of Scorpius.

- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/#sthash.SeKH9vkM.dpuf

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

• • • July 28, 29 - Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. The Delta Aquarids is an average shower that can produce up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by comets Marsden and Kracht. The shower runs annually from July 12 to August 23. It peaks this year on the night of July 28 and morning of July 29. The nearly full moon will block out all but the brightest meteors this year. But if you are patient, you should still be able to catch a quite few good ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

      • July 31 - Full Moon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 10:43 UTC.

      • August 12, 13 - Perseids Meteor Shower. The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The Perseids are famous for producing a large number of bright meteors. The shower runs annually from July 17 to August 24. It peaks this year on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13. The thin crescent moon will be no match for the bright Perseids this year so be prepared for a great show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Perseus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

      • August 14 - New Moon. The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 14:53 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.

      • August 29 - Full Moon, Supermoon. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 18:35 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Sturgeon Moon because the large sturgeon fish of the Great Lakes and other major lakes were more easily caught at this time of year. This moon has also been known as the Green Corn Moon and the Grain Moon. This is also the first of three supermoons for 2015. The Moon will be at its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

      • September 1 - Neptune at Opposition. The blue giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Neptune. Due to its extreme distance from Earth, it will only appear as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.

      • September 4 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation of 27 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the planet low in the western sky just after sunset.

      • September 13 - New Moon. The Moon will located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 06:41 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.

      • September 13 - Partial Solar Eclipse. A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Moon covers only a part of the Sun, sometimes resembling a bite taken out of a cookie. A partial solar eclipse can only be safely observed with a special solar filter or by looking at the Sun's reflection. The partial eclipse will only be visible in southern Africa, Madagascar, and Antarctica. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)

• • (Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2015.html)

2015 BAS Programs

Next Meeting

September 5, 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.