August 2014
Monday, August 4
Bartlesville Public Library
6:45 p.m. Setup and Discussion
7:00 p.m. Club Business
7:15 p.m. Current Astronomy News
Object of the Month
7:30 p.m.
Open Discussion & Star Party Plans
by Steve Plank
The meeting will begin with an open discussion of any topics of interest to the club. Steve Plank will then provide information about the upcoming members-only club star party on August 16 (rain date, August 23). In addition, there will be a description of what to expect to see through the telescopes at the event, as well as a slide show explaining how to star hop to the Wild Duck Cluster (M11). Finally, an explanation of Baade's Window to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy will be presented.
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 a stronomy 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!
Featured Activity and Article for July
Featured Article: Sunspotter Relaunched: Help Classify Sunspots!
The Zooniverse has just relaunched their Sunspotter project. You can help classify complex sunspots!
Featured Activity: Universe Discovery Guide for July
The Universe constantly recycles its matter. New stars are born from the dust of dead stars. Find out how to observe two beautiful nebula that are the remains of dead or dying stars, and learn about how stars are born and die.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news
By: Maria Temming | July 28, 2014 | Comments 0
Scientists have confirmed that the soft X-ray glow permeating the sky has two sources: one inside the solar system, one outside.
By: Bob King | July 23, 2014 | Comments 0
Fascinating faculae provide a way for anyone with a small telescope to track the ups and downs of the solar cycle — even when there are no sunspots. Sunspots get all the press. Last week the Web hummed with articles about a spotless Sun, the first time since August 2011 our star wore a...
By: Shannon Hall | July 23, 2014 | Comments 1
Light from the puniest galaxies played a bigger role in shaping the early universe than previously thought.
By: Kelly Beatty | July 23, 2014 | Comments 1
It's not a showstopper, but right now Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) is poised for telescopic viewing in the hours before dawn.
- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/#sthash.cgIC7m2t.dpuf
By: Richard Jakiel | July 20, 2014 | Comments 0
Shoemaker-Levy 9's headline-making Jupiter impact in 1994 wasn't the only one of its kind - observations 15 years later showed such impacts might even be common.
By: Shannon Hall | July 18, 2014 | Comments 1
A newly discovered radio burst places these ultrafast, ultrabright pulses on the cosmic map of unknown phenomena.
By: Bob King | July 17, 2014 | Comments 1
Channel your inner superpower by looking up at the night sky precisely when a dazzling blaze of light is beamed to Earth from outer space.
By: Maria Temming | July 17, 2014 | Comments 2
The Rosetta spacecraft is closing in on Comet 67P/C-G, providing astronomers with an ever more detailed view of its structure. Judging by the latest photos, it actually has two components and is shaped like… a rubber ducky?
By: Maria Temming | July 16, 2014 | Comments 3
Astronomers recently discovered that there is not nearly enough ultraviolet light from stars and quasars in the local universe to account for observations of intergalactic gas.
By: David H. Levy | July 16, 2014 | Comments 3
David Levy shares his recollections of that amazing day — July 16, 1994 — when the first fragment of a comet he helped discover slammed into Jupiter.
- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/#sthash.zs1cUwoh.dpuf
By: Kelly Beatty | July 10, 2014 | Comments 4
How did the the innermost planet get its huge iron core? New computer modeling suggests that Mercury is a lucky survivor of chaotic primordial smashups.
By: John Bochanski | July 9, 2014 | Comments 3
Astronomers have discovered two stars that lie more than 700,000 light-years from Earth, making them the most distant stellar members of our galaxy ever detected. Blogger John Bochanski tells the story of how his team found these faraway stars.
By: Bob King | July 9, 2014 | Comments 0
Not every set of closely paired stars requires binoculars or a telescope to "split". Here's a guide to summertime doubles you can tackle with your eyes alone.
By: Monica Young | July 8, 2014 | Comments 2
Astronomers have discovered a spike of X-ray emission in galaxy clusters — “ordinary” interpretations don’t hold up, so some are turning to dark matter for answers.
By: Camille M. Carlisle | July 3, 2014 | Comments 11
A new analysis confirms that an exoplanet thought to orbit in the habitable zone of the star Gliese 581 actually doesn’t exist.
- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/#sthash.XTDdpzDt.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/#sthash.L7aLSmnl.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/#sthash.NejY2sra.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 26 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 22:42 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.
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. This should be a great year for this shower because the thin crescent moon will set early in the evening leaving dark skies for what should a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
August 10 - 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 18:09 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 closest and largest full Moon of the year, an annual event that has come to be known as a "supermoon" by the media. The truth is that it is only slightly larger and brighter than normal and most people are not really able to tell the difference.
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 waning gibbous moon will block out some of the meteors this year, but the Perseids are so bright and numerous that it should still be a good 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 18 - Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. Conjunctions are rare events where two or more objects will appear extremely close together in the night sky. The two bright planets will come unusually close to each other, only a quarter of a degree, in the early morning sky. Also, the beehive cluster in the constellation Cancer will be only 1 degree away. This rare, double-planet event is definitely one not to miss. Look for the bright planets in the east just before sunrise.
August 25 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 14:13 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 - 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. 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.
(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2014.html)
2014 BAS Programs
Next Meeting
September 8, 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.
The current officers are:
The current board members are:
Additional club positions:
Membership is open to everyone interested in any aspects of astronomy.
Adult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20.00
Students (through 12th grade) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00
Magazine Subscription (reduced rate for members)
Sky & Telescope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $32.95
Astronomy Technology Today Magazine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14.00
Astronomy Magazine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $34.00/yr
BAS Public Website: http://sites.google.com/site/bartlesvilleastronomyclub/
BAS Yahoo Group: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/BvilleAstro/
If you want to have your email address removed from the Bartlesville Astronomical Society mailing list, please send an email requesting removal to bvilleastro@gmail.com
BAS Yahoo Group: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/BvilleAstro/