November 2014
Monday, November 3
Bartlesville Public Library
6:45 p.m. Setup and Discussion
7:00 p.m. Club Business
7:15 p.m. Current Astronomy News
7:30 p.m.
To Be Determined
by TBD
In addition to the monthly program, election of officers has been postponed from the usual October meeting to the November meeting.
2015 annual BAS Membership Dues notice for November 1st: Dues amounts for most renewing members will be $20; Students $10; and couples (or two in a family) $30. Members who joined during 2014 are asked to pay a prorated amount to bring all members up to the club renewal month of November. Treasurer may be contacted at miltvend@sbcglobal.net for BAS mailing address or any other questions concerning dues amounts.
Thank you.
Hi Everyone,
The Astronomy calendars are in, but unfortunately something has come up & I will not be able to make the Nov meeting. I will be at the Dec meeting though. If you know you will not make the Dec meeting or need you calendar(s) before then, please let me know & we can make arrangements to get you your calendars to you. I am usually in downtown Bartlesville on Thursdays around 4:00 pm. Also, after I actually ordered the calendars, the price for each came out to be $6:50 instead of $6.48 that I had quoted.
Thanks,
Karen Cruce
BAS Members,
Although clouds limited telescopic observing, our stargazing/storytelling event this evening was great fun. Fran Stallings and others told many entertaining stories, and during breaks in the clouds Mike Woods pointed out constellations. Below is a link to a Youtube video of a time-lapse taken during the event. Be sure to change the Youtube settings to view it in HD. Enjoy.
John
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVH9UBcubdc&feature=youtu.be
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!
HUGE SUNSPOT GROUP
A 120,000 km wide sunspot group is crossing the sun's face the next 10 to 12 days.
The region is nearly 10 times the diameter of Earth and can be seen without magnification through safe solar filters.
Sunspot group AR2192 has had several flares over the past week or so and is producing beautiful Aurora displays
visible in northern countries.
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
By: Camille M. Carlisle | October 27, 2014 | Comments 0
The comets in the infant planetary system around the star Beta Pictoris fall into two distinct families, with one reminiscent of the solar system’s Kreutz sungrazers.
By: JR | October 24, 2014 | Comments 1
Readers share their experiences of the October 23, 2014 partial solar eclipse.
By: Kelly Beatty | October 23, 2014 | Comments 4
Mars-orbiting spacecraft escaped unscathed by Comet Siding Spring's close approach to the Red Planet — and unique scientific observations are now streaming back to Earth.
By: Monica Young | October 22, 2014 | Comments 0
New IRIS results show a Sun rife with twisting and snapping magnetic fields, data that will elicit clues on what bakes the puzzlingly hot corona.
By: Bob King | October 22, 2014 | Comments 1
Most of us are familiar with the Seven Sisters, but have you met their brothers? Learn how to find more Pleiades than first meet the eye.
By: Kelly Beatty | October 22, 2014 | Comments 2
A gigantic sunspot group, rotating into view on October 17th, has grown to nearly the size of Jupiter and could trigger potent solar storms in the days ahead.
By: Shannon Hall | October 21, 2014 | Comments 2
NASA scientists have found three potential Kuiper belt objects in the nick of time, saving the Pluto-bound probe from missing out on half of its mission.
- See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/#sthash.322ScAcA.dpuf
By: Kelly Beatty | October 16, 2014 | Comments 0
On October 19th, Comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1) passes breathtaking close to Mars — as a small army of spacecraft (five of them orbiting the planet) watch.
By: Camille M. Carlisle | October 16, 2014 | Comments 1
The gaseous object G2 has survived its swing around the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, but the questions of what it is and where it comes from remain unanswered.
October's a perfect time to see the zodiacal light, a tapering tower of comet dust standing high in the eastern sky before dawn. Here's how to find it. Wednesday morning, 5:30 a.m. I'm driving too fast down a country road in search of a clear sky to watch the total lunar eclipse. Totality is underway, but clouds...
By: Kelly Beatty | October 14, 2014 | Comments 0
Images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show dozens of small, curious features that might be volcanic eruptions in the past 50 to 100 million years. Countless astronomers, both amateur and professional, have spent untold hours scrutinizing the Moon through telescopes for hints of volcanic activity. Numerous claims of "transient lunar phenomena" (TLP) have been...
By: Emily Conover | October 13, 2014 | Comments 0
Two new studies suggest that ultraluminous X-ray sources are not all created by beefy black holes.
By: Kelly Beatty | October 10, 2014 | Comments 11
Officials proceeded with groundbreaking ceremonies for the world's largest optical telescope on October 7th amid protests from native Hawaiians who oppose it.
By: Camille M. Carlisle | October 9, 2014 | Comments 0
Astronomers might have an explanation for why some classical novae erupt in gamma rays.
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
October 23 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 21:57 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.
October 23 - 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 be visible throughout most of North and Central America. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)
November - Rosetta Comet Landing. The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is scheduled to release its Philae lander some time in November. Philae will attempt to land on the surface of a comet known as 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The lander is named after Philae island in the Nile river, where an obelisk was found that was used to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics along with the famous Rosetta Stone. The Philae lander will spend about a week studying the comet. It will send back images from the surface and try to determine what the comet is made of.
November 5, 6 - South Taurids Meteor Shower. The Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is unusual in that it consists of two separate streams. The first is produced by dust grains from Asteroid 2004 TG10. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The shower runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the the night of November 5. Unfortunately the full moon this year will block out all but the brightest meteors. Those with patience may still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
November 6 - 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 22:23 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Beaver Moon because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze. It has also been known as the Frosty Moon and the Hunter's Moon.
November 17, 18 - Leonids Meteor Shower. The Leonids is an average shower, producing an average of up to 15 meteors per hour at its peak. This shower is unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001. The Leonids is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. The shower runs annually from November 6-30. It peaks this year on the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. The waning crescent moon will not be much of a problem this year. Skies should be dark enough for a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
November 22 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 12:32 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.
December 6 - 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 12:27 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Cold Moon because this is the time of year when the cold winter air settles in and the nights become long and dark. This moon has also been known as the Moon Before Yule and the Full Long Nights Moon.
December 13, 14 - Geminids Meteor Shower. The Geminids is the king of the meteor showers. It is considered by many to be the best shower in the heavens, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982. The shower runs annually from December 7-17. It peaks this year on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th. The waning gibbous moon will block out some of the meteors this year, but the Geminids 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 Gemini, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2014.html)
2014 BAS Programs
Next Meeting
December , 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/