November 2019

Next BAS Monthly Meeting:

Monday, November 4, 2019

6:30 pm Setup/Social, 7:00 pm Meeting

Bartlesville Public Library, Meeting Room A (second floor)

Program: Astronomy and Oklahoma State Parks

by Nick Conner, Manager of Osage Hills State Park

BAS meetings are usually on the first Monday of each month.

Meetings are open to the public and visitors are welcome.

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Next BYA Monthly Meeting:

Monday, October 21, 2019

6:30 pm Setup/Social, 7:00 pm Meeting

Our Savior Lutheran Church

300 NE Madison Blvd., Bartlesville, OK

BYA meetings are usually on the third Monday of each month.

BYA is for ages seven through high school.

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Next Public Observing Event:

Bartlesville Astronomy Day

Saturday, October 5, 2019

The next club event is:

We have received a couple more school requests for astronomy events, to finalize arrangements for each, could you please review the below schedule for 2019, and indicate if you support or have further questions.

Sat. Oct. 26th, Bob and Glenda Bolinger's place

Fri. Nov 1st Girl Scouts,

Fri. Nov 8th Wayside

Mon. Nov 11th Mercury transit at BPL

Fri. Nov 15th Dewey

Sat. Nov 23rd TBD (potentially Marty and Summer's place Okesa, awaiting confirmation)

For the Girl Scout and school events, my plan would be to begin soliciting volunteers as soon as possible to assist. Please advise of any questions or concerns, I realize this is busy and am committed to fulfilling the demand.

Thanks,

Rick Buck

The BAS now has storage at First Christian Church for club equipment and records. We are trying to consolidate and we are requesting any members with club equipment or records to contact one of the officers to arrange to move the items to storage and log it into our inventory.

Apps for Consideration

Distant Suns, your personal guide to the cosmos, lists Night Sky Network astronomy club star parties, safe solar gazing events, and lectures in the main navigation bar. Distant Suns is available for Android, Apple iOS, Kindle, and Nook.

SkySafari, a powerful planetarium that fits in your pocket, lists Night Sky Network astronomy club star parties, safe solar observing events, and lectures in the help menu. SkySafari is available for Android and Apple devices and computers.

Family Fun with Sky Watching

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/stargazing-basics/family-projects-and-experiments/

Clear Sky Predictor for Bartlesville: http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/BrtlsvlOKkey.html

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

Citizen Science with the Transit of Mercury

By: Zack Stockbridge | October 27, 2019 | Comments 0

If you're planning on watching the November 11th transit of Mercury, try kicking it up a notch — watch with a friend and calculate the distance between Earth and the Sun!

“Potentially Hazardous” Asteroid Is Headed For Your Telescope

By: Bob King | October 24, 2019 | Comments 3

A potentially hazardous asteroid makes a flyby of Earth this Friday, offering amateurs with modest telescopes a chance to ride along.

Crack Your Crescent Moon Record

By: Bob King | October 23, 2019 | Comments 5

Calling all crescent lovers! Here's a chance to set a new personal record by seeing one of the oldest moons ever.

First Light for German X-ray Telescope EROSITA

By: Monica Young | October 22, 2019 | Comments 2

The EROSITA X-ray telescope aboard the German-Russian Spektr-RG satellite has taken its first images of the hot universe.

Interstellar Comet Borisov “Indistinguishable” from Solar System Comets

By: Nola Taylor Redd | October 16, 2019 | Comments 11

The solar system's newest interstellar visitor, Comet 2I/Borisov, bears a striking resemblance to the icy population of the outer solar system.

Should We Blame Pulsars for Too Much Antimatter?

By: AAS Nova | October 13, 2019 | Comments 1

A new study suggests that pulsars are not the source of an unexpected surplus of antimatter particles detected by a space-based experiment. Dark matter remains a viable alternative explanation.

Autumn Comets, Mira’s Eye & The Orionid Meteor Shower

By: Bob King | October 16, 2019 | Comments 0

Four comets, a famous variable star, and sprinkles of dust from Halley's Comet are highlights of the October sky.

NASA Launches ICON to Explore Earth’s Ionosphere

By: David Dickinson | October 11, 2019 | Comments 2

NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) launched successfully today to explore the boundary between Earth and space.

Help Name Saturn’s 20 Newfound Moons

By: Monica Young | October 9, 2019 | Comments 0

Astronomers have found 20 new moons circling Saturn — now you can help name them!

Work to Save NASA’s “Mole” on Mars Continues

By: David Dickinson | October 7, 2019 | Comments 0

NASA engineers hope to use the scoop at the end of the lander's robotic arm to get the Insight lander's heat probe burrowing once again.

Two Eyes to Hunt Stray Planet Masses

By: AAS Nova | September 30, 2019 | Comments 0

How can we measure the masses of free-floating planets wandering around our galaxy? A new study identifies one approach that combines the power of two upcoming missions.

Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events

(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2019.html)

October 20 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation of 24.6 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.

October 21, 22 - Orionids Meteor Shower. The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Halley, which has been known and observed since ancient times. The shower runs annually from October 2 to November 7. It peaks this year on the night of October 21 and the morning of October 22. The second quarter moon will block some of the fainter meteors this year, but the Orionids tend to be fairly bright so it could still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

October 27 - Uranus at Opposition. The blue-green 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 Uranus. Due to its distance, it will only appear as a tiny blue-green dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.

October 28 - 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 03:39 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.

November 5, 6 - 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 left behind by 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. The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight leaving dark skies for viewing. 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 11 - Rare Transit of Mercury Across the Sun. The planet Mercury will move directly between the Earth and the Sun. Viewers with telescopes and approved solar filters will be able to observe the dark disk of the planet Mercury moving across the face of the Sun. This is an extremely rare event that occurs only once every few years. The next transit of Mercury will not take place until 2039. This transit will be visible throughout all of South America and Central America, and parts of North America, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The best place to view this event in its entirety will be the eastern United States, Central America, and South America. (Transit Visibility Map and Information)

November 12 - 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 13:36 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 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 second quarter moon will block many of the fainter meteors this year, but if you are patient you should be able to catch quite a few of the brightest ones. 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 24 - Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. A conjunction of Venus and Jupiter will be visible on November 24. The two bright planets will be visible within 1.4 degrees of each other in the evening sky. Look for this impressive sight in the western sky just after sunset.

November 26 - 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 15:06 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.

November 28 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 20.1 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 morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2019.html)

Next Month's BAS Meeting: December 2, Monday. Bartlesville Public Library Meeting Room A (tentative), Presenter: TBA

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 multi-part articles are also welcome. Please submit your contributions to Mike Woods or to bvilleastro@gmail.com.

Bartlesville Astronomical Society is an organization of people interested in astronomy and related fields of science. Membership is open to everyone interested in any aspects of astronomy.

Elected Officers