June 2021
Monday, June 7, 2021 via Zoom (due to COVID-19)
Main BAS meeting:
Bartlesville Astronomical Society is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: BAS June Virtual Club Meeting
Time: Jun 7, 2021 06:45 PM Central Time (US and Canada) (Zoom set for 6:45 p.m. start; meeting itself begins at 7:00 p.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81640873674?pwd=aWRxSWs4ekoyTzlYRkZxek9MU1c1QT09
Meeting ID: 816 4087 3674
Passcode: 184659
Virtual Braum’s:
Bartlesville Astronomical Society is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Bas June Virtual Braums
Time: Jun 7, 2021 08:45 PM Central Time (US and Canada) (Zoom set for 8:45 p.m. start; Virtual Braums itself begins at 9:00 p.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82990901984?pwd=UWZyMUtvSUFFL3FpNmwvb1VOTURJZz09
Meeting ID: 829 9090 1984
Passcode: 691879
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BAS meetings feature presentations on a variety of astronomy and space science topics. Meetings are usually on the first Monday evening of each month and are open to the public. Guests are always welcome. More event details are listed on our calendar.
ALCON 2021 Thurs Aug 19 thru Sat Aug 21
Register Free at https://www.alconvirtual.org/
The National Astronomical League will be conducting its 2021 Conference using a Virtual format this year using the League’s YouTube channel. This will give you a great opportunity to hear top notch speakers and presentations from the comfort of your home. Registered participants will be eligible for some great DOOR PRIZES donated by astronomy clubs throughout the country.
A Stellar group of guest speakers are already lined up for your enjoyment. Speakers include:
David Levy - famed comet hunter - discovered 22 comets & authored 34 books.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell - discovered pulsars as a graduate student in radio astronomy in Cambridge, opening up a new branch of astrophysics.
David Eicher is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of Astronomy magazine since 2002.
Conal Richards an impressive up and coming astronomy youth. Founder and president of the Abingdon Heights High School Astronomy Club in Pennsylvania
J. Richard Gott is professor emeritus of Astrophysics at Princeton, known for his work in general relativity and cosmology. In 1991 he discovered an exact solution to Einstein’s field equations of general relativity for the geometry around two moving cosmic strings.
Dr. Caitlin Ahrens - Dr. Ahrens gave an inspiring talk at or 2018 MidStates convention telling of her work with data from the New Horizon’s spacecraft and laboratory studies of ices on Pluto. She is now turning her interest toward ices on the moon.
April 8, 2024, there will be another total eclipse ‘across’ America.
Are you ready?
Do you plan to go?
Don’t wait until 2024 to make your plans!
NASA Site
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=20240408
Weather Site
https://eclipsophile.com/2024tse/
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Reflections on Astronomy
Brief essays about experiences in astronomy.
The email address is bvilleastro+comments@gmail.com .
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
Family Fun with Sky Watching
Clear Sky Predictor for Bartlesville:
https://clearskyalarmclock.com/index.php
Sky and Telescope News http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/
Astronomy in Pictures: Unraveling Galaxies and Clyde's Spot
This week in astronomy pictures: Peer into our galaxy's busy core, watch Clyde's Spot unravel at Jupiter, and see a stunning Hubble photo of a lopsided galaxy.
BY: MONICA YOUNG MAY 31, 2021
Dark Energy Survey Catalogs 226 million Galaxies
The latest release from the Dark Energy Survey catalogs millions of galaxies, mapping the history of galaxy clustering across space and time.
BY: GOVERT SCHILLING MAY 28, 2021
Fast Radio Bursts Tied to Spiral Arms
New Hubble observations have pinned five enigmatic radio bursts to the arms of spiral galaxies, narrowing down possible explanations.
BY: JULIE FREYDLIN MAY 26, 2021
Dawn Delight: Catch the Total Lunar Eclipse on May 26th
On May 26th the Moon will be in total eclipse for the first time in nearly two and a half years. While timing favors western North America, a partial eclipse will be visible across much of the U.S. and Canada at dawn.
BY: BOB KING MAY 25, 2021
Moonlight: Europe Plans Constellation of Lunar Satellites
The European Space Agency’s Moonlight initiative gets the go ahead for the development of a future GPS system around the Moon.
BY: DAVID DICKINSON MAY 21, 2021
Astronomers Challenge Claim of Planet Around Barnard's Star
Astronomers thought a super-Earth might orbit nearby Barnard's star. But a new study disputes that claim, arguing that stellar activity might be masquerading as the planetary signal.
BY: MONICA YOUNG MAY 21, 2021
Interstellar and Solar System Comets Share a Surprising Ingredient: Nickel
Cold comets — both natives and the interstellar Comet Borisov — have nickel and iron vapor in their atmospheres, and scientists want to know why.
BY: JEFF HECHT MAY 20, 2021
Jumping the Gap to Probe Large Black Holes
Gravitational-wave detectors should be able to locate a population of huge black holes soon. A new study predicts when we'll find them, and what they'll teach us.
BY: AAS NOVA MAY 18, 2021
China's Zhurong Rover Lands on Mars (Update: New Images)
The Zhurong rover has successfully landed on the Red Planet in an ambitious first for China's space agency.
BY: DAVID DICKINSON MAY 17, 2021
Helium Rain Inside Saturn Might Shape Its Magnetic Field
A thick inner layer of slowly falling helium blobs might help explain Saturn's almost perfectly aligned magnetic field.
BY: JEFF HECHT MAY 14, 2021
Sights and Sounds of the Solar System
Spacecraft are returning sights and sounds from Venus, Jupiter, and beyond — here's a sampling.
BY: MONICA YOUNG MAY 12, 2021
NASA's OSIRIS-REX Leaves Asteroid Bennu, Heads for Home
NASA’s asteroid explorer has begun its long journey home with precious cargo onboard: samples of the asteroid Bennu.
BY: DAVID DICKINSON MAY 11, 2021
Water-Ice Clouds Could Have Warmed Early Mars
New simulations show that the greenhouse effect of high water-ice clouds could have warmed early Mars, permitting the presence of long-ago lakes.
BY: THEO NICITOPOULOS MAY 10, 2021
Nova in Cassiopeia Brightens Suddenly
A star in the constellation Cassiopeia that flared into view during mid-March has erupted to naked-eye visibility. Catch it while you can!
BY: BOB KING MAY 9, 2021
Tianhe Booster to Reenter This Weekend
One of the largest spacecraft to plunge from orbit in recent decades is likely coming down on May 8th.
BY: DAVID DICKINSON MAY 6, 2021
The Hubble Space Telescope As Cosmic-Ray Detector
Astronomers, using Hubble Space Telescope as a particle detector, have traced cosmic rays flowing in Earth's geomagnetic field.
BY: JURE JAPELJ MAY 5, 2021
We track down and admire five of the most ancient stars in the universe.
BY: BOB KING MAY 5, 2021
Size measurements of two neutron stars have narrowed down what kinds of exotic matter might exist in their extremely dense cores.
BY: MONICA YOUNG MAY 4, 2021
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Enters New Phase of Flight
After a successful first month of flights, Ingenuity will continue to fly through Martian skies on an extended mission designed to test operations.
BY: DAVID DICKINSON MAY 3, 2021
Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events
(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2021.html)
June 10 - 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 10:54 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.
June 10 - Annular Solar Eclipse. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is too far away from the Earth to completely cover the Sun. This results in a ring of light around the darkened Moon. The Sun's corona is not visible during an annular eclipse. The path of this eclipse will be confined to extreme eastern Russia, the Arctic Ocean, western Greenland, and Canada. A partial eclipse will be visible in the northeastern United States, Europe, and most of Russia. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information) (NASA Interactive Google Map)
June 21 - June Solstice. The June solstice occurs at 03:21 UTC. The North Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.44 degrees north latitude. This is the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere.
June 24 - 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 18:40 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Strawberry Moon because it signaled the time of year to gather ripening fruit. It also coincides with the peak of the strawberry harvesting season. This moon has also been known as the Rose Moon and the Honey Moon. This is also the last of three supermoons for 2021. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
July 4 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 21.6 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 morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.
July 10 - 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 01:17 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 24 - 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 02:37 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Buck Moon because the male buck deer would begin to grow their new antlers at this time of year. This moon has also been known as the Thunder Moon and the Hay Moon.
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 be a problem this year. It's glare will block block most of the faintest meteors. But if you are patient, you should still be able to catch a 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.
Next Month's BAS Meeting: July 5, Monday. Zoom meeting(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 and Board Members:
President
Craig Brockmeier
Vice President
Rick Buck
Secretary
Denise Gregg
Treasurer
Evan Zorn
Appointed Positions and Board Members:
Program Director
Bob Young
Newsletter Editor
Mike Woods
Observing Program Coordinator
Rick Buck
Member-at-Large
Duane Perkins
Member-at-Large
Karen Cruce
Additional Appointed Positions:
Bartian Youth Astronomers Leader
Rick Bryant
Meeting Arrangements Coordinator
Daryl Doughty
Website and Social Media Administrator
Denise Gregg
Astronomical League Coordinator
Denise Gregg
Our officers and some individuals holding other club positions can be reached by email. To send an email, just click on a title above.
Membership Rates
Regular Membership
For age 18 or older. Holds one vote for BAS business.
$25 per year
Student Membership
For age 13 through high school, or age 18 or older and enrolled full-time at a post-secondary educational institution. Holds no vote for BAS business. A student younger than age 13 may join with an adult on a Family Membership.
$10 per year
Family Membership:
Two People
For two people, with at least one member age 18 or older. Holds one shared vote for BAS business.
$30 per year
Family Membership:
Three or More People
For three or more people, with at least one member age 18 or older. Holds one shared vote for BAS business.
$40 per year
Members are eligible for these discounted magazine subscriptions:
Sky and Telescope
Astronomy Technology Today
Astronomy Magazine
Please check with the BAS Treasurer for current discounted subscription rates.
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