August 2023
Next BAS Monthly Meeting:
Monday, August 7, 2023 at 7:00 at the library (meeting room A) or via Zoom
"The Stellar Nucleosynthesis of Phosphorus as a Biosignature for Life in the Universe.” - Jonathan Fussell
Jonathan Fussell's research investigates the role of stellar nucleosynthesis in forming phosphorus as a potential biosignature for life in the universe, providing insights into the link between stellar processes and the search for extraterrestrial life.
Club members will be sent a link to the Zoom meeting. Here is a link to the Join page on our website! If you are not a Club member but would like to attend, please email bvilleastro@gmail.com and ask to have the Zoom link sent to you!
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.
—————
Next Bartian Youth Astronomers (BYA) Monthly Meeting:
Wednesday, August 23rd at 7:00pm.
The topic will be "Observing the Sun".
Discussions of some of the sun's features.
Get-togethers are open to any youth from age 7 through high-school and their families. Please remember that our rules require that at least 1 parent/legal guardian be present at all times with youth under the age of 18. Adults without youth should not come...after all these are youth events.
For our indoor meetings:
Our Savior Lutheran Church is located at 300 NE Madison Blvd., Bartlesville, OK
If you plan to attend, please email bartianastro@gmail.com in advance to say you are coming.
Bartian Youth Astronomers is an interactive, hands-on youth group for ages seven through high school.
BYA meetings are usually on the third Monday evening of each month. More event details are listed on our calendar.
~~~~~
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/
~~~~~
The email address is bvilleastro+comments@gmail.com .
The BAS 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 https://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/
With Venus approaching inferior conjunction in August here's a foolproof way to follow its thinning crescent as the planet transitions from Evening Star to Morning Star.
BY: BOB KING JULY 26, 2023
The white dwarf J2033 seems to switch rapidly between two compositions.
BY: CAMILLE M. CARLISLE JULY 25, 2023
Kite-like Galaxy Trails a Million-light-year String of Gas and Star-forming Knots
A galaxy 600 million light-years away appears to be trailing gas in a string 1.2 million light-years long, but explaining its origins presents a challenge.
BY: MONICA YOUNG JULY 24, 2023
See Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in Outburst!
Comet Pons-Brooks, a dim comet on its way to a great apparition next spring, suddenly sprang into action overnight, brightening by five magnitudes. Now you can see it in a 4-inch telescope.
BY: BOB KING JULY 21, 2023
This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 21 – 30
Low in twilight, Mercury consorts with Venus and squeaks by Regulus. The waxing gibbous Moon does what it does every July: crosses Scorpius and Sagittarius.
BY: ALAN MACROBERT JULY 21, 2023
Dust is usually the product of generations of star formation. So what is all this dust doing in the early universe, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang?
BY: ARWEN RIMMER JULY 21, 2023
Astronomers have spotted the first solid evidence for a planetary Trojan body forming in another system outside our own.
BY: MONICA YOUNG JULY 19, 2023
An unidentified source has been beaming out a pulse of radio waves every 22 minutes since 1988.
BY: GOVERT SCHILLING JULY 19, 2023
Some Astronomers Claim Dark Star Candidates in Webb Images
Three distant galaxies imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope might actually be "dark stars" powered by dark matter annihilation, claims a team of astronomers.
BY: COLIN STUART JULY 18, 2023
India's Chandrayaan 3 Mission Launches for the Moon
India is headed back to the Moon with its ambitious new Chandrayaan 3 mission.
BY: DAVID DICKINSON JULY 14, 2023
New research proposes a way for fast radio bursts to escape the confines of a magnetized star and jet out into space — by getting help from theoretical particles called axions.
BY: AAS NOVA JULY 13, 2023
Perseverance Finds Complex Organics (Not Life) on Mars
NASA's Perseverance has sniffed 10 rock samples and found signatures of organic molecules, a sign of a complex geochemical past.
BY: COLIN STUART JULY 12, 2023
Perseverance Finds Complex Organics (Not Life) on Mars
NASA's Perseverance has sniffed 10 rock samples and found signatures of organic molecules, a sign of a complex geochemical past.
BY: COLIN STUART JULY 12, 2023
Time-lapse Animations Reveal a Universe in Transformation
Deep-sky objects may appear static throughout our lifetime but by carefully "blinking" archival and current images we can discern real changes in their appearance.
BY: BOB KING JULY 11, 2023
The intrepid infrared explorer is offering astronomers a jump back in time, enabling them to see quasars at earlier times than ever before.
BY: MONICA YOUNG JULY 6, 2023
Astronomy in Pictures: Saturn and the Milky Way
The James Webb Space Telescope offers a new view of Saturn, while the IceCube Observatory creates a neutrino-painted picture of the Milky Way.
BY: MONICA YOUNG JULY 5, 2023
Euclid Space Telescope Launches to Explore Dark Energy, Dark Matter
The European Space Agency’s new space telescope promises to unlock a key mystery of modern cosmology.
BY: DAVID DICKINSON JULY 1, 2023
Parker Solar Probe data offers new insight on the puzzle of how debris from an asteroid produces one of the brightest annual meteor showers.
BY: JEFF HECHT JUNE 28, 2023
Mergers between the Milky Way and long-ago dwarf galaxies have enriched our skies with dozens of iconic globular clusters. Many are visible in small telescopes.
BY: BOB KING JUNE 28, 2023
Radio observatories across the globe have found compelling evidence for the existence of very-low-frequency gravitational waves.
BY: GOVERT SCHILLING JUNE 28, 2023
A glowing molecular cloud shines today because of a 200-year-old flare let out by our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, scientists say.
BY: JURE JAPELJ JUNE 30, 2023
Astronomers have discovered Jupiter's younger sibling in a system 88 light-years away. Meanwhile, only 40 light-years away, a Venus-size world turns out to be airless (or nearly so).
BY: MONICA YOUNG JUNE 26, 2023
Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events
(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-2021.html)
2023
July 29, 30 - 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 29 and morning of July 30. The nearly full moon will block most of the fainter meteors this year. But if you are patient, you may 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.
August 1 - Full Moon, Supermoon. The Moon will be located opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 18:33 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the 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 second of four supermoons for 2023. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
August 10 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation of 27.4 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.
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 crescent moon should not be too much of a problem this year. Skies should still be dark enough for 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 16 - 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 09:39 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.
August 24 - Moon Occults Antares. The Moon pass in front of the bright star Antares in the constellation Scorpius. This rare event will happen at 10:29 PM (02:29 UTC) and will be visible in the central US and northern Florida. (Occultation Map and Details)
August 27 - Saturn at Opposition. The ringed 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 Saturn and its moons. A medium-sized or larger telescope will allow you to see Saturn's rings and a few of its brightest moons.
August 31 - Full Moon, Supermoon, Blue 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 01:37 UTC. This is also the third of four supermoons for 2023. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual. Since this is the second full moon in the same month, it is sometimes referred to as a blue moon.
September 15 - 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 01:41 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 19 - 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 22 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 17.9 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.
September 23 - September Equinox. The September equinox occurs at 06:43 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere.
September 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 09:59 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Corn Moon because the corn is harvested around this time of year. This moon is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox each year. This is also the last of four supermoons for 2023. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
October 8, 9 - Draconids Meteor Shower. The Draconids is a minor meteor shower producing only about 10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was first discovered in 1900. The Draconids is an unusual shower in that the best viewing is in the early evening instead of early morning like most other showers. The shower runs annually from October 6-10 and peaks this year on the the night of the the 8th and morning of the 9th. The second quarter moon will be visible in the early morning but shouldn't interfere too much. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
October 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 17:56 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 14 - 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 eclipse path will begin in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Canada and move across the southwestern United States and Central America, Columbia, and Brazil. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout much of North and South America. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information) (NASA Interactive Google Map)
October 20, 21 - 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 20 and the morning of October 21. The first quarter moon may block some of the dim meteors in the evening, but it will set shortly after midnight. This will leave dark skies for what could be a good morning 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 23 - Venus at Greatest Western Elongation. The planet Venus reaches greatest eastern elongation of 46.4 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Venus since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the bright planet in the eastern sky before sunrise.
October 28 - 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 20:25 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Hunters Moon because at this time of year the leaves are falling and the game is fat and ready to hunt. This moon has also been known as the Travel Moon and the Blood Moon.
October 28 - Partial Lunar Eclipse. A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's partial shadow, or penumbra, and only a portion of it passes through the darkest shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse a part of the Moon will darken as it moves through the Earth's shadow. The eclipse will be visible throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and western Australia. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)
Next Month's BAS Meeting: September 4, Monday. 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
Mike Woods
Observing Program Coordinator
Rick Buck
Member-at-Large
John Blaesi
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.
Comments: Send email to bvilleastro+comments@gmail.com or our newsletter editor: bvilleastro+newsletter@gmail.com