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Next BAS Monthly Meeting:
Thursday, September 5, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. at the library (in meeting room C) and via Zoom
Join photographer Travis Novitsky, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, on a visually stunning exploration of the heavens as seen from Voyageurs National Park, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and Quetico Provincial Park—together comprising the world’s largest designated Dark Sky sanctuary. Learn how artificial light is impacting our world and the movement to reduce the harmful human health and environmental effects of light pollution.
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.
https://sites.google.com/site/bartlesvilleastronomyclub/
The email address is bvilleastro+comments@gmail.com .
Hi all!
We are going to have a special planetarium presentation for our Club at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum on Saturday, Sept. 7, given by Bryan Kyle with the planetarium! The planetarium show will take place from 5-7 p.m.
The planetarium is not going to charge us up front for this event. Rather, they will accept donations. This is what they did for us when we had a planetarium show just for us in 2019, and it was very generous of the planetarium to do this for us, then and now! We have given Bryan Kyle, who does wonderful planetarium shows, carte blanche to present whatever he would like to do for us. It is certain to be a great show!
The planetarium holds 110 people. So far, we have 44 people from our Club membership (and their families and friends) attending. We are now opening this up to our newsletter group, up to the maximum of 110 seats.
If you would like to come, please reply to this email, and say how many will be coming. We can keep a running total and in a week, send another email with how many seats are still left.
There are other events going on that day at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, if you and your family and friends would like to visit the museum apart from the planetarium show. Two historic planes, a B-25 plane, the "Yellow Rose", and a C-47, "That's All Brother", will be at the TASM that day. They will even be selling rides on these planes. Here is the TASM website: https://www.tulsamuseum.org/ , and there is more information about these vintage aircraft on the website.
The museum address is 3624 N 74th East Ave, Tulsa, OK, 74115.
We are looking forward to a great planetarium show for our Club! Hope you can attend!!
Bartlesville Astronomical Society
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/
A supermassive black hole has twice now grabbed gas from a passing star — and astronomers predict a third chance will come in early 2025.
By: Monica Young September 3, 2024
Last month, astronomers discovered a giant black hole in Omega Centauri. But it might contain a swarm of stellar-mass black holes instead.
By: Arielle Frommer August 29, 2024
Low in twilight, climbing Venus and descending Spica prepare to pass each other. After dark Vega crosses the zenith, and Scorpius beds down. Mercury shines at dawn.
By: Alan MacRobert August 30, 2024
Did you know you can see the International Space Station even when it's in Earth's shadow? We explore possible reasons why.
By: Bob King August 28, 2024
The worldwide network of radio dishes has achieved the highest resolution ever obtained from Earth’s surface.
By: Camille M. Carlisle August 27, 2024
New James Webb Space Telescope observations may have done with one of the longest-standing tensions in cosmology.
By: Govert Schilling August 23, 2024
The European mission to Jupiter's icy moons provided us with some amazing views closer to home, of Earth and the Moon.
By: David Dickinson August 22, 2024
New analysis reveals evidence of a super-Earth-mass exoplanet forming in the disk surrounding the star TW Hydrae.
By: AAS Nova August 21, 2024
A new chemical analysis confirms the Chicxulub impactor was a fragile type of asteroid that formed in the outer solar system, unlike several other ancient impactors.
By: Camille M. Carlisle August 15, 2024
Is Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS falling apart? How bright will it likely get? We try to answer those questions and more.
By: Bob King August 14, 2024
Hold your breath: astronomers are re-evaluating their definition of a planet. Spoiler: it won’t bring Pluto back into the family.
By: Govert Schilling August 13, 2024
Is Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS falling apart? How bright will it likely get? We try to answer those questions and more.
By: Bob King August 14, 2024
Fifteen years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope gazed intently at the infrared glow of galaxies in a tiny fraction of the sky. New research shows how this patch of space has changed since then.
By: AAS Nova August 7, 2024
Future funding for NASA's remaining Great Observatories — Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope — is still up in the air.
By: David Dickinson July 31, 2024
Gravitational-wave astronomers have identified ripples in spacetime from the coalescence of a neutron star with what’s likely one of the smallest black holes ever found.
By: Camille M. Carlisle July 29, 2024
Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events
(Source: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-calendar-current.html)
2024
September 3 - 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 01:57 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.
September 5 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. The planet Mercury reaches greatest western elongation of 18.1 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.
September 8 - 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.
September 18 - 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 02:36 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 first of three supermoons for 2024. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
September 18 - 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 most of North America, Mexico, Central America, South America, the Atlantic Ocean, and most of Europe and Africa. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information)
September 20 - 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 - September Equinox. The September equinox occurs at 12:39 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.
October 2 - 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 18:51 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 2 - 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 South America and move across parts of southern Chile and Argentina. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout most of southern South America. (NASA Map and Eclipse Information) (NASA Interactive Google Map)
October 7 - 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 7th. The second quarter moon will ensure dark skies in the early evening for what could be a good show. If you are patient, you may still be able to catch a few good ones. 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 17 - 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 11:28 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. This is also the second of three supermoons for 2024. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.
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. The shower peaks this year on the night of October 21 and the morning of October 22. The waning gibbous moon will block out most of the fainter meteors this year. 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 Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
Next Month's BAS Meeting: October 7, 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
John Blaesi
Vice President
John Grismore
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
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