FROM THE PRESIDENT Bill Hanagan

Speakers & Subjects: Dave Short & Bill McKibben: Visiting Mauna Kea and the Big Island;Rob Lancaster: Binoculars and Binocular Mounts; and

Gus Swartout: The DAS Fall Messier Half Marathonat the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory

Next Meeting – October 19th, 2010 at 8:00 PM~ Three Great Mini-Talks ~

First, I’d like to thank Don Surles from the DelmarvaStargazers who came up from Smyrna to tell us about the“No Frills” Star Party and the Mid-Atlantic Mirror MakingSeminar (MMMS). It is a great benefit to the DAS to haveanother astronomy club running events like these just anhour and a half drive away and I urge any interested DASmember to participate in these events. The spring and fallstar parties at Tuckahoe are great for doing visual observingunder a sky that is dark enough to easily see the MilkyWay. Of course, DAS members (including yours truly) haveattended other regional star parties near Cherry Springs, PAand at sites in West Virginia where the sky is primordiallydark. But drive time to these darker sites is 6 hours com-pared to the 1.5 hours it takes to get to Tuckahoe.

While telescope making is not for everyone, the Mid-Atlantic Mirror Making Seminar (MMMS) is a rare opportu-nity to make your own telescope mirror under the guidanceof experts. People have come from as far away as Hawaiiand Germany to make a mirror at this seminar. Amateurtelescope makers in the DAS who are just getting startedcan count themselves VERY lucky to have this right in theirown backyard.

And, I’d like to remind all of you to keep thinkingabout how YOU can contribute to the DAS or how you canmake the DAS a better astronomy club. While we’ve hadsome volunteers step forward, and we’ve received somedonations, more volunteers and donations are needed. Atthis point, we still have openings for mini-talks in June to fillout our Main Meeting schedule. There are also a number ofprojects that could all use some extra help. Further, a goodidea of your own is always welcome, provided you’re willing tolead the charge!

A club works best when essentially all of its able-bodied members pitch in and help out in whatever way they

Vol. 55, No. 8, October, 2010

can. If you haven’t found a way to contribute to the DAS, callme at 302-239-0949. I’m sure we can come up with some-thing that you can do to help the DAS that also suits yourparticular interests. ~Bill

The weather was exceptional for this MSP, giving usvery good seeing and exceptional transparency that alloweda hint of the Milky Way to be seen in the skies over theSawin. Several club members brought their own telescopesand set them up on the concrete pad next to the Sawin.Randy Detra brought out a 13” Newtonian, Wayne Kingbrought his Televue 5” refractor complete with binoviewer, andDave Groski brought out his 6” f/4 Newtonian. There wereseveral guests of club members who were grateful for theopportunity to observe with us. As always, our club mem-bers were eager to share the views through their telescopeswith everyone at the star party. Thanks to its large aperture,and in spite of its optical defects, the club’s 17.5" telescopealso gave us some decent views of Jupiter and many deepsky objects. However, there is lots of room for improvementin this telescope and it will be very interesting to see whatthis telescope can do after we correct its optical problems!

Jupiter was well positioned for observing by about 10P.M. and Uranus was visible just a couple of degrees aboveand to the left of Jupiter. We observed an impressive list ofMessier objects, including a number of globular clusters(M13, M92, M11, and others), galaxies (M31, M32, M110,M81, M82), and nebulae (M57, M27, and M76). The trans-parency was so good we were able to see M81 and M82 verydistinctly from the concrete pad using Randy Detra’s 13”telescope, even though those two galaxies were nearly at thelowest point in their circumpolar path through the sky.(A full report of the “No-Frills Star Party” begins on page 8.)

The October 2nd Member Star Party Bill Hanagan

The Orion Nebula - A 127 sec. exposuretaken with a Canon XSi DSLR camera with a270 mm lens on a Meade LXD55 Mount.Credit: Photo by DAS Member Rob Lancaster.

-2-

“PUBLIC NIGHTS” at the Mt. CUBA OBSERVATORY...

Date Host Title of PresentationOct 25 Scott Jackson “Colliding Galaxies”Nov 08 Don Wilson “Planets”Nov 22 Bill Sharp “TBD”Dec. 13 Judy Provencal “Music of the Stars”

The Mt. CubaObservatory PublicNights continue yearround! In addition tolearning about manyaspects of the heavens,you’ll have a chance to

MCAO PUBLIC NIGHTS Greg Weaver

September AP SIG Meeting Held at Member’s Imaging Facility Bill Hanagan

visit and view our all-digital full-dome planetarium. You canpick up a schedule when you next come to a meeting or get

Observing with the Delaware Astronomical Society...

7:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 19, 2010 In the Classroom at the Mt. Cuba Observatory

In addition to our routine items, we’ll continue ourdiscussion of DAS Strategic Equipment Improvement Goalsand related projects. The proposed goals include:

the latest updated version off the website at: http://MountCuba.org. Programs are presented on Mondaynights at 8pm. Please check the website for programsplanned, full details and updates.

The schedule at the time of FOCUS’ publicationappears below.

1) Upgrading the 17.5” Coulter Odyssey II and making thisour club’s “Flagship” instrument for visual observing, and2) Upgrading or replacing the pier-mounted (12.5”) tele-scope in the Sawin and making this our club’s “Flagship”instrument for astrophotography.

The PRESIDENT’S DAS BOARD MEETING AGENDA

On September 25, the AP SIG met at member RickDavis’ home for a hands-on demonstration of Rick’s imagingsystem. The first photo, below left, shows Rick’s imagingtelescope in its storage location in the corner of his garage.The second photo shows AP SIG members Jeff Lawrence,Ron Worden, Dave Short, and Rick Davis (l to r) discussingthe telescope’s fine points.

The thirdphoto, at left, showsthe telescope in fulloperation undermoonlight in Rick’sdriveway. Thetelescope is con-trolled by a laptopcomputer insideRick’s garage about30’ away. Once thetelescope andcomputer are setup,Rick can take“virtual” control of thelaptop from a secondcomputer inside thehouse over a localarea network (LAN).

(Continued on page 6)

The DAS astrophotography special interest group (DASAP SIG) meets on Friday nights at 7:30pm every other month at Mt.Cuba regardless of weather. The SIG also meets for photo shootsscheduled on 1-2 day notice to synchronize with the weather.

The monthly meetings are informal and typicallyinclude the presentation of astrophotos taken by the membersalong with an extended question and answer period. Objectscommonly photographed include constellations, auroras, lunareclipses, and planetary photos, as well as a wide variety of deep-sky objects such as nebulae, galaxies, star clusters, etc. Thetopics discussed cover the entire gamut of astrophotography,from how to get started with a minimum of equipment, to polaraligning your telescope, all of the way to the fine points of usingauto-guiders and post-processing digital images.

You can get started in astrophotography with justyour current camera mounted on a tripod or a motorizedtelescope by taking wide field photographs of meteor showers,conjunctions, constellations, and star trails. As you move toprogressively fainter and smaller subjects, you’ll need betterequipment. Joining the AP SIG is a great way to learn whatequipment you’ll need and what works well before you spendyour money. If you are interested in joining the AP SIG, justemail your name, address, and phone number to me athanaganw?comcast?net (using “@” and “.” in place of ? and ?).

The DAS Amateur Telescope Making (ATM) SpecialInterest Group (SIG ) meets on evenings and weekendsaccording to the availability of the members and the particu-lar projects that are underway. Currently the ATM SIG has amedium Dob building program under way. The general rangeof activities of the ATM SIG includes all manner of telescopemaking, mirror making, and the making of accessories for

-3-

DAS Special Interest Groups for Photography and Telescope Construction...DAS ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP Bill Hanagan

DAS AMATEUR TELESCOPE MAKING SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP Bill Hanagan

telescopes and observing.Anyone interested in joining the ATM SIG should

email their name, address, and phone number to me athanaganw?comcast?net (using “@” and “.” in place of ? and?). Meeting dates are announced primarily by email, so ifyou are interested in telescope making, be sure to letme know!

The DAS also maintains a club observatory on thegrounds of the Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatory. TheSawin Observatory houses the club’s permanently mounted12.5" reflecting telescope and a 17.5" Coulter Odyssey 2Dobsonian telescope. They are for the use of club membersonce they are trained and checked-out in a simple operatingprocedure. Members who are interested in becoming keyholders of the Sawin Observatory should contact me at 239-1844 to arrange for training in the use of the facility.

One of the best advantages of being a member ofthe Delaware Astronomical Society is that all members havethe privilege of being trained to use and then borrow equip-ment owned by the club for personal use. Currently, wehave two scopes available for loan: a Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain, and a 6" Orion Sky-Quest XT6 Dobsonianreflector. The loan is for at least a month. If you’re interestedin checking out either of these scopes, contact Tom Sidowskiat 239-1844.

LOANER TELESCOPES and SAWIN OBSERVATORY REMINDER Tom Sidowski

through DSLRs and/or webcams. The 12.5” Sawin tele-scope is currently not equipped for long exposure photogra-phy, but it can be used to photograph very bright objectslike Jupiter and the Moon that typically require very shortexposure times.

As always, please consider submitting oneor more of your favorite astrophotos for publication in theFOCUS. A recent photo is not required. You can email yourphoto(s) as .jpg files to our FOCUS editor, Joe Neuberger athis address at jrneuberger@gmail.com. Please include atext file briefly describing how you made each photo (inMicrosoft Word format) along with any by-lines or captionsyou would like Joe to use. If you would like, you can write amore in-depth discussion to go with your photos. Joe canmake a masterful layout, but if you would like to suggest alayout of your own you can insert copies of your photos intothe Word document to give him an idea what you would liketo see. Either way, don’t forget to attach a high resolution.jpg file to your email for each photo. Joe has done a greatjob improving the look of the FOCUS and adding relevantlinks to take advantage of the fact that the FOCUS is now on-line, but like all newsletter editors, he needs as muchmaterial as he can get from club members.

The next meeting of the AP SIG is FLEX-SCHEDULED to be held on either October 22 or 23 at 7:30P.M. at MCAO. The specific date will be announced on theAP SIG mailing list as well as on the DAS Yahoo Groupmailing list. Jupiter transits at about 10:30 P.M. on thosedates and we’ll have a little more than a 1/4 moon regard-less of which night is selected. If the weather forecast isgood for either of those nights, we’ll be setting up one ormore computers in the Sawin observatory in order to acquiresome short exposure images of the moon and Jupiter

we want to use YOURS...not Hubble’s!!Photos need NOT be current..

PLEASE email to FOCUS editor JRNeuberger@gmail.com.

FOCUS uses plenty of photos in banners & elsewhere each issue, and

NEW

We wish to THANK DAS Member ROB LANCASTER forthe use of his outstanding photos, taken at the recent

“No Frills Star Party,” in this issue’s banner headings.

The Andromeda Galaxy - A 114 sec. exposuretaken with a Canon XSi DSLR camera with a270 mm lens on a Meade LXD55 Mount.Credi: Photo by DAS Member Rob Lancaster

-4-

NEW

DAS FORUM / E-MAIL SITE ON YAHOO Don Shedrick

This is a restricted e-mail service for use byDAS members for DAS purposes. To use this site,go to http://groups.yahoo.com; search for DelawareAstronomical Society; and click on the link that comesup. To join, you must have a Yahoo ID and password;if you don’t, you can register at this time by followingYahoo’s instructions. You will then be allowed to “Jointhe group” upon clicking in that box. You must thenregister for the DAS group and add your profile byclicking on “add new profile” and completing the form.

When adding or editing your profile, you will needto enter your actual name in the “Real Name” box so youcan be identified as a DAS member so Don Shedrickcan approve your application to join the DAS group, andeveryone will know to whom they are communicating.

Finally, specify your desired email address fordelivery of messages. Note: you may choose to nothave your name and email address displayed to anyoneother than DAS members who are members of theYahoo DAS email group.

For more detailed instructions, go to the DASwebsite under DAS Resource Links.

LIBRARY NEWS Glenn Bentley

MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS Bill McKibbonSKY & TELESCOPE will be processed by the

club for the first subscription year only. The publishershould then send renewal notices directly to thesubscriber at the club rate of $32.95. The subscribercan then pay the publisher directly.

NOTE: If you receive a renewal notice for anamount other than $32.95, check to see if there areany special offers included in the rate. Also check therenewal date printed on the magazine address label.These ‘special offers’ are likely to occur severalmonths prior to the renewal date. However, if you areapproaching your renewal date and have not receivedthe correct renewal notice, contact me and I willprocess the renewal through the club.

ASTRONOMY will continue to be processedby the club for all subscription years.

Please see the renewal form at the end of theFOCUS for additional renewal information.

MEMBERSHIP EXPIRATION NOTICES Bill McKibben

If you receive the FOCUS by email, you will benotified of your membership renewal by email. If youreceive the FOCUS in the mail and the mailing labelon the envelope containing your FOCUS is markedwith red marker, your membership is expiring or hasexpired. Please see the renewal form at the end ofthe FOCUS for additional renewal information. Alsosee the “Magazine Subscriptions” section in theFOCUS for information about subscription renewal.

For all those now using the Mt. Cuba LendingLibrary a hardy thanks. Please remember that thelending period is two months. If you’d like to keep thebook longer, please re-sign the log sheet.

MT. CUBA LENDING LIBRARY Paul Stratton

I invite the membership to drop by the libraryafter the October meeting to review our astronomicalofferings.

ASTRONOMICAL LEAGUE MEMBERSHIPDAS members have the opportunity to become

members in the Astronomical League at the dis-counted rate of $7.50 per year. Benefits include theReflector (a quarterly newsletter), observing programs,awards, discounts on books and educational materi-als. For questions on joining the Astronomical League,contact Lynn King at meetings, call 302-764-8816 oremail KLynnKing@verizon.net.

-5-

TheMilkyWayfrom

Mauna KeaPhoto by DAS Member &

Club Secretary Bill McKibben

ASTRO-PHOTO of the

MONTH

Spitzer Space TelescopeIn Space over 2600 Days

Check it Out at http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/

This image of theMilky Way was taken from theVisitor’s Center on Mauna Kea

on the Big Island of Hawaii at9200’ on Friday September 10,2010. It is a 20 second expo-

sure from a tripod mountedCanon 50D with a prime 50mm

lens at f/2.If you look carefully, you

can see the triangle top, thespout and one of the handle

stars of the teapot of Sagittarius.very special thanks to

Craig Nance (DMSG MirrorMaking class of 2006) for taking

me there. ~Bill

WEBSITE of the

MONTHThe Spitzer Space Telescope is the final

mission in NASA’s Great Observatories Program - a family of four space-basedobservatories, each observing the Universe in a different kind of light. The othermissions in the program include the visible-light Hubble Space Telescope (HST),Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO), and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO).

Spitzer is designed to detect infrared radiation, which is primarily heat radiation. It is comprised of twomajor components:

The Cryogenic Telescope Assembly, which contains the a 85 centimeter telescope and Spitzer’s threescientific instruments

The Spacecraft, which controls the telescope, provides power to the instruments, handles the scientific dataand communicates with Earth

-6-

MSP Potential Dates - Print, Clip, & Hang in a Prominant Place! - Then JOIN US!2010 DAS Member Star Party Potential Dates, Topics & Locations

PotentialMSP Dates Special Topics and Notes Tentative Location

Upcoming DAS Member Star Parties Bill Hanagan

In the next MSP cycle (Oct. 29, 30 / Nov. 5, 6), we’re planning to hold our fall Messier Half Marathon. Gus Swartoutwill be the supervisor for this MSP cycle and it will be held on Gus’s Elk River property south of Elkton, MD. That site isconsiderably darker than MCAO according to the light pollution map provided by the Dark Sky Finder web site and it’s agood one for finding even some of the fainter Messier objects. We had a good crowd and a great time at the Half Marathonlast spring and I hope to see even more DAS members come out for the fall Half Marathon. Gus’s Elk River property has a wellappointed cabin which is great for warming up with a cup of hot chocolate or tea as well as indulging in a wide variety of snacks.

The thinking behind the Messier Half Marathons is explained in the April 2010 issue of the FOCUS. In a nutshell,having two Half Marathons allows you to see all of the Messier objects without staying up all night to see them. The HalfMarathon approach also allows you to observe most of the Messier objects when they are higher in the sky compared to theregular Messier Marathon, and that helps make the Messier objects easier to find and more interesting to look at when youfind them.Notes on the Member Star Parties (MSPs)

For each MSP cycle there are usually four potential dates designated in advance, but which of these is used for theevent is “flex-scheduled” according to the weather using the DAS Yahoo Group email system.

Please be sure to mark your calendars with the potential MSP dates that appear below! Obviously, you need tokeep as many of these dates open as possible so when a GO announcement is made you’re in a position to attend the DASMember Star Party regardless of which date the weather favors!

Finally, I’d like to remind you that you need to be signed up for the DAS Yahoo Group to receive the schedulingannouncements for and directions to the MSPs. A full description of the MSP program appears on the DAS website at http://delastro.org/ and in the December 2009 issue of the FOCUS.

September AP SIG Meeting Held at Member’s Imaging Facility (Continued from page 2)

Photo 4, at left, shows thelaptop’s “virtual screen” as it appearson the 54” Plasma monitor in Rick’sfamily room.

Once Rick’s system is set up,he can control the telescope from thecomfort of his own family room. Theimage of the galaxy seen in photo 4was obtained with a 5 minute exposureon Rick’s cooled astronomical CCDcamera (an SBIG ST-7 variant). Thegalaxy in question is a faint NGCobject, not a Messier object.

One of the reasons Rick enjoysastrophotography is that he can obtaindetailed images of objects through his8” telescope that are invisible to theeye, even through larger telescopessuch as his 10” Dob.

-7-

Apollo AstronautCapt. Alan Beanto Speak at the

2010 Harlan C.“Ace” VernonMemorial LectureOctober 20, 20107:30 pm Clayton Hall, U of D

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLICSponsored by Mt. Cuba Astronomical Observatoryin conjunction with Delaware AsteroseismicResearch Center, University of Delaware

As an astronaut and the fourth person to walk on the moon, Alan Bean is dedicated toinspiring people to be the best they can be, so their families can be the best they can be, andtheir companies can be the best they can be.

The Apollo program was an impossible dream come true. Sending humans from PlanetEarth to explore the moon and return was a glamorous and newsworthy dream, but no moreimportant than the dreams we all have in our hearts right now. With this conviction, Alan willtake each person in the audience with him as Lunar Module Pilot on the flight of Apollo 12 andalong the way present some thoughts and ideas that will help individuals and teams reach fortheir own professional and personal stars.

Captain Bean knows about reachingfor the stars, organizationally and individually.

In 1973, he was Commander of SkylabMission II (SL-3) where he lived 59 days inspace, orbiting 270 miles above our planet

Earth. Under his leadership his crewaccomplished 150% of their pre-mission

goals – a record unsurpassedbefore or since.

SPACE IS LIMITEDPlease register at:http://darc.physics.udel.edu/wet/vernon/vernon.html

The Lagoon & Trifid Nebulas - A 1801 sec. exposuretaken with a Canon XSi DSLR camera with a

270 mm lens on a Meade LXD55 Mount.Credi: Photo by DAS Member Rob Lancaster

-8-

On the nights of October 7, 8, and 9, a contingent of DAS members attended the Delmarva Stargazers Fall “NoFrills” Star Party, including (but not limited to) Randy Detra, Bill Hanagan, Rob Lancaster, Greg Lee, Rich LeMay, BillMcKibben, Dave Sewell, and Dave Short. The DAS contingent set up camp on the north end of the field to share theirexpertise, camaraderie, and equipment. Some of our members came down for the night and, though they met up with themain group for a time, they also observed closer to the exit so their late night departure would not disturb everyone on thefield. The following photos show some of the scenes from the event.

DAS MSP at the Delmarva Stargazers “No Frills” Star Party

The first photo, at left, shows thecentral part of the observing field from thenorth looking south. There are no lessthan 7 truss tube Dobsonian telescopesin this view and there were several otherson the field that are not visible in thisphotograph. Nearly all of the telescopeson the field with an aperture over 12.5”were truss tube Dobs. It’s no exaggera-tion to say that truss-tube Dobsoniansdominate the world of amateur visualobserving. The truss tube configurationmakes it possible to have both very largeaperture AND a high level of portability fortransport to dark sky sites.

You haven’t really seen visualobserving at its best until you’ve seen theviews through a high quality, largeaperture Dobsonian telescope under darkskies. The Delmarva Stargazer’s spring

and fall star parties are great opportunities to do exactly that. Of course, like most regional star parties, these are also agreat way to share in the special camaraderie between astronomy enthusiasts.

The second photo, at right, shows part of the DAScontingent taking a break along with Delmarva Stargazer’sPresident Don Surles. (L to R: Bill Hanagan, Rob’s friend LindsayKarzon, Rob Lancaster, Bill McKibben, Greg Lee, and Don Surles

The thirdphoto, at left, isa 97 degreehigh wide-angleview of the nightsky over Tucka-hoe State Parkon October 8 withDAS observersBill McKibben (l) and Greg Lee (r) in the foreground. Jupiter is the brightobject high and near the center, just below the “Circlet”. Uranus is currentlyjust 2 degrees away from Jupiter and relatively easy to spot.

The photo at left shows a croppedview of the Pleiades made early on themorning of October 9. The photo was shotusing a Canon 50D DSLR equipped with aCanon 70-200 f/4 L IS zoom lens andmounted on an (old) CG-5 equatorialmount. Exposure conditions: 3 minutes; f/4;200 mm; ISO 2500.

The following photo, on page 11,shows a cropped view of the double clusterin Perseus just above Comet 103P/Hartley(aka Hartley 2). The photo was obtainedwith the same equipment as before, except

(continued on page 11)

Photos and Text by DAS President Bill Hanagan

-9-

Oct. 7, 2010: To mark an unprecedented flurry of exploration which is about to begin, NASA announced today that thecoming year will be “The Year of the Solar System” (YSS).

“During YSS, we’ll see triple the [usual] number of launches, flybys and orbital insertions,” says Jim Green, Direc-tor of Planetary Science at NASA headquarters. “There hasn’t been anything quite like it in the history of the Space Age.

Naturally, it’s a Martian year.“These events will unfold over the next 23 months, the length of a year on the Red Planet” explains Green. “History

will remember the period Oct. 2010 through Aug. 2012 as a golden age of planetary exploration.”The action begins near the end of October 2010 with a visit to Comet Hartley 2. On Oct. 20th, Hartley 2 will have a

close encounter with Earth; only 11 million miles away, it will be faintly visible to the naked eye and become a splendidtarget for backyard telescopes. Amateur astronomers can watch the comet as NASA’s Deep Impact/EPOXI spacecraftdives into its vast green atmosphere and plunges toward the icy core. On Nov. 4th EPOXI will fly a mere 435 miles fromHartley’s nucleus, mapping the surface and studying outbursts of gas at close-range.

Later in November, NASA astrobiologists will launch O/OREOS, a shoebox-sized satellite designed to test thedurability of life in space. Short for “Organism/ORganic Exposure to Orbital Stresses,” O/OREOS will expose a collection oforganic molecules and microbes to solar and cosmic radiation. Could space be a natural habitat for these “micronauts?” O/OREOS may provide some answers. Bonus: The same rocket that delivers O/OREOS to space will carry an experimentalsolar sail. NanoSail-D will unfurl in Earth orbit and circle our planet for months. Occasionally, the sail will catch a sunbeamand redirect it harmlessly to the ground below where sky watchers can witness history’s first “solar sail flares.”

On December 7, 2010, Japan’s Akatsuki (Venus Climate Orbiter) spacecraft grabs the spotlight when it enters orbitaround Venus. The mission aims to understand how a planet so similar to Earth in size and orbit went so terribly wrong.Venus is bone-dry, shrouded by acid clouds, and beset by a case of global warming hot enough to melt lead. Instrumentson Akatsuki will probe Venus from the top of its super-cloudy atmosphere all the way to the volcano-pocked surface below,providing the kind of detailed information researchers need for comparative planetary.

“Take a deep breath,” says Green, “because that was just the first three months of YSS!”The action continues in 2011 as Stardust NExT encounters comet Tempel 1 (February 14), MESSENGER enters

orbit around Mercury (March 18), and Dawn begins its approach to asteroid Vesta (May).“For a full month Dawn will be able to see Vesta even more clearly than Hubble can,” marvels Green. “The only way

to top that would be to go into orbit.”And that is exactly what Dawn will do in July 2011: insert itself into orbit for a full-year study of the second-most

massive body in the asteroid belt. Although Vesta is not classified as a planet, it is a full-fledged alien world that is expectedto mesmerize researchers as it reveals itself to Dawn’s cameras.

Next comes the launch of the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter (August), the launch of GRAIL to map the gravitational fieldof the Moon (September), and the launch of a roving science lab named “Curiosity” to Mars (November).

“The second half of 2011 will be as busy as some entire decades of the Space Age,” says Green.Even then, YSS has months to go.2012 opens with Mars rover Opportunity running the first-ever Martian marathon. The dogged rover is trundling

toward the heart of Endeavour Crater, a city-sized impact basin almost two dozen miles from Opportunity’s original landing site.“Opportunity is already under the influence of the crater,” says Green. “The ground beneath the rover’s wheels is

sloping gently down toward its destination—a welcome feeling for any marathoner.”Sometime in mid-2012, Opportunity will reach Endeavour’s lip and look over the edge deeper into the heart of Mars

than any previous robotic explorer. The only thing more marvelous than the view will be the rover itself. Originally designedto travel no more than 0.6 miles, Opportunity’s rest stop at Endeavour will put it just miles away from finishing the kind ofepic Greek run that athletes on Earth can only dream about.

Meanwhile, halfway across the solar system, Dawn will fire up its ion engines and prepare to leave Vesta. For thefirst time in space history, a spacecraft orbiting one alien world will break orbit and take off for another. Dawn’s next targetis dwarf planet Ceres, nearly spherical, rich in water ice, and totally unexplored.

The Year of the Solar System concludes in August 2012 when Curiosity lands on Mars. The roving nuclear-poweredscience lab will take off across the red sands sniffing the air for methane (a possible sign of life) and sampling rocks andsoil for organic molecules. Curiosity’s advanced sensors and unprecedented mobility are expected to open a newchapter in exploration of the Red Planet.

“So the end,” says Green, “is just thebeginning. These missions will keep us busy longafter YSS is history.” Author: Dr. Tony Phillips |

Credit: Science@NASA

The Year of the Solar System

-10-

Dr. Mullan illustrates a point.

September 9, 2010 Amateur astronomers working withprofessional astronomers have spotted two fireballs lightingup Jupiter’s atmosphere this summer, marking the first timeEarth-based telescopes have captured relatively smallobjects burning up in the atmosphere of the giant planet. Thetwo fireballs - which produced bright freckles on Jupiter thatwere visible through backyard telescopes - occurred on June3, 2010, and August 20, 2010, respectively.

A new paper that includes both pros and amateurs,led by Ricardo Hueso of the Universidad del País Vasco,Bilbao, Spain, appears today in the Astrophysical JournalLetters. In the paper, astronomers estimate the object thatcaused the June 3 fireball was 8 to 13 meters (30 to 40 feet)in diameter. The object is comparable in size to the asteroid2010 RF12 that flew by Earth on Wednesday, Sept. 8, andslightly larger than the asteroid 2008 TC3, which burned upabove Sudan two years ago.

An impact of this kind on Earth would not be ex-pected to cause damage on the ground. The energy releasedby the June 3 fireball as it collided with Jupiter’s atmospherewas five to 10 times less than the 1908 Tunguska event onEarth, which knocked over tens of millions of trees in a remotepart of Russia. Analysis is continuing on the Aug. 20 fireball,but scientists said it was comparable to the June 3 object.

”Jupiter is a big gravitational vacuum cleaner,” saidGlenn Orton, a co-author on the paper and an astronomer atNASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “It isclear now that relatively small objects, remnants of the formationof the solar system 4.5 billion years ago, still hit Jupiter fre-quently. Scientists are trying to figure out just how frequently.”

Orton and colleagues said this kind of discoverycouldn’t have been made without amateur astronomersaround the world, whose observations of Jupiter provide a

Caught in the Act: Fireballs Light up Jupiter

A fleeting bright dot on each of these images of Jupiter marks a small comet or asteroid burning up in the atmosphere.The image on the left was taken on June 3, 2010, by amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley, who was visiting a friend in Broken Hill,Australia, when he obtained the image with a 37-centimeter (14.5-inch) telescope.

near round-the-clock surveillance that would be impossibleto do with the long lines of scientists waiting to use the largetelescopes. Amateur astronomers, for example, were thefirst to see the dark spot that appeared on Jupiter in July2009 as the result of an impact. Professional astronomersare still analyzing that impact.

Anthony Wesley, an amateur astronomer fromMurrumbateman, Australia, who was also the first to take apicture of that dark spot on Jupiter in July 2009, was the firstto see the tiny flash on June 3. Amateur astronomers had theirtelescopes trained on Jupiter that day because they were inthe middle of “Jupiter season,” when the planet is high in thesky and at its largest size, as seen by backyard telescopes.

Wesley was visiting an amateur astronomer friendabout 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) away in Broken Hill, andhe set a digital video camera to record images from histelescope at about 60 frames per second. He was watchingthe live video on a computer screen at his friend’s house whenhe saw a two-and-a-half-second-long flash of light near thelimb of the planet.

”It was clear to me straight away it had to be anevent on Jupiter,” he said. “I’m used to seeing other momen-tary flashes in the camera from cosmic ray impacts, but thiswas different. Cosmic ray strikes last only for one frame ofvideo, whereas this flash gradually brightened and then fadedover 133 frames.”

Wesley sent a message out on his e-mail list ofamateur and professional astronomers, which includedOrton. After receiving Wesley’s e-mail, Christopher Go ofCebu, Philippines — who like Wesley, is an amateurastronomer — checked his own recordings and confirmedthat he had seen a flash, too.

Before Wesley’s work, (continued on next page)

-11-

a Canon 100 mm f/2 fixed focal length lens was used at f/3.2 with a 2 minute exposure at ISO 800. The green color ofthe comet is real and caused by CN and C2 molecules in thegas expelled by the comet.

The final photo, above, shows DAS member BillMcKibben (in the upper harness) approaching the landingstrip near Tuckahoe in a tandem hang glider. In addition tosolar observing at the star party, there are several other day-time activities at Tuckahoe State Park, including archery, canoe-ing, and hiking. There is also a nearby airfield that offersdemonstrations and instruction in hang gliding and parachuting.

DAS at the Delmarva Stargazers (continued from page 8)

scientists didn’t know these small-size impacts could beobserved, Hueso explained. “The discovery of optical flashesproduced by objects of this size helps scientists understandhow many of these objects are out there and the role theyplayed in the formation of our solar system,” Hueso said.

For three days afterward, Hueso and colleagueslooked for signs of the impact in high-resolution images fromlarger telescopes: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, GeminiObservatory telescopes in Hawaii and Chile, the Kecktelescope in Hawaii, the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility inHawaii and the European Southern Observatory’s Very LargeTelescope in Chile. Scientists analyzed the images forthermal disruptions and chemical signatures seen in previousimages of Jupiter impacts. In this case, they saw no signs ofdebris, which allowed them to limit the size of the impactor.

Based on all these images, and particularly thoseobtained by Wesley and Go, the astronomers were able toconfirm the flash came from some kind of object – probably asmall comet or asteroid – that burned up in Jupiter’s atmo-sphere. The impactor likely had a mass of about 500 to 2,000metric tons (1 million to 4 million pounds), probably about100,000 times less massive than the object in July 2009.

Calculations also estimated this June 3 impactreleased about 1 to 4 quadrillion joules (300 million to 1billion kilowatt-hours) of energy. The second fireball, on Aug.20, was detected by the amateur Japanese astronomerMasayuki Tachikawa and later confirmed by Aoki Kazuoand Masayuki Ishimaru. It flashed for about 1.5 seconds.

Detailed observations made by the HubbleSpace Telescope have found an answer to the flash oflight seen June 3, 2010, on Jupiter. It came from agiant meteor burning up high above Jupiter’s cloudtops. The space visitor did not plunge deep enoughinto the atmosphere to explode and leave behind anytelltale cloud of debris, as seen in previous Jupitercollisions. Image credit: NASA/ESA/GSFC/UCB/SSI/Jupiter Impact Science Team

The Kecktelescope, ob-serving lessthan a daylater, also foundno subsequentdebris remnants.Scientists arestill analyzingthis second flash. Althoughcollisions ofthis size hadnever beforebeen detectedon Jupiter,some previousmodels pre-dicted aroundone collision

Mysterious Flash on Jupiter Left No Debris Cloud

of this kind a year. Another predicted up to 100 such colli-sions. Scientists now believe the frequency must be closer tothe high end of the scale.

”It is interesting to note that whereas Earth getssmacked by a 10-meter-sized object about every 10 years onaverage, it looks as though Jupiter gets hit with the same-sized object a few times each month,” said Don Yeomans,manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL, whowas not involved in the paper. “The Jupiter impact rate is stillbeing refined and studies like this one help to do just that.”

Caught in the Act:(continued from preceeding page)

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

MEMBERSHIP or RENEWAL FORM

New Member Senior/Family Membership $20.00Renewal Junior membership (16/under) $10.00

Astronomy Magazine $34.00Sky & Telescope Magazine $34.00

NAME________________________________________________________________

STREET ADDRESS______________________________________ Total Submitted $

CITY________________________STATE________ZIP________ TELEPHONE______________________

E-MAIL ADDRESS________________________________________________________________________

-12-

FOR NEW MEMBERSHIPS or RENEWALSIf you have questions, call any of the member representatives listed.Otherwise, just check the appropriate boxes and complete the form below.Print it or cut it off and send it with your check to Bill McKibben at hisaddress on the form. The magazine prices are group rates to DAS members.If you’re just joining us for the first time,

THANKS, and welcome to the DAS!

Observatory: Tom Sidowski -- 239-1884 or Sidowski@udel.edualso, Star Parties

Library Glenn Bentley -- 610-869-0706Board Members at LargeDavid Swartout -- 836-4618 or DaveSwartout@gmail.com

also, Awards Committee ChairDave Groski -- david.m.groski@usa.dupont.comOther Chairs:Sarah Baird - 561- 0810 or SBaird@udel.edu

Youth Coordinator, Elections ChairRene Van Caneghem -- 410-392-3718

ArchivistSheila Vincent --322-4739

Ad-hoc star parties

MCAO Web Page: www.MountCuba.org DAS Web Page: www.DelAstro.org

DAS CONTACTS Please call any of us with your concerns!Board members:OfficersPresident: Bill Hanagan -- 239-0949

also, ATM and Astronomical PhotographySpecial Interest Group, By-Laws, programs

Vice-President: John Case -- 836-4888 or case@udel.eduSecretary: Lynn King -- 764-8816 or KLynnKing@verizon.net

also, Messier ClubTreasurer: William McKibben -- Billmck21921@gmail.com

Sky & Telescope & Astronomy magazine issuesStanding ChairsPublications: Joe Neuberger -- 655-2142 orJRNeuberger@gmail.com

also, FOCUS contributions/submissionsEducation: Bob Karcha -- 999-9509Observing: Greg Lee -- 762-5358 or GregLee28@hotmail.com

also, What’s Up?

Please make checks payable to DAS and forward to:Bill McKibben, DAS Treasurer, 27 Mary Jane Lane, Elkton, MD 21921

The Last Word. . .

FOCUS editor Joe Neuberger

(*First Year Only)

*See the “Magazine Subscriptions” section in the FOCUS for information about Sky & Telescope subscription renewal

Here Comes the Fall Messier Half Marathon...Those of you who missed out on the Spring Messier Half Marathon missed the wonderful

hospitality provided by Gus Swartout at his great Elk River site and the outstanding viewsafforded by the dark skies available there. For the 10 or so members in attendance it was agreat evening of star gazing.

And now it’s time to complete the cycle with the DAS Fall Messier Half Marathon. It’shoped that many more will take advantage of both the hospitality and great viewing and join Gusfor this teriffic event just a few miles south of Newark, DE outside of Elkton, MD.

We hope to see you there!