ASTRONOMY CLUB OF TULSA

OBSERVER

E-mail version

November 1999

ACT, Inc. has been meeting continuously since 1937 and was incorporated in 1986. It consists of approximately 150 members and is a nonprofit; tax deductible organization dedicated to promoting, to the public, the art of viewing and the scientific aspect of astronomy.

WHAT:

The Astronomy Club of Tulsa Meeting

WHEN:

No meeting this month

WHERE:

Room M1 inside Keplinger Hall, the Science & Engineering Building at TU. Enter the parking lot on the East Side of Keplinger Hall from Harvard and 5th Street. This will take you directly toward the staircase to enter the building. Room M1 is the first room on the left.

We will NOT have our regular meeting on Friday Nov. 19th. We will be looking into having our traditional dinner night at another time however.

Instead of our meeting, I encourage you to take part in some of the many astronomy opportunities taking place earlier that week, especially the TASC Family night Monday Nov. 15 See the schedule of events below.

Dear Astronomy Club members;

Thank you for electing me as your new President Astronomy Club of Tulsa. I have been a member of the Tulsa club since 1977. I found out about the club from the Tulsa Library and was given the name of Nick Pottorf. Nick has been mentor and inspiration for 100's of us over the years and continues to be the "Heart" of our club. As a novice astronomer at that time, I used to drive 70 miles to our once a month meetings from Okemah. I looked forward to soaking up all the wonderful things club members could tell me about their knowledge of Telescopes and Astronomy. I was so green I spent three months observing with my telescope's polar axis pointed at the zenith. (Don't laugh too loudly, I've heard some tales on some of you too!) We meet at Art Sweeney's sound studio on South Columbia. Everyone was more than willing to answer any questions anyone had. I would like to see that kind of spirit rekindled in our club. Steve Newman, one of our board members, summed up my goal for the Astronomy Club for the next year. "To Share our Love for the Cosmos"

The week of Nov 12 to 18 will have many opportunities for us to share and learn astronomy. So I am proposing that as many of us as possible help with the Public Observing night on Fri Nov. 12 and attend the Tulsa Air and Space Center Family night Nov. 15. You may also want to fit one of the Public lecture nights into your busy week.

John Land

An Avalanche of Astronomy events takes place during the month of November.

Public Telescope Observing Night

Friday - Nov. 12, 1999

6:00 PM to 9:30 PM

New TCC West Campus 7505 W 41st St.

The Astronomy Club of Tulsa will be hosting our FALL public telescope observing night on Friday Nov. 12th. Several telescopes will be set up so that the public can view the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and a variety of celestial objects. If the weather is CLEAR, Pack up your whole family - grab some warm jackets and join us is discovering some of the secret treasures of the night sky. If it is cloudy on Friday we will use Saturday the 13th for our rain date.

Press releases have gone out to all the major school systems so we'll need lots of telescopes this night.

To get to TCC's new WEST CAMPUS Take I-44 west across the river to exit 223 B onto 51st Street * Stay in the Center LANE * for 51st Street Follow the exit road as it curves around to 51st Street. DO NOT TURN onto 51st!! Go Straight across 51st and you will be on the Gilcrease Expressway (two Lanes)

Gilcrease ends at 41st. TURN LEFT (west) onto 41st Street. The TCC west campus is about 1 mile west at the crest of a hill It is a huge place and sets down in a valley north of the road about 1/8 mile 41st St is the road to the Discovery Land Theater so look for their blue signs.

Please use CAUTION while driving in CONSTRUCTION ZONES !

Astronomers Visiting Broken Arrow and Union Classrooms

Nov 15 to Nov 20

During the week of Nov. 15 to Nov. 20 several visiting Astronomers will be visiting in schools and having Public Speaking Forums in the evening.

These speakers are part of the Challenger Center program called "Windows to the Universe" which is headed by Dr. Jeff Goldstien. Dr. Jeff visited our club about 3 years ago and gave a wonderful lecture on the expansion of the universe. He has returned this year with a team of Astronomers and Science Educators to introduce a nationwide science education program, which will premiere in Broken Arrow, and Union schools.

Monday Nov 15th 7:30 to 9:00 PM

Tulsa Air and Space Center - Family Night - Free Admission Go to Tulsa Airport - Through Departures - but go straight WEST at the first road to the third hanger. They have some really great stuff now.

Dr. Jeff Goldstien will be doing short talks on astronomy and our club has been asked to set up a few telescopes out front to see the moon and planets. There will be tours of the TASC and including their F14 fighter and scale model Space Shuttle plus some real Apollo mission control panels. Our Tulsa club will be running Telescopes outside for viewing planets.

Tuesday Nov 16th 7:00 PM

Dr. Jeff Goldstien Lecture

Oliver Middle School in BA on 3100 W New Orleans (101st S between 145th and 129th) Dr Jeff Goldstien will be speaking to a general public group.

Thursday Nov 18th 7:00 PM

Dr. Michelle Thaller Lectures on the Life and Death of Stars

Union Intermediate High - 7616 S. Garnett

Dr Michelle Thaller will be speaking on the Lives and Deaths of Stars. Dr. Thaller is a young vibrant 30 year female Astronomer.

Dr. Matt Bobrowsky will be with the group.

He has done extensive work on Planetary Nebulae See Astronomy Picture of the Day on the Web http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980403.html for one of his HST photos

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DAVID's ASTRO CORNER - David Stine

What a November! There are more astronomical happenings in the next two weeks than we have time for. Briefly it starts out with a possible new meteor shower on the morning of November 11, the Linearids, no not the Leonids. It just so happens that earth will be passing at a point in space on November 11 at 1941UT just 0.0115AU from the orbit of Comet LinearC/1999J3 just 40 days after the comet was in the same area. If the comet has left dusty debris we could be in for a new and brief meteor outburst. If they materialize the radiant will be in the bowl of the Big Dipper near the bowl star Phecda. It will cause a problem for Tulsa viewers as the peak prediction comes during bright daylight on the afternoon of the 11th, however predictions seem to never pan out so, Tulsans should observe midnight to early morning of the 11th and evening of the 11th to morning of the 12th. How many you will see is anybody's guess from a pessimistic view to none to a realistic view of hundred to an optimistic view of thousands per minute. If the meteor shower does materialize then we may have a lot to talk about the next night at our public star party. Maybe the shower will be late and happen during the star party, now wouldn't that be something.

During the Public Star Party Friday night November 12, Jupiter will present for observers an added treat. At 8:25p.m. astronomy club members will be able to show the general public how Jupiter's moons can be seen moving. The volcano moon, IO will reappear from eclipse just east of Jupiter as a bright dot of light. Then at 9:35p.m. Jupiter's Red Spot transits. Both of these events should be exciting for the general public as well as members.

Then on Monday November 15 we have a rare Mercury Transit of the Sun starting at 3:11p.m. and ending at 4:10p.m. You will need a solar filter and high powers to view Mercury's tiny speck traveling across the Suns northern surface. In most telescopes this will be at the bottom of the Sun. That evening members are asked to set up telescopes at the Air and Space Museum as Dr. Goldstein will be speaking at the museum.

But the event no one wants to miss is the Leonid Meteor Storm the night of the 17th and morning of the 18th. Most astronomers are saying if we are going to have a storm of thousands and thousands of meteors an hour this will be the night. The big question is will it happen over Tulsa or somewhere in Asia. If predictions are right it will occur in Asia or Europe, however the shower has been several hours late the last few years. The later the better for us. Our best time will be the morning of the 18th. But, before the expected shower while the 3/4 moon is still up, we might be able to see Leonid meteors striking the un-illiminated side of the moon. The moon also will be moving near the meteor stream and since the moon has very little atmosphere, there is nothing to slow down the meteors, so when they impact the moon there is a chance that the impacts will be visible as 8th or 9th Mg. flashes on the dark portion. So if you were planning on coming to the observatory not until midnight or later, think again as this could be just as interesting. The moon will be up most of the evening and set just about midnight when the meteor shower should just be getting good. Very convenient, watch the bright moon for meteors until it sets, then the big show begins under dark skies.

Now if that's not enough astronomy for November for you we also have a new recent Supernova discovery. On October 29 a bright supernova in NGC 1637 was discovered at Mg. 13.5. It is located about 15.4 seconds west and 17 seconds south of the nucleus of NGC 1637. NGC 1637 is located west of ORION in the eastern chain of stars in Eridanus. Supernova coordinates: R.A. 04h 41m 27.05s Decl. -02 degrees 51 min. 45.8 seconds. This Supernova is well placed for Tulsa observers between 9p.m.-3a.m. It will be directly south at 1a.m. the latter part of November. Is there anything else, of course, many sunspots on the Sun, and the winter stars and constellations are now coming into view and a bright Southern Hemisphere star rises just above the southern hemisphere between 2a.m.-4a.m. Do you know what its name is? Here is a clue it's the second brightest star in the universe. Take advantage of these unusual warm evenings and get out in November and observe the heavens.

That's it for my astro corner this month.

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Jupiter and Saturn Shine Brightly in the East

By John Land - BAHS

The early sunsets bring a burst of starlight to the eastern sky as the chill of autumn fills the air. Two dazzling planets dominate the eastern sky in early evening. The great white beacon Jupiter stands out above all the rest proclaiming himself king of the sky. Diagonally to the lower left, Saturn shines as a soft yellow white. Jupiter and Saturn only appear close together in the sky about once every 2O years. The last time they were this close was the winter of 198O. They will be just 1.5 degrees apart in the early morning of June 2OOO but will be overwhelmed by the nearby rising sun in the predawn sky.

Even a small telescope or binoculars will reveal the four moons of Jupiter. It takes at least a magnification of 3O to catch a glimpse of Saturn’s rings. Look next to Saturn for a its brightest moon Titan. In July of 2OO4, the Cassini spacecraft will arrive at Saturn and go into orbit. An instrument robot named Huygens will attempt to land on the -27O degree surface of Titan and sample it atmosphere. During the week of Nov. 15 to 20, 1999. Dr. Jeff Goldstien of the Challenger Center will be visiting Broken Arrow schools introducing the "Windows to the Universe" programs. He will be bringing several astronomers and science educators with him.

One of Dr. Jeff’s many projects has been to try to measure the wind speeds on this tiny moon almost THREE BILLION miles away !

For the latest NASA photos of these Giant Planets go to:

Jupiter - http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/

Saturn - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/

Astronomy Club of Tulsa Http://www.b-its.com/astroclub

The Leonid Meteor Shower

Evening of Nov 16 – Morning of Nov 17

At certain times of the year the earth passes through the orbit of a comet. During these times we experience a Meteor Shower when the average number of meteors per hour is above average. As these small bits of comet dust enter the atmosphere we see streaks of light flashing across the sky called meteors. On the evening of Nov 16th and predawn hours of November 17th we may be in for a grand show. In mid–November the Earth passes through the orbit of Comet Temple–Tuttle. As tiny particles from this comet collide with Earth they produce the annual Leonid Meteor shower. The shower is named after the constellation of Leo, the Lion, because most the particles seem to be coming from that part of the sky. Most years we see about 15 to 20 meteors per hour. However since Temple–Tuttle orbits the sun every 33.2 years it produces a spectacular METEOR STORM about every 33 years. The last such meteor storm was in 1966 when observers reported seeing rates over 1000 per minute. The maximum outburst of activity only lasts an hour or two so not every one will get to see it at its highest activity but it should still put on a good show all night. The comet passed nearest the Sun on Feb. 28, 1998. In 1998 the rates of meteors were at 60 to 100 bright meteors per hour. Many of the meteors were a dazzling white with long blue trials. 1999 promises even greater activity. The early evening hours of the 16th will be hampered by a 56% illuminated moon which sets around 12:30 AM just as Leo is rising in the east. Many astronomers are hoping that we will get to see a great Storm like the one of 1966. Our best time to look for them will be from Midnight to Dawn on November 17th as the Earth slams headed on into this swarm of comet dust. Astronomer’s predictions were off by several hours in 1998 so its anyone’s guess when the best time will be. So keep at close watch on both the Nov 16 and Nov 17.

To look for meteors find a nice lawn chair and a WARM blanket. Turn out your yard lights and ask neighbors to turn off unneeded lights. Find a nice open space looking high overhead. Facing East may improve your chances since Leo rises in the east around midnight. Try to scan the sky overhead. You may see the meteors in all directions. Meteors usually appear in random bursts. You may see several in 5 or 10 minutes and then few or none the next few minutes. Plan to stay out at least a half hour to one hour to increase your chances of seeing several bright meteors. Your eyes are best for meteor observing. Binoculars and telescopes limit your field of view and will cause you to miss many of them. Try to count the number of streaks of light you see. Write these down every 5 or 10 mins to keep track of your count. You can also take a small pad with you and make a mark every time you see a meteor. Don't turn on any lights while you are counting. If you need a light, a small dim flashlight covered with red plastic.

The Sky is Falling!!!

We all remember the cry of "Chicken Little" as he ran about in panic trying to convince his neighbors that "THE SKY IS FALLING"!! Well Chicken Little may not be all that crazy after all. Almost any clear moonless night you can see a few "Shooting Stars" These bright streaks of light are actually small bits of space dust burning up as they fall into the earth's atmosphere. Astronomers call the bright trails of light they produce Meteors. You need not panic like Chicken Little since most of the particles that produce meteors are smaller than a garden pea. Even though these bits of stardust never reach the ground, they still rip into the earth's atmosphere at tremendous speeds. An average meteor particle is traveling 60,000 to 70,000 miles an hour when it slams into our thin atmosphere. Some have speeds up to 140,000 mph!!! Most of the light we see is produced by a glowing trail of superheated air behind these tiny particles. On average more than 100 tons of these tiny particles fall onto the earth every day. If the Leonid Meteor Storm occurs, space scientist are concerned about our more than 500 active satellites in orbit. While the chances of a satellite being hit are slim even a sand grain sized particle could hit with the energy of a 22 rifle bullet. If not for God gracing Earth's sky with a soft, blue blanket of air, life on the surface could be very hazardous indeed!

By John Land

Astronomy Teacher

Broken Arrow Sr. High

Nov 4, 1999

Astronomy Club of Tulsa - http://www.b-its.com/astroclub/

Meteor Image from Sky & Telescope Magazine Web Site

http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/3showers.html

More Technical Data at:

http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/leonids/9911leo.html

Public Telescope Observing Night

Friday - Nov. 12, 1999

6:00 PM to 9:30 PM

New TCC West Campus - 7505 W 41st St.

Contact -Astronomy Club at 688-MARS or http://www.b-its.com/astroclub

To get to TCC’s new WEST CAMPUS

Take I-44 west across the river to exit 223 B onto 51st Street

***** Stay in the Center LANE ****** for 51st Street

Follow the exit road as it curves around to 51st Street.

DO NOT TURN onto 51st!! Go Straight across 51st and you will be on the

Gilcrease Expressway (two Lanes)

Gilcrease ends at 41st TURN LEFT (west) onto 41st Street

The TCC west campus is about 1 mile west at the crest of a hill

It is a huge place and sets down in a valley north of the road about 1/8 mile

41st St is the road to the Discovery Land Theater so look for their blue signs.

Please Use CAUTION in the CONSTRUCTION ZONES ! !

That’s all folks…