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Antares
The Newsletter of the Kansas Astronomical Observers
Meeting time: May 19, 2018 7:30 pm
Location: Lake Afton Public Observatory Speaker: Paul Ramirez - KAO Club TreasurerTopic: Educational Outreach ToolKits
KAO Website: http://www.kaowichita.comThe Night Sky Network: http://www.nightsky.jpl.nasa.govThe Astronomical League: http://www.astroleague.org
If you have comments or suggestions for an article in the newsletter, e-mail them to: [email protected] *Please begin the subject line with “Antares”
Current Club OfficialsPresident: Jerelyn Ramirez [email protected]
Vice-President: Tony Haidai [email protected]
Treasurer: Paul Ramirez [email protected]
Newsletter/Media: Kevin Kight [email protected] Next Month’s Meeting: June 16 at Lake Afton Public Observatory
Club Updates:
Meeting Speakers:For those members that wish to create and present during a club meeting, or that have a suggestion for a guest speaker, contact Club Vice-President: Tony Haida ([email protected])
Newsletter Items for Publication:Please submit items for publication prior to the 10th of each month to be included in thatmonth’s newsletter.
April Club Meeting:See addendum for a short summary about the April club meeting.
Eyepieces for Sale:See addendum for a collection of TeleVue Eyepieces club member David Stanislaw is wishing to sell.
Give-aways:There will be a raffle give-away during the May 19th meeting.
Solar and Planetary Items:
Moon Phases:Last Quarter: May 7New Moon: May 15First Quarter: May 21Full Moon: May 29
Planets:Mercury – Visible in the East before sunrise. Rises approximately 5:30 amVenus – Visible in the West After Sunset; Sets approximately 10:50 pmMars – Visible in the morning rises approximately 1:20am; in Sagittarius next to SaturnJupiter – Rising approximately 8:00 pm in Libra, transiting approximately 1:10 amSaturn – Visible in the morning, rising approximately 12:00 am in SagittariusUranus – Hidden in Solar Glare, next to MercuryNeptune – Visible in the morning, rising approximately 3:30 am in Aquarius
Comets:Listed below are comets possibly visible in telescopes (cutoff at magnitude 11). Magnitudes shown are approximate predictions for mid-month. Links are provided for additional information: http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/
No Comets are Visible This Month
Event Reports:If you’ve participated in a club event, please submit an event report to be included here by the 10th of each month. It doesn’t have to be anything formal, just a brief description about the event and how it went. Credit will be given unless you request to be kept anonymous.
Science Expo Event:See addendum for a short summary about the Science Expo Event held on May 5 th.
Upcoming Regional Events:
Symphony in the Flint Hills - Saturday, June 9Rosalia Ranch, Northeast Ivanpah Road, El Dorado, KS 67042 Setup Time: 10:00 AM
This is an all day event. Telescopes are set up for solar viewing while educational outreach presentations are held inside the educational tent before the concert begins. This is a collaboration with the Salina Astronomy Club. At the conclusion of the concert patrons come by for some evening viewing. Jupiter will be high in the sky at sunset. It is possible to view the GRS (Great Red Spot) after 11:00 p.m. This will be a Moon free event. Saturn will be rising on the eastern horizon after the sun sets with Venus in the west.
Contact Jerelyn about this if you are interested in volunteering.
Fall River Star Party – Friday, August 10- Saturday, August 11Fall River State Park & Campgrounds, Fall River, KS 67047(7:30 PM - 11:59 PM)
Come join us at the annual Fall River event. Join us for an evening of dark skies and deep space viewing. Mars and Saturn will be featured this night with Jupiter and Venus setting in the west just after sunset.
Upcoming KAO/Public Events:
Full Moon Walk – May 29Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E. 29th Street North, Wichita, KS 67220-2200 (9:00 pm – 11:00 pm)Setup Time: 8:30 PM; See below about registration
When the moon is full, join us for stargazing at Great Plains Nature Center under a rising full moon. Enjoy an evening under the stars and planets.
If you are planning to go on the walk, you must make a reservation (like the public).If you are ONLY there to assist with stargazing, please e-mail Rachel Roth at GPNC to confirm. [email protected]. See NSN Calender for details.
Libraries Rock – June 15Robert Shryock Park, 2923 Ohio Street, Augusta, KS 67010 7:00 pmSetup Time: 6:00 PM
Mara Hopkins, from the Augusta Public Library, has reached out to us for another publiceducational, and observing activity out at the Robert Shryock Park. She will request the park staff to turn out the lights for this event. We will have available for the visitors, at the request from Mara, some educational activities before the sun sets if anyone would like to participate. All naked eyed planets have the opportunity to be visible this night.
See NSN Calender for details.
Full Moon Walk – June 27Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E. 29th Street North, Wichita, KS 67220-2200 (9:00 pm – 11:00 pm)Setup Time: 8:30 PM; See below about registration
When the moon is full, join us for stargazing at Great Plains Nature Center under a rising full moon. Enjoy an evening under the stars and planets.
If you are planning to go on the walk, you must make a reservation (like the public).If you are ONLY there to assist with stargazing, please e-mail Rachel Roth at GPNC to confirm. [email protected]. See NSN Calender for details.
Lake Afton Public Observatory Star Party – July 21Lake Afton Public Observatory (LAPO), 25000 West 39th South, Goddard, KS 67052 (1:00 pm – 1:30 am)
This is a collaboration with LAPO. Solar activities during the day with other activities through out the day. Having telescopes for the visitors to share with them the wonders of the night sky. This night is two days after a first quarter Moon.
LAPO is looking to schedule this type of astronomy party maybe twice a year to promote the observatory. To make this astronomy party a success we need volunteers. This event will begin before the club meeting. We will still hold the meeting but we'll keep the meeting short. They plan to stay open till 1:00 a.m.
Food will be catered to the area
Full Moon Walk – July 27Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E. 29th Street North, Wichita, KS 67220-2200 (9:00 pm – 11:00 pm)Setup Time: 8:30 PM; See below about registration
When the moon is full, join us for stargazing at Great Plains Nature Center under a rising full moon. Enjoy an evening under the stars and planets.
If you are planning to go on the walk, you must make a reservation (like the public).If you are ONLY there to assist with stargazing, please e-mail Rachel Roth at GPNC to confirm. [email protected]. See NSN Calender for detail
Featured Article:
This article is provided by NASA Space Place.With articles, activities, crafts, games, and lesson plans, NASA Space Place encourages everyone to get excited aboutscience and technology. Visit spaceplace.nasa.gov to explore space and Earth science!
What’s It Like Inside Mars?By Jessica StollerConrad
Mars is Earth’s neighbor in the solar system. NASA’s robotic explorers have visited our neighbor quite a few times. By orbiting, landing and roving on the Red Planet, we’ve learned so much about Martian canyons, volcanoes, rocks and soil. However, we still don’t know exactly what Mars is like on the inside. This information could give scientists some really important clues about how Mars and the rest of our solar system formed.
This spring, NASA is launching a new mission to study the inside of Mars. It’s called Mars InSight. InSight—short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport—is a lander. When InSight lands on Mars later this year, it won’t drive around on the surface of Mars like a rover does. Instead, InSight will land, place instruments on the ground nearby and begin collecting information.
Just like a doctor uses instruments to understand what’s going on inside your body, InSight will use three science instruments to figure out what’s going on inside Mars.
One of these instruments is called a seismometer. On Earth, scientists use seismometers to study the vibrations that happen during earthquakes. InSight’s seismometer will measure the vibrationsof earthquakes on Mars—known as marsquakes. We know that on Earth, different materials vibrate in different ways. By studying the vibrations from marsquakes, scientists hope to figure out what materials are found inside Mars.
InSight will also carry a heat probe that will take the temperature on Mars. The heat probe will dig almost 16 feet below Mars’ surface. After it burrows into the ground, the heat probe will measure the heat coming from the interior of Mars. These measurements can also help us understand where Mars’ heat comes from in the first place. This information will help scientists figure out how Mars formed and if it’s made from the same stuff as Earth and the Moon.
Scientists know that the very center of Mars, called the core, is made of iron. But what else is in there? InSight has an instrument called the Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment, or RISE, that will hopefully help us to find out.
Although the InSight lander stays in one spot on Mars, Mars wobbles around as it orbits the Sun. RISE will keep track of InSight’s location so that scientists will have a way to measure these wobbles. This information will help determine what materials are in Mars’ core and whether the core is liquid or solid.
InSight will collect tons of information about what Mars is like under the surface. One day, thesenew details from InSight will help us understand more about how planets like Mars—and our home, Earth—came to be.
For more information about earthquakes and marsquakes, visit: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/earthquakes
An artist's illustration showing a possible inner structure of Mars. Image credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech