galactic observering eroded by the solar winds. charon, pluto's largest moon, pre-sented an...

September 2015

John J. McCarthy ObservatoryVolume 8, No. 9

Galactic Observer

Stalking theHunterA view of the Orion Nebula (M42)viewed through the dome atMcCarthy Observatory andenhanced by our JJMO imagingteam. For more information,see inside, page 13.

http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org2 • Sep 2015

The John J. McCarthy ObservatoryNew Milford High School388 Danbury RoadNew Milford, CT 06776

Phone/Voice: (860) 210-4117Phone/Fax: (860) 354-1595www.mccarthyobservatory.org

Route

It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatoryhas established itself as a significant educational andrecreational resource within the western Connecticutcommunity.

Galactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObservvvvverererererEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial Committee

Managing EditorBill Cloutier

Production & DesignAllan Ostergren

Website DevelopmentMarc Polansky

Technical SupportBob Lambert

Dr. Parker Moreland

JJMO Staff

OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT.................................... 4

HYGINUS AND ARIADAEUS RILLES ..................................... 5

INTERNATIONAL OBSERVE THE MOON NIGHT ...................... 6

VIEW FROM AFAR ........................................................... 6

LUNAR ECLIPSE ............................................................. 7

NEW WORLDS ............................................................... 8

MAVEN UPDATE ............................................................. 9

TETHYS ......................................................................... 9

RIDING THE COMET ....................................................... 10

THREE YEARS ON MARS ................................................. 10

AUTUMNAL EQUINOX ..................................................... 11

AURORA AND THE EQUINOXES .......................................... 11

SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 11

SUMMER NIGHTS ........................................................... 11

PRESENT AND FUTURE POLE STARS .................................. 11

ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 11

Jim JohnstoneCarly KleinSternBob LambertRoger MooreParker Moreland, PhDAllan OstergrenMarc PolanskyJoe PriviteraMonty RobsonDon RossGene SchillingKatie ShusdockJon WallacePaul WoodellAmy Ziffer

Steve AllisonSteve BaroneColin CampbellDennis CartolanoMike ChiarellaJeff ChodakBill CloutierCecilia DetrichDirk FeatherRandy FenderRandy FindenJohn GebauerElaine GreenTina HartzellTom Heydenburg

In This IssueREFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 13

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 13

SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 13

COVER PHOTO CREDIT .................................................. 13

COVER PHOTO .............................................................. 13

SECOND SATURDAY STARS POSTER ................................... 14

SEPTEMBER GRAPHIC CALENDAR .................................... 15

http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Sep 2015 • 3

September Astronomy Calendarand Space Exploration Almanac


“Out the Windowon Your Left”

IT’S BEEN OVER 40 yearssince we left the last footprinton the dusty lunar surface.

Sadly, as a nation founded on ex-ploration and the conquest of newfrontiers, we appear to have lostour will to lead as a space-faringnation. But, what if the averagecitizen had the means to visit ouronly natural satellite; what wouldthey see out the window of theirspacecraft as they entered orbitaround the Moon? This columnmay provide some thoughts to pon-der when planning your visit (ifonly in your imagination).

The International Observe theMoon Night is an annual eventsponsored by NASA’s Lunar Re-connaissance Orbiter, NASA’s So-lar System Exploration ResearchVirtual Institute, and the Lunar andPlanetary Institute to encouragelunar observation and its connec-tion to solar system exploration.This year (2015), the event isscheduled for September 19th. Ad-ditional information on scheduledevents can be found at http://observethemoonnight.org/.

A six day old Moon will be vis-ible on the 19th to observers withclear skies. The terminator (divid-ing the sunlit and shadowed por-tions of the near-side) will traversethe western reaches of Mare

Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity), theHaemus Mountains on its south-ern rim, the nearby Hyginus andAriadeus Rilles, the Apollo 16landing site in the Descartes High-lands, and the Altair Scarp.

The Hyginus and AriadaeusRilles can be found near the Moon’sequator, just to the west of MareTranquilitatis (Sea of Tranquility).Rima Ariadaeus starts near the west-ern shore of Mare Tranquillitatis andruns towards Mare Vaporum to thewest. The linear fault or graben is186.4 miles (300 km) in length. Av-eraging 3.1 miles (5 km) in width,Rima Ariadaeus slices through other,presumably older geologic features.Rima Hyginus emerges from theshadows in the west and is punctu-ated by a series of small rimless pitsand the Hyginus caldera. Its lengthis approximately 136 miles (219 km)

and appears to be volcanic in origin.The rille abruptly changes directionsat the Hyginus caldera.

The waxing crescent on the 19th

also provides an opportunity to ob-serve the elusive Valentine Dome.The volcanic dome can be found onthe western shore of Mare Serenitatisand is approximately 24 miles (39km) across but less than 1,200 feet(350 meters) high. It’s only visiblewhen near the terminator.

The Altai Scarp is a prominentfeature in the southern highlandswhen the Sun is low in the lunarsky. The arcing cliff rises to aheight of 2 to 2½ miles (3.5 to 4km) and is a remnant of the mul-tiple mountain rings that typicallyencircle large impact basins. Thisparticular scarp is part of the outerring of the Nectaris impact basin,one of the oldest on the Moon.

Formerly known as Linné Alpha the ellipticall feature bisected by arille at left of center has been popularly dubbed Valentine Dome,perhaps because it suggested a heart pierced by an arrow - orperhaps just a big pizza pie..[Source: NASA/GSFC/Arizona StateUniversity.]


Hyginus andAriadaeus Rilles


International Observethe Moon Night

The Moon will rise shortly afternoon on September 19th and set at10:39 pm. Approximately 36% ofthe near-side surface will be illu-minated, similar to the image cap-tured below. Photo notations cor-respond to the

1) Valentine Dome and MareSerenitatis;

2) Hyginus and AriadeusRilles;

3) Mare Tranquillitatis;

4) Descartes Highlands and theApollo 16 landing sit, and

5) the Altai Scarp and MareNectaris.

View from AfarThe Deep Space Climate

Observatory (DSCOVR) satelliteis a collaborative mission betweenNASA, NOAA and the U.S. AirForce. The satellite is positioned 1million miles from Earth, betweenthe Earth and the Sun. Its primarymission is to provide real time dataon the solar wind for use in spaceweather forecasts and alerts. Thesatellite is also equipped with afour megapixel CCD camera andtelescope that is used toimage the Earth as it rotates, pro-viding data on ozone, vegetation,clouds and aerosols in the atmo-sphere. On July 16th, the cameraalso captured the Moon as it passedbetween the satellite and the Earth,providing a view seldom seen ofthe Moon's fully illuminated farside.

Unlike the side facing theEarth, there are relatively fewmaria on the Moon's far side. Themost prominent patch of lavaseen in the image is MareMoscoviense (Sea of Moscow) inthe upper left of the lunar orb.

Photo: Bill Cloutier

Credits: NASA/NOAA


Lunar EclipseOn the evening of September

27th, the full Moon will slip into theEarth's shadow. Once in the shadow,the Earth will block all direct sun-light from illuminating the lunar sur-face. This arrangement, with theEarth in line between the Sun andthe Moon, produces a lunar eclipse.

The image at the right was takenat the McCarthy Observatory onOctober 27, 2004. It shows the Moonnearing the completion of its travelthrough the darkest part of the Earth'sshadow (or umbra). The crimsonglow is from sunlight scattered bythe Earth's atmosphere that has fil-tered out most of the blue coloredlight. The northern limb of the Moonis brighter as it is closest to the edgeof the umbra. On the 27th, the Moonwill travel through the southern halfof umbra. The eclipse will be vis-ible (weather permitting) for observ-ers in North America, with totalitystarting at 10:11 pm EDT and last-

Total eclipse begins (Moon completely within the umbra) 10:11:10 pm EDTTotal eclipse ends (Moon begins to exit umbra) 11:23:05 am EDT

ing 72 minutes. The entire eclipsewill be visible to viewers on the eastcoast. The Moon will be rising withthe eclipse in progress for viewerson the west coast, with moonrisejust before the onset of totality.

"September’s full moon will bethe closest to the Earth in 2015(221,755 miles or 356,880 km) andappear the largest. The next totallunar eclipse visible in the north-east U.S. will be in January 2019."

Photo: Bill Cloutier


New WorldsOn July 14th, after nine and

one-half years and more than 3million miles (5 million km), thewait was finally over when theNew Horizons spacecraft pro-vided earthlings their first upclose view of Pluto, its compan-ion moon and diminutive satel-lites. While it will take almost 16months to transmit all the datacollected by New Horizons dur-ing its whirlwind tour of the Plutosystem (only 5% has been trans-mitted), what has been receivedhas exceeded all expectation.

We now know that Pluto is amuch different world than the otherdwarf planet, Ceres, visited earlierthis year. Pluto has a diverse geologywith a mix of relatively young andancient terrain, icy mountain rangesand nitrogen glaciers. Its size (1,473miles or 2,370 km) is larger than pre-viously estimated. Consequently,with its mass known, Pluto's densitymust be lower (with more ice and lessrock). Its larger size also confirms itsstanding as "king of the Kuiper Belt."As New Horizons passed by Plutoand the planet was backlit by the Sun,a thin, hazy atmosphere was detected(primarily molecular nitrogen). NewHorizon's instruments also detecteda long ion tail behind the planet, thebyproduct of Pluto's atmosphere be-ing eroded by the solar winds.

Charon, Pluto's largest moon, pre-sented an equally young and intrigu-ing surface with mountains, ridgesand canyons up to 600 miles (1,000km) long and up to 4 to 6 miles (7 to9 km) deep. Its north pole is dark-ened, covered with a thin depositthrough which young impact craterscan be seen. Unlike Pluto, Charondoesn't appear to have an atmosphere.

New Horizon's cameras also im-aged the smaller satellites of Pluto,showing that both Nix and Hydrahave an icy surface. Images of Styx

Charon and Pluto imaged before closest approach

Pluto with the heart shaped Tombaugh Reggio feature visible

Pluto’s thin, hazy atmosphere encircles the dwarf planet, inthis image taken when the planet was backlit by the Sun

NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI

NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI


NASA

and Kerberos will be returned inthe future, as will additional sci-entific data that will keep scien-tists busy for quite some time asNew Horizons continues to headout into the Kuiper Belt.

MAVEN UpdateNASA's Mars Atmosphere and

Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) or-biter is the first spacecraft designedexclusively to study the upper atmo-sphere of Mars and explore the pro-cesses through which the planet's at-mosphere could have been lost tospace. It entered orbit around Marsin September 2014 and during thepast year observed two unexpectedphenomena.

While Mars is known for itsdusty atmosphere, MAVEN ob-served a high-altitude dust cloud93 miles (150 km) to 190 miles(300 km) above the surface. Thesource and composition of thecloud, which is denser near thesurface, is not known. Possibili-ties include dust transported fromthe planet's surface, dust from

MAVEN over MarsImage Credit: NASA/GSFC

False color image of the red arcs on TethysCredits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Phobos and Deimos, the twomoons of Mars, and/or debris or-biting the Sun. The cloud may be atemporary phenomenon, althoughit has been present since MAVENarrived last September.

The second unexpected phenom-enon was an aurora that extends deepinto the Martian atmosphere. Marsdoesn't have a global magnetic field,and the aurora doesn't appear to beassociated with any geographic fea-tures. During the auroral display, thespacecraft measured a surge in ener-

getic electrons, most likely from theSun, striking the planet's atmosphere.Most surprising was the depth atwhich the auroral glow was detected,much deeper than in the atmosphereon Earth.

Observations from MAVEN areexpected to add to our understand-ing of how a planet such as Mars canlose its atmosphere over time, andthe atmosphere's role in the chang-ing climate, from one that may havebeen wet and warm in the distant pastto today's dry and cold.

TethysAfter 11 years in orbit, the

Cassini spacecraft continues tomake new discoveries in the Sat-urn system. Details visible onSaturn's moons change with eachnew orbit as the Cassini orbiterviews its targets under differentillumination, from varying dis-tances and changing vantagepoints. Images of the moonTethys earlier this year revealedfaint, red arcs in the northernhemisphere. The arcs appear to bea relatively recent phenomenonas they cross over geologicallyolder features such as impact cra-ters. The arcs are only a few mileswide but extend several hundredmiles in length. The unusuallycolored features are similar to that


observed on Jupiter 's moonEuropa which is suspected tohave a subsurface ocean. Scienceplanning is underway to revisitTethys later this year.

Riding the CometIt's been more than a year since

the European Space Agency'sRosetta spacecraft rendezvousedwith the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The comet orbits theSun once every 6.45 years and wasinbound at the time of the encoun-ter. Traveling with the comet,Rosetta has been able to monitorchanges in the icy wanderer as itmade its closest approach to theSun in August.

In July, the spacecraft witnessa dramatic outburst from the re-gion connecting the comet's twoicy lobes. The image sequence(below) was taken from a dis-tance of 116 miles (186 km). The

Photo Credit: SpaceXComet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen during Rosetta’s initialencounter in 2014. Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA

Three Years on MarsThe Mars Science Laboratory,

Curiosity, continues to work itsway along the lower elevations ofMount Sharp at the center of GaleCrater. The rover has been work-ing in an area called Marias Passfor several weeks where it hasfound unusually high levels ofsilica and hydrogen.

Curiosity did take time out totake a selfie after the rover's mostrecent and successful drilling/sampling activity.

time span between the first im-age (with no jet visible) and thelast (with only a faint remnant ofthe jet remaining) is approxi-

mately 36 minutes. The jet wasestimated to be moving at a mini-mum speed of 33 feet per second(10 m/s).

Outburst on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko just prior to perihelion in 2015 Credit: ESA/Rosetta/MPS

Curiosity RoverCredit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS


Autumnal EquinoxThe Sun crosses the celestial

equator at 4:28 am EDT onthe morning of September 23rd,marking the beginning of thefall season in the northern hemi-sphere.

Aurora and theEquinoxes:

Geomagnetic storms that areresponsible for auroras happenmore often during the monthsaround the equinox (March andSeptember). Check your eveningsky or log onto www.spaceweather.com for the latest onsolar activity.

September NightsEnjoy the jewels of the sum-

mer Milky Way while the nights

are still warm and the skies areclear. From Cygnus to Sagit-tarius, follow the star clouds anddust lanes that comprise the in-ner arms of our spiral galaxy. Inthe south after sunset, the starsin the constellation Sagittariusform an asterism, or pattern, ofa teapot. The spout of the teapotpoints the way to the center ofthe Milky Way galaxy with itsresident black hole. Check outthe July/August calendar formore details.

Present and FuturePole Stars

Vega, the fifth brightest starand located in the constellationLyra, is placed high in the eveningsky during September. Vega is alsodestined to become the Pole Starin 12,000 years. Precession, or thechange in the direction of the ro-tational axis of the Earth overtime, is best exemplified in a com-parison of the position of Vega tothat of Polaris (the current PoleStar).

Sunrise and SunsetSunrise and SunsetSunrise and SunsetSunrise and SunsetSunrise and SunsetSun Sunrise SunsetSeptember 1st (EDT) 06:19 19:27September 15th 06:34 19:03September 30th 06:49 18:38

Astronomical and Historical Events1st Neptune at Opposition, rising with the setting Sun and visible all night1st History: flyby of Saturn by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft (1979)2nd Scheduled launch of the next expedition crew to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz

spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan2nd History: discovery of asteroid 3 Juno by Karl Harding (1804)3rd Kuiper Belt Object 145452 (2005 RN43) at Opposition (39.636 AU)3rd History: controlled impact of the SMART-1 spacecraft on the lunar surface at the conclusion of a

successful mission; precursor of NASA's LCROSS mission (2006)3rd History: Viking 2 spacecraft lands on the Martian surface (1976)4th Mercury at its Greatest Eastern Elongation (27°), apparent separation from the Sun in the

morning sky5th Last Quarter Moon5th Asteroid 9 Metis at Opposition (8.8 magnitude)5th History: launch of Voyager 1 to the planets Jupiter and Saturn (1977) - now at almost 12 billion

miles (19.8 billion km) from Earth - Voyager 1 now has entered the interstellar space6th Kuiper Belt Object 2010 RF43 at Opposition (52.174 AU)8th Distant flyby of Saturn's moon Dione by the Cassini spacecraft8th History: sample return canister from the Genesis spacecraft crashes back to Earth when drogue

parachute fails to deploy. Spacecraft was returning to Earth from Lagrange Point 1 with itscollection of solar wind particles (2004)

8th History: launch of the Surveyor 5 spacecraft (lunar science mission); landed on MareTranquillitatis three days later (1967)

8th History: first Star Trek episode airs on television (1966)8th History: Marshall Space Flight Center's dedication by President Eisenhower (1960)9th Distant flyby of Saturn's moon Helene by the Cassini spacecraft9th History: launch of Conestoga I, first private rocket (1982)9th History: launch of Soviet spacecraft Venera 11 (Venus lander) to the planet Venus (1978)9th History: launch of Viking 2 (Mars Orbiter/Lander) (1975)


Astronomical and Historical Events (continued)

9th History: discovery of Jupiter's moon Amalthea by Edward Barnard (1892)10th Distant flyby of Saturn's largest moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft10th History: launch of the GRAIL spacecraft aboard a Delta 2 rocket from the Canaveral Air Force

Station; lunar gravity mapping mission (2011)10th History: debut flight of the Japanese H-2 Transfer Vehicle (or HTV) to the International Space

Station (2009)10th History: discovery of Dysnomia, moon of the dwarf planet Eris, by Mike Brown, et al (2005)11th History: Mars Global Surveyor enters orbit around Mars (1997)11th History: flyby of Comet Giacobini-Zinner by the International Cometary Explorer (ICE), first

spacecraft to visit a comet (1985)12th Second Saturday Stars - Open House at the McCarthy Observatory12th History: Japanese sample return probe Hayabusa arrives at asteroid 25143 Itokawa (2005)12th History: launch of Soviet Luna 16; first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample

to Earth (1970)12th History: launch of Gemini XI with astronauts Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon (1966)12th History: launch of the Soviet spacecraft Luna 2, first to impact the Moon's surface (1959)12th History: Gervase of Canterbury and Chinese astronomers observe the transit of Mars across

Jupiter (1170)13th New Moon13th History: launch of the Japanese Moon orbiter "Kaguya" (Selene 1) (2007)14th Moon at apogee (furthest distance from the Earth)14th History: launch of Soviet spacecraft Venera 12 (Venus lander) to the planet Venus (1978)14th History: discovery of Jupiter's moon Leda by Charles Kowal (1974)14th History: John Dobson born, architect of the Dobsonian alt-azimuth mounted Newtonian tele-

scope (1915)17th History: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky born in Izhevskoye, Russia; one of the fathers of rocketry and

cosmonautics, along with Goddard and Oberth (1857)17th History: discovery of Saturn's moon Mimas by William Herschel (1789)18th History: discovery of Comet Ikeya-Seki by Ikeya and Tsutomu Seki (1965)18th History: launch of Vanguard 3, designed to measure solar X-rays, the Earth's magnetic field,

and micrometeoroids (1959)19th International Observe the Moon Night (http://observethemoonnight.org/)19th History: NASA unveiled plans to return humans to the moon (2005)19th History: first launch of the Wernher von Braun-designed Jupiter C rocket from Cape Canaveral

(1956)19th History: discovery of Saturn's moon Hyperion by William and George Bond and William Lassell

(1848)21st First Quarter Moon21st Kuiper Belt Object 2010 RE64 at Opposition (52.026 AU)21st History: orbital insertion of the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) spacecraft (2014)21st History: second flyby of Mercury by the Mariner 10 spacecraft (1974)21st History: Gustav Holst born, composer of the symphony "The Planets" (1874)21st History: Soviet spacecraft Zond 5 returns after circumnavigating the Moon (1968)21st History: Galileo spacecraft impacts Jupiter after completing its mission (2003)22nd Kuiper Belt Object 120347 Salacia at Opposition (43.654 AU)22nd History: Deep Space 1 spacecraft passes within 1,400 miles (2,200 km) of the 5 mile long

potato-shaped nucleus of Comet Borrelly (2001)23rd Autumnal Equinox at 04:28 am (EDT)23rd History: discovery of Saturn moons Siarnaq, Tarvos, Ijiraq, Thrymr, Skathi, Mundilfari, Erriapus

and Suttungr by Brett Gladman and John Kavelaars (2000)23rd History: Johann Galle discovers the planet Neptune (1846)24th Asteroid 4 Vesta closest approach to Earth (1.427 AU)24th History: orbital insertion of India's MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) spacecraft (2014)24th History: John Young born (1930), first person to fly in space six times, including Gemini 3

(1965), Gemini 10 (1966), Apollo 10 (1969), Apollo 16 (1972), STS-1, the first flight of theSpace Shuttle (1981), and STS-9 (1983)


Astronomical and Historical Events (continued)

24th History: Soviet spacecraft Luna 16 returns 101 grams of lunar soil to Earth (1970)26th History: Cosmonauts V. Titov and Strekalov escape moments before Soyuz T-10-1 explodes on

the pad (1983)27th Full Moon (Full Harvest Moon)27th Total Lunar Eclipse27th Moon at perigee (closest distance to Earth)27th Plutino 2001 QF298 at Opposition (42.347 AU)27th History: launch (2007) of the Dawn spacecraft to Vesta (2011) and Ceres (2015)27th History: launch of SMART-1, the first European lunar probe (2003)28th Flyby of Saturn's largest moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft28th History: launch of Soviet lunar orbiter Luna 19; studied lunar gravitational fields and mascons

(mass concentrations), radiation environment, and the solar wind (1971)28th History: launch of Alouette, Canada's first satellite (1962)28th History: discovery of Jupiter's moon Ananke by Seth Nicholson (1951)29th History: launch of Salyut 6, first of a second generation of Soviet orbital space station designs

(1977),30th Distant flyby of Saturn's moons Dione, Calypso, Mimas, Tethys, Aegaeon and Telesto by the

Cassini spacecraft30th History: all instruments deployed on the Moon by the Apollo missions are shut off (1977)30th History: discovery of Jupiter's moon Themisto by Charles Kowal (1975)30th History: first photo of the Orion Nebula taken by Henry Draper (1880)

References on Distances• The apparent width of the Moon (and Sun) is approximately one-half a degree (½°), less than the width of

your little finger at arm’s length which covers approximately one degree (1°); three fingers span approximatelyfive degrees (5°)

• One astronomical unit (AU) is the distance from the Sun to the Earth or approximately 93 million miles

International Space Station/Space Shuttle/Iridium SatellitesVisit www.heavens-above.com for the times of visibility and detailed star charts for viewing the Interna-

tional Space Station, the Space Shuttle (when in orbit) and the bright flares from Iridium satellites.

Solar ActivityFor the latest on what’s happening on the Sun and the current forecast for flares and aurora, check out

www.spaceweather.com.

Image CreditsFront page design and graphic calendars: Allan Ostergren

Page 3 Image: Composite image of the Moon during the 2004 lunar eclipse and a six day-old crescent. Afully eclipsed Moon will be visible on September 27th to observers in North America and a six day oldcrescent on the 19th for the International Observe the Moon Night. Photo Credits: Bill Cloutier

Second Saturday Stars poster: Marc Polansky

Front Page image: RGB Composite, using Red, Green, Blue and Luminance filters primarily on theTakahashi FSQ-106. Luminance frames of the core taken on the 16" Meade were composited in for addeddetail. Roughly an hour and a half of combined exposure time, under less than ideal conditions (moon,fog, clouds, or some combination over the course of 5 nights). Stacking in MaximDL, processing inPhotoshop. Image by M. Polansky with JJMO equipment.

September 2015Celestial Calendar

Viking 2lands on

Mars(1976)

Launch ofVoyager 1 to

Jupiter and Saturn(1977)

Launch ofConestoga

1, firstprivaterocket1982

Mars Global Surveyorenters orbit around Mars

(1997)

John Dobson born,father of dobsonian

telescope (1915)

Launch ofvon Braun-

designedJupiter-C rocket

from CapeCanaveral (1956)

Jupiterimpact ends

successfulGalileo mission

(2003)

John Youngborn - first

to fly sixtimes in space

(1930)

Discovery ofJupiter's

moon Anankeby Seth

Nicholson(1951)

Launch ofAlouette,Canada'sfirstsatellite(1962)

JohannGottfried

Gallediscovers

planetNeptune(1846)

Launch ofSMART-1, 1st

Europeanlunar probe -

2003

Launch ofDawn

spacecraft toVesta and

Ceres (2007)

Discovery ofJupiter's moon

Themisto by CharlesT. Kowal (1975)

Flyby of Saturn byPioneer spacecraft

(1979)

Discovery of asteroid3 Juno by KarlHarding (1804)

Discovery ofSaturn's Moon

Mimas byWilliam

Herschel -1789

Discovery of Saturn's MoonHyperion by William andGeorge Bond and William

Lassell (1848)

GustavHolst born,composer ofThe Planets

(1874)

Flyby of comet Borrellyby Deep Space 1 (2001)

SpaceshipOneX1 achieves

altitude of 102.9kilometers, firstof two flights to

win X Prize competition(2004)

Comet Ikeya-Seki(1965)

Marshall SpaceCenter born

(1960)

Discovery of Jupiter'smoon Analthea by

Edward Barnard (1892)

Launch ofLuna 2, 1st

to impact Moon'ssurface (1959)

and Luna 16, 1st

robotic probe toreturn a sample to

Earth (1970)

Discovery ofJupiter's moon

Leda by CharlesKowal (1974)

Launch of Vanguard 3,designed to measure solar

x-rays, the Earth'smagnetic field and

micrometeoroids (1959)

Cosmonauts V. Titov andStrelkov escape moments

before Soyuz T-10-1explodes on pad (1983)

SMART-1 spacecraftcontrolled impact on

Moon (2006)

GRAILspacecraftlaunch to

study Moon'sgravity (2011)

2nd SaturdayStars Open

HouseMcCarthy

Observatory

Flyby of CometGiacobini-

Zinner by theICE spacecraft,first to visit acomet (1985)

Launch of NASA MarsObserver spacecraft, also

known as the MarsGeoscience/ClimatologyOrbiter, a robotic space

probe; communication withthe spacecraft was lost on

August 21, 1993, 3 days priorto orbital insertion. (1992)

James EdwardKeeler, American

astronomer,discovered gap

in Saturn's rings;later gave nameto Keeler Gap,

discovered by Voyager (1857)

Surveyor 2 lunar landerlaunched, loses missioncontrol, tumbles and

crashes onto surface ofMoon two days later (1966)

Trans-Neptunian dwarf planet,2003 UB313, is officiallynamed "Eris", after Greek

goddess of strife and conflict;estimated to be 27% moremassive than pluto (2006)

Oscar E. Monnig born,American amateur

astronomer, contributed tothe study of Meteoritics -a science that deals with

meteorites and otherextraterrestrial materials

(1902)

James Alfred van Allen born,an American space scientist

whose proposal to use geigercounters on Explorer

missions to detect chargedparticles gave his name to the

van Allen Belt (1914)

Jean-Sylvain Bailly, Frenchastronomer, mathematician,and political revolutionaryleader; predicted return of

Halley's Comet andresearched the satellites ofJupiter; died on guillotine

(born 1736)

Robert Jay GaBany born,American amateur astro-

nomer and astrophotographer,developed use of smaller

telescopes and CCD camerasto produce long-exposurehigh resolution images of

distant galaxies (1954)

Autumnal Equinoxat 04:28`pm EDT)

Sovietspacecraft Luna16 returns 101grams of lunarsoil to Earth

(1970)

Launch of Salyut 6,first of a secondgeneration ofSoviet orbitalspace stationdesigns(1977)

launch of theSurveyor 5

spacecraft toMars (1967)

first Star Trekepisode airs on

television (1966)

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky born inIzhevskoye,Russia; one ofthe fathers ofrocketry andcosmonautics,along withGoddard andOberth (1857)

Launch of GeminiXI with astronautsCharles Conradand RichardGordon (1966)

InternationalObserve theMoon Night

MMMMMAAAAAVENVENVENVENVEN Spacecr Spacecr Spacecr Spacecr Spacecraftaftaftaftaft

John Henry Dallmeyer born -Anglo-German optician, who

developed the rapidrectilinear lens that is

symmetrical about its stop toreduce radial distortion

(1830)

Moon atPerigee(closest

to earth)

Moonat Apogee(farthestfrom earth)

TotalLunar

Eclipse

Sept 5 Sept 13

Sept 21 Sept 27

Phases of the Moon

galactic observering eroded by the solar winds. charon, pluto's largest moon, pre-sented an...

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