The Guide Star

Journal of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh, Inc.

AAAP founded June 9, 1929 by Chester B. Roe and Leo J. Scanlon

January, 2017 Volume 50, No. 12.0

Website: 3ap.org Member: Night Sky

Network and Astronomical League

January 13@CSC

January Meeting Lecture: “Well, Now What? What to Do Once You’ve

Found Another Earth” Recent discoveries by the Kepler mission have shown us that Earth-sized planets are fairly common in the Galaxy. We expect to find several "habitable" planets that are the size and mass of Earth over the next decade, but then what? How do we distinguish between a nice temperate Earth, and an acidic metal-melting Venus? What can we learn about the climates, and even the weather, of exoplanets? Could we identify life, or even intelligence? Our guest speaker for the club’s January 13, 2017 meeting, Dr. Thomas Beatty, will discuss the latest developments in the study of Earth-like planets in his lecture “Well, Now What? What to Do Once You’ve Found Another Earth”. Our guest is a Post-doctoral Fellow, Pennsylvania State University Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds.

(Continued on page 2, lower left) AL Honors Our Own Catherine Delaney

Special Messier Observing Award Presentation Planned for January Meeting

Thanks to the research of Terry Trees, we have discovered that the club’s January 13 meeting marks 50 years to the day when AAAP member Catherine Delaney was presented the world’s first Messier Certificate. Catherine was an active and highly respected AAAP member, as well as observer, back in the 1950s through 1970s. Astronomical League President John Jardine Goss is planning on attending our meeting and will present us two plaques to mark the occasion. The plaques will be mounted in our observatories. John will also use the occasion to describe the benefits of AL membership. Note: See page 6 for the AL’s new “Celestial Savings” program. (Above photo: Katherine Delaney receives first Messier certificate from Dick Dickinson.)

Follow @AAAPittsburgh on Twitter Be sure to Like the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh page on Facebook

Nicholas E. Wagman

Observatory

Mingo Creek Park

Observatory

Prelim Meeting Before AAAP 1-13-17 Meeting

AAAP Members Welcome to Join Local IDA Chapter

by Diane Turnshek (adapted from AAAP Listserver) We have applied for a new Western PA chapter of the International Dark Sky Association to fight light pollution in our area. I'd like to meet at 7:00 pm, just before the next AAAP meeting, in the lobby of the Carnegie Science Center on Friday, January 13, 2017. Our goal is to reduce the scatter into the atmosphere of light from government buildings and streetlights, businesses and residences. We can use people with a variety of skills -- don't worry about what you can do: we'll need everyone who is interested. As of Guide Star press time, I had heard back from the following AAAP members: Alex Deise, Amanda Myers, Greg Yoest, Diana Messich, R. J. Fisher, Heather Panek, Matthew Dieterich, John Pane, Glenn Picard, John Wenskovitch, Tim Kelly, Zachary Zelazny, Mike Miller, Kathy DeSantis, Chris Mullin and Mike Eddy. Thank you to all of these volunteers! More are welcome to join. IDA membership is not required (but it helps). We'll be forming an online task force, so even if you can't make the meeting, please let me know you're on board. If you need to contact me: dianeturnshek@gmail.com 724-433-4192. Grace Period Ends January 31

New AAAP Dues Rates In Effect, But Still Time to Renew

Now that 2017 has arrived, AAAP’ers wishing to renew their membership must pay at these new rates: • General Membership (Individual): $35.00 • Family Membership: $50.00 The student rate of $20.00 remains unchanged. This is for grades K thru 12 and full time college students. If joined the AAAP on or after July 1, 2016, your dues (all types) are good until December 31, 2017. You don’t have to renew until late 2017 (December 31 deadline). Renewals at the new rates will be accepted through January 31 of this month. The starting year of your membership (as appears in the directory) will remain the same. After February 1, 2017 you must rejoin as a new member. If you have any questions about all this, please contact Treasurer Mike Meteney. He can be reached by e-mail at treasurer@3ap.org. See page 10 for his snail mail address. Thanks once again for keeping up your membership in our esteemed organization.

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 2 The Guide Star

2017 Schedule for Wagman and Mingo Observatories

All Staggered Star Party Dates This Year Except October 28

Below is the complete list of 2017 public star parties at Mingo and Wagman Observatories. As you can see, we have more than the usual number of staggered dates, allowing Wagman regulars to attend Mingo star parties and vice-versa. In all, we have 31 separate, non-overlapping star parties: • March 31: Wagman • April 1: Wagman • April 21: Mingo • April 22: Mingo • May 5: Wagman • May 6: Wagman • May 19: Mingo • May 20: Mingo • June 2: Wagman • June 3: Wagman • June 23: Mingo • June 24: Mingo • June 30: Wagman • July 1: Wagman • July 14: Mingo • July 15: Mingo

• July 28: Wagman • July 29: Wagman • August 11: Mingo • August 12: Mingo • August 25: Wagman • August 26: Wagman • September 9: Wagman • September 15: Mingo • September 16: Mingo • September 23: Wagman • October 7: Wagman • October 14: Mingo • October 28: Wagman and Mingo • November 4: Wagman • November 11: Mingo

February 10@CSC

February Look-Ahead: Free Buhl Sky Show February should be a quiet month for most, correct? No graduation parties, no vacation trips, etc. All the more reason to Save the Date, February 10, 2017 for the annual free sky show at the CSC’s Buhl Planetarium. By then you will be stir-crazy from being stuck indoors for the winter. This will be a nice escape.

January 13 Lecture Considers Other Earths (Continued from front page.)

As before, the January meeting starts at 7:30 pm in the Bayer Science Stage of the Carnegie Science Center on Pittsburgh’s North Side. When you enter the CSC’s main lobby, hang a right just past the doors and proceed to the Science Stage. You are welcome to arrive well before the 7:30 start, but be aware that the Science Stage may be in use by another group at that time. Weather note: If the Pittsburgh area is slammed with a major winter storm on or around the 13th, the meeting will be cancelled. You will be notified via Guide Star supplement, the club listserver and Facebook page. Let’s hope the Weather Gods keep us in good favor!

Like Photo Contest, Service Award Winners Difficult to Pick

Top row (L-R): Frank Pastin, Bill Hayeslip, Sally Swieck

Bottom Row (L-R): Dan Spano, Amanda Myers, Ben Mickail, Heather Panek Take a look at the 2016 volunteers list on page 5 and you will see why it was hard to select the AAAP Service Award winners for 2016. So many members made so many valuable contributions that, in a sense, they all deserve awards. But several individuals stood out. We were pleased to announce the following honorees at the club’s holiday party on December 10: • George Lindbloom Award for best overall contribution by an AAAP

member: Frank Pastin, Bill Hayeslip, Dan Spano • Lois Harrison Award for best overall contribution by an AAAP

female member: Sally Swieck, Heather Panek • Nova Award for best overall contribution by a new AAAP member:

Amanda Myers, Ben Mickail These members were frequent helpers at observatory and off-site star parties, as well as special events such as the White House star party at Allegheny Observatory in October and the “Our Pittsburgh Constellation” events last March. Please make sure to congratulate these folks at next year’s gatherings. Old AAAP Forms No Longer In Service

Magazine Subscription Reminder Now that 2017 has arrived, AAAP’ers also wishing to subscribe to Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines can access the magazine discount through the Astronomical Society of the Pacific website. Simply list our club name, “Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh” in the online form. This is made possible because the AAAP is a member club in the NASA/JPL Night Sky Network, administered by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. If you have any questions about all this, please contact Treasurer Mike Meteney (treasurer@3ap.org) or Vice President Kathy DeSantis (vicepresident@3ap.org).

Random Reminder • Donations: We appreciate all financial contributions to the AAAP,

regardless of amount. Among others, they help us maintain our two fine observatories. Contact Treasurer Mike Meteney (treasurer@3ap.org) to make your tax-deductible donation, which can be folded into your dues renewal.

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 3 The Guide Star

News of Great Magnitude • Holiday Party Follow-Up: A party is not party unless it is well stocked

with the best foods and beverages. Our thanks to a bevy of AAAP members for culinary contributions. We were also pleased to congratulate two members for awards separate from the annual service awards. John Wentskovitch received a Messier Certificate for observing all 110 Messier objects. Mike Christeson received a certificate for his image “Solar Plane” which finished in third place in the solar system category (tied with Alexis Kwasinski’s “Mars 6-8-16 2300 ET Valles Marineris & Acidalia Planitia”). See page 4 for photos from the party.

L-R: John Wentskovitch, Mike Christeson

• Heather Panek regrets to report that the local firm Astrobotic has removed itself from the Google’s $20M robotic Moon landing competition. One of their senior engineers, John Branthoover, was the guest speaker on this project at the club’s September meeting. Click this link for the full article: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2016/12/21/pittsburgh-firm-exits-googles-20m-moon-landing-competition/

• Diane Turnshek’s December 5 lecture at the CSC’s “Café Scientifique” had a very interesting feature: A “constellation skirt” equipped with steady and flashing blue LEDs designed to resemble a constellation, asterism or star cluster. She purchased the skirt from thinkgeek.com (https://www.thinkgeek.com/product/jhsu/?srp=15). Diane’s lecture covered all the elements and detrimental effects of light pollution, and drew a lot of questions from the audience. If you would like to see Diane’s lecture, Google “Carnegie Science Center: Café Scientifique”

• Astronomy-Themed “Humble Bumble” E-Books: This note from John Wenskovitch: “For anyone looking for something to read during the cold months who didn't get enough at the Holiday Party, the current Humble Bundle of ebooks is astronomy themed! Pay what you want for 13 books (with a minimum of $15 to get them all). https://www.humblebundle.com/books/astronomy-book-bundle“.

• Editing Malfunction Dept.: The Orion Nebula image in the upper left corner of the December Guide Star was taken by Alex Deise, not Alex Kwasinski as indicated. Very nice image Mr. Deise!

• Important Note from Terry Trees about RASC 2017 Observer’s Calendar: The Moon rise and set times given on the April page of the RASC Observer's Calendar are incorrect. The proper values are given on the Calendar Updates page at http://www.rasc.ca/observers-calendar/updates <http://www.rasc.ca/observers-calendar/updates>

(Continued at upper right.)

• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently reported that parts of Mills Mall (near Wagman Observatory) will go up for sale. Wells Fargo bank foreclosed on the mall in 2015. The bank is owed $142.9M from Pittsburgh Mills Limited Partnership. Many AAAP members will recall when Mills Mall was constructed in 2005, forcing the club to work with Frazer Township to limit exterior light pollution from the massive facility. We were also concerned about surrounding development and population growth along the lines of Cranberry Township.

• We regret to announce the recent deaths of two people well known to the club’s long-serving members: Dick Ridgway and Jane Kohman. Dick was a familiar face at many, many AAAP meetings and known for his benevolent personality. Jane was the wife of the late Dr. Truman Kohman, one of the club’s most brilliant members and key player in acquiring the 11-Inch Brashear Refractor for Wagman Observatory. Jane was also known for welcoming personality.

• Make sure to obtain the latest gate and door combinations to Wagman and Mingo Observatories. These are changed around the end of each year. Contact Wagman Director Tom Reiland (trcassiopeia@aol.com ) or Mingo Director (rlnichols28@comcast.net ) for all the information you need to access our facilities over the winter. Nothing worse than getting there after a long drive, standing in the cold and finding out that the locks have changed.

The Cluster of AAAP Members by Heather Panek - Membership Secretary

Recently, I was asked about demographic distribution of AAAP members. Obviously, it is centered in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, but what is the distribution within the city and county? And how far outside of our area does our membership reach? To answer this question, I took address information from our membership database and plugged it into a program called “Easy Map Maker”. Click this link to view the output of this program: http://www.easymapmaker.com/map/AAAP-2016 As you can from the initial view, we have a lot of members within the City of Pittsburgh proper (46), followed by Bethel Park and the central North Hills (28 each). Click the “+” button in the upper left to zoom in and out. Zoom out all the way to the U.S. map view and you will see AAAP members as far west as Denver, as far south as central Florida and as far east as the Netherlands in Europe!

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 4 The Guide Star

In years past, AAAP holiday parties included a guest speaker (typically a club member) to make sure the evening was thoroughly enjoyable and informative to the attending members. We dispensed with the speaker several years ago when we decided that attendees should be given the maximum time to socialize, browse the door prizes, go back for seconds and honor the award winners. Once again this format was very successful at the club’s December 10, 2016 Holiday Party at the Buffalo Inn. Perhaps 70 club members were presented with a wonderful selection of foods and beverages (hot and cold) and four tables worth of door prizes, including a

much larger-than-usual selection of astronomical books. Of course, the Holiday Party is the end product of behind-the scenes work on the part of many AAAP members, including officers who made the arrangements for using the Buffalo Inn this year, members who cooked up the fine selection of entrees, and still more members who contributed and staged the door prizes. And let’s not forget those who helped with the post-party cleanup, storage and removal of left-overs, etc. To all these fine people, we extend an affirmative, bona-fide, all-inclusive THANK YOU!

Holiday Party A Spendid Blend of Friends, Awards, Door Prizes and More

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 5 The Guide Star

All things considered, the AAAP should be a small, sleepy astronomy club given the cloud-prone skies of Western PA. Maybe it’s because we have such marginal skies that we augment our star party schedule with so many special programs and events. As had been the trend in previous years, a large segment of the AAAP membership staffed our star parties and special events in 2016 with strong turnouts, even in the face of disagreeable weather. Below is our initial tabulation of AAAP members who helped at the 2016 observatory and off-site star parties, as well as with special events such as Astronomy Weekend and AO Open House.

The intent is to show how many different members helped out, not who tallied the most events. Even if you could only help out one event, we appreciate it just as much as 20 events. This is only an initial tabulation. There are bound to be a few errors, so please contact me (eric.fischer60@yahoo.com) that I can note these in the February Guide Star. This year promises to be another Barn-Burner of star parties and programs (see schedule on page 2). Thank you in advance for helping us keep the AAAP going strong in 2017. Legend: W = Wagman, M = Mingo, OS = Off-Site Star Party, SE = Special Event.

130+ AAAP Members Go the Extra Parsec for 2016 Events

21 Events George Guzik (11 W, 6 OS, 4 SE)

20 Events Mike Christeson (4 W, 13 M, 1 OS, 2 SE)

18 Events Michael Christeson (2 W, 13 M, 1 OS, 2 SE)

17 Events Kathy DeSantis (1 W, 12 M, 2 OS, 2 SE) Bill Hayeslip (14 W, 3 OS) Matt Jones (16 W, 1 OS) Joyce Osborne-Fischer (14 W,1 M, 2 SE) Frank Pastin (10 W, 5 M, 1 OS, 1 SE)

16 Events Mary DeVaughn (10 W, 4 M, 1 OS, 1 SE) John Diller (3 W, 8 M, 4 OS, 1 SE)

15 Events Eric Fischer (10 W, 3 M, 2 SE) Fred Klein (4 W, 3 M, 5 OS, 3 SE)

14 Events John Holtz (10 W, 1 M, 3 SE) Gene Kulakowski (13 M, 1 SE) Tom Reiland (14 W)

12 Events Amanda Myers (6 W, 1 M, 1 OS, 4 SE) Heather Panek (11 M, 1 SE) Becky Valentine (10W, 2 SE) John Wenskovitch, Jr. (12 W) 11 Events Ben Mickail (9 W, 1 OS, 1 SE) Ed Moss (3 W, 7 M, 1 SE)

11 Events (cont’d) Diane Yorkshire (10 W, 1 OS) Bill Yorkshire (10 W, 1 OS)

10 Events Gene Leis (9 M, 1 OS) Dan Spano (10 M)

9 Events Ken Kobus (8 M, 1 SE) Becky Nichols (9 M) Dan Peden (3 W, 4 M, 1 OS, 1 SE) Rowen Poole (9 W)

8 Events Terry Mealy (1 W, 7 M) Mike Meteney (8 M) Mike Miller (7 W, 1 OS) Patrick Riegar (7 W, 1 SE)

7 Events Dick Haddad (7 M) Matt Maskas (7 W) Bill Moutz (2 W, 3 OS, 1 SE) Mike Nizinski (4 W, 3 M) Bill Roemer (7 M) Sally Swieck (7 M)

6 Events Scott Smith (6 W)

5 Events William Conner (5 W) Gayle Riegar (5 W) Kevin Spencer (5 W) Diane Turnshek (1 W, 4 SE) Steve Yount (5 W)

4 Events Nathan Edison (3 W, 1 M) Tim Kelly (4 OS) Lori Seitz (3 W, 1 SE) Glenn Smith (3 M, 1 OS) Paul Stojanovski (4 M)

3 Events Sami Barry (3 M) Daylon Burt (3 M) Michael Eddy (3 W) Brandon MacGregor (2 W, 1 M) Tim Manka (2 W, 1 SE) Seth Mealy (1 W, 2 M) Maureen Moutz (3 OS) Jim Painter (1 W, 1 OS, 1 SE) Joe Strakey (3 M) JoAnne Trees (2 W, 1 SE) Terry Trees (2 W, 1 SE) Brenton Williams (1 W, 1 M, 1 OS) Zach Zelazny (1 W, 1 OS, 1 SE)

2 Events Ryan Bandi (2 M) Sanford Bendix (2 W) Ken Coles (1 M, 1 SE) Kelly Fletcher (2 W) Johnny Julian (1 M, 1 OS) Amanda Lincoln (2 M) Debby Lincoln (2 M) Michael Lincoln (2 M) Mike Lincoln (2 M) Nick Martch (2 M) Beth Martin (1 W, 1 M) Mark McConaughy (2 W) Rich McLaughlin (1 W, 1 SE) Deb Meteney (2 M) Ann Norman (2 M) John O’Reilly (2 M) Glenn Picard (2 W) Chuck Pipich (1 W, 1 M) Laura Quinn (2 M) Dan Reed (2 W) Phyllis Reuss (2 M) Vaughn Riegar (2 W) Sierra Smith (2 M) Flacc Stifel (2 W) Frank Usouski (2 M) Howard Winkelbauer (1 W, 1 M) Jill Zomp (1 W, 1 M)

1 Event Darrien Bandi (1 M) Robert Bandi (1 M) Wade Barbin (1 SE) Carol Christeson (1 W) Lou Coban (1 SE) Alex Deise (1 W) Ray Delien (1 W) Matt Dieterich (1 SE) Monica Fernandez (1 M) Scott Fugger (1 W) Art Glaser (1 SE) Daniel Golembiewski (1 W) Jon Johnson (1 M) Les Johnson (1 SE) Doc Keeley (1 SE) Kevin Kepes (1 SE) Daniel Kline (1 M) Robert Kline (1 M) Susan Kline (1 M) Zakery Koban (1 M) Dakota Majetich (1 M) Leonard Marraccini (1 M) Colleen Martch (1 M) Tom McLaughlin (1 W) Becca Mealy (1 OS) Chris Mullin (1 M) Marianne Mulroy (1 M) Ray Norris (1 M) Cindy Pollack (1 W) Ron Pollack (1 W) Duncan Rieger (1 W) Jean Roemer (1 M) Mike Skowvron (1 M) Bill Snyder (1 SE) Yevgeniy Soroka (I OS) Dave Spencer (1 W) Jim Surman (1 M) Geoffrey Trees (1 SE) Carl Valeri (1 OS) Terry Valeri (1 M)

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 6 The Guide Star

Terry Trees, the AAAP’s Astronomical League Coordinator, made an unofficial announcement at the recent Christmas Party. Beginning sometime in 2017, perhaps as early as January, the A.L. will initiate a new program entitled “Celestial Savings Program”. All A.L. members will be given discounts on purchases when they provide a code number and buy from participating vendors. (It’s not too late to join the Astronomical League, contact Terry for details: treest@comcast.net ) The discounts vary by vendor and by item, but here is what has been arranged so far as shown in the table at the right.

Astronomical League – Celestial Savings Program

https://www.seymoursolar.com/

http://www.telescopeadapters.com/http://www.thousandoaksoptical.com/

http://www.vixenoptics.com

http://www.cameraconcepts.com/

http://gotgrit.com/

http://www.galaxyoptics.com/

http://www.mrstarguy.com/

http://www.oberwerk.com

10%

10%

10% May not be combined with other

discounts/special offers

Some exclusions may

apply

10%Includes sale items

Excludes bulk grit

(50 lb/20 kg boxes)

10% Optical Coating Services

10%

5%On Oberwerk products

Cannot be combined with other

discounts/offers

10%

10%

Seymour Solar435-826-4212

Telescope AdaptersThousand Oaks Optical

928-692-8903Vixen Optics

949-429-6363

Camera Concepts &Telescopes

631-475-1118

Got Grit

Galaxy Optics

Mr. Star Guy949-429-6363

Oberwerk937-640-1040

Astronomics800-422-7876

2.5% - 10%2.5% on most Telescopes,

Mounts, OTAs

5% on most accessories

5% on Astro-Tech Telescopes

10% on Astro-Tech Accessories and Alt Az Mounts

https://www.astronomics.com/

CompanyDiscountOffered

Celestial SavingsCode Vendor URL

Celestial Savings Codes For Participating Vendors

Codes are updated quarterly

Please share the existence of this program with all, but do not share the discount codes with anyone.

NASA Space Place

Big Science in Small Packages About 250 miles overhead, a satellite the size of a loaf of bread flies in orbit. It's one of hundreds of so-called CubeSats - spacecraft that come in relatively inexpensive and compact packages - that have launched over the years. So far, most CubeSats have been commercial satellites, student projects, or technology demonstrations. But this one, dubbed MinXSS (“minks”) is NASA's first CubeSat with a bona fide science mission. Download this month's complete NASA Space Place article here: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/partners

Astronaut Tim Peake on board the International Space Station captured this image of a CubeSat deployment on May 16, 2016. The bottom-most CubeSat is the NASA-funded MinXSS CubeSat, which observes soft X-rays from the sun—such X-rays can disturb the

ionosphere and thereby hamper radio and GPS signals. Image credit: ESA/NASA

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 7 The Guide Star

Although astronomers had searched for moons of Mars for centuries since the invention of the telescope, Phobos and Deimos weren’t discovered until 1877. The search for Martian moons intensified after Saturn’s moon Hyperion was discovered in 1848, because the number of moons for Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn formed a nice 1-X-4-8 geometric sequence. Coincidentally, Jonathan Swift’s 1726 masterpiece Gulliver’s Travels noted two Martian moons more than 100 years before their discovery. Similarly, the French writer Voltaire wrote a short story “Micromégas” in 1752 which predicted two Martian moons. Both moons are named after mythological children of Mars. Phobos is the personification of panic and fear, while Deimos represents terror and dread – both are suitable names for objects that accompany the god of war across the sky. American astronomer Asaph Hall III discovered both moons with a 26-inch refracting telescope (the largest in the world at the time) at the US Naval Observatory in Washington DC. The outer moon Deimos was the first that he found, on the evening of August 12. Deimos is the smaller of the pair, with an average diameter of only 7.8 miles and a diameter of 9 miles across its longest axis. Only two craters of Deimos have been given names, fittingly called Swift and Voltaire. Though it only shines at a dim 12.45 magnitude from Earth, an observer on Mars would see it shining as bright as Venus during its full phase and as bright as Vega in the first- or last-quarter phase. That is, as long as the observer wasn’t standing at either of the poles – Deimos can’t be observed from latitudes greater than 82.7°. Despite its brightness, Deimos gets no larger than 2.5 minutes in diameter, one-twelfth the width of the Moon from Earth. It has an orbital period of 30.4 hours, quite close to the 24.7 hours of a Martian solar day. Perhaps the orbit of Deimos could be tweaked by future colonists to the Martian equivalent of geostationary (areostationary?), allowing it to serve as the upper counterweight of a space elevator. Of course, Phobos would be in the way, but that problem will take care of itself eventually. Hall found Phobos six nights later on August 18th. This moon is substantially larger than Deimos, with an average diameter of 14 miles and a long-axis diameter of 16.9 miles. Unlike Deimos, a number of the features of Phobos have been named, most notably the enormous (relative to the size of Phobos) Stickney crater at the moon’s “nose.” Phobos is somewhat brighter than Deimos, with an apparent magnitude of 11.3 as seen from Earth, but an observer on the surface of Mars would see Phobos shining roughly 20 times brighter than Deimos. Phobos isn’t quite large enough to cause a total solar eclipse on the Martian surface, but does regularly cause annular eclipses. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Phobos is that it only orbits 3700 miles above the Martian surface in a 7.6 hour orbit. This causes two notable effects. First, since the moon is orbiting faster than the planet is rotating, an observer on the surface (below latitude 70.4°) would see the moon rising in the west and setting in the east. Second, tidal forces are causing Phobos to spiral ever closer to Mars, which will eventually (in 30-50 million years) result in its destruction, initially torn apart into a ring but eventually peppering the equatorial region of the planet with a fresh set of craters. The view of Mars during the 2018 opposition should be pretty fantastic, better than what we saw last year. While it’s still a few million years too soon to observe a nice ring around Mars, I hope to be ready with an occulting bar eyepiece to finally spot the moons!

Celestial Chatter

by John Wentskovich The Mysterious Martin Moons During my time in this hobby, I’ve observed our own Moon, the four Galilean moons of Jupiter, seven moons of Saturn, (at least) two of Uranus, and one of Neptune. Yet despite being able to pick out Triton from three billion miles away, I still haven’t seen either of the moons of Mars. That shouldn’t be an overwhelming surprise – Phobos and Deimos are both really small and appear quite close to a bright object. I remember reading about the solar system as a child and learning that both of the moons of Mars were captured asteroids; however, it turns out that this is a disputed hypothesis. While both of the moons are irregularly-shaped (like most asteroids), appear to have a similar composition to many carbonaceous asteroids, and orbit a planet quite close to the asteroid belt, the odds of both moons being captured from solar orbit yet having nearly circular orbits around Mars are effectively zero (especially for the outer Deimos). A number of other origin stories have been hypothesized for these moons. One of the more recent hypotheses says that Mars was once surrounded by a “swarm” of bodies of similar size, and that Phobos and Deimos are just the last two that remain. Another idea is that both moons formed in place from chunks of smaller debris orbiting Mars after the formation of the planet itself, coalescing over the eons. Both of these hypotheses require Mars to be surrounded by a lot of orbital debris, which lends support to the idea that the fewer craters and lower elevation of the northern Martian hemisphere is indicative of a planet-wide crater that threw a lot of material into orbit. A simpler alternative is that Phobos and Deimos formed along with Mars at the same time that the planet itself formed. The only way to truly know for sure is to visit each of the moons, pick up some rocks, and compare their compositions to that of Mars and a number of other asteroids in the main belt. Both Phobos and Deimos have been photographed by a number of flybys, orbiters, and landers, but no lander has successfully landed on the surface of either moon. In 1988, the Soviet Union launched spacecraft Phobos 1 and Phobos 2 to explore Phobos, but both spacecraft failed (the first en route, the second shortly after arriving in Martian orbit). In 2011, Roscosmos launched Fobos-Grunt, a sample return mission destined for Phobos which also failed, this time in Earth orbit. A NASA mission called Aladdin was selected as a finalist for a Discovery-class mission in the late 90s, but the MESSENGER Mercury orbiter eventually won the funding for that selection cycle. A number of future missions are being planned but aren’t guaranteed, including American Phobos Surveyor and OSIRIS-Rex II, Canadian Phobos Reconnaissance and International Mars Exploration (PRIME), European Phootprint, and a second Russian attempt at Fobos-Grunt. Deimos appears to rarely be in the thoughts of mission planners.

(Continued at upper right.)

AAAP Facebook Page To join the astronomy chatter on the club’s Facebook page, click: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amateur-Astronomers-Association-of-Pittsburgh/114188205266611

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 8 The Guide Star

Astro-Atmo Images for January Orion Nebula by Zachary Zelazny: December 19 was the first fairly clear night that I've been able to get out in for a couple of months now. I finally got a chance to attach the DSLR to my OTA and I'm pretty happy with the results, for a first-timer. I used my 5DMKII and a Skywatcher x.85 reducer/flattener on my Orion ED80 (f/7.5, 600mm). It's all stock with the exception of an upgraded 2-speed focuser. Using an intervalometer, I took 84 subs, 32 seconds long, 20 dark frames and 20 bias frames (no flats- still need to experiment on the best way to do flats). That's as much as I could get in before the cold weather killed the camera battery. My mount is my Celestron AVX Advanced using StarSense for alignment. Shot within the city of Pittsburgh, my “backyard”. I used Deep Sky Stacker and Lightroom for processing.

North America and Pelican Nebulae by John Pane: I shot this image on the morning of September 4 from my driveway in Marshall.: https://goo.gl/photos/D2ap1P78YmFmDSTt7 It is a composite of 180 60-second exposures taken with a Canon 7D Mark II camera and 200mm lens at f/3.2 and ISO 1600. Processed in PixInsight and Lightroom.

Wide Field Image of Cygnus by John Pane: I took this wide field shot of Cygnus October 4 from my driveway in Marshall Twp. using a Canon 7D Mark II camera and 50mm f/1.8 lens: https://goo.gl/CwuHgq It is a composite of 162 one-minute exposures at f/3.5 and ISO 1600. This image represents a minor victory in processing for me. The stars don’t dominate as much as they have in many of my prior pictures with rich star fields, making it easier to see light and dark nebulae. (October 8 follow-up: I took Matt Deiterich’s advice to work on this image and came up with this rendition that is much brighter yet the stars do not detract from the light and dark nebulae. I did this in PixInsight. Thanks for pushing me to work more with this. I am amazed with what can be captured with one of Canon’s most inexpensive camera lenses.)

(Continued on page 9.)

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 9 The Guide Star

Lenticular (?) Storm Front Clouds by Diane Yorkshire: I took this photo October 2, 2016 on the PA Turnpike above Route 28 right before we drove into the storm.

Veil Nebula Update by John Pane: As I continue to work on my processing skills, I offer yet another version of the Veil Nebula photo I took in August (see October Guide Star). This time I have been able to “unveil” more of the red H-alpha parts of the nebula. https://goo.gl/photos/k72B8qjgXPnWYu7KA

Meteor Passing in Front of Mingo 24’” by Katie Leis (reported by Gene Leis): My daughter was at Mingo for our Perseids Meteor party and caught the tail of a big one going over the 24-inch. The camera was mounted to the south wall of the 24-inch scope room, pointed up, set to automatically take a picture every minute. I believe the shutter was set to maybe a half second. The scope just happened to be pointed up when it grabbed this shot.

Double Rainbow Supernumerary Arcs by John Pane: A nice explanation of arcs is provided at http://www.atoptics.co.uk/rainbows/supers.htm

Andromeda Galaxy M31 by John Pane: This is a composite of 40 one-minute exposures taken Tuesday night starting at 6:44 pm on Dec. 27 from my driveway in Marshall Township. I had to stop within an hour due to clouds, and also rejected several subframes due to clouds passing through. Equipment and settings: Stellarvue 130mm f/5 refractor, Canon 7Dmk2, ISO 1600. Processed in PixInsight and Lightroom. I set everything up again tonight with some adjustments, hoping to capitalize on a brief clearing at sunset. Unfortunately, the clouds rolled back in too quickly. https://goo.gl/photos/QeKc3gZS6WdDYm7d8

Astro-Atmo Images for January (cont’d)

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 10 The Guide Star

AAAP Resource Guide Club policies, issues, Executive Committee, agenda for business

meetings

Contact President Ed Moss at president@3ap.org

Dues, magazine subscriptions, making financial donations, etc.

Contact Treasurer Mike Meteney at treasurer@3ap.org

Your membership status, Membership Directory

Contact Membership Secretary Heather Panek at

membershipsecretary@3ap.org

IT matters, access to AAAP website and listserver

Contact IT Coordinator Mike Skowvron at michaels@3ap.org

Access/training on Wagman observatory site, building,

telescopes. Star party scheduling

Contact Director Tom Reiland at 412-487-8326

Access/training on Mingo observatory site, building. Star

party and planetarium scheduling Contact Director Becky Nichols at

724-872-8992

Need Mingo Observatory telescope help?

Contact Help Facilitator Gene Leis at 412-310-2504

Mingo Observatory loaner telescope: 8” Orion Dobsonian

Contact Director Becky Nichols at 724-872-8992

Business Meeting Guest Speakers, Presentations

Contact Vice President Kathy DeSantis at

vicepresident@3ap.org

Submitting Guide Star articles, images,

corrections

Contact Eric Fischer at: eric.fischer69@yahoo.com

Night Sky Network

Contact Kathy DeSantis at desantisk@aol.com

Astronomical League Membership, Events

and Programs

Contact Terry Trees treest@comcast.net

AAAP Merchandise (Calendars, books, etc.)

Contact Merchandise Coordinator Mark Arelt at

diapsida@verizon.net

AAAP 2016-2017 Elected Officers President: Ed Moss, president@3ap.org Vice-President: Kathy DeSantis, vicepresident@3ap.org Treasurer: Mike Meteney, treasurer@3ap.org Corresponding Sec: Lori Seitz, correspondingsecretary@3ap.org, Recording Sec: Kevin Spencer, recordingsecretary@3ap.org Membership Sec: Heather Panek, membershipsecretary@3ap.org Guide Star Editor: Eric Fischer, eric.fischer69@yahoo.com

AAAP Executive Committee Appointees (To be announced.)

Membership Information

AAAP Member Dues: $ 35.00

Family Membership: $ 50.00

Student Membership*: $ 20.00 * K thru 12 and full time college student

Paying Your Dues

1. Make check payable to “AAAP Inc.” 2. Send check to: Mike Meteney, Treasurer 1070 Sugar Run Rd. Venetia, PA 15367-1514

On-Line Membership http://wp.3ap.org/membership-details/

Facility Directors Mingo Creek Park Observatory

Director: Becky Nichols

Associate Director: Gene Kulakowski

Associate Director: Gene Leis

Nicholas E. Wagman Observatory

Director: Tom Reiland

Associate Director: Rowen Poole

Associate Director: Bill Yorkshire

Prepare for the Great Solar Eclipse of 2017

American Astronomical Society Launches Solar Eclipse Website and Mini-Grants Program

News Release Forwarded Courtesy of Pete Zapadka The American Astronomical Society (AAS) has launched a new website, eclipse.aas.org [https://eclipse.aas.org], to help prepare the country for next year’s most anticipated celestial spectacle: the first total eclipse of the Sun to touch the US mainland since 1979 and the first to span the continent since 1918. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the AAS has also unveiled a program of small grants to fund educational activities aimed at engaging the public with the eclipse. (Continued at right.)

On Monday, 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse will darken a roughly 70-mile-wide swath of the US from Oregon (a little after 10 am PDT) to South Carolina (a little before 3 pm EDT). Millions of citizens and visitors will have a chance to see the ethereal solar corona -- the Sun’s wispy outer atmosphere -- and experience “darkness at midday.” Outside this narrow path of totality, all of North America (as well as Greenland, Iceland, Central America, the Caribbean, and parts of northern South America) will have a partial solar eclipse. The event is being called the Great American Eclipse or All-American Eclipse because the Moon’s dark shadow crosses the entire continental US, but touches no other country as it travels 8,600 miles across Earth’s surface. The eclipse presents a unique opportunity to excite people about science and connect them personally to the cosmos. Yet it also presents unique challenges: everyone in the country needs to learn how to view the eclipse safely, and communities along the path of totality need to be ready for an unprecedented influx of visitors.

(Continued on page 12.)

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 11 The Guide Star

January, 2017

SP = Star Party NEWO = Wagman Observatory MCPO = Mingo Observatory MM = Monthly Meeting CSC = Carnegie Science Center AO = Allegheny Observatory

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1

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3 4

5

6 7

Asteroid Ceres discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi (1801)

Quadrantid Meteors

Galileo observes Jupiter’s Moons (1610)

8

9 10

11

12 13

14 AAAP meeting at

CSC (7:30 PM). See front page.

15 16 17

18 19 20

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25 26

27 28

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February Look-Ahead January 2017 Sunrise/Sunset Times (R = Rise, S = Set) Feb. 10: Business Meeting at CSC R: 7:43 AM

S: 5:04 PM 1 R: 7:43 AM

S: 5:05 PM 2 R: 7:43 AM

S: 5:06 PM 3 R: 7:43 AM

S: 5:07 PM 4 R: 7:43 AM

S: 5:08 PM 5 R: 7:43 AM

S: 5:09 PM 6 R: 7:43 AM

S: 5:10 PM 7

R: 7:43 AM S: 5:11 PM

8 R: 7:43 AM S: 5:12 PM

9 R: 7:43 AM S: 5:13 PM

10 R: 7:42 AM S: 5:14 PM

11 R: 7:42 AM S: 5:15 PM

12 R: 7:42 AM S: 5:16 PM

13 R: 7:42 AM S: 5:17 PM

14 R: 7:41 AM S: 5:18 PM

15 R: 7:41 AM S: 5:19 PM

16 R: 7:40 AM S: 5:20 PM

17 R: 7:40 AM S: 5:21 PM

18 R: 7:39 AM S: 5:23 PM

19 R: 7:39 AM S: 5:24 PM

20 R: 7:38 AM S: 5:25 PM

21 R: 7:37 AM S: 5:26 PM

22 R: 7:37 AM S: 5:27 PM

23 R: 7:36 AM S: 5:29 PM

24 R: 7:35 AM S: 5:30 PM

25 R: 7:35 AM S: 5:31 PM

26 R: 7:34 AM S: 5:32 PM

27 R: 7:33 AM S: 5:33 PM

28 R: 7:32 AM S: 5:35 PM

29 R: 7:31 AM S: 5:36 PM

30 R: 7:30 AM S: 5:37 PM

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January 2017 Moonrise/Moonset Times: www.timeanddate.com/moon/usa/pittsburgh

Quoting David Levy…..

“Comets are like cats: They have tails, and they do precisely

what they want.”

January, 2017: Rev. 12.0 Page 12 The Guide Star

Happy New Year From the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh

AAS Preps for 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (Continued from page 10.)

To address these opportunities and challenges, the AAS has established a solar eclipse task force [https://eclipse.aas.org/about-us]. Its co-chairs are Shadia R. Habbal (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy) and Angela Speck (University of Missouri, Columbia). In her quest to unravel the mysteries of the corona, Dr. Habbal has led solar-eclipse expeditions all over the world. Dr. Speck, a leader in astronomy education and outreach, will experience her first total solar eclipse next year without having to leave home, as Columbia sits squarely within the path of totality. Their colleagues on the AAS task force make up a Who’s Who of eclipse experts representing many relevant communities, including amateur and professional astronomers, educators, doctors, journalists, and government officials. Several excellent solar-eclipse websites already exist thanks to the efforts of a handful of individual amateur and professional astronomers as well as NASA. “Rather than ‘reinvent the wheel,’” says Habbal, “eclipse.aas.org offers a modest amount of high-level information to get people started and then provides links to more detailed information on other sites. It’s a curated guide to the best and most reliable resources on solar eclipses in all media.” A total solar eclipse is about as bright as the full Moon and just as safe to look at, but the Sun at any other time, including during a partial eclipse, is dangerously bright and must be viewed through special-purpose safe solar filters. There’s a lot of confusion about this. Accordingly, the AAS task force has taken great care to publish reliable, trustworthy eye-safety information on eclipse.aas.org. The AAS’s eclipse-viewing instructions [https://eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/safe-viewing] have been adopted for use by NASA and endorsed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Academy of Optometry. With funding provided by the NSF, the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force has also issued a call for proposals [https://eclipse.aas.org/grants-program/call-proposals] for $1,000 to $5,000 grants to engage the public via eclipse-related education and outreach activities in venues such as science museums, planetariums, libraries, afterschool programs, and colleges. “Highest priority will be given to programs specifically designed to engage meaningfully with under-represented groups,” says Speck, “who often don’t imagine themselves in science careers or who believe that science is ‘not for them.’” The program is named for Julena Steinheider Duncombe (1911-2003, https://aas.org/obituaries/julena-steinheider-duncombe-1911-2003), an outstanding astronomer and educator who started the US’s first school-lunch program for underprivileged children. For many years she published eclipse predictions for the US Naval Observatory. Several towns in Nebraska where she taught school will be in the path of the Moon’s shadow next August 21st. The deadline for grant applications is 13 January 2017.

“Greeting and Felicitations” to New Members In this chilly time of the year, a warm welcome is extended to these newest members of the AAAP:

Deb Meteney Hank Jaffe Jonathan Doctorick Christopher Abramson

Justin Rubenstein Lisa Abraham Kevin Van Horn

Christina Marino Dan Berty Jared DeCarlo

Classifieds FOR SALE: Zhumell Z10 Dobsonian, excellent condition. Best Offer. Contact Carole Jensen at 814-919-2535 or cjensen@atlanticbb.net

FOR SALE: Robin Casady dual saddle setup and two 2" eyepieces and one 1.25" eyepiece dew heater straps. Dual saddle allows two scopes to point at the same target, perfect for astrophotography and visual work. Plates are Losmandy style. Heater straps are new in the bag. Email me for more info: matt.dieterich@yahoo.com