What's In the Sky - September 2018

September nights are full of wonderful treats for amateur astronomers to enjoy with binoculars and telescopes. See some of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars' top September stargazing suggestions below:

Spiral Galaxies

The fall stargazing season kicks off in September with wonderfully placed spiral galaxies M31 in Andromeda, M33 in Triangulum, and M74 in Pisces. Use a big telescope to see these distant galaxies.

The Northern Milky Way

Early in the month, around 9 PM, the "Summer Triangle" of three bright stars, Vega, Deneb, and Altair, will be nearly overhead. In the northernmost portion of the Summer Triangle, you'll see a bright portion of the northern Milky Way. Point a telescope there, and you'll discover that the fuzzy outlines of the Milky Way will resolve into vast fields of stars to explore.

New Moon

For the best conditions to see the galaxies and clusters described above, plan a stargazing session for the night of September 9th, when the New Moon will provide dark skies. This is the best night of the month to observe the night sky since light from stars and faint deep sky objects won't have to compete with bright moonlight.

Three Globular Star Clusters

Off the western side of the constellation Pegasus, three globular star clusters almost line up in a row from north to south in September skies. These globular clusters are, from north to south, M15 in Pegasus, M2 in Aquarius, and M30 in Capricorn. From a dark sky site, you can easily find all of them in 50mm or larger binoculars.

Planetary Nebulas in the Summer Triangle

Use a star chart and see how many of these planetary nebulae you can find in September: the famous Ring Nebula (M57) in the constellation Lyra; the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) in Vulpecula; and the "Blinking Planetary," NGC 6826 in Cygnus. Not far outside the western boundary of the Summer Triangle is a small but intensely colorful planetary nebula, NGC 6572. All these can be seen in a 6" or larger telescope. Enhance your views of these distant clouds of dust and gas with an Oxygen-III filter.

The Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31) - Imaged by Insight Observatory on ATEO-1

The Galaxy Next Door

In early September, lurking low in the northeast sky is another galaxy, separate from our Milky Way - the Great Andromeda Galaxy (M31). From a very dark area without a lot of light pollution, the core of M31 is visible with the unaided eye as a slightly fuzzy spot in the sky. A pair of 7x50, 9x63 or larger binoculars will give you a much better view, and any telescope will help reveal some of the neighboring galaxy's subtle dust lanes.

Dip into the Whirlpool

If you haven't tracked down "The Whirlpool Galaxy," M51, just off the handle of the easily recognizable Big Dipper asterism, do it now while you still can! It will be too low for most to get a good view after September, and you'll need to wait until late winter or next spring to catch a good view of this truly picturesque galaxy. An 8" or larger telescope will help you see the faint details of M51 more clearly.

A Brilliant Open Star Cluster

Off the western end of the constellation Cassiopeia is the beautiful Open Star Cluster M52. You can find it with 50mm or larger binoculars from a dark sky site, but the view is definitely better in a telescope. With an 8" or larger scope, and with the aid of an Orion UltraBlock or Oxygen-III eyepiece filter, you may even be able to catch views of faint nebulosity surrounding M52.

Don't Miss the Double Cluster

If you enjoyed observing M52, you'll love the popular favorite "Double Cluster in Perseus." Lying between constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus is a bright, fuzzy spot in the Milky Way, and a binocular will reveal two bright open star clusters close to one another. For a real treat, use a telescope equipped with a wide-angle eyepiece to explore these sparkling clusters. In early September, the "Double Cluster" appears low in northeastern skies around 9 PM, but it becomes a real showpiece later in the evening as it climbs higher in the sky.

Planetary Viewing

Viewing planets is always rewarding, and September will provide ample opportunities. Mars and Saturn are still visible until late in the night (early in the morning). Jupiter is still up in the early evenings but will set fairly soon after dark. Go out and enjoy!

A Thinly Veiled Challenge

A challenging object to see in September is the supernova remnant called the Veil Nebula, located in the constellation Cygnus, which is nearly overhead as soon as it gets dark. With the help of a star chart, aim your telescope at the naked-eye star 52 Cygni. One branch of the Veil crosses over this star, and to the east are brighter segments of this roughly circular nebula. While the Veil Nebula can be seen in big binoculars by expert observers under very dark skies, you will likely need at least a 6" aperture telescope and an Orion Oxygen-III eyepiece filter if you are anywhere near city lights.

All objects described above can easily be seen with the suggested equipment from a dark sky site, a viewing location some distance away from city lights where light pollution and bright moonlight does not overpower the stars.

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The Solar System In a Night-Shell

Recently, you may have noticed an extra one or two very bright stars in the sky, just after sunset. That’s because we’re currently experiencing a rather special celestial treat: a relatively rare positioning of all eight planets (and, three minor planets!) into just a bit more than one side of the sky - at nearly the same time! Alignments like this aren’t exactly common, so, go outside and take a look - while it’s still not too late! (This celestial configuration will begin to deteriorate over the coming weeks).

Starting at sunset, in their order of appearance, relative to their apparent distance from the sun, and just to the west of the sun, is Mercury, the first planet out from the sun, which is now so close to our star, from our perspective, that it’s easily lost in the glare and a bit hard on the eyes for that reason, without a telescope, but it’s there -  just about 6 degrees to the southwest, at stellar magnitude +.60.**

Believe it or not, next up - we’re already at the outer reaches of the Solar system - minor, or dwarf planet, Pluto! But that’s because of its position against the sky, in the relative background, as compared to the other, and much closer planets. For now - just know that it’s there, about 15 degrees to the east of Saturn. It bottoms out at a dim +14.4 magnitude, accessible only in a moderate to large-sized telescope.

Next, moving, now, East of the sun is a dwarf planet, Ceres. You’ll need a small telescope to spot it. Ceres was discovered, telescopically, in 1801, and at that time, it was realized that Ceres was much closer to Earth than were the stars - but smaller than any planet; therefore, it was cataloged as an asteroid. And, it kept that label, until relatively recent years when it was re-labeled a minor planet. Under that heading is the sub-heading of, ‘dwarf planet’, and that’s where Ceres currently resides, "taxonomically", anyway. The reasons for the changes to Ceres, 4 Vesta, and Pluto as dwarf planets are entirely logical and valid; you’ll have to take my word for that. You’ll find Ceres if you dare - and, if you have a medium-sized telescope - between the sun and Venus, at a dim, +8.8 magnitude.

Now, on our way to Venus. Venus, the second planet from the sun - is the brightest thing in the sky (sans the moon and sun). Seemingly hanging there, low in the west, Venus shines its stunning, white brilliance down on us - at a staggering magnitude -4.4, and at about 12 degrees east of the sun. If you miss it - well, you’re just not paying attention!

Now - look down at the ground by your feet. There sits Earth, the third planet from the sun. If you were to see yourself standing there, from the perspective of the orbiting, International Space Station, you’d first note that you were standing, nearby some dividing line - the line delineating light from the darkness: the terminator, dividing night from day. You are just about, literally, to enter and cross into, the "Twilight Zone"! (Now, how many people can say that they’ve, knowingly, done that - hmmm?!) And this is a good thing because it represents the progression of time, and the rotation of Earth on its axis and, thereby, rolling you - or, perhaps, dragging you - into the deep, dark night. But this is an even better thing because the passage of the early evening hours will bring, up into the sky, from over the eastern horizon, three of our Solar system's showpieces; Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars.

First, sitting, watchfully - almost “king-like” - and due South, at an elevation of around 30 degrees, is His Deified Majesty, Jove - also known by the Romans, as Jupiter. With just about any pair of binoculars, you’ll get to see four of, giant Jupiter’s, giant moons - Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io - that is, unless one or two of them happen to be in Jupiter’s shadow at the time of your observation. But don’t worry; they don’t stay in the shadow behind the planet long! With a telescope, you may also see some, very pastel, cloud bands, near the planet’s equatorial region. Jupiter is now, the third brightest light, in the sky, at a bright, white-ish, magnitude of -2.70.

Have you ever seen ‘rings’ around any celestial object before?; I mean, for yourself - with your very own eyes?! Probably, you haven’t - so now’s your chance! - that is if you happen to have access to, at least, a small telescope, or high-powered binoculars.

If not, don’t worry about it; you still cannot help but notice Saturn, anyway, because it’s now such a  bright, yellowish-white, at an apparent magnitude of +.70: one of the very brightest lights currently in the sky, best seen around 9:00PM. But in a telescope, you will make out Saturn’s ring system, currently lying at an oblique angle to its plane of rotation, so that they will appear to be, almost, “wide-open” at this time around the planet - and that is a wonderful, and rare thing, indeed; Saturn’s rings go through long cycles of appearing open or closed, from our perspective, about every 27 years! Right now they are “wide-open” - you may never get to see this, again…

After Saturn is another object out there, just worth noting, and going unseen without a telescope: dwarf planet, and former asteroid, 4 Vesta. Its feeble light, just creeps through our atmosphere at a dismal +6.4 magnitude, well beyond the abilities of the average, human eye.

Now, comes Mars. Make sure you identify this small-ish, ruddy world for long-term memory: Mars is closer to Earth than it has been in 157 years! Though the red planet closes in on Earth every two years, due to the proximity of the orbits of both planets, there is another component to the Martian orbits’, slightly elongated shape which brings it even closer, periodically. This happens when the point in its orbit that lies closest to the sun, is in sync with the Earth’s position - and that is right about now!

Mars is currently experiencing one of the relatively rare, long-duration, global sandstorms that it's known for. The raging storm has been going on, for about 3 months now. I saw Mars through the telescope about two weeks ago, at high magnification. Though the planet, normally, has a variety of surface features to offer the observer, in the form of dark grey patches, volcanic calderas, white polar caps, and such, it now presents a uniform, planet-wide rust color, as atmospheric particulates from the dust storm circulate around its small, thin blanket of air. However - Mars is the second brightest thing in the sky, right now, after Venus - looking more like a reddish "blob", hanging in the air, toward the South than it does a star or a planet. There is a distinct perception of a disk to this orb, due to its slightly larger angular size in the sky than that of the other planets and, due to its current proximity to Earth. Mars is now glowing, distinctly reddish, at magnitude -2.6, rising at around 8:30PM and well placed for viewing, high up in the sky, by 11:00PM. It’s worth the view, with or without a telescope or binoculars!

And, nearly last, but not, nearly least - by any stretch - are Uranus and Neptune - the seventh and eighth planets of our Solar system - far beyond the reach of the unaided eye, but within telescopic range. They are nearby each other, well into the small hours, at around 30 degrees and 60 degrees, east, of Mars, and +5.7 and +7.8 magnitudes, respectively.

This leaves our own, familiar moon, Luna, now (at the time of this writing), as a dainty, waxing crescent, sitting just above Venus, but moving progressively toward the east, as the nights of the month wear on. And, there you have It - our entire Solar system, in a “night”-shell (well, you just know I couldn’t resist that one!)

** The system used by astronomers to denote the relative, apparent brightnesses in celestial objects, is the Stellar Magnitude Scale. Beginning at 0, the scale uses both positive and negative numbers: those in the minus range, are brighter than those in the plus range. Though it's called the ‘stellar’ magnitude scale, it is used to mark the brightnesses of all celestial objects; stars, planets, comets, and asteroids included. On that note, the consistently, brightest point of light that can be seen from the Earth, is the star, Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major (the 'Big Dog'). It is given the negative magnitude number, -1.4. The planet Venus, currently, is at magnitude -4.3 - several times brighter than Sirius - but Venus’ albedo varies over time, and,  although Venus is the brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon - it is a planet.  On the plus side of the scale, the human eye can see stars down to about, a fairly dim, magnitude +6, on a very dark, clear night. And so, the answer to the oft-asked question: “What is the brightest star in the night sky?”, is, technically, the star Sirius, at magnitude -1.4.

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2018 Mars Opposition

Like all the planets in our solar system, Earth and Mars orbit the sun. But Earth is closer to the sun and therefore races along its orbit more quickly. Earth makes two trips around the sun in about the same amount of time that Mars takes to make one trip. So sometimes the two planets are on opposite sides of the sun, very far apart, and other times, Earth catches up with its neighbor and passes relatively close to it.

During opposition, Mars and the sun are on directly opposite sides of Earth. From our perspective on our spinning world, Mars rises in the east just as the sun sets in the west. Then, after staying up in the sky the entire night, Mars sets in the west just as the sun rises in the east. Since Mars and the Sun appear on opposite sides of the sky, we say that Mars is in "opposition." If Earth and Mars followed perfectly circular orbits, the opposition would be as close as the two planets could get.

Artist's concept of Mars Opposition on December 24, 2007. The distances between the sun, the planets, and the distant nebula are not to scale. Image credit: NASA.

Of course, nothing about motion in space is quite that simple! Our orbits are actually elliptical (oval-shaped), and we travel a little closer to the sun at one end of our orbits than at the other end.

Mars oppositions happen about every 26 months. Every 15 or 17 years, opposition occurs within a few weeks of Mars' perihelion (the point in its orbit when it is closest to the sun). This year, Mars opposition occurs on July 27, 2018.

An opposition can occur anywhere along Mars' orbit. When it happens while the red planet is closest to the sun (called "perihelic opposition"), Mars is particularly close to Earth. If Earth and Mars both had perfectly stable orbits, then each perihelic opposition would bring the two planets as close as they could be. That's almost the way it is.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this striking image of Mars during the 2016 opposition and an illustration of the relative 'tilt' in the orbits of Earth and Mars. Image credits: NASA.

But once again, nature throws in a few complications. Gravitational tugging by the other planets constantly changes the shape of our orbits a little bit. Giant Jupiter especially influences the orbit of Mars. Also, the orbits of Earth and Mars don't lie in quite the same plane. The paths the planets take around the sun are slightly tilted with respect to each other.

So, with all these added factors, some perihelic oppositions bring us closer together than others. The 2003 opposition was the closest approach in almost 60,000 years!

Mars's orbit is more elliptical than Earth's, so the difference between perihelion and aphelion is greater. Over the past centuries, Mars' orbit has been getting more and more elongated, carrying the planet even nearer to the sun at perihelion and even farther away at aphelion. So future perihelic oppositions will bring Earth and Mars even closer. But we'll still have bragging rights for a while. Our 2003 record will stand until August 28, 2287!

Article Source: Mars in Our Night Sky - Mars Opposition

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Explore the Night Sky without a Telescope

You don’t need a telescope to see a lot of wonderful things in the night sky. For example five of the planets are often readily visible to the naked eye. There are lots of amazing things you can see and this guide will help you find them.

To maximize what you can see in the night sky there are a few things you should do as preparation. Of course, the first thing you need is a clear and cloudless night. And this includes the moon. You should try to do your observing on a night with no moon or at the least the smallest sliver of moon possible. Its brightness will wash out many of the dimmest and most dramatic objects in the sky. Second, you should consider your comfort. Make sure you dress appropriately for the weather and bring extra layers of clothing if you are observing during cold months. The temperature late in the evening can be substantially lower than it is during the day and because observing the sky means not moving around much you will be even colder. Bring along any items to help your comfort like a lawn chair or a reclining lawn chair so you can look up without craning your neck.

Stargazing and Meteor Shower Observing - Image by NASA.

Find yourself a spot to observe from that is as dark as possible. This means getting away from street lights, city lights, house lights, or any other type of light source. Ideally, you should drive away from any city that is nearby. If this is not possible then try to find the darkest spot you can. Man-made Light sources have an effect on the night sky by washing out the dimmer objects and they have an effect on your eyes by causing your pupils to close. This will decrease your ability to see dimmer objects.

Beginning your observation is the most critical time for one big reason and this is why a lot of people don’t realize how rich the night sky really is. It takes your eyes up to half an hour to fully adjust to the darkness outside. If you go outside and immediately begin looking for an object in the sky you may be disappointed but this is because your eyes haven’t adjusted yet! Give it some time and let your eyes fully adjust and you will be amazed at how many more things you see in just a half-hour time.

Equipment and stuff to bring along

Get some star maps, planet charts, and reference materials, and bring them right outside with you. They will help you to find various objects. But it will be dark outside so you won’t be able to read them! And if you turn on some kind of light or flashlight your night vision will be ruined. But there is a way to read your charts and materials without ruining your night vision. Cover your flashlight with some type of red cellophane or tape so it only gives off a dim red glow. The reduction in the light will have less of an effect on your viewing and your eyes are very insensitive to red light so your pupils will not dilate. You can buy flashlights with red covers online, at astronomy and optical shops, or even at military surplus stores.

Suggested Materials List:

•  Lawn Chair or Reclining Chair 
•  Constellation Chart 
•  Planetary Chart 
•  Lunar Chart 
•  Plenty of Warm clothing 
•  Flashlight covered with red cellophane
•  Snacks and hot beverages

Things to See

The first place you can start with is the moon (If it is out). And the best viewing will be when it is only a thin crescent. This is because when it is like this the sun is casting light on it at a very sharp angle and the surface features will cast long shadows which makes them easier to see. With a full or near-full moon, the light hits the surface of the moon directly and casts no shadows.

The Milky Way Galaxy – Our solar system is part of a tremendous spiral galaxy called the Milky Way galaxy. You can see this galaxy as a band of diffuse light that stretches across the sky. It takes dark skies and well-adjusted night vision to see it but it is quite a remarkable sight. Every star and constellation map will show you where the milky way stretches across the sky.

The Constellations – Finding and identifying various constellations can be a lot of fun. Each constellation represents an object, animal, or historical figure; and learning the story behind them can also be a lot of fun. Identifying constellations is also the only way to go deeper and find other objects like planets and comets. They form the background that everything moves within and they give you a frame of reference for finding these objects. Identifying constellations should be part of every stargazing event you undertake.

The Planets – The planets move around in the sky quite a bit and sometimes they are too close to the position of the sun which means they are not visible at night but five of the planets when in the right position are easily visible to the naked eye. These are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. And oftentimes these planets are the brightest objects in the sky. Refer to your planet charts to find their current locations of them. One rule of thumb for figuring out whether something is a star or a planet is whether or not it twinkles. Stars twinkle and planets do not. So if you locate an object that you believe is a planet you can watch it for several minutes to see if it twinkles like other stars. If it does not then chances are good you have found a planet.

Colorful Stars – Stars are not all white. This is a common misunderstanding that people have. Stars come in a wide variety of brilliant colors and some of the more notable ones are the bright red Betelgeuse in Orion, the bright light-blue Rigel in Orion, the yellowish-white Altair in Aquila, and the bright red Antares in Scorpio. Finding and identifying these colorful stars can be a lot of fun. It can also be quite easy because some of the brightest stars in the sky are also very colorful from white to blue and red.

Some Objects of Particular Note

There are two very unique objects that are very easily seen with the naked eye on a dark night in the northern hemisphere. These are the Andromeda galaxy and the Hercules Nebula. They appear as tiny wisps of white smoke that look like small cotton balls. Once you start getting familiar with the constellations you should look for these two objects. The Andromeda galaxy is in the constellation Andromeda and the Hercules nebula is in the constellation Hercules.

Periodic and Occasional Objects

The night sky is filled with a lot of objects that come and go in different patterns. Some of them, like meteor showers, occur at around the same time every year. This is when the Earth passes through clouds of space debris. You can check a chart of meteor showers and plan an evening or several evening watching them. Some meteor showers can give as many as 120 falling stars every hour.

Comets – These can be difficult to view because they are often very dim. But occasionally a comet will become very bright and be easily visible to the naked eye.

The night sky is more than just the moon and the stars. It is an extraordinarily rich environment with objects of all kinds. And given a little bit of time and dark skies, you will discover and explore many of the beautiful secrets that it holds, and you can do it without a telescope. All you need is dark skies, a few charts, and a little bit of time.

Will Kalif

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

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LHS 1140b - A Super-Earth in the Habitable Zone

We're getting our first good characterizations of terrestrial exoplanets lately. First, news broke of a possible planet around the nearest star to our Sun, Proxima Centauri. Then, we explored TRAPPIST-1, a mini solar system just 39 light-years away. Now, researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced the discovery today of a possible super-Earth orbiting an M-dwarf star just 34 light-years away. The discovery was published in the April 20th Nature.

An artist’s impression of exoplanet LHS 1140 orbiting a red dwarf star 41 light-years distant. ESO/SpaceEngine.org.

LHS 1140b is a tantalizing find. It is a cool, red host, LHS 1140, contains only 15% of the mass of our Sun and is at least 5 billion years old. The planet passes in front of its star once every 15 days as seen from Earth. Jason Dittman (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and the team combined discovery data from the MEarth project with radial-velocity measurements from the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) survey.

The high-resolution follow-up observations enabled researchers to calculate the planet's orbital parameters and physical characteristics to a high degree of precision: The super-Earth, containing between 4.8 and 8.5 times Earth's mass, orbits just 0.09 astronomical units from its primary (almost a quarter of the average distance between the Sun and Mercury). The planet spans around 1.4 Earths. Combine its mass and radius and you'll calculate an incredibly dense 12.5 g/cm3 — the planet has more than twice Earth's average density!

Though red dwarfs are often tempestuous flare stars — a strike against life on any orbiting worlds — they're also long-lived and miserly in terms of energy output. These cool stars are expected to shine for trillions of years, longer than the present age of the Universe. That's a plus in that it gives ample time to get the engine of evolution going.

Read Full Source Article at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/welcome-lhs-1140b-super-earth-habitable-zone/

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Pan: Saturn’s Ravioli-Shaped Moon

The universe served up a piece of Astro-pareidolia last week when humanity got its first close-up look at Saturn's tiny moon Pan. Appropriately named after the half-man, half-goat satyr from Greek mythology, Pan is nestled in the Encke (pronounced EN-key) Gap within Saturn's A ring. NASA's Cassini spacecraft flew just 15,268 miles past the moonlet (closer than the distance to the geosynchronous satellites from Earth) on March 7th.

Cassini's close-up of Saturn's moon Pan -  NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

'Nearing its end, Cassini delights again,” says Carolyn Porco (Space Science Institute) on Twitter. “Here is 35-km Pan in mind-blowing detail with its unmistakable accretionary equatorial bulge.”

Mark Showalter (then at Stanford University) discovered Pan on July 16, 1990. Showalter and colleagues first inferred the tiny moon's presence by the waves it kicked up in the wake of its passage through the Encke Gap. After accurately predicting the moon's orbit, Pan was found in 11 images taken by Voyager 2 during its August 1981 flyby.

The moon orbits Saturn every 13.8 hours from an average distance of 134,000 kilometers (80,150 miles), equivalent to about one-third the Earth-Moon distance, and just 73,000 miles from the Saturnian cloud tops), the 34x31x21-kilometer moon carves out the Encke Gap in Saturn's outermost bright A Ring. On Earth, Pan would just barely fit inside Tampa Bay. The moon has an albedo (or reflectance) of 50%, equivalent to dirty snow.

Unlike the narrow 35-kilometer-wide Keeler gap occupied by the tiny moonlet Daphnis, the wider 325-kilometer Encke Gap also hosts a tenuous ringlet that Pan braids and modifies. While the Daphnis is slightly inclined to the plane of Saturn's rings by 0.0036 degrees and kicks up vertical waves in its wake, the orbit of Pan is nearly flat with an inclination of only 0.0001 degrees, and it induces spiral density waves in the ring plane.

Read Full Source Article at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/welcome-pan-saturns-ravioli-shaped-moon/

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Don’t Underestimate Tiny Telescopes

In a period of ever-larger observatories, you may imagine that there's no longer a place for small-aperture ground-based telescopes. However, small ground-based telescopes have been in charge of the disclosure and portrayal of around 250 exoplanets so far — and these are the objectives that are particularly valuable for exoplanet science, as they are more effectively followed up than the swoon revelations made by telescopes like Kepler.

The KELT-North telescope in Arizona. 
Courtesy Vanderbilt University.

The Kilogree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) comprises two telescopes — one in Arizona and one in South Africa — that each has a 4.2-centimeter opening. Altogether, KELT watches around 70% of the whole sky hunting down planets traveling brilliant hosts. Furthermore, it's as of later discovered a significant intriguing one: KELT-16b. In a publication led by Thomas Oberst (Westminster College in Pennsylvania), a group of researchers introduces their find.

KELT-16b is what's known as a hot Jupiter. Utilizing the KELT information and follow-up perceptions of 19 travels, Oberst and colleagues assess KELT-16b's sweep at about 1.4 circumstances that of Jupiter and its mass at 2.75 circumstances Jupiter's. Its balance temperature is a burning 2453 K — brought about by the way that it circles so near its host star that it finishes each circle in an unimportant 0.97 days!

This brief period is amazingly irregular: there are just five other known traveling exoplanets with periods shorter than a day. KELT-16b is circling near its host, making it subject to extraordinary light and solid tidal powers.

In light of KELT-16b's circle, Oberst and colleagues gauge that the planet started a runaway inspiral by the age of 1 billion years. Presently, at ~3.1 billion years of age, KELT-16b is circling at a sweep of a little more than 3 stellar radii over its host's surface. The creators appraise that KELT-16b's proceeding with internal winding could end in the planet's annihilation by tidal powers in as meager as an additional 550,000 years.

Artist’s impression of a transiting hot-Jupiter planet. The recently discovered KELT-16b orbits so close to its host that it zips around it in less than a day! 
NASA/ESA/G. Bacon (STScI)

This exceptionally lighted world makes for a particularly valuable focus because of its brief period (which implies we can watch many travels) and brilliant host (which implies follow-up perceptions are more advantageous and have a vast flag-to-clamor proportion). Specifically, with follow-up perceptions of KELT-16b from missions like Hubble, Spitzer, and in the end the James Webb Space Telescope, we can take in more about open inquiries in exoplanet air forms — like how warmth is exchanged vertically through the air, or what occurs at the day-to-night eliminator line on such a profoundly lighted planet.

What's more, by studying KELT-16b, we can want to increase our general knowledge of hot Jupiter arrangement and movement. The simplicity of watching this planet and the abundance of data it can give will probably make it one of the top considered exoplanets. KELT-16b has a ton to show us before it's torn and separated!

Article Source: Thomas E. Oberst et al 2017 AJ 153 97. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/153/3/97

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Searching for Planets in the Alpha Centauri System

ESO has signed an agreement with the Breakthrough Initiatives to adapt the Very Large Telescope instrumentation in Chile to conduct a search for planets in the nearby star system Alpha Centauri. Such planets could be the targets for an eventual launch of miniature space probes by the Breakthrough Starshot initiative.

The image below shows the closest stellar system to the Sun, the bright double star Alpha Centauri AB and its distant and faint companion Proxima Centauri. In late 2016 ESO signed an agreement with the Breakthrough Initiatives to adapt the VLT instrumentation to conduct a search for planets in the Alpha Centauri system. Such planets could be the targets for an eventual launch of miniature space probes by the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative.

Credit: ESO/B. Tafreshi (twanight.org)/Digitized Sky Survey 2 
Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin/Mahdi Zamani.

ESO, represented by the Director-General, Tim de Zeeuw, has signed an agreement with the Breakthrough Initiatives, represented by Pete Worden, Chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and Executive Director of the Breakthrough Initiatives. The agreement provides funds for the VISIR (VLT Imager and Spectrometer for mid-Infrared) instrument, mounted at ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) to be modified in order to greatly enhance its ability to search for potentially habitable planets around Alpha Centauri, the closest stellar system to the Earth. The agreement also provides for telescope time to allow a careful search program to be conducted in 2019.

The discovery in 2016 of a planet, Proxima b, around Proxima Centauri, the third and faintest star of the Alpha Centauri system, adds even further impetus to this search.

Knowing where the nearest exoplanets are is of paramount interest for Breakthrough Starshot, the research, and engineering program launched in April 2016, which aims to demonstrate proof of concept for ultra-fast light-driven "nano craft," laying the foundation for the first launch to Alpha Centauri within a generation.

Source: European Southern Observatory

Read the full article at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170112130736.htm

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Digital Shoebox

A few weeks ago, I found the equivalent of a shoebox full of old snapshots. As I was looking through an old backup of a filesystem from a computer I had long since parted with, I ran across a directory, simply titled "CCD", circa 2003. With a quick glance at the files of this lost directory, I immediately knew what I had: these files, all FITS and JPEG format, were astronomical image files, a reminder from the not-so-distant past when we first discovered the excitement of capturing night sky wonders with a CCD camera.

Mars - August 2003 - Image by Muir Evenden.

Before the CCD revolution, Mike Petrasko and I tried our hand at imaging using traditional photographic processes by taking images on film, mostly wide-field views of the Milky Way, Orion, and other areas that fascinated us. Our friend and colleague Harry Hammond took this to the next level with prime focus photography, a much more demanding endeavor (please refer to Harry's article Old Dogs and New Tricks). When CCDs became available (and more affordable!) to the amateur market, it was something we embraced wholeheartedly: there was a way to get "prime-focus" quality images but without the long hours spent in front of a guiding eyepiece. Once I had a job well paying enough to afford the equipment, you can bet I did not hesitate to start the adventure, starting with a Celestron 8 on a Losmandy G11 mount and a kit camera CCD and quickly evolving into a Celestron 14 on a Software Bisque Paramount and an Apogee camera.

NGC 6946 - August 2003 - Image by Muir Evenden

So what I had here in our digital shoebox was a moment in time when we were getting our feet wet and honing our chops in the realm of CCDs and computers, and looking at these images now I think we can be rightly proud of our efforts. Of course, compared to the achievements of what amateurs have been able to accomplish with the equipment available today, our images may seem downright pedestrian, but that's OK, as we don't expect to win a contest with these pictures but simply revel in the pleasure of knowing that we captured this light from galaxies, nebulae, and planets, socking it away for future enjoyment. And what do you know, the future just arrived!

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Astronomy And Neighbours In Space

So often during the night of the summer months in this beautiful part of Spain, the southeast's night sky is so clear and awesome that when you arrive home in the dark, you feel the need, or I certainly do, to observe the sky to try and understand the grandiose, limitless wonder of the universe, or simply to just enjoy the constellations and distant planets and stars.

An app on my phone can tell me all sorts of great, interesting information (not sure how the astronomers arrived at such detailed distances and composition) about the stars in the night sky. But I use it in those months when the temperatures at night, in our terraces, make it so comfortable to wonder in awe at the vastness of space. I need to invest in a powerful telescope to appreciate the night sky with more accuracy and clarity.

Solar Walk App - Saturn and its Moons.

It has been 3 years since I had that kind of thought after arriving here to retire, and I know that eventually, I will treat myself to such a device. But so many people also share this kind of fascination for our night sky, especially scientists who are constantly studying the Universe, searching for new planets, galaxies, or solar systems where there could be inhabited planets similar to our own.

My phone app says there are many moons orbiting our solar system's nine planets. Their names? I don't know; there could be over 150 of them! Some astronomers speak of 170 or more, maybe too many names to learn... Now they also talk in terms of Pluto's downgrading as a planet. Is it not out there now? I believe it is, but if it is no longer a planet, what has it become?

Winter Constellations - Image by AstronomyTrek.com.

So what do we have out there? Constellations, solar systems, galaxies, planets, asteroids, stars of all sizes and distances from our planet, dwarf planets, and all kinds of floating bodies in the sky: celestial bodies around our sun and many other stars. And astronomers say the Universe is growing constantly, towards where? How can there be so much space out there? They know there is, but how is it growing? They say they are discovering new solar systems all the time, and in them, more and more planets.

Can we say it is unimaginable that we are alone in outer space? Clearly, they think otherwise, or else they would not be searching all the time for other inhabited planets out there. As a matter of fact, only a few months ago, NASA issued the news of several planets that could possibly have a similar life as our own planet. In that vastness of space, one day, a few planets will be discovered with a life of some sort or another, and perhaps with beings possessing superior technology than our own.

Maybe they are visiting us right now or have done so in the past and found us so primitive that they did not bother to say hello, and left us behind in our survival. But now we are traveling to other planets or will be soon, and already touched our moon, so we are advancing all the time in our search for better space fuels to propel us through to other planets and eventually to other galaxies, perhaps.

Science fiction now has to look for much further horizons, and I am sure it is all the time because so many of the so-called science fiction technology gadgets are already in our hands, in everyday use by almost everyone.

If our planet were formed as a result of a giant explosion of gas and matter that made our star the sun and its other neighboring planets around it, how many other planets can exist out there formed from the continuous explosions of gas and clouds of matter that perhaps one day will be called our space neighbors? Even if they happen to be hundreds of light-years away from us?

You pay a visit to your neighbors frequently or from time to time, but how can we visit any of our neighbors in outer space? Well, scientists and astronomers are busy on that front every day, and they do not stop amazing us with their findings and wisdom.

These ideas and thoughts during the summer are present quite often in my mind because of the sheer beauty of the sky at night in this part of the world. Writing this article to publish it also like a post on my site http://www.SweetHolidayHomes.com may give you the desire to visit this part of the world next time you feel you need a vacation to enjoy this part of the world.

German Calvo

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Astronomy-And-Neighbours-In-Space&id=9239432

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Twinkle, Twinkle, Little, Red Star

This is a COMSIM of the recently discovered planetary system, Gliese (GLEE-ZUH) 876, a red, type-M star with some similarities to the Sun (type-G), 15 light-years away, with three planets in orbit around it. It was discovered by the Kepler Mission Space Telescope.

As can be seen, planets do not necessarily orbit their host stars in an orbital plane, perpendicular to the star's axis of rotation, in the way that the planets of our solar system do. This came as a bit of a surprise to me when I found out that a high percentage of exo-planetary systems actually exhibited this arrangement (I don't have that figure with me at the moment).

Illustration of the Gliese 876 Planetary System.

The green disk represents the extent of the habitable zone (popularly referred to as the 'Goldilocks Zone'), of Gliese 876, in which, two planets, "876 b" and "876 d", partially occupied, in eccentric orbits, relative to each other. The zone is shown at an angle perpendicular to Gliese 876's axis of rotation.

The parent (host) star of this system, Gliese 876, is an 11th-magnitude star. This means that, although the system is 87,000,000,000,000 (87 trillion) miles away - it can actually be seen in a medium-sized (6" aperture) telescope. Take a look!

Dale Alan Bryant
Senior Contributing Science Writer

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Remembering Clyde Tombaugh While New Horizons Visits Pluto

On the afternoon of July 14, 2015, just hours after the first images from the New Horizons spacecraft were transmitted back to earth from its close flyby encounter with Pluto, a fond memory came back to me as I stared at the images of the dwarf planet. This memory I am writing about is the day I had the honor of meeting Pluto's discoverer, Clyde W. Tombaugh. The event took place on a crisp fall day back in the early fall of 1987. Mr. Tombaugh was the keynote speaker for AstroAssembly, an astronomy convention put on annually by the astronomical organization known as Skyscrapers, Inc. based in Scituate, Rhode Island.

Dale Bryant, Clyde Tombaugh, and Michael Petrasko 
at AstroAssembly - 1987

I was attending the convention with my good friend and current Insight Observatory Science Writer, Dale Bryant, as well as other members of the Cape Cod Astronomical Society. Dale and I attended nearly all of the morning and afternoon talks given by both professional and amateur astronomers. After the final talk was given before the dinner break, we ventured out of the society's clubhouse and suddenly found ourselves within feet of Mr. Tombaugh and his wife, Patricia. I recognized him immediately from pictures of the planet discoverer in astronomy books and magazines I had read growing up. I recall my reaction was that I was simply stunned accompanied by excitement. Not wanting to miss an opportunity for a picture, I asked Mr. Tombaugh if we could have a photo taken with him. He graciously replied, "That would be fine". At that moment a fellow member of our astronomical society, Rich Zitola, took a picture of Dale and me with the famous astronomer. For many years an enlargement of this picture has been a permanent fixture on my fire mantle.

As I studied the detailed images of Pluto on my computer while this wonderful memory came back to me, I couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy. I was thinking how much I wish Clyde was still around to experience these spectacular images with us of the planet he spent years looking for and finally discovered on February 18, 1930. It is only fitting that a small portion of his ashes was placed aboard the New Horizons spacecraft with the inscription on the container "Interned herein are remains of American Clyde W. Tombaugh, discoverer of Pluto and the solar system's 'third zone'.

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Pluto's Craters from New Horizons

I processed this image to emphasize, that (contrary to popular belief), there actually ARE craters on Pluto! Apparently, there is some geological activity going on at the surface involving ice - and, possibly, some degree of erosion.

It is my opinion that, since Pluto wasn't one of the original planets of the solar system during its formation but, rather, was gravitationally captured at some point afterward, (evidenced by its highly inclined orbital plane), it didn't experience the early period of bombardment by rogue asteroids and other debris (remnants of the solar system's formation), that the terrestrial planets did, and as our moon's surface reveals. Earth suffered as much of the bombardment as did the moon, but, due to atmospheric and geologic erosion, much of the impact evidence has disappeared over the eons since, whereas the moon, being nearly geologically inactive and possessing no significant atmosphere, has preserved its geologic past.

New Horizons Image of Pluto in False Color.

If Pluto was present during part of the bombardment period, it, too, may have suffered impacts, but, like Earth, much of that evidence has been eroded away, hence, the scarcity of impact craters at its surface.

Dale Alan Bryant
Senior Contributing Science Writer

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Field of Planetary Dreams

On the evening of May 29, 2015, the Insight Observatory and Cotuit Library staff had the pleasure of hosting a planet observing session opened to the public in Cotuit, MA, a village of the town of Barnstable located on Cape Cod. The event was attended by around 20 people of all different ages and as young as 3 years old. These folks were eager to get their first telescopic view of the planets Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn as well as the gibbous Moon. 

The youngest attendee got her first

look at the Moon through a telescope.

Several telescopes that were provided by the Cotuit Library and Insight Observatory were set up just behind the pitcher's mound at Lowell Park, the baseball field that is the home of the Cotuit Kettleers. The Kettleers baseball organization was very generous to allow this observing session to take place on their home field. Due to the phase of the moon almost being full, the observing session was focused on observing the planets that were visible and the moon itself.

The first target of the evening was the planet Venus which was starting to dip down towards the west just after twilight. Insight staff member, Harry Hammond was manning the library's 8" Dobsonian telescope (which is available for checkout for those who have a Cotuit Library card) and I had the control of Insight Observatory's 10" Dobsonian telescope. When our guests were viewing the planet, they would shout out with tones of astonishment "It looks like it has a phase like "the moon". We only see a little over half of it".

We then moved on to Jupiter, about 20 degrees east of Venus. I figured that the excitement of seeing 4 of the giant planet's moons was going to be the highlight of viewing this planet, however, it was the equatorial cloud belts that the observers could see on the planet's disk that amazed them most.

Then there was the bright gibbous moon farther east from Jupiter that was waiting to be viewed by everyone. The "Wow Factor" here was wonderful! The observers could not believe the detail they were seeing on the lunar surface. Two of the Moon's most prominent craters, Copernicus and Clavius stood out very prominently.

Now for the grand finale, Saturn had just risen above the trees toward the east, so we guided both telescopes toward the ringed planet and because Saturn had recently reached opposition, the view was spectacular with Cassini's division obviously visible separating the rings. One observer said, "I thought I would never see the rings of Saturn in my lifetime, thank you!"

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Students Observe Venus, Jupiter and the Moon

The rewards of witnessing students acquire their first visual views and photographic images of Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon are absolutely priceless. On the evening of Tuesday, April 28th, 2105, at 7:30pm EDT, 10 students from the Astronomy Club at the Sacred Heart School in Kingston, MA, gathered at the Kohout-Dingley Observatory located on the school's campus grounds. The goal for the evening was to observe and learn a little about Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon through the observatory's 11" telescope with direction from staff members from Insight Observatory.

Students Prepare to Observe at the Observatory.

Shortly after the sunset and the observatory dome was opened up with the telescope ready to go, a few students started to trickle in along with the school's longtime science teacher and astronomy club advisor, Joe Masi. As twilight began, we pointed out Venus, the "Evening Star" as it began to shine bright in the western sky. The 11" telescope was then trained on the inner planet to allow students to get a peek. Most of the observers reacted by stating, "I can see a phase... It looks like a gibbous moon like tonight’s moon phase."

Sacred Heart Senior, Cam K. Photographs the Moon.

After all the attending students got their first look at Venus through a telescope, we then slewed to the bright-gaseous planet, Jupiter. The seeing was fantastic as usual during and just after twilight. The North and South Equatorial Belts were very apparent. There were also four of Jupiter's moons visible in the field of view. I had every student sit comfortably in the observing chair to allow them to take their time viewing the solar system's largest planet. After they focused the telescope to best suit their view, just about every one of them responded "Wow! That is so amazing! I can see the moons and belts... The belts are a reddish color".

The Moon Featuring the Crater Copernicus Imaged by
 Sacred Heart Student, Cam. K. w/ his DSLR Camera.

Last but not least in any way for sure, was our last target and Grande finally for the evening... The Moon is Earth's nearest neighbor. The phase was a waxing gibbous that provided an excellent view of the popular crater, Copernicus. The shadows observed within the craters and mountain ranges of the moon made the viewing that much more spectacular. One student attending, Cam K., brought his DSLR camera with him as he was there to photograph the observatory and its equipment for a school newspaper article. After viewing Jupiter and the Moon, he asked if he could try photographing the objects through the eyepiece. Cam used the method of holding the camera and zooming into the eyepiece with a telephoto lens as well as steadying the camera on a tripod. This method of astrophotography is known as "eyepiece projection".

In most cases, one would get a camera adapter to fasten the camera body to the focuser of the telescope for this method. However, just as an experiment, his very first results were surprisingly good. Cam is now interested in learning more about astrophotography. While cam is an avid photographer, he made a comment while he was photographing Jupiter through the telescope..."This is the farthest object I have ever focused on and photographed."

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Astronomical Sketching

I guess it is valid to say that this post is a follow-up to one of my most recent posts called "Keeping an Observing Log". Recently, I was searching for some good RSS Feed content for our Insight Observatory's blog and stumbled upon a website that is similar to NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day website. The difference is that it's entitled "Astronomy Sketch of the Day" and features astronomical sketches of astronomical objects or phenomena observed in detail submitted by amateur astronomers around the globe. 

Lunar Crater Gassendl Sketched by Achim Rohe.

As I may have mentioned before in one of my previous posts, the art of astronomical imaging today allows observers to acquire fine detail of astronomical objects with minimal effort thanks to remote telescopes that are accessible via the internet. However, there is much to be said about sitting at the eyepiece of a telescope and taking the time to sketch out the detail of an astronomical object. This process forces the observer to perhaps see more detail due to the time it takes to get a good representation of the object on paper.

M42 & M43 Sketched by Jeremy Perez 

As I mentioned in my previous post, the method I used for drawing the planets, galaxies, and nebulae observed through my 4.25" and 6" reflecting telescopes I used to own was using colored or graphite pencils on plain sketch paper. One method that was also popular years ago was using white chalk on black construction paper. However, I never got around to trying that method. After browsing through the astronomical sketches created by observers on the website "Astronomy Sketch of the Day", I have been exposed to a contemporary and interesting way of recording visual observations at the eyepiece of the telescope. It seems the most popular method of astronomical sketching today is utilizing graphite and watercolor pencils on white sketch paper, then scanning the drawing on a personal computer, proceeded by saving the image with reversed values in an imaging program such as Adobe Photoshop. I have included a few examples in this post.

There are many tutorials on various methods of sketching astronomical objects on the internet as well as the book I found entitled "Astronomical Sketching: A Step-by-Step Introduction (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series). Not only is astronomical sketching a good way to learn detailed characteristics of astronomical objects in the world of astronomy education, but it is also a great exercise for enhancing one's artistic skills. However, please keep in mind, it may take patience.

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