Astronomy Wise May Newsletter 2012

7/31/2019 Astronomy Wise May Newsletter 2012

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stronomy Wise

Newsletter

Interview

Dr Karen Masters

Jason Ives Saturn

In The News

Young Astronomer

Titan - A moonwith a difference

Transit of Venus

www.Astronomy-Wise.com

The Night Sky byDerek Shirlaw

May Edition


2/12

Fred Espenak writes:

The global visibility of the 2012 transit is illustrated with the world map.

The entire transit (all four contacts) is visible from northwestern North

America, Hawaii, the western Pacific, northern Asia, Japan, Korea,

eastern China, Philippines, eastern Australia, and New Zealand. The

Sun sets while the transit is still in progress from most of North Amer-

ica, the Caribbean, and northwest South America. Similarly, the transit

is already in progress at sunrise for observers in central Asia, the Middle

East, Europe, and eastern Africa,. No portion of the transit will be visible

from Portugal or southern Spain, western Africa, and the southeastern 2/3 of

South America. Image Credit: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/venus/Map2012-1.GIF

Astronomy Wise

2012 June

5th-6th

Transit of

Venus

Transit of Venus

2012 June 5th-6thTransit of Venus

A rare opportunity will occur starting on Tuesday June 5th where Venus will

appear as a dark disc as it moves between the Earth and the sun. This final stage

can be viewed from the UK in the early hours of Wednesday 6th June.

The transit begins at 23:03 on the 5th and ends

at 05:53 on the 6th. In the UK it can be viewed

as the sun rises on the eastern horizon.

Ref: Green Templeton College, Oxford

Safety: Do not look at the sun directly please

use suitable equipment, for safe viewing check

out your local Astronomy Club for advice.


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Page 2

Above Image

A recent study finds that

the lake known as On-

tario Lacus on Saturn'smoon Titan bears striking

similarity to a salt pan on

Earth known as the Eto-

sha Pan . (Credit: NASA/

JPL-Caltech and NASA/

USGS)

This suggests that On-

tario Lacus, previously

thought to becompletely

filled with liquid hydro-

carbons, could actually

be a depression that

drains and refills from

below, exposing liquid

areas ringed by materials

like saturated sand or

mudflats.

More at Science Daily

www.sciencedaily.com

Cassini Finds Titan Lake

ScienceDaily (Apr. 20,2012) A new studyanalyzing data fromNASA's Cassini space-

craft suggests that thelake, known as OntarioLacus, behaves mostsimilarly to what wecall a salt pan onEarth. A group led byThomas Cornet of theUniversit de Nantes,France, a Cassini asso-ciate, found evidencefor long-standing chan-nels etched into the

lake bed within thesouthern boundary ofthe depression.

Astronomy Wise

This month we have skynotes from Derek Shirlaw.

Derek got a BSc ScienceStudies from University ofStrathclyde . As well asastronomy Derek has astrong passion for scienceand nature. He as workedas a Science Communica-tor, and then Senior Sci-ence Communicator at theinternationally renownedGlasgow Science Centresince the spring of 2006 . Iwould like to thank Derek

for allowing the use of hismaterial. For further infor-mation on Derek Shirlawscience and other stuff ofwonder please visit

www.derekshirlaw.co.uk

The Night Sky by Derek Shirlaw
http://www.sciencedaily.com/http://www.sciencedaily.com/http://www.sciencedaily.com/


4/12

Astronomy Wise

By D Bood

With Saturn now in the evening night sky, it is a delightful object to view with

your telescope.

Saturn with its array of rings and 60 plus moons is a true wonder to behold. There

is one moon of interest which I want to talk about this month, and that is Titan.

What makes it interesting? Well the fact it has an atmosphere. This alien world

which is the second largest moon in our solar system has rivers, lakes and

rainfall. The moon itself is composed of rocky material and water ice, however the

water ice is has hard as the rock itself.

It is possible Titan holds onto its atmosphere because of its location in the solar

system. Its in the cold region where the Gas giants orbit, if it had been closer to

the sun, the chances are the solar winds may have stripped the moon of its

atmosphere. It is thought Mars lost its atmosphere because of its mass, and was

unable to hold onto its atmosphere, due to its gravity and the solar winds.

Titans atmosphere shows similar signs to that of Earth, its atmosphere is said to

be 98.4% nitrogen where on Earth its is 80%. There is a circulation system which

on Earth it is liquid water on Titan it is liquid methane and ethane. Titan and Earth

have weather systems with rainfall, however the rain on Titan is that of Methane

and not Water. The Cassini spacecraft has chronicled changes in season and

cloud formation. The northern hemisphere as found to be wetter then the south-

ern, although the southern has heavier rain storms.

Atmosphere make up

Stratosphere

Nitrogen 98.4%

Methane 1.4%

Other 0.2%

An artist impression of Titans surface


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Page 2

This month we have an

interviewwith DrKaren Masters.

Dr Karen Masters a smallbio.

Dr Masters is a ResearchFellow working at the In-stitute of Cosmology andGravitation, University ofPortsmouth, and that I'mfunded by The Lever-hulme Trust (via an EarlyCareer Fellowship) andthe South East PhysicsNetwork (SEPNet).

Images Credit: Universityof Portsmouth

Dr. Masters kindly agreed to answer some questionsabout herself and about some of the work she carriesout.

Ref: AW = Astronomy Wise KM = DR K Masters

AW: When did you first become interested in Astronomy andScience?

KM: Maths and science were almost from the start my fa-vourite subjects at school, and I first got interested in as-tronomy as a young teenager. I cant date the exactstart of it, but I used to collect newspaper clip-pings of astronomy stories in a scrapbook. Ihave a clear memory of the Hubble Deep Fieldbeing published (1996), and my scepticismover news about the accelerated expansion ofthe Universe (results from 1998 which re-cently won the Nobel Prize). I was also keenon the space program. I wrote to NASA for a

brochure on how to be an astronaut, and I in-sisted we include Cape Canaveral in a family tripto Florida when I was about 15.

Astronomy Wise

AW: family think of your career choice?KM: My mother is a biology teacher, and my father did some training in Engineer-

ing and works as an accountant. Every member of my immediate family has an A-

level qualification in Physics. So I think it wasnt a surprise to them that I would

want to do something scientific, and they were very proud when I was offered a

place to study Physics at Oxford University. However, noone in my family before

me had done a PhD, so I think there was some concern about that particularly

over how I would support myself through it and especially when I announced I

was going to do it in the USA. Its perhaps not widely known that postgraduate

students working towards PhDs can almost always expect some financial support,

either via student fellowships, or by teaching/research assistantships. They may

not be paid well, but its enough for most people to live off, so I was able to be

financially independent from that point, which reassured them. I think theyre

quite proud of my achievements in astronomy (especially they like it when my re-

search appears in the news). However they do still worry (quite reasonably proba-

bly!) about the fact Im still on temporary contracts now 12 years after starting

my PhD, and now with two small children (and a husband) in tow.

AW: What do you find most interesting in your field of work?

KM: Ive always been most fascinated by galaxies. They make absolutely stunning

images, and when you think about what they actually are immense collections

of billions of stars like our Sun I find them even more amazing. I enjoy trying to

figure out how they formed, and I find it fascinating that they can also be used to

help us understand the properties of the Universe as a whole.

AW: What projects are you currently working on?

Cont. Next Page


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Astronomy Wise

Dr Karen Master Interview Cont.

KM: I spend most of my time working on various research projects in which we use

the morphologies from the Galaxy Zoo project as clues to how galaxies form. Most

of my own research time lately has been looking at the impact of bars on disc gal-axies from the Galaxy Zoo 2 data. Im also using information on the atomic hydro-

gen gas content (fuel for future star formation) of the galaxies from a radio survey

called ALFALFA. I also have a PhD student of my own to supervise now, and hes

been using morphologies from Galaxy Zoo: Hubble (where the galaxies are much,

much further away), to look at how bars in disc galaxies change over cosmic time.

And Im a co-author on a lot of other studies using Galaxy Zoo data. Ill read and

offer advice on the papers, and help with understanding the data etc.

AW:What is Galaxy Zoo all about?

KM: Galaxy Zoo was initiated out of a desire to have reliable visual classification of

1 million galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. That was just too many for as-

tronomers to look at themselves, so researchers Kevin Schawinski, Chris Lintott

and Kate Land at Oxford had this idea to make an internet tool and ask members

of the public to help. It turned out much more popular than they ever imagined,

and spawned an entire Zooniverse of projects in all areas of science which invite

participated of citizen scientists. The Zooniverses philosophy is that projects only

work where real science comes out. So each project has a science team focussed

on using the data from the citizen scientists. In Galaxy Zoo weve now published

more than 30 peer reviewed papers, something Im immensely proud to

have helped with. AW: What is the LOFAR project?

KM: LOFAR stands for the LOw Frequency Array. Its a software driven

radio telescope array made up of thousands of simple antennas spread

right across Europe.

Its run by ASTRON in The Netherlands, and the western most anten-

nas in the array are located not far from where Im sitting right now at

the Chilbolton Observatory in Hampshire. LOFAR-UK is a collaboration of

22 universities in the UK, along with the Science and Technologies Research

Council, and the South East Physics Network, which build and runs the collection of

LOFAR antennas (called a the LOFAR UK608 station) in Chilbolton. I work at Ports-

mouth University, which is a member of that collaboration, and due to our prox-imity to Chilbolton, we volunteered to help with the installation of the antennas

(along with Southampton, and Oxford University), which happened in the summer

of 2010. At around the same time I volunteered to be the LOFAR-UK Spokesper-

son, and I run the online presence of LOFAR-UK, and help with media enquiries and

co-ordinating public outreach for LOFAR-UK. Scientifically Im interested in the all-

sky imaging surveys that LOFAR will do. Because the radio array is so vast, LOFAR

images will have resolution almost as good as the Hubble Space Telescope, even

with metre size radio waves! Im excited about what a Galaxy Zoo: LOFAR might

tell us about the shapes of nearby galaxies seen in radio waves (which reveals the

sites of star formation among other things). While most of the antennas are now in

place, LOFAR is predominantly a software/computing telescope. It requires com-plex algorithms running on a supercomputer to process the data from the thou-

sands of antennas and turn them into images. So while data is already being taken


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Page 2Astronomy Wise

for the all-sky survey it

may be some time beforewe see the full results ofwhat LOFAR can do. Icant wait!NS: We've had Hubblewith the amazing tele-scope pictures and we'vehad the large hadron col-lider with the neutrino'snow NOT going fasterthan the speed of light,what is the next BIG

thing that will hit the as-tronomy world?KM: Well I think it mightbe a detection of whatdark matter actually is(or isnt). Theres been alot of tantalizing resultssuggesting a detection ofdark matter might be justaround the corner. And ifit turns out not to bethere, that will be huge

too, because it might just

mean that our model forgravity is broken on thescales of galaxies.Theres a lot of peopleworking on alternativemodels for gravity inPortsmouth which I findfascinating.And FinallyAW: Finally what advicewould you give to some-one leaving school this

year and looking to starta career in Science/Astronomy?

KM: Go for it! A science-based degree will giveyou a fantastic training insceptical thinking andquantitative skills. >>>

Question From Neil Samples Scarborough

>>We live in a datadriven world now, and

astronomy has a longhistory in leading theway dealing with largevolumes of data.

Images Credit: University ofPortsmouth

Useful Links

http://www.galaxyzoo.org/

http://www.lofar.org/

http://icg.port.ac.uk/~mastersk/

Get a degree in a basic science (or Maths) from the best university you can getinto. Do internships in your summer breaks to get experience working in varioustypes of science/astronomy (e.g. industrial firm, research experience in a univer-sity etc.). Then think seriously about doing a PhD. Theres no need to rush into it some of the best PhD students are those whove spent a couple of years workingin the real world or as physics teachers. A PhD is a requirement now for doingprofessional research in astronomy, but there are lots of people working in otherareas of astronomy (such as science communication, telescope operation) who donot have PhDs. If you do decide to go for it, an academic/research science careerwill take a long time to develop. Temporary contracts are now the norm for youngscientists up to 10 years or more after starting their PhDs, with no guarantee of apermanent job at the end of it. But think about the fun youll have along the way!Ive travelled to Chile, Australia, all over the USA (and soon China for the 2012International Astronomical Union Meeting) as part of my job, and Ive got to visitall sorts of fascinating telescopes (and even helped build one). Whatever the fu-ture brings that was all amazing!

Astronomy wise would like to thank Dr Karen Masters for her time, I am sure peo-ple will be inspired by Karens words and for any young budding astronomer it ispossible to follow your dreams. We wish Karen all the success in the future on hercurrent and new projects.


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Saturn by Jason I

Fun Fun Facts

Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system, and more than 750 Earths couldfit inside of it. Saturn is the only planet less dense than water, and it weighs only 95times as much as Earth. This means it would float, if you could find a body of water bigenough. It takes Saturn about 29 years to orbit the Sun, but a little less than 11 hours torotate completely.

During opposition, Saturn lies about 800 million miles (1.3 billion kilometers) from Earth.

From Saturn, the Sun appears 1 percent as bright as it does from Earth. Saturns quickrotation flattens it slightly, Saturns famous rings tilt at an angle of 27.3 with respect toits orbit. They can be as thin as 33 feet (10 meters) thick, and are made almost entirelyof ice. Saturn is host to a variety of famous moons, including the Earth-like moon Ti-tan, the Death Star moon Mimas, the erupting moon Enceladus, and the two-facedmoon Iapetus. Saturns odd weather systems have created an unusually regular hexa-gon at the north pole, one of the most curious features in the solar system.

Facts

Saturn has been known since prehistoric times, Galileo was the

first to observe it with a telescope in 1610, he noted its odd ap-pearance but was confused by it


9/12

es

Saturn dazzles all night long, may skies feature the ringed world and itsmany moons. Saturn peaks this month when it lies opposite the Sun in oursky and shines brightly in central Virgo, Saturn's rings are now wider thanthey've been since 2007, giving astronomers great views through telescopesof all sizes. The planet rises in the east at sunset and is easily noticeablewithin the constellation of Virgo as the only starlike object not twinkling inthe constellation, And will continue to be visible until sunrise. As every op-position occurs when the Earth lies closest to Saturn, the planet appearsbigger and brighter than at other times. Looking at Saturn through a tele-

scope never disappoints but itll be especially stunning this month as Theplanets disk will appear noticeably flattened due to the gas giants speedyrotation. Be sure to check the world for any storm systems last year ob-servers spotted a distinct white spot that grew more elongated as timepassed and Saturns unique ring system will tip about 14 to our line ofsight, allowing for a great view of its fine details, the-rings alone will makeyou glad you set up your telescope. Around the middle of the month therings will span more than double the width of the planets disk. Although it

will share the celestial spotlight with Mars and Venus throughout the night,spotting Saturn in Virgo should be no trouble.

The best views will occur around 1 in the morning when the planet hitsmaximum altitude, due south and about halfway to the zenith.Its disk andrings should show up clearly through even the smallest telescopes. Observ-ers will require slightly larger scopes to spot another part of the saturniansystem: its variety of moons. The biggest and brightest is Titan, which or-bits Saturn once every 16 days. With a 4-inch scope or better, Tethys,Dione, and Rhea will show up near the ringed world, all within Titans orbit.And an 8-inch or larger scope will reveal Enceladus, which stays near therings outer edges. Whether you want to look at a gas giant, its rings, or itsmoons in detail, Saturns got it covered this month, make sure you dontmiss it. If anyone has any difficulties in locating the planet or the virgo con-stellation.

Please don't hesitate to contact us at astronomy wise we will quick have you

out and about observing this fantastic celestial giant and its partners.

Clear skies to you all, Jason Ives

Fun Fun Facts


10/12


11/12

Page 2Astronomy Wise

Im an 18 year old stu-dent studying GraphicProducts, Geography and

Physics at college inNorth Yorkshire(Northallerton College).My life dreams are tocreate and architecturaland engineering team todesign the first buildings

for other planets. This isso we could sustain lifeon other planets whenthe technology is avail-

able if not, they travel toa LEDC (less economicdeveloped country) andhelp set up sustainable

communities.

Im best when I dothings that I enjoy so do-

ing that; I hope would besuccessful as a career.

After college I am plan-ning on going to North-

umbria University tostudy Architectural Tech-nology. I have an in-

creasing interest in As-

tronomy. The more Ilearn the more I want tolearn so getting involved

and reading somethinglike Astronomy Wisesarticles really floats myboat if you get me.

His talents do not endthere, Edd is also keenlyinto illustration and fromthat he produced the new

logo. Finally, Edd likes torelax and like many oth-ers; play console games.Edd is a big Halo fan.

Final Thought

I would like to thank Eddfor his efforts and inter-est in Astronomy Wise

Mays FeaturedAstronomer

As with any interest or

hobby attracting young

people is key to develop-

ing our astronomicalhobby. With such people

as Professor Brian Cox,

who perhaps appeal to

the younger generations,

have made astronomy

more popular over the

last few years. Stargaz-

ing live (BBC) as opened

up astronomy to more

and more people. Thismonth we have a Young

astronomer, who as well

as getting out there with

his telescope, runs a blog

and as taken a shine to

astrophotography.

Alex Wetton

I was vaguely interested

in astronomy about ayear ago when I got my

first telescope, a 60mm

Argos refractor but when

I saw the sky at night TV

programme in November

that was when

Edward Dutton Logo Designers and newsletter format

I became a lot more in-terested in astronomy. Inmarch I got a skywatcherexplorer 130 for mybirthday and I have beenvery impressed with it,so far I have been ableto see the Moon, Jupiter,Venus and a star clusterand I was amazed what

a difference theextra apertureon my newscope made.In the futureI hope to beable to seeSaturn andsome of themessier objects,recently I havestarted astrophotography

by using a simple SonyCybershot camera. Sincebeing more involved inastronomy, I have joinedvarious forums andstarted an astronomyblog.

alisas-tronomy.blogspot.co.uk


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www.Astronomy-Wise.com

@AstronomyWise

http://astronomy-wise.blogspot.co.uk/

[email protected]

Get in touch:

Astronomy For Everyone

Be sure to visit us at:

Astronomy-Wise.com

A special thanks to all that have

helped with the May edition of the

Astronomy Wise newsletter.

Credits:

Dave Bood:

Editor

Edward Dutton:

Logo and Layout Design

Derek Shirlaw:

The night sky notes

Jason Ives:

Saturn

Dr Karen Masters:

Taking the time to produce an-

swers to our questions

Alex Wetton:

Young Astronomer interviewIf you would like to be featured in

our newsletter please email us at

[email protected]

Disclaimer:

As far as reasonably practicable all

information is used with the own-ers permission. Where research

has been carried out references

are made to the sources used.

Please contact me if you feel your

work has been infringed.

Astronomy Wise is a non profitable

organisation.

The newsletter may be

downloaded and printed for free.

Content in the newsletter may not

be reproduced without writtenconsent . Words and images be-

long to the respective owners.

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Astronomy Wise May Newsletter 2012