The Cryptic Case of Jacob Campbell’s Clark Refractor

By Bart Fried

Missing Twelve Inch Fitz -Missing Twelve Inch Fitz - The

first successful commercial telescope making enterprise in the

United States was started right here in New York City by one

of America’s earliest photographers, Henry Fitz, Jr. (1808-

1863). Fitz, a locksmith and amateur astronomer, had no place

to buy recently invented Daguerreotype cameras needed for

his photographic work so he taught himself to make them,

including grinding his own optics. By the 1840’s, Fitz turned

NY TELESCOPE HISTORY

Solar Eclipse Scouting in Chile

By Matthias Schmitt

Once you get infected with Obscuratus Solisosus, after the

eclipse means before the eclipse. As a carrier of this highly

addictive virus, I decided fly to Chile for Christmas 2017 and

combine a summer solstice on the Southern Hemisphere with

stargazing in the Atacama Desert and advance scouting for the

July 2nd, 2019 solar eclipse (Saros 127) in South America.

The path of totality’s final 1000 km/700 miles over land begin

on the Chilean coast, close to La Serena, and will sweep in a

Southeasterly direction across Chile’s Coquimbo region into

Argentina, end-

ing before the

Argentina coast,

with the South-

ern suburbs of

Buenos Aires

touching the

path. Chile and

Argentina strad-

dle the Andes in

the eclipse path,

and host a num-

ber of world

class observatories in the area. This inland region (Elqui Val-

ley in Chile and the San Juan Province in Argentina) bodes

well for a high probability for cloud free sky to view the

eclipse, for stargazing and astrophotography, as July 2nd is, of

course, a new Moon. A note of caution for making travel

plans: July 1st, 2019, is a national holiday in Chile (St Peter

and St Paul Day Holiday) showing that even 400 years after

Galileo’s inquisition, the Catholic Church still likes to inter-

fere with astronomical affairs.

There are several airlines that offer daily flights (one nonstop)

from New York City to Santiago de Chile (which should be

your point of disembarkation for the 2019 eclipse). There are

two domestic airlines that serve La Serena (in the path of to-

tality, a coastal town, but perennially foggy) with 3 and 5 dai-

ly flights, respectively (SKY and LATAM). If you decide on

Journal of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York

February 2018 Volume 67 Number 2 ISSN 0146-7662

Scouting (cont’d on page 8)

Path of Totality July 2, 2019: Chile/Argentina.

Cryptic Case (cont’d on page 7)

COMING UP: Clocks, Calendars, Coordinates & Orbits Early Spring Class

OBSERVATION TRAVEL

Henry Fitz Jr., NMAH Cat. 4114B, CA 1840-44, possibly taken by

Wolcott.

Courtesy: http://xjubier.free.fr

2

February’s Evening Planets: Venus will be in

Aquarius the Water bearer until 6 PM in the second half of

February. Mercury could be viewed in the last week of the

month close to the horizon until 6 PM in Aquarius.

Neptune is in Aquarius the Water Bearer until 8 PM, setting

earlier every night until 6 PM by the end of February. Uranus

is in Pisces the Fish until midnight and setting earlier toward

10 PM by the end of the month.

February’s Evening Stars: The Winter Triangle will

be up until 1AM this month and setting earlier every night:

Sirius, the brightest star viewed from Earth, is in Canis Major

the Great Dog; Betelgeuse is in Orion the Hunter; and Procy-

on is in Canis Minor the Small Dog. Spot Rigel in Orion,

Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, Aldeberan in Taurus the

Bull, and bright Castor and Pollux in Gemini the Twins. Also

find the stars of constellations Cassiopeia, Perseus, Cepheus,

Draco, Virgo, Leo, Taurus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor

(the Big and Little Dippers).

February’s Morning Planets: Find Saturn in Sagitta-

rius the Archer from 5 AM until sunrise. Mars will be mov-

ing between Scorpius the Scorpion and Ophiuchus the Ser-

pent Barer as of 2AM, lingering until sunrise. Jupiter can be

seen in Libra the Scales as of 2 AM and earlier every night.

February’s Morning Stars: See the Summer Triangle

of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and

Altair in Aquila the Eagle starting at 4 AM. Look for Capella

in Auriga, reddish Antares in Scorpius, Castor and Pollux in

Gemini, Arcturus in Boötes the Herds-man, and Spica in

Virgo, along with the stars of constellations Leo, Hercules,

Libra, Ophiuchus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Major,

and Ursa Minor.

Feb 6 The Moon, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn line up,

predawn

Feb 7 Third Quarter Moon 10:53 AM

Feb 9 Moon is between Mars and Saturn, predawn

Feb 11 Moon at apogee (252,100 miles away)

Feb 15 New Moon at 4:05 PM

Feb 23 First Quarter Moon at 3:10 AM

Feb 24 Jupiter, Mars and Saturn line up, predawn

Feb 26 Moon forms an arc with Castor, Pollux and

Procyon

Feb 27 Moon at perigee (226,100 miles away)

Times given in EST.

February 2018

WHAT’S UP IN THE SKY

AAA Observers’ Guide

February “Skylights”

By Tony Faddoul

Most people know about the famous stars of the Winter Trian-

gle: Betelgeuse, Sirius and Procyon that form an asterism from

three different constellations visible in fall and winter.

A set of bright stars are visible from December to March form-

ing an asterism known as the Winter Hexagon or the Winter

Circle. It consists of seven stars, two of them part of the Win-

ter Triangle. The hexagon is visible almost worldwide, except

for the farthest reaches of South America and New Zealand.

On a clear night, all of the seven stars are visible from New

York City.

Capella, in Auriga the charioteer, is the sixth brightest star in

the night sky. It is 42 light years away and shines at 0.08 mag-

nitude. Capella is a system of four stars in two binary pairs.

The first pair consists of two bright giant stars Capella Aa and

Capella Ab. Each of them is about 1000 times larger in volume

than our sun and two and a half times its mass, in a tight orbit

around each other. The second pair, Capella H and Capella L,

consists of two faint red dwarfs.

Aldeberan, the Eye of Taurus the Bull, is a red giant about 65

light years away. It is 80,000 times larger than our sun, twice

as massive, and 500 times brighter. It is a binary system with a

small faint red dwarf companion. As the 14th brightest star

viewed from Earth, Aldeberan is a variable star that shines at

different magnitudes averaging at 0.8.

Rigel in Orion the Hunter, the seventh brightest star viewed

from Earth, is a blue-white supergiant about 800 light years

away. It is 400,000 times larger than our sun, and about thirty

times more massive. It shines at 0.12 magnitude and it is at

least 120,000 times brighter than our sun. It has two compan-

ions, Rigel B and Rigel C.

Sirius in Canis Major the Great Dog, the brightest star in the

night sky, shines at -1.44. It’s one of the closest stars to us at

8.6 light years away. It’s ten times larger than our sun, twice

as massive, and twenty times brighter. Sirius is a binary with a

white dwarf star Sirius B, also known as the Pup.

Procyon in Canis Minor the Little Dog, is eleven light years

away and the eighth brightest star seen from Earth, shining at

0.35 magnitude. It is about eight times larger than our sun, one

and a half times more massive, and 7 times brighter. Procyon

is a binary with white dwarf companion Procyon B.

Pollux is the brightest star in the constellation Gemini, and the

seventeenth brightest star in the sky at 1.14. The giant yellow-

orange star is 700 times larger than our sun, twice as massive,

and 40 times brighter. Its “twin” Castor, 50 light years away,

is one of the brightest stars in our night sky at magnitude 1.55.

Castor consists of six stars in three binary pairs. Each of the

two largest stars in the system Castor Ab and Castor Ba is

eight times larger than our sun, and over twice as massive.

THE BRIGHT STARS OF THE

WINTER HEXAGON

By Tony Faddoul

3

worth of 2 and 4 minute exposures plus another 60 short expo-

sures. The varied exposure lengths allow “HDR” (High Dy-

namic Range) processing so that both bright and faint details

come through in the finished image.

The full nebula is an

extraordinary mass of

interstellar dust and gas

which resembles a bat

or butterfly; and when

the image is properly

color balanced, it dis-

plays extensive regions

of red, blueish gray, and

brown.

Wow! So what about

the city? Last spring I

was able to shoot at M42 shortly after sunset from one of the

AAA Highline Stargazing Parties. I’ll show two versions here;

the first is very similar to the “live view” on my laptop for the

portable imaging rig I carry in a backpack down to the High

Line. I’ll describe my equipment in more detail in a future col-

umn.

The city’s lights gener-

ate the splotchy gradi-

ents in the image. The

breadth, colors, and de-

tail of the nebula do

come through on the

laptop, affording a view

that is difficult to obtain

via visual observation

through a telescope of

any size, let alone a

scope we might haul on

the subway. But the gra-

dients make a mess.

Using image processing software which has been optimized for

deep space astrophotog-

raphy, I removed the gra-

dients to generate this

image, which is a not too

bad rendering of M42

from Manhattan. It’s not

the finest astrophoto

you’ll ever see, but it

does demonstrate that we

can shoot through

the city’s light pol-

lution and bring the deep

sky to New York.

Next issue: Ultraportable imaging equipment for city and sub-

urban use.

You can view my deep sky images at http://www.fluidr.com/

photos/124244349@N07 or https://www.instagram.com/

mtrastronyc/

Punching Past Pollution

By Mauri Rosenthal

What’s in the sky over New York? Most of the city’s resi-

dents are proud of the fact that you can find almost anything

in Gotham, but if you’re reading this you’re aware of some of

the things we can’t have: The Milky Way, Nebulae, Galaxies,

and the other features of our universe that can be seen from

dark places – but not from here.

I’m done with this. Well, actually I’m obsessed with this.

After edging into astrophotography from more routine back-

yard observing, I’ve been surprised and impressed at every

stage with the amount of sky that can be revealed by leverag-

ing the technology advances of the past 20 years. The silicon

revolution – including extraordinarily sensitive imaging chips

and computer processing power available to consumers – have

enabled me to image deep space objects right over my own

house, in the suburban “red zone” 18 miles north of Times

Square. I can’t match the images of faint galaxies or dark

nebulae that can be achieved from the darkest locations, but I

already have my own portfolio of pretty good renderings of

many Messier objects and more – from the City of Yonkers,

just above the Bronx. While many of my colleagues in the

AAA’s Astrophotography Group are eager to travel away

from the city in pursuit of magnificent dark site skyscapes,

I’m more inclined towards seeing how far we can get using

different techniques to punch through the city’s light pollution

in order to make the invisible visible for New Yorkers.

How well does it work? You can be the judge. Here are sev-

eral versions of the Great Orion Nebula, M42. This is an ob-

ject that is just bright enough to be viewed from the city under

good conditions as the middle star in Orion’s sword. Through

a medium power telescope, you can see the core of the nebula

and it was one of my favorite backyard targets long before I

tried long exposure astrophotography. It should look some-

thing like this:

This image was taken

with a “planetary cam-

era” on an unguided

mount, using similar

techniques that can be

used to get nice images

of Jupiter, Saturn, or the

moon from just about

anywhere including the

city.

I was truly surprised,

once I learned how to

generate longer exposures with a cooled astro-cam, that this is

only a small fraction of the magnificent nebula. The next im-

age is my first serious stab at it from Westchester. In this case

I used a guided Questar 3.5” telescope with a focal reducer

and a Starlight Xpress CCD camera to shoot about 90 minutes

February 2018

FOCUS ON THE UNIVERSE

Laptop view of M42 from HighLine Stargazing Party, April 2017. Borg 55FL lens; Starlight Xpress SX-694 CCD camera; iOptron Cub-ePro mount.

M42 looks like this through a small scope in

the city.

Guided long exposure with HDR processing

reveals elaborate nebula structure. From Yon-

kers, NY.

M42 from HighLine, April 2017. Same data

as previous image with additional processing

to remove gradients.

Mauri Rosenthal Mauri Rosenthal

Mauri Rosenthal

Mauri Rosenthal

4

Exploring our Origins

By Naomi Cosman

13.8 billion years ago, our universe went through a very brief

and very intense moment of expansion emerging from a sin-

gularity - a point of infinite density and temperature where the

laws of physics no longer apply. For the past several decades,

society has accepted this so called “Big Bang Theory” as

truth. But some in the scientific community are disputing the

shortcomings and misconceptions of this theory. For one, the

Big Bang does not acknowledge the origin of our universe,

but its evolution. The uncertainty of the singularity has led

some scientists to doubt the entire theory as well, as Einstein’s

formulas break down before the potential singularity can be

reached. So the idea of the singularity is just that: an idea, an

estimation of the unknown.

If the Big Bang doesn’t help us determine the origin of our

universe, how can we discover our true cosmic beginnings?

Here are two alternative theories that aim to answer that ques-

tion:

Bouncing Cosmology:

This theory illustrates a universe that perpetually contracts and

expands. Brazilian physicist Juliano Cesar Silva Neves, a pro-

ponent of this theory, claims that the Big Bang never hap-

pened; rather the universe that we know evolved from the

contraction phase of another universe. He has proposed his

own theory - a combination of Bouncing Cosmology and a

modification of black hole physics. This variation of black

hole physics creates a hypothetical phenomenon without a

singularity which is classified by distance to its center, not by

its mass like a typical black hole. Since “regular” black holes

do not have singularities, Neves claims that his theory avoids

the need for a singularity in the beginning of universal expan-

sion too. He notes, however, that this is still hypothetical.

"There is no empirical evidence for bouncing cosmologies

today," he says. "But there is no evidence for the initial singu-

larity as well." If his theory is true, though, it might be possi-

ble to find remnants from previous cycles of expansion and

contraction that manifest as black holes or gravitational

waves.

Fluid-Filled Universe:

Like Bouncing Cosmology, this theory also assumes an infi-

nite universe. However, this one states that the universe is

filled with a quantum fluid made up of theoretical massless

particles that “carry” the force of gravity. These particles are

known as gravitons. Physicists Saurya Das of University of

Lethbridge and Ahmed Farag Ali of Zewail City of Science

and Technology propose that gravitons existed in the early

stage of the universe and caused it to expand and accelerate.

To formulate this theory, Das and Ali combine quantum me-

chanics equations with Einstein’s Theory of General Relativi-

ty and generate a quantum correction that eliminates the Big

Bang singularity, resulting in an infinite universe. Since the

mathematical trajectories of the cosmos never cross, this theo-

ry removes all chances of cosmic “bounces”, “bangs”, or

“contractions”, although they claim that the universe had been

much smaller at one time and is still expanding because of

those mysterious gravitons.

The origin of our universe is a contentious topic and has al-

ready caused rifts in the scientific community. Even though

new theories aim to find our beginning, alternatives to the Big

Bang aren’t necessarily superior and still don’t conclusively

explain our origin. In fact, a true starting point seems impossi-

ble when contemplating an infinite universe. But, while it is

easy to criticize theories that are different than what we’re

accustomed to, they are still valuable in expanding our percep-

tions and bringing us closer to a fuller understanding of the

cosmos.

Sources:

Pultarova, Tereza. “What If the Big Bang Wasn't the Begin-

ning? New Study Proposes Alternative.” Space.com, 5 Dec.

2017,www.space.com/38982-no-big-bang-bouncing-

cosmology-theory.html.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo.

"Possible vestiges of a universe previous to the Big Bang."

ScienceDaily, 27 November 2017. www.sciencedaily.com/

releases/2017/11/171127105935.htm.

Ali, Ahmed Farag, and Saurya Das. “Cosmology from Quan-

tum Potential.” Cornell University Library, 29 Dec. 2014,

arxiv.org/pdf/1404.3093v3.pdf.

February 2018

UNDERSTANDING THE UNIVERSE

The Amateur Astronomers’ Association of New York Info, Events, & Observing: president@aaa.org Membership: members@aaa.org

Eyepiece: editor@aaa.org Visit us online at www.aaa.org or call 212-535-2922

Eyepiece Staff February 2018 Issue

Editor-in-Chief: Stanley Fertig

Assignment Editor: Alan J. Rude

Content Editor: Rafael Ferreira

Image Editor: Chirag Upreti

Copy Editor: Richard Brounstein

Contributing Writers:

Rori Baldari, Brian Berg, Harriet Brettle,

Naomi Cosman, Tony Faddoul, Bart Fried,

Mauri Rosenthal, Matthias Schmitt

Eyepiece Logo and Graphic Design:

Rori Baldari

Administrative Support: Joe Delfausse

Printing by McVicker & Higginbotham

5

Why I Joined the AAA

By Brian Berg

Having recently turned

44 and having enough

life experience to look

back upon and wonder

in what way I will leave

my mark upon this

world, I can truly say

that joining the AAA

within the previous year

is the culmination of my

life up unto this point.

That is not a statement I make lightly nor to curry favor with

anyone (Ok, maybe Neil Tyson, if he happens to read this).

Rather, AAA stands for my belief system as it currently is.

Having grown up in New York and having lived in the city

my entire life exposed me to varied cultures and beliefs that

rival any tapestry anywhere else in the world. When I was in

my teenage years, two things happened to me that steered me

in new directions - I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease, and

I was bitten by the travel bug. Both of these life-altering diag-

noses had profound impacts upon me in many different ways,

with one significant appulse. Boy was I humbled. Crohns

robbed me of my confidence. And traveling restored it. But it

was restored in a manner different than that which I had it as a

youth. I became confident enough in myself to navigate

through different cultures and societies yet realized that com-

ing from the United States and New York in particular, I was

immediately given a leg-up in many ways in comparison to so

many people in other parts of the world, as far as expectations

and creature comforts.

As I entered my 20s, I attended law school, and battled with

Crohns, and then was married, and continued traveling, and

then divorced, and continued traveling, and switched jobs, and

battled Crohns, and continued traveling, and so on and so on.

A few steps forward and a few steps back. That is life.

And as I entered my 30s and continued to mature and become

wiser (I hope), I would make new revelations about myself

and where I fit into the world. I could only control Crohns

disease so much, but those moments when I could, I took full

advantage of. I was also always a big movie buff and in par-

ticular greatly admired the Indiana Jones character. At one

point I acquired what I lovingly call my ‘Indy Hat’ and make

sure to wear it when I embark upon one of my far-flung trips

to an off the beaten path location where I will be trekking

through a desert, or through a ravine, or staying in a hut with

no running water or electricity.

But through all of these things, there was always something

nagging at me that I could not quite put my finger on. And

then about ten years ago, in my mid-30s, it hit me. Crohns

Disease, like most autoimmune diseases is replete with ques-

February 2018

MEMBER TESTIMONIAL

tions about its cause and cure, with few answers. And for

years I had been observing people around the world being sus-

pect of other people from other countries, even if from an im-

mediate neighboring country. To top off these observations,

here in the United States, scientists were presenting data on

Global Warming, and being discredited by people with no

training in any field related to science. As such, my reaction

to the confluence of these 3 events was to delve deeper. Find

the truth. Understand why humanity so often reacts in illogical

ways. Revel in fact and forego fiction. In short, find the logi-

cal and scientific causes and cures.

My childhood fascination with dinosaurs and archeology came

seething to the surface. I began to seek as much literature

about those two topics as I could get my hands on. And slow-

ly, I began to realize that while dinosaurs and archeology will

always be of interest to me, my interests had also evolved as I

had grown. I came to realize that humanity’s quest to under-

stand antiquities of either an animal or material nature were all

rooted in the same question. The same question that people

ask about why they are afflicted with a disease. The same

question that people ask of their neighbors: Why is this my

life? Why are you different than me? Why are we here?

Why?

If the most basic question starts with ‘Why’, then one has to

travel back in time to understand how things have begun. My

eyes turned to the sky with these thoughts and my rudimentary

understanding of the cosmos at the time was enough to posit

that humanity could never be whole unless it understood its

true origins. The origins of not only our species, but the planet

on which we live, the solar system in which we exist, the gal-

axy of which we are but a diminutive dot, and the universe as a

whole.

I have now dealt with Crohns Disease for over 20 years and

learned to control it and not let it control me. I have traveled

to almost 70 countries. I have met people from countless cul-

tures and seen wonders of this planet on land, sea, and air. I

have traveled to the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile to meet

astronomers who are uniting nations with the common goal of

understanding human origins. I have been in the Australian

Outback and observed the ivory band of the Milky Way galaxy

slice through a billion twinkling stars.

And the Amateur Astronomy Association of New York has

allowed me to meet like-minded people who question ‘Why’

with an open mind and a quest for the answer that only science

can provide. Lectures are vibrant. Classes are informative. I

could not imagine a better way to celebrate life than to have

stars above, information in front of me, and the fellowship of

members of an organization who want nothing more than to

share facts and knowledge that unite humankind.

I hope that the AAA represents something meaningful to eve-

ryone reading this and that each of you share these experiences

with others in your life. I have learned from traveling that

many people in this world do not have opportunities or access

to true education and when that opportunity is presented, it is

to be cherished.

Brian Berg

6

Europa—A World Worth Exploring

By Harriet Brettle

Europa is one of the most interesting objects in the solar sys-

tem. It is a promising place to search for life elsewhere in the

solar system despite being over 5 times further away from the

Sun than the earth (on average 485 million miles), no larger

than our own moon, and tidally locked towards Jupiter. In

2022, NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will set sail to explore

this icy ocean world and assess its prospects for habitability.

Europa, and other icy ocean worlds, have redefined what we

mean by habitable. This new frontier was explored during the

Cassini mission where plumes were discovered at the south

pole of Enceladus (a moon of Saturn). To follow up from the

Cassini mission, NASA is now turning its search to Jupiter’s

satellites and, in particular, Europa. The current plans for Eu-

ropa Clipper involve 42 flybys of Europa as well as a potential

separate lander to sample from the surface.

Mission 1: Characterize Europa’s ice shell and study the

formation of its complex surface features

Europa has the smoothest surface of any known solid object in

the Solar System. Its surface is made up of a global shell of

ice that seems to be undergoing continual resurfacing. Based

on the small number of craters observed, the icy surface of

this moon appears to be no more than 40 to 90 million years

old, which is quite young in geologic terms.

The Galileo space probe, launched in 1989, allowed us to see

Europa’s surface like never before. It brought this strange

world into focus and from it we discovered the diversity of

Europa’s surface geology. Large cracks and ridges span the

surface indicating an active surface that is constantly being

pushed and pulled by Jupiter’s tidal forces. There are chaotic

regions where the icy crust has frozen and refrozen into com-

plex shapes. The thick ice shell shows evidence of a mobile

lithosphere and tectonic activity only seen before on the Earth.

The Europa Clipper mission will perform 42 flybys of Europa

and provide high resolution images of the surface and allow us

to examine it in greater detail.

The surface of Europa is very different from that of Earth. The

surface temperature never rises above minus 230 degrees

Fahrenheit. Its surface is constantly bombarded by ionised

particles originating from its volcanic neighbour Io and Jupi-

ter’s strong magnetic field. Despite this hostile surface envi-

ronment, Europa is widely considered to be one of the most

promising places in the solar system for habitability. Not on

its surface, but beneath it.

Mission 2: Understand the habitability of Europa’s ocean

Underneath Europa’s ice shell is a global liquid water ocean.

In fact, scientists believe that there is more liquid water in

Europa’s oceans than there is

water on the Earth.

Water, the cornerstone for

life as we know it, seems to

be abundant under the sur-

face of Europa’s icy shell.

The water is kept liquid

thanks to tidal heating from

Jupiter. Europa’s ocean may

also be in contact with a

rocky surface below it, po-

tentially providing a plat-

form for the building blocks

for life. Whilst the jury is still out on where life on Earth origi-

nated, one good bet is that life emerged deep underwater in

hydrothermal vents. Conditions so far indicate that Europa is a

great place to look for these kinds of habitable conditions,

although these hydrothermal vents have not yet been discov-

ered.

Current plans for the Clipper mission include a lander that will

touch down on the surface and remain operational for multiple

days. However, a lander is not going to be able to sample the

sub-surface ocean directly since the ice shell is estimated to be

between 3 and 30km deep. What it might be able to do though

is sample material from the

oceans that has made its

way onto the surface.

Jupiter should be visible

from New York throughout

the month of February. Eu-

ropa, alongside Io, Callisto,

and Ganymede, was first

discovered by Galileo in

1610. With his handmade telescope he saw 4 specks of light

hovering around Jupiter and noticed that each night their posi-

tions relative to Jupiter were different. He quickly realized

these four specks were actually moons in orbit around Jupiter.

This provided some of the first evidence for the Copernican

universe, that the earth is not at the center of everything.

Even with the most basic telescope you can distinguish the

four closest moons, just as Galileo did over 400 years ago.

Take a little extra time to look at Europa. That small light in

the sky could be our best chance for finding life elsewhere in

the solar system. The Europa Clipper mission may not be able

to answer this question definitively, but it will certainly go a

long way in helping us to understand this ocean world.

PLANETARY SCIENCE

February 2018

NASA

Hypothetical Interior of Europa. Current

evidence suggests that the moon has a

fully differentiated core, rocky mantle

and global subsurface ocean.

A close-up image of Europa’s surface

NASA

NASA

7

his attention to producing optics and complete assemblies for

telescopes which were comparable in quality to the best tele-

scopes that could be bought in Europe. After two decades of

telescope making, and with his career flourishing, it’s unfortu-

nate that Fitz contracted tuberculosis and died in 1863 at age

54. At the time of his passing, Henry left two prominent pro-

jects incomplete. One was the photographic corrector for pio-

neering New York City astrophotographer Lewis Morris

Rutherfurd. That lens would be finished by Henry Giles

“Harry” Fitz (1847-1939), Henry’s young son, under Ruther-

furd’s guidance. But almost no information survived about the

other unfinished project. What is known is that Fitz was work-

ing to complete an order for a very large refractor, a twelve-

inch diameter, for an unknown customer. But its fate, and the

name of the customer were never well documented. That’s

very surprising considering that, in 1863, a twelve-inch refrac-

tor was still considered a very large telescope

Jacob Campbell’s Clark –Around 1867, a talented Brook-

lyn amateur astronomer named Jacob Campbell (1816–1889),

President of the Pacific Bank in New York, built for himself a

prodigious observatory in the rear of his house at No. 150

Columbia Heights Brooklyn. Built into the bluff of Brooklyn

Heights, it was large enough to be visible to people on ferries

crossing between Brooklyn and Manhattan. While no photo-

graphs of it have been located, it does appear in a print of the

1879 Brooklyn waterfront. It is visible in the center of the

image shown here. Campbell’s observatory was “thirty-eight

feet square, with dome-room in the centre, having an entrance

room on the south side and transit room on the east.” Since it

was built on a bluff, the foundation was supported by “a very

substantial wall built up from Furman street” at the base of the

bluff. Including walls, the top of the dome rose 64 feet above

the street, giving Campbell’s telescope an unobstructed view

of the complete horizon over the houses down to an elevation

of about 40 degrees. The dome room itself was 25 feet wide.

The pier, on a separate foundation, was solid masonry. The

observatory and telescope together cost $27,000.1 Campbell

built his observatory to house a Twelve-inch Alvan Clark &

Sons refractor. It was completed by Alvan Clark, and was

operational before June 1867, when Campbell reported the

discovery of a previ-

ously unknown close

companion to Procy-

on.2 At the time of its

completion in early

1867, Campbell’s

telescope—a twelve-

inch refractor with a

focal length of 17 feet—was the third largest telescope in the

nation in private hands.

1From Peter Abrahams and Bob Hambleton: Kennion, John

W., “A Private Dome-Topped Observatory,” The Architects’

and Builders’ Guide (New York: Fitzpatrick & Hunter, 1868),

Part II, pp. 40–41.

2“Telescopic Discovery,” Scientific American 16(22): 350,

June 1, 1867.

—To be continued in March Eyepiece—

The Cryptic Case (cont’d from page 1) February 2018

Stan Honda

AAA Annual Holiday Party 2018

By Rori Baldari

What do you get when you take roughly 75 AAA members

and place them in a room with beer and food? Simply a

great holiday party! On Jan 10th, our club held its annual

holiday party at our new favorite location: Bierocracy in

Long Island City.

Our party planner extraordinaire Susan Andreoli, scoped

out this awesome space and made sure there was plenty of

delicious food on hand for our members. I always look for-

ward to these parties because they offer the opportunity to

reconnect with members and fellow amateur astronomers

like me, who pret-

ty much go into

observer’s hiber-

nation during the

winter months.

New board mem-

ber Sam Hahn

came up with a

great idea for

some far out cos-

mic entertainment: Astronomy Jeopardy! Members grouped

themselves into 5 teams, and came up with some cool team

names like “Dark Matter.” Our MC Irene Pease stood on a

chair and called out astro-themed questions. Everyone had

a blast. I’m sure Astronomy Jeopardy will be back by popu-

lar demand at our next social gathering.

Whether you are a long time member or new to the club, I

hope you’ll come out to AAA events to meet and chat with

like- minded folks who love astronomy. See you then!

Brooklyn Heights & Waterfront, Currier & Ives 1879

Clark signature on Campbell's refractor, 1867

Ken Launie

Stan Honda

8

Dear Members,

I hope you were able to attend

the Annual Holiday Party. A

great time spent mingling

with new members and catch-

ing up with old

friends, munching on deli-

cious appetizers, taking in

some of the spirits from be-

hind the bar.

I met several new AAA members. Shortly after arriv-

ing, I got to chat with Robert Smith, then with Kelly

Elivo, both fairly new members to AAA about their

interests and why they joined AAA. Later, I budged

my way into Rebecca Feldman’s conversation to

toast in the New Year. Seated at the bar, Julian Fos-

ter and Ann were socializing with others, but took

time to talk about new membership benefits. I

met Sean for the first time, a member with a little

more than a year, he spoke of his interests after having

done astronomy in New Jersey.

A shout to the Holiday Party coordinators. Much grat-

itude goes to Susan Andreoli, the lead event coordi-

nator arranging the space and food. Sam Hahn came

up with the brilliant idea of the trivia contest to help

break the ice among members. He worked the the

floor while Irene Pease emceed by shouting the ques-

tions to the teams. Members of the winning team re-

ceived prizes.

Stan Honda helped with the Audi/video aspects of the

event. Preston Stahly, with support from Bhaswan

Kurra and Gowri Lakshminarayanan, created

a video, set to music, featuring stunning photos and

time lapses from AAA astrophotographers captured

throughout the year.

Concerning Eyepiece, the goal remains for the web-

based edition to be available in March 2018, though

contingency has a slip date to April 2018. Be assured

that the club will continue to inform everyone and

continue with the printed PDF version until the Word-

press edition is fully launched.

Membership renewal season is still active. If you

haven’t already renewed, I ask that you to take action

to renew thriough the website or by mail.

“Thank you” to all who have donated in addition to

the membership dues. Your support is much appreci-

ated, it allows the club to carry on with its mission.

Be sure to visit the AAA calendar, http://

www.aaa.org/calendar/, if you’re looking for AAA

events, activities, or classes.

Clear Skies!

Peter Tagatac

AAA | President

February 2018

Photo by Stan Honda

Scouting (cont’d from page 1)

the Elqui Valley as your viewing location, it would be advis-

able to rent a car in Santiago and drive to La Serena and then

continue on to the valley. Rental cars might be unavailable in

La Serena and you want to be able to be mobile and flexible

anyway and have storage for your gear. The distance from

Santiago to Vicuña, where I stayed for two nights, is roughly

500 km/320 miles. Another note of caution: there is only one

single road, Route 41, that slices through the valley, for sure

being clogged on eclipse day. The maximum eclipse in Chile

for the July 2nd event is around 20:39 UTC, which will be

4:39 p.m. local time. For La Serena, the location of the

eclipsed Sun will be 6h46m/+23 degrees (RA/Dec) with Vi-

cuña’s totality 30 seconds later. Due to the excellent location

of the Elqui Valley (high and dry), its pisco production and

many vineyards, it offers a perfect viewing with a welcoming

atmosphere. The

few villages in

the Elqui Valley

have hotels, but

they are already

being booked for

July 2019 and

some are already

sold out.

However, there is

a large number of

campgrounds that

offer alternative

lodging. For an excellent summary of the prevailing climate

and probable weather conditions on the Chilean and Argenti-

nian side of the Andes, please go to the article about the July

2, 2019 eclipse on eclipsophile.com.

While you are in Chile, you should try to take advantage of

the pristine night

sky, which is even

better in winter

months, and world

class observatories:

Gemini South, and

Cerro Tololo Inter-

American Observa-

tory (both in the

Elqui Valley),

ESO’s La Silla

Observatory and

Las Campanas (a 2-hour drive from La Serena), or venture

even farther North to the Atacama Desert for ALMA

(Atacama Large Millimeter Array - a set of 66 radio telesco-

pes at 5000m) and Paranal, where ESO is operating, among

others, the VLT (Very Large Telescope) and the NGTS (Next

-Generation Transit Survey to search for exoplanets). All

facilities offer guided tours but you need to sign up online

well in advance. The Atacama Desert, specifically San Pedro

de Atacama, offer a good jumping-off point for stargazing

and astrophotography and I recommend that you take Jorge

Corante's tour at www.atacamadesertstargazing.com.

Please feel free to email me with questions at:

matthias@spaceracers.com.

Me

ssa

ge

fro

m th

e A

AA

Pre

sid

en

t

Elqui Valley

Matthias Schmitt

ESO La Silla

Matthias Schmitt