SOCIETY JOURNAL - astronomy.org.nz · the scientific method that lies behind the discovery of these astounding universal facts. They emphasize the scientific hypothesis as the basis

SOCIETY JOURNALOCTOBER 2018

October Monthly MeetingMONDAY 1 OCTOBER. 2018 AT 8.00PM

Note the change of date to the first Monday of the month.

In the last two decades, dozens of spacecraft have explored planets, moons, asteroids, and comets, returning a treasure trove of scientific data. Thanks to generous data release policies and the proliferation of high-speed Internet, the worldwide public has rapid access to huge quantities of spacecraft image data. Skilled amateur image processors produce stunning views of alien places, and represent a valuable and underutilized resource for increasing public support of planetary exploration. I’ll present some of the beautiful work being done by these amateurs and discuss ways that they can benefit planetary science.

Emily Lakdawalla is an internationally admired science communicator and educator, passionate about advancing public understanding of space and sharing the wonder of scientific discovery. Emily came to The Planetary Society in 2001 to oversee a portion of the Societys Red Rover Goes to Mars project, an education and public outreach program on the Mars Exploration Rover mission funded by LEGO. She ran worldwide contests that selected and trained high school students to travel to Pasadena to participate in rover operations training exercises in 2002 and then in actual Mars Exploration Rover mission operations during January and February of 2005.

She was awarded the 2011 Jonathan Eberhart Planetary Sciences Journalism Award from the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society for her blog entry about the Phoebe ring of Saturn. Asteroid 274860 was formally named “Emilylakdawalla” by the International Astronomical Union on July 12, 2014. She received an honorary doctorate from The Open University in 2017 in recognition of her contributions in communicating space science to the public.

Seeing the Solar System Through Robot Eyes.WITH EMILY LAKDAWALLA

2 SOCIETY JOURNAL, OCTOBER 2018

AAS Astrophotography Group - August and September 2018by Shaun Fletcher, AAS

IN AUGUST THE AAS ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY GROUP MEETING FEATURED GREG STEVENS TALK ON THE CAPTURE AND PROCESSING OF MILKY WAY PANORAMAS

The August AAS Astrophotography group was held at Stardome on the 20th August

Prior to the workshop we reviewed a slideshow of images that members have posted to the group Facebook page, this month heavily concentrated on Planetary images, inspired by the Mars opposition event.

Greg gave a fantastic talk, which explained in clear steps the process and equipment he uses to capture his famed Milky Way images, and some useful tips on panoramic stitching and processing. He made the process seem easy and logical, and will inspire many new wide field photographs in the future.

IN SEPTEMBER THE GROUP MEETING TOPIC WAS SCIENTIFIC IMAGING FOR AMATEURS WITH DR GRANT CHRISTIE

Prior to the meeting we as usual reviewed a slideshow of member images this month featuring many fine deep sky images and some nice Milky Way photographs.

The meeting was again well attended

Grant gave a wide ranging and fascinating overview of scientific imaging as conducted at Stardome and by associated teams, and then introduced some ideas of the types of science which might be conducted by amateurs using home equipment, along with many useful tips on Software and organisations involved in astrometry and photometry.

The October meeting will be presented by Keith Smith. In an upcoming meeting to be determined, Otto Gruebl will show us some techniques used in production of his remarkable Solar Disk images.

Slideshows supporting the meetings and the files used in these talks, along with frequent discussion and where possible assistance with your imaging, are available from the AAS Astrophotography Group (AAS members only) Facebook page, which can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AASASTROPHOTOGRAPHY/

Planetary images highlighting the Mars Opposition of 2018. Image Credit: Shaun Fletcher.

3WWW.ASTRONOMY.ORG.NZ

Book Reviewby John Wishart, AAS Member

UNIVERSAL. A JOURNEY THROUGH THE COSMOS

BY BRIAN COX AND JEFF FORSHAW

Penguin. 2017. 277 pp. $28

In 1798 Henry Cavendish, acclaimed mathematician, physicist and shy man set out to weigh the Earth. His experimental apparatus was placed in a closed room. A pulley system worked from outside the room moved two large lead balls close to two smaller ones. The gravitational force of the larger caused the smaller to twist a beam from which they were suspended. The twist was measured by using two telescopes trained on ivory scales marked in graduations of hundredths of an inch. He considered the possible distortions from magnetism, temperature changes in the room, variations in stiffness of suspensory wires, the gravitational effects of the rod suspending the heavy balls and air currents. This degree of detail can be compared to the LIGO detector’s exclusion of external stimuli in detecting gravitational waves. Modern measurements of the Earth’s density are only 1.2% different from that of Cavendish. In turn this led to the first measurement of the strength of the gravitational constant.

The book’s authors, both physics professors at Manchester, consider this represents the best of experimental investigation. They set out to take us on a journey to understand the cosmos through our understanding the scientific method that lies behind the discovery of these astounding universal facts. They emphasize the scientific hypothesis as the basis of the thrill and satisfaction of cosmic knowledge.

Cox and Forshaw are keen to show we don’t always need access to a Hubble telescope and Large Hadron Collider and that less sophisticated methods can help to reach big conclusions. They mention the use of a bucket of water, a watch and a thermometer with direct sunlight falling on the calculated water volume to measure a temperature increase of one degree .In this way a fair estimate of the sun’s energy output is possible.

They describe how a colleague on holiday at the sea side worked out the Earth’s radius by observing a buoy on the horizon four kilometres away. By using the height of his eyes above sea level and summing the squares of the sides of a right angled triangle, he deduced the radius of the Earth to be 5000 kilometres compared to the actual radius of about 6400 km. There was however a large margin of error.

In the course of the book the distance to stars and galaxies is explained by parallax, Cepheid variables, the effect of type 1 supernovae and red shifts in spectra. Newton’s and Einstein’s theories of gravity are elegantly compared. It becomes apparent how the Friedmann equation calculates space time expansion. We find the best evidence indicates the universe is flat, of finite age and will expand forever. One also learns of the scalar field pervading space, the inflaton field and the history of the big bang.

A wonderful analogy is made comparing the initial space inflation to the striking of a bell, producing wave forms both of cosmic microwave background temperature and galaxy pair separation from the former and sound wave generation from the latter.

The reader learns the inflationary multiverse fits neatly with string theory and large problems which remain to be solved entail working out what is dark matter and how to work out quantum gravitational effects.

All this complex information is exceptionally well organized and illustrated. A feature is the use of ‘boxes’ in the main text giving more detail with maps, graphs and the use of algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus to expand the deductions.

Plates are very successful with good detail and colour definition. The Hubble extreme deep field view, an all sky view and a universe map from the Sloan Digital Sky View are beautiful and extremely relevant.

The appendix gives good definitions of standard measures such as parsecs. In addition the 61 elementary particles are mentioned briefly .Finally there is an excellent timeline of the evolution of the universe. This book is written by enthusiasts and it shows.

Remember Professor Cox visits Auckland in October 2019.


On Saturday night the annual Burbidge Dinner was held at the Ellerslie Event Center.

The dinner is the premier social event of the year for the Auckland Astronomical Society. The dinner is named after Professor Percy Burbidge who is the person most responsible for founding the Society and who also served as the President of the Society from 1925 until 1940.

The Burbidge Dinner is also where the Society announces the winners of the New Zealand Astrophotography competition and also the presentation of the Beaumont Writing Prize.

This year Dr. Chris Benton won the Beaumont Prize and Kenric Ma took out the Harry Williams Trophy, this year the Astrophotography competition was judged by Michael A Covington who everyone agreed did a fantastic job selecting the winners.

After the members had enjoyed their dinner we were all treated to an amazing talk by our guest speaker Emily Lakdawalla who is an internationally admired science communicator and educator, passionate about advancing public understanding of space and sharing the wonder of scientific discovery.

She gave a facinating talk on the current missions undertaking groundbreaking science on the planets and minor bodies of the Solar system.

Her talk was well received by the attendees, all in all it was a very successful and enjoyable evening.

The results movie of the 2018 New Zealand Astrophotography competition is now online at

h t t p s : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=3PLXVJqMytw

Niven Brown opens proceedings

The 2018 Burbidge Dinner - September 2018by AAS

AAS President Bill Thomas and his wife make our guest speaker Emily Lakdawalla and her daughter welcome


Jonathan Green presents the astrophotography prize winner’s certificate to Kenric Ma

Emily Lakdawalla gives an engaging and interesting talk on planetary exploration

Kenric Ma’s remarkable winning Astrophotograph. Image Credit kenric Ma


OCTOBER PROGRAMME

Mon 1 8:00pm Monthly meeting - Emily Lakdawalla

Tue 2 6:30pm BHT Lecture 2018 - Dr. Paul Groot

Fri 5 7:00 pm Young Astronomers with Margaret Arthur

Mon 15 7:00pm8:00pm

Astrophotography Group with Keith Smith Intro to Astronomy with Chris Benton: The Solar System in Motion

Mon 22 8:00pm Special Talk - Hans Huybrighs

Mon 29 8:00pm Film Night October

NOVEMBER PROGRAMME

Fri 2 7:00pm Young Astronomers with Margaret Arthur

Mon 5 8:00pm Intro to Astronomy with Chris Benton

Mon 12 8:00pm Monthly Meeting: Dr Anna McLeod, University of Can-terbury

Mon 19 7:00pm

8:00pm

Astrophotography GroupPractical Astronomy with Carolle Varughese

Mon 26 8:00pm Film Night Nov - Mysteries of the Moon

Calendar and Events

BHT LECTURE 2018 - DAWN OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVE ASTRONOMY VENUE: UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLANDTuesday, 2 Oct 2018 at 16:30Hrs

Dr. Paul Groot is professor of astronomy at Radboud University, located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.The direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO and Virgo laser interferometers has opened a completely new field in astrophysics. The merger events of binary black holes and neutron stars have now been detected. The electromagnetic radiation from one event (GW170817) has also been detected in a world-wide effort by thousands of astronomers. After the current upgrades the LIGO/Virgo detectors will detect a gravitational wave signals at a likely rate of one per week. This amazing development also raises many questions and opens up new opportunities: How do these binary black holes form? Where and when were they formed? How do they link to massive stars? Are they really the production site of gold in the Universe. What is the highest and lowest mass black hole? What are neutron stars made up of? Can we find these events even without gravitational wave signals, by looking at short duration transients in the optical sky?

Register at paulgroot.eventbrite.co.nz

SPECIAL TALK (REPLACING PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY) - HANS HUYBRIGHSMonday, 22 Oct 2018 at 20:00Hrs

Water volcanoes on Europa: tasting an extraterrestrial ocean.

A deep ocean of liquid water is hidden under the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Life might have developed there, shielded from sunlight and curious observers from planet Earth. Peeping through the ice to find traces of this hypothetical life is easier said than done, especially when you realize that the ice could be several kilometres thick. How then can we ‘taste’ this ocean and how can Europa’s water volcanoes help with this?

Hans Huybrighs has kindly agreed to give a special talk to the society during a short visit to New Zealand in October and November. He is currently a PhD researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. Hans is studying data from NASA’s historic Galileo mission in preparation of the European Space Agency’s JUpiter ICy moon Explorer (JUICE), which is scheduled for launch in 2022. From 2019 he will be working for ESA to continue preparations for JUICE.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Mark Watson-Vaughan OrdinaryKori Young YouthRobert Rigby FamilySteve Dye FamilyMike Hunter OrdinaryFinn Wilson YouthCasey Smith FamilyRody Oldenhuis OrdinarySimon O’Brian OrdinaryRahul Manivannan YouthRowan Holmes FamilyMichael Ennion FamilyMichael Stoddart OrdinaryCatherine Wilson Ordinary


OUTREACH TEAM – SUMMER EVENTS

The Society is very active in public outreach. There are a growing number of events, particularly around the Matariki Festival, where the Society can fulfil its aim of taking astronomy to the public. This summer, the Society will be actively supporting the Auckland Botanic Gardens with their space-themed event running from December 2018 through to March 2019. There will be solar viewing days as well as night viewing – even though night comes late over summer.

Being part of the Outreach Team entails attending public events where members and the Society provide telescopes for viewing, discussing the night sky and the importance of dark skies and light pollution. This is a very satisfying team to be a part of as you really get to experience the wonder of astronomy over and over again. Even if you don’t have your own telescope, you’re very welcome to join the team and get involved.

Please contact Niven at [email protected] or on 021 935 261.

SOCIETY COUNCIL AND OFFICERS

President Bill Thomas (09) 478 4874 [email protected]

Vice-President Grant Christie (021) 0240 4992 [email protected]

Treasurer/ Outreach Niven Brown (021) 935 261 [email protected]

Secretary Gavin Logan (021) 144 1055 [email protected]

Membership Chris Benton (09) 424-4278 [email protected]

Curator of Instruments Steve Hennerley (027) 245 6441 [email protected]

Darren Woodley 021776481

Librarian Jerina Grewar (09) 444 5086 [email protected]

Journal Milina Ristić (029) 912 4748 [email protected]

Shaun Fletcher (09) 557 8686

Meetings Coordinator David Britten (09) 846 3657 [email protected]

Social Media Jonathan Green (09) 415 7284 [email protected]

Events [email protected]

Councillor Carolle Varughese 022 488 1906 [email protected]

SOCIETY CONTACTS

Auckland Astronomical Society Inc.PO Box 24187, Royal OakAuckland 1345, New Zealand

Website: www.astronomy.org.nzFacebook www.facebook.com/AuckAstroSocYoutube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC4W5_RJtWZBceOteC-8PTIAEmail: [email protected]

Meeting BroadcastsThe Society is now broadcasting many of its meetings online through our YouTube channel. You can watch the meetings live or at a later time. Perfect if you are unable to make it to the meeting or would just like to see the

talk again.

You can subscribe to our YouTube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4W5_RJtWZBceOteC-8PTIA


Japan’s Hopping Rovers Capture Amazing Views of Asteroid RyuguBy Hanneke Weitering, Space.com

Two tiny, hopping rovers that landed on asteroid Ryugu last week have beamed back some incredible new views of the asteroid‘s rocky surface.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency‘s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 sample-return mission dropped the two nearly identical rovers, named Minerva-II1A and Minerva-II1B, onto the surface of Ryugu on Sept. 21. In a new video ( https://youtu.be/OGVBwYVcPD4 ) from the eyes of Minerva-II1B, you can watch the sun move across the sky as its glaring sunlight reflects off the shiny rocks that cover Ryugu‘s surface.

„Please take a moment to enjoy ‚standing‘ on this new world,“ JAXA officials said in a statement released today (Sept. 27). The video was shot over the course of 1 hour and 14 minutes beginning on Sept. 22 at 9:34 p.m. EDT (0134 GMT on Sept. 23).

The Hayabusa2 mission‘s MINERVA-II1B rover snapped this photo of asteroid Ryugu right before it hopped across the asteroid‘s surface on Sept. 22, 2018, at 8:46 p.m. EDT (12:46 a.m. GMT on Sept. 23).

The Hayabusa2 mission‘s MINERVA-II1B rover snapped this photo of asteroid Ryugu right before it hopped across the asteroid‘s surface on Sept. 22, 2018, at 8:46 p.m. EDT (12:46 a.m. GMT on Sept. 23).

Credit: JAXA

Unlike the rovers that have landed on Mars, these twin rovers have no wheels. Instead of rolling across the asteroid‘s surface, these are designed to „hop“ across the asteroid‘s surface.

They can hop horizontal distances of up to 50 feet (15 meters), and because Ryugu‘s gravity is so weak, it can take them up to 15 minutes to land.


MINERVA-II1A captured the shadow of its own antenna and pin on Sept. 22, 2018, at 8:48 p.m. EDT (12:48 a.m. GMT on Sept. 23).

Credit: JAXA

The other rover, Minerva-II1A, managed to snap a photo of its shadow in between hops. In the rover‘s shadow, you can see its antenna and its „pin“ — a device that helps provide friction while hopping, protects the rover‘s solar cells while landing, and measures the asteroid‘s surface temperature with a built-in thermometer, JAXA officials said in the statement.

Another view from Minerva-II1A shows a bizarre, football-shaped rock formation on the surface of Ryugu.

Credit: JAXA

The Minerva-II1 rovers aren‘t the only spacecraft the Hayabusa2 mission will deploy at Ryugu. In October, it will drop a lander called MASCOT. And in 2019, another hopping rover, called Minerva-II2, will join the club.

Later next year, the Hayabusa2 mothership will descend to the asteroid‘s surface to collect samples, which it will bring back to Earth sometime in 2020.

Email Hanneke Weitering at [email protected] or follow her @hannekescience.


STRIKING ATMOSPHERIC FEATURES IN JUPITER’S NORTHERN HEMISPHERE ARE CAPTURED IN THIS SERIES OF COLOR-ENHANCED IMAGES FROM NASA’S JUNO SPACECRAFT.An anticyclonic white oval, called N5-AWO, can be seen at center left of the first image (at far left) and appears slightly higher in the second and third images. A tempest known as the Little Red Spot is visible near the bottom of the second and third images. The reddish-orange band that is prominently displayed in the fourth and fifth images is the North North Temperate Belt.

From left to right, this sequence of images was taken between 9:54 p.m. and 10:11 p.m. PDT on July 15 (12:54 a.m. and 1:11 a.m. EDT on July 16), as the spacecraft performed its 14th close flyby of Jupiter. At the time, Juno’s altitude ranged from about 15,700 to 3,900 miles (25,300 to 6,200 kilometers) from the planet’s cloud tops, above a latitude of approximately 69 to 36 degrees.

Citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran created this image using data from the spacecraft’s JunoCam imager.

JunoCam’s raw images are available for the public to peruse and process into image products at https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam

More information about Juno is at https://www.nasa.gov/juno and https://missionjuno.swri.edu.

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstäd/Seán Doran

An excellent article regarding Science using JunoCan images is available at the Planetary Society:

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2017/1218-agu17-junocam-science.html

The Planetary Society has now generously made the full archive of their Journal, The Planetary Report, available for public reading at the following page:

http://www.planetary.org/explore/the-planetary-report/


Help Wanted

The Society continues to grow. To maintain our level of programmes and member services it takes a lot of work to organise, so the more people than can help with the various tasks will spread the load and makes it an easier job for everybody.

The Society Council recently identified various jobs that we need help with and we are looking for volunteers to join the small teams than run these functions. Please note, none of these jobs are positions on Council

If you are interested in helping out with one of the below jobs please contact Bill Thomas at [email protected] or phone 09 478 4874 or 021 225 8175 to discuss further. He will also be available at AAS meetings.

SPECIAL EVENTS COORDINATOR

This role is primarily to organise the Burbidge Dinner and also any other special events that the Society may hold. The role receives a lot of support from Council in terms of inviting speakers, venue hire etc. The Coordinator liaises with the coordinators of the astrophotography competition and writing prize but is not required to organise the judging for these awards.

OUTREACH TEAM

The Society is very active in public outreach. There are a growing number of events, particularly around the Matariki Festival, where the Society can fulfil its aim of taking astronomy to the public. Being part of the Outreach Team entails attending public events where members and the Society provide telescopes for viewing, discussing the night sky and the importance of dark skies and light pollution. This is a very satisfying team to be a part of as you really get to experience the wonder of astronomy over and over again.

SECRETARY

This role includes the recording and preparation of minutes of Council meetings.

The secretary is also responsible for the archival of Society records and documents

ASSISTANT EDITOR

To be part of the team that prepares the Society Journal.

You will need to have access to and experience in using publishing tools such as Adobe InDesign or Microsoft Publisher

Introduction to Astronomy – Programme for 2018Date Speaker TopicMonday, February 05, 2018 Chris Benton Total Solar EclipsesMonday, March 05, 2018 John Cartwright The Northern LightsMonday, April 02, 2018 Grant Christie The First StarsMonday, May 07, 2018 Chris Benton The Hazards of Long-Duration Human SpaceflightMonday, June 04, 2018 Bernie Brenner History of Astronomy: Unsung Hereos IMonday, July 02, 2018 Bernie Brenner History of Astronomy: Unsung Hereos IIMonday, August 06, 2018 Chris Benton Water on MarsMonday, September 03, 2018 Chris Benton Gravity & Other Forces that Shape the Solar SystemMonday, October 15, 2018 Chris Benton Planetary AtmospheresMonday, November 05, 2018 Chris Benton Planetary SurfacesMonday, December 03, 2018 Chris Benton End of Year Quiz


CONTENTS• Historical background• Brief history of the Universe• Let there be light• Stars• Galaxy formation• Measuring the Universe• Galaxies

The Most Interesting Galaxies in the UniverseJoel L. Schiff, University of Auckland

Paperback ISBN: 9781643270012 • eBook ISBN: 9781643270043Hardcover ISBN: 9781643270050 • September, 2018 • 163 pages Paperback: $64.95 • eBook: $51.96 • Combo: $81.19Hardcover: $84.95 • Hardcover Combo: $106.19

Prior to the 1920s it was generally thought, with a few exceptions, that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was the entire Universe. Based on the work of Henrietta Leavitt with Cepheid variables, astronomer Edwin Hubble was able to determine that the Andromeda Galaxy and others had to lie outside our own. Moreover, based on the work of Vesto Slipher, involving the redshifts of these galaxies, Hubble was able to determine that the Universe was not static, as had been previously thought, but expanding.

The number of galaxies has also been expanding, with estimates varying from 100 billion to 2 trillion. While every galaxy in the Universe is interesting just by its very fact of being, the author has selected 51 of those that possess some unusual qualities that make them of some particular interest. These galaxies have complex evolutionary histories, with some having supermassive black holes at their core, others are powerful radio sources, a very few are relatively nearby and even visible to the naked eye, whereas the light from one recent discovery has been travelling for the past 13.4 billion years to show us its infancy, and from a time when the Universe was in its infancy. And in spite of the vastness of the Universe, some galaxies are colliding with others, embraced in a graceful gravitational dance. Indeed, as the Andromeda Galaxy is heading towards us, a similar fate awaits our Milky Way.

When looking at a modern image of a galaxy, one is in awe at the shear wondrous nature of such a magnificent creation, with its boundless secrets that it is keeping from us, its endless possibilities for harboring alien civilizations, and we remain left with the ultimate knowledge that we are connected to its glory.

While every galaxy is interesting, here’s 51 of them that possess unusual qualities that make them particularly fascinating...including our own.

Advertisement

The author is a long standing AAS member and offers a discount of 20% to all other members. This can be obtained by using the code: authorcoll at checkout


Dedicated to Beatrice Muriel Hill Tinsley (1941–1981), a scholar from New Zealandwho made very significant contributions to the study of galaxy evolution and

cosmology, but who left our world all too soon.

Beatrice Tinsley at Yale University in 1978. Credit: Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

The book, The Most Interesting Galaxies in the Universe, is

Stardome volunteers needed

Stardome is looking for telescope volunteers!

Volunteers operate either the courtyard telescopes on Tuesday - Sunday evenings or the Zeiss telescope on Thursday- Saturday evenings. If you enjoy engaging with the public on a wide range of astronomical topics and would like to assist the Stardome team in creating an enjoyable experience for visitors, then we would love to hear from you. Volunteers gain personal satisfaction in giving the public an exciting educational experience, free admission to Stardome shows and a free Stardome shop food item every time you volunteer. Full telescope training is provided.

Please get in contact with Susan ASAP on [email protected] or 09 624 1246 ext. 207 if you’re interested.


National Aeronautics and Space Administration

SolarWindandCorona Timeline

A historicaltimeline of

solar sciencediscoveries—

leading tothe newestspacecraftin NASA’s

heliophysicsfleet.

LAUNCHA mission to travel directly through

the Sun’s corona, providing up-close observations on what heats the

solar atmosphere and accelerates the solar wind.

Slow Solar Wind and Helmet StreamersUsing observations from the joint ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric

Observatory, Neil R. Sheeley Jr. and colleagues identify puffs of slow solar wind emanating from helmet streamers — bright areas ofthe corona that form above magnetically active regions on the

photosphere. Exactly how these puffs are formed is still not known.

2018

1959

1958

1962

1973

1988

1990

1995

1943

1942

1842

1610

The Sun’s PolesUlysses, a joint NASA-ESA mission, becomes the first mission

to fly over the Sun’s north and south poles. Among other findings, Ulysses found that in periods of minimal solar

activity, the fast solar wind comes from the poles, while the slow solar wind comes from equatorial regions.

Nanoflares May Heat the CoronaEugene Parker proposes that frequent, small eruptions

on the Sun — known as nanoflares — may heat thecorona to its extreme temperatures. The nanoflare

theory contrasts with the wave theory, in which heating is caused by the dissipation of Alfvén waves.

Fast Wind from Coronal HolesImages from Skylab, the U.S.’s first manned space station,

identify that the fast solar wind is emitted from coronal holes — comparatively cool regions of the corona where

the Sun’s magnetic field lines open out into space.

The Slow and Fast Solar WindNASA’s Mariner 2 spacecraft observes the solar wind,

detecting two distinct ‘streams’ within it: a slow stream travelling at approximately 215 miles per second, and

a fast stream at 430 miles per second.

Solar Wind DetectedThe Soviet satellite Luna 1, the first spacecraft to leave geocentric orbit, measures the solar

wind directly for the first time, confirming key parts of Parker’s theory.

The First Theory of the Solar WindEugene Parker connects the hot corona with the solar wind in a rigorous mathematical theory. According to the theory,

heat pressure from the million-degree corona forces it to expand outward in all directions, forming a solar wind that

drags the Sun’s magnetic field lines deep into space.

A Solar Wind Made of ParticlesBuilding on Kepler’s hypothesis from 400 years

before, Cuno Hoffmeister (and later Ludwig Biermann) proposes that the Sun emits a steady

stream of charged particles that push the ionsin the comet tails always away from the Sun.

A New Heating MechanismSwedish physicist Hannes Alfvén proposes the

existence of a new kind of wave forming in electrically conducting fluids. So-called Alfvén waves revealed a

previously overlooked mechanism for heat and energy to be transferred on the Sun.

The Coronal Heating ProblemSwedish astronomer Bengt Edlen detects highly

ionized iron in the corona, indicating a temperature of 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit. Edlen’s findings

created the coronal heating problem: Why is the corona so much hotter than the Sun’s surface?

The Corona as the Sun’s AtmosphereEnglish astronomer Francis Baily observes a total solar eclipse and suggests that the hazy ‘corona’

outlining the Sun is its atmosphere.

Comet Tails in the WindJohannes Kepler observes comet tails and

hypothesizes that they are blown by pressure from sunlight — a solar breeze.

www.nasa.gov


December 7th - 9th, 2018

Foxton Beach Bible Camp

Foxton Beach

Horowhenua

www.nzapw.org.nz

The Horowhenua Astronomical Society is hosting the sixth New Zealand Astrophotography

Weekend. Held in the lower North Island it is an annual event dedicated to astrophotography in a

wonderful dark-sky location. It is open to everyone interested in astrophotography - from beginners

to advanced. Come along and share your knowledge, tips and experiences

All sorts of astrophotography can be undertaken - solar-system/nightscapes/deep-sky

The weekend shall consist of:

• Practical astrophotography

• Image Processing

• Presentations

• Bring-and-buy

• Fish and chips dinner

• Late-night movies

Everyone is encouraged to bring along their own telescopes/binoculars/mounts/cameras etc.

however basic they might be.


Research meetingThe Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron

181 Westhaven DriveWesthaven Marina

Auckland

24-25 October 2018

Te Ao Mārama —Centre for Fundamental Inquiry

Alex

Con

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Te Ao Mārama - the Centre for Fundamental Inquiry was launched at The University of Auckland on the 31st of October 2017. We are interested in questions that are easy to ask but remarkably dicult to answer, including: Ÿ How did life originate from nonliving matter? Ÿ How is life distributed in the universe? Ÿ Is our own universe part of a much larger multiverse?

Our goal is to inspire researchers to tackle these and other fundamental questions, and to foster collaboration that transcends disciplinary boundaries. Te Ao Mārama approaches these questions from a distinctive Aotearoa New Zealand perspective.

Te Ao Mārama will be hosting a research meeting on 24-25 October 2018 at The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The meeting will focus on research exploring the evolution of the universe and its life, bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and career stages. Invited keynote speakers include Rangi Matamua (University of Waikato), Martin Van Kranendonk (University of New South Wales), Anthony Aguirre (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Daniella Scalice (NASA Astrobiology Program).

We are accepting short abstracts for consideration as talks or posters. We welcome submissions from current TAM members and from anyone working in the space of fundamental questions about life and the universe.

At this link (http://www.teaomarama.auckland.ac.nz/upcoming-events/) you may register to attend (for catering purposes), or submit an abstract (by 17 September). Registration is free.


The society has a wide variety of equipment available to rent to members. The range of scopes go from the beginner Dobsonian telescopes through to the advanced computerised GOTO systems. All rental equipment is of high quality and regularly maintained. Rental periods are typically in 4-week blocks, but other arrangements may be available if you have a specific requirement. Full training and support is given for all equipment, including advice if equipment is suitable for your needs, or experience level.

8” Astronz Dobsonian Telescope $10/week Celestron Nexstar 5 127mm SCT Alt/Az Goto Telescope $12.5/week

iOptron Minitower Alt/Az with Celestron C5 OTA $12.50/week iOptron ZEQ25 GOTO Equatorial Mount with Celestron C8 $15/week

Meade LX-10 200mm Schmidt Cassegrain $10/week Coronado PST 40mm Hydrogen-Alpha Solar Telescope $10/week

iOptron Skytracker $10/week 20x80 Binocular $7.50/week

We are often adding items to our rental equipment, and we are really keen to hear what other items may be useful to members. Any ideas of for any information regarding availability or how to rent equipment, please contact:

Curator of Instruments -Steve Hennerley on 027 2456441 orDarren Woodley on 021 776481 [email protected]


The Evening Sky in October 2018By Alan Gilmore, University of Canterbury‘s Mt John Observatory, www.canterbury.ac.nz


Four naked-eye planets are prominent in the evening sky at the beginning of the month. Brilliant Venus and golden Ju-

piter make two ‘evening stars’ in the west. Orange Mars is north of overhead, a little fainter than Jupiter. Saturn is between Jupi-ter and Mars, nearer to Mars and the bright-est ‘star’ in that part of the sky.

By mid-month Venus has sunk lower in the twilight as it begins to pass between us and the Sun. It is joined by Mercury, catching up on us from the far side of the Sun. Around the 17th Mercury will be a medium-bright ‘star’ right of Venus. The pair set in the southwest around 9:40 NZDT. Venus sinks lower in the twilight, disappearing from the evening sky before the end of the month. Mercury moves higher in the twilight, being level with Jupiter by the 27th. Mercury re-mains in the evening twilight while Jupiter sinks lower and disappears. After passing between us and the Sun, Venus begins ap-pearing low in the eastern dawn twilight in the last days of October.

The thin crescent Moon will be right of Mer-cury on the 10th, level with Venus on the 11th and right of Jupiter on the 12th. The somewhat fatter Moon will be close to Sat-urn on the 15th and close to Mars on the 18th.

Orange Antares, roughly midway between Jupiter and Saturn, marks the body of the Scorpion. The Scorpion’s tail loops up the sky in the evening, making a back-to-front ques-tion mark with Antares being the dot. The curved tail is the ‘fish-hook of Maui’ in Maori star lore. Antares is a red giant star: 600 light years* away and 19 000 times brighter than

the sun. Red giants are dying stars, wringing the last of the thermo-nuclear energy from their cores. Massive ones like Antares end in a spectacular supernova explosion. Above and right of the Scorpion’s tail is ‘the teapot’ made by the brightest stars of Sagittarius. It is upside down in our southern hemisphere view.

Canopus is low in the southeast at dusk of-ten twinkling colourfully. It swings up into the eastern sky during the night. Canopus is 13 000 times the sun’s brightness and 300 light years* away. On the north skyline is Vega, setting in the early evening. It is 50 times brighter than the sun, 25 light years away and the 5th brightest star in the sky.

In the southwest are ‘The Pointers ‘, Beta and Alpha Centauri, making a vertical pair. They point down to Crux the Southern Cross. Al-pha Centauri, the top Pointer, is the closest naked eye star at 4.3 light years away. Beta Centauri is a blue-giant star, very hot and very luminous, hundreds of light years away.

The Milky Way is brightest and broadest in Scorpius and Sagittarius. In a dark sky it can be traced down to the south. In the north it meets the skyline right of Vega. From north-ern New Zealand the star Deneb can be seen near the north skyline in the Milky Way. It is the brightest star in Cygnus the Swan. The Milky Way is our edgewise view of the gal-axy, the pancake of billions of stars of which the sun is just one. The thick hub of the gal-axy, 30 000 light years away, is in Sagittarius. The actual centre, with a black hole four mil-lion times the sun’s mass, is hidden by dust clouds in space. Its direction is a little outside the Teapot’s spout, left of Saturn. The nearer

‘interstellar’ clouds appear as gaps and slots in the Milky Way. The dust and gas has come from old stars that have thrown much of their material back into space as they faded or blew up.

New stars eventually condense from this stuff. A scan along the Milky Way with bin-oculars shows many clusters of new stars and some glowing clouds of left-over gas. There are many in Scorpius and Sagittarius and in the Carina region.

The Large and Small Clouds of Magellan, LMC and SMC, look like two misty patches of light in the southeast sky. They are easily seen by eye on a dark moonless night. They are galaxies like our Milky Way but much smaller. The Large Cloud is about 5% the mass of our Galaxy and the small one 3%. That is still many billions of stars in each. The LMC is around 160 000 light years away; the SMC around 200 000 l.y

On moonless evenings in a dark rural sky the Zodiacal Light is visible in the west. It is a faint broad column of light around the low-er planets, fading out at the Milky Way. It is sunlight reflecting off meteoric dust in the plane of the solar system. The dust may have come from a big comet, many centuries ago.

*A light year (l.y.) is the distance that light travels in one year: nearly 10 million mil-lion km or 1013 km. Sunlight takes eight minutes to get here; moonlight about one second. Sunlight reaches Neptune, the out-ermost major planet, in four hours. It takes four years to reach the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

Diary of events in October by RASNZ

October 2 Moon last quarter

October 2 Moon northern most declination (21.0 degrees)

October 5 Venus stationary

October 5 Moon at perigee

October 5 Regulus 1.8 degrees south of the Moon

October 6 Mercury 2.0 degrees north of Spica

October 9 Moon new

October 10 Mercury 5.5 degrees south of the Moon

October 11 Jupiter 3.9 degrees south of the Moon

October 15 Saturn 1.8 degrees south of the Moon

October 15 Moon southern most declination (-21.2 degrees)

October 16 Pluto 1.1 degrees south of the Moon Occn

October 16 Moon first quarter

October 17 Moon at apogee

October 18 Mars 1.9 degrees south of the Moon

October 21 Neptune 2.4 degrees north of the Moon

October 24 Uranus at opposition

October 24 Uranus 4.4 degrees north of the Moon

October 24 Moon full

October 26 Venus inferior conjunction

October 27 Aldebaran 1.6 degrees south of the Moon

October 29 Mercury 3.1 degrees south of Jupiter

October 29 Moon northern most declination (21.3 degrees)

October 31 Moon last quarter

October 31 Moon at perigee

DATE (NZDT) DIARY OF SOLAR SYSTEM EVENTS IN OCTOBER 2018 FOR NEW ZEALAND

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SOCIETY JOURNAL - astronomy.org.nz · the scientific method that lies behind the discovery of these astounding universal facts. They emphasize the scientific hypothesis as the basis