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Skies to Stars: Eclipse = Nerd Time
By Ed Downs
2017 American Eclipse (Ed Downs)Okay, this writer must admit to being a science nerd. Add the disciplines of astronomy and astrophysics to the word “science,” and this writer will go on a genuine “nerd binge.” The much-touted “American Eclipse” on Aug. 21 gave our entire country a chance to unabashedly “nerd out” with family fun and a national interest in science that lent great relief from the hodgepodge of today’s dearth of unwelcome news, insulting politicians, and threats of nuclear annihilation.
You see, our Sun, a very average mid-size star, located between the Perseus and Sagittarius arms of a very average galaxy called the Milky Way, in a local neighborhood called the Orion Spur, is kind of important to us. Given the Milky Way’s total diameter of about 100,000 light-years, our Sun is about 26,000 light-years from the center of our galaxy, which contains a great black hole that is trying to eat us. For you aviators who have become totally dependent upon the GPS, try loading that location into your database! As big as all that sounds, there are billions of galaxies in our universe, each have billions of stars supporting trillions of planets. Yep, I like remembering these stats whenever I meet someone who thinks they are the singular most important life form in existence.
As puny as it might be, our Sun is still the power source of life in our tiny solar system. The Sun is especially important to the third orbiting rock, where a struggling life form, homo sapiens-sapiens (yep, you must say it twice), is utterly depended upon the Sun’s significant energy for survival. It is not by accident that the ancient Egyptian civilization chose Ra, the Sun god, as their choice for worship when they chose a temporary path of monotheism. Our Sun’s energy is, in fact, so great that without the Earth’s powerful magnetic fields (forming a Star Trek like “shields up”), our atmosphere would have been boiled away millions of years ago, and we would look a lot more like Mars than Earth.
Skies to Stars: How Big is Big?
By Ed Downs
Even with a modest amateur telescope, one can see unimaginable distances and travel through nearly endless time. Distance numbers that are simply difficult to picture in a visual manner sometimes challenges even the pros. Units of measurement, like miles, kilometers, lunar units, astronomical units, light years, parsecs, kilo parsecs and many more are used to describe the vastness of our universe with modest success. Spacecraft have now reached planets as close as Mars, and as far away as Pluto, but what is the real relative distance being traveled to visit our closest planetary neighbors? Most classroom models of our tiny solar system show the planets as being equally spaced as they circle the sun. The fact is, if made to scale, some classroom models would take up several city blocks.
This writer was recently gifted a terrific book, The Total Skywatcher’s Manual, authored by Linda Shore and David Prosper, both representing the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. This is an absolutely “must have” book for any individual who wants to know more about all things astronomical, written in a fun and entertaining manner and filled with incredible illustrations. It is divided into multiple, short chapters of information, with “Chapter 110” teaching one how to construct a proportionally correct model of our solar system. This is a real revelation and great fun for both adults and kids. Follow along as The Total Skywatcher’s Manual gives you a perspective that is jaw dropping.
Skies to Stars: Andromeda
By Ed Downs
It was another night at the Astronomy Club of Tulsa’s observatory, just southwest of Mounds, Okla. Yes, that is in the middle of nowhere, just right for dark night observing. It was also a visitor night, with a group of kids from a scout group and many adult visitors planning to join our group of astronomy nerds as we pointed our telescopes starward. With pleasant temperatures, it looked like a great observing evening, so of course, Oklahoma weather decided not to cooperate. Altostratus and cruciform clouds covered about two thirds of the sky, but a group of diehards headed out to do what we could to entertain and educate guests.
Our local expert and guru, John Land, conducted a terrific planetarium show, using what little of the sky could be seen by using a laser pointer, all the while promoting safe use of laser pointing devices, but trying to find a good target for beginners to view proved difficult. This writer was asked to see if I could find M 31 with my 12-inch Orion reflector, sometimes called a “light bucket” due to its ability to suck in even dim objects. Sure enough, M 31 was located, and folks were invited to view this wonder of the skies. We then realized the “M 31” meant absolutely nothing to the newcomers, and finally announced, “Who wants to take a look at the Andromeda Galaxy?”
Skies to Stars: Nothing Stays the Same
By Ed Downs
The Giant Red Spot on Jupiter. (NASA.gov)This amateur astronomer decided that it was time to dabble in the rapidly expanding field of astro photography and bought a new gadget. Sort of like flying, there is always another accessory to buy. That gadget is designed to hold a simple, digital, point and shoot class of camera in the correct position to actually take photos of distant objects. This is a long way from the more advanced levels of amateur astro-photography, which can challenge Hubble Telescope photos, but it is a fun and cheap place to start.
The timing is also good as a favorite local, Jupiter, is positioned for the best viewing in two years. The gas giant Jupiter and it’s four largest moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Calisto make for terrific photos. Even a small telescope will give the amateur a great view, and a telescope such as owned by this writer (12” reflector) will allow one to resolve some surface details on the moons. Yes, these are big moons, the least of which (Europa) is a bit smaller than our moon and the largest (Ganymede) being bigger than the planet Mercury. But why, one might ask, bother taking a rudimentary photo when incredible images are already available from the likes of the Hubble Space Telescope, the Galileo and New Horizons spacecraft plus highly advanced ground based telescopes?
Skies to Stars: Christmas Stars
By Ed Downs
No, there is no mistake in titling this column in the plural, that is to say “stars” as opposed to “star.” To be sure, the “Star of Bethlehem” is a cherished part of the Christmas tradition, as are the Three Wise Men. These three searchers are said to have used that star to guide them in their search for the Savior. Biblical historians have long argued as to who these “Wise Men” might have been and how it was that they, presumed to be of Babylonian origins, would have known about Hebrew prophesies of a coming of a Savior. Some have guessed that these “scholars” may have been what we would today call astrologers, a possibility often shunned by those who think of astrology as a superstitious form of divination.
Skies to Stars: Coming Attractions
By Ed Downs
Part of the fun at looking into deep space (beyond our own solar system) is knowing that the light you are seeing has been traveling through space for possibly millions of years. While astronomers talk as if they are viewing in the present, the images they observe are actually being seen as if you were looking back in time. In other words, the dramatic announcement of spotting a super nova (massive exploding star) makes it sound as if the event was currently in the process of happening whereas, in fact, it may have happened a million years ago. That does not, however, alter the fact that it is the first time the event is being seen from our planet. True, others, on other exoplanets (planets not in our solar system, and there are a BUNCH of those) may have seen an event first, but they (the little green guys) are not talking… yet.
But let’s take another approach at talking about celestial objects and events, like those that are to come. What about “coming attractions?”
From Skies to Stars - August 2013
There is No Such Thing as a “Dumb” Question
By Ed Downs
As pilots, we have all taken folks, both adults and kids, for their first airplane ride. We aviators hope that our “newbie” will thrill at the wonder of flight. As a CFI who grew up in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California, the first reaction I saw was almost always, “wow, look at all the swimming pools!” Not exactly the wonder of flight I was hoping for.
The same can be said of those who take their first look through a telescope. One would expect wonder at the size of the universe, a thrill at seeing planets “first hand,” and amazement when stars are magnified to show magnificent color differentials. But, the actual observations of “newbies” are often quite different than one might expect. Recent events offered an opportunity to hear unexpected questions first hand. With broad media coverage of the “Super Moon” in late June, a good friend could not resist his passion for astronomy and invited this writer to attend a large family gathering, complete with great food and all the accoutrements. The catch was, “would I bring my telescope so his family and guests could see this somewhat unusual lunar event.” Pilots and amateur astronomers have a lot of common interest, one of which is food, so it was a deal!
From Skies to Stars - April 2013
The Comet Cometh
By Ed Downs
First a meteor smacks into Russia, and then, just a few days later, we get a close flyby of a good sized asteroid. In cosmic terms, that asteroid came close enough to give “doomsday preppers” reason to celebrate their decisions. It was close. But it is not all scary news. Astronomers who work with visible light, versus those light bands that can be seen only through the use of special instrumentation, have something to celebrate. It seems as though the summit of Haleakala on the Hawaiian island of Maui, at 10,000 feet above sea level, now sports a telescopic array that promises to be the most powerful survey telescope ever built. “Survey” means a telescope that specifically looks for things, all sorts of things, which may be heading our way. It’s called Pan-STARRS, short for Panchromatic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System. And is the first of a four telescopes array planned.
From Skies to Stars - March 2013
It Ain’t Over Yet
By Ed Downs
Yes, February was a real “high five” for both amateur and professional astronomers. Astronomy, often thought of as a “geek” profession (or hobby) by the multitudes who would rather watch late night television as opposed to freezing their tushies off while stooped over a telescope, may reconsider their opinions. Clearly, astronomy is a participative sport that involves loud noises, close calls, frightening damage and reflection upon the many science fiction movies dealing with annihilation by giant meteors, comets or asteroids. And it ain’t over yet!
February started out with excitement as the world waited for the fly-by of asteroid 2012DA14. With a diameter of approximately 160 feet (such objects are seldom spherical); 2012DA14 was expected to pass within 18,000 miles of earth, truly a “near miss,” being inside the orbit of a number of communication satellites. Then, just 16 hours before this asteroid was to buzz our planet, a 10,000 ton meteorite, 55 feet across, ripped into the Earth’s atmosphere over Russia, moving at 44,000 mph. To put that in perspective, moving at that speed one could fly from New York to LA in 4 minutes or cover the distance from the Moon to Earth in about 5.3 hours – our astronauts took 3.5 days to do the same. It exploded 12 to 15 miles above the surface of the earth, creating an air burst of 500 kilotons of TNT (30 times larger than the Hiroshima A-bomb). More than 1,000 people were injured from shattered glass and other debris over a 30-mile radius. This writer was just gearing up to watch the 2012DA14 fly-by when we received a firm reminder that “we are not alone in space.”
Skies to Stars - December 2012
The Christmas Star
By Ed Downs
The holiday season offers a huge number of both aviation and astronomical topics to write about. From the aviation standpoint, gift giving is made easy. Pilots will love anything that has to do with their flying activities or cherished flying machine. We are an easy “gift buy” group. Astronomy also has a firm connection with the Christmas season, with the Star of Bethlehem (the Christmas star) playing a major role in virtually every aspect of holiday decorations, lore and tradition. The biblical reference in Mathew 2:2 begins our tradition of “the Star in the East” and the holy journey of the three Magi, referred to as “The Three Kings” in late medieval times. It would be hard to imagine the Christmas tradition without this celestial miracle. A quick search in this writer’s biblical concordance comes up with no less than 10 references to the stars. And, it must be remembered that many biblical historians believe the Magi were astrologers, skilled in many arts and sciences, having familiarity with the prophecies of Daniel. While today astrology is considered a completely different subject than astronomy, they were once one and the same, and perhaps the oldest of all scientific understandings by ancient civilizations. Indeed, the stars are an integral part of the holiday season.
Editorial: A Fly-By for Neil
By Ed Downs
Regular readers of In Flight USA may have picked up on the fact that editorial opinions and the fun of connecting flying with space sciences come from the unsettled mind of a single person, this writer. It was planned to follow our standard two-topic format in September. But history intervened to change those plans. A remarkable person, test pilot and astronaut passed away, and those who remember when this country was proud of its scientific accomplishments took a moment to reflect. Neil Armstrong is gone. The passing of this great American connects opinion, feelings, flying and science together in a way that warrants that only one story should be written this time. Please know that the staff of In Flight USA, plus every aviator and astronomer I know extends their most heart felt sympathies and condolences to Neil’s family and friends, for their loss is unspeakable. Indeed, God speed, Neil.
This writer was in his hotel room after a long day of teaching a Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic, tired and sore from standing for more than 10 hours. But the evening was not over. Research was needed to confirm some facts and numbers before continuing with this month Skies to Stars column. With a cross country planned to the Moon, it was time to fire up the computer, unfurl a detailed Moon map, and consider how I would locate my destination, the Apollo 11 landing site. The quest for data clarification started with a search engine entry regarding Apollo 11 technical information, but I was stopped cold in my tracks. Almost every search link connected to some comment about the passing of Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11 and the first man to set foot on the moon. This was the first I had heard of this news. I fired up the TV and confirmed that a person I had never met, but considered a friend and mentor, was gone. An era was at an end, like so many “eras” of scientific adventure and courage that have come to an end in recent times.
Skies to Stars - June 2012
By Ed Downs
This month’s edition of Skies to Stars diverts from the personal experience of astronomy and takes a quick trip into the wonders of astrophysics. The big guns at NASA are coming up with some pretty cool stuff that has been shaking up the scientific community. From almost the beginning of recorded time, our feeble species has wondered, “are there other ‘Earths’ out there?” Thanks to the Kepler, the Spitzer Space Telescopes and the U.S. portion of the European Space Agency’s Planck mission, that question is being answered.
The Kepler Space Telescope looks for Earth-size planets in the habitable zone, the region in a planetary system where liquid water could exist on the surface of the planet orbiting around sun-like stars in our galaxy. The Spitzer Space Telescope provides the astronomical community with unique infrared images. Among its many duties is probing the atmospheres of planets beyond our sun. The bottom line is that over 2,300 “planet candidates” have now been discovered. Some 400 of these planet candidates are presumed to be “Earth-like,” in that they are estimated to be similar to Earth size and in a favorable temperature zone that will support liquid water. One of these candidates, Kepler 22b, is of particular interest and is known to occupy a habitable zone. But the following information from a NASA press release is even more exciting because a planet, called 55 Cancri e, has been detected by the presence of its own light.
From Skies to Stars
By Ed Downs
Member, Astronomy Club of Tulsa
Ed Downs with his Orion Dobsonian telescope.From Skies to Stars is a new feature appearing in In Flight USA for the first time. In Flight USA is keeping our promise made in the August 2011 editorial regarding the downfall of America’s manned space program. At that time we committed to keeping the flame of space exploration alive by bringing our readers regular information about astronomy, space exploration and space sciences. We have joined up with the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium (TASM) and the Astronomy Club of Tulsa (ACT), a dedicated group of professional and amateur astronomers, science enthusiast and professional educators who have generously offered to share their ongoing outreach program with our readers. We invite readers to participate and let us know what you would like to read. The staff at In Flight USA may be reached at editor@inflightusa.com. Read on, and discover the universe!