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Skies to Stars: Moons
By Ed Downs
Notice, the title of this month’s Skies to Stars is “Moons,” the plural of “Moon.” No, Earth did not pick up another moon, but the one we have is fascinating. This writer’s 12” reflector is well adapted to study our moon in surprising detail. With a clear sky and 300 power magnification, the normal visual distance of about 250,000 miles can be cut down to a surprisingly close 800 miles. Not only can one see the vast number of craters that were created during the late heavy bombardment period (upwards to four billion years ago), but also the mountain ranges and “seas” that were formed by volcanic activity. Best observed when less than half full to improve shadow contrast, our moon is a wonder of discoveries. But our moon is not the only show in town. Mercury and Venus do not have moons, we have one and Mars has two small moons, leaving the inner rocky planets significantly “moon challenged.” You see, there are at least 180 moons (and still counting) in our solar system; many of which can be seen by amateur astronomers.
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?”
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!
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.