See an Exoplanet in Your Telescope!

Around a star slightly smaller than our own sun, about 200 light-years away, orbits a very odd, very big, and very hot planet known as HD80606b. The thing that makes this planet so odd is its highly eccentric orbit (with an eccentricity of 0.93). HD80606b's eccentric orbit takes it very close to its parent star at its lowest point in orbit, about 0.03 AU. During this period of close approach, the planet's atmosphere rises over 1,000 degrees F (555 degrees C) in about 4 hours! Talk about some bad weather! Of course, this enormous temperature swing causes massive storms called shockwave storms, since their winds would be faster than the speed of sound!

So How Could I Possibly See It?

Because of this planet's extremely large size and close orbit, it could actually block out part of its parent star during a transit. This is exactly what is predicted to happen on the evening of February 14, 2009. HD80606b will pass between Earth and its parent star, blocking out a tiny portion of its light. There is a tiny chance that amateur astronomers will be able to detect this event in moderately sized telescopes as a dimming of the star for a few hours on the night of Feb. 14. While it most probably won't be detectable by the human eye, test setups consisting of tracking mounts and CCD cameras could allow amateurs to maybe (just maybe) detect an exoplanet transit at home. Shown below are three finder maps I put together in wide, mid, and close-up views, so anyone can find this star to watch for the event. I'd love to hear any reports of observations of this! (Click to enlarge. Right-click, Save As... and print for use at the scope)

Wide-angle view

Mid-angle view

Close-up view

Clear skies!

NOTE: If you get any CCD photometry data, please send it to AAVSO and transitsearch.org.

Carnival of Space #88

Carnival of Space #88 is live and ready for your viewing at The SpaceWriter!



The Carnival of Space is a gathering of space blogs. Published weekly, it consolidates news and posts from space blogs everywhere! So head on over and check it out for the latest happenings in the space and science world!

Mang Flies Space Telescope Upside Down

In a recent article, David Gamey (Mang) pilots the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) space telescope to do more studies on the star Betelgeuse. In his second MOST article, Mang tells the story of getting to know MOST's tracking systems.

Check out the article at Mang's Bat Page.

Clear skies!

Find a Dark Sky Site Near You

Sooner or later, most amateur astronomers will realize that their once dark sky backyard is becoming more and more light polluted. As cities grow, they typically install more and more street lamps and other illumination. These lights are often poorly designed and waste copious amounts of light into the sky, ruining the view of the night sky. While this may seem trivial to non-astronomers, the absence of stars in the night sky has real effects on the non-astronomers' thoughts on our place in the universe. Even so, not all of our land is ruined by this light pollution yet. There exists state- and nationally-protected parks that are intended to preserve such natural resources as a dark sky, and you'd be surprised to find that the closest one to you isn't that far away! The following websites are great places to find information on dark sky sites near you!

• ObservingSites.com - This website contains a database of dark sky sites submitted by amateur astronomers across the US. If you know of one that is not in their database, submit it at their site!


• Clear Dark Sky - The same people who bring you the "Clear Sky Clock" also have data on local light pollution, also available as high-resolution maps of light pollution levels. A map for each continent is available for download as separate files. Just scroll down the page and select the region you want a map for, and download the appropriate file (these files are quite large and may take a long time to download).


• The Dark Sky Society has a "resources" page that contains info on local and state ordinances regarding light pollution, and what one can do about it.


• For those looking for the ultimate in dark sky sites, check out About.com's page on Soutwestern US dark sky tourism.


• Also check out this article at the National Parks Traveler.

Clear skies!

Pictures of Eclipse from Indonesia

Today, (January 26, 2009) an annular eclipse was visible to observers in Indonesia and South Africa. Most of the eclipse took place over the Indian Ocean, so only the beginning and end of the eclipse were available for land-bound viewers. Known as an annular eclipse, this type of eclipse is only a partial eclipse. In annular eclipses, the moon appears smaller than the sun, and thus cannot totally cover the sun. Check out the images below to see the effect for yourself.







Clear skies!

Project Odin, Radio Telescope

So I've decided to branch out from visual astronomy and do a bit of radio astronomy, too. A group of friends and I needed a project for senior thesis in Electrical Engineering at YSU, so we decided that a radio telescope would make a great project, and dubbed it Project Odin (after the Norse god of the sky). Two out of four of the members are also astronomers, so this should make for a very interesting build. As if a radio telescope weren't enough, we will also be adding interferometry capability, so we can observe distant extragalactic sources such as Cassiopeia A and Virgo A. I'll keep you updated with pics and info as it progresses! Below is our antenna design, consisting of two half-wave dipoles, similar to a Radio Jove.



Clear skies!

Constellation Showcase: Orion

Some of you may have noticed that last month, we didn't have a Constellation Showcase. I was on winter break and ended up not getting around to it. So I'm going to make up for it with this month's Constellation Showcase.

The Constellation Showcase is a monthly segment detailing a currently viewable constellation, typically somewhere along the ecliptic or high in the Northern sky. This month's special edition will focus on one of many amateur astronomers' favorites: Orion! One reason Orion is a favorite among astronomers is how easy it is to find. In January, Orion will be easily visible to the South (if you're in the Northern hemisphere). In the South, you will see three bright stars in a horizontal line; this is Orion's belt. Above and below these stars is an hourglass shape, which forms Orion's body, as seen in the picture at top right. Aside from being very easy to find, Orion is full of great objects to see in even the most modest of telescopes, as we will see below!

In Greek mythology, Orion was a hunter. Orion makes his first appearance in Homer's Odyssey, and several versions of his story follow. In one such myth, Orion is killed by Artemis, a giant scorpion, which would become the constellation Scorpius. The Egyptians also assigned this constellation great significance as Osiris, the god of the underworld. Osiris played a major role in Egyptian culture and mythology, and it is theorized that (although they were built at different times) the pyramids at Giza were aligned to mimic Orion's belt.

Nebulae

The constellation Orion contains possibly the most beautiful deep sky object accessible to amateur telescopes. That would be the famous Orion Nebula, or M42. The Orion Nebula is an emission nebula in Orion's "sword". This beautiful nebula is one of the brightest in the night sky and can be visible to the naked eye from dark sky sites. M42 is estimated to be 24 light-years wide and 1,270 light-years away. This nebula is a real treat in even the smallest of amateur telescopes, while larger telescopes (10" and above) will start to show a good bit of detail and a tiny bit of coloration. For example, on a dark night, I can detect a greenish tinge to the nebula in my Z10 dob. This is due mostly to the fact that the human eye is the most sensitive to green light. The other great thing about M42 is that there is so much to look at. Being a rather large target, it looks great at every power from wide-field to high-power! If your collimation is spot-on and the seeing is excellent, try to see all the stars in the Trapezium, the densely populated stellar center of the nebula. This sketch will show you what you can expect to see in medium to large telescopes.

In larger telescopes, the Horsehead Nebula is also a great target. Although the actual "horse head" shape is out of reach of all but the largest telescopes, you may still be able to see some of the nebula. The "horse head" shape actually comes from a dark nebula in front of a bright emission nebula. In the picture to the right (courtesy of Hunter Wilson), you can see this horse head shape as a dark protrusion into the main nebula. Also visible in this image is NGC 2024, the Flame Nebula. The Flame Nebula is the bright nebula in the lower left side of the image. The entire sword of Orion is full of nebulae, and is a very active star-forming region. Viewing this region at very low power or in binoculars is often the best view in the winter sky.

Stars

Orion is also home to several interesting stars. One of these is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant which can be seen as Orion's left shoulder (at the top left of the constellation). Betelgeuse is so large that its diameter is larger than the diameter of Mars' orbit! The image at left (courtesy of NASA/ESA) shows Betelgeuse in ultraviolet light. Red supergiant stars don't typically live very long (in astronomical timescales), and it is theorized that Betelgeuse is nearing the end of its life, at an age of 8.5 million years. At the end of its life, Betelgeuse will likely become a supernova and outshine the Earth's full Moon in the night sky! This event may have already happened, and the light hasn't reached us yet, or it may not happen for thousands of years. Scientists are unsure as to the timing of this event, but one thing's for sure: it won't be easy to miss!

Sigma Orionis is also an interesting star, as it is a multiple star. Sigma Orionis is actually composed of five stars. Four are easily visible to amateur astronomers, and make for an interesting multiple star during nights of good atmospheric stability. The fifth star actually appears to be part of Sigma Orionis A, as it is much dimmer and is very close to its companion star. Sigma Orionis can be found between and below the stars Alnitak and Alnilam in Orion's belt. I could only imagine what the view from such a system's planets would be like (if it has any). Click the picture to see Sigma Orionis as one would through a telescope.

I hope you enjoyed this month's installment of the Constellation Showcase, and that you will join us next month, when we will showcase another constellation!

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Clear skies!

Previous Constellation Showcase - Andromeda
Next Constellation Showcase - Hercules

RSS Feed Status

Feedburner, the company I use to publish the Visual Astronomy RSS feed, is now under the management of Google. So I've transferred this feed to the new system. Everything should remain the same, and the transfer appears to have gone pretty well. If you see anything wrong or experience problems with the feed, send me an e-mail at sean@visualastronomy.com and I'll get right on it.

Clear skies,
Sean

Comet Lulin

There's a new comet on the way, and this one could get quite interesting! This comet's name is Comet Lulin, more formally known as Comet C/2007 N3. This potential naked eye comet could be a very interesting one since it follows an unusual orbit. Comet Lulin is actually moving in the opposite direction of the planets! It also occupies a very low-inclination orbit of about 1.6° from the ecliptic. On top of all this, the comet is in a parabolic trajectory, which means it may have never interacted with the planets and that this may be its first trip into the inner Solar system. As we will see below, this comet's strange orbit will make for some odd behavior.

When Can I See It?

Since Comet Lulin will be moving opposite the motion of the Earth, it will appear to approach us and move away especially fast. Beginning in February 2009, Comet Lulin will rise at about midnight local time, and will be about 6^th or 7^th magnitude. This won't be bright enough to go out and look at it with the naked eye, but any telescope or binoculars should allow you to see it.

By the middle of February 2009, Comet Lulin will be about 5^th or 6^th magnitude. By this time, the comet may possibly be visible to observers in "perfect" dark sky sites.

Closest Approach

Comet Lulin's closest approach will be on February 24^th, 2009 at a distance of about 61 million kilometers. By now, Comet Lulin is predicted to be 5^th magnitude, which means it could be visible to the naked eye in rural locations. The most interesting thing about closest approach, however, is the comet's ridiculously high apparent velocity. Comet Lulin will be speeding along at more than 5° per day! This means that in a telescope or binoculars, one will actually be able to see the comet's apparent motion against the background stars! This effect is a must-see, and does not present itself often.

A Note on Magnitude Estimates

Please note, however, that the magnitude estimates contained in this article are just that: estimates. They are meant to approximate the apparent brightness of this comet and may not be entirely accurate. If anything, however, this comet may actually be slightly brighter than predicted. Since it is theorized that this is Comet Lulin's first foray into the inner Solar system, it will be packed full of "fresh" ice to sublimate, and may suddenly go into outburst like Comet Holmes did. If it does, this will be one very interesting comet!

Click here for instructions on finding this comet!

For pictures of Comet Lulin, check here.

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Clear skies!

100 Hours of Astronomy Planning

Today, the active members of a startup Metro Park Astronomy Club in Ashtabula county of Ohio met for lunch and to discuss plans for our local event for the 100 Hours of Astronomy. This event is a worldwide celebration of astronomy, and is part of the International Year of Astronomy. Our local event will take place on April 4, 2009 at a location yet to be determined. If anyone is interested in being involved in the IYA2009 in Ohio, shoot me an e-mail at sean@visualastronomy.com. Hopefully our weather will hold up, but if it doesn't we're incorporating a "plan B" of sorts.

If you're a member of a local astronomy club, don't be afraid to get out and get involved in the International Year of Astronomy! The IYA2009 can use all the amateur support it can get!

Clear skies!

A Study of Betelgeuse

A good blogging friend, David Gamey, has sent me a link to an interesting article on research he has done with the MOST telescope team. MOST stands for Microvariability and Oscillations of STars. The team has taken a good long look at a familiar member of our winter night sky, the red supergiant Betelgeuse.

To read this article, visit David's website!

Clear skies!

Astronomy Calendar, January 2009

Sorry, this one's a few days late. I'll include all the events for records' sake.

• January 3 - The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks today, with ZHR's as high as 120 meteors per hour! The meteor shower peaks at 13:00 UTC.


• January 7 - A Lunar occultation of M45, the Pleiades, will be visible in Northern Europe at 17:00 UTC.


• January 11 - Full Moon, known as the Ice Moon, occurs at 3:27 UTC.


• January 15 - Saturn is 6 degrees North of the Moon.


• January 21 - The Moon is 0.1 degrees North of the bright red star Antares. Observers in Southern Africa and South America will witness an occultation at 13:00 UTC.


• January 26 - A partial solar eclipse occurs in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia.


• January 30 - Venus is 3 degrees South of the Moon.

As I hear of more events, I'll add them, so check back periodically! There's a comet on the way (Comet Lulin), which could reach 5th magnitude. I'll post finder charts and information within the next few days.

Clear skies!

Observation Report for Jan. 5, 2009

Tonight, I finally got some clear skies to try out my new variable polarizer! I had done without one for so long, I haven't been able to observe the Moon unless it was a sliver. The Zhumell 10" dob gathers enough light that viewing the Moon without a variable polarizer can be quite uncomfortable! I took the image below with a point-and-shoot camera via eyepiece projection (basically holding the camera up to the eyepiece).

An eyepiece-projection image of the Moon, Jan. 5, 2008.

I bought my variable polarizer from Orion Telescopes. It does a pretty good job, and can block as much as 99% of incoming light. This makes it great for viewing the bright moon in large aperture telescopes. I can now comfortably view even tonight's gibbous Moon in comfort. The only problem I had with this polarizer was that at full blocking, it has that funky green coloration typical of many Moon filters. At lighter settings, however, this coloration doesn't seem to be present. Overall, I'd say it was a great buy!



It's very cold tonight! Pictured above is the frost on my dob. That stuff is thick! Last I checked it was 15* F (-9* C) and falling. As I write this, I'm waiting (inside where it's warm) for Saturn to get to a higher altitude so I can see its nearly closed rings. Hopefully my optics don't frost over before then!

Clear skies!

So Tired of 2012 Hype

I was watching TV late last night and the History channel had a special called Nostradamus 2012. I thought, "Oh, this ought to be 'good'!" As I suspected, this special was full of misinformation and speculation. Some of the "evidence" of this 2012 event was just plain incorrect, and some was pure speculation, with no grounding in modern science. I'm disappointed that the History channel would air such a special with no hint of scientific skepticism. During this special many of the so-called experts in the subject talked about their views of what might happen and why they believe so. I was disappointed to see that a lot of the speculation arises not from scientific data, but from carvings in rocks made thousands of years ago.

The view most contradictory to scientific thought, however, is that the "galactic alignment" is going to cause widespread destruction. The fact that they call this "astronomy" is insulting. This "alignment" of our sun with the galactic center occurs every 26,000 years, as the Earth's axis wobbles like a top. This wobbling is called precession. Precession is nothing new, the Earth has been doing this (as far as we know) since it was formed. What makes this "alignment" any different than the hundreds before it? Nothing. Besides, if we were to view this event from any location other than Earth, it would look completely different. The view from Mars or Jupiter would be totally different. Who are we to think that since our view of the sun and galaxy line up that something catastrophic will happen. This is typical of a Dark Age Earth-centered universe (which is obviously false).

Below I have made an animation that shows the sun's position at Dec 21 in the years 1800, 1900, 2000, and 2100. In this animation, you can see the apparent motion of the sun due to the Earth's axis precession. Clearly, if alignment with the galactic core was a catastrophic event, we'd already be seeing effects!

Apparent motion of the sun due to Earth's axis precession.

So next time you hear someone babbling about the 2012 disaster, just remember to take it with a grain of salt, and a good heap of scientific skepticism. I, for one, am so tired of the 2012 hype (and it is just hype), as are many legitimate astronomers. So please, just dispense with the BS.

International Year of Astronomy Begins!

Happy new year! Today also marks the beginning of the International Year of Astronomy! Now commonly called IYA2009, this celebration of astronomy is a year long campaign to bring the night sky to everyone! The celebration will look both to the past and into the future of astronomy.

According to the IYA2009 website,

"The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) will be a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture, highlighted by the 400th anniversary of the first use of an astronomical telescope by Galileo Galilei. The aim of the Year is to stimulate worldwide interest, especially among young people, in astronomy and science..."

The IYA2009 will be a great opportunity to bring astronomy and science into schools and communities in a practical way that can get noticed. Each nation has its own national node, which coordinates efforts between professional and amateur astronomers. The goals of IYA2009 are as follows:

• Increase scientific awareness.


• Promote widespread access to new knowledge and observing experiences.


• Empower astronomical communities in developing countries.


• Support and improve formal and informal science education.


• Provide a modern image of science and scientists.


• Facilitate new networks and strengthen existing ones.


• Improve the gender-balanced representation of scientists at all levels and promote greater involvement by underrepresented minorities in scientific and engineering careers.


• Facilitate the preservation and protection of the world's cultural and natural heritage of dark skies in places such as urban oases, national parks and astronomical sites.

These goals, however, depend on your help! Get out into your communities and promote the IYA 2009! Also, you can help the IYA2009 in their cause by donating! For more information on donating and helping with the IYA2009, visit their Make It Happen page!

Clear skies!