Monthly Meeting February 10 th at 7:15 PM at HRPO (Monthly meetings are on 2 nd Mondays, Highland Road Park Observatory). Presentation: “Dr. Parks from LSU discusses how students are using the observatory”. What's In This Issue? President’s Message Secretary's Summary Outreach Report Asteroid and Comet News Light Pollution Committee Report Globe at Night Member’s Corner – Rockerfeller Retreat Messages from the HRPO Friday Night Lecture Series Science Academy Solar Viewing Stem Expansion Plus Night Mercurian Elongation Lunar Occultation of Mars Edge of Night Venusian Elongation Nano Days Observing Notes: Monoceros – The Unicorn & Mythology Like this newsletter? See PAST ISSUES online back to 2009 Visit us on Facebook – Baton Rouge Astronomical Society
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What's In This Issue?Feb 02, 2020 · Presentation: “Dr. Parks from ... Outreach Report Asteroid and Comet News Light Pollution Committee Report Globe at Night Member’s Corner
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A
Monthly Meeting February 10th at 7:15 PM at HRPO (Monthly meetings are on 2nd Mondays, Highland Road Park Observatory).
Presentation: “Dr. Parks from LSU discusses how students are using the observatory”.
What's In This Issue?
President’s Message
Secretary's Summary
Outreach Report
Asteroid and Comet News
Light Pollution Committee Report Globe at Night
Member’s Corner – Rockerfeller Retreat
Messages from the HRPO Friday Night Lecture Series
Science Academy
Solar Viewing
Stem Expansion
Plus Night
Mercurian Elongation
Lunar Occultation of Mars
Edge of Night
Venusian Elongation
Nano Days
Observing Notes: Monoceros – The Unicorn & Mythology
Like this newsletter? See PAST ISSUES online back to 2009 Visit us on Facebook – Baton Rouge Astronomical Society
Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 8 of 27 February 2020
Members/Community Corner
Here’s where we feature articles and photos about BRAS members’ astronomy-related accomplishments and adventures outside of BRAS activities (as if there were any spare time for such things!), and/or other astronomical happenings in
our neck of the Universe. Send your contributions to Michele at [email protected]
Baton Rouge Astronomical Society (BRAS)
Annual Weekend Visit to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge
By Don Weinell . . . . On the weekend of January 24 – 26,
2020, nine members of BRAS took part in our annual
Rockefeller Road Trip, including my family (Kate, John,
Diana and me), Roz R., Susan M., Mark & Debra Canatella,
and Carlos (alas the group photo didn’t come out). The
outing has been a tradition with BRAS since 2000 with the
exception of one year. In 2006 the refuge was still
recovering from the destruction left by Hurricane Rita, so
the facilities were unavailable to us.
In the early years, our club stayed in a lodge known as
the West End Dorm. It was a perfect location for
stargazing as it was some distance from the other buildings
on the refuge and the associated lighting. Unfortunately, the
original West End Dorm was one of the most heavily
damaged buildings by Rita. So, for the past decade or more,
we’ve stayed in the General Quarters near the main refuge
headquarters. The skies were not quite as dark and the views
to the north were limited. This year we were back in the
newly constructed West End Dorm.
On Friday, the skies were perfectly clear. As darkness
fell, only a few wisps of high clouds were visible way out
over the Gulf. These seemed to dissipate throughout the
evening. Three telescopes were set up on the lawn near the
dorm. Carlo, a new member of the club, set up a dob. Roz
brought her 8” dob also. We checked the collimation while
there was still plenty of light and found it to be severely out
of alignment. Using a laser collimator, the situation was
soon resolved.
I brought my new 12.5” truss-tube dob and gave it first
light. My telescope shroud hadn’t been delivered yet, so for
this outing I improvised with a large black garbage bag. It
looked funny, but it worked. Another issue I discovered was
that the Telrad was set too low on the upper tube assembly
to be easily adjusted. It made aiming a bit tricky during the
night.
By coincidence, the refuge was also being visited at the
time by members of the Acadiana Master Naturalists, to do
some binocular astronomy as part of their training program.
We invited them to come over to our building and look
through our scopes with us. For about an hour, we enjoyed
Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 13 of 27 February 2020
Messages from HRPO
Highland Road Park Observatory
FRIDAY NIGHT LECTURE SERIES All start at 7:30pm. All are for ages fourteen and older.
7 February: “Astrophotography for Youth” Judah Santiago has attended several
programs at HRPO. He was inspired to image the sky any way he know how, and now he’s imparting that information to the audience in this special lecture aimed at adolescents aged eleven to twenty.
14 February: “The Current State of Betelgeuse” The fainting of the great supergiant Betelgeuse (usually one of the fifteen brightest stars in the sky) is a major topic of discussion within the professional and amateur ranks. Betelgeuse has dimmed to a
pathetic (for it) magnitude not seen in recent skygazing history. We will explain the type of regular variability Betelgeuse has, how this current dimming deviates from that, and what
to expect in the future. 21 February: “Hurricanes” BREC Center Supervisor Jordan Cobbs shows it never too early in the calendar year to start preparing! How do hurricanes form and how accurate are
the current prediction models?
28 February: “The Saga of Daylight Time” From intriguing beginnings this bizarre
policy has been with us throughout our entire lives. Now we are asked serious questions. What does Daylight Time do for modern society? Is Daylight Time no longer needed? We’ll hear from members of the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society—and you.
return-again series of sessions (each about a month apart) focuses on the space stations and satellites that orbit our home planet, and a collection of electricity demonstrations.
Cadets who participates in sessions I, II and III will receive a special notation on their next certificates! 8 February: “Power in the House III” The first of this three-session series has Cadets
focus on how the motion of water can be transformed into energy for families and businesses!
Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 14 of 27 February 2020
15 February: “Mercury” Cadets come to understand the closest planet as the site of the MESSENGER visit, and as an elusive object that can be spied above the horizon during certain times in its orbit.
Solar Viewing Saturday 15 February from 12pm to 2pm.
For all ages. No admission fee. 20OGS Tour at 1pm. (Solar Viewers, $2 each. Add-on Activity: $2.50.)
The hobby of astronomy immediately brings to mind thoughts of darkened backyards and dimly-lit nighttime activities at HRPO. But patrons also have the option of visiting during
daylight hours to see our parent star. Weather permitting, once monthly HRPO personnel offers three views of the Sun… 12pm to 12:30pm - indirect projection onto white viewing surface // Patrons get a sense of
the speed of Earth♁’s rotation as they see the Sun’s image slide on or off the projection device.
[Learning Technologies Sunspotter] 12:15pm to 1:15pm - safely-filtered optical light sent through standard telescope // This
option allows patrons to spy sunspots both small and large. [Orion 10" Skyquest Dobsonian Reflector]
12:30pm to 2:00pm - hydrogen-alpha light // Flares and prominences are seen easily in this wavelength. [Coronado Solar Max II 90mm]
Saturday 22 February from 3:30pm to 7:30pm. For ages twelve to sixteen. $15/$18 per kid.
This program offers advanced topics, topic extensions and all-new games and activities to an older crowd. Certificates will be earned, and a section of archived experiments, some not
seen in over fifteen years (and some never performed on site) take place.
Plus Night
Saturday 8 February from 12pm to 2pm.. For all ages. No admission fee.
During Plus nights sky viewing starts a half-hour earlier and extra features are available to the public…
*The well-known marshmallow roast commences at the campfire ring behind the building, lasting at least one hour and ending no later than 9:30pm. (The campfire, like the sky viewing, is weather-dependent.)
Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 15 of 27 February 2020
*Four to eight of HRPO’s collection of over fifty physical science demonstrations will be on hand to perplex and amaze. Which demos will it be? *An unaided eye sky tour takes place, showing the public major features of the sky for that
month. The tour takes place at 8pm during Standard Time, and at 9pm during Daylight Time.
*Filters are inserted into the viewing mechanisms, to show patrons “hidden” details of the Moon, Mars and Jupiter (when they are available). *Reveal your age, and be shown any “birth stars” in the sky at that time.
Mercurian Elongation Monday 10 February from 5:30pm to 7pm
at Burbank Soccer Complex No admission fee; for all ages.
Periodically Mercury reaches its greatest angular separation in the sky (elongation) from the
Sun. This is the safest way to view Mercury by amateurs. The planet will appear as a “half-Mercury”. Venus will also be seen.
Lunar Occultation of Mars Tuesday 18 February from 4:15am to 6:15am
No admission fee. For all ages. The first attempted viewing of Mars at HRPO is this extremely rare event of the Moon
passing in front of the Red Planet. Fair warning: the sky will be brightening, and the Moon and Mars will be very low. A clear view of the occultation cannot be guaranteed.
Edge of Night Friday 6 March from 5:30pm to 7:30pm
No admission fee. For all ages. It’s not light, it’s not dark. It’s that special time called twilight, and HRPO wants to
introduce you to it! Are all sections of the sky the same shade of blue? Which stars are seen first? Are Mercury and Venus or the Moon out? Is that moving object a plane, a satellite or
space debris? How much actual darkness should I expect in a light-polluted city when twilight has passed? There is no other time like twilight. Bring it into your life!
Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 16 of 27 February 2020
Venusian Elongation Tuesday 24 March from 9pm to 10:30pm
at Burbank Soccer Complex No admission fee; for all ages.
Periodically Venus reaches its greatest angular separation in the sky (elongation) from the
Sun. This is the safest way to view Venus by amateurs. Come join us at the Burbank Soccer Complex! The planet will appear as a ‘half-Venus’. The Pleiades and the Orion
Nebula will also be seen.
NanoDays Saturday 4 April from 3pm to 7pm
For ages eight and older. No admission fee. For the ninth consecutive year at HRPO, big things in the Universe take a backseat to all
things tiny. Children and adults alike will be able to see how big they are compared to nanoscale objects; understand how a Scanning Probe Microscope explores the nanoworld;
try to pour water out of a nano-cup; learn about nanomaterials used stain-free clothes; have a chance to build models of nanoscale structures; play with liquid crystals; make
fluids part in the middle by applying magnets to them.
Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 17 of 27 February 2020
Note: For six years I have been writing these Observing Notes, featuring the 60 constellations we can see before midnight from Baton Rouge, that contain objects above magnitude 10. Beginning with the February 2019 newsletter, I began to recycle and update the constellations, but the Sky Happenings calendar and associated information are new each month.
Named Stars Ctesias (Alpha Mon), mag. 3.94, 07 41 14.88 -09 33 03.9, is an orange giant star. Also known as
HD 61935, HIP 37447, 26 Monocerotis, HR 2970, SAO 134986, and BD-09˚ 2177.
Cerastes (Beta Mon), is a triple star system forming a triangle, with circumstellar disks orbiting them.
The system is also known as HD 45725, ADS 5107, and STF (Σ) 919.
Beta Mon A, mag. 4.60, 06 28 49.07 -07 01 59, is a hydrogen fusing dwarf star with a projected
rotational rate of 123 km/sec. Also known as HIP 30867, 11 Monocerotis, HR 2356,
GC 8412, and BD-06˚ 1574.
Beta Mon B, mag. 5.40, 06 28 49.5 -07 02 04, is a hydrogen fusing dwarf star with a projected
rotational rate of 123 km/sec. Also known as 11 Monocerotis, HR 2357, and BD-06˚ 1575B.
Beta Mon C, mag. 5.60, 06 28 49.5 -07 02 04, is another hydrogen fusing dwarf star with a
rotational rate of 331 km/sec. Also known as HR 2358, and BD-06˚ 1575C.
Beta Mon D, is a 12th magnitude line-of-sight only companion, not physically related.
Separations: AB – 7.3”; AC – 10”; AD – 25.9”; and BC – 2.8”.
Tempestris (Gamma Mon), mag. 3.99, 06 14 51.34 -06 16 29.0, is an orange giant star. Also known as
HD 43232, HIP 29651, 5 Monocerotis, BD-06˚ 1469, GC 7986, HR 2227, and SAO 133012.
Kartajan (Delta Mon), mag. 4.15, 07 11 51.86 -00 29 34, is a white main sequence giant star. Also
known as HD 55785, HIP 34769, 22 Monocerotis, BD-00 1636, GC 9518, HR 2714, and
SAO 134330.
Plaskett’s Star, mag. 6.05, 06 37 24.04 +06 08 07.4, is a spectroscopic binary star consisting of two
massive blue supergiant stars orbiting a common center of gravity every 14.4 days (a separation of only
about 50 million miles). These two stars are the most massive pair yet identified in our galaxy. The
dimmer star of the pair is a very fast rotator with a projected rate of 300 km/sec, resulting in a bulge at
the equator of this star. Located about 1½˚ southeast of 13 Monocerotis. The stars are probably a
member of the huge aggregation of NGC 2244, and its associated nebula NGC 2237, that lies less than
2˚distant. Also known as HD 47129, HIP 31646, V640 Monocerotis, HR 2422, BD+06 1309, and GC
8631.
Observing Notes: February
by John Nagle
Monoceros – the
Unicorn
Position: RA 07.15, Dec. -5.74° °
Baton Rouge Astronomical Society Newsletter, Night Visions Page 18 of 27 February 2020
Deep Sky: M50 (NGC 2373), mag. 5.9, 07 02.8 -08 23, 20’x15’ in size, is an open cluster of over 80 stars, with
curving arcs of stars, giving the perimeter a rather heart-shaped outline; detached, weak concentration
of stars; large range in brightness; very large; magnitude of brightest star is 7.9. A red star is located
near the southern verge, and a pretty little equilateral triangle of stars is just north of it. To find M50,
draw a line between Sirius (Alpha Canis Major) and Procyon (Alpha Canis Minor) – you will find
the cluster about ⅓ of the way up from Sirius, or locate the roughly shaped square formed by Alpha,
Beta, and Delta Monocerotis along with Sirius – right in the middle of that square is M50. The center
star of the cluster is BD-08˚ 1700. Also known as Cr124, Mel 158, OCL 559, OCL 559.0, Raab 45,
Lund 283, and CGCG 0700-087.
NGC 2232, mag. 3.9, 06 26.6 -04 45.5, 30’ in size, is an open cluster of 20 stars; not well detached;
large range in brightness; a large cluster; includes the bright star 10 Monocerotis (magnitude 5.1).
Divided into two irregular arcs. Also known as Cr 93, Lund 220, OCL 545, H8-25, and
CGCG 0624-047.
NGC 2264, mag. 3.9, 06 40 59 -09 53.7, 26’x15’ in size, 40+ stars bathed in bright nebulosity; not well
detached; large range in brightness; large; magnitude of brightest star is 4.7. The southeast part of the
cluster is a small, dark nebula known as the Cone Nebula (06 41.1 +09 53, 35’x15’ in size), it is an
emission nebula also known as H8-5. There are two other objects within NGC 2264, but are not
officially included: The Snowflake Cluster; and the Fox Fur Nebula (a diffuse, dark nebula).
NGC 2264 is called the Christmas Tree Cluster, with the star S Monocerotis (HD 47839,
5 Monocerotis) marking the trunk of the tree, and the variable star V429 Monocerotis (6th magnitude)
representing the top of the tree. Also known as Cr 112, Lund 246, Mel 49, OCL 495, Mrk 16,
CGCG 0638+099, LBN 911, H5-27=H8-5, Sh2-273, and LBN 202.92+02.18.
Cr 106, mag. 4.06, 06 37.1 +05 57, 44’ in size, is an open cluster of 20 stars; detached, no
concentration of stars; large brightness range. Located about 1˚ northeast of the Rosette Nebula
(NGC 2237, 2238, 2239, and 2244). Also known as Lund 239, OCL 510, WB89 846,
CGCG 0634 +060, and IRAS 06346+0608.
NGC 2239, mag. 4.8, 06 33 01 +04 55 36, 24’ in size, 40 stars, is NGC 2244. Part of the Rosette
Nebula. Also known as OCL 515, Mel 47, Cr 99, and Lund 227, Lund 229.
NGC 2244, mag. 4.8, 06 32 19 +04 55 34, 24’x24’ in size, 100 stars; weak concentration of stars; large
range in brightness; large, bright; magnitude of brightest star is 5.8. The center star is 6th magnitude
12 Monocerotis, probably does not belong to the group. Totally surrounds NGC 2239. It has numerous
slender dark lanes and irregular tendrils. Also known as NGC 2239, Mel 17, Cr 99, OCL 515,
OCL 515.0, Lund 229, Lund 227, Mrk 15, H7-2, OCL 512.0, C 50, and CGCG 0629+049.
Cr 107, mag. 5.1, 06 37.7 +04 45, 30’ in size, 15+ stars; not well detached; large brightness range.
Located about 1˚ east-southeast of the Rosette Nebula. Also known as Lund 240, OCL 518.0,
OCL 518, and CGCG 0635+047.
Cr 97, mag. 5.4, 06 30 58.1 +05 49 30, 25’ in size, is an open cluster of 15+stars; not well detached;
large range in brightness. Also known as Lund 228, OCL 508, OCL 508.0, and CGCG 0628+059.
NGC 2237, mag. 5.5, 06 31 55.5 +04 56 34, 80’x50’ in size, Nebula Only! Totally surrounds
NGC 2244. Official designation for the Rosette Nebula. Also known as OCL 511, OCL 511.0, C 49,
Lund 229, LBN 948, and Sh2-275.
NGC 2323, See M50.
NGC 2238, mag. 6.0, 06 31 46 +04 59 51, 80’x60’ in size. Also known as the Rosette Nebula,
LBN 918, Ced 76a, and Sh2-275.
NGC 2301, mag. 6.0, 06 51 46 +00 27.6, 15’ in size, is an open cluster of 80+ stars; detached, strong
concentration of stars; large range in brightness; large; magnitude of brightest star is 8.0; a curving
group topped with a flying wedge of stars. NGC 2301=BD+00 1660. Also known as Cr 119,