From the Director

Posted on January 3, 2011 by ST Editors

By Ludovico D’Angelo, Director

Happy New Year! To everyone in AAAP, I am wishing you a grand new year and clear skies! I hope everyone has dug out of the great storm of 2010. I was in Minnesota where there was already at least 20 inches on the ground (or more) and everyone didn’t seem to mind at all. While there I encountered a teacher that is part of my wife’s family. We got to discuss astronomy (my favorite subject!). During our discussions he mentioned that his school had an observatory. I asked how much it was being used and he said it was not currently being used. I asked why and he essentially said that no one knows how to use the equipment and there was no formal program or person to run the works. So apparently it had not been used for many years. The school has a science program that covers astronomy, but no resources in order to have the type of first hand experience with a telescope (at least at the school). I hear this kind of story every so often and I am sorry to hear them. But on the other hand, he did mention checking out the book “Sizing Up the Universe” and was thinking of utilizing it as a teaching tool.

The club has received a donation of an 8” Celestron SCT on an older CPC mount configuration. Once we check it over and determine it’s usability, we will need to decide how it should be utilized.

I hope that some of you got out to see the eclipse of the Moon last month. It was a clear night, and I think there were several members out doing photography. We had a great meeting last month with a wonderful presentation by Dr. Gott and Dr. Vanderbei. Thanks again to Dee Bosch for providing all the goodies after the presentation.  Next meeting we will have Ken Kremer back to give us an update of the goings on at NASA and the future of the space program.

See you all on January 11th!

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From the Program Chair

Posted on January 3, 2011 by ST Editors

By John Church, Program Chair

Our very successful and well-attended December 14th meeting featured Prof. (and AAAP member) Bob Vanderbei  and Prof. J. Richard Gott of Princeton University discussing their new National Geographic book, “Sizing Up the Universe.” The book has many of Bob’s photos taken from his own driveway.  Their presentation was excellent, and the authors signed many copies of their book during the intermission.

On January 11th we will have our own Dr. Ken Kremer to speak on “The Space Shuttle, The Space Station, and What’s Beyond for NASA.”  The talk will include many of Ken’s photos and descriptions from personal behind-the-scenes visits to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, where Ken has a press pass.  This should be a highly educational meeting and we hope to have another large crowd. Those so interested will have the opportunity to purchase some of Ken’s unique memorabilia of these visits during the intermission.  Please see Ken’s website:  http://www.rittenhouseastronomicalsociety.org/Dr.Kremer/K.htm for more background.

There will be a premeeting dinner at 6:00 pm.  Please email j.church@mindspring.com by noon on Tuesday Jan. 11th for a reservation and the dinner location.

On February 8th, Dr. Fronefield (Froney) Crawford from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, will be speaking on the topic of “New Searches for Old Pulsars.”  Further details will be available in the February issue of Sidereal Times.

Programs for March and May will be announced later.  On April 12th we will have Michael Molnar speaking on “The Star of Bethlehem,” a topic he has extensively researched. Michael will be signing copies of his book on this subject during the intermission.  And on June 14th, we will be treated to another presentation by Bill Murray in the New Jersey State Museum Planetarium in Trenton.

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December 2010 Meeting Minutes

Posted on January 3, 2011 by ST Editors

By Larry Kane, Secretary

1.      Director Ludy D’Angelo called the meeting to order and announced that he has received two emails from people who want to donate an 8” telescope and other astronomy related equipment to the AAAP.  Ludy will check out the condition of the equipment.

2.      Secretary’s Report:  There was no report.

3.       Vice President’s Report:  VP Jeff Bernardis is working on some things with Gene Ramsey

4.      Treasurer’s Report:  The Treasurer’s Report appears in another section of the Sidereal Times.

5.      Outreach Report:  Outreach Coordinator David Letcher indicated that the Riverside School event that was scheduled for this evening, was canceled by the school and will not be rescheduled in December.

6.      Website:  Webmaster John Miller and member Michael Wright gave a progress report on the project to develop the Sidereal Times as a blog and interactive medium.

7.      Observatory Report:  Gene Ramsey announced that he and John Church had

winterized the observatory just before Thanksgiving.  Gene and Jeff Bernardis are investigating improvements to the security system.  Gene   suggested that the AAAP purchase an air compressor to do some of the winterization work at the observatory.  Member John Giles gave an update on the repair to the refractor’s Losmandy mount.

8.      Program Chair: John Church provided the names of the speakers who will be doing our monthly lectures through the remainder of the year.  The lectures for March and May of 2011 are still open.

9.      The upcoming lunar eclipse was discussed and it was noted that the AAAP will not be doing a formal event for the occasion.  Also, Ludy announced that on January 2, the planets Jupiter and Uranus will be very close together, closed enough to be seen in the same field of view with a small telescope, and he is planning an event at the observatory.

10.  Member Rex Parker asked if anyone has seen the DVD archives of Sky and Telescope magazine.  He indicated that if it is reviewed well, the AAAP should consider buying a copy and make it available to the membership through the library

11.  A suggestion was made that the AAAP obtain a copy of member Bob Vanderbei’s new book and make it a prize for Star Quest.

12.    Sidereal Times:  Next deadline is December 29

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Treasurer’s Report

Posted on January 3, 2011 by ST Editors

By Michael Mitrano, Treasurer

As the calendar year (but not our fiscal year) draws to a close, the AAAP is in solid financial shape.  We have at this point 64 paid members — two more than at the same time last year.  Total revenue from dues, contributions, and the sale of calendars and astronomy items is about $3,100.  General expenses this far are less than $600.  Together with the surplus from StarQuest, the Association’s year-to-date surplus is about $2,900. This will be reduced by about $1,000 when our insurance is paid.

On a cumulative basis, our surplus is now roughly $21,400.

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Opportunity Rover Snaps Gorgeous Panoramas of Santa Maria Crater and Intrepid Crater

Posted on January 3, 2011 by ST Editors

By Ken Kremer

The Opportunity rover is sending back a multitude of awesome views of Santa Maria Crater since arriving at the western edge on Dec. 15 (Sol 2450).   This intermediate stop on the rover’s 19 km long journey from Victoria Crater to giant 14 km wide Endeavor Crater certainly looks to be well worth the trip.

Santa Maria is just 6 km from the western rim of Endeavour which is surrounded by phyllosilicate clays – which formed in water and have never before been directly analyzed on the Martian surface.

Opportunity has been on a swift advance over smooth terrain since departing from Intrepid crater in mid-November which was named in honor of the Apollo 12 mission which landed two men on the moon 41 years ago in November 1969.

Intrepid Crater

Opportunity arrived at ‘Intrepid’ Crater on Mars during November 2010 and drove around crater rim. See rover wheel tracks at left. Intrepid crater was named in honor of the Apollo 12 lunar module named 'Intrepid' – which landed two men on the moon on 19 November 1969. Mosaic Credit: Kenneth Kremer, Marco Di Lorenzo NASA/JPL/Cornell

Santa Maria appears to be relatively unweathered and fresh.  The crater is 90 meters in diameter.  A multitude of inviting rocks and boulders from the impact ejecta are strewn about making this a Martian geologists dream.

After initially driving to a distance of about five meters from the rim on Dec. 16 (Sol 2451), Opportunity has now carefully crawled even nearer to the precipice of the craters steep cliffs.   The rover snaps a series of panoramic images at each stop to document the site scientifically and esthetically.

The team back on Earth must tread with extreme caution as Opportunity creeps ever closer to the edge lest she fall off a cliff.  Opportunity is now positioned close enough to point her cameras directly at the steep walled cliffs and towards the sand dunes at the crater floor unveiling another stunningly gorgeous Martian vista.

Panoramic view of Santa Maria Crater

Panoramic view of Santa Maria Crater taken by Opportunity Mars rover about 5 meters from the rim on Dec 16, 2010 on Sol 2451. Water bearing materials are located at the southeastern edge of the rim located roughly at the center of this image. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell, Kenneth Kremer, Marco Di Lorenzo

Compare the panoramic mosaics from Sols 2451 and 2454 above and below – created by Ken Kremer and Marco Di Lorenzo  for Universe Today – as Opportunity pulled up to the rim in stages and began exploring the crater environment from different vantage points.

Santa Maria Crater - Sol 2454

Opportunity drove closer to within 5 meters of the rim on Sol 2454 and snapped this gorgeous panoramic vista revealing interior steep cliffs and sand dunes. Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell, Marco Di Lorenzo, Kenneth Kremer

The rover handlers are highly adept at precisely maneuvering the 175 kg vehicle back and forth inside the danger zone at crater rims. After all Opportunity has been on a crater tour for her entire 7 year extended mission to the red planet and controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have honed their driving techniques at countless locales both treacherous and dazzling.

High priority activity on the west side of Santa Maria includes collecting a series of high resolution stereo panoramas which will be used to create a digital elevation map in 3D.   JPL engineers will move Opportunity in a counterclockwise direction around the rim before heading to Endeavour crater.

Opportunity will drive to an area on the southeast portion of Santa Maria that shows exposures of water bearing sulfate.

Opportunity will stay at Santa Maria through the upcoming Solar conjunction which starts in late January and ends in mid-February.  The rover will remain stationary during that period and conduct a lengthy investigation of a specific spot using the instruments on the robotic arm – which include spectrometers, a microscope and the rock drill known as the RAT or Rock Abrasion Tool

Opportunity remains healthy, has abundant solar power for the final leg of the eastward march to Endeavor and celebrates 7 years on Mars on 24 Jan 2011.

More details in my articles online at Universe Today: http://www.universetoday.com/81838/opportunity-shoots-awesome-views-of-santa-maria-crater/

http://www.universetoday.com/81738/landfall-at-santa-maria-for-opportunity-on-mars/

http://www.universetoday.com/81789/powerful-mars-orbiter-directs-opportunity-to-clays-and-hydrated-minerals/

Ken Kremer:  Spaceflight magazine  & The Planetary Society
Please contact me for more info or science outreach presentations at  kremerken@yahoo.com or my website:  www.kenkremer.com

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December 21, 2010 Lunar Eclipse

Posted on January 3, 2011 by ST Editors

by Ken Kramer

Two Red Moons

Taken in "bonechilling" Lawrenceville, NJ with a 250 mm Canon lens at about 1 sec exposure. Totality was a brilliant crimson to blood red and looked to be dripping with blood droplets - almost unreal. Credit: Ken Kramer

Further details in my story online at Universe Today:
http://www.universetoday.com/81923/red-moon-red-planet/

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From the Director

Posted on December 3, 2010 by ST Editors

by Ludovico D’Angelo, Director AAAP

December! Another month upon us, and another month of busy amateur astronomy activities if one has the wherewithal in New Jersey to get outside, stay warm, and do some observing. The major event of the month will be the total lunar eclipse on December 21st, the moon will be the highest in the sky and it is the day of the winter solstice. Unfortunately, it starts at 1:32 AM with mid-eclipse at 3:17 AM. So all you insomniacs out there will have no problem with this. But if you are a heavy sleeper, it may be worth it to you to set an alarm and maybe take a peek outside your window at the right time.

Some other things to look for is Venus in the pre-dawn sky being at its brightest on December 4th. The Geminid Meteor shower will peak on December 13/14. All during the month, Jupiter and Uranus are relatively close to each other, but on January 2nd, they’ll be close enough to see in the same field of view in a telescope. On this note, I hope that if the weather cooperates, lets get some members out to the observatory for this event.

Now if the outside is too cold for you, you can always stay inside and contemplate astronomy and the universe using a nice large book full of images and information. The book is “Sizing Up the Universe” by Richard Gott and Robert Vanderbei. They will be speaking to us in Peyton Hall on December 14th.  Both Dr. Gott and Dr. Vanderbei are Princeton University professors. Richard Gott has spoken to our club on many occasions over the years. The first time was in 1972 as a graduate student at Princeton! Bob Vanderbei has been an AAAP club member for many years and is an excellent astro-photographer. Their book will be available for purchase and a book signing after their lecture. It will be a special night, so don’t miss it!

See you all on the 14th!

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December Meeting

Posted on December 3, 2010 by ST Editors

by John Church, Program Chair

Robert Vanderbei

Robert Vanderbei

J Richard Gott

J Richard Gott

Our speakers for the December 14th meeting will be Profs. Bob Vanderbei and J. Richard Gott, III of Princeton University, discussing the topic of “Sizing Up The Universe.” This is the title of their just-published National Geographic book, featuring many photos taken by Bob (also an active AAAP member) from his own driveway.  At the intermission our speakers will be signing copies of the book, which will be on sale.  Please join us for what promises to be a most interesting and timely event.

The new book explains what sorts of objects populate our universe, from nearby objects in the Solar System to the most distant objects in the visible universe.  It first explains how great minds figured out the distances to these objects.   It then takes the reader on a tour of the universe, starting with objects in our solar system and moving out progressively to more and more distant objects.

For more background on our speakers, please see their respective web pages J. Richard Gott and Robert Vanderbei

There will be a “Meet the Speakers” dinner at the Triumph Brewing Company on Nassau Street, beginning at 6:00 pm before the meeting.  For reservations, please contact John Church via email by no later than noon on Tuesday, Dec. 14th so that a table can be reserved.

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Treasurer’s Report

Posted on December 3, 2010 by ST Editors

by Michael Mitrano, Treasurer

Dues for the current fiscal year are continuing to come in.  To date we have 59 paid members for FY 2011, totaling $2,340 in dues compared to $3,560 for all of last year and $4,147 for the year before.  Thank you to those who have sent in their dues!  It would be great to receive renewing member’s dues before year end.

Some trailing expenses for StarQuest have reduced the surplus on 2010’s event to $466, which is still excellent.

In December we will pay our annual insurance premium of roughly $1,000.

Our surplus for the fiscal year-to-date is approximately $2,700, and on a cumulative basis it is roughly $21,000.

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