volume 8, no. 12 december 2015 a disturbed galaxydecember 2015 john j. mccarthy observatory volume...

December 2015

John J. McCarthy ObservatoryVolume 8, No. 12

Galactic Observer

A "Disturbed" Galaxy

For almost two centuries a shining beacon in the southern sky, the galaxyCentaurus A is slowly revealing its dark secrets.. See page 20 for more information.

http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org2 Dec 2015

The John J. McCarthy ObservatoryNew Milford High School388 Danbury RoadNew Milford, CT 06776

Phone/Voice: (860) 210-4117Phone/Fax: (860) 354-1595www.mccarthyobservatory.org

Route

It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatoryhas established itself as a significant educational andrecreational resource within the western Connecticutcommunity.

Galactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObservvvvverererererEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial Committee

Managing EditorBill Cloutier

Production & DesignAllan Ostergren

Website DevelopmentMarc Polansky

Technical SupportBob Lambert

Dr. Parker Moreland

JJMO Staff

" "OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT" ............................... 3

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH ENCELADUS .............................. 6

TETHYS REVISITED ......................................................... 7

SPACEX RETURNS TO FLIGHT ........................................... 8

TAKING THE LONG WAY ................................................. 8

FUTURE MARS MISSIONS ................................................. 8

MAVEN AND THE DISAPPEARING MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE ..... 10

FIRST CONSTRUCTION FLIGHT ......................................... 11

SPACESHIP EARTH .......................................................... 12

PURCHASING A TELESCOPE .............................................. 12

DECEMBER HISTORY ...................................................... 15

DECEMBER NIGHTS ....................................................... 16

SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 16

ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 16

COMMONLY USED TERMS ............................................... 19

REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 20

In This Issue

Tom HeydenburgJim JohnstoneCarly KleinSternBob LambertRoger MooreParker Moreland, PhDAllan OstergrenDoris PappMarc PolanskyJoe PriviteraMonty RobsonDon RossGene SchillingKatie ShusdockPaul Woodell

Steve AllisonSteve BaroneColin CampbellDennis CartolanoMike ChiarellaJeff ChodakBill CloutierDoug DelisleCecilia DetrichDirk FeatherRandy FenderRandy FindenJohn GebauerElaine GreenTina Hartzell

Amy Ziffer

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 20

SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 20

COVER PHOTO .............................................................. 20

EDWIN HUBBLE AT THE TELESCOPE .................................. 21

SECOND SATURDAY STARS ............................................... 22

DEDCEMBAR GRAPHIC CALENDAR ................................... 23

http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org Dec 2015 • 3

December Astronomy Calendarand Space Exploration Almanac


“Out the Window on Your Left”

IT’S BEEN MORE than 40 yearssince we left the last footprint on

the dusty lunar surface. Sadly, as anation founded on exploration andthe conquest of new frontiers, weappear to have lost our will to leadas a space-faring nation. But, whatif the average citizen had the meansto visit our only natural satellite;what would they see out thewindow of their spacecraft as theyentered orbit around the Moon? Thiscolumn may provide some thoughtsto ponder when planning your visit(if only in your imagination).

In the eons since the Moon wasformed from an orbiting ring ofrocky debris, the gravitational tidalforces of the two bodies have beenat work. Over time the Earth’s tidalforces have slowed the Moon’srotational rate so that its orbitalperiod and rotational period are in

sync (approximately 28 days). TheMoon has also slowed the rota-tional rate of Earth but its effectsare not as noticeable.

As a result of tidal locking (orsynchronous rotation), the Moononly presents one side to Earth. Itwasn’t until October 1959 that wewere able to view the far side of theMoon for the first time when theSoviet Union’s Luna 3 spacecraftsent back 29 grainy photographsfrom a distance of approximately40,000 miles in a lunar flyby.

Nine years later, on ChristmasEve, the crew of Apollo 8 becamethe first humans to look downupon the crater-covered far side.Since then, a fleet of multina-tional spacecraft have surveyedthis yet-unvisited terrain, allow-ing detailed maps to be produced,including the mosaics in this

article from the Lunar Reconnais-sance Orbiter (LRO).

The most striking difference inthe two sides of the Moon is theabsence of large lava flows ormaria on the far side. This may bedue to the overall higher crustalthickness of the far side (limitingmagma intrusion), as measured bythe GRAIL gravity-measuringspace crafts. The largest mare onthe far side is Mare Moscoviense(Sea of Moscow). This relativelyyoung mare lava flow fills the 130mile (210 km) diameter inner ringof the ancient Moscoviense impactbasin and spills into a portion ofthe outer ring. GRAIL measure-ments indicate that little or no crustremains at the Moscoviense impactsite, in contrast to other regions ofthe far side where the crust exceeds35 miles (60 km) in thickness.

First imaged by the SovietUnion, the features on the far sideacknowledge many Russian his-torical figures including SergeiKorolev, the “Chief Designer” ofthe Soviet space/Moon program,Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, scientist,inventor and father of Russianrocketry and space travel theory,Dimitri Mendeleev, chemist andcreator of the periodic table of ele-ments, and Yuri Gagarin, Sovietpilot, cosmonaut and first humanto journey to space when he orbitedthe Earth on a flight lasting 108minutes in April 1961.

The largest impact basin (basinsare craters larger than 200 to 250miles, or 300 to 400 km in diam-eter) on the Moon, and one of thelargest in the solar system is theSouth Pole-Aitken basin. The im-pact excavated a crater almost 1,500miles (2,600 km) across and morethan 5 miles (8 km) deep. The aster-oid penetrated the crust and likely theMoon’s upper mantle. Heat from theimpact melted the excavated rock,

Far Side of the Moon LRO MosaicImage credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University


creating the floor of the basin. Thenumber of smaller craters presenton its floor indicate that the basin isone of the oldest on the Moon.

A subsequent impact withinthe confines of the basin carvedout an even deeper hole. The

Apollo crater measures 300 miles(500 km) across. Scientists believethat areas of the excavation mayhave exposed the Moon’s lowermantle (based upon the iron con-tent of the impact melt as measuredby orbiting spacecraft).

Elevation Profile of Apollo Crater Japan AerospaceExploration Agency/NASA

The names adopted by the In-ternational Astronomical Union forlunar features in and around theApollo crater are unique in thatthey recognize living personalities(the crew of Apollo 8). The regionalso honors fallen U.S. astronauts(Mare Moscoviense recognizefallen Russian cosmonauts). Thenames of those individuals recog-nized for their accomplishment(Apollo 8) and ultimate sacrificeare color coded on the followingclose-up of the crater.

Crew of Apollo 8 (first tocircumnavigate the Moon inDecember 24, 1968)

• Frank Borman• William A. Anders• James A. Lovell

Crew of Apollo 1 (lost in fireon the pad)

• Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom• Edward H. White II• Roger B. Chaffee

Crew of the Space ShuttleChallenger (lost shortly afterliftoff on January 28, 1986)

• Michael J. Smith• Dick Scobee• Ronald McNair• Ellison Onizuka• Christa McAuliffe• Gregory Jarvis• Judith Resnik

Crew of the Space ShuttleColumbia (lost on reentryFebruary 1, 2003)

• Rick D. Husband• William C. McCool• Michael P. Anderson• Kalpana Chawla• David M. Brown• Laurel Clark• Ilan Ramon


Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Apollo Crater

Close Encounterswith Enceladus

As the Cassini mission windsdown, project scientists have beenvying for one last look at severalhigh-value targets within Saturn’smini solar system. On October 14th,Cassini flew within 1,142 miles(1,839 km) of the north pole of theicy moon Enceladus to look forevidence that the northern polarregion might have been active inthe past. Two weeks later, thespacecraft executed an even closerpass of the moon’s south pole.Skimming within 30 miles (49 km)of the surface, Cassini flew throughthe watery jets erupting from fis-sures in the ice. This allowed thespacecraft’s instruments to analyzethe jet’s composition (and that ofthe subsurface ocean). The last tar-geted encounter of the mission willbe on December 19th when Cassini

Cassini on Approach toEnceladus Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


Enceladus Icy Terrain from 77 Miles (124 km)Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

passes within 3,106 miles (4,999km) of Enceladus, Scientists ex-pect to gather additional informa-tion on the heat flow from themoon’s interior and its role in pow-ering the watery jets.

Tethys RevisitedEnceladus isn’t the only moon

of Saturn that has captured scien-tists’ imagination. Only 662 miles(1,066 km) in diameter, Tethys’landscape is unmatched. A plan-etary scar, Odysseus Crater is al-most 250 miles (400 km) in diam-eter, nearly two-fifths of Tethys’diameter. That the moon survivedsuch a collision and not shatter sug-gests that the interior of Tethys waspartially molten at the time of theimpact. A large valley, IthacaChasma, extends 1,200 miles,across the moon’s icy surface.Sixty miles (100 km) in width, andtwo to three miles (3 to 5 km) deep,the graben runs from the moon’snorth pole to its south pole, divid-ing the icy world. Theories on itsformation include the expansion ofliquid water as it froze in themoon’s interior and the result of theOdysseus impact. The density ofTethys (0.97 times that of liquidwater) suggests that the moon isalmost entirely water ice with asmattering of rock.

Deepening the mystery of Tethysare some unusual markings thathad been spotted during flybys ofthe moon earlier this year. De-scribed as reddish streaks or arcs,the markings became the focus ofa November 11th flyby.

The reddish steaks are severalhundred miles in length but only afew miles across. They appear tobe relatively young, as they cutacross older features. Theories ontheir origin include chemical im-purities in the ice, but the mark-ings are unique among Saturn’smoons.

Tethys and the Odysseus Impact BasinCredit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


The surface of Jupiter’s moonEuropa is crisscrossed with red-dish streaks that are believed tohave been created by salt depos-its (from the subsurface ocean),altered by radiation to form sul-furous compounds. Like Europa,Tethys orbits deep within itsplanet’s magnetosphere, exposingthe moon to a bombardment ofcharged particles (electrons andions). Scientists are hopeful thatthe November flyby of Tethys willprovide clues as to the marking’sorigin and composition.

Red Arcs on Tethys (enhanced color image)Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

SpaceX Returns to FlightSpaceX has been working to get

back to a normal flight schedulesince a Falcon 9 rocket broke apartshortly after launch on June 28th.While the company has not re-leased any details, it has tentativelyscheduled two launches in Decem-ber from the Cape Canaveral AirForce Station (an Orbcomm com-munications satellite and a SES 9communications satellite).

The private rocket company re-cently received a boost of confi-dence when NASA awardedSpaceX a “Commercial CrewTransportation Capability” contract(Boeing previously received a simi-lar contract). The contract includes

a minimum of two and a maximumof six missions for the transport ofup to four NASA or NASA spon-sored crew members to the Interna-tional Space Station (ISS). Thespacecraft(s) will remain on stationat the ISS for up to 210 days.

The contracts are contingentupon both companies completingthe certification process (certify-ing their vehicles for human trans-port). The first manned flights tothe station are tentatively sched-uled for 2017. Currently, NASAastronauts must rely upon the Rus-sian Federal Space Agency for ac-cess to the ISS (at approximately$71 million per person per seat).

Taking the Long WayFive years ago, on approach to

Venus, the main engine of the Japa-nese spacecraft Akatsuki over-heated due to a suspected block-age in the propulsion system andhad to be shut down. Since then,Akatsuki has been traveling theinner solar system as engineersworked through options to salvagethe mission. On December 7th, asthe spacecraft nears Venus onceagain, the Japan Aerospace Explo-ration Agency plans to use thespacecraft’s smaller attitude con-trol thrusters to slow the spacecraftenough to be captured by Venus’gravity.

Despite being exposed to higherthan design temperatures in its trav-els around the Sun, the spacecraft’sinstruments appear to have survivedthe long hiatus. If orbit insertion issuccessful, Akatsuki’s will orbit Ve-nus once every eight to ten days (ascompared to the original mission’splanned for 30-hour orbit). Thespacecraft was designed to study theweather on Venus including thecloud structure in the planet’s upperatmosphere and the distribution ofwater vapor and carbon monoxidein the lower atmosphere. Akatsukiwill also be looking for signs of light-ning on the planet’s night side.

Photo: Bill Cloutier


Artist’s concept of the Akatsuki spacecraft at VenusCredit: JAXA/Akihiro Ikeshita

Future Mars MissionsThe orbits of Mars and the

Earth bring the two planets intoalignment (opposition) every 26months or so. With an oppositionin May 2016, NASA is targetingthe launch of its next Mars mis-sion for March (with landing inSeptember). The InSight (InteriorExploration using Seismic Inves-tigations, Geodesy and HeatTransport) lander is a NASA Dis-covery Program, designed to studythe Red Planet’s deep interior. Thelander is similar in design to theone used on the successful Phoe-nix polar mission in 2007.

InSight’s instruments will studythe size, thickness, density andoverall structure of the planet’score, mantle and crust. The solar-powered lander is equipped with aheat flow probe that can be ham-mered up to 16 feet (5 m) into thesoil. The probe is designed to mea-sure the heat coming from theplanet’s interior. InSight is alsoequipped with a seismometer totake precise measurements ofquakes and other internal activity.

The European Space Agency(ESA) and the Russian FederalSpace Agency (Roscosmos) are

InSight Testbed Photo: Bill Cloutier

planning a mission that will in-clude launches during the 2016and 2018 oppositions. ExoMars(Exobiology on Mars) is an am-bitious mission to search forbiosignatures of Martian life, pastor present. The mission will beginwith the launch of the ExoMarsTrace Gas Orbiter and Schiaparellidemonstration lander in March2016 to be followed by the launchof a Roscosmos-built lander andESA-built rover in May of 2018.

The Trace Gas Orbiter will mapsources of methane and other gaseson Mars. This information will fa-cilitate the selection of the landingsite for the ExoMars rover. ESAis currently studying four sites thatshow evidence of being modifiedby water in the distant past. Thesolar powered rover will be ca-pable of taking subsurface soilsamples (to a maximum depth of6 feet or 2 meters) and analyzingtheir chemistry and spectral com-position.

NASA is planning on taking ad-vantage of the 2020 opposition tolaunch its next mobile science labo-ratory. Built on the successful Curi-osity platform, the yet-unnamedrover will seek biosignatures ofmicrobial life in the Martian rock.Included in the rover’s payload isthe Mars Oxygen ISRU Experi-ment (MOXIE). MOXIE is a 1%scale model of an oxygen process-ing plant that could be used to sup-port a future human expedition(e.g., for propellant, breathing air,water production, etc.).

Mars 2020 will build upon theexperience of the Curiosity roverin its exploration of Gale Craterand Mount Sharp. For example,the rover has six, individuallypowered, aluminum wheels. Sev-eral of the wheels have experi-enced damage and excessivewear from the rugged terrain atthe landing site.


In addition to a fully equippedMars Science Laboratory roveravailable for testing command se-quences and troubleshooting op-

erational anomalies in JPL’s MarsYard, there is Scarecrow, a full-sized version of the platform anddriving equipment. Scarecrow has

been configured to exert the samepressure on the wheels for mo-bility testing. Damage of therover’s 20 inch (50 cm) alumi-num wheels (punctures and tears)has been, to date, confined to the1/32 inch (0.75 mm) thick alumi-num skin between the treads orgrousers. Testing results will beused to extend the life ofCuriosity’s wheels as well asthose on future missions.

Maven and theDisappearing Martian

AtmosphereThe Mars Atmosphere and

Volatile Evolution (MAVEN)spacecraft has been studying thespace around Mars since arrivingon orbit in September 2014.Scientists believe - and the datacollected by both orbiters and rov-ers confirms - that the climate ofMars was much different in thedistant past with running rivers andsemi-permanent lakes. The planet’scurrent atmosphere is much too thinand cold for water to remain a liquidon the surface. For such a change,Mars would have had to lose muchof its atmosphere. MAVEN wasdesigned to quantify the current lossand identify those processes bywhich the atmosphere has been re-moved.

The information being collectedby the spacecraft points to the Sun’srole in the erosion of the Martian at-mosphere. The solar wind (a streamof protons and electrons flowingfrom the Sun’s atmosphere at an av-erage speed of 1 million miles anhour) removes approximately 100grams (¼ pound) of gas every sec-ond. The rate of loss is higher (10 to20 times) during solar storms andwas likely even higher billions ofyears ago when a young Sun wasmore active.

Earth has a global magnetic fieldthat deflects the solar wind; Mars

Conor Cloutier and ScarecrowPhoto: Bill Cloutier

Conor Cloutier and aDamaged Test WheelPhoto: Bill Cloutier


Bow Shock Created by the Solar Wind Around MarsCredit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio and the MAVEN Science Team

does not. When the solar wind slamsinto the Martian atmosphere, a bowshock is created (a stationary shockwave). During solar storms, the in-ner boundary of the bow shockpushes deeper into the atmosphere,accelerating the erosion process.

Data returned from MAVEN in-dicates that 75% of the atmosphereescaping to space comes from the tail(where the solar wind flows behindMars) and 25% from the plumeabove the planet’s polar regions. Pro-jecting the current rate of atmo-spheric losses back in time supportsa much thicker atmosphere on amuch younger Mars.

First Construction FlightIn December 1998, the space

shuttle Endeavour carried the firstAmerican component of what wouldbecome the International Space Sta-tion into orbit. The six crew mem-bers mated the Unity module withthe Russian Zarya control modulealready on orbit.

During three spacewalks,Endeavour’s astronauts joinedcables and other connectors be-tween the two modules. The as-tronauts were also able to powerup the two modules upon entry.This mission represented the firston-orbit construction flight andthe first small step in what wouldbecome a 450 ton habitat cover-ing the area of a football field.Thirteen years later, Endeavorwould return to the station for thefinal shuttle mission, deliveringthe Alpha Magnetic Spectrometerphysics experiment.

Endeavour was also instrumen-tal in the on-orbit repair of theHubble Space Telescope. In 1993,the shuttle crew conducted the firstand most critical repair mission,correcting the optics, replacing thesolar arrays and upgrading the widefield planetary camera.Zarya Module (left) and Unity Module (right). Credit: NASA


Spaceship Earth and the Blue Marble

On December 7, 1972, the crew of Apollo captured this iconic image of the receding Earth. Christened the“Blue Marble,” the image underscored the fragility of humanity’s only sanctuary. The photo, taken at a distanceof 28,000 miles (45,000 km), provides a view extending from the Mediterranean Sea, across the African con-tinent, to the south polar ice cap.

Purchasing a TelescopeDuring the holidays it’s not un-

common to see parents and grand-parents carrying around a telescopethat they just picked up at the mallor warehouse store for their bud-

ding astronomer. Unfortunately,too many of these thoughtful giftsend up in a basement or attic afterone or two uses. All too often, tele-scope manufacturers prey on

consumer’s expectations, whichare often out of line with the capa-bilities of the product, resulting infrustration and disillusionment.However, even a crudely con-


structed telescope can be coaxedto produce acceptable images, ifthe observer understands the limi-tations of his or her instrument.

There is no perfect telescope foreveryone. An inexpensive, mass-produced telescope that gets cartedout of the house and set up everyclear night, stimulates the users’imagination and encourages themto push the instrument’s capabili-ties to its limits is far more valu-able than the most highly craftedoptical masterpiece that spends itsnights in a closet.

There are several types of tele-scopes available to the general con-sumer. Each has advantages anddisadvantages, and with a littleeducation, a consumer can find atelescope that fits his or her needsand lifestyle. Again, if you don’tuse it, a telescope is about as use-ful as a garden gnome and not ascute.

TTTTTypes ofypes ofypes ofypes ofypes of TTTTTelescopeselescopeselescopeselescopeselescopesThere are three basic types of

telescopes: refractors, reflectorsand compound or catadioptric tele-scopes.

Refractors have beenaround for 400 yearsand use

a series of lenses to bring the lightrays from distant objects to focus.They are highly regarded for theirunobstructed and high-contrast im-ages. The optical tubes are sealedand generally more rugged thatother designs. As such, the opticsrarely need to be adjusted (re-aligned) which makes the refrac-tor a good choice as a travel tele-scope. Refractors are an excellent

choice for planetary and lunarviewing and for double stars, butgenerally do not have the largelight gathering capacity needed forfaint objects such as nebula andgalaxies. The disadvantages of re-fractors include: the potential fordifferent wavelengths of light todiverge from a common focus asthey pass through the glass (pro-ducing color “fringing” aroundbright objects), the position of theeyepiece at the rear of the opticaltube (requiring the telescope to bemounted fairly high off the groundfor comfortable viewing), theclosed tube that can take some timeto cool down, and the price (high-est cost per inch of aperture of thebasic telescopes designs).

Reflectors have been around foralmost as long as refractors, but usemirrors instead of lenses to bringlight to the observer’s eye. A largemirror located at the closed end ofthe optical tube reflects light backup the tube to a smaller mirrormounted near the open end and outto an eyepiece. Mirrors are mucheasier and less expensive to manu-facture than lenses with only anoptical curve required on the frontof the mirror. With mirrors, thelight never passes through theglass, so there is no divergence ofthe light rays. However, since theoptical tube is open to the atmo-sphere, mirrors will require peri-odic cleaning, adjustment and,eventually, recoating. Reflectorsoffer the best value, particularly forlarger apertures.

The most popular com-pound or catadioptrictelescopes com-bine a large, rearspherical mirrorwith a front correctorlens to create a verycompact optical tube.Companies suchas Meade and

Celestron built their businesses onthe Schmidt-Cassegrain design.While generally more expensivethan reflectors, the compound tele-scope offers a very portable alter-ative for large aperture telescopes.Disadvantages include cool downtime (since the optical tubes aresealed), and a relatively large sec-ondary mirror that degrades theimage of high contrast objects(planets or the Moon). The frontcorrector plate is also susceptibleto dew formation although this canbe managed with a dew shield orcorrector plate heater.

There are several terms that areused in the sales promotion of tele-scopes. Some of the common onesare discussed below:

ApertureAperture refers to the size of the

largest lens or mirror in the tele-scope, for example, the primarymirror in an 8-inch reflector is 8-inches in diameter. As a generalrule, bigger is better, as light gath-ering and resolution increase withthe size of the optics. However, aswith everything else, there areother considerations that limit thepractical size of a particular instru-ment. Alvan Clark & Sons figuredthe 40-inch lens for the YerkesObservatory’s refractor, deliveringthe lens in 1897. More than 100years later, it is still the world’slargest working refractor. Why?The weight of the glass and thecomplexities in supporting a largelens by its edge and the absorptionof light passing through the glasswere factors; however, the refrac-tor was ultimately done in by SirIsaac Newton when he built thefirst reflecting telescope in 1668.Mirrors, unlike lenses, can be com-pletely supported from the back.Since light does not pass throughthe glass, reflected images do notsuffer from “chromatic aberration.”


Today single mirrors are routinelyproduced with diameters exceeding28 feet and telescopes are con-structed combining multiple mirrorsto achieve even larger light gather-ing capabilities. So what size is goodfor you? Before you answer, you maywant to consider:

° Are you planning on setting upyour telescope in a permanent instal-lation, e.g., backyard observatory, orwill you be moving it in and out ofyour home every time you plan onobserving. If the latter, then weight,portability and ease of set up areimportant considerations. Due to itssize and weight, my telescope sawvery little use until I invested in awheeled platform that allows me toeasily roll the fully assembled tele-scope in and out of my garage inminutes.

° Are you planning on takingyour telescope on the road, withyou on vacation or planning totravel some distance to find trulydark skies or observe a “once in alifetime event?” Whether by train,plane or automobile, care must betaken to protect your telescope andensure that it arrives at its destina-tion in working order (mechani-cally and optically). If this is im-portant to you, a smaller and sim-pler design such as a refractor maybe a good choice.

° What are you interested inlooking at? Spectacular views ofthe Sun, Moon and planets can beacquired with a relatively modestinstrument. However, if your pas-sion is hunting down the more elu-sive and distant residents our theMilky Way Galaxy or exploringother galaxies far, far, away, it willrequire a much larger aperture tocapture those meager photons.

MagnificationMagnification is likely the most

overrated measure of a telescope’scapabilities. Magnification is a

function of the eyepiece placed inthe path of the incoming light andin front of the observer’s eye; theobserver can change the magnifi-cation by simply selecting a differ-ent eyepiece. As such, it shouldn’tbe a criterion in selecting a tele-scope.

The limiting useful magnifica-tion is approximately 50 times thediameter of the objective lens orprimary mirror. For example, asmall refracting telescope with a 4-inch objective lens can be pushedto a magnification of 200 times;however, only under the bestobserving conditions and, in gen-eral, only on bright objects such asthe Moon and planets. Most as-tronomers prefer the views thatlower magnification provides witha wider field and brighter image.So, the next time you are capturedby the stunning views of the uni-verse on the packaging of a mod-est instrument, remember that thepotential of most telescopes israrely realized, particularly if youreside in the light polluted skies ofthe northeast. A higher power eye-piece magnifies not only thetelescope’s intended target but alsothe side-effects of living under 20miles of Earth’s atmosphere.

MountsWhile generally not at the top

of the list as far as features, thetelescope’s mounting system andconstruction is keyto its ease of useand the stabilityof the image. Apoorly designed mountor one with flimsy con-struction can be just asfrustrating to deal withas poor optics. An altitude-azimuthor alt-az mount is the simplest typeof telescope mount and generallythe easiest to set up. In this arrange-ment, the mount allows the

telescope to move left and rightwhile pivoting up and down. It iscommonly found on Dobsoniantelescopes, is user friendly and canbe mechanized to track celestialobjects across the sky.

Dobsonian telescopes are re-flectors on a simple, swivel mount.They offer a low-cost solution forthose on a limited budget withaperture fever (an insatiable desirefor a larger telescope).

Another common mount designis the equatorial mount. In thisdesign, one axis is aligned with thecelestial pole, requiring only themovement around this axis tofollow objects across the sky. It isthe easiest configuration for track-ing and is generally preferred forastrophotography. Some alt-azmounts can be converted to anequatorial configuration with theaddition of an “equatorial wedge.”Equatorial mounts, however, canbe heavier than their alt-az coun-terparts.

Go-ToEssentially a computer con-

trolled pointing system, “go-to”allows the user to select an objectfrom a data base and command thedrive motors on the mount to movethe telescope to the object’s loca-tion in the sky. This presupposesthat the telescope user has properlyset up the telescope and success-fully navigated through the align-ment process (a process by whichthe telescope’s computer deter-mines where it’s pointed, the localtime, and its position on the Earth).Most “go-to” telescopes come witha large database, some of whichcan be modified (supplemented) bythe user. While “go-to” capabilityis extremely convenient and cantake you to thousands of objects inits database in a blink of an eye, itdoesn’t necessarily mean that youwill be able to see the object. De-


pending upon the size of your tele-scope (see Aperture), many objectsin these databases are just too dimto see with the equipment pro-vided. CCD cameras are muchmore sensitive than your eye andcan accumulate light for long du-rations. So, if you are planning onusing your telescope primarily asa camera lens, then some of thedisadvantage of a small aperturecan be overcome. However, if youplan on doing most of your observ-ing at the eyepiece, you may wantto consider spending the money ona larger aperture rather than on “go-to” electronics.

What to DoIf you are seriously considering

acquiring a telescope, a little bit ofresearch can go a long way in en-joying your final purchase. If pos-sible, try to observe through thetelescope(s) that you are consider-ing. The McCarthy Observatoryhas a monthly open house. Whenthe skies are clear, up to a dozentelescopes can be found on the pre-mises (including refractors, reflec-tors, a Dobsonian, and severalSchmidt-Cassegrains). Comparethe same celestial objects throughdifferent scopes, talk to the own-ers about portability, ease of setupand operation. Check out productreviews in trade magazines such asSky and Telescope and Astronomyand on their websites. Contactreputable dealers and visit tradeshows such as the Northeast As-tronomical Forum where you canpick the brains of industry experts.

December History1968 was a year of turmoil. The

United States was entangled in awar that even the Secretary of De-fense concluded could not be wonand he resigned from office. TheMy Lai massacre was one of manyatrocities of the Vietnam War per-

petrated by both sides during thisyear. Major U.S. cities were thetarget of race riots and anti-warprotests. Chicago police violentlyclashed with protesters at theDemocratic National Conventionand civil rights leader MartinLuther King and presidential can-didate Robert Kennedy were assas-sinated in 1968. To many Ameri-cans, the only heartening event inthis otherwise horrific year was thereading from the Book of Genesisby the crew of Apollo 8 as theyorbited the Moon on ChristmasEve.

The race to beat the Soviets tothe Moon took a dramatic turn in1968 and saw the United Statestake its first lead by year’s end.Apollo 7 was launched in October1968 into Earth orbit. A week orso later, the Soviets launched twoSoyuz space craft into Earth orbit(one manned and one unmannedfor a planned rendezvous). In No-vember, another unmanned Zondflew around the Moon and photo-graphed the unseen far side. TheUnited States expected that theSoviets would attempt anothermoon shot in early December whenthe launch window for theBaikonur space center inKazakhstan reopened (a Zondstood poised on the launching pad).Curiously, the opportunity passedwithout any activity. CosmonautAlexei Leonov would later at-tribute the Soviet’s loss of initia-tive and resolve to the prematuredeath of Sergei Korolev, the “ChiefDesigner” of the Soviet space pro-gram as well as the design com-plexities of their Moon rocket (theN1).

While Apollo 7 had been a suc-cessful maiden voyage of the com-pletely redesigned command mod-ule (after the Apollo 1 fire), theUnited States had yet to leave Earth

orbit. NASA’s original plan was tolaunch a series of increasinglycomplex missions to near-Earthorbit before attempting a lunar ex-cursion. Development of the lunarlander was behind schedule andviolent vibrations in the Saturnrocket’s main stage needed to becorrected before NASA felt confi-dent of sending men to the Moon.However, the apparent progress bythe Soviets threatened to upstagethe United States once again. It wasa proposal by a quiet engineeringgenius, George Low, (Manager ofthe Apollo Spacecraft ProgramOffice) to send the Apollo 8 com-mand module alone into lunar or-bit that would ultimately place theUnited States in a position toachieve President Kennedy’s goalto land a man on the Moon andsafely return him to Earth by theend of the decade.

Apollo 8 was launched on De-cember 21st under the command ofFrank Borman with astronautsWilliam Anders and Jim Lovell(Lovell replaced Michael Collinson the original team; Collins, whorequired back surgery, would go onto be the Command Module Pilotfor Apollo 11). The launch wasscheduled so that the crew wouldarrive at the Moon as the Sun wasrising on the Sea of Tranquility.With the Sun low in the sky, theastronauts could photograph po-tential landing sites and resolvesurface detail that would otherwise


be washed out in the glare from ahigher Sun.

The crew of Apollo 8 was thefirst to ride the three stage SaturnV rocket, with the explosive energyof an atomic bomb (the Saturn Vhad only been launched twice be-fore – both unmanned). The nightbefore the launch, the astronautswere visited by Charles Lindbergh.During the visit, it was discussedthat the engines on the Saturn Vwould burn 10 times the amountof fuel every second that Lindberghhad used to fly nonstop from NewYork to Paris.

The Apollo 8 astronauts werealso the first humans to leave Earthorbit and pass through the VanAllen radiation belts that extend upto 15,000 miles from Earth. To ac-complish the mission, Apollo 8 hadto cross the 240,000 mile void be-tween the Earth and the Moon withsufficient precision so as to inter-cept the Moon (traveling at 2,300miles an hour through space) just69 miles above the lunar surface.By successfully doing so, the as-tronauts were the first humans towitness the rising of the Earthabove the Moon’s horizon (Earth-rise). They would also be the firstto return to Earth and reenter theatmosphere at a speed of 25,000miles an hour.

The highlight of the mission, tomany, was the broadcast from theApollo 8 command module duringthe ninth orbit of the Moon. Aftera brief introduction of the crew andtheir general impressions of thelunar landscape, William Anderssaid that the crew had a messagefor all those on Earth. The astro-nauts took turns reading from thebook of Genesis, the story of cre-ation. Frank Borman closed thebroadcast with: “And from thecrew of Apollo 8, we close with:Good night, Good luck, a MerryChristmas, and God bless all ofyou, all you on the good Earth.” Itis estimated that a quarter ofEarth’s population saw the Christ-mas Eve transmission.

In order to safely return toEarth, the main engine had to berestarted on the far side of theMoon (out of contact with theEarth). If successful, Apollo 8would reappear from behind theMoon at a predetermined time.

As predicted, the spacecraft re-emerged on time, and when voicecontact was regained, astronautJim Lovell would announce:“Please be informed, there is aSanta Claus.” It was ChristmasDay. Apollo 8 would return safelyto the Earth two days later, splash-ing down in the Pacific Oceanshortly before sunrise. The astro-nauts and the capsule were recov-ered by the aircraft carrier USSYorktown.

December NightsNights in December are not to

be missed. While the often frigidand turbulent atmosphere can befrustrating for astronomers, the re-flection of shimmering starlight (ormoonlight) off a snow coveredlandscape can be truly magical.The bright stars of the winter skyglow with color from orange toyellow to brilliant blue-white. Astar-filled sky in December is un-surpassed in grandeur.

Astronomical and Historical Events1st Kuiper Belt Object 2006 QH181 at Opposition (82.373 AU)1st History: launch of Soviet satellite Sputnik 6 and two dogs: Pchelka and Mushka (1960)2nd Apollo Asteroid 25143 Itokawa closest approach to Earth (0.689 AU); asteroid was target of Japan’s

spacecraft Hayabusa and sample return mission2nd Kuiper Belt Object 145451 (2005 RM43) at Opposition (35.301 AU)2nd History: dedication of the John J. McCarthy Observatory in New Milford, CT (2000)2nd History: launch of SOHO solar observatory (1995)2nd History: touchdown of Soviet Mars 3 lander: communications were lost with the lander, the first

spacecraft to touch down on the Red Planet, after 20 seconds possibly due to raging dust storm (1971)2nd History: launch of space shuttle Endeavour (STS-61), first servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope,

including the installation of corrective optics and new solar panels (1993)2nd History: Pioneer 11 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Jupiter; encounter redirects the space-

craft to Saturn and an escape trajectory out of the solar system (1974)

Sunrise and Sunset(New Milford, CT)

Sun Sunrise Sunset

December 1st (EST) 07:01 16:24December 15th 06:13 16:24December 31st 07:20 16:33


3rd Last Quarter Moon3rd Scheduled launch of Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo freighter to the International Space Station

aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida3rd Centaur Object 8405 Asbolus at Opposition (18.632 AU)3rd History: Pioneer 10 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Jupiter; first space probe to fly through

the asteroid belt and to an outer planet (1973)3rd History: discovery of Jupiter’s moon Himalia by Charles Perrine (1904)4th History: launch of space shuttle Endeavour (STS-88), first International Space Station construc-

tion flight, including the mating of the Unity and Zarya modules (1998)4th History: launch of the Pathfinder spacecraft to Mars (1996)4th History: Pioneer Venus 1 enters orbit, first of two orbiters (and probes) to conduct a comprehen-

sive investigation of the atmosphere of Venus (1978)4th History: launch of Gemini 7 with astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, spending almost 14

days in space (1965)4th History: launch of Gemini Joe 2 rocket, test flight for the Mercury capsule and first U.S. animal

flight with Sam, a Rhesus monkey (1959)5th Moon at apogee (furthest distance from Earth)6th Distant flyby of Saturn’s moons Epimetheus, Atlas and Prometheus by the Cassini spacecraft6th Aten Asteroid 2010 TK7 (Earth Trojan) closest approach to Earth (0.198 AU)7th Scheduled orbit insertion of the Japanese spacecraft Akatsuki around Venus7th History: arrival of the Galileo space probe at Jupiter (1995)7th History: launch of Apollo 17 with astronauts Ronald Evans, Harrison Schmitt (first scientist –

geologist) and Eugene Cernan (last man on the Moon – so far) (1972)8th History: a Dragon spacecraft, launched by SpaceX into low-Earth orbit, is recovered in the Pacific

Ocean: first time a spacecraft recovered by a commercial company (2010)8th History: discovery of asteroid 5 Astraea by Karl Hencke (1845)9th Plutino 84922 (2003 VS2) at Opposition (35.613 AU)9th Asteroid 951 Gaspra closest approach to Earth; visited by the Galileo spacecraft on its way to

Jupiter in October 1991 (0.988 AU)9th Aten Asteroid 2011 YW10 Near-Earth Flyby (0.066 AU)9th History: Pioneer Venus 2 enters orbit, second of two orbiters (and probes) to conduct a compre-

hensive investigation of the atmosphere of Venus (1978)10th Plutino 307463 (2002 VU130) at Opposition (39.595 AU)10th History: launch of the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton), the largest scientific satellite

built in Europe and one of the most powerful (1999)10th History: launch of Helios 1 (also known as Helios A) into solar orbit; joint venture by Federal

Republic of Germany and NASA to study the Sun (1974)11th New Moon11th Kuiper Belt Object 2004 XR190 at Opposition (56.501 AU)12th Second Saturday Stars - Open House at the McCarthy Observatory (7:00 pm)12th History: discovery of Saturn moons Fornjot, Farbauti, Aegir, Bebhionn, Hati and Bergeimir by

Scott Sheppard, et al’s (2004)12th History: discovery of Saturn moons Hyrrokkin by Sheppard/Jewitt/Kleyna (2004)12th History: launch of Uhuru, the first satellite designed specifically for X-ray astronomy (1970)12th History: launch of Oscar, first amateur satellite (1961)13th Geminids Meteor Shower peak13th Centaur Object 154783 (2004 PA44) at Opposition (18.186 AU)13th History: discovery of Saturn’s moons Fenrir and Bestla by Scott Sheppard, et al’s (2004)13th History: Mt. Wilson’s 100-inch telescope used to measure the first stellar diameter (Betelgeuse);

measured by Francis Pease and Albert Michelson (1920)

Astronomical and Historical Events (continued)



13th History: First light of Mt. Wilson’s 60-inch telescope (1908)14th History: flyby of Venus by Mariner 2; first spacecraft to execute a successful encounter with

another planet, finding cool cloud layers and an extremely hot surface (1962)14th History: flyby of Mars by Japan’s Nozomi spacecraft after an attempt to achieve orbit fails (2003)14th History: creation of the Canadian Space Agency (1990)14th History: Weston meteorite fall: first documented fall in the United States (1807); best coordi-

nates for the fall are based upon investigative research by Monty Robson, Director of the McCarthyObservatory, published in 2009

14th History: birth of Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer noted for his observational skills, the precisionof his observations, and the instruments he developed; builder of Uraniburg, the finest observa-tory in Europe (1546)

15th Scheduled launch of the next Expedition crew to the International Space Station aboard a Rus-sian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

15th History: launch of Soviet spacecraft, Vega 1 to Venus and then to Comet Halley (1984)15th History: landing of Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 on the surface of Venus (1970)15th History: discovery of Saturn’s moon Janus by Audouin Dollfus (1966)15th History: launch of Gemini 6 with astronauts Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford (1965)15th History: Gemini 6 and 7 execute the first manned spacecraft rendezvous (1965)16th Plutino 55638 (2002 VE95) at Opposition (28.417 AU)16th History: launch of Pioneer 6, the first of four identical solar orbiting, spin-stabilized spacecraft (1965)17th Distant flyby of Saturn’s largest moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft17th History: Project Mercury publicly announced (1958)17th History: Wright Brothers’ first airplane flight, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (1903)18th First Quarter Moon19th Flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus by the Cassini spacecraft19th Distant flyby of Saturn’s moons Aegaeon and Calypso by the Cassini spacecraft19th History: launch of the Gaia spacecraft from French Guiana to survey more than one billion stars

in an effort to chart the chart the evolution of the Milky Way galaxy (2013)19th History: launch of space shuttle Discovery (STS-103), third servicing of the Hubble space tele-

scope including the installation of new gyroscopes and computer (1999)19th History: launch of Mercury-Redstone 1A; first successful flight and qualification of the space-

craft and booster (1960)20th History: Ames Research Center founded as the second National Advisory Committee for Aero-

nautics (NACA) laboratory at Moffett Federal Airfield in California (1939)20th History: founding of the Mt. Wilson Observatory (1904)21st Moon at perigee (closest distance from Earth)21st Winter Solstice at 11:49 pm EST (December 22nd at 4:49 UTC)21st Scheduled launch of a cargo-carrying Progress spacecraft to the International Space Station aboard

a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan20th History: launch of the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor satellite (ACRIMSAT); de-

signed to measure Sun’s total solar irradiance (1999)21st History: launch of the Soviet spacecraft Vega 2 to Venus, continued on to Comet Halley (1984)21st History: landing of Soviet spacecraft Venera 12 on the surface of Venus, found evidence of thun-

der and lightning in the atmosphere (1978)21st History: launch of Apollo 8 with astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders, first

to circumnavigate the Moon (1968)21st History: launch of Luna 13, Soviet moon lander (1966)22nd Ursids Meteor Shower peak22nd Plutino 2002 XV93 at Opposition (38.043 AU)22nd Kuiper Belt Object 78799 (2002 XW93) at Opposition (44.392 AU)



22nd History: discovery of the Mars meteorite LEW 88516 (1988)23rd Apollo Asteroid 1995 YR1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU)23rd History: discovery of Saturn’s moon Rhea by Giovanni Cassini (1672)24th Aten Asteroid 2011 YD29 Near-Earth Flyby (0.025 AU)24th Aten Asteroid 163899 (2003 SD220) Near-Earth Flyby (0.073 AU)24th History: inaugural of ESA’s Ariane 1 rocket and first artificial satellite carried by an ESA rocket (1979)24th History: Deep Space Network created (1963)24th History: Jean-Louis Pons born into a poor family with only basic education, took post at observa-

tory at Marseilles as concierge, went on to become most successful discover of comets (discoveredor co-discovered 37 comets, 26 bear his name) (1761)

24th History: inaugural launch of the Arianne rocket, Europe’s attempt to develop a cost-effective launcherto serve the commercial market (1979)

25th Full Moon25th Asteroid 27 Euterpe at Opposition (8.3 Magnitude)25th Apollo Asteroid 2003 YL118 Near-Earth Flyby (0.095 AU)25th Aten Asteroid 2010 YO Near-Earth Flyby (0.099 AU)25th History: European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft enters orbit around Mars (2003)25th History: landing of Soviet spacecraft Venera 11 on Venus, second of two identical spacecraft (1978)26th Aten Asteroid 310442 (2000 CH59) Near-Earth Flyby (0.071 AU)26th History: launch of Soviet space station Salyut 4 from Baikonur Cosmodrome; third Soviet space

station and second space station devoted primarily to civilian objectives; deorbited in 1977 (1974)27th History: discovery of the ALH84001 Martian meteorite in the Allan Hills, Far Western Icefield,

Antarctica, made famous by the announcement of the discovery of evidence for primitive Martianbacterial life (1984)

27th History: Johannes Kepler born, German mathematician and astronomer who postulated that theEarth and planets travel about the sun in elliptical orbits, developed three fundamental laws ofplanetary motion (1571)

29th Mercury at its Greatest Eastern Elongation; apparent separation from the Sun in the evening sky (20°)30th History: Army Air Corp Captain Albert William Stevens takes first photo showing the Earth’s

curvature (1930)30th History: flyby of Jupiter by Cassini spacecraft on mission to Saturn (2000)30th History: discovery of Uranus’ moon Puck by Stephen Synnott (1985)31st Distant flyby of Saturn’s moon Rhea by the Cassini spacecraft31st History: GRAIL-A, lunar gravity mapping spacecraft enters orbit (2011)

Commonly Used Terms• Apollo: a group of near-Earth asteroids whose orbits also cross Earth’s orbit. Apollo asteroids spend

most of their time outside Earth orbit.

• Aten: a group of near-Earth asteroids whose orbits also cross Earth’s orbit, but unlike Apollos, Atensspend most of their time inside Earth orbit.

• Centaur: icy planetesimals with characteristics of both asteroids and comets

• Kuiper Belt: region of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune (30 AUs to 50 AUs) with a vastpopulation of small bodies orbiting the Sun

• Opposition: celestial bodies on opposite sides of the sky, typically as viewed from Earth

• Trojan: asteroids orbiting in the 4th and 5th Lagrange points (leading and trailing) of major planets inthe Solar System


References on Distances• The apparent width of the Moon (and Sun) is approximately one-half a degree (½°), less than the width of

your little finger at arm’s length which covers approximately one degree (1°); three fingers span approximatelyfive degrees (5°)

• One astronomical unit (AU) is the distance from the Sun to the Earth or approximately 93 million miles

International Space Station/Space Shuttle/Iridium SatellitesVisit www.heavens-above.com for the times of visibility and detailed star charts for viewing the Interna-

tional Space Station, the Space Shuttle (when in orbit) and the bright flares from Iridium satellites.

Solar ActivityFor the latest on what’s happening on the Sun and the current forecast for flares and aurora, check out

www.spaceweather.com.

Image CreditsFront page design and graphic calendars: Allan Ostergren

Cover image: First viewed in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop in New South Wales, the galaxyCentaurus A is a bright beacon for amateur observers from its parent constellation in the southern sky. Butin repeated visits with ever more powerful lenses, the galaxy has revealed more disturbing secrets of itscomplex evolution.

Born perhaps in a collision between a lenticular (disc shaped) galaxy and a spiral galaxy, theresulting melee has become a proving ground for astronomical forces and theories. A supermassive blackhole equivalent to the mass of 55 million of our suns lurks at the center and is emitting X–rays and radiowaves at a velocity of half the speed of light across a distance of a million light years.

The relative energy of the X–rays increases from red to green and blue. The bulge in the imageconsists of "evolved" red stars in their last stage of existence, while the dusty disk in the center is abirthing ground for new star formation. The images, taken by the Chandra Observatory were assembledfrom data collected over a period of about 230 hours between 1999 and 2012.

Source: NASA/CXC/U.Birmingham/M.Burke et al.

A giant X-Ray image of Centaurus A is displayed at McCarthy Observatory – inside a Chandra X-ray telescope mirror piece on the wall (made especially for JJMO by the Chandra team at the HarvardSmithsonian in Cambridge). That mirror slice is the only one in existence.

Find out more about the Centaurus A imaging project at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2014/cena/.

Page 3 graphic: The Hooker 100-Inch Telescope on Mount Wilson. Note the bentwood chair on theplatform in the lower left of the photo. The chair was used by astronomer Edwin Hubble during observingsessions with the 100-Inch telescope (see photo on next page)

Photo: Bill Cloutier

Second Saturday Stars poster: Marc Polansky


Astronomer Edwin Hubble at the telescope circa 1922Credit: Edwin Hubble Papers/Courtesy of Huntington Library, San Marino, California

December 2015Celestial Calendar

2nd Saturday StarsNew Milford High School

Gerard Kuiper born -proposed belt ofminor planetaryobjects beyond

Neptune (1905)

Arrival ofGalileo space

probe atJupiter(1995)

Apollo 17(Evans,Schmitt,Cernan)

1972

Discovery ofasteroid 5Astraea by KarlHencke (1845)

Launch ofOscar, first

amateursatellite(1961)

Weston, CTMeteorite,first documentedU.S. strike (1807)

Tycho Braheborn,1546 -Danish

astronomer

Discoveryof Saturn

moon Janus byAudouin Dollfus

(1966)

Gemini 6launch

(Schirra,Stafford)

1965

Wright Brothers firstflight, Kitty Hawk, NC

(1903)

Mercury 1,unmannedspacecraft

(1960)

Apollo 8 (Borman,Lovell, Anders), first tocircumnavigate the Moon- 1968

Winter Solsticeat 4:49 UTC

(11:49 pm EST)

Discoveryof LEW

88516 meteorite-Martian origin

(1988)

Ursidsmeteor

shower peak

Discovery of Saturn'smoon Rhea by

Giovanni Cassini(1672)

Jean-LouisPons born -

discoveror ofcomets (1761)

Mars Expressspacecraftorbits Red planet(2003)

Venera 11 on Venus,4 days after sisterlander Venera 12

(1978)

Johannes Keplerborn 1571 -

established laws ofplanetary motion Discovery of

Uranus' moonPuck by StephenSynnott (1985)

Cassini meetsGalileo atJupiter and getsJovian gravityboost, whileen route toSaturn (2000)

Aussonmeteorite fall,hits buildingin France (1858)

Launch ofXMM-NewtonEuropean X- Raysatellite (1999)

Mars origin meteoriteQUE 94201

discoveredin Queen

Alexandrarange,

Antarctica(1994)

Launch ofDiscovery STS-103, 3rd Hubble

servicingmission (1999)

Benaresmeteorite, hitshouse in India

(1798)

Launch of Sovietspacecraft Vega 2to Venus and on

to Comet Halley -(1984)

Geminidsmeteor

shower peak

ALH 84001 meteorite inAntarctica - cross section

shows signs of possible Martianbacterial life (1984)

Launch of Sovietsatellite Sputnik 6 withtwo dogs, Pchelak and

Mushka (1960)

Dedication ofJohn J.

McCarthyObservatory inNew Milford,CT (2000)

Flyby ofJupiter byPioneer 11spaccraft(1974)

Launch ofPathfinder

spacecraft toMars (1996)

Pioneer orbits Venusto study atmosphere

(1978)

Launch of SOHOsolar observatory

(1995)Space Shuttle

Endeavour firstHubble servicingmission (1993)

Discovery of Jupiter moonHimalia by Charles Perrine

(1904)

Gemini 7launch -

Borman/Lovell(1965)

Launch ofPioneer 6,first of foursolar orbitingspacecraft(1965)

inaugurallaunch of theAriane rocket

(1979)

Galileo spacecraftexplores auroras duringeclipse of Jovian moon

Ganymede (2000)

GRAIL-A spacecraft (GravityRecovery And Interior

Laboratory) enters lunarorbit, to be followed by

GRAIL-B the following day.Duo will map the moon's

gravity field (2011)

Galileo spacecraft1st Earth flyby

(1990)

Launch of Little Joe 2rocket, test flight forthe Mercury capsulewith Sam, a Rhesus

monkey (1959)

America's first attempt atputting a satellite into orbit

failed as Vanguard TV3rose only about four feet offa Cape Canaveral launchpad before crashing back

down and exploding (1957)

SpaceX Dragon,launched into low-Earth orbit, isrecovered in thePacific Ocean: firstby a commercial company (2010)

Asteroid 2011WU4 Near-EarthFlyby (0.084 AU)

Challenger, the Lunar Landerfor Apollo 17, touched downon the Moon's surface withastronauts Harrison Schmitt

and Eugene Cernan - last twomen to walk on moon (1972)

Soviet Venusmissions: landingof Venera 7 onthe surface ofVenus (1970);Vega 1 to Venusand Comet Halley (1984);

NASA showed the firstimages from the $670 million

Spitzer Space Telescope,launched 4 months earlier

(2003)

Launch of SovietSalyut 4 space

station(1974)

Sovietcosmonaut

GeorgyGrechko makes

the firstspacewalkduring the

Salyut 6 EO-1mission (1977)

Comet 21P Giacobini–Zinnerdiscovered in the constellation

Cygnus byMichel Giacobini

from (Nice,France) (1900)

Charles Babbage born -British mathematician,co-founder of RoyalAstronomical Societyand inventor of first

mechanical computer(1791)

Nancy Jane Sherlock Currieborn - an engineer, US Armyofficer and a NASA astronaut,designed hardware for space

station and served on fourshuttle missions (1956)

Discovery of Kepler-22b, byNASA's Kepler Space

Telescope in the constellationof Cygnus - the first known

transiting planet to orbit withinthe habitable zone of a Sun-

like star (2011)

John Michel born,gravity scientist

and first to predictexistence of "darkstars", later calledblack holes (1724)

Pioneer 10 closestapproach to Jupiter (1973)

New Horizonsspacecraft wakesup to prepare for

its July 2015encounter withthe dwarf planet

Pluto

St Louis meteorite, hits automobile (1950)

Claxton, GA, hits mailbox (1984)Mihonoseki, Japan, hits house

(1992)

Pioneer Venus2 in orbit, 2nd

to study planet'satmosphere (1978)

Moon atapogee(farthest

from Earth)

Launch of Helios 1into solar orbit -joint project of

NASA and FederalRepublic of

Germany (1974)

First light of Mt.Wilson's 60-inchtelescope (1908)

Flyby of Venus byMariner 2; firstspacecraft to

execute a successfulencounter withanother planet

(1962)

Foundingof the Mt.

WilsonObservatory

(1904)

Launch ofLuna 13,

Soviet moonlander (1966)

Deep SpaceNetwork

created (1963)

Moon atperigee(closest

distance to Earth)

Dec 25Dec 18

Dec 3 Dec 11

Phases of the Moon

volume 8, no. 12 december 2015 a disturbed galaxydecember 2015 john j. mccarthy observatory volume...

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