PAGE 2 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

Contact information: Info Officer (General Info) – info@fortworthastro.com Website Administrator – webmaster@fortworthastro.com

Postal Address: Fort Worth Astronomical Society c/o Matt McCullar 5801 Trail Lake Drive Fort Worth, TX 76133 Web Site: http://www.fortworthastro.org (or .com) Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/3eutb22 Twitter: http://twitter.com/ftwastro Yahoo! eGroup (members only): http://tinyurl.com/7qu5vkn

Officers (2015-2016): President – Si Simonson, president@fortworthastro.com Vice President – Tom Roth, vicepres@fortworthastro.com Sec/Tres – Michelle Theisen, sec-tres@fortworthastro.com

Board Members: 2016-2018 Bill Nichols Fed Klich 2015-2017 Matt Reed Phil Stage Observing Site Reminders:

Be careful with fire, mind all local burn bans!

Dark Site Usage Requirements (ALL MEMBERS):

Maintain Dark-Sky Etiquette (http://tinyurl.com/75hjajy)

Turn out your headlights at the gate!

Sign the logbook (in camo-painted storage shed. Inside the door on the left-hand side)

Log club equipment problems (please contact a FWAS board member to inform them of any problems)

Put equipment back neatly when finished

Last person out:

Check all doors – secured, but NOT locked

Make sure nothing is left out

FW

AS

I ns id e th is i s s ue :

Cover Photo: Mars - 12" RC, 2000 frames, ZWO

ASI120MC camera, OACapture, Registax. Photo taken by FWAS member - Keith

Frost

The Fort Worth Astronomical Society (FWAS) was founded in 1949 and is a non-profit 501(c)3 scientific educational organization, and incorporated in the state of Texas. This publication may be copied and distributed for free only. This publication cannot be uploaded or distributed into any media unless it is in its original, full, unaltered, published form. All rights reserved by FWAS.

Page

E d i t o r :

S h a w n K i r c h d o r f e r

I s s u e C o n t r i b u t o r s :

M a t t M c C u l l a r

Ke l l y B e e b e

B r u c e C o w l e s

M a n n y L o i s

July Club Calendar 3

Young Astronomer News 4

Celestial Events 5

Interesting Objects 6

Abbreviations/Classifications 6

Cloudy Night Library 7

Constellation of the Month 9

Constellation Mythology 10

Monthly AL Observing Club 11

ISS Visible Passes for DFW 12

Monthly Planet Visibility 12

Monthly Sky Chart 13

Moon Phase Calendar 14

1st/Last Crescent/Ephem 15

Conjunctions:Lunar/Planet 16

Mercury/Venus Data 17

Visible Minor Planets 18

Jupiter Data 19

Saturn Data 20

Visible Comets 21-22

June Meeting Minutes 23-24

Fundraising/Donation Info 25

That’s A Fact 26

Full Moon Name 26

FWAS Fotos 27

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 3

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31

See our full FWAS Event Calendar at:

http://www.fortworthastro.com/meetings.html

for the latest updates on what our club has scheduled

NM

FQ

JULY 2016JULY 2016

Click calendar icons above to see details of bright ISS passes this month.

Moon Apogee: 404308.0 km

FM

FWAS

APSIG

Meeting

Contact Jerry

Gardner for times

Young

Astronomers

Meeting

Starts @ 7pm-9pm

FWAS

Monthly

Meeting

Starts @ 7pm

LQ B u c k M o o n

Moon Perigee: 365958.8 km

Moon — Golden

Handle visible

45th Anniver-

sary (1971),

Solrad 10 Launch Robert Haag's 60th

Birthday (1956)

Moon Perigee: 369626.5 km

Aphelion: 1.0168 AU

D e l t a A q u a r i i d s P e a k

Rudolf Wolf's 200th Birthday (1816)

Lou Friedman's 75th Birthday (1941)

10th Anniversary

(2006), Moss Me-teorite Fall (Hit Cabin in Norway)

Nikola Tesla's 160th Birthday (1856)

40th Anniver-

sary (1976),

Viking 1, Mars Landing

55th Anniversary

(1961), Comet 147P/Kushida-

Muramatsu Leaves Jupiter Orbit

Donna Shirley's 75th Birthday (1941)

Giuseppe Piazzi's 270th Birthday (1746)

50th Anniversary

(1966), Gemini 10 Launch (John

Young & Michael

Collins)

John Glenn's 95th Birthday (1921)

Edward Pickering's 170th Birthday (1846)

55th Anniversary

(1961), Mercury 4 Launch (Gus Gris-

som, Liberty Bell

7)

65th Anniversary

(1951), Launch of the 1st Dogs Into

Space (Dezik & Tsy-gan)

40th Anniversary

(1976), Viking 1 Image of Cydonia

Regon ("Face" on Mars)

45th Anniversary

(1971), Apollo 15 Launch (4th

Manned Moon Land-

ing)

100th Anniversary

(1916), Grigory Neujmin's Discov-ery of Asteroid 951

Gaspra

45th Anniversary

(1971), Dave Scott Becomes 1st Person To Drive Vehicle on Moon (Apollo 15)

George Airy's 215th Birthday (1801)

PAGE 4 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

planetary events in our meeting this month.

From planetary, stellar, and mixed conjunctions,

the combinations are wide and varied..

Young Astronomers

J uly is all about the Planets coming to-

gether in what is called a CONJUNC-

TION.

On July 16th Mercury and Venus will be within

32 arcminutes of each other in the sky.

Then on August 27th, Venus and Jupiter will be

within 14 arcminutes of each other.

We’ll be discussing how to view these semi-rare Check out the Young Astronomers Web Page at: http://

www.fortworthastro.com/young_astronomers.html

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Congratulations and Welcome

to our New Officers for 2016-2017

President—Si Simonson

Vice President—Tom Roth

Secretary/Treasurer—Michelle Theisen

Board Member—Bill Nichols

Board Member—Fred Klich

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 5

Jul 01 Fr 01:45 Moon Perigee: 366000 km

Jul 01 Fr --:-- Venus: 6.8° E

Jul 01 Fr 22:58 Moon-Aldebaran: 0.4° S

Jul 03 Su 15:06 Moon North Dec.: 18.6° N

Jul 04 Mo 06:01 New Moon

Jul 04 Mo 10:59 Aphelion: 1.0168 AU

Jul 06 We 22:12 Mercury Superior Conj.

Jul 07 Th 18:33 Moon-Regulus: 1.9° N

Jul 08 Fr 20:42 Moon Ascending Node

Jul 09 Sa 05:08 Moon-Jupiter: 0.9° N

Jul 11 Mo 19:52 First Quarter

Jul 13 We 00:24 Moon Apogee: 404300 km

Jul 16 Sa 00:11 Moon-Saturn: 3.8° S

Jul 17 Su 22:41 Moon South Dec.: 18.6° S

Jul 19 Tu 17:57 Full Moon

Jul 23 Sa 02:49 Moon Descending Node

Jul 26 Tu 18:00 Last Quarter

Jul 27 We 06:25 Moon Perigee: 369700 km

Jul 27 We 15:32 Delta Aquarid Shower: ZHR = 20

Jul 29 Fr 05:53 Moon-Aldebaran: 0.3° S

Jul 30 Sa 10:55 Mercury-Regulus: 0.3° N

Jul 30 Sa 23:52 Moon North Dec.: 18.5° N

C E L E S T I A L E V E N T S T H I S M O N T H

(* Times are Local) D a t a S o u r c e : N A S A S K Y C A L - S K Y E V E N T S C A LE N D A R

PAGE 6 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

I N T E R E S T I N G O B J E C T S

Deep Sky* - (C20) North America Nebula-EN, (C76) Northern Jewel Box-OC, (C77)

Centaurus A-S0p, (C80) Omega Centauri-GC, (M3) Globular Cluster, (M5) Globular

Cluster, (M8 Lagoon Nebula-EN, (M13) Great GC in Hercules, (M20) Trifid Nebula-EN,

(M27) Dumbell Nebula-PN, (M51) Whirlpool Galaxy-Sc, (M57) Ring Nebula-PN

Double/Multiple Stars** - 57 Aquilae, Pi Bootis, Omi Dra, 54 Leonis, Struve 1962

(Lib)

Constellations* - Aquila, Boötes, Centaurus, Draco, Leo, Libra, Lyra, Sagittarius, Scor-

pius, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Virgo

Asterisms*** - Summer Triangle, Three Leaps of the Gazelle (UMa),

Lunar Features**** - Posidonius (R14), Fracastorius (R58), Aristarchus Plateau (R18)

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 7

W e amateur as-tronomers en-joy looking at

the planets more than any other target, I think. Each is different, most have sat-ellites that change location every night, and they're just plain fascinating. Planets contains lots of modern information on planets, including facts I'd never seen before. It goes into more detail than most amateur astronomy books. This is not a book on ob-servational astronomy, but rather what the planets in our solar system are made of and their behavior.

First off, the author points out: “Most of the re-searchers who study plan-etary bodies today refer to themselves as planetary scientists rather than astronomers. They are more likely to be qualified in geology, geophys-ics or atmospheric science than in any branch of astronomy.” Most of the solar system's largest objects had been explored by robotic space probes by the time this book was written, so planetary scientists have learned a

great deal about the planets and their satel-lites. Except for Pluto, we see and learn a great deal about our solar system neighbors from close-up.

One unusual feature of Planets is that the Earth is included. There is good reason for this; Earth is not the only planet with an at-

mosphere, and studying how our ocean of gases behaves gives us clues to how the at-mospheres of other planets work. (There have actually been serious weather fore-casts for Mars.)

I found it a good mental ex-ercise to think about the ramifications of a planet's particular property; this is what astronomers and other scientists do. For example, Venus's thick atmosphere slows down most meteors speeding into it, to the point where most meteors simply burn up without reaching the surface. In fact, Venus's atmosphere “eats up” larger meteors that our atmos-phere can't. Consequently, Venus does not have any craters smaller than 3 kilo-meters across. What else

comes to mind when a planet has such a thick blanket of atmospheric gases? What affects the visibility of a planet through a telescope or binoculars? If you were in charge of designing a planetary space probe, what targets would you select? And why?

(Continued on page 8)

Media Reviews By: Matt McCullar, FWAS

Planets by David A. Rothery

Planets by David A. Rothery Published by Teach Yourself Books – 2000 ISBN 0-658-00486-7 226 pages

PAGE 8 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

Here's another example of how Planets makes some good scientific conclusions: “The litho-sphere of Mars (its land mass) shows no signs of being broken into separate plates today (as Earth is), and may be as much as about 200 km thick. This thickness would explain its strength, which is sufficient to support the weight of the 24 km-high volcano called Olym-pus Mons (the largest volcano in the solar sys-tem) without sagging.”

More about Mars: “The surface of Mars is fa-mous for its redness. The reason is that Mars's surface is a highly oxidizing environ-ment, and the color we see is essentially that of rust. The conditions are so oxidizing not simply because of the oxygen in the atmos-phere but because of minute traces of highly reactive compounds such as ozone (O3) and hydroperoxyl (HO2), which are produced by the action of solar ultraviolet radiation on ox-ygen and water vapor. Thus on rock surfaces the iron in silicate minerals is oxidized, and these minerals eventually break down to a red dust consisting of hydrated iron oxides (rust) and iron-rich clay.”

Other bits of trivia provided: Most Mars land-ing probes are sent to areas of low altitude to take advantage of the thicker atmosphere, thereby allowing more effective use of para-chutes for a soft landing; unoccupied parts of the asteroid belt are called “Kirkwood gaps,” which are caused by the gravitational influ-ences of both Mars and Jupiter, pushing and pulling asteroids into standard zones; the fast-est rotation period for an asteroid is less than three hours, while the slowest is about 50 days; Jupiter has many other storm systems

(in addition to the Great Red Spot), usually white rather than red, that can individually persist for several years or even decades; why there could be life underneath the ice of Jupi-ter's moon Europa; larger planetary bodies lose heat proportionally more slowly than smaller ones. Our own Moon is examined in detail, too. I learned a great deal from Plan-ets.

Each planet in Planets gets extensive treat-ment, and so does the Kuiper belt and planets around other stars: “Between 1992 and 2000, over 200 bodies were discovered orbiting at between 30 and 50 AU (astronomical units), a region called the Kuiper belt. It can be esti-mated that there are probably some 70,000 Kuiper belt objects more than about 100 km in diameter, and hordes of smaller ones.” The book provides discussions on exoplanets and how tools of the future may eventually allow us to actually see them. (Who knows? May-be someday we'll see a field guide to exoplan-ets.)

For all of the information presented, author David Rothery writes quite well and is never boring.

Granted, some of the information presented in Planets is now out of date, but these days just about any book on astronomy is out of date by the time it reaches our hands. It was published in Great Britain, and you'll see some British spellings occasionally. There are lots of good photographs; some in color, but most are black & white. Planets will help any ama-teur astronomer appreciate what we see in the eyepiece even more.

Four planets out of five. Recommended!

(Book Review—Continued from page 7)

If you have an idea for an article, have astronomical related photos or an astronomy pro-

ject you’ve done, and you’d like to share or want to contribute to the newsletter in any oth-

er way, please contact the editor at primefocus@fortworthastro.com or through the club’s

Yahoo! eGroup forum.

e

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 9

C epheus constellation lies in the northern hemisphere. It is one of the Greek constellations.

It was named after the mythical King Cepheus of Aethiopia, husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda, both represented by neighboring con-stellations. Like most other constellations in the Perseus family, Cepheus was catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

The constellation is home to Garnet Star, one of the largest known stars in the Milky Way, and to several well-known deep sky objects: the Wizard Neb-ula, the Iris Nebula, and the Fireworks Galaxy.

FACTS, LOCATION

Cepheus is the 27th largest constellation in the night sky, occupying an area of 588 square degrees.

It is located in the fourth quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ4) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -10°.

The neighboring constellations are Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Dra-co, Lacerta, and Ursa Minor.

There are no meteor showers associated with Cepheus. Cepheus has one star with known planets and contains no Messier objects.

Alpha Cephei is the brightest star in the constellation. It is a white class A star, currently evolving from a main sequence star into a subgiant. It is approxi-mately 49 light years distant. Its traditional name, Alderamin, is derived from the Arabic phrase að-ðirā‘ al-yamīn, which means “the right arm.” The star has an apparent magnitude of 2.5141. It rotates at a very high speed, at least 246 km/s, and completes one revolution within 12 hours or less.

Alderamin never sets below the horizon when observed from Europe, north-ern Asia, Canada and most North American cities. It can be seen by the naked eye.

Delta Cephei is a double star with an apparent visual magnitude varying between 3.48 and 4.37. It lies approximately 891 light years from the solar system.

Delta Cephei serves as the prototype of a class of stars known as the Cepheid variable stars, or simply Cepheids. The only star belonging to this class that is closer to the solar system is Polaris in the constellation Canis Minor.

In addition, Cepheus also has the hyperluminous quasar S5 0014+81, hosting an ultramassive black hole in its core at 40 billion solar masses, about 10,000 times more massive than the central black hole of the Milky Way, making it the most massive black hole known in the universe.

Cepheus belongs to the Perseus family of constellations, along with Andromeda, Auriga, Cassiopeia, Cetus, Lacerta, Pegasus, Perseus, and Triangulum.

DEEP-SKY OBJECTS

NGC 7354 is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Cepheus.

NGC 188 is an open cluster that has the distinction of being the closest open cluster to the north celestial pole, as well as one of the oldest known open clusters.

The Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946) is a spiral galaxy in which nine supernovae have been observed, more than in any other galaxy.

IC 469 is another spiral galaxy, characterized by a compact nucleus, of oval shape, with perceptible side arms.

The nebula NGC 7538 is home to the largest protostar (a large mass formed when gas inside a giant molecular cloud contracts) discovered to date.

NGC 7023 is a reflection nebula with an associated star cluster (Collinder 429); it has an overall magnitude of 7.7 and is 1400 light-years from Earth. The nebula and cluster are located near Beta Cephei and T Cephei.

S 155, also known as the Cave Nebula is a dim and very diffuse bright nebula within a larger nebula complex containing emission, reflection, and dark nebulosity.

The quasar 6C B0014+8120 is one of the most powerful objects in the universe, powered by a supermassive black hole equiva-lent to 40 billion Suns.

http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/cepheus-constellation/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cepheus_(constellation)

C o n s t e l l a t i o n o f T h e M o n t hC o n s t e l l a t i o n o f T h e M o n t h

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Cepheus

PAGE 10 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

C epheus is most commonly depicted as

holding his arms aloft, praying for the

gods to spare the life of Andromeda.

He is also depicted as a more regal

monarch sitting on his throne.

The constellation represents Cepheus, the

king of Ethiopia and Cassiopeia’s husband in

Greek mythology. Zeus placed him in the sky

after his tragic death because he was de-

scended from one of Zeus’ loves, the nymph

Io. Cepheus ruled not the modern-day Ethio-

pia, but the stretch of land between the

southeastern Mediterranean and the Red

Sea, the area that contains parts of the mod-

ern-day Egypt, Israel and Jordan.

Cepheus’ wife Cassiopeia was a very vain

woman. Once, she boasted that she was

more beautiful than the Nereids (sea

nymphs, one of them the wife of the sea god

Poseidon), which angered the nymphs and

Poseidon, who then sent a sea monster, rep-

resented by the constellation Cetus, to rav-

age Cepheus’ land.

Cepheus turned to an oracle for advice on

how to prevent utter disaster and the oracle

told him that the only way to appease Posei-

don was to sacrifice his daughter Andromeda

to the monster. Desperate, Cepheus and Cas-

siopeia did this, leaving their daughter chained to the rock for Cetus to find. Luckily, the hero Perseus

found the princess first, rescued her and killed the monster. Later, he claimed Andromeda as his bride.

Perseus and Andromeda were celebrating their wedding when Phineus, Cepheus’ brother, turned up,

claiming that she had been promised to him first. Phineus and his followers asked that Andromeda be

turned over to them, but Cepheus refused them and there was a fight. Perseus tried to fight off all his

opponents, but he was sorely outnumbered and had to use the head of Medusa to turn his enemies in-

to stone. Unfortunately, the king and queen did not look away from the Gorgon’s head in time and

were turned to stone, too.

Text Source: http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/ Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urania%27s_Mirror

e

Cepheus as depicted inUrania's Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c. 1825.

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 11

Al Observing Club

Highlight Of The Month

I n observing the wonders of the universe, there are perhaps no more won-drous and beautiful objects as comets. Since the invention of the telescope hundreds of years ago, astronomers have continually searched for new

comets, and in the process, have discovered nebulas, star clusters, galaxies and more. Comets are important members of our solar system, and their study is important to mankind. Thus, having this observing program for members of the Astronomical League is long over due. We hope you enjoy your quest!

Observers can receive a certificate from the Astronomical League for two different levels of observations. A lapel pin will also be awarded for the Silver Level. The levels are:

Silver Level - observe at least 12 different comets.

Comets observed and logged can be at any magnitude. Two of these comets can be observed prior to January 1, 2001, considering that all appropriate documentation is provided.

Gold Level - observe at least 18 additional comets

Comets observed and logged can be at any magnitude. Two of these comets can be observed prior to January 1, 2001, considering that all appropriate documentation is provided.

The observations can be accomplished through the use of:

binoculars

observatory telescope

observer's personal telescope

or accessible robotic telescope.

The observer can make these observations visually (eye to eyepiece) and hand sketch the comet. Or the observer can image the comet by using camera and film or by using a CCD camera.

Check out the Comet Observers Program!

The Comet Observers Program O b s e r v i n g E x p e r i e n c e L E V E L

I N T E R M E D I A T E

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PAGE 12 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

Times and Data are for Fort Worth, Texas Locations Only Data Source: Heavens Above

NOTE: NO bright ISS passes visible in the DFW area, for dates not listed.

Chart created using: Cartes du Ciel

Date Brightness Start Highest point End Pass type (mag) Time Alt

. Az. Time Alt

. Az. Time Alt

. Az.

04 Jul -0.4 05:29:08 10° SE 05:29:27 10° SE 05:29:47 10° ESE visible

06 Jul -1.7 05:17:48 14° S 05:19:58 28° SE 05:22:48 10° ENE visible

07 Jul -0.7 04:27:14 13° SE 04:27:17 13° SE 04:28:51 10° E visible

08 Jul -3.4 05:09:13 33° SW 05:10:32 86° SE 05:13:49 10° NE visible

09 Jul -1.8 04:18:29 30° E 04:18:29 30° E 04:20:45 10° ENE visible

09 Jul -1.2 05:51:55 10° W 05:54:15 18° NW 05:56:35 10° NNE visible

10 Jul -2.2 05:00:18 27° WNW 05:01:13 33° NW 05:04:12 10° NNE visible

11 Jul -1.8 04:09:25 37° NNE 04:09:25 37° NNE 04:11:32 10° NE visible

12 Jul 0.1 03:18:29 10° ENE 03:18:29 10° ENE 03:18:32 10° ENE visible

12 Jul -1.0 04:51:05 14° NW 04:52:00 15° NNW 04:54:04 10° N visible

13 Jul -1.0 04:00:05 22° N 04:00:05 22° N 04:01:46 10° NNE visible

14 Jul 0.3 03:09:02 11° NE 03:09:02 11° NE 03:09:07 10° NE visible

15 Jul -0.3 03:50:31 12° NNW 03:50:31 12° NNW 03:51:22 10° N visible

24 Jul -0.2 05:33:31 10° N 05:35:46 17° NE 05:38:00 10° ENE visible

25 Jul 0.4 04:41:59 10° NNE 04:42:26 10° NNE 04:42:52 10° NE visible

25 Jul -2.1 21:16:29 10° S 21:19:00 21° SE 21:21:31 10° ENE visible

25 Jul -1.1 22:52:29 10° W 22:55:18 26° NW 22:56:54 18° N visible

26 Jul -1.7 05:23:05 10° NNW 05:26:09 37° NE 05:29:12 10° ESE visible

26 Jul -2.6 21:58:55 10° WSW 22:02:06 54° NW 22:05:19 10° NE visible

27 Jul -0.5 04:30:27 10° NNW 04:32:56 20° NE 04:35:23 10° E visible

27 Jul -2.5 06:06:27 10° WNW 06:09:22 31° SW 06:12:17 10° SSE visible

27 Jul -3.4 21:05:49 10° SW 21:09:01 61° SE 21:12:14 10° NE visible

27 Jul 0.1 22:44:05 10° WNW 22:45:42 13° NNW 22:47:19 10° N visible

28 Jul 0.2 03:38:33 10° NNE 03:39:34 12° NNE 03:40:48 10° NE visible

28 Jul -3.5 05:13:05 10° NW 05:16:20 76° SW 05:19:34 10° SE visible

28 Jul -0.6 21:49:44 10° W 21:52:22 22° NW 21:55:00 10° NNE visible

29 Jul -1.2 05:59:52 11° SW 05:59:52 11° SW 06:00:24 10° SSW visible

29 Jul -2.0 20:56:00 10° WSW 20:59:07 44° NW 21:02:15 10° NNE visible

30 Jul 0.1 21:41:35 10° NW 21:42:44 11° NNW 21:43:53 10° N visible

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 13

Chart displayed is for July 15, 2016 @ 21:00 Local Time

Fort Worth, TX (32.7555°N, 97.3308°W)

July Sky Chart

PAGE 14 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

Thursday 14 July 2016 @ 8.8pm—Golden Handle visible on the Moon

from 6.8pm - 3.0am (htop=42° at S at 9.7pm) (sun rises on the Jura moun-

tains, while Sinus Iridum is still in shadow)

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 15

Data source: http://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/moon2015.html

Saturday 2 July 2016

5.7am Lunar Crescent visible, 47.6 hours before new moon

Elongation: 26.8°, 5.7% illuminated, Position angle of crescent (from Zenith to East): 131.1° - crescent points to the lower left, Width of the crescent: 1.76', Length of the crescent: 158°, Moon rises at 4:51am, 95 minutes before the Sun (Azimuth: 69°/ENE)

The Yallop (1998) criteria additionally states for this event with q=+1.701

Sunday 3 July 2016

6.1am Lunar Crescent visible, only 23.6 hours before new moon

Elongation: 13.6°, 1.5% illuminated, Position angle of crescent (from Zenith to East): 123.3° - crescent points to the lower left, Width of the crescent: 0.45', Length of the crescent: 69°, Moon lower limb relative to sunrise point at sunrise: dalt=6.7° daz=11.1° (i.e. westward), Altitude of moon center at listed time: 3.6°, Azimuth: 70.7°/ENE, Altitude of Sun: -4.1°, Moon rises at 5:47am, 40 minutes before the Sun (Azimuth: 68°/ENE)

The Yallop (1998) criteria additionally states for this event with q=-0.045: Telescope required to find crescent

Tuesday 5 July 2016

9.1pm Lunar Crescent visible, 39.1 hours after new moon

Elongation: 20.7°, 3.4% illuminated, Position angle of crescent (from Zenith to East): 236.1° - crescent points to the lower right, Width of the crescent: 1.03', Length of the crescent: 136°, Moon sets at 9:42pm, 61 minutes after the Sun (Azimuth: 289°/WNW)

The Yallop (1998) criteria additionally states for this event with q=+0.695

First and Last Lunar Crescent Visibility

PAGE 16 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

Lunar Occultations &Lunar Occultations & Conjunctions of PlanetsConjunctions of Planets

Monday 4 July 2016Monday 4 July 2016

8.5pm8.5pm Close to Venus, Close to Venus, --3.9mag, Separation=5.72°, Limb separation=5.47° =10.28 lunar dia., 3.9mag, Separation=5.72°, Limb separation=5.47° =10.28 lunar dia.,

Position angle=14.16° N, Azimuth az=292.5°, Altitude h=7.30°, RA= 7h32.3m Dec=+22°46.0', Position angle=14.16° N, Azimuth az=292.5°, Altitude h=7.30°, RA= 7h32.3m Dec=+22°46.0',

Moon phase=0.6%, Sun altitude hsun=1.1°, in daylight, elongation from sun: 8.9°Moon phase=0.6%, Sun altitude hsun=1.1°, in daylight, elongation from sun: 8.9°

Friday 8 July 2016Friday 8 July 2016

11.4pm11.4pm Close to Jupiter, Close to Jupiter, --1.9mag, Separation=3.61°, Limb separation=3.37° =6.67 lunar 1.9mag, Separation=3.61°, Limb separation=3.37° =6.67 lunar

dia., Position angle=83.1° E, Azimuth az=273.0°, Altitude h=6.1°, RA=11h18.6m Dec= +5°dia., Position angle=83.1° E, Azimuth az=273.0°, Altitude h=6.1°, RA=11h18.6m Dec= +5°

43.9', Moon phase=23.8%, Sun altitude hsun=43.9', Moon phase=23.8%, Sun altitude hsun=--26.7°26.7°

Thursday 14 July 2016Thursday 14 July 2016

7.0pm7.0pm Close to Mars, Close to Mars, --1.1mag, Separation=7.23°, Limb separation=7.04° =14.12 lunar dia., 1.1mag, Separation=7.23°, Limb separation=7.04° =14.12 lunar dia.,

Position angle=205.57° SW, Azimuth az=143.1°, Altitude h=25.95°, RA=15h25.9m Dec=Position angle=205.57° SW, Azimuth az=143.1°, Altitude h=25.95°, RA=15h25.9m Dec=--21°21°

37.4', Moon phase=76.8%, Sun altitude hsun=18.6°, in daylight, elongation from sun: 122.3°37.4', Moon phase=76.8%, Sun altitude hsun=18.6°, in daylight, elongation from sun: 122.3°

8.6pm8.6pm Close to Mars, Close to Mars, --1.1mag, Separation=7.26°, Limb separation=7.09° =14.17 lunar dia., 1.1mag, Separation=7.26°, Limb separation=7.09° =14.17 lunar dia.,

Position angle=209.8° SW, Azimuth az=167.7°, Altitude h=34.7°, RA=15h25.9m Dec=Position angle=209.8° SW, Azimuth az=167.7°, Altitude h=34.7°, RA=15h25.9m Dec=--21°21°

37.7', Moon phase=77.3%, Sun altitude hsun=37.7', Moon phase=77.3%, Sun altitude hsun=--0.2°0.2°

Saturday 16 July 2016Saturday 16 July 2016

1.2am1.2am Close to Saturn, 0.3mag, Separation=2.69°, Limb separation=2.44° =4.87 lunar dia., Close to Saturn, 0.3mag, Separation=2.69°, Limb separation=2.44° =4.87 lunar dia.,

Position angle=184.10° S, Azimuth az=221.9°, Altitude h=24.40°, RA=16h36.2m Dec=Position angle=184.10° S, Azimuth az=221.9°, Altitude h=24.40°, RA=16h36.2m Dec=--20°20°

18.9', Moon phase=86.2%, Sun altitude hsun=18.9', Moon phase=86.2%, Sun altitude hsun=--35.6°35.6°

Friday 22 July 2016Friday 22 July 2016

10:52.8pm Immersion of Neptune, 7.8mag, Position angle=148.88°, Azimuth az=101.5°, Alti-10:52.8pm Immersion of Neptune, 7.8mag, Position angle=148.88°, Azimuth az=101.5°, Alti-

tude h=3.17°, RA=22h54m Dec= tude h=3.17°, RA=22h54m Dec= --8°00', Moon phase=88.2%, Sun altitude hsun=8°00', Moon phase=88.2%, Sun altitude hsun=--24.4° 24.4°

(bright limb)(bright limb)

11:08.9pm Emersion of Neptune, 7.8mag, Position Angle=180.16°, Azimuth az=103.7°, Alti-11:08.9pm Emersion of Neptune, 7.8mag, Position Angle=180.16°, Azimuth az=103.7°, Alti-

tude h=6.40°, RA=22h54m Dec= tude h=6.40°, RA=22h54m Dec= --8°00', Moon phase=88.1%, Sun altitude hsun=8°00', Moon phase=88.1%, Sun altitude hsun=--26.6° (dark 26.6° (dark

limb)limb)

Tuesday 26 July 2016Tuesday 26 July 2016

12.8am Close to Uranus, 5.8mag, Separation=3.58°, Limb separation=3.31° =6.15 lunar dia., 12.8am Close to Uranus, 5.8mag, Separation=3.58°, Limb separation=3.31° =6.15 lunar dia.,

Position angle=333.8° NW, Azimuth az=83.2°, Altitude h=6.1°, RA= 1h31.7m Dec= +8°55.1', Position angle=333.8° NW, Azimuth az=83.2°, Altitude h=6.1°, RA= 1h31.7m Dec= +8°55.1',

Moon phase=58.3%, Sun altitude hsun=Moon phase=58.3%, Sun altitude hsun=--36.8°36.8°

Data Source: http://www.calsky.com/

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 17

V E N U S

Data and Image Sources: www.calsky.com

M e r c u r y

JUL 01

JUL 15

LOCAL SUNSET

JUL 01

JUL 15

AUG 01

AUG 01 LOCAL SUNSET

PAGE 18 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

M i n o r P l a n e t s T h i s M o n t h

(2) Pal las

(8) F lora

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 19

J

UP

IT

ER

JU

PI

TE

R

Great Red Spot Transits

Data Source: http://www.calsky.com/

Jovian Moon Position Chart

Chart source: JupSat Pro Software

1 9:37.9am 7:33.9pm

2 5:29.7am 3:25.6pm

3 1:21.5am 11:17.3am 9:13.2pm

4 7:09.0am 5:04.9pm

5 3:00.8am 12:56.6pm 10:52.5pm

6 8:48.3am 6:44.2pm

7 4:40.1am 2:35.9pm

8 12:31.8am 10:27.6am 8:23.5pm

9 6:19.4am 4:15.2pm

10 2:11.1am 12:07.0pm 10:02.8pm

11 7:58.7am 5:54.6pm

12 3:50.4am 1:46.3pm 11:42.2pm

13 9:38.0am 7:33.9pm

14 5:29.8am 3:25.6pm

15 1:21.5am 11:17.4am 9:13.2pm

16 7:09.1am 5:05.0pm

17 3:00.8am 12:56.7pm 10:52.6pm

18 8:48.4am 6:44.3pm

19 4:40.2am 2:36.0pm

20 12:31.9am 10:27.8am 8:23.7pm

21 6:19.5am 4:15.4pm

22 2:11.3am 12:07.1pm 10:03.0pm

23 7:58.9am 5:54.8pm

24 3:50.6am 1:46.5pm 11:42.4pm

25 9:38.3am 7:34.1pm

26 5:30.0am 3:25.9pm

27 1:21.7am 11:17.6am 9:13.5pm

28 7:09.4am 5:05.2pm

29 3:01.1am 12:57.0pm 10:52.9pm

30 8:48.7am 6:44.6pm

31 4:40.5am 2:36.4pm

PAGE 20 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

S

AT

UR

N

S

AT

UR

N Chart Source: http://www.calsky.com/

Saturn Tilt as it will appear on

the 15th of the month.

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 21

C/252P (L INEAR)

V i s i b l e C o m e t s T h i s M o n t h

PAGE 22 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

C/2013 X1 (Pan -STARRS)

V i s i b l e C o m e t s T h i s M o n t h

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 23

President Opening Remarks: Members Present: 52 Newcomers to club: -Wendy a physicist, Andrew and kids, Randy from Flower Mound -Jim and Sheila from Weatherford, David, and Darryl New Members -Sam Rude and family -George Lutch and family -Juan Martinez Outreach Update: -Patrick McMahon -Patrick will post star parties on the egroup but mentions -July 7 Stevens Branch a Dark Sky Area -July 23 Arlington Nature Center -July 30 Bob Jones Nature Center in Arlington 3RF 2nd Annual Astronomy Retreat Date Sept. 2-4 112 S.Main St.Crowell, TX 79227 -Very Dark Site -40 people attended last year -Have a 15” Refractor an a 30” Dobsonian -2 bunk houses available…1 for men sleeps 22 and 1 for women sleeps 1- (presently 19 men and 6 women confirmed) -Astronomy Club pays for lodging but not for food. -There will be a Saturday catered dinner for $11 -18 miles from 3RF is a café which will be used for catering and a pizza place. -Members can still sign up. Membership Dues- -Were due May 31. Members can pay Michelle Theisen or use PayPal online. -Dues went up this year for first time in 10 years. Students $40,

Single Adults $50, and Family $60. Starr Ranch Activities.

-The 16 inch Dobsonian in Metroplex member garage waiting transport to Starr Ranch. This scope was sold to the society by a member for $900.00 with funds privately donated which totals $2000.00. The extra money will be used for a Solar Scope and eyepieces.

-Within 2 weeks there will be a 12” and 10” Dobsonian moved to Starr Ranch Plus a 8” with the 19” metal portion only. Alternative Museum Star Party Options.

Option One: Tandy Hills Nature Area, 300 Views St., Fort Worth, Tx. (5 minutes from downtown Fort Worth) owned by Fort Worth which 160 acres of fairly dark skies for urban viewing. It is administered by Fort Worth Nature Center Manager. This is the location of the Tandy Hills Prairie Fest called BioBlitz. Looks promising as a location and will know more this Friday.

Option Two: Amon Carter Museum front Plaza. Option Three: Head of Fort Worth Libraries interested in using their locations. Option Four: Northwest ISD east of Justin. Club members attended the dedication

Club Meeting Minutes— June 21, 2016 Kelly Beebe, Acting-Secretary

PAGE 24 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

of new trails there in the past. Option Five: May alternate locations. Main Program Comments: Traveling Astronomer by Brandon Hamil.

Biography: member Minnesota Astronomy Society, Financial Planner from the Twin Cities with a job that requires extensive traveling who is a self-described visual ob-server. He enjoys Star Parties, Track and Field and has a wife and 2 children.

Program Synopsis: Several clever anecdotes, cartoons, poems, and discussions. Focus was on recommended astronomy sites in the key states of Colorado, Iowa, Arizona, New Mexico, and Kansas. There was also a discussion of the Minnesota Astronomical society facilities and upcoming events. Brandon discusses his personal Astronomy plans for the future. The program was concluded by amateur astronomical society general recommendations, and the Song of Honor. NOTE: Detailed notes of presentation is available through Kelly Beebe.

Break before raffle and business meeting: -Raffle: 5 books raffled… -By-Laws: Change to FWAS By-Laws deferred. The updates will be

posted on the Egroup and in club newsletter. There will be a vote during the next monthly meeting.

-Elections: The new officers were approved by voice and hand vote. President: Si Simonson Vice-President: Tom Roth Board Member: Fred Klich Board Member: Bill Nichols -Starr Ranch Status/Plans: Poured slab. Old deck and Pier prepared for new deck. Universal Plate installed. Plan to build 20x20 deck which will be designed to allow 19” telescope using only a step stool rather than a ladder. This will provide a good balance.

The goal is to be done by this fall. There will be 2 decks side by side. One for the 19” telescope and one for meter showers and other uses. Current cost $1600-2000 which exceeds the boards approval limit requiring a general membership vote which passes.

Large Donation Recognitions: (help, land, money) -Mike Jones who donated Fort Davis property and help with19 inch -Bob Wilbers (not present at last meeting). An addition to his $10,000

grant he has recently given another $500.00. Both given 5 year prepaid membership to club. Standing Ovation Honoring Bruce Cowles service to the Fort Worth Astronomical Society. Meeting was adjourned.

Club Meeting Minutes— April 19, 2016 Michelle Theisen, Secretary-Treasurer

e

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 25

AmazonSmile is a website operated by Ama-

zon that lets customers enjoy the same wide

selection of products, low prices, and con-

venient shopping features as on Ama-

zon.com. The difference is that when custom-

ers shop on AmazonSmile at

smile.amazon.com, the AmazonSmile Foun-

dation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligi-

ble purchases to the charitable organizations

selected by customers.

To participate, visit AmazonSmile and select

Fort Worth Astronomical Society as your

charity upon log-in. For more information vis-

it org.amazon.com. The site will remember

your charity automatically when you visit

AmazonSmile to shop. If you are already an

Amazon.com user, you can use the same ac-

count to log-in to AmazonSmile to shop. You

must sign-in to AmazonSmile each time you

shop in order for your purchases to count to-

wards a donation to your charitable organiza-

tion. If you do not have an Amazon account,

signing up is free!

FWAS Club

Fundraiser FWAS is still asking for donations to raise

the $3000 to cover the costs of purchasing

our new Lunt LS60THa solar telescope and

an iOptron ZEQ25 GT mount. We have al-

ready used this at some outreach and edu-

cational events, and

it was a hit!

Donations are tax

deductible. We are a

501(c)3 non-profit

organization dedicat-

ed to educating and

sparking the interest

in Astronomy and

Space in the public.

If you would like to

help us recoup this

expense, it’s still not

too late. You can still

donate. Please click

the button below or

go to the URL shown

at the bottom. Any

amount is welcome

and greatly appreci-

ated.

http://www.fortworthastro.com/donate.html

PAGE 26 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY JULY 2016

Newsletter: The FWAS newsletter, Prime Focus, is published monthly. Letters to the editor, articles for publication, photos you’ve tak-en, personal equipment reviews, or just about anything you would like to have included in the newsletter that is astronomy related should be sent to: primefocus@fortworthastro.com

Meetings: FWAS meets at 7:00 PM on the third Tuesday of the month at the UNT Health Science Center – Research & Education Building, Room 100; 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd; Ft. Worth. Guests and visi-tors are always welcome.

Outreach: Items regarding FWAS Outreach activities, or requests for FWAS to attend an event, should be sent to: out-reach@fortworthastro.com

Young Astronomers: FWAS’ youth activities (known as YA!) meet on the 3rd Saturday of every month between 7pm and 9pm (check our calendar for time changes throughout the year - determined by seasonal sunset times). This group meets for one hour at the Parkwood Hill HOA Club House - 5573 Eastwedge Dr., Fort Worth, TX 76137. YA! Coordinators: ya@fortworthastro.com

FWAS Annual Dues: $40 for adults / families & households $20.00 for students (half-price Dec 1 thru May 31); Membership runs June 1st through May 31st. Please make checks payable to: Fort Worth Astronomical Society See our Secretary/Treasurer for more info: sec-treas@fortworthastro.com Cash and checks should be paid in-person at the next indoor meeting, or checks can be mailed in the traditional way. Mem-bers should check the eGroup for the latest postal mailing ad-dress listed by the Secretary/Treasurer. Credit card payments (for existing membership renewals only) can be made through our PayPal link (private link is on the club’s Yahoo eGroup – no PayPal account required).

Discount Magazine Subscriptions: Sky & Telescope, Astronomy, and StarDate (McDonald Observa-tory) magazines are available for discounted subscription rates through our association with the NASA Night Sky Network and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The link can be found on the club’s Yahoo eGroup. (Members Only)

Astronomical League Membership: Your FWAS membership gives you associate membership in the Astronomical League. This gives you access to earn various ob-serving certificates through the AL observing clubs. You also receive their quarterly magazine, Reflector. AL Observing clubs: http://tinyurl.com/7pyr8qg

It would take hun-

dreds of thousands of

moons to equal the

brightness of the sun

Buck deer start

growing velvety

hair-covered antlers in July. Fre-

quent thunderstorms in the New

England area also resulted in the

name Thunder Moon. Some tribes

also used Hay Moon.

F U L L M O O N N A M E

Source: OId Farmer’s Almanac

“Buck Moon”

J u l y

That’s a Fact!

Just go to their website at http://www.amsmeteors.org/

and hover your cursor on the Fireball menu item at the

top of the page and you will see the link to report a fire-

ball. They will ask you several questions in a web ques-

tionnaire and your observations will be added to the

other witnesses for the same event. These will be com-

piled and analyzed to determine the location and direc-

tion from which the object entered the atmosphere.

Seen a Fireball Lately? Report it to the

American Meteor Society (AMS)

Source

e

JULY 2016 FORT WORTH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PAGE 27

Have an interesting photo you’ve taken of the sky? Discovered a technique and want to show the results to fellow FWAS mem-

bers? Submit your photos to primefocus@fortworthastro.com or send them in the Yahoo! eGroup to the attention of the news-

letter editor. Your participation in showing off your personal astrophotography is greatly appreciated by all FWAS members.

Moon taken with

nikon D7000 —

taken by FWAS

member Manny

Lois

Here are some

more pictures of

the 19” Equatori-

al Ed Calvert Me-

morial Telescope

on it’s new pad

at the Starr

Ranch Dark Ob-

serving Site.—

Photo by FWAS

member Bruce

Cowles.