VOLUME 12, No. 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1998
SAVE THIS ISSUE !! IT HAS IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT WILL BE USEFUL ALL YEAR.
MINUTES ( OF THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS) SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER Nothing much happened during September and October. On the second Saturday of October (the regular Meeting night), the EMDSO hosted a Star Party at Schmidt-Scott for students from Clark-Vitt Elementary School in Union and from Our Lady of Lourdes School in Washington. There were approximately 120 kids total, at least that's what I believe I heard from some one. On another night, there was supposed to be a Special Observing Session for the Faculty & Staff of ECC, but only one secretary showed-up and perhaps a half dozen other people. I was unable to attend either of these sessions because of having to study. - * - NOVEMBER The November meeting & Observing session was clouded-out, as was the 4th Friday, consequently nothing happened in November. - * -
DECEMBER The Dec. meeting was a Business meeting of the Officers and a few members which took place at Les & Judy Kemp's house. We discussed several items that I'll pass along here. The First Place award for the Astronomy Day activities nationwide went to an astronomy club in Atlanta, GA, but we DID get an 'Honorable Mention', which put us in second or third place. Apparently, the Oglethorpe Astronomical Society did activities that lasted over several days and the sheer numbers of people that they impacted is what got them the award. Also, apparently they've been in this competition three or four times before, so they were already known to the A. L. as a group to watch. ----- *** -----
OLD BUSINESS revisited THERE are a few UNCLAIMED ITEMS that were left at the Annual EMDSO Star-B-Q, at the Menke's last June.They are: A SLOTTED Kitchen Spoon - a CAN OPENER - and a DRINK BOTTLE w/ CUTLERY inside. If these items sound like they might belong to you, they can be obtained from Judy Kemp. Give her a call at 573-459-6633. If no one claims them, we'll probably start putting together a PICNIC BOX ( a case or trunk that opens to become a Table w drawers for cutlery, plastic cups, paper plates and other odds & ends) for club functions and include these items. ----- *** -----
NEW BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE DUE as of JANUARY 1, for the 1998 calendar Year. If you haven't already sent them in, remember, they're $24.00 per year. If you want SKY & TELESCOPE magazine, it's an additional $27.00. THE current amount in the Club Treasury is about $154.00, with an average over the past couple or three years of around $250.00 at year's end. There was some discussion about the cost of up-keep at the Observatory at the Menke farm. The Electric Bill runs about $10.00 per month and occasionally, because of the additional traffic on the access road, rock needs to be laid down periodically. Also, we're going to have to install a permanent 'Water Closet', (sans water, of course). With the approximately $200.00 plus annual expenses out there, in addition the up-coming need to purchase materials for building a drive (maybe), software to load for the 30" telescope operations when the CCD Imaging System is installed and since the club's Treasury is nearly depleted, the suggestion was made to increase DUES by around TEN Dollars per year, to cover any cost of facility up-keep and also to help pay back the people that made VERY large cash outlays to get the facility going. Some of them MAY be concerned about whether they'll ever see that money again, some aren't. But this IS SUPPOSED to be a Club Project, and we shouldn't let some one or three people take all the financial burden. There was also talk about doing another Fund Raiser to get some cash together to pay these expenses, but I for one don't think that a Fund Raiser will generate an on-going source of funding that will be required to make ths facility worthwhile. There's still the problem of the DRIVE for the 30" telescope, which I began to design before I got involved in school and which I will complete IF Kim, Greg & Mark don't decide to go ahead and purchase one from somewhere else. It might take me a little longer to build it but the I like that sort of thing and I was a little dissappointed that I didn't get to do a lot more work in the building of the Observatory itself. ONE CONCERN is that the increased dues will scare off new members. Well, that MAY or MAY NOT be true, but I think that if they're really interested and they're made cognizant of the what we have to offer, very few would balk. The St. Louis Astronomical Society's DUES I THINK, are $40.00 per year, and they don't even HAVE an observatory OR even a Dark Sky Site !! WE HAVE TWO observatories and put them BOTH to good use, with discussion about plans to expand our services further at ECC. SO, THE QUESTION IS: "What Do You Think About The Idea Of Increasing The Dues To Around $30.00 - $35.00 per year ?? The additional dues payment would cover any expenses that would come up and an extra five or so bucks isn't gonna kill any one, even me. I'm willing, ARE YOU ?? This Is YOUR Observatory - PLEASE HELP us take care of it !! Late last summer we had a fellow come out from St. Louis to one of our 'star parties' and he was so impressed with us that he wanted to join the group that night. Apparently, he sent in his dues to Les, but then we never heard from him again. His name was MIKE TILLER. He was a real nice guy, real enthusiastic and I was sure we'd see a lot of him. I made a couple of attempts to contact him, but never succeeded. In October, we received a letter of Resignation from the club, from Mike's Secretary, stating that he would no longer be a member. Finally, Rick called and spoke to his wife, and she told him that Mike died a couple of weeks ago. He was in his early to mid-Forties, but it seems apparent that he might have known that 'something was amiss' with his health. We decided to return his membership payment to his wife along with a letter of condolence/sympathy. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to get to know him better.
- * - BOB KIRSCHENMANN is giving a talk to some politicians from New Haven about LIGHT POLLUTION (LP) in January or February and wants to know if anyone would be interested in helping out. The idea is make them aware of the problem that the increased Light Pollution in the New Haven area is brightening the sky noticeably. Pat McDonald has already had some Aldermen out to The 30" observatory and shown them the effects of L.P. on the site. I think it's a REAL GOOD idea to support Bob in this quest and I've felt for some time that there should be an effort county-wide to try to initiate ordinances curbing certain types of outdoor lighting, especially, these large 'billboards' with lights that shine UP into the sky.
- * - I'm doing a 'Special Program' for a Girl Scout group on Dec. 30th at Schmidt-Scott, and again sometime in the Spring '98, probably about the end of February to the middle of March. I'll offer a VERY Special Program to the ones who show the most interest out of the group for a private session at the 30" facility, somewhat later in the Spring. For the Dec. 30th evening, I have twelve 14-17 year-olds and 10 Adults. According to the Scout Leader Shannan Grus, she'd would really like to make this a regular activity for them, perhaps on a quarterly basis throughout the year. Sounds fine by me, too.
- * - Dan McNEELEY & I worked out an arrangement where I build a scope for him and he built a computer for me. He loaded it with software that I'll find VERY useful including Windows, MS Works, Lotus 123, an astronomy Planetarium program & D-Base. I loaded CADKEY, (a CNC Milling Machine simulator and Drafting Interface & C.I.M software.), AUTOCAD, 3D Studio, Autovision and Autocad Desiger software myself, so that I won't have to drive the 20 miles down to the College every time I want to do some work, either writing , programming or drafting. IT'S NICE TO BE ABLE TO WORK AT HOME - AND CHEAPER TOO !! Not only that but you might expect that the look of the newsletter will change somewhat as I learn to manipulate these new toys -- Hopefully, for the better. At least I'll be able to include more graphics including Photos, Maps, Star Charts and other neat & USEFUL stuff. When I get my MODEM installed, I'll be able to receive E-MAIL, so if you have something that should go into the Newsletter, it'll be easy to send, down-load and insert into the file, INTACT if possible. This will help alleviate some of the requisite typing and editing. In the meantime, any E-MAIL should be directed either to KEVIN DIXON or TRAVIS WOLFF. Their E-mail addresses were printed in the last issue (Sep/Oct) of the 'DSO'. However, if you've lost it, here they are again: KEVIN - (kdixon@ecmail.ecc.cc.mo.us) TRAVIS - (kwolff@fidnet.com) -OR- emdso@mo-biz.com Check out the EMDSO HOME PAGE at: http://www.mo-biz.com/emdso/
- * - Guess What !! The EMDSO MAY be starting a new chapter in JEFFERSON CITY, MO. I've been in touch with a fellow there who is REAL interested in the idea. He's an employee of the Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce and he says that Jefferson City doesn't have an Astronomy Club. I told him about our group & also about the Central Missouri Amateur Astronomers in Columbia. He said, Yes, he'd been to some of their meetings but no one there seemed much interested in expanding as far away as Jeff. I said that we (meaning I at least) would be very happy to help, them get a club going there and maybe they'd like to make their group an offspring or Chapter of the EMDSO, since we already have the organization & some much needed resources in place . He said that sounded pretty good. It would give us a wider audience and perhaps would enhance our resources. It seems to me that several towns in Mo. don't have Astronomy clubs, that should, so why not get several started, like in Jefferson City, Rolla, Cape Girardeau, all under the umbrella of the EMDSO. It sounds like a REAL LOT OF WORK, but actually, the ones doing most of it would be the ones DIRECTLY involved. About all we'd do is, provide them with a 'Regional Newsletter' column in addition to the regular 'DSO'. In other words, the 'DSO' would be expanded to include items that would be of (their) local interest, but we could keep them aware of the entire organization's activities. I think it'd be a fun thing to do. AM I NUTS ?? ----- PROBABLY.
----- *** ----- WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS (since SEPTEMBER)
- * - EMDSAF The observatory at the Menke's farm is coming along very well. The 'Warm-up Room' has sheet-rock on the walls and it's nearly completed, as of DEC 1. I'll have a lot more time during the coming semester to work on the design for the PONCET TABLE, which is the Equatorial drive planned for the 30", so that we'll be able to track the sky for extended periods for visual, photographic, photometric & CCD observations. ----- *** -----
KICK IT & WEEP IT SEEMS that one of the owners of the property on which the 30" Observatory sits, was unhappy about having the Annual EMDSO Star-B-Q there, so, we will probably have it here in Marthasville, unless we find a more suitable location. So, plan on coming here for the next one, AND REMEMBER !! BRING YOUR TELESCOPE. ----- *** -----
KEEP IT IN THE DARK PLANETARY DATA MERCURY - is not visible this month The MOON - VENUS -MARS - NEPTUNE - URANUS - JUPITER - SATURN - As December comes to a close and January begins, look to the SOUTHWEST. You'll be able to spot FOUR of the bright 'naked-eye' planets in a single quadrant of the sky. This 'planetary alignment is not exactly a warning of the END of the WORLD, in fact these alignments have happened THOUSANDS of times and we seem to still be here. The Moon is near Venus on Dec. 30, Mars on Dec. 31st and Jupiter on New Years Day evening. A little farther east is Saturn. Just west of Jupiter, are the fainter planets Uranus and Neptune, but you'll need a telescope to see them. So, in reality there are Venus, Mars, Neptune Uranus Jupiter and Saturn AND the Moon - all in the SAME quadrant of the evening sky as January opens. If viewed from outside the Solar System the planetary alignment would appear to be pointing almost directly at Earth- ain't that sumthin ?? PLUTO - might be visible in the 30". We need to give it a try. We ought to, we have the ability to see it and there aren't very many amateur astronomers who HAVE seen this rather illusive denizen of the deep (interplanetary sky). - * - THE MOON The MOON reaches first Quarter on the 5th, FULL on the 12th, 3rd Quarter on the 20th and NEW on Jan 28th. In FEBRUARY, 1st Quarter is the 3rd, Full on the 10th, 3rd Quarter is the 19th and New Moon is the 26th. - * - THE SUN undergoes a PARTIAL ECLIPSE on FEBRUARY 26th for part of North America south of a line running from central Kansas through Milwaukee - THAT'S US !! - UNFORTUNATELY, we'll see only a small notch bitten out of the Sun's Disk. But- it'll happen right around NOON, so get yer cameras ready, use SLOW fine-grain film & 1/1000 or less exposure times, WITH Neutral Density filters, and be careful not to aim the camera at the Sun for too long, or you MAY burn a hole in the shutter, like I did on the camera that I can only use now for long-exposure astrophotography. - * -
METEOR SHOWERS FOR 1998 Meteoroids are small solid particles moving in orbits around the Sun. On entering Earth's atmosphere at velocities of between 15 and 75 kilometers per second they are heated by the friction of passage through the atmosphere and are vaporized. These luminous trails we call "Falling Stars" or meteors and Fireballs. Occasionally, one is large enough to reach the surface, but the odds of this happening are perhaps on the order of 1 in a Billion. Meteors are visible on any night of the year. On average, an observer will see 7 meteors per hour that aren't associated with any of the KNOWN Meteor Showers. These are called "SPORADIC METEORS". At certain times of the year, the Earth encounters a "Stream" of meteoroids traveling together in the same orbit about the Sun. These 'streams' are thought to be the remnants of usually, long dead comets. The effect of this encounter is what we call a METEOR SHOWER. The MAJOR Meteor Showers of the year are the GIACOBINIDS, ORIONIDS, QUADRANTIDS, PERSEIDS, LEONIDS, LYRIDS, GEMINIDS, URSIDS, DELTA AQUARIDS, ETA AQUARIDS and the TAURIDS. These, plus other minor showers, or suspected showers are listed here with their APPROPRIATE DATES, DURATION AND RADIANTS** (THE POINT IN THE SKY WHERE THEY SEEM TO COME FROM), AND IF KNOWN, THE ASSOCIATED PARENT COMET. (**NOTE:- The resource I used for much of this information listed RADIANTS with what I assume to be Altitude & Azimuth positions. There was no reference to whether these coordinates were Geo-centric or Heliocentric. If Geocentric, they would undoubtedly be entirely dependent on LATITUDE of the observer. If Heliocentric, they would probably follow the ECLIPTIC, or in other words would be ECLIPTIC CENTERED, and so, wouldn't necessarily correspond very well to Right Ascension & Declination coordinates. SO, any way, I wasn't able to determine exactly what the case might be and consequently, these Radiants are indeterminate. BUT, there's STILL a lot of good information here and so I offer it to you.) NOTE - 2 Readers will see a term that they may not have encountered before: SOHR. This is simply an abbreviation for Single Observer Hourly Rate.
JANUARY On the 3rd-4th, the QUADRANTIDS will appear. This shower is associated with HALLEY'S COMET. The normal duration with at least 1/4 maximum hourly rate equals 1.1 day, with a PEAK of 0.6 day, centered on the 3rd. Coming in at 41 kps, a single observer (SOHR) averages about 40 meteors per hour. Radiant is 15Hrs. R.A., +50 degr. Declination, which is (I think) in the constellation BOOTES, between the 'Handle' of the Big Dipper and the 'Keystone' of Hercules. (REF. ORIONIDS - Oct 20, for more)
FEBRUARY NO METEOR SHOWERS THIS MONTH - BOOO
MARCH - On the 16th, the CORONA AUSTRALIDS occur. This isn't a very well known shower. In fact, I've NEVER seen anything about it in Sky & Telescope or Astronomy magazines. One can expect 5 meteors per hour at maximum for this shower, which has its Radiant at 245D, -48D dec, and the duration of about 10 days centered on the 16th. NOTE that CORONA AUSTRALIS is SOUTH of Sagittarius in the Summer Milky Way.
During a 15 day period centered on the 26th, the Earth encounters the VIRGINID Meteor Stream. There's no estimate available to me as yet, for hourly rates, but if you're interested in watching for this one, watch toward (190,00) Virgo during the nearly two week period.
APRIL - During a period of 20 days +/- centered on the 9th, is the ALPHA VIRGINIDS Meteor Stream. There's no available estimates for hourly rates, but the RADIANT is as the name implies near the star SPICA(210,-10).
The 21st & 22nd offers us the LYRIDS with its' RADIANT at 18H 16M R.A., +34 degr. Declination. Single observer hourly rate (SOHR) will be around 15 meteors. Duration 2 days. Not a particularly cataclysmic event but it's still considered one of the MAJOR meteor showers of the year. This Annual shower is associated with the comet of 1861.
MAY - On the 4th, RADIATING out from a point near the star for which it's named, the ETA AQUARIDS make their appearance, radiating from about 22Hrs 24' R.A., on the Celestial Equator with SOHR of about 20. These cross the sky at 64 kilometers per second. DURATION approx. 3 DAYS.
JUNE - During a 25 day period centered on the 15th, the Earth encounters the OPHIUCHID Meteor Stream. There's no SOHR available, and I've never noticed this one occurring, so I'm not much help.
28th; the DRACONIDS are an Irregular shower that sometimes is good and sometimes doesn't seem to happen at all. The SOHR of the year 1916 was about 50, but that was a rare occurrence. This shower is associated with P/Comet PONS-WINNECKE.
JULY - During a 20 day period centered on the 6th, Earth passes through the SAGITTRIID Meteor Stream.
Almost immediately, from another part of the sky in the south & during another 25 DAY period, centered on the 22nd, Earth passes through the CAPRICORNID Meteor Stream.
DELTA AQUARIDS - JULY 29th, radiate from 22Hrs 36m, -17 degr. DECL. SOHR , 20 with duration of less than ONE DAY, however there IS a broad 20 Day period where one can expect to see SOME meteors associated with this shower.
July rounds out the month with another 20 Day passage through still another Meteor Stream, the PISCIS AUSTRALIDS, which is centered on the 30th. Its RADIANT is (340,-30)
AUGUST - A broad Meteor Stream is encountered during a 30 DAY period, centered on AUG 1st. This is the ALPHA AQUARIID; Radiant near Alphard (Alpha Aquarii). There's no available SOHR for this one either, but it really looks like JULY and AUGUST are pretty busy, with meteors zipping this way and that, and it may be lots of fun to try to determine which group this or that meteor belongs to.
STILL ANOTHER Meteor Stream, the Northern Delta AQUARIIDS, with a duration of about 30 days, centered on the 3rd may be seen with its RADIANT at (337,00), which is right on the Celestial Equator.
AND another, with an overall duration of approximately 40 days centered on the 5th is the NORTHERN AQUARIID Meteor Stream. Its' Radiant is at (331,-06)
The SOUTH AQUARIID Meteor Stream is another 40 DAY duration program centered on the 5th. Its Radiant is (335,-15), which is only four degrees west and nine degrees south of the OTHER ONE. ENJOY trying to separate them !!
The PERSEIDS peak on the 11TH. These are fast, Blue and radiate from 03Hrs 04m, +58 degr. DECL. in the constellation PERSEUS at about 60 kps. The SOHR will generally be about 50. These are associated with the 3rd Comet of 1862.
On the 18th another Meteor Stream is encountered; the CYGNIDS. The maximum duration length of this group is about 15 days centered on the 18th. Radiant (290+15). No known SOHR.
SEPTEMBER - TIME FOR A REST! No meteoric activity this month
OCTOBER - A very special Annual shower occurs this month: the GIACOBINIDS. With a maximum that lasts only 0.05 DAY (about an hour and a half), this shower CAN be THE MOST INTENSE of any during the year, including the LEONIDS in November. Associated with P/Comet GIACOBINI-ZINNER, this shower had in1946 an SOHR of 1,000 meteors, and in 1933, 20,000 !!! In recent years, it's been nothing to write home about, but who knows, maybe it'll do its tricks again this year. The parent comet passed by a year or so before HALLEY made its last passage, and there was a night I remember when Gene Schmidt, Scott MacKenzie and I were Observing at Mammoth Cave of Illinois, near Waterloo, when we could see FOUR comets in the sky, three of which were EASY naked-eye objects, one of those was comet G-Z. It had a lonnnngggg tail and traveled almost STRAIGHT south over a period of a month or so, from Cassiopeia (I think), through Orion & Eridanus. THIS SHOWER OCCURS ON THE 9th.
On the 21st, the ORIONIDS come in at 66 kps and peak at about 25 meteors per hour. This is an ANNUAL shower with a duration of 8 DAYS. This Meteor Shower, like the Quadrantids (and possibly the Aquarids of May 4th) are associated with P/COMET HALLEY. Basically they are the dust expelled from Halley, and we encounter the same debris stream twice, both in-coming AND out-going. SOHR for the Orionids is 25. Compare this and the speed of the Quadrantids: QUADRANTID DURATION= 0.6 day SOHR- 40 SPD 41 kms/sec. ORIONID DURATION= 8.0 days SOHR- 25 SPD 66 kms/sec.
From these numbers, you can see that the Orionids are the in-coming part of the meteor stream, accelerated by the gravitation of the Sun, and the Quadrantids are out-going, part, slowed by the same amount. Also, it can be seen that the in-coming particles are fairly spread-out, while the out-going are a pretty tight bundle. CURIOUS.
NOVEMBER - On the 5th are the S. TAURID-ARIETID Meteor Stream with a duration spread over 30 days centered on the 5th. At the time of PEAK, the SOHR is around 15. This stream is associated with P/COMET ENCKE and its Radiant is at (053+14) near the Taurus/Aries border.
The N. TAURID Meteor Stream has duration of about 45 days centered on the 10th. Its SOHR is unknown and there was no peak listed. The Radiant is (057,+22)
` Another Very Special though IRREGULAR, Meteor Shower is the BIELIDS, (pronounced - BAYLIDS), whose total duration is 0.2 DAY (about 5 hours), on the 14th. This shower is associated with P/COMET BIELA, which made its first known appearance in 1826. The following year (1827) the attending Meteor Shower was seen to develop an SOHR 0f 5,000, and again in 1885 its SOHR was 10,000 !! Normally, its SOHR is around 15. Its Radiant is (024,+44) near --,in the constellation ________. This MIGHT be another one well worth watching.
The LEONIDS arrive on the 17TH. This Annual shower is associated with the P/COMET of 1886, which has a 33 year orbit. Consequently every 33 years there is the chance of an incredible increase in this shower, which is expected in 1999. This is the ONE that really got me fired-up about astronomy, even though I'd been doing more than my share of observing before the LEONIDS happened along. Normally, the SOHR for the Leonids is about 50-60, but in 1867, there was one of these abnormal showers that produced an SOHR of 1,000. Again in 1883 it pulled-off another one; this time the count was about 10,000!! ONCE AGAIN, and this time I witnessed it, in 1966, I was totally stunned for 3-1/2 hours as an average 3,600 per hour fell across the sky (that's ONE PER SECOND, on average). It was amazing- sometimes I'd go for a minute or so without seeing any, then BAM! four would zip across SIMULTANEOUSLY !! Well, that was 1966 and now 33 years later it may well happen again boys & girls!! The exact year drifts a bit plus or minus three or four, but it hasn't happened yet this time as far as I know (we were clouded-out this year), but this is one I for one am eagerly waiting for a repeat performance. The normal peak, or should I call it SPIKE, lasts generally an hour and a half, or less. The total duration of the shower is about 4 Days, with a Radiant (152+22) near ______ in the constellation LEO MAJOR. I saw a brief burst that I MAY have just seen the end of the night before the peak when there were 5 meteors within a couple of minutes, that came cruising across the polar region of the sky all traveling in the same direction from the east. It was fairly early in the evening, about 9 p.m. and I saw NO MORE that night- or the next.
DECEMBER - The GEMINIDS have a 6 day duration with the peak centered on the 13th. The SOHR usually runs about 50 and these are generally slow, yellow or sometimes multi-colored meteors that come at us from the constellation of GEMINI. The Radiant (113,+32) is near _-_____.
The URSID shower is the final one for the year. It's an ANNUAL shower that has a duration of 2.2 DAYS, centered on the 22nd. It's associated with P/COMET TUTTLE 1939, with an SOHR of 15-18. Radiant is (217,+76) pretty far north in URSA MAJOR, and consequently, visible ALL night with the peak probably occurring in the early morning hours before twilight begins. - * -
DEEP SKY GAMMA ANDROMEDAE , or otherwise known as ALMACH, is a second magnitude star and is also a BINARY system. The two stars show a distinctive color difference, much like ALBIREO in Cygnus. The brighter component is a golden Yellow, while the other is described as pale greenish-blue, and is about 3 magnitudes fainter. The fainter star is, itself a fairly close double star with a maximum angular separation of 0.55 arc seconds, which is not too difficult for the 30". The primary component of this double is itself, a Spectroscopic Binary with a period of 2.67 days and two identical spectra of B9. Gamma ANDRO., is therefore, AT LEAST, a quadruple system at a distance of 260 light-years
. - * - GROOMBRIDGE 34 is a notable Binary star system, in that it is one of , if not THE closest binary system to the Sun. Lying at a distance of only 11.7 light-years the star still appears at visual magnitude 8, which means that the components are pretty small and insignificant little guys. Both components are early M-type dwarfs. Compared to the Sun, their luminosities equal 0.006 (6 thousandths) & 0.00045 (450 millionths) that of the Sun. The revolutionary period of the two stars seems to be on the order of 3,000 years and are currently separated by 39 arc-seconds.
- * - NGC 891 - A striking example of a Spiral galaxy seen almost exactly edge-on, NGC 891 can be easily seen in a moderate sized instrument. The 30", at about 100X shows the very prominent equatorial dust lane that bisects the galaxy. Higher magnifications with this instrument shows fine detail in the dust lane that probably would be invisible in a lesser scope, but you should give this one a try. At a distance of about 43 million light-years '891' is a somewhat larger galaxy than the Milky Way, with a diameter of around 120,000 light-years and a stellar population about twice that of our galaxy, which puts it in the neighborhood of M-31's size. The two galaxies are very similar, but of course M31 is about 14X closer and tilted 25+ degrees to our line of sight. The overall angular size is about 12' x 1', with a visual magnitude of 12. NGC 891 belongs to a small group of galaxies including NGC's 1023 & 925, which are small, faint systems all found in the same region of Perseus and Andromeda. It can be located approximately mid-way between Gamma Andromedae and Open cluster M-34 in Perseus.
- * - NGC 1270/1275 . These two galaxies are shown on Sky Atlas 2000 as a pair in close proximity. Actually, there are at least EIGHT galaxies within the field of view at 100X in the 30", with 1270 & 1275 being the brightest. The other six appear to be smaller systems perhaps orbiting these two. NGC 1270 is also of interest to Radio astronomy because it's an extremely strong source of radio emission. It is identified as PERSEUS A
- * - NGC 7662 , is a Planetary Nebula in Andromeda.
- * - NGC 7640 is a galaxy within 2 degrees of NGC 7662, and is actually much easier to find and see, even though it's listed in Burnhams as magnitude12.5, I found it very easy to find, though I had trouble locating the Planetary. It's size is approximately 9'x1' and shows no definite spiral structure, at least on the night that I viewed it.
- * - NGC 752 , is an Open or Galactic cluster in Andromeda. This is a very large assemblage easily seen in BINOCULARS with a magnitude of a little better than 8 and a dia. of 45' (3/4 degree), or about one and a half times the size of the Full Moon. NGC 752 lies at a distance of around 1,300 light-years and has a physical diameter of about 17 light-years, containing nearly 200 stars. It is also listed with a HERSCHEL number of 32-7 and on the CALDWELL Catalogue as number 28.
- * - NGC 7331 , is a Spiral galaxy in PEGASUS, found just to the North of the centerline of his outstretched forelegs. It is used as a guidepost to the location of a galaxy cluster known as Stephan's Quintet, which is about a degree away. ----- *** -----
TRIVIA 1. WHEN IS THE VERNAL EQUINOX ? 2. WHAT ARE THE METEOR SHOWERS TO WATCH OUT FOR DURING THE NEXT FEW MONTHS ? 3. WHERE WILL THE ANNUAL "STAR-B-Q" BE THIS YEAR, AND WHAT IS IT THAT YOU NEED TO BRING?
Answers to last issues' questions plus these, will be answered in the NEXT issue of the 'DSO' . ----- *** -----
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1998 EMDSO MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY