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Late Fall 2007
Hey Kids!
Here's the new edition of the M111 "ONLINE." Fall, so far, has been a great season: decent weather, beautiful leaves, and an absolutely awesome comet! Yes, Exploding Comet 17P/Holmes is one of the strangest things ever seen by astronomers - professional and amateurs alike. More details about this comet to follow in this edition of M111.
Then again, there was also the excitement of Hidden Hollow '07. It was a cool, crisp weekend and the skies were a bit marginal, but it was a terrific convention. Again, we have more details and pictures coming...
The observatory also had some visitors from Pana, Illinois. Neil Maron, his son and his granddaughter visited Warren Rupp on October 20, 2007. Want to see his pictures? Check out his website at http://neil.maron.googlepages.com/mypicturesofwarrenruppobservatory .
We also had some club members who received some Astronomical League awards...and we'd like to congratulate them! As well as to encourage some others to do some special observing (and documentation) and receive AL awards. Read further to find out who received what.
And there's more yet to come this year. The Annual RAS Christmas Party is coming up, and you know what that means....food! As well as good company. The party is on December 2nd at 1:00pm. It is again a potluck, and is being held at the Masonic Temple in Galion (1252 State Route 598, Galion, OH 44833) Here's a map: Map of 1252 State Route 598 Galion, OH 44833-9367, US And, along with the party come RAS elections for 2008! And then? Plans for the new year! Let's get psyched!
For now? Keep readin'!
Barb Hubal
Previous Editions of the M111:
Spaceweather.com reported on 24 Oct 07 that astronomers in Japan, Persia and Europe reported that Comet 17P/Holmes was undergoing a spectacular eruption. The comet was 17th magnitude, until the 23rd of October. Then it spectacularly (and unexpectedly) brightened to a 2.5 magnitude fuzzy ball in the constellation Perseus. By the 28th, it was larger than the planet Jupiter. It is visible to the naked eye, and looks like a roughly spherical yellow core with a dimmer, greenish outer core. As of Oct. 31st, no tail has been seen.
What would make a comet explode in this fashion? Actually, a better question is, what would make a comet explode twice in this fashion? This is the second time Comet 17P/Holmes has erupted. The first was in 1892, an outburst that led to the comet's discovery by British astronomer Edwin Holmes.
No one quite knows why it exploded. The answer may be sinkholes. There is growing evidence that some comets and asteroids may have a porous internal structure akin to Swiss cheese. Possibly one of the "holes" suddenly collapsed, exposing many square kilometers of fresh cometary ice to sunlight for the first time. A flurry of sublimation would ensue with mega-jets of dusty gas emerging from the sinkhole to create a cloud around the comet much as we see now.
Because no one can see the comet's nucleus--it is small, far away and hidden inside a Jupiter-sized debris cloud--this "explanation" is no more than conjecture. The true events at the core of Comet Holmes remain unknown.
- information and photos taken from http://www.spaceweather.com (Oct 24-Nov14th)
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11/14/07 Update
Wow! The comet's really moved. It's now very close to Alpha Persei (also known as Mirfak or Algenib)- both could be seen in the club's 8" dob using a 40mm eyepiece. The comet's nucleus is much more diffuse now, and a tail is beginning to form, although it appears short and almost as wide as the comet's nucleus.
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11/19/07 Update
Well, the comet is still a great target for binoculars (whenever the clouds permit viewing, which isn't often in November). Holmes has faded relatively little in terms of astronomers' brightness scale, where it now hovers near magnitude 3. But its light now spreads over a larger area, so its apparent brightness has declined substantially.
Check out more about the comet at astronomy.com: click here!
Our President's working on those words...
But I'm sure she'd want to say:
The Annual RAS Christmas Party is coming up. The party is on December 2nd at 1:00pm. It is again a potluck,
and is being held at the Masonic Temple in Galion (1252
State Route 598, Galion,
OH 44833) Here's a
map:
Map of 1252 State Route 598 Galion, OH 44833-9367, US
And, along with the party come RAS elections for 2008! See ya there!
BDH 21-Nov-2007
Warren Rupp Observatory had some visitors on October 20, 2007. Neil Maron, from Pana, Illinois - along with his son and granddaughter - made the trek out to the observatory while they were in the area. Neil has visited a number of observatories and has devoted a website to pictures of them. Want to see his pictures? Check out the website at http://neil.maron.googlepages.com/mypicturesofwarrenruppobservatory .
As you may already know, RAS is a member of the Astronomical League. The League's Observing Clubs offer encouragement and certificates of accomplishment for demonstrating observing skills with a variety of instruments and objects. These include the Messier Club, Binocular Messier Club and the Herschel 400 Club, the Deep Sky Binocular Club, the Southern Skies Binocular Club, the Meteor Club, the Double Star Club, Lunar Club, Globular Cluster Club, Constellation Hunter Club, Southern Sky Telescopic Club and the newly formed Open Cluster, Planetary Nebula, Lunar II and Outreach Clubs.
We have two club members who have recently received awards. Robert Payne received 2 certificates for completing his Binocular Messiers and his Lunar 100s. John Neuman just received his certificate and pin for completing his Herschel 400s. Congratulations to you both!