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Journal of the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York July 2010 Volume 58 Number 7, ISSN 0146-7662

EYEPIECE
every week since, except for a break during the winter months of December through March, and the inevitable cancellations due to overcast skies. Key to our success has been our partnership with the Friends of the High Line. From the start, we wanted them to be aware of what we were doing. They were a little skeptical at first, thinking we intended to bring a large group of our own people, thus interfering with foot traffic. We assured them this was not the case, that we simply wanted to reach out to visitors to the High Line. By October, they saw we were serious and could be depended upon to show up each week. They featured us on their website and began to include us in promotional material they sent to the media. It's hard to overstate the value of this promotion. We're regularly listed in online and print media. Do a Google search for High Line Stargazing and you'll get hundreds of hits. Increasingly, many people who stop to look through our telescopes say they've read about our observing sessions and have come specifically to see us. So what makes the High Line such a great spot for stargazing? It's not the dark surroundings--other AAA observing sites are much darker. It's not the elevation-30 feet hardly makes a difference. To paraphrase Willie Sutton about banks and money, it's because "that's where the people are." Continuous streams of curious people, excited and happy to be walking along one of the most beautiful parks in New York City. Because it was once a railroad line, the park is long and very narrow. New visitors tend to walk from one end to the other, so most will walk past our telescopes whereHigh Line continued on page 12

The Success of AAA Observing on the Revitalized High Line
By Joe Delfausse
Built in the 1930s as an elevated freight line on the west side of Manhattan, the High Line originally ran a mile and a half from St. John's Park Terminal in the West Village to the West Side Rail Yards at 34th Street. With the growth of interstate trucking in the 1950s, traffic on the High Line diminished, and the southernmost section was torn down. During the 1980s, the entire line was threatened, but concerned citizens and community groups successfully fought against its demolition. The Friends of the High Line was established in 1999 with the goal of turning the rail line into a public park. The group raised funds, held design competitions, spoke out in the media and worked tirelessly with city, state and federal agencies. Their efforts paid off in 2005, when New York City took ownership of the line from the railroad company. Construction of the first phase of the park, from Gansevoort to 20th Street, began in April 2006. The park opened in June 2009 and has thus far attracted more than 2 million visitors. Although the park is formally part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the Friends of the High Line is responsible for all public programs, for continuing planning and advocacy, and for 70% of the High Line's ongoing maintenance and operations, including care of the extraordinary plantings. AAA's involvement with the High Line began in July 2009, with an informal visit by some of us following a send-off dinner for Tony Hoffman, who was about to leave for China to see the solar eclipse. We took a look around and thought it might make a good observing site. After a few preliminary visits with our telescopes, and a number of introductory e-mails to the AAA board and the general membership, we began our weekly observing sessions August 25. We've gone up to the High Line


What's Up
By Tony Hoffman The Sky for July 2010
Polynesian Solar Eclipse. On July 11, a total solar eclipse crosses the South Pacific. The Moon's shadow begins its trek to the northeast of New Zealand and ends up in the Andes near the southern tip of South America. It only makes landfall in a few places. Mangaia, in the Cook Islands, will see 3 minutes 18 seconds of totality. The path of totality will pass just south of Tahiti, from which cruises and flights will intercept the Moon's shadow. Maximum eclipse of 5 minutes 20 seconds will occur over open ocean. Easter Island, totally within the eclipse path, will experience 4 minutes 41 seconds of totality. Tourists and eclipse chasers there will see numerous images of the eclipsed Sun amid the island's renowned giant stone figures. Just before sunset, the Moon's shadow touches southern Chile and finally, the Argentine resort town of El Calafate. Although it will be in the midst of the Southern Hemisphere winter, hearty tourists will gather there to get a glimpse of the eclipsed sun, barely a degree above the horizon, across the town's lake and amid the Andean peaks beyond. No part of the United States will see even the eclipse's partial phases. Planet-Filled Dusks. Three relatively bright planets lie in the evening sky this month. Over the course of the month, Venus, Saturn and Mars approach each other near the Leo-Virgo border, and in the second half of July they're joined by Mercury. At magnitude -4.3, Venus is the most brilliant of these worlds. At mid-month Mercury shines at magnitude -0.5 and fades to magnitude 0.1 by month's end. An unobstructed horizon is necessary to see the planet, which sets before twilight ends. Saturn gleams at magnitude 1.1 near the star Beta Virginis. Its rings are only inclined 3 degrees to our line of sight. Mars glows at magnitude 1.4. When these worlds have set, another brilliant planet appears on the scene: Jupiter blazes at magnitude -2.6 in southern Pisces. Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul
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Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul

y y y y y y y

14 16 18 25 27 28 31

Moon lies near Venus. Moon lies near Mars and Saturn. First-quarter Moon at 6:11 a.m. Full Moon at 9:37 p.m. Mercury lies near Regulus. Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks. Moon lies near Jupiter.

Jupiter Rules Morning Sky, Saturn the Evening Sky
By Joseph A. Fedrick
Jupiter finally began to rise early enough to appear in a completely dark sky during May and June. It dominated the morning sky soon after, rising around 4 a. m. in late May and 3 a. m. in early June. Jupiter's Great Red Spot transited around 4 a. m. June 2 but appeared very pale and barely perceptible in my six-inch Newtonian reflector at 150x. When I looked at Jupiter with my 60mm refractor and my six-inch reflector in May and June, I observed the south equatorial belt was still faded and the north equatiorial belt was still prominent. I could see faint gray belts at higher latitudes in Jupiter as well, north and south of the main equatorial belts. I could see through my telescopes that at the higher latitudes toward the poles there are several fainter--temperate zone--belts. Saturn ruled the evening sky and made a splendid target May 25 for Michael O'Gara's small apochromatic refractor that was set up on the High Line near 14th Street and 10th Avenue. Saturn revealed nearly edge-on rings and faint brown cloud belts against its pale oblate yellow-tan disk. Another scope was pointed at Venus, which looked gibbous and dazzling bright. Coral-pink Mars showed a stunning contrast with the bluish star Regulus when viewed through a pair of opera glasses. The nearly full Moon, viewed through another scope, revealed craters along its terminator and at least one marginal mare along its limb just beyond Mare Crisium. The skies became cloudy and murky as June progressed so I was unable to see Jupiter become nearly aligned with Uranus prior to June 5, the time of this writing. Hopefully, by later on in June clearer skies will have enabled my viewing of this event.

y y y y y y

3 Moon lies near Jupiter. 4 Last-quarter Moon at 10:35 a.m. 6 Earth at aphelion, 94.5 million miles from Sun. 9 Venus lies 1.1 degrees from Regulus. 11 New Moon at 3:40 p.m.; total solar eclipse. 13 Moon at perigee, 224,386 miles away, 7:22 a.m.


A Message from AAA President Richard Rosenberg
Hello, members: Summer is here and so far the weather has been good to us. The summer sky this year features three planets: Venus, Mars and Saturn. They'll be our main targets as they approach each other for a grand conjunction in August. To see them, we've added several observing sites. Board member Gerceida Jones has arranged a special session July 17 at St. Albans Park in Queens. For information: www.aaa.org/stalbanspark or 646-302-5892. Also in Queens, Tony Hoffman is arranging stargazing July 19 at a park at 63rd Road and 98th Street in Rego Park. For details, check our website at www.aaa.org/regopark or 718-459-0598. Cloud date is Wednesday the 21st. On the last two days of July, we'll have more get-togethers, this time in Brooklyn. On July 30, I'll give a talk followed by observing at the Avenue U Salt Marsh Nature Center. The next evening we'll be at another new site, Fort Greene Park, at 9 p. m. Info at www.aaa.org/saltmarsh and www.aaa.org/fortgreene, or call me. For really dark skies, we have our monthly trips to North-South Lake in the Catskills. This month it will on July 10, with cloud date a week later. Do you think learning how to use an 8-inch telescope is hard? You're in for a surprise at "Movies with a View," at Pier 1 in Brooklyn. Not only do you get to watch a film for free, but four Dobsonian telescopes are set up for AAA members to operate. All you have to do is align the finder scope and push the scope to the proper position. We'll have a few regulars there to help out. The eight-week series on Thursday nights begins July 8 with "Annie Hall." More information is at www.aaa.org/movieswithaview, or give me a call. All these events, plus our usual ones, will be held this month with the exception of observing at Floyd Bennett Field, which is taking a summer hiatus. Fall will be here before we know it, and our Urban Starfest, our autumn gathering of scopes in Central Park, has been set for Saturday, October 16 (cloud date the next evening). Save the date. Rich Rosenberg, AAA president, president @aaa.org, (718) 522-5014

AAAers Contribute to Success of World Science Festival
With a full-scale model of the James Webb Space Telescope in the backdrop, AAA members and other amateur astronomers equipped with scopes gathered June 5 in Battery Park for a public evening of stargazing as part of the week-long 2010 World Science Festival. "The contrast between the giant, tennis court-sized replica of the Webb telescope [to launch in 2014] and the amateur scopes...on the grass was a reminder of the strong partnership between the professional and amateur astronomical communities," SPACE.com reported. "For most things, if you put the word amateur in front of it, it would make it a lesser thing," said Hayden director Neil deGrasse Tyson. "You wouldn't feel comfortable going to see an amateur brain surgeon or an amateur lawyer. But to call yourself an amateur astronomer, that's a badge of honor." "There are so many opportunities for amateurs to get involved now that wouldn't normally be available," AAA board member Tony Hoffman told SPACE.com. "It's incredible the possibilities that are open to amateurs because of the way that telescopes have evolved in the last couple of decades." Festival continued on page 4
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British Amateur Astronomer is First to Spy Comet Breakup
By Tony Hoffman
On March 18, British amateur astronomer Nick Howes used his computer at work to train a publically accessible robotic telescope on a passing comet, and made a surprising discovery. He was the first person to catch Comet C/2007 Q3 Siding Spring in the process of fragmentation. Howes had observed and photographed the 10thmagnitude comet from his backyard observatory the previous two nights and had noticed nothing unusual, but wanted to see how it appeared in a larger scope. When he examined the six images he'd instructed the Faulkes Telescope North on Maui to take, he noticed the comet had a fainter companion: A small condensation behind the main nucleus. Realizing that Comet Siding Spring was splitting, he reported it to the International Astronomical Union, which later termed his find a "major astronomical discovery." The next day, Howes took follow-up images, which confirmed the object was moving with the comet, although receding slowly from it, and therefore a true fragment rather than a background star. This discovery bears out the fact that it's still possible for amateur astronomers to make important contributions to astronomy, finding things that professionals have overlooked. It helps to have resources like the Faulkes Telescope Project (http://faulkes-telescope.com/), which provides free access to its remote telescopes for educational purposes. Although astronomers have been aware that comets occasionally split (Biela's comet, the Great Comet of 1882, and Comet West being notable examples), the past decade has seen a spate of cometary breakups. Comet Holmes' million-fold spike in brightness is believed to have coincided with such a splitting. The nearly 2,000 Kreutz sungrazing comets found in images from SOHO and other solar observatories show the progressive breakup of a comet in a cascading series of fragmentations. Analysis of these events has greatly improved our understanding of the role of fragmentation in the life history of comets.
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Comet C2007 Q3 Siding Spring was discovered by Donna Burton of the Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. It reached perihelion on October 7, 2009. It's slowly fading as it recedes from the Sun on a hyperbolic orbit that will take it into interstellar space, never to return. For news of another amateur discovery, see page 14. Festival continued from page 3 In a panel discussion, astronomer Heidi Hammel of the Space Science Institute noted the impact technological advancements have had on amateur astronomy. Hoffman's telescope, which he described as "very good for its size," cost about $1,000. Improvements to the power and resolution of telescopes enable amateurs to see farther into the cosmos, equipping them with tools necessary to make discoveries and track big events, SPACE. com noted. In particular, technology advancements, widespread availability of telescopes and the ubiquitous nature of the Internet have contributed to bolstering the community of amateur astronomers, said John Mather, a Nobel Prize winner and the Webb's senior project scientist, according to SPACE.com. Hammel said collisions on Jupiter last year and this year highlight the important and increasingly cohesive partnership between amateurs and professionals. "No single thing has engendered as much public interest as the Hubble Space Telescope," AAA board member Bruce Kamiat told SPACE.com. "It's become a big part of our culture." For Hoffman, the promise of the Webb telescope's possible discoveries is what excites him the most. "It has the potential to do things that Hubble couldn't do. With infrared, it has the potential to be groundbreaking in a different way."


The Arrow of Time May Not be in One Direction
By David Teich
An important doctrine of cosmology is the Copernican principle, which says Earth occupies no special place. We're neither at the center nor the edge of anything, be it solar system, galaxy, local group, galactic cluster or universe. There should be nothing special about the time we're living in either. Our "now" shouldn't be any more special than our "here." What, after all, is so special about us, or about the universe we happen to find ourselves in, either regarding time or space? But the time we live in is special, says Sean Carroll, who spoke May 10 at the AMNH on "The Origin of the Universe and the Arrow of Time." Our seemingly random spot in time is not random at all. It's a time in cosmic history given special privilege by the Big Bang. The Big Bang set the arrow of time in motion, but there's a problem: The directionality imparted to time is a big puzzle for physicists. This is because in the fundamental laws of physics nothing says time should go only one way. Time would be just as compatible with physics if it went backwards. Physics is about symmetry, and something that can only go one way isn't symmetrical. Why do species evolve? Why do we remember yesterday and not tomorrow, and grow old and die? The culprit is entropy, the measure of "disorderliness" of a system. More precisely, it's a measure of different ways components of a system can be arranged. Take an egg, Carroll said. Unbroken, yolk and white are separate and pristine. You can arrange the molecules of yolk or white any way you want inside the egg as long as you keep them separate. But break the egg, mix the two and make an omelet. There are a lot more ways you can arrange molecules of yolk and white together without having to arrange yolk to one side and white to the other. The Big Bang is like that unbroken egg. All the atoms and particles in the universe were once packed into a tiny, seething space at the moment of the Big Bang. How many ways could you arrange the components--or component--of that singularity? Not many, and that's the definition of a low-entropy system. So, why does time go only one way? Because things run in the direction of increasing entropy. They do so because, left to their own devices, things like particles and molecules will follow the least restrictive route. High-entropy, less orderly, more random arrangements are always more likely. When the Big Bang happened, a delicate low-entropy arrangement came apart, gravity "turned up the contrast knob," things got lumpy, galaxies formed, dark energy took over and things started to expand faster and faster. Whatever else is going on, this all means one thing: The future will look different from the past. In fact, about a googol years from now (10 to the hundredth power), Carroll said, after all the stars have been swallowed by black holes and those black holes have evaporated away due to Hawking Radiation, there will be nothing left but empty space. A crucial point, and a way through this enigma, is the realization that if our universe, or any universe, had been randomly chosen, it would more likely be a high-entropy universe, not our low-entropy Big Bang. So maybe, Carroll said, we should just think of the Big Bang not as the beginning of anything, but as part of a process in which random fluctuations of energy in old, spent universes spawn baby universes via a Big Bang. Remember, he said, empty space produces random energy. When you step back and look at the whole shebang, the Big Bang loses its uniqueness. It's just another step in a low- and high-entropy cycle. Maybe there's another universe time is going in the opposite direction. backwards. It proceeds normally. It's spective: They're in our distant past, we whose arrow of Time isn't going a matter of perin theirs.

Carroll is the author of "From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time," published early this year (Dutton, $26.95).
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Dark Matter Seen Shaping Universe on a Galactic Scale
By Gerceida Jones
Dr. Peter Fisher, division head, particle and nuclear experimental physics at MIT, speaking at the Hayden April 12, said he believes dark matter's role is to shape the universe on a galactic scale. Dark energy is just as mysterious and under Boyle's Law, at constant temperature dark energy implodes. "No one has the first clue what dark energy is," although scientists believe it causes expansion of the universe to accelerate. Fisher noted that "the most distant supernova [are] a little too dim for their distance. There's something pushing them apart faster than we would expect for the amount of matter in our universe. "The dimness of distant supernovae is best explained by a dark energy," which can be substantiated by the cosmic microwave background and the structure of large clusters of galaxies. A new generation of telescopes will study how dark energy changes with time. Fisher noted that the man credited with discovering dark matter in the Coma cluster of nebulae, Fritz Zwicky, assumed he could measure cluster masses by observing a galaxy's motion. Zwicky painstakingly measured the speeds of individual galaxies, gauged their average orbital velocity, applied Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation to estimate the cluster's mass and then compared that mass to the cluster's luminosity (mass-to-light ratio). To his surprise, Zwicky found galaxy clusters have much more mass than their luminosities suggested. "Zwicky's findings were verified and the amount of dark matter in the cluster was 50 times more mass than the combined mass of the stars in the cluster's galaxy." Today scientists have more sophisticated ways to measure dark matter in a galaxy, such as X-ray emission from hot gases between the cluster galaxies, and by observing how clusters bend light as gravitational lenses. Fisher noted another pioneer in the discovery of dark matter, Vera Rubin. She and Kent Ford constructed rotational curves of hydrogen gas in many large and small galaxies. By using the redshift of hydrogen gas, they
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found velocity continued to rise from the galactic center way past its visible light edge with a constant velocity (flat rotation curves). On what we know about dark matter in our galaxy, Fisher said, "We know dark matter is found in the halo surrounding the disk of baryonic (ordinary) matter." According to WMAP, baryonic matter is 4% of the universe's density, dark matter 23% and dark energy 73%. Density of dark matter particles is some three particles per liter volume in a room the size of the Hayden. They move at about one thousandth the speed of light, and only one will interact with a nucleus in an entire year. Fisher described dark matter as heavy particles, more than 100 times a proton's mass. They move more slowly so their mutual gravity could hold them together. These hypothetical particles, sometimes called WIMPS (weakly interacting massive particles), are also known as cold dark matter. Because they're weakly interacting particles, it's easy for them to escape direct detection. "Dark matter can be detected with germanium and silicon crystals cryogenically frozen to absolute zero, by using nuclear recoil. When particles recoil...they make an electrical signature that can be...recorded...and they generate a tiny amount of heat." Fisher is engaged in new projects based on directional sensitivity detection. A new particle detector in Carlsbad, N. M., 1,600 feet underground, detects cosmic rays from outer space. Another detector, the dark matter time projection chamber, will search for dark-matter wind. Fisher is determined to find out what dark matter is composed of. To that end, an alpha magnetic spectrometer will be on the ISS scheduled to launch in November. The mission will search for unusual types of matter by measuring cosmic rays, studying the formation of the universe and searching for dark matter and antimatter. Fisher believes the Large Hadron Collider might produce dark-matter particles, but attempts to find dark energy may prove too difficult and expensive.


Review: Galileo Advanced Science, Fighting All the Way
By Anne Kiefer
When I opened David Whitehouse's biography, "Renaissance Genius: Galileo Galilei & His Legacy to Modern Science" (Sterling, $24.95), I expected a dense volume filled with complex science and dry historical anecdotes. Instead, I found an easy-to-read account of the soap opera that was Galileo's life. Galileo's story was one of great turbulence as he went from relative anonymity to fame and fortune, all the while struggling with failing health, a needy family and his constant battle with authority. Even his scientific advances were fraught with drama, as he faced stiff competition to be the first and the best. Most know the story of Galileo's discoveries, but this book sheds light on the story of his personal tragedies and ultimate betrayal. Whether you're a Galileo expert or simply have a vague idea that he's somehow related to the telescope, you can enjoy Whitehouse's account of Galileo's life. For the beginner, the book gives clear and concise descriptions of what Galileo believed in, what he discovered and how he influenced science today. For those already familiar with his work, the book puts these basics in the context of his struggle to belong in Italian universities and society as a whole. When I began this book, my understanding of Galileo didn't go beyond the basics of his many discoveries and innovations. Whitehouse explores how Galileo as a man influenced Galileo as a philosopher and scientist. Galileo's struggle with the expectations of his father early on was in line with his constant struggle with authority within universities and the Catholic Church that defined the rest of his story. In stark contrast to his tendency to play the role of the rebel, Galileo constantly struggled to be accepted by universities and the aristocracy. Much of his early career was spent trying to make enough money to keep up with the financial demands of his family's social stature. In fact, one of the few reasons he embarked on perfecting the telescope was to procure a raise to help him support his family's financial commitments. To ensure success, he needed to be accepted by universities and make as many powerful friends as he could. Unfortunately, he often made bad decisions that cost him alliances and friendships. In the end, as he faced the wrath of the Inquisition, he was abandoned by all but a few of his friends, most notably by Pope Urban VIII, who, despite their former friendship, showed him little mercy. One of the most difficult things about reading the story of Galileo was understanding the mindset of his opposition. He was obviously correct about many of the things church leaders and academics were resistant to. For someone whose understanding of the universe is based on current scientific theory, it's difficult to accept that academics could look through a telescope, disagree with what they saw and conclude that the instrument was lying. Whitehouse quotes a letter from German Lutherian Martin Horky to Johannes Kepler in 1610 that said, "Galileo Galilei...came to us in Bologna and he brought with him that spyglass through which he sees four fictitious planets. . . .On Earth it works miracles; in the heavens it deceives." However, to chalk this response up to absurdity is to understate the importance of Galileo's conclusions. In order to truly appreciate the significance of Galileo's work, I first had to understand the strength of conviction of his opposition. Whitehouse's book moves swiftly through the complicated history of Galileo's shifting alliances within Italian society, universities and the church. Although the constant stream of names and titles can be difficult to follow, Whitehouse adeptly incorporates details of Galileo's discoveries and publications into his chronology, providing a well-rounded picture of his life and work. The book is beautiful, its glossy pages adorned with paintings and drawings. They connect the reader to the art and culture of 17th century Italy, where the rebirth of thought wasn't confined to the philosophy of the universe. This book reminded me that Galileo's legacy isn't only seen in modern telescopes and our understanding of the universe, but in our ability to see beyond the boundaries of accepted thought.
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Highlights of Presentations at AAS Meeting in Miami
A bullet-shaped object can be seen rocketing out of the huge explosion from a dying star in a new longexposure Chandra X-ray image. The image shows N49, the aftermath of a supernova explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The bullet is going about 5 million mph. This source may be a soft gamma-ray repeater that emits bursts of gamma-rays and X-rays. The objects may be neutron stars with extremely powerful magnetic fields. The bright source is more obscured by gas than expected if it lies inside the supernova remnant. The explosion's energy is estimated at about twice an average supernova's. Preliminary results suggest the original explosion was caused by collapse of a massive star. A comet plunging into the Sun has been captured in 3-D for the first time. The comet apparently survived the intense heat of the Sun's corona and disappeared in the thin layer of plasma between the Sun's visible surface and the corona. The comet eventually evaporated in heat of almost 180,000 degrees. The Sun-grazing comet made its only loop around the Sun before crashing and burning. Data were so precise scientists could chart the comet's approach two days before impact. The estimated impact zone is within a circle 620 miles in diameter. Two massive, bubbling clouds of star-making factories were captured in a photo by a NASA space telescope that's surveying the sky in infrared. The Heart and Soul nebulae were imaged by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). WISE is producing about 7,500 images a day in four infrared wavelengths. The nebulae are about 6,000 light-years away in Cassiopeia. They have giant bubbles blown into surrounding dust by radiation and winds from the stars. The image is a composite of 1,147 frames, with a three-and-a-half-hour exposure. The ability of life to thrive on alien worlds may be impacted by weird orbits of giant neighboring planets, new studies suggest. Heftier worlds could exert large forces on smaller worlds, pushing and pulling them into changing orbits. In some cases, these orbits could cause some exoplanets to fluctuate between being habitable and inhospitable to life. Findings show some violent events can disrupt planets' orbits after a system forms. Researchers used data and modeling to unearth info about the system surrounding Upsilon Andromedae, a yellow-white dwarf 44 light-years away and similar to
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our Sun. Three Jupiter-type planets orbit Upsilon Andromedae. Two orbits are at a steep angle to one another. These orbits probably resulted from ejection of an original member of the system. But it's unknown whether the star's distant companion forced the ejection, or if the system formed so that some planets were ejected. Strange behavior from two huge black holes at the center of two galaxies has been noticed. One, in Andromeda, has been mysteriously brightening in recent years. Another isn't where astronomers thought it was. In the first study, erratic behavior of Andromeda's supermassive black hole puzzled researchers. It became 100 times brighter after a 2006 outburst, then relatively dim while still averaging 10 times brighter than before. The outburst suggests a relatively high rate of matter had been falling onto the black hole, followed by a smaller but still significant rate. Post-2006 brightening could be due to the black hole's capturing winds from an orbiting star, or by a gas cloud spiraling into the black hole. Thus, feeble but erratic behavior of the Milky Way's black hole could be typical for supermassive black holes. In another unexpected finding, a supermassive black hole thought to lurk in the core of nearby giant galaxy M87 isn't at its center. The most likely cause for its position is a previous merger between two older, smaller supermassive black holes. Astronomers believe supermassive black holes can become active as a result of a merger between two galaxies, resulting in material falling into the center of the galaxy and the subsequent merger of their black holes.

IMAX Hubble Film at AMNH
The IMAX film "Hubble" opens at the American Museum of Natural History on Saturday, July 3. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, "Hubble" allows audiences to blast off, witness spacewalks and experience images from here to the edge of the observable universe. Audiences journey through galaxies, and accompany space-walking astronauts as they attempt some of the most difficult and important tasks in NASA's history. The film also offers a look into the Hubble's legacy. For screening and ticket information, visit amnh.org or call 212-769-5200.


Briefs: Phoenix Mars Lander's Productive Life Ends
NASA's long-dormant Phoenix Mars Lander is broken and officially kaput. New images from an orbiting probe show severe damage to solar panels due to the Martian winter. Repeated attempts in recent months to re -establish contact following Phoenix' winter hibernation failed. Photos indicate the lander suffered severe ice damage to at least one solar panel. Phoenix touched down in the arctic plains of Vastitas Borealis in May 2008 and spent several months digging up Martian soil, confirming water ice beneath the surface. It also found soil chemistry with significant implications for life and observed falling snow. A new discovery of bacterial life in a Martian-like environment suggests Mars could be hospitable to some form of microbial life. Researchers found methaneeating bacteria that appear to be thriving in a unique spring called Lost Hammer on Axel Heiberg Island in extreme northern Canada. This spring is similar to possible past or present springs on Mars, scientists say, so it hints that microbial life could potentially exist there. There is no firm evidence that Mars does or ever did host life. The spring is so salty water doesn't freeze, even though temps are below freezing. The water has no consumable oxygen in it, but big bubbles of methane rise to the surface. Researchers found unique organisms that don't need oxygen to survive thriving in the spring. They most likely breathe sulfate instead of oxygen. The spring is the most extreme subzero and salty environment found; in fact, temps in this part of Canada are even harsher than in many places on Mars. Physical processes behind supernova explosions are so complex scientists have only been able to simulate parts of the process, and only in one or two dimensions-until now. Researchers have effected the first fully 3-D view of a supernova that shows the internal collapse and violent explosion, recreating the event over a timescale of hours following the initial blast. A computer model recreated supernova SN 1987A in 3-D. By doing so, astronomers found older two-dimensional simulations of SN 1987A--which assumed some symmetry in the star's spherical shell as it exploded--turned out to be incomplete. Growth of instabilities and propagation of clumps differ. The 3-D models can simulate the burst in all three dimensions, from the first milliseconds to three hours later. One discovery: how nickel, iron and other heavy metal-rich elements mixed with hydrogen and moved outward as they erupted from SN 1987A's center when it exploded. Metal-rich clumps were found to have much higher velocities than their 2-D counterparts. These "bullets" of material expand much quicker, overtaking material from the outer layers. Huge troughs curving outward from Mars' north pole like the arms of a pinwheel weren't carved into the polar ice caps by some mysterious force, researchers report. Instead, the shifting pattern arose from long formation and erosion that made it appear slowly moving and spiraling inward over time. A similar process gave rise to the Chasma Boreale canyon that cuts into the side of the giant pinwheel pattern, known as the north polar layered deposits. Ground-penetrating radar by two orbiters let scientists take 2-D cross-section images of the troughs and reveal layers within the walls. Radar also helped trace reflective markers that followed the geometry of underground structures to build a 3-D sense of the layers. The Chasma Boreale appears to cut into the side of icerich polar layered deposits which sprawl across 621 miles and are 1.2 miles thick. But the radar showed the massive canyon formed long before the appearance of the shallower troughs which make up the spiraling arms. Both Chasma Boreale and the younger troughs formed on top of an older polar ice cap. Cosmic material that has settled on the Moon over billions of years could shed light on where a peculiar type of nitrogen in our solar system came from, a new study suggests. The lunar surface contains isotopes of nitrogen that mostly appear to have arrived from enigmatic sources. Scientists have long known there are different types of nitrogen on the Moon, apart from that carried by the solar wind, but how it got there is unknown. Solar nitrogen mostly consists of lighter isotopes. In contrast, a much heavier combination of nitrogen isotopes outnumbers solar nitrogen 10-1 on the Moon. Nitrogen in our atmosphere isn't the same as that in the early solar system. Solving the mystery of where the non-solar nitrogen comes from could shed light on ancient forces that drove the origins and evolution of Earth and the rest of the solar system. One alternative for the origin of non-solar nitrogen is that it came from comContinued on page 10
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Briefs: Star-Formation Frenzy Driven by Superbubble
Continued from page 9 ets. Another possibility is that it came from interstellar space as the solar system traveled around the galaxy. The Moon could be an ideal place to find out where this nonsolar nitrogen came from. A new photo of a distant galaxy has revealed a frenzy of star formation driven by a "cosmic superbubble." Starburst galaxy NGC 1313 has experienced star formation astronomers can't explain. Radio-telescope observations suggest the edge of an expanding superbubble is causing gas to pile up and spur star formation. The image reveals many bubbles, shock fronts, star clusters and sites where massive stars are being born. NGC 1313, a spiral galaxy 15 million light-years away, is a particularly prolific star maker for its size and relative remoteness from other galaxies. It extends across about 50,000 light-years and is in the direction of the southern constellation Reticulum. Generally, starburst galaxies show some signs of interaction with another galaxy, and a close galactic encounter usually underlies increased starbirth. However, NGC 1313 is far from other galaxies. Astronomers speculate nearby gas clouds may be falling into (or orbiting) the galaxy, which in turn prompts starbursts. The tiny motions of hundreds of young stars packed inside a star cluster have been revealed for the first time by Hubble images that were taken a decade apart. The stars didn't settle down as astronomers had expected, but continued to roam restlessly for about 1 million years after the star cluster's formation. This is the first time scientists have been able to measure precise stellar motions in such a compact young star cluster. The preciselymeasured motions of more than 700 cluster stars in the nebula NGC 3603 showed star velocities continued to remain independent of their mass, which reflects conditions from the time of the cluster's initial formation. The young cluster packs a mass of more than 10,000 times our Sun's within a region just three light-years wide. It's about 20,000 light-years from Earth. The finding about may yield some rethinking about how quickly star clusters evolve. Such clusters usually emerge from the collapse of huge clouds of gas and dust. They can eventually evolve into balls of stars known as globular clusters and remain bound together by mutual gravity for billions
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of years. Black holes that spin backward in the opposite direction of their surrounding debris discs appear to create more powerful jets of radiation than their regularspinning brethren, a new study says. This could change understanding of how galaxies evolve since stellar development depends on radiation ejected from the supermassive black holes anchoring their home galaxies. Scientists say backward black holes shoot more powerful jets because there's more space between the black hole and the inner edge of its orbiting disk. This provides more room for the build-up of magnetic fields, which fuel the jets. The results showed that more distant radio-loud galaxies are powered by what's called retrograde black holes, while relatively closer radio-quiet objects have prograde black holes. According to the study, supermassive black holes evolve over time from a retrograde to a prograde state. When scientists got a first-time close view of Pluto from the Hubble recently, they found mysterious bright and dark spots mottling the surface. Now they think they have a better idea of what's causing them. Images revealed Pluto as a molasses-colored world with surprising variations in surface brightness. The darker spots may represent parts of the ground covered in a tar of primordial organic compounds. Scientists believe sunlight hitting methane breaks it into hydrocarbons. Over millions of years, this process makes a dark reddish-brown oil- or tar-like substance that sticks to the ground. These areas spread as they absorb more sunlight and cause additional frost to sublimate. The bright spots are thought to be related to areas covered in carbon monoxide frost. Recent views show a different picture from past images. This is, in part, because Pluto's appearance changes with the seasons. New pictures from Mars show dust blowing out of a crater in the same area where NASA's Opportunity rover patrols, providing researchers with new data about Mars' dynamic weather system. The pictures show a 31-milewide crater with black sand blowing out of the cavity. By looking at the dust trail, scientists can calculate the direction of the wind, which contributes to a better underContinued on page 11


Briefs: Algorithm Helps Galaxy Recognition, Classification
Briefs continued from page 10 standing of Martian weather. In addition to showing wind direction, the picture shows how recently a gust has blown across the crater. In 2003, a planet-wide dust storm deposited red grit across the entire surface. Since the black trail in the photo doesn't display any red dust, the black sand must have moved between the storm and when the photo was taken. While dust blowing out of the crater clearly points in one direction, it appears that some black sand within in the crater has blown in another direction. This indicates wind swirling around inside the crater itself. The crater rests in the Meridiani Planum. A computer algorithm modeled after the human brain has learned how to recognize galaxy types ranging from spiral to elliptical, and can help stargazers classify billions of galaxies. Results of this software agree with human classifications of galaxies 90% of the time. More than 250,000 people have helped astronomers classify 60 million galaxies in the online Galaxy Zoo project. Astronomers used Galaxy Zoo classifications as part of the process for recognizing galaxy types. Astronomers first trained the computer algorithm on 75,000 objects from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey included in Galaxy Zoo, before testing its abilities in classifying 1 million objects. But the algorithm had a problem misclassifying red spirals and blue ellipticals because too few of those objects exist for the algorithm to get a good read. The study also didn't include intermediary objects such as galaxy mergers that defy easy classification. Still, a limited method should be useful. One recent census found astronomers had undercounted the number of distant galaxies by about 90%. A mind-boggling new image of space packed with thousands of tiny dots of color, each a distant galaxy, shows the brightest galaxies tend to be in the busiest parts of the universe. For more than a decade, astronomers have pondered some strange, bright galaxies in the distant universe which seem to be forming stars at phenomenal rates, making them hard to explain with conventional theories of galaxy formation. The new image can help astronomers jell theories of galaxy formation. Galaxies which appear brightest in far-infrared wavelengths are typically observed as they were around 10 billion years ago. In Herschel's new image of one of these regions, it found thousands of tiny colored points of light, each a galaxy that contains billions of stars. The colors represent far-infrared wavelengths, with redder galaxies either farther away or containing colder dust, while brighter galaxies are forming stars more vigorously. Bright galaxies preferentially occupy regions with more dark matter. This seems especially true about 10 billion years ago, when these galaxies were forming stars at a much higher rate than most galaxies today. In the early universe, galaxies were close together and thus more likely to collide. These collisions stirred up gas and dust in the galaxies and cause rapid star formation. NASA's newest infrared telescope has captured its first views of the cosmos through a huge hole in the side of jumbo jet. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) took its first photos to reveal multicolored infrared views of Jupiter and galaxy M82. At its maximum observation ceiling, SOFIA is above more than 99% of the water vapor in Earth's atmosphere, so can receive a large part of cosmic infrared radiation. In the Jupiter snapshot, the planet's internal heat can be seen bleeding through holes in thick clouds. The look at M82 allowed astronomers to peer through the galaxy's interstellar dust clouds and spot several starburst knots, where infant stars form by the tens of thousands. Supermassive black holes appear to light up with Xrays when their galaxies decide to merge, according to a Swift survey. Just 1% of supermassive black holes behave this way by giving off as much as 10 billion times the Sun's energy as active galactic nuclei (AGN). The black holes hold 1 million to 1 billion times the Sun's mass. The findings confirm theories that violence from galactic mergers can fuel growth of central black holes. Some 25% of black holes found by Swift are in the process of merging. About 60% of such active galaxies will merge completely within the next billion years to form giant black holes. The X-ray survey allowed astronomers to feel they'd spotted the majority of AGNs within Swift's survey range of 650 million light-years. Supermassive black holes can kick into high gear before their host galaxies have begun to merge. Past findings showed merging galaxies and AGN were much more common in the early universe, with many more small galaxies than Continued on page 12
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Briefs: New Insight into Formation of Baby Solar Systems
Continued from page 11 now. That supports the idea of galactic mergers triggering the growth of black holes. A close-up view of swirling clouds of gas and dust around young stars has given astronomers a new glimpse into how baby solar systems and their planets are formed. After stars are born, they usually retain clouds of leftover material around them that condense into protoplanetary disks. Over time, gas and dust in these disks clump together under the pull of gravity to build planets. In the new study, astronomers peered into a group of nascent solar systems with unprecedented detail. This yielded the extremely fine resolution needed to observe processes that occur at the border between a star 500 light-years from Earth and its surrounding disk of gas and dust. Researchers looked at 15 young stars with protoplanetary disks in the Milky Way. The stars weighed between half and 10 times the mass of the Sun. Astronomers could distinguish between gas and dust in the disks to gauge what was happening in the budding solar systems, which are a few million years old. After gas giants use up most gas in the disk, leftover dust and rock cluster to form rocky terrestrial planets. Six new and diverse alien planets, including a world twice as massive as Jupiter orbiting a rapidly spinning star, have been discovered by the European CoRoT satellite around different stars. The hot Jupiters span a range of sizes and masses, and an assortment of physical properties. The smallest, CoRoT-8b, is about 70% of Saturn's size and mass. CoRoT-10b has an extremely eccentric orbit that results in extreme variations in its surface temperature over the course of its year, resulting in a tenfold increase in stellar radiation. Scientists estimate surface temperature may increase from 480 to above 1,100 degrees in only 13 days. CoRoT-11b's star spins around its axis in less than two days. CoRoT-12b, 13b and 14b orbit close to their star but exhibit different properties. 13b is smaller than Jupiter and twice as dense, suggesting a massive, rocky core. 14b's size is similar to Jupiter, but is 7.5 times the mass and six times the density. The Moon's interior may harbor 100 times more water than previous estimates, according to a new study that took a fresh look at Moon rocks collected by Apollo astronauts nearly 40 years ago. It's likely water was preserved from hot magma present when the Moon began to form 4.5 billion years ago. In 2008, research of volcanic glass beads brought attention to the fact that there might be more water in the Moon's interior than scientists had thought. Since then, observations from unmanned probes have confirmed water in lunar material and water ice on the surface. Minimum water content ranged from 64 parts per billion to 5 parts per million, at least two orders of magnitude greater than previous results. High Line continued from page 1 ever we are there. Of course, not everyone stops to look. As anyone who has ever taken his or her telescope out to a street corner knows, some people are just too sophisticated or "busy" to let down their guard for a minute and admit they're curious. But that's not most people. Most of our visitors had never looked through a telescope before. Exclamations like "Holy Moley!" "That's Insane!" and "My God, oh my God!" are typical. And every once in a while you hear, "You've changed my life forever!" For some of seek out distant For others, me i one else's life is us, traveling to a dark-sky location to nebulae is what stargazing is all about. ncluded, knowing you've touched someinfinitely more fulfilling.

Contacting the AAA
General matters pertaining to the club: president@aaa.org. Membership business, such as dues and change of address: members@aaa.org. Eyepiece: editor@aaa.org. Lectures: lectures@aaa.org. Classes: classes@aaa.org. Seminar: seminar@aaa.org. Observing: president@aaa.org. Please visit us on the web at www.aaa.org.
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Join us on the High Line one of these Tuesday evenings. The sunsets are beautiful. It's an experience you'll long remember.


Events on the Horizon July 2010
M: members; P: open to the public; T: bring your telescopes, binoculars, etc.; C: cancelled if cloudy; HQ: at AAA headquarters, Downtown Community Center, 120 Warren St. AMNH: For ticket information, call (212) 769-5200 For directions to AAA observing events, check the club's website, www.aaa.org. Saturdays July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Observing at Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan, P, T, C Next dates: Saturdays in August. Tuesdays July 6, 13, 20, 27 Observing at the High Line, Manhattan, P, T, C South of 14th Street. Next dates: Tuesdays in August. Thursday, July 8, 6:30-8:30 p. m. Recent Advances in Astronomy Seminar, M, HQ Pre-meeting dinner at 5:30 at Gee Whiz Diner, Warren and Greenwich streets. Next date: August 12. Thursdays, July 8, 15, 22, 29, dusk Movies With a View, Pier 1, Brooklyn, P Learn to operate an 8-inch Dobsonian scope and watch a free movie. Info: www.aaa.org/movieswithaview. Next dates: Thursdays in August. Saturday, July 10, dusk-wee hours Observing at North-South Lake, Greene County, M, T, C For directions: http://aaa.org/northsouthlake or Rich Rosenberg at 718-522-5014. Next date: August 7. Tuesday, July 13, dusk-10 p. m. Observing at Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn, P, T, C Next date: August 3. Wednesday, July 14, 8:30-10 p. m. Observing at Fort Tryon Park near The Cloisters, Manhattan, P, T, C Next date: August 11. Saturday, July 17, dusk Observing at Great Kills Gateway National Park, Staten Island, P, T, C Next date: August 14. Saturday, July 17 Observing at St. Albans Park, Queens, P, T, C 4 p. m. solar observing, then workshops, evening stargazing. Info: gerceida.jones@nyu.edu or 646-302-5892. Monday, July 19 (cloud date Wednesday the 21st) Observing at 63rd Road and 98th Street, Rego Park, P, T, C Info: www.aaa.org/regopark or 718-459-0598. Wednesday, July 21, 8-11 p. m. Observing at Prospect Park, Brooklyn, P, T, C Next date: August 11. Friday, July 23, dusk-11 p. m. Observing at Carl Schurz Park, Manhattan, P, T, C Next date: August 20. Monday, July 26, 7 p. m. Hayden Planetarium lecture, P, AMNH Sean Solomon, principal investigator of the MESSENGER mission to Mercury, will discuss "Exploring Mercury with the MESSENGER Spacecraft." Tuesday, July 27, 6:30-8:30 p. m. Observers' Group, M, HQ Pre-meeting dinner at Gee Whiz Diner, Greenwich and Warren streets. Next date: August 31. Friday, July 30, 8-10 p.m. Lecture and observing, Avenue U Salt Marsh Nature Center, Brooklyn, P, T, C Info: www.aaa.org/saltmarsh or 718-522-5014. Saturday, July 31, 10-noon Solar Observing at Central Park, P, T, C At the Conservatory Waters. Next date: August 28. Saturday, July 31, 9 p. m. Observing at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, P, T, C Info: www.aaa.orgfortgreene or 718-522-5014.
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Two Amateurs First to Spot Enormous Fireball on Jupiter
Two amateur astronomers last month spotted an enormous fireball on Jupiter, and even got it on camera. Stargazer Anthony Wesley was watching the sky in Australia June 3 when he spotted a huge collision and fireball on the surface, SpaceWeather reported. The collision produced a bright flash in Jupiter's atmosphere. Wesley posted the information to an online space forum. Christopher Go, in the Philippines, confirmed Wesley's findings with a video he had shot. Wesley's photos show the fireball blazing in the atmosphere of Jupiter. So far, no visible scar in the clouds has been reported. Wesley described the event as a "large fireball" on his website, where he posted photos. Almost two weeks later, on June 16, the mystery fireball was identified as a giant meteor that burned up high above Jupiter's cloud tops, according to new Hubble observations. The meteor didn't dive deep enough into the atmosphere to explode, which explains the lack of any telltale cloud of debris, said Hubble astronomers, who described the meteor's size as "giant." The new Hubble observations also allowed a close look at changes in Jupiter's atmosphere, following the disappearance of the dark Southern Equatorial Belt (SEB) several months ago. In the latest view, a slightly higher altitude layer of white ammonia ice crystal clouds appears to obscure deeper, darker belt clouds. Weather forecast for the SEB is cloudy with a chance of ammonia. Researchers predict these ammonia clouds will likely clear out in a few months, as typical in the past. The impact on Jupiter came less than a year after a spectacular crash on July 19, 2009, when what scientists now think was an asteroid about 1,600 feet wide slammed into the planet. That collision created a massive bruise the size of the Pacific Ocean. It was Wesley who first spotted the July 2009 collision. His observations kicked off an international observation campaign to study the impact site. Astronomers initially suspected a comet in the impact, but announced last month that a rogue asteroid was the likely culprit. After Wesley noticed a huge black spot on Jupiter's surface, astronomers spent months analyzing it before concluding an asteroid from the Hilda group near Jupiter may have struck the planet while it was turned away from Earth.

Amateur Astronomers Association Gracie Station P. O. Box 383 New York, NY 10028

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