jjmonl 1605 A - McCarthy ObservatoryMars at Opposition The Earth will come between Mars and the Sun on May 22 nd, an arrangement called Opposition. On that day, Mars will rise with

http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org May 2016 • 1

May 2016

John J. McCarthy ObservatoryVolume 9, No. 5

Galactic Observer

In the Universe the StrongerDon't Last LongerSee inside, pages 8 and 18

a

http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org2 • May 2016

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

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

Route

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

Galactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObserGalactic ObservvvvverererererEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial CommitteeEditorial Committee

Managing EditorBill Cloutier

Production & DesignAllan Ostergren

Website DevelopmentMarc Polansky

Technical SupportBob Lambert

Dr. Parker Moreland

JJMO Staff

"OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT"............................... 4

MOUNT MARILYN ........................................................... 4

TRANSIT OF MERCURY .................................................... 5

MARS AT OPPOSITION ...................................................... 5

NUMBER NINE ............................................................... 6

NEW MARTIAN MAPS ..................................................... 6

A TILTED MOON ............................................................ 7

SUPERNOVA BREAKTHROUGH ............................................ 8

OFF-ROADING ON MARS ................................................. 9

THE ASTRONOMERS MONUMENT AT GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY10

PUBLIC ASTRONOMY ...................................................... 11

SPACE SHUTTLE HISTORY ............................................... 11

MAY SHOWERS ............................................................. 12

FORGOTTEN NAMES FOR AN ANCIENT WORLD ................... 12

MAY HISTORY............................................................... 12

VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING INTERIOR ........................... 13

JUPITER AND ITS MOONS ................................................. 14

Jim JohnstoneCarly KleinSternBob LambertRoger MooreParker Moreland, PhDAllan OstergrenMarc PolanskyJoe PriviteraMonty RobsonDon RossGene SchillingKatie ShusdockPaul WoodellAmy Ziffer

Steve BaroneColin CampbellDennis CartolanoMike ChiarellaJeff ChodakBill CloutierCecilia DietrichDirk FeatherRandy FenderRandy FindenJohn GebauerElaine GreenTina HartzellTom Heydenburg

In This IssueJOVIAN MOON TRANSITS ................................................ 14

RED SPOT TRANSITS ...................................................... 14

MAY NIGHTS ................................................................ 14

SUNRISE AND SUNSET ...................................................... 14

ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 14

COMMONLY USED TERMS ............................................... 17

REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 17

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 17

SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 18

IMAGE CREDITS ............................................................ 18

SECOND SATURDAY STARS ............................................... 19

MAY GRAPHIC CALENDAR .............................................. 20


Jaaciow2td4N

May Astronomy Calendarand Space Exploration Almanac

Catching a DragonNASA Photo

Cygnus, Soyuz and ProgressNASA Photo


“Out the Windowon Your Left”

It’s been almost 45 years sincewe left the last footprint on the

dusty lunar surface. Sadly, as anation founded on exploration andthe conquest of new frontiers, weappear to have lost our will tolead as a space-faring nation. But,what if the average citizen had

the means to visit our only naturalsatellite; what would they see out thewindow of their spacecraft as theyentered orbit around the Moon? Thiscolumn may provide some thoughtsto ponder when planning your visit(if only in your imagination).

Prior to 1968, a triangular-shapedoutcrop of rock located betweentwo dark patches of lava(Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare

Fecunditatis) was noteworthy onlyfor a small crater (Theta Secchi) lo-cated on its flank. Jim Lovell, theCommand Module Pilot onthe crew of Apollo 8, was one of thefirst people to circumnavigate theMoon. He named that ancient rockoutcrop “Mount Marilyn” as a trib-ute to his wife. Although unofficial,the name became part of the Apolloprogram lexicon and a landmark forthe first Moon landing.

Apollo 10 was a dress rehearsalfor Apollo 11, with astronauts Tho-mas Stafford and Eugene Cernantaking the Lunar Module down to

within 9 miles (14 km) of the lunarsurface. Along the way, the Apollo10 crew created dozens of informallandmarks that could be used byArmstrong and Aldrin, and missioncontrol, as waypoints to check theirprogress against the nominal descenttimeline. The names appear on thecharts used by the astronauts, in tech-nical reports, and in transcripts ofcommunications between the astro-nauts and the ground.

The 4,593 foot (1,400 m) highMt. Marilyn is just one of the land-marks identified on the followingpage. It was likely created over 4

NASA Photo: the Apollo 10Command Module as seen fromthe Lunar Module with Mt. Marilynvisible in the background

Mount MarilynImage: Bill Cloutier


billion years ago in the aftermathof the impact that formed thenearby basins. Following to theconclusion of the Apollo program,the International Astronomical

Union (IAU) named the outcrop“Mount Secchi.” Lovell would likethe IAU to reconsider and officiallyrecognize Mt. Marilyn’s place inhistory.

Transit of MercuryMercury’s orbit crosses the

Earth’s orbital plane each year inearly May and early November. If theinner-most planet is passing betweenthe Earth and Sun at that time, thesilhouette of Mercury can be seencrossing (transiting) the Sun’s brightdisk. The alignment occurs infre-quently, on average only thirteentimes each century. The last transitoccurred in November 2006.

Unlike the transit of Venus whichcould be seen by the unaided eye(properly protected), finding themore diminutive Mercury will likelyrequire optical aid.

On May 9th, the entire transit willbe visible to observers along the eastcoast, beginning at 7:12 am EDT andlasting approximately 7½ hours.Mercury will cross the Sun in adescending direction from east towest. It will appear as a small blackdot against the bright solar disk, ap-

proximately 1/158 the size of the Sun(1/5 the size of Venus in 2012).

The photo of Mercury during the2003 transit (below) was takenthrough a small telescope (to mag-nify the view). With solar activityrelatively low, Mercury should bedistinguishable from any small sun-spots, particularly as it moves in frontof the Sun over the course of the day.The transit should not be viewedwithout proper eye protection (to dootherwise risks serious eye damageand blindness). Binoculars and tele-scopes should be properly filtered asthe Sun’s concentrated light and heatcan shatter glass and/or melt inter-nal components.

The McCarthy Observatory willhave updated information onthe transit on its webpage(www.mccarthyobservatory.org)with possible viewing opportunities,weather permitting.

Mars at OppositionThe Earth will come between

Mars and the Sun on May 22nd, anarrangement called Opposition. Onthat day, Mars will rise with thesetting Sun and be visible theentire night. At closest approach,Mars will be approximately 46.8million miles (75.3 km) from Earth(the distance at Opposition canvary from 34.6 million miles to 63million miles due to Mars’ highlyelliptical orbit). The planet willappear larger than in its previous2014 Opposition (being almost 10million miles closer), but unfortu-nately for northern hemisphereobservers, 16.5° lower in sky.

Mars can be found in the con-stellation Scorpius during themonth of May. The planet will berelatively bright with an apparentmagnitude of -2.0. Mars will berelatively close to Antares (5° atthe beginning of the month and12° at month’s end), the bright-est star in the constellation Scor-pius and the 15th brightest star inthe night sky. The red supergiantis also known as the “Heart of theScorpion.” The name Antares isderived from ancient Greek, mean-ing the rival or equal of Mars dueto its similar reddish-orange hue.

For telescopic observers attempt-ing to view the planet’s surface fea-tures, Martian weather reports canbe found on the Malin Space Sci-ence Systems website (http://www.msss.com/). The developmentof regional dust storms can be ofparticular interest since they canquickly grow to engulf the entireplanet for months as they did in 2001.Mars rotates once every 24 hours and37 minutes so the view will changelittle if you observe at the same timeeach night. To see the entire planet,you will need to observe at differ-ent times of the night or over arelatively long period of time (amonth or more). On nights of good

Transit: May 7, 2003Photo: Dr. Parker Moreland

Mercury


LunarExploration

seeing (steady atmospheric condi-tions), the bright polar ice capsshould be visible. In May, it is latesummer in the northern hemi-sphere and the northern pole istipped towards Earth.

Surface markings are difficult todiscern on Mars due to its rela-tively small size and great distance,even in the largest telescope. A mapor guidebook such as WilliamHartman’s “A Traveler’s Guide toMars” can be helpful in identify-ing those Martian landmarks thatare visible.

JPL’s Solar System Simulatorhttp://space.jpl.nasa.gov/

Number Nine? Astronomer Mike Brown (dis-

coverer of the dwarf planet Eris)and planetary scientist KonstantinBatygin have proposed the exist-ence of a large planet at the outeredge of the solar system as a pos-sible explanation for the unusualclustering of distant Kuiper Beltobjects. Their calculations suggestthat the planet, if it exists, wouldhave to be more than 10 times the

mass of the Earth and closer to thesize of Neptune to produce the de-sired effects.

While astronomers have beenworking out potential orbits for thehypothetical planet (informallycalled “Planet 9”), detecting theplanet may prove to be more diffi-cult, particularly if it is close toaphelion (the furthest part of itselliptical path around the Sun).

New Martian MapsSmall deviations in the posi-

tions and velocities of the MarsGlobal Surveyor, Mars Odysseyand Mars ReconnaissanceOrbiter spacecrafts as they orbitMars have been used to generatea detailed map of the local varia-tions in Mars’ gravity. The infor-mation was superimposed on thetopographical data collectedby the Mars Global Surveyor’s

Orbits of six of the furthest known objectsDiagram: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)


Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter(MOLA) to create a global grav-ity map. Crustal thickness wasderived from the gravity map.The massive Tharsis plateau orbulge is visible in all three mapswith its three large volcanoes.

The red and white colors onthe gravity map (next page) showareas where the gravity is higherthan average. This is particularlynoticeable around the shield vol-canoes where a thick crust is alsoindicated. The dark blue color in-dicates areas with lower than av-erage gravity (and a thinnercrust). The 2,500 mile (4,000 km)

long Valles Marineris runs alongthe Martian equator from theTharsis plateau. The canyon’s

dark blue color in the gravity mapcorresponds to the low altitudetrench in the topographic map.

Global Topography, Gravity and Crustal Maps Produced by OrbitingSpacecraft Credits: NASA/GSFC/Scientific Visualization Studio

A Tilted MoonResearchers studying ice de-

posits at the Moon’s poles be-lieve that there is evidence tosuggest that a shift occurred inthe Moon’s spin axis approxi-mately 3 billion years ago. Thehypothesis is supported by datacollected from several missions,including Lunar Prospector, LunarReconnaissance Orbiter, LunarCrater and Observation SensingSatellite, and the Gravity Recov-ery and Interior Laboratory.

Ice has been detected in thepermanently shadowed areas ofthe Moon near the poles. How-ever, researchers also found rem-nants of ice deposits that suggest thatthe pole may have been originallyoffset 5° from the current location.The shift in the axis exposed muchof the original ice deposits to the Sun.While most of the ice sublimatedinto space, enough remained torecord the direction and degree of theaxial shift.

What caused the axial shift is lesscertain. One theory offers that it wasthe result of a redistribution of mass,possibly from the formation ofOceanus Procellarum (the Ocean ofStorms). The rock under this expan-sive lunar mare contains high

concentrations of KREEP (anacronym representing a mixture ofK-potassium, REE-rare earthelements, and P-phosphorus).KREEP basalts also contain highconcentrations of uranium andthorium, the decay of whichproduces heat. Radiogenic heat-ing could have kept theMoon’s mantle molten beneathProcellarum for billions ofyears. Depending upon the massof the KREEP layer, the melt zonemay have extended more than 300miles below the surface. The melt-ing would have been sufficient tocause a localized change (increase)in the density of the mantle rockand shift the Moon’s rotational axisto the degree indicated by thepolar ice deposits.

Proposed Reorientation of theMoon's Spin Axis Credits: JamesTuttle Keane, University of Arizona

Credits: James Keane, University. of Arizona; Richard Miller, University of Alabamaat Huntsville

Polar Hydrogen Map of the Moon's Northern and Southern Hemispheres


Supernova Breakthrough

Artist impressions of the progressive stages of a supernova, as heavyelements mass in its interior, it explodes, and sheds its outer layers as asupernova remnant. The images can be found at http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2012/casa/more.html (left); http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2007/sn2006gy/index.html (center) and http://www.nasa.gov/nustar andhttp://www.nustar.caltech.edu/.

Stars fuse hydrogen into he-lium for almost their entirelifespan. As the hydrogen is de-pleted and energy productionslows, gravity begins to collapsethe core. The collapse increasesthe temperature in the core andhydrogen fusion moves out intothe layers surrounding the core.The energy released expands thestar’s outer layers, which cooland the star becomes a red giant.

The increase in the star’s coretemperature allows fusion ofheavier elements, beginning withhelium to carbon, carbon to oxy-gen, oxygen to neon and so on.The fusion of progressivelyheavier elements requires an in-creasingly higher temperatureand yields less and less energy asa result. Energy production endswith iron (and nickel) as fusionto more massive elements requiremore energy than released by thefusion process. The buildup ofinert iron in the core acceleratesthe collapse of the core which canbe halted by neutron degeneracy(no two neutrons can occupyidentical states). As a result, theiron rich core becomes a highdensity, incompressible soup ofneutrons and neutrinos. With thecessation of meaningful energyproduction in the core, the outerlayers of the star quickly col-lapse. The collision of the star’souter layers with the incompress-ible core produces a cataclysmicshock wave that races outward ina violent explosion. The energy(in visible light) produced by theexplosion produces the most lu-minous event in the galaxy (peak-ing at about 1 billion times thebrightness of our Sun).

Scientists, for the first time,have captured the breakout (fromthe surface of the star) of theshock wave during a supernovaexplosion. Since the event lastsonly 20 minutes or so, catchingthe breakout required the inter-

national science team led by Pe-ter Garnavich, to review datafrom 50 trillion stars from 500galaxies over a three year period.The team found that the Keplerspacecraft recorded the explosionof two massive stars in 2011


(KSN 2011a, approximately 300times the size of our Sun andKSN 2011d, approximately 500times our Sun).

The diagram above shows thelight curve for the KSN 2011d su-pernova. The supernova reachesmaximum brightness (y-axis) inabout 14 days (x axis). An earlyflash of light (130 million timesbrighter than our Sun) occursmuch earlier and reveals thebreakout of the shockwave fromthe surface of the star.

Some of the energy released inthe explosion creates elementsheavier than iron. Those ele-ments, such as gold, zinc, anduranium seed the interstellarspace around the star and are in-corporated into the formation ofa new generation of stars. Themetal-rich content of our Sun(and Earth) suggests that our Sunis a second and possibly thirdgeneration star (first generationstars being metal poor).

Off-Roading on MarsNASA’s Mars rover Opportu-

nity set another record in its ex-ploration of Endeavour Crater.While climbing Knudsen Ridgein search of clay deposits, the di-minutive rover’s tilt hit 32°. Un-fortunately, the slippage of therover’s wheels on the inclinedsurface was so great that Oppor-tunity was unable to reach its tar-get (by inches) and after three at-tempts, had to retreat. The climbsurpassed the record (also held byOpportunity) for the steepestslope attempted by a rover.

Opportunity spent the Martianwinter exploring Marathon Val-ley, an east-west cut in the rim ofEndeavour crater. The valley’s to-pography provided the rover with

sun-facing slopes for its solarpanels and potential science tar-gets (deposits of clay bearingminerals have been detected inthe area by orbiting spacecraft).Marathon Valley also providedOpportunity an excellent vantagepoint from which to view the in-terior of the 14-mile diametercrater. On March 31st, the rover’snavigation camera caught a dust

devil churning across the crater’sfloor. While dust devils wererelatively common at Gustev Cra-ter, the landing site of Spirit,Opportunity’s twin, sightings atMeridiani Planum have been rare.

Dust devils are rotating col-umns of warm air. Small dust par-ticles are drawn up into the col-umn, making the column visibleto the observer.


The Astronomers Monument at Griffith Observatory


JPL/NASA

Public AstronomyEighty-one years ago, on May

14, 1935, the Griffith Observatoryopened to the public and itsownership transferred to the Cityof Los Angeles. Located on thesouthern slope of Mount Holly-wood in Griffith Park, the publicfacility is operated by the city’s De-partment of Recreation and Parks,and has welcomed over 76 millionvisitors since opening.

A public observatory was thebrainchild of Griffith J. Griffith, aWelsh immigrant who made hisfortune in Mexican silver minesand California real estate. In 1896,he purchased and donated 3,015acres to the city for a public parkafter visiting grand open spaces inEurope. In 1912, after a visit tothe Mount Wilson observatory,Griffith offered the city $100,000for a public observatory to be builton Mount Hollywood in GriffithPark. Griffith was quoted assaying “Man’s sense of valuesought to be revised. If all mankindcould look through that telescope,it would change the world!”

Unfortunately, Griffith wouldnot live to see his vision realized.Mired in political debate, work onthe observatory didn’t begin until1933. However, guided by leadingastronomers and scientists of theday, including astronomer GeorgeEllery Hale, physicists EdwardKurth and Rudolph Langer, AdlerPlanetarium Director Philip Foxand Russell Porter, leader of theamateur telescope making move-ment, the observatory wasconstructed and dedicated twoyears laterThe planetarium wasonly the third of its kind in theUnited States; the technology wasnot even invented until four yearsafter Griffith’s death.

The Griffith Observatory is vis-ible from many parts of Los Ange-les, being located at an elevationof 1,134 feet above sea level. It isone of the most popular attractionsin Southern California.

Space Shuttle HistoryThe space shuttle Endeavour

first arrived at the Kennedy SpaceCenter on May 7, 1991 as areplacement for the lost Chal-lenger. It was built out of spareparts from the construction of theAtlantis orbiter. Endeavour wasfirst launched (STS-49) a year lateron May 7, 1992. The orbiter’sname was selected through a na-tional competition among studentsand was named after the shipcommanded by British explorerJames Cook in his exploration of theSouth Pacific in 1768-71. Cook,among other accomplishments, ob-served the transit of the Sun by Ve-nus from Tahiti in June 1769.

Endeavour flew its 25th and fi-nal mission (STS-134) in May2011 (the next to last shuttle flight).Commander Mark Kelly was thelast astronaut to disembark fromthe shuttle at the conclusion of themission. In September 2012, theshuttle was flown to Los Angeleson top of a Boeing 747 for perma-

nent display at the CaliforniaScience Center. Endeavour iscurrently in temporary storage atthe museum and will be displayedin a launch configuration (vertical)once construction of the SamuelOschin Air and Space Center iscomplete. The Science Center hadpreviously acquired a pair of solidrocket boosters (currently instorage at NASA’s ArmstrongFlight Research Center at Edwards,California) for the display. Lastyear (May 2015), they announcedthat they had acquired the onlyflight-qualified external tank inexistence. The tank had been builtin 2000 for the Columbia shuttlebut never flew (it was replaced bya lighter version before it wasassigned to a flight).

The external tank left NASA’sMichoud Assembly Facility forCalifornia on April 12th. The tankis traveling by barge and has re-cently passed through the PanamaCanal. It is scheduled to arrive inMarina del Rey in late May.

The External Tank (ET-94) is28 feet in diameter, 154 feet longand weight approximately 65,000pounds. The tank is scheduled tobe moved through the streets ofLos Angeles to the Science Centeron May 21st, following the routepreviously taken by Endeavour.

External Tank on the BargeCredit: Francine Orr-Los Angeles Times


Sometime in the next threeyears, the refurbished tank will belifted into a vertical configurationto form the structural support forthe Endeavour orbiter and thetwin solid rockets for display inSamuel Oschin Air and SpaceCenter.

May ShowersThe Eta Aquarids meteor shower

peaks in the early mornings of the5th and 6th. The dust producing theshooting stars is from Comet Halley.As with all meteor showers, theAquarids are named for the constel-lation (Aquarius) from which theyappear to radiate. Typically, you canexpect to see up to 20 meteors perhour. The New Moon is on the 6th

this year and will not interfere withviewing the shower.

Forgotten Names foran Ancient World

Lunar maps include the namesof the prominent features: craters,mountain ranges and the large,expansive lunar seas. Few, if any,include the names of the brighterlunar highlands: the original crustbefore it was transformed by acosmic bombardment lasting sev-eral hundred million years.

Lunar cartography or mappingwas both limited and crude untilGalileo first trained his telescopeupon the Moon. With the ability pro-

vided by the telescope to resolve in-dividual features came the need fora uniform or standard naming con-vention. The first such detailed mapwas created by Belgian astronomerMichel Langren in 1645. Features onLangren’s map were named forprominent eaders of the CatholicChurch, scholars, philosophers andsaints. Two years later, JohannesHevelius, a wealthy Polish brewer,published the first treatise devotedto the Moon. His publication“Selenographia” ncluded maps ofevery lunar phase developed overseveral years of observing. UnlikeLangren, Hevelius used the namesof terrestrial features for his lunar

maps, specifically from ancientGreece and Rome. His naming con-vention was widely used by Euro-pean astronomers for over a century.However, Hevelius’ lunar nomencla-ture was gradually replaced by anaming convention developed by Je-suit astronomer Giovanni Riccioli.

Riccioli included lunar maps in adissertation defending the CatholicChurch’s view of the universe(Earth-centered) against the viewsbeing expressed by Galileo, Keplerand Copernicus (Sun-centered).Riccioli’s lunar drawings werecreated by fellow Jesuit FrancescoGrimaldi. Riccioli assigned namesto the lunar seas associated withweather or other conditions (Sea ofRain, Clouds, Cold, Serenity, andCrises). Other features were givennames of scientists and philosophersfrom ancient Greece, Rome or frommedieval Europe. The craters aroundthe Sea of Nectar did include namesof Catholic saints, although mostwere associated with astronomy.

Many of Riccioli’s originalnames remain in use today after be-ing officially recognized bythe International AstronomicalUnion in 1935. What have beenlost are the names of the areasbetween the seas or the Moon’sbright crust. Riccioli originally

1. Insula Ventorum (Island of Winds)2. Terra Colaris (Land of Heat)3. Terra Fertilitatis (Land of Fertility)4. Terra Grandinis (Land of Hail)5. Terra Manna (Land of Manna)6. Terra Niuiu (Land of Snows)7. Terra Pruinae (Land of Frost)8. Terra Sanitatis (Land of Healthiness)9. Terra Siccitatis (Land of Dryness)10. Terra Sterilitatis (Land of Sterility)11. Terra Vigoris (Land of Cheerfulness)12. Terra Vitae (Land of Liveliness)13. Peninsula Fulminu (Peninsula of Thunder)

* Lunar “seas” are actually expansive low-lying plains formed by ancient lava flows

Key to Major Land Features


assigned names to these areas in amanner similar (although some-times opposite) to what he used forthe lunar seas (Land of Heat, Hail,Frost, Dryness and Sterility).

Today, references to the lunar crustor “land” are generally non-descript andsterile in comparison (south polar re-

gion, eastern limb, Descartes high-lands) to Riccioli’s imaginative andsometimes poetic labels. Several of theareas described by Riccioli onGrimaldi’s maps (shown above) areindicated on the next page.

So, the next time you see theMoon in the sky, take a few minutes

May HistoryOn May 25, 1961, President

Kennedy, in an address before a jointsession of Congress, set forth a chal-lenge to the American people: “I

believe this nation should commititself, before this decade is out, tolanding a man on the Moon and re-turning him safely to the earth.”With what started out as an attemptto reverse the political setbacks inLaos, the Congo, the Bay of Pigsin Cuba, and as a response to thefirst flight into space by cosmonautYuri Gagarin, Kennedy’s speechset the gears of a technologicalrevolution into motion. The post-Sputnik world of the 1960’s wouldsee two great nations compete tocontrol the “high ground,” the newfrontier in the Cold War.

Lost in the political posturingand often overlooked is that, in lessthan 10 years, on May 20th, 1969,the 456 foot tall doors on the Ve-hicle Assembly Building at theKennedy Space Center opened toreveal AS506, the official designa-tion of the Saturn V rocket thatwould carry Apollo 11 to the moon.More than 20,000 private firms and

and reacquaint yourself with a partof history. Once you have locatedMare Tranquillitatis (MT) or the Seaof Tranquility* on the moon’s east-ern (right) limb, look for TerraSanitatis or the Land of Healthiness,the adjoining brighter area to thesouthwest.

Saturn V and Space Shuttle Assembly AreaPhoto: Bill Cloutier

hundreds of thousands of workersparticipated in this program, for afraction of the cost of the VietnamWar. Not only did the United Statesreach the Moon, it built a national

infrastructure of technology, manu-facturing and education that hasnot been rivaled. In 1969, theUnited States was truly on top ofthe world.


Jupiter and its MoonsJupiter reached Opposition and

its closest approach to Earth in earlyMarch. During the month of May,

Jupiter is still well placed in eveningsky after sunset. Jupiter will be at itshighest approximately an hour aftersunset on May 1st (9:15 pm) and al-most two hours earlier by month’send. As the Earth moves ahead ofJupiter on its inside orbit, Jupiter willdiminish slightly in brightness andapparent size. As one of the bright-est star-like objects in the night sky,Jupiter can be found in the constel-lation Leo.

One of the more interesting andeasier events to observe througha telescope is the projection of

Sunrise and SunsetSun Sunrise Sunset

May 1st (EST) 05:50 20:07May 31st 05:22 20:21

a shadow from one of Jupiter’smoons on the Jovian disk asthe moon passes in front of(or transits) the planet. The photoon the right shows the shadowof Ganymede on the Jovian disk.On nights of good visibilitythe following events should beviewed through a moderately-sizedtelescope.

The Red Spot is a large cyclonein the upper Jovian atmosphere. Therapid rotation of this gas giant (10hours) may be responsible for thelongevity of this storm, which hasbeen observed for over 300 years.The Red Spot will cross the centerline of the planetary disk on the fol-lowing evenings during the hoursbetween 8 pm to midnight local time:

May NightsFor those who do their stargaz-

ing early in the evening, a myriadof spectacular objects appear outof the twilight, winking into viewas the Earth turns away from theSun. Leo dominates the southwest-ern sky with its reverse questionmark arrangement of stars, punc-tuated by the star Regulus, form-ing the front of the lion, and a tri-angular arrangement of stars form-ing the back or tail of the creature.To the west of Leo is an open starcluster called the Beehive (M44)in the constellation Cancer. On adark night it can be seen with thenaked eye. East of Leo, towards theconstellation Boötes is the globu-lar cluster M3. Boötes is easilyidentified by its bright star Arctu-rus. Follow the arc in the handleof the Big Dipper to find Arcturus,at the base of the kite-shaped con-stellation. M3 is located furtheraway than the center of our galaxy,the Milky Way, and is one of themany outstanding globular clustersthat will grace the late spring andsummer skies.

Photo: Bill Cloutier

Jovian Moon Transits

Red Spot Transits


Astronomical and Historical Events1st Apollo Asteroid 2014 US115 near-Earth flyby (0.024 AU)1st Apollo Asteroid 3752 Camillo closest approach to Earth (1.598 AU)1st History: discovery of Saturn's moon Daphnis by the Cassini spacecraft (2005)1st History: discovery of the Mars meteorite Dar al Gani 476 (1998)1st History: discovery of Neptune's moon Nereid by Gerard Kuiper (1949)2nd History: discovery of the first binary star (Xi Ursae Majoris) by William Herschel (1780)3rd Apollo Asteroid 444584 (2006 UK) near-Earth flyby (0.046 AU)4th Apollo Asteroid 2016 EK56 near-Earth flyby (0.081 AU)4th Kuiper Belt Object 2010 FX86 at Opposition (45.281 AU)4th History: launch of the AQUA satellite to study precipitation, evaporation, and the cycling of Earth's

water (2002)4th History: launch of the Magellan/Venus radar mapping spacecraft and attached Inertial Upper Stage

from the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-30) (1989)5th Eta Aquarids meteor shower peak (best viewing: early morning on the 5th and 6th)5th Apollo Asteroid 388945 (2008 TZ3) near-Earth flyby (0.034 AU)5th Centaur Object 144908 (2004 YH32) at Opposition (11.747 AU)5th History: launch of Freedom 7 and astronaut Alan Shepard aboard a Mercury-Redstone rocket, first

American in space (1961)6th New Moon6th Moon at perigee (closest distance from Earth)6th Flyby of Saturn's largest moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft6th Atira Asteroid 434326 (2004 JG6) closest approach to Earth (0.825 AU)6th History: groundbreaking for the John J. McCarthy Observatory, a world-class observatory in New

Milford, CT., with a mission to promote science literacy (2000)7th Second Saturday Stars - Open House at McCarthy Observatory7th Kuiper Belt Object 90568 (2004 GV9) at Opposition (38.458 AU)8th Apollo Asteroid 2014 JG55 near-Earth flyby (0.020 AU)8th Apollo Asteroid 2010 KP10 near-Earth flyby (0.076 AU)9th Mercury Transit (crosses in front of the Sun)9th Apollo Asteroid 2063 Bacchus closest approach to Earth (0.878 AU)9th History: launch of MUSES-C (Hayabusa), Japanese sample return mission to asteroid Itokawa (2003)9th History: first Earth-based laser aimed at the Moon: crater Albategnius (1962)9th History: launch of first production model of the Project Mercury capsule from Wallops Island,

Virginia to test the escape system (1960)10th History: President Truman signs Public Law 507, creating the National Science Foundation (1950)10th History: Estherville Meteorite Shower: a 455 pound meteorite fell to earth in Emmet County, just

north of Estherville, Iowa, where it buried itself 15 feet in the ground - largest meteorite known tohave fallen in North America (1879)

11th History: launch of the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-125), final Hubble Space Telescope servicingmission (2009)

12th History: first planetarium (Adler Planetarium in Chicago) opens in United States (1930)13th First Quarter Moon13th History: launch of first Project Bumper rocket from White Sands, NM; the two stage rocket was a

combination of a German V-2 and American WAC Corporal rocket (1948)14th Apollo Asteroid 1866 Sisyphus closest approach to Earth (1.576 AU)14th History: Griffith Observatory, one of the first institutions in the U.S. dedicated to public science,

opens in Los Angeles (1935)14th History: launch of the Herschel infrared telescope and the Planck microwave observatory (2009)14th History: launch of Skylab, the United States' first space station (1973)


Astronomical and Historical Events (continued)

14th History: the American Interplanetary Society (later renamed the American Rocket Society) launchesits first liquid fueled (liquid oxygen and gasoline) rocket from Staten Island, N.Y. (1933)

14th History: the German Society for Space Travel (Verein für Raumschiffahrt or VfR) launches theRepulsor-1, a liquid fueled (liquid oxygen and gasoline) rocket (1931)

14th History: Orgueil Meteorite Shower: large carbonaceous chondrite that disintegrated and fell infragments near the French town of Orgueil; presence of organics renewed the debate on spontane-ous generation as the origin of life; fragments analyzed by the French chemist Louise Pasteur forindigenous microorganisms (1864)

15th History: discovery of Pluto's moons Nix and Hydra by Hal Weaver, et al's (2005)15th History: sixth docking of a space shuttle (Atlantis) with Russian space station Mir (1997)15th History: launch of Faith 7 and astronaut Gordon Cooper aboard a Mercury-Atlas rocket, final Mer-

cury mission (1963)15th History: Soviet Union launches Sputnik IV containing a self-sustaining biological cabin and dummy

astronaut (1960)16th Apollo Asteroid 2016 BX14 near-Earth flyby (0.058 AU)16th Kuiper Belt Object 2015 KH162 at Opposition (58.159 AU)16th History: launch of the space shuttle Endeavor on its final mission (2011)16th History: Soviet spacecraft Venera 5 returns 53 minutes of data while descending by parachute through

the atmosphere of Venus and before impacting the surface (1969)17th Aten Asteroid 5381 Sekmet closest approach to Earth (0.489 AU)17th Atira Asteroid 164294 (2004 XZ130) closest approach to Earth (0.667 AU)17th Kuiper Belt Object 65407 (2002 RP120) at Opposition (26.911 AU)17th History: Soviet spacecraft Venera 6 returns 51 minutes of data while descending by parachute through

the atmosphere of Venus and before impacting the surface (1969)17th History: discovery of Jupiter's cloud belts by Italian Jesuit, astronomer, and physicist Niccolo Zucchi

(1630)18th Moon at apogee (furthest distance from Earth)18th History: launch of Apollo 10 with astronauts John Young, Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan; the lunar

module Snoopy was flown within 50,000 feet of the lunar surface while the command moduleCharlie Brown orbited the Moon (1969)

19th History: launch of the first Army Hermes A-1 rocket from White Sands, NM (1950)20th History: launch of the Pioneer Venus 1 spacecraft (1978)21st Full Moon (Full Flower Moon)21st Plutino 38628 Huya at Opposition (27.569 AU)21st Plutino 2006 HJ123 at Opposition (33.726 AU)21st History: launch of the Japanese Venus Climate Orbiter Akatsuki or Planet-C spacecraft and the

Ikaros solar sail (2010)22ndMars at Opposition, rising with the setting Sun and visible all night24th Apollo Asteroid 2009 DL46 near-Earth flyby (0.016 AU)24th Amor Asteroid 2016 CF194 near-Earth flyby (0.053 AU)24th History: launch of Aurora 7 and astronaut Scott Carpenter aboard a Mercury-Atlas rocket; second

American to orbit Earth (1962)24th History: launch of Midas 2; first Experimental Infrared Surveillance Satellite (1960)25th History: the Phoenix spacecraft lands in the Martian arctic (2008)25th History: launch of Skylab I crew; astronauts Pete Conrad, Paul Weitz and Joseph Kerwin (1973)25th History: President John F. Kennedy's Moon goal speech to Congress (1961)25th History: science fiction writer and futurist Arthur C. Clark proposes communication satellites in

geosynchronous orbit (1945)25th History: first recorded perihelion passage of comet Halley by Chinese astronomers (240 BC)


Astronomical and Historical Events (continued)

26th History: launch of the first "Navaho Missile," a pilotless aircraft consisting of a missile and abooster; program goal was to determine the feasibility of an intercontinental missile (1948)

28th Asteroid 588 Achilles (Jupiter Trojan) closest approach to Earth (4.895 AU)28th History: launch of Mars 3 (USSR) lander and rover; lander became the first spacecraft to attain soft

landing on Mars, although transmissions ceased after 15 seconds (1971)28th History: launch of an Army Jupiter missile carrying two primates (Able and Baker) to an altitude of

300 miles; monkeys survived the flight (1959)28th History: Frank Drake born, radio astronomer devised the "Drake Equation" as an attempt to esti-

mate the number of worlds in our galaxy that might harbor intelligent life (1930)29th Last Quarter Moon29th Kuiper Belt Object 2007 JH43 at Opposition (39.549 AU)29th History: launch of Luna 22 (USSR), lunar orbiter mission that included imaging as well as

studying the Moon's magnetic field, the composition of lunar surface rocks, and the gravitationalfield (1974)

29th History: measurements during solar eclipse agree with predictions based on Einstein's GeneralRelativity theory (1919)

30th History: launch of Mariner 9, Mars orbiter and first artificial satellite of Mars; mapped Martiansurface and imaged moons Phobos and Deimos (1971)

30th History: launch of Surveyor 1, Moon lander; transmitted over 11,000 images from OceanusProcellarum (1966)

31st Apollo Asteroid 2015 YU1 near-Earth flyby (0.072 AU)31st Apollo Asteroid 37655 Illapa closest approach to Earth (1.017 AU)31st Kuiper Belt Object 278361 (2007 JJ43) at Opposition (40.132 AU)31st History: European Space Agency's birthday (1975)

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

most of their time outside Earth orbit.

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

• Atira: a group of near-Earth asteroids whose orbits are entirely within Earth’s orbit

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

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

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

• Plutino: an asteroid-sized body that orbits the Sun in a 2:3 resonance with Neptune

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

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

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

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

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

tional Space Station and the bright flares from Iridium satellites.


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

www.spaceweather.com

Image CreditsFront page design and graphic calendars: Allan Ostergren

Cover image: In the Universe, size is not all that matters, and nothing is forever. The biggest andbrightest stars tend to burn hotter and faster, depleting their essential fuel (hydrogen, helium and otherheavy elements) while smaller stars liike our own just power along.

When a massive star begins to run out of fuel it expands—but its core ultimately collapses to forma neutron star or black hole, while its outer layers of ionized gas are scattered through the celestialneighborhood as a planetary nebula.

Cassiopeia A is a familiar supernova remnant first seen on Earth about 350 years ago. The image onpage 1 was generated by NuSTAR, NASA's space-based x-ray telescope, which can detect and map thediverse ejecta released in the conflagration - including titanium-44, as well as the non-radioactive elementsof stardust like iron and calcium, that we have all inherited. The data captured by NuSTAR will open anew perspective on the powerful life and death processes powering the universe.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CXC/SAO

Page 3 graphic: With the arrival and capture of the SpaceX Dragon cargo-carrying spacecraft on April10th (top photo), the International Space Station was home to six spacecraft. The bottom photo showsOrbital ATK's Cygnus cargo-carrying spacecraft on the left (with a portion of one of its two circular solararrays visible), a Russian Soyuz crew-carrying spacecraft (center), and a Russian Progress cargo-carryingspacecraft (right). Two other spacecraft (a Russian Soyuz and a Russian Progress) are also docked at thestation.

For more on supernovae, go to page 8 within. Information on NuStar can be found at http://science.nasa.gov/missions/nustar/.

Second Saturday Stars poster: Marc Polansky

Artist's impression of the NuStar x-ray telescope.Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech


Celestial CalendarMay 2016

Alan Shepardfirst American

in space1961

Launch ofMagellan

spacecraft toVenus by spaceshuttle Atlantis

(1989)

Gerard KuiperdiscoversNeptune's

Moon Nereid1949

Discovery ofMars meteorite

Dar al Gani1998

Space Day

Space Shuttle Atlantis,last Hubble Space

Telescope ServicingMission (2009)

Launch ofMUSES-C

(Hayabusa),Japanese

sample missionto asteroid

Itokawa (2003)First Earth-basedlaser aimed atMoon craterAlbategnius(1962)

Groundbreaking forthe John J. McCarthyObservatory (2000)

Launch ofSkylab1973

Launch of first Bumperrocket, from White Sands

New Mexico (1948)

Launch ofFaith 7 -FinalMercurymission1963

6th docking ofa space shuttle(Atlantis) withRussian space

station Mir(1997)

Sovietspacecraft

Venera 5, 6send data onVenus, then

impact planetMay 16-17,(1969)

Apollo 10 to MoonYoung/Stafford/Cernan (1969)

NormanLockyer born,co-discoverer

of helium(1836)

Launch of first ArmyHermes A-1 rocket from

White Sands, NM(1950)

Launch of Pioneer Venus 1spacecraft (1978)

Launch of JapaneseVenus Climate OrbiterAkatsuki or Planet-C

spacecraft and the Ikarossolar sail (2010)

ScottCarpenter,

secondAmerican in

space(1962)

JFK Moongoal speech

(1961)

First Hubbleimages of

Saturn ringplane as the

rings are edge-on to the Sun,viewed fromEarth (1995)

Launch ofMidas 2, 1st

experimentalinfrared

surveillancesatellite

1960Phoenix

spacecraft landson Martian soil

2008

Launch ofSkylab 1

crew (1973

Launch of first "NavahoMissile", ICBM precursor

(1948)

Frank Drake born,author of "the

Drake Equation"on intelligent life

(1930)

Abel andBaker 1st

primatesin orbit(1959)

Mariner 9, 1st artificialsatellite of Mars (1971)

European SpaceAgency Born

1975

Edmund Halley observestotal eclipse phenomenon

"Baily's Beads"(1715)

KonstantinEduardovitchTsiolkovsky,

RussianRocketryPioneer

created hiscalculationsabout space

flight theory -1897

Lawrence MaxwellKrauss born, Canadian-

American theoreticalphysicist and authorThe Physics of StarTrek and A Universefrom Nothing (1954)

Asteroid 1992 JD Near-EarthFlyby (0.024 AU)

Cassini, Enceladus FlybyCassini: Distant Flyby of

Polydeuces, Atlas & Dione

Launch of the AQUA satellite tostudy precipitation, evaporation,and the cycling of Earth's water

(2002)

Early liquid fueledrockets:German Society forSpace Travel (1931);American InterplanetarySociety (1933)

Space ShuttleEndeavour final launch

(2011)

Launch of Mars3 (USSR) landerand rover - 1st

spacecraft toattain soft

landing on Mars(1971)

Launch of Surveyor 1 Moonlander; transmitted over 11,000

images from OceanusProcellarum (1966)

16th Anniversary (1997),Galileo, Ganymede 8 Flyby

First snapshot of Earthand its moon, captured by

NASA's Mars GlobalSurveyor (MGS)

spacecraft while orbitingMars (2003)

NASAastronaut,

Gregory Harold"Box" Johnsonborn, veteranof two space

flights, STS-123and STS-134

(1962)

Eta Aquaridsmeteor shower

peak Distant flyby of Saturn'slargest moon Titan by the

Cassini spacecraft

Space X firstsuccessful

commercial launchof spacecraft to the

ISS, CapeCanaveral (2012)

Cassinispacecraft

91st flyby ofSaturn's

moon Titan(602 miles,

or 970kilometers).

Dr. H. Paul Shuchborn, American scien-tist and engineer,hasled radio ama-teurs in the searchfor extraterrestrialintelligence (1946)

Moon atapogee(farthest

from Earth)

Estherville,Iowa meteoriteshower - 1897

Firstplanetarium inU.S. (Adler)opens inChicago (1930)

GriffithObservatoryopens in Los

Angeles (1935).

Discovery ofJupiter's cloud

belts byItalian Jesuit,astronomer,

and physicistNiccolo

Zucchi (1630)

Comet Halleychronicled by

Chineseastronomers

(240 BC)

E=MC2

Measurements during solareclipse confirm Einstein'srelativitytheory - 1919

Launch of Luna 22 (USSR),orbiter mission to study the

Moon's magnetic field, geologyand gravitation (1974)

2nd Saturday StarsOpen House

McCarthyObservatory

Hubble BirthdayParty

Phases of the Moon

May 21 May 29

May 6 May 13

Moon atperigee(closestdistanceto Earth)

Documents

jjmonl 1605 A - McCarthy ObservatoryMars at Opposition The Earth will come between Mars and the Sun on May 22 nd, an arrangement called Opposition. On that day, Mars will rise with