SepOct 2020 SGN Contents

Astronomy News for Bluewater Stargazers Vol 14 No5 SepOct 2020

p 1 From the Editor Reflecting on the ES Fox Obs p 2 Tribute to Ross Burkinshaw p 3 Hubble Snaps Closeups of NEOWISE Nucleus p 4 Mars Opposition Viewing in October Should Be Good p 5 Observing Surface Features on Mars -hints p 6 Using Coloured Filters for Planet Viewing p 7 Mysterious Martian Cloud is Back p 8-9 Quetican Field of View Perseid Meteor Report p 10 Betelgeuse Dimming -explained p 11 Solar Cycle 25 has Started p 12 Constellations Pegasus and Andromeda p 13 Indigenous Constellation Pegasus the (Flying) Moose p 14 Sky Sights Listing for September and October p 15 More Sky Sights p 16 Miscellaneous Page and Classifieds

Star Gazer News

A space suit would be the ultimate Covid-19 protective gear but the cartoon alludes to just one of the problems astronauts have when living inside a personal spaceship for any length of time No way to blow your nose scratch an itch or even wipe a tear Chris Hadfield has a video about that in a TED talk from 2014 httpswwwtedcomtalkschris_hadfield_what_i_learned_from_going_blind_in_space Everyone should see this for a bit of inspiration

Reflecting on the ES Fox Observatory Periodically I am reminded of what an incredible facility BAS has at its disposal in the ES Fox Observatory What other amateur astronomy club has access to an 864 sqft roll-off roof observatory at a Deep Sky Preserve (the Bluewater Outdoor Ed Centre) where a 28-inch Dobsonian telescope is available All this is the result of countless hours of hard work by BCAS and BAS members who took on the job of bringing astronomy to our members and to the general public The list of names of those who made this possible is long so it will not be repeated here except for one -Ross Burkinshaw - who sadly passed away in July See page 2 for more about Ross

From the Editor

The ES Fox Observatory is shown below in an aerial drone shot courtesy of Frank Williams taken in the summer of 2017 The roof is starting to roll back and the Webster telescope has been ldquodeployedrdquo to its pad for a night of observing

S G N SepOct 2020 pg 2BAS News BAS Executive 2020-2021 President (interim) vacant V-President (interim) vacantSecretary Lorraine Rodgers lorrainerodgers64gmailcom Treasurer Cheryl Dawson paintergirl1956gmailcomMember-at-Large Zoeuml Kessler kudra44gmailcomMembership Marian Ratcliffe glenelgratgmailcom Public Outreach John Hlynialuk stargazerjohnrogerscomPast Pres John Hlynialuk stargazerjohnrogerscom

Disclaimer SGN reports on the activities of the Bluewater Astronomical Society (formerly Bruce County Astronomical Society) but any opinions presented herein are not necessarily endorsed by BAS For up-to-date details relating to BAS events see the BAS website at wwwbluewaterastronomycom SGN is produced and edited by John Hlynialuk and I am solely responsible for its content I maintain a web presence at wwwjohns-astronomycom Your original articles images opinions comments observing reports etc are welcome at SGN I reserve the right to edit for brevity or clarity Errors or omissions are entirely mine I will not publish your emails or other materials without your specific permission No part of this publication shall be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the editorrsquos consent However the Sky Events and Constellation pages are free to copy for non-commercial use Feel free to forward this issue in its entirety to friends You are welcome to email comments andor submissions to stargazerjohnrogerscom

Ross Burkinshaw Passes BURKINSHAW Ross Passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his family on Saturday July 25 2020 at the age of 76 Loving husband to Angelia Burkinshaw (nee Braham) Proud father to Peter (Catherine Cormier) David (Kelly) and Michael (Rachel) Sadly missed by his grandchildren Rebecca Daniel Chloe Ross Hannah Grace and Morgan Survived by his sister Diane and her children Gina amp Jason and by his brother Frank (Carol) and their children Derek amp Kelly A Memorial Service to Celebrate the Life of Ross Burkinshaw will be held at the Knox Presby te r ian Church Burgoyne I f des i red Memorial Donations may be made to Grand River Hosp i t a l Founda t i on Cancer Center multiple myeloma or to the Knox Presby te r ian Church Burgoyne

One of the lifetime members of BAS passed away July 25 2020 Ross Burkinshaw joined the group when we were BCAS and served actively in several roles in the organization His contribution to the development of the Fox Observatory was key and his expertise showed through when decisions had to be made He played an important role in the design and completion of the Fox Observatory and championed the successful partnership with BEF and BOEC that we enjoy presently

Ross also played an active role in refurbishing the U of G Vernonscope we received in the fall of 2005 The scope needed a lot of attention and while the mirror was away being re-coated most of the other jobs like getting the drives operational and scope mounted on a portable pier were carried out by Ross and John Gillespie seen in image at left The scope was used on a portable pier (image below Sep 2009) before it was mounted at the Fox Observatory in the summer of 2011 (Image lower left) Ross was a club supporter and good friend who will be greatly missed Our condolences go out to Angelia and family

Two Jets From NEOWISE NucleusS G N SepOct 2020 pg 3

Image Right The NASAESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the closest images yet of the skyrsquos latest visitor to make the headlines comet C2020 F3 NEOWISE after it passed by the Sun The new images of the comet were taken on 8 August and feature the visitorrsquos coma the fine shell that surrounds its nucleus and its dusty output

Comet NEOWISE is the brightest comet visible from the Northern Hemisphere since 1997rsquos Hale-Bopp comet Itrsquos estimated to be travelling at over 60 kilometres per second The cometrsquos closest approach to the Sun was on 3 July and itrsquos now heading back to the outer reaches of the Solar System not to pass through our neighbourhood again for another 7000 years

Hubblersquos observation of NEOWISE is the first time a comet of this brightness has been photographed at such high resolution after its pass by the Sun Earlier attempts to photograph other bright comets (such as comet ATLAS) proved unsuccessful as they disintegrated in the searing heat

Comets often break apart due to thermal and gravitational stresses at such close encounters but Hubbles view suggests that NEOWISEs solid nucleus stayed intact This heart of the comet is too small to be seen directly by Hubble The ball of ice may be no more than 48 kilometres across But the Hubble image does captures a portion of the vast cloud of gas and dust enveloping the nucleus which measures about 18 000 kilometres across in this image

Hubbles observation also resolves a pair of jets from the nucleus shooting out in opposite directions They emerge from the comets core as cones of dust and gas and then are curved into broader fan-like structures by the rotation of the nucleus Jets are the result of ice sublimating beneath the surface with the resulting dustgas being squeezed out at high velocity

The Hubble photos may also help reveal the colour of the cometrsquos dust and how that colour changes as the comet moves away from the Sun This in turn may explain how solar heat affects the contents and structure of that dust and the cometrsquos coma The ultimate goal here would be to determine the original properties of the dust Researchers who used Hubble to observe the

comet are currently delving further into the data to see what theyrsquore able to find

Hubble has captured other well-known comet visitors throughout the past year This includes snapping images of the breakup of comet ATLAS in April 2020 and impressive images of the interstellar comet 2I BORISOV in October 2019 and December 2019Image credit NASA ESA Q Zhang (California Institute of Technology) A Pagan (STScI)

Hubble Snaps Close-Up of Comet NEOWISE HST Press release 21 August 2020

SepOct 2020 pg 4S G N Mars at Opposition -a Good Year

Mars at Opposition should be NICEThis yearrsquos Mars opposition is one of the best ones for some time The standard of comparison is the Aug 28 2003 opposition when records for closeness were broken Back then the planet was -288 in magnitude and 25 arc-seconds across This October 13 we will see Mars reach -262 magnitude and 22 arc-seconds diameter which at first sight seems less good However the main difference will be in how high Mars is above the murky air near the southern horizon at that time We expect Mars to reach an unprecedented 508deg elevation above the southern horizon compared to 295deg in 2003 This will make all the world of difference in the world in discerning surface features on the planet

Shown in the images here are views of Mars from Starry Night at various dates

Fig 1 Aug 2019 This shows Mars at the smallest size from Earth during its 2-year orbit when it was on the opposite side of the Sun 35rdquo across magnitude 18

Fig 2 July 13 2020 Three months from this yearrsquos opposition Mars is large enough to pick out features although it is in a gibbous phase 13rdquo across magnitude -07

Fig 3 Oct 13 2020 At opposition the full disk of Mars is illuminated and it is huge 22rdquo across magnitude -262

(Relative scale is approximate only )

Fig1 Fig2

Fig3

What to look for Martian features to look for at opposition includePolar caps During this opposition the south polar region of Mars is tilted our way and it is southern hemisphere summer The S pole cap will be small and the N polar cap is tilted away from us so there may not be much to see there However the north cap sometimes has hazy regions surrounding it that are called a ldquopolar hoodrdquo Try a 80 pale blue filter

Dark surface markings Diagram right illustrates some of the dark and light features to look for The most prominent dark features are Syrtis Major and Terra Meridiani (labelled) Hellas is one the larger light features to observe and so is Solis Lacus (not on this image of Mars) Often referred to as the ldquoEye of Marsrdquo it is a dark circular feature surrounded by light terrain looking much like a pupil See pg 6 for hints on filters to use to view Mars and other planets

SepOct 2020 pg 5S G N Observing the Surface of Mars

Martian Surface Map The surface map above is from the Center for Planetary Science [httpplanetary-scienceorgmars-researchmars-cartography] and shows higher resolution features than can be seen with the telescope Note also that only about half of the surface can be seen at any one time But since the rotation rate of Mars is 246 hours theoretically the entire planetrsquos surface could be seen in a single Earth day if daylight did not interfere

The extra 40 minutes of rotation of Mars per night causes Mars to slowly rotate if we view at the same time each night In a bit more than a month the entire surface of Mars will parade under our view The dates along the bottom of the map above give those views for about 1 am The face will be slightly rotated if you view earlier say 11 pm

Another way to take all the guesswork out is to use the Interactive SkyampTelescope Mars Profiler tool at httpsskyandtelescopeorgobservinginteractive-sky-watching-toolsmars-which-side-is-visible

It allows you to enter the current time and Profiler displays the face of Mars that is pointed earthwards It is very intuitive and will even invert the view as a refractor or reflector would I do not believe it is available as a stand-alone app and requires logging into the SampT site but none I have found are as useful for observing Martian surface features

^ Oct 29

^ Oct 13

^ Oct 17

^ Nov 6

^ Oct 22

^ Nov 15

Arrow indicates region of Mars facing Earth on those dates

Probably the easiest way to v isua l ize Mar t ian features without need for a computer or even a paper map is a Mars Globe SampT sells two m o d e l s a 1 5 - c m diameter globe (image below) for $25US and a 30 cm globe for $100US If you do any viewing from the Fox Observatory this October you may notice the larger one on top of the display case

SepOct 2020 pg 5S G N Observing the Surface of Mars

Martian Surface Map The surface map above is from the Center for Planetary Science [httpplanetary-scienceorgmars-researchmars-cartography] and shows higher resolution features than can be seen with the telescope Note also that only about half of the surface can be seen at any one time But since the rotation rate of Mars is 246 hours theoretically the entire planetrsquos surface could be seen in a single Earth day if daylight did not interfere

The extra 40 minutes of rotation of Mars per night causes Mars to slowly rotate if we view at the same time each night In a bit more than a month the entire surface of Mars will parade under our view The dates along the bottom of the map above give those views for about 1 am The face will be slightly rotated if you view earlier say 11 pm

Another way to take all the guesswork out is to use the Interactive SkyampTelescope Mars Profiler tool at httpsskyandtelescopeorgobservinginteractive-sky-watching-toolsmars-which-side-is-visible

It allows you to enter the current time and Profiler displays the face of Mars that is pointed earthwards It is very intuitive and will even invert the view as a refractor or reflector would I do not believe it is available as a stand-alone app and requires logging into the SampT site but none I have found are as useful for observing Martian surface features

^ Oct 29

^ Oct 13

^ Oct 17

^ Nov 6

^ Oct 22

^ Nov 15

Arrow indicates region of Mars facing Earth on those dates

Probably the easiest way to v isua l ize Mar t ian features without need for a computer or even a paper map is a Mars Globe SampT sells two m o d e l s a 1 5 - c m diameter globe (image below) for $25US and a 30 cm globe for $100US If you do any viewing from the Fox Observatory this October you may notice the larger one on top of the display case

SepOct 2020 pg 6S G N Coloured Filters for Planet Viewing

8 Light Yellow - 83 Transmission Great for bringing out details in the red and orange regions of Jupiters belt and improves the contrast on the surface of Mars and the Moon For telescopes of larger apertures (10 and more) a Light Yellow filter can bring out better detail on Uranus and Neptune otherwise this is a good filter choice for most telescopes

11 Yellow-Green - 40 Transmission Great for observing Saturn and bringing out details in the Cassini division 11 filters provide better contrast for Mars Jupiter and Saturn Best with 6rdquo telescopes or larger

12 Yellow - 74 Transmission Boosts contrast for Saturn and Jupiter by contrasting with blue coloured areas and highlighting red and orange areas The 12 Yellow filter enhances contrast of the blue-green features of Mars and can help increase contrast when observing the Moon A good filter choice for telescopes with an aperture of 3rdquo or more

21 Orange - 46 Transmission Limits transmission of blue-green portions of the spectrum This filter can clarify delineations between blue-green and red-orange areas of Mars and is a good choice for Jupiter as well to bring out more detail in belt and polar areas Best with apertures of 6rdquo or more

23A Light Red - 25 Transmission Very similar to a 21 orange filter for telescopes larger than 8 inches Users will notice a slight increase in contrast and better definition between blue-green and red-orange areas of Mars Additionally useful for viewing Mercury during daylight or dusk Best with apertures of 8rdquo or more

25A Red - 14 Transmission This filter will virtually eliminate the blue and green wavelengths which results in strong contrast for Mars Best with apertures of 8rdquo or more

38A Dark Blue - 17 Transmission Heavily blocks red-orange wavelengths acting nearly opposite of a 25A

red filter Equally useful in observing Jupiter and Mars for this reason A 38A filter can bring out details of storms on the surface

47 Violet - 3 Transmission A very dark filter which fully blocks red yellow and green portions of the visual spectrum A great choice for isolating the polar ice caps on Mars and for bringing out subtle details in Venuss upper atmosphere For use on telescopes with apertures of 10rdquo or more

56 Light Green - 53 Transmission A great all around filter will bring out yellow coloured dust storms on Mars enhance details of the ice caps increase contrast on redblue areas of Jupiter and will increase detail of the Moon Best with apertures of 6rdquo or more

58 Green - 24 Transmission Bring out details in the lighter coloured areas of Jupiter A green filter will block blue and red wavelengths Works to offer strong contrast in the polar ice caps of Mars and allow easier visual observation of weather on Venus For telescopes with apertures of 8 inches or more

80A Blue - 29 Transmission Another all around great filter choice for both planets and the Moon Will bring out amazing detail in cloud belts for both Jupiter Offers extreme contrast for Jupiters Red Spot and the lunar surface For telescopes with apertures of 6rdquo or more

82A Light Blue - 73 Transmission This filter is a very lightly coloured filter which works well for nearly all planetary and lunar observing because it does not reduce the apparent brightness of the object but does offer a slight increase in contrast Nice for splitting binary stars checking out the gas tails of comets and is even useful for enhancing the galactic structure of bright galaxies Can be paired with other color filters A good filter choice for telescopes with an aperture of 3rdquo or more

Planetary Viewing with FiltersI admit I have not really done a lot of planet viewing with filters And whenever I did try them I did not really test them out as thoroughly as I should have But this time around we all have a chance to do that with Jupiter and Mars at least If you have access to a set of coloured filters for your eyepieces do give it a shot and let me know how you make out

The listing below is from High Point Scientific and gives the details of what you might expect with the various colour filters available

Image right illustrates the colour of each filter mentioned below

SepOct 2020 pg 7S G N Mysterious Martian Cloud is Back

ldquoElongated Cloudrdquo Returns on Mars ESA Press Release July 292020A mysteriously long thin cloud has again appeared over the 20-km high Arsia Mons volcano on Mars

A recurrent feature the cloud is made up of water ice but despite appearances it is not a plume linked to volcanic activity Instead the curious stream forms as airflow is influenced by the volcanorsquos lsquoleewardrsquo slope minus the side that does not face the wind

These images of the cloud which can reach up to 1800-km in length were taken on 17 and 19 July by the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) on Mars Express which has been studying the Red Planet from orbit for the past 16 years

ldquoWe have been investigating this intriguing phenomenon and were expecting to see such a cloud form around nowrdquo explains Jorge Hernandez-Bernal PhD candidate at the University of the Basque Country (Spain) and lead author of the ongoing study

ldquoThis elongated cloud forms every martian year during this season around the southern solstice and repeats for 80 days or even more following a rapid daily cycle However we donrsquot know yet if the clouds are always quite this impressiverdquo

A martian day or sol is slightly longer than an Earth day at 24 h 39 min 35 s A martian year is 668 sols approximately 687 days so the seasons last for twice as long

The southern solstice is the period of the year when the Sun

is in the southernmost position in the martian skies just like 21 December on Earth In the early mornings during this period this fleeting cloud grows for approximately three hours quickly disappearing again just a few hours later Most spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet tend to observe in the afternoon however Mars Express is in a privileged position to gather and provide crucial information on this unique effect

Luckily for Mars Express the highly elliptical orbit of the spacecraft coupled with the wide field of view of the VMC instrument lets us take pictures covering a wide area of the planet in the early morning

The Mars Express science team have now named the cloud the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud AMEC Stay tuned as scientists continue to investigate and reveal more mysteries from Mars You can find more pictures of AMEC as well as other lsquoalienrsquo features of Mars on the VMC Flickr page

Image left is most recent ldquoelongated cloudrdquo photo taken July 19 Labelled image right is from Sep 2018 and identifies the features in the area The cloud typically forms every martian solstice and lasts for about 80 martian days

The High Resolution Stereo Camera on board ESArsquos Mars Express snapped this view Sep 21 2018 of the water ice cloud The cloud which measures 915 km in this view also casts a shadow on the surface North is up More information Mars Express keeps an eye on curious cloud

SepOct 2020 pg 7S G N Mysterious Martian Cloud is Back

ldquoElongated Cloudrdquo Returns on Mars ESA Press Release July 292020A mysteriously long thin cloud has again appeared over the 20-km high Arsia Mons volcano on Mars

A recurrent feature the cloud is made up of water ice but despite appearances it is not a plume linked to volcanic activity Instead the curious stream forms as airflow is influenced by the volcanorsquos lsquoleewardrsquo slope minus the side that does not face the wind

These images of the cloud which can reach up to 1800-km in length were taken on 17 and 19 July by the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) on Mars Express which has been studying the Red Planet from orbit for the past 16 years

ldquoWe have been investigating this intriguing phenomenon and were expecting to see such a cloud form around nowrdquo explains Jorge Hernandez-Bernal PhD candidate at the University of the Basque Country (Spain) and lead author of the ongoing study

ldquoThis elongated cloud forms every martian year during this season around the southern solstice and repeats for 80 days or even more following a rapid daily cycle However we donrsquot know yet if the clouds are always quite this impressiverdquo

A martian day or sol is slightly longer than an Earth day at 24 h 39 min 35 s A martian year is 668 sols approximately 687 days so the seasons last for twice as long

The southern solstice is the period of the year when the Sun

is in the southernmost position in the martian skies just like 21 December on Earth In the early mornings during this period this fleeting cloud grows for approximately three hours quickly disappearing again just a few hours later Most spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet tend to observe in the afternoon however Mars Express is in a privileged position to gather and provide crucial information on this unique effect

Luckily for Mars Express the highly elliptical orbit of the spacecraft coupled with the wide field of view of the VMC instrument lets us take pictures covering a wide area of the planet in the early morning

The Mars Express science team have now named the cloud the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud AMEC Stay tuned as scientists continue to investigate and reveal more mysteries from Mars You can find more pictures of AMEC as well as other lsquoalienrsquo features of Mars on the VMC Flickr page

Image left is most recent ldquoelongated cloudrdquo photo taken July 19 Labelled image right is from Sep 2018 and identifies the features in the area The cloud typically forms every martian solstice and lasts for about 80 martian days

The High Resolution Stereo Camera on board ESArsquos Mars Express snapped this view Sep 21 2018 of the water ice cloud The cloud which measures 915 km in this view also casts a shadow on the surface North is up More information Mars Express keeps an eye on curious cloud

SepOct 2020 pg 8

2020 Perseid Meteor Shower Observing During Covid-19

Quetican Field of View

ldquoPanels of changing stars sashes of vapour Silver tails of meteor streams washes and rockets of fire -

It was only a dream Oh Hoh Yay Yay Loo Loo only a dream five six seven five six seven helliprdquo Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967) ldquoThe World of Carl Sandburgrdquo

Observing ldquoMeteorsrdquo or ldquoShooting Starsrdquo on a warm summerrsquos night has been a wonderful pastime for my wife Paula and myself The Perseid meteor shower is the most dependable meteor shower of the whole year Although it usually peaks about August 12th the showerrsquos duration is usually broad so the Perseids can be observed for a couple of nights on either side of the peak date One thing we like is the meteor shower takes place in August which for us is the best summer weather month When we have been fortunate to observe these meteors against the star clouds of the Milky Way and observe them from a dark sky site on a transparent and moonless night then the experience has been riveting and unforgettable So we usually plan our summer to include this activity

Fortunately we live on the Bruce Peninsula a dark sky community and this year because of the reduced air travel caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic we have experienced the clearest and most transparent skies in our memory- great conditions for observing meteors This year we planned on observing the Perseids from our Lake Huon cottage on the west side of the Bruce Peninsula Meteors also known as ldquoshooting starsrdquo are not a rare phenomenon and on any given night an independent observer can see about 8 meteors an hour These are called ldquosporadicrdquo meteors because they occur randomly and are not associated with a defined shower A meteor is the term used by astronomers to describe the streak of light produced when a meteoroid moving at very high speed enters the Earthrsquos atmosphere usually between 80 km and 100 km above the Earthrsquos surface This meteoroid becomes ablated heated to incandescence and usually vapourized Sometimes if the meteoroid particle has enough mass to avoid complete evaporation by the atmospheric frictional heating then it can actually make it to the ground This residual fragment is called a meteorite and eagerly sought by collectors

In spite of the meteorrsquos bright light and long visible trail the meteoroid particle itself is usually quite small perhaps the size of a sand grain or pebble Itrsquos amazing that so much light can be produced by such a tiny particle The reason is the high kinetic energy of the meteoroid particle is being converted by atmospheric friction into heat and light when it strikes our atmosphere For Perseid meteors the impact speed of the meteoroid fragments is 60 km per second and sometimes as in the case of the Leonid Meteors these entry velocities can be as high as 71 km per second

Sometimes our Earthrsquos orbital motion will carry it into the path of a swarm of these meteoroid particles When this happens the rate of meteor production dramatically increases and is called a meteor shower During the peak of a meteor shower the number of meteors seen by an independent observer from a clear and unobstructed dark sky site can exceed 120 meteors per hour This number is called the ldquoZenith Hourly Raterdquo or abbreviated as ZHR In the case of the Perseids the ZHR is 90 meteors per hour These swarms of meteoroid particles are usually shed by comets when they pass into the inner solar system The source of the August Perseid meteors is the periodic comet Swift-Tuttle This comet has a large nucleus about 26 km in diameter and because it returns to our vicinity with an orbital period of only 133 years the Perseid meteoroid particles are continually replaced During a meteor shower if the observer were to trace the paths of the shooting stars backwards the meteors will appear to originate from the same point on the sky called the ldquoradiant pointrdquo [See p18 for the Orionid radiant -ed] The radiant effect occurs because the meteoroids that produce a specific meteor shower share a common and parallel motion about the Sun When they burn up in the Earthrsquos

atmosphere the viewing parallax makes them appear to originate from the same place on the sky The constellation containing the radiant point gives its name to actual meteor shower For example the Perseid meteor shower which occurs around August 12th each summer has its radiant point located within the constellation Perseus It is usually the most dependable and convenient meteor shower to observe

On very rare occurrences a meteor storm can occur A good example of a meteor storm happened on the night of November 13th 1833 when for over 6 hours the sky over the Eastern US was illuminated by a deluge of meteors numbering in the tens of thousands Many meteors were as bright as fireworks Reports indicated that there was not a time during the 6 hour period that there wasnrsquot a shooting star visible in the night sky The radiant point for this particular storm was located in the constellation of Leo -hence the Leonids Image left Leonids over Niagara Falls Nov 13 1833 Woodcut from Atlas of the Stars by EWeib)

by Doug Cunningham

SepOct 2020 pg 9Quetican Field of View Perseid Meteors 2020 (Contrsquod)

This year the peak of the Perseids was predicted to occur on early Wednesday morning August 12th Because the light of the waning gibbous Moon would interfere with the fainter meteors we decided to observe the meteors between 1045 PM and 100 PM on both Tuesday August 11th and Wednesday August 12th We set up our ldquoreclining anti-gravity chairsrdquo on the observing deck at our cottage We call them ldquoanti-gravity chairsrdquo because the comfortable position of our body in the chair distributes our weight when observing over the whole back and legs so we donrsquot really feel our weight as we would sitting in a normal chair The Clear Sky Chart had predicted good seeing and g o o d a t m o s p h e r i c t ransparency over our cottage from early evening until until just past 100 AM on both nights These reclining chairs are the most comfortable and effective chairs we have owned for observing the stars

On both nights the Milky Way was splendid The interstellar dust lanes were amazingly well defined especially on our first night of observing Moving from Sagittarius up through Aquila and Scutum and on through Cygnus and into Cassiopeia and Perseus gave our galaxy a 3-D effect It was a wide screen effect I said to Paula While reclining in my anti-gravity chair I could imagine approaching an edge-on spiral galaxy viewing from the deck of the starship Enterprise The visual effect of seeing our Milky Way from this angle at this time of the night when the galactic plane was still low enough was quite amazing I have experienced this effect before from Northern Chinarsquos Gobi Desert and from Chilersquos Atacama Desert near San Pedro But never before have I had such a striking effect from home Meanwhile meteors bright and dim were streaking though our sky During our roughly two hour observing time we counted 80 meteors A couple were brilliant as bright as Jupiter and they left smoke trails I searched the internet for a photo of the Perseids taken against the background of the Milky Way I came across one splendid composite image taken by Petr Horalek of Slovakia He captured the Perseid meteors over an 8 day period around the peak of the shower If any image can convey what Paula and I saw and experienced on our first night of observing the 2020 Perseids then Horalekrsquos image does it On our second observing night Wednesday night both Paula and I both experienced a similar view of the Milky Way as we had on the previous night where the Milky Way passes from Cassiopeia and down through the Double Cluster of Perseus and on through Mirfak But on the night Wednesday we experienced a different effect that was so striking that we roughly noted the time It was about 12 15 AM and that part of our sky experienced a dazzling

increase in transparency and the brighter stars of Perseus sparkled like brilliant diamonds It was almost like a curtain had parted and opened a view into a jewelry storersquos diamond showcase That

APOD image by Petr Horalek Aug 10 2020 is a composite taken over eight nights and containing over 400 meteors from 2018 Augusts Perseids

special transparent window remained open for about 15 minutes We both remarked on the wonderful vista As happened on our previous night we were regularly treated to many meteors and we saw 71 of them during our roughly two hour observing time By 105 PM on both nights we began to lose our transparency and contrast due to the scattered light of the rising gibbous moon

Unfortunately most people live under light-polluted night skies and they must travel great distances outside their urban home area to find dark night skies The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in their annual ldquoObserverrsquos Handbookrdquo has a Section (p 79-84) devoted to Light Pollution written by astronomer Robert Dick He has included a table on Page 84 listing Canadarsquos Dark Sky Preserves Some of those in Southern Ontario include Bluewater Outdoor Ed Centre near Wiarton North Frontenac Township near Kingston Killarney Provincial Park near Sudbury Bruce Peninsula National Park near Tobermory Gordonrsquos Park near South Bay on Manitoulin Island Point Pelee National Park near Leamington and the Torrence Barrens near Gravenhurst Copies of the Observerrsquos Handbook can be obtained from Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 203-4920 Dundas Street West Toronto Ontario M9A 1B7 Telephone 416-924-7973 Email nationalofficerascca

SepOct 2020 pg 9Quetican Field of View Perseid Meteors 2020 (Contrsquod)

This year the peak of the Perseids was predicted to occur on early Wednesday morning August 12th Because the light of the waning gibbous Moon would interfere with the fainter meteors we decided to observe the meteors between 1045 PM and 100 PM on both Tuesday August 11th and Wednesday August 12th We set up our ldquoreclining anti-gravity chairsrdquo on the observing deck at our cottage We call them ldquoanti-gravity chairsrdquo because the comfortable position of our body in the chair distributes our weight when observing over the whole back and legs so we donrsquot really feel our weight as we would sitting in a normal chair The Clear Sky Chart had predicted good seeing and g o o d a t m o s p h e r i c t ransparency over our cottage from early evening until until just past 100 AM on both nights These reclining chairs are the most comfortable and effective chairs we have owned for observing the stars

On both nights the Milky Way was splendid The interstellar dust lanes were amazingly well defined especially on our first night of observing Moving from Sagittarius up through Aquila and Scutum and on through Cygnus and into Cassiopeia and Perseus gave our galaxy a 3-D effect It was a wide screen effect I said to Paula While reclining in my anti-gravity chair I could imagine approaching an edge-on spiral galaxy viewing from the deck of the starship Enterprise The visual effect of seeing our Milky Way from this angle at this time of the night when the galactic plane was still low enough was quite amazing I have experienced this effect before from Northern Chinarsquos Gobi Desert and from Chilersquos Atacama Desert near San Pedro But never before have I had such a striking effect from home Meanwhile meteors bright and dim were streaking though our sky During our roughly two hour observing time we counted 80 meteors A couple were brilliant as bright as Jupiter and they left smoke trails I searched the internet for a photo of the Perseids taken against the background of the Milky Way I came across one splendid composite image taken by Petr Horalek of Slovakia He captured the Perseid meteors over an 8 day period around the peak of the shower If any image can convey what Paula and I saw and experienced on our first night of observing the 2020 Perseids then Horalekrsquos image does it On our second observing night Wednesday night both Paula and I both experienced a similar view of the Milky Way as we had on the previous night where the Milky Way passes from Cassiopeia and down through the Double Cluster of Perseus and on through Mirfak But on the night Wednesday we experienced a different effect that was so striking that we roughly noted the time It was about 12 15 AM and that part of our sky experienced a dazzling

increase in transparency and the brighter stars of Perseus sparkled like brilliant diamonds It was almost like a curtain had parted and opened a view into a jewelry storersquos diamond showcase That

APOD image by Petr Horalek Aug 10 2020 is a composite taken over eight nights and containing over 400 meteors from 2018 Augusts Perseids

special transparent window remained open for about 15 minutes We both remarked on the wonderful vista As happened on our previous night we were regularly treated to many meteors and we saw 71 of them during our roughly two hour observing time By 105 PM on both nights we began to lose our transparency and contrast due to the scattered light of the rising gibbous moon

Unfortunately most people live under light-polluted night skies and they must travel great distances outside their urban home area to find dark night skies The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in their annual ldquoObserverrsquos Handbookrdquo has a Section (p 79-84) devoted to Light Pollution written by astronomer Robert Dick He has included a table on Page 84 listing Canadarsquos Dark Sky Preserves Some of those in Southern Ontario include Bluewater Outdoor Ed Centre near Wiarton North Frontenac Township near Kingston Killarney Provincial Park near Sudbury Bruce Peninsula National Park near Tobermory Gordonrsquos Park near South Bay on Manitoulin Island Point Pelee National Park near Leamington and the Torrence Barrens near Gravenhurst Copies of the Observerrsquos Handbook can be obtained from Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 203-4920 Dundas Street West Toronto Ontario M9A 1B7 Telephone 416-924-7973 Email nationalofficerascca

Betelgeuse Dimming ExplainedS G N SepOct 2020 pg 10

Observations by NASAs Hubble Space Telescope are showing that the unexpected dimming of the supergiant star Betelgeuse was most likely caused by an immense amount of hot material ejected into space forming a dust cloud that blocked starlight coming from Betelgeuses surface

Hubble researchers suggest that the dust cloud formed when superhot plasma unleashed from an upwelling of a large convection cell on the stars surface passed through the hot atmosphere to the colder outer layers where it cooled and formed dust grains The resulting dust cloud blocked light from about a quarter of the stars surface in late 2019 By April 2020 the starrsquos light returned to normal

Betelgeuse is an aging red supergiant star that has swelled in size due to complex evolving changes in its nuclear fusion furnace at the core The star is so huge now that if it replaced the Sun at the center of our solar system its outer surface would extend past the orbit of Jupiter

The unprecedented phenomenon for Betelgeuses great dimming eventually noticeable to even the naked eye started in October 2019 By mid-February 2020 the monster star had lost more than two-thirds of its brilliance

This sudden dimming has mystified astronomers who had several theories for the abrupt change One idea was that a huge cool dark star spot covered a wide patch of the visible surface But the Hubble observations led by Andrea Dupree associate director of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard amp Smithsonian (CfA) Cambridge Massachusetts suggest a dust cloud covering a portion of the star

Several months of Hubbles ultraviolet-light spectroscopic observations of Betelgeuse beginning in January 2019 yield a timeline leading up to the darkening These observations provide important new clues to the mechanism behind the dimming

Hubble captured signs of dense heated material moving through the stars atmosphere in September October and November 2019 Then in December several ground-based telescopes observed the star decreasing in brightness in its southern hemisphere

ldquoWith Hubble we see the material as it left the starrsquos visible surface and moved out through the atmosphere before the dust formed that caused the star to appear to dimrdquo Dupree said ldquoWe could see the effect of a dense hot region in the southeast part of the star moving outward

This material was two to four times more luminous than the stars normal brightness she continued And then about a month later the south part of Betelgeuse dimmed conspicuously as the star grew fainter We think it is possible that a dark cloud resulted from the outflow that Hubble detected Only Hubble gives us this evidence that led up to the dimmingrdquo The teams paper will appear online Aug 13 in The Astrophysical Journal

Massive supergiant stars like Betelgeuse are important because they expel heavy elements such as carbon into space that become the building blocks of new generations of stars Carbon is also a basic ingredient for life

Betelgeuse is so close to Earth and so large that Hubble has been able to resolve surface features ndash making it the only such star except for our Sun where surface detail can be seen

The red supergiant is destined to end its life in a supernova blast Some astronomers think the sudden dimming may be a pre-supernova event The star is relatively nearby about 725 light-years away which means the dimming would have happened around the year 1300 But its light is just reaching Earth now [With Betelgeuse astronomers can watch in real time (almost) -ed]

Hubble Finds That Betelgeuses Mysterious Dimming Is Due to a Traumatic Outburst

SepOct 2020 pg 11S G N Sun and Moon News

SOLAR CYCLE 25 STRENGTHENS from SPACEWEATHERCOM Therersquos no longer any doubt New Solar Cycle 25 is coming to life The latest sign came yesterday (Aug 3) with the emergence of a new sunspot group AR2770 inset in this magnetic map (right) of the suns surface from NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

AR2770 has two dark cores (each about the size of Mars) and is crackling with minor B-class solar flares Its potential for even stronger flares will become clear in the days ahead as the sunspot turns toward Ear th more fu l ly r e v e a l i n g i t s m a g n e t i c complexity

Active regions from Solar Cycle 25 are now strewn across the suns northern hemisphere In the cases of AR2769 and AR2770 the fields have intensified enough to form dark cores--that is sunspots A few days ago AR2768 also had visible sunspots Its a target-rich environment for amateur astronomers with safe solar telescopes The appearance of so many active regions at once is a clear sign that Solar

Cycle 25 is gaining steam However that doesnt mean Solar Minimum is finished These are just starter sunspots pipsqueaks compared to the behemoths expected when Solar Cycle 25 reaches its peak a few years from now Solar activity should remain generally low despite this uptick in sunspot counts On the other hand even a starter sunspot can occasionally cause a very big storm--so stay tuned

Satellite images dark side of moonDSCOVR the Deep S p a c e C l i m a t e Observatory satellite launched in Feb 2015 captured a unique view of the moon as it passed between the spacecraft and Earth on July 16 2015 Images like this can be taken about twice a year (NASA)

The satellite launched in 2015 sits around 1 million miles away from the Earth in what is called a neutral gravity point between the Earth and Sun allowing it to continuously monitor the two objects at the same time with little interference Periodically the Moon crosses the face of Earth and DSCOVR can image the side never seen from Earth It can also catch the Moonrsquos shadow passing over Earth Image right shows the lunar umbral shadow as it fell over central North America on Aug 21 2017 BAS members were there in Nebraska at the time enjoying it from the ground

SepOct 2020 pg 12

Pegasus (Peg) αminusPeg - Markab βminusPeg - ScheatγminusPeg - Algenib ε-Peg - Enif ζminusPeg - HomamηminusPeg - θminusPeg -Baham

The main feature of this constellation is the so-called Great Square of Pegasus formed by the four stars β γ α-Pegasi and α-And The latter star [Alpheratz] actually belongs to Andromeda (see chart) The stars Polaris Alpheratz and γ-Pegasi form a good stellar landmark the line connecting them indicates the equinoctial colure [the 0 H RA line that runs through the N celestial pole and the First Point of Ares] β Pegasi is one of the largest stars known if it were in the suns position its size would extend beyond the orbit of Venus

DOUBLE STARS Mag Seprsquon (s) Remarks

MESSIER OBJECTS Mag Remarks

Other Objects of Interest in Pegasus

M 15 52 Globular Cluster

NGC 7331 - Spiral Galaxy magnitude 104R Pegasi - Long period (378 days) variable maximum mag 78View πl and π2 with low power This is a beautiful pair not a double

ε 27-87-115 142-82 Yellow-Violet triple good contrast 1 42-90 36 3 63-85 39 Σ284165-80 22Σ284872-75 11

Feature Constellation Pegasus and Andromeda

Andromeda is an attractive constellation consisting of two long curved lines of stars beginning at Alpheratz and trailing to the northeast Alpheratz is the 2nd magnitude star at the northeast corner of the Great Square of Pegasus Andromeda is most famous for the Great Nebula M 31 the only spiral galaxy in the heavens visible to the naked eye In binoculars it appears as a faint elongated misty patch slightly brighter in the center

Andromeda (And)

γ 21-54 10 Yellow-Purplish Blue one of the most beautiful doubles -fine color contrastμ 40-115 34 π 44-85 36 White-Blue56 60-60 1897 Test of keen naked eyesight easily separated in binos59 60-67 16 Yellow-BlueΣ79 60-70 8 Very fineΣ305065-65 15 Test for 3-inch telescope

Other Objects of Interest in Andromeda

αminusAndromedae -Alpheratz β-Andromedae -Mirach γ-Andromedae -Almaak

MESSIER OBJECTS Mag Remarks M 31 34 Spiral Galaxy The Great Nebulardquo impressive sight in small telescopes beautiful in larger ones M 32 87 Elliptical Galaxy In same field as M31

NGC 752 -Large open cluster lies in rich regionNGC 7662 - A planetary nebula roughly annular in shape with a 13th magnitude star in the center R Andromedae -Long period variable 70 magnitude at max period 409 daysW Andromedae -Long period variable 74 magnitude at max period 397 days

DOUBLE STARS Mag Seprsquon (s) Remarks

There are only two naked eye galaxies on our sky - our own Milky Way and M31 the Andromeda Galaxy Rated at a mag of 34 it can be seen even in moderatley lit skies as a faint patchunder the arm of Andromeda It can be located using the diagonal from Markabto Alpharatz or lined up from Mirach

M31 is an edge-onspiral much likeour own MW withtwo companions M32 and NGC205 just like we have in the Magellanic Clouds

It has about twice as many stars as the Milky Way about 1 trillion and is twice the diameter of our galaxy 220 000 ly although its total mass is less

In a telescope the fuzzy region surrounding the nucleus is most obvious but one or two dust lanes can be detected with 10-inch or larger telescopes If imagers can be patient M31 will be a lot closer in 4 billion years or so Eventually it will ldquocolliderdquo with the MW and merge into a single giant elliptical galaxy

ldquoGloria Fredericardquo a royal staff crown and laurel wreath now a defunct constellation with just 3 bright stars (arrow) was created by Johan Bode in 1787 to honour Prussiarsquos king Frederick the Great It is still a nice star group in binoculars but they are not a true cluster

SepOct 2020 pg 13Feature Constellation Pegasus the Moose

Pegasus the MoosePegasus is a star pattern recognized as a moose in Ojibwe star lore and will be featured here as the first in a series of indigenous constellation stories in future issues of SGN I hope you enjoy learning some new ways to look at our northern skies

To understand these various tribes and their cultural diversity we would have to experience the context in which they lived including their geography and their relationship with the land sky and stars in each season

Only from this vantage point can we understand the Indigenous culture or teachings which is necessary before you can truly understand their stories ldquoThe existing Indigenous star stories were not just stories of ldquohigher beingsrdquo and their often-amorous encounters but were seen as part of an all-encompassing perspective of life and spirituality Everything the plants animals water sky and air were interwoven together in a complex web of life understanding and respect The stars were a key part of that understanding narrative

Anishinaabemowin the language of the Anishinaabe is a language of action and doing That very language speaks of the science thatrsquos out there in space how something functions and its state of being These ideas are all necessary to provide the context of Indigenous astronomy

To the Anishinaabe stars are animate because they move and have a spirit Spirituality plays a big part in the universe because of both movement and energy The Anishinaabek creator got hisher idea of creating the clans from the stars so everything starts with the stars Learning to understand the stars is extremely important in aiding to predict both the weather and seasonal migration and other activities

important in onersquos life For example in this part of the world we experience the four seasons which to many Indigenous were marked by key events

Fall Moose hunt procuring necessary food and materials to last through the WinterWinter storytelling and family time reconnecting with one anotherSpring breakup of the ice seasonal flooding and dangerSummer trapping and more leisure time

Significantly the constellations of the Ojibwe sky are filled with stories that speak to and around the key themes that gain dominance during a particular seasonrsquos night sky For example in the Fall sky there is the large constellation of a Moose which becomes the focus of the night sky at that time of the year Similarly the Fall was also the time of the Moose hunt in which many a person was involved in either the hunting or the harvesting of the Moose

Source httpswwwontarioparkscomparksblogindigenous-Astronomy Page 6 of 12 Stories in the stars Pride in our hearts - Parks Blog 2020-08-13

From editor ldquoOurrdquo constellation Pegasus the Flying Horse is seen as a Moose in Ojibwe sky lore -an example of a remarkable convergence of depictions More recently the Moose with wings legend has caught hold and not only in Canada eh so we have a Pegasus-Flying Moose analog

The following is from a post by Will Morin (Indigenous Studies Univ of Sudbury and Bruce Waters founder of Killarney Prov Pk Observatory

Indigenous astronomy

To understand the star stories of the Indigenous peoples we need to understand the geography of which we speak

The Indigenous peoples of the woodlands of North America were and are the Anishinaabek ldquopeople who were lowered [to Earth]rdquo To the south of them were and are the Haudenosaunee the ldquopeople of the long houserdquo (often known as the Iroquois)

Both cultural groups shared many cultural elements but were linguistically as different and diverse as the various European cultural groups Each group had many different tribal and dialect groupings within the diverse geography around the Great Lakes and beyond in all directions

There were Anishinaabek Ojibway Odawa Potawatami around the Great Lakes

Algonquian to the eastern woodlands and Cree to the north and west of the woodland and

the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Mohawk Oneida Onondaga Cayuga Seneca and Tuscarora in many communities southeast of the Great Lakes

SepOct 2020 pg 14Mars Uranus and Neptune Oppositions

Sky SightsS G N

BAS Viewing Events in SeptemberOctober

Viewing events at the Fox Observatory for September and October continue to be affected by Covid-19 restrictions None of the BAS equipment is being used at this time so it is a bring-your-own-scope situation Note also that there are no washrooms available on site and any in Wiarton or Hepworth are closed by 10 pm Dark of the Moon viewing nights are set for Sep 19 and Oct 17

Reminders of these viewing nights will come be email Maximum number of participants is 10 masks are recommended please bring hand sanitizer (and mosquito repellant) Contact John H by email if you are interested in attending

BAS ldquoZoomsrdquo Sep 2 and Oct 7 BAS will continue Zoom meetings for the Sep 2 and Oct 7 regular club sessions A recent survey indicated little interest in physical meetings at this time Lorraine will alert you as usual by email shortly ahead of time with a link and password to use to join the meeting It helps to download Zoom from this site httpszoomus

September 2020 Date GMT Event (subtract 4 hours from GMT for local EDT) 02 0522 FM rises locally at 939 pm EDT 06 0442 Mars 00degS of Moon Occrsquon visible in SAtlantic Africa

05deg apart at 11 pm locally Sep 5 06 0631 Moon at Apogee 405 606 km 09 1812 Aldebaran 42degS of Moon 10 0926 LQ Moon rises locally at 1129 pm EDT Sep 9 11 1900 Neptune at Opposition (magn= 78 disk = 24rdquo across) 13 0010 Venus 25degS of Beehive 13 0450 Pollux 43degN of Moon 14 0319 Beehive 18degS of Moon 14 0443 Venus 45degS of Moon 15 1551 Regulus 43degS of Moon 17 1100 NM rises locally at 701 pm EDT 18 1344 Moon at Perigee 359 081 km 19 0300 Mercury at Aphelion 22 0606 Mercury 03degN of Spica (Spica-Mercury 1deg apart 7 pm) 22 1027 Antares 60degS of Moon 22 1331 Autumnal Equinox (831 am EDT) 24 0155 FQ Moon rises locally at 243 pm EDT Sep 23 25 0646 Jupiter 16degN of Moon 25 2046 Saturn 23degN of Moon

October 2020 Date GMT Event 01 1600 Mercury at Greatest Elongation East 258degE 01 2105 FM rises locally at 726 pm EDT 02 1709 Venus 01degS of Regulus (26rsquo seprsquon at 3 am Oct 3) 03 0321 Mars 07degN of Moon Occn (1deg apart 1030 pm locally) 03 1722 Moon at Apogee 406 321 km 07 0102 Aldebaran 45degS of Moon 10 0039 LQ Moon rises locally at 1144 pm EDT Oct 9 10 1318 Pollux 41degN of Moon 11 1227 Beehive 21degS of Moon 13 0159 Regulus 45degS of Moon 13 2300 Mars at Opposition (magn= -26 disk = 226rdquo across) 13 2357 Venus 43degS of Moon 16 1931 NM rises locally at 710 pm EDT 16 2346 Moon at Perigee 356 913 km 19 1912 Antares 57degS of Moon 21 0500 Orionid Meteors 20h peak 1 am EDT Moon 26 22 1710 Jupiter 20degN of Moon 23 0349 Saturn 26degN of Moon 23 1323 FQ Moon rises locally at 319 pm EDT 25 1800 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction (not vis) 29 1613 Mars 30degN of Moon 30 1846 Moon at Apogee 406 393 km 30 2100 Venus at Perihelion 31 1449 FM rises locally at 634 pm EDT 31 1600 Uranus at Opposition (magn= 57 disk = 375rdquo across)

Planets farther from the Sun than Earth (exterior planets) reach opposition every year so it is no surprise that the other two gas giants Uranus and Neptune will do so along with Saturn and Jupiter in 2020 This dates are Sep 11 for Neptune and Oct 31 for Uranus Both are so far away from us that the fact they are brighter and larger is barely noticeable Uranus goes from 588 to 566 and increases in size from 34 to 38 arc-seconds across Neptune being farther away has a smaller range and goes from magnitude 796 and 22rdquo across to 781 and 24rdquo

On the other hand Mars will undergo a whopping change at opposition time compared to earlier and will become THE planet to watch this fall Six months ago Mars was a tiny 35rdquo across (Uranus-sized) and only magnitude 18 In six months Mars will increase to 226rdquo across and shine at a spectacular -262 outshining even Jupiter by a third of a magnitude On top of that and the main reason Mars is favoured this year is that it will be 50deg above the southern horizon well above the turbulent air near the ground

Is it any surprise then to readers that this issue of SGN has 4 pages devoted to Mars and we havenrsquot even mentioned the Mars probe Perseverance which is on its way to the Red Planet right now Landing is not due to Feb 2021 so there is still time to do an article or two on that mission Stay tuned

SepOct 2020 pg 13Feature Constellation Pegasus the Moose

Pegasus the MoosePegasus is a star pattern recognized as a moose in Ojibwe star lore and will be featured here as the first in a series of indigenous constellation stories in future issues of SGN I hope you enjoy learning some new ways to look at our northern skies

To understand these various tribes and their cultural diversity we would have to experience the context in which they lived including their geography and their relationship with the land sky and stars in each season

Only from this vantage point can we understand the Indigenous culture or teachings which is necessary before you can truly understand their stories ldquoThe existing Indigenous star stories were not just stories of ldquohigher beingsrdquo and their often-amorous encounters but were seen as part of an all-encompassing perspective of life and spirituality Everything the plants animals water sky and air were interwoven together in a complex web of life understanding and respect The stars were a key part of that understanding narrative

Anishinaabemowin the language of the Anishinaabe is a language of action and doing That very language speaks of the science thatrsquos out there in space how something functions and its state of being These ideas are all necessary to provide the context of Indigenous astronomy

To the Anishinaabe stars are animate because they move and have a spirit Spirituality plays a big part in the universe because of both movement and energy The Anishinaabek creator got hisher idea of creating the clans from the stars so everything starts with the stars Learning to understand the stars is extremely important in aiding to predict both the weather and seasonal migration and other activities

important in onersquos life For example in this part of the world we experience the four seasons which to many Indigenous were marked by key events

Fall Moose hunt procuring necessary food and materials to last through the WinterWinter storytelling and family time reconnecting with one anotherSpring breakup of the ice seasonal flooding and dangerSummer trapping and more leisure time

Significantly the constellations of the Ojibwe sky are filled with stories that speak to and around the key themes that gain dominance during a particular seasonrsquos night sky For example in the Fall sky there is the large constellation of a Moose which becomes the focus of the night sky at that time of the year Similarly the Fall was also the time of the Moose hunt in which many a person was involved in either the hunting or the harvesting of the Moose

Source httpswwwontarioparkscomparksblogindigenous-Astronomy Page 6 of 12 Stories in the stars Pride in our hearts - Parks Blog 2020-08-13

From editor ldquoOurrdquo constellation Pegasus the Flying Horse is seen as a Moose in Ojibwe sky lore -an example of a remarkable convergence of depictions More recently the Moose with wings legend has caught hold and not only in Canada eh so we have a Pegasus-Flying Moose analog

The following is from a post by Will Morin (Indigenous Studies Univ of Sudbury and Bruce Waters founder of Killarney Prov Pk Observatory

Indigenous astronomy

To understand the star stories of the Indigenous peoples we need to understand the geography of which we speak

The Indigenous peoples of the woodlands of North America were and are the Anishinaabek ldquopeople who were lowered [to Earth]rdquo To the south of them were and are the Haudenosaunee the ldquopeople of the long houserdquo (often known as the Iroquois)

Both cultural groups shared many cultural elements but were linguistically as different and diverse as the various European cultural groups Each group had many different tribal and dialect groupings within the diverse geography around the Great Lakes and beyond in all directions

There were Anishinaabek Ojibway Odawa Potawatami around the Great Lakes

Algonquian to the eastern woodlands and Cree to the north and west of the woodland and

the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Mohawk Oneida Onondaga Cayuga Seneca and Tuscarora in many communities southeast of the Great Lakes

SepOct 2020 pg 14Mars Uranus and Neptune Oppositions

Sky SightsS G N

BAS Viewing Events in SeptemberOctober

Viewing events at the Fox Observatory for September and October continue to be affected by Covid-19 restrictions None of the BAS equipment is being used at this time so it is a bring-your-own-scope situation Note also that there are no washrooms available on site and any in Wiarton or Hepworth are closed by 10 pm Dark of the Moon viewing nights are set for Sep 19 and Oct 17

Reminders of these viewing nights will come be email Maximum number of participants is 10 masks are recommended please bring hand sanitizer (and mosquito repellant) Contact John H by email if you are interested in attending

BAS ldquoZoomsrdquo Sep 2 and Oct 7 BAS will continue Zoom meetings for the Sep 2 and Oct 7 regular club sessions A recent survey indicated little interest in physical meetings at this time Lorraine will alert you as usual by email shortly ahead of time with a link and password to use to join the meeting It helps to download Zoom from this site httpszoomus

September 2020 Date GMT Event (subtract 4 hours from GMT for local EDT) 02 0522 FM rises locally at 939 pm EDT 06 0442 Mars 00degS of Moon Occrsquon visible in SAtlantic Africa

05deg apart at 11 pm locally Sep 5 06 0631 Moon at Apogee 405 606 km 09 1812 Aldebaran 42degS of Moon 10 0926 LQ Moon rises locally at 1129 pm EDT Sep 9 11 1900 Neptune at Opposition (magn= 78 disk = 24rdquo across) 13 0010 Venus 25degS of Beehive 13 0450 Pollux 43degN of Moon 14 0319 Beehive 18degS of Moon 14 0443 Venus 45degS of Moon 15 1551 Regulus 43degS of Moon 17 1100 NM rises locally at 701 pm EDT 18 1344 Moon at Perigee 359 081 km 19 0300 Mercury at Aphelion 22 0606 Mercury 03degN of Spica (Spica-Mercury 1deg apart 7 pm) 22 1027 Antares 60degS of Moon 22 1331 Autumnal Equinox (831 am EDT) 24 0155 FQ Moon rises locally at 243 pm EDT Sep 23 25 0646 Jupiter 16degN of Moon 25 2046 Saturn 23degN of Moon

October 2020 Date GMT Event 01 1600 Mercury at Greatest Elongation East 258degE 01 2105 FM rises locally at 726 pm EDT 02 1709 Venus 01degS of Regulus (26rsquo seprsquon at 3 am Oct 3) 03 0321 Mars 07degN of Moon Occn (1deg apart 1030 pm locally) 03 1722 Moon at Apogee 406 321 km 07 0102 Aldebaran 45degS of Moon 10 0039 LQ Moon rises locally at 1144 pm EDT Oct 9 10 1318 Pollux 41degN of Moon 11 1227 Beehive 21degS of Moon 13 0159 Regulus 45degS of Moon 13 2300 Mars at Opposition (magn= -26 disk = 226rdquo across) 13 2357 Venus 43degS of Moon 16 1931 NM rises locally at 710 pm EDT 16 2346 Moon at Perigee 356 913 km 19 1912 Antares 57degS of Moon 21 0500 Orionid Meteors 20h peak 1 am EDT Moon 26 22 1710 Jupiter 20degN of Moon 23 0349 Saturn 26degN of Moon 23 1323 FQ Moon rises locally at 319 pm EDT 25 1800 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction (not vis) 29 1613 Mars 30degN of Moon 30 1846 Moon at Apogee 406 393 km 30 2100 Venus at Perihelion 31 1449 FM rises locally at 634 pm EDT 31 1600 Uranus at Opposition (magn= 57 disk = 375rdquo across)

Planets farther from the Sun than Earth (exterior planets) reach opposition every year so it is no surprise that the other two gas giants Uranus and Neptune will do so along with Saturn and Jupiter in 2020 This dates are Sep 11 for Neptune and Oct 31 for Uranus Both are so far away from us that the fact they are brighter and larger is barely noticeable Uranus goes from 588 to 566 and increases in size from 34 to 38 arc-seconds across Neptune being farther away has a smaller range and goes from magnitude 796 and 22rdquo across to 781 and 24rdquo

On the other hand Mars will undergo a whopping change at opposition time compared to earlier and will become THE planet to watch this fall Six months ago Mars was a tiny 35rdquo across (Uranus-sized) and only magnitude 18 In six months Mars will increase to 226rdquo across and shine at a spectacular -262 outshining even Jupiter by a third of a magnitude On top of that and the main reason Mars is favoured this year is that it will be 50deg above the southern horizon well above the turbulent air near the ground

Is it any surprise then to readers that this issue of SGN has 4 pages devoted to Mars and we havenrsquot even mentioned the Mars probe Perseverance which is on its way to the Red Planet right now Landing is not due to Feb 2021 so there is still time to do an article or two on that mission Stay tuned

SepOct 2020 pg 14Mars Uranus and Neptune Oppositions

Sky SightsS G N

BAS Viewing Events in SeptemberOctober

Viewing events at the Fox Observatory for September and October continue to be affected by Covid-19 restrictions None of the BAS equipment is being used at this time so it is a bring-your-own-scope situation Note also that there are no washrooms available on site and any in Wiarton or Hepworth are closed by 10 pm Dark of the Moon viewing nights are set for Sep 19 and Oct 17

Reminders of these viewing nights will come be email Maximum number of participants is 10 masks are recommended please bring hand sanitizer (and mosquito repellant) Contact John H by email if you are interested in attending

BAS ldquoZoomsrdquo Sep 2 and Oct 7 BAS will continue Zoom meetings for the Sep 2 and Oct 7 regular club sessions A recent survey indicated little interest in physical meetings at this time Lorraine will alert you as usual by email shortly ahead of time with a link and password to use to join the meeting It helps to download Zoom from this site httpszoomus

September 2020 Date GMT Event (subtract 4 hours from GMT for local EDT) 02 0522 FM rises locally at 939 pm EDT 06 0442 Mars 00degS of Moon Occrsquon visible in SAtlantic Africa

05deg apart at 11 pm locally Sep 5 06 0631 Moon at Apogee 405 606 km 09 1812 Aldebaran 42degS of Moon 10 0926 LQ Moon rises locally at 1129 pm EDT Sep 9 11 1900 Neptune at Opposition (magn= 78 disk = 24rdquo across) 13 0010 Venus 25degS of Beehive 13 0450 Pollux 43degN of Moon 14 0319 Beehive 18degS of Moon 14 0443 Venus 45degS of Moon 15 1551 Regulus 43degS of Moon 17 1100 NM rises locally at 701 pm EDT 18 1344 Moon at Perigee 359 081 km 19 0300 Mercury at Aphelion 22 0606 Mercury 03degN of Spica (Spica-Mercury 1deg apart 7 pm) 22 1027 Antares 60degS of Moon 22 1331 Autumnal Equinox (831 am EDT) 24 0155 FQ Moon rises locally at 243 pm EDT Sep 23 25 0646 Jupiter 16degN of Moon 25 2046 Saturn 23degN of Moon

October 2020 Date GMT Event 01 1600 Mercury at Greatest Elongation East 258degE 01 2105 FM rises locally at 726 pm EDT 02 1709 Venus 01degS of Regulus (26rsquo seprsquon at 3 am Oct 3) 03 0321 Mars 07degN of Moon Occn (1deg apart 1030 pm locally) 03 1722 Moon at Apogee 406 321 km 07 0102 Aldebaran 45degS of Moon 10 0039 LQ Moon rises locally at 1144 pm EDT Oct 9 10 1318 Pollux 41degN of Moon 11 1227 Beehive 21degS of Moon 13 0159 Regulus 45degS of Moon 13 2300 Mars at Opposition (magn= -26 disk = 226rdquo across) 13 2357 Venus 43degS of Moon 16 1931 NM rises locally at 710 pm EDT 16 2346 Moon at Perigee 356 913 km 19 1912 Antares 57degS of Moon 21 0500 Orionid Meteors 20h peak 1 am EDT Moon 26 22 1710 Jupiter 20degN of Moon 23 0349 Saturn 26degN of Moon 23 1323 FQ Moon rises locally at 319 pm EDT 25 1800 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction (not vis) 29 1613 Mars 30degN of Moon 30 1846 Moon at Apogee 406 393 km 30 2100 Venus at Perihelion 31 1449 FM rises locally at 634 pm EDT 31 1600 Uranus at Opposition (magn= 57 disk = 375rdquo across)

Planets farther from the Sun than Earth (exterior planets) reach opposition every year so it is no surprise that the other two gas giants Uranus and Neptune will do so along with Saturn and Jupiter in 2020 This dates are Sep 11 for Neptune and Oct 31 for Uranus Both are so far away from us that the fact they are brighter and larger is barely noticeable Uranus goes from 588 to 566 and increases in size from 34 to 38 arc-seconds across Neptune being farther away has a smaller range and goes from magnitude 796 and 22rdquo across to 781 and 24rdquo

On the other hand Mars will undergo a whopping change at opposition time compared to earlier and will become THE planet to watch this fall Six months ago Mars was a tiny 35rdquo across (Uranus-sized) and only magnitude 18 In six months Mars will increase to 226rdquo across and shine at a spectacular -262 outshining even Jupiter by a third of a magnitude On top of that and the main reason Mars is favoured this year is that it will be 50deg above the southern horizon well above the turbulent air near the ground

Is it any surprise then to readers that this issue of SGN has 4 pages devoted to Mars and we havenrsquot even mentioned the Mars probe Perseverance which is on its way to the Red Planet right now Landing is not due to Feb 2021 so there is still time to do an article or two on that mission Stay tuned

Sky SightsPlanets

fall is not good Mercury-watching VENUS continues as Morning Star in September and October and passes close to the Moon again on Sep 14 as well as the Beehive Cluster It makes a very close approach to Regulus on Oct 2 in the wee hours of morning MARS (-18 to -262 on Oct 13) earlier and earlier as opposition approaches on Oct 13 Mars at opposition will be more than half-way to the zenith in elevation and should not be missed JUPITER (-22 by end of October) and SATURN (06) are past the meridian at sunset and setting well before midnight by month end Both are still good viewing URANUS (57) in Pisces and NEPTUNE (78) in Aquarius straddle Mars in dark evening skies throughout the fall Dwarf planet Ceres (86) stays in Aquarius east of Saturn and west of Mars throughout autumn Asteroid Vesta (79) passes through the Beehive Cluster Aug 28 Donrsquot miss it PLUTO (mag 143) stays close to Jupiter in SepOct skies Finder charts for Pluto in 2020 are on the BAS websiteThe table below gives the sunrisesunset times and the Sunrsquos altitude for dates in September and October The moon phase dates and moonrise times for Owen Sound are in the Astronomy Events listing on pg 14 Check httpswwwtimeanddatecom for precise Moon and Sun rise and set times for your location

MERCURY is in the evening sky in September but so low on the horizon to be impossible to see It passes between us and Sun Oct 22 This

SepOct 2020 pg 15

Sunriseset times Owen Sound 44deg35lsquoN 80deg55rsquoW Times in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) Vernal Equinox is due at 930 am EDT Sep 22Date Rise Noon altitude Set Sep 10 857 am 500deg 742 pm Sep 20 709 am 462deg 723 pm Sep 30 721 am 423deg 705 pm Oct 10 733 am 384deg 647 pm Oct 20 746 am 348deg 630 pm Oct 30 759 am 314deg 614 pm Data from wwwtimeanddatecom

751 AU to Earth113 Billion km

1117 AU to Earth168 Billion km

Venus and the Beehive Cluster are near a thin last crescent Moon in the morning sky Sep 14 Venus is travelling eastwards (down and to the left) and is under 25deg from M44 from Sep 12 to 14 This scene is for Sep 14 at 5 am The Moon and planets pass through Cancer regularly and M44 being only a degree from the ecliptic is often visited by solar system objects You may recall Venus visited the Pleiades just last April M45 too is close to the ecliptic -only 4deg away

Orionid Meteors appear in the evening of Oct 2021 and peak at 1 am Oct 21 Under best conditions 20 per hour are expected and although the Moon sets by 930 pm the radiant in Orion does not rise for an other hour thus numbers will be reduced Orionids are the 2nd fastest meteors at 67 kms swifter than Perseids at 60 kms but not Leonids at 71 kms

Five Planets appear over 110deg of ecliptic in mid-October The four gas giants and three rocky planets Mars P luto and Ceres are all on the same side of the solar system All but P l u t o c a n b e s p o t t e d w i t h binoculars and you can catch Venus in the morning sky as well Sadly Mercury is too close to the Sun to be seen at this time

Beehive M44

bull Venus

The Miscellaneous Page SepOct 2020 pg 16S G N

SGN Classified

Ads Section See also For Sale page

wwwjohns-astronomycom

More Thanksgiving Aurora

BAS Member Loaner ScopesBAS telescopes temporarily not

available BAS equipment is currently not being

made available for loan BAS exec continues to assess the situation with respect to Covid-19 and email notice will be given if the situation changes Thanks for your understanding at this

unusual time

FOR SALE NEW PRICE 125 inch f6 Dobsonian Homebuilt by experienced telescope maker in 1980 See Sep 2014 SGN pg 9 for build details Truss tube design with full thickness Coulter mirror -one of their best recently re-aluminized Focuser and secondary mirrorspider is a Novak unit Alt-azimuth mount (34-inch ply) is a nice wood grain finish with coating of Varathane This is a large telescope and probably would be happy in a relatively permanent location but is portable if you have lots of trunk space Loading into and out of a car trunk is easier with two people Can be seen at the Fox Observatory Asking $759 but willing to negotiate Contact John H at 519-371-0670 or stargazerjohnrogerscom

Contact stargazerjohnrogerscom for any of these items See the complete list on wwwjohns-astronomycom For Sale page

Meade full aperture glass solar filter (925rdquo ID) -orangeyellow image (equivalent to Thousand Oaks Type 2 Glass filter) asking $40

Two-inch mirror diagonal plus adapter for C-8rsquo or Meade SCTs $80

RackampPinion Focuser 1-frac12rdquo suitable for dobsonian reflector Long focus range Asking $30

Meade 2x-3x variable Barlow (125rdquo) asking $20

Tube rings Two sizes avail One to fit 5rdquo and one for 6 inch tubes Clamshell-type that open up and clamp down with knurled knobs Asking $20 either set

Tirion Sky Atlas 20000 contains 26 charts covering the whole sky and showing 81312 single multiple and variable stars of magnitude 85 and up with 2700 deep-sky objects Asking $60

Meade illum reticle (double cross-hair) 15 V reqrsquod $25

Logitech QuickCam Express USB video cam Model V-UB2 (video res 640x480 asking $10

Above Lumicon off-axis guider body -nylon screw fittings $25