stronomy Wise Newsletter

May Edition

Transit of Venus

Interview

Titan - A moon with a difference

Dr Karen Masters

Jason Ives Saturn

In The News

Young Astronomer

www.Astronomy-Wise.com

The Night Sky by Derek Shirlaw

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Transit of Venus
2012 June 5th-6thTransit of Venus A rare opportunity will occur starting on Tuesday June 5th where Venus will appear as a dark disc as it moves between the Earth and the sun. This final stage can be viewed from the UK in the early hours of Wednesday 6th June.

The transit begins at 23:03 on the 5th and ends at 05:53 on the 6th. In the UK it can be viewed as the sun rises on the eastern horizon.

Ref: Green Templeton College, Oxford Safety: Do not look at the sun directly please use suitable equipment, for safe viewing check out your local Astronomy Club for advice.

Fred Espenak writes:

2012 June 5th-6th Transit of Venus

The global visibility of the 2012 transit is illustrated with the world map. The entire transit (all four contacts) is visible from northwestern North America, Hawaii, the western Pacific, northern Asia, Japan, Korea, eastern China, Philippines, eastern Australia, and New Zealand. The Sun sets while the transit is still in progress from most of North America, the Caribbean, and northwest South America. Similarly, the transit is already in progress at sunrise for observers in central Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and eastern Africa,. No portion of the transit will be visible from Portugal or southern Spain, western Africa, and the southeastern 2/3 of South America. Image Credit: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/venus/Map2012-1.GIF

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Cassini Finds Titan Lake ScienceDaily (Apr. 20, 2012) A new study analyzing data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that the lake, known as Ontario Lacus, behaves most similarly to what we call a salt pan on Earth. A group led by Thomas Cornet of the Universit de Nantes, France, a Cassini associate, found evidence for long-standing channels etched into the lake bed within the southern boundary of the depression.

This suggests that Ontario Lacus, previously thought to be completely filled with liquid hydrocarbons, could actually be a depression that drains and refills from below, exposing liquid areas ringed by materials like saturated sand or mudflats. More at Science Daily www.sciencedaily.com

Above Image A recent study finds that the lake known as Ontario Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan bears striking similarity to a salt pan on Earth known as the Etosha Pan . (Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech and NASA/ USGS)

The Night Sky by Derek Shirlaw

This month we have sky notes from Derek Shirlaw. Derek got a BSc Science Studies from University of Strathclyde . As well as astronomy Derek has a strong passion for science and nature. He as worked as a Science Communicator, and then Senior Science Communicator at the internationally renowned Glasgow Science Centre since the spring of 2006 . I would like to thank Derek for allowing the use of his material. For further information on Derek Shirlaw science and other stuff of wonder please visit www.derekshirlaw.co.uk

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Titan: A moon with a difference By D Bood

With Saturn now in the evening night sky, it is a delightful object to view with your telescope. Saturn with its array of rings and 60 plus moons is a true wonder to behold. There is one moon of interest which I want to talk about this month, and that is Titan. What makes it interesting? Well the fact it has an atmosphere. This alien world which is the second largest moon in our solar system has rivers, lakes and rainfall. The moon itself is composed of rocky material and water ice, however the water ice is has hard as the rock itself. It is possible Titan holds onto its atmosphere because of its location in the solar system. Its in the cold region where the Gas giants orbit, if it had been closer to the sun, the chances are the solar winds may have stripped the moon of its atmosphere. It is thought Mars lost its atmosphere because of its mass, and was unable to hold onto its atmosphere, due to its gravity and the solar winds.

The Atmosphere
Titans atmosphere shows similar signs to that of Earth, its atmosphere is said to be 98.4% nitrogen where on Earth its is 80%. There is a circulation system which on Earth it is liquid water on Titan it is liquid methane and ethane. Titan and Earth have weather systems with rainfall, however the rain on Titan is that of Methane and not Water. The Cassini spacecraft has chronicled changes in season and cloud formation. The northern hemisphere as found to be wetter then the southern, although the southern has heavier rain storms. Atmosphere make up Stratosphere Nitrogen 98.4% Methane 1.4% Other 0.2%

An artist impression of Titans surface

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This month we have an interview with Dr Karen Masters. Dr Karen Masters a small bio. Dr Masters is a Research Fellow working at the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, and that I'm funded by The Leverhulme Trust (via an Early Career Fellowship) and the South East Physics Network (SEPNet). Images Credit: University of Portsmouth

Dr. Masters kindly agreed to answer some questions about herself and about some of the work she carries out. Ref: AW = Astronomy Wise KM = DR K Masters AW: When did you first become interested in Astronomy and Science? KM: Maths and science were almost from the start my favourite subjects at school, and I first got interested in astronomy as a young teenager. I cant date the exact start of it, but I used to collect newspaper clippings of astronomy stories in a scrapbook. I have a clear memory of the Hubble Deep Field being published (1996), and my scepticism over news about the accelerated expansion of the Universe (results from 1998 which recently won the Nobel Prize). I was also keen on the space program. I wrote to NASA for a brochure on how to be an astronaut, and I insisted we include Cape Canaveral in a family trip to Florida when I was about 15.

AW: family think of your career choice? KM: My mother is a biology teacher, and my father did some training in Engineering and works as an accountant. Every member of my immediate family has an Alevel qualification in Physics. So I think it wasnt a surprise to them that I would want to do something scientific, and they were very proud when I was offered a place to study Physics at Oxford University. However, noone in my family before me had done a PhD, so I think there was some concern about that particularly over how I would support myself through it and especially when I announced I was going to do it in the USA. Its perhaps not widely known that postgraduate students working towards PhDs can almost always expect some financial support, either via student fellowships, or by teaching/research assistantships. They may not be paid well, but its enough for most people to live off, so I was able to be financially independent from that point, which reassured them. I think theyre quite proud of my achievements in astronomy (especially they like it when my research appears in the news). However they do still worry (quite reasonably probably!) about the fact Im still on temporary contracts now 12 years after starting my PhD, and now with two small children (and a husband) in tow. AW: What do you find most interesting in your field of work? KM: Ive always been most fascinated by galaxies. They make absolutely stunning images, and when you think about what they actually are immense collections of billions of stars like our Sun I find them even more amazing. I enjoy trying to figure out how they formed, and I find it fascinating that they can also be used to help us understand the properties of the Universe as a whole. AW: What projects are you currently working on? Cont. Next Page

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Dr Karen Master Interview Cont. KM: I spend most of my time working on various research projects in which we use the morphologies from the Galaxy Zoo project as clues to how galaxies form. Most of my own research time lately has been looking at the impact of bars on disc galaxies from the Galaxy Zoo 2 data. Im also using information on the atomic hydrogen gas content (fuel for future star formation) of the galaxies from a radio survey called ALFALFA. I also have a PhD student of my own to supervise now, and hes been using morphologies from Galaxy Zoo: Hubble (where the galaxies are much, much further away), to look at how bars in disc galaxies change over cosmic time. And Im a co-author on a lot of other studies using Galaxy Zoo data. Ill read and offer advice on the papers, and help with understanding the data etc. AW:What is Galaxy Zoo all about? Galaxy Zoo was initiated out of a desire to have reliable visual classification of 1 million galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. That was just too many for astronomers to look at themselves, so researchers Kevin Schawinski, Chris Lintott and Kate Land at Oxford had this idea to make an internet tool and ask members of the public to help. It turned out much more popular than they ever imagined, and spawned an entire Zooniverse of projects in all areas of science which invite participated of citizen scientists. The Zooniverses philosophy is that projects only work where real science comes out. So each project has a science team focussed on using the data from the citizen scientists. In Galaxy Zoo weve now published more than 30 peer reviewed papers, something Im immensely proud to have helped with. AW: What is the LOFAR project?
KM:

KM: LOFAR stands for the LOw Frequency Array. Its a software driven radio telescope array made up of thousands of simple antennas spread right across Europe. Its run by ASTRON in The Netherlands, and the western most antennas in the array are located not far from where Im sitting right now at the Chilbolton Observatory in Hampshire. LOFAR-UK is a collaboration of 22 universities in the UK, along with the Science and Technologies Research Council, and the South East Physics Network, which build and runs the collection of LOFAR antennas (called a the LOFAR UK608 station) in Chilbolton. I work at Portsmouth University, which is a member of that collaboration, and due to our proximity to Chilbolton, we volunteered to help with the installation of the antennas (along with Southampton, and Oxford University), which happened in the summer of 2010. At around the same time I volunteered to be the LOFAR-UK Spokesperson, and I run the online presence of LOFAR-UK, and help with media enquiries and co-ordinating public outreach for LOFAR-UK. Scientifically Im interested in the allsky imaging surveys that LOFAR will do. Because the radio array is so vast, LOFAR images will have resolution almost as good as the Hubble Space Telescope, even with metre size radio waves! Im excited about what a Galaxy Zoo: LOFAR might tell us about the shapes of nearby galaxies seen in radio waves (which reveals the sites of star formation among other things). While most of the antennas are now in place, LOFAR is predominantly a software/computing telescope. It requires complex algorithms running on a supercomputer to process the data from the thousands of antennas and turn them into images. So while data is already being taken

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Question From Neil Samples Scarborough

for the all-sky survey it may be some time before we see the full results of what LOFAR can do. I cant wait! NS: We've had Hubble with the amazing telescope pictures and we've had the large hadron collider with the neutrino's now NOT going faster than the speed of light, what is the next BIG thing that will hit the astronomy world? KM: Well I think it might be a detection of what dark matter actually is (or isnt). Theres been a lot of tantalizing results suggesting a detection of dark matter might be just around the corner. And if it turns out not to be there, that will be huge too, because it might just mean that our model for gravity is broken on the scales of galaxies. Theres a lot of people working on alternative models for gravity in Portsmouth which I find fascinating. And Finally AW: Finally what advice would you give to someone leaving school this year and looking to start a career in Science/ Astronomy? KM: Go for it! A sciencebased degree will give you a fantastic training in sceptical thinking and quantitative skills. >>>

>>We live in a data driven world now, and astronomy has a long history in leading the way dealing with large volumes of data.

Images Credit: University of Portsmouth Useful Links http://www.galaxyzoo.org/ http://www.lofar.org/ http://icg.port.ac.uk/ ~mastersk/

Get a degree in a basic science (or Maths) from the best university you can get into. Do internships in your summer breaks to get experience working in various types of science/astronomy (e.g. industrial firm, research experience in a university etc.). Then think seriously about doing a PhD. Theres no need to rush into it some of the best PhD students are those whove spent a couple of years working in the real world or as physics teachers. A PhD is a requirement now for doing professional research in astronomy, but there are lots of people working in other areas of astronomy (such as science communication, telescope operation) who do not have PhDs. If you do decide to go for it, an academic/research science career will take a long time to develop. Temporary contracts are now the norm for young scientists up to 10 years or more after starting their PhDs, with no guarantee of a permanent job at the end of it. But think about the fun youll have along the way! Ive travelled to Chile, Australia, all over the USA (and soon China for the 2012 International Astronomical Union Meeting) as part of my job, and Ive got to visit all sorts of fascinating telescopes (and even helped build one). Whatever the future brings that was all amazing! Astronomy wise would like to thank Dr Karen Masters for her time, I am sure people will be inspired by Karens words and for any young budding astronomer it is possible to follow your dreams. We wish Karen all the success in the future on her current and new projects.

Saturn by Jason Iv
Fun Fun Facts Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system, and more than 750 Earths could fit inside of it. Saturn is the only planet less dense than water, and it weighs only 95 times as much as Earth. This means it would float, if you could find a body of water big enough. It takes Saturn about 29 years to orbit the Sun, but a little less than 11 hours to rotate completely. During opposition, Saturn lies about 800 million miles (1.3 billion kilometers) from Earth. From Saturn, the Sun appears 1 percent as bright as it does from Earth. Saturns quick rotation flattens it slightly, Saturns famous rings tilt at an angle of 27.3 with respect to its orbit. They can be as thin as 33 feet (10 meters) thick, and are made almost entirely of ice. Saturn is host to a variety of famous moons, including the Earth-like moon Titan, the Death Star moon Mimas, the erupting moon Enceladus, and the two-faced moon Iapetus. Saturns odd weather systems have created an unusually regular hexagon at the north pole, one of the most curious features in the solar system.

Facts
Saturn has been known since prehistoric times, Galileo was the first to observe it with a telescope in 1610, he noted its odd appearance but was confused by it

ves
Fun Fun Facts Saturn dazzles all night long, may skies feature the ringed world and its many moons. Saturn peaks this month when it lies opposite the Sun in our sky and shines brightly in central Virgo, Saturn's rings are now wider than they've been since 2007, giving astronomers great views through telescopes of all sizes. The planet rises in the east at sunset and is easily noticeable within the constellation of Virgo as the only starlike object not twinkling in the constellation, And will continue to be visible until sunrise. As every opposition occurs when the Earth lies closest to Saturn, the planet appears bigger and brighter than at other times. Looking at Saturn through a telescope never disappoints but itll be especially stunning this month as The planets disk will appear noticeably flattened due to the gas giants speedy rotation. Be sure to check the world for any storm systems last year observers spotted a distinct white spot that grew more elongated as time passed and Saturns unique ring system will tip about 14 to our line of sight, allowing for a great view of its fine details, the-rings alone will make you glad you set up your telescope. Around the middle of the month the rings will span more than double the width of the planets disk. Although it will share the celestial spotlight with Mars and Venus throughout the night, spotting Saturn in Virgo should be no trouble. The best views will occur around 1 in the morning when the planet hits maximum altitude, due south and about halfway to the zenith.Its disk and rings should show up clearly through even the smallest telescopes. Observers will require slightly larger scopes to spot another part of the saturnian system: its variety of moons. The biggest and brightest is Titan, which orbits Saturn once every 16 days. With a 4-inch scope or better, Tethys, Dione, and Rhea will show up near the ringed world, all within Titans orbit. And an 8-inch or larger scope will reveal Enceladus, which stays near the rings outer edges. Whether you want to look at a gas giant, its rings, or its moons in detail, Saturns got it covered this month, make sure you dont miss it. If anyone has any difficulties in locating the planet or the virgo constellation. Please don't hesitate to contact us at astronomy wise we will quick have you out and about observing this fantastic celestial giant and its partners. Clear skies to you all, Jason Ives

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The Night Sky In May 2012

Mercury can be found in the early morning sky during the first part of May. By the end of the month though itll have reached superior conjunction (itll be on the opposite side of the Sun from us). Theres some great unprecedented imagary and data coming back from NASAs MESSENGER project which is in orbit around the closest planet to the Sun. If youve been watching the evening sky regularly over the past few months, youll have noticed Venus getting progressively higher in the sky at the same time each night. However, by 16th May that will be changing as the planet appears to come to a stop in the sky before getting increasingly lower in the sky at the same time each night such that come June 5th itll be in transit across the Sun. This to-ing and fro-ing in the sky happens as Venus is catching up on Earth and will undertake us on its orbit around the Sun. Jupiter reaches conjunction on 13th May and will therefore be on the opposite side to the Sun from us and well out of our view. Its on its way to being a planet that rises in the morning just before the Sun one for the very early birds! Easily to find in the constellation of Leo this month, is Mars. The red planet is due South by about 20:00, but not really visible till around 21:30 because of the brightness of the setting Sun. Saturn remains in the constellation of Virgo, close to the bright star Spica. Its due South around 23:00 and forms a nice line with Arcturus and Spica as shown in the image a little further down the page. The outermost planets Uranus and Neptune arent visible to the naked eye.
For More details please visit http://www.derekshirlaw.co.uk/how-the-sky-looks-in-may-2012/

The following article has been republished with permission from an original post by Derek Shirlaw.

A foray into explaining some areas of science.

Astronomy The scientific study of the Universe and the objects it contains including stars, planets, nebulae and galaxies. Find out more about Astronomy: Stars, Planets, Galaxies, Nebulae Biology The science of life and living things. Find out more about Biology: Life, Cells, Genetics, Minibeasts Chemistry The science of matter, its composition and properties. Find out more about Chemistry: Atoms, Carbon, Acids & Alkalis, Solid, Liquid, Gas & Plasma Physics The science of the interactions between matter and energy. Find out more about Physics: Forces, Motion, Energy, Laws www.derekshirlaw.co.uk

This Month!
May 6 Full Moon (03:35) May 5 + 6 Eta Aquarid meteor shower maximum (10/hr). Moon 98% May12 Last quarter Moon (21:47) May13 Jupiter at conjunction May 20 Annular eclipse of the Sun visible from Asia, Pacific and N. America May 20 New Moon (23:47) May 22 Conjunction of Jupiter and Mercury (0.4) May 27 Mercury in superior conjunction May 28 First quarter Moon (20:16)

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Edward Dutton Logo Designers and newsletter format

Im an 18 year old student studying Graphic Products, Geography and Physics at college in North Yorkshire (Northallerton College). My life dreams are to create and architectural and engineering team to design the first buildings for other planets. This is so we could sustain life on other planets when the technology is available if not, they travel to a LEDC (less economic developed country) and help set up sustainable communities. Final Thought I would like to thank Edd for his efforts and interest in Astronomy Wise

Mays Featured Astronomer As with any interest or hobby attracting young people is key to developing our astronomical hobby. With such people as Professor Brian Cox, who perhaps appeal to the younger generations, have made astronomy more popular over the last few years. Stargazing live (BBC) as opened up astronomy to more and more people. This month we have a Young astronomer, who as well as getting out there with his telescope, runs a blog and as taken a shine to astrophotography. Alex Wetton I was vaguely interested in astronomy about a year ago when I got my first telescope, a 60mm Argos refractor but when I saw the sky at night TV programme in November that was when

Im best when I do things that I enjoy so doing that; I hope would be successful as a career. After college I am planning on going to Northumbria University to study Architectural Technology. I have an increasing interest in Astronomy. The more I learn the more I want to learn so getting involved and reading something like Astronomy Wises articles really floats my boat if you get me. His talents do not end there, Edd is also keenly into illustration and from that he produced the new logo. Finally, Edd likes to relax and like many others; play console games. Edd is a big Halo fan.

I became a lot more interested in astronomy. In march I got a skywatcher explorer 130 for my birthday and I have been very impressed with it, so far I have been able to see the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and a star cluster and I was amazed what a difference the extra aperture on my new scope made. In the future I hope to be able to see Saturn and some of the messier objects, recently I have started astrophotography by using a simple Sony Cybershot camera. Since being more involved in astronomy, I have joined various forums and started an astronomy blog.
alisastronomy.blogspot.co.uk

And Finally...

A special thanks to all that have helped with the May edition of the Astronomy Wise newsletter. Credits: Dave Bood: Editor Edward Dutton: Logo and Layout Design Derek Shirlaw: The night sky notes Jason Ives: Saturn Dr Karen Masters: Taking the time to produce answers to our questions Alex Wetton: Young Astronomer interview

Disclaimer: As far as reasonably practicable all information is used with the owners permission. Where research has been carried out references are made to the sources used. Please contact me if you feel your work has been infringed. Astronomy Wise is a non profitable organisation. The newsletter may be downloaded and printed for free. Content in the newsletter may not be reproduced without written consent . Words and images belong to the respective owners. Astronomy Wise If you would like to be featured in our newsletter please email us at dbood@astronomy-wise.com

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