PizzaGram

Subject: PizzaGram - July 10, 2004 Star Party

Arc to Arcturus, Spike to Spica, and Pass to (me) Pizza!

Greetings Fellow Stargazer,

Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the face of the
earth: 2,390 miles from California; 3,850 miles from Japan; 4,900
miles from China; 5,280 miles from the Philippines! It takes five
hours by jet to get here today from the South Pacific or from the
U.S. mainland. Imagine what time it took for a sailing craft from the
South Pacific, headed north to an unknown destination. For the
modern air traveler, the islands suddenly jump out, magically and
improbably in the middle of the sea. Imagine the intense emotions of
a Marquesan about 250-400 A.D. who spotted land after 30 days at sea
during a voyage into the unknown.

Honolulu's zenith star (the star that rises directly above it), is
called Arcturus and was one of the major navigational tools the
ancient voyagers used to find Hawaii. When it travels directly
overhead and the North Star is 21 degrees about the horizon, you can
stop paddling and look for us at the Star Party.

The Hawaiians call Arcturus, Hokulea (hoe koo lay uh). Hokulea means
"Star of Joy". It is the fourth brightest star in the sky: 1st is
Serius, then Canopus, next is Rigil Kentaurus and then come our ole
friend Arcturus.

If Arcturus is the brightest star shining very high in
the southwest after dark then it's Vega shining brightest
high in the east. Look a third of the way from Arcturus
to Vega for the dim semicircle of the constellation
Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown or as I call it,
"Gary's Half of Pizza".

Well... speaking of Pizza, bring a couple of halves to this
month's Star Party, and I will point out Corona Borealis to
you! Sooo... join us for the July 10th Star Party at Dillingham
Air Field and bring at least a half of Pizza with you!!!

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Star Party Invitation for July 10th
Sponsored by the Hawaiian Astronomical Society
http://www.hawastsoc.org
Dillingham Airfield - before sunset (7:18 pm)
(Star Party Directions are at the end of this message)
Bring:
http://bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/...7/julsky03.jpg

Here is where I go to check the weather on a Star Party Night:

http://www.wunderground.com/radar/ra...&scale=1&noclu
tter=0&ID=HMO&type=N0R&lat=0&lon=0&label=you

If it is clear, you will be able to see many astronomical sights.
It's now that time of year to see the Hercules Globular Cluster,
Jupiter, Arcturus, the Summer Triangle, as well as many other
heavenly sights!

If you won't be in Hawaii, fear not. Check this link for a Star
Party near you!

http://SkyandTelescope.com/resources/organizations/
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If you miss this month's HAS Star Party then join us at the next:

***** 2004 *****
August 7th
September 18th
October 16th
November 6th
December 4th

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Time to Take a Quiz!

http://hubble.uhh.hawaii.edu/quiz/shortquiz.html
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ARCTURUS (Alpha Bootis)

Among the very brightest of stars, shining with a soft orange light,
it is Arcturus that lights our summer skies. It is one of three
luminaries that partition the northern sky into very rough thirds,
the others being summer's Vega and winter's Capella. Of the three,
Arcturus, the Alpha star of the constellation Bootes, the Herdsman,
is slightly the brighter, making it the brightest star of the
northern hemisphere and the fourth brightest star of the entire sky,
following only Sirius, Canopus, and Alpha Centauri. Arcturus, the
"Bear Watcher," follows Ursa Major, the Great Bear, around the pole,
"arktos" being the Greek name for "bear," from which our word
"arctic" is derived by reference with the constellation of the
Greater Bear.

Arcturus is located at a distance of 37 light years, and became
famous when its light was used to open the 1933 world's fair in
Chicago, as that light had left the star at about the time of the
previous Chicago fair in 1893. It is a classic orange class K (K1)
giant star with a precisely defined surface temperature of 4290
degrees Kelvin. To the eye, it shines 113 times more brightly than
our Sun. Its lower temperature, however, causes it to radiate
considerable energy in the infrared. When this infrared radiation is
taken into account, Arcturus actually shines almost twice as
brightly, releasing 215 times more radiation than our Sun, from which
we find a diameter 26 times solar, about a quarter the size of
Mercury's orbit.

Arcturus is close and large enough so that its angular diameter of
0.0210 seconds of arc can easily be measured, leading to a very
similar direct determination of 25 times the solar dimension and
providing nice confirmation of stellar parameters. Arcturus has a
velocity relative to the Sun that is higher than other bright stars.
Compared with the set of surrounding stars, which orbit the Galaxy on
more or less circular orbits, it falls behind by about 100 kilometers
per second (as do several others of the "Arcturus Group"). The
lagging movement has long suggested that the star comes from an older
population of the Galaxy. Consistently, it is somewhat deficient in
metals, having only about 20 percent as much iron relative to
hydrogen as found in the Sun. A more intriguing suggestion is that
the star actually comes to us from a small galaxy that merged with
ours some 5 to 8 billion years ago. As a giant, weighing in at around
1.5 times the mass of the Sun, it has ceased the fusion of hydrogen
in its core. Though it is somewhat brighter than we would expect for
a stable helium fusing star, helium fusion to carbon has probably
already begun. Such stars are not expected to have magnetic activity
like the Sun, but very weak X-ray emission suggests that Arcturus
indeed is magnetically active and has a hard-to-observe "buried
corona."

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Boötes

Some say that Boötes is the most ancient constellation in the sky.
Indeed, it has been recognized by numerous cultures in slightly
different forms. Even the Greeks were not clear on its history. The
first reference to the name Boötes comes from "The Odyssey" by Homer
almost three millennia ago.

In one of his most popular incarnations, he is called the Hunter
and, with his Hounds (Canes Venatici), he eternally circles the
Bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, around the North Pole. In fact, the
brightest star in Boötes is Arcturus, which can be loosely translated
as "Bear Guard."

He is also called the Herdsman and his journey around the pole
represents his task of keeping the celestial beasts together. Just
like my bordercollie dog, Hoku, who rounds up pizzas for me.

There is no single definitive myth associated with this
constellation, but it seems to have impressed early civilizations
with its resemblance to a human torso (a kite-like shape, sometimes
with legs or a raised arm). The most ancient associations from the
area of the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East are that of
herdsman, cart driver, and plowman. In Greek literature, the name
Boötes (thought to be derived from ox-driver or herder) is mentioned
in Homer's Odyssey in a long and complicated multi-generational
story of intrigue. The story starts with newborn twins, whose father
was Poseidon, who were abandoned on Mt. Pelion to die and later
rescued and raised by a herdsman. One of the twins was named Boeotus
and went on to be reclaimed by his maternal grandfather and to
inherit part of his kingdom. An Egyptian legend saw Boötes as a
guardian goddess in the form of a Hippopotamus who kept the evil
pole stars under control. An Arab legend saw the same pole stars as
a flock of sheep herded by Boötes.

Yet another Greek myth says that he was the son of Demeter, the
goddess of agriculture. Supposedly he was given a place in the sky
for inventing the plow. They saw Ursa Major as a plow, and saw the
human figure in Boötes as the person who first taught plowing and
agriculture to humans. In that story, the knowledge of agriculture
is given to humans by Demeter through a herder named Triptolemus.
Demeter rewards him for identifying Hades as the kidnapper of her
daughter Core (also known as Persephone).

The Romans saw the stars of Ursa Major as both the Triones, a
mythical group of oxen, and a plow, and saw the figure in Boötes as
the ox driver and ploughman.

Other Greek legends regard the figure in Boötes as a keeper or
driver or chaser of bears, represented by the constellations Ursa
Major and Ursa Minor. The most prominent star in Boötes is the 4th
brightest star in the sky, an orange-yellow giant known as Arcturus,
which means "guardian of the bears". Arcturus was an alternate name
of this constellation. It is not clear which came first, seeing Ursa
Major and Minor as bears, or the idea of the star Arcturus as a
guardian of bears. In any case, versions of the legend of Callisto
and her son Arcas, one or both of whom were transformed into bears
and placed in the sky by Zeus, are associated with Boötes. Later, in
the 17th Century, the astronomer Hevelius created two bear-hunting
dogs for Boötes with the constellation Canes Venatici.

In a completely different interpretation, ancient Chinese
astronomers also placed significance on Arcturus. They saw the star
as one of the horns of a giant dragon in a large constellation that
stretched from Boötes to the constellation Virgo. The full moon
appearing near Arcturus was a sign of the new Chinese year.
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The Wanderers (The Planets) this Month

Mercury and Mars are very deep in the glow of sunset.
Using binoculars, look for them a little above the
west-northwest horizon about 50 minutes after sundown.

Venus is coming into view low in the glow of dawn.
Look for it above the east-northeast horizon about
45 to 60 minutes before sunrise. It's getting a little
higher every morning. Use binoculars to look for much
fainter Aldebaran just 1° or 2° to Venus's right or
lower right all week.

Jupiter shines brightly rather low in the west during
and after twilight. Look for much fainter Regulus to
its lower right, by more than a fist-width at arm's
length. Jupiter sets around 11:30 p.m. daylight saving time.

Saturn is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

Uranus and Neptune are well up in the southeast by 1 a.m.
daylight saving time.

Pluto (magnitude 14, in Serpens Cauda) is high in
the south after dark.

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Annual Meteor Showers

Quadrantids: January
Virginids: March/April
Lyrids: April
Scorpiids: May
Delta Aquarids: July
Perseids August
Piscids: September
Orionids: October
Leonids: November
Geminids: December

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Find what is moving overhead after sunset:
http://www.bester.com/
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/RealTim.../JTrack3d.html

Check out when the next Iridium Satellite is available for you to
see:
http://www.heavens-above.com/Neighbo...PlaceID=593409
(for non Oahu Star Gazers...)
http://www.heavens-above.com/selectt...p?CountryID=US

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Check out:
http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/12months/m-jul-i.html

and bring the above list...

As for the rest of the Messiers, check out
http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/messier.html It also has a link to:

http://www.hawastsoc.org/messier/index.html
(all the Messier Objects as photographed by HAS's local Jay Wrathall)

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Star Party Directions
(http://www.hawastsoc.org/directions/dillingham.html)

To reach the Dillingham observing site, take the H2 to the end at
Schofield Barracks. Drive past Schofield and follow the signs to
Waialua. At the Y intersection at Waialua, bear left and pass under
the bridge. Drive out of town a few miles until you reach Dillingham
Airfield. Dillingham is several miles long. It has three gates. You
need to drive to the far end to the third gate (marked as Gate 1 on
the color map). When you enter the gate, the road will curve left
behind some hangars. It will then take you through a very sharp S
curve. 1/4 mile beyond that is a stop sign in the middle of nowhere.
Turn right at the stop sign, and you will be there. You can find me
by looking for the big red telescope in the corner with a table with
lots of pizza on it.

You will need to reach the site before sunset in order to find the
gate open!!!

A few words on light. We try to maintain dark conditions at the site.
Therefore we have certain rules about light. First, no white
flashlights. The only flashlights that you should use are not too
bright, red ones.

When entering and exiting the site, do not use headlights. Some cars
now can't turn off their headlights. If you have a car like that
please park nearer the windsock then the telescopes. Point it away
from the telescopes. Headlights make you lose your night vision for
up to 30 minutes. It immediately ruins any astro photography that
might be in progress.

Bring some warm clothes, something to sit on, some real powerful bug
spray, a dim or red covered flashlight and some munches to share with
your friends.

Remember there is an absolute need to remain clear of the runway, and
anyone attending the star party needs to remain in the immediate star
party area. Do not be wandering around in areas where we are not
permitted. Especially near any planes (parked or moving)!
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Bishop Museum Planetarium Happenings

Daily Planetarium schedule:
(808) 848-4136 for pre-recorded sky information and planetarium
schedule.

11:30 a.m.Ý Explorers of the International Space Station (45 Minutes)
12:20 p.m.Ý Explorers of Polynesia (in Japanese , 30 Minutes)
1:00 p.m.Ý The Sky Tonight (in English, 45 Minutes)
3:30 p.m.Ý Explorers of Polynesia (in English, 45 Minutes)

The Sky Tonight, an hour-long sky talk with Sam Rhoads, occurs on
the first Monday, at 7:00 PM. Reservations are necessary, since Sam¼s
shows often fill. $4 for adults, $3 for kids, free to Bishop Museum
members and Hawaiian Astronomical Society members. Reservations for
The Sky Tonight: 848-4168.

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After Dark with Stars in the Park
Waikele Community Park
OR... Kahala Park
(Weather permitting)

***** 2004 *****
July 24th
August 21st
September 25th
October 23rd
November 20th
December 18th

FROM DUSK to 9:30 PM
Bring your children! Tell your friends!

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Visit the cosmos via:

The HAS HomePage: http://www.hawastsoc.org/ or go to
(or show up at meeting 7:30pm first Tue of month)
and check out the Bishop Museum Planetarium Home Page
http://www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/
and the Institute for Astronomy Colloquia/Seminars
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/
http://apollo-society.org/launchpad39_A.html
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Keep Looking Sky Ward...Gary Ward

http://homepage.mac.com/macyoda/PhotoAlbum6.html
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"The computer is to the mind as the amplifier is to sound."
Paul Maurer
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A day without sunshine is like night!
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