[CMAS] Fw: Perseid Meteor Shower

[Colin Caissie]

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From: Rick Chase <starchaser1000 at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, August 3, 2018 6:14 AM
To: ;
Subject: Perseid Meteor Shower

Hi Everyone,

It is almost time for the annual Perseid Meteor Shower.  With that in mind, here is an advance notice from Terry, concerning the Perseid Meteor Shower Open Observatory Evening.  I hope you can be there to see, in person, pieces of a comet burn up in our atmosphere:

Best wishes,

Rick



HELLO ALL!

WHAT'S HAPPENING?   Head's up - August Observing Night - Perseid Meteor Shower!  Plus 4 planets!  Thought I'd give you a head's up, if you'd like to make plans to attend.
DATE & TIME?  We're aiming for the peak night of Sunday, August 12, 9-11:30 p.m.   (Rain dates: Sat. the 11th and Mon. the 13)
WHERE?  At the Observatory site at Hooper Ledge Road.  We'll be holding most observing sessions there until the Observatory is actually moved to it's new site at Robert's Farm in Norway.   (We do not have use of the Observatory itself, however.)
CONFIRMATION OF WHICH NIGHT?  Friday evening, Aug. 10, you'll receive an e-mail confirming which night the weather will allow us to hold it.  It will also be posted on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1576662229235265/   and on Twitchell's web site, under "Announcements."   https://sites.google.com/a/twitchellobservatory.org/webpage/home
WHAT TO BRING?   Reclining lawn chair for maximum viewing comfort.  Failing that, lying down on the ground or in the back of your pick-up on an old blanket with a pillow will do.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE PERSEIDS!   Please see below.
WHAT DID YOU SEE AT THE LAST OPEN OBSERVATORY NIGHT?  Also see below.

Thanks, and I'll be in touch!  Terry Robinson, Open Observatory Night Host   :- )

ABOUT THE PERSEIDS:  Each August we pass through the path of the comet Swift-Tuttle.   We see meteors that are small pieces of rock and, believe it or not, many just the size of a grain of sand!  As they burn up in Earth's atmosphere, they produce the blazing meteors that we see.  They are named Perseids as they appeared to be coming from the constellation Perseus. The bulk of the meteors are seen in the wee hours of the morning, but we'll stay until 11:30 and count as many as we can.  Come and stay until 11:30, or leave earlier if you'd like.  Want to learn more about Swift-Tuttle?    https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/small-bodies/comets/109p-swift-tuttle/in-depth/  I'll bring my telescope to get a look at the planets (Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and maybe a quick peek at Venus right at the very start) and anything else we'd like to see.  Other volunteers may bring theirs, as well.

OBSERVATORY NOTES FOR JULY 20 OPEN OBSERVATORY NIGHT
Wowza, what a night!  Four planets and 37 people!  It was a great night for observing, too.  Balmy and totally clear.  We were aiming for 5 planets, but we were not able to see Mercury, which set following the sun, because of the trees on the horizon.  It was quite amazing, though, with four planets and a wonderful group of people, many of whom had never been to the Observatory or had not been for a long time.  Here is what we saw...
- Venus:  Like the moon, Venus goes through phases - being partially illuminated.  It was about half illuminated on this night, looking just like the moon!
- Jupiter:  It's four moons and two orange bands could easily be seen, even though it was situated just below the moon.
- Saturn: The planet and rings could easily be seen - always spectacular.
- Moon:  A great time to look at the moon, when part is in darkness and part illuminated.  Always amazing to see it up close and personal!
- Mars:  It was looking very large, for Mars, and through the telescope it looked like a hazy orange.  It's very close to Earth right now - closer than it will get again in about 17 years, so it looked much larger than usual.  With the planet-wide dust storm taking place there, it was looking very orange, versus it's usual reddish, and very hazy.
- Double Cluster: Two, side by side open star clusters, just below Cassiopeia.
- Ring Nebula (M57): Located in the constellation Lyra, a dying star sloughing off layers in a ring.
- Alberio:  The star that makes up the head of Cygnus, the swan.  It's actually a double star - two stars that look to the unaided eye to be one.  One gold, one blue.  There are a lot of double stars out there, and more... triples, quadruples, etc., but the two colors are unusual and stunning - the reason why this pair is famous.
- 21P-Giacobini-Zinner:  Comet.  Well, it was a faint fuzzy spot, but, we saw it!
- ISS:  We saw the International Space Station going over.  Bright as a planet and moving right along!
- Car headlights atop Streaked Mountain:  Yes, it was determined that was what the very bright lights were that we saw and was wondering about.  Telescope tells all!  :- )
What a night - hope you can join us next time!
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