March2012

SOCIETY JOURNAL
SocietyMeeting Monday,March12at8:00pm

AnAmateurSearchforExplodingStars

n just a few years, Stu Parker from Oxford in Canterbury has established himself as one of the most successful discoverers of supernovae. To date, he has 23 personal discoveries to his credit, including a number that are of particular scientific importance. He gets a real kick out of working with the professional astronomers who rely on these discoveries to advance our understanding of supernovae. Stu will give a talk about what motivated him to start hunting supernovae, the BOSS group he is part of, the results of the Hubble Space Telescope studies of SN2011iv, as well as current thinking about some of his other discoveries. He will also describe his telescopes and observing strategies. By way of introduction, Grant Christie will provide a brief summary of various types of supernovae.

Big Attendance at First Film Night of 2012

By Gavin Logan

tarting from the camp fire at night and taking an imaginary journey through the Universe back to the beginning of time, Februarys film, Journey to the Edge of the Universe, gave the audience of well over 50 Society members a tour through much of the known Universe, as well as speculating about the unknown. This voyage across the Cosmos, took the audience from the Earth, past the Moon and our neighbouring planets, out of our Solar System, to the nearest stars, nebulae and galaxies and beyond. Using images taken from the Hubble telescope and creative graphics, Journey to the Edge of the Universe explored the science and history behind both the Solar System and distant celestial bodies.

A sizeable audience watching a Journey to the Edge of the Universe.

exploding stars, magnetars, interacting galaxies, nebulas, newborn stars, quasars, black holes consuming stars, and other deep space objects. The journey through the Universe is also a journey back in time and this film related the progress across the Universe to the past history of the Earth. The nearest possibly inhabited planets lie 90 light years away, before the age of television. The exploding Crab Nebula is 6300 light years off, dating from the time of the construction of Stonehenge. The great Andromeda Galaxy lies at a distance corresponding to 2.5 million BC, before humans existed, at the time our ape-like ancestor Lucy lived in Africa. The nearest quasar 3C 273 lies 2 billion light years away, before life on Earth moved from sea to land and The Hubble Space Telescope reveals galaxies so remote, we see them as they were before the Earth even existed.

Geysers on Triton.
This cinema tour to the edge of Universe showed some dazzling images of the Moon, the surface of Venus, the tornadoes, volcanoes and canyons of Mars, the rings of Saturn, the ferocious storms of Jupiter, the erupting geysers of Triton (Neptune's moon), the surface of the Sun,

Wanted Sidewalk Astronomers

A community facility in West Auckland has some of the best dark skies within Auckland City. There is an opportunity for both telescope and naked-eye observing with outstanding views to the south and the west and we want to share this with our wider community. If you have a good knowledge of the night sky, are comfortable talking to strangers, and are available for up to four evenings during 2012, then please consider being part of this outreach. This is a developing project so flexibility and reliability is important. Initially, there will be reimbursement of travel costs. If YOU have the enthusiasm to share your passion for the night sky, contact waren.hurley@orcon.net.nz.

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SOCIETYJOURNAL,MARCH2012

CalendarofEventsfor2012
March 2012 Programme
Fri Mon 2 7:30pm 5 8:00pm YoungAstronomerswith MargaretArthur IntroductiontoAstronomy withBernieBrenner: WondersoftheSolarSystem (part2) SocietyMeetingwithStuart Parker:FindingSupernovae AutumnObservingNightwith AndrewBuckingham CouncilMeeting FilmNightwithGavinLogan: StargazingLive

April 2012 Programme

Fri 7 7:30pm YoungAstronomerswith MargaretArthur 9 8:00pm IntroductiontoAstronomywith BernieBrenner

Mon

Mon 12 8:00pm Mon 19 8:00pm Wed 21 7:30pm Mon 26 8:00pm

Mon 16 8:00pm AnnualGeneralMeeting Mon 23 8:00pm FilmNightwithGavinLogan Sat 28 DarkSkyObservingNight, Wainui

2012 Programme

Welcome to New Members

Beth van der Loeff (ordinary) Berin Hunter (ordinary) Robert Hicks (country) Rachel Kelly (ordinary) Andrew Horne (family) Rolf Olsen (ordinary) Chris Jones (ordinary) Jacqui Anderson (country) Vivienne Cumberland (family) Brenda Town (family) Jean-Pierre Hallaux (ordinary) Theresa Saolotoga (family)

Russell Ridout (country) Jonathan Green (ordinary) Tony Holder (ordinary) Kevin Oldham (ordinary) Susan Showbridge (ordinary) Bob Howard (ordinary) Rox Orange (ordinary) Arthur Gay (ordinary) Jordan Griffiths (youth) Helena Barnes (youth) Robert Johnson (family) Steve Hennerley (ordinary) Matt Sandilands (ordinary)

The society has over 55 meetings and events planned during 2012. Please note that to allow for the Moon on our observing nights we have made some adjustments to the schedule. For 2012 our current regular monthly programme is: First Monday of Month - Introduction to Astronomy Coordinator: Bernie Brenner An introductory astronomy course using a video lecture or documentary followed by a tutorial. This year we will be including the BBC series 'Wonders of the Solar System' and 'Wonders of the Universe'. First Friday of Month - Young Astronomers Coordinator: Margaret Arthur This is an interactive session on current topics with plenty of question and answer time. Aimed at the younger members of the Society, suitable for age 7 years and up. Second Monday of Month - Monthly Meeting Coordinator: Grant Christie The Monthly Meeting features a talk by a guest speaker (when available) or a current astronomical documentary. Third Monday of Month - Practical Astronomy Coordinator: Bill Thomas This session is all about learning the night sky and using your telescope. Includes observing nights each quarter. Fourth Monday of Month - Film Night Coordinator: Gavin Logan Screening a wide range of astronomy documentaries.

Film Night Monday 26 March 8:00pm With Gavin Logan

Stargazing Live (January 2012) with Brian Cox and Dara O Briain covers a range of the latest topics in astronomy in a colourful and sometimes humorous way. Preserving the dark sky from light intrusion and discovering new planets around other stars are amongst subjects covered by this film. It is 50 minutes long. It will be followed by Ocean Origins, which is a brief, but highly colourful film, showing how life first appeared on Earth and diversified after the first bacteria appeared until the first vertebrate emerged onto dry land. It has some exceptional photography and is 40 minutes long.

and

science

Telescope viewing is normally available after each meeting if the weather permits. The meetings are aimed at a wide range of abilities, from the beginner to the more experienced. More information on upcoming meetings will be listed in the journal or is available on the AAS website at: http://www.astronomy.org.nz/pages/events.aspx

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Aurora Astronomy School

The Aurora Astronomy School is a unique opportunity for Year 13 students, and will take place 16th to 20th April 2012, in the Easter vacation. The free camp will be held at the University of Canterbury, and the observatory at Mt John. On campus we will talk about the Universe past, present and future, the life cycles of stars, planet exploration, extraterrestrial life and more. We will then travel to the Mt John Observatory at Tekapo, where we will explore our cosmic neighbourhood with modern astronomical instruments. The programme will contain a mix of seminars and practical work. The closing date for applications for this camp is Friday 16th March. More details are on the application form at http:// www.outreach.canterbury.ac.nz/documents/ aurora_astro_12.pdf

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A Summer Fall
From Cosmo Sparks Reports
bright fireball and two sonic booms ushered the fall of the world's most recent Martian meteorite in Morocco on July 18, 2011. Named Tissint, the 7 kilograms (15 pounds) of pieces recovered in December were confirmed officially as the shergottite type on January 17, 2012. As only the fifth known witnessed fall of a Martian meteorite since the fourth in 1962 in Nigeria of the Zagami meteorite, interest in the Tissint meteorite is running high. These new pieces gathered off the Moroccan dessert are considered relatively fresh, having been subjected to terrestrial contamination for only six months as compared with other Martian meteorites collected centuries or more after their touchdown. Christopher Herd (University of Alberta, Edmonton), chair of the com-

mittee that confirmed the meteorite's name and origin, commented that studying the crystallization history of this igneous rock, "we can peer back and say something about the magma itself and the interior of

Mars, the part of Mars that it came from. So in some ways we can probe right in to the inside of Mars through these kinds of studies." Pieces of Tissint are now in the meteorite collections at the University of Alberta, Arizona State University, University of New Mexico, and University of Washington. Of the 103 separately named and numbered Martian meteorites on the official list, shergottites are the most abundant type. Cosmochemists will now be analyzing samples of Tissint to determine its igneous crystallization age, how it compares to the other shergottites, and what details it reveals about the Red Planet. Cosmo Sparks Reports are provided by Planetary Science Research Dis-

coveries.

Double Documentaries
By Gavin Logan
t Februarys monthly meeting of the Society, members were treated to a double feature of documentary films. The first one entitled Death of a Mars Rover told the story of the two Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and the efforts to save Spirit after she drove into a quicksand trap and then fell silent over a year ago. When the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars in January 2004, they were expected to last ninety days. Seven-plus years later, the hardy, remote controlled robots have proven to be two great explorers, trekking miles across the desert like surface of Mars, climbing mountains, scrambling in and out of craters, and surviving many times in the difficult condition of dust storms and the extremely cold winters. Powered by solar charged batteries, lack of sunlight in winter and dust from storms on the solar panels are serious hazards. Opportunity continues to operate, but Spirit has reached the end of the road. The second documentary was Earths Evil Twin, which covered

Earths Evil Twin Venus.

the latest information about the planet Venus. Venus and Earth are roughly the same size, but have gone on different paths over the four billion plus years of the Solar Systems existence. Although roughly the same mass as Earth, Venus is closer to the Sun, is enshrouded in a crushingly dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide creating atmospheric pressure massively greater than on Earth. On its hostile surface, it rains

acid and temperatures reach 470C, which is hot enough to melt tin. This documentary looked at the latest information obtained by the Venus Express spacecraft in 2006, which used an infra-red camera to penetrate the dense atmosphere on the planet. It detected hurricane-force winds masking a blistering volcanic surface. It also detected lightening, leading scientists to wonder if chemicals supporting life are possible. Micro-organisms could not survive on the surface, but in the clouds its much cooler and water vapour exists. There was also evidence of water molecules splitting into oxygen and hydrogen, which was found to be dissipating into space. There are no plate tectonics on Venus to release heat and pressure from the planets core and when this finally surfaces as huge volcanic action, it resurfaces the planet and releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Venus Express found that most of Venuss surface was less than 500 million years old.

SOCIETYJOURNAL,MARCH2012

Mars Express Radar Yields Strong Evidence of Ocean That Once Covered Part of Red Planet
From Science Daily
SA's Mars Express has returned strong evidence for an ocean once covering part of Mars. Using radar, it has detected sediments reminiscent of an ocean floor within the boundaries of previously identified, ancient shorelines on Mars. The MARSIS radar was deployed in 2005 and has been collecting data ever since. Jrmie Mouginot, Institut de Plantologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) and the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues have analysed more than two years of data and found that the northern plains are covered in low-

density material. "We interpret these as sedimentary deposits, maybe ice-rich," says Dr Mouginot. "It is a strong new indication that there was once an ocean here." The existence of oceans on ancient Mars has been suspected before and features reminiscent of shorelines have been tentatively identified in images from various spacecraft. But it remains a controversial issue. Two oceans have been proposed: 4 billion years ago, when warmer conditions prevailed, and also 3 billion years ago when subsurface ice

melted, possibly as a result of enhanced geothermal activity, creating outflow channels that drained the water into areas of low elevation. "MARSIS penetrates deep into the ground, revealing the first 60-80 metres of the planet's subsurface," says Wlodek Kofman, leader of the radar team at IPAG. "Throughout all of this depth, we see the evidence for sedimentary material and ice." The sediments revealed by MARSIS are areas of low radar reflectivity. Such sediments are typically lowdensity granular materials that have been eroded away by water and carried to their final destination. This later ocean would however have been temporary. Within a million years or less, Dr Mouginot estimates, the water would have either frozen back in place and been preserved underground again, or turned into vapour and lifted gradually into the atmosphere. "I don't think it could have stayed as an ocean long enough for life to form." In order to find evidence of life, astrobiologists will have to look even further back in Mars' history when liquid water existed for much longer periods. Nevertheless, this work provides some of the best evidence yet that there were once large bodies of liquid water on Mars and is further proof of the role of liquid water in the martian geological history. "Previous Mars Express results about water on Mars came from the study of images and mineralogical data, as well as atmospheric measurements. Now we have the view from the subsurface radar," says Olivier Witasse, ESA's Mars Express Project Scientist. "This adds new pieces of information to the puzzle but the question remains: where did all the water go?"

New results from the MARSIS radar on Mars Express give strong evidence for a former ocean of Mars. The radar detected sediments reminiscent of an ocean floor inside previously identified, ancient shorelines on the red planet. The ocean would have covered the northern plains billions of years ago. (Credit: ESA, C. Carreau)

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Galaxy in a Bucket
From Sky & Telescope
new study published in the Jan. 26 issue of Nature highlights a rising theme in the symphony of astrophysics research: When you cant go to the stars, bring the stars to you. In this case, an international team of researchers studied where galaxies get their magnetic fields by zapping a minuscule rod with lasers to make a proxy of the environment in a forming galaxy. Their result the creation of tiny seed fields by a well-known theoretical effect supports current ideas of how large-scale galactic fields could arise and adds to previous arguments against more peculiar explanations.

Vast magnetic fields exist in all galaxy types and even on cluster and supercluster scales. Its thought that turbulence and rotation in forming galaxies may amplify already-present weak fields, creating large-scale ones, explains Lawrence Widrow (Queens University, Ontario), who was not involved with the new study. Where these seed fields come from remains an open question. They could be primordial, arising from fancy physics cartwheels in the early Universe. But such fields are fairly exotic, Widrow says, and require a lot of assumptions about conditions at the cosmic dawn. A better option would be astrophysical causes fields expelled by the first stars when they died explosively, or by madly gobbling black holes in galactic cores. Or, created by the Biermann battery process. In a nutshell, a Biermann battery is the spontaneous creation of a magnetic field when a curved shock wave goes through hot, ionized gas. Its a well-known theoretical effect, and astronomers have suggested it before as a solution to the cosmic magnetic field question. To test the idea, researchers set up a 500micrometer-wide carbon rod in a chamber of helium gas and vaporized the rod with laser beams. The supersonic expansion of the vaporized carbon drove a shock in the gas, which, because the shock wasnt perfectly spherical, created a magnetic field, explains coauthor Francesco Miniati (ETH Zurich, Switzerland). Such fields could easily arise in the collapsing gas that forms galaxies, where over several hundred million years gas dynamics would augment the fields enough to affect the galaxys evolution, Miniati and his colleagues conclude. How exactly those effects would mani-

fest is still mysterious, he says. But because magnetic fields affect the motion of interstellar gas, they may regulate star formation in molecular clouds and confine superspeedy particles called cosmic rays. The result matches whats expected theoretically from shocks during the collapse of matter into protostars and galaxies, but its the first experiment to unequivocally produce the effect in a lab, says Dongsu Ryu (Chungnam National University, South Korea), who has written several review papers with Widrow on the origin of the Universes magnetic fields. Miniati acknowledges that it is a bold extrapolation to draw conclusions from an experiment roughly a trillionth of a trillionth the size involved in intergalactic fields. But due to the physics involved in this particular case hes confident that such scaling is possible. The Biermann battery could work in any collapsing or accreting material, meaning it could provide the seed for stars fields, too. Where it and the other theories cant reach is into gigantic cosmic voids, where astronomers have also found hints of weak magnetic fields. But a 2010 paper by Miniati and Tony Bell (Oxford University) suggested that a charge imbalance caused by cosmic rays could explain those fields, providing another astrophysical explanation that removes the need for exotic primordial fields.

Reality jibes with simulations in this composite image of a shock wave. On the left is a laser-produced shock wave; on right, a simulation of a collapsing shock wave from before galaxies started forming. Brighter colours show the shock region of higher density or temperature. A. Ravasio and A. Pelka / LULI, J. Meinecke and C. Murphy / Oxford Univ., F. Miniati / ETH Zurich

2012AstronomicalYearbook
The2012editionisnowavailabletomembersatthespecialprice of$1400(+$2.00postage)percopywhenpurchasedfromAAS. PurchasescanbemadeatallAASmeetingsoryoucanorderfrom AndrewBuckinghambyemailattreasurer@astronomy.org.nz

orbyphoneon(09)4735877.

SOCIETYJOURNAL,MARCH2012

Millisecond Pulsar Paradox: Stellar Astrophysics Helps Explain Behaviour of Fast Rotating Neutron Stars in Binary Systems
From Science Daily
ulsars are among the most exotic celestial bodies known. They have diameters of about 20 kilometres, but at the same time roughly the mass of our Sun. A sugar-cube sized piece of its ultra -compact matter on Earth would weigh hundreds of millions of tons. A sub-class of them, known as millisecond pulsars, spin up to several hundred times per second around their own axes. Previous studies reached the paradoxical conclusion that some millisecond pulsars are older than the Universe itself. Astrophysicist Thomas Tauris from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and the Argelander Institute for Astronomy in Bonn could resolve this paradox by computer simulations. Through numerical calculations on the base of stellar evolution and accretion torques, he demonstrated that millisecond pulsars lose about half of their rotational energy during the final stages of the mass-transfer process before the pulsar turns on its radio beam. This result is in agreement with current observations and the findings also explain why radio millisecond pulsars appear to be much older than the white dwarf remnants of their companion stars -and perhaps why no sub-millisecond radio pulsars exist at all. The results are

reported in the February 03 issue of the journal "Science." Millisecond pulsars are strongly magnetized, old neutron stars in binary systems which have been spun up to high rotational frequencies by accumulating mass and angular momentum from a companion star. Today we know of about 200 such pulsars with spin periods between 1.4 to 10 milliseconds. These are located in both the Galactic Disk and in Globular Clusters. Since the first millisecond pulsar was detected in 1982, it has remained a challenge for theorists to explain their spin periods, magnetic fields and ages. For example, there is the "turn-off" problem, i.e. what happens to the spin of the pulsar when the donor star terminates its mass-transfer process? "We have now, for the first time, combined detailed numerical stellar evolution models with calculations of the braking torque acting on the spinning pulsar," says Thomas Tauris, the author of the present study. "The result is that the millisecond pulsars lose about half of their rotational energy in the so-called Roche-lobe decoupling phase." This phase describes the termination of the mass transfer in the binary system. Hence, radio-emitting millisecond pul-

sars should spin slightly slower than their progenitors, X-ray emitting millisecond pulsars which are still accreting material from their donor star. This is exactly what the observational data seem to suggest. Furthermore, these new findings help explain why some millisecond pulsars appear to have characteristic ages exceeding the age of the Universe and perhaps why no submillisecond radio pulsars exist. The key feature of the new results is that it has now been demonstrated how the spinning pulsar is able to break out of its so-called equilibrium spin. At this epoch the mass-transfer rate decreases which causes the magnetospheric radius of the pulsar to expand and thereby expel the collapsing matter like a propeller. This causes the pulsar to lose additional rotational energy and thus slow down its spin rate. "Actually, without a solution to the "turn-off" problem we would expect pulsars to even slow down to spin periods of 50 to 100 milliseconds during the Roche-lobe decoupling phase," concludes Thomas Tauris. "That would be in clear contradiction with observational evidence for the existence of millisecond pulsars."

Pulsars are among the most exotic celestial bodies known. They have diameters of about 20 kilometres, but at the same time roughly the mass of our Sun. A sugar-cube sized piece of its ultra-compact matter on Earth would weigh hundreds of millions of tons. A sub-class of them, known as millisecond pulsars, spin up to several hundred times per second around their own axes. Previous studies reached the paradoxical conclusion that some millisecond pulsars are older than the Universe itself. (Credit: NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center / Dana Berry)

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Hubbles 1923 Nova in Andromeda Erupts Again!

By Mike Simonsen, AAVSO Writers Bureau

n December 11, 1923, Edwin Hubble discovered a nova in the Andromeda galaxy. Novae occurring in our Milky Way's sister galaxy are not that uncommon. There have been over 800 novae detected in M31 in the last 100 years. Hubble's 1923 discovery became known as M31N 1923-12c, the third nova discovered in December of 1923.

exploring the properties of close binaries in extragalactic stellar populations.

images for yourself here. After digitally scanning the Hubble plate and comparing the position of the nova relative to those of three nearby USNO reference stars, analysis revealed that M31N 1923-12c was located at R.A. = 00 42 38.06; Decl. = 41 08 41.0 (J2000). Hubble's M31N 1923-12c and this year's PNV J00423804+4108417 are the same object! 88 years and a handful of days later, PNV J00423804+4108417 represents the second recorded outburst of the recurrent nova M31N 1923-12c. Like the telescope named for him, Hubble's legacy to astronomy and astrophysics continues to grow to this very day. Way to go, Edwin.

Artist's rendition of the recurrent nova RS Oph Credit: David Hardy/PPARC

Comparing its position with the approximately 900 novae in W. Pietsch's M31 nova catalogue revealed that PNV J00423804+4108417 was located about six arc seconds from the catalogued position of M31N 1923-12c, the nova discovered by Edwin Hubble on December 11, 1923. Given that the positions of M31 novae from early photographic surveys were typically reported to a precision of only ten arc seconds, and that He/N spectra are often associated with recurrent novae, astronomers considered the possibility that M31N 1923-12c and PNV J00423804+4108417 represented two outbursts arising from the same nova progenitor. To explore this possibility further, F. Schweizer (Carnegie Observatories) located Hubble's original plate in the Carnegie Observatories archives and performed an eyeball comparison of the position of Hubble's nova with that of PNV J00423804+4108417, finding them to match within ~1.5". You can see the

The position of M31N-1923-12c

Fast forward to January 21, 2012. K. Nishiyama and F. Kabashima report the discovery of a possible nova in M31 and it is given the preliminary designation, PNV J00423804+4108417. If this proves to be a new nova in M31 it will get the permanent designation M31N 201201b, the second novae discovered in January 2012. A day later a spectrum is taken with the 9.2m Hobby-Eberly Telescope using the Marcario LowResolution Spectrograph, confirming that PNV J00423804+4108417 is a nova in M31, and that it is a member of the He/N spectroscopic class. Whats even more interesting, however, is that the new nova likely comes from the same progenitor as Hubbles 1923 nova! Classical novae are a subclass of cataclysmic variable stars. They are semidetached binary systems where an evolved, late-type star fills its Roche lobe and transfers mass to its white dwarf companion. If the mass accretion rate onto the white dwarf is sufficiently low, it allows this gas to pile up and become degenerate. Eventually, after thousands to tens of thousands of years, a thermonuclear runaway ensues in this highly pressurized layer of gas, leading to a nova eruption. These eruptions can reach an absolute magnitude as bright as MV 10, making them among the most luminous explosions in the Universe. Their high luminosities and rates, about 50 per year in a galaxy like M31, make novae very useful to astronomers

Edwin Hubble

Left: A finding chart of PNV J00423804+4108417 (M31N 2012-01b) courtesy of Koichi Nishiyama and Fujio Kabashima (Miyaki-Argenteus Observatory, Japan), with the nova marked near the center of the image. Right: A reproduction of Hubble's plate taken on December 11, 1923 showing the position of a nova, later designated as M31N 192312c (the smudges near the center are Hubble's original ink marks identifying the nova).

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SOCIETYJOURNAL,MARCH2012

Goldilocks Moons
By Mike Simonsen, AAVSO Writers Bureau

he search for extraterrestrial life outside our Solar System is currently focused on extrasolar planets within the habitable zones of exoplanetary systems around stars similar to the Sun. Finding Earth-like planets around other stars is the primary goal of NASAs Kepler Mission. The habitable zone (HZ) around a star is defined as the range of distances over which liquid water could exist on the surface of a terrestrial planet, given a dense enough atmosphere. Terrestrial planets are generally defined as rocky and similar to Earth in size and mass. A visualization of the habitable zones around stars of different diameters and brightness and temperature is shown here. The red region is too hot, the blue region is too cold, but the green region is just right for liquid water. Because it can be described this way, the HZ is also referred to as the Goldilocks Zone. Normally, we think of planets around other stars as being similar to our solar system, where a retinue of planets orbits a single star. Although theoretically possible, scientists debated whether or not planets would ever be found around pairs of stars or multiple star systems. Then, in September, 2011, researchers at NASAs Kepler mission announced the discovery of Kepler-16b, a cold, gaseous, Saturnsized planet that orbits a pair of stars, like Star Wars fictional Tatooine. This week I had the chance to interview one of the young guns studying exoplanets, Billy Quarles. Monday, Billy and his co -authors, professor Zdzislaw Musielak and associate professor Manfred Cuntz, presented their findings on the possibility of Earth-like planets inside the habitable zones of Kepler 16 and other circumbinary star systems, at the AAS meeting in Austin, Texas.

To define the habitable zone we calculate the amount of flux that is incident on an object at a given distance, Billy explained. We also took into account that different planets with different atmospheres will retain heat differently. A planet with a really weak greenhouse effect can be closer in to the stars. For a planet with a much stronger greenhouse effect, the habitable zone will be further out. In our particular study, we have a planet orbiting two stars. One of the stars is much brighter than the other. So much brighter, that we ignored the flux coming from the smaller fainter companion star altogether. So our definition of the habitable zone in this case is a conservative estimate. Quarles and his colleagues performed extensive numerical studies on the longterm stability of planetary orbits within the Kepler 16 HZ. The stability of the planetary orbit depends on the distance from the binary stars, said Quarles. The further out the more stable they tend to be, because there is less perturbation from the secondary star. For the Kepler 16 system, planetary orbits around the primary star are only stable out to 0.0675 AU (astronomical units). That is well inside the inner limit of habitability, where the runaway greenhouse effect takes over, Billy explained. This all but rules out the possibility of habitable planets in close orbit around the primary star of the pair. What they found was that orbits in the Goldilocks Zone farther out, around the pair of Kepler 16 s lowmass stars, are stable on time scales of a million years or more, providing the possibility that life could evolve on a planet within that HZ. Kepler 16bs roughly circular orbit, about 65 million miles from the stars, is on the

outer edge of this habitable zone. Being a gas giant, 16b is not a habitable terrestrial planet. However, an Earth-like moon, a Goldilocks Moon, in orbit around this planet could sustain life if it were massive enough to retain an Earthlike atmosphere. We determined that a habitable exomoon is possible in orbit around Kepler-16b, Quarles said. I asked Quarles how stellar evolution impacts these Goldilocks Zones. He told me, There are a number of things to consider over the lifetime of a system. One of them is how the star evolves over time. In most cases the habitable zone starts out close and then slowly drifts out. During a stars main sequence lifetime, nuclear burning of hydrogen builds up a helium in its core, causing an increase in pressure and temperature. This occurs more rapidly in stars that are more massive and lower in metallicity. These changes affect the outer regions of the star, which results in a steady increase in luminosity and effective temperature. The star becomes more luminous, causing the HZ to move outwards. This movement could result in a planet within the HZ at the beginning of a stars main sequence lifetime, to become too hot, and eventually, uninhabitable. Similarly, an inhospitable planet originally outside the HZ, may thaw out and enable life to commence. For our study, we ignored the stellar evolution part, said lead author, Quarles. We ran our models for a million years to see where the habitable zone was for that part of the stars life cycle. Being at the right distance from its star is only one of the necessary conditions required for a planet to be habitable. Habitable conditions on a planet require various geophysical and geochemical conditions. Many factors can prevent, or impede, habitability. For example, the planet may lack water, gravity may be too weak to retain a dense atmosphere, the rate of large impacts may be too high, or the minimum ingredients necessary for life (still up for debate) may not be there. One thing is clear. Even with all the requirements for life as we know it, there appear to be plenty of planets around other stars, and very likely, Goldilocks Moons around planets, orbiting within the habitable zones of stars in our galaxy, that detecting the signature of life in the atmosphere of a planet or moon around another sun seems like only a matter of time now.

Goldilocks Zones around various type stars. Credit: NASA/JPL- Caltech

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A Tale of Two Stars: The Inside Story of Orions Belt

From Space.com
tanding upright and shining down upon Earth on these midwinter nights is the brightest and grandest of all the constellations: Orion, the Mighty Hunter. Three bright stars in line in the middle of a bright rectangle decorate Orion's belt, which points northward to the clusters of the Hyades and Pleiades of Taurus, and southward to the Dog Star, Sirius. Above and below the belt, we also find two immense stars, Rigel and Betelgeuse. Rigel (the "Left Leg of the Giant"), is a blue-white supergiant star, one of the rarest breeds in our galaxy. But with their enormous brilliance up to 100,000 times as bright as the Sun blue-white supergiants remain conspicuous over great distances. In contrast, red supergiants like Betelgeuse ("The Armpit of the Giant") are gigantic bloated globes of cooler gas. If such a star were to replace the Sun in the solar system, it might extend beyond Mars' orbit.

sively heavier elements to balance the incessant crush of gravity. But once the core begins creating iron, a star's days are numbered; the formation of elements heavier than iron consumes rather than produces energy. Eventually, since the core can no longer support the star's vast weight, it collapses, triggering a cataclysmic supernova explosion. Betelgeuse is in its final stage and could explode in only a few million years.

Arcturus. Even as you observe these stellar colours, do you notice that they're recognizable only for the brightest stars? This is due to the physiology of the eye, and more specifically, to the fact that the colour sensors on the retina the cones are insensitive to faint light. Under dim illumination the retinal rods take over. But their greater light sensitivity is offset by their colour blindness. This is why we see all faint stars as white. However, if we look at them through binoculars or a telescope, their amplified brightness stimulates the cones, which detect their colour.

Colourful stars
One of the pleasures of stargazing is noticing and enjoying the various colours that stars display in dark skies. These hues offer direct visual evidence of how stellar temperatures vary. Ruddy Betelgeuse and bluish Rigel provide an excellent colour contrast, but we can easily find other colours as well. Look at orange-ish Aldebaran and yellowish Pollux. And considerably removed from the winter groupings is brilliant topaz

Star at its prime

Rigel is one of the most intrinsically luminous of all stars and one of the hottest, apparently just reaching the prime of its life in the time span of a star and literally "burning the candle at both ends." It has been computed that Rigel's luminosity is something like 57,000 times that of the Sun. The star is about 773 light-years away. In stark contrast, bright red Betelgeuse is near the end of its career. It is located 522 light-years away, but does not shine with a steady light. Betelgeuse is a "pulsating" star, expanding and contracting spasmodically with a diameter that varies from 550 to 920 times that of the Sun, but so irregular are these pulsations that no one can predict exactly when it will expand or contract. In trying to describe Betelgeuse many years ago, Henry Neely, a lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium, once noted that it is "like an old man with his strength almost entirely spent, panting in the asthmatic decrepitude of old age." Stars produce their energy by fusing hydrogen into helium deep within their cores. When a star accumulates sufficient helium in its core, its energy output increases significantly, and it swells into a red giant or supergiant, like Betelgeuse. This is what Rigel will become in a few million years. In such stars, the core produces succes-

Orion is the brightest and most beautiful of the winter constellations, full of fascinating objects for the curious skygazer. CREDIT: Starry Night Software

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What Happened Before the Big Bang?

By Gavin Logan

ecembers Film Night Documentary examined this question. Society members at this well attended evening, watched scientists discuss what they see as the problems with the Big Bang theory. The difficulty with the Big Bang is that it's all effect and no cause, everything from nothing, which is philosophically difficult and mathematically problematic too.

The film spent much time discussing the idea of multiple Big Bangs. Neil Turok, Director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada, working with Paul Steinhardt at Princeton, proposes a radical new answer. Instead of the Universe inexplicably springing into existence from a mysterious initial singularity, the Big Bang was a collision between two universes like ours, existing as parallel membranes floating in a higherdimensional space that were not aware of. One bang is followed by another, in a potentially endless series of cosmic cycles, each one spelling the end of a universe and the beginning of a new one. Not one bang, but many. Renowned English mathematical physicist, Sir Roger Penrose, has changed his mind about the Big Bang. He now imagines an eternal cycle of expanding universes where matter becomes energy and back again in the birth of new universes.

Sir Roger Penrose now thinks there is an eternal cycle of universes.

gazing Live, in which Brian Cox and Dara O Briain cover a range of the latest topics on Astronomy in a colourful and sometimes humorous way. Preserving the dark sky from light intrusion and discovering new planets around other stars are amongst subjects covered by this 2012 film. It is 50 minutes long. It will be followed by Ocean Origins, which is a brief, but highly colourful film showing how life first appeared on Earth and diversified after the first bacteria appeared until the first vertebrate emerged onto dry land. It has some exceptional photography and is 40 minutes long.

Neil Turok, Director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

Some scientists believe that the Big Bang was not really the beginning. Our Universe may have had a life before this. This documentary explores the latest ideas about the Big Bang and what created it or came before it. Theories about cosmic bounces, rips and multiple universes are discussed to try find out what happened before the Big Bang

He now thinks that when the Universe we know of reaches the end of its life, all that will be left are photons (single particles of light). This mass converts to energy creating an energised vacuum. At this point in this cyclic system, notions of time and mass disappear, leaving an endless sea of space in which anything is possible. The next Film Night is on Monday 19th March at 8.00pm at Stardome. It is Star-

TheStarlight ConferenceisatLake Tekapo,1113 June2012.From1Decemberthewebsitewillbe able to accept online registrations and on line requests to give an oral or poster paper. Visit www.starlight2012.orgforfulldetails. It will be a multidisciplinary conference on the scientific and cultural benefits of observing dark starlit skies. The meeting will be of interest to RASNZ members and to many other interest groups in education, tourism, environmental protectionandtothoseinterestedinthecultural

and ethnic aspects of astronomy. As participation willbelimited,earlyregistrationisencouraged. The Starlight Conference is jointly hosted by the University of Canterbury and by RASNZ, and is being sponsored by the University of Canterbury, by RASNZ, by the Royal Society of NZ, by Endeavour Capital Ltd and by the NZ National CommissiontoUNESCO. AbridgedfromanearlierpublishednotebyJohn Hearnshaw. WWW.ASTRONOMY.ORG.NZ 13

Extrasolar PlanetsA Review

By Bernie Brenner
s of the 16th September 2011, there have been 684 extrasolar planets documented (Schneider 2011). By the time this review is published, there will no doubt have been a few more discovered. Most have been detected by radial velocity or astrometry and smaller number by microlensing, imaging or timing. Since the discovery of the very first extra-solar planet in 1995 to date, the increase in the rate of discovery is exponential. Sourced from different references (Beichman, Fridlund et al. 2006), (Jones 2008), (Schneider 2011), and (Udry and Santos 2007) and then plotting time in months against number of planets, this exponential rise is graphically depicted in fig. 1.
Fig 1 Discovery of Exoplanets 800 700 Number Exoplanets 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 -100 0 50 100 Months 150 200 Number

large planets are in very small orbits they probably formed further out but have migrated inwards and have continued to grow in size (Jones 2008). Using the most up to date data available for radial velocity studies (Schneider 2011), we can plot the number of planets vs. mJ and this is seen in fig. 2.

This review will explore the properties of extra-solar planets, the chances of finding life on them and if so, what type of life may it be and what challenges would it face. Properties of extra-solar planets The properties of extra-solar planets like radius, mass and density is important, because it helps to determine the type of the planet, e.g. whether it has rocks, gas, ice any or all of the above. It also alludes to its habitability. Masses Most of the extra-solar planets have been discovered by Doppler radial velocity studies. This technique only provides information about orbital parameters and their minimum masses (Udry and Santos 2007). Sometimes the minimum mass will actually equal the actual mass, but depending on the inclination, the actual mass can be 1.3 times the minimum mass and in the majority of cases the actual mass will be less than twice the minimum (Jones 2008). The fact that most of the extra-solar planets so far found have masses the same or bigger than Jupiter may be the result of the current state of our technology. The range extends up to 16 times that of Jupiter but there may be many more smaller planets (Impey 2007). To date the lowest mass planet discovered is around 3.6 times the mass of Earth (Cowing 2011). In general, a planet with a mass similar to the Earth and up to ten times its mass are called super-Earths. The higher end of the extra-solar planets are around 13 Jupiter masses. If they have masses like 80mJ then they are called brown dwarfs. However, it is only likely that extra-solar planets with masses < 0.03mJ will be habitable. It has been noted that many

Sizes A planets radius can be estimated from its mass if a value of its density is assumed (Beichman, Fridlund et al. 2006). Actual planet radii are only known from transiting planets. Using Jupiter as a standard and data from transiting planets, we note that there is a range of ~0.1 to 2.05RJ with the majority falling into the 1 to 1.5 range (Schneider 2011). If we plot planet radius vs. planet mass, we can depict this graphically in fig. 3.

Densities The mean density of a planet is calculated by m/[(4/3)r3] So by knowing the mass and the radius of a planet, we can calculate the density in the above equation. Jupiter has a mean density of 1330 kg m-3, while Earth has a density of 5520 kg m-3. Saturn has a mean density 687 kg m-3, Neptune 1638 kg m-3 and Uranus 1270 kg m-3. Density of

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some extra-solar planets can be calculated through both radial velocity and transit photometry and those that have a mass range of between 0.33 and 1.33mJ demonstrate a mean density of 300 to 1500 kg m-3. Where mass and radius cannot be determined, the density can be assumed based on relative mass compared to Earth. So for cases >50mE, the densities are between Jupiter and Saturn. For the range between 10 and 50mE, the densities are between Uranus and Neptune. For <10mE, the density would be like Earth and may be water rich (except if it were too close to its star). It is these that may be suitable for life (Jones 2008). Temperatures Temperature can be estimated where a planet passes behind its star and the resultant drop in the infrared radiation allows an estimate of the planets temperature to be calculated. For some hot Jupiters, temperatures between 1000 2000 K have been noted when comparisons of infrared radiation are made when the planet is in transit and behind the star. Tables have been provided differentiating temperatures in periastron and apastron and range from 125 K to over 2800 K (Kane and Gelino 2011). Another method of measuring planet temperature is by noting its distance from its star and assuming its albedo (Beichman, Fridlund et al. 2006). Atmospheres Most of the extra-solar planets are gaseous like Jupiter. Specific elements in a planets atmosphere like sodium can be ascertained by detection of radiation in its atmosphere. Oxygen and hydrogen were first detected on an extra-solar planet in 2003, as well as evaporating hydrogen atmosphere (Hubble 2004). Methane and water vapour has been found on HD 189733b (Tinetti 2008). But of all the extra-solar planets so far discovered, Gliese 581d may have an atmosphere that keeps it warm enough for liquid water. Its carbon dioxide atmosphere heats the planet due to the greenhouse effect (Dillow 2011). Chances of finding life on exoplanets Looking at the properties of extra-solar planets in the context of possible life, we need to consider the Rare Earth Hypothesis of Ward and Brownlee (Impey 2007). The following properties must hold to enable complex life and intelligent beings to develop. A nearby moon is required to stabilize climate by decreasing axial swing tilts. In addition, there needs to be an impact environment that promotes biological diversity. The planet must have the correct mass within a rather narrow habitable zone and there needs to be a protecting planet the size of or larger than Jupiter to guard against impacts. There needs to be plate tectonics and liquid water. The protecting or sheltering planet must be able to provide heavy elements to the recipient when it formed and of course it must reside in an area of the galaxy where star activity does not eradicate life. Approaching the problem of possible life existing elsewhere in the Universe a mathematical probability formulae was designed by Frank Drake and Carl Sagan in 1961. The equation is as follows (Kasting 2010): N = N* fp ne fl fi fc fL where N is the number of communicating civilizations in the world N* represents the number of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy fp is the fraction of stars that have planets around them ne is the number of planets per star that are capable of sustaining life fl is the fraction of planets in ne where life evolves fi is the fraction of planets in fl where intelligent life evolves fc is the fraction of fi that communicate fL is fraction of the planet's life during which the communicating civilizations live Sagan estimated that the value of N was 1m.

Requirements for life on Earth Already in the last century, Harlow Shapley defined a region in a planetary system where there would be a liquid belt, meaning there would be liquid water at the planets surface. Life on Earth is dependent on liquid water, for not only is biology dependent on water, but water has a high heat capacity and so brings about temperature stability. The Rare Earth Hypothesis above has already documented the necessary requirements for complex life and intelligent beings to develop. Range of life Possible kinds of life It is interesting to note that cockroaches survived extinction phenomena and have outlasted dinosaurs for that matter. It is estimated they have been around for some 300 million years (Kruszelnicki 2011). They are thought to be more radiation resistant than humans and indeed some other insects as well. A bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans has been seen to survive very high levels of ionizing radiation (10,000Gy) where even 5Gy can be lethal to humans (Stone 2009). This bacterium is surely an example of an extremophile. Arsenic resistant microorganisms have been described, hence expanding the range of life to include noxious chemical resistant bacteria and possible algae and fungi (Cervantes and Ramirez 1994). We are not aware of other forms of life except what we have encountered on Earth and even then there may be other extremophiles that exist on extra-solar planets that may not even be within the habitable zone. One thing is true - extra-solar planet science is still in its infancy and we can not be sure what type of life may exist on alien planets. From a chemical perspective, 95% of life on Earth is made up of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulphur. Life on Earth requires water, which acts as a solvent and supplies oxygen to biochemical substrates. However, silicon may substitute for carbon, and ammonia for water. There may therefore be alternate and exotic life forms and it is worthy to quote Sagan and Shklovskii It is quite premature to conclude that ours is the only or even the best of all possible biochemistries (Freitas 2008). Challenges that life would face Life in whatever form could potentially face many challenges. If for instance the planet was tidally locked to the star then one side would be very hot compared to the other. The temperature range would have to be such, that life could survive or adapt as necessary. Extremophiles as we know them, may be the only organisms that can survive. The atmosphere would influence the type of life as well and its protective influence would mitigate possible radiation effects of its star. Future techniques and missions are needed to detect life on exoplanets. Current state of the art technology like the ESOs HARPS is yielding significant number of new extra-solar planets. Upgrades to both the hardware and software are at present in progress (Cowing 2011). This will no doubt improve the sensitivity of the instrumentation and so facilitate the discovery of many more extra-solar planets, especially in the habitable zone and with increasingly smaller sizes than have so far been discovered (currently not below two Earth masses). Other technology is being designed like the Telescopio Nazionale Galilaileo in the Canary Islands and ESPRESSO to be installed on the ESOs Very Large Telescope in 2016. The CODEX instrument is also planned at the E-ELT. In terms of space exploration, we are currently constrained by chemical rockets, but NASA is working on ion engines that propel inert gas at vast speeds (Impey 2007). Partical power may be another avenue of technological development and indeed the exponential pace of technology will most likely make science fiction reality neutrinos faster than the speed of light????

References are available upon request from the author or by emailing journal@astronomy.org.nz.

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Stardate 2012
By Gavin Logan
tardate 2012 took place at Tukitiki just outside Hastings on January 20th to 22nd. It is a three day dark sky weekend, organised by the Phoenix Astronomical Society, which is held annually, with talks on various scientific topics during the day and early evening and telescope viewing at night (weather permitting). This year only provided one perfectly clear night and that was on the opening Friday, during which an array of different types of telescopes were available to look through from very large Dobsonian reflectors to a specialised Ritchey-Chrtien telescope. On the Saturday morning there was a telescope trail in which all the equipment was on display and the owners of each telescope told the attendees about it.

Stephen Chadwick giving a talk on Hydrogen Alpha imaging of the Sun.

Lectures topics ranged from Ultraviolet Irradiation and Skin Lesions (Skin Cancer), Hydrogen Alpha Observations and Photography to Cook and the Transit of Venus in 1769 and

2012. Of particular interest to the author was an astrophotography workshop which gave practical demonstrations of how to process deep sky photos.

Ivan Vasey Curator of Instruments for the Auckland Astronomical Society telling people on the telescope trail about the GSO Ritchey-Chretien Astrograph telescope sold by Astronz.

Telescopes, telescopes and telescopes!

The 2011 Council

President GrantChristie DavidBritten (021)02404992 (09)8463657

Society Contacts AucklandAstronomicalSocietyInc,

POBox24187,RoyalOak, Auckland1345,NewZealand Email info@astronomy.org.nz www.astronomy.org.nz Journal journal@astronomy.org.nz

VicePresident Treasurer& Membership Secretary Curatorof Instruments Librarian JournalEditors

AndrewBuckingham (09)4735877 KleoZois IvanVazey 0226912055 (09)5353987 (09)4808607 (09)5342946 (09)4805648 (029)9124748 (09)5371500 (09)8206001 (09)4453293

TonyReynolds CliveBolt MilinaRisti NickMoore GavinLogan ShaunFletcher

Website

Webmaster Council Council

MembershipinquiriescontactAndrew Buckinghamattreasurer@astronomy.org.nzor byphoneon(09)4735877orbymobileon027 2462446

BernieBrenner

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SOCIETYJOURNAL,MARCH2012

TheNightSkyinMarch2012
FromtheRASNZWebsite

To use the chart, hold it up to the sky. Turn the chart so the direction you are looking is at the bottom of the chart. If you are looking to the south then have 'South horizon' at the lower edge. As the Earth turns the sky appears to rotate clockwise around the south celestial pole (SCP on the chart). Stars rise in the east and set in the west, just like the Sun. The sky makes a small extra rotation from night to night as we orbit the Sun. Four planets grace the evening sky. The brightest are Venus and Jupiter, low in the west at dusk. They see early. Mars is the

bright orange-red 'star' in the northeast. Medium bright Saturn is the lower 'star' of a similar pair in the east. Sirius is the brightest star, northwest of overhead. Canopus, the second brightest star, is southwest of overhead. Orion, containing 'The Pot', is below Sirius in the northwest sky with Taurus and the Pleiades/Matariki cluster lower again. The Southern Cross and Pointers are midway up the southeast sky. Nearby galaxies, the Clouds of Magellan, LMC and SMC, are high in the south sky. The Scorpion rises in the southeast later.

Chart produced by Guide 8 software; www.projectpluto.com. Labels and text added by Alan Gilmore, Mt John Observatory of the University of Canterbury.www.canterbury.ac.nz

WWW.ASTRONOMY.ORG.NZ 17

ObservingNotesMarch2012
ByAlanGilmore
our planets enliven the early evening sky. Venus and Jupiter make an eye-catching pair low in the western twilight. They set as the sky darkens. Venus is the brighter of the two. At the beginning of the month it is lower than Jupiter. Venus keeps much the same angle from the Sun, setting around two hours after the Sun through March and April. Jupiter slips steadily lower as we move to the far side of the Sun from it. It passes to the left of Venus at mid month. In a telescope Venus looks like a first-quarter Moon. Jupiter shows a disk with its four bright 'Galilean' moons lined up on either side. Jupiter is 840 million km from us in March. Venus is 120 million km away mid-month. Mars is mid-way up the northeast sky, shining with a reddish-orange light. We pass closest to it at the beginning of March. This 'closest' is much further away than the best, though. On March 5 Mars will be 101 million km from us. A telescope will show it as a small disk one-third as big as Jupiter. Mars appears to move westward, leftward, against the background stars as we pass it by. Saturn is in the east at dusk. It is a little brighter than Spica the brightest star in Virgo, above Saturn. A telescope magnifying 20x shows Saturn's rings. Its largest moon, Titan, is four ring-diameters from the planet. Saturn is 1330 million km away in mid March. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky though fainter than planets Venus and Jupiter. It appears at dusk, northwest of overhead. It is quickly followed by Canopus, southwest of the zenith. Below Sirius are Rigel and Betelgeuse, the brightest stars in Orion. Between them is a line of three stars: Orion's belt. To southern hemisphere star watchers, the line of three makes the bottom of 'The Pot'. Orion's belt points down and left to a V-shaped pattern of stars making the face of Taurus the Bull. Further down and left, low in the northwest, is the Pleiades or Matariki star cluster, setting early. Sirius is the brightest star in the sky both because it is relatively close, nine light years* away, and 23 times brighter than the Sun. Rigel, above and left of Orion's belt, is a bluish supergiant star, 40 000 times brighter than the Sun and much hotter. It is 800 light years away. Orange Betelgeuse, below and right of the line of three, is a red-giant star, cooler than the Sun but much bigger and 9000 times brighter. It is 400 light years from us. The handle of "The Pot", or Orion's sword, has the Orion Nebula at its centre; a glowing gas cloud many light-years across and 1300 light years away. Near the north skyline are Pollux and Castor marking the heads of Gemini the twins. Right of them and higher is the star cluster Praesepe, marking the shell of Cancer the crab. Praesepe is also called the Beehive cluster, the reason obvious when it is viewed in binoculars. It is 500 light years away. Young clusters, like the Pleiades/Matariki cluster have bright stars in them. The bright stars burn out after a 100 million years or so. Old clusters like Praesepe have no bright stars. Crux, the Southern Cross, is in the southeast. Below it are Beta and Alpha Centauri, often called 'The Pointers'. Alpha Centauri is the closest naked-eye star, 4.3 light years away. Beta Centauri, like most of the stars in Crux, is a blue-giant star hundreds of light years away. Canopus is also a very luminous distant star; 13 000 times brighter than the Sun and 300 light years away. The Milky Way is brightest in the southeast toward Crux. It becomes broader lower in the southeast toward Scorpius. Above Crux the Milky Way can be traced to nearly overhead where it fades. It becomes very faint in the north, right of Orion. The Milky Way is our edgewise view of the galaxy, the pancake of billions of stars of which the Sun is just one. The Clouds of Magellan, LMC and SMC are high in the south sky, easily seen by eye on a dark moonless night. They are two small galaxies about 160 000 and 200 000 light years away. *A light year (l.y.)is the distance that light travels in one year: nearly 10 million million km or 1013 km. Sunlight takes eight minutes to get here; moonlight about one second. Sunlight reaches Neptune, the outermost major planet, in four hours. It takes four years to reach the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

SocietyTelescopesForHire
TheSocietyhasawiderangeoftelescopesforhiretomembers. If you are looking to purchase or upgrade a telescope and are notsurewhattobuy,thisisaverygoodwaytoevaluatesomeof theavailableequipment.Seealsotheadvertisementontheback page. To inquire about hiring or for advice on what to buy and for information about equipment, contact Ivan Vazey, curator of instruments,ativazey@surfer.co.nzph(09)5353987

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DiaryofSolarSystemEventsforMarch2012
FromtheRASNZWebsite Date(NZDT) DiaryofSolarSystemEventsinMarch2012forNewZealand March1 March2 March4 March5 March6 March7 March8 March10 March10 March11 March12 March14 March14 March15 March15 March20 March22 March23 March25 March26 March26 March27 March27 March28 March29 March31 Moonatfirstquarter2.21pmNZDT(1:21UT). Moonfurthestnorth,solowestsouthernhemispheretransitforthemonth. Marsatopposition9amNZDT(Mar3,20hrUT). Mercuryatgreatestelongation18eastofSun. MarsnearesttoEarth,100.78millionkmat6amNZDT(Mar5,17hrUT). 98.5%litMoon6toupperrightofRegulusLeomagnitude1.4,and12toupperleftofMars,lateeveningsky. FullMoonat10.40pmNZDT(9:40UT),10toupperrightofMars. Moonatperigee,itsclosesttotheEarthforthelunarmonth,362398km, 94%litMoon5.5toupperleftofSpica,magnitude1.1,lateeveningsky. 87%litMoon7torightofSaturn,lateeveningsky. Mercurystationary. 65%litMoon6belowAntares,Scorpii,magnitude1.1,earlydawnsky. Venus3belowandslightlyrightofJupiter,earlyeveningsky. Moonfurthestsouth,sohighestsouthernhemispheretransitforthemonth. Moonatlastquarter2.25pmNZDT(1:25UT). SouthernAutumnEquinox,Sunonequatorat6.15pmNZDT. Mercuryatinferiorconjunction. NewMoonat3.37amNZDT(Mar22,14:37UT). UranusinconjunctionwiththeSun. Moonatapogee,itsgreatestdistancefromtheEarthfortheLunarmonth,405780km. 12%litMoon5.5torightofJupiterand5.8toleftofVenus,earlyeveningsky. Venusatgreatestelongation,46eastofSun. 19%litMoon5.3torightofVenusand3toupperleftofPleiadesstarcluster,lowearlyeveningsky. 27%litMoon6belowAldebaran,Tauri,eveningsky. Moonfurthestnorth,solowestsouthernhemispheretransitforthemonth. Moonatfirstquarter8.41amNZDT(Mar30,19:41UT).
NotesbyAlanGilmore,UniversityofCanterbury'sMtJohnObservatory,P.O.Box56,LakeTekapo7945,NewZealand. www.canterbury.ac.nz

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