Southwest Montana Astronomical Society

SMAS September meeting

Join SMAS out at the Sore Elbow Forge on Friday September 27th starting at 7:00 p.m. We’re going to do an inventory of our club scopes and see what needs to be worked on. Bring your own scope and see what needs to be tightened, collimated, WD-40’d, repaired and more.

Trip around the Triangle

Spot the Stars of the Summer Triangle

David Prosper

September skies are a showcase for the Summer Triangle, its three stars gleaming directly overhead after sunset. The equinox ushers in the official change of seasons on September 23. Jupiter and Saturn maintain their vigil over the southern horizon, but set earlier each evening, while the terrestrial planets remain hidden.

The bright three points of the Summer Triangle are among the first stars you can see after sunset: Deneb, Vega, and Altair.  The Summer Triangle is called an asterism, as it’s not an official constellation, but still a striking group of stars. However, the Triangle is the key to spotting multiple constellations! Its three stars are themselves the brightest in their respective constellations: Deneb, in Cygnus the Swan; Vega, in Lyra the Harp; and Altair, in Aquila the Eagle. That alone would be impressive, but the Summer Triangle also contains two small constellations inside its lines, Vulpecula the Fox and Sagitta the Arrow. There is even another small constellation just outside its borders: diminutive Delphinus the Dolphin. The Summer Triangle is huge!

The equinox occurs on September 23, officially ushering in autumn for folks in the Northern Hemisphere and bringing with it longer nights and shorter days, a change many stargazers appreciate. Right before sunrise on the 23^rd, look for Deneb – the Summer Triangle’s last visible point – flickering right above the western horizon, almost as if saying goodbye to summer.

The Summer Triangle region is home to many important astronomical discoveries. Cygnus X-1, the first confirmed black hole, was initially detected here by x-ray equipment on board a sounding rocket launched in 1964. NASA’s Kepler Mission, which revolutionized our understanding of exoplanets, discovered thousands of planet candidates within its initial field of view in Cygnus. The Dumbbell Nebula (M27), the first planetary nebula discovered, was spotted by Charles Messier in the diminutive constellation Vulpecula way back in 1764!

Planet watchers can easily find Jupiter and Saturn shining in the south after sunset, with Jupiter to the right and brighter than Saturn. At the beginning of September, Jupiter sets shortly after midnight, with Saturn following a couple of hours later, around 2:00am. By month’s end the gas giant duo are setting noticeably earlier: Jupiter sets right before 10:30pm, with Saturn following just after midnight. Thankfully for planet watchers, earlier fall sunsets help these giant worlds remain in view for a bit longer. The terrestrial planets, Mars, Venus, and Mercury, remain hidden in the Sun’s glare for the entire month.

Discover the latest in space science from the NASA missions studying our universe at nasa.gov

Caption: Once you spot the Summer Triangle, you can explore the cosmic treasures found in this busy region of the Milky Way. Make sure to “Take a Trip Around the Triangle“ before it sets this fall! Find the full handout at bit.ly/TriangleTrip

Caption: This wider view of the area around the Summer Triangle includes another nearby asterism: the Great Square of Pegasus.

This article is distributed by the NASA Night Sky Network

NASA’s Night Sky Network program supports astronomy clubs across the USA dedicated to astronomy outreach. Visit nightsky.jpl.nasa.org to find local clubs, events, and more!

SMAS Summer lecture

Join us on Friday July 26th at the Bozeman Public Library small conference room at 5:00 p.m. as we welcome back to Bozeman Dr. Shane Larson.   Shane will be giving us an update on The Dark Side of the Cosmos: Dark Matter and Energy.
This is at the Public Library, 626 E Main St. The high school is not available during the summer. Free event, open to the public.

Happenings in March

Our next SMAS club meeting is next Friday, March 29th at 7:00 p.m. at Bozeman High School. We’ll be welcoming Solar System Ambassador Sherre Boothman who will give a presentation on the Apollo Mission 50th Anniversary.

On Saturday March 30th you are invited to join us at the Bozeman Public Library at 4:00 p.m. to learn more about Globe at Night and their 2019 Adopt-A-Street campaign. More info can be found here: Adopt-A-Street

SMAS February 2019 meeting

Join us on Friday February 22nd at 7:00 p.m. for our next meeting.  Part of our Winter Lecture Series, we’ll hear from SMAS club member Russ Lucas and John Harrington from Boston, both are Glacier Astronomy VIP’s in the park. They will give us an update on the new observatory, plans for the future including public outreach this summer. We’ll be meeting in the Bozeman High School Bridger Charter Academy wing, room C-6.  Free and open to the public.

UPDATE: Here is the link to the Glacier National Park Astronomy VIP Program.  Thanks to Russ, John and Mike for the great presentation!  We can’t wait for updates on your progress.

Find Neptune this week

Have you seen the blue of Neptune?  If not, finding it this week gets a bit easier thanks to Mars and the Astro League.  See the attached diagram, for more info visit the Astro League website – while you are there check out the observing clubs – which is included in you SMAS dues.

FYI – speaking of dues… it is election time and time for dues.  Check the tab above for info about paying your dues, or bring it to a meeting.  Our next meeting is 12/7/2018!

Comet viewing 2018

There are several comets that should be visible with telescopes over the next several weeks. As the comets come in closer one should be visible with binoculars in December – and depending on how it interacts with the inner solar system, might become visible to the naked eye.

This website allows you to select the date you will be viewing the comets and a map of the sky where the comets will be located so you can find them easier.

On December 13, 2018, comet 46P/Wirtanen will reach perihelion, then on December 16, 2018 it is forecast to reach its brightest, at around mag 6.1. It will lie at a distance of 1.05 AU from the Sun, and at a distance of 0.07 AU from the Earth.

From Bozeman, it will be visible in the evening sky, becoming accessible at around 17:57 (MDT) as the dusk sky fades, 29° above your eastern horizon. It will then reach its highest point in the sky at 22:27, 65° above our southern horizon. It will continue to be observable until around 03:52, when it sinks to 21° above your western horizon.

Visit our resource tab for more information.

October 2018 SMAS club meeting

Join us on Friday October 26th at 7:00 p.m. for our next SMAS club meeting. We’ll be meeting at the Bozeman High School Bridger Charter Academy community center aka library, room C-6.  Our agenda includes the 2019 SMAS elections and board  along updates on what the club is up to this Fall and the Winter Lecture series.  Bring along your smart phone or iPad, as we’ll discuss and share some of the best apps that we’ve found and use for astronomy. Then we’ve got a game to test your skills – are you ready for that?  Sounds like fun and a challenge.

SMAS site bugged

We have been made aware that there have been some issues with some of our tabs. We are working to fix the issues and get the full site up and running again soon.

Thanks for your patience!

UPDATE: Everything should be good to go now. Thanks!

The next solar eclipse

For the 2017 total solar eclipse, I started talking about and planning for it 6 years in advance.  The next total solar eclipse seen in the US will take place on Monday April 8, 2014.  Where will you be?  For many, last year was their first experience of a total solar eclipse and it left them with a drive to see more.  I know of a few people that are heading to Chile for the July 2019 eclipse, are you planning on heading down, too?

Several club members participated in the Citizen CATE Experiment, you can view a movie of the data collected. Papers are being written about the science that we learned. We’ll share when those get published.