Title: Starry Monday at Otterbein
1Starry Monday at Otterbein
Welcome to
- Astronomy Lecture Series
- -every first Monday of the month-
- November 5, 2007
- Dr. Uwe Trittmann
2Todays Topics
- Recent Advances in Astronomy - Introduction
- The Night Sky in November
3Feedback!
- Please write down suggestions/your interests on
the note pads provided - If you would like to hear from us, please leave
your email / address - To learn more about astronomy and physics at
Otterbein, please visit - http//www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/weitkamp.asp
(Obs.) - http//www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/ (Physics
Dept.)
4Recent Advances in Astronomy
- Data
- Theory
- Instruments
- Space Flight
- Space probes
5Introduction
- In the last 15 years cosmology has become a
(very) exact science - 1970ies Age of the universe is 10-20 billion yrs
- Now the universe is 13.70.1 billion years old
- Eagerly anticipated results have been obtained
- Temperature of the universe is 2.725 K,
isotropic 1 part in 100,000 - Unexpected discoveries occurred
- Acceleration of cosmological expansion
- The universe contains strange unknown stuff
- Changing of space exploration agencies
- Commercial spaceflight
- China, Japan, India
- Bushs Moon-Mars initiative changes NASAs
objectives - Instrumentation has improved dramatically
- CCD cameras
- Adaptive optics
- New Astronomies
- Neutrino, X-ray, IR, ...
6Recent Advances in Astronomy Space Probes
- Cassini / Huygens
- Chandra
- Mars Rovers
- WMAP
- Galileo
- Hayabusa
- Deep Impact
- Many more
7Deep Impact The Comet Crasher
- Comet Impact July 4, 2005Impact
Velocity 23,000 mphSpacecraft SizeFlyby
spacecraft - nearly as large as a Volkswagen
Beetle automobile.Impactor spacecraft - about
the same dimensions as a typical living room
coffee table.
8Comets - Traveling Dirty Snowballs
- Small icy bodies, dirty snowballs
- Develops a tail as it approaches the Sun
9Comet Anatomy
- Tail may be up to 1 A.U. long
10Halleys Comet Now and then
- Halleys Comet in 1910
- Top May 10, 30 tail
- Bottom May 12, 40 tail
- Halleys Comet in 1986
- March 14, 1986
11Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
- HST image (1994) Earth added to show scale
12Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
13Impact on Jupiter
14Deep Impact The Comet Crasher
- Comet Impact July 4, 2005Impact
Velocity 23,000 mphSpacecraft SizeFlyby
spacecraft - nearly as large as a Volkswagen
Beetle automobile.Impactor spacecraft - about
the same dimensions as a typical living room
coffee table.
15Temple 1 Coordinate System
16Deep Impact crashes into comet Temple 1
- This is how a comet looks like!
17Viewed from the flyby spacecraft
from Hubble Space Telescope
18- Spirit at Gusev Crater
- Sol 1365 Time 2118
- Sols past warranty 1275
- Opportunity at Meridiani Sinus
- Sol 1345 Time 917
- Sols past warranty 1255
19Martian Surface
- Iron gives the characteristic Mars color rusty
red! - View of Viking 1 1 m
rock Sojourner
20Martian Panorama
- Note the sky is not black as on the moon,
- but pale pink of the dust in the
atmosphere! - Twin Peaks about 1-2 km away
21Mars Panorama Opportunity has landed!
22Landing Sites
- A couple of 1000 miles apart!
23Meteorite ALH 84001
- Discovered in Antarctica in 1984
- 2 kg, 17 cm across
- Chemical analysis indicates it came from Mars
- In 1996, a team of scientists argued that it
contains fossilized evidence of bacteria that
came from Mars
24Cassini/ Huygens
- Spectacular data from Saturn, Titan, and the Rings
25Titan
- Titan is the only moon in the solar system known
to have an atmosphere - Infrared picture shows surface details
26Titan from Cassini
27Haze and Atmosphere
28Methane Clouds
29False Colored Image
30Map of Titan
31Methane Rain Lakes
32Huygens sees Shoreline descending
33SOHO
- The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
monitors the Sun (launched 1995). It provides
crucial early warnings of impending space weather
that can destroy satellites and knock out power
grids. Scientists credit SOHO with allowing
forecasts that prevent damage and losses that
might otherwise occur.
Erupting prominence
34Hubble Space Telescope
- Launched 1993
- Above the atmosphere
- 2.4m Mirror
35HST Planets
36Hubble Ultra Deep Field
37HST M51 Spiral Galaxy
38The Night Sky in November
- The sun is past autumn equinox - longer nights!
- Autumn constellations are coming up Cassiopeia,
Pegasus, Perseus, Andromeda, Pisces ? lots of
open star clusters! - Mars is visible later at night
39Moon Phases
- Today (Waning Crescent)
- 11/ 9 (New Moon)
- 11 / 17 (First Quarter Moon)
- 11 / 24 (Full Moon)
- (Last Quarter Moon)
40Today at Noon
- Sun at meridian, i.e. exactly south
4110 PM
- Typical observing hour, early October
- Mars
- Uranus
- Neptune
42Star Maps
40º
90º
Celestial North Pole everything turns around
this point Zenith the point right above you
the middle of the map
43West
-
- The summer triangle lingers on
44Due North
- Big Dipper points to the north pole
45High up the Autumn Constellations
- W of Cassiopeia
- Big Square of Pegasus
- Andromeda Galaxy
46Andromeda Galaxy
47South-East
- Perseus,
- Auriga Taurus
- with Plejades and the Double Cluster
48South-West 2006
- Planets
- Uranus
- Neptune
- Zodiac
- Capricorn
- Aquarius
49South-West 2007
- Planets
- Uranus
- Neptune
- Zodiac
- Capricorn
- Aquarius
50Mark your Calendars!
- Next Starry Monday February 4, 2008, 7 pm
- (this is a Monday
) - Observing at Prairie Oaks Metro Park
- Friday, November 16, 630 pm
- Friday, January 11, 600 pm
- Friday, February 15, 630 pm
- Web pages
- http//www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/weitkamp.asp
(Obs.) - http//www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/ (Physics
Dept.)
51Mark your Calendars II
- Physics Coffee is every Wednesday, 330 pm
- Open to the public, everyone welcome!
- Location across the hall, Science 256
- Free coffee, cookies, etc.
-