12/10/11 TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE

HYATT REGENCY MAUI - 1:30AM - 5AM

SUMMARY:  WEATHER WAS CLOUDY AND RAINY.  

GOT TO SEE PIECES OF THE ECLIPSE.

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO MADE IT AND WEATHERED THE WEATHER!

GATHERED ON THE HYATT ROOFTOP.

EDDIE TELLING WONDERFUL STORIES WHILE WE DRINK HOT CHOCOLATE.

SCOPES COVERED IN THE RAIN.  WATCHING COOL SPACE MOVIES WHILE WE WAIT.

AHHHHH....THE MOON APPEARS IN PARTIAL ECLIPSE.

REDDISH COLOR STARTING TO SHOW.

MOON ABSORBED IN PENUMBRA.

MY BEST SHOT - - MINUTES BEFORE TOTALITY - -  CLOUDS TOOK OVER AFTERWARDS.

Huntsville AL (SPX) Nov 03, 2011

Maui Astronomy Club takes photos using the Faulkes Telescope in July 2011.

 Sombrero Galaxy M104

   M13 - Globular Cluster

 M57 The Ring Nebula

 M95 - Barred Galaxy 38 million light years away

 M99 - Spiral Galaxy 50 million light years away

  I think this is M87

 IC 1011 - Largest known galaxy

 Saturn with it's Rings

 Alex Filippenko comes to Maui! 

 Come join me at the Institute for Astronomy on Monday, August 15, 2011

to hear Dr. Filippenko give a fascinating talk on Black Holes!

Talk starts at 6:30pm.  Hope to see you there. 

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE  *  JUNE 15, 2011  *  VISIBLE FROM AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST AND INDIA

The Total Lunar Eclipse that took place on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 (not visible in HI), 

was a very long eclipse.  The period when Earth's shadow completely blocks the Moon -

known as totality, lasted a whopping 1 hour and 40 minutes.  The last time the Moon was

covered for this long was July 2000, when it lasted 7 minutes longer.  The entire eclipse

lasted a little over 5 1/2 hours.  photos from www.space.com                                                 

Skywatcher Derek Keats of Johannesburg, South Africa snapped this photo of the total lunar eclipse of June 15, 2011 with a Canon EOS 50D camera.

Maui was experiencing MOONBOWS during June's Full Moon.

I found these pictures on-line that look just like the one I saw!! 

photo from: www.fairiesworld.com

EVENT:  March 11, 2011 

PanSTARRS Telescope 1 (PS1) and Faulkes Telescope North Tours @ Haleakala

 Maui Astronomy Club tours PanSTARRS telescope and Faulkes Telescope North in Haleakala's "Science City".

A perfect day and beyond phenomenal experience.  

Thank you so much to the PanSTARRS Crew for the tour of PS1 and the sacred Ahu.

And to Dr. JD Armstrong for the surprise tour of Faulkes Telescope North!

Some of our Club on Haleakala. 

View of The Big Island - Mauna Kea summit.

Stephan gives tour of Haleakala Ahu alter.

  Dr. JD Armstrong gives tour of Faulkes Telescope.

Inside Faulkes Dome.

Stopped by Haleakala Amateur Astronomers site. 

Control room of PanSTARRS Telescope.

Inside tour of PS1.

Mirror and reflection - PS1 Telescope.

PanSTARRS Crew.  Thank you!

Sunset stargazing after tour.

Aloha ET Rock Lovers!

A Big THANK YOU to Tracy Latimer for her excellent and captivating presentation

on Meteorites: Rocks from Space this past Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011.  We learned

so much!  Tracy was so riveting and knowledgeable, everyone was hanging on

her every word!  Truly fascinating facts, science and information.  Here are some pix.

 Maui Astronomy Club

2010 Year in Review

 January 15, 2010 - Partial Solar Eclipse 

February 2010 - Zodiacal Light over Haleakala - photo by Rob Ratkowski 

 March 22, 2010 - Vernal Equinox Party Haleakala - Green Flash photo by Anders Friberg

April 15, 2010 - Fireball meteor caught on Wisconsin Security Camera 

May 13, 2010 - Jupiter loses a Stripe!  photos by A. Wesley 

June 5, 2010 - MAC uses Faulkes Telescope - images from club members 

June 24, 2010 - Astronomer, Alex Filippenko gives talk to Maui Astronomy Club

June 25, 2010 - Partial Lunar Eclipse  photos by Becky Sydney 

July 17, 2010 - attempted Haleakala Summer Stargazing - freezing, cold, wet and nasty 

August 20, 2010 - Famous Astronomer, Jack Horkheimer dies at 72 

 September 11, 2010 - MAC uses Faulkes Telescope again!

September 17, 2010 - Institute for Astronomy Open House Event 

September 23, 2010 - Autumn Equinox + Harvest Moon + Jupiter at closest approach 

October 28, 2010 - Comet Hartley passes Earth at 11 million miles - photo from Space.com

November 15, 2010 - Interesting Sun Activity  - photo from Spaceweather.com

December 20, 2010 - Total Lunar Eclipse - unfortunately rained out - photo from Space.com 

    Dr. Alex Filippenko on Maui - Thursday, June 24, 2010! 

The Maui Astronomy Club is proud to present Dr. Alex Filippenko, TV's famous

astronomer and Berkeley astronomy professor.

Alex will be giving a FREE public talk on the fascinating topic of DARK ENERGY

and the RUNAWAY UNIVERSE at the Institute for Astronomy in Pukalani at 6:30pm.  

see flyer below

Dr. Alex Filippenko.

Oh what a fantastic time we had last night at the Institute for Astronomy.

Several club members got to operate the Faulkes Telescope and image beautiful deep space objects.

Here are some galaxies we snapped.  Scroll down.

M51, Whirlpool Galaxy, image taken by Tianna 

M101, Pinwheel Galaxy, image taken by Kika 

M63, Sunflower Galaxy, image taken by Hannah 

Aloha Gazers of the Stars! (and planets:-)

Find Venus in the west after sunset, it's the brightest object in the whole sky.

Look up above Venus until you spot the orangish-red planet, Mars and it's close approach to the brilliant, bluish star Regulus - the brightest star in Leo the Lion.  

Cool facts:  Regulus is 77 light years away (that's about 462 trillion miles!) AND it's a multiple star system of 4 suns that orbit each other!  Amazing.  Mars is approximately 140 million miles now.....that's only about 12 light minutes away.  

  Mars is like a run away train. Watch night by night as The god of War closes in on the royal King star, Regulus, then bypasses it at a swift pace.  Mars continues racing toward Saturn and bypasses the ringed planet by August 2nd.  I think Mars is getting ready for the Maui marathon or something.  See more news below about Jupiter the planet of mystery.

    Read about Jupiter's missing stripe.....     http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/94107139.html                   diagram and Jupiter photo from Sky & Telescope.com              

Mark your calendar for 2 exciting astronomy club events in June.

JUNE 5, 2010

7:30 pm - 9 pm   Institute for Astronomy, Pukalani -

Astronomy Club and astronomy students from MCC get to use the Faulkes telescope!

Sign up today.

JUNE 25/26, 2010

Late Friday night, June 25th at 11:30 pm - 2:00 am (Saturday morning) PARTIAL LUNAR ECLIPSE PARTY.

Pukalani Location to be announced.   Let me know if you are interested in observing this event.

NIGHT CLUB  Amateur astronomers gather in the darkness to shed light on the cosmos.  

by Cindy Schumacher 

Who would ever have thought that Galileo, the man who popularized the telescope and started the astronomy revolution, was an amateur astronomer?It is true. Galileo and others, including Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Nostradamus and Copernicus, made their living via other professions. Astronomy was only their hobby. Yet, just as with amateur astronomers today, their study of the sky led to major contributions in professional astronomy and the evolution of space science.

Becky Sydney, founder and president of the Maui Astronomy Club and Astronomy teacher in the University of Hawai‘i Maui College VITEC program, has been an amateur astronomer for over 18 years.

“My passion for the stars inspired me to form the club and share the wonders and joy of the night sky with Maui’s visitors and the local community,” said Sydney.

Club membership is free. Monthly meetings include observation of constellations, planets, meteor showers, eclipses, comets and many other phenomena.

Sydney thinks that Hawai‘i is one of the most perfect spots on Earth to view the stars.

“Tall mountains, dark skies and our isolated location in the Pacific make great stargazing possible,” she said.

Located at 21 degrees north latitude, Hawai‘i gazers can see both southern hemisphere and northern hemisphere stars—nearly 85 percent of all stars visible from Earth. Our place just below the Tropic of Cancer positions Hawai‘i as the only state in the United States that can see the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross at the same time.

“Hawai‘i’s history begins with astronomy, since it was the ancient Polynesian astronomers who found the islands,” said Sydney.

Their knowledge of the stars enabled them to navigate to the Hawaiian Islands. Using their coconut compasses, they followed stars such as Hōkūle‘a and Makali‘i and, once above the equator, Hōkū Pa‘a, the North Star. These astronomers, called A‘o Hōkū, could venture out on any starry night and know their direction, their latitude, what day it was, what month, what season and the approximate time.

“Without watches, their keen observations of rising and setting stars and the cycles of the sun and moon were their tools,” she said.

It appears that their understanding of the stars, moon and sun was critical for cultivating their way of life here in Hawai‘i.

“And more astronomers keep coming,” said Sydney.

Today, Hawai‘i continues to be the world’s headquarters for astronomy. It is home to the world’s largest optical telescope, the Keck Telescope, located on Mauna Kea, plus a dozen other observatories.
One of the worlds most sophisticated telescopes, the Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS) is located on Haleakalā. It tracks Earth satellites, asteroids and space debris. Haleakalā, the “House of the Sun,” will soon be home to the world’s largest solar telescope, the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST), beginning construction this fall.

What does one need to become an amateur astronomer? “First and foremost, a love of the stars and a sense of wonder,” said Sydney. “Any clear night, you can go out and find the constellations, planets and any other visible stellar objects, such as the Milky Way, clusters and galaxies.”

Using a special star chart called a planisphere, you can find every star pattern visible throughout the whole year, day-by-day and hour-by-hour, as seen from your location. To read the planisphere in the dark, amateur astronomers use a red-light flashlight.

“Red light has a smaller effect on night vision than white light,” she said.

It is important to watch the stars from a nice dark spot in the countryside. Sydney explained lights radiate into the atmosphere to create a layer of “glow” that washes out the the stars. This glow is known as light pollution—an astronomer’s worst enemy.

“For those amateurs who want to look deeper into space, a telescope is the next step,” said Sydney.

There are affordable telescopes at every stage of this rewarding hobby. Of course, the bigger the scope, the more you can see, but the higher the price and the harder it is to handle. Binoculars are also wonderful, but you should mount them on a tripod for stability.

Sydney encourages all amateur astronomers to join the Maui Astronomy Club to share their enthusiasm of the stars with others.

“Come and see the stars, planets and far reaches of the galaxy,” she said. “We observe with telescopes, attend astronomy talks or assist in real science by contributing our time to astronomy projects and events.”

Having fun learning the stars and the workings of the universe is the main goal of amateur astronomy.

The stars will become your “nightly buddies of the sky,” said Sydney.

Besides that, comets and asteroids are routinely discovered by amateurs.

Who knows, you might be the next Galileo—“king of night vision, king of insight.”

For more information visit www.mauiastronomyclub.org.

VITEC’s Astronomy 101 class will be held on four Saturdays, May 15 through June 5, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and includes a tour of the Faulkes Telescope North (see front page story, “Amateur Astronomers Keep an Eye on the Future”).

Some excellent photos from the Equinox 2010 Party on Haleakala!

photos by Anders and Holly Friberg 

Green Flash!

Haleakala Shadow 

 Waxing Crescent Moon

SPRING EQUINOX STAR PARTY 2010

Come celebrate the First Day of Spring with the Maui Astronomy Club! 

Saturday, March 20, 2010

6pm - 9pm (sunset 6:35pm)

Haleakala Summit building

On the menu: Sunset, Venus, Mars, the Moon, Nebulae and much more!

What to bring: Super warm clothing, water, flashlight, snacks, chair or blanket

Please sign up by replying to Becky - must have minimum of 10 sign ups

Spring has sprung!

Thanks to those who made it to the Launiupoko star gazing gathering.

What a gorgeous night we enjoyed.

Stay tuned for February's Valentine gathering.....you know there's chocolate involved!

 Partial Solar eclipse January 15, 2010

photos taken by my astro-friend in Iran :-)

What a wonderful way to start the year!

A Blue Moon with partial eclipse on NYE and now a Solar Eclipse - it's like icing on the cake! 

Thanks to those who signed up for Monday's Star Gazing at Launiupoko Park near Lahaina.

6pm - 9pm - Bring a friend!  See you there.

 Partial Solar eclipse in Sheikh Lutfullah mosque of Esfahan

A FEW GOODIES FROM 2009 

 Earth and Moon imaged by LCROSS satellite.images from www.space.com 

First rocky exoplanet discovered. 

 image from www.space.com

Though its terrestrial surface renders CoRoT-7b more similar to Earth than many other exoplanets are, it's still a far cry from a familiar setting. The planet orbits extremely close to its star – about 1.6 million miles (2.5 million km), or 23 times closer than Mercury is to the sun. At this range, the planet's surface temperatures are scorching, with highs above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 degrees Celsius) on the star-facing side.  CoRoT-7b was discovered in February 2009 by the CoRoT space telescope, a European collaboration. The tiny planet was discovered orbiting a star slightly smaller and cooler than our sun, about 500 light-years away. As the planet passed in front of its star, it eclipsed a small portion of the star's light, causing a dip in brightness.

Haumea is also the fastest spinning large object in the solar system – one day on Haumea is equal to about 3.9 hours on Earth. This rapid rotation distorts Haumea, elongating it into a football-like shape. 

Haumea was the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth, and the mother of many other Hawaiian deities (including Hi'iaka and Namaka), who were all born as chunks taken from her. 

Hubble's Infrared view of deep space! 

 image from hubblesite.org

Aloha Earthlings!

Come join me on Friday, December 18th at the Haleakala Visitor Center for the last Kilo Hoku (star watching) session of the year!

See Jupiter and maybe Mercury along with the bright winter stars of Taurus the Bull, Orion the Hunter and of course the dog star, Sirius.

Haleakala Park guides will also be available to "talk story" about the celestial sky. 

Location is at 9,400 ft. (Visitor Center) and starts at 6:30pm -  9pm.  PLEASE DRESS WARM.

  TAURUS THE BULL

This is space news from 2007 but I'm still amazed by Nature's geometric wonder!

Saturn north pole shows a bizarre hexagon feature encircling the entire polar region.

photo from www.jpl.nasa.gov 

Aloha my fellow Spacelings,

Mark your calendar for the Maui Astronomy Club star gazing gathering Monday, November 16-- details and location forthcoming.  Until then, here are a few amazing news stories from the net!

SPACE.COM - ASTEROID NEAR MISS: On Nov. 6th at 2132 UT, asteroid2009 VA barely missed Earth when it flew just 14,000 km (approx. 9000 miles) above the planet's surface. That's well inside the "Clarke Belt" of geosynchronous satellites. If it had hit, the ~6-meter wide space rock would have disintegrated in the atmosphere as a spectacular fireball, causing no significant damage to the ground. 2009 VA was discovered just 15 hours before closest approach by astronomers working at the Catalina Sky Survey.

New Saturn Ring Is Largest Known; May Solve Moon Puzzle

Ker Than
for National Geographic News  
October 7, 2009

A newly discovered, dark ring around Saturn is the largest known planetary ring in the solar system, a new study says.

If the new ring were visible from Earth, it would look twice as wide as the full moon.Until now, that title of largest planetary ring belonged to Saturn's E ring, which orbits Saturn at a distance of about 400,000 miles (640,000 kilometers). The new Saturn ring is about 20 times farther—about 8 million miles (13 million kilometers) from Saturn (Saturn pictures).

Scientists think the new ring is made from dust-size particles kicked up as comets and other space debris slam into Saturn's outer moon Phoebe.

(Flashback picture: new Saturn ring found in 2006.)

Saturn Ring Hiding in the Dark - The ring has avoided detection until now because it's made from the same dark, carbon-rich material as Phoebe.

Though the new ring is dark, it's anything but cold—and it's that heat that gave the ring away this February, with a little help from NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope.

"When you have dark objects sitting in the sun, they warm up and reemit that heat like a black car in the sun," said study team member Douglas Hamilton of the University of Maryland.

New Ring Solves Saturn Mystery?

The new ring could explain a long-standing mystery about the strange two-tone coloration of Phoebe's neighbor Iapetus, another Saturn moon (picture of Saturn moon Iapetus).

Half of walnut-shaped Iapetus is icy and bright. The other half appears to be covered in a soot-like material of mysterious origin.

Now the researchers think the dark coating comes from particles from the newly discovered ring.

It's no accident Iapetus is essentially half black and half white. The moon is gravitationally locked to Saturn like our moon is with Earth, so one side of Iapetus constantly faces Saturn.

That arrangement means the dark side of Iapetus is continually bombarded by particles from the new ring as the moon orbits Saturn, the study says.

"The dark material," Hamilton said, "hits the leading face of Iapetus like bugs on a windshield."

The new Saturn ring research is to be published in tomorrow's issue of the journalNature.

Amazing crop circles in Kansas!  These are definitely the "human-made" ones.

photo from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

LCROSS Lunar Impact Mission observed from Haleakala

With beautiful weather atop Haleakala early this morning, October 9, 2009, amateur and professional astronomers alike watched patiently for the LCROSS impact event on the Moon.   Unfortunately, there was no huge blast or giant plume seen (as depicted by the media).

Telescope sizes ranged from 11 inches to 18 inches and recorded the event using CCDs and standard digital cameras.  Data is still being analyzed to determine any subtle indicators of the crash.

Despite the anti-climatic performance, the Maui Astronomy Club and Haleakala Amateur Astronomers group had the biggest blast!

A big Thanks to JD Armstrong, from the Institute for Astronomy and Rob Ratowski, of Haleakala Amateur Astronomers for hosting such an exciting event.  We all had a great time - can't wait to do it again!  Check out the photos.

NASA TV PHOTO

 A frame from the LCROSS video stream, taken from a height of 375 miles (600 kilometers), shows the infrared blip created by the Centaur rocket stage's impact within a dark lunar crater. The inset at left is a closeup, and the inset at right is an even closer, pixel-by-pixel closeup.

   All photos from here down by Becky Sydney

Maui Astronomy Club gets ready for the LCROSS Lunar Impact this Thursday Night!

 
photo from science.nasa.gov

EVENT INFO:         

• LCROSS Lunar Impact Event, Maui, Hawaii
• Time and Date: 11:30pm - 2:00am 
• Night of Thursday Oct. 8, 2009 / Morning of Friday Oct. 9, 2009
• Location: Institute for Astronomy, 34 Ohia Ku Street, Pukalani HI  96768
• Contact Person:  Rebecca Sydney, Maui Astronomy Club

Astronomers are advised to arrive early to set up telescopes, video and CCD cameras.

Attendees will be instructed and educated as to timing and nature of event.
We will be watching the NASA TV live feed on line as well.
Hot chocolate will be served.

Read this great article about the event!   http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/05oct_lcrossvg.htm

photo from science.nasa.gov

Photos from the Institute for Astronomy, Pukalani, 3rd Annual Open House

September 18, 2009