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International Year of Astronomy, Citizen Sky and Jupiter events
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Remember sitting in your backyard searching the sky for flying saucers? Or viewing the sky through a telescope for the first time? The International Year of Astronomy, 2009 provides a variety of opportunites, events, and activities for your participation. Those of you with children and grandchildren can learn together of some of the mysteries that are still being explored.
During the final three months of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA), there are still events and activities for your involvement. One of the most exciting events is the Jupiter24 Project. On November 22, 2009, In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first telescopic sighting of Jupiter, there will be 24 hours of continuous radio observation of the planet using NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN).
The DSN is a worldwide network of antenna that is used to explore our solar system. The DSN is composed of three deep space communication systems including: Goldstone in the Mojave Desert in California, Canberra, Australia, and Madrid, Spain. Two types of emissions, thermal from the planet Jupiter, and non-thermal emissions from high-energy electrons trapped in Jupiter’s magnetosphere, will be observed. Jupiter’s rotation is about 9 hours and 50 minutes, so during the Jupiter24 event, you will be able to observe 2 and 1/2 planetary rotations of the planet. The scientific purposes of this event include: 1) searching for other possible non-thermal types of emissions; 2) variations of solar activity; and 3) following up on earlier observations.
You can also be part of a new citizen science project, Citizen Sky. This is a great event to do with your family. Experience a stellar event this autumn that only happens every 27 years. The star Epsilon Aurigae was first observed in 1821, and since then a strange phenomenon has occured. Visible to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere from now until spring, this star, undergoes a strange transformation. From fall until spring the star gradually loses about half its brilliance. It will remain dim through all of 2010 and will return to its normal brilliance by the summer of 2011.
According to Dr. Arne Henden, director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, "Citizen science can be much more than data collection. Participants often have real-world experience and/or advanced degrees in areas that can be applied to astronomy. Our goal is to introduce the public to authentic science and at the same time use this talent to help astronomers." The strange event that happens to the supergiant star every 27 years, is the mysterious appearance of a companion that seems to be made of "dark matter." According to Dr. Bob Stencel, “To make things even more fun, we also have some evidence of a substantial mass, perhaps a large planet, spiraling into the mysterious dark companion object. Observations during the upcoming eclipse will be key to understanding this and predicting what will happen if the putative planet does eventually fall into the star,”
If you missed the recent lecture, "The New World of Galileo," delivered by Professor William Shea, the Galileo Chair for the University of Padua, it is now available online for you to view. Enjoy the beauty of the Cosmos coming and the views from the Hubble Deep Space Telescope too.
