Public Stargazing

Public Stargazing

Where:
Frosty Drew Observatory
When:
Friday March 13, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.
Cost:
$1 Suggested Donation per Person

Tonight's forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies becoming mostly cloudy overnight with temperatures hovering around 30°F, significantly warmer than we have had for some time. The 41% waning crescent Moon will not rise until 2:33 a.m. offering us super dark skies to observe the fabulous starscape over Frosty Drew Observatory. Unfortunately, clouds may have a different plan, with cloud cover steadily increasing after sunset with full overcast skies happening around 9:00 p.m. Overall, tonight could be a great night if the clouds decide to stay out. Otherwise, we will take it as it goes and hope for the best.

We plan to open the Observatory and Sky Theatre at 7:30 p.m. In the Observatory we will feature Venus, Jupiter, the Orion Nebula, open star clusters, and galaxies. The Sky Theatre will be open with warmer temperatures and a slide show of astrophotos shot at Frosty Drew. We plan to stay open until either clouds or the rising Moon kick us out. Note that since the change to Daylight Savings (DST) last weekend, we have a departure of one hour from our usual winter opening time.

Though we have a threat of clouds, viewing may still be acceptable. Ninigret Park, home to Frosty Drew Observatory, has some interesting weather patterns that allow for acceptably clear skies when regions to the West, North, and East of us have clouds. Keeping up with us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/FrostyDrewOBSY) or Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/FrostyDrewObservatory) will get you updates on conditions at the Observatory. Then head on over, hope for clearer skies, enjoy the warmer temps and the awesome starscape over Frosty Drew Observatory!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weekly Happenings
Scott MacNeill

This past week, NASA released evidence acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of a very large ocean of liquid saltwater residing below the crust of Jupiter's largest Moon, Ganymede.

One of the four Galilean Moons of Jupiter, Ganymede is the largest Moon in the solar system and the only Moon with its own independent magnetic field. In fact, Ganymede's magnetic field is how we the discovery was made! Using the aurora visible on Jupiter's and Ganymede's poles, a team of scientists at the University of Cologne in Germany were able to measure the presence of the subsurface ocean. If a large body of water exists under Ganymede's surface, it would sustain a counteracting magnetic field against Jupiter's magnetic field. The magnetic friction between both fields would reduce the rocking motion of the aurora on Ganymede from the expected 6° range. Recent data on the rocking of Ganymede's aurora, collected by HST, shows a rocking of 2°, which indicates the presence of a rather large subsurface ocean. Possibly containing more water than exists on Earth's surface! The more water we find off Earth, the higher the probability of identifying extraterrestrial life. Give it up for HST, which will celebrate 25 years of awesomeness on April 24, 2015.

Geek alert! Saturday March 14, 2015 is Pi (𝜋) Day! When formatting the date, on this day, with a single digit month and day, and a 2 digit year (not Y2K compliant) separated by decimal points, you get: 3.14.15, which is the first 5 digits of Pi (3.1415). Geek moment..

Pi, which is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, is exceptionally important to math and science. Using Pi, astronomers and planetary scientists can compute the rotations, orbits, volume, and surface area of solar system bodies. Just this past week, Pi has been a huge factor in calculating the NASA Dawn mission's orbit around Ceres! Many hardcore math geekeries have put Pi to the test by computing the number to near 10 trillion digits with the hopes of finding a pattern in the numbers. Though no known patterns have ever emerged.

The real once-in-a-century moment will be at 9:26:53 a.m. when the date and time will print the first 10 digits of Pi (3.141592653). Now add in the coincidence that March 14, 2015 happens to be Albert Einsteins birthday and its an instant geeks-go-crazy day! Connect with your inner geek tomorrow and check out some cool ways to become acquainted with Pi by taking the NASA JPL 𝜋 IN THE SKY challenge while enjoying a delicious slice of your favorite pie to celebrate the day!

-Scott