26 October 2006

Observing Location	VP
Observational Period	1115-1130 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Broken Clouds >75% Temperature Crisp Wind Light Breeze Humidity Moderate Feels Like A little raw The weather went south while I was in the barber chair and shows no signs of improving. I waited it out hoping to see the Sun through one of the gaps in the clouds that I could are behind me but CT the time they got in front of me where the sub was they had filled in and the best view of the Sun that I got was through light cloud. Transparency Poor Seeing
Instruments	Brunton 8x21 compact binocular w/gold welder's glass - Charlie
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway

Target Sunspots Constellation Vir Category Solar Time 20061026.1115 EDT Comments Heliographic Latitude (B0) +4.92° Heliographic Longitude (L0) 253.35° Position Angle (P) +25.30° Carrington rotation number (CR) 249 The clouds were too thick today for me to make any kind of valid assessment.   Groups Spots R North South Total R = (Groups * 10) + Spots)

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I stopped at the library yesterday and they had a book on maps on display in the new books section so, being interested in maps, I browsed through it and found some information related to celestial cartography.

100 Maps: The Science, Art and Politics of Cartography Throughout History
John O.E. Clark
1-4027-2885-9
2005
$24.95

It is a coffee table book with 66 topical chapters split into 6 categories

Earliest Maps

Musurgia Universalis: Music of the Spheres

• Everything in the universe fits into a system of geometry, astronomy, mathematics, harmonics, philosophy and aesthetics which is governed by the laws of musical harmony
  • Pythagoras came up with the seven note scale in the 6th century BC
    • Exact numerical ratios determine the interval between notes on a musical scale
      • The Octave
    • Saw the universe as a musical structure
  • Plato
    • Music of the Spheres
      • Three types of music

        Musica instrumentalis

        Mathematically precise means of measuring musical time, interval, tone, and pitch

        Musica humanna

        Rhythm of the human body’s pulse and breathing

        Musica mundama

        The Earth and planets produce musical tones as they move through the universe

        • Mathematical ratios and annual cycles
          • The motion of the planets affects all aspects of our life (i.e., astrology)

    • The Republic
      • Plato writes Socrates describing the visible movement of the planets
        • “The intricate traceries in the sky are, no doubt, the loveliest and most perfect material things.
  • Socrates
    • Talking of Plato’s planetary motions he says “part of the visible workd, and therefore they fall far short of the true realities – the real relative velocities, in a world of pure number and all perfect geometric figures … These can only be conceived by reason and thought, not seen by the eye.”
  • Cicero
    • Scipio’s Dream
      • Explains the Music of the Spheres
  • Johannes Kepler
    • Harmony of the Universe
      • Said the music wasn’t real but rather a concept
        • “the movement of the heavens are nothing except a certain everlasting polyphony, perceived by the intellect, not by the ear”
      • the music is a precise geometric shapes, precise numbers, sequential spaces or units of time
  • Liebnitz
    • “Music is the hidden arithmetic exercise of the soul unconscious that it is calculating.”
• Lead to the development of
  • Algebra
  • Projective Geometry
  • The calculus

Cartographic Breakthroughs

Mapping Heaven and Earth: Ptolemy

• Claudius Ptolemaes
  • Egyptian-born Greek astronomer and geographer (~90- AD)
  • Guide to Geography (Geographike Hyphygesus) remained in print for 1,600 years
    • Written at the Great Library in Alexandria
    • 8 volumes
      • Volume 1 is most important
        • Map of world
          • Based on information provided by travelers and navigators
          • Used a conic and a pseudoconic projection
          • One of the maps used by Columbus in deciding to sail west from Europe in search of Asia
        • Longitude and Latitude
          • Based on Eratosthenes of Cyrene and Hipparchos of Nicaea
            • Roughed out the idea but didn’t do it
          • Latitude should parallel the equator and be measured in degrees from 0 at the equator; Longitude is divided into 180 degrees east and west of a “prime meridian” that he located in the Fortunate (Canary) Islands and called 0 degrees
          • His location for the Fortunate islands was 7º east of its true location
      • Volumes 2-7
        • Tables of locations in the known world with their coordinates
          • Africa
          • Asia
          • Europe
      • Volume 8
        • Individual area maps
          • 4 for Africa
          • 12 for Asia
          • 10 for Europe
          • probably based on Marinus of Tyre
          • no maps are extant
    • Subsequent editors added to and corrected it
      • Kind of like the Old Farmer’s Almanac that is now published by everyone based on Benjamin Franklin’s original work
  • Book on optics
    • Physical and geometric principles dealt with
  • Megale Syntaxis (the Almagest [the Greatest])
    • Earth is the center of the universe
      • Epicycles used to show why the planets move the way they do
        • Worked for individual planets but not when all planets were considered as a unified system
  • Tetrabiblios (Four Books)
    • An astrology book based on the information in Guide to Geography and Megale Syntaxis

Some of Us Are Looking at the Stars: Celestial Charts

• Uranometria
  • Johann Bayer (1572-1625)
    • Bavarian lawyer andpublisher
    • Based on Tycho Brahe’s star catalog
      • Danish, 1546-1601
      • No telescope, used astrolabe and quadrant
  • Used Greek letters to identify individual stars
    Ranked by brightness
    • not strictly
  • 51 plates
• Atlas Coelestis or Harmonia Macrocosmica (1600)
  • Andreas Cellarius (1596-1665)
    • German but lived mostly in the Netherlands
  • 29 double-folio hand colored plates
    • 4-9 pages of commentary after each plate
      • written in Latin
    • includes plates on
      • orbits of the planets around earth
      • planispheres based on different celestial systems promoted by various astronomers
        • a history on the development of celestial systems to the time of printing
      • diagram of the lunar phases
      • constellations of both hemispheres
      • relative sizes of celestial bodies
  • designed for popular as well as scientific appeal

NASAA: Surveying Venus

• Landsat (1972)
  • Surface of earth
• Seastat
  • Sea floor
• Magellan (1989)
  • Surface of Venus
    • Rotational period of 243 Earth days
      • Magellan mapped for three Venus cycles
        • 98% of the planet
        • 100 meter (330’) resolution
          • 75% volcanic flows
          • windblown dunes on rolling plains
          • sinuous valleys and channels
          • highly deformed mountains
          • over 1000 impact craters with ejecta
          • up to 16 miles in diameter
          • volcanoes up to 2.5 miles high
            • some still active
        • Gravity of Venus
          • No magnetic field detected
            • Large nickel-iron core but it rotates too slowly to create a magnetic field

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The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Category	Wind Speed	Storm Surge	Description
1	74-95 mph 64-82 kt 119-153 km/hr	4-5 ft	No real damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage.
2	96-110 mph 83-95 kt 154-177 km/hr	6-8 ft	Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings.
3	111-130 mph 96-113 kt 178-209 km/hr	9-12 ft	Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required.
4	131-155 mph 114-135 kt 210-249 km/hr	13-18 ft	More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors and windows. Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 ft above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles (10 km).
5	155 mph 135 kt 249 km/hr	>18 ft	Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be required.

Hail Damage

H0	True hail of pea size causes no damage
H1	Leaves and flower peyals are punctured and torn
H2	Leaves are stripped from trees and plants
H3	Panes of glass are broken; auto bodies are dented
H4	Some house windows are broken; small tree branches are broken off; birds are killed
H5	Many windows are smashed; small animals are injured; large tree branches are broken off
H6	Shingle roofs are breached; metal roofs are scored; wooden window frames are broken away
H7	Roofs are shattered to expose rafters; cars are seriously damaged
H8	Shingle and tile roofs are destroyed; small tree trunks aew split; people are seriously injured
H9	Concrete roofs are broken; large tree trunks are split and knocked down; people are at risk of fatal injuries
H10	Brick houses are damaged; people are at risk of fatal injuries

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Observing Location	TotL
Observational Period	2045-2245 EDT
Atmospheric Conditions	Cloud Cover Clear Temperature 47°F Wind Gentle Breeze Humidity Moderate Feels Like Cold The sky was a mottled gray. Just before we left a few small clouds passed through. Transparency Good Seeing II
Instruments	Canon 15x50 IS binocular - Charlie Celestron 7x50 binocular - Kin
Observing Party	Charlie Ridgway Kin Lee

Target M13, Hercules Cluster Constellation Her Category DSO: OCl Time 20061026.2110 EDT Comments I couldn't find Hercules and had to hop from Cygnus down to Vega and across to the head of Draco and then come across Hercules' upraised arm and down to π Her and over to η Her to get into the neighborhood of SWAN. M13 was easily found while sweeping the binocular but required averted vision when it was stationary.

Target C/2006 M4 (SWAN) Constellation CrB Category Comets/Asteroids/Meteors Time 20061026.2115 EDT Comments SpaceWeather reported today that comet SWAN is now at Mag 4.6 which makes it a naked-eye object. I thought it was supposed to be growing fainter by now but SpaceWeather says it is believed this outburst is due to a fresh crack that is allowing sublimation of perviously unexposed water in the nucleus. I had looked at a very general sky chart on SpaceWeather and knew that the comet was somewhere under M13 but that chart didn't show many stars. I don't have the comets elements loaded into Planetarium either. So I was searching almost blindly. I dropped down to the double star υ1 CrB and υ2 CrB which is where I decided to base my search since it is distinctive enough that I would be able to locate it again if I got lost. I almost immediately found a faint fuzzy there where there isn't one in Planetarium. I was reasonably certain I had found the comet. Kin arrived about 15 minutes later and I confirmed the location in his PDA. It is actually a fairly bright (about as bright as M31) glowing patch of sky about 1° N of the υ CrB doubles and almost as big across as they are distant from each other (6' 00"). It, the υ double and the σ CrB double form a right triangle. The comet set into a notch between two large trees on the western edge of the Lawn and disappeared behind the taller one at 2125 EDT. Space.com story

Target Costhanger Constellation Vul Category Asterism Time 20061026.2125 EDT Comments Kin suggested that we try for the Coathanger. I anticipated it being harder to locate than it was. I was able to see the fletching of Sagita naked-eye so out the binocular on then and drifted west. But I almost missed the Coathanger. It was still hanging upside down but the hook was on the opposite side of the hanger than it is when we have been seeing it when it was rising and I had not considered that.

Target Uranus Constellation Aqr Category Planet Time 20061026.2130 EDT Comments Uranus and Neptune were also Kin suggestions. Uranus has moved past λ Aqr and is noticeably farther away than it was the last time I observed it. λ Aqr makes it easy to locate as it is a naked-eye star most of the time.

Target Neptune Constellation Cap Category Planet Time 20061026.1035 EDT Comments I didn't expect to see this one since the last time we looked in Peter's Takahashi 22x60 binocular we didn't see it. But I could see Deneb Algedi and Nashira naked-eye in the gegenschein over Times Square so figured it was worth a shot. I seemed to remember the star field from the last time I observed it and had to have Kin pull it up on his PDA since he has a more extensive star catalog. There were two faint "stars" between ι Cap and 29 Cap. The fainter one with the slight blue tinge of color was Neptune. I think it was also farthest from the line between υ and 29.