SSO Open Day with iTelescope.Net
Last week iTelescope.Net, and all the members of Siding Spring Observatory celebrated Starfest and SSO Open Day. iTelescope Staff were on hand and for those that attended, I hope the live demonstrations, question and answer sessions, and the awesome iTelescope gift bag were everything you hoped for during your visit.
Dr. Amanda Bauer cuts the ribbon during the official dedication of iTelescope: South.
We had many exciting ventures from the official dedication of the BCL Telescope (also known as T27) to the official dedication of the iTelescope: South Observatory that was delayed by the bush fires in 2013.
Affiliate Neil Shaw (right) speaks during the dedication ceremony for The BLC Telescope (T27).
Our Partner, Affiliate, and Education Adviser, Peter Lake also had a Google Hangout with Dr. Pamela Gay and Neil Shaw, and you can watch the highlights here:
Peter Lake was also on hand for the Official Opening of iTelescope.Net: South at SSO with another great live stream via Google Hangouts. You can watch it in it's entirety here:
For those of you who were able to attend, we were happy to see you and hope we helped bring some light to how iTelescope.Net operates behind the scenes.
For those who could not attend, we hope you understand that you were there in spirit, as iTelescope.Net could not exist without our members and your dedication to see beyond our little blue planet. Thank you all for your support!
New Feature: Eye on the Sky
This month, we wanted to introduce a new feature for our monthly informational newsletter. We are calling it, "Eye on the Sky"
Eye on the Sky will be a short article each month that will point out unique and popular targets that will be coming into view, or reaching peak viewing time for our observatories.
This will include everything from Comets, Nebulae, Galaxies, and NEOs at both hemispheres.
We will also take a look at some of the spectacular events like this months Comet Siding Spring Mars Pass-by and the Orionids Meteor Shower.
We hope you enjoy this feature and if you would like to leave some feedback on how we can improve it, please feel free to send us an
email.
Eye on the Sky
October 15th through November 14th, 2014
This month brings an exciting event for our Comet Hunting Members. Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will be passing by Mars within ~140,000 km from the center of the Red Planet on the 19th of October, 2014 at 18:28 UTC.
APOD winning image captured on T12 by Rolando Ligustri of Comet Siding Spring.
Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring was was discovered
by Robert McNaught on Siding Spring's 20 inch Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope.
Comet Siding Spring can be imaged from our systems in Australia, and to assist in capturing this target, we would like to share the 1 line MPC code you can use with the "Acquire Comet/NEO imaging option on the telescopes.
CK13A010 2014 10 25.3014 1.398716 1.000436 2.4224 300.9764 129.0428 20141209 8.2 2.4 C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring)
To see a quick rundown of how to use this code, take a look at our
FAQ.
For those that want to see things with their own eyes, this month also brings us the Orionids Meteor Shower, which began on the 2nd of October and will reach it's peak on the evening of the 21st / morning of the 22nd - right as we reach new moon on the 23rd.
We will also have a partial eclipse of the sun for our North American and eastern Siberia members on the afternoon of the 23rd.
Nicole's Universe
Nicole Morillaro is an experienced and valued member of the iTelescope community.
Here she writes about her experiences with iTelescope as well as general astronomy observations. Nicole lives in a not-so-dark-sky site north of Toronto, Canada.
Nicole's Universe is available on the iTelescope.Net website and we will be including her new articles in the newsletter as they become available.
This month we take a look at the affects of light pollution, both in imaging and in life.
Battling the Light
Why are you a member of iTelescope? If you’re like me, it’s not just because you love the night sky and all that the universe has to offer. It’s also because you can’t actually see what it has to offer.
A map of the light pollution across our planet. Data courtesy Marc Imhoff of NASA GSFC and Christopher Elvidge of NOAA NGDC. Image by Craig Robert Simmon, NASA GSFC.
Since the invention of the light bulb, the night sky has suffered greatly. That little ball of light went from helping us see our way through the night to increasing our work hours and therefore increasing the necessity for extended periods of light.
The design of the light bulb is still basically the same it was when it was invented in 1800s (I don’t say that Thomas Edison invented it since there were many who experimented successfully, including two Canadians - Matthew Evans and Henry Woodward).
Just think about that design. Where does all that light go? Down and out. That light then gets reflected back up into the sky, turning the black sky to pale blue or even orange in some cases.
It’s not that we don’t have a need for light, but we need to start using it more responsibly with better designs, mainly full cutoff light fixtures, which ensure that the light is directed down to where it’s needed. As well, we need to ensure that use lights only when needed, as opposed to illuminating everything all the time.
The sky as seen from just north of Toronto, Canada. Note the blue hue and lack of stars.
What’s most distressing about light pollution is the effect it has on all life on our planet. From the loss of sea turtles in Florida to the increased incidence of breast cancer in women, it is literally killing us.
A 1999 study found that nurses – who work shift work – had a 60 per cent greater chance of developing breast cancer.
It’s well known that newly-hatched sea turtles use brightness as a way to orient themselves toward the water. Normally, they see the reflectivity of starlight on the water and head out to sea to live out their lives. But recently, researchers have found that light from nearby parking lots or buildings are confusing them. Instead of heading out to sea to live a long turtle life, they are instead crushed by cars or eaten by predators.
The universe has helped direct humanity in culture, science, religion and art. We need to bring back the night. It’s more important than we may think.
If you’d like to see a great documentary on light pollution, see The City Dark. Also, visit the International Dark-Sky Association.
