Image Courtesy of NASA

Graduate level physicists from the University of Dallas have begun using the Gunnison Valley Observatory for extrasolar planet research. Extrasolar planet or exoplanet research is one of the emerging frontiers of astronomy as our observational instruments become more fine tuned and accurate.

Exoplanets have long been hypothesized to have existed but defied detection of any kind until 1988. Verification of the first exoplanet had to wait until 2003 due to caution and the lack of sufficient instrumentation. Since then some 347 planets outside of our solar system have been verified.

The first exoplanet to be directly verified visually was Fomalhaut b orbiting around the bright star Fomalhaut by the Hubble Space Telescope just last year. Fomalhaut, Arabic for ‘mouth of the whale’, is one of the brighter stars to the naked eye found in the constellation Piscis Austrinus, or Southern Fish. Fomalhaut transits the sky following the constellations Scorpio and Sagittarius meaning that right now it can be seen rising in the south east around 5 AM. As the summer progresses we’ll be able to see Fomalhaut more prominently earlier in the night.

Exoplanet research falls on the applied side of astronomical research. If humans ever expect to personally explore the greater reaches of our own galaxy we will need to identify hospitable places with which to interlink so that life support and fuel supplies can be replenished without having to return to Earth.

Gunnison Valley Observatory staff hosted the Crested Butte Cub Scouts and visited the Gunnison 4^th grade classes last week. The good news is that the minds of our young are exceptionally inquisitive and open which are the two fundamental ethics of good scientific method.

The more astute minds in the classes were curious about the nature of black holes, and with good reason. These phenomena represent the frontier of our cosmological understandings despite being used as the plot device for the latest Star Trek film. While we can’t actually see black holes we can observe their functioning by using a broad spectrum of energy detection techniques. These new and enhanced methods have led to the discovery of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, about 27,000 light years away, and the hypothesis of a supermassive black hole therein named Sagittarius A.

Observe the location of the black hole in the center of our own galaxy in Crested Butte’s southern night sky during the summer months along the visible dust lane of the Milky Way between the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpio. Viewers should look to the north of where the spout of the Sagittarius teapot dips into the Milky Way. These constellations are visible in the early morning hours in our southern skies right now. It won’t be until the middle of July that they will become visible after sunset for evening viewing.

Last week we looked at the location and significance of the Big Dipper asterism. This week let’s take a deeper look into what is going on inside because it is quite a dynamic piece of night sky.

The middle star of the 3 stars in the handle of the Big Dipper is ζ Ursae Majoris or Mizar. Mizar actually has a companion star named Alcor that forms a binary star system. The ability to see the distinction between the 2 stars has been used as an eye test for quite some time being used to evaluate the eyesight of ancient soldiers and hunters.

The study of binary stars is extremely important in the field of astronomy because it allows us to measure many more things than we can measure by observing stand alone stars. The Gunnison Valley Observatory is well-endowed with Dr. Richard Olenick on our board of directors. He is the chair of the physics department at the University of Dallas and specializes in the study of cataclysmic variable binary star systems.

The United States Naval Observatory and the Naval Research Laboratory have spent a good deal of time and resources investigating binary star systems too. They have detected that Mizar is actually a binary star system consisting of Mizar A and Mizar B. Detailed observations have revealed that both of these stars are in turn binary stars themselves. Further, Alcor has also been shown to be a binary star making Mizar and Alcor a rich six star system.

In between last week’s Lyrid meteor shots I had plenty of time to take in the mesmerizing whole of the night sky. It is so mesmerizing that the mind wants to turn away or turn off after the initial fantastic glance for lack of mental definition.

This dizzying lack of definition is probably what led early stargazers to define the constellations and asterisms. The affiliated mythological and cultural connections are merely attempts at making it easier to remember and classify sky regions, the first efforts at an astral reference frame.

Interestingly the Big Dipper asterism, which makes up the tail and hind quarters of the constellation Ursa Major or Great Bear, dates to prehistoric times and was recognized around the world as being affiliated with a bear. While the constellation defies the imagination to picture a bear it wasn’t classified as such for its looks so much as its behavior. The Big Dipper hibernates during the winter remaining very low in the sky and moving to a prominence in the night with the advent of spring, much like the behavior of terrestrial bears.

Find the Big Dipper in Crested Butte’s northern skies in the direction of Crested Butte Mountain and the Maroon Bells throughout the night. It is useful as a pointer for finding many other stars and constellations of the night sky including the North Star Polaris, the red giant Arcturus and the bright star Spica in the constellation of Virgo. The Big Dipper makes an excellent astral reference frame for the novice sky watcher.

Courtesy NASA

Each year since 2003 the week of the new moon in April has been designated as National Dark Sky Week. This year the week of April 20 – 26 has been dubbed International Dark Sky Week cooperatively with the International Year of Astronomy.

National Dark Sky Week aims to raise awareness about the escalating and compounding problem of man made light pollution and its drain on energy resources. NDSW originated in Virginia by Jennifer Barlow and since then more and more individuals and communities have begun to participate by turning out their lights wherever possible during this week in observance.

Why should we care about light pollution? Despite the approximated 300 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy, the stars in the night skies that are physically available to detection by naked eye observers is closer to a mere 8500. That number is halved, because we can only view half of the night sky at any given time, and then halved again to around 2500 stars that are potentially visible given optimal horizon and climate conditions. This, despite any natural light pollution from the moon or from man made light intrusions.

Poignantly, to the cause of the International Year of Astronomy, when we look to the skies collectively our man made political borders disappear and we understand a little bit more about how the human race is bound together on one fragile, infinitesimal chunk of rock. Please take the time to recognize any group or citizen that has made definitive steps towards energy efficiency and the reduction of light pollution and light trespass in the Gunnison Valley community.

Courtesy NASA

This week features the Lyrid meteor showers for the insomniacs and early risers. The Lyrids appear to radiate from the constellation Lyra, or Harp. Lyra is located by looking for the bright bluish star Vega as it rises from the north east horizon over Crested Butte Mountain. While Vega is a prominent star throughout summer nights it is only now spinning back into our visible horizon at around 1:00 AM and moving to the center of the sky until sunrise meaning meteor shower viewing is optimal between these times.

Still, there is a better chance of catching meteors incinerate at 50 miles up this week than there has been over the past 3 months. The Earth has just completed a move through a region in its orbit that is relatively clear of debris. However, the Earth’s orbit will now take us on a direct collision course with fragments from the tail of the Comet Thatcher over the 10 day period of April 16 – 26, peaking around April 22.

The Lyrids were documented over 2600 years ago in China. The average number of meteors to expect per hour ranges from between 5 and 20. There have been meteor counts as high as 90 to 100 per hour in addition to fireball sightings when larger comet collateral interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere.

Courtesy Kevin McGruther

The sunset lit western face of Crested Butte Mountain provides an inspirational horizon for early evening Gunnison Valley full moon risings. The first full moon of spring traditionally signals celebrations of renewal and Easter always falls on the following Sunday.  This April’s sunset and moon rise cycle portends to be especially unique considering that the landscape itself is phenomenally pink from last week’s desert sand infused snowfall.

As the light fades from the sunset I look to pick out the stars appearing in the night. Distinctly bright, Sirius pops out first about 20 degrees up off the southern horizon. The naked eye astronomer can gauge degrees in the sky by using the width of a finger held at arms’ length. One finger equals 1 degree and 5 degrees on the horizon can be found by making a fist. Greater sums can be achieved by stacking fists and fingers.

Rising in the east, near the path of the full moon, the next star to appear is the red giant Arcturus. This star has a long relationship with human cultures both modern and ancient. It is referred to in ancient Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Hindu texts as well as Inuit, Greek and Native American Indian mythology. The Polynesians used it to navigate their kayaks through the Pacific between Tahiti and Hawaii. Today Arcturus is used for study in emerging fields of astronomy and defining its true nature remains elusive despite its relatively close proximity of +/-40 light years away.

Last week we had a great turnout for the opening night lecture but the clouds did not cooperate for telescope viewing. This Friday evening I will be presenting the International Year of Astronomy lecture series segment “What is Astronomy?” at the observatory.

Courtesy NASA, ESA and AURA/Caltech

The open star cluster Pleiades (Messier 45) is in our southwestern skies and setting within a few hours after sunset. Residing in the bull constellation Taurus Pleiades is chased from east to west across our winter night horizons by the hunter Orion. To the naked eye the Pleiades is an obvious but unimposing white cloud against the enveloping backdrop of darkness, appearing as nothing more than a smudge on a lens about the size of a thumb extended at arms length. A telescope unlocks the striking and intricate details of this stellar object.

Gunnison Valley Observatory begins its 2009 viewing season and lecture series Friday April 3^rd. This week GVO President Professor Michael Brooks will be delivering a detailed lecture on the phenomena of the Pleiades before it disappears beyond the viewable horizon for the duration of the summer.

Sirius A and B courtesy of NASA & ESA

Sirius is the brightest and easiest star to sight with the naked eye in the night sky. This star can be found by first locating Orion in the southwestern skies over Mount Axtel beginning after sunset. From the bottom left corner of Orion scan on a slope to the left and slightly down gauging the distance for the eye by using the width of four fingers held at arms length. Viewers can also more or less use the slope of the line generated by the belt of Orion as a pointer to view the conspicuously bright photons of the Sirius binary star system.

Colloquially known as the Dog Star, Sirius sits at the fore of the hunting dog constellation Canis Major (Greater Dog) which appears to follow Orion along with its partner constellation Canis Minor (Lesser Dog).

While Sirius is the brightest star it is not the closest to us (after our Sun), that honor belongs to Proxima Centauri at a distance of +/-4.24 light years away (lya). Sirius resides about twice the distance at +/-8.5 lya. It appears brighter to us because the nature of its astral chemistry is more intense than that of the nearer red dwarf star Proxima Centauri.

Sirius has been observed from Earth for thousands of years and the name is derived from the Ancient Greek term meaning “glowing” or “scorcher”. Yet it wasn’t until German astronomer Friedrich Bessel in 1844 noticed deviations from the calculated motions that indicated it had a partner. Direct telescopic observation of the partner star wasn’t made until 1862. Thanks to more detailed observations we now know that Sirius is actually a binary star system composed of a white main sequence star, the more observable Sirius A, and an observably faint companion white dwarf star named Sirius B.