Montana Starwatch

https://www.facebook.com/1285052925/posts/10233135527232033/

We are excited to let you know that we are looking at a possible event for the summer of 2026, on the flanks of the Crazies. A possible site has been located, and we are working to see if this would work for us. Want to help? Let us know! Dates, still to be determined. Lots of space, dry camping options.
Stay tuned!

I guess we didn't post here to let you all in on the decision. Since it takes months to plan Starwatch, we followed what other clubs were doing for this summer and decided to take this year off.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, be sure to sign up, KAS does a great virtual starparty

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Online Viewing Session. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting. Online Viewing Sessions utilize the KAS Remote Telescope that is located under the dark desert skies of southeastern Arizona. Attendees will view images of deep-sky objects captured with the system’s CCD cameras in Arizona, transmitted to participant’s computer and smart phone screens in southwe...

The Great Conjunction of 2020
Background:
This Summer, majestic planets Jupiter and Saturn sat high in the southern sky, and since that time they have traveled as a pair down towards the southwest with each successive night. Soon they will set below the horizon and after a short winter break, reemerge next Spring low in the southeast.
Hopefully, you have noticed that the two planets have also been getting closer and closer to one another as the months' pass. Because Jupiter’s orbital speed is greater than Saturn’s, it moves faster along the ecliptic (the plane of the solar system) and will soon overtake the ringed planet. On December 21st, the two will have a brief, but significant meeting in the night sky.
Since the Sun, Moon, and planets all move along the ecliptic upon the celestial sphere, we get to witness a number of “close encounters” between various objects in the night sky throughout the year. Of course, this is just a matter of perspective, as they are all still quite distant from one another once “depth” is added into the equation. Astronomers call these apparent get-togethers between the Moon and planets, multiple planets, and even planets and bright stars, “conjunctions.”
The Great Conjunction of 2020:
While there have been a number of wonderful conjunctions this year, all pale in comparison to what will be taking place in the early evening hours of December 21st. In fact, a meeting of this significance is called a “Great Conjunction.” And great it is! Jupiter and Saturn, the two largest planets in our solar system, will have an angular distance from one another of just 1/10th of a degree! To put that into perspective, that’s the relative *thickness* of a dime held at arm's length. In fact, the two planets will be so close to one another, they will initially appear “as one” to the unaided eye. Upon inspection, those with good visual acuity should be able to separate the two even with the glaring brightness of Jupiter. All the same, you may wish to have a pair of binoculars or a telescope on hand. Whatever you do, don’t miss this amazing conjunction, as it is the closest the two have been in 397 years! We are fortunate to have another like Great Conjunction this century, but in the year 2080, it might be a bit too long to wait for many of us.
Where and When:
Jupiter and Saturn, once high in the late evening sky, are now setting earlier and earlier. By Monday the 21st, they will already be low in the Southwest sky during the hours of Civil and Astronomical Dusk, between 5:20 and 7:00pm MST. The pair will set shortly after that but will probably be lost from view well before that time at your horizon.
On Monday the 21st, go outside around 5:20pm MST, preferably in a location with a clear view of the southwest horizon, and look about 15° above the sky-line. It may take a few moments to find them this early, but should come into view as they will be the first and brightest “star” in the area. Depending on your location, you will have just about one hour to enjoy this amazing astronomical event. It should be noted, that the day before and the day after, Jupiter and Saturn are nearly the same distance, so you really have three days to experience the Great Conjunction should the weather be an issue.
Telescopic Views:
If you are fortunate enough to have a telescope on hand, a magnification of 75x to 275x will be able to present both planets within the same field of view. Note, however, the *quality* of view will not only depend on your equipment but the state of the atmosphere as well. Unfortunately, with the two planets being so close to the horizon, atmospheric refraction will be an issue.

Well, this is exciting! There is a new "Guide to Smartphone Astrophotography" that is available for download from NASA.
"This lavishly-illustrated book features detailed instructions for how to use your smartphone to take photographs of the night sky and numerous astronomical objects including deep space objects, aurora, and eclipses. Previously, expensive cameras were required, but the advent of smartphones brings this exciting hobby into the hands of students and life-long learners for exciting journeys of exploration. This step-by-step guide written by a professional astronomer will show you how to do it! (189 pages, 185 illustrations, PDF)."
I'm excited about it because I know the author and several of the contributing photographers.
Sten Odenwald of the NASA Space Science Education Consortium has a website called Space Math @ NASA. I've used his site for years during some of the summer space camps and other outreach events. On his Space Math site, on the top right, you'll see the link to this new book that you can download. Share this with your friends, too!
Thanks Sten!

Welcome to Space Math @ NASA ! This website offers teachers and students authentic mathematics problems based upon NASA press releases, mission science results, and other sources. All problems are based on STEM, common core standards and real-world applications for grades 3 to 12 and beyond.

Another online talk later this week,
check it out.

GMU OBSERVATORY - Evenings under the Stars Observatory Director Dr. Plavchan discusses his recent detection of a very interesting and very young exoplanet. Closed-dome tour due to poor weather.

This Saturday is International Observe the Moon Night - if you can, try to get outside and take a look! I was out last night for a sneak peek and saw the ISS fly overhead, a beautiful sight!
The SMAS October meeting will be a virtual meeting: Thursday, October 1st via zoom - so you can join from the comfort of home. Starting at 7:00 p.m. mountain time.
"You can almost touch the stars" By guest speaker Tom Field
Even if you wanted to touch a star, they're all impossibly distant. Despite these great distances, astronomers have learned an enormous amount about stars. How? The most common method to study stars is called spectroscopy, which is the science of analyzing the colorful rainbow spectrum produced by a prism-like device.
Until recently, spectroscopy was too expensive and too complicated for all but a handful of amateurs. Today though, new tools make spectroscopy accessible to almost all of us. You no longer need a Ph.D., dark skies, long exposures, enormous aperture ... or a big budget! With your current telescope and FITS camera (or a simple we**am or even a DSLR without a telescope), you can now easily study the stars yourself. Wouldn't you like to detect the atmosphere on Neptune or the redshift of a quasar right from your own backyard?!
This talk, with lots of interesting examples, will show you what it's all about and help you understand how spectroscopy is used in research. Even if you are an armchair astronomer, understanding this filed will enhance your understanding of things you have read about the night sky.
This 45 minute live via zoom presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.
Tom Field has been a contributing editor at Sky & Telescope Magazine for the past 7 years. He is the author of the RSpec software which received the S&T 'Hot Product' award in 2011. Tom is a popular speaker who has spoken to hundreds of clubs via the web and in-person at many conferences, including NEAF imaging conference, the Winter Star Party, the Advancing Imaging conference, and others.

We are seeing that many of the planned star parties are being canceled this summer. Small events and large events, local parks, and national parks.
We are working to possibly have a few virtual star parties - let us know if you are interested in helping us with those.
Hope you are getting out and enjoying the night skies this year.

In these uncertain and quickly changing times, we've decided that it is best to take a break from Montana Starwatch in 2020.

http://www.whatsupthespaceplace.com/2020/01/new-solar-telescope-first-image-wow.html?spref=fb&fbclid=IwAR2th840x24tJHOw0S1f9MNt_rUMONFrI-0-TAjtnFNcMsdcr8lY0ZtiJZw

NEW SOLAR TELESCOPE FIRST IMAGE - WOW! Hey Space Placers! Our ongoing quest to understand our star, the Sun, just got a huge boost with the world's largest solar telescope locat...