2.
page 3: meeting details
page 4-5: science news
page 6: important club updates
page 7: next month calendar
page 8: NoCoAstro info
page 9: northern colorado resources
What you’ll find in this newsletter.
Robert Arn
position
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Newsletter
Website
name
Amanda Bell
Robert Arn
Dave Karp
Greg Halac
Amanda Bell
Robert Arn
email
pres@
vp@
sec@
treas@
objview@
web-edit@
2015 officers
To contact officers, use @NoCoAstro.org
3.
pg 3
TallyO’Donnell
Sh2-220
speaker
time & date
location
Dr. Lisa Hardaway, Ball Aerospace
Thursday, December 3rd at 6:15pm
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
408 Mason Court, Fort Collins 80524
December meeting details.
4.
5400-mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside our solar system: That's over
2-km per second! *
VISTA Discovers New Component of Milky Way: This disc of previously-unknown Cepheid stars
(i.e., stars that vary in brightness) is buried behind a thick dust cloud in the central bulge. *
Scientists Explain Why Moon Rocks Contain Fewer Volatiles Than Earth's: It's as simple
as the earth capturing volatile-rich materials in final steps of moon's formation. *
International Astronomical Search Collaboration: Educational outreach program for high
schools and colleges. Students make original discoveries and participate in hands-on astronomy! If your
school would like to participate in an IASC search campaign, contact the director, Dr. J. Patrick Miller, at
IASCSearch at hsutx.edu. *
European Southern Observatory (ESO) Video Collection: Enjoy videos on the evolution of
telescope mirrors, the Chilean sky in ultra high definition, three planets found in a star cluster, the ALMA
inauguration and so much more… *
Science news.
(go ahead: click the photos)
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pg 4
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5.
pg 5
Astronomers Begin Building Super Telescope to See Dawn of the Universe: Much, much
bigger telescopes will soon dwarf the biggest and baddest telescope in the world - which stands atop a
volcanic peak in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa and has a diameter of 10.4 meters. *
Final Kiss of Two Stars Heading for Catastrophe: Will they coalesce to create a single giant star
or combine to form a binary black hole? *
Newly Discovered Dwarf Planet is Solar System's Most Distance Object: This discovery is
"more proof that the solar system is bigger than we thought," said Joseph Burns, a Cornell University
professor. *
Shifting Hot Spots on Jupiter's Volcano Moon Io: New images show that we are (as
hypothesized) seeing an active, overturning lava lake on Io. “These exquisite images from the LBTI show
for the first time in ground-based images that emissions arise simultaneously from different sites in Loki
Patera.” *
Hubble's Planetary Portrait Captures New Changes in Jupiter's Great Red Spot: “Every time
we look at Jupiter, we get tantalizing hints that something really exciting is going on,“ said Amy Simon
from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. *
.. but wait, there’s more!
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6.
How would YOU like to change NoCoAstro... for the better?
(Contact Amanda at pres @ NoCoAstro dot org for more information.)
The short answer is: yes!
★ are you outgoing?
★ can you prepare & present at
our monthly meetings?
★ and help with social media,
membership recruitment and
outreach as needed?
★ also.. it's fun!
★ We are an active, all-volunteer
community of amateur
astronomers from Fort Collins
and the surrounding area.
★ Membership is open to
anyone who enjoys astronomy
or would like to help NoCoAstro
share the love of science with
the public.
★ All ages are welcome! No
experience is necessary!
pg 6
Are you our next
president?
*IC434
*M42
*Photos generously
shared by Tally O’Donnell
Do you want to beour vice president?
Your club
needs you!
…of course you do!
★ do you prefer helping from
behind the scenes?
★ do you want to make sure we
have interesting astro-talks?
★ we're a casual group of nerds
who enjoy sharing science with
the public. What about you?Click
here!
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7.
Do you know an event that should be added to an upcoming calendar?
Help keep everyone informed: send it to ObjView at NoCoAstro.org
pg 7
December 2015
A look at what’s happening in the world of astronomy.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
5
Globe at Night
12
Fossil Creek
Reservoir Skygazing
19
26
You can still see the
Summer Triangle
4
Globe at Night
11
Globe at Night
10
Globe at Night
9
Globe at Night
Poudre Learning
Center Skygazing
8
Globe at Night
7
Moon / Venus
Conjunction
Globe at Night
6
Globe at Night
3 Globe at Night
ISS Resupply
NoCoAstro Meeting
at FoCo MoD
2
Globe at Night
13
Geminid Meteor
Shower Peak
14 15
Expedition 46
mission to ISS
16 17
Use Orion’s Belt
18
20 21 22
Ursid Meteor
Shower Peak
December Solstice
23 24 25
1
27 28 29
Best time to view
Mercury
30 31
Sirius' special day!
New Year means a
new NoCoAstro!
8.
You are the
Northern Colorado
Astronomical
Society
(NoCoAstro).
Established in 1995 as a non-profit
organization we are here to promote
interest in the science and hobby of
astronomy. We meet the first
Thursday of each month to discuss
our interests and experience in the
universal world of astronomy.
Monthly talks are free and open to
the public. Bring a friend!
Come to dinner!
Join your fellow NoCoAstro members
after the meeting for dinner & drinks
with this month’s speaker. RSVP to
an officer if you’d like to join us.
Dutch treat.
Member Photo
Albums:
You'll want to see all
of the amazing photos
taken by our
members.
NoCoAstro
Email:
Anyone can join the
email lists but
subscription requests
are monitored. Only
approved subscribers
are allowed to post.
NoCoAstro
Admin Info:
Find group bylaws and
constitution.
Borrow
equipment
here:
Club items may be
borrowed at no cost
by NoCoAstro
members! Find out
more here.
Request a
Private Event:
How to request an
astronomy event for
your nonprofit group
or club.
Regional Star
Parties:
A gathering of amateur
astronomers to
observe the sky.
Become a
Member:
Learn about benefits
of membership!
Astronomy
Gear how-to
Guides:
Learn about
telescopes and
astrophotography.
pg 8
9. Boulder Astronomy & Space Society
(BASS): meetings are hosted by the UC
campus at the Fiske Planetarium. Open to
students and the public.
*
Denver Astronomical Society
(DAS): promoting understanding of
astronomical phenomenon at the U of
Denver's historic Chamberlin Observatory.
*
Estes Park Memorial Observatory
(EPMO): has many goals, including
encouraging enthusiasm for physics and
math in kids of K-12th grade.
*
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
(FOCO MOD): The MoD isn’t just where
we hold our meetings. Check out their
calendar for current events or to find out
more.
*
FRCC Stargazer Observatory
(FRCC): thanks to a unique partnership
with Village Homes, FRCC operates an
astronomy lab at Observatory Village in SE
Fort Collins.
*
FRCC Sunlight Peak Observatory
(FRCC): operated on the FRCC Larimer
campus directly behind the Harmony
Library. Open houses held 1st Friday of
each month.
*
Little Thompson Observatory (LTO):
no-charge public access to the universe
available during regularly-scheduled public
star nights or schedule your own private
observatory event (for free!)
*
Longmont Astronomical Society
(LAS): promotes amateur astronomy
through monthly meetings, star parties and
public observing sessions. Meetings are
open to the public.
*
Sommers-Bausch Observatory
(SBO): Operated by the Department of
Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
(APS) at CU Boulder. See the spring
semester Friday night viewing schedule.
* * *
local Museums, Astronomy Clubs, Observatories and Planetariums.
pg 9
10. 2015
12
By Robert Arn,
your vice president and website guru
Want to see your
astrophotos in the
newsletter? Send them to:
objView at nocoastro.org
NORTHERN
COLORADO
ASTRONOMICAL
SOCIETY
