Below is a list of Summer Star Parties that are being held in lieu of monthly summer meetings:

Sat. June 14 at Northmoor Observatory - open to public

Sat. July 26 at DGV Observatory, Jubilee - members and guests only

Sat. August 23 at Jubilee State Park, Red Fox Run picnic area - open to public

Sunspots are more than just cooler spots on the surface of the sun. They are complex magnetic storms. They form when a magnetic filament breaks through the surface. The filaments are the large, pretty prominences that you see in some pictures of the sun. They loop out into space for several hundred thousand miles before returning to the surface and charged hydrogen particles flow along the arcs. A sunspot has two polarity regions, a north and a south magnetic field. The prominences exit one region and reenter the other. The prominences are extremely hot, millions of times hotter than the surface of the sun. The complexity of the sunspots and prominences are due to the fact that the sun rotates at different speeds. The equator rotates around the sun much faster than the Polar Regions. This causes the magnetic fields to become tangled and distorted. When enough stress is placed on the magnetic fields they break through the surface and create the sunspots. If the magnetic tension is great enough the magnetic filaments (prominences) snap like an over stretched rubber band. When this happens, the resulting break sends billions of tons of charged particles flying out into space at millions of miles per hour. This is called a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).

If the earth is in the path of the CME, the charged particles strike our own magnetic field and are channeled down to the poles. When the charged particles hit our atmosphere, they excite and ionize the gases causing them to glow and the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is created. The CMEs can also cause satellite communication problems and has even caused power outages by the charged particles creating spikes in power grids.

The sun goes through solar cycles roughly every 11 years. When a solar cycle ends and a new begins, the magnetic poles on the sun reverse. North and south trade places. We are currently at the end of #23 and starting the beginning of cycle #24. This is solar minimum when the polarity change is taking place. Very little activity takes place on the surface of the sun during solar minimum. The Solar HelioSpherical Observatory (SOHO) is capable of photographing the magnetic fields on the sun. Through the observations they determined that the sunspots observed during the week of March 24th, 2008 were still associated with cycle#23. In January, we did have one lone sunspot that had its poles reversed. This indicates the start of the new cycle# 24. Scientist think that the amount of solar activity influences the weather on earth. Current predictions for #24 are for less activity than usual. The solar maximum for cycle#24 is expected in 2012.

History has shown that increased sunspot counts and solar activity creates a warming effect on earth. Decreased activity creates cooler global temperatures. Scientist are worried that we may be entering a cooling period with their predictions of less solar activity than usual. The last 2 solar cycles had increased activity and we had some global warming. Plants and animals appear to flourish with the warmer temperatures. Cooler global temperatures can be disastrous. So much for global warming!

Judd Isbell

The Peoria Astronomical Society has been diligently working to restore the Northmoor Observatory for the past several years. Kenyon and Associate Architects were hired to assess the Observatory and make recommendations. Their evaluation concluded that repair of the dome would actually be more costly than replacement.

The cost of replacing the dome and completing other safety updates such as wiring and lighting will cost $115,000. To date, PAS has raised just under $53,000. This includes a recent $15,000 grant from the Caterpillar Foundation.

Caterpillar also issued a challenge grant of $10,000, which carries a time limit. PAS is currently seeking donations so that this challenge grant can be met.

Anyone interested in keeping this historic telescope available to the public, please send tax-deductible contributions to:

Peoria Astronomical Society
P.O. Box 10111
Peoria, IL 61612-0111


Click here to see up close photos of Northmoor Observatory

The PAS was treated to a sneak peak of the new capabilities of the planetarium projector for the January meeting. Those who attended got to see the state of the art machine in action. If you are a frequent visitor to the planetarium, then you will be blown away at the details the new projector has over the old one. Everything from pinpoint stars, enhanced milky way, realistic looking planets and moon, ability to zoom anywhere in the sky, and state of the art sound and hi-def video! Go and see it!!
Planetarium shows begin this month!

Comet Holmes (17P) has made a sudden, bright appearance. It has brightened significantly, and is now visible with the naked eye, even from Peoria.

Sky and Telescope has a continuously updated article about it, including finder charts:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/10775326.html

Happy Hunting!!