Welcome to 2009 - International Year of Astronomy

And welcome to the first Green Witch Newsletter of 2009. I'm sorry it's been so long since the last one but fortunately we were very busy before and immediately after Christmas and the time has just slipped away. To make up for that let me be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas for 2009.

2009 was declared the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations and the International Astronomical Union to mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first use of the telescope to observe the heavens. Its logo carries the legend 'The Universe - Yours to Discover' and there are so many ways you can learn more about the infinite space in which our tiny Earth exists. Whether you've been meaning to attend a course, read more, or buy your own telescope, this is a good year to do something about it.

Most astronomy clubs, planetariums and museums with any link to astronomy are organising events so you should find something of interest in your area. An internet search should bring them up but you might like to start at www.astronomy2009.org

Thomas Harriot - the man who got there before Galileo

One of the side-effects of IYA2009 is the 'rediscovery' of the work of Thomas Harriot who used a telescope to produce maps of the Moon several months before Galileo made his first observations. We remember Galileo because he published his work whereas Harriot did not. He also made a nuisance of himself so if you want to be remembered, record and publish your work, or make a nuisance of yourself, or better still, do both.

You can read about Thomas Harriot on the Royal Astronomical Society's web site. It is a shortened version of a full article by Professor Allan Chapman of Oxford University that will appear in the February edition of Astronomy and Geophysics. Jeffrey Barham wrote a similar article for Popular Astronomy several years ago, so the professionals don't always get there first either. Popular Astronomy is sent free to members of the Society for Popular Astronomy and it is well-worth joining for the magazine and other benefits.

Cambridge University's 800th Anniversary

The first college was founded by Oxford rejects 800 years ago but has grown to become one of the world's greatest universities with 31 colleges and more Nobel prizes than any other institution in the world. 'Rejects' might not be quite the right word but I don't have space to tell the whole story.

The story will be told in a light show projected onto the walls of the Senate House and Old Schools. It begins tonight (17th January 2009) and will be repeated for the next two nights. Ringing in the Lent Term will also take place tonight and church bells throughout Cambridge will sound a specially-written chime.

Cambridge University has a long tradition of excellence in Astronomy including Isaac Newton, the discovery of pulsars and Stephen Hawking to name but a few. It is surprising therefore that it doesn't have much to explain astronomy and Cambridge's contribution to the general public. There are individual enthusiasts, such as Dr Carolin Crawford at the Institute of Astronomy, who do a great job, but it ought to be the ideal place for a planetarium and astronomy visitor centre.

High-quality Refracting Telescopes

In recent months we've noticed increased sales of high-quality refracting telescopes made by TeleVue, Takahashi and William Optics . Despite the economic outlook, people seem to appreciate the value that these more expensive but excellent optics represent. If you haven't considered them recently you might like to take another look. I have included the most popular models and variations in the online catalogue but we also supply the full range from all the manufacturers. Please call us if you need advice or to enquire about something that isn't shown.

Binocular Recommendations

We recommend trying binoculars before you buy them and encourage customers to visit our showroom to try them across open farm land. But we recognise that this isn't practical for everyone so I'm suggesting two binoculars that have proved extremely popular for general use and bird watching. If you need to buy binoculars without trying them, or want them as a surprise present, then these make an excellent choice.

The first is the Opticron Countryman 8x42 BGA Oasis which has been one of our best sellers for a long time. Recent coating improvements make it even better. For most people I suggest choosing the 8x magnification but 10x is also available.

The second is the Hawke Frontier ED, a relatively new one that has attracted lots of favourable reviews. It uses an open-frame design similar to the top-of-the-market Swarovski models which many people find very comfortable to hold. Again, I suggest 8x magnification for most people

Both binoculars are in the 200 to 300 pound price range but if you would like advice on binoculars in other price ranges please give me a call on 01954 211288.

Hidden Moon

Despite the many space probes that have visited the Moon there are still areas that have never been seen before. Using a miniature NASA Scanning Array Radar (SAR) aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar satellite, scientists are now taking detailed looks into craters that receive no sunlight and which we can't see from Earth. They hope to find water ice in these cold deep craters near the lunar pole.

Life on Mars?

Mars is very close to the Sun in our sky so amateur observers are forced to ignore it for the time-being. But professional astronomers continue to study data collected over recent years by ground-based telescopes and by Mars probes. Their latest discovery is plumes of methane detected by infra-red observations. Methane is destroyed quite quickly in the Martian atmosphere so scientists conclude that it must be being produced continuously. This begs the intriguing question 'how?'

It may be a geological process deep within the planet which would be interesting in that it would be the first evidence of geological activity on Mars. Alternatively, it might be evidence for life below the Martian surface. Either way it's a significant find.

Astrofest - 6,7 February 2009

Astrofest is organised by Astronomy Now magazine and is the UK's largest astronomy meeting. It is held in Kensington Town Hall, close to High Street Kensington tube station and is well-worth a visit. There is an excellent programme of talks and a full trade exhibition. Many astronomy societies and organisations are also represented.

We won't have a trade stand ourselves but we will be there as individuals and look forward to seeing you there if you are able to attend. Full details of what's on and how to get there are at http://www.astronomynow.com/astrofest/

Bird Food, Feeders and Nest Boxes

The price of bird food has risen quite considerably over recent months but still offers a cheap form of entertainment as well as helping the birds to survive the winter. We've kept our price rises as low as possible but one way of keeping down costs is to buy in bulk. We offer large bags of food that work out much cheaper than buying in small quantities. Some of the larger bags don't attract VAT, saving even more money.

Our range of nest boxes is growing and we are adding some new ones for this spring. It's not too late to put them up for this season and the birds will really appreciate them. Why not try a selection of nests to see how many different birds you can attract.

One of our best sellers continues to be the metal squirrel feeder. In our garden the squirrels bury as many peanuts as they eat. Quite often they dig them up again within days but it's fun to watch them at work.

Best-dressed Astronomer

You may not have seen it but we have a page on our web site showing the latest fashions in astronomy wear as seen at star parties and other gatherings. We haven't added to it for a while but are always on the lookout for examples of how to dress to enjoy our hobby. Usually this involves donning as much warm clothing as we can move in. If you have a picture suitable for the page we would love to receive a copy.

Looking South from Cambridge, UK at 10 pm on Saturday 17th January 2009

The Winter's most prominent constellation, Orion the Hunter, stands astride our meridian and dominates the view. Its most obvious feature is perhaps the belt, three stars making an angled line with a sword hanging down. The fuzzy-looking star in the middle of the sword is in fact the Great Orion Nebula, a vast area of gas and dust lit up by embedded young stars. New stars are continually being born in this stellar nursery and astronomers observe it in the thermal infra-red and at sub-millimetre wavelengths to see through the dust.

Orion's shoulders and knees are marked by four bright stars. Betelgeuse at the top left corner is a red super-giant while the bottom right is bright white Rigel. The naming convention would imply that Rigel as Beta Orionis should be fainter than Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) but it is slightly brighter. It is the sixth brightest star in the night sky and the brightest in our region of the Milky Way.

Rigel's mass is about 17 times that of the Sun but its luminocity is around 40,000 times as high and it is burning up its nuclear fuel at a correspondingly higher rate.

Rigel is an important star for navigation at sea. Being close to the equator it can be seen throughout the Earth's oceans, is bright and easily identifiable.

Below Orion is Lepus the Hare, one of Ptolemy's original constellations. It contains the globular cluster M79 which is outside our galaxy. M79 may be associated with the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, a controversial object that causes disagreement over its true nature. If it is a separate galaxy rather than a bulge in the Milky Way then it is the nearest galaxy to Earth and we are nearer to it than we are to the centre of our own galaxy.

To the left of Lepus lies Canis Major with Sirius, the brightest star in the night star. Being low in our sky it often twinkles brightly, showing a range of different colours. All this is due to the effect of our own atmosphere.

Above Orion and to our left and right respectively are Gemini and Taurus, two other very distinctive constellations. Each contains a wealth of interesting objects to search out.

Directly above Orion and close to our overhead is the constellation of Auriga the charioteer with its brightest star Capella. Capella is a spectroscopic binary, ie one where the two stars are too close to resolve visually but spectroscopic observations reveal its binary composition. It is also known as the 'interferometrist's friend' being the first star to be resolved into two components using optical interformetry on a single telescope in 1919 at Mount Wilson then on separate optical elements in 1995 at Cambridge.

Whether you like browsing with your naked eye, browing with binoculars or searching out individual objects with your telescope, our southern meridian runs through a rich and rewarding area of the sky, so wrap up warm on the next clear night and enjoy.

Clear Skies and Best Wishes

Neil

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