solar

Wrapup: The CAA & Transit of Venus program

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by William Murmann, CAA President

This month, we had one of the most successful public events in the history of our club with the 2012 Transit of Venus program at Edgewater State Park in Cleveland on Tuesday, June 5.

We worked with Cleveland State University, Baldwin-Wallace College, the Cleveland Astronomical Society (CAS), and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Edgewater State Park staff to present a program that provided an opportunity for about 7,000 people to personally use telescopes to observe one of the major astronomical events of this century and of our lifetimes.

I think it’s important to document our transit program here in our newsletter and on our website, and to recognize our members who provided most of the telescopes used at Edgewater State Park to observe Venus during the transit.

CAA member Jay Reynolds, a professional astronomer who teaches at Cleveland State University, personally organized and coordinated the transit program. Here are the major participants who worked with Jay:

Cuyahoga Astronomical Association. CAA members provided most of the 30 or so telescopes that were used for public observations during the June 5 transit, and helped assemble the 5,000 No. 5 optical-grade Mylar solar viewers that were given away to the public. CAA President Bill Murmann participated in planning and supporting the program.

Cleveland Astronomical Society. CAS President Bob Sledz and his wife, Ingrid, worked on the transit project. Bob designed the Mylar solar viewers, which were paid for by a personal donation from CAS member Joanne D. Denko, M.D. CAS members helped assemble the solar viewers, and manned a table during the transit program to distribute the viewers free of charge to the public.

Cleveland State University. CSU’s College of Science, represented by Jay Reynolds, was a major supporter of the Transit program. CSU science students helped with the event.

Baldwin-Wallace College. B-W Observatory Director and CAA member Gary Kader and science students from the college provided telescopes and other support during the program. The college also created and distributed special souvenir bookmarks commemorating the transit.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources. ODNR officials and Edgewater State Park staff provided outstanding support and planning for the transit program. Park Rangers and staff provided extra security, traffic control, and other services that helped make the Transit a great success.

Exhibitors. Ten exhibitors set up information tables for the transit program, including the Cleveland Astronomical Society, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the International Women’s Air & Space Museum, the U.S.S. Cod,  the Friends of Edgewater, Akron radio station WNIR, Baldwin-Wallace Admissions, Cleveland State Admissions, and the CSU Wolstein Center.

The Natural History Museum’s Observatory Coordinator and CAA member Clyde Simpson and Planetarium Coordinator Jason Davis brought a desktop solar telescope for use at the Museum’s information table.

NASA Glenn Research Center. While not an official exhibitor, NASA Glenn sent their Satellite Truck and Video Projection Truck to show a live video feed of the transit as seen in Hawaii.

News Media Coverage. The transit and CAA received extensive news media coverage before, during, and after the event, thanks to interviews and promotion done by Jay Reynolds. Media coverage included The Plain Dealer, Fox TV 8, WTAM, WNIR, WKYC, WEWS TV, WDOK, and WCPN.

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CAA Telescopes. CAA members who brought their personal telescopes for the public to observe the transit include: Gary Kader, Bob Pence, Jay Reynolds, Bill Murmann, Susan Petsche, Jim Cofer, Tim Campbell, Bill & Carol Lee, Bruce Lane, Lynn Paul, Carl Kelley, Bob Wiersma, Matt Franduto, Steve & Gail Korylak, Steve Spears, Trevor Braun, Suzie Dills, Gus Waffen, Ted Sauppé, and Chris Christe.

Members and others who helped at Edgewater without telescopes include: Steve Gallant, Ron Devine, Kathy Ruffus, Isabel Guadiz-Tobey, and Mary Ann Wadsworth.

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Thanks to the support of our members and other sponsoring organizations and individuals, this was a memorable program. Many thanks to all!

Now all we need is clear skies

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Photo: The Sun as it appeard the morning of May 24, 2012. Photo by James Guilford.
The Sun with (center) sunspot #1486 and (upper-right) sunspot #1484. Converted to monochrome.

“I spent some time this morning experimenting with solar photography. On June 5 the transit of Venus will take place and, since the next one after that won’t happen for another 115 years, I thought I should try for this year’s! Call me impatient. I discovered to my dismay that my very expensive, modern-design, Herschel Wedge won’t work for photography with my six-inch refractor telescope and DSLR. I could not crank the camera “in” close enough to achieve focus with the wedge in place. Rats! I’m going to make quick queries to see what I can do to resolve the issue if I’m to use the wedge any time soon … and June 5 is soon!  So with the telescope still set up in the mid-morning sunshine, I removed the wedge and covered the telescope’s objective lens with the very inexpensive AstroZap filter made using Baader AstroSolar film. I connected my trusty (and light-weight) Canon Digital Rebel XT to the scope’s eyepiece holder for prime-focus imaging and made several bracketed exposures. Later I discovered the results were very good though not quite as good as shots made with my Canon EOS 50D and Canon 400mm telephoto. The difference in quality may be attributed to seeing conditions –the images were made days apart– but either setup will do just fine for recording the upcoming historic celestial event. Now all we need is clear skies on that day!” — James Guilford

Our (very) partial eclipse

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Photo: Partial Eclipse at Sunset, May 20, 2012. By Dianna Lewis.
Partial eclipse at sunset from Cahoon Park, Bay Village. Photo by Dianna Lewis.

Sites along the US West Coast enjoyed a beautiful annular eclipse on Sunday, May 20, as did observers in China. We did not see much of an eclipse from Northeastern Ohio. We were, however, treated to some beautiful sunset views! Late-day clouds threatened to block the event entirely from view but, in some cases, contributed to the aesthetic.

Photo: Observers setting up to see partial eclipse of the Sun. Photo by Tim Campbell.
Observers setting up at Edgewater to see partial eclipse of the Sun. Photo by Tim Campbell.

A group of CAA members gathered at Cleveland’s Edgewater Park for a view of the sunset event over water — as distant an horizon as we can get here. Others viewed and photographed the partial eclipse individually from other locations.

Photo: Cloudy sunset during partial eclipse. Photo by Christopher Christe.
Cloudy sunset during partial eclipse. Photo by Christopher Christe.

CME on its way though aim is off a bit

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Photo: Sunspot group AR1476, May 2012, by Jay Reynolds.
AR 1476 as photographed May 10 through the clouds by Jay Reynolds.

Sunspot group AR1476 finally spit out a coronal mass ejection (CME) though perhaps a bit late for a direct shot at Earth. The active region has been the focus of much attention from solar-interested scientists and amateur astronomers of every ilk. The huge grouping is rotating away from the center of the Sun’s disk and will soon pass over its limb. In the mean time, clouds and inclement weather are moving into the Northeastern Ohio area, obscuring the fascinating markings … visible to the unaided (but properly-protected) eye.

SpaceWeather.com reports: “On May 11th at 23:54 UT, a coronal mass ejection raced away from the sun faster than 1000 km/s. The fast-moving cloud will deliver a glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field on May 14th around 14:30 UT, according to a revised forecast track prepared by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab. Mars is also in the line of fire.”

Photo Notes: AR 1476 as photographed through the clouds May 10, 2012, by Jay Reynolds who was birding when lake effect clouds reduced the brightness enough to get this photo. Canon 400mm telephoto, 1/1,250sec., f/13. Extreme caution is warranted when photographing the Sun. A clearing in the clouds or a hole in a solar filter can instantly and permanently damage the eyes.