2. . . y •• v . :
4 ' „ ' . . . . • .. . .
V . ' - i V ' f • > ;
J v By JOAN G I L B E R T S O N a n d GARY M U R P H Y *
* . • » y ' O
' ' y / • ":'* ;
y p j j ^ at Baylor Regional Park .
> t V " v y ^ . V ' * * near Young America in
• i/'VV. ;'> southern Minnesota. Several members of the •* ,
>>.'* ... "' - . Minnesota Astronomical Society have rolled '
,' U - If- , y back the arched roof of the newly built Onan
:
; * ' ' " ' • ' Observatory. Mike Kibat, the observatory
' '•*. '• • •','•; guide, is readying the 16-inch telescope for
r ^ / ^ ' ^ v - ' a n evening's p u b l i c event, while society 1
:.*>;. . • m e m b e r Tom Youngblood enthusiastically
(•• ^ V " discusses anything heavenly. t '
:
x i'*" 4
* • - "I'm a newcomer to this hobby," explains '•'.•
''V 1
./ •' (V. '«
, MILKY WAY, 9-MINUTE EXPOSURE THROUGH 50MM LENS '
' V '* MVEALS FAR MORE LIGHT THAN MEETS THE NAKED EYE.
- ' v V f . . . - • B Y LAUREN N. NELSON
HEAVENS. THEY CAME BACK SMITTEN BY THE STARGAZER BUG.

3. 2.5-DAY-OLD CRESCENT M O O N
ROD NERDAHL
Youngblood, a trim, engaging man near
retirement age. "But I've started by mem-
orizing all 88 constellations. Did you
know that's the same as the number of
keys on a piano?"
In about an hour, more society members
and a mix of curious visitors (us included)
will be treated to the first astronomical
wonder of the night: a 1-day-old moon,
one of the most slender imaginable arcs of
Joan Gilbertson, former DNR video
news producer, is a news producer
for WCCO television. Gary Murphy
is a copywriter for The Sportsman's
Guide catalog.
moonlight. A white sliver barely noticeable
against the deepening blue of the sky, it is
the very edge of the moon catching the
sun's light.
Just the night before, the moon rose
and set with the sun, creating a moonless
night, a phase known as the new moon.
Here's a glorious contradiction for
stargazers: The more full, large, and gor-
geous is the moon, the more it obscures
our view of other celestial objects.
Kibat shows slides as we wait for the
sky to darken. Adults and children alike
marvel at his color photos of planets,
galaxies, and nebulae—huge clouds of
interstellar gas and dust measuring many
2 4 M I N N E S O T A C O N S E R V A T I O N V O L U N T E E R

4. ANDROMEDA, 12-MINUTE EXPOSURE THROUGH A 400MM LENS
LAUREN N. NELSON
light-years across. "There's nothing like a
dying-star nebula," he says. "It's awe-
inspiring and humbling."
By 9 p.m., the sun's light has fallen
significantly below the horizon, while
the lights of the surrounding communi-
ties have begun to glow upward. Society
m e m b e r s have carefully set up and
adjusted their telescopes, many with a
focus on Mars. In its closest approach to
Earth in a decade, Mars is the "star" of
the show tonight, reflecting the light of
the sun.
A society member points out an actual
star close to Mars and, to the naked eye,
similar in appearance. Our knowledge-
J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 2
able friend informs us, "That's Antares,"
which means, in Greek, "like Mars."
This pleasant evening is our initiation
into the universe of stargazing as a hobby.
It's free and easily available to anyone with
a pair of eyes (and for a somewhat better
view, binoculars or a small telescope). Just
a little information and a few star charts
will allow you to enter into a fascinating
activity to be enjoyed for a lifetime.
NOTES FOR "NEWBIES"
Following our outing with the astronomi-
cal society, and all the lofty thoughts of
the heavens it inspired, we began to won-
der about the nuts and bolts (or should
2 5

5. that be charts and lenses?) of pursuing
amateur astronomy. Here are a few of the
things we learned.
First, somewhat to our surprise, obser-
vation with binoculars was not looked
down on by any of the serious sky-people
we spoke to. Because of their portability
and easy use, binoculars are actually rec-
ommended for beginners. Binoculars
with 7x to lOx magnification and a large
50mm objective lens are good for casual
use; higher power than that requires a tri-
pod for stability.
After trying out a variety of telescopes
at astronomy events and learning what to
look for, a dedicated amateur will want to
move up to a telescope, perhaps eventual-
ly one with a tracking system and larger
light-gathering lenses or mirrors.
When deciding when to stargaze, con-
sider seasonal benefits and drawbacks.
Insects in the summer. Cold feet in the
winter. No glare from snow in the sum-
mer. (The reflectivity factor of snow is
considered to be 70 percent vs. just 10
percent from asphalt.) Drier air and there-
Light Pollution:
M i g h t I See a
Star Tonight?
T
h e n i g h t s k y a n d t h e h e a v e n l y bod-
ies t h a t p o p u l a t e it h a v e l o n g s e r v e d
as p o e t i c s y m b o l s o f e t e r n i t y , p e r m a -
n e n c e , a n d
i n f i n i t y . S o
it's d i f f i c u l t
t o t h i n k o f a
s t a r r y n i g h t
as a r e s o u r c e
t h a t c o u l d
f a d e , e v e n d i s a p p e a r . S a d l y , t h o u g h , f o r
m o d e r n s t a r g a z e r s — w h e t h e r profes-
s i o n a l a s t r o n o m e r s or h o b b y i s t s — t h e r e
h a s i n d e e d b e e n a loss in t h e n i g h t s k y .
T h i s h a s c o m e b y w a y o f a p r o b l e m a n y
o n e o f us m a y i n n o c e n t l y c o n t r i b u t e t o :
l i g h t p o l l u t i o n .
A s t r o n o m e r s h a v e l o n g r e c o g n i z e d t h a t
residential a n d c o m m e r c i a l d e v e l o p m e n t
is e a t i n g a w a y a t t h e d a r k n e s s , diminish-
ing t h e n i g h t s k y . M u c h o f t h e p r o b l e m
is d u e t o p o o r l y d e s i g n e d l i g h t i n g , w h i c h
c a u s e s " l i g h t t r e s p a s s " ( l i g h t s h i n i n g
o u t w a r d and u p w a r d w h e r e it is w a s t e d )
White marks the
areas with the
greatest artificial
Eg?.- v*. ^-H^^prCTW^pjK^ Eft JJKM brightness,
followed by red,
orange, yellow,
green, blue, dark
gray, and black.
MtoWIMHMI
PIERANTONIO CINZANO. FA8IO FALCHI, AND CHRIS ELVIDCE. COPYRIGHT ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
2 6 M I N N E S O T A C O N S E R V A T I O N V O L U N T E E R

6. HALE-BOPP OVER WELL-LIGHTED CITYSCAPE
LAUREN N. NELSON
a n d g l a r e ( l i g h t b r i g h t e r t h a n o u r e y e s
c a n p r o c e s s ) .
" T h e a m o u n t o f w a s t e d ' u p ' s t r e e t
l i g h t in t h e U . S . c o u l d p r o v i d e all t h e
e l e c t r i c i t y f o r a c o u n t r y t h e s i z e o f
I r e l a n d o r I s r a e l , " s a y s I n t e r n a t i o n a l
D a r k - S k y A s s o c i a t i o n m e m b e r D a n i e l
B r o c i o u s . T h e a s s o c i a t i o n e s t i m a t e s
t h a t u p t o 3 0 p e r c e n t o f o u t d o o r l i g h t -
i n g in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s is w a s t e d , a t a
c o s t o f m o r e t h a n $ 1 . 5 b i l l i o n a n n u a l l y .
M a n y s k y w a t c h e r s w o r r y t h a t t o d a y ' s
c h i l d r e n w i l l n e v e r h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i -
t y t o f u l l y a p p r e c i a t e t h e b e a u t y o f t h e
s t a r s b e c a u s e o f t h i s p o l l u t i n g w a s h o u t .
F o r t u n a t e l y , t h e r e a r e h i n t s o f a
b r i g h t e r f u t u r e f o r d a r k s k i e s . C o n c e r n s
a b o u t t h e c o s t a n d a v a i l a b i l i t y o f e n e r -
g y h a v e e n c o u r a g e d m a n y m u n i c i p a l i -
t i e s t o f o c u s o n t u r n i n g d o w n t h e
I
I
J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 2
S/l/ME COMET IN DARK SKY
l i g h t s , t h e r e b y t u r n i n g u p t h e s t a r s .
T h e D a r k - S k y A s s o c i a t i o n is e d u c a t i n g
c o n s u m e r s , b u s i n e s s e s , a n d g o v e r n m e n t
a b o u t t h e b e n e f i t s o f s w i t c h i n g f r o m
i n e f f i c i e n t m e r c u r y v a p o r l i g h t s t o
l o w e r - w a t t a g e , l o w - p r e s s u r e s o d i u m
b u l b s . T h e a s s o c i a t i o n a l s o r e c o m m e n d s
u s i n g f u l l - c u t o f f l i g h t i n g f i x t u r e s t h a t
e m i t n o l i g h t a b o v e t h e h o r i z o n t a l
p l a n e r a t h e r t h a n u n s h i e l d e d " g l a r e
b o m b s . " M o r e t h a n 1 0 0 c i t i e s a n d c o u n -
t i e s , p l u s a h a n d f u l o f s t a t e s , a r e imple-
m e n t i n g t h e s e s i m p l e , i n e x p e n s i v e m o d -
i f i c a t i o n s t o d i m i n i s h l i g h t d o m e s
a r o u n d d e v e l o p e d a r e a s .
" T h i s is t r u l y a s o l v a b l e e n v i r o n m e n t a l
p r o b l e m , " s a y s B r o c i o u s . " I t ' s n o t like
t r y i n g t o r e m o v e all t h e s t y r o f o a m
p e a n u t s f r o m t h e o c e a n . "
Joan Gilbertson
2 7

7. THE CONSTELLATION PLEIADES-THE SEVEN SISTERS OF CREEK MYTHOLOGY
LAUREN N. NELSON
fore clearer views in the winter. Earlier
sunsets, longer nights in the winter. Each
season has its own favorite sights. Of
course, for the dedicated, the hooked, the
answer to when to stargaze is "Always!"
TOP EIGHT SPECTACLES
As an amateur astronomer, you must real-
ize that you're not looking for the huge,
colorful images seen in astronomy maga-
zines, nor for anything you've seen in a sci-
fi movie. We learned about some of what
is worth looking for when we attended the
annual convention of the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific held recently in St.
Paul. Bob Berman, astronomer and popu-
lar columnist for Astronomy and Discover
magazines, presented a lecture: The
Greatest Sky Spectacles of the 21st
Century. Here are notes on some of the
most common and easy sights to see. s
o
Moon. Earth's satellite is the hands-down g
winner in terms of spectacle, and a good t
starting place. You've likely looked at it §
before, as people through the ages have. s
It was the huntress-goddess Diana to |
the Romans, a rabbit who mixes the ><
potions of life to the Chinese, and simply a <
man's face looking down on Earth to "
2 8 M I N N E S O T A C O N S E R V A T I O N V O L U N T E E R

9. many others. Observation with even low-
powered binoculars reveals a landscape of
mountains, ridges, seas, and craters.
Anticipating the moon's phases as it waxes
and wanes from new to crescent to full
and back again, can be a lot of fun and a
great science lesson for children. It also
tells you the best time to do the rest of
your astronomy.
Milky Way and Other Galaxies. The
Milky Way and other galaxies are huge
groups of stars, bound together by grav-
ity. Viewing the Milky Way is a simple
naked-eye experience. The tricky part is
getting to a place that's dark enough to
really see the river of celestial bodies in all
its glory (see Light Pollution, page 26).
There are likely 200 billion stars in the
Milky Way, the galaxy we reside in.
Observing it is just taking a peek around
our neighborhood. The awe is in appreci-
ating the fact that 200 billion is just a tiny
fraction of the stars in the universe.
As majestic as galaxies are, they're often
described as gray lint when first seen
through a telescope. Berman warns star
enthusiasts against showing Andromeda to
newcomers. "Stay away from Andromeda,"
he says of this large spiral galaxy that is usu-
ally visible to the naked eye. "People expect
a galaxy to look like the movie image. But
through a telescope it's just a piece of
smudge. And you're going to look like a PR
person from an antimatter planet."
Stars and Constellations. One of the easi-
est constellations to recognize is the
hunter Orion with his distinct belt of three
stars, shining so prominently in the south-
ern part of the winter sky.
32 M I N N E S O T A C O N S E R V A T I O N V O L U N T E E R

10. As inhabitants of the North Star State,
we surely should be looking for Polaris.
The North Star is part of the Little Dipper,
which is a part of the constellation Ursa
Minor, the Little Bear, and near the Big
Dipper, which is the hindquarters and tail
of the Big Bear, Ursa Major. The British
call the Big Dipper the Plough, and escap-
ing slaves in the 1800s followed the
Drinking Gourd north to freedom.
You can look for your own constella-
tion of the zodiac, be it Taurus, Scorpius,
Leo, Sagittarius, or one of the others.
According to a Cheyenne legend, the
entire dome of the sky was considered the
Great Turtle, its shell glittering with the
ax heads, spear points, and skeletons of
brave warriors who climbed on it.
Planets. One can usually distinguish
planets from stars and other celestial
objects by the fact that they don't "twin-
ROD NERDAHl
kle" as m u c h as stars do. Look for
Saturn's rings and one of its moons,
Titan, the largest satellite in the solar
system. In addition to Mars, Venus and
Mercury can be easily observed with the
naked eye. As evening or m o r n i n g
"stars," Venus and M e r c u r y travel
across the sky as their positions relative
to Earth change. The challenge in
observing Jupiter is actually discerning
its Great Red Spot, a hurricanelike
storm more than 15,000 miles long, first
observed in 1664.
Meteor Showers. Lying on the picnic
table or the dock up at the lake, mar-
veling at a night that seemed loaded
with "shooting stars," did you ever
guess that there is a regular schedule for
the best meteor showers, about as close
to clockwork as one can get? As Earth
orbits the sun, it encounters the same

11. Cyberspace
Stargazing
a s t r o . u m n . e d u / O u t r e a c h / p u b _ o u t . h t m l
T h i s U n i v e r s i t y o f M i n n e s o t a
D e p a r t m e n t o f A s t r o n o m y w e b s i t e h a s
i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t p u b l i c o u t r e a c h pro-
g r a m s a n d l i n k s t o v a r i o u s s k y c h a r t s a n d m a p s , a s w e l l as
i m a g e s f r o m t h e H u b b l e s p a c e t e l e s c o p e .
a s t r o n o m y . c o m / T h i s Astronomy m a g a z i n e s i t e o f f e r s s c i e n c e
a n d f e a t u r e s t o r i e s , g r e a t p h o t o g r a p h s , a n d a s p e c i a l sec-
t i o n f o r k i d s .
d a r k s k y . o r g T h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l D a r k - S k y A s s o c i a t i o n s i t e h a s
i n f o r m a t i o n r e l a t e d t o i t s g o a l : " T o p r e s e r v e a n d p r o t e c t
t h e n i g h t t i m e e n v i r o n m e n t a n d o u r h e r i t a g e o f d a r k s k i e s
t h r o u g h q u a l i t y o u t d o o r l i g h t i n g . "
f o u r m i l a b . c h / y o u r s k y / T h i s s i t e a l l o w s y o u t o e n t e r y o u r
l o n g i t u d e a n d l a t i t u d e t o g e t a v i r t u a l v i e w o f t h e n i g h t s k y
in a n y d i r e c t i o n .
l i g h t p o l l u t i o n . i t / d m s p Based o n s a t e l l i t e d a t a a n d o t h e r
c a l c u l a t i o n s , t h i s w o r l d a t l a s o f a r t i f i c i a l n i g h t s k y b r i g h t -
n e s s — b y P i e r a n t o n i o C i n z a n o , F a b i o Falchi, a n d C h r i s
E l v i d g e — s h o w s t h e e x t e n t a n d s e v e r i t y o f l i g h t p o l l u t i o n .
m n a s t r o . o r g / o n a n / e v e n t s . h t m M i n n e s o t a A s t r o n o m i c a l
S o c i e t y a n n o u n c e s t h e O n a n O b s e r v a t o r y ' s " s t a r p a r t i e s "
a n d o t h e r n e w s .
s k y p u b . c o m / P r o d u c e d b y Sky if Telescope m a g a z i n e , t h i s
s i t e h a s e x p e r t a d v i c e f o r b a c k y a r d s t a r g a z i n g , as w e l l as
w e e k l y a n d m o n t h l y s k y c h a r t s .
Joan Cilbertson
clouds of meteoroids—interplanetary
debris—every year. The meteoroids
strike Earth's atmosphere like bugs on a
windshield, burning up as they enter
the atmosphere.
Although the Leonid meteor shower
this past November will be hard to beat,
the Quadrantids will be a major event,
peaking around Jan. 3 with about 85
meteors per hour. Probably the most
spectacular showers in 2002 will appear
LAUREN N. NELSON
f r o m the constellation Perseus in
August, peaking mid-month with 40 to
60 meteors per hour.
Comets. Comets are large masses of
frozen materials (sometimes described
as dirty snowballs) that travel in long,
elliptical orbits around the sun. These
are not the best starting point for a
beginner, because they do not appear
often. Two of the best came around just
3 2 M I N N E S O T A C O N S E R V A T I O N V O L U N T E E R

12. 1997 COMET HALE-BOPP, 200MM, 5-/WNUTE EXPOSURE
I
recently. Hale-Bopp was incredibly huge
and bright, visible even at dusk in big
cities loaded with light. Hyakutake had a
tail stretching some 45 degrees across
the sky.
Artificial Satellites. This is kind of cheating
because the many communications, weath-
er, and other satellites are not natural celes-
tial objects. But it can be fun to spot and
follow them. Look for an especially brilliant
pinpoint of light that's clearly in motion.
Aurora Borealis. The northern lights
shimmer and flow through the sky as if
afire with vibrant red or eerie green. The
aurora is the result of Earth's magnetic
field being disturbed by solar storms. It is
a phenomenon similar to the working of
a color television: charged particles glow
different colors, depending on their
chemical makeup. Aurora borealis occurs
J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 2 3 3

13. around the north magnetic pole. It is
produced in the outer atmosphere when
atomic particles strike and excite atoms.
The past several years have been partic-
ularly strong in solar activity. Living in a
northern latitude, Minnesotans have a
great seat for the show. According to
Berman, the most mind-boggling display
of the aurora comes the year after strong
solar storms. This March, northern lights
are expected to be particularly spectacular.
ANY QUESTIONS?
Why, of course you have questions.
Aspiring amateur astronomers realize
that looking at the stars, planets, galaxies,
and other celestial phenomena is only
part of the experience. There's always
more to know (see Cyberspace Star-
gazing, page 32, and Astronomy Events,
below). There are the charts, telescopes,
and other gadgetry to be mastered; the
cycles of the planets, constellations, and
meteors to be learned; the mathematics
of distances and magnitudes to be calcu-
lated; the causes of astrophysical phe-
nomena to be studied; the literary and
mythological significance of the heavens
to be pondered. And on top of all that,
there's always the opportunity to go out
and share the pleasure of hobby astrono-
my with other stargazers! 9
T
h e n i g h t s k y is
t h e f o c u s o f
a t t e n t i o n a t t h e
f o l l o w i n g e v e n t s
a n d a c t i v i t i e s t h i s w i n t e r a n d s p r i n g .
H e n n e p i n Parks: O u r W i n t e r S k y , J a n .
1 0 , 9 p . m . , E a s t m a n N a t u r e C e n t e r ,
O s s e o ; S t a r G a z i n g , J a n . 1 8 , 7 p . m . ,
C l e a r y Lake R e g i o n a l Park, P r i o r Lake.
R e g i s t e r e a r l y f o r e i t h e r e v e n t b y
c a l l i n g 7 6 3 - 5 5 9 - 6 7 0 0 .
M i n n e a p o l i s P l a n e t a r i u m : W i n t e r S t a r
S h o w , J a n . 1 2 - A p r i l 18; p r o g r a m s
i n c l u d e S p a c e D r e a m s , D i n o s a u r s in
t h e Dark o f N i g h t , T h e r e ' s N o P l a c e
Like S p a c e , F o l l o w t h e D r i n k i n g G o u r d ,
a n d R o m a n c i n g t h e S t a r s . Call
6 1 2 - 6 3 0 - 6 1 5 5 .
M i n n e s o t a A s t r o n o m i c a l S o c i e t y
" s t a r p a r t i e s , " v i e w i n g e v e n t s f o r t h e
p u b l i c : M a r c h 1 a n d 29, M e t c a l f
N a t u r e C e n t e r , A f t o n ; M a r c h 8, C h e r r y
G r o v e O b s e r v a t o r y , s o u t h o f C a n n o n
Falls; M a r c h 1 5 , B a y l o r R e g i o n a l P a r k ,
Y o u n g A m e r i c a . If w e a t h e r p r e v e n t s
v i e w i n g f o r a F r i d a y s t a r p a r t y ,
v i e w i n g is r e s c h e d u l e d t o S a t u r d a y .
T o c o n f i r m v i e w i n g c o n d i t i o n s o r f o r
d i r e c t i o n s , call t h e s o c i e t y a t
6 5 1 - 6 4 9 - 4 8 6 1 .
M i n n e s o t a V a l l e y N a t i o n a l W i l d l i f e
R e f u g e : T h e r e ' s a Bear in M y S k y ! Learn
h o w p r e h i s t o r i c p e o p l e v i e w e d t h e
n i g h t s k y , J a n . 23, 7 - 8 : 3 0 p . m . , B l o o m -
i n g t o n , 9 5 2 - 8 5 4 - 5 9 0 0 .
U n i v e r s i t y o f M i n n e s o t a D e p a r t m e n t
o f A s t r o n o m y : p u b l i c v i e w i n g F r i d a y s ,
8 - 9 : 3 0 p . m . w e a t h e r p e r m i t t i n g , T a t e
L a b o r a t o r y o f P h y s i c s , M i n n e a p o l i s ,
6 1 2 - 6 2 4 - 3 8 5 9 ; p u b l i c t o u r s o f 3 0 - i n c h
t e l e s c o p e b y a p p o i n t m e n t , O ' B r i e n
O b s e r v a t o r y , M a r i n e o n S t . C r o i x , 612-
6 2 4 - 7 8 0 6 .
Mary Hoff
3 4 M I N N E S O T A C O N S E R V A T I O N V O L U N T E E R

14. AURORA BOREAUS IN OCTOBER NEAR FOREST LAKE