{"id":35192,"date":"2022-08-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=35192"},"modified":"2022-09-12T11:10:29","modified_gmt":"2022-09-12T11:10:29","slug":"interactive-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/2022\/08\/11\/interactive-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Interactive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Emails \u2013 Letters \u2013 Tweets \u2013 Facebook \u2013 Instagram \u2013 Kit questions<\/p>\n\n

Email us at inbox@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
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MESSAGE OF THE MONTH<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making good times with a DIY sundial<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Akira\u2019s paper and drinking straw timepiece <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thank you very much indeed for publishing Mary McIntyre\u2019s instructions for making an equatorial sundial (DIY Astronomy, \u2018Make a paper equatorial sundial\u2019, August 2022 issue). The timing was perfect as I needed to occupy my granddaughter Akira on the first day of the summer holidays. It proved to be a tremendous learning exercise for both of us and we were delighted when the Sun came out just before Akira\u2019s bedtime and correctly showed the time as almost 6pm GMT (7pm BST \u2013 or bedtime). The next job is to build a weatherproof version for the garden! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter and Akira Bartram, via email <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re delighted to see the sundial in action, Peter and Akira, and providing the timing for important points in the day like bedtime! It\u2019s a great little project this one, easy to do and a fun activity for all ages. \u2013 Ed. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

This month\u2019s top prize: two Philip\u2019s titles<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

The \u2018Message of the Month\u2019 writer will receive a bundle of two top titles courtesy of astronomy publisher Philip\u2019s: Nigel Henbest\u2019s Stargazing 2022 <\/em>and Robin Scagell\u2019s Guide to the Northern Constellations<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Winner\u2019s details will be passed on to Octopus Publishing to fulfil the prize<\/p>\n\n

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Number crunching <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Thank you for all you are doing for a great and long-lived magazine. In July\u2019s book reviews section, I was interested to read that author Antonio Padilla calculates the biggest number in the Universe to be 1061<\/sup>(review of Fantastic Numbers and Where to Find Them<\/em>). In my forthcoming book on the history of Greek astronomy, A String of Pearls, <\/em>I summarise Archimedes\u2019s calculation of the size of the heliocentric Universe, and follow up by looking at this brilliant mathematician\u2019s zest for exploring even larger numbers. <\/p>\n\n

Not content with numbers restricted to the size of the Universe, Archimedes continued to construct a perfectly logical counting structure that soared way beyond human imagining until he finally decided to call a halt when he reached 1080,000,000,000,000,000<\/sup>(converted from Greek to our numeration)! A listing of Archimedes\u2019s values for interplanetary distances has come down to us, but unfortunately through a garbled secondary source. <\/p>\n\n

Paul Mohr, Corrandulla, County Galway, Ireland<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

Mystery object <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

I was wondering if you could help me to identify something in the night sky on Friday 29 April at 23:07pm. I\u2019ve tried to do my own research but nothing conclusive has materialised. It travelled south to north, looked like a small, spherical white full Moon, but was hazy in its appearance (its core was brighter). I tracked it from overhead until it disappeared below the horizon line. I was taking shots of the Heart and Soul Nebula and found out the following morning that this object passed right through one of the images. The photos were taken in Wales. <\/span>I\u2019ve seen and imaged many a shooting star and the ISS but never seen anything as large as this. Any ideas? Thanks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Ian Sutton, via email <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"
The strange object caused a hazy streak in Ian\u2019s photo <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

This was the deorbit burn of a Russian Angara 1.2 rocket stage launched earlier that evening. Nice catch, Ian! <\/span>\u2013 Ed.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Moving picture <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

I am puzzled and would be grateful if someone could answer a question for me. According to the television reports, the images that we have seen from the James Webb Space Telescope include some galaxies that are about <\/span>13 billion years old. I assume that these galaxies are not stationary and while the light from them has been travelling towards us, the galaxies themselves have moved and are thus today no longer where they appear to us to be. <\/span>But if we are seeing them where they were shortly after the Big Bang then why are they all so far apart? Why aren\u2019t they clustered together, relatively speaking, near to the centre of the event?<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Dr Giles Camplin, council member of the Airship Association, London<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

The current theory to explain why objects like galaxies were already so far apart so soon after the Big Bang is called Inflation. It proposes a period of immensely rapid, exponential expansion in the Universe during its first few moments. <\/span>\u2013 Ed.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

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Tweet <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

Cath Adams<\/strong> @CathAdams1973 \u2022 Jul 19 @skyatnightmag I\u2019ve been sitting outside stargazing, the air is cooler but sadly no breeze. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n

Here is the International Space Station passing over my house at 23:06 taken using @<\/span>NightCapApp on an iPhone.<\/span>
<\/span>#InternationalSpaceStation <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

ON FACEBOOK <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

WE ASKED: what do you think of JWST\u2019s new image of Stephan\u2019s Quintet? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Tim Jardine <\/strong>A galaxy group I have viewed and imaged many times, but to see it like this is just amazing. <\/p>\n\n

Jon Mcinerney <\/strong>You wait 13 billion years, and then five galaxies turn up at once. <\/p>\n\n

Linda Wood Field <\/strong>I think it\u2019s amazing and beyond comprehension. <\/p>\n\n

Michael Page <\/strong>You get different information when viewing the Universe at different light wavelengths. Infrared light can pass through the gas and dust clouds that Hubble can see in visible light, so Webb allows the scientists to see the objects that are inside or behind those dust clouds. <\/p>\n\n

Frank Michael Knight <\/strong>Game changing for the future of science. Truly stunning. <\/p>\n\n

Lindy Lou <\/strong>Looks like part of a paw. <\/p>\n\n

Peter Parr <\/strong>Gotta be intelligent life out there. <\/p>\n\n

Jason Philip Hall <\/strong>Astonishing! Pure and simple. This instrument will change everything. <\/p>\n\n

Ed Shendell <\/strong>Absolutely amazed at the images coming from the James Webb Telescope. Looking back in time 13.5 billion years ago! The impact this will have on locating lost luggage cannot be underestimated. <\/p>\n\n

Room to grow <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

I have a question about the expanding Universe, which I haven\u2019t seen an answer to yet. If the Universe is expanding, where is it expanding to? Is there something outside the Universe as well? Surely it cannot expand into nothingness. If there is something outside the Universe, is it possible that it\u2019s another Universe? <\/p>\n\n

Tivadar Tot, Serbia <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

We\u2019re not entirely sure, but the leading idea is that it is expanding into dimensions we can\u2019t perceive. Imagine a person living in two dimensions on the surface of a balloon that\u2019s inflating \u2013 they can see the space around them getting larger, but not the third dimension it\u2019s expanding into. \u2013 Ed.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Force fault <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

In the article \u2018Jupiter\u2019s Asteroid Swarms\u2019 (July 2022 issue, Cutting Edge) it states that, \u201cthe gravitation of the Sun pulling in and the centrifugal force of our motion flinging out act to balance each other out\u201d. As a physics graduate and teacher, I know that this statement is incorrect. There is no such thing as \u2018centrifugal force\u2019. Our planet stays in orbit due to the gravitational force towards the Sun <\/span>providing the \u2018centripetal\u2019 force required for the Earth to follow its orbit. This force is not balanced by any other force, and indeed is an unbalanced force. If this force was not present, the Earth would merely continue in a straight line at a constant speed.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Steven Mitchell, via email <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

While centrifugal force is an \u2018apparent\u2019 force, which doesn\u2019t actually exist like centripetal force does, astronomers use it as a common short-hand as it\u2019s an easily understandable term. \u2013 Ed. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Instagram <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

photoknoxy \u2022 15 July <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

Another view of Wednesday\u2019s rising full Moon (aka the \u2018Buck Moon\u2019 or supermoon) with the ruins of Mow Cop castle silhouetted in the foreground. #cheshire #fullmoon #moonrise #buckmoon #lunarphotography #nightsky #bbcnorthwest @bbcskyatnightmag @canonuk @nationaltrust @bbcnorthwest <\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

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SOCIETY IN FOCUS <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

York Astronomical society (YAS) was pleased to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, and we\u2019re looking forward to continuing our success with a series of events planned for this autumn. <\/p>\n\n

YAS was founded in 1972 in response to the excitement generated by the Apollo programme. In April that year a group of observers from Stamford Bridge formed the society, initially meeting at their local pub or a garage belonging to one of the members. Later meetings were held at York Railway Institute, where two rooms with open coal fires and large tables were on offer. Discussions included the 10 <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
YAS observatory in 1978 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

November 1973 Mercury transit and Comet Kohoutek. One of our first observatories was in a derelict brick building, part of the abandoned hospital site on the edge of Acaster Aerodrome dating from WW2. We enjoyed camping there and using the old telescope, fortified by runs to the chip shop and the pub! In the last 50 years we\u2019ve had six observatory sites and five different meeting places. Today we have an observatory at a farm east of York where we hold meetings and public events.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Extract from The Definitive History of the York Astronomical Society (So Far!), <\/em>by Martin Dawson, yorkastro.org.uk<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
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SCOPE DOCTOR<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Our equipment specialist, Steve Richards, cures your optical ailments and technical maladies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Email your queries to scopedoctor@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should I insulate my observatory? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KEVIN PRIOR <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitigating the effects of large temperature fluctuations to aid cooling down times and reduce the problems of dew formation are excellent reasons for installing an observatory. But a bare observatory won\u2019t solve these issues completely, so it is worth making it as temperaturestable as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A wooden roll-off-roof observatory is easier to insulate than a metal-domed structure BARRY WILSON <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Wooden roll-off-roof designs are much easier to insulate than metal or fibreglass domed observatories, and wood construction already offers an advantage in temperature stabilisation. However, there is an argument for not using additional insulation as this could lead to heat retention, which is radiated later in the day causing unwanted air currents that can spoil the view. You can avoid this by opening up the observatory earlier, in advance of an observing session. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a roll-off-roof design, a combination of insulation and good ventilation is likely to be a good solution and a palecoloured (ideally white) domed observatory with good ventilation will also yield good results. Either solution will benefit greatly from the use of a desiccant dehumidifier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Steve\u2019s top tip<\/strong><\/em> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

How do I set up a finderscope? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A finderscope is a small, wide-field scope that helps you find targets in the night sky. It should be firmly mounted to the main telescope tube, normally using a small dovetail bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finderscopes should be accurately aligned with the telescope in two stages. Start by pointing the telescope at a distant object during the daytime (NOT the Sun), and centre it in the eyepiece. Next, without moving the telescope, centre the same object on the finderscope\u2019s crosshairs by adjusting the three adjustment screws. To align at night, centre a bright star in your eyepiece, then centre the same star on the finderscope\u2019s crosshairs using the screws on its mount. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Richards is a keen astro imager and an astronomy equipment expert <\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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