Volume 31—Number 2 February 2014

Roanoke Valley Astronomical

Society Amateur Astronomy News and Views

In Southwestern Virginia

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 1 of 12

From Seattle, Washington, it's--wait, wait, don't tell

me!

Sorry to steal a line from the Sunday morning NPR pro-

gram, but our January Club gathering was yet another

example of why you may wish to brave the elements to

meet with your fellow all-things-astronomical enthusi-

asts.

In a first for a monthly meeting, RVAS President Frank

Baratta and Mark Hodges (all things mystical and elec-

trical Science Museum master) orchestrated an intri-

guing hour with Tom Field, live via webcast from his lo-

cation in Seattle. A contributing editor at Sky & Tele-scope magazine and author of RSpec software, Tom re-

galed the twenty eight hardy souls present with an ad-

venture delving into the surprisingly easy world of hard

science: spectroscopic investigation of light emitting

objects of all types in our universe.

The bombardment of energy reaching Earth can be ana-

lyzed to reveal the constituent elements of a celestial

object. The process is not brand new, having been first

defined by Newton with his prism experiments. Joseph

von Fraunhofer, a wonderfully skilled glass maker, ob-

served 574 dark lines in the seemingly continuous spec-

trum of Sun in the early 1800s. He then equipped his

telescope with a prism to study Venus, the Moon, Mars

and Betelgeuse. The field of astronomical spectroscopy

had been born.

Fast forward. Spectroscopy has taught us that every

element of the Periodic Table when heated emits or ab-

sorbs light of specific wavelengths, which appear as

lines in their otherwise continuous, multi-colored spec-

tra. Among other things, spectroscopy can even detect

the motion (including rotation) of objects due to a Dop-

pler shift in such lines: toward the blue end of the spec-

trum when the source is approaching and toward the red

(Meeting Continued on page 4)

RVAS President Frank Baratta connects with Tom Field

for the evening’s live webcast talk.

Photo by John Goss

RVAS January Meeting Notes

Coming to you live . . .

by Rick Rader, RVAS Secretary

The Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society is a membership organization of amateur astronomers dedicated to the pursuit of observational and

photographic astronomical activities. Meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month. See calendar on last page of news-

letter for location. Meetings are open to the public. Observing sessions are held one or two weekends a month at a dark-sky site. Yearly dues

are: Individual, $20.00; Senior Individual, $18.00; Family, $25.00; Senior Family, $22.00; Student, $10.00. Articles, quotes, etc. published in the

newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the RVAS or its editor.

Officers/Executive Committee/Editor/Webmaster Frank Baratta, President (president@rvasclub.org )

Sharon Stinnette, Vice President (vicepresident@rvasclub.org)

Rick Rader, Secretary (secretary@rvasclub.org)

Jeff Suhr, Treasurer (treasurer@rvasclub.org)

Carol Mesimer, Member at Large (memberatlarge@rvasclub.org)

Michael Good, Immediate Past President (immediatepastpresident@rvasclub.org)

Paul Caffrey, Past President (pastpresident@rvasclub.org)

David E. Thomas, RVAS Newsletter Editor (editor@rvasclub.org)

Roger Pommerenke & David E. Thomas, Webmaster (webmaster@rvasclub.org)

RVAS web page: http://rvasclub.org

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 2 of 12

I was sitting at the dining room table this morning, en-

joying the bright early morning sunshine again, as I

have a fondness of doing, and listening to NPR. A spot

on some new astronomical findings came on and it

sparked a rush of thoughts. Somehow, it also reminded

me of a quote from Mark Twain, one with which I’m

sure many of you are familiar.

When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

It’s likely that from the dawn of humanity older gener-

ations have endured with a kindly (mostly) indulgence

such attitudes that accompany our early years. It’s

part of the process of individuation and maturation

that we all pass through. We grow out of it, though

some vestige of the attitude persists throughout our

years, more so in some than in others.

In the present case, the NPR spot that sparked these

and other thoughts had to do with how the asteroid

belt formed. Since the 1980s, astronomers had been

of the opinion that the asteroid belt formed in situ

from the same cloud from which the planets formed.

Turns out that this opinion was based on observing too

few asteroids. Now, surveys of hundreds of thousands

of them are telling us that they formed throughout the

solar system. How they collected mainly in the asteroid

belt involves new theories about planetary orbital dy-

namics and the influence of Jupiter during the early

stages of the solar system.

Interesting. But what impressed itself upon me was,

once again, science as an enterprise in which the proba-

bility of change is “1”; that is, a certainty. In one way,

this is truly annoying. It might be nice to have things

settled once and for all. But that way lies stagnation

and decline.

(Message Continued on page 3)

President’s Message

Astronomy and Humility

Artist concept of an asteroid belt around a sun-like star.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In fact, science is an ongoing lesson in humility. Oh,

sure, scientists (from professionals down to rank ama-

teurs) are human and loathe to yield their cherished

theories and beliefs. But there’s a saying about Fate

that applies to the inevitability of change in the scienc-

es: You can go along with it peacefully or get dragged!

It may take a while—as in how long the geocentric view

of the universe persisted—but eventually the weight of

accumulating evidence demands acknowledgement.

Sometimes it does so gently, other times like the force

of two long-jammed tectonic plates releasing their pent

-up energies. In this, science differs from some areas

of human understanding. Science is a chain of unfolding

awareness in which each contribution is at least to some

degree provisional.

Indeed, imbedded therein lies a concept expressed by

the late eminent philosopher of science Karl Popper, who

asserted that a statement is "scientific" only if it is,

among other things, “falsifiable.” Or take the corollary

Einstein is reported to have said, “No amount of experi-

mentation can ever prove me right, but a single experi-

ment can prove me wrong.” In Popper’s view, to say that

a statement is “unfalsifiable” is not to say it is irrele-

vant or without value, it’s just “non-scientific.”

Science exacts a price from the practitioner: a hum-

bling assent—whether consciously or not—that tomor-

row’s science may prove me wrong. It may be a litmus

test for our times. Those who would withhold their as-

sent are not practicing science.

Frank Baratta

(Message Continued from page 2)

For complete information:

www.gtcc.edu/observatory/tristar

Sears Applied Technologies Center

Guilford Technical Community College

Jamestown, NC 2014 March 1

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 3 of 12

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 4 of 12

when the source is receding.

What has been difficult to quantify without some major

financial investments is now within reach for many ama-

teurs with a variety of webcams, DSLRs (I would pro-

pose mirror-less cameras will suffice, if good quality),

astro CCD cameras, grating lenses and Mr. Field's RSpec

software. One huge asset to this exercise is the imme-

diacy of feedback. Once you have your image, you can

download it to a laptop which will show the object and

the spectrum on the left side of your screen. Engage

the software and you will then see all the defined ab-

sorption and emission lines in the continuous format

with the specific wavelengths measured. You can then

determine the chemical, motion and other properties of

your target.

Tom is a very engaging, entertaining speaker and there

was significant back and forth conversation as we were

all quite captivated by what we were seeing and hearing.

You can see Tom in a ten minute Sky & Telescope inter-

view from 2011 Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) on

YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=ORK_Xwpt2B8. His website is RSpec-astro.com and

is quite detailed in the equipment and software needed

to apply yourself to this discipline. Tom also had an ar-

ticle on the subject in the August 2011 issue of Sky &

Telescope magazine.

After thanking Tom and bidding him farewell, Frank

called on Genevieve Goss for a short segment to close

out the evening. Genevieve is just a wonderful speaker.

Her topic was the Globe at Night and Night Sky Net-

work—again, citizen science. The former’s activities

focus on gathering star counts for specified reference

areas by observers from their own homes all over the

world to help measure light pollution. The current ref-

erence area is Orion. Details, including observing dates

and reference charts, are available at

www.globeatnight.org. This is an easy but very valuable

effort, well worth your time. Oddly enough, the NSN

latest target for outreach activities is also in the con-

stellation Orion—the star Betelgeuse. (If only Fraunho-

fer could see what he started!!) Information about the

NSN, its activities and resources are at http://

nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm.

We were pleased to welcome as our guests for the even-

ing James and Darlene Thompson and Hart Gillespie

from the Blue Ridge Astronomy Club in Lynchburg,

where Jim serves as President, and Erica Reed, who

tutors at Roanoke’s Jackson Middle School. The Lynch-

burg group had accompanied RVAS members from Bed-

ford Jack Gross and Roger Yeager to the meeting. We

hope you all felt welcomed and would love to have you

back.

Our next meeting will be on February 17th, same time

(7:30PM), same place (Center on Church, 20 E. Church

Avenue, Roanoke, VA 24011). Our featured speaker will

be Bruce Jones, sail boater and former Coast Guard

captain, who’ll be enlightening us on the subject of ce-

lestial navigation. Won't you join us?

(Meeting Continued from page 1)

Genevieve Goss points out steps in the Globe at Night

activity for the early months of 2014.

Photo by Carolyn Baratta

Tom demonstrates boxing a star’s spectrum (left side) and

the resulting analysis (right side) using RSpec software.

Photo by Rick Rader

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 5 of 12

Below is an image I took on January 29 of the new su-

pernova in Messier 82. It was a balmy 18 degrees, and I

set the CCD cooler at an amazing -30 Centigrade.

This image was taken using a Celestron 14” with a Celes-

tron f6.3 focal reducer, through an AO8 adaptive optics

guiding at 4.1 hertz for lum, and 3 hertz for color data.

The atmospheric seeing alternated between a 2 out of 5

and a 1 out of 5, with a 30 second periodicity. I used

one minute integrations, and captured data with 2x2

binning of the chip. Fifteen one minute integrations of

luminosity were average combined in AIP4WIN and

combined with a paltry 2 minutes red and green, and 3

minutes blue data, simply to add a little color to the im-

age. The luminosity and color data were assembled in

Photoshop CS4.

I am attaching an earlier image from January 10, 2010,

for comparison. This image is different in terms of be-

ing inverted (originally from a mirror image - the earlier

AO7 adaptive optics used a tip/tilt mirror, where the

newer AO8 device uses a tip/tilt lens for corrections). I

rotated the second image to aid in picking out the su-

pernova.

The skies clouded over around 10pm, about the time I

was capturing color data…

Michael Good

Poages Mill, Virginia

Member Activities

Super Nova in M82

Photos by Michael Good

Report Brief In retrospect, I have little in common with Patroclus.

Patroclus was a Greek mythological warrior. I am not.

To the Greek demigod Achilles, Patroclus was a beloved

comrade and brother-in-arms. With the Trojans

threatening the Greek navy, Patroclus lusted for com-

bat. Against the advice of Achilles, Patroclus donned

Achilles’ armor as a disguise and led the Greek Army

against Trojans. Successfully driving the retreating

Trojan armies back to the Gates of Troy, Patroclus paid

with his life at the hands of Trojan prince Hector.

In my case, I hail from Roanoke, stargaze as a hobby

and am not part of anyone’s mythology. I do not lust

for combat but was intrigued by an astronomical chal-

lenge. No one from Omaha offered me $1 Billion for a

positive observation. However, the Astronomical

League offers an Occultation Observing Program pin for

one positive observation and a half-dozen well-

documented attempts. For a positive observation, sev-

eral club members espoused 20:1 odds. On an early

Winter-like morning in October, I eschewed Achilles’

armor and instead donned my winter backpacking cloth-

ing. I drove to Cahas Knob Overlook (CKO) to witness

the asteroid 617 Patroclus occultation. I lived to tell

about it. This is my story.

My Story My odyssey began on August 19th, 2013 with Steve and

Cindy Conard’s presentation to our club. They focused

upon the rich history and prominent results of the In-

ternational Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) (see

Rick Rader’s “A Full Evening of IOTA”, Sept, 2013

RVAS newsletter).

Two score and five days later, I searched the IOTA

website (www.occultations.org) for an occultation where

an asteroid would cast a shadow upon the Blue Ridge

Parkway’s Cahas Knob Overlook. One match predicted

that asteroid 617 Patroclus would occult the star TYC

0646-0730-1. I did not possess any optical equipment

that was capable of viewing these dim objects (a 9.6

magnitude star and a 15.5 magnitude asteroid). Nor did

I possess the equipment to accurately measure the tim-

ing of the brief occultation (predicted to last for 8.6

seconds). So I posted a message to the RVAS Yahoo

Group (“Subject: A Worthy Occultation?”), offering my

services as lackey for the 2:43 am EST October 21,

2013 occultation.

One day later, Paul Caffrey, Past Club President and

Annual Picnic Beef Patty Griller, expressed interest in

the event. Coincidently, Paul had been gathering and

assembling equipment for such a purpose. So, eighteen

days before the event, we agreed to attempt to witness

the brief disappearance of a star in the constellation

Aries. To the careful observer, the star would decrease

by magnitude 5.1, from 9.6 to 14.7.

In preparation, there was scant information about this

orange-red star; however, there was much for me to

learn about the Trojan asteroid 617 Patroclus.

Mr. Patroclus’ Neighborhood As a child, I was taught that the asteroids were rocks,

much smaller than the planets. Like the planets, the

asteroids orbited the Sun. These rocks were in orbit

about the sun between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars,

evenly sprinkled about that orbit. Astronomers label

this orbit the Asteroid Belt.

(Patroclus Continued on page 7)

Member Activities

617 Patroclus and Me: Two Ships Passing in the Night …

by Dan Chrisman

Qualifier for 2012-2013 Most Improved Club Meeting Attendance Award

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 6 of 12

At the beginning of the 20th century, astronomers dis-

covered asteroids in Jupiter’s orbit, outside the Aster-

oid belt. Scientists categorized the asteroids that

shared an orbit with Jupiter as Trojans. The Trojans

were not found evenly distributed about Jupiter’s orbit.

Instead they resided near two locations in Jupiter’s or-

bit. These two locations, termed Trojan points, lie in

the orbit of Jupiter, approximately 60° ahead of and

60° behind the planet (see diagram). As asteroids

were discovered and a naming convention was estab-

lished, astronomers labeled those asteroids ahead of

Jupiter in orbit as “the Greeks”. Those asteroids be-

hind Jupiter in orbit were labeled “the Trojans”. 617

Patroclus trails Jupiter in orbit about the sun and is

specified as a Sun-Jupiter Trojan asteroid residing with

“the Greeks”.

Astronomers have subsequently discovered similarly-

located asteroids in the orbits of Earth, Mars, Uranus

and Neptune. These discoveries forced a new defini-

tion. Currently, a Trojan is more generally defined as a

minor planet or natural satellite (moon) that shares a

stable orbit with any planet or larger moon. For Trojan

asteroids discovered in planetary orbits, all reside near

their planet’s Trojan points, either 60° ahead of or 60°

behind their respective planet.

(For more details, consider searches for “three-body

problem”, “Leonhard Euler”, “Joseph Louis Lagrange” and

“Lagrange Points”)

617 Patroclus: A Brief History German astronomer August Kopff discovered 617 Pa-

troclus (the 617th asteroid with a confirmed orbit) in

Oct, 1906. He was completing his Ph.D. at the Universi-

ty of Heidelberg, Germany. It was the second Trojan

asteroid discovered. Given the aforementioned mythol-

ogy of Patroclus, Achilles and Hector, I share that five

months after his discovery of 617 Patroclus, Kopff dis-

covered 624 Hektor, the LARGEST Jupiter Trojan and

the third Trojan to be discovered. To conclude the trio

of warriors, 588 Achilles was the FIRST of the Trojans

to be discovered, seven months before 617 Patroclus by

another German astronomer Max Wolf. Wolf earned his

Ph.D. at the same university in 1888 and was serving as

the Department Chairman when graduate student Kopff

discovered 617 Patroclus.

While 617 Patroclus resides at Jupiter’s trailing Trojan

point, 624 Hektor and 588 Achilles both lie in Jupiter's

leading Trojan point. Having been named prior to the

current Jovian-asteroid naming-convention, 617 Patroc-

lus and 624 Hektor hold the distinction of being the

only “misplaced” Jovian asteroids. That is, the asteroid

617 Patroclus, named for a Trojan hero, resides among

the “Greeks” and the asteroid 624 Hektor, named for a

Greek hero, resides among the “Trojans”.

Conard emphasized IOTA’s contribution to astronomers’

eventual determination in 2001 that 617 Patroclus is a

binary Trojan, the only Jovian binary asteroid among

“the Greeks”. Astronomers discovered in 2006 that

624 Hektor is also a binary Trojan, the only Jovian bina-

ry asteroid among “the Trojans”. The term “binary”

connotes the presence of two asteroids which orbit

their common center of mass.

The Rest of My Story Seventeen days before occultation, Paul cautioned me

that observing the event would be difficult as the Moon

would be 95% sunlit and 11 degrees from our target.

What I heard was that the Moon would pose a minor

inconvenience…

(Patroclus from page 6)

(Patroclus Continued on page 8) RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 7 of 12

Eleven days before occultation, Paul suggested that I

download the software “Occult Watch-

er” (www.hristopavlov.net). It provides a plethora of

details about each predicted asteroid occultation. 617

Patroclus’ diameter is 140 km (the approximate distance

from Roanoke to Danville). The predicted diameter of

its almost-circular shadow upon the Earth is approxi-

mately 153 km. The predicted speed of the shadow

passing over the Earth’s surface is 988 km/hour (614

mph). To locate an occultation near a favorite observing

site, the program also displays the predicted path of

the shadow upon a Google Map. This software also

serves as the user interface for astronomers to an-

nounce their participation in a specific occultation and

to submit their observation reports.

By this time, I had read portions of “Chasing the Shad-

ow: the IOTA Occultation Observer’s Manual” and bet-

ter understood the equipment that Conard displayed.

Paul described the analogous equipment that he was

configuring for the event: his Celestron Schmidt-

Cassegrain telescope with an eyepiece-mounted video

camera, a video recorder with an LCD monitor, a digital

timing source that overlaid its data onto the camera’s

video signal, a power distribution hub and a large bat-

tery.

About a week before the occultation, Paul dispelled my

assumption of me playing the role of the lackey Planchet

to his D’Artagnan. He offered to bring his Dobsonian

telescope and a digital shortwave radio for timing infor-

mation. If I could bring an audio recording device (my

cellphone with the “Notes” app), then I could observe

“Old School”! In gratitude, I promised to provide choc-

olate chip cookies.

About ninety minutes before occultation, I arrived at

CKO in pretty bad shape (about 1 am on Monday). My

plan for an early Sunday evening bedtime had gone the

way of many good plans, done in by too much adrenaline.

Sleep had finally come around 11:45 pm. I was up short-

ly thereafter, gathering the baked cookies and making a

thermos of hot chocolate. I navigated the twenty-

minute drive up Bent Mountain Road to CKO, pulling in

with muted headlights. I added a fourth clothing layer

and strapped on my red-LED headlamp. Emerging from

the car, I found the air … bracing (about 30-36 degrees

with little or no breeze). Paul chuckled “You won’t need

your headlamp tonight…” I turned it off and realized

that my stargazer etiquette was unnecessary. Indeed,

the Moon lit the landscape. He guided me to his car’s

open hatch. We unloaded what appeared to my sleep-

deprived mind to be the LASER from “Mystery of the

Lizard Men”, my favorite episode from the 1964-65 tel-

evision series “Jonny Quest”. It was Paul’s Tube Dob-

sonian telescope with a Coulter 13.1” f4.7 mirror, a tele-

scope with a special club history. A plastic case con-

tained a finderscope, Rigel Systems Quick Finder and

some eyepieces.

Paul had already set up a table beside his car with his

science project cabled together. For the interconnect-

ed contraptions, he showed me the path that photons

would take through his project, then showed me the

path that the electrons would take. This tour included

the final component whose construction he had complet-

ed only hours before. The solder was still warm. This

component, the power distribution hub would be as im-

portant to our adventure as Professor Ikeda’s

“Oscillation Overthruster”.

For the remaining seventy-five minutes, I bounced be-

tween the Sky Safari Plus star charts on my iPad, my

7.5-14 X 40 yard-sale zoom binoculars and the Dobsoni-

an telescope eyepiece, finderscope and Quick Finder,

struggling to match my view with my charts. My having

not completed Star Hopping 101 was evident. Not know-

ing the fields-of-view for the binoculars, the telescope/

eyepiece combinations and the two finders, this early

morning adventure was becoming a character-building

experience.

(Patroclus Continued from page 7)

(Patroclus Continued on page 11)

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 8 of 12

Eden Phillpotts said: "The universe is full of magical

things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."

Among the most seemingly magical things in the uni-

verse are PHOTONS. Without them everything would

be black, and no heat from the Sun would reach us.

Without photons in all their wavelengths, the universe

as we know it would not exist.

One would think that something that important, and

literally in our faces, would be fully understood. Howev-

er, scientists cannot decide if photons are quanta parti-

cles, or waves, or both. There are many more unre-

solved questions about photons. We are far from being

enlightened.

Einstein used the speed of light in a vacuum ("c") in his

famous E=mc^2 formula expressing the equivalency of

energy and matter. Even that simple formula has multi-

ple perspectives, as I have discussed elsewhere.

It is the purpose of this essay to point to a possible

resolution for these questions. I don't propose to prove

my thesis, just to show that it may lead to a more par-

simonious and elegant conception than others. Elegance

without tautology or self-contradiction is a good goal

for any theory.

It's human nature to see all phenomena in terms of the

everyday dimensions we know. However, we are like all

creatures, enjoying only a narrow spectrum of size, en-

ergy, and time.

Take size, for example: An adult human is about two

meters tall. However, the universe of universes is ap-

proximately 10^27 meters large. In the other direction,

the Planck scale is around 10^-35 meters. That's a total

dimensional spectrum of 62 POWERS of 10. This dimen-

sional range is greater than any everyday mind can

grasp, so we retreat to math symbols.

Take density: The human body is 1.062 g/cm^3, or just

over a gram per cubic centimeter. Water is one gram

per cm^3. The average density of Earth is 5.515 g/

cm^3. The core of the Sun is 150 g/cm^3. Stretching

our abilities to mentally embrace extreme densities:

atomic nuclei and neutron stars are in the range of 2 x

10^17 kg/m^3. The Planck density, where the force of

gravity takes over, is up at 5.1 x 10^96 kg/m^3. Finally,

seemingly impossible is the nearly infinite number of

kg/m^3 for a black hole at singularity (which instanta-

neously thereafter becomes zero kg/m^3 at the "big

bang" following.)

Where do photons fit into this hierarchy? There is dis-

agreement as to their size and to their mass. It is gen-

erally accepted that their resting mass is zero. Photons

must be something more than pure energy, but less

than mere quanta.

There is a lot of cool science dealing with light waves, and this is where we will find our thesis. Think of waves in the ocean. Waves can propagate over thou-sands of miles following an earthquake beneath the seabed, as with the 2004 Indonesian event. Waves

move, but the sea itself stays put.

Waves are energy events with crests and troughs, just

like light waves in space. Ocean waves don't vary that

much in their dimensions, but electromagnetic waves (Photons Continued on page 10)

Photons

©2014

by Clark M. Thomas

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 9 of 12

vary immensely. This difference doesn't really matter

on an comparative basis. In this case, a change in size

does not mean a change in type.

Of the four so-called fundamental forces, only two

reach out at a great distance. They are (photon) elec-

tromagnetism, and gravity. On the other hand, if all four

are fundamental forces, when does any force become

fundamental over the others? It's like deciding which

of four identical quadruplets, born by caesarean, will

become the next hereditary king. We need to look not

elsewhere, but in a different way, to find the true fun-

damental force.

The Wikipedia article, "Planck scale," talks about phys-

ics at the minus 35th meters dimension:

"The Planck length is related to Planck energy by the

uncertainty principle. At this scale, the concepts of size

and distance break down, as quantum indeterminacy be-

comes virtually absolute. Because the Schwarzschild

radius of a black hole is roughly equal to the Compton

wavelength at the Planck scale, a photon with sufficient

energy to probe this realm would yield no information

whatsoever." It goes on to say: "This is the most ex-

treme example of the uncertainty principle, and explains

why only a quantum gravity theory reconciling general

relativity with quantum mechanics will allow us to under-

stand the dynamics of space-time at this scale."

Any general theory worth considering must deal with all

forces at all dimensions. Any lesser theory must be a

derivative of the Grand Unified Theory. In other words,

it is not enough to prove Einstein right using astronomi-

cal measurements of red shifts, clock distortions, and

gravitational lenses. These are all macro phenomena.

Nor is it enough to simply extrapolate from quantum

effects at nuclear levels to the cosmos itself. We need

both deduction and induction.

Among the various theories, I find that loop quantum

gravity (LQG) is closest to what I think is going on. In

the Wikipedia article entitled "Loop quantum gravity," it

says:

"Loop quantum gravity (LQG) is a theory that attempts

to describe the quantum properties of gravity. It is also

a theory of quantum space and quantum time, because,

according to general relativity, the geometry of

spacetime is a manifestation of gravity. LQG is an at-

tempt to merge and adapt standard quantum mechanics

and standard general relativity. The main output of the

theory is a physical picture of space where space is

granular. The granularity is a direct consequence of of

the quantization. It has the same nature of the granu-

larity of the photons in the quantum theory of electro-

magnetism or the discrete levels of the energy of the

atoms. But here it is space itself which is discrete."

That article continues with this: "More precisely, space

can be viewed as an extremely fine fabric or network

'woven' of finite loops. These networks of loops are

called spin networks. The evolution of a spin network

over time is called a spin foam."

LQG differs from string theory because it is formulat-

ed in three and four dimensions and without supersym-

metery and extra dimensions needed to make it true.

This is very important in light of the recent demolition

of supersymmetry. LQG is simpler, as its scope is lim-

ited to understanding quantum effects of the gravita-

tional interaction.

As nice as all this sounds, there are multiple loose

strings, if you pardon the pun. Finding THE answer in-

volves both theoretical problems, and experimental dif-

ficulties.

I believe that the ultimate answer will be found within

all the so-called fundamental particles, in the form of

what we call gravitons:

Gravitons inside other particles are much smaller than

even neutrinos, and below the Planck limit. They can ex-

press themselves as mostly energy, or mostly matter.

A number of coherent gravitons phase shifting toward

energy emerge from particles as photons. This process

also works in reverse, as photons are absorbed into par-

ticles, with apparent zero rest mass.

Gravitons outside particles could also act as circular

strings, vast numbers of which could be linked to form

the granularity of space. It may be better to describe

these flows of gravitons as granularity in space, because

(Photons Continued from page 9)

(Photons Continued on page 11)

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 10 of 12

The location of the target star was right ascension: 02h

47m 58.7769s and declination: +14o 05’ 58.732”. The

two brightest local stars for star hopping were Hamel,

Alpha Arietis (magnitude 2.0) in Aries, the Ram and

Menkar, Alpha Ceti (mag 2.5) in Cetus, the Sea Monster,

both naked-eye objects. From there, I found two dim-

mer naked-eye objects, Lambda Ceti (mag 4.7) and Mu

Ceti (mag 4.3), which together with our target star (mag

9.6), form a right triangle. However, I could not find

our target star. The star chart showed two stars that

more closely bracketed my target: 38 Ari (mag 5.2) and

Sigma Arietis (mag 5.5). Like Sisyphus, beginning each

search with the stars in Cetus, the Whale, I repeatedly

floundered to find the Aries pair.

Nearby, Paul had the electronics working, “sined, sealed,

delivered”, basking in the glow of the LCD monitor dis-

playing real-time data and an incrementing time stamp.

With his telescope accurately aimed, he continued to

search the screen for a pinpoint of star light amid the

white noise of moon light. The signal-to-noise ratio was

brutal. Shortly before the occultation, he announced

that he had just lost power. In a scene reminiscent of

Dr. Who in the TARDIS, Paul unplugged wires, replugged

wires and flipped switches, resurrecting the system in

time for the event.

While I may or may not have been on target, Paul was

properly aimed. The target star and the asteroid were

visible neither at the eyepiece nor on the video display.

With the cold procession of Time, we missed the occul-

tation. The Moon’s reflection of our Sun overwhelmed

our mirrors’ reflection of our target star. Asteroid 1:

Amateur Astronomer 0.

So we broke out the hot tea, hot chocolate and choco-

late chip cookies, enjoying the predawn silence.

Epilogue In subsequent months, I have reflected upon our adven-

ture and the lessons that I learned. Next time, my

preparation should include 1) understanding the fields-

of-view for each optical instrument, 2) planning the oc-

cultation observation with the star charts, specifically

mapping the sequence of star hops with overlapping

views and 3) hosting a dress rehearsal on the star field

of interest prior to the occultation.

And with a few weeks to accomplish my preparation, I

have found an opportunity with yet another dim star, a

dimmer asteroid and the 95%-illuminated Moon only

seventeen degrees away to wash out a 19.7-second oc-

cultation. Staying with the familiar, this occultation

involves 624 Hektor. How does an adventure to Puerto

Rico in mid-February grab you??

Clear Skies and Clean Mirrors

(Patroclus Continued from page 8)

space is both void and granular, not just a classical

ether.

Perhaps we are hereby getting closer to a Grand Unified

Theory (GUT), and to a Theory of Everything (TOE).

---------------------------------------

Here are some additional links:

Photon

What is a Photon: Particle or Wave?

Does a photon have physical volume or geometrical size?

(Photons Continued from page 10)

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 11 of 12

RVAS NL— February 2014— Pg 12 of 12

Monthly Calendar

MONTHLY MEETING: February 17th, 7:30 p.m., Center on Church, Downtown Roanoke. Join us at this

month’s meeting for an evening devoted to celestial navigation. Bruce Jones, sail boater and former Coast Guard

Captain, will lead us through this fascinating application of astronomy!

RVAS WEEKEND OBSERVING OPPORTUNITIES: Unless otherwise indicated, observing is held at Cahas Moun-

tain Overlook, milepost 139 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

-- Friday and Saturday, February 21st and 22nd. Sunset is at 6:07 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at 7:34 p.m.

The Moon rises at 12:51 and 1:52 a.m., respectively.

-- Friday and Saturday, February 28th and March 1st. Sunset is at 6:14 p.m. Astronomical twilight ends at

7:40 p.m. The Moon sets at 5:48 p.m. and 6:57 p.m., respectively.

-- Future Sessions: March 21st and 22nd; March 28th and March 29th.

ROANOKE CITY PARKS and RECREATION PUBLIC STARGAZE: Saturday, February 22nd, 6:30 p.m., Cahas

Overlook, Milepost 139 Blue Ridge Parkway. Nonmembers must register with Parks & Rec. at 540-853-2236.

Members can call 540-774-5651 for information. (Next session: March 22nd, 8:00 p.m., Cahas Overlook.)

Astro-Quiz

It's beautifully clear and you're awaiting darkness to begin observing. But as twilight ends, you notice the Milky

Way's nowhere to be seen. What's going on--and what month is it?

Answer to Last Month’s Astro-Quiz: The astronomical knowledge of the Ancients is a matter of ceaseless won-

der. To paraphrase Newton, we stand on the shoulders of these giants. By the Middle Bronze Age (2000 – 1500

BCE) the Babylonians had extended the knowledge of the Sumerians (2900 – 2300 BCE) and named many of the

celestial events of importance using terms that are still heard today. For example, they named the points on the

celestial sphere where the Sun is located on the two annual equinoxes. They designated the March, or vernal,

equinox the “First Point of Aries” and the September, or autumnal, equinox the “First Point of Libra.” At the

time, these were the constellations where the Sun was located on these events. Precession has since altered the

locations to Pisces and Virgo, respectively.