Solar Observation on Summer Solstice Week

When in Singapore, everyday feels like summer - mostly hot ( average of 24- 32°C) and humid. We do not experience the transition of the environment through the 4 different seasons. However, if you were in the northern part of this world, e.g. America, you would be looking forward to this weekend as Summer hits the region. During Summer, the warmest season of the year, the sun will stay up in the sky for longer, resulting in a longer day time and hotter days as compared to the rest of the year.

What happens during Summer Solstice?

The summer that people in the Northern region will be experiencing is a result of the Earth’s position in relation to the Sun. Happening from June to September, the hottest season begins with the Summer Solstice celestial event which happens around 21 June every year. The word 'solstice' comes from the latin words, sol (which means 'sun') and stitium (which means ' to stand still') as the sun appears to stop moving. On this day, the northern region will experience the longest day of the entire year.

Everyday, the Earth faithfully revolves around the Sun, as well as rotate about its own axis. As the Earth does not spin around a vertical axis, i.e., it has a tilted axis (23.4 degrees towards the plane of Earth’s orbit), the amount of Sunlight that reaches the different parts of the Earth changes as it orbits around the Sun. During this 3-month Summer period, the Earth’s axis tilts towards the Sun, and as a result, the northern hemisphere receives more direct sunlight rays than the southern hemisphere.  

Photo: BBC Science

Summer in America is Winter in Australia

While people in the Northern hemisphere are donning on their bathing suits and getting ready to hit the beach, people in the Southern hemisphere, such as Australia, are putting on extra layers to brace themselves for the chilly winter. As the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun and receives more direct light, the Southern hemisphere, which is at  the opposite side, receives less sunlight and experiences shorter daytime. Hence, regions at the opposite poles experience extreme differences in weather and different seasons.

Meanwhile in the South...

View the Sun on International Sun Day!

Have you been avoiding direct eye contact with the Sun because your parents or teachers have told you the Sun’s bright rays are damaging to your eyes? They are definitely right! Staring at the sun for too long is damaging to your retina and may even cause partial blindness.

We know you are curious about how the Sun looks like (and itching to look at it even for just a few seconds!). Here’s your chance to view the Sun directly and safely on International SUN-Day, which is held on 22 June 2014, the Sunday nearest to the Summer Solstice. The Astronomical Society of Singapore (TASOS) will be setting up some specially outfitted telescopes for solar observation at the Observatory for public viewing. Through these modified telescopes, you will be able to observe sunspots, prominences as well as the sun’s corona.

So make this SUNday a meaningful one by joining us to marvel at the beauty of the big flaming star. Everyone’s invited!

SUN-Day Solar Observation

Date: 22 Jun 2014 (Sunday)

Time: 3.00pm - 6.00pm

Venue: Science Centre Singapore Observatory

Cost: FREE for everyone!

Stargazing on the green rooftop

Never underestimate the captivating power of a clear night sky. Since the last Sidewalk Astronomy at Yew Tee MRT station (check out our post here) (which attracted over 300 people in 2 hours), Scobbers headed out for an outreach event again last month. NIE’s Bachelor of Science Club (BSC) invited SCOB on our Facebook Page (Do like it if you haven't done so!) to conduct a stargazing session for the student teachers.

On 25th March 2014, Scobbers Alfred and Kin Guan brought starmaps (you can download them for free as well on SCS website) and a Celestron C8 telescope for the event. The venue was set at NTU’s School of Art, Design and Media (ADM) building. For those who have been there, the iconic curved rooftop is covered by grass patch completely. More importantly, the unobstructed view of the night sky was terrific. We were thrilled by the excellent choice of the stargazing spot.

Image Credit: NTU School of Art, Design and Media

At the start of the event, Kin Guan gave a short talk on the night sky to the audience who were enjoying pizzas at the same time. A tutorial on how to use the starmap was given as well as easy identification of stars and planets. After that, Alfred and Kin Guan manned the C8 telescope for viewing. We pointed out constellations using green laser pointers as well. At the end of the day, 50 student teachers enjoyed themselves and learnt one or two things about astronomy.

Scobber Alfred setting up the scope.

Alfred preparing the scope for viewing.

Scobber Kin Guan giving a brief introduction to the night sky.

Interested to have a sidewalk session for your club or school? Leave us a comment and we can arrange something together!

With Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson & Ann Druyan

On 13^th and 14^th February 2014, Scobbers Danny and Kin Guan were invited by National Geographic Channel to follow Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson around in Singapore.

Yes, you heard it right. The sexiest astrophysicist in the world, the guy who made many kids cry by demoting Pluto to a dwarf planet, the frequent guest on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and the meme immortalized online.

Image Credit: knowyourmeme.com

He came to Singapore to promote his newest TV documentary series COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey. This 13-part series, combining drama, fantasy and stunning natural reality, is the follow-up of Carl Sagan’s classic COSMOS: A Personal Voyage produced thirty years ago. Covering a wide range of scientific topics such as the origin of life and the universe, Sagan did a terrific job in communicating science to a wide public audience. The programme has been broadcast in more than 60 countries and seen by over 500 million people.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

It was such a precious legacy left by Sagan to us. Since his death in 1996, his widow Ann Druyan has been trying to create a new version of the series. Together with Dr Tyson and Seth MacFarlane (yes, the Family Guy), she managed to secure funding and TV channel (Fox TV) for the show.

In Southeast Asia, the first episode “Standing Up In the Milky Way” will premiere on simulcast across National Geographic Channel (NGC), NGC HD, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People, as well as FOX, FX, and FOXCRIME.  Danny and Kin Guan, along with other media representatives, had the privilege to watch it during the press conference and media preview on Thursday (13^th February) held at ArtScience Museum.

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Free from the shackles of time and space, Neil tells us the story of humankind and universe in his signature Ship of the Imagination. We were all amazed by the stunning visual effects and the splendorous views. The concept of compressing the whole history of the universe into one year opens up our eyes and mind – Human is so insignificant when placed in such a long scale of time. This is what Neil calls a “Cosmic Year”. For example, in the last second of the Cosmic Year (31 December, 23:59:59), human firstly observed the Moon in telescope and landed on it (which spans 400 years in real time)!

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Ann Druyan pointed out that the major differences between the old and new series are the cinematic experience and elements of skepticism. She mentioned that one 9-minute scene where the viewers are plunged into the heart of Titan, Saturn’s largest Moon. She believes that this new addition to the series will surely amaze the generations and beyond.

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

When asked how the rise of social media affects the science education for young generation, Neil was not worried over the phenomenon. Being an avid user of Twitter having 1.6 million followers, he found that the social media is not distraction at all. On the contrary, the power of visual splendour and storytelling bestowed by social media is staggeringly huge and provides an uplifting force to the society.

The last question asked was on his wrestling stint in Harvard: If he chose the road not taken and became a wrestler, what would be his ring name? The answer, of course, is related to astronomy. One very special property about the Moon is that it always faces the Earth with the same side. This effect, called “tidal locking”, can be true in the other way too! When the Earth faces the Moon with the same side, the phenomenon is called “double tidal lock”. Voilà, that’s Neil’s ring name and signature move.

What a menacing move from Neil the wrestler! "Double Tidal Lock"
Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

For a more detailed Q & A, please check out the blog post (link) on Science Centre website written by Danny!

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey premieres on 15th March, 10pm (SG time), on the National Geographic Channel (SingTel mio TV Ch. 201 & StarHub TV Ch. 411). Don’t miss it!

Image Credit: National Geographic Channel

Sidewalk Astronomy at Yew Tee

Last Friday (7th February 2014), Scobbers Alfred, Everlyne and Kin Guan showed the wonders of the night sky to the public in Yew Tee for the first time this year. This was a collaboration between Science Centre Singapore and Yew Tee RC Zone 10.

We brought our C8 Celestron telescope out and set the venue up with the help of RC volunteers. The venue was Yew Tee MRT Open Space (In between Yew Tee Square and Yew Tee Mall). (Google Street View)

Cloudy weather around 7pm on Friday. What could we see?

Scobbers having a briefing with RC volunteers.

Setting up the banner. 

We started the telescope viewing at 8pm and the queue was already forming:

Thanks to the clear sky (the clouds kindly made way for us), we were able to observe first quarter Moon (it's a half-lit moon from Earth's perspective) and Jupiter. Alfred manned the telescope and introduced some fun facts about Jupiter and Moon:

Everlyne interacted with the public in the queue and handed them Star Map. It is a handy tool to identify the objects in the night sky!

Look, a shooting star! (and what happened to Comet ISON?)

Our Solar System is an amazing place. There are a bunch of objects whizzing around the Sun including planets, asteroids and comets. Comets, often called "shooting stars", are very interesting. They are strikingly beautiful, relatively rare and worth studying.

Comet ISON, called the "Comet of the Century" on various media, has been a popular topic since its discovery on 21 September 2012. Below we explain some basic features of comets, illustrated with the example of Comet ISON.

What is a comet?

Great Comet of 1882.

In simple term, a comet is a dirty ice ball moving around the Sun. When passing close to the Sun, it evaporates and displays a thin cloud and sometimes a tail. In scientific terms, the ball is called nucleus and the cloud coma.

Originated from Kuiper belt or Oort cloud, a comet mainly consists of rock, dust, ice, and solid gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Its dimensions are from few hundreds metres to few kilometres. 

Comet ISON: It is around 2 kilometres long according to Hubble Telescope observation. 

How do we name a comet?

Many naming systems have been used to name comets, therefore many comets have more than one name. 

Comets are named after the year of discovery...

Great Comet of 1680. Isaac Newton used it to verify Kepler's Laws.

Or after the names of discoverer...

Halley's Comet. Discovered and predicted by Edmond Halley, it can be seen every 76 years.

Or according to IAU (International Astronomical Union) system. Comets are designated by the year of the discovery, followed by a letter indicating the half-month, and a number indicating the order of discovery. Prefixes are used to describe the nature of the comet as well.

Comet ISON: Comet ISON was discovered in Russia by International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). Its formal name is C/2012 S1:

• C/ means that it is non-periodic. It is not likely to revisit the Solar System. Even if it comes back to the Sun next time, it will be another 400,000 years at least!
• 2012 denotes the year of discovery.
• S denotes the second half-month of September.
• 1 indicates it is the first comet discovered in that period.

What is the fate of a comet?

A comet can end up in very drastically different outcomes. The possible fates are:

• It comes back regularly, for example Halley's comet (period of 76 years).

The orbit of Halley's comet. The next visit is in 2024.

• The nucleus evaporates by the Sun's immense heat and radiation. The comet is said to fade or extinct. 

3552 Don Quixote.

• The nucleus may break up under the Sun's gravity or radiation. The remnants are still spectacular.

Breaking up of 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann in 1995. This animation covers three days.

• It may fall into the Sun or smash into another planet. Comet Shoemaker-Levy broke up and collided with Jupiter in July 1994.

The brown spots indicate the crash sites of Comet Shoemaker-Levy on Jupiter in 1994.

Comet ISON: According to NASA Comet ISON Observing Campaign, it is very likely that Comet ISON does not survive the trip. Most of the nucleus has been disintegrated by the Sun's gravity pull and intense radiation. All hopes are not lost yet, as a very diffused remnant emerged after the passage. The following short clip shows the time-lapsed images on the NASA STEREO spacecraft. 

(Big animated gif, please be patient... it is worth it!)

We may have been denied the opportunity to observe a bright comet in the night sky, but the scientific data collected is highly valuable. Scientists will know more about the behaviour of comets when they are very near to the Sun, and are able to predict such comets (called Sungrazing comets) better in the future. 

Reference:

1. http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/comet_ison/blogs/measuring-the-size-of-ison-s-nucleus-point-spread-function
2. http://www.isoncampaign.org/karl/a-trail-of-questions