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November eNewsletter form the Minnesota Planetarium Society
In this issue from the Minnesota Planetarium Society
President's Message
Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council President Johnson Congratulate MnPS
Moon moves past Jupiter and Venus
November Skies
Global Climate Change on Jupiter?
President's Message
Supporters of the new Planetarium have much to celebrate with approval by the City of Minneapolis of a $5M endowment for MnPS operations followed by Hennepin County’s approval of operating funds matching the endowment’s earnings up to $250,000. Special thanks go to Mayor R.T. Rybak, Council Members Scott Benson and Lisa Goodman, and Commissioner Gail Dorfman for their leadership in this effort.
MnPS has hired Sandra Larson to run our capital and outreach campaigns. We have also begun the search process for an Executive Director to begin work by March.
Finally, I want to thank retiring Board members Rick Bliss, Nina Hale, Frank Parisi and Arouna Phommasouvanh for their generous contributions of time and expertise.
Our challenge now is to raise the private funds to keep this excellent project moving forward. Thank you all for your support in getting us to this point. The challenges are great, but so is our enthusiasm and commitment to our goal.
Peggy Leppik, President MNPS
Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council President Johnson Congratulate MnPS
We would like to formally advise that the Minneapolis City Council today approved dedicating $5 million to an Endowment Fund to support the Minnesota Planetarium and Space Discovery center’s operations.
This dramatic commitment coupled with the $2 million already invested in the Central Library to accommodate a new Planetarium facility is a clear testimony to the importance of the Planetarium to Minneapolis and the entire region.
This wonderful accomplishment would not have occurred without the unflagging efforts of City Council Members Lisa Goodman and Scott Benson who were supported throughout by City coordinator Seven Bosacker. What’s more, their work was further enhanced by the continued growth and development of the Planetarium Society’s Board of Directors and its ongoing regional educational programs.
We all wish you every good fortune as you launch the private capital campaign and hope you will call on us if we can assist your good efforts.
Heartiest congratulations.
R. T. Rybak, Mayor and Barbara Johnson, Council President
Moon moves past Jupiter and Venus
The start of November brings us a fun chance to watch the Moon move past Venus and Jupiter. To measure angles on the sky, extend your arm with you palm down. Make a fist. It is about 10 degrees from one side of your fist to the other. Armed with that technique, take some kids outside on November 1 at 6pm and look SSW to see a thin crescent Moon about 10 degrees above the horizon with Venus about 6 degrees right of the Moon. Jupiter is the bright object about 20 degrees above and left of the pair. Look again on November 2 to see the Moon between the two planets. By November 3 the Moon has moved to about 3 degrees below Jupiter. This dance occurs again on November 30 and December 1 except Jupiter and Venus are much closer together.
November Skies
At 9pm in early November, look for a number of bright stars and a planet around the sky. Jupiter shines low in the SW. Fomalhaut is the lone bright star in the south. Orangish Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull rises low in the east with the Pleiades about 15 degrees above that. Capella in Auriga resides about 25 degrees above the NE horizon. Our old friend the Big Dipper rests very low on the northern horizon. Vega is about half way between the western horizon and the zenith. Look for the Great Square of Pegasus very high in the south. This is a good time to try to find the Andromeda Galaxy. Lie down and sweep almost directly overhead with a pair of binoculars for a small elliptical cloud. That is our nearest large galaxy neighbor whose light took over 2 million years to get here. See http://www.heavens-above.com for a star map.
Nov 1: Thin crescent Moon ~10 degrees left of Venus at 6pm
Nov 2: End daylight saving time
Nov 3: Jupiter ~ 3 degrees above crescent Moon at 6pm
Nov 21: Saturn ~ 5 degrees to upper left of crescent Moon at 5am
Nov 30: Venus and Jupiter ~2 degrees apart at 6pm. Moon ~6 degrees lower right
Dec 1: Moon ~4 degrees upper left of the Venus and Jupiter at ~6pm
Global Climate Change on Jupiter?
In the last few years, scientists have noted increased turbulence and storm activity on Jupiter, already known for the Great Red Spot (GRS), a gigantic storm discovered over 300 years ago. The red coloring comes from 400 mph winds dredging materials up from lower in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Lately, the numbers of smaller spots in Jupiter’s cloud bands have diminished. For example, three smaller storms merged to form a larger storm that turned red (Red Jr). A third red spot that joined the GRS and Red Jr has since been decimated by the GRS. Some scientists suggest that this is a sign of a global warming trend on Jupiter. Both the reason for the red coloring and this global warming trend on Jupiter remain under investigation. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060803091012.htm for related articles.
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