Astronomy 2018-03.pdf

For information on all of our products and services,or to find an authorized Sky-Watcher USA dealer near you,just visit .Dont forget to follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram!Star Adventurer Photo packageOnly$319Latitude base-$65Ball head adapter-$15Dec L bracket-$40Counterweight kit-$30Optional accessories2018 Sky-Watcher USA.Specifications and pricing subject to change without notice.20-17021.You may have noticed that were using a new green on our products.Its our new look and youll be seeing more of it over the next few months.Let us know what you think of it!Photographer:Carlos GuanaCamera:Canon 5D IVLens:Rokinon 14mm 2.8Mount:Star AdventurerThe Sky-Watcher USA Star Adventurer multi-purpose mount is perfect for anyone Milky Way photographers,eclipse chasers and budding astrophotographers.Its the ideal night-and-day,grab-and-go package.Compact and portable weighing only 2.5 pounds this versatile mount is also powerful.Its quality construction,utilizing precision all-metal gearing,delivers an impressive 11-pound payload capacity.The Star Adventurer converts easily from a tracking photo mount to a grab-and-go EQ astronomical mount.Allowing you to spend more time doing what you love and less time setting up.The Star Adventurer features:Multiple preprogrammed speeds perfect for time-lapse photography,wide angle astrophotography and astronomical tracking Tracking selectable between multiple rates,sidereal,solar and lunar Built-in polar scope with illuminator DSLR interface for automatic shutter control Built-in auto-guiding interface Long battery life up to 72 hours External Mini USB power support Compatible with 1/4-20 and 3/8 inch camera tripod Comes in two packages:Astro pack(includes Dec L bracket)Photo pack(includes ball head adapter)Pull Back the Curtain on the Unseen UniverseFor a few hundred thousand years,we used our eyes as our primary astronomical tool.But all that changed in the 1930s when a young engineer named Karl Jansky detected radiation below the visible part of the spectrum emanating from an astronomical objectand radio astronomy was born.Radio Astronomy:Observing the Invisible Universe takes you on a thrilling journey through astounding discoveries and a virtual tour of the worlds most powerful radio telescopes with Felix J.Lockman,Ph.D.,of the Green Bank Observatory as your guide.But perhaps the most astounding of all radio astronomy discoveries is this:The dominant molecular structures in interstellar space are based on carbon.That is not what scientists had expected.We have always labeled these molecules“organic”because life on Earth is carbon based.Now we know the chemistry of the entire Milky Way is organic,not just our home planet,and it is likely that any extraterrestrial galactic life would be related to us,at least on the molecular level.Will we find other organic life forms out there?Radio astronomers dont know.But theyre certainly working on it.Off er expi res 04/07/18THEGREATCOURSES.COM/9ASTR1-800-832-2412LIMITED TIME OFFERORDER BY APRIL 770%offCONTENTSMy Science Shop Perfect gifts for your favorite science geeks.Ask Astro Archive Answers to all your cosmic questions.Trips and Tours Travel the world with the staff of Astronomy.Sky This Week A daily digest of celestial events.4 ASTRONOMY MARCH 201820 COVER STORYCassini unveils SaturnThis intrepid spacecraft spent 13 years studying the ringed planet,transforming our view of this captivating world.LIZ KRUESI28Saturns small wondersUsually known for its rings,the Saturn system is also home to some of our solar systems most intriguing moons.FRANCIS REDDY36Sky This MonthMercury at its evening best.MARTIN RATCLIFFE AND ALISTER LING38StarDome and Path of the PlanetsRICHARD TALCOTT;ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROEN KELLY44Ask AstroBrown dwarf jets.46A detailed look inside Cassini The spacecrafts 12 instruments showed Saturn and its family in unprecedented detail.RICHARD TALCOTT4872 minutes on Titan In 2005,the Huygens probe pierced the moons shroud to reveal a surprisingly Earth-like world.KOREY HAYNES55In pursuit of exoplanetsTwo massive telescopes in the Lone Star State monitor 450 suns in the hopes of finding other worlds.ROBERT REEVES60The photographic legacy of Lowells Great RefractorOver decades,the observatorys powerhouse instrument charted a new course in planetary imaging.KLAUS BRASCH 64Astronomy tests Celestrons CGX mountIf youre ready for the next level of telescope mounts,this may be the one for you.TOM TRUSOCKCOLUMNSStrange Universe 8BOB BERMANSecret Sky 16STEPHEN JAMES OMEARAFor Your Consideration 18JEFF HESTERBinocular Universe 67PHIL HARRINGTONObserving Basics 68GLENN CHAPLEQUANTUM GRAVITYSnapshot 7Astro News 10 IN EVERY ISSUEFrom the Editor 6 Astro Letters 9New Products 66Advertiser Index 69Reader Gallery 70Breakthrough 74FEATURESMARCH 2018VOL.46,NO.320Astronomy(ISSN 0091-6358,USPS 531-350)is published monthly by Kalmbach Publishing Co.,21027 Crossroads Circle,P.O.Box 1612,Waukesha,WI 531871612.Periodicals post-age paid at Wauk