________ ______ _ ______ ___ ____ __ _ /_ __/ / ___ __ / / __ \ | / / __/ / _ )__ __/ / /__ / /_(_)__ / / / _ \/ -_) / // / /_/ / |/ / _/ / _ / // / / / -_) __/ / _ \ /_/ /_//_/\__/ \___/\____/|___/___/ /____/\_,_/_/_/\__/\__/_/_//_/ -the newsletter* of NASA's Radio JOVE Project "Planetary Radio Astronomy for Schools" * This newsletter is best viewed using a fixed-width font such as Courier. This will allow the logo above and tables etc. to be aligned properly. SEPTEMBER 1999 ISSUE *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Visit our Web Site: http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov Email Radio JOVE at: rj_project@radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* CONTENTS 1. History and Radio JOVE join at NRAO 2. A trip to the NRAO 3. Galileo closing in on Io 4. Here comes the Sun 5. RJ News 6. On the Horizon - Upcoming events.** 7. Radio JOVE at a Glance 8. Acknowledgments 9. Subscription Information ** Note especially the storm predictions that are starting right away! 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 History and Radio JOVE Join at NRAO by Jim Thieman, NASA GSFC Members of the Radio JOVE education and outreach project successfully observed Jupiter using the Radio JOVE receiver kit connected to a reconstruction of radio astronomy pioneer Karl Jansky's 1932 telescope. This was during our visit to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, West Virginia. The Radio JOVE project gives schools and the general public the opportunity to build a radio astronomy receiver and antenna and use them to record and analyze the radio emissions from Jupiter and the Sun. Project members Chuck Higgins, National Research Council Research Associate, and Len Garcia and Jim Thieman, GSFC scientists, journeyed to Green Bank together with University of Maryland astronomy student Albie Davison and Annapolis High School student Autumn Thayer, who are working with the project for this summer. (Autumn's article about her experience at NRAO is included in this issue). There we met Dick Flagg, another project member from Hawaii and designer of the Radio JOVE receiver. Together we gave a presentation about Radio JOVE to the annual meeting of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA). By good fortune the meeting coincided with a time period when Jupiter radio storms were predicted. The group not only set up the standard Radio JOVE receiver kit and antenna, but also connected a Radio JOVE receiver to the reconstructed Karl Jansky telescope which NRAO maintains at their facility. The effort was rewarded by the recording of Jupiter radio emissions both at NRAO and verified by simultaneous acquisition by Francisco Reyes, another project member, at the University of Florida Radio Observatory. The SARA group meets every year at NRAO. At this meeting there were about 30 people from all across the country as well as special guests such as Ian Morrison from the Jodrell Bank Radio Observatory in England. The presentation on Radio JOVE was well-received by the group and indeed the SARA management group agreed that they would advocate the Radio JOVE project for an educational approach to Radio Astronomy. Dr. Morrison even ordered a kit to be built and put in the Jodrell Bank visitors center. The highlight of the trip was the opportunity to hook up a Radio JOVE receiver to the reconstruction of the Jansky antenna that is maintained on the grounds of the NRAO. The Jansky telescope is an odd looking jumble of pipes and supports looking like a 30 foot TV tower laid on its side mounted on a circular track for steerability. Luckily both the antenna and the receiver are made to work near 20 MHz. Jim Sky (a SARA member and Jupiter enthusiast) and Dick Flagg spent several hours getting the Jansky telescope into working condition. We also put up regular Radio JOVE kit antennas as a test for how well they would work. We observed from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM in the morning since Jupiter did not rise above the horizon until that time. Several members of the SARA group as well as 2 NRAO high school interns joined us in our setup and observing. We were grateful for the dedication and expertise they lent to the overall effort. It was cloudy when we started the observing so we turned the Jansky antenna toward the approximate direction of Jupiter and hoped for the best. We did get a few possible detections of Jupiter in the first few hours, but, just around dawn, we received a very strong signal on all antennas. Just after receiving this, Chuck Higgins came running to our group saying that he had just been on the phone to the University of Florida radio observatory and they had just received a very strong Jupiter storm. It was a great feeling of gratification after a long, cold, sleepless night. It was even more pleasing to realize the feeling of a connection to one of the pioneers of the field from more than sixty years ago. It is a memory that will keep us excited about spreading the thrill of scientific inquiry to the younger generation. 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2 Trip to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory by Autumn Thayer, Annapolis High School Our trip to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), in Green Bank, WV, on July 12-13, was a great success, though we were left quite tired afterwards. The presentation of the Radio JOVE project went very well with the members of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA). Many were interested and impressed with what we had to offer. They were especially impressed with the JOVE software. We got many questions in reference to whether or not we sold just the software. Well, we don't, but they were happy to learn that it will soon be available for free downloading from the Radio JOVE website. But above all other interest, SARA agreed with us that it is a good idea to educate and reach out to students about radio astronomy. Hopefully they will be able to help the schools around them become involved with Radio JOVE, and assist them if they ever run into any problems. It is good to have their support since Radio JOVE is very similar to what they do, but with less intricate, and less expensive equipment. Overall, the conference was a success and Dr. Chuck Higgins, Dr. Jim Thieman, and Dick Flagg did such a wonderful job presenting, that we even got some people interested enough to come out and observe with us, at 2 till 6 in the morning. (Talk about interest and dedication!) The observations were made on the front lawn of the NRAO beside the replica of the Jansky antenna, which we also used in our observations that cold morning. Besides the Jansky antenna, we also set up three other antennas, which we had brought with us. They were a dual dipole, a single dipole, and a loop antenna made by Jim Gass. At the beginning of our observations, Jupiter was supposed to be low in the sky and the lobe of the dual dipole has a beam pointed directly upward. And so to remedy this problem, we increased the length of cable between the two dipoles, so that we could extend the dipoles one wavelength apart and have the beam pointed more toward the horizon. The funny thing is that we didn't extend the two cables until we had already set up the antenna the night before observing. So it was quite interesting seeing a bunch of men trying to solder cable, in the cold, in the middle of a field. We actually had to use a lighter to help keep the connection warm enough to solder, because it was so cold. Well, luckily, the extension of cable worked well and we received a lot of radio emission from Jupiter. We also got great results for all the other antennas, including the Jansky antenna. We picked up some L-bursts, and actually quite a few S-bursts. Another neat thing about our data is that at the same time we were receiving lots of data, the people down at the University of Florida were receiving data too. So it was confirmed; it was definitely Jupiter we were hearing. So this trip had many successes. We got some of the SARA members interested in the project, and we got a lot of support from them. Hopefully this will continue in the future. We also got great data, but more importantly, we proved that Radio JOVE does work. It actually works very well, and we have some of the data to show for it. But with life, and especially in science, you live and learn. We have learned that you must always check the recording level of the recorder while you are observing, or you might be left with just background noise, like we were. So this is a warning to any who might make the same mistake: Be sure to check that the recording level is not too high. Fortunately, one of our recorders was set correctly and so we retained some of the data. But, all in all, the trip was very successful, and for those that were there it was very exciting to hear Jupiter through all our Radio JOVE antennas. It was an excellent trip, well worth suffering the cold at 2 o'clock in the morning. 3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3 Galileo Closing in on Io by Leonard Garcia, RITSS/GSFC It's an exciting time to be observing Jupiter. The Galileo spacecraft which has been orbiting Jupiter since December 1995, will be making three close passes by this planet and it's moon Io in the next three months. Only briefly, in its first orbit, did Galileo get as close to Io as it will be in these upcoming passes. In fact, Galileo has been intentionally kept rather far from Jupiter to protect it from the intense radiation close to the planet. To get the most scientific value from these dangerous fly-bys, astronomers from around the world will be observing Jupiter and Io with an assortment of ground-based and space-based telescopes. These observations will be in the radio, infrared, optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. We encourage all Radio JOVE teams to try to schedule some observations in the days before, during and after these events. Note however that outside the times of predicted storms the likelihood of hearing Jupiter could be quite low. In the coming months however there are several predicted Jovian radio storms that are well placed for Radio JOVE observers. They will occur at night while Jupiter is well above the horizon for most U.S. observers. In this issue we will list the days and times of these storms as well as the times of Galileo's close approaches to Jupiter. For more information about the Galileo mission visit their web page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/ also visit http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast27aug99_1.htm 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 Here Comes the Sun by Leonard Garcia, RITSS/GSFC Over the next year the Sun will be reaching the most active part of its roughly 11-year Solar Cycle. The number of sunspots appearing on the Sun and the number of solar flares will continue to increase. For Radio JOVE teams this is also the time when it will be much more likely to hear solar radio bursts. Your best chances of hearing the Sun with the Radio JOVE equipment is while the Sun is highest in the sky at local noon. The beam of the dual dipole antennas is broad enough however to detect strong solar bursts even when the Sun is almost three hours from noon or past noon. Try listening to the Sun and let us know what you hear! For more information about what the Sun has been doing lately visit http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast31aug99_1.htm 5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5 RADIO JOVE NEWS * New on the Radio JOVE website: - The Observing Team application form and the RJ 1.1 kit order form are now available on-line. The former is an interactive form and the latter is designed to be printed and mailed. See http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/office/rj_applications.htm. See also http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/office/kit_requests.htm - A new RJ Science Brief entitled "The Jovian Decametric Radio Emission" is available under "Reference Shelf" in the Radio JOVE Library Web page. - The RJ 1.1 receiver and antenna manuals are available from the Electronics Lab page (http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/rj_elab.htm). - The previous issue of the JOVE Bulletin is available in the Radio JOVE "Library" and "Office" pages. - A new photo archive is available at http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/library/photo_archive.htm - The Jovechart software is now available for downloading to registered users at http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/dal/software.htm * Note that we have a new email address. To contact Radio JOVE send email to rj_project@radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov * Bill Pine, Radio JOVE and INSPIRE Core Team member, and Tom Smith spent part of their summer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center as teacher interns. Bill and Tom developed educational material and a web page highlighting the National Education Standards applicable to this project. Also at Goddard this summer was Autumn Thayer from Annapolis High School and Albie Davison from the University of Maryland. While at Goddard they built and field-tested the Radio JOVE equipment and helped develop our web pages. * Members of the Radio JOVE Core team were on hand at the NASA/GSFC Teachers Education Activities Showcase. Radio JOVE was part of the Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum booth. Members of the team distributed material, answered questions and showed an example of the Radio JOVE receiver. Earlier that week Jim Thieman made a presentation to 27 teachers. * Several of the core team members presented a poster paper about the Radio JOVE project at the Magnetospheres of the Outer Planets meeting in Paris, France. The response was quite good and we look forward to new RJ teams in Europe. * Radio JOVE will be at the NASA booth at the STANYS conference October 31 - November 2 in New York. Radio JOVE will also be at the National Science Teacher's Association (NSTA) meeting in Orlando next Spring. * Announcements for the Radio JOVE project were posted on the AAPT Physical Science Resource Center Web page. An announcement also appeared on the NSTA Message Board Web page. * Radio JOVE was featured in an article in NASA's National Space Science Data Center(NSSDC) newsletter. The article is available at http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nssdc_news/marjun99/02_JOVE_web.html 6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6 ON THE HORIZON - UPCOMING EVENTS by Chuck Higgins, NASA GSFC ## Instructions on how to read the JOVE prediction tables ## 1. Find the appropriate month or future month for planning an observation. Potential "Good" storms are highlighted in the tables with a header. 2. Columns 2, 3, and 4 show the time of the predicted storm. UT = Universal Time - this is the local time on Earth at 0 degrees longitude (the North-South line that runs through Greenwich, England). UT is also called GMT for Greenwich Mean Time or also called Z for Zulu Time. EDT (EST) = Eastern Daylight (Standard) Time - local time for the East coast of the United States EDT = UT - 4 hours EST = UT - 5 hours PDT (PST) = Pacific Daylight (Standard) Time - local time for the West coast of the United States PDT = UT - 7 hours PDT = EDT - 3 hours PST = UT - 8 hours PST = EST - 3 hours **CAUTION** Times are represented as a 24 hour clock and the dates of the storms are correct for the UT time listed. Because of the different time zones and the time difference from UT, some of the dates of the storms must be adjusted ahead one day. For example: I am living on the West Coast and I want to observe the Io-A, Io-C storm on Oct. 22, 1999. The time listed is 21-23 hours PDT (or 9-11 pm PDT). Because of the time correction from UT, the CORRECT date for the observation is October 21! Therefore to plan for my observation, I must set up my receiver and antenna on October 21, 1999 from 21-23 hours (9-11 pm PDT). Note that no date correction is needed if the time does not cross midnight (0 hours) when it is subtracted from UT. 3. Column 5 tells you the type of Jupiter storm to expect. The Io-A storms (relating to the Jovian moon Io) are the most probable and thus are given the designation letter "A". The Io-B storms are slightly less probable but are more intense in nature; therefore, for JOVE receivers and antennas the Io-B storms are more likely to be heard. The Io-C storms are the weakest and least probable, but they sometimes directly follow an Io-A storm thus giving a longer time to observe Jupiter when probabilities are high. 4. Columns 6 and 7 show the position of Jupiter in the sky (in hour angle) from the locations of Florida and California. The Hour Angle (HA) represents the angle (in hours) from the meridian of the observer. An hour angle of 0 (zero) means the object is on the meridian (also called transit time of an object). A negative hour angle means the number of hours until the object reaches the meridian and a positive hour angle means the number of hours after the object has crossed the meridian. Meridian means "middle" thus it is simply an imaginary line that runs from North to South dividing the sky into two halves. Because Earth takes 24 hours to rotate once, an observer can effectively "see" 12 hours of sky, 6 hours from the eastern horizon to the meridian, and 6 hours from the meridian to the western horizon. A celestial object takes about 6 hours to move from the eastern horizon to the meridian and then about 6 more hours to move from the meridian to the western horizon. Because of the type of antenna used for JOVE (a dual dipole) the times when it is effective to use are limited. The beam size for this antenna is about 5 hours in the East- West direction; therefore, the times when our antenna is sensitive enough to receive Jupiter is from -2.5 hours to +2.5 hours in hour angle. For the North-South direction the antenna is sensitive to objects when they are about 35 degrees from the zenith (or about 55 degrees above the horizon). To extend beyond these times or below this altitude for observing would probably prove fruitless. ## Upcoming Jupiter Storm Events ## Date Time of Storm Storm Hour Angle from Transit 1999 UT EDT PDT Type Florida California ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sep 06 6-8 2-4 23-1 Io-A -2.8 to -0.8 --- ******* 3 Good Storms ******** Sep 13 7-10 3-6 0-3 Io-A,Io-C -1.3 to 1.7 -3.6 to -0.6 Sep 14 9-11 5-7 2-4 Io-B 0.8 to 2.8 -1.5 to 0.5 Sep 20 7-10 3-6 0-3 Io-A,Io-C -0.8 to 2.2 -3.1 to -0.1 ******* 1 Good Storm for West Coast ******** Sep 21 10-12 6-8 3-5 Io-B 2.3 to 4.3 0.0 to 2.0 ******* 1 Great Storm ******** Sep 27 8-12 4-8 1-5 Io-A,Io-C 0.7 to 4.7 -1.6 to 2.4 Sep 28 11-13 7-9 4-6 Io-B --- 1.5 to 3.5 Date Time of Storm Storm Hour Angle from Transit 1999 UT EDT PDT Type Florida California ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Oct 04 9-10 5-6 2-3 Io-A 2.2 to 3.2 -0.1 to 0.9 Oct 08 2-3 22-23 19-20 Io-A -3.5 to -2.5 --- Oct 11 10-11 6-7 3-4 Io-A --- 1.4 to 2.4 Oct 13 11-12 7-8 4-5 Io-A --- 2.6 to 3.6 Oct 15 3-4 23-0 20-21 Io-A -3.0 to -2.0 --- Oct 22 4-6 0-2 21-23 Io-A,Io-C -1.5 to 0.5 -3.8 to -1.8 ******* 1 Good Storm ******** Oct 23 6-8 2-4 23-1 Io-B 0.6 to 2.6 -1.7 to 0.3 Daylight Savings Time ENDS Date Time of Storm Storm Hour Angle from Transit 1999 UT EST PST Type Florida California ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ******* 1 Good Storm ******** Nov 05 5-9 0-4 21-1 Io-A,Io-C 0.5 to 4.6 -1.7 to 2.3 ******* 2 Good Storms for West Coast ******** Nov 06 8-10 3-5 0-2 Io-B --- 1.4 to 3.4 Nov 12 6-9 1-4 22-1 Io-A,Io-C 2.1 to 5.1 -0.2 to 2.8 Nov 14 7-8 2-3 23-0 Io-A --- 0.9 to 1.9 Nov 21 8-9 3-4 0-1 Io-A --- 2.5 to 3.5 Nov 23 0-2 19-21 16-18 Io-A,Io-C -3.2 to -1.2 --- Nov 24 2-3 21-22 18-19 Io-B -1.1 to -0.1 -3.3 to -2.3 ******* 1 Good Storm for East Coast ******** Nov 30 0-4 19-23 16-20 Io-A,Io-C -2.7 to 1.4 -4.9 to -0.9 [Note that a complete list of Jupiter events for this year is available at the University of Florida web site, http://www.astro.ufl.edu/radio/index.html#Jupiter Prediction Tables The format is different from that given here. For a description see http://www.astro.ufl.edu/ufro/readme.html ] ## Upcoming Galileo Encounters with Jupiter ## Below are the dates in which the Galileo spacecraft will be making scientific observations of Jupiter, Io, and the Io Torus. Include are URLs to the Galileo web pages describing each encounter in more detail. C23 orbit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/quick_facts/c23facts.html Galileo Recording 13 Sep 1999 21:00 UT to 17 Sep 1999 16:00 UT I24 Orbit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/quick_facts/i24facts.html Galileo Recording 10 Oct 1999 04:00 UT to 12 Oct 1999 04:00 UT I25 orbit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/quick_facts/i25facts.html Galileo Recording 25 Nov 1999 04:00 UT to 27 Nov 1999 04:00 UT 7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7 Radio JOVE at a Glance (from the RJ Web Site) * Teaches planetary and solar radio astronomy, space physics, and the scientific method * Target audience - Teachers and students of high school / college science courses * Provides teachers and students with a hands-on radio astronomy experience * Gain experience in electronics construction and testing * Interact with other Radio JOVE schools to exchange data, ideas, and experiences * Radio JOVE kits available for $100, additional equipment is required, including antenna supports, a tape recorder, and a PC with a sound card 8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Radio JOVE project is an educational/public outreach program involving scientists and educators from NASA, Raytheon ITSS, the University of Florida, the Florida Space Grant Consortium, RF Associates and The INSPIRE Project, Inc. The Radio JOVE project wishes to acknowledge support from the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Director's Discretionary Fund and the Initiative to Develop Education through Astronomy and Space Science (IDEAS) grant program administered by the Space Telescope Science Institute. 9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9 THE JOVE BULLETIN SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION The JOVE Bulletin is published several times a year. It is a free service of the Radio JOVE Project. We hope you will find it of value. If any of your friends would like to subscribe, they may do so by sending E-mail to Leonard.Garcia@gsfc.nasa.gov. If you do not want to receive any more issues, send E-mail to Leonard.Garcia@gsfc.nasa.gov. Back issues are available on the Radio JOVE Project Web site, http://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/ For assistance or information send inquiries to: Radio JOVE Project Code 633 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 USA or Email: rj_project@radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov FAX: 1-301-286-1771 =======================================================================