The Young Astronomers Newsletter

The Young Astronomers Newsletter Volume 25 Number 12 December 2017

By Bob Patsiga

In this month’s edition of the newsletter Bob discusses:

• The politics of space flight. Congress issues warnings to NASA concerning it recent delay of the Space Launch System.
• A long-lasting supernova, iPTF14hls, discovered in 2014, is puzzling astronomers and possibly leading to some new theories about supernova behavior.
• The planetary probe, Juno, is making some close-up observations and measurements of Jupiter’s electric, magnetic and gaseous dynamics.  The giant polar auroras are spectacular.
•  The Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico, sustained only minor damage from hurricane Maria.  However, the observatory may still be in dire straits due to budgeting woes.
• Our Sun’s weak sunspot cycle and what might be causing it.
• December’s astronomical birthdays
• Celestial happenings for the month which include a Super Moon, prominent meteor shower, the bright planets you can see in the predawn sky.
• A sky map of the winter constellations to help guide you through the December sky.