A Strange Ring Galaxy

A Strange Ring Galaxy
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:00:00 -0500

Is this one galaxy or two? Astronomer Art Hoag first asked this question when he chanced upon this unusual extragalactic object. On the outside is a ring dominated by bright blue stars, while near the center lies a ball of much redder stars that are likely much older. Between the two is a gap that appears almost completely dark. How Hoag's Object formed remains unknown, although similar objects have been identified and collectively labeled as a form of ring galaxy. Genesis hypotheses include a galaxy collision billions of years ago and the gravitational effect of a central bar that has since vanished. This image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in July 2001, reveals unprecedented details of Hoag's Object and may yield a better understanding. Hoag's Object spans about 100,000 light years and lies about 600 million light years away toward the constellation of the Snake (Serpens). Coincidentally, visible in the gap (at about one o'clock) is yet another ring galaxy that likely lies far in the distance. Image Credit: NASA, R. Lucas (STScI/AURA)

This messaage has been sent by NASA Headquarters · Washington, DC 20546

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Colin James Watling
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Space Station Auroras

Space Weather News for August 20, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

SPACE STATION AURORAS: With solar activity on the rise, August 2010 has been a good month for auroras. There have been sightings of Northern Lights as far south as Wisconsin and Iowa in the United States, and some fine displays of Southern Lights over Antarctica. Some of the best pictures so far have come from Earth orbit, where astronauts have a front-row seat for geomagnetic storms.  Visit http://Spaceweather.com for latest images from the International Space Station.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS:  Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms erupt at your latitude?  Sign up for Space Weather Phone: http://spaceweatherphone.com

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Station astronauts get station's cooling system running again

NEWSALERT: Friday, August 20, 2010 @ 1536 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
  The latest news from Spaceflight Now


++++++++++
Astronaut Autograph Show Tickets Going Fast
Time is running out to secure your SPACE for the Astronaut Scholarship
Foundation's Astronaut Autograph & Memorabilia Show on November 6 - 7,
2010 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where more than 30
astronauts and space icons will rendezvous to sign autographs and pose for
photos! SPACE is limited so get your tickets TODAY!
http://www.astronautscholarship.org/aams/index.html
++++++++++


STATION CREW RECAPS REPAIRS AS COOLANT SYSTEM RESTARTS
------------------------------------------------------
The International Space Station's coolant system is back up and running
normally after a three-spacewalk repair job, the astronauts said Thursday,
allowing the crew to power up science equipment and other systems that had
to be shut down when an ammonia pump shorted out July 31.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/100819cbs/

MISSION STATUS CENTER COVERAGE OF THE SPACEWALKS:
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/status2.html

ARCHIVED VIDEO COVERAGE:
http://www.spaceflightnowplus.com/index.php


IRIDIUM MERGES SCIENCE WITH COMMUNICATIONS MISSION
--------------------------------------------------
Working under a U.S. government grant, researchers are calling upon the
Iridium satellite constellation for the first real-time global space
weather observations from low Earth orbit.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/18iridium/


TASK FORCE RECOMMENDS GRANTS TO AID SPACE COAST
-----------------------------------------------
A presidential task force released its recommendations Tuesday on how to
best invest $40 million in aid for Florida's Space Coast workforce as the
space shuttle program is retired next year.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/17spacecoast/


CHINESE MINI-STATION MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO LIFTOFF
-----------------------------------------------------
China has finished building an unmanned module that will be the
centerpiece of the country's first space laboratory, state media reported
Tuesday. The Tiangong 1 spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2011.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/18tiangong/


+++
NEXT SHUTTLE MISSION PATCH NOW AVAILABLE!
The official mission patch for Discovery's last scheduled flight, STS-133,
is now on sale in our store.
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
+++

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Fireball on Jupiter

Space Weather News for Aug. 22, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

 

FIREBALL ON JUPITER:  An amateur astronomer in Japan has video-recorded a fireball on Jupiter.  This marks the third time in only 13 months that amateur astronomers have detected signs of something hitting the giant planet.  Will the latest impact leave behind a visible cloud of debris?  

 

Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

SPACE STATION and SPACE PLANE FLYBYS: This is a good week for satellite watchers in the USA and Canada.  Both the International Space Station and the US Air Force X-37B space plane are making a series of favorable passes over North American towns and cities.  The spacecraft are easy to find using our Simple Satellite Tracker--an app for iPhones and Android.  Visit http://simpleflybys.com for downloads and more information.

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Colin James Watling
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Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
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Charts-info Astrosite Groningen (August 23, 2010)

Dear comet observers,

 

We have prepared the following new charts for our homepage:

 

  

 *  2P/Encke : 

• three 6x8 degrees charts for the period 26 August - 7 September 2010.

This comet is primarely observable from the Southern Hemisphere.

 

 

These new charts can now be downloaded from the charts section of our mainpage:

http://www.shopplaza.nl/astro

Here you can also download charts from earlier updates....

 

Reinder Bouma/Edwin van Dijk.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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SpaceX preparing Dragon capsule for maiden test launch

NEWSALERT: Monday, August 23, 2010 @ 1638 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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===========================================
Looking for a job out of this world?
The top jobs and the best talents in
the space industry are on Space Careers.

http://www.space-careers.com/?id=sfn

Space Careers, a one-stop reference source
for employment in the space industry.
===========================================


SPACEX: DRAGON TESTING WILL DETERMINE LAUNCH SCHEDULE
-----------------------------------------------------
SpaceX delivered the first space-worthy Dragon capsule to Florida in early
August as engineers dropped a replica of the craft in the Pacific Ocean to
simulate the ship's return from orbit.

http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/002/100820update/


NASA CONSIDERING JUNE 2011 FOR FINAL SHUTTLE FLIGHT
---------------------------------------------------
Awaiting word on whether one additional shuttle flight will be approved by
Congress and the Obama administration, NASA managers are protectively
considering June 28, 2011, for launch of shuttle Atlantis on a rescue
mission if a major problem threatens the crew of the final planned shuttle
flight in late February. If not, and if NASA gets the required funding,
the agency would launch Atlantis on an actual space station resupply
mission to close out the shuttle program.

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts135/100820june/


MYSTERIOUS MAGNETAR HAS BIG DADDY
---------------------------------
The explosive supernova of a massive star that should have created a black
hole has been found to have created a highly magnetic neutron star
instead, perplexing astronomers using the Very Large Telescope (VLT).

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1008/20magnetar/


GALACTIC SUPERVOLCANO SPEWS INTO SPACE
--------------------------------------
A new image created from data from the Chandra X-ray Telescope Observatory
and Very Large Telescope Array (VLA) reveal a giant eruption of gas
blasting from the core of massive galaxy M87.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1008/20m87/


+++
ENDEAVOUR MISSION PATCH NOW AVAILABLE!
The official mission patch for Endeavour's last scheduled flight, STS-134,
is now on sale in our store.
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
+++

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"This Week In Space" / Spacewalkers install pump / Atlas launch recap

NEWSALERT: Monday, August 16, 2010 @ 1549 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
   The latest news from Spaceflight Now


===========================================
Looking for a job out of this world?
The top jobs and the best talents in
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Space Careers, a one-stop reference source
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===========================================


"THIS WEEK IN SPACE"
--------------------
"This Week In Space" with Miles O'Brien: Spacewalkers continue working on
repairs, an interview with EVA'er Dave Wolf, success for Atlas 5 rocket
and a new shot from Hubble.

http://spaceflightnow.com/twis/


SPACEWALKERS INSTALLING NEW COOLANT PUMP TODAY
----------------------------------------------
Astronauts Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson are back outside the
International Space Station today for their third spacewalk to replace an
ammonia pump and fix the outpost's coolant loop that broke down two weeks
ago.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/status2.html


RISE AND SHINE: ATLAS 5 ROCKET SOARS AT DAWN
--------------------------------------------
A sophisticated satellite was launched into space Saturday to improve the
preeminent path of communications between the president, military
commanders and troops on the battlefield, ensuring a survivable line of
contact even in hellish scenarios of nuclear warfare.

http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av019/status.html


DARK ENERGY, ALIEN PLANETS ARE FOCUS OF SURVEY
----------------------------------------------
NASA's top new astrophysics mission should be a multipurpose infrared
space telescope to study planets beyond our solar system and seek out dark
energy, the driving force of the universe, according to an independent
science panel.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/15decadal/


+++
NEXT SHUTTLE MISSION PATCH NOW AVAILABLE!
The official mission patch for Discovery's last scheduled flight, STS-133,
is now on sale in our store.
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
+++

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Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
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SPA ENB No. 293

                ***********************************
                 The SOCIETY for POPULAR ASTRONOMY
                ***********************************
        ====================================================
         Electronic News Bulletin No. 293    2010 August 15
        ====================================================

Here is the latest round-up of news from the Society for Popular
Astronomy.  The SPA is Britain's liveliest astronomical society, with
members all over the world.  We accept subscription payments online
at our secure site and can take credit and debit cards.  You can join
or renew via a secure server or just see how much we have to offer by
visiting  http://www.popastro.com/


PERSEID MAXIMUM - FIRST NEWS
By Alastair McBeath, SPA Meteor Section Director

It is too soon for a definitive overview of the Perseid maximum,
which was expected on August 12-13 (see ENB 292, archived at:
http://snipurl.com/10ncie  ). However, early indications are the
shower lived up to expectations for those with clearer skies.
Provisional Zenithal Hourly Rates (ZHRs) on the International Meteor
Organization's (IMO's) "live" Perseid results page (at
http://www.imo.net/live/perseids2010/ ) were around 80-90 during
the UT night of August 12-13, suggesting the peak was probably
fairly normal for recent years. In early August, the IAU circulated a
revised prediction for a possible encounter with the dust trail laid
down by the Perseids' parent comet, 109P/Swift-Tuttle, in 1479,
around 16:50 UT on August 12 (with thanks to SPA Vice-President
Robin Scagell for forwarding details). It was thought likely the Earth
would only skim the outer fringes of this trail, so its potential effect
on Perseid activity was unclear. The IMO results page had no data
covering this interval when I wrote these notes. Hopefully a more
detailed examination of various facets of the peak should be practical
as more results arrive.

Observations and comments reaching the Meteor Section from the
first half of August have indicated typically mixed fortunes for UK
watchers, thanks to another disappointing summer in many places.
Information to-date found Perseid ZHRs of ~5-10 during the first
week of August, rising to ~20-45 between August 9-11, before
increasing smartly closer to the peak, all much as usual, so far as the
limited data allows. There are comments showing how some British
observers fared on the SPA's Observing Forum at:
http://snipurl.com/10nill,  and the UK Weather World's Space
Weather Forum at: http://snipurl.com/10nime, which also has a few
photos. From these, its seems southern England may have had the
better conditions on August 12-13. Northeast England was overcast
with heavy rain driving-in on a strong north to northeaster then
certainly. All further results would be most welcome!


LATE JULY RADIO METEOR ACTIVITY
By Alastair McBeath, SPA Meteor Section Director

Full Moon in late July combined with generally poor weather then
meant no visual results were secured covering the late July Delta
Aquarid and Alpha Capricornid maxima. Fortunately, the arrival of
July's Radio Meteor Observation Bulletin (No. 204; see
http://www.rmob.org ), provided promptly as ever by its Editor
Chris Steyaert, has allowed an investigation of what likely happened
then as detected by forward-scatter radio equipment. The observers
involved included: Enric Algeciras (Spain), Michael Boschat (Nova
Scotia, Canada), Jeff Brower (British Columbia, Canada; Jeff
provided additional information directly to us as well), Willy Camps
(Belgium), Gaspard De Wilde (Belgium), Franky Dubois (Belgium),
Kurt Fisher (Utah, USA), Karl-Heinz Gansel (Germany), Mike Otte
(Illinois, USA), Steve Roush (Arizona, USA), Andy Smith (England),
Chris Steyaert (Belgium), Dave Swan (England), Maarten
Vanleenhove (Belgium), Felix Verbelen (Belgium). Some observers
were on holiday, and quite a few struggled with continued
summertime interference problems, so there were fewer data than
might have been hoped, but the surviving results gave a reasonably
clear signature for heightened radio meteor rates overnight, when the
Delta Aquarid and Alpha Capricornid radiants were above the
horizon, from July 28 to 30 inclusive. The most convincing peaks
were on July 29 and 30, that on the 30th marginally the stronger, so
likely indicating when both showers were at their most active. The
radiants were too close together for radio to define the sources
separately, but with recent IMO results suggesting both showers
may peak on July 30 anyway, this does imply that may have been the
case this year.


BETA TAURIDS UPDATE
By Alastair McBeath, SPA Meteor Section Director

As discussed in ENB 292, the daytime Beta Taurid meteor shower
maximum probably happened around June 25 and 26, while echo-
counts seemed to have picked-up again around June 30, from a
source in the daytime sky that was plausibly also the Beta Taurids.
RMOB 204 has allowed a check on what took place in early July as
well. Aside from most of the radio observers already listed above, a
sufficiently complete dataset was also available during the first week
of the month to examine for this source from Johan Coussens in
Belgium. After the slightly increased activity on June 30, this
dropped on July 1, but then rose to a daytime peak on July 2
apparently only a little less in strength than those on June 25-26
(albeit confirmed by fewer radio-meteor systems). Activity remained
elevated, if at a lower level, on July 3, before returning back to its
more "normal" regime. Such a peak in early July has not often been
recorded so clearly in previous Section analyses since 1994, but
whether this represented an unusual Beta Taurid return, or simply
reflected the fact observers were lucky with conditions during the
key interval, is uncertain. An interesting result whatever the case.


RECENT FIREBALLS
By Alastair McBeath, SPA Meteor Section Director

Aside from another fine crop of Perseid fireballs in the last few days,
several multiply-observed fireballs have been reported from Britain
since mid July.

July 13-14 brought two bright events, one around 20:30 UT as seen
from Guernsey, the other of magnitude -9 or so at about 21:00,
witnessed from Kent, Somerset and Wiltshire. Though there were
similarities between them, and some uncertainty in their timings, it is
probable these two were separate fireballs. That seen from Guernsey
was likely high above the Channel, perhaps above the western part
of Lyme Bay, or possibly the adjacent parts of Devon. The ~21h
event too may have happened over the Channel, probably off or over
the Dorset coast. It may have been travelling in a direction between
roughly E-W to SE-NW, and its path likely fell within about 60 km
of a point above the sea ~10-20 km south of Lulworth Cove, Dorset.
Its start altitude could have been ~115 +/- 10 km, but the end was
too poorly-constrained to suggest a more plausible height range.

On July 18-19 at 22:16 UT, a fireball estimated as brighter than
magnitude -5 was seen from two separate sites in Suffolk. It was also
imaged by Klaas Jobse's automated all-sky camera system at
Oostkapelle in the Netherlands, part of the European Fireball
Network of stations. The image is quite faint, but can be seen at
http://snipurl.com/10o55r , with an enlarged inset showing the
meteor's trail in more detail at: http://snipurl.com/10o56o . It has not
been possible to estimate a probable trajectory for the event as yet,
but its path may have lain high above the southern North Sea
somewhere between the Netherlands and East Anglia.

August 7-8, 21:40 UT, brought a magnitude -5/-6 fireball for lucky
observers in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, while August 10-11
produced a magnitude -4/-7 possible Alpha Capricornid fireball
within five minutes of 22:05 UT for three witnesses in
Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and London. No details on the
trajectories for either have been established so far.

Notes on other UK-seen fireballs reported to the Section, apart from
Perseids close to their peak, can be found on the "Recent Fireball
Sightings" webpage, at: http://snipurl.com/w9p6d, while additional
sightings of the above, or other, fireballs, made from the British Isles
and nearby, would be welcomed. The minimum details required are:

1) Exactly where you were (give the name of the nearest town or
large village and county if in Britain, or your geographic latitude and
longitude if elsewhere in the world);

2) The date and timing of the event in UT (remember to subtract one
hour from current clock time, BST, to get UT); and

3) Where the fireball started and ended in the sky, as accurately as
possible, or where the first and last points you could see of the trail
were if you did not see the whole flight.

More advice and a fuller set of information to send (including an
e-mail report form) are on the "Making and Reporting Fireball
Observations" page of the SPA website, at: http://snipurl.com/u8aer .

And finally... You may have spotted items in the press or online about
a supposed meteorite fall at a county cricket match at Uxbridge in
late July, narrowly missing a couple of spectators. Sadly,
investigations quickly revealed it to have been simply a small lump
of cement, dropped either from an aircraft's wheel, or perhaps by a
bird. The media were not quite so eager to report this reality,
however. For further details and links to the online sources, see
the SPA's General Chat Forum topic at: http://snipurl.com/10o576 .


PLANETS
By Andrew Robertson, SPA Planetary Section Director

Jupiter is now coming to the fore -- at the beginning of August it was
at a healthy 30 degrees altitude by 2am BST, and I'm now starting to
receive observations of it.  Jupiter is very much the planet 'in
season' and I would encourage observations from now as it approaches
opposition on September 21.  I prefer to observe the planets before
opposition when they are at their highest in the early hours when
seeing is normally better although I appreciate that not everyone is
in a position to do that.  The SEB (South equatorial belt) is still
faded but could burst into activity at any time.  The GRS (Great Red
Spot) is a very prominent red.  I had a good view of it, made even
more prominent by the absence of the SEB, in the early hours of August
12.

Venus reaches Greatest Elongation (East) on August 20, after which it
will start displaying a crescent phase.  As its phase gets narrower
its angular diameter increases.  On August 15 Venus is low down in the
WSW at an altitude of only 9 degrees just after sunset.  It's worth
observing Venus at this time -- especially looking out for the moment
of apparent half-phase (dichotomy).  At evening elongations that
normally occurs around 5 days earlier than geometry would lead one to
expect.

I post a selection of members' observations on the SPA web site;
they can be viewed on the Planetary Section's web page at
http://snipurl.com/xc9r8 .

Any reports of observations would be most welcome via
http://popastro.com/planet/contact/



NEW REVELATIONS ABOUT MERCURY
Carnegie Institute

Analysis of data from Messenger's third and final fly-by of Mercury
last September has found evidence of later vulcanism than had
previously been recognized, new magnetic information, and the first
observations of emission from an ionized species in Mercury's very
thin atmosphere or exosphere.  During its first two fly-bys of
Mercury, Messenger captured images showing that pervasive vulcanism
occurred early in the planet's history.  The third fly-by revealed a
290-km-diameter impact basin, among the youngest basins yet seen and
recently named Rachmaninoff, having an inner floor filled with
spectrally distinct smooth plains.

The sparsely cratered Rachmaninoff plains post-date the formation
of the basin and apparently formed from material that once flowed
across the surface.  Astronomers  interpret these plains to be the
youngest volcanic deposits yet found on Mercury.  Moreover, an
irregular depression surrounded by a diffuse halo of bright material
northeast of the basin marks a candidate explosive volcanic vent
larger than any previously identified on Mercury.  These observations
suggest that vulcanism on the planet lasted a lot longer than had been
thought.

During the fly-by, the magnetometer documented for the first time a
build-up of magnetic energy in Mercury's magnetic tail.  The increases
in energy in Mercury's the tail were large (factors of two to three),
and they occurred very quickly, lasting only two or three minutes from
beginning to end.  The increases in tail magnetic energy at Mercury
are about 10 times greater than at the Earth, and the events run their
course about 50 times more rapidly.

Observations were also made of emission from ionized calcium in
Mercury's exosphere.  The emission was concentrated over a relatively
small area one to two Mercury radii anti-sunward of the planet, with
most of the emission occurring close to the equatorial plane.  The
concentrated distribution cannot be explained by in-situ conversion of
local calcium atoms to calcium ions and instead points to
magnetospheric transport of the ions as a mechanism for concentrating
them.  Although such transport is common in planetary magnetospheres,
the degree to which it can affect the distribution of species in
Mercury's exosphere was not fully appreciated.


POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS ASTEROID
Science Daily

A lot of interest has been shown in recent years in 'potentially
hazardous asteroids', which might at some future time hit the Earth,
although so far none of any significant size has been found to have
any but an infinitesimal chance (which reduces more and more as
observations accumulate) of an actual impact.

Asteroid (101955) 1999 RQ36 is such an object.  It was discovered in
1999 and is around 560 metres across.  Its orbit is actually well
determined by 290 optical observations and 13 radar measurements, but
there is a significant uncertainty in extrapolating it into the far
future because the paths of small asteroids are slightly influenced by
the Yarkovsky effect.  That effect arises on a rotating body because
the 'afternoon' side of the body is warmer than the morning side,
having been in sunshine longer, so it radiates more, and the infrared
photons that constitute its radiation carry away a certain amount of
momentum.  By the law of conservation of momentum, that has to be
balanced by momentum imparted to the asteroid in the opposite
direction, that is, 'downwards' from the point of view of the evening
hemisphere.

Spanish scientists have published a paper in the journal 'Icarus',
showing that there is a tiny possibility that the relevant asteroid
could collide with the Earth in 2182.  They give reasons for saying
that, if it were wished to try to modify the path of the asteroid by
artificial means to make it even more certain that it will miss the
Earth, it would be much less difficult and expensive to do so before
2060.  Although of course even a small asteroid has what is by
ordinary standards an enormous mass, so it would not be accelerated
much by forces of ordinary magnitude, a very slight change in velocity
accumulates to a large distance in the course of a hundred years.


BROWN DWARF ORBITING YOUNG SUN-LIKE STAR
University of Arizona

An international team of astronomers using the 8-m Gemini-South
telescope in Chile has discovered a 36-Jupiter-mass brown-dwarf
companion to the star PZ Tel, which is an object quite like the Sun
but very young -- about 12 million years old.  The team used an
adaptive-optics system coupled to a coronagraph in their efforts to
detect faint objects close to bright ones.  The companion is 18
astronomical units (Earth--Sun distances) from the primary star,
subtending a third of a second of arc at the distance of PZ Tel.
Because PZ Tel is a rare type of object, being both close and very
young, it has been imaged several times in the past, so astronomers
were surprised to see a companion around what was thought to be a
single star.  The orbit appears to be eccentric, such that in the past
the angular separation of the system has been smaller and the
companion's image has been lost in the glare of the primary's.


ASTRONOMERS FIND VERY MASSIVE STAR
RAS

A UK-led international team of astronomers has discovered the most
massive stars to date, including one which they think at birth had
more than 300 times the mass of the Sun, well above the currently
accepted limit.  The astronomers studied two young clusters of stars,
NGC 3603 and RMC 136a.  NGC 3603 is 22 000 light-years away;
RMC 136a is located inside the Tarantula Nebula, in one of our
neighbouring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud, 165 000 light-
years away.

The team found several stars with surface temperatures over 40 000
degrees and luminosities several million times as great as the Sun's.
Comparisons with models seem to imply that the stars were born with
masses in excess of 150 solar masses.  One of them, in the R136
cluster, is proposed to be the most massive star ever found -- to have
a current mass of about 265 solar masses and a birth mass of as much
as 320 times that of the Sun.  But that is only estimated from
computer models.  In NGC 3603, the astronomers could determine
directly from the orbital parameters the masses of two stars that
belong to a double-star system.  Three objects in the cluster have
estimated masses at birth above or close to 150 solar masses, but one
of them is double, with an orbital period of 3.77 days.  The two stars
in that system are 120 and 92 times the mass of the Sun.


HOT EXOPLANET WITH COMET-LIKE TAIL
NASA

Astronomers using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on the Hubble
telescope have confirmed the existence of an object that could be
called a "cometary planet".  The gas-giant planet, named HD 209458b,
is orbiting close to its star and its heated atmosphere is
escaping into space.  The planet is slightly less massive than Jupiter
but orbits 100 times closer to its star in a period of just over three
days.  It has been intensely scrutinized because it is one of the few
extra-solar planets that transit their respective stars.  During a
transit, astronomers may be able to study the structure and chemical
makeup of the planet's atmosphere by observing the starlight that
passes through it.  Hubble detected carbon and silicon in the planet's
1100°C atmosphere.  The detection showed that the parent star is
heating the entire atmosphere, dredging up the heavier elements and
allowing them to escape from the planet.  The data also showed that
the material leaving the planet was not all travelling at the same
speed.  Some gas was found to be escaping at high velocities, with a
large amount flowing toward us at 10 km/s.  The most likely
interpretation is that the gas is being swept up by the stellar wind
to form a comet-like tail trailing the planet.


UNUSUAL COSMIC LENS
ScienceDaily

Astronomers have discovered the first known case of a distant
galaxy being magnified by a quasar acting as a gravitational lens.
The first gravitational lens was discovered in 1979, and produced an
image of a distant quasar that was magnified and split by a
foreground galaxy.  Hundreds of cases of gravitationally lensed
quasars are now known.  But, until the current work, the reverse
process -- a background galaxy being lensed by the massive host
galaxy of a foreground quasar -- had never been detected.

Quasars, which are extraordinarily luminous objects in the distant
Universe, are thought to be powered by super-massive black holes
in the cores of galaxies.  A single quasar can be a thousand times
brighter than an entire galaxy of a hundred billion stars, which
makes studies of their host galaxies very difficult.  The
researchers say that the significance of the discovery is that it
may provide a way to understand such host galaxies.


RECORD-BREAKING X-RAY BLAST
Penn State University

A blast of the brightest X-rays ever detected from beyond our Milky
Way Galaxy's neighbourhood temporarily blinded the X-ray eye on the
Swift space observatory earlier this summer.  The X-rays travelled
through space for 5 billion years before overwhelming Swift's X-ray
telescope on June 21.  The blindingly bright blast, named GRB 100621A,
came from a gamma-ray burst, a violent eruption of energy thought to
come from the explosion of a massive star turning into a new black
hole.  It was by far the brightest source ever seen in X-ray
wavelengths at cosmological distances.

Gamma-ray bursts typically begin with a bright flash of high-energy
gamma-rays and X-rays, and then fade away, sometimes leaving
behind a rapidly declining afterglow in less-energetic wavelengths,
including optical and ultraviolet.  Surprisingly, although the energy
from the June burst was the brightest ever in X-rays, it was merely
ordinary in optical and ultraviolet wavelengths.  The Swift scientists
were able to estimate the overall brightness of GRB 100621A by
sampling the photons at some distance from its overexposed centre
and using a standard correction technique.


JAPAN TO LAUNCH MERCURY MISSION IN 2014
Indiavision News

Japan is preparing to launch a space mission to Mercury in 2014, using
a craft covered in mirrors to reflect the 450°C heat from the planet.
According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the mirrors will
help the probe to survive temperatures on the surface of the planet.
Scientists have calculated that, by reflecting the intense heat of the
Sun, the temperature of the mirrors can be kept at about 160°C.
Inside the body of the spacecraft, where the observation equipment
will be housed, temperatures should be below 60°C.  The craft stands
around six feet high and is powered partly by solar energy collected
by panels that are wrapped around its body.  It is designed constantly
to rotate to prevent one side becoming too hot.  JAXA scientists hope
to be ready to launch the probe -- which is at present unnamed -- in
2014.  JAXA has been boosted by the impressive performance of
Hayabusa, which returned to Earth in June after a seven-year journey
to recover particles of an asteroid, and Ikaros, which was launched in
May and is the first spacecraft to draw its energy from a solar-
powered sail.

 

Bulletin compiled by Clive Down

(c) 2010 the Society for Popular Astronomy

--
Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
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Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
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Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
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Raisin' Mountains on Saturn's Moon Titan

Feature                                                Aug. 12, 2010

Raisin' Mountains on Saturn's Moon Titan

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-266&cid=release_2010-266

Saturn's moon Titan ripples with mountains, and scientists have been trying to figure out how
they form. The best explanation, it turns out, is that Titan is shrinking as it cools, wrinkling up the
moon's surface like a raisin.

A new model developed by scientists working with radar data obtained by NASA's Cassini
spacecraft shows that differing densities in the outermost layers of Titan can account for the
unusual surface behavior. Titan is slowly cooling because it is releasing heat from its original
formation and radioactive isotopes are decaying in the interior. As this happens, parts of Titan's
subsurface ocean freeze over, the outermost ice crust thickens and folds, and the moon shrivels
up. The model is described in an article now online in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

"Titan is the only icy body we know of in the solar system that behaves like this," said Giuseppe
Mitri, the lead author of the paper and a Cassini radar associate based at the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena. "But it gives us insight into how our solar system came to be."

An example of this kind of process can also be found on Earth, where the crumpling of the
outermost layer of the surface, known as the lithosphere, created the Zagros Mountains in Iran,
Mitri said.

Titan's highest peaks rise up to about two kilometers (6,600 feet), comparable to the tallest
summits in the Appalachian Mountains. Cassini was the first to spot Titan's mountains in radar
images in 2005. Several mountain chains on Titan exist near the equator and are generally
oriented west-east. The concentration of these ranges near the equator suggests a common
history.

While several other icy moons in the outer solar system have peaks that reach heights similar to
Titan's mountain chains, their topography comes from extensional tectonics --  forces stretching
the ice shell -- or other geological processes. Until now, scientists had little evidence of
contractional tectonics -- forces shortening and thickening the ice shell. Titan is the only icy
satellite where the shortening and thickening are dominant.

Mitri and colleagues fed data from Cassini's radar instrument into computer models of Titan
developed to describe the moon's tectonic processes and to study the interior structure and
evolution of icy satellites. They also made the assumption that the moon's interior was only
partially separated into a mixture of rock and ice, as suggested by data from Cassini's radio
science team.

Scientists tweaked the model until they were able to build mountains on the surface similar to
those Cassini had seen. They found the conditions were met when they assumed the deep
interior was surrounded by a very dense layer of high-pressure water ice, then a subsurface
liquid-water-and-ammonia ocean and an outer water-ice shell. So the model, Mitri explained,
also supports the existence of a subsurface ocean.

Each successive layer of Titan's interior is colder than the one just inside it, with the outermost
surface averaging a chilly 94 Kelvin (minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit). So cooling of the moon
causes a partial freezing of the subsurface liquid ocean and thickening of the outer water ice
shell. It also thickens the high-pressure ice. Because the ice on the crust is less dense than the
liquid ocean and the liquid ocean is less dense than the high-pressure ice, the cooling means the
interior layers lose volume and the top "skin" of ice puckers and folds.


Since the formation of Titan, which scientists believe occurred around four billion years ago, the
moon's interior has cooled significantly. But the moon is still releasing hundreds of gigawatts of
power, some of which may be available for geologic activity. The result, according to the model,
was a shortening of the radius of the moon by about seven kilometers (four miles) and a
decrease in volume of about one percent.

"These results suggest that Titan's geologic history has been different from that of its Jovian
cousins, thanks, perhaps, to an interior ocean of water and ammonia," said Jonathan Lunine, a
Cassini interdisciplinary scientist for Titan and co-author on the new paper.  Lunine is currently
based at the University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Italy. "As Cassini continues to map Titan, we
will learn more about the extent and height of mountains across its diverse surface."

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency
and the Italian Space Agency. JPL manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science
Mission Directorate. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The
radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members
from the United States and several European countries. JPL is a division of the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More Cassini information is available, at http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

50 Years of Communications in Space

50 Years of Communications in Space
Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:00:00 -0500

The idea behind a communications satellite is simple: send a signal into space, and send it back down to another spot on the globe. In NASA's early days, engineers discovered the easiest way to accomplish this: bounce signals off a giant metal balloon floating in orbit. The concept was developed into the aptly-named Echo program, and Echo 1A became the first successful launch of the project on Aug. 12, 1960. Echo 1A, now commonly known as just Echo I, was a 100 foot diameter balloon made of mylar polyester. The spacecraft was designed as a passive communications reflector for transcontinental and intercontinental telephone, radio, and television signals. Pictured here is a scale prototype of the Echo satellite undergoing a Skin Stress Test on May 1, 1960. The prototype was 12 feet in diameter, with the size being chosen because that was the ceiling height in the NASA Langley model shop. After an unsuccessful launch attempt for the original Echo I satellite, Echo 1A and the follow-on Echo II were successfully launched. The Echo projects were instrumental in letting the world see that the U.S. was a major force in the space race not very far behind Russia. Among the many contributions of the Echo programs are the first voice communication via satellite which was made by none other than then President Eisenhower and the first coast-to-coast telephone call using a satellite. In addition, the Echo programs resulted in advances in atmospheric density, solar pressure, gossamer structures, solar sailing, and transmitting videos via satellites. The Echo 1A satellite re-entered the atmosphere on May 24, 1968. Image Credit: NASA

---

Questions? Contact Us

STAY CONNECTED:

 

---

This messaage has been sent by NASA Headquarters · Washington, DC 20546

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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
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Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
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Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
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Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

A little late:

Space Weather News for August 12, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

PERSEID METEOR SHOWER:  The annual Perseid meteor shower is underway. Earth is passing through a wide stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, and each time a fleck of comet dust hits Earth's atmosphere--flash!--there is a meteor.  Forecasters say the shower will peak on Thursday, August 12th, and Friday, August 13th.  You can see Perseids flitting across the sky at any time between about 10 pm on Thursday evening and sunrise on Friday morning. Observers who get away from city lights can expect to count dozens of meteors per hour, especially during the dark hours before dawn.

Tune into http://spaceweather.com for full coverage of the shower, including a live meteor radar, a "fireball cam," updated meteor counts and pictures from around the world.

BONUS:  If you go outside a little early on Thursday evening, around sunset, you'll see a beautiful gathering of planets in the sunset sky--Venus, Mars, Saturn and the crescent Moon.  It's a nice way to start a meteor watch.  Sky maps may be found at http://spaceweather.com.

LOOKING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION?  Your cell phone can lead you right to it.  Check out our field-tested satellite tracker for the iPhone and Android at http://simpleflybys.com.

--
Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
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Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

Live coverage of station spacewalk / Latest from Cassini

NEWSALERT: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 @ 0912 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
   The latest news from Spaceflight Now


++++++++++
Astronaut Autograph Show Tickets Going Fast
Time is running out to secure your SPACE for the Astronaut Scholarship
Foundation's Astronaut Autograph & Memorabilia Show on November 6 - 7,
2010 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex where more than 30
astronauts and space icons will rendezvous to sign autographs and pose for
photos! SPACE is limited so get your tickets TODAY!
http://www.astronautscholarship.org/aams/index.html
++++++++++


WEDNESDAY SPACEWALK TO REMOVE FAILED COOLANT PUMP
-------------------------------------------------
NASA managers have approved plans for a spacewalk starting at 7:55 a.m.
EDT Wednesday to deal with an unexpected ammonia leak that blocked removal
of a faulty coolant system pump aboard the International Space Station
during an EVA Saturday. If the plan works, the old pump will be removed
and a new pump installed and hooked up during a third spacewalk Sunday.
See our Mission Status Center for live coverage:

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/status2.html

VIDEO FROM LAST SPACEWALK:
http://spaceflightnowplus.com/index.php


CASSINI'S LATEST DISPATCHES REACH ACROSS A BILLION MILES
--------------------------------------------------------
The Cassini probe continues to send back dramatic images of Saturn as it
nears the end of its first extended mission at the iconic ringed planet a
billion miles from Earth.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/09saturn/


GOVERNMENT CONTRACT WILL HASTEN NEW IMAGING BIRDS
-------------------------------------------------
A $7.3 billion imaging contract awarded by the U.S. government to two
commercial satellite operators will help accelerate the launch of new
privately-owned reconnaissance spacecraft.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/10ngacontract/


NEW SPY SATELLITE LAUNCHED BY LONG MARCH ROCKET
-----------------------------------------------
A secret Chinese reconnaissance payload successfully launched on a Long
March rocket Monday, the sixth time China has sent a satellite into orbit
so far this year.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/10longmarch/


+++
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Sign up to Spaceflight Now's Twitter feed
and get text message updates on your cell phone.
http://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/
+++

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Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

The Perseids

Just finished my Perseid Skywatch for the night-looked out between 01.00 and 02.00 and got to see 10 Meteors giving a ZHR of +/- 10
I also noticed the Perseid Meteors that went to the East from my area out to sea and making flashes on the Horizon-I wondered if it was to do with these hot pieces of space dust hitting the sea at high speed and causing a flash of some kind that looked like lightning?

Although this could have actually been lightning as it can be seen as far away as Greece from the U.K.

A lot of rain today making it very damp and exceptionally wet on the grass outside-quite a bit of haze in the sky reflecting the orange glow of the streetlights around my Village making seeing conditions down to around Magnitude +1 to +2 stars to be seen with the unaided eye so not a brilliantly clear sky.

I went outside again @ 02,40 until 03.20 and only got to see 1 giving a ZHR that time roughly +/- 1 so the Meteor activity had waned a little as the Constellation of Perseus had risen a little higher in the North East in the early hours.

See the ISS pass over @ 03.16 as it came out of the shadow around 31 Degrees up and fell into the Eastern Morning sky-now waiting for its 04.48 pass which will be a better pass of 74 Degrees if the thin clouds disperse by then in my area but they seem to be getting thicker all the time.
I will be looking tomorrow if the sky is clear so GCS...

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
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Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

Incoming CME could spark high-latitude auroras

Space Weather News for August 9, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

INCOMING CME: The solar eruption of August 7th might affect Earth after all. Newly-arriving data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) show a CME heading our way with a significant Earth-directed component. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when the cloud arrives on August 10th. A movie of the CME is featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

EARLY PERSEID METEORS:  The Perseid meteor shower doesn't peak until August 12th, but already late-night sky watchers are seeing a nice display of shooting stars.  Observers are counting as many as 20 Perseids per hour from dark sky sites, a number that could increase 3- to 5-fold before the week is over.  Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS:  Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms erupt at your latitude?  Sign up for Space Weather Phone: http://spaceweatherphone.com

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
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Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

[BAA 00509] Reminder for Next meeting in Sidmouth

======================================================================
BAA electronic bulletin No. 00509            http://www.britastro.org/
======================================================================


I would like to remind you that the next meeting of the BAA will be
September 3rd to 5th in Sidmouth including visits to the Norman Lockyer
Observatory.

The closing date is fast approaching so if you are planning on coming
you should book now whilst we still have a few places available.

Friday Evening
19:00 – 21:30   Drinks reception at the Knowle followed by a talk by Mrs
Margaret Morris, Glasgow: 'International Year of Astronomy in Philately'

Saturday
10:00 – 10:25   Registration and tea/coffee
10:25 – 10:30   Dr David Boyd, BAA President – Official welcome
10:30 – 11.00   Dr Keith Orrell – 'Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer - A short
summary of a very full life'
11.00 – 11.25   Dr George Wilkins – 'History of the Norman Lockyer
Observatory'
11:30 – 12:20   Mr Olivier Thizy (France) 'Amateur spectroscopy'
12:30 – 14:00   Lunch
14:00 – 14:50   Dr Haley Gomez, Cardiff – 'Smoking supernovae and
smouldering stars' - What the Herschel Space Observatory has told us
about cosmic dust
15:00 – 15:50   Prof Tim Naylor, Exeter – 'Star and planet formation'
15:50 – 16:30   Tea
16:30 – 17:20   Dr Chris North, Cardiff - 'The Herschel Space
Observatory: Unveiling the earliest stages of star formation'
17:30 – 18:20   Dr Enzo Pascale, Cardiff - 'BLAST: studying the
evolution of the Universe from Antarctica'
18:30   Dr David Boyd, BAA President - Raffle & Close

Saturday Evening
20:00 – 22:30   Practical spectroscopy by Mr Robin Leadbeater &
Observing at the Norman Lockyer Observatory

Sunday Morning
10:30 – 13:00   Tour of Norman Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium show

Hope to see you there

Hazel

Hazel Collett
Meeting Secretary

======================================================================
BAA electronic bulletins service.      E-mail: circadmin@britastro.org
Bulletin transmitted on Mon Aug 9 22:51:37 BST 2010
(c) 2010 British Astronomical Association    http://www.britastro.org/
======================================================================

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
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Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

"This Week In Space" / Troublesome station spacewalk

NEWSALERT: Monday, August 9, 2010 @ 2019 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
  The latest news from Spaceflight Now


===========================================
Looking for a job out of this world?
The top jobs and the best talents in
the space industry are on Space Careers.

http://www.space-careers.com/?id=sfn

Space Careers, a one-stop reference source
for employment in the space industry.
===========================================


"THIS WEEK IN SPACE"
--------------------
Space station repairs run into trouble, NASA budget makes slow progress
through Congress, Commerce Secretary visits shuttle workers, retirement
homes for the shuttle, Ariane 5 launch and more.

http://spaceflightnow.com/twis/


TROUBLES STALL REPLACEMENT OF STATION COOLANT PUMP
--------------------------------------------------
An unexpected ammonia leak and a jammed quick-disconnect fitting disrupted
an eight-hour spacewalk Saturday to replace a faulty coolant system pump
on the International Space Station. Assuming engineers can come up with a
quick fix for the leak, the astronauts may attempt to replace the pump
during a second spacewalk Wednesday.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/status2.html


ROBOTICS WORK HELD UP BY SPACEWALKS, STUCK SPRING
-------------------------------------------------
The first maintenance task for a Canadian space robot is on hold until
astronauts finish up urgent repairs to the International Space Station's
external cooling system.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/100808dextre/


FUNNEL CLOUD DEVELOPS OVER KENNEDY SPACE CENTER PAD
---------------------------------------------------
A funnel cloud appeared over the Kennedy Space Center on Friday, hanging
over the space shuttle's launch complex and triggering warning sirens.
Check out photos of the ominous cloud above the launch pad.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/06funnel/


+++
SHUTTLE PROGRAM COMMEMORATIVE PATCH ON SALE!
A special commemorative patch to mark the end of the space shuttle program
is now available from our store.
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
+++

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

The Eve Of The Lowestoft Air Show-Invaluable Links and Scanner Frequencies

For all those interested in the Lowestoft Airshow.....

 

I very much enjoy this time of the year now-airborne cutting edge technology-historical to the present day-its a sort of a 2 day party for me now, I will probably watch it from Kessingland Beach listening in with my radio Scanner-good clear skies for one of the the greatest shows on earth-well just.

 

I have added some very good links here which are invaluable to Astronomers and Enthusiasts alike:

 

The Festival Website

 

Combat Aircraft

 

The Weather-will it Rain today?

 

More Weather-Metcheck.com

 

Will it Rain over the next 48 hours or so?

 

Precipitation for the U.K

 

Or the heat risk?

 

Invaluable Weather, Aviation and Astronomical Information

 

RNSYC Real Time Weather

 

RNSYC Webcam

 

Lowestoft Webcam

 

Waveney Webcam

 

Lowestoft Aviation Society

 

Radios U.K

 

U.K Military Airshows

 

Line up for the Event

 

WW2 Defences for Suffolk

 

Aircraft in the Air across Europe and the U.K right now

 

The Hopton Site

 

Trimingham

 

RAF Hopton

 

Rotor Station

 

RAF Trimingham Info'

 

Royal Observer Corps-Hopton

 

Beach F.M 103.40kHz-listen in to the live broadcast from Lowestoft Seafront-usually.....

 

Volunteers for the Festival

 

The Hopton Site-Satellite Image

 

Scanner Frequencies:

 

Frequencies of note used for all those with a radio scanner:

 

Lowestoft Radio (Primary (Air traffic co-ordination)) = 130.675 MHz

Lowestoft Radio (Secondary/Discreet (Air to Air co-ord and back-up for
130.675)) = 121.175 MHz

Beccles Radio = 120.375 MHz

RAF Marham *LARS = 124.150 MHz and 282.250 MHz
*LARS = Lower Airspace Radar advisory Service.

Norwich Approach = 119.350 MHz

Seething Radio = 122.600 MHz

Wattisham LARS = 125.800 MHz and 277.725 MHz

Team Guinot, c/sign Wingwalk Formation = 118.000 MHz

The Blades (2Excel) used 121.175 MHz last year for their Air-to-Air (A2A)

BBMF (Air to Air Co-ord) = 122.700 MHz and 120.800 MHz

Red Arrows = 243.450 MHz

Blue Eagles Air-to-Air co-ord has been 44.65 MHz FM (Note FM not AM !!). 
Air Festival Primary 130.675 MHZ.
Air Festival Secondary/Discreet 134.550 MHz.
The Blue Eagles used 252.000 MHz.
Aerosuperbatics Stearmans used 118.000 MHz
The Red Arrows used 243.450 MHz

The red arrows main air to air co-ordination cockpit frequency is 242.050 kHz, others are 242.000 kHz, 120.800 kHz, 242.200 kHz, 243.450 kHz and 370.600 kHz, also try around 118.000 kHz for other aircraft (air to air co-ordination) 119.3500 kHz (airport approach) others are 131.950 kHz, 135.975 kHz, 136.975 kHz and 380.200 kHz for the smaller display teams and aircraft etc.
 
Battle of Britain flight is 120.800 kHz and 380.200 kHz-(main one)
 
(all frequencies AM band unless stated)

 

VHF/UHF Aviation Scanner Frequencies

 

SPECIAL NOTES ON AIR DISPLAY MONITORING:

AT AIR DISPLAYS AS WELL AS THE USUAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL FREQUENCIES, THE NEED ARISES FOR EXTRA VHF FREQUENCIES TO BE ALLOCATED.

 

THE CAA CAN OF COURSE ALLOCATE ANY NORMALLY UNUSED FREQUENCY.BUT AS A GENERAL RULE THEY USE A STANDARD SET OF FREQUENCIES FROM YEAR TO YEAR.THESE ARE ALLOCATED ON A SHORT TERM LICENCE AND SOMETIMES THE USE OF A PARTICULAR FREQUENCY MAY NOT BE ALLOCATED UNTIL THE MORNING OF THE EVENT.

 

ALL FREQUENCIES ARE WORTH CHECKING AT ANY AIR EVENT YOU ARE VISITING.THESE FREQUENCIES ARE USED AT ANY EVENT WHERE VISITING AIRCRAFT ARE EXPECTED I.E SPORTING EVENTS/POP CONCERTS ETC.

MOST COMMON FREQUENCIES USED:

121.175 A/G
132.900 APP/TWR
130.500 A/G
130.675 APP/TWR
121.925 GND

RARELY USED

130.875 APP
130.825 FARNBOROUGH 94/96 GROUND
134.500 FARNBOROUGH 94 RADAR
123.775 FARNBOROUGH 94 APP
135.750 FARNBOROUGH 94 RADAR
134.175 FARNBOROUGH 96 RADAR
132.900 BRIZE RADAR FOR I.A.T. FAIRFORD TATOO
119.450 TWR MIDLLE WALLOP HELIMEET
135.000 TWR
123.350 A/G HALTON 96
126.300 APP/TWR
121.700 GND
128.400 TWR/A/G
122.750 TWR
134.550 FAIRFORD RIAT TWR 1999
134.025 FARNBOROUGH TWR 98
129.250 TWR
124.550 FARNBOROUGH RADAR 98[BLACKBUSHE MOVEMENTS]
135.350 FARNBOROUGH RADAR 98
AIR DISPLAY TEAMS
288.850 "PATROUILE SUISSE"
243.450 "RED ARROWS"
252.500 OR 130.500 "AQUILLA" SPANISH AIR FORCE TEAM,130.300 IF 130.500 IS BEING USED BY AIR DISPLAY
242.650 "PATROUILE DE FRANCAIS" SYNCHRO PAIR 242.850 AS BACK-UP
143.100 "PATROUILE DE FRANCAIS" MAIN TEAM 141.825 AS BACK-UP
243.850 "PATROUILE DE FRANCAIS" TRANSIT - TEAM TRANSPORT
136.175 "HALCONES" CHILEAN AIR FORCE TEAM
135.975 "GREEN MARCH" MOROCCAN TEAM 135.975 AS BACK-UP
307.800 "FRECCE TRICOLORI" ITALIAN TEAM U.K. DISPLAYS 263.250/387.525 IF ON CONTINENT
440.450 NFM FRECCE TRICOLORI GROUND CREW-COMMENTATOR
382.800 "BLUE EAGLES" UHF 1 136.975 VHF 1
380.200 "ARMY AIR CORPS HISTORIC FLIGHT"
255.100 "FALCONS" RAF PARACHUTE TEAM DZ A/G
445.3375 NFM "FALCONS" THROAT MICROPHONES A/G
138.325 "TEAM APACHE" ALSO 138.45/130.00/128.450 & 135.925

 

HAVE BEEN USED
464.250 NFM CH1 "RED DEVILS" DROP ZONE A/G
464.550 NFM CH2 "RED DEVILS" DROP ZONE A/G
462.925 NFM CH3 "RED DEVILS" GROUND SUPPORT
281.800 DUTCH F-16 AIR - AIR/AIR - GND 142.475 USED AS BACK-UP
279.600 "RED STARS" TURKISH F-5 TEAM 235.250 VIDEO - COMMENTATOR THEY EVEN USED 243.450 AIR - AIR ON PRACTICE AT FAIRFORD IAT 96. 257.800 WAS THE ONLY FREQUENCY THEY TALKED TO FAIRFORD ON AS THEY ONLY HAVE VERY LIMITED NATO RADIOS.98 AT MILDENHALL USED UHF TOWER 370.250
130.725 BELGIAN AIRFORCE SWALLOWS DISPLAY TEAM
130.550 IRISH AIR CORPS SILVER SWALLOWS
456.4625 NFM JORDANIAN FALCONS GROUND CREW 

 

DISPLAY DISCREET CHANNELS

THE DISPLAY DISCREET CHANNELS ARE NOT OFTEN USED DURING A DISPLAY BUT ARE OFTEN USED WHILE THE TEAM IS EN-ROUTE FROM/TO A DISPLAY.NOT ALL TEAMS HAVE A DISCRETE OR EVEN A DISPLAY FREQUENCY.TEAMS WITHOUT A DISPLAY FREQUENCY WILL NORMALLY USE THE TOWER/DISPLAY FREQUENCY FOR THERE AIR-AIR.FOR MILITARY TEAMS WITH BOTH A VHF & UHF DISPLAY FREQUENCY THIS GENERAL RULE OF THUMB APPLIES: AT A MILITARY FIELD THE UHF WILL BE USED TO CONTACT ATC & THE VHF USED FOR AIR - AIR,AND IF AT A CIVIL FIELD VHF TO CONTACT ATC & UHF FOR AIR - AIR.

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF DISPLAY DISCREET FREQUENCIES:

120.800 "BATTLE OF BRITAIN MEMORIAL FLIGHT"
130.900 "THE YAK COLLECTION" LITTLE GRANSDEN [UNOFFICIAL]
129.925 "ROVER DUO"
123.350 "AEROSTAR" YAKS
122.950 "AEROSTAR" YAKS
122.475 "AEROSTAR" YAKS DISCREET MANUAL 2
118.000 "CRUNCHIE TEAM" STUD 1
123.450 "TEAM CHRYSTAL" FOUGA MAGISTER TEAM

THE TOP END OF 135 & 136 MHZ ARE COMMONLY USED BY VARIOUS TEAMS SO ARE ALWAYS WORTH CHECKING.123.450 IS ALSO QUITE COMMONLY USED BUT IS ILLEGAL TO USE FOR AIR-AIR IN THE U.K.

ALWAYS CHECK THE C.A.A. DISPLAY ALLOCATIONS AT ANY AIRSHOW YOU VISIT,ALSO CHECK YOUR PROGRAMME TO SEE WHAT DISPLAY TEAMS ARE AT THE SHOW THEN READ THE DISPLAY TEAM FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS.

Thanks to Paul Wey for the above information.

 

Airshow And Display Team Frequencies
 
RIAT 2000 
119.5000AMGround
121.1750AMTower
130.5000AMDepartures
133.6250AMOperations
444.2750NFMGround
444.3000NFMGround
444.5875NFMGround
455.5500NFMGround
455.6125NFMGround
455.6250NFMGround
455.7000NFMGround
455.7625NFMGround
461.2000NFMGround
   
Common 
121.175AMNationwide
121.925AMNationwide
128.400AMNationwide
129.250AMNationwide
130.500AMNationwide
130.675AMNationwide
132.900AMNationwide
  

  
Display Teams 
243.450AMRed Arrows (Primary)
242.200AMRed Arrows (Secondary)
  
118.000AMUtterley Butterly
  
136.975AMAAC Blue Eagles
382.800AMAAC Blue Eagles
  
262.150AMASAS De Portugal
  
275.800AMCAF Snowbirds
295.600AMCAF Snowbirds
  
122.700AMBattle of Britain Flight
  
130.300AMTeam Aquilla
130.500AMTeam Aquilla
252.200AMTeam Aquilla
252.500AMTeam Aquilla
  
300.025AMFAF Jaguars
387.000AMFAF Jaguars
  
307.800AMFrecci Tricolor
440.450NFMFrecci Tricolor (Ground)
  
255.100AMRAF Falcons
256.900AMRAF Falcons
445.3375NFMRAF Falcons (Throat Mics)
461.000NFMRAF Falcons (Ground)
465.100NFMRAF Falcons (Ground)
  
141.825AMPatrouille De France (Backup)
143.100AMPatrouille De France (Team)
242.650AMPatrouille De France (Synchro)
243.850AMPatrouille De France (Transit)
  
288.850AMPatrouille De Suisse
  
136.175AMHalcones
  
138.325AMApache Aviation
  
141.850AMUSAF Thunderbirds
235.250AMUSAF Thunderbirds
236.550AMUSAF Thunderbirds
250.850AMUSAF Thunderbirds
322.950AMUSAF Thunderbirds
413.000NFMUSAF Thunderbirds (Ground)
413.025NFMUSAF Thunderbirds (Ground)
413.100NFMUSAF Thunderbirds (Ground)
  
263.350AMUSN Blue Angles
275.350AMUSN Blue Angles
307.700AMUSN Blue Angles
408.400NFMUSN Blue Angles
418.050NFMUSN Blue Angles
  
455.625 / 460.925NFMRed Devils
462.625NFMRed Devils
464.250NFMRed Devils
464.550NFMRed Devils

 

--
Good Clear Skies for the 2010 Airshow-Hopefully.
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Web: http://lyra.freewebsites.com/
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra