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Wednesday 23 February 2011

[BAA-ebulletin 00563] Solar Flare Activity Warning

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BAA electronic bulletin
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There are several solar active regions observable at the current time, two of which are producing flares. Observations should be sent as soon as possible to the Solar Section Director with details of date, time (UT) of start, peak and end of flare event, location and intensity.
Big Bear Solar Observatory activity warning is reproduced below:

Solar activity is moderate.

Region NOAA 11158 produced an X-class flare yesterday (14th Feb)
Since then it remains magnetically complex. An X-class flare
is still possible from this region. An M-class event
is likely. A C-class flare is also possible from
region NOAA 11161.

NOAA 11158, S21 W21 (X= 326,Y=-245). Beta-gamma-delta region. M-class
flare likely, X-class possible.

NOAA 11161, N11 E45 (X=-676,Y= 264). Beta region. C-class flare possible.

Positions as of February 15, 2011 at 12:30 UT.

Lyn Smith
Director
Solar Section
solar@britastro.org

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--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Comet Report And Upcoming Astronomic​al Events For The Early Spring....

Comets: Its not been a brilliant Year for Comets with 103P/Hartley reaching its best magnitude of 4.5 during October of 2010, the Comet did actually start to appear in Binoculars during the early part of September and also visible all night but the cloudy skies and wet weather during this part of the year and late Summer made it difficult to get to see this one-thankfully I managed to get a window to observe this one only twice during last year but it made it my 22nd Observed Comet since 1996 which gives me an average Comet Observing rate of 1.5 Comets a year now, it wasn't a spectacular Comet to see but I could vaguely pick out the small tail pointing away from its nucleus that wasn't very condensed and bright at its center although nebulous.

Upcoming Comets to look out for:
 
C/2009 P1 Garrad-will be at its brightest to see in late February 2012 and may become Binocular visible anytime after July 2011 of this year so this Comet hangs around for quite a while because of its distance-at its closest approach to the earth (Delta) it will be 129'000'000 miles from us which is actually further away than the Sun during February 2012 and its best brightness should reach Magnitude 5.4 during February 2012-strangely enough Perihelion date (closest approach to the Sun) is around 25th December 2011 at a distance of 1.55 au or 144'150'000 Miles (r).
 
C/2010 X1 Elenin-should come into Binocular observing range during October 2011 in the early morning skies whilst it will be fading from magnitude 4.0 but will be closing with the Earth to be at its closest during mid Month at a distance of 0.23 au or 21'390'000 Miles which is quite close by cometary standards-Comet Hyakute came within 15 Million miles of the Earth back in 1996 and was here an past within a matter of weeks-this Comet will be the same and fade quickly into the latter part of 2011, Perihelion will occur during September 2011 at a distance of 0.48 au of 44'640'000 Miles (r).
 
Spaceflight:
 
Feb. 24  Shuttle Discovery   •  ULF 5
Launch time: 2150 GMT (4:50 p.m. EST)
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

STS-133 will be the 35th U.S. mission to the International Space Station. The flight will carry the fourth ExPRESS Logistics Carrier with spare parts for the station. Discovery will also deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM). Delayed from Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. Moved again from Nov. 3 by main engine controller issue. Scrubbed on Nov. 4 by weather. Scrubbed on Nov. 5 for gaseous hydrogen leak on ground umbilical carrier plate. Delayed from Nov. 30, Dec. 3 and Dec. 17 due to external tank stringer cracks. Delayed from Feb. 3 for repairs.
 
Nothing much happening in the way of Astronomical events for February although there is still Jupiter on view now heading for the Western evening twilight and early morning Saturn in the constellation of Virgo close to the glittering bright star Spica in that Constellation.
 
--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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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Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

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Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

First X-flare of the New Solar Cycle

Space Weather News for Feb. 15, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

MAJOR FLARE:  Earth-orbiting satellites have detected the strongest solar flare in more than four years.  At 0156 UT on Feb. 15th, giant sunspot 1158 unleashed an X2-class eruption.  X-flares are the strongest type of x-ray flare, and this is the first such eruption of new Solar Cycle 24.  The explosion that produced the flare also sent a solar tsunami rippling through the sun's atmosphere and, more importantly, hurled a coronal mass ejection toward Earth. This raises the possibility of geomagnetic storms in the days ahead. Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS:  Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms erupt in your area?  Sign up for
http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice) or http://spaceweathertext.com (text) for space weather alerts.

--

Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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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Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

"Radio-Active" Solar Flare

Space Weather News for Feb. 14, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

EARTH-DIRECTED SOLAR ACTIVITY: Solar activity increased sharply over the weekend with the eruption of an M6.6-class solar flare from behemoth sunspot 1158.  The blast produced a strong burst of radio waves heard in the loudspeakers of shortwave receivers around the dayside of our planet, and it appears to have hurled a faint coronal mass ejection toward Earth.  Sights and sounds from the event are highlighted on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS:  Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms erupt in your area?  Sign up for
http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice) or http://spaceweathertext.com (text) for space weather alerts.
--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

Dodging Plasma Bullets

Space Weather News for Feb. 12, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

DODGING PLASMA BULLETS:  Old sunspot complex 1147-1149 is emerging over the sun's eastern limb for a second pass across visible face of the sun--and it is firing 'plasma bullets' into space.  So far none of the eruptions has come our way, although this could change as the region turns toward Earth.  Today's edition of http://spaceweather.com features a must-see movie from the Solar Dynamics Observatory.

UNIQUE VALENTINE'S GIFT:  Give the heavens for Valentine's Day.  Gift subscriptions to Spaceweather.com's backyard astronomy alert service are available at
http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice) and http://spaceweathertext.com (text).

You are subscribed to the Space Weather mailing list, a free service of Spaceweather.com.

New subscribers may sign up for free space weather alerts at  
http://spaceweather.com/services/ .

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

[BAA-ebulletin 00562] Jupiter's disturbances continue to impress

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BAA electronic bulletin
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Jupiter's disturbances continue to impress

The great outbreak of storms on Jupiter - the Revival of the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) - is still proceeding impressively.  Both north and south components of the belt are now reviving all around the planet, but there is still intense activity to be seen and tracked.  The region of the Great Red Spot (at L2 = 163) is especially interesting at present.  So, members are urged to continue observing as close as possible to solar conjunction.  The planet is now favourably displayed in the evening sky as seen from north temperate latitudes.

The events are following same pattern as in historical SEB Revivals, but are being observed far more intensively than ever before.  The source, at L2 ~ 290-300, produced 7 brilliant white plumes from Nov.9 to Jan.4, and these plumes with their surrounding dark streaks formed the 'central branch' of the Revival as they slowly prograded. The leading edge of the central branch, prograding at -0.55 deg/day, also produced brilliant white plumes and smaller spots.  The northern branch was initially just a modest darkening of the SEB(N), but since Jan.5 it has broken up into increasingly conspicuous prograding dark spots, which are interacting vigorously with the GRS as they pass it. The southern branch, consisting of many dark spots retrograding at up to +4 deg/day, is reconstituting the SEB(S). Both southern and northern branches started to darken the Red Spot Hollow around Jan.5, and the first large, very dark spot on SEB(S) arrived at the GRS about Jan.17.  Since then, dark streaks have been circulating around the rim of the GRS and major changes are continuing in that region.

Many bulletins with compilations of images have been posted in the 'Reports 2010/11' page of the Jupiter Section's web site.  They have also been sent directly to everyone on the Section's e-mailing list, and if you would like to be added to this list for future bulletins, just ask the undersigned.

John Rogers
2011 Feb.10

_________________________________

John H. Rogers, Ph.D.
Jupiter Section Director,
British Astronomical Association

<jhr11 -at-
cam.ac.uk>
http://www.britastro.org/jupiter/
_________________________________

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--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

NASA Spacecraft Hours From Comet Encounter

Stardust-Next Mission Status

                   NASA Spacecraft Hours From Comet Encounter                
  Feb. 14, 2011

PASADENA, Calif. -- As of today, Feb. 14, at 9:21 a.m. PST (12:21 p.m. EST), NASA's Stardust-NExT mission spacecraft is within a quarter-million miles (402,336 kilometers) of its quarry, comet Tempel 1, which it will fly by tonight. The spacecraft is cutting the distance with the comet at a rate of about 10.9 kilometers per second (6.77 miles per second or 24,000 mph).

The flyby of Tempel 1 will give scientists an opportunity to look for changes on the comet's surface since it was visited by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft in July 2005. Since then, Tempel 1 has completed one orbit of the sun, and scientists are looking forward to discovering any differences in the comet.

The closest approach is expected tonight at approximately 8:40 p.m. PST (11:40 p.m. EST).

During the encounter phase, the spacecraft will carry out many important milestones in short order and automatically, as the spacecraft is too far away to receive timely updates from Earth.
 
These milestones include turning the spacecraft to point its protective shields between it and the anticipated direction from which cometary particles would approach. Another milestone will occur at about four minutes to closest approach, when the spacecraft will begin science imaging of the comet's nucleus.

The nominal imaging sequence will run for about eight minutes. The spacecraft's onboard memory is limited to 72 high-resolution images, so the imaging will be most closely spaced around the time of closest approach for best-resolution coverage of Tempel 1's nucleus. At the time of closest encounter, the spacecraft is expected to be approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the comet's nucleus.

The mission team expects to begin receiving images on the ground starting at around midnight PST (3 a.m. on Feb. 15 EST). Transmission of each image will take about 15 minutes. It will take about 10 hours to complete the transmission of all images and science data aboard the spacecraft.

Live coverage on NASA TV and via the Internet begins at 8:30 p.m. PST (11:30 p.m. EST) from mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Coverage also will include segments from the Lockheed Martin Space System's mission support area in Denver. A post-flyby news conference is planned on Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST).

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

NASA's next budget plan unveiled / Probe to encounter comet tonight

NEWSALERT: Monday, February 14, 2011 @ 1831 GMT
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  The latest news from Spaceflight Now

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REUSED SPACE PROBE AIMS FOR COMET ENCOUNTER TONIGHT
---------------------------------------------------
Twelve years after launch and seven years after it collected dust from the
tail of comet Wild 2, NASA's Stardust probe is closing in for a bonus
flyby of comet Tempel 1 late Monday to find out how the icy body has
changed since it was visited by another NASA spacecraft back in 2005.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1102/14stardustnext/


SHUTTLE DISCOVERY'S LONG-DELAYED LAUNCH IS NEARING
--------------------------------------------------
The space shuttle Discovery's launch countdown begins a week from today
and final preps for picking up the clocks are underway at the Kennedy
Space Center.

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/status.html


NASA CONSIDERS PHOTO OP DURING DISCOVERY MISSION
------------------------------------------------
Space station officials are considering the possibility of staging what
might be considered the ultimate photo op during Discovery's mission to
deliver critical supplies and a final U.S. module to the International
Space Station. Meanwhile, NASA managers and contractors met Friday for a
program-level flight readiness review for the upcoming shuttle mission.

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts133/110211flyaround/


SAFETY SYSTEM TESTED FOR ATLAS AND DELTA ROCKETS
------------------------------------------------
United Launch Alliance is seeking funding from NASA this year to finish
designing a key safety system for potential commercial crew launches on
its Atlas and Delta rocket fleet, officials said last week.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1102/13ulaccdev/


NASA STUDYING REQUEST TO COMBINE DRAGON TEST FLIGHTS
----------------------------------------------------
NASA is reviewing data from SpaceX's historic December demo mission of the
Dragon capsule before approving the company's request to send its next
test flight all the way to the International Space Station.

http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/110213cots2/


+++
NEW INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PATCHES!
Crew patches for Expeditions 26 and 27 are now available from our store.
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
+++

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

NASA Releases Images Of Man-Made Crater On Comet

NASA Releases Images Of Man-Made Crater On Comet
Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:00:00 -0600

NASA's Stardust spacecraft returned new images of a comet showing a scar resulting from the 2005 Deep Impact mission. The images also showed the comet has a fragile and weak nucleus.

This e-mail update was generated automatically based on your subscriptions. Some updates may belong to more than one category, resulting in duplicate notices.


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--

Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
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)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

NASA Releases Images of Man-Made Crater on Comet

News release: 2011-056 February 15, 2011

NASA Releases Images of Man-Made Crater on Comet

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-056&cid=release_2011-056

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Stardust spacecraft returned new images of a comet showing a scar
resulting from the 2005 Deep Impact mission. The images also showed the comet has a fragile and
weak nucleus.

The spacecraft made its closest approach to comet Tempel 1 on Monday, Feb. 14, at 8:40 p.m. PST
(11:40 p.m. EST) at a distance of approximately 178 kilometers (111 miles). Stardust took 72 high-
resolution images of the comet. It also accumulated 468 kilobytes of data about the dust in its coma,
the cloud that is a comet's atmosphere. The craft is on its second mission of exploration called
Stardust-NExT, having completed its prime mission collecting cometary particles and returning them
to Earth in 2006.

The Stardust-NExT mission met its goals, which included observing surface features that changed in
areas previously seen during the 2005 Deep Impact mission; imaging new terrain; and viewing the
crater generated when the 2005 mission propelled an impactor at the comet.

"This mission is 100 percent successful," said Joe Veverka, Stardust-NExT principal investigator of
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. "We saw a lot of new things that we didn't expect, and we'll be
working hard to figure out what Tempel 1 is trying to tell us."

Several of the images provide tantalizing clues to the result of the Deep Impact mission's collision
with Tempel 1.


"We see a crater with a small mound in the center, and it appears that some of the ejecta went up and
came right back down," said Pete Schultz of Brown University, Providence, R.I. "This tells us this
cometary nucleus is fragile and weak based on how subdued the crater is we see today."

Engineering telemetry downlinked after closest approach indicates the spacecraft flew through waves
of disintegrating cometary particles, including a dozen impacts that penetrated more than one layer of
its protective shielding.

"The data indicate Stardust went through something similar to a B-17 bomber flying through flak in
World War II," said Don Brownlee, Stardust-NExT co-investigator from the University of
Washington in Seattle. "Instead of having a little stream of uniform particles coming out, they
apparently came out in chunks and crumbled."

While the Valentine's Day night encounter of Tempel 1 is complete, the spacecraft will continue to
look at its latest cometary obsession from afar.

"This spacecraft has logged over 3.5 billion miles since launch, and while its last close encounter is
complete, its mission of discovery is not," said Tim Larson, Stardust-NExT project manager at JPL.

"We'll continue imaging the comet as long as the science team can gain useful information, and then
Stardust will get its well-deserved rest."

Stardust-NExT is a low-cost mission that is expanding the investigation of comet Tempel 1 initiated
by the Deep Impact spacecraft. The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft and
manages day-to-day mission operations.

The latest Stardust-Next/Tempel 1 images are online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stardust/multimedia/gallery-index.html

More information about Stardust-NExT is at: http://stardustnext.jpl.nas.gov/ .gov .

-end-

--

Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--

--
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)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
Blog:
http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/

Tuesday 8 February 2011

Minotaur rocket launches tech demo from California

NEWSALERT: Monday, February 7, 2011 @ 1732 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.
 
 
Space Careers, a one-stop reference source
for employment in the space industry.
===========================================
 
 
CLASSIFIED SATELLITE CLIMBS INTO SPACE ON MINOTAUR ROCKET
---------------------------------------------------------
A trailblazing payload for the National Reconnaissance Office successfully
rocketed into orbit on a Minotaur 1 booster Sunday, beginning a secret
mission testing new ways to collect intelligence from space. Liftoff was
at 4:26 a.m. PST (7:26 a.m. EST; 1226 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif.
 
 
LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY:
 
ROCKET STREAKS INTO THE SKY:
 
 
SPACE STATION ROBOTICS SHINE IN CARGO TRANSFER WORK
---------------------------------------------------
Canadian robotics systems aboard the International Space Station retrieved
two cargo platforms from the Japanese HTV resupply freighter this week,
stockpiling the outpost with more spare parts and proving an adroit
mechanized handyman can perform operational duties in space.
 
 
HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO LISTING:
 
 
KELLY TO RESUME TRAINING FOR APRIL SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT
-------------------------------------------------------
Just one month after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head in
Tucson, the Arizona Democrat's husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, announced
Friday that he will resume training Monday to command the shuttle
Endeavour during its final flight in April, saying his wife "would be very
comfortable with the decision I made."
 
 
 
NPP WEATHER SATELLITE NEARLY READY FOR CRUCIAL MISSION
------------------------------------------------------
The oft-delayed NPOESS Preparatory Project, once a symbol of bureaucratic
mismanagement, is back on track for liftoff in October on an essential
mission to supply weather and climate data to meteorologists.
 
 
NPP SATELLITE IN TEST CHAMBER:
 
 
+++
NEW INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION PATCHES!
Crew patches for Expeditions 26 and 27 are now available from our store.
+++
 
--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
--
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)
--

SPA ENB No. 304

  ***********************************
     The SOCIETY for POPULAR ASTRONOMY
  ***********************************
       ====================================================
        Electronic News Bulletin No. 304   2011 February 6
       ====================================================
 
 
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
 
PLANETS
By Andrew Robertson, SPA Planetary Section Director
 
Note: all altitudes and timings below are given for the middle of the
month and my latitude of 52°.5 N.
 
JUPITER has been memorable this apparition which is now coming to
an end; it sets at 20:43.  At mid-month Jupiter will already be 2.5
hours past the meridian when the Sun sets at 17:04, but it will still be
at a tolerably healthy altitude of 30° then.  Early evening is generally
poor for planetary seeing -- the ground is cooling quickly and central
heating is coming on in houses.  However, at the risk of appearing to
contradict myself, I find that there is often about a half-hour window
just  after sunset when the seeing is very good, and I've been taking
every opportunity to grab those moments.
The SEB is fast becoming more and more prominent.
 
SATURN is better placed if you are able to observe throughout the
night, transiting at an altitude of 33° at 03:25.  It rises at 21:40
but does not reach 20° altitude until 00:15.  The rings are well
presented, being tilted 12°.
 
VENUS is fast sinking back towards the Sun, rising in the SE at 05:04.
By the time the Sun rises at 07:13 Venus is still only at an altitude
of 12°, although at mag -4.2 with a 66% gibbous phase it may still be
visible to the SSE in a clear sky.
 
URANUS is setting ahead of Jupiter.
 
MERCURY, MARS and NEPTUNE are too close to the Sun for observation.
 
 
Any reports of observations would be most welcome via:
 
A selection of members' images/sketches can be seen on the SPA
Planetary Section's Web Page:    http://popastro.com/planet/
 
 
JUPITER SCAR PROBABLY MADE BY ROCKY BODY
NASA
 
According to two papers published recently, the scar that appeared in
Jupiter's atmosphere on 2009 July 19 was caused by a collision with a
small asteroid rather than with a comet.  Previously, it was thought
that the only objects that hit Jupiter were icy comets whose orbits
were perturbed by Jupiter, and that Jupiter had already cleared most
other objects, such as asteroids, from its sphere of influence.  The
scar was first noticed, as a dark spot at mid-southern latitude, by
Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley.  Astronomers immediately
observed it in previously scheduled observing time at the infrared
telescope in Hawaii and obtained time for it at other observatories.
The impact was found to have warmed Jupiter's lower stratosphere by as
much as 3 to 4 °C about 42 km above its cloud tops; although 3 or 4
degrees does not sound much, it represents a large amount of energy
when it is spread over an enormous area.
 
Plunging through Jupiter's atmosphere, the object created a channel of
super-heated atmospheric gases and debris.  An explosion deep below
the clouds then launched debris material back along the channel, above
the cloud tops, to splash back down into the atmosphere, creating the
aerosol particulates and warm temperatures observed in the infrared.
Comparisons between the 2009 images and the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
results from 1994 suggest differences between the kinds of objects
that hit Jupiter.  The dark debris, the heated atmosphere, and
upwelling of ammonia were similar for this impact and Shoemaker-Levy,
but the debris plume in this case did not reach such high altitudes,
did not heat the high stratosphere, and contained signatures for
hydrocarbons, silica and silicates that were not seen before.  The
presence of hydrocarbons, and the absence of carbon monoxide, provide
strong evidence for a water-depleted impactor in 2009.  The newly
published papers deduce that the object was probably a rocky asteroid
rather than an icy comet.  The new conclusion is also consistent with
evidence from the Hubble telescope that the impact debris in 2009 was
denser than debris from Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
 
 
MOST DISTANT GALAXY CANDIDATE YET SEEN
Carnegie Institution
 
Astronomers have pushed the Hubble telescope to its limits by finding
what they believe to be the most distant object so far seen -- at a
distance of 13.2 billion light-years and an age of about 3% of the age
of the Universe.  The dim object is a compact galaxy made of blue stars
that existed 'only' 480 million years after the Big Bang; it is tiny
-- over 100 such mini-galaxies would be needed to make up our Milky
Way.  It was identified in the Hubble infrared 'ultra-deep field' --
data taken in the late summers of both 2009 and 2010 -- as a faint dot
of starlight.  It is visible only at the farthest-infrared wavelengths
observable by Hubble, suggesting that the expansion of the Universe
has reddened its light more than that of any other galaxy previously
identified in the field.  Astronomers are surprised to have found only
one; that may indicate that the Universe was changing very rapidly in
early times.  Previous searches had found 47 galaxies at somewhat
later times, when the Universe was about 650 million years old.  The
Carngie Institution item reported here somehow deduces from those
figures that the rate of star birth increased by about ten times while
the Universe aged by about a third, but the statistics are in any case
more than slightly shaky when they depend upon only one object.
 
 
SOLAR SAIL UNFURLS
NASA
 
The 'NanoSail-D' spacecraft has unfurled a sheet of space-age fabric
650 km above the Earth, becoming the first solar sail in Earth-orbit.
NanoSail-D spent the previous month and a half stuck inside its mother
ship, the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology SATellite
(FASTSAT).  FASTSAT was launched in November with NanoSail-D and five
other experiments onboard.  In orbit, a spring was supposed to push
the 30 x 10 x 10-cm probe into an orbit of its own with room to unfurl
a sail.  But when the moment arrived, NanoSail-D became stuck in what
was seen as another failure in the long and troubled history of solar
sails.  (This one is actually NanoSail-D2; D1 was lost when its
launching rocket failed to reach orbit.)  The engineering team on the
ground began to give up hope as weeks went by and NanoSail-D remained
stubbornly and inexplicably onboard, but on January 17, for unknown
reasons, it spontaneously ejected itself.  It still had actually to
unfurl its sail.  That happened on January 20 and was set off by an
onboard timer: a wire burner cut the piece of fishing line holding the
spacecraft's panels closed and a second wire burner released the
booms.  Within seconds they unrolled, spreading a thin polymer sheet
of reflective material into a 10-square-metre sail.  Only one
spacecraft has done such a thing before: Japan's IKAROS probe deployed
a solar sail in interplanetary space and used it to fly by Venus in
2010.  IKAROS is using the pressure of sunlight as its primary means
of propulsion -- a landmark achievement, which has encouraged JAXA to
plan a follow-up solar-sail mission to Jupiter.  NanoSail-D will
remain much closer to home: its mission is to circle the Earth and
investigate the possibility of using solar sails as a tool to de-orbit
old satellites and space junk.  The sail's orbit skims the top of our
atmosphere, and the aerodynamic drag will bring it down.  Mission
planners expect it to return to Earth, meteor-style, in 70 to 120
days.
 
 
SARK BECOMES WORLD'S FIRST DARK-SKY ISLAND
RAS
 
The Channel Island of Sark has been recognised for the quality of its
night sky by the International Dark-sky Association (IDA), which has
designated it the world's first dark-sky island, the latest in a
select group of dark-sky places around the world.  The announcement
was hailed as a great success by astronomers.  Sark has no public
street lighting, and there are no paved roads or cars, so it does not
suffer from the effects of light pollution in the same way as towns
and cities do.  Many local residents and businesses have altered their
lighting to make them more sky-friendly, ensuring that as little light
as possible spills upwards,
 
 
SPA SOLAR SECTION
2011 January
Rotations Nos. 2105, 2106
 
WHITE LIGHT
 
Much cloudy weather again hampered observers through the month.
NH AR 1140 was in view for the first few days, a fine spot, with small
SH ARs 1142, 1144 and NH AR 1145 following at a distance.  NH AR 1147,
another good-sized AR, came into view at the E limb on the 16th, its
large leader showing the 'Wilson Effect' well; by the 18th it showed
as a string of small sunspots behind the leader, which had split into
three pieces.  Traces of limb faculae were occasionally seen where ARs
had been.
 
MDF  1.44              R   20.83
 
H-ALPHA
 
A selection of small prominences was seen through the month, but on
the 18th a tall, finely shaped one spread northwards along the SW
limb, and on the 27th a tall complex arch stood out there.  On the
26th a large NE-limb prominence flowed as a filament onto the disc.
There was flare activity on the 9th, and on the 22nd a prominence,
filament and flare activity by AR 1147.  Flaring had been seen there
the previous day.  Plaging was seen to the larger ARs.  A full report
with high-resolution pictures can be seen on the Solar Section link
from the SPA home page.
 
MDF  3.82
 
Bulletin compiled by Clive Down
 
 
(c) 2011 the Society for Popular Astronomy
 
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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
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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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