NASA's first Mars rover landed near an ancient sea, new research suggests

 Sojourner.jpg

NASA's first Mars rover landed near an ancient sea, new research suggests

22 years ago, the Sojourner rover tooled around a spillway connecting an inland sea formed by flooding to Mars' northern plains ocean.
By Alison Klesman  |  Published: Tuesday, March 19, 2019
The Pathfinder missionlanded in Mars' Ares Vallis, where the Sojourner rover catalogued rocks that may have been eroded by floodwaters.
NASA/JPL
Mars may be a dry, cold planet today, but it was once a warmer, wetter one. NASA's Opportunity rover was the first rover to find solid evidence of water on Mars — but years before Opportunity's discoveries, NASA's first martian rover mission spent its time exploring an ancient spillway that once connected Mars' northern ocean to an inland sea.

Mars Pathfinder landed 22 years ago, on July 4, 1997. The mission's 23-pound (10.6 kilograms) rover, Sojourner, was the first rover to explore the surface of Mars, wheeling through Ares Vallis for 83 days. The mission investigated whether massive channels in the landscape, spotted by Mariner 9, were caused by floodwaters, as indicated from orbit. But the rover's findings were inconclusive, leaving open the possibility that the shallow channels had been carved by lava instead of water. But that possibility is no longer viable, according to a paper published February 25 in Nature Scientific Reports, which states that the features Sojourner mapped are, in fact, the result of cataclysmic flooding on the Red Planet.
This map of the area surrounding Pathfinder's landing site shows the location of the 3.4 billion-year-old ocean and inland sea connected by the spillway in which the mission landed.
Rodriguez et al., 2019; MOLA Science Team, MSS, JPL, NASA

Formed by water

"Our paper shows a basin, with roughly the surface area of California, that separates most of the gigantic martian channels from the Pathfinder landing site. Debris or lava flows would have filled the basin before reaching the Pathfinder landing site. The very existence of the basin requires cataclysmic floods as the channels' primary formational mechanism," said lead author Alexis Rodriguez of the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) in a press release.

The basin, according to Rodriguez, contains sedimentary rock consistent with deposits that would have been left by groundwater flooding, which formed an inland sea. "This sea is approximately 155 miles (250 kilometers) upstream from the Pathfinder landing site, an observation that reframes its paleo-geographic setting as part of a marine spillway, which formed a land barrier separating the inland sea and a northern ocean," she said. "Our simulation shows that the presence of the sea would have attenuated cataclysmic floods, leading to shallow spillovers that reached the Pathfinder landing site and produced the bedforms detected by the spacecraft."

According to the researchers, the ancient inland sea resembles the disappearing Aral Sea on Earth. "Our numerical simulations indicate that the [martian] sea rapidly became ice-covered and disappeared within a few thousand years due to its rapid evaporation and sublimation. During this time, however, it remained liquid below its ice cover," said co-author Bryan Travis, also of PSI.

Though its presence was brief, Rodriguez said the sea could have hosted life — and the deposits it left at the Pathfinder landing site could contain evidence of that life. That evidence could even be within reach, she added, as its location is "easily accessible by future missions."

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Fwd: [CometObs] Digest Number 3579

Comet Observations Group

1 Message

Digest #3579

1

Observations Apr 09 - Apr 22 by "Thomas Lehmann" ewelot

Message

1

Observations Apr 09 - Apr 22

Thu Apr 25, 2019 1:22 pm (PDT) . Posted by:

"Thomas Lehmann" ewelot

Please find enclosed a list of my recent comet observations in ICQ format.
Magnitudes are derived from large aperture photometry of CCD/DSLR images
(using green filter or green color channel) and are supposed to conform
to visual estimates of total coma magnitudes.

Remote observations were carried out using telescopes from iTelescope.net.
For image reduction and photometric analysis I used my AIRTOOLS software
(see https://github.com/ewelot/airtools).

Thomas Lehmann
Weimar, Germany

2016M1 2019 04 09.39 Z 11.7 AQ 10.6R 5a840 9 0.15 182 LEHaaI C 8.90mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=18.4, CCD/G remote (SSO), moon 16% dist 64 deg

2016N6 2019 04 09.42 Z 14.4 AQ 10.6R 5A080 3.2 0.09 47 LEHaaI C 3.20mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=19.4, CCD/G remote (SSO), moon 16% dist 42 deg

2017K2 2019 04 11.05 Z 17.0 AQ 20.0L 4J442 0.8 LEHaaI C 0.80mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.9, DSLR green

2018A6 2019 04 16.39 Z 13.5 AQ 28.0L 2a480 2.1 0.04 64 LEHaaI C 2.10m AIT 5 1.3s 1.3 mlim=19.5, CMOS green, remote (Bathurst), moon 87% dist 79 deg

2018W2 2019 04 15.92 Z 15.8 AQ 20.0L 4F723 1.1 0.01 48 LEHaaI C 1.10mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.1, DSLR green, moon 83% dist 83 deg
2018W2 2019 04 21.92 Z 15.3 AQ 20.0L 4C362 1.1 0.02 53 LEHaaI C 1.10mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.9, DSLR green, moon 92% dist 124 deg

2018Y1 2019 04 15.84 Z 11.7 AQ 20.0L 4B886 6.8 LEHaaI C 6.80mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.2, DSLR green, moon 83% dist 85 deg
2018Y1 2019 04 21.84 Z 11.7 AQ 20.0L 4B041 6.8 LEHaaI C 6.80mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.3, DSLR green

38 2019 04 10.83 Z 14.0 AQ 20.0L 4C240 4 0.09 250 LEHaaI C 4.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.9, DSLR green, moon 29% dist 47 deg
38 2019 04 21.88 Z 14.9 AQ 20.0L 4B761 2.5 0.07 250 LEHaaI C 2.50mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.8, DSLR green, moon 93% dist 109 deg

46 2019 04 10.92 Z 13.1 AQ 20.0L 4B760 6.4 0.07 264 LEHaaI C 6.40mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.8, DSLR green, moon 30% dist 59 deg

60 2019 04 10.55 Z 13.9 AQ 28.0L 2a480 2.8 0.39 298 LEHaaI C 2.80m AIT 5 1.3s 1.3 mlim=20.5, CMOS green, remote (Bathurst)
60 2019 04 10.92 Z 14.9 AQ 20.0L 4C961 1.5 0.36 298 LEHaaI C 1.50mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.5, DSLR green, moon 30% dist 85 deg
60 2019 04 22.86 Z 15.2 AQ 20.0L 4E700 1.6 0.32 298 LEHaaI C 1.60mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.9, DSLR green

123 2019 04 21.98 Z 13.4 AQ 20.0L 4E163 3.7 LEHaaI C 3.70mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.9, DSLR green, moon 92% dist 86 deg

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Moons South Pole....

Moon's South Pole in NASA's

Landing Sites

In this multi-temporal illumination map of the lunar south pole,
Shackleton crater (19 km diameter) is in the center, the south pole is
located approximately at 9 o'clock on its rim. The map was created
from images from the camera aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Credits: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

NASA is working right now to send American astronauts to the surface
of the Moon in five years, and the agency has its sights set on a
place no humans have ever gone before: the lunar South Pole.

Water is a critical resource for long-term exploration, and that's one
of the main reasons NASA will send astronauts to the Moon's South Pole
by 2024. Water is a necessity for furthering human exploration because
it could potentially be used for drinking, cooling equipment,
breathing and making rocket fuel for missions farther into the solar
system. The experience NASA gains on the Moon, including using lunar
natural resources, will be used to help prepare the agency to send
astronauts to Mars.

"We know the South Pole region contains ice and may be rich in other
resources based on our observations from orbit, but, otherwise, it's a
completely unexplored world," said Steven Clarke, deputy associate
administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
in Washington. "The South Pole is far from the Apollo landing sites
clustered around the equator, so it will offer us a new challenge and
a new environment to explore as we build our capabilities to travel
farther into space."

The South Pole is also a good target for a future human landing
because robotically, it's the most thoroughly investigated region on
the Moon.

The elliptical, polar orbit of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
(LRO) is closest to the Moon during its pass over the South Pole
region. Through its thousands of orbits in the last decade, LRO has
collected the most precise information about the South Pole region
than any other, offering scientists precise details about its
topography, temperature and locations of likely frozen water.

"We've mapped every square meter, even areas of permanent shadow,"
said Noah Petro, an LRO project scientist based at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

There's still so much to learn about Earth's nearest neighbor. Ahead
of a human return, NASA is planning many to send new science
instruments and technology demonstration payloads to the Moon using
commercial landers through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS).
These robotic precursors will further investigate regions of interest
to human explorers, including the South Pole, and will provide
information to the engineers designing modern lunar surface systems.

Water on the Moon

The floors of polar craters reach frigid temperatures because they're
permanently in shadow as a result of the low angle at which sunlight
strikes the Moon's surface in the polar regions (and also because the
Moon has no atmosphere to help warm up its surface). This angle is
based on the 1.54-degree tilt of the Moon's axis (Earth's is 23.5
degrees). If an astronaut was standing near the South Pole, the Sun
would always appear on the horizon, illuminating the surface sideways,
and, thus, skimming primarily the rims of deep craters, and leaving
their deep interiors in shadow.

These permanently shadowed craters feature some of the lowest
temperatures in the solar system — down to -414 degrees Fahrenheit
(-248 Celsius). Water ice is stable at these temperatures and it is
believed that some of these craters harbor significant ice deposits.

Video: Permanent Shadows on the Moon

The South Pole's frozen water may date back billions of years and has
been untainted by the Sun's radiation or the geological processes that
otherwise constantly churn and renew planetary surfaces (think of wind
and erosion on Earth), offering us a window into the early solar
system.

"That record of water collection is a record that can help us
understand how water and other volatiles have been moving around the
solar system, so we're very interested in getting to these locations
and sampling the material there," said John W. Keller, a lunar
scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Maryland. Studying samples of ice from polar regions of Earth, for
example, has revealed how our planet's climate and atmosphere have
evolved over thousands of years.

Constant Light and Power

Other extremes at the Moon's South Pole are not so dark and cold ­—
there are also areas, near Shackleton crater for instance, that are
bathed in sunlight for extended periods of time, over 200 Earth days
of constant illumination. This happens also because of the Moon's tilt
and is a phenomenon that we experience at our own polar regions on
Earth. Unrelenting sunlight is a boon to Moon missions, allowing
explorers to harvest sunlight in order to light up a lunar base and
power its equipment.

The president's direction from Space Policy Directive-1 galvanizes
NASA's return to the Moon and builds on progress on the Space Launch
System rocket and Orion spacecraft, collaborations with U.S industry
and international partners, and knowledge gained from current robotic
assets at the Moon and Mars.

Last Updated: April 16, 2019
Editor: Brian Dunbar

Tags: Goddard Space Flight Center, Moon to Mars

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Good Clear Skies
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Colin James Watling
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Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and
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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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Mars Opportunity rover left us with one last beautiful panorama of Mars...

Last June, space exploration enthusiasts from across the world
collectively held their breath as a global dust storm completely
enveloped Mars. They did so not because our view of the Red Planet's
surface was obscured, but instead because a go-kart-sized rover named
Opportunity, which had been roaming the Red Planet for nearly 15
years, fell silent as the storm intensified. After eight months of
fruitless attempts to resurrect "Oppy," which was only slated for a
mission lasting 90 days, on February 13, NASA scientists finally
declared: "Mission complete."


However, although Opportunity is now forever resting in peace, just
before the massive martian storm struck, the tenacious rover managed
to capture one final panorama of the Red Planet — and it's glorious.


The sprawling, 360-degree panorama above — which is composed of 354
individual shots captured by Opportunity's Panoramic Camera (Pancam)
between May 13 and June 10, 2018 — shows a whole host of intriguing
features near a site fittingly named Perseverance Valley. Located on
the western rim of Endeavour Crater, this valley spans roughly 600
feet (182 meters) and contains many shallow channels sloping down from
the crater's rim to its floor. You can explore a higher resolution
(and zoomable) versionof the giant panorama on NASA's website.


"This final panorama embodies what made our Opportunity rover such a
remarkable mission of exploration and discovery," said John Callas,
Opportunity's project manager, in a press release.


"To the right of center you can see the rim of Endeavour Crater rising
in the distance," he said. "Just to the left of that, rover tracks
begin their descent from over the horizon and weave their way down to
geological features that our scientists wanted to examine up close.
And to the far right and left are the bottom of Perseverance Valley
and the floor of Endeavour crater, pristine and unexplored, waiting
for visits from future explorers."


For the vast majority of the panorama, Opportunity utilized three
filters to capture full-color images. But in the bottom left, you may
notice a few frames are still in black and white. This is the result
of the massive storm that ultimately took Opportunity out of
commission last year. As the storm swept in, the solar panels that
power Opportunity were covered in dust. This meant that the rover did
not have enough juice remaining to capture its final few images using
the Pancam's green and violet filters.

Despite the fact that Opportunity is clearly not a living creature,
its official demise last month sent ripples of sadness echoing through
the astronomical community. However, according to Tanya Harrison,
Director of Research for the "NewSpace" Initiative at ASU and Science
Team Collaborator on the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity, the
rover's tireless efforts to explore the Red Planet will not soon be
forgotten.

"If I had the chance to say one last goodbye to Oppy, I would thank
her for her tireless service above and beyond all possible
expectations. There's probably no more fitting way for her to have
gone than in the strongest dust storm we've ever seen on Mars — for
her, I would expect nothing less. Now she can rest, beneath a thin
layer of dust, knowing she did humanity proud."


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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
--
Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and
also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)
--
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)
--
Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Mars Opportunity rover left us with one last beautiful panorama of Mars...

This small section of the Opportunity rover's final panorama

highlights the different types of rocks found on Mars. To the

left are tabular rocks, which tend to be thin and flat, and to the

right are pitted rocks, which have compositions unlike any rocks

previously seen during the mission.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASU

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Good Clear Skies

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Astrocomet

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Colin James Watling

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Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

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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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Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Fwd: [CometObs] Digest Number 3578

Comet Observations Group

1 Message

Digest #3578

1

Observations Mar 05 - Apr 08 by "Thomas Lehmann" ewelot

Message

1

Observations Mar 05 - Apr 08

Fri Apr 12, 2019 6:31 am (PDT) . Posted by:

"Thomas Lehmann" ewelot

Please find enclosed a list of my recent comet observations in ICQ format.
Magnitudes are derived from large aperture photometry of CCD/DSLR images
(using green filter or green color channel) and are supposed to conform
to visual estimates of total coma magnitudes.

Remote observations were carried out using telescopes from iTelescope.net.
For image reduction and photometric analysis I used my AIRTOOLS software
(see https://github.com/ewelot/airtools).

Thomas Lehmann
Weimar, Germany

2015O1 2019 03 29.88 Z 15.1 AQ 20.0L 4D082 1.9 0.07 58 LEHaaI C 1.90mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.8, DSLR green

2016M1 2019 03 12.50 Z 11.5 AQ 10.6R 5a600 8 0.16 197 LEHaaI C 7.80mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=18.4, CCD/G remote (SSO)
2016M1 2019 03 22.39 Z 11.6 AQ 28.0L 2a180 6.8 0.18 192 LEHaaI C 6.80m AIT 5 1.3s 1.3 mlim=19.2, CMOS green, remote (Bathurst)

2016N6 2019 03 05.43 Z 13.8 AQ 10.6R 5A080 3.0 0.08 41 LEHaaI C 3.00mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=18.5, CCD/G remote (SSO)

2016R2 2019 04 07.02 Z 14.6 AQ 20.0L 4J443 3.3 0.03 267 LEHaaI C 3.30mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.9, DSLR green

2017K2 2019 03 30.01 Z 17.2 AQ 40.0L 3A200 1.0 LEHaaI C 1.00mCDS CFC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=21.2, DSLR green, images by R. Fichtl
2017K2 2019 04 02.06 Z 17.3 AQ 20.0L 4J923 0.7 LEHaaI C 0.70mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=21.2, DSLR green

2018W2 2019 03 24.91 Z 16.6 AQ 20.0L 4F773 0.5 0.01 61 LEHaaI C 0.50mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.6, DSLR green
2018W2 2019 04 08.90 Z 15.9 AQ 20.0L 4C480 0.8 0.01 75 LEHaaI C 0.80mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.4, DSLR green

2018Y1 2019 03 07.83 Z 8.9 AQ 07.5A 4A681 21 0.16 88 LEHaaI C21.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=18.4, DSLR green
2018Y1 2019 03 20.84 Z 10.1 AQ 07.5A 4A920 12 LEHaaI C12.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=17.1, DSLR green, moon 100% dist 104 deg
2018Y1 2019 03 21.81 Z 10.1 AQ 07.5A 4C120 15 LEHaaI C15.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=17.7, DSLR green, moon 99% dist 118 deg
2018Y1 2019 03 29.11 Z 10.3 AQ 10.6R 5a480 14 LEHaaI C14.00mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=18.4, CCD/G remote (Mayhill)
2018Y1 2019 03 29.82 Z 10.5 AQ 07.5A 4B882 11 0.11 79 LEHaaI C11.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=19.0, DSLR green
2018Y1 2019 04 03.14 Z 10.8 AQ 10.6R 5a480 11 LEHaaI C11.00mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=18.2, CCD/G remote (Mayhill)
2018Y1 2019 04 08.83 Z 11.3 AQ 20.0L 4A801 6.5 LEHaaI C 6.50mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=18.6, DSLR green, moon 12% dist 19 deg

38 2019 03 22.87 Z 13.2 AQ 07.5A 4E762 5 0.11 245 LEHaaI C 5.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=18.7, DSLR green, moon 95% dist 83 deg
38 2019 04 01.88 Z 13.7 AQ 20.0L 4C241 4.4 0.17 253 LEHaaI C 4.40mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.2, DSLR green

46 2019 03 08.80 Z 10.4 AQ 07.5A 4A801 16 LEHaaI C16.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=17.5, DSLR green
46 2019 03 22.79 Z 11.7 AQ 07.5A 4B761 12 0.08 239 LEHaaI C12.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=18.6, DSLR green
46 2019 03 29.93 Z 12.4 AQ 20.0L 4C482 8 LEHaaI C 7.90mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.5, DSLR green
46 2019 04 06.93 Z 12.6 AQ 20.0L 4B882 8 0.07 256 LEHaaI C 8.00mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.5, DSLR green

60 2019 03 09.62 Z 13.3 AQ 28.0L 2a420 2.3 0.58 298 LEHaaI C 2.30m AIT 5 1.3s 1.3 mlim=20.5, CMOS green, remote (Bathurst)
60 2019 03 26.25 Z 13.7 AQ 10.6R 5a720 3.1 0.45 299 LEHaaI C 3.10mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=19.1, CCD/G remote (Mayhill)
60 2019 03 29.99 Z 14.1 AQ 20.0L 4D683 2.3 0.34 298 LEHaaI C 2.30mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.9, DSLR green

64 2019 03 07.86 Z 12.3 AQ 07.5A 4B041 8 LEHaaI C 7.70mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=18.2, DSLR green
64 2019 03 21.87 Z 12.6 AQ 07.5A 4C961 7 LEHaaI C 7.10mPDS CAC AIT 5 3.4s 3.4 mlim=17.6, DSLR green, moon 99% dist 103 deg
64 2019 03 29.13 Z 13.1 AQ 10.6R 5a600 4.7 LEHaaI C 4.70mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=18.1, CCD/G remote (Mayhill)
64 2019 04 08.86 Z 15.1 AQ 20.0L 4B881 2.4 LEHaaI C 2.40mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=19.4, DSLR green, moon 12% dist 37 deg

123 2019 03 26.27 Z 12.8 AQ 10.6R 5a540 6 0.07 262 LEHaaI C 6.10mSTL KA1 AIT 5 3.5s 3.5 mlim=18.5, CCD/G remote (Mayhill), moon 69% dist 96 deg
123 2019 04 01.95 Z 13.0 AQ 20.0L 4F122 4.3 0.05 239 LEHaaI C 4.30mPDS CAC AIT 5 1.2s 1.2 mlim=20.4, DSLR green

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Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)

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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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Image of a Black Hole

The first image of a black hole, from the galaxy Messier
87.CreditCreditEvent Horizon Telescope Collaboration, via National
Science Foundation

Astronomers announced on Wednesday that at last they had captured an
image of the unobservable: a black hole, a cosmic abyss so deep and
dense that not even light can escape it.

For years, and for all the mounting scientific evidence, black holes
have remained marooned in the imaginations of artists and the
algorithms of splashy computer models of the kind used in Christopher
Nolan's outer-space epic "Interstellar." Now they are more real than
ever.

"We have seen what we thought was unseeable," said Shep Doeleman, an
astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and
director of the effort to capture the image, during a Wednesday news
conference in Washington, D.C.

The image, of a lopsided ring of light surrounding a dark circle deep
in the heart of a galaxy known as Messier 87, some 55 million
light-years away from Earth, resembled the Eye of Sauron, a reminder
yet again of the implacable power of nature. It is a smoke ring
framing a one-way portal to eternity.


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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
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Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and
also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)
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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)
--
Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Fwd: [CometObs] Digest Number 3577

Comet Observations Group

1 Message

Digest #3577

1

Comet Observations 7th April 2019 by "Bomber2 Panther" outbackmanyep

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Comet Observations 7th April 2019

Mon Apr 8, 2019 3:09 am (PDT) . Posted by:

"Bomber2 Panther" outbackmanyep

Comet Observations 7th April 2019

123P/ West-Hartley
2019 Apr 07.38 UT; m1= 12.8; Dia= 2'; DC= 3; 25cm L, f:5 (x83) [Chris Wyatt, Walcha, NSW, Australia]
Low altitude = 19.9°; Difficult, slight brightening to centre.
Comparison stars checked using APASS data in Guide 9.0; Method= S; Cat= AQ

60P/ Tsuchinshan
2019 Apr 07.39 UT; m1= 14.3; Dia= 1.0'; DC= 2; 25cm L, f:5 (x83) [Chris Wyatt, Walcha, NSW, Australia]
Difficult.
Comparison stars checked using APASS data in Guide 9.0; Method= S; Cat= AQ

C/2016 N6 PanSTARRS
2019 Apr 07.40 UT; m1= 14.2; Dia= 0.6'; DC= 2/3; 25cm L, f:5 (x83) [Chris Wyatt, Walcha, NSW, Australia]
Difficult, small, visible in periods of good seeing.
Comparison stars checked using APASS data in Guide 9.0; Method= S; Cat= AQ

C/2016 M1 PanSTARRS
2019 Apr 07.41 UT; m1= 12.8; Dia= 1.7'; DC= 3; 25cm L, f:5 (x83) [Chris Wyatt, Walcha, NSW, Australia]
Coma diffuse, slight brightening to centre. Close to stars.
Comparison stars checked using APASS data in Guide 9.0; Method= S; Cat= AQ

123 2019 04 07.38 xS 12.8 AQ 25.0L 5 83 2.0 3 ICQ XX WYA
60 2019 04 07.39 xS 14.3 AQ 25.0L 5 83 1.0 2 ICQ XX WYA
2016N6 2019 04 07.40 xS 14.2 AQ 25.0L 5 83 0.6 2/ ICQ XX WYA
2016M1 2019 04 07.41 xS 12.8 AQ 25.0L 5 83 1.7 3 ICQ XX WYA

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Fwd: [CometObs] Digest Number 3576

Comet Observations Group

1 Message

Digest #3576

1a

C/2017 T2, C/2018 Y1, 46P, 123P. by "jjgonzalez jjgonzalez" jjgsgp

Message

1a

C/2017 T2, C/2018 Y1, 46P, 123P.

Thu Apr 4, 2019 7:44 am (PDT) . Posted by:

"jjgonzalez jjgonzalez" jjgsgp

C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS):
2019 Apr. 2.85 UT: m1=9.2, Dia.=6', DC=2/, 20 cm SCT (77x).
[ Faint and diffuse outer coma. Altitude: 10°. Zodiacal light.
Mountain location, very clear sky. Sidgwick method.
Tycho-2 comparison stars. SQM: 20.6.].

C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto):
2019 Apr. 2.87 UT: m1=9.8, Dia.=6', DC=2/, 20 cm SCT (77x).
[ Sidgwick method. Tycho-2 comparison stars. SQM: 20.9].

46P/Wirtanen:
2019 Apr. 2.91 UT: m1=11.2, Dia.=4', DC=2, 20 cm SCT (100x).
[ Sidgwick method. Tycho-2 comparison stars. SQM: 21.3.].

123P/West-Hartley:
2019 Apr. 2.89 UT: m1=11.5, Dia.=2', DC=3, 20 cm SCT (133x).
[ Sidgwick method. APASS comparison stars. SQM: 21.3.].

( Alto del Celleron - Benllera, Leon, Spain, 42º 45' N, 5º 44' W, alt. 1190 m;
SQM : 21.3 at zenit ).

J. J. Gonzalez Suarez

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The ISS....

The Completed ISS-4 years ago-its been up there a while now....

Want to #SpotTheStation flying over your house? Sign up to get alerts
when the International Space Station passes over:
http://go.nasa.gov/1Fazg1a

Or: https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT


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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
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Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and
also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)
--
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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Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Hubble catches Neptune forming new, massive storms

Neptune's dark storms were first captured by Voyager 2 in 1989
(right). In 2018, Hubble spied an entirely new storm system.

Neptune has a new storm, in the form of a large dark spot that
appeared in late 2018. By analyzing Hubble images dating back to 2015,
astronomers have discovered high-altitude clouds that formed years
ahead of the visible storm, indicating it was already forming there,
swirling beneath the clouds and haze. The telltale clouds are teaching
astronomers more about how such storms form and evolve on all the
giant outer planets.

Birth of a storm

Neptune, like all the outer solar system planets, forms large and
durable storms. While Jupiter's Great Red Spot is infamous, Neptune's
dark blue spots were unknown until Voyager 2 flew past in 1989,
sending back pictures of two large storms on its surface. Jupiter's
Great Red Spot has been visible for at least 190 years, and possibly
since the 1600s. But when Hubble peered at Neptune in 1994, its storms
had already vanished.

Since then, Hubble has spotted dark storms appearing and disappearing
on Neptune, lasting only two years or so – though maybe up to six
years – before dissipating again. Like hurricanes on steroids,
Neptune's storms are dark vortexes of clouds racing at high speeds,
each roughly the size of planet Earth. But Earth storms rarely last
more than a few weeks, and form around low-pressure areas. On the
giant planets, they instead form around regions of high-pressure.

"That makes them more stable to start," says Simon. "And there are no
land masses. That's what breaks storms up on Earth." On Jupiter, the
planet's jet streams lock its massive storm in place near the equator,
where it has safely churned for centuries. On Neptune, wind patterns
push the storms north or south where they get shredded by opposing
wind currents within a few years.

Marked by clouds

Hubble also often sees white methane clouds floating at the top of
Neptune's atmosphere. These are pushed aloft by the high-pressure
storm systems, says Amy Simon of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
who led the recent study. But, she adds, "Sometimes we see high clouds
that don't have a dark spot associated." So while astronomers can't
predict for sure where a storm will form, they can look back and trace
its history, even before the dark spot itself became visible.

This became obvious when Simon and her colleagues were looking at
images of Neptune's clouds from 2015 through 2017, and realized that
they hovered just where the dark storm eventually appeared in late
2018. This tells astronomers that the storms form over long periods of
time, deeper down in the atmosphere than Hubble can spy.

By having new evidence of the storms to observe, Simon and her
colleagues hope they can better understand how storms form on all the
major planets. "The computer models have a hard time forming these
storms," Simon says. And with no dedicated missions to the ice giants
yet (Voyager 2's flyby was the closest approach to either Neptune or
Uranus), computer models are vital to understanding the stormy worlds.

Simon hopes that the new information will let researchers make
advances in understanding the churning atmospheres of these distant
planets. Simon's research was published March 25 in Geophysical
Research Letters.


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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
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Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and
also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)
--
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)
--
Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

NASA is sending a helicopter to Mars

The Mars Helicopter will launch with NASA's Mars 2020 rover and should
arrive on the Red Planet in early 2021.


When the Mars 2020 rover lands on the Red Planet in early 2021, it
will carry with it a small helicopter, the first human craft to fly on
another planet. Until now, Mars has hosted orbiters, landers, and
rovers, but no flying machines. The Mars helicopter is meant only as a
technology demonstration. If it doesn't work, the Mars 2020 mission
will still succeed. If it does, it will have opened up entirely new
avenues for exploring other worlds.


While helicopters are old technology on Earth, flying one on Mars will
be challenging. Thanks to Mars' thin atmosphere, a helicopter flying
just above the surface is already at the equivalent of 100,000 feet
Earth altitude, far beyond where helicopters or even typical planes
fly. The altitude record for a helicopter on Earth is only 40,000
feet. And even consumer drones on Earth can struggle at high
altitudes.


So NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory had to make a craft
that was both incredibly light and incredibly strong. They think
they've succeeded: the resulting chopper is only about the size of a
softball, and weighs 4 pounds. Its rotor blades will spin at 3,000
rpm, 10 times faster than most Earth choppers. The team has been
working on the project since 2013 as a technology demonstration,
though it wasn't approved for the Mars 2020 mission until May of 2018.


So NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory had to make a craft
that was both incredibly light and incredibly strong. They think
they've succeeded: the resulting chopper is only about the size of a
softball, and weighs 4 pounds. Its rotor blades will spin at 3,000
rpm, 10 times faster than most Earth choppers. The team has been
working on the project since 2013 as a technology demonstration,
though it wasn't approved for the Mars 2020 mission until May of 2018.


Aside from the challenge of flight itself on the Red Planet, engineers
also had to figure out how the craft would navigate with
communications delays of at least a few minutes between Mars and
Earth. Engineers solve this problem with the rovers by taking careful
pictures of the terrain and then guiding the rover slowly toward its
goals, with many stops along the way to reassess any risks. But a
helicopter needs faster response times, being more likely to encounter
wind patterns and other obstacles that could knock it off course. And
of course, if the rover ever malfunctions and stops operating, it will
still be safely on the ground. The helicopter must have built-in
systems to safely land itself if it encounters any errors.


So the Mars Helicopter will be autonomous, flying itself on short
flights. It will receive commands and communicate via the rover, but
has its own solar powered batteries for power and a heater to keep it
warm on cold Martian nights.


Its mission will last for 30 days and include five flights. At first,
these will be simple hovering tests just 10 feet off the ground. It
will work up to longer flights lasting 90 seconds.

If the helicopter is successful, NASA hopes that future versions could
be used as scouting missions for other rovers, or to image regions
inaccessible to a wheeled explorer.


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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
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Colin James Watling
--
Various Voluntary work-Litter Picking for Parish Council (Daytime) and
also a friend of Kessingland Beach (Watchman)
--
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)
--
Lyra Main Website: http://www.lyra-astro.co.uk/

Space Station Silhouette on the Moon