KAG Kessingland Astronomy Group

Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Charts-info Astrosite Groningen (August 3, 2010)

Dear comet observers,

We have prepared the following new charts for our homepage:

* 10P/Tempel 2 :

two 4.0x5.3 degrees charts for the period 4 August - 5 September 2010.

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.

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

--
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

[BAA 00506] Venus: the 2010 E. Elongation

======================================================================
BAA electronic bulletin No. 00506 http://www.britastro.org/
======================================================================

VENUS: the 2010 E. Elongation

At the present time, as in 2002, 1994, 1986 and 1978 (etc.), Venus is
favourably placed for observing its gibbous disk with phase around 0.60.
Although the planet is only a few degrees away from greatest elongation,
its declination is just north of the celestial equator (as of 2010 late
July), and quickly decreasing, so that many observers will find the
planet too low to see above the treeline in the evening sky and daylight
observation may be called for. Finding the planet with setting circles,
the Director recently had several good views around mid-afternoon. If
possible, shield the telescope tube from the direct rays of the Sun as
otherwise tube currents will spoil the seeing conditions.

We have a fair number of observers making and contributing all-important
ultraviolet images, but (ironically) very few visual observers. It is
important to continue to monitor the clouds of Venus for any unusual
phenomena, so adding to the historical record. The recent bright spot is
a case in point: see the 2009 October BAA Journal (119 (5), 240 (2009)).
Therefore please try to make drawings of the planet in white light and
if possible through the appropriate Wratten colour filters (see the
Observing Guide for more details). We require careful sketches to show
the apparent phase, a note of the relative size and brightness of the
cusps, and positions of bright and dark markings. Timing the moment of
apparent half-phase (dichotomy) is important for the purpose of
historical comparison: at evening elongation this normally occurs around
5 days early. A large number of such observations made in early to
mid-August will be essential for this programme. Phase
work is best done visually, because images appropriately exposed for
the majority of the illuminated disk will underexpose the terminator.

>From phase approx. 0.30 or lower, please examine the planet against
the darkening sky to search for extensions of the cusps or the elusive
Ashen Light. In 2010 such studies will only be possible from the
southern hemisphere due to the planet's high southerly declination
towards inferior conjunction.

Report forms can be obtained by post from the Director or downloaded
from the Section's website. The webiste has recently been updated by
David Arditti and is currently a 'work in progress'.

Richard McKim, Director

======================================================================
BAA electronic bulletins service. E-mail: circadmin@britastro.org
Bulletin transmitted on Mon Aug 2 23:34:13 BST 2010
(c) 2010 British Astronomical Association http://www.britastro.org/
======================================================================

Spacewalks needed to fix station cooling problem this week

NEWSALERT: Monday, August 2, 2010 @ 1710 GMT
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The latest news from Spaceflight Now

===========================================
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The top jobs and the best talents in
the space industry are on Space Careers.

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

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SPACEWALKS NEEDED TO FIX STATION COOLING PROBLEM
------------------------------------------------
Trouble with one of the International Space Station's external coolant
loops, used to dissipate the heat generated by the lab's electronics
systems, triggered an extensive powerdown late Saturday. NASA managers met
Sunday and gave preliminary approval to a difficult two-spacewalk repair
job, starting as early as Thursday, to restore the critical system to
normal operation.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/31station/

"THIS WEEK IN SPACE"
--------------------
Russians take a spacewalk, Elon meets the Colbert Nation, touring Titan's
Lake District, ZombieSat looms and KSC to the turtle rescue in this
edition of "This Week In Space" with Miles O'Brien.

http://spaceflightnow.com/twis/

LONG MARCH ROCKET DELIVERS CHINESE SATELLITE TO SPACE
-----------------------------------------------------
Another Chinese navigation satellite blasted off late Saturday on its way
to a 22,000-mile-high perch above Earth to bolster the government-owned
fleet of Beidou positioning spacecraft.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1008/01longmarch/

+++
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

Charts-info Astrosite Groningen (August 2, 2010)

Dear comet observers,

We have prepared the following new chart for our homepage:

* C/2009 K5 (McNaught) :

a 2.0x2.6 degrees chart for the period 4 - 17 August 2010.

This new chart 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.

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

Complex Eruption on the Sun Sends CME toward Earth

Space Weather News for August 1, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

GLOBAL ERUPTION: During the early hours of August 1st, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a complex global disturbance on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Most of the sun's northern hemisphere was involved in the event, which included a long-duration C3-class solar flare, a "solar tsunami," and a massive filament eruption. As a result of these blasts, a coronal mass ejection (CME) is heading toward Earth. High-latitude geomagnetic storms and auroras are possible when the cloud arrives a few days hence. Check http://spaceweather.com for movies and updates.

MAGNETIC STORM ALERT SERVICE: Would you like a phone call when the next geomagnetic storm erupts? 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/
--
Information: http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra

Will Mars rover Spirit ever phone home again?

NEWSALERT: Friday, July 30, 2010 @ 1923 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Spaceflight Now

++++++++++
AGI Users' Conference: We're Coming to You!

AGI is taking its technology on the road in 2010. We'll be making stops in
18 states around the U.S. Each free, one-day event includes hands-on
software demos, virtual expert sessions, developer kiosks and user
discussions. Register today at http://uc.agi.com
++++++++++

WILL MARS ROVER SPIRIT EVENTUALLY PHONE HOME?
---------------------------------------------
NASA's aging Spirit Mars rover, stuck in loose soil and forced to endure
the harsh martian winter with reduced solar power, has not phoned home
since March 22 and officials warned Friday "a miracle" may be needed to
restore the rover to limited operation.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/30spirit/

FISHING INDUSTRY AGREES TO MORE JAPANESE LAUNCHES
-------------------------------------------------
The Japanese space agency can start launching rockets year-round next
April after an influential fishing lobby agreed to lift a seasonal ban on
flights from two space centers in the southern part of the country.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/29tanegashima/

BROWN DWARF IN TIGHT ORBIT AROUND YOUNG SUN-LIKE STAR
-----------------------------------------------------
A very young brown dwarf star has been found in a tight orbit around a
nearby Sun-like star.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/30browndwarf/

MYSTERY OF TITAN'S DUNES SOLVED
-------------------------------
Seasonal changes that temporarily reverse the wind patterns on Saturn's
moon Titan explain the orientation of the moon's dune fields, a new report
says.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/30titan/

+++
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

NASA's Hibernating Mars Rover May Not Call Home

NEWS RELEASE: 2010-252 July 30, 2010

NASA'S HIBERNATING MARS ROVER MAY NOT CALL HOME

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-252&cid=release_2010-252

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA mission controllers have not heard from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit
since March 22, and the rover is facing its toughest challenge yet – trying to survive the harsh Martian winter.

The rover team anticipated Spirit would go into a low-power "hibernation" mode since the rover was not
able to get to a favorable slope for its fourth Martian winter, which runs from May through November. The
low angle of sunlight during these months limits the power generated from the rover's solar panels. During
hibernation, the rover suspends communications and other activities so available energy can be used to
recharge and heat batteries, and to keep the mission clock running.

On July 26, mission managers began using a paging technique called "sweep and beep" in an effort to
communicate with Spirit.

"Instead of just listening, we send commands to the rover to respond back to us with a communications
beep," said John Callas, project manager for Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "If the rover is awake and hears us, she will send us that beep."

Based on models of Mars' weather and its effect on available power, mission managers believe that if Spirit
responds, it most likely will be in the next few months. However, there is a very distinct possibility Spirit may
never respond.

"It will be the miracle from Mars if our beloved rover phones home," said Doug McCuistion, director of
NASA's Mars Exploration Program in Washington. "It's never faced this type of severe condition before –
this is unknown territory."

Because most of the rover's heaters were not being powered this winter, Spirit is likely experiencing its
coldest internal temperatures yet -- minus 55 degrees Celsius (minus 67 degrees Fahrenheit). During three
previous Martian winters, Spirit communicated about once or twice a week with Earth and used its heaters
to stay warm while parked on a sun-facing slope for the winter. As a result, the heaters were able to keep
internal temperatures above minus 40 degrees Celsius (which is also minus 40 degrees on the Fahrenheit
scale).

Spirit is designed to wake up from its hibernation and communicate with Earth when its battery charge is
adequate. But if the batteries have lost too much power, Spirit's clock may stop and lose track of time. The
rover could still reawaken, but it would not know the time of day, a situation called a "mission-clock fault."
Spirit would start a new timer to wake up every four hours and listen for a signal from Earth for 20 minutes
of every hour while the sun is up.

The earliest date the rover could generate enough power to send a beep to Earth was calculated to be
around July 23. However, mission managers don't anticipate the batteries will charge adequately until late
September to mid-October. It may be even later if the rover is in a mission-clock fault mode. If Spirit does
wake up, mission managers will do a complete health check on the rover's instruments and electronics.

Based on previous Martian winters, the rover team anticipates the increasing haziness in the sky over Spirit
will offset longer daylight for the next two months. The amount of solar energy available to Spirit then will
increase until the southern Mars summer solstice in March 2011. If we haven't heard from it by March, it is
unlikely that we will ever hear from it.

"This has been a long winter for Spirit, and a long wait for us," said Steve Squyres, the principal investigator
for NASA's two rovers who is based at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. "Even if we never heard from Spirit
again, I think her scientific legacy would be secure. But we're hopeful we will hear from her, and we're eager
to get back to doing science with two rovers again."

Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, began exploring Mars in January 2004 on missions planned to last three
months. Spirit has been nearly stationary since April 2009, while Opportunity is driving toward a large crater
named Endeavour. Opportunity covered more distance in 2009 than in any prior year. Both rovers have
made important discoveries about wet environments on ancient Mars that may have been favorable for
supporting microbial life.

NASA's JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration
Rover project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information about the rovers, visit http://www.nasa.gov/rovers .

- end -

--
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

Blowing in the Wind: Cassini Helps with Dune Whodunit

Feature July 29, 2010

Blowing in the Wind: Cassini Helps with Dune Whodunit

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-251&cid=release_2010-251

The answer to the mystery of dune patterns on Saturn's moon Titan did turn out to be
blowing in the wind. It just wasn't from the direction many scientists expected.

Basic principles describing the rotation of planetary atmospheres and data from the
European Space Agency's Huygens probe led to circulation models that showed surface
winds streaming generally east-to-west around Titan's equatorial belt. But when NASA's
Cassini spacecraft obtained the first images of dunes on Titan in 2005, the dunes'
orientation suggested the sands - and therefore the winds - were moving from the
opposite direction, or west to east.

A new paper by Tetsuya Tokano in press with the journal Aeolian Research seeks to
explain the paradox. It explains that seasonal changes appear to reverse wind patterns on
Titan for a short period. These gusts, which occur intermittently for perhaps two years,
sweep west to east and are so strong they do a better job of transporting sand than the
usual east-to-west surface winds. Those east-to-west winds do not appear to gather
enough strength to move significant amounts of sand.

A related perspective article about Tokano's work by Cassini radar scientist Ralph
Lorenz, the lead author on a 2009 paper mapping the dunes, appears in this week's issue
of the journal Science.

"It was hard to believe that there would be permanent west-to-east winds, as suggested
by the dune appearance," said Tokano, of the University of Cologne, Germany. "The
dramatic, monsoon-type wind reversal around equinox turns out to be the key."

The dunes track across the vast sand seas of Titan only in latitudes within 30 degrees of
the equator. They are about a kilometer (half a mile) wide and tens to hundreds of
kilometers (miles) long. They can rise more than 100 meters (300 feet) high. The sands
that make up the dunes appear to be made of organic, hydrocarbon particles. The dunes'
ridges generally run west-to-east, as wind here generally sheds sand along lines parallel to
the equator.

Scientists predicted winds in the low latitudes around Titan's equator would blow east-
to-west because at higher latitudes the average wind blows west-to-east. The wind forces
should balance out, based on basic principles of rotating atmospheres.

Tokano re-analyzed a computer-based global circulation model for Titan he put together
in 2008. That model, like others for Titan, was adapted from ones developed for Earth
and Mars. Tokano added in new data on Titan topography and shape based on Cassini
radar and gravity data. In his new analysis, Tokano also looked more closely at variations
in the wind at different points in time rather than the averages. Equinox periods jumped
out.

Equinoxes occur twice a Titan year, which is about 29 Earth years. During equinox, the
sun shines directly over the equator, and heat from the sun creates upwelling in the
atmosphere. The turbulent mixing causes the winds to reverse and accelerate. On Earth,
this rare kind of wind reversal happens over the Indian Ocean in transitional seasons
between monsoons.

The episodic reverse winds on Titan appear to blow around 1 to 1.8 meters per second (2
to 4 mph). The threshold for sand movement appears to be about 1 meter per second (2
mph), a speed that the typical east-to-west winds never appear to surpass. Dune patterns
sculpted by strong, short episodes of wind can be found on Earth in the northern Namib
sand seas in Namibia, Africa.

"This is a subtle discovery -- only by delving into the statistics of the winds in the model
could this rather distressing paradox be resolved," said Ralph Lorenz, a Cassini radar
scientist based at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel,
Md. "This work is also reassuring for preparations for proposed future missions to Titan,
in that we can become more confident in predicting the winds which can affect the
delivery accuracy of landers, or the drift of balloons."

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.

-end-

--
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

A new way of scheduling Atlas and Delta launches

NEWSALERT: Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 1549 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Spaceflight Now

++++++++++
AGI Users' Conference: We're Coming to You!

AGI is taking its technology on the road in 2010. We'll be making stops in
18 states around the U.S. Each free, one-day event includes hands-on
software demos, virtual expert sessions, developer kiosks and user
discussions. Register today at http://uc.agi.com
++++++++++

AIR FORCE WILL STREAMLINE LAUNCH MANIFEST STRATEGY
--------------------------------------------------
Future U.S. military satellites will be matched to Atlas and Delta launch
vehicles as late as six months before launch, a new strategy the Air Force
hopes will limit cascading delays stemming from late payload deliveries.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/28manifest/

GETTING TO MARS ON A BUDGET
---------------------------
NASA is discontinuing the Mars Scout line of relatively low-cost missions
to the Red Planet, but there is still an opening for resourceful
scientists seeking an inexpensive ticket for Mars research.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/29scout/

SPITZER GLIMPSES INTO MILKY WAY OUTBACK
---------------------------------------
New images from the Spitzer Space Telescope survey GLIMPSE360 have
revealed a treasure trove of gems scattered around the suburbs of the
Milky Way, including some unexpectedly massive young stars.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/29glimpse/

BRILLIANT STAR IN A COLORFUL NEIGHBORHOOD
-----------------------------------------
Hailing from La Silla Observatory, ESO has released a new image of the
noteworthy star WR22, nestled in the picturesque setting of the outer
reaches of the Carina Nebula.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/29eso/

+++
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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

Hurricane Celia

Hurricane Celia
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:00:00 -0500

Perfectly circular, powerful Hurricane Celia spaned hundreds of miles over the Pacific Ocean in this image from June 24, 2010. Rough-textured clouds surround the storm's distinct eye. Farther from the center of the storm, spiral arms appear thinner and smoother. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Hurricane Celia at 1:55 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on June 24, 2010. Just five minutes later, the U.S. National Hurricane Center classified Celia as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 135 miles per hour. Image Credit: NASA

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