[BAA-ebulletin 00651] Observing Opportunity - Comet Garradd close to M92

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BAA electronic bulletin
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Observing Opportunity

Comet Garradd Makes a Close Approach to Globular Cluster M92

Although not a spectacular comet with a majestic tail, C/2009 P1 (Garradd) has endeared itself to many observers by visiting bright deep sky objects on its journey through the heavens.  In late August 2011 it visited the globular cluster M71 and in early September of the same year it made a close approach to the Coathanger asterism.  Now visible in the morning sky, Garradd continues its friendship with deep sky objects by making a close approach to another globular cluster, this time M92 in Hercules.

On February 3/4 it passes within 0.5 degree west of M92, making an ideal photo opportunity. The coordinates of M92 are RA 17h 17m.1 and Dec +43deg 08min.  M92 has a visual magnitude of 6.5 and a diameter of 14 arcmin.  Details and an ephemeris for the comet, which has a predicted magnitude of 6.5, can be downloaded from the Comet Section web page and are also available in the latest BAA paper circular No. 826 dated 2012 January 18.

With the Moon setting just after 04:00 on Feb. 3, M92 and the comet will be found at an altitude of around 40 degree in the east.  Please send all observations to both the Deep Sky Section and the Comet Section (see BAA Journal for contact details).

Stewart Moore

Deep Sky Section Director

2012 Jan 31

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Russian resupply ship takes aim at International Space Station

   NEWSALERT: Tuesday, January 24, 2011 @ 1558 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
      The latest news from Spaceflight Now


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
While others are busy talking, we're busy launching.

While other guys launch press conferences, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
powers launches of people and critical payloads. In 2011, we powered 14
successful launches. Before you listen to their next promise, click here
and watch all 14 zero-fail launches.

www.FutureSpaceUSA.com/pwr_smoke_and_fire.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


SOYUZ ROLLS OUT FOR NEXT SPACE STATION RESUPPLY RUN
---------------------------------------------------
The Russian Soyuz rocket topped by the next resupply freighter this
morning rolled to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad and took aim toward a
rendezvous with the International Space Station.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp30/120124prog46prollout/


ONE RUSSIAN SHIP VACATES STATION PORT FOR NEXT VEHICLE
------------------------------------------------------
After 82 days docked to the International Space Station, a Russian
Progress resupply freighter pulled away Monday afternoon to fly
independently into a higher orbit for deployment of a science satellite
and setting the stage for another cargo ship launching to the outpost
later this week.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp30/120123prog45pundock/


PHOTO SPREAD: ATLANTIS MOVES TO VAB, BUT ONLY FOR STORAGE
---------------------------------------------------------
The shuffling of NASA's three retired space shuttle orbiters between the
two remaining hangars at the Kennedy Space Center continued Friday morning
as Atlantis was moved into a two-month storage at the Vehicle Assembly
Building.

Check out our 5-page photo collection from the event:
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts135/120120rollover/


SATELLITE SPIES CRUISE SHIP TRAGEDY FROM SPACE
----------------------------------------------
As seen from space by one of the sharp-eyed Earth-imaging satellites
operated by DigitalGlobe, the Costa Concordia cruise ship is pictured
where it came to rest after running aground with more than 4,000
passengers and crew on January 13 while sailing dangerously close to the
island of Giglio in Tuscan waters.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1201/22ship/


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CME Impact on Jan. 24

Space Weather News for Jan. 24, 2012
http://spaceweather.com

CME IMPACT: As predicted by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 24 at ~1500 UT (10 am EST).  A geomagnetic storm is brewing in the aftermath of the impact, but as this alert is being written it is too soon to say how weak or strong the storm might be.  High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras after local nightfall; the hours around local midnight are often best for seeing the Northern Lights.  Chances for a good display favor observers in northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, Canada, Alaska, and possibly northern tier US states such as Maine, Wisconsin and Minnesota.  Check http://spaceweather.com for updates.

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS: Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com

 (voice).

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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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Durable NASA Rover Beginning Ninth Year of Mars Work

Feature: 2012-022                       Jan. 24, 2012

Durable NASA Rover Beginning Ninth Year of Mars Work

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-022&cid=release_2012-022

Eight years after landing on Mars for what was planned as a three-month mission, NASA's
enduring Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is working on what essentially became a new
mission five months ago.

Opportunity reached a multi-year driving destination, Endeavour Crater, in August 2011. At
Endeavour's rim, it has gained access to geological deposits from an earlier period of Martian
history than anything it examined during its first seven years. It also has begun an investigation
of the planet's deep interior that takes advantage of staying in one place for the Martian winter.

Opportunity landed in Eagle Crater on Mars on Jan. 25, 2004, Universal Time and EST (Jan.
24, PST), three weeks after its rover twin, Spirit, landed halfway around the planet. In backyard-
size Eagle Crater, Opportunity found evidence of an ancient wet environment. The mission met
all its goals within the originally planned span of three months. During most of the next four
years, it explored successively larger and deeper craters, adding evidence about wet and dry
periods from the same era as the Eagle Crater deposits.

In mid-2008, researchers drove Opportunity out of Victoria Crater, half a mile (800 meters) in
diameter, and set course for Endeavour Crater, 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter.

"Endeavour is a window further into Mars' past," said Mars Exploration Rover Program Manager
John Callas, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The trek took three years. In a push to finish it, Opportunity drove farther during its eighth year
on Mars -- 4.8 miles (7.7 kilometers) -- than in any prior year, bringing its total driving distance to
21.4 miles (34.4 kilometers).

The "Cape York" segment of Endeavour's rim, where Opportunity has been working since
August 2011, has already validated the choice of Endeavour as a long-term goal.  "It's like
starting a new mission, and we hit pay dirt right out of the gate," Callas said.

The first outcrop that Opportunity examined on Cape York differs from any the rover had seen
previously. Its high zinc content suggests effects of water. Weeks later, at the edge of Cape
York, a bright mineral vein identified as hydrated calcium sulfate provided what the mission's
principal investigator, Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., calls "the clearest
evidence for liquid water on Mars that we have found in our eight years on the planet."

Mars years last nearly twice as long as Earth years. Entering its ninth Earth year on Mars,
Opportunity is also heading into its fifth Martian winter. Its solar panels have accumulated so
much dust since Martian winds last cleaned them -- more than in previous winters -- the rover
needs to stay on a sun-facing slope to have enough energy to keep active through the winter.

The rover team has not had to use this strategy with Opportunity in past winters, though it did so
with Spirit, farther from the equator, for the three Martian winters that Spirit survived. By the
beginning of the rovers' fourth Martian winter, drive motors in two of Spirit's six wheels had
ceased working, long past their design lifespan. The impaired mobility kept the rover from
maneuvering to an energy-favorable slope. Spirit stopped communicating in March 2010.

All six of Opportunity's wheels are still useful for driving, but the rover will stay on an outcrop
called "Greeley Haven" until mid-2012 to take advantage of the outcrop's favorable slope and
targets of scientific interest during the Martian winter. After the winter, or earlier if wind cleans
dust off the solar panels, researchers plan to drive Opportunity in search of clay minerals that a
Mars orbiter's observations indicate lie on Endeavour's rim.

"The top priority at Greeley Haven is the radio-science campaign to provide information about
Mars' interior," said JPL's Diana Blaney, deputy project scientist for the mission. This study uses
weeks of tracking radio signals from the stationary rover to measure wobble in the planet's
rotation. The amount of wobble is an indicator of whether the core of the planet is molten,
similar to the way spinning an egg can be used to determine whether it is raw or hard-boiled.

Other research at Greeley Haven includes long-term data gathering to investigate mineral
ingredients of the outcrop with spectrometers on Opportunity's arm, and repeated observations
to monitor wind-caused changes at various scales.

The Moessbauer spectrometer, which identifies iron-containing minerals, uses radiation from
cobalt-57 in the instrument to elicit a response from molecules in the rock. The half-life of cobalt-
57 is only about nine months, so this source has diminished greatly. A measurement that could
have been made in less than an hour during the rover's first year now requires weeks of holding
the spectrometer on the target.

Observations for the campaign to monitor wind-caused changes range in scale from dunes in
the distance to individual grains seen with the rover's microscopic imager. "Wind is the most
active process on Mars today," Blaney said. "It is harder to watch for changes when the rover is
driving every day. We are taking advantage of staying at one place for a while."

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for the NASA Science Mission
Directorate, Washington.  More information about Opportunity is online at:
http://www.nasa.gov/rovers and http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov .  You can follow the project
on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MarsRovers and on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/marsrovers .

-end-


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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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Lyra Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lyrasociety/

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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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Information -- More Info -- And More Info

Fireball sighting, January 16-17-Reply From Alastair Mc Beath

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alastair McBeath <mcbal.gwyvre@virgin.net>
Date: 23 January 2012 19:43
Subject: Fireball sighting, January 16-17
To: Colin James Watling <astrocomera@googlemail.com>

Dear Colin,

Thanks a lot for your latest fireball report from January 16-17.

Sadly, yet again, I've had no other fireball observations from around 18:29 UT that evening as yet, though I'll be adding details on it to the January fireballs topic on the SPA's Observing Forum after I've sent this message, all being well, at:

http://www.popastro.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16607  .

As usual, if you've learnt of anyone else who saw this event (or indeed, any other fireballs), please encourage them to send me full details. The separate topic on the Observing Forum still has advice about making and reporting fireballs that you can direct any additional witnesses to, at:

http://www.popastro.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15296  .

Glad to know your Stargazing Live star party went well that evening too. There seem to have been some decently clear skies over much of the country for once this time.

All best wishes, Alastair.

Alastair McBeath,
Meteor Director, Society for Popular Astronomy.
E-mail: <meteor@popastro.com> (messages under 150 kB in size only, please)

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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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Lyra Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lyrasociety/

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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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Incoming CME

Space Weather News for Jan. 23, 2012
http://spaceweather.com

INCOMING CME: Big sunspot 1402 erupted on Jan. 23rd, producing a strong M9-class solar flare and a fast-moving coronal mass ejection (CME).  Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab say the CME should reach Earth on Jan. 24th at 14:18 UT (+/- 7 hr) and Mars a little more than a day later.  Strong geomagnetic storms are possible when the cloud reaches Earth.  Our magnetic field is still reverberating from a CME impact on Jan. 22nd, so another blow could spark impressive auroras at high latitudes.  Sky watchers in northern Europe, Canada, Alaska, and northern-tier US states such as the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin should be alert for Northern Lights.

DON'T MISS THE STORM: Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).

 

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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)
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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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CME Impact on Jan. 22nd

Space Weather News for Jan. 22, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY: Earth's magnetic field is reverberating from a CME impact during the early hours of Jan. 22nd. The hit compressed Earth's magnetic field, briefly exposing some geosynchronous satellites to solar wind plasma, and disturbed the ionization structure of Earth's upper atmosphere. As night falls on Jan. 22nd, Arctic sky watchers are reporting bright auroras in response to a polar geomagnetic storm (Kp=5).  Please check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

STORM ALERTS:  Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com (voice).


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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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Lyra Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lyrasociety/

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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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LIVE COVERAGE: Delta 4 rocket ready for blastoff today

   NEWSALERT: Thursday, January 19, 2011 @ 2028 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
      The latest news from Spaceflight Now


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INTRODUCING LATEST ASTRONAUT PATCH!
The International Space Station's Expedition 35 crew patch is now
available from our store. Free shipping to U.S. addresses!
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
+++


IT'S LAUNCH DAY FOR DELTA 4 ROCKET AT CAPE CANAVERAL
----------------------------------------------------
The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket that will deploy a vital U.S.
military communications satellite to support battlefield troops and
unmanned aerial drones in the Middle East is scheduled for blastoff
tonight from Cape Canaveral. The $464 million Wideband Global SATCOM 4
spacecraft is scheduled for launch at 7:38 p.m. EST (0038 GMT).

LIVE UPDATES AND STREAMING VIDEO:
http://spaceflightnow.com/delta/d358/status.html

PHOTOS: ROCKET UNVEILED ON THE PAD THIS MORNING
http://spaceflightnow.com/delta/d358/prelaunch/


ROCKET DETAILS LAID OUT IN AIR FORCE'S 9-LAUNCH ORDER
-----------------------------------------------------
Nine national security spacecraft ranging from spy platforms to navigation
birds, communications satellites and weather observatories have been
entrusted to Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets in a $1.5 billion booster
purchase through the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
program, the Defense Department has announced.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1201/18eelvbuy/


CONSTRUCTION ABOUT TO BEGIN ON ATLANTIS' NEW HOME
-------------------------------------------------
Kennedy Space Center tourism officials, Florida's lieutenant governor and
the final space shuttle commander Wednesday morning broke ground on the
$100 million complex that will showcase the retired orbiter Atlantis.

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts135/120118kscvc/


GOOD NIGHT, DISCOVERY
---------------------
The space shuttle Discovery, undergoing her retirement and transition to
museum status at the Kennedy Space Center, has been outfitted with
hollowed thruster and rocket pods, replicas of the main engines, the
payload bay doors sealed up and the emotional moment of being powered down
for the final time. We take a look back at all of those events in this
video package presented for Spaceflight Now+Plus subscribers.

HIGH-DEFINITION GRAIL VIDEO:
http://spaceflightnowplus.com/hd/sts133/

STANDARD-DEFINITION VIDEO:
http://spaceflightnowplus.com/index.php?k=STS-133&s=date

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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
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Lyra Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lyrasociety/

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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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Information -- More Info -- And More Info

Earth-Directed Solar Flare Could Bring Geomagnetic Storms This Weekend

Space Weather News for Jan. 19, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

EARTH-DIRECTED FLARE: Active sunspot 1401 erupted today, Jan. 19th, for more than an hour around 16:00 UT. The long-duration blast produced an M3-class solar flare and a CME that appears to be heading toward Earth. Forecasters say strong geomagnetic storms are possible when the cloud arrives during the late hours of Jan. 21st.  High-latitude (and possibly middle-latitude) sky watchers should be alert for auroras this weekend.  Check http://spaceweather.com for movies and updates.

DON'T MISS THE STORM: Would you like a call when geomagnetic storms are in progress? Storm alerts are available from http://spaceweathertext.com (text) and http://spaceweatherphone.com

(voice).

--

Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
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
--

Lyra Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lyrasociety/

--
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 -- More Info -- And More Info

Shuttle Discovery video special / NASA launch director gets commercial job

   NEWSALERT: Tuesday, January 17, 2011 @ 1422 GMT
-----------------------------------------------------
      The latest news from Spaceflight Now


+++
While others are busy talking, we're busy launching.

While other guys launch press conferences, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
powers launches of people and critical payloads. In 2011, we powered 14
successful launches. Before you listen to their next promise, click here
and watch all 14 zero-fail launches.

www.FutureSpaceUSA.com/pwr_smoke_and_fire.html
+++


GOOD NIGHT, DISCOVERY
---------------------
The space shuttle Discovery, undergoing her retirement and transition to
museum status at the Kennedy Space Center, has been outfitted with
hollowed thruster and rocket pods, replicas of the main engines, the
payload bay doors sealed up and the emotional moment of being powered down
for the final time. We take a look back at all of those events in this
video package presented for Spaceflight Now+Plus.

HIGH-DEFINITION GRAIL VIDEO:
http://spaceflightnowplus.com/hd/sts133/

STANDARD-DEFINITION VIDEO:
http://spaceflightnowplus.com/index.php?k=STS-133&s=date

LEARN MORE ABOUT SFN+PLUS:
http://spaceflightnow.com/store/sfnplus/index.html


FORMER SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH DIRECTOR JOINS ULA
----------------------------------------------
As another sign of the changing landscape in the U.S. space program,
NASA's long-time space shuttle launch director has joined United Launch
Alliance to lead the commercial firm's human spaceflight operations.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1201/16leinbach/


WEATHER LOOKS GOOD FOR THURSDAY'S DELTA 4 LAUNCH
------------------------------------------------
Thursday evening is looking like a pretty nice night to launch a rocket
from Florida's spaceport, according the early weather outlook issued by
Air Force meteorologists Monday morning.

http://spaceflightnow.com/delta/d358/status.html


ILL-FATED MARS PROBE FALLS TO EARTH
-----------------------------------
A $170 million Russian Mars probe, stranded in low-Earth orbit after a
malfunction following launch in November, reportedly fell back into the
dense lower atmosphere Sunday, apparently breaking up over the southern
Pacific Ocean west of Chile.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1201/15reentry/

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--

Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
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
--

Lyra Website: https://sites.google.com/site/lyrasociety/

--
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 -- More Info -- And More Info