KAG Kessingland Astronomy Group: July 2010

Thursday, 29 July 2010

Update on NASA's mission to find Earth-size planets

NEWSALERT: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 2105 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
++++++++++

KEPLER MISSION ON THE VERGE OF MORE PLANET DISCOVERIES
------------------------------------------------------
The Kepler space telescope has uncovered a treasure trove of candidate
planets the size of Earth circling other stars, potentially reshaping
scientists' view of the universe.

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

SEA LAUNCH REORGANIZATION PLAN WINS COURT APPROVAL
--------------------------------------------------
A Delaware bankruptcy court confirmed Sea Launch's plan to reorganize
under majority Russian ownership Tuesday, clearing a key hurdle on the
firm's path to emerge from bankruptcy later this year.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/27sealaunch/

WATER FOUND IN APOLLO SAMPLES
-----------------------------
Traces of water have been found locked up in minerals in the rocks
returned from the Moon by Apollo astronauts forty years ago.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/22moon/

+++
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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

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Solar Activity and the Southern Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower

Space Weather News for July 28, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR ACTIVITY PICKS UP: Earlier today, magnetic fields looping over the sun's southeastern limb became unstable and erupted. The blast produced a bright, towering prominence that attracted the attention of amateur astronomers around the world. Meanwhile, on the sun's northeastern limb, a big new sunspot is emerging and it is crackling with C-class solar flares. Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and movies.

METEOR SHOWER: The University of Western Ontario meteor radar is picking up strong returns from the Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower, which peaks on July 28th. Sky watchers (particularly in the southern hemisphere) should be alert for meteors between about 10 pm and dawn. "Visual rates could be as high as 20 per hour," notes Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, "although glare from the nearly full Moon will make many of the fainter meteors difficult to see."

SPACE WEATHER ALERTS: Did you miss the last big solar flare or geomagnetic storm? Don't let that happen again. Turn your cell phone into a full-featured space weather alert system: 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

Spacewalk completed / Constellation investigation

NEWSALERT: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 @ 1303 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Spaceflight Now

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

SPACEWALKERS COMPLETE OVERNIGHT EXCURSION
-----------------------------------------
Two Russian cosmonauts working outside the International Space Station in
the wee hours this morning wired up the autopilot homing beacon on the
newest docking compartment and threw away a broken television camera on
the outpost's back-end.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/100727eva/

GAO FINDS CONSTELLATION SLOWDOWN IS WITHIN THE LAW
--------------------------------------------------
NASA has not broken federal law by diverting or withholding funds from the
Constellation program, the Government Accountability Office reported
Monday.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/26constellation/

BLACK HOLE FLUNG AROUND TWICE
-----------------------------
A giant black hole has been spun around twice, forcing a change in the
orientation of its spin axis, according to new evidence gleaned from
Chandra X-ray Observatory data.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/22blackhole/

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--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Lat' 52.418056N Long' 1.719722E (Chimney Pot)
--
Elev: 38ft/11.5824 Meters above sea level
--
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

Russian cosmonauts to take spacewalk tonight

NEWSALERT: Monday, July 26, 2010 @ 1848 GMT
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===========================================
Looking for a job out of this world?
The top jobs and the best talents in
the space industry are on Space Careers.

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

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

OVERNIGHT SPACEWALK COMING UP FOR STATION COSMONAUTS
----------------------------------------------------
Playing repairmen and electricians outside the International Space
Station, two Russian cosmonauts will conduct a spacewalk late tonight to
replace a bad television camera and wire up the outpost's newest module.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp24/100726eva/

ZOMBIESAT HAS THREE MORE SATELLITES IN ITS CROSSHAIRS
-----------------------------------------------------
The out-of-control Galaxy 15 spacecraft will pass near three more orbiting
broadcast platforms before it loses power in late August or early
September, putting an end to the zombie satellite's menacing tour of the
geostationary arc.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/25galaxy15/

TROUBLED WEATHER SATELLITE RECEIVES FINAL INSTRUMENT
----------------------------------------------------
The next U.S. weather satellite has received its final observing
instrument and will begin pre-launch environmental testing in October,
NASA announced last week.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/25npp/

CURIOSITY GOES FOR A SPIN
-------------------------
The Curiosity rover took its first steps Friday inside a clean room at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, kicking off a test campaign to prove the $2.3
billion robot can operate on the surface of Mars.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/23curiosity/

ESA SPACE SCIENCE MISSIONS AWAIT DECISIONS ABROAD
-------------------------------------------------
The European Space Agency's selection of its next generation of space
science probes will depend on upcoming decisions before science and budget
panels in the United States and Japan.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/23cosmicvision/

+++
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+++

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Lat' 52.418056N Long' 1.719722E (Chimney Pot)
--
Elev: 38ft/11.5824 Meters above sea level
--
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] BAA Exhibition Meeting 2010

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

BAA Exhibition Meeting
Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Saturday, 26 June 2010

The Exhibition Meeting website (URL below) has now been updated with a
brief report and a selection of photographs. A video, produced by Bob
Marriott, is also available for download: WMV format, 182 Mb, 29
minutes.

Lorraine Crook
Exhibition Meeting Organiser
http://www.britastro.org/exhibition/
lorraine@hamal.demon.co.uk
Mobile : 07964759278

======================================================================
BAA electronic bulletins service. E-mail: circadmin@britastro.org
Bulletin transmitted on Sat Jul 24 03:54:22 BST 2010
(c) 2010 British Astronomical Association http://www.britastro.org/
======================================================================

Curiosity Rover Grows by Leaps and Bounds

Curiosity Rover Grows by Leaps and Bounds

Talk about a growth-spurt. In one week, Curiosity grew by approximately 1 meter (3.5
feet) when spacecraft technicians and engineers attached the rover's neck and head
(called the Remote Sensing Mast) to its body. At around 2 meters (about 7 feet) tall, the
next rover to Mars now stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Mounted on Curiosity's mast are two navigation cameras (Navcams), two mast cameras
(Mastcam), and the laser-carrying chemistry camera (ChemCam).

While it now has a good head on its shoulders, Curiosity's "eyes" (the Mastcam), have
been blindfolded in a protective silvery material. The Mastcam, containing two digital
cameras, will soon be unveiled, so engineers can test its picture-taking abilities.

Up next today (July 23), the towering rover will take its first baby steps: a slow roll on the
floor of the clean room where it's being built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. Watch Curiosity's progress live from the clean room on Ustream until
3:30 p.m. PDT today: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl .

Learn more about Curiosity at: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ .

2010-245
-end-

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/astrocomera
--
Lat' 52.418056N Long' 1.719722E (Chimney Pot)
--
Elev: 38ft/11.5824 Meters above sea level
--
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
--
Blog: http://lyrandgyastronomers.blogspot.com/
--
astrocomera@googlemail.com (this main email address)
jupitermoon@tiscali.co.uk (alternative email address)
stella.comans@yahoo.co.uk (alternative email address)
astrocomet@bushinternet.com (old email address)
strobecrystal@bushinternet.com (old email address)

NASA

NEWSALERT: Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 1840 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
++++++++++

ORBITAL PLANS TAURUS 2 TEST FLIGHT WITH EXTRA MONEY
---------------------------------------------------
The Taurus 2 rocket could be launched on a standalone test flight next
summer if NASA provides supplemental funding for commercial cargo
services, Orbital Sciences Corp. officials told investment analysts
Thursday.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/22orbitalcots/

GIANT STAR BREAKS ALL RECORDS
-----------------------------
A star that weighed in at over 320 times more massive than our Sun when it
was born has been discovered deep within the Tarantula Nebula in the Large
Magellanic Cloud, confounding expectations of just how big monster stars
can be.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/21massive/

FIRST 'BUCKYBALLS' FOUND IN SPACE
---------------------------------
Ball-shaped carbon molecules nicknamed "buckyballs" have been found in
space for the first time, 25 years after they were observed in a
laboratory.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/23buckyballs/

"THIS WEEK IN SPACE"
--------------------
A special edition of "This Week In Space" profiles the 35th anniversary of
Apollo-Soyuz with exclusive interviews, plus Virgin Galactic takes flight
and the Senate approves extra shuttle launch and heavy-lift rocket.

http://spaceflightnow.com/twis/

+++
GET OUR LIVE UPDATES FROM TWITTER!
Sign up to Spaceflight Now's Twitter feed
and get text message updates on your cell phone.
http://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/
+++

--
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 Spacecraft Camera Yields Most Accurate Mars Map Ever

News release: 2010-244 July 23, 2010

NASA Spacecraft Camera Yields Most Accurate Mars Map Ever

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-244&cid=release_2010-244

PASADENA, Calif. – A camera aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has helped develop the
most accurate global Martian map ever. Researchers and the public can access the map via several
websites and explore and survey the entire surface of the Red Planet.

The map was constructed using nearly 21,000 images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System, or
THEMIS, a multi-band infrared camera on Odyssey. Researchers at Arizona State University's Mars
Space Flight Facility in Tempe, in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif., have been compiling the map since THEMIS observations began eight years ago.

The pictures have been smoothed, matched, blended and cartographically controlled to make a giant
mosaic. Users can pan around images and zoom into them. At full zoom, the smallest surface details
are 100 meters (330 feet) wide. While portions of Mars have been mapped at higher resolution, this
map provides the most accurate view so far of the entire planet.

The new map is available at: http://www.mars.asu.edu/maps/?layer=thm_dayir_100m_v11 .

Advanced users with large bandwidth, powerful computers and software capable of handling images
in the gigabyte range can download the full-resolution map in sections at:
http://www.mars.asu.edu/data/thm_dir_100m .

"We've tied the images to the cartographic control grid provided by the U.S. Geological Survey,
which also modeled the THEMIS camera's optics," said Philip Christensen, principal investigator for
THEMIS and director of the Mars Space Flight Facility. "This approach lets us remove all instrument
distortion, so features on the ground are correctly located to within a few pixels and provide the best
global map of Mars to date."

Working with THEMIS images from the new map, the public can contribute to Mars exploration by
aligning the images to within a pixel's accuracy at NASA's "Be a Martian" website, which was
developed in cooperation with Microsoft Corp. Users can visit the site at:
http://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/maproom#/MapMars .

"The Mars Odyssey THEMIS team has assembled a spectacular product that will be the base map for
Mars researchers for many years to come," said Jeffrey Plaut, Odyssey project scientist at JPL. "The
map lays the framework for global studies of properties such as the mineral composition and physical
nature of the surface materials."

Other sites build upon the base map. At Mars Image Explorer, which includes images from every
Mars orbital mission since the mid-1970s, users can search for images using a map of Mars at:
http://themis.asu.edu/maps .

"The broad purpose underlying all these sites is to make Mars exploration easy and engaging for
everyone," Christensen said. "We are trying to create a user-friendly interface between the public and
NASA's Planetary Data System, which does a terrific job of collecting, validating and archiving
data."

Mars Odyssey was launched in April 2001 and reached the Red Planet in October 2001. Science
operations began in February 2002. The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver is the prime contractor for the
project and built the spacecraft. NASA's Planetary Data System, sponsored by the Science Mission
Directorate, archives and distributes scientific data from the agency's planetary missions, astronomical
observations, and laboratory measurements.

For more information about NASA's Odyssey spacecraft, visit: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey .

JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

-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

Wild 2: If You Were There

Wild 2: If You Were There

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:00:00 -0500

On Jan. 2, 2004 NASA's Stardust spacecraft made a close flyby of comet Wild 2 (pronounced "Vilt-2"). Among the equipment the spacecraft carried on board was a navigation camera.that Comet Wild 2 is about 3.1 miles in diameter. This artist's concept depicts a view of Wild 2 that shows the faint jets emanating from the comet. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Questions? Contact Us

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

Friday, 23 July 2010

Comet Lulin

Lulin

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:00:00 -0500

NASA's Swift satellite views Comet Lulin as it made it closest approach to Earth in February 2009. Lulin, like all comets, is a clump of frozen gases mixed with dust. These "dirty snowballs" cast off gas and dust whenever they venture near the sun. Comet Lulin, which is formally known as C/2007 N3, was discovered in 2008 by astronomers at Taiwan's Lulin Observatory. Lulin passed closest to Earth -- 38 million miles, or about 160 times farther than the moon -- late on the evening of Feb. 23, 2009, for North America. Image Credit: NASA, Swift, Univ. Leicester, DSS (STScI/AURUA), Dennis Bodewits, et al.

"This Week In Space" marks special anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz

NEWSALERT: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 @ 1453 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
++++++++++

"THIS WEEK IN SPACE"
-----------------------------------------------
A special edition of "This Week In Space" profiles the 35th anniversary of
Apollo-Soyuz with exclusive interviews, plus Virgin Galactic takes flight
and the Senate approves extra shuttle launch and heavy-lift rocket.

http://spaceflightnow.com/twis/

MARS SAMPLE RETURN MISSION COULD BEGIN WITH 2018 ROVER
------------------------------------------------------
Space officials in the United States and Europe are planning an ambitious
dual-rover mission that could start collecting Martian soil samples in
2018 to be picked up by a subsequent mission and returned to Earth in the
2020s.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/20sample/

+++
GET OUR LIVE UPDATES FROM TWITTER!
Sign up to Spaceflight Now's Twitter feed
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http://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/
+++

--
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

Celebrating Apollo 11

Celebrating Apollo 11
Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:00:00 -0500

NASA and Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) officials joined with flight controllers to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission in the Mission Control Center. From left foreground Dr. Maxime A. Faget, MSC Director of Engineering and Development; George S. Trimble, MSC Deputy Director; Dr. Christopher C. Kraft Jr., MSC Director fo Flight Operations; Julian Scheer (in back), Assistant Adminstrator, Office of Public Affairs, NASA HQ.; George M. Low, Manager, Apollo Spacecraft Program, MSC; Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, MSC Director; and Charles W. Mathews, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Manned Space Flight, NASA HQ. Image Credit: NASA

Waiting to hear from Mars rover / WISE map of universe

NEWSALERT: Monday, July 19, 2010 @ 1337 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Spaceflight Now

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

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

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

RED PLANET ROVER COULD EMERGE FROM SLUMBER SOON
-----------------------------------------------
NASA officials say the best chance to hear from the napping Spirit rover
again will be in September or October, but the timing of the robot's
revival from winter hibernation is an engineering guessing game.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/19spirit/

WISE MISSION COMPLETES FIRST LOOK THROUGH UNIVERSE
--------------------------------------------------
The WISE infrared telescope finished surveying the universe Saturday, but
its $320 million mission will continue until its funding and hydrogen
coolant run out later this year.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/18wise/

HUBBLE STIRS UP COSMIC BREW
---------------------------
The latest offering from the Hubble Space Telescope presents a swirling
cosmic brew studded with blistering hot young stars.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/13hubble/

+++
GET OUR LIVE UPDATES FROM TWITTER!
Sign up to Spaceflight Now's Twitter feed
and get text message updates on your cell phone.
http://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/
+++

--
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

Next Falcon 9 shipped to Cape / A compromise for NASA's future

NEWSALERT: Friday, July 16, 2010 @ 2109 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
++++++++++

SECOND FALCON 9 ROCKET BEGINS ARRIVING AT THE CAPE
--------------------------------------------------
Six weeks after the first Falcon 9 rocketed into orbit, pieces of the
second launcher have begun arriving at Cape Canaveral for a shakedown
flight of SpaceX's Dragon capsule scheduled for no earlier than September,
according to the company's top executive.

http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/002/100716firststage/

ORBITING CAMERA TURNS MARTIAN SURFACE INTO ART
----------------------------------------------
A sharp-eyed camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has sent
back more stunning images of the Red Planet's surface showing colorful
sand dunes, polar frost, and rocky features visible from space.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/15hirise/

SWIFT DAZZLED BY DISTANT X-RAY BLAST
------------------------------------
A violent burst of X-rays from beyond the neighbourhood of the Milky Way
temporarily blinded the sensors on the orbiting Swift satellite last
month, reveal mission scientists.

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/15grb/

HOT PLANET GROWS A TAIL
-----------------------
A planet with a tail like a comet is slowly evaporating in the face of a
wind of radiation from its parent star, according to brand new
observations from the Hubble Space Telescope

http://astronomynow.com/news/n1007/16planet/

+++
GET OUR LIVE UPDATES FROM TWITTER!
Sign up to Spaceflight Now's Twitter feed
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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

Monday, 19 July 2010

SPA ENB No. 292

                ***********************************
                 The SOCIETY for POPULAR ASTRONOMY
                ***********************************
        ====================================================
         Electronic News Bulletin No. 292      2010 July 18
        ====================================================

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

JUNE BOÖTIDS - FURTHER DETAILS
By Alastair McBeath, SPA Meteor Section Director

It has remained unclear whether any significant June Boötid activity
occurred on June 23-24, as had been predicted in advance, further
to the preliminary discussion given last time. An examination of the
results reaching the Meteor Section directly, coupled with
observations reported on the IMO-News and Meteorobs e-mailing
lists, has suggested that Zenithal Hourly Rates (ZHRs) between
roughly 22h-06h UT on June 23-24 averaged 9 +/- 2, far below
the anticipated ~20-50. Video rates for the shower then averaged
about two sporadics per June Boötid, which while a rather crude
estimated method, did imply quite weak Boötid activity overall.
Radio results provided directly, plus those reported in June's Radio
Meteor Observation Bulletin (RMOB No. 203), showed little sign
of anything unusual on June 23-24, and nothing at all on June 27,
another potential date for June Boötid activity based on previous
years' events (see ENB 290, archived at: http://snipurl.com/zicst .
There was an indication of weak radio-meteor activity potentially
due to the Boötids between ~11h-13h UT on June 23 in some of
the data collected by observers in North America (European
observers had no suitable radiant elevation for the shower then).
Unfortunately, the relatively few sets of radio observations not
affected by summertime Sporadic-E interference (on which see
also ENB 290), and the paucity of data collected by other
techniques, made these results tentative only. It is though interesting
that none found the kind of easily-detected, sustained rates found
with the shower at both its other recent outbursts, in 2004 and 1998.

The observers whose data was used in preparing this analysis,
including those from the two e-mail lists, RMOB 203 (provided
by Editor Chris Steyaert; available at: http://www.rmob.org ),
and the North American Meteor Network (NAMN; see
http://www.namnmeteors.org ; results and additional discussion
from Network leader Mark Davis) were as follows, where "R"
means radio, "Vi" video and "V" visual results were provided by
that person:

Enric Algeciras (Spain; RMOB; R), Orlando Benitez (Canary
Islands; RMOB; R), Michael Boschat (Nova Scotia, Canada;
RMOB; R), Jeff Brower (British Columbia, Canada; R; some data
also in RMOB), Willy Camps (Belgium; RMOB; R), Johan
Coussens (Belgium; RMOB; R), Gaspard De Wilde (Belgium;
RMOB; R), Kurt Fisher (Utah, USA; RMOB; R), Karl-Heinz
Gansel (Germany; RMOB; R), Patrice Guérin (France; RMOB;
R), Javor Kac & colleagues (Slovenia; Vi + V), Paul Martsching
(Iowa, USA; NAMN; V), Mike Otte (Illinois, USA; RMOB; R),
Jürgen Rendtel (Germany; V), Steve Roush (Arizona, USA;
RMOB; R), Wayne Sanders (British Columbia, Canada; RMOB;
R), Andy Smith (England; RMOB; R), Chris Steyaert (Belgium;
RMOB; R), Enrico Stomeo (Italy; Vi), Dave Swan (England;
RMOB; R), Istvan Tepliczky (Hungary; RMOB; R + Vi), Michel
Vandeputte (Belgium; V), Felix Verbelen (Belgium; RMOB; R).

My grateful thanks go to all involved for their efforts, and also to
Rich Taibi in Maryland, USA, for additional discussions of some
of the early radio results especially. Any further June Boötid
observations would be very welcome still!

JUNE'S DAYTIME METEOR SHOWERS
By Alastair McBeath, SPA Meteor Section Director

Three major, annual showers have maxima due in June, all with
radiants near the Sun, and detectable from Britain only by radio in
the daytime. Details are given each year for them in our June
meteor activity webpage. In general, radio observers have managed
to follow something of them for many years, when summertime
interference has permitted. All three were discovered by radar from
Jodrell Bank in 1947. Theoretically, the Arietids should peak on
June 7, with past estimates implying their equivalent visual ZHRs
could be around 60. Similarly, the Zeta Perseids should reach
maximum on June 9 (visual-equivalent ZHRs ~40). Both these
radiants are so close together in the sky, and their maxima follow
one another so quickly, it is impossible for amateur radio-meteor
systems to separate the two. The final major daytime shower in
June is the Beta Taurids, with an often ill-defined peak around
June 28, best visual-equivalent ZHRs about 25. This is the Earth's
second annual encounter with the Taurid showers we see visually
overnight each year in the autumn. Drawing on extra data provided
by Jeff Brower in Canada, and the observers listed above from
RMOB 203, analyses were carried out to try to establish the more
likely near-maximum activities for all three sources.

A disappointingly large number of European radio datasets were
badly affected by Sporadic-E throughout the first half of June
especially, leading sometimes to entire days'-worth of results being
lost, a great frustration for both observers and analysts.
Consequently, the findings here are not as securely-established as
might be preferred. With that caveat in mind, a generally heightened
level of radio meteor activity was found in the majority of the
surviving results between June 6 and 12, due to daytime activity.
The most probable daylight peaks fell on June 8 and 11 within that
time, but neither was particularly obvious. These more probable
peak dates were in-line with the Section's analyses from previous
years, using results going back to the early 1990s, which have often
indicated the Arietid and Zeta Perseid peaks could be happening
around a day later than predictions suggested (which predictions
were based chiefly on radar results collected sporadically during the
late 1940s to early 1970s).

Gaps in the data created continued difficulties for the Beta Taurid
analysis, though a daylight peak can be inferred as falling between
June 24 and 28, likely due chiefly to this radiant or one nearby.
Within that period, a majority of the systems less-affected by
interference gave a probable peak on June 25 or 26. There were
also indications activity may have been rising again on June 30,
something which will need checking once all July's radio data is
available. As noted already, an ill-defined peak has seemed to be
a feature of the Beta Taurids, and previous examinations have
hinted that there may be more than one possible maximum date in
late June to early July.

Again, my most grateful thanks go to all the observers involved, with
commiserations to those whose data was badly-affected by Sporadic-E.

VERY SLOW FIREBALL IMAGED OVER FRANCE
By Alastair McBeath, SPA Meteor Section Director

An unusually long-lasting, very slow fireball that remained visible for
around 7-10 seconds, occurred over southern France on June 5-6,
at 22:37 UT. It was reported to the Section directly, but French
meteor and fireball analyst Karl Antier received a great many more
reports of it, including news that the event had been caught on video
by the Italian Video Meteor Network. The video record is available
at: http://snipurl.com/zivw5 .

Ordinarily, the SPA Meteor Section collects data chiefly on fireball
events spotted from the British Isles and places nearby, but any
British holidaymakers who were in France at the time and saw this
event are welcome to send-in a full report, if they have not already
provided details to Karl or the Section. Copies of such sightings
will be forwarded to Karl as well, to assist with his analysis. Details
on what to report, including an e-mail fireball report form, can be
found on the "Making and Reporting Fireball Observations"
webpage, at: http://snipurl.com/u8aer .

MAIN METEOR PROSPECTS FOR JULY-AUGUST
By Alastair McBeath, SPA Meteor Section Director

July-August brings one of the stronger near-ecliptic meteor
showers during the year, the Delta Aquarids, whose maximum
ZHRs of about 15-20 are usually achieved for a day or two around
July 28-30. Regrettably, the shower radiant's southerly Declination
(not unexpectedly, it lies near the star Delta Aquarii in late July),
means observed meteor numbers are always much lower than the
ZHRs from Britain, though rare Delta Aquarid meteors can be very
bright at times. Full Moon on July 26 ruins any possibility for
dark-sky coverage of the likely peak from the UK this summer,
though lower activity of these medium-speed meteors is usually
seen from circa July 12 till August 19. For more information and a
radiant chart, see July's meteor activity webpage at:
http://snipurl.com/zjivm .

By contrast, the Perseid maximum fares much better, thanks to new
Moon on August 10. It is due between 18:30 UT on August 12 to
07:00 UT on August 13 this year, most likely at some stage from
about 23:30 to 02:00 UT. It should produce ZHRs of around 100.
This most plausible peak interval is very favourable for Britain, as
the Perseid radiant, a few degrees northeast of the "Double Cluster"
near the maximum, can be usefully-observed from roughly 22h UT
onwards, culminating after dawn. Perseids are swift, often bright,
and commonly trained meteors, and those hoping to image some
may find their capture rates enhanced by aiming towards
And-Cas-Peg-Cyg. The shower is active from July 17 or so
through to August 24, and although rates are always lower away
from the peak, observed activity is usually good to very good for a
couple of days before the maximum plus a day or so afterwards.
This is important to remember if it seems the actual peak night may
be clouded-out. Further information and a Perseid radiant chart is
on the August meteor activity webpage, http://snipurl.com/zjjbd  .

Good luck, and clear skies!

PLANETS
By Andrew Robertson, SPA Planetary Section Director

I have had no reports of planetary observations since my last notice,
which is hardly surprising since it doesn't get reasonably dark until
after many people have gone to bed and there haven't been any planets
on prominent display.  You can see Venus low in the west after sunset,
and Mars & Saturn as it gets a bit darker, but they're all low down
and don't really offer much detail although they are still nice to see
with the unaided eye and binoculars.  On July 30, Mars and Saturn are
in conjunction less than 2 degrees apart, with the much brighter Venus
8 degrees away below and to the right.  Compared to Venus's brilliance
of mag -4.1 though, Saturn is only mag 1.1 and Mars 1.5.  By August 7
all three are within 3 or 4 degrees of each other but are only about 8
degrees above the horizon half an hour after sunset so still in a
brightish sky; they then effectively fade from view for this
apparition.

Jupiter, however, is coming to prominence, rising in the east in
the early hours.  I had a reasonable view of it. albeit low down
still. at 1am BST on July 15.  The NEB (north equatorial belt) is very
prominent and there is a trace of the 'vanished' SEB.  I am also
starting to see observations from other sources, what I would describe
as the die-hard amateurs who observe at every opportunity and produce
semi-professional results.  At 2am BST Jupiter will have risen to 22
degrees altitude on July 18, 28 degrees on July 31 and 33 degrees on
August 14.  Worth making an effort, as you can never know when that
SEB is going to make a dramatic re-appearance!

Uranus is not far from Jupiter throughout this next 4-week period,
just under 3 degrees to Jupiter's right (west).  At high power through
a telescope you can see a tiny greenish to slightly bluish disc and
during moments of good seeing you can see limb darkening which I
observed myself a few nights ago in the early hours.  Neptune comes to
opposition on August 20, but as it is low down in Capricornus and
presents a tiny blue disc about 2".5 in diameter there is not much
to be seen.

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

I post a selection of members' observations on the SPA web site,
and they can be viewed on the Planetary Section's web page at:
http://popastro.com/planet/category/observations/

WAS VENUS ONCE A HABITABLE PLANET?
ESA

If Venus once had oceans, it might have been a habitable planet
similar to the Earth.  The Earth and Venus seem completely different
today: here, we have a lush, clement world teeming with life, while
Venus is hellish, its surface roasting at high temperatures.  But the
two planets are nearly identical in size, and now, thanks to the Venus
Express orbiter, planetary scientists are seeing other similarities.
One difference stands out: Venus has very little water.  Were
the contents of the Earth's oceans to be spread evenly across the
world, they would create a layer 3 kilometres deep.  If you could
condense the amount of water vapour in Venus' atmosphere onto its
surface, it would create a global puddle just 3 centimetres deep.

Yet, billions of years ago, Venus probably had more water.  Venus
Express has found that the planet has lost a large quantity of water
into space.  The loss occurs because ultraviolet radiation from the
Sun streams into Venus' atmosphere and breaks up the water molecules
into atoms, which then escape into space.  Venus Express has measured
the rate of escape and found that roughly twice as much hydrogen as
oxygen is escaping.  It is believed that water is the source of the
escaping ions.  It has also shown that deuterium, a heavy isotope of
hydrogen, is progressively enriched in the upper layers of Venus'
atmosphere because the heavier isotope does not escape so easily.

Everything points to there having been large amounts of water on Venus
in the past, but that does not necessarily mean that there were oceans
on the planet's surface.  A newly developed a computer model suggests
that the water was largely atmospheric and existed only during the
earliest times when the surface of the planet was completely molten.
Whether that is true or not is a key question.  If Venus ever did
possess surface water, it may possibly have had an early habitable
phase.  It is also possible that colliding comets brought additional
water to Venus after the surface crystallized, and that they created
bodies of standing water in which life might have been able to form.

ROSETTA TRIUMPHS AT ASTEROID LUTETIA
Science Daily

ESA's Rosetta mission has returned the first close-up images of the
asteroid Lutetia, showing that it is probably a primitive survivor
from the violent birth of the Solar System.  The images show that
Lutetia is heavily cratered, having suffered many impacts during its
4.5 billion years of existence.  As Rosetta drew close, a bowl-shaped
depression stretching across much of the asteroid rotated into view.
The images show that Lutetia is an elongated body, with its longest
dimension around 130 km.  The pictures come from Rosetta's OSIRIS
instrument, which combines a wide-angle and a narrow-angle camera.  At
closest approach, details down to a size of 60 m can be seen over the
entire surface of Lutetia.  Rosetta raced past the asteroid at 15
km/s, completing the fly-by in just a minute, but the cameras and
other instruments had been working for hours and in some cases days
beforehand, and will continue afterwards.  Ground telescopes have
shown Lutetia to present confusing characteristics.  In some respects
it resembles a 'C-type' asteroid, a primitive body left over from the
formation of the Solar System.  In others, it looks like an 'M-type',
which have been associated with iron meteorites, are usually reddish
and are thought to be fragments of the cores of much larger objects.

The fly-by marks the attainment of one of Rosetta's main scientific
objectives.  The spacecraft will now continue to a 2014 rendezvous
with its primary target, Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko.  It will then
accompany the comet for months, from near the orbit of Jupiter
down to its closest approach to the Sun.  In 2014 November
Rosetta will release its Philae lander to land on the comet nucleus.

PROCESSES OF MASSIVE-STAR FORMATION
Joint Astronomy Center, Hilo, Hawaii

Astronomers using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT)
believe that they have identified the leading mechanism by which
massive stars form in our Galaxy: by collecting matter via discs
around their equatorial regions.  That was revealed by the detection
of gas outflows and shocked regions associated with massive young
stars in formation, located in clouds of gas and dust.  Scientists
know that lower-mass stars like our Sun form by gravitational collapse
of material inside clouds of gas and dust in space.  The gas and dust
spiral down onto the equatorial regions of the young star by a
process known as accretion.  At the same time, the accreting young
stars drive high-velocity jets of gas ('outflows') which radiate at
infrared wavelengths, so astronomers can use observations in the
infrared to search for not only the youngest stars, but also evidence
of the accretion process.

There have been misgivings over whether stars with masses larger than
10 times the mass of our Sun form in the same way, as it has been
supposed that the extreme energy output of such stars, which start
nuclear burning in their cores even before they complete their growth
through accretion, would prevent further growth by blowing away the
accretion discs.  Hence, alternative mechanisms such as mergers of
lower-mass stars have been suggested as the main way in which massive
stars form.  The presence or absence of outflows from massive young
stars should tell us whether accretion or some other method leads to
their formation.  Most of the massive young stars being formed are
confined to the Galactic plane and are located in molecular clouds
extending over several or even tens of light-years.  They are hidden
behind large amounts of gas and dust, which hamper their detection at
visible wavelengths but are penetrated by infrared light.  The UKIRT
observers looked at 50 bright young stellar objects; 38 of them showed
molecular line emission, in most cases arising from outflows.  Within
the sample, the outflows are seen to be well-defined irrespective of
the energy output of their central young stars and are nearly as
well-defined as those from low-mass stars.  The outflows appear to be
driven by jets like those from low-mass stars.  The astronomers have
concluded that massive stars up to at least 30 times the mass of the
Sun form through disc accretion.

ORIGIN OF MILKY WAY'S ANCIENT STARS
RAS

Scientists at Durham and collaborators at the Max Planck Institute and
Groningen University in Holland have tried to make computer
simulations of the beginnings of our Galaxy.  The simulations have
suggested that ancient stars found in a stellar halo of debris
surrounding the Milky Way were ripped from smaller galaxies by the
gravitational forces generated by colliding galaxies.  Cosmologists
think that the early Universe was full of small galaxies which led
short and violent lives, colliding with one another and leaving behind
debris which eventually settled into more familiar-looking galaxies
like the Milky Way.

UNRAVELLING THE NATURE OF HANNY'S VOORWERP
ASTRON, Dwingeloo, Netherlands

A group of researchers has made high-resolution radio observations
of the region of space around Hanny's Voorwerp (Hanny's Object), the
curious, greenish gas cloud discovered by Dutch schoolteacher Hanny
van Arkel.  The astronomers undertook an observational campaign at
radio wavelengths in which several radio telescopes across Europe and
the United Kingdom were linked together in real time in order to
obtain a detailed picture of the central region of the adjacent galaxy
IC 2497.  They observed a field a few arcseconds across, with a
spatial resolution of about 70 milliseconds.  The observations show
two bright and very compact sources with broadband spectra that argue
for the existence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) at the centre
of IC 2497.  One of the sources appears to be identifiable with a
supposed black hole at the centre of the AGN itself, while the other
is likely to be the result of an energetic jet expelled by the black
hole and now interacting with dense gas that surrounds IC 2497.  The
radiation from the AGN is believed to heat Hanny's Voorwerp to a
temperature above 10,000°.

It also appears that surrounding the AGN is a lot of extended radio
emission.  The researchers argue that it is associated with a nuclear
starburst.  Astronomers knew that IC 2497 is forming stars, but were
surprised to find that the star formation seems to be concentrated in
a very small central region, only 1000 parsecs across.  It is fairly
unusual to find both vigorous star formation and AGN radio activity in
the same system and on similar scales.  The radio observations
indicate that in the central region IC 2497 is producing stars with a
total mass of the order of 70 Suns every year -- a high rate, about 6
times higher than in the nearby starburst galaxy M82.

The observations support the group's earlier hypothesis that a hidden
AGN in the centre of IC 2497 is ionizing a distinct region of gas that
surrounds that galaxy.  That distinct region is what is known as
Hanny's Voorwerp.  Such phenomena must be rare in the local Universe
because they depend on a specific geometry of the observer, galaxy,
and gas, plus the interaction of several galaxies in the field in
order to fuel the AGN and the starburst, and to create the gas
reservoir that forms part of the Voorwerp.

VOYAGER SPACECRAFT AT 12,000 DAYS
Science Daily

On June 28, the Voyager 2 spacecraft had been operating continuously
for 12,000 days.  For nearly 33 years, the venerable spacecraft has
been returning data about the outer planets, and the characteristics
and interaction of the solar wind between and beyond the planets.
Among its findings, Voyager 2 discovered Neptune's Great Dark Spot and
its 450-m/s winds.  The two Voyager spacecraft have been the longest
continuously operating spacecraft in deep space.  Voyager 2 was
launched on 1977 August 20; Voyager 1 was a little later, on
1977 September 5, so it reached its 12,0000 days on July 14.  The two
spacecraft are the most distant man-made objects, out at the edge of
the heliosphere -- the bubble that the Sun creates around the Solar
System.  Having travelled more than 21 billion kilometres on its
winding path among the planets towards interstellar space, Voyager 2
is now nearly 14 billion kilometres away; a signal from the ground,
travelling at the speed of light, takes about 12.8 hours one-way to
reach it.  Voyager 1 is even further away, more than 17 billion
kilometres.

Owing to holidays, the next scheduled edition of the bulletin will
appear on August 15.

Bulletin compiled by Clive Down

(c) 2010 the Society for Popular Astronomy

--
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 (July 18, 2010)

Dear comet observers,

We have prepared the following new chart for our homepage:

* C/2009 K5 (McNaught) :

a 3.0x4.0 degrees charts for the period 18 - 31 July 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.

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

Friday, 16 July 2010

Finish line for shuttle tanks / Taurus 2 could launch from Florida

NEWSALERT: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 @ 1558 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Spaceflight Now

+++++++++
Astronaut Autograph Show Tickets on Sale NOW!

Sign on and suit up, Space Fans! The world's largest Astronaut Autograph &
Memorabilia Show tickets are on sale NOW to benefit the Astronaut
Scholarship Foundation! Reserve your SPACE today!

http://astronautscholarship.org/aams/index.html
+++++++++

FUEL TANK FOR FINAL SHUTTLE WELCOMED AT SPACEPORT
-------------------------------------------------
The external fuel tank for the final scheduled space shuttle launch has
arrived at the Kennedy Space Center after a five-day, 900-mile barge ride
from Louisiana to the Cape.

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/100714tank/

TAURUS 2 COULD LAUNCH ASTRONAUTS FROM FLORIDA
---------------------------------------------
Orbital Sciences Corp. could reevaluate moving some of its Taurus 2 rocket
missions from Virgina to Florida if the company wins a contract to launch
astronauts or stacks its backlog with satellite launches, a senior company
official said Tuesday.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/14orbital/

NASA HOPES TO LAUNCH HIGH-TECH DEMOS EARLY AND OFTEN
----------------------------------------------------
NASA's new space technology development program is taking a page from
Google. The innovative Internet firm's mantra of launching products early
and often could be the tagline for NASA's consolidated initiative to
develop revolutionary space capabilities, according to the agency's chief
technologist.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/13nasatech/

BANKRUPT SEA LAUNCH SIGNS CONTRACT WITH ASIASAT
-----------------------------------------------
Sea Launch netted a contract last week to send an unspecified AsiaSat
communications satellite to orbit between 2012 and 2014, strengthening the
company's backlog as it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy later this year.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1007/12sealaunch/

"THIS WEEK IN SPACE:" THREATS TO EARTH
--------------------------------------
This Week: The search for hazards from unknown near-Earth asteroids, the
last shuttle fuel tank leaves factory, next round of workforce layoffs and
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden's Muslim comment.

http://spaceflightnow.com/twis/

+++
GET OUR LIVE UPDATES FROM TWITTER!
Sign up to Spaceflight Now's Twitter feed
and get text message updates on your cell phone.
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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

Wednesday, 14 July 2010

Farewell Lutetia

Farewell Lutetia
Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:00:00 -0500

On its way to a 2014 rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, with NASA instruments aboard, flew past asteroid Lutetia on Saturday, July 10. The instruments aboard Rosetta recorded the first close-up image of the biggest asteroid so far visited by a spacecraft. Rosetta made measurements to derive the mass of the object, understand the properties of the asteroid's surface crust, record the solar wind in the vicinity and look for evidence of an atmosphere. The spacecraft passed the asteroid at a minimum distance of 3,160 kilometers (1,950 miles) and at a velocity of 15 kilometers (9 miles) per second, completing the flyby in just a minute. But the cameras and other instruments had been working for hours and in some cases days beforehand, and will continue afterwards. Shortly after closest approach, Rosetta began transmitting data to Earth for processing. Lutetia has been a mystery for many years. Ground telescopes have shown that it presents confusing characteristics. In some respects it resembles a 'C-type' asteroid, a primitive body left over from the formation of the solar system. In others, it looks like an 'M-type'. These have been associated with iron meteorites, are usually reddish and thought to be fragments of the cores of much larger objects. Image Credits: ESA 2010 MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA

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Thursday, 29 July 2010

Update on NASA's mission to find Earth-size planets

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Solar Activity and the Southern Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower

Spacewalk completed / Constellation investigation

Russian cosmonauts to take spacewalk tonight

[BAA 00506] BAA Exhibition Meeting 2010

Curiosity Rover Grows by Leaps and Bounds

NASA

NASA Spacecraft Camera Yields Most Accurate Mars Map Ever

Wild 2: If You Were There

Friday, 23 July 2010

Comet Lulin

"This Week In Space" marks special anniversary of Apollo-Soyuz

Celebrating Apollo 11

Waiting to hear from Mars rover / WISE map of universe

Next Falcon 9 shipped to Cape / A compromise for NASA's future

Monday, 19 July 2010

SPA ENB No. 292

Charts-info Astrosite Groningen (July 18, 2010)

Friday, 16 July 2010

Finish line for shuttle tanks / Taurus 2 could launch from Florida

Wednesday, 14 July 2010

Farewell Lutetia

Farewell Lutetia

Astrocomet

KAG (Kessingland Astronomy Group) other Links

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