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Thursday, 5 May 2011

SPA ENB No. 309

          ***********************************
          The SOCIETY for POPULAR ASTRONOMY
          ***********************************
       ====================================================
        Electronic News Bulletin No. 309     2011 April 24
       ====================================================
 
 
Here is the latest round-up of news from the Society for Popular
Astronomy.  The SPA is Britain's liveliest astronomical society, with
members all over the world.  We accept subscription payments online
at our secure site and can take credit and debit cards.  You can join
or renew via a secure server or just see how much we have to offer by
 
PLANETS
By Andrew Robertson, SPA Planetary Section Director
NB: altitudes and timings are given for 52°.5 N, 1°.5 E, and are BST.
 
SATURN passed opposition on April 4 and is now favourably placed for
evening observation.  On May 7 it transits at 22:39 at an altitude of
35°.
 
All the other planets are now morning objects (just!).  On Sunday
April 24 at sunrise (0538) the five planets Jupiter, Mars, Mercury,
Venus & Uranus are all in a line within 18° of each other in the East
but will be nigh-on impossible to observe, with Jupiter being only
1°.5 above the horizon going up to Uranus at an altitude of 6°.
Neptune is slightly more observable, being at 12° altitude in the SE
at sunrise.  I mention this line-up as it is a sign of things to
come.  At sunrise on May 1 (0524) the same five planets are still
within 20° of each other but climbing higher; 3° for Jupiter & Mars,
8°.5 for Uranus.  But things are starting to happen then; Mars and
Jupiter are in close conjunction with one another at only 21' apart
and a thin 4% crescent moon (2 days from new) is directly above and
between the two pairings of Jupiter & Mars (to the left) and Mercury &
Venus (to the right).  By sunrise (0512) on May 7, Mars, Jupiter,
Venus and Mercury are all within a 7° grouping of each other in the
east at an altitude of between 4° and 5°.  In fact Mercury is at
Greatest Western Elongation of 27° on that date but very poorly placed
for observation from our northern latitudes.  If you happen to be at a
latitude of -35° it will be a most favourable sight!
 
I appreciate that none of these is going to be easy to observe, but it
is a start of better things to come with planets in the morning sky.
 
Any reports of observations would be most welcome via:
 
PLUTO HAS CARBON MONOXIDE IN ATMOSPHERE
RAS
 
British astronomers have discovered carbon monoxide in the atmosphere
of Pluto.  Pluto was discovered in 1930 and then considered as the
smallest and most distant planet.  Since 2006 it has been officially
regarded as a 'dwarf planet', one of four such bodies with sizes of
hundreds of kilometres that orbit beyond Neptune.  Pluto is the only
dwarf planet known to have an atmosphere, detected in 1988 when it
dimmed the light of a distant star before Pluto passed in front of it.
 
The new results, obtained in Hawaii with the 15-m James Clerk Maxwell
telescope which operates at sub-mm wavelengths, show a strong signal
of carbon monoxide.  Previously the atmosphere was known to be over
100 km deep, but the new data raise its depth to more than 3000 km --
a quarter of the way out to Pluto's largest moon, Charon.  The gas is
extremely cold, about -220°C.  A surprise for the team was that
the signal is more than twice as strong as an upper limit obtained
with the IRAM 30-m telescope in Spain in 2000.  The suggestion is that
the atmosphere may have grown in size, or the carbon monoxide
abundance may have increased.  Such changes have been seen before but
only in the lower atmosphere, where methane -- the only other gas ever
positively identified there -- has been seen to vary.
 
Pluto was at perihelion in 1989, a comparatively recent event given
that it takes 248 years to complete each orbit.  The gases probably
result from solar heating of surface ice, which evaporates as a
consequence of the slightly higher temperatures during the perihelion
passage.  The resulting atmosphere is probably the most fragile in the
Solar System, with the top layers blowing away into space.  Unlike the
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide acts as a coolant,
while methane absorbs sunlight and so produces heating.  The balance
between the two gases, which are just trace elements in what is
thought to be a nitrogen-dominated atmosphere, is critical for its
fate during the many-decades-long seasons.  The newly discovered
carbon monoxide may hold the key to slowing the loss of the atmosphere
-- but if the chilling effect is too great, it could result in
nitrogen snowfalls and all the gases freezing out onto the ground.
 
DID A SUPERNOVA MARK THE BIRTH OF A MONARCH?
RAS
 
The supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) is the relic of an
explosion that took place around 11,000 years ago of a massive star,
and is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky.  Oddly, although
the light from the explosion should have reached the Earth in the
seventeenth century and been easily visible in the sky, it seems to
have gone unnoticed.  Now astronomer Martin Lunn and historian Lila
Rakoczy argue that the supernova was seen as a 'New Star' visible
during the daytime at the birth of the future King Charles II of Great
Britain.
 
The generally accepted period that the explosion of Cas A should have
been seen is the latter half of the seventeenth century.  Mr. Lunn,
former Curator of Astronomy at the Yorkshire Museum, and Dr. Rakoczy,
a US-based independent scholar, suggest instead that Cas A could have
been seen earlier, on 1630 May 29.  That date is better known to
historians as the day that King Charles II of Great Britain was born,
and is also significant for a 'Noon-day star' alleged to have appeared
at his birth, an important feature of later Stuart/Restoration
propaganda.  Separate sources refer to the star over an interval of
about 30 years.  The star has been widely discussed by historians and
literary scholars, but its credibility as a genuine astronomical event
has remained largely unexplored.  Lunn and Rakoczy believe that it
deserves further investigation.  Lunn comments, "The number and
variety of sources that refer to the new star strongly suggest that an
astronomical event really did take place.  Our work raises questions
about the current method for dating supernovae, but leads to the
exciting possibility of solving a decades-old astronomical puzzle."
 
FIRST GALAXIES BORN MUCH EARLIER
RAS
 
Using the amplifying power of a cosmic gravitational lens, astronomers
claim to have discovered a distant galaxy that began forming stars
just 200 million years after the Big Bang.  That challenges theories
of how soon galaxies formed and evolved.  The distant galaxy is
visible through a cluster of galaxies called Abell 383, whose powerful
gravity bends the rays of light almost like a magnifying glass.  The
chance alignment of the galaxy, the cluster and the Earth amplifies
the light reaching us from this distant galaxy, allowing the
astronomers to make detailed observations.  Without the gravitational
lens, the galaxy would be too faint to be observed even with the
largest telescopes.  After finding the galaxy in Hubble and Spitzer
images, the team carried out spectroscopic observations to measure
its redshift and infer some properties of its component stars.
 
The galaxy's redshift is 6.027, which means that we see it as it was
when the Universe was around 950 million years old.  It is not the
most remote galaxy ever detected, but it seems quite different from
other distant galaxies, which generally show the signature of young
stars.  The Spitzer infrared detection indicated that the new galaxy
was made up of stars already nearly 750 million years old -- pushing
back the epoch of its formation to about 200 million years after the
Big Bang, much further than expected.  The work confirms some earlier
observations that had hinted at the presence of old stars in early
galaxies.  The discovery has implications beyond the question of when
galaxies first formed, and may help explain how the Universe became
transparent to ultraviolet light in the first billion years after the
Big Bang.  In the early years of the cosmos, a diffuse fog of neutral
hydrogen gas blocked ultraviolet light in the Universe.  Some source of
radiation must have progressively ionized the diffuse gas, clearing
the fog to make it transparent to ultraviolet rays as it is today -- a
process known as re-ionization.  Astronomers believe that the
radiation that powered the re-ionization must have come from galaxies,
but so far nowhere near enough of them have been found to provide the
necessary radiation.  A sufficiently rash extrapolation from the one
new discovery might suggest that there are far more galaxies out there
in the early Universe than were previously estimated, but that they are
older and fainter.
 
FORMATION OF COMPACT GALAXIES
RAS
 
Astronomers at Bristol University have found some evidence that
explains how unusual galaxies called compact ellipticals (cEs) are
formed, and have discovered two examples in which they see the process
of formation in action.  Compact elliptical galaxies are small in size
and high in brightness.  There are two main theories as to how they
are formed.  One involves the stripping of a more massive galaxy,
leaving a smaller remnant galaxy behind.  The other argues that cE
galaxies are the smallest members of the standard class of elliptical
galaxies.  Until now, the evidence supporting the stripping idea has
been circumstantial.  The astronomers discovered in the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS) two cEs in which the process of stripping is taking
place, and another one in archival data from the 4-m CFHT.  The images
showed streams of stars being torn from the cE galaxies and leaving
small bright remnants behind.  Although the observed cEs show that
stripping is certainly one way in which these galaxies form, it does
not exclude other mechanisms; analysis of the many other cE candidates
found in the Bristol study may show any alternatives that may exist.
 
LARGE GALAXIES STOPPED GROWING 7 BILLION YEARS AGO
RAS
 
How galaxies form and then evolve is still a major question.  They
have been thought to develop by the gravity-induced coalescence of
smaller 'sub-galaxies', a process that standard cosmological ideas
suggest should be ongoing.  But new data from scientists from
Liverpool John Moores University challenge that idea, suggesting that
the growth of some of the most massive objects stopped 7 billion years
ago when the Universe was half its present age.  The sub-galaxy units
thought to have merged to make galaxies are themselves associated with
fluctuations in the density of material in the cosmos after the 'Big
Bang' and seen today as temperature 'ripples' in the cosmic background
radiation.
 
To study galaxy evolution, the team looked at the most massive
galaxies in the Universe, known as Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs)
and so called because of their locations at the centres of galaxy
clusters, structures that typically contain hundreds of galaxies.
In the 'nearby' Universe BCGs are elliptical in shape and are the
largest, most uniform and most massive class of galaxies observed,
with each galaxy having a mass equivalent to up to 10*(14) Suns.  Like
smaller elliptical galaxies, BCGs are composed of old red stars and
are thought to have formed through mergers of the dense populations of
sub-galaxies that were found in the centres of galaxy clusters.
 
Measuring the sizes of BCGs has always been difficult, as their outer
regions are very faint.  The team found in the Hubble telescope
archive some long-exposure images that pick up the outer parts of the
galaxies.  The light that they studied left the BCGs 7 billion years
ago, so the galaxies appear as they were when the Universe was less
than half its present age; but the distant BCGs are almost the same
size as their nearby counterparts, and it seems that the latter can
have grown by at most 30% in the last 7 billion years.  Some previous
attempts to simulate the evolution of the Universe suggested that BCGs
should have at least tripled in size over that time.
 
WAIT ANOTHER FEW YEARS
RAS
 
Astronomers have produced a new catalogue of about 15,000 groups of
galaxies that may give a new insight into dark matter, the material of
unknown composition that is said by some to make up a fifth of the
mass of the Universe.  Current models of the Universe put galaxies in
large clumps of dark matter, commonly referred to as dark matter
haloes.  Galaxy groups provide an opportunity to try to discover the
properties of the elusive material, by a study of the motions of the
galaxies inside the groups; studying dark matter in individual
galaxies is confused by normal processes such as star formation,
whereas the unseen material dominates the motions of galaxies in
groups.  Although the catalogue has now been compiled, it will take a
further few years of study, with a large range of models, before any
definite conclusions can be reached.
 
LOW-COST SPACE MISSIONS
RAS
 
Constrained budgets mean that some good proposals for space missions
do not come to fruition.  There is an enormous spread in the costs of
access to space.  NASA, ESA etc have a range of mission opportunities
that deliver several years of data, but with price tags of £100M and
more, and those opportunities occur typically at a rate of only one
every 2-3 years.  Sub-orbital programmes through sounding rockets are
more frequent and allow data to be obtained for a few million pounds.
However, they offer only a few minutes' observing time above the
atmosphere, restricting the scientific goals that can be achieved.
Balloon programmes offer longer-duration flights, up to a few days,
but are suitable only for gamma-ray, visible-light or infra-red
studies.  X-ray, extreme-UV and UV-wavelength radiation does not
penetrate far enough into the atmosphere to be detectable by
instruments on balloons.
 
Prof. Martin Barstow has recently promoted his idea that there is
a need for the development of an intermediate class of mission
that provides access to low Earth orbit (altitudes between 160 and
2000 km) at a cost of £10-20m, allowing a greater number of missions
than at present.  One method he proposes to deliver such lower-cost
space missions is to re-cycle proven sub-orbital instruments,
eliminating a significant proportion of the usual development
expenses, and up-rating support systems such as attitude control and
power to operate for several months rather than a few minutes.  He
claims that the UK has considerable expertise in low-cost satellite
technologies.  Seemingly ignoring the risk that he will be seen to be
grinding his own axe, he gives, as an example of an instrument that
could be flown at low cost, an extreme-ultraviolet spectrograph,
which he says is very good, developed by his own group.
 
 
 Bulletin compiled by Clive Down
 
 
(c) 2011 the Society for Popular Astronomy
 
 
--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
--

NASA tentatively targets May 10 for shuttle launch

NEWSALERT: Monday, May 2, 2011 @ 2242 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
  The latest news from Spaceflight Now

**************************************
Astronaut Mail-In Signing Opportunity

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is hosting a special mail-in
signing with Gemini and Apollo astronaut James Lovell, his first private
autograph session in over six years. Launch your items to ASF for this
space legend to sign, or purchase a portrait from ASF's Astronaut Store by
May 4, 2011.

http://astronautscholarship.org/JamesLovell_Private.html
**************************************

NASA TENTATIVELY TARGETS MAY 10 FOR SHUTTLE LAUNCH
--------------------------------------------------
Work to replace and retest an electrical distribution box in the shuttle
Endeavour's engine compartment will push the crew's next launch attempt to
at least May 10, agency managers said Monday. An official launch date is
expected Friday, after repairs are complete.

http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110502alca/

LIVE UPDATES IN OUR MISSION STATUS CENTER:
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/status.html

IMAGES: REPAIR WORK UNDERWAY AT PAD 39A
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110502aftgallery/

VIDEO: TECHNICIANS ENTER ENGINE COMPARTMENT
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts134/110501intotheaft/

ATLAS 5 ROCKET SET FOR BLASTOFF ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON
---------------------------------------------------
The early weather forecast for Friday's scheduled launch of the Atlas 5
rocket from Cape Canaveral carrying a missile warning satellite is
predicting good conditions for the blastoff.

http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av022/status.html

+++
FINAL SPACE SHUTTLE ASTRONAUT PATCH!
Emblem for STS-135 now available in our store.
http://www.spaceflightnowstore.com/
+++

--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info:
http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies

Voyager Set to Enter Interstellar Space

Feature: 2011-128                               April 28, 2011

Voyager Set to Enter Interstellar Space

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-128&cid=release_2011-128

More than 30 years after they left Earth, NASA's twin Voyager probes are now at the
edge of the solar system. Not only that, they're still working. And with each passing
day they are beaming back a message that, to scientists, is both unsettling and
thrilling.

The message is, "Expect the unexpected."

"It's uncanny," says Ed Stone of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,
Voyager Project Scientist since 1972. "Voyager 1 and 2 have a knack for making
discoveries."

Today, April 28, 2011, NASA held a live briefing to reflect on what the Voyager
mission has accomplished--and to preview what lies ahead as the probes prepare to
enter the realm of interstellar space in our Milky Way galaxy.

The adventure began in the late 1970s when the probes took advantage of a rare
alignment of outer planets for an unprecedented Grand Tour. Voyager 1 visited
Jupiter and Saturn, while Voyager 2 flew past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
(Voyager 2 is still the only probe to visit Uranus and Neptune.)

When pressed to name the top discoveries from those encounters, Stone pauses, not
for lack of material, but rather an embarrassment of riches. "It's so hard to choose,"
he says.

Stone's partial list includes the discovery of volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io; evidence
for an ocean beneath the icy surface of Europa; hints of methane rain on Saturn's
moon Titan; the crazily-tipped magnetic poles of Uranus and Neptune; icy geysers on
Neptune's moon Triton; planetary winds that blow faster and faster with increasing
distance from the sun.

"Each of these discoveries changed the way we thought of other worlds," says Stone.
In 1980, Voyager 1 used the gravity of Saturn to fling itself slingshot-style out of the
plane of the solar system. In 1989, Voyager 2 got a similar assist from Neptune. Both
probes set sail into the void.

Sailing into the void sounds like a quiet time, but the discoveries have continued.
Stone sets the stage by directing our attention to the kitchen sink. "Turn on the
faucet," he instructs. "Where the water hits the sink, that's the sun, and the thin
sheet of water flowing radially away from that point is the solar wind. Note how the
sun 'blows a bubble' around itself."

There really is such a bubble, researchers call it the "heliosphere," and it is
gargantuan. Made of solar plasma and magnetic fields, the heliosphere is about three
times wider than the orbit of Pluto. Every planet, asteroid, spacecraft, and life form
belonging to our solar system lies inside.

The Voyagers are trying to get out, but they're not there yet. To locate them, Stone
peers back into the sink: "As the water [or solar wind] expands, it gets thinner and
thinner, and it can't push as hard. Abruptly, a sluggish, turbulent ring forms. That
outer ring is the heliosheath--and that is where the Voyagers are now."

The heliosheath is a very strange place, filled with a magnetic froth no spacecraft has
ever encountered before, echoing with low-frequency radio bursts heard only in the
outer reaches of the solar system, so far from home that the sun is a mere pinprick
of light.

"In many ways, the heliosheath is not like our models predicted," says Stone.
In June 2010, Voyager 1 beamed back a startling number: zero. That's the outward
velocity of the solar wind where the probe is now. No one thinks the solar wind has
completely stopped; it may have just turned a corner. But which way? Voyager 1 is
trying to figure that out through a series of "weather vane" maneuvers, in which the
spacecraft turns itself in a different direction to track the local breeze. The old
spacecraft still has some moves left, it seems.

No one knows exactly how many more miles the Voyagers must travel before they
"pop free" into interstellar space. Most researchers believe, however, that the end is
near. "The heliosheath is 3 to 4 billion miles in thickness," estimates Stone. "That
means we'll be out within five years or so."

There is plenty of power for the rest of the journey. Both Voyagers are energized by
the radioactive decay of a Plutonium 238 heat source. This should keep critical
subsystems running through at least 2020.

After that, he says, "Voyager will become our silent ambassador to the stars."

Each probe is famously equipped with a Golden Record, literally, a gold-coated copper
phonograph record. It contains 118 photographs of Earth; 90 minutes of the world's
greatest music; an audio essay entitled Sounds of Earth (featuring everything from
burbling mud pots to barking dogs to a roaring Saturn 5 liftoff); greetings in 55
human languages and one whale language; the brain waves of a young woman in
love; and salutations from the secretary general of the United Nations. A team led by
Carl Sagan assembled the record as a message to possible extraterrestrial civilizations
that might encounter the spacecraft.

"A billion years from now, when everything on Earth we've ever made has crumbled
into dust, when the continents have changed beyond recognition and our species is
unimaginably altered or extinct, the Voyager record will speak for us," wrote Carl
Sagan and Ann Druyan in an introduction to a CD version of the record.

Some people note that the chance of aliens finding the Golden Record is fantastically
remote. The Voyager probes won't come within a few light years of another star for
some 40,000 years. What are the odds of making contact under such circumstances?
On the other hand, what are the odds of a race of primates evolving to sentience,
developing spaceflight, and sending the sound of barking dogs into the cosmos?
Expect the unexpected, indeed.

The Voyagers were built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.,
which continues to operate both spacecraft. JPL is a division of the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena. The Voyager missions are a part of the NASA Heliophysics
System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission
Directorate.

For more information about the Voyager spacecraft, visit:
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/voyager .

 
-end-
--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info:
http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies

Comet Elenin: Preview of a Coming Attraction

Feature: 2011-135                       May 4, 2011

Comet Elenin: Preview of a Coming Attraction

The full version of this story with accompanying images is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-135&cid=release_2011-135

You may have heard the news: Comet Elenin is coming to the inner-solar system this
fall. Comet Elenin (also known by its astronomical name C/2010 X1), was first detected
on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the
discovery "remotely" using the ISON-NM observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico.  At the
time of the discovery, the comet was about 647 million kilometers (401 million miles)
from Earth. Over the past four-and-a-half months, the comet has – as comets do –
closed the distance to Earth's vicinity as it makes its way closer to perihelion (its closest
point to the sun).  As of May 4, Elenin's distance is about 274 million kilometers (170
million miles).

"That is what happens with these long-period comets that come in from way outside
our planetary system," said Don Yeomans of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program
Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "They make these long,
majestic, speedy arcs through our solar system, and sometimes they put on a great
show. But not Elenin. Right now that comet looks kind of wimpy."

How does a NASA scientist define cometary wimpiness?

"We're talking about how a comet looks as it safely flies past us," said Yeomans.
"Some cometary visitors arriving from beyond the planetary region – like Hale-Bopp in
1997 -- have really lit up the night sky where you can see them easily with the naked
eye as they safely transit the inner-solar system. But Elenin is trending toward the
other end of the spectrum. You'll probably need a good pair of binoculars, clear skies,
and a dark, secluded location to see it even on its brightest night."

Comet Elenin should be at its brightest shortly before the time of its closest approach to
Earth on Oct. 16 of this year. At its closest point, it will be 35 million kilometers (22
million miles) from us. Can this icy interloper influence us from where it is, or where it
will be in the future? What about this celestial object inspiring some shifting of the
tides or even tectonic plates here on Earth? There have been some incorrect Internet
speculations that external forces could cause comet Elenin to come closer.

"Comet Elenin will not encounter any dark bodies that could perturb its orbit, nor will it
influence us in any way here on Earth," said Yeomans. "It will get no closer to Earth
than 35 million kilometers [about 22 million miles]. "

"Comet Elenin will not only be far away, it is also on the small side for comets," said
Yeomans.  "And comets are not the most densely-packed objects out there. They
usually have the density of something akin to loosely packed icy dirt.

"So you've got a modest-sized icy dirtball that is getting no closer than 35 million
kilometers," said Yeomans. "It will have an immeasurably miniscule influence on our
planet. By comparison, my subcompact automobile exerts a greater influence on the
ocean's tides than comet Elenin ever will."

Yeomans did have one final thought on comet Elenin.

"This comet may not put on a great show. Just as certainly, it will not cause any
disruptions here on Earth. But there is a cause to marvel," said Yeomans. "This intrepid
little traveler will offer astronomers a chance to study a relatively young comet that
came here from well beyond our solar system's planetary region. After a short while, it
will be headed back out again, and we will not see or hear from Elenin for thousands
of years. That's pretty cool."

 NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing relatively close
to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object
Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects,
characterizes a subset of them, and predicts their paths to determine if any could be
potentially hazardous to our planet.

JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate in Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena.

More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch , and on Twitter: @asteroidwatch .

-end-
--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info:
http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies

Monday, 2 May 2011

What's Up for May 2011?

What's Up for May 2011?
Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:00:00 -0500

All month long watch four planets and the moon gather just before sunrise..


  
     

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

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--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info:
http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies

Geomagnetic Storm on April 30th

Space Weather News for April 30, 2011
http://spaceweather.com

GEOMAGNETIC STORM:  A solar wind stream hit Earth's magnetic field during the early hours of April 30th, sparking a G1-class geomagnetic storm.  Northern Lights descended as far south as Michigan in the United States.  High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras (
http://spaceweatherphone.com) tonight as the solar wind continues to blow.  Photos of the April 30th display are highlighted on today's edition of http://SpaceWeather.com.

TRACK THE SPACE SHUTTLE:  Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, May 2nd, on a two-week mission to the International Space Station.  The shuttle and station will make many visible passes over Europe and North America during the mission--the trick is knowing when to look.  You can turn your cell phone into a field tested shuttle tracker by downloading our Simple Flybys app.  Details at
http://simpleflybys.com
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Good Clear Skies
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Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
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Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
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Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
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More Info:
http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies

Shuttle Endeavour Launch No Earlier Than May 8

Shuttle Endeavour Launch No Earlier Than May 8
Sat, 30 Apr 2011 23:00:00 -0500

NASA managers have determined Endeavour will not launch before May 8, but will not officially set a new launch date until early this week.


NASA Questions? Contact Us

 


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

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--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
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More Info:
http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies

Thursday, 28 April 2011

STS-134 Crew Arrives at Kennedy

STS-134 Crew Arrives at Kennedy
Tue, 26 Apr 2011 23:00:00 -0500

The STS-134 crew arrived in T-38 jets on Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The space shuttle Endeavour and its crew will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and spare parts including two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for Dextre, during the 14-day mission. Launch is scheduled for Friday, April 29 at 3:47 p.m. EDT. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls


NASA Questions? Contact Us

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

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--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
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More Info:
http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

[BAA-ebulletin 00577] Extended booking date for the May Norwich Meeting

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BAA electronic bulletin
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The next One Day BAA Meeting will be held on Saturday May 7th 2011 in
The Registry, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ

Title is "Working together - collaboration between amateur and
professional astronomers".

We have extended the closing date to 29th April.

Please note there will be a number of our observing section displays
set up so you can see the work being done by the sections.

Hope to see you all there

Hazel Collett
Meetings Secretary
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(c) 2011 British Astronomical Association    http://www.britastro.org/
======================================================================
 
--
Good Clear Skies
--
Astrocomet
--
Colin James Watling
--
--
Real Astronomer and head of the Comet section for LYRA (Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Regional Astronomers) also head of K.A.G (Kessingland Astronomy Group) and Navigator (Astrogator) of the Stars (Fieldwork)
--
Information:
http://www.clubbz.com/club/2895/LOWESTOFT---3054/Lowestoft%20And%20Great%20Yarmouth%20Regional%20Astronomers%20(Lyra
--
More Info:
http://www.localokel.com/event/666/good_clear_skies