Thursday 30 July 2009

Knoop toe! Hier kom dit...

As jy wonder oor die weer kan jy gerus by Kobus Botha se weerwebtuiste gaan inloer.
Op die infrarooifoto wat om 18:30 vaanaand geneem is kan die wolke duidelik gesien word. Bloemfontein is daar by die rooi pyl se punt.

Johannesburg-planetarium het nuwe voorraad teleskope

Die planetarium in Johannesburg het weer `n voorraad teleskope. Gaan loer gerus op hulle webblad. Die pryse is mededingend. Hulle wil sterrekunde so goedkoop moontlik by Jan Alleman uitbring. Ondersteun hulle gerus.
Spring gou! Die teleskope vlieg gewoonlik en is uitverkoop voor een in jou voorkamer staan.

- Nee! Ek kry nie kommissie nie.

Kontak die planetarium: planet@planetarium.co.za

Groete

Hannes Pieterse
e-pos:
jl.pieterse@yahoo.com

Vlamme 10 meter vanaf Boyden se heining gestop.

Wat `n skok toe ek die koerant vanoggend oopmaak. (Kliek op foto om te vergroot)

Die opskrif by die foto is "Vlamme woed by Boyden-sterrewag".

Mnr. Braam van Zyl, afdelingsoffisier van die Bloemfonteinse brandweer sê die historiese waarde van die sterrewag het gemaak dat die brand hoë prioriteit geniet. Die veldbrand het eergister begin en is gister finaal onder beheer gebring.

Die brand het tot sowat 10 meter vanaf die Noordelike heining aan Maselspoort se kant gewoed, voor dit onder beheer gebring is en eindelik geblus is.

(Hannes Pieterse)

ASSA Annual General Meeting 2009


The 2009 Annual General Meeting of the ASSA was held in Cape Town on 2009 July 29.

Two highlights from the meeting were the presentation of awards, and Dr Peter Martinez's Presidential Address.

Read more...

Wednesday 29 July 2009

1959 - ASSA Bloemfontein Centre

Die Bloemfontein Sterekundevereniging is vanjaar 50 jaar oud! Gaan dwaal gerus in die argiewe rond om te sien wat die afgelope halfeeu gebeur het.
Hier is `n kort inskrywing van die eerste vergadering:

1959 - ASSA Bloemfontein Centre

March 18th, 1959
A meeting was held at the Technical College, Bl
oemfontein, on March 18th, 1959, under the auspices of Dr. H. Haffner, at which it was decided to seek the approval of theCouncil of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa to the formation of a Bloemfontein Centre of the Society. Dr. C.B. van Wyk was elected Chairman, Mr. N. Lincoln Secretary. Dr. Haffner & Mr. M. J. Bester
were elected to the Committee. It was decided that the next Meeting should be held at the Boyden Observatory on April 20th, at 7.30 p.m.

Those present at the Meeting enjoyed a talk by Dr. Haffner on "The Moon", illustrated by lantern slides. An article in "The Friend" of 19 March 1959 reads as follows: Astronomy society branch Dr. C.B. Van Wyk, professor of applied mathematics at the University of the Orange Free State, was elected chairman at the inaugural meeting of the Bloemfontein centre of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa last night. Dr. Haffner and Mr M.J. Bester were elected to the committee, with Mr. Lincoln as secretary. There were about 20 foundation members. After the meeting Dr. Haffner gave an illustrated talk on "The Moon". He confined himself to the more technical side of the subject, as he considered he said, that enough had already been said about the more imaginative side.

The next meeting of the centre will be held as an observation evening at Boyden Observatory, Mazelspoort, at 7.30 p.m. on April 20. An open invitation has been extended to anybody interested in astronomy to attend the centre's meetings.

ISS - Visible Passes over Bloemfontein

Dit is elke keer `n wenner!


Source: Universe Today
Wow! Take a look at this image captured by award-winning French astrophotographer Thierry Legault. The visible detail of the shuttle and parts of the International Space Stations is absolutely amazing! If you remember, Legault also took images of space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope transiting the sun back in May during the HST servicing mission.

Legault is an engineer who lives near Paris. He started his digital imaging in 1994, and currently uses a SBIG STL-11000M CCD camera with AO-L system that is equipped with large and narrow band filters. He also uses a reflex Canon 5D, webcams from Philips as well as Astrovid video cameras.

He has written two books: "The New Atlas of the Moon" with Serge Brunier (Firefly) and "Astrophotographie" (Eyrolles), and is featured in a new book by Robert Gendler, "Capturing the Stars: Astrophotography by the Masters."

Visit Thierry's website for more great images!

Tuesday 28 July 2009

Southern Sky News for 2009 August

Augustus is Jupiter se maand. Nie eens Mars wat so "groot" soos die maan gaan word, gaan die ou grootte se donder steel nie. Oops! Nou is almal weer ontsteld. Nee! Nee! Nee! Mars gaan nie so groot soos die maan word nie. Jupiter en sy mane is die hele Augustus-maand van vroeg tot laat sigbaar. Die mane is nou wel net sigbaar met `n kragtige verkyker of klein teleskoop. Op 14 Augustus is die Jupiter in opposisie as die aarde direk tussen hom en die son is. Dit is dan ook op sy helderste.

  • Kyk wat is nog gedurende Augustus in die suidelike naghemel te sien. Kliek hier

    Besoek Auke Slotegraaf se Sterrekunde webtuiste
    Auke Slotegraaf is die huidige Direkteur van die ASSA* Dieplug waarnemingsafdeling.

Gaan loer na die impakkol op Jupiter

Hierdie is `n voorstelling wat met Skytools 3 geskep is soos gesien deur `n 11" duim teleskoop, 29 Julie om 05:14.

Gaan loer gerus deur jou teleskoop hoe die impakkol nou lyk. Ek het hierdie tye op Auke Slotegraaf se blog raak geswerf. Auke Slotegraaf is die huidige Direkteur van die ASSA* Dieplug waarnemingsafdeling. Besoek Auke se Sterrekunde webtuiste

Spotting Jupiter's impact spot

The schedule for observing the impact spot on Jupiter from South Africa is as follows (times in SAST):

Wednesday 29 July, 04:14; Thursday 30 July, 01:59 & 21:56; Saturday 01 August 03:43 & 23:34; Tuesday 04 August 01:12 & 21:03; Thursday 06 August 02:50 & 22:41; Sunday 09 August 9, 00:18; Tuesday 11 August 01:57 & 21:48; Thursday 13 August 23:26; Sunday 16 August 01:04.

The marking transits 2 hours and 6 minutes after the Great Red Spot.

Sunday 26 July 2009

Astro Mini-Kursus

Hier is nou net die ding om jou sterrekunde stokperdjie mee af te skop.

Met hierdie gratis inligting kan jy die grondslag lê vir hierdie interessante tydverdryf. Dit is in Engels, maar wat maak dit saak. Dit is `n vyfdagkursus. Moenie alles in een dag probeer verteer nie. Strek dit uit oor `n paar dae. Kliek en geniet!

You can access all 5 days of the course at the following links:

Day 1: What you can see up there
Day 2: How the sky moves
Day 3: How to read a star chart, and mini-tours of the sky
Day 4: Binoculars and telescopes
Day 5: How to see faint celestial objects; what to do next…

Hubble weer op sy pos: Jupiter se wond


Rejuvenated Hubble spies giant impact scar on Jupiter
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: July 24, 2009

The freshly-upgraded Hubble Space Telescope snapped a dramatic image of a dark blemish on Jupiter Thursday, using the observatory's brand new camera installed by astronauts in May.