Saturday 30 January 2016

A Southern hemisphere astronomy bucket list

Zodiacal Light in the Free State sky during the 2015 Free State Star Party (Photo: Hannes Pieterse)

A Bucket List to die for!  Auke Slotegraaf, Section Director, Deep-sky Section (Astronomical Society of Southern Africa) created the list.

A Southern hemisphere astronomy bucket list

Category A: Earth and the solar system

  • The Earth’s shadow
  • A geostationary satellite
  • A –8 mag. Iridium flare
  • Structure in the International Space Station
  • The zodiacal light & the gegenschein
  • The green flash
  • Complete list...
- Visit psychohistorian.org to see the rest and start observing to complete the list.
- Free State Star Party  3 - 5  June 2016

Tuesday 5 January 2016

Bloemfontein - Observation of the International Space Station


The International Space Station (ISS) can easily be spotted with the naked eye. Because of its size (110m x 100m x 30m), it reflects a large amount of sunlight.
The best time to observe the ISS is when it is nighttime at your location, and the Space Station is sunlit. Often, such a viewing situation occurs in the morning before sunrise, or in the evening after sunset.

- View over Bloemfontein

Thursday 22 October 2015

Pre-order your astronomy wall calendar now!

Click to enlarge and read the pre-order information

Last year's astronomy wall calendar was extremely well received and I've decided to make one for 2016 (yes, it's almost next year already...).

Attached are the details and the October 24 pre-order offer.

If you think your members may be interested, please pass this on to them - thanks!

Send email to Auke (auke(at)psychohistorian.org) with your information.

Best regards,
Auke Slotegraaf

Sunday 11 October 2015

Loss of the Night citizen science project
















 App for Android (also iPhone)
Loss of the Night citizen science project: A step by step guide to using the Loss of the Nigh...:
This is a step by step guide to using the Loss of the Night app for Android (v2.0). If anything is unclear, let me know in the comments and...

Usefull Links...

YouTube



Sunday 4 October 2015

Get your 2016 - Sky Guide

 2016 - Sky Guide

 The Sky Guide is the astronomical handbook for southern Africa, and is an invaluable practical resource for anyone who has even a passing interest in the night skies of southern Africa.
Read more.....
 

Exclusive 2016 Sky Guide competition!

To stand a chance to win a pair of magnificent Celestron SkyMaster binoculars, turn to page 128 of the Sky Guide, answer the competition question and submit the original competition coupon (via snail mail!) to us. The competition closing date is 2016 March 20. The winning entry will be drawn by an ASSA Council Appointee and the winner will be notifi ed telephonically. Good luck! 

How to get your copy of the Sky Guide

ASSA Country Members receive a copy in the post as part of their membership benefits.

Members of ASSA Centres may approach their Centre committee to enjoy a reduced price for a copy for their own personal use (but not for onward selling).

The Sky Guide is also available from bookshops or on-line bookshops such as Loot.co.za, Exclus1ves.co.za or Kalahari.com.

Bulk orders of the Sky Guide (for bookshops and other re-sellers) may be negotiated directly with Lucille Bester at Struik Nature: (e-mail: lucilleb  randomstruik.co.za, phone: 021 460 5400).




Thursday 1 October 2015

Lunar Eclipse ( Image copyright: Carol Botha)

Lunar Eclipse
A sequence of images showing the eclipse from start to finish

 Image copyright: Carol Botha
On September 28th, The Moon passed through the Earth’s shadow while at perigee, an event which trended on social media as #SuperBloodMoon.