11 September 2010 - Occultation of Venus by the moon on your doorstep

Re Post with extra information

Maak `n knoop in jou selfoon om hierdie okkultasie van Venus deur die maan nie mis te loop nie. Dit is in die dag en sal maklik met `n verkyker waargeneem kan word. Selfs met die blote oog. Venus verdwyn Saterdag 11 September om 14:29 agter die maan en verskyn dan weer om 15:47.  Die sekelmaantjie gaan hoog in die hemel sit en daardie klein ligpuntjie naby hom is Venus. Sien onder vir meer spesifieke tye.

Times for the Free State
Bethlehem 2:36 pm 3:48 pm
Bloemfontein 2:29 pm 3:47 pm
Harrismith 2:38 pm 3:50 pm
Kroonstad 2:33 pm 3:45 pm
Parys 2:34 pm 3:43 pm
Smithfield 2:30 pm 3:50 pm

Northern Cape
Calvinia 2:14 pm 3:40 pm
De Aar 2:24 pm 3:46 pm
Hotazel 2:19 pm 3:37 pm
Kimberley 2:25 pm 3:44 pm
Springbok 2:08 pm 3:34 pm
Sutherland 2:18 pm 3:44 pm
Upington 2:15 pm 3:37 pm

• Besoek die Johannesburg Planetarium vir meer spesifieke tye in Suid Afrika
  
• So het dit in 2007 gelyk: Astronomy Picture of the Day
  
• Next good Venus-Moon occultation for us is March 2023. 

Hier is meer inligting: 

11 Sep - Occultation of Venus for E Brazil & S Africa (daytime)

Local Circumstances (Boyden Observatory - Bloemfontein)

Longitude =  26° 14' 31" E
                             Latitude =  29° 01' 18" S
                            Elevation = 1114m.

                 Greatest Occultation = 2010-Sep-11 13:08:05.6 UT
                             Altitude =  76.4°
                              Azimuth = 338.3°

            Calendar Date and Time          Planet           Sun     Limb
                Universal Time         Azi    Alt    PA      Alt      PA
 

Universal Time 

Ingress    2010-Sep-11 12:29:18.8 d   18.6°  76.6°   88.0°   43.0°  295.3°
Egress     2010-Sep-11 13:47:08.7 b  309.3°  71.2°  328.4°   28.5°  295.2°
  Duration    77m 49.9s

Graphic of disappearance and reappearance points as seen from Boyden Observatory

Graphic Source: TheSky6

 Click on images for a bigger view

• Venus has phases like the moon
  - Wiki information
  - The Phases of Mercury and Venus
  -The Phases of Venus

NASA Satellites and Spacecraft Look Into the Eye of Hurricane Earl

Click image to enlarge

Hurricane Earl on Sept. 2, 2010 as seen by NASA's Terra Satellite. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team

•  Read More

ASSA Comet, Asteroid and Meteor Section

 CAMnote s2010 No.2

1)Review of 2010 year to date

2)Comet prospects for the coming months

3)Asteroids in need of observation

4) Meteor showers for October-December 2010

• Download the Newsletter

Wish John Dobson a happy 95 - One for all the dobi users!

John Dobson

John Dobson is arguably one the most influential personalities in amateur astronomy in the last couple of decades. He has almost single-handedly revolutionized backyard astronomy by bringing it out to the street, making it possible for everyone to enjoy the beauty of the Universe!

On September 14 2010, John is turning 95 and here's your chance to send birthday wishes to him!

• Go to this page and send him the best of wishes.  

• Facebook
• Web 
• John L Dobson - Official Page

Dark adaption 3

The perfect astrotorch puts out a pure red beam that is dim enough not to harm dark adaptation.

A too-bright red light can be nearly as harmful to night vision as a white light.

Get one with a strap, a dimmer control, and a sturdy housing

Source: Getting the Most from Your Schmidt Cassegrain or Any Catadioptric Telescope - Rod Mollise

How to become a backyard Astronomer in 10 Easy steps

Backyard Observing

1. DON’T BUY A TELESCOPE — YET Cost: $0 2. BEFRIEND A BOOK - Cost: $0 to $40

3. BEFRIEND THE SKY - Cost: Your timev

4. TRY SOME SOFTWARE - Cost: $0 to $75

5. BUY BINOCULARS - Cost: $150 to $200

6. FIND FELLOW ENTHUSIASTS - Cost: Your time

7. CRASH A PARTY - Cost: Gas money

8. LEARN THE JARGON - Cost: Time and patience

9. OK, NOW BUY A TELESCOPE - Cost: $300 to $600

10. AVOID ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY! - Cost: Nothing—you save hundreds of dollars and hours!

Read thge complete article here!

Source: SkyNews.ca

How the 'LHC in space' lost its British 'engine'

The mythical beast has been sighted. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) has finally arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final checks before being launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in February.

The AMSThe AMS has variously been described as the "LHC in space" and the "world's most expensive space experiment", besides a few other derogatory labels that have played on its $1.5bn price tag. 

Visit the source BBC News for more information.

Secret X-37B Space Plane Has Changed Orbit

By Leonard David
SPACE.com's Space Insider Columnistposted: 24 August 2010
12:57 am ET

The U.S. Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane apparently boosted itself into a new orbit Aug. 9, according to reports from seasoned satellite trackers around the world, SPACE.com has learned.

Visit Source for more information: www.space.com

Solar System May Be 2 Million Years Older Than Thought

The solar system may be up to two million years older than previously thought, a new study has found.

Researchers studying bits of a meteorite discovered that the space rock was 4.5682 billion years old, predating previous estimates of the solar system's age by up to 1.9 million years. This adjustment, though ever so slight, should help astronomers better understand how the sun and planets formed.

"We believe that, right now, this is the most precise and accurate date for the age of the solar system," said study co-author Meenakshi Wadhwa of Arizona State University.

 Visit Source: Space.com

First light from the new solar telescope:

Sunspot 1084 (Click on image to enlarge)

This is a first light adaptive optics image from the New Solar Telescope (NST) at the Big Bear Solar Observatory in California. "With a 1.6-meter primary mirror, the NST is the largest solar telescope in the world," says Nicolas Gorceix of the observatory staff. "It has realtime correction for atmospheric distortion (adaptive optics), so we can see things in very high resolution--as small as 65 km wide on the sun."

• Visit the Spaceweather website for more information
  
  
• 
  The Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO)