Ope-aand Boyden-sterrewag, Saterdag, 18 September 2010

Plek: Boyden-sterrewag (Langs Maselspoort)

Datum: Saterdag, 18 September 2010

Tyd: 18:30

BESPREKING IS NOODSAAKLIK!

• Willie Koorts van die SAAO lewer praatjie oor Die Ingenieurswese agter Sterrekunde. Die lesing sal tweetalig wees met die skyfies in Engels.
• Hennie Maas van RSG se Sterre en Planete kom maak twee opnames vir die radioprogram "Sterre en Planete" by die sterrewag. Prof Matie Hoffman en Willie Koorts  is die twee gaste wat om die beurte met die program help. Hierdie sessie is in Afrikaans
• Waarnemings deur teleskope indien die weer dit toelaat o.a. van Jupiter, Venus en die maan.

Bel 051 401 9751 tydens kantoorure om te bespreek of stuur 'n epos aan FickY@ufs.ac.za

Toegang: R 30 per motor

Verversings en ligte etes te koop - Nuwe spyseniers!

Aangebied deur: Vriende van Boyden-sterrewag en die Amateur Sterrekunde Vereniging

More Photos: Venus and Moon Occultation 11 September 2010

 Click to enlarge image

Moon and Venus Occultation as seen from Boyden Observatory
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
Equipment: Canon 30D attached to Celestron 11 GPS (Prime focus) Tracking in Lunar mode.

ISO 400 and 1/2000 sec. Processed in Photoshop CS5

According to my computer clock and Camera exif info the moon started to move in front of Venus at 14:28:55. The exit time was give or take 15:36:39.

Foto's: Maan en Venus Okkultasie - 11 September 2010

Herman Bonnet van ASSA Bloemfontein se foto's
Canon 400D ISO 100, Skywatcher equinox 120,Eq 6
Klik op foto om te vergroot

Wesssel du Preez ASSA Bloemfontein stuur uit Senekal die
foto's wat hy met `n selfoon deur die oogstuk van `n Orion 8"dobsonion  geneem het.
Klik op foto om te vergroot

Shuttle se moer gestrip! Moer nou weg! NASA soek moer!

Discovery attachment to tank delayed by nut problem

Workers rotated Discovery upright last night for mating to the fuel
tank and boosters. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

 Engineers attaching the shuttle Discovery to its external fuel tank ran into problems Friday when an internal nut used to attach a separation bolt to the belly of the orbiter slipped out of position. Re-positioning the mis-aligned nut will require access to the shuttle's aft engine compartment, sources said, but it was not immediately clear what might be required to provide that access with Discovery not yet firmly attached to its external tank.

• Read more... 

 (Ok! 'n  Bolt is `n bout! Maar moer klink beter! Dit is toe `n "nut" en nie `n "bolt" nie!) 

How Microbes Could Help Colonize Mars

Cyanobacteria fossil about 850 million years old from Bitter
Springs in Central Australia. Credit: J. William Schopf

by Jeremy Hsu
for Astrobiology Magazine

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Sep 10, 2010

Tiny rock-eating microbes could mine precious extraterrestrial resources from Mars
and pave the way for the first human colonists. Just don't expect them to transform
the red planet's surface into a new Earth on a short deadline, researchers say.

• Read more

Space station cargo vessel blasts off

A robotic Russian resupply ship to service the International Space Station successfully launched atop a Soyuz rocket rocket today at 6:22 a.m. EDT (1022 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The freighter is carrying two-and-a-half tons of cargo, food and water for the high-flying laboratory.

• More images

Photo credit: Energia

Two Asteroids To Pass By Earth Wednesday (Today)

Two small asteroids in unrelated orbits will pass
within the moon's distance of Earth on Wed.
Both should be observable with moderate-sized
amateur telescopes.

by Staff WritersPasadena CA (JPL) Sep 08, 2010
Two asteroids, several meters in diameter and in unrelated orbits, will pass within the moon's distance of Earth on Wednesday, Sept. 8.
Both asteroids should be observable near closest approach to Earth with moderate-sized amateur telescopes

. Neither of these objects has a chance of hitting Earth.

Read more... 

Source: SpaceDaily

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