Friday 1 October 2010

Waarnemingshulp vir Oktober 2010

Astronomy observation help
 October 2010
Pdf (Thanx Auke)


Ander hulp



Pdf -formaat (Dankie Auke)

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'Goldilocks planet just right for life'

An artist's impression of Gliese 581g and its parent star
Source: BBC News By Katia Moskvitch Science reporter, BBC News

Astronomers have detected an Earth-like exoplanet that may have just the right kind of conditions to support life.
Gliese 581g lies some 20 light-years away in its star's "Goldilocks zone" - a region surface temperatures would allow the presence of liquid water.

Scientists say that the newly found world could also potentially have an atmosphere.

Their findings, made with the Keck telescope in Hawaii, appear in the Astrophysical Journal.

The researchers, from the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, have been studying the movement of the planet's parent star, a red dwarf called Gliese 581, for 11 years.

Their observations have revealed a number of exoplanets spinning around the star.
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A Fun and Easy Way To Learn More About Astronomy

Astronomy observation help

A Fun and Easy Way To Learn More About Astronomy

If you want to learn more about astronomy, telescopes, and the night sky, then you’ve come to the right place.

Whether you’re a total beginner or you’ve been a stargazer for some time, this website will help build your enjoyment and appreciation of the constellations and night sky in the northern and southern hemispheres.  Even if you have just a few minutes a week.  Even if you haven’t taken a science course since high school.

You’ll find no long, dense pages filled with facts and equations here.  Just short, easy-to-readthe most beautiful sights in nature. bits of insights and advice– delivered directly to you by email– to help you find your way around the stars and constellations, select and use a telescope or pair of binoculars, and understand a little of the science behind some

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Discovery's Last Ride

By Susan Poulton
for Breaking Orbit
Space Shuttle Discovery rolled out to the launch pad for the final time tonight, with first motion out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) coming 30 minutes early at 7:23pm ET, beneath a stunning sunset. Hundreds of employees gathered to watch the event and cheer on Discovery as they watched the last of two launches get underway. Loud roars and applause could be heard as the shuttle passed the grandstands and cars poured into the area as everyone wanted to catch a glimpse.  

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Saturn Aurora


Image courtesy NASA/JPL/University of Leicester/University of Arizona

Hundreds of miles tall, curtains of aurorae undulate above Saturn's south polar clouds in a
composite of near-infrared images released Friday by NASA's Cassini orbiter. (See pictures of earthly auroras generated by a September solar storm.)
In this false-color picture, aurorae are bright green, sunlight reflected off Saturn's rings and high-altitude haze are blue, and heat emissions from the planet's interior glow deep red. Get the full story on National Geographic's Breaking Orbit blog >>
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Star Gazers Deep Space Atlas

Astronomy observation help

STAR GAZERS DEEP SPACE ATLAS
A VALUABLE AND VERSITILE TOOL FOR STAR GAZING 
  • For ANYONE interested in the night sky, but has no idea where to start!
  • For the BEGINNER and SERIOUS star gazer.
  • Beginners may with ease, gaze up at the starry sky, find constellations and experienced observers may use a telescope to its full potential.
CAMPING - HIKING - USE AT HOME - DARK SKY OBSERVING
SPECIAL FEATURES
  • 270 DEW RESISTANT PAGES - Dew may be wiped off (cold nights).
  • STARS SHOWN AS VIEWED FROM HOME - Most other books show the sky upside-down for S.A. because published for northern hemisphere.
  • STEP BY STEP GUIDED SKY TOURS EACH MONTH - Locate a constellation and/or celestial object the same evening after purchase.
  • WHITE TEXT ON BLACK PAPER - Excellent reading at night with a red LED torch which maintains your “dark adaption”.
  • HUNDREDS OF OBJECTS TO OBSERVE -  Star Clusters, Gas Clouds, Galaxies, Dying Stars, Double Stars and Variable stars.
  • ON-LINE SUPPORT - Wayne offers assistance to users via a website.
Contact Information:
Wayne Mitchell

Author of the STAR GAZER'S DEEP SPACE ATLAS

Member of the Pretoria Centre of the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa

Email: wayne.mitchell@penbrogroupe.com    

Cell: 072 465 7739.
  1. Example Pages and contact information(2M)
  2. Example Pages and contact information in PDF format .  (2M)
  3. Website
  4. Information and how to order

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Sunday 26 September 2010

Get ready for a naked-eye comet - Comet 103P/Hartley 2

Astronomy observation help
Comet 103P Hartley 2 imaged on the evening of 10 Sep 2010 from Mauna Kea, 13x100s luminance plus 3x100s@2x2binning for RGB color, ST2k camera and 100mm APO. Foto: Andrew Cooper
Lekker! Dit lyk of hier weer `n helder komeet (Comet 103P/Hartley 2) op pad is. Die maan gaan pla, maar dalk sien ons dit met die blote oog of ten minste met verkykers. Hier is `n klomp inligting. Kry jou sterkaarte reg en maak reg om te kyk.

In Suid-Afrika gaan Comet 103P/Hartley 2 so teen 8 Oktber sy kop in die Noorde bo die horison uitsteek.

Groete
Hannes Pieterse
_________________________________________________________________________
Astronomy:

Get ready for a naked-eye comet
Comet 103P/Hartley promises to be the brightest comet of 2010 when it peaks in October.
Richard Talcott, senior editor

 The brightest comet of the year starts to put on a good show in late September before reaching its peak in October. When Comet 103P/Hartley glows at its brightest, it should be visible with naked eyes under a dark sky.

Australian astronomer Malcolm Hartley discovered this comet in March 1986. It orbits the Sun once every 6.5 years, traveling from just outside the orbit of Jupiter to nearly Earth's distance from the Sun. This is the comet's fourth return to the inner solar system since it was discovered, and its best one yet.

Comet 103P/Hartley should peak at 5th magnitude when it passes closest to Earth in October. A 5th-magnitude star is bright enough to see with naked eyes if you're out of the city, but a comet's light spreads out, making it harder to see. Still, you'll have a good chance to see it without optical aid from a dark-sky site. Binoculars will show the comet nicely, and a telescope will let you see details.
More info
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Friday 24 September 2010

You know you're a Deep Sky Observer when...

Astronomy observation help
  1. You consider the moon a major annoyance.
  2. You consider Jupiter 'light pollution'.
  3. You consider meteors 'light pollution'.
  4. You consider the Milky Way 'light pollution'.
  5. You contemplate ways of destroying the Earth because it's in the way.
  6. You pack Dry Ice around your head to reduce the "noise" from your retina and optic nerve.
  7. You refuse to use the ladder with your 20" f/6 at the Winter Star Party stating, "If I use that, the objects are too far north."
  8. You consider the H-II regions of distant galaxies as individual observing targets.
  9. You spend most of your time looking at or for objects you can barely see.
  10. Your favorite objects are objects you can barely see.


    Click for the rest of the list..
101.  You see the letters "sex" and your first thought is of the constellation sextans!
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Wednesday 22 September 2010

ISS oor Bloemfontein

Use Heavens Above to track satellites

Try out the Orbitron software


ISS - Visible Passes from Heavans Above


Search period start: 00:00 Wednesday, 22 September, 2010
Search period end: 00:00 Saturday, 2 October, 2010
Observer's location: Westdene - Bloemfontein, 29.1022°S, 26.2110°E
Local time zone: South African Standard Time (UTC + 2:00)
Orbit: 351 x 360 km, 51.6° (Epoch Sep 22)
Click on the date to get a star chart and other pass details.

DateMagStartsMax. altitudeEnds
TimeAlt.Az.TimeAlt.Az.TimeAlt.Az.
22 Sep-2.405:20:2316W 05:21:5926NW 05:24:3010N
22 Sep-0.320:07:3610NW 20:07:3910NW 20:07:3910NW
23 Sep-0.904:16:2316NE 04:16:2316NE 04:17:0510NE
23 Sep-2.619:00:0310NNW19:02:4229NE 19:03:5022E
24 Sep-2.619:27:0410WNW19:29:5946SW 19:31:3422SSE
25 Sep-2.918:19:1410NNW18:22:0137NE 18:24:5110ESE
25 Sep-0.319:56:0610WSW19:57:3213SW 19:58:5810S
26 Sep-2.018:46:2810WNW18:49:1737SW 18:52:0810SSE
27 Sep-0.119:16:0010SW 19:16:4911SW 19:17:3810SSW


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Tuesday 21 September 2010

Astronomy Picture of the Day



Click on image to enlarge

Opposite the Sun
Image Credit & Copyright: Babak Tafreshi (TWAN)
Explanation: Chances are the brightest star you've seen lately is actually planet Jupiter. Jupiter rules the sky in this labeled view of a starry September night from the Alborz mountains in Iran, complete with the trail of a red flashlight illuminating the mountain road. On September 21st (Universal Time) Jupiter will be at opposition, the point opposite the Sun along its orbit, rising just as the Sun sets. For this opposition, Jupiter will be slightly brighter and closer to planet Earth than in any year since 1963. Much fainter and also approaching its own opposition on September 21st, is the distant planet Uranus. Very near Jupiter on the sky, the fainter planet is easy to spot in binoculars (similar to the inset view), well above and right of brilliant Jupiter and about as bright as one of Jupiter's own Galilean moons. Remarkably close to the opposition of both planets, the point on the sky exactly opposite the Sun on September 23rd is marked the Vernal Equinox. On that date, a Full Moon will join the celestial scene. Of course, any Full Moon is also at opposition.
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