Nuusbriewe: Canopus en Cape Observer - Oktober 2010

Besoek die Astronomical Society of Southern Africa - Johannesburg Centre se webblad  en laai die jongste tydskrif af. (Links onder op die spyskaart.

• Canopus -  October 2010

 

Astronomical Society of Southern Africa
- Cape Centre

• Laai die Cape Observer vir Oktober 2010 af 

Waarnemingshulp vir Oktober 2010

Astronomy observation help

 October 2010

- What's Up - SAAO

- Southern Sky News

- Southern Sky Almanac for 2010

Pdf (Thanx Auke)

- Comet Chasing

- Comet Comet 103P Hartley oor SA (pdf)

- Dieplugvoorwerpe (teleskoop) (pdf)

- Bennett-katalogus (pdf)

- Verkykervoorwerpe (pdf)

Ander hulp

- Donker aande in Oktober

- ASSA se Top 100 (Dieplug) (pdf)

- Moon Phases

- Wolke

- SA Time server

- How to observe the deep sky

- Southern Sky Map (S&T)

- psychohistorian.org

- Southern Star Wheel

- Sky Map- Southern Hemisphere

- Dieplug waarnemingsverslae
(Pdf -formaat)

- Deepsky Observer's Companion

Pdf -formaat (Dankie Auke)

- Sketskaart vir jou waarnemings

- Sterrekunde -inligtingstuk

'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.

Read more..

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

• Click here and join.
  
  Example newsletter

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.  

• More images

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 >>

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

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

• More info

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.

• Hier is `n kaart vir Suid-Afrika (Pdf-formaat)

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

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!

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.

Date	Mag	Starts			Max. altitude			Ends
		Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.
22 Sep	-2.4	05:20:23	16	W	05:21:59	26	NW	05:24:30	10	N
22 Sep	-0.3	20:07:36	10	NW	20:07:39	10	NW	20:07:39	10	NW
23 Sep	-0.9	04:16:23	16	NE	04:16:23	16	NE	04:17:05	10	NE
23 Sep	-2.6	19:00:03	10	NNW	19:02:42	29	NE	19:03:50	22	E
24 Sep	-2.6	19:27:04	10	WNW	19:29:59	46	SW	19:31:34	22	SSE
25 Sep	-2.9	18:19:14	10	NNW	18:22:01	37	NE	18:24:51	10	ESE
25 Sep	-0.3	19:56:06	10	WSW	19:57:32	13	SW	19:58:58	10	S
26 Sep	-2.0	18:46:28	10	WNW	18:49:17	37	SW	18:52:08	10	SSE
27 Sep	-0.1	19:16:00	10	SW	19:16:49	11	SW	19:17:38	10	SSW

• Visit Heavens above and select your own town, city or suburb.
  
• Download Orbitron and roll your own  (Louis in Zastron, hierdie een is vir jou).
  
• Register with Space-track to get fresh elsets  (Get ID and Password and use in Orbitron)