The next transit of Venus will occur on June 5–June 6 in 2012, succeeding the previous transit on June 8, 2004. After 2012, the next transits of Venus will be in December 2117 and December 2125.
Thursday 8 September 2011
Monday 29 August 2011
Astronomers discover planet made of diamond
LONDON (Reuters) - Astronomers have
spotted an exotic planet that seems to be made of diamond racing around
a tiny star in our galactic backyard.
The new planet is far denser than
any other known so far and consists largely of carbon. Because it is so
dense, scientists calculate the carbon must be crystalline, so a large
part of this strange world will effectively be diamond.
"The evolutionary history and
amazing density of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon --
i.e. a massive diamond orbiting a neutron star every two hours in an
orbit so tight it would fit inside our own Sun," said Matthew Bailes of
Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.
More info...
Sunday 28 August 2011
Kollimasie werkswinkel
Met al die sirkeltjies en swart kolletjies in plek gaan jy net baie beter sien met jou teleskoop. By `n werkswinkel wat Thinus van der Merwe en Brett du Preez by die Boyden-sterrewag vir amateur sterrekundiges aangebied het, het lede geleer hoe om onder meer `n Cheshire kollimeerder te gebruik.
Tipiese somer vlieswolke het die dieplugwaarneming in die wiele gery, maar daar was genoeg oop kolle om vinnig na Tuc 47 (NGC 104) en ook `n paar ander voorwerpe te kyk.
Komeet C/2009 P1 (Garradd) in Sagitta was ook op die spyskaart en is en Wessel du Preez van Senekal het dit vinnig met sy nuwe 10" Skywatcher opgespoor. Net so links onder M71 (sterbondel).
- Vroeër die middag het James Ross gehelp om al die spieël wat geslyp word se randjies te "bevel". Hy en Thinus het ook geloer of almal nog op die regte spoor is met die harde werk.
Saturday 30 July 2011
2012 Karoo-sterrefees
Die Sterrefees by Kambro Padstal by Britstown is in Weg, die reistydskrif aangekondig.
- Kambro padstal was een van die naaswenners in Weg se kompetisie vir padstalle in Suid-Afrika.
- 21 - 25 Maart 2012
Gerrit Penning en Pieter Pieterse maak reg vir die nag se waarnemings by Britstown tydens die 2011 sterrefees.
KAROO STARPARTY 2012
The ASSA Pretoria Centre is continuing the annual National Karoo Starparty which was started in
2009 at the Kambro Padstal, about 20 km north of Britstown in the Karoo, next to the N12 National Road. This event is intended to be a get-together for friends that want to enjoy the beautiful Karoo sky and there are no scheduled events, talks or workshops – we go there simply to enjoy the company of fellow stargazers and the legendary Karoo sky.
The date for the 2012 Starparty is scheduled for the week-end of 21 March 2012. That is Wednesday 21 to Sunday 25 March 2012.
- Wednesday 12 March is a National Holiday. Please book early to avoid dissappointment!
There is also accommodation available in Britstown at the Karoo Country Inn.
See http://www.kambroaccom.co.za or phone Wilma Strauss at 0833056668 for details of the site and to make a booking.
- Kambro Padstal by Britstown GPS S30°-25-00.3 E23°-33-56.1
Thursday 28 July 2011
A Southern Comet on its way to us
Copyright © 1995 by Tim Puckett
This image was taken by Tim Puckett (Villa
Rica, Georgia, USA) on 1995 December 28.99, using a 0.30-m f/7 Meade
LX-200 and an SBIG ST-6 CCD camera. It is a 300-second exposure.
16 August 2011: Closest approach of the brightest comet of the year
Comet: 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková
Visible: August until September, fading in October
Magnitude: 6
Finder charts: Sky Guide (pg 31)
45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková
The comet Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova is expected to brighten rapidly in August as it passes to the south of the Earth. It will be observable from the southern hemisphere for about 2 weeks before getting too close to the Sun.
At its closest the comet will be 0.060 AU from the Earth, that is about 9 million kilometers
away. While this is close for a comet, it is still about 24 times the distance
of the moon. When it is first at magnitude 10, on the evening of August 9/10 it will be
visible from New Zealand throughout the night, setting only briefly during daylight hours.
For the next few nights until August 16 it will be circumpolar although low in the sky in the
evening. On the 17th it will set briefly in the evening to rise again about midnight.
Over the next few days, as the comet moves north it will rise after midnight so becoming
a morning object. Its elongation from the Sun will decrease as the comet moves away from the
Earth towards the Sun and it will rise later in the morning to become lost in the morning
twilight by about August 23.
By mid September Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova will be an 8th magnitude object rising about 90
minutes before the Sun into the dawn sky. The comet will then be slow moving in Leo, a few
degrees from Regulus. By mid October it will have faded to magnitude 10.
45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková is a periodic comet discovered by Minoru Honda
December 3, 1948. The comet is named after Minoru Honda, Antonín Mrkos and Ludmila
Pajdušáková. The orbit is elliptical with a period of 5.252 years.
The comet nucleus is estimated to be 1.6 kilometers in diameter.
(Information from Wikipedia.)
Thursday 21 July 2011
Vaarwel aan NASA se ruimtependeltuig, Atlantis
Willie Koorts:
Wat ‘n fantastiese manier om die Pendeltuig program vaarwel te roep!
Na Oleg se voorspelling dat die twee ‘n paar minute uitmekaar sou wees
en Rudie se opmerking op Facebook dat hulle verby die Suiderkruis gaan
vlieg, het ek my foto beplan deur op een plek te konsentreer en agterna
die fotos te kombineer. Ek was so besig om te konsentreer op Atlantis,
dat ek eers later besef het dat ISS so kort na dit volg, om die waarheid
te sê, hulle was naby genoeg om in een veld te pas, maar ek moes
deurdruk met my beplande foto.
Dit was wonderlik dat ons so goed geplaas was vir die swanesang, en boonop ook nog perfekte weer in die middel van die winter!
Dit was wonderlik dat ons so goed geplaas was vir die swanesang, en boonop ook nog perfekte weer in die middel van die winter!
Monday 11 July 2011
Happy first birthday, Neptune!
On 12 July, Neptune will celebrate its very first birthday because exactly one Neptunian year -- or 164.79 Earth years -- will have passed since its discovery.
Neptune was mathematically predicted before it was first telescopically observed on 24 September 1846. Astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle and his assistant Heinrich Louis d'Arrest used Urbain Le Verrier's calculations to locate the planet. It was found to be within a single degree of where Le Verrier had predicted it would be and it was the first planet to have been discovered deliberately.
Thursday 23 June 2011
How to tick the Horesehead nebula of your astro bucket list
Seeing the
Horsehead with a filter is a real accomplishment; finding it without
one is something to very be proud of!
Dark
Nebula w/nebulosity
aka
B33, LDN 1630
Minimum
requirements to detect: 8-inch scope under dark skies
Monday 20 June 2011
Nog `n maanverduisteringfoto
Frans Human van ASSA Bloemfontein het hierdie samestelling van die totale maanverduistering afgeneem.
Friday 17 June 2011
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