Hubble Goes to the eXtreme to Assemble Farthest Ever View of the Universe

Like photographers assembling a portfolio of best shots, astronomers have assembled a new, improved portrait of mankind's deepest-ever view of the universe. Called the eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, the photo was assembled by combining 10 years of NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken of a patch of sky at the center of the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field.

The XDF is a small fraction of the angular diameter of the full Moon. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax, created using Hubble Space Telescope data from 2003 and 2004.

By collecting faint light over many hours of observation, it revealed thousands of galaxies, both nearby and very distant, making it the deepest image of the universe ever taken at that time.

The new full-color XDF image reaches much fainter galaxies and includes very deep exposures in red light from Hubble's new infrared camera, enabling new studies of the earliest galaxies in the universe. The XDF contains about 5,500 galaxies even within its smaller field of view.

The faintest galaxies are one ten-billionth the brightness of what the human eye can see.

More:  HubbleSite

All systems go for Felix Baumgartner's 23-mile-high freefall toward sound barrier

His blood could boil. His lungs could overinflate. The vessels in his brain could burst. His eyes could hemorrhage.

And, yes, he could break his neck while jumping from a mind-boggling altitude of 23 miles (37 kilometers).

But the risk of a gruesome death has never stopped "Fearless Felix" Baumgartner in all his years of skydiving and skyscraper leaping, and it's not about to now.

Next Monday over New Mexico, he will attempt the highest, fastest free fall in history and try to become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.

"So many unknowns," Baumgartner says, "but we have solutions to survive."

The 43-year-old former military parachutist from Austria is hoping to reach 690 mph (1,110 kph), or Mach 1, after leaping from his balloon-hoisted capsule over the desert near Roswell.

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The astronomical unit (AU) gets fixed

Earth–Sun distance changes from slippery equation to single number.

149,597,870,700 metres

Without fanfare, astronomers have redefined one of the most important distances in the Solar System. The astronomical unit (au) — the rough distance from the Earth to the Sun — has been transformed from a confusing calculation into a single number. The new standard, adopted in August by unanimous vote at the International Astronomical Union's meeting in Beijing, China, is now 149,597,870,700 metres — no more, no less.

More information: Nature 

Bright New Comet on the Way

Bright New Comet on the Way
There’s another comet on the way. And this might be a great one. Called Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), this comet is about as far away as Jupiter, but it’s expected to buzz the Sun late next year and, if it stays intact, may become as bright as the full Moon.

The comet was discovered by a Russian team of astronomers at the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). At magnitude +18, the comet is currently beyond the reach of amateur telescopes. But the orbital elements have been calculated, and they show the comet will come amazingly close to the Sun– just 2 million km— on November 28, 2013. In mid-November through December 2013 and into January 2014, the comet may reach negative magnitudes, possible as bright as -11 to -16, which means it will be visible during the day!

Because their composition is not exactly known, each comet is unpredictable. So no one can knows for sure how bright this comet will become, or if it will survive its close encounter with the Sun.  Still, this is promising news. And this comet, unlike many recent bright comets, will be visible at mid-northern latitudes.

Southern stargazers will get their own bright comet next year. Comet Pan-STARRS is expected to become visible without optical aid next March, and come within 45 million km of the Sun on March 9, 2013.

So get your binoculars, telescopes, and cameras ready. Next year should be a good one for bright comets, perhaps the best year since 1996 when Comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp graced our skies…

• Source: One Minute Astronomer 
• More... Space.com

Braai Facts: The sun loses 4 million tons of mass per second.

Some facts when you hit that silent moment at a boring braai: 

The sun becomes four million tonnes lighter every second (not minute or hour -  every second).  If there is no reaction. Leave the braai immediately and go home!

It is because  of the fussion taking place in its core. Every second  600 million tonnes of hydrogen are turned into 596  million tonnes of helium. That means that 4 million tonnes goes missing every single second.  That mass is converted into energy, giving us some sunlight.

Why is it not running out of "steam"?  It's total mass is two thousand million  million  million  million tonnes.

Chew on that!

Source:  The Sky at Night. Answers to Questions from Across the Universe -  Patrick Moore and Chris North.

Sterre en Planete besoek Boyden-sterrewag

Prof Marian Tredoux (links) van die Departement Geologie van die Universiteit van die Vrystaat het by `n Vriende-aand meer vertel oor meteoriete van Mars wat ons op die aarde kry, en ook hoe belangrik die Curiosity-sending is.

Hennie Maas, prograamaanbieder van Sterre en Planete (regs)  het die program wat op 14 Augustus op RSG uitgesaai is die aand opgeneem.  Prof. Matie Hoffman (middel), `n gereelde deelnemer aan Sterre en Planete luister hier aandagtig na een van Hennie se vrae.

• Luister of laai die potgooi af as jy dit gemis het. (Vrydag, 14 September)

Viewing Alert: Jupiter May Have Been Impacted by a Fireball

Viewing Alert: Jupiter May Have Been Impacted by a Fireball

2013 Karoo Starparty

Foto: 2010, Britstown Star Party

The ASSA Pretoria Centre wants to hold its fifth National Karoo Starparty during the
weekend of 9 to 11 August 2013 about 20 km north of Britstown in the Karoo, right next
to the N12 at the Kambro Padstal. The reason for this locality, apart from the fabulous
Karoo skies, is that it is almost exactly halfway between Gauteng and the Cape Town
area, so we can all drive the same distance to the site. The first event of this type was held
during April 2009 and proved to be a huge success. The Karoo lived up to its reputation
and provided magnificent views to those lucky enough to be present.

More information from: Pretoria branch of the Astronomical Society of South Africa

To book, please book contact Wilma Strauss, the Manager of Kambro, directly at
0833056668 or at e-mail: kambro@albieswireless.co.za

Neil Armstrong: 1930-2012

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, has died, following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. He was 82.

Armstrong's words "That is one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind," spoken on July 20, 1969, as he became the first person ever to step onto another planetary body, instantly became a part of history.

Source: NASA

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Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) in Southern Sky

Source: Copyright © 2012 by Leonid Elenin (Russia)

Images of PANSTARRS acquired by Leonid Elenin on 2012 July 14 (left) and August 9 (right).

Skytools 3 Information

On this night (18 August 2012) C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) is best visible between 18:53 and 21:40, with the optimum view at 19:15. Look for it in Libra, high in the sky in complete darkness. It is detectable visually in the Orion SkyQuest XT10 Dob. Use the Ultima 42mm for optimum visual detection. It is magnitude 10 with a diameter of 4.8'.

In the following 30 days this object is detectable visually from August 19-26, and again from September 2 on, with the best view coming on September 17. During this period it will brighten slowly and move lower in the sky.

C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) will reach perihelion in early March 2013. It also is predicted to reach maximum brightness of magnitude -3 in early March. The best visibility from Bloemfontein, Boyden, ZA near maximum brightness is predicted to be in early March when it will be approximately magnitude -3. At that time it will be in Pisces, very low in the western sky during evening twilight and will be obvious in the Orion SkyQuest XT10 Dob. Note that the magnitude and visibility of a comet can be very unpredictable.

 

Visible in Libra - 18 August 2012

Links fo more information:

  

•  Comet Chasing in August (Skyhound, Skytools 3)
•  C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)
•  New comet may be visible to the naked eye in 2013