Sky Guide Africa South - 2015

Rosetta: Date fixed for historic comet landing attempt

Philae is about the size of a washing machine.
It will use harpoons and screws to try to hold itself down

  Source BBC News

The date has been fixed for Europe's daring attempt to land on a comet: Wednesday 12 November.

It will see the Rosetta satellite, which is currently orbiting the huge "ice mountain" known as 67P, drop a small robot from a height of 20km.

If all goes well, the lander will free-fall towards the comet, making contact with the surface somewhere in a 1km-wide zone at roughly 15:35 GMT.

The European Space Agency (Esa) says the challenges ahead are immense.

Imagine pushing a washing machine out the back of an airliner at twice cruising altitude and expecting it to hit Regent's Park in London - all while the ground is moving underneath.

Although not really analogous for many reasons, this scenario does give a sense of the difficulties involved.

The chances of failure are high.

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Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 - in pictures

 

Click to enlarge

The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the winners of this year’s international astronomy photography competition. The observatory’s annual free exhibition, which opened on Thursday, showcases these dazzling images of the sky, ranging from within our solar system to far into deep space. British photographer James Woodend beat over a thousand amateur and professional photographers to win the top prize.

• Visit and enjoy!

Inkspot - The only Dark Nebula with it's own wine?

Is it Barnard 86 with it's own wine label or Inkspot 2010 Vin Noir with it's own dark nebula?

- Give that man an Inkspot! From Herschel with love!

• Barnard 86, LDN 93, Ink Spot, Herschel's Hole in the Heavens

•  Inkspot 2010 Vin Noir

Space in Images - 2014 - 09 - Philae’s primary landing site

Philae’s primary landing site will target Site J, the centre of which
is indicated by the cross in this OSIRIS narrow-angle image.

Site
J is located on the head of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and is
close to the candidate site B, the large depression to the right of the
image.

Site J offers the minimum risk to the lander in comparison
to the other candidate sites, and is also scientifically interesting,
with signs of activity nearby. At Site J, the majority of slopes are
less than 30º relative to the local vertical, reducing the chances of
Philae toppling over during touchdown. Site J also appears to have
relatively few boulders and receives sufficient daily illumination to
recharge Philae and continue science operations on the surface beyond
the initial battery-powered phase.



Full story: 'J' marks the spot for Rosetta's lander

Rosetta spacecraft selfie with comet

Here is a Rosetta ‘selfie’ with comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in
background. It was taken by the CIVA camera – short for Comet Infrared
and Visible Analyser – onboard the Philae Lander. This is the same
camera that will be acquiring images from the surface of the comet
itself, when the Philae lander sets down on the comet in November.


Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko was 50 kilometers / 31 miles away at the time of this image.


Two frames were taken and merged due to the high contrast.




Rosetta isn’t the first otherworldly object to get in on the earthly trend of selfies. NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover caught one, too, earlier this year.



Rosetta spacecraft selfie with comet | Science Wire | EarthSky

Naval Hill Planetarium

The first digital planetarium in sub-Saharan Africa – situated on Naval Hill, right here in Bloemfontein – opened on 1 November 2013! The University of the Free State (UFS) is managing this facility.

Tariffs:
Adults: R50
Learners: R30
Students (with valid student card): R30
Pensioners: R30
Tariffs and dates for group reservations are available on request.

Buy tickets at:

• The Planetarium before shows (but keep in mind that the Planetarium is regularly full);
• Computicket at all Checkers, Shoprite, House and Home and Checkers Hyper shops;
• Computicket’s enquiry centre (08619158000); or
• Online at www.online.computicket.com (look for ‘planetarium’); 
• Online mobi  www.computicket.mobi with mobile devices (look for ‘planetarium’).

Enquiries:
Please direct enquiries via email to Yolandie Loots at FickY@ufs.ac.za  or contact her on 051 401 9751.

C/2013 V5 (Oukaimeden) visible in South Africa

 Click to enlarge

•  C/2013 V5 (Oukaimeden) Pdf Map Created in Skytools 3            
  05:00,  2 day increments, 1 August - 8 September 2014

 Skytools 3 information (18 August 2014)


Telescope: SkyQuest XT10 Dob. It is magnitude 9 with a diameter of 2.7'.

In the following 30 days this object is obvious visually from August 20 on, with the best view coming on September 15. During this period it will brighten rapidly and will reach peak altitude of 34° on September 2.

C/2013 V5 (Oukaimeden) will reach perihelion in late September. Also in late September this comet will pass within 0.6 AU of the earth. It is predicted to reach maximum brightness of magnitude 5 in mid September. The best visibility from Bloemfontein, Boyden, ZA near maximum brightness is predicted to be in mid September when it will be approximately magnitude 5. On September 16 this comet will be moving quickly across the sky at a peak rate of 13.8 "/min. Note that the magnitude and visibility of a comet can be very unpredictable.

Current Status

Earth Distance: 1.3 AU
Sun Distance: 1.0 AU
Elongation:  51°
Tail Position Angle: 259°
Tail Forshortening: 24%
Actual Coma Diameter: 160000 km
DC:  5
Total motion: 1.68 "/min
   RA:  1.30 "/min
   Dec: -1.09 "/min

Rosetta arrives at comet destination

6 August 2014
After a decade-long journey chasing its target, ESA’s Rosetta has today become the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet, opening a new chapter in Solar System exploration.
Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko and Rosetta now lie 405 million kilometres from Earth, about half way between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, rushing towards the inner Solar System at nearly 55 000 kilometres per hour.
The comet is in an elliptical 6.5-year orbit that takes it from beyond Jupiter at its furthest point, to between the orbits of Mars and Earth at its closest to the Sun. Rosetta will accompany it for over a year as they swing around the Sun and back out towards Jupiter again.
Comets are considered to be primitive building blocks of the Solar System and may have helped to ‘seed’ Earth with water, perhaps even the ingredients for life. But many fundamental questions about these enigmatic objects remain, and through a comprehensive,in situstudy of the comet, Rosetta aims to unlock the secrets within.

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More images

10 August 2014 - The largest Full Moon for the Year

Image of the Moon taken over Table Mountain, credit: Dr Steve Potter, SAAO.

Source: SAAO

Did you know that the Moon travels around the Earth in an oval shaped or elliptical orbit rather than a circular one? The average distance between the Earth and Moon is 384,400 km. However, because of its elliptical path, the distance to the Moon varies depending on where it is in its orbit around Earth. At its closest point or perigee, the Moon is about 50,000 km closer to Earth than at its most distant point (called apogee).

Full Moons that occur when the Moon is close to or at perigee are called Supermoons and they appear slightly larger and brighter than usual. There is nothing magical about a Supermoon, it is simply a coincidence that full moon has occured when the Moon is near to its closest point to Earth. Just like an aeroplane looks larger the closer it is, so does the Moon.

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