Vinnige Verklaring Vir Vreemde Vlieënde Voorwerp (VVVVVV) oor Suid-Afrika)

Hier is 'n foto ongeveer 19h00 geneem van agter my huis in Bloemfontein - Herman Bonnett, ASSA Bloemfontein

Willie Koorts se boodskap op Facebook: 

Die vreemde verskynsel wat vanaand (29 Sep. 2013) net na 19:00 wyd waargeneem is oor Suid-Afrika - ook deur Matie Hoffman vanaf Bloemfontein - blyk, volgens baassatellietjagter, Greg Roberts, 'n "fuel dump" te gewees het van die Falcon 9 vuurpyl wat vanmiddag om 18:00 (SA tyd) vanaf Vandenberg in Amerika gelanseer is. 

Die loonvrag is om 18:52 in sy wentelbaan geplaas waarna dit om 19:03 oor Antarktika gevlieg het en 'n paar minute later oor Suid-Afrika. Dit is toe dat die oortollige brandstof uitgespuit is wat die skouspelagtige sirkelvormige wolk veroorsak het wat wyd waargeneem is. 

 Greg en ek het al tevore so iets gesien en ek moet saamstem dat dit nogal iets is om te sien. Dankie vir die foto's en stuur gerus nog!

• SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Cassiope research satellite for the Canadian Space Agency and MDA Corp. http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/006/status.html

•  Hier was 'n soortgelyke gebeurtenis 'n paar jaar gelede.
  - Sien http://assa.saao.ac.za/.../2009MNASSA..68..Dec..238.pdf
• Nog een
  http://www.mnassa.org.za/.../2012MNASSA..71..Feb..35.pdf 

M8 - Lagoon Nebula uit Bloemfontein

Foto: Herman Bonnet - ASSA Bloemfontein
Klik op foto om te vergroot

Foto van M8 geneem op 1 Sept 2013

50  "lightframes" van 150 sek elk

50 "dark frames"

50" bias frames"

50 "flat  frames"

"Stacking"-Deepsky stacker

Processing - PS

Teleskoop-120 mm Skywatcher Equinox

Mount- CGE PRO

Kamera- Canon 60 Da

Laser Strike

Published on Apr 4, 2013

Laser strike incidents against aircraft have increased dramatically since 2009 and pose a serious threat to aviation across the U.S. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in association with the LASD Aero Bureau, Homeland Security and the FBI has produced a video about the possible dangers of green laser pointers.

• Laser Safety Pretoria Centre    (All the information for South Africa) 

• LaserPointerSafety

Sutherland by Night - SPOD • 23 Jul 2013

In this beautiful image by SAAO Astronomer Stephen Potter we see the Milky Way setting behind the 20, 30, 40 inch, MONET and SALT telescopes. Jupiter is the bright star at the top and Venus is setting into the MONET dome. The bright glow on the horizon is from distant city lights.

An amazing fish-eye image of the milky way arcing over Sutherland.

Available resolutions: 300x151, 1019x515

Credits: Stephen Potter 

More Images 

Voyager 1 Leaves Solar System, NASA Confirms

This artist's concept shows the general locations of NASA's two Voyager spacecraft.

Illustration courtesy Caltech/NASA.

Dan Vergano

National Geographic

Published September 12, 2013

It’s official: Voyager 1 has slipped from the solar system.

Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 traveled past Jupiter and Saturn and is now more than 11.66 billion miles (18.67 billion kilometers) from the sun, becoming the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space. Proof of this long-anticipated milestone for the storied spacecraft comes in a study released Thursday by the journal Science and announced at a celebratory NASA headquarters briefing.

Read more...

Nova Delphinus 2013 - Brightest in many years

Click to Enlarge

• A Map to find Nova Del 2013 - Southern Hemisphere
  Top arrow on map = Altair
  Bottom arrow on map = Vega

Some links to learn more about this Nova

• Bright-new-nova-in-delphinus-you-can-see-it-tonight-with-binoculars
• Watch Erupting Star Live
• New Star Explosion: Photos of Nova Delphinus 2013
• AAVSO Alert Notice 489: Nova Delphini 2013 = PNV J20233073+2046041
• Nova Del 2013 makes the top 30

Pale Blue Dot: Distant Spacecraft Photograph Earth (Cassini spacecraft)

 Click to Enlarge

July 23, 2013:  Color and black-and-white images of Earth taken by two NASA interplanetary spacecraft on July 19 show our planet and its moon as bright beacons from millions of miles away in space.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured the color images of Earth and the moon from its perch in the Saturn system nearly 900 million miles (1.5 billion kilometers) away. MESSENGER, the first probe to orbit Mercury, took a black-and-white image from a distance of 61 million miles (98 million kilometers) as part of a campaign to search for natural satellites of the planet.

More information

Komeet ISON en ScopeX

ScopeX - 20 Julie 2013

Keep out the light, the cold and mozzies!

Found this in the latest S&T.

It will keep out stray light, mozzies and other unwanted flying crawlies. (After the flying  part - they crawl).

 The Delux model is fitted with a stereo MP3 player. ;-)

This is DIY 101 for astro geeks.

Fracking Scary!

 

Source: Internet

`n Gedeelte van S&T se redakteursbrief in die jongste uitgawe. Gaan ons oor `n klompie jare dieselfde kommer iewers uitspreek? En Suid-Afrika (Karoo) is baie kleiner as die groot VSA. Alle aanduidings in ons media is dat skaliegasontginning om die draai is.

"ASH members are concerned that light pollution is starting to creep in at this site, which is also home to the Black Forest Star Party in September. The light pollution comes from nearby drilling rigs for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. Fortunately, the sky was very dark on Saturday night. Cherry Springs State Park operations manager Chip Harrison gave a talk about how the fracking companies frequently cut back on fl aring activity during star parties. He pointed out that these companies receive a lot of negative publicity, so they’re usually happy to generate goodwill by cooperating with star party organizers. The key is to understand their concerns, make reasonable requests, and communicate clearly the desired actions and the reasons for them."

Visit these sites:

• Cloudy Nights - Fracking:  Light Pollution
• Good Gossip

Bloemfontein. Dome of the first digital planetarium in sub-Saharan Africa Unveiled

Astronomy Cast | Take a facts-based journey through the universe.

 

 A lot of very interesting Podcasts - Please download and listen!Publish Post

Astronomy Cast | Take a facts-based journey through the universe.

NASA - Image of the Day Gallery

Targeting Earth Photographs From Orbit

Inside the Cupola, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, an Expedition 36 flight engineer, uses a 400mm lens on a digital still camera to photograph a target of opportunity on Earth some 250 miles below him and the International Space Station. Cassidy has been aboard the orbital outpost since late March and will continue his stay into September.



Image Credit: NASA

• Visit NASA Image of the Day

SCOPEX 2013 - 20 July 2013 - 9 am to 9pm

Interested in Astronomy, stargazing, astrophotography, buying/building a telescope?

Come visit the astronomy event of the year …

What to expect on the dayCommercial Telescopes and accessories at special show prices
Activities: Telescope making demonstrations, Telescope Auction, Talks, Science Shows, ATM and Astrophotography Competitions

SCOPEX 2013 - 20 July 2013 - 9 am to 9pm
at the Museum of Military History, Johannesburg

• www.scopex.co.za

The 10 weirdest physics facts, from relativity to quantum physics

All the matter that makes up the human race could fit in a sugar cube
Atoms are 99.9999999999999 per cent empty space. As Tom Stoppard put it: "Make a fist, and if your fist is as big as the nucleus of an atom, then the atom is as big as St Paul's, and if it happens to be a hydrogen atom, then it has a single electron flitting about like a moth in an empty cathedral, now by the dome, now by the altar."
If you forced all the atoms together, removing the space between them, crushing them down so the all those vast empty cathedrals were compressed into the first-sized nuclei, a single teaspoon or sugar cube of the resulting mass would weigh five billion tons; about ten times the weight of all the humans who are currently alive.
Incidentally, that is exactly what has happened in a neutron star, the super-dense mass left over after a certain kind of supernova.

• Click to see the other!

How To Choose A Beginner Telescope

How To Choose A Beginner Telescope

Welcome to the brand new SAAO Website

Welcome to the brand new South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) Website

This site is the first phase of an exciting revitalisation of our web presence.

Future plans include multilingual content, real-time upload of event happenings, etc.

Please enjoy your visit.

• SAAO Website

KMTnet Site Live View - Sutherland, South Africa

KMTnet Site Live View - Sutherland, South Africa

"Journey into the Universe"

Source: CCTV

"Journey into the Universe" (working title 'Dark Matter') on CCTV

 This is a 30 minute doccie I made for Faces of Africa on Chinese TV earlier this year.

The film follows radio astronomer Nadeem Oozeer and cosmologist Bruce Bassett as they journey to the SKA site in Carnarvon, in order to understand how the Square Kilometre Array telescope will shed light on mysteries of the Universe such as its origins, Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

Asteroid 1998QE2 Fly-by - SAA Observatory

On May 31, 2013, asteroid 1998 QE2 passed by Earth, at a distance no closer than about 5.8 million kilometers, or about 15 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. The asteroid, which was discovered on the 19th August 1998, by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) programme in the US, is thought to be about 2.7 kilometers long. It is not a threat to Earth however, as astronomers are certain that the asteroid will pass by rather uneventfully. Although the asteroid will not be visible with the naked eye as it will be too faint, it will be visible using a small telecope.

For more information visit www.asteroidflyby.saao.ac.za

1998 QE2 Close aproach

And there she goes! Asteroid 1998 QE2 video captured by Jonathan Bradshaw (Astrojunk) complete with meteor and satellite zooming past! Nabbed 31st May during closest approach. -Suzy.

How to Choose Eyepieces - Orion Telescopes and Binocualrs

Fly-by of Asteroid 1998 QE2 with music - YouTube

Fly-by of Asteroid 1998 QE2 with music - YouTube

SpaceObs on USTREAM: .

 Bron: Willie Koorts

Die beloofde skakels na dekking van vanaand se verbyvlug van Asteroïde 1998 QE2. Ons hoop die weer is ons genadig tussen 19:30-20:30! Gisteraand se kleedrepetisie lyk heel goed! Geniet.

Last night we took some "dress rehearsal" video of the Asteroid 1998 QE2 which is making a close (if you call 5.8 million km close!) pass to Earth on Friday night using the 20 inch. The video was saved on UstreamTV at

• SpaceObs on USTREAM: .

Asteroid 9 times size of ocean liner approaches Earth | MyScienceAcademy

Asteroid 9 times size of ocean liner approaches Earth | MyScienceAcademy

Mars will look as big as the Full Moon - Astronomy Magazine

Mars will look as big as the Full Moon - Astronomy Magazine

The ABCs of observing - Astronomy Magazine

The ABCs of observing - Astronomy Magazine

ScienceCasts: Sunset Triangle

Ecuador satellite hits Soviet-era space junk

Ecuador satellite hits Soviet-era space junk

Volksblad : Seldsame verskynsel in hemelruim te sien

23 Mei 2013 18:00 - Westelike horison - Jupiter bo, Venus en Merkurius onder

Volksblad : Seldsame verskynsel in hemelruim te sien

KAAPSTAD. – Venus, Jupiter en Mercurius gaan binnekort ’n dans in die lugruim uitvoer om uiteindelik ’n driehoek te vorm.
Dié planete sal van 22 Mei af saans sowat ’n halfuur tot ’n uur ná sonsondergang mooi begin wys.
Maar moenie 26 Mei misloop nie, want dán sal die drie op hul mooiste wees.
Die vorige keer wat die drie plante só ’n driehoek gevorm het, was in Mei 2011.
Ná vandeesmaand sal dit eers weer in Oktober 2015 sigbaar wees, volgens dr. Tony Phillips van Nasa.
Willie Koorts van die Suider-Afrikaanse Sterrewag (Saao) sê ’n mens moet laag op die horison kyk en eers soek na Venus, die helderste van die drie.
Die driehoek sal mooi sigbaar wees, selfs sonder ’n teleskoop, maar dit sal mooier deur ’n verkyker wees.
– Elsabé Brits

ALERT! NEO Asteroid 1998 QE2 Close Approach - Sky Alerts - Remote Internet Telescopes Network - Online Imaging & Telescope Hosting Service

• A Chart for Bloemontein - South-Africa    (31 May 2013)

ALERT! NEO Asteroid 1998 QE2 Close Approach - Sky Alerts - Remote Internet Telescopes Network - Online Imaging & Telescope Hosting Service

Bright Explosion on the Moon - NASA Science

Bright Explosion on the Moon - NASA Science

UFS101’s Annual Astronomy Fair - 27 April 2013

(Click to enlarge image)

Members of ASSA Bloemfontein  assisting with the UFS101 where First Year students learn more about Science. Students are looking at the moon through telescopes.

It is that time again for UFS101’s Annual Astronomy Fair on University of the Free State Campus. This will be held on Bloemfontein Campus in the Callie Human on 27 April 2013 from 9:30 -13:00.

You are invited to:

• Observe the sun through a specially equipped telescope;
• Witness the launching of Demo Rockets;
• Attend a presentation inside of an inflatable planetarium (limited space)
• Hear the latest news about SKA-South Africa and astronomy developments in Bloemfontein
• Take a 552m walk on campus to see a Scale Model of our Solar System
• Explore the latest astronomy applications for your iPhone/ iPad
• and much more…

The entrance is free and you are welcome to bring the whole family. No booking is necessary. There will be tuckshop facilities available as well as products from exhibitors to be bought.

PROGRAMME FOR 27 April 2013 (Bloemfontein)

Time Activity Venue - Badminton Hall (Next to Callie Human Centre)
09:45 -10:15
Presentation: ‘The Universe: The 5% we know of and the "missing" 95%’ by Prof. Matie Hoffman

 Astrofair in Callie Human Centre
10:00 - 13:00 Expo,
12:45  Launching of Rockets

Rosette Nebula in Moneceros and Carina Nebula in Carina

Click to Enlarge
Photographer: Herman Bonnet, ASSA Bloemfontein

NGC 2237 in Moneceros 
Rosette Nebula

Kamera -Canon 400D.

Mount -CGE PRO

Teleskoop-Skywatcher equinox 120 mm refraktor

Guiding-Nexguide kamera

11 x 2 min exposures

10 flats

10 darks

10 bias

Click to Enlarge

Photographer: Herman Bonnet, ASSA Bloemfontein

NGC 3372 in Carina
Carina Nebula

Kamera -Canon 400D.

Mount -CGE PRO

Teleskoop-Skywatcher equinox 120 mm refraktor

Guiding-Nexguide kamera

12 X 4MIN exposures

20 flats

20 darks

20 bias

LIVE streaming video and commentary begins now for today's Antares test flight http://www.spaceflightnow.com/antares/demo/status.html

LIVE streaming video and commentary begins now for today's Antares test flight http://www.spaceflightnow.com/antares/demo/status.html

Spaceflight Now - live streaming video powered by Livestream

Spaceflight Now - live streaming video powered by Livestream

The Blue Marble - The most viewed image in history

The Blue Marble is a famous photograph of the Earth, taken on December 7, 1972, by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft, at a distance of about 45,000 kilometres (28,000 mi).

Read more...

Chelyabinsk Meteor Flash

Chelyabinsk Meteor Flash
Image Credit & Copyright: Marat Ahmetvaleev  

• More stunning images

  Explanation: A meteoroid fell to Earth on February 15, streaking some 20 to 30 kilometers above the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia at 9:20am local time. Initially traveling at about 20 kilometers per second, its explosive deceleration after impact with the lower atmosphere created a flash brighter than the Sun. This picture of the brilliant bolide (and others of its persistent trail) was captured by photographer Marat Ametvaleev, surprised during his morning sunrise session creating panoramic images of the nearby frosty landscape. An estimated 500 kilotons of energy was released by the explosion of the 17 meter wide space rock with a mass of 7,000 to 10,000 tons. Actually expected to occur on average once every 100 years, the magnitude of the Chelyabinsk event is the largest known since the Tunguska impact in 1908.

Chebarkul meteorite

Links to Chebarkul meteorite

• Meteorite in Russia: all videos in one place

• Chebarkul

• Chebarkul meteorite

• 2013 Russian meteor event

• Russian meteor was the biggest in over 100 years, says NASA

 

 

Asteroid 2012 DA14 Passes the Earth

Asteroid 2012 DA14 Passes the Earth
Video Credit & Copyright: Daniel López (El Cielo de Canarias) Explanation: There it goes. That small spot moving in front of background stars in the above video is a potentially dangerous asteroid passing above the Earth's atmosphere. This past Friday, the 50-meter wide asteroid 2012 DA14 just missed the Earth, passing not only inside the orbit of the Moon, which is unusually close for an asteroid of this size, but also inside the orbit of geosynchronous satellites. Unfortunately, asteroids this big or bigger strike the Earth every 1000 years or so. Were 2012 DA14 to have hit the Earth, it could have devastated a city-sized landscape, or stuck an ocean and raised dangerous tsunamis. Although finding and tracking potentially dangerous asteroids is a primary concern of modern astronomy, these small bodies or ice and rock are typically so dim that only a few percent of them have been found, so far. Even smaller chunks of ice and rock, like the (unrelated) spectacular meteors that streaked over Russia and California over the past few days, are even harder to find -- but pose less danger.

Nog `n Komeet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)

Klik om te vergroot

Vir die ouens wat vroeg opstaan of glad nie gaan slaap nie.

Komeet Lemon is sterk op koers na Octans en nou is C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) vroegoggend in die Suid-Ooste sigbaar. Nee ek het hom nog nie gesien nie. Te laag vir my. Sal dalk die naweek probeer en op die dak klim.

Maart se Sky and Telescope sê ons kan die komeet by skypub.com/panstarrs volg. Die voorspelling is klaar daar dat dit nie so helder gaan wees as wat voorspel is nie.

Laat weet ons as jy die komeet sien. (assabfn@gmnail.com)

Skytools 3 gee hierdie voorspelling vir vannag.

On this night C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) is best visible between 03:29 and 04:46, with the optimum view at 04:27. Look for it in Telescopium, low in the southeastern sky during morning twilight. It is obvious visually in the Orion SkyQuest XT10 Dob. Use the Ultima 42mm for optimum visual detection. It is magnitude 5.5 with a diameter of 4.5'.

 

Friday Night (25 Januarie 2013) C/2012 F6 (Lemmon)

Friday - About 23:30 to be precise. I spent some time to find Comet Lemon with my 10X50 binoculars. With the help of my Skytools map it and the binoculars steady on a tripod it was easy. Even with the almost full moon and some street lights. A black cloth over your head will also help. 

The techno info the same: Canon 30D with a 300mm (X1.6) lens. 10 Seconds with ISO 3200. I used  Nebulosity software ( Stark Labs) to prepare the image.

• Map for tonight 
• Long term map - Tonight - 10 February

Compare with the original RAW image below.

And the final image without the text.

Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) 23 Januarie 2013

Click to enlarge

With Crux on the left and Musca to the right, Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) on the late night 23 Januarie 2013 is a little green spot. Photo: Hannes Pieterse

Info: Canon 30D with 50mm lens; 20 X 15 sec exposures; ISO 1600, f4. 20 X Dark frames. Images were prepared in Deepskystacker > Separate registered and dark frame subtracted images were created.  These were stacked in Rot`nStack. Final image was tweaked in Photoshop.

- A tree interfered on the right