Prev topicNext topicHelp

Topic 24 of 99: Beyond Planet Earth

Wed, Nov 17, 1999 (14:23) | Marcia (MarciaH)
991 new of 1087 responses total. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 97 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Fri, Jan 21, 2000 (19:57) * 5 lines
the eclipse was indeed beautiful. it was cold and our part of the sky was clear as a bell and i think i was able to discern more stars than usual. my pictures stunk (had them developed today). i went out with my binoculars and got a lens full of red moon.

now to david's pics!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 98 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Fri, Jan 21, 2000 (19:58) * 1 lines 
 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 99 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Fri, Jan 21, 2000 (19:58) * 3 lines
the above is my fave!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 100 of 1087: Lucille Oftedahl  (alyeska) * Fri, Jan 21, 2000 (20:04) * 1 lines
It was so beautiful, red, red with a halo of light.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 101 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jan 21, 2000 (20:28) * 1 lines
Thank you Wolfie! *hugs* How lovely they are! He had trouble seeing it with the naked eye and sent me that picture too - totally black! It was slightly overcase so you see wispy clouds going past the moon... It must have been incredible in a clear sky! Last night with the reports coming in and the pictures, too was about as close as I could get to actually seeing it. Thank you all! Now, to tell his father (who has logged in and can post any time he chooses...) and David as well...*grin*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 102 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sat, Jan 22, 2000 (15:54) * 1 lines
I'm so excited to see the pix, and fed up that we weren't able to see anything here. Thanks.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 103 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jan 22, 2000 (20:52) * 1 lines
I know the feeling...*lol* I am delighted that someone in the family got to see it...and as all good mom's, I would rather he saw it than I if we had to choose.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 104 of 1087: Annette Mercer  (laughingsky) * Sun, Jan 23, 2000 (08:26) * 1 lines
Great pics, Wolf! Thanks!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 105 of 1087: Moon Dreams  (Moon) * Tue, Jan 25, 2000 (13:30) * 10 lines
This is from the E. Telegraph today. Lost Asteroid is Earth's, new Moon
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/00/1/25/whubbig.gif>

I think you will enjoy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001182080732013&rtmo=kLLZ1JNp&atmo=kLLZ1JNp&pg=/et/00/1/25/whub25.html

I hope the link works. I know Terry is in the middle of moving. 



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 106 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan 25, 2000 (13:48) * 1 lines
Love the Eskimo Nebula! What incredible pictures!!! Thanks so much for posting this, Moon (great name for this topic !) I was busy on Geo 14 posting information on "the snow storm of the millennuim" (it is bound to be called something liket that), and had not seen anything about Hubble and the new pictures. Thanks! And, please don't be a stranger!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 107 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb  3, 2000 (18:02) * 260 lines
John Burnett sent this contribution. It is fascinating!

Can time run backwards?
IN a distant galaxy, a star unexplodes. Just moments ago a shell of tortured
matter was flying together at 30 000 kilometers a second. Now it has become
a star, and the last shreds of glowing debris are being sucked in. With the
explosion undone, the star begins the long journey back to the time when it
will be unborn into the gas and dust of an interstellar cloud.

Is someone running the film backwards for comic effect? Not necessarily. In
a paper published in the last week of 1999, Lawrence Schulman of Clarkson
University in Potsdam, New York dropped a bombshell. He showed that regions
where time flows in the normal direction can coexist with regions where it
flows backwards. There could be places, perhaps even within our Galaxy,
where stars unexplode, eggs unbreak and living things grow younger with
every second.

To understand how time could run backwards, you need to understand why it
has a preferred direction at all. The equations of physics say that
particles of matter don't care what direction time runs in: any interaction
between two particles could happen just as easily in reverse. (Some nuclear
interactions do show a small bias, but no one has found a way to turn this
into an arrow of time.)

But when you have a lot of particles instead of just two, things change.
Messy, disordered states tend to develop from tidier ones. This tendency is
called the thermodynamic arrow of time. Physicists say that entropy-a
measure of disorder-always increases. "It's easy to break an egg, difficult
or impossible to put the pieces back together," says Schulman.

Say the air in a large room is confined in a 1-metre cube in one corner,
then released. It is perfectly possible that, after five
minutes, the air molecules will all be back in the same 1-metre cube.
Perfectly possible but hugely improbable, because there are far more ways to
arrange the individual molecules when they are spread out than when they are
confined. In fact, the most disordered state-in which the air molecules are
spread more or less evenly throughout the room-can be achieved in far more
ways than any other state. "This is the second law of thermodynamics," says
Schulman, "which seals the fate of Humpty Dumpty."

However, argues Schulman, a reverse arrow is perfectly possible: "It's all
down to the 'boundary conditions'-the external constraints imposed on the
system." In the room, the air has to be in the 1-metre cube only at the
start of the five-minute period. There is no constraint on it at the end of
the five minutes-the system can find its own final state.

But say a final condition is imposed. After five minutes, the air molecules
have to be back in the 1-metre cube. On Earth, this is
clearly an artificial situation. But for Schulman, it is perfectly
legitimate to consider such a state of affairs. "There is no reason in
principle why the Universe might not have a future boundary condition
imposed on it," he says.

The future condition would constrain the molecules to follow only a tiny
subset of trajectories, ending up in the 1-metre cube. From our point of
view, time would be running backwards.

But there's an objection to having forward and backward time regions in the
same universe. Surely the arrow of a reverse-time region would be wiped out
by the slightest interaction with a normal-time region, leaving a completely
disordered system with no arrow at all?

Imagine a game of snooker in which the triangle of red balls is struck by
the cue ball and scattered around the table. Now imagine the reverse-time
scenario. For the balls to follow the precise trajectories necessary to
finish in a triangle will take a monumental amount of coordination. The
slightest disturbance will spoil it. Any interaction with a region with
normal time-for instance, the smallest cry of amazement from someone
watching-could vibrate the air, nudge the balls and wreck everything. So the
backward arrow of a reverse-time region would be instantly destroyed by any
interaction with a normal-time region.

Schulman sees a flaw in this idea. The two systems are on an equal footing,
so the reverse-time region is as likely to destroy the arrow of the
normal-time region as vice versa. "All we can say is that if the two regions
interact their arrows will either both be destroyed or both survive."

Most physicists would have put good money on the former possibility. But
Schulman's startling conclusion is that as long as the interaction between
the two regions is weak, both arrows will survive. He bases this claim on a
simple computer model that allows him to set up weakly interacting systems
with opposite arrows of time and see what happens.

Here's how it works. Take a square 1 unit on each side, and add a particle
with coordinates x and y. Move the particle by repeatedly replacing x with x
+ y and y with x + 2y, and discarding any integer parts of the results (so x
and y stay in the range from 0 to 1). The particle will flit about the
square chaotically. "This mimics the essential behaviour of a gas particle,
while being a lot simpler than reality," according to Schulman.

To set up two gases with opposite arrows of time, Schulman imposes
appropriate boundary conditions. In one model gas, the particles start in
one corner of the square and spread out until they are completely
disordered. They have a "normal" arrow of time (that is, the same arrow as
us). In the other, Schulman imposes the final condition that after, say 20
moves, corresponding to 20 time steps, the particles are all in the corner
of the square. This system has a backward arrow of time. Call the
normal-time region Alice and the reverse-time region Bob.

The next step is to let Alice and Bob interact. Schulman tweaks the
coordinates of each normal-time particle according to the coordinates of the
reverse-time test particle, and vice versa.

When Schulman lets both systems run, he finds that neither arrow of time is
destroyed by the other. "All that happens is that Bob adds a bit of noise to
Alice and Alice adds a bit of noise to Bob," says Schulman. The two arrows
of time are remarkably robust.

"I had no idea when I started my work that this would be the outcome," he
says. "The result surprised me as much anyone else." But this surprise, he
adds, comes from a prejudice against future boundary conditions. Once you
are used to the idea of matter having some memory of what we call its
future, it ceases to surprise. From our point of view, the memory of future
organization drags any reverse time region in the direction of increasing
order, despite any small disturbances from our own "normal" region.

The paper has created quite a stir. "This is very cool stuff indeed," says
Max Tegmark of the University of Pennsylvania. At the Technion-Israel
Institute of Technology, where Sculman began this work, Amos Ori agrees.
"Schulman has shown that the consistency of a model with two simultaneous
time arrows can be explored by relatively simple means. This is a very
important observation."

And he has some equivocal support from David Pegg of Griffith University in
Brisbane. "I see no obvious flaw in the calculations
Schulman has done. He makes his case quite well and I am willing to accept
it, at least until convinced otherwise."

Other physicists don't believe that Schulman's computer model is relevant to
the real world. According to Paul Davies of the University of Adelaide, a
real physical system with a backward arrow would be so fantastically
sensitive to an outside influence that it would be easily destroyed.
"Imagine a box of gas with molecular velocities reversed to bring about an
ordered state," he says. "The gravity of a single electron at the edge of
the observable Universe is enough to throw out the motion of a given
molecule by 90 degrees after only 20 or so intermolecular collisions. That's
pretty sensitive."

Crossing the divide
Surprisingly, Schulman does not dispute Davies' point. "He's absolutely
right. But the very set-up of his thought experiment, with
initial conditions only, precludes an opposite-directed arrow," he says. "My
result applies when boundary conditions are imposed at two separate times."

Some might attack the realism of Schulman's interaction, which he admits is
an abstract mathematical one and not related to a real physical force such
as gravity. "Nevertheless, I maintain that the interaction is adequate for
treating the conceptual issue of the effects of future-conditioning," he says.

So could we actually see reverse-time beings if they exist, and maybe even
wave to them? Remarkably, Schulman says yes. Using a theory originally
developed by Richard Feynman and John Wheeler, which treats light waves
travelling in both time directions on an equal footing, he shows that
forward and reverse regions could communicate by light signals.

But communicating with the other side has its dangers. If normal-time Alice
were to see rain pouring out through reverse-time Bob's window, she could
wait until before the rain started and shout to Bob to close his window. "So
did Bob's floor get wet or not?" says Schulman.

Perhaps something intermediate happens which smears out the paradox. "Alice
sees the window open, shouts to Bob but the message gets blurred and Bob
doesn't close the window," says Schulman.

And there's another, more disturbing possibility. "If you impose initial and
final boundary conditions, it may turn out that the events described simply
can't happen," he says. "In mathematical terms, they are simply not a
solution." In other words, we might just be fated not to cause any
paradoxes.

So, how would a reverse-time region arise? Schulman says such regions may
exist for the same inexplicable reason that regions of normal time exist.
But there is one more concrete possibility: perhaps we live in a Universe
whose expansion from a big bang will one day be reversed into a contraction
down to a "big crunch", a sort of mirror-image of the big bang in which the
Universe was born 13 billion years ago. Although the latest cosmological
evidence is against this, the question isn't settled.

In 1958, Thomas Gold of Cornell University argued that the thermodynamic
arrow of time would reverse during the contraction
phase, creating order out of chaos. Gold's reasoning turned out to be
flawed, but in the 1970s, Schulman used his own model to show that the
conclusions were right. As the big bang and big crunch are both highly
ordered (all the matter is in a small volume), thermodynamic arrows of time
should point away from both ends. The arrow of time depends on the expansion
or contraction of the Universe. "Coffee cools because the quasar 3C 273
grows ever more distant," says Schulman.

Of course, if you were alive during a cosmic contraction phase you would see
nothing untoward-you'd have the same arrow as most of the matter in the
Universe, and it would look like expansion (see Diagram). Stepping outside
the Universe, the situation appears perfectly symmetrical; it makes just as
much sense to call either end the big bang or the big crunch.

A bizarre consequence of Schulman's theory is that some reverse-time regions
from a future contracting phase of the Universe could have survived until
today-and could be only a few tens of light years away. "Some bits of the
Universe might have reverse arrows while other bits with forward arrows
might survive well into the contraction phase."

As the "turnaround" time when the Universe's expansion turns into
contraction could be many hundreds of billions of years away, any stars
would have burnt out. Unfortunately, there would be little prospect of
seeing stellar unexplosions or backwards people among such cold stuff. "We
would still feel their gravity, though," says Schulman. "Such reverse-time
matter would have all the attributes of the invisible, or 'dark', matter
thought to make up most of the mass of our Universe."

Colliding arrows
Another possibility is that in the 13 billion years since the big bang most
of the Universe's matter has collided with reverse-time matter from the
future. The result of such collisions would be matter in "equilibrium" with
no time direction. "Once again, it would appear exactly like dark matter,"
says Schulman. Other physicists are skeptical. "I doubt that this has
anything to do with the dark matter problem," says Tegmark.

So what would it be like in a region that is changing its time direction?
Would exploding things suddenly start unexploding? And what would happen to
the minds of beings around at the time? Sadly, it would be rather
undramatic. For a particular area to change its arrow, it would first have
to go through a period of maximum disorder where there could be no stars or
explosions or structured, working minds. But if you survived for long
enough, you might be able to watch the Universe around you starting to
contract, and most of its matter going into reverse.

If all this is getting a bit difficult to stomach, there is a way to test
it-even if we can't spy on a nearby backwards planet. "Things
happening today could be influenced by boundary conditions at the end of the
Universe," says Schulman. What he has in mind are ultra-slow processes.

In the 1970s, John Wheeler of Princeton University suggested observing the
decays of atomic nuclei with ultra-long half-lives, perhaps many tens of
billions of years. The suggestion was that the normal exponential decay
would be modified by exponential "undecay" and that this might actually be
observable in a sample of a few kilograms in the laboratory. Possible
candidates are rhenium-187 and samarium-147, which have half-lives of about
100 billion years.

Unfortunately, Wheeler was too optimistic. For an experiment of a sensible
duration, a few years, say, you'd need roughly the total supply of these
isotopes in the Universe to see deviations from exponential decay.
"A far better bet is galaxy clustering," says Schulman. He believes that the
way galaxies cluster together could be affected by a future contraction
phase. Unfortunately, he has not yet worked out what form this effect might
take.

But over the past few years, a small group of physicists have been claiming
that the Universe has an inexplicable fractal structure. Most cosmologists
disagree, partly because they have no way to explain such a bizarre pattern.
But say there is something in it. Could it perhaps be a memory of the
future?
###
Further reading: Time's Arrows and Quantum Measurement by L. S. Schulman
(Cambridge University Press, 1997)
Author: Marcus Chown
New Scientist issue 5th February 2000
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING
ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO : http://www.newscientist.com



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 108 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Feb  6, 2000 (10:42) * 9 lines
In the UK Times today:
Found: The hibernation Gene that could send man to the stars!
Scientists have discovered genes for hibernation in humans. The discovery could pave the way for human hibernation of the kind forshadowed for astronauts in the 30 year old film 2001: A pace odessey. Human hibernation would ake ultrlong haul space travel feasible, with crews effectively put to sleep for months, even years, by triggering the hibernation genes that man's distant ancestors used millions of years ago to sleepthrough hostile winters.

The first use of hibernation technology is likely to be in transplant surgery, where donor organs would be preserved on shelves for weeks or months by putting them into a state of deep sleep.

After a five year project, Matthew andrews, associate professor of genetics at North Carolina State University has idenfied two genes - PL and PDK-4 - which appear to mastermind hibewrnation. One stops carbohydrate metabolism ewhich ensures that the glucose that animals have stored in their body from their last meal is preserved for use by the brain and central nervous system. The second gene controls the production of an enzyme that breaks up stored fatty acids, and converts then into usable fats for fuel. As result the animal can tick over on its stored fat. ..... Researchers found the genes can be made to work in similar ways [to animals] in humans.

They also hope to dientify what genesare involved in triggering the loss of body fat, and to find a way of kick-starting the same genes in humans as a way of losing weight.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 109 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Feb  6, 2000 (12:00) * 1 lines
Amazing stuff, Maggie. Thanks for posting this. I had no idea!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 110 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Feb  6, 2000 (13:37) * 4 lines
I like the idea of the weight loss gene!!!!
Seriously, it could revolutionise space travel and make things possible.

Did you see anything on the newly discovered black hole that's near earth?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 111 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Feb  6, 2000 (14:27) * 1 lines
I have seen nothing. I am off to go a search for information about it. Thanks for the reminder. (If your body stayed the same shape would you care what you weighed? It is just a number and is entirely asbitrary!)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 112 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Feb  6, 2000 (17:02) * 1 lines
I'm just glad I don't have talking scales - numbers have power don't you know!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 113 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Feb  6, 2000 (17:54) * 1 lines
Yup! Numbers do have power. Even for the long and willowy sort who wishes she were more horizontally endowed. *sigh* Whoever though up talking appliances had nothing else to think about, obviously. Very weird, Indeed!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 114 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Mon, Feb  7, 2000 (12:58) * 3 lines
What do you think about talking spaceships? or computers for that matter.

If we were weightless (e.g. in space) would size matter????? 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 115 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb  7, 2000 (13:28) * 2 lines
Size would have to matter. The smaller the individuals, the more that could be accommodated, I would think. Everything has a load limit and the support system making the air to breathe and food to eat would have to be considered pr capita.
I know of no way to eliminate the mass even if it is weightless!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 116 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Mon, Feb  7, 2000 (18:08) * 1 lines
Oh what a pity, just think of the airline bags you could take if weight didn't matter!!! Sorry, it's late and I'm feeling goofy.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 117 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb  7, 2000 (18:52) * 1 lines
When you ship via air freight, the cost for moving it is by the cubic foot, not by weight. Who said life was fair?!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 118 of 1087: Ginny  (vibrown) * Tue, Feb  8, 2000 (11:31) * 45 lines
From http://www.skypub.com/news/news.shtml


Tuesday, February 1
New Martian Meteorite
Discovered in California

About 20 years ago, Robert S. Verish was on a
rock-collecting trip in Southern California’s Mojave
Desert. While walking around, he spotted a couple of
dark basaltic rocks. Interested, Verish scooped them
up, took them home, and put them in a box for safe
keeping.

It wasn’t until last October that Verish realized he
stumbled upon a great find. While cleaning, he
noticed that the rocks he collected looked surprising
like meteorites. Excited, he brought samples of each
rock to geochemist Alan Rubin (University of
California, Los Angeles). Rubin confirmed the rocks to
be meteorites and noted the similarity they had to a
Martian meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1994. "It
was immediately obvious it was similar to Martian
meteorites," says Rubin. "Within two minutes we were
convinced."

"There may be other pieces out there," Rubin notes.
"The problem is we don’t know where 'out there' is. If
we knew specifically where it was, we could look out
there for more."

This find brings the current number of known Martian
meteorites to 14, and the Los Angeles meteorites are
only the second piece of Mars to be found in the
United States. The first, named Lafayette, was
discovered in Indiana in 1931.

Meteorites are known to be of Martian origin largely
for two reasons. First, gases trapped in the rock
match that of the Martian atmosphere. Second, the
rock’s oxygen isotopic ratios are unlike other
meteorites or any Earth rock, but they match the
ratios found on Mars. The rocks were likely ejected
from Mars during a large impact event, making their
way to Earth in less than a million years. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 119 of 1087: Ginny  (vibrown) * Tue, Feb  8, 2000 (11:56) * 115 lines
I think this is the black hole Maggie was asking about...

Chandra Finds a "Cool" Black Hole at the
Heart of the Andromeda Galaxy

CXC PR: 00-03

January 14, 2000

Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
Phone: 256-544-6535
http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/news

Dr. Wallace Tucker
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA
Phone: 617-496-7998


In its first look at the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), NASA's Chandra X-ray
Observatory has found that the gas funneling into a supermassive black
hole in the heart of this galaxy is a "cool" million degrees. This
unexpected result adds one more quirk to the strange behavior
previously observed at the center of M31.

A team of scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass., reported on this observation at the
195th national meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Atlanta,
Ga. The team is led by Drs. Stephen Murray and Michael Garcia, and
includes Drs. Frank Primini, William Forman, Christine Jones, and Ralph
Kraft.

Chandra took its first X-ray picture of the Andromeda Galaxy with the
Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on October 13, 1999. More than 100
individual X-ray sources were seen. One of these sources was at the
previously determined position of the central supermassive black hole,
which has the mass of 30 million suns. With many X-ray emitting stars
in the center of M31 there was a slight chance that one of them might
be at this position just by coincidence. The low temperature of the
suspected central source, as compared to the other sources, gave the
team the clue they needed.

"When we found that what we suspected was the central object was also
anomalously cool, we KNEW we had it– one coincidence might be
believable, but two was too much to ignore!" said Garcia.

While the gas falling into the central black hole is cool, it is only
cool by comparison to the 100 other X-ray sources in the Andromeda
Galaxy. To be detected by an X-ray telescope, the gas must have a
temperature of more than a million degrees. The typical X-ray star in
the Andromeda Galaxy has a temperature of several tens of millions of
degrees. In contrast, the temperature of the supermassive black hole
source is a few million degrees.

The Andromeda Galaxy is our nearest neighbor spiral galaxy at a
distance of two million light years. It is similar to our own Milky Way
in size, shape, and also contains a supermassive black hole at the
center. This central black hole has always been a bit odd when compared
to central black holes in similar galaxies. Based on its X-ray
luminosity, it is much fainter in radio waves than expected.

Such behavior, coupled with Chandra’s discovery of the low temperature
gas, cannot be accommodated by standard models developed for
supermassive black holes in galaxies like the Milky Way and Andromeda.

"The Chandra observation is telling us that an entirely different flow
pattern is operating around the Andromeda black hole," said Dr. Eliot
Quataert, of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J. "This
will require a different class of models than usually considered."

One possibility is that the gas undergoes a large scale boiling motion
which slows down the rate at which gas falls into the black hole.

The best previous X-ray pictures were not sharp enough to clearly
distinguish the X-ray source associated with the black hole in the
center of the Andromeda Galaxy nor did they give information about the
temperature of the source.

"A good analogy might be to say that previous X-ray images were taken
with a slightly out-of-focus black and white camera, while the Chandra
image is taken with a sharp, color camera" said Murray.

Another intriguing feature of this observation is the detection of a
diffuse glow that extends for a thousand light years around the central
region. It is not known if this is due to many individual sources, or
to a hot wind expanding out from the center.

"This is just a first, quick look at our nearest Milky Way analog,"
Murray emphasized. "I expect that our future pictures will lead to more
exciting discoveries in the Andromeda Galaxy."

The ACIS instrument was built for NASA by the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, Cambridge, and Pennsylvania State University, University
Park.



To follow Chandra's progress, visit the Chandra site at:

http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cycle1/0007/index.html

AND

http://chandra.nasa.gov

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the
Chandra program. TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime
contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-ray Center
controls science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

High resolution digital versions of the X-ray image (JPG, 300 dpi TIFF )
and other information associated with this release are available on the
Internet at: http://chandra.harvard.edu/ 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 120 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb  8, 2000 (12:10) * 3 lines
Ginny! Thanks for these posts and for finding the black hole which I had not had time to search for. I actually spent yesterday hunting up new graphics (and better ones) for the topics in here with great success.

Zowie! Meteorite is number 1 on my wish list. I just need a wee little piece. The closest to anything like that is the tectite David got for me some years ago. I am not all that sure they are ejecta from the moon, but they are very odd-looking rocks, and I am happy to have one.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 121 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 11, 2000 (15:39) * 27 lines
Space Shuttle Launched From Florida Complex
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The space shuttle Endeavour roared off
the launch pad Friday on a long-delayed radar mapping mission that should
produce the best ever three-dimensional images of Earth's surface.
The six-astronaut crew will spend 11 days in space as they bounce radar
signals off cities, fields, mountains and forests, almost everything, in fact,
that shapes the Earth's surface between the polar regions.
As those signals bounce back into space, they will be collected by antennae
aboard the orbiter and at the end of a 197-foot mast deployed from the
shuttle's cargo bay. It is those slightly off-set images, like the ones seen in a
3-D movie or picture, that should make this whole-Earth topographical map
the best ever assembled.
NASA had been trying to launch this mission since September, but technical
glitches and safety concerns kept Endeavour grounded. A launch attempt last
week was scrubbed by cold winds and heavy rain, and mission managers
used the delay to replace a faulty piece of flight hardware that engineers
detected late in the countdown.
``Liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour on a 21st century mission, putting Earth
back on the map,'' said launch commentator Joel Wells as Endeavour sailed
through the clear blue skies above the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The
launch was delayed by about 20 minutes past its 12:30 p.m. scheduled
launch time for last-minute technical checks.
Once the astronauts have stowed their spacesuits and configured shuttle
systems for orbit, the first major task will be to deploy the radar mast, which
when fully extended will be the longest fixed structure ever to fly in space.
------------------------------------------------------------
Watch it live http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/video45m.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 122 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 11, 2000 (22:07) * 1 lines
I have been watching the Nasa feed all afternoon and watched the antenna which is going to map the world in fine detail operate. I hope you all smiled and looked up every 90 minutes as the shuttle circled the earth. More about this mission will be taken up on http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/geo/5/new

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 123 of 1087: Ginny  (vibrown) * Mon, Feb 21, 2000 (16:32) * 40 lines
From http://dailynews.yahoo.com

Monday February 21 12:40 PM ET

Shuttle Crew Solves Hatch Glitch, Set for Return
By Brad Liston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour ended their ambitious Earth-mapping work on Monday and prepared to come home, but not without some last-minute anxiety as they struggled to shut a hatch.

Following a final mapping pass over Australia, the astronauts began to stow their radar gear for Tuesday's scheduled landing, but there was trouble with the 20-story radar deployed just hours after their Feb. 11 liftoff.

Although the 197-foot collapsible truss-structure folded easily into its canister in Endeavour's cargo bay, three latches designed to secure the canister's hatch refused to lock into place.

The Endeavour astronauts, working remote controls from the orbiter's crew compartment, tried three times to shut the lid before finally succeeding, using a maximum force setting.

Cheers erupted in Houston's Mission Control Center when ground controllers saw the hatch close successfully in a television feed from the orbiter.

``Excellent job. A little extra work and well worth the effort,'' Mission Control told the astronauts.

If the astronauts had not been able to close the hatch, Mission Control probably would have ordered the astronauts to detonate small explosives that would have tossed the mast and its canister overboard.

Although two of the astronauts were trained to leave the orbiter and repair the mast, NASA discarded that option on Saturday when the space agency ordered an extra nine hours of mapping, using time that had been reserved for the contingency spacewalk.

Tense Moments In Space

The 2-1/2 hours spent on Monday trying to close the latches provided tense moments on the ground and in space.

After one failed attempt, mission commander Kevin Kregel radioed a disappointed assessment: ``It's a little bit closed.''

Even if the mast had been sacrificed, the glitch would not have affected the focus of Endeavour's mission, collecting radar readings that will be used to create the most detailed 3-D surface maps ever assembled.

Since taking flight on Feb. 11, the shuttle has mapped more than 46 million square miles of Earth's land formations, most of it twice. The data was stored on 326 digital cassettes inside Endeavour's crew compartment.

Only about two to three percent of Earth's topography has been mapped in the kind of resolution that NASA hopes to accomplish with this mission.

The U.S. military will be the chief beneficiary. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency, which supplies classified maps for U.S. defense and intelligence agencies, is NASA's primary partner on this flight.

Most of the highest resolution images are likely to remain classified. A lower resolution map, still superior to existing planetary topography images, will be made public. Scientists will be given access to the higher resolution images on a case-by-case basis, NASA said. 



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 124 of 1087: World Builder  (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb 21, 2000 (17:36) * 2 lines
The U.S. military will be the chief beneficiary. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency, which supplies classified maps for U.S. defense and intelligence agencies, is NASA's primary partner on this flight.
You betcha. That's why I was waving and smiling peacefully each time they took my picture. Sheesh! Is anyone surprised?! I have a molten lava flows to sell for your future houselots. Get'em while they're hot!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 125 of 1087: World Builder  (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb 21, 2000 (17:43) * 3 lines
Most of the highest resolution images are likely to remain classified. A lower resolution map, still superior to existing planetary topography images, will be made public. Scientists will be given access to the higher resolution images on a case-by-case basis, NASA said.

Sorta, need-to-own basis? And, I wanted a new atlas to add to my library. Mine is very old... phooey! (Still have those hot lava flows for ya if you're interested...*grin*)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 126 of 1087: Ginny  (vibrown) * Mon, Feb 21, 2000 (23:15) * 1 lines
I found all that to be very disappointing, too. Our tax dollars support all this, just so the government can turn around and say we don't need to see it?? phooey is right! :-P

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 127 of 1087: World Builder  (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 22, 2000 (10:37) * 1 lines
Dontcha wonder where our right to know and their obsession with being the most powerful begin and end?! Be sure to check on Bechtel. Your Boston dig is just a legit front for a REALLY big deal going on. Years ago, when A Rockefeller was vice president of the US, one of his brothers built the Mauna Kea Beach Resort on the Kona side of this island. When we drove by and my dad saw the Bechtel sign on the construction "shack" he simply uttered the name and fell silent. Those were the days when Scandia laboratories had highly-guarded test facilities high up on Mauna Loa. ...and, my Dad was a Knights Templar and a 33° Mason. Anyone get a connection (not sure I do, but there are those out there nodding!)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 128 of 1087: Ginny  (vibrown) * Tue, Feb 22, 2000 (17:04) * 35 lines
This is an old news story, but I thought it might still be of interest since we were talking about black holes recently. It's really exciting that they are finally starting to find evidence of black holes; they've theorized about supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies for more than a decade!

New evidence of black hole at Milky Way's center

January 7, 1998
Web posted at: 10:03 p.m. EST (0303 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A massive black hole, with a mass 2.6 million times that of the sun, sits at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, providing its gravitational anchor, according to new evidence unveiled by astronomers Wednesday.

Research teams in Germany and the United States found that some stars near the black hole, named Sagittarius A, are speeding along at more than 600 miles a second -- nearly 2.2 million miles per hour (3.5 million kph).

"This is the strongest case we have yet for a super, massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way," said astronomer Andreas Eckart at a news conference sponsored by the American Astronomical Society. Sagittarius A is about 26,000 light years from our sun and the planets that revolve around it. A light year is about 6 trillion miles (9.6 trillion km).

A black hole is an entity of such density and gravitational strength that nothing -- not even light -- can escape from its grasp. Because it doesn't reflect light, a black hole cannot be seen and can only be detected by measuring the motion of stars, gas and dust nearby.

The theory that a black hole exists in the center of the Milky Way -- the galaxy in which Earth is located -- has long been controversial, and many astronomers have rejected previous evidence supporting such a theory.

But researchers at Wednesday's news conference said the latest data bolsters the idea of a black hole because that is the best explanation for their findings.

Astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics used radio telescopes to make independent measurements of the motion of the object at the center of the galaxy. They found that it stood relatively still compared to the rest of the galaxy -- which is consistent with a black hole.

Another team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany found that thousands of stars existed in the area around the black hole, zipping around in tight circles. In order to cause stars to move that quickly, the black hole would have to have 2.6 million times as much mass as our sun.

Many of the stars zipping around Sagittarius A are old -- "a retirement village for stars," says Eckart -- suggesting that the black hole grows more and more massive by sucking in stars over the eons and eventually swallowing them.

Astronomers also unveiled evidence of another unusual black hole, nicknamed Old Faithful, about 40,000 light years from Earth.

Old Faithful, more powerful the Sagittarius A, sucks matter into a doughnut-like disk, then ejects it in eruptions that throw out an amount of material as massive as Mount Everest at a speed of more than 171,000 miles per second (274,000 km per second.)

"It's incredibly violent," said Steven Eikenberry of the California Institute of Technology. "We're talking about something that is trillions of times the annual energy output of the United States."

And when the black hole is active, these eruptions take place in consistent 30-minute intervals. Those regular eruptions led NASA scientists to nickname the black hole after the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park, which also erupts regularly.

Reporter Rick Lockridge and Reuters contributed to this report.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 129 of 1087: World Builder  (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 22, 2000 (18:41) * 1 lines
I really appreciate your posting that article, Ginny. I kept missing it and forgetting to look it up. Now it is here...! You cannot imagine how happy I am in this little conference of mine lately. My favorite stuff being discussed by the greatest posters anywhere. Mahalo nui loa!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 130 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar  4, 2000 (13:46) * 16 lines
Today in Space
4 Mar 2000 Aurora Watch: An
increase in geomagnetic activity
levels could occur late today in
response to a glancing blow from
recent coronal mass ejections
(CMEs) associated with the M6 and
X1-class flares observed on March
2. A direct hit is not likely since neither of these CMEs were
observed as a halo event.
Solar activity has subsided since late in the day on March 3
(Universal Time). Nevertheless, the large sunspot groups 8891 and
8882 have complicated beta-gamma magnetic fields, which makes
them likely sites for solar flares. 8891 is stll close to the center of
the solar disk. Flares or coronal mass ejections from that region
will likely be directed toward Earth.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 131 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sat, Mar  4, 2000 (13:50) * 1 lines
Will that show up on photos?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 132 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar  4, 2000 (14:20) * 3 lines
Chcek http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/geo/24.41

You can see the holes in the solar disk as brighter places where the cooler exterior were blown away. The entire discussion is fascinating and available: http://www.spaceweather.com/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 133 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar  4, 2000 (14:23) * 1 lines
Solar prominences are visible on photographs as streams of hot gases looping over the solar disk. Mostly, however, they are hightly charged particles which get to Earth and not visible until they get to the ionosphere where they cause Auroral displays. Look skyward these next few evenings!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 134 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar  5, 2000 (22:21) * 15 lines
Space Science News for March 5, 2000
Residents of Canada and the northern United States should be on the alert
for aurora borealis during the night of March 5 and morning of March 6.
The best time to view aurorae is usually around local midnight. Tonight's
new moon will make even faint activity easy to see.
Early on March 5, 2000, the interplanetary magnetic field in the vicinity
of Earth developed a significant southward-directed component. This
condition often means that solar wind plasma can penetrate Earth's
magnetosphere and trigger auroral activity. Data from NOAA's polar
orbiting meteorological satellites late on March 5 show an expanded auroral
oval. If this high level of activity continues, auroral displays could be
visible as far south as the Great Lakes states and in New England.
For continuing coverage of aurora and all forms of space weather, please
visit http://www.SpaceWeather.com


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 135 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar  8, 2000 (22:29) * 9 lines
Space Science News for March 9, 2000

New pictures from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft show exotic
terrain made of dry ice near the Red Planet's south pole. Differences
between the north and south poles suggest that the opposite ends of Mars
have had divergent climates for thousands or perhaps even millions of
years. FULL STORY at
Martian Swiss Cheese


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 136 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 10, 2000 (13:58) * 55 lines
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 10
There was a nice surprise for participants in last weekend's DX
contest. ARLB009 predicted stormy geomagnetic conditions, but it
turned out that the energy from solar eruptions did not affect the
earth's geomagnetic field. Instead of the predicted planetary A
indices of 12, 28 and 25 for Friday through Sunday, the A index for
those days was 5, 5 and 7, which is very quiet. Solar flux was 189,
167 and 181.
Average solar flux was about the same last week as the week before,
and average sunspot numbers were slightly lower. Average A indices
have also been lower.
Solar flux is expected to dip below 200 this weekend. Predicted
flux values for Friday through Tuesday are 200, 195, 190, 185 and
180. Solar flux is expected to bottom out around 150 on March 17 or
18, then rise above 200 by March 23 and stay around 220 from March
25 to April 4.
Geomagnetic indices are expected to remain quiet until March 22-23,
then settle down again until March 31 and April 1.
We are moving toward the spring equinox, which always means better
HF conditions, especially with the rising solar flux. Look for more
frequent worldwide openings on 10, 12 and 15 meters.
Cable News Network has an email service which delivers weekly space
news, and some of it concerns solar activity of interest to hams.
The email service sends URL links to articles, such as the one at
http://CNN.com/2000/TECH/space/03/01/sunspots/index.html. You can
subscribe at http://cnn.com/EMAIL.
In the mail this week was an interesting tip from a ham in Vermont,
who wrote, ''This is Zach Manganello, K1ZK, I am a freshman at
Middlebury College, and I just attended a lecture that I thought was
absolutely fascinating, pertinent to HF propagation, and worthy of
sharing with you at the ARRL. The lecture was about the Super Dual
Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), and these scientists have giant
radar arrays at several locations near the Earth's poles which they
use to study interaction of solar radiation with the Earth's
geosphere and ionosphere. Check out their web site at
http://superdarn.jhuapl.edu ''.
NASA Space Science News has an item this week about predicting
disturbances by seeing what is happening on the other side of the
sun that faces away from earth. This uses the Michelson Doppler
Imager on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, on the web at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast09mar_1.htm .
This is important because solar forecasts for the short term are
based on calculating when known active regions will rotate back into
view. If activity can be observed on the far side of the sun, then
more accurate forecasts can be made which are not dependent on the
last glimpse of the active region before it rotated out of view.
Finally, check out http://www.solarmax2000.com/, a site devoted to
this year's peak in solar activity.
Sunspot numbers for March 2 through 8 were 209, 189, 167, 181, 172,
164 and 212 with a mean of 184.9. 10.7 cm flux was 213.2 203.8,
200.2, 220.3, 222.4, 221.8 and 214.9, with a mean of 213.8, and
estimated planetary A indices were 8, 5, 5, 7, 11, 16 and 13, with a
mean of 9.3. 



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 137 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 10, 2000 (18:42) * 12 lines
Space Science News for March 10, 2000
NASA's durable Galileo spacecraft is joining forces with Saturn-bound
Cassini on a mission to study Jupiter's magnetosphere -- the biggest thing
in the solar system. How big is it? If Jupiter's magnetosphere were
visible, it would appear to be larger than the Sun or Moon in spite of its
great distance from Earth. This story also includes plasma wave sounds
recorded by Galileo in 1996 as it sailed past Jupiter's largest moon
Ganymede. Galileo will swing past Ganymede two more times before the end
of 2000.FULL STORY at

The Biggest Thing in the Solar System


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 138 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 10, 2000 (18:43) * 1 lines
I'm gonna start putting these Space science notices in Geosites for Kids - Geo 15. More people will see them as they are linked the parents conference.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 139 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (13:03) * 5 lines
It's all his fault:

On This Date in History: March 13
In 1781, the distant planet Uranus was discovered by British 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 140 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (13:03) * 2 lines
astronomer William Herschel. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 141 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (15:39) * 1 lines
Blame it on Herschel. It was all because he had a classical education. There were already the planets Jupiter and Saturn, so that led to Uranus, the grandfather and father of them respectively in mythology.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 142 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (16:42) * 1 lines
Not only that...he was of the same school as Handel and was German born, as well. He went to England under the tutilage of the Hanoverian kings as did Handel. German engineering again...and glorious music, too. Fortunately the Titan-planets did not devour their own children - or did they?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 143 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (16:43) * 1 lines
I shall ask Alexander how Uranus is pronounced in German...it might just give us a new slant on the sound of the name in question!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 144 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (16:50) * 3 lines
I don't know if the Titan planets tried to devour their children. Maybe they did, which might explain why they all have rings. Of course, none can compare with Saturn's ring system.

Uranus (the Sky) in Greek mythology was the consort to Gaia (the Earth) which gave birth to the Titans.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 145 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (17:06) * 1 lines
Ah...yes! I was slightly ahead of myself with Uranus. I can still see Blake's woodcut (was it? or etching?) of Saturn devouring his children...terrifying. Interesting that Earth is the only one who supposedly spawned her own moon rather than devouring it.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 146 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (17:08) * 1 lines
...or am I seriously confused on this Monday in particular?! Going to look up the artwork and will post it when I find it...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 147 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (17:08) * 1 lines
It was etching by Blake. There is also a painting by Goya of the same subject. Old Goya had a bit of bizarre sense of humor; the Saturn devouring his children painting hung in Goya's dining room.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 148 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (17:11) * 3 lines
Thank you! I was about to do some serious brain revamping. Yuck! What a painting to hang in your dining room. Bet his kids behaved!

Thanks, Cheryl - don't even think of not posting in here - I cannot possibly remember everything and I need you! *hugs*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 149 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (17:15) * 1 lines
You're too kind. I knew those art history courses would be useful someday.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 150 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (17:17) * 1 lines
My Bullfinch is in the other room. Saturn was not a Titan, I guess...?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 151 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (17:23) * 1 lines
You might be right. I thought he was though, Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the Titans. Among the Titans were Rhea and Chronos (Saturn) who gave birth to the Olympian gods. The brothers Zeus (Jupiter), Poseidon (Neptune), and Hades (Pluto) divided the rule of all creation among themselves. Hades got the Underworld, (talk about a bum deal), Poseidon got dominion of the Seas, (not to shabby), and Zeus got the Sky, because he was the oldest and got everyone else out of Chronos's tummy.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 152 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (17:36) * 1 lines
Right!!! Now I remember. Mahalo nui loa!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 153 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 13, 2000 (19:24) * 8 lines
Space Science News for March 13, 2000
With a little help from the Sun, NASA's NEAR spacecraft has spotted
a telltale x-ray glow from elements on asteroid Eros. Scientists
discussed that and other accomplishments at a press conference today.
FULL STORY at
One month around asteroid Eros



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 154 of 1087: Ginny  (vibrown) * Tue, Mar 14, 2000 (00:27) * 4 lines
Yes, Kronos and Rhea were Titans (there were 12 in all), but Zeus was the youngest of their children. Rhea hid Zeus from Kronos because she was tired of losing all her children as soon as they were born. She even helped Zeus overthrow Kronos.

It's an interesting succession. Uranus was overthrown by his son, Kronos, who in turn was overthrown by his son, Zeus. What a lovely bunch of gods to worship!! It's a wonder the ancient Greeks didn't kill themselves in despair...


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 155 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Mar 14, 2000 (11:24) * 1 lines
Since you are the resident Greek person, did not the ancients like gods to whom they could relate, so along with the divinity, they gave them the same shortcomings we have, as well. Made them less fearsome - until you angered them. I think most of the worship was spent appeasing them rather than worhshipping as we do in OT / NT religions. (Please correct me if this analysis is off base!)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 156 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Tue, Mar 14, 2000 (15:22) * 1 lines
Right Ginny, Zeus was the youngest, I don't know why I thought him the oldest Titan. As the Greeks became more sophistocated many of the most educated ceased to believe in their own religion by classical times. Pythagoras formulated his own religion based on -- what else -- geometry.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 157 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 15, 2000 (12:28) * 19 lines
Space Science News for March 15, 2000

What do asteroids and cosmic gamma-ray bursts have in common? NASA's NEAR
Shoemaker spacecraft is helping astronomers learn more about both. The
gamma-ray spectrometer on NEAR -- designed to study the elements of
asteroid Eros -- helped pinpoint an an unusual gamma-ray
burst on March 1st. Now, telescopes around the world are tracking the
explosion's afterglow. This could be the first of many high-energy
discoveries during NEAR's one-year mission to Eros. FULL STORY at
Gamma-ray
bursts are NEAR

MORE GAMMA-RAY NEWS: The NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center reports that
amateur astronomers have imaged the optical afterglow from the gamma-ray
burst detected by NEAR on March 1, 2000. In collaboration with the AAVSO,
NASA plans to organize a global network of amateurs to monitor gamma-ray
burst fireballs. FULL STORY atAmateurs
catch a gamma-ray burst


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 158 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 16, 2000 (14:54) * 11 lines
Space Science News for March 16, 2000

Fragments of a meteor that exploded over the Yukon in January, 2000, have
been collected and turned over to Canadian and NASA scientists for
analysis. The find is potentially the most important recovery of a rock
from space in at least 31 years. FULL STORY at

Yukon meteorite recovered!

---


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 159 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 16, 2000 (15:12) * 8 lines


The last time a carbonaceous chondrite was quickly
recovered after its fall to Earth was September 28, 1969 near
Murchison, Australia. The Murchison meteorite, pictured here,
has fascinated students of life's origins since 1970, when
investigators discovered that the rock is rich in amino acids and
other complex organic compounds.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 160 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Fri, Mar 17, 2000 (02:56) * 1 lines
I did read today that the meteorite fragments found in the Yukon was causing some excitement because they thought they might have been formed before the solar system - am I right?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 161 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 17, 2000 (13:35) * 45 lines
Not sure, Anne, but I shall investigate at the url above. If I am not mistaken, most, if not all meteorites which land on Earth are debris left over from the formation of the Solar System. Let me check!

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 11
Average solar flux was down slightly and average sunspot numbers
rose over the past week. There were no really disturbed days, but
the geomagnetic field was active on March 12.

The spring equinox is coming up this Monday, and this is always an
exciting time for HF operators. Conditions should be good this
season with the rising solar flux.

Solar flux has been declining this week, and is expected to reach a
short term minimum near 170 from March 19 to 21. Flux values should
quickly rise to another short term peak that is expected to be very
broad. Solar flux should be around 220 from March 25 through April
4.

The projected solar flux for the next five days, Friday through
Tuesday, is 180, 175, 170, 170 and 170. Planetary A index for these
same days is expected to be 8, 8, 8, 8 and 12. Upcoming dates that
may be disturbed are March 22-24, March 31 and April 1, and April 18
and 19.

Chip, K7JA, wrote to alert readers to fantastic conditions on 10
meters, including long path propagation. He is in Southern
California, and writes ''You might want to mention in your column the
tremendous LP openings on 10 meters lately. Saturday night of ARRL
Phone was one, and last night (perhaps 0300z to 0800z at least, out
here, earlier on Right Coast) was a doozy. The band started over the
top into UA9, etc., and about 0300z went to Long Path. Loud UA9s,
3B8FG, JY9NX, A41LZ, A45XR, 5Z4WI, SU9ZZ, and stations from
literally everywhere in Europe (like PA, DL, OH etc.) filled the
band. I gave up at midnight, but the band was still hopping. The
East Coast got into this one, as did stations in Texas and other
Midwestern areas. I saw a number of spots by W3UR. Basically, about
7 PM is a good time to be watchful to the south, beaming about 90
degrees. Last night's opening, however, had a broad peak into
Europe, maybe as far up as 220 degrees or so. Guess we finally have
a sunspot cycle!''

Sunspot numbers for March 9 through 15 were 225, 231, 178, 188, 172,
193 and 167 with a mean of 193.4. 10.7 cm flux was 205.8 203.4,
203.2, 203.2, 188.1, 182.6 and 177.8, with a mean of 194.9, and
estimated planetary A indices were 5, 10, 12, 19, 4, 6 and 3, with a
mean of 8.4. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 162 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Fri, Mar 17, 2000 (14:54) * 1 lines
Saw (some of ) a fascinating programme on planets beyond the solar system last night. Trouble was I fell asleep watching it so I didn't make any notes. Sorry!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 163 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 17, 2000 (17:50) * 1 lines
*sigh* Will they do reruns?! planets BEYOND the solar system?! Gotta see that one, for sure!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 164 of 1087: Ginny  (vibrown) * Fri, Mar 17, 2000 (23:41) * 5 lines
re: .155 & .156

Marcia, I agree with your analysis. The ancient Greeks believed in the notion of "hubris", which was basically pride, insolence, and general defiance of the gods. Anyone who angered the gods was sure to be punished. Many of the myths involved mortals who ran afoul of the gods (Sisyphus, Tantalus, Arachne, Andromeda, Phaethon... to name a few).

Cheryl, I haven't really studied the downfall of the ancient Greek religion, but it makes sense that the philosophers and scientists would be the first ones to stop believing. Wasn't Socrates put to death for being a non-believer and speaking against the pagan gods? I'll have to look that one up.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 165 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Sat, Mar 18, 2000 (10:22) * 9 lines
I think Socrates was charged with impiety leading up to his trial. One of the main charges at the trial which culminated in his being sentenced to death was corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates advocated moral philosophy over blind adherence to religion. Most of the Greek philosophers, Socrates among them, espooused a rational vision of the universe. Their belief was that the intellectual component of human nature was the most important. The force of truth was examplified by reason. Even if a person desired to do otherwise, his reason (the force of truth) would force him to accept the logical conclusions.

The historical context of Socrates trial should be considered. He was tried in the years just after Athens had lost the Peloponnesian War to Sparta. Democracy in Athens was overthrown, and the Spartans enstated an oligarchy of 30 tyrants to rule over Athens. Socrates was viewed as a threat to public order by undermining the moral conventions of the city and brought to public trial at the age of 70. The fact that he led a private life and chose not to be concerned with Athenian politics was to his detriment. He served only when called upon. Although he held full rights of Athenian citizenship for 40 years, he never took it upon himself to take on public service. Socrates himself claimed that he wished to preserve his own moral principles, therefore took no interest in politics. This did not sit well with the Athenians. The Athenian leader Pericles stated at his funeral oration at the time of the outset of the Peloponnesion War:

...this is a peculiarity of ours: we do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say he has no business here at all.

Not only did Socrates harbor what might construed as a disdain for democracy; he also held indiosyncratic and unconventional views of the gods. He was critical and questioning in his view of religion. He was as well interested in the new knowlege of philosophers, since referred to as the presocratics. They believed in natural theories for the existence of the cosmos. To them reality could be explained by the movement of matter or the recombination of elements. One of the best known of these natural philosophers was Anaxagoras, for whom Socrates accused his critics of mistaking him. Socrates accusers seem to have thought him quilty of doing the same inquiring into the domains of the gods, into things below the earth and sky. Which brings us back to the title of this topic: Beyond Planet Earth.

Remember what Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 166 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 18, 2000 (13:57) * 2 lines
As an aside, Wasn't Socrates convicted of Corruption of the Nation's Youth?!
How terribly modern that sounds and how nasty the inplication nowadays!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 167 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 19, 2000 (12:23) * 8 lines
Space Science News for March 19, 2000

As the Sun sets at the south pole on March 20, 2000, Earth will join two
other planets in the solar system where it is northern Spring. FULL STORY
at
Sunset at the South Pole



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 168 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Mon, Mar 20, 2000 (16:03) * 1 lines
Yes, Marcia that was the offence for which Socrates was convicted. What is interesting is that in the later Hellenistic culture and the Roman Empire the Socratic Method was deemed the proper method for education. This entailed requiring the student to argue both sides of a topic.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 169 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 20, 2000 (16:25) * 6 lines
Today is Monday, March 20, the 80th day of 2000 with 286 to
follow. Spring begins today in the Northern Hemisphere at
2:35 a.m. EST. The moon is waning, moving toward its last
quarter. The morning stars are Mercury and Venus. The
evening stars are Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 170 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 20, 2000 (16:27) * 1 lines
Indeed - and until one understands both sides of the subject in question, one cannot know the truth about it! Still as relevant today as it was then!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 171 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (13:42) * 6 lines
Space dust disappears into black holes.

British astronomers have found that black holes at the centre of galaxies get bigger with age by consuming dust and gas. The first evidence of black hole appetites was found by astronomers at Nottingham and Birmingham universities who compared the ages of galaxies with the dark mass at their centres. The older the galaxy, the bigger the b.
The astronomers determoined the age of 23 galaxies, concluding that some were as young as four billion and others as old as 12 billion years. "One of the basic properties of a black hole is that material can fall into it, but can't get out" professor Merrifield of Nottingham University, said. The findings will be presented next week at a conference in Oxford, and published in the Monthly notices of the royal Astronomical Society, next month.

See http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppzmrm/blackhole.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 172 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (14:06) * 3 lines
Maggie's Black hole picture:



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 173 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (14:09) * 1 lines
Interesting story and incredible picture. I wish I could have dared to post the enlarged one but thought it better for Terry's bandwidth that I make a smaller version for posting here. Thanks, Maggie - Fantastic stuff!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 174 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (14:14) * 1 lines
That didn't come out too badly did it, considering it came from a newspaper! (the size above was the size it came up on my screen, didn't realise it sent as larger - still sorting that out!). Still can't figure how to put that in myself if it's from my computer.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 175 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (14:17) * 2 lines
It is probably better that you send the biggest possible one and let me downsize it. It has worked well so far on Geo and other places I have posted images.
You did an excellent scanning job. I am envious of your talents and Wolfie's as well. Guess I'm just gonna have to take the plunge and get one, too.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 176 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (14:20) * 2 lines
The graphic you are posting must first be on the internet, not just your home computer. After I downsized your image, I ftp'd it to Spring's hard drive (hosts have space allotted to them for such things). From there I got the image location by accessing my webspace url then did the command string to post it.
Simple, once you've done it a few dozen times *grin* but I still occasionally mess it up...*sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 177 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (14:22) * 1 lines
Mine's only a cheapy (£49). I got it to scan academic text documents - I've got a pretty nifty text scan programme that does really well. But it's doing pretty well on pics too now I've sussed the right settings. Trouble is I can't run the scanner and zip drive at the same time, and it's complicated to change the wires round.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 178 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (16:36) * 1 lines
Hmmm...there is not a splitter available like an extension cord with several outlets on the end?! I am afraid I am going to have that same problem!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 179 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (17:44) * 1 lines
I've also run out of plug space on my extension lead. Under my desk looks like some kind of geek's paradise! Mind you the top doesn't look much better. Yes, I'm off to have my bath now - don't nag!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 180 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (17:53) * 1 lines
LOL...is there a cyber knee-hole which is not filled with extensions and plugs and such?! If there are, they are not trying hard enough - and my feet are atop my tool box under there, too! The top is hopeless. As soon as one project gets done another takes its place....*sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 181 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 22, 2000 (18:20) * 19 lines
Space Science News for March 22, 2000
The Earth's magnetosphere is being buffeted by high-speed solar wind
particles from a coronal hole straddling the center of the Sun's disk. The
solar wind velocity has increased from 350 to 600 km/s during the past 12
hours. Follow the action at http://www.spaceweather.com

MORE SPACE SCIENCE NEWS:
#1 Curiouser and Curiouser: The exotic world of gamma-ray astronomy has
taken yet another surprising turn with the revelation that half the
previously unidentified high-energy gamma ray sources in our own galaxy
actually comprise a new class of mysterious objects. FULL STORY at
http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast23mar_1m.htm

#2 Solar Cycle Update: Is the real Y2K problem just starting? The
solar cycle appears to be on schedule for a peak in mid-2000.
FULL STORY at
http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast22mar_1m.htm



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 182 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 24, 2000 (13:05) * 4 lines
Henceforth Space Science News will be posted in
http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/news/36

This will enable a wider readership. For some reason surfers avoid Geo like it was a deadly disease. Suggestion?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 183 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 24, 2000 (15:09) * 43 lines
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 12

Spring is here, and 10 and 12 meters are the place to be. A high
solar flux and shifting seasons are again producing conditions where
low power mobiles can work the world on the highest HF bands.

Last year at this time, the average solar flux for the week was
147.5. This week it was 207.8, much higher, and almost 13 points
higher than last week's average. A steady upward recent trend can be
seen in the graph at http://www.dxlc.com/solar/.

Geomagnetic indices have been quite low, but this should change.
Active conditions are predicted for the next few days due to
recurring coronal holes and some recent flare activity. A large
coronal hole that has been returning for several months has split
into three groups, and one of them crosses the sun's equator and is
well positioned for disturbing radio conditions here on earth.

Weekend conditions for the CQ Worldwide WPX Phone Contest could be
stormy. The predicted planetary A index for the next five days,
Friday through Tuesday, is 25, 30, 20, 10 and 10, so it looks like
the best contest conditions may be on Sunday. On March 31 and April
1 conditions may be unsettled or active again, but should be quiet
until April 18. Solar flux predicted for the next five days is 230,
240, 245, 245 and 235. Flux values are expected to bottom out around
185 on April 12 or 13, then peak near 250 around April 22 or 23.

The High-Energy Solar Spectrograph Imager mission was set back at
least six months when the satellite was mistakenly vibrated too hard
in a test on a shake table at the Jet Propulsion Lab. The deployment
of the satellite, which is designed to observe solar flares in their
most energetic wavelengths, was expected to coincide with the solar
maximum this year. You can read about the accident at
http://www.msnbc.com/news/386019.asp?0a=23232C5 and about the HESSI
mission itself at the NASA web site
http://hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/hessi/index.html and at a University
of California site, http://hessi.ssl.berkeley.edu/.

Sunspot numbers for March 16 through 22 were 138, 152, 142, 208,
240, 191 and 212 with a mean of 183.3. 10.7 cm flux was 184.4,
192.4, 194.8, 208.2, 210.3, 230.5 and 233.8, with a mean of 207.8,
and estimated planetary A indices were 4, 6, 7, 8, 8, 6 and 11, with
a mean of 7.1. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 184 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Fri, Mar 24, 2000 (23:51) * 1 lines
How to persuade the others to look. Is the Sun sexy! or something like that - difficult and a shame because it is all so interesting.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 185 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 25, 2000 (14:31) * 1 lines
Sex definitly sells and attracts attention. Oh well, I posted something in Porch where more people will see it. Today I posted the Discovery Channel Online in Geosites for Kids (Geo 15) with the schedule of good things to watch on the telly this week on their channel. I hope others see it. I'll put it in each Saturday hoping....!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 186 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (14:29) * 6 lines
NASA is now concerned about how to avoid showering the earth with huge shards of red-hot metal. The space agency announced this weekend that it is to crash-land a satellite the size of a railway engine in the Pacific Ocean to prevent it from spiralling out of control perhaps onto an inhabited area.
The Compton gamma ray observatory studies mysterious natural explosions in space. Scientists had desperately tried to save it as no other instrument gives such good insight into the highest energy parts of the spectrum, where most energetic events in the universe show themselves. Last week NASA confirmed that it had suffered a catastrophic failure in one three gyroscopes that keep it pointing the right way. As it was deemed too expensive to send up a space shuttle to repair it, NASA scientists now plan to use Compton’s remaining fuel to bring it down in a controlled descent in June. If they did not, NASA admitted, the satellite would veer off course, lose its balance and fall more than 100 miles to earth. It is so big that large chinks of metal would not burn up, like most space debris, but would land with the force of a substantial meteorite. This has happened before in 1979 when the Skylab station was being decommissioned and spread burning debris across Australia.
(The Times, 26.3.2000)




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 187 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (14:30) * 1 lines
I glad John sent in that thing about time. i saw that and then lost it and could'nt find it again.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 188 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (14:47) * 1 lines
What did John send in? Did I miss something? Yikes!!! More debris heading for us out in the Pacific (which is very large until you start talking about something from space...)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 189 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (14:59) * 1 lines
I'm sure i didn't imagine it, but i can't see it. it was about space time continuum and time reversal. Maybe I've gone mad!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 190 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (15:30) * 1 lines
No...it is there somewhere. Hmmmm...I just might have to look it up again. I would ask him but he is currently doing a midnight to 6am shift as production manager at the station as well as taping the 6 hour morning show he does daily, and tomorrow through Saturday he will be also doing Play-by-play baseball games for UHHilo - one televised, as well - from Kona. Poor dear is not all that fit and I am more than a little concerned about it. He needs as much rest as he can get so I do not bother him with email during weeks like this.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 191 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (15:37) * 1 lines
I was sure i saw it as I scrolled through. then it had disappeared. (Humpy noises coming from off stage. Gotta go. probably offline for a coupla days. Bye)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 192 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (16:20) * 1 lines
Bye!!! Good luck, Dear!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 193 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (19:47) * 14 lines
Space Weather News for March 29-30, 2000

Aurora Watch: Skywatchers in northern Europe, Canada, Alaska, and the
northermost tier of US states could be treated to a display of aurora
borealis tonight thanks to elevated levels of geomagnetic activity late in
the day on March 29.

Also today, the SOHO spacecraft captured beautiful images of a full-halo
coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun. Full-halo CMEs are massive
bubbles of hot gas headed either directly toward or away from Earth. This
one appears to have erupted on the back side of the Sun and is proceeding
away from our planet.

Details on both are available at http://www.spaceweather.com 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 194 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (19:52) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 195 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (19:55) * 18 lines
If this image updates you will be able to watch the aurora wax and wane
from http://www.sec.noaa.gov/pmap/pmapN.html



This plot shows the current extent and position of the auroral oval in the northern hemisphere, extrapolated from
measurements taken during the most recent polar pass of the NOAA POES satellite.

The yellow, clock-like, arrow in the plot points toward the noon meridian.

The statistical pattern depicting the auroral oval is appropriate to the auroral activity level determined from the power
flux observed during the most recent polar satellite pass. The power fluxes in the statistical pattern are color coded on
a scale from 0 to 10 ergs .cm-2.sec-1 according to the color bar on the right. The pattern has been oriented with
respect to the underlying geographic map using the current universal time, updated every ten minutes.

This presentation provides an estimate of the location, extent, and intensity of aurora on a global basis. For example,
the presentation gives a guide to the possibility that the aurora is located near a given location in the northern
hemisphere under the conditions that existed at the time of the most recent polar satellite pass. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 196 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 29, 2000 (20:13) * 44 lines
Mauna Kea team finds the smallest planets yet beyond our solar system
By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin
Two more planets -- which may be smaller in mass than Saturn -- have been discovered
by scientists at W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in the hunt for extra-solar planets.
The latest planets are far smaller than the planets that have previously been found orbiting
suns beyond our solar system.
Saturn, the sixth planet in our solar system, is about nine times wider than Earth, but has
only one-third the mass of its neighbor Jupiter. Of the 30 planets previously found around
stars like Earth's sun, all have been Jupiter-sized or larger.
The finding was made by Geoff Marcy of San Francisco State University and the
University of California at Berkeley; Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington;
and Steve Vogt of the University of California at Santa Cruz, using the 10-meter Keck I
telescope.
In a written statement, Marcy said that searching for planets orbiting distant stars is "like
looking at a beach from a distance."
"Previously we only saw the large boulders, which were Jupiter-sized planets or larger," he
said. "Now we are seeing the 'rocks,' Saturn-sized planets or smaller."
Sighting Earth-sized objects, said Marcy, would be like seeing pebbles on that beach.
Astronomers are not yet able to do that.
One planet, with at least 80 percent the mass of Saturn, is orbiting 3.8 million miles from
the star HD-46375, 109 light years away in the constellation Monoceros.
Another planet, with 70 percent of Saturn's mass, was found 32.5 million miles from the
star 79 Ceti (HD16141), 117 light years away in the constellation Cetus.
The planets are presumably gas giants, the scientists say, made mostly of primordial
hydrogen and helium, rather than the rocky materials that make up Earth. They orbit so
close to their parent stars that they are extremely hot and not conducive to life.
The planet orbiting 79 Ceti has an average temperature of 1,530 degrees; while the
planet orbiting HD46375 has an average temperature of 2,070 degrees.
The planets probably formed at a farther distance from the star, the scientists say, where
they accumulated cool gas and then migrated into their present orbits.
Discovery of the Saturn-sized planets, however, supports a theory that planets such as
those in Earth's solar system formed around many stars in the universe. It also supports
the theory that most planets are relatively small, such as Earth, Mars and Venus.
The planets are not actually seen by astronomers. Instead, they measure the gravitational
effect of planets on their star.
As a planet orbits, it causes the star to wobble very slightly. By measuring this wobble,
scientists can detect the presence and size of a planet.
Astronomers have used this technique to catalog at least 21 extrasolar planets. The group
is searching some 1,100 stars within 300 light-years of Earth to find evidence of planets.
A light-year is the distance that light travels in a year in a vacuum, about 6 trillion miles.
Other astronomy groups are also searching and have found additional extrasolar planets.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 197 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Mar 30, 2000 (09:54) * 1 lines
found the above article on msn today but you beat me to it *wink*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 198 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 30, 2000 (10:37) * 1 lines
I got it almost straight from the source...then Honolulu newspaper. The telescope mentioned (the Keck) is visible atop Mauna Kea from my yard!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 199 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 30, 2000 (17:17) * 15 lines
NASA Science News for March 30, 2000

Next Thursday, April 6, three planets and the thin crescent Moon are going
to put on a memorable sky show when the quartet converge inside a circle 9
degrees across. The grouping is just the prelude to a grander alignment of
planets on May 5, 2000. Is doom at hand, as many mystics assert? Find out
by reading the FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast30mar_1m.htm
Planets for Dessert

Also, for kids and kids-at-heart, a younger person's version of this
article is available at the NASA Kids web site:
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2000/news-planetalign.asp?se
The
Planets Line Up 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 200 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 31, 2000 (19:22) * 6 lines
NASA Science News for April 1, 2000

On April Fools Day, 2000, NASA researchers are questioning
the fate of five high-flying sweet treats that disappeared
after a meteor balloon flight in April 1999.
FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast01apr_1m.htm 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 201 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Sat, Apr  1, 2000 (05:25) * 1 lines
greatMarcoa - my imagination is in overdrive!!!!!!!!!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 202 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Sat, Apr  1, 2000 (05:25) * 1 lines
Sorry Marcia a misprint

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 203 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr  1, 2000 (11:12) * 2 lines
OK, those missing Peeps must be the ones I have been consuming under an disguise. Mine were yellow. If I had just known they were hiding the pink so they would not be discovered, I wouls have left the alone. It's all my fault.
Actually, I have saved one to grow to adulthood amd make me some more Peeps for next year!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 204 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr  1, 2000 (11:14) * 1 lines
Sheesh! Hard to tell I am just waking up and not typing very well. Sorry for the mistakes in that last post...I tried erasing my screen but all I have to show for my efforts is smear!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 205 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr  3, 2000 (13:53) * 10 lines
NASA Science News for April 3, 2000

Like blood pulsing in an artery, newly discovered currents
of gas beat deep inside the Sun, speeding and slackening
every 16 months. The solar "heartbeat" throbs in the same
region of the Sun suspected of driving the 11-year cycle of
solar eruptions. Scientists are hopeful that this pulse can help
them unravel the origin and operation of the solar cycle.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast03apr_1m.htm 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 206 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr  5, 2000 (14:37) * 49 lines
Next Thursday, April 6, three
planets and the thin crescent Moon are going to put on
a memorable sky show when the quartet converge
inside a circle just 9 degrees across.

"It's going to be beautiful," says Vince Huegele, a
researcher at the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center.
"And best of all, you won't need a telescope to see it,
just your naked eye."

Right: Duane Hilton's rendering of the April 6 planetary
get-together as seen above Bryce Canyon in Utah.

To admire the display, simply go outside after dinner
on April 6 and look toward the southwest sky. Around 8
p.m. local daylight savings time the slender crescent
moon will be easy to spot about 30 degrees above the horizon. The brightest nearby
"star" will be Jupiter. At magnitude -2.1, the giant planet is 8 times brighter than
Saturn, which glows pale yellow less than 3 degrees west of the Moon. Mars will lie a
scant 1.1 degrees north of Jupiter. The red planet (magnitude 1.4) will be about 3
times fainter than Saturn (magnitude 0.3).

Although the planets and our Moon will appear to be close together,
there's no danger of a collision. While the Moon is only 384,000 km
away from us this week, Mars is 349 million km away; Jupiter is 875
million km away; and Saturn is a whopping 1493 million km distant.
When it comes to the sky, appearances can be deceiving!

Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn will appear to be even closer together on
April 15 when the three will fit inside a circle less than 5 degrees
across. That's the most compact grouping of any 3 planets for the
entire year. Nevertheless, the display on April 6 will be more
beautiful thanks to the delicate crescent Moon as it passes by the
trio.

But wait, there's even more: Cradled in the arms of the crescent Moon will appear the
ghostly outline of the full Moon, a dim glow that astronomers call "Earthshine." Like all
the planets we see in the night sky, the Moon shines because of reflected sunlight.
The side of the Moon facing the sun shines brightly, and the side facing away is nearly
dark. The only significant illumination on the "dark side of the Moon" is due to
Earthshine -- sunlight that bounces off the Earth and falls on the lunar surface. A
slender crescent Moon with Earthshine is widely regarded as one of the most
delicate and beautiful sights in the night sky. It will be difficult to see from urban areas,
but should be easy to view from dark sky locations.



Duane Hilton's rendering of the April 6 planetary
get-together as seen above Bryce Canyon in Utah.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 207 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (19:27) * 7 lines
And...a reprise of April 6th lunar eclipse - one photo I did not have posted because the moon was too small in it...but I still love it.


Total Lunar Eclipse
Fairfield, California
August 6, 1999
David Little


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 208 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (19:43) * 1 lines 
 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 209 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (19:45) * 1 lines
Please post your comments on whether or not you were able to see the alignment this evening, please.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 210 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (20:17) * 1 lines
the lunar pic is great and i saw the alignment, wouldn't have known they were planets without having read this post first!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 211 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (20:25) * 2 lines
I posted it in the News conference topic I created which I would like to have linked to Geo called Space News. I try to double post if it is important enough. You gonna see it? A friend in Maine just reported cloudy skies. No aurora for him, either. Looks clear to the east, but where this is gonna be is under several layers of thick clouds.
Gotta get you outside some time and teach you constellations. You'd know in a flash that those bright objects did not belong there normally.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 212 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (20:25) * 1 lines
how did they look, woofie???

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 213 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (20:35) * 1 lines
i usually see one star next to the moon but because the proximity of these weren't as close as i'd imagined, i wouldn't have thought differently. jupiter is the brightest, then saturn, then mars. am gonna go out and look as it gets darker. (they were in the western sky, doesn't the moon rise in the east?)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 214 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (20:47) * 1 lines
At new moon the moon rises at sunrise and sets at sunset and we cannot see it. It rises an hour later each night (actually more like 55 minutes)until half way thorough its cycle it is full and rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. Oh yeah! Everything rises in the East because we are actually rotating west to east and we make them look that way.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 215 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:03) * 1 lines
right, but this crescent moon was low in the western sky and rising towards the east.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 216 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:09) * 1 lines
Not rising, sweetie. Look at it again. It should be setting.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 217 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:17) * 1 lines
you are sooooo right! *grin* see what happens when it gets darker later? i was wondering why you were saying the moon sets when the sun sets due to the changing rising hour each day!! i got it *laugh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 218 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:20) * 1 lines
Yippee!!! Pleases me as much as it does you -if not more- because you were interested enough to notice!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 219 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:21) * 1 lines
Can you see the old moon in the new moon's arms tonight?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 220 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:24) * 1 lines
yes. i've always been able to see that.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 221 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:24) * 1 lines
if you look at it and kinda screw up your eyes (try not to focus directly), you can tell that the moon is round (and not just a disc in the sky)!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 222 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:35) * 1 lines
Yup! The bright part of the moon is reflecting the sun's light (we are shading the rest) and the shaded part is illuminated by earth shine!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 223 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:41) * 1 lines
yup. my mom used to tell me it was a reflection of earth and so i thought the land-looking shapes on the moon was a result of the earth (it makes no sense, but as a kid, i didn't either)...she was probably trying to explain to me the different phases of the moon but i took her literally. if they told me the moon was made of cheese, probably would've believed that too *smile*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 224 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (21:46) * 3 lines
Make that AMERICAN cheese...there is a flag up there to prove it *grin*

Kids always have interesting ways of interpreting what we say...that's why I really like talking to kids. I learn more than they do!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 225 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (22:30) * 1 lines
Okay I looked but unfortunately in Western Australia it was still light when the moon was going down and I could only see what I though was Venus, the other planets would not have shown up. Even so it was still an unusual sight. Setting sun, and a crescent moon. I was sad to miss the spectacle.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 226 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  6, 2000 (23:26) * 1 lines
There are thick, charcoal grey clouds backed up on the mountain. That is all I will be seeing this evening. Tomorrow they should not be all that farther apart. It will be interesting to see how they move in comparison with each other over the next few nights. We are all orbiting the sun so it should make a good thing to sketch each evening to compare. (I do that sort of thing...!)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 227 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr  7, 2000 (12:17) * 11 lines
Response 15 of 15: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 7, 2000 (12:16) * 11 lines
NASA Science News for April 7, 2000
Subject: Geomagnetic Storm

A major geomagnetic storm hit our planet on Thursday after an
interplanetary shock wave passed by Earth on April 6, 2000.
Displays of aurora borealis were spotted in Europe, Asia, Canada,
Alaska and in the continental US as far south as North Carolina.
The storm appears to be subsiding, but forecasters note that more
aurorae might be visible Friday night. FULL STORY at
http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast07apr_2m.htm 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 228 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Mon, Apr 10, 2000 (20:01) * 74 lines
from msnmembers news:

April 10 — Astronomers around the world are focusing on a mysterious pulsing
light in the Big Dipper, trying to figure out whether it’s a newly active black
hole or a neutron star. One of the strangest things about it is its location,
observers say.

THE OBJECT, known as XTE J1118+480, was first spotted March 29 by the Rossi
X-ray Timing Explorer, a satellite that monitors the sky in X-ray wavelengths.
At that time, the mystery object was in the midst of a rapid brightening in
X-rays.

Ron Remillard, a Rossi research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, put out an alert that brought confirmation of the pulsing source
within an hour, from Japanese astronomers.

In the days since then, the object’s rise and fall has been charted by the
Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment, a full-sky telescope set up at Los
Alamos, N.M., to track quick-changing phenomena like the pulsing light. The
ROTSE team reviewed previous data and found that the object brightened and
dimmed in a four-hour cycle, building up to peaks in January and March.

“Before this recent work, nothing about XTE J1118+480 was known to any branch of astronomy,” Remillard told MSNBC.

Just a few days of analysis have shed a lot more light on the mystery, leading
Remillard to remark that “it’s not entirely a mystery anymore.”

He and other astronomers believe that the source is either a black hole, a
collapsed star so dense that nothing, not even light, can escape its
gravitational grip; or a neutron star, a compact remnant that’s only slightly
less dense than a black hole.

In either case, the outburst isn’t coming from the object itself, but from dust
and gas that’s heated to an explosive glow as it’s sucked toward the object,
Remillard explained.

"We get these X-ray novae that pop up when matter starts flowing from a
companion star into a black hole or in some cases a neutron star,” he said. As
that companion star swings around the more massive object, it may block out
some of the emissions from the outburst, accounting for the variations in
brightness, he said.

What’s particularly interesting about this source is that it has cropped up
high above the galactic plane, where most of the action is, he said.
Astronomers haven’t yet figured out how far away the source is, but Remillard
speculated that the object is a long-dormant black hole that has just become
active in the halo of stars surrounding the denser disk of our Milky Way
galaxy.

“If you had a black hole forming way back then in a binary (star system), it
just may have occasion to reawaken every once in a while, and we just happened
to catch it,” he said.

ROTSE researcher Tim McKay of the University of Michigan said the pulsing
object might also turn out to be much closer to our celestial
neighborhood. “Either of these solutions would be a little bit odd,” he said.

Whatever it is, XTE J1118+480 is currently under close watch by astronomers
ranging from backyard amateurs to investigators with the Hubble Space
Telescope. But skywatchers shouldn’t expect to see the source with the naked
eye: Its peak magnitude of 13 or so brings it within range of a typical 4- to
6-inch (100mm to 150mm) telescope.

McKay said the object’s optical brightness appears to increase about a week
before its X-ray brightness, which adds to the sense of astronomical mystery.

“It may turn out to be not all that exotic,” he said, “but its location
suggests that it may be a different thing.”
===============

a different thing, hmmm...very technical there. couldn't believe i got to this before you, marcia, sweetie! but my pleasure and enjoy!!




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 229 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr 10, 2000 (21:54) * 1 lines
Thanks, Wolfie...now my turn to hunt for things other than the esthetic, which is what has captured my imagination of late. (How about a topic Esthetic Earth or something like that to make a home for the Fine Arts in a place which is so inspiring?!) 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 230 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr 10, 2000 (21:59) * 1 lines
I can find nothing and your link does not work...*sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 231 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 11, 2000 (11:40) * 18 lines
Iridium Program Bankrupt/ Satellites to De-Orbit
http://www.drsky.com/
Over the past few years, the Motorola Iridium project had placed a
constellation of some 66 earth orbiting satellites, to change the future of
cellular communications. The project called for cellular type communications
in almost ALL areas of the globe.
Now the project is bankrupt and the fate of the satellite "constellation" is up to
the push of a few buttons to de-orbit the satellites.

For observers on the ground, the Iridium satellites have been something of a
rare treat. Seeing a "flare" in the sky as the mirrors on the satellites would
glint back at the Earth from space and create a UFO of sorts. "Dr.Sky" has
been viewing these Iridium flares for a few years and they are even seen in
daylight.
Now that the program is ending, why not try and view this relic in the sky for as long as you can. You can visit
the Heavens-Above website to get the latest times of passage for the Iridium satellites. All you need to do is
enter the information for your local observing city.
http://www.heavens-above.com/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 232 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Tue, Apr 11, 2000 (18:08) * 1 lines
that wasn't a purposeful link. anytime i type the word news, it gets hyperlinked. (see, it did it here)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 233 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Tue, Apr 11, 2000 (18:09) * 1 lines
now wait, how come it didn't do it there but everywhere else?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 234 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 11, 2000 (18:37) * 2 lines
I have had that happen to me, also, but it is usually only when I copy and paste something with that word in it which is NOT necessarily a link. Beats me!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 235 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 11, 2000 (19:16) * 1 lines
Please check http://www.emergingmind.com/schwa/contest.htm

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 236 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 11, 2000 (19:28) * 2 lines
or this...
http://www.jwp.bc.ca/saulm/index.htm 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 237 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Wed, Apr 12, 2000 (01:19) * 1 lines
okay joined and voted the planetoid's name as Sagan - an Astronomer I admire - I did think about Fred! as in Sir Fred. Hoyle but that was too silly. After all he was always coming up in the Goon show, Fred I mean.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 238 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Apr 12, 2000 (04:28) * 3 lines
Oh I don't know Anne, at least Fred's easy to remember. I confuse everyone and call my husband that - his name's Tony! He does goon impressions too - not very well!

Tell me about sagan, my education is woefully deficient!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 239 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 12, 2000 (11:00) * 1 lines
Maggie, did the PBS show called "Cosmos" ever get to Britain. Carl Sagan did the entire thing, and I liked it so well I taped the entire series. "Billions and Billions" of episodes *grin* He is a late US astronomer of rare talents and we all miss him. Sir Fred was my choice. Thought of According to Hoyle but a bridge master took that. Actually, I have been to a live lecture by Sir Fred Hoyle when he visited Hawaii - it was a huge thrill, though I disagreed with a lot of stuff he wrote. Thanks, Anne. How about the Solar System being named Fred? (I also refer to people we both know their names but...as Fred)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 240 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 12, 2000 (12:51) * 141 lines
April 12, 2000 -- Astronomers from all over
the United States and from 10 countries will
converge in Huntsville, Alabama today for a
series of meetings and lectures.
Approximately eighty participants will learn
about the latest findings in the field of
high-energy astrophysics from a dozen
research scientists.

Sounds like another dry scientific meeting,
right?
Wrong.

This workshop is the first of its kind devoted to amateur astronomers. The
participants -- who will attend lectures by leading researchers in x-ray and gamma-ray
astronomy -- are expected to return to their communities and spread the word about
high-energy astrophysics in schools, civic forums and clubs.

"We selected the attendees in part by asking how they would share their knowledge
with others," says Janet Mattei, director of the American Association of Variable Star
Observers (AAVSO), which is co-sponsoring the meeting along with the Marshall
Space Flight Center. "We got some fantastic responses from astronomy club
presidents, planetarium workers, and teachers ... just wonderful responses. There's a
real need to bring high-energy astronomy to the attention of the public, and we think
these are the right people to do it."

But that's not all. Participants will also find out how they can be
involved in cutting-edge research along with NASA scientists.

"The usual connotation of 'amateur' really doesn't apply here," says
NASA/Marshall's Dr. Jerry Fishman, one of the workshop's
organizers. "These are dedicated, well-prepared and
knowledgeable astronomers who use very sophisticated equipment
-- often comparable to professional observatories. Many of them are
able to contribute astronomical data used in forefront astronomical
research."

Monitoring fireballs from gamma-ray bursts and tracking the light curves of variable
stars are two areas where amateur data can make an impact, says Fishman. The
workshop will touch on those topics and more, ranging from gamma-ray explosions at
the edge of the universe to cosmic rays here in the solar system. There will be a
special session entitled "Rapid Observations of GRBs by Amateurs" prompted in
part by the recent detections of gamma-ray burst afterglows by amateurs. The
three-day meeting will conclude on Saturday, April 15 with a lecture by Astronaut Dr.
John Grunsfield entitled "The 1999 HST Servicing Mission and Remarks on High
Energy Astrophysics."

Click for a Preliminary List of Speakers

The Invisible, Violent Heavens

High energy astrophysics is the study of the most violent events in the universe.
Colliding neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), swirling accretion disks around
black holes -- these are just a few of the cosmic wonders visible in the x-ray and
gamma-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Unfortunately, the short
wavelengths where these events shine brightest are inaccessible from Earth because
our atmosphere filters out most forms of high-energy radiation. (This is a real
nuisance for gamma-ray astronomers, but a good thing for life on our planet!) To
study these objects, astronomers use ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma-ray detectors on
Earth-orbiting satellites.

Satellite-based astronomy was once the exclusive realm of
professionals, but that's slowly changing.

"Amateurs have been helping scientists with satellite-based
research in variable stars since 1975," says Mattei. "For
example, when the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and the
Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (both are orbiting
observatories) were scheduled to observe the cataclysmic variable star, SS Cygni,
the AAVSO was asked to help. Our members around the world kept a vigil and when
the star flared at optical wavelengths we immediately called our professional
colleagues." Thanks to the rapid alert, professional astronomers were able to point
their satellites at SS Cygni while it was flaring and monitor the enigmatic star at many
wavelengths for the first time.

"In this particular case everything worked! Optical, x-ray, extreme ultraviolet-- we got it
all."

This summer scientists will try to observe another outburst from SS Cygni using
NASA's newest Great Observatory, the Chandra x-ray telescope. Once again the
AAVSO will be called upon to alert professionals that SS Cygni is erupting, says
Mattei.
Another Glowing Accomplishment....
Performing a feat once reserved for trained
professionals, amateurs have lately shown
that they too can photograph the faint optical
afterglows of distant gamma-ray bursts. The
most recent instance was in early March when
an amateur astronomy group in Buffalo, NY,
recorded the fading fireball from a powerful
GRB using a modest 14" telescope and a
home-built CCD camera. In January 1999,
another amateur used a 24" telescope in New
Mexico to record the afterglow from a
gamma-ray burst located near the edge of the
observable Universe.
Right: Nestled 7 arc seconds from a 17th magnitude
foreground star, the 20th magnitude afterglow of GRB
000301C is circled in this CCD image from the US
Naval Observatory 1m telescope in Flagstaff, AZ. Credit: Arne Henden.The optical afterglow was first
detected by the Nordic Optical Telescope in La Palma, Spain and later recorded by amateur
astronomers in Buffalo, NY. [full story]
Theorists believe that studying gamma-ray bursts at optical wavelengths might help
unravel one of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy: what causes these
powerful gamma-ray explosions? Since astronomers detected the first optical
counterpart of a gamma-ray burst in 1997, they have vigorously pursued the
afterglows using some of the most powerful telescopes including Hubble, Keck, and
Palomar.
Powerful telescopes are important for monitoring afterglows because they fade
quickly, usually dimming to 19th magnitude or fainter just a few hours after the onset
of the explosion. Advances in CCD technology are now bringing these faint fireballs
within reach of dedicated amateur observatories. The afterglow recorded by
amateurs in March, for instance, was 20th magnitude. Astronomy club observatories
still can't record the spectra required to measure redshift-based distances to
afterglows and they probably never will. The objects are simply too faint for
spectroscopy. Redshifts will remain the province of Hubble and Keck for the
foreseeable future.

Nevertheless, amateurs maintain one important advantage over their professional
counterparts -- telescope time. Telescopes like Hubble and Keck are heavily
oversubscribed. These behemoths simply can't turn to look at every single
gamma-ray burst that comes along (GRBs are detected once or twice a day by
Earth-orbiting satellites). With little competition for telescope time, amateur
observatories are much more flexible. Eventually a global network of amateurs might
monitor GRB afterglows nearly around the clock, a feat no single professional
observatory can match.

In fact, amateur observations of gamma-ray bursts seem so promising that the
organizers have scheduled a special session of the workshop on Rapid Observations
of GRBs by Amateurs.
"The most important thing we're doing in this workshop is bringing interested
members of the public into the scientific enterprise and making them a valuable part
of it," concluded Joy. "These people are going to be the true ambassadors of
high-energy astrophysics."
Stay tuned to Science@NASA for more news from the High Energy Workshop for
Amateur Astronomers, held April 12 - 14 near the NASA/Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, AL.
The MSFC-AAVSO High Energy Astronomy Workshop will be held in conjunction
with the 89th Meeting of the American Association of Variable Star Observers
(AAVSO). This meeting will be held the day after the Workshop, at the same venue
(The Huntsville Marriott).

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 241 of 1087: MarkG  (MarkG) * Thu, Apr 13, 2000 (03:30) * 3 lines
Yes, I remember watching much of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" on the BBC. It was mesmeric viewing.

(The "according to Hoyle" Hoyle was actually a whist expert, who lived before contract bridge was invented.) :-)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 242 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 13, 2000 (14:31) * 1 lines
This is true about Hoyle, but they published bridge how-to books in the US under his name - and probably still do. It is about as far in the game as I ever got...and that was another life long ago in academia. Btw, Mark, your book and brochures were repackaged by an Hawaiian lady postal worker yesterday for the newly created Global Priority. Expect something at work in the beginning of next week...!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 243 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr 13, 2000 (19:24) * 1 lines
(pssst....marcia....mine get off yet? *smile*)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 244 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 13, 2000 (20:56) * 1 lines
YUP...went out with Mark's...but it was wrapped ok. Let me know when it arrived and in what condition. I am accumulating a new one for you *grin*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 245 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Fri, Apr 14, 2000 (16:36) * 5 lines
already? (mine isn't in yet, but i will let you know)

and check this link

http://www.msnbc.com/news/394725.asp?bt=pu&btu=http://www.msnbc.com/m/olk2k/msnbc_o_install.asp&cp1=1

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 246 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 14, 2000 (17:13) * 4 lines
I have been posting the Space News on the News Conference hoping more people would see it and read it. I would like to have it linked here...but cannot do it without telnetting and I am not yet able to do that....
http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/news/36/new

I know I posted that article from the Keck telescope (which I can see from the living room window - on a clear day, that is...! Thanks for the link, Wolfie.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 247 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Fri, Apr 14, 2000 (21:24) * 1 lines
sure thing!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 248 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 14, 2000 (22:30) * 5 lines
The Home web site of the W. M. Keck Observatory is

http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu:3636/

It looks rather plain but inside there are wondrous thing. Check it out!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 249 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 14, 2000 (22:35) * 40 lines
Oh, yes, the specs on that nice Observatory on Mauna Kea (otherwise known as the Backyard...)

The Observatory

Observatory location Mauna Kea, Hawaii USA
Headquarters location Kamuela, Hawaii USA
Sponsoring Institutions California Institute of Technology, NASA & University of California
Project management California Association for Research in Astronomy
Donor W.M. Keck Foundation

The Telescope
Primary mirror design Segment
Number of segments 36
Segment shape Hexagonal
Segment diameter 1.8 meters (6 feet)
Segment weight 880 pounds
Segment material Zerodur (low-expansion glass-ceramic)
Primary mirror diameter 10 meters (33 feet)
Light-collecting area 76 square meters (818 square feet)
Mirror curvature f/1.75 hyperbolic mirror
Focal length 17.5 meters (57.4 feet)
Total weight of glass 14.4 metric tons (15.9 tons)
Telescope mount Altitude-Azimuth
Overall telescope height 24.6 meters (80.7 feet)
Total moving weight with mirrors, 270 metric tons (298 tons)

The Dome
Dome height 30.8 meters (101 feet)
Dome width 37 meters (121.4 feet)
Total moving weight 635 metric tons (700 tons)

The Mountain
Name Mauna Kea
Location 20.708 N, 156.25 W
English Meaning White Mountain
Summit Elevation 4205 meters (13,796 feet)
Keck Elevation 4146 meters (13,603 feet)
Area 2,380 km2 (920 mi2, 22.8% of Hawaii Island)
Volume ~30,000 km3 (~7,200 mi3) 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 250 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Thu, Apr 20, 2000 (08:17) * 2 lines
Hey, hey, hey, Mark. Sir Frederick Hoyle, Astronomer extraordinaire, Plumian Professer at Cambridge, writer of many books on Astronomy - not Hoyle's on cards etc. Sir Fred Hoyle - is one of the most famous of
british Astronomers - it was him who first interested me in astonomy. He first thought the universe was steady - i.e. steady state universe - but realised he was wrong. He has also written many science fiction books and has had two plays on BBC 1 - sorry to be so long replying but am inundated with reli's from U.K.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 251 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 20, 2000 (11:04) * 1 lines
I still think the steady state makes more sense than the "Big Bang"... He is my hero because he is the most famous astronomer I have had the privilege of meeting in person...In Hawaii, no less!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 252 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 20, 2000 (12:38) * 7 lines
Just thought you'd be interested...

While the night sky may appear to be full of stars, there are really only about 3,000 stars visible to the naked eye. They can be seen without a telescope as they are either close to the Earth or extremely luminous.

The closest star to Earth, not counting the sun, is Alpha Centauri. It is about 25 trillion miles, or 4.3 light years, away.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 253 of 1087: Wolf  (wolf) * Thu, Apr 20, 2000 (20:55) * 1 lines
and we must remember that a lot of the star light we see are just getting to us after first lighting up millions of years ago. isn't that amazing?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 254 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Fri, Apr 21, 2000 (08:10) * 1 lines
Hey Marcia you have met my hero Fred Hoyle, you lucky lucky girl, he is one man I have always wanted to meet (apart from one other than is who shall be nameless!! Marcia knows) - but afraid I would be totally tongue tied with his great intelligence and way with words. I am almost inclined to agree with you Marcia re steady state cause I am not sure the universe is expanding as they say. I am not sure re the doppler affect also. The galaxies seem to move at such extreme speeds that it is beyond understanding. One thing I have wondered about when they look back and see quasars at some 16 billion light years away - are we seeing our past or what? Answers please. Or at least some thoughts.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 255 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 21, 2000 (15:34) * 11 lines
*grin* Anne, he is shorter than I am...but droll and dapper - very appropriate-looking for a British Astronomer, I thought. I have spent my entire life with academics. They are no different from anyone else. I find it easy to speak with anyone because they are individuals, and I approach them that way.

What we see beyond the considered 15 billion year age for the solar system is seeing the universe BEFORE we were coalesced into a galaxy. We were loosely joined star-stuff. If we could see a planet of the same age as we are ourselves at any distance in the realm of light years we would be seeing them as we were. More easy to understand is if we were to go there, we would see us in a far distant past.

NASA Science News for April 21, 2000
Amateur astronomers attended a unique meeting in mid-April to
learn about high-energy astrophysics and how they can participate
in it. FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast21apr_1m.htm


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 256 of 1087: World Builder  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 26, 2000 (12:29) * 39 lines
EXPLODING STAR FEATURED ON WEB SITE
Wednesday, April 26, 2000 16:04

A spectacular view of an exploding star was released today on a new
web site launched to mark the Hubble Space Telescope's 10th year in
orbit.
The multi-coloured fireball, some 6,500 light years from Earth in the
constellation Aquila, looks like a giant eye in space.
A few thousand years ago a dying star about the same size as the Sun
erupted and threw off its outer layers to create the "planetary
nebula" NGC 6751.
Shells of gas were hurled into space at speeds of 25 miles per
second, glowing with the strong ultra-violet radiation emitted by the
star's hot exposed core.
The celestial cataclysm offers a sobering vision of what is in store
for us.
Our own Sun is predicted to undergo the same death throes in about
six billion years' time. When it happens nothing in the Solar System,
including the Earth, will escape destruction.
The image is one of a number of dramatic pictures now available on
the new Internet site http://hubble.stsci.edu
Others include infant galaxies that existed billions of years ago,
and tall, gaseous pillars that serve as incubators for embryonic
stars.
NGC 6751 shows several poorly understood features. Blue regions mark
the hottest glowing gas, forming a ring around the central stellar
remnant.
Orange and red colours mark the locations of cooler gas, which tends
to lie in long streamers pointing away from the central star, and in
a tattered ring around the edge of the nebula.
The origin of the cooler clouds within the nebula is still uncertain,
but the streamers are evidence that they are affected by radiation
and raging winds from the hot star at the centre. The star's surface
temperature is estimated to be a scorching 140,000C.
Hubble will be decommissioned in 2010 and replaced by the even more
powerful Next Generation Space Telescope.
© Press Association

Thanks for this, Maggie

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 257 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Apr 30, 2000 (11:56) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 258 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Apr 30, 2000 (12:01) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 259 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Apr 30, 2000 (13:06) * 7 lines

Universal Pictures



Not content with mapping the world with its Terraserver project
(http://www.terraserver.com)
Microsoft is expanding its sights to include the entire universe. The company is setting up a database of digitised images of the sky, using pictures taken from the automated Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which is currently collecting 200m shots of the cosmos. Microsoft which hopes the project will show how reliable the database products are, has a prototype of the website
Try http://www.sdss.org which will eventually let users click on any part of the night sky to zoom in and see more detail. It looks a great site now and has lots in it.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 260 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 30, 2000 (13:41) * 1 lines
Thanks!!! (having trouble with html programming?!)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 261 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Mon, May  1, 2000 (00:44) * 1 lines
yeah, I'll send you what i did (yesterday was not a good time to send it for checking!), so i did it the old way again.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 262 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Tue, May  2, 2000 (01:59) * 1 lines
Isn't there a planetary conjunction due early this month?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 263 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Tue, May  2, 2000 (02:01) * 26 lines
Planet earth gets a whole lot lighter

IT HAS taken more than 300 years but science’s weightiest problem may at last have been solved. A group of American physicists has finally found an accurate way of weighing the Earth

Tomorrow they will formally announce to the American Phys-ical Society that the Earth weighs 5,972 billion billion tonnes — about 10 billion bil-lion tonnes less than the best previous estimates. It is both a scientific landmark and the cul-mination of an international race, which Britain has lost. A rival group at Birmingham Uni-versity was within days of com-ing up with its own figure.

The work was carried out by Professor Jens Gundlach, of the University of Washington, Seat-tle. “We are confident that we now know the mass of our home planet more precisely than it has ever been known to mankind,” he said.

Scientists have fought over the planet’s weight since the 17th century; when Sir Isaac Newton first described how the Sun and the planets orbiting around it were held together by gravity — a force related to their masses.

Newton worked out the basic rules of gravity, but lacked the equipment to measure the so-called gravitational constant. Without this he could only guess at the figures that have intrigued physicists ever since: the exact weight of Earth, the other planets and the sun.

Since then scores of physi-cists have come up with values for Big G, as the constant has become known. Henry Cavend-ish came close in 1798 but his result, like all others since, was very inaccurate.

All bodies exert a gravita-tional pull on other bodies around them. Its size depends on bow much they weigh and the distance between them. For anything less-massive than a star or planet the force is tiny. Most laboratory experiments have therefore been based on making highly accurate meas-urements of the attraction between two masses — usually lumps of metal. The tiny forces generated tend, however, to be swamped by others such as Earth’s own gravity, air move-ments and temperature changes. Even lorries parking near a labo-ratory can alter the results.

Gundlach spent £160,000 constructing an apparatus mounted on turntables which were rotated to cancel out local anomalies. In his final set-up a small plate was suspended by a tungsten thread in a slowly rotat-ing cylinder. Then, a set of mas-sive weights mounted outside the cylinder was spun in the opposite direction — creating a gravitational pull on the plate. This put a tiny, measurable twisting force on the thread. -“The total force acting on the plate was equivalent to the weight of a bacterium,” said Gundlach. “It was amazingly hard t measure.” He believes the effects of his work will be profound. Apart from shaving billions of tonnes off previous estimates of Earth’s mass, it should give geologists a better idea of the density of the planet — ena-bling them to work out what is happening in the molten layers beneath the surface. Astrophysi-cists may also be able to get a better idea of the age of the uni-verse and bow long it will last.

Perhaps the greatest benefit could be for cosmologists searching for the so-called grand unified theory, which sci-entists hope will one day explain the forces that first cre-ated the universe and which have since governed the behav-iour of everything — from stars to sub-atomic particles.

Other scientists, however, are not optimistic. Clive Speake, of Birmingham University’s exper-imental gravitational physics group, is working on data from a separate experiment from which results for Big G and the Earth’s weight are also expected this week. He described Gundlach’s results as “pretty incredible” and added: “I nearly fell off my chair when I read his report. Nobody else has ever pretended to find these values with such a high level of accuracy. The test will be whether he and others can repeat this.”

Gundlach, however, has also worked out the weight of the sun. But at 1.988 billion billion billion tonnes, even he accepts there is room for error. “We could be wrong by billions of tonnes— but it is still the clos-est we have got,” he said.

Jonathan Leake Science Editor, The Sunday Times, April 30th 2000


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 264 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, May  2, 2000 (11:48) * 12 lines
Yes, May 5, 2000 is the grand alignment and it will not be visible because they are lined-up on the other side of the sun from us and will be lost in the glare.
Posted Earlier in Space Sceince News re the Grand Alignment:
May 5, 2000. Is doom at hand, as many mystics assert? Find out
by reading the FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast30mar_1m.htm
Planets for Dessert
Also, for kids and kids-at-heart, a younger person's version of this
article is available at the NASA Kids web site:
http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2000/news-planetalign.asp?se 




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 265 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Tue, May  2, 2000 (22:37) * 16 lines
I was on my way to Geo27 but had to stop here for a bit...

Very interesting stuff - another hobby interest is in
radio astronomy/SETI. Once I get the dish mounted, I
can start work on a hydrogen line receiver (1.4ghz)
then I can listen to all the light dimmers in the
neighborhood. I have seen plans for simple RA setups
in the 400mhz and 12ghz range but I want to focus on
L band stuff but there is some interesting signals heard
around 5ghz as well - not sure if my 8ft dish will be
any good but I have to start somewhere (plus need to find
a 30ft dish...) - data crunching will be on the old P90.
Any other radio astronomers out there?

Mike


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 266 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, May  2, 2000 (22:44) * 1 lines
Spent 4 years in shouting distance of Green Bank, W Va and have seen Jodrell Bank as well. I'd love to be a mouse in the corner while you work with your array. Great stuff. SETI has a great website. Now, we are expecting photos of you at the controls. Must have a handy analyzer (used to be an oscilliscope sp?!) Please let us know what is happening as you create your listening post! I, for one, am very interested!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 267 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, May  3, 2000 (17:11) * 16 lines
http://www.msnbc.com/news/399686.asp Please check this out!

April 26 — A telescope that took a 10-day
balloon ride over Antarctica has provided
the most detailed glimpse ever into the
fossil universe, as well as the best
evidence yet that the cosmos conforms to
classic geometry. The Boomerang
experiment also confirms that all the
matter we can see — from germs to
galaxy clusters — accounts for only a
small fraction of the universe.

More at the above url. Thanks, Ginny!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 268 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Thu, May  4, 2000 (05:44) * 1 lines
(Patrick Moore (the 'Sky at Night' guy) is doing a live evening locally next month on'the Universe'. I am trying to persuade the house male to take me.)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 269 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, May  4, 2000 (13:00) * 1 lines
Oh yes! Promise him anything! I would in similar circumstances. (How do you think we got to see Sir Fred Hoyle?!)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 270 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Fri, May  5, 2000 (06:21) * 1 lines
Patrick Moore is very, very special one of my favourite men - he is totally eccentric - totally given over to astronomy, talks the fastest I have ever heard in a quarter of an hour on the "Sky at Night" he got in half an hours worth of facts every month. He is I believe probably the greatest amateur astronomer ever. If you can get him on here I would be delighted - he would respond you know, I used to write to him in the U.K. and he always was delighted to respond, Fred Hoyle apart he is my favourite. Do try to contact him someone in the U.K. We had a delightful chappie on our channel nine programme this morning (Australia) that is talking about the planet alighment using a chocolate cake as an example! Pointing out that this alighment was not as near as many others but on the other hand it wouldn't be until 2690 before another like it! I was somewhat puzzled as I thought it was every 75 years or so.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 271 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Fri, May  5, 2000 (06:22) * 1 lines
Please excuse spelling. But I would be most interested in any response to my question.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 272 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Fri, May  5, 2000 (13:24) * 1 lines
I've no idea at the moment how to contact him Anne, but it would be great if we could get him interested. Have you heard him play the xylophone? He is truly extraordinary! I took down notes from last months sky at night, but haven't got round to posting them yet (can't find the pad I wrote on!). He also used to play the 'ask me any question about any computer game' quiz master on a kids programme on TV. I will definitely book to go and hear him, with or without the house male!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 273 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, May  5, 2000 (13:47) * 1 lines
For years I subscribed to the Illustrated London News and adored it and most especially Partick Moore's regular contributions. I'm lining up behind you in the ranks of those who admire this most interesting man. ( I would suggest contacting him through where ever he is now publishing articles.)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 274 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, May  8, 2000 (18:42) * 13 lines
A Hubble Decade

To celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope's 10th
anniversary, the Space Telescope Science Institute in
Baltimore, Md., has created a new Web site devoted to the
Earth-orbiting telescope and its spectacular images. Offering
much more than pretty pictures, the site recounts Hubble's
discoveries, illustrates how the telescope works, and
suggests various educational activities and games. Until
June 6, you can also vote on which celestial object
astronomers should point the Hubble telescope to.

Go to: http://hubble.stsci.edu/ and http://heritage.stsci.edu/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 275 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, May  8, 2000 (19:22) * 11 lines
Lost and Found: Hubble Finds Much of the Universe's Missing Hydrogen
For the past decade astronomers have looked for vast quantities of
hydrogen that were cooked up in the Big Bang but somehow managed to
disappear in the empty blackness of space. Now, NASA's Hubble Space
Telescope has uncovered this long-sought missing hydrogen. This gas
accounts for nearly half of the "normal" matter in the universe -- the rest is
locked up in galaxies. The confirmation of this missing hydrogen will shed
new light on the large-scale structure of the universe. The detection also
confirms fundamental models of how so much hydrogen was manufactured in
the first few minutes of the universe's birth in the Big Bang. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 276 of 1087: Ginny  (vibrown) * Tue, May  9, 2000 (01:00) * 3 lines
I also admire Carl Sagan and Patrick Moore, and have some of their books. Moore's "A-Z of Astronomy" is a great reference for quick (and easy to understand) explanations of astronomical terms.

BTW, nice new marble background, Marcia!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 277 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, May  9, 2000 (11:47) * 1 lines
Thank you for joining the Moore-Sagan fan club and for your approval of the new marble. Moore's column is the one thing I miss the most about no longer subacribing to the Illustrated London News. It was a slendid magazine until they sold it and "modernized" it. Read: They added many more adverts and removed lots of the serious content - especially the archaeology!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 278 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, May 11, 2000 (15:16) * 28 lines
Ginny posted this in Science conference - and it was important enough that I am pasting it to here...

Friday, May 5
Missing Matter Found At Last

Astronomers announced on Wednesday that they have at long
last found an elusive component of the universe's missing
mass. The "dark matter" is in the form of giant clouds of
hydrogen in intergalactic space. Such streams of gas were
presumed to exist, as computer models showed matter
collecting into ribbons as the universe cooled after the Big
Bang. (Galaxies formed where the gas was densest.) Evidence
for the hydrogen was revealed in spectra of a quasar taken by
the Hubble Space Telescope. As light from a quasar travels
toward Earth, some of the light is absorbed by atoms in the
clouds. The redshifts of gases at different distances create
spectral features at different, specific wavelengths. Todd Tripp
and Edward Jenkins (Princeton University) and Blair Savage
(University of Wisconsin-Madison) determined that the quasar's
light had several absorption features due to ionized oxygen,
which, the astronomers note, is a "tracer" for the hydrogen
(itself invisible). Tripp and his colleagues explain that these
hydrogen ribbons can account for as much as half of the
universe's "normal" matter (that which is composed of protons
and neutrons, as atomic nuclei are). The results appear in the
May 1st Astrophysical Journal Letters. See the online press
release: http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2000/18/ 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 279 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Thu, May 11, 2000 (16:53) * 1 lines
It was never really missing. It was there all along; we just didn't know where or how to look for it.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 280 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, May 11, 2000 (17:03) * 1 lines
Of course...*grin*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 281 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, May 18, 2000 (00:44) * 2 lines
Please check
http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/restricted/read/Geo/34.66

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 282 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, May 18, 2000 (20:07) * 49 lines
Atlantis Shuttle Poised for Friday Launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The space shuttle Atlantis was poised
on its launch pad on Thursday, ready to send astronauts on a long-delayed
repair and supply mission to the International Space Station, which is running
short of power and slowly losing orbit.
NASA scheduled liftoff for 6:12 a.m. EDT on Friday following a month of
delays caused by bad weather, a crowded schedule of unmanned launches
and the astronaut commander's badly sprained ankle, which has now healed
after an in-training injury.
When commander James Halsell docks Atlantis to the space station early on
Sunday, the crew of six Americans and one Russian will be arriving at an
outpost whose completion is more than two years behind schedule and
months away from seeing its first long-duration crew.
The unfinished $60 billion project will need repairs before construction can
even resume.
In April, bad weather caused the U.S. space agency to scrap the Atlantis
launch on three consecutive days. Air Force forecasters were predicting
perfect weather for Friday's launch.
The first priority on the 10-day Atlantis mission is to restore full power to one
of the two station modules now in orbit. Astronauts will replace four of six
solar charged batteries that no longer fully recharge.
The crew will also use thrusters on Atlantis to boost the station's orbit about
17 miles to a standard orbit of some 235 miles. Although the Earth's
atmosphere is extremely thin at such distances, it has been enough to
reduce the station's orbit by about 1.5 miles a week.
With the boost, the station can be properly positioned for an automatic
docking with its next major component, a Russian service module with living
quarters and enough fuel to keep the station up on its own. The Russians
plan to launch the module, dubbed Zvezda, in mid-July.
Space-walking astronauts will also try to lock-down a wobbly construction
crane outside the station.
The mission was announced in February as Zvezda's launch was repeatedly
delayed by trouble in the cash-strapped Russian space program. By then it
had become clear the station would need stop gap repairs.
``We didn't think it would be this long before we got more modules up there,''
said the station's operations manager, Bob Cabana, who as an astronaut
commanded the first assembly mission in 1998.
NASA took four astronauts already in training for a supply mission Halsell,
pilot Scott Horowitz, and mission specialists Mary Ellen Weber and Jeffery
Williams and teamed them with a Russian cosmonaut and two American
astronauts Yuri Usachev, Susan Helms and James Voss training in Moscow
to become the second crew to live aboard the station.
And even though the fledgling station is six months away from seeing its first
live-aboard crew, and 12 months from hosting any serious science, NASA
has called this mission a jump-start for the program.
``By this time next year, we'll have a real space station up there with a
laboratory and an airlock and electrical power and a crew on-board,'' Cabana
told reporters on Thursday. ``I think people ought to stop doubting and start
believing, because we're launching.'' 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 283 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, May 26, 2000 (14:41) * 10 lines
NASA Science News for May 26, 2000

The pioneering space station concepts of the mid-1950's
don't look much like the erector-set habitat in orbit today.
Read about Werner von Braun's early designs for an outpost in
space and how he advocated his ideas to the public 50 years
ago. FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast26may_1m.htm?l=NzMwMjk2IG1hcmNpQEFMT0hBLk5FVCBTTkdMSVNUIC66FwsfrRgz


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 284 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Jun  4, 2000 (11:38) * 71 lines
Sunday Times 4/6/2000

Britons open eye on dawn of universe
Jonathan Leake, Science Editor

BRITISH astronomers are designing the world's ultimate telescope - so large it will be able to make direct observations of life-bearing planets in other solar systems.
The so-called Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (Owl) will also see across space to the edge of the universe - collecting light emitted 11 billion years ago from the first stars formed.

The insights it provides, say astronomers, will be stupendous. Sir Martin Rees, the astronomer royal, said the project was "the next big step" in probing the origins of the universe. "It will be looking at more distant and fainter objects than ever before - including some that formed close to the big bang," he said.

A telescope capable of such feats has long seemed an astronomer's fantasy. The crucial part of any telescope is its reflector, essentially a mirror, which focuses light into cameras and other instruments. The largest telescope made has a reflector 10 metres in diameter, tiny compared with the 100 metres needed for the Owl device.

Until now astronomers had not even considered such a project. A 100-metre glass mirror is beyond modern technology, would be too heavy to move and would be pointless because of the way light is distorted when it passes through the atmosphere.

At Durham University, however, a team of physicists has designed a system that replaces traditional reflectors with hundreds of thin flexible mirrors with just a fraction of the weight. Such mirrors may even be made of fabrics sprayed with reflective coatings.

These can be built onto a flexible frame whose shape is computer-adjusted thousands of times a minute to counteract the distorting effects of the atmosphere.

The result has been to cut the cost of the project to about £800m - less than the total cost of the Millennium Dome.

Roger Davies, professor of astronomy at Durham, said the system meant ground-based telescopes would be able to make observations as if they were floating in space. "We will be able to see other planets clearly enough to measure water on their surface and oxygen in their atmospheres. Such planets could be capable of bearing carbon-based life," he said.

The obstacles, however, remain formidable. Even with its advanced optics it will have to be built in the highest, driest place that can be found. The most likely spot is Cerro Paranal, high in the Andes mountains in Chile.

"The cost means Britain cannot go it alone on this - it will be an international project," said Professor Ian Halliday, chief executive of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, the government's funding agency for such research, when he unveiled the scheme last week.

He is negotiating to link Britain with the eight European countries, including Germany, France, Italy and Holland, who already run the European Southern Observatory in Chile.

Among the most important questions the Owl telescope would resolve is the structure and origin of the universe.

What puzzles astronomers is why stars and galaxies are not spread around at random but occur in clusters with huge empty voids in between. More recently it emerged that galaxies often string themselves together into long filaments or form into flat sheets.

The limited power of modern telescopes means they cannot provide enough detail to explain such phenomena. By contrast, the Owl telescope's ability to collect radiation from stars as they looked billions of years ago will allow astronomers to examine what was going on to create such unexpected patterns today.

Its huge dish will also enable it to peer through the intergalactic clouds of dust that hide the hearts of galaxies and watch new stars being born.

But it is the search for life on other planets that provides the most powerful inspiration for building such telescopes. Designs are being drawn up at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh.

But Britain's astronomers are not driven only by lofty ideals. In the past few years there has been an increasing sense of frustration as Britain's telescopes have been eclipsed by others.

The Americans, for example, have now got the Keck telescope, whose 10-metre reflector is the biggest in the world.

Britain's European partners also have some spectacular facilities, in particular the very large telescope comprising four linked 8-metre reflectors that is nearing completion in Chile.

Britain has taken no part in this project or any others of note except for paying a quarter of the costs of the Gemini observatory comprising two 8-metre telescopes, one in Hawaii and the other in Chile.

It means that, unless the UK can initiate a large telescope project or buy into an existing one, it will soon be marginalised.

Halliday said: "Britain has a long and proud history in astronomy and the Overwhelmingly Large Telescope is the kind of project we must get involved in to maintain that record." 























 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 285 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Jun  4, 2000 (11:39) * 1 lines
oops sorry

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 286 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Jun  4, 2000 (11:40) * 1 lines
trying to correct

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 287 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jun  4, 2000 (14:44) * 1 lines
You did just fine - I am going to leave it - momentous as it is! Thanks for posting it.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 288 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Thu, Jun  8, 2000 (19:27) * 9 lines
Hi All

There was something in the most recent Astronomy magazine about
the adaptation of military technology to telescopes to eliminate
'twinkle' - this had to do with making adjustments to the reflector
mirror as well. Anyway, cool stuff - hope it gets built.

Mike


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 289 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Fri, Jun 23, 2000 (03:49) * 27 lines
Scientists Find Evidence of Water on Mars
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronomers said they had found convincing evidence that water flows on the surface of Mars, a finding that makes it much more likely life could exist or has existed on the planet. Photographs from NASA's orbiting Mars Global Surveyor show gullies that look like they could have been formed only by large amounts of water bursting out and causing landslides, scientists Michael Malin and Kenneth Edgett said on Thursday.

``We see features that look like gullies formed by flowing water and the deposits of soil and rocks transported by these flows,'' Malin, of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, said in a statement. ``The features appear to be so young that they might be forming today. We think we are seeing evidence of a ground water supply, similar to an aquifer.''

Channels carved by flash floods in the U.S. West look very similar to the Martian gullies, said Mike Carr, a planetary geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. ``These images are dead ringers for things we see when we fly over the West,'' Carr, who wrote a book about water on Mars, said in an interview.

Malin and Edgett have been poring over some 65,000 images taken by a camera aboard the Mars Global Surveyor in the past year. What they saw shocked them.
Right where they would least expect to find water, in the coldest crannies of craters facing away from the Sun and toward the poles, they found gullies. The most logical explanation is that they were formed by water. ``I was dragged to this conclusion kicking and screaming,'' Edgett told a news conference.

The findings are astonishing because scientists had believed that water on Mars could only exist in frozen form, beneath the soil or tied up in polar icecaps, and as extremely sparse clouds in the thin Martian atmosphere.

``The presence of liquid water on Mars has profound implications for the question of life not only in the past, but perhaps even today,'' Ed Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for space science, told the news conference.
``If life ever did develop there, and if it survives to the present time, then these landforms would be great places to look,'' said Weiler.

The evidence is also overwhelming that the landslides were recent. Craters quickly pockmark everything on the surface of Mars, but no craters can be found in the piles of rock and dirt below the slides. Some of the slides also pile up over sand dunes, which themselves are transient. And intriguing glints of light and dark suggest there has not been time for the ubiquitous Martian dust that coats everything on the planet with a red powder to settle in some of the gullies.

The new conclusions will have to be confirmed. The paper does not say that water itself has been detected -- only structures that, if found on Earth, would have been formed by water seeping up from underground, then building up under pressure and bursting out in an explosion of mud. ``I bet when this data gets out in the science community, there will be all sorts of proposals about how you could do this without water,'' Carr said.

Malin and Edgett say they plan to study more pictures in the hope of finding one of these landslides in action. ``I personally will feel better when he shows me a picture some day ... and a channel has moved, a boulder has moved,'' Weiler said.

The findings are a huge boost to NASA, which lost two Mars missions in a row late last year. The space agency is planning missions to Mars in 2003 and 2005 which will include the use of a robot to sample the planet's surface. ``It is very pleasing to be up on the dais talking about something positive for a change,'' Weiler said. ``It feels a lot better than crashing a satellite,'' he added later. NASA has admitted it may have cut a few too many corners in recent Mars missions. ``We pushed a little too far on faster, better, cheaper,'' Weiler said. ``We need to take a step back.'' But, he pointed out, the Mars Global Surveyor was the result of the ``faster, better, cheaper'' approach.
``I think one of the most interesting and significant aspects of this discovery is what it could mean if human explorers ever go to Mars,'' said Malin.
``If water is available in substantial volumes in areas other than the poles, it would make it easier for human crews to access and use it -- for drinking, to create breathable air, and to extract oxygen and hydrogen for rocket fuel or to be stored for use in portable energy sources.'' 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 290 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Fri, Jun 23, 2000 (03:51) * 3 lines
Try:
http://www.starport.com/mars/
for more Mars specific info

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 291 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 23, 2000 (17:41) * 1 lines
I posted this yesterday on Geo 34 but thank you for putting another version in full here! *hugs*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 292 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jun 29, 2000 (18:29) * 51 lines
Science News

Model Tracks Storms from the Sun
R. Cowen
Hell hath no fury like a solar storm.

When the sun blows its top, it hurls
billions of tons of electrically charged gas
into space at speeds up to 2,000
kilometers per second.

Now, a group of astronomers has
developed a reliable method for
predicting how long it will take these
storms to hit Earth. There, they can
disrupt satellites, hamper radio
communications, and knock out power
grids.

Another team has gathered observations that confirm a model
of how the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, manages to
store up enough magnetic energy to induce these upheavals.

Both teams reported their findings this week at a meeting of
the American Astronomical Society in Stateline, Nev.

The new calculations of solar storms' arrival times relied on
observations by two spacecraft. SOHO (Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory) stares directly at the sun and
measures the speed of massive clouds of electrified gas
known as coronal mass ejections. Those clouds that head
toward Earth are detected by another spacecraft, called Wind,
about an hour before they arrive.

Predicting the travel time for a coronal mass ejection is a tricky
business. Once launched from the sun, these clouds must
make their way through the solar wind, the vast stream of ions
that continuously blows out from the sun. Like the current of a
great river acting on a tossed twig, the solar wind tends to pull
slowermoving material up to its own speed and hold back
material that sets off at a higher speed.

more...http://www.sciencenews.org/20000624/fob1.asp









 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 293 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul  9, 2000 (16:41) * 11 lines

The SOHO C2 coronagraph captured this image of a sungrazing comet 0.75 degrees from the
Sun on April 29, 2000. The solid brick-colored disk in the middle is the coronagraph's occulting disk;
the white circle shows the true size of the Sun. The comet was noticed by four different amateur
astronomers who were monitoring images from SOHO's realtime data page. All four (M. Boschat, T.
Lovejoy, M. Oates, R. Gorelli) are credited with the discovery. The same comet was visible a day
earlier in wider-angle C3 images, but it was much fainter. This 4-frame animation of the comet
illustrates why it is easier to find sungrazers when they are very close to the Sun.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast07jul_1.htm?list


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 294 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul  9, 2000 (16:42) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 295 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul  9, 2000 (16:44) * 3 lines
Caption above for this image:



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 296 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul  9, 2000 (18:08) * 14 lines
COMET LINEAR

NASA Science News for July 05, 2000

Comet 1999 LINEAR S4, which can already be seen
through binoculars, is expected to become a faint
naked-eye object similar in appearance to the
Andromeda Nebula as it glides by the Big Dipper
this month. Maximum brightness is expected on
July 23, 2000.

FULL STORY at

http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast05jul_1m.htm?list

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 297 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul  9, 2000 (18:12) * 9 lines
TIME LAPSE IMAGE OF COMET LINEAR



This time-lapse sequence of Comet LINEAR-S4 was taken
on July 2, 2000, from Arizona and shows the comet's movement
over only 19 minutes. Credit & Copyright: Wil Milan 




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 298 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul  9, 2000 (19:22) * 7 lines
Comet Linear information pages:

http://www.cometlinear.com/

http://www.skypub.com/sights/comets/0007linearS4.html

Enjoy, photograph and post your comments!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 299 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul 16, 2000 (13:17) * 14 lines
Last Night's Aurora Report:

Location: Bakersfield, CA (N118.00 W035.00)
UTC Date/Time of Observation: 2000/07/14 at 08:17 for 01 hours 00 minutes.
Dimmest Stars Visible: 4th to 5th Mag.
Estimated Intensity of Activity: Moderate
Elevation angle of activity above horizon: 120 degrees
Types of activity observed: (Discrete Arcs) (Rays) (Curtains)
Light Pollution: Moderate
Sky Conditions (cloudy or not): Clear View
Estimated Lunar Interference: High (Near-Full Moon)
Comments:
I have never seen it here before... my mother lives 75 miles away and described almost exactly the same thing I saw!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 300 of 1087: anne hale  (ommin) * Sun, Jul 16, 2000 (20:32) * 1 lines
okay. I seem to be the only one who saw the lunar eclipse last night. I live in Perth, Western Australia, as it was a somewhat showery evening, I had to dodge between the showers. Nevertheless it was an awesome sight. The moon looked first time as if it was smoke covered, red coloured and rather smaller than usual. Gradually the red colour took over although it still seemed to be on fire - rather strange. It was weird and rather peculiar, and I can imagine some 100/200 years ago would have caused panic. Portents and goodness knows what else. It was well worth seeing and lasted for some three hours. I apologise for not taking a picture but the weather was to unstable to chance staying outside too long. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 301 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul 16, 2000 (23:28) * 1 lines
Anne, a million thanks for that report. Scroll back and see my son's pix (I'l post the url for the exact place) so you can compare the last lunar eclipse.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 302 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 17, 2000 (00:57) * 5 lines
For all of the most current Aurora reports please check
http://www.spacew.com/www/auroras.html

Looks like England had the best show!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 303 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Mon, Jul 17, 2000 (16:40) * 1 lines
I heard about the lunar eclipse on the news. They showed people in Japan viewing it.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 304 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 18, 2000 (00:51) * 8 lines
Yeah.....I got to watch a downpour but some others saw it at 2am here so I am really unhappy for having missed it. Oh well.

For my son's images ofd the previous lunar eclipse

http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/public/read/geo/24.97

http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/public/read/geo/24.207


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 305 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 19, 2000 (13:54) * 2 lines
Chris report Last night's aurora from Eastern Pennsylvania as being green, pink and blue with stars sparkling through it. He prnounced it beautiful. It was his first experience seeing it. I am delighted - now if I can only get him to post his report next time.....sigh 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 306 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 19, 2000 (14:01) * 1 lines
Um.....that comment about posting ones own report was not just directed at Chris. We all like to read someone other than my words on any topic. Ok?!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 307 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 20, 2000 (01:02) * 15 lines
Unveiling the Infrared Sky

NASA Science News for July 20, 2000

Your home computer can become a portal to a
wonderland of stars, thanks to a massive release
of images from an infrared sky survey sponsored
by NASA and the National Science Foundation. The
current release is based on a volume of data
several hundred times larger than that contained
in the human genome!

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast20jul_1.htm?list 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 308 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 21, 2000 (12:01) * 33 lines
Coronal Mass Ejection

21 July 2000

There is high probability that the CME (Coronal Mass
Ejection) from the major M-class solar flare of
19 July 2000 will arrive today. It is expected to
hit the Earth almost head-on. It is not expected
to be as intense as this last weekend's event.

Auroral activity is expected to increase to storm
levels on 21 July 2000. There is a good chance for
observations of auroral activity from many dark-sky
middle latitude regions, particularly prior to
midnight when the moon is still below the horizon
and optimal observing conditions exist. Moonrise
occurs near local midnight.

TWO ADDITIONAL M-Class flares occured today:

:ALERTS:

X-Ray event M5/1B/S12W14 BEG 20 Jul 2000 2022 MAX 20 Jul 2000 2025 END
20 Jul 2000 2028 UT
Comment: None

X-Ray event M5.5 BEG 21 Jul 2000 1430 MAX 21 Jul 2000 1437 END 21 Jul
2000 1443 UT
Comment: None


More: http://hfradio.org/propagation.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 309 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 22, 2000 (21:07) * 25 lines
Comet LINEAR update

Space Weather News for July 22, 2000

Comet LINEAR will reach maximum brightness around July 23, 2000, as it
glides past the bowl of the Big Dipper. Sky watchers have been hoping
that LINEAR would become visible to the unaided eye. However, monitoring
data from a global network of astronomers suggest that the comet's
brightness will peak at a visual magnitude of +6.5, just below the
threshold for naked-eye visibility. LINEAR should still be a visual treat
when viewed through binoculars or a small telescope.

ALSO: The Boulder sunspot number soared this week to a value of 401.
Experts say that's rare, even near the peak of the solar maximum.

For more information please visit http://www.spaceweather.com

NOTE to readers: Since SpaceWeather.com was launched in its current form
on January 1, 2000, the site has focused on solar and geomagnetic
activity. Comets and meteors are an important aspect of space weather,
too. With today's update about comet LINEAR we will begin an accelerating
program of coverage for comets, meteor showers, and related astronomical
events.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 310 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 28, 2000 (23:36) * 14 lines
Comet LINEAR breaks apart
Space Weather News for July 28, 2000

There is growing evidence that comet LINEAR, which made its closest
approach to the Sun earlier this week, is disintegrating. Today's
spaceweather.com features images and animations of the apparent breakup.

Also, an interplanetary shock wave struck Earth's magnetosphere on July
28, 2000, triggering minor geomagnetic activity.

For more information please visit http//www.spaceweather.com

http//www.spaceweather.com 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 311 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Sat, Jul 29, 2000 (06:07) * 1 lines
Wow a shock wave!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 312 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 29, 2000 (22:52) * 1 lines
Amazing, huh?! They have great photos on that above url.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 313 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug  4, 2000 (20:47) * 41 lines
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 31 - August 4, 2000

Solar activity for last week (July 28 - August 3) was mostly at low
levels. A minor M-class flare from region 9090 occurred on July 28.
Several new regions (9110, 9111, 9112, 9113, 9114, and 9115) emerged
later in the week. Region 9114 produced a C7 flare and associated
CME on August 2.
The 10.7 cm solar flux, following the sun's 27-day rotation period,
decreased to a minimum of about 155 at the beginning of last week.
Solar flux is forecasted to steadily climb to a maximum of about 240
around mid-August. A comment about 10.7 cm solar flux - although
10.7 cm solar flux is easy to measure because the Earth's atmosphere
is transparent at that wavelength, energy at 10.7 cm is about 1
million times less energetic than the true ionizing energy. Thus
10.7 cm solar flux contributes nothing to the formation of the
ionosphere. But it is an indicator of the general activity level of
the sun, and smoothed solar flux values (a 12 month running average)
correlate very well with smoothed sunspot numbers (SSN).
Solar activity for next week (August 4 - August 10) is expected to
be at moderate to high levels. Isolated M-class flares are
expected, along with a chance for an isolated major flare.
Historically the equinox months (September and March) give us the
greatest amount of magnetic storms due to the orientation of the
Earth at these times with respect to the solar wind. Thus expect an
increase in storms up to mid-September, then a gradual decrease
after that to a minimum in December.
Cycle 23 continues its march upward, with a peak forecasted by the
end of the year. For details, see the web site referenced in last
week's bulletin (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/weekly/index.html). The
latest SSN data is 113 for January 2000. The estimated SSN for the
month of August is 120. Cycle 23 appears to be similar to, but just
a bit higher than, Cycle 20, which peaked at an SSN of 110. This
level of activity, while not approaching that of Cycles 22 and 21,
will still give us excellent conditions on the higher HF bands as we
progress from Summer to Fall and into Winter.
Sunspot numbers for July 27 through August 2 were 174, 163, 183,
138, 123, 139 and 153 with a mean of 153.3. 10.7 cm flux was 162.4,
157.8, 153.2, 149.9, 147.9, 149.4 and 150.6, with a mean of 153, and
estimated planetary A indices were 9, 30, 27, 10, 19, 15 and 14,
with a mean of 17.7.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 314 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Aug  7, 2000 (12:58) * 39 lines
Astronomers Discover Nine Planets Outside Earth's Solar System

Manchester, England, Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Astronomers say
they've discovered nine planets, many as large as Jupiter, that orbit
stars close to Earth, providing evidence that other solar systems made
up of multiple planets exist.
The results, presented at the International Astronomical Union
meeting in Manchester, England, increase the number of planets
discovered outside Earth's solar system to 50, said astronomer Dr.
Jacqueline Mitton.
``We're making a leap to much more-distant stars,'' she said. Many of
the planets discovered are 10 light-years to more than 100 light-years
from Earth. The sun, by comparison, is eight light-minutes away, she
said. A light year, the distance that light travels in one year, is equal to
about 5.88 trillion miles.
``They're typically like Jupiter or Saturn, but it's not possible to
determine exactly,'' Mitton said. ``They are giants, giant planets.
They're balls of gas or liquid.''
Jupiter is about 300 times the size of Earth, U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration spokesman Don Savage said.
NASA helped fund the research, along with the U.S. National
Science Foundation and Sun Microsystems Inc.
All research was done using land-based telescopes, he said.
The planets are discovered by measuring the gravitational pull, or
``wobble'' on stars the planets exert as they revolve around them, the
same way the Earth follows an orbit around the sun. The results
require a long series of exacting measurements that take ``several
years'' to complete, Mitton said.
While previous discoveries have been of single planets, ``there is
evidence of multiple planets within these systems,'' Mitton said.
Evidence also suggests the existence of smaller planets similar to
Earth, not composed of fiery gases, that could in theory sustain life,
she said.
BBG/Astronomers-Discover-Nine-Planets-Outside-Ea/
Any redistribution of Bloomberg content, including by framing or similar means, is
expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Bloomberg L.P. Any reference to
the material must be properly attributed to Bloomberg News. 



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 315 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Aug  8, 2000 (22:48) * 18 lines
Perseid Dawn

NASA Science News for August 08, 2000

The Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12,
2000. This year the bright, nearly-full Moon
will outshine the Perseids most of the night, but
for an hour between moonset and sunrise on
Saturday morning, star gazers could witness a
brief but beautiful meteor shower. The setting
Moon may put on a show of its own Saturday.
Wildfires and dust storms have filled parts of
our atmosphere with aerosols. A low-hanging Moon
seen through such dusty air can take on a
beautiful pink or orange hue.

FULL STORY at
http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast08aug_1.htm?list

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 316 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 11, 2000 (17:43) * 26 lines
Perseid meteor update + an ongoing geomagnetic storm

Space Weather News for August 11, 2000
http://www.spaceweather.com

On the eve of the Perseid meteor shower, sky watchers report seeing 10 to
15 meteors per hour streaming from the constellation Perseus. That's
consistent with an expected peak rate between 30 and 50 visual meteors per
hour before dawn on August 12th. The projected maximum is somewhat weaker
than Perseid maxima of recent years, but observers are also reporting that
this year's Perseid meteors have been pleasantly bright. The shower
should put on a good show for northern hemisphere observers this Saturday
morning.

Readers are invited to send their photos of the 2000 Perseids to
phillips@spacescience.com (Tony Phillips).

There is a chance that Saturday morning sky watchers at higher latitudes
could spot colorful auroras during the Perseid meteor shower. Our planet
is experiencing an ongoing geomagnetic storm triggered by a
southward-pointing interplanetary magnetic field in the vicinity of Earth.
If conditions persist, high latitude (and possibly even mid-latitude)
auroras are possible.

For more information, please visit http://www.spaceweather.com


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 317 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Aug 21, 2000 (14:53) * 38 lines
Thank Maggie for forwarding this!

Manned flight to Mars in 2014?

By BBC News Online science editor Dr David Whitehouse (11 August 200)

The best time for the first manned mission to Mars will be in 2014,
says James Longuski of Purdue University in the US. This is because
the position of the planets will provide an escape route back to
Earth in the event of an accident. Because of an alignment of Earth,
Mars and Venus, a so-called gravitational slingshot manoeuvre would
take astronauts to Mars and, if needed, bring them home safely.
According to Professor Longuski, the emergency flight path would only
be possible if the spacecraft was launched within a few days of 14
January 2014.

Via Venus

Orbital calculations show that no similar escape option exists for at
least a decade before or after 2014. This means that astronauts might
be forced to attempt a landing on Mars even if their spacecraft
became crippled in an accident on the way to Mars. "This trajectory
is remarkably fortuitous as it does not exist for many years prior to
or after the 2014 date," Professor Longuski said. Nasa has also
identified 2014 as a possible launch date for the first human mission
to Mars in a 1997 study. Professor Longuski discovered that the
safest route to take would be one that permitted a quick return trip,
via Venus, in case of an accident that forced the Mars landing to be
aborted. If that happened, the Martian gravity would change the
spacecraft's trajectory, hurling it toward Venus, where another
gravity assist would return the spacecraft back to Earth. The gravity
assist would allow a safe return to Earth even if the spacecraft's
main rocket engine failed, Professor Longuski said. Currently, Nasa
has small-scale studies but no plans for a manned mission to Mars.
Many experts say that it is too late to organise a mission in 2014.
But the advantages of that date may force Nasa to look again at
manned flights to Mars 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 318 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 25, 2000 (16:18) * 20 lines
also from Maggie and Reuters:

New evidence suggests ocean on icy Jupiter moon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New information provides the strongest evidence yet
that lying beneath the icy surface of one of Jupiter's moons may be a salty ocean of water, one of the necessary ingredients for life, researchers reported on Friday. Scientists said data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft suggest the presence of water in liquid form on Europa, a moon similar in size to the Earth's. The Galileo spacecraft passed close to Europa in January. Measurements from magnetic fields led scientists to conclude that "water is the most probable medium on Europa," wrote Margaret Kivelson of the University of California at Los Angeles.
Kivelson and her colleagues reported their findings in Friday's edition of the journal Science.
Previous NASA orbiters had beamed images of huge cracks in Europa's surface that indicated a liquid
ocean might be sloshing underneath. But scientists could not tell from those pictures whether the water was
frozen or still in liquid form, a key element for supporting life.

Galileo collected data from magnetic fields and scientists found patterns that indicated the possibility of water, Kivelson and her colleagues wrote. While they did not rule out other scenarios, the scientists said water was the most likely explanation for the patterns they saw.

Given the findings, Europa ranks just behind Mars as bodies in the solar system that merit further exploration for life forms, said David Stevenson of the California Institute of Technology.
"After Mars, it remains the most attractive extraterrestrial environment within our solar system in which to seek evidence of past or present life," Stevenson wrote in an accompanying article in Science.
Stevenson said the Galileo evidence of water is "overwhelming.... A global layer
of water with a composition similar to Earth seawater and a thickness greater than about 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) could explain the data."

Future flights to Europa could provide more answers. NASA says it hopes to send another spacecraft there, although the space agency's missions have been hindered by budget constraints. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 319 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Sep 13, 2000 (03:39) * 22 lines
More on black holes.....

Tuesday September 12 1:36 PM ET
NASA Shows Evidence of 'Missing Link' Black Holes

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20000912/sc/space_holes_dc_1.html
By Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Black holes, those matter-sucking drains in space, used to come in only two sizes: small and extra, extra large. Tuesday, NASA offered evidence of a mid-size ``missing link'' black hole. Astronomers have theorized for years that such ``missing links'' existed in the rarefied world of black holes, but now they may have detected an example of this type using NASA's orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory.

A black hole with the mass of 500 suns packed into a region the size of Earth's moon has been detected in the M82 galaxy some 12 million to 15 million light years away, Wallace Tucker of the Chandra X-ray Observatory Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said by telephone. Unlike black holes with a mass of up to a billion stars that tend to lie at a galaxy's center, the ``missing link'' is located some 600 light years from the heart of M82. That is relatively close in galactic terms.

A light year is about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion km), the distance light travels in a year.

Relatively tiny black holes, known as stellar black holes because many have the mass of just a single star, are scattered throughout galaxies, including the Milky Way, which contains Earth. Black holes are the gluttons of the cosmos, gobbling up everything that comes near, not even letting light escape. For that reason they are invisible to scientists but can be detected by activity around their edges.

Scientists had suspected that M82 might contain a so-called mid-mass black hole, but these suspicions were not confirmed until high-resolution images made with Chandra found that most X-rays in the galaxy were coming from a single, bright source. Repeated observations of M82 also showed that the X-ray flickered, brightening and dimming every 10 minutes or so. This flicker is the tell-tale sign of a black hole slurping gas from a nearby star or cloud, NASA scientists said. ``This is an interesting scientific mystery that's been solved by superior resolution of the Chandra observatory,'' Tucker said. He said scientists reported years ago that such an X-ray source might exist in M82 and there were also hints of such sources in other galaxies. But the telescopes could only ``see'' the center of the galaxy as ``one big blob,'' lacking the power to determine just where the X-rays were coming from. The M82 ``missing link'' is not in the absolute center of the galaxy, but comparatively close to it. It does seem to
e in an area of rapid star formation and this raises questions about how the mid-size black hole formed, Tucker said. ``Did black holes that formed from normal stars form and then merge to form a 500 solar mass black hole or did massive stars collide and merge to form a hyperstar, that then collapsed to form (the ``missing link'') in one fell swoop?'' he said.

Stellar black holes form as a natural consequence of evolution of massive stars that run out of the fuel they need to support their inner portions, which collapse of their own weight to form a black hole. 



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 320 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Sep 16, 2000 (19:22) * 1 lines
Just don't fall in, my dear!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 321 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Sep 16, 2000 (19:35) * 23 lines
16 September, 2000

Two full-halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs) occurred on September 15, 2000,
and a third CME on September 16, 2000 has been observed as the brightest of
the three. These were associated with solar flares (M5-class for the
latest of the three CMEs). Due to the complex delta magnetic field in the
Sunspot group 9165, there is a good chance for further eruptions.

Those who wish to experience Aurora (visual as well as the radio
propagation mode) should be on the lookout from this point forward. At
the time of writing, the Aurora index is 10, the highest level.

:ALERTS:

Magnetic K-Index of 4 Warning valid from 16 September, 2000 1800Z to
17 September, 2000 1500Z. Magnetic A-Index greater than=30 Watch for 19
September, 2000Z. Magnetic A-Index greater than=30 Watch for 20 September, 2000Z.

Report by NW7US

More: http://hfradio.org/propagation.html



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 322 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Sep 16, 2000 (21:00) * 61 lines
Mauna Kea may get extremely large scope

Mauna Kea may be considered for a telescope with 10 times the light-collecting area
of the world's largest optical telescopes, already atop the Big Island mountain.
University of California and California Institute of Technology researchers who
developed the 10-meter Keck telescopes have proposed building a 30-meter
California Extremely Large Telescope (CELT).
Almost routine discoveries have been coming out of the twin Kecks. CELT's mirror
would allow astronomers to look deeper into the universe with more detail.
"It means you can study fainter, more distant objects in the same vein of many
observations at Keck, but you can do them better," said Jerry Nelson, University of
California-Santa Cruz professor of astronomy and astrophysics who heads the
telescope design working group.
Mauna Kea and several sites in Chile have been mentioned for the CELT, which
project leaders hope to build in 10 to 15 years.
Joseph Miller, director of UC Observatories/Lick Observatory, estimated the cost at
about $500 million. "We're working on the conceptual design but we don't have
money in the bank so anything could happen two years from now," Nelson said in a
telephone interview.
"People could say, 'Whatever happened to CELT?' It's not a sure thing but we have
strong support at the highest level of academic institutions."
The master plan for Mauna Kea anticipated such a telescope, according to Robert
McLaren, interim director of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.
In the plan, it's called "Next Generation Large Telescope," describing the class of
telescopes CELT falls into -- bigger than a 25-meter aperture, McLaren said.
But while the plan foresees a telescope like CELT, such a project "would have to be
fully reviewed, assessed and approved," he said.
As a one-time Hawaii resident, Nelson said he'd like to see the new telescope go to
Mauna Kea. "But for a project like this, you have to look for the best site for
scientific and technical reasons, as well as fold in political things."
A couple of sites in Mauna Kea's summit area might be suitable for a telescope as
massive as the CELT, he said.
"Nonetheless, one must be sensitive to the political issues in Hawaii about developing
the summit of Mauna Kea," he said.
If that site is chosen, Nelson said, project leaders would work with the community to
address concerns and "not steamroll" over them.
Since the Keck telescopes are owned and operated by UC and Caltech, which
CELT would be as well, Nelson thinks "there would be a very strong connection. I
could envision the same headquarters in Waimea."
Because of the high maintenance costs of such facilities, however, the universities
might end up selling or trading off part of Keck to support CELT, Nelson said.
"It's all highly speculative as to what would happen in 10 years," he said.
McLaren said there is a trend to give the national astronomy community more
access to large telescopes, mostly in private hands, in return for more federal
support.
"In the case of Keck, it's unlikely that would happen real soon," he said, noting
NASA is a partner in the telescope operation.

Nelson said CELT leaders probably will start thinking seriously about sites in a year
and aim for a decision in about four years.
With CELT and adaptive optics, astronomers should be able to study galaxies and
other distant things with better angular resolution than the Hubble Telescope, he said.
"You really win bigger by a bigger telescope, with more light sensitivity and better
resolution, sharper. We will learn more about what's happening at the distant edge of
the universe."
CELT also will be powerful in exploring star-forming regions and planet formation,
Nelson said. "It has a lot of potential. Our (astronomy) communities are really
excited about this.
"Experience has shown when you're building new facilities like this, the most exciting
stuff that comes out of it you haven't anticipated at all -- things you just didn't even
know." 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 323 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Sun, Sep 17, 2000 (04:43) * 41 lines
Sunday Times 17th Sept
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/
Britain plans £25m shield to prevent asteroid collisions

Jonathan Leake, Science Editor
A GOVERNMENT team is to propose spending up to £25m on a plan that would safeguard Britain and the world from devastation by a giant asteroid or comet.
The Spaceguard initiative, expected to be announced tomorrow by Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the science minister, could see Britain using a chain of telescopes to detect and monitor "near-Earth objects". A report, from a commission appointed by Sainsbury, says that Earth faces a tiny but definite risk of being struck one day by an asteroid - a large lump of stone or metals travelling at tens of miles a second. This kind of impact is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs 65m years ago.

A monitoring station, possibly based at Armagh in Northern Ireland and linked to telescopes around the world, would be the first stage in a programme that would also investigate ways of knocking any approaching asteroid off a collision course with Earth. One option could be to fire a nuclear missile that would explode close to the incoming rock and deflect it.

At least two big impacts were recorded during the last century alone. The first, at Tunguska in Siberia in 1908, devastated an area the size of greater London. The other, in Brazil in 1947, left several huge craters. Both fell in unpopulated areas and nobody was killed.

Last week astronomers announced that a huge asteroid would cross Earth's orbit today at a range of 2.6m miles. In astronomical terms this is a tiny distance - and others will come much closer.

In 2027, a rock measuring half a mile in diameter, travelling at 50 miles per second and known as 1999 AN10, will hurtle past Earth at a distance of just 200,000 miles. It will pass close by several more times - with nobody yet able to predict whether it will hit the planet.

The British commission includes Professor Harry Atkinson, who has worked for the European Space Agency and other international bodies, and Sir Crispin Tickell, the former British ambassador to the United Nations. It was set up in January.

The threat is already taken seriously by America and Japan, which have established their own Spaceguard projects. Nasa has said it plans by 2006 to track all asteroids with diameters greater than 1km that will cross the path of Earth.

An asteroid that size would wipe out most life and there would have been many such events early in Earth's 4.6 billion-year history. Now, however, the risk is much lower because most potential collisions have already happened. The last big asteroid, about six miles in diameter, was the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.

The commission's report says Britain's role could be to find smaller objects, between 50 yards and about half a mile in diameter, of which there are many thousands.

Up to six telescopes would have to be built - some designed to detect near-Earth objects, others to track them continually and a third group to analyse the light they reflect in order to find out what they are made of.

The aim of Spaceguard would be to ensure that Earth had sufficient advance warning - hopefully decades - to investigate and then take preventive action.

A Whitehall source said: "We accept there is a risk and want Britain to take a leading role in dealing with it."

Sainsbury wants other European countries to help finance the network, which would be computerised and would enable astronomers to build up a huge database from which they could predict which objects presented a threat.

Mark Bailey, director of the Armagh Observatory, a world-renowned centre for the study of asteroids and comets, where the project would probably be based, believes the world is now so heavily populated that even a small impact could kill millions. "Asteroid and comet impacts have changed human history in the past and it could happen again," he said.

The biggest risk to Earth is from comets that appear at random from the Oort Cloud - a huge sphere of icy rubble that surrounds the solar system. They move very fast and could reach Earth within months of being spotted.

Dr Bill Napier, an astronomer who specialises in comets and asteroids, believes the only solution is to set up a fleet of rockets carrying nuclear bombs that could be detonated half a mile from any threatening object.

"You would only have to nudge them a few metres to send them safely past Earth to avoid Armageddon," he said. 



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 324 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Sep 20, 2000 (14:58) * 2 lines
House male says he could do it at half the price and would send everyone Bibles!
The USA is also planning a defense system. Good grief, is their no end to our stupidity?!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 325 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Sep 20, 2000 (15:15) * 1 lines
Explain please why you consider it stupid?? I understand there is a large asteroid expected to arrive some 200,000 miles near earth in 2027. Some predictions of its closeness have been as little as 30,000 miles. An asteroid arrived some 2.6 million miles from earth last Sunday, which was considered close in Space terms. It would seem sensible to me to be looking at what could be done to deflect asteroids or comets and provide early warning ... the kinds of warning time I heard about was up to 10 years. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 326 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Wed, Sep 20, 2000 (15:45) * 9 lines
To read the full report of the Task force on Potentially Hazardous Near Earth Objects go to

http://www.nearearthobjects.co.uk/downloads/full_report.pdf

You will need Acrobat Reader

The report is not dry and dusty ..it has a lot of information on comets and asteroids as well as plenty of pictures, and makes fascinating reading.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 327 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Thu, Sep 21, 2000 (05:26) * 12 lines
Ok, lighten the mood ...Here's something completely different ...

The Dogon's Enigmatic Scientific Knowledge of Medicine and Astronomy

http://www.discovertimbuktu.com/am/culture.html

One of the top 10 places to see in Africa, the Dogon's homeland has been designated a World Heritage site for its cultural and natural significance. They are also famous for their artistic abilities and vast knowledge about astrology, especially the Sirius star, which is the center of their religious teachings. The Dogons know that Sirius A, the brightest system in our firmament, is next to a small white dwarf called Sirius B, which was not identified by western scientists until 1978. The Dogons knew about it at least 1000 years ago. Sirius B has formed the basis of the holiest Dogon beliefs since antiquity.

Western astronomers did not discover the star until the middle of the nineteenth century, and it wasn't even photographed until 1970. The Dogons go as far as describing a third star in the Sirius system, called "Emme Ya" that, to date, has not been identified by astronomers. In addition to their knowledge of Sirius B, the Dogon mythology includes Saturn's rings and Jupiter's four major moons. They have four calendars, for the Sun, Moon, Sirius, and Venus, and have long known that planets orbit the sun.




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 328 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Fri, Sep 22, 2000 (17:05) * 6 lines
Take a virtual tour of the sun
...this site is fantastic

http://www.michielb.nl/sun/kaft.htm



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 329 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Oct  3, 2000 (14:05) * 16 lines
Aurora Watch + An Unusual Asteroid

Space Weather News for Oct. 3, 2000
http://www.spaceweather.com

Ongoing geomagnetic activity could intensify on Wednesday or Thursday when
an Earth-directed solar coronal mass ejection arrives in the neighborhood
of our planet. With the Moon just past New, it may be a good time for
stargazers to watch for dark-sky aurora.

In other news, a Near-Earth Asteroid that passed our planet in September
appears to be a binary space rock. See http://spaceweather.com for
amateur video of the asteroid racing through the sky on October 2nd.

For more information and images, please visit http://SpaceWeather.com


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 330 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Oct 24, 2000 (21:00) * 9 lines
Storms Collide on Jupiter

NASA Science News for October 24, 2000

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured dramatic images of two swirling storms on Jupiter as they collided to form a truly titanic tempest.

FULL STORY at

http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast24oct_1.htm?list89800

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 331 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Nov  3, 2000 (23:19) * 10 lines
I o=posted this in radio being sassy to Mike, for which I apologize only a little:

I've seen zodiacal light and Gegenshein and loads of green flashes and one turquoise flash along with abut 20 comets and innumerable
satellites. Sonic booms but not from the Shuttle. Have seen the shuttle fly over and watched the first burnout ofEarth's orbit on the first
moon trip. The last was just after having had dinner with astronauts on either side of me and across the table. Fascinating guys!!!
Sunset rays are also frequent here.
Oh, and the southern cross. The magellanic clouds are visible from here but just a little while per year.


I should have added that I have also seen brilliant red and green aurorae just after a cloudy day had enabled us to see a huge sunspot with the naked eye. That must have been an enormous CME!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 332 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov  4, 2000 (13:29) * 8 lines
Oooh, also seen noctilucent clouds, and was reminded of the eclipses lunar which I have also seen. Alas, I missed the total solar
eclipse HERE and the annular eclipse in California while I was there. Heavy clouds obsured even the darkening of the skies at totality
in both cases. Do not come near me if you want to see things eclipse solar. The gods to not want me to see that. I did see the 3/4
eslipse many years ago in West Virginia and it was spectacular. Also another partial here for which I put up a pinhole porjector for
public inspection in front of the college library. It worked splendidly.
No UFOs, though...

Ok guys, add you things to my list... What have you seen?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 333 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Tue, Nov  7, 2000 (16:09) * 1 lines
Here in Pittsburgh, which gets on average 49 clear days per year, everytime there's an eclipse or a meteor shower, it's either raining or cloudy. You can look up and see -- clouds.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 334 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov 14, 2000 (00:26) * 16 lines
check the picture with this caption - and the rest of the article!

http://starbulletin.com/2000/11/13/news/story4.html

UH Institute for Astronomy
This is one of the most distant galaxy clusters discovered
so far: almost 8 billion light years away. Early measurements
suggest that this system may be one of the most massive
clusters known. The picture was taken with the University
of Hawaii's 2.2-meter telescope. Galaxies in the cluster appear
as fuzzy yellowish blobs, while galaxies in the foreground
(closer to us) appear bluer and galaxies in the background
(farther away from us) appear redder. Non diffuse, bright
objects are foreground stars. This image spans about
6-7 million light years of space.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 335 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov 14, 2000 (00:27) * 1 lines
Are you sure, Cheryl, that you are not living just down the street from me? Sounds like Hilo weather!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 336 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Sat, Nov 18, 2000 (12:17) * 1 lines
I think there might be some connection. Some strange weather connection through a dimensional portal.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 337 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov 18, 2000 (13:26) * 1 lines
Anyone listen to the Leonids last night? Accessed the Marshall space center's live streaming video and put on full screen. Watched them fill the weather balloon, launch it with the camera and listening devices and watched it rise and rise and rise. On the second re run of the filling of the balloon, etc, I finally fell asleep, hours before our portion of earth rotated so that we were facing outer space and incoming projectiles. Did anyone see anything?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 338 of 1087: Neil H.  (ThinkingManNeil) * Thu, Dec  7, 2000 (22:02) * 10 lines
I've been asked by my dear friend and lady I love, MarciaH, to contribute a few postings to this wonderful conference site she maintains. I've had a life-long interests in astronomy, volcanology, and planetary geology, and although I'm no expert in any of those fields, I find them fascinating nonetheless. One of the things that most attracts me to astronomy is the simple beauty and awe-inspiring grandeur of many of the images of astronomical objects that have been produced over the years, especially by the Hubble Space Telescope, which continues to orbit the Earth on it's mission of exploration, discovery, and research.

One of the most remarkable images taken by the Hubble is actually a composite mosiac of several images called the Hubble Deep-Field Image. These images were taken over a period of several days beginning on December 18, 1995 until December 30 of that year. The images were of a fairly "empty" (or so it was thought) region of sky just north of the bowl of the Big Dipper in the constellation of Ursa Major (R.A. 12Hrs 36' 49.4000", Dec. +62Deg. 12' 58.0000"). After a series of long-duration exposures totaling some 100 hours, the images Hubble returned revealed showed a few local stars which inhabit our galaxy (the stars are the bright objects with classic "starpoints", which are actually defraction spikes--relics of light being scattered, refracted, and reflections from the telescope's optical structure), but everything else to be found in the images are individual galaxies like our own--island continents of millions, billions, and even trillions of stars. Some 1,200 - 1,500 separate galaxies have been counted i
the Hubble Deep Field Image, the vast majority of which had never been observed before. Most of these galaxies are amongst the most distant ever observed, 10 to 12 billion light years away, meaning we are glimpsing these objects at a very early point in the Universe's history, when galaxies were still fairly new kids on the cosmic block.

But the most remarkable aspect of the Hubble Deep Field Image is this: these incredibly distant galaxies are so far away that the area of sky they occupy is so small, that it could easily be covered by a single grain of sand held at arms length...

Here is a link to a glimpse of this astonishingly beautiful, yet remarkably humbling image:

http://cadcwww.dao.nrc.ca/hst/hdf/PR/MosaicQ.jpg

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 339 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec  8, 2000 (00:58) * 5 lines
Neil, love, thank you for a spectular post!

You sent me to see that image and it was stunning. The size of the universe is brought home most impresiively in your comment that this world of galaxies is just a sand-grain in size?! Held at arm's length!!! I sit and stare at that picture and I am stunned at the vastness it represents in that one sand grain...

*Hugs*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 340 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Fri, Dec  8, 2000 (17:17) * 1 lines
thanks for that, neil. based on the fact that some starlight are from stars that have expired years and years ago but their light is only now reaching the earth. is it possible that the galaxies being observed by the hubble have already died away?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 341 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Sat, Dec  9, 2000 (10:17) * 1 lines
Neil, thank you for the information on the Hubble Telescope. I is something that I've heard about for years, but didn't really have much understanding or information.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 342 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Sat, Dec  9, 2000 (12:17) * 1 lines
That's awesome, thinking man!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 343 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec  9, 2000 (14:28) * 262 lines
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - DECEMBER 8, 2000
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Axel Mellinger's composite image of the entire Milky Way was so
stunning that we made it into a poster. Now, not only is there a 2nd
Edition of his quick-selling panorama, Mellinger has imaged the polar
regions as well to create a spectacular all-sky view. The 24-by-36-
inch "Celestial Sphere" poster consists of 51 wide-angle exposures
stitched together into a seamless "real" map of the entire sky. The
poster comes with a key chart identifying major constellations and
stars. To order either of Mellinger's posters, visit Sky Publishing's
online store at http://store.skypub.com/ or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

MARTIAN SEDIMENTS: ANCIENT LAKEBEDS OR BLOW-INS?
Dramatic new images show that Mars once had an environment that
created sediment-like layers within craters and canyons across much of
the planet's midsection. In some locales hundreds of individual beds
can be counted, occasionally creating stacks of alternating light and
dark layers 2 to 4 kilometers tall. In the region known as Terra
Meridiani, the sediments extend continuously for hundreds of
kilometers.
As detailed by Michael C. Malin and Kenneth S. Edgett in the December
8th issue of Science, the layers could be explained by two very
different climatic scenarios. "The first, and perhaps favored, model
draws heavily on comparison to Earth to invoke a planet and
environment capable of sustaining liquid water on its surface," they
state. Thus the sediments occur preferentially in confined areas where
water would tend to collect.
The other scenario, which Malin and Edgett consider "a plausible but
uniquely Martian explanation," envisions times when the Martian
atmosphere was denser, enough so to mobilize and deposit huge amounts
of dust. For example, the red planet's polar tilt is known to
oscillate between 15 and 35 deg. every 100,000 years, a cycle that
probably induces drastic changes in atmospheric pressure and climate
as the thick polar ice caps vaporize and become redistributed. At such
times the planet might have experienced ferocious dust storms, or the
atmosphere may have aided in the transport of volcanic ash or impact
debris.

"We think both models have some validity," Malin told SKY & TELESCOPE,
"or we wouldn't have included both."

Although surface ages are notoriously difficult to estimate on Mars,
the two researchers believe most of the sediments date from the
earliest span of Martian history, between 3.5 and 4.3 billion years
ago. But the evidence for such ancient ages is weak, Malin admits. In
fact, Nathalie Cabrol (NASA/Ames Research Center) and her colleagues
have used Viking images to identify roughly 200 Martian craters with
lakebed sediments that she believes were laid down much more recently
-- some only few hundred million years ago. "To say they are all
ancient, I would be cautious," Cabrol warns. "What would the agent be
to expose all these ancient layers in recent times? How do you do
that? Maybe they are more recent than Malin and Edgett think, or
something happened recently on Mars to exhume them."
The crater sediments only add to the new and much more confusing
picture of Mars that is emerging from Mars Global Surveyor data. When
one observation indicates that the red planet had a warmer, wetter
past, another (like widespread outcrops of the mineral olivine) argues
for eons of cold, dry conditions. "We caution that the Mars images
tell us that the story is actually quite complicated," Edgett notes,
"and yet the implications are tremendous."

SATURN'S CLAN GROWS BY FOUR
The space around Saturn may not be as crowded as New York's La Guardia
airport, but Thursday astronomers announced the discovery of four more
small Saturnian satellites. The new objects, all between 23rd and 24th
magnitude, were first spied on September 23rd by moon-meisters Brett
Gladman (Nice Observatory) and J. J. Kavelaars (McMaster University)
using the 3.6-meter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Follow-up
observations in late November by other members of Gladman's team
cinched the discoveries, which bring the planet's total up to 28. No
firm orbits exist at this time, and for now they've been designated
S/2000 S 7 through S/2000 S 10. Additional observations are planned
later this month, but the moonlets probably occupy a mix or prograde
and retrograde orbits. The team continues to track a few other
prospects as well. "During the past year and a half, the number of
know outer-planet satellites (or candidate satellites) of the giant
planets has more than doubled," observes Brian G. Marsden of the IAU's
Minor Planet Center. Details of the new finds appear on IAU Circulars
7538 and 7539.


HUBBLE PEERS INTO THE PLEIADES
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a closeup view inside one of the
most familiar sights in the Northern Hemisphere's winter skies: the
Pleiades star cluster. The image -- made by George Herbig and Theodore
Simon (University of Hawaii) with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary
Camera 2 on September 19, 1999 -- shows tufts of nebulosity only 30
arcseconds from the Pleiad Merope. (The star lies just off the top of
the frame.) Although the Pleiades are thought to be perhaps only 80
million years old, the gas and dust enveloping them are not the
remnants their birth. The cloud just happens to be passing by, and
this part of it is being eroded by the light from Merope only 0.06
light-year away. E. E. Barnard discovered much larger parts of the
Merope cloud in the 19th century; it's now designated IC 349.

The Pleiades can easily be seen with the naked eye high in the east
these evenings, lying above brilliant Jupiter. You may be able to spot
five or six Pleiads with your naked eye -- binoculars and telescopes
will reveal dozens more. Yellowish Saturn is off to their right, and
orange Aldebaran is below Jupiter. To help guide your way through the
evening sky, see the maps for our Monthly Northern Sky Highlights at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/northern.html.

COMETS IN THE SOUTHERN SKY
Comet Utsunomiya-Jones (C/2000 W1) is between 6th and 7th magnitude,
and thus easily seen in binoculars, but now it's observable only from
the Southern Hemisphere, moving through Sagittarius. It reaches
perihelion just inside the orbit of Mercury in late December, but will
be behind the Sun. Here are positions for Comet Utsunomiya-Jones for 0
hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates for the coming week:
Date R.A. Dec.
Dec 9 19h 35m -32.2 deg.
Dec 11 19 36 -29.2
Dec 13 19 36 -26.8
Dec 15 19 34 -24.8

A better cross-hemisphere comet is Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1).
From the Southern Hemisphere, it is about 20 deg. above the eastern
horizon just before the first light of dawn. Northern Hemisphere
observers may be able to spot it a about 15 degrees above the
southeastern horizon before morning twilight. The 8th-magnitude comet
continues its trek across Hydra. Here are positions for
McNaught-Hartley for 0 hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates for
the coming week:
Date R.A. Dec.
Dec 9 13h 52m -26.3 deg.
Dec 11 13 58 -25.3
Dec 13 14 03 -24.3
Dec 15 14 09 -23.3

For more about these comets, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0012skyevents.html .

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

DEC. 10 -- SUNDAY
* Full Moon tonight (exact at 4:03 a.m. Eastern Standard Time Monday
morning).

* The Moon forms a zigzag line in the evening sky with orange
Aldebaran, bright Jupiter, and yellowish Saturn, counting in that
order toward the Moon's upper right or right.

* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 7:18 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale orange-tan. It
should be visible in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric
seeing is sharp and steady. For a list of all predicted Red Spot
transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

DEC. 11 -- MONDAY

* The Moon forms a big, roughly equilateral triangle in the evening
sky with bright Jupiter to its upper right and Capella to its upper
left.

* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 1:04 a.m. EST Tuesday morning.

DEC. 12 -- TUESDAY

* The Geminid meteor shower should be at its peak late this evening
and early tomorrow morning. But bright moonlight will hide most of the
meteors from view.

* The Moon occults (covers) the 3.5-magnitude star Delta Geminorum
late tonight as seen from most of North America and Hawaii. For a
timetable of the star's reappearance from behind the Moon's thin dark
limb -- an event visible with a small telescope if you're watching at
the right instant -- see the December Sky & Telescope, page 115, or
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0012skyevents.html .

* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:56 p.m. EST.

* Mars and Spica appear closest together, 3 degrees apart, in the
dawn sky Wednesday morning.

DEC. 13 -- WEDNESDAY

* The winter constellation Orion rises into good view low in the
east-southeastern sky by 7:30 or 8 p.m. Look for it looming up far
below bright Jupiter and Saturn.

DEC. 14 -- THURSDAY

* The red long-period variable star R Trianguli should be at its
maximum brightness (about 6th magnitude) around this date.

* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 10:34 p.m. EST.

DEC. 15 -- FRIDAY

* After the Moon rises late this evening, look to its right or upper
right for Regulus.

DEC. 16 -- SATURDAY

* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 12:12 a.m. EST Sunday morning.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

VENUS shines very brilliantly (magnitude -4.2) in the southwestern sky
during and after dusk.

MARS (magnitude +1.5, in Virgo) glows yellow-orange high in the
southeast before dawn. Near it shines Spica, slightly brighter at
magnitude +1.0.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.8 and -0.2, respectively) shine
brightly in the east to southeast during evening. Jupiter is the
brighter one. Saturn appears 8 or 9 degrees (nearly a fist-width at
arm's length) to Jupiter's upper right. They're in the constellation
Taurus; above Jupiter is the Pleiades star cluster, and below Jupiter
sparkles orange Aldebaran. By 10 p.m. the whole group is high in the
south.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (invisible to the naked eye, at magnitudes 6 and 8
in Capricornus) are getting very low in the southwest after dark.
They're far in the background of Venus.

PLUTO is hidden in the glare of the Sun.


All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy
research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine
of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!


SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360


===========================================================
Copyright 2000 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 344 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 11, 2000 (14:08) * 64 lines
NEWSALERT: Monday, December 11, 2000 @ 0551 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now



ENDEAVOUR HEADS FOR FLORIDA HOMECOMING TODAY
--------------------------------------------
Flush with success, the shuttle Endeavour astronauts are set to close out their mission that spread the power-generating wings of the international space station this evening with a pin-point landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Touchdown on Runway 15 is expected at 2304 GMT (6:04 p.m. EST ).


http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/001211fd12/


Continuous live landing updates in our status center:
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/status.html


Timeline of today's deorbit preparation:
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/fdf/97entry.html


Landing weather forecast:
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/fdf/97wx.html



ATLANTIS ROLLOUT DELAYED FOR BOOSTER INSPECTIONS
------------------------------------------------
Rollout of shuttle Atlantis to pad 39A to ready the ship for launch next month will be delayed at least two days -- from Monday to Wednesday -- because of ongoing work to determine why an explosive booster separation bolt failed to fire during the Endeavour's launch Nov. 30.


http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/001210sts98/



ARIANE 4 TO ROCKET TURKISH EURASIASAT 1 CRAFT INTO ORBIT
--------------------------------------------------------
A Turkish telecommunications satellite built to bridge Europe and Asia is poised for its launch into space later today atop an Arianespace Ariane 4 rocket. Liftoff is set for 2204 GMT (5:04 p.m. EST) from Kourou, South America. We will have live reports:


http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v137/status.html



LAST WEEK'S ATLAS ROCKET LAUNCH REVISITED
-----------------------------------------
Spaceflight Now looks back to last Tuesday's flight of the Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket with a secret satellite cargo with a gallery of spectacular launch photographs.


http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/ac157/launch.html



WEEKEND HEADLINES
-----------------
FOUR ADDITIONAL MOONS DISCOVERED ORBITING SATURN
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/10saturnmoons/


ASTRONOMERS FIND NEW EVIDENCE FOR MAGNETARS
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/09magnetars/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 345 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 12, 2000 (17:01) * 49 lines
NEWSALERT: Tuesday, December 12, 2000 @ 0524 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

ENDEAVOUR RETURNS TO EARTH WITH NIGHTTIME LANDING
-------------------------------------------------
The space shuttle Endeavour glided to a smooth Florida touchdown Monday evening just minutes after the international space station sailed overhead, closing out a successful flight to equip the outpost with the most powerful solar arrays ever launched.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/001211land/

Read our play-by-play description of entry and landing:
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/status.html

Video clip of Endeavour's landing from NASA Television:
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/video/001211landing_qt.html

Video from onboard camera showing pilot's view:
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/video/001211ppov_qt.html

Video of landing from infrared camera:
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/video/001211irland_qt.html

THREE EXTRASOLAR PLANETS FOUND 150 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY
---------------------------------------------------
Three new planets around distant stars have been found by scientists using an observatory in Australia, adding to the 46 other extrasolar planets found since 1995. The new worlds vary in size but are comparable to Jupiter and likely gas giants.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/12planets/

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MAKE STELLAR DISCOVERY, WIN AWARD
------------------------------------------------------
Three high school students, using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NSF's Very Large Array, Monday won first place in the Siemens-Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition for discovery of the first evidence of a neutron star in the nearby supernova remnant.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/12chandrakids/

ONE OF NASA'S FEMALE PIONEERS TO RETIRE
---------------------------------------
In 1964, Carolyn Griner was one of only three women in technical positions at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center -- outnumbered by male engineers at a ratio of more than 1,000 to one. Today, after 36 years of helping America reach new frontiers in space exploration, Griner, now deputy director of Marshall, has announced plans to retire.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/12griner/

GALILEO CONTINUES PROBING JOVIAN MAGNETOSPHERE
----------------------------------------------
Galileo's efforts continue on maintaining the continuity of a survey of the Jovian magnetosphere. The survey data are very valuable as they are Galileo's contribution to a dual-spacecraft observation campaign to examine the influence of the solar wind on the magnetosphere.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/12galileothisweek/


ARIANE 4 ROCKET LAUNCH OF TURKISH CRAFT DELAYED
-----------------------------------------------
Monday's launch of the Arianespace Ariane 4 rocket with the Turkish Eurasiasat 1 communications spacecraft from Kourou in South America was called off and a new date is still pending.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v137/status.html




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 346 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Dec 13, 2000 (00:30) * 30 lines
NEWSALERT: Wednesday, December 13, 2000 @ 0612 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

JUPITER'S EYE SEEN WATCHING IO IN STUNNING NEW PHOTO
----------------------------------------------------
As NASA's Cassini spacecraft cruises through space, the probe has captured yet another awe-inspiring image of Jupiter. This latest view shows details of the planet's Great Red Spot and other features not seen earlier. Also visible is the Jovian moon Io and the white and reddish colors on its surface.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/13jupio/

BOOSTER INSPECTIONS KEEP SHUTTLE ATLANTIS PARKED
------------------------------------------------
Engineers began inspections of electrical cable connectors in the solid rocket boosters of space shuttle Atlantis on Tuesday in the wake of a problem during the launch of sistership Endeavour two weeks ago.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/001212sts98/

BLACK HOLES SAID YOUNGER, MEANER AND MORE PLENTIFUL
---------------------------------------------------
A team of astronomers has found that supermassive black holes contribute about as much energy to the Universe as all the stars combined. Many have formed recently rather than in the early, violent stages of galaxy birth. And, at any give time in the history of the Universe, about 10 percent of all supermassive black holes are actively pulling in huge quantities of gas and whole stars.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/13chandra/

DOD GETS GLOBAL WITH IRIDIUM SATELLITE-PHONE SYSTEM
---------------------------------------------------
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded a two-year, $72 million contract last week for unlimited use of the global Iridium satellite-based, secure telephone network. Details of deal indicate the Pentagon will pay 10 to 30 cents a minute while new civilian commercial service will cost about 80 cents a minute, down from the previous near $5 per minute for some customers.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/13iridium/

FUTURE FRENCH MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM SET
------------------------------------------------
Alcatel Space has won the contract to build France's new-generation Syracuse 3A military satellite, plus options for a second and third satellite in the series. Syracuse 3A satellite will enter service in 2003, complementing the current fleet of mixed civil/military spacecraft to serve both French and allied armed forces.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/13syracuse3a/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 347 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Dec 13, 2000 (23:45) * 27 lines
NEWSALERT: Thursday, December 14, 2000 @ 0450 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

NEW REPORT OFFERS EVIDENCE OF PRIMITIVE LIFE ON MARS
----------------------------------------------------
A new scientific report offers compelling evidence that primitive life existed on Mars. Tiny magnetite crystals, identical to those used by aqueous bacteria on Earth as compasses to find food and energy, have been found in the Martian meteorite ALH84001.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/14marslife/

NEW MOVIE NOW SHOWING: 'HIGH CLOUDS OF JUPITER'
-----------------------------------------------
Images from NASA's Cassini space probe have been used to generate this new movie of Jupiter's high-altitude clouds. This is the first time a movie sequence of Jupiter has been made that illustrates the motions of the high clouds on a global scale.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/14jupiter/

SHUTTLE DELAY EXTENDS VOYAGE OF FIRST STATION CREW
--------------------------------------------------
The first expedition aboard international space station got a little longer on Wednesday when NASA announced a delay from February to March in launching space shuttle Discovery to ferry the three-man crew back to Earth.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ops/stage4a/001214sts102/

ENGINE BURN PUTS NEAR SHOEMAKER ON FINAL TRACK
----------------------------------------------
An engine firing yesterday put NASA's NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft in orbit just 22 miles above the tumbling space rock Eros' center of mass in preparation for low altitude operations in January and February, just prior to the mission's end.


http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/14nearburn/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 348 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Thu, Dec 14, 2000 (08:29) * 1 lines
I thought we'd known about the Mars meteorite for a while, this isn't "news" per se, is it?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 349 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 14, 2000 (14:04) * 2 lines
Not as far as I know. Did not check the link to see what new tests it was undergoing. I shall, though, and post what I discover.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 350 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 16, 2000 (16:27) * 260 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - DECEMBER 15, 2000
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Axel Mellinger's composite image of the entire Milky Way was so
stunning that we made it into a poster. Now, not only is there a 2nd
Edition of his quick-selling panorama, Mellinger has imaged the polar
regions as well to create a spectacular all-sky view. The 24-by-36-
inch "Celestial Sphere" poster consists of 51 wide-angle exposures
stitched together into a seamless "real" map of the entire sky. The
poster comes with a key chart identifying major constellations and
stars. To order either of Mellinger's posters, visit Sky Publishing's
online store at http://store.skypub.com/ or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================


HUBBLE AND CASSINI TEAM UP ON JUPITER


Yesterday marked the start of a two-week-long observing campaign by the Hubble
Space Telescope and Cassini spacecraft to monitor auroral activity on Jupiter.
Cassini is nearing the solar system's largest planet on its way to a 2004
appointment with Saturn, and scientists are taking full advantage of this
month's opportunity. The spacecraft will pass 9.8 million kilometers from
Jupiter on December 30th. Shortly after the flyby, the dual observations will
recommence, as Hubble will image Jupiter's day side and Cassini will watch the
planet's night side. Astronomers hope to obtain a better understanding of the
interaction of the solar wind with Jupiter's magnetic field and create a model
of the planet's aurora. To illustrate what Hubble and Cassini will be looking
for, the Space Telescope Science Institute released a detailed view of
Jupiter's north pole surrounded by aurora. The picture -- taken on November
26, 1998 -- features auroral "footprints" of Io, Ganymede, and Europa. These
are artifacts of the electric fields generated as the satellites move through
Jupiter's magnetosphere.


AN ALL-SKY OPTICAL SETI SURVEY


A new kind search for intelligent life in the universe is in the making. Paul
Horowitz (Harvard University) and his graduate students Andrew Howard and Chip
Coldwell have begun building a specialized, 72-inch (1.8-meter) telescope that
will sweep more than half the celestial sphere to look for extremely brief
laser pulses from other civilizations.


Recent studies indicate that lasers could be as efficient as radio for
interstellar signaling. Following up on this idea, several optical SETI
projects are already under way (including one by Horowitz's group) or are
being built. But these are "targeted" searches looking only at preselected
lists of a few thousand stars at most. The new wide-sky survey will take at
least brief looks at hundreds of millions.


The telescope's main mirror will be a cheap "light bucket" of low optical
quality. At the heart of the instrument will be two parallel arrays of 1,024
high-speed photomultipliers each. These will observe a 1.6 degree-by-0.2
degree swath of sky at once. Only recently have such arrays become available.
They will be able to resolve light pulses as short as a nanosecond (a
billionth of a second). Any such brief pulses from the stars would be clearly
artificial and would represent an energy-efficient way to communicate across
thousands of light-years.


The $350,000 project is being funded by The Planetary Society. Half the amount
has been put up as a matching grant by one donor, David Brown, and the society
is canvassing its members for the rest.


Horowitz says the instrument will examine every point on more than half the
celestial sphere for at least 48 seconds every 150 clear nights. It will sweep
the whole sky from declination +60 degrees to -20 degrees, a zone that
includes more than half of the visible Milky Way. If all goes well
observations should begin in late 2001 or 2002.


For a description of all the radio and optical SETI searches under way
worldwide, and a comprehensive review of today's debate over intelligent life
in the universe, see Sky & Telescope's SETI Page at
http://www.skypub.com/news/special/seti_toc.html .


CHRISTMAS ECLIPSE


Christmas Day will be extra special this year. Weather permitting, people all
across North America will be able to watch the Moon glide across the low
December Sun, creating a partial solar eclipse. This event will be visible
throughout nearly all the inhabited parts of North America (except Alaska and
the Yukon), as well as from most of Mexico and the Caribbean. To find out when
the eclipse will occur, how much of the Sun will be covered from your
location, and how to observe it safely, see Sky & Telescope's Web site at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/solar/001225partial.html .


COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY IN THE MORNING


Although it is the brightest comet in the sky right now -- between 6th and 7th
magnitude -- Comet Utsunomiya-Jones (C/2000 W1) has moved closer to the Sun,
heading toward its perihelion on December 26th. By the time the last of
evening twilight has faded, the comet is only a few degrees above the horizon.
To see the next-best comet, you'll have to head out early in the morning.
Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) is highest -- between 15 and 20 deg. above
the horizon -- just before the first light of dawn. At that time, Northern
Hemisphere observers will find it in the southeast, while Southern Hemisphere
observers will find it in the south. The 8th-magnitude comet moves nearly due
north through Virgo and enters Libra this coming week. Here are positions for
McNaught-Hartley for 0 hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates:


Date R.A. Dec.


Dec 16 14h 12m -22.7 deg.
Dec 18 14 17 -21.6
Dec 20 14 23 -20.5
Dec 22 14 28 -19.3


For more about these comets, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0012skyevents.html .



THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"


Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.


DEC. 17 -- SUNDAY


* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 7:41 p.m. EST).


* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian (the
imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to pole) around
8:03 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is currently very pale orange-tan. It should be
visible in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp
and steady. For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .


DEC. 18 -- MONDAY


* Some doorstep astronomy: The brilliant light in the southwest just dusk is
Venus. The brightest star higher in the northwest is Vega. Just about halfway
between them (due west), look for Altair.


* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 1:50 a.m. EST Tuesday morning.


* Before and during dawn tomorrow morning, the Moon shines above orange Mars
and blue-white Spica high in the southeastern sky.


DEC. 19 -- TUESDAY


* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 9:41 p.m. EST.


* The Moon shines in a line with Mars and Spica high in the southeast before
and during dawn tomorrow.


DEC. 20 -- WEDNESDAY

* By about 6:30 p.m. Orion has already cleared the eastern horizon. Look for
it far below bright Jupiter and Saturn.

DEC. 21 -- THURSDAY
* The Sun reaches the solstice at 8:37 a.m. EST, marking the start of winter
in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

* An unusual outburst of the normally weak Ursid meteor shower is possible
late tonight for meteor watchers in North America. The shower's radiant is in
the bowl of the Little Dipper.

* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:19 p.m. EST.

* Early tomorrow morning the asteroid 6 Hebe should occult (cover) a
10.8-magnitude star in Virgo for up to 10 seconds. The combined light of the
star and asteroid will drop by only 0.9 magnitude. The occultation should take
place within a few minutes of 10:58 Universal Time December 22 along a track
from Oregon to New England. For a finder chart see the December Sky &
Telescope, page 115, or
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0012skyevents.html . For late updates
check www.lunar-occultations.com/iota .

DEC. 22 -- FRIDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:11 p.m. EST.

DEC. 23 -- SATURDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 12:57 p.m. EST Sunday morning.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

VENUS shines very brilliantly (magnitude -4.2) in the southwestern sky during
and after dusk. Look well to its left (by about three fist-widths at arm's
length) for the 1st-magnitude star Fomalhaut.

MARS (magnitude +1.5, in Virgo) glows yellow-orange high in the southeast
before dawn. Near it (to the right) shines Spica, slightly brighter at
magnitude +1.0.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.8 and -0.2, respectively) shine brightly in
the east to southeast during evening. Jupiter is the brighter one. Saturn
appears 8 degrees (a little less than a fist-width at arm's length) to
Jupiter's right or upper right. They're in the constellation Taurus; above
Jupiter is the Pleiades star cluster, and below Jupiter sparkles orange
Aldebaran. By 9:30 p.m. the whole group is high in the south.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (invisible to the naked eye, at magnitudes 6 and 8 in
Capricornus) are getting very low in the southwest just after dark. They're
far in the background of Venus.

PLUTO is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the words
up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America.
Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy research
appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine of astronomy. See
our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ .
Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 * 617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2000 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky
at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the astronomical
community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic
distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs are included. But the
text of the bulletin and calendar may not be published in any other form
without permission from Sky Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or
phone 617-864-7360). Updates of astronomical news, including active links to
related Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance are available via electronic
mailing list. For a free subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and
put the word "join" on the first line of the body of the message. To
unsubscribe, send e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on
the first line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message to list
administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 351 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 18, 2000 (00:14) * 35 lines
NEWSALERT: Monday, December 18, 2000 @ 0531 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

OCEAN BELIEVED HIDDEN ON SOLAR SYSTEM'S LARGEST MOON
----------------------------------------------------
Add Jupiter's moon Ganymede, which is bigger than two of the solar system's nine planets, to the growing list of worlds with evidence of liquid water under the surface. A thick layer of melted, salty water somewhere beneath Ganymede's icy crust would be the best way to explain some of the magnetic readings taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/17ganymedeocean/

BOOSTER REPAIRS THREATEN TO DELAY NEXT SHUTTLE LAUNCH
-----------------------------------------------------
Launch of the shuttle Atlantis next month on the next space station assembly mission faces a potentially significant delay because of work required to fix a crumbling electrical cable in the shuttle's booster separation system. Workers may be forced to remove Atlantis and its external fuel tank to complete the repair job.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/001218srb/

Watch our NEW status center for developing news today:
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/status.html


DETAILS EMERGE AS IRIDIUM'S TRANSFER OF POWER WRAPS UP
------------------------------------------------------
The new company pumping life into the once-defunct Iridium satellite telephone system plans to relaunch the global communications service within the next couple of months. Plans also call for seven more spacecraft to be launched into the constellation.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/18iridium/

MAGNETIC FIELD 'UMBRELLAS' SHIELD MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE
----------------------------------------------------
Though Mars lacks a global protective magnetic shield like that of the Earth, strong localized magnetic fields embedded in the crust appear to be a significant barrier to erosion of the atmosphere by the solar wind, according to a new map by the Mars Global Surveyor.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/17marsmagnet/


ARIANE 508 ROCKET TO LAUNCH 3 PAYLOADS TUESDAY NIGHT
----------------------------------------------------
A mighty Ariane 5 rocket has taken center stage at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, where satellite troubles have sidelined an Ariane 4 launcher once poised for blastoff a week ago. Workers are now gearing up to launch a pair of communications satellites and a crucial Japanese experiment Tuesday evening on the Ariane 508 vehicle.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v138/status.html



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 352 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 19, 2000 (22:42) * 34 lines
NEWSALERT: Tuesday, December 19, 2000 @ 0630 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

INTRICATE STRUCTURES SEEN IN JUPITER'S POLAR REGION
---------------------------------------------------
The familiar banded appearance of Jupiter at low and middle latitudes gradually gives way to a more mottled appearance at high latitudes in this striking true color image taken last week by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/19jupmott/

MOST DISTANT SPACECRAFT MAY REACH SHOCK ZONE SOON
-------------------------------------------------
A NASA spacecraft headed out of the solar system at a speed that would streak from New York to Los Angeles in less than four minutes could reach the first main feature of the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space within three years.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/19voyager1/

ARIANE 5 LAUNCH TO CLOSE OUT 2000 FOR ARIANESPACE
-------------------------------------------------
The European Ariane 508 rocket is sitting on its South American launch pad and awaiting liftoff with two communications satellites and an experimental technology demonstration tonight at 0026 GMT (7:26 p.m. EST). We will have comprehensive live launch coverage.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v138/status.html

ANDROMEDA GALAXY COMES ALIVE WITH DETAILED SPYING
-------------------------------------------------
The Andromeda galaxy, only 2.6 million light years away, is an ideal field of study for X-ray astronomy. XMM-Newton has observed its galactic center, revealing many new point sources and the probable presence of a very hot diffuse gas which contributes to the overall X-ray luminosity.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/19xmmdiffuse/

NO OFFICIAL DECISION YET ON SHUTTLE BOOSTER REPAIR
--------------------------------------------------
NASA officials have yet to select a plan to repair solid rocket booster cabling on space shuttle Atlantis. The repair plan chosen will impact the shuttle's scheduled January 18 launch date on a mission to deliver the Destiny research module to the international space station.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/status.html

SOYUZ PICKED TO LAUNCH EUROPEAN WEATHER SATELLITES
--------------------------------------------------
EUMETSAT has signed a contract with Starsem for the launch of its Metop polar orbiting satellites. The launch of the first satellite of three in the Metop series, part of the EUMETSAT Polar System, is planned for 2005.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/19eumetsat/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 353 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 21, 2000 (15:30) * 29 lines
NEWSALERT: Thursday, December 21, 2000 @ 1629 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

PROBLEM HITS CASSINI JUST DAYS BEFORE JUPITER FLYBY
---------------------------------------------------
The Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft suspended its observations of Jupiter on Wednesday because of troubles with its pointing system, ending the much-anticipated picture-taking and research as the probe heads to a close encounter with the giant gas planet next week.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/21cassproblem/

IO CASTS SHADOW ON JUPITER IN CASSINI'S BEST IMAGE YET
------------------------------------------------------
Jupiter's four largest satellites, including Io, the golden ornament in front of Jupiter in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, have fascinated Earthlings ever since Galileo Galilei discovered them in 1610 in one of his first astronomical uses of the telescope.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/21jupio/

NASA REVIVES PLUTO MISSION
--------------------------
Bowing to pressure from both the scientific community and the general public, NASA gave new life Wednesday to prospects for a Pluto mission, saying it would solicit proposals for a revised mission to the outermost planet in our solar system.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/21pluto/

LANDING SITE SELECTED FOR BEAGLE 2 MISSION TO MARS
--------------------------------------------------
The European Space Agency's Mars Express lander, Beagle 2, will land on Isidis Planitia, a large flat region that overlies the boundary between the ancient highlands and the northern plains of the Red Planet. The region appears to be a sedimentary basin where traces of life could have been preserved.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/21beagle2/

CHINESE NAVIGATION SATELLITE LAUNCHED INTO SPACE
------------------------------------------------
China launched the "Beidou" navigation satellite today aboard a Long March 3A rocket from the Xichang space center in the southwest province of Sichuan, the Xinhua news agency reported.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/21beidou/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 354 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Thu, Dec 21, 2000 (16:12) * 1 lines
They better get that Pluto flight off withing two years or the window shuts down as Pluto gets very far away, like it wasn't far already! Man, how many *years* will that take to get there? And how will they pump a signal back? What a feat to pull off. And they have to do it on the cheap.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 355 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Thu, Dec 21, 2000 (16:13) * 1 lines
Too bad about Casini.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 356 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 22, 2000 (12:18) * 33 lines
It has to be done very carefullly, for certain. Smoke and mirrors just don't hack it anymore! It is fixed!! See below:


NEWSALERT: Friday, December 22, 2000 @ 0604 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

CASSINI'S POINTING SYSTEM PROBLEM APPEARS FIXED
-----------------------------------------------
A glitch with the pointing system aboard NASA's Cassini space probe appeared to be resolved on Thursday, giving scientists optimism the craft could resume observations of the planet Jupiter during next Saturday's flyby. Cassini is on a 2.2-billion mile, seven-year interplanetary trek to Saturn.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/22cassini/

NASA RELEASES JUPITER FAMILY PORTRAIT WITH MOONS
------------------------------------------------
One moment in an ancient, orbital dance is caught in this color picture taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on December 7, just as two of Jupiter's four major moons, Europa and Callisto, were nearly perfectly aligned with each other and the center of the planet.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/22cassmoons/

REDOCKING OF STATION CARGO SHIP WILL BE TRICKY AFFAIR
-----------------------------------------------------
Russian flight controllers - and ultimately, cosmonaut Yuri Gidzenko - will have overall control authority during the upcoming redocking of a Progress supply to the international space station Tuesday. U.S flight controllers will only provide oversight and make a video conferencing system available.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/001221update/

See our timeline of the redocking sequence:
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/fdf/redocking.html


SPACE TELESCOPE RENAMED FOR BRITISH ASTRONOMER
----------------------------------------------
Astronomers from around the world met in Toledo, Spain, earlier this month to discuss new scientific objectives for Europe's next-generation infrared space observatory. By the time the workshop was over, the telescope had a new name and redefined mission goals.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/22herschel/




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 357 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Fri, Dec 22, 2000 (12:47) * 1 lines
Casini's back today! Great!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 358 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 23, 2000 (13:54) * 272 lines
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - DECEMBER 22, 2000
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Axel Mellinger's composite image of the entire Milky Way was so
stunning that we made it into a poster. Now, not only is there a 2nd
Edition of his quick-selling panorama, Mellinger has imaged the polar
regions as well to create a spectacular all-sky view. The 24-by-36-
inch "Celestial Sphere" poster consists of 51 wide-angle exposures
stitched together into a seamless "real" map of the entire sky. The
poster comes with a key chart identifying major constellations and
stars. To order either of Mellinger's posters, visit Sky Publishing's
online store at http://store.skypub.com/ or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

PLUTO MISSION BACK IN PLAY
NASA officials announced on Wednesday that the space agency will again
consider sending a spacecraft to Pluto. The space agency will seek proposals
for mission designs in three weeks, with an eye toward selecting a winning
proposal later next year. The mission plan must be developed soon in order to
launch the probe by 2004 (2006 at the latest) and thus take advantage of a
speed-boosting flyby of Jupiter. That could get the spacecraft to its distant
destination by 2012. In making the announcement, NASA associate administrator
Edward J. Weiler said he'll consider proposals for craft that would reach
Pluto by 2015, whether or not a Jupiter flyby was involved, but the total cost
must be well below $500 million.

"This is probably our last chance to go to Pluto for a generation," Weiler
noted. However, he cautioned repeatedly that there is no guarantee that a
spacecraft will actually be built and launched. Still, his announcement was a
dramatic change from his precipitous order last September to stop all work
related to the proposed Pluto-Kuiper Express mission. The space agency had
combined missions to Europa and Pluto in 1997 under a single program that
shared development funds and technical expertise. But when steeply escalating
costs threatened both efforts in mid-2000, Weiler opted to defer the Pluto
mission indefinitely so that work could continue on the Europa orbiter.

The back-to-the-drawing-board announcement came after months of lobbying by
outer-planet specialists. Key to the turnaround was a late-November report by
NASA's Solar System Exploration Subcommittee that recommended going to Pluto
before Europa. The latter mission has higher scientific priority overall, but
Pluto's atmosphere may soon freeze out as the icy world drifts farther from
the Sun. Weiler said the Europa orbiter will be developed regardless of the
Pluto mission's outcome, and that it will be launched no later than 2011.

Meanwhile, the results of a nationwide survey, also released on Wednesday,
show that the U.S. public supports the exploration of two fascinating bodies
in the outer solar system. Sponsored by Sky & Telescope, the poll found that
64 percent of Americans want NASA to send a spacecraft to Europa, while 58
percent approve sending a probe to Pluto. The exploration of Mars also
continues to receive strong support, as 70 percent of people would like to see
samples of the red planet returned to Earth for analysis. (Details of the
nationwide poll can be found at
http://www.skypub.com/news/pr_001220planetpoll.html .) "We all learn in school
that our solar system has nine planets," says Richard Tresch Fienberg, Sky &
Telescope's editor in chief. "It's downright dissatisfying that one of them
remains unvisited after 40 years of interplanetary exploration." Fienberg
encourages NASA to mount a Pluto mission in an editorial appearing in the
magazine's February 2000 issue at Sky & Telescope's Web site at
http://www.skypub.com/news/images2000/pr_001220planetpoll.pdf .

ROGER W. TUTHILL, 1919-2000
Long-time amateur astronomer and entrepreneur Roger W. Tuthill of
Mountainside, New Jersey, died of heart failure on December 15th following a
brief illness. He was 81. Known to myriad friends and acquaintances as Tut, it
was a midlife look at the Moon through a telescope in 1960 that ignited his
lasting passion for astronomy. During the ensuing decade he became an
increasingly well-known amateur astronomer, publishing several important
articles on telescope making in Sky & Telescope.

With one of the century's longest total solar eclipses pending and organized
eclipse travel almost nonexistent, Tut led a large group of amateurs to
Africa's western Sahara Desert in the summer of 1973. During a preliminary
scouting trip he planned to thwart the desert's intense daytime heat with a
tent he made of aluminized Mylar. The experiment failed because of the tent's
"maddeningly annoying" noise as it rippled in the ever-present wind. But
sitting inside and looking up, Tut discovered that aluminized Mylar was a safe
and effective solar filter. Sliced into small strips, pieces of the tent were
handed out as free eclipse viewers to hundreds of locals in a practice he
continued during 17 future eclipse expeditions.

Tut patented aluminized Mylar as a solar filter and founded a small company to
sell his Solar Skreen to amateurs. Eventually he added other products and quit
his day job as an engineer at a welding company to run the business full time.
Tut presaged the future when he introduced the first computer-pointed amateur
telescope in the early 1980s, though the unit was never a commercial success.
Tuthill's business was scaled back in recent years as he entered
semiretirement. According to his wife, Nancy, the business will continue
selling Solar Skreen and other small products.

Tut was proactive in his support of several amateur organizations, including
the Springfield Telescope Makers in Vermont, where he was a fixture at the
club's annual Stellafane convention for three decades. For the thousands of
amateurs who met Tut there and at other gatherings in North America or during
his globetrotting eclipse expeditions, he will be best remembered for his
strong handshake and warm, smiling greeting whether he was meeting someone for
the first or 500th time. He truly was, as his company's slogan proclaimed,
everyone's astronomical friend.

GEORGE E. D. ALCOCK, 1912-2000
The world lost one of its foremost amateur astronomers with the death of
George Eric Deacon Alcock on December 15th. He was 88. A schoolteacher from
Peterborough, England, Alcock blazed into the annals of British astronomy in
1959 by discovering Comet 1959e on August 25th of that year using a pair of
Zeiss 25x105 binoculars. It was the first comet discovered in the country in
65 years. Five days later, on August 30th, he swept up his second one, Comet
1959f.

Despite Britain's frequently cloudy skies and increasing light pollution,
Alcock went on to visually discover three more comets and five novae. His last
comet discovery in 1983 was his most famous -- Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock. He
found it with 15x80 binoculars while observing indoors, through the closed,
double-glazed window of his upstairs bedroom! On May 11th the naked-eye comet
skimmed past the Earth at only 12 times the Moon's distance (about 4.5 million
kilometers), closer than any other cometary visitor since Comet Lexell in
1770.
Alcock's discoveries put him in a class with another renowned English amateur,
Caroline Herschel, who had a lifetime total of eight comet finds from 1786 to
1797. An avid weather observer and bird watcher, Alcock received major awards
from astronomical organizations, including the naming of asteroid 3174 Alcock
in his honor by the International Astronomical Union. A profile of him can be
found in the May 1999 issue of Sky & Telescope (page 84).

CHRISTMAS ECLIPSE
Christmas Day will be extra special this year. Weather permitting, people in
North America will be able to watch the Moon glide across the low December
Sun, creating a partial solar eclipse. This event will be visible throughout
nearly all the inhabited parts of North America (except Alaska and the Yukon),
as well as from most of Mexico and the Caribbean. To find out when the eclipse
will occur, how much of the Sun will be covered from your location, and how to
observe it safely, see Sky & Telescope's Web site at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/solar/001225partial.html .

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY IN THE MORNING
Although Comet Utsunomiya-Jones (C/2000 W1) is the brightest comet in the sky
right now, it is too close to the Sun to be seen. It reaches perihelion on
December 26th. You have a much better chance to see the next-best comet, but
you'll have to wake up early. This coming week, Eighth-magnitude Comet
McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) climbs some 20 to 30 deg. above the southeastern
horizon before the first light of dawn for Northern Hemisphere observers. For
those south of the equator, the comet will be about 20 to 25 deg. above the
eastern horizon. Here are positions for McNaught-Hartley as it moves through
Libra for 0 hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates:

Date R.A. Dec.
Dec 23 14h 31m -18.7 deg.
Dec 25 14 37 -17.5
Dec 27 14 42 -16.2
Dec 29 14 48 -14.9

For more about these comets, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0012skyevents.html .

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.

DEC. 24 -- SUNDAY
* Turn a telescope on Jupiter around 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time, and you'll find its outer moons Ganymede and Callisto quite close
together, just 12 arcseconds apart. They remain close all evening.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:49 p.m. EST.
* Tonight the 13th-magnitude asteroid 162 Laurentia should occult (cover) a
10.5-magnitude star in Auriga along a strip of land crossing the Deep South.
The occultation should happen a few minutes after 11:00 p.m. EST and should
last for up to 9 seconds. Use the finder chart in the December Sky &
Telescope, page 116, or at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0012skyevents.html .

* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of its
periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours
tonight centered on 12:37 a.m. EST (Christmas morning). Algol takes several
additional hours to fade and to brighten. For a timetable of all its predicted
minima, see http://www.skypub.com/sights/variables/algol.html .

DEC. 25 -- MONDAY
* A PARTIAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN happens this Christmas Day for nearly all of
North America (except Alaska and the Yukon) and most of Mexico and the
Caribbean. The eclipse takes place around sunrise in the American Northwest
and western Canada, a little later after sunup in the Southwest and mountain
states, during late morning or midday in the central part of the continent,
and during early afternoon in the East. Full details, including a timetable
with your local predictions and how to watch safely, are in the December Sky &
Telescope, page 109, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/solar/001225partial.html .

DEC. 26 -- TUESDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: The bright constellations of winter are enlivened
by Jupiter and Saturn this year. Jupiter is currently the brightest light in
the east to southeast during evening. Saturn is to its right. Far to their
left is the constellation Auriga with its bright star Capella. About the same
distance below Jupiter is Orion. Similarly far below Orion is Canis Major with
bright Sirius, rising around midevening.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 10:27 p.m. EST.

DEC. 27 -- WEDNESDAY
* Algol should be near minimum light for a couple hours centered on 9:26
p.m. EST.

DEC. 28 -- THURSDAY
* Look southwest at dusk for the crescent Moon shining to the lower right of
Venus, the bright "Evening Star."
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:59 p.m. EST.

DEC. 29 -- FRIDAY
* VENUS SHINES CLOSE TO THE CRESCENT MOON in the southwestern sky during and
after dusk -- a beautiful conjunction.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:57 p.m. EST.

DEC. 30 -- SATURDAY
* The Moon shines to Venus's upper left this evening.
* Algol should be near minimum light for a couple hours centered on 6:15
p.m. EST.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 1:37 a.m. EST Sunday morning.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

VENUS shines very brilliantly (magnitude -4.2) in the southwestern sky during
and after dusk. Look well to its left or lower left (by two or three
fist-widths at arm's length) for the much dimmer, 1st-magnitude star
Fomalhaut.

MARS (magnitude +1.5, in Virgo) glows yellow-orange high in the southeast
before dawn. To its right shines Spica, slightly brighter at magnitude +1.0.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.7 and -0.2, respectively) shine brightly in
the east to southeast during early evening. Jupiter is the brighter one.
Saturn appears 8 degrees (less than a fist-width at arm's length) to Jupiter's
right or upper right. They're in the constellation Taurus; above Jupiter is
the Pleiades star cluster, and below Jupiter sparkles orange Aldebaran. By 9
p.m. the whole group is high in the south.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (invisible to the naked eye, at magnitudes 6 and 8 in
Capricornus) are getting very low in the southwest just after dark. They're
far in the background of Venus.

PLUTO is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the words
up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America.
Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy research
appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine of astronomy. See
our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ .
Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 * 617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2000 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky
at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the astronomical
community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic
distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs are included. But the
text of the bulletin and calendar may not be published in any other form
without permission from Sky Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or
phone 617-864-7360). Updates of astronomical news, including active links to
related Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky at a Glance
are available via electronic mailing list. For a free subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join" on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on
the first line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message to list
administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 359 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 25, 2000 (15:38) * 13 lines
Check this url for next time (thanks, JSK)
http://www.mreclipse.com/Totality/TotalityCh12-1.html#Right_Filter

CHRISTMAS SOLAR ECLIPSE

Eclipse 1 was a pinhole projection.


Eclipse 2 was at the sun through a special eclipse-viewing silvered plastic.

Photos by HFL
December 25, 2000


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 360 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Mon, Dec 25, 2000 (16:22) * 1 lines
thanks for these great pics!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 361 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 25, 2000 (17:32) * 1 lines
My sister reportd in from Long Island, New York that she saw the eclipse much as did HFL in the images above. Did anyone else see it???

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 362 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 26, 2000 (14:22) * 15 lines

" NEW YORK, UNITED
STATES, 25-DEC-2000:
A pair of pinhole
projected images of the
partial solar eclipse are
projected on to a piece of paper (with cartoon face
drawn on) to form what looks like eyes on a happy face
on Dec. 25, 2000 in New York. The solar eclipse could
be viewed on Christmas Day in parts of North America.
[Photo by Don Emmert, copyright 2000 by AFP and
ClariNet]"

Thanks HFL for sending this - very clever!!!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 363 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 26, 2000 (19:44) * 47 lines
University of Hawaii astronomers have detected the destruction of a dark interstellar cloud by one of the brightest stars in the Pleiades cluster.
George Herbig and Theodore Simon, with the Institute for Astronomy, obtained
high-resolution images in September with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Pleiades, a famous navigational signpost for Hawaiians, formed about 100
million years ago from interstellar clouds, Herbig explained.
The small group of bright blue stars is named for the Seven Sisters of
Greek mythology. Easily seen in the night sky during winter months, the
cluster resembles a small dipper, lying in the constellation Taurus about 380
light years from Earth.
"Moving through space, it shed all the material from which it was born, but if you look at it
from photographs, it is covered with dusty clouds," Herbig said.
"Stars shine on the clouds and create luminosity.
"So it's kind of like a star seen through frosted glass. It's covered with smoky stuff, which is
really dust illuminated by stars."
Not far from Pleiades is a big dark cloud of cold gas and dust, Herbig said. "It just happens
that Pleiades, by pure accident, is passing through the edge of the dust cloud, like an airplane."
One little piece of cloud happens to be close to the bright Pleiades star Merope, which is
reflecting light off the black clouds like a flashlight beam, Herbig said.
American astronomer E.E. Barnard discovered bright nebulosity next to Merope in 1890.
"Barnard's Merope Nebula" is the brightest place in the conglomeration of dust around
Pleiades, Herbig said.
"It just happens that the brightest reflection of nebula luminosity is not shown on ordinary
photographs. This little glob of stuff ... that's what we studied."
The Hubble image doesn't show Merope itself but caught wispy tendrils of the interstellar
cloud passing by the bright star.
No one has ever been able to measure the motion of dust clouds because they're so
amorphous, Herbig said.
"But it turns out it's possible to associate a position and motion of this little glob of stuff,
Merope nebula, with the motion of dark clouds nearby."
Thus, he said, he and Simon were able to map the approach of Pleiades to the unrelated mass
of dust of interstellar material.
The star is so close and shining on the dust with such intensity that it is starting to fray and
dissipate, Herbig said.
The same phenomenon is at work with Merope and the interstellar cloud as occurs with comet
tails, he explained.
"We see dust tails of comets blown away from the comet's head by radiation pressure of the
sun, because it exerts a force. It can drive the dust back in the opposite direction."
Space telescope images show radiation pressure from Merope also is destroying the cloud,
Herbig said. In a couple of thousand years, as it gets closer to the star, the nebula may be
blown apart completely, he said.
"Or, it may be just like comets that go past the sun repeatedly and lose dust."
People have always thought dust clouds were structureless masses of gas and dust, Herbig
said. "This picture has shown us there is fine structure, all full of filaments and ridges and
globs."
Like leaves of trees that have veins and structure, he said, "it looks like structure inside these
interstellar clouds. This is something we didn't appreciate before."


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 364 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 30, 2000 (13:17) * 246 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - DECEMBER 29, 2000
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Axel Mellinger's composite image of the entire Milky Way was so
stunning that we made it into a poster. Now, not only is there a 2nd
Edition of his quick-selling panorama, Mellinger has imaged the polar
regions as well to create a spectacular all-sky view. The 24-by-36-
inch "Celestial Sphere" poster consists of 51 wide-angle exposures
stitched together into a seamless "real" map of the entire sky. The
poster comes with a key chart identifying major constellations and
stars. To order either of Mellinger's posters, visit Sky Publishing's
online store at http://store.skypub.com/ or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

SATURN'S SATELLITES: 30 AND COUNTING

Brett Gladman (Nice Observatory) and his international observing partners have
announced their discovery of two more moons around Saturn. One of the new
finds, designated S/2000 S 11, was spotted on November 9th by team member
Matthew Holman with the 1.2-meter reflector at Whipple Observatory in Arizona.
Gladman and J. J. Kavelaars (McMaster University) spotted S/2000 S 12 on
September 23rd using the 3.6-meter Canada-France-Hawaii telescope on Mauna
Kea. It is probably only 5 kilometers across, whereas S 11 has a diameter of
perhaps 35 km. Counting these additions, Saturn now has 30 known moons -- 19
of which were found in the past 20 years. The dozen discovered by Gladman's
team appear to fall into three orbital groupings: most travel in the same
direction that Saturn rotates and have orbital inclinations that cluster near
35 and 48 deg.; the third group travels in the reverse (retrograde) direction
with inclinations near 170 deg. "The situation of Saturn thus seems to
resemble that of Jupiter," Gladman notes, "which also has one prograde and one
retrograde cluster."

A WARMER EARLY UNIVERSE

The Big Bang is one of the most widely known and debated theories in
cosmology. Most theorists assume the explosion was hot, and that the universe
has since cooled dramatically. Although we know the current temperature of
remnant Big Bang radiation, called the cosmic microwave background radiation
(CMBR), until now, no one has made a direct measurement of the temperature of
ancient Big Bang radiation. Today, the background radiation is only 2.7 deg.
Kelvin, but theoretically the farther back in time we look, the hotter the
CMBR should be.

Using the 8.2-meter Kueyen reflector of the Very Large Telescope in Chile,
Raghunathan Srianand (Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics),
Patrick Petitjean (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris) and Cedric Ledoux
(European Southern Observatory) were able to measure the temperature of the
CMBR when the universe was only 2.5 billion years old. They found that back
then the cosmos was between 6 and 14 deg. Kelvin.

The team's results -- announced in the December 21st issue of Nature -- came
from observations of the distant quasar PKS 1235+0815. By examining at the
object's spectrum, the astronomers found the signatures of carbon and hydrogen
that only occur at these specific temperatures. Their result is in line with
other theorists who predicted that the CMBR should be 9.7 deg. K at that
cosmic era.

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY IN THE MORNING

If you got new binoculars or a telescope for Christmas, try training it on the
8th-magnitude Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1). The comet reaches some 25 to
30 deg. above the southeastern horizon before the first light of dawn for
Northern Hemisphere observers. For those south of the equator, the comet will
be about 20 to 25 deg. above the eastern horizon. Here are positions for
McNaught-Hartley as it moves through Libra for 0 hours Universal Time in
2000.0 coordinates:

Date R.A. Dec.

Dec 30 14h 31m -18.7 deg.
Jan 1 14 56 -12.8
Jan 3 15 02 -11.3
Jan 5 15 08 -09.8

For more about the comet, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0101skyevents.html .

QUADRANTID METEORS

You won't need optical aid to see the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower --
but you'll still have to wake up before dawn. The peak is expected on January
3rd at about 12 hours Universal Time, which corresponds in North America to 6
a.m. Central Standard Time and 4 a.m. Pacific. This year the first-quarter
Moon will pose no interference, for it sets shortly after midnight and leaves
the skies fully dark from then on. Toward dawn is when the shower radiant,
halfway between the head of Draco and the end of the Big Dipper's handle, is
highest in the sky.

The "Quads" have a very sharp peak lasting only two hours or so. But if you're
watching when it arrives, this can be one of the year's best meteor displays.
Between midnight and dawn in good years, 40 or more of these moderately swift
meteors may be seen per hour. Deviations of up to six hours from the predicted
time of the peak have been noted in past years, so observers not just in North
America but also in western Europe and Japan should be on the lookout for
Quadrantids.

DOUBLE SHADOWS ON JUPITER

Here's another telescopic target: On Sunday evening, January 7th, observers in
eastern North America and all of South America have ringside seats to watch
the shadows of not one, but two, Galilean satellites crossing the disk of
Jupiter simultaneously. Ganymede's shadow will first appear on Jupiter's east
limb at 9:35 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Io's shadow joins it at 10:13 p.m.
For the next hour and a half, both shadows should remain visible in small
telescopes as dark spots on the planet's disk. Ganymede's is the first to
leave, at 11:44 p.m., followed by Io's at 12:24 a.m. EST (on January 8th). For
an illustration of how Jupiter should appear, see the January Special Sky
Events Page at http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0101skyevents.html .

One week later, a repeat of this event occurs for observers in western North
America. On Sunday evening, January 14th, Io's shadow begins its march at 9:08
p.m. Pacific Standard Time, to be joined by that of Ganymede at 10:36 p.m.
Then at 11:23 p.m. Io's shadow leaves the disk, followed by Ganymede's at
12:46 a.m. PST (on the 15th).


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.

DEC. 31 -- SUNDAY

* Midnight tonight marks the beginning of the 21st Century and the Third
Millennium. After the midnight New Year's celebrations, step outside into the
quiet dark and look up. Sirius will be shining at its highest in the south.
Orion will be to its upper right, and Procyon will be a similar distance to
Sirius's upper left. One thousand years from now, this sky scene will be very
much the same -- except that due to precession, the stars will be nearly an
hour east of their present midnight positions. Tonight Jupiter and Saturn
shine in Taurus high in the west-southwest, but on January 1, 3001, their
midnight places will be taken by the full Moon shining near Aldebaran and by
bright Mars blazing close to the Pleiades. That much is predictable. But turn
your gaze down, and prediction becomes impossible. What wonders, or
desolation, will cover the landscape under the silent stars?

* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian (the
imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to pole) around
9:38 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale orange-tan. It should be visible in
a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady.
For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

JAN. 1 -- MONDAY

* As soon as darkness falls, look rather low in the northwest for Vega, the
"Summer Star" lingering all the way into the following year.

* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, appears three or four ring-lengths east of
Saturn this evening and tomorrow evening. A 3-inch telescope should show it.

JAN. 2 -- TUESDAY

* First-quarter Moon (exact at 5:31 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).

* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:16 p.m. EST.

* Watch for the Quadrantid meteors just before dawn in central and western
North America.

JAN. 3 -- WEDNESDAY

* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:08 p.m. EST.

JAN. 4 -- THURSDAY

* Latest sunrise of the year (if you live near 40 degrees north latitude).

* The Earth is at perihelion, its closest to the Sun for the year (3.4
percent closer than at aphelion in July).

* Jupiter's moon Europa crosses Jupiter's face from 9:11 to 11:45 p.m. EST,
followed by its tiny black shadow from 10:57 p.m. to 1:33 a.m. Friday morning
EST.

JAN. 5 -- FRIDAY

* The Moon shines close to Saturn this evening, with brighter Jupiter to
their left.

JAN. 6 -- SATURDAY

* The Moon shines near Aldebaran this evening, with Jupiter and Saturn to
their upper right.

* Jupiter's moon Europa reappears from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow
around 7:46 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show it gradually emerging into
view a little east of the planet.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

VENUS shines very brilliantly (magnitude -4.3) in the southwestern sky during
and after dusk.

MARS (magnitude +1.4, at the Virgo-Libra border) glows yellow-orange high in
the south-southeast before dawn. To its upper right shines Spica, slightly
brighter at magnitude +1.0.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.6 and -0.3, respectively) shine brightly
high in the southeast to south during evening. Jupiter is the brightest one.
Yellowish Saturn appears 8 degrees (less than a fist-width at arm's length) to
Jupiter's right. They're in the constellation Taurus; above Jupiter is the
Pleiades star cluster, and farther to Jupiter's lower left sparkles orange
Aldebaran.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are getting very low in the southwest just after dark.

PLUTO is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the words
up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America.
Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy research
appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine of astronomy. See
our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ .
Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 * 617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2000 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky
at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the astronomical
community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic
distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs are included. But the
text of the bulletin and calendar may not be published in any other form
without permission from Sky Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or
phone 617-864-7360). Updates of astronomical news, including active links to
related Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky at a Glance
are available via electronic
mailing list. For a free subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and
put the word "join" on the first line of the body of the message. To
unsubscribe, send e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on
the first line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message to list
administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 365 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec 31, 2000 (13:15) * 32 lines
NEWSALERT: Sunday, December 31, 2000 @ 1653 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now


CASSINI AND GALILEO SPACE PROBES DOUBLE-TEAM JUPITER
----------------------------------------------------
Joint observations of Jupiter by NASA's Cassini and Galileo spacecraft are providing an unprecedented look at the giant planet's atmosphere and magnetosphere, scientists said Saturday, just hours after Cassini made its closest approach to the solar system's largest planet. (Includes video and sounds of Jupiter clips!)
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/30flyby/

See our complete Cassini flyby coverage:
http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/


YEAR'S END FOR GALILEO
----------------------
The end of the year 2000 finds the Galileo spacecraft starting to wrap up another encounter with the Jovian system. The spacecraft's camera takes the stage over the weekend, with observations to capture global color views of Io, plus images of Jupiter's main ring.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0012/31galileo/


FROM THE ARCHIVES IN 2000
-------------------------
GO FOR A RIDE WITH ROCKETCAMS!
http://spaceflightnow.com/features/rocketcams/

TOP 10 IMAGES FROM COMMERCIAL EYE-IN-THE-SKY
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0009/25ikonos/

SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA UNDERGOES TUNE-UP
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/features/000414overhaul/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 366 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jan  4, 2001 (15:31) * 44 lines
An Ailing Neil asked me to post this for him. With pleasure and get well, soon!

From Earth to Mars in as little as two weeks Jan 3, 2001
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL - Scientists at Ben-Gurion University have shown that an
unusual nuclear fuel could send space
vehicles from Earth to Mars in as little as two weeks. Spacecraft now take between
eight and 10 months to make the same
trip.
The research shows a fairly rare nuclear material, americium-242m (Am-242m), when
used as an extremely thin metallic
film, is capable of sustaining nuclear fission. When the film is less than a thousandth
of a millimetre thick, the high-energy,
high-temperature products of fission can escape the fuel and be used for propulsion
in space.
Obtaining fission-fragments like this isn't possible with the better-known
uranium-235 and plutonium-239 nuclear fuels:
they require large fuel rods, which absorb fission products.

Long-time interest
Dr. Yigal Ronen, the author of the study, became interested in nuclear reactors for
space vehicles 15 years ago at a
conference. Speaker after speaker talked about the use of nuclear reactors for
powering space missions - and stressed that
the mass of any reactor would be the defining factor. It had to be light in order to
be efficient.
So Ronen decided to examine one aspect of reactor design - the nuclear fuel itself.
That led him to Am-242m.
By using this element, Ronen was able to cut the amount of fuel necessary to reach
maximum power. To achieve the same
result as uranium or plutonium requires only one per cent of the amount (mass) when
Am-242m is used.
But use of this fuel is still in the very early stages of development. "There are still
many hurdles to overcome before
americium-242m can be used in space," Ronen says.
Producing large quantities of Am-242m requires several steps and is expensive.
Design of the reactor, refuelling, heat
removal and safety provisions also need to be examined.
In spite of the hurdles, Ronen remains optimistic about the future of this fuel. "I am
sure that americium-242m will
eventually be implemented for space travel, as it is the only proven material whose
fission products can be made available for
high speed propulsion."
The study was published in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A
(455: 442-451, 2000). 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 367 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jan  4, 2001 (16:41) * 41 lines
NEWSALERT: Thursday, January 4, 2001 @ 0610 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

HUBBLE: X MARKS THE SPOT OF STAR FORMATION GLOW
-----------------------------------------------
The saying "X" marks the spot holds true in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image where Hubble-X marks the location of a dramatic burst of star formation, very much like the Orion Nebula in our Milky Way galaxy, but on a vastly greater scale.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/04hubblex/

MASSIVE GAS CLOUD FOUND NEAR YOUNG GALAXY
-----------------------------------------
A massive gas cloud with the raw materials to form 100 billion stars could reshape theories of galaxy formation. Astronomers say a distant young galaxy harbors a unexpectedly massive cloud of hydrogen gas that may fuel a burst of star formation.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/04galaxygas/

SHUTTLE ATLANTIS ARRIVES ON SEASIDE LAUNCH PAD
----------------------------------------------
After a day's delay because of computer troubles, space shuttle Atlantis made a 3.5-mile, six-hour crawl to launch pad 39A Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis is being prepared for blastoff later this month to carry the $1.4 billion U.S. Destiny laboratory module to the international space station.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/010103rollout/

SHUTTLE ROLLOUT PANORAMA
------------------------
As space shuttle Atlantis rolled atop Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, Spaceflight Now was there to capture this 360-degree panorama.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/010103rollout/rollout_qtvr.html

EXPEDITION ONE CREW TROUBLESHOOTS BATTERY PROBLEM
-------------------------------------------------
The international space station's Expedition One crew moved into its tenth week in orbit Wednesday aboard the orbiting outpost. The only technical issue being addressed by Russian flight controllers involves a minor problem with battery three in the Zvezda service module.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/status.html

BOEING WINS POTENTIAL $1.3B FOR SIX MILITARY SATELLITES
-------------------------------------------------------
Boeing has been picked to led the charge in developing the U.S. military's next-generation Wideband Gapfiller Satellite communications network, which could lead to the company building as many as six spacecraft for the system.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/04gapfiller/


ARIANESPACE SETS MONDAY LAUNCH DATE FOR STALLED ARIANE 4
--------------------------------------------------------
Activity at Guiana Space Center's Ariane 4 launch pad is once again bustling as Arianespace has announced that Flight 137 is back on track for blastoff next week after a month-long delay caused by the rocket's Turkish communications satellite cargo.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v137/status.html



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 368 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jan  5, 2001 (16:07) * 37 lines
NEWSALERT: Friday, January 5, 2001 @ 0617 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

PLANETS ORBITING OTHER STARS COULD BE MORE PLENTIFUL
----------------------------------------------------
The number of stars with extrasolar planets may be much larger than previously thought, scientists studying several nearby stars concluded this week. Research shows that clouds of molecular hydrogen gas, the raw material for gas giant planets like Jupiter, may last millions of years longer than once believed, making it much easier for such planets to form.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/05extrasolar/

NASA MULLS OPTIONS FOR FUTURE LOW-COST EXPLORER
-----------------------------------------------
On beat with its "faster, better, cheaper" rhythm, NASA on Thursday announced the selection of three proposed low-cost missions for further in-depth study, including one that seeks to find habitable planets outside our solar system.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/05discovery/

COMPLETELY DARK GALAXIES
------------------------
The universe could be harboring numerous galaxies that have no stars at all and are made entirely of dark matter. Astronomers may ultimately discover that completely dark galaxies outnumber the familiar kind populated by shining stars and gas, perhaps by as many as 100 to 1.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/05dark/

CASSINI PROBE KEEPS ITS SCIENTIFIC EYE ON JUPITER
-----------------------------------------------
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has continued collecting new scientific information from Jupiter's environs every day since making its closest approach to the giant planet on Saturday, and is scheduled to keep studying the Jupiter system for another three months while proceeding on toward Saturn.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/05cassini/
See our complete Cassini special report:
http://spaceflightnow.com/cassini/

HUBBLE: X MARKS THE SPOT OF STAR FORMATION GLOW
-----------------------------------------------
The saying "X" marks the spot holds true in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image where Hubble-X marks the location of a dramatic burst of star formation, very much like the Orion Nebula in our Milky Way galaxy, but on a vastly greater scale.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/04hubblex/

SHUTTLE ROLLOUT PANORAMA
------------------------
As space shuttle Atlantis rolled atop Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, Spaceflight Now was there to capture this 360-degree panorama.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/010103rollout/rollout_qtvr.html



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 369 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan  9, 2001 (13:43) * 66 lines
10 new moons found around Jupiter / 2 rocket launches today

NEWSALERT: Monday, January 8, 2001 @ 0552 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now



10 ADDITIONAL MOONS DISCOVERED AROUND JUPITER
---------------------------------------------
An unprecedented surge in planetary moon discoveries continues as astronomers announced Friday the discovery of 10 more moons orbiting Jupiter. The ten natural satellites were first spotted in late November and early December by a group of astronomers at the University of Hawaii.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/08jovianmoons/


ARIANESPACE ARIANE 4 TO ROCKET INTO 2001
----------------------------------------
If an Ariane 4 rocket launches on time Monday it will have the distinction as planet Earth's first space flight of 2001. If the European launcher can deliver its Turkish communications satellite cargo into the correct orbit it will mark the workhorse Ariane 4's 60th consecutive success. We will have complete live coverage!

http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v137/status.html


SEA LAUNCH TO LOFT FIRST XM RADIO SATELLITE TODAY
-------------------------------------------------
The three-stage Ukrainian-Russian Zenit 3SL rocket was rolled from its hangar and erected atop the Odyssey launch platform Sunday as the countdown ticked away for Monday's scheduled 2235 GMT (5:35 p.m. EST) blastoff. We will have live coverage of the launch as the first XM Satellite Radio craft is boosted to orbit!

http://spaceflightnow.com/sealaunch/xm1/status.html

Watch an animation clip of XM 1 satellite:
http://spaceflightnow.com/sealaunch/xm1/010107anim_qt.html


NASA'S CORE POLICY OVER LAST DECADE GETS CLOSER LOOK
----------------------------------------------------
A team of NASA officials not long ago completed a thorough review of the space agency's "faster, better, cheaper" policy. The 83-page report highlights recommendations for where these policies and programs should be headed and how to improve them enough to get them there.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/08nasareview/


SPACE SHUTTLES THAT REPAIR TECHNICAL GLITCHES ON THE FLY
--------------------------------------------------------
Ever stop and think about the millions of dollars spent on fancy space equipment that breaks down? If you are millions of miles away orbiting the Earth, there's no repairman available to fix the problem. The answer: machines that are smart enough to learn from experience, detect problems and fix themselves.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/07fixitshuttle/


RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SIGNS OFF ON MIR DEORBITING
-------------------------------------------------------
Space station Mir's destruction upon burning up during re-entry seems even more certain with the announcement by a Russian Space Agency spokesperson that the Russian Prime Minister has signed an order mandating the deorbiting late next month.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/07mirok/


AUSTRALIAN SALT LAKE HELPS TEST NASA 'SKY EYE'
----------------------------------------------
A team of scientists has just spent a week in a huge barren salt lake in Australia's interior helping to test a new NASA satellite -- the Earth Observing 1 technology demonstrator.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/07eo1test/


SEASONS GREETINGS FROM THE MARTIAN NORTH POLE!
----------------------------------------------
As many children across the U.S. and elsewhere anticipating an annual visit from a generous and jolly red-suited soul from the Earth's North Pole, NASA's Mars Global Surveyor was busy acquiring new views of the region around the Martian North Pole.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/06marscaps/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 370 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan  9, 2001 (13:46) * 38 lines
Sea Launch aborts liftoff / Cat's Eye nebula revealed

NEWSALERT: Tuesday, January 9, 2001 @ 0728 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

SEA LAUNCH ABORTS LIFTOFF IN FINAL SECONDS OF COUNTDOWN
-------------------------------------------------------
A last-moment concern with the XM 1 radio broadcasting satellite cargo led to a frantic halt to the countdown of Sea Launch's Zenit 3SL rocket on Monday with clocks stopping 11 seconds before blastoff from the Odyssey platform in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
http://spaceflightnow.com/sealaunch/xm1/status.html
Watch video clip of countdown abort:
http://spaceflightnow.com/sealaunch/xm1/010108abort_qt.html

CHANDRA REVEALS THE X-RAY GLINT IN THE CAT'S EYE NEBULA
-------------------------------------------------------
Scientists have discovered a glowing bubble of hot gas and an unexpected X-ray bright central star within the planetary nebula known as the Cat's Eye using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. The new results provide insight into the ways that stars like our Sun end their lives.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/09chandraeye/

ARIANESPACE ARIANE 4 ROCKET LAUNCH DELAYED 24 HOURS
---------------------------------------------------
Gusty high altitude winds above the jungle launch site in Kourou, French Guiana forced Arianespace to scrub Monday's planned liftoff of an Ariane 4 rocket carrying the Eurasiasat 1 telecommunications satellite. Officials are hoping for improved conditions Tuesday evening.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v137/status.html

ASTRONOMERS MAP OUT LARGEST STRUCTURE IN DISTANT UNIVERSE
---------------------------------------------------------
By reading the light from the fiery heart of unimaginably remote galaxies, astronomers have discovered evidence for an immense concentration of galaxies over 6.5 billion light years away in the largest known group of quasars, possibly the largest structure anywhere in the observable universe.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/09lgstructure/

RARE SPHERICAL NEBULA HELPS MEASURE STARS' COMPOSITION
------------------------------------------------------
The simple spherical geometry of the beautiful planetary nebula Abell 39 will help astronomers identify the source of very serious errors in measuring the chemical composition of dying stars.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/09rarenebula/

EVIDENCE PRESENTED FOR NEW SUPERNOVA EXPLOSION MODEL
----------------------------------------------------
New research, based on observations of a brilliant supernova, is challenging existing models of how one type of the powerful explosions take place in the Universe.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/09supernova/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 371 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan  9, 2001 (14:09) * 305 lines
No Wonder I could not find it - had it posted in Archaeology!!!

===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JANUARY 5, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Axel Mellinger's composite image of the entire Milky Way was so
stunning that we made it into a poster. Now, not only is there a 2nd
Edition of his quick-selling panorama, Mellinger has imaged the polar
regions as well to create a spectacular all-sky view. The 24-by-36-
inch "Celestial Sphere" poster consists of 51 wide-angle exposures
stitched together into a seamless "real" map of the entire sky. The
poster comes with a key chart identifying major constellations and
stars. To order either of Mellinger's posters, visit Sky Publishing's
online store at http://store.skypub.com/ or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

ASTRONOMERS FLOCK TO SAN DIEGO

The 197th meeting of the American Astronomical Society will be held
January 7-11 in San Diego, California. Visit Sky & Telescope's Web
site (http://www.skypub.com/) for late-breaking news reports filed by
S&T's on-the-scene editors Rick Fienberg and Alan MacRobert.

CELEBRATING CERES AT 200

On the first night of 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi saw a "star" that didn't
belong in the field of his little refractor mounted atop the royal
palace at Palermo, Italy. "I have announced this star as a comet," he
wrote later that January, "but . . . it has occurred to me several
times that it might be something better." He had, in fact, spotted the
first minor planet, which was soon named Ceres, after the Roman
goddess of the harvest and the patron goddess of Sicily.

Exactly 200 years later, an eclectic mix of astronomers, artisans,
philosophers, and historians gathered in Palermo to celebrate the
Theatine monk's discovery. In a lecture prior to the group's party to
mark the beginning of the new, true millennium, Giorgia Fodera-Serio
pointed out that Piazzi's then state-of-the-art telescope has now been
completely restored. All its parts are original, except for the
eyepiece, and it has been remounted atop the former palace.

At the time, Piazzi's discovery seemed to be the long-sought
confirmation of what today is known as the Titius-Bode "law." First
publicized in 1772, it neatly described the orbital spacings of the
five planets then known. But there was one glaring glitch: the law
predicted a planet between Mars and Jupiter, but none was known. Ceres
seemed to fulfill the law's prophesy.

After the newcomer passed through the Sun's glare and emerged once
again into the night sky, it was recovered by Franz von Zach the night
preceding the first anniversary of its discovery. Three months later,
Heinrich Olbers discovered the second minor planet, Pallas. That posed
a serious problem for the Titius-Bode law -- now there were two
planets where only one should be. But by then Piazzi and others had
already begun to doubt that Ceres measured up to full-planet status.
Even to these early observers, it was evident that Ceres was too small
to qualify. Today we know that this largest minor planet is only about
930 kilometers in diameter, a quarter the size of the Moon. And we
know that Ceres is accompanied by thousands of similar bodies that
inhabit the so-called asteroid belt.

PATRICK MOORE TO BE KNIGHTED

Patrick Moore has been England's unofficial prince of astronomy for
more than four decades. At the end of last month, Buckingham Palace
announced that he will receive the country's highest royal recognition
when Queen Elizabeth II will bestow knighthood upon him for "services
to the popularisation of science and to broadcasting."

Moore, 77, has written and starred in the BBC television series "The
Sky at Night" for 44 years, making it the world's longest-running
television show with a single host. Americans and the rest of the
world are probably more familiar with some of his approximately 100
books and numerous magazine articles. He has been an active amateur
astronomer since even before joining the British Astronomical
Association at age 11.

Unfortunately, his observing may have come to an abrupt end. Moore
explains that a deterioration of his spine has left him unable to use
his telescope or to write. "Writing is impossible, and even typing is
very difficult and slow," he told Sky & Telescope. "Unfortunately
there seems little to be done about it, and I have to accept that my
really active life has come to a sudden and premature end."
Nevertheless, Moore hopes to be able to continue with "The Sky at
Night" for a while longer.

For additional details about Moore's astronomical career, see David
Levy's profile in the May 1997 issue of Sky & Telescope (page 106).

CASSINI'S NEW GROOVE

The Cassini spacecraft and its attached Huygens probe swept past
Jupiter on December 30th at a distance of 9.7 million kilometers,
close enough to boost the combined craft's velocity and redirect it
toward an encounter with Saturn in 3-1/2 years. The end-of-the-year
passage also gave project scientists a chance to flex their
instruments' muscles with studies of the planet, some of its moons,
and its magnetosphere. Cassini had to stop taking measurements on
December 17th due to a mechanical glitch, but engineers fixed the
problem within five days and data-taking resumed on the 28th.

Many of the investigations involved sampling the solar-wind upstream
of the immense Jovian magnetosphere. Speaking to reporters hours after
the spacecraft came closet to Jupiter, investigator William Kurth
(University of Iowa) noted that Cassini had crossed the
magnetosphere's bow shock (where the solar wind is abruptly
decelerated) about a day earlier than anticipated. This meant that the
planet's magnetic bubble extended sunward about twice as far as had
been predicted based on Voyager data from 1979. Apparently, an
unusually slow and weak solar wind allowed the Jovian magnetosphere to
expand upstream.

Dramatic new images and animations show that the giant planet's cloud
features are as turbulent as ever. "The camera has performed beyond
our wildest imaginings," beamed imaging-team leader Carolyn Porco
(University of Arizona). A time-lapse movie of the planet's faint ring
revealed no new structure appears in the ring itself, though the inner
moonlets Metis and Adrastea (thought to provide much of the ring's
particles) could be seen racing around in their orbits. Team member
Andrew Ingersoll (Caltech) described the tortured lives of small cloud
eddies within the Jovian atmosphere -- one of the scientific
objectives that the Galileo spacecraft could not fully accomplish due
to the limited amount of data that it can relay to Earth through its
damaged antenna.

Otherwise Galileo continues to function well after five years in orbit
around Jupiter. While Cassini examined the planet from afar, Galileo
made a series of complementary observations from about 500,000 km
away. For example, both spacecraft examined Ganymede and Io for
auroral activity when each moon was in Jupiter's shadow. On December
28th Galileo skirted 2,337 km from Ganymede, a close pass that should
improve knowledge of the big moon's surface features, magnetic field,
and interior structure.

A KUIPER BELT GIANT

Fame is fleeting in the rapidly growing realm of Kuiper Belt objects
(KBOs). Last March astronomers spotted 2000 EB173, which has an
estimated diameter of 600 kilometers. But that object quickly lost its
distinction as the year's largest discovery. On November 28th Robert
S. McMillan and later Jeffrey A. Larsen found a 20th-magnitude blip
designated 2000 WR106. Initially its size was uncertain, and for a
while observers believed it might exceed the diameter of 1 Ceres, the
largest asteroid (933 km), or even Pluto's moon, Charon (1,250 km).

Gauging the diameter of 2000 WR106 accurately required firmer
estimates for its distance and the reflectivity of its surface.
Fortunately, German amateur astronomers Andre Knoefel and Reiner Stoss
identified the object on photographic plates taken in 1955 with the
48-inch Schmidt telescope on Palomar Mountain. Those positions proved
crucial in clinching an orbit with a mean distance of 43 astronomical
units (6.4 billion km) from the Sun, an eccentricity of 0.06, and an
inclination of 17 deg.

Clues to the diameter of 2000 WR106 came on December 30th, when David
C. Jewitt and Herve Aussel (University of Hawaii) used the James Clerk
Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea to measure its brightness at a
wavelength of 350 microns. Combining this data with the object's
visual and near-infrared brightness yielded a very dark albedo of 7
percent (so its surface is unlikely to have a widespread coating of
frost). The diameter lies somewhere between 750 and 1,000 km -- most
likely near 900. Thus 2000 WR106 does indeed challenge Ceres for the
title of "largest known minor planet."

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY CLIMBS HIGHER

Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) continues to climb in the morning
sky. The object, a hair brighter than 8th magnitude according to
observers, continues moving through Libra this coming week. You can
spot it some 30 to 35 deg. above the southeastern horizon before the
first light of dawn for Northern Hemisphere observers; about a dozen
degrees to the upper left of Mars. For those south of the equator, the
comet will be about 20 to 30 deg. above the eastern horizon, to the
lower left of Mars. Here are positions for McNaught-Hartley for 0
hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates:

Date R.A. Dec.

Jan 6 15h 10m -9.1 deg.
Jan 8 15 16 -7.5
Jan 10 15 22 -5.9
Jan 12 15 27 -4.2

For more about the comet, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0101skyevents.html .

DOUBLE SHADOWS ON JUPITER

On Sunday evening, January 7th, observers in eastern North America and
all of South America have ringside seats to watch the shadows of not
one, but two, Galilean satellites crossing the disk of Jupiter
simultaneously. Ganymede's shadow will first appear on Jupiter's east
limb at 9:35 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Io's shadow joins it at 10:13
p.m. For the next hour and a half, both shadows should remain visible
in small telescopes as dark spots on the planet's disk. Ganymede's is
the first to leave, at 11:44 p.m., followed by Io's at 12:24 a.m. EST
(on January 8th). For an illustration of how Jupiter should appear,
see the January Special Sky Events Page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0101skyevents.html .

One week later, a repeat of this event occurs for observers in western
North America. On Sunday evening, January 14th, Io's shadow begins its
march at 9:08 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, to be joined by that of
Ganymede at 10:36 p.m. Then at 11:23 p.m. Io's shadow leaves the disk,
followed by Ganymede's at 12:46 a.m. PST (on the 15th).


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JAN. 7 -- SUNDAY

* Tonight the dark limb of the waxing gibbous Moon will occult
(cover) the 3.0-magnitude star Zeta Tauri for observers all across
North America. You can watch the star wink out using a small telescope
or even binoculars. A timetable is in the January Sky & Telescope,
page 118.

* Double shadow transit on Jupiter: The tiny black shadows of
Jupiter's moons Ganymede and Io are both on the planet's face from
10:13 to 11:44 p.m. EST. A good 3-inch telescope should be all you
need -- if the atmospheric seeing is good.

* Meanwhile, Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central
meridian (the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from
pole to pole) around 10:24 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale
orange-tan. It should be visible in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if
the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady. For a list of all
predicted Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

* Dawn begins at its latest for the year (if you live near 40
degrees north latitude).

JAN. 8 -- MONDAY

* This evening Saturn's brightest moon, 8.5-magnitude Titan, appears
close to a 7th-magnitude star. They're closest, 21 arcseconds apart,
around 6 p.m. EST. A 3-inch telescope should show them; look three
ring-lengths west-northwest of the planet.

JAN. 9 -- TUESDAY

* Full Moon (exact at 3:24 p.m. EST). During the evening, look for
Pollux and Castor to the Moon's upper left and brighter Procyon
shining farther to the Moon's lower right.

* TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE FOR ASIA, AFRICA, AND EUROPE. Partial eclipse
begins at 18:42 Universal Time (GMT) January 9th, total eclipse begins
at 19:50 UT; total ends at 20:52 UT, partial ends at 21:59 UT. For
full details see the January Sky & Telescope, page 124, or
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/lunar/0101totallunar.html .
* Jupiter's Red Spot should transit around 12:03 a.m. EST Wednesday
morning.
JAN. 10 -- WEDNESDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:54 p.m. EST.
JAN. 11 -- THURSDAY
* Look for Regulus below the Moon after they rise in mid- to late
evening.
JAN. 12 -- FRIDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 9:33 p.m. EST.
JAN. 13 -- SATURDAY
* Jupiter's moon Europa emerges from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow
around 10:24 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show it swelling into
brilliance during the course of a minute or two, a little east of the
planet.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is buried deep in the glow of sunset. Late this week, try
looking for it with binoculars just above the west-southwest horizon
(far to the lower right of Venus) about 20 to 30 minutes after sunset.
Next week Mercury will get higher.

VENUS is the brilliant object (magnitude -4.4) shining in the
southwest during and after dusk.

MARS (magnitude +1.2, at the Virgo-Libra border) glows yellow-orange
in the south-southeast before dawn. To its right or upper right is
blue-white Spica, similarly bright.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.6 and -0.3, respectively) shine
brightly high in the southeast to south during early to mid-evening.
Jupiter is the brightest. Yellowish Saturn appears 7 or 8 degrees
(about four fingers' widths at arm's length) to Jupiter's right.
They're in the constellation Taurus; above Jupiter is the Pleiades
star cluster, and farther to Jupiter's lower left sparkles orange
Aldebaran. The whole pattern rotates clockwise and shifts toward the
west as evening grows late.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glow of sunset.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is very low
in the east-southeast before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 372 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan  9, 2001 (18:44) * 25 lines
Britons Get Front Row Seats for Lunar Eclipse

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons had front row seats on Tuesday night for a
three-hour show billed as the most colorful lunar eclipse for a decade.
Beginning at around 1:40 p.m. EST, the earth's shadow slowly moved
over the surface of the moon until finally eclipsing it at about 2:50 EST.
Totality -- when the moon is completely covered by the earth's shadow
-- saw the moon turn orange as the light from the sun was bent and
filtered by the earth's atmosphere.
Astronomers said the eclipse was particularly spectacular because it is
almost a decade since the last big volcanic eruption -- that of Mount
Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991.
The debris thrown up by volcanic eruptions reduces the amount of light
transmitted from the sun to the moon during a lunar eclipse.
Tuesday's show was visible from all parts of Britain, as well as Europe,
Africa and Asia. The only restricting factor for some was the weather,
with some areas covered by cloud.
The last total eclipse of the moon visible from Britain, in January 2000,
was obscured by cloud across much of the country.
The moon "turning to blood" was once seen as a sign that disaster
would strike or that the gods were angry. In some places it still fills
people with fear.
An estimated 1,500 white witches are planning to gather in Britain,
Sweden, Iceland, France, Canada and Austria during the eclipse to ward
off any doom it may bring, the BBC reported. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 373 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jan 10, 2001 (14:27) * 40 lines
NEWSALERT: Wednesday, January 10, 2001 @ 0530 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

CHINESE CAPSULE LAUNCHED ON SECOND UNMANNED TEST
------------------------------------------------
China took another step towards manned space travel Tuesday by launching its second prototype capsule on a demonstration flight. The unmanned Shenzhou 2 spacecraft, with several animals aboard, was successfully launched into the planned orbit around Earth by a Long March rocket on a several-day excursion.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/09china/

BIZARRE NEW PLANETS PUZZLE ASTRONOMERS
--------------------------------------
Astronomers Tuesday announced the discovery of a pair of new and highly unusual planetary systems that challenge their views on the structure of solar systems and even the definition of a planet.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/10newplanets/

ENGINE REPLACEMENT DELAYS SEA LAUNCH TO FEB. 28
-----------------------------------------------
Sea Launch officials Tuesday decided the first stage engine on the Zenit 3SL rocket needs to be replaced because its pre-ignition sequence was started during Monday's aborted countdown. The job will require the command ship and launching platform return to port, delaying the mission until February 28.
http://spaceflightnow.com/sealaunch/xm1/status.html

'PIPELINE' FUNNELS MATTER BETWEEN COLLIDING GALAXIES
----------------------------------------------------
This visible-light picture, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, reveals an intergalactic "pipeline" of material flowing between two battered galaxies that bumped into each other about 100 million years ago.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/09pipeline/

WINDS POSTPONE ARIANE 4 ROCKET LAUNCH YET AGAIN
-----------------------------------------------
Continued unacceptable winds above the jungle launch site in Kourou, French Guiana forced Arianespace to forego making an attempt Tuesday night to fly the Ariane 4 rocket with the Eurasiasat 1 satellite. Launch has been reset for tonight and we will have live coverage!
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v137/status.html

OVER 150 RAPIDLY MOVING STARS FOUND IN MILKY WAY
------------------------------------------------
Astronomers have discovered 154 rapidly moving stars towards the center of our galaxy and our brightest neighboring galaxy. The results are of special interest because this is the first time scientists have been able to discover such objects in front of the millions of stars seen at the Galactic center and the Large Magellanic Cloud.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/10stars150/

BOEING BEGINS BUILDING NAVY COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE
----------------------------------------------------
Boeing has received the final go-ahead to manufacture an eleventh satellite for the U.S. Navy's UHF Follow-On communications satellite constellation, keeping the network working well into this decade to relay spy satellite photos, intelligence reports and strike orders to U.S. troops around the world.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/10uhf11/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 374 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jan 10, 2001 (23:30) * 72 lines
Moon Hoax Spurs Crusade Against Bad Astronomy

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The myth about equinox eggs got him started,
misinformation about meteors bugged him, but when he learned that
some people think the Apollo Moon landings never happened, Philip
Plait knew the time had come for his crusade against bad astronomy.
So what began as a frustrated astronomy graduate student's online
fuming has evolved into a newspaper column, a book contract and a
Web site that gets an average of 15,000 hits a week:
http:/www.badastronomy.com.
No one is spared on the site: Plait, who holds a doctorate in astronomy
from the University of Virginia and worked with the Hubble Space
Telescope, takes aim at movies, television, the news media and the
Internet when they trample on what he considers to be the obvious
truths about space science.
Take, for example, the notion that humans never walked on the Moon,
despite copious evidence to the contrary.
"People believe in the weirdest stuff, but they don't believe the most
flaming obvious thing that's right in front of their face and I get e-mail
about this," Plait said in an interview at the annual meeting of the
American Astronomical Society in San Diego.
He blames much of it on the movie "Capricorn One," a science fiction
offering in which a planned human mission to Mars is faked.
"It's a good flick, but it legitimized a lot of these people who claimed
we never went to the Moon," Plait said. "There weren't that many
people, but with the Web, you can spread disinformation instantly.
People are just willing to grab onto this stuff."
WHERE ARE THE STARS IN MOON PHOTOS?
One common argument used by the anti-Apollo folks is that in
photographs of astronauts on the lunar surface, no stars can be seen
in the dark sky, therefore the pictures must have been taken on Earth
somewhere.
Plait literally gagged as he recounted this, and countered with what to
him was the obvious fact: there are no stars in the pictures from the
moon because the Moon itself is being blasted with sunlight and is
enormously bright, so bright that people on Earth can sometimes read
by the light of the full Moon.
"When they're taking a picture of this brightly lit astronaut on a brightly
lit landscape, it's just like taking a picture in daytime here on the
earth," he said. "No stars have a prayer of getting through that."
Rather that debunking this idea on his Web site, Plait has a section
referring visitors to other sites of "debunkers" and "conspiracy
theories." But he plans a chapter in an upcoming book to be called
"Bad Astronomy" on this question.
There will also be a chapter on those who calculate the birth of the
universe using the Bible, estimating its age in the thousands of years,
instead of the billions of years that astronomers have long maintained.
"Astronomy is one of the most accessible sciences," he said.
"Everybody wonders about it and it does tap into the fundamental
questions of humanity -- why are we here, what's our place in the
universe, does the universe have an end, how did it start -- these
aren't little questions, whole religions, trillion-dollar-a-year industries
are based on these questions.
"But it means that there's an open door into people's heads. If you
can use that pathway to get to people, it's a good way to do it, for ill or
for good," Plait said.
Beginning in his student days in 1993 and 1994 with a personal Web
site as his platform, Plait expressed irritation at a commonly held
belief: that eggs can only be stood on end at the exact moment of
vernal equinox.
That, said Plait, is just plain nonsense. And he said so on his site,
eventually featuring a picture of a gaggle of eggs at attention, taken
on Oct. 25 -- as he said, about as far from the vernal equinox as
possible.
He did not hit on the idea of creating a Web site about bad astronomy
until 1998, several months before a Leonid meteor shower. It turned
out to be good timing: there was plenty of media grist for his mill in
that event.
Plait has not quit his day job: he currently works in California on public
education programs for the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope.
He also writes a column for the German newspaper, Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 375 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jan 11, 2001 (15:20) * 21 lines
NEWSALERT: Sunday, January 7, 2001 @ 1728 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

SPACE SHUTTLES THAT REPAIR TECHNICAL GLITCHES ON THE FLY
--------------------------------------------------------
Ever stop and think about the millions of dollars spent on fancy space equipment that breaks down? If you are millions of miles away orbiting the Earth, there's no repairman available to fix the problem. The answer: machines that are smart enough to learn from experience, detect problems and fix themselves.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/07fixitshuttle/

RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SIGNS OFF ON MIR DEORBITING
-------------------------------------------------------
Space station Mir's destruction upon burning up during re-entry seems even more certain with the announcement by a Russian Space Agency spokesperson that the Russian Prime Minister has signed an order mandating the deorbiting late next month.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/07mirok/

AUSTRALIAN SALT LAKE HELPS TEST NASA 'SKY EYE'
----------------------------------------------
A team of scientists has just spent a week in a huge barren salt lake in Australia's interior helping to test a new NASA satellite -- the Earth Observing 1 technology demonstrator.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/07eo1test/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 376 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jan 12, 2001 (21:36) * 36 lines
NEWSALERT: Thursday, January 11, 2001 @ 0654 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

CHANDRA LINKS PULSAR TO SUPERNOVA OF 386 AD
-------------------------------------------
New evidence from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory suggests that a known pulsar is the present-day counterpart to a supernova that exploded in 386 AD, a stellar explosion witnessed by Chinese astronomers. If confirmed, this will be only the second known pulsar to be clearly associated with a historic event.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/11chandra/

EXTREME WARP FOUND IN ANDROMEDA'S STELLAR DISK
----------------------------------------------
Astronomers have obtained new evidence of an extreme warp in the stellar disk of the Andromeda Galaxy, our nearest galactic neighbor. Possible causes of the warp include interactions between Andromeda and its smaller satellite galaxies.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/11warpdisk/

ARIANESPACE BEGINS 2001 WITH LAUNCH FOR TURKEY
----------------------------------------------
A telecommunications satellite that will bridge 150 million Turkish-speaking people of Europe and Asia was launched into orbit Wednesday by an Arianespace Ariane 4 rocket, marking the European booster's 60th straight success.
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v137/
http://spaceflightnow.com/ariane/v137/status.html

ARIANESPACE POSTS $185 MILLION LOSS FOR 2000
--------------------------------------------
Arianespace reports it lost money last year, the first time the European launch services firm's annual earnings have wound up in the red during its 20-year history. But officials say they are optimistic that mark will not be repeated in 2001 with plans to reduce operating costs.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/11ariane2000/

AIR FORCE DELAYS LAUNCH OF WEATHER SATELLITE FOR REPAIRS
--------------------------------------------------------
Next week's launch of a U.S. military weather satellite aboard a Titan 2 rocket from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base has been pushed back one day after technicians accidentally damaged a sun shield on the craft during pre-flight cleaning.
http://spaceflightnow.com/titan/g9/

DATE SET FOR NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH
--------------------------------------
NASA has established January 19 as the official launch date for space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission to deliver the $1.38 billion U.S. Destiny laboratory research module to the international space station.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/status.html



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 377 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jan 12, 2001 (21:59) * 52 lines
Space-Station Crew Awaits Next Shuttle Mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International
Space Station were busy preparing on Friday for the arrival later this
month of a U.S. space shuttle carrying the station's newest element --
a U.S. laboratory named Destiny.
The crew of American William Shepherd, the station commander, and
Russians Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalyov, passed their 73rd day in
space on Friday.
NASA and the Russian Space Agency, senior partners in the $60 billion
orbital construction project, said they plan to give the station crew more
time to relax and prepare for the arrival of shuttle Atlantis than they
had in December, when shuttle Endeavour's crew found them
exhausted and sleep deprived.
Atlantis is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida on Jan. 19 with the $1.4 billion Destiny module in its payload
bay.
The weeks leading up to Endeavour's visit had been a mad scramble to
bring life-support, communications and computers to life aboard the
Russian Service Module after the trio docked their Russian Soyuz
spacecraft to the station in November.
That work meant the astronauts had to sacrifice sleep leading up to
the shuttle's arrival, and left Shepherd complaining about "trying to fit
30 hours into 16-hour days."
"We started the process of preparing the crew before Christmas" for
Atlantis' arrival, Jeff Hanley, the U.S. space agency's lead flight director
for the station, said at a NASA regular space station briefing held on
Friday.
But there was still plenty of work left for the astronauts, who will live
aboard the station about 120 days before being replaced by the
Expedition Two team of one Russian commander and two Americans.
Like anyone expecting house guests, there are numerous repairs and
plenty of cleaning up to do. This past week the crew fixed an air
conditioner, replaced some electronics in the on-board power system
and tested the Russian space suits that would be used for space walks.
Radios on the space suits proved balky and Russian ground controllers
are studying the problem, Hanley said.
A more immediate problem is one of four latches that will be needed
to secure the Destiny to an existing space-station module. While
testing the latches earlier, NASA found that one of them would not
close due to an obstruction from some ductwork.
"These are latches that actually reach out and grab the incoming
module, in this case the lab," Hanley said.
NASA plans to have the astronauts enter that part of the station, which
currently is closed off by a hatch, to work on the latch this week.
Otherwise, the astronauts top job is to prepare the station for
provisions and equipment that Atlantis will carry into orbit.
"The main theme of next week is going to be packing, packing,
packing," Hanley said.
The space station is a joint project of the United States, Russia,
Europe, Japan and Canada. It is scheduled for completion in 2006 and
will have as much pressurized space as a 747 jumbo jet. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 378 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jan 14, 2001 (15:41) * 167 lines
S&T's Bulletin for January 12, 2001
ASTRONOMERS TOUT THE VIRTUAL OBSERVATORY
Not far into the 21st century a gigantic computer database will
replace the telescope as the tool most astronomers use to explore the
universe. That remarkable assertion was echoed by one speaker after
another during a session on the planned Virtual Observatory at the
American Astronomical Society meeting. Conceived to be a digital,
multiwavelength, ever-growing archive of images, spectra, and other
data covering the entire sky, the Virtual Observatory is expected to
transform astronomy as dramatically as any technical innovation of the
20th century -- perhaps more so.

The idea of mining electronic archives for astronomical information is
not new. Data from NASA's space observatories has been accessible via
the Internet for years. Enormous new all-sky explorations such as the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey in visible light and the Two-Micron All-Sky
Survey in the infrared are building online archives as fast as their
images accumulate. But each collection is stored in a different format
in a different place and is accessed in a different way. The goal of
the Virtual Observatory is to link all observatories' cosmic harvests
into a single network that can be explored using the same interface by
anyone, anywhere. "This will enable democratic access to astronomical
data," says Robert J. Hanisch (Space Telescope Science Institute) --
"not only for professionals but also for students and the public."

George Djorgovski (Caltech) remarked that the availability of a
unified set of all-sky imagery and measurements across the
electromagnetic spectrum will have a huge scientific payoff. "It will
be especially valuable in the search for rare or unusual objects," he
said. Most astronomers today point their telescopes only at targets
they already know about. With the Virtual Observatory they will be
able to let their computers mine the global celestial database for
unknown nuggets.

Many technical hurdles stand between the conception and realization of
this ambitious project. The first is simply the enormous amount of
data to be archived and indexed. Alex Szalay (Johns Hopkins
University) estimates that the sky surveys now under way at multiple
wavelengths will add 10 petabytes (10 million gigabytes) of data to
the archive each year. Another challenge is that astronomers worldwide
need to agree on data formats and other standards so their data can be
shared effectively.

A top panel of U.S. astronomers has recommended the Virtual
Observatory as a high-priority project for the coming decade, and
their European counterparts are rallying around the idea too. NASA,
the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the European Union are all
funding studies aimed at developing a sound blueprint and are eager to
fund "construction" once a plan is in place.

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY HIGH BEFORE DAWN
Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) continues to climb in the morning
sky. The object, a hair brighter than 8th magnitude according to
observers, moves through Serpens Caput this coming week. Northern
Hemisphere observers can spot it some 35 to 50 deg. above the
east-southeast horizon before the first light of dawn. For those south
of the equator, the comet will be about 20 to 30 deg. above the
east-northeast horizon. Here are positions for McNaught-Hartley for 0
hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates:
Date R.A. Dec.
Jan 13 15h 30m -3.4 deg.
Jan 15 15 36 -1.6
Jan 17 15 41 -0.1
Jan 19 15 47 +2.0
For more about the comet, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0101skyevents.html .

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JAN. 14 -- SUNDAY
* Double shadow transit on Jupiter. The tiny black shadows of
Jupiter's moons Ganymede and Io are both on the planet's face from
1:38 to 2:19 a.m. EST Monday morning. A good 3-inch telescope should
be all you need to see them -- if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and
steady.

JAN. 15 -- MONDAY
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 7:00 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale orange-tan. It
should be visible in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope in good atmospheric
seeing. For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .
* Jupiter's inner moon Io reappears out of eclipse from the planet's
shadow around 11:40 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show it emerging
into view just east of the planet during the course of a minute or
two.

JAN. 16 -- TUESDAY
* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 7:35 a.m. EST).
* Venus is at its greatest elongation, 47 degrees east of the Sun.
In a telescope, can you see that Venus already appears a trace less
than half lit?
* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of
its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a
couple hours centered on 11:11 p.m. EST. Algol takes several
additional hours to fade and to brighten. For a timetable of all its
predicted minima see http://www.skypub.com/sights/variables/algol.html
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 12:50 a.m. EST Wednesday
morning.
* Mars shines below the Moon before dawn Wednesday morning. A little
below Mars is wide binocular double star Alpha Librae.

JAN. 17 -- WEDNESDAY
* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is three or four ring-lengths east
of the planet tonight and tomorrow night. A 3-inch telescope will show
it.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:41 p.m. EST.

JAN. 18 -- THURSDAY
* Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto form a compact
grouping around 8:30 p.m. EST.

JAN. 19 -- FRIDAY
* Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on
8:00 p.m. EST.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 10:20 p.m. EST.

JAN. 20 -- SATURDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: Bright Jupiter shines with Saturn and
Aldebaran high in the southeast in early evening this month. Look far
below them for the constellation Orion. In its middle is the
three-star row of Orion's Belt. Far below Orion is brilliant white
Sirius.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is just above the west-southwest horizon after sunset, far to
the lower right of Venus. Look for it about 30 minutes after sundown.
Binoculars will help. Mercury gets higher and easier to see late in
the week.

VENUS is the brilliant object (magnitude -4.4) shining in the
southwest during and after dusk.

MARS (magnitude +1.1, in Libra) glows yellow-orange in the
south-southeast before dawn. Well to its right or upper right is
blue-white Spica, similarly bright. Much higher above Mars, and
perhaps to the left, is brighter Arcturus.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.6 and -0.3, respectively) shine
brightly high in the southeast to south during early evening. Jupiter
is the brightest. Yellowish Saturn appears 7 degrees (about four
fingers' widths at arm's length) to Jupiter's right. They're in the
constellation Taurus; above Jupiter is the Pleiades star cluster, and
farther to Jupiter's lower left sparkles orange Aldebaran. The whole
pattern rotates clockwise and shifts toward the west as the evening
grows late.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glow of sunset.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is low in
the east-southeast before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy
research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine
of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 379 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jan 14, 2001 (15:46) * 504 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JANUARY 12, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Axel Mellinger's composite image of the entire Milky Way was so
stunning that we made it into a poster. Now, not only is there a 2nd
Edition of his quick-selling panorama, Mellinger has imaged the polar
regions as well to create a spectacular all-sky view. The 24-by-36-
inch "Celestial Sphere" poster consists of 51 wide-angle exposures
stitched together into a seamless "real" map of the entire sky. The
poster comes with a key chart identifying major constellations and
stars. To order either of Mellinger's posters, visit Sky Publishing's
online store at http://store.skypub.com/ or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

STARDUST BUZZES EARTH

Nearly two years after its launch, the Stardust spacecraft is paying
Earth a brief visit this weekend, as it swings about 6,000 km away at
11:20 Universal Time (3:20 a.m. Pacific Standard Time) on January
15th. But this prodigal probe will not stay for long, passing by at
36,000 km per hour (6.2 miles per second). During the flyby Earth's
gravity will redirect Stardust into a new orbit with a period of
exactly 2.5 years. When it next returns, on January 15, 2006, it
should be carrying bits of matter collected from the coma of periodic
comet 81P/Wild 2.

According to David Dunham, the spacecraft should briefly become bright
enough to be picked up by amateur astronomers with moderate-to-large
telescopes. Estimates by William H. Blume (JPL) suggest that Stardust
may brighten to 10th magnitude just before and during its flyby.
Dunham says the favored locations from which to attempt a search are
eastern Asia, Australia, and the western Pacific. North Americans have
their best chance near local midnight on January 14-15. (Those
desiring a positional ephemeris should go to JPL's Horizons System --
at http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eph/ -- then modify the default
settings as instructed there.)

Meanwhile, project engineers are celebrating the fact that Stardust
can now see clearly again. Early last year, tests showed that some
kind of deposit or film had contaminated the navigation camera's
optics or CCD detector. This created images so blurry that the camera
would have been unusable during crucial maneuvers near the comet. Over
the past few months, the optical system has been warmed repeatedly in
an attempt to purge the intruding material. Although not completely
back to normal, the camera can now record stars as faint as 9th
magnitude, which should be good enough to perform adequately during
the all-important comet flyby on January 2, 2004.

ASTRONOMERS FLOCK TO SAN DIEGO

The 197th meeting of the American Astronomical Society was held this
past week San Diego, California. Sky & Telescope's on-the-scene
editors Rick Fienberg and Alan MacRobert filed the following reports.

FOSSILS FROM A DISK-JET BOUNDARY?

Meteorites have always carried mystery and fascination, and never more
so than now. They are lumps of ancient extraterrestrial history you
can hold in your hand. In particular, the common type of meteorites
known as chondrites come from a time when the Sun was a newborn T
Tauri variable star surrounded by a protoplanetary disk that later
became the solar system. Chondrites even contain interstellar grains
from before the Sun existed.

Chondrites pose a number of mysteries and apparent paradoxes, which
Frank H. Shu (University of California, Berkeley) described Monday to
a ballroom filled with many of the 1,800 professional astronomers
assembled for the American Astronomical Society meeting in San Diego.
(Also attending the meeting are some 1,200 members of the American
Association of Physics Teachers.)

All chondrites apparently come from the asteroid belt, about 2 to 3
astronomical units from the Sun. Most of their material clearly has
never been heated, since its water-bearing minerals and amino acids
would have been destroyed by heat. Yet embedded within this material
are little nodules of once-molten rock, all roughly a millimeter in
size. Among these, the "calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions," or CAIs,
must have been heated to 1,700 degrees Kelvin -- but only briefly, for
times measured in days, judging by their crystal structures and by
volatile constituents that did not have time to be driven off.
Similarly, "chondrules" of igneous rock, mostly magnesium-iron
silicates, were bought to somewhat lower melting temperatures -- but
for only tens of minutes.

Moreover, the CAIs somehow incorporated short-lived radioactive
material. And chondrules froze amid magnetic fields much stronger than
would be expected in open space near the asteroid belt. What are these
droplets telling us?

Shu and his colleagues think they know. Their theory centers on the
innermost edge of the solar system's early accretion disk, where the
disk presumably gave rise to magnetically driven jets or outflows.

The inner edge of such a disk will not always extend down to the
surface of a newborn star. Instead, the rotating star's strong
magnetic field can halt the inspiraling gas above the stellar surface.
Material piles up at this boundary, and hot gas entrained by the
magnetic field is flung away to form the observed outflows.

Shu's team proposes that the rocky material coming into this region
was bared to the full fury of the central protosun before being
carried away in the outflows. Droplets of molten rock would solidify
as they were carried away by gusts in the gaseous outflow. If large
enough, they would rain from the outflow back onto the face of the
disk farther out -- but only after the wind sorted them by size, like
wheat from chaff. Small nodules would fall back onto the disk far out
and large ones closer in. Those that fell into the region of today's
asteroid belt would all be about the same size, accounting for their
rough uniformity in meteorites.

The CAIs, Shu suggests, ventured closest of all to the early Sun --
and were melted by its direct heat. The chondrules could have been
melted more briefly a little farther out by the frequent flares seen
on newborn stars. The strong magnetic field in which the droplets
froze would cease to be a mystery. High-energy protons from the flares
could account for the radioactivity. After raining back into the disk,
the rock droplets mixed with the cold primordial material there to
form the meteorites we find today. Fully 80 percent of the solar
system's present rocky matter, Shu claims, may have been processed
through the inner disk this way.

Shu's picture met with objection from other meteorite experts in the
audience who have competing theories of their own. But it makes a
number of testable predictions -- for one, that chondrules will be
found in comets -- and represents an intriguing synthesis of current
observations of young stars far away and ancient geology close at
hand.

BIG-TIME STAR FORMATION

The picture has become familiar. A newborn star deep in an
interstellar cloud is discovered to be surrounded by a rotating disk
of gas and dust the size of our solar system or larger. Material from
the disk is accreting onto the young, unstable star, and jets stream
out perpendicular to the disk from its innermost region.

All low-mass stars (including those with the Sun's mass) seem to go
through this brief, distinctive early stage of life for several
hundred thousand years after they collect the bulk of their material.
Eventually the accretion stops and the jets turn off, leaving a dusty
disk in which a planetary system may form.

But what about more massive protostars, which are harder to find and
study? Do they get a chance to form planets too?

On Monday, as many of the nation's professional astronomers gathered
in San Diego for the semiannual meeting of the American Astronomical
Society, Debra Shepherd (National Radio Astronomy Observatory)
announced finding the first solar-system-size accretion disk around a
protostar that is as heavy as 8 or 10 Suns. The disk is quite
different from the one that gave us birth.

The object in question, known as G192.16-3.82, is a distant 6,000
light-years away in northern Orion. "Massive stars are too rare for us
to get up close and personal like we can with young low-mass stars,"
explained Shepherd at a press conference. "They're also embedded more
deeply in molecular clouds," which are dense, opaque, and shroud their
contents from easy view.

The goings-on at this object are impressive. Astronomers already knew
that it has ejected some 100 solar masses of material in opposite
streamers that are now more than 15 light-years long. But the central
object, noted Shepherd, appeared in radio observations as nothing more
than "a round fuzzy blob." She and her colleagues were able to partly
resolve the blob using the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in
New Mexico in conjunction with the VLA's newest addition, an outlying
dish in Pie Town, New Mexico, 50 kilometers away.

As deduced by the team of astronomers, the star's accretion disk is
remarkable for its enormous mass. Although the disk is only a little
larger than the orbit of Pluto, it contains about twice as much
material as the heavy star itself. This is quite unlike the case with
low-mass stars, whose protoplanetary accretion disks are much lighter
than their stars.

Surrounding this hefty disk is a cold torus (doughnut) of gas several
times larger. The astronomers also found evidence for two lesser stars
in the system -- one just outside the accreting disk, the other
outside the surrounding torus.

"Disks and outflows in young stars increase dramatically in mass and
energy as the mass of the young star increases," Shepherd sums up. "We
don't know if the same process is at work in all young stars, or how
the disks can both power an outflow that extends more than 15
light-years and also start the process of forming planets."

Stars that are even more massive probably have infancies too violent
ever to allow planets to form at all. The object studied by Shepherd's
group seems to be right at the edge.

The Pie Town addition to the VLA that enabled the sharper view is the
first in the Expanded VLA project, which will increase both the
resolution and sensitivity of the venerable instrument by factors of
10. Even with just the one new outlying antenna, commented Shepherd's
colleague Mark Claussen (NRAO), the VLA has "probably the best
combination of sensitivity and resolution of any radio telescope in
the world." The press conference announcing the massive disk was
partly intended to show off the VLA's growing capabilities.

NASA CHIEF ASKS ASTRONOMERS TO THINK BIG

NASA administrator Daniel Goldin has called on American astronomers to
design new space telescopes that are orders of magnitude more powerful
than any flying today. Speaking at a joint meeting of astronomers and
physics teachers in San Diego, California, Goldin called astronomers
"torchbearers of science" in the 21st century. "We need to allow the
torchbearers to dream," he said.

Lest anyone think this might be an exercise in futility in an era of
tight budgets and political uncertainty, the space-agency chief
recalled his last address to the AAS five years ago in San Antonio,
Texas. At that time a panel of experts had just recommended that NASA
build a 4-meter-wide Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) to succeed
the 2.4-meter Hubble Space Telescope. Saying that wasn't ambitious
enough, Goldin challenged astronomers to propose something even bigger
-- and they did: an 8-meter behemoth whose primary mirror will unfold
like flower petals once the spacecraft reaches orbit, yet whose total
cost will be considerably less than Hubble's. "We'll have NGST before
the end of this decade," assured Goldin. But, in a sign that
astronomical dreams must be tempered with budgetary realities, the
diameter of the telescope will be limited to around 6.5 meters.

Lauding recent technological breakthroughs in lightweight-mirror
design and satellite stability, Goldin looked ahead to an era when
arrays of small space telescopes will work in concert -- like radio
interferometers on the ground -- to improve our angular resolution
thousands or even millions of times. At visible wavelengths, such
sharp views would enable us to see Earth-like planets around other
stars. In X-rays we could capture images of the event horizons around
black holes in the nuclei of active galaxies.

Goldin didn't offer any hint as to whether he will continue to serve
as NASA administrator under George W. Bush. "He may not know yet
himself," allowed one NASA aide. Although Goldin has led the space
agency throughout both of Bill Clinton's four-year terms, he was
actually appointed to the post by Clinton's predecessor, the
president-elect's father. We'll know soon enough, as the new
president's inauguration is less than two weeks away.

LARGEST STRUCTURE IN THE UNIVERSE?

On Earth, the largest structure erected by humans is the Great Wall of
China. In space, the largest structure detected by astronomers is the
Great Wall of galaxies beyond the Virgo Cluster. Or maybe not. Gerard
Williger (National Optical Astronomy Observatories) announced at this
week's meeting of the American Astronomical Society that he and his
colleagues have found a remote group of quasars and galaxies in Leo
that's nearly twice as big as the Great Wall, which itself spans 300
million light-years.

Williger's team was drawn to the cluster by the presence of 18
quasars, all with redshifts in the range 1.2 to 1.4, in a patch of sky
measuring just 5 degrees by 2.5 degrees. Lacking enough telescope time
to cover the field with long-exposure images and to collect spectra of
whatever faint galaxies they might find there, the astronomers instead
simply obtained spectra of the quasars themselves. They noticed
numerous magnesium absorptions notched into the quasars' light by gas
in intervening galaxies. "We found three times more galaxies than
expected" based on typical galaxy/quasar ratios, said Williger. Most
of the galaxies lie in the same redshift range, and therefore
presumably at the same distance, as the quasars, suggesting that
they're all part of one giant cluster.

The assemblage extends about 500 million light-years in length, width,
and depth and is centered about 6.5 billion light-years from Earth.
This means we're seeing it as it appeared when the universe was about
a third of its present age. As with the Great Wall, theorists are hard
pressed to explain how gravity could have built up such a huge
structure in so little time. Williger and his coworkers hope to tease
some additional clues from the cluster with follow-up observations.

TWO WEIRD NEW SOLAR SYSTEMS

Once upon a time, meaning before 1995, astronomers assumed that if
other solar systems existed they would be more or less like ours. No
more. As planet-finding techniques mature and expand, weird new
varieties of systems keep turning up. At a press conference Tuesday at
the American Astronomical Society meeting, leading planet hunters
Geoff Marcy, Debra Fischer, and R. Paul Butler unveiled their team's
latest two oddball finds. Both involve second bodies that the
astronomers discovered orbiting stars where one planet was already
known.

The group announced that the dim red-dwarf star Gliese 876, only 15
light-years away in Aquarius, has two giant worlds that are locked
into a 2:1 orbital resonance with each other. They orbit the type-M4
star with periods of 61.0 and 30.1 days, close enough to a 2:1 ratio
to ensure that they have been stuck in their mutual relationship since
around the time of their birth ages ago. This is the first known case
of giant planets being orbitally linked, though orbital resonances are
common in our own solar system. For instance, the three large inner
moons of Jupiter are locked into resonant periods with each other; so
are many asteroids with Jupiter and other planets, and so is Pluto
with Neptune. Now, apparently, it can happen between giant planets as
well.

In fact, explained planet-formation theorist Doug Lin (University of
California, Santa Cruz), the slight imperfection in the 2:1 match
tells something about the bodies' physical nature. They cannot be
efficient dissipators of orbital energy through tidal heating, meaning
they cannot be solid bodies like Jupiter's tidally heated moon Io.
They must be made of gas -- as would be expected from their masses of
at least 0.6 and 1.9 Jupiters.

The other multiple-planet system announced at the press conference
contains two unusual heavyweights. They orbit the Sun-like star HD
168443, 123 light-years away in Serpens, with periods of 58 days and
4.8 years -- and they weigh in with at least 7.7 and 17.2 Jupiter
masses, respectively. The latter value would make the heavier of the
two a brown dwarf by one popular definition, which sets the dividing
line between "planets" and "brown dwarfs" at 13 Jupiters. This is the
mass at which a body should become hot enough at its core to fuse
deuterium (hydrogen-2), thus producing at least a little nuclear
energy, star-fashion.

This isn't the first brown dwarf found closely orbiting a Sun-like
star (though such systems are rare). But it's the first in which two
bodies including a brown dwarf orbit a star in planet fashion.
Presumably they formed together by the same means. Astronomers who
prefer to distinguish planets from brown dwarfs by their formation
method, rather than by their mass, may have gained a point in their
favor. By the formation criterion, "brown dwarfs" are bodies that
condense directly out of gas clouds, the way stars do. "Planets" begin
as tiny, solid cores in a protostellar disk and gradually accrete
material from their surroundings, a process that takes much longer.
Nobody knows which process (if either) made the two objects orbiting
HD 168443 -- in practice, it may be impossible to tell how a given
object formed millions or billions of years after the fact.

Such complications are only beginning. Of the 50 or so stars with a
planet already identified, says Fischer, as many as half show
preliminary signs of possessing at least one additional orbiting
companion.

THE TRACERIES OF M33

After the Great Andromeda Galaxy, our nearest big extragalactic
neighbor is M33, the Pinwheel Galaxy in Triangulum at a distance of
about 2.7 million light-years. Unlike Andromeda, M33 is only half the
size of the Milky Way (with a diameter of about 60,000 light-years)
but presents us with a beautiful view of its dusty, spiral-armed face.

Radio astronomers have now mapped its hydrogen gas in finer detail
than for any other galaxy outside the Milky Way itself. The image
above shows details smaller than 10 arcseconds, or 130 light-years.
Such an image "opens the door to learning fundamental new facts about
the relationship between massive stars and the galaxy's complicated
gaseous environment," said David Thilker (National Radio Astronomy
Observatory), who displayed the map at the American Astronomical
Society meeting. He expects further processing of the radio data to
double the resolution. "This, we believe, will allow us to see bubbles
in the galaxy's gas that have been inflated as a result of one or more
supernova explosions." His group also found tentative evidence of a
low-mass dark companion to M33 about 1/2 degree away.

PULSAR LINKED TO SUPERNOVA OF A.D. 386

Astronomy textbooks say that pulsars -- ultradense, highly magnetized,
rapidly rotating neutron stars -- are born in Type II supernovae, the
explosive deaths of massive stars. Textbooks also explain how
astronomers estimate a pulsar's age from the rate at which its spin is
slowing down. Some 1,200 pulsars are known in our galaxy, and a
handful are indeed associated with nebulosity expelled by a star's
explosion. But only one pulsar has ever been tied to a specific
supernova blast. The Crab pulsar, in the heart of the Crab Nebula in
Taurus, is the remnant core of a "guest star" that exploded into
brilliant view in A.D. 1054. The pulsar's so-called spin-down age is,
as expected, roughly 1,000 years. Much of what we know about neutron
stars and the violent events that spawn them comes from detailed
studies of this single case.

At the American Astronomical Society meeting Wednesday, astronomers
Victoria Kaspi and Mallory Roberts (McGill University) announced that
they have linked a second pulsar-within-a-nebula to a historical
supernova explosion. The object goes by the prosaic designation
G11.2-0.3. Located about 15,000 light-years away in Sagittarius, it
consists of an X-ray pulsar spinning 14 times a second inside an
expanding shell of radio- and X-ray-emitting gas. Based on a new image
from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Kaspi and Roberts believe that
the neutron star and outrushing gas were born in the supernova
outburst recorded by Chinese astronomers in the same region of sky in
A.D. 386.

The nebula itself was discovered in the 1970s and was immediately
suspected of being related to the 4th-century event. But doubts arose
four years ago when scientists using a Japanese X-ray satellite found
the whirling dervish inside. That's because they calculated the
pulsar's age, from its spin-down rate, to be 24,000 years.

Because the high-resolution Chandra image shows the pulsar at the
exact center of the gas shell, Kaspi asserts that the association
between the two is "essentially inescapable." In addition, the
nebula's compact size and spherical symmetry suggest relative youth,
and there are no other plausible counterparts to the "guest star" of
386 in that part of Sagittarius. Thus Kaspi believes that the
association of G11.2-0.3 with the 1,615-year-old supernova is "gold
plated," and that the pulsar must have slowed down only a little in
the intervening years. Apparently the 24,000-year age was grossly
wrong. This calls into question many other pulsar ages and suggests
that some revisions are needed in those astronomy textbooks.

STAR STREAMS FROM BYGONE GALAXIES

Beautifully formed, huge and symmetrical, the Milky Way seems like a
finished product. But in the last few years astronomers have found
many subtle signs that our galaxy's formation is not entirely done.
The Milky Way continues to collect stars and other material by
swallowing dim dwarf galaxies that venture too near and get
gravitationally torn apart.

Subtle, fossil evidence of such mergers has been teased out of the
distribution and motions of stars in the Milky Way's distant outer
halo. "It was once thought that the Milky Way's halo had a smooth
distribution of stars," says Anna K. Vivas (Yale University), who
presented her findings at the American Astronomical Society meeting.
"Our study shows this is clearly incorrect. The clumps we observed
provide strong evidence in favor of the view that the halo contains
debris from these small, ancient galaxies."

Astronomers have recently come to believe that all big galaxies like
the Milky Way assembled out of smaller galaxies and starry clumps when
the universe was younger, based partly on views of the early universe
made possible by today's powerful telescopes. The ingathering process
continues more slowly today. Heather Morrison (Case Western Reserve
University) described a dramatic example: the Sagittarius dwarf
spheroidal galaxy that is currently merging with the Milky Way's disk
on the far side of the galaxy from the Sun, where it is almost
completely hidden from view. Discovered by accident in 1994, the
Sagittarius dwarf has only 1/100th of the Milky Way's mass and, said
Morrison, is being tidally torn apart into a very long, very
hard-to-detect streamer that spans an enormous arc across a large
fraction of our sky.

The halo, in fact, seems to be full of such streamers. The rest of the
Milky Way is largely unperturbed by these events. "The galaxies are so
wimpy that they really don't do any damage to the Milky Way's disk at
all," said Morrison.

Another group, however, announced finding signs of a larger merger
early in the Milky Way's history. Rosemary Wyse (Johns Hopkins
University) described her team's study of stellar motions in the
galaxy's "thick disk," a population of stars extending above and below
the thin main disk. The thick disk, they find, was "puffed up" by the
energy of a fairly massive satellite merging with the Milky Way around
10 million years ago.

"BLACK" BLACK HOLES

Astronomers are quite convinced that black holes exist. Albert
Einstein's general theory of relativity predicted them in 1917, and in
the last few decades astronomers have found overwhelming evidence of
their presence in many places. Still, the evidence is indirect. And
imaginative theorists have dreamed up various alternatives to them
(drawing on weird and speculative physics) that would not be black at
all. It would be nice actually to see a black hole directly and settle
the matter for good.

On Thursday, the last day of the American Astronomical Society meeting
in San Diego, a group of astronomers presented elegant evidence that
they have done just that.

Michael Garcia (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) described
how his group used the sensitive Chandra X-ray Observatory to study 12
X-ray novae -- binary star systems in which a normal star pours a
stream of gas onto an extremely tiny, extremely dense object, which is
presumably either a neutron star or a black hole. The gas spirals its
way down, forming a disk that orbits the compact object. Occasionally
the disk erupts in a nova-like outburst. The astronomers studied all
the objects during their quiescent times, when a thin, steady flow of
gas reaches the central object without such fireworks.

Six of the 12 objects are unquestionably neutron stars, because they
show occasional X-ray bursts on their hot surfaces. The other six were
believed to be black holes because they weigh more than three solar
masses. That should be enough to make any neutron star collapse to
become a literally microscopic point. A black hole is the "event
horizon" around such a point -- a spherical, one-way surface into
which anything can fall and nothing can emerge. A black hole with five
solar masses should be just 10 kilometers wide, similar to a neutron
star in size.

The astronomers paired up neutron-star systems and black-hole systems
that had the same rates of gas inflow. This allowed them to do
something rare in astronomy: perform a controlled experiment. The
systems were alike except for just one thing, their presumably
different compact objects.

The team saw clear proof that event horizons exist in the black-hole
systems. Where the central object was a neutron star, the infalling
material continuously plowed into the star's surface with a tremendous
release of energy that showed up as brilliant X-ray emission. Where
the object was expected to be a black hole, the same infalling
material simply vanished, taking its energy with it. All that showed
up was the very weak emission expected from the gas on its way down in
free fall -- only about 1 percent as strong as the emission in the
cases where the gas hit something.

"Black holes really are black," said Ramesh Narayan (Harvard
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics). He described the situation as
"like sitting upstream from a waterfall and watching the water
seemingly vanish over the edge."


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 380 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jan 14, 2001 (16:26) * 35 lines
NEWSALERT: Sunday, January 14, 2001 @ 0507 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

PULSAR'S COMPANION A POSSIBLE BLACK HOLE?
-----------------------------------------
Astronomers have found a radio pulsar with a companion at least 11 times the mass of the Sun -- the most massive pulsar companion known. The companion's identity is uncertain: it may be a massive red star, a massive but compact blue star, or possibly a black hole. If it is a black hole then this will be the first pulsar -- black hole binary system found, and a superb natural laboratory for testing general relativity.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/14pulsarhole/

NASA PROBE GIVES REPORT ON CONDITIONS IN STAR NURSERIES
-------------------------------------------------------
After more than two years in space, NASA's Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite has provided radio astronomers with one definite conclusion about the clouds of gas and dust that make up the bulk of the mass in our galaxy, the Milky Way. "There's not much to drink there, and it's hard to breathe," says a lead scientist.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/14swas/

HUBBLE TO PUT SUPERNOVA THEORY TO THE TEST
------------------------------------------
In the spring of 2001, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will catch nearby supernovae in the act of exploding at prescheduled times, the targets to be supplied "on demand" for the first time. Spectra from these nearby supernovae will be used to calibrate measurements of the accelerating expansion of the universe.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/14supernova/

OLDEST ROCK SHOWS EARTH A HOSPITABLE YOUNG PLANET
-------------------------------------------------
Geological evidence suggests that Earth may have had surface water -- and thus conditions to support life -- billions of years earlier than previously thought. Scientists reconstructed the portrait of early Earth by reading the telltale chemical composition of the oldest known terrestrial rock.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/14earthwater/

EARLIER HEADLINES
-----------------
CHANDRA FINDS EVIDENCE OF BLACK HOLE 'EVENT HORIZONS'
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/13chandrahole/

REMAINS OF OUR GALAXY'S 'LAST MEAL' DISCOVERED
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/13galremains/

STARDUST'S BLURRY VISION FIXED AS CRAFT NEARS EARTH
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/13stardustflyby/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 381 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan 16, 2001 (15:48) * 35 lines
NASA Aims to Blast Comet to Study Solar System

SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - U.S. scientists aim to blast a comet with a
copper projectile to learn about the formation of the solar system as
part of a $270 million project funded by NASA, the head of the project
said on Tuesday.
The project, called Deep Impact and which will cause an explosion
capable of destroying a small town, would be the first space mission to
probe inside a comet, whose primitive core could reveal clues about
evolution of the solar system.
"All our studies of comets look only at the surface layer. Our theoretical
models tell us the surface has changed, and only the interior has the
original composition. So our main goal is to compare the interior with
the surface," the project's director, Michael A'Hearn, told reporters.
Scientists chose copper, Chile's No. 1 export, because it is less likely to
interfere with the materials inside the crater.
In January 2004, a rocket would launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida,
a spacecraft that would orbit the sun. In July 2005 the spacecraft would
separate from a battery-powered, copper projectile that would collide
with the comet 24 hours later at a velocity of 6 miles (10 km) per
second.
It would produce a crater the width of a football field and up to 100
feet (30 meters) deep.
The spacecraft would observe the composition of the crater's interior,
while telescopes on Earth would monitor the impact.
The project also aims to see if scientists can alter the orbit of a comet
to protect the Earth from falling matter. The impact would alter the
comet's orbit by a "just barely measurable" 62 to 620 miles (100 to
1,000 km), A'Hearn said.
The project would blast the Comet Tempel 1, which was discovered in
1867 and is a little less than Earth's distance from the sun, he said. It
was chosen because its size, rotation and trajectory favor the project
and because the collision would be observable from Earth.
In February, NASA will carry out a preliminary design review to see if the
project can succeed. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 382 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Tue, Jan 16, 2001 (18:01) * 1 lines
It figures the two wierd solar systems would be located near the constellation Aquarius, the oddball of the Zodiac.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 383 of 1087: MarkG  (MarkG) * Wed, Jan 17, 2001 (03:30) * 3 lines
What if their calculations are ever so slightly off, and they miss the comet with their projectile? Now you've got a loose cannonball at 22,000mph firing around our own solar system with the explosive power to destroy a small town...

And don't tell me NASA don't make mistakes like that. It was a missing minus sign that doomed Apollo 13...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 384 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jan 17, 2001 (17:24) * 1 lines
Gadzooks, you are not going to tell me you are wrong - it is absolutley frightening! Hope it does not have a Patriot Missile guidance system on board!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 385 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan 23, 2001 (17:45) * 154 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JANUARY 19, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com

CASE FOR "ASHEN LIGHT" WEAKENS

Over the past 300 years observers have occasionally reported a faint
glow on the night side of Venus. But the phenomenon, termed "ashen
light," is elusive, and many astronomers -- professionals and amateurs
alike -- have come to doubt its existence. Two recent results make the
reality of ashen light even more difficult to accept.

In November 1999, Tom G. Slanger (SRI International) and his
colleagues probed the upper atmosphere of Venus using the 10-meter
Keck I telescope and a high-resolution spectrometer. They detected a
faint, green luminescence on the planet's night side at 557.7
nanometers, an emission from oxygen atoms high in the Venusian
atmosphere. In today's issue of Science, Slanger's team explains that
ultraviolet sunlight splits atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into
carbon monoxide (CO) and atomic oxygen (O) on the planet's day side.
High-speed winds then transport these oxygen atoms to the night side,
where they recombine into O2 and emit green light in the process.

This emission is very weak, Slanger says, as is Venus's night-side
airglow from O2 molecules that the Keck team detected as well. With an
intensity of roughly 5,000 rayleighs, Slanger explains, the combined
nightglow might be discernible to an astronaut hovering over the dark
side of Venus. But it's likely undetectable with a backyard telescope,
especially since the planet's night hemisphere can be seen well only
when Venus is in twilight or very low.

Another possible cause of ashen light -- rapid-fire lightning -- has
also taken a hit. During the 1970s Russian and American space probes
detected low-frequency radio emissions suggesting that the dense
atmosphere of Venus sizzles constantly with powerful electrical jolts.
Hearing of this result, visual observers imagined that if the
lightning strikes were rampant enough, the integrated light could
appear as an overall glow on the planet's night side.

However, the case for lightning was never ironclad, and in an article
appearing in Nature for January 18th, Donald A. Gurnett (University of
Iowa) and seven colleagues cast serious doubt on its reality.
Gurnett's team scrutinized data from the Cassini spacecraft, which
passed the planet at close range in April 1998 and June 1999. Had
lightning been prevalent, the spacecraft would have detected
high-frequency radio noise from the strikes, the same static heard on
an AM radio during a thunderstorm. Although Cassini easily detected
lightning's radio signature during a later flyby of Earth, nothing
similar was heard near Venus. "If lightning exists in the Venusian
atmosphere," the team concludes, "it is either extremely rare or very
different from terrestrial lightning."

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY HIGH BEFORE DAWN

Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) continues to climb in the morning
sky. At 8th-magntidue, it is an easy target for binoculars as it moves
through Serpens Caput this coming week. Northern Hemisphere observers
can spot it halfway up the sky, some 40 to 50 deg. above the
southeastern horizon before the first light of dawn. For those south
of the equator, the comet will only be about 15 to 20 deg. above the
east-northeast horizon. Here are positions for McNaught-Hartley for 0
hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates:

Date R.A. Dec.

Jan 20 15h 50m +2.9 deg.
Jan 22 15 55 4.8
Jan 24 16 01 6.7
Jan 26 16 06 8.6

For more about the comet, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0101skyevents.html .

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JAN. 21 -- SUNDAY
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 11:58 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The "red" spot is very
pale orange-tan. It should be visible in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope
for at least 50 minutes before and after if the atmospheric seeing is
sharp and steady. For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times,
see http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

JAN. 22 -- MONDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:50 p.m. EST.

JAN. 23 -- TUESDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: The constellation Orion shines well to
the lower left of bright Jupiter, Saturn, and Aldebaran in the evening
sky. Similarly far to Orion's lower left is brilliant Sirius.

JAN. 24 -- WEDNESDAY
* New Moon (exact at 8:07 a.m. EST).
* Jupiter's moon Io emerges from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow
around 8:04 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show it swelling into
view just east of the planet.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 9:28 p.m. EST.
* As seen from Europe, Mars passes just 2 arcminutes south of the
5th-magnitude star Nu Librae before dawn Thursday morning.

JAN. 25 -- THURSDAY
* Jupiter's moon Ganymede gets eclipsed by Jupiter's shadow this
evening. Using a small telescope, watch it fade from view around 7:35
p.m. EST and reappear around 9:47 p.m. EST.

JAN. 26 -- FRIDAY
* As twilight fades this evening, look below Venus in the southwest
for the thin waxing crescent Moon. To the Moon's lower right is
Mercury.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:07 p.m. EST.

JAN. 27 -- SATURDAY
* The crescent Moon shines closer below Venus at dusk this evening.
Look for Mercury very far to the Moon's lower right.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is just above the west-southwest horizon after sunset, far to
the lower right of Venus. Look for it about 40 minutes after sundown.

VENUS is the brilliant object (magnitude -4.4) shining in the
southwest during and after dusk.

MARS (magnitude +1.1, in Libra) glows yellow-orange in the
south-southeast before dawn. Well to its lower left is
similarly-colored Antares in Scorpius.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.6 and -0.3, respectively) shine
brightly high in the south during evening. Jupiter is the brightest.
Yellowish Saturn appears 7 degrees (about four fingers' widths at
arm's length) to Jupiter's right or lower right. They're in the
constellation Taurus; above Jupiter is the Pleiades star cluster, and
farther to Jupiter's left or lower left sparkles orange Aldebaran.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of the Sun.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is low in
the east-southeast before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy
research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine
of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 386 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Wed, Jan 24, 2001 (08:23) * 12 lines
Tuesday January 23 04:47 PM EST
Desktop Black Hole Possibly on the Horizon

By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer, SPACE.com


Two teams of scientists recently announced they can bring light to a
halt, and that finding may speed up little-known efforts to create a
desktop black hole.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 387 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jan 24, 2001 (14:30) * 1 lines
Wow...gone are the days of desktop overload. One in the kitchen would be useful too!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 388 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Wed, Jan 24, 2001 (19:19) * 1 lines
Just what we need, a black hole on our desktop, like it's hard enough to find anything on my desk now!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 389 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jan 24, 2001 (23:45) * 56 lines
NEWSALERT: Wednesday, January 24, 2001 @ 0700 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now
Sponsored by European AstroFest 2001
http://www.astronomynow.com/astrofest


MIR DEORBITER TUG LAUNCHED
--------------------------
An unmanned freighter destined to drive Russia's abandoned space station Mir into a suicidal plunge back to Earth was launched into orbit today atop a Soyuz rocket. Liftoff occurred at 0428:42 GMT from Central Asia.

http://spaceflightnow.com/mir/010124progup/


U.S. WEATHER SATELLITE GROUNDED TILL AT LEAST APRIL
---------------------------------------------------
Efforts to understand and correct a mysterious problem that could have doomed the $430 million mission of a U.S. military weather satellite while work to service the craft's ride to orbit -- a Titan 2 rocket -- will delay launch until at least mid-April, the Air Force said Tuesday.

http://spaceflightnow.com/titan/g9/delay.html


CASSINI SEES JOVIAN LIGHTNING STORMS, MOONS
-------------------------------------------
A new batch of Jupiter images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft includes an amazing view of Io, clouds on the planet, lightning storms and the best view yet of the small moon Himalia.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/24cassini/


SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH SCHEDULE UNDER REVIEW
------------------------------------------
NASA managers are assessing a revised shuttle launch schedule that delays two space station assembly flights by several weeks and pushes one flight by the veteran shuttle Columbia into next year.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/23manifest/


INSTRUMENT PROBLEMS COULD DELAY INTEGRAL LAUNCH
-----------------------------------------------
European Space Agency officials reported this week that problems with several instruments intended for the INTEGRAL spacecraft have put pressure on next year's planned launch of the gamma-ray observatory.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/24integral/


AOL USERS
---------
The links below should make it easier for AOL users to reach our stories.

MIR DEORBITER TUG LAUNCHED

U.S. WEATHER SATELLITE GROUNDED TILL AT LEAST APRIL

CASSINI SEES JOVIAN LIGHTNING STORMS, MOONS

SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH SCHEDULE UNDER REVIEW

INSTRUMENT PROBLEMS COULD DELAY INTEGRAL LAUNCH


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 390 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Thu, Jan 25, 2001 (07:45) * 1 lines
Mir suicide mission!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 391 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jan 25, 2001 (11:52) * 39 lines
Yup...I hope this time they miss us by more than a few miles... But, it would be amazing to see it blast into the atmosphere - if it is anything like what I saw a few weeks ago!

NEWSALERT: Thursday, January 25, 2001 @ 0553 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now
Sponsored by European AstroFest 2001
http://www.astronomynow.com/astrofest

ROCKS MAY BE KEY IN SEARCH FOR MARS AND VENUS WATER
---------------------------------------------------
Scientists seeking to understand how much water might have once existed on Mars and Venus may find answers locked up in the rocks on those planets, according to research published this week.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/25venusmars/

ALPHA ASTRONAUTS BUSY BUT COMFORTABLE ON STATION
------------------------------------------------
Despite a relentless work schedule, the Alpha astronauts say life on board the international space station is improving and while they miss the comforts of home, all three crew members say they would be happy to extend their stay if necessary.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a/010123isslife/

ASTEROID ORBITER BEGINS SERIES OF LOW PASSES
--------------------------------------------
NASA's NEAR Shoemaker probe orbiting an asteroid is on track for a series of close approaches to the space rock, bringing the craft closer to Eros than ever before.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/25near/

CASSINI SEES THE INVISIBLE DURING JUPITER FLYBY
-----------------------------------------------
Cassini's recent pictures of Jupiter are providing scientists with never-before-seen images of the giant planet's magnetosphere and underlying dynamics. Researchers using the Cassini flyby of Jupiter to try out some of the craft's advanced instrumentation are reaping scientific rewards.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0101/25inviscassini/

CLARIFICATION TO TITAN 2 COUNTDOWN
----------------------------------
The U.S. Air Force has provided clarification and updated information concerning Sunday's somewhat confusing countdown of the Titan 2 rocket with the DMSP F16 military weather satellite.
http://spaceflightnow.com/titan/g9/status.html

LAUNCH DATE CHANGES
-------------------
See our continuously updated Worldwide Launch Schedule page for the latest on space shuttle and unmanned rocket flights! New changes include delays for next week's Titan 4B rocket launch and a new target date for space shuttle Atlantis' voyage to the international space station in February.
http://spaceflightnow.com/tracking/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 392 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jan 29, 2001 (15:37) * 160 lines
EARTH'S MAGNETOSPHERE VISUALIZED BY IMAGE

Spacecraft observations have shown researchers what the
otherwise-invisible magnetosphere of Earth looks like. In today's
issue of the journal Science, James L. Burch (Southwest Research
Institute) and 11 colleagues presented views of the plasma that
surrounds our planet. NASA's Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global
Exploration (IMAGE) has been monitoring the changes in the flow of
ionized gas above Earth's atmosphere and, for the first time, has been
able to provide global views at three far-ultraviolet wavelengths.

The researchers were able to confirm the existence of a
sunward-pointing tail of plasma that had been predicted but never
before been observed. It is an artifact of the fluidlike flow of
electrified gas as it is pushed by solar wind. Besides this
magnetospheric backwash, the images also show plasma-deficient
regions, called troughs, which Burch and his colleagues note that they
are at a loss to explain.

CASSINI VIEWS HIMALIA

Launched on October 15, 1997, the Cassini spacecraft is currently en
route to study Saturn. However, the spacecraft made a long detour,
flying by Jupiter on December 30th to get a gravity-assist speed
boost. In doing so, it provided some of the best views ever seen of
the Jovian system. One such example is this image of Himalia, the
largest of Jupiter's outer satellites. Discovered in 1904, Himalia
shines at magnitude 14.8 and has a diameter of 170 +/- 20 kilometers.
The picture, taken December 19th, shows that the moon is not spherical
but irregularly shaped, an indication that it may be a captured
asteroid or cometary object.

Interestingly, scientists are lucky to have this image. On December
19th, one of the reaction wheels that help to stabilize Cassini
malfunctioned. For a brief period, scientific observations continued
while the spacecraft was instead held stationary with onboard
thrusters. This picture was taken during that time. However, thruster
stabilization would waste too much fuel, so flight controllers halted
Cassini's study of Jupiter until the reaction wheels were fixed. The
problem is now believed to have been due to a lack of lubrication in
the reaction-wheel system. The remedy was to simply spin the wheels
quickly and redistribute the lubricant. Operations returned to normal
two days later.

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY HIGH BEFORE DAWN

Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) continues yet higher north in the
morning sky. At 8th-magnitude, it is an easy target for binoculars as
it moves almost exactly one degree a day from Serpens into Hercules
this coming week. Northern Hemisphere observers can spot it more than
halfway up the sky, some 50 to 60 deg. above the southeastern horizon
before the first light of dawn. For those south of the equator, the
comet will only be about 15 to 20 deg. above the east-northeast
horizon. Here are positions for McNaught-Hartley for 0 hours Universal
Time in 2000.0 coordinates:

Date R.A. Dec.

Jan 27 16h 09m + 9.6 deg.
Jan 29 16 15 11.6
Jan 31 16 20 13.6
Feb 2 16 26 15.6

For more about the comet, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0101skyevents.html .

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JAN. 28 -- SUNDAY
* The crescent Moon and Venus shine together in the west-southwest
during and after evening twilight.
* Mercury reaches greatest elongation, 18 degrees east of the Sun.
Look for it in the evening twilight far to the lower right of Venus.

JAN. 29 -- MONDAY
* Venus shines to the lower right of the Moon during and after dusk.
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 8:37 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale orange-tan. It
should be visible for at least 50 minutes before and after in a good
4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady.
For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

JAN. 30 -- TUESDAY
* Venus shines far to the lower right of the Moon during and after
dusk. Roughly the same distance to the Moon's upper left are Saturn
and, farther on, brighter Jupiter.

JAN. 31 -- WEDNESDAY
* Jupiter, fainter Saturn, the Moon, brilliant Venus, and little
Mercury form a huge line in the sky during twilight, in that order
from high in the south to very low in the west-southwest.
* Jupiter's moon Io emerges from eclipse out of the planet's shadow
around 9:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Use a small telescope to watch
it swell into view a little off the planet's eastern edge.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 10:16 p.m. EST.

FEB. 1 -- THURSDAY
* First-quarter Moon (exact at 9:02 a.m. EST).
* Bright Jupiter, fainter Saturn, and the Moon form a curving line
high in the sky this evening.

FEB. 2 -- FRIDAY
* The brightest "star" close to the Moon this evening is Jupiter.
The second-brightest is Saturn, to the Moon's right. Third-brightest
is Aldebaran, to the Moon's left.
* A small telescope will show that Saturn's largest satellite,
Titan, stands three or four ring-lengths east of the planet this
evening and tomorrow evening.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:54 p.m. EST.

FEB. 3 -- SATURDAY
* The Moon, orange Aldebaran, bright Jupiter, and yellowish Saturn
form a jagged line in the sky this evening, in that order from left to
right.
* Turn a small telescope on Jupiter around 6:26 p.m. EST, and you'll
find its satellites Io and Europa just 10 arcseconds apart, looking
like a double star.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:46 p.m. EST.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is just above the west-southwest horizon after sunset, far to
the lower right of Venus. Look for it about 40 minutes after sundown.

VENUS is the brilliant object (magnitude -4.5) shining in the
southwest during and after dusk.

MARS (magnitude +1.0, in Libra) rises around 2 a.m. and glows
yellow-orange in the south before dawn. To its lower left is
similarly-colored Antares in Scorpius.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.5 and -0.3, respectively) shine
brightly high in the south during evening. Jupiter is the brightest.
Yellowish Saturn appears 7 degrees (about four fingers' widths at
arm's length) to Jupiter's right or lower right. They're in the
constellation Taurus; above Jupiter is the Pleiades star cluster, and
farther to Jupiter's left or lower left sparkles orange Aldebaran.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of the the Sun.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is low in
the southeast before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy
research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine
of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 393 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Wed, Jan 31, 2001 (18:43) * 1 lines
About that desktop black hole, I sometimes think that I have one already. This is a silly question: If you had a desktop black hole, does this mean that you have no need for a waste basket?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 394 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Feb  3, 2001 (12:13) * 293 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - FEBRUARY 2, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Long out of print, the much-loved autobiography of celebrated comet-
hunter Leslie Peltier has been reissued on the 100th anniversary of
his birth. In a career spanning six decades and using telescopes from
2 to 12 inches in diameter, Peltier discovered a dozen comets and six
novae and made more than 100,000 observations of variable stars. In
"Starlight Nights" he recalls these achievements and reflects on the
meaning of observational astronomy as well as all of nature. This new
edition features an introduction by S&T contributing editor David H.
Levy plus 16 black-and-white photographs from the Peltier family
archives. To order your copy, visit Sky Publishing's online store at
http://store.skypub.com/ or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

LIGHTS OUT IN CALIFORNIA: GOVERNOR ORDERS CONSERVATION EFFORT
The deepening energy crisis in California has triggered a response
from Gov. Gray Davis that should hearten astronomers throughout the
Golden State. Executive Order D-19-01, issued by Davis Friday, calls
for significant cutbacks in outdoor lighting in the state's most
densely populated counties. The directive calls for voluntary
compliance as soon as practical and mandatory enforcement (by
California's Highway Patrol and county sheriff departments) beginning
March 15th. Retailers who fail to comply will face fines of $1,000 per
day.

Although he did not specify a savings target, Davis hopes to reduce
outdoor lighting by 50 percent statewide. "Every time an unnecessary
light is burning in a retail establishment, that's one more
kilowatt-hour that could have been sent to some other part of the
state," Davis noted.

While the new get-tough policy may improve night-sky darkness, it does
not lay the groundwork for true lighting reform. "There's no mention
of full-cutoff lighting, or residential lighting, or street lighting,"
observes Richard Fienberg, Sky & Telescope's editor in chief, "and
there's nothing about improving the environment, saving the night sky,
reducing glare, avoiding light trespass, or anything else. When the
state's power crunch eases, don't be surprised if the governor's order
is rescinded."

The full text of the executive order can be obtained through the
Governor's home page
(http://www.governor.ca.gov/state/govsite/gov_homepage.jsp -- click on
"Press Room," then "Executive Orders"). Those interested in contacting
him about light-pollution issues can send e-mail using
graydavis@governor.ca.gov.

EUVE SPACECRAFT RETIRES
Another NASA satellite has earned its gold watch. On January 31st, the
Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) officially completed its mission
and was powered down into a hibernation mode. The retired telescope, a
victim of budget cuts, will be brought down to burn up in Earth's
atmosphere in a controlled reentry sometime around February 2002.

EUVE, a workhorse in NASA's fleet of orbiting observatories, was
launched on June 7, 1992. Since then, it has observed the heavens in
ultraviolet wavelengths, monitoring a wide range of objects. Among the
many valuable discoveries made by EUVE was the detection of soft X-ray
emission from comets and a detailed mapping of the interstellar
medium. "No one had thoroughly explored the heavens in the extreme
ultraviolet before, and EUVE filled significant gaps in our
understanding," says Alan Bunner, Science Director for NASA's
Structure and Evolution of the Universe program.

Originally intended to be a short-term project, the EUVE mission was
twice extended by NASA, more than doubling its designed 3-year life
span. Even with the two extensions, EUVE scientists were reluctant to
turn off the reliable instrument. According to project manager Brett
Stroozas (University of California, Berkeley), EUVE has "never been
out of science mode for more than a couple of days. It's been a great
spacecraft."

With the loss of the EUVE, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra
X-ray Observatory will do their part to lessen the spectral void. But
unfortunately there is no true replacement mission scheduled to
observe in the extreme ultraviolet. "EUVE was unique and there is
nothing in the planning stations to make up for it," says Stroozas.

HUBBLE SPIES COSMIC INSECT IMPOSTOR
If it's the first Thursday of the month, it's time for another
spectacular image from the Hubble Space Telescope as part of the
ongoing Hubble Heritage Project. February's choice selection is a
planetary nebula designated Menzel 3 but known more commonly as the
Ant Nebula. The gas streaming away from the dying star at the nebula's
center produces the unmistakable appearance of an ant. Scientifically,
the shape is called a bipolar outflow, and astronomers still don't
quite know how they form. Why does a spherical star produce such a
linear artifact? One scenario suggests that the central star is a
tight binary system and the gas squirts out perpendicular to the
companion's orbit. Another possibility is that the outflow is confined
by the star's magnetic field.

NEW DIRECTOR FOR JPL
In a move that signals change for the famed Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Charles Elachi has been named to replace Edward Stone as the center's
director. Known worldwide for its involvement in planetary
exploration, the 177-acre space center in Pasadena, California, is
operated by Caltech for NASA. Caltech president David Baltimore, who
made Wednesday's announcement, noted that Elachi "knows JPL better
than anyone."

The new director has spent his entire 30-year career at JPL, rising
through the scientific ranks to lead its Space and Earth Sciences
Directorate. "Charles Elachi brings formidable talents to his new job,
both as a scientist and a leader," notes NASA administrator Daniel
Goldin. Among other accomplishments, Elachi spearheaded the
development of dozens of space experiments, including highly
successful radar imagers carried to orbit by the Space Shuttle.

Stone has headed JPL since 1991, and he will return to teaching and
research at Caltech. Although his retirement from JPL was expected
(he's now 65), the shift in leadership comes against a backdrop of
difficult times for the laboratory. In recent years JPL has endured
the loss of three high-profile spacecraft: Mars Observer in 1993, and
both Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander in 1999. "JPL really
does need change," notes Wesley T. Huntress, formerly NASA's director
for space sciences. "The days of building singular, expensive
spacecraft ended in the mid-1990s with Cassini, and the current
approach involves faster turnaround and adapting quickly from lessons
learned."

Whereas his predecessor employed a consensus-building management
style, the 53-year-old Elachi is expected to apply a tougher, more
direct approach. The relationship between Elachi and Edward J. Weiler,
who replaced Huntress at NASA Headquarters, got off to a rocky start,
and some observers say Elachi's biggest challenge will be to preserve
JPL's long-dominant role in the construction and management of NASA's
interplanetary spacecraft. Pressure is coming from externally built
craft like NEAR-Shoemaker, a low-budget Discovery mission conceived
and delivered by the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins
University. "Elachi has a visceral feeling for planetary exploration,"
Huntress says of his former JPL colleague. "He's got excellent
hardware instincts, and he's an insider who's had the full breadth of
experience at JPL."

"SURVIVORS" CREATED OORT CLOUD
When it comes to icy planetesimals in the early solar system, it
appears that breaking up was easy to do after all. According to new
calculations by S. Alan Stern (Southwest Research Institute) and Paul
R. Weissman (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), after the giant planets
formed, most of the outer solar system's leftovers ground themselves
into oblivion through collisions. This new thinking could radically
change how astronomers view the formation and the composition of the
Oort Cloud, the distant cometary reservoir populated by icy bodies
flung out of the outer-planet zone after close encounters with Jupiter
and its kin.

Prior models detailing the Oort Cloud's origin relied solely on
gravitational interactions among the outer planets, the icy objects
they encountered, and external masses such as giant molecular clouds.
These computations showed that countless small bodies were perturbed
from their orbits and ejected outward, with a fraction of them ending
up in a roughly spherical cloud more than 10,000 astronomical units
(1.5 trillion kilometers) away. However, as Stern explained last week
at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, during planetary
formation, the outer solar system teemed with so much debris, no
object could escape without running into something on the way out.
Collisions were commonplace, he said, which pulverized small
planetesimals and eroded the larger ones.

Only after the outer-planet realm cleared itself of debris could the
surviving bodies make their escape to the Oort Cloud, and by
implication it contains far less matter than previously thought. Stern
and Weissman estimate that the cometary cloud contains at most a few
Earths' worth of material -- a fraction of the 10 to 40 Earth masses
of previous estimates.

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY HIGH BEFORE DAWN
Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) continues yet higher north in the
morning sky. At 8th magnitude, it is an easy target for binoculars as
it moves almost exactly one degree a day through Hercules this coming
week. Northern Hemisphere observers can spot it more than halfway up
the sky, some 55 to 60 deg. above the east-southeast horizon before
the first light of dawn. For those south of the equator, the comet
will only be about 15 to 20 deg. above the northeast horizon. Here are
positions for McNaught-Hartley for 0 hours Universal Time in 2000.0
coordinates:
Date R.A.Dec.
Feb 3 16h 28m +16.6 deg.
Feb 5 16 34 18.6
Feb 7 16 39 20.6
Feb 9 16 45 22.6
For details and a finder chart for the month of February, see the
Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0102skyevents.html .

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

FEB. 4 -- SUNDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: Look to the lower right of the Moon this
evening for the constellation Orion. In its middle is Orion's Belt, a
diagonal row of three stars fairly close together. The brightest star
between the Belt and the Moon is orange-red Betelgeuse, Orion's
shoulder. Exactly on the opposite side of the Belt from Betelgeuse is
Rigel, Orion's foot.

FEB. 5 -- MONDAY
* Turn a small telescope on Jupiter around 7:29 p.m. Eastern
Standard Time, and you'll find its satellites Io and brighter Ganymede
only 18 arcseconds apart, looking like a double star.
* Jupiter's satellite Europa crosses Jupiter's face from 8:09 to
10:44 p.m. EST; watch it cross the planet's limb at these times.
Europa's tiny black shadow falls on Jupiter from 10:40 p.m. to 1:15
a.m. EST Tuesday morning.
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central
meridian (the imaginary line down the center of Jupiter's disk from
pole to pole) around 9:25 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale
orange-tan. It should be visible for at least 50 minutes before and
after in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is
sharp and steady. For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times,
see http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .
* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of
its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a
couple hours centered on 12:56 a.m. EST Tuesday morning. Algol takes
several additional hours to fade and to brighten. For a timetable of
all its predicted minima see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/variables/algol.html .

FEB. 6 -- TUESDAY
* More doorstep astronomy: The Moon shines in the eastern sky this
evening. Above it are Pollux and (a little higher) Castor. Farther to
the Moon's right or lower right is Procyon, the Little Dog Star. Even
farther to the lower right of Procyon is brilliant Sirius, the Big Dog
Star.
* Observers across most of North America can use binoculars or a
telescope to watch the dark limb of the waxing gibbous Moon occult
(cover) the 3.5-magnitude star Delta Geminorum. For local times of
this event see the timetable in the February Sky & Telescope, page
122, or http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0102skyevents.html .

FEB. 7 -- WEDNESDAY
* Full Moon tonight (exact at 2:12 a.m. Thursday morning).
* Jupiter's moon Io reappears from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow
around 7:39 p.m. EST. Use a small telescope to watch it emerge into
view just east of the planet.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:04 p.m. EST.

FEB. 8 -- THURSDAY
* Algol is at minimum light for a couple hours centered on 9:45 p.m.
EST.

FEB. 9 -- FRIDAY
* Early Saturday morning, Comet McNaught-Hartley (a telescopic
object glowing at about 9th magnitude) passes 1 degree east of the
10th-magnitude planetary nebula NGC 6210 in Hercules. A finder chart
for the comet all this month is in the February Sky & Telescope, page
122, and at http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0102skyevents.html
.
FEB. 10 -- SATURDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:34 p.m. EST.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is disappearing into the sunset. Early in the week it may
still be visible far to the lower right of Venus in early twilight.

VENUS is the brilliant object (magnitude -4.5) shining in the
southwest during and after dusk.

MARS (magnitude +0.9, in Libra) rises around 1:30 a.m. and glows
yellow-orange in the south before dawn. To its lower left is
similarly-colored Antares in Scorpius.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.5 and -0.3, respectively) shine
brightly high in the south to southwest during evening. Jupiter is the
brightest. Yellowish Saturn appears 7 degrees (about four fingers'
widths at arm's length) to Jupiter's lower right. They're in the
constellation Taurus; just to Jupiter's upper right is the Pleiades
star cluster, and farther to Jupiter's left sparkles orange Aldebaran.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of the Sun.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is low in
the southeast before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy
research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine
of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 395 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb  8, 2001 (20:53) * 59 lines
U.S. Group Plans Air Trip to View Mir's Fiery Death
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A small group of space enthusiasts plans to
charter an aircraft to witness up close the event of a lifetime -- the fiery
death next month of the Russian Mir space station as it hurtles into
the south Pacific.
The expedition, thought to be the only one of its kind in the world, will
take some 120 researchers and paying members of the public 30,000
feet up into the skies south of Tahiti.
There they hope to view a display of pyrotechnics expected to be one
of the most memorable celestial events of the 21st century.
"I have been planning to do this for 15 years. I missed the Skylab
reentry in 1979 because it was an uncontrolled reentry," expedition
organizer Bob Citron told Reuters on Thursday.
"As far as I know we are the only ones doing it. When I started doing
my research, I was amazed that no one else was planning to observe
this reentry, which is going to be the most spectacular event since the
Tunguska meteorite struck the earth in 1908," Citron, a space industry
businessman, said in a telephone interview from his Seattle home.
Russian space officials are to bring the 130-tonMir space lab -- the
15-year-old former crown jewel of the Soviet space program -- crashing
through the earth's atmosphere in the first half of March.
Two thirds of the aging and accident prone station will burn up in the
controlled descent but the remainder is expected to plunge into a
remote area of the Pacific Ocean about 2,000 nautical miles south of
Tahiti and 2,400 nautical miles east of New Zealand.
Citron, founder of the commercial space firm SPACEHAB Inc. and a
man with 30 years experience in the United States space program,
believes the chances of seeing anything from land will be remote.
"The only place you will be able to see anything at all from earth, if
you are lucky, will be from one of the central south Pacific islands and
the chances of that are very, very small. You really have to be over
open ocean," he said.
TRIP WILL COST $6,000
Citron is organizing the trip with his Los Angeles lawyer brother Rick
Citron. The pair have a 30 year background in managing scientific trips
to view solar eclipses and volcanic eruptions all over the world.
About 20 friends, colleagues and serious amateur astronomers have
expressed interest in paying about $6,000 each for the trip. The plane
will also take nonpaying scientific researchers and a television crew who
will film the event as part of a documentary on the Mir.
The Citrons plan to unveil a Web site (http://www.Mirreentry.com) next
week with details of the expedition.
A chartered wide-bodied jet will take the group above the clouds to a
position some 200 miles away from the projected track of the debris.
"We are going to be at the best location to observe the event and we
are going to be hundreds of miles from the debris impact area. There
won't be any danger of anything hitting us," said Citron.
Although the show from horizon to horizon is likely to last only five or
six minutes, the Citrons believe it will be a sight well worth seeing.
"Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of incandescent pieces of Mir will rain
down through the atmosphere, including the three huge sets of solar
panels, the five major pressurized modules, and many tons of
structure, external tubing and cabling, scientific equipment, rocket
engines and fuel tanks," said Rick Citron in a statement.
"Unless an asteroid strikes the earth sooner, there will not be another
opportunity to witness and record an event of this magnitude until the
International Space Station is de-orbited in 2020 or 2030.
"We've got the technology to observe and record the event. Why not
do it?," he said. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 396 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Feb 18, 2001 (13:48) * 33 lines
***************************************************
Spring AGU Special Session V02 -
New Views of Mars Volcanism: Extrusive, Explosive,
and Possible Influences of H2O (Joint With P)
***************************************************

Session Description:
Before the recent Mars missions, volcanic activity on Mars was thought to
be primarily "old" (restricted to more than 1.3 b.y. ago) and mafic.
Although a range of eruption styles seemed likely, available topographic
data poorly constrained the existing models. Today, analyses of Pathfinder
and MGS data suggest a range of lava compositions, and provide topographic
and image evidence for more extensive volcanism -- some of it quite recent
(possibly even current). This session is intended to explore our changing
views of the thermal and chemical evolution of Mars by examining new
evidence for volcanic activity on Mars throughout its geologic history. We
will provide a forum for discussing compositional data, proposed eruption
styles and mechanisms, and evidence for recent volcanic activity.

Conveners:
Susan Sakimoto, GEST Center, NASA/GSFC, UMBC, Code 921, Greenbelt, MD,
20771, Tel: +1-301-614-6470, Fax:+1-301-614-6522, E-Mail:
sakimoto@denali.gsfc.nasa.gov

Tracy Gregg, University at Buffalo, Department of Geology and Geophysics,
876 Nat. Science and Mathematics Complex, Buffalo, NY, 14260-3050, Tel:
+1-716-645-6800 ext. 2463, Fax: +1-716-636-4827, E-Mail:
Tgregg@nsm.buffalo.edu

Lori Glaze, Proxemy Research, 20528 Farcroft Lane, Laytonsville, MD,
20882, Tel: +1-301-313-0026, Fax: +1-301-313-0021, E-Mail:
lori@proxemy.com


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 397 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 23, 2001 (15:21) * 73 lines
Watch Is on for Doomsday Asteroids, Comets

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One got the dinosaurs. Another wiped out
the trilobites and just about everything else on Earth. And an asteroid
or comet might get us, too, scientists say.
That is why dozens of centers are searching the sky for moderate-sized
asteroids or comets that might one day collide with the Earth.
It appears that every 100 million years or so, something big enough to
wipe out nearly all life hits the planet, Chris Chyba of Stanford
University in California says.
Such impacts bracketed the dinosaur age, scientists now think. This
week's issue of the journal Science carries a report suggesting that an
asteroid or comet was responsible for the "mother of all extinctions" --
the Permian event 250 million years ago that wiped out 90 percent of
all marine species and 70 percent of animals and plants on land.
It would have been about the size of the asteroid believed to have hit
what is now the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, sending up clouds of dust
and sparking volcanic activity that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million
years ago.
The first impact would have ended the Paleozoic age 250 million years
ago, starting the Mesozoic, during which dinosaurs evolved and thrived.
The impact 65 million years ago ended the party for the dinosaurs,
allowing mammals and eventually humans to evolve during the
present age.
"Statistically, there is something like 100 million years between
impacts of 10-kilometer (6-mile-wide) objects and the Earth," Chyba
told a news conference sponsored by the space agency NASA on
Thursday.
That scenario would allow for a theoretical 35-million-year buffer. But of
course asteroids and comets do not operate on schedule. And
something smaller could make quite a mess, too.
SMALLER IMPACT COULD KILL A LOT OF US
"Smaller impacts ... even a kilometer (half a mile) in size could also
cause not mass extinctions but could strongly affect human existence,"
Chyba said.
It could kick up enough dust to cause a "nuclear winter" that would
wipe out crops and might cause tsunamis to swamp coastal areas.
It did not take the recent release of asteroid disaster films to make
scientists aware of this threat.
In 1998 NASA started what is called the Spaceguard Survey, which aims
to find 90 percent of near-Earth objects larger than a kilometer (half a
mile) in diameter by 2008.
Teams of astronomers around the world are surveying the sky with
electronic cameras to find objects, and amateur sky-watchers help in
the effort.
"We think we know all of the 10-kilometer (6-mile-wide) objects,"
Chyba said. "There aren't very many of them that are crisscrossing
Earth's orbit. We don't have to worry about them."
He said researchers are about halfway through a catalog of
one-kilometer (half-mile) objects.
If one is found to be on a collision course with Earth, Chyba and other
experts say there will be plenty of time to think about what to do --
whether to launch a spacecraft to try and deflect it, or make the best of
a bad situation and move people away from coastal areas and
stockpile food.
If one has been missed, NASA says the first warning will be the
explosion when it strikes.
"Statistically, the greatest danger is from a NEO (near-Earth object) with
about 1 million megatons energy," NASA says in its Web site devoted
to the threat at http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/.
This object would be 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in diameter.
"On average, one of these collides with the Earth once or twice per
million years, producing a global catastrophe that would kill a
substantial (but unknown) fraction of the Earth's human population.
Reduced to personal terms, this means that you have about one
chance in 20,000 of dying as a result of a collision," NASA says.
Of course such impacts give as well as receive. Some scientists believe
that meteors, comets and asteroids smashing into the Earth may have
carried the very seeds of life. Evidence of amino acids and even tiny
bacteria have been found in meteorites.
Just weeks ago a team at the University of California Santa Cruz said
they created an artificial cell wall in space-like conditions and said it
showed living cells could have survived a trip through space. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 398 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Feb 24, 2001 (14:26) * 250 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - FEBRUARY 23, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Our 12-inch scale model of the red planet depicts more than 100
identified features as well as the major bright and dark regions
visible from Earth. It was produced by Sky & Telescope in
collaboration with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. It comes with
a clear pedestal and an information booklet. To order your Sky &
Telescope Mars Globe, 1st Edition, for $74.95, visit Sky Publishing's
online store (http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=39214)
or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

NEAR STILL SENDING DATA

Flight controllers at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland
report that NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft continues
to function well on the surface of asteroid 433 Eros. Moreover, it is
still collecting useful scientific data from two instruments. As fate
would have it, the one experiment that stood to lose the most by NEAR
Shoemaker's early retirement, the X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometer,
benefited the most from the craft's newfound role as a lander. The
gamma-ray spectrometer has suffered from poor sensitivity -- it had
failed to detect anything even when the spacecraft was close to Eros.
More time in orbit would have improved the spectrometer's meager
counting statistics, so team leader Jacob I. Trombka (NASA/Goddard
Space Flight Center) was not happy about the decision to attempt a
landing.

Trombka's instrument not only survived the February 12th touchdown,
but in doing so it gets to assess the surface from a closer range than
ever imagined. (The detector may even be immersed in dusty rubble.)
NASA managers had expected to silence NEAR Shoemaker for good on
February 14th, but because of the gamma-ray instrument's fortuitous
survival they granted the mission a two-week extension. "The detector
system is working well," Trombka reports. A set of calibration data,
trickled to Earth at 10 bits per second on February 16th, has paved
the way for relaying abundance measurements for iron, potassium, and
silicon over the next week. "Things are looking very good," he told
Sky & Telescope. "Had I known this was going to happen, I wouldn't
have been upset about landing at all!"

The other operating instrument, the magnetometer, was initially to
remain off. But project scientists changed their minds and sent
commands to activate it late on February 14th. So far the instrument
has found no trace of a magnetic field from its surface outpost, a
finding consistent with earlier measurements from orbit. Of the five
asteroids seen at close range by spacecraft to date, none show any
evidence of either an intrinsic or induced magnetic field.

IMPACT EVIDENCE FOR ANOTHER MASS EXTINCTION

The Earth was teeming with life 250 million years ago. The oceans were
filled with creatures and the land was covered in plants and animals.
But something catastrophic happened shortly after this point. Fossil
records show that 70 percent of all land species and 90 percent of the
marine biota suddenly disappeared. For years, scientists wondered what
could have caused such a mass extinction.

However, a paper published in today's issue of Science appears to hold
the answer. According to a team of scientists led by Luann Becker
(University of Washington), the mass extinction, the largest in
Earth's history, was most likely caused by a huge impact event,
analogous to the comet or asteroid strike that killed off the
dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

The evidence for this earlier cataclysmic event came from samples of
250-million-year-old rock exposures in Japan, China, and Hungary.
Within these outcroppings, the scientists found fullerene molecules,
more commonly known as buckyballs. Fullerenes are complex carbon
molecules shaped like soccer balls. Their cagelike structure can trap
gases. Scientists found helium and argon with isotopic ratios
indicative of an interstellar origin inside the buckyballs sampled
from the sites. "The extreme temperatures and gas pressures in carbon
stars are perhaps the only way extraterrestrial noble gases could be
forced inside a fullerene," says Becker.

Just as with the extinction event that killed the dinosaurs, the
impact itself didn't cause the most damage -- its aftereffects were
the real culprit. Although the exact collision site is unknown, the
comet or asteroid most likely hit an ocean, resulting in a global
change of sea level, oceanic oxygen concentration, and climate.
Additionally, a spike in volcanic activity occurred around this period
and huge lava flows seen in Siberia were likely triggered by the
impact. According to Becker, "To knock out 90 percent of organisms,
you've got to attack on more than one front."

USING MASKS TO SEE CLEARER

Astronomers using the 10-meter Keck I telescope atop Mauna Kea,
Hawaii, were able to improve the telescope's resolution by blocking
most of the starlight it collects. Peter G. Tuthill (University of
Sydney), John D. Monnier (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics), and William C. Danchi (NASA/Goddard Space Flight
Center) put a mask on Keck's 1.4-m secondary mirror that eliminated 90
percent of incoming light. The light from the unblocked areas were
combined into a single image using a technique called interferometry
to make pictures with four times the resolution of the Hubble Space
Telescope.

The astronomers used an infrared camera to peer at the young star LkHa
101 that is surrounded by a warm envelope of dust. Tuthill and his
colleagues presented images in yesterday's issue of Nature that
resolve the dust cloud into a doughnut-shaped disk, clearly showing a
central clearing. The disk has a crescent shape because we see it
slightly tipped from face-on; the side closer to Earth appears
brighter. Their observations also revealed a companion star some 4
billion kilometers from LkHa 101 (not pictured above).

These results demonstrate the power of optical interferometry.
Astronomers hope to be able to use the technique with widely separated
telescopes, such as the twin Keck reflectors. Tuthill explains, "The
interferometer technology demonstrated by our aperture mask lets us
detect extraordinarily fine detail, and is a first step in projects
that will combine light from an array of telescopes to image planets
around distant stars."

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY HIGH IN HERCULES

Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) is still moving north, reaching yet
higher in the morning sky for the Northern Hemisphere. The
magnitude-8.5 comet rises around 10:30 p.m. for midnorthern latitudes
and is an easy target for binoculars as it moves through Hercules this
coming week. By the first light of dawn, the comet will be about 70
deg. above the eastern horizon, about a dozen degrees from Vega. Here
are positions for McNaught-Hartley for 0 hours Universal Time in
2000.0 coordinates:

Date R.A. Dec.

Feb 24 17h 24m +36.9 deg.
Feb 26 17 29 +38.6
Feb 28 17 34 +40.3
Mar 2 17 39 +42.0

For details and a finder chart for the month of February, see the
Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0102skyevents.html .


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

FEB. 25 -- SUNDAY

* Look for the crescent Moon shining well to the lower left of Venus
in the western sky early this evening.

* Look northeast during evening for the Big Dipper standing upright
on its bent handle. To identify constellations all around your sky (as
seen from the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere), use the
printable evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0102skyn.shtml . (If you're in
the Southern Hemisphere's mid-latitudes:
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0102skys.html .)

FEB. 26 -- MONDAY

* The crescent Moon shines left of Venus in the west.

* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, can be found with a small telescope
about four ring-lengths west of Saturn tonight and tomorrow night.

FEB. 27 -- TUESDAY

* This evening the Moon shines between Venus (to its lower right)
and Saturn and Jupiter (farther to the Moon's upper left).

* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 7:41 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is currently very pale
orange-tan. It should be visible for at least 50 minutes before and
after in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is
sharp and steady. For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times,
see http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

FEB. 28 -- WEDNESDAY

* Aldebaran, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon form a curving line in
the sky. Far to their lower right in early evening is bright Venus.

* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of
its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a
couple hours centered on 11:30 p.m. EST. Algol takes several
additional hours to fade and to brighten. For a timetable of all its
predicted minima see http://www.skypub.com/sights/variables/algol.html
.

MARCH 1 -- THURSDAY

* The Moon shines amid the group of Jupiter, Saturn, and Aldebaran
tonight!

* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 9:20 p.m. EST.

MARCH 2 -- FRIDAY

* First-quarter Moon (exact at 9:03 p.m. EST). The Moon is near
Aldebaran; brighter Jupiter and Saturn are to its lower right.

MARCH 3 -- SATURDAY

* Jupiter's moon Io casts its tiny black shadow on Jupiter's face
from 7:10 to 9:21 p.m. EST. Io itself crosses in front of the planet
from 5:51 to 8:02 p.m. EST.

* Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on
8:20 p.m. EST.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is barely above the east-southeast horizon as dawn grows
bright. Try looking for it with binoculars about 40 minutes before
sunrise.

VENUS is the brilliant object (magnitude -4.6) shining in the west
during and after dusk. It's getting lower each week.

MARS (magnitude +0.5, in the head of Scorpius) rises around 1 a.m. and
glows yellow-orange in the south before dawn. To its lower left is
similarly-colored Antares, somewhat fainter.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.3 and -0.2, respectively) shine
brightly in the evening high in the southwest to west. Jupiter is the
brightest; yellowish Saturn is 8 degrees to Jupiter's lower right. To
Jupiter's right are the Pleiades, and farther to Jupiter's left or
upper left sparkles orange Aldebaran.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of the Sun.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is in
Ophiuchus in the south before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy
research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine
of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 399 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb 26, 2001 (20:10) * 42 lines
Scientists See Evidence of Life on Mars Meteorite
Reuters
Feb 26 2001 8:18PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have found compelling new evidence of possible
ancient microscopic life on Mars, derived from magnetic crystals in a meteorite that fell
to Earth from the red planet, NASA announced on Monday.
An international team of researchers working with a Martian meteorite found in
Antarctica discovered magnetite crystals arranged in long chains within the potato-sized
space rock. Those chains could only have been formed by once-living organisms, the
U.S. space agency said in a statement.
"The chains we discovered are of biological origin," Imre Friedmann of NASA's Ames
Research Center in California said in the statement. "Such a chain of magnets outside
an organism would immediately collapse into a clump due to magnetic forces."
Each magnetite crystal in the chain is a microscopic magnet, and they are strung
together like pearls in a necklace, according to the researchers. Magnetite is an iron
oxide, something like iron rust.
The meteorite under study, known to scientists as ALH84001, was discovered in the
Antarctic in 1984 but caused a furor in 1996 when NASA researchers first raised the
possibility that the rock might contain evidence of ancient microbial life.
Since then, the rock's significance has been disputed by astrobiologists around the
world. The current findings, reported in Tuesday's editions of the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, appear certain to feed the controversy.
Friedmann's research team said the magnetite crystals formed inside organic material
whose structure held the crystals together. The crystal chains may have acted as
compasses for the bacteria that held them -- such bacteria are called magnetotactic
bacteria because they navigate by the magnetic crystal chains they contain.
The bacteria decayed but the crystals remained, the researchers reported. Most likely,
the crystals were flushed into tiny cracks in the Martian rock when an asteroid slammed
into the planet some 3.9 billion years ago; a later impact ejected the rock -- making it a
meteorite -- and sent it toward Earth, the researchers said.
Another NASA research team, led by Kathie Thomas-Keprta at Johnson Space Center
in Houston, reported in the same publication that the magnetite crystals in the Martian
meteorite are similar to those formed by magnetotactic bacteria living on Earth.
The long chains of crystals indicate a large number of bacteria were present on the
Martian meteorite, the researcher said, which suggests that such bacteria were
widespread on Mars.
Because magnetotactic bacteria require low levels of oxygen, it could mean that
photosynthetic organisms, the source of oxygen in the atmosphere, might have been
present on Mars 3.9 billion years ago, the researchers said.
Images of the Martian crystal chains and their possible earthly counterparts can be
seen online at
http:/amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2001/01images/magneticbacteria/bacteria.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 400 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 27, 2001 (13:59) * 51 lines
The above url should read
http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2001/01images/magneticbacteria/bacteria.html



Space Group Plans Solar Sailing Voyage
Reuters
Feb 26 2001 6:11PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In what sounds like a purely fantastic voyage, a
private U.S. group that boosts planetary exploration said on Monday it
plans to use the power of light to sail a giant windmill-shaped contraption
through space.
The Planetary Society, founded by the late astronomer Carl Sagan and
others, said the vehicle features reflective surfaces that will be propelled
when particles of light called photons hit it.
The fanciful craft, with its 30-yard sails, is to be launched on a converted
Russian intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine in the
Barents Sea later this year. The total cost of the mission is about $4
million.
This so-called solar sail technology has been theorized as a means for
space travel for decades but never put into practice, according to Louis
Friedman, one of the society's co-founders and its current chief.
Friedman, who worked with the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration on solar sail technology in the 1970s, said it might make
interstellar flight possible much sooner than most scientists now
estimate.
"Interstellar flight is an idea to us the way airplane flight was to
(Leonardo) Da Vinci: Hundreds of years into the future with no real way of
knowing how to do it," Friedman said in a telephone interview from his
Pasadena, Calif., office.
"With (solar) sailing it may not be that far in the future," he said; rather
than hundreds of years, such flights might be possible with this
technology in 100 years.
The mission, called Cosmos 1, would begin with a sub-orbital test
deployment of the solar sail in April and an orbital flight of several days,
weeks or months toward the end of the year.

The craft would be visible to the naked eye from some places on Earth,
but only as a bright dot in the sky.
The project is being funded by Cosmos Studios, a science entertainment
venture run in part by Sagan's widow and longtime collaborator, Ann
Druyan.
The mission does not aim to travel between the stars or even between
the planets, but merely to show that the technology exists that could make
this possible in the future, Friedman said.
Solar sailing is powerful enough to push spacecraft between the planets
from Mercury out to Jupiter, the society said in its announcement. Beyond
Jupiter, space sailing could be done using powerful lasers focused over
long distances in space.
More information about the mission can be seen online at
http://www.planetary.org. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 401 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar  3, 2001 (20:29) * 350 lines
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - MARCH 2, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Our 12-inch scale model of the red planet depicts more than 100
identified features as well as the major bright and dark regions
visible from Earth. It was produced by Sky & Telescope in
collaboration with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. It comes with
a clear pedestal and an information booklet. To order your Sky &
Telescope Mars Globe, 1st Edition, for $74.95, visit Sky Publishing's
online store http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=39214
or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

NEAR MISSION ENDS, SCIENTISTS UPBEAT

After spending two weeks on the surface of asteroid 433 Eros, the NEAR
Shoemaker spacecraft sent a final burst of data to Earth late on
February 28th before falling silent. "This mission has been very
successful far beyond what was in the original mission plan," comments
mission director Robert Farquhar. "When you talk about 'faster,
cheaper, better,' this is what 'better' means." During its year in
orbit around Eros, the spacecraft relayed 10 times more data to Earth
than expected, including some 160,000 images of the 33-kilometer-long
asteroid.

The unexpected windfall of surface data, collected in overtime by its
gamma-ray spectrometer, far exceed that obtained during an entire year
of orbiting the asteroid. Team leader Jacob Trombka (NASA/Goddard
Space Flight Center) says the week-long study should eventually yield
abundances for iron, silicon, oxygen, and potassium in surface
materials to a depth of about 10 centimeters. These data are crucial
because measurements from the companion X-ray spectrometer sample only
the topmost 0.1 millimeter of the surface. "The iron-to-silicon ratio
is critical for classifying the surface material," Trombka says, and
the value for potassium (a volatile element easily lost to space
during heating) will indicate whether Eros was ever partially molten.

Analysis of the gamma-ray data will take at least several weeks,
Trombka cautions. A similar instrument flown aboard Apollos 15 and 16
yielded important compositional findings about the Moon -- but those
data required 6 to 8 months to calibrate and analyze. In the mean
time, Trombka adds, "We can make some very good guesses" based on
what's already known about Eros's composition.

Although NASA will no longer track NEAR Shoemaker, Farquhar hints that
we may not have heard the last from this spacecraft. In August 2002
its solar-cell panels will once again be in full sunlight, potentially
an opportune time to attempt to awaken the spacecraft from its long,
cold hibernation.

"PIONEER 10, PHONE HOME!"

This week NASA's Deep Space Network will begin a concerted effort to
reestablish contact with Pioneer 10, which has not been heard from for
seven months. Right now the spacecraft is 77.2 astronomical units from
the Sun and 11.5 billion kilometers from Earth. According to Lawrence
Lasher, Pioneer manager at NASA's Ames Research Center, ground
controllers attempted to adjust the orientation of Pioneer 10 on
August 6th, but they never got confirmation that the spacecraft either
received or executed the command.

The probe's long silence could be the result of a transmitter failure,
a pointing error, or low voltage from its plutonium-powered electrical
generators. Lasher suspects that the craft is simply pointing at the
wrong spot in Earth's orbit, and he remains optimistic that it will be
heard from again. Tracking stations will periodically listen for the
craft's 8-watt signal beginning on March 7th, and two-way
communication attempts will be made on April 27th, May 5th, and May
19th. Because of Pioneer 10's great distance, the round-trip travel
time for radio signals is 21.3 hours. Only one of the 15 experiments
aboard is still operating: a Geiger-tube telescope that detects
energetic electrons and protons in interplanetary space.

MAGNETIC CHAINS HINT AT MARTIAN BIOLOGY

Do microscopic strings of perfectly formed magnetic crystals mean that
bacterial life once existed on the planet Mars? One international
group of researchers certainly thinks so. Imre Friedman (NASA/Ames
Research Center) and his team have found chains of submicron-size
magnetite grains in the celebrated Martian meteorite ALH 84001. These
mimic the strings of crystals created by terrestrial magnetotactic
bacteria, which use them to orient themselves with Earth's magnetic
field. No known inorganic process can create magnetite crystals that
look as these do. "The chains we discovered are of biological origin,"
Friedman insists. "Such a chain of magnets outside an organism would
immediately clump due to magnetic forces." The team reported its work
in the February 27th Publications of the National Academy of Sciences.

Tiny crystals of magnetite were first recognized inside ALH 84001 in
1996 and provide perhaps the best line of evidence that microbes once
permeated this 4-billion-year-old sample of Mars. Friedman and his
colleagues confirmed that the magnetite had other previously
recognized characteristics (including their size, width-to-length
ratio, chemical purity, and crystallographic perfection), all of which
point toward a biological origin. Interestingly, the team notes, "It
is very unlikely that magnetotactic bacteria were ever alive in ALH
84001," because the very presence of magnetite means they would have
been in continual motion -- something not possible in the rock's
minuscule internal cracks. Instead, dead bacteria may have been
transported into the crevices by fluid.

However, discovery of the magnetite chains has done little to sway
other scientists who are already suspicious of the biological
ballyhoo. "They haven't spent nearly enough effort to negate their own
hypothesis," counters meteorite specialist Ralph Harvey (Case Western
Reserve University). "Magnetites are found on Earth with every
conceivable morphology." Harvey's skepticism is shared by Jack Farmer,
who coordinates the astrobiology program at Arizona State University.
"No one would rather find life on Mars than me," Farmer says, "but
finding magnetite grains in a row is not compelling."

WAIT, IT'S ONE OF OURS!

Future historians looking back at the search for Earth-threatening
asteroids will find a footnote for events that unfolded last week. It
began on the evening of February 18th when a fast-moving object was
spotted in western Cancer by the Arizona-based Spacewatch team -- the
patriarch of contemporary searches, which has been looking for
near-Earth objects (NEOs) with a 36-inch telescope since the 1980s.
During the next two days amateur and professional observers at more
than a dozen locations around the world tracked the 16th-magnitude
object as it raced eastward crossing a Moon's diameter of sky every 90
minutes. What emerged from the data was a tiny object moving in what
appeared to be a strikingly Earthlike orbit around the Sun.
Calculations suggested that it had passed very near the Moon last
August and would come within 360,000 miles (580,000 kilometers) of
Earth on February 23rd. The Minor Planet Center (MPC) in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, assigned it the preliminary asteroid designation 2001
DO47.

While certainly an interesting object, 2001 DO47 posed no threat. Even
if it were headed toward Earth, its estimated diameter of only 10
meters would have made it too small to survive a passage through our
atmosphere. Furthermore, from the outset there were suspicions by the
MPC staff that 2001 DO47 might be artificial and thus more reflective
than a typical asteroid making it smaller yet. "We would have liked to
check out the artificial possibility before announcing the object,"
notes MPC associate director, Gareth Williams, "but our resident
expert, [Sky & Telescope contributing editor] Jonathan McDowell, was
observing in Arizona and initially out of reach."

The story took another twist when observations of the object made on
February 23rd by John Rogers in California and the undersigned in
Massachusetts -- both members of the worldwide network of amateurs who
measure positions of asteroids and comets -- were internally
consistent but significantly out of step with the earlier sightings.
"2001 DO47 has switched on its engine," is how Williams described the
situation to MPC director Brian Marsden, who concurred with Williams
that the object must be artificial. By February 25th they heard from
McDowell, who identified the mystery spacecraft as Wind, a NASA probe,
and confirmed that an engine burn had indeed been scheduled for
February 23rd.

Launched on a mission to study the solar wind and Earth's outer
magnetosphere in late 1994, Wind spends most of its time far from
Earth, but it also makes occasional swings by the Earth and the Moon
during orbital maneuvers. The spacecraft is 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) in
diameter and 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) high.

Marsden told Sky & Telescope that, inspired by the 2001 DO47 incident,
the MPC has now added the orbital information of about a dozen
spacecraft to its computers, which should help identify these objects
when they turn up in the data from NEO surveys.

COMET HYPE: BELIEVE IT OR NOT
A faint comet is discovered many months before its closest approach to
the Sun. Orbital calculations show that the "dirty snowball" might
reach naked-eye brightness many months in the future. The inevitable
result: some astronomers who should know better tell some reporters
who don't that a Really Big Show is in the offing. Another cycle of
hype and disappointment begins.
This time the comet in question is C/2000 WM1, better known as Comet
LINEAR, for the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research
program, which first swept it up last November 16th. (If the name
sounds familiar, it should. The LINEAR project is finding comets and
asteroids at a dizzying pace, and last July an earlier Comet LINEAR
brightened into a nice binocular sight.) At present this new Comet
LINEAR glows only feebly, some 20,000 times fainter than the dimmest
stars visible without optical aid. According to the orbital track
computed by the International Astronomical Union's Central Bureau for
Astronomical Telegrams, by year's end the comet might indeed attain
naked-eye visibility.
But it's a little early to start calling this the Christmas Comet of
2001. When LINEAR is at its best, it will be too close to the Sun to
see well in a dark sky and too far south to be accessible from the
Northern Hemisphere. Nevertheless, it could be a decent binocular
target in the evening sky for midnorthern observers in late November,
and an even better sight for southern skygazers a few weeks later. Or
maybe not. As Sky & Telescope contributing editor David Levy likes to
say, comets are like cats -- they have tails and do what they want. It
is notoriously difficult to predict a comet's performance months in
advance while it's still a dim wisp in the distant reaches of the
solar system.
So, if someone asks you whether we'll have a bright comet for
Christmas, answer with the truth: "At this point, who knows?"

NOVA IN SAGITTARIUS
The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) announced
in a Sky & Telescope AstroAlert bulletin February 26th that William
Liller has discovered a 7.7-magnitude nova in Sagittarius. Liller,
based in Vina del Mar, Chile, spotted the "new star" in photographs
taken the night of February 24th. His pictures of the same area from
February 14th show no object brighter than magnitude 11. Measurements
of CCD frames locate the nova at right ascension 17h 54m 40.46s,
declination -26d 14' 15.2" (2000.0 coordinates).

Subsequent observations appear to indicate that the star has already
fallen to magnitude 8 or greater. With the waxing crescent Moon
confined to the evening sky, early risers can find Nova Sagittarii
2001 3 deg. southwest of M8, the Lagoon Nebula. For observers at
midnorthern latitudes the star will lie three binocular fields above
the south-southeast horizon as the first vestiges of twilight appear
at about 5:30 a.m. local time, but those south of the equator will
have the best views.

For a finder chart, see
http://www.skypub.com/news/news.shtml#novasag01 .

MOON DISCOVERED AROUND ASTEROID SYLVIA
On February 18th, Michael Brown and Jean-Luc Margot (Caltech) went on
an asteroid hunt. While observing with the 10-meter Keck II telescope
atop Hawaii's Mauna Kea, Brown and Margot took a look at the
130-kilometer-wide asteroid 87 Sylvia. The minor planet, discovered in
1866, is one of the largest asteroids in the solar system.

Using Keck's adaptive-optics system, the two astronomers resolved a
small moon orbiting Sylvia. They report that separation between the
two bodies appears to be approximately 1,200 km, and based on initial
observations, the companion is only 7 km wide.
The discovery is very encouraging for Brown and Margot. "Based on
small-number statistics -- finding one in one night -- there might be
a lot more out there," says Brown. "Suffice to say we're not done
[looking]."

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY HIGH IN HERCULES
Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) has faded to nearly 9th magnitude,
but it remains well placed for Northern Hemisphere observers. Comet
rises around 10 p.m. local time for midnorthern latitudes and is an
easy target for binoculars as it moves through northern Hercules this
coming week. By the first light of dawn, the comet will be 65 to 70
deg. above the northeastern horizon. Here are positions for
McNaught-Hartley for 0 hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates:

Date R.A. Dec.

Mar 3 17h 42m +42.8 deg.
Mar 5 17 46 +44.4
Mar 7 17 51 +45.9
Mar 9 17 56 +47.4

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

MARCH 4 -- SUNDAY
* Mars stands 5 degrees due north of Antares this morning.

MARCH 5 -- MONDAY
* The faint asteroid 238 Hypatia should occult (cover) a
9.5-magnitude star in western Virgo late tonight for telescope users
along a narrow track from Florida to Alberta. The occultation could
last for up to 11 seconds around 7:07 Universal Time March 6th in
Florida, 7:11 UT in Alberta. For details see the February Sky &
Telescope, page 116. A finder chart is in the March issue, page 105,
and at http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0103skyevents.shtml .
For late updates check the IOTA Web site,
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm .

MARCH 6 -- TUESDAY
* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is about four ring-lengths east of
the planet this evening and tomorrow evening. A small telescope will
show it. Can you see any sign of Titan's orange color, and other
Saturnian moons closer in?
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 8:30 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale orange-tan. It
should be visible for at least 50 minutes before and after in a good
4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady.
For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

MARCH 7 -- WEDNESDAY
* The faint asteroid 57 Mnemosyne should occult a 10th-magnitude
star in the Rosette Nebula in Monoceros for telescope users along a
narrow track from California to Saskatchewan. The occultation could
last for up to 12 seconds around 3:42 Universal Time March 8th. For
details see the February Sky & Telescope, page 116. A finder chart is
in the March issue, page 105, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0103skyevents.shtml . For late
updates check the IOTA Web site,
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm .

MARCH 8 -- THURSDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 10:09 p.m. EST.

MARCH 9 -- FRIDAY
* Full Moon (exact at 12:33 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).
* Jupiter's moon Ganymede gradually disappears into eclipse by
Jupiter's shadow around 7:40 p.m. EST, a little east of the planet.
Ten minutes later Europa begins to cross Jupiter's face. Ganymede
reappears from eclipse around 9:59 p.m. EST, swelling into view
farther to Jupiter's east. A small telescope will show all these
doings. East Coast observers have the best view.

MARCH 10 -- SATURDAY
* R Leonis, one of the brightest and most famous red long-period
variable stars (and the star that launched Leslie Peltier on his
lifelong variable-star career), should be at maximum light (about
magnitude 5.8) around now.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is barely above the east-southeast horizon as dawn grows
bright. Try looking for it with binoculars about 40 minutes before
sunrise.

VENUS is the brilliant object (magnitude -4.6) shining in the west
during and after dusk. It's dropping lower each week. A small
telescope or even good, steadily mounted binoculars will show it as a
thinning crescent.

MARS (magnitude +0.4) rises around 1 a.m. and glows yellow-orange in
the south before dawn. Below it is similarly-colored Antares, somewhat
fainter. To their right are the stars of the head of Scorpius. In a
telescope, Mars is 8 arcseconds wide and growing. It will reach 21
arcseconds when nearest Earth in June.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.3 and -0.2, respectively) shine
brightly in the evening high in the west, far to the upper left of
Venus. Jupiter is the brightest; yellowish Saturn is 8 degrees to
Jupiter's lower right. Jupiter appears nearly midway between Aldebaran
to its left and the Pleiades to its right.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of sunrise.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is in
Ophiuchus in the south before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, and news of the world's astronomy
research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine
of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 402 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar  5, 2001 (14:16) * 36 lines
Friday March 02 04:15 PM EST
Pluto Mission Saved; NASA OKs Continued Pursuit of Mission Proposals
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer, SPACE.com

WASHINGTON -- NASA is caught between politics and Pluto.
The decision to kill NASA's Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission earlier this week has been reversed. The space agency is reactivating
a call for proposals to keep alive the option of a spacecraft streaking to Pluto before 2020.
Late last year, NASA set in motion a competition to rekindle the prospect of dispatching a spacecraft to distant Pluto.
Guidelines for the competition were spelled out in an "announcement of opportunity" -- termed an AO -- released by NASA on Jan. 19
Numerous contractor teams had been feverishly working on cheaper, better, faster Pluto mission proposals that were due March 21, 2001.
But on Wednesday, after release of NASA's budget by the White House Office of Management and Budget, the space
agency's chief space scientist, Edward Weiler, said the AO had been killed. Scarce monies in the space science budget
were to be spent on in-space propulsion technology and a beefing up of robotic Mars exploration, he said.

Today, it's a different story.
"NASA has been requested to allow the AO proposals to be submitted," Colleen Hartman, NASA's Outer Planets
Program director told SPACE.com.
"If the Congress appropriates funds for the Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission, we [at] NASA will proceed with funding of a winning
proposal, if there are any. But all those proposing should be aware that the [Bush] administration does not support this
course of action," Hartman said.
SPACE.com sources said that Senate Appropriations Committee staff notified NASA that both majority and minority
appropriations members would object to the termination of the AO, as announced by Weiler. Final disposition of whether
or not to fund the mission will be made in the 2002 budget process. NASA now will comply with this directive from
Congress.
Documents highlighting the president's projected $14.5 billion budget for NASA in fiscal year 2001, stated that the Pluto, as
well as Solar Probe missions "will not be funded." Both programs had a "very large" escalation in cost, leading to their
cancellation, the document said.
"To support a potential future sprint to the planet Pluto before 2020, additional funds will be directed to key propulsion
technology investments," the OMB document states.
Edward Weiler, NASA associate administrator for space science, told SPACE.com on Wednesday that the Pluto-Kuiper
Belt mission was being axed.
"It is NASA's and the administration's intent to cancel the Pluto announcement of opportunity. Before we take that action,
we are notifying the Congress of that intended action," Weiler stated at the time.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/space/20010302/sc/pluto_mission_saved_nasa_oks_continued_pursuit_of_mission_proposals_1.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 403 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar  7, 2001 (20:51) * 6 lines
Here are some links to sites that have information and schedules on comets.

http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/

http://www.skypub.com/sights/comets/comets.shtml


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 404 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 10, 2001 (21:50) * 249 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - MARCH 9, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Our 12-inch scale model of the red planet depicts more than 100
identified features as well as the major bright and dark regions
visible from Earth. It was produced by Sky & Telescope in
collaboration with NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. It comes with
a clear pedestal and an information booklet. To order your Sky &
Telescope Mars Globe, 1st Edition, for $74.95, visit Sky Publishing's
online store http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=39214
or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

COSMIC SHORTFALL OF MATTER CONFIRMED
According to results published in yesterday's issue of the journal
Nature, only about 35 percent of the mass of the universe (+/-10
percent) is made of matter, either bright or dark. The rest, most
likely, is some kind of dark energy driving the expansion of the
cosmos.

This result comes from the Two-Degree Field (2dF) Galaxy Redshift
Survey being conducted with the 4-meter Anglo-Australian Telescope in
eastern Australia. (The survey is named for the spectrometers being
used, which cover a 2 deg. field of the sky at once.) Based on the
redshifts of 141,000 of the galaxies, the team of astronomers, led by
John Peacock (University of Edinburgh), used two strategies to obtain
their mass measurement. For the first, they analyzed the attraction of
galaxies toward very large clusters, as revealed by individual
galaxies' motions. For the second, they compared the amount of galaxy
clustering to the small temperature variations seen in the cosmic
microwave background radiation. Since these variations reflect density
fluctuations in the early universe, comparing them to the amount of
galaxy clustering observed today reveals the strength of gravity that
was required to pull the clusters together -- and hence their mass.

This finding closely matches the result the 2dF team announced last
summer based on only 106,000 galaxies. At that time they announced
that matter totals 40 +/- 10 percent of all the matter and energy in
the universe. Many other studies have come to a similar conclusion.
The 2dF Survey should be completed by the end of this year, once
250,000 redshifts have been measured.

COMET HALE-BOPP STILL ALIVE
Now nearly 2 billion kilometers (13 astronomical units) from the Sun,
midway between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus, Comet Hale-Bopp
(C/1995 O1) continues to surprise astronomers with its longevity.
Glowing at magnitude 14.5 in the far-southern constellation Dorado,
the comet has remained unusually active. An image of the comet
released on Tuesday shows the comet shedding gas and dust to form a
prominent, curved jet and an enormous, fan-shaped coma, estimated to
be about 2 million km across. The view is a composite of 14 exposures
obtained in red, yellow, and blue light with the European Southern
Observatory's 2.2-meter telescope in La Silla, Chile, from February
27th to March 2nd. Hale-Bopp is currently moving away from us at 1
million km a day. Astronomers plan to continue monitoring it as long
as possible, perhaps for the next several decades.

GANYMEDE'S HIDDEN OCEAN
Larger than Mercury, the Jovian moon Ganymede has numerous planetlike
attributes, such as an internal magnetic field and a geologically
active surface. Now it appears that the big moon (5,270 kilometers
across) may be hiding a deep, global ocean beneath its ice-dominated
crust. By combining Galileo and Voyager images to yield stereo views,
a team of researchers has found low-lying regions on Ganymede that
appear to have been flooded with water or slush roughly one billion
years ago.

Typically 100 to 1,000 meters lower than their surroundings, the
smooth areas occur in swaths of bright terrain that have been heavily
fractured, note Paul M. Schenk (Lunar and Planetary Institute) and
three colleagues in the March 1st issue of Nature. According to their
relatively simple model, a wide stripe of bright terrain forms as a
trough and is subsequently flooded by a watery fluid that soon
freezes. "They're really like rift valleys on Earth," notes team
member William B. McKinnon (Washington University). Not all low areas
are flooded, however, and other evidence of icy volcanism -- such as
source vents and flow lobes -- has not been found.

Even so, other evidence suggests that a subsurface ocean persists to
this day. When Galileo swept 800 km from the equatorial region of
Ganymede last May 20th, it detected subtleties in the surrounding
magnetic field that cannot be explained by the dynamo churning in the
moon's core. A bit of Ganymede's magnetic signature wafts back and
forth in concert with the much stronger field of Jupiter. According to
Margaret V. Kivelson (UCLA), team leader for the magnetometer
experiment, these fluctuations are best explained by a weak magnetic
field induced in a salty, conducting layer of water some 170 km below
the surface. That depth corresponds precisely to where pressures are
calculated to be great enough to force ice to melt. "It does look like
more than an accident," Kivelson notes.

COMET MCNAUGHT-HARTLEY HIGH IN HERCULES
Comet McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) has faded to about 9th magnitude as
it moves ever northward from Hercules into Draco this coming week. The
comet is now circumpolar for much of the Northern Hemisphere and will
be several degrees above the north-northeast horizon in the early
evening for midnorthern latitudes. Before the first light of dawn, the
comet will be high in the sky, 3/4 of the way to the zenith. Here are
positions for McNaught-Hartley for 0 hours Universal Time in 2000.0
coordinates:
Date R.A. Dec.
Mar 10 17h 58m +48.1 deg.
Mar 12 18 02 +49.5
Mar 14 18 07 +50.9
Mar 16 18 11 +52.2

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

MARCH 11 -- SUNDAY
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 7:40 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale orange-tan. It
should be visible for at least 50 minutes before and after in a good
4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady.
For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .
* The waning gibbous Moon rises into good view in the east by 10:30
or 11 p.m. The star to its right is Spica. The brighter star about
three times farther to the Moon's left or upper left is Arcturus.
* Mercury is at greatest elongation on this date, 27 degrees west of
the Sun very low in the east-southeast before sunrise.

MARCH 12 -- MONDAY
* The next two weeks of moonless nightfalls are a fine time for
observing the zodiacal light. Northern Hemisphere observers blessed
with light-pollution-free skies can see it as a huge, tall, narrow
pyramid of pearly light extending from the western horizon high up
along the ecliptic just after twilight ends. The zodiacal light is
sunlight reflected from meteoric dust in the plane of the inner solar
system.

MARCH 13 -- TUESDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: Shortly after dark, look in the northeast
for the Big Dipper; it's standing on its bent handle. Look northwest
for the somewhat smaller zigzag constellation Cassiopeia, a W-shape
standing on one end. Midway between them is Polaris, the North Star
(not very bright at 2nd magnitude). To identify constellations all
around your sky (as seen from the mid-latitudes of the Northern
Hemisphere), use the printable evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0103skyn.shtml . (If you're in
the Southern Hemisphere's mid-latitudes:
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0103skys.html .)
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 9:19 p.m. EST.

MARCH 14 -- WEDNESDAY
* For telescopic observers, Jupiter's moons Io and Europa appear
only 6 arcseconds apart at 7:43 p.m. EST -- a "double star" just west
of Jupiter.
* During the early hours of Thursday morning, the Moon, Mars, and
Antares (in that order of brightness) form a fairly compact triangle.
They rise into view low in the southeast by about 1:30 a.m. and shine
higher in the south by the first light of dawn.

MARCH 15 -- THURSDAY
* The Moon, Mars, and Antares form a curving line in the pre-dawn
sky Friday morning.

MARCH 16 -- FRIDAY
* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 3:45 p.m. EST).

MARCH 17 -- SATURDAY
* Look southwest after dark for the constellation Orion. His figure
is starting to tip to the right, and the three-star row of Orion's
Belt in his middle is now nearly horizontal -- sure signs of the onset
of spring! Far to Orion's right are bright Jupiter and Saturn. Far to
his left or lower left is bright white Sirius.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is barely above the east-southeast horizon as dawn grows
bright. Try looking for it with binoculars about 30 minutes before
sunrise.

VENUS is the brilliant object (magnitude -4.4) shining low in the west
during dusk. It's dropping lower each day. A small telescope or even
good, steadily mounted binoculars will show it to be a thinning
crescent.

MARS (magnitude +0.2) rises around 12:30 a.m. and glows yellow-orange
in the south before and during dawn. To its lower right is
similarly-colored Antares, less bright. In a telescope, Mars appears 9
arcseconds wide and growing; it will reach 21 arcseconds when nearest
to Earth in June. (Telescopic observers can download Mars Previewer [3
megs], which displays the central-meridian longitude, other data, and
a customized map of Mars's apparent disk for any date and time; see
the bottom of the page
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html .)

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.3 and -0.2, respectively) shine
brightly in the evening sky high in the west (far to the upper left of
Venus). Jupiter is the brightest; yellowish Saturn is 9 degrees to
Jupiter's lower right. Jupiter appears nearly midway between orange
Aldebaran to its left and the Pleiades to its right.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of sunrise.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is in
Ophiuchus in the south before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===================================================

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 405 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Mar 13, 2001 (14:33) * 35 lines
NEWSALERT: Tuesday, March 13, 2001 @ 1811 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

SPACEWALK CLEARS WAY FOR STATION ARM ATTACHMENT
-----------------------------------------------
Shuttle astronauts Andy Thomas and Paul Richards made a 6.5-hour spacewalk today that successfully continued outfitting the exterior of the international space station's Destiny module and fixed a solar array wing brace.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage5a1/010313fd6/

STS-102 MISSION THEATER
-----------------------
We are providing the internet's most comprehensive video coverage of Discovery's mission to the International Space Station, including multiple views of Thursday's launch, extraordinary onboard video, daily news conferences and the mission highlights. Subscribe to the Mission Theater today!
http://spaceflightnow.com/theater/theater.html

CRACKING THE MYSTERY TO VENUS' CLIMATE CHANGE
---------------------------------------------
A mathematical model of the surface of Venus could show how the hot, dry surface has reacted to changes in temperature throughout the planet's history. Patterns of cracks were found on Venus' 500-degree surface by NASA's Magellan spacecraft in the early 1990s.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0103/13venus/

UNEXPECTED ANOMALIES IN GLOBULAR CLUSTERS FOUND
-----------------------------------------------
Astronomers have now obtained some unexpected results during a detailed analysis of dwarf stars in some globular clusters. Such stars have about the same mass as our Sun and like it, they evolve very slowly.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0103/13brethren/

GALILEO TO FIRE THRUSTERS TO TWEAK COURSE
-----------------------------------------
This week's major scheduled activity for NASA's Galileo spacecraft is a propulsive maneuver on Friday. This burn of the probe's primary steering jets will help to refine the trajectory leading up to the next planned flyby of the satellite Callisto in late May.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0103/13galileothisweek/

GONE WITH THE WIND BUT VISIBLE TO NASA RADAR
--------------------------------------------
The history of sea islands in the Altamaha River delta on the coast of Georgia is revealed in this image produced from data acquired by the Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AIRSAR).
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0103/13georgia/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 406 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 17, 2001 (14:44) * 376 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - MARCH 16, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Protect and organize your back issues of Sky & Telescope with sturdy
slipcases. Each one holds 12 issues, is handsomely bound in black,
and bears a gold-tone S&T logo on the front and spine. Buy several
and save! One case is $14.95, but buy 2 to 4 for $12.50 each, or buy
5 or more for $10.50 each. To order, visit Sky Publishing's online
store at http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=B0005
or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

SEARCHING FOR OTHER WAYS TO MAKE MARTIAN GULLIES

Since the announcement of gullies on Mars last summer by Michael C.
Malin and Kenneth Edgett (Malin Space Science Systems), planetary
geologists have been trying to determine what could possibly create
the features. Malin and Edgett believe the most likely cause was water
seeping from between layers of rock exposed on cliff faces and crater
rims -- even though water is unstable there due to the Mars's low
atmospheric pressure and cold temperatures.

At this year's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston,
Texas, some alternatives were offered to explain how the gullies may
have formed. Pascal Lee (NASA/Ames Research Center) believes the water
comes from outside, not inside, the rock layers. He draws an analogy
to Devon Island in arctic Canada where generations of gullies reside
on valley walls, and the slopes strongly resemble the Mars Global
Surveyor images. On Devon Island, the snow and ice that accumulates in
these crevices during winter are the last to melt in summer, trickling
down the slope and gradually enlarging the gullies. Moreover, the
late-melting ice packs are commonly seen on slopes facing away from
the Sun, matching the orientation of most of the Martian gullies.

Another conference presentation argued that the gullies are the work
of frozen carbon dioxide ("dry ice") rather than water. According to
Nick Hoffman (La Trobe University), when a winter veneer of CO2 "snow"
warms in the spring, it begins to vaporize at its base. This cushion
of gas acts as a lubricant, allowing the dry-ice slab to cascade down
the slope in a tumble of fluidized rock and gas resembling a mudflow.
This theory also allows for present-day gully formation in the polar
regions, when CO2 frost accumulates each winter.

However, Edgett notes that many of the gullies appear to begin at a
specific layer below the surface, implying that the source comes from
within. Even so, he admits that the notion of water seeping from the
rock walls is hardly the ideal solution. "I wish somebody would find a
way to do these things dry," he says.

DELTA SCORPII JUST WON'T QUIT

As Mars brightens and swings toward Earth it has been attracting
skywatchers out under the predawn sky -- and many of them have noticed
an added attraction in the vicinity. The 2nd-magnitude star Delta
Scorpii is now plainly the brightest star in the area after Antares.
Normally magnitude 2.3, Delta slowly flared up last July and
fluctuated last fall. It is currently shining at about magnitude 1.8,
more than half again its normal brightness, noticeably changing the
look of the head of Scorpius.

Delta is a hot giant star of spectral type B0. It is apparently
undergoing a long-term, Gamma-Cassiopeiae-type eruption and mass
ejection. Compare it with Beta Scorpii, magnitude 2.6, and Antares,
magnitude 1.1. If it stays bright for a few more months it will bring
an altered Scorpius into the skies of summer evenings.

KECK INTERFEROMETER ACHIEVES "FIRST FRINGE"

On March 13th, astronomers successfully combined light from the two
largest telescopes in the world, the 10-meter Keck telescopes on Mauna
Kea, Hawaii. The event, called "first fringe," celebrated the moment
when starlight, captured by two telescopes 85 meters apart, was
combined into a single image such that the detected wavelengths of
light were perfectly aligned.

This process, known as stellar interferometry, is nothing new, but it
has never been attempted on such a large scale with visible light. It
is now possible to achieve a resolution of 2 to 5 milliarcseconds, an
order of magnitude better than a single Keck telescope could reach
even using its adaptive-optics system. "We have now entered the era of
extremely high resolution astronomy," says James W. Beletic, deputy
director of Keck.

But the technical demonstration of Keck's prowess is just beginning.
Astronomers intend to build four 1.8-meter telescopes (perhaps six in
the future), called outriggers, which will give the Kecks a second
dimension of resolution. Right now the two Kecks provide only one
baseline, so astronomers can resolve just one dimension in the sky.
According to Keck director Frederic H. Chaffee, "We're probably
looking at three years from now before the full Keck array with two
Keck telescope and four to six outrigger telescopes are actually
combined."

The success of first fringe is good news for NASA too, which is
currently planning the Space Interferometer Mission and Terrestrial
Planet Finder -- both interferometers that will operate in space. In
fact, NASA became a partner in Keck five years ago specifically to
develop the techniques needed to execute these missions.

But despite the success, the Keck interferometer is a long way from
resolving planets around stars or making other similar measurements.
First fringe is only a milestone, not a conclusion. "Now begins the
months of testing and refining to turn this mode from a technical
'stunt' into a productive scientific capability," says Chaffee.

AN EYEWITNESS IMPACT DEBUNKED

Were a small asteroid to hit the Moon, could we see the impact with
the naked eye? In his chronicles of medieval life, Gervase of
Canterbury described a dramatic event witnessed on the evening of June
18, 1178:

"Now there was a bright new Moon . . . and suddenly the upper horn
split in two. From the midpoint of this division a flaming torch
sprang up, spewing out . . . fire, hot coals, and sparks . . . The
body of the Moon which was below writhed . . . throbbed like a wounded
snake. Afterwards it resumed its proper state. The phenomenon was
repeated a dozen times or more. [Finally] the Moon . . . along its
whole length took on a blackish appearance."

In 1976 geologist Jack B. Hartung (State University of New York)
proposed that this passage describes the creation of Giordano Bruno, a
relatively young, 22-kilometer-wide crater near the Moon's northeast
limb. Hartung reasoned that, seen from Earth, this brightly rayed
crater appears near the midpoint of the young crescent Moon.
Astronomers were quick to counter that on the date in question the
Moon was only 1.3 days past new and thus too near the Sun to be easily
visible at all. Also, Gervase's witnesses claimed to have seen the
"flaming torch" many times, which sounds a lot more like the ordinary
atmospheric distortions often seen near the horizon. Still, Hartung's
hypothesis has made its way into many astronomy books and articles. It
proved difficult to confirm or refute because data on Giordano Bruno
and its surroundings were limited.

Now a new analysis demonstrates that a cratering event could not have
happened in 1178. Paul Withers (University of Arizona) finds that an
impact large enough to create a 22-km crater would likely have
showered Earth with 10 million tons of ejected fragments -- perhaps a
trillion bright meteors in all -- during the days that followed. "A
meteor storm as impressive as this and lasting for a week would have
been considered apocalyptic by all medieval observers," Withers
comments. Yet no mention of such displays appears in English,
European, Arabic, or Asian chronicles of the era.

Laser-ranging experiments during the 1970s revealed that the Moon nods
back and forth by a tiny amount ("free libration"), suggesting to
Hartung's supporters that the globe was still reverberating from the
impact. But Withers notes that a reanalysis of the laser-ranging data
later showed that the slight oscillation arises instead from fluid
motions deep in the lunar interior. Furthermore, while Giordano Bruno
is indeed the youngest crater of its size anywhere on the Moon,
multispectral images from the Clementine spacecraft show that this
impact site has to be much older than 800 years. Details of Withers's
analysis will appear in the April issue of Meteoritics.

TAGISH LAKE: MYSTERY METEORITE

At last year's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held each March
in Houston, Texas, meteorite specialists were salivating over the
Tagish Lake meteorite, which had dropped as a hail of fragments onto
the Yukon's winter wilderness just two months before. Within days of
the fall, local outdoorsman Jim Brook carefully collected nearly a
kilogram of icy fragments and stashed them in his freezer. Later a
team of Canadian geologists and volunteers scoured the lake's frozen
surface to collect as much of the fragile interplanetary material as
possible before the spring thaw swallowed up the remaining pieces.
Remarkable as much for the rapid, textbook recovery effort as for the
stones' black, carbon-rich texture, Tagish Lake was hailed as the most
important find in some 30 years.

A year later, the Tagish Lake fall is still causing a scientific buzz
because its unique composition, forged at the very beginning of the
solar system, defies easy explanation. For example, some of its dark,
crumbly interior is riddled with carbonate minerals created when
liquid water percolated through the rock multiple times. Yet adjacent
sections bear no carbonates or other traces of water's influence at
all. And though chemists would have bet money that the black stones
would have teemed with exotic hydrocarbon compounds, analyses turned
up a disappointing yield -- a thousandth the organic content of
Murchison, a similarly carbon-rich meteorite that fell in 1969. "We
were hoping to find all these amino acids," laments Iain Gilmour (Open
University), "and they're just not there."

What Gilmour and others have identified are puzzling clues to the
meteorite's origin. Some of the organic components mimic the nitriles
and other aromatic species known to exist in molecular clouds. So
might Tagish Lake have an interstellar origin? Or, as Takahiro Hiroi
(Brown University) speculates, are these pieces of one of the dark,
carbon-rich "D-type" asteroids that lurk in Jupiter's vicinity? More
than one specialist openly questioned whether this find could
represent chunks of a comet's nucleus. "There are no real conclusions
yet," says Sandra Pizzarello (Arizona State University). "This
meteorite is extremely difficult to study."

STUDENTS CATCH RADIO EMISSION FROM BROWN DWARF

Thirteen astronomy students using the Very Large Array (VLA) radio
telescope in New Mexico got the thrill of their lives when they
detected the first-ever radio emission from a brown dwarf. Glowing
very dimly red, brown dwarfs are small, cool objects about the size of
Jupiter but with 13 to 75 Jupiter masses -- too light to become real
stars yet too heavy to be called planets.

Edo Berger (Caltech) and his team aimed the VLA's dishes at LP 944-20
in the southern constellation Fornax last July. They detected a
constant flux of radio waves at wavelengths of 6 and 3.6 centimeters,
as well as three brief flare-ups when the emission intensified by a
dozen or more times. The team's findings, reported in the March 15th
Nature, are forcing theorists to reexamine their ideas about how a
brown dwarf works.

The university students' project was part of the National Science
Foundation's summer science program at the VLA. They chose LP 944-20
as their target because the Chandra X-ray Observatory had detected
X-ray flares from it in 1999. Among ordinary stars, radio and X-ray
activity tend to go together. Nevertheless, the students assumed that
finding radio emission would be a long shot. The flares were a
remarkable bonus. "They got very lucky," says VLA astronomer Dale
Frail. "Other astronomers had looked for radio emission from brown
dwarfs and not found any. This one flared at just the right time."

The steady emission was 10,000 times stronger than would be expected
from the X-ray behavior of the object. And yet the students deduced
that it has a weak magnetic field -- weaker than Jupiter's and not
much stronger than Earth's. This agrees with conventional brown-dwarf
theory. But such a weak field poses a mystery. In the absence of a
strong field, how are vast numbers of electrons being accelerated to
near the speed of light to create the radio emission? The brown
dwarf's flares actually emit more radio energy than the strongest
flares on the Sun, which has a much more intense magnetic field.


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

MARCH 18 -- SUNDAY

* A double reappearance of Jupiter's moons happens this evening!
Around 10:12 p.m. EST, Europa gradually emerges out of eclipse from
Jupiter's shadow. Use a telescope to watch just off the planet's
eastern side. Then at 10:28 p.m. EST, Io emerges a little closer to
the planet.

* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross the planet's central
meridian (the imaginary line down the center of Jupiter's disk from
pole to pole) around 8:29 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale
orange-tan. It should be visible for at least 50 minutes before and
after in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is
sharp and steady. For a list of all predicted Red Spot transit times,
see http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

MARCH 19 -- MONDAY

* Sirius, the brightest true star in the night sky, shines highest
in the south at dusk this week. Compare the quality of its light with
even brighter Jupiter high in the west, and Venus low in the west;
judge for yourself the old rule of thumb that stars twinkle and
planets don't.

MARCH 20 -- TUESDAY

* The vernal equinox occurs at 8:31 a.m. EST, when the Sun crosses
the equator moving north. This moment marks the start of spring in the
Northern Hemisphere (and, despite the name "vernal," fall in the
Southern Hemisphere).

MARCH 21 -- WEDNESDAY

* Find brilliant Sirius shining in the south to southwest after dark
and brighter Jupiter in the west. Nearly halfway from Sirius to
Jupiter is Orion's Belt, an almost horizontal row of three stars.
Above it is orange Betelgeuse; below it is white Rigel. To identify
constellations all around your sky (as seen from the mid-latitudes of
the Northern Hemisphere), use the printable evening star map and
instructions at http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0103skyn.shtml .
(If you're in the Southern Hemisphere's mid-latitudes:
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0103skys.html .)

MARCH 22 -- THURSDAY

* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, can be found in a telescope about
four ring-lengths to the planet's east this evening and tomorrow
evening.

MARCH 23 -- FRIDAY

* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of
its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a
couple hours centered on 10:04 p.m. EST. Algol takes several
additional hours to fade and to brighten.

* The red long-period variable stars R Virginis, R Corvi, and V
Bo"tis should be at maximum light (about 7th magnitude) this week.

MARCH 24 -- SATURDAY

* New Moon (exact at 8:21 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

VENUS shines low in the west after sunset, dropping lower each day.

MARS (magnitude +0.1) rises in the southeast around 12:30 a.m. and
glows yellow-orange in the south before and during dawn. To its right
or lower right is similarly-colored Antares, less bright. In a
telescope Mars is 9 arcseconds wide and growing; it will reach 21
arcseconds when nearest to Earth in June. See our observers' guide to
Mars in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102. You can also download Mars
Previewer (3 MB), which displays data and a customized map of Mars's
apparent disk for any date and time; see the bottom of the page
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html .)

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.2 and -0.2, respectively) shine
prominently in the evening sky. Jupiter is the brightest "star" high
in the west; yellowish Saturn is to its lower right. Jupiter appears
roughly midway between orange Aldebaran on its left and the Pleiades
on its right.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glow of sunrise.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is in
Ophiuchus in the south before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 407 of 1087: Nan  (moonbeam) * Sat, Mar 17, 2001 (23:02) * 1 lines
Thanks, Marcia! I just discovered this fascinating little corner of your world.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 408 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 19, 2001 (18:38) * 1 lines
Happily we are met again! I hope all goes well with you. Make yourself comfy and relax - you are among friends in here.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 409 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Mon, Mar 19, 2001 (20:11) * 9 lines
Howdy all

Nice to visit this interesting topic. Kind of like
visiting old, known neighborhoods and remembering
all the favorite hang outs.

73 de Mike
Radio Cosmo International


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 410 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar 21, 2001 (18:07) * 3 lines
Thanks, Mike!! Welcome to your virtual home away from reality. We missed you!!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 411 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Fri, Mar 23, 2001 (08:00) * 1 lines
Any news on the Mir descent? Were there any pictures?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 412 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 23, 2001 (22:17) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 413 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 23, 2001 (22:19) * 8 lines
There was a video on Channels everywhere this morning but nothing that I know of of the HUGE items which entered the atmosphere.

THE supposed site to see stuff is http://www3.mirreentry.com/dial/index.html

This is nice too http://europe.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/03/23/mir.descent.02/index.html 




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 414 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 23, 2001 (22:44) * 6 lines
Neat footage video which takes patience to load
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/mir_fiery_finale_page.html

The BEST Space links anywhere:
http://www3.mirreentry.com/dial/links.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 415 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 24, 2001 (21:47) * 269 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - MARCH 23, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Protect and organize your back issues of Sky & Telescope with sturdy
slipcases. Each one holds 12 issues, is handsomely bound in black,
and bears a gold-tone S&T logo on the front and spine. Buy several
and save! One case is $14.95, but buy 2 to 4 for $12.50 each, or buy
5 or more for $10.50 each. To order, visit Sky Publishing's online
store at http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=B0005
or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

MIR FALLS IN BLAZE OF GLORY

The 15-year mission of the Mir orbital complex came to an end today in
a rain of bright, flaming debris over the South Pacific Ocean.
Vacationers on the beaches of Fiji spotted the high-speed reentry
through broken clouds. One likened it to "a giant golden hand
streaking across the sky," followed by a series of sonic booms.

Russian flight controllers pulled off the mission-ending sequence of
rocket burns without problems. By March 21st Mir had descended to an
orbital altitude of 214 kilometers, at which point it was powered back
up and oriented after two months of dormancy. Early on March 23rd the
Progress M1-5 cargo ship, which had docked to the complex's Kvant
module, fired its thrusters to lower the perigee to only 190 km. A
second burn followed one orbit later. Mir then made two final trips
around the Earth in this new lower orbit before the Progress's final
engine firing at 5:09 Universal Time (12:09 a.m. Eastern Time) dropped
the perigee to only 80 km, sending Mir deep into the atmosphere.
Passing east of Papua New Guinea the complex began to break up as
friction robbed it of its remaining orbital velocity. At about 6:05 UT
the remaining fragments plowed into the ocean well east of New Zealand
near 44 deg. south latitude, 150 deg. west longitude.

Mir (also known as DOS 7, the Russian acronym for Long-duration
Orbital Station) was the 10th Soviet space station to be launched
following three military Almaz and six earlier civilian DOS
laboratories. Its core module reached orbit on February 20, 1986,
after which it made 86,330 trips around Earth and was visited by 111
spacecraft. Soviet and Russian astronauts and visiting crews from many
countries occupied it for a total of 4,591 days, during which they
ventured outside the hull for 79 spacewalks. The station survived
minor (Soyuz TM-17, 1994) and major (Progress M-34, 1997) collisions
and a serious fire. But its crews also established the duration record
of 437 days for a single stay (by physician Valeriy Polyakov) and a
record of 11 days short of a decade for continuous occupation of a
spacecraft.

INTERSTELLAR INFESTATIONS?

Just when astrobiologists have warmed to the notion that microbes
could have hitchhiked inside meteorites flung from Earth to Mars, or
vice versa, an impact specialist has looked into tossing rocks across
interstellar distances. More than a dozen softball-size Martian
meteorites are flung out of the solar system by Jupiter per year on
average. This being the case, H. Jay Melosh (University of Arizona)
calculates that every 100 million years or so one of these emigrants
should take up residence in orbit around another star. Since
researchers now have evidence that microbial spores have survived on
Earth for 250 million years, interstellar "panspermia" would appear to
be just barely possible.

"This topic is extremely unpopular with biologists," Melosh notes, but
they probably have little to worry about. Any life forms wandering the
depths of space will be assaulted constantly by cosmic rays, and, upon
reaching an alien solar system, they must land on a habitable planet
in order to thrive -- a string of good fortune that Melosh finds very
unlikely. He presented his findings last week at the Lunar and
Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas.

CAMILLA'S COMPANION

For the second time this year and the fifth in the last 13 months,
astronomers have identified an asteroid encircled by a satellite. Alex
Storrs and the Hubble Space Telescope Asteroid Team found a companion
orbiting 107 Camilla, a main-belt asteroid about 220 kilometers
across. The discovery was made in a quick succession of HST images
taken on March 1st. Although the satellite was seen 1,000 km from
Camilla, more observations will be needed before its orbit can be
calculated. Storr's team has another HST run scheduled for March 27th.
Details appear in IAU Circular 7599.

The discovery of Camilla's companion brings the count of confirmed
binary asteroids to seven; another eight or nine are suspected of
duplicity, most of which are small near-Earth objects with unusual
light curves.

CHANDRA DEEP FIELD UNVEILED

In 1962, the first astronomers looking at the sky in X-rays uncovered
a smooth mysterious background glow. But what could be the cause of
such a phenomenon? Not until the launch of the Chandra X-ray
Observatory in July 1999 did astronomers finally gain enough
resolution to determine the answer: the universe is teeming with black
holes.

This finding was confirmed in detail by a record-setting, million
second long exposure -- the Chandra Deep Field. There are actually two
Deep Fields: one in the north, located in Ursa Major, a second in the
south, in the constellation Fornax. The northern field includes the
famous Hubble Deep Field. These two ultra-long exposures, the deepest
X-ray images ever taken, show incredibly faint objects, with detection
rates as low as 1 photon per day.

The Chandra views show an unexpectedly vast number of supermassive
black holes in the form of quasars and other active galactic nuclei,
lighting up the cores of newborn galaxies in the early universe. "Now
we are seeing that black holes are all over the universe, and we are
going to be able to study in great detail their formation and
evolution," says Colin Norman (Johns Hopkins University).

Among the first discoveries made in the Deep Fields was the first
detection of a Type II quasar. These long-suspected objects differ
from ordinary Type I quasars only in that they are shrouded by
orbiting dust and gas that shields them from optical detection. In the
high-redshift early universe, it is estimated that 90 percent of all
quasars are Type II. Already, the spectra of some 100 objects in the
Chandra Deep Field South have been obtained using the European
Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. Three hundred more are
scheduled for future study. The paper detailing the discovery of the
Type II quasar has been submitted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal.


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

MARCH 25 -- SUNDAY

* Some doorstep astronomy: Look for the Big Dipper high in the
northeast after dark this week. Its bent handle curves to the lower
right toward the bright star Arcturus, one Dipper-length away low in
the east.

To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0103skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers, use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0103skys.html .)

MARCH 26 -- MONDAY

* Jupiter's moons Ganymede and Europa appear just 9 arcseconds apart
at 7:48 p.m. Eastern Standard Time -- a "double star" a little east of
Jupiter as seen in a small telescope.

MARCH 27 -- TUESDAY

* The thin waxing crescent Moon shines far below Jupiter and Saturn
at dusk.

* For the western U.S., Jupiter's moons Ganymede and Europa are 7
arcseconds apart at 7:16 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

MARCH 28 -- WEDNESDAY

* The crescent Moon is near Saturn this evening.

MARCH 29 -- THURSDAY

* The Moon is near Jupiter and Aldebaran (between them during
evening in North America).

* Venus is in inferior conjunction, passing 8 degrees north of the
Sun.

MARCH 30 -- FRIDAY

* Bright Jupiter and Saturn shine far to the lower right of the Moon
this evening. To the Moon's left or lower left is Betelgeuse. Farther
to the Moon's upper right is Capella.

MARCH 31 -- SATURDAY

* The first-quarter Moon shines nearly midway between Procyon far to
its left, Capella far to its right, Pollux and Castor above it, and
Betelgeuse below it.

* Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday morning for most of
the U.S. and Canada. Clocks spring ahead.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

VENUS disappears into in the glare of the Sun. For the first few days
of the week you might detect it just above the western horizon soon
after sunset; binoculars help. Careful telescopic observers may follow
Venus right through inferior conjunction on March 29th; see the March
Sky & Telescope, page 100.

MARS (magnitude 0.0) rises in the southeast around midnight and glows
yellow-orange in the south before and during dawn. To its right (or
lower right at dawn) is similarly-colored Antares, less bright. In a
telescope Mars is 10 arcseconds wide and growing; it will reach 21
arcseconds when nearest to Earth in June. An observers' guide to Mars
this season is in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102.

Telescopic observers can download Mars Previewer (3 megs), which
displays observing data and a customized map of Mars's apparent disk
for any date and time; see the bottom of
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html .)

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.1 and -0.2, respectively) shine in
the west during early evening. Jupiter is the brightest "star" there;
look for yellowish Saturn to its lower right. To Jupiter's left is
orange Aldebaran. Farther to Jupiter's right and a little below are
the Pleiades.

URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glow of sunrise.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is in
Ophiuchus in the south before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 416 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Tue, Mar 27, 2001 (17:57) * 14 lines
Howdy all

One thing I noticed while driving across the country was the nice increase
in visible stars (and this was not even in the real out of way roads but
south of the Chicago suburbs). One planet is VERY visible at a low inclination
to the west - one night, so bright that it was cutting through fog and haze...
Recent new books to the collection is a nice book on advanced astronomy
techniques out of the UK and also a good book on Radio Astronomy projects
that are within the realm of possibility for construction. Time for some
more trips to the far country for night watching.

73 de Mike
Radio Cosmo International


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 417 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Tue, Mar 27, 2001 (18:20) * 1 lines
Did you take your hf mobile on your drive, cosmo?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 418 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Mar 27, 2001 (19:19) * 1 lines
Ahhhh you were mesmerized by Venus. She has been known to do that - amazingly brilliant and was a tiny crescent recently even when viewed by binoculars!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 419 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Wed, Mar 28, 2001 (20:28) * 13 lines
So, it was Venus! Very brilliant indeed. Caught my eye!
Thats one of the things that pulls my interest back and forth
between optical astronomy and radio astronomy - the path I chose
is spent listening to (or running FFT on) noise in a back ground
of noise while if I went the optical route, it would be like
viewing precious stones on a sheet of black velvet. Much
more eye candy.... There is something in looking for patterns
in the noise tho...

73 de Mike
Radio Cosmo International



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 420 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 30, 2001 (19:17) * 25 lines
Mike the Cosmic has the soul of a poet! Molten lava at night looks like gold on black velvet - most beautiful!

Two space probes see giantplumes on volcanic moon Io
NASA/JPL PHOTO RELEASE
Posted: March 28, 2001

Two tall volcanic plumes and the rings
of red material they have deposited
onto surrounding surface areas appear
in images taken of Jupiter's moon Io by
NASA's Galileo and Cassini spacecraft
in late December 2000 and early
January 2001.

A plume near Io's equator comes from
the volcano Pele. It has been active for
at least four years, and has been far
larger than any other plume seen on Io,
until now. The other, nearer to Io's
north pole, is a Pele-sized plume that
had never been seen before, a fresh
eruption from the Tvashtar Catena
volcanic area.

More: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0103/28galcassio/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 421 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 31, 2001 (15:49) * 238 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - MARCH 30, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
VISIT SKY & TELESCOPE'S ONLINE IMAGE GALLERY

Sky & Telescope's Web site now features dozens of stunning celestial
vistas from ground- and space-based telescopes. Visit the Gallery of
Images at http://www.skypub.com/imaging/gallery/ .
===========================================================

NAKED-EYE SUNSPOTS AND MAYBE AURORAS

The peak of the current sunspot cycle came around May of last year,
solar astronomers have tentatively decided, but there's still plenty
of life on the Sun's surface. A huge, elongated spot group appeared on
the Sun this week, and it was visible with the naked eye when the Sun
is viewed through a safe solar filter, such as a #14 arc-welder's
glass, eclipse glasses, or a Sun filter designed for telescopic use.
Researchers noted that the spot is the largest seen in 10 years.
Other, smaller spots are also detectable if your vision is sharp. Of
course, never look at the Sun through a filter that you do not know is
safe. (For a guide to safe solar filters, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/solar/safety.html .)

"A significant increase in solar activity has been observed during the
last week following almost three months of very quiet activity," noted
Cary Oler, who prepares Sky & Telescope's solar-activity AstroAlerts
(http://www.skypub.com/news/astroalert/astroalert.html ). "The Sun
appears to be in a state of energetic sunspot growth." The enormous
spot has already erupted in flares and mass ejections, some of which
is directed toward the Earth. Space-weather forcasters have put up an
alert for the next several days, so be on the lookout for auroral
displays.

GALILEO DISCOVERS VARIABLE STAR

Last June the Galileo spacecraft orbiting Jupiter temporarily lost
sight of one of the reference stars it uses to maintain its proper
orientation. Flight engineers suspected that the probe's star scanner
had broken down. "I spent about a week working on it," says Paul
Fieseler (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), "and concluded the star scanner
wasn't broken, but perhaps the star was." After a thorough check,
Fieseler and his colleagues determined that the star itself had indeed
briefly faded from view.

The star in question is 2nd-magnitude Delta Velorum, part of the False
Cross, which consists of stars in the far-southern constellations Vela
and Carina. Known to be a quadruple-star system, it is one of about
150 bright targets tracked by Galileo to keep its low-gain antenna
pointed at Earth.

It turned out that Delta Velorum is indeed a variable star, and one
that had been observed before. Amateur variable-star observer
Sebastian Otero (Buenos Aires, Argentina) independently detected
Delta's dimming four times, between 1997 and 1999. Looking back in
Galileo's archived data files, Fieseler also found a similar event, in
1989. Based on these and follow-up observations from observers in
South Africa, Australia, and Argentina, Otero, Fieseler, and
professional astronomer Christopher Lloyd (Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory) concluded that Delta Velorum is a hitherto unknown
eclipsing binary. Its brightest member is actually two stars of
similar brightness orbiting each other. Every 45 days one mutually
eclipses the other, causing Delta's total brightness to dip from
magnitude 1.96 to 2.3 for a few hours. Galileo, unaware of the star's
variable nature, apparently lost track of the object during one of its
periodic dimmings.

NEUTRINOS ON ICE

"The observation of neutrinos by a neutrino telescope deep in the
Antarctic ice cap, a goal that was once thought difficult if not
impossible, represents an important step toward establishing the field
of high-energy neutrino astronomy first envisioned 40 years ago." So
concludes E. Andres (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and a host of
coinvestigators in the March 22nd issue of Nature.

They describe the robust detection of muons -- elementary particles
with more than 200 times the mass of an electron that are spawned when
a high-energy neutrino strikes matter, such as Antarctic ice. The
"telescope" employed for these observations was AMANDA, the Antarctic
Muon and Neutrino Detector Array sited at the South Pole.

A neutrino is electrically neutral, so its path through space isn't
bent by cosmic magnetic fields and points directly back to its source.
Unfortunately, these nearly massless particles almost never interact
with matter, so a big collecting area is needed, and that's where
AMANDA gains an advantage over other neutrino detectors. AMANDA
actually looks downward -- through the Earth -- for arriving muons.
When it sees one coming from the Northern Hemisphere, chances are good
that was neutrino-born and not created by cosmic rays from overhead.

These upward-propagating muons are detected by means of bluish
Cherenkov radiation emitted while they move through the highly
transparent ice at relativistic speeds. AMANDA employs 10 strings
containing a total of 302 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) lowered up to 2
kilometers into the ice. By measuring the precise times at which PMTs
light up on different strings, the scientists determine the direction
from which the muon, and hence the neutrino, came.

In the study, the scientists report a diffuse, high-energy neutrino
background rate of one event every 19 hours, on average.
Interestingly, no neutrino point sources were found, such as would be
expected from supernova remnants or active galaxies.

The success of this experiment bodes well for the construction of
IceCube, a much larger array having an effective area of 1 square
kilometer and consisting of 4,800 PMTs on 80 strings.

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

APRIL 1 -- SUNDAY
* Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday morning for most of
the U.S. and Canada. Clocks "spring ahead" one hour.
* First-quarter Moon (exact at 6:49 a.m. EDT). The Moon shines in
Gemini near Castor and Pollux.

APRIL 2 -- MONDAY
* The two brightest points of light at dusk are Jupiter in the west
and Sirius in the south-southwest. Look almost midway between them for
Orion's Belt, a row of three stars. It's now nearly horizontal at
nightfall, a sure sign of early spring.

APRIL 3 -- TUESDAY
* For Eastern North America, Jupiter appears almost moonless as
darkness falls this evening. Io will already be behind the planet's
disk, while Europa and Ganymede are in front. Coincidentally, the one
remaining large moon, Callisto, will be passing a mere 4 arcseconds
above Jupiter's south pole at 8:07 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
Later the tiny black shadows of both Europa and Ganymede will be
visible on Jupiter's face at once. This event is best seen from the
western U.S. and Canada, lasting from 7:48 to 8:03 p.m. Pacific
Daylight Time.

APRIL 4 -- WEDNESDAY
* The brightest star to the right of the Moon this evening is
Regulus in Leo.

APRIL 5 -- THURSDAY
* Find Orion's Belt in the southwest in early evening, as under
Monday above. The bright orange-red star above it (by about a
fist-width at arm's length) is Betelgeuse. The same distance below the
Belt is white Rigel.

APRIL 6 -- FRIDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: Look high in the northeast after dark for
the Big Dipper; it's standing on its handle and tilting left. It
should be easy to spot despite the moonlight. Follow the curve of the
Dipper's handle far around to the lower right to pick up bright
Arcturus, one Dipper-length away.
To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0104skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers, use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0104skys.html .)

APRIL 7 -- SATURDAY
* Full Moon (exact at 11:22 p.m. EDT). The star to its lower right
this evening is Spica.
* Jupiter's moons Ganymede and Io appear only 13 arcseconds apart at
8:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. In a telescope they'll be a "double
star" just east of the planet.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY and VENUS are very deep in the glow of sunrise. To try for
Venus, look with binoculars just above the eastern horizon about 20 or
25 minutes before sunup.
MARS (magnitude -0.3) rises in the southeast around midnight and glows
yellow-orange in the south before and during dawn. To its right are
similarly-colored Antares and the head of Scorpius (including Delta
Scorpii, the unusually bright new variable star; see
http://www.skypub.com/news/010316.html , second item down). In a
telescope Mars is about 10.6 arcseconds wide and growing; it will
reach 21 arcseconds when nearest Earth in June. See the Mars observing
guide in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.1 and -0.2, respectively) shine in
the west during early evening. Jupiter is the brightest "star" there;
look for yellowish Saturn to its lower right. Closer to Jupiter's left
is orange Aldebaran. To the Saturn's upper right are the Pleiades.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (magnitude 6 and 8, respectively, in Capricornus)
are very low in the southeast just before dawn.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is in
Ophiuchus in the south before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
minus 4 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!
SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360
===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 422 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 31, 2001 (23:32) * 4 lines
The Solar cronograph of the first CME being over come by the second Huge Coronal Mass Ejection which caused the aurora above.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast27mar_1.htm?list89800



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 423 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Sun, Apr  1, 2001 (19:38) * 11 lines
Hey kids

Well, the vhf ops were taking advantage of the enhanced propagation. Of course,
it was overcast here with a chance of rain or snow flurries but the sky was
perfectly clear this morning - sigh....
Its partly cloudy right now so maybe some visible aurora tonite if the
conditions hold out.

73 de Mike
radio cosmo international


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 424 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr  1, 2001 (19:59) * 1 lines
O'course, Mike - that is the story all over as far as my reporters are concerned. *Big wistful sigh* 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 425 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr  2, 2001 (15:22) * 129 lines
--------------------------------------------
SPACEDAILY EXPRESS - April 2, 2001
** forward SpaceDaily Express to a friend **
--------------------------------------------

------- "SMALLER SATELLITES: BIGGER BUSINESS?" ------
Strasbourg will be the setting for the International
Space University's 6th Annual Symposium. This year's
theme will be small satellites with an emphasis on
concepts, applications and markets. Join some of the
world's leading experts, manufacturers and users in
interdisciplinary presentations and discussions on a
wide variety of issues pertaining to small satellites
Strasbourg - May 21-23 - 2001
--------- http://www.isunet.edu/Symposium/ ----------

-----------
QUICK SPACE

- Beyond Odyssey: Mars 2003 and NASA's Twin Rovers
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars2003-01a1.html

- Spider Eyes For Martian Robots
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-general-01d.html

- Exotic CO2 Process May Have Carved Martian Gullies
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-water-science-01f.html

- NASA-Industry Team Improves Supercomputers
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/supercomputer-01b.html

- Jupiter Radiation Belts Harsher Than Expected
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/galileo-01f.html

- New Scanner Helps The Search For Shuttle Tile Flaws
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/materials-01j.html

- First Milstar II Bird Starts On-orbit Testing
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milstar-01a.html

- Airborne Laser On Track To Illuminate Missiles
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/laser-01c.html

- North Korea Moves Forward Missile Deployment
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010401041039.xiccf2md.html

- Spaceway To Fly Sea Launch In 2002
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/sealaunch-01a.html

- Water on the Space Station
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/iss-01p.html

-------------- Micro Satellite Tender ---------------
COSMIC is a joint U.S.-Taiwan scientific project that
will use a constellation of six microsatellites to
collect atmospheric sounding measurements. Industry
partners to build and deliver six GPS receivers, six
solid-state recorders plus payload computers are now
being sought by the University Corporation.
----------- http://www.ucar.cosmic.edu/ -----------

------------------
HEADLINES IN BRIEF
April 2, 2001

----------------------
RETURN TO MARS SPECIAL

- Beyond Odyssey: Mars 2003 and NASA's Twin Rovers
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars2003-01a1.html
Cameron Park - April 2, 2001 - As the countdown to NASA's return to Mars this coming Sunday gathers pace, attention in the wider Mars science community is turning to where NASA's twin 2003 rovers should be sent. With over 150 possible landing sites to choose from, a final decision won't be easy, but Bruce Moomaw writes in his latest Mars report at least one of the Rovers will almost certainly be sent to an area known as the Meridiani Formation.

- Spider Eyes For Martian Robots
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-general-01d.html
San Francisco - March 28 2001 - The vibrating eyes of jumping spiders have inspired a new breed of vision sensors that could give the next generation of Mars rovers sharper eyesight, say researchers in California. As a result, the roving robots will need less computing power, so they'll be much lighter and will use less electricity.

- Exotic CO2 Process May Have Carved Martian Gullies
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mars-water-science-01f.html
Tucson - April 2, 2001 - Last June, scientists announced that gullies seen on some martian cliffs and crater walls suggest that liquid water has seeped down the slopes in the geologically recent past. But now a team of researchers propose an alternative explanation involving carbon dioxide erosion.

----------
TECH SPACE
- NASA-Industry Team Improves Supercomputers
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/supercomputer-01b.html
Moffett Field - March 28, 2001 - Simulating life's beginning and accurately predicting hurricane paths are two distant dreams that came a small step closer to reality when NASA recently was first to "boot" what may be the most powerful parallel supercomputer of its kind.

- Jupiter Radiation Belts Harsher Than Expected
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/galileo-01f.html
Pasadena - March 28, 2001 - Radiation belts very close to Jupiter would zap any future spacecraft even more severely than previously estimated, new measurements by NASA's Cassini spacecraft indicate.

- New Scanner Helps The Search For Shuttle Tile Flaws
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/materials-01j.html
Moffett Field - April 2, 2001 - NASA workers who face the critical and often tedious task of evaluating damage to the space shuttle's protective thermal tiles now have some high-tech help in the form of a new portable, digital inspection system.

--------
SPACEWAR
- First Milstar II Bird Starts On-orbit Testing
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milstar-01a.html

Sunnyvale - March 29, 2001 - A combined air force and industry team has begun on-orbit testing of the first USAF Milstar II communications satellite following the successful Feb. 27 launch and activation of critical spacecraft systems.
- Airborne Laser On Track To Illuminate Missiles
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/laser-01c.html

El Segundo - March 30, 2001 - Lockheed Martin Space Systems said Thursday that its subcontractor, Raytheon Electronic Systems, has achieved a crucial milestone in the development of the Beam Control/Fire Control system for the U.S. Air Force's Airborne Laser (ABL) program. The Beam Control/Fire Control system will aim and fire a high-energy laser at a target missile in its boost phase.
- North Korea moves forward missile deployment along border: report
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010401041039.xiccf2md.html

---------
SPACEMART
- Spaceway To Fly Sea Launch In 2002
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/sealaunch-01a.html
Washington - March 28, 2001 - Boeing Satellite Systems has contracted with the Sea Launch Co. for the launch of two Spaceway satellites. The Spaceway Ka-band satellites will be used in a unique new global broadband satellite network to provide high-bandwidth and high-speed communications for broadband and multimedia applications to North America.

------------
STATION NEWS

- Water on the Space Station
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/iss-01p.html
Huntsville - April 2, 2001
NASA Space Science - Future astronauts poised to blast off for an extended stay on the International Space Station might first consider dashing to the restroom for a quick splash at the lavatory, or better yet, a luxurious hot shower. Once on board the ISS, spacefarers are in for a steady diet of sponge baths using water distilled from -- among other places -- their crewmates breath!

-----------------------------
SPACEDAILY EXPRESS LIST NOTES
--------------------------------------------
SpaceDaily Express is issued daily and lists
all new postings to www.SpaceDaily.com
Subscription is free: subscribe@spacer.com
or remove@spacer.com
------------------------------------------------

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 426 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Tue, Apr  3, 2001 (23:36) * 44 lines
Howdy Howdy

I was going to do a writeup about seeing the night sky light
up in shimmering, cosmic technicolor pastels that would ebb
and flow in the dance of the solar wind. My spirit would be
uplifted into the heavenly rave and there I would swirl amongst
the ionized aether. The beat... primal and pulsing....

Instead, spent some time driving around northern Illinois and
confirming all the reports that yes, lots of people are moving
up here to live and all these sodium lights really do screw
up any hope of dark sky observation. At least it was cloudy...

So, anyway, I can confirm from various reports that the local
vhf crowd did take advantage of the enhanced propagation. There
is still hope for some more CME's and subsequent possibilities
of seeing the Aurora this far south (never considered living
this far north to be too far south....)

Regarding satellites....
There are quite a few web pages devoted to micro, nano, and pico
satellites. There are discussions recently on the AMSAT bbs
about 'cube' sats which pretty much are a tiny cube that contains
the basic IHU (internal housekeeping unit - i.e. CPU), telemetry,
battery, and rf components. These tiny sats ride piggy back on
larger platforms and are launched or flung out using simple mechanical
means or even possibly hand launched from the Shuttle, ISS, or
MIR (RIP). Stanford University has a good page describing their
OPAL system. Other good sites are the University of Surrey, and
Arizona State (I think...), amongst others - just search on
microsat and let your fingers do the clicking....
At one point, I was real interested in building my own satellite
that would hang from a balloon but still have some of the functionality
of the microsats (at least in terms of telemetry and communications...)
I searched and asked around and have yet to find a comprehensive text
on designing the architecture and some information on the IHU
software - Im sure its out there, I just have not found it yet. I
even came up with a name that would make a good acronym:
Finite Altitude Research Transport Satellite

73 de AA9IL
Mike
radio cosmo international


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 427 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  5, 2001 (01:03) * 30 lines
NEWSALERT: Wednesday, April 4, 2001 @ 1624 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

NEW EVIDENCE OFFERED FOR PLANETS WITHOUT PARENT STARS
-----------------------------------------------------
A pair of British astronomers revealed new evidence Tuesday to support their controversial discovery of a group of "free-floating" planets in a distant nebula that do not orbit any star.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/04planets/

NEXT MARTIAN ADVENTURE SET TO LAUNCH SATURDAY
---------------------------------------------
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft is bolted to its rocketship at Cape Canaveral for Saturday's scheduled blastoff on a 286-million mile journey to the Red Planet. Read the latest on pre-launch preparations!
http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/odyssey/status.html

SUN UNLEASHES RECORD FLARE, EARTH SAFE FROM SOLAR BULLET
--------------------------------------------------------
The Sun blasted one of its largest flares in 25 years from the same region harboring the largest sunspot of the current solar cycle Monday. The region has continued to rotate with the Sun and is no longer in line with the Earth, so most of the flare's energy was directed away from our planet.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/04flare/

SWISS CHEESE-LIKE GAS CLOUD HOLDS CLUES TO STARQUAKES
-----------------------------------------------------
By spinning ultra-cold sodium gas in a laboratory, NASA-funded scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge have created a gas cloud that resembles rounded Swiss cheese and is riddled with tiny whirlpools, like those that cause "starquakes" in space.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/04starquakes/

NEXT-GENERATION GAMMA RAY BURST FINDER TO FLY ON DELTA 2
--------------------------------------------------------
Boeing's Delta 2 rocket has been tapped to launch a NASA space observatory in 2003 that will seek out and study gamma ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/04swift/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 428 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  5, 2001 (01:04) * 1 lines
Oh Mike!!! I'm sorry. How frustrating! Neil from Canada expressed the same frustration. Next time!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 429 of 1087:  (sprin5) * Thu, Apr  5, 2001 (10:01) * 3 lines
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/hotshots/X17/

Some pictures to the spectacular solar flare, in addition to the great ones above. Wow, biggest in 25 years but it missed us!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 430 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Thu, Apr  5, 2001 (19:08) * 17 lines
Hey kids

Oh, no problem. It rained today but I did get to see a rainbow!
As far as aurora goes, there will be more chances since we are
at or just peaking over solar max so this summer still holds promise.
My best aurora viewing was while flying to Seattle many years ago
- a nice powder blue aurora that lasted for a short while. The
cool thing is that there should still be plenty of VLF/ULF/ELF
activity in the coming months. - i.e. whistlers and the HF
bands will be in for a ride.

73 de Mike
radio cosmo international

p.s. - not sure if anyone caught it but the satellite acronym
was F.A.R.T.S.A.T (Yes, I really plan on calling it that when
it is built and launched via balloon or other means!)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 431 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  5, 2001 (23:41) * 6 lines
I was going to mention something about that... but waited till someone else noticed. I love it. Hmmmmm you going to hand hurl your satellite into orbit. I hear it can be done!

I wonder why I never know any of the guys who get to see the aurora. Oh well, have seen ruby-red and emerald-green at the same time (Ohio), plenty of white (New York State) and some pale blue in both places at different times. The red/green revealed its source by day - a huge sunspot that was naked eye visible through heavy overcast. I wish I had thought about trying to photograph each of them but did not...

Mike! Here's to continued CME's and further aurural sighting possibilities!
Keep those acronyms coming!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 432 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr  5, 2001 (23:52) * 13 lines
Tireless Science Communication Pays Off: Science@NASA honored

NASA Science News for April 4, 2001

Last night the Science@NASA family of web sites received a prestigious
international honor, the 2000 Pirelli INTERNETional Award, which
recognizes excellence in science communications and "the spread of science
culture" using the Internet.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast04apr_1.htm?list89800


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 433 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr  6, 2001 (16:18) * 51 lines

NEWSALERT: Friday, April 6, 2001 @ 1610 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now


NEXT MARTIAN ADVENTURE POISED FOR LAUNCH SATURDAY
-------------------------------------------------
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft was being buttoned up on Thursday aboard the Boeing Delta 2 rocket at Cape Canaveral as activities continue on schedule and without incident for Saturday's planned launch. Read the latest on pre-launch preparations!

http://spaceflightnow.com/mars/odyssey/status.html


SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR SET FOR LAUNCH APRIL 19
-----------------------------------------------
NASA officials on Thursday decided to keep Endeavour on track for blastoff April 19 as originally planned after the Russians agreed to delay the launch of a new Soyuz space station escape capsule to give the space shuttle more liftoff opportunities.

http://spaceflightnow.com/station/status.html


MARS FEATURES SAID NOT TO BE ANCIENT OCEAN SHORELINES
-----------------------------------------------------
What scientists suspect might be ancient ocean shorelines on the northern plains of Mars is actually a network of tectonic ridges related to dramatic Martian volcanism, according to a new report.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/06shorelines/

HUBBLE REVEALS THE HEART OF THE WHIRLPOOL GALAXY
------------------------------------------------
New images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are helping researchers view in unprecedented detail the spiral arms and dust clouds of a nearby galaxy, which are the birth sites of massive and luminous stars.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/06whirlpool/

CONGRESS GRILLS NASA ABOUT SPACE STATION COST OVERRUNS
------------------------------------------------------
NASA administrator Dan Goldin told members of Congress Wednesday that the space agency is still coming to terms with a $4 billion cost overrun on the International Space Station project and may look to its international partners to contribute key station components the U.S. was originally planning to build.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/05goldin/

TURNING STARS INTO GOLD
-----------------------
Normal stars cannot make enough of the heavy elements, such as gold and platinum. Thus the origin of gold and platinum - on Earth and throughout the Universe - is a mystery. But now a team of scientists has explored the idea that violent collisions of super-dense neutron stars could be the source.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/06goldstars/

X-RAY PULSARS MAY BE ASHES FROM BURST OF STAR FORMATION
-------------------------------------------------------
Astronomers have found two new X-ray pulsars spinning in the Small Magellanic Cloud, the Milky Way's neighbor. This brings drives home the fact that our neighboring galaxy has a much higher concentration of pulsars than we do, perhaps created during a burst of star formation a few million years ago when the two galaxies were at their closest.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/05pulsars/

GAMMA-RAY BURSTS MIGHT COME FROM STAR-FORMING REGIONS
-----------------------------------------------------
New findings from two X-ray satellites suggest that gamma-ray bursts, some of the most intense blasts in the Universe, may be created in the same area where stars are born.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0104/05grb/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 434 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 10, 2001 (14:31) * 127 lines
--------------------------------------------
SPACEDAILY EXPRESS - April 10, 2001
** forward SpaceDaily Express to a friend **
--------------------------------------------

------- "SMALLER SATELLITES: BIGGER BUSINESS?" ------
Strasbourg will be the setting for the International
Space University's 6th Annual Symposium. This year's
theme will be small satellites with an emphasis on
concepts, applications and markets. Join some of the
world's leading experts, manufacturers and users in
interdisciplinary presentations and discussions on a
wide variety of issues pertaining to small satellites
Strasbourg - May 21-23 - 2001
--------- http://www.isunet.edu/Symposium/ ----------

-----------
QUICK SPACE

- "XM Rock" Checks Out In Orbit, "XM Roll" Slated For May 7 Launch
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/xm-radio-01b.html

- Scripps Calls For Quick Launch Of Triana
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/triana-01a.html

- The Future Of Russia's Manned Space Program
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/russia-space-general-01l.html

- Russia Wants New Space Station
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mir2-01a.html

- The Greening Of Deep Space
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/food-01b.html

- Moscow Conference Will Debate How To Avoid Spacewar
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milspace-01l.html

- TRW/Raytheon SBIRS Low Team Completes Initial System Design
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/sbirs-01b.html

- Yuri's Night (Official Celebration Site)
http://www.yurisnight.net

------------------
HEADLINES IN BRIEF
April 10, 2001

---------
SPACEMART

- "XM Rock" Checks Out In Orbit, "XM Roll" Slated For May 7 Launch
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/xm-radio-01b.html

Los Angeles - April 9, 2001 - XM Satellite Radio's first satellite, "Rock," has achieved several critical performance milestones and continues easing toward its final orbital position. The company's second satellite, "Roll," is scheduled for launch May 7.

----------
TERRADAILY

- Scripps Calls For Quick Launch Of Triana
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/triana-01a.html

San Diego - April 10, 2001 - Triana, the first deep space Earth-observing mission, will provide a continuous view of the entire sunlit face of the rotating Earth. Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists and leaders are currently working in collaboration with NASA officials to investigate opportunities to launch the Triana spacecraft.

------------
SPACE TRAVEL

- The Future Of Russia's Manned Space Program
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/russia-space-general-01l.html

Moscow (Interfax) April 8, 2001 - After the Mir space station was brought down into the Pacific Ocean on March 23 the International Space Station will become Russia's priority piloted space program. Russia must meet its obligations and occupy a worthy place in the International Space Station program.

- Russia Wants New Space Station
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/mir2-01a.html

Moscow (Interfax) April 8, 2001 - Russia may place its own new space station in orbit in three years' time, says President of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics Vladimir Senkevich. "It is necessary to take our own station into orbit to carry out tasks that are impossible in the framework of international cooperation on the ISS," he said in an interview published in Izvestiya on Friday.

------------
STATION NEWS

- The Greening Of Deep Space
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/food-01b.html

Huntsville - April 9, 2001 - Every year around this time northern school children begin sowing seeds and tending classroom gardens. It's a familiar springtime tradition. But if NASA scientists have their way, this annual gardening ritual could turn into something much more -- astronaut training!

-------------- Micro Satellite Tender ---------------
COSMIC is a joint U.S.-Taiwan scientific project that
will use a constellation of six microsatellites to
collect atmospheric sounding measurements. Industry
partners to build and deliver six GPS receivers, six
solid-state recorders plus payload computers are now
being sought by the University Corporation.
----------- http://www.ucar.cosmic.edu/ -----------

--------
SPACEWAR

- Moscow Conference Will Debate How To Avoid Spacewar
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milspace-01l.html

Moscow (Interfax) April 8, 2001 - Over 80 countries have officially confirmed the participation of their representatives in the international conference on arms-free space as an arena of peaceful cooperation in the 21st century, due to take place in Moscow on April 11-13, Interfax was told at the Foreign Ministry on Friday.

- TRW/Raytheon SBIRS Low Team Completes Initial System Design
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/sbirs-01b.html

Redondo Beach - April 9, 2001 - The TRW/Raytheon Space Based Infrared System Low (SBIRS Low) team progressed its system design effort with the successful completion of the second of three major program milestones, the System Design Review (SDR). SBIRS Low is the low-Earth orbiting component of the next generation missile early warning and tracking system.

------------
YURI'S NIGHT

- Man in space: "the greatest event in the history of the world"
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010407022221.l3jqoj70.html

- Key dates in the history of space flight
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010407013207.yyf5ftfl.html

- 40 years after Gagarin, space remains the final frontier
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010407013005.kvns1a0k.html

- Cosmonauts biographies published in Gagarin anniversary volume
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010406165110.gcrajr7s.html

-----------------------------
SPACEDAILY EXPRESS LIST NOTES
--------------------------------------------
SpaceDaily Express is issued daily and lists
all new postings to http://www.SpaceDaily.com
Subscription is free: subscribe@spacer.com 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 435 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 11, 2001 (19:58) * 13 lines
* Jets on Jupiter: first view of an auroral flare: (11 Apr)
Astronomers studying Jupiter's atmosphere have spotted a
colossal flare erupting from the planet's aurora - a
phenomenon never seen before. The intense plume at the
northern polar region of the giant planet lasted just a
few minutes and covered an area the size of the Earth.
Hunter Waite of the University of Michigan in the US and
colleagues believe that the impact of the solar wind on
the magnetosphere of the giant planet could have played a
crucial role in the event (J H Waite et al 2001
Nature 410 787).
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/4/6 ]
----

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 436 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 15, 2001 (22:42) * 201 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - APRIL 13, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
VISIT SKY & TELESCOPE'S ONLINE IMAGE GALLERY

Sky & Telescope's Web site now features dozens of stunning celestial
vistas from ground- and space-based telescopes. Visit the Gallery of
Images at http://www.skypub.com/imaging/gallery/
===========================================================

JUPITER'S LIGHT SHOW

Already recognized as the most potent system of its kind in the solar system,
it appears that Jupiter's aurora can also put on quite a dazzling -- and
impromptu -- light show. On September 21, 1999, as the Hubble Space Telescope
looked on, the planet's north polar region erupted with ultraviolet light that
brightened 30-fold in just 70 seconds. Then, almost as quickly, the outburst
abated. Although space physicists have been monitoring the Jovian aurora with
HST for more than a decade, nothing this intense or abrupt has ever been
witnessed.

Unlike terrestrial auroras, which are powered by solar-wind interactions with
Earth's magnetic bubble, those on Jupiter draw their energy largely from the
breakneck, 9.9-hour rotation of the planet and its inner magnetosphere.
Trapped electrons spiral down the magnetic field lines and slam into the
planet's upper atmosphere, causing hydrogen atoms to glow in a bright oval of
ultraviolet light. However, the 1999 flare occurred poleward of the ubiquitous
auroral oval, implying a source region farther out in the magnetosphere, some
3 or 4 million kilometers from the planet's sunward-facing "morning" quadrant.

The HST observers, led by J. Hunter Waite Jr. (Southwest Research Institute),
can't yet explain what caused the outburst, but they suspect an external
trigger. As they note in the April 12th issue of Nature, the Jovian
magnetosphere likely reacted to the arrival of a high-density pulse of solar
wind. Because the interplanetary conditions were not unusually stormy that
day, the team suggests that "such flares, if indeed triggered by changes in
solar-wind pressure, may not be uncommon."

AURORA WATCHES CONTINUE

And speaking of auroras, you may get another opportunity to see some northern
(or southern) lights this weekend. During the latter half of the past week,
the Sun had several large eruptions directed toward the Earth. Auroral
warnings are up once again, so watch the skies this weekend.

COMET LINEAR'S EXTENDED OUTBURST

When a faint comet suddenly flares to prominence, astronomers are grateful for
the easy viewing but instinctively wary -- usually the outburst wanes quickly,
and the comet may fizzle. So far that hasn't been the case with Comet LINEAR
(C/2001 A2), a recent find that brightened dramatically over several days in
late March. (This is not the "Christmas" Comet LINEAR that had an outburst of
hype in February. That one is designated C/2000 WM1.)

The story of C/2001 A2 begins back in mid-January, when the MIT Lincoln
Laboratory team (LINEAR) in Socorro, New Mexico, captured images of a
19th-magnitude object in Cancer that did not appear to be moving like a
typical main-belt asteroid. Follow-up observations at two observatories in the
Czech Republic revealed a fuzzy rather than a point-source image. The orbit
calculated by Brian G. Marsden, and the brightness observations available in
January, suggested the comet would brighten slowly to perhaps 13th or 12th
magnitude by early April, ultimately reaching about 9th magnitude in June.
However, starting on March 26th, Michael Mattiazzo of Wallaroo, South
Australia, noticed the comet was much brighter than expected.

By April 1st some observers reported that Comet LINEAR had reached magnitude
7.5, and it has hovered near 8th magnitude since then. The comet remains an
easy evening-sky target in a small telescope, though for Northern Hemisphere
observers it is sinking fast toward the southwest horizon as twilight ends.
This coming week, it moves from Monoceros into Lepus, and is a few degrees
away from the 2nd-magnitude star Saiph, the eastern foot of Orion. The farther
south you live, the higher the comet appears in your sky. If the comet doesn't
fizzle, it could attain naked-eye visibility by the time it rounds perihelion
in late May and early June.

Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR at 0 hours Universal Time for the coming
week:

R.A. Dec.

Apr 14 5h 58m -10.5 deg.
Apr 16 5 57 -11.1
Apr 18 5 57 -11.7
Apr 20 5 56 -12.4


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.

APRIL 15 -- SUNDAY

* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 11:31 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of its
periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours
centered on 9:38 p.m. EDT. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to
brighten.

APRIL 16 -- MONDAY

* Jupiter shines 5 degrees north of Aldebaran in the west during and after
dusk.

APRIL 17 -- TUESDAY

* Jupiter is the brightest of the many winter stars and planets departing
into the west at nightfall. To Jupiter's left is Orion, tilting now with his
Belt horizontal. A similar distance left of Orion is bright Sirius.

APRIL 18 -- WEDNESDAY

* As dawn begins to brighten Thursday morning, look very low in the
east-southeast for the waning crescent Moon. Look well to its left, due east,
for Venus.

APRIL 19 -- THURSDAY

* Find bright Jupiter in the west in early evening and look far to its upper
right to spot Capella. Equally far to Capella's upper left are Castor and
Pollux.

APRIL 20 -- FRIDAY

* Very high in the south right after dark is the Sickle pattern of the
constellation Leo. It looks like a backward question mark. Its brightest star
is its bottom one, Regulus.

APRIL 21 -- SATURDAY

* The brightest star on the eastern side of the sky at this time of year is
the Spring Star, Arcturus. As evening grows late, look low in the northeast
for the Summer Star, Vega, already risen into good view.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

VENUS is low in the glow of sunrise. Look for it just above the horizon due
east about 45 minutes before sunup.

MARS (magnitude -0.6) rises in the southeast around 11:30 p.m. and shines
yellow-orange in the south before and during dawn. Well to its right is
similarly-colored but much dimmer Antares. In a telescope Mars is 12
arcseconds wide and growing; it will reach 21 arcseconds when nearest to Earth
in June. See the observing guide to Mars in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102.

JUPITER and SATURN (magnitudes -2.1 and -0.2, respectively) shine rather low
in the west during and after dusk. Jupiter is the brightest "star" there; look
for yellowish Saturn well to its lower right. Closer to Jupiter's lower left
is orange Aldebaran. To the upper right of Saturn are the Pleiades.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively, in Capricornus) are
very low in the southeast before dawn.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is in Ophiuchus in
the south before the first light of dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the words
up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America.
Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the world's
astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential
magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 * 617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky
at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the astronomical
community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic
distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs are included. But the
text of the bulletin and calendar may not be published in any other form
without permission from Sky Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or
phone 617-864-7360). Updates of astronomical news, including active links to
related Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky at a Glance
are available via electronic mailing list. For a free subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join" on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on
the first line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message to list
administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more than
200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands worldwide. For
subscription information, or for a free copy of our catalog of fine astronomy
books and products, please contact Sky Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd.,
Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A. Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada);
617-864-7360 (International). Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com.
WWW: http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 437 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr 23, 2001 (05:22) * 244 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - APRIL 20, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Advance token to Mauna Kea Observatory. If you pass GO, collect $200.

Brings the wonders of the universe to your living room with the
astronomy edition of Monopoly. Each game comes with six custom pewter
tokens, descriptions of the properties, and tips on getting started
in astronomy. To order, call 800-253-0245 or visit Sky Publishing's
online store - http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=01504
===========================================================

EARTHSHINE SHEDDING LIGHT ON EARTH'S CLIMATE

Reviving an observing technique performed during the early 20th
century, astronomers will be watching the Moon in the hopes of better
monitoring Earth's climate. In the May 1st Geophysical Research
Letters, Philip R. Goode (New Jersey Institute of Technology) and his
colleagues explain how monitoring earthshine -- the faint glow of the
Moon's dark side at crescent phase -- can characterize Earth's
reflectance, also called albedo. The amount of sunlight our planet
bounces back into space is an important element of the atmosphere's
energy content. Clouds, atmospheric dust and aerosols, and snow cover
all reflect most of the sunlight that falls on them. Any radiation
that isn't reflected is absorbed; thus when the Earth isn't as
reflective, it must be getting warmer.

In the late 1920s, French astronomer Andre Danjon did much the same
observations. For more than two decades, he and his colleagues
monitored earthshine using a photometer. The modern observations are
being taken with a 6-inch refractor and CCD camera at Big Bear Solar
Observatory in California. The astronomers image a pair of regions of
the Moon during the crescent phase and then incorporate other
terrestrial data such as cloud cover and how much of the surface is
layered with snow and ice. By seeing how brightly the dark side of the
Moon is illuminated, researchers can determine the albedo of the
entire planet.

Goode's team reports that on average the Earth reflects 30 percent of
the sunlight impinging on it and that the planet's albedo can vary by
5 percent throughout a day. Furthermore, albedo differences due to
seasonal changes vary much more than computer models predicted it
would, and that the Earth seems to be a bit brighter than indicated by
data collected during 1994-95. However, it is too early to make any
conclusions on any trends in reflectance changes. Earthshine
measurements will have to continue for many years -- to average out
daily and seasonal changes -- before any climatological conclusions
can be made.

A DISTANT DOUBLE IN THE KUIPER BELT

The swarm of objects beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper Belt just
keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. Last December, while checking
up on 1998 WW31, an object that had been discovered out there two
years earlier, Christian Veillet and two colleagues realized that it
sometimes appeared elongated while other times as a double blip. News
of the binary's discovery was announced this week on IAU Circular
7610.

Veillet's team recorded 1998 WW31 with the 3.6-meter
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii and the facility's new
100-megapixel camera. Even so, at 23rd magnitude and 6.9 billion
kilometers away, 1998 WW31 did not divulge much about itself.
Fortunately, a series of observations taken nearly a year earlier also
showed doubling and elongation, clinching its status as a binary.
Veillet says the two components orbit at least 40,000 km apart, and
that one is about 0.4 magnitude brighter than the other. This would
make the bodies roughly 150 and 200 km across.

LYRID METEORS TO PEAK

The Lyrid meteor shower has been observed for more than 2,600 years;
Chinese records say "stars fell like rain" in the shower of 687 B.C.
But in recent times the Lyrids have generally been weak. They have a
brief maximum that lasts for less than a day, and even then only 10 to
20 Lyrids per hour may appear.

In 1982, however, the hourly rate unexpectedly reached 90 for a single
hour, and 180 to 300 for a few minutes. A brief outburst of 100 per
hour was also seen in 1922. "This unpredictability always makes the
Lyrids a shower to watch, since we cannot say when the next unusual
return may occur,"note Alistair McBeath and Rainer Arlt of the
International Meteor Organization.

The radiant point of this shower lies between Vega and the keystone
pattern of Hercules. This year's peak activity is due around 4h UT on
April 22nd (midnight Eastern Daylight Time on the night of April
21st), with the radiant high overhead in western Europe and well up
for observers in eastern North America. The waning crescent Moon won't
interfere.

COMET LINEAR'S EXTENDED OUTBURST

Comet LINEAR (C/2001 A2) remains an easy evening-sky target in a small
telescope at about magnitude 7.5 following its outburst at the end of
March. However, for Northern Hemisphere observers it is sinking fast
toward the southwest horizon as twilight ends. This coming week, it
continues to move due south through Lepus. The farther south you live,
the higher the comet appears in your sky. Southern Hemisphere
observers will find it about halfway to the zenith in the
west-northwest. If the comet doesn't fizzle, it could attain naked-eye
visibility by the time it rounds perihelion in late May and early
June. Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR at 0 hours Universal Time
for the coming week:

R.A. Dec.

Apr 21 5h 56m -12.7 deg.
Apr 23 5 56 -13.4
Apr 25 5 55 -14.1
Apr 27 5 55 -14.8


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

APRIL 22 -- SUNDAY

* Some doorstep astronomy: Face northeast and look very high during
evening this month to spot the Big Dipper. It's almost upside down,
with its handle to the lower right. The middle star of the bent handle
is Mizar. Examine Mizar carefully for its little companion star Alcor,
barely below it. Binoculars show Alcor easily.

APRIL 23 -- MONDAY

* New Moon (exact at 11:26 a.m. EDT).

APRIL 24 -- TUESDAY

* About 30 to 40 minutes after sunset, try looking for the hairline
crescent Moon very low in the west-northwest, far below Jupiter and
perhaps a bit right. Binoculars will help.

* The red long-period variable stars V Coronae Borealis and RS
Scorpii should be at their maximum brightness (7th or 8th magnitude)
this week.

APRIL 25 -- WEDNESDAY

* During twilight, look west for the waxing crescent Moon poised
between bright Jupiter above it, Aldebaran to its upper left, and
Saturn to the Moon's lower right.

APRIL 26 -- THURSDAY

* Jupiter shines to the lower right of the crescent Moon this
evening.

APRIL 27 -- FRIDAY

* The Moon is inside a huge, flattened pentagon formed by
(counterclockwise from lower right) bright Jupiter, Capella, Castor
and Pollux, Procyon, and Betelgeuse.

APRIL 28 -- SATURDAY

* Above the Moon are Pollux and Castor. To the Moon's left is
Procyon. Nearly twice as far to the Moon's right is Capella.

* Jupiter's moons Europa and Callisto are in conjunction 24
arcseconds apart at 8:03 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The smallest
telescope will show them paired this evening.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glow of sunset.

VENUS is low in the sunrise. Look for it quite low due east about 45
minutes before sunup.

MARS (magnitude -1) rises in the southeast around midnight daylight
saving time and shines yellow-orange in the south before and during
dawn. Well off to its right is similarly-colored but much dimmer
Antares. In a telescope Mars is 13 arcseconds wide and growing; it
will reach 21 arcseconds when nearest to Earth in June. See the
observing guide to Mars in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102.

JUPITER (magnitude -2.0) shines in the west during and after dusk.
It's the brightest "star" there. The much fainter orange star to its
lower left is Aldebaran.

SATURN is far to Jupiter' lower right during twilight and sets around
twilight's end.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus, low in the southeast just before dawn.

PLUTO (magnitude 14; invisible without a large telescope) is in
Ophiuchus in the south before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 438 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 28, 2001 (11:14) * 243 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - APRIL 27, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Advance token to Mauna Kea Observatory. If you pass GO, collect $200.

Brings the wonders of the universe to your living room with the
astronomy edition of Monopoly. Each game comes with six custom pewter
tokens, descriptions of the properties, and tips on getting started
in astronomy. To order, call 800-253-0245 or visit Sky Publishing's
online store - http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=01504
===========================================================

ASTRONOMY DAY IS HERE

Saturday April 28th is Astronomy Day -- a great way for astronomy
clubs to gain visibility in the community by having the public look
through telescopes and at displays. If you don't belong to an
astronomy club and want to find a local club or planetarium that might
be hosting an Astronomy Day celebration, check out SKY & TELESCOPE's
Events Calendar (http://www.skypub.com/resources/calendar.shtml) or
the Astronomical Directory
(http://www.skypub.com/resources/directory/directory.html). The
Astronomical League, a nonprofit federation of amateur astronomical
societies and individuals, will select the group that best exemplifies
the concept of Astronomy Day, "Bringing Astronomy to the People,"
through its special event program. The League will present the group
the S&T Astronomy Day Award. Last year's winners were the Boston
Museum of Science's Charles Hayden Planetarium (Boston, MA) and the
Oglethorpe Astronomical Association (Savannah, GA).

USING GRAVITY TO PROBE A DISTANT STAR

An international team of astronomers have studied the atmosphere of a
star 25,000 light-years away. This feat was accomplished thanks in
large part to two smaller stars that happened to be in the way.

For several years, teams of astronomers have monitored fields of stars
looking for gradual brightenings. The sought magnitude changes aren't
due to any variable nature in the stars themselves, but because of
gravitational lensing. When a massive, but dim, object crosses our
line of sight to a background star, the gravity of the intervening
star distorts the light from the more-distant object. The effect is a
focusing of the starlight. The cycle of brightening and dimming of
this so-called microlensing can last several weeks. Astronomers hope
that such microlensing searches will help estimate the amount of dark
matter in the galaxy by finding evidence for dwarf stars and other
bodies we can't detect through other means.

On May 5, 2000, astronomers of the EROS program found a microlensing
candidate and soon other observing programs were monitoring the event,
designated EROS-BLG-2000-5. After about a month, the star brightened
significantly, indicating that the event was in fact a pair of dwarf
stars passing in front of a red giant in the central bulge of the
Milky Way. Furthermore, researchers predicted that the star would have
another brightening a few weeks later. Astronomers at the European
Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope geared up for the event,
and when the star did indeed brighten again, they took spectra
throughout several nights in early July 2000. The lensing effect
enhanced emission from different parts of the giant star as the
foreground dwarfs moved across the disk, in effect peering into the
structure of the star. The ESO astronomers traced changes in hydrogen
emission from different atmospheric depths, which were consistent with
stellar models.

GROWING PLANETS IN A BAD NEIGHBORHOOD

It seems that the three most important factors in forming planetary
systems in nebulae just may be: location, location, location.
According to a study conducted by Henry Throop (Southwest Research
Institute) and his colleagues, the environment surrounding a
protoplanetary disk dramatically effects the type of system that will
form.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, Throop looked at various
million-year-old disks within the Orion Nebula. In the disks, he found
dust grains as large as 5 microns in size, about the one-tenth the
width of a human hair. For comparison, normal interstellar dust grains
are only 0.1 to 0.2 micron. The apparent grain growth implies that
they are in the early stages of planetary growth.

However, the Orion Nebula is also home to more than two dozen O-type
stars. These stellar giants cause an extreme ruckus in any neighboring
disk within 0.3 light-year or so. The star's tremendous energy outflow
blows away the gas in the system, and the giant star's intense
ultraviolet radiation bakes away any ice. According to models
calculated by Throop and others, the resulting system is quite
strange: there is no gas to form Jupiterlike gas giant planets, nor is
there ice to form a Kuiper Belt or any comets. Instead, all that
remains is a group of atmosphereless rocky bodies, similar in many
respects to Mercury.

But, if the disk is fortunate to reside in a "shady spot," says
Throop, then gas giants and normal planetary formation can proceed.
Because O-type stars have such short life spans (up to 100 million
years), disks could easily form after the stars had wreaked their
havoc. Details of the study appear in this week's Science.

COMET LINEAR BRIGHTENS MORE

Comet LINEAR (C/2001 A2) has had another unexpected boost in
brightness. To the surprise of astronomers -- who presumed the comet
would have faded a bit since its outburst nearly a month ago -- the
comet now shines at about magnitude 6.5. Although it's an easy
evening-sky target in binoculars and a small telescope, it will soon
become a Southern Hemisphere only object. By the end of twilight,
Comet LINEAR is less than 10 degrees above the west-southwest horizon
in Lepus for observers at midnorthern latitudes. Skywatchers south of
the equator can find the comet about 40 degrees above the western
horizon as darkness falls. Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR at 0
hours Universal Time for the coming week:

R.A. Dec.

Apr 28 5h 54m -15.2 deg.
Apr 30 5 54 -15.9
May 2 5 53 -16.7
May 4 5 52 -17.4


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

APRIL 29 -- SUNDAY

* Look to the right of the Moon this evening for Pollux and Castor.
Farther below the Moon and perhaps a bit left is Procyon.

APRIL 30 -- MONDAY

* First-quarter Moon (exact at 1:08 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

MAY 1 -- TUESDAY

* The star just below the Moon tonight is Regulus in Leo.

MAY 2 -- WEDNESDAY

* Face north after dark and look very high after dark in May to spot
the Big Dipper. It's floating upside down, with its handle to the
right. To identify constellations all around your sky, use the
printable evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0105skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0105skys.html .)

MAY 3 -- THURSDAY

* Skywatchers in the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere should find
the Eta Aquarid meteor shower active just before the first light of
dawn for the next couple of days (before moonlight interferes).

MAY 4 -- FRIDAY

* Venus is at its greatest brilliancy in the morning sky.

MAY 5 -- SATURDAY

* Look for Spica to the right of the Moon this evening. Three or
four times farther to the Moon's upper left is brighter Arcturus.

* The red long-period variable stars S Hydrae and T Ursae Majoris
should be at maximum brightness (about 8th magnitude) this week.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY emerges into evening twilight view late in the week; it's just
above the west-northwest horizon, to the right or lower right of
Saturn. Look about 45 minutes after sunset.

VENUS is low in the dawn. Look for it due east about 60 to 40 minutes
before sunrise.

MARS (magnitude -1.1) rises in the southeast around midnight daylight
saving time and shines yellow-orange in the south before and during
dawn. In a telescope Mars is already 14 arcseconds wide and growing;
it will reach 21 arcseconds when nearest to Earth in June. See the
observing guide to Mars in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102.

JUPITER (magnitude -2.0) shines low in the west at dusk. It's the
brightest "star" there.

SATURN is far to Jupiter' lower right during twilight; binoculars will
help. (Look for brighter Mercury to Saturn's right late in the week.)

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus, low in the southeast before dawn.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the south before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 439 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr 30, 2001 (11:21) * 69 lines
Keep Galileo's Eyes Open, Say Petitioning Scientists

Leavenworth, KS - NASA recently extended the successful Galileo
spacecraft's mission until January 2003 to continue study of Jupiter's
fascinating moons, particularly the extremely volcanic moon Io. Io - the
most active world yet discovered - features modes of eruption not seen on
Earth for billions of years, mountains taller than Mt. Everest, and a
unique and poorly understood surface chemistry based on sulfur. But
scientists say that a planned powerdown of Galileo's imaging suite at the
end of this year will hamstring efforts to solve Io's many mysteries.

NASA has funded Galileo's instrument package through 2001 to include two
further flybys of Io. NASA has also planned another Io flyby, during
Galileo's thirty-third orbit (I33), on January 17, 2002. Dipping to within
100 km (62 miles) of Io's surface - lower than any previous Jupiter-system
flyby - Galileo will fly over Io's sub-jovian hemisphere, which has never
been imaged before at high resolution.

Unfortunately, funding for all imaging during the I33 flyby has recently
been withdrawn, and the only chance to image the mysterious features on
this hemisphere of Io at high resolution will be lost unless the decision
is reversed.

The only images of this hemisphere returned from Galileo so far have been
at low resolution, taken at very long range during the orbital tour - show
several gigantic volcanoes and still-hot lava fields of varying
composition. If funds are reinstated, Galileo will image the mountains
Hi'iaka, Gish Bar, and Pan, a pair of enigmatic lava domes named Apis and
Inachus Tholi, and the volcanoes Kanehekili and Mbali. Galileo will also
measure the temperature of the volcanoes Kanehekili, Prometheus, Marduk,
and Pillan and search for hot spots, which provide clues to the way Io
dissipates its tidal heat.

"Every time we look at Io we see something unexpected and amazing. I33
gives Io one more chance to blow our socks off! The fact that we will be
looking at a hemisphere not seen close-up since Voyager increases the
chances of new and surprising discoveries," commented John Spencer of the
Lowell Observatory.

"This is an exceptional opportunity to view Io's Jupiter facing hemisphere
at high-resolution using Galileo's remote sensing capabilities. We have
already done a lot of the necessary work. The observations are already
planned and designed. Nobody wants to miss this unique chance," says Rosaly
Lopes of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Jason Perry, a high school junior from Leavenworth, Kansas, has created a
petition to persuade NASA to reverse its decision. The petition - "Pennies
for Pele" - was started on March 30, 2001 and has already been signed by 79
Io scientists and others from around the world.

The cost of performing remote sensing during the January 2002 flyby is only
$1.5 million dollars. This represents 0.1% of the funds spent to send
Galileo to Jupiter, and a ten-thousandth of NASA's annual budget.

"The funding/science ratio for imaging at the January 2002 flyby is
ridiculously cheap. Considering the amount of money it took us to get
there, not funding I33 imaging makes absolutely no sense," commented Joseph
Plassmann of the Planetary Image Research Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona.

It is hoped that 1000 signatures can be obtained before August 6, the date
of the next Io flyby. Copies of the petition will then be passed to the
NASA's Office of Space Science.

The petition can be signed online at:- http://fullspeed.to/Io

(Note- Although this website has commercial sponsors that open advertising
windows as you browse, it is the only place available to sign the petition.)



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 440 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, May  5, 2001 (13:03) * 337 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - MAY 4, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Advance token to Mauna Kea Observatory. If you pass GO, collect $200.

Brings the wonders of the universe to your living room with the
astronomy edition of Monopoly. Each game comes with six custom pewter
tokens, descriptions of the properties, and tips on getting started
in astronomy. To order, call 800-253-0245 or visit Sky Publishing's
online store - http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=01504
===========================================================

COMET LINEAR SPLITS IN TWO

About a month ago, amateur astronomers around the world noticed that
Comet LINEAR (C/2001 A2) brightened significantly and somewhat
prematurely. In fact, during the last week of March the comet went
from magnitude 13 to 8 in a matter of days -- a hundredfold increase
in brightness. By April 25th, Mike Begbie of Harare, Zimbabwe, could
even see the comet with his naked eye.

Early predictions suggested that the comet was never going to be
brighter than 9th, even then not until a month after it reached
perihelion (its closest point to the Sun) on May 24th. Professional
and amateur astronomers alike were perplexed as to what could have
caused the sudden outburst. Now they believe they have their answer.

Observations taken April 30th with the Catalina 1.54-meter telescope
on Mount Bigelow, Arizona, by C. W. Hergenrother, M. Chamberlin, and
Y. Chamberlain (University of Arizona) clearly show that Comet LINEAR
has broken into two pieces. Currently, the fragments are separated by
some 3.5 arcseconds and together are as bright as magnitude 6.3. It
seems likely that the sudden brightening resulted from the initial
split, says Charles Morris (Jet Propulsion Laboratory).

This certainly isn't the first time a naked-eye comet has broken up on
its approach to the inner solar system. Last year the crumbling of
Comet LINEAR (C/1999 S4) was chronicled by amateur and professional
astronomers using instruments ranging from backyard telescopes to the
Hubble Space Telescope.

See the Special Sky Events page
(http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0105skyevents.shtml ) for
LINEAR's predicted location and brightness throughout the month of
May. Currently, the comet is visible only from the Southern
Hemisphere, high in the west after sunset. Here are coordinates for
Comet LINEAR at 0 hours Universal Time for the coming week:

R.A. Dec.

May 5 5h 51m -17.8 deg.
May 7 5 50 -18.6
May 9 5 48 -19.4
May 11 5 46 -20.2

PIONEER 10 LIVES ON

After 8.5 months of silence, Pioneer 10 is once again in touch with
its handlers here on Earth. Ground controllers heard from the
spacecraft for about 90 minutes on April 28th while tracking it with
NASA's 70-meter receiving dish in Spain. The long-distance call came
down "sweet as could be -- a nice, strong signal," says Lawrence
Lasher, Pioneer project manager at the Ames Research Center in
California.

The breakthrough came after weeks of failing to pick up Pioneer's
feeble signal by merely listening for it. Lasher now believes that the
spacecraft can no longer maintain a stable transmission frequency. To
sidestep this malfunction, the Spanish station beamed a
single-frequency carrier signal to the spacecraft, which then echoed
it back to Earth (after a round-trip travel time of 21.8 hours).
Ground controllers used this same two-way communication scheme when
they last heard from Pioneer 10 on August 6, 2000. Keeping in touch
with the 29-year-old craft has become very difficult because it is now
11.7 billion kilometers from Earth and because onboard power is barely
adequate to run the 8-watt transmitter. Although its mission
officially ended in 1997, Pioneer 10 has avoided a complete shutdown
because Ames engineers are using the weakening radio beacon to test a
new tracking method based on chaos theory.

Lasher plans other communication sessions in the coming weeks to
assess Pioneer 10's condition and to beam up some housekeeping
instructions. Commanding the spacecraft came a halt last year when the
last of the project's decades-old PDP computers failed, complicating
efforts to keep Pioneer's antenna pointed toward Earth. But since then
critical command sequences have been transferred to a modern desktop
system. "We're in business again," Lasher says. According to James A.
Van Allen, whose Geiger-tube telescope is the sole experiment still
sending back data, Pioneer 10 could reach the boundary marking true
interstellar space within a few years. Even though the odds are long,
he and Lasher hope the spacecraft will still be functioning well
enough to announce its arrival there.

MORE EVIDENCE FOR SPINNING BLACK HOLES

Using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite, astronomers have
found the best evidence yet for black holes that spin. While analyzing
X-ray emission from the microquasar GRO J1655-40, Tod E. Strohmayer
found a "quasiperiodic oscillation," or QPO, in the black hole with a
frequency of 450 cycles per second -- the fastest signal ever seen
from a black hole. The only way something could orbit that fast would
be to circle extremely close to the black hole's event horizon (edge)
with the hole itself spinning, dragging the surrounding space along
with it.

QPOs are often caused by blobs of hot gas spinning tightly around
neutron stars. The frequency of the oscillation depends on the orbital
radius and the mass of the neutron star. However, the QPOs in J1655-40
have a frequency greater than what should be physically allowed. To
explain the phenomenon, Strohmayer concludes the rotation of the black
hole is speeding up the QPOs. Strohmayer suspects that the QPOs occur
no more than about 30 kilometers of the hole's event horizon -- a
number that seems more minute given that the event horizon itself is
only some 20 km in radius.

Interestingly, spinning black holes have been known for some time. As
reported in the December 1997 issue of Sky & Telescope, Andrew C.
Fabian (Cambridge University) found that the Seyfert galaxy
MCG-6-30-15 has a black hole with spectra showing redshifts that
require fast rotation and "frame dragging" of the surrounding space.
Also in 1997, Shuang N. Zhang (NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center) and
his colleagues measured J1655-40 and found circumstantial evidence for
black-hole rotation in the form of superluminal jets. Scientists
believe only spinning black holes can produce such superfast jets.

THE NEW COSMOLOGY GETS FIRMED UP

Cosmology, the study of the whole universe and its origin, is looking
in mighty good shape these days. Last weekend three research teams
announced new results that dramatically strengthen the new
"concordance model" of the universe -- in which the cosmos contains
exactly enough matter and energy to render space flat. Only 4 or 5
percent of this stuff is ordinary matter, a larger amount is some kind
of exotic dark matter, and the rest is the newly discovered,
mysterious "dark energy" causing space to expand at an accelerating
rate. The new findings are also a powerful vindication of the
21-year-old inflation theory of how the Big Bang was powered into
being during its first 10^-32 second of existence.

The new studies measured tiny temperature fluctuations in the cosmic
background radiation. This weak radio glow, which covers the whole
sky, dates from 300,000 to 500,000 years after the Big Bang, when the
hot gas of the universe first became transparent to its own radiation.
The minute irregularities in its temperature (measured in parts per
million) reveal very slight density ripples in the otherwise smooth
substance of the universe that emerged from the inflationary moment.
According to the mind-boggling theory, these irregularities began as
microscopic, random quantum fluctuations on the scale of elementary
particles, then ballooned so vastly during inflation that they became
the clusters of galaxies populating the universe on the largest scales
today.

The exact sizes and strengths of the irregularities should tell
volumes. Many astronomers are busily seeking to measure their
intensities at different angular sizes on the sky. The full
inflationary-universe theory predicts that the resulting graph of
their strength should be complex, showing several peaks at certain
angular sizes -- "like overtones in a musical instrument," describes
cosmologist Wayne Hu (University of Chicago). From the exact sizes and
shapes of these overtones, cosmologists should be able to read much
about the origin of the universe, its shape, its history, and its
contents.

The first peak was discovered last year. Its size and placement (at an
angular size of just under 1ø) proved that space is flat -- in other
words, that the early cosmos had exactly the right matter-and-energy
budget to balance perfectly between recollapsing and expanding. Last
weekend, researchers from three experiments in Antarctica -- the
balloon-borne BOOMERANG and MAXIMA instruments and the ground-based
Degree Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI) -- jointly announced that
they had found the much-anticipated second peak as well as signs of a
third. These and subsequent peaks were predicted to arise from blobs
of early material falling together under the action of gravity,
rebounding outward because of radiation pressure, and falling together
yet again.

Cosmologists heaved a sigh of relief at the discovery of the second
peak. Last year, preliminary analysis of the BOOMERANG and MAXIMA data
hinted that the second peak was weak or missing. This would have
implied that as much as 7 percent of the stuff of the universe
consists of baryons -- protons and neutrons, the main building blocks
of atoms and therefore all the ordinary matter we know. The nuclear
physics of the early Big Bang predicts that baryonic matter should
instead add up to only 4 or 5 percent of creation. The second peak
announced last weekend squarely matches that prediction. It was a
triumphant convergence of two totally different ways of measuring the
amount of ordinary matter that emerged from the Big Bang.

EARTH FROM MARS ODYSSEY

Looking backward 12 days after its April 7th launch, NASA's 2001 Mars
Odyssey spacecraft took a pair of images of its home planet from a
distance of more than 3 million kilometers. The infrared view, by
Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), shows the night
side of Earth glowing with surface temperatures ranging from -50 deg.
Celsius in Antarctica to +9 deg. C in northeastern Australia, agreeing
well with temperature readings made on the ground.

Odyssey will arrive at Mars on October 24th, spend several months
aerobraking into a low orbit, and begin its 29-month science mission
in January 2002. If all goes well it will make high-resolution maps of
Martian mineralogy, including any signs of shallow subsurface water,
study the Martian atmosphere and climate, and investigate the
radiation environment that might someday affect human explorers.


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

MAY 6 -- SUNDAY

* The brightest star very high in the southwest after dark is
Regulus in Leo the Lion. The brightest star far below it is Alphard,
the orange-red giant heart of Hydra, the Sea Serpent.

MAY 7 -- MONDAY

* Full Moon (exact at 9:52 a.m.)

* Late this evening, the faint asteroid 337 Devosa occults (covers)
an 8th-magnitude star in the tail of Hydra for observers along a
narrow track from approximately Georgia to Montana. The star may
disappear for up to 5 seconds within a few minutes of 4:44 Universal
Time May 8th. See the finder chart in the May Sky & Telescope, page
110, or at http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0105skyevents.shtml
. For any late updates to the prediction, check
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm , or call the
recording at 301-474-4945, shortly beforehand.

MAY 8 -- TUESDAY

* Before and during dawn Wednesday morning, the waning Moon shines
above orange-red Antares and far to the right of brighter orange-red
Mars.

MAY 9 -- WEDNESDAY

* Mars shines to the lower left of the Moon after midnight tonight,
and left of the Moon before and during dawn Thursday morning.

MAY 10 -- THURSDAY

* Mars shines to the upper right of the Moon after midnight tonight,
and right of the Moon before and during dawn Friday morning.

MAY 11 -- FRIDAY

* The brightest star very high in the southeast after dark this
month is Arcturus. The brightest low in the northeast is Vega.

MAY 12 -- SATURDAY

* Find Arcturus (see yesterday) and look far to its lower right for
Spica, moderately high in the south. Farther on to Spica's lower right
is the little four-star pattern of Corvus, the Crow.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is just above the west-northwest horizon in evening twilight,
to the lower right of bright Jupiter. Fainter Saturn is close to
Mercury (to its left or below). Look about 45 minutes after sunset;
binoculars help.

VENUS (magnitude -4.5) is low in the east during dawn.

MARS (magnitude -1.3) rises in the southeast around 11:30 p.m.
daylight saving time. It shines bright yellow-orange in the south
before and during dawn. In a telescope Mars is already 15 arcseconds
wide and growing; it will reach 21 arcseconds when nearest to Earth in
late June. See the observing guide to Mars in the May Sky & Telescope,
page 102.

JUPITER (magnitude -2.0) is low in the west-northwest at dusk. It's
the brightest "star" there.

SATURN is far to Jupiter's lower right, near brighter Mercury, during
early twilight early in the week.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the southeast before dawn.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the south in the early-morning
hours.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 441 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, May  7, 2001 (12:43) * 146 lines
SPACEDAILY EXPRESS - May 7, 2001
- sponsored by -
MSU TechLink - Your Partner For Tech Transfer
http://techlink.msu.montana.edu/aero.html
---------------------------------------------

-----------
QUICK SPACE

- The Perils of Pauline
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/outerplanets-01d.html

- Us Space Tourist Tito Lands Back On Earth After Trip To "Paradise"
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010506080446.jco526wy.html

- Us Officials Absent As Space Tourist Arrives In Moscow
http://spacedaily.com/news/010506152748.glu50yti.html

- Climate shift linked to rise of Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/climate-01d.html

- Space Elevators Get A Lift
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/future-01f.html

- Second Boeing-built XM Satellite at Sea, Ready for Launch
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/xm-radio-01c.html

- Mars: A World Riven By H2O or CO2
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/lunarplanet-2001-01a4.html

- Space Odyssey Just Beginning, Says Space Commander In Chief
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milspace-01n.html

- Bush Administration Defends Missile Defense Shield
http://spacedaily.com/news/010506172309.lgf3yq78.html

------------------
HEADLINES IN BRIEF
May 7, 2001

-------------
SPACE SCIENCE

- The Perils of Pauline
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/outerplanets-01d.html

Cameron Park - May 7, 2001 - The extraordinary "Perils of Pauline" saga of the proposed Pluto-Kuiper flyby probe -- which would be the first mission to the last unexplored planet in the Solar System, and then continue optional flybys of one or more smaller Kuiper Belt objects -- continues with one final effort now underway to save the mission from what could be centuries of delay.

------------
SPACE TRAVEL

- US Space Tourist Tito Lands Back On Earth After Trip To "Paradise"
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010506080446.jco526wy.html

Near Arkalyk (AFP) May 6, 2001 - Space tourist Dennis Tito landed back on Earth early Sunday, when a Soyuz TM-31 vessel carrying the US millionaire and two Russian cosmonauts touched down in the desert of Kazakhstan. The touchdown, which occurred at 0535 GMT, six minutes ahead of schedule, went without hitches, ending Tito's historic eight-day holiday in space, Russian space officials told AFP

- US Officials Absent As Space Tourist Arrives In Moscow
http://spacedaily.com/news/010506152748.glu50yti.html

----------
TERRADAILY

- Climate shift linked to rise of Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/climate-01d.html

Madison - May 7, 2001 - By probing ancient dust deposits in China and deep ocean sediments from the North Pacific and Indian Oceans, scientists have constructed the most detailed portrait to date of the effects on climate of the Himalaya Mountains and the great Tibetan Plateau.

---------------- Space Transportation Summit ---------------
The 2001 World Summit on the Space Transportation Business
brings together the key players of the space launch industry
to focus on the principal strategic issues of the business
-- http://www.euroconsult-ec.com/web/space/space_h_ws.htm --
Hotel Inter-Continental
Thursday 17 & Friday 18 May 2001 Paris
------------------------------------------------------------

---------
SPACEMART

- Space Elevators Get A Lift
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/future-01f.html

London - May 2, 2001 - They say the first 100 kilometres are the best. Moments after the door slides shut with a reassuring "ker-chunk", the acceleration takes hold, pushing you gently but firmly into your seat. Terra firma drops precipitously from view, and your internal organs groan in sympathy as the "elevator" lifts high into the clouds and beyond.

- Second Boeing-built XM Satellite at Sea, Ready for Launch
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/xm-radio-01c.html

Los Angeles - May 7, 2001 - The second of two GEO birds that will make up an initial pair of "radio broadcast" satellites is set for launch Tuesday aboard a Sea Launch Zenit rocket. A 45-minute window opens for the equatorial launch platform at 2210 GMT May 8.

---------
MARSDAILY

- Mars: A World Riven By H2O or CO2
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/lunarplanet-2001-01a4.html

Cameron Park - May 1, 2001 - There are now so many puzzles and contradictions in the most popular interpretation of a watery Martian history that a radical new alternative -- proposed by Nick Hoffman of Latrobe University in Australia -- is starting to catch on among a growing number of planetary geologists.

------------------- TECH TRANSFER ---------------------
The Door Is Open To Cutting Edge Technologies

MSU TechLink can help your company develop strategic
partnerships between Department of Defense laboratories
and aerospace companies in the Northwest. Partnering
with DoD will help leverage R&D investments and enhance
commercialization opportunities.

Visit Techlink Today
-- http://techlink.msu.montana.edu/aero.html --
-------------------------------------------------------

--------
SPACEWAR

- Space Odyssey Just Beginning, Says Space Commander In Chief
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/milspace-01n.html

Cape Canaveral - May 7, 2001 - The future of America's military space program has never been brighter. But, America needs to rededicate itself to space. So said Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart when he opened Space Congress 2001 in Cape Canaveral last Monday.

- Bush Administration Defends Missile Defense Shield
http://spacedaily.com/news/010506172309.lgf3yq78.html

------- "SMALLER SATELLITES: BIGGER BUSINESS?" ------
Strasbourg will be the setting for the International
Space University's 6th Annual Symposium. This year's
theme will be small satellites with an emphasis on
concepts, applications and markets. Join some of the
world's leading experts, manufacturers and users in
interdisciplinary presentations and discussions on a
wide variety of issues pertaining to small satellites
Strasbourg - May 21-23 - 2001
--------- http://www.isunet.edu/Symposium/ ----------

---------
AD MARKET

- Advertise here for only $375 a week.
http://www.spacedaily.com/ad-deals-to-go.html
email: advertise@spacer.com

-----------------------------
SPACEDAILY EXPRESS LIST NOTES

--------------------------------------------
SpaceDaily Express is issued daily and lists
all new postings to www.SpaceDaily.com
Subscription is free: subscribe@spacer.com 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 442 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, May  8, 2001 (06:55) * 138 lines
---------------------------------------------
SPACEDAILY EXPRESS - May 8, 2001
- sponsored by -
The London Satellite Exchange
http://www.e-sax.com
---------------------------------------------

QUICK SPACE

- Congressional Bill Will Strengthen U.S. Satellite Exports
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/satellite-biz-01g.html

- WildBlue Contracts For Internet Satellite Dishes
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/internet-01h.html

- A World Of Mystery and Paradoxes
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/lunarplanet-2001-01a5.html

- Carbon Dioxide Levels Key To Global Warming Predictions
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/greenhouse-01n.html

- Discovery Of A Satellite Around The Transneptunian Object 1998 WW31
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/kuiper-01c.html

- U. Chicago To Lead National Space Materials Research Center
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/materials-01k.html

- Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout VTUAV Enters Initial Production
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/uav-01e.html

- Russian Space Agency "not a tourist agency": official
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010507155507.tgz1smvc.html

- Rumsfeld to reorganize military space programs
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010507225826.f4ty1pe2.html

------------------
HEADLINES IN BRIEF
May 8, 2001

---------
SPACEMART

- Congressional Bill Will Strengthen U.S. Satellite Exports
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/satellite-biz-01g.html

Alexandria - May 7, 2001 - The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) and the Space Foundation today announced their support of legislation introduced by Representatives Howard Berman (D-Calif.) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) which would return export licensing authority for commercial communication satellites to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

- WildBlue Contracts For Internet Satellite Dishes
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/internet-01h.html

Denver - May 7, 2001 - WildBlue has selected Channel Master to build the satellite mini-dish antennas that consumers will use to access WildBlue's affordable 2-way wireless broadband service. These mini-dishes can also receive the DBS signals for digital satellite TV.

- World's largest freighter flies again after seven years grounded
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010507180955.lkw5728p.html

- Russian Space Agency "not a tourist agency": official
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010507155507.tgz1smvc.html

---------
MARSDAILY

- A World Of Mystery and Paradoxes
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/lunarplanet-2001-01a5.html

Cameron Park - May 8, 2001 - The similarities between the valley networks of Mars and our own river networks here on Earth are biggest single element in the White Mars Theory that its leading proponents acknowledge as being the most uncertain. Nonetheless, several possible explanations for the valley networks have been proposed that don't require water.

----------
TERRADAILY

- Carbon Dioxide Levels Key To Global Warming Predictions
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/greenhouse-01n.html

College Station - May 8, 2001 - It's never a good idea to throw the baby out with the bathwater, even if the baby is millions of years old -- with an uncertain future. That's Thomas Crowley's message on global climate modeling, published in last week's May 3 issue of Science.

-------------
SPACE SCIENCE

- Discovery Of A Satellite Around The Transneptunian Object 1998 WW31
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/kuiper-01c.html

Paris - May 8, 2001 - Alain Doressoundiram from the Observatoire de Paris and Christian Veillet from the CFH Institute have confirmed the discovery of the second transneptunian (Kuiper Belt) object 1998 WW31 is a double object.

--------------------------
----------
TECH SPACE

- U. Chicago To Lead National Space Materials Research Center
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/materials-01k.html

Chicago - May 8, 2001 - The University of Chicago will become headquarters for a new national center devoted to investigating the long-term performance of high-tech materials in space with a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense.

--------
SPACEWAR

- Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout VTUAV Enters Initial Production
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/uav-01e.html

San Diego, May 7, 2001 - Northrop Grumman's Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV) system moves into low-rate initial production (LRIP) with a $14.2 million contract from the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Systems Command.

- Greenpeace protesters arrested on missile defense test range in Pacific: army
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010507233856.ickhjuds.html

- Rumsfeld to reorganize military space programs
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010507225826.f4ty1pe2.html

- Germany asks for delay on MEADS missile system development
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010507082146.5cvbhfps.html

-----------
SPACE DIARY

---------------- Space Transportation Summit ---------------
The 2001 World Summit on the Space Transportation Business
brings together the key players of the space launch industry
to focus on the principal strategic issues of the business
-- http://www.euroconsult-ec.com/web/space/space_h_ws.htm --
Hotel Inter-Continental
Thursday 17 & Friday 18 May 2001 Paris
------------------------------------------------------------

------- "SMALLER SATELLITES: BIGGER BUSINESS?" ------
Strasbourg will be the setting for the International
Space University's 6th Annual Symposium. This year's
theme will be small satellites with an emphasis on
concepts, applications and markets. Join some of the
world's leading experts, manufacturers and users in
interdisciplinary presentations and discussions on a
wide variety of issues pertaining to small satellites
Strasbourg - May 21-23 - 2001
-------- http://www.isunet.edu/Symposium/ ----------
-----------------------------
SPACEDAILY EXPRESS LIST NOTES
--------------------------------------------
SpaceDaily Express is issued daily and lists
all new postings to www.SpaceDaily.com
Subscription is free: subscribe@spacer.com 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 443 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, May 12, 2001 (05:55) * 227 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - MAY 11, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Advance token to Mauna Kea Observatory. If you pass GO, collect $200.

Brings the wonders of the universe to your living room with the
astronomy edition of Monopoly. Each game comes with six custom pewter
tokens, descriptions of the properties, and tips on getting started
in astronomy. To order, call 800-253-0245 or visit Sky Publishing's
online store - http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=01504
===========================================================

GREEN BANK TELESCOPE SHOOTS VENUS

On Thursday, astronomers released the first scientific images from the world's
largest fully steerable dish antenna. The team led by Donald Campbell (Cornell
University) used the 100-meter Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in
West Virginia to make radar observations of Venus and a 150-meter-wide
near-Earth asteroid in March. The studies began by transmitting radio pulses
toward the two objects using the 305-meter reflector in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Both telescopes then listened for the returning echoes after the pulses
bounced off Venus and asteroid 2001 EC16. The received signals from both
telescopes were then combined to produce images with greater detail than could
be produced by the individual instruments.

The images resolved details as small as 1 kilometer across on Venus's surface.
This capability may allow astronomers to detect future changes on the surface
due to volcanism, should the planet still be active. The radar data revealed
that minor planet 2001 EC16 is irregularly shaped and rotates once every 200
hours -- a very slow pace for an asteroid. The views of 2001 EC16 demonstrate
the power the Arecibo-GBT combination will have in studying other near-Earth
objects.

With an unobstructed aperture 100 by 110 meters, the $75 million GBT stands
148 meters (485 feet) tall and boasts almost two acres of reflecting surface
made up of 2,004 aluminum panels. Despite its size, the telescope will
maintain a surface accuracy of 0.25 millimeter thanks to a feedback system
that adjusts the panels to compensate for minute structural flexing of the
dish. Such an accurate surface will allow observations at up to 80 gigahertz
and a pointing accuracy of 1 arcsecond. The GBT is a vastly improved
replacement for the old 91-meter Green Bank Telescope that collapsed in
November 1988.

A STAR THAT SWALLOWED A PLANET

Using two of astronomy's most powerful new instruments, European researchers
have found telltale evidence that an innocent-looking Sun-like star in Hydra
swallowed a planet sometime in the past. The evidence is the rare isotope
lithium-6, which the astronomers detected in the star's atmosphere. Normally
this form of lithium is quickly consumed by nuclear reactions during a star's
youth. The only plausible way it could show up in this star's surface, write
Garik Israelian (Astrophysics Institute of the Canary Islands) and three
colleagues in this week's issue of Nature, is if planetary-type material fell
in after the star was fully formed and its internal layers had settled into
their final configuration. One or more giant planets totaling about two
Jupiter masses would do the job. So would a terrestrial planet having three
Earth masses or most likely, three Earths' worth of asteroids and comets.

This is the first time lithium-6 has been definitely found in a star with a
composition similar to the Sun's. The astronomers used the high-resolution
UVES spectrograph on the 8.2-meter Kueyen telescope at the European Southern
Observatory's Very Large Telescope to tease the spectral signature of
lithium-6 from that of the more common lithium-7. Lithium-7 is generally
destroyed in a star's interior as well, but less easily; the evidence it
presents is open to interpretation. By contrast, lithium-6 is a smoking gun.

The star is HD 82943, a 6th-magnitude G0 star older than the Sun and located
90 light-years away. It was already known to have at least one giant planet
orbiting it, and just last month a second (still disputed) body was announced.

The possibility that HD 82943 swallowed a third planet, or pieces of one,
comes as no great surprise. Theorists modeling the formation of planetary
systems find that planets tend to spiral inward while they are still embedded
in the massive disk of gas and dust that gave them birth. However, that
process may occur too soon for any lithium-6 to survive the star's unsettled
early life. A different inward route is suggested by the fact that the
system's planets have eccentric (elliptical) orbits. This may be a sign that
they went through chaotic interactions with other planets in ages past.
According to Alessandro Morbidelli (Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur), planets
with such eccentric orbits could toss lingering asteroids into the star. In
fact, some 25 percent of the primordial asteroid belt was thrown into the Sun.
This latter scenario could happen late enough for lithium-6 to survive in the
star's atmosphere.

COMET LINEAR IN SOUTHERN HEMIPSHERE

Observers report that Comet LINEAR (C/2001 A2) remains at 6th magnitude, high
in the west for Southern Hemisphere observers. The nucleus of the comet split
at the end of last month, making the comet exceed brightness predictions. It
is unknown how long the comet will remain bright. It will not be visible from
the Northern Hemipshere until late June. Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR
at 0 hours Universal Time for the coming week:

R.A. Dec.

May 12 5h 45m -20.6 deg.
May 14 5 43 -21.4
May 16 5 40 -22.2
May 18 5 37 -23.0


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.

MAY 13 -- SUNDAY

* Some doorstep astronomy: the Big Dipper is at its highest in the northern
sky soon after dark at this time of year. Face north and look almost straight
up. The Dipper is floating there upside down, with its handle to the right.
Examine the middle star of the handle, Mizar, for its faint companion Alcor
barely to its lower right. A line from Mizar through Alcor points to bright
Vega, currently low in the northeast.

MAY 14 -- MONDAY

* More doorstep astronomy: The two brightest stars on the eastern side of
the sky after dark are Vega low in the northeast and Arcturus very high in the
southeast. One third of the way from Arcturus down to Vega is the little arc
of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. Two-thirds of the way is the Keystone
of Hercules.

MAY 15 -- TUESDAY

* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 6:11 a.m. EDT).

MAY 16 -- WEDNESDAY

* Mercury appears 2 3/4 degrees to the upper right of Jupiter this evening.

MAY 17 -- THURSDAY

* The 9.2-magnitude asteroid 532 Herculina is 10 arcminutes south of the
5.5-magnitude star 14 Bootis this evening for North Americans. A
10.5-magnitude star is also in the same vicinity; using a telescope, watch
Herculina change position with respect to the star in the course of an hour or
so.

* During dawn Friday morning, the waning crescent Moon stands to the right
of Venus low in the east.

MAY 18 -- FRIDAY

* During dawn Saturday morning, Venus shines to the upper left of the
crescent Moon.

* The red long-period variable stars T Hydrae and T Herculis should be at
their maximum brightnesses (about 8th magnitude) this week.

MAY 19 -- SATURDAY

* For European observers, the 9.2-magnitude asteroid 2 Pallas passes just 1
arcminute south of 57 Herculis tonight.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY, fading fast, is very low in the west-northwest during twilight, in
the vicinity of brighter Jupiter. Mercury is to the right of Jupiter early in
the week, and above Jupiter late in the week. Look for them far to the lower
left of Capella.

VENUS (magnitude -4.5) is low in the east during dawn.

MARS (magnitude -1.5) rises in the southeast around 11 p.m. daylight saving
time, and by midnight it's shining bright yellow-orange low in the southeast.
Mars is highest in the south before the first light of dawn. In a telescope,
Mars is already an unusually large 16 arcseconds in diameter and growing as it
approaches Earth. It will reach 21 arcseconds when nearest Earth in mid- to
late June. See the observing guide to Mars in the May Sky & Telescope, page
102.

JUPITER (magnitude -2.0) is low in the west-northwest during evening twilight,
with fainter Mercury nearby.

SATURN is lost in the glow of sunset.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in Capricornus in
the southeast before dawn.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the south in the early-morning hours.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the words
up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America.
Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the world's
astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential
magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 * 617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky
at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the astronomical
community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic
distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs are included. But the
text of the bulletin and calendar may not be published in any other form
without permission from Sky Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or
phone 617-864-7360). Updates of astronomical news, including active links to
related Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur Astronomers,
S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky at a Glance are available via electronic
mailing list. For a free subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and
put the word "join" on the first line of the body of the message. To
unsubscribe, send e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on
the first line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message to list
administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more than
200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands worldwide. For
subscription information, or for a free copy of our catalog of fine astronomy
books and products, please contact Sky Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd.,
Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A. Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada);
617-864-7360 (International). Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com.
WWW: http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 444 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, May 20, 2001 (23:20) * 28 lines
More on Comet Linear

----------------------------------------------------------
/ PHYSICSWEB: E-mail alert
\ (http://PhysicsWeb.org)
==========================================================

Win #100 or a case of wine when you complete the
PhysicsWeb survey
(http://physicsweb.org/html/survey2001/survey.cfm). Your
opinion will help us improve our services to you.

----------------------------------------------------------
| News
==========================================================
* Comet collapse opens a window on the past: (18 May)
Astronomers got more than they bargained for last summer
when comet C/LINEAR unexpectedly disintegrated while at
its most visible from Earth. Routine observations of the
passing comet gleaned valuable information from the
surprise fragmentation, and analysis has now shed light
on the origin, composition and motion of the ancient
body. Insights into the formation of comets are
fundamental to our understanding of how planets coalesce,
a process thought to be closely related.
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/5/11 ]
----------------------------------------------------------


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 445 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, May 26, 2001 (20:51) * 280 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - MAY 25, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Advance token to Mauna Kea Observatory. If you pass GO, collect $200.

Bring the wonders of the universe to your living room with the
astronomy edition of Monopoly. Each game comes with six custom pewter
tokens, descriptions of the properties, and tips on getting started
in astronomy. To order, call 800-253-0245 or visit Sky Publishing's
online store - http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=01504
===========================================================

A BINARY ASTEROID, CLOSE TO HOME

A small asteroid now passing near Earth has revealed one of its secrets:
it's actually two asteroids. A team of six radar astronomers led by Lance
A. M. Benner and Steven J. Ostro (JPL) has found that 1999 KW4 is a double
body whose components are separated by at least 2 km. Based on their
observations from May 21-23, announced yesterday on IAU Circular 7632, one
half is at least three times the size of the other. But neither piece is
thought to be more than 2 or 3 km across.

Observers have suspected that 1999 KW4 might be double since last June.
That's when Petr Pravec and Lenka Sarounova (Ondrejov Observatory, Czech
Republic) recorded a very peculiar light curve with brightness fluctuations
of 0.1 to 0.2 magnitude, suggesting that the little asteroid rotates in
about three hours. But, as detailed in the June 2001 issue of Sky &
Telescope, Pravec couldn't get the data from individual nights to fit
together in a simple way. Further high-quality photometry by Italian
amateur Vittorio Goretti did not solve the mystery either.

The radar team plans to continue its probing of the interloper through May
29th using the Deep Space Network's 70-meter tracking antenna at Goldstone,
California. Benner adds that for the run's last four days they will attempt
a series of interferometric observations, using the 305-meter Arecibo radio
antenna in Puerto Rico to transmit pulses of radio energy and both dishes
to receive the asteroid's reflected echoes. These studies should yield some
clue as to the makeup of this object, which comes within 30 million
kilometers (0.2 astronomical unit) of the Sun at perihelion.

Backyard observers have a chance to spot 1999 KW4 this weekend, as it will
come as close as 4.8 million kilometers to Earth (and it won't be in our
vicinity again for another 18 years). At its brightest the asteroid will be
near 11th magnitude, putting it within the grasp of 4-inch or larger
telescopes. For details on where and when to see it, go to
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0105skyevents.shtml

AMATEURS HELP WITH EXTRASOLAR-PLANET WATCH

In 1928 Frank E. Ross noted that a star in Aquarius he'd catalogued as Ross
780 had a large proper motion, taking 1,500 years to cross a stretch of sky
equal to the Moon's width. Now better known as Gliese 876, this
10th-magnitude red dwarf made headlines in June 1998 and again in January
2001 when astronomers announced it is accompanied by at least two large
planets. Gliese 876b, with at least 1.9 Jupiter masses, orbits 0.21
astronomical unit from the star, while 876c has at least 0.6 Jupiter mass
and orbits even closer at 0.13 a.u.

The companions' orbits are sufficiently edge-on to our line of sight that
transits of one or both bodies across the face of their star are likely.
Should that happen, models predict that Gliese 876 should dim by 0.2
magnitude during a 3.5-hour transit by the larger planet. A similar drop in
brightness during a 2.2-hour passage of the smaller body is also expected,
while a simultaneous transit could dim the star by as much as 0.45 magnitude.

Such changes in brightness are easily measured by backyard setups, so
researchers have contacted the American Association of Variable Star
Observers to enlist the help of amateur astronomers. It's hoped that
records of the transits made with CCD cameras or photoelectric photometers
will help refine the mass, density, diameters, and orbital elements of
Gliese 876 and its attendants.

Due to present uncertainties in the planets' orbits, the transit
predictions may be in error by several days, so a series of 10-day
"opportunity windows" have been established. The first of these, for Gliese
876c, is drawing to a close this weekend, though more opportunities occur
in June. Elizabeth O. Waagen of the AAVSO reports that no positive
observations have been made to date, but she encourages suitably equipped
observers to maintain their vigilance. About 15.3 light-years away, Gliese
876 is located 1.6 deg north of Delta Aquarii (Scheat). The AAVSO's "Alert
Notice" describing how to make useful observations is found at
http://www.aavso.org/alerts/alert281/alert281text.stm.

SAHARAN SANDS YIELD MORE EXOTIC METEORITES

The desolate sands of the western Sahara have yielded yet another bumper
crop of unusual meteorites. As detailed in July's Meteoritical Bulletin and
announced on May 23rd, within the last few months six new samples from the
Moon and Mars have come into the possession of African meteorite hunters.
The half-dozen finds range in size from 104 to 633 grams. According to Ron
Baalke, a veteran collector, the Martian meteorite Northwest Africa 817 is
significant because it is the fourth example of a nakhlite (a basaltic
subtype) ever found -- and the first since 1958.

In recent years the Sahara has proven a fertile hunting ground for
meteorites of all types, raising the number of recognized lunar finds to 23
and Martians to 18. Many of these are "paired" multiples, a situation where
fragments of a single fall are found close together (but not necessarily at
the same time). Even though teams of meteorite-hunting scientists from the
U.S. and Japan still trek to Antarctica every year, the plains of western
Africa seem to be yielding more than their share of exotic finds. Part of
the reason, says Jeffrey N. Grossman, who edits the Meteoritical Bulletin,
may be that the Antarctic teams bring back every meteorite they spot,
whereas private dealers can be more selective when they want to have their
Saharan stones analyzed and certified. "Nobody will classify hundreds of
boring ordinary chondrites," Grossman notes, "so the dealers pick out the
ones that can make them money and get scientists to look just at those."

A PUZZLING SPHERICAL STELLAR OUTBURST

As a star forms from a surrounding nebula, conservation of angular momentum
makes the protostar spin faster and faster. Astronomers have believed that
the star avoids spinning too fast (and disrupting itself) by ejecting some
gas back into space. Material jets away from the star's poles to carry away
the excess angular momentum.

However, recently an international team of researchers found an example
apparetnly at odds with this scenario. In May 17th's issue of Nature, Jose
M. Torrelles (Institute of Space Sciences, Spain) and his colleagues report
about a seemingly spherical outburst by a young star in Cepheus. The
researchers used the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to study microwave
emission from water around a star designated Cepheus A HW2, one of many in
a star-forming region 2,000 light-years from Earth. The observations
resolved knots lined up along an arc.

By measuring the proper motions of the blobs as well as determining their
line-of-sight motions from the radio emission's Doppler shifts, Torrelles
and his team found that the pockets of gas lie on a nearly perfect circle
around the central star, implying that the material was ejected as a
spherical shell a few decades ago and is traveling outward at 30,000
kilometers per hour. Moreover, it appears to be overtaking another shell of
gas from an earlier ejection.

Thus, the puzzle. As Guillem Anglada (Institute of Astrophysics of
Andalucia, Spain) explains, "In light of our current understanding of star
formation, we don't yet understand how this can happen, so we have an
exciting new scientific challenge." For details, see the online press release.

COMET LINEAR (C/2001 A2)

Despite having broken into two, then three pieces, Comet LINEAR remains
brighter than 6th magnitude -- though only visible from Southern Hemisphere
skies. It's about 20 deg. above the west-southwest horizon after evening
twilight, and observers report that it has a striking tail at least 3
degrees long. Unfortunately, this comet will not be visible from the
Northern Hemisphere until late June. It reached its closest point to the
Sun, at a distance of 117,000,000 kiloemters, on May 24th. Here are
coordinates for Comet LINEAR (C/2001 A2) at 0 hours Universal Time for the
coming week:

R.A. Dec.

May 25 5h 21m -25.5 deg.
May 27 5 15 -26.0
May 29 5 8 -26.5
May 31 5 1 -27.0



THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.

MAY 27 -- SUNDAY

* The nearly first-quarter Moon shines in the west this evening a little
more than halfway between Pollux (far to the Moon's lower right) and
Regulus (to the Moon's upper left).

MAY 28 -- MONDAY

* The star to the left of the Moon tonight is Regulus in Leo.

MAY 29 -- TUESDAY

* First-quarter Moon (exact at 6:09 p.m. EDT).

MAY 30 -- WEDNESDAY

* The Moon shines about equidistant from Regulus (which is to its right
and a bit below) and Spica (to the Moon's left). Both stars are roughly
three fist-widths at arm's length from the Moon. They are almost equally
bright (magnitudes 1.4 and 1.0, respectively) and are both pale blue-white.

MAY 31 -- THURSDAY

* The brightest star in the eastern sky these evenings is Vega. The
brightest to its lower left is Deneb, the head of the big Northern Cross --
which is lying horizontally, with its foot to the right. The cross is about
as long as the distance from Deneb to Vega.

To identify stars and constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0105skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere skywatchers:
use the map at http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0105skys.html .)

JUNE 1 -- FRIDAY

* The star below the Moon tonight is Spica.

JUNE 2 -- SATURDAY

* The red long-period variable star R Aquilae should be at its peak
brightness (6th magnitude) around this date.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY and JUPITER are disappearing into the glow of sunset.

VENUS (magnitude -4.4) blazes low in the east during dawn.

MARS (magnitude -2.0, between Scorpius and Sagittarius) rises in the
southeast during twilight. By midnight daylight saving time it dominates
the low southeast, shining bright yellow-orange. Mars is highest in the
south around 2 a.m. Don't miss any chance to observe Mars in a telescope!
It's now 19 arcseconds in diameter, larger than at any time since 1988, and
almost at its maximum apparent diameter of 21 arcseconds, which it will
reach on June 21st. See the observing guide and Mars maps in the May Sky &
Telescope, page 102.

Telescopic observers can download Mars Previewer (3 megs), which displays
observing data and a customized map of Mars's apparent disk for any date
and time. Go to
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html#mars .

SATURN is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in Capricornus
in the southeast before dawn.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the south after midnight.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the
words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North
America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 4
hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy
bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 446 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Sun, Jun  3, 2001 (03:27) * 10 lines
Hi

Has anyone ever tried to estimate the magnitude or amount of energy released in the "Big Bang"? I would love to know how puny the nuclear weapons of mankind are to the ultimate explosion. I am thankful that the supreme justiciar of the galaxy is not a homosapien but something way beyond our control and who is unable to be bested or matched in any way. It is a great thing to live, even if for only 100 years and contribute something to the natural life of the Universe.
Mankind has only been around for 1 million years and it is not recognised well enough just how hard Mother Nature works for the Earth maintaining all that she has put on the planet for our survival. People are unforgiving at times in the extreme toward nature and it is so sad to see the beautiful world that has sustained life for possibly as long as the planet has existed in a livable state, being exploited for the corporate dollar. Sometimes I wonder if Nature is actually justified in her periodic rages and whether mankind is deserving of all she has done.
I look at the destruction of the Amazonian rainforest as a prime example. The corporations that unsustainably loot the forest for it's wood without the slightest thought for the possibly irreparable damage being done, or for the many exotic and magnificent creatures that inhabit that ecosystem, have no conscience and as John Denver sings in "You say the battle is over", "with perfumes, fur coats and trophies on walls, what a hell of a race to call men". He is right. I look at the Republican decision to open the Arctic wildlife refuge with all it's splendour and grandeur to oil prospectors with disgust and utter contempt. The frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity of the Pacific Plate and elsewhere is just the release of pressure from deep within.

I look at Mars and think: is it possible that in a few billion years time we will be just like it (magma reservoir has frozen over, thus locking the tectonic plates in place and silencing the volcanoes and faultlines along which the eruptions and seismicity occurred)? Will that be the end of mankind and the end of life on earth, or will the end come in the form of meteorite strike that
succeeds in doing what the two most infamous ones tried but failed to do? Or will there be a magnetic reversal of the poles? Who knows.

Rob

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 447 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jun  3, 2001 (16:23) * 6 lines
There has been much theoretical discussion of that energy in Evolving Thought on Yahoo clubs.(I will email you about my difficulites there if you wish. It is an unhappy story.) Math tends to make my brain rebel and my eyes glaze over, so I don't remember what the conclusion was. I will check on it for you via the net. I have no desire to relive the pain of ET again.

Nature is just that. We abuse it, we lose it and it recovers again. We are not the all mighty epitome of creation some of us think we are. Horace is using biocontrol of his gardening. I recycle religionsly (where are we going to dump our rubbish on a finite island?!) Wildfires and eruptions are nature's way of replenishing the soil of its nutrients. I have huge dieffenbachias growing in nothing bur raw volcanic cinders. As it rains, it leaches out elements from the cinders to feed the roots. Some are several feet high and have been growing for years in sterile-looking volcanic debris. It is only a few months after a flow cools before sword ferns and other little plants begin to take root.

It is inconvenient for us, but in the great scheme of things, we are just passing though, much like the dinosaurs, geologically speaking. Reveral of poles is also a very real possibility. It has happened numerous times in the past. Stray asteroids, too. Stay tuned, we are just beginning to understand how small we are and where the evolution of the solar system will take us.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 448 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jun  3, 2001 (16:27) * 231 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JUNE 1, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Advance token to Mauna Kea Observatory. If you pass GO, collect $200.
Bring the wonders of the universe to your living room with the
astronomy edition of Monopoly. Each game comes with six custom pewter
tokens, descriptions of the properties, and tips on getting started
in astronomy. To order, call 800-253-0245 or visit Sky Publishing's
online store - http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=01504
===========================================================

SPACE STATION MARATHON UNDER WAY
During the coming week, many skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere will be
doing a double take (or even a triple take) because the International Space
Station will be visible frequently throughout the night. In many locations
Alpha will appear both before dawn and after sunset. Those living at
latitudes above +40 deg. might even glimpse it on four or five successive
orbits, every 95 minutes or so, even near local midnight.
Why such a sighting bonanza? The space station's orbit is inclined 51.6
deg. to Earth's equator, and each June and December, near the solstices,
the orbit tracks rather closely to the day-night terminator. When that
happens, the spacecraft is in sunlight almost continuously at its altitude
of nearly 400 km, even though the ground below might be in deep twilight.
This year the "marathon" dates are May 31st to June 5th, notes veteran
satellite watcher Dale Ireland. "It often appears reddish because it is
being illuminated by a low Sun," Ireland notes. "It's something to look out
for while you are out observing with your telescope on these warm nights."
Sky & Telescope provides customized ISS viewing predictions for 500 cities
worldwide (http://www.skypub.com/sights/satellites/iss.shtml). Predictions
for the Hubble Space Telescope, which can be seen from locations within
about 40 deg. of the equator (for example, as far north as San Francisco,
New York, and Rome) can be found at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/satellites/hst.shtml.

A RETURN TO "THE FACE"
Ever since a Viking orbiter snapped its picture in 1976, an oddly shaped
mile-wide feature in the Cydonia region of Mars has been suspected by some
of being something other than an eroded mesa. Instead, they suggest, an
alien race fashioned it to look like a human face as part of a series of
pyramids and other constructs in its vicinity. The subject of intense
reanalysis over the years, this "Face on Mars" has been a source of
friction between NASA scientists and proponents of its alien-artifact
origin. But a lack of quality imagery prevented an unambiguous
identification. Then, in April 1998, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was
commanded to take close-ups of the feature. Although the lighting geometry
was nearly opposite that present in 1976, those views showed a heavily
eroded tabletop mountain.
Recently, MGS was able to turn its gaze to the landform in Cydonia for the
first time since 1998, this time with the illumination more like the
original image's. The result shows how the eroded knobs and gullies create
the facelike suggestion seen by Viking. Michael Malin, whose Mars Observer
Camera took the image, notes that this landform is "one of thousands of
buttes, mesas, ridges, and knobs in the transition zone between the
cratered uplands of western Arabia Terra and the low, northern plains of
Mars."
Apparently, the "Face" proponents remain unconvinced, though they no longer
believe it to be a purely humanoid visage. In 1992 Richard C. Hoagland, who
has been at odds with NASA officials and scientists for decades over this
issue, proposed that the eastern half of the Face represents some kind of
feline -- likely a lion. Ever defiant, Hoagland also accuses NASA officials
of conducting "a carefully orchestrated smear campaign" to discredit his
views.

WORLD'S LARGEST COSMIC-RAY DETECTOR
A remote mountain valley in Tibet at an altitude of 14,000 feet has become
the home of the world's largest detector for cosmic rays. Named ARGO-YBJ
(for Astrophysical Radiation with Ground-based Observatory at Yangbajing),
the new facility is scheduled to make its first observations this month. It
is a collaboration involving Chinese and Italian researchers from 14
different institutions, with the Italian contingent having provided about
two-thirds of the $13 million construction cost.
Powerful yet elusive, cosmic rays are atomic nuclei moving at relativistic
speeds, the most energetic particles known. Yet they cannot be detected
directly from the ground, because they first slam into gas molecules in the
upper atmosphere -- high-energy collisions that trigger momentary "showers"
of secondary particles and light flashes. Traditionally, cosmic-ray
detectors have relied on expensive arrays of light-sensitive telescopes
(dubbed "Fly's Eyes") to record the high-altitude flashes of faint, blue
light. But the technique is very inefficient, and only the arrival of the
most potent cosmic rays (having 1 trillion electron volts or more) are
likely to be recorded.
The ARGO-YBJ facility is fundamentally different. Under its floor is a
blanket of resistive plate counters, or RPCs, that detect the secondary
subatomic particles that cascade to Earth during each air-shower event.
Because ARGO-YBJ facility utilizes nearly 200,000 RPCs, covering over an
area the size of a football field, it should be able to register the
arrival of cosmic rays packing only a 100-billion-eV punch, one-tenth the
energy previously possible. This should lead to major improvements in
understanding of where and why cosmic rays are created.

"TRITON WATCH" NOW UNDER WAY
Joel W. Parker and S. Alan Stern (Southwest Research Institute) have
initiated a "Triton Watch" to study Neptune's large moon over at least the
next two years. The effort will focus on detecting changes in the
brightness and color of the moon's surface using CCD observations. Although
professional astronomers will lead the Triton Watch, Parker is encouraging
qualified amateurs to contribute as well. The effort will involve frequent
observations taken by CCD cameras through a set of standard (UBVR) filters.
Once a variation in brightness or color has been spotted, the Triton Watch
staff will alert major observatories to make follow-up observations.
In the 12 years since Voyager 2's brief visit to Neptune, some curious
changes have occurred on both the planet and its big moon. During the late
1990s astronomers found that the temperature of Triton's tenuous atmosphere
had climbed a couple of degrees to 40° Kelvin, probably because the
southern hemisphere is now enjoying its warmest summer in more than 350
years. This mild warming trend appears to be changing the character and
distribution of bright frosts on Triton's surface, making it darker in
ultraviolet/blue light and brighter in red light. Its current color closely
matches a previous episode of "anomalous reddening" seen in 1977.
Parker notes that getting good measurements will be moderately challenging:
Triton gets no brighter than 13.5 in magnitude, and it never strays more
than about 17 arcseconds from Neptune. Even so, this should be well within
the capability of observers with 8-inch or larger telescopes and CCD
imagers -- especially during the weeks surrounding Neptune's opposition on
July 30th. For more details, see the Triton Watch web site at
http://surtsey.boulder.swri.edu/TritonWatch/

COMET LINEAR (C/2001 A2)
Defying predictions that it would fizzle after bvreaking apart, Comet
LINEAR has now brightened to nearly magnitude 4.5. Observers from the
Southern Hemisphere report that it's easy to spot, though moonlight is
becoming a problem. Unfortunately, this comet will not be visible from the
Northern Hemisphere until late June -- let's hope it remains bright until
then. The comet came its closest to the Sun, at a distance of 117,000,000
kiloemters, on May 24th. Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR (C/2001 A2)
at 0 hours Universal Time for the coming week:
R.A. Dec.
June 3 4h 47m -27.4 deg.
5 4 37 -27.5
7 4 26 -27.5

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.
JUNE 3 -- SUNDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: This month the Big Dipper hangs bowl-down very
high in the northwest after dark. Its bottom two stars are the Pointers;
they point toward the rather dim North Star, Polaris, about three
fist-widths at arm's length to their lower right.
To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable evening
star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0106skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere skywatchers:
use the map at http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0106skys.html .)
JUNE 4 -- MONDAY
* Look for the orange star Antares below the Moon this evening. Farther
to their lower left is much brighter orange Mars.
JUNE 5 -- TUESDAY
* Full Moon (exact at 9:39 p.m. EDT).
JUNE 6 -- WEDNESDAY
* The Moon tonight appears roughly equidistant from Mars on its lower
left and much fainter Antares on its right.
JUNE 7 -- THURSDAY
* Bright Mars shines to the right of the bright Moon low in the southeast
tonight -- an impressive sight.
JUNE 8 -- FRIDAY
* Venus reaches greatest elongation in the morning sky, 46 degrees west
of the Sun.
JUNE 9 -- SATURDAY
* More doorstep astronomy: The two brightest stars of the evening this
time of year are Arcturus, very high toward the south, and Vega, midway up
the eastern sky. They're 37 and 25 light-years away, respectively. Right
now, however, they are quite upstaged by the planet Mars glaring low in the
southeast from a distance of only 4 light-minutes.
============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY and JUPITER are lost in the glow of sunset.
VENUS (magnitude -4.4) blazes in the east during dawn.
MARS (magnitude -2.2, between Scorpius and Sagittarius) rises in the
southeast during twilight. By 11 or midnight daylight saving time it
dominates the low southeast, shining brilliant yellow-orange. Mars is at
its highest in the south by about 1 a.m. Don't miss any chance to observe
Mars in a telescope! It's now 20 arcseconds in diameter, larger than at any
time since 1988, and practically at the maximum apparent diameter of 21
arcseconds that it will reach on June 21st. See the observing guide and
Mars maps in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102, and the guide to finding
Mars's two tiny moons in the June issue, page 102.
Telescopic observers can download Mars Previewer (3 megs), which displays
observing data and a customized map of Mars's apparent disk for any date
and time. Go to
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html#mars .
SATURN is hidden in the glare of the Sun.
URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in Capricornus
in the southeast in the hours before dawn.
PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the southeast during evening.
Finder charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are in the April Sky &
Telescope, page 104, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the
words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North
America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 4
hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy
bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!
===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
===========================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 449 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jun  3, 2001 (16:38) * 1 lines
Rob, have you seen the ISS? Did you see any of MIR's demise? I have seen both Mir and the ISS. And the shuttle passing overhead. It is truly worth looking up and realizing there is the future of our imaginations and strivings. And, there are real people in there! 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 450 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jun  3, 2001 (16:44) * 38 lines
Since you asked... here are a few theories about the amount of energy released by the Big Bang...

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/980211b.html
The Question

What is the amount of energy released in the Big Bang. Expressed in tons of dynamite or
H-bombs, etc.

The Answer
Energy wasn't "released" per se - it's still contained within the event horizon, presumably.
Notation:
** is an exponent - ie x**2 means x squared.
* is a multiplication symbol
/ is a division symbol

The total mass-energy content of the universe today is of the order of the critical density,
3 x H0**2/(8*pi*G) = 5 x 10**(-30) g/cm**3,
times the volume contained within the present event horizon,
(4/3)*pi*R**3,
where R = the event horizon = c * T (speed of light * age of Universe ) = 3 x 10**10 cm/s x
(2/3)*(c/H0). Here H0 is the Hubble constant, assumed to be around 50 km/s/Mpc and
Omega = 1 (critical deceleration). For this value of H0, 1/H0 = (app) 20 billion years, making
the current age of the Universe about 2/(3*H0) = 13 billion years, so that
R = (app.) 1.3 x 10**28 cm,

which should be equivalent to 13 billion light-years (1.3 x 10**10 y x 10**13 km/y x 10**5
cm/km).
This gives a total mass-energy mass of about 4.4 x 10**55 grams, equivalent to about
2.6*10**79 protons. The energy equivalent (E = m*c**2) of these protons is about
2.5x10**79 GeV or 2.5x10**88 eV * 1.6x10**-19 J/eV = 4x10**69 Joules.
One ton of TNT releases 4.2 x 10**9 Joules. Thus the energy equivalent of the mass=energy of
the universe is about 9.5 x 10**53 Megatons of TNT. This is greater than the mass-energy of
the universe, but only because the chemical process involved in exploding TNT is vastly less
efficient that E = m*c**2.

Jim Lochner
for Ask a High-Energy Astronomer (with help from Mark Kowitt, Mike Corcoran, and
Leonard Garcia) 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 451 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jun  3, 2001 (17:02) * 15 lines
For really good stuff to answer questions on the Big Bang and what existed before it, http://itss.raytheon.com/cafe/qadir/acosmbb.html


From the CERN - the source of the Internet:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/cern/ideas/bang.html

The Big Bang was like no explosion you might
witness on earth today. For instance, a hydrogen bomb explosion, whose center
registers approximately 100 million degrees Celsius, moves through the air at
about 300 meters per second. In contrast, cosmologists believe the Big Bang flung
energy in all directions at the speed of light (300,000,000 meters per second, a
hundred thousand times faster than the H-bomb) and estimate that the
temperature of the entire universe was 1000 trillion degrees Celsius at just a tiny
fraction of a second after the explosion. Even the cores of the hottest stars in
today's universe are much cooler than that.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 452 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Sun, Jun  3, 2001 (21:18) * 11 lines
Hi

Mankind is pathetically puny in stark contrast to the power of the Big Bang - and just as well too. Someone would have hold the world to ransom by now to extract an insane demand. It happens.

I actually did see MIR die. New Zealand was at the western end of the big triangle in the Pacific where the space station was expected to die. Dad Craig and I watched from the roof of our house realising it could be decades before this happens again. The papers and the television were all counting down and an Australian bar offered free beer for the duration of the day it was expected to touch down. Tacos put a 12 x 12 metre target in the area where it was thought to touch down and told their customers: If Mir hits the target, every American gets a free Tacos pack.

For obvious reasons they took out huge insurance against it.

Prime Minister Helen Clark had a direct link installed by the SIS to her office and that the of the defence minister so they could talk to the Russians if things got iffy and butty.

Rob

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 453 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun  4, 2001 (01:22) * 1 lines
OH WOW!!! How great!!! There is a lovely eulogy to Mir which has music so lovely it made tears. I am so delighted you got to see it! Will try to find the bit and post it tomorrow!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 454 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun  4, 2001 (01:31) * 1 lines
G'night Rob! *Hugs*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 455 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jun  6, 2001 (19:28) * 14 lines
I may have to send it to you as a file - I cannot find it online anymore.

Young Stars Bathe in Hot Gas at Milky Way's Heart
Hot young stars bathe in a caldron of seething gas at the Milky Way galaxy's crowded heart, emitting X-rays seen by an observatory orbiting Earth, researchers reported on Wednesday.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010606/sc/space_stars_dc_1.html
____________________________________________
Space Mapmakers Detect Two Faraway Quasars
Astronomers have detected the most distant objects ever observed -- two quasars billions of light-years from Earth -- as part of a five-year international plan to make a digital map of the universe.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010605/sc/space_map_dc_1.html
__________________________________
Dozens of Middleweight Black Holes Detected Nearby
Earth's cosmic neighborhood may be teeming with suspected middleweight black holes, and some nearby galaxies may have more than one apiece, astronomers reported on Tuesday.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010605/sc/space_holes_dc_1.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 456 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jun  6, 2001 (21:55) * 5 lines
ROB!!! Here it is - MIR's re-entry footage http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/mir_fiery_finale_page.html

go there and hit the button called re-entry footage. Go to the settings button below the box where the video will show up in a pop-ub box. Set it as you wish and push the play button. The footage is the best I have seen and the music touches me deeply. I hope you enjoy it!

I'd love to know how you felt watching and what you saw...!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 457 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun  8, 2001 (14:14) * 16 lines
From Horace the Horrible http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2001/phot-21-01.html
Fascinating pictures at this site. It is worth a look

Aurorae and Volcanic Eruptions

Thermal-IR Observations of Jupiter and Io with ISAAC at the VLT
Summary
Impressive thermal-infrared images have been obtained of the giant planet Jupiter during tests of a new
detector in the ISAAC instrument on the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory
(Chile)..
They show in particular the full extent of the northern auroral ring and part of the southern aurora.
A volcanic eruption was also imaged on Io, the very active inner Jovian moon.
Although these observations are of an experimental nature, they demonstrate a great potential for regular
monitoring of the Jovian magnetosphere by ground-based telescopes together with space-based facilities. They
also provide the added benefit of direct comparison with the terrestrial magnetosphere.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 458 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun  9, 2001 (18:19) * 582 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JUNE 8, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Advance token to Mauna Kea Observatory. If you pass GO, collect $200.

Bring the wonders of the universe to your living room with the
astronomy edition of Monopoly. Each game comes with six custom pewter
tokens, descriptions of the properties, and tips on getting started
in astronomy. To order, call 800-253-0245 or visit Sky Publishing's
online store - http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=01504
===========================================================

ASTRONOMERS MASS IN PASADENA

This past week many of the world's research astronomers turned their
attention to Pasadena, California, for the 198th meeting of the
American Astronomical Society. This twice-yearly convention drew some
1,300 professional astronomers, educators, and astronomy hobbyists to
the Pasadena Civic Auditorium to hear front-line research reports on
topics ranging from signs of asteroids in other planetary systems to
developments in galactic black holes to the frontiers of cosmic
evolution. Over 800 papers were presented, according to AAS press
officer Stephen P. Maran. Sky & Telescope editors were there and filed
the following reports.

BROWN DWARFS WITH CIRCUM"STELLAR" DISKS

Are brown dwarfs more like stars or planets? They can't shine by
nuclear fusion as stars do, because they have less than 7 percent of
the Sun's mass (less than 75 Jupiters' worth). But they're usually
found drifting alone in interstellar space, unlike what's usually
called a planet. A key distinction is how they form. A star condenses
directly from an interstellar gas cloud, from the "top down." A planet
begins by accretion of small rocky bodies inside another star's
protoplanetary disk, from the "bottom up."

A team of astronomers led by Charles Lada (Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics) and August Muench (University of Florida) have added
another piece to the puzzle. They have discovered that like young
stars, young brown dwarfs are often surrounded by dust disks -- and
may end up with planets of their own.

Using an infrared camera on the European Southern Observatory's
3.5-meter New Technology Telescope in Chile, Lada's team looked at the
rich cluster of more than 1,000 newborn stars in the Great Orion
Nebula. Brown dwarfs are easiest to find when they're young (they cool
off with age), and those in the Orion Nebula are only about a million
years old. The astronomers identified more than 100 candidates. Of
these, 63 percent show the telltale infrared sign of having a warm
circumstellar disk.

Disks are a near-universal byproduct of star formation. The team
expects that with further investigation, the percentage of brown
dwarfs showing disks will rise to the proportion of young stars having
them: around 80 percent.

But classifying things isn't so simple. Merely possessing a disk in
its youth clearly can't distinguish a star from a planet. Jupiter,
Saturn, and Uranus are surrounded by rich "planetary" systems of their
own that must have condensed out of orbiting disks. We call a planet's
planets moons, but the distinction is probably otherwise meaningless.

MIRA'S COMPANION

Ever since 1918 astronomers have known that Mira, the brightest of the
red long-period variable stars, has a hot, faint companion. The
companion was long called a peculiar intermediate object somewhere
between a white dwarf and a blue main-sequence star.

Now two astronomers say they have got the companion all figured out.
By matching its ultraviolet spectrum to model systems, Edward M. Sion
and John J. Bochanski (Villanova University) determined that it is a
relatively cool white dwarf (10,000 deg. K) surrounded by a hotter
accretion disk of gas that is being collected from Mira's outflowing
stellar wind at a rate of a billionth of a solar mass per year.

This result establishes that an accretion disk can form merely by
stellar-wind capture. It was not previously clear that a stellar wind
could carry enough angular momentum to allow this to happen. The
process may be an important source of disks around other white dwarfs,
neutron stars, and black holes.

A TRUE BINARY QUASAR

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (see three stories below) isn't the only
gigantic sky-mapping project showing off its stuff at this week's AAS
meeting in Pasadena. Astronomers from 2MASS, the recently completed
Two Micron All Sky Survey (featured in the July Sky & Telescope)
unveiled many new infrared findings, from the Sun's interstellar
backyard to the far reaches of the cosmos.

One unexpected discovery came from a search of the 2MASS data for
active galactic nuclei. In the course of identifying 200 new ones, a
team headed by Brant Nelsen and Roc Cutri (Infrared Processing and
Analysis Center) turned up a pair of quasars only 4 arcseconds apart.
Follow-up spectra taken at the Keck Observatory revealed that both
have the same high redshift of 1.8. These are not, however, two
gravitationally lensed images of the same object. They seem to be a
genuine couplet, says Nelson, as indicated by their undistorted,
pointlike shapes as well as their distinct radio and optical
signatures.

They join a select club. "There are only about 20 true quasar pairs,"
says Nelson. Their apparent separation of 4 arcseconds implies that
they are at least 130,000 light-years apart -- too far apart to be
interacting but close enough to be gravitationally bound together.

A STAR CLUSTER OVERFLOWING WITH X-RAYS

Deep in the rich inner region of our Milky Way, only about 100
light-years from the galaxy's central black hole, lies a compact
cluster of infant stars whose combined outflow of stellar winds rival
the winds seen in distant starburst galaxies. This is the first
discovery of such energetic X-ray gas in a young star cluster in the
Milky Way. Astronomers may be able to use it to better understand the
dynamics of the richest star-forming regions elsewhere -- and in our
own galaxy's earliest history.

Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Farhad Yusef-Zadeh (Northwestern
University) and his colleagues took a 14-hour exposure the Arches
Cluster, a tight group of 150 O-type stars just 1 light-year across
near the Milky Way's core some 25,000 light-years from the Sun. The
cluster is very young, less than 2 million years old. It is unique in
that despite containing so many short-lived massive stars, it shows no
evidence that a supernova has yet occurred within it. The cluster's
high-energy gas seems to consist of pristine stellar winds.

According to Yusef-Zadeh, the Chandra observations indicate hot winds
flowing from cluster stars at speeds of 1,000 kilometers per second.
Where the winds collide, they heat to 60 million degrees K and produce
brilliant X-ray emission. Collaborator Casey Law (Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics) goes a step further and says the gas is so
hot that it is likely to leave the cluster and heat up much larger
surrounding environs. If so, this effect would help to explain the
heated gas regions long observed in the center of the Milky Way.

Because of its remarkable energy, astronomers hope to use the cluster
as a relatively nearby laboratory to study processes that happen in
X-ray-bright starburst galaxies. Future research will include looking
for more such hot, compact clusters in the inner Milky Way.

STUFF OF LIFE FROM IRRADIATED ICE

Deep inside dark, cold interstellar clouds where starlight never
penetrates, a surprising amount of chemistry is going on. Astronomers
using millimeter-wave and submillimeter spectroscopy have identified
about 120 compounds in such clouds, including many of the building
blocks of life. At the AAS meeting in Pasadena, a large group
astronomers from NASA's Ames Research Center and elsewhere described
their efforts to study the chemistry of organic (carbon-based)
compounds under the weird conditions inside these clouds -- the places
where stars and planets are born.

The interior of a dense molecular cloud can chill to as cold as 10
deg. K (-263 deg. C). At such temperatures many atoms and molecules
that are normally gases condense to form icy coatings on dust grains.
Molecules this cold shouldn't react much with each other, especially
when embedded in ice. So how do they perform so much organic
chemistry?

The key ingredient seems to be high-energy cosmic radiation.
Ultraviolet light can also do the job where starlight manages to
penetrate. Any ionizing radiation can break apart molecules inside the
ice, creating highly reactive ions that recombine to form larger, more
complex molecules.

Several researchers from NASA/Ames described using supercold vacuum
chambers and ultraviolet lamps to simulate the molecular-cloud
environment. "Basically, we freeze mixed gases onto an extremely cold
window and then give the ices the equivalent of a good suntanning,"
says Louis Allamandola. The resulting residues contain hundreds of
complex compounds, some of which play roles in the metabolism of life
on Earth. Comments Scott Sandford, "It appears that the universe is,
in some sense, hard-wired to produce relatively complex organics."

Perhaps, then, we're being too self-centered when we say interstellar
clouds created the special substances needed for life on Earth. A
truer perspective might be that when life processes got started, they
simply took advantage of whatever compounds happened to be lying
around.

SLOAN SURVEY SHOWS ITS STUFF

The most ambitious astronomical survey program ever undertaken, the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), yesterday released to the public its
first year's worth of observations. Although the data spans only 5
percent of the sky area the project will eventually cover, Sloan
astronomers have already been mining it to produce a wealth of studies
about everything from brown dwarfs to dark-matter clumps to quasars.
In a press conference at the AAS meeting in Pasadena, they proudly
showcased a few of their flashier results.

* Sloan astronomers announced that they have turned up the two
farthest quasars yet detected, with redshifts of 6.0 and 6.2. The
farther of these dates back to when the universe was just 800 million
years old. The discoveries were nothing new for SDSS; according to
Penn State astronomer Donald Schneider, the Sloan team has uncovered
26 of the 30 farthest known quasars and more than half of all known
quasars beyond a redshift of 4.

* One interesting finding involved something SDSS hasn't seen.
Gravitational lensing of extremely distant quasars ought to be fairly
common; mass concentrations along our line of sight should sometimes
distort and split the most distant images. The amount of lensing can
be a good diagnostic of mass distribution in the universe. But lensed
double images are lacking among Sloan's quasars. Gordon Richards (Penn
State) suspects that the reason is merely inadequate resolution. Dual
quasar images should typically appear 0.6 to 0.8 arcsecond apart, says
Richards, "but most of the Sloan data is at 1.5 arcseconds
[resolution]." The database does contain suspiciously elongated
quasars; many of these are scheduled to be observed more closely with
the higher-resolution Gemini and Magellan telescopes.

* Measurements of ever more galaxies and farther quasars are putting
tighter constraints on events in the early universe. Large scale
galaxy-distribution results support the current model of the cosmos in
which there is much more dark matter than visible matter (and an even
larger amount of "dark energy"). Michael Turner (University of
Chicago) says we are also closer to dating a key cosmic turning point
that's presently just beyond reach: when the intergalactic gas
throughout the universe first became ionized by radiation from the
earliest stars.

* The origins of different galaxy types should also become clearer.
"Our data show that different types of galaxies cluster differently,
indicating that galaxies are influenced by their environment," says
David Weinberg (Ohio State University).

* Closer to home, Sloan has been recording vast numbers of asteroids
almost by accident. The survey's five-color photometry confirms the
chemical segregation of the asteroid belt; rocky bodies tend to be in
the inner part of the belt and carbonaceous bodies in the outer parts.
Sloan has also found fewer than expected main-belt asteroids smaller
than 4 kilometers.

The Sloan survey is imaging one fourth of the celestial sphere to
magnitude 23 using a specialized 2.5-meter telescope at Apache Point,
New Mexico. Precise brightnesses will be measured in five colors for
100 million celestial objects. The survey will also measure the
redshifts of more than 1 million galaxies and 100,000 quasars.
Observations began in 1998 and should last for five years; astronomers
will surely mine the SDSS data for decades thereafter. Says Turner,
"We have broken new ground in the way we are doing astronomy."

SWARMS OF MIDDLEWEIGHT BLACK HOLES

They're so new that astronomers still have trouble deciding what to
call them. But there's a growing belief that a puzzling new class of
X-ray sources represents "middleweight" black holes -- holes seemingly
too heavy to originate from a collapsing star, but too light to
represent the core of a galaxy.

These "Intermediate-luminosity X-ray Objects," or IXOs for short, were
first identified two years ago in data from the German Rosat
satellite. According to codiscoverer Edward Colbert (Johns Hopkins
University), they are too luminous to be normal X-ray binary stars,
which would blow apart if they produced so much energy. But they're
offset by hundreds of light-years from the centers of their host
galaxies, so they can't be supermassive black holes either. (If they
were, they would pull the galaxy's core right onto them.) The best
explanation so far is that they are middleweight black holes, with
tens to thousands of times the mass of our Sun. But how such objects
form is a mystery.

Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, various groups of astronomers
have found that the middleweights usually show up in starburst
galaxies where vigorous star formation is under way. Andrew Zezas and
Giuseppina Fabbiano (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and
colleagues found dozens of them in the Antennae (NGC 4038/4039), the
famous merging pair of galaxies in Corvus. Others have shown up in
other starburst galaxies such as M82 and NGC 253. "There is a strong
correlation between IXOs and starburst activity," says Fabbiano, "so
we're probably talking about a young population of black holes."

Kimberly Weaver (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) says it might be
possible to form 100-solar-mass stars in a very dense young star
cluster. "If they collapse, they would form very massive black holes,
which could subsequently merge into a black hole of a few hundred
solar masses," she explains. However, she admits there's hardly any
clue to the middleweights' origin. And Colbert says there are other
cases, such as in NGC 1313 and IC 342, where IXOs occur outside of
star-forming regions. "There are probably a couple of different types
of these objects," he says.

Or maybe IXOs aren't middleweight black holes at all. Andrew King
(University of Leicester, England) points out that if an object
happens to be beaming X-rays narrowly in our direction, we will
overestimate its energy output based on the false assumption that it
is sending the same energy in all other directions too. "This is
definitely a possibility," admits Fabbiano. "To find out, we need
larger and more sensitive surveys."

"Beaming solves the problem," agrees Richard Mushotzky (NASA/Goddard),
one of the original discoverers of IXOs. "But right now, I don't know
if it's really probable. This is very much new ground."

A PRE-SUPERNOVA TAKES SHAPE

Why is the Crab Nebula shaped like a crab? What prevented it from
expanding as a uniform, spherical shell? Astronomers have long debated
why supernova remnants take the shapes they do. Irregularities in the
surrounding gas and asymmetry in the explosion itself have been the
prime contenders. Now Michael Jura (University of California, Los
Angeles) and his colleagues at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have
identified what they believe is a pre-supernova star, and its gassy
outpourings may provide a firmer understanding of what caused the
nonuniform shapes of the Crab and other supernova remnants.

The ticking time bomb is HD 179281, a massive G-type star in Lyra.
Until about 1,600 years ago it was a red hypergiant -- a highly
evolved star that shed its outer layers at the fantastic rate of one
solar mass per 3,000 years. Jura and colleagues used one of the
10-meter Keck telescopes and the Owens Valley Submillimeter Array to
map its surrounding gas and dust. They found that much of the material
has piled up in a semicircular arc to one side of the star. The group
predicts that when the star explodes sometime in the next 100,000
years, it will form a "clumpy" remnant like the one from Kepler's
supernova, which appeared in Ophiuchus in 1604.

TWO TYPES OF SPIRALS

Spiral galaxies have not just one but two entirely different kinds of
spiral arms, and they form by entirely different means. This
surprising announcement comes from three astronomers presenting their
work this week at the AAS meeting in Pasadena.

The big, main arms that shape a spiral galaxy's disk have been
familiar for more than a century. Astronomers long ago concluded that
they are "density waves" of stars and gas piling up under the
influence of their own gravity as they orbit around a galaxy. These
arms tend to fade away as they approach a galaxy's center.

When the Hubble Space Telescope began providing very sharp galaxy
pictures, they often showed many intricate spiral lanes of dust and
gas continuing right down into a galaxy's bright, innermost core.
Debra Elmegreen and Kate Eberwein (Vassar College) and Bruce Elmegreen
(IBM Watson Research Center) say these delicate structures are shaped
not by gravity but by acoustic pressure waves -- in other words, by
sound.

Theorists have predicted that "acoustic spirals" indeed ought to form
in a galaxy's nuclear regions if the speed of sound in the
interstellar medium approaches the orbital speed. Under these
conditions, the tightly curving orbits of gas masses should amplify
random pressure waves and herd them toward the center in a jumble of
spiral swirls. The three astronomers found that the detailed
predictions for acoustic waves closely match the characteristics of
the delicate traceries seen by Hubble in the centers of two galaxies,
NGC 4736 and NGC 4450.

This realization may help solve an old puzzle. Astronomers have long
wondered how the black hole powering an active galactic nucleus
collects gas from the rest of the galaxy. Somehow, the orbiting gas
has to get rid of angular momentum and orbital energy and fall to the
center. This often happens where two galaxies collide or suffer a
close flyby; the resulting turmoil sends gas everywhere. But what
about normal spiral galaxies? The two that the astronomers studied are
cases in point. Both are LINERs, so called because their centers show
strong emission lines from gas possibly heated by a supermassive black
hole.

The acoustic-wave model may fill the bill. As Bruce Elmegreen
explains, "Random sonic turbulence, starting like common noise, grows
into long spiral arms that are most easily seen as dust features. The
strongest of these arms probably contain shock fronts -- sonic booms.
As a result, large pressure forces and energy dissipation in the gas
[and loss of angular momentum] lead to its steady accretion to the
center, where it can feed a black hole."

AN ASTEROID BELT LIKE OUR OWN?

Astronomers have known for nearly two decades that some youngish
stars, such as Vega, Fomalhaut, and Beta Pictoris, are surrounded by
large disks of gas-free dust. The dust particles are warmed by the
star's light and reradiate this telltale energy in the far infrared.
Most such disks found so far are much larger than our solar system.
Yesterday, however, at the American Astronomical Society meeting in
Pasadena, researchers announced finding a dust disk circling within a
mere 6 astronomical units (900 million km) of its star.

The disk orbits Zeta Leporis, a hot, white A3 star with about twice
the Sun's mass and 15 times the Sun's brilliance. The star has an
estimated age of between 50 and 400 million years, roughly how old the
Sun was when our asteroid belt took shape. UCLA graduate student
Christine Chen and her advisor Michael Jura measured the temperature
of the dust belt (first discovered in 1991) by observing at two
infrared wavelengths with one of the 10-meter Keck telescopes. They
found that the tiny particles are heated on average to a toasty 350
deg. K (150 deg. F), which in turn reveals their distance from the
star. Chen and Jura estimate that the disk contains about 1,000 times
more material than our asteroid belt -- a mass comparable to Earth's.

The exciting aspect of this discovery is that the dust really
shouldn't be there. Micron-size particles orbiting so close to the
star would take a mere 20,000 years to spiral into the star due to
interaction with its brilliant flood of light. (In our own solar
system, collisions between asteroids continually replenish the
zodiacal dust band, which is dimly visible to Earthly skywatchers as
the zodiacal light.) The fact that the dust is seen at all means it
must be continuously resupplied. "There must be objects larger than
dust around Zeta Leporis," says Jura, "which may resemble asteroids in
our own solar system, that are creating the infrared-emitting dust by
violently colliding with each other."

Given the star's age, "maybe planets have already formed, or maybe
they are forming," Chen says. If they are still forming, the dust
might be a byproduct of planetary accretion, with rocks spewing fine
rubble as they collide and stick together to begin growing into
planets. Alternatively, if planet formation is over, the dust may be
coming from colliding bodies that are breaking up rather than
coalescing. Mark Sykes (University of Arizona) proposes that if a
Jupiter-mass body orbits the star not far from the disk, it would pump
up the orbital eccentricities of the rocks, randomizing their orbits
and increasing collisions. "This system may be quite analogous to what
things were like in the first 100 million years of our solar system,"
says Sykes.

A LOOK AT GLOBULAR CLUSTER FORMATION

Globular clusters are among the oldest structures found in any galaxy.
Most of them date from as far back as 9 to 13 billion years ago, when
galaxies and the universe itself were young. But at the AAS meeting in
Pasadena, astronomers described their ongoing research into one
globular that's in its earliest stage of life. A team led by Jean
Turner (UCLA) has been studying a small but very bright infrared and
radio source in the nearby dwarf galaxy NGC 5253 in Centaurus. The
object is a massive "super nebula" that has given birth to an
enormously rich star cluster.

Only 6 to 10 light-years across, the nebula is estimated to contain a
million young stars that together emit a billion times the energy of
the Sun. This object dominates NGC 5253, says Turner; "It's one-fourth
the total energy output of the galaxy."

So many hot stars gathered in such a small space are bound to reshape
their surroundings. "This thing is beginning to blast its way out,"
Turner says; the combined radiation pressure from the young stars is
blowing the remaining nebula away. The expanding gas has created a
shock wave -- a wind bubble clearing out the region around the cluster
and thus preventing future star formation.

At the current outflow rate, this stage of the globular cluster's life
would only last some 15,000 years. The astronomers say, however, that
the gravity of the massive cluster should hold the gas and dust back
to some extent, slowing the shock wave and extending its existence. A
few other infant globulars have been found in other galaxies, but the
one in NGC 5253 is near enough that it offers the best opportunity for
studying them in action.

COMET LINEAR MOVING NORTH

Comet LINEAR (C/2001 A2) is gradually moving north, but it remains
only visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Observers report that it is
a naked-eye 5th magnitude and can be found moving from Eridanus into
Fornax over the coming week. The comet will be 20 to 30 deg. above the
eastern horizon before dawn. LINEAR will not be visible from the
Northern Hemisphere until late June. Here are coordinates for Comet
LINEAR for 0 hours Universal Time for the coming week:

R.A. Dec.

Jun 9 4h 14m -27.3 deg.
Jun 11 4 01 -26.8
Jun 13 3 46 -26.1
Jun 15 3 30 -25.1


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JUNE 10 -- SUNDAY

* Brilliant Mars is certainly the main attraction in the
southeastern sky these evenings, but there's more going on here too.
Look for Antares, the orange "Rival of Mars," to the planet's upper
right during evening, and directly to its right after midnight.
They're separated by about 1 1/2 fist-width's held at arm's length.
Fainter stars of Scorpius are scattered around Antares.

JUNE 11 -- MONDAY

* One of those fainter stars near Antares (see yesterday) is
especially newsworthy. Delta Scorpii has been shining at about
magnitude 1.7 for months now, some 75 percent brighter than its normal
magnitude 2.3. It's the middle star of the nearly vertical line of
three twinkling less than a fist-width to the right of Antares. Delta
is now very clearly the brightest of these three. Keep an eye on it
for further changes likely in the coming months!

JUNE 12 -- TUESDAY

* The two brightest stars in the evening sky this month are pale
yellow-orange Arcturus, nearly overhead in the south during and after
dusk, and pale blue-white Vega, climbing high in the eastern sky.
Brilliant Mars, however, far outshines them both.

JUNE 13 -- WEDNESDAY

* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 11:28 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

* Mars is at opposition tonight (though it won't be quite at its
closest to Earth until the 21st).

JUNE 14 -- THURSDAY

* Earliest sunrise of the year, if you live near 40 degrees north
latitude.

* Jupiter is in conjunction with the Sun.

JUNE 15 -- FRIDAY

* Venus should be at dichotomy sometime around now, appearing
exactly half-lit in a telescope. The best time to view Venus
telescopically will be in a blue sky around breakfast time, when it's
still much higher than the Sun. To find Venus in the daytime sky,
you'll probably need a polar-aligned telescope with setting circles to
measure its offset from the Sun. (Look 3h 06m west of the Sun and 11.4
degrees south. Be sure not to blind yourself by accidentally looking
at the Sun through the telescope!)

JUNE 16 -- SATURDAY

* The red long-period variable star R Aquilae should be nearing its
maximum brightness (6th magnitude) around now.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is lost in the glare of the Sun.

VENUS (magnitude -4.3) blazes in the east during dawn.

MARS (magnitude -2.3, between Scorpius and Sagittarius) is at
opposition this week! It rises in the southeast around sunset, and by
dark it dominates the low southeast, shining brilliant yellow-orange.
Mars is at its highest in the south shortly after midnight. Don't miss
any chance to observe Mars in a telescope! It's now 20 arcseconds in
diameter, larger than at any time since 1988, and practically at the
maximum apparent diameter of 21 arcseconds that it will reach on June
21st. See the observing guide and Mars maps in the May Sky &
Telescope, page 102, and the guide to finding Mars's two tiny moons in
the June issue, page 102.

Telescopic observers can download Mars Previewer (3 megs), which
displays observing data and a customized map of Mars's apparent disk
for any date and time. Go to
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html#mars .

JUPITER is lost in the glare of the Sun.

SATURN is hidden low in the glow of dawn.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the southeast in the early morning hours.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the southeast during evening.
Finder charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are in the April Sky &
Telescope, page 104, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360
===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 459 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jun 13, 2001 (22:19) * 20 lines
----------------------------------------------------------
/ PHYSICSWEB: E-mail alert
\ (http://PhysicsWeb.org)
==========================================================
----------------------------------------------------------
| News
==========================================================
* Doctoring the spin on Venus: (13 Jun)
Astronomers have long thought that Venus acquired its
unusual 'retrograde' spin when internal friction and
turbulence in its atmosphere flipped the planet's
rotation axis in the distant past. Now French astronomers
argue that chaotic effects could have reversed the
planet's spin while its rotation axis stayed put.
Alexandre Correia and Jacques Laskar of CNRS simulated
the rotation of Venus over thousands of millions of years
and conclude that it must have followed one of two paths
to reach its current state (A Correia and J Laskar 2001
Nature 411 767).
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/6/6 ]

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 460 of 1087: Maggie  (sociolingo) * Thu, Jun 14, 2001 (11:41) * 1 lines
Last night we heard on the news that Mars was at its most visible .. so we two oldies went and looked at the stars ...very sweet really. Yes we had a really good view of Mars ...for once there wasn't a cloud covering over our little corner of Britain.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 461 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jun 14, 2001 (15:23) * 1 lines
Yup, it is perigee for Mars (see news items in Geo 24. Tonight I will try again to see, providing no one sets fire to the roof again as he did last night.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 462 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 15, 2001 (20:26) * 23 lines
----------------------------------------------------------
/ PHYSICSWEB: E-mail alert
\ (http://PhysicsWeb.org)
==========================================================
----------------------------------------------------------
| News
==========================================================
* Exotic quasars may be commonplace: (15 Jun)
The violent bursts of radiowaves that stream across the
Universe from remote objects known as blazars - which are
related to quasars - may be much more common than
astronomers previously thought. Quasars are the extremely
luminous cores of active galaxies. The observations made
by Feng Ma and Beverley Wills of the University of Texas
in the US support a recent proposal suggesting that most
quasars have blazar traits - but that they are only
visible from certain angles (F Ma and B Wills 2001
Science 292 2050). Meanwhile, the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey based in California has detected two
quasars that are the most distant objects ever observed.
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/6/8 ]
----------------------------------------------------------


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 463 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun 16, 2001 (00:08) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 464 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun 16, 2001 (00:09) * 24 lines
Astronomers, Tourists Flock to Zambia for Eclipse

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Astronomers and tourists are flocking to Zambia for
the first solar eclipse of the millennium and police are tightening security
ahead of the June 21 spectacle, officials said on Friday.

Zambia expects to play host to up to 20,000 eclipse tourists and
astronomers, and hopes they will spend up to $15 million, boosting the
economy and the flagging tourism industry, said Zambia National Tourist
Board head Agnes Seenka.

"The eclipse will help with polishing Zambia's image and will bring the
feel-good factor to our country," she told Reuters.

Police will be on hand to ensure viewing of the eclipse remains peaceful.
Police spokesman Lemmy Kajoba said hundreds of officers had been
deployed around Lusaka, Kafue National Park and Luangwa game
reserve, where most of the eclipse visitors are expected to stay.

The eclipse will also be seen in Mozambique, Namibia, Angola and
Madagascar, but instability and a lack of infrastructure in some countries
mean Zambia will grab the bulk of the visitors.

more... http://my.aol.com/news/news_story.psp?type=1&cat=0200&id=0106151139200877

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 465 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun 16, 2001 (19:04) * 252 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JUNE 15, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Quantities limited! Our 16-inch scale model of Venus is the remainder
of a custom order for NASA. The globe, based on radar data from the
Magellan spacecraft, contains all the major landforms and is color
coded for elevation. Produced in collaboration with NASA and the U.S.
Geological Survey. Comes with a hand-made wooden base. To order the
16-inch Venus Globe for $119.95, call 800-253-0245 and ask for
product "Ven16." The item is not available from our online store.
===========================================================

MARTIAN FLARES SIGHTED

In the May 2001 issue of SKY & TELESCOPE, Thomas Dobbins and William
Sheehan discussed rare historical observations of bright, star-like
flares from certain regions on the planet Mars. They suggested that
the brightenings might be caused by specular reflections of sunlight
off water-ice crystals in surface frosts or atmospheric clouds,
specifically at times when the sub-Sun and sub-Earth points were
nearly coincident and close to the planet's central meridian (the
imaginary line running down the center of the visible disk from pole
to pole). Based on their analysis, Dobbins and Sheehan predicted that
flares like those last reported in 1958 might erupt this week in Edom
Promontorium, near the Martian equator at longitude 345 deg. They were
right.

Dobbins organized an expedition to the Florida Keys, where Mars would
climb high in the south under exceptionally steady skies. Team members
from SKY & TELESCOPE and the Association of Lunar and Planetary
Observers (ALPO) scrutinized the planet using a variety of telescopes
nightly beginning June 5th. No flares were seen for the first two
nights. But on June 7th, beginning around 06:35 Universal Time (2:35
a.m. Eastern daylight time), about 85 minutes before Edom crossed the
central meridian, Dobbins and his colleagues observed a series of
brightenings. Each lasted 3 to 5 seconds; they occurred once or twice
a minute over the next hour and a half, until clouds ended the
observations. The flares were seen visually at 300x to 366x through
two 6-inch (15-centimeter) Newtonian reflectors and were recorded on
videotape at 1,400x through a Meade 12-inch (30-cm) Schmidt-Cassegrain
telescope. Visually, the flares seemed to cut the dark linear feature
Sinus Sabaeus nearly in two. More brightenings of Edom were observed
on June 8th; these were as bright as the ones the night before but not
as frequent.

PUSHING FOR A PLUTO PROBE

The off and on again saga of sending a spacecraft to Pluto took
another positive step last week as NASA authorized further study of
two proposed concepts for a Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission. Although the
agency's fiscal 2002 budget does not include money for a Pluto probe,
NASA nevertheless judged these two proposals best of the five
submitted and will award the teams $450,000 to produce fleshed-out
plans due in three months.

One possible probe is the Outer Solar System Explorer (POSSE), which
would be built by Lockheed Martin, commanded from the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL), and have Larry Esposito (University of Colorado) as
principal investigator. Esposito notes that the craft will be based on
the Stardust spacecraft, but will be altered for a longer lifespan --
the camera and other instruments will have no moving parts. After
flying by Pluto and Charon, plans are for it to visit one or more
Kuiper-Belt Objects.

The other mission has the book-title name of New Horizons: Shedding
Light on Frontier Worlds. The spacecraft would be built by Ball
Aerospace Corp., operated by Johns Hopkins University's Applied
Physics Laboratory (APL), and have S. Alan Stern (Southwest Research
Institute) as principal investigator. Like POSSE, New Horizons will
include a range of cameras and spectrometers, and perform radio
science experiments. Should one of these missions be approved and
receive full funding, it would be ready for launch as early as 2004
and arrive at Pluto by 2020.

COMET LINEAR BRIGHTENS EVEN MORE

To the surprise and delight of astronomers, Comet LINEAR (C/2001 A2)
has once again surged in magnitude. Observers in the Southern
Hemisphere have watched the comet gradually brighten to naked-eye
visibility since the comet's initial outburst two months ago when its
nucleus split. As of this week, comet watchers reporting to Charles
Morris's Comet Observation Home Page note that LINEAR is now 3rd
magnitude -- readily visible above the eastern horizon before dawn.
The comet can't be seen from the Northern Hemisphere yet, but as it
moves north, it should become visible from midnorthern latitudes by
the end of June in the morning sky. This coming week, the comet moves
from Fornax, to Eridanus, to Cetus. Here are coordinates in 2000.0
coordinates for Comet LINEAR for 0 hours Universal Time for the coming
week:

R.A. Dec.

Jun 16 3h 21m -24.5 deg.
Jun 18 3 03 -23.1
Jun 20 2 44 -21.3
Jun 22 2 23 -19.0


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JUNE 17 -- SUNDAY

* The earliest first light of dawn for the year (if you live near 40
degrees north latitude).

JUNE 18 -- MONDAY

* Tomorrow morning, the asteroid 51 Nemausa passes almost directly
in front of an 11th-magnitude star in Aquarius. For up to 25 seconds
the combined light of the asteroid and star could drop by 1.1
magnitudes for observers in a path across Florida. The occultation is
due to happen around 4:42 a.m. EDT (8:42 Universal Time). See the
finder chart and prediction-update link near the bottom of
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0106skyevents.shtml .

JUNE 19 -- TUESDAY

* Some doorstep astronomy: The brightest star high in the eastern
sky these evenings is Vega. The brightest star to Vega's lower left,
by about 2 1/2 fist-widths at arm's length, is Deneb. The brightest
about 3 1/2 fists to Vega's lower right is Altair. These three stars
form the big Summer Triangle.

JUNE 20 -- WEDNESDAY

* More doorstep astronomy: The Big Dipper hangs straight down from
its handle high in the northwest after dark this month. Its bottom two
stars, the Pointers, point to the right or lower right toward rather
dim Polaris, the North Star (about three fist-widths away).

JUNE 21 -- THURSDAY

* MARS IS CLOSEST TO EARTH (42 million miles; 67 million kilometers)
and appears 20.8 arcseconds wide! It remains nearly this close and
large for another couple weeks.

* The solstice occurs at 3:38 a.m. EDT, when the Sun is farthest
north for the year and begins its six-month return south. This moment
marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter
in the Southern Hemisphere.

* New Moon (exact at 7:58 a.m. EDT).

* TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN for parts of Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, and Madagascar. A partial eclipse is visible from most of
sub-Saharan Africa and (around sunrise) parts of South America. For
full information see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/solar/0009africapreview.html .

* Early Friday morning, the faint asteroid 564 Dudu occults an
8th-magnitude star in Corona Australis at about 10:26 Universal Time.
The event's nominal path of visibility crosses Texas and Mexico. See
the finder chart and prediction-update link near the bottom of
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0106skyevents.shtml .

JUNE 22 -- FRIDAY

* Look for a hairline crescent Moon very low in the west-northwest
as twilight fades (about an hour after sunset). To its upper right are
Pollux and Castor. Try binoculars.

JUNE 23 -- SATURDAY

* The red long-period variable star R Aquilae should be at its
brightest (6th magnitude) this week.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

VENUS (magnitude -4.2) blazes in the east during dawn.

MARS IS AT ITS CLOSEST THIS WEEK! The red planet dominates the low
southeast after dark, shining brilliant orange at magnitude -2.3.
Located in southern Ophiuchus between Scorpius and Sagittarius, Mars
attains its highest altitude in the southern sky shortly after
midnight. Now is the time to observe Mars in a telescope! It's 21
arcseconds in apparent diameter, larger than at any time since 1988.

See the observing guide and Mars maps in the May Sky & Telescope, page
102. A guide to finding Mars's tiny moons with a large amateur
telescope is in the June issue, page 102. Telescopic observers can
download Mars Previewer (3 megs), which displays observing data and a
customized map of Mars's apparent disk for any date and time; go to
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html#mars .

JUPITER is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

SATURN is barely above the east-northeast horizon in the brightening
light of dawn, far to the lower left of Venus. Binoculars help.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the southeast in the early morning hours.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the southeast during evening,
in the same constellation as Mars. Finder charts for Uranus, Neptune,
and Pluto are in the April Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send
e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first
line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message
to list administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more
than 200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands
worldwide. For subscription information, or for a free copy of our
catalog of fine astronomy books and products, please contact Sky
Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A.
Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada); 617-864-7360 (International).
Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com. WWW:
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
=========================================================== 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 466 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Sat, Jun 16, 2001 (22:02) * 25 lines
Hi Marcia and Geoites

Well back again amongst the masses. Grad skool is finished
for the summer so I get a break (with the exception of a
physics placement test to take...)
Happy belated Birthday Marcia! I saw some archived posts and
saw there were plenty of HB messages. Regretfully, I was sequestered
at the time with misc and sundry things which made me very net
infrequent. Been busy with some serious Feng Shui around the
house dumping old stuff that just has been in the way. In the
tech-know department, have been working on some microwave projects
including some micro surgery on a microwave down converter so
I can copy AO40 signals on 2.4 ghz. Also, eagerly waiting for
my DSP-10 kit to come in (see www.tapr.org which has links to
the DSP-10 site). This is a software configured radio that uses
DSP for signal demodulation and other neat thingies. About the
most ambitious project I ever looked at in a long while. Anyway,
its nice to be back among the living.

73 de AA9IL
Mike
radio cosmo international

p.s. only a couple of more days til the solstice!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 467 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jun 17, 2001 (00:31) * 3 lines
Happy me! Mike is back! *BIG HUGS* Brain intact, too!

Sounds great with the AO40 signals. Have not tried it since antenna setup not conducive to those frequencies. In any case, Hugs and welcome back to the realm of the living!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 468 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun 18, 2001 (19:13) * 22 lines
----------------------------------------------------------
/ PHYSICSWEB: E-mail alert
\ (http://PhysicsWeb.org)
==========================================================
----------------------------------------------------------
| News
==========================================================
* Solar neutrinos change their tune: (18 Jun)
Neutrinos created deep inside the Sun can change from one
type to another as they stream towards Earth, according
to the first results from the Sudbury Neutrino
Observatory in Canada. The shortfall in the number of
solar neutrinos observed in the last 30 years had cast
doubt on the so-called standard solar model. But the new
results confirm instead that electron neutrinos can
'oscillate' into muon and tau neutrinos and vice versa.
Such oscillations can only occur if neutrinos have mass.
Scientists from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
presented their findings today at the Canadian
Association of Physicists Annual Conference in Victoria
and at seminars in the UK and US.
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/6/9 ]

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 469 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Jun 20, 2001 (14:56) * 98 lines

Web broadcast of total eclipse:


RELEASE: 01-125

NASA SHOWS FIRST TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Our Sun is about to take a break for the summer, albeit
a brief repose noticeable only by people in Southern and
Central Africa.

However, while the first total eclipse of the new millennium
will not be visible from the United States, it will be made
available live, from the Southern African nation of Zambia,
to the rest of the world through NASA Television. The June
21st astral performance also is available to internet users
who have high-speed internet connections.

Watching a total eclipse means different things to different
people. Daylight fades in the middle of the day as the Moon
slowly covers the face of the Sun, creating an eerie dusk as
a shadow is cast on the Earth's surface.

Our ancient ancestors considered an eclipse to be a bad omen,
and often carried out various rituals in an effort to scare
away suspected evil forces that devoured the Sun. Today,
scientists travel around the world to study this rare event
and millions of people are satisfied to simply watch this
celestial display of nature.

A science team will be in Zambia to capture video images of
the eclipse using specially equipped telescopes. Besides
being streamed live to the rest of the world, these images
will be broadcast to about 110 participating museums and
other venues.

This year, the event will focus on the themes of solar
maximum, habitability of space and living with the Sun. "A
total solar eclipse provides great opportunities to engage
and inform the public about NASA's Sun -Earth Connection
science and the effects of the active Sun in space and on
Earth, " said Dr. George Withbroe, Science Director of the
Sun-Earth Connection theme at NASA Headquarters, Washington,
DC.

A message from the Expedition Two crew on board International
Space Station is part of the webcast, which includes a
conversation with American astronauts Jim Voss, Susan Helms
and Russian Commander Yury Usachev.

NASA also will take viewers one million miles into space to
see how scientists use artificially generated eclipses to
study enormous solar eruptions. Scientific teams going to
Africa for the eclipse will rely on the ESA-NASA Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft to show them the
Sun's weather during the event.

Several NASA centers plan events associated and some of its
Centers are planning comprehensive solar eclipse events:

* Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD - Dr. Paal
Brekke, European Space Agency, will present a multimedia
summary from SOHO's observations in the Albert Einstein
Planetarium at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum,
Washington, DC, from 12:20 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. EDT. More
information is available on the Internet at:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/

* Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, CA - Students from
the Los Angeles area can watch the webcast, look through
solar telescopes and hear African-American Scientists and
members of the National Society of Black Physicists discuss
how the Sun effects the Earth and how minority students can
get more involved in science. For additional internet
information, go to: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

* Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL - Reporters
and other media representatives are invited to interview NASA
astronomer Mitzi Adams, who will be in Zambia to witness the
eclipse. Telephone interviews are available by contacting
Steve Roy at 256/544-6535. More information is available on
the Internet at: http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/newsroom

To view the eclipse from a high-speed internet connection,
visit the World Wide Web at:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse

A complete list of participating museums can be found on the
web at:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/zambia/participants.html

NASA TV will carry the eclipse from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
EDT. Stations carrying this feed are requested to super
"Courtesy: NASA/Exploratorium." NASA TV can be found on GE-2,
Transponder 9C, at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical
polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz and audio of 6.8
MHz.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 470 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jun 20, 2001 (17:18) * 1 lines
Thanks TERRY!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 471 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jun 20, 2001 (17:23) * 1 lines
This means I get to watch real time from 2:30 to 3:30 AM my time on the 21st. I may just catch the reruns!!! NASA TV is my viewer of choice but it is often clogged. Try the other too and log in early!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 472 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Jun 21, 2001 (07:07) * 1 lines
I'm trying to get on the live webcast right now to see it. It should be happening right now.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 473 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jun 21, 2001 (16:35) * 1 lines
*sigh* I guess by your other post, you did not manage to see it. Did anyone catch the live netcast ??? I was sleeping...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 474 of 1087: horrible horace  (horrible) * Thu, Jun 21, 2001 (17:16) * 1 lines
It was on Sky over here and Nick has watched it over and over on their inter-active thingie.The "diamond ring" was perfect much better than in the last eclipse over these islands

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 475 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jun 21, 2001 (19:42) * 1 lines
HOW neat! I was hoping he got to see it. How special for a little guy. He may become and archaeo-astromomer yet! 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 476 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 22, 2001 (18:58) * 26 lines
From his daddy - thanks for this. Some really remarkable statistics in here!

Will this darkness shed some light?

ONCE more, scientists will be waiting below to wring data from the few, brief minutes of umbral shadow. And this time the excitement is high - they may be close to solving one of the great mysteries of astrophysics.

The mystery, which has perplexed astronomers for 50 years, can be put absurdly simply. The Sun, at its fiery core, is a thermonuclear furnace of 15,000,000C. Its surface - the photosphere - is much cooler, at 6,000C. But travel another 2,000 miles out, through the Sun's tenuous atmosphere, to the wispy white corona that makes eclipses so spectacular, and the temperature soars to 2,000,000C.
Every physicist puts it differently - the solar corona is like a kettle boiling on a cold stove; it's an espresso that never cools; it's like walking away from a campfire, growing cool, then warming up further away.

An explanation is less easily conjured up. In trying to find it, scientists have discovered the Sun is vastly more interesting than once thought. "Many people thought the main problems of the Sun had been solved - the subject was in decline," says Prof Eric Priest, head of a research team studying the corona at St Andrews University. "Now solar physics is in a new golden age (and we find) most of our explanations for fundamental questions were mistaken."
As part of this golden age, several artificial eyes now peer at the Sun from the depths of space, trying to understand what fires the corona. Soho (the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) carries an instrument that views the Sun from behind a black disc, like an artificial eclipse. Yohkoh (a Japanese craft whose name means "sunbeam") carries an X-ray telescope that images the Sun's corona. In 1998 they were joined by Trace (the US space agency Nasa's Transition Region and Coronal Explorer), whose ultraviolet telescope has produced images of stunning resolution.
Between them, the craft have revealed that, up close, the corona is nothing like the serene haze glimpsed during an eclipse. Instead, it is a seething, unpredictable plasma of hot, ionised gas. Its structure is always changing and seems to be a mixture of three elements: fantastic loops, dark holes and small bright patches known as X-ray bright spots.
These instruments have brought us close to understanding the corona but, says Prof Jay Pasachoff, director of the Hopkins Observatory at Williams College in Massachusetts, "the problem is far from solved - we're still trying to provide the basic data".

The source of that heat must ultimately be below the Sun's surface. Somehow it journeys across the expanse of cool and tenuous atmosphere in a form of energy other than heat. Some scientists have suggested that perhaps this energy takes the form of sound waves that roll across the heat desert and crash, as if on a sea-shore, at the other end. But sound waves, it turns out, would crumble to nothing long before reaching the corona.
Now the coronal detectives believe the answer lies in magnetic fields that loop and arch from the Sun's surface, like a loosely woven carpet. Lesser loops just reach the corona's edge; the large ones soar into the corona, which extends into space for millions of miles. Magnetic fields can store and transport energy - but how such energy enters the loops and, in particular, how it transforms itself into heat at the other end is not known.
Some scientists support the microflare theory, others the magnetic wave theory. Down at the base of the carpet, the boiling, churning Sun repeatedly pulls at the loops. This pumps in energy, in much the same way that pulling on a rubber band stretches it taut with stored "potential" energy. Suddenly, it all gets too much for the magnetic loop and, way up in the corona, it snaps, then immediately links up again with other snapped arches to form a new loop. This, say some, is what releases the energy in the corona.
If you could see a magnetic loop snapping, it would look like a tiny version of a solar flare, it is argued. Solar flares themselves are well documented - there are arresting photographs of them blasting into space. Flares may have younger and even baby brothers - microflares and nanoflares - which, in sufficient quantity, could heat the corona. Yohkoh and Soho have both revealed microflares in the corona, each with about a millionth of the energy of a solar flare. Dr Clare Parnell, who works with Prof Priest, has shown they are probably responsible for heating one of the three main structures found in the corona, X-ray bright spots.
But the theorists still disagree over whether they could release sufficient energy to heat the rest of the corona, says Philippa Browning, senior lecturer at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
Less glamorous, perhaps, are magnetic waves. Again these are thought to be caused by the jostling surface layers of the Sun which, in this case, set the loops vibrating. Energy travels along them as it does along a long and violently cracked whip. Each crack deposits energy in the corona. There is evidence from Trace that the whip, or magnetic wave, mechanism may be heating the lower corona.
For magnetic waves to be dumping sufficient energy in the corona, scientists know that the carpet loops should be vibrating at a speed of once a second or more. Spotting such fast vibrations is beyond the capacities of the Sun-watching instruments in the sky. This is partly because of a bottleneck in their transmission of data back to Earth - and partly because they cannot create artificial eclipses sufficiently dark for a really detailed look at the corona.

Back on the ground - or, rather, on the roof of the Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka, Zambia - Prof Pasachoff hopes, tomorrow, to muster just such data. Up the road, at the University of Zambia, Prof Ken Phillips, of the CLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Didcot, Oxfordshire, will be doing the same thing. The Moon is the perfect block for the Sun's light, so that Nature's eclipse is far superior to anything which humans can create. Pointing CCD cameras capable of photographing the corona at up to 44 frames a second, the teams hope to detect oscillations which betray the presence of magnetic waves.
But the Sun does not give up her mysteries easily. The scientists have only three minutes and 17 seconds to make their observations. Then they must wait another 18 months, until the next total solar eclipse, before they can grab a few more minutes of evidence. 



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 477 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 22, 2001 (23:37) * 20 lines
----------------------------------------------------------
/ PHYSICSWEB: E-mail alert
\ (http://PhysicsWeb.org)
==========================================================
----------------------------------------------------------
| News
==========================================================
* Nucleus sheds light on neutron stars: (22 Jun)
A neutron star may be around 10 kilometres in diameter,
but it is governed by the same forces that arrange the
neutrons in an atomic nucleus just femtometres across.
This means that studies of neutron-rich nuclei could
provide insights into their astrophysical counterparts.
Now Charles Horowitz and Jorge Piekarewicz of Indiana
University in the US have measured a lead nucleus and
related its properties to the interior of a neutron star
(C Horowitz and J Piekarewicz 2001 Phys. Rev.
Lett. 86 5647).
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/6/11 ]
----------------------------------------------------------

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 478 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun 23, 2001 (01:19) * 39 lines
NEWSALERT: Friday, June 22, 2001 @ 0421 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now

GROUNDED MILITARY WEATHER SATELLITE FINALLY REPAIRED
----------------------------------------------------
You could say fate was with the U.S. Air Force back in January when, after two scrubbed countdowns, a catastrophic problem that would have likely doomed the launch of a military weather satellite was detected while the craft was still on the pad.
http://spaceflightnow.com/titan/g9/010621fixed.html

SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS MAKES TREK TO LAUNCH PAD
-----------------------------------------------
The space shuttle Atlantis made its slow trek from the Kennedy Space Center's cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building to launch pad 39B on Thursday in preparation for blastoff July 12 to deliver a $164 million airlock to the international space station. A rollout attempt Wednesday was aborted due to lightning.
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/stage7a/010620rollout/

EXPEDITION TWO SCIENCE OPERATIONS STATUS REPORT
-----------------------------------------------
The past week saw the Expedition Two crew and supporting controllers and scientists on the ground celebrate the team's 100th day of science operations onboard the orbiting research facility.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/22isssci/

NASA'S TERRA CAPTURES A WORLD OF SUNLIGHT AND HEAT
--------------------------------------------------
The beginning of summer is an annual reminder that our world is driven by sunlight, and new Terra satellite measurements show just how much the Sun influences the Earth's climate system.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/22terra/

SATELLITE SHOWS NO EL NINO IN PACIFIC YET, BUT ONE DUE
------------------------------------------------------
While change may be on the way, the Pacific is still dominated by the strong, larger-than-El Nino/La Nina pattern called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, according to the latest data from the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon satellite mission.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/22elnino/

ULYSSES ENCOUNTERS MASSIVE CORONAL EJECTION
-------------------------------------------
Most of the instruments on board Ulysses recently recorded their highest readings during the 10 years that the spacecraft has been in orbit. The cause was a spectacular coronal mass ejection which had left the Sun three days previously, heading towards the position in space that Ulysses was occupying.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/21ulysses/

MARS TEAM TAKES BAIKONUR RECONNAISSANCE MISSION
-----------------------------------------------
Members of the Mars Express project and industrial teams travelled to the steppes of Kazakhstan last month to inspect the Baikonur cosmodrome where Mars Express will be launched on board a Soyuz-Fregat rocket in June 2003.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/21marsexpress/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 479 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun 25, 2001 (00:20) * 64 lines

NEWSALERT: Monday, June 25, 2001 @ 0130 GMT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest news from Astronomy Now and Spaceflight Now


TEMPERATURE MAP OF IO PRESENTS A PUZZLE
---------------------------------------
Earth's tropics are hotter than the polar regions for a good reason, so scientists are puzzled that the same pattern doesn't show on Jupiter's moon Io. Powerful volcanoes and the previous day's sunshine warm the nighttime surface of Jupiter's moon Io, as seen in this image from NASA's Galileo spacecraft.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/24iomap/


EUROPA'S FROZEN SURFACE
-----------------------
Europa, a moon of Jupiter, appears as a thick crescent in this enhanced-color image from NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Reddish linear features are some of the cracks and ridges, thousands of kilometers long, which are caused by the tides raised by the gravitational pull of Jupiter. Also visible are a few circular features, which are small impact craters.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/24europa/


COMPANIES USE AIR SHOW TO ANNOUNCE LAUNCH DEALS
-----------------------------------------------
Arianespace, Boeing and International Launch Services announced a batch of new contracts last week at the Paris Air Show. Here are the three respective corporate releases describing the deals.

ARIANE SIGNS 8 NEW LAUNCH CONTRACTS:
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/25ariane/

BOEING/MELCO DEAL WORTH UP TO 6 DELTA 4s:
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/25boeing/

ILS ATLAS 5 APPROVED BY INMARSAT VENTURES:
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/25ils/

ROSETTA - A SPACECRAFT IN SEARCH OF PRISTINE MATTER
---------------------------------------------------
In January 2003 the European spacecraft Rosetta is to launch on atop an Ariane 5 to comet "Wirtanen" in search of pristine matter. For a year, it will orbit this tailed star at a distance of one kilometer and explore it in detail. At the same time, a probe will land on the comet's surface for surface-science investigations and analysis.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/23rosetta/

UNIQUE LINK FOUND BETWEEN STELLAR DEATH AND BIRTH
-------------------------------------------------
Astronomers from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of California at Berkeley have discovered a key building block for new stars in the rapidly expanding remains of an ancient stellar explosion.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/23fuse/

ADOLESCENT INTERSTELLAR CLOUD SET FOR STAR FORMING
--------------------------------------------------
Astronomers have discovered a highly unusual, massive interstellar cloud that appears poised to begin a burst of star formation. The cloud may be the first ever to be detected in the transition between atomic and molecular states.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/25cloud/

X-RAY VIEW OF A YOUNG PLANETARY NEBULA
--------------------------------------
Chandra's image of NGC 7027 represents the first detection of X-rays from this young planetary nebula that is about 3,000 light years from Earth. A bubble of 3 million degree Celsius gas with a length about a hundred times that of our solar system is shown in the image.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/25chandra/

CELLULAR, MACROMOLECULAR BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH PROPOSALS PICKED
----------------------------------------------------------------
NASA has selected 43 researchers to receive grants totaling approximately $27 million over four years to conduct biotechnology research on Earth and in space. This research will create knowledge in important areas of biotechnology such as tissue engineering, gene expression and biosensor technology.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/24biotech/

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: IT'S MORE THAN A MOVIE
-----------------------------------------------
Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will talk about the real artificial intelligence work that takes place at NASA in a live webcast, scheduled for June 29, at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0106/23artintell/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 480 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jun 26, 2001 (15:04) * 17 lines
Another Gem fro Liam, whose source I do not know:

Two new planets claimed by Indian astronomers

A team of Indian scientists who say there are two more planets beyond the edge of the solar system have had their claims rubbished.
The team of astrophysicists at Hubli say they noticed the unseen planets pulling on nearby Pluto.

The scientists calculated the two bodies are about the size of Jupiter and Saturn.
Navin Shaw and Pankaj Shaw told The Times of India: "There are two giant planets beyond Pluto.

"At the moment, it's not possible to detect them through optical and radio telescopes due to the great distances and planetary constitution."
However, UK astronomer Heather Couper told Ananova: "Everybody has been looking for planets beyond Pluto for ages but this is codswallop."

Story filed: 13:21 Tuesday 26th June 2001




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 481 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jun 26, 2001 (15:52) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 482 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Jun 26, 2001 (18:02) * 1 lines
codswallop.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 483 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jun 26, 2001 (19:10) * 1 lines
Codswallop! I like that, but it sounds like stuff you get on your shoes if you are traipsing about a meadow looking for a dolmen or long barrow. Been there and done that!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 484 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jun 28, 2001 (16:03) * 19 lines
Naked-Eye Comet

Space Weather News for June 28, 2001
http://www.spaceweather.com

NAKED-EYE COMET: Comet C/2001 A2 (better known as "Comet LINEAR") makes
its closest approach to Earth on Saturday, June 30th. Glowing at visual
magnitude 4, Comet LINEAR is not spectacular like, e.g., Comet Hale-Bopp
of 1997, but it will be easy to spot with the unaided eye. Astronomers
have watched this comet intently in recent months as it repeatedly
crumbled and brightened. The capricious snowball from the outer solar
system could yet hold surprises for observers in the days and weeks ahead.
Visit SpaceWeather.com for finder charts and more information.

ASTEROID MOVIE: Near-Earth Asteroid 2001 ME1 will glide past Earth on
Friday, June 29th, 38 times farther from our planet than the Moon. Earlier
this week astronomer John Rogers captured a beautiful video of the
incoming space rock gliding among the stars. See it at SpaceWeather.com.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 485 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 29, 2001 (13:37) * 1 lines
Wolfie and other comet hunters including me (this will be my 14th comet) check the charts in the link above. Happy hunting. I'll report my findings as soon as cloud cover permits.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 486 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 29, 2001 (13:39) * 13 lines
Look for it in the morning near Venus:

NAKED-EYE COMET: Comet LINEAR
(C/2001 A2), which crumbled and brightened
as it neared the Sun on May 24th, is about
to have a close encounter with Earth. On
June 30th the evaporating snowball from the
outer solar system will pass 0.24 AU from our planet. Glowing with
a visual magnitude of 4, the comet is easy to spot without the aid
of a telescope. Northern hemisphere stargazers can find it ~30
degrees above the eastern horizon before dawn -- not too far from
brilliant Venus. Will this comet flare again as it has in months
past? Watch it and see! [3D orbit] [ephemeris] [finder chart]

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 487 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun 30, 2001 (15:34) * 269 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JUNE 29, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================

MAP-PING THE COSMIC BACKGROUND RADIATION
Cosmologists are eagerly awaiting the launch of NASA's Microwave Anisotropy
Probe (MAP), set to rocket away from Cape Canaveral on June 30th, between 3:46
and 3:56 p.m. EDT. The telescope aims to map minute fluctuations in the
temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation, the faint afterglow
of the Big Bang. Discovered in 1965, this diffuse energy has a temperature of
2.73 deg. K, and it represents the state of the universe when it was less than
500,000 years old.
In 1989, however, the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) spacecraft discovered
variations in the feeble glow of one part in 100,000 -- evidence of the
structure of the early universe. Based on the strength and spacing of these
temperature fluctuations, scientists could refine key values such as the
Hubble constant, which describes the expansion rate of the universe, and the
cosmological density parameter, which quantifies how much matter and energy
the universe contains.
COBE's angular resolution was a poor 7 deg., a swath 14 times wider than the
Moon, leading astronomers to build a series of more sensitive ground-based and
balloon-flown telescopes. These instruments mapped details as small as 1/6
deg., but only covered a fraction of the sky. "Once we flew COBE, it was very
obvious that the next step was to fly MAP," says science-team member Gary F.
Hinshaw (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center). Able to see fluctuations down to
one millionth of a degree over regions of sky as small as 20 arcminutes
(smaller than the Moon), MAP will scan the entire sky four times -- an order
of magnitude better performance than COBE.
MAP gains this precision not only by using newer detectors and a pair of
reflectors to focus the radiation, but also by observing from the L2
Lagrangian point, 1,500,000 kilometers from the Earth opposite the Sun. "L2 is
a very good place for MAP because it is far from the Sun's and Earth's
microwave emissions, which are a billion times stronger than the signal we are
measuring," explains project manager Elizabeth Citrin (NASA/Goddard). Closer
to the Earth, says Hinshaw, "is like trying to do a sensitive experiment with
a sensitive thermometer next to a blast furnace."
As science-team member David Spergel (Princeton) concludes, "One of the things
that MAP I think will do extremely well is to make sure those measurements are
very reliable."
MICROLENSING GLOBULAR CLUSTERS
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have found indirect evidence that
globular clusters are teeming with free-roaming planets, some of which could
be as small as 1/4 of Jupiter's mass. The study, conducted by Kailash Sahu
(Space Telescope Science Institute) and colleagues implies that planets could
make up some 10 percent of a globular cluster's mass.
As predicted by Albert Einstein in the early 20th century, a massive object
has the ability to bend light that passes around it. If something massive
enough (such as a galaxy, black hole, or even a star), comes directly between
Earth and an even more distant object, the light of the more-distant object
can actually become focused and thus brighter. The massive intervening body
literally acts as magnifying glass, bending light around it just as a lens
does. In this case, HST peered through the globular cluster M22, staring at a
field of background stars behind the cluster. Any brightening of a background
star would signal a microlensing event.
From February 22 through June 15, 1999, the team monitored 83,000 stars behind
M22. From their observations, they report seeing one confirmed lensing event:
a background star brightened 10-fold for 18 days. Based on the brightening and
duration, Sahu concluded that the intervening "lens" was a dwarf star about 10
percent of the Sun's mass.
But much more intriguing were six separate events in which a background star
doubled in brightness for less than 20 hours. Sahu finds that the mass of
these intervening bodies could be as small as 80 Earth masses. For now, these
detections remain somewhat uncertain. Observations were made over three-day
intervals -- too short to confirm that an entire lensing event had been
recorded. Future work will revolve around a proposed seven-day HST exposure.
With a longer exposure, "we estimate we should see as many as 15 of these,"
says Nino Panagia (STScI), some of which may be smaller objects. "There may be
surprises."
The study is published in the June 28th issue of Nature.
SAN DIEGO'S STREETLIGHT CONTROVERSY
The future of astronomy in Southern California just got brighter -- and that's
bad. On June 20th, a San Diego City Council committee decided to replace the
city's existing low-pressure-sodium (LPS) streetlights with brighter,
high-pressure-sodium (HPS) ones. Moreover, the committee wants to replace the
current "cobrahead" fixtures, which direct light down toward the ground, with
ornamental "acorn" lights, which shine in all directions -- including the sky.
The astronomers at the nearby Palomar Mountain and Mount Laguna observatories
are not pleased. "The use of these proposed acorn fixtures is a travesty,"
bemoaned Paul B. Etzel (San Diego State University). While the extra ambient
light won't end the science atop Mount Laguna, Etzel says it will place limits
on the number of faint, extended objects such as galaxies and nebulae that
they can image. The situation is even worse for Palomar Observatory, whose
legendary 5-meter telescope is more fully dedicated to imaging faint objects.
Astronomers prefer LPS streetlights because they emit at only one wavelength,
making it easier to filter out during spectroscopic observations. The HPS
ones, on the other hand, emit a wider, more continuous spectrum.
Based on reactions so far, San Diegans oppose the council's decision for more
than astronomical reasons. According to the City Manager's report on
streetlights prepared for the council, the HPS lights would consume more
energy and the acorn-style fixtures would illuminate the street only half as
well as the old cobrahead models. The report states that the new fixtures will
cost taxpayers $2.8 million to install, and add approximately $500,000 per
year in energy costs.
San Diego's officials have been debating streetlighting for the past two
decades. In 1982, Palomar astronomers convinced the city council to switch all
streetlights to the monochromatic LPS variety. That vote was overturned, then
reinstated the following year. In 1992 local merchants successfully lobbied
the council to switch to HPS in high-crime areas and in those needing
revitilization. The current mayor, Dick Murphy, argues that HPS lights will
allow better color rendition during crimes and will be more asthetically
pleasing. Etzel counters that the council is not really striving for
functionality. "They're taking this asthetics issue to justify their
decision." A June 28th editorial in the San Diego Union-Tribune concluded,
"The City Council committee's recommendation to switch the lights is a
decision in search of a reason."
Ironically, the International Lighting Commission will meet in San Diego in
2003, with the conference theme of "Light, Dark Skies, and Space." The city
council expects a final vote in mid-July.
A GROUNDBREAKING LIGHT-POLLUTION LAW
Connecticut has become the first state to require nearly all new and
replacement streetlights within its borders to have "full-cutoff" fixtures
that keep light from glaring sideways or up into the sky. The sweeping new law
applies not just to state-owned highways but to every road and street in
Connecticut's 169 cities and towns -- where roughly 98 percent of the state's
189,000 streetlights are located.
Roadway lighting is estimated to cause 35 to 50 percent of the artificial
skyglow that hangs over populated regions. As existing fixtures wear out they
will gradually be replaced with full-cutoff ones, a process that will take 15
or 20 years but was designed to cost essentially nothing. Full-cutoff
streetlights are now available at the same prices as older designs.
The law is intended to conserve electricity and to reduce visibility-hindering
sideways glare as well as to save the stars. It passed both houses of the
state legislature unanimously after six years of work by a few light-pollution
activists. "It was a perfect illustration of overcoming skepticism and lack of
awareness by educating, educating, educating," says Bob Crelin of Branford.
"Once you explain to people what this is about, they say, 'Oh yeah, of course,
that makes total sense.'"
Activist Cliff Haas of Rocky Hill adds, "The beauty of it is that we get the
glare out of the community. Any light that is eye-friendly will also be
sky-friendly." The text of the law, which could become a model for other
states, is available here. Four other states have passed pollution regulations
for lights that are state-owned, and action is pending in 11, but Connecticut
is the first to address the much larger issue of municipally owned lights in
one package at the state level.

COMET LINEAR NOW VISIBLE WORLDWIDE
After hiding out in the far-southern sky while at its brightest, Comet LINEAR
(2001 A2) is now visible before dawn to skywatchers everywhere. According to
many observers, LINEAR has been as bright as about magnitude 4.2 in the last
few days -- and dimly visible to the naked eye as a tailless fuzzball.
On Saturday morning, June 30th, Northern Hemisphere observers will find the
comet moderately well up in the southeastern sky before the first light of
dawn, in the constellation Cetus. Binoculars will help in locating the comet,
especially through light pollution. Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR for
0 hours Universal Time (in 2000.0 coordinates) for the coming week:
R.A. Dec.
June 30 0h 52m -6.7 deg.
July 2 0 29 -3.1
4 0 06 +0.4
6 23 44 +3.7
In the next 10 days the comet climbs much higher in the early morning sky,
crossing Pisces and entering Pegasus. By July 11th it is well up in the east
as early as midnight or 1 a.m. local daylight saving time and very high before
dawn -- though by this time it may have faded to roughly magnitude 5.0. It
remains in Pegasus for most of the rest of July as it fades into the distance,
possibly losing 1 magnitude every 10 days.

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.

JULY 1 -- SUNDAY
* The Moon, Antares, and bright Mars form a curving line in the southern sky
this evening. The fainter star below the Moon is Delta Scorpii.

JULY 2 -- MONDAY
* The Moon forms a triangle with bright orange Mars and fainter orange
Antares tonight.

JULY 3 -- TUESDAY
* The Moon, Mars, Antares, and Delta Scorpii are about equally spaced in a
curving line tonight, in that order from the brightest on the left to the
faintest on the right.
* Have you been keeping an eye on Delta Scorpii? It's the middle star in the
nearly vertical row of three (the "Head of Scorpius") to the upper right of
Antares. Delta, a hot blue star, has been unusually bright for most of the
last year. Compare it to Beta Scorpii just above it, magnitude 2.6, and
Antares, magnitude 1.1. Delta is currently about magnitude 1.7. It's the
brightest star in the huge range of sky between Antares and Spica.

JULY 4 -- WEDNESDAY
* Earth is at aphelion, its farthest from the Sun for the year -- 3.3
percent farther than at perihelion in January.

JULY 5 -- THURSDAY
* Full Moon (exact at 11:04 a.m. EDT).
* Partial eclipse of the Moon for the Far East, from 13:35 to 16:15
Universal Time. For full details see the July Sky & Telescope, page 103.

JULY 6 -- FRIDAY
* The Big Dipper is easy to spot hanging bowl-down high in the northwestern
sky after dark this month. To identify constellations all around your sky, use
the printable evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0107skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere skywatchers: use
the map at http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0107skys.html .)

JULY 7 -- SATURDAY
* The largest asteroid, 1 Ceres, is at opposition. With binoculars or a
small telescope, you can find it this week shining at magnitude 7.3 close to
the Sagittarius Teapot. Use the finder chart in the July Sky & Telescope, page
106, or at http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0107skyevents.shtml .

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is deep in the glow of sunrise, to the right of brighter Jupiter and
far to the lower left of Venus and Saturn.
VENUS (magnitude -4.2) blazes in the east before and during dawn.
MARS dominates the southeast after dark, shining brilliant orange at magnitude
-2.1. Located in southern Ophiuchus between Scorpius and Sagittarius, Mars
attains its highest altitude in the south by late evening. Now is the time to
observe it in a telescope! Mars appears 20 arcseconds in diameter, practically
the same as when it was at its very closest two weeks ago.
See the Mars observing guide and maps in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102. A
guide to finding Mars's tiny moons with a large amateur telescope is in the
June issue, page 102. Telescopic observers can download Mars Previewer (3
megs), which displays observing data and a customized map of Mars's apparent
disk for any date and time; go to
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html#mars .
JUPITER is deep in the glow of sunrise, far to the lower left of Venus and
Saturn.
SATURN glimmers to the lower left of brilliant Venus during dawn. Below Saturn
twinkles fainter orange Aldebaran.
URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in Capricornus in
the southeast to south during the early morning hours.
PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in south during evening, well above Mars.
Finder charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are in the April Sky & Telescope,
page 104, and at lower resolution at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the words
up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America.
Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 4 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the world's
astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential
magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy bookstore at
http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!
SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 * 617-864-7360
===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky
at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the astronomical
community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic
distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs are included. But the
text of the bulletin and calendar may not be published in any other form
without permission from Sky Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or
phone 617-864-7360). Updates of astronomical news, including active links to
related Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky at a Glance are available via electronic
mailing list. For a free subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and
put the word "join" on the first line of the body of the message. To
unsubscribe, send e-mail to unjoin@astromax.com and put the word "unjoin" on
the first line of the body of the message. If you should have any problems
either subscribing to or unsubscribing from the list, send a message to list
administrator John Wagoner at stargate@gte.net for assistance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more than
200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands worldwide. For
subscription information, or for a free copy of our catalog of fine astronomy
books and products, please contact Sky Publishing Corp., 49 Bay State Rd.,
Cambridge, MA 02138-1200, U.S.A. Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and Canada);
617-864-7360 (International). Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail: custserv@skypub.com.
WWW: http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
=========================================================== 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 488 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul  2, 2001 (17:43) * 21 lines
From the ever-vigilant Liam with thanks,

SCOPING OUT SOFIA

While many early Boeing aircraft are being quietly retired from service or
pensioned off to dubious airlines in Africa, engineers are ripping a giant
hole in the fuselage of one old Pan Am jet, giving it a second chance at useful
service. Besides the gaping orifice, the portly 747-SP passenger plane, which
first flew in 1977, is undergoing several other modifications of
astronomical proportions.
The belly of the ageing jumbo will be home to NASA's new
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Billed as
the largest airborne telescope ever built, SOFIA will be more powerful
than many ground-based telescopes and larger even than Hubble.
The instrument will allow astronomers to fondly gaze deep into
immense dust clouds and witness the birth of stars, observe galaxies
and quasars billions of light-years away, and study the very early
universe. (The reason for the infrared bit in SOFIA's catchy acronym
is because these interstellar dust clouds are often difficult if not impossible to see in visible light.)

more... http://www.beyond2000.com/news/Nov_00/story_862.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 489 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul  2, 2001 (17:50) * 24 lines
Mahalo to Liam again for this one - you have to see this picture!

EYE SITE

Covering the Australian landscape with thousands of Russian balls will be the
key to building the world's next 'mega telescope'. The first of many of those
balls; a satellite receiver that works like a giant eye, has just arrived in
Sydney. Testing this 'eyeball' will help Australia's CSIRO refine the
mathematics and software for designing its own spherical contributions for the future giant receiver.
The 1-m white sphere in question has basically the same function as
a satellite dish —collecting and concentrating radio waves. It's
actually a lens that focuses radio waves to a point, just as the lens in
your eyeball focuses light to a point on your retina. And more
importantly, just like your eye, the magic white ball can 'see' many
radio sources in the sky at once. That's a big contrast to conventional
radio telescopes or communications antennas.

The real name for this big white ball is a "Luneburg lens". The version
the CSIRO has in Sydney is a commercial one built in Russia.
Luneburgs are not readily available in western countries, but the
Aussie engineers realised they offered unique advantages for the
technically challenging mega-telescope.

more... http://www.beyond2000.com/news/Jun_01/story_1205.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 490 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul  5, 2001 (14:26) * 23 lines
From the Vigilant and most worthy Liam:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected?ac=005437911839182&rtmo=qKttKMx9&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/01/7/5/ecnnep05.html

Ice 'planet' is discovered near Neptune

By Robert Uhlig

AN icy object large enough to qualify as a planet has been
discovered orbiting the Sun in the far reaches of the solar
system between Neptune and Pluto.

At 788 miles across, 2001 KX76 is wider than the largest
known asteroid and many of the moons orbiting planets
such as Pluto. It is more than four billion miles from the sun.

Lawrence Wasserman, of the Lowell Observatory in
Arizona, said: "When we spotted it, we just wrote 'wow' on
the image. We knew right away it was a big one. What we
have seen may be only the tip of the iceberg."

Robert Millis, the observatory's director, said: "We have
every reason to believe that objects ranging up to planets as
large or larger than Pluto are out there waiting to be found."

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 491 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul  6, 2001 (16:05) * 74 lines
Today in Science/Astronomy:

* Giant Radio 'Eyeball' Readied for Mega-Telescope
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/radio_eyeball_010706.html

A Russian radio receiver that looks and works like a giant white eyeball could help astronomers search far back enough into the early Universe to see the first galaxies forming.

* Hubble Views Mars at its Closest to Earth
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/mars_hubble_010705.html

The powerful Hubble Space Telescope has snapped the best images of Mars ever taken from Earth. Sharp-eyed optics on the orbiting facility resolved features on the red planet as small as 10 miles (15 kilometers) across.

* New Image Gallery: Chandra's First Two Years
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory stunned scientists in its first two years of exploring deep space, revealing sights and cosmological insights few had even dared to anticipate.

-----------------------------------

Today in Missions/Launches:

* With Full Shuttle Launch Pads NASA Watches for Tropical Threats
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/shuttlecane_010706-1.html

A pair of winged spaceships now are perched on twin beachfront launch pads here at Kennedy Space Center, exposing half of NASA's $8 billion space shuttle fleet to potential catastrophe amid the annual Atlantic hurricane season.

* Voyager to Reach Distant Milestone Sooner Than You Think
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/heliosphere_shock_010706.html

Turn the water on slowly in your kitchen sink, and watch as a small rippling ring of water forms. That is how Voyager project scientist Ed Stone pictures the influence of our Sun on nearby space.

* Mars Odyssey Makes First Course Correction, Detects Gamma Ray Bursts
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/mars_odyssey_updates-1.html

The Mars Odyssey spacecraft fine-tuned its flight path for arrival at Mars in October as it performed its second trajectory correction maneuver on July 2.

------------------------------------

Today in Business/Industry:

* NASDA Schedules First H-2A Launch Date
http://www.space.com/spacenews/launchindustry/japan_070501.html

The government decided Wednesday that Japan's first H-2A rocket will be launched Aug. 25 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, officials with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) said.

------------------------------------

* SpaceTV:
http://www.space.com/spacetv/index.php3

* Space Age Gear:
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/space_gear-1.html

* SpaceWatch:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/index.html

* Uplink: Share your opinion!
http://uplink.space.com/index.html

-------------------------------------

SOLAR and SPACE WEATHER (July 6, 2001)

3-Day Solar Forecast
Solar activity is expected to low to very low.

3-Day Aurora Forecast
Earth's geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled through Sunday. .

Solar Data
The current sunspot number is 101, and the solar wind speed recently clocked in at 444 kilometers per second (990,960 mph). The solar wind density was 3.2 protons per cubic centimeter. (Speed and density values are snapshots in time and change during the day.)
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/space_weather.html

-------------------------------------

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 492 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul  7, 2001 (13:54) * 356 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JULY 6, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
Quantities limited! Our 16-inch scale model of Venus is the remainder
of a custom order for NASA. The globe, based on radar data from the
Magellan spacecraft, contains all the major landforms and is color
coded for elevation. Produced in collaboration with NASA and the U.S.
Geological Survey. Comes with a hand-made wooden base. To order the
16-inch Venus Globe for $119.95, call 800-253-0245 and ask for
product "Ven16." The item is not available from our online store.
===========================================================

HISTORIC TELESCOPE ARRIVES IN U.S.

One of the "crown jewels" of astronomy, the 20-foot telescope used by
William and John Herschel, has landed on American shores for the first
time. Having traveled by ship from the National Maritime Museum in
London, the 217-year-old telescope arrived at the Smithsonian
Institution's National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., on June
29th. There David H. DeVorkin, curator for the forthcoming "Explore
the Universe" exhibit, supervised a team of workmen who gingerly
maneuvered the legendary mahogany tube into its display stand.

With this telescope the elder Herschel discovered the Uranian moons
Titania and Oberon (1787) and Saturn's moons Mimas and Enceladus
(1789). John, his son, transported it to South Africa for his famous
1834-38 exploration of the southern sky and used it to discover more
than 9,000 nebulae, star clusters, and double stars. Also on loan is
the telescope's 18.7-inch mirror, one of four cast by the Herschels
for this telescope (made of speculum, a copper-tin alloy, the mirrors
tarnished easily and needed frequent repolishing).

For the exhibit DeVorkin has assembled an array of artifacts
representing 400 years of astronomical observations. Its five main
sections will showcase the exploration of the night sky with the naked
eye, telescopes, photography, spectroscopy, and digital detectors. The
exhibit opens to the public on September 21st.

ANOTHER GIANT IN THE KUIPER BELT?

Astronomers using the 4-meter Blanco reflector at Cerro Tololo
Inter-American Observatory (Chile) have found a remote object, located
near the Head of Scorpius, that seems to rival the main-belt asteroid
Ceres in size. Designated 2001 KX76, the discovery comes close on the
heels of a similar find made last November with the University of
Arizona's 0.9-meter Spacewatch telescope and since dubbed 20000
Varuna. Both objects, along with Pluto and its moon, Charon, are
denizens of the so-called Kuiper Belt and lie at the very fringe of
the known solar system, some 40 astronomical units out from the Sun.

"We believe that 2001 KX76 is likely to be larger than Varuna," says
Robert L. Millis (Lowell Observatory), leader of the NASA-funded Deep
Ecliptic Survey team that made the find in late May. But the actual
ranking must await a better determination of the new object's orbit
(hence current distance) and the reflectivity of its surface. Both
2001 KX76 and Varuna shine at visual magnitude 20, making them among
the brightest of more than 400 Kuiper Belt members discovered since
1992.

Pluto and Charon are much brighter, but they are currently nearer the
Sun (at 30.4 a.u.) and are known to have highly reflective,
frost-covered surfaces. Based on a combination of visible-light and
submillimeter thermal observations made in late 2000, David Jewitt
(University of Hawaii) and two colleagues determined that Varuna has a
dark surface, free of fresh ice, and is about 900 kilometers across
(40 percent as large as Pluto). If 2001 KX76 is also dark, it must be
large as well.

"2001 KX76 is so exciting because it demonstrates that significant
bodies remain to be discovered," says Millis. Only about half of the
40-odd Kuiper Belt candidates his team detected in May have been
followed up so far. "Our next opportunity to follow up the remaining
objects will be August, when we again have time at CTIO."

HUBBLE'S BEST OF MARS

Last month the planet Mars came 67 million kilometers (42 million
miles) from the Earth, its closest since 1988. Amateur astronomers
around the world capitalized on this proximity to peer at the red
planet, and so did the Hubble Space Telescope. The orbiting
observatory took several exposures on June 26th that were combined
into a color view, Hubble's best-ever picture of Mars. Released
Thursday as part of the Hubble Heritage Project, it reveals details as
small as 16 km across and displays dust storms -- two in the northern
hemisphere and one in the southern.

There's still plenty of time to see Mars on your own. It dominates the
southern sky after dark, shining brilliant orange at magnitude -2.0.
Fainter Antares, also orangish, is to its right. Although Earth is now
receding from Mars, the red planet is still 19 or 20 arcseconds in
diameter, nearly as large as when it was at its very closest three
weeks ago. For details about this apparition of Mars, see the
observing guide online
(http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/0105marsreturn.shtml ) or in
the May Sky & Telescope, page 102. A telescope may reveal hints of the
polar caps and dusky markings. A guide to finding Mars's tiny moons --
Phobos and Deimos -- with a large amateur telescope is in S&T's June
issue, page 102.

IDENTIFYING A NEARBY CANNIBAL

The Milky Way's nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31),
doesn't seem to play well with others. Recent findings show evidence
that it has collided with two other galaxies, M110 and M32, and in the
process, stripped the smaller two of stars.

Observations by Rodrigo Ibata and his colleagues (Strasbourg
Observatory), published in the July 5th issue of the journal Nature,
reveal a giant stream of metal-rich stars (having elements heavier
than helium) within the sparse outer halo of the Andromeda Galaxy.
Ibata believes the stars came from M110 and M32.

These results add to the growing picture of galaxy formation. It
appears that all large galaxies (the Milky Way included) grow from
mergers and interactions with smaller galaxies. Thus it isn't quite
fair to single out M31 as a cannibal. Our own galaxy has engulfed its
share of neighbors. One such victim is a dwarf galaxy Ibata and his
colleagues found in the constellation Sagittarius in 1994.

But even the Milky Way isn't safe from cannibalism. In about 3 billion
years, we will collide with M31, ultimately forming one, even larger
galaxy.

REVISED TITAN PLAN FOR CASSINI-HUYGENS

Last year must have been disturbing for engineers involved with the
Cassini-Huygens mission. That's when they discovered a glitch that
threatened Huygens's one-chance-only descent through the atmosphere of
Titan. Somehow they had failed to allow fully for Doppler shifts due
to the probe's velocity, meaning that Cassini's radio receiver would
not have enough bandwidth to receive all the precious data radioed to
it by Huygens. And since the spacecraft have been en route to Saturn
since 1997, no hardware fix was possible.

After studying the problem for six months, mission managers for NASA
and the European Space Agency yesterday unveiled a new strategy that
should salvage virtually all of the Huygens data. To reduce the
Doppler shift in the probe's transmission frequency, Cassini will fly
past Titan at a much greater distance -- 65,000 kilometers instead of
the previously planned 1,200. Adjustments to the communications system
are planned as well. Some uncertainties, such as picking the probe's
exact landing site, await resolution, but managers for both Cassini
and Huygens seem pleased with the outcome. As Jean-Pierre Lebreton,
ESA's Huygens project scientist, emphasizes, "What is important is
that we have found the solution. It is now time for fine-tuning."

One consequence of the new scheme is that Cassini's complicated
orbital tour must be revised. Now the spacecraft will make three close
passes by Titan, rather than two, in order to set up the new flyby
geometry. Huygens will now be released on December 25, 2004, and
plunge into Titan's atmosphere the following January 14th, seven weeks
later than planned.

TITAN'S WINDS MEASURED

Titan has teased astronomers for decades with its featureless,
pale-orange disk. Not only does the largest moon of Saturn have a
thick atmosphere, it rotates very slowly -- only once every 16 days.
Curious to know whether its atmosphere behaves similarly, observers
have now established the elusive wind's direction and speed.

A team of astronomers led by Theodor Kostiuk (NASA/Goddard Space
Flight Center) used an ultrasensitive spectrometer on Mauna Kea's
3-meter Infrared Telescope Facility to measure Doppler shifts in the
atmospheric spectrum. The observers found that Titan's stratosphere
sweeps along at roughly 210 meters per second (470 miles per hour),
though the actual velocity is still rather uncertain. Moreover, says
Kostiuk, "Our results are unique in that they retrieve the direction
of the wind," which is the same as Titan's rotation. The team's
results appear in the June 15th issue of Geophysical Research Letters.

These results agree with indirect measurements made 12 years ago, when
Titan occulted the star 28 Sagittarii. During that event astronomers
found that the atmosphere had a distended shape, which allowed them to
crudely estimate wind speed -- but not which way it blew.

Kostiuk believes there is still much to learn about Titan, whose
nitrogen-rich, oxygen-poor environment may resemble a frigid
primordial Earth. "I would expect winds to decrease at the lower
altitudes, but would not be surprised if they do not," he says. These
questions may be answered in just a few years, when the Cassini
mission reaches Saturn and drops its Huygens probe into Titan's murky
atmosphere. Kostiuk's data should help optimize the probe's scientific
return, since mission engineers will now know where to point Cassini's
receiving antenna as the probe drifts toward the surface.

COMET LINEAR HANGS IN THERE

After hiding out in the far-southern sky while at its brightest, Comet
LINEAR (2001 A2) is now visible before dawn to skywatchers everywhere.
According to many observers, LINEAR remains dimly visible to the naked
eye as a tailless fuzzball, somewhere between magnitude 4.5 and 5.5.
Binoculars will help in locating the comet. The comet continues to
climb higher in the early morning sky in the Northern Hemisphere,
crossing Pisces and entering Pegasus. By July 11th it is well up in
the east as early as midnight or 1 a.m. local daylight saving time and
very high before dawn. It's sinking lower for Southern Hemisphere
observers, but LINEAR is still well up, passing due north a few hours
before dawn. Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR for 0 hours
Universal Time (in 2000.0 coordinates) for the coming week:

R.A. Dec.

July 7 23h 34m +5.3 deg.
9 23 13 8.2
11 22 54 10.8
13 22 37 13.0


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JULY 8 -- SUNDAY

* Some doorstep astronomy: The Big Dipper hangs in the northwestern
sky after dark, with its bowl to the lower right and its handle to the
upper left. The curve of its handle points around left toward
Arcturus, the bright, pale yellow-orange star very high in the west.

To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0107skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0107skys.html .)

JULY 9 -- MONDAY

* Mercury reaches greatest elongation low in the dawn, 21 degrees
west of the Sun.

JULY 10 -- TUESDAY

* Have you been keeping an eye on Delta Scorpii? It's the middle
star in the nearly vertical row of three (the "head of Scorpius")
located to the upper right of Antares (which itself is to the right of
bright Mars in the evening). Delta, a hot blue star, has been having
an unusual outburst for the last year. Compare it to Beta Scorpii just
above it, magnitude 2.6, and Antares, magnitude 1.1. Delta is
currently about magnitude 1.7 instead of its usual 2.3, making it the
brightest star in the huge range of sky between Antares and Spica.

JULY 11 -- WEDNESDAY

* The largest asteroid, 1 Ceres, is just past opposition. With
binoculars or a small telescope, you can find it this week shining at
magnitude 7.4 just under the handle of the Sagittarius Teapot. Use the
finder chart in the July Sky & Telescope, page 106, or at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0107skyevents.shtml .

* This evening telescope users in Texas and southern Louisiana may
see the faint asteroid 702 Alauda occult (cover) an 8.7-magnitude star
in Sagittarius. The star may vanish for up to 14 seconds around 10:12
p.m. Central Daylight Time. See the finder chart in the July Sky &
Telescope, page 107, or at the bottom of
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0107skyevents.shtml .

JULY 12 -- THURSDAY

* Mercury is 2 degrees to the lower right of brighter Jupiter before
sunrise tomorrow. Look just above the east-northeast horizon (far to
the lower left of bright Venus and dimmer Saturn) about 50 minutes
before sunrise.

* Also at dawn tomorrow, Venus, Saturn, and Aldebaran form a nearly
equilateral triangle 4 degrees on a side. Moreover, binoculars will
show the 3.5-magnitude star Epsilon Tauri passing just 0.1 degree
south (lower right) of Venus.

JULY 13 -- FRIDAY

* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 2:45 p.m. EDT).

JULY 14 -- SATURDAY

* Before and during dawn tomorrow, Saturn appears just 3/4 degree to
the upper left of brilliant Venus. That's less than a finger's-breadth
held at arm's length. The two shine at magnitudes +0.2 and -4.1,
respectively, which means Venus is 50 times brighter than Saturn. Take
a look in a telescope. Despite their great brightness difference, both
planets appear 17 arcseconds in diameter.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is deep in the glow of sunrise, to the right of brighter
Jupiter early in the week and just below Jupiter late in the week.
Look for them just above the east-northeast horizon (far to the lower
left of Venus and Saturn) about 50 minutes before sunrise. Binoculars
help.

VENUS (magnitude -4.2) blazes in the east before and during dawn. It's
closing in on much fainter Saturn each day. Venus and Saturn are in
conjunction (closest) on the morning of July 15th, separated by just
3/4 degree. Below them or to their lower right is the fainter orange
star Aldebaran, making it a threesome.

MARS dominates the southern sky after dark, shining brilliant orange
at magnitude -2.0. Fainter orange Antares is to its right. Now is
still an extraordinary time to observe Mars in a telescope! It appears
19 or 20 arcseconds in diameter, nearly as large as when it was at its
very closest three weeks ago.

See the Mars observing guide and maps in the May Sky & Telescope, page
102. A guide to finding Mars's tiny moons with a large amateur
telescope is in the June issue, page 102. Telescopic observers can
download Mars Previewer (3 megs), which displays observing data and a
customized map of the planet's apparent disk for any date and time; go
to http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html#mars .

JUPITER is very low in the east-northeast as dawn brightens; see
Mercury above.

SATURN glimmers near brilliant Venus before and during dawn; see Venus
above.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the southeast to south during the early morning hours.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in south during evening, above
Mars. Finder charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are in the April
Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at lower resolution at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 493 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 12, 2001 (00:11) * 71 lines
Today in Science/Astronomy:

* Dust Storm Swallows Half of Mars
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/mars_dust_010710.html

A gigantic dust storm has enveloped about half of Mars, recent NASA spacecraft images show.

* Download New Hubble Wallpaper Images for your Desktop
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/downloads/wallpapers/

Back by popular demand, check out our new Hubble wallpaper images!

-----------------------------------

Today in Missions/Launches:

* Complete Coverage: STS-104 Atlantis Mission to Station Alpha
http://www.space.com/shuttlemissions/

Shuttle Atlantis and five astronauts are poised to blast off this week on a mission to deliver an airlock to the International Space Station, capping the first full phase of a $60 billion orbital construction project.

Check out our mission preview, live video, countdown clock and more!

* Station Construction to Resume With New Gateway to Space
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/sts104_airlock_010711-1.html

The $60 billion International Space Station construction project is scheduled to resume high above Earth this week as astronauts set out to equip the outpost with an orbital doorway that will double as a locker room for spacewalkers.

* X-38 'Lifeboat' Undergoes Sixth Flight Test
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/x38_test_010710.html

A NASA prototype for an astronaut "lifeboat" flew in its sixth free-flight Tuesday over California's Mojave Desert.

------------------------------------

Today in Business/Industry:

* House Adds Funds for Station Lifeboat
http://www.space.com/spacenews/spacepolicy/lifeboat_071010.html

A Republican-led House budget panel parted ways with the White House by adding $275 million to NASA’s 2002 spending plan to cover construction of a crew lifeboat for the international space station.

------------------------------------

* SpaceTV:
http://www.space.com/spacetv/index.php3

* Space Age Gear:
http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/space_gear-1.html

* SpaceWatch:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/index.html

* Uplink: Share your opinion!
http://uplink.space.com/index.html

-------------------------------------

SOLAR and SPACE WEATHER (July 11, 2001)

3-Day Solar Forecast
Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels.

3-Day Aurora Forecast
Earth's geomagnetic field activity is expected to remain at predominantly quiet to unsettled levels for the next three days.

Solar Data
The current sunspot number is 116, and the solar wind speed recently clocked in at 352 kilometers per second (787,399 mph).
The solar wind density was 2.0 protons per cubic centimeter. (Speed and density values are snapshots in time and change during the day.)
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/space_weather.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 494 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 13, 2001 (16:22) * 45 lines
Propagation Report 13 July 2001

Solar flux and sunspot numbers declined again this week. Average
sunspot numbers were down by nearly 21 points and average solar flux
was off by over 10 points. There were no big geomagnetic upsets this
week.

The most active day was Sunday, when the planetary A index was 16,
and the K index went to 4 toward the end of the UTC day. There were
reports of interesting VHF Sporadic E skip on Sunday. AJ4JF in
Knoxville, Tennessee was tuning the FM broadcast band in his car and
around mid-day heard eight stations in Texas, one from New Mexico,
three from Colorado and one from Kansas. Many of them were very
clear and full-quieting.

WA5IYX wrote that he runs a web site that takes reports such as this
at http://dxworld.com/tvfmlog.html and for 2-meter hams offers
http://dxworld.com/144prop.html.

June 30 was the end of another quarter, so here are some quarterly
averages of the sunspot and solar flux numbers reported in this
bulletin. This starts with the first quarter of 1999 and ends with
the second quarter of 2001. Average daily sunspot numbers were 96.1,
147.2, 137.9, 163.1, 168.9, 190.8, 187.4, 145, 147.3 and 164.8.
Average daily solar flux was 136.7, 145, 157.6, 175.2, 180.5, 182.9,
181.9, 173.3, 164.4 and 166.7. It appears that sunspot numbers
peaked in the second quarter of 2000, and solar flux had a broader
peak throughout the first nine months of last year. Both indices got
a boost in the second quarter of this year.

The latest forecasts look fairly good for the IARU HF World
Championship this weekend. There was an eruption on the sun on
Thursday morning, but it was aimed away from earth, and the
geomagnetic outlook for the next week looks stable. Solar flux
forecast for the next few days, Friday through Monday, is 135, 140,
140 and 145. Recent forecasts had flux values peaking near 200, but
there are no substantial new sunspots visible via helioseismic
holography on the sun's far side. Current forecasts place the short
term peak near 170 around July 20-22.

Sunspot numbers for July 5 through 11 were 101, 68, 77, 101, 109,
116 and 115 with a mean of 98.1. 10.7 cm flux was 119.6, 116.4,
117.8, 126.3, 130, 130 and 131.9, with a mean of 124.6, and
estimated planetary A indices were 13, 10, 7, 16, 11, 11 and 9 with
a mean of 11.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 495 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 13, 2001 (18:02) * 8 lines
I have noted that all of my old photos have disappeared off this and all other topics with the move Terry made to the new server - again! Alas I can find only this one total lunar eclipse photo taken by my son:


Total Lunar Eclipse
Fairfield, California
August 6, 1999
© David Little, 2001


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 496 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sat, Jul 14, 2001 (09:37) * 74 lines
STELLAR APOCALYPSE YIELDS FIRST EVIDENCE
OF WATER-BEARING WORLDS BEYOND OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

As an alien sun blazes through its death throes, it is apparently
vaporizing a surrounding swarm of comets, releasing a huge cloud of
water vapor. The discovery, reported in an article to be published
tomorrow in the journal Nature, is the result of observations with the
Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS), a small radio observatory
NASA launched into space in December 1998.

The new SWAS observations provide the first evidence that extra-solar
planetary systems contain water, a molecule that is an essential
ingredient for known forms of life. "Over the past two years, SWAS has
detected water vapor from a wide variety of astronomical sources," said
Dr. Gary Melnick of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,
Cambridge, MA, Principal Investigator on the SWAS mission. "What makes
the results we are reporting today so unusual is that we have found a
cloud of water vapor around a star where we would not ordinarily have
expected to find water."

The star in question is an aging giant star designated by astronomers as
IRC+10216, also known as CW Leonis, located 500 light-years (almost
3,000 trillion miles) from Earth in the direction of the constellation
Leo.

"IRC+10216 is a carbon-rich star in which the concentration of carbon
exceeds that of oxygen," Melnick said. "In such stars, we expect all the
oxygen atoms to be bound up in the form of carbon monoxide (an oxygen
atom and a carbon atom bound together), with almost nothing left over to
form water (one oxygen atom bound to two hydrogen atoms). Yet we see
substantial concentrations of water vapor around this star; the most
plausible explanation for this water vapor is that it is being vaporized
from the surfaces of orbiting comets, 'dirty snowballs' that are
composed primarily of water ice."

From its vantage point in orbit above the absorbing effects of water in
Earth's atmosphere, SWAS is capable of detecting the distinctive
radiation emitted by water vapor in space. The observations of water
vapor around IRC+10216 suggest that other stars may be surrounded by
planetary systems similar to our own. Over the past decade, more than 50
stars have been shown to have large planets in orbit around them, but
little is known about the composition of those planets.

In order to explain the water vapor concentration that SWAS has
detected, several hundred billion comets would be needed at distances
from the star between 75 and 300 times the distance of the Earth from
the Sun.

"That sounds like a lot," said Saavik Ford, a graduate student at Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore who is a co-author of the article
reporting the discovery. "But the total mass required of this swarm of
orbiting comets is similar to the original mass of the Kuiper Belt, a
collection of comets that orbits our own Sun beyond the orbit of
Neptune. In our own solar system, these comets orbit the Sun quietly for
the most part; occasionally a comet comes in close to the Sun, starts to
vaporize, and displays the characteristic coma and tail that we are
familiar with. But IRC+10216 is so much more luminous than the Sun that
comets start to vaporize even at the distance of the Kuiper Belt. So one
has several hundred billion comets all vaporizing at once."

The SWAS observations of IRC+10216 paint a picture of the future of our
solar system. "We think we are witnessing the type of apocalypse that
will ultimately befall our own planetary system," said SWAS team member
Dr. David Neufeld, a Johns Hopkins professor of physics and astronomy.
"Several billion years from now, the Sun will become a giant star and
its power output will increase five thousand fold. As the luminosity of
the Sun increases, a wave of water vaporization will spread outwards
through the solar system, starting with Earth's oceans and extending
well beyond the orbit of Neptune. Icy bodies as large as Pluto will be
mostly vaporized, leaving a cinder of hot rock."

Images and additional information on SWAS can be found on the Internet
at:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/oir/Research/swas.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 497 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sat, Jul 14, 2001 (11:31) * 1 lines
marcia, i looked for the shuttle thing but didn't see anything (and i forgot to get up at 4 am).....

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 498 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Sun, Jul 15, 2001 (03:30) * 12 lines
Hi all

Astronomy is relatively new to me. I am having a block of lectures at the moment in Geology where we are learning about planetary geology to understand Earth geology. It was these lectures plus a brilliant suite of music written by a British composer (Marcia knows the one),Gustav Holst.
I like some of the names Maria for sea, Terrae for highlands, and so on.
Recently I saw that fantastic vision by someone of what the world will be like in a "few" billion years in TIME. MUST READ.
Here is something you might find staggering in the least. Every second the sun converts 596 million tonnes of Hydrogen to 532 million tonnes of Helium. I worked out how much that would be in an hour and the figure is so huge I am not sure how to write it here. Marcia, remember I said something to you about the heat energy generated by a Supernova??
Another thing, what are you opinions of Kant's and Laplace's theories? I don't know enough but may comment later. Two people named Jeffries and Jeans(??) came up with a theory or theories in 1917. I cannot remember enough about them to comment unfortunately.

Last year when I did GEOL 112 (the subject in which this is being taught), I had just started university and was disadvantaged by not knowing much of what had been taught in GEOL 111 (subject I just finished - so this is where I get to make amends).
How many people here ASIDE from Marcia (not being discriminatory), have heard the Planets Suite? I consider it to be a must hear for all lovers of classical music and as I type this I am listening to the first movement (MARS - BRINGER OF WAR)lurching ever closer to it's dramatic and violent close - brilliantly terrifying.

Rob

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 499 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sun, Jul 15, 2001 (16:21) * 1 lines
hi Rob, i'm here a lot but mostly lurk! marcia is teaching me the names of some stars!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 500 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (02:17) * 8 lines
Hi

Hello Wolfie, how is it that you come to be interested in planetary geology??
Is it just that it is one of Marcia's interests and her pull power has lured you to Geo? Marcia and I are good friends on Yahoo and she is the co-founder of the club World Volcanism. I invite you to join it if you are interested, as it is a neat club and we are very up to date on volcanic activity worldwide.
Where do you live, (country, and if US also the state)??
What are you doing for a job?

Rob 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 501 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (14:20) * 3 lines
*HUGS* to both Rob and Wolfie (much different ones, of course). I use every enticement to lure the curious into loving astronomy. There is so much great stuff out there - even active volcanoes, Rob! Holst is very definitely inspirational music by which to study astronomy. Rob, I post astronomy updates and goodies to see in space and what is happening there. You sould be south far enough to have seem Aurora Australis. Can you tell us something of what you have seen? I have yet to add Linear to my 13 comets. *sigh* The weather refuses to cooperate!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 502 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (14:21) * 11 lines
From Liam the amazing:

Astronomers Find Link between Earliest Illustration of Sunspots in Medieval Britain and an Observation of Aurora in Medieval Korea

Scientists at the University of Warwick and the University of Durham have linked the very first historical illustration of sunspots, recorded in Medieval England in 1182, with the appearance of the aurora borealis 5 days later in Korea.

Professor F. Richard Stephenson, Department of Physics, University of Durham, was the first astronomer to discuss the earliest known drawing of sunspots, which appears in The Chronicle of John of Worcester and predates the invention of the telescope by almost 500 years. This medieval chronicle, which covers the historical period from earliest times to AD 1140, contains a number of records of celestial phenomena. These include aurorae, comets and meteor showers, as well as eclipses of the Sun and Moon. One of the most interesting of these reports is a description of two sunspots that were seen on 8 December in AD 1128 from Worcester in England. In the manuscript that contains this account, the Latin text is accompanied by a colourful drawing that shows two large sunspots on the face of the Sun. This drawing appears to be the earliest known illustration of sunspots. Sunspots were recorded in China more than 1000 years beforehand but no Chinese drawing depicting discrete solar spots exists until about AD 1400,
and no subsequent illustration of sunspots survives until after the invention of the telescope, almost 200 years later.

Dr David M. Willis, Space and Astrophysics Group, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, noted that the scientific importance of this observation of two sunspots on 8 December in AD 1128 is increased by an observation of the aurora borealis (northern lights) recorded in Korea only five days after the sunspots, on 13 December. This observation of a red light in the night-time sky from Songdo (the modern city of Kaesong) was recorded in the Koryo-sa, the official Korean chronicle of the time. A delay of five days is typical of the average time delay between the occurrence of a large sunspot group near the centre of the Sun's face and the subsequent appearance of the aurora borealis in the night sky at relatively low latitudes. Observations of this type help scientists to understand how solar activity has changed during historical time. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 503 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (14:23) * 1 lines
ROB!!! I got it messed up! I post in Geo 34 the news and extraterrestrial events which you might find interesting. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 504 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (17:23) * 4 lines
Rob, Marcia and I go way back (in fact, to right before geo was born) Am in Louisiana and administer contracts for a living.

The stars have always intrigued me so naturally, i began asking for names.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 505 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (18:44) * 1 lines
Rob, you get here and I will teach you astronomy from world class sites on Mauna Kea or a place less busy and with a lot more oxygen. I know you can see the Magellanic Clouds, and for that I am jealous. We can see them from here too, certain times of the year, but I have never had anyone who wanted to see them with me. There is much wonderful up there and I would be delighted to share it!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 506 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (21:40) * 5 lines
Oooh, Do I remember the Supernova? I recall we agreed there was nothing weak about the energy created by one such event.

I happen to have inherited my dad's gift book to his father "Through Time and Space" by Sir James Jeans (of the Jeans Laplace theory(ies).) Now I am going to have to do some serious studying on them since you brought them up along wiht Emmanuel Kant and a few others. I seem to have forgotten more than I learned about them at the time, but shall work to remedy that. Oh, and I spent an evening with Sir Fred Hoyle.

(Wolfie, I don't know *everybody* as you implied to me once, but I have met more than my share of interesting people - including the faithful of Geo for whom I have the greatest affection.)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 507 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (21:44) * 1 lines
Jeffries was here also from teh UK - he was the first head of the Mauna Kea Astronomincal telescope in joint effort with the University of Hawaii. (Yes, I met him too...) Perhaps another Jeffries? I better get reading instead of guessing

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 508 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 17, 2001 (18:31) * 18 lines
**********************************
Occultation of Venus Tonight
**********************************

Off-topic heads up that today the moon (a waning crescent) will
occult Venus as seen from the continental U.S., Hawaii, northern
Mexico, Cuba, the Caribbean, and the most populated regions of
Canada. This a daytime occultation, so binoculars or a telescope
will afford the best view, though in clear blue skies both the moon
and Venus can be seen naked eye.

For the Los Angeles area, the occultation begins around 10:17am PDT
and ends at 11:50am. For Washington, D.C., it starts at 2:30pm EDT
and ends at 3:36pm. See the July issue of Sky & Telescope, pp.
100-102 for a map and a table of times for various major cities.
Or you can run SkyMap for your specific location, and play with the
map time to see when Venus disappears and reappears from behind
the moon.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 509 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Thu, Jul 19, 2001 (03:31) * 7 lines
Hi all

You know, Marcia, if I did not have any university work to do and lived in Hawaii, I would be glad to climb in a 4WD vehicle and go to the Mauna Kea observatory with you. I can get some basaltic lava to add to my collection while we are there.

The moons of the ice planets rock!!!! Mimas (one of Saturns moons)looks like the Death Star from Star Wars and I would be convinced of it if the moon was 120 km across and have a trench running around it. I love the huge impact structure. Io and it's volcanoes are a cryovolcanologists dream (I especially love the 300km flares when one lights up). Callisto looks like a golf ball that has had the craters (what do you call the indents on the golf ball?)highlighted by a black rim. Another moon(one of the Uranusian moons)looks like a mess, where an impact has shattered the planet whose fragments somehow cemented themselves back together? What is that one?

Rob

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 510 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Jul 19, 2001 (09:06) * 1 lines
Which is the moon that say might sustain a bit of life?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 511 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 19, 2001 (15:09) * 3 lines
Terry, Europa, one of Jupiter's moons is the one of which you were thinking.

Yes! Rob, I'll have a thick downy throw to lie in and on and a flask of hot whatever you'd like. Of course, the best option is a small cinder cones which we could do quantrants by just rolling over a bit. Oh my, my mind has just taken flight! Actually, you don't need a 4WD vehicle to get to the top - it is paved all the way up. setting off on our own short of the summit might be wise to have such, however. I have an All-wheel drive Forster in the garage. Might that do?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 512 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 19, 2001 (15:26) * 1 lines
Death Star? You are right!!! I think after a bashing like it took, a trenh around it would not be so far-fetched. I rather fancy the one made of molten sulfur which erupts and drools due to lack of atmposphere and pressure. Each one is so special and so unique that I cannot even imagine what the next one will be like. Each is unique and amazing to me. And, to think some people are bored with life. They need to open their eyes!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 513 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 19, 2001 (17:14) * 31 lines
from the unstooable Liam..long may he reign

Star Clusters Born in the Wreckage of Cosmic
Collisions

In the beginning of the 1946 holiday film classic "It's a Wonderful Life," angelic figures take on
the form of a famous group of compact galaxies known as Stephan's Quintet. In reality, these
galaxies aren't so heavenly. Pictures from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show that
Stephan's Quintet has been doing some devilish things. At least two of the galaxies have been
involved in high-speed, hit-and-run accidents, which have ripped stars and gas from
neighboring galaxies and tossed them into space.

But the galactic carnage also has spawned new life. Arising from the wreckage are more than
100 star clusters and several dwarf galaxies. The young clusters, each harboring up to millions
of stars, are shown clearly for the first time in pictures taken by Hubble's Wide Field and
Planetary Camera 2. Many of the clusters were born in the gaseous rubble between galaxies,
far away from cozy galactic homes. Some were spawned several million years after an
encounter. The clusters formed from the gravitational interactions between some members of
the quintet, which compressed clouds of hydrogen gas and created stars.

Studying the star clusters and dwarf galaxies in Stephan's Quintet provides insights into how
galactic encounters may have driven galaxy evolution in the early universe. The quintet resides
270 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus.

"The importance and perhaps uniqueness of Stephan's Quintet is that it may be a local example
of phenomena typical of the early universe when encounters were much more common," says
astronomer Sarah Gallagher of Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA. "We may
be able to look between the galaxies in other compact groups for the counterparts of the young
clusters we see in the quintet as relics of similar events."

More... http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/2001/22/pr.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 514 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 19, 2001 (21:49) * 15 lines
* Tiny black hole lurks in neighbouring galaxy: (19
Jul)
The first galaxy without a super-massive black hole at
its centre has been found by astronomers. If there is any
sort black hole in the nearby galaxy M33 - which is about
3 million light years away - it must be thousands of
times less massive than the black holes in other
galaxies, according to the study by David Merritt and
colleagues at Rutgers University. The discovery is likely
to shape new theories of the evolution of black holes and
their host galaxies (D Merritt et al 2001
Science to appear).
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/7/14 ]
----------------------------------------------------------


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 515 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Fri, Jul 20, 2001 (04:23) * 10 lines
Hi

I think the most colourful part of the planets are their moons - they rock!!!
Whatever activity on the Moon was in progress, ended 3.1 billion years ago (age of the YOUNGEST rock - geez we are so insignificant). There was a period of intense meteor bombardment and it seemed to stop about the same time having gone on for about 700 million years.
What do you think about the vast amount of hydrogen the sun converts to helium??
It is immense - and I still don't know how to write such a huge number as the one that the calculator came up with when I worked out how is converted every hour and every day - don't ask.

Rob



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 516 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 20, 2001 (15:44) * 3 lines
Don't ask means I have to go hunt it up and so I shall. I guarded a moon rock once for a few days. I got to stand next to it in its glass case and examine it closely. Even the little walnut-sized sample we had was covered in little teeny impact craters. Each one had raised rims and glassy surfaces in the impact pits. Exactly like the big ones. Moons are amazing, and you want to feel magnificently insignificant? Join me on that high cinder cone to watch the world rotate in a vast universe.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 517 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 20, 2001 (15:52) * 115 lines
That fusion furnace we all the Sun (or closest star!) is stunning in its numbers as you will see. I have not been able to pin down an amount of He created from Hydrogen, but I am sure someone can put it down with some smaller number^ whatever factoring number. Alas, I am mathematically challenged...

ge At least 4.5 billion years,
in present state.

Distance:

Mean distance from Earth 1.5 X 10^8 km
Variation in distance
through the year +/- 1.5 percent


Diameter 1.39 X 10^6 km (or 109
times the diameter of the
Earth and 9.75 times the
diameter of Jupiter.


Volume 1.41 X 10^33 cm^3 (or
1.3 million times the
volume of the Earth


Mass 1.99 X 10^30 kg (or 333,000
times the weight of the
Earth


Magnetic Field Strengths:
(typical)

Sunspots 3000 G
Polar Field 1 G
Bright, chromospheric 25 G
network
Emphemeral (unipolar) 20 G
active regions
Chromospheric 200 G
plages
Prominences 10 to 100 G

Earth 0.7 G at pole

Chemical composition of
photosphere (by weight,
in percent):

Hydrogen 73.46
Helium 24.85
Oxygen 0.77
Carbon 0.29
Iron 0.16
Neon 0.12
Nitrogen 0.09
Silicon 0.07
Magnesium 0.05
Sulfur 0.10


Density (water=1):

Mean density of entire 1.41 g/cm^3
Sun
Interior (center of the 160 g/cm^3
Sun)
Surface (photosphere) 10^{-9} g/cm^3
Chromosphere 10^{-12} g/cm^3
Low corona 10^{-16} g/cm^3

Sea level atmosphere 10^{-3} g/cm^3
of Earth


Solar radiation:

Entire Sun 3.83 X 10^23 kW
Unit area of surface 6.29 X 10^4 kW/m^2
of Sun

Received at top of 0.136 W/cm^2
Earth's atmosphere


Surface brightness of the
Sun (photosphere):

Compared to full Moon 398,000 times
Compared to inner corona 300,000 times
Compared to outer corona 10^10 times
Compared to daytime 100,000 times
sky on Pikes Peak
Compared to daytime 1000 times
sky at Orange, NJ


Temperature:

Interior (center) 15,000,000 K
Surface (effective) 5800 K
of Sun
Sunspot umbra (typical) 4240 K
Penumbra (typical) 5680 K
Chromosphere 4300 to 50,000 K
Corona 800,000 to 3,000,000 K


Rotation (as seen from the
Earth:

Of solar equator 26.8 days
At solar latitude 30 deg 28.2 days
At solar latitude 60 deg 30.8 days
At solar latitude 75 deg 31.8 days

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 518 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 20, 2001 (15:54) * 4 lines
And, for those who have forgotten to bookmark the other one, here is the updating solar image from NOAA:




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 519 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 20, 2001 (15:57) * 25 lines
From Liam from one of his Stealth sources:

Cluster - the best is yet to come!

One year after the launch of the first pair of satellites from Kazakhstan and the European Space Agency's Cluster mission is providing fascinating information about the effects of the Sun on near-Earth Space. British scientists, funded through the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), built and operate three of the eleven instruments on board each spacecraft and are also involved in handling the huge amounts of data that the mission is generating.

By flying in a close, tetrahedral (lop-sided pyramid) formation, the four spacecraft have provided scientists with their first small-scale, three-dimensional views of near-Earth space.
"Cluster's new three dimensional 'picture' of the magnetosphere is rather like looking at photos of an old familiar scene, but instead of the dull black-and-white pictures, we now have the same view in brilliant colours," said Professor André Balogh of Imperial College, London, Principal Investigator for the Fluxgate Magnetometer (FGM) experiment on Cluster.
Cluster has provided the first confirmation of waves along the magnetopause - the outer limit of Earth's magnetic field, which until now have only existed in computer simulations. Dr Hugo Alleyne, Principal Investigator for Digital Wave Processor (DWP) at the University of Sheffield explains further:-
"The Cluster spacecraft have surfed these waves and confirmed their existence. The speed of the waves has been estimated at around 70 km/s - equivalent to travelling from London to Paris in 4 1/2 seconds. We are able to tell which particles are catching a ride on the waves and are accelerated to speeds near that of light and which are left behind."

Closer to Earth, the flotilla of spacecraft have flown through the plasmasphere - a doughnut-shaped region of dense plasma, mostly electrons and protons, that lies between the Earth's two magnetic poles. By flying in formation through the narrow part of the doughnut, Cluster has provided the best data yet on its complex ingredients of particles, electric and magnetic fields.
Although Cluster has only been fully operational for five months a huge amount of new information about the Sun-Earth connection has been gathered. More than 200 scientists from around the world are currently analysing this amazing resource of data.
There have been over a quarter of a million hits on the web site hosted by the UK Co-ordinated Data Handling Facility for Cluster from 35 countries. The facility, which is a joint undertaking by Queen Mary, University of London and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory has run smoothly since the mission began
Dr Chris Perry, Project Manager for the Cluster Data Handling Facility adds: -
" Over 6000 million "bytes" of data have been requested - this is equivalent to approximately 1.5 million printed pages. The requests have come from a variety of users including scientists requiring high quality detailed data from all four spacecraft and the wider public access to mission information and summary data graphics."

Summing up the year Cluster Project Scientist from ESA, Philippe Escoubet said:

"It has been a very challenging, but satisfying year. Cluster is a completely new type of scientific mission, so it took us a while to find out how to get the best out of the satellites and their suite of instruments. Now we are receiving exciting new information about the magnetosphere and making new discoveries all the time."
The latest chapter in Cluster's exciting exploration began in June, when ESA's intrepid flotilla began to explore the elongated magnetotail which stretches far beyond the Moon. During the next few months, Cluster will cast new light on this region where storms of high energy particles are generated.
When these particles arrive at the Earth, they can cause intense auroras on the nightside of the Earth. A less attractive consequence is their ability to cause power cuts, damage satellites and disrupt communications.
"Cluster will provide us with a mass of new information about what takes place inside this magnetic 'power station' and help us to find out what generates such surges of energetic particles," said Dr. Escoubet.
"As we pass Cluster's first launch anniversary, we are all looking forward to even more exciting results in the months ahead," he added. "The best is yet to come." 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 520 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 20, 2001 (16:07) * 36 lines
Another contribution from Stealth Liam

Chandra Detects Halo Of Hot Gas Around Milky Way-Like Galaxy
The first unambiguous evidence for a giant halo of hot gas around a nearby, spiral galaxy much like our own Milky Way was found by astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This discovery may lead to a better understanding of our own galaxy, as well the structure and evolution of galaxies in general.

A team of astronomers, led by Professor Daniel Wang of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, observed NGC 4631, a spiral galaxy approximately 25 million light years from Earth with both Chandra and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

While previous X-ray satellites have detected extended X-ray emission from this and other spiral galaxies, because of Chandra's exceptional resolution this is the first time that astronomers were able to separate the individual X-ray sources from the diffuse halo. Chandra found the diffuse halo of X-ray gas to be radiating at a temperature of almost 3 million degrees.

"Scientists have debated for over 40 years whether the Milky Way has an extended corona, or halo, of hot gas," said Wang, lead author of the paper which appeared this month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. "Of course since we are within the Milky Way, we can't get outside and take a picture. However, by studying similar galaxies like NGC 4631, we can get an idea of what's going on within our own galaxy."

The Chandra image reveals a halo of hot gas that extends for approximately 25,000 light years above the disk of the galaxy. One important feature of the X-ray emission from NGC 4631 is that it closely resembles the overall size and shape seen in the radio emission from the galaxy. This indicates that there may be a close connection between the outflows of hot gas, seen in X-rays, and the galaxy's magnetic field, revealed by radio emission.

The Hubble image of NGC 4631 shows filamentary, loop-like structures enclosing enhanced X-ray-emitting gas and emanating from regions of recent star formation in the galaxy's disk. These data clearly show the hot gas is heated by clusters of massive stars and is now expanding into the halo of the galaxy.

"What we see in NGC 4631 can be thought of as the bursting flames of a gigantic cosmic camp fire," said Wang. "Using Chandra and Hubble together, we really get a complete story of what is happening in this galaxy."

NGC 4631 is a galaxy that has high amounts of star formation, possibly triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxies. Such star formation might have created the conditions necessary to heat the gas seen by Chandra, as vast amounts of energy are released from supernovae and massive stars in star-forming regions - enough to lift the gas out of the plane of the galaxy.

These new results provide important clues about the cycling of energy and mass in a galaxy like our own Milky Way and about the evolutionary history of galaxies, which are thought to be more active in star formation in the past than at the present.

Chandra Detects Halo Of Hot Gas Around Milky Way-Like Galaxy

The first unambiguous evidence for a giant halo of hot gas around a nearby, spiral galaxy much like our own Milky Way was found by astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This discovery may lead to a better understanding of our own galaxy, as well the structure and evolution of galaxies in general.
A team of astronomers, led by Professor Daniel Wang of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, observed NGC 4631, a spiral galaxy approximately 25 million light years from Earth with both Chandra and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

While previous X-ray satellites have detected extended X-ray emission from this and other spiral galaxies, because of Chandra's exceptional resolution this is the first time that astronomers were able to separate the individual X-ray sources from the diffuse halo. Chandra found the diffuse halo of X-ray gas to be radiating at a temperature of almost 3 million degrees.
"Scientists have debated for over 40 years whether the Milky Way has an extended corona, or halo, of hot gas," said Wang, lead author of the paper which appeared this month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. "Of course since we are within the Milky Way, we can't get outside and take a picture. However, by studying similar galaxies like NGC 4631, we can get an idea of what's going on within our own galaxy."
The Chandra image reveals a halo of hot gas that extends for approximately 25,000 light years above the disk of the galaxy. One important feature of the X-ray emission from NGC 4631 is that it closely resembles the overall size and shape seen in the radio emission from the galaxy. This indicates that there may be a close connection between the outflows of hot gas, seen in X-rays, and the galaxy's magnetic field, revealed by radio emission.

The Hubble image of NGC 4631 shows filamentary, loop-like structures enclosing enhanced X-ray-emitting gas and emanating from regions of recent star formation in the galaxy's disk. These data clearly show the hot gas is heated by clusters of massive stars and is now expanding into the halo of the galaxy.
"What we see in NGC 4631 can be thought of as the bursting flames of a gigantic cosmic camp fire," said Wang. "Using Chandra and Hubble together, we really get a complete story of what is happening in this galaxy."

NGC 4631 is a galaxy that has high amounts of star formation, possibly triggered by interaction with neighboring galaxies. Such star formation might have created the conditions necessary to heat the gas seen by Chandra, as vast amounts of energy are released from supernovae and massive stars in star-forming regions - enough to lift the gas out of the plane of the galaxy.
These new results provide important clues about the cycling of energy and mass in a galaxy like our own Milky Way and about the evolutionary history of galaxies, which are thought to be more active in star formation in the past than at the present. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 521 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 20, 2001 (16:10) * 25 lines
Today in Science/Astronomy:

* Rethinking Viking: The Life on Mars Debate Rages On
http://www.space.com/news/spacehistory/rethinking_viking_010720-1.html
In a quest to detect Martian life 25 years ago, the U.S. Viking 1 Lander plopped down, peeked about and poked the ground

* New Image Gallery: Viking -- Triumph at Mars
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/
July 20, 2001 marks the 25th anniversary of the Viking 1 landing. The entire mission provided the first high-resolution view of Mars and searched for evidence of life.

* Black Holes: Most Galaxies May Not Have One
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/no_blackhole_010719.html
A popular perception has grown in recent years that supermassive black holes, those containing as much material as millions or even billions of stars, reside at the cores of most or possibly even all galaxies.

-----------------------------------

Today in Missions/Launches:

* First Spacewalk from Quest Airlock on Tap Early Saturday
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/sts104_am_010720-1.html
Spacewalking astronauts will christen the International Space Station's new doorway to orbit early Saturday, opening up a new stage for a $60 billion construction project that involves 16 nations on four continents.

* Helios Wing to Shoot for High-Altitude Test in August
http://www.space.com/news/helios_high_010720.html
NASA's $15 million solar-powered Helios wing is scheduled to break a world altitude record for propeller-driven aircraft on August 8.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 522 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul 22, 2001 (00:15) * 172 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JULY 20, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
The S&T Store has deep discounts annual almanacs:

* Observer's Handbook 2001 -- Sale Price $10
http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=H2001

* The Astronomical Almanac for the Year 2001 -- Sale Price $27
http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=astral01

Visit the links to order, or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

A YOUNG GLOBULAR CLUSTER

The globular star clusters of the Milky Way are all very old, but an
unusual young one inhabits the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the Milky
Way's dwarf neighbor galaxy. NGC 1850 is the LMC's brightest star
cluster, glowing at 9th magnitude. Astronomers have long wanted to
study it in depth, but its closely packed stars are hard to resolve
individually at a distance of some 160,000 light-years.

Enter the Hubble Space Telescope. Martino Romaniello (European
Southern Observatory) and three colleagues obtained a five-color image
using Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. It resolves stars right
through the cluster's core.

NGC 1850 swarms with hot, bright blue stars and much dimmer, reddish T
Tauri stars that only recently condensed from interstellar gas. The
cluster is estimated to be 50 million years old. The image also
includes a much smaller cluster aged only 4 million years, and
captures filigreed wisps of hydrogen similar to the Veil Nebula
supernova remnant in the Milky Way. These wisps are probably blast
waves from one or more supernovae that exploded within the cluster
millions of years ago.

VENUS OCCULTATION IS A HIT

It wasn't just solar observers who took an interest in the daytime sky
on July 17. During a midday event visible in binoculars and small
telescopes, the waning crescent Moon passed in front of brilliant
Venus. Observers in southern Canada, northern Mexico, and all of the
United States except Alaska witnessed both the disappearance and
reappearance of the planet in this unusually favorable occultation.
For images, see the News Page at http://www.skypub.com/news/news.html
.

COMET LINEAR FADING

Comet LINEAR's odds-beating run may be at an end. It remained 4th
magnitude for several weeks, but now has faded to 6th magnitude. While
this makes it nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, the comet
remains a good target for binoculars and telescopes. The comet
continues to climb higher in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere,
crossing from Pegasus into Vulpecula during this coming week. At
midnorthern latitudes, it is 25 to 30 deg. up in the east as evening
twilight fades, and reaches its highest in the sky when due south at
about 2 to 3 a.m. local daylight time. In the Southern Hemisphere,
LINEAR runs low along the northern sky, and is due north after
midnight. Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR for 0 hours Universal
Time (in 2000.0 coordinates) for the coming week:

R.A. Dec.

July 21 21h 40m +18.7 deg.
23 21 29 19.5
25 21 19 20.1
27 21 09 20.6


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JULY 22 -- SUNDAY

* Look low in the west during evening twilight for the waxing
crescent Moon. Below it is the star Regulus. (Binoculars will help.)

JULY 23 -- MONDAY

* The red long-period variable star X Ophiuchi should be at maximum
light (7th magnitude) this week.

JULY 24 -- TUESDAY

* Have you been keeping an eye on Delta Scorpii? It's the middle
star in the nearly vertical row of three (the "head of Scorpius") to
the right of Antares (which itself is to the right of bright Mars in
the evening). Delta, a hot blue star, has been having an unusual
outburst for the last year. Compare it to Beta Scorpii just above it,
magnitude 2.6, and Antares, magnitude 1.1. Delta is currently about
magnitude 1.7 instead of its usual 2.3, making it the brightest star
in the huge range of sky between Antares and Spica.

JULY 25 -- WEDNESDAY

* To the left or lower left of the Moon this evening, by roughly the
width of your fist at arm's length, is Spica. Several times higher
above the Moon is brighter Arcturus.

JULY 26 -- THURSDAY

* Spica is now to the Moon's lower right.

JULY 27 -- FRIDAY

* First-quarter Moon (exact at 6:08 a.m Eastern Daylight Time).

JULY 28 -- SATURDAY

* This evening the Moon, Delta Scorpii, Antares, and Mars form a
curving line in the southwest to south, in that order from right to
left.

* Several weak, long-lasting meteor showers with radiants in the
southern sky are active from mid-July through August. The strongest is
the Delta Aquarid shower, which should be at its best around this
date. As with most meteor showers, the greatest activity happens in
the hours before dawn.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is dropping deep into the glare of sunrise, well to the lower
left of brighter Jupiter.

VENUS (magnitude -4.2) is the bright "Morning Star" blazing in the
east before and during dawn.

MARS dominates the southern sky after dark, shining bright orange at
magnitude -1.7. Fainter orange Antares sparkles to its right. Mars
still appears about 18 arcseconds in diameter, not much smaller than
when it was at its closest more than a month ago. Dust-storm activity
has obscured many of the planet's dark markings for telescope users.

See the Mars observing guide and maps in the May Sky & Telescope, page
102. Telescopic observers can download Mars Previewer (3 megs), which
displays observing data and a customized map of the planet's apparent
disk for any date and time; go to
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html#mars .

JUPITER is low in the east-northeast at dawn, to the lower left of
brilliant Venus.

SATURN glimmers to Venus's upper right before and during dawn. Closer
to Saturn's lower right, look for orange Aldebaran.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the southern sky during the early morning hours.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the south to southwest during
evening, above Mars. Finder charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are
in the April Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at lower resolution at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 523 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Tue, Jul 24, 2001 (03:53) * 28 lines
Hi

More fascinating stuff about the cool moons and planets beyond the asteroid belt.

Solar system condensed 6 billion years ago. KANT envisioned a clotting mass of dust and gas forming the Solar System. Then LAPLACE suggested condensation in the centre and the spinning rotation meant the rings of matter were shed. CHAMBERLAIN and MOULTON considered a passing star narrowly missing the sun, Which JEANS and JEFFRIES modified so that filaments came off the stars and the matter inside the filaments condensed into planets. KANT'S theory most credible and believed by the most.
Bodes law of Astronomical spacing of the Planets, credible because planet distances comparable to the Law.

Would love to know how the theories of Laplace, Chamberlain-Moulton/Jeans-Jeffries came about since they were all discarded.

My lecturer thought that Venus may be a warning to Earth about what the Earth may look like if the global warming problem actually was distorting the otherwise cyclical of HEAT-COOL-HEAT. The pressure of the atmosphere would be intolerable and far too hot for human beings to live in. What do you say to this??

The moons are cool: Information has come to light in my notes about some more of the Ice Planet moons.

Saturn: IAPETUS - Pure water
TITAN - Blue atmosphere made from Nitrogen
RHEA - Riddled with meteorite hits
DIONE - CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME ONE THING ABOUT IT?
TETHYS - Made from water, riddled with impact structures
MIMAS - George Lucas's fine hand can be seen in it (look closely)
Uranus: OBERON - Has black spots that may indicate silicate eruptions
UMBRIEL - Golf ball
MIRANDA - Moon made by a committee!
Neptune:TRITON - Second to Io in volcanic activity

Fantastic bunch of rockballs aren't they???

Rob


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 524 of 1087: horrible horace  (horrible) * Tue, Jul 24, 2001 (09:14) * 1 lines
Anyone seen Marcia?? 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 525 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 24, 2001 (15:23) * 26 lines
Yup, I just looked in the mirror, and horrors! There she was looking dizzily back at me! Thanks for asking - *hugs*

http://www.solarviews.com/eng/dione.htm
Dione:
Dione [dy-OH-nee] was discovered in 1684 by Giovanni Cassini. It is an icy body similar to Tethys and Rhea. Its density is 1.43
gm/cm3, which makes it the densest moon of Saturn other than Titan. Dione is probably composed of a rocky core making up
one-third of the moon's mass, with the rest water-ice. Its ice coverage is less than that of Tethys and Rhea.

Dione's icy surface includes heavily cratered terrain, moderately cratered plains, lightly cratered plains, and wispy material. The
heavily cratered terrain has numerous craters greater than 100 kilometers in diameter. The plains area tends to have craters less
than 30 kilometers in diameter. Some of the plains are heavily cratered while others are not. Much of the heavily cratered terrain
is located on the trailing hemisphere, with the less cratered plains area existing on the leading hemisphere. This is opposite from
what some scientists expected. Shoemaker and Wolfe proposed a cratering model for a tidally locked satellite with the highest
cratering rates on the leading hemisphere and the lowest on the trailing hemisphere. This suggests that during the period of heavy
bombardment, Dione was tidally locked to Saturn in the opposite orientation. Because Dione is relatively small, an impact causing
a 35 kilometer (21 mile) crater could have spun the satellite. Since there are many craters larger than 35 kilometers (21 miles),
Dione could have been repeatedly spun.

Dione has probably been tidally locked in its current position for the past several billion years. This is reflected in the average
surface albedo of the leading and trailing hemispheres. The surface albedo decreases from the leading to the trailing hemispheres
due to a higher micrometeor dusting on the leading hemisphere.

The origin of the bright wispy material is somewhat obscure. Apparently, it is material with a high albedo and is thin enough that it
doesn't obscure the surface feature underneath. It might have formed from eruptions along cracks in Dione's surface that fell back
to the surface as snow or ash.
Statistics and photos of Dione follow - quite a lot is known. And, yes, you only asked for one thing...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 526 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 24, 2001 (20:16) * 24 lines
From our stellar sleuth, Liam,

Gemini Spies Strong Stellar Gusts In Nearby Massive Star

A dramatic infrared image released by the Gemini Observatory sheds new light on the early stages of the formation of giant stars in our galaxy. The image, taken by the Gemini North telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea, reveals remarkable details in a nebula of gas and dust expelled from a young star named AFGL 2591. This expulsion is a common feature in the formation of stars similar in size to the Sun, but it is far less common in their massive counterparts.

"Almost everything in this set of infrared images would be invisible with an optical telescope, since it is occurring within a dense molecular cloud of gas and dust," says Gemini scientist Colin Aspin, who made the observation. "Gemini's unparalleled sensitivity and resolution in the infrared allows us to move beyond simply detecting such structures to being able to study them in great detail."

AFGL 2591 is located within the Milky Way more than 3,000 light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Cygnus. Over the course of the last few thousand years, it has created a vast expanding nebula larger than 500 times the diameter of our solar system. The star is at least 10 times the size of the Sun, and over 20,000 times as bright, but perhaps only one million years old.

The wispy white and blue structure in the expanding nebula to the right of the young star is a huge outflow of gas and dust driven by the infall of material onto the star's surface. Gemini scientists believe that the outflow is likely occurring symmetrically around the star - a second giant-sized expanding nebula to the left of the star is hidden from view by a dense and extensive disk (or torus) of material encircling AFGL 2591.

"We strongly suspect the outflow occurs on both sides of the star in a bipolar structure, because we detect faint traces of gas at that location which indicate interactions between the outflowing gas and the material forming the parent molecular cloud," says Aspin, a scientific staff member at the Gemini Observatory International Headquarters in Hilo, HI.

"A unique feature of this object is a series of four distinct rings of nebulosity. These rings suggest that the expulsion of the material is not constant with time, but rather has occurred several times over the lifetime of the object," he adds. "Studying the structure and velocity of these rings, and their relation to the infalling material, will allow us to better understand why such features are created and what functions they serve."

Dr Patrick Roche, the UK Gemini Project Scientist based at Oxford University commented "The effects of this newly-formed star on its environment, several thousand light years from the Earth, provides an excellent example of the infrared images delivered by the Gemini telescope. The tremendous light grasp of the 8-m diameter mirror combines with the exceptional infrared observing conditions above the 4200-m summit of Mauna Kea to deliver deep and sharp images of astronomical objects."

This striking image is part of a series of early images taken with the Gemini Near Infrared Imager (NIRI) instrument during its commissioning on the Gemini North telescope. Once fully operational later this year, NIRI will be the prime near-infrared instrument on Gemini North.

Images
A colour image, and others that show hints of the left-hand outflow and more details in the right-hand structure, are available on the PPARC web site at: www.pparc.ac.uk/news - all images should be credited: Gemini Observatory/PPARC/Colin Aspin
Alternatively please contact Mark Wells at PPARC on 01793 442100 or email mark.wells@pparc.ac.uk


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 527 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 24, 2001 (21:28) * 37 lines
From Frank with whom I would trust my life a very curious story: Has anyone heard anything about this?

We apartment dwellers are accustomed to hearing loud
thumps now and then from other apartments; as doors slam,
things are dropped, etc. In the 6:00 p.m. hour yesterday there
was the mother of all thumps, and we thought "Wow, what
did somebody DO?!"

Then we realized that there was a sound like a whole group of
animals stomping around on the roof. That sound got rather noisy, so
that it seemed almost like a host of very short, weak thunder
claps. This continuous thumping gradually grew fainter and
finally faded away in maybe 20 seconds.

Pam went out to see if there was something on our roof. Nothing
was there; but she found a couple of women outside another
building, wondering what had happened. Then I began to think
"sonic boom".

I finally thought to turn on the scanner. Various voices were
saying that they were very busy with phone calls from all
over the area, even from Renovo (which is about 60 miles away).

The local TV news (which comes from the Wilkes-Barre-Scranton
area) interrupted the national news to say that it was heard there,
and that there were reports of people seeing a fireball going across
the sky from west to east (in late afternoon daylight!). Later there were
reports that it was heard and seen in SEVERAL STATES, so it must
have been a real BIGGIE!

This a.m.’s news hasn’t been much help yet, but I’ve put together
my own hypothesis. The multitude of lesser booms must have
been many, many smaller objects trailing for miles behind the big
object. Either they came that way from wherever, or pieces were
breaking off the big one as it moved along.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 528 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 25, 2001 (19:47) * 19 lines
More from Frank this morning on the bollide in theh Eastern USA

*Most of the reports in the newspaper and on TV
news have been embarrassing!

The worst is the Pennsylvania cornfield thing. The farmers
saw the fireball "fall over the top of a nearby hill of corn".
They meant it disappeared behind the hill, but the local
fire chief saw an area of corn that was a bit wilted from the
hot weather, and which had some (insect) holes in the leaves;
and got in touch with the national news.

Several of the national TV coverings of the fireball showed
somebody's camcorder pictures of the cornfield in the
background while they talked. Of course the cornfield had
nothing to do with the event!

Today's local newspaper sets things straight about the corn.*
*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 529 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 25, 2001 (19:50) * 7 lines
And, the scientific explanation:

* East Coast Fireball Most Likely Crumbling Asteroid
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/meteor_eastcoast_010725.html

A large and brilliant flash of moving light accompanied by a trail of smoke and seen high in the sky across a wide swath of eastern North America on Monday evening, July 23, was most likely an asteroid that broke apart as it crashed through Earth's atmosphere, scientists say.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 530 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Jul 25, 2001 (21:16) * 1 lines
too bad i didn't get to see that one here *hmmmmmm*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 531 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 25, 2001 (23:52) * 78 lines
I think it was too far north of you. From the article David sent:

July 24, 2001 Posted: 6:53 AM EDT (1053 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Residents along the Northeastern Seaboard
reported seeing and hearing a fireball from space hit the Earth on
Monday evening.
CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre was with a guest at the
Pentagon looking westward out his office window around 6 p.m. when he saw
a flash in the sky headed toward Earth.
"It got brighter and brighter. Halfway up in the sky, it sort of evaporated into a
bright flash," he reported.
Though it was a bright, sunny day in Washington, it was easy to see. "This
downward arc of flaming object was bright against the sky. Then it appeared to
evaporate in a burst of flame," he said.
The whole thing lasted little more than a second, he said. "I said, 'Wow! Look at
that! What's that?'" to his guest. "By the time he turned around, it was gone."
In Lewisburg, Pennsylvania., CNN Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno was
driving a car, windows rolled up, the air conditioning on, when he heard "what
sounded like a sonic boom." But when he rolled down the windows, he heard
nothing.
"It was the talk of the town," in Lewisburg he said. One person described it as a
"ball of flame."
About 35 miles to the northwest near Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Chief Jerold
Ross of the Larry's Creek Volunteer Fire Department was investigating a
scorched section of a corn field measuring 25 feet by 20 feet.
Witnesses who had been watching deer said they saw a fireball fall into a corn
field.
"I'm not sure there's any solid matter there," Ross told reporters. "It looks like
scorched corn. I'm not sure there was any impa ct other than some form of
fireball."
Radiation and air quality tests taken at the site showed normal readings. Ross
said there was some dust at the scene and added investigations would continue
in the morning.
Local and state police said their phone banks had been lit up with calls from
northern Maryland to Upstate New York.
At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, meteorite expert Ron
Baalke said he had received word from several people describing "a bright
fireball" that appeared at approximately 6:15 p.m. EDT.
He said the object was not likely to have been part of a meteor shower. "We're
not near the peak period of any of the major meteor showers," he said.
Baalke works on the Near-Earth Objects Program at JPL, which monitors the
positions of all asteroids that approach the Earth.
He said witnesses in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York also
reported hearing sonic booms, in some cases several of them.
Since each separate object would create its own sonic boom when it exceeded
the speed of sound inside the Earth's atmosphere, the fact that several booms
were heard indicates the object may have fragmented in the atmosphere, he
said.
Witnesses said the object appeared to be traveling from southeast to northwest,
"which means it was heading inland," Baalke said.
Sonic booms are capable of being heard up to 100 miles from an object's path,
he said.
It is hard to judge the size of a space object based on the fireball, he said. "It
depends on the composition ... and the speed it was traveling. It could have
been as small as a baseball."
It would have hit the ground traveling between 100 mph and 200 mph, he said.
"The atmosphere slows it quite a bit."
Most meteorites -- anything that hits the ground from outer space -- are pieces
of asteroids or comets, and are mostly made of stony material. In rare cases,
they contain nickel iron. "You can't tell until it's recovered."
The object probably came from the "main asteroid belt," an area between the
orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where most asteroids -- pieces of space rock -- can
be found, he said.
Since no known asteroids were expected to pass near the Earth on Monday,
whatever was responsible for Monday's sightings was probably small, he said.
"We would have tracked a big one, and known it was coming."
The smallest size object the lab can detect is 10 to 20 meters in diameter, but
Monday's was probably much smaller than 10 meters, he said.
"Something that size would have made a much more dramatic entrance into the
atmosphere."

Most fireballs tend to be caused by small objects, under 200 pounds, he said.
Thousands of residents of Peekskill, New York, got a similar show October 9,
1992. Several people who were videotaping a football game wound up with
video of the space traveler's flaming course through the atmosphere. In that
case, a 27.3-pound meteorite was discovered in the trunk of a 1980 Chevrolet
Malibu. It cut through the lid of the trunk and came to rest underneath the car,
having cut a path a few inches from the gas tank. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 532 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 25, 2001 (23:53) * 1 lines
I'm jealous, but at least one person in the family got to see it!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 533 of 1087: horrible horace  (horrible) * Thu, Jul 26, 2001 (15:59) * 1 lines
Be even more jealous ,Nick saw a "fireball" at roughly 2200 + BST on Mon ,said it lit up the yard for a second or two,I was in side the poultry house and missed it!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 534 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 27, 2001 (15:22) * 1 lines
OH Liam!!! How Horrible! Not as bad as the total solar eclipse that I missed because of lack of consideration of someone else. But I know that anguish and that staring at the sky hoping for a re-run. This would be a good time to get Nick a notebook to write what he has seen. I have mine from waaaaaaaaay back and it is great reading. If you both see something both of you make notes without consulting each other - and include sketches and dates and local time.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 535 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 27, 2001 (16:16) * 17 lines
Meteorites Don't Pop Corn

NASA Science News for July 27, 2001

A fireball that dazzled Americans on July 23rd was a piece of a comet or
an asteroid that exploded in the air like 3000 tons of TNT. Contrary to
reports, however, it probably didn't scorch any cornfields. Small
meteorites that reach the ground are usually cold, not hot. This story
explains why.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast27jul_1.htm?list89800





 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 536 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 28, 2001 (19:23) * 8 lines
Liam the Sleuth is at it again:

SPACE: HIDDEN OCEAN ON JUPITER S MOON
One of Jupiter s moons, Callisto, may hide a deep ocean beneath its pockmarked surface.
The first clue to Callisto s ocean came a few years ago when the spacecraft Galileo detected a magnetic field around the moon that fluctuates with Jupiter s rotation. An ocean of salt water was conducting an electric current in Callisto, researchers thought, giving rise to the magnetic field. But calculations seemed to show that any subterranean ocean would have frozen long ago. Not so, suggests an analysis in this week s Nature.
By considering how ice transmits heat when it is subjected to stresses, Javier Ruiz of the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain, has shown that Callisto s subterranean ocean actually won t conduct heat out as rapidly as previously thought this makes the presence of liquid water likely.
With this work, Ruiz makes a rarely attempted, profound leap in planetary modelling, says Kristin Bennett of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in an accompanying News and Views article. He offers a new and remarkable insight into the icy rock world. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 537 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 28, 2001 (21:30) * 22 lines
more on that fireball. Frank was concerned that no one reporting in had mentioned the sonic boom it made. Apparently it was only audible at his location. He was fortunate to both see and to hear it:

[skyline] S&T's News Bulletin for July 26, 2001


FIREBALL SEEN OVER NORTHEAST UNITED STATES

At around 6:19 p.m. EDT Monday evening, a brilliant meteor shot
through the skies above the northeastern United States. Reports of a
daytime fireball stretched from Ahoskie, North Carolina, all the way
to Buffalo, New York, and Bobcaygeon, Ontario (near Peterborough).

John Castagna of Woodbridge, Virginia, described the object as "much
brighter than any daytime full Moon, and not unlike the brightness
that you might associate with a sparkler lit in daytime."

Near Williamsport, Pennsylvania, windows were rattled by a loud
crashing noise, described by many as a deafening thunderclap. Some
thought the bolide was a falling airplane and county emergency
services received over 300 calls to 911 switchboards from concerned
citizens. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 538 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 30, 2001 (14:08) * 15 lines
From Liam, again (this one is in English - he sent another on in German and I will spare you that one)

New evidence of living bacteria from space

Evidence of living bacterial cells entering the Earth's upper atmosphere from space has come from a joint project involving Indian and UK scientists.
The first positive identification of extraterrestrial microbial life will be reported on Sunday, 29 July 2001 at the Astrobiology session of the 46th Annual SPIE meeting in San Diego, USA by Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University. He will speak on behalf of an international team led by Professor Jayant Narlikar, Director of the Inter-Universities Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, India.

Samples of stratospheric air were collected on 21 January 2001 under the most stringent aseptic conditions by Indian scientists using the Indian Space Research Organisation s (ISRO) cryogenic sampler payload flown on balloons from the Tata Institute Balloon Launching facility in Hyderabad. Part of the samples sent to Cardiff were analysed by a team at Cardiff University led by Professor David Lloyd and assisted by Melanie Harris.
Commenting on the results, Professor Wickramasinghe said:
There is now unambiguous evidence for the presence of clumps of living cells in air samples from as high as 41 kilometres, well above the local tropopause (16 km), above which no air from lower down would normally be transported.

The detection was made using a fluorescent cyanine dye which is only taken up by the membranes of living cells. The variation with height of the distribution of such cells indicates strongly that the clumps of bacterial cells are falling from space. The daily input of such biological material is provisionally estimated as about one third of a tonne over the entire planet.
This new evidence provides strong support for the Panspermia theory of Sir Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe.
We have argued for more than two decades that terrestrial life was brought down to Earth by comets and that cometary material containing microorganisms must still be reaching us in large quantities, said Professor Wickramasinghe.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 539 of 1087: Cheryl  (CherylB) * Mon, Jul 30, 2001 (18:05) * 1 lines
The bollide was all over the news here. At first they did report that it had scorched a corn field, but as the article you posted noted there was no celestial popcorn to be had.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 540 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 30, 2001 (23:33) * 1 lines
Ah yes, it has been an ongoing discussion between Frank and me. He distinctly heard many sonic booms as the main and breaking fragments entered the atmosphere at ultra sonic speeds. They were NOT reverberations. He is a trained scientist with a PhD (with high honors) and is not given to unobjectivity. He is a careful, trained observer who would rather underestimate than overdo his subject. That he heard and saw what he did, I have no doubt whatsoever. But, no popcorn! Of course, he lives in Williamsport, Penna, which is the only place it was heard. The parched corn was due to a recent drought.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 541 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 31, 2001 (21:51) * 12 lines
Anticipating the Perseid Meteor Shower

NASA Science News for July 31, 2001

The 2001 Perseid meteor shower peaks on Sunday morning, August 12. Will it
be an extraordinary sky show like last year -- or a moonlit
disappointment? This story explains how to see for yourself.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast31jul_1.htm?list89800



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 542 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug  4, 2001 (16:25) * 15 lines
Watch out for Jupiter and Venus this weekend

JUPITER & VENUS: The two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, will form
an eye-catching pair before dawn on Sunday and Monday mornings, August 5th
and 6th. Early rising sky-watchers are in for a treat! Visit
SpaceWeather.com for Northern- and Southern-hemisphere finder charts.

SOLAR ACTIVITY: The Sun has been quiet lately, but that might soon change.
Three rapidly growing-sunspots pose an increasing threat for M-class
eruptions that could send coronal mass ejections our way. Already in
recent days high-latitude observers have spotted midnight auroras over
North America as solar wind gusts have buffeted our planet's magnetic
field. See the pictures on SpaceWeather.com.

---

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 543 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Aug  5, 2001 (17:22) * 299 lines
Nest stuff this week in S&T.... finally some definitive comments on the Pennsylvania Meteorite, and about the Perseid Meteor shower upcoming:

===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - AUGUST 3, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
The S&T Store has deep discounts annual almanacs:

* Observer's Handbook 2001 -- Sale Price $10
http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=H2001

* The Astronomical Almanac for the Year 2001 -- Sale Price $27
http://store.skypub.com/skypub/default.asp?links=astral01

Visit the links to order, or call 800-253-0245.
===========================================================

RUSSIAN SUN-WATCHER REACHES ORBIT

July ended with a bonus for solar physicists as the Russians launched
their first dedicated scientific satellite since 1996. Now circling
Earth in a 490-by-530-kilometer polar orbit, KORONAS-F has a windmill
shape and a mass of 2,260 kilograms. Its Sun-pointing payload includes
a radio-burst detector, three ultraviolet sensors, and nine X-ray
detectors including an extreme-ultraviolet telescope with
Ritchey-Chr,tien optics and 1.5-arcsecond resolution. These
instruments will monitor dynamic processes on the Sun such as active
regions, flares, and mass ejections -- objectives similar to those of
the highly successful Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

KORONAS is the Russian acronym for "Complex Orbital Near-Earth
Observations of the Solar Activity," a long-delayed project left over
from Soviet times (July's launch was originally planned for 1991). It
continues a long tradition of missions developed by the Ukranian
Yuzhnoe company, whose first such satellite (Kosmos 1) reached orbit
in 1962. The DS series and their successors in the Automated Universal
Orbiting Station program are the equivalent of NASA's Explorer
project. There were 11 launches of Earth-oriented AUOS-Z satellites
between 1976 and 1991, followed by the two solar-pointing satellites
AUOS-SM-KI (KORONAS-I) and AUOS-SM-KF (KORONAS-F), whose names reflect
the two research institutes who were the original principal
investigators for the experiment payloads. The I satellite, for the
IZMIRAN geophysics institute, was launched in 1994 but lost attitude
control after just a few months; it reentered the atmosphere last
March. The new F satellite carries that designation because the
original lead organization was the Lebedev Institute (known as FIAN in
Russian), though it also carries experiments from IZMIRAN and several
other European research centers.

A SPACE TELESCOPE FOR AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS

After spending two years quietly developing the idea, the Astronomical
League has announced plans to design and operate a sizable telescope
that will be affixed to the International Space Station within five
years. The telescope will have an aperture of 14 to 16 inches, large
enough to resolve 0.2-arcsecond detail on a wealth of planets,
nebulae, and galaxies.

So far, the response to the idea from NASA and Boeing (the ISS's main
contractor) has been enthusiastic. On July 27th League president
Charles E. Allen III and project manager Orville Brettman discussed
the concept with Louis Mayo, an official in the space-science
operations office at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Mayo, who had
been looking for an opportunity to enhance the ISS's visibility to the
public, has pledged to help guide the project through NASA's approval
process. In addition to Brettman, the League has tapped imaging expert
Richard Berry and 10 other well-known amateurs to serve as project
team leaders. "It'll be our proposal," Brettman notes, "but Boeing
will build it," and NASA will pay for it.

Once launched in 2006 (after the ISS is completely assembled), the
telescope will be placed on an equipment pallet attached to one of the
orbiting complex's main trusses. Then NASA will turn its control over
to League members, who will coordinate all operations -- targeting,
imaging, and data distribution. Plans call for half of the observing
time to be allocated to schoolchildren worldwide. "The ISS-AT has to
be a space project that is open, friendly, and available to the
public," comments Berry. Key objectives will be to image the planets
repeatedly once per week whenever they are relatively near Earth, and
to take high-resolution views of the 5,000 brightest galaxies. The
telescope's handlers will also respond rapidly -- much faster than is
now possible with the Hubble Space Telescope -- to the sudden
appearance of supernovae, comets, gamma-ray bursts, and other cosmic
events.

Mac Gardiner, a member of the Battle Point Astronomical Association in
northwest Washington, came up with the idea of putting an amateur
telescope aboard the space station about two years ago. The current
design calls for a Ritchey-Chr,tien optical system with an effective
focal length of nearly 18 meters (f/50.4) on a three-axis mount. The
proposed detector is a large-format CCD (3,072 by 2,048 pixels), which
will record its images through a series of color filters. Brettman
says that a 12-inch-aperture prototype should be installed at a site
in the Southwest within the four to six months, and by this time next
year it should routinely gathering data by remote control.

Notably, this will not the first time a group of amateur observers has
endeavored to extend their reach in orbit. In the early 1980s students
and faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York formed the
International Space Research Group and started work on a free-flying
Amateur Space Telescope with an 18-inch aperture and a
256-by-256-pixel detector. The ISRG team hoped to get its payload into
orbit by piggybacking on another satellite launch. But interest in the
AST project soon waned as technical difficulties mounted.

NORTHEAST FIREBALL PINPOINTED

It now appears that July 23rd's dazzling daylight fireball punched
through the atmosphere over central Pennsylvania and may have
scattered meteorites over the rugged woodlands of Sproul State Forest.
Defense Department satellites tracked the meteoroid's flare for
several seconds beginning at 6:19:11 Eastern Daylight Time. The path
began over Scranton (75.6 deg. W, 41.5 deg. N) and ended 140
kilometers to the west over the town of Williamsport (77.3 deg. W,
41.3 deg. N), during which it dropped in altitude from 82 to 32 km.
Despite occurring in daylight, the meteor was bright enough to be
spotted by eyewitnesses from Canada to Virginia.

In its final moments the fireball created a deafening sonic boom that
shook the ground. Meteor expert Peter Brown (Los Alamos National
Laboratory), who is analyzing the satellite records, told Sky &
Telescope, "I can almost guarantee that this object broke up." He says
that reconstructing the object's orbit and flight path are proving
difficult because the entry velocity is uncertain, though it's
probably in the "asteroidal" range of 17 to 20 km per second. Brown
believes that whatever remains of the incoming object probably fell in
an elongated pattern up to 30 km long.

The meteoroid's size is also still a guess. The satellites' visible
and infrared sensors recorded 1.3 billion joules of luminous energy,
which corresponds to a kinetic-energy wallop equivalent to 3,000 tons
of TNT (one-fifth that of the Hiroshima bomb). Meteoroids in this
energy range strike Earth roughly 10 times each year. If it was stony,
as most meteorites are, such an object would have weighed 30 to 90
tons and been the size of a car. However, Brown says acoustic and
seismic data argue for much less kinetic energy and, in turn, a much
smaller object. "I'd hoped to have had some meteorites recovered by
now," Brown concludes, but the many uncertainties diminish that
possibility. "That's why I'm here in New Mexico instead of heading for
Pennsylvania."

COMET LINEAR FADING

Recent observations of Comet LINEAR have it fading fast, dropping near
8th magnitude -- still a reasonable target in small telescopes. The
comet will top off it's northern climb this week as it moves through
Vulpecula, and begin to slip south in declination. For midnorthern
latitudes, it is visible from dusk till dawn. At the end of evening
twilight, LINEAR will be halfway to the zenith in the east, about 15
deg. to the left of Altair. By about midnight local daylight time, the
comet is highest in the south. In the Southern Hemisphere, LINEAR runs
low along the northern horizon, reaching about 30 deg. up around
midnight. Here are coordinates for Comet LINEAR for 0 hours Universal
Time (in 2000.0 coordinates) for the coming week:

R.A. Dec.

Aug. 4 20h 41m 21.4 deg.
6 20 36 21.4
8 20 31 21.3
10 20 26 21.2


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"

Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

AUG. 5 -- SUNDAY

* Get up for a dawn spectacular tomorrow morning! Venus and Jupiter,
the two brightest planets, are in conjunction just 1 1/4 degrees apart
in the eastern sky before and during dawn Monday morning.

* While you're out for Venus and Jupiter, take a look at Saturn (to
their upper right) with a telescope. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is
four ring-lengths west of the planet on Monday morning.

AUG. 6 -- MONDAY

* The brightest star high in the southeast these evenings is Altair,
the eye of Aquila, the Eagle. Altair is a close neighbor of the Sun's,
only 17 light-years away. Astronomers have deduced that it is spinning
so fast that it is oblate rather than round.

AUG. 7 -- TUESDAY

* The Big Dipper hangs in the northwest during evening at this time
of year, oriented with its bowl to the lower right. Its curving handle
points around left toward Arcturus, the brightest star in the west,
about one Dipper-length away.

To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0108skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0108skys.html .)

AUG. 8 -- WEDNESDAY

* Take a close took at the middle star of the Big Dipper's bent
handle. This is Mizar. Can you see its tiny companion star Alcor,
barely above it?

AUG. 9 -- THURSDAY

* The red long-period variable stars R Bootis and T Cephei should be
at their brightest (6th or 7th magnitude) this week.

AUG. 10 -- FRIDAY

* By late evening the Great Square of Pegasus is already looming up
low in the east. It's somewhat larger than your fist held at arm's
length and is currently balancing on one corner. The evening arrival
of the Great Square is a sure sign of the approach of fall.

AUG. 11 -- SATURDAY

* The Perseid meteor shower will probably be at its peak late
tonight, though light from the last-quarter Moon will interfere during
the early-morning hours. Find a dark spot with a wide-open view of the
sky, lie back in a reclining chair after 11 p.m. or so, let your eyes
adapt to the dark, and watch the stars. You may see a meteor about
once a minute on average if your sky is truly dark. Light pollution in
the sky will reduce the numbers visible. For full details see the
August Sky & Telescope, page 108.


============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

VENUS (magnitude -4.0) is the brightest "Morning Star" blazing in the
east before and during dawn. Jupiter shines very close to it this
week. These two brightest of planets are in conjunction on August 6th,
when they're hardly more than 1 degree apart.

MARS dominates the southern sky after dark, shining bright orange at
magnitude -1.4. Fainter orange Antares sparkles to its right. Mars
still appears 16 or 17 arcseconds in diameter. Global dust-storm
activity has obscured many of the planet's dark markings for telescope
users, but some clearing has recently been reported.

See the Mars observing guide and maps in the May Sky & Telescope, page
102. Telescopic observers can download Mars Previewer (3 MB), which
displays observing data and a customized map of the planet's apparent
disk for any date and time; go to
http://www.skypub.com/resources/software/basic/basic.html#mars .

JUPITER shines close to brighter Venus in the east-northeast at dawn.
They're in conjunction on August 6th, just over 1 degree apart.

SATURN glimmers well to Venus's upper right before and during dawn. To
Saturn's right is fainter orange Aldebaran. Above them are the
Pleiades.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the southeast by late evening.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the southwest during evening,
above Mars. Finder charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are in the
April Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at lower resolution at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360

===========================================================
Copyright 2001 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin
and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to
the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these
paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may
not be published in any other form without permission from Sky
Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360).
Updates of astronomical news, including active links to related
Internet resources, are available via SKY & TELESCOPE's site on the
World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.

In cooperation with the American Association of Amateur
Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to join@astromax.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 544 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Aug  6, 2001 (21:08) * 14 lines
"http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20010705/imdf05072001104516a.jpg">


Frosty white water ice clouds and swirling orange dust storms above a
vivid rusty landscape reveal Mars as a dynamic planet in this sharpest
view ever obtained by an Earth-based telescope. NASA's Earth-orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope took the picture on June 26, 2001 when Mars was
approximately 43 million miles (68 million km) from Earth -- the
closest Mars has ever been to Earth since 1988. Hubble can see details
as small as 10 miles (16 km) across. The colors have been carefully
balanced to give a realistic view of Mars' hues as they might appear
through a telescope. REUTERS/NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 545 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Mon, Aug  6, 2001 (21:09) * 31 lines

MARSDAILY

Contracts Awarded For
Mars Ascent Vehicle Concept Studies

Pasadena - July 26, 2001

NASA's Mars Technology Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif., has awarded three industry contracts for the
development of concepts for a small rocket that will lift science
samples gathered by NASA's Mars Sample Return mission from the Martian
surface and support their return to Earth.

A panel consisting of propulsion experts including NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center and JPL selected these companies from the five that
responded to the request for proposals. The awardees are:

- Boeing Company, Huntington Beach, Calif. - Lockheed Martin
Corporation, Denver, Colo. - TRW, Redondo Beach, Calif.

The contracts are valued at $300,000 each and are to be performed over
a six- month period. These studies will provide independent concepts
and technology roadmaps to develop a Mars Ascent Vehicle for the Mars
Sample Return mission. Concepts emerging from these studies will
contribute to the final specifications for the eventual Mars Ascent
Vehicle.

more @

http://www.spacer.com/news/mars-general-01g.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 546 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Aug 13, 2001 (19:18) * 28 lines
Neat stuff, Terry - thanks! Our tax dollars at work again? Let us hope they don't lose this one, too!

And from Stealth Liam, this amazing bit of news:

Cosmology Machine re-creates the Universe

The past, present and future of the universe is about to be revealed in unprecedented detail by Britain's biggest academic supercomputer called the Cosmology Machine, based at the University of Durham.

Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt launched the time machine on its first simulation program today (31 July) when she switched on the £1.4 million state-of-the-art installation at the University s Physics Department.

The Cosmology Machine takes data from billions of observations about the behaviour of stars, gases, galaxies and the mysterious dark matter throughout the universe and then calculates, at ultra high speed, how galaxies and solar systems formed and evolved. By testing different theories of cosmic evolution it can simulate virtual universes to test which ideas come closest to explaining the real universe.

The gigantic new facility - manufactured by Sun Microsystems and supplied by Esteem Systems plc has been installed at Durham with the help of £652,000 from the Joint Research Equipment Initiative. The JREI was set up by the DTI s Office of Science and Technology, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) and the research councils in this case, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) - to provide strategic investment in key scientific infrastructure for research of international quality.

The funding forms part of £18 million worth of special strategic investment in Durham science by the DTI and the research and funding councils over the past two years.

The supercomputer is operated by the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC), part of the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics now being developed at Durham. Its breathtaking capacity for calculations will set new standards in science that could also help other areas of research. The supercomputer :

is called the Cosmology Machine. Its engine room is an integrated cluster of 128 Ultra-SparcIII processors and a 24-processor SunFire.. It is the largest computer in academic research in the UK and one of the 10 largest in the UK as a whole.

can perform 10 billion arithmetic operations in a second. This number of operations would a take a numerate individual about a million years of continuous calculation to complete. Alternatively, if all of Earth s six billion inhabitants were proficient at arithmetic, it would take them about two hours to carry out the same number of operations that the supercomputer can carry out in a single second.

has a total of 112 Gigabytes of RAM and 7 Terabytes of data storage. (A Terabyte is more than a million million bytes.) This is the equivalent of nearly 11,000 CD-ROMs. It could hold the contents of the 10 million books that make up the British Library collection and still have plenty of space left over.

Vice-Chancellor Sir Kenneth Calman said: This is a fascinating and important branch of physics. I am delighted that my colleagues in Durham have established the expertise and quality to take a lead in advancing the frontiers of knowledge even further.
.
Professor Carlos Frenk, Director of the ICC, says: The new machine will allow us to recreate the entire evolution of the universe, from its hot Big Bang beginning to the present. We are able to instruct the supercomputer on how to make artificial universes which can be compared to astronomical observations. It is truly remarkable that all that is required to emulate the Universe are the same laws of Physics, such as gravity, that govern everyday events on Earth. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 547 of 1087: _cosmo_  (aa9il) * Mon, Aug 13, 2001 (21:50) * 10 lines
Hey gang

glad to be back again - anyway, Im curious what the first
6 seconds leading to the big bang. Also, on Gaia M., what
was the 'skylight' referred to?

73 de AA9IL
Mike
radio cosmo international


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 548 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Aug 13, 2001 (22:25) * 2 lines
Let me check - it has been a while - *HUGS* Mike - we missed you!
About the 6 seconds leading to the Big Bang.... are you up on the String Theory?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 549 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Aug 13, 2001 (22:39) * 15 lines
I'm delighted to report finding the following in regard to those crucial 6 seconds (time did not exist before the Big Bang, theoretically):

Before the Big Bang but after the Planck scale, quantum
fluctuations in a special kind of quantum field drive the Universe to expand
exponentially fast, so fast that the density of monopoles produced by the
start of the Big bang is reduced to about one within our visible Universe.
There are other problems with the Big Bang that Inflation also
attempts to solve with rapid exponential expansion prior to the start of the
Big Bang, but we won't explain them all here. Suffice it to say that
inflationary cosmology is an active field with many unsolved problems.
There are experiments being conducted now to detect magnetic
monopoles, and what is learned from those experiments will give us
important information about what happened before the Big Bang.

http://www.superstringtheory.com/cosmo.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 550 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Aug 13, 2001 (22:42) * 1 lines
Now, aren't you glad you asked? If you can put it in plain English, I would be most grateful!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 551 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Aug 15, 2001 (23:14) * 20 lines
Rob, this one is for you - or shall it begin Planetary Geo, a whole new topic? You haven't the time to spend now, so I'll put it here:

New Details on Planetary Crash That Created The Moon

By Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Computer simulations gave new life on Wednesday to
a theory that has intrigued astronomers for years: the idea that one big collision
between the Earth and a Mars-sized planet gave birth to the moon.

The so-called "giant impact" theory was first envisioned in the 1970s, but now
scientists at the Southwest Research Institute and the University of
California-Berkeley have put together a scenario that would account for the moon's
creation as well as the fact that a day on Earth is 24 hours long.

More... http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=sciencenews&StoryID=160056#





 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 552 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Aug 16, 2001 (18:08) * 17 lines
Join those who can anticipate the viewing of satellites and space junk incoming like huge meteors - this from the recent Shuttle launch:

STS 105 observed!!!
Brilliant!
Two vbright dots (ca. -2 at start), about 1degree apart, the lower (the ET)
a distinct orange, came speeding out of the W-SW. As they passed to my
south the angular distance increased and it was clear the shuttle was pulling
away from the ET. Almost due S the started to pass into shadow and the ET faded
from view very quickly. As the shuttle faded I counted at least 3
"emissions" looking like the coma of a bright comet. I assume these were
firings of the OMS?
All too soon the shuttle sped from sight but what a superb view (for once!)
Sheffield UK
1.4ish West; 54ish North

To join:
http://www2.satellite.eu.org/sat/seesat/seesatindex.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 553 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Aug 17, 2001 (08:49) * 9 lines
Animated simulation of the formation of the moon:

http://www.swri.org/press/impact.htm

A scientific paper about this simulation is the current Nature (p. 708),
and an article about it is in the Aug. 15 New Scientist:

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991165


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 554 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 17, 2001 (19:10) * 11 lines
NASA Science News for August 17, 2001

An amusing accident in the Mojave desert has inspired a new kind of Mars
rover -- a two-story high beach ball that can descend to the Martian
surface, land safely, and explore vast expanses of the Red Planet.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast17aug_1.htm?list89800



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 555 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Sat, Aug 18, 2001 (04:57) * 37 lines
Hi all

A couple cool things have come up. First of I can name all the major ice planet moons, and second, I have a couple questions for someone to answer about a couple of the moons.

Here are the ones we had to learn:
Jupiter(15 moons) - Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Europa
Saturn (15 moons) - Rhea, Dione, Mimas, Enceladus, Titan, Iapetus, Tethys
Uranus (15 moons) - Ariel, Umbriel, Oberon, Miranda, Titania
Neptune(02 moons) - Nereid, Triton

Pluto has something called Charon. What is it?

Something distinguishes (or fails to distinguish)Callisto from the others. I am interested in knowing what it is that distingushes Callisto.

Whilst liking them all, my favourites are:

IO - cryovolcanism galore! When Voyager 1 passed it spotted 8 volcanoes erupting, and four months later Voyager 2 noted that 6 were still erupting. Io has calderas, shields, and low domes. Vast plains of sulphur and ash have been found and there is numerous lava flows.
EUROPA - maximum relief is only 1000 metres in contrast to Io suggesting the material that forms the moons mountains is partly slushy.
GANYMEDE - the largest of Jupiters satellites, it has a bulk density of only 1.93g/cm3. Two terrain types can be found and the older one is saturated with craters from a period of intense bombardment. Also has unusual terrain that has been grooved and fractured.
CALLISTO - anyone play golf?? I was told that it looks like a golf ball, as a result of the intense bombardment that ended 4 billion years ago.

SATURN

ENCELADUS - resembles Ganymede and has splits in the crust. Seperations have taken place as a result of internal melting.
TETHYS - spectacular case of battery. A single huge impact structure and huge fracture system some attribute to the shock waves that would have followed the meteorite hit.
MIMAS - Death Star. Single huge impact structure in similar position to the super laser on George Lucas's creation.

URANUS

MIRANDA - Described as a mess. Must have suffered a SEVERE collision/s that caused the moon to disintegrate and reform.

NEPTUNE

TRITON - discovered in 1846 and has evidence of faultlines and a sprinkling of craters.

Rob


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 556 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 18, 2001 (15:15) * 57 lines
Callisto from http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/callisto/

Interior Structure
Jupiter's Moon Callisto May Hide Salty Ocean (October 21, 1998)
Galileo Mission Finds Strange Interior of Callisto (June 4, 1998)
Galileo Returns New Insights into Callisto and Europa (May 23, 1997)

Surface Composition
New Jupiter Findings: Oxygen at Callisto's Surface, Sulfur Dioxide Sources at Io (December 10, 1997)

Callisto Statistics

Discovery:----------------------------Jan 7, 1610 by Galileo Galilei
Diameter (km):------------------------4,806
Mass (kg):----------------------------1.077e23
Mass (Earth = 1)----------------------1.807e-02
Surface Gravity (Earth = 1):----------0.127
Mean Distance from Jupiter (km):------1,883,000
Mean Distance From Jupiter (Rj):------26.6
Mean Distance from Sun (AU):----------5.203
Orbital period (days):----------------16.68902
Rotational period (days):------------16.68902
Density (gm/cm?3)---------------------1.86
Orbit Eccentricity:-------------------0.007
Orbit Inclination (degrees):----------0.281
Orbit Speed (km/sec):-----------------8.21
Escape velocity (km/sec):-------------2.45
Visual Albedo:------------------------0.19
Subsolar Temperature (K)--------------168
Equatorial Subsurface Temperature (K)--126
Surface Composition:-------------------Dirty Ice

With a diameter of over 4,800 km (2,985 miles), Callisto is the third largest satellite in the solar system (only Ganymede and
Titan are bigger), and is almost the size of Mercury. Callisto is the outermost of the Galilean satellites, and orbits beyonds
Jupiter's main radiation belts.

Callisto has the lowest density of the Galilean satellites (1.86 grams/cubic centimeter). Its interior is probably similar to
Ganymede except the inner rocky core is smaller, and this core is surrounded by a large icy mantle. Callisto's surface is the
darkest of the Galileans, but it is twice as bright as our own Moon.

Callisto is the most heavily cratered object in the solar system. It is thought to be a long dead world, with a nearly complete
absence of any geologic activity on its surface. In fact, Callisto is the only body greater than 1000 km in diameter in the solar
system that has shown no signs of undergoing any extensive resurfacing since impacts have molded its surface. With a surface
age of about 4 billion years, Callisto has the oldest landscape in the solar system.

There are no large mountains on Callisto, which is probably due to the icy nature of the satellite's surface. The surface features
are dominated by impact craters and rings, and the craters are quite shallow. There are two large "bullseye" structures on
Callisto, thought to be the result of a massive impact. The largest structure, Valhalla, has a bright patch 600 km across with rings
extending out to almost 3000 km. The other ring structure, Asgard, is about 1600 km in diameter.

Seven impact crater chains have been mapped on Callisto. These chains probably formed when fragments of a comet were split
apart by Jupiter's gravity and impacted on Callisto. In a similar scenario, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 split into 21 fragments and
impacted Jupiter in 1994.

photos and more information from project Galileo http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/callisto/c-summary.html



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 557 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 18, 2001 (15:21) * 12 lines
Hmmm about Charon. First, if Pluto a planet or an escaped moon? What does that make Charon? Some thoughts:

Charon’s orbit is gravitationally locked with Pluto, so both bodies continually keep the same hemisphere facing each other. Pluto and Charon's rotational periods, and Charon's orbital period are 6.387 days (6 days, 9 hours, 17 minutes).

Charon’s surface composition is different from Pluto's. The moon appears to be covered with water-ice rather than nitrogen ice. Charon’s density is 1.2 to 1.3 g/cm3, indicating it contains little rock. Pluto’s density is 1.8 to 2.1 g/cm3. The differences in density tell us that Pluto and Charon formed independently. This rules out the idea that they accreted together as a double planet.

The accuracy of Charon’s density provided by the HST information is still being challenged by observers from ground based telescopes. Some theorize that Charon was formed when a planetesimal slammed into Pluto long ago, similar to the idea
considered as the origin event of Earth’s moon. "Pluto’s axis or rotation and Charon’s orbit are highly inclined, as we might expect from such an impact."

It is thought possible that Charon, Neptunes’ moon Triton, and Pluto are icy worlds of the outer solar system that were not swept up by Uranus and Neptune or ejected from the solar system. These three appear to be relatives. Charon and Triton could have become satellites and the largest could have become Pluto.

More plus statistics of Charon... http://www.solarviews.com/eng/charon.htm 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 558 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 18, 2001 (15:39) * 10 lines
Tethys (TEE-this) resembles a cantaloupe to me!

Miranda looks like some little child dropped it and tried to super-glue it back together.

Mimas looks much like Tethys but with a much larger impact crater.
http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/mimas.html

Fascinating things right in our own Solar System, yet so different from us. How curious other star systems must be if ours is so diverse! Great things to think about, Rob. I have spent many an evening sketching the position of the 4 main Galilean moons in respect to Jupiter. That we can see them revolve with just a pair of binoculars is amazing in itself!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 559 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 18, 2001 (20:15) * 5 lines
Want to do a little back yard astronomy and wonder what you are seeing?

http://channels.real.com/vram/single?programs=13&tcode=13

(thanks, Rodolfo, for this URL)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 560 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Aug 19, 2001 (08:54) * 25 lines

Exploring Mars: Blowing In The Wind?

One answer to roving across the surface of Mars may be blowing in the
wind. Literally.

Researchers exploring different methods to deliver scientific
instruments to various Martian locales are studying the potential for a
giant, lightweight, two-story tall beach ball. Equipped with
scientific instruments, the so-called "tumbleweed ball" conceived by
JPL researchers could potentially explore vast tracts of planetary
terrain, blown by the wind.

The wind blowing across the face of the red planet would be the only
engine needed to move the giant tumbleweed ball from place to place,
said Jack A. Jones, who is leading JPL's research into various
inflatable machines for exploring space. JPL's Inflatable Technology
for Robotics Program aims to create rugged, all-terrain vehicles and
other devices with low mass and low-packing volume.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/technology/features/tumbleweed.html





 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 561 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Aug 19, 2001 (08:56) * 4 lines


Amazing!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 562 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Aug 19, 2001 (08:57) * 1 lines 
 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 563 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Aug 19, 2001 (14:44) * 1 lines
Thanks Terry! I had read about it but could not imagine it anything like these pictures. Amazing just begins to tell how ingenious it is. Try to lose THAT in a little dent on Mars. It isn't likely! I wonder if the predominating winds will blow it around to the other side so we cannot see it or contact it. I am sure they have thought about this...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 564 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Aug 19, 2001 (15:05) * 1 lines
Wait till companies like Nike and Gatorade get a hold of this thing, what a great canvas for corporate sponsors. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 565 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Aug 19, 2001 (16:38) * 3 lines
What a thought! Yup, I can see the ads now.

Don't forget about Coke. Didn't someone want to laser it into the moon or some such idiocy? I wonder what it is going to cost especially since it is a one time charge. Changing those ads is not going to be easy or cheap. It will take an interpanetary trip just to do it. And, you thought superbowl ads were expensive...!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 566 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Aug 20, 2001 (17:38) * 19 lines
From Liam - I always did want my own orery....but not quite this large!

A VILLAGE in Kent has just become the unlikely venue of
a mind-expanding experience that reveals the vastness of
the cosmos far better than any Hollywood special effect.

Situated a few miles north of Sevenoaks
off the M25, Otford is the site of what is
set to become the world's largest model
of the cosmos. Unveiled last month, it
currently shows the precise sizes of the
Sun and planets on a scale of 1 inch to
80,000 miles.
Even on such a reduced scale, the Otford solar system is
spectacular, extending more than half a mile from the
1ft-wide stainless steel ball that represents the Sun, to a
marker stuck in a field representing outermost Pluto.

more... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected?ac=005740803956591&rtmo=rQhbk2rX&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/01/8/9/ecfsci09.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 567 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Aug 22, 2001 (15:32) * 71 lines
The latest from NASA's Earth Observatory (08/21/2001)
-----------------------------------------------------------------

New Features:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/
* Location, Location, Location (DAAC Study)
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/Location/
Scientists review geographic factors to learn why wealth concentrates predominantly in temperate zones.

--------------------
In the News:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/

* Latest Images:
Widespread Fires in the Pacific Northwest
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5104
Nasca Lines, Peru
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5103
Klamath Basin, California-Oregon
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5102
Lava Plateaus in Argentina
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5101
Fires in California, Nevada, and Oregon
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5100
A CLAMS-Eye View of Earth
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5099
Smoke Blankets Siberia
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5098
* NASA News
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/
- NASA Gives Pole-To-Pole View Of Cloud Heights And Winds
- Tiny, Umanned Planes in Florida Helping Colorado University Researchers Assess Storms, Hurricanes
- NASA Satellite, University of Maryland and U.S. Forest Service Provide Rapid Response to Wildfires
- Newest Environmental Satellite Snaps First Image
- NASA Scientists Become Hurricane Chasers
- NASA Langley Participates in 2001 Hurricane Study
- NASA Ames Coordinates Huge Hurricane Observation Campaign
* Media Alerts
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/
- Warmer periods in Alaskan area not confined to modern times
- PNNL Captures First Bird's-Eye View of Puget Sound Pollution
- NCAR Scientists Delve into the Icy Hearts of Hurricanes
- UMass Hurricane Hunters Flying Back Into the Eyes of Storms
* Headlines from the press, radio, and television:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/Headlines/
- Pollution Killing Thousands
- Hurricane Hunters on the Prowl
- Atlas Shows Night Sky Pollution
- Trees May Not Help Relieve Global Warming Effects
- World Water Crisis Will Threaten One in Three - UN
- Climate Change is Good News for Birds
- NOAA Sees Weak or Moderate El Nino Late in Year
* New Research Highlights
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/Research/

--------------------

New Data:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Observatory/
* Updated Data:
TOMS Aerosol Index data for July 2001
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Observatory/Datasets/aerosol.toms.html
Ozone data for July 2001
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Observatory/Datasets/ozone.toms.html
Precipitation data for May 2001
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Observatory/Datasets/rainfall.gpcp.html
UV Radiation Exposure data for July 2001
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Observatory/Datasets/uv.toms.html
-
Earth Observatory Announcements
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 568 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Fri, Aug 24, 2001 (17:24) * 2 lines
This world's largest model of the cosmos in Kent, is a very good way to make known the immenseness of very big. Also, exists the immenseness of very small. We are somewhere between. Who knows exactly where?
John 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 569 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 24, 2001 (22:44) * 6 lines
we are in the middle of an outer arm of an Andromeda-like galaxy, last I checked. Not very special nor very impressive. However, some of the inhabitants
are very close to my heart.

I would like to find an aerial photograph of that Cosmos in Kent. If I do and when I do, I will put it here.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 570 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 24, 2001 (22:50) * 1 lines
then again, there is as much space between atoms inside of us as there is between galaxies in the cosmos. John... you are right. Who knows where we are other than some place bweteen the two unimaginable places. Suddenly I feel very lonely!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 571 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 24, 2001 (23:02) * 5 lines
I recommend reading that article again http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected?ac=005740803956591&rtmo=rQhbk2rX&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/01/8/9/ecfsci09.html

For example, if our sun is to the scale they demonstrate (looks about half of a meter in diameter, or about 18 inches,) the closest next star, Proxima Centuari is located in Los Angeles (at Griffith Observatory ) 5000 miles away!!! Remember, this is to scale! 



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 572 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 24, 2001 (23:13) * 1 lines
Oh, and if that is too abstract for you, one inch = 80,000 miles.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 573 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 24, 2001 (23:15) * 3 lines
Those of you who want their own cosmos on their desktop, please see:

http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Solar/action?sys=-Sf

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 574 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Aug 24, 2001 (23:19) * 12 lines
A New Comet -- Found the Old-Fashioned Way

Last weekend an amateur astronomer found a new comet the old-fashioned
way. Without the aid of computers or digital cameras, he simply looked
through his telescope and there it was! You can see the newfound Comet
Petriew for yourself in the morning sky gliding between the constellations
Taurus and Gemini.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast24aug_1.htm?list89800



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 575 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 25, 2001 (00:48) * 13 lines
* Fragment of ancient asteroid falls to Earth : (23
Aug)
A meteorite that plunged to Earth in January 2000 may be
the first fragment ever found of a primitive kind of
asteroid. The characteristics of the Tagish Lake
meteorite closely match the 'D-type' asteroids common in
the outer solar system, according to Takahiro Hiroi of
Brown University, US, and colleagues. Meanwhile, Sandra
Pizzarello of Arizona State University and team analysed
the carbon-rich meteorite to shed light on the chemistry
of the early solar system (T Hiroi et al; S
Pizzarello et al 2001 Science to appear).
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/8/19 ]

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 576 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 25, 2001 (00:53) * 15 lines
- Galileo's Flyby Reveals Callisto's Bizarre Landscape
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/jupiter-callisto-01a.html

* Satellites Search for Ancient Artifact
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/noahs_ark_010823-1.html
Military and private satellite snapshots of Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey reveal an anomaly that researchers say might be the remains of Noah's Ark.

* Stars Make Heavy Metal in Slow Burn, Study Shows
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/heavy_metal_010823.html
In the beginning, there was just hydrogen and helium. Things were light. Gold and lead and other heavy elements were not created when the universe sprang into existence with a Big Bang.

* Physicists Produce 'Doubly Strange Nuclei'
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/strange_quarks_010822.html
Strange science has taken a great leap forward at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. There, physicists have produced a significant number of "doubly strange nuclei," or nuclei containing two strange quarks.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 577 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 25, 2001 (01:01) * 6 lines
* Rare Canadian Meteorite Tagged as First of Its Kind Found on Earth
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/rare_meteorite_010824.html
Geology is easy in one sense. You know where the rocks came from because you (or someone paying attention) banged it off some Earthly outcrop with a hammer.


Why can't one come into my yard? I have a rock hammer, a tumulus (lava, not archaeological) and lots of appreciation for things extraterrestrial!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 578 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sat, Aug 25, 2001 (13:15) * 1 lines
Wow wonder why the meteorite was the first of it's kind? Guess I'll have to follow the link!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 579 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 25, 2001 (13:36) * 1 lines
I was just wondering the same thing - what makes that metoerite so rare. But, when I posted it, my eyes were too tired to read it. I shall do so now!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 580 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 25, 2001 (17:30) * 206 lines
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - AUGUST 24, 2001

KUIPER OBJECT DETHRONES CERES
When Robert L. Millis (Lowell Observatory) and his Deep Ecliptic
Survey team recorded a distant, 20th-magnitude body in the head of
Scorpius last May, they realized that it was circling the Sun beyond
Neptune among a swarm of similar bodies collectively called the Kuiper
Belt. They also suspected that their discovery, designated 2001 KX76,
might rival 1 Ceres for the title of largest asteroid. But at the
time, the new object's orbit was too uncertain to know its precise
distance from Earth. Lacking that, the team could only guesstimate a
size based on its apparent brightness.
Now a fresh round of observations has allowed European astronomers to
pin down the orbit and, in turn, the object's diameter. Team leader
Gerhard Hahn (German Aerospace Center) believes that 2001 KX76 is at
least 1,200 km across, assuming that its surface has an albedo
(reflectivity) of 7 percent -- and 1,400 is not out of the question.
Determining the size more accurately will have to await measurements
at far-infrared wavelengths, which have not yet been made.
Pinning down the orbit required some sleuthing and a bit of luck.
First, members of Hahn's team used a 2.2-meter telescope in Chile to
update the object's position. Then they traced the motion of 2001 KX76
back in time using Astrovirtel, an electronic image archive. Luckily,
the object turned up in several images dating back to 1982. Armed with
two decades of data, Arno Gnaedig (a German amateur astronomer)
calculated that 2001 KX76 is currently 43.2 astronomical units (6.5
billion kilometers) from Earth. Its orbit is similar to that of Pluto,
locked in a dynamical resonance with Neptune that keeps it an average
of 39.9 a.u. from the Sun.
Millis has yet to propose a name for 2001 KX76. Brian G. Marsden, who
coordinates minor-planet observations for the International
Astronomical Union, says that by convention such "Plutinos" are given
names for figures associated with the underworld. "Hades" might be a
good choice, Marsden hints, because of its prominence in Greek
mythology.

SIR FRED HOYLE (1915-2001)
Sir Fred Hoyle, one of the most influential and controversial
scientists of the 20th century, died in Bournemouth, England, on
August 20th. He was 86.
Hoyle is perhaps best known for championing the Steady State theory of
cosmology. First published in 1948, this theory postulated that the
universe is always expanding, and that matter is created at precisely
the rate required to maintain a constant space density of galaxies. A
steady-state universe has no beginning or end and its overall
properties stay the same throughout time. Today the theory has been
discredited, replaced by the Big Bang origin of the universe -- a term
Hoyle himself coined and meant to be derogatory.
The British astronomer was instrumental in making one of the greatest
breakthroughs in modern science. It was Hoyle, who in 1956 and 1957,
helped develop the idea that nearly all elements heavier than helium
are synthesized in stars.
Hoyle was also known throughout the scientific community for
outlandish views on topics such as evolution and panspermia. He
questioned Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, and believed
that life came to Earth from microbes living in outer space.
Hoyle was the first director of the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy
at the University of Cambridge, which he helped found. He was elected
as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1957, knighted in 1972, and
received the Royal Swedish Academy's Crafoord Prize in 1997. He was
also a prolific science-fiction writer, authoring dozens of titles.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara, his son, Geoffrey, and his
daughter, Elizabeth Butler.

STAR IN CYGNUS GOES NOVA
On August 18th, when Akihiko Tago photographed a region in northern
Cygnus, he found the unmistakable image of a 9th-magnitude star at
right ascension 21h 03.0m, declination +48 deg. 46' (2000.0
coordinates). That's hardly a surprise for such a rich Milky Way field
-- except for one thing. The Japanese amateur's pictures on three
previous nights (August 15th, 16th, and 17th) showed nothing at the
same spot!
IAU Circulars 7686 and 7687 report that the "new" star brightened to
about magnitude 6.6 within 24 hours of its discovery, then declined
somewhat. A spectrum obtained by K. Ayani with the Bisei Astronomical
Observatory's 1.01-meter (40-inch) telescope shows blueshifted
absorption features, the earmarks of a violent cosmic explosion. The
Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams has designated the star Nova
Cygni 2001 No. 2. Another Japanese amateur, K. Hatayama of Niigata,
independently discovered the nova on the same night as Tago, but his
report was delayed.
On August 21st around 2:08 Universal Time, John Bortle of Stormville,
New York, found the star to be magnitude 8.1. Dozens of similar
reports have been received by the American Association of Variable
Star Observers. If this is a typical galactic nova, it may hover
around 8th or 9th magnitude for a few weeks before beginning a gradual
fade back into obscurity.

CANADIAN EYEBALLS NEW COMET
On Saturday, August 18th, the 200 participants at the Saskatchewan
Summer Star Party experienced an exciting moment as Canadian amateur
astronomer Vance Petriew announced he had discovered a comet -- just
hours before and while at the star party. Petriew had been observing
deep-sky sights with his new 20-inch Obsession reflector. About 3:30
a.m., he decided to swing over to M1, the Crab Nebula, but he never
got there. Star-hopping down from Beta Tauri, in the horns of Taurus,
he stumbled upon a faint smudge that he suspected immediately was out
of place.
Petriew checked his star charts to determine which galaxy he might be
seeing. Luckily, Richard Huziak of the Royal Astronomical Society of
Canada's Saskatoon Centre happened to walk by for the first time that
night, and Huziak knew there were none in that area of the sky. The
two observers plotted the object's position and continued to watch
until dawn. Telltale motion through the stars certified that this was
definitely a comet -- but was it already known?
A download of the latest orbital data later in the morning showed no
other known comet in the immediate area. "We suspected it could be
Comet Wild 4," Petriew notes, "but that was 4ø away." Around 6:00 a.m.
they called the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. "With so many star parties going on the same
weekend in the Northern Hemisphere I was sure someone else would have
already discovered the comet," Petriew says, not to mention major
sky-survey operations like LINEAR and NEAT. But the discovery proved
to be his alone, as he learned the next day.
It is a rare event these days for any amateur to discover a comet
visually (the previous one, Comet Utsunomiya-Jones, was spotted last
November). But to do so at a star party with 200 other friends and
fellow astronomers present to share the excitement was a rare moment
for everyone.Moreover, this is the first comet discovered at a major
star party since Donald Machholz found one during the 1985 Riverside
Telescope Makers Conference.

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

AUG. 26 -- SUNDAY
* The Moon this evening forms the top of a flat triangle with Mars
(to its lower left) and Antares (to the Moon's lower right).

AUG. 27 -- MONDAY
* The orange "star" to the Moon's lower right this evening is Mars.

AUG. 28 -- TUESDAY
* The Moon, Mars, and Antares form a long, straight line in the
southern sky, from upper left to lower right.

AUG. 29 -- WEDNESDAY
* Turn a telescope on the waxing gibbous Moon tonight, and you'll
find the Sun rising on the Jura Mountains ringing the bay of Sinus
Iridum.

AUG. 30 -- THURSDAY
* The star nearly straight overhead after dark at this time of year
(assuming you live at a mid-northern latitude) is Vega -- a hot,
blue-white star 25 light-years away.

AUG. 31 -- FRIDAY
* The weak Alpha Aurigid meteor shower should reach its peak early
Saturday morning. Usually its meteors are quite few, but in 1935 and
1986 rates approached 30 per hour. Other such outbursts may have been
missed.

SEPT. 1 -- SATURDAY
* Arcturus is the brightest star in the west these evenings. Look a
third of the way from Arcturus up to Vega overhead to find the dim
semicircle of stars forming Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. The
semicircle is open to the upper right.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================

MERCURY is deep in the glow of sunset; look for it due west near the
horizon 20 or 30 minutes after sundown. The farther south you live the
better. Binoculars will help. (Don't confuse Mercury with Spica, which
is higher and well to the left in the west-southwest.)

VENUS (magnitude -4.0) is the brightest "Morning Star" shining in the
east at dawn. It's far to the lower left of bright Jupiter.

MARS is the brightest point in the southern sky after dark, shining
orange at magnitude -1.0. Fainter orange Antares twinkles far to its
right or lower right. For telescope users Mars appears 14 arcseconds
in diameter, but global dust-storm activity may still be obscuring
many of the planet's dark markings. A Mars observing guide and maps
are in the May Sky & Telescope, page 102.

JUPITER (magnitude -2.1) rises by about 2 a.m. daylight saving time.
It shines high in the east before and during dawn, midway between
dimmer Saturn to its upper right and brilliant Venus to its lower
left.

SATURN (magnitude -0.4) rises after midnight and glows yellow high to
Jupiter's upper right before and during dawn. Much closer to Saturn's
right is fainter orange Aldebaran. Above them are the Pleiades.

URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the southeast during evening.

PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the southwest in early
evening, to the upper right of Mars. Finder charts for Uranus,
Neptune, and Pluto are in the April Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at
lower resolution at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 581 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Sep  1, 2001 (14:13) * 12 lines
* Six of the best for gravitational lens :
The first simple 'gravitational lens' to create six
separate images of a distant galaxy has been discovered.
Unlike other more complex systems, the lens is made up of
just three galaxies, which focus the light from the
background galaxy. David Rusin of the University of
Pennsylvania and colleagues are confident that their
simulations of gravitational lensing based on the lens -
known as B1359+154 - can be expanded to explain the
behaviour of more sophisticated systems (D Rusin et
al 2001 Astrophysical Journal 557 594).
[ http://PhysicsWeb.org/article/news/5/8/22 ]

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 582 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Sep  1, 2001 (20:54) * 16 lines
UH plans aim to preserve Mauna Kea

HILO ** University of Hawaii President Evan S. Dobelle announced a number of actions
yesterday to foster astronomy on Mauna Kea while preserving the integrity of the mountain.
Paul Coleman, believed to be the only Hawaiian holding a doctorate in astronomy, has been
hired to join the Hilo branch of the university's Institute for Astronomy, Dobelle said.
Coleman is currently employed at the University of Puerto Rico.
Dobelle also proposed renaming the Hilo branch to the Malama Mauna Kea Center.
"Malama" means to preserve and protect, an apparent response to past criticism that the
university did not adequately care for cultural and biological resources at the summit.
Dobelle named William Stormont as director of Mauna Kea Management, replacing retired
Judge Walter Heen, who held the post created last year on an interim basis. A native of the
Big Island, Stormont served as manager of the state Natural Area Reserve System on the Big
Island for the past 10 years.

more... http://starbulletin.com/2001/09/01/news/story7.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 583 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Sep  1, 2001 (21:22) * 196 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - AUGUST 31, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
HEAVY-METAL STARS FOUND
Scientists using the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter
telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile have announced the
discovery of three lead-rich stars. The finding sheds light on how
heavy elements form in the universe.
Stars build heavy elements from lighter ones by nucleosynthesis.
Within the interior, hydrogen and helium fuse to form other elements,
which in turn combine to create even more massive products. In most
stars, this succession ends at iron. Anything heavier forms from
supernovas in which high-mass stars (greater than 8 Suns) explode at
the end of their lives.
But a rare few stars can produce elements heaver than iron without
exploding. These stars must be between 0.8 and 8 solar masses, they
must have reached the giant stage of their lives, and they must have
been metal-poor to start out with. Such metal-poor stars contain very
few elements other than hydrogen and helium, and tend to be
particularly old since they formed during an epoch in which little
nucleosynthesis had occurred.
In these unique stars, elements continue to combine past iron until
lead forms. Beyond that, products tend to radioactively decay back to
lead.
A team of astronomers led by Sophie Van Eck (Universite Libre de
Bruxelles) studied trio of CH stars -- HD 187861, HD 196944, and HD
224959 -- 1,600 light-years away. CH stars, named for the prominent
carbon-hydrogen molecules in their spectra, are always part of a
binary system. In the case of the three studied, all orbit white-dwarf
stars. Thus it appears that their deceased neighbors were once old,
metal-poor stars that met the heavy-element nucleosynthesis
requirement. They appear to have ejected their outer layers (including
the lead) and the nearby CH stars then incorporated the gas into their
stellar atmospheres.
"Our discovery of these lead stars is without any doubt the clearest
signature of the model prediction we have today," writes Van Eck in a
prepared statement. "The excellent agreement between predicted and
observed abundances . . . constitutes an important piece of
information on how the heaviest stable elements in the universe are
formed."

NEW PHYSICS FROM ANCIENT QUASARS?
Physical constants such as the speed of light in a vacuum, the
gravitational constant, and the mass and charge of the electron are
supposed to be just that: constant, unchanging with time and
indifferent to place. Yet, from glowing quasars billions of
light-years distant, astronomers may have teased evidence that one or
more fundamental constants has changed with time. John K. Webb
(University of New South Wales, Australia) and his colleagues have
examined the spectra of 28 quasars in order to track one atomic
quantity, the fine structure constant. Denoted by the lower-case Greek
letter alpha, the fine structure constant gauges the strength of the
electromagnetic force, which binds electrons to atomic nuclei.
Obtained with the Keck I telescope, the spectra studied by Webb's team
are streaked with absorption features from intergalactic gas clouds
that lie between us and the luminous quasars. Some absorption lines
are caused by ions in those gas clouds, and their wavelengths, in many
cases, are sensitive to the fine structure constant. Exploiting this
sensitivity, Webb's team has concluded that alpha was smaller --
albeit by only one part in 100,000 -- when the universe was about
one-third its present age. The result appears in Monday's Physical
Review Letters.
If it really has changed over the eons, "the standard model [of
particle physics] would require surgery," says Ohio State University
astrophysicist Robert J. Scherrer, with long-cherished notions such as
the constancy of light speed possibly falling by the wayside. However,
several scientists consider the result tentative. Coauthor Christopher
W. Churchill (Pennsylvania State University) maintains that the team
cannot find any systematic error that could explain away their
findings, despite an exhaustive search. However, he concedes, a
certain amount of skepticism will be justified until the result is
confirmed with another instrument (say, the Very Large Telescope in
Chile) and another set of quasar beacons.

MARS ODYSSEY RADIATION EXPERIMENT SHUT DOWN
Hoping to improve its sinking batting average for sending probes to
the red planet, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is playing it safe
with NASA's Mars Odyssey 2001, currently just two months away from
entering orbit. Controllers decided to turn off one of the
spacecraft's instruments -- the Mars Radiation Environment Experiment
(MARIE) -- after it failed to respond last week.
As its name implies, MARIE was designed to monitor radiation levels
during the spacecraft's journey to Mars and while orbiting the planet.
Radiation exposure will be a serious concern when humans journey to
Mars. Close to Earth, the Space Shuttle and International Space
Station astronauts are protected by our planet's magnetosphere. Beyond
this, however, spacecraft are subject to the full force of high-energy
particles from the Sun and deep space. Scientists hoped to predict the
radiation levels that Mars-bound astronauts may endure.
As valuable as this "cruise phase" information was, insuring a safe
arrival at Mars is a more important concern. Engineers will study the
problem with MARIE. "If there is a 'smoking gun' with a clear fix,"
explains mission manager David A. Spencer, "we will consider
implementing the fix." Otherwise, the instrument will remain off until
after Odyssey is in orbit. JPL reports that the rest of the probe's
instruments, which include cameras and a gamma-ray spectrometer, are
working fine.
After arrival, Odyssey will spend several months aerobraking into a
low orbit, and begin its 29-month science mission in January 2002. If
all goes well it will make high-resolution maps of Martian mineralogy,
including any signs of shallow subsurface water, and study the Martian
atmosphere and climate.

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.
SEPT. 2 -- SUNDAY
* Full Moon (exact at 5:43 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time).
* Turn a telescope on Venus low in the east just before dawn Monday
morning, and you'll find the 4th-magnitude star Delta Cancri
glimmering close by it.

SEPT. 3 -- MONDAY
* High in the eastern sky, well to the upper left of the Moon this
evening, is the Great Square of Pegasus, balancing on one corner. The
Great Square's evening arrival is a sure sign of the approach of fall.

SEPT. 4 -- TUESDAY
* Arcturus is the brightest star in the west these evenings. Well to
its right, in the northwest, is the Big Dipper.
To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0109skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0109skys.html .)

SEPT. 5 -- WEDNESDAY
* Mira, the brightest of the red long-period variable stars, should
be at maximum light (3rd or 4th magnitude) around this date.

SEPT. 6 -- THURSDAY
* Saturn's largest satellite, Titan, can be found with a small
telescope four ring-lengths west of the planet early Friday and
Saturday mornings.
* Early Friday morning the faint asteroid 9 Metis covers a
6th-magnitude binary star around 2:37 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (9:37
Universal Time). The double path crosses the northern end of
California. See the finder chart in the September Sky & Telescope,
page 99, or at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0109skyevents.shtml .

SEPT. 7 -- FRIDAY
* Tonight Uranus's satellite Titania should occult (cover) a
7.2-magnitude star in Capricornus for observers along a track from
Spain and Portugal to northern South America. Details of this rare
event are in the September Sky & Telescope, page 95 (where the phrase
"Saturday night" should read "Friday night - Saturday morning") and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0109skyevents.shtml .

SEPT. 8 -- SATURDAY
* Another occultation: the faint asteroid 129 Antigone hides an
8th-magnitude star for parts of the Midwest near 11:17 p.m. CDT. See
the finder chart in the September Sky & Telescope, page 99, or at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0109skyevents.shtml .

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is deep in the glow of sunset; look for it just above the
western horizon 20 or 30 minutes after sundown. The farther south you
live the better. Binoculars will help. Don't confuse Mercury with
Spica to its upper left, in the west-southwest.
VENUS (magnitude -4.0) is the brightest "Morning Star" shining fairly
low in the east at dawn -- far to the lower left of bright Jupiter.
MARS is the brightest point in the southern sky after dark, shining
orange at magnitude -0.8. Fainter orange Antares twinkles far to its
lower right. For telescope users, Mars has shrunk to 13 arcseconds in
diameter, and a global dust storm has obscured most of the planet's
dark markings since early July.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.1) rises around 1:30 a.m. daylight saving time.
It shines high in the east before and during dawn, midway between
dimmer Saturn to its upper right and brilliant Venus to its lower
left.
SATURN (magnitude -0.4) rises around 11:30 p.m. It glows yellow high
to Jupiter's upper right during early morning and dawn. Much closer to
Saturn's right is fainter orange Aldebaran. Above Aldebaran are the
Pleiades.
URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the southeast to south during evening.
PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the southwest in early
evening. Finder charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are in the April
Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at lower resolution at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 584 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Sep  5, 2001 (14:01) * 92 lines
This is about black holes.


RELEASE: 01-179

CHANDRA CATCHES MILKY WAY MONSTER SNACKING

For the first time astronomers have detected material
being consumed by the supermassive black hole in our own
backyard. A violent, rapid X-ray flare, captured by NASA's
Chandra X-ray Observatory, has been observed from the
direction of the supermassive black hole that resides at the
center of our Milky Way Galaxy.

A team of scientists, led by Fredrick K. Baganoff of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge,
detected a sudden X-ray flare while observing Sagittarius A*,
a source of radio emission believed to be associated with the
black hole at the center of our Galaxy.

"This is extremely exciting because it's the first time we
have seen our own neighborhood supermassive black hole devour
a chunk of material," Baganoff said. "It's as if the material
there sent us a postcard before it fell in."

In a few minutes, the source brightened dramatically,
eventually reaching a level 45 times brighter than before the
flare. After about three hours, the X-ray intensity rapidly
declined to the pre-flare level. "The rapid rise and fall of
the X-rays from this outburst are compelling evidence that
the X-ray emission is coming from matter falling into a
supermassive black hole, confirming that it is powered by the
same accretion process as quasars and other active galactic
nuclei," said Baganoff.

Baganoff added that the data also provide the best look yet
at the area just outside this event horizon, the surface of
"no return" for matter or light falling into a black hole.

Studies of the central region of our Milky Way Galaxy in the
infrared and radio wavebands indicate the presence of a
large, dark object, presumably a supermassive black hole,
having the mass of about 3 million suns. The faintness of
Sagittarius A* at all wavelengths, especially in X-rays, has
puzzled scientists who expected that the infalling matter
should shine more brightly on its way in, and this has left
some room for doubt.

The latest precise Chandra observations of the crowded
galactic center region have dispelled that doubt. Given the
extremely accurate position, it is highly unlikely that the
flare is due to an unrelated contaminating source such as an
X-ray binary system.

"The rapidity of the variations in X-ray intensity indicate
that we are observing material that is as close to the black
hole as the Earth is to the Sun," said Gordon Garmire of
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, principal
investigator of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS),
which was used in these observations.

"It's truly remarkable that we could identify and track this
flare in such a crowded region of space," said Mark Bautz of
MIT. "This discovery would not have been possible without the
resolution and sensitivity of Chandra and the ACIS
instrument."

Other members of the team Include: Niel Brandt, George
Chartas, Eric Feigelson and Leisa Townsley, all from Penn
State; Yoshitomo Maeda, Institute of Space and Astronautical
Science, Japan; Mark Morris, UCLA; George Ricker, MIT; and
Fabian Walker, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

The team first observed Sagittarius A* with ACIS on Sept. 21,
1999, and again on Oct. 26-27, 2000. The X-ray flare was
detected in the second observation.

The ACIS instrument was developed for NASA by Penn State and
MIT under the leadership of Gordon Garmire. NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra
program, and TRW, Inc., Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime
contractor for the spacecraft. The Smithsonian's Chandra X-
ray Center controls science and flight operations from
Cambridge, Mass.

Images associated with this release are available on the
Internet at:

http://chandra.harvard.edu

http://chandra.nasa.gov


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 585 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Sep  5, 2001 (17:47) * 1 lines
Very good, Terry. Now, if only it does not eat Chandra...!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 586 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Sep  7, 2001 (15:35) * 46 lines
* Attention all Mars observers: Flares have been sighted in Edom Promontorium! *
********************************************************************************

In the May 2001 issue of SKY & TELESCOPE (pages 115 to 123), Thomas Dobbins
and William Sheehan discussed rare historical observations of bright,
star-like flares from certain regions on the planet Mars. They suggested
that the flares might be caused by specular reflections of sunlight off
water-ice crystals in surface frosts or atmospheric clouds, specifically at
times when the sub-Sun and sub-Earth points were nearly coincident and near
the planet's central meridian (the imaginary line running down the center
of the visible disk from pole to pole).

Based on their analysis, Dobbins and Sheehan predicted that flares like
those last reported in 1958 might erupt this week in Edom Promontorium,
near the Martian equator at longitude 345 degrees. Dobbins organized an
expedition to the Florida Keys, where Mars would ride high in the south
under exceptionally steady skies. Expedition members observed the planet
using a variety of telescopes nightly beginning June 3rd. No flares were
seen for several nights. But on June 7th, beginning around 06:40 UT (2:40
Eastern daylight time), about 80 minutes before Edom crossed the central
meridian, the team observed a series of brightenings. Each lasted perhaps 3
to 5 seconds; they occurred sporadically over the next 90 minutes or so,
until clouds ended the observations. At times Edom appeared to pulse with a
period of 10 to 15 seconds for a minute or two. The flares were seen
visually at about 300 power through two homemade 6-inch (15-centimeter)
Newtonian reflectors (one f/6, the other f/8) by Dobbins, Donald Parker,
Gary Seronik, Rick Fienberg, and David Moore and were recorded on video at
1,400 power through a Meade 12-inch (30-cm) Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope by
Parker and Tippy D'Auria. Visually, the flares seemed to cut the dark
linear feature Sinus Sabaeus nearly in two.

Mars observers in North America, especially the western half, are
encouraged to observe the planet visually and to record it on video over
the next two or three nights, when conditions will continue to favor flares
in Edom. Observing reports -- including your location, Universal date and
time, telescope/equipment description, sky conditions, and any other
relevant details -- should be sent to the Mars sections of the Association
of Lunar and Planetary Observers (http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/alpo/) and
British Astronomical Association
(http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~baa/), as well as the
International Mars Watch (http://elvis.rowan.edu/marswatch).

Clear skies!
-- Rick Fienberg and Gary Seronik, SKY & TELESCOPE



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 587 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Sep 18, 2001 (19:35) * 118 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================

CHANDRA SPIES RARE ISOTOPES
By peering deep into the Orion Nebula, scientists using the Chandra
X-ray Observatory may have solved one of the lingering questions about
the early days of our own solar system.
The team lead by Eric Feigelson (Pennsylvania State University),
detected high abundances of three atomic isotopes -- aluminum-26,
calcium-41, and beryllium-10 -- around young stars in the nebula. The
isotopes were created by X-ray solar flares from the infant stars.
The same elements are found in our solar system, locked tightly in
ancient meteorites. Yet astronomers had struggled to understand how
those isotopes got there. The isotopes have a relatively short life,
meaning they must have formed sometime after the solar system's birth.
Nevertheless, it remained unclear how our Sun could produce them. Only
high-mass stars were believed capable of forming such isotopes. Thus
the most likely suspect was a nearby supernova explosion.
From the X-ray observations, astronomers now see that young Sun-like
stars not only can produce these isotopes, they can do it in the
abundances necessary to match the solar system's observed quantities.
Feigelson explains, "This is an excellent example of how apparently
distant scientific fields like X-ray astronomy and the origins of
solar systems can in fact be linked."

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

SEPT. 16 -- SUNDAY
* Arcturus is the bright star shining moderately low in the west
during and after dusk at this time of year. Look northwest at about
the same height for the Big Dipper. (It's oriented with its handle to
the upper left and bowl to the right.)

To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0109skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0109skys.html .)

SEPT. 17 -- MONDAY
* New Moon (exact at 6:27 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

SEPT. 18 -- TUESDAY
* The very thin crescent Moon serves as a marker for finding Mercury
and Spica after sunset. Scan for the Moon low in the west in bright
twilight, about 20 minutes after sundown. Mercury and fainter Spica
are to its lower left. Binoculars will help.

SEPT. 19 -- WEDNESDAY
* Spica and Mercury are slightly less than 1 degree apart as seen
from the Americas in twilight. Scan for them with binoculars low in
the west shortly after sunset, to the lower right of the crescent
Moon.
* Mars is 1 degree from 3rd-magnitude Lambda Sagittarii, the top
star of the Sagittarius Teapot, this evening and tomorrow evening.
* This evening the faint asteroid 222 Lucia occults (covers) a
7th-magnitude binary star in Pisces as seen from parallel tracks of
land that should cross Florida. The event is due around 11:22 p.m.
EDT. See the finder chart in the September Sky & Telescope, page 99,
or near the bottom of
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0109skyevents.shtml .

SEPT. 20 -- THURSDAY
* Regulus sparkles close to much brighter Venus low in the east
during early dawn this morning and Friday morning.

SEPT. 21 -- FRIDAY
* The orange star to the left or lower left of the crescent Moon at
dusk is Antares. Much farther left and a bit higher is brighter Mars.

SEPT. 22 -- SATURDAY
* Antares shines to the Moon's lower right early this evening. Mars
is much farther to the Moon's left.
* The September equinox occurs at 7:04 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
(23:04 UT). This is when the Sun crosses the equator moving south for
the year, marking the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and
spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is very deep in the glow of sunset; scan for it with
binoculars just above the western horizon 20 or 30 minutes after
sundown. The farther south you live, the less difficult it will be to
spot. Fainter Spica is close to Mercury this week.
VENUS (magnitude -3.9) is the bright "Morning Star" shining fairly low
in the east at dawn.
MARS is the brightest point in the south to southwest after dark,
shining orange at magnitude -0.5. It's in the top of Teapot star
pattern of Sagittarius. In a telescope Mars has shrunk to 12
arcseconds wide.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.2) rises around 1 a.m. daylight saving time and
shines very high in the east by dawn.
SATURN (magnitude -0.2) rises around 10:30 or 11 p.m. It glows yellow
high to Jupiter's upper right during early morning and dawn. Much
closer to Saturn's right is fainter orange Aldebaran.
URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the south during evening. Finder charts for Uranus and
Neptune are in the April Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .
PLUTO (magnitude 14) is in Ophiuchus in the southwest right after
dark.
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 588 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Sep 19, 2001 (16:33) * 24 lines
What is Redshift?

To understand redshift, think of a passing ambulance. The sound of the siren
changes as the ambulance goes by. This is because sound waves are compressed
as the ambulance moves toward you, and they are stretched as it moves away.
Scientists call this Doppler shift.
Stars, galaxies and quasars all emit energy that travels through space in the form of
waves, both visible light waves and higher-energy light, such as X-rays, that are not
visible.
As an object moves away from the Earth, the waves are stretched, since they have
farther to travel as the object moves. When the energy reaches Earth it will appear to
be at a lower level than it is at the source of emission.
Across each object's spectrum of emission are black lines, places where energy is
absorbed. This is due to gases in the composition of the object that absorb only
specific levels of energy.
In the visible light range, red light is less energetic than blue light. When a visible
object is redshifted, its movement away from us causes absorption lines in the
spectrum to appear closer to the lower-energy red end of the visible range than would
be expected if the object were not moving.
Conversely, if a visible object were moving towards us, it would appear more
energetic than it really was. The light waves would be pushed together, and the
absorption lines would be shifted towards the blue side of the visible light range.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/redshift.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 589 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Sep 25, 2001 (19:17) * 19 lines
AURORA ALERT

Space Weather News for Sept. 25, 2001
http://www.spaceweather.com

AURORA ALERT: An interplanetary shock wave spawned by Monday's powerful
solar explosion swept past our planet at approximately 2100 UT (2:00 p.m.
PDT) on Tuesday, Sept. 25th. The solar wind velocity soared from 400 km/s
to more than 800 km/s in a matter of minutes as the shock wave sped by.
Earth is still inside the resulting high-speed solar stream and auroras
are possible tonight even at low latitudes where such displays rarely
happen. Sky watchers are advised to look for Northern Lights after local
sunset. Local midnight is usually the best time for aurora spotting but if
a powerful geomagnetic storm develops bright auroras might be visible at
any time of the night.

For details and updates please visit http://www.spaceweather.com



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 590 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Sep 26, 2001 (16:50) * 154 lines
A s t r o A l e r t
Sun-Earth Alert

Solar Terrestrial Dispatch
http://www.spacew.com

25 September 2001

1. POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT AURORAL STORM WARNING.
2. WHITE LIGHT FLARE NOTIFICATION.
3. POTENTIAL SATELLITE ANOMALY WARNING.
4. COPY OF THE MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WARNING.

1. POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT AURORAL STORM WARNING

A significant major class X2.6 solar flare was observed from a sunspot
complex identified by NOAA as sunspot complex number 9632. This solar flare
was associated with a strong Earthward directed coronal mass ejection. It is
expected to impact the Earth late in the UTC day of 25 September (anytime
near 18:00 UTC on 25 September or 2 pm EDT on 25 September). The impact of
this disturbance could produce periods of major auroral storm activity
("northern lights") that may become visible from many middle and low latitude
regions. In response to this potential activity, a Middle Latitude Auroral
Activity Warning has been issued together with a Low Latitude Auroral
Activity Watch for the days of 25 and 26 September. A copy of the middle
latitude warning announcement has been included below (see item 4).

2. Todays major X2.6 solar x-ray flare was reportedly observed in
white-light by Jure Zakrajsek of Slovenia. Additional white-light flares are
possible in this region. See: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/mdi_sunspots.jpg

3. A strong category S3 (rated from S1 to S5) solar radiation storm was
observed following the eruption of todays strong solar flare. Energetic
protons travelling at near relativistic speeds (near the speed of light) have
produced heavy ionospheric absorption of high frequency radio signals through
the polar ionospheric regions. Spacecraft in geosynchronous orbits may
experience increased incidences of SEU's (single event upsets), which are
caused when an energetic proton impacts a spacecraft and releases some of
its energy in semiconductors components on the spacecraft. SEU's can result
in "phantom commands" on spacecraft that may (or may not) require operator
intervention to correct. Strong proton events such as this can also
permanently degrade the performance of solar arrays on spacecraft. In
situations where spacecraft power levels are already low, energetic proton
events can force spacecraft operators to shut down instruments in order to
preserve power. Atmospheric drag on lower orbiting spacecraft is also
expected to increase following the arrival of the coronal mass ejection and
the ensuing geomagnetic storm. Spacecraft with cameras are already observing
the effects of the heightened proton activity in the form of increased cosmic
ray noise produced as protons impact spacecraft imaging sensors and trace
out streaks of light. These conditions can confuse star tracking systems used
to maintain accurate spacecraft orientations.

4.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WARNING

ISSUED: 04:20 UTC, 25 SEPTEMBER 2001

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
*** POTENTIAL FOR HIGH ACTIVITY EXISTS ***


VALID BEGINNING AT: 15:00 UTC 25 SEPTEMBER
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC ON 28 SEPTEMBER

HIGH RISK PERIOD: 25 - 26 SEPTEMBER (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 25 - 28 SEPTEMBER

PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 30, 100, 40, 12 (25 - 28 SEPTEMBER)

POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: HIGH

POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 24 TO 36 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 36 TO 48 HOURS

ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR AND AFTER LOCAL MIDNIGHT

EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: MODERATE, BECOMING NIL AFTER MOONSET NR MIDNIGHT

OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: GOOD TO VERY GOOD

AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

CENTRAL/SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO ARIZONA TO NEW MEXICO TO TEXAS TO LOUISIANA
TO MISSISSIPPI TO ALABAMA TO GEORGIA AND POSSIBLY NORTHERN REGIONS OF
FLORIDA TO SOUTH CAROLINA.

ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

EXTREME NORTHERN MOROCCO TO EXTREME NORTHERN ALGERIA TO NORTHERN TUNISIA
TO SOUTHERN ITALY TO GREECE TO EXTREME NORTHERN TURKEY TO GEORGIA TO
NORTHERN AZERBAIJAN TO SOUTHWESTERN KAZAKSTAN TO NORTHERN UZBEKISTAN TO
CENTRAL KAZAKSTAN TO EAST-CENTRAL KAZAKSTAN TO EXTREME NORTHERN MONGOLIA
TO EXTREME NORTHEASTERN CHINA TO CENTRAL SAKHALIN. THERE IS A SMALL
POSSIBILITY EXTREME NORTHERN JAPAN MAY WITNESS ACTIVITY.

IN AUSTRALIA, ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY *SOUTH* OF A LIHE
FROM NORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES TO NORTHERN SOUTH AUSTRALIA TO CENTRAL
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

ALL OF NEW ZEALAND HAS MAY OBSERVE ACTIVITY.

IN SOUTH AFRICA, THE EXTREME SOUTHERN TIP OF SOUTH AFRICA (NEAR CAPE TOWN
AND PORT ELIZABETH) *MAY* OBSERVE SOME ACTIVITY DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE
STORM, IF PREDICTIONS HOLD TRUE.

IN SOUTH AMERICA, SOUTHERN REGIONS OF CHILE AND ARGENTINA *MAY* SPOT
PERIODS OF ACTIVITY SOUTH OF A LINE OF ROUGHLY 50 DEGREES SOUTH LATITUDE.
THE FALKLAND ISLANDS MAY ALSO SPOT PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.


SYNOPSIS...

A strong solar flare and high velocity Earthward directed coronal mass
ejection were observed at 10:38 UTC (6:38 am EDT) on 24 September. The
coronal mass ejection is expected to impact the Earth near 18:00 UTC (2 pm
EDT) on 25 September, give or take several hours.

The arrival of this disturbance is expected to produce periods of major
to severe geomagnetic and auroral storm activity. This disturbance has the
potential to be one of the largest observed this solar cycle. Observations
well into the low latitude regions may be possible if predictions hold true.

Observations will be best after local midnight in the northern
hemisphere when the moon sets (or after about 3 am in Australia/New Zealand).

Forecasters suggest this disturbance has the potential to last as long
as perhaps 48 hours. As a result, most middle latitude regions of the world
should have at least one chance to observe activity. Whether this holds true
remains to be seen. Forecasts of storm durations are an inexact science.

This warning will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC on 28 September. It
will then be updated or allowed to expire.

PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html

* OR *

Use the STD AURORA MONITOR Software to monitor conditions and
report sightings. It is available at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora

For Real-Time News and Discussions with Experienced Aurora Enthusiasts:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora)


WE HAVE A USEFUL DISCUSSION FORUM FOR AURORA ENTHUSIASTS AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html


** End of AstroAlert **

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 591 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Sep 28, 2001 (19:23) * 227 lines
1. Orionids - Debris from Halley's Comet...

The Orionids (ORI) reach a maximum on October 21st this year, at 08h
UT. UT refers to Universal Time, and is the time at Greenwich, England, so
you should check your own time zone accordingly. The ZHR, Zenithal Hourly
Rate, is about 20 meteors per person per hour, visible with the unaided
eye, if an observer is out under a dark country sky, and if the radiant,
the area in the sky where the meteors seem to come from, is directly
overhead.

The radiant at maximum on the 21st will be at 95 degrees, ie RA 6h 19.8m,
Dec +16, which is almost in the foot of Gemini, about 4 degrees to the
right of the star gamma Gemini, the star Alhena. The radiant (for
comparison) on October 10th will be at 88 degrees, ie RA 5h 52.2m, Dec +15,
which is very near the star 135 Taurus, about 7 degrees north of Betelgeuse
in Orion.

These are fast meteors, with a velocity of about 66 km per second, and can
be seen from about October 2nd through until about November 7th.

According to the IMO, the International Meteor Organization, in their 2001
Meteor Shower Calendar:

"October's waxing crescent moon enhances the Orionids this year too. They
are noted for having several maxima other than the main weekend one
detailed above, with activity sometimes remaining almost constant for
several consecutive nights centred on this peak... All observers should be
aware of these possibilities."

A map showing the movement of the Orionid radiant throughout October can be
found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal01.html#Orionids. The Orionid
radiant is the line labeled ORI.

The parent body of this meteor shower is the famous Halley's Comet! Edmond
Halley was appointed to the Chair of Geometry at Oxford University in 1704,
and went on to do an orbital study of several dozen comets observed between
1337 and 1698. It was during this study that he noticed similarity between
some of the comets. Once some of these were confirmed to be different
apparitions of the same comet, his name became attached - and Comet Halley
went on to become famous.

According to Gary Kronk's wonderful book "Comets - A Descriptive Catalog",
20th century astronomers have traced Halley's Comet back to 240 BC. In the
year 374, it was about magnitude -3.0, with a tail length of about 100
degrees across the sky. In the year 837 it reached about magnitude -2.0
with a 100 degree tail. In 1066 it was noted as brighter, about magnitude
-4.0, but no description of tail length was found. In the middle ages,
tail lengths seemed to be noted as shorter. In 1910, Halley's Comet
reached a magnitude of about 0.0, with a noted tail length of 90
degrees. Too bad that we have so much light pollution these days... it is
getting harder for the general public to see such wondrous sights!

The debris from this wonderful comet is still worth watching for - try to
get out of the city and away from all the lights to enjoy the shooting
stars from this famous comet!


2. Other October Showers...

The delta Aurigids (DAU), although having reached a maximum back on
September 8th, with ZHR rates of about 6 meteors per hour, are visible in
lesser numbers until about October 10th. These are fast meteors, with a
velocity of about 64 km per second. At last quarter moon on the 10th, the
radiant will be at 95 degrees, ie RA 6h 19.8m, Dec +49, which is very near
the star psi#1 Auriga. There is a questionable link between these meteors
and Comet Bradfield, C/1972 E1. For a map showing the radiant, check out
last year's IMO calendar at
http://ww.imo.net/calendar/cal00.html#delta-Aurigids.

The Draconids (GIA), also known as the Giacobinids, reach a maximum on
October 8th - and are well worth monitoring! The radiant at maximum is at
262 degrees, ie RA 17h 28.2m, Dec +54, which is just north of the star beta
Draconis, also known as Restaban, in the head of Draco. These are slow
meteors, at about 20 km per second, and can be seen from about October 6th
to 10th. This shower is named both after the constellation where the
radiant is, and after its parent body, Comet Giacobini-Zinner.
Giacobini-Zinner is a short period comet, returning about every 6.61 years.
The meteor rates are variable - and have stormed in the past, such as in
1933 and 1946 when thousands were seen! This is one of those wonderful
showers well worth watching for any surprises! For a map showing the
radiant, again, check out last year's IMO calendar at
http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal00.html#Draconids.

The epsilon Geminids (EGE) reach a maximum on October 18th, although can be
seen from about the 14th to the 27th. On the 18th, the radiant will be at
102 degrees, ie RA 6h 48m, Dec +27, which is several degrees north of the
star epsilon Gemini, also known as Mebsuta. A map showing the movement of
the radiant can be found at http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal01.html#Orionids.
ZHR rates at maximum are low, about 2 meteors per hour. These are fast
meteors, moving at about 70 km per second. The parent comet is theorized to
be either possibly Comet Ikeya, C/1964 N1, or Comet
Nishikawa-Takamizawa-Tago, C/1987 B1.

Both the southern Taurids (STA) and the northern Taurids (NTA) start to
become active around October 1st, but do not reach maximum until early
November. Both have fairly slow meteors, the STA's being about 27 km per
second and the NTA's about 29 km per second. At maximum, both showers
will have ZHR rates of around 5 meteors per hour, but rates in October will
be lower. On October 10th, near the time of the Draconids, the NTA radiant
will be at 29 degrees, ie RA 1h 55.8m, Dec +14, which is about 7 degrees
south of the star beta Aries, known as Sharatan. The STA radiant on the
10th will be at 31 degrees, ie RA 2h 4.2m, Dec +8, which is about 5 degrees
north of the star alpha Pisces. There is a group of objects possibly
associated with the Taurid meteor stream, as parent or sibling bodies,
including Comet Encke, and the splitting of these bodies is theorized to
have perhaps happened as long ago as 100,000 years in the past, depending
on which theories are considered. A map of the northern and southern
Taurid radiants can be found in the IMO calendar for 1999, at
http://www.imo.net/calendar/cal99.html#Taurids.

There are always very minor showers active as well, but they are not always
included on the IMO "Working List of Visual Meteor Showers". For extra
reading, you can check out Gary Kronk's "Comets and Meteor Showers" website
at http://comets.amsmeteors.org.

Besides recognized showers, there is also sporadic meteor activity in
October, about 7 meteors per hour, visible to the unaided eye. This
activity is comprised partly of random meteor activity and partly from
meteors that belong to long-ago, now untraceable showers.

Full moon this month is on Tuesday, October 2nd; last quarter on Wednesday
October 10th; new moon on Tuesday October 16th, and first quarter on
Wednesday October 24th.

The planets continue bright. Venus, in the morning sky is at about
magnitude -4. Jupiter is in Gemini, at about magnitude -2.3 for most of
the month. Saturn is in Taurus at about magnitude -0.6 for October. Both
Jupiter and Saturn will be up most of the night for northern
observers. Mercury, at about magnitude 1.4 in late October, will be within
1 degree of Venus for 11 days in late October and early November. For more
info on the moon and planets, check out http://www.heavens-above.com,
"Select" your location, and then check out the options.

For information on what we record when we watch meteors, check out our
Observing Guide at: http://www.namnmeteors.org/guide.html. We also have a
great set of star charts to use while observing - showing the
constellations, sky coordinates, and the magnitudes of stars useful in
judging the brightness
of the meteors you see. Check them out at:
http://www.namnmeteors.org/charts.html.


3. Preparing for Leonids...

Next month brings the Leonid meteor shower - probably the most awaited
meteor event of 2001. Here are several reading links to help prepare
you. You should start thinking now about where you want to be to observe
this unusual event! November will come very soon...

What is this shower?

Joe Rao has an excellent article on the Sky & Telescope website, called
"The Leonids: King of the Meteor Showers":
http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/leonids/king.html

The Astronomical Society of Australia has an Information Sheet, "The Leonid
Meteor Shower", with information provided by Rob McNaught, at:
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/asa_www/info_sheets/leonids.html

Where should I go to watch it?

Check out the detailed "Encounter Conditions 2000-2002" on the Leonid MAC
homepage:
http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/1998.html.

Predictions for various locations are given, based on a variety of
different models by various researchers.

Why is it so special?

Check out the history and past observations of the Leonid meteor shower on
Gary Kronk's "Comets and Meteor Showers" website at:
http://comets.amsmeteors.org/meteors/showers/leonids.html

When does it happen?

All of the nights around November 17th and 18th should be monitored -
before the maximum, during the maximum, and after the maximum. Surprises
can always occur.

The International Meteor Organization (IMO), in their 2001 Meteor Shower
Calendar, lists the period of activity of the Leonid shower as November
14th to 21st. Various prediction theories give various times of maximum
activity centered on November 17th and 18th. The website of the IMO
can be found at http://www.imo.net.

Who has more info for me to read up on?

Stay tuned to our "Meteorobs" email list. We are the best source in
town! If you are reading this newsletter, and are not yet on our email
list, consider subscribing so that you too can hear the latest Leonid
predictions and news, as they happen! To subscribe, go to our Subscriber
form at: http://www.meteorobs.org/subscribe.html.

4. Upcoming Meetings...

There are no meetings to report this month, but bookmark the following
site, which you may find handy for future reference:

"International Astronomy Meetings List"
http://cadcwww.hia.nrc.ca/meetings

5. For more info...

Contact:
Mark Davis, SC.meteors@home.com
Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA
Coordinator, North American Meteor Network

And check out:
NAMN home page:
http://www.namnmeteors.org

Back issues of NAMN Notes can be found on-line at the NAMN website, and
in the meteorobs archives at:
http://www.meteorobs.org
by selecting 'Browse Archive by Month'

To subscribe to the meteor email list or
To find out information on our weekly chat sessions:
Contact Lew Gramer at:
dedalus@alum.mit.edu
============================================
Here's to 'Clear Skies' for October...
October 2001 NAMN Notes co-written
by Mark Davis and Cathy Hall


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 592 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct  4, 2001 (17:18) * 56 lines
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VARIABLE STAR OBSERVERS
25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
INTERNET: aavso@aavso.org
Tel. 617-354-0484 Fax 617-354-0665
AAVSO ALERT NOTICE 291 (October 3, 2001)


1348-63 NOVA CENTAURI 2001 - POSSIBLE NOVA IN CENTAURUS

We have been informed by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (IAU
Circular 7726) that William Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, photographically
discovered a possible nova in Centaurus at magnitude 8.6 on images taken
October 1.010 and 1.011 UT, using Tech Pan film and an orange filter, at the
position:
R.A. = 13h 55.5m Decl. = -64 degrees 16' (2000)
Nothing is seen at the location of the nova down to magnitude 11.0 on films
taken by Liller on Sep. 19.00.

Photoelectric photometry of the new object obtained by A.C. Gilmore, Mount
John Observatory, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, using the 0.6-m f/16
reflector under unfavorable conditions (thin clouds and bright moonlight)
yields the following data for October 2.415: V = 9.11, U-B = +0.83, B-V =
+1.41, V-R = +0.81, V-I = +1.69, with an airmass of 2.18. Gilmore also
reported the following astrometry: R.A. = 13h 55m 41.9s, Decl. = 64 degrees
15' 48" (equinox 2000), with an uncertainty of <10" in each coordinate.
Additional observations submitted to the AAVSO include: Oct. 2.33 UT, 9.2, A.
Jones, Nelson, New Zealand (via IAU Circular 7726); 2.542, 9.3, A. Pearce,
Nedlands, W. Australia; 2.708, 9.5, L.A.G. Monard, Pretoria, South Africa;
2.9931, 9.4, A. Amorin, Florianapolis, Brazil; 3.510, 9.6, A. Pearce,
Nedlands, W. Australia.
Accompanying is an AAVSO 'd' scale preliminary chart of N Cen 01 prepared by
C. Scovil. Please use this chart to observe this nova, and report your
observations of 1348-63 N Cen 01 to AAVSO Headquarters, making sure to
indicate which comparison stars you used.
Congratulations to Bill on his latest discovery!

CHARTS AVAILABLE ON AAVSO WEB AND FTP SITES
Electronic copies of the chart for N Cen 01 mentioned in this Alert Notice
are available through our web site at the following address:
http://www.aavso.org
The chart may also be obtained directly from our FTP site:
ftp.aavso.org (209.192.236.2), in /alerts/alert291)

We encourage observers to submit observations via our website (online data
submission tool WebObs), or by email in AAVSO format to
observations@aavso.org. If you do not have AAVSO Observer Initials, please
contact Headquarters so we may assign them to you. The answering machine at
AAVSO Headquarters is on nights and weekends; use our charge-free number
(888-802-STAR = 888-802-7827) to report your observations, or report them via
fax (617-354-0665).
Many thanks for your valuable astronomical contributions and your efforts.
Good observing!
Janet A. Mattei
Director
Kerriann H. Malatesta
Technical Assistant


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 593 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct  5, 2001 (18:56) * 3 lines
A gold mine of great articles on astronomy that I discovered while hunting for an image of SRI's microwave dish. I have not yet found the image, but I am still hunting. See Geo 35 for fascinating discussion. Mike come back! Talk to John. Until you do I cannot post there.

http://www.ftlmagazine.com/dbarch.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 594 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Oct  6, 2001 (00:30) * 10 lines
Spacecraft At Io Sees And Sniffs Tallest Volcanic Plume

Jupiter's moon Io has pulled a surprise on NASA's Galileo spacecraft, hurling up the tallest volcanic plume
ever seen, which arose from a previously unknown volcano...
Adding to the surprise, for the first time a Galileo instrument has caught particles freshly released from an
eruption, giving scientists a direct sample of Io material to analyze....

More...
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/jupiter-io-01a.html 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 595 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Oct  6, 2001 (14:51) * 164 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - OCTOBER 5, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================
NEW ERUPTION OFFERS A TASTE OF IO
Two months ago, as NASA's Galileo spacecraft closed in on Jupiter's
moon Io, mission scientists tingled with anticipation. The flyby on
August 6th (Universal Time) was designed to send the spacecraft
skirting just 194 kilometers (120 miles) from the colorful moon's
surface and, specifically, through the plume of a vigorously erupting
volcano named Tvashtar Patera. During the spacecraft's previous visits
Tvashtar had been spewing matter skyward to a height of nearly 400 km.
Unfortunately, Tvashtar remained disappointingly quiescent during the
encounter. But Io still offered a stupendous display for the visiting
spacecraft, in the form of an entirely new eruption, some 600 km to
Tvashtar's south. Just-released Galileo images show that the unnamed
volcano was shooting its umbrella-shaped plume to heights of at least
500 km, making it the tallest plume yet found among the moon's
ever-changing surface. Measurements taken by Galileo's infrared mapper
should eventually yield the eruption's temperature and some
constraints on its composition.
Luckily, Galileo's trajectory carried it through the new volcano's
towering plume, affording its plasma experiment a whiff of the "strong
breath" spewed skyward from the surface. According to plasma
investigator Louis A. Frank (University of Iowa), the exhaled
particles appear to be microscopic snowflakes formed by clumped
molecules of sulfur dioxide. Frank and his team hope to deduce the
plume's velocity and temperature -- important clues about what powers
the eruption.
To date most of the volcanic activity has been confined to regions
near Io's equator. But this new eruption (41 deg. north, 133 deg.
west), together with the far-northern volcanoes of Tvashtar and
Dazhbog Patera (also seen erupting in August), may signal a change in
the moon's internal stirrings. The spacecraft gets another chance to
examine Io close up on October 16th, and a final flyby (not yet
funded) to occur next January 17th.

THE HEART OF OMEGA CENTAURI
Omega Centauri, the biggest and brightest globular star cluster in the
sky, is a beautiful, speckled glow in an amateur telescope. But no
scope on Earth has ever revealed the richness of globular clusters the
way the Hubble Space Telescope has in an image released this week.
Astronomy books have long stated that Omega Centauri contains several
million stars, but only when one gazes into the high-resolution
version of the new image does the full force of that statement come
through.
Most of the cluster is made of main-sequence stars roughly similar to
the Sun, though they are much older (about 12 billion years old
compared to the Sun's 4.6 billion years) and contain only small traces
of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. This deficiency of heavy
elements is probably why globular-cluster stars seem not to have
planets. Close encounters between stars in this rich environment may
also disrupt any solar systems that do manage to form. Actual
collisions between stars are rare -- even in the heart of a globular,
space is mostly very empty -- but the cluster is so old that thousands
of collisions have probably occurred. Astronomers have identified a
few post-collision "merged" stars by their odd colors.

MAP HITS ITS MARK
Three months ago NASA launched its newest astrophysics satellite, the
Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP), from Cape Canaveral, Florida. After
circling Earth three times and getting a gravity boost from the Moon,
the craft is finally positioned to begin its observations.
MAP will have the advantage of observing from near the L2 Lagrangian
point, a location suspended 1.5 million kilometers above local
midnight on Earth. From there, looking outward into space with its
view unobstructed by the Earth, Moon, or Sun, the craft will take
readings over the whole sky every six months.
Built at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, MAP will continue the
work of the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite in studying
the 3 deg. K cosmic background radiation left over from the Big Bang.
But while instruments on COBE only had an angular resolution of 7
deg., MAP will detect features as small as 13 arcminutes -- and it
will discern temperature variations of as little as 0.00002 deg. Such
tiny differences correspond to structures in the early universe that
grew by gravitational collapse into the galaxies and superclusters of
the present day. The MAP science team predicts that its first all-sky
maps will be available in December 2002.

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

OCT. 7 -- SUNDAY
* Once the Moon is up in the eastern sky late this evening, look to
its upper right for Saturn. To Saturn's right is fainter orange
Aldebaran. Far to the upper left of this grouping sparkles Capella.
And look above Aldebaran for the Pleiades star cluster.

OCT. 8 -- MONDAY
* Saturn's biggest moon, 9th-magnitude Titan, can be found with a
small telescope three or four ring-lengths to Saturn's west tonight
and tomorrow night.

OCT. 9 -- TUESDAY
* Jupiter and the last-quarter Moon shine together in the eastern
sky throughout the small hours of Wednesday morning.

OCT. 10 -- WEDNESDAY
* Early this evening, large-telescope users in northernmost New
England and the Canadian Maritime provinces may be able to time an
11th-magnitude star in Aquarius being occulted (covered) for up to 19
seconds by the faint asteroid 407 Arachne. This event should happen
within a few minutes of 22:46 Universal Time. See the finder chart in
the October Sky & Telescope, page 106, or at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0110skyevents.shtml .

OCT. 11 -- THURSDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: Look high in the northeastern sky during
evening this week for the W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia. The right
side of the W is tilted up. High in the east is the big, rather dim
Great Square of Pegasus, balancing on one corner. The Great Square is
a bit larger than your fist held at arm's length.
To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0110skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0110skys.html .)

OCT. 12 -- FRIDAY
* Mars is at perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun.

OCT. 13 -- SATURDAY
* Look for the waning crescent Moon shining above Venus in the
eastern sky during dawn Sunday morning.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is hidden in the glare of the Sun.
VENUS (magnitude -3.9, at the Leo-Virgo border) shines low in the east
at dawn.
MARS (magnitude -0.2 in Sagittarius) is the bright orange point in the
south during twilight, and lower in the southwest later in the
evening. In a telescope Mars has shrunk to a small, gibbous blob just
10 arcseconds wide.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.3 in Gemini) rises around 11 p.m. daylight
saving time. It climbs higher to dominate the eastern sky during the
early morning hours (it's the brightest point of light high up at that
time) and shines very high in the south at dawn.
SATURN (magnitude -0.3 in Taurus) rises around 9 p.m. It glows yellow
high to Jupiter's upper right after they've both risen, and to
Jupiter's right around the first light of dawn. Much closer to
Saturn's right or lower right is orange Aldebaran.
URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus in the south during evening. Finder charts for them are in
the April Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .
PLUTO (magnitude 14 in Ophiuchus) is low in the west-southwest right
after dark.
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 596 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Oct 18, 2001 (22:33) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 597 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Oct 21, 2001 (12:57) * 176 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - OCTOBER 19, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com

EIGHT NEW EXTRASOLAR PLANETS FOUND
Last week astronomers using the Anglo-Australian and Keck telescopes
announced eight new planets they have found around other stars. These
bring the grand total of known exoplanets to nearly 80.
Astronomers found these and the other planets by closely measuring
stellar radial velocities. When a planet revolves around a star, its
gravity tugs on that star. Over the course of an orbit, the tugging
causes a tiny periodic "wobble" as the star swings toward and then
away from Earth. Short-period wobbles correspond to short-period
orbits; longer-period orbits yield longer-period wobbles.
Planet hunters, such as the Keck team lead by Geoff Marcy (University
of California, Berkeley) and R. Paul Butler (Carnegie Institution of
Washington) have been monitoring stars for several years now. As a
result, they are starting to confirm longer-period wobbles. Out of the
eight new detections, seven have Earth-size orbits or larger.
Interestingly, planets with short-period orbits tend to have highly
eccentric paths. The exceptions are those so very close to their stars
that the orbits have been tidally circularized. However, this is less
the case with longer-period extrasolar planets, when generally have
more circular paths. This trend raises hopes that solar systems like
ours -- where the giant planets have circular orbits, thus allowing
the existence of the Earth -- are common rather than rare.

LUNAR SOIL REVEALS SOLAR SECRETS
The topmost layer of the Moon's surface is coated with trace materials
from the Sun, and these are providing some insight into processes in
the solar atmosphere. Unlike the Earth, the Moon isn't protected by a
particle-deflecting magnetosphere and amtosphere. Thus, the lunar
surface is subject to the full force of the solar wind and high-energy
cosmic rays from elsewhere in the galaxy.
Kunihiko Nishiizumi (University of California, Berkeley) and Marc W.
Caffee (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) examined specimens of
lunar soil collected by Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and
Harrison H. Schmitt. The Moon-walkers collected one sample within a
centimeter of the surface and dug out the other from a 25-cm-deep
trench. Nishiizumi and Caffee explain in the October 12, 2001, issue
of Science how they used several baths of acid to liberate radioactive
isotopes of beryllium, aluminum, and chlorine from the soil particles
and then measured the quantities of the atoms. In the case of
beryllium-10 -- which is unstable because it has an extra, sixth
neutron in its nucleus -- they identified about 15 percent more in the
shallow soil sample than would be expected if the atoms came from
cosmic rays.
Furthermore, beryllium-10 has a half-life of 1.5 million years, far
younger than the Moon, so there must be a source of continual
replenishment. Nishiizumi and Caffee conclude that the beryllium is
being carried to the Moon from the Sun. Energetic protons bombarding
carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms in the solar atmosphere create the
isotope. The solar wind then carries it away.
The researchers note that the quantity of beryllium-10 suggests that
the atoms are flung out soon after they are formed. Calculations
revealed that if they mixed more deeply into the Sun's surface layers
first, there would be only about a ten-thousandth as much beryllium in
the lunar soil. Consequently, much less of the solar atmosphere seems
to churn back into deeper layers within the Sun than solar researchers
have believed.

HALLOWEEN OBSERVING
Wednesday, October 31st is Halloween, of course. With all the
youngsters and accompanying adults wandering around after dark, why
not give the ghosts and goblins an astronomical treat? Set up a
telescope in the driveway and give the trick-or-treaters a glimpse of
the night sky. There's plenty to look at in the early evening. This
year, there's a full Moon. That will surely enhance the spooky
atmosphere, so give them a close-up view. Mars will also be available
in the early evening. Or pick from favorite deep-sky objects such as
the Andromeda Galaxy.

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.
OCT. 21 -- SUNDAY
* The crescent Moon shines low in the southwest at dusk. Well to its
left or upper left, look for orange Mars.

OCT. 22 -- MONDAY
* Mars shines to the Moon's upper left early this evening.
* The brightest star very high in the west during evening is Vega, a
blue-white star larger and hotter than our Sun and 25 light-years
away. The brightest star even higher above Vega is Deneb, about 1,600
light-years away.
To identify the stars and constellations all around your sky, use the
printable evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0110skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0110skys.html .)

OCT. 23 -- TUESDAY
* First-quarter Moon (exact at 10:58 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time).
The orange dot near the Moon tonight is Mars.
* The Moon occults (covers) Mars this evening for parts of Africa.

OCT. 24 -- WEDNESDAY
* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, can be found three or four
ring-lengths west of the planet tonight and tomorrow night. A small
telescope will show it.
* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of
its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a
couple hours centered on 12:03 a.m. Thursday morning Eastern Daylight
Time. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and to brighten.
For a timetable of all its predicted minima see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/variables/algol.html .

OCT. 25 -- THURSDAY
* Jupiter's moon Io disappears into eclipse by Jupiter's shadow
around 2:49 a.m. Friday morning Eastern Daylight Time. Using a small
telescope, watch Io fade out of view over the course of a minute or so
just west of the planet.
* The red long-period variable stars R Pegasi, W Andromedae, and T
Eridani should all be at maximum brightness (7th or 8th magnitude)
around this date.

OCT. 26 -- FRIDAY
* Take a look well below the Moon this evening to spot the Autumn
Star, Fomalhaut.
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 1:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The "red" spot is
currently very pale orange-tan. It should be visible for at least 50
minutes before and after in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the
atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady. For a list of all predicted
Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

OCT. 27 -- SATURDAY
* Venus and Mercury remain less than 1 degree apart for 11 days
starting this morning. Look for them low in the east in the glow of
sunrise. Try binoculars!
* Algol should be at minimum light for a couple hours centered on
8:52 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
*MERCURY glimmers near bright Venus very low in the east during dawn.
Mercury is gaining both brightness and altitude every day. It's
closing in on Venus from below; they'll be less than 1 degree apart
all next week.
*VENUS shines low in the east during dawn, with much fainter Mercury
below it.
*MARS (magnitude 0.0, moving from Sagittarius to Capricornus) is the
bright orange point in the south during twilight. It's lower in the
southwest later in the evening. In a telescope Mars has shrunk to a
small, gibbous blob just 9 arcseconds wide.
*JUPITER (magnitude -2.4, in Gemini) rises around 10:30 p.m. daylight
saving time. The brightest point of light in the sky, Jupiter climbs
higher to dominate the eastern and southern sky during the early
morning hours. It shines high in the southwest at dawn.
*SATURN (magnitude -0.3, in Taurus) rises about an hour after dark. It
glows yellow high to Jupiter's upper right once they've both risen,
and to Jupiter's right or lower right before dawn. Much closer to
Saturn's right or lower right is fainter orange Aldebaran.
*URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively) are in
Capricornus and highest in the south right after dark. Finder charts
for them are in the April Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .
*PLUTO (magnitude 14) is disappearing into the glow of sunset.
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 4 hours.)

More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!
SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 *
617-864-7360


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 598 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Oct 21, 2001 (13:05) * 3 lines
Does the teminology used here leave you confused and misunderstanding what we say? Look at the definition of terms at IMO's website (They need better wallpaper in there!)

http://www.imo.net/glossary.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 599 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Oct 23, 2001 (17:27) * 4 lines
A small test for my own edification from John's suggestion. If it does not update, it is gone. If it does, watch for it in a more prominent position:




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 600 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Oct 23, 2001 (19:21) * 1 lines
*Hugs* John! It works! Now, to install it where you suggested. I think I might wait until my headache subsides. Oh, yes, I have it bookmarked because another CME has occurred and we will be seeing the change of the numbers in a few days.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 601 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Oct 26, 2001 (20:15) * 14 lines
[1]ASTRONOMY

* ISO Finds 30 "Failed Stars" in Nearby Stellar Nursery
* Webcasts Trace Odyssey's Success
* A Comet's Plunge Into the Sun Captured by NASA Spacecraft
* Mars Odyssey Swings Around the Red Planet
* Chandra Looks at the Aftermath of a Massive Star Explosion
* Painting With Oxygen and Hydrogen
* Mars Odyssey: Why Failure Is Not an Option
* Mars Within Los Alamos' Neutron Spectrometer's Reach
* Landing Sites for 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers Mission Identified

References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-astron

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 602 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Oct 28, 2001 (17:24) * 175 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - OCTOBER 26, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit http://www.skypub.com
===========================================================

MEADE SUES CELESTRON OVER "GO TO" TECHNOLOGY
The long-standing battle between California-based telescope juggernauts
Meade and Celestron is about to expand beyond the showroom and into the
courts. Within hours of receiving a patent for technology used in its
breakthrough, low-cost ETX telescopes, Instruments filed suit in U.S.
District Court against rival Celestron International and parent company
Tasco Sales.
Meade alleges that its competitors copied "distributed-intelligence"
technology that Meade developed in bringing automatic Go To pointing to
low-cost telescopes. By distributing the and telescope control among
several low-cost components, Meade engineers dramatically reduced the cost
of automated telescopes compared with earlier models that consolidated this
work in a costly central processor. Go To telescopes are public access to
the cosmos by allowing people to take a push-button tour the heavens with
minimal prior knowledge of the night sky.
Before Meade introduced its computerized ETX line in January 1999,
telescopes featuring automatic pointing cost several thousand dollars and
were purchased primarily by advanced amateur astronomers and institutions.
Small ETX refractors are now available for under $300 and are sold in many
department and camera stores. Celestron introduced its competing NexStar
line of low-cost computerized telescopes in July 1999.
Reached in Japan during a business trip, Meade Chairman and CEO John Diebel
told SKY & TELESCOPE that the lawsuit seeks damages of approximately $45
million and asks that Celestron and Tasco stop selling Go To telescopes
that directly infringe on Meade's patent. "We hate resorting to
litigation," Diebel says, "but we have repeatedly warned Celestron since
August 1999 that it is stepping on our intellectual property." Diebel
further notes that such lawsuits typically take several years to resolve
and that unless Meade seeks, and is granted, a preliminary injunction
against its competitors, all parties will likely continue to make and sell
Go To telescopes.
Celestron Senior Vice President Joe Lupica says that his company is going
to aggressively fight the lawsuit. When asked how this might affect the
telescope market, Lupica answered, "the consumer has to lose in the short
term, since dollars and resources will be spent on the [law]suit instead of
improving products."
Asked the same question, Diebel spun his answer around. "We spent a couple
of million dollars and thousands of man-hours developing the technology
behind low-cost Go To telescopes. We certainly feel the consumer has
benefited greatly from this technology. Where is our incentive to continue
putting money and time into research and development of new and better
products if we can't protect our intellectual property? We're going to be
spending more than $2 million this year on R&D, and we owe it to
shareholders and consumers to protect this investment."

MARS ODYSSEY ARRIVES INTACT
After cruising across 460 million kilometers of interplanetary space over
6.5 months, NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft reached the red planet
Tuesday. The spacecraft was "captured" into a looping 18.7-hour orbit after
being slowed by a 20-minute-long rocket firing beginning at 7:23 p.m.
Pacific time (2:23 Universal Time on October 24th). Most of the burn
occurred with the spacecraft behind Mars and out of communication with
Earth, and once radio contact was reestablished, anxious engineers
determined that the complicated maneuver was executed flawlessly. "Hundreds
and hundreds of things had to go right," noted project manager Matt
Landano, "and they did." In fact, analysis shows that the spacecraft hit
its target, 300 km above the Martian surface, to within 1 km.
The success of this all-important orbit maneuver is helping ease painful
memories of NASA's two previous Mars missions, each of which failed just as
it reached the planet. On September 23, 1999, the Mars Climate Orbiter
entered the planet's atmosphere too low upon arrival -- due to an infamous
mixup involving metric-English conversions -- and likely burned up. Ten
weeks later, on December 3rd, Mars Polar Lander and its hitchhiking payload
of two Deep Space 2 probes disappeared without a trace as they descended to
the surface and presumably crashed.

Thus, Mars Odyssey represents a chance at redemption for NASA and its
outgoing administrator, Daniel Goldin. In the weeks ahead, the spacecraft
will pass through the planet's thin upper atmosphere some 380 times, using
air friction to gradually bleed off velocity and altitude. By February the
craft should be in its final, circular orbit, traveling pole to pole at an
altitude of 400 km. Then its scientific survey work will begin. Mars
Odyssey carries an infrared imaging system, called THEMIS, that will use
infrared spectroscopy to determine the composition of mineral deposits on
the surface. THEMIS is designed to work in concert with the spacecraft's
gamma-ray spectrometer, which should map the abundance of hydrogen just
below ground level (hydrogen is a proxy for the presence of water). A third
experiment, for studying the planet's radiation environment, failed to
respond to commands from Earth in August and has been shut down.

HALLOWEEN OBSERVING
Wednesday, October 31st, is Halloween, of course. With all the youngsters
and accompanying adults wandering around after dark, why not give the
ghosts and goblins an astronomical treat? Set up a telescope in the
driveway and give the trick-or-treaters a glimpse of the night sky. There's
plenty to look at in the early evening. This year, there's a full Moon --
that will surely enhance the spooky atmosphere, so give them a close-up
view. Mars will also be available in the early evening. Or pick a favorite
deep-sky object such as the Andromeda Galaxy or the Pleiades.

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.
OCT. 28 -- SUNDAY
* Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. (for most of North America).
Clocks "fall back" one hour.

OCT. 29 -- MONDAY
* High above the Moon early this evening, look for the Great Square of
Pegasus, tilted onto one corner. It's large (your fist at arm's length
easily fits inside it) but rather dim, being made of 2nd-magnitude stars.

OCT. 30 -- TUESDAY
* The brightest star in the west these evenings is Vega. The brightest
high above it is Deneb. To identify stars and constellations all around
your sky, use the printable evening star map and instructions at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/northern/0111skyn.shtml (if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere skywatchers:
use the map at http://www.skypub.com/sights/southern/0111skys.html .)

OCT. 31 -- WEDNESDAY
* Full Moon tonight (exact at 12:41 a.m. Thursday morning Eastern
Standard Time).
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian (the
imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to pole)
around 11:53 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is currently very pale orange-tan. It
should be visible for at least 50 minutes before and after in a good 4- or
6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady. For a list
of all predicted Red Spot transit times, see
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/redspot.html .

NOV. 1 -- THURSDAY
* Saturn's largest moon, 8th-magnitude Titan, can be found four
ring-lengths east of Saturn tonight and tomorrow night. A small telescope
will show it.

NOV. 2 -- FRIDAY
* The Moon shines near Saturn and Aldebaran once they rise in midevening.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 1:32 a.m. Saturday morning EST.

NOV. 3 -- SATURDAY
* The Moon shines just to the lower left of Saturn during mid- to late
evening for North America. The Moon occults (covers) Saturn after dark for
Europe and northern Asia. Philippe Mollet plans to webcast the event live
from Mira Observatory in Belgium (see
http://mira.telenet.be/live/saturn.html).

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY and brighter VENUS shine less than 1 degree apart low in the east
during dawn.
MARS (magnitude +0.1, in Capricornus) is the orange "star" in the south
during twilight and lower in the southwest later in the evening. In a
telescope Mars has shrunk to a small, gibbous blob just 9 arcseconds wide.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.5, in Gemini) rises around 9 p.m. standard time and
is well up by 10. The brightest point of light in the sky, Jupiter
dominates the east through the middle of the night and the high south
during the early morning hours.
SATURN (magnitude -0.3, in Taurus) rises shortly after dark. It glows
yellow high to Jupiter's upper right later in the night, and to Jupiter's
lower right in the west before dawn. Twinkling much closer to Saturn's
right during evening (and below it before dawn) is Aldebaran.
URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively, in Capricornus)
are highest in the south right after dark. Finder charts for them are in
the April Sky & Telescope, page 104, and at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/moonplanets/outerplanets01.html .
PLUTO (magnitude 14) is disappearing into the glow of sunset.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the
words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North
America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 4
hours. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time minus 5 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and astronomy
bookstore at http://www.skypub.com/ . Clear skies!
SKY & TELESCOPE, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138 * 617-864-7360


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 603 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Nov  2, 2001 (14:46) * 4 lines
Leonid Meteor Shower Predictions for 30 U.S. Cities
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/leonids_citytimes.html

Please report your successes. Or otherwise, actually! Is there intelligent life out there? It is cloudy here and also in Greece. I hope there are clear skies for everyone else.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 604 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov  5, 2001 (20:05) * 134 lines
A s t r o A l e r t
Sun-Earth Alert

Solar Terrestrial Dispatch
http://www.spacew.com

05 November 2001

Details, images, and movies:
http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html

A significant and powerful solar flare (X-class event, the most powerful
class of x-ray flares rated) exploded from active sunspot complex number 9684
at 16:19 UTC (11:19 pm EST) on 04 November. Less than 20 minutes later, a
barrage of highly energetic particles (protons with energies greater than 100
million electron volts) travelling at near the speed of light began flooding
the near-Earth space environment. At the same time, a large coronal mass
ejection (CME) was observed by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
spacecraft's Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment (LASCO)
cameras. The trajectory of the ejected mass was quickly determined to be
Earth-directed based on the halo of light that was observed propagating
outward from the Sun with each of the LASCO images that were received.

The velocity of the coronal mass ejection was estimated to be relatively
high (at least 1,000 km/sec). The ejected mass formed a shock wave in the
inner-corona of the Sun. The shock wave excited electrons as it propagated
outward, resulting in a loud radio emission known as a Type II sweep
frequency event. As the shock wave propagated outward to regions of lower
electron density, the observed radio emissions also decreased in frequency.
Through the use of models that describe how electron densities decrease with
altitude through the solar corona, it is possible to estimate the velocity
with which the responsible shock wave propagated outward through the corona.
The results thus far suggest the shock wave may have been travelling at a
velocity in excess of 1,300 kilometers per second (4.68 million kilometers
per hour or almost 3 million miles per hour). A spacecraft moving that fast
(still a dream by todays standards) would be able to traverse the distance
from the Earth to the Moon in less than 5 minutes!

The CME is predicted to impact the Earth near 06:00 UTC on 06 November
(11 pm EST on **05** November for North American observers), +/- up to 8
hours. The arrival of this disturbance is expected to produce a potentially
strong auroral storm. Observers interested in watching for the "Northern
Lights" are therefore encouraged to watch the skies of 05 and 06 November for
activity. A fairly strong light show is possible on those dates.

Additional information, including images and movies of the solar flare,
are available at: http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html

Additional major solar flares are possible over the next 3 to 5 days.

A middle latitude auroral activity warning has been issued and is
appended below:

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WARNING

ISSUED: 06:20 UTC, 05 NOVEMBER 2001

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
*** POTENTIAL FOR HIGH ACTIVITY EXISTS ***


VALID BEGINNING AT: 00:00 UTC ON 06 NOVEMBER (7 pm EST on 05 November)
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC ON 07 NOVEMBER

HIGH RISK PERIOD: 06 NOVEMBER (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 05 - 07 NOVEMBER

PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 12, 50, 20, 12 (05 - 08 NOVEMBER)

POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE - HIGH

POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 12 TO 18 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 18 TO 24 HOURS

ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT

EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: MODERATE

OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: FAIR TO GOOD

AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

SOUTHERN OREGON TO NORTHERN UTAH TO NORTHERN COLORADO TO NORTHERN KANSAS
TO MISSOURI TO KENTUCKY TO VIRGINIA.

ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

SOUTHERN FRANCE TO NORTHERN ITALY TO SLOVENIA TO HUNGARY TO NORTHERN
ROMANIA TO NORTHERN MOLDOVA TO UKRAINE TO CENTRAL RUSSIA. MOST OF NEW
ZEALAND AND EXTREME SOUTHERN REGIONS OF AUSTRALIA MAY ALSO SPOT PERIODS
OF ACTIVITY. THERE IS ALSO A *SLIGHT* CHANCE EXTREME SOUTHERN REGIONS OF
CHILE AND ARGENTINA MAY SPOT BRIEF PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.


SYNOPSIS...

Auroral activity is expected to intensify to storm levels following the
anticipated arrival of a potentially strong coronal mass ejection early in
the UTC day of 06 November (evening hours of 05 November over North America).
The disturbance is expected to last approximately 18 to 24 hours. The moon is
roughly 70% illuminated during this period of time and will therefore prove
to be somewhat of a hinderance to observing activity once it rises higher in
the sky. Nevertheless, activity could become intense enough at times to
override the influence of the moon.

This warning will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC on 07 November. It
will then be updated or allowed to expire.

PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html

Other Tools:
o Monitor real-time conditions and report sightings using software at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora
o On-line global discussion forum:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html
o Chat in real-time with others using IRC at:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora in the IRC software).
o Real-time notification of events via Digital SMS:
http://www.spacew.com/sms
** End of AstroAlert **
==================================================================
AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine, 49 Bay
State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. This e-mail was sent to
AstroAlert subscribers. If you feel you received it in error, or
to unsubscribe from AstroAlert, please see our unsubscribe form
at http://www.skypub.com/news/astroalert/unsubscribe.html or send
a plain-text e-mail to majordomo@skypub.com with the following
line (and nothing else) in the body of the message:
unsubscribe sun-earth e-mail@address.com
replacing "e-mail@address.com" with your actual e-mail address.
================================================================== 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 605 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov  5, 2001 (23:20) * 16 lines
Correction to the above astro alert:

Estimated time of impact is around 06:00 UTC, which translates to
01:00 am EST on 06 November, not 11 pm EST on 05 November as was indicated
in the AstroAlert.
==================================================================
AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine, 49 Bay
State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. This e-mail was sent to
AstroAlert subscribers. If you feel you received it in error, or
to unsubscribe from AstroAlert, please see our unsubscribe form
at http://www.skypub.com/news/astroalert/unsubscribe.html or send
a plain-text e-mail to majordomo@skypub.com with the following
line (and nothing else) in the body of the message:
unsubscribe sun-earth e-mail@address.com
replacing "e-mail@address.com" with your actual e-mail address.
================================================================== 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 606 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov  5, 2001 (23:21) * 3 lines
My son reports sighting his first aurora:

We observed a nice red northern sky this evening at 8:20 pm local time!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 607 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Nov  6, 2001 (10:38) * 1 lines
Any news on the giant meteor shower coming up on the night of November 17th and the morning of November 18th?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 608 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov  6, 2001 (13:56) * 1 lines
Yup will post it directly... MeteorObs is kweeping track of it for me!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 609 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov  6, 2001 (14:14) * 5 lines
* Leonid Meteor Storm! When, Where and How to Watch

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/leonid_watching_011106-1.html

The Leonid meteor shower will flicker and flash above North America late on Saturday, Nov. 17 through early Nov. 18. All you need to see it are your eyes, a dark location, and a little weather luck. This and a few other simple tips will assure a good view of the event, which experts say should be spectacular this year.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 610 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov  6, 2001 (14:27) * 1 lines
Excellent brilliant red aurora were reported to me from mid-California and Washington DC. I will look tonight just in case...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 611 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov  6, 2001 (18:34) * 28 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
POTENTIAL MAJOR SOLAR FLARE WARNING

ISSUED: 20:00 UTC, 06 NOVEMBER 2001

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
SYNOPSIS:

Active sunspot complex 9690 contains a strong delta configuration with
an east-west oriented neutral line imbedded. Gradients appear to be high
and there is evidence of magnetic shear between the two delta spots. There
has been notable activity in the neutral line filament over the last 12
hours as well as fairly frequent subfaint flaring. Although we would prefer
to wait until better quantitative data is available before rendering a
judgement, there may be a sufficient number of conditions satisfied for a
major solar flare to occur within this region over the next several days,
particularly if growth continues as it has.

Active Region 9687 is also a slightly larger concern today following the
eruption of a strong cell of positive polarity flux immediately to the north
of the leader negative polarity spot, thus forming a tight but small delta
configuration. If growth continues, this area of Region 9687 may well become
capable of producing energetic solar flare activity. Additionally, the
coronal magnetic fields of Region 9687 appears to be in a sigmoid type
helical structure which may (over the next several days, and if growth in
this region continues) prove to be eruptive.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 612 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Nov  7, 2001 (15:32) * 107 lines
AstroAlert: The Leonids to Provide an Unforgettable Show in Nov

On Sunday morning November 18, early morning risers in the Americas'
have chance to witness a true shower of meteors provided by the Leonids.
The Leonid meteor shower is active annually on November 18 but the show
is normally a meager 10-15 meteors per hour. Ever since the parent comet
of the Leonids, 55P Temple-Tuttle entered the inner solar system in
1998, the Leonids have provided enhanced displays to those willing to
brave the cool morning air. Time is running out though as the comet
recedes back into the remote reaches of the outer solar system. Good
displays are possible this year and next but after 2002 the activity
returns to normal until 2031, when the comet again returns to the inner
solar system. Even then and in 2066 experts are predicting unimpressive
Leonid displays due to close encounters of the comet and the outer
planets. What makes this year so important is that the moon will be a
slim waxing crescent, setting well before the show begins. This allows
potential observers to watch in truly dark conditions. In 2002 the
Leonid display will be compromised by a full moon, which will allow only
the brighter meteors to be seen.

For those located in the Americas' the Leonids are predicted to reach
maximum activity between 10 and 10:30 Universal Time on Sunday morning
November 18th. This corresponds to 5:00-5:30AM EST, 4:00-4:30AM CST,
3:00-3:30AM MST, and 2:00-2:30AM PST. Other peaks are predicted to occur
later near 17:30 and 18:15 Universal Times. These later times favor the
Eastern Pacific area, Eastern Asia and Australia. Since these areas are
located west of the International Date Line it will be important to note
that from those locations the meteor shower will occur on Monday morning
November 19 local time.

The earth does not begin encountering Leonid meteors before November 10.
From November 10-15 the Leonid rates are very low with only 1-2 meteors
being seen each morning. Even on the 16th and 17th rates will still be
less than 10 Leonids per hour. Not until we approach the times of
predicted maximum activity will Leonid rates exceed 100 meteors per hour
and hopefully much higher. The process then repeats itself in the
opposite order as the earth moves past the main swarm of Leonid meteors.
The last of the Leonid meteors appears near November 25. Leonid meteors
are not visible until late in the evening when the constellation of Leo
the Lion rises in the eastern sky. As Leo rises higher into the sky the
chance of seeing more activity increases.

No one knows precisely how many meteors will appear. Experts predict
that the maximum activity seen near 18:15 UT will produce the most
activity. Let me state that if you are located in any of the areas
mentioned above you will most likely witness the most impressive
meteoric display to be seen during your lifetime. So this is definitely
an event not to be missed! Being on a weekend I would suggest traveling
to an adjacent county or state to escape cloudy skies. Your local
weather bureau web site provides links to infrared satellite pictures
that show the higher clouds at night. This is invaluable resource when
trying to find the nearest clear skies.

One should plan to start observing at least one hour before the
predicted time of maximum activity just in case maximum activity arrives
early. Don't expect to see much activity by strolling outside and simply
looking up. Your eyes need time to adjust to the dark. Your neck muscles
will also tire quickly. If you wish to see some serious activity you
need to lie in a comfortable lounge chair. Unless you are located in the
tropics a sleeping bag or heavy blanket would certainly help you remain
comfortable. Leonid meteors can be seen in any portion of the sky. It's
best to look at least halfway up so that none of your field of view is
wasted on the ground. That streetlight located across the street will
not help either. Most of the Leonid activity will be dim meteors. To see
this display in all its glory you need to get away from all sources of
artificial lighting to some safe rural area. Usually the local astronomy
club will have a rural site available for observing.

If you wish to do more than just watch, then it is useful to know that
scientific data can be obtained by simply counting the number of Leonids
and non Leonids seen. The start and ending times should be recorded
along with any breaks taken during the observing session. Shower
association will be easy as the Leonid meteors will all have parallel
paths and come from the same general area of the sky. They will also
have a similar velocity as seen within your field of view. Non Leonids
(sporadics) can travel in any direction at any velocity. If you are
familiar which the magnitude system it is also helpful to list the
magnitude of the faintest star you can see in your field of view.
Typical urban estimates should be near +5.0. Rural skies are better at
+6.0 and higher. If you are really enthusiastic then you may wish trying
to record the time and magnitude of each meteor seen. Of course if
activity becomes too high then a simple count per minute will suffice.
Meteor reports can be sent to me at: lunro.imo.usa@home.com and to Sky &
Telescope at: observers@skypub.com
For more information on observing meteors visit the Sky & Telescope Web
Pages at: http://www.skypub.com/sights/meteors/meteorwatch.html
A weekly preview of current meteor activity is also published each
Thursday at: http://www.amsmeteors.org/lunsford/

Clear Skies!
Robert Lunsford
Secretary General of the International Meteor Organization
Visual Meteor Program Coordinator of the American Meteor Society
Meteors Section Coordinator of the Association of Lunar & Planetary
Observers
==================================================================
AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine, 49 Bay
State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. This e-mail was sent to
AstroAlert subscribers. If you feel you received it in error, or
to unsubscribe from AstroAlert, please see our unsubscribe form
at http://www.skypub.com/news/astroalert/unsubscribe.html or send
a plain-text e-mail to majordomo@skypub.com with the following
line (and nothing else) in the body of the message:
unsubscribe meteor e-mail@address.com
replacing "e-mail@address.com" with your actual e-mail address.
=====================================================


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 613 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Nov  8, 2001 (13:13) * 25 lines

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MAJOR SOLAR FLARE ALERT

ISSUED: 08:50 UTC, 08 NOVEMBER 2001

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\


A major class M5.7/1N solar flare was observed from active Region 9690
at 20:01 UTC on 07 November. This flare was fairly unsubstantial. It was not
associated with any substantial radio emissions. There were no observed
coronal mass ejection activity around the time of the event and hence no
anticipated terrestrial effects are expected from this event either.
An extremely impulsive class M9.1/1F solar x-ray flare was also observed
at 07:04 UTC on 08 November from Region 9687. A strong Type II radio sweep
was associated with this event. The estimated shock velocity was 871 km/sec.
A 5-minute tenflare of 460 sfu was also observed with this event. This latter
event may have been associated with a coronal mass ejection. There is no
LASCO imagery available at the moment to confirm this. However, radio data
would appear to support the idea of a possible CME. If a CME was indeed
associated with this event, there stands a good chance it will be
Earth-directed.
Additional potentially stronger major flares may be possible from
Regions 9690 and 9687.
** End of Notice ** 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 614 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Nov  8, 2001 (14:33) * 10 lines
Jaw-dropping Leonids

NASA Science News for November 8, 2001

On Sunday morning, Nov. 18, 2001, sky watchers somewhere will see a
dazzling storm of Leonid meteors. Read this story and find out how you
can be one of them.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast08nov_1.htm?list89800

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 615 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Sat, Nov 10, 2001 (04:35) * 29 lines
Sun - Moon Interaction

(by John Tsatsaragos)

The Moon, our closest celestial neighbor, is the permanent Earth's escort in her travel around the Sun. A sufficient number of phenomena that exist because of the Moon's presence. It is something unknown to many of us. For example, most people are not even aware that there are Earth tides. I will refer to the Earth tides, but first I wanted to examine with you the Earth-Moon system.

The two objects have a common mass center (CMC) that is located at a distance of about three-quarters of the Earth's radius from the center of the Earth in the direction of the Moon. This means that this CMC is following the Ecliptic path around the Sun, and is not the center of the Earth. While the Moon rotates around the Earth, the center of the Earth is rotating around the CMC. You can see the CMC in the image below, as a red dot on the Earth.



Also, you can see the path of Earth's center during a complete rotation of the Moon around the Earth. If we imagine the movement of the CMC on the Ecliptic path, we can see the Earth and Moon movements. Like the movements of a dancing pair, they are like the lady makes big circles around her partner.



The CMC remains on the line between Moon and Earth centers, but the Earth rotates around its axis making a full rotation in 24 hours. The CMC is traveling under our feet during this 24-hour period. We can say that CMC is the point where the gravitation force is applied from the Sun to the pair of the Earth and Moon.

On the other hand, the Earth has big faults that are dividing the crust into separate tectonic plates.



Gravitational forces from Moon and Sun are applied to the Earth and they produce the tides. Tides also appear in the crust. So, the shape of the Earth becomes like an egg. During the rotation of the Earth around its axis, the Earth's bulge appears in the direction of the resultant gravity force from Sun and Moon.

If a fault (like fault A in the image below) occurs in this direction (during earth's rotation around its axis), the edges of the fault tend to open and removal forces appear on both sides, because volume expands. The continual movement of the both side plates tends to cover the produced additional space. Thus fault edges remain together but the place of the plates is slightly different.



The fault is traveling and arrives at the fault B position in six hours. Fault edges tend to close the fault because the volume decreases under gravity force. So, collision forces become strong, and piezoelectric voltages appear on the earth's crust. The pressure at the fault B edge becomes high. And if this pressure extends beyond the breaking limit of the rocks, we have violent deformation and EQ. Scientists have found no correlation between the tides and earthquakes. This is true because tidal forces are small. The main fact is that the continual movement of the plates develops big pressures along the faults. Tidal effect can only accelerate the process of the EQ preparation to a degree. But, the tidal effect it produces measurable in piezoelectric voltages when the pressure across the fault edges increases to high values. This is a good index and can help us in order to predict EQ's.

(You can read in GEO 9, responses 201, 206 & 209, how we use the tidal effect with success in Greece in order to predict EQ's).
/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 616 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Sat, Nov 10, 2001 (04:47) * 3 lines
I would your opinion for this above.
Regards
John

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 617 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov 10, 2001 (19:25) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 618 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov 10, 2001 (19:55) * 3 lines
John!!! Oops, posted the information about the Leonid meteor shower before I posted my delight in your post. I love your graphics. I am sure you created them just for the occasion. Not only can I understand what you are teaching us, I am delighted in how wondeful it looks. Thank you for taking such pains to make it look special. I hope many people see it and comment on how excellent it is.

Does anyone still dance like that? I can but it has been years. You also do the tango, I hear. *sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 619 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Tue, Nov 13, 2001 (01:19) * 3 lines
We are dancing this dance from the first moment of our life because we are parts of the Earth. Those of us that are enough romantics, a tango with the beloved match under full Moon and Latin old music, can be a beautiful dream. I imagine this dance on the planetary dancing floor because I am much more romantic. I am sorry.
John 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 620 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov 13, 2001 (13:24) * 29 lines
*Smile* John, my delight is in sharing the planetary motions with you. I am also a romantic. Please, never apologize for that. I find it enchanting. *Hugs*

Regional Location: NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL MEXICO
Magnitude: 5.7M
Greenwich Mean Date: 2001/11/13
Greenwich Mean Time: 09:47:36

Regional Location: NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
Magnitude: 5.8M
Greenwich Mean Date: 2001/11/13
Greenwich Mean Time: 10:43:22

Regional Location: NEBRASKA
Magnitude: 3.3M
Greenwich Mean Date: 2001/11/13
Greenwich Mean Time: 01:56:13

Regional Location: 3 MI. SSE OF BOMBAY BEACH, CA
Magnitude: 3.5M
Greenwich Mean Date: 2001/11/13
Greenwich Mean Time: 16:45:04
(One of several 3+ magnitude quakes in this area today)

Regional Location: 3 MI. SSE OF BOMBAY BEACH, CA
Magnitude: 3.1M
Greenwich Mean Date: 2001/11/13
Greenwich Mean Time: 18:57:07



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 621 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov 13, 2001 (13:24) * 44 lines
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NO. 1-317
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY NOV 13, 2001
NEIC QUICK EPICENTER DETERMINATIONS

UTC TIME LAT LONG DEP GS MAGS SD GAP STA F-E REGION AND COMMENTS
HRMNSEC MB Msz USED

NOV 06
000319.3* 21.442S 178.995W 600G 4.4 1.0 124 18 FIJI ISLANDS REGION
001629.0& 37.090N 113.370W 4 8 UTAH. . ML 2.9 (SLC).
002818.0& 34.013S 70.971W 8 9 CHILE-ARGENTINA BORDER
REGION. . MD 3.3 (GUC).
035413.0& 36.200N 120.330W 10 14 CEN CALIF. . MD 2.8
(NC). Felt at Coalinga.
040839.5& 34.662S 72.453W 10 12 NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE.
. MD 3.8 (GUC).
043434.5& 33.573S 71.635W 33N 9 NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE.
. MD 3.5 (GUC).
050650.0& 44.835N 6.742E 2 7 FRANCE. . ML 1.8 (LDG).
061253.1 30.381S 71.024W 54 5.3 0.8 107 114 NEAR COAST OF CENTRAL CHILE.
MD 5.1 (GUC). Felt (V) at Coquimbo, La Serena and Ovalle; (IV) at
Copiapo and Vallenar; (III) at Alto del Carmen and Petorca.
063542.4& 35.182S 71.094W 105 7 CENTRAL CHILE. .
064004.5& 32.356S 70.545W 105 10 CHILE-ARGENTINA BORDER
REGION. . MD 3.8 (GUC).
064439.4* 53.746N 160.561E 49* 4.5 1.2 104 27 NEAR EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA
073746.1& 44.786N 7.789E 6 13 NORTHERN ITALY. . ML
2.9 (LDG).
083553.2& 32.116S 69.643W 152 4 MENDOZA PROV, ARG. .
110326.0& 49.368N 6.908E 1 9 GERMANY. . ML 2.7
(LDG).
111041.6& 34.834S 70.438W 135 4 CHILE-ARG. BDR REG. .
122543.7& 45.495N 4.707E 3 15 FRANCE. . ML 2.4 (LDG).
130931.6* 21.309S 170.309E 33N 4.7 1.3 129 20 SOUTHEAST OF LOYALTY ISLANDS
140924.9 27.205N 91.958E 33N 5.2 4.3 0.7 92 93 BHUTAN
160919.3 34.033N 79.715E 33N 4.9 4.0 0.6 125 58 KASHMIR-XIZANG BORDER REGION
165456.9* 22.519S 178.919W 600G 4.3 1.2 130 18 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
173839.3* 14.580S 167.474E 33N 4.3 1.2 130 16 VANUATU ISLANDS
175512.8& 45.473N 6.509E 5G 10 FRANCE. . ML 2.2 (LDG).
185911.0& 45.146N 6.505E 5G 26 FRANCE. . ML 2.6 (LDG).
201517.0* 20.929S 70.186W 33N 4.6 0.9 130 18 NEAR COAST OF NORTHERN
CHILE. Felt (III) at Tocopilla; (II) at Maria Elena and Quillagua.
221355.3 21.821S 176.801W 200G 4.6 0.9 132 27 FIJI ISLANDS REGION
golden co usa 2001 NOV 13 12:12 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 622 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov 13, 2001 (13:26) * 1 lines
Happiness is talking to John while he sees the little quakes happening in FRANCE, of all places. Or when he gets a large anomaly on his earthquake signals. It is like being in the pocket of God and seeing what will happen next. Thank you for that!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 623 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Mon, Nov 19, 2001 (04:27) * 5 lines
Hi all

What is peoples impression of Venus when they read about the planet and the physical parameters?? I understand some consider it to be a living variant of what Hell may look like because of its heat and pressure.

Rob

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 624 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov 20, 2001 (12:59) * 1 lines
Venus is pretty well cloaked if thick clouds of toxic materials. Rob, please tell me you are not going there on your next Geology field trip! Hot, YES!!! Never gave much thought as to how Hell looks. Are we using Dante's version or a Biblicallly dire threat to keep us in line?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 625 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Tue, Nov 20, 2001 (21:35) * 144 lines
I View the Beautiful Meteor Shower

The experts had told us that the show mother nature would put
on in the skies in the early hours of 18 November 2001 would
be, what?, the biggest Leonid (or any other) meteor shower in
85 years. With 35 years until another comes along that is as
dramatic.

I didn't know what to expect, or even if I could get up that
early, but between the persistent chirping of my little clock
and the fact that I was hearing dainty exclamations of delight
coming from Mrs. Witherspoon, across the way, I managed to
raise my tousled head from the pillow and don my street
clothes and put my shoes on and prepare to go out.

I made a little decaf, of which I drank a third, preserving
the rest to warm myself up after the show finished.

It was 4:04 a.m. at this point.

I went outside to the front and noticed that two carloads of
people were parked not too far away, leaving their headlights
on for internal light and security, and they were sitting
quietly in their car, watching the skies also.

I took up a position near the fence and, training my eyes on
the Southeastern horizon, the first telltale signs of the
majestic meteor shower were about ten parallel traverses of
the extreme lower horizon of the fantastic inverted bowl above
our heads. These occurred over a space of just a half minute
or so, as if a great cultivator astride the comet was tossing
handfuls of heavenly seeds out into space as it went past our
beautiful planet.

It was still, the night air was cold. Light pollution was less
than normal. Just a little pinkish glow to the SE, but dark
otherwise.

Directly overhead was a smallish area more intensely black
than the surrounding depths of space. I decided this was a
place where it could be ascertained that the Milky Way was
_not_, but it was impossible to tell whether the slightly less
black regions of the sky were that way due to light pollution,
minor cloudiness or because they _were_ parts of the Milky Way
Galaxy. I wore black pants and my black windbreaker over a
sport shirt. This combination was not very warm for standing
motionless in the cold night air. Several times I thought of
going inside to get a short-length down jacket, but the
display overhead held my attention.

By the next time I checked my watch, at 4:26 a.m., it was
evident that the meteoric fragments were dropping more and
more often. I loved the little streaks they left in the sky in
their wake. Like sparkly contrails. "Stardust!" I thought. I
could observe them piercing the atmosphere in every quadrant
of the sky, thought in the Southeast there seemed to be even
more light pollution than before: the pinkish glow seemed
brighter. Or maybe my eyes were just more adjusted to the dark
by that time.

It occurred to me to have some consideration for the several
carloads of people who had parked nearby to watch the show, so
I opened the door and, reaching in, turned off my brilliant
outdoor lights. The view was immediately better, though the
absence of lighting emphasized the cold. Several bright
meteors went by and, following a longish pause I distinctly
heard a "bang" from each, coming from far overhead. "Gee,
nobody told me these guys were gonna make _sound_," I thought.
But it would figure that a meteor going through the atmosphere
would create a sonic boom.

The young people who'd been going "Ooooh!" with each major
sighting were fairly transported by the addition to sound to
the spectacle. From another direction I heard gay laughter,
several people talking, the sound of a car door slamming. I
decided, improbable thought it seemed in the chill of
pre-dawn, that somebody was having a backyard meteor-watching
party in their backyard.

By 5:00 our attention was diverted from the overhead spectacle
by the appearance of red tongues of flame to the southwest,
low on the horizon. The pinkish glow I'd assumed was light
pollution now appeared to be a forest fire. I hoped that it
would be quickly put out and prayed for the cute little
woodland animals in that area.

Just then, though, one of the meteors sailed sharply down
overhead, filling a moon-sized portion of the sky as it went
with brilliant green "stardust" and landing not too far from
us, perhaps five or six blocks away, with a loud boom. Pieces
of the gabled roof of a house briefly flew up and flames
danced in distant trees. There was a stifled exclamation from
the "Ooooh!" people, then silence from them. I pictured them
standing with their mouths open.

Simultaneous with its sonic boom, a meteor struck at the
nearby intersection of two roads, landing with an even louder
boom and a sizzling sound continued for a long time and small
shards of asphalt roadway dropped into the yard. From the
house where the backyard party I hear a single scream.

The flames in the Southeast are nearer now and the sky,
overhead is abuzz with meteors, some of them high and silent,
some producing loud sonic booms, some so low you can hear a
swishing or whooshing sound as they pass.

I am beginning to feel the earth rumbling beneath my feet. As
I notice that a nearby house jumps several feet in the air,
all its windows shattering outward, brilliant red light
shining out from within and through growing cracks in between
roofing tiles, momentarily invisible as a huge red ball of
flame expands past the previous contours of the house and it
shatters inaudibly amid a trememdous roar of explosion.

There are more screams now. I stand rooted in place, viewing
it all, disbelieving my own senses.

The impacts come more and more frequently. Sirens are sounding
from four different directions. The woods are 50% involved in
fire by this time.

A pack of wild dogs flies down the street at top speed. Some
of the dog's coats are smoking. Two teenage girls, partially
atired, are keeping pace with their frantic flight in the
middle of the pack.

I am knocked to the ground as my neighbors house disintegrates
in another ear-splitting impact. My yard is showered with
tattered pieces of clothing. My car tires are burning.

I have left the area, evacuated. They say it is unsafe to go
back.

R. c/o Mobile Red Cross Evacuation Support Unit
Carlisle, PA

Pretty much, this is accurate to the line I indented one space
(at "4:26 am"); there was no glow on the SE horizon. It was
so-so. I have been spoiled, having seen something glance off
earth's atmosphere in 1974, low on the horizon, huge and
brilliant. Breathtaking. Passenger in a car going up the ramp
to a huge bridge at the early evening hour when I saw it.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 626 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Nov 20, 2001 (22:56) * 7 lines
This is stunning! I know everything is bigger in Texas. The meteors more dazzling, the close encounters with space goodies (you do send them up from Houston, on occasion) and the TALL tales are the tallest.

I believed every single word. I love your mentioning the stardust trails because I thought the very thing when I saw my first bollide. Our low cloud cove kept the warmth in and the seeing of any meteors out in Hilo.

I'll make up for it a little when I have Thanksgiving dinner in a most elegant setting on the rim of Kilauea Volcano's Summit Caldera. The Volcano House is world famous. I'll take my camera to show you why - weather permitting.

I'm still amazed at your story-telling ability mixing narrative and what could be possible. Thanks for a great read and heart-stopping coverage.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 627 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Nov 21, 2001 (19:24) * 1 lines
as i told marcia, i saw nothing but fog *sniffle* terry, you had me going there until the first one fell *grin*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 628 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Nov 21, 2001 (19:56) * 5 lines
I have heard from HL in Pennsylvania:
We had clear sky, so I checked for meteors, beginning at about 5:00 a.m.
Having learned from past experience to be disappointed (1/minute); I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a lot of meteors. The most I counted in one minute was about 15, but I think some of the later minutes had more. Sometimes there were even more than one at a time, with 5 once!

My son reported taling 193 photos... still awaiting report.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 629 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Nov 21, 2001 (20:33) * 1 lines
oh i can't wait to see those pics!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 630 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Nov 21, 2001 (20:57) * 3 lines
me too!!! Lew reports from the east coast:

GOT TO SEE A FEW. MY DAUGHTERS AND I GOT UP AT 4:15 AM AND JUST ABOUT WHEN IT WAS TO GET REALLY BUSY THE CLOUDS ROLLED IN AND SHUT OFF MOST OF THE SHOW. IT WAS NICE THE PART WE DID GET TO SEE. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 631 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Nov 21, 2001 (21:11) * 1 lines
Louisville, KY reported ground fog and chill night air a definite incentive to short attention span. *sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 632 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Nov 21, 2001 (23:33) * 3 lines
* New Image Gallery: Leonid Meteor Shower, Part II
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/
More images of the weekend Leonid Meteor Shower. All images are submitted by SPACE.com visitors! 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 633 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Thu, Nov 22, 2001 (04:51) * 3 lines
Hi all

No Marcia, I am not going to Venus on my next trip. I am on holiday anyway. No, my next trip is to the West Coast with Mum and Dad to see the Alpine Fault in various places, rock structures at Cape Foulwind and the glaciers of Fox and Franz Josef.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 634 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Thu, Nov 22, 2001 (10:40) * 1 lines
Where are these places? What state? Near what cities?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 635 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Nov 22, 2001 (13:26) * 6 lines
Get out your map of New Zealand, Terry. I think Rob is talking about the South Island. I also think he is talking about the Southern Alps which is the mountain ridge which runs down the length of South Island. The fault also runs in the general area. As a matter of fact, I borrowed this from Travel 47:
http://www.govt.nz/aboutnz/nzmap.php3



Rob, Help!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 636 of 1087: Rob Glennie  (AotearoaKiwi) * Thu, Nov 22, 2001 (19:42) * 8 lines
Hi all

Time for some NZ geography.

Cape Foulwind is just west of Westport. The Alpine Fault is a major feature on the map but very difficult to point out. I will try anyway. There is a road running inland heading southwest, just north of Blenheim. It runs down a fault controlled valley towards Westport. At Lake Rotoiti, the road turns due northwest while the fault turns due south towards Springs where the next of four roads traversing the Southern Alps crosses and intersects with another road. If you look closely at the map from Springs Junction southwest a straight line bordering the Southern Alps can be made out. It is the trace of the Alpine Fault and represents a massive strike slip fault over 480km (300 miles long). It is the New Zealand answer to the San Andreas Fault and with a reputation to match.
Finally there are two glaciers that we often visit at Fox and Franz Josef which we will spend some time at as well.

Rob

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 637 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Nov 22, 2001 (23:34) * 1 lines
I'm looking for a better map. Meanwhile enjoy what all those satellites are seeing http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/Land_Surface/Topography/Landforms_2.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 638 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Nov 23, 2001 (00:05) * 6 lines
Perhaps this one will work: (talk about off-topic!)






 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 639 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov 24, 2001 (20:20) * 17 lines
A powerful geomagnetic storm on Nov. 24th triggers Northern Lights

Space Weather News for Nov. 24, 2001
http://www.spaceweather.com

Did you see strange lights in the sky before dawn on Saturday? If so, you
were probably watching an outbreak of auroras. A pair of fast-moving
coronal mass ejections, arriving somewhat earlier than expected, buffeted
Earth's magnetic field on Nov. 24th at 0530 UT (12:30 a.m. EST). The
resulting geomagnetic storm spawned Northern Lights as far south as
Arkansas in the United States.

Although the ongoing storm will probably subside during the hours ahead,
high-latitude sky watchers (including those along the northern tier of US
states) should remain alert for auroras Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Visit spaceweather.com for updates.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 640 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Nov 24, 2001 (20:21) * 72 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WARNING

ISSUED: 18:20 UTC, 23 NOVEMBER 2001

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
*** POTENTIAL FOR MODERATE TO HIGH ACTIVITY EXISTS ***


VALID BEGINNING AT: 06:00 UTC ON 24 NOVEMBER (1 am EST on 24 November)
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC ON 26 NOVEMBER

HIGH RISK PERIOD: 24 - 25 NOVEMBER (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 24 - 27 NOVEMBER

PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 50, 40, 20, 12 (24 - 27 NOVEMBER)

POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE - HIGH

POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 18 TO 24 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 24 TO 36 HOURS

ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT

EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: MODERATE

OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: GOOD

AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

OREGON TO UTAH TO COLORADO TO NEBRASKA TO MISSOURI TO ILLINOIS TO KENTUCKY
TO VIRGINIA.

ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

FRANCE TO GERMANY TO CZECH REPUBLIC TO POLAND TO BELARUS TO CENTRAL
RUSSIA. NEW ZEALAND AND EXTREME NORTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA MAY ALSO SPOT
PERIODS OF MODERATE ACTIVITY.


SYNOPSIS...

A powerful solar flare that erupted on 22 November has produced a
coronal mass ejection that is Earthward-bound. Its impact is expected during
the early to mid UTC hours of 24 November. Auroral activity is expected to
rapidly intensify following the arrival of the disturbance. Auroral activity
may be observed across a wide range of middle latitude regions.

This warning will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC on 27 November. It
will then be updated or allowed to expire.

PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html


Other Tools:

o Monitor real-time conditions and report sightings using software at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora

o On-line global discussion forum:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html

o Chat in real-time with others using IRC at:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora in the IRC software).

o Real-time notification of events via Digital SMS:
http://www.spacew.com/sms


** End of Warning ** 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 641 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sat, Nov 24, 2001 (22:12) * 1 lines
well, it was yucky out this morning so even if i could see them from here, nothing would've been seen. *sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 642 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sat, Nov 24, 2001 (22:13) * 1 lines
(btw: why are alerts given for auroras?)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 643 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 25, 2001 (18:45) * 2 lines
Why alerts for Aurorae? They are just the visible part of an intense
geo-magenetic storm caused by eruptions on the sun. They make satellites useless in the severest storms. And missile systems are effectively blinded. It is not just television and cell phones which are impacted. Think of how many satellites are involved in getting this answer back to where you can see it!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 644 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 25, 2001 (18:51) * 1 lines
I have no idea of the value of the following URL, but it is called "Let's Make an Aurora" http://www.jsf.or.jp/sln/aurora_e/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 645 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 25, 2001 (18:54) * 2 lines
A fascinating diagram and description of what is impacted by a geo-magnetic storm:
http://www.albany.edu/faculty/rgk/atm101/weather.htm

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 646 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 25, 2001 (19:08) * 5 lines
The Impact of Upper Atmospheric Variability
http://www.albany.edu/faculty/rgk/atm101/weather.htm




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 647 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 25, 2001 (19:13) * 27 lines
Solar Storms and Their Human Impacts


A Roman garrison was mistakingly ordered to march to the coastal
town of Ostia because Tiberius Caesar in 34 AD thought that the
red glow seen on the northern horizon at night was Ostia in flames.
(The Aurora, p.12) In China, the "Yellow Emperor" in 2000 B.C
was conceived during an auroral display. Up until very recently, this
was about all you could find to indicate that there were genuine
'other-worldly' influences upon us instigated by the rather passive
sightings of sunspots or aurora. Even today, the average person is
unaware of either sunspots or aurora since neither are easily
observable.

In just one generation, our reliance upon uninterrupted power
supplies to run our computer-rich, internet-laced, civilization; our
colonization of near-earth space with hundreds of billions of dollars
of satellite; and manned human activity, have placed all of these
enterprises at risk for damage by solar storms. Like settlers to
Kansas discovering tornadoes for the first time, we now have to
reach a grudging accommodation with aurora and their invisible
confederates that ply the ether above our heads. Unlike these
settlers, however, we have to be frequently reminded that there is a
problem at all. Fortunately, many examples of what this solar
mayhem can do are easy to come by.

much more... http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/storm/storms.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 648 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sun, Nov 25, 2001 (20:23) * 1 lines
thanks marcia, i really didn't know they were electrical storms (i understood the sun spot stuff)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 649 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Nov 25, 2001 (22:11) * 1 lines
Everything is an electrical "storm" from the first heartbeats of a newly forming baby to the death of giant stars. Amazing!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 650 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Mon, Nov 26, 2001 (19:19) * 1 lines
this is true....hmmmmmm.....makes one ponder things *scratching chin*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 651 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov 26, 2001 (20:52) * 1 lines
I was pondering when I considered all things which involved electricity. Everything, actually. We could not live without it. Wolfies always scratch their chins when pondering. I tend to place chin in hand and ponder in that position. I imagine I would accomplish more if I pondered while scrubbing the kitchen floor. I still do it on my hands and knees!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 652 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Mon, Nov 26, 2001 (22:10) * 3 lines
i scrub carpet on my hands and knees with white vinegar--works great on doggie stains and other mishaps.

yes, it is amazing that everything runs on electricity...it's too much to really take in.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 653 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Nov 29, 2001 (21:03) * 11 lines
Stellar link helps black holes weigh in (Nov 29)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/5/11/17
Huge black holes are thought to exist at the heart of every galaxy, but
it is complicated and time-consuming to calculate their masses with
existing techniques. Now this is set to change following the discovery
that the mass of a black hole is related to the concentration of stars in
its host galaxy. According to Alister Graham and colleagues at the
Canaries Institute of Astrophysics in Tenerife, astronomers will now be
able to calculate the masses of thousands of black holes quickly and
accurately from snapshots of galaxies (A Graham et al 2001 Astrophys. J.
Lett. to appear)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 654 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec  1, 2001 (20:59) * 14 lines
In case you missed it on Geo 24:

Explosions on the Moon

NASA Science News for November 30, 2001

During the 2001 Leonid meteor storm, astronomers observed a curious flash
on the Moon -- a telltale sign of meteoroids hitting the lunar surface and
exploding. In this story, experts describe the physics of lunar Leonid
explosions ... and speculate about meteor showers for observers living on
the Moon.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast30nov_1.htm?list89800

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 655 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Sun, Dec  2, 2001 (08:49) * 19 lines
Hi all
CME's or Coronal Mass Ejections are violent discharges of material from the Sun's outer atmosphere. The ejected material can travel at speeds of up to a million miles per hour. If this flow of charged particles and embedded magnetic field collides with Earth, it can dramatically disrupt Earth's geomagnetic field and ionosphere.


Earth's magnetic field is like the magnetic field of a giant bar magnet inside the Earth. Red lines represent the magnetic lines of the Earths magnetic field in the image below.


When ionised particles, mainly electrons and protons hits the outer atmospheric layers of the our planet, they are captured from the Earth's magnetic field and follow magnetic lines with circular paths around them. During its movement they produce ELF-VLF radio emissions that usually can be heard in middle-latitudes (35-60 degrees north geographic latitudes).


They are tones in audio frequency spectrum and can heard by special ELF-VLF receivers. The characteristic of the tones is something that sounded like "PIOU". The tones are about stable amplitude, but very rapidly they change frequency, beginning with the highest tone and decaying to the lowest hear able tone of about 1000 cycles per-second (or 1 kHz).

This is a spectrograph of a whistler tone.



More about ELF-VLF emissions here:
http://www-star.stanford.edu/~vlf/Science/Science.html.
John


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 656 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Dec  2, 2001 (09:38) * 2 lines
George Harrison's recording of "Here Comes the Sun" is on board
Voyager. See more details in 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 657 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec  2, 2001 (23:05) * 3 lines
Oh John! What great graphics! Thanks for the great explanation, too. I was going to look for somethning similar but did not find anything as good as your text and fantastic illustrations. You seem to anticipate the needs of Geo with amazing accuracy. Many thanks for your hard work - especially while you were having storms!

Terry, I would guess that your url is on the NASA page?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 658 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Mon, Dec  3, 2001 (06:53) * 23 lines
Hi
More about CME's
Coronal Mass Ejection's are major storms on the Sun which can hurl billions of tons of matter into space in a matter of a few hours. Solar plasma is heated to tens of millions of degrees, and electrons, protons, and heavy nuclei are accelerated to near the speed of light. The super-heated electrons from CME's move along the magnetic field lines faster than the solar wind can flow.

This example of CME in action (on June 6, 2000) is a captured coronagraph on board the ESA-NASA SOHO spacecraft.


More in http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast27mar_1.htm


Coronal Mass Ejections don't all hit the earth. If you can see the CME being ejected near the limb of the sun, it will probably not affect the earth. The most likely eruptions that can affect us come from regions on the eastern half of the solar disk, provided they have the right speeds.

If you are interested in space weather effects you can see NOAA SCALES. The scales describe the environmental disturbances for three event types:

1. Geomagnetic storms: disturbances in the geomagnetic field caused by gusts in the solar wind that blows by Earth.

2. Solar radiation storms: elevated levels of radiation that occur when the numbers of energetic particles increase.

3. Radio blackouts: disturbances of the ionosphere caused by X-ray emissions from the Sun

The scales have numbered levels, analogous to hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes that convey severity. They list possible effects at each level. They also show how often such events happen, and give a measure of the intensity of the physical causes.

John


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 659 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec  7, 2001 (21:43) * 5 lines
Back outdoors, everyone! Wear a coat!

* Viewer's Guide: Geminid Meteor Shower Dec. 13
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/geminid_meteors_011207.html
For those whose appetite for "shooting stars" was whetted by last month’s spectacular Leonid meteor shower, the Geminid meteor shower will reach peak activity Thursday night, Dec. 13, and into the early hours of Friday morning.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 660 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec  7, 2001 (21:47) * 1 lines
Those are amazing photograph gif files of the CME that NASA posts. John, if you ever need an admirer, you need but look to me. I am amazed and delighted with your efforts in our behalf!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 661 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec  7, 2001 (21:51) * 11 lines
CMEs are not good for our Astronauts. Since our future is in space, I hope they are protected against Cosmic Rays in some way or another.

Particles and high-energy light that bombard the Earth from anywhere
beyond its atmosphere are known as cosmic rays. Cosmic rays don't take
pretty pictures, but studying the quantity and type of these particles helps us
to understand the acceleration processes involved and to measure the
composition of the Sun, as well as sources at the far distant reaches of the
galaxy.

Much more... http://helios.gsfc.nasa.gov/cosmic.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 662 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sat, Dec  8, 2001 (16:08) * 1 lines
dec 13, got it!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 663 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec  8, 2001 (19:49) * 15 lines
It'll rain in Hawaii on the night of 13 December. *sigh*

Weird Geminids

NASA Science News for December 7, 2001

What are the Geminid meteors? Scientists aren't sure. Perhaps chips off an
exotic asteroid or dust from an extinct comet. In either case, they'll
soon be here.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast07dec_1.htm?list89800




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 664 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sun, Dec  9, 2001 (22:36) * 1 lines
is that a guess of rain or a fact? *laugh* we'll have fog!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 665 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec  9, 2001 (23:04) * 19 lines
*sigh* We're planning on deluges of Biblical proportions as is Pennsylvania.
For those who aren't:

The Geminid meteor shower's predicted maximum will occur at 4h
UT on the morning of 14 of December. For those of us living more than 4
hours or 60 degrees west of Greenwich that will occur on the evening of
13 of December. However it is a broad enough shower that Geminids are
already being reported and I saw one recently from my urban light
polluted back yard, LM 3.1. This shower is favored not only by the
absence of the moon but also the radiant will be well above the horizon
by 8:20 pm at about 20 degrees elevation and on the meridian at about
2:10 am local time. It will not be back down to 20 degrees elevation
till after 8 am which is after sunrise except in the more northern
latitudes. A rule of thumb is that the radiant should be 40 degrees
above the horizon for good activity. One can expect over 90 meteors per
hour in dark locations. The radiant is near Castor in the constellation
of Gemini at 7h +30m RA and +33 degrees Dec. They will be of a medium
speed about 35 km/s. Medium speed for meteors that is 8-).


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 666 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 13, 2001 (15:27) * 11 lines
A Chip Off the Sun

NASA Science News for December 12, 2001

Sky watchers can enjoy a solar eclipse on Friday, Dec. 14th, when the
Moon's shadow sweeps across the Pacific Ocean and parts of the Americas.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast12dec_1.htm?list89800



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 667 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Thu, Dec 13, 2001 (19:58) * 1 lines
*whew* thought i missed it!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 668 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 14, 2001 (12:43) * 1 lines
Unhappily, ours is to begin just after 8 AM and it is still heavily clouded in Hilo and over all the islands. Another missed opportunity. *Sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 669 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Fri, Dec 14, 2001 (17:54) * 1 lines
well, i saw nothing. no shooting stars, no eclipse--we've had rain all day *frown*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 670 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 14, 2001 (19:19) * 1 lines
I think the whole world is "socked in." John has snow storms as does my son. This is just not my millenium to see thigs astronomical, I guess. *sigh* of resignation...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 671 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 14, 2001 (22:15) * 5 lines
Aurora Australis Photographs

http://www.mapds.co.nz/space/aurnov25.htm



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 672 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 15, 2001 (14:33) * 10 lines
A big and bright near-Earth asteroid will glide by our planet on Dec. 16th within easy range of powerful radars and backyard telescopes.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast14dec_1.htm?friend

Download the 'movie' It's really quite remarkable.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/images/1998wt24/audio/story.mp3

1998 WT24 will be closest to Earth around 0600 UT on Dec. 16th. (10 p.m. PST on
Saturday, Dec. 15th). Amateur astronomers who wish to observe the space rock shouldn't worry too
much about catching it at the precise moment of closest approach. The asteroid will be brighter than
10th magnitude -- and an easy target for telescopes -- all weekend.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 673 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 15, 2001 (18:35) * 132 lines
S&T's News Bulletin for November 30, 2001

COMET BORRELLY: BLACK AND BENT
In the two months since NASA's Deep Space 1 craft zipped past the
nucleus of Comet 15P/Borrelly, mission scientists have come to
appreciate how unusual this 8-kilometer-long chunk of rock and ice
really is. On Thursday the team presented more preliminary results at
the annual meeting of American Astronomical Society's Division for
Planetary Sciences in New Orleans.
One finding, not unexpected, is that Borrelly's nucleus is as dark as
the black hearts of comets Halley and Neujmin 1. The overall
reflectivity (albedo) is about 3 percent -- comparable to the powdered
toner used in laser printers and photocopiers. What did catch the team
off guard, however, was spotting some small patches so black that they
reflect only 0.7 percent of the sunlight that strikes them. According
to Bonnie J. Burratti (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), only one other
surface in the solar system -- the dark hemisphere of Saturn's moon
Iapetus -- is comparably dark.
Deep Space 1's best images record features only 48 meters across,
detailed enough to allow geologists to discern two distinct types of
terrain. Each end of the comet's core looks rough and pitted, while
its smoother-looking midsection contains several dark-topped "mesas"
slightly higher than their surroundings. The nucleus also has a
distinct kink near its middle that is crisscrossed by fractures. To
geologist Daniel T. Britt (University of Tennessee), this "crush zone"
appears to mark the point of flexure between two large halves of the
nucleus.
Because Borrelly produces only a tenth of the dust that Halley does,
the spacecraft had an unobstructed view of the nucleus and of the
striking jets erupting from it toward the Sun. Larry Soderblom (U.S.
Geological Survey) reports that at least three jet systems were active
during the September 22nd flyby, the strongest of which probably lies
very close to the comet's rotational axis. Contrary to expectations,
Soderblom says, the jets don't originate in the smooth-looking
midsection but instead seem to emanate from around its periphery.
Planetary geochemists still have no idea what is making the nucleus
look so black. "This low albedo poses a severe constraint on
determining the composition of the nucleus," confides project
scientist Robert M. Nelson (Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Still, the
craft's 41 infrared scans should provide some clues to the black
stuff's makeup - even though the only distinct spectral fingerprint,
an absorption at 2.4 microns, has no known mineralogical match. Some
help may come from assays of gas made as Deep Space 1 raced through
the coma at more than 16 km per second.

HOW HOT CAN VENUS GET?
The planet Venus is a textbook case of greenhouse warming run amok.
Sunlight filters down through the planet's dense, cloud-choked
atmosphere, where the mix of carbon dioxide (CO2), water, and sulfur
compounds in its atmosphere blocks infrared energy from returning to
space. As a result, the planet's average surface temperature is a
searing 735 deg. Kelvin (865 deg. F) -- easily hot enough to melt
lead. But things could be worse: Venus's greenhouse has a leaky
"window" between 2.1 and 2.7 microns, through which a good deal of
infrared energy manages to escape.
Could Venus become even more hellish? Yes, say Mark A. Bullock and
David H. Grinspoon (Southwest Research Institute), who on Tuesday
described their analysis to planetary scientists in a meeting in New
Orleans. Were the planet's interior to unleash a flood of volcanism,
as likely occurred some 600 million years ago, the erupting lava would
release even more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The two
scientists calculate that adding CO2, carbon monoxide (CO), or sulfur
dioxide (SO2) would have a negligible effect. However, increasing
water vapor's abundance to roughly 0.5 percent, about 20 times its
current value, would trigger rapid heating.
Fortunately, a natural "thermostat" limits Venus's maximum temperature
to about 920 deg. K (1200 deg. F). "It's not possible to get so hot
that the surface melts," Bullock says. As the lower atmosphere heats
up, he explains, its peak infrared emission shifts to shorter
wavelengths. Once it coincides with the window centered at 2.4
microns, the energy escaping to space will equal that coming in.
One interesting consequence of these higher temperatures, Grinspoon
notes, is that the massive cloud deck should evaporate. So throughout
geologic history the atmosphere may have sporadically been clear
enough to reveal Venus's lava-covered surface. Eventually, however,
the airmass cools and the clouds return, as the excess SO2 reacts with
surface rocks and the water vapor is gradually destroyed by sunlight.

ASTRONOMERS FIND EXTRASOLAR PLANETARY ATMOSPHERE
In the past six years, astronomers have found nearly 80 gas-giant
planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system. Although the
discoveries keep piling up, researchers could only theorize about
exactly what these worlds are made of, or what they look like. But
that has started to change.
On Tuesday a team of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope
announced that they have detected the atmosphere of the one known
extrasolar planet that crosses directly in front of the face of its
star. They even suggested -- very tentatively -- that it has a high
layer of clouds. The team was led by David Charbonneau (Caltech) and
Timothy Brown (National Center for Atmospheric Research); their report
will be published in the Astrophysical Journal.
Charbonneau and Brown's team analyzed high-resolution spectra of HD
209458 -- a 7.7-magnitude Sunlike star 150 light-years away in Pegasus
-- with and without the planet in front of it. Using the telescope's
spectrograph to split the starlight into its constituent colors, they
detected a tiny trace of extra sodium absorption when the planet was
silhouetted on the star's face. The implication is that starlight
grazing the edge of the planet was filtered by sodium in its
atmosphere.
The effect was miniscule - the change in the star's spectrum amounted
to only one part in 5,000. According to Brown, the most interesting
result is that "it simply proves it's possible to detect a spectral
feature in an exoplanet."
The astronomers chose to look for sodium because it has an extremely
strong spectral signature. The sodium actually amounts to just a few
parts per million in the planetary atmosphere. In fact, the amount
detected was only half that expected from atmospheric models based on
Jupiter. The deficiency might be caused by high clouds of dust in the
planet's hot atmosphere blocking some of the light passing through. Or
perhaps some sodium has become undetectable because of chemical
reactions with other substances.
With this result, "we have entered into a new phase in the era of
extrasolar planet discovery and characterization," says Alan Boss
(Carnegie Institution of Washington). Charbonneau hopes to detect and
analyze light reflected by other extrasolar planets that don't transit
their stars. Eventually astronomers hope to measure methane, water,
and possibly oxygen and ozone in exoplanetary atmospheres.

COMET LINEAR STEAMS SOUTH
Comet LINEAR (C/2000 WM1) accelerates south this week, moving from
Pisces into Cetus. Observers report that by the end of November, the
comet was about magnitude 5.5, making it a naked-eye object. For
observers at midnorthern latitudes, Comet LINEAR is well up in the
southeast after dusk, but it doesn't stay up all night anymore. The
comet sets at about 2 a.m. local time on December 1st, but a week
later -- when the comet is very near Beta Ceti -- it's out of the sky
before midnight. The northerners' loss is the Southern Hemisphere's
gain as LINEAR steadily climbs higher above the northern horizon. For
finder charts, see the Special Sky Events page at
http://www.skypub.com/sights/skyevents/0112skyevents.shtml . Here are
positions for the coming week in 2000.0 coordinates:


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 674 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 15, 2001 (18:37) * 200 lines
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - DECEMBER 14, 2001

BRITAIN'S BIG ASTRONOMICAL PLANS
More than a year ago, British radio astronomers feared that that some
of their facilities were about to fall prey to a budgetary axe. It
turned out that the famed 76-meter Lovell radio telescope at Jodrell
Bank Observatory was never in danger of being mothballed. Other
astronomical facilities were at risk, however, specifically the
Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN), seven
dishes that combine to create an antenna 217 kilometers across using
the technique of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI).
Last week, Britain's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
(PPARC) announced that not only will MERLIN survive, it will receive
an upgrade. The $11-million improvement project will boost the array's
sensitivity by a factor of 30. MERLIN director Philip Diamond explains
that the changes will "enable the enhanced instrument, called
e-MERLIN, to probe far deeper into the universe, achieving in one day
what would currently take three years of continuous observation." The
project, largely an upgrade of network connections between the
antennas using fiber optics, is expected to be completed in 2007.
In another announcement, PPARC outlined the United Kingdom's continued
steps toward joining the international consortium of the European
Southern Observatory (ESO). Britain will officially become ESO's 10th
member in July 2002. As partners, U.K. astronomers will have access to
ESO facilities in Chile, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT), and
will help to fund and plan future projects, such as the Atacama Large
Millimeter Array (consisting of 64 dishes in the Chilean desert) and
the proposed 100-meter Overwhelmingly Large Telescope. "Joining ESO is
good for U.K. science," says Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal. "It .
. . restores the U.K.'s full competitiveness in optical astronomy."

WAS MARS ALL WET?
Future astronauts roaming the surface of Mars will be hard-pressed to
find sources of water, but the red planet was not always so arid a
place. From minuscule gullies to giant flood plains, the face of Mars
bears mute witness to eras when water must have gushed forth onto the
surface -- at least temporarily.
In fact, a recent study shows indirectly, but convincingly, that Mars
may have formed with enough water to cover its entire globe to a depth
of 1-1/4 kilometers (about 4,000 feet). The implication is that this
ruddy, arid world actually started out with more water, relative to
its overall mass, than we did. This provocative evidence comes not
from some robotic sentinel on Mars itself, but from the Far
Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer orbiting 760 km above Earth.
In the November 30th issue of Science, Vladimir A. Krasnopolsky
(Catholic University of America) and Paul D. Feldman (Johns Hopkins
University) describe how they used FUSE to make the first-ever
detection of hydrogen molecules (H2) in the upper Martian atmosphere.
Present at just 15 parts per million, the hydrogen represents water
molecules that have been broken down by sunlight. Four years ago
Krasnopolsky used the Hubble Space Telescope to determine the extent
of deuterium ("heavy" hydrogen) in the Martian atmosphere (11 parts
per billion), and these two isotopic abundances provide important
clues to unraveling water's history there.
Today Mars's atmosphere has a deuterium-to-hydrogen (D:H) ratio 5.5
times higher than Earth's. Yet Martian meteorites, ejected from Mars's
surface 3-1/2 billion years ago, testify to a time when the D:H
enrichment was only 1.9 roughly. Sometime earlier than that, water
vapor was so abundant around Mars, it could escape wholesale into
space. When this so-called hydrodynamic escape shut off, water
continued to leak away, albeit gradually. The molecules first broke
down into their component atoms, followed by the H and D atoms flying
off into space. The process continues even today, and since the
lighter hydrogen escapes more readily than deuterium, the deuterium
becomes enriched over time.
Knowing the H2 abundance, Krasnopolsky has modeled the atmosphere's
evolution and deduces that the D:H enrichment rise from 1.9 to 5.5
represents a loss of Martian water equivalent to a planetwide ocean
about 30 meters deep. What little water remains today in the polar
caps and hidden elsewhere is probably enough for a 20-meter-deep
layer. Thus 3-1/2 billion years ago, the ocean was some 50 meters
deep. Working further back through time, he calculates that
hydrodynamic escape likely robbed the planet of all but 4 percent of
its original water inventory, yielding an original water table of
1-1/4 km. Krasnopolsky's model assumes Mars and Earth acquired their
water the same way and thus had equal D:H ratios to begin with.
However these assumed conditions could easily have been upset by
varying the proportion of incoming water-bearing comets (known to have
high D:H ratios).

COMET LINEAR FAR SOUTH
Comet LINEAR (C/2000 WM1) dips even farther south this coming week,
moving from Sculptor into Grus. Observers report that the comet
remains at about magnitude 5.5, making it a naked-eye object. It is
nearly gone from the evening skies for skygazers in midnorthern
latitudes. The comet is only a few degrees above the southern horizon
by the end of twilight and it sets shortly thereafter. The view is
much better in the Southern Hemisphere; the comet is more than halfway
up the sky in the southwest as dusk fades. For finder charts, see the
Special Sky Events page at
. Here are
positions for the coming week in 2000.0 coordinates:

R.A. Dec.

Dec 15 23h 47m -35.3 deg.
Dec 17 23 34 -38.6
Dec 19 23 22 -41.5
Dec 21 23 11 -43.9

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.

DEC. 16 -- SUNDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: After about 7 p.m. look east-southeast
(well to the right of brilliant Jupiter) for the winter constellation
Orion, the Hunter. Bright orange Betelgeuse, in the constellation's
left-hand corner, marks Orion's shoulder. Bright white Rigel, farther
right, is one of Orion's feet. Look midway between Betelgeuse and
Rigel for the three-star row of Orion's Belt, nearly vertical.
To identify constellations all around your sky, use the printable
evening star map and instructions at
(if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. South of the equator, use
our Southern Hemisphere sky map at
.)
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 9:45 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale orange-tan. It
should be visible for at least 50 minutes before and after in a good
4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady.
Our list of all predicted Red Spot transit times, at
, is good
worldwide.

DEC. 17 -- MONDAY
* Jupiter's largest satellite, Ganymede, casts its tiny black shadow
on Jupiter's face tonight from 9:19 p.m. to 12:20 a.m. Tuesday morning
EST. Ganymede itself crosses the planet from 10:45 p.m. to 1:47 a.m. EST.

DEC. 18 -- TUESDAY
* More doorstep astronomy: Forming a roughly equilateral triangle
with Jupiter and Saturn, high to their upper left in the eastern
evening sky, is the bright star Capella.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:23 p.m. EST.

DEC. 19 -- WEDNESDAY
* Saturn's largest and brightest moon, 8.5-magnitude Titan, lies
four ring-lengths east of the planet tonight. A small telescope will
show it.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:14 p.m. EST.
* Jupiter's moon Callisto slowly disappears into eclipse by
Jupiter's shadow around 7:11 p.m. EST. Callisto is the moon appearing
closest to the planet at the time. It slowly reappears (practically on
Jupiter's northwest limb) around 9:45 p.m. EST, then disappears behind
the planet itself 18 minutes later.
For the month's complete listing of Jupiter's satellite phenomena,
good worldwide, see the December Sky & Telescope, page 106.

DEC. 20 -- THURSDAY
* Look to the upper right of the Moon this evening for Mars. Much
farther to the Moon's lower left is Fomalhaut.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 1:00 a.m. Friday morning EST.

DEC. 21 -- FRIDAY
* The December solstice occurs at 2:21 p.m. Eastern Standard Time,
when the Sun ends its annual journey south and begins returning north
for the year. This moment marks the beginning of winter in the
Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Tonight is
the longest night of the year.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:52 p.m. EST.

DEC. 22 -- SATURDAY
* First-quarter Moon (exact at 3:56 p.m. EST).
* The eastern side of the Great Square of Pegasus (the upper left
side) points down toward the Moon this evening.
* Saturn is now at its closest to Aldebaran (3.6 degrees north of it).

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY and VENUS are hidden in the glare of the Sun.
MARS (magnitude +0.6, in Aquarius) is the orange "star" in the south
during twilight. It's lower in the southwest later in the evening.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.7, in Gemini) rises in twilight. The brightest
point of light in the sky, it blazes white in the east during evening,
high in the south in the middle of the night, and in the west before dawn.
SATURN (magnitude -0.3, in Taurus) shines high in the east during
evening far to Jupiter's upper right. The star Aldebaran sparkles just
4 degrees (two or three fingers's-widths at arm's length) to Saturn's
lower right for much of the evening. Aldebaran is directly below
Saturn later at night. Compare their colors. Saturn is pale yellow;
Aldebaran is more orange.
URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively, in
Capricornus) are getting low in the southwest right after dark, to the
lower right of Mars. Finder charts for them are in the April Sky &
Telescope, page 104, and at
.
PLUTO is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at . Clear skies!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 675 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Thu, Dec 20, 2001 (12:33) * 14 lines

(Click on the button music)
Can you point up on the sky, the direction of the Earth's moving around the Sun? It is simple!

See the Moon when we have the Moon's last quarter. We are moving to the Moon's position and we will arrive there after about three hours.

If you see the Moon when we have first quarter, the moon will arrive in our position after of about three hours. In this case, our movement is to the opposite direction of the Moon's position.

We are moving now (around the Sun), with a velocity of about 32 kilometres per second.

John 





 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 676 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Thu, Dec 20, 2001 (21:02) * 1 lines
John you are so creative with your postings!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 677 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Fri, Dec 21, 2001 (07:07) * 7 lines
Hi Wolfie

I try to give colour and sound to a place where knowledge keep step with humanity and crosscuts information for all. Congratulations to you and to your twin. Please tell me if I go too far.
Warm greetings from the icy Greece

John


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 678 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec 23, 2001 (20:51) * 285 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - DECEMBER 21, 2001
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit
===========================================================
GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY TO CLOSE FOR THREE YEARS
On January 6th, at 10 p.m., the venerable Griffith Park Observatory
and planetarium in Los Angeles, California, will close its doors to
the public for more than three years. When it reopens on May 14, 2005
-- the observatory's 70th birthday -- it will be bigger and better
than ever -- a mecca of astronomical outreach and education for
decades to come.
The shutdown will allow for $66 million worth of updating and
expansion. The project will include the renovation of the existing
structure, a complete redevelopment of the planetarium theater
(including a new state-of-the-art Zeiss star projector), and the
addition of 35,000 square feet of new space.
Griffith Observatory, constructed in the 1930s, is a historical Los
Angeles landmark with its art deco design. The building has been
featured in Hollywood films ranging from "Rebel Without A Cause," to
"The Rocketeer" and "Bowfinger." Preserving its look is an essential
part of the plan says observatory director and SKY & TELESCOPE
contributing editor E. C. Krupp. Therefore the expansion will take
place entirely underground -- beneath the front lawn.
During construction, Griffith Observatory will continue its community
outreach program. Three temporary trailer offices will house employees
near the Griffith Park Zoo, a location Krupp affectionately calls the
"Observatory in Exile Site." Telescopes will be available to the
public day and night at this remote location.

ARECIBO RADAR GETS 11TH-HOUR REPRIEVE
Facing tight budgets for its space-science activities, last week NASA
abruptly decided to end its funding of radar research at Arecibo
Observatory (about $550,000 annually), effective January 1, 2002.
Thomas H. Morgan of NASA Headquarters sent a formal notice of the
termination to Donald B. Campbell (Cornell University), who heads
Arecibo's planetary-radar group.
On Thursday the space agency did an equally abrupt about face, opting
to provide $400,000 through the end of fiscal 2002. "We made a
mistake," said Edward J. Weiler, who directs NASA's space-science
efforts, "and we've fixed it."
The central issue revolves around the fact that the Arecibo program
has become part of NASA's effort to find and catalog potentially
hazardous near-Earth objects, or NEOs. (Congress has mandated that
NASA track down 90 percent of all 1-km-wide asteroids in
Earth-crossing orbits by 2008.) But the Arecibo facility doesn't find
asteroids -- astronomers use it to make follow-up observations of the
ones spotted first by telescopic surveys. Morgan, who manages NASA's
NEO program, wants to maximize the discovery rate, and to do so more
of his $3.55 million budget must go to the four observing teams that
are actively searching for NEOs.
The cancellation decision created a shock wave of disbelief among
asteroid researchers and triggered several calls for reconsideration
from astronomical organizations. Arecibo has been at the forefront of
radar studies since 1960, and astronomers routinely direct its
powerful megawatt transmitter toward the Moon, Venus, Mercury, and
Jupiter's Galilean satellites. NASA also conducts some radar work
using its 70-meter-wide tracking antenna near Goldstone, California.
But Arecibo's dish boasts a more powerful transmitter and is at least
10 times better at picking up faint radar echoes.
Researchers were thus fearful of losing their single best ground-based
tool for studying asteroidal surfaces and for refining their orbits.
These characteristics are of more than purely scientific interest:
should astronomers discover an asteroid on a collision course with
Earth, knowing its makeup and exact trajectory would be crucial to
mounting a defense strategy. Arecibo is the "premier astronomical
research facility in the world" for this work, notes theorist Eric
Asphaug (University of California, Santa Cruz), because it targets a
wide spectrum of asteroids and comets, whereas spacecraft have visited
few of these bodies.
Although the Arecibo program has secure (if diminished) fiscal footing
for 2002, it still faces funding challenges in the years ahead. For
one thing, Weiler has demanded that future research proposals
utilizing the Arecibo radar system undergo peer review. Ultimately, he
would like to see responsibility for Campbell's group transferred to
the National Science Foundation, which already provides $9.5 million
each year for Arecibo's general operation.

A CLOSE VISITOR TUMBLES BY
Amateur astronomers got an unusual treat several days ago when an
Earth-crossing asteroid, 1998 WT24, passed just 1.9 million kilometers
from Earth and brightened to magnitude 9.5. Subscribers to Sky &
Telescope's AstroAlert service
() for minor
planets were notified that the object would be crossing Gemini,
Auriga, and Perseus at a speed of up to 1 degree per hour.
That was fast enough for the asteroid to show visible motion in real
time in amateur telescopes. As S&T senior editor Alan MacRobert
reports, "Sure enough, in a 12.5-inch reflector at 60 power, 1998 WT24
shone bright yellow-white at its predicted location on December 15th
and actually appeared to creep along as I watched, especially when it
passed close to a star. It looked like a super-slow satellite -- and
it was a little chilling to realize that this tiny object would cause
a civilization-destroying impact if it ever struck Earth." (The
asteroid will continue to miss Earth for the foreseeable future.)
The last time a kilometer-sized object came so close to Earth was on
August 27, 1969, when 1999 RD32 passed within 3.7 Moon distances of
our planet, according to Donald Yeomans (Jet Propulsion Laboratory).
And no one noticed it because it hadn't been discovered yet. Only one
other known near-Earth asteroid, 4179 Toutatis, will become brighter
than 10th magnitude before 2027 (during a flyby in 2004).

DEEP SPACE 1 MISSION ENDS
At noon Tuesday, December 18th (Pacific time), engineers at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, officially concluded
the Deep Space 1 mission by turning off the craft's xenon-fueled
engine. Launched on October 24, 1998, this inaugural flight in NASA's
New Millennium program was designed to demonstrate the viability of a
dozen new and unproven technologies. Included in the list was an
autonomous star tracker that enabled the craft to guide itself without
human intervention, and a xenon-ion engine, which retired with 670
operating days under its belt. The engine's strong performance and
surprising endurance have paved the way for future deep-space
explorations using this highly efficient propulsion method.
Early on Deep Space 1 was a relatively trouble-free mission. Only nine
months after launch, it had successfully tested all 12 of its
technologies and thus completed its main objectives. On July 29, 1999,
the craft swept very close to 9969 Braille, but problems in gauging
the asteroid's brightness reduced the flyby's scientific return. Two
months later the navigation camera failed, leaving the craft unable to
see its way through interplanetary space. A major rescue effort
ensued, during which the multispectral imager was reprogrammed to
handle the dual roles of science and navigation. The successful fix
allowed DS1 to complete its rendezvous with periodic comet
19P/Borrelly on September 22nd, when it obtained the best-ever images
of a cometary nucleus and probed Borrelly's interaction with the solar
wind.
Despite concluding its pathfinding 38-month tour of duty, this "aged,
wounded, intrepid, and very very happy explorer" (in the words of
project manager Marc Rayman) might still live on. Engineers will leave
its radio receiver turned on indefinitely as the craft silently
circles the Sun. "Deep Space 1 is a true success story," said Charles
Elachi, JPL's director, in a prepared statement. "We are proud that
future generations of spacecraft will benefit from its
accomplishments."

A HIT-AND-MISS ANNULAR ECLIPSE
In many cultures eclipses of the Sun serve as portents of evil or
misfortune, but on December 14th the two bodies' juxtaposition brought
clouds and rain to Costa Rica, thwarting millions of Central American
skywatchers who had hoped to see an annular eclipse. Poor weather
doused any chance of seeing the spectacle from the capital city of San
Jose, and even some climatologically favored sites were smothered with
overcast skies. Two groups of American scientists on the Guanacaste
Peninsula, near the eclipse's centerline, settled for fleeting
glimpses of the event's partial phases. "The weather was the worst of
the week," reports a disappointed Jay M. Pasachoff (Williams College),
as heavy clouds formed after sunrise then hung in all day.
A few eclipse-chasers lucked out near the event's southern limit. Paul
D. Maley of Houston, Texas, leading the 25th "Ring of Fire
Expedition," dodged clouds up and down the coastline until a clearing
in the sky appeared near Punta Leona just 20 minutes before maximum
eclipse. "This was about as exciting as it can get," Maley says. "It's
the first time I've scrambled like that -- and succeeded." In the same
general area was another group of eclipse veterans led by Vic and Jen
Winter and their Swiss colleague Olivier Staiger. (Staiger's live
Webcast of the event temporarily fell victim to an accidental dousing
of his videocamera.) A little farther south, on the northern end of
Herradura Beach, guests at the Marriott Los Suenos Resort enjoyed a
brief clearing at mideclipse despite a torrential downpour just 90
minutes beforehand.
The rest of Central America was largely clouded out as well, but clear
skies prevailed over much of Mexico, the southern United States, and
northern South America. Floridians had especially memorable views, as
the Moon took its 60-percent bite just as the Sun was setting.

COMET LINEAR FAR SOUTH
Comet LINEAR (C/2000 WM1) is now gone from the evening skies for
skygazers in midnorthern latitudes. But in the Southern Hemisphere,
the comet will be in the constellation Grus, 1/3 to halfway to the
zenith above the southwestern horizon after twilight. Observers report
that the comet is about 6th magnitude. For finder charts, see the
Special Sky Events page at
. Here are
positions for the coming week in 2000.0 coordinates:

R.A. Dec.
Dec 22 23h 05m -45.0 deg.
Dec 24 22 54 -46.9
Dec 26 22 43 -48.6
Dec 28 22 32 -50.0

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

DEC. 23 -- SUNDAY
* Ever seen an asteroid in your telescope? Tonight around midnight
Eastern Standard Time, the 10th-magnitude asteroid 654 Zelinda is just
1 arcminute east of the star 81 Geminorum (get out your star atlas).
To make sure that you've got the asteroid, check back after an hour or
so and see if it has moved slightly.
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 10:29 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The "red" spot is very
pale orange-tan. It should be visible for at least 50 minutes before
and after in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing
is sharp and steady. Our complete list of all Red Spot transit times,
at , is good
worldwide.

DEC. 24 -- MONDAY
* Look low in the southeast after about 8 or 8:30 p.m. for Sirius,
the brightest star in the sky (we're not counting planets here). It's
far below the bright constellation Orion. When it's very low, Sirius
twinkles in vivid colors. Binoculars show them especially well.

DEC. 25 -- TUESDAY
* In ancient Rome today was Natus Solis Invicti, the Birthday of the
Unconquered Sun, celebrating the start of the Sun's northward return
after the solstice with the promise of another spring and summer.
Merry Christmas.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 12:07 a.m. EST Wednesday
morning.

DEC. 26 -- WEDNESDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:59 p.m. EST.
* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of
its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a
couple hours centered on 1:01 a.m. EST Thursday morning. Algol takes
several additional hours to fade and to brighten. Our timetable of all
its predicted minima, at
, is good worldwide.

DEC. 27 -- THURSDAY
* The waxing gibbous Moon shines near Saturn this evening.
* The Moon's thin dark limb occults (covers) Saturn early Friday
morning for most of North America. For local times of this event see
the map in the January Sky & Telescope, page 112.

DEC. 28 -- FRIDAY
* The Moon shines between Saturn and Jupiter tonight.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 9:36 p.m. EST.

DEC. 29 -- SATURDAY
* Full Moon tonight (exact at 5:40 a.m. Eastern Standard Time Sunday
morning).
* The bright "star" to the Moon's lower left this evening is
Jupiter. Watch the Moon draw nearer to Jupiter all night. They get
very close together before dawn Sunday morning (dawn for North
America).
* A PENUMBRAL ECLIPSE of the Moon can be seen from the Americas
during early morning hours Sunday, as the Moon skims through the pale
outer fringe (penumbra) of the Earth's shadow. Look for a slight
shading on the Moon's south side for an hour or so centered on 5:29
a.m. Sunday morning Eastern Standard Time (2:29 a.m. Sunday morning
Pacific Standard Time). The eclipse is also visible from the Pacific
and eastern Asia, centered on 10:29 Universal Time December 30th.
* Algol is at its minimum brightness for a couple hours centered on
9:50 p.m. EST.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is deep in the glow of sunset. Late in the week, try looking
for it just above the southwest horizon about 30 minutes after
sundown.
VENUS is hidden in the glare of the Sun.
MARS (magnitude +0.7, in Aquarius) is the orange "star" in the
south-southwest during twilight. It sinks lower in the southwest later
in the evening and sets around 10 p.m.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.7, in Gemini) is the brightest point of light in
the sky. It blazes white in the east during evening, high in the south
in the middle of the night, and in the west before dawn.
SATURN (magnitude -0.3, in Taurus) shines high in the east during
evening far to Jupiter's upper right. The slightly fainter star
Aldebaran sparkles just 4 degrees (two or three fingers's-widths at
arm's length) to Saturn's lower right for much of the evening. Later
at night, Aldebaran is directly below Saturn or to its lower left.
Compare their colors. Saturn is pale yellow; Aldebaran is more orange.
URANUS and NEPTUNE (6th and 8th magnitude, respectively, in
Capricornus) are low in the southwest right after dark.
PLUTO is hidden in the glow of sunrise.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at . Clear skies!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 679 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec 23, 2001 (20:55) * 5 lines

John Dear, you are always a gentleman. I could not imagine you any other way!
If Wolfie and I are twins, please join us. You have made geo so much better and brighter. Now if only I could install our angel where I want her. My ftp is not working properly today!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 680 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec 23, 2001 (22:55) * 1 lines
It is a stunningly clear night - all 360°. The snow is slightly visible in the moonlight. I went out to get my first view of the Hubble Space telescope as it passed overhead. However, it's maximum altitude for tonight's pass was about 20° and the closest to the horizon I could see was about 30° due to heavy fumes absorbing the visible light. Tomorrow night it makes a higher pass. Perhaps the weather and fumes will be more cooperative. I hope so! I'll let you know what my Christmas star looks like. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 681 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Dec 24, 2001 (23:11) * 5 lines
I saw the Hubble Space Telescope slipping across the night sky on another fantastic but fume-filled night in Hilo. It first appeared in the NNW and gradually increased to brilliance as it passed through Cassiopea and on through Taurus where it was as bright as Aldeberan and about as golden orange in color, also. The immediate thing I noticed in regards to the HST is that it moves in perfectly regular syncopation as though it were rotating. The brightness did not vary as it did this - about a second and a half each "shove" as it slipped silently overhead. It was worth going out to see!!!


Merry Christmas, Everyone!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 682 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Dec 26, 2001 (13:00) * 38 lines
Solar wind sparks dazzling light show

December 26, 2001 Posted: 11:57 AM EST (1657 GMT)

(CNN) -- A powerful gust of solar wind collided with the
atmosphere of Earth this week, producing surprising aurora
displays over much of North America.

"My Christmas present arrived early, an unexpected display
of the Northern Lights," observed Lyndon Anderson, a
photographer and sky watcher in Bismarck, North Dakota.

"I could actually see a lot of the red that is pictured,
what a surprise," Anderson added in reference to the
celestial event, which took place on the morning of December
24.

Celestial enthusiasts witnessed the spectacle in much of the
northern United States, including the far North.

"The aurora was filling the whole sky and was very
beautiful," Andre Clay of North Pole, Alaska, gushed to
spaceweather.com, a NASA-affiliated Web that monitors aurora
activity.

Wispy streaks of reds, blues and greens, auroras take place
when intense waves of charged particles from the sun strike
our atmosphere and interact with different gases.

The displays most often take place in the most extreme
northern and southern latitudes. In the north, they rarely
extend south of Canada and Alaska, but an occasional blast
from the sun will set off auroras as far south as Mexico.

The same solar gusts can rattle the magnetic field
surrounding the Earth, disrupting electrical systems in
everything from communications satellites to power grids.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 683 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (02:40) * 5 lines
This is a very beautiful Christmas surprise for the lucky persons that they could see it. It means that the shield of Earth still works well and protects us. For certain of us, it can be a good sign as the nature ornamented the sky for the Christmas.

I wish good health and happiness to all of you and especially to the hosts, hostesses and members of the "Spring".

John

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 684 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (14:09) * 7 lines
The Snow is beautiful, the vog increasingly thick, but the beauty of the night sky is stnning. In a peachy-pink late twilight last night I looked for the International Space Station and watched it and 5 smaller satellites slip silently across the night sky. I even caught a very brief iridium flash! Moonlight and brilliant planets added to the beauty. I am out to look again tonight. Clear nights are rare in Hilo, and I would not waste a single one. We are truly blessed to be living here! It was 45° in Volcano on Christmas Eve.

This CME is a glancing blow to the earth, at most. The heavens celebrate the coming New Year with brilliant northern and southern Aurora. Please watch for me. I am too close to the equator to see it.

Health and happiness for the New Year to all who enter Spring. Special thanks to those who contribute to Geo and make it far more interesting than I could by myself.

Mahalo nui loa

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 685 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (16:31) * 33 lines
AstroAlert: Watching for Quadrantid Meteors

The Quadrantid meteor shower is expected to peak near 18:00 Universal
Time on January 3, 2002. This time corresponds to the early evening for
European locations, mid-day for North America, and the early morning
hours for eastern Asia. This shower is also known as the Bootids since
the radiant position at the time of maximum activity lies in a remote
portion of northern Bootes. Star charts at the time of this shower's
discovery (1825) listed the constellation of Quadrans Muralis in this
position hence the name "Quadrantids".

This shower is of short duration lasting only 5 days. It reaches a
zenith hourly rate of 1 on January 1. Rates remain low until only a few
hours before maximum activity on January 3. At this time rates will
climb steadily with rates nearly doubling each hour. The actual maximum
is short-lived and rates plummet just as fast as they climbed. Rates
will fall below a ZHR of 1 on January 6.

One must be in the right place at the right time to see the Quads at
their best. In over 35 years of viewing I have only seen the Quads at
maximum activity only once. Of course clouds and bright moonlight have
also been a factor in trying to see the Quadrantids. The Quads at
maximum activity are an impressive sight with rates surpassing 100 per
hour and many fireballs being seen. We thought we had another
opportunity to see such activity in 2001 but the maximum arrived late
and the best rates were only 50 per hour as seen from the Mojave Desert.

With a peak predicted near 18:00 UT the western Pacific areas are
favored in 2002. Japan, the Korea's and eastern China are favored
locations. Should it again arrive late then points further west will see
the best activity. It should be noted that locations west of the
International Date Line will see the best activity on the morning of
January 4, not the 3rd.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 686 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (16:33) * 1 lines
This means either I get to have burning lungs from volcano fumes and get to see the meteors, or we get rain and the fumes go away. Either way I win. I'd rather see the meteors...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 687 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (21:20) * 5 lines
More on the Star of Bethlehem:

Early Christians hid the origins of the Bethlehem star
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991713


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 688 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (23:12) * 0 lines 
 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 689 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (23:36) * 15 lines
1830-1400 UTC I watched the night sky hoping for another look at the Hubble Space Telescope to verify my first sighting. Despite it being a perfectly clear night from horizon to horizon, I did not see it. However it occurred to me that others might like
to know a few suggestions for satellite spotting. The Space Station (ISS) and the Hubble (HST) are too bright to NOT see if you
are looking. The fainter telecommunications satellites need light adapted eyes to see. Give you eyes about 5 or 10 minutes or
longer to adapt to the darkness. You will soon begin to see many more stars than when you first started looking. I also like to
stare straight up which is difficult standing (but what I did tonight.) Train your peripheral vision to notice any change or movement of
the stars. Keep staring up but concentrate on the edges of your field of vision. By doing this I was suddenly attracted to a
tremendously brilliant light in the sky I had not seen before (it helps to learn your constellations and planets first.)
quickly shifted my eyes to watch it. As brilliant as Venus at her brightest and a stunning diamond-white, it slowly dimmed and
traveled in a straight line. That could be only one thing. My long-anticipated bight iridium flare. You MUST see one to believe
how startling they are. It is only sunlight from the long-set sun flashing off the solar panels of communication satellites like light on a
mirror, but it is amazing to see. And, you can delight and surprise your friends and children by knowing precisely when you can
see one. Http://heavensabove.com will tell you precisely when and where to look for them. Even some bright enough to see in
daylight. Log in and put your coordinates in.
They will customize the viewing for any and everything in the night sky for you personally. They'll even show you the path it will
travel through the stars. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 690 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (23:40) * 1 lines
The proper url for Heaven Above is http://www.heavens-above.com/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 691 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (23:45) * 4 lines
Heavens Above... I'd better go rest my eyes and fingers!
http://www.heavens-above.com/

I looked up my iridium flare. It was Iridium 54 and its maximum brightness was -7 magnitude. No wonder it caught my attention! Stop reading me and get set up in Heavens Above and get your children iterested in more than TV. You'll find it addicting!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 692 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (15:38) * 4 lines
Cosmos to freeze-frame
The Universe could be slipping away from us forever.
http://www.nature.com/nsu/011220/011220-4.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 693 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (16:50) * 23 lines
Space Weather News for Dec. 28, 2001
http://www.spaceweather.com

THE MOON...: The full Moon will dip into the outskirts of Earth's shadow
on Sunday morning, Dec. 30th. North American and Pacific sky watchers
will notice a subtle dimming of the Moon's southern regions during this
"penumbral" lunar eclipse. Check SpaceWeather.com for viewing times and
maps.

... AND JUPITER: Sunday morning's lunar eclipse will be subtle, but the
Moon's Dec. 30th encounter with Jupiter will be dazzling. The Moon and
the brilliant giant planet will lie 3 degrees apart during the eclipse,
and draw even closer during the hours that follow. Observers,
particularly those in western North America and Hawaii, can see a truly
beautiful close-pairing shortly before local dawn on Sunday.

GOT PHOTOS? Images of the coming Jupiter-Moon encounter and the lunar
eclipse are welcomed. Submit them to webmaster@spaceweather.com.

AURORA WATCH: A coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on Dec. 26th may
have missed our planet. Its anticipated time of arrival has come and gone
without event.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 694 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (20:04) * 23 lines
Starting at 2002 UTC this afternoon, a very powerful major
X3.4 Xray flare was detected. This flare was of very long
duration and was officially not ended until 2132 UTC.

http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_5m.html

The Xray readings remain above the M-Class level at this
time. While not the highest rated numerically, this was the
longest duration X-Class flare event that I have ever
observed.

It appears that the flare was generated by a massive spotted
region that is along the limb and just now rotating onto the
visible solar disk. This makes the likelihood of any impact
from flare-induced CMEs somewhat less than might otherwise
be expected.

A new magnetic storm watch - not related to today's event -
has been issued for Dec 29, 2001, which began at 1900 [7pm]
ET this evening. This watch is related to the large CME
observed on Dec 26.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 695 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (20:06) * 10 lines
A major flare occurred at 2005 UTC on 28 December. Stratwarm Alert exists Thursday.
Magnetic A-Index >20 Watch for 29 Dec 2001 UT

Flare:
Class X3.4 BEG 28 Dec 2001 2002 MAX 28 Dec 2001 2045 END 28 Dec
2001 2132 UT

Comments: Bright loops associated with flare on SE limb near S27



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 696 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (20:54) * 10 lines
* Animated Rock 'N Roll of Nearby Asteroid
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/asteroid_rolls_011227.html

On Dec. 16, a large asteroid passed closer to Earth than any such event since 1969. The 1-kilometer-wide (.62 miles) space rock, named 1998 WT24, about five times farther from Earth than the Moon.

* Simple Skywatching: Doorstep Astronomy for Late December
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/simple_skywatching_011226.html

Maybe you just got a telescope for Christmas and need a target at which to point it. Or perhaps you just want something to do on a crisp, clear winter night. How about a little doorstep astronomy? No equipment required.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 697 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (20:56) * 1 lines
that's some very informative stuff, marcia! you're right about getting the kids away from the TV and into some real stuff.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 698 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (20:57) * 2 lines
From Mauna Loa Solar Observatory
http://www.hao.ucar.edu/public/research/svosa/mlsocme/index.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 699 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (21:06) * 1 lines
Oh Wolfie, they'll love it. They can even get merit badges in scouting - I know, I used to teach it! Beware, even mothers are known to become addicted to viewing the night sky. It is the best and no matter where you go on earth, they are waiting there for you. In different positons, though. From Hilo, the north star is almost on the horizon!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 700 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Dec 28, 2001 (21:08) * 4 lines
I forgot to post this url. Mauna Loa instruments. I've been inside and outside and all around it http://www.hao.ucar.edu/public/research/svosa/mlsocme/mlso_instruments.html

Live webcams from Mauna Loa Observatory
http://stratus.mlo.hawaii.gov/LiveCam/Fcam.htm 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 701 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 29, 2001 (14:13) * 203 lines
S&T's News Bulletin for December 28, 2001

JUPITER'S SHRINKING RED SPOT
Telescopic observers from the 19th century may not have had the
technological wizardry available to modern-day skywatchers -- but they
apparently had an easier time spotting Jupiter's signature feature,
its Great Red Spot. According to Amy Simon-Miller (NASA/Goddard Space
Fight Center), today this giant cyclonic storm is only about half as
big as it was in the 1880s. Simon-Miller and three colleagues
confirmed the shrinkage during a careful comparison of historical
records and contemporary images from the Voyager, Galileo, and Cassini
spacecraft. She presented their results last month at a meeting of
planetary scientists.
Astronomers have known since the early 1900s that the Great Red Spot's
longitudinal extent has been decreasing. Late in the 19th century the
spot was nearly 35 degrees wide, which corresponds to about 40,000
kilometers, or more than three times Earth's diameter.
By 1979, when Voyagers 1 and 2 swept past, it had shrunk to 21 degrees
(about 25,000 km), yet its latitudinal "height" remained essentially
unchanged, about 12,000 km from top to bottom.
Simon-Miller has discovered that the contraction seems to have picked
up steam since the Voyager visits: at its present rate of shrinkage
(0.19 degree in longitude per year), the spot will become the "Great
Red Circle" by the year 2040. However a perfectly round shape is
unlikely, she explains, because the strong, opposing jet streams that
confine the spot's northern and southern boundaries will always
distort it into an oval.
No one knows why the not-so-Great Red Spot has shrunk -- or, for that
matter, why its color intensifies and fades over time. One clue is
that the winds around its circumference are whirling 70 percent faster
now (about 700 km per hour) than they were in the Voyager era. Some
historical observations suggest that the Red Spot grows and shrinks in
a decades-long sequence. "I'm not sure the behavior is really
cyclical," Simon-Miller comments, "but I certainly would not be
surprised in the least if this shrinking trend slowed or reversed."
One possible explanation is that deep-seated bursts of
thunderstorm-like convection periodically energize the overlying cloud
layers, causing the spot to bloat in size, then gradually contract as
the turbulence subsides. "All of the weather on Jupiter seems to have
sporadic increases in activity," she notes, "so whatever feeds the
Great Red Spot likely will too."

THE LEONIDS' BEST HOME VIDEOS
Thanks to some high-tech videography, researchers at last have meteor
images detailed enough to probe the insides of shooting stars. The
results were presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union
earlier in the month.
Hans Stenbaek-Nielsen (University of Alaska, Fairbanks) captured the
meteors on video as part of NASA/Ames Research Center's Leonid
Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign (MAC). His camera can take video at
a rate of 1,000 frames per second. The instrument was originally used
to study mysterious sprites, fleeting columns of light sometimes seen
above massive thunderstorms.
Stationed at Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska, Nielsen pointed the
camera skyward and spent the night of November 17-18 watching a video
monitor that displayed only a 6-degree-square field. When he saw a
Leonid cross the field, he stopped the recording and manually saved
the hundreds of images. "I managed to save three good meteors,"
Nielsen says. "I did see more, but it was rather tiring observational
circumstances."
Nielsen's video clearly shows how the initial pinpoint glow of the
heating meteoroid quickly develops a bow shock and a tail. Peter
Jenniskens (SETI Institute) explains, "Our images for the first time
confirm that most meteor light comes from a bright plasma just behind
the meteoroid."

FUSE IN SAFE MODE
Just as it began its third year of observations, NASA's Far
Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) went into safe mode on
December 10th when the second of four orientation-holding reaction
wheels malfunctioned. The first of the wheels went out of action on
November 25th. The FUSE mission team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center and Johns Hopkins University is optimistic that new software
will be written to control the pointing of the satellite with the
remaining two wheels. FUSE also has a system that uses the Earth's
magnetic field to change the craft's orientation.
The first sign of trouble came in August 2000 when a wheel temporarily
rubbed against its housing when trapped gas made the surrounding
insulation bulge. The spacecraft was down again briefly in February
2001 with a similar problem. Until a fix is ready -- probably in weeks
if the wheels can be restarted, but several months if a new control
method is needed -- FUSE will sit in emergency configuration with its
solar panels aimed directly at the Sun for maximum power.
FUSE was launched in June 1999 and since science operations began the
following November, the mission has been largely trouble free. In 2001
alone, FUSE observed more than 600 different astronomical objects, and
more than 50 papers based on FUSE observations are scheduled for
presentation at the American Astronomical Society meeting next month.
Earlier this month, ancient Martian oceans were inferred using FUSE
observations.

COMET LINEAR FAR SOUTH
Comet LINEAR (C/2000 WM1) shines at about 6th magnitude, but is only
visible for Southern Hemisphere observers. This coming week, the comet
moves from the constellation Grus into Indus, as it nears its closest
approach to the Sun -- called perihelion -- on January 22nd. As
twilight fades, the comet will be about 25 to 35 deg. above the
southwestern horizon. Here are positions for the coming week in 2000.0
coordinates:
R.A. Dec.
Dec 29 22h 27 -50.6 deg.
Dec 31 22 16 -51.7
Jan 2 22 05 -52.6
Jan 4 21 54 -53.4


THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

DEC. 30 -- SUNDAY
* The Moon shines brightly in the eastern sky this evening, with
brilliant Jupiter to its upper right and Pollux and Castor to its
left.
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 11:14 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The "red" spot is very
pale orange-tan. It should be visible for at least 50 minutes before
and after in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing
is sharp and steady. Our complete list of Red Spot transit times, at
, is good
worldwide.

DEC. 31 -- MONDAY
* The Moon is up in the eastern sky by midevening. Above it look for
Pollux and Castor. To their upper right is much brighter Jupiter.
* Jupiter is at opposition tonight, opposite the Sun in our sky.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:07 p.m. EST.
* Jupiter's moon Europa reappears from eclipse out of the planet's
shadow, just barely off Jupiter's eastern limb, around 7:15 p.m. EST.

JAN. 1 -- TUESDAY
* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of
its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a
couple hours centered on 6:39 p.m. EST. Algol takes several additional
hours to fade and to brighten. Our timetable of all its predicted
minima, at , is good
worldwide.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 12:54 a.m. Wednesday morning
EST.

JAN. 2 -- WEDNESDAY
* Earth is at perihelion, its closest to the Sun for the year (3.3
percent closer than at aphelion in July).
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:45 p.m. EST.
* The Quadrantid meteor shower may be active before dawn Thursday
morning, but bright moonlight interferes.

JAN. 3 -- THURSDAY
* Jupiter's moon Io crosses Jupiter's face from 11:28 p.m. to 1:42
a.m. EST Friday morning. Its tiny -- but much more visible -- black
shadow follows just 4 minutes behind.
* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is located three or four
ring-lengths east of Saturn tonight through Saturday night. A small
telescope will show it.

JAN. 4 -- FRIDAY
* Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, reappears from eclipse out of
Jupiter's shadow around 10:23 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. A small
telescope will show it gradually swelling from invisibility to its
normal brightness just off the planet's eastern limb.
* Coincidentally, Jupiter's Red Spot also transits around 10:23 p.m.
EST.

JAN. 5 -- SATURDAY
* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 10:55 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is beginning to appear through the glow of sunset. Look for it
just above the southwest horizon about 40 minutes after sundown. It's
getting a little higher and easier to see each day.
VENUS remains hidden in the glare of the Sun.
MARS (magnitude +0.8, at the Aquarius-Pisces border) is the orange
"star" in the south-southwest during twilight. It sinks lower in the
southwest later in the evening and sets around 10 p.m.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.7, in Gemini) is at opposition this week: in the
opposite direction from the Sun as seen from Earth's viewpoint. It's
the brightest point of light in the sky -- blazing white in the east
during evening, high in the south in the middle of the night, and in
the west before dawn.
SATURN (magnitude -0.3, in Taurus) shines high in the east far to
Jupiter's upper right for much of the evening. It's in the south
directly to Jupiter's right by about 10 p.m. The star Aldebaran
sparkles just 4 degrees (two or three fingers's-widths at arm's
length) to Saturn's lower right in early evening. (Later at night,
Aldebaran is directly below Saturn and then to its lower left.)
Compare their colors. Saturn is pale yellow; Aldebaran is more orange.
URANUS and NEPTUNE are disappearing into the sunset.
PLUTO (magnitude 14, in Ophiuchus) is barely up in the east-southeast
before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at . Clear skies!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 702 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 29, 2001 (20:11) * 2 lines
What can happen when you go out to look at the night sky is in this little clip.Take the time to load it. Run it a few times. Note the little satellite moving from left to right. See what happens to it.
http://leonid.arc.nasa.gov/IMAGES/leonid-satellite.mov

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 703 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sat, Dec 29, 2001 (21:52) * 1 lines
now that was cool!! i can't believe it was really like that (although i know it was) oh, but i was watching the meteor from right to left--lemme go back and watch from left to right....

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 704 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Dec 29, 2001 (23:35) * 1 lines
the satellite is dim and going from left to right. The brilliant meteor goes straight across it seemingly zapping it out of the sky!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 705 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sun, Dec 30, 2001 (22:55) * 1 lines
yup, caught that!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 706 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec 30, 2001 (23:01) * 1 lines
Neat little animation. I'd delighted someone caught it for all of us to see!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 707 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Dec 30, 2001 (23:04) * 32 lines
For the serious student of satellites:

**IDSat assists in the identification of observed satellites, by computing
and tabulating close appulses of known satellites relative to the
observed time and position. It was inspired by, and is conceptually
similar to Mike McCants' Findsat program, but provides additional
information, and includes various convenience features.

In addition to reporting appulse time and position difference, IDSat
provides the predicted visual magnitude, radar cross-section area (RCS),
direction of travel, angular velocity and estimated prediction accuracy.

IDSat automatically detects and decodes observations input in the IOD
and U.K. formats, including Russell Eberst's variant of the latter. It
also reads Findsat's *.ctl input files.

The program obtains size and magnitude data from a file derived from my
database. Mike McCants' quicksat.mag may be used as an alternative.

The program's operation can by customized somewhat by editing its
initialization file.

IDSat is an MS-DOS program, developed and tested within DOS windows
running under Windows 95 and Windows XP Professional.

Mike McCants has kindly made the program available for download on the
programs page of his web site; look for IDSat.zip:

http://users2.ev1.net/~mmccants/programs/index.html**

thanks to http://www.satellite.eu.org/seesat/seesatindex.html and Ted Molczan.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 708 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jan  2, 2002 (19:24) * 22 lines
EUROPE and OCEANIA: [MeteorShowers] The Quadrantids

The Quadrantids peak on Jan 3 at around 18:00 UT (01:00 PM EST, NOON
CST, 11:00 AM MST and 10:00 AM PST) so those in North America and
Europe are not favored for the peak this year, but some Quadrantids
may be seen through January 6th.

Observers in eastern Asia are favored as the peak will occur during
the early morning hours there. This shower is one of the best with
peak hourly rates in excess of 100 possible, but the 86% illuminated
moon will offer considerable interference this year, so observing
will not be at its best for anyone.

Community email addresses:
Post message: MeteorShowers@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: MeteorShowers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: MeteorShowers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
List owner: MeteorShowers-owner@yahoogroups.com

Shortcut URL to this page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MeteorShowers 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 709 of 1087: Kilauea83  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jan  4, 2002 (21:58) * 13 lines
A beautiful explosion on the Sun dazzles scientists

Space Weather News for January 4, 2001
http://www.spaceweather.com

On January 4, 2002, an explosion on the Sun hurled an unusually beautiful
coronal mass ejection (CME) into space. "The complexity and structure of
the CME amazed even experienced solar physicists at the SOHO operations
center," says Paal Brekke, the SOHO Deputy Project Scientist. Although
the eruption was not substantially Earth-directed, the outskirts of the
expanding CME might nevertheless sweep past our planet on Jan. 6th or 7th
and trigger geomagnetic activity. Visit SpaceWeather.com for movies and
updates.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 710 of 1087: Kilauea83  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jan  5, 2002 (14:03) * 160 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JANUARY 4, 2002
===========================================================
For images and Web links for these items, visit
===========================================================

ASTRONOMERS MEET IN WASHINGTON
This coming week many of the world's research astronomers will turn
their attention to Washington, D.C., for 199th meeting of the American
Astronomical Society. This twice-yearly convention draws hundreds of
professional astronomers, educators, and astronomy hobbyists to hear
front-line research reports on topics ranging from the solar system to
the edge of the observable universe. Check SKY & TELESCOPE's Web site
() for daily reports from on-the-scene
editors Joshua Roth and David Tytell.

YOHKOH LOSES CONTROL
On December 14, 2001, the Japanese solar observatory Yohkoh began
spinning out of control. Since then, all scientific operations have
stopped, and it remains unclear when the craft will be operational
again.
The problem began during last month's annular eclipse of the Sun.
Yohkoh uses a Sun-centering system to determine its position at any
given time. During the eclipse, the craft lost contact with the Sun,
put itself into a "safe mode," and slowly began to drift off track and
rotate. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem -- during its
decade in orbit, Yohkoh has seen its share of eclipses. However, this
event occurred during a rare period of the craft's orbit (known as an
invisible orbit) when the craft was out of communication with Earth.
Thus controllers on the ground couldn't detect (or compensate for) the
craft's sudden roll.
Problems only got worse from there. Because of its slow roll, Yohkoh's
solar panels no longer received direct sunlight. By the time ground
controllers at the Kagoshima Space Center regained contact with the
observatory, its batteries were very low and the craft had lost
attitude control.
To fix the problem, scientists first established contact and turned
off all the craft's science instruments in order to conserve power.
Currently the craft is rotating slowly, about one rotation per minute.
According to Loren Acton (Montana State University), head scientist of
Yohkoh's solar X-ray telescope, in the spacecraft's current state, its
solar panels only receive sunlight in spurts. "During flashes of
illumination, electricity is produced," says Acton. Thus the first
step toward recovery is for scientists to wait until the craft can
charge up.
It's currently unclear when, and even if, scientists will regain
control of the craft. But astronomers are hopeful. "It will take
clever work to stop the roll and reacquire the Sun," says Acton.

COMET LINEAR FAR SOUTH
Comet LINEAR (C/2000 WM1) shines at about 6th magnitude, but is only
visible for Southern Hemisphere observers. This coming week, the comet
moves through Indus, as it nears its closest approach to the Sun --
called perihelion -- on January 22nd. As twilight fades, the comet
will be about 20 to 25 deg. above the southwestern horizon. Here are
positions for the coming week in 2000.0 coordinates:

R.A. Dec.
Jan 5 21h 49m -53.7 deg.
Jan 7 21 38 -54.2
Jan 9 21 27 -54.5
Jan 11 21 16 -54.6

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JAN. 6 -- SUNDAY
* A grand array of bright winter constellations and planets fills
the southeastern sky during evening this month. Brightest is Jupiter
in the east. High above it is Capella. To Jupiter's right is the
constellation Orion. High above Orion is Saturn (with slightly fainter
Aldebaran just under it). Equally far below Orion is brilliant white
Sirius.
To identify stars and constellations all around your sky, use the
evening star map and instructions at
(if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
.)
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time tonight. The "red" spot
is very pale orange-tan. It should be visible for at least 50 minutes
before and after in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric
seeing is sharp and steady. Our complete list of Red Spot transit
times, at , is
good worldwide.

JAN. 7 -- MONDAY
* Jupiter's moon Europa emerges out of eclipse by Jupiter's shadow
around 9:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. A small telescope will show it
gradually swelling into view just off the planet's eastern limb.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:52 p.m. EST.

JAN. 8 -- TUESDAY
* Look southeast as dawn begins to brighten on Wednesday morning.
There you'll spot the waning crescent Moon. Below it is the summer
star Antares, just starting to make its annual winter emergence from
the glow of sunrise.
* The 8.6-magnitude asteroid 9 Metis is passing 15 arcminutes north
of Pollux late tonight. There's no star there that bright to confuse
it with.

JAN. 9 -- WEDNESDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 9:30 p.m. EST.

JAN. 10 -- THURSDAY
* Some doorstep astronomy: Have you seen the Orion Nebula, M42, in
binoculars? During the evening, find Orion striding up the
southeastern sky to the right of brilliant Jupiter. In Orion's middle
is the three-star row of Orion's Belt, almost vertical. To the Belt's
lower right is a fainter, diagonal row of stars similarly long,
Orion's Sword. Closely surrounding one of the middle stars of the
Sword is the small, dim, gray-green glow of the nebula.

JAN. 11 -- FRIDAY
* Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation, 19 degrees east of
the Sun.
* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is located three or four
ring-lengths west of Saturn tonight through Sunday night. A small
telescope will show it.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:08 p.m. EST.

JAN. 12 -- SATURDAY
* Jupiter's moon Io crosses the planet's face from 7:37 to 9:52 p.m.
EST, closely followed by its tiny (but much more visible) black shadow
from 7:55 to 10:10 p.m. EST.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is having a good apparition at dusk. Look for it low in the
southwest about 45 to 60 minutes after sunset. It's the only bright
point of light there.
VENUS remains hidden in the glare of the Sun.
MARS (magnitude +0.9, at the Aquarius-Pisces border) is the orange
"star" in the south-southwest during twilight. It sinks lower in the
southwest later in the evening and sets around 10 p.m.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.7, in Gemini) is just past opposition. It's the
brightest point of light in the sky -- blazing white in the east
during evening, high in the south in the middle of the night, and low
in the west before dawn.
SATURN (magnitude -0.2, in Taurus) shines high in the east far to
Jupiter's upper right during early evening. Later at night it's in the
south directly to Jupiter's right. The star Aldebaran sparkles just 4
degrees (two or three fingers's-widths at arm's length) from Saturn --
below it in early evening, to its lower left later. Compare their
colors. Saturn is pale yellow; Aldebaran is more orange.
URANUS and NEPTUNE are lost in the sunset.
PLUTO (magnitude 14, in Ophiuchus) is barely up in the east-southeast
before dawn.
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)

. Clear skies!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 711 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jan  7, 2002 (19:37) * 3 lines
http://www.space.com/images/h_lasco_c2_1107_02.jpg

Solar prominence of great grandeur!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 712 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Mon, Jan  7, 2002 (22:07) * 1 lines
ok, that is very cool. what is the white circle in the middle of the sun there for?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 713 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan  8, 2002 (00:06) * 1 lines
That is the limb (outer edge of the sun's ball,) if I understand you correctly. The dark circle in the middle is to block direct sunlight, as in an eclipse, so the outer prominences and details do not disappear in the glare of the sun's brilliance.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 714 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Tue, Jan  8, 2002 (18:46) * 1 lines
i think that's what i was asking, it was a ring of white......

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 715 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jan 12, 2002 (21:46) * 54 lines
They Have Seen the Universe and It's Pale Green
Reuters
Jan 10 2002 1:03PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Red giants? White dwarfs? Blue heaven? No. It turns
out the universe is pale green.
Not plain green, though, according to Ivan Baldry, an astronomer who worked to
find the average color of all the light in the universe.
"It's pale turquoise," Baldry said on Thursday at the meeting of the American
Astronomical Society in Washington. "Turquoise of course is green-blue. It's
slightly greener. It's between these two, pale turquoise and medium aquamarine. I'd
say just slightly greener than turquoise."
Baldry and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University have settled on the calling
this universal shade cosmic spectrum green.
Finding the color was a byproduct of an examination of some 200,000 galaxies to
determine the rate of star birth as the universe aged.
"This color's a whimsical intellectual exercise, but the star formation history is
astronomical research," Baldry said.
Most astronomers agree that the pace of star formation has slackened after an
earlier stellar baby boom.
Research presented by NASA scientists earlier this week indicated that the
star-forming peak may have occurred earlier that previously believed, very soon
after the cosmic Big Bang that many scientists believe gave birth to the universe.
Baldry and his colleagues worked with data from the Australian 2dF Galaxy
Redshift Survey of more than 200,000 galaxies at a distance of 2 billion to 3 billion
light-years from Earth. A light-year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels
in a year.
By giving a numeric value to the colors of the different galaxies, adding them
together and then averaging them, they came up with their light green color.

That color lies near the midpoint of a cosmic spectrum the researchers created.
This spectrum shows the universe beginning with a blue period, moving through
green and eventually getting red.
"As there are no new young stars formed, the universe will get redder," Baldry
told reporters who gathered around his poster in a huge exhibition hall. "It started
out blue as the light is dominated by hot stars. So far it's evolved to a greenish
color.
"Because young stars are hot and blue, they dominate the light," he said "And it's
only when the young stars decline that you're going to change colors."
We are now at about the middle of the cosmic spectrum in terms of color, though
Baldry did not guess where we might be in terms of the universe's lifespan.
"The reason the color's changing is because the rate of stars forming is changing,"
he said. "We're in a stage of a declining rate of star formation. More stars were
forming in the past than at the present time."
The cosmic green color is what scientists believe the human eye would see if the
light wasn't broken up into its component parts. But there is no way any human
could actually see this.
"The only way to see it is if you saw all the universe from the same distance away
and it was not moving," Baldry said.
Baldry and his co-author, Karl Glazebrook, have both joked about possible
marketing opportunities for the new color, such as color-of-the-universe T-shirts
or coffee mugs.
But Baldry allowed, "I don't know if you can patent a color, that's not our business.
... We haven't actually been to a paint shop yet to see if they have any fancy
names for this color." 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 716 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jan 12, 2002 (21:47) * 1 lines
I'll ask my son about it. It seems to be NASA's blocker which has that white ring. The one on Mauna Loa does not. I am alsp puzzled by this! Does anyone else know? 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 717 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jan 12, 2002 (22:13) * 443 lines
===========================================================
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - JANUARY 11, 2002
===========================================================

VEGA'S CLUMPY DUST MAY REVEAL HIDDEN PLANET
Even casual skywatchers are familiar with Vega. The zero-magnitude
star is the sky's fifth brightest, the jewel of the constellation
Lyra, and a vertex of the Summer Triangle. Now it appears that Vega
has another claim to fame: signs of a giant exoplanet orbiting it.
Vega looks bright because it is nearby, only 25 light-years away, and
because it is hotter and larger than the Sun, putting out 50 times the
Sun's light. Nearly two decades ago astronomers found far-infrared
evidence of cold dust grains surrounded Vega. Observations in 1998
showed signs of structure in the dust. This week, at the American
Astronomical Society meeting, two teams of astronomers announced that
Vega's circumstellar dust is at least partly gathered into large
clumps -- in a characteristic shape that suggests the gravitational
influence of a giant planet in an eccentric orbit.
Two separate teams made the observations using two telescopes half a
world apart. The first group, led by David Koerner (University of
Pennsylvania), used the Owens Valley Radio Observatory. The second,
led by David Wilner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics),
used the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in the French Alps to resolve
two knots in the circumstellar dust offset 60 and 75 astronomical
units from Vega.
According to Wilner, the "features are naturally explained by a
Jupiter-mass planet in an eccentric orbit around the star." The
clumps, he says, are "trapped in resonances from a planet." Koerner
adds that observations such as these are "starting to change the
paradigm of what it means to be a disk."
While no planet has been seen, models by Wilner and his colleagues
suggest that the semimajor axis of its orbit is most likely 30 a.u.
(30 times the Earth's distance from the Sun). The simulations also
place an upper limit to its mass. "If the planet is larger than 30
Jupiters, dust regions overlap and the resonances are destroyed," says
Marc Kuchner, a theorist on Wilner's team.

BUSH SCIENCE POLICY: THE VIEW FROM THE TOP
President Bush's science advisor, John H. Marburger III, warned
members of the American Astronomical Society yesterday that
researchers must change their approach to justifying requests for
government funding. In his remarks at the society's winter meeting in
Washington, D.C., Marburger outlined the administration's approach to
science, fiscal management, and specifically, astronomy.
Marburger said that Bush's presidency marks the return of a
"business-like administration" to the White House and that scientists,
even those conducting basic research, should realize that "measures of
performance are essential."
According to Marburger, federal support for science has historically
been linked to national defense, specifically to Cold War
technologies. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the
United States was left with an embarrassment of riches -- lots of
discoveries requiring additional research. "We've got too much," said
Marburger. "We can't afford to follow it all up at once."
Marburger says, "This administration supports discovery-based
science," but he adds, "[the president] insists on knowing why we are
making an investment."
When addressing cost overruns at NASA, Marburger said, "I believe the
rest of NASA should be isolated from the problems of the International
Space Station." This comment brought thunderous applause from the
audience of professional astronomers.
In a question-and-answer session with reporters after his talk, Sky &
Telescope asked Marburger about the Bush administration's apparent
trend toward consolidating astronomical projects and facilities. He
specifically addressed a rumor that Smithsonian Institution funding
for the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, would be reallocated to the National Science
Foundation. Marburger said people "shouldn't conclude from recent
[reports] what the [administration's] ultimate goal is. The intent is
to get the best science for what we are doing. It is reasonable for
Americans to expect a hard-nosed approach." Marburger stopped short of
saying whether or not he believes the CfA's funding should be
reassigned.

AN EARLY UNIVERSE TEEMING WITH STARS
Seven years after the first Hubble Deep Field (HDF) revealed the most
distant galaxies ever seen, a team of astronomers has done a new
analysis of those galaxies that could rewrite the history of the early
universe. According to Kenneth M. Lanzetta (SUNY Stony Brook) and his
colleagues, the rate of star formation peaked in just the first few
hundred million years after the Big Bang and has been declining ever
since. Older analyses had concluded that the rate of star formation
peaked much later.
"Previous measurements have missed the dominant fraction of the light
from the earliest galaxies," Lanzetta explained at a press conference
Tuesday. All prior studies of the most ancient, highest-redshift
galaxies in the Hubble Deep Fields saw only "the tip of the iceberg,"
the galaxies' very brightest portions. Most of a galaxy's starlight,
however, comes from its intermediate-brightness regions, which are too
faint to show at all in the HDF views of the farthest objects. As a
result, said Lanzetta, "Even the deepest, most sensitive measurements
have missed most of the light of the early universe." In other words,
many more stars were shining back then than anyone realized.
The faintest galaxies in the HDF images are too dim for their spectra
to be measured with any existing telescope. So instead, the SUNY team
did multicolor photometry of 5,000 of the faintest galaxies through 9
to 12 broad-band color filters (using both Hubble images and large
ground-based telescopes) to produce a sort of low-resolution
spectrogram of each. This method proved good enough for redshift
purposes after the astronomers calibrated it against the 150 brightest
galaxies in the fields, for which actual spectra are available.
The new analysis, the team said, indicates that starbirth in the
universe proceeded like a fireworks show in reverse. "The grand finale
came first," summed up Bruce Margon (Space Telescope Science
Institute). The rate of starbirth in the first few hundred million
years, said Lanzetta, was 10 times what it is in each equivalent
section of space today. If so, that initial dazzling display should
become clearly visible with the launch later this decade of the Next
Generation Space Telescope, Hubble's successor.
The result will appear in a future issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

GAMMA-RAY BURSTS NEXT DOOR?
Gamma-ray bursts, or GRBs -- fleeting flashes of high-energy photons
that appear anywhere on the sky -- emanate from galaxies halfway
across the visible universe and their origination predates the solar
system. At least that's the picture astronomers deduced from the
mysterious explosions' stupendously distant redshifts. So more than a
few eyebrows went up in a Washington, D.C., lecture hall Monday when
Jay Norris (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) told an audience of
astrophysicists that many GRBs may have actually popped off in our
intergalactic neighborhood: the pancake-shaped Local Supercluster of
galaxies, which extends some 300 million light-years from the Milky Way.
"There's this myth that gamma-ray bursts are chaotic and
unpredictable, said Norris, "but that's not true." In fact GRBs might
even be used as "standard candles" with which to measure cosmic
distances. Astronomers monitoring GRBs have found they emit their
highest-energy gamma rays first, with somewhat "cooler" gamma rays
following milliseconds or seconds later. In one study of nine GRBs
with known redshifts, the time delay appeared to be correlated with
the GRB's luminosity as seen from Earth: the longer a GRB takes to
"cool," the less luminous it is.
Using data from the recently destroyed Compton Gamma Ray Observatory,
Norris identified roughly 100 GRBs that cooled especially slowly,
taking a second or more. Intriguingly, he finds that these presumably
feeble GRBs are clustered along the plane of the Local Supercluster.
Since GRBs as a whole are distributed randomly about the sky without
any preferred direction, this suggests that Norris's sample originated
"locally." It also bolsters the notion that the "lag-luminosity"
relationship can provide at least a crude indication of a GRB's
distance.
"I wouldn't consider it fact at this point," says GRB expert Robert
Nemiroff (Michigan Technological University) of Norris's
yet-unpublished analysis, "but it's a very interesting conjecture."
The Swift spacecraft, slated for a September 2003 launch, should
settle the issue, says Nemiroff, by obtaining redshifts for dozens if
not hundreds of gamma-ray bursts.

CHANDRA SNAPS SUPERBUBBLES IN GALAXY CLUSTER
Scientists using the Chandra X-ray Observatory have documented the
existence and longevity of buoyant magnetic bubbles in a distant
galaxy cluster. And in doing so, they may have discovered how magnetic
fields came to permeate galaxy clusters -- the largest gravitationally
bound structures in the universe.
Brian McNamara (Ohio University, Athens) and his colleagues used
Chandra to image the multimillion-degree gas permeating Abell 2597, a
galaxy cluster more than 1 billion light-years from Earth. Chandra
observed several vast cavities in the cluster's otherwise ubiquitous
plasma. Similar holes had been seen in another galaxy cluster, Hydra
A, McNamara notes. In Hydra A's case, radio telescopes revealed those
cavities were filled with magnetized jets of gas streaming from the
cluster's central galaxy -- just what one would expect if those jets
had blown bubbles in the plasma flooding that cluster.
But radio telescopes have not revealed any jets within Abell 2597's
expansive cavities, which span tens of millions of light-years. The
implication? According to McNamara, the cavities in Abell 2597's gas
shroud "were probably created . . . about 100 million years ago and
rose like bubbles in a Coke bottle." Powered by a still-mysterious
process involving accretion onto a supermassive black hole, the
bubbles' birth event probably only lasted about 1 million years. The
gases that briefly jetted out from Abell 2597's central galaxy were
threaded with relatively strong magnetic fields, McNamara adds. Those
fields presumably rose along with the long-lived bubbles and keep the
surrounding X-ray-luminous gas at bay.
"It's always been a mystery why we see dynamically important magnetic
fields . . . in this type of cluster," McNamara says. Now, thanks to
the new Chandra study, "it's plausible to explain all of these
magnetic fields as being burped out of the black hole." The finding
has broader implications for galaxy evolution. "These [central] black
holes are depositing an enormous amount of energy into the centers of
these clusters," with each bubble containing the energy equivalent of
1 million supernovae, "and [they] may have played an important role .
. . in the shaping of the galaxies themselves."

FIRST PLANET OF A GIANT STAR
About 80 planets are known to orbit main-sequence stars that are more
or less like the Sun -- ranging from spectral type F (a little hotter
and larger than the Sun) to M (quite a bit cooler and smaller). Now
astronomers have extended the range of star types that have planets.
On Tuesday at the AAS meeting in Washington D.C., Sabine Frink
(University of California, San Diego) and several colleagues announced
finding a planet-mass body orbiting an orange giant -- an old star
that has used up most of its hydrogen fuel and swollen to huge
proportions, as our Sun will do in about 7 billion years.
The star is Iota Draconis, shining brightly at 3rd magnitude from 100
light-years away in the constellation Draco. It's a run-of-the-mill
giant (spectral type K2 III) with 13 times the Sun's diameter, though
it probably has only 1.05 times the Sun's mass. Its newfound companion
has at least 8.6 Jupiter masses and probably somewhat more. The object
swoops around the star every 1.5 years in a highly elongated orbit
(eccentricity 0.7).
"Until now, it was not known if planets existed around giant stars,"
said Frink in a press statement. "This provides the first evidence
that planets at Earthlike distances can survive the evolution of their
host star into a giant." If the star keeps expanding, however, it
could still engulf and vaporize the planet in the distant future.
The discovery came by accident. The astronomers were making
Doppler-shift measurements of Iota Draconis as part of a project to
reconnoiter reference stars for NASA's Space Interferometry Mission
(SIM), scheduled to launch in 2009. The star showed noticeable changes
in its radial (line-of-sight) velocity. That isn't surprising for a
giant -- they often pulse at least slightly, mimicking planet-induced
wobbles, which is why extrasolar planet hunters have generally avoided
them. But in this case the "pulses" in radial velocity traced out a
telltale pattern indicating an object following Newton's laws of
gravity in a strongly elongated orbit.

A COMET'S BRUSH WITH THE SUN
Right now the periodic comet known as Machholz 1 is its closest to the
Sun, just 19 million kilometers away. Human eyes cannot see the
rendezvous, because the comet is positioned just a few degrees from
our star in the sky. But if we could, we'd be dazzled -- the comet's
near-solar experience has turned its icy nucleus into a fizzing
factory of gas and dust that has spawned a tail several degrees long.
Fortunately, the NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory has
captured the comet's arrival. The spacecraft's Large Angle and
Spectrometric Coronagraph, which continuously monitors conditions in
the solar corona, picked up the comet in its wide field of view
yesterday and has recorded its passage in a remarkable series of
images.
When amateur skygazer Don Machholz discovered this comet in May 1986,
astronomers initially thought it would make one quick pass through the
inner solar system and then disappear forever. But they soon realized
that Machholz's find was a periodic comet that orbits the Sun every
5.3 years, traveling in a looping trajectory that extends beyond the
orbit of Jupiter. "This is really a remarkable orbit," observes Daniel
W. E. Green (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), in that the
comet spirals a little nearer to the Sun at each perihelion then
evolves outward over a 4,000-year-long cycle. By the year 2450, should
Machholz 1 survive that long, it will pass only 5 million km (0.03
astronomical unit) from the Sun.

ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER UNIQUE BROWN-DWARF SYSTEM
Using the Gemini North and Keck telescopes atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii,
astronomers have directly observed a brown dwarf that appears to be
orbiting as little as 14 a.u. from its partner star. (If orbiting our
Sun, the dwarf would reside between Saturn and Uranus.) The separation
is the smallest for a brown dwarf that has ever been directly imaged.
(Extrasolar-planet hunters have found several brown dwarfs orbiting
even closer to Sun-like stars.)"
Michael Liu (University of Hawaii) and his colleagues explained Monday
at the American Astronomical Society meeting that the cool companion
-- weighing in at between 55 and 78 times the mass of Jupiter --
orbits the G-type star HR 7672 in the constellation Sagitta.
Spectroscopy confirmed its brown-dwarf nature, yielding a temperature
from 1,500 to 1,800 deg. Kelvin.
The result implies that despite the apparent lack of brown dwarfs at
distances less than 4 a.u. from Sun-like stars (known as the
brown-dwarf desert), "brown dwarfs do exist at separations comparable
to the outer planets," says Liu.
Theories abound as to the formation of brown-dwarf systems. Recently
Bo Reipurth (University of Colorado) and Cathie Clarke (Cambridge
University, England) proposed that brown dwarfs began their lives as
protostellar "embryos" exactly like ordinary stars -- but were
gravitationally ejected before they grew. Liu's contends that his
dwarf is far too massive to have formed within a circumstellar disk
the way planets do. This result contradicts Reipurth and Clark's
viewpoint. According to Liu, the brown dwarf's presence is at variance
with scenarios where brown dwarfs form as ejected stellar embryos.
The discovery also highlights the power of the new adaptive-optics
systems employed on both the Keck and Gemini North telescopes. These
advanced instruments almost completely eliminate the blurring caused
by atmospheric turbulence. In this case, adaptive optics allowed Liu
and his team to distinguish a 14.4-magnitude brown dwarf from a
5.8-magnitude companion 0.79 arcsecond distant. "The result is
tantalizing evidence of things to come," says exoplanet theorist Alan
Boss (Carnegie Institution of Washington).

WATCHING DUST IN THE WIND
The latest steps in an 8-year-long stellar tango have been tracked by
one of the world's largest telescopes, astronomers reported Monday at
the American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, D.C.
Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars are ultra-hot stellar heavyweights in their
final presupernova stage of life. They tip the scales at some 25 solar
masses (or more) and shine so brightly that their outermost
atmospheres fly off into surrounding space. But WR104 is superlative
even among Wolf-Rayets. It's a binary system in which an O-type star
orbits an even larger Wolf-Rayet companion. Given such energetic dance
partners, the last thing astronomers would expect to see in the system
is dust -- any grains in the environs should be blasted apart in the
strong radiation field.
But astronomers do see dust around WR104, and they see it in a
spectacular fashion. During the O-type star's 8-year-long orbit, it
approaches within 2.5 astronomical units (375 million kilometers) of
the WR star. At this close approach, called periastron, the two star's
energetic winds smash into each other, creating a shock front that,
oddly enough, provides a dense, shielded environment where dust grains
can form.
John Monnier (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), Peter
Tuthill (University of Sydney, Australia) and William Danchi
(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) have been monitoring the WR104
system for the past few years using the Keck I telescope. Their
technique is of particular note -- with special optics they
essentially cover the 10-meter primary mirror with an aperture mask
containing 36 small holes. By mixing the signals from each of these
microtelescopes, they turn Keck's mirror into a "multi-element
interferometer." In doing so, Monnier and his colleagues attain an
incredible imaging resolution of some 20 milliarcseconds -- 50 times
better than typical obtained from ground-based instruments.
By watching the system before and after its February 2001 periastron
event, Monnier and his team found that "a bow shock arc of dust is
seen within one month of periastron," says Monnier. Danchi adds that
the system spews dust, "like a nozzle shooting material from a
sprinkler." The result is an enormous spiral of gas cast out into
space. Monnier's team is the first to ever see such a transient dust
shield and to track its very high-speed motion (up to one
milliarcsecond per day).

COMET LINEAR FAR SOUTH
Comet LINEAR (C/2000 WM1) shines at about 6th magnitude, but is only
visible for Southern Hemisphere observers. It also remains fairly
close to the horizon. This coming week, the comet continues to move
through Indus, as it nears its closest approach to the Sun -- called
perihelion -- on January 22nd. As twilight fades, the comet will be
about 10 to 20 deg. above the southwestern horizon. Here are positions
for the coming week in 2000.0 coordinates:

R.A. Dec.

Jan 12 21h 10m -54.6 deg.
Jan 14 20 59 -54.5
Jan 16 20 48 -54.2
Jan 18 20 38 -53.6

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky &
Telescope.

JAN. 13 -- SUNDAY
* New Moon (exact at 8:29 a.m. Eastern Standard Time).
* The famous red long-period variable star R Leonis should be at its
brightest (6th magnitude) around now.
* Jupiter's moon Io reappears from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow
around 7:31 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show it gradually
swelling into view just off Jupiter's eastern edge. Then at 8:58 p.m.
EST, Callisto crosses onto the planet's face. A list of all of
Jupiter's satellite phenomena this month, good worldwide, is in the
January Sky & Telescope on page 114.
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian
(the imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to
pole) around 12:46 a.m. Monday morning EST. The "red" spot is very
pale orange-tan. It should be visible for at least 50 minutes before
and after in a good 4- or 6-inch telescope if the atmospheric seeing
is sharp and steady. Our complete list of Red Spot transit times, at
, is good
worldwide.

JAN. 14 -- MONDAY
* Jupiter's moon Europa disappears behind Jupiter's western limb at
8:55 p.m. EST. It reappears from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow just
east of the planet around 1:25 a.m. Tuesday morning EST.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:37 p.m. EST.

JAN. 15 -- TUESDAY
* As twilight fades this evening, look low in the southwest for the
waxing crescent Moon. To its lower right (by about the width of your
fist held at arm's length) is Mercury. Farther to the Moon's left is
Fomalhaut.

JAN. 16 -- WEDNESDAY
* The crescent Moon hangs about midway between Mars, far to its
upper left, and Mercury, far to its lower right. Closer to the Moon's
lower left sparkles Fomalhaut.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 10:15 p.m. EST.

JAN. 17 -- THURSDAY
* A grand array of bright winter constellations and planets fills
the southeastern sky during evening this month. Brightest is Jupiter
in the east. High above it is Capella. To Jupiter's right is the
constellation Orion. High above Orion is Saturn (with slightly fainter
Aldebaran nearby). Equally far below Orion is bright white Sirius.
To identify stars and constellations all around your sky, use the
evening star map and instructions at
(if you're in the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Southern Hemisphere
skywatchers: use the map at
.)

JAN. 18 -- FRIDAY
* Mars shines to the Moon's upper right this evening.
* European telescope users can look for a 7th-magnitude star about 1
arcminute south of Mars around 20:00 Universal Time (GMT).
* For observers near the East Coast of North America, the dark limb
of the Moon occults (covers) the 4.7-magnitude star 30 Piscium roughly
around 6 p.m. EST. A couple of hours later, the Moon occults 33
Piscium, also magnitude 4.7, for much of the northern U.S. and Canada.
* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of
its periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a
couple hours centered on 11:34 p.m. EST. Algol takes several
additional hours to fade and to brighten. Our timetable of all its
predicted minima, at
, is good worldwide.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 11:54 p.m. EST.

JAN. 19 -- SATURDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 7:45 p.m. EST.
* Jupiter's moon Io crosses the planet's face tonight from 9:21 to
11:36 p.m. EST, followed by its tiny (but much more visible) shadow
from 9:50 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. EST.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is wrapping up a good apparition at dusk. Look for it low in
the west-southwest about 45 minutes after sunset. (Don't confuse it
with Altair well to its right, in the west.) Mercury fades rapidly by
the end of the week.
VENUS remains hidden in the glare of the Sun.
MARS (magnitude +0.9, in Pisces) is the orange "star" in the southwest
during twilight. It sinks lower in the west-southwest later in the
evening and sets around 10 p.m.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.7, in Gemini) is the brightest point of light in
the sky. It blazes white in the east during evening, high in the south
by 11 p.m., and sets in the west-northwest during early dawn.
SATURN (magnitude -0.1, in Taurus) shines high in the east far to
Jupiter's upper right during early evening. Later in the evening it's
in the south directly to Jupiter's right. The star Aldebaran sparkles
just 4 degrees (two or three fingers's-widths at arm's length) from
Saturn -- below it in early evening, and to its left or lower left
later. Compare their colors. Saturn is pale yellow; Aldebaran is more
orange.
URANUS and NEPTUNE are lost in the sunset.
PLUTO (magnitude 14, in Ophiuchus) is very low in the southeast before
dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to your horizon or zenith -- including
the words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's
midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are
for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
[GMT] minus 5 hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our enormous Web site and
astronomy bookstore at . Clear skies!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 718 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Sun, Jan 13, 2002 (05:03) * 1 lines
Jupiter on steroids!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 719 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jan 13, 2002 (14:17) * 1 lines
Jupiter is awesome these nights. I have mistaken it for airplane landing lights (but too yellow-orange for that) and the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. They are the right color, but not nearly as bright. I'll bet checking on the moons is easily done in binoculars, too. Next clear night I'll check! The night sky is beautiful with all those planets and brilliant stars up there!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 720 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Jan 13, 2002 (23:09) * 15 lines
MOON OF URANUS IS DEMOTED
-------------------------
In an unusual move, the International Astronomical Union has recently stripped the title of "moon" from a body orbiting Uranus discovered in images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The IAU concluded that there is not as yet enough information to confirm that the object is in fact a natural satellite of Uranus.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0112/31uranusmoon/

SHUTTLE PROGRAM LOOKS TO RECORDS, CHALLENGES IN 2002
----------------------------------------------------
On the heels of making space history in 2001 by completing the first phase of the International Space Station assembly in orbit, the space shuttle will continue a string of space firsts during six missions planned for 2002.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0201/01stspreview/

NASA FUNDS NEXT-GEN SPACE TRANSPORT EFFORTS
-------------------------------------------
NASA has announced an additional $94.6 million in contract awards to advance the agency's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) -- a research and development effort to develop the technologies needed to build a second-generation reusable launch vehicle, as well as to design vehicle architectures for 21st century missions.
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0201/01sli/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 721 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jan 14, 2002 (20:57) * 4 lines
Amateur shots of a spectacular fireball recently seen over the US
1) http://www.iknowrochester.com/media/xl/9197.jpg

2) http://www.iknowrochester.com/media/xl/9196.jpg

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 722 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jan 14, 2002 (21:13) * 1 lines
The Greek items are particularly poignant to me. It seems everyone has plundered the country and kept it from their own children to learn from. It is very sad.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 723 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan 29, 2002 (18:28) * 11 lines
Organics aid planetary aggregation (Jan 28)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/1/18
Organic compounds in the dust swirling in the young solar system may
have led the dust to clump into `planetesimals' much earlier than
astronomers thought. Akira Kouchi of Hokkaido University in Japan and
colleagues simulated collisions between such dust particles and found
that they stuck together surprisingly readily. According to the team, the
result could help to explain why there is less matter in the asteroid
belt than existing models of the solar system predict (A Kouchi et al
2002 Astrophys. J. Lett. 566 to appear).


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 724 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Feb  2, 2002 (22:49) * 129 lines
S&T's News Bulletin for February 1, 2002

A COMET'S BIG COMEBACK
One week after passing perihelion some 83 million kilometers from the Sun,
Comet LINEAR (C/2000WM1) decided to put on a tremendous show for
skywatchers in the Southern Hemisphere. Over just three days beginning
January 27th, the comet brightened dramatically from magnitude 6.2 to 2.3
-- a 35-fold increase. Despite the hindrance of a nearly full Moon on
January 30th, Australian observer Michael Mattiazzo could trace an arching
tail more than 2 degrees long.
Unfortunately, the outburst has already passed its peak, as Argentine
skywatcher Luis Alberto Mansilla estimates that the comet's magnitude has
already fallen to about 4.1. Moreover, this is a "Down Under" spectacle:
the comet's current declination (-45 deg) puts it well below the horizon
for almost all northern observers. Although Comet LINEAR is gradually
moving up through southernmost Sagittarius, it will likely have faded below
naked-eye visibility by the time it climbs much farther north later this month.

NEW COMET IN CETUS
A 9th-magnitude comet has been discovered in the constellation Cetus. It
was spotted almost simultaneously low in the western sky on the evening of
February 1st by Kaoru Ikeya of Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, and by Daqing
Zhang in Henan province, China. Both observers described it as a small glow
about 2' or 3' across, with no mention of a tail. Ikeya was using a 25-cm
(10-inch) reflector, Zhang a 20-cm.


The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams announced the find today on
IAU Circular 7812. No orbit has yet been calculated for this comet, now
designated C/2002 C1, so its future motion is anybody's guess. But Ikeya
estimated it to be moving northeastward at about 10' per hour. Shortly
before 10:00 Universal Time on February 1st, he determined its position to
be right ascension 0h 8.9m, declination -17 deg, 42'.

REST IN PIECES, EUVE
On January 30th, at approximately 11:15 p.m. EST, the Extreme Ultraviolet
Explorer (EUVE) entered Earth's atmosphere, burning up over central Egypt.
EUVE was an essential component in NASA's space telescope fleet, filling
the far-ultraviolet wavelength niche. From its launch on June 7, 1992,
until its decommissioning last year, EUVE was "never been out of science
mode for more than a couple of days," says Brett Stroozas (University of
California, Berkeley). "It's been a great spacecraft." NASA extended the
mission's three-year lifespan twice, and early last year scientists led a
failed letter-writing campaign to persuade NASA to continue the mission
further.
Since EUVE didn't have onboard engines to reposition itself, the exact
reentry point was difficult to predict. Additionally, because the craft was
heavy (7,000 pounds) and compact, engineers believed up to nine components
might have made it through reentry. However, U.S. Space Command could not
confirm that any fragments of the spacecraft survived.

THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, by the editors of Sky & Telescope.

FEB. 3 -- SUNDAY
* Of all the bright constellations filling the southeastern sky these
winter evenings, the centerpiece is Orion. Start by looking to the lower
right of brilliant Jupiter (by about two fist-widths held at arm's length)
for Orion's orange-red supergiant star Betelgeuse. A similar distance
farther to the lower right is bright white Rigel. Midway between Betelgeuse
and Rigel are the three stars of Orion's Belt.

FEB. 4 -- MONDAY
* Last-quarter Moon (exact at 8:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time).
* Jupiter's moon Io crosses Jupiter's face from 7:19 to 9:34 p.m. EST,
followed by its tiny black shadow (much more visible in a telescope) from
8:08 to 10:23 p.m. EST.
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot should cross Jupiter's central meridian (the
imaginary line down the center of the planet's disk from pole to pole)
around 11:00 p.m. EST. The "red" spot is very pale orange-tan. It should be
visible for at least 50 minutes before and after in a good 4- or 6-inch
telescope if the atmospheric seeing is sharp and steady. Our complete list
of Red Spot transit times, at
, is good worldwide.
* A telescope will show Saturn's largest moon, Titan, three or four
ring-lengths east of the planet tonight through Wednesday night.

FEB. 5 -- TUESDAY
* Jupiter's moon Io reappears from eclipse out of the planet's shadow
around 7:44 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show it gradually swelling
into view just east of the planet.

FEB. 6 -- WEDNESDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 12:33 a.m. Thursday morning EST.

FEB. 7 -- THURSDAY
* The naked-eye eclipsing variable star Algol should be in one of its
periodic dimmings, magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple
hours centered on 1:19 a.m. EST Friday morning. Algol takes several
additional hours to fade and to brighten. Our timetable of all its
predicted minima, at , is
good worldwide.
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 8:29 p.m. EST.

FEB. 8 -- FRIDAY
* Jupiter's Moon Europa reappears from eclipse out of the planet's
shadow around 9:31 p.m. EST. A small telescope will show it gradually
swelling into view a little east of the planet.

FEB. 9 -- SATURDAY
* Jupiter's Red Spot transits around 10:08 p.m. EST.

============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY and VENUS are hidden in the glare of the Sun.
MARS (magnitude +1.0, in Pisces) is the brightest "star" in the
west-southwest during twilight, glowing orange. It sinks lower in the west
later in the evening and sets around 10 p.m.
JUPITER (magnitude -2.6, in Gemini) is the brightest point of light in the
sky. It blazes high in the east at dusk, higher in the south by 9 p.m., and
in the west after midnight.
SATURN (magnitude 0.0, in Taurus) shines far to Jupiter's upper right in
early evening and directly to Jupiter's right by about 8 p.m. Look for the
star Aldebaran sparkling just 4 degrees (two or three finger-widths at
arm's length) from Saturn -- to its lower left in early evening, and
directly left later at night. Compare their colors. Saturn is pale yellow;
Aldebaran is more orange.
URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of the Sun.
PLUTO (magnitude 14, in Ophiuchus) is in the southeast before dawn.

(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith -- including the
words up, down, right, and left -- are written for the world's midnorthern
latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North
America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time [GMT] minus 5
hours.)
More celestial events, sky maps, observing projects, and news of the
world's astronomy research appear each month in SKY & TELESCOPE, the
essential magazine of astronomy. See our Web site and astronomy bookstore
at . Clear skies!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 725 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb  4, 2002 (16:08) * 107 lines

==================================================================
This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Comets
==================================================================


COMET IKEYA-ZHANG, C/2002 C1

The 9th-magnitude comet spotted last week in the constellation
Cetus should continue to brighten as it approaches the Sun.
In early March, Comet Ikeya-Zhang could be 5th or even 4th
magnitude, but it will then be very low in the western evening
sky after sunset and difficult to locate. After mid-March the
comet skirts north of the Sun and enters the predawn sky,
where strong moonlight will hamper observations. Prospects
get better during April as it draws away from the Sun and
makes its way across Cygnus, but by then the comet will have
started to fade.

That's the upshot of the preliminary orbital elements
calculated by Brian G. Marsden and published on IAU
Circular 7813. The comet is expected to reach perihelion
on March 8th at 0.49 astronomical unit from the Sun, which
puts it midway between the orbits of Venus and Mercury. (For
further details, and for information on how to subscribe to
the International Astronomical Union's telegram service,
visit http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbat.html )

The ephemeris below, based on Marsden's elements, gives the
comet's coordinates at 0h Universal Time on selected dates
along with its distance from the Earth (Delta) and Sun (r)
in astronomical units, elongation from the Sun, predicted
magnitude, and constellation. Since these computations are
based on a very short observation interval, don't be surprised
if the comet drifts off a bit after a few weeks. But the
ephemeris should still give a fair idea of how the apparition
will unfold.

Be sure to check the observing section of SkyandTelescope.com
in coming weeks for more about this object.

As we reported in last Friday's AstroAlert, this comet was
picked up visually on February 1st by Kaoru Ikeya of Shizuoka
prefecture, Japan, and by Daqing Zhang in Henan province, China.
Both observers described it as a small glow about 2' or 3'
across, with no mention of a tail. Ikeya was using a 25-cm
(10-inch) reflector, Zhang a 20-cm.

If the name "Ikeya" rings a bell, it should. During the 1960s,
Kaoru Ikeya discovered or codiscovered no less than five comets.
One of them, Comet Ikeya-Seki, became the famous naked-eye
sungrazer of 1965. But little had been heard from Ikeya, at least
outside Japan, until he made his sixth comet discovery last week.

"He is the phoenix!" says astrophotographer Shigemi Numazawa
of Niigata, who adds that Ikeya, now age 58, is manager of the
Ikeya Optical Lab, supplier of telescope mirrors to Japan's
discriminating observers.


Roger W. Sinnott

Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope


-----------------------------------------------------------------

COMET IKEYA-ZHANG, C/2002 C1

2002 RA (2000) Dec Delta r Elong Mag Const
0h UT h m o ' au au o
Feb 1 0 08.3 -17 50 1.335 0.951 45 8.9 Cet
Feb 4 0 13.2 -16 22 1.293 0.899 44 8.6 Cet
Feb 7 0 18.3 -14 46 1.249 0.847 42 8.3 Cet
Feb 10 0 23.5 -13 04 1.202 0.796 41 7.9 Cet
Feb 13 0 28.7 -11 13 1.153 0.746 40 7.5 Cet
Feb 16 0 33.8 -09 12 1.101 0.698 38 7.1 Cet
Feb 19 0 38.7 -07 01 1.046 0.651 37 6.7 Cet
Feb 22 0 43.2 -04 36 0.988 0.608 36 6.3 Cet
Feb 25 0 46.9 -01 58 0.929 0.570 34 5.9 Cet
Feb 28 0 49.4 +00 57 0.868 0.537 33 5.5 Cet
Mar 3 0 50.2 +04 09 0.806 0.512 31 5.1 Psc
Mar 6 0 48.7 +07 38 0.746 0.496 29 4.8 Psc
Mar 9 0 44.1 +11 21 0.689 0.491 27 4.6 Psc
Mar 12 0 35.9 +15 14 0.638 0.497 25 4.5 Psc
Mar 15 0 23.8 +19 09 0.594 0.513 24 4.5 Psc
Mar 18 0 07.9 +22 56 0.559 0.539 24 4.6 Peg
Mar 21 23 48.5 +26 25 0.532 0.572 26 4.7 Peg
Mar 24 23 26.4 +29 27 0.513 0.611 30 4.9 Peg
Mar 27 23 02.6 +31 56 0.501 0.654 35 5.2 Peg
Mar 30 22 38.0 +33 52 0.494 0.700 40 5.4 Peg
Apr 2 22 13.3 +35 15 0.492 0.749 46 5.7 Peg
Apr 5 21 49.3 +36 09 0.493 0.799 52 6.0 Cyg
Apr 8 21 26.1 +36 41 0.497 0.850 58 6.3 Cyg
Apr 11 21 03.9 +36 52 0.503 0.902 64 6.6 Cyg
Apr 14 20 42.7 +36 48 0.510 0.954 70 6.8 Cyg
Apr 17 20 22.5 +36 31 0.519 1.006 75 7.1 Cyg
Apr 20 20 03.1 +36 02 0.528 1.058 81 7.4 Cyg
Apr 23 19 44.6 +35 23 0.539 1.110 86 7.6 Cyg
Apr 26 19 26.8 +34 34 0.551 1.161 92 7.9 Cyg
Apr 29 19 09.8 +33 37 0.564 1.213 97 8.1 Lyr
May 2 18 53.5 +32 32 0.579 1.263 102 8.3 Lyr
---------------------------------------------------------------
==================================================================
AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential
Magazine of Astronomy (http://SkyandTelescope.com/)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 726 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb  7, 2002 (23:06) * 13 lines
Hubble Space Telescope Observations Reveal
Coolest and Oldest White Dwarf Stars in the Galaxy

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have detected
five optical companion stars orbiting millisecond pulsars. Only two other such systems are known. Three
of the companions are among the coolest and oldest white dwarf stars known. Interpretation of the
properties of these systems has provided insight into the final fate of stars in binary systems and may
eventually set limits on the age of the Milky Way galaxy. Drs. Scott C. Lundgren and Roger S. Foster of
NRL in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Fernando Camilo of the University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank,
England, reported these findings at the 187th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society on January
15, 1996.

much more... http://www.pao.nrl.navy.mil/rel-96/2-96r.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 727 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb  7, 2002 (23:15) * 5 lines
The Chandler Wobble

The century old mystery of Earth's "Chandler wobble" has been solved by a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Chandler wobble, named for its 1891 discoverer, Seth Carlo Chandler, Jr., an American businessman turned astronomer, is one of several wobbling motions exhibited by the Earth as it rotates on its axis, much as a top wobbles as it spins.

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0007/18earthwobble/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 728 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 15, 2002 (15:55) * 30 lines
This should be stunning to watch in the sky considering ho brilliant each is by itself:

p Science and Health News


Hubble Space Telescope Set to Get New Prescription
Reuters
Feb 15 2002 4:45PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Hubble Space Telescope, which has
produced breathtaking images from the distant reaches of the universe
since its early "vision" problems were corrected in 1993, is getting an
even stronger pair of glasses, scientists said on Friday.
Later this month, the space shuttle Columbia will carry astronauts to
upgrade the orbiting telescope, NASA said in a series of briefings.
One main piece of equipment will be the Advanced Camera for Surveys,
which scientists say will have 10 times the power of the camera it will
replace.
"If you had two fireflies six feet apart in Tokyo, Hubble's vision with ACS
will be so fine that it will be able to tell from Washington, D.C., that they
were two different fireflies instead of one," Holland Ford, an astronomer at
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who led the team that built the
camera, said in a statement.
The phone booth-sized camera might even be able to see planets in
other solar systems, Ford said. Right now astronomers can only guess at
their presence based on indirect evidence, such as their gravitational pull
on other bodies.
The new camera, to be installed by spacewalking astronauts, will replace
the Faint Object Camera, the last of the instruments originally launched
on Hubble in 1990. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 729 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Fri, Feb 15, 2002 (18:14) * 1 lines
oooh, and finally solve the question: is there a flag on the moon!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 730 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 15, 2002 (19:21) * 4 lines
"Planetary Camera" is full of possibilities. If it's focal length is for the solar system, why bother? We sent voyager and a whole lot of others up to look at them. I guess advanced technology would tell us much more than we could gain from the early probes. If this is so, we might well see that elusive flag. Could it be for other planets? Those around other star systems?
I'll be intersted in either case.

Does anyone still believe we did not go to the moon? You are going to tell me I had dinner with the astronauts and guarded a moon rock (and studied it Very carefully) - and they were all just pretending? I am doubly convinced of the opposite.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 731 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sat, Feb 16, 2002 (21:55) * 1 lines
oh marcia, i'm just trying to prove that we did (remember the discovery show i watched where there were questions about it?)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 732 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Feb 17, 2002 (17:28) * 5 lines
That was such a arudience-grabbing show, that Discovery lost me. I have endured "Whomever looks for Atlantis and doesnot find it"
"Whomever looks for the Loch Ness monster and does not find it"
"Whomever looks for the Lost Ark of the Covenant and does not find it"

Add Bermuda Triagle, Yeti and alien life to the list plus crop circles. The Universe is fascinating enough with REAL science. I prefer to concentrate on that. Those who want to be deceived will continue to disbelieve any proof we offer - as in "NASA faked the photos from Hubble" *sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 733 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Mon, Feb 18, 2002 (10:14) * 5 lines
“Those who want to be deceived will continue to disbelieve any proof we offer”. This is big true Marcia. I will repeat what I wrote in someone else topic recently. We believe easily on what we hope. This is by our nature.

Any research needs time and deep analysis, as much as it is possible. Solutions maybe were in front of our eyes and we cannot found them for years. We live in the epoch when all things are too fast. Under the cataclysm of information, the imagination rides fast in the shadow of science. Unfortunately, law cannot follow the jumps of technology and knowledge. This is big problem and big danger for the oncoming generations. I cannot see any solution. Perhaps they are oncoming changes, which we cannot imagine.

John

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 734 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Feb 18, 2002 (19:15) * 3 lines
(John):Perhaps there are oncoming changes, which we cannot imagine.

I fear you are right about this. Something has to happen or we the civilization we have nurtured for thousands of years will have to be regained the hard way. I do not want to he around when these cataclysms happen. Has anyone read H G Wells' "Time Machine" ??

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 735 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Mon, Feb 18, 2002 (19:21) * 1 lines
indeed, larger changes than anyone can imagine (i've not read it, marcia, but i'll put it on my list)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 736 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 19, 2002 (18:32) * 5 lines
* Newly Spotted Comet Will Soon Grace Night Skies
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/anew_comet_020219.html

A newly discovered comet, now approaching the Sun and Earth, could develop into a relatively bright naked-eye object in coming weeks, researchers say. The best views of the comet may be reserved for those under dark skies far from bright lights, but even city dwellers should be able to spot it.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 737 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 19, 2002 (18:34) * 1 lines
Wolfie, go see the movie. The Rod Sterling old one was scary enough. I'll not tell you the ending. If you do like H.G. Wells, by all means, read it. It's a classic. A new version is at your movie theaters soon!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 738 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 22, 2002 (17:24) * 65 lines
SCIENTISTS TRACK "RECENT" FLOOD ON MARS
For decades, the "Top 10" list of Martian features has included famous
places like the towering Olympus Mons volcano and the vast Valles
Marineris canyon system. But if recent spacecraft observations are borne
out, a winding channel named Athabasca Vallis should be added right away.
Detailed images from Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) show that Athabasca may be
where a torrent of floodwater raced across the red planet's surface in the
recent geologic past -- perhaps within the last 10 million years....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_502_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
CROWDS FLOCK TO BRITISH ASTRO-GATHERING
February is eagerly awaited by British and western European astronomers,
since it brings the AstroFest convention to London's social calendar. For
many years the capital's borough of Kensington has hosted AstroFest at the
well-equipped and spacious Town Hall venue. This year's event followed the
familiar two-day theme -- Friday and Saturday, February 8-9 -- bringing a
broad mix of telescope manufacturers and suppliers, lecturers, and
exhibitors to an eager public.

Keen to emphasize astronomy and space science as a fun hobby for all,
major groups like the British Astronomical Association and the Society for
Popular Astronomy had a prominent show presence....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_483_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS

Sun Spews Massive Bubble Into Space
Our star unleashed a titanic coronal mass ejection, or CME, on February
18th. Containing billions of tons of matter, the superheated blast was
captured by an extreme-ultraviolet camera aboard the orbiting Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory. Fortunately, the outburst was directed away from
Earth.

NASA to Webcast Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission
When the Space Shuttle Columbia launches on February 28th to make a
service call on the Hubble Space Telescope, people around the world will
be able to keep close tabs on the mission's progress thanks to NASA and
the Exploratorium in San Francisco. What's more, astronaut John Grunsfeld
will be keeping an in-flight journal throughout the mission. Visit
SkyandTelescope.com to read his daily dispatches.

Mars Odyssey Begins Mapping Mission
Mars Odyssey has completed its aerobraking maneuvers and has positioned
itself to map the red planet's near-surface water and chemistry. The
craft's instruments will undergo diagnostic tests over the next week.
During the check-up, scientists will also begin to look at the
problem-plagued Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE). MARIE was
to measure how dangerous the interplanetary space between Earth and Mars
is, in the hopes of better understanding the radiation hazards future
crews would endure. However, the instrument failed in August 2001 and was
subsequently shut off. The first set of science images from the mapping
orbit will be released on March 1st.

Global Warming Can Slow Earth's Rotation
What would happen to Earth's angular momentum, if the carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere were to increase by one percent every year until the
concentration is double its present-day value? Scientists led by Olivier
de Viron (Royal Observatory of Belgium) think they have the answer. The
added atmospheric carbon dioxide would slow Earth's rotation by 11
microseconds per decade, resulting in a 0.11 second longer day over the
course of a century. The research appears in Geophysical Research Letters.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_497_1.asp


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 739 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb 28, 2002 (17:08) * 69 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH

ISSUED: 22:00 UTC, 28 FEBRUARY 2001

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

VALID BEGINNING AT: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC (2 pm EDT) ON 01 MARCH

HIGH RISK PERIOD: 28 FEB - 01 MAR (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 28 FEB - 01 MAR

PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 24, 13, 10, 10 (28 FEB - 03 MAR)

POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE

POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 06 TO 12 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 12 TO 24 HOURS

ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT

EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: HIGH

OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: FAIR TO POOR

AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

NORTHERN WASHINGTON STATE TO MONTANA TO NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA TO CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO CENTRAL WISCONSIN TO MICHIGAN TO DARK SKY SITES OF NEW YORK
STATE, VERMONT, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHERN MAINE.

ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

NORTHERN UNITED KINGDOM TO EXTREME NORTHERN NETHERLANDS TO EXTREME
NORTHERN GERMANY TO EXTREME NORTHERN POLAND TO NORTHERN LITHUANIA TO
LATVIA TO NORTHERN RUSSIA. SOUTHERN REGIONS OF NEW ZEALAND MAY ALSO SPOT
PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.

SYNOPSIS...

A sustained southward turning of the IMF has been observed over the last
several hours. High latitude European regions have already observed a few
periods of substantial substorm activity. Additional substorming (perhaps not
particularly frequent, but potentially strong) is expected to continue at
least over the next several hours. Middle latitudes may be able to spot
periods of activity despite the near-full phase of the moon.

This watch will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC (2 pm EST) on 01
March. It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated
information, visit: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html

PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html

* OR *

Version 3.0 of the popular STD AURORA MONITOR Software
to monitor conditions, report sightings, etc., is now available at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora
(We now support secure on-line ordering of this software)

For Real-Time News and Discussions with Experienced Aurora Enthusiasts:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora)

** End of Watch **



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 740 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb 28, 2002 (17:20) * 10 lines
SFI:204 | A:15 up from 13 | K:4 up from 3 at 0000 on 1 March.
SAF: low to moderate, GMF: unsettled to active

Stratwarm Alert exists Thursday..
Aurora Level: 9
Solar Wind: 400.9 km/s at 11.0 protons/cm3

Support: http://hfradio.org/notice.html
More Info http://hfradio.org/propagation.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 741 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar  1, 2002 (17:57) * 19 lines
My 14th comet is currently visible in binoculars:




NEW" COMET HAS AN INTERESTING PAST AND A BRIGHT FUTURE

Comet Ikeya-Zhang, discovered on February 1st by Kaoru Ikeya and Daqing
Zhang, turns out to be the return of a comet first seen in 1661. It's
currently a 5th magnitude object in Pisces but is difficult to see low in
the west after sunset. Skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere will likely
get their best views of the comet in late April as it moves through
Cassiopeia and brightens, possibly to 3rd magnitude. More details, plus a
chart showing the path of Comet Ikeya-Zhang, are available on our Web site
at:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 742 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar  1, 2002 (18:05) * 5 lines
For a really GREAT chart:

http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/images/02C1/c2002c1chart.jpg

The entire comet website of note http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 743 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar  1, 2002 (18:18) * 77 lines
NASA Detects Problem With Shuttle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The space shuttle Columbia blasted into
orbit Friday on a flight to overhaul the Hubble Space Telescope, but a
cooling system problem raised concerns the mission might have to be
cut short.

NASA stressed that engineers were looking into the problem in hopes of
finding ways around it and keeping the 11-day mission on track. The
seven astronauts stuck to their schedule and slept as mission managers
met to discuss the matter.

The shuttle and its repair team should catch up to the telescope on
Sunday. Five grueling days of spacewalking will follow to replace faltering
parts and install the camera that should boost Hubble's discovery
capability by tenfold.

With Hubble soaring nearly overhead at an altitude of more than 350
miles, Columbia lifted off amid the high security that has become typical
since Sept. 11.

It was a balmy 60 degrees, considerably warmer than the previous
morning when near-freezing temperatures forced a one-day delay.

``Hubble's up there ready for us and we're ready to go to work,''
commander Scott Altman called out.

Shortly after Columbia's arrival in orbit, a reduced flow of Freon was
detected in the radiators on the payload bay's left door.

A team of engineers immediately was formed to look into the problem.
For now, the situation was considered acceptable: The radiators were
dispelling heat from shuttle systems, despite an apparent blockage in the
coolant loop by debris.

Mission managers met Friday evening to go over the problem. If the
problem is considered serious enough, they could cut the mission short.

``We're all hoping that we can rendezvous with the Hubble and fix it,''
Mission Control assured the astronauts.

Columbia ducked in and out of clouds on its way to space but was still
visible for as long as seven minutes after liftoff, leaving a contrail tinted
pink, peach and white by the rising sun.

It was Columbia's debut following a 2 1/2-year overhaul even more
extensive than the one awaiting Hubble. NASA's oldest shuttle was
stripped apart, checked for damaged wiring and modernized following its
last launch, which was marred by a frightening short-circuit.

Astronauts have conducted five spacewalks on previous Hubble repair
missions, including the first one in 1993 to correct the telescope's blurred
vision. But each of next week's spacewalks is packed with even more
work and every bit of it is critical, making this the most complicated
service mission yet.

The four designated spacewalkers will replace Hubble's damaged solar
wings and original power-control unit, which is faulty and in danger of
becoming worse. The telescope will need to be powered completely off -
for the first time ever in orbit - for the power-unit swap.

Scientists are nervous, even scared: The telescope could be rendered
useless if major systems failed to come back on.

``I'm more concerned about this mission than I was about 1993,'' said Ed
Weiler, NASA's space science chief. ``As a car gets older and older, it
gets tougher and tougher and each time we've asked the astronauts to do
tougher and tougher things for which the telescope was not designed.''

The spacewalkers also will put in a spare steering mechanism to replace
one that malfunctioned in November, hook up a refrigeration system for a
disabled infrared camera and install the camera capable of widening and
refining Hubble's view of the universe.

On the Net:

NASA: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 744 of 1087: Lucie  (alyeska) * Fri, Mar  1, 2002 (18:21) * 1 lines
I watched it go. It was beautiful, they reflection on the lake and the way it lit up the sky.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 745 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar  1, 2002 (20:07) * 1 lines
Lucie, how wonderful! I was going to ask you if you had managed to see the launch. I guess you even heard it, perhaps. I cannot imagine it growing old. Each time my heart goes with them.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 746 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar  1, 2002 (21:06) * 3 lines
WATCH NASA TV for 24/7 coverage of the space mission on your computer

http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/video45m.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 747 of 1087: Lucie  (alyeska) * Fri, Mar  1, 2002 (22:05) * 1 lines
It sounds tonight like they might have to return to fix a problem.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 748 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar  1, 2002 (23:09) * 1 lines
Apparently not. I was watching NASA TV and news on the television and they are deciding to stay up there. We'll see what the overnight engineers can do.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 749 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar  2, 2002 (19:12) * 64 lines
NASA: Shuttle Columbia Can Finish Mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The space shuttle Columbia can
complete its 11-day mission to the Hubble Space Telescope despite a
faulty coolant line that had threatened an early end to the flight, NASA said
on Saturday.
A top-level review by ground controllers and mission planners found the
problem was stable and there was no reason to believe the orbiter's flight
systems might overheat during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere,
something that could have devastating consequences for the seven
astronauts aboard.
"The team decided we could press on with the nominal mission and not
make any changes," said Ron Dittemore, the shuttle program manager.
The astronauts were all asleep when the announcement came from
Mission Control in Houston, but they will get the good news when they
wake up on Saturday evening.

Columbia's mission to the Hubble telescope involves extensive
modifications and repairs that should improve its performance tenfold.
Within minutes of liftoff on Friday, NASA discovered a low flow rate in a
Freon coolant loop that prevents heat from building up in the orbiter's
electronics systems, especially during re-entry when temperatures are at
their peak.
NASA revealed on Saturday that the flow of Freon through the loop actually
was below the safety margin prescribed by flight rules, but mission
managers thought they could bypass the problem by turning off some
heat-generating electronics during re-entry.

DEBRIS LIKELY TO BLAME

Engineers did not believe there was a leak in the line.
Instead, the most likely culprit was debris that could be clogging a filter.
That debris may have been introduced during a 2 1/2-year, $164 million
overhaul Columbia has undergone since it last flew in 1999.

NASA would not speculate what the debris might actually be.
Astronaut Scott Altman, the mission commander, told reporters during a
round of Earth-to-orbit interviews that the crew did not really understand
the seriousness of the problem when it was first discovered.
"It got our attention at first, although I thought it might just be a minor
problem. It wasn't apparent right at first just what the impact would be,"
Altman said.

"We're just hopeful we can square everything away and perform what we
came here to space to do."
Columbia is scheduled to rendezvous with the four-story Hubble
telescope early on Sunday and astronaut Nancy Currie will use the
shuttle's robotic arm to snatch the observatory from its own orbit and
secure it to a platform in the shuttle's payload bay.
What follows is five very demanding, very long spacewalks on five
consecutive days as two teams of astronauts will add new solar-power
arrays, install a new phone-booth sized imaging camera, repair an
existing camera and install a new power control unit with dozens of power
couplings to feed all the

satellite's systems.
That last task is the real nail-biter because it requires NASA to cut power
to the satellite for the first time since it was launched in 1990, and the
astronauts will have to remove an old power unit that was not designed to
be worked on by astronauts.
If any part of that operation goes foul, there is a good chance the Hubble
would have to be abandoned in space, only to eventually fall to Earth and
burn in the atmosphere. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 750 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar  2, 2002 (19:15) * 3 lines
Watching NASA TV - listening to their discussions and comments - choose Channel 2

http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/video45m.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 751 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar  2, 2002 (23:23) * 78 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH

ISSUED: 02:35 UTC, 03 MARCH 2002

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

VALID BEGINNING AT: 00:00 UTC 04 MARCH
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC (2 pm EDT) ON 07 MARCH

HIGH RISK PERIOD: 04 MAR - 06 MAR (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 04 MAR - 07 MAR

PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 10, 20, 20, 15 (03 MAR - 06 MAR)

POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: LOW TO MODERATE

POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 24 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 24 TO 72 HOURS

ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT

EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: HIGH

OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: FAIR TO POOR

AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

NORTHERN WASHINGTON STATE TO MONTANA TO NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA TO CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO CENTRAL WISCONSIN TO MICHIGAN TO DARK SKY SITES OF NEW YORK
STATE, VERMONT, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHERN MAINE.

ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

NORTHERN UNITED KINGDOM TO EXTREME NORTHERN NETHERLANDS TO EXTREME
NORTHERN GERMANY TO EXTREME NORTHERN POLAND TO NORTHERN LITHUANIA TO
LATVIA TO NORTHERN RUSSIA. SOUTHERN REGIONS OF NEW ZEALAND MAY ALSO SPOT
PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.

SYNOPSIS...

A recurrent high velocity solar wind stream is expected to begin
impinging on the Earth's magnetosphere over the next 48 hours. During the
last solar rotation, periods of activity were strong enough to be observed
rather dramatically over the high latitude European regions. A corotating
shock structure is predicted to have formed ahead of the high velocity solar
wind stream. If this holds true, activity may intensify rather abruptly
following the arrival of the shock front. Although no significant auroral
storming is anticipated, activity has the potential to become sporadically
enhanced sufficiently to produce periods of visible activity over dark-sky
middle latitude regions. Middle latitude observers are therefore encouraged
to keep a watchful eye on conditions during the next 3 to 4 days. The most
intense phase of activity is expected to occur either on 04 or 05 March.
During this time, even the near-full phase of the waning moon may not be
sufficient to drown out all visible activity from some dark-sky middle
latitude regions.

This watch will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC (2 pm EST) on 07
March. It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated
information, visit: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html

PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html

* OR *

Version 3.0 of the popular STD AURORA MONITOR Software
to monitor conditions, report sightings, etc., is now available at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora
(We now support secure on-line ordering of this software)

For Real-Time News and Discussions with Experienced Aurora Enthusiasts:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora)

** End of Watch **



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 752 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Mar  5, 2002 (22:25) * 76 lines
==================================================================
This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Novae
==================================================================

Issued March 5, 2002 as part of AAVSO Alert Notice 294:

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VARIABLE STAR OBSERVERS
25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
INTERNET: aavso@aavso.org
Tel. 617-354-0484 Fax 617-354-0665

AAVSO ALERT NOTICE 294 (March 5, 2002)

0538-71 NOVA IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD 2002

We have been informed by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (IAU
Circular 7841) that W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, photographically
discovered an apparent nova in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) at
magnitude 10.5 on two images taken on March 3.1 UT, using a 0.2-m Schmidt
camera, Tech Pan film, and no filter.

Using the CCD at the Schmidt's Newtonian focus on March 4.066 UT, Liller
measured the following position for the object:

R.A. = 05h 36m 46.64s Decl. = -71o 35' 34.4" (2000)

Spectra obtained by Liller using a low-dispersion objective-prism CCD
spectrogram on March 4.09 UT showed the object to have H-alpha emission.
H-beta emission was also present.

Liller's photographic magnitudes (IAU Circular 7841) include: February
21.063 UT, <15.0; 27.064, 12.5: (through clouds and a full moon); March
3.066 UT, 10.5; and CCD(V) magnitude 10.98 on March 4.066.

Additional observations reported to the AAVSO include: March 4.9199 UT,
10.8 CCD, L. Monard, Pretoria, South Africa; 5.5380, 11.1, A. Pearce,
Nedlands, Australia.

A CCD image of the field containing the nova taken by P. Nelson on March
3.4792 UT can be seen on the AAVSO web site (http://www.aavso.org).

Accompanying is an AAVSO "d" scale chart of N LMC 02 prepared by M.
Simonsen. Please use this chart to observe the nova, and report your
observations of 0538-71 N LMC 02 to AAVSO Headquarters, making sure to
indicate which comparison stars you used. Please note that a "d" reversed
chart is also available from the AAVSO web site or on request.

Also note that the LMC is a crowded field and can be difficult to observe.
The AAVSO chart is a provisional one and may be updated as we receive
feedback from observers. If you have trouble with the chart, please e-mail
us at charts@aavso.org with your comments.
Congratulations to Bill on his latest discovery!

CHARTS AVAILABLE ON AAVSO WEB AND FTP SITES
Electronic copies of the N LMC 02 charts mentioned in this Alert Notice
are available through our web site at the following address:
http://www.aavso.org

The charts may also be obtained directly from our FTP site:
ftp.aavso.org/alerts/alert294

We encourage observers to submit observations via our web site (online
data submission tool WebObs), or by email in AAVSO format to
observations@aavso.org. If you do not have AAVSO Observer Initials,
please contact Headquarters so we may assign them to you. The answering
machine at AAVSO Headquarters is on nights and weekends; use our
charge-free number (888-802-STAR = 888-802-7827) to report your
observations, or report them via fax (617-354-0665).
Many thanks for your valuable astronomical contributions and your efforts.

Good observing!
Janet A. Mattei
Director
Kerriann H. Malatesta
Technical Assistant


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 753 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Mar  6, 2002 (16:53) * 3 lines
marcia, i found this article today:

Click Here

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 754 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Mar  6, 2002 (16:54) * 3 lines
didn't work so here's the whole thing again:

second try

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 755 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Mar  6, 2002 (16:55) * 1 lines
oh heck, i'm just gonna paste it hang on!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 756 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Mar  6, 2002 (16:56) * 28 lines
from Reuters today:

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - A retired Canadian farmer has accidentally discovered the second largest meteorite ever found in Canada, researchers said on Tuesday.

"I feel good that I found it," said Tom Wood, the Manitoba man who stumbled across what he first thought was just a big rock back in September 1997 while operating a road grader.

"I don't know why I stopped, but the stone was there so I stopped. And when I picked it up it seemed to be a different kind of stone. It seemed to be awfully heavy for the size of it," said Wood.

That 18-pound souvenir became a astronomical coup after Wood brought his booty into a rock identification clinic at a nearby rural store last summer.

"I don't know anything about them except I found one. It was more a fluke that it turned out to be one. It was just a stone in the garage. Then it was a meteorite," said Wood.

Canadian researchers believe the meteorite, found about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Manitoba's capital, Winnipeg, likely crashed to earth about 10,000 years ago.

Researchers said the meteorite was well weathered, with most of its fusion crust worn off, revealing an interior that showed cracks from the shattering of its parent asteroid.

Scientists, who look to meteorites to discover more about the origins of our solar system, say there is another piece of this meteorite embedded in the ground, but the recovery of the remainder is in doubt as Wood cannot remember exactly where he found it.

The discovery was made as part of the Prairie Meteorite Search Project, a campaign that encourages western Canadian farmers to have suspect rocks identified.

"This shows that this technique of asking farmers and others to bring rocks in they suspect to be meteorites, will produce meteorites," said Dr. Alan Hildebrand, one of the project leaders who is based at the University of Calgary.

"I'm sure people in Manitoba have lots more sitting on their window sills," said Hildebrand.

There have been 61 meteorites discovered in Canada. This is the first found with a road grader.

"Frankly I think most people would have just chucked it off the road, rather than stopping to think, well gee, this seems unusual. To me that's pretty remarkable," said Hildebrand. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 757 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar  6, 2002 (18:17) * 1 lines
Oooh!!! I've always dreamed of finding a bit of meteorite. One night I was absolutely certain one had landed on the roof above the bedroom. In the morning I dashed outside and found a dead branch had been eliminated by my big tree. How disappointing! Thanks for the article. How lovely for him. $1000.00 US per pound makes that a real treasure.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 758 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Mar  6, 2002 (18:18) * 1 lines
Of course, if that had been mine, my mother would have thrown it out and that would be that. *Sigh*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 759 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar  7, 2002 (14:14) * 75 lines
The New Hubble telescope is installed. It will take us further back in time to earlier eims in the creation of the Univserse, not closer views of the planets and moons in our Galaxy

Shuttle Astronauts Add Powerful Camera to Hubble
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronauts from the space shuttle
Columbia added a new camera the size of a phone booth to the Hubble
Space Telescope's array of scientific instruments on Thursday, potentially
extending the telescope's

optical reach to the ends of the universe.

Since it takes billions of years for light from distant galaxies to reach
Hubble, the telescope photographs faraway sights as they existed eons
ago.
Garth Illingworth, a Hubble astronomer from California State University at
Santa Cruz, said Hubble's new camera should take scientists back to
what he calls "the dark ages of the universe," the first billion years or so
after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.
"Hubble, with its time-machine-like capabilities, will allow us to take
another step into these areas," Illingworth said.
On Wednesday, the most critical day of Columbia's 11-day mission,
spacewalking astronauts performed a complicated and risky operation
that NASA compared to a heart transplant, replacing its power control unit
to increase the satellite's electrical capacity.

On two earlier spacewalks, astronaut teams added two new solar-power
arrays, the wing-like structures on either side of Hubble, capable of
delivering 20 percent to 30 percent more power to the station.
Thursday's spacewalk by Jim Newman and Mike Massimino was the
payoff, adding the largest of several instruments that will take advantage
of Hubble's new electrical muscle.
From Columbia's flight deck, astronaut Rick Linnehan radioed his
congratulations.

"You guys have paved the way for a lot of Ph.D.s in the years to come,"
Linnehan said.
Newman, making the sixth spacewalk of his career, secured himself to
the end of the shuttle's 50-foot robotic arm, where he was moved about by
astronaut Nancy Currie, operating the arm from inside the shuttle.
Newman carried the new camera to the telescope while riding the arm.
"Good to be back on the arm, Nance. It looks like a beautiful night for a
spacewalk," Newman said to Currie.
The spacewalk lasted about an hour longer than planned -- 7 and-a-half
-- but lead flight director Bryan Austin said that was no reason for concern.
"We didn't really have that much in the way of failures. We know we can
expect things to run a little ahead some days and a little behind some
days," Austin said.

A PRICELESS TOOL

The $75 million Advanced Camera for Surveys will give astronomers 10
times the optical power they now have using Hubble's Wide
Field-Planetary Camera, itself a priceless tool in helping cosmologists
rewrite their textbooks on the age, composition and destiny of the
universe.
To make room for the new camera, the astronauts removed the last
original science instrument remaining aboard Hubble, the Faint Object
Camera.
The Hubble was carried aloft in 1990 and has been visited four times
now by shuttle crews making repairs and upgrades.
One more service mission is planned for 2004, and there are tentative
plans to return Hubble to Earth aboard a shuttle in 2010, NASA said.

Scientists also hope for some insight into the mysterious nature of dark
energy, which seems to be accelerating the expansion of the universe,
long assumed to be slowing down.
Hubble has been secured to Columbia's cargo bay since Sunday. Once
the last of five ambitious spacewalks planned for this mission is
complete, Hubble will be released back into its own orbit, more than 350
miles above Earth.
Hubble managers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland
expect to complete their tests of all the new equipment in about three
weeks, with the first images ready for release in April or May.
Columbia, skippered by veteran astronaut Scott Altman and carrying a
crew of seven, is to land at the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 760 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar  8, 2002 (20:13) * 99 lines
This topic really needs John's help. he has all sorts of splendid ideas for making sky watching more fun and more easily accomplished. Stay tuned - probably a new topic (I hope!) Until then:

HUBBLE UPGRADE COMPLETE
Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia have successfully completed
all their planned repairs and upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope. The
orbiting observatory now has more electrical power -- and more discovery
power -- than at any time since its launch 12 years ago.
For astronomers, the climax of this fourth Hubble house call was the
installation on Thursday of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), a
state-of-the-art imager with a wider field of view and higher sensitivity
than any of the telescope's earlier instruments....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_525_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARS ODYSSEY PAYS EARLY DIVIDENDS
After a six-month flight from Earth and three months of tricky aerobraking
to settle into a low orbit, NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft has begun
bringing the agency some much-needed Martian success. On March 1st project
scientists proudly showed off images and other data acquired by the craft
since kicking off its 2½-year science mission two weeks ago.
One picture, taken through filters at nine infrared wavelengths,
inaugurated the assaying of Martian surface minerals by the Thermal
Emission Imaging System. THEMIS will map the entire planet at 100-meter
resolution, 30 times more sharply than ever before, with a particular
emphasis on minerals that can form only in the presence of water. Other
infrared pictures shown on Friday, taken both in daylight and in the dark
of night, sharply distinguish rocky from sandy terrain....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_518_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS

A Universe of a Different Color
The "color of the universe," widely reported in January to be
turquoise-green, is actually a pale cream-yellow very close to pure white.
"We found a bug in our code!" say Karl Glazebrook and Ivan Baldry, who
averaged the light of 200,000 galaxies. Their original announcement was
roundly criticized by color scientists and astronomers for arriving at the
hue too arbitrarily and then greatly exaggerating its saturation
(intensity). The new color still depends on some judgment calls.

Stellar Sunscreen
Astronomers have wondered for years about what causes the dramatic dimming
seen in the red giants called Mira variable stars. How might these stars
hide up to 99.9 percent of their brightness? As was first reported in the
November 2001 issue of Sky & Telescope, Mark Reid and Joshua Goldston
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) think they have found the
answer. While it was clear that the pulsing stars are darkest when they
are largest because they cool as they expand, Reid and Goldston found that
while they cool, the stars produce many metallic oxides. Included in this
is titanium oxide (TiO), a common ingredient in sunscreen. TiO is quite
opaque to visible sunlight and therefore is responsible for the dramatic
dimming and expansion we see in Mira variables.

Reigniting FUSE
NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite is back
from the dead. The highly productive observatory lost critical guidance
components in December, but it has now been returned to full operations by
an engineering team on the ground. The team developed an innovative
guidance technique to aim the observatory accurately at stars using the
push and pull of the Earth's magnetic field on electromagnets inside the
craft. Now FUSE can return to its scientific program: measuring the
composition and physical properties of materials as diverse as the Martian
atmosphere and intergalactic gas clouds.

Spanish Amateur Finds Earth-Crossing Asteroid
Late on the evening of March 2nd, Rafael Ferrando, an accomplished amateur
astronomer in Castellon, Spain, discovered an Earth-crossing asteroid
using a 10-inch telescope equipped with a CCD camera. At the time the
18th-magnitude blip (roughly 130 meters across) was sailing across eastern
Leo. A preliminary orbit suggests that the asteroid, designated 2002 EA,
will come within 8.5 million kilometers of Earth on March 15th. According
to Mark Kidger (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias), this is the first
near-Earth object ever discovered by a Spanish observer.

Pioneer 10 Lives On
Last Friday engineers at NASA's Ames Research Center placed a call to
Pioneer 10, currently 11.9 billion kilometers (80 astronomical units) from
Earth, hoping to hear from the far-flung craft for the first time in seven
months. After a round-trip light time of 22.1 hours, the radio response
came in "loud and clear" on March 2nd -- 30 years to the day after the
spacecraft was launched toward Jupiter. The three-hour communication
session included data from Pioneer's last operating instrument, the
Geiger-tube telescope built by space "pioneer" James A. Van Allen.
Lawrence Lasher, the project manager, doesn't know when the next contact
will be attempted. The long round-trip requirement makes scheduling very
difficult, Lasher explains. "We can only hope for more time in the future."
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_522_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
* Saturn shines nearly midway between Jupiter and Mars.
* New Moon on March 13-14.
* Jupiter remains the brightest object in the sky.
* Venus is very low above the west horizon shortly after sunset.

For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 761 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar  8, 2002 (20:15) * 31 lines
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG CONTINUES TO BRIGHTEN
Comet Ikeya-Zhang is now a naked-eye object visible low in the west as
twilight fades for Northern Hemisphere observers. More information about
the comet, including a graphic illustrating the comet's location after
sunset and a chart showing the path of Comet Ikeya-Zhang, is available on
our Web site at:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE GREAT SPRING PLANET LINEUP OF 2002 HAS BEGUN
Three planets form a great diagonal line high in the southwest to west at
dusk in March -- and now a fourth is rising to join them. Look for Jupiter
near the zenith as you face southwest, Saturn (with dimmer Aldebaran) far
to its lower right, and Mars far to the lower right of Saturn. Venus is
now emerging from the twilight low above the western horizon to join them,
and beginning on the 15th the Moon will sweep past all four planets in 6
days. For more tips on what you can see in the heavens, see This Week's
Sky at a Glance & Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
------------------------------------------------------------------------

LONG-PERIOD VARIABLE AT ITS PEAK
Chi Cygni, a long-period variable star, should be at maximum brightness
this week. Normally Chi Cygni peaks around 5th magnitude, but reports
indicate that it may peak at 3rd magnitude. There's still time to catch
this variable before it starts to fade. Chi Cygni is in the long part of
the Northern Cross (in Cygnus, the Swan), rising in the northeast several
hours before dawn. Further information, plus a finder chart to help you
locate the star, can be found here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/variablestars/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 762 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sun, Mar 10, 2002 (12:24) * 1 lines
ok, i'm having trouble determining which star is sirrius (dog star)--i've located orion's belt but the adjacent stars are all pretty bright to me....which direction should i look?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 763 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 10, 2002 (15:22) * 3 lines
Orion usually rises as a retangle with one point downward. As Orion rises higher, look below and to the south of him and a brilliant scintillating white star will immediately capture your eyes. It is the only star that flashes all colors of the spectrum. It is indeed the "diamond in the sky." This is Sirius.

Just below and to the side of Sirius is his companion, Canopus which is the second brightest star in the night sky. Sirius is by far the brightest. Together with their constellations, they comprise Orion's hunting dogs, Canus Major and Canus Minor.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 764 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 10, 2002 (15:22) * 1 lines
JOHN!!! We really need your sky charts!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 765 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (16:59) * 1 lines
yes we do!!! (thanks marcia! and now i know why they're called dog stars)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 766 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (19:14) * 1 lines
..and now you know why they called them the Dog Days - in honor of the first sighting of the rising of Sirius. It was usually in the hottest days of summer.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 767 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (19:44) * 13 lines
Shuttle landing tomorrow - sighting possibilities

Weather permitting, southern US observers will have a nice chance to watch the
trail produced by the Shuttle reentry tonight. First landing opportunity is at
03:32 CST (09:32 UTC) with deorbit burn at 02:22 and second opportunity is for
landing at 05:13 CST with the burn at 04:05. Columbia will cross Central Texas
on the first attempt and will pass over the southern tip of the state on the
second.

For maps of the reentry tracks, see
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/groundtracs/

It will be worth waking up very early.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 768 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (20:52) * 1 lines
nope, don't think i'm gonna try for this one (won't see it here anyway) and to think that the time it crossed over my louisiana sky, the film got torn up in the camera---it was one of the neatest things i've ever seen!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 769 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Mar 11, 2002 (22:17) * 1 lines
I think it will be too far around the horizon from the sun to be illuminated in Hawaiian skies - and VERY early indeed. I've seen it - and it definitely is worth getting up early to see it.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 770 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 15, 2002 (22:54) * 11 lines
Astronomers see the most distant galaxy yet
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/3/12
Astronomers have detected the most remote galaxy ever observed, 15.5
billion light years from Earth. Light from the galaxy provides a snapshot
of the universe when it was just 780 million years old. An international
team led by Esther Hu of the University of Hawaii used a cluster of
galaxies as a `gravitational lens' to amplify the weak signal from galaxy
MCM 6A. The discovery should provide valuable insights into the evolution
of galaxies in the early universe (E Hu et al 2002 Astrophys. J. Lett.
568 L75). 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 771 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 21, 2002 (14:25) * 80 lines
A s t r o A l e r t
Sun-Earth Alert

Solar Terrestrial Dispatch
http://www.spacew.com

20 March 2002

AURORA WATCH FOR MIDDLE LATITUDES EXTENDED

OTHER NEWS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST:
NASA TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE BULLETIN AVAILABILITY
NEW SOFTWARE TOOL AVAILABLE FOR SOLAR & SPACE WEATHER FANATICS


AURORA WATCH FOR MIDDLE LATITUDES EXTENDED

Two additional coronal mass ejections are currently enroute toward the
Earth. The first, launched on 18 March, is expected to impact the Earth later
on 20 March (UTC time) and has the potential to produce additional periods of
minor auroral activity from some dark-sky middle latitude regions. The second
coronal mass ejection has a trajectory that is less directly toward the Earth
and is not expected to impact the Earth until sometime on 22 March (the mid
to late UTC hours of 22 March, probably). For these reasons, the Middle
Latitude Auroral Activity WATCH has been extended through 23 March
inclusive.

The sunspot complex that has produced all of this activity is in a state
of decay as it rotates closer to the western limb of the Sun. There is still
a slight chance this spot group may produce a major solar flare before it
rotates behind the western limb of the Sun in about 3 days.


NASA TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE BULLETIN AVAILABILITY

Fred Espenak (of NASA) recently made the following announcement, which we
feel is appropriate to quote as an announcement here.

"On Wednesday, 2002 December 04, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible
from within a narrow corridor which traverses the Southern Hemisphere. The
path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in the South Atlantic and crosses
southern Africa. After traversing the southern Indian Ocean, the path sweeps
through southern Australia where the eclipse ends at sunset. A partial
eclipse will be seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral
shadow, which includes most of Africa (excluding the north), parts of
Indonesia, Australia and eastern Antarctica.

A new NASA solar eclipse bulletin covering this event is now available.
"Total Solar Eclipse of 2002 December 04" (NASA TP 2001-209990) is a 77 page
publication containing detailed predictions and includes besselian elements,
geographic coordinates of the path of totality, physical ephemeris of the
umbra, topocentric limb profile corrections, local circumstances for about
400 cities, maps of the eclipse path, weather prospects, the lunar limb
profile and the sky during totality. Tips and suggestions are also given on
how to safely view and photograph the eclipse. NASA's eclipse bulletins are
prepared in cooperation with the IAU's Working Group on Eclipses and are
provided as a public service to both the professional and lay communities,
including educators and the media.

Single copies of the bulletin are available at no cost and may be ordered by
sending a 9 x 12 inch SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) with sufficient
postage (12 oz. or 340 g). Use stamps only; cash or checks cannot be
accepted. Requests within the U. S. may use the Postal Service's Priority
Mail for $3.95. Please print the eclipse date (year & month) in the lower
left corner of the SASE. Requests from outside the U. S. and Canada may send
ten international postal coupons to cover postage. Exceptions to the postage
requirements will be made for international requests where political or
economic restraints prevent the transfer of funds to other countries.

Professional researchers and scientists may order the bulletins directly (no
SASE is necessary).
An order form for this publication can be found on the web at:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEpubs/RPrequest.html "

NEW SOFTWARE TOOL AVAILABLE FOR SOLAR AND SPACE WEATHER FANATICS
Although designed more specifically for the professional space weather
community, a new software package is now publically available that could
redefine the way amateurs watch for and receive notification of auroral
activity. It may be worth a visit: http://www.spacew.com/swim.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 772 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 21, 2002 (18:23) * 84 lines
Asteroid Buzzes Earth, Highlighting Cosmic Blind Spot
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer

An asteroid large enough to have flattened a city buzzed
Earth earlier this month and was not seen until after if flew
harmlessly by.

The space rock approached Earth in the glare of the Sun, a
blind spot that made it impossible to see during the day or
night from any terrestrial vantage point. The event illustrates
the potential of a surprise hit by an asteroid, astronomers
said.

The object, now named 2002 EM7, was probably between 40
and 80 meters (130-260 feet) in diameter, said Gareth
Williams, associate director of the International Astronomical
Union's Minor Planet Center.

On March 8, the asteroid passed within 298,400 miles
(480,200 kilometers) of our planet, or about 1.2 times as far
away as the Moon -- considered a relatively close shave by
cosmic yardsticks. It was not discovered until March 12,
however. After the rock was detected, scientists calculated
its orbit and determined the path it had taken.

No way to see it

In a telephone interview, Williams explained there was no way
to see the asteroid until it moved out of the Sun's glare and to
the opposite side of Earth in relation to the Sun -- Earth's
night side.

To spot such an object earlier would require a telescope
elsewhere in space, he said. Ideas have been floated to put
an observatory in orbit around Mercury, where it could observe
the portion of sky that is not visible to terrestrial telescopes or
even to Earth-orbiting observatories like the Hubble Space
Telescope.

But a telescope at Mercury, given the likely limitations to its
budget and size, would not be able to see asteroids as small
as 2002 EM7. It could, however, spot large asteroids that
might cause global destruction.

No firm plans exist for a Mercury-orbiting telescope.

Meanwhile, few asteroids this large have ever been known to
pass so close to Earth. Asteroid 2002 EM7 is the ninth
closest brush known, said Williams, who helps with the Minor
Planet Center's task of cataloguing all data on asteroids.

"Of the objects that have come closer, only one is bigger," he
said.

Months or years of warning have sometimes preceded close
passes in the past. Other times, rocks have been found just
days before they zoomed past.

Williams adds that there have no doubt been many, many
other close shaves by small asteroids that went entirely
unnoticed because the objects zipped back out into the solar
system without ever being detected.

Telescopes devoted to asteroid tracking scan just portions of
the sky on any given night.

Asteroid 2002 EM7 carves an elliptical path around the Sun. It
has a remote chance of hitting Earth on a future pass, odds
that will likely be reduced even further as researchers
continue to track the object and refine their orbital
calculations.

Another blind spot

Researchers have used similar close brushes in the past as
opportunities to remind politicians that many potentially
threatening asteroids remain undiscovered and more money
is needed to find them. About 1,000 asteroids larger than 1
kilometer (0.6 miles) are thought to lurk in orbits that might
one day threaten Earth with planet-wide chaos. About 500 of
them have been found.

more... http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/asteroids_miss_020319.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 773 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Mar 21, 2002 (18:58) * 49 lines
Measuring Asteroid Threats

Used to categorize the threat of asteroids, the Torino Scale is named after
the city in Italy in which it was adopted during a workshop in June, 1999. The
scale uses numbers and colors to indicate risk of collision, all based on
complicated analysis of an asteroid's path and calculations of how that path
might change as it's affected by gravity from Earth and other bodies.

Overall risk

Specific categories

Events having no likely consequences

0. The likelihood of a collision is zero, or well below the chance that a
random object of the same size will strike the Earth within the next few
decades. This designation also applies to any small object that, in the event
of a collision, is unlikely to reach the Earth's surface intact. Events
meriting careful monitoring

1. The chance of collision is extremely unlikely, about the same as a random
object of the same size striking the Earth within the next few decades.

Events meriting concern

2. A somewhat close, but not unusual encounter. Collision is very unlikely.
3. A close encounter, with 1% or greater chance of a collision capable of
causing localized destruction. 4. A close encounter, with 1% or greater chance
of a collision capable of causing regional devastation.

Threatening events

5. A close encounter, with a significant threat of a collision capable of
causing regional devastation. 6. A close encounter, with a significant threat
of a collision capable of causing a global catastrophe. 7. A close encounter,
with an extremely significant threat of a collision capable of causing a
global catastrophe.

Certain collisions

8. A collision capable of causing localized destruction. Such events occur
somewhere on Earth between once per 50 years and once per 1000 years. 9. A
collision capable of causing regional devastation. Such events occur between
once per 1000 years and once per 100,000 years. 10. A collision capable of
causing a global climatic catastrophe. Such events occur once per 100,000
years, or less often.

space.com . Source: Richard Binzel, MIT
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/torino_scale.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 774 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 22, 2002 (16:20) * 37 lines
Comet Ikeya-Zhang Streaks Across Northern Sky
Reuters
Mar 22 2002 5:47PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Comet Ikeya-Zhang, discovered by two
amateur astronomers in February, can be seen streaking across skies
over the Northern Hemisphere for the next several weeks, scientists said
on Thursday.

No telescope is needed, but binoculars are recommended to see the
comet, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said in a
statement.
To find Comet Ikeya-Zhang, look in the western sky shortly after sunset
and locate the planet Mars -- that will be a red point of light about 18
degrees up from the horizon. (An outspread hand at arm's length covers
about 15 degrees, so Mars is a bit higher than one hand-span.)

To the right of Mars are two bright stars in a nearly vertical line. The comet
is at the same height as Mars, to the right of the two bright stars about as
far again as the distance from Mars to the stars.
Observers should be able to see the comet's bright, star-like nucleus
surrounded by a fuzzy cloud of dust and gas called the coma. The comet's
tail streaks points nearly straight up from the horizon.

The comet should be visible in the west-northwestern sky for several
hours after sunset for the next few weeks, according to The Planetary
Society, which seeks to encourage exploration of the solar system.
First detected on Feb. 1 by amateurs in Japan and China, respectively,
Ikeya-Zhang was last seen in 1661, according to the Harvard center's
Brian Marsden.

On this trip, the comet came closest to the sun on March 18 and now is
headed back into deep space.
An image of the comet taken by the MicroObservatory telescope in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, is available online at
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/comet-image.html. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 775 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Fri, Mar 22, 2002 (17:13) * 1 lines
oh no, i can't see the western sky from my vantage point! (at least not at the 15 degree mark)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 776 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 22, 2002 (21:20) * 1 lines
you need to take a sunset ride on a clear late-afternoon and your kids with you. Take binoculars, too. Be prepared for a real treat! I think I am going to get to see it tonight...!!!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 777 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Mar 22, 2002 (21:35) * 1 lines
*sigh* The entire sky is clear except over Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea - as usual. I will not see the comet tonight!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 778 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 23, 2002 (15:14) * 84 lines
UPDATE ON COMET UTSUNOMIYA

New Comet Utsunomiya, whose discovery was announced March
20th, should brighten to about 6th magnitude in the coming
weeks. But it lingers near the Sun throughout this period,
so observations will be difficult. That's the indication of
Brian G. Marsden's orbit calculations published in Minor
Planet Electronic Circular 2002-F39. (Visit the Minor Planet
Center Web site at http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html
for information on subscribing to those circulars.)

Comet Utsunomiya reaches perihelion in the third week of
April, when it will be between the orbits of Mercury and
Venus. By then it will have crossed from the morning
to the evening sky for observers in the Northern Hemisphere.
The comet will be easier to observe from the Southern
Hemisphere after mid-May, but soon thereafter it will fade
rapidly as it departs the inner solar system.

The following ephemeris, based on Marsden's preliminary
orbit, gives the comet's right ascension and declination
(equinox 2000.0) at 0 hours Universal Time on each date.
Also given are its distances from the Earth (Delta) and
Sun (r), elongation, predicted magnitude, and the
constellation through which it is passing.

Watch the observing section of SkyandTelescope.com for
further updates on this object. (For example, the
ephemeris may change slightly as the orbit is improved
in the coming days.)


Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Editor
Sky & Telescope



Comet Utsunomiya, C/2002 F1

Date R.A. (2000) Dec. Delta r Elong. Mag. Const.
(0h UT) h m o ' (au) (au) o
Mar 22 21 57.0 +08 05 1.548 0.889 32.6 8.9 Peg
Mar 23 22 01.2 +08 59 1.526 0.871 32.6 8.8 Peg
Mar 24 22 05.6 +09 54 1.505 0.853 32.5 8.7 Peg
Mar 25 22 10.1 +10 50 1.484 0.835 32.4 8.6 Peg
Mar 26 22 14.8 +11 48 1.464 0.817 32.2 8.5 Peg
Mar 27 22 19.7 +12 47 1.444 0.799 32.1 8.3 Peg
Mar 28 22 24.8 +13 47 1.424 0.782 31.9 8.2 Peg
Mar 29 22 30.1 +14 48 1.405 0.764 31.7 8.1 Peg
Mar 30 22 35.6 +15 50 1.387 0.746 31.4 7.9 Peg
Mar 31 22 41.4 +16 53 1.369 0.729 31.1 7.8 Peg
Apr 01 22 47.4 +17 56 1.352 0.712 30.8 7.7 Peg
Apr 02 22 53.7 +19 01 1.336 0.695 30.5 7.5 Peg
Apr 03 23 00.3 +20 05 1.320 0.678 30.1 7.4 Peg
Apr 04 23 07.2 +21 10 1.305 0.661 29.7 7.3 Peg
Apr 05 23 14.4 +22 15 1.291 0.645 29.3 7.1 Peg
Apr 06 23 21.9 +23 19 1.278 0.628 28.9 7.0 Peg
Apr 07 23 29.8 +24 23 1.266 0.613 28.4 6.9 Peg
Apr 08 23 38.1 +25 25 1.255 0.597 27.9 6.8 Peg
Apr 09 23 46.7 +26 26 1.244 0.582 27.4 6.6 Peg
Apr 10 23 55.7 +27 25 1.235 0.568 26.9 6.5 Peg
Apr 11 00 05.1 +28 21 1.227 0.554 26.4 6.4 Peg
Apr 12 00 14.8 +29 14 1.220 0.541 25.9 6.3 And
Apr 13 00 25.0 +30 03 1.214 0.528 25.3 6.2 And
Apr 14 00 35.4 +30 48 1.210 0.517 24.8 6.0 And
Apr 15 00 46.2 +31 29 1.206 0.506 24.3 5.9 And
Apr 16 00 57.3 +32 04 1.204 0.496 23.8 5.9 Psc
Apr 17 01 08.6 +32 33 1.203 0.487 23.3 5.8 Psc
Apr 18 01 20.1 +32 55 1.203 0.479 22.9 5.7 Psc
Apr 19 01 31.7 +33 11 1.204 0.472 22.4 5.6 Tri
Apr 20 01 43.4 +33 21 1.207 0.467 22.0 5.6 Tri
Apr 21 01 55.1 +33 23 1.210 0.463 21.7 5.6 Tri
Apr 22 02 06.6 +33 18 1.215 0.460 21.3 5.6 Tri
Apr 23 02 18.0 +33 07 1.221 0.459 21.1 5.5 Tri
Apr 24 02 29.2 +32 50 1.228 0.459 20.8 5.6 Tri
Apr 25 02 40.2 +32 26 1.235 0.460 20.6 5.6 Tri
Apr 26 02 50.8 +31 56 1.244 0.463 20.5 5.6 Per
Apr 27 03 01.0 +31 22 1.253 0.467 20.4 5.7 Per
Apr 28 03 10.8 +30 43 1.263 0.473 20.3 5.8 Ari
Apr 29 03 20.3 +30 00 1.273 0.479 20.3 5.8 Ari
Apr 30 03 29.3 +29 14 1.285 0.487 20.3 5.9 Ari
May 01 03 37.9 +28 25 1.296 0.496 20.3 6.0 Tau


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 779 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 23, 2002 (21:29) * 20 lines
ASTRONOMY

* Gemini Observatory Captures Multi-Dimensional Movie of Active
Galaxy's Core
* Dark Age Galaxy
* Geologist Recreates "Life on Mars" Evidence in Her Laboratory
* Height Ices Mars on Top
* Six Telescopes Act as One
* Martian Spots Warrant a Close Look
* The VLT Unravels the Nature of the Fastest Binary Star
* Distant Planet Is Blue and Beautiful
* Asteroid Buzzes Earth From "Blind Spot"
* Far Away Stars Light Early Cosmos
* Churning Whirlpool Stars in Ultraviolet Jupiter Movie
* VIMOS - a Cosmology Machine for the VLT

References

1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-astron


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 780 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Sun, Mar 24, 2002 (08:53) * 10 lines
This is what you can see in your sky at 21:00 local time this night (24th of March) Marcia. It shows planets and stars with visible magnitude greater than 2.



How you can use this map? First, print it. Then go outside and stand in order to see at the south. Keep the map upwards of your head in order that you can see it correctly but with East point to the East direction. Now all are in the correct position.

Let me know if somebody of you needs the corresponding map for his horizon. I will make it. I need your local coordinates and the local time of the observation.

John 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 781 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 24, 2002 (17:49) * 6 lines
Yes, Thank you, John! I do know how to read maps like that since I learned in college to make my own and to see them as reversed like it was held over my head - just as the night sky is. I think we must share the same thought wave-length. I was just at S&T printing out that very star chart! Please check your sky chart at this URL http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/skychart/
add your location and it will make a sky chart just for your location so you do not miss the comet or anything else up there. Lots of brightest stars and planets are visible in early evening plus a comet or two.

While I was outside last evening, I watched the ISS chasing Hubble across the sky while another much dimmer satellite eased it's way past them. The sky is a fascinating place - enjoy it!



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 782 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 24, 2002 (19:48) * 8 lines
The first comet report - from Central Pennsylvania:

With the directions you sent, I found the comet with binoculars last evening.
Its length (with tail) was about equal to a finger's width at arm's length.
Put another way; the size through binoculars was smaller than the
more showy comets were with the unassisted eye.

It was a completely clear evening, and I was surprised how long after sunset the western sky remained light. It wasn't dark enough until after 7:00 p.m. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 783 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Mar 24, 2002 (20:04) * 121 lines
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG AT ITS BRIGHTEST?

As Comet Ikeya-Zhang (C/2002 C1) begins the outbound leg of its journey
around the Sun, questions remain as to how bright it will ultimately
become or whether it has already peaked. The coming week will be a crucial
one in determining its brightness during the remainder of March and the
first half of April....

If it follows the path of a power-law formula, Comet Ikeya-Zhang will rise
only a couple of tenths more in magnitude to attain a brightness plateau
of about 3.5 that will last almost through the end of the month. However,
if it exhibits an asymmetric light curve then the comet will go right on
brightening and by next Friday could be brighter than magnitude 3.0 with
no peak in sight....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLOSE-CALL ASTEROID CAUSES MORE WORRIES

Billed as the "blind-spot" asteroid, a building-size space rock passed the
Earth unnoticed two weeks ago. An automated sky survey detected minor
planet 2002 EM7 on March 12th. Subsequent orbital calculations determined
that the asteroid had come closest to the Earth four days earlier at a
distance of about 464,000 kilometers (288,000 miles), slightly more than
the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Prior to the flyby, 2002 EM7 was
too close to the Sun, hence the "blind-spot" moniker....

Despite the media attention in the wake of 2002 EM7's passage, such
"close" flybys are not uncommon. According to Jim Scotti (University of
Arizona), "Simply put, objects the size of the Tunguska impactor pass
within the distance that 2002 EM7 did about 25 times every year." Rocks
the size of 2002 EM7 come by nearly 100 times a year....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_545_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
OGLEING POSSIBLE NEW PLANETS

For the first time, astronomers have discovered a bunch of new extrasolar
planets -- and perhaps other small, dark objects as well -- by detecting
the slight dimming they cause when passing across the face of a star.

The OGLE-III experiment monitored 5 million Milky Way stars toward the
galaxy's center for 32 nights. Andrzej Udalski (Warsaw University
Observatory) reports that out of this vast sample, 52,000 main-sequence
stars roughly similar to the Sun met the study's key criterion: their
brightnesses were measured many times with high (1.5 percent) precision.
Of these stars, 46 clearly showed signs of smaller objects transiting
across their faces. And 43 displayed more than one transit event, thereby
revealing the companion object's orbital period - generally 1 to 6
days....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_538_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW AMATEUR COMETS

In the seven weeks since the discovery of Comet Ikeya-Zhang, two more
comets have been discovered visually by amateur astronomers. While neither
is expected to rival Ikeya-Zhang's brightness this spring, these new finds
show that the era of backyard comet hunting is far from over.

The first of the new comets was bagged on March 11th. Douglas Snyder swept
up the faint object in Aquila while scanning the predawn skies with a
20-inch f/5 Dobsonian telescope at his backyard observatory in Palominas,
Arizona. Seven hours later, as dawn approached Japan, Shigeki Murakami in
Matsunoyama, Niigata Prefecture, picked up the interloper with his 18-inch
f/4.5 reflector. Designated Comet Snyder-Murakami, C/2002 E2, the object
is currently visible in medium-size telescopes as a 10th-magnitude glow
moving north-northeast in the morning sky, from Aquila to Sagitta and then
to Vulpecula....

Just one week after the Snyder-Murakami find, in the early morning
twilight of March 18th, Japanese observer Syogo Utsunomiya discovered
another comet with a pair of 25x150 binoculars. Experts have yet to
calculate the orbit of the new object (dubbed C/2002 F1), but for the past
couple of days, the fuzzy ball has shone at 11th magnitude in Pegasus....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_540_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
BINARY QUASAR IS NO ILLUSION

Astronomers who thought they'd found a 100-trillion-Sun mass of pure dark
matter have come up empty handed. A pair of quasar images that looked like
an unusual case of gravitational lensing by such a mass has turned out to
be simply a pair of quasars.

Researchers put lots of effort into finding cosmic gravitational lenses.
These are special alignments where a very distant object appears multiple
or distorted, because its light is bent by the gravitational field of a
foreground mass. One promising prospect was the close pair of quasars
Q2345+007A and B in Pisces. These two faint specks, 7.3 arcseconds apart,
show spectra with the same large redshift (2.15, corresponding to a
distance of about 11 billion light-years) and other spectral features that
match very closely. They certainly seemed like two images of a single
object....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_539_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* The Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus form a huge, diagonal line
across the sky early in the evening of March 23.
* Venus is very low above the western horizon shortly after sunset.
* Jupiter remains the brightest object in the sky.
* Saturn shines near the Hyades star cluster in Taurus.
* The Moon is full March 28.

For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/

COMET UPDATES

* Comet Ikeya-Zhang is easily visible in binoculars right at the end of
evening twilight, very low in the west-northwest.
* For Northern Hemisphere observers with telescopes, three other faint
comets are also visible.

For details, see the comets section of Celestial Objects:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 784 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 30, 2002 (19:42) * 74 lines
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WATCH

ISSUED: 03:40 UTC, 30 MARCH 2002

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

VALID BEGINNING AT: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
VALID UNTIL: 19:00 UTC (2 pm EDT) ON 31 MARCH

HIGH RISK PERIOD: 30 MAR (UTC DAYS)
MODERATE RISK PERIOD: 30 - 31 MAR

PREDICTED ACTIVITY INDICES: 23, 18, 18, 15 (30 MAR - 02 APR)

POTENTIAL MAGNITUDE OF MIDDLE LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY: MODERATE

POTENTIAL DURATION OF THIS ACTIVITY: MAIN BELT = 06 TO 12 HOURS
MINOR BELT = 12 TO 36 HOURS

ESTIMATED OPTIMUM OBSERVING CONDITIONS: NEAR LOCAL MIDNIGHT

EXPECTED LUNAR INTERFERENCE: HIGH

OVERALL OPPORTUNITY FOR OBSERVATIONS FROM MIDDLE LATITUDES: POOR

AURORAL ACTIVITY *MAY* BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

NORTHERN WASHINGTON STATE TO MONTANA TO NORTHERN SOUTH DAKOTA TO CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO CENTRAL WISCONSIN TO MICHIGAN TO DARK SKY SITES OF NEW YORK
STATE, VERMONT, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SOUTHERN MAINE.

ACTIVITY *MAY* ALSO BE OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY NORTH OF A LINE FROM...

NORTHERN UNITED KINGDOM TO EXTREME NORTHERN NETHERLANDS TO EXTREME
NORTHERN GERMANY TO EXTREME NORTHERN POLAND TO NORTHERN LITHUANIA TO
LATVIA TO NORTHERN RUSSIA. MOST PROBABLE OBSERVATION SITES WILL BE
LOCATIONS NORTH OF THIS LINE GIVEN THE FULL PHASE OF THE MOON. SOUTHERN
REGIONS OF NEW ZEALAND MAY ALSO SPOT PERIODS OF ACTIVITY.

SYNOPSIS...

An interplanetary disturbance in the solar wind impacted the Earth near
22:37 UTC on 29 March. Conditions may become mildly favorable for the
development of auroral substorm activity capable of producing periodic
(probably fairly infrequent) episodes of visible activity over some dark-sky
middle latitude locations. Upper-middle latitude (central to southern
Canadian provinces and perhaps some extreme northern U.S. states) and high
latitude regions are preferred locations for observing this activity.

This watch will remain in effect until 19:00 UTC (2 pm EST) on 31
March. It will then be updated or allowed to expire. For updated
information, visit: http://www.spacew.com/aurora/forum.html

PLEASE REPORT OBSERVATIONS OF AURORAL ACTIVITY TO:
http://solar.spacew.com/www/auroras.html

* OR *

Use a significant new space weather monitoring tool
to submit your observations.
See: http://www.spacew.com/swim

* OR *

Use the popular STD AURORA MONITOR Software
to monitor conditions, report sightings, etc. It is available at:
http://www.spacew.com/aurora

For Real-Time News and Discussions with Experienced Aurora Enthusiasts:
http://www.spacew.com/irc
and join the #aurora channel (type /join #aurora)

** End of Watch **

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 785 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr  5, 2002 (15:27) * 7 lines
I still have yet to see it:

* Comet Ikeya-Zhang Thrills Skywatchers
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/ikeya_zhang_020405-1.html

Skywatchers throughout the Northern Hemisphere report that comet Ikeya-Zhang, the brightest since Hale-Bopp five years ago, is a remarkable sight even under city lights. The comet, described in glowing terms by many observers, should be visible to the naked eye throughout most of April.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 786 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Fri, Apr  5, 2002 (15:33) * 1 lines
is this the one that you can see in the western sky?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 787 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr  5, 2002 (15:42) * 1 lines
Yes... for the moment. Soon it would swing around the sun and become a pre-dawn object. That will be best for me since we have far more clear mornings than evenings. Has anyone seen it? Reports? Please!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 788 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr  6, 2002 (18:22) * 105 lines
=========================================================================

* * * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - April 5, 2002 * * * *

=========================================================================
Welcome to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin. Images, the full text of stories
abridged here, and other enhancements are available on our Web site,
SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided below. Clear skies!
=========================================================================

THREATENING ASTEROID AIDS PLANETARY PROGNOSTICATORS

A kilometer-size asteroid, whose whereabouts have been unknown since just
after its discovery 52 years ago, has suddenly reemerged as an object that
may pose a significant threat to Earth in the distant future. Astronomers
at Lowell Observatory rediscovered the wayward object, known as 1950 DA,
by accident on New Year's Eve 2000, and three months later teams of radar
astronomers pinged it from Goldstone, California, and Arecibo, Puerto
Rico. When orbital dynamicists combined the high-precision radar tracks
with the half-century-long photographic record, they realized that 1950 DA
is likely to make three close brushes with Earth in the centuries ahead.
One of those, on March 16, 2880, could result in a direct hit....

However, notes coauthor Steven R. Chesley (JPL), "The impact risk is not
the story here, because we can say almost unequivocally that it's not
going to hit Earth." The real story, he says, is how having such a precise
orbit has allowed dynamicists to push the realm of impact prediction so
far into the future....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_567_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
A DAILY DOSE OF MARS

Move over Astronomy Picture of the Day! As of last week, you can now take
your morning coffee break with the latest picture of Mars.

At 10 a.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, a fresh view of the red
planet taken by the Mars Odyssey 2001 spacecraft's Thermal Emission
Imaging System (THEMIS) will be posted to the Web site of the instrument's
investigators....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_564_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAINTER FAINT FUZZIES

As amateur telescope users well know, star clusters in our Milky Way come
in two basic types: open clusters and the much richer, denser globulars.
But astronomers surveying other galaxies have found that some of them
contain a third kind: "faint extended clusters" somewhat like globulars
but larger, dimmer, and more spread out....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_561_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS

Asteroid Population Doubles

Observations made in 1996-97 by the European Space Agency's Infrared Space
Observatory show that the asteroid belt contains about twice as many
objects as previously thought. The new census involved tallying up the
main-belt asteroids spotted in selected locations, then extrapolating
those counts to include the entire sky. The result, says Edward Tedesco
(TerraSystems), suggests that the main belt (between Mars and Jupiter)
contains 1.1 to 1.9 million minor planets at least 1 kilometer across.
Previous studies in 1998 and 2001 had estimated the count of 1-km or
larger objects at 860,000 and 740,000, respectively.

Hubble Ready to Resume Operations

After three weeks of intensive checks and testing, engineers both at
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and at the Space Telescope Science
Institute have declared that the Hubble Space Telescope is ready to resume
its mission. The spacecraft's new solar-cell arrays, installed early last
month by Columbia's spacewalking astronauts, are delivering 27 percent
more electricity than their predecessors. The powerful new Advanced Camera
for Surveys, also delivered by Columbia, is now undergoing its final
alignment and focusing checks. Astronomers hope to unveil the ACS's first
images in about a month.

Gamma-Ray Bursts and Supernovae: One More Link

Astronomers have found yet more evidence that gamma-ray bursts are closely
associated with supernova explosions of massive stars. James Reeves
(University of Leicester, England) and colleagues found hot gas containing
magnesium, silicon, sulfur, argon, calcium, and other elements streaming
from the source of a gamma-ray burst at a tenth of the speed of light.
This is just the kind of mix expected from a Type II supernova. The gamma
burst itself is believed to be directed along a narrowly collimated jet of
much faster debris coming from right around a newborn black hole in
certain supernova cores.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_566_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* Comet Ikeya-Zhang is still visible at the end of twilight low above the
the horizon.
* Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus form a long diagonal line across the
western sky in late twilight.
* New Moon is on April 12-13.
* Jupiter is the brightest object high in the west-southwest sky.

For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 789 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr  6, 2002 (18:35) * 8 lines
Dawn AND twilight the same day???

For the next couple of weeks, Comet Ikeya-Zhang will remain very low in the
northwest to north after dusk. However, starting today it can be seen a little
higher before dawn than in the evening. Go out just before your local
morning twilight begins (find this time by putting your date and location into
our custom almanac!) and scan with binoculars low in the northeast. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 790 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr  9, 2002 (20:16) * 71 lines
I would really like to see this:

Doze-Proof Show Unveiled at Washington Doze-Proof Show Unveiled at Washington Planetarium Reuters
Apr 9 2002 3:21PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The moon hurtles overhead, appearing close
enough to touch, before the view shifts to a stomach-churning swoop into
a deep gorge on Mars in a new planetarium show that few will be
tempted to doze through.

"Infinity Express," a 20-minute excursion of the universe previewed on
Tuesday at the National Air and Space Museum, is the first planetarium
exhibit to use 12 digital projectors that can put images on every bit of the
70-foot dome, instead of losing space near the edges.

But what makes it compelling -- even if it induces a touch of nausea for
some viewers -- is the rapid, high-definition movement displayed over an
area greater than the huge IMAX screens used for large-format films.

"A lot of people say it's 3-D, but it's not really 3-D," said Steve Savage,
president of Sky-Skan Inc., the New Hampshire-based company that
designed the projection system.

It happens all around you, so it gives the impression of 3-D."
The show opens with a pink and blue blur, darkening to dusk amid the
sounds of birds chirping, car doors slamming, a party quieting down and
observers setting up a telescope.
The dome dims and the stars come out, projected by the planetarium's
27-year-old Zeiss VI-a star projector.
As actor Laurence Fishburne narrates, the crescent moon that has hung
quietly near the dome's zenith zooms into close-up, followed by a fast
dash through the solar system in which planets appear to just miss
viewers as they go by.
The Zeiss instrument is still the best device for projecting a star field, but
the 12 digital projectors make possible a vertiginous rocket trip through
the planets, into the Milky Way and then out into a slice of sky dense with
jewel-toned smudges -- distant galaxies detected by astronomers as they
peer back in time toward the theoretical Big Bang.
PILOT'S EYE VIEW

The movement and color is made possible by the new 12 projectors, in
six pairs.
As in movie theaters, all seats are angled toward a common point in the
Einstein Planetarium, instead of placed in concentric circles in the classic
configuration of the New Hayden Planetarium in New York.
"The pictures are made purposely to have a front, a back, a left, a right
and a top, and those cues, those eye cues, are working on you," Savage
told Reuters.
Producers want audiences to see the show right side up. If half the
audience is in the front of the theater, then half the audience is seeing the
show upside down. So that (seating system) fixes that problem."
The projectors are ideal for taking astronomical data from the Hubble
Space Telescope and the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft and making
them into almost tactile images.
One of the most eye-catching was the view of the gigantic Valles
Marineris on Mars, the largest canyon in the solar system, which is five
times deeper than the Grand Canyon.
John Stoke of the Space Telescope Science Institute said the new tools
will help bring fresh information to the public.
"This is an opportunity to present the universe a bit more truthfully, on a
very big screen that's very immersive," Stoke said.
The museum's Andrew Johnston said the planetarium uses authentic
data:
When we're flying through the galaxies, those galaxies are not made
up, you're actually flying through their actual positions."
And Savage said there was one sure sign of the exhibit's appeal.
"We've not heard any snoring yet. ... Usually it's cool and dark and
comfortable seats and everybody's dozing off in no time," Savage said.

That hasn't been happening." 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 791 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr  9, 2002 (20:20) * 1 lines
Sorry about that. My cut and paste usually works better than that. perhaps it was due to sympathetic vertigo?!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 792 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Apr 10, 2002 (19:00) * 1 lines
sounds really neat!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 793 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 10, 2002 (19:41) * 1 lines
They also did one on Kilauea when it was having high lava fountains which I would also have liked to have seen. At least you are on the same land mass with an IMAX theater. I, alas, am not. 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 794 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 12, 2002 (20:09) * 5 lines
* Viewer's Guide: Moon Joins the Great Planet Alignment
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/planets_moon_020412-1.html

What is now being hailed as the finest gathering of all five bright planets in almost two decades is finally coming together in the western evening sky. The gap between the planets will noticeably contract with each passing night.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 795 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 14, 2002 (17:23) * 23 lines
Comet Dawn

Space Weather News for April 14, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com

COMET DAWN: Comet Ikeya-Zhang, which has delighted evening sky watchers
since March, is now a morning comet, too. It is climbing higher in
northern skies as it recedes from the Sun and approaches our planet.
Visit spaceweather.com for finder charts and details.

MEANWHILE ON THE SUN: The sunspot number has soared this month. Nearly a
dozen sunspot groups are crossing the Earth-facing side of our star, and
some of them pose a threat for strong solar flares.

EARTHSHINE: Sky watchers with a clear view of the western horizon should
be alert just after sunset on April 14 and 15 for a slender crescent Moon
illuminated by Earthshine. It's one of the loveliest sights in the
heavens -- and astronomers have learned that it's most intense during the
months of April and May.

Visit SpaceWeather.com for more information.



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 796 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 17, 2002 (17:46) * 72 lines
Dust settles over Kerala's `red rain'

Vinson Kurian

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 31, 2001

IT'S official. The coloured rain in some parts of Kerala was
caused by the fine dust thrown up by a disintegrating
meteorite. The celestial body, passing at great speed,
deposited the dust in the monsoon clouds, causing the
downpour of colour.

Tracing the origin to meteorite dust -- and not the ``washing
of dirty linen by Marxists beaten blue and black in the
Assembly elections'' as joked by an intrepid Congress Member
to the collective amusement of Parliament -- scientists S.
Sampath and V. Sasi Kumar, however, said they were still at a
loss to explain the loud bang which reportedly accompanied
the rain.

According to a Centre for Earth Sciences Studies (CESS)
statement, a eastward-bound meteor exploded over
Changanassery town in central Kerala around 5.30 a.m. on
July 25. The burning meteorite is estimated to have spewed
out some 1,000 kg of fine dust into the atmosphere. This
triggered a chain of events, involving yellow, green and even
black rain in Palakkad, Kottayam, Ernakulam and
Pathanamthitta districts. Yellow rain was reported from Chittar
in Pathanamthitta district.

The CESS Director, M. Baba, said the initial findings were
based on the physical analysis of the sediments found in the
rain water sample obtained from Changanassery and
information culled from the residents. The chemical analysis,
expected to shed more light into the quirky episode, is in
progress.

According to available information, the rain was normal on the
previous day. But residents were jolted out of their sleep by
``a very loud noise'' in the wee hours of July 25. A few of
them also saw a flash of light.

The red showers started three hours later, fading towards the
end of the 15-minute spell. The subsequent spell was normal
though. According to Baba, the sound of thunder was unusual
as thunderstorms do not accompany rains during this time of
the year.

Coming as it did after a series of quake-related rumble,
collapsing wells, swirls in well waters, cracking walls, fuming
hills, sinking earth, floods, landslides and what not, the
oddities that befell the verdant greens were such that the
State risked being mistaken for the ``odds on country'' over
the past seven months.

Scientist teams from leading institutions have been virtually
scouring the earth trying to explain the strange happenings by
proffering what seem to be largely credible but discomfortingly
divergent findings.

The fear of the ground slipping away from under their feet, if
not the skies falling on the heads, have rendered the people
circumspect and seeking far more reassuring words from the
people concerned. The freak developments are a sign of much
worse things to come, they fear.

After having heaved a collective sigh of relief that no more
such incidents have been reported, the authorities are buying
time before they find themselves faced with a truant Nature
yet again.

http://www.blonnet.com/businessline/2001/08/01/stories/180125rn.htm

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 797 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 17, 2002 (22:58) * 63 lines
APRIL 20th IS ASTRONOMY DAY

One day each year, astronomy clubs, planetariums, and other groups of sky
lovers band together to expose the general public to the wonders and
excitement that astronomy has to offer. Learn more about this annual event
at:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/resources/calendar/article_472_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ASTRONOMY DAY CELESTIAL EVENTS

For observers in northeastern North America, the first quarter Moon will
occult the 4.7-magnitude star Gamma Cancri at approximately 9:58 p.m. EDT
on the 20th. The star will disappear on the lunar dark side near the
Moon's southern tip.
Visible to all on Astronomy Day (and for several weeks to come) is a fine
array of planets in the west after sunset. Read all about this gathering,
and preview how these five worlds will form and reform new patterns as
they move against the background stars.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
AURORA ALERT

A solar flare observed on April 15th produced a coronal mass ejection
(CME) that is currently passing Earth. Increased auroral activity has been
reported in Europe, and the northern lights may be visible this evening
over some North American dark-sky middle-latitude locations. Updates by
observers can be found by clicking on the discussion forum hot link within
this site:
http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOVA DISCOVERED IN SAGITTARIUS

The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) announced
yesterday that William Liller, the most successful photographic nova
hunter in the last decade, photographically discovered an apparent nova in
Sagittarius at magnitude 9.2 on April 15th. This possible nova (N SGR 02)
is situated near Gamma Sagittarii at:
R.A. = 17h 59m 59.6s
Decl. = -30deg 53' 20" (2000.0)
Electronic copies of a chart showing the position of this object can be
found on the AAVSO Web site at:
http://www.aavso.org/charts/SGR/N_SGR_02/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
LYRID METEOR SHOWER PEAKS

If you're observing before dawn on April 22nd, keep an eye out for a few
extra meteors. The Lyrid meteor shower is a weak one with an average rate
of less than 20 meteors per hour.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/article_558_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG IN THE MORNING SKY

The comet remains well placed in the dawn sky (for Northern Hemisphere
skywatchers) as it makes a slow trek from Cassiopeia into Cepheus and then
Draco. For a table and chart showing the comet's current location, click
here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 798 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 19, 2002 (22:20) * 5 lines

Happy Astronomy Day 2K2




Comet Ikeya Zhang and the Andromeda Galaxy



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 799 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 20, 2002 (20:06) * 19 lines
A RARE DANCE OF PLANETS

A grand and beautiful lineup of all the bright naked-eye planets --
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- is taking shape in the
western sky at dusk. Throughout April and May these five worlds will form
and reform new patterns as they move against the background stars. There
is no single date of a "great planetary alignment," though all five of
them (plus the Moon) will be clustered within 33 degrees of sky on the
evening of May 14th.

Such gatherings of the naked-eye planets are relatively rare, occurring
roughly every 20 years when slow-moving Jupiter and Saturn appear close
together from Earth's perspective. A similar grouping occurred in May
2000, though it was hidden in the Sun's glare. The last compact and widely
visible five-planet array was in February 1940, and astronomers calculate
that another good one won't take place until September 8, 2040....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 800 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sat, Apr 20, 2002 (21:16) * 1 lines
last night, our sky was perfect for star-gazing (even within the confines of my teeny back yard). i was looking for these five planets but didn't know what to look for though i found the moon *laugh* have the planets already formed a line and now they'll start moving around?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 801 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 20, 2002 (23:34) * 1 lines
Yes they will move. I went out just now, and except for the mountain hiding Marcury, from west to zenith you could see them strung up the ecliptic like jewels on an invisible cord. They are brilliant and beautiful nowm, but they will continue to be so for weeks to come. The way you can tell they are plants is to see the position change from night to night aganist the bacground stars.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 802 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:01) * 13 lines
How to see the gathering:

Just look west, about 30 minutes after sunset, from
April 17 through mid-May. Also, make sure that
nothing blocks your view of the west….no buildings
or hills, for example. Mercury is very low, and any
hills could block your view of it.
You do not need a telescope to see this gathering.
However, if you have a pair of binoculars, you may
be able to catch Venus, Mars and Saturn all the same
view, if you look at those planets around May 5.

Great stuff and how to see... http://www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/PG.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 803 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:06) * 20 lines
Comet Ikeya-Zhang:

This comet is not visible in the evening sky at the latitude of Hawai‘i but should be visible in the morning sky for much of April.
On April 9, it rises in the Northeast at 4 AM. Dawn begins at 5:30 AM, washing out the comet. By dawn, the comet will be
about 13 degrees above the Northeast horizon. The comet is 4th magnitude. This is a little brighter than the faintest of the Little
Dipper’s 7 stars.

The comet is in the constellation of Cassiopeia until the middle of April, when it passes into
Cepheus.

By April 15, the comet will rise by 2:15 AM in the North northeast and will be 22 degrees above the horizon by 5 AM, when
dawn begins.

The comet will dim considerably by the end of April. After April 24, the moon will be in the sky at the same time as the comet,
which will make the comet much harder to see.

If you want to go looking for the comet, find the darkest sky you can.
If you can see all seven stars in the Little Dipper, viewing conditions should be good enough for a good view of the comet.

http://www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 804 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:09) * 27 lines
What Is The Green Flash?

by Peter Michaud
Gemini Observatory Information Manager
Lots of people talk about it, but how many have actually seen the much coveted green flash? If
you haven't seen or heard of the green flash, it's simply a fleeting spot of intense green light on the
horizon an instant after sunset or immediately before sunrise. Since Hawai'i is one of the best
places to see this phenomena, let's explore why the green flash happens and how to improve
your chances of glimpsing it safely.

First of all, when trying to spot the Green Flash don't be fooled by what I call, "The Fool's
Flash". This is simply the greenish after-image burned into your retina by looking directly at the
setting sun. (If you're lucky, this condition will only be temporary.) Remember, even when it's
rising or setting it's still dangerous to look directly at the sun's disk. While awaiting the green flash
at sunset, look away until only the very top of the sun's disk is about to disappear below the
horizon - it's only during this last instant that the green flash will be visible anyway.

Secondly, the green flash is best seen when the sun sets or rises over the ocean and only when it
is absolutely clear all the way to the horizon. While this might seem common in Hawai'i, distant
clouds often linger on the horizon, making the green flash much less frequent than one might
imagine.

In order to understand what to expect from the green flash, it helps to know how our atmosphere
effects sunlight. Coincidentally, the phenomenon responsible for the green flash is also the one
that paints rainbows across Hawaii's sky.

more and photos... http://www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium/greenflash.html

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 805 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:35) * 24 lines
April Lyrid Meteor Shower

April has one major meteor shower, the Lyrids. This year the Lyrids
are scheduled to peak on Monday morning, April 22nd and the best
viewing time for this shower will be between the hours of moonset and
dawn.

The radiant of the shower is still fairly low at midnight and it will
rise higher in the northeastern sky as dawn approaches. With this
shower, you will want to skip observing on Sunday night and arise two
or three hours before dawn on Monday. Find yourself a comfortable
chair and look toward the northeastern sky. Although Lyrids can
appear anywhere in the sky, most of the activity from this shower
will probably be concentrated in the northeast.

2002 is a fairly good year for the Lyrids despite the phase of the
Moon. The Moon will be 74% illuminated and it will not set until a
few hours before dawn, but the radiant for this shower rises late and
it is only at its best during the few hours before dawn anyway and by
that time the Moon will have set.

Shortcut URL to the group page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MeteorShowers


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 806 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (18:17) * 26 lines
A big solar blast, a little meteor shower, and auroras in Calif

Space Weather News for April 21, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com

A BIG SOLAR BLAST: An explosion on the Sun today sparked a powerful
X-class solar flare and hurled a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space.
Although the CME was not squarely Earth-directed, the expanding cloud will
likely deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetosphere on April 22nd or
23rd. Sky watchers should remain alert for renewed geomagnetic activity
and auroras.

A LITTLE METEOR SHOWER: The annual Lyrid meteor shower peaks on April
22nd. Early-rising northern sky watchers could see 10 or so meteors per
hour shooting from the vicinity of the bright star Vega before local dawn
on Monday.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AURORAS: A pair of coronal mass ejections swept past
Earth last week and ignited several days of geomagnetic activity.
Although the most intense Northern Lights were concentrated above
high-latitudes, photographers recorded auroras as far south as Arizona and
Southern California in the United States.

Visit spaceweather.com for images and more information about all these
events.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 807 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr 22, 2002 (17:46) * 17 lines
NEW SCIENTIST - NEWSFLASH

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cosmic ray mystery solved

Astronomers believe they have uncovered the source of the highest
energy cosmic rays - retired quasars. Cosmic rays are tiny,
energy-packed particles and, although very rare, are the only sample
of matter from outside the Solar System.

To read the full story go to:
http://www.prq0.com/apps/redir.asp?link=XbddbefjCG,ZbccedehecCJ&oid=UcjjbCB

Read more daily science and technology news at
http://www.newscientist.com


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 808 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 24, 2002 (19:41) * 11 lines
Relax, it's only April

NASA Science News for April 24, 2002

It's in the news: The five brightest planets are converging in the western
sky. They are a pleasing sight in April ... but the best is yet to come in
May.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/24apr_relax.htm?list89800


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 809 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 24, 2002 (22:46) * 58 lines
Faded Stars Show Universe Is 14 Billion Years Old
Reuters
Apr 24 2002 3:48PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The dimmest, most faded old stars, glimpsed
by the Hubble Space Telescope, offered confirmation that the universe is
just under 14 billion years of age, scientists said on Wednesday.
That is an estimate, scientists at NASA headquarters told reporters, with
an error margin of 500 million years either way.
But because it was calculated by a completely different method than
earlier estimates, it offers independent verification that astronomers are
on the right track.
"It's almost as if we were saying, you always thought you knew how old
you were, but you never had proof," Bruce Margon of the Space Telescope
Science Institute explained. "One day, you open a drawer and there's your
birth certificate, and you get the same answer. That's a real triumph."
To get this confirmation, astronomers aimed the orbiting Hubble
telescope at a globular cluster of stars in the constellation Scorpio, some
7,000 light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in a
year, about 6 trillion miles.
Such clusters are thought to be the oldest structures in the universe,
coming into being about a billion years after the theoretical big bang.
Within these clusters are scores of so-called white dwarfs, burned-out
stars that have spent all the nuclear fuel at their cores and are simply
fading slowly into darkness.

"They're about the most boring stars you can think of, they're just cinders
cooling off," Margon said. "It's just the glowing ember of a fire that is
gradually cooling down at a predictable rate."
That predictable cooling rate is the key to calculating the age of the
universe, Margon and other astronomers said. Since they knew how fast
these old stars were cooling, they could figure how old they were by how
bright they were.
That number turned out to be just under 13 billion years; the astronomers
-- led by Harvey Richer of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver,
Canada -- added 1 billion years to account for the billion years that they
believe had elapsed before the globular cluster formed, and got their
universe age estimate.

PREVIOUS ESTIMATES
Previously, scientists had calculated the age of the universe by
measuring how fast galaxies were speeding away from each other as the
universe grew. Many scientists have long believed that the universe is
expanding at a predictable rate, but there was disagreement over just
what this rate was.

In 1997, the Hubble telescope gave a precise measurement for the
expansion rate, and a reliable age for the universe of around 15 billion
years.
This estimate got complicated in recent years when astronomers using
Hubble and other observatories encountered a strange force they called
dark energy, which was making the universe expand more rapidly.

With dark energy factored into the equation, astronomers put the
universe's age at 13 billion to 14 billion years -- in the same cosmic
ballpark as the figure reached by tracking the fading out of the oldest
stars.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 810 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (17:42) * 1 lines
wait what happens in may?

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 811 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (20:18) * 30 lines
This what happens in May:

The best is yet to come ... in May.
That's when Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn will form an eye-catching cluster in the
constellation Taurus. Jupiter will hover above them in Gemini, just one constellation away. No
binoculars or telescopes are required to see them. All you need are your eyes and a clear view of
the western horizon.

Between now and April 30th, Jupiter (half-way up the western sky) and
Venus (closer to the horizon) are the attention-getters. Giant Jupiter is
bright, and Venus is even brighter. The cloud-covered second planet from
the Sun is so dazzling that it is often mistaken for a UFO or a landing
airplane. A line drawn between Venus and Jupiter will pass, more or less,
through dimmer Mars and Saturn.

Sky watchers who dash outside just after sunset this week can spot
Mercury, too. It's that "star" below Venus shining through the glow of the setting Sun. Mercury is
climbing higher in the sky each night and, by May 1st, it will remain visible for more than one hour
after sunset.

I plan to go outside every night after dinner between May 1st and 7th. Throughout that week, the
red star Aldebaran, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Mars will fit within a circle about 10 degrees
across. (Ten degrees is about the width of your fist held at arm's length.) Each night will offer
something different and beautiful: On May 3rd, for example, Mars and Saturn will lie a scant 2.5
degrees apart. On May 4th, Mercury reaches its greatest apparent distance from the Sun and
makes its closest approach to the other planets. On May 5th, Mars, Saturn and Venus will form a
triangle just 3 degrees on each side. And so on....

Diagrams and more information http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/24apr_relax.htm?list89800


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 812 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (20:20) * 3 lines
Go out and watch them move from night to night. These planets are bright enough to see even in the Vog or Smog of the cities. Get your kids to graph them night to night to see just how much they do move.

I'm planning to do just that! Now, if only the weather gods cooperate...

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 813 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (20:56) * 1 lines
we've got some clouds in the way tonight but i did spot a bright star in the western sky (45 deg or so up from the horizon)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 814 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (21:38) * 2 lines
Planet, NOT star. Planet shine by reflected sunlight. Stars shine on their own.
You likely saw Venus. It is brilliant even in daylight at this stage of her orbit.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 815 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, Apr 25, 2002 (23:43) * 76 lines
Out with the Big Bang, and in with Cosmic Crunch
Reuters
Apr 25 2002 2:11PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - What if the big-bang theory is wrong? What if
the universe never began and will never end, driven forever to expand in a
series of monster explosions and contract every eon or so in a cosmic
crunch?
Princeton University physicist Paul Steinhardt suggested just that in a
report published on Thursday that even he called "mind-bending."
The big-bang theory, accepted by many scientists for decades, holds that
the universe was born some 14 billion years ago when an unimaginably
small, dense entity blew up, sowing the seeds of every bit of matter and
energy.

Soon after that first explosion, the universe expanded rapidly, in a
phenomenon astronomers call inflation, and then continued to spread
out at varying speeds until the present day, according to the big-bang
theory. Under this theory, time would begin but never end.
But the model of the universe envisioned by Steinhardt and Neil Turok of
Cambridge in the journal Science sees the big bang as merely a turning
point on an infinite road: an endless series of big bangs make the
universe expand and an equally endless series of subsequent crunches
make it contract.
The current estimated age of the universe according to the big-bang
theory would seem like the blink of an eye under the cyclic universe
theory, which assumes the universe waxes and wanes in cycles lasting
as long as trillions of years.
"Time does not have to have a beginning," Steinhardt said in a telephone
interview. He said that what scientists theorize as the dawn of time might,
in fact, be "only a transition or a stage of evolution from a pre-existing
phase to the present expanding phase."

EXOTIC DARK ENERGY

Scientists who favor the big-bang model see the expansion of the
universe as governed by the amount and kinds of energy that comprise it.
If the energy is the kind earthlings know -- gravitationally self-attractive
energy that clumps into galaxies, stars and planets and also makes a set
of keys fall off a table -- it tends to slow down the expansion.

But if it is a mysterious kind of gravitationally self-repulsive energy, known
as dark energy, that would tend to speed expansion up.
Astronomers and others who ponder this question have been at pains in
recent years to explain why the universe's expansion has been
accelerating over the last several billion years after a long slowdown.

Dark energy's strange ways could be responsible.
"We can see, both directly and indirectly, that most of the stuff in the
universe is not composed of ordinary matter, nor of dark matter, but of
some third species," he said. "And we can see that the ratio is roughly
70-30 -- 70 percent exotic stuff, 30 percent ordinary stuff."

What Steinhardt calls ordinary stuff is what allows the slower expansion
of the universe, which permits gravity to create galaxies, stars and
planets, including Earth. The accelerated expansion driven by dark energy
would blow all that away before it could coalesce.
"This stuff, once it takes over the universe, it pushes everything away at an
accelerating pace," he said. "So the universe will double in size every 14
to 15 billion years so long as there is this gravitationally self-repulsive
energy that dominates the universe."
The big crunch comes when dark energy changes its character,
according to Steinhardt. He likened it to a ball rolling down a hill that picks
up speed as it goes along.
"This field of dark energy is picking up more and more energy as it rolls
down the hill, the nature of the force that controls it causes it to rebound
and go back to where it started, back and forth in a very irregular fashion,"
he said.
"When it's changing slowly, it's gravitationally self-repulsive and when it's
changing fast, it picks up speed, it's gravitationally self-attractive,"
Steinhardt said.

Steinhardt admitted this made dark energy sound capricious.
"It is capricious but it's no more capricious than the standard picture," he
said. "It's just different."


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 816 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 26, 2002 (16:33) * 40 lines
Today in Science/Astronomy:

* Mercury Joins Great Planet Alignment
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/planet_align_020426.html
We are yet another week closer to the climax of the Great Planet Alignment of 2002, and now the final element of the mix is in place.

* Last Chance to See Bright Comet Ikeya-Zhang
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/ikeya_zhang_020426.html
It's time to bid farewell to the brightest comet to appear in five years. Ikeya-Zhang, discovered Feb. 1, will soon end its run as a naked-eye object. It will then zoom to the outer reaches of the solar system, not to return for another 341 years.

* X Prize Lands in New York; Rocket at Rockefeller Center
http://www.space.com/news/x_prize_020425.html
A Canadian spaceship rolled into Rockefeller Plaza Thursday as Erik Lindbergh, the grandson of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, came to Manhattan to promote space tourism with plans to follow his family legacy across the Atlantic Ocean.

* In New Theory of Universe, Time Never Ends
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/new_universe_020425.html
Paul Steinhardt's universe is a lot like the workaday world of many people, a cycle of early vigor, spent energy, exhausted return, and new beginnings. However, in Steinhardt's universe, there is absolutely no end to the cycle.

-----------------------------------
Today in Missions/Launches:

* Soyuz Rocket Launches Shuttleworth into Orbit, Space Station Next Stop
http://www.space.com/spacetourism/
The world's second space tourist lifted off Thursday on a Russian rocket from the Baikonur launchpad in Central Asia, heading for the International Space Station.

* Weekend Wallpapers
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/downloads/wallpapers/
Enjoy these wonderful new wallpaper downloads from Space Artist Michael Eaton.

* Aqua Satellite Planned to Examine Changing Earth
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/aqua_satellite_020423.html
NASA officials said yesterday that the planned launch later this spring of the Aqua satellite would mark a major milestone in understanding Earth, and its water cycles, and the changing global climate.

------------------------------------
Today in Business/Industry:

* SES Global Seeks Approval for DBS Service in the U.S.
http://www.space.com/spacenews/index.html
SES Global, operator of the world's largest fleet of commercial telecommunications satellites, is asking U.S. regulators for approval of a direct-broadcast television service that ultimately will also provide high-speed Internet connections to U.S. consumers.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 817 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 26, 2002 (23:40) * 140 lines
FADING WHITE DWARFS CONFIRM THE AGE OF THE UNIVERSE
Ever since the theory of the Big Bang came to the fore, astronomers have
known that the universe had a beginning, and thus, a birth date. But
figuring out just how many candles to put on the universe's birthday cake
has proven tricky.
In recent years, thanks to the worldwide efforts of astronomers using the
Hubble Space Telescope and other instruments, the age of the universe has
been narrowed down to 13-14 billion years. This week, an independent study
led by Harvey Richer (University of British Columbia), confirmed that
result and put a strong lower bound of 12-13 billion years on the age....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_586_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

MAKING MILLISECOND PULSARS
Using NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite, astronomers have found
definitive proof that low-mass X-ray binary stars are the precursors of
millisecond pulsars. New observations of two X-ray binaries provide
convincing evidence that neutron stars are, indeed, whipped up to high
spin rates by mass transfer from a lower-mass companion star.
About 150 low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are known. In all cases, the
X-rays are due to gas from the companion star falling toward the neutron
star. Some systems also show brief bursts of X-rays, produced by
thermonuclear fusion of piled-up hydrogen and helium on the neutron star's
surface.
Millisecond pulsars (MSPs), on the other hand, do not emit X-rays, but are
instead detected as very rapid radio pulsars, spinning hundreds of times
per second... To firmly establish an evolutionary link between LMXBs and
MSPs, though, astronomers would need to prove that the accreting, X-ray
emitting systems have also high spin rates....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_583_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARE DORMANT QUASARS THROWING "BASEBALLS" AT US?
Point your backyard telescope in and around the bowl of the Big Dipper and
you may find sources of the most energetic particles ever observed in
nature. According to a team of astronomers led by Diego Torres (Princeton
University), these ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are produced by
spinning supermassive black holes in relatively nearby giant elliptical
galaxies. Four UHECR particles detected by a Japanese observatory seem to
come from NGC 3610, NGC 3613, NGC 4589, and NGC 5322.
While accelerators on Earth can produce particles with energies up to a
trillion electron volts (1 TeV), nature somehow succeeds in accelerating
protons (hydrogen nuclei) to energies a hundred million times greater. The
highest-energy cosmic ray on record packed a 2 x 10^20 electron volt
wallop (200 million TeV) -- as much energy in a single atomic particle as
a baseball thrown at 50 miles per hour....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_582_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMET BORRELLY: DRY AND HOT
Scientific intuition tells us that a comet's nucleus should be a frozen
mountain of ice and dust. But that's not what Deep Space 1 discovered when
it flew past Comet 19P/Borrelly last year. A recently released analysis of
spacecraft spectra finds that Borrelly's "icy heart" exhibits no trace of
water ice or any water-bearing minerals. Moreover, the nucleus is actually
quite hot -- ranging from 300 degrees to 345 degrees Kelvin (80 degrees to
160 degrees F).
What this means, according to Laurence Soderblom (U.S. Geological Survey),
who led the analysis team, is that virtually all of the comet's surface
has become inactive -- ice is present on too little of it to be detected
spectroscopically....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_579_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLOSING IN ON NEUTRINO PROPERTIES
Neutrinos have mass, they change identity when passing through matter, and
the Standard Model of particle physics is wrong. New results from the
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) in Canada leave no room for other
conclusions. The results, announced on April 20th at a joint meeting of
the American Physical Society and the American Astronomical Society in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, confirm initial measurements presented last June
(Sky & Telescope: September 2001, page 18), but the new findings are even
more convincing....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_581_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS
McDonald Observatory Opens New Visitor Center
About 130,000 visitors annually come to McDonald Observatory in Fort
Davis, Texas, to attend the popular star parties and constellation tours
and to enjoy some of the darkest night skies in the continental U.S.
Unfortunately, the observatory, a research unit of the University of Texas
at Austin, was geared to handle only about 20,000 guests per year. But
that's no longer a problem with the April opening of a new
12,000-square-foot Visitor Center, featuring interactive exhibits in
English and Spanish, a 90-seat theater, a cafe, and a gift shop. The
facility also offers a lab-style classroom, a 300-seat outdoor
amphitheater, and a public astronomy park with a half-dozen telescopes
including 16- and 22-inch reflectors.

Mystery Meteorite with a Molten Past
Planetary scientists suspect that many primordial asteroids must have
grown large enough to melt completely, yielding iron-rich cores and
silicate crusts before being shattered to pieces. After all, the iron
meteorites reaching Earth comprise dozens of unique compositional types.
Yet, among the thousands of known meteorites, only a relative handful
consist of basalt, the igneous rock type that would be most common in
those asteroidal crusts -- and until recently all of them seemed to have
come from a single source, 4 Vesta. In the April 12th issue of Science,
Akira Yamaguchi (National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo) and nine
colleagues argue that a 40-gram stone called Northwest Africa 011 is a
basaltic meteorite entirely unlike those from Vesta. Its parent body is
unknown; one candidate is 1459 Magnya, an outer-belt object that was found
to have a basalt spectrum two years ago. Still, though lacking a pedigree,
NWA 011 is a significant find. As asteroid expert Richard P. Binzel (MIT)
explains, "Yamaguchi's results (and those for 1459 Magnya) are the
'eureka' that complement what the iron meteorites have been telling us:
there must have been other Vestas out there."

Comet Probe Shipped for Launch
Snuggly sealed in its climate-controlled shipping container, the Contour
spacecraft left the Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland on April 23rd
for Cape Canaveral, Florida, where it will be readied for a July 1st
launch. Contour (a contraction for Comet Nucleus Tour) is a drum-shaped,
eight-sided craft designed to fly within 100 kilometers of at least two
comet nuclei. It carries a camera, an imaging spectrometer, and
instruments to analyze the composition of dust and gas in each comet's
coma. The first planned encounter, in November 2003, is with an "old"
comet, 2P/Encke. Then, after a long "backflip" across the inner solar
system and a series of Earth flybys, the spacecraft will brush past a
relatively "fresh" comet, 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, in June 2006. A
third target might be 6P/d'Arrest in 2008 -- but the mission design is so
flexible that, given enough lead time, the spacecraft can be redirected to
intercept an unexpected cometary visitor passing through the inner solar
system.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_585_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* This week the western sky continues to display all five naked-eye
planets in twilight.
* Comet Ikeya-Zhang is fading. Find it in the morning twilight low in the
north-northeast sky.
* Comet Utsunomiya will be very low in the west-northwest twilight at the
end of the week.

For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 818 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Apr 26, 2002 (23:43) * 11 lines
Cosmic rays reveal their roots
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/4/18
Two groups of scientists have shed light on the origin of the streams of
high-energy particles known as cosmic rays that continually bombard the
Earth. Ryoji Enomoto of the University of Tokyo and co-workers have found
the first strong evidence that cosmic rays with energies up to 10^15 eV
are produced by remnants of supernovas (R Enomoto et al 2002 Nature 416
823). Meanwhile, a team of researchers from NASA and Princeton University
has proposed that cosmic rays with energies of over 10^20 eV are made by
black holes in ancient quasar galaxies.


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 819 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (01:13) * 11 lines
Cooperation to answer cosmic questions
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/4/16
The three main US funding agencies must cooperate if scientists are to
answer fundamental questions about the universe, concludes the latest
report from the National Research Council (NRC). The committee on the
physics of the universe - set up by the NRC - last year identified eleven
such questions that it hopes will be answered by the joint efforts of
astrophysicists and particle physicists. The new report recommends six
major scientific projects to answer the questions, and says that a
cross-disciplinary funding body should be set up to support them. 


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 820 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (02:42) * 55 lines
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VARIABLE STAR OBSERVERS
25 Birch Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
INTERNET: aavso@aavso.org
Tel. 617-354-0484 Fax 617-354-0665

AAVSO ALERT NOTICE 295 (April 16, 2002)

1753-30B NOVA SAGITTARII 2002

We have been informed by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (IAU
Circular 7878) that W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile, photographically
discovered an apparent nova in Sagittarius at magnitude 9.2 on two images
taken on April 15.354 UT, using Technical Pan film and an orange filter.

P. Cacella, Brasilia, Brazil, measured the position of the object from a
CCD image obtained with a 0.25-m reflector on April 16.093 UT (V magnitude
10.1) as:

R.A. = 17h 59m 59.63s Decl. = -30o 53' 20.5" (2000)

Observations reported to the AAVSO are as follows: April 11.3999 UT, Less than 11.5
PTG, W. Liller, Vina del Mar, Chile; 15.3539, 9.2 PTG, Liller; 16.1290,
9.5, R. Shida, Ariente, Brazil; 16.4854, 9.8, M. Linnolt, San Francisco,
CA; 16.6060, 9.8, A. Pearce, Nedlands, Australia.

Accompanying is an AAVSO "d" scale chart of N SGR 02 prepared by A. Price,
AAVSO Headquarters, with the sequence prepared by M. Simonsen and M. Morel.
Please use this chart to observe the nova, and report your observations of
1753-30B N SGR 02 to AAVSO Headquarters, making sure to indicate which
comparison stars you used. Please note that a "d" scale reversed chart is
also available from the AAVSO web site or on request.

Congratulations to Bill on his latest discovery!

CHARTS AVAILABLE ON AAVSO WEB AND FTP SITES

Electronic copies of the N Sgr 02 charts mentioned in this Alert
Notice are available through our web site at the following address:

http://www.aavso.org/charts/SGR/N_SGR/02

The charts may also be obtained directly from our FTP site:

ftp://ftp.aavso.org/charts/standard/SGR/N_SGR_02

We encourage observers to submit observations via our website (online data
submission tool WebObs), or by email in AAVSO format to
observations@aavso.org. If you do not have AAVSO Observer Initials, please
contact Headquarters so we may assign them to you. The answering machine
at AAVSO Headquarters is on nights and weekends; use our charge-free number
(888-802-STAR = 888-802-7827) to report your observations, or report them
via fax (617-354-0665).




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 821 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (22:57) * 11 lines
Cyclic universe bounces back (Apr 26)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/4/21
The universe undergoes an endless series of big bangs and cosmic
crunches separated by periods of expansion and contraction, according to
the latest cosmological theory. Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University
and Neil Turok of Cambridge University claim to have solved the problems
that have plagued theories of a `bouncing' universe since the 1930s.
According to the pair, we are about 14 billion years into the current
cycle of cosmic expansion (P Steinhardt and N Turok 2002 Science to
appear).


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 822 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (22:58) * 1 lines
Pardon me for saying so, but this is the "steady state" universe to which I have adhered since the beginning! Read back and see - it's in here somewhere!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 823 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, May  1, 2002 (21:16) * 37 lines
A GREAT TIME FOR PLANET WATCHERS
If you haven't yet seen the great planetary gathering that's unfolding in
the west at dusk, the first half of May brings your best opportunity. On
the 3rd Mercury is at its greatest elongation from the Sun, and to the
upper right of Saturn, you'll find Mars only 2 1/4 degrees away. Faint
Saturn, fainter Mars, and brilliant Venus form a nearly equilateral
triangle on the 5th. The next evening this trio of planets fit within a 3
degree field of view as Saturn moves to within 2 1/2 degrees of Venus.
More information about this ongoing dance is available here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

ETA AQUARID METEOR SHOWER PEAKS
Peaking on the morning of May 5th, the Eta Aquarid meteor shower is a fine
one for Southern Hemisphere observers who may see up to 50 meteors per
hour. Northern Hemisphere skywatchers can see it too, but because the
radiant is low in the east before dawn, they're likely to spot only 20
meteors per hour.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/article_577_1.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMET AND PLANET
On May 3rd Comet Utsunomiya will pass within 0.1 degree of Mercury around
the time of twilight for eastern North America, and they'll appear only a
little farther apart in twilight for the western side of the continent.
This is likely to be a tough observation, however; they're very low in the
west-northwest in late twilight, and the comet is predicted to be about
6th magnitude. You'll definitely need a telescope to see it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

COMET IKEYA-ZHANG IN THE MORNING SKY
Although becoming fainter, the comet remains well placed in the dawn sky
(for Northern Hemisphere skywatchers) as it makes a slow trek through
Draco and on toward Hercules. For a table and chart showing the comet's
current location, click here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 824 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, May  4, 2002 (11:46) * 23 lines
Planets and Meteors on May 5th

Space Weather News for May 4, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com

A TRIANGLE OF PLANETS: As the Sun sets on May 5th, the planets Venus,
Saturn and Mars will pop out of the darkening twilight in an eye-catching
pattern: a near-perfect triangle measuring 3 degrees on each side. Just
below the trio lies elusive Mercury. Be sure to see the innermost planet
before it sinks back toward the Sun next week!

SOUTHERN METEORS: Northern sky watchers have been favored lately with a
great view of the ongoing planetary "alignment" in the western evening
sky. This weekend, sky watchers in the southern hemisphere can enjoy a
show of their own: the eta Aquarid meteor shower. Early risers on Sunday
could spot as many as 50 meteors per hour when bits of debris from
Halley's comet streak through Earth's atmosphere.

Visit spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information about both
events.




 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 825 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, May  7, 2002 (18:23) * 36 lines
* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's SKYWATCHER'S BULLETIN - May 7, 2002 * * *

=========================================================================
Welcome to S&T's Skywatcher's Bulletin. More information on the items
below is available on our Web site, SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs
provided. Clear skies!
=========================================================================
PLANETS CONTINUE TO SHINE IN WEST

Don't miss the great planetary gathering that's unfolding in the west at
dusk. On the 10th Mars is only 1/4 degree to the lower left of Venus. Two
days later the five planets are 33 degrees apart -- their minimum angular
separation during this gathering. Then on the 13th the crescent Moon joins
the gathering for the next 3 nights. More information about this ongoing
dance of the planets is available here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOON OCCULTS THREE PLANETS IN ONE DAY

On May 14th the waxing crescent Moon hides three major planets as seen
from different parts of the Earth (all times are approximate). At 8 hours
Universal Time Saturn is occulted for observers in the United Kingdom,
western Scandinavia, and parts of northeast Alaska. At 19 hours UT Mars
disappears behind the Moon as seen from nearly all of South America.
Finally, Venus is occulted at 23 hours UT for anyone who happens to be in
the South Pacific Ocean.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMET IKEYA-ZHANG IN THE MORNING SKY

The comet is now between 5th and 6th magnitude as it continues its trek
from Draco to Hercules. For a table and chart showing the comet's current
location, click here:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_477_1.asp


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 826 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, May 10, 2002 (23:58) * 9 lines
The Truth about the 2002 Leonid Meteor Storm

Experts say another Leonid meteor storm is due in 2002. Rumor has it that
a glaring full Moon will ruin the display ... but perhaps there's hope for
a marvelous show, after all.

FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/10may_leonids-2002.htm?list89800


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 827 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, May 11, 2002 (14:04) * 13 lines
Geomagnetic Storm Warning
Space Weather News for May 11, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com

An unexpected interplanetary shock wave swept past Earth at 1000 UT on May
11th and triggered a moderate geomagnetic storm. High-latitude sky
watchers -- i.e., those in northern Europe, Canada and across the northern
tier of US states -- should be alert for auroras after local nightfall on
Saturday. Although the shock wave was not a particularly strong one, it
stimulated a geomagnetic storm because the interplanetary magnetic field
near Earth is pointing south -- a condition that weakens our planet's
magnetic defenses against solar wind disturbances. Visit spaceweather.com
for updates.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 828 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, May 11, 2002 (18:19) * 16 lines
ASTRONOMY

* A Dusty Haze around Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies
* NASA's Global Surveyor Adds to Its Martian Photo Album
* Diamond Grains Waft Among Stars
* Infrared Images of an Infant Solar System
* Venus Pillars and Dogs
* Mars Global Surveyor Aging Gracefully in Mars Orbit
* Journey to the Farthest Planet
* Dusty Disks May Reveal Hidden Worlds
* Grid Helps Science Go Sky-High
* Chandra: The Journey to Success
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-astron



 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 829 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, May 13, 2002 (20:43) * 28 lines
Daytime meteor shower strikes county
No reports of damage from rare event

By JAYETTE BOLINSKI
STAFF WRITER

Sangamon County authorities received more than a dozen calls Thursday afternoon of brilliant, firelike streaks in the eastern
sky — a daytime meteor shower that is rare but not unheard of, according to a local astronomer.

"It’s certainly possible to see a meteor during the day if it’s large enough or bright enough," said Charles Schweighauser,
professor of astronomy and physics at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

"I have seen one during the day, in the evening, years ago. It’s not terribly common, but certainly it’s not impossible."

Reports of the meteors flooded the 911 dispatcher’s office about 4:15 p.m. The calls came primarily from residents of
Springfield’s east side and eastern Sangamon County, according to Springfield police Sgt. Kevin Keen.

"At first they thought it was a joke until more and more calls began coming in," he said. "We’re keeping our eye out for
anything. None have been confirmed yet."

A spokesman for the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office said there were no reports of damage from the falling space dust.

Commonly referred to as shooting stars, meteors are tiny particles that orbit the sun and typically are no larger than a grain of
sand.

The particles are called meteoroids once they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. They become visible, rarely for more than a few
seconds, because friction between the particle and air molecules creates a blue or white glow.
http://www.sj-r.com/news/Friday/f.htm

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 830 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, May 15, 2002 (23:34) * 5 lines
* Hubble's 'Pillars of Creation' are fading *
New observations suggest the most famous picture ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope is not what it seems.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1987000/1987449.stm


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 831 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Fri, May 17, 2002 (13:49) * 15 lines
I will give you some mathematic expressions:

1). (?) 1*a
2). (?) 10*a-1*e
3). (?) 100*a-11*e
4). (?) 1000*a-111*e
5). (?) 10000*a-1111*e
6). (?) 100000*a=11111*e
7). (?) 1000000*a=111111*e

Can you see some harmony there? It is not really scientific but it shows something real.
Who can answer? Perhaps Lu I think. But I will give you enough time.

John


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 832 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Fri, May 17, 2002 (17:11) * 1 lines
well, everyone know's i'm not a math genius. the only harmony i see is that all the numbers extend out just enough to make a nice slope up the right side!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 833 of 1087: S B Robinson  (SBRobinson) * Fri, May 17, 2002 (17:20) * 1 lines
numbers dont like me -so i have no clue..... 

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 834 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Fri, May 17, 2002 (23:41) * 4 lines
Please see it as a logical drawing and what it contents. Perhaps you see the harmony of our Solar System.
(For those who are familiar with mathematics, the numbers are in binary form).

John

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 835 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, May 18, 2002 (17:46) * 12 lines
Bode's Law, as I recall is stated above by John

Bode's Law

The Titius-Bode Law is rough rule that predicts the spacing of the planets in the Solar System. The relationship was first pointed
out by Johann Titius in 1766 and was formulated as a mathematical expression by J.E. Bode in 1778. It lead Bode to predict the
existence of another planet between Mars and Jupiter in what we now recognize as the asteroid belt.

The law relates the mean distances of the planets from the sun to a simple mathematic progression of numbers.

Calculations and the planets involved:
http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/courses/astro201/bodes_law.htm

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 836 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Sun, May 19, 2002 (10:33) * 1 lines
wow!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 837 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sun, May 19, 2002 (22:36) * 3 lines
For this lady, Bode's Law was a chicken-skin experience. If there is a Divine Architect of the Universe, surely this was the prime example of his work. I was stunned to discover its reality and how incredibly sensible it was. My humility grows as I learn more.

(Bode is pronounced in the German style as BODE - ah )

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 838 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (03:57) * 9 lines
What amiable surprise Marcia! I was not expected you know it. Congratulations again. I am sure that Wolfie is equally clever.



I present you this easy explanation of Titius - Bode Law with only one notation. It looks like a harmony order. Impressive is that this law has formulated before the discovery of Uranus and the small asteroid (or planet) Demeter.
(I don't know if Demeter is correct name but in Greek language it is the name of Goddess Demetra that was the Goddess of agriculture).

John


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 839 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (14:26) * 5 lines
John, there is much about me that you will learn. I know many things but only a little. College astronomy introduced me to Bode's Law. I have since taught it because of the very nature of the regularity of the spacing of planets.

I searched for your elusive Demeter and did not come up wiht anything which made much sense in atronomical terms. I did find this site which seems to have recreted the entire Solar System using alternate names for the planets we know so well. Could Demeter be what we call Pluto? A planetoid at best, or an escaped moon from Uranus, it is does not fit in to the other parts of the Solar System and the theories of creation of it. Astroid would be my guess for Demeter.

http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/planets02/JAVS/JSYSTEM.HTM

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 840 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (14:29) * 1 lines
Now that I look again at your statistics, with the asteroid belt occupying the space where you have Demeter, it is also what we call this. Depending on who is making the table of distances. Pluto still does not fit correctly as you have shown. Thank you, John. I am delighted to see your graphics.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 841 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (17:17) * 3 lines
i suppose if i looked at it longer, john, i would've guessed binary (having learned it a long time ago) but it looked too much like math and i got spooked!

thank you for explaining it (in one of your neato graphs)!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 842 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, May 21, 2002 (22:59) * 1 lines
Wolfie, the man has a veritable plethora of the most inspired graphs. I was happy the data had not changed since I was in college. (We used slate and chalk and candles back then...)

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 843 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, May 23, 2002 (00:37) * 13 lines
Aurora Warning

Space Weather News for May 23, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com

A coronal mass ejection (CME) that billowed away from the Sun on May 22nd
is heading toward Earth. The expanding cloud could trigger a geomagnetic
storm at middle latitudes when it arrives on Thursday, May 23rd or (more
likely) Friday, May 24th. Sky watchers should remain alert for auroras on
both nights. Our planet will also encounter a solar wind stream flowing
from a coronal hole during the days ahead. Solar wind gusts could stir up
additional geomagnetic activity. Stay tuned to spaceweather.com for
updates.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 844 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Thu, May 23, 2002 (18:31) * 1 lines
marcia, you're so funny!!! *HUGS*

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 845 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Fri, May 24, 2002 (23:54) * 3 lines
It is not funny Wolfie. Our life in the past years had difficulties but more colours. I prefer that not automatic life.

John

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 846 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, May 27, 2002 (17:35) * 5 lines
* South Pole light show *
Dramatic images of the Southern Lights have been taken in the long Antarctic night.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2004000/2004525.stm


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 847 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Thu, May 30, 2002 (22:09) * 33 lines
=========================================================================

* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's SKYWATCHER'S BULLETIN - May 29, 2002 * * *

=========================================================================

VENUS AND JUPITER APPROACH CONJUNCTION
The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, are shining in the western
sky after dusk and drawing closer together day by day. By month's-end
they'll have closed to within 2 1/2 degrees of each other. Conjunction
occurs on the evening of June 3rd when they'll be less than 2 degrees
apart (that's less than the width of a finger held at arm's length).
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_572_1.asp

------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAST CHANCE TO VIEW JUPITER

This giant planet is becoming difficult to observe as it sinks lower into
the western twilight each evening. While watching the conjunction, why not
also take a telescopic tour of Jupiter? A list of times when the Great Red
Spot crosses Jupiter's central meridian can be found at the address below.
For European observers, a double shadow transit begins at 23:05 Universal
Time on May 31st and for the next 2 1/2 hours, the shadows of Europa and
Ganymede will drift across Jupiter's face.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_107_1.asp

Copyright 2002 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Skywatcher's Bulletin is
provided as a free service to the astronomical community by the editors of
SKY & TELESCOPE magazine. This bulletin may not be redistributed or
republished in any form without written permission from Sky Publishing;
send e-mail to permissions@SkyandTelescope.com or call +1 617-864-7360.
More information about astronomical observing is available on our Web site
at http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 848 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun  1, 2002 (16:10) * 181 lines
=================================================================
This Is SKY & TELESCOPE's AstroAlert for Sun-Earth Interactions
=================================================================

http://www.spacew.com/astroalert.html


SAFELY VIEWING THE NAKED-EYE SUNSPOT & THE JUNE 10 ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE

When I was a youngster, there was a near total solar eclipse near my
home. Although we were not in the path of totality, almost 90 percent of the
Sun was blocked by the moon. I remember looking outside while in school and
seeing the light of the Sun near mid-morning change to a strange yellow hue.
Unfortunately, those were during the days when our teachers were warned by
the uneducated media and others that observing a solar eclipse was dangerous
and should not be done. As a result, all of the students in our class were
kept in-doors and were only allowed to watch the progress of the eclipse from
a television set in the library. I was severely disappointed. One of my first
experiences in solar astronomy was from a windowless library in front a
television screen - the result of false education. To this day, I regret that
my parents and my school teachers did not receive the facts about the safety
of observing the Sun.

There are very safe ways to observe the Sun, both directly and through
projection methods. Commercial filters have even been developed that allow
you look at the Sun through binoculars or telescopes.

This AstroAlert is prompted by the occurrence of two relatively rare and
closely spaced events: a naked eye sized sunspot and the occurrence of an
annular solar eclipse on 10 June. Unfortunately, by 10 June the naked-eye
sunspot will have rotated to the west limb of the Sun and will not be visible
except perhaps through telescopic means. Nevertheless, this may make an
interesting target for experienced solar observers with the appropriate
telescopic and photographic equipment.

First, don't attempt to look at the Sun directly without some form of
filter that has been approved to filter out the harmful components of solar
radiation. Even the briefest exposure to the focused light of the Sun on our
eyes retina can produce irreparable damage. Remember that your eyes can be
damaged by radiation that is invisible. Just because the Sun appears dark in
an object that you are looking through does not mean that it is safe to use
if it is not also filtering out the invisible radiation. Don't be paranoid
about observing the Sun. Be careful.

Do not allow children to observe the Sun directly through filters that
you hold to your face - particularly young children who are not old enough to
understand the risks involved. Studies have shown that eye damage occurs
dominantly to younger children. Damage to childrens eyes may last a
life-time and could have a strong impact on their ability to learn. It would
also affect what professions they are able to enter. Young children should
instead be shown the Sun through projection techniques (discussed below)
where they are not required to look directly at the Sun itself.

Filters that can be held directly up to your eyes, allowing you to see
the Sun directly should NEVER be placed in front of binoculars or telescopes
to help magnify the Sun. Binoculars and telescopes greatly concentrate and
focus the energy of the filtered radiation. The focused radiation may still
be harmful to your eyes. Commercial filters exist that have been designed
specifically for attaching to the front ends of binoculars or telescopes. Use
those devices if you are interested in observing the Sun through a telescope
or binoculars. For example, DON'T look at the Sun through binoculars that are
placed behind welders glasses.

Never place naked-eye filters at the back-end of a telescope or
binocular either. The focused heat may damage the optics and (worse) crack
or burn the filter to allow unimpeded and unfiltered sunlight to enter your
eye. The point is this: Leave your binoculars or telescope inside your house
unless you have an approved commercial solar filter to attach to the FRONT
end of your telescope or binocular, or unless you plan on using these
instruments to project an image of the Sun (see below).

Before using ANY filter (whether made of glass, mylar, film, or anything
else), ALWAYS (repeat *ALWAYS*) carefully inspect the filter for cracks,
pinholes, scratches, or other forms of damage that may allow sunlight to pass
through the filter unhindered. You may need to hold the filter up to a bright
light to inspect for defects. To prevent damage, store your filter (even if
it's a cheap pair of 3D-style glasses with solar filtering mylar as the
"lenses") in a protected location like a box with padding. Anything to help
prevent breakage or scratching.

To safely observe the Sun with the naked-eye, use one of the following
types of filters. Number 14 welders glass is a common and safe filter for
observing the Sun. Solar filters made of mylar are also acceptable for
observing the Sun (the mylar contained in "space blankets" and the aluminized
mylar used in gardens are NOT safe!). Several layers of completely exposed
black and white film (developed to maximum density) containing metallic
silver are also acceptable for observing the Sun with the naked-eye. But make
certain the film contains metallic silver. Many newer forms of film contain
dyes instead of metallic silver - these are NOT safe. DON'T use color film!
Even multiple layers of exposed color film are NOT safe. We do not recommend
the use of floppy disks or CD's to view the Sun. Differences in manufacturing
methods and differences in the types and thicknesses of the deposits placed
on the CD render them unreliable and potentially unsafe for use in observing
the Sun. Additionally, they may distort the solar image to the point where
resolving naked-eye sunspots becomes impossible.

Do NOT use neutral density or polarizing filters, color film or black
and white film lacking metallic silver, sunglasses (even multiple pairs
placed together), or off-the-shelf items that appear dark. In short, DON'T
EXPERIMENT! Most of these devices may appear black, but do not contain the
appropriate types of metallic deposits to filter out the invisible
near-infrared component of solar radiation. Observing the Sun with these
devices may appear black to your eyes, but may still cause retinal burn and
permanently damage your eyes.

Young children can (and should) view the Sun through projection methods.
These methods allow children to view the Sun without risk of eye damage.
Projection is simple, but may be a bit finnicky to perfect with instruments
like binoculars or telescopes.

The simplest safe projection method (which is, by the way, a GREAT way
for showing even young children the annular solar eclipse on 10 June) can be
performed by anyone. The method involves poking a pin through a piece of card
stock, cardboard, or some other material that will only allow a
pin-hole-sized beam of sunlight through. Hold the card-stock so sunlight
shines through the pin-hole. Then, hold a piece of white card-stock or a
white sheet of paper several feet (no more than about a meter) away from the
card-stock with the pin-hole so that the beam of light shining through the
card-stock hits the white paper. A naturally focused image of the Sun will
appear on the white paper. During the annular eclipse, you will be able to
see the moon move in front of the Sun as the eclipse progresses.

To project an image of the Sun using binoculars or a telescope, keep the
following in mind: Binoculars and telescopes concentrate sunlight by focusing
it to a point. The heat given off in this process is sufficient to burn
through objects like paper and plastic. It may also crack glass if
point-heated long enough. If binoculars or telescopes are aimed at the sun
for too long a time, damage may occur to the optics or the optical support
components of these instruments. So be careful. Don't use projection for
prolonged periods of time.

Projecting an image of the Sun using binoculars or telescopes requires
that an image of the Sun be focused (or projected) onto a white sheet of
card-stock or paper a few feet away from the eyepiece. Do this by having
someone hold the white paper or card-stock behind the eyepiece of the
binoculars or telescope while you point the instrument toward the Sun (NEVER
look through the instrument toward the Sun! - this is an "eye's-off"
exercise). When you have pointed it at the Sun, a blurred image of the Sun
will appear on the paper. Without changing the distance of the paper from the
eyepiece, slowly focus the binoculars or telescope until the image projected
on the paper becomes sharp. Depending on the magnification of the instrument,
you may now be able to see sunspots that are not visible to the naked eye!
During the annular eclipse of 10 June, you may even be able to glimpse uneven
edges (mountains) on the moon.

While projecting images of the Sun, NEVER allow anyone to look into the
beam of light shining through the eyepiece - even at a distance.

You may find it useful to devise some method of mounting and supporting
your binoculars while they are pointed at the Sun. Relying on your own
hand-held stability may result in a rather shakey image on the projected
paper. But a shakey image is still more rewarding than no image at all!
Remember that the Earth is a rotating sphere, so the projected solar image
will gradually move out of the field of view of your telescope or binoculars
(unless your telescope is on a motorized mount).

Michal Svanda and John McConnell were the first to confirm a visual
sighting of the naked-eye sunspot. Today, I too confirmed that this object is
visible to the naked-eye. It will be most visible over the next several days,
provided the sunspots associated with it maintain their size. If the
sunspot complex decays, it will become increasingly difficult to see the
sunspot with the naked eye.

The annular (partial for North America) solar eclipse on 10 June begins
in the late afternoon over western North America and is visible throughout
all but the far eastern United States. Up to about 80% of the sun is obscured
by the moon over portions of California, while lesser amounts of the sun are
obscured the further north and east you travel. A good source of information
for this event (including maps of visibility) is available at Sky & Telescope
at: http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_580_1.asp.
Additional information is available from the Goddard Space Flight Center at:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/ASE2002/ASE2002.html

Finally, an excellent summary for safely observing the Sun can be found
at: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/safety2.html

A link to a source for commercial solar filters is available here:
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/filters.html

Enjoy the views!


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 849 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Wed, Jun  5, 2002 (06:28) * 7 lines
An international team, using NASA's Odyssey spacecraft, say they have collected compelling evidence that a huge amount of water is locked underground in a Martian version of permafrost. Or "buried treasure," as William Boynton, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona, describes it.

"We were hopeful that we could find evidence of ice, but what we have found is much more ice than we ever expected," says Prof. Boynton, one of the leaders of the international team that detected the ice. The Russian, European and U.S. scientists detail the findings in the journal Science this week.


http://www.nationalpost.com/tech/story.html?f=/stories/20020531/404543.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 850 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jun  5, 2002 (14:35) * 1 lines
Indeed. The NASA reports are referenced in Geo 34. Thanks Terry! I had not seen this article!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 851 of 1087: Curious Wolfie  (wolf) * Wed, Jun  5, 2002 (18:32) * 1 lines
the same thing on one of jupiter's moons---there is a veritable ocean underneath....

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 852 of 1087: Paul Terry Walhus (terry) * Fri, Jun 14, 2002 (07:04) * 12 lines
Solar System That Looks Like Ours Finally Found

After 15 years of observation and a lot of patience, the world's premier planet-hunting team has finally found a planetary system that reminds them of our own home solar system.
Dr. Geoffrey Marcy, astronomy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and astronomer Dr. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C., today announced the discovery of a Jupiter-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star at nearly the same distance as the Jovian system orbits our Sun.

"All other extrasolar planets discovered up to now orbit closer to the parent star, and most of them have had elongated, eccentric orbits. This new planet orbits as far from its star as our own Jupiter orbits the Sun," said Marcy. NASA and the National Science Foundation fund the planet-hunting team.

During the NASA Space Science Update on June 13, the planet-hunting team of Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler announced their latest discovery beyond our Solar System.


http://unisci.com/stories/20022/0614022.htm


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 853 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 14, 2002 (12:36) * 1 lines
It's nice to know we are not alone. I wonder what sort of security check hill be involved with a flight there?!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 854 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Mon, Jun 24, 2002 (02:19) * 25 lines
TODAY
Near-Earth Flyby of the Asteroid 2002 LZ45


1 AU = 1 Astronomical Unit = 149,597,871 kilometers


The planets are white lines, and the asteroid/comet is a blue line. The bright white line indicates the portion of the orbit that is above the ecliptic plane, and the darker portion is below the ecliptic plane. Likewise for the asteroid/comet orbit, the light blue indicates the portion above the ecliptic plane, and the dark blue the portion below the ecliptic plane.

PHYSICAL PARAMETERS
GM (km^3 s^-2): unknown
Radius (km): unknown
H (absolute magnitude): 22.860
G (magnitude slope parameter): 0.15
Color Index (B-V): unknown
Rotation Period (h): unknown
Geometric Albedo: unknown
Spectral Class: unknown
Orbit Solution Data Arc: 8 days

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/db?name=2002+LZ45

Enjoy also the beautiful animation in the above site.

John


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 855 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun 24, 2002 (13:48) * 1 lines
I wonder if my satellit-hunting son wil be able to see it with his telescope. Thanks, John! I'll try to send him the information!

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 856 of 1087: John Tsatsaragos  (tsatsvol) * Tue, Jul  2, 2002 (15:12) * 46 lines
Farewell look at Jupiter's burning moon
June 26, 2002 Posted: 11:29 AM EDT (1529 GMT)

By Richard Stenger
CNN

(CNN) -- The Galileo spacecraft took the closest pictures yet of Jupiter's moon Io, a final photo shoot that captures molten lakes and crumbling cliffs on the most volcanic body in the solar system.

The ailing probe, preparing for a fatal flight into Jupiter, took the photos when skimming to within about 121 miles (181 kilometers) of Io's south pole in October.

After months of study, NASA scientists released the images in late May. The portraits, which include infrared and optical pictures, reveal 13 previously unknown volcanoes, according to project researchers.

"Io is a weird place. We've known that even before Voyager. And each time Galileo has given us a close look, we get more surprises," said Torrence Johnson, a Galileo scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The Galileo finds raise the total of identified volcanoes on Io to 120, most of them spotted by the bus-sized craft, which has swung by Io six times during its nearly seven-year residency in the Jupiter system.

The first direct visual evidence of Io volcanism came from photos taken by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979 and 1980, but astronomers had little idea how active the Jovian moon really was.

Io was originally thought to have about a dozen lava pits, Johnson said. Since then, astronomers have been surprised not only by the number but diversity of the volcanoes.

"The volcanoes on Io have displayed an assortment of eruption styles, but recent observations have surprised us with the frequency of both giant plumes and crusted-over lakes of molten lava," said Alfred McEwen, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

The eerie landscape displays evidence of Io's twisted tectonics. Molten cauldrons have blasted plumes of sulfur hundreds of miles high, leaving trails of debris on the surface extending hundreds of miles.

Most of Io's volcanoes are in flat regions, but a few rare specimens resemble crater-topped volcanic peaks like those on Earth, including one jutting up almost 20,000 feet (6,000 meters).

Galileo made its closest pass in January, approaching to within 62 miles (100 kilometers) of Io, the innermost of Jupiter's four major moons.

But passing so close to the dangerous radiation belts of Jupiter, Galileo went into safe mode and could no longer take pictures.

The probe has show increasing signs of wear and tear in the radiation-soaked environment near Jupiter. Its camera remains shuttered and its fuel is nearly exhausted. Last month, its onboard data storage device went on the blink.


The mottled surface of Io, seen on an earlier Galileo flyby

Nevertheless, the probe has proved remarkably resilient. It has other working instruments that detect dust, study ultraviolet emissions and take magnetic readings, helping scientists understand the turbulent interactions between Jupiter and its moons.
And in early June, mission scientists coaxed Galileo's tape player back into service.

In November, the $1.4 billion probe will make its last pass over a Jovian satellite. Its flyby over the tiny moon Amalthea will help position it for one final mission.

In September 2003, Galileo will plunge into the crushing atmosphere of Jupiter. The death dive is to ensure the probe does not strike and contaminate the moon Europa, which scientists speculate could harbor microbial life.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/06/26/galileo.io/index.html

John


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 857 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul  3, 2002 (18:14) * 1 lines
Lovely photos! Thank you for keeping us updated on what is happening in the space surrounding us. Here, I see mosly summer haze and big city pollution. Lovely people living in terrible air.

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 858 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 20, 2002 (20:38) * 64 lines

* * * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - July 19, 2002

A LOCAL SOURCE FOR DIAMOND DUST?
Crack open a primitive, carbonaceous meteorite, and you'll likely find
countless microscopic flecks of diamond -- sometimes numerous enough to
represent 0.1 percent of the meteorite's mass. Ever since their discovery
in 1987, these meteoritic diamonds have been thought to be, quite
literally, stardust, tiny crystals of high-density carbon forged in the
expanding shock waves of supernova explosions....
However, a new study suggests that most of these "nanodiamonds" didn't
come from the stars after all but instead were cooked up in the nebula
that surrounded the infant Sun and its forming planets....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_669_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ALL EYES ON PLUTO
On the evening of July 19th, when Pluto and Charon pass in front of a
12th-magnitude star, the track for Pluto itself sweeps directly across
South America. However, the exact path is uncertain. Only in 1985 and 1988
has Pluto been seen to cover a star, and only in 1980 has Charon done
so....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_612_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A RARE LOOK AT A DYING STAR
On Thursday European astronomers released an image taken by the Hubble
Space Telescope that shows a dying star, 10,000 light-years away,
surrounded by one of the most elongated planetary nebulae ever seen.
Looking like a tube pinched in the middle, the nebula designated Henize
3-401 represents a short-lived phase -- perhaps lasting only a few
thousand years -- as the star evolves into a white dwarf.
The dark area around the pinch includes a ring or disk of obscuring dust.
The whole object is tilted with its left side slightly closer to us,
allowing us to see past the near edge of the ring to the central star....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_666_1.asp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NAKED-EYE SUNSPOT

A giant sunspot complex is marching across the Sun's face this week, much
to the delight of avid skywatchers. The spot group is so large it is
visible without magnification -- all you need to see it is a sunny day and
a safe solar filter....
The spot group, designated active region 10030 by the U.S. National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is one of the largest of
the current solar cycle. It features a complex, twisted magnetic field and
has spawned numerous solar flares, including a very energetic ("X-class")
flare....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_665_1.asp

=========================================================================
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* Watch the sky for aurora. A good display of northern lights may occur
between the 19th and 21st; aurora may be visible for observers in
mid-northern latitudes.
* Venus is brilliant and low in the western sky at twilight.
* Hawaiians can watch the Moon occult a 2.9-magnitude star on July 21st.
* Full Moon is on July 23rd.

For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 859 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 20, 2002 (20:39) * 5 lines
Article about a proposal to use black boxes to study the break-up of
satellites at re-entry:

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/reentry_blackbox_020610.html


 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 860 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 23, 2002 (13:03) * 81 lines
Iborrowed this from SeeSat

I have learned that by international agreement, the decision whether or
not to insert a leap second is made by the organization International
Earth Rotation Service (IERS). Its web site provides lots of
information:

http://www.iers.org

The relevant information is found among the four standard bulletins
issued by the IERS, which can be accessed here:

http://www.iers.org/iers/publications/bulletins/

Bulletin C "contains announcements of the leap seconds in UTC".
Following the URLs leads me to:

http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eop-pc/products/bulletins.html

The last Bulletin C, issued on 2002 Jan 14, announces that no leap
second will be introduced at the end of June 2002:

http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eoppc/bul/bulc/bulletinc.dat

The history of UTC offsets, provided at the following URL, reports that
the last leap second insertion was on 1998 Dec 31:

http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eop-pc/earthor/utc/UTC-offsets_tab.html

Now, to answer Russell's question, I went back to the bulletins page,
and found that Bulletin A "contains rapid determinations for earth
orientation parameters". This sounded promising, so I followed the URLs
to:

http://maia.usno.navy.mil/

The URL labelled, "IERS Bulletin A -- Rapid Service/Prediction of Earth
Orientation" leads to:

ftp://maia.usno.navy.mil/ser7/ser7.dat

The table of COMBINED EARTH ORIENTATION PARAMETERS informs that on 2002
Jun 27, UT1-UTC = -.228762 s. Since the purpose of the leap second is to
maintain the difference between UT1 and UTC to within 0.9 s, it is now
clear that a leap second will not be issued because it is not necessary.

Judging by the table of PREDICTIONS on the same page, it appears that
UT1-UTC will be -0.37118 s one year from now, so no leap second is
likely to be required through at least Jun 2003.

How is this relevant to visual satellite observation? By convention, the
time of positional observations is reported as UTC. Experienced
observers regularly achieve timing accuracy of 0.1 s or better. The
analysts who produce updated orbits from these observations find that
errors of 1 s tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Depending upon the
circumstances, errors that large may result in the observation being
assigned a rather low statistical weight or being rejected outright.

To an analyst attempting to fit an orbit to a set of observations
spanning 30 Jun or 31 Dec, the insertion of a leap second on those dates
results in an apparent 1 second error in the UTC positional timings,
when comparing observations made before and after the insertion.

A practical solution is to subtract 1 s from the observations made prior
to the insertion of the leap second. This eliminates the 1 s error, and
results in an epoch that is accurate going forward from the date of the
leap second insertion.

Here is an exercise. The first elset was issued about 19 h before the
leap second insertion at the end of 1997 Jun 30; the second one about
three after the insertion:

1 00271U 62010A 97181.18205596 +.00000006 +00000-0 +10000-3 0 09014
2 00271 086.6536 054.4864 0329540 060.7273 302.6159 09.41297471210592

1 00271U 62010A 97182.13850598 +.00000006 +00000-0 +10000-3 0 09063
2 00271 086.6543 054.3470 0329535 059.5568 303.7463 09.41297490210680

Compare predictions made using both elsets on 1997 Jun 30 and 1997 Jul
01.
g

 Topic 24 of 99 [Geo]: Beyond Planet Earth
 Response 861 of 1087: Marcia  (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 26, 2002 (19:18) * 127 lines
OUR STORMY SUN
The current solar-activity cycle peaked in May 2000, but someone
apparently forgot to tell the Sun. As one giant sunspot complex prepares
to rotate off our star's face, another has already swung into view. Both
are currently visible to the unaided eye and are nothing short of
spectacular in a telescope -- provided you use safe solar filters, of
course.
Last week Sunwatchers kept an eye on the active region designated 10030 by
the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This
complex flared repeatedly as it crossed the solar disk. It was (and still
is) one of the largest spot groups in recent years. But active region
10039, which has now rotated into full view, looks like it may be even
more stormy.
Even before this second sunspot complex became visible, astronomers
suspected it packed a strong punch, because they detected ionized gas
leaping up thousands of miles from behind the Sun's limb....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_672_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
It seems another comet is dissolving into nothingness, right in front of
astronomers' eyes. On July 13th, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Near
Earth Asteroid Tracking program (NEAT) reported finding a peculiar object
with a faint coma. Calculations at the Minor Planet Center soon revealed
that the small body had the same motion as the periodic comet 57P/du
Toit-Neujmin-Delporte but was separated from its nucleus by some 0.2
degree.
Alerted by those observations, a team of astronomers from the University
of Hawaii led by Yanga R. Fernández examined the comet with the
university's 2.2-meter telescope atop Manua Kea. Their images revealed 18
additional fragments that ranged in brightness from magnitude 20 to 23.5.
While the bulk of the comet's nucleus apparently remains intact, its
castoffs have already spread across a half degree of sky, roughly
1,000,000 kilometers....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_674_1.asp
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

HEFTY ASTEROID TO SWEEP NEAR EARTH
Next month a newly discovered asteroid will pass close enough to Earth to
be easily spotted in small telescopes and even binoculars. According to
calculations by Gareth V. Williams, associate director of the Minor Planet
Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the asteroid's August 18th flyby
should bring it to within 530,000 kilometers (330,000 miles) of Earth,
just outside the Moon's orbital distance....
Still quite faint at magnitude 18, 2002 NY40 is making a very tight loop
around the star Beta Aquarii. During the next few weeks it will brighten
tremendously and yet remain almost motionless in the sky -- the eerie
signature of an asteroid hurtling right toward Earth! On the night of
Saturday, August 17th, 2002 NY40 should reach magnitude 9.3 when well
placed for viewing from North America. At that time its angular velocity
will exceed 4 arcminutes per minute, a motion easily perceptible in small
telescopes. SKY & TELESCOPE plans to issue detailed observing
instructions, through AstroAlerts and SkyandTelescope.com, in the days
leading up to this rare event....
While there is no danger of 2002 NY40 striking Earth during this flyby, a
future impact has not been ruled out. Both NEODyS, operated by the
University of Pisa, and NASA's Near-Earth Object Program have identified a
number of very close encounters in the years to come. These occur either
around August 18th as the asteroid heads in toward the Sun, or near
February 14th when on its way out. Both agencies are focusing on a flyby
just 20 years from now (on August 18, 2022), when there appears to be a
1-in-500,000 chance of an impact -- extremely unlikely, but worrisome just
the same....
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_670_1.asp

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ASTRO NEWS BRIEFS

High-speed camera probes exotic stellar objects
Using a new CCD camera capable of simultaneously taking 1,000 images per
second in three colors, British astronomers have gleaned valuable insights
into the inner workings of white dwarf-stars -- and have high hopes of
doing the same for neutron stars and black holes. ULTRACAM was developed
by scientists at the Universities of Southampton and Sheffield in
conjunction with the U.K. Astronomy Technology Centre at the Royal
Observatory, Edinburgh. The instrument saw "first light" in May 2002 on
the 4.2-meter William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on La Palma, the largest
optical telescope in Europe.

New Asteroid Threat
Astronomers are paying especially close attention to a newly discovered
asteroid, which they've calculated to have a higher probability of
striking Earth than any known body. Designated 2002 NT7, the wayward
object was first spotted on July 9th by the LINEAR telescope in New
Mexico, so its orbit is still uncertain. Future observations -- or its
discovery on archived sky images - will refine the chance of a collision.
But it's already clear that on Friday, February 1, 2019, this
2-kilometer-wide asteroid will pass quite close to our planet. According
to NASA's orbital specialists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the impact
probability is about 1 in 250,000, whereas Italian dynamicists put the
odds nearer to 1 in 90,000. Both teams agree that the threat from 2002 NT7
warrants a 1 on the 1-to-10 Torino impact-hazard scale. Were it to
actually strike, it would deliver the kinetic-energy equivalent of 12 to
14 million megatons of TNT, enough to decimate much (or most) of a
continent.

Arrests Made in Moon-Rock Theft
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, working with NASA officials, has
arrested four people and charged them with stealing samples of the Moon
and Mars from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. A NASA press release
states, "The employees -- Thad Roberts, Tiffany Fowler, and Shae Saur --
were summer employees and have been dismissed from their respective
student employment programs based on their involvement in the case."
Roberts had also been serving as president of the University of Utah
Astronomical Society. The fourth person arrested was Gordon McWorter.
Investigators say that on July 13th the group somehow made off with a
600-pound safe containing 218 lunar and meteoritic samples totaling about
10 ounces. Roberts, Fowler, and McWorter were apprehended one week later
as they attempted to sell some of the precious bits of extraterrestrial
rock to undercover agents in Orlando, Florida. Two days later Saur, still
in Houston, was taken into custody.
http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/current/article_675_1.asp
=========================================================================

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* The morning of July 29th is peak time for the Delta Aquarid meteor
shower.
* Last-quarter Moon is on August 1st.
* Neptune is at opposition on August 1st.
* Two large naked-eye sunspot groups continue to spawn flares and other
energetic explosions on the Sun.