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the best JUNE 2004 Volume 228 FIRST … · 2012-12-04 · Because of the complexity of the...
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JUNE 2004 * Volume 228 www.bintel.com.au Published monthly since 1985 by The Binocular and Telescope Shop 55 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000 The headless man on the Moon..2 Space flight anyone? ..................2 Star Map for June .......................3 Mick ‘n Don .................................4 RARE TRANSIT RARE TRANSIT RARE TRANSIT RARE TRANSIT RARE TRANSIT OF VENUS OF VENUS OF VENUS OF VENUS OF VENUS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS MONTH MONTH MONTH MONTH MONTH FIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORY FIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORY FIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORY FIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORY FIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORY STRANGE STRANGE STRANGE STRANGE STRANGE FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS the best ★ ★ ★ Last month Mick (of Mick ‘n Don”) on Page 4 mentioned “the land of the free and the brave”. I must now report that his passport has been endorsed “No Entry to USA” by an aggrieved US Consul General in Sydney. He has also been promised a friendly visit by the US Air Force should he ever decide to have a wedding party. To save Mick from further intimidation we hereby offer an abject apology to Dubbya and his mob for getting the words of the anthem wrong. The wording should of course have been, “land of the free and home of the brave.” as written by the great Francis Scott Key. Thirteen year old Natalie Gilbert forgot the words recently at a football match in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While a crowd of 20,000 fans screamed for blood she was taken off the stage limp with fear, by a squad of burly police. Her mother says that she’s never seen her daughter since. The police simply say that she won’t do it again. Next month’s CWAS Astrofest in country NSW should be a great occasion. Some of the brightest names in professional and amateur astronomy will be there. It’s even rumoured that a special papal blessing has been organized by keen local amateur astronomer Bishop Chris Toohey. An email arrived recently on Don Whiteman’s desk from Argentina with mysterious attachments. After deciding not to delete the message Don ran a geiger counter over the suspicious attachments and soaked them in water (so to speak). Don opened the email to find a message from a customer, and some excellent pictures of Jupiter. The amateur astronomer, from Argentina, had bought a small Meade LPI imager set from Don a couple of weeks ago and promised to send hime some of the results! It’s terrible that we have to be so careful these days. Rumours are doing the rounds that the new shopping complex at Bondi Junction is installing more lighting and signs than Las Vegas! We don’t yet know if this is true, but we’ll keep an eye on the situation. My favourite aircraft designer Burt Rutan has really taken off. He is the design brains behind a small spacecraft that is going through its paces in the Mojave desert. Soon it will fly into space! Read more on Page 2. Tele Vue ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ There will be just 81 transits of Venus between the years 2000BC and AD4000. Recent transits come in pairs eight years apart in December and June. The last Transits were in 1874 and 1882, the pair before that were in 1761 and 1769, the latter witnessed in Tahiti by Capt. James Cook. The first transit predicted by Kepler was that of 1631. Nobody saw it. The next was predicted by Jeremiah Horrocks for 1639, who also saw it. Nobody alive today has seen a transit of Venus. The next transit will be in June 2012. Nobody alive in that year will see the next transits in December 2117 & December 2125. Tuesday June 8, 2004 will see a rare and yet probably one of the most famous events in astronomy - the transit of the planet Venus across the Sun’s disc. The last transit of Venus occurred on December 6, 1882 and is one of only five of these rare events that are known to have been witnessed by humans. From the Earth’s orbit in the Solar System, only transits of Mercury and Venus, the inner planets are visible crossing the Sun. Transits occur when either of these planets are at inferior conjunction (pass between the Earth and the Sun) and when their orbits align at just the right place – called nodes. Transits of Venus occur in a 243 years cycle. They occur in pairs, separated by 8 years and these pairs are separated by 121.5 years for the first half of this cycle and 105.5 years for the second half. The main events of the transit are called Contacts, and four contacts occur during a transit. Contact 1 is the instant the planet makes contact with the exterior of the Sun’s limb. The transit of Venus on June 3, 1769 is perhaps one of the best known as Captain James Cook on his first voyage on board the HMS Endeavour was given the task of observing the transit from Tahiti with the astronomer Charles Green. Cook built a small fort there, which he named Fort Venus and their observing area was named Point Venus. Although Cook and Green had difficulty in timing the second and third contacts due to the “black drop” effect, both agreed on one timing and a difference of only 6 seconds separated the other timing. Cook’s voyage to observe the transit is significant for Australians. After the observations Cook opened sealed instructions from the Admiralty that told him to look for “Terra Australis Incognito”, the unknown southern continent. While Cook never found this mythical great southern continent, he did find, map and claim New Zealand and the east coast of Australia for Britain. Contact 2 (interior contact) occurs when the entire disc of the planet is visible against the Sun’s surface. Contact 3 (interior contact) occurs on the opposite side of the Sun to Contact 2, when the entire disc of the planet can still be seen against the Sun’s photosphere and Contact 4 is the instant when the planet makes its last exterior contact with the Sun’s limb. Just before Contact 2 an interesting affect known as the ‘black drop effect’ may be seen. It looks like a drop or trail joining the planet to the Sun’s limb and only when the drop ‘breaks’ and sunlight is seen encompassing the planet does the true instant of Contact 2 occur. Edmund Halley realised that transits of Mercury and Venus could be used to measure the Sun’s distance and was thus able to establish the scale of the solar system from Kepler’s third law of planetary motion. Halley’s method was somewhat impractical as accurate contact timings are difficult to make. The next transit of 1874 had astronomers waiting with anxious anticipation as Henry Chamberlain Russell, NSW Government Astronomer recorded; “Never perhaps in the world’s history did morning dawn on so many waiting astronomers as it did on the 9 th of December, 1874.” While Russell observed the transit from Sydney Observatory with the 29cm refractor still in residence in the South Dome of Sydney Observatory, he organised three other observing points at Woodford (Blue Mountains), Eden and Goulburn, which were staffed by leading scientists including Prof. Archibald Liversidge (Sydney University) and PF Adams the Surveyor-General. By the 1882 transit interest had faded and though Russell planned to observe the transit, cloud covered much of New South Wales, preventing observations. The transit of 2004 is the next in line, then 2012 ...........continued P2 Above: An image of the Sun with Venus shown to scale. The planet will approach from above and to the right. It will then pass across the Sun’s face in the direction indicated. The Sun will set before the transit is complete. SUBSCRIBE TO THE NIGHT SKY FOR $12 Receive your copy every month for an eyeful of sky news . Tele Vue
Transcript of the best JUNE 2004 Volume 228 FIRST … · 2012-12-04 · Because of the complexity of the...
JUNE 2004 * Volume 228 www.bintel.com.au
Published monthly since 1985 byThe Binocular and Telescope Shop55 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000
The headless man on the Moon..2Space flight anyone? ..................2Star Map for June .......................3Mick ‘n Don .................................4
RARE TRANSITRARE TRANSITRARE TRANSITRARE TRANSITRARE TRANSITOF VENUSOF VENUSOF VENUSOF VENUSOF VENUS THISTHISTHISTHISTHIS
MONTHMONTHMONTHMONTHMONTH
FIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORYFIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORYFIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORYFIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORYFIRST TRANSIT IN 121 YEARS AND FIFTH IN RECORDED HISTORY
STRANGESTRANGESTRANGESTRANGESTRANGEFACTSFACTSFACTSFACTSFACTS
the best
★ ★ ★
Last month Mick (of Mick ‘n Don”)on Page 4 mentioned “the land ofthe free and the brave”. I must nowreport that his passport has beenendorsed “No Entry to USA” by anaggrieved US Consul General inSydney. He has also been promiseda friendly visit by the US Air Forceshould he ever decide to have awedding party. To save Mick fromfurther intimidation we hereby offeran abject apology to Dubbya and hismob for getting the words of theanthem wrong. The wording shouldof course have been, “land of the freeand home of the brave.” as writtenby the great Francis Scott Key.Thirteen year old Natalie Gilbertforgot the words recently at afootball match in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. While a crowd of20,000 fans screamed for blood shewas taken off the stage limp withfear, by a squad of burly police. Hermother says that she’s never seen herdaughter since. The police simplysay that she won’t do it again.
Next month’s CWAS Astrofest incountry NSW should be a greatoccasion. Some of the brightestnames in professional and amateurastronomy will be there. It’s evenrumoured that a special papalblessing has been organized by keenlocal amateur astronomer BishopChris Toohey.
An email arrived recently on DonWhiteman’s desk from Argentinawith mysterious attachments. Afterdeciding not to delete the messageDon ran a geiger counter over thesuspicious attachments and soakedthem in water (so to speak). Donopened the email to find a messagefrom a customer, and some excellentpictures of Jupiter. The amateurastronomer, from Argentina, hadbought a small Meade LPI imagerset from Don a couple of weeks agoand promised to send hime some ofthe results! It’s terrible that we haveto be so careful these days.
Rumours are doing the rounds thatthe new shopping complex at BondiJunction is installing more lightingand signs than Las Vegas! We don’tyet know if this is true, but we’llkeep an eye on the situation.
My favourite aircraft designer BurtRutan has really taken off. He is thedesign brains behind a smallspacecraft that isgoing through itspaces in theMojave desert.Soon it will flyinto space! Readmore on Page 2.
Tele Vue
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★ ★ ★
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There will be just 81 transits ofVenus between the years2000BC and AD4000.Recent transits come in pairseight years apart in Decemberand June.The last Transits were in 1874and 1882, the pair before thatwere in 1761 and 1769, the latterwitnessed in Tahiti by Capt.James Cook.The first transit predicted byKepler was that of 1631. Nobodysaw it. The next was predicted byJeremiah Horrocks for 1639, whoalso saw it.Nobody alive today has seen atransit of Venus. The next transitwill be in June 2012. Nobody alivein that year will see the nexttransits in December 2117 &December 2125.
Tuesday June 8, 2004 will seea rare and yet probably one of themost famous events in astronomy -the transit of the planet Venus acrossthe Sun’s disc. The last transit ofVenus occurred on December 6, 1882and is one of only five of these rareevents that are known to have beenwitnessed by humans.
From the Earth’s orbit in theSolar System, only transits ofMercury and Venus, the inner planetsare visible crossing the Sun. Transitsoccur when either of these planets areat inferior conjunction (pass betweenthe Earth and the Sun) and when theirorbits align at just the right place –called nodes. Transits of Venus occurin a 243 years cycle. They occur inpairs, separated by 8 years and thesepairs are separated by 121.5 years forthe first half of this cycle and 105.5years for the second half.
The main events of the transitare called Contacts, and four contactsoccur during a transit. Contact 1 isthe instant the planet makes contactwith the exterior of the Sun’s limb.
The transit of Venus on June3, 1769 is perhaps one of the bestknown as Captain James Cook on hisfirst voyage on board the HMSEndeavour was given the task ofobserving the transit from Tahiti withthe astronomer Charles Green. Cookbuilt a small fort there, which henamed Fort Venus and theirobserving area was named PointVenus.
Although Cook and Greenhad difficulty in timing the secondand third contacts due to the “blackdrop” effect, both agreed on onetiming and a difference of only 6seconds separated the other timing.
Cook’s voyage to observe thetransit is significant for Australians.After the observations Cook openedsealed instructions from theAdmiralty that told him to look for“Terra Australis Incognito”, theunknown southern continent. WhileCook never found this mythical greatsouthern continent, he did find, mapand claim New Zealand and the eastcoast of Australia for Britain.
Contact 2 (interior contact)occurs when the entire disc of theplanet is visible against the Sun’ssurface. Contact 3 (interior contact)occurs on the opposite side of the Sunto Contact 2, when the entire disc ofthe planet can still be seen againstthe Sun’s photosphere and Contact4 is the instant when the planet makesits last exterior contact with the Sun’slimb.
Just before Contact 2 aninteresting affect known as the ‘blackdrop effect’ may be seen. It looks likea drop or trail joining the planet tothe Sun’s limb and only when thedrop ‘breaks’ and sunlight is seenencompassing the planet does thetrue instant of Contact 2 occur.
Edmund Halley realised thattransits of Mercury and Venus couldbe used to measure the Sun’s distanceand was thus able to establish thescale of the solar system fromKepler’s third law of planetarymotion. Halley’s method wassomewhat impractical as accuratecontact timings are difficult to make.
The next transit of 1874 hadastronomers waiting with anxiousanticipation as Henry ChamberlainRussell, NSW GovernmentAstronomer recorded; “Neverperhaps in the world’s history didmorning dawn on so many waitingastronomers as it did on the 9th ofDecember, 1874.”
While Russell observed thetransit from Sydney Observatorywith the 29cm refractor still inresidence in the South Dome ofSydney Observatory, he organisedthree other observing points atWoodford (Blue Mountains), Edenand Goulburn, which were staffed byleading scientists including Prof.Archibald Liversidge (SydneyUniversity) and PF Adams theSurveyor-General.
By the 1882 transit interesthad faded and though Russellplanned to observe the transit, cloudcovered much of New South Wales,preventing observations.
The transit of 2004 is the nextin line, then 2012 ...........continued P2
Above: An image of the Sun with Venus shown to scale. The planet will approach from above and to the right. It will thenpass across the Sun’s face in the direction indicated. The Sun will set before the transit is complete.
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The Binocular and Telescope Shop, 55 York Street, Sydney. Tel: 02 9262 1344 web: www.bintel.com.au June 2004 * Volume 228 * Page 2
Mayor of Paris lost his head in the French RevolutionMayor of Paris lost his head in the French RevolutionMayor of Paris lost his head in the French RevolutionMayor of Paris lost his head in the French RevolutionMayor of Paris lost his head in the French Revolutionbut got his name on some beads and a moon crater.but got his name on some beads and a moon crater.but got his name on some beads and a moon crater.but got his name on some beads and a moon crater.but got his name on some beads and a moon crater.
PRIVATE SPACE RACE IS ONPRIVATE SPACE RACE IS ONPRIVATE SPACE RACE IS ONPRIVATE SPACE RACE IS ONPRIVATE SPACE RACE IS ON
For the 2004 transit, Venus will have an apparent diameter of 58 arcseconds, making it about 1/
32 the diameter of the Sun. A telescope with a
proper solar filter is a must, though it may be possible to see the black discof Venus with your eyes, but once again only if using a proper solar filter. Itis extremely dangerous to look at the Sun without a proper filter – it cancause severe eye damage. Cover the finderscope on your telescope also toprevent burns and blindness.
The entire event will be visible from Europe, Asia and Africa. InAustralia and New Zealand only the beginning of the transit will be visiblebefore sunset. For all of Australia except Western Australia, the transit willoccur late in the afternoon and the Sun will set with the transit still in progressfor all States.
Time of Transit in Australian capital cities (local times).City Contact 1 Contact 2 Sunset.Perth 1:09pm 1:28pm 5:19pmDarwin 2:38pm 2:58pm 6:28pmAdelaide 2:37pm 2:57pm 5:11pmMelbourne 3:07pm 3:26pm 5:07pmHobart 3:07pm 3:26pm 4:43pmSydney 3:07pm 3:26pm 4:53pmBrisbane 3:07pm 3:26pm 5:00pmCanberra 3:07pm 3:26pm 4:58pmNote: Contact 1 occurs when the planet first touches the Sun’s disk.Contact 2 occurs when the planet is just fully within the Sun’s disk. Mel Hulbert
Any well made 6” to 8” ‘scope will show breathtaking detail on our sister planet, the Moon; and amazingviews can be had from light polluted sites. Sometimes, too, “seeing” can be quite good, particularly after summer. Soit was on May 3rd, when I had my first good view into the gigantic crater of the eastern limb, Bailly. Harold Hill1 , thegreat lunar draftsman, says of Bailly “There is so much sketchable detail within this formation that it is well nighimpossible to cover Bailly in its entirety on a good night.” Hill was not wrong, and after an hour and a quarter it becameclear that a future session would be needed to record the northern half of the huge basin. Because of the complexity ofthe resulting drawing, I intend to deal with the southern formation in two instalments. Instalment 1 will cover thesouthern-most quarter, and Instalment 2 will complete the picture of southern Bailly, emphasising the detail nearer thecrater’s centre. The northern portions will have to wait for that future session.
Bailly is hard to view since it lies on the western limb at latitude 66ºS, quite close to the lunar south pole, andLibration has a huge effect on how much of the basin floor we can view. I have chosen to orient the image as though wewere astronauts hovering above Bailly’s eastern wall and gazing across at the brightly lit western walls, making adramatic view. For the correct IAU orientation, the image should be held upside down.
Instalment 1: At 300 km diameter Bailly is unique among Earth-side impact basins, being “the smallest ofthe multi-ring basins,”2 with Wood and Hartmann finding evidence of inner and outer rings on Orbiter photos. AndWood states that over 140 features have been mapped on the Basin’s floor. Bailly is also unique in being the only suchbasin visible on the earth-side that has not undergone lava flooding. On the far side of the Moon little lava flooding ofbasins has occurred, whereas on the earth facing hemisphere Bailly is the sole example of an un-flooded basin. Lavaflooding is thought to have happened mainly on the earth-side because of a thinner crust on that hemisphere. For thisreason Bailly’s floor retains all the ancient detail dating from its formation about 3 billion years BP, not hidden by thesmooth dark basalts that cover the floor of every other basin we can see.
So the first thing we notice is the rough surface of Bailly’s floor. Our view is dominated by the large secondary crater Bailly B, about 65 km diameter, and Bailly A, in contact with B, tothe SE. Some terracing is visible on the west wall of Bailly B, and a small patch of terrace catches morning light adjacent to crater A. Nearest to us, just inside Bailly’s east wall, crater Bailly Gsits atop some rough terrain. To the south (left) of crater B we see a remarkable side view of the Bailly ring wall, with a succession of headlands, reminiscent of the Sydney coast, some very steep,stretching over 160 km to the western wall. This southern wall of Bailly has collapsed into the basin perhaps as a result of a later impact just to the south that formed crater Legentil. There areseveral smaller craters hidden amid these headlands.
Crater F lies to the right (north) of B, with brightly lit inner rim. Halfway between it and rim crater G is a short remnant of a mountain or ridge, radial with crater B. This mountain is involvedwith a short rift feature, part of the rim of crater B. Immediately west (above) this short ridge we see a lumpy wrinkle-ridge also radial with crater B and stretching northwards (to right) untilterminating in a small bright crater. Further behind this ridge we find a smaller one close to a pair of twin craters (each 6km dia.) located roughly between craters B and F. Near them the floor ofBailly grows rapidly darker due to lunar curvature, and here we see fragments of short ridges and a cleft stretching back to the dimly lit scarps near Bailly’s distant western wall.
Behind crater B the floor of Bailly is relatively smooth, and in the distance near the west wall we see several dim-lit short ridges casting inky shadows into the blackness beyond. Connectingcrater B and the brightly lit western walls I recorded three roughly parallel wrinkle-ridges or clefts, all dimly lit and with short dark branches, suggestive of crater chains
Project a line from crater G through F to the western wall, and we find a gap or “pass” in the high walls. Here Orbiter photos show Bailly’s wall at its lowest. Half way between F and the“pass” we encounter dimly lit scarps, perhaps collapse features. Bailly’s walls are irregular and rough, with numerous collapse features, caused no doubt by subsequent cratering nearby. Thesescarps rise out of a deep shadow filled rift, running N-S. More of this interesting feature will be discussed in instalment 2.1 Hill, H. “A Portfolio of Lunar Drawings”. Cambridge Uni. Press. 1991. 2 Wood, C. “The Modern Moon – a Personal view”.Sky Publishing, 2003. P175 Clear Skies, Harry Roberts
On May 13th a flight by the Burt Rutan-designed SpaceShipOne came close to the edge ofspace and one step closer to winning the prize asthe first privately built and piloted spacecraft.SpaceShipOne has carried out a series of fourteenflights above the Mojave Desert in California.Beginning with simple glide flights through to May’srocket-powered dash to 210,000 feet, the spacecrafthas performed to specifications. Rutan, long knownas a radical designer and builder of compositematerial light aircraft believes that his latest creationis almost ready for the sub-orbital flight that willgain him the multi-million dollar prize and a placein the history books. His company, ScaledComposites has been involved in buildingexperimantal aircraft for NASA in a number ofprojects over the years.
Another test flight to over 250,000 feet isplanned before the craft will attempt to win theAnsari X Prize of ten million dollars. Twoconsecutive missions, two weeks apart, carrying apilot and two passenger in a sub-orbital flight intospace is the requirement. The flight must reach100,000 metres, just over 330,000 feet to qualifyfor space. The craft is powered by a hybrid rocketmotor employing solid fuel and a liquid accelerantto boost the power.To ensure a steady descent the entire tail section isrotated to rightangles to provide greater drag. Atabout fifty thousand feet the tail returns to a normalposition and the spacecraft then glides to aconventional landing at Mojave airport.Says Burt Rutan, “Our goal is to demonstrate thatnon-government manned space flight operations arenot only feasible, but can be done at very low costs.”
Above: White Knight at Mojave airport, California with theSpaceShipOne slung underneath before last month’s flight.
Above: White Knight seen from the front, is jet-powered.Below: SpaceShipOne gliding down after a test flight.
all photos: Scaled Composites
secure on-line shopping for your astronomical needs.
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TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT ..................................continuedLeft:Henry ChamberlainRussell’s observationsat ingress with SydneyObservatory’s 29cmlens telescope. FromObservations of thetransit of Venus, 9December 1974 by HCRussell. CourtesySydney Observatory/Powerhouse Museum.
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June 2004 * Volume 228 * Page 3The Binocular and Telescope Shop, 55 York Street, Sydney. Tel: 02 9262 1344 web: www.bintel.com.au
The Moon’s motions for the monthof June are shown thusly:
3rd Full Moon
3rd Moon at perigee
10th Last Quarter
18th New Moon
18th Moon at Apogee
26th First Quarter
When Wallace and Gromit visited theMoon in their epic film adventure “AGrand Day Out”, they found that itis really made from cheese, but whatkind of cheese?
Saturn caught up withMars late last month andnow precedes it towards
the western evening horizon, whereit disappears by mid-month.
Uranus rises in Aquariuslate in the evening in theEast.
Neptune rises around8.30pm and spends thenext ten hours skulkingin Capricorn.
Pluto can’t decidewhether to play Leagueor Union. The money is
better in League but you have tospend it on liquor and getting intotrouble. With Union you have tostudy at University, which soundslike hard work. Decisions, decisions!
Mercury is in themorning sky at the
beginning of the month, then movesto Opposition at the middle of June.
Venus disappears intothe Sun’s glare then
transits the face of the Sun on the8th. More details on Page 1.
Mars is low in the Westearly in the evening.
Saturn has passed it. The Moonappears beside it on the 20th.
Jupiter is still in Leo inthe North Westernevening sky. Looking
increasingly lonely as the otherplanets disappear into the Sun’s glarein the Western sky.
Now that the Earth isfacing more towards the centre of ourgalaxy late at night, we might castour minds towards just what is ourgalaxy.
The Milky Way is alarge spiral galaxy, similar to manyother such galaxies. We nowunderstand that many large galaxieshave cannibalized smaller galaxies inthe past and may well do the sameagain.
Our galaxy is believedto have stripped at least one muchsmaller galaxy of its stars and is inthe process of doing the same to theMagellanic galaxies which arecurrently low in the Southern skies.Go out, look up, find Scorpius andSagittarius in the Eastern sky late atnight. There is the heart of our galaxy.I wonder if there’s anybody therelooking back in our direction?
Comet 2001 Q4 NEAT will make ashort appearance low in the NorthWest just after sunset. Now muchfainter and more difficult to see. Asa rough guide it will be 30 degreesbelow and to the right of Jupiter.
Comet T7 LINEAR is also inWestern the evening sky. Roughly 30degrees to the left of Jupiter in Hydra.Scanning the sky s-l-o-w-l-y withbinoculars. First view of a cometnucleus is usually confusing as theyoften appear very hazy and lowcontrast. That’s why you scan slowly!
Comet Bradfield 2004 F4 has headedoff into the wastes of the North andis no longer available for SouthernHemisphere observers. An excellentwebsite to use for more informationon (and pictures of) comets is :http://comets.amsmeteors.org.
Late evening mid June 2004
Jupiter
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June 2004 * Volume 228 * Page 4
THE FALL DOWNFALL
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CWAS ASTROFEST
Macarthur Astronomical Society Inc: NSW☎ (02) 4627 1424 Ian [email protected] Astronomical Society Inc: NSW☎ (02)9832 4082 Brett McMillan.www.sasi.net.auNorthern Sydney Astronomical Society Inc:☎ David (02) 9876 6750 or Kel 9476 1559 www.nsas.ozau.netBritish Astronomical Association (NSW)☎ 9398 9705 Elizabeth Cockingwww.baansw.asn.auThe Astronomical Society of NSW.☎ (02) 9337 3371.Max Gardner.www.asnsw.comThe Western Sydney Amateur Astro Group Inc☎ Dave Gault (02) 4754 4351www4.tpgi.com.au/users/wsaagThe Hawkesbury Astronomical Society: NSW☎ (02) 4572 1568 Adrian Saw .The Wollongong Astronomy Club. NSW☎ (02) 4261 9369 Paul BrownThe Illawarra Astronomical Society: NSW☎ (02) 4276 3199 Peter McKinnonShoalhaven Astronomers: South Coast NSW☎ (02) 4423 2255 Jack Apfelbaum www.shoal.net.au~astronomy/index.htmlThe Astronomical Society of the Hunter: NSW☎ (02) 4937 4664 Col [email protected] Astronomical Society: NSW☎ (02) 4950 0725 Allan Meehanwww.nas.org.auAstronomical Society of Coonabarabran, NSW☎ (02) 6842 2994 Paul Cass.Port Macquarie Astronomical Association NSW☎ (02) 6583 1933 Jim Daniels.Grafton Astronomical Society, NSW☎ (02) 6642 4130 Jeff AshendedBallaarat Astronomical Society: Vic☎ (03) 5332 7526 John Hastie http://observatory.ballarat.netBendigo District Astronomical SocietyPO Box 164 Bendigo Vic 3552 . Barry McPheeAstronomical Society of Victoria Inc☎ (03) 9888 7130. Linda Mockridgewww.asv.org.auLatrobe Valley Astronomical Society Vic☎ (03) 5174 6453 home.vicnet.net.au/~lvasAstronomical Society of Geelong, Vic☎ 0407 345 070 Frank Baker for details.http://members.optushome.com.au/asogAstronomical Society of Frankston, Vic☎ 0419 253 252 Richard Pollard for details.Astronomical Society of Melbourne, Vic.☎ 0412 - 318 125 Chris [email protected] Canberra Astronomical Society: ACT☎ (02) 6288 7394 Diane Purcell.Brisbane Astronomical Society: Qld☎ (07) 3847 2206 Darryl Mitchellwww.bas.asn.auwww.ozemail.com.au/~nwilliams/basSouthern Astronomical Society:Qld☎ (07)5537 3852 Kevin Dixon.www.sas.org.auAstronomical Association of Queensland, Qld☎ Peter Hall (07) 3378 1173 www.aaq.org.auSouth East Queensland Astronomical Society,☎ (07) 3844 7904 Dave Larkin.www.powerup.com.au/~mcerlean/index.htmlBundaberg Astronomical Soc. Qld☎ (07) 4159 7232 www.interwox.com.auRedlands Astronomical Society Qld☎ (07) 3822 5545 Ross SpenceBundy Skywatchers (South-Central Qld)☎ (07) 4159 9674 Karlene GalwayAstronomical Society of South Australia, SA☎ (08) 8338 1231 Tony Beresford.www.assa.org.auAstronomical Society of Tasmania, Tas☎ (03) 6244 3476 Laurie Priest.www.ast.n3.netAstronomical Society of Alice Springs N.T.☎ (08) 8952 9817 Annette GreenDarwin Astronomy Group NT☎ (08) 8945 9450 Phillip SmithGove Amateur Astronomers, NT ☎ 0417 601 490 Ian Maclean for information.Astronomical Society of Western Australia, WA(now incorporating Murdoch AstronomicalSociety) http://aswa.info☎ (08) 9299 6347 Val Semmler.Astronomical Society of The South-West, W.A. ☎ (08) 9721 1586 Phil Smith.
Professor, His Eminence, Dr. NervoShatterini BGB, doyen of the night,Excellent Educator of the TeemingMasses and Director of the ShatteriniRetired Night Assistants Home forIndigent Astronomers has examinedin close detail the entries received inthe FallDown Downfall Quiz. Aftera selection process that includedreturning a bunch of Revkin sharesand a Directorship in a slightlysinged printing business, HisWelcome Wholeness would like toenumerate the answers:(1) Cephus & Cassiopeia(2) Charon(3) Observing the Sun(4) Calypso, Telesto and Tethys are co-orbital.(5) 225 million Earth years.(6) 1910(7) The achromatic lens.(8) 23 hours 56 minutes 4 secs.(9) The rising of Sirius.(10) On the Sun.(11) Mars’ moons, Phobos &
Deimos.(12) intense red.(13) Harvest Moon(14) integrated Magnitude.(15) iron.(16) Cretaceous Period.(17) the telescope(18) Mars(19) Mercury(20) Eleven His Eminence received entries fromas far away as the USA, (Hi, KitsySymroski of Texas. How’s Bubba?)Robin Vaughan of Mardi NSW getsa Gold Star for a terrific first effortthat nearly won! Well done! Whereis Mardi ..... anywhere near Gras?Ann Taylor snivelled too much anddidn’t include any legal tender, so isimmediately downgraded. SAT.Peter Cassar put in an almost flawlessset of answers .... note the word‘almost’. Henry McGregor (or is thatreally Joyce? We do need to know.)had a great go at it, got someexcellent results without usingGoogle.His Conspicuous Consciousness hastherefore decreed that the jointwinners are:Peter Cassar, Ann Taylor and RobinVaughan. Each will receive acertificate and a share portfolio ofinestimable value. If a certain winnermentions the win at a certainAstronomical Society meeting, ordraws attention to her win she willbe stripped immediately of the win,and will be banned forever.Next month: Depths of Winter Quiz.Be ready, be innit so you can winnit.
Hey Don,seems weird that
the Poms sentCaptain Cook toTahiti to see thetransit of Venus.
How’s that Mick?
Well, with all themwomen in
grass skirtsmillin’ around
its a wonder thesailors were ableto look at Venuscrossin’ the Sun.
If you’d like your Society included, pleasecontact Mike Smith at (02) 9262 1344 [email protected] with information. We’llput your details in the above list.
Mate, they’d been in Tahitifor a coupla months before
the Transit was due.They were used
to it.Two more
heavenly bodiesain’t gunna
disturbCaptain Cook
The Central West of NSW boasts some of the darkest skies in Australia, and as such is a wonderful place toappreciate the wonders of the night sky. In an effort to encourage and promote astronomy in the region, the CentralWest Astronomical Society is inaugurating an annual Festival of Astronomy, or AstroFest to be held every July. Thisfestival will endeavour to bring to the people of the Central West world renowned astronomers, both professional andamateur, so they may share their enthusiasm and love of the heavens.
The festival will incorporate a two day conference and associated events. The inaugural conference will beheld at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory's Visitors Centre from 17 to 18 July 2004. In a series of lectures, guestspeakers will provide fascinating and sometimes humorous insights into various aspects of modem astronomy. Tokick off the festivities a "Science in the Pub" will be held on Friday night, 16 July, at the Coachman Hotel in Parkes. OnSaturday night, 17 July, a dark sky observing night with a starbecue and other fun events is open to all registrants.The conference registration is $40 The associated events will run over the entire month of July and will be held atvarious venues in the district.The Conference will be compered by Dr. Fred Watson with panelists Dr. David Malin, Dr. John Reynolds and ProfesssorBrian Boyle. Opening lecture on Saturday 17th July will set the tone of the event. Dr. Fred Watson will give a speechentitled “RAVEing Mad! Dissecting Our Universe.”
This July marks the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon walk and the Parkes Observatory's support of themission. A fragment of a Moon rock, returned to Earth by the Apollo 11 astronauts, will be on display for the entiremonth of July in the Parkes Observatory's Visitors Centre.An astrophotography competition will be open to all amateur astronomers in Australia. An exhibition of the bestphotographs will be on display at the Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre for the entire month of July. Dr David Malin,the world-renowned astrophotographer, will judge the entries and the inaugural "David Malin Awards " will be announcedand presented at a special Civic Reception held in the Parkes Council Chambers and hosted by the Mayor of Parkes.
During the July school holidays, Sydney Observatory guides will be touring the region bringing fun astronomyactivities to the students of the Central West. The activities will include solar viewings and daytime observing of stars(weather permitting). They will also run workshops where students will learn about the night sky and the solar system.On Saturday 24, July, a public viewing night will be held at various towns in the region from 6:30 pm. The Moon andplanets will be viewed, as will the other wonders of the Milky Way which pass directly overhead in the July evenings.
On the final day of the conference, on Sunday 18 July, a "Family day at The Dish " will be held at the ParkesObservatory in the paddock adjacent to the world famous Parkes Telescope (The DISH). A barbecue and other funactivities (cricket on the dish?) for all the family will be organised.
Come along and see the Real Thing, enjoy the hospitality of the Central West and share an unforgettableastronomical experience.CWAS AstroFest information http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/events/astrofest/
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