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Friday, March 29, 2013

 

The International Space Station Crosses Orion's Belt (29 March, 2013)


A series of images taken of the International Space Station pass through Orion on 29 March 2013 at 20:36 ACDST. I took a sequence of 10 images, each 5 seconds exposure at 400 ASA with my Canon IXUS.

The first panel is a single image showing the ISS under Rigel, the next is all 10 images stacked using image J and made into a single froma using the MAX Z-project, in panel 3 I have SUMMED all the frames after registering the images on Rigel, the final panel is a single frame zoomed in to show Rigel and Orion's belt. Click on any image to emiggen (espeically the top two to see them clearly).

Here's an animation.


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Carnival of Space #294 is Here!

Carnival of Space #294 is up at Dear Astronomer (sorry, late posting this again). There's public education and outreach problems, space history, alien oceans, daylight Jupiter, black hole binaries and much, much more. Take a spin on over and check it out.

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More News on Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring), A Mars Impact Less Likley)

Simulation of the close approach of C/2013 A1 to Mars in Celestia using the latest JPL elements (click to embiggen)

After obtaining more positions for comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring (141 positions over a orbital arc of  171 days using pre-discovery images), we have a better idea of the comets encounter with Mars.

The nominal close approach is now  0.0008 AU. This is a bit further out than the previous 0.0007 AU (see my previous posts here and here), and still further out than the 0.00023 AU close approach of 2012 DA14, which missed us by two Earth diameters. To put this is still more perspective, the Martian Moon Demios is 0.00016 AU from Mars, so the nominal solution for the comet is nearly 4 times further from Mars then its outmost Moon.

Despite the improved orbital measurements, the error associated with this estimate still includes an impact though (and a maximum miss of 0.0022 AU), so although the orbit is more tightly constrained, an impact still can't be ruled out at this stage.

However, orbital simulations  from Leonid Elenin suggest that an impact is very unlikely. Probably in the range of 0.08% or less.

We still need more observations to pin down the orbit more tightly and get a better idea of whether it will impact, but the trend of the recent observations suggets a close approach .

Even if it doesn't impact it will look pretty good from Earth, and spectacular from Mars (revised orbit gives  a magnitude -8 comet as seen from Mars's surface), which might be observed by the flotilla of orbiting spacecraft and the rovers. But it's not as simple as it seems, power issues and the ability to point cameras in the right direction all must be addressed.  This NASA article outlines the issues with getting them to do the imaging. Sadly, it seems the MAVEN atmospheric sampler will not be ready, even though it arrives a few weeks beforehand.

A collision would also be spectacular, but the rovers may not fare so well as debris rains down over the planet.


Simulation of the  of Mars and C/2012 A1 on October 19 as seen from Demios near closest approach. In this revised simulation the comet is magnitude -8 at closest approach.

Importing the latest elements into SkyMap or Stellarium suggests that from Earth we will still see the comet and Mars less than a minute of arc from each other, which will look quite nice in telescope eye pieces (but hard to image as the comet will be a dim magnitude 8.5 form Earth and Mars bright).


Yet again I've updated the Celestia file I made for you. Unfortunately, the new solution is a hyperbolic orbit, and Celestia doesn't like those, the comet's orbit and name won't turn up when you turn on the comet attributes, or when you select the comet by clicking on it. As usual, copy the code below and save as it as a text file 2013A1.ssc in the Celestia extras folder.
======================2013A1.ssc=============================
""C2013 A1" "Sol"
{
#Close approach to Mars
#Latest JPL Elements from 24 March 2013
#Close approach 0.00079898 AU
Class "comet" # Just copying the data for Halley
Mesh "halley.cmod"
Texture "asteroid.jpg"
Radius 3 # best guess at maximum semi-axis
MeshCenter [ -0.338 1.303 0.230 ]

EllipticalOrbit
{
Epoch 2456956.048701312819 #2014 Oct 25.54870131
Period 238217.8007 # (q/(e-1))^1.5 hyperbolic orbit
SemiMajorAxis -3842.814969515329   
PericenterDistance   1.399570869178647           
Eccentricity 1.000364204594882
Inclination 129.0223419222239     
AscendingNode 300.9648682319892   
ArgOfPericenter 2.430759318651679   
MeanAnomaly 0.0  
}

# Again, this data is copied straight from the ssc files for Halleys’ Comet
# chaotic rotation, imperfectly defined:
# this version from "The New Solar System", 4th Edition; Eds.
# JK Beatty, CC Petersen, A Chaikin
PrecessingRotation
{
Period 170 # 7.1 day axial rotation period
Inclination 66
PrecessionPeriod 3457004.12 # 3.7 day precession period
}

Albedo 0.8
}
===========================================================

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

 

Bright Passes of the ISS for Easter

Evening sky looking north-west on Friday 29 March at 20:36 pm ACDST as seen from Adelaide. The ISS is about to pass over the star Alnilam. Click to embiggen.Evening sky looking north-west on Saturday 30 March at 19:19 pm AEST as seen from Brisbane. The ISS is about to pass below the star Mintaka. Click to embiggen.
Evening sky looking north-west on Monday 1 April at 20:20 pm ACST as seen from Darwin. The ISS is about to pass over the star Bellatrix. Click to embiggen.Evening sky looking north-west on Friday 29 March at 19:36 pm AWST as seen from Perth. The ISS is abut to pass over the star Procyon. Click to embiggen.

There is a series of bright passes of the International Space Station running from the 28th to the 2nd of April, depending on where you are in Australia.

These occur in the early evening, when they will be great to watch with the family and friends.  Several passes also go by some very nice sky territory.

For example, on the 29th from Adelaide, the ISS shoots through Orion's Belt. In Brisbane, on the 30th the ISS not only shoots through Orion's Belt but it comes close to the bright star Betelgeuse. For pass predictions specific to you site, see the Heavens Above site.

Make sure you go out about 5 minutes before the pass so your eyes adapt to the darkness, and also so that you can orient yourself, and watch the ISS pass over the full length of the sky. The ISS will be the brightest moving object in the sky at that time (aside from obvious aircraft).

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Occultation of Spica by the Moon, Northern Australia 28-29 March,

The morning sky facing north-east in Darwin on Thursday March 28 at 23:00 pm ACST showing the waning Moon just about to cover Spica (Alpha virginis,indicated by circle). (similar views will be seen from other locations north of Lismore at a similar local time eg midnight AEST Brisbane. Click to embiggen.

The waning Moon passes in front of the bright star Spica (magnitude 1) in the constellation of the Virgo the virgin on the morning of March 29 (eastern states) or late evening 28 March (central states).

This event is visible from sites north of a line running from Lismore NSW to the Kimberly in WA in Australia.

The bright limb of the Moon covers Spica at 0:52 am AEST Brisbane (29th), 23:09 pm ACST Darwin (28th), 0:11 am AEST Townsville (29th), 0:03 am AEST Cairns (29th)

The dark limb of the Moon uncovers Spica at 1:22 am AEST Brisbane (29th), 23:56 pm ACST Darwin (28th), 1:17 am AEST Townsville (29th), 1:12 am AEST Cairns (29th).

With the Moon two days past Full, this event is really best seen with binoculars or a small telescope (especially for the disappearance of the star on the bright limb of the Moon). If you have a tripod or other stand for your binoculars, it will be much easier to observe.

The rest of Australia see the Moon very close to SPica, so it's still worthwhile to observe.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

 

What Have We Learned From the Asteroid DA2013cl2 Hoax?

Well, the 25th has come and gone, no asteroid has slammed into the Atlantic (or Mexico or Canada). It's all very tempting to just shrug and say "it's just another hoax", but what can we learn from the asteroid DA2013cl2 Hoax?

This is just the latest in a string of hoaxes and false doomsday predictions. Remember asteroid 2014 AZ5? How about the Mayan Calender apocalypse? Comet Elenin?

There's no point saying we don't learn from these things, new people come onto the internet all the time, or have missed out on the previous hoaxes. There is always a new audience who have never come across these scams before. And these are not harmless scams, people get worried sick about them, and it could push vulnerable people to self harm.

What to do? When these kind of hoaxes come up we can do our utmost to debunk them, rather than ignor them as we are sorely tempted, and more than debunk them, we can try and give people the mental tool box that will help keep them from being taken in by these hoaxes again.

Get them to look at the source of the information (conspiracy forums is never a good source of information), is it consistent, can it be traced back to where the information is supposed to come from? Is the alleged spokesperson real. These are all fairly easy to do, and you can step people through the process.

Other things, like the real naming conventions for asteroid and similar technical matters are harder, but some simple guides to reliable web searching so people realise how to look effectively for this information will again help people so that they won't be fooled (the hyperlinks above give my approach to this  for each of the cases above, judge for yourself if this works).

There will be other hoaxes, our fond wish tha post the failed Mayan Apocalypse people would be immunised against apocalyptic scares was not granted. But if we can help people identify hoaxes, we can limit the emotional damage they can do.

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The Sky This Week - Thursday March 28 to Thursday April 4

The Last Quarter Moon is Wednesday April 3. Occultation of Spica in Northern Australia 28-29 March. There is a series of bright International Space Station passes form the 28th to the 2nd. Jupiter is prominent in the early evening sky. Saturn is in the late evening sky and is close to the Moon on March 29. Mercury brightens in the morning skies.

Sky on Friday March 29 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 local daylight saving time in South Australia. The inset shows a telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

The Last Quarter Moon is Wednesday April 3

Saturn is now visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see.

Saturn is still better telescopically in the early morning, but is a worthwhile evening target.

Morning sky on Sunday 31 March showing Mercury, looking east as seen from Adelaide at 6:30 am local daylight saving time in South Australia. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

Mercury  becomes more prominent in the morning skies this week. It is now easy to see as the brightest object above the eastern twilight sky an hour before dawn.

Bright white Venus  is lost in the twilight.

Mars is lost in the twilight.



Evening sky looking North-west as seen from Adelaide at 20:00 pm local daylight saving time on Saturday March 30. The inset shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. There are a series of transits and an eclipse (see below for details) at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local times indicated here.  Click to embiggen.

Jupiter is visible in the early evening, and is the brightest object in the evening sky.


Jupiter is prominent in the northern early evening sky, being quite visible in the twilight. Jupiter is low in the north-west, setting around 10:30 pm local time. Jupiter is below the Hyades, near the red star Aldebaran.

Jupiter, Aldebaran and the white star Rigel in Orion form a long line in the sky. With the Pleiades cluster and the constellation of Orion close by, this is a beautiful sight.

Now is still a good time to observe Jupiter with a telescope of any size in the evening. Jupiters' Moons are easily seen in binoculars, and can be followed from night to night changing position.

The morning sky facing north-east in Darwin on Thursday March 28 at 23:00 pm ACST showing the waning Moon just about to cover Spica (Alpha virginis,indicated by circle). (similar views will be seen from other locations north of Lismore at a similar local time eg midnight AEST Brisbane. Click to embiggen.

The waning Moon passes in front of the bright star Spica (magnitude 1) in the constellation of the Virgo the virgin on the morning of March 29 (eastern states) or late evening 28 March (central states).

This event is visible from sites north of a line running from Lismore NSW to the Kimberly in WA in Australia.

The bright limb of the Moon covers Spica at 0:52 am AEST Brisbane (29th), 23:09 pm ACST Darwin (28th), 0:11 am AEST Townsville (29th).

The dark limb of the Moon uncovers Spica at 1:22 am AEST Brisbane (29th), 23:56 pm ACST Darwin (28th), 1:17 am AEST Townsville (29th).

With the Moon two days past Full, this event is really best seen with binoculars or a small telescope (especially for the disappearance of the star on the bright limb of the Moon). If you have a tripod or other stand for your binoculars, it will be much easier to observe.


Evening sky looking north-west on Friday 29 March at 20:36 pm ACDST as seen from Adelaide. The ISS is abut to pass over the Star Alnilam. Click to embiggen.

There is a series of bright passes of the International Space Station running from the 28th to the 2nd of April, depending on where you are in Australia.

These occur in the early evening, when they will be great to watch with the family and friends.  Several passes also go by some very nice sky territory.

For example, on the 29th from Adelaide, the ISS shoots through Orion's Belt. In Brisbane, on the 30th the ISS not only shoots through Orion's Belt but it comes close to the bright star Betelgeuse. For pass predictions specific to you site, see the Heavens Above site.

There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.


Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

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Monday, March 25, 2013

 

Supernova in M65, 24-03-13 and 23-03-13

Supernova in the Galaxy M65 on 23 March, image taken with iTelescope T04, 5x120 second exposures stacked and registered in ImageJ then a SUM Z-project applied, followed by contrast adjustment and colour inversion. Supernova indicated by black bars (click to embiggen).A day later (24 March), same conditions but more affected by Moonlight. I'll have to do some astrometry to see if it has got brighter. Supernova indicated by black bars (click to embiggen).


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Asteroid DA2013cl2 Does Not Exist, it Won't Hit Earth on the 25th (it's a Hoax)

Just reposting this article as there is is STILL a story circulating, allegedly from a Professor Herbert Raymond Brown, that a 300 meter diameter asteroid called DA2013cl2 will impact the Atlantic Ocean (or Canada or Mexico) on 25 March. This impact will allegedly kill millions first off, then exterminate the rest of humanity later on.

This is a hoax. There are a number of ways you can tell it is a hoax.

1) The story is illustrated with a picture of comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS, not an asteroid.
2) It does not have a real asteroid name, asteroids that do not have proper names (like 4 Vesta), are named year, alphabetical identifier, numerical identifier (eg 2012 DA14). There's a 2013 CL2, but that comes nowhere near us, there's a 2013 CL22, which has a 1/10,000,000 chance of hitting us in 2064, but nothing that fits the hoax description.
3) A 300 meter asteroid impact would be serious, with an impact energy of 1110 Mt or TNT, creating a crater 4.6 Km in diameter, but it's no civilisation killer. The Cretaceous/Tertiary impactor that did in the dinosaurs (at least in part) was around 10 Km in diameter.
4) Outside of the various posts promulgating this story, there is no astronomy Professor Herbert Raymond Brown. Yes, there is a Ryamond Brown who works in science communication and outreach at NASA, but he is not Professor Herbert Raymond Brown
5) There is no high risk asteroid of any sort in the asteroid hazard lists.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

 

Supernova in M65, 23-03-13

This is my image of  a supernova that has been reported in the Galaxy M65, image taken with iTelescope T04, 5x120 second exposures stacked and registered in ImageJ then a SUM Z-project applied, followed by contrast adjustment and colour inversion. Supernova indicated by black bars (click to embiggen).

Here's a better image from Rolando Ligustri.

The supernova is reported to be still brightening, increasing from magnitude 16.4 to 15.8.  It is located at RA 11 18 56.95  DEC +13 03 49.4

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Saturday, March 23, 2013

 

Comet PanSTARRS Does Not Dodge a Coronal Mass Ejection

Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS on 15 March, 2013 as seen from the STEREO H1B imager showing the comet and a billowing Coronal Mass Ejection. It looks like the CME just misses the comet, but this is an illusion due to the spacecraft's perspective, the comet and CME are nowhere near each other. Click to Embiggen. Location of the comet in respect to the Earth and the STEREO B spacecraft simulated in Celestia (click to embiggen). My STEREO orbit files are a little old, so it's position is not exact, but it's not very different from the real position. The CME of 15 March was Earth directed and I've indicated it on the chart. You can see it goes nowhere near the comet.

There is a stunning video from the Sungrazer Comets group that shows comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS for the 9th to the 16th as it passes through the field of view of the SETREO B spacecraft's H1 imager. On the 15th, there was a large coronal mass ejection which produced lots of aurora here on Earth on the 17th and 18th. You can see the comet glide past the CME in stunning detail in the video (my less awesome effort is below).

Some commentators on the video around the web are saying the comet "dodged the CME" (in the sense that it just missed the comet). But that,s an illusion of perspective. The spacecraft is is almost behind the Sun from the Spacecrafts perspective looking back at Earth. The CME was Earth directed. fanning out to be sure but faning AWAY from the spacecraft. And the comet, which is above the plane of the Sun (not shown in the Celestia perspective) and over 90 degrees away from the CME Earth axis.

Occasionally someone will claim that comets cause CME's so it's useful to try and think about the geometry and timing of these events. In this case, the CME occurred 5 days after the closest approach to the Sun, and was directed away from the comet.


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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

 

Carnival of Space #293 is Here!

Carnival of Space #293 is now up at Everyday Spacer. Well, it's been up for sometime now but.. PanSTARRS... Aurora... Anyway there's more PanSTARRS goodness, life on Mars (again), red dwarfs and terrestrial planets, just how may potentially habitable planets are there? and of course much, much more. Slingshot over and have a read.

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The Sky This Week - Thursday March 21 to Thursday March 28

The Full Moon is Wednesday March 27. Occultation of Spica in Northern Australia 28-29 March. Jupiter is prominent in the early evening sky, with a good series of satellite events on the 23rd. Saturn is in the late evening sky. Mercury brightens in the morning skies.

Sky on Saturday March 23 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 local daylight saving time in South Australia. The inset shows a telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

The Full Moon is Wednesday March 27.

Saturn is now visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see.

Saturn is still better telescopically in the early morning, but is a worthwhile evening target.

Mercury  becomes more prominent in the morning skies this week. It is now easy to see as the brightest object above the eastern twilight sky an hour before dawn.

Bright white Venus  is lost in the twilight.


Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS has been lost to sight from southern skies, it is now a northern hemisphere object, it is also in the field of view of the STEREO spacecraft.

Evening sky looking North-west as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 pm local daylight saving time on Saturday March 23. The inset shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. There are a series of transits and an eclipse (see below for details) at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local times indicated here.  Click to embiggen.

Jupiter is visible all evening, and is the brightest object in the evening sky.


Jupiter is prominent in the northern early evening sky, being quite visible in the twilight. Jupiter is highest in the north by 6:30 pm, setting before midnight. Jupiter is below the Hyades, near the red star Aldebaran. Jupiter remains near Aldebaran during the week, making it look as if the Bull has two eyes.

Jupiter, Aldebaran and the white star Rigel in Orion form a long line in the sky. With the Pleiades cluster and the constellation of Orion close by, this is a beautiful sight.

Now is still a good time to observe Jupiter with a telescope of any size in the evening. Jupiters' Moons are easily seen in binoculars, and can be followed from night to night changing position. On the 23rd there is a series of transits and an eclipse which is well worth watching in a telescope. In WA the first two events start before twilight.

AEDST    ACDST   AWST               EVENT
20:49	20:19   -            Gan: Transit Begins               T	
21:21	20:24   -            GRS: Crosses Central Meridian	
22:00	21:29   18:59        Eur: Transit Begins               TT	
22:42	22:12   19:42        Io : Disappears into Occultation  TT	

Mars is lost in the twilight.


The morning sky facing north-east in Darwin on Thursday March 28 at 23:00 pm ACST showing the waning Moon just about to cover Spica (Alpha virginis,indicated by circle). (similar views will be seen from other locations north of Lismore at a similar local time eg midnight AEST Brisbane. Click to embiggen.

The waning Moon passes in front of the bright star Spica (magnitude 1) in the constellation of the Virgo the virgin on the morning of March 29 (eastern states) or late evening 28 March (central states).

This event is visible from sites north of a line running from Lismore NSW to the Kimberly in WA in Australia.

The bright limb of the Moon covers Spica at 0:52 am AEST Brisbane (29th), 23:09 pm ACST Darwin (28th), 0:11 am AEST Townsville (29th).

The dark limb of the Moon uncovers Spica at 1:22 am AEST Brisbane (29th), 23:56 pm ACST Darwin (28th), 1:17 am AEST Townsville (29th).

With the Moon two days past Full, this event is really best seen with binoculars or a small telescope (especially for the disappearance of the star on the bright limb of the Moon). If you have a tripod or other stand for your binoculars, it will be much easier to observe.

There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

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Monday, March 18, 2013

 

Images from Last Nights Aurora Australis (17 March, 2013)

Images of the aurora from Trial Bay near Kettering in Tasmania, by Graham Sanders (these images are copyright of their takers, so please ask permission if you want to use them)More images of the aurora from Trial Bay near Kettering, by Graham Sanders
Another beautiful  image by Graham Saunders, this one has what I suspect is the International Space Station going across, as well as the Milky Way. (Time is about right for the ISS)Paul Albers got these shots near Flinders, Victoria. Being further north the colours are more muted than the Tasmanian ones, but the composition is marvellous with the Magellanic clouds (and what is probably actually a meteor)

Some images sent in by correspondents of the amazing Aurora Australis of last night (17 -18 March 2013) are shown above (thanks guys for sharing).

The nearly full on impact from a fairly modest Coronal Mass Ejection saw aurora being detected as far way as the QLD/NSW border. Sadly cloud cover meant many places were unable to see the Aurora Australis, but quite a few people still did, with the cloud even adding to the atmosphere of the images.

Now here's some links to some amazing images from the Aurora Australis Tasmania group (remember what I said about copyright and permissions). There is no particular order to these (and if I have missed you out, it's because I had to stop and go to bed).

Leoni George Williams Howden, 17th March, 2013, great pillars

Jonathan Esling Early morning 18th very atmospheric

Jo Malcomson taken from near Betsey Island Lookout, South Arm. Again fantastic Pillars.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151336760408309&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Ben Short Aurora from behind the clouds at Rosny Hill Lookout.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151363636397205&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Julie Head  Early morning 18th, with an iridium flare in the centre of frame.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200791647651274&set=oa.558884657479755&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
 and some awesome white pillars taken later that morning
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200791640811103&set=oa.558884657479755&type=1&relevant_count=7&ref=nf


Katinka Smith Sea,  aurora and a gamma normids meteor
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151581258864974&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf


Rebecca Stolp More gorgeous white pillars. 
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151700717354505&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Jason L. Stephens Aurora with haunting tree.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201012430980002&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Francois Fourie Aurora, clouds, Magellanic clouds and another meteor.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151580415272990&set=oa.559125210789033&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

James Stone Giant white arc over an island.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=483509961708624&set=oa.558910184143869&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

Finally, Dave the Graves video (warning 41 Mb)
http://astro.huntergeophysics.com/aurora-display-and-video/

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Yet Another Asteroid Hoax (There will be no Meteor Hitting Mexico this Month)

There is currently a story circulating, allegedly from a Professor Herbert Raymond Brown, that a 300 meter diameter asteroid called DA2013cl2 will impact the Atlantic Ocean (or Canada or Mexico) on 25 March. This impact will allegedly kill millions first off, then exterminate the rest of humanity later on.

This is a hoax. There are a number of ways you can tell it is a hoax.

1) The story is illustrated with a picture of comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS, not an asteroid.
2) It does not have a real asteroid name, asteroids that do not have proper names (like 4 Vesta), are named year, alphabetical identifier, numerical identifier (eg 2012 DA14). There's a 2013 CL2, but that comes nowhere near us, there's a 2013 CL22, which has a 1/10,000,000 chance of hitting us in 2064, but nothing that fits the hoax description.
3) A 300 meter asteroid impact would be serious, with an impact energy of 1110 Mt or TNT, creating a crater 4.6 Km in diameter, but it's no civilisation killer. The Creataceous/Tertiary impactor that did in the dinosaurs (at least in part) was around 10 Km in diameter.
4) Outside of the various posts promulgating this story, there is no astronomy Professor Herbert Raymond Brown
5) There is no high risk asteroid of any sort in the asteroid hazard lists.

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Sunday, March 17, 2013

 

No Aurora for Me, But Jupiter and The Moon Were Nice Together

 The crescent Moon close to Jupiter and Aldebaran, March 17, 2013. Canon IXUS, 3x zoom, 400 ASA 6 seconds exposure.

The sky was clouded out over the South, so no chance of aurora fro me (although I did get to see the Adelaide FEstival spotlights reflected nicely.

I did get this picture of the Moon close to Aldebaran and Jupiter. The Moon is overexposed to bring the stars out through the thin cloud covering g everything. They will be even closer tomorrow, so it should be good to photograph.

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Aurora Webcam In Yellowknife Alsaka

Aurora webcam in Yellowknife Alaska http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronomy/auroramax/connect.asp

Thanks Sally Bouvier

Lost od aurora being reported in Tasmania, white pillars and shifting lights.  Me I get to see cloud and the spotlights at the Adelaide Festival reflected from them.

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Comet C/2011 PanSTARRS in STEREO, 13-14 March 2013


Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS from 18:29 UT on 13 March. A Coronal Mass Ejection is billowing out tworads the comet. The bright object to the upper right is Earth, the vertical spikes image artefacts. Click to embiggen. Image credit NASA/STEREO

An image from earlier in the sequences from the H1B imager I've used the difference method in ImageJ to enhance the dust features in the tail, the CME and the ion spikes. Thanks CometAl for the suggestion Click to embiggen
Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS is continuing to put on a good show in the STEREO H1B imager, on th e 13th it was joined by n impressive coronal mass ejection, with some minor activity on the 14th. For some impressive images of the comet, see Comet Al's blog.

C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS on the 14th. Click to embiggen. Getting the dust stream brightness balance is not easy.A blast from the past, this is comet C/2006 P1 McNaught, the most impressive comet we've had in a long time, as seen in the H1B imager. It also had impressive dust steamers.

Previous images are here and here.

Here's a YouTube Animation for the 13th.


And another for the 14th.

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Geomagnetic Storm on Now (17 March)

Australian Region Estimated K-Index MapUPDATED UPDATE: Serious aurora being spotted all over Tasmania.

UPDATE: confirmed aurora in Tasmania (Coles bay and Latrobe)

The Australian IPS has issued a geomagnetic storm advisory, a geomagnetic storm is happening now.

Yes, I know it's still daylight, but if the storm keeps up then aurora may be seen after sunset.

The Kp index is currently 5, the solar wind speed is high and the magnetic field strength has been varying from as low as -15nT (good for Aurora) to 3nT (rubbish for aurora).

If the storm levels keep up Tasmania and Southern New Zealand have a very good chance of aurora, and Northern NZ and Southern Victoria have a chance as well.

Look to the South for unusual shifting glows after astronomical twilight, dark sky locations have the best chance of seeing anything.

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Friday, March 15, 2013

 

Geomagnetic Storm Warning (15-16 March)

Australian Region Estimated K-Index MapThe Australian IPS has issued an active alert, with the possibility of minor geomagnetic storms in the next 24 hours from a Coronal Mass Ejection that will just brush past us.

A second M class flare has just occurred, but it is unclear if this has resulted in an Earth-Directed CME (UPDATE: yes, it has, should hit in 2-3 days).

People in Tasmania and Southern New Zealand should be on the alert for aurora from after astronomical twilight (about 1 and a a half hours after sunset) until the early morning of the 16th.

It is possible that Southern Victoria and Northern New Zealand will see aurora, but far less likely. Look to the south for unusual shifting glows.

And it is entirely possible than nothing at all will happen. Have a look for comet Lemmon low in the southern sky, while you are looking for aurora (comet PanSTARRS is long gone).
http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/comets-c2011-l4-panstarrs-and-c2012-f6.html

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Thursday, March 14, 2013

 

Comet C/2011 PanSTARRS in STEREO, 11 March 2013

Image credit NASA/STEREO

Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS from 23:29 UT on 11 March, high resolution images from the STEREO Behind H1 imager. The image has been inverted to make the faint tails clearer.  Image stretched in ImageJ after background subtraction. Contrast enhanced to make details in the dust tail clear at the expense of the intensity of the ion tail. The long straight lines (and apparent holes in the comets tail) are imaging artefacts. Click to embiggen.

In this image you can see the detail in the main dust tail (Compare to yesterdays image here), as well there is the ion tail to the right, and what may be a large particle tail to the left. In order to bring out the detail in the main dust tail I've had to make the ion and other tail dimmer.

The broad conical fan of dust looks quite beautiful, If I get figure out a more clever way of bringing out the detail in the main dust tail while keeping the side tails, this will look really good.

Here's a YouTube Animation (the animated GIF was just too big). The colours have also been inverted.

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Images of Comet PanSTARRS from the Northern Hemisphere

Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS has left the southern hemisphere, and now some amazing pictures coming from the northern hemisphere.

Comet PanSTARRS and Mount Fuji https://twitter.com/KAGAYA_11949/status/311437586382073857

Mike Holloways amazing image of the crescent Moon and PanSTARRS http://fototime.com/9A5BCCCE8E61D7F/orig.jpg

James Champagne: the Arches, Moon and PanSTARRS (3 panel mosaic) http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8388/8554219522_22b25459f8_o.jpg

Animation from Francios Kugel http://www.astrosurf.com/obsdauban/images/cometes_img/C11L4/C11L4_2013-03-11.gif

PanSTARRS and the Moon again, from the Albuquerque Astronomical Society https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=592092287484777&set=a.117747331585944.14974.107214785972532&type=1&ref=nf

More PanSTARRS and Moon David Kingham Photography https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=437377406344957&set=a.119791638103537.28779.117905868292114&type=1&ref=nf

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

 

Comet C/2011 PanSTARRS in STEREO, 9-10 March 2013

Image credit NASA/STEREO

Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS from 20:49 UT on 10 March, high resolution images from the STEREO Behind H1 imager. The image has been inverted to make the faint tails clearer.  Image stretched in FITS liberator after background subtraction in ImageJ. Click to embiggen.

Finally downloaded the high resolution images. (Yes Daniel, I know Karl Battams did it better earlier).  In this image you can see the complex tails of the comet. (Compare to the beacon images here and here, although Messier hunter did a good job cleaning them up here).

There are at least thee tails visible (see here for a more detailed processed image from the STEREO group that shows the tails more clearly).

There has been a lot of discussion on the STEREOHUNTERS group of what the tails consist of, the thin far right-hand tail that is pointing directly at the Sun might be something like iron (Fe) ions blasted off the surface of the comet, something similar was seen with comet McNaught. It may also be CO+ or H2O+ (or perhaps a combination). It's unlikely to be sodium ions due to the wavelength sensitivity of the H1 behind imager.

The dark, broad conical fan is the dust tail, and the shorter tail on the left with the fainter fan connecting to the broad fan may be large dust particles.

Here's a YouTube Animation (the animated GIF was just too big). The colours have also been inverted.

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

 

Update on Comet PanSTARRS in STEREO

Image credit NASA/STEREO

Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS captured in the low resolution beacon images for the STEREO Behind  H1 imager.

Still waiting to download the high resolution images, but this expanded set of beacon images you can distinguish between the image artefact spike and the dust tail (the spike is the straightish line, the broad fan of the dust tail sweeps off to the right, compare to yesterdays set).

Also in the image is Mercury (up close to the Sun) and Earth (the bright dot centre right).

Here's another animated GIF.  There is a better one at the STEREO site.

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Carnival of Space #292 is Here!

Carnival of Space #292 is now up at Tranquillity Base. There's video games to learn how to dominate the galaxy, will a comet hit Mars, salty water on Jupiter's Moon Europa, amazing photos from the International Space Station and much, much more. Flit on over and have a read.

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The Sky This Week - Thursday March 14 to Thursday March 21

The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday March 20. Comet 2011 L4 PanSTARRS is now lost to view. Jupiter is prominent in the early evening sky and is close to the waxing Moon on the 18th. Saturn is in the late evening sky. Last week to see comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon). Mercury brightens in the morning skies.


Sky on Saturday March 17 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 local daylight saving time in South Australia. The inset shows a telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday March 20

Saturn is now visible above the eastern horizon before midnight. Saturn is in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see.

Saturn is still better telescopically in the early morning.

Mercury  becomes more prominent in the morning skies this week. It will be seen low in the western twilight sky before dawn.

Bright white Venus  is lost in the twilight.


Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS has been lost to sight from southern skies, it is now a northern hemisphere object, it is also in the field of view of the STEREO spacecraft.

Evening sky looking North-west as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 pm local daylight saving time on Monday March 18. The inset shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the times indicated here.  Click to embiggen.

Jupiter is visible all evening, and is the brightest object in the evening sky.


Jupiter is prominent in the northern early evening sky, being quite visible in the twilight. Jupiter is highest in the north by 6:30 pm, setting before midnight. Jupiter is below the Hyades, near the red star Aldebaran. Jupiter remains near Aldebaran during the week, making it look as if the Bull has two eyes.

Jupiter, Aldebaran and the white star Rigel in Orion form a long line in the sky. With the Pleiades cluster and the constellation of Orion close by, this is a beautiful sight.

Now is still a good time to observe Jupiter with a telescope of any size in the evening. Jupiters' Moons are easily seen in binoculars, and can be followed from night to night changing position.

Mars is lost in the twilight.


Comet C/2012 F6 Lemmon's location as seen from Adelaide at 20:30 ACDST on Saturday 17 March.  Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand at equivalent local times.  (click to embiggen).

Comet  C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) is just visible to the unaided eye in dark sky sites, and is a nice little binocular comet. In binoculars it is a fuzzy disk a bit smaller than the globular cluster 47 Tucanae showing a small tail.

You will need to use binoculars in suburban locations  and to see it at its best you need a telescope or binoculars. This will be the last week to glimpse this comet before it comes too close to the horizon for viewing.

For charts, printable spotters maps and observing hints, see this page.

There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

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Monday, March 11, 2013

 

And Hello Comet PanSTARRS (In STEREO)

Image credit NASA/STEREO

Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS captured in the blow resolution beacon images for the STEREO Behinds  H1 imager. With the comet only 0.8 AU from the STEREO imagers, and around  magnitude 0 from the spacecraft, the comet and its tail is over exposed on the low resolution beacon images, making it look like a bright come at the bottom of the image.

In a few days I will be able to download the high resolution images, but it is likley to be over exposed on them too, as the CCD camera is designed to pick up the dim coraolal mass ejections and solar atmosphere.

Also in the image is Mercury (up close to the Sun) and Earth (the bright dot centre right).

Here's an animated GIF.




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Farewell Comet PanSTARRS (From Southern Skies)

Western sky imaged at 9:10 pm ACDST, at this time comet PanSTARRS was 4 degrees above the horizon. No comet was seen with binoculars, before this time when the comet was higher, or later when it would have been lower to the horizon with twilight deepening.

Well, the clouds that have plagued us since the 5th , when I last got an image of  C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS (see here, and previous images here and here) have finally gone.

But so has the comet, it is now far to low in the twilight to see. The good news is that it has now turned up in the northern hemisphere, and we southerners pass the baton onto our northern brethren.

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Hot Bats

Listening to haunting Sami vocalist under a setting sun as fruit bats flit around in the 38 degree heat

Sunday, March 10, 2013

 

At Womadelaide, not much chance of comets


Friday, March 08, 2013

 

At symphony orchestra

Best family ever, at symphony for live orchestral version of 2001 a space odessy

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Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS (Tuesday 5 March, 2013)

Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS imaged from 20:45 ACDST at Largs Bay, Adelaide. Single image (6 second exposure, 800 ASA, 3 x zoom) the comets tail can be easily seen. (click to embiggen, for the best view). Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS imaged from 20:45 ACDST at Largs Bay, Adelaide. This is a stack of 10 images from 6-15 seconds long at 800 ASA, 3 x zoom taken with my Canon IXUS. Images stacked in The GIMP. (click to embiggen)

A few days of cloud since my previous images of C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS (see also here and here). Luckily the clouds parted so I had a chance to see comet at closest approach.   I headed down the beach at 20:40 ACDST. Heading to my usual spot (recognise those posts?) I could immediately see the comet and a tiny wisp of tail with the unaided eye, much easier than on the 3rd.

Paradoxically the head of the comet looked less bright than on the 3rd when viewed through binoculars, although the 2.5 degree tail was easier to see. Doing my brightness estimation I'm still coming up with around magnitude 2. The exposures were the same duration as before, but I was using a higher ASA value.


Animated GIF made of 10 images taken at minute intervals between 8:50 pm and 9:00 pm

Clouds have rolled back in again. Hopefully I will see it again before it becomes too low to the horizon.



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