Mondays
with Professor John O'Connor
11:35 Every Second week – University
of Newcastle Head of Mathematics &
Physical Sciences Prof John O’Connor
discusses Science & Technology
Professor John O'Connor
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/staff/profile/john.oconnor.html
Radio 2nurfm
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/2nur/index.html
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DECEMBER 2011
Total Lunar Eclipse December 10th 2011
The
Total Lunar Eclipse the second for 2011
and the last is interesting because its
southern limb will appear brighter than
the northern hemisphere, this is due to
the northern limb being deeper in
Earth's umbra shadow.
http://eclipsegeeks.com/TotalLunarEclipse10December2011.aspx
The
Moon will be fully engulfed in red
light. Not only will the Moon be
beautifully red, it will also be
inflated by the Moon illusion. For
reasons not fully understood by
astronomers or psychologists,
low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large
when they beam through trees, buildings
and other foreground objects. In fact, a
low Moon is no wider than any other Moon
(cameras prove it) but the human brain
insists otherwise. To observers in the
western USA, therefore, the eclipse will
appear super-sized.
It
might seem puzzling that the Moon turns
red when it enters the shadow of the
Earth—aren’t shadows supposed to be
dark? In this case, the delicate layer
of dusty air surrounding our planet
reddens and redirects the light of the
sun, filling the dark behind Earth with
a sunset-red glow. The exact hue
(anything from bright orange to blood
red is possible) depends on the
unpredictable state of the atmosphere at
the time of the eclipse. As Jack
Horkheimer (1938-2010) of the Miami
Space Transit Planetarium loved to say,
"Only the shadow knows."
Atmospheric scientist Richard Keen of
the University of Colorado might know,
too. For years he has studied lunar
eclipses as a means of monitoring
conditions in Earth's upper atmosphere,
and he has become skilled at forecasting
these events.
"I
expect this eclipse to be bright orange,
or even copper-colored, with a possible
hint of turquoise at the edge," he
predicts.
Earth's stratosphere is the key: "During
a lunar eclipse, most of the light
illuminating the moon passes through the
stratosphere where it is reddened by
scattering," he explains. "If the
stratosphere is loaded with dust from
volcanic eruptions, the eclipse will be
dark; a clear stratosphere, on the other
hand, produces a brighter eclipse. At
the moment, the stratosphere is mostly
clear with little input from recent
volcanoes."
That
explains the brightness of the eclipse,
but what about the "hint of turquoise"?
"Light passing through the upper
stratosphere penetrates the ozone layer,
which absorbs red light and actually
makes the passing light ray bluer. This
can be seen as a soft blue fringe around
the red core of Earth's shadow."
Look
for the turquoise near the beginning of
the eclipse when the edge of Earth's
shadow is sweeping across the lunar
terrain, he advises.
A
bright red, soft turquoise, super-sized
lunar eclipse: It’s coming on Saturday
night, Dec. 10th
from
11.30pm- Totality 1.06am concludes
3.30am. Stay up and enjoy the show.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2011.html#LE2011Dec10T
If
you can’t view the event yourself
because of cloud cover or such then
there is the live internet coverage…
SLOOH's Live Coverage
SLOOH,
will set up remote telescopes to
optimally webcast the event, along with
narration by experts for the entire
event.
Link
below….
http://www.slooh.com/lunar-eclipse/index.php
Ice In Space
Discussion Thread:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=71605
On December 10th 2011 there's an
excellent celestial event - a Total
Lunar Eclipse. It's where the shadow of
the Earth is cast upon the Moon, and the
moon turns red! It's completely safe to
observe and easy to photograph.
The eclipse is visible in its entirety
from all of Australia and New Zealand,
and Asia. For North Americans, the
eclipse is in progress as the Moon sets,
while observers in Europe and Africa
will miss the early stages of the
eclipse as it will be in progress as the
Moon rises. South America misses this
eclipse entirely.
For Australians and New Zealanders this
will be a well-placed eclipse. The
partial stages start just before
midnight on the 10th December (depending
on your timezone) heading into totality
in the early hours of the 11th December.
It's quite a short eclipse, with
totality lasting 51 minutes (the Total
Lunar Eclipse in June 2011 lasted 100
minutes!).
To find out what a Total Lunar Eclipse
is and how it happens, how to view it
and photograph it, and times for your
location, check out the link below:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-619-0-0-1-0.html
If you live outside Australia and New
Zealand, you can also check the link for
times of a city nearest you.
If you've got any questions, feel free
to post on the IceInSpace Forum. We've
got a forum thread specifically for
lunar eclipse discussions, or head to
our IceInSpace Facebook page, Like our
page and post on our wall.
IceInSpace Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/iceinspace
Good luck, we'd love to see your reports
and images!
NAS talks....
ASTRONOMY 2012 books for sale at the
November meeting $25 each.
NAS member Dennis
Zambelis will do a talk in December
called
"Mirror Making Part
4"
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New
"For Sale" item
Viewing Night 9th
April 2011 was great, read report
here
Great Website for ISS passes:
www.heavens-above.com
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Siding Spring
Observatory
Located 27
kilometres west
of
Coonabarabran
is Siding
Spring
Observatory,
Australia’s
largest optical
astronomy
research
facility.
The history of
Coonabarabran’s
connection with
astronomy began
in the 1950’s
when the
Australian
National
University’s
Research School
of Astronomy and
Astrophysics
began searching
for a location
to house their
new telescopes.
http://www.warrumbungleregion.com.au/thingsToSeeDo.cfm?newsId=31
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David Hough won the Erwin van der
Velden
Memorial Trophy 2011
http://www.qldastrofest.org.au/
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Newcastle Mum wins scholarship to
the International Space University in
Strasbourg France (ISU)
THE countdown is on for Medowie mum
Kim Ellis who blasts off to space school
in less than two weeks.
Scientist and former BHP-Billiton worker
said;
"The course counts towards a
postgraduate masters degree and the
schedule is solid.
Activities include theme days,
workshops, lectures, working in the law
department and excursions."
Ms Ellis will also do a presentation on
Australian culture and a contribute to a
group project concentrating on asteroid
mining.
In the past students have been taken on
anti-gravity flights, participated in
robotics competitions and launched
rockets.
The program provides interdisciplinary
and intercultural activities designed to
produce a comprehensive analysis and
proposal for an international space
project; or work on a topic relevant to
the professional space sector.
At ISU, Kim will participate in the
Space Studies Program an intensive nine
week course offering an overview of the
various space disciplines, and the
opportunity to take part in individual
and team projects
She's been on Cloud Nine since her
success letter arrived but it's Mars
that Kim's been sinking her scientific
teeth into lately. Listen to the
interview with Kim..
http://blogs.abc.net.au/nsw/2010/05/space-student-sets-sights-on-mars.html
Kim's blog that will be updated
everyday when she is in France...
http://blog.internationalearthspacetechnology.com/
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Moth
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Join in with Discover SKA
Square Kilometer Array Telescope (The
international radio-telescope for the
21st century)
"Australia Beneath the Stars"
(Astro-Photography Competition)
Hello all,
As you are aware, each year a new theme
for the Themed Section of the "David
Malin Awards" is introduced. The CWAS is
pleased to announce that the theme
for 2011 is, "Australia Beneath the
Stars" - iconic Australian scenes, taken
at night, that are readily identifiable
as 'made in Australia'. They can be
inland, maritime, city or suburban
environments, but must have an obvious
connection to Australia and the night
sky. The images must be single
exposures, not a composite, except for
High Dynamic Range (HDR) images.
The submissions web page will be
activated early in the new year.
Good Luck and we look forward to seeing
your entries in next year's "David
Malin Awards".
Regards, John Sarkissian
CWAS AstroFest Organising Committee
http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/news_events/astrof\est/awards/
Congratulations NAS member Brad Le
Brocque for winning "Solar System
Wide-Field" .
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click on image to view Alan's astro-photography
Congratulations Alan!
NAS Librarian Alan Meehan won the
Erwin Van Der Velden Memorial Trophy
2010
http://www.qldastrofest.org.au/html/photo_comp.htm
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South Pacific Star Party
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Join these fun holiday programs
run by CSIRO's Double Helix
Science Club in New South
Wales.
Holiday Programs (New South
Wales)
Start:
27
September 2010
End:
8
October 2010
General Information
CSIRO's Double Helix Science
Club in New South Wales offers a
range of hands-on science
programs run during the school
holidays that are sure to make
learning a fun and memorable
experience
http://www.csiro.au/events/NSW-Holidays.html
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Star Nights
Every Wednesday Night At The 'Village Resort'
288 Hastings River Drive Port Macquarie NSW.
Video 6.45pm – Show 7pm.
For everybody attending there are lots of freebies - fact sheets, star maps, 'What's in the Night Sky' guides, a Science Magazine plus a raffle and DVD giveaway. For early-birds, from about 6.45pm, watch a fantastic 15 minute astronomy DVD. No need to book - just turn up on the night. Grab the family and friends and get out under the stars, you won't be sorry!
http://www.hastings.nsw.gov.au/www/html/2587-event-details.asp?intEventID=8291
Observatories to visit in the holidays....
http://www.quasarastronomy.com.au/places.htm
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NASA Hayabusa Re-entry Observing
Campaign
http://airborne.seti.org/hayabusa/
Youtube images of the re-entry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvC59g5X5Wk
Scientists scramble for Japanese
asteroid capsule
A capsule that scientists hope will
contain a little slice of outer space
after a seven-year journey across the
solar system was sitting in the
Australian Outback on Monday waiting to
be recovered.
The pod, which was ejected from a
Japanese space probe as it burned up in
a spectacular meteor-like display over
Australia, could hold the first piece of
asteroid ever brought to Earth. more...
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-world/scientists-scramble-for-japanese-asteroid-capsule-20100614-y96b.html
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency
http://www.jaxa.jp/index_e.html
The Hayabusa (the original code name
was MUSES-C) engineering spacecraft was
designed to acquire samples from the
surface of near-Earth asteroid 25143
Itokawa (1998 SF36) and return them to
Earth. The main objectives of the
mission were to demonstrate the
performance of various technical items
such as ion engines, autonomous
navigation, sampling of the asteroid's
surface, and high-speed reentry into the
Earth's atmosphere. In addition,
important scientific results were
expected from this mission.
Scott Alder has tweaked some images
from the JAXA website of the asteroid .
link
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NAS T-Shirts
Alan Meehan has produced a NAS T-Shirt
for sale
anyone can buy one from Alan prices
start at $12.00
Contact Alan
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More news links here...
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Barry Clark is selling a
carbon
tube Celestron telescope,11
inch SCT CGE and its Losmandy G11 mount
with Gemini IV for sale for $A 5.0k For
full specs email barry.
barryclark at datafast.net.au
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Southern Observer:
AAO Press release:
‘Out of this World’ Honour for
Australian
Astronomer
Professor Fred Watson, Astronomer-in-
Charge of the Anglo-Australian
Observatory,
and one of Australia’s best-known
science communicators, has been honoured
for his services to astronomy. On
Australia Day, January 26, Fred was
appointed
a Member in the General Division
of the Order of Australia.
‘It’s truly an out-of-this-world
experience
to find yourself in the Australia Day
honours
list,’ said Fred. ‘We live in an era
when astronomy and space science are
exploding with new discoveries, so it’s
quite easy to spread the excitement
around. This honour reflects the
generous
support I’ve had over the years from
friends and colleagues in Australia and
worldwide.’
More:
Link here
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ISS - Visible Passes-
http://www.heavens-above.com
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NAS
vice-president wins David Malin Award
In July 2009, the Central West
Astronomical Society's astrophotography
exhibition and competition was held
again as part of the CWAS AstroFest.
Amateur astronomers and photographers
from around Australia were invited to
take part in the exhibition and to
submit their astrophotographs for
consideration in the prestigious
"David Malin Awards". The exhibited
photographs represent the very best of
those received. NAS president David
Hough won an award for "Ozone Eclipse -
August 2007" in the Amateur: Solar
System section. See David's image here:
http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/news_events/astrofest/awards/
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Kincumber Mt
Viewing
The
NAS held a viewing night at
Kincumber Mt recently
link here..
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The Sydney Observatory.
http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/events/whatson.asp
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Laser Pointers
NAS policy and permit
form for members who own green laser
pointers available now for more info
contact NAS vice-president Chris Bond
Mobile- 0412786846
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Chris Bond
interview 13th March 2009 ABC radio
-link to Mp3
An interview on ABC Newcastle Radio
about the NAS IYA events.
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Out there a world waits
BY JOANNE MCCARTHY
19/01/2009 8:45:00 AM Newcastle
Herald
WITHIN 100 light years of
our solar system are a
handful of other,
similar-sized star systems.
Only a couple of dozen
amateur astronomers in the
world have decided that 100
light years is their
territory, the stars their
point of interest, and
possible planets around
those stars their obsession.
Dennis Zambelis, of
Seaham, is one of them.
He's 46, works as a
pathology technician at John
Hunter Hospital, is married
and has kids, and some time
in the next few decades he
would like to find a planet
circling a star far, far
away.
"I'd love with a passion
to find another planet
around a star. It's tedious,
and as an amateur you can
never really hope to find
one in your lifetime, but I
do anyway."
His wife Michelle, who
sounded like a patient and
loving woman on the phone,
accustomed to waving her
husband off into the dark,
to look at stars, said
Dennis was an astronomer
from the day he was born.
"We moved out to Seaham
because of astronomy. The
sky's darker here. I'd say
it's an obsession," she
said.
Dennis doesn't dispute
the obsession part, but
challenges the "from the day
he was born" bit.
"At seven years old I was
presented with a telescope.
My mum bought it for me. I
can remember it so clearly.
"I looked up, and
something clicked. As soon
as I looked at a star, even
at that age, I knew it was
going to change my life. I
was a kid of seven with a
basic telescope in my hands,
and I was transported off
planet earth."
The International Year of
Astronomy was launched in
Paris last week, with 2009
chosen because it marks the
400th anniversary of
Galileo's observation, and
drawing, of a celestial
object the moon with the aid
of a telescope.
On its website the
International Astronomical
Union said the year was "a
chance to shine a spotlight
on astronomy, and a chance
for astronomers to
communicate their excitement
to the rest of the
population".
Dennis Zambelis, the
technical officer for
Newcastle Astronomical
Society, is such a person.
Newcastle Herald link...
Dennis' images
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NAS committee member Scott Alder has
captured the occultation of Antares by the
Moon on 14th July 2008
view here
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