S C H W E I F S T E
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Arxiv:2001.00125V1 [Astro-Ph.EP] 1 Jan 2020
Draft version January 3, 2020 Typeset using LATEX default style in AASTeX61 SIZE AND SHAPE CONSTRAINTS OF (486958) ARROKOTH FROM STELLAR OCCULTATIONS Marc W. Buie,1 Simon B. Porter,1 et al. 1Southwest Research Institute 1050 Walnut St., Suite 300, Boulder, CO 80302 USA To be submitted to Astronomical Journal, Version 1.1, 2019/12/30 ABSTRACT We present the results from four stellar occultations by (486958) Arrokoth, the flyby target of the New Horizons extended mission. Three of the four efforts led to positive detections of the body, and all constrained the presence of rings and other debris, finding none. Twenty-five mobile stations were deployed for 2017 June 3 and augmented by fixed telescopes. There were no positive detections from this effort. The event on 2017 July 10 was observed by SOFIA with one very short chord. Twenty-four deployed stations on 2017 July 17 resulted in five chords that clearly showed a complicated shape consistent with a contact binary with rough dimensions of 20 by 30 km for the overall outline. A visible albedo of 10% was derived from these data. Twenty-two systems were deployed for the fourth event on 2018 Aug 4 and resulted in two chords. The combination of the occultation data and the flyby results provides a significant refinement of the rotation period, now estimated to be 15.9380 ± 0.0005 hours. The occultation data also provided high-precision astrometric constraints on the position of the object that were crucial for supporting the navigation for the New Horizons flyby. This work demonstrates an effective method for obtaining detailed size and shape information and probing for rings and dust on distant Kuiper Belt objects as well as being an important source of positional data that can aid in spacecraft navigation that is particularly useful for small and distant bodies. -
Ice& Stone 2020
Ice & Stone 2020 WEEK 51: DECEMBER 13-19 Presented by The Earthrise Institute # 51 Authored by Alan Hale COMET OF THE WEEK: The Great Comet of 1680 Perihelion: 1680 December 18.49, q = 0.006 AU The Great Comet of 1680 over Rotterdam in The Netherlands, during late December 1680 as painted by the Dutch artist Lieve Verschuier. This particular comet was undoubtedly one of the brightest comets of the 17th Century, but it is also one of the most important comets in history from a scientific perspective, and perhaps even from the perspective of overall human history. While there were certainly plenty of superstitions attached to the comet’s appearance, the scientific investigations made of it were among the beginnings of the era in European history we now call The Enlightenment, and indeed, in a sense the Great Comet of 1680 can perhaps be considered as one of the sparks of that era. The significance began with the comet’s discovery, which was made on the morning of November 14, 1680, by a German astronomer residing in Coburg, Gottfried Kirch – the first comet ever to be discovered by means of a telescope. It was already around 4th magnitude at that time, and located near the star Regulus in the constellation Leo; from that point it traveled eastward and brightened rapidly, being closest to Earth (0.42 AU) on November 30. By that time it was a conspicuous naked-eye object with a tail 20 to 30 degrees long, and it remained visible for another week before disappearing into morning twilight. -
Prime Focus Page 2 August 2020 the Third Time Is Indeed the Charm
Highlights of the August Sky - - - 1st - - - DAWN: Venus and Zeta (ζ) Tauri are less than 2° apart. DUSK: A waxing gibbous Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn form a triangle. - - - 3rd - - - Full Moon 11:59 am EDT KAS - - - 9th - - - AM: Mars and a waning gibbous Moon are 1° apart. Perseid Potluck Picnic: Saturday, August 8 @ 6:00 pm - - - 11th - - - Last Quarter Moon ― Canceled Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic ― 12:45 pm EDT PM: Perseid Meteor Shower Member Observing: Saturday, August 8 @ 9:00 pm peaks. Jupiter, Saturn & The Summer Triangle • See Page 13 for Details th - - - 13 - - - AM: A waning crescent Moon and Aldebaran are Training Session: August 14, 21 & 28 @ 8:00 pm less than 4° apart. Owl Observatory • See Page 14 for Details and to Register th - - - 15 - - - DAWN: A slender waning crescent Moon is 3.5° to the Member Observing: Saturday, August 22 @ 9:00 pm upper le of Venus. Jupiter, Saturn & Summer Nebulae • See Page 13 for Details - - - 18th - - - New Moon 10:42 pm EDT - - - 22nd - - - Inside the Newsletter. DUSK: A waxing crescent Moon is over 5° to Spica’s upper right. Board Meeng Minutes..................... p. 2 - - - 25th - - - Observaons of NEOWISE................. p. 3 First Quarter Moon 1:58 pm EDT Member NEOWISE Images................ p. 4 DUSK: The Moon is 6° to the KAS Member Observatories...............p. 7 upper right of Antares. Stellar Walkabout.............................. p. 8 th - - - 27 - - - NASA Night Sky Notes........................ p. 10 DUSK: The Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn form a line. Membership of the KAS..................... p. 11 - - - 28th - - - August Night Sky................................ p. 12 DUSK: A gibbous Moon and Jupiter are separated by 2°. -
Precise Astrometry and Diameters of Asteroids from Occultations – a Data-Set of Observations and Their Interpretation
MNRAS 000,1–22 (2020) Preprint 14 October 2020 Compiled using MNRAS LATEX style file v3.0 Precise astrometry and diameters of asteroids from occultations – a data-set of observations and their interpretation David Herald 1¢, David Gault2, Robert Anderson3, David Dunham4, Eric Frappa5, Tsutomu Hayamizu6, Steve Kerr7, Kazuhisa Miyashita8, John Moore9, Hristo Pavlov10, Steve Preston11, John Talbot12, Brad Timerson (deceased)13 1Trans Tasman Occultation Alliance, [email protected] 2Trans Tasman Occultation Alliance, [email protected] 3International Occultation Timing Association, [email protected] 4International Occultation Timing Association, [email protected] 5Euraster, [email protected] 6Japanese Occultation Information Network, [email protected] 7Trans Tasman Occultation Alliance, [email protected] 8Japanese Occultation Information Network, [email protected] 9International Occultation Timing Association, [email protected] 10International Occultation Timing Association – European Section, [email protected] 11International Occultation Timing Association, [email protected] 12Trans Tasman Occultation Alliance, [email protected] 13International Occultation Timing Association, deceased Accepted XXX. Received YYY; in original form ZZZ ABSTRACT Occultations of stars by asteroids have been observed since 1961, increasing from a very small number to now over 500 annually. We have created and regularly maintain a growing data-set of more than 5,000 observed asteroidal occultations. The data-set includes: the raw observations; astrometry at the 1 mas level based on centre of mass or figure (not illumination); where possible the asteroid’s diameter to 5 km or better, and fits to shape models; the separation and diameters of asteroidal satellites; and double star discoveries with typical separations being in the tens of mas or less. -
Planetary Defense Coordination Office
Planetary Defense Coordination Office Lindley Johnson NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer Planetary Defense Coordination Office Planetary Science Division NASA Headquarters Washington, DC Update to SMPAG February 6, 2020 n a s a . g o v / planetarydefense 2 Current Planetary Defense Flight Mission Projects NEOWISE • Continues in extended NEO survey operations • Expected to exceed maximum useful temperatures in ~Summer 2020 DART: Double Asteroid Redirection Test • Demonstration of kinetic impactor technique • Target - Moon of 65803 Didymos • Launch NET July 2021, impact September 2022 • Completed Mission-level PDR April 2018 • KDP-C “Confirmation” signed August 2018 • CDR completed June 2019, DPMC completed August 2019 • Phase C complete by 1 April 2020 3 Signatories to the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) iawn.net European Southern China National Northolt Branch Zwicky Višnjan Observatory Observatory Space Administration Observatories (UK) Transient (Croatia) Facility (US) National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics & Electronics (México) Korean Astronomy Space Science Institute (KASI) University of Nariño Inst. of Solar- Sormano Astronomical Colombia Terrestrial Physics Observatory (Italy) (Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences) Crimean European Institute of Astronomy, Astrophysical Observatory National Aeronautics and SONEAR Observatory Russian Academy of Space (Brazil) (Russian Academy of Sciences) Space Administration Sciences (ИНАСАН) Agency Special Follow-up Observers Astrophysical Peter Birtwhistle (UK) Observatory (Russian David Balam (Canada) 5 Academy of Patrick Wiggins (USA) Sciences) Kourovka Astronomical Observatory (UrFU ) Currently 20 signatories n a s a . g o v / planetarydefense NASA’s search started in 1998 *Potentially Hazardous Asteroids come within 7.5 million km of Earth orbit n a s a . g o v / planetarydefense All Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) n a s a . -
October 2019 Newsletter for the Wiltshire, Swindon, Beckington Committee Changes Astronomical Societies
Volume25, Issue 2 NWASNEWS October 2019 Newsletter for the Wiltshire, Swindon, Beckington Committee Changes Astronomical Societies A couple of changes to the committee The other position to be filled at the Wiltshire Society Page 2 positions from the AGM to report. To- AGM was the position of chairman. I ny Vale has stepped back from the have stepped back into the post for a Swindon Stargazers 3 year while some members think Beckington AS 4 observing coordinator alongside Jona- than Gale and Chris Brooks has volun- about options running forward but NASA Space Place 5 teered to step in, and is working on the thank you for year in office Keith. How to power a space probe viewing night list for the year, although The good news is that I have had 2 Space News 6-15 a family bereavement means he will members ask to be considered for 3.5 Billion yo fossil confirmed be supplying a more complete list in next year. Purple Twilight causes the next few days. He will also post On the Wiltshire Society page is a for Mush Starship Announcements these on the Facebook members page Fertile Mice from ISS sale item, an NEQ6 skywatcher Triple Massive Black hole System and the website via Sam. mount and battery. This is barely Summer Asteroid Near Miss Peter has completed the speaker list used, but Philip Proven is stepping Io’s 500 day Cycle at Loki Volca- for the year, see page 2, February is away from viewing and has this for noe Metalic Asteroid May have had waiting confirmation. -
Curriculum Vitae Donna M. Pierce ! Department of Physics and Astronomy Phone: 662-325-2914 P.O
Curriculum Vitae Donna M. Pierce ! Department of Physics and Astronomy Phone: 662-325-2914 P.O. Box 5167 Fax: 662-325-8898 Mississippi State, MS 39762-5167 E-Mail: [email protected] ! ! !Education Ph.D. Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park 2006 Dissertation: Formation and Destruction of Carbon Monoxide in Cometary Comae Advisor: Michael F. A’Hearn M.S. Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park 2000 B.S. Physics, University of Kentucky 1997 Summa Cum Laude Departmental Honors in Physics ! !Employment History Associate Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy Aug. 2013 – Present Mississippi State University Assistant Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy Jan. 2007 – Aug. 2013 Mississippi State University Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Astronomy May – Dec. 2006 University of Texas at Austin Research Fellow Department of Astronomy Oct. 2005 – April 2006 University of Texas at Austin Graduate Research Assistant Department of Astronomy June 2000 – Sept. 2005 University of Maryland, College Park Astronomy Tutor University of Maryland Oct. – Dec. 2001 Academic Achievement Programs Graduate Teaching Assistant Department of Astronomy June 1999 – May 2000 University of Maryland, College Park Summer Intern Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics June – Aug. 1997 & 1998 NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Laboratory Assistant Optics and Spectroscopy Laboratory Aug. – Dec. 1996 Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Kentucky REU Student Department of Physics and Astronomy June – Aug. 1996 University of Nevada -
Planetary Defense Coordination Office
Planetary Defense Coordination Office Lindley Johnson NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer Planetary Defense Coordination Office Planetary Science Division NASA Headquarters Washington, DC Update to AAAC January 23, 2020 n a s a . g o v / planetarydefense Planetary Defense Coordination Office The Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) was established in January 2016 at NASA HQ to manage planetary defense related activities across NASA, and coordinate with both U.S. interagency and international efforts to study and plan response to the asteroid impact hazard. Mission Statement Lead national and international efforts to: • Detect any potential for significant impact of planet Earth by natural objects • Appraise the range of potential effects by any possible impact • Develop strategies to mitigate impact effects on human welfare N e a r - Earth Object Observations Program – Interagency and International Partnerships – Mitigation Research 3 New White House Guidance released on 20 June 2018 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp- content/uploads/2018/06/National-Near- Earth-Object-Preparedness-Strategy-and- Action-Plan-23-pages-1MB.pdf N e a r - Earth Object Observations Program – Interagency and International Partnerships – Mitigation Research National NEO Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan Goals in the New Action Plan • Enhance NEO detection, characterization, and tracking capabilities • Improve modeling, predictions, and information integration • Develop technologies for NEO deflection and disruption • Increase international cooperation on -
Download Paper
DR. WILLIAM A. BEZOUSKA Dr. William A. Bezouska is a project engineer at The Aerospace Corporation. Bezouska has spent the last decade at Aerospace studying international developments in space. Prior to that, he worked in the academic community on small satellites and robotic space systems at the Information Sciences Institute. He began his career at Westinghouse in the nuclear power industry. Bezouska received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and his Ph.D. in astronautical engineering from the University of Southern California. ABOUT THE CENTER FOR SPACE POLICY AND STRATEGY The Center for Space Policy and Strategy is dedicated to shaping the future by providing nonpartisan research and strategic analysis to decisionmakers. The center is part of The Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit organization that advises the government on complex space enterprise and systems engineering problems. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect those of The Aerospace Corporation, its management, or its customers. Contact us at www.aerospace.org/policy or [email protected] Summary U.S. aspirations for continued leadership in space will require drawing from all sources of human creativity and inspiration. One important source is art, which can connect people and engage them in technological progress and scientific discovery. Art and space have connections going back to the early days of the space race. Creating art about space, for space, or even in space has helped propel both fields forward. This paper highlights the intersections between space and art—including some surprising ones—to demonstrate how art can be woven into U.S. -
Urania Nr 5/2019
DWUMIESIĘCZNIK . Tom XC . 5/2019 (803) CENA 14,90 ZŁ w tym 8% VAT CIEMNA MATERIA DODATEK Międzynarodowej Unii Astronomicznej na temat ochrony ciemnego nieba ISSN 1689-6009 indeks 401323 ZACHOWAĆ CIEMNOŚĆ! Nowe odcinki „Astronarium” na antenie TVP i w serwisie YouTube Od 11 lipca prezentujemy odcinki nowego sezonu ASTRONARIUM: nowa czołówka, nowe studio, nowe tematy Aktualne godziny emisji w ogólnopolskim pasmie TVP3 czwartek godz. 17.00 powtórki: piątek godz. 11.00 Wszystkie odcinki na: https://www.youtube.com/AstronariumPL KOPRODUKCJA FINANSOWANIE SŁOWEM WSTĘPU Urania nasza Muza Dla szkół, uczelni oraz miłośników astronomii i amatorów nocnego nieba yle jakoś przetrwać tę szaloną jesień! Co znaczy przygotowywać dwutygodnik dla telewizji i dwumiesięcznik do EMPiK-ów i kiosków, wiedzą tylko moi przyjaciele i współpracownicy tworzący Uranię i Astronarium. Do tego doszły jeszcze wyjątkowo liczne wyjazdy promocyjne i imprezy, jak rocznica lądowania na Księżycu w Centrum Nauki EXPERYMENT w Gdyni, AstroShow Delty Optical w Chęcinach, European Rover Challenge, czyli łaziki marsjańskie w Kielcach, World Space Week we Wrocławiu i Noc w Instytucie BLotnictwa na Okęciu w Warszawie i pewnie jeszcze kilka, o których zapomniałem. Wszędzie tam byli reprezentanci Uranii i Astronarium, rozdali setki egzemplarzy czasopism, pamiątek i ulotek, zorganizowali dziesiątki projekcji filmowych. Wszystkim Kolegom serdecznie dziękuję za udział w tych wydarzeniach, a gospodarzy innych imprez, na które nie daliśmy rady dotrzeć, Komitet Noblowski zapomniał gorąco przepraszam. To wszystko oczywiście w ferworze codziennych obowiązków, dziennikarskich, naukowych, o Aleksandrze Wolszczanie… dydaktycznych, które na co dzień dotykają nasze zespoły. Skandal! To jeszcze nie koniec. Naszym służbowym obowiązkiem było uczestnictwo w 39. Zjeździe Polskiego Towarzystwa Astronomicznego i poprzedzającym go Space Forum organizacji pozarządowych w Olsztynie oraz obchodach jubileuszu 100-lecia Polskiego Towarzystwa Miłośników Astronomii w Krakowie. -
Astronomický Ústav SAV Správa O
Astronomický ústav SAV Správa o činnosti organizácie SAV za rok 2018 Tatranská Lomnica január 2019 Obsah osnovy Správy o činnosti organizácie SAV za rok 2018 1. Základné údaje o organizácii 2. Vedecká činnosť 3. Doktorandské štúdium, iná pedagogická činnosť a budovanie ľudských zdrojov pre vedu a techniku 4. Medzinárodná vedecká spolupráca 5. Vedná politika 6. Spolupráca s VŠ a inými subjektmi v oblasti vedy a techniky 7. Spolupráca s aplikačnou a hospodárskou sférou 8. Aktivity pre Národnú radu SR, vládu SR, ústredné orgány štátnej správy SR a iné organizácie 9. Vedecko-organizačné a popularizačné aktivity 10. Činnosť knižnično-informačného pracoviska 11. Aktivity v orgánoch SAV 12. Hospodárenie organizácie 13. Nadácie a fondy pri organizácii SAV 14. Iné významné činnosti organizácie SAV 15. Vyznamenania, ocenenia a ceny udelené organizácii a pracovníkom organizácie SAV 16. Poskytovanie informácií v súlade so zákonom o slobodnom prístupe k informáciám 17. Problémy a podnety pre činnosť SAV PRÍLOHY A Zoznam zamestnancov a doktorandov organizácie k 31.12.2018 B Projekty riešené v organizácii C Publikačná činnosť organizácie D Údaje o pedagogickej činnosti organizácie E Medzinárodná mobilita organizácie F Vedecko-popularizačná činnosť pracovníkov organizácie SAV Správa o činnosti organizácie SAV 1. Základné údaje o organizácii 1.1. Kontaktné údaje Názov: Astronomický ústav SAV Riaditeľ: Mgr. Martin Vaňko, PhD. Zástupca riaditeľa: Mgr. Peter Gömöry, PhD. Vedecký tajomník: Mgr. Marián Jakubík, PhD. Predseda vedeckej rady: RNDr. Luboš Neslušan, CSc. Člen snemu SAV: Mgr. Marián Jakubík, PhD. Adresa: Astronomický ústav SAV, 059 60 Tatranská Lomnica https://www.ta3.sk Tel.: neuvedený Fax: neuvedený E-mail: neuvedený Názvy a adresy detašovaných pracovísk: Astronomický ústav - Oddelenie medziplanetárnej hmoty Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 04 Bratislava Vedúci detašovaných pracovísk: Astronomický ústav - Oddelenie medziplanetárnej hmoty prof. -
SMCAS Events Continue Virtually …
The SAN MATEO COUNTY ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY Sept. – Dec. • 2020 Issue 669th General Meeting: September 19 770th General Meeting: October 24 771st General Meeting: November 21 772nd General Meeting: December 19 Founded in 1960, the San Mateo County Astronomical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organiza- SMCAS Events Continue tion for amateur astronomers and interested members of the Virtually … public. Visitors may attend Society meetings and lectures on the first Friday of each month, September to June, and Star Parties two Saturdays a month. All events are free for visitors and guests. Family memberships are offered at a nominal annual cost. Detailed membership information is found at http://www.smcasas- tro.com/membership.html where those who want can join via PayPal. Membership also includes access to our Event Horizon newsletter, discounted costs and subscriptions to calendars and magazines, monthly star parties of the Society and the College of San Mateo, use of loaner telescopes, field trips, social occasions and general meetings presenting guest speakers and programs. For additional information, please email us at [email protected] or call (650) See page 3 or page 5 for more details 678-2762. Membership forms are available NOTE: CSM is closed due to the pandemic. SMCAS near the end of this newsletter events are online until further notice. beginning on page 17. 1 Table of Contents From the Prez (President’s Corner)............................................................................ 3 Upcoming Events ....................................................................................................... 5 SMCAS Presentations Now in Conjunction with Star Parties................................... 5 CalStar 2020 ● September 17 to 20 ● Lake San Antonio Park ................................. 6 Solar System Rise and Set Times..............................................................................