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Historical Earthquakes in Western Australia Kevin Mccue Australian Seismological Centre, Canberra ACT
Historical Earthquakes in Western Australia Kevin McCue Australian Seismological Centre, Canberra ACT. Abstract This paper is a tabulation and description of some earthquakes and tsunamis in Western Australia that occurred before the first modern short-period seismograph installation at Watheroo in 1958. The purpose of investigating these historical earthquakes is to better assess the relative earthquake hazard facing the State than would be obtained using just data from the post–modern instrumental period. This study supplements the earlier extensive historical investigation of Everingham and Tilbury (1972). It was made possible by the Australian National library project, TROVE, to scan and make available on-line Australian newspapers published before 1954. The West Australian newspaper commenced publication in Perth in 1833. Western Australia is rather large with a sparsely distributed population, most of the people live along the coast. When an earthquake is felt in several places it would indicate a larger magnitude than one in say Victoria felt at a similar number of sites. Both large interplate and local intraplate earthquakes are felt in the north-west and sometimes it is difficult to identify the source because not all major historical earthquakes on the plate boundary are tabulated by the ISC or USGS. An earthquake on 29 April 1936 is a good example, local or distant source? An interesting feature of the large earthquakes in WA is their apparent spatial and temporal migration, the latter alluded to by Everingham and Tilbury (1972). One could deduce that the seismicity rate changed before the major earthquake in 1906 offshore the central west coast of WA. -
The Comet's Tale
THE COMET’S TALE Journal of the Comet Section of the British Astronomical Association Number 33, 2014 January Not the Comet of the Century 2013 R1 (Lovejoy) imaged by Damian Peach on 2013 December 24 using 106mm F5. STL-11k. LRGB. L: 7x2mins. RGB: 1x2mins. Today’s images of bright binocular comets rival drawings of Great Comets of the nineteenth century. Rather predictably the expected comet of the century Contents failed to materialise, however several of the other comets mentioned in the last issue, together with the Comet Section contacts 2 additional surprise shown above, put on good From the Director 2 appearances. 2011 L4 (PanSTARRS), 2012 F6 From the Secretary 3 (Lemmon), 2012 S1 (ISON) and 2013 R1 (Lovejoy) all Tales from the past 5 th became brighter than 6 magnitude and 2P/Encke, 2012 RAS meeting report 6 K5 (LINEAR), 2012 L2 (LINEAR), 2012 T5 (Bressi), Comet Section meeting report 9 2012 V2 (LINEAR), 2012 X1 (LINEAR), and 2013 V3 SPA meeting - Rob McNaught 13 (Nevski) were all binocular objects. Whether 2014 will Professional tales 14 bring such riches remains to be seen, but three comets The Legacy of Comet Hunters 16 are predicted to come within binocular range and we Project Alcock update 21 can hope for some new discoveries. We should get Review of observations 23 some spectacular close-up images of 67P/Churyumov- Prospects for 2014 44 Gerasimenko from the Rosetta spacecraft. BAA COMET SECTION NEWSLETTER 2 THE COMET’S TALE Comet Section contacts Director: Jonathan Shanklin, 11 City Road, CAMBRIDGE. CB1 1DP England. Phone: (+44) (0)1223 571250 (H) or (+44) (0)1223 221482 (W) Fax: (+44) (0)1223 221279 (W) E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected] WWW page : http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/ Assistant Director (Observations): Guy Hurst, 16 Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise, BASINGSTOKE, Hampshire. -
STANDARD STARS for COMET PHOTOMETRY Wayne Osborn
STANDARD STARS FOR COMET PHOTOMETRY Wayne Osborn Physics Department, Central Michigan University Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 48859, U.S.A. Peter Birch Perth Observatory Bickley, Western Australia 6076, Australia Michael Feierberg Astronomy Program, University of Maryland College Park, Maryland 20742, U.S.A. ABSTRACT. Photoelectric photometry of comets is a feasible and worth- while research program for small telescopes. Nine filters designed to isolate selected emission features and continuum regions in cometary spectra have been adopted by the IAU as those recommended for comet photometry. Magnitudes of standard stars for the IAU filter system have been derived. The results have been compared with previous observations and transformations to place all observations on a common system obtained. 1. INTRODUCTION A profitable research program for small telescopes is the photoelectric monitoring of comets. Because comets appear suddenly and most studies require measurements made over an extended period of time, observations with larger, heavily scheduled instruments are often impossible. Furthermore, comets are extended objects and for projects involving the comet's integrated brightness a small scale is preferable. We have established a system of photoelectric standards intended for comet photometry. 2. COMET PHOTOMETRY Comet photometry can be divided into two types: studies of the continuum and studies of emission lines. Continuum observations are directed toward understanding the dust component of the comet, and ideally only involve measures of reflectivity of the solar spectrum. The emission line studies are concerned with the production of the components of the 313 J. B. Hearnshaw and P. L. Cottrell (eds.), Instrumentation and Research Programmes for Small Telescopes, 313-314. -
Comet Resources Comet Books Cometography: a Catalog of Comets, by Gary Kronk
APPENDIX Comet Resources Comet Books Cometography: A Catalog of Comets, by Gary Kronk. Cometography Volume 1. Ancient – 1799. Cambridge University Press 1999. ISBN-13: 978-0521585040. Cometography Volume 2. 1800 – 1899. Cambridge University Press 2003. ISBN-13: 978-0521585057. Cometography Volume 3. 1900 – 1932. Cambridge University Press 2007. ISBN-13: 978-0521585064. Cometography Volume 4. 1933 – 1959. Cambridge University Press 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0521585071. Cometography Volume 5. 1960 – 1982. Cambridge University Press 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0521872263. David Levy's Guide to Observing and Discovering Comets. Cambridge University Press 2003. ISBN-13: 978-0521520515. The Greatest Comets in History: Broom Stars and Celestial Scimitars by David Seargent. Springer. ISBN-13: 978-0387095127. 2008. Comets: A Chronological History of Observation, Science, Myth, and Folklore by Donald K. Yeomans. John Wiley & Sons 1991. ISBN-13: 978-0471610113. Great Comets by Robert Burnham. Cambridge University Press 2000. ISBN-13: 978-0521646000. 383 384 Appendix Comets and How to Observe Them by Richard Schmude. Springer 2010. ISBN-13: 978-1441957894. Observing Comets by Nick James and Gerald North. Springer 2002. ISBN-13: 978-1852335571. Comets, Popular Culture, and the Birth of Modern Cosmology by Sara Schechner Genuth. Princeton University Press 1999. ISBN-13: 978-0691009254. Fire in the Sky: Comets and Meteors, the Decisive Centuries in British Art and Science by Olson and Pasachoff. Cambridge University Press 1999. ISBN-13: 978-0521663595. Comets II (University -
Michael Philip Candy (1928-1994)
Notes and News Obituary Michael Philip Candy (1928-1994) Michael Candy was born at Bath, Somerset, Cepheus. Although he spent many hours in the Organising Committee of the Inter on 1928 December 23, the eldest of six chil further searches, it was to be his only comet national Astronomical Union Commission dren. He joined HM Nautical Almanac discovery. 20 (Positions and Motions of Minor Planets, Office, then located in Bath, in 1947 During his term as Director of the Comet Comets and Satellites) (1979-1988), Vice- September. In 1949 the ΝΑΟ moved to the Section Candy greatly encouraged both President of IAU Commission 6 (Astro Royal Greenwich Observatory's new site at established Section members and newcom nomical Telegrams) (1979-1982) and its Herstmonceux Castle in Sussex. ers. He had a friendly manner and was President (1982-1985). He was appointed Mike Candy was elected to membership always approachable. He found time to Acting Government Astronomer (Acting of the Association on 1950 November 29 reply to letters and acknowledged observa Director of the Perth Observatory) in 1984 and was particularly interested in comput tions, usually by postcard in his own clear and later confirmed as Government Astron ing and the smaller bodies of the Solar hand, adding useful bits of information or an omer and Director. Asteroid 3015 Candy System, and put his skills to good use extended ephemeris. was named after him for his work on south computing orbits for recently discovered During this time Candy was also busy ern hemisphere astronomy. He also served comets. Dr Gerald Merton was Director of with his professional astronomical career, as Councillor of the Astronomical Society the Comet Section when comet Arend- moving to the Astronomer Royal's Depart of Australia (1988-1990), and Councillor Roland was discovered in 1956 November, ment in 1958, taking a Bachelor of Science (1988-1990) and President (1989) of the and Candy computed a series of orbits as degree at London in 1963 and a Master of Royal Society of Western Australia. -
Schweifsternen Des Letzten Quartals Mehr Als Zufrieden
Mitteilungsblatt der Heft 173 (34. Jahrgang) ISSN (Online) 2511-1043 Februar 2018 Komet C/2016 R2 (PanSTARRS) am 10. Januar 2018 um 20:26 UT mit einem 12“ f/3,6 ASA Astrograph, RGB 32/12/12 Minuten belichtet mit einer FLI PL16200 CCD-Kamera, Gerald Rhemann Liebe Kometenfreunde, wann gibt es wieder einen hellen Kometen? Fragt man hin und wieder im Internet. Ich dagegen vermisse nichts und bin mit den Schweifsternen des letzten Quartals mehr als zufrieden. Herausheben möchte ich die Schweifdynamik, welche der Komet C/2016 R2 (PanSTARRS) hervorbringt (siehe Titelfoto): Sie wurde von einigen von uns fotografiert, die raschen Veränderungen im Schweif erinnerte nicht nur mich an eine sich drehende Qualle. Michael Jäger und ich werden darüber im VdS-Journal berichten. Viel eindrucksvoller als die dort abgedruckten Fotos sind aber die kleinen Videofilme, die man in unserer Bildergalerie findet. Visuell war davon praktisch nichts zu sehen. Nur in Instrumenten der Halbmeterklasse war überhaupt etwas vom Schweif erkennbar, in meinem 12-Zöller sah ich nur die Koma. Für mich ist dies ein plastischer Nachweis, wie sehr sich die Kometenfotografie entwickelt hat. Einen klaren Himmel wünscht Euer Uwe Pilz. Liebe Leser des Schweifsterns, Die vorliegende Ausgabe des Schweifsterns deckt die Aktivitäten der Fachgruppe Kometen der VdS im Zeitraum vom 01.11.2017 bis zum 31.01.2018 ab. Berücksichtigt wurden alle bis zum Stichtag be- reitgestellten Fotos, Daten und Beiträge (siehe Impressum am Ende des Schweifsterns). Für die einzelnen Kometen lassen sich die Ephemeriden der Kometen auf der Internet-Seite http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/MPEph/MPEph.html errechnen. -
The Comets Are Here!
Comets in the sky in 2014 As of July 2013 there were 4,894 known comets, and this number is steadily increasing. However, this represents only a tiny fraction of the total potential comet population, as the reservoir of comet-like bodies in the outer Solar System may number one trillion. Roughly one comet per year is visible to the naked eye, though many of these are faint and unspectacular. Particularly bright examples are called "Great Comets". A comet goes by many names, the most important of which to its discoverer is his or her surname. Many bright comets that frequently return retain their popular names, such as Comet Halley. (Halley did not discover the comet, but he predicted its orbit and return.) Frequently, two or more observers discover a comet simultaneously or independently. The names of the first three observers to report their discovery properly are affixed to the new comet. The rapid growth in the number of known comets has prompted the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to catalogue them according to precise rules. A new cometary designation system was adopted 1 January 1995. The new system resembles that of minor planets, with objects recorded by the half-month. Thus the third comet reported as discovered during the second half of February 1997 would be designated 1997 D3. When appropriate, the nature (or suggested nature) of an object can be indicated by preceding the designation with A/ (for minor planet), C/ (for comet), P/ (for periodic comet), etc. Hence, under the new cometary designation system, Comet Hale-Bopp was designated C/1995 O1. -
Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3)
The Professor Comet’s Report 1 Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) Mr. Justin J McCollum (BS, MS Physics) Lab Physics Coordinator Dept. of Physics Lamar University Lovejoy emerging from the Corona Dec 16 2011 Courtesy of SDO/NASA © Dan Burbank – NASA Astronaut Welcome to the comet report which is a monthly article on the observations of Mission Commander, ISS Expedition 30 comets by the amateur astronomy community and comet hunters from Earth Orbit – ISS, 22 December 2011. around the world! This article is dedicated to the latest reports of available comets for observations, current state of those comets, future predictions, & projections for observations in comet astronomy! New Year – 11 Jan 2012 The Professor Comet’s Report 2 The Current Status of the Predominant Comets for Jan 2012! Comets Designation Orbital Magnitude Trend Observation Constellations Visibility (IAU – MPC) Status Visual (Range in Lat.) (Night Sky Location) Period Garradd 2009 P1 C 6.5 - 7.0 Bright 90°N – 5°N Eastern Region of Hercules Early Evening (Moving north, northwest ¤tly E of the & Early Keystone!) Morning Lovejoy 2011 W3 C 9 Fading 5°S – 50°S Wide motion across the southern All Night celestial hemisphere: Circinus to Caelum Gibbs 2011 A3 C *9.7 Steady N/A Solar Conjunction N/A Gehrels 2 78P P *10.1 Steady 70°N – 45°S Moving eastwards in the S and E regions Best Evening of Pisces Hill 2010 G2 C 11 – 11.5 Fading 70°N – 50°S Moving SW thru the E region of Cetus & All Evening then SE in the W region of Eridanus Giacobini - 21P P 11.5 Bright N/A N/A Zinner Poor Elongation -
February 2-8, 2020
6# Ice & Stone 2020 Week 6: February 2-8, 2020 Presented by The Earthrise Institute This week in history FEBRUARY 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 FEBRUARY 2, 1106: Sky-watchers around the world see a brilliant comet during the daytime hours. In subsequent days it becomes visible in the evening sky, initially very bright with an extremely long tail, and although it faded rapidly it remained visible until mid-March. The available information is not enough to allow a valid orbit calculation, but it is widely believed to have been a Kreutz sungrazer; moreover; it possibly was the progenitor of the Great Comet of 1882 and Comet Ikeya-Seki 1965f. Both of these comets are future “Comets of the Week,” and Kreutz sungrazers as a group will be discussed in a future “Special Topics” presentation. FEBRUARY 2, 1970: I make my very first comet observation, of Comet Tago-Sato-Kosaka 1969g, at that time a 5th-magnitude object in Aries. This was also the first comet ever to be observed from space, and it is this week’s “Comet of the Week.” The observations from space are discussed in this week’s “Special Topics” presentation. FEBRUARY 2, 2006: UCLA astronomer Franck Marchis and his colleagues announce that the binary Trojan asteroid (617) Patroclus has an average density less than that of water, suggesting that it – and presumably many other Trojan asteroids – are made up primarily of water and thus may be extinct cometary nuclei. Trojan asteroids are discussed in a future “Special Topics” presentation. FEBRUARY 2, 2020: The main-belt asteroid (894) Erda will occult the 7th-magnitude star HD 29376 in Taurus. -
The Comets of 1995
The Comets of 1995 Jonathan Shanklin A Report of the Comet Section (Director: J. D. Shanklin) This report is the sixth in the annual series1,2,3,4,5 which gives for each comet: the discovery details, orbital data and general information, magnitude parameters and BAA comet section observations. Further details of the analysis techniques used in this report are given in an earlier paper6. Ephemerides for the comets predicted to return during the year can be found in the BAA or ICQ Handbooks7,8. The reports of DC have become more consistent and it is hoped that the widespread use of the Section guide9 will improve this aspect of reporting further. The observation that some periodic comets do not follow the standard magnitude law should make predictions of the magnitude of these comets at future returns more accurate. At the beginning of 1995 the IAU introduced a new numbering scheme for comets with newly discovered or returning comets allocated a letter and number depending on the half month of discovery. Periodic comets with well known orbits are now allocated a sequential number based on the date of determination of the orbit. This report follows previous practice and describes all comets allocated a discovery or recovery letter and number during the year, together with previously numbered periodic comets reaching perihelion during the year. Table 1. Orbital data for the comets of 19958,10 Comet T q e P ω Ω i 6P/d'Arrest 1995 7 27.3186 1.345815 0.614045 6.51 178.0475 138.9885 19.5236 15P/Finlay 1995 5 5.0418 1.035564 0.710306 6.76 323.5402 -
Strategic Plan 2020-2030 Prepared By: Perth Observatory Volunteer Group Inc
PERTH OBSERVATORY VOLUNTEER GROUP Strategic Plan 2020-2030 Prepared by: Perth Observatory Volunteer Group Inc. 337 Walnut Road Bickley, WA, 6076 ABN: 14 565 272 536 [email protected] +61 8 9293 8255 Approved by the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group Inc. Board of Directors at their March/April 2020 meeting Image Credit: Roger Groom Cover page and back cover image credit: Roger Groom | 3 Executive Summary The Perth Observatory is located on crown land and the Our vision is to be recognised as a leading astronomical and infrastructure is owned by the Western Australian State space experience in Australia. Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. The Perth Observatory Volunteer Group has run Our Mission is to: the Observatory since 2015 through an agreement with the ,Department. ֑ Offer outstanding experiences in astronomy, education nature, culture and tourism run by knowledgeable volunteers This strategic plan presents the direction for the Perth Observatory Build upon our status as the oldest operating scientific ֑ Volunteer Group, in the operations and management of the Perth observatory in Australia through excellent research, Observatory for the coming decade to 2030. As a not-for-profit Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and registered charity organisation, our volunteers operate and educational programs, onsite and offsite tours and events manage all aspects of the historical, fully operational astronomical observatory located in Perth, Western Australia, by means of ֑ Conserve and provide access to Perth Observatory’s history donations and income from educational and tourism programs. and heritage collection In addition to providing educational and experiential tours, our volunteers continue to observe the night skies and carry out ֑ Manage and maintain an environmentally sustainable research in partnership with other academic organisations. -
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) Photometric Observations
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) photometric observations Mikołaj Sabat 1. INTRODUCTION C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is a long-period comet discovered on August 17th 2014 by Australian amateur- astronomer Terry Lovejoy. Discovery pictures were taken by 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope placed in his private roll-off roof observatory in Brisbane, Australia. At the moment of the first detection, Comet Lovejoy was as bright as 15 mag and located in the constellation of Puppis. It orbits Sun in very eccentric ecliptic orbit, which takes more than 13 500 years and not approach closer than 1.29 AU to our star. In the line with expectations, C/2014 Q2 has become one of the most attractive comets in the northern hemisphere over the past years. Its favorable position in the sky enabled Polish observers to more than half a year time when the object was visible even in small optical instruments. It probably resulted in a huge popularity of this comet. Exact orbit elements of C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) for epoch 27th June 2015 are presented in the table below. Calculations are based on 6600 observations achieved by Minor Planet Center. C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) Perihelion date: 2015-01-30.06757 Perihelion distance: 1.2903763 AU Eccentricity: 0.9977291 Inclination: 80.30132° Argument of perihelion: 12.39551° Ascending node” 94.97570° First observations occurred soon after the discovery – in the end of August 2014 comet brightness was estimated at about 14 mag and a month later even 12 mag. When in the middle of November 2014 in 2 weeks time its brightness increased from 10 mag to more than 8 mag, it seemed obvious that Comet Lovejoy would be even brighter during its past-perihelion passage through northern hemisphere than we first expected.