DOCSLIB.ORG

Official Newsletter of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society Volume 38 Number 1 January - February 2008

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Official Newsletter of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society Volume 38 Number 1 January - February 2008 NOVA Official Newsletter of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society Volume 38 Number 1 January - February 2008 Discovery images of Asteroid 2007 VN8 SLAS Member Discovers Another Asteroid by Ann House Early on the morning of November 5, 2007 SLAS member Patrick Wiggins was taking a series of pictures of an asteroid known as (131) Vala when he noticed another object that didn't show up on his charts. Thinking the mystery object to be another known asteroid he dutifully measured its position and emailed those data to the Minor Planet Center. After going through the positions of the over 300,000 charted asteroids MPC reported back that the object was not in their database. This surprised Patrick. Years ago, amateurs routinely discovered asteroids. In fact, in November 1999 Patrick and his then wife Dr. Holly Phaneuf jointly discovered an asteroid and a few weeks later he made a solo discovery of a second. Amateur comet hunter, David Levy, has stated that many professional observatories have started looking for asteroids in earnest and finding so many that it's become next to impossible for amateurs to find new ones. Unfortunately, the rules state that a single night (known as ONS or One Night Stand) do not a discovery make so Patrick had to wait until he could get more data on the mystery object before he could report it officially. Fortunately the weather gods cooperated and Patrick was able to take additional pictures the following night. He then submitted both nights' data and soon received confirmation that his mystery object, now bearing the official temporary designation 2007 VN8 and measuring some 330 to 590 meters in diameter, was in fact a new discovery. Several have asked Patrick what he plans on naming his new find. Here again the rules preclude any instant gratification. To make sure that a new find is not an object that someone previously found and lost one usually has to wait for the object to make a couple of orbits around the Sun. Being that 2007 VN8 orbits beyond the orbit of Mars any naming opportunity will likely be 7 to 8 years down the road. And even once it becomes eligible for naming there are rules about that, too. For example, initially Patrick tried to name the find that Dr. Phaneuf and he made for her but it turns out asteroids can not be named for their discovers so he went with Elko, his hometown. He then gave naming rights for his solo find to Dr. Phaneuf. So, with many years to wait and so many rules to follow, Patrick's biding his time before coming up with any possible names and spending most clear nights in his observatory in pursuit of discovery #4. Best wishes, Patrick. You are our local celebrity and we are proud to have you in our midst. The Winter Solstice Festival By Ann House Another year has passed for Salt Lake Astronomers. Once again, society members gathered to celebrate the end of the year by holding our annual Winter Solstice Festival. Those in attendance found a room full of decorative suns. For the ancient Celts, the midwinter sun was believed to stand still for twelve days, and light and sun ornamentation were used to conquer the darkness. Though we astronomers love long dark nights, we are no fans of bitter cold (Dave Bernson excluded) and long for the return of the sun to warm the earth. The event was again held at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. It is an accommodating venue and we are lucky to have hosting members, Josephine and Allen Grahn, who work hard each year to make the event fun and easy for the rest of us. Ann and Craig Blanchard, and Bill and Jacquie Kennedy decorated the hall in blues and golds. Rodger and Connie Fry with the help of strongman Scott Crosby set up tables and chairs. Ed Ericksen was again our official Festival welcomer, making everyone who came feel glad that they did. Of course, as we all know, Ed’s main job is to give each of us our tickets for our fabulous silent auction that seems to get better and better each year. The food was delicious, thanks to SLAS’s chicken cordon bleu, and to everyone who showed up with their favorite dish. Pot luck with our group is always a hit, with enough sides, salads, and deserts to please even the fussiest eater (Patrick, we missed you!). Rodger and Connie came with a new SLAS sensation, “Big Bango.” Based loosely on the popular game, Bingo, Rodger had the astronomical designations for the sky objects called out and the players were to put Lucky Charms on their card. The final lucky winner got the enviable Mickey Mouse telescope. Creed Haymond got it last year and the improvement (not that it needs improving) was digital imaging capabilities. Al Rowe is the lucky recipient of the scope this year. As stated earlier, the silent auction is getting better as the years go by. Big hits this year were Ann Blanchard’s sun items (especially her sun-motif vests), large picture books, a Smithsonian astronaut bear, and a Sky and Telescope Monopoly game. Many thanks to Ann, President Bob, and Steve Dodds for the auction items. As Snoopy would say, it was a dark and stormy night. We had a bitterly cold wind blow in with snow and ice that perhaps kept many away from the party. Street lights were out along the way. The Tooele crowd wisely didn’t make the long drive. We are relieved that the many who did venture out were kept safe. All in all, about 85 were in attendance. The clean-up crew experienced about 15 minutes of a black-out. Fortunately, the Astronomical Society was prepared with flashlights and head lamps. Gene Marshall and Mark Bloomenthal stayed late to help the Kennedys, the Frys, the Blanchards, the Grahns, Ed, and Scott clean up. Many, many thanks to all who helped make the 2007 Winter Solstice Festival a memorable one! Please Welcome The Newest SLAS Members! Conway, Lisa - Layton, UT Elkington, Brian - Salt Lake City, UT Peck, Brad - Salt Lake City, UT Pond, Aaron - Taylorsville, UT SLAS Receives Donated Telescope SLAS president Bob Moore recently received an email from Sarah Klingenstein of Park City offering the donation of a Celestron 8 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. A few days later SLAS member Dan Syroid picked up the telescope and then delivered it to SLAS at the November general meeting where it was gratefully received. The very generous donation has been added to SLAS's growing collection of telescopes available for loan to SLAS members. Minutes of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society Board Meeting, 15 November 2007 SLAS President Bob Moore called the meeting to order in the Denny's restaurant located at 250 West 500 South in SLC at 7:03 p.m. Others in attendance were SLAS board members Ann House, Erik Hansen, Bill Kennedy, Rodger Fry, Nova editor Patrick Wiggins and members Siegfried Jachmann and Eugene Marshall. Rodger offered to take over the telescope operator vest project from Ann. Ann agreed. The venue for this year's transitional board meeting was changed to Bob's home. (Editor's note: The venue was later changed back to the Denny's restaurant on 250 W 500 S as originally scheduled when it was found proper notification of the change of venue could not be made in time.) The locations of next year's Harmons star parties were set. February at Brickyard. April at Seventh Street. May at District and Taylorsville. June at Cougar. July at Seventh Street. August at Brickyard. September at District. October at Seventh Street. Siegfried announced that Harmons has agreed to donate two telescopes to be given away during SLAS's Astronomy Day eve star parties at their District and Taylorsville stores in May." Bob will coordinate getting the 2008 star party brochures printed. Ann will be emailing the ZAP grant application to this and next year's boards so that spending priorities can be set at the transitional board meeting. Rodger Fry will chair the committee organizing next month's Solstice Festival. Ann reported SLAS had received a $50 donation for a star party the club recently conducted for a 4H group. Bob arranged with Patrick to pick up half of the promotional brochures (currently stored at SPOC). Bob will store them at his home. Bob is seeking suggestions for speakers at next year's general meetings. Bob will meet with SLAS member Rob Ratkowski next month to talk about the proposed SLAS sponsored trip to Hawaii. Ann will be meeting with a friend who is a travel agent about costs for the trip. The meeting was adjourned at 8:21 p.m. General Meeting, 20 November 2007 SLAS President Bob Moore called the meeting to order in room 104 of the University of Utah's Engineering/Mines building at about 7:30 p.m. Approximately 53 people attended the meeting. Following the usual introductions of SLAS board members and first time attendees, Bob introduced the evening's guest speaker, Dr. Benjamin C. Bromley from the U of U's Department of Physics. He spoke about the life and discoveries of Albert Einstein. Following Dr. Bromley's talk and a break Secretary Treasurer Erik Hansen displayed the treasurer's report. It showed: General Fund $10,387.47 Postage & Printing 275.27 Entertainment 419.93 Publicity 44.00 Astronomical League 210.00 SPOC 3,185.30 H-Alpha 64.50 Insurance 716.50 Total $15,302.97 Vice President Ann House reported on the continuing preparations for next month's SLAS Solstice Festival.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Minor Planet Bulletin
    THE MINOR PLANET BULLETIN OF THE MINOR PLANETS SECTION OF THE BULLETIN ASSOCIATION OF LUNAR AND PLANETARY OBSERVERS VOLUME 36, NUMBER 3, A.D. 2009 JULY-SEPTEMBER 77. PHOTOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS OF 343 OSTARA Our data can be obtained from http://www.uwec.edu/physics/ AND OTHER ASTEROIDS AT HOBBS OBSERVATORY asteroid/. Lyle Ford, George Stecher, Kayla Lorenzen, and Cole Cook Acknowledgements Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire We thank the Theodore Dunham Fund for Astrophysics, the Eau Claire, WI 54702-4004 National Science Foundation (award number 0519006), the [email protected] University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (Received: 2009 Feb 11) Blugold Fellow and McNair programs for financial support. References We observed 343 Ostara on 2008 October 4 and obtained R and V standard magnitudes. The period was Binzel, R.P. (1987). “A Photoelectric Survey of 130 Asteroids”, found to be significantly greater than the previously Icarus 72, 135-208. reported value of 6.42 hours. Measurements of 2660 Wasserman and (17010) 1999 CQ72 made on 2008 Stecher, G.J., Ford, L.A., and Elbert, J.D. (1999). “Equipping a March 25 are also reported. 0.6 Meter Alt-Azimuth Telescope for Photometry”, IAPPP Comm, 76, 68-74. We made R band and V band photometric measurements of 343 Warner, B.D. (2006). A Practical Guide to Lightcurve Photometry Ostara on 2008 October 4 using the 0.6 m “Air Force” Telescope and Analysis. Springer, New York, NY. located at Hobbs Observatory (MPC code 750) near Fall Creek, Wisconsin.
    [Show full text]
  • 107 Minor Planet Bulletin 37(2010) LIGHTCURVE PHOTOMETRY of 112 IPHIGENIA Stefan Cikota Physik-Institut, Universität Zürich, W
    107 LIGHTCURVE PHOTOMETRY OF 112 IPHIGENIA Stefan Cikota Physik-Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, SWITZERLAND and Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca 07144 Costitx, Mallorca, Illes Balears, SPAIN [email protected] Aleksandar Cikota Physik-Institut, Universität Zürich, CH-8057 Zürich, SWITZERLAND and Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca MINOR PLANET LIGHTCURVE ANALYSIS OF 07144 Costitx, Mallorca, Illes Balears, SPAIN 347 PARIANA AND 6560 PRAVDO (Received: 19 March) Peter Caspari BDI Observatory PO Box 194 Regents Park The main-belt asteroid 112 Iphigenia was observed over NSW 2143, AUSTRALIA 6 nights between 2007 December 9 and December 14 at [email protected] the Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca (620). From the resulting data, we determined a synodic rotation (Received: 15 January Revised: 22 February) period of 31.385 ± 0.006 h and lightcurve amplitude of 0.30 ± 0.02 mag. Minor planet 347 Pariana was observed in 2009 July and again in 2009 August and September resulting in two 122 Iphigenia was tracked over 6 nights between 2007 December complete lightcurves both with a rotational period 9 and December 14 with one, and sometimes two, identical estimate of 4.052 ± 0.002 h and amplitude of 0.5 mag. telescopes (0.30-m f/9 Schmidt-Cassegrain) located at the These data were combined with data from previous Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca in Spain. Both were apparitions to produce estimates for a sidereal period, equipped with an SBIG STL-1001E CCD camera. Image spin axis, and shape model. Minor planet 6560 Pravdo acquisition and calibration were performed using Maxim DL. All was observed over nine nights in 2009 June and July 1593 images were unfiltered and had exposures of 60 seconds.
    [Show full text]
  • Information Bulletin on Variable Stars
    COMMISSIONS AND OF THE I A U INFORMATION BULLETIN ON VARIABLE STARS Nos November July EDITORS L SZABADOS K OLAH TECHNICAL EDITOR A HOLL TYPESETTING K ORI ADMINISTRATION Zs KOVARI EDITORIAL BOARD L A BALONA M BREGER E BUDDING M deGROOT E GUINAN D S HALL P HARMANEC M JERZYKIEWICZ K C LEUNG M RODONO N N SAMUS J SMAK C STERKEN Chair H BUDAPEST XI I Box HUNGARY URL httpwwwkonkolyhuIBVSIBVShtml HU ISSN COPYRIGHT NOTICE IBVS is published on b ehalf of the th and nd Commissions of the IAU by the Konkoly Observatory Budap est Hungary Individual issues could b e downloaded for scientic and educational purp oses free of charge Bibliographic information of the recent issues could b e entered to indexing sys tems No IBVS issues may b e stored in a public retrieval system in any form or by any means electronic or otherwise without the prior written p ermission of the publishers Prior written p ermission of the publishers is required for entering IBVS issues to an electronic indexing or bibliographic system to o CONTENTS C STERKEN A JONES B VOS I ZEGELAAR AM van GENDEREN M de GROOT On the Cyclicity of the S Dor Phases in AG Carinae ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: : J BOROVICKA L SAROUNOVA The Period and Lightcurve of NSV ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::: W LILLER AF JONES A New Very Long Period Variable Star in Norma ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::: EA KARITSKAYA VP GORANSKIJ Unusual Fading of V Cygni Cyg X in Early November :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
    [Show full text]
  • Planetary Science Institute
    PLANETARY SCIENCE INSTITUTE N7'6-3qo84 (NAS A'-CR:1'V7! 3 ) ASTEROIDAL AND PLANETARY ANALYSIS Final Report (Planetary Science Ariz.) 163 p HC $6.75 Inst., Tucson, CSCL 03A Unclas G3/89 15176 i-'' NSA tiFACIWj INP BRANC NASW 2718 ASTEROIDAL AND PLANETARY ANALYSIS Final Report 11 August 1975 Submitted by: Planetary Science Institute 252 W. Ina Road, Suite D Tucson, Arizona 85704 William K. Hartmann Manager TASK 1: ASTEROID SPECTROPHOTOMETRY AND INTERPRETATION (Principal Investigator: Clark R. Chapman) A.* INTRODUCTION The asteroid research program during 1974/5 has three major goals: (1) continued spectrophotometric reconnaissance of the asteroid belt to define compositional types; (2) detailed spectrophotometric observations of particular asteroids, especially to determine variations with rotational phase, if any; and (3) synthesis of these data with other physical studies of asteroids and interpretation of the implications of physical studies of the asteroids for meteoritics and solar system history. The program has been an especially fruitful one, yielding fundamental new insights to the nature of the asteroids and the implications for the early development of the terrestrial planets. In particular, it is believed that the level of understanding of the asteroids has been reached, and sufficiently fundamental questions raised about their nature, that serious consideration should be given to possible future spacecraft missions directed to study a sample of asteroids at close range. Anders (1971) has argued that serious consideration of asteroid missions should be postponed until ground-based techniques for studying asteroids had been sufficiently exploited so that we could intelligently select appropriate asteroids for spacecraft targeting. It is clear that that point has been reached, ,and now that relatively inexpensive fly-by missions have been discovered to be possible by utilizing Venus and Earth gravity assists (Bender and Friedlander, 1975), serious planning for such missions ought to begin.
    [Show full text]
  • UK Occultation Studies Pre-2010 Titan
    British Astronomical Association – Past/Present/Future UK Occultation Studies pre-2010 with some highlights from Titan – 28 Sagittarii Event in 1989 + First +ve UK Asteroid Occultation in 1996 Richard Miles European Symposium on Occultation Projects, Guildford, UK 2016 August 20 Occultations - Early BAA History Lunar Occultations Andrew Elliott Titan Occultations: 2003 Nov 14 293 km 4.2-m WHT, La Palma 348 km 1989 Jul 03 2003 Nov 14 Titan Occultation: 1989 Jul 03 Titan Occultation: 1989 Jul 03 Occultation Monitoring in the 1990s Asteroid Pro software Installation requirements: 80386 or better, 3 MB RAM minimum, DOS 5.0 or better, color monitor, 40 MB disk space, Asteroid Pro software Search Screen Asteroid Pro software Occultation Event Asteroid Pro software - Shadow Track BAA Asteroid Occultation Predictions 1995-1999 OCCULTATIONS OF STARS BY ASTEROIDS VISIBLE FROM THE UK PREDICTIONS FOR THE PERIOD, NOV 1996 Predictions generated using Asteroid Pro Version 2.0 and verified using Guide Version 5.0 Dates given are as the 'double-date', e.g. the night of Oct 28/29 dm = drop in brightness of star in magnitudes dt = approx. maximum duration of the main-body occultation Alt = altitude above the horizon (for latitude 52deg North) V = approx. combined magnitude of star + asteroid Moon Phase = % illuminated, Moon Sep. = angular separation between the asteroid and the Moon Stars are identified by name and J2000 coordinates Double Time Asteroid Dimensions dm dt Alt Date UT Name Diam. / Shadow mag (52(N) Name Nov 4/5 22:19-22:35 3224 Irkutsk 35
    [Show full text]
  • The V-Band Photometry of Asteroids from ASAS-SN
    Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. 40759˙ArXiV © ESO 2021 July 22, 2021 V-band photometry of asteroids from ASAS-SN Finding asteroids with slow spin ? J. Hanusˇ1, O. Pejcha2, B. J. Shappee3, C. S. Kochanek4;5, K. Z. Stanek4;5, and T. W.-S. Holoien6;?? 1 Institute of Astronomy, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, V Holesoviˇ ckˇ ach´ 2, 18000 Prague, Czech Republic 2 Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, V Holesoviˇ ckˇ ach´ 2, 18000 Prague, Czech Republic 3 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai’i, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA 4 Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA 5 Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 W. Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA 6 The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara St., Pasadena, CA 91101, USA Received x-x-2021 / Accepted x-x-2021 ABSTRACT We present V-band photometry of the 20,000 brightest asteroids using data from the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) between 2012 and 2018. We were able to apply the convex inversion method to more than 5,000 asteroids with more than 60 good measurements in order to derive their sidereal rotation periods, spin axis orientations, and shape models. We derive unique spin state and shape solutions for 760 asteroids, including 163 new determinations. This corresponds to a success rate of about 15%, which is significantly higher than the success rate previously achieved using photometry from surveys.
    [Show full text]
  • The Minor Planet Bulletin 36, 188-190
    THE MINOR PLANET BULLETIN OF THE MINOR PLANETS SECTION OF THE BULLETIN ASSOCIATION OF LUNAR AND PLANETARY OBSERVERS VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3, A.D. 2010 JULY-SEPTEMBER 81. ROTATION PERIOD AND H-G PARAMETERS telescope (SCT) working at f/4 and an SBIG ST-8E CCD. Baker DETERMINATION FOR 1700 ZVEZDARA: A independently initiated observations on 2009 September 18 at COLLABORATIVE PHOTOMETRY PROJECT Indian Hill Observatory using a 0.3-m SCT reduced to f/6.2 coupled with an SBIG ST-402ME CCD and Johnson V filter. Ronald E. Baker Benishek from the Belgrade Astronomical Observatory joined the Indian Hill Observatory (H75) collaboration on 2009 September 24 employing a 0.4-m SCT PO Box 11, Chagrin Falls, OH 44022 USA operating at f/10 with an unguided SBIG ST-10 XME CCD. [email protected] Pilcher at Organ Mesa Observatory carried out observations on 2009 September 30 over more than seven hours using a 0.35-m Vladimir Benishek f/10 SCT and an unguided SBIG STL-1001E CCD. As a result of Belgrade Astronomical Observatory the collaborative effort, a total of 17 time series sessions was Volgina 7, 11060 Belgrade 38 SERBIA obtained from 2009 August 20 until October 19. All observations were unfiltered with the exception of those recorded on September Frederick Pilcher 18. MPO Canopus software (BDW Publishing, 2009a) employing 4438 Organ Mesa Loop differential aperture photometry, was used by all authors for Las Cruces, NM 88011 USA photometric data reduction. The period analysis was performed using the same program. David Higgins Hunter Hill Observatory The data were merged by adjusting instrumental magnitudes and 7 Mawalan Street, Ngunnawal ACT 2913 overlapping characteristic features of the individual lightcurves.
    [Show full text]
  • EFI Multi Donor Trust Fund for Policy Support: Annual Report 2020
    EFI Multi Donor Trust Fund for Policy Support: Annual Report 2020 11 February 2021 EFI MDTF for Policy Support countries marked by green colour. These countries (excl. Norway) represent 72% of the EU forest area, and 60 % of the European forest area (excl. Russia) One of the topics discussed in this year’s ThinkForest webinars was ‘Public perception on Forests and Bioeconomy’ on 27 October 2020 Executive Summary What is this document? This document is the Annual Report of the EFI Multi Donor Trust Fund for Policy Support Facility (hereafter MDTF) for 2020. It presents the activities, outputs, impacts and budget of the MDTF for 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020. Year 2020 was the third year of the new 3-year cycle of MDTF (2018-2020). The Annual Report aims to provide transparent information, which can also be used to assess and evaluate the performance and impact of the MDTF work. Facility management EFI Assistant Director Lauri Hetemäki coordinated MDTF project activities in 2020, with important support from Communications Officer Ulla Vänttinen, Head of Communications Rach Colling, Administrative Officer Jarkko Haltia and Brussels Liaison Officer Harald Mauser. The ThinkForest Forum has been chaired by its President Janez Potočnik in 2020. In addition, other EFI staff resources and outside subcontracting have been used to carry out the activities during 2019. Facility funding and costs in 2020 In 2020, the MDTF consisted of the following 10 Donor countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Spain and Sweden. The total financial contribution from the countries to the MDTF by the end of 2020 was 600 694 euros.
    [Show full text]
  • Cumulative Index to Volumes 1-45
    The Minor Planet Bulletin Cumulative Index 1 Table of Contents Tedesco, E. F. “Determination of the Index to Volume 1 (1974) Absolute Magnitude and Phase Index to Volume 1 (1974) ..................... 1 Coefficient of Minor Planet 887 Alinda” Index to Volume 2 (1975) ..................... 1 Chapman, C. R. “The Impossibility of 25-27. Index to Volume 3 (1976) ..................... 1 Observing Asteroid Surfaces” 17. Index to Volume 4 (1977) ..................... 2 Tedesco, E. F. “On the Brightnesses of Index to Volume 5 (1978) ..................... 2 Dunham, D. W. (Letter regarding 1 Ceres Asteroids” 3-9. Index to Volume 6 (1979) ..................... 3 occultation) 35. Index to Volume 7 (1980) ..................... 3 Wallentine, D. and Porter, A. Index to Volume 8 (1981) ..................... 3 Hodgson, R. G. “Useful Work on Minor “Opportunities for Visual Photometry of Index to Volume 9 (1982) ..................... 4 Planets” 1-4. Selected Minor Planets, April - June Index to Volume 10 (1983) ................... 4 1975” 31-33. Index to Volume 11 (1984) ................... 4 Hodgson, R. G. “Implications of Recent Index to Volume 12 (1985) ................... 4 Diameter and Mass Determinations of Welch, D., Binzel, R., and Patterson, J. Comprehensive Index to Volumes 1-12 5 Ceres” 24-28. “The Rotation Period of 18 Melpomene” Index to Volume 13 (1986) ................... 5 20-21. Hodgson, R. G. “Minor Planet Work for Index to Volume 14 (1987) ................... 5 Smaller Observatories” 30-35. Index to Volume 15 (1988) ................... 6 Index to Volume 3 (1976) Index to Volume 16 (1989) ................... 6 Hodgson, R. G. “Observations of 887 Index to Volume 17 (1990) ................... 6 Alinda” 36-37. Chapman, C. R. “Close Approach Index to Volume 18 (1991) ..................
    [Show full text]
  • Collaborative Asteroid Photometry From
    120 COLLABORATIVE ASTEROID PHOTOMETRY Collaborative asteroid photometry was done inside the Italian FROM UAI: 2020 OCTOBER-DECEMBER Amateur Astronomers Union (UAI; 2020) group. The targets were selected mainly in order to acquire lightcurves for shape/spin axis Lorenzo Franco modeling. Table I shows the observing circumstances and results. Balzaretto Observatory (A81), Rome, ITALY [email protected] The CCD observations were made in 2020 October-December using the instrumentation described in the Table II. Lightcurve Antonio De Pieri, Antonino Brosio analysis was performed at the Balzaretto Observatory with MPO Parco Astronomico Lilio (K96), Savelli (KR), ITALY Canopus (Warner, 2019). All the images were calibrated with dark and flat frames and converted to R magnitudes using solar colored Riccardo Papini, Fabio Salvaggio field stars from CMC15 catalogue, distributed with MPO Wild Boar Remote Observatory (K49) Canopus. For brevity, the following citations to the asteroid San Casciano in Val di Pesa (FI), ITALY lightcurve database (LCDB; Warner et al., 2009) will be summarized only as “LCDB”. Giulio Scarfi Iota Scorpii Observatory (K78), La Spezia, ITALY 102 Miriam is a C-type (Bus & Binzel, 2002) middle main-belt asteroid discovered on 1868 August 22 by C.H.F. Peters at Alessandro Marchini Clinton. Collaborative observations were made over eleven nights. Astronomical Observatory, DSFTA - University of Siena (K54) The period analysis shows a synodic period of P = 23.63 ± 0.01 h Via Roma 56, 53100 - Siena, ITALY with an amplitude A = 0.14
    [Show full text]
  • C.H.F. Peters
    NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Ch RISTIAN HEINRIC H F RIEDRIC H PETERS A Biographical Memoir by W I L L I A M ShEE H AN Any opinions expressed in this memoir are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Academy of Sciences. Biographical Memoir COPYRIGHT 1999 NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS WASHINGTON D.C. CHRISTIAN HEINRICH FRIEDRICH PETERS September 19, 1813–July 18, 1890 BY WILLIAM SHEEHAN N THE MID-NINETEENTH century the discovery of new aster- Ioids was still far from routine. These objects had not yet grown so numerous as to earn for themselves the contemp- tuous label later applied, “vermin of the skies,” and those who excelled in claiming the starlike wanderers from the camouflage of background stars were honored with renown. Hind, de Gasparis, Goldschmidt, Chacornac, Pogson, and Peters were foremost among the early discoverers. Even on this short list C. H. F. Peters stood out. On May 29, 1861—just weeks after the American Civil War began at Fort Sumter—Peters discovered his first aster- oid (72 Feronia). It was the fifth asteroid discovered in North America (others had been found by Ferguson and Searle). Feronia was the first of forty-eight such discoveries that made Peters the most prolific finder of minor planets of his generation, and even today he remains second only to Johann Palisa among visual discoverers of asteroids. Dur- ing his colorful career, he also compiled meticulous star charts of the zodiac, collated observations from manuscripts of Ptolemy, and embroiled himself in a series of often bitter controversies with other astronomers, notably over the ex- istence of an intra-Mercurial planet.
    [Show full text]
  • The Minor Planet Bulletin Are Indexed in the Astrophysical Data System (ADS) and So Can Be Referenced by Others in Subsequent Papers
    THE MINOR PLANET BULLETIN OF THE MINOR PLANETS SECTION OF THE BULLETIN ASSOCIATION OF LUNAR AND PLANETARY OBSERVERS VOLUME 44, NUMBER 4, A.D. 2017 OCTOBER-DECEMBER 287. PHOTOMETRIC OBSERVATIONS OF MAIN-BELT were operated at sensor temperature of –15°C and images were ASTEROIDS 1990 PILCHER AND 8443 SVECICA calibrated with dark and flat-field frames. Stephen M. Brincat Both telescopes and cameras were controlled remotely from a Flarestar Observatory (MPC 171) nearby location via Sequence Generator Pro (Binary Star Fl.5/B, George Tayar Street Software). Photometric reduction, lightcurve construction, and San Gwann SGN 3160, MALTA period analyses were done using MPO Canopus software (Warner, [email protected] 2017). Differential aperture photometry was used and photometric measurements were based on the use of comparison stars of near- Winston Grech solar colour that were selected by the Comparison Star Selector Antares Observatory (CSS) utility available through MPO Canopus. Asteroid 76/3, Kent Street magnitudes were based on MPOSC3 catalog supplied with MPO Fgura FGR 1555, MALTA Canopus. (Received: 2017 June 8) 1990 Pilcher is an inner main-belt asteroid that was discovered on 1956 March 9 by K. Reinmuth at Heidelberg. Also known as 1956 We report on photometric observations of two main-belt EE, this asteroid was named in honor of Frederick Pilcher, asteroids, 1990 Pilcher and 8443 Svecica, that were associate professor of physics at Illinois College, Jacksonville acquired from 2017 March to May. We found the (Illinois), who has promoted extensively, the interest in minor synodic rotation period of 1990 Pilcher as 2.842 ± planets among amateur astronomers (Schmadel & Schmadel, 0.001 h and amplitude of 0.08 ± 0.03 mag and of 8443 1992).
    [Show full text]