In this issue of SpaceTides

Remember the Boyden Observatory open-evening on the 23rd of July (Saturday). Reservation details under section 7 below.

Have a star-filled week!
Gerrit Penning
Editor

1. Spaceflight news from around the world

Spaceflight in short:

- The launch of Space Shuttle Discovery's return-to-flight mission to the international space station was  called off on July 13, on accounts of a faulty hydrogen fuel sensor.
- The international ASTRO-E2 X-Ray Observatory spacecraft launched on a Japanese M-5 rocket from the  Japanese Uchinoura Space Center on 10 July 2005 after the first attempt in 2000 was unsuccessful.

Image credit: NASA-KSC

Launch of Shuttle Discovery Postponed

Read full article at: www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts114/050715postmmt/

After much anticipation, the 13 July planned launch of Shuttle Discovery was called off due to a faulty fuel sensor.

The badly behaving fuel sensor was identified during a pre-launch test. Official flight rules forbid a Shuttle launch from going ahead if all four the fuel depletion sensors are not operating normally.

NASA now has 12 teams of dedicated personnel working hard to isolate the problem and prevent it from occurring again. Plans are still in motion to launch the Shuttle in July 2005 towards the International Space Station.

The Suzako X-Ray observatory
Image credit: ISAS/JAXA

ASTRO-E2 X-Ray Observatory into space
Homepage: www.nasa.gov/lb/mission_pages/astro-e2/main/index.html

The "Suzako" X-Ray Observatory was successfully launched on July 10, 2005.

Five years ago in 2000, a first attempt was made to launch such a satellite, but a launch failure occurred and the craft never made it into space. Suzako will build on the work done by the famous Chandra X-ray observatory and will use spectroscopy to study the "colours" of X-ray light.  Researchers will use its sensitivity and high resolution equipment in the X-ray energy range to learn more about supermassive black holes, active and merging galaxies, neutron stars and supernova remnants. Japan and the USA collaborates on the project.

2. Astronomy news from around the world

Astronomy in short:

- Deep Impact findings: a great plume of very fine powdery materials appeared after impact on July 4, but the plume slowly faded in the next few days after which the comet's look returned to normal. A lot of research is still going on however.
-Astronomers using the Keck I telescope discovered a gas giant exoplanet in a solar system 149 light-years away. The planet finds itself in a triple-star system.

Plume of comet materials visible.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD

Report-back on first Deep Impact Findings (8 July 2005)
More information at:  www.spaceflightnow.com/deepimpact/050708powder.html

Gigabytes of information was collected during the crash of the Deep Impact probe into comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005.  The explosion resulted in huge amounts of very fine powdery material being thrown out into space.
At this stage it seems that the probe might not have made such a large impact on the comet as hoped in order to expose a lot of the "pristine material" beneath the comet's surface: the materials the scientists are mostly interested in. The crater that was created however, is believed to be quite deep.
The plume of dust faded in the next few days after impact and the comet's "look" returned to normal.  Scientists will spend much time going through the thousands of photographs and the other data collected during and after impact.

Credit: Caltech (artist impression)

Exoplanet in a three-star solar system discovered
Full article: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2005-115 (July 13, 2005)

A new planet far outside our own solar system (149 light years away) has been discovered, which is situated in a triple-star solar system. Imagine our sky having not just one, but three suns at the same time! The sky of this "exoplanet" will appear strange by sometimes having all three stars (suns) in the sky at once. The planet was discovered using the large Keck I telescope in Hawaii.  More than half of all stars are either double or multiple systems (unlike our own Sun which does not have any companion stars).  The exoplanet is slightly more massive than Jupiter and also consists of gas.

3. Interesting Space Facts

- The planet Mercury was named after the speedy messenger of the gods by the Romans, because it appeared to move more quickly than any other planet visible. Mercury takes only 88 days to orbit the Sun, compared to 365 days for the Earth.  Mercury's diameter is 40% smaller than the Earth's and 40% larger than our Moon's.

- If the planet Neptune were hollow, it could contain almost 60 Earths! It orbits the Sun once every 165 years. Neptune also holds the record for the fastest winds in the solar system: they can blow up to 2 000 km/h!

- It is possible to see the International Space Station from Earth. It orbits about 350 km above the surface and is visible as a bright speck of light when travelling over your location (looking like a bright satellite). Times are available at www.heavens-above.com by typing in or searching for your location.

4. Space Questions

Does the Earth's rotation have any effect on the speed of aircraft?

The Earth's rotational speed (1 600 km/h) has no direct effect on the speed of aircraft traveling in the atmosphere, because the atmosphere (and the aeroplane in it) is carried along with the Earth as it spins.  The only way in which aircraft speed can be influenced by the Earth's spin (and then only slightly compared to the overall speed of the Earth), is through the "Coriolis" effect of wind patterns created by the Earth's rotation.  Source: www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae687.cfm

How many stars can you see with the naked eye on a dark night?

You can see about 3 000 stars with your naked eye. There are in fact, between 200 billion and 400 billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy alone (mostly too far and too faint to see though and the figure may change as new research takes place).

Our nearest star, Alpha Centauri is a triple star, with its smallest member "Proxima Centauri" being the closest to our Sun (4.3 light years away). "Barnard's star" (a faint red dwarf) is the second nearest.

Galileo's Telescope

Who invented the telescope?

Unlike popular believe, Galileo Galilei did not invent the telescope. He was only the first person to use it for recorded astronomical purposes from 1609.  It is unsure who exactly invented the telescope, but there was a Dutchman named Hans Lippershey who in 1608 gave the government an instrument for military use, which had two lenses in a tube (to magnify the image looked at) - a primitive telescope. Other opticians also worked on the concept, but ou Hansie got the patent!

Source: http://space.about.com/cs/basics/a/spacefaq12.htm

5. Sky Observation Log

The value of binoculars for sky watching

The power of the binocular for sky watching is frequently undervalued. Binoculars are however, the most versatile and user-friendly instruments to use for sky watching. There are some objects in the sky that is best suited for observation through a binocular - they are just too large for telescopes. Examples include M45 (the seven sisters) in Taurus, M7 in Scorpio and the Beehive cluster M44 in Cancer.  You will also be awe-inspired when you take a glimpse of the milky way through a binocular. Hundreds of background stars suddenly resolves into fantastic images.

Now is the time for Scorpius and Sagittarius

If you haven't looked at Scorpius and Sagittarius yet, now is the time to do so. Scorpius (the Scoprion) is situated almost right above your head at the moment in the evenings (at your "zenith"), with Sagittarius just below it to the east. Have a look at  them and while you're busy watching, take a binocular and scan the area for the many deep sky objects found in these two object-rich constellations. Skymaps can be found at: http://skymaps.com/

6. Astronomy News in Southern Africa

The Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO)

The Hermanus Magnetic Observatory
Extract from the HMO's website at: www.hmo.ac.za/

"The Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) is a research facility of the National Research Foundation (www.nrf.ac.za), which is an autonomous science council responsible for research and human resources development in South Africa.  The HMO is situated in the picturesque village of Hermanus in the Western Cape (www.hermanus.co.za)".

The observatory is a participant in a global network of similar institutions which "monitor and model variations of the Earth's magnetic field".

7. Astronomy Events in the City of Bloemfontein

Boyden Observatory Science Centre:  www.assabfn.co.za/friendsofboyden/explore.htm

One of the most publicly accessible observatories of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, also housing SA's third largest telescope.  The next open evening is on 23 July 2005 (Saturday). Time: 18h30. R25 per vehicle. Snacks will be sold. Special theme on Geology will be presented by the Friends of Boyden. Phone 051-401 2322 for reservations or reply to this email with the amount of people who will attend.

The Friends of Boyden:  www.assabfn.co.za/friendsofboyden
A public interest group for Boyden Observatory and for people interested in joining the astronomical community of  Bloemfontein, but not make astronomy their "full-time" hobby.

Contact Braam van Zyl at 051-436 7555 (h) or visit the website above. Anyone can become a member. R50 membership fee per year for a whole family. Members receive the latest information on astronomy events in Bloem, attend the Friends' presentations free of charge and receive the "Naghemel" quarterly newsletter compiled by ASSA Bloemfontein by post.

ASSA Bloemfontein Centre:  www.assabfn.co.za

Affiliated with the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa, the Bloemfontein Centre of ASSA is an active organization of amateur astronomers meeting on a regular basis to discuss and practise astronomy. Activities include solar-, lunar-, deep sky- and comet & meteor observations, as well as historical research, telescope building, tours and away-weekends under dark skies.
Send an e-mail to mail@assabfn.co.za or visit the website. Interested persons contact Phillip Coetzer: 084 627 7626.

8. Web links & Net nodes

- Akira Fujii/DMI photo collection:  www.davidmalin.com/fujii/fujii_index.html - Exquisite constellation and starfield photos. Well worth the visit.

- A smoking laptop caused some panic on an Aussie plane: http://theinquirer.net/?article=24632

- Harry Potter craze has hit the streets again. Official Harry Potter website: http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/main/homepage/intro.html

- A few things to do before you are 10 years of age. If you haven't done it yet, try it anyway!  www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13381613,00.html

- 50 places to see before you die calculator - how old will you be by the time you see all?
http://www.twisty.com/misc/50places/

- On-line evolution: Lots of information on the Internet itself (history, impact, dark sides, web jargon and lots more): www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/online.evolution/

- 2 meters and 36.1 cm - the world's tallest man. How's da weather up there hey? www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13381900,00.html

- You bored? Visit bored.com and have a laugh or three...
http://www.bored.com/