Lunar Flyby Tuesday 6/23

Space Weather News for June 22, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

LUNAR FLYBY: Tomorrow morning, NASA's LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) spacecraft will fly by the Moon and send pictures back to Earth from only 9000 km above the lunar surface. The purpose of the maneuver is to put LCROSS in an elongated Earth orbit and position it for impact at the lunar south pole later this year. Live video streaming of the flyby begins at approximately 5:20 AM PDT on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Visit http://spaceweather.com for links and updates.

NEW SUNSPOTS: Since 2007, it has been unusual to see even a single spot on the sun. Today there are two. A pair of new-cycle sunspots is emerging in the sun's southern hemisphere. This is a good opportunity for readers with solar telescopes to witness sunspot genesis in action.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Star Observer

Received from my good friend who runs the Star Observer website. Enjoy:

Hi all,

I just posted two new observing reports on my new website, Starobserver.eu.

The first is on NGC 6910, a small and compact open cluster in Cygnus. When observing this open cluster you see bright yellow stars, that are in fact B-stars. So they should appear white. What causes the yellowish appearance is explained in this article, where I got some great help from Professor James Kaler, author of some of the best books on stars, and Dr. Franz Gruber, who sent me a few magnificent deepsky images of the Cygnus area to illustrate the high degree of nebulosity in the Cygnus area. To read the full report, follow this link:

http://www.starobserver.eu/openclusters/ngc6910.html

The second is about

eta Persei is a bright double star, placed within a striking asterism. When I was writing my notes on this double, I found out the collecting the right data is sometimes much more complicated than you think. I got some help from an Austrian astro-photograpeher, Peter Wienerroither. His image of eta Persei was a great help in identifying all the components of eta Persei. To read the full report, just follow this link:

http://www.starobserver.eu/multiplestars/etapersei.html

Clear skies!

Math

http://www.backyard-astro/blog

http://www.starobserver.eu

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Send your name to Mars (2)

Received this from my good friend Carol:

Please enter the following link and type your name in to be sent on microchip with the Mars next rover. You can enter your children and friends also.

http://mars9.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/index.cfm

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

NASA's Space Place on Facebook

We have created a Facebook page for the NASA Space Place. Please encourage your fellow educators to "become a fan" of the Space Place Facebook page -- by publishing and circulating the paragraph below.

Our Facebook page contains original activities NOT on the Space Place -- as well as highlights of the new activities on our site.

Thanks for helping us get out the word on this new feature!

Colleen

_________________________________________________________________________________

For those of you with Facebook pages, we just created a page for NASA’s Space Place Web site, http://spaceplace.nasa.gov. The Space Place an extensive, content-rich Web site for upper elementary age kids, their teachers, parents, and anyone else who likes a simple, readable, fun presentation of a wide range of space and Earth science and technology topics. Most of the site is great for kids to explore on their own, with interactive games, hands-on projects, and fun facts. But it also has lots of stuff for teachers. Teachers especially appreciate the bi-monthly Space Place Newsletter for educators, which has lots of suggestions for how to use the resources of this Web site in the classroom. See the "Teacher's Corner" at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/educators.

Check out “NASA’s The Space Place” new page on Facebook, where you will also find exclusive content only for our Facebook fans! Become a fan, and we'll also let you know whenever we add a new game, animation, cartoon “talk show,” fun fact, or any other interesting stuff. It’s a great way to explore space!

_________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks much!

Colleen Barboza
Space Place Coordinator
Phone: (818) 393-5936
FAX: (818) 354-9068

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Send your name to Mars

NASA invites you to submit your name to be included on a microchip that will be sent to Mars as part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, scheduled to launch in 2011. Mars Science Laboratory is a rover that will assess whether Mars ever was, or still is, an environment able to support microbial life.

The "Send Your Name to Mars" Web page enables anyone to take part in the mission by sending his or her name to the Red Planet. Participants can print a certificate of participation and view a map showing where other contributors are from.

To submit names, visit http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/.

To learn more about the Mars Science Laboratory mission, visit http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Japan crash into the Moon

Space Weather News for June 10, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

IMPACT ALERT: Japan's Kaguya will crash into the Moon on Wednesday, June 10th, around 1830 UT. The timing favors observers in Asia and Australia, who might be able to see a flash of light or a plume of debris rising from the Moon's southeastern limb. The spacecraft masses 2,600 kg and it will slam into the lunar surface at 6,000 km/hr. No one knows, however, how bright the flash might be or whether it will be visible even through large telescopes. Images of the crash, if any are captured, will be posted on http://spaceweather.com .

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Strange Squid like Lightening

Space Weather News for June 8, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

STRANGE LIGHTNING: Over the weekend, an atmospheric scientist in Europe photographed something that resembled a giant luminous squid floating over a thundercloud in France. It was a strange form of lightning known as a "sprite." His high-resolution images are featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com along with observing tips for anyone who would like to see and photograph these fantastic bolts during the upcoming thunderstorm season.

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Daytime Meteors

Space Weather News for June 5, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

DAYTIME METEORS: The annual Arietid meteor shower peaks on Sunday, June 7th. The Arietids are unusual because they are daytime meteors; they stream out of a point in the sky not far from the sun. The best time to look is just before dawn on Sunday morning when it may be possible to spot a small number of Arietids skimming the top of Earth's atmosphere. Such "Earthgrazing" meteors tend to be long, colorful, and very pretty. After daybreak, when the meteors are no longer visible to the human eye, you can listen to radar echoes from the Arietids by tuning in to our online meteor radar: http://spaceweatherradio.com .

"The Arietids are the strongest daylight shower of the year," notes Bob Lunsford of the American Meteor Society. "If you could see them through the sun's glare, you would count as many as 60 per hour. Also, don't forget that the daytime Zeta Perseids peak only two days later and are considered the second strongest daylight shower. In all my years of viewing I have never seen a Zeta Perseid, but I have seen a few Arietids. They have all been Earthgrazers and very impressive meteors."

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

Noctilucent Cloud Season begins

Space Weather News for May 30, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

FIRST NLCs of 2009: The first noctilucent clouds (NLCs) of 2009 have been sighted over northern Europe. Last night, May 29th, photographers recorded wispy electric-blue tendrils spreading across the twilight skies of Denmark, Northern Ireland and Scotland. This follows a similar display over Russia on May 27th. These sightings signal the beginning of the 2009 NLC season, which is expected to last until late July. Early-season NLCs are usually feeble, but these were fairly bright and vibrant, suggesting that even better displays are in the offing. Check today's edition of http://spaceweather.com for photos.

Noctilucent clouds are an unsolved puzzle. They float 83 km above Earth's surface at the edge of space itself. People first noticed NLCs in the late 19th century. In those days you had to travel to high northern latitudes to see them. In recent years, however, the clouds have been sighted in the United States as far south as Oregon, Washington and even Colorado. Climate change, space dust, and rocket launches have all been cited as possible explanations for the phenomenon. Interestingly, low solar activity seems to promote the clouds, so the ongoing deep solar minimum could set the stage for a good season in 2009.

The best time to look for NLCs is just after sunset or just before sunrise when the sun is between 6 and 16 degrees below the horizon. That's when the geometry is just right for sunlight to illuminate the tiny ice crystals that make up the clouds. Observing tips and sample photos may be found in the 2008 Noctilucent Cloud Gallery:

http://spaceweather.com/nlcs/gallery2008_page10.htm

Readers, if you enjoy these newsletters and wish to support our efforts, please consider signing up for Spaceweather.com's astronomy alert service: http://spaceweatherphone.com . Thanks!

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society

ISS Flybys

Space Weather News for May 26, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

SPACE STATION FLARES: Lately, a growing number of observers are reporting intense "flares" coming from the International Space Station (ISS). During some nighttime flybys, the luminosity of the space station surges 10-fold or more. Some people have witnessed flares of magnitude -8 or twenty-five times brighter than Venus. A movie featured on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com shows what is happening: sunlight glints from the station's recently expanded solar arrays in a shadow-casting flash. Currently, the flares are unpredictable. You watch a flyby not knowing if one will happen or how bright it might be. That's what makes the hunt for "ISS flares" so much fun.

Sky watchers in North America should be alert for flares this week. The ISS is making a series of evening passes over many US and Canadian towns and cities. Flyby times are available from the Simple Satellite Tracker: http://spaceweather.com/flybys

Would you like a phone call when the ISS is about to fly over your hometown? Sign up for Space Weather PHONE: http://spaceweatherphone.com

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Terri, Events Coordinator
Email: Events@PASAz.org
Phoenix Astronomical Society