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Saturday, July 4, 2009

Sunspot Alert

Space Weather News for July 4, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

The sun is putting on its own 4th of July fireworks show. A new sunspot is rapidly emerging in the sun's southern hemisphere and it is crackling with B-class solar flares. The magnetic polarity of sunspot 1024 identifies it as a member of new Solar Cycle 24. It appears to be the best offering yet of the young solar cycle. Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

ALERT: For less than the cost of a night at the movies, you can get real time space weather alerts on your cell phone and never miss another big solar flare or geomagnetic storm. Sign up for Space Weather PHONE: http://spaceweatherphone.com .


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

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Volcanic Sunsets

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

VOLCANIC SUNSETS: The Russian volcano that erupted directly beneath the International Space Station on June 12th is now causing beautiful lavender sunsets across parts of the northern USA and Europe. A plume of ash and sulfur dioxide from the Sarychev Peak eruption is circulating through the stratosphere, and when parts of the plume pass over an area at sunset, the sky fills with delicate white ripples, sometimes-colorful streamers, and a telltale hue of purple. Check today's edition for observing tips and a photo gallery.


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

Phoenix Monsoon Season

Phoenix Monsoon Season
by Terri, Event Coordinator for PAS

During the summer months, from May 15 to Sept 30, the Phoenix Monsoon season is here. What this means is that in Phoenix, at a drop of a hat, the weather that is clear and sunshine in the morning, can turn to windy, possibly rainy, and all around yucky for astronomy by afternoon
and evening. So, a lot of events we have during the summer months, even though they are the better months for observing because of temperatures, get canceled. If you plan to attend our events this summer, be sure to RSVP as often as you can. If we cancel an event, we'd like you to know about it before you drive out to the site and find no one there. In the calendar on our site www.pasaz.org, you will find a place to RSVP your attendance. You can also RSVP by phone to the proper contact for that event, or by email, preferably by the day before. This will keep you in the loop as to if an event with PAS is going to happen or not due to weather. We would love to see you at our events. Most of our events are open to the public and FREE. Keep in touch with PAS to experience more of the awesome evening viewing.


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

Monday, June 22, 2009

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.


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

Thursday, June 18, 2009

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:



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:



Clear skies!

Math



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


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



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

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

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/.




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

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

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 .


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

Sunday, June 7, 2009

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.


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