Curious Asteroid Flyby

Space Weather News for Jan. 12, 2010
http://spaceweather.com

CURIOUS ASTEROID FLYBY: A curious object is about to fly past Earth only one-third the distance to the Moon. Catalogued as a 10m-class asteroid, 2010 AL30 has an orbital period of almost exactly 1 year. This raises the possibility that it might not be a natural object, but rather a piece of some spacecraft from our own planet. At closest approach on Jan. 13th, 2010 AL30 will streak through Orion, Taurus, and Pisces glowing like a 14th magnitude star. Experienced amateur astronomers are encouraged to monitor the flyby. Orbital elements, images, and more information are available on http://spaceweather.com .

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

Earliest photos of universe

Hubble telescope shows earliest photo of universe http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16053/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=rpyKehU7

This link sent to me by Steve. Thank you Steve!

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

PAS SOCIAL this Saturday Jan 9, 2010

PAS SOCIAL this Saturday
Jan 9, 2010
Location: Chris's home in Goodyear
Time: 3pm set up,
4pm party begins and goes until ?

This is a PAS MEMBERS ONLY event.
This is the PARTY OF THE YEAR!!!

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

Hot Mysteries

Planet-hunting telescope unearths hot mysteries http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16053/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=d3hWyY6q

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

Blue Moon Eclipse Dec 31

Space Weather News for Dec. 31, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

SUNSPOT SURGE: 2009 is ending with a flurry of sunspots. The month of December has had more "spotted days" than any previous month of the year by a significant margin, and all of the month's sunspot groups have been members of new Solar Cycle 24. Could this herald an end to the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century? That remains to be seen. Sunspot counts and trends are shown on today's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

SOMETHING NEW: Turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a field-tested satellite tracker! Spaceweather.com presents the Satellite Flybys app: http://simpleflybys.com

BLUE MOON ECLIPSE: For the first time in almost 20 years, there's going to be a "Blue Moon" on New Year's Eve. In Europe, sky watchers will witness an even rarer event--an eclipse of a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve. What are the odds? Probabilities and observing tips may be found at http://spaceweather.com.

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

The following PAS events for Dec 2009 have been CANCELED!!!

Please make a note of it...

Dec 10: Telescopes Training Workshop - due to weather

Dec 11: PV park meteor shower / star party - due to weather

Dec 17: PAS Meeting of the Minds - Due to lack of topics

The Dec 12th Virtual Star Party is still undecided but most
likely will be canceled due to weather

HAVE A SUPER WEEKEND. Keep dry
and Happy Holidays!!!

Terri

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

Double Flyby for Tonight - Wed Nov 25th

Space Weather News for Nov. 25, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

DOUBLE FLYBY ALERT: Space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) this morning at 4:53 am EST. Their separation sets the stage for double flybys of many towns and cities on Wednesday evening, Nov. 25th, when Atlantis and the ISS will soar through the night sky side by side--a fantastic sight. Atlantis is not scheduled to land until Friday morning, Nov. 27th, so the double apparitions will continue on Thursday, Nov. 26th, Thanksgiving in the United States. Check the Simple Satellite Tracker for flybys: http://spaceweather.com/flybys .

ISS FLYBY ALERTS: Would you like a phone call or text message when the ISS is about to fly over your back yard? Sign up for Spaceweather PHONE: http://spaceweatherphone.com

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

Fireballs & Meteors

Space Weather News for Nov. 18, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

FIREBALLS AND METEORS: As forecasters predicted, the Leonid meteor shower peaked during the late hours of Nov. 17th, favoring sky watchers in Asia with an outburst of 100+ meteors per hour. Just as the outburst was dying down, an even bigger event took place over the western USA. Something hit Earth's atmosphere and exploded with an energy equivalent of 0.5 to 1 kiloton of TNT. Witnesses in Colorado, Utah, Idaho and elsewhere say the fireball "turned night into day" and "shook the ground" when it exploded just after midnight Mountain Standard Time. Researchers who are analyzing infrasound recordings of the blast say the fireball was not a Leonid. It was probably a small asteroid, now scattered in fragments across the countryside. Efforts are underway to measure the trajectory of the asteroid and guide meteorite recovery efforts.

Please visit http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

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

Fireballs & Meteors

Space Weather News for Nov. 18, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

FIREBALLS AND METEORS: As forecasters predicted, the Leonid meteor shower peaked during the late hours of Nov. 17th, favoring sky watchers in Asia with an outburst of 100+ meteors per hour. Just as the outburst was dying down, an even bigger event took place over the western USA. Something hit Earth's atmosphere and exploded with an energy equivalent of 0.5 to 1 kiloton of TNT. Witnesses in Colorado, Utah, Idaho and elsewhere say the fireball "turned night into day" and "shook the ground" when it exploded just after midnight Mountain Standard Time. Researchers who are analyzing infrasound recordings of the blast say the fireball was not a Leonid. It was probably a small asteroid, now scattered in fragments across the countryside. Efforts are underway to measure the trajectory of the asteroid and guide meteorite recovery efforts.

Please visit http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.

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

Leonid Meteor Shower Nov 17th

Space Weather News for Nov. 16, 2009
http://spaceweather.com

LEONID METEOR SHOWER: The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Tuesday, Nov. 17th, with a new Moon providing ideally-dark viewing conditions. Forecasters expect a relatively mild display (20 to 30 meteors per hour) over North America followed by a much stronger outburst (100 to 300 per hour) over Asia. No matter where you live, the best time to look is during the dark hours before sunrise on Tuesday morning.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for full coverage of the Leonids, including live audio from a meteor radar, a live chat with a NASA meteor scientist, sky maps, photos and more.

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