From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Thu May 3 19:40:50 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Thu May 3 19:40:59 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: [AANC Contacts] MT TAM ASTRONOMY PROGRAM 5/19 Message-ID: <005901c78df5$a200bdd0$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> MT TAM ASTRONOMY PROGRAM 5/19Subject: [AANC Contacts] MT TAM ASTRONOMY PROGRAM 5/19 Mt Tam Enthusiasts - Well, the rain came in April, but we have high hopes for May. Please join us for our first astronomy program for 2007 on SATURDAY, MAY 19 AT 8:30PM in the Mountain Theatre on Mt Tamalpais. Dr. Scott Sandford, from NASA-Ames Research Center, will give us an overview of the Stardust Mission and an update on what has been learned from the comet sample it returned to Earth from Comet 81P/Wild2. Weather permitting, the talk will be followed by observing in the Rock Springs Parking Lot, with the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers. This a FREE program, sponsored by Mt Tamalpais State Park, open to the general public. Student and youth groups are encouraged to attend. Dress warmly, bring a flashlight and car pool if possible. More information and directions are on our website: www.mttam.net. If the weather is questionable that day (dare I even suggest it?) call the hotline 415-455-5370 after 3:00pm for an update. Thanks for sharing this information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Contacts mailing list Contacts@aanc-astronomy.org http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/mailman/listinfo/contacts -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.6.2/780 - Release Date: 4/29/2007 6:30 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20070503/64993319/attachment.html From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Sun May 6 14:47:00 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Sun May 6 14:47:14 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: [AANC Contacts] What's Up For May Message-ID: <000e01c79028$14625a30$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 11:13 PM Subject: [AANC Contacts] What's Up For May "What's Up - May" , the monthly amateur astronomy themed podcast is up on the public JPL website today. Saturn, Jewel of the solar system is joined by Venus and Mercury in the early evening, and then after midnight, glorious Jupiter returns. Near Jupiter, the Asteroid Vesta can be seen beginning in late May through September. It will be bright enough to see with the unaided eye, if you know where to look. Saturn continues to be a great target through the amateur telescopes clear through July, when a beautiful grouping of Venus, Saturn, Leo's star, Regulus are all bunched together with the slender crescent moon. Between now and then watch Venus and Saturn as they draw closer to each other. You can get to the 2 minute podcast from the JPL main page: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ You can also get it on the JPL Amateur Astronomy page. You'll find some simple (aimed at the general public) downloadable sky charts, links to NASA amateur astronomy networks, and this is where the What's Ups are archived, too. http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html This is the permanent link for you to use if you want to bookmark the site This month the Dawn mission's Amateur Observer Program was added to the JPL Amateur Astronomy page - the link I just mentioned above. The Dawn Amateur Observers Program, is modelled on the successful Deep Impact Amateur Observers' Program. http://dawn-aop.astro.umd.edu/index.shtml Check it out! There are detailed star charts for Vesta viewing for several months on this page and lots of other great information. I'm sure some of you will want to participate in this Dawn Observers program. Let me know if you use the podcast for museum or planetarium or astronomy club programming! We love to know who uses our NASA multimedia material! Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones@jpl.nasa.gov Cassini Saturn Observation Campaign http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm _______________________________________________ Contacts mailing list Contacts@aanc-astronomy.org http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/mailman/listinfo/contacts From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Wed May 9 07:40:16 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Wed May 9 07:40:34 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Starry Nights at Rancho Canada del Oro Message-ID: <365960.54758.qm@web82705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Rancho Canada del Oro OSP is once again opening their parking area for new moon evening astronomy. This years dates are May 12 June 16 July 14 Aug 11 Sept 8 Starry Nights May 12, 2007, 7:45 p.m. Rancho Canada del Oro Join us for an evening under the stars with local astronomers and our very own Open Space Technicians. Families and friends are welcome to come enjoy an evening of stargazing and learning about nocturnal animals in a safe and fun outdoor environment! Please bring warm clothing and flashlights and join us for our very first event of the season! http://www.openspaceauthority.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20070509/482a51fd/attachment.html From robhawley at earthlink.net Wed May 9 17:50:44 2007 From: robhawley at earthlink.net (Rob Hawley) Date: Wed May 9 17:50:51 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Friday May 11 Beginning Astronomy Class and Houge Park Star Party Message-ID: <002f01c7929d$3e45a1a0$0300a8c0@robathome> Beginning Astronomy Class The next session of the beginning astronomy class will be held at Houge Park at 7:30 PM on Friday May 11.? Several items will be presented including NASA?s What?s Up Video, our tour of the objects visible tonight, and, finally, information on seeing the bright asteroid Vesta.? The lecture is free and open to everyone. For more information see www.sjaa.net/gotstars Houge Park Star Party The star party will run from 9 PM until midnight.? Please feel free to bring your scope or come and observe through our volunteers scopes.? Free and open to everyone. Object visibility for 23:00:00 on Fri 11 May 2007 Sunset: 20:05 Twilight: 21:48 Darkness: 21:48 - 03:22 Twilight: 04:19 Sunrise: 06:01 Object Type Con Alt Az Dir Jupiter Planet Oph 09? 127? SE Vesta Asteroid Oph 18? 124? SE IC 4665 Open Clus Oph 20? 98? E M 57 PN Lyr 22? 65? NE NGC 6811 Open Clus Cyg 22? 48? NE beta Lyrae Star Lyr 23? 65? NE NGC 6826 PN Cyg 23? 43? NE V Hydrae Star Hya 23? 215? SW M 44 Open Clus Cnc 29? 273? W iota Cancri Star Cnc 35? 282? W M 104 Galaxy Vir 40? 190? S NGC 6543 PN Dra 41? 30? NE NGC 6210 PN Her 43? 91? E M 5 Glob Ser 44? 133? SE M 92 Glob Her 44? 63? NE M 13 Glob Her 48? 75? E M 81 Galaxy UMa 49? 336? NW M 82 Galaxy UMa 49? 337? NW SS Virginis Star Vir 52? 199? S xi Bootis Star Boo 61? 123? SE M 97 PN UMa 64? 321? NW M 53 Glob Com 71? 178? S Mizar Star UMa 72? 6? N Mel 111 Open Clus Com 75? 224? SW M 3 Glob CVn 79? 141? SE M 51 Galaxy CVn 80? 18? N Rob Hawley From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Fri May 11 19:39:29 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Sat May 12 01:06:27 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: Night Sky Network Message: May Newsletter- Searching for Distant Life Telecon Message-ID: <008c01c7943e$c496f860$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> Hello Night Sky Network Members, With the announcement of the Earth-sized planet discovered in the habitable zone of distant star Gliese 581, the public is abuzz with thoughts of life outside of our solar system. Hear a top NASA scientist discuss the upcoming missions and current projects working on just this question. Also in this newsletter, see who the lucky winners of our quarterly drawing were and how to increase your chances the next time. 1) Searching For Life Beyond Our Solar System, May 22nd at 6:00 PDT 2) Quarterly Award Winners 3) AstroShop - Your One Stop Shop for All Things Astronomy >>1) Searching For Life Beyond Our Solar System, May 22nd at 6:00 PDT Dr. Victoria Meadows is currently the lead scientist at NASA's Virtual Planetary Laboratory and will share her research on how we are trying to detect life outside our solar system. Join us on May 22nd for this fascinating teleconference! Whether the universe harbors other worlds that can support even simple life is a question that has been pondered, yet has remained unanswered, for over two thousand years. Over the next two decades, NASA will launch a series of spaceborne telescopes that will search for Earth-sized planets around other stars and examine those planets for signs of life. But which observations should we make? And what should we look for? This talk will explain how we will search for and identify planets that might support life around other stars, and describes results from the new science of astrobiology that will help us recognize signs of life on these distant worlds. If this is your first Teleconference, here is how it works. After May 15th, you will be able to download or view a PowerPoint presentation on the Night Sky Network website. On May 22nd, members across the country call the number below and listen as Dr. Meadows gives her talk. (This teleconference is offered for member clubs in the Night Sky Network, not the general public.) She will guide us through the slides in the PowerPoint as she goes. Participants are then encouraged to ask Dr. Meadows questions. This will be recorded and posted on the Night Sky Network website. It can then be downloaded for future use. To join the Teleconference "Searching for Life Beyond our Solar System" by Dr. Victoria Meadows: *Tuesday, May 22nd *6:00 pm Pacific (9:00 pm Eastern) Toll-free conference call line: 1-800-779-8164. Call anytime after 5:45 pm the evening of the telecon. An operator will answer and: > You will be asked for the passcode: NIGHT SKY NETWORK > You might be asked for the call leader: MICHAEL GREENE > You will be asked to give your NAME and the CLUB you belong to, and number > of people listening with you. If you have any questions or are having any difficulties logging into the Night Sky Network, send an email to nightskyinfo@astrosociety.org >>2) Quarterly Award Winners Congratulations to the dedicated clubs who won the quarterly award this month! These five clubs will each receive a copy of 'The Universe at Your Fingertips', an activity-filled book with lots of ideas for teaching astronomy in the classroom. It has dozens of fun, hands-on activities designed for use in the schools. * Barnard Astronomical Society (TN) * Clemson Area Amateur Astronomers (SC) * Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit (CA) * Warren Rupp Observatory (OH) * Westminster Astronomical Society, Inc. (MD) Winning clubs are selected randomly from the events they log using Night Sky Network resources. The more of these events you log each quarter, the better your chances of winning the quarterly prizes. These prizes are generously donated by Astronomical Society of the Pacific to help clubs expand their outreach efforts. >>3) AstroShop - Your One Stop Shop for All Things Astronomy If you didn't win the quarterly prize this time and would like your own copy of the Universe at Your Fingertips, or to find other astronomy books, games and more, visit the ASP's AstroShop. Let us help you inspire the next generation of astronomers! Shop the ASP's online AstroShop for unique astronomy-related products to help you create engaging classroom activities and outreach programs. From Solar Telescopes and Planispheres, to DVD's , Globes, and numerous Kits, we are your one stop shop for astronomy-related resources. *Sign up for our Newsletter and be notified of new product introductions and special offers: http://www.astrosociety.org/products/signup.html *Easy payment options: We accept payment by purchase order, credit card, or fax *ASP Members receive a 10% discount on all purchases *All proceeds support the ASP's education and outreach efforts **SHOP NOW** at http:// www.astrosociety.org/astroshop.html Keep up the great work and keep logging those events to increase your chances of winning next quarter! We'll see you at the teleconference. Marni Berendsen and Vivian White Night Sky Network Administrators Astronomical Society of the Pacific NIGHT SKY NETWORK: http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/ From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Fri May 11 19:41:25 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Sat May 12 01:08:11 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: HVAG schedule reminder Message-ID: <00b301c7943f$099ea1b0$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> The Halls Valley Astronomical Group has scheduled starparties at Grant Park on the following dates: May 12th at Halley Hill June 16th at Halley Hill July 14th at Halley Hill August 11th at Halley Hill September 15th at Halley Hill October 13th at Halley Hill November 10th at Telescope Row December 8th at Telescope Row For additional information, including directions to the park, check our website: http://www.hallsvalley.org/ From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Fri May 11 19:47:05 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Sat May 12 01:13:51 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] =?iso-8859-1?q?Sign_up_for_Summer_Series_at_Lick?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=2C_May_8_=AD_18?= Message-ID: <00cc01c7943f$d3dff9b0$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> Sign up for Summer Series at Lick, May 8 ? 18 For a limited number of summer evenings, Lick Observatory offers public viewing through both the 36-inch refracting telescope and 40-inch reflecting telescope. Each evening features two speakers, who present programs even if clouds or fog prohibit viewing. The Summer Visitors Program is very popular and a random number drawing will determine who will be selected to purchase tickets. Request tickets using our electronic web form between 9:00am May 8 and 4:00pm May 18 (PDT). For more information, visit: http://www.ucolick.org/public/sumvispro.html Music of the Spheres Concert series tickets on sale May 15. For more information including performances, visit: http://www.ucolick.org/public/music.html From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Fri May 11 19:50:07 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Sat May 12 01:16:54 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: [AANC Contacts] Free Public Talk on the Birth of Planets May 23rd at Foothill College Message-ID: <00f701c79440$40caf890$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> Nontechnical Public Lecture on Seeing New Planets Being Born around Other Stars ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007, at 7 pm, Astronomer Dana Backman of the SETI Institute will give a non-technical, illustrated talk on: "A Ringside Seat to the Birth of Planets" as part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures in the Smithwick Theater, Foothill College, El Monte Road and Freeway 280, in Los Altos Hills, California. Free and open to the public. Parking on campus costs $2. Call the series hot-line at 650-949-7888 for more information and driving directions. No background in science will be required for this talk. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Astronomers have discovered dusty "doughnuts" of cosmic raw material around many younger stars. In some cases, astronomers can see tantalizing hints in the rings that planets may be forming or may already have formed from this material. Dr. Backman will explain how new kinds of telescopes and observations are thus making it possible for us to detect the birth process of planets around nearby stars. He'll discuss how some of these structures remind us of the asteroid belt in our own solar system and the rings of icy chunks beyond Neptune that we call the Kuiper Belt. Dr. Backman will conclude by previewing future obser- vations of these intriguing dusty rings with new telescopes, particularly the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) Project in which NASA has outfitted a 747 plane with a special telescope that can observe heat-rays from distant objects. SOFIA just had its successful "first flight." The talk will be illustrated with images of and by some of the most advanced telescopes in the world. Dr. Backman has been both a research astronomer (specializing in infrared observations) and a widely praised teacher of astronomy. He is the manager of education and outreach for the SOFIA Project and is much in demand as a public speaker on topics on the frontiers of astronomy. The lecture is co-sponsored by: * NASA Ames Research Center * The Foothill College Astronomy Program * The SETI Institute * The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures are now available in MP3 format at: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/podcast/index.html ================================ Andrew Fraknoi, Chair, Astronomy Program Foothill College ================================ _______________________________________________ Contacts mailing list Contacts@aanc-astronomy.org http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/mailman/listinfo/contacts From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Fri May 18 17:59:57 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Fri May 18 18:00:02 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: Night Sky Network Message: Telecon PowerPoint Ready for Download Message-ID: <004d01c799b1$055ed2b0$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> NIGHT SKY NETWORK TELECON: Searching For Life Beyond Our Solar System, Tuesday, May 22nd at 6:00 PDT (9 pm EDT) Dr. Victoria Meadows is currently the lead scientist at NASA's Virtual Planetary Laboratory and will share her research on how we are trying to detect life outside our solar system. Join us on May 22nd for this fascinating and timely teleconference! > The PowerPoint for the telecon is available for download here (10 MB): http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/docs/Meadows_AstroBio.ppt The online version is here: http://www.astrosociety.org/nsntelecon/ All your astronomy club members are welcome to attend. Feel free to pass the word to your club members. To join the Teleconference "Searching for Life Beyond our Solar System" by Dr. Victoria Meadows: *Tuesday, May 22nd *6:00 pm Pacific (9:00 pm Eastern) Call the toll-free conference line: 1-800-779-8164. Call anytime after 5:45 pm the evening of the telecon. An operator will answer and: > You will be asked for the passcode: NIGHT SKY NETWORK > You might be asked for the call leader: MICHAEL GREENE > You will be asked to give your NAME and the CLUB you belong to, and number > of people listening with you. If you have any questions or are having any difficulties logging into the Night Sky Network, send an email to nightskyinfo@astrosociety.org Vivian White & Marni Berendsen Astronomical Society of the Pacific From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Sat May 19 17:49:48 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Sat May 19 17:49:57 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: [AANC Contacts] Fwd: From Jane Houston Jones Message-ID: <003601c79a78$c5a5f810$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> Subject: [AANC Contacts] Fwd: From Jane Houston Jones Mojo and I were interviewed for a radio show which will be broadcast Saturday on some PBS stations. Here in the LA area, it'll be on 1-3 p.m. Saturday on KPCC 93.9, The show is called Weekend America. It is a 2 hour show, and we understand we'll be on towards the end of the first hour. Those of you with iPods can download it (after the fact) from iTunes free podcasts. Others may have a station that airs the show sometime on the weekend (none in the SF bay area, unfortunately). Others can just listen on the computer. Here's the blurb from the show's weekly email newsletter. If you think someone else would be interested, that I don't have email addresses here at work, send away! Jane ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA'S WEEKEND AMERICA NEWSLETTER FOR THE WEEKEND OF May 19, 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ... Stargaze on the Sidewalk. If you've been hankering for a glimpse of Saturn lately, or a closer look at the mountains of the moon, Saturday night is it: the first ever International Sidewalk Astronomy Night. It doesn't matter if you don't have your own telescope. Hundreds of amateur astronomers will take their scopes to the streets, and share. Sidewalk stargazers will be stationed in cities all over the country, and all over the world. Weekend America's Krissy Clark went out with two of them in Monrovia, Calif., to take a peek. ----------------------------- ** WHERE TO LISTEN ** ----------------------------- ? On the Radio http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/about/list.php ? On Our Web Site http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/ ? Using a Podcast http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/collections/podcast/ _______________________________________________ Contacts mailing list Contacts@aanc-astronomy.org http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/mailman/listinfo/contacts From robhawley at earthlink.net Wed May 23 15:57:55 2007 From: robhawley at earthlink.net (Rob Hawley) Date: Wed May 23 15:57:55 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] SJAA General Meeting on Saturday Message-ID: <001b01c79d8d$cd90d8c0$0400a8c0@robathome> May 26 at 8 p.m. @ Houge Park David Smith At our May 26 General Meeting the title of the talk will be: What Have We Learned from the Cassini/Huygens Mission to Saturn? - a presentation by Dr. Jeffrey Cuzzi of NASA Ames Research Center. Cassini is now well into its third year at Saturn. The Huygens entry probe landed on Titan in January 2005, but since then, many new discoveries have been made on Titan's surface, and elsewhere in the system, by the orbiter as it continues its four-year tour. In addition, new understanding is emerging from analysis of the earliest obtained data. In this talk, Dr. Jeffrey Cuzzi will review the key science highlights so far on the giant planet, its spectacular rings, its small but very diverse icy moons, and its planet-sized moon Titan. Jeff Cuzzi's main interests are in planetary system origin and evolution. Jeff was invited to join the Voyager Imaging Team in 1978 as its "rings expert", and led the planning of all Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune encounter ring imaging observations. He received several awards from NASA and the AIAA for his research on planetary rings, and in 1989 he was selected as Interdisciplinary Scientist for Rings on the NASA-ESA Cassini-Huygens mission. Together with Ellis Miner and Randii Wessen, he authored the book, "Planetary Ring Systems". Jeff is also actively studying how fluid dynamics and turbulence might have played a role in accumulating the very earliest primitive objects (comets and asteroids) such as reflected in the meteorite record. Rob Hawley From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Thu May 24 19:18:06 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Thu May 24 19:18:18 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: [AANC Contacts] Mt Tam 6/23 Message-ID: <009301c79e72$efe01950$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> Mt Tam 6/23 Subject: [AANC Contacts] Mt Tam 6/23 Save the date now as you won't want to miss the next Mt Tam Astronomy Program: SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 8:30 in the MOUNTAIN THEATRE on Mt Tamalpais Prof. Alex Filippenko of UC Berkeley will discuss "The Birth of the Universe" . He will present evidence in favor of a Big Bang origin for the cosmos- a hot, dense beginning with an inflationary expansion. And he will also discuss recent theories suggesting that our universe may be only one of many. Prof. Filippenko is a favorite repeat speaker on the mountain, and his talks always entertain and elucidate. Carpool with your friends, bring flashlights and dress warmly. It can be cold sitting on rocks! All programs are free, and we encourage you to bring students and family members of all ages. Telescope viewing will follow the program, weather permitting, until about 11:00pm in the Rock Springs Parking Lot. If the weather is questionable on the day of the program, call the SFAA hotline at 289-6636 (the Astronomy hotline will not be changed on this program). Usually the program goes even if the sky is not inviting for observing. And remember that when the fog comes in we are usually above it and welcome it to block out the lights of San Francisco. Programs sponsored by your State Park, organized by the Mount Tamalpais Interpretive Association with viewing conducted by the San Francisco Amateurs. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Contacts mailing list Contacts@aanc-astronomy.org http://mail.aanc-astronomy.org/mailman/listinfo/contacts -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20070524/66dd075d/attachment.html From robhawley at earthlink.net Fri May 25 11:39:20 2007 From: robhawley at earthlink.net (Rob Hawley) Date: Fri May 25 11:39:21 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Houge Park Star Party Tonight Message-ID: <006c01c79efc$02572040$0400a8c0@robathome> Due to a quirk of scheduling this month the party is scheduled during an almost full moon. 8:30 to 11:30 pm Rob Hawley From robhawley at earthlink.net Mon May 28 17:07:52 2007 From: robhawley at earthlink.net (Rob Hawley) Date: Mon May 28 17:07:54 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Geoff Marcy article on CNN Message-ID: <003d01c7a185$67821890$0400a8c0@robathome> " Searching for life in the universe from the top of a volcano" Well that is the title of the article. What the article is really about is how Marcy searches for planets and about using the Keck. http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/05/28/space.planets.hunter.ap/index.html Rob Hawley From pkohlmil at best.com Wed May 30 23:16:04 2007 From: pkohlmil at best.com (Paul Kohlmiller) Date: Wed May 30 23:43:48 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] June Ephemeris Online Message-ID: <008801c7a34b$2b859d40$8290d7c0$@com> The June Ephemeris is now available online. http://ephemeris.sjaa.net/ Paul and Mary Kohlmiller -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://mail.sjaa.net/pipermail/sjaa-announce/attachments/20070530/101e23df/attachment.html From bhavner at sbcglobal.net Thu May 31 19:14:05 2007 From: bhavner at sbcglobal.net (Bob & Brenda Havner) Date: Thu May 31 20:29:39 2007 Subject: [SJAA-announce] Fw: Night Sky Network Message: From MESSENGER spacecraft team! Message-ID: <004b01c7a3f2$88a757f0$0202a8c0@Turtlerock> SHARE VIEWS OF VENUS AND MERCURY THIS WEEK (AND IMAGINE MESSENGER FLYING BY VENUS) In the coming evenings, skywatchers can acquaint themselves with the MESSENGER spacecraft mission to Mercury (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/main/). Late afternoon on Tuesday, the 5th of June 2007, MESSENGER will fly within about 210 miles (340 kilometers) of the surface of the planet Venus, and get a gravity kick toward its ultimate destination, the sun-baked planet Mercury. Both Venus and Mercury will be well-placed for viewing during dusk the week before MESSENGER's June 5th encounter with Venus. MESSENGER (which is much too small and faint to see) is approaching Venus from the right. You can imagine MESSENGER about a third of the way from Venus to Pollux (about four Moon diameters from Venus) during the evening of June 1st. By the evening of June 4th, MESSENGER will be closing in on Venus, just two-thirds of the Moon's diameter away. MESSENGER flies by Venus before sunset as seen from the United States on Tuesday, June 5th. But two hours later, as the sky darkens and Venus gleams in the west, the spacecraft will still be an imperceptible distance to the left of Venus, with its motion slightly changed so that it is accurately on course for its first flyby of Mercury next January 14th. MESSENGER will be making scientific measurements of Venus, as well as testing out its instruments for Mercury, as it zooms by Earth's sister planet. Clark R. Chapman (cchapman@boulder.swri.edu) Member, MESSENGER Science Team 28 May 2007