SOUTH DOWNS ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

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Latest News:   Moon Landings Cancelled! It had to happen at some point!, Nasa’s troubled Constellation program has been cancelled. Thus putting to an end Nasa’s planned human return to the Moon. (At least for now). Faced with record borrowing, and a cynical public the US President Barrack Obama made the announcement on the 1st of Feb. (One can’t help wondering where exactly they are planning on getting all the Helium3 fusion fuel they need from now? Courtesy of China perhaps?)   Happy New Year! A very happy 2010! Science fiction fans will recognise 2010 as ‘The year we make contact’  let’s hope! The ISS is truly spectacular If you haven’t seen the ISS (International Space Station) then take a look. See Spaceweather.com for a chart showing times to look. It is truly spectacular in the evening sky!   Is the Sun waking up at last!? After a long sleep during solar minimum it looks as if the sun is showing signs of becoming more active at last. The nature of  recent sun spot activity has boosted hopes that the new solar cycle is at last getting fully underway. Recently the sun has broken century long records for low sunspot activity, but the most recent sunspot has yielded many class C flares, and more sunspots look set to appear shortly. Fingers crossed! Cosmic Rays reach highest levels in recorded history The levels of cosmic rays measured by NASA spacecraft have reached an all time high. This is due to the deepest solar minimum in a century, and it has implications for astronaut safety and the reliability of space systems. Keep an eye out for the International Space Station.. The international Space Station is extremely bright at the moment, due to Discovery docking a few days ago, well worth a look, check out  spaceweather.com for more details. Jupiter has a new surface feature! Jupiter has been struck by a large asteroid/comet fragment. Recent photos show the new  dark spot getting gradually bigger. It is not clear if this object is a stray fragment from the Shoemaker Levy comet (that impacted 15 years ago almost to the day), or an entirely separate object. Its 40 years since the first men walked on the moon! 40 years ago in July, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped out onto the lunar surface, making history in the process. A Storm of meteorites may have made the early Earth, and Mars warmer and wetter. A Bombardment of meteorites Early in Earth’s History may have tipped the balance in favour of life, research has shown.  Researchers analysed the water content from a certain type of 15 meteorite fragments from around the world and found that each fragment gave up 12% of its mass to water, and 6% as Carbon Dioxide, this has implications for Mars too, which may explain it’s suspected wet past. So there you have it we may all own our very existence to the water content of  meteorites!   Dr Neil Bone -  1959-2009 It is with deep regret that I advise that Neil Bone president of the BAA Meteor Section, chemist, author, Astronomy Now writer and long time member of our society sadly died last week after a long illness.  Neil was one of the most inspiring people I have ever met, and among his great many achievements, had an asteroid named after him (A7102) in recognition of his considerable contribution to astronomy. How fitting that he left us right at the Lyrid meteor shower maximum, I am deeply thankful for all the inspiration he gave  to us all, and he will be very sadly missed.  Our deepest thoughts go to his wife Gina and family.   Cosmic smash up! Bam! - The 2009 satellite collision was the first major collision between two intact artificial satellites in Earth orbit. The collision occurred at 16:56 UTC on February 10, 2009, at 789 kilometres (490 mi) above the Taymyr Peninsula in Siberia, when Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 collided. The satellites collided at a speed of 11.7 kilometres per second (7.3 mi/s), or approximately 42,120 kilometres per hour (26,170 mph). Debris has been re entering the atmosphere over the last few weeks, and debris may pose a threat to upcoming shuttle launches.   Congratulations to Dr John Mason -MBE! Dr John Mason has been awarded the MBE in the New Years Honors list, for services to Astronomy. Comet Alert! Comet Lulin (C/2007 N3) is heading around the sun and approaching Earth, get ready for a 38 million mile close encounter in February, Lulin is not yet a naked eye object but is spectacular in the telescope. Jupiter’s core is twice as big as first thought! Scientists at the university of California have recently modelled the core of Jupiter and discovered it must be twice as big as previously thought. The Rock densities are many times that of the earth surface, meaning that jupiter’s solid core is 14-18 times bigger than the earth! Whilst Jupiter is widely thought of as a gas giant, it is worth bearing in mind that it is actually also the biggest solid planet too!   Sagas website moved. Sagas, the Southern Area Group of Astronomical Societies has moved it’s website to www.sagasonline.org.uk. The Southern Area Group of Astronomical Societies provides a forum where representatives of Astronomical Societies from the South of England can meet to share best practice and discuss items of mutual interest or concern. SAGAS also provides the conduit to and from the FAS Council via our FAS representative. Business meeting are usually held every 3 months near Chichester, Sussex. South Downs Astronomical Society is a registered Charity No. 1052270) Registered office is 46 Central Avenue, Bognor Regis West Sussex PO21 5HH Trustees P.E. FRAY, J.K.W GREEN MBE, Dr J.W. MASON and I.A.WOOD

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