ASV News
COMET C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS OPPORTUNITY Hi All I've attached a finder chart for Comet C/2011 L4 Panstarrs, which is currently located very low in the SW sky. Start your observations at around 9pm, local time. The comet is approx magnitude 2.4, and easierly visible to the naked eye with a short tail. In binoculars it's sporting a tail over a degree in length. Keep in mind the comet will disappear from our skies shortly Finder chart below http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/comets/2011_L4.pdf Regards Con Stoitsis Director ASV- Comet Section Geminid Meteor Shower 2012 The Geminid meteor shower peaks on the morning of December the 13th. This is probably the best shower of the year Start your observations after 2.30am when Gemini is located low in the NE ZHR of 50 plus meteors, can be seen from a dark sky, and expect to see 10-15 meteors from town. The moon will not interfere with observations this year. If your interested in meteor showers, this is not the one to miss. Regards Con Stoitsis Comet SectionMeteor News
METEOR SEASON Now is as good a time as any, to observe meteors. The ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate) taking into account current active meteor showers, both major and minor, and the current sporadic rate, is 18 in the evening hours, and 28 in the morning, a few hours before sunrise. Obviously the moon will affect the ZHR, as will observing from a light polluted sky. Regards Con Stoitsis Comet Section
New GMT Newsletter
Find out more about the Great Melbourne Telescope Restoration Project - the November 2012 edition of the Phoenix Newsletter is now available for download from the GMT page.
Transit of Venus 2012
Images and videos taken by ASV members can be viewed on our dedicated page.
Click here to view.
Andrew Prentice Prediction 9 May 2012
Dr. Andrew Prentice's presentation from his speech at the ASV monthly meeting held on 9 May 2012 has been uploaded to the ASV website. You can download a copy using this link. Refer to page 94 for the details! Audio file
Dr. Prentice's final prediction relates to the Dawn Press Conference (NASA HQ, Washington DC) on Friday 11 May 2012: 4.00 am that will present a new analysis of the giant asteroid Vesta using data from the agency's Dawn spacecraft.
The prediction is as follows:
Chemically-uniform model: MOI (moment-of-inertia factor) = 0.388 +/- 0.004
Differentiated model: MOI = 0.369 +/- 0.004
Good luck Dr. Prentice and thank you for a very enjoyable speech.
ASV - Meteor Section
ASV members interested in all things relating to meteors, can join the ASV Meteor Section yahoo page at here.
The section caters for all levels of experience.
Regards
Con Stoitsis Ph 0421 616 547
GMT in the News
An interesting article about the Great Melbourne Telescope appeared in The Age recently:
Comet/Meteor Section Meeting
The Comet/Meteor sections are looking to organise a meeting at Parer st, on a Thursday night in mid April.
New ASV Observatory
Thanks to Phil for this timelaspe movie of the new ASV Observatory constuction at LMDSS.
LMDSS Observatory Raising from Phil Hart on Vimeo.
Beavis Star Atlas Story
A must read for all ASV members, and includes a great picture of Barry at the State Library of Victoria. Fully story available online at The Age website.
ASV Comet Section
Hi All
For members interested in all things comet related, please join the ASV Comet section yahoo page
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/asvcometsection/?yguid=352245513
The group caters for all levels of experience.
The group page has a wealth of information, including finder charts on comets visible in our skies at the moment.
Please call me if you have any questions
Regards
Con Stoitsis
Director
ASV-Comet Section 0421 616 547
Wanted : Your favourite astro web-sites
The New Astronomers Group (NAG) publishes a "Getting started" CD for members when they join NAG. One of the pages is a list of Astronomy web-sites. While there are sites that will always be a great source of info the world wide web is a dynamic place so every few years I want to give this page a total refresh a keep it relevant. I am looking for your contributions with the only caveat being they are Astronomy related and helpful for people just starting out in Astronomy. ASV member web-sites are welcome but the more logical place is the ASV web-site own members site page which I already have a link to.
I have made a post on the ASV discussion groups so please visit www.asv.org.au, login as a member, head for the message boards, and add your suggestions under general discussion for the New Astronomers' Group forum. Or you can send an e-mail (not as much fun) to me at: nag@asv.org.au
Thank you... Ken LeMarquand
Section Director for the New Astronomers' Group.
ASV on Facebook
They said it would never happen - but it has. The ASV is finally on Facebook. Please click on the icon below and join in the discussion, and don't forget to 'like' us.
