Updates in this Newsletter- IISAC2015 - 4 weeks to go!
- 2 Years Since Russian Meteor Explosion
- Family Photo Left on Moon
- Comparing Two Comet Tails
* IISAC2015 - 4 weeks to go!
There's now only 4 weeks until
IISAC2015 - our annual star party in the Hunter Valley of NSW. Make sure you
"]get your bookings in soon!
Thanks to Alex at
Gondwana Telescopes for sponsoring and supporting the camp, and he's also personally giving two great workshops:
- General Scope Maintenance: Friday 3pm
- Astro Sketching: Saturday 3pm
Find out more about IISAC2015 by
heading to the info page, or jump straight to
registration at the IceInSpace Shop.
If you've never been to a star party before, if you've never seen the Milky Way under a dark sky, you just have to come along. It's a great event for the whole family - you don't need to own a telescope, and you don't need to be an IceInSpace member. Everyone is welcome, and I hope to see you there.
* 2 Years Since Russian Meteor Explosion
Hard to believe it's been 2 years since that amazing meteorite was captured by so many dashcams over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk!
Check out this compilation of Sonic Booms from the event; turn up the volume and enjoy!
Watch on YouTube
For some more nostalgia, watch some videos and check out the damage done in these pics:
Powerful meteorite explosion
- Suzy
* Family Photo Left on the Moon
On April 23, 1972, Apollo 16 astronauts Charlie Duke and John Young embarked on the third and final EVA of the mission, exploring the Descartes Highlands via Lunar Roving Vehicle. During the EVA, before setting up a Solar Wind Collector, Duke placed a small family photo he had brought along onto the lunar surface and snapped a few photos of it with his Hasselblad film camera. This is one of the photos.
The portrait shows Charlie, his wife Dorothy, and their two sons Charles and Thomas. It looks like they are sitting on a bench in the summertime.
The family photo, gingerly wrapped in clear plastic and slightly crumpled from being stashed in the pocket of a space suit, was left on the Moon. It presumably still sits there today, just inches away from Charlie’s boot print — which, presumably, is also there.
Read More on
Universe Today.
* Comparing Two Comet Tails!
Comet hunter Terry Lovejoy compares two comets on his
Facebook page - Comets C/2006 P1 (McNaught) and C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy).
"How did Comet C/2006P1 (McNaught) and C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) compare? These two images are at the same scale, using the same camera (different lens, but similar focal length, etc). I did some detailed photometry of the tail by taking slices across the tail at intervals along the length and then integrated the brightness. Firstly C/2011 W3 came out at mag -1, concentrated in a relatively thin ray and bright enough to be seen protruding from below the horizon well before the comet had risen.
With C/2006 P1 I integrated over 20 degrees, even though the extremities of the tail extended much further. Even so the estimated total brightness of the tail was an amazing mag -4.5! Not only was the tail larger, but it was more intense. There is no question now in mind that this was the best comet that I have ever seen!"
Thanks for reading! Keep looking up!
