This months research Papers 20_05_2019

This months research Papers 20_05_2019
RASNZ_20_05_2019


Blue, white, and red ocean planets
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.08922

Internal Structure and CO2 Reservoirs of Habitable Water-Worlds
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.10458

Atmospheres and UV Environments of Earth-like Planets
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.10474

The Role of N2 as a Geo-Biosignature for Earth-like Habitats
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.11716

Effects of Radius and Gravity on the Inner Edge of the Habitable Zone
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.12267

Fundamental drivers for endolithic microbial community assemblies in the hyperarid Atacama Desert
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1462-2920.14106

A 1.9 EARTH RADIUS ROCKY PLANET AND THE DISCOVERY OF A NON-TRANSITING PLANET IN THE KEPLER-20 SYSTEM
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/152/6/160/meta

A late Pleistocene human footprint from the Pilauco archaeological site, northern Patagonia, Chile
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0213572

Oumuamua and Scout ET Probes
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.04914

Proxima Centauri b is not a transiting exoplanet
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.01336

ESA Space Debris Report
https://www.sdo.esoc.esa.int/environment_report/Space_Environment_Report_latest.pdf

Detectability of atmospheric features of Earth-like planets around M dwarfs
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.02560

On the location of the ring around the dwarf planet Haumea
https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.03363
https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2019/05/09/haumea-probing-an-outer-system-ring/

Gaia DR2 reveals a star formation burst in the disc 2–3 Gyr ago
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2019/04/aa35105-19/aa35105-19.html

SETI in Russia, USSR and the post-Soviet space: a century of research
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.03225

Predicted Diurnal Variation of the Deuterium to Hydrogen Ratio in Water at the Surface of Mars
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.03882

Titan's Dynamic Love Number Implies Stably-Stratified Ocean
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.03802

Directly Imaging Rocky Planets from the Ground
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.04275

Kepler-62f: Kepler's First Small Planet in the Habitable Zone, but Is It Real?
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.05719

A Shiny New Method for SETI
https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.05839

Does the evolution of complex life depend on the stellar spectral energy distribution?
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.07343

The structure of terrestrial bodies
https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.07858




The idea of Venus being a geologically dead world never really set well with me, the theory of some radical re surfacing episode 800M years or so ago didn't sit well with me either. A planet almost as large as the earth would still have a huge amount of internal heat and radioactivity and be active today. Venus would not be a dead world like Mercury, the Moon and Mars today. Hot spot volcanoes mini regional tectonics along with rifting all seemed likely. A new mission for high resolution mapping of the surface along with a atmospheric probe or Balloon is needed.

http://www.astronomy.com/news/2019/05/venus-reimagined-a-new-image-of-an-active-world







Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand
eNewsletter: No. 221, 27 May 2019
Affiliated Societies are welcome to reproduce any item in this email newsletter or on the RASNZ website www.rasnz.org.nz in their own newsletters provided an acknowledgement of the source is also included.

Contents
 1. The 2019 Conference
 2. Stargazers Getaway August 30 - September 1
 3. RASNZ Beatrice Hill-Tinsley Lecture Series
 4. The Solar System in June
 5. Variable Stars South News
 6. 2020 Conference and RASNZ Centenary
 7. Space Weather Section Director Sought
 8. AMIDSR Board Seeks New Members
 9. Lunar Hemisphere Differences Due to Giant Impact?
10. Is the Great Red Spot Unravelling?
11. Recent Gravity-Wave Detections
12. Online Exoplanets Course
13. How to Join the RASNZ
14. Gifford-Eiby Lecture Fund
15. Quotes
  1. The 2019 Conference
The Society concluded a very successful conference at New Plymouth's Devon Hotel on Sunday May 19. It was followed by a two day symposium-workshop for occultation observers. Over 100 persons attended including 10 Students with a Passion for Astronomy (SWAPA).

The Conference opening began with a powhiri by the local Ngati Te Whiti Hapu.  New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom did the official opening followed by greetings from the New Plymouth Astronomical Society's president, Leith Robertson, and RASNZ President Nicholas Rattenbury.

Nick Rattenbury also gave the President's address, first thanking all involved in organising the Conference and everyone else for attending.  He noted the need for members to explain and excite the public about astronomical discoveries like the recent imaging of the black hole in M87. We can also get people interested via astronomical photography and in preserving dark skies.  The work of the RASNZ is done by a dedicated band of a dozen volunteers. Some look after the day to day running while others look after publications, the web pages and organising the conferences. More are needed so get in touch if you want to help. 

The Conference included more than 20 formal presentations on a wide range of topics, all to a high standard.  The SWAPA students also introduced themselves and told of their particular interests and aspirations.

The guest speaker was Professor Lisa Kewley, Associate Director at the Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.  Lisa's work involves all-sky astrophysics in 3D and studying galaxy evolution in 3D in a group called Astro 3D. It is an exciting time with new instrumentation on the horizon: the low-frequency side of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in Australia and the Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile.  For a time after the Big Bang the hydrogen and helium of the universe was ionized.  Then it cooled and electrons recombined with nuclei to produce an opaque universe giving the 'dark ages'.  The first stars re-ionized the gas -- the epoch of reionization -- causing the universe to change dramatically over the 500 million years.  Seven years of data will be needed to track the sources of reionization. The James Webb Space Telescope along with ESO's Very Large Telescope, the Keck telescopes and others will trace galactic evolution. The 1.3-m SkyMapper telescope at Siding Spring is being used to discover the oldest stars, identified by their lack of elements heavier than helium.  So far SkyMapper has found the oldest three. Galactic archaeology is assisted by the HERMES spectrograph that can analyse the spectrum of each pixel in the image providing 3D slices. On the human side, Astro 3D also has gender initiatives aiming to provide a family-friendly workplace.  In hiring and retention it aims to be staffed 50% by women at all levels.  See more at https://astro3d.org.au/
  2. Stargazers Getaway August 30 - September 1
The North Otago Astronomical Society Inc, would like to invite you to Stargazers Getaway 2019, over the weekend of, Friday August 30th to Sunday September 1st at Camp Iona in Herbert.

This is the second year back for our iconic Stargazers Getaway, building on last year's camp, the first in over 10 years!

With expressions for attendees already coming in, this year is promising to be bigger and better!!

Children under 5 are free
Students 5-17 - $20 p/night, $35 for both
Adults +18 - $35 p/night, $60 for both
Day visits for talks - $5 p/day

Interested people who would like to either attend, speak or present a poster paper are asked to email the Stargazers Getaway Co-ordinator, Damien McNamara, as numbers are limited at :- solaur.science@gmail.com
  3. RASNZ Beatrice Hill-Tinsley Lecture Series
The RASNZ Lecture Trust Inc. is pleased to announce the itinerary of the 2019 Beatrice Hill Tinsley Lecture series where Babak A. Tafreshi will be speaking at various NZ venues.

The lecture tour will take place in October. They are:
  Thu 10 Oct – Auckland;
  Fri 11 – Tauranga;
  Sat 12 – Hamilton;
  Mon 14 – Napier;
  Tue 15 – Wellington;
  Wed 16 – Nelson;
  Fri 18 – Christchurch;
  Mon 28 – Dunedin;
  Wed 30 – Wanganui;
  Thu 31 Oct – New Plymouth.

Note, Babek will be speaking at the NZ Starlight Conference and Festival (Sunday 20 – Fri 25 October - https://starlightconference.org/ )
For more information, see - https://www.rasnz.org.nz/rasnz/beatrice-hill-tinsley-lectures.

-- From Keeping in Touch #32, 6th May 2019.
  4. The Solar System in June
Dates and times shown are NZST (UT + 12 hours).  Rise and Set times are for Wellington. They will vary by a few minutes elsewhere in NZ.  Data is adapted from that shown by GUIDE 9.

The winter solstice is on June 22, 3.55 am (Jun 21 15:55UT)

THE SUN and PLANETS in JUNE, Rise & Set,  Mag. & Cons.
            June 1     NZST            June 30     NZST
      Mag  Cons    Rise    Set     Mag  Cons    Rise    Set
SUN  -26.7  Tau   7.33am  5.03pm  -26.7  Gem   7.45am  5.03pm
Merc   1.1  Tau   8.40am  5.41pm    1.0  Cnc   9.11am  7.01pm
Venus -3.8  Ari   5.53am  4.01pm   -3.9  Tau   6.53am  4.09pm
Mars   1.8  Gem   9.55am  7.02pm   .1.8  Cnc   9.09am  6.38pm
Jup   -2.6  Oph   5.31pm  8.31am   -2.6  Oph   3.22pm  6.21am
Sat    0.3  Sgr   7.40pm 10.32pm    0.1  Sgr   5.37pm  8.32am
Uran   5.9  Ari   4.31am  3.10pm    5.8  Ari   2.43am  1.19pm
Nep    7.9  Aqr  12.37am  1.24pm    7.9  Aqr  10.43pm 11.30am
Pluto 14.4  Sgr   7.53am 10.47pm   14.4  Sgr   5.55pm  8.51am

               June 1  NZST               June 30  NZST
Twilights    morning     evening        morning     evening
Civil:    start 7.06am, end  5.31pm   start 7.16am, end 5.32pm
Nautical: start 6.31am, end  6.06pm   start 6.42am, end 6.07pm
Astro:    start 5.58am, end  6.39pm   start 6.08am, end 6.41pm

      JUNE PHASES OF THE MOON, times NZST (& UT)
  New moon:      Jun..3 at 10.02pm (10:02 UT)
  First quarter: Jun 10 at  5.59pm (05:59 UT)
  Full Moon:     Jun 17 at  8.31pm (08:31 UT)
  Last quarter   Jun 25 at  9.46am (09:46 UT)


PLANETS in June

MERCURY and MARS are in the early evening sky.  Early in June Mercury sets too soon after the Sun for observation.  Mars will be a few degrees up an hour after sunset, low to the northwest.

During June, Mercury moves further into the evening sky, catching up with and passing Mars mid-month.  The two planets are closest on the evenings of June 18 and 19, when they will be just over 20 arc-minutes apart, less than the diameter of the full moon.  On the first evening Mercury will be directly below Mars, the following evening to its upper right.  The two planets will also be some 5.5° to the left of, and a little higher than Pollux, magnitude 1.2, similar to Mercury in brightness.  Mars will be a little fainter.

By the end of June, Mercury will be some 3.7° above Mars.

JUPITER and SATURN in the later evening sky.  On June 1 Jupiter rises about half an hour after sunset with Saturn rising some 2 hours later.  They will both be well placed for viewing by late evening.  Jupiter is at opposition on June 11 at about 3am.  Saturn's turn is in July.

The moon passes Jupiter on the night of June 17/18, the two are closest, 2.5° apart, at 7 am, just before they set and 13 hours before full moon.

This month's lunar occultation of Saturn, on June 19, is visible from southern parts of South America as well as the south Pacific.  It occurs before the planet rises in NZ.  Soon after they rise for NZ, the two will be just under 3° apart, with the moon less than a degree from Pluto.

PLUTO is close behind Saturn, rising slightly later.  During the month Saturn's retrograde motion takes it about a degree further from Pluto.


VENUS is a morning object, low in the dawn sky.  On the morning of the 2nd a very thin crescent moon will be to the upper right of Venus.  They will be about 8° up 45 minutes before sunrise.  By the end of June, Venus rises less than an hour before the Sun.

URANUS moves further up into the morning sky during June, rising 5 hours before the Sun by the end of the month.

NEPTUNE is still a morning object but gets into the late evening sky by the end of June.


BRIGHTEST ASTEROIDS in JUNE, magnitude, constellation and time of transit:

               JUNE 1     NZDT      JUNE 31    NZST
               Mag  Cons  transit    Mag  Cons  transit
(1)  Ceres     7.1   Sco  12.03am    7.8   Lib   9.47pm
(2)  Pallas    8.9   Com   9.11pm    9.4   Com   7.25pm
(4)  Vesta     8.3   Psc   9.28am    8.3   Cet   8.18am
(15) Eunomia   9.9   Cap   5.25am    9.3   Aqr   3.36am
(18) Melpomene 9.9   Aql   2.49am    9.3   Sct  12.28am

CERES crosses a narrow outlier of Scorpius during June. It moves into Libra on the 22nd.  The asteroid will be 9 to 10° north of Antares, and about 15° west (left) of Jupiter.

PALLAS rises just after 4.30 pm on June 1.  By June 30, it will rise at 2.40 pm and be poised to move into Bootes, just under 10° from Arcturus.

VESTA is in the morning sky, rising at 3.40 am on the 1st and 1.53 am on the 30th.  It moves into Cetus on the 14th.

EUNOMIA brightens to magnitude 9.3 during June.  It moves into Aquarius in June 28 then rising mid evening, close to 9pm.

MELPOMENE also brightens to magnitude 9.3 during June.  It moves into Scutum on the 7th and will be at opposition on July 1.

-- Brian Loader
  5. Variable Stars South News
The Variable Stars South (VSS) newsletter 2019/2 (April) edited by Phil Evans is available on the website
https://www.variablestarssouth.org/vss-community/vss-newsletters/

A campaign to monitor eta Carinae through its current phase of brightening has been set up (refer VSS project Eta Carinae Photometric Campaign 2019-2021 on the web-site). Eta Carinae is a bright star, currently at about magnitude 4.4, and Mark Blackford has an article on adapting his telescope\CCD camera set-up and observing technique to monitor a star of this brightness. Frequent monitoring is being sought because there are significant short term variations; a recent example is given in the article. Light variations may correlate with variations in certain spectral features and these observations will aid in the modelling of stellar winds in this complex system.

Greg Crawford, a VSS member caught by a local lightning strike, has a report (pages 20 to 27) on his extensive investigations into defence of astronomical electronic equipment from lightning strikes. This is a complicated topic and those with an interest in earth science may wish to gain some detailed insights into lightning phenomena given in the article. A summary of protective actions that can be taken is given towards the end of the article. A recommendation of the first step to take is to investigate whether you are already covered by your contents insurance policy, or if not, the cost of cover; it may be one of the easiest precautions.

This issue of the Newsletter contains articles on three interesting binary systems, BS Muscae, V777 Sagittarii and R Arae, a close contact binary. Refer to the Newsletter for details. In the publication watch Phil Evans is mentioned as a co-author in two exoplanet papers:
KELT-23b: A Hot Jupiter Transiting a Near-Solar Twin…; WASP-92, WASP-93 and WASP-118: Transit timing variations…. Some VSS contributors are involved in an upcoming Monthly Notices of RAS paper on Absolute Parameters of Young Stars: HX Velorum.

-- Alan Baldwin
  6. 2020 Conference and RASNZ Centenary
The 2020 Conference will be held 8-10 May at Wellington with the Wharewaka Function Centre the venue (near the Michael Fowler Centre) in downtown Wellington.  The Wellington Astronomical Society is hosting this conference.

2020 marks a significant milestone in the life of the Society as it was founded in November 1920 with 75 members.

The SCC invites ideas from members how the Society might commemorate its centenary at next year’s conference.  Please send your suggestions to the SCC at conference@rasnz.org.nz.

-- Glen Rowe, Chair, Standing Conference Committee
  7. Space Weather Section Director Sought
Dear Members,

Following his valuable term of service as Director of the Space Weather Section, Damien McNamara has chosen to step down from that position. Damien has become more involved with the challenges brought by increasing light pollution from new and additional sources. For and on behalf of the Council, I would like to thank Damien for his effort, energy and leadership.

Damien stepped down as Director on 5 May 2019. At this time, Council is inviting any Member of the Society who wishes to be considered for the Directorship of the Space Weather Section to apply. Applications close at 5 p.m. 12 April 2019.

Applications are to be sent by post or email to the Secretary by the above deadline; secretary@rasnz.org.nz.

Applications are to include
  1. a statement of interest which sets out the Member's interests in Space Weather, their past experience, their plans for leading the Section and any new initiatives for the Section's members, and
  2. the names and contact details of two referees of whom Council can request further information about the applicant. Applications are to be no more than two sides of A4 in length, font size at least 12, font either Times New Roman or Ariel.

Yours,
Nicholas Rattenbury, RASNZ President.
  8. AMIDSR Board Seeks New Members
The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve (AMIDSR) board runs our world-acclaimed dark sky reserve as a charity. There are currently 11 board members who contribute their time and skills to the board’s activities as volunteers.

The activities of AMIDSR are wide-ranging. They include protecting the dark sky environment of the Reserve, mainly through the lighting ordinance in the Mackenzie District Plan and advising the Council on lighting matters. But our mission is also to engage in public education and outreach. This is to bring the beauties of the starlit night sky to the public, to make people aware of the environmental benefits of good lighting, and also to tell of the health hazards that result from blue light emitted by LED streetlights. To this end AMIDSR runs public events, typically once a year. So far we have had three Starlight Festivals, which are three-day long events of talks, displays, star-gazing and workshops. We have also had two public lectures and a panel discussion.

This year AMIDSR is hosting an international Starlight Conference which will take place in the Tekapo Community Hall, 20-23 October (see https://starlightconference.org). Many international experts on lighting, astronomy, tourism, the environment and human health will participate. The conference is a highly multi-disciplinary event and is open to all, including members of the public in our community.

AMIDSR is now seeking expressions of interest from individuals who would like to serve on the Board. The Board meets just twice a year, normally in February and August. Residency in the Mackenzie could be an asset, though is not essential. At present six board members live in the Mackenzie, while five are from further afield in the South Island. We are especially interested to hear from those who can bring special skills to the activities of AMIDSR. These may be skills in event management, public relations, astronomy, lighting technology, tourism, environmental protection, human physiology, law and local government, website development or accountancy. In short, our interests are very dynamic and cover many topics.

Apart from bringing wide-ranging skill-sets to our Board, we also have representation from the University of Canterbury (as they operate Mt John Observatory at Tekapo), from the Mackenzie District Council and from the Department of Conservation. The list of current board members can be found at our website www.darkskyreserve.org.nz.

If you are interested in serving on the Board, please communicate your interest by email to the current chair, John Hearnshaw (john.hearnshaw@canterburty.ac.nz) or contact any other board member (see our website). Board members typically serve one or two 3-year terms. New members are appointed by the Board from time to time as vacancies occur.

Finally I note that AMIDSR has given a tremendous boost to the economy and to the environment in the Reserve, which encompasses 4367 sq. km in the Mackenzie Basin and all of Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. We received our accreditation from the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA, based in Tucson, Arizona) in 2012 with the top gold-tier rating. Astro-tourism has boomed in the Mackenzie ever since, with over a million people having come from around the world to see the pristine dark starlit skies of the Reserve in recent years. There are now some nine companies offering stargazing tours inside the Reserve and in 2018 AMIDSR became the Dark Sky Place of the Year, recognized with an award from IDA.

In short, AMIDSR plays a crucial role in creating a thriving environment in the Reserve to support tourism and star-gazing. The Mackenzie District Council has recognized this, and we gratefully acknowledge the tremendous support from the Council for our charitable activities.

-- John Hearnshaw
  9. Lunar Hemisphere Differences Due to Giant Impact?
The stark difference between the Moon's heavily-cratered far side and the lower-lying open basins of the Earth-facing nearside has puzzled scientists for decades.
  
Now, new evidence about the Moon's crust suggests the differences were caused by a wayward dwarf planet colliding with the Moon in the early history of the solar system. A report on the new research has been published in American Geophysical Union's (AGU) Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
  
The mystery of the Moon's two faces began in the Apollo era when the first views of its far side revealed the surprising differences. Measurements made by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission in 2012 filled in more details about the structure of the Moon -- including how its crust is thicker and includes an extra layer of material on its far side.
  
There are a number of ideas that have been used to try and explain the Moon's asymmetry. One is that there were once two moons orbiting Earth and they merged in the very early days of the Moon's formation. Another idea is that a large body, perhaps a young dwarf planet, found itself in an orbit around the Sun that put it on a collision course with the Moon. This latter giant impact idea would have happened somewhat later than a merging-moons scenario and after the Moon had formed a solid crust, said Meng Hua Zhu of the Space Science Institute at Macau University of Science and Technology and lead author of the new study. Signs of such an impact should be visible in the structure of the lunar crust today. "The detailed gravity data obtained by GRAIL has given new insight into the structure of the lunar crust underneath the surface," Zhu said.
  
The new findings from GRAIL gave Zhu's team of researchers a clearer target to aim for with the computer simulations they used to test different early-Moon impact scenarios. The study's authors ran 360 computer simulations of giant impacts with the Moon to find out whether such an event millions of years ago could reproduce the crust of today's Moon as detected by GRAIL.
  
They found the best fit for today's asymmetrical Moon is a large body, about 780 km in diameter, smacking into the nearside of the Moon at 22,500 kph (6.3 km/s). That would be the equivalent of an object a bit smaller than the dwarf planet Ceres moving at a speed about one-quarter as fast as the meteor pebbles and sand grains that burn up as "shooting stars" in Earth's atmosphere. Another good fit for the impact combinations the team modelled is a slightly smaller, 720-km diameter, object hitting at a mildly faster 24,500 kph (6.8 km/s). (The Moon is 3500 km in diameter.)
  
Under both these scenarios, the model shows the impact would have thrown up vast amounts of material that would fall back on the Moon's surface, burying the primordial crust on the far side in 5 to 10 km of debris. That is the added layer of crust detected on the far side by GRAIL, according to Zhu.
  
The new study suggests the impactor was not likely an early second moon of Earth's. Whatever the impactor was -- an asteroid or a dwarf planet -- it was probably on its own orbit around the Sun when it encountered the Moon, said Zhu.
  
The giant impact model also provides a good explanation for the unexplained differences in isotopes of potassium, phosphorus and rare-earth elements like tungsten-182 between the surfaces of the Earth and Moon, the researchers explain. These elements could have come from the giant impact, which would have added that material to the Moon after its formation, according to the study's authors.  "Our model can thus explain this isotope anomaly in the context of the giant impact scenario of the Moon's origin." the researchers write.
  
The new study not only suggests an answer to ongoing questions about the Moon, but may also provide insight into the structure of other asymmetrical worlds in our solar system like Mars wrote the researchers.
  
"This is a paper that will be very provocative," said Steve Hauck, a professor of planetary geodynamics at Case Western Reserve University and Editor-in-Chief of the JGR: Planets. "Understanding the origin of the differences between the nearside and the far side of the Moon is a fundamental issue in lunar science. Indeed, several planets have hemispherical dichotomies, yet for the Moon we have a lot of data to be able to test models and hypotheses with, so the implications of the work could likely be broader than just the Moon."

See the original text and graphics at https://news.agu.org/press-release/giant-impact-caused-difference-between-moons-hemispheres/

-- From the AGU press release forwarded by Karen Pollard.
  10. Is the Great Red Spot Unravelling?
Around the world, amateur astronomers are monitoring a strange phenomenon on the verge of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS). The giant storm appears to be unravelling. “I haven’t seen this before in my 17-or-so years of imaging Jupiter,” reports veteran observer Anthony Wesley of Australia, who photographed a streamer of gas detaching itself from the GRS on May 19th.

The plume of gas is enormous, stretching more than 10,000 km from the central storm to a nearby jet stream that appears to be carrying it away. Wesley says that such a streamer is peeling off every week or so.

The Great Red Spot is the biggest storm in the solar system –- an anticyclone wider than Earth with winds blowing 550 km/h. Astronomers have been observing it for hundreds of years. In recent decades, the Great Red Spot has been shrinking (see link below). Once it was wide enough to swallow three Earths; now only one of our planet could fit inside the maelstrom. This has led some researchers to wonder if the GRS could break up or disappear within our lifetimes. Perhaps the streamers are part of this process.

In fact, such unravelling clouds have been seen before. For instance, the Gemini North adaptive optics telescope on Maunakea saw a lesser but similar streamer in May of 2017.

The leader of those observations, Glenn Orton of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, noted “a curious hook-like cloud feature on the Great Red Spot’s western side. Events like this show that there’s still much to learn about Jupiter’s atmosphere,” he said in a press release (at
https://www.gemini.edu/node/12679 ).

Wesley describes how the streamers are behaving now: “Each streamer appears to disconnect from the Great Red Spot and dissipate. Then, after about a week, a new streamer forms and the process repeats. You have to be lucky to catch it happening. Jupiter spins on its axis every 10 hours and the GRS is not always visible. A joint effort between many amateurs is underway to get clear images of the process.”

Indeed, now is a great time to monitor the action. Jupiter is approaching Earth for a close encounter in June 2019. During the weeks around opposition on June 10th, Jupiter will shine 4 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and even small telescopes will reveal its storms, moons, and cloud belts.

Stay tuned for more unravelling.

Slightly adapted from Dr Tony Phillips's article with images at
https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2019/05/20/is-the-great-red-spot-unraveling/

Link: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/jupiters-great-red-spot-getting-taller-as-it-shrinks
  11. Recent Gravity-Wave Detections
On 2019 April 25, the National Science Foundation’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the European-based Virgo detector registered gravitational waves from what appears likely to be a crash between two neutron stars -- the dense remnants of massive stars that previously exploded. One day later, on April 26, the LIGO-Virgo network spotted another candidate source with a potentially interesting twist: it may in fact have resulted from the collision of a neutron star and black hole, an event never before witnessed.
  
The discoveries come just weeks after LIGO and Virgo turned back on. The twin detectors of LIGO -- one in Washington and one in Louisiana -- along with Virgo, located at the European Gravitational Observatory (EGO) in Italy, resumed operations April 1, after undergoing a series of upgrades to increase their sensitivities to gravitational waves -- ripples in space and time. Each detector now surveys larger volumes of the universe than before, searching for extreme events such as mergers of black holes and neutron stars.
  
In addition to the two new candidates involving neutron stars, the LIGO-Virgo network has, in this latest run, spotted three likely black hole mergers. In total, since making history with the first-ever direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015, the network has spotted evidence for two neutron star mergers; 13 black hole mergers; and one possible black hole-neutron star merger.
  
When two black holes collide, they warp the fabric of space and time, producing gravitational waves. When two neutron stars collide, they not only send out gravitational waves but also light. That means telescopes sensitive to light waves across the electromagnetic spectrum can witness these fiery impacts together with LIGO and Virgo. One such event occurred in August 2017: LIGO and Virgo initially spotted a neutron star merger in gravitational waves and then, in the days and months that followed, about 70 telescopes on the ground and in space witnessed the explosive aftermath in light waves, including everything from gamma rays to optical light to radio waves.
  
In the case of the two recent neutron star candidates, telescopes around the world once again raced to track the sources and pick up the light expected to arise from these mergers. Hundreds of astronomers eagerly pointed telescopes at patches of sky suspected to house the signal sources. However, at this time, neither of the sources has been pinpointed.
  
“The search for explosive counterparts of the gravitational-wave signal is challenging due to the amount of sky that must be covered and the rapid changes in brightness that are expected,” says Patrick Brady, spokesperson for the LIGO collaboration. “The rate of neutron star merger candidates being found with LIGO and Virgo will give more opportunities to search for the explosions over the next year.”
  
    The April 25 neutron star smash-up, dubbed S190425z, is estimated to have occurred about 500 million light-years away from Earth. Only one of the twin LIGO facilities picked up its signal along with Virgo (LIGO Livingston witnessed the event but LIGO Hanford was offline.) Because only two of the three detectors registered the signal, estimates of the location in the sky from which it originated were not precise, leaving astronomers to survey nearly one-quarter of the sky for the source.
  
The possible April 26 neutron star-black-hole collision (referred to as S190426c) is estimated to have taken place roughly 1.2 billion light-years away. It was seen by all three LIGO-Virgo facilities, which helped better narrow its location to regions covering about 1,100 square degrees, or about 3 percent of the total sky.
  
“The latest LIGO-Virgo observing run is proving to be the most exciting one so far,” says David H. Reitze of Caltech, Executive Director of LIGO. “We’re already seeing hints of the first observation of a black hole swallowing a neutron star. If it holds up, this would be a trifecta for LIGO and Virgo -- in three years, we’ll have observed every type of black hole and neutron star collision. But we’ve learned that claims of detections require a tremendous amount of painstaking work -- checking and rechecking -- so we’ll have to see where the data takes us.”

See the original release at  https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/ligo-and-virgo-detect-neutron-star-smashups

-- From a LIGO-VIRGO press release forwarded by Karen Pollard.
  12. Online Exoplanets Course
Tim Banks writes:

The Open University offers a number of free online courses. The latest is on exoplanets and was prepared by Prof. Carole Haswell, author of the excellent text "Transiting Exoplanets" (Cambridge, 2010). The course introduces our galaxy's population of planets, and some of their many surprises. It explains the methods used by astronomers to study exoplanets, and provides a general introduction to the methods of scientific inquiry. The course culminates in discussion of life elsewhere in our galaxy. Quoting from the course site: "After studying this course, students should be able to: discuss planets, exoplanets, stars, galaxies and the Universe; describe the various types of planets in terms of their size and comparison; understand how astronomers detect and study exoplanets, and appreciate the limitations to the knowledge we have; describe the characteristics of some particularly interesting exoplanets; and know a little about the Galaxy’s history of planet formation; summarise the current ideas about the likelihood of life and complex life elsewhere in the Galaxy.

Those interested can find the course here: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/introduction-exoplanets/content-section-overview

Coursera and EdX also offer interesting astronomy courses for free.
  13. How to Join the RASNZ
RASNZ membership is open to all individuals with an interest in
astronomy in New Zealand. Information about the society and its
objects can be found at
http://rasnz.org.nz/rasnz/membership-benefits
A membership form can be either obtained from treasurer@rasnz.co.nz or
by completing the online application form found at
http://rasnz.org.nz/rasnz/membership-application
Basic membership for the 2018 year starts at $40 for an ordinary
member, which includes an electronic subscription to our journal
'Southern Stars'.
  14. Gifford-Eiby Lecture Fund
The RASNZ administers the Gifford-Eiby Memorial Lectureship Fund to
assist Affiliated Societies with travel costs of getting a lecturer
or instructor to their meetings.  Details are in RASNZ By-Laws Section
H.

For an application form contact the Executive Secretary
secretary@rasnz.org.nz,
  15. Quotes
  "No one, however smart, however well-educated, however experienced, is the suppository of all wisdom." -- Tony Abbott, quoted in The Economist, May 18th 2019, p.10.

  "Scifi shows get technology so wrong. You discover an ancient alien spacecraft and turn it on, the first thing it's going to do is lock you out while it downloads and applies a billion years of updates." -- Nat Torkington (@gnat).
  Alan Gilmore               Phone: 03 680 6817
P.O. Box 57                alan.gilmore@canterbury.ac.nz
Lake Tekapo 7945
New Zealand








 May Celestial Calendar by Dave Mitsky

All times, unless otherwise noted, are UT (subtract four hours and, when appropriate, one calendar day for EDT)

5/2 Saturn (magnitude +0.5) is 2.7 degrees west of Pluto (magnitude +14.3) at 5:00; the Moon is 4.0 degrees north of Venus at 12:00; the Moon is 0.2 degree north of asteroid 4 Vesta, with an occultation occurring in southern Europe, northwestern Africa, the Cape Verde Islands, the Azores, northern South America, and the Galapagos Islands, at 13:00; the Moon is 3..4 degrees south-southeast of Venus at 15:00
5/3 The Moon is 2.7 degrees south-southeast of Mercury at 10:00; Mars and Saturn are at heliocentric opposition (longitudes 105.2 degrees and 285.2 degrees) at 14:00
5/4 The Moon is 4.4 degrees south-southeast of Uranus at 3:00; New Moon (lunation 1192) occurs at 22:46
5/5 Today is May Day or Beltane, a cross-quarter day; the peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower (20 per hour for northern hemisphere observers) occurs at 13:00
5/6 The Moon is 7.9 degrees south-southeast of the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades or Subaru) in Taurus at 5:00; the Moon is 2.2 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 22:00
5/8 The Moon is 3.2 degrees south-southeast of Mars at 1:00; Mercury (magnitude -0.8) is 1.3 degrees south-southeast of Uranus (magnitude +5.9) at 16:00
5/9 The Moon is at descending node (longitude 109.3 degrees) at 19:00
5/10 The Moon is 6.3 degrees south of the first-magnitude star Pollux (Beta Geminorum) at 3:00; Venus is at its southernmost latitude from the ecliptic plane (-3.4 degrees) at 6:00
5/11 The Moon lies within the bright open cluster M44 (the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe) in Cancer at 2:00; the Lunar X (also known as the Werner or Purbach Cross), an X-shaped clair-obscure illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to be fully formed at 16:25; asteroid 8 Flora (magnitude +9.8) is at opposition at 23:00
5/12 First Quarter Moon occurs at 1:12; the Moon is 2.9 degrees north-northeast of the first-magnitude star Regulus (Alpha Leonis) at 17:00
5/13 The Moon is at perigee, subtending 32' 23'' from a distance of 369,009 kilometers (229,291 miles), at 21:53
5/14 The equation of time is at a maximum of 3.65 minutes at 9:00; asteroid 11 Parthenope (magnitude +9.5) is at opposition at 10:00; the Sun enters Taurus (longitude 53.47 degrees on the ecliptic) at 13:00
5/16 The Moon is 7.1 degrees north-northeast of the first-magnitude star Spica (Alpha Virginis) at 12:00; Mars is at its northernmost declination (24..6 degrees) at 22:00
5/18 Venus (magnitude -3.9) is 1.1 degrees south-southeast of Uranus (magnitude +5.9) at 17:00; Full Moon, known as the Milk or Planting Moon, occurs at 21:11
5/19 Mercury is at the ascending node through the ecliptic plane at 15:00; Mars is 0.2 degree north of the bright open cluster M35 in Gemini at 16:00; the Moon is 1.2 degrees south of the dwarf planet/asteroid 1 Ceres, with an occultation occurring in parts of Antarctica, at 18:00; the Moon is 7.8 degrees north-northeast of the first-magnitude star Antares (Alpha Scorpii) at 21:00
5/20 Asteroid 20 Massalia (magnitude +9.8) is at opposition at 13:00; the Moon is 1.7 degrees north-northeast of Jupiter at 18:00
5/21 The Sun’s longitude is 60 degrees at 8:00; Mercury is in superior conjunction (a distance of 1.322 a.u. from Earth and a latitude of 1.42 degrees) with the Sun at 13:00; Mercury is 3.7 degrees south-southeast of M45 at 15:00
5/22 The Moon is at the descending node (longitude 288.5 degrees) at 19:00; the Moon, Saturn, and Pluto lie within a circle with a diameter of 2.94 degrees at 23:00; the Moon is 0.5 degree south of Saturn, with an occultation occurring in southern New Zealand, most of Australia, the Kerguelen Islands, parts of eastern Antarctica, and the southern tip of Africa, at 22:00
5/23 The Moon is 0.1 degree south of Pluto, with an occultation occurring in southern and eastern Africa and central South America, at 4:00
5/24 Mercury is at perihelion (0.3075 a.u. from the Sun) at 7:00
5/25 Mercury is 6.5 degrees north-northwest of Aldebaran at 18:00
5/26 The Moon is at apogee, subtending 29' 34'' from a distance of 404,137 kilometers (251,119 miles), at 13:27; Last Quarter Moon occurs at 16:34
5/27 The Curtiss Cross, an X-shaped clair-obscure illumination effect located between the craters Parry and Gambart, is predicted to be visible at 19:32; the Moon is 3.5 degrees south-southeast of Neptune at 20:00
5/28 The dwarf planet/asteroid 1 Ceres (magnitude +7.0) is at opposition at 23:00
5/30 The Moon is 0.6 degree north of asteroid 4 Vesta, with an occultation occurring in northwestern North America, the Aleutian Islands, northwestern Micronesia, eastern Asia, and parts of Indonesia, at 22:00
5/31 The Moon is 4.5 degrees south-southeast of Uranus at 14:00

Nicolas Lacaille (1713-1762), Otto Wilhelm Struve (1819-1905), Joseph Lockyer (1836-1920), Williamina Fleming (1857-1911), and Frank Drake (1930) were born this month.

The first recorded perihelion passage of Comet Halley (1P/Halley) occurred on May 25, 240 BC. Thales of Miletus accurately predicted a solar eclipse on May 28, 585 BC. The German astronomers Gottfried and Maria Magarethe Kirch discovered the bright globular cluster M5 on May 5, 1702. On May 1, 1759, the English amateur astronomers John Bevis and Nicholas Munckley observed Comet Halley on its first predicted return. The French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the globular cluster M3 on May 3, 1764 and the globular cluster M10 on May 29, 1764. The Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis discovered asteroid 11 Parthenope on May 11, 1850. Asteroid 14 Irene was discovered on May 19, 1851 by the English astronomer John Russell Hind. The German astronomer Robert Luther discovered asteroid 26 Proserpina on May 6, 1853. The Australian astronomer John Tebbutt discovered the Great Comet of 1861 (C/1861 J1 and 1861 II) on May 13, 1861. The English astronomer Norman Pogson discovered asteroid 80 Sappho on May 2, 1864. Norman Pogson discovered asteroid 87 Sylvia on May 16, 1866. The 40-inch Clark refractor at the Yerkes Observatory saw first light on May 21, 1897. The Griffith Observatory opened to the public on May 14, 1935. Nereid, Neptune’s third-largest satellite, was discovered on May 1, 1949 by the Dutch-American astronomer Gerard Kuiper.

The broad peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower is not adversely affected by moonlight this year. Southern hemisphere observers are favored. Eta Aquarid meteors are debris from the famous periodic comet 1P/Halley. The radiant is located close to the Water Jug asterism in Aquarius. See https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/#eta+Aquariids https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/#eta+Aquariids and page 48 of the May 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope http://www.imo.net/2018-eta-aquariids-predictions-and-observations/for additional information on the Eta Aquarids.

Information on the few remaining Iridium satellite flares and passes of the ISS, the Tiangong-2, the USAF’s X-37B, the HST, and other satellites can be found at http://www.heavens-above.com/ http://www.heavens-above.com/

The Moon is 25.5 days old, is illuminated 16.2%, subtends 29.3 arc minutes, and is located in Aquarius on May 1st at 0:00 UT. The Moon is at its greatest northern declination on May 9th (+22.2 degrees). The Moon is at its greatest its greatest southern declination on May 22nd (-22.3 degrees). Longitudinal libration is at maximum (+5.0 degrees) on May 19th and at minimum (-5.0 degrees) on May 6th. Latitudinal libration is at maximum (+6.6 degrees) on May 3rd and again (+6.7 degrees) on May 30th and at minimum (-6.6 degrees) on May 16th. The Moon is at apogee (distance 63.36 Earth-radii) on May 26th and at perigee (distance 57.86 Earth-radii) on May 13th. New Moon occurs on May 4th. The 39%-illuminated Moon transits M44 from 2:00 to 4:00 UT on May 11th. See https://occultations.org/campaigns/ https://occultations.org/campaigns/ for further information on this event. The Moon occults 4 Vesta on May 2nd and May 30th, 1 Ceres on May 19th, Saturn on May 22nd, and Pluto on May 23rd from certain parts of the world. Consult http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm for more on lunar occultations. Visit http://saberdoesthestars.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/saber-does-the-stars/ http://saberdoesthestars.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/saber-does-the-stars/ for tips on spotting extreme crescent Moons. Click on http://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2019/may http://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2019/may for a lunar phase calendar. Times and dates for the lunar light rays predicted to occur this month are available at http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm

The Sun is located in Aries on May 1st. It enters Taurus on May 14th.

Brightness, apparent size, illumination, distance from the Earth in astronomical units, and location data for the planets and Pluto on May 1st: Mercury (magnitude -0.4, 5.8", 75% illuminated, 1.15 a.u., Pisces), Venus (magnitude -3.8, 11.5", 88% illuminated, 1.45 a.u., Pisces), Mars (magnitude +1.6, 4.2", 96% illuminated, 2.24 a.u., Taurus), Jupiter (magnitude -2.5, 43.5", 100% illuminated, 4.54 a.u., Ophiuchus), Saturn (magnitude +0.5, 17.2", 100% illuminated, 9.67 a.u., Sagittarius), Uranus on May 16th (magnitude +5.9, 3.4", 100% illuminated, 20.79 a.u., Aires), Neptune on May 16th (magnitude +7.9, 2.3", 100% illuminated, 30.33 a.u., Aquarius), and Pluto on May 16th (magnitude +14.2, 0.1", 100% illuminated, 32.72 a.u., Sagittarius).

In the evening, Mercury is in the northwest and Mars is in the west. Jupiter is located in the southeast at midnight. Mercury, Venus, and Uranus can be seen in the east, Saturn in the south, Jupiter in the southwest, and Neptune in the southeast at dawn.

Mercury can be seen extremely low in the east during early part of the month. A very slender waning crescent Moon passes three degrees to the south of Mercury on May 3rd. Mercury is in superior conjunction on May 21st. As May ends, the speediest planet enters the evening sky and can be seen to the lower right of Mars in the west-northwest 30 minutes after the Sun sets. Mercury shines brightly at magnitude -1.2 at that time.

During May, Venus rises about an hour before the Sun and shines at its minimum brightness of magnitude -3.8. A thin waning crescent Moon passes four degrees south of the planet on May 2nd. Venus is at its greatest heliocentric latitude south on May 10th. Venus lies 1.2 degrees south of Uranus on May 18th.

Mars lies between the horns of Taurus, Beta and Zeta Tauri, on May 6th. A waxing crescent Moon passes three degrees south of the Red Planet on May 7th. Mars shrinks to 3.9 arc seconds and shines at only magnitude +1.8 by the end of May. Mars departs Taurus and enters Gemini by the middle of the month.

Jupiter increases in apparent size from 43.5 to 45.8 arc seconds this month. The waning gibbous Moon passes less than two degrees to the north of Jupiter on May 20th. The orbital plane of the Galilean satellites is currently inclined three degrees to our line of sight. A shadow transit by Ganymede begins at 3:42 a.m. EDT on the morning of May 7th. On the morning of May 18th, Ganymede reappears from occultation at 2:16 a.m. EDT. Io’s shadow begins to transit the planet at 3:44 a.m. EDT followed by Io itself at 4:17 a.m. EDT. Ganymede begins to disappear into eclipse to the west of Jupiter at 1:41 a.m. EDT on the morning of May 25th, an event that will take 14 minutes to transpire. Articles on observing Jupiter and the Great Red Spot (GRS) appear on pages 52 and 53 respectively of the May 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope. Browse http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ or http://www.projectpluto.com/jeve_grs.htm http://www.projectpluto.com/jeve_grs.htm in order to determine transit times of Jupiter’s central meridian by the GRS. GRS transit information also appears on pages 50 and 51 of the May 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope. Data on the Galilean satellite events is available on page 51 of the May 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope and online at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ and http://www.projectpluto.com/jevent.htm http://www.projectpluto.com/jevent.htm

Saturn retrogrades through eastern Sagittarius this month. It shines at magnitude +0.4 and has an apparent equatorial diameter of almost 18 arc seconds at mid-month. Saturn’s rings subtend more than 40 arc seconds and are inclined by nearly 24 degrees at that time. In late May, Saturn nears the meridian as morning twilight begins. The waning gibbous Moon passes one half degree south of Saturn on May 22nd. Eighth-magnitude Titan, Saturn’s brightest satellite, is located south of the planet on May 4th and May 20th and north of it on May 12th and May 28th. Saturn’s odd satellite Iapetus shines faintly at eleventh magnitude when it passes north of Saturn on May 18th and May 19th. For further information on Saturn’s satellites, browse http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/

Uranus can be seen once again during morning twilight during the second half of May. Venus passes 1.2 degrees due south of Uranus on May 18th. On May 31st, the waning crescent Moon passes 4.5 degrees south-southeast of Uranus. The two celestial objects rise more than an hour before the Sun on that date.

Neptune is located 1.2 degrees east-northeast of the fourth-magnitude star Phi Aquarii in eastern Aquarius this month. The waning crescent Moon passes 3.5 degrees south-southeast of Neptune on May 27th. Neptune reaches an altitude of nearly 20 degrees in east-southeast as morning twilight begins on the final day of the month.

Pluto lies in northeastern Sagittarius and transits the meridian before dawn.

Comet C/2017 M4 (ATLAS) passes west-southwestward through Scorpius and into Lupus in May. This faint comet is located five degrees west of the third-magnitude star Mu1 Scorpii on May 1st. It passes a bit more than one degree north of the ninth-magnitude globular cluster NGC 6139 on May 3rd and 1.3 degrees south of the third-magnitude star Eta Lupi on May 13th. Visit http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/ http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/ and http://www.aerith.net/comet/weekly/current.html http://www.aerith.net/comet/weekly/current.html for information on comets visible this month.

The dwarf planet/asteroid 1 Ceres (magnitude +7.0) reaches opposition in western Ophiuchus on May 28th. Ceres retrogrades into Scorpius shortly thereafter. A finder chart can be found on page 48 of the May 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope. With a diameter of 940 kilometers (585 miles), Ceres is the largest object in the main asteroid belt and is the only asteroid to be differentiated, i.e., to have layers. Other asteroids brighter than magnitude +11.0 that reach opposition this month include 8 Flora (magnitude +9.8) on May 12th, 11 Parthenope (magnitude +9.5) on May 14th, 68 Leto (magnitude +10.7) on May 14th, 20 Massalia (magnitude +9.8) on May 20th, and 32 Pomona (magnitude +10.5) on May 27th. Information on asteroid occultations taking place this month is available at http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2019_05_si.htm http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2019_05_si.htm

For more on the planets and how to locate them, browse http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/ http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/

A wealth of current information on solar system celestial bodies is posted at http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomy.html http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomy.html and http://nineplanets.org/ http://nineplanets.org/

Various events taking place within our solar system are discussed at http://www.bluewaterastronomy.info/styled-4/index.html http://www.bluewaterastronomy.info/styled-4/index.html

Information on the celestial events transpiring each week can be found at http://astronomy.com/skythisweek http://astronomy.com/skythisweek and http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/sky-at-a-glance/

Free star maps for May can be downloaded at http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html and https://www.telescope.com/content.jsp?pageName=Monthly-Star-Chart https://www.telescope.com/content.jsp?pageName=Monthly-Star-Chart

Data on current supernovae can be found at http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/ http://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/

Finder charts for the Messier objects and other deep-sky objects are posted at https://freestarcharts.com/messier https://freestarcharts.com/messier and https://freestarcharts.com/ngc-ic https://freestarcharts.com/ngc-ic and http://www.cambridge.org/features/turnleft/seasonal_skies_april-june.htm http://www.cambridge.org/features/turnleft/seasonal_skies_april-june.htm

Telrad finder charts for the Messier Catalog and the SAC’s 110 Best of the NGC are posted at http://www.astro-tom.com/messier/messier_finder_charts/map1.pdf http://www.astro-tom.com/messier/messier_finder_charts/map1..pdf and http://www.saguaroastro.org/content/db/Book110BestNGC.pdf http://www.saguaroastro.org/content/db/Book110BestNGC.pdf respectively.

Information pertaining to observing some of the more prominent Messier galaxies can be found at http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/358295-how-to-locate-some-of-the-major-messier-galaxies-and-helpful-advice-for-novice-amateur-astronomers/ http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/358295-how-to-locate-some-of-the-major-messier-galaxies-and-helpful-advice-for-novice-amateur-astronomers/

Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel are two excellent freeware planetarium programs that are available at http://stellarium.org/ http://stellarium.org/ and https://www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start https://www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start

Deep-sky object list generators can be found at http://www.virtualcolony.com/sac/ http://www.virtualcolony.com/sac/ and http://tonightssky.com/MainPage.php http://tonightssky.com/MainPage.php and https://dso-browser.com/ https://dso-browser.com/

Freeware sky atlases can be downloaded at http://www.deepskywatch.com/files/deepsky-atlas/Deep-Sky-Hunter-atlas-full.pdf http://www.deepskywatch.com/files/deepsky-atlas/Deep-Sky-Hunter-atlas-full.pdf and http://astro.mxd120.com/free-star-atlases http://astro.mxd120.com/free-star-atlases

Eighty binary and multiple stars for May: 1 Bootis, Struve 1782, Tau Bootis, Struve 1785, Struve 1812 (Bootes); 2 Canum Venaticorum, Struve 1624, Struve 1632, Struve 1642, Struve 1645, 7 Canum Venaticorum, Alpha Canum Venaticorum (Cor Caroli), h2639, Struve 1723, 17 Canum Venaticorum, Otto Struve 261, Struve 1730, Struve 1555, h1234, 25 Canum Venaticorum, Struve 1769, Struve 1783, h1244 (Canes Venatici); 2 Comae Berenices, Struve 1615, Otto Struve 245, Struve 1633, 12 Comae Berenices, Struve 1639, 24 Comae Berenices, Otto Struve 253, Struve 1678, 30 Comae Berenices, Struve 1684, Struve 1685, 35 Comae Berenices, Burnham 112, h220, Struve 1722, Beta Comae Berenices, Burnham 800, Otto Struve 266, Struve 1748 (Coma Berenices); h4481, h4489, Struve 1604, Delta Corvi, Burnham 28, h1218, Struve 1669 (Corvus); H N 69, h4556 (Hydra); Otto Struve 244, Struve 1600, Struve 1695, Zeta Ursae Majoris (Mizar), Struve 1770, Struve 1795, Struve 1831 (Ursa Major); Struve 1616, Struve 1627, 17 Virginis, Struve 1648, Struve 1658, Struve 1677, Struve 1682, Struve 1689, Struve 1690, 44 Virginis, Struve 1719, Theta Virginis, 54 Virginis, Struve 1738, Struve 1740, Struve 1751, 81 Virginis, Struve 1764, Struve 1775, 84 Virginis, Struve 1788 (Virgo)

Notable carbon star for May: SS Virginis

One hundred and sixty-five deep-sky objects for May: NGC 5248 (Bootes); M3, M51, M63, M94, M106, NGC 4111, NGC 4138, NGC 4143, NGC 4151, NGC 4214, NGC 4217, NGC 4244, NGC 4346, NGC 4369, NGC 4449, NGC 4485, NGC 4490, NGC 4618, NGC 4631, NGC 4656, NGC 4868, NGC 5005, NGC 5033, NGC 5297, NGC 5353, NGC 5354, Up 1 (Canes Venatici); Mel 111, M53, M64, M85, M88, M91, M98, M99, M100, NGC 4064, NGC 4150, NGC 4203, NGC 4212, NGC 4251, NGC 4274, NGC 4278, NGC 4293, NGC 4298, NGC 4302, NGC 4314, NGC 4350, NGC 4414, NGC 4419, NGC 4448, NGC 4450, NGC 4459, NGC 4473, NGC 4474, NGC 4494, NGC 4559, NGC 4565, NGC 4651, NGC 4689, NGC 4710, NGC 4725, NGC 4874, NGC 5053 (Coma Berenices); NGC 4027, NGC 4038-9, NGC 4361 (Corvus); M68, M83, NGC 4105, NGC 4106, NGC 5061, NGC 5101, NGC 5135 (Hydra); M40, NGC 4036, NGC 4041, NGC 4051, NGC 4062, NGC 4085, NGC 4088, NGC 4096, NGC 4100, NGC 4144, NGC 4157, NGC 4605, NGC 5308, NGC 5322 (Ursa Major); M49, M58, M59, M60, M61, M84, M86, M87, M89, M90, M104, NGC 4030, NGC 4073, NGC 4168, NGC 4179, NGC 4206, NGC 4215, NGC 4216, NGC 4224, NGC 4235, NGC 4260, NGC 4261, NGC 4267, NGC 4281, NGC 4339, NGC 4343, NGC 4365, NGC 4371, NGC 4378, NGC 4380, NGC 4387, NGC 4388, NGC 4402, NGC 4429, NGC 4435, NGC 4438, NGC 4517, NGC 4526, NGC 4535, NGC 4536, NGC 4546, NGC 4550, NGC 4551, NGC 4567, NGC 4568, NGC 4570, NGC 4593, NGC 4596, NGC 4636, NGC 4638, NGC 4639, NGC 4643, NGC 4654, NGC 4666, NGC 4697, NGC 4698, NGC 4699, NGC 4753, NGC 4754, NGC 4760, NGC 4762, NGC 4866, NGC 4900, NGC 4958, NGC 5044, NGC 5054, NGC 5068, NGC 5077, NGC 5084, NGC 5087, NGC 5147, NGC 5170, NGC 5247, NGC 5363, NGC 5364 (Virgo)

Top ten deep-sky objects for May: M3, M51, M63, M64, M83, M87, M104, M106, NGC 4449, NGC 4565

Top ten deep-sky binocular objects for May: M3, M51, M63, M64, M84, M86, M87, M104, M106, Mel 111

Challenge deep-sky object for May: 3C 273 (Virgo)


The objects listed above are located between 12:00 and 14:00 hours of right ascension.





This email describes updates for minor planet occultations for May 2019.
If you do not wish to receive these updates please advise
the Occultation Section.

You can view updated paths and other details at:
http://www.occultations.org.nz/

Minor Planet Occultation Updates:
================================

Events of particular ease or importance below are marked: *****

May 2 (383) JANINA: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 2.8 sec, Mag Drop 3.8
Across the North Island of New Zealand from Tokomar to Hamilton, and
into northern New South Wales at very low and decreasing elevation.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190502_383_59982_u.htm

May 2 (44) NYSA: Star Mag 9.7, Max dur 7.3 sec, Mag Drop 0.9
Across northern Australia from Ayr across northern Queensland, northern
Northern Territory south of Katherine and across northern Western
Australia to Wyndham.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190502_44_59984_u.htm

May 3 (5511) CLOANTHUS: Star Mag 12.1, Max dur 3.2 sec, Mag Drop 5.5
Narrow, somewhat uncertain path across Australia from Gladstone across
mid-northern Queensland to Normanton and across northern Northern
Territory to  Darwin.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190503_5511_59986_u.htm

May 3 (1001) GAUSSIA: Star Mag 12.2, Max dur 13.5 sec, Mag Drop 3.2
A fairly narrow path across southern Australia from Eden across
south-eastern New South Wales, northern Victoria and south-eastern South
Australia just south of Adelaide, and across southern Western Australia
from near Norseman to northern Perth.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190503_1001_59988_u.htm

May 4 (2146) STENTOR: Star Mag 11.2, Max dur 3.6 sec, Mag Drop 6.5
A narrow path near Australia, passing just off shore of Albany in
south-western Western Australia - Albany is within the one sigma limit
(It crosses Tasmania and New Zealand after sunrise).
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190504_2146_60000_u.htm

May 6 (19) FORTUNA: Star Mag 11.5, Max dur 15.6 sec, Mag Drop 0.5
A very broad path across New  Zealand, including the North Island from
Gisborne and Waipukurau to Raglan and Hawera and across Australia from
northern Sydney and Port Macquarie across northern New South Wales,
north-eastern South Australia, southern Northern Territory and northern
Western Australia to south of Broome.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190506_19_60014_u.htm

May 6 (1285) JULIETTA: Star Mag 12.5, Max dur 20.4 sec, Mag Drop 3.6
A narrow path across Western Australia from just north of Esperance to
Kalbarri.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190506_1285_60016_u.htm

May 6 (693) ZERBINETTA: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 11.5 sec, Mag Drop 2.1
A fairly narrow path  across Western Australia from Perth to near Broome.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190506_693_60018_u.htm

May 7 (914) PALISANA: Star Mag 12.5, Max dur 7.8 sec, Mag Drop 0.5
Across eastern Australia from Mt Gambier across south-eastern South
Australia, western Victoria and New South Wales and south-eastern
Queensland to Rockhampton.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190507_914_60030_u.htm

May 7 (250) BETTINA: Star Mag 7, Max dur 3.7 sec, Mag Drop 6.9
Across the South Island of New Zealand south of a line from about Oamaru
to Te Anau in morning twilight.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190507_250_60032_u.htm

May 7 (907) RHODA: Star Mag 11.5, Max dur 6.2 sec, Mag Drop 3
Across western South Australia and southern Northern Territory in
morning twilight.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190507_907_60036_u.htm

May 8 (446) AETERNITAS: Star Mag 11.1, Max dur 5.4 sec, Mag Drop 2
Across the South Island of New Zealand, from Christchurch to Wanaka.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190508_446_60044_u.htm

May 8 (926) IMHILDE: Star Mag 12.2, Max dur 6.1 sec, Mag Drop 2.5
A  faily narrow path across Australia, from the Gove Peninsula across
northern Northern Territory and north-western Western Australia to
Carnarvon and across roughly the middle of Papua/New Guinea.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190508_926_60046_u.htm

May 8 (441) BATHILDE: Star Mag 11.4, Max dur 4.8 sec, Mag Drop 2.8
Across south-eastern Australia from roughly Bathurst (at sunrise) across
south-eastern New South Wales and south-west Victoria to Portland in
morning twilight.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190508_441_60052_u.htm

May 9 (856) BACKLUNDA: Star Mag 12.2, Max dur 8.1 sec, Mag Drop 1.9
A narrow path across Australia from The Gold Coast across southern
Queensland and The Northern Territory and central Western Australia to
Port Headland.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190509_856_60066_u.htm

May 10 (328) GUDRUN: Star Mag 12.1, Max dur 10.7 sec, Mag Drop 2.2
A path across south-eastern Australia which manages to neatly thread Bas
Strait with minimal landfalls in either Victoria or Tasmania.  King
Island should be on the path, and possibly Wilson's Promontory.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190510_328_60072_u.htm

May 12 (405) THIA: Star Mag 12.5, Max dur 17.1 sec, Mag Drop 0.2
Across Australia from the head of the Great Australian Bight across
western South Australia and The Northern Territory to Kununarra in
northern Western Australia.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190512_405_60084_u.htm

May 12 (2759) IDOMENEUS: Star Mag 12.2, Max dur 2.3 sec, Mag Drop 6
A narrow path of significant uncertainty across northern Australia from
Bowen across northern Queensland and central Northern Territory and into
central Western Australia at low and decreasing elevation.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190512_2759_60088_u.htm

May 13 (618) ELFRIEDE: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 11.4 sec, Mag Drop 1.7
Across Western Australia from Carnarvon across central Western Australia
and into northern South Australia in morning twilight.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190513_618_60104_u.htm

May 14 (167) URDA: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 6.1 sec, Mag Drop 2.3
Across Australia from north of Exmouth across central Western Australia,
northern South Australia and central New South Wales to near Sydney at
decreasing elevation.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190514_167_60110_u.htm

May 14 (91) AEGINA: Star Mag 11.2, Max dur 14.2 sec, Mag Drop 2.3
Across the South Island of New  Zealand, including most of the island
south of Te Anau to Christchurch.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190514_91_60112_u.htm

May 15 (790) PRETORIA: Star Mag 12.1, Max dur 10.3 sec, Mag Drop 2.5
Across south-eastern Australia from Port Augusta across south-eastern
South Australia, north-western New South Wales and south-eastern
Queensland to near Brisbane, at fairly low elevation.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190515_790_60118_u.htm

May 16 (2081) SAZAVA: Star Mag 10.2, Max dur 9.7 sec, Mag Drop 5.1
A narrow path of significant uncertainty across eastern Australia, from
Eden across south-eastern to north-western New South Wales and western
Queensland, passing near Mt Isa.  The one sigma limit includes Canberra.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190516_2081_62784_u.htm

***May 16 (874) ROTRAUT: Star Mag 11.5, Max dur 3.1 sec, Mag Drop 4.6
A narrow path across south-eastern Australia from Adelaide across
south-eastern South Australia, crossing Mildura in north-western
Victoria and across central New South Wales to Ballina in north-eastern
New South Wales.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190516_874_60124_u.htm

May 18 (1489) ATTILA: Star Mag 9.8, Max dur 4.2 sec, Mag Drop 6.1
Across  Australia, from roughly Coffs Harbour across northern New South
Wales, central South Australia and central Western Australia to a little
south of Exmouth.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190518_1489_62786_u.htm

May 18 (982) FRANKLINA: Star Mag 9.7, Max dur 3.3 sec, Mag Drop 3.8
A narrow path across Australia, from Ballina across northern New South
Wales, central South Australia and southern Western Australia to Moora.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190518_982_62788_u.htm

May 18 (1936) LUGANO: Star Mag 8.2, Max dur 2.7 sec, Mag Drop 7.2
A narrow path across Australia, from near Kalbarri across central
Western Australia, northern South Australia and southern Queensland to
near Gladstone in morning twilight and at decreasing elevation.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190518_1936_62664_u.htm

***May 19 (926) IMHILDE: Star Mag 11.5, Max dur 5.2 sec, Mag Drop 2.9
Across New  Zealand across the North Island from Tauranga to Wanganui,
and across the South Island from Nelson to Milton including all the west
coast south of Timaru, and only a little west of Christchurch.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190519_926_60140_u.htm

May 21 (375) URSULA: Star Mag 11.7, Max dur 17.2 sec, Mag Drop 0.8
Across the South Island of New Zealand, from Timaru to Fox, and into
eastern Australia somewhere near the Gold Coast, but at low elevation
and in evening twilight.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190521_375_60158_u.htm

May 21 (234) BARBARA: Star Mag 11.7, Max dur 4.5 sec, Mag Drop 1
A narrow path across northern Australia from Gympie across southern
Queensland, central Northern Territory and northern Western Australia to
Derby.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190521_234_60164_u.htm

May 22 (193) AMBROSIA: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 3.5 sec, Mag Drop 2.8
A narrow path across New Zealand, across the North Island from Whakatane
to Bulls, and across the South Island from Blenheim to Invercargill,
mostly in morning twilight.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190522_193_60178_u.htm

May 23 (331) ETHERIDGEA: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 9.8 sec, Mag Drop 2.1
A little off the northern coast of New Zealand.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190523_331_60184_u.htm

May 23 (114) KASSANDRA: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 9.2 sec, Mag Drop 0.5
Across New  Zealand, from Ashburton (just south of Christchurch ) to
Wanaka, and across Tasmania from Hobart and Queenstown south.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190523_114_60186_u.htm

***May 24 (1064) AETHUSA: Star Mag 10.1, Max dur 2.2 sec, Mag Drop 3.2
A narrow path across south-eastern Australia, from Nowra across
south-eastern New South Wales (just south of Canberra), across Victoria
including Echuca and across south-eastern South Australia to Kingston SE.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190524_1064_62794_u.htm

May 26 (61) DANAE: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 6.8 sec, Mag Drop 0.7
Across northern  Australia from Mossman across northern Queensland, The
Northern Territory and Western Australia to Wyndham.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190526_61_60202_u.htm

May 29 (926) IMHILDE: Star Mag 12.4, Max dur 4.6 sec, Mag Drop 1.9
A narrow path across Australia from Innisfail across northern and
western Queensland and western South Australia.
Details:
http://www.occultations.org.nz//planet/2019/updates/190529_926_60222_u.htm

Note: for some events there will be an additional last minute update so
check
for one, if you can, on the day of the event or in the days leading up
to it.
You may need to click "Reload" or "Refresh" in your browser to see the
updated
page.

Please report all attempts at observation to Director Occsec at the address
below. (PLEASE report observations on a copy of the report available
from our
website).

John Sunderland

---------------------------------------------
RASNZ Occultation Section
P.O.Box 3181 / Wellington, 6140 / New Zealand
---------------------------------------------
WEBSITE: http://www.occultations.org.nz/
Email: Director@occultations.org.nz