April 2022 News and research items
Research_News_20_04_2022
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Research papers
The Initial Calibration Date of the Antikythera Mechanism
https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.15045
The 2019 Discovery of a Meteor of Interstellar Origin
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.07224
Reduced atmospheres of post-impact worlds
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09946
On the stability of low-mass planets with supercritical hydrospheres
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.07451
Investigating the low-flux states in six Intermediate Polars
https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.08365
Interstellar probe – Destination Universe
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576522001503
Predicting the Timeline for Humanity to Reach Kardashev Type I Civilization
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.07070
Finding the ET Signal from the Cosmic Noise
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.04405
Avoiding the Great Filter
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.07070
Updated Arecibo Message for Potential FAST and SETI Projects
https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.04288
The impact of time-dependent stellar activity on exoplanet atmospheres
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.10835
Water UV-shielding in the terrestial planet-forming zone
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.07108
The long-term evolution of the atmosphere of Venus
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.08540
Double ridge formation over shallow water sills on Jupiter’s moon Europa
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29458-3
Pluto near the edge of chaos
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.04121
Is there a background population of high-albedo objects in geosynchronous orbits around Earth
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.06091
A Collision Mechanism for the Removal of Earth's Trojan Asteroids
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.10316
Mars Radiation Environment Under Different Atmospheric and Regolith Depths
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2021JE007157
ESO telescope captures surprising changes in Neptune's temperatures
https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2206/
Possible in situ formation of Uranus and Neptune via Pebble Accretion
https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.06545
Energy Delivery via Meteors into Titan's Atmosphere
https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.10336
The role of ocean circulation in driving hemispheric symmetry breaking of the ice shell of Enceladus
https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.16611
Exploration of the interiors of terrestrial-type exoplanets
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.09558
A quarter century of spectroscopic monitoring of the nearby M dwarf Gl 514
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.06376
Mantle Degassing Lifetimes through Galactic Time
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.04243
Tidally driven tectonic activity as a parameter in exoplanet habitability
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.03501
HSTWFC3 transmission spectroscopy of the cold rocky planet TRAPPIST-1h
https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.13698
Global Mapping of Surface Composition on an Exo-Earth Using Sparse Modeling
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.01996
Images of Embedded Jovian Planet Formation At A Wide Separation Around AB Aurigae
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.00633
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Interesting News items
Interesting Planets
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/where-did-the-ice-giant-planets-form
Amazing goals from the Austraila space agency here
https://www.industry.gov.au/news/gday-moon-australias-boldest-adventure-yet
A great asset for the community
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300559567/watch-this-space-new-outdoor-crater-observatory-eyes-matariki-opening
An interesting look at the differences in in the Moon
http://spaceref.com/moon/differences-between-tthe-moons-near-and-far-sides-linked-to-colossal-ancient-impact.html
One cooling planet with interesting weather
https://le.ac.uk/news/2022/april/neptune-temperature
SCIENTISTS WONDER: IS THE ORIGIN OF LIFE EXTRATERRESTRIAL?
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/scientists-wonder-is-the-origin-of-life-extraterrestrial
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Updates from Andrew B,
Mars Perseverance Rover.
Imaged: Saturday 2nd April 2022. Sol 397.
New images, with the MastCam Z (Zoom).
MastCam Z (Zoom) images show some stunning zoomed in views of the larger & inner Mars moon Phobos passing in front of the Sun.
The asteroidal, lumpy shape of the 27 KM long lump of rock is very obvious.
Also sunspots are clearly visible.
The Mars Perseverance Rover is now making a 'dash' for the Neretva Vallis Delta at the entry point known as Three Forks.
Many images will be obtained of the Neretva Vallis Delta as the Perseverance closes in. There will not be many stops for other science as now the main scientific priority is the delta. However there will still be weather, UV and imagery science along the way.
The Jezero Crater floor science and sample collections have been completed successfully, in fact far more Jezero Crater floor science has already been achieved successfully than was envisaged prior to launch and post landing.
The mast will have been heated during this photoshoot at such an early time during the Sol.
Images taken between: 08:19 & 08:20 HRS LMST.
LMST = Local Mars Standard Time, in Jezero Crater.
Jezero Crater, Syrtis Major Quadrangle.
MastCam Z (Zoom) Camera.
Text: Andrew R Brown.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU / MSSS / LANL / CNES / IRAP. Mars Perseverance Rover.
Mars InSight Lander.
Sunday 10th April 2022. Sol 1,198.
Mars InSight Lander, Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.
Instrument Deployment Camera / IDC images capturing a martian Sunrise over the lava plains of SW Elysium Planitia.
45 degree wide views from the Instrument Deployment Camera / IDC.
Taken between 05:26 & 05:27 HRS LMST.
LMST = Local Mars Standard Time in western Elysium Planitia.
Elysium Planitia, Elysium Quadrangle.
Note how the plains of Elysium Planitia here are remarkably similar to those in SW Utopia Planitia some 1,922 KM / 1,194 miles away as seen by the China National Space Administration / CNSA Zhurong Rover.
Recap on pre Solar Conjunction findings from Mars InSight Lander.
Very interesting news has come about due to some recent detections of Marsquakes.
On Sol 1,000 or Saturday 18th September 2021, Mars InSight detected the strongest and longest lasting Marsquake to date. It measured 4.2 on the Richter Scale. It lasted for nearly an hour & a half.
This was the third of a trio of vastly more powerful Marsquakes detected to date.
On Sol 975 or Wednesday 25th August 2021, Mars InSight detected two quakes, the first at 4.2 and the second at 4.1 on the Richter Scale. The previous record was in May 2019 at 3.7 or about only 20% as strong as the 4.2 one.
Whilst the Marsquake on the 18th September is still being evaluated, much more is known about the two in late August.
The first, more powerful one was the first detected in an area outside of all of the others to date (which are in Cerberus Fossae, about 1,519 KM / 944 miles to the east of Mars InSight), located a much further 8,500 KM / 5,280 miles away.
One possibility is from the Valles Marineris, the centre of this gigantic canyon system is some 9,700 KM / 6,027 miles away from Mars InSight. I really hope though it turns out that it is from further north in Tharsis, possibly leading to detection of moving magma under one or more of the gigantic volcanoes. Further work will determine the precise epicentre. If from the Valles Marineris, it is evidence that the rifting process is still happening.
The second quake on the same day was much closer 925 KM / 575 miles from Mars InSight.
These results were only possible because of the success of being able to keep power levels high enough to keep the SEIS / Seismometer active whilst Mars passed though Aphelion or furthest point in it's orbit around the Sun.
If the measures taken had not worked then the SEIS would have been turned off during that whole period, and worse still, Mars InSight could have ceased operating altogether as the batteries flattened and the craft literally would have frozen to death.
Recap of previous update concerning the first major release of data in late July 2021.
New results have been released concerning the Mars InSight / Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport Lander which successfully landed on the lava plains within south west Elysium Planitia, Elysium Quadrangle on: Monday 26th November 2018. Interesting results they are too.
The SEIS / Seismometer and the RISE / Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment have determined the following about Mars.
1). Mars has a thinner expected crust, could be locally rather than globally. The crust appears to have at least two sub layers with a total depth of about 20 KM / 12 miles. If the third sublayer is conformed, the depth could be 37 KM / 23 miles.
2). Mars appears to have a mantle 1,540 KM / 957 miles deep, and appears to be fairly uniform in composition and is single layered.
3). Mars also appears to have a molten iron core, also to be an alloy with lighter elements. The core is 3,660 KM / 2,274 miles wide and currently appears to be a single layered core, like that of the Moon.
4). *All Marsquakes detected to date originate from the Cerberos Fossae area some 1,519 KM / 944 miles to the east. These along with all other Marsquakes detected to date originate within the same area, proving that Cerberus Fossae is a geologically active region, with perhaps magma (unerupted molten rock) moving around deep under the martian crust there. Another possibility is that these fractures could also result from the cooling of the interior of Mars, cracking the crust, much like the Rupes on Mercury.
*Update, three much more powerful Marsquakes have been detected after July 2021, from different locations. See beginning of post.
Power issues were a huge concern for Mars inSight in recent months as the solar arrays have become increasingly coated in dust and Mars has just passed through Aphelion, the furthest point from the Sun at a distance of about 250.50 million KM / 156.65 million miles from the Sun. Mars at Aphelion occurred on: Tuesday 13th July 2021.
Mars Perihelion (closest point to the Sun) will occurred on: Tuesday 21st June 2022.
Firstly the dust issue has been somewhat alleviated by a very balsy but appearing to be largely successful plan of the scoop to dump small quantities of duricrust on the deck next to the arrays and allowing the winds to pick up particles from the duricrust, blow them across the arrays knocking off dust particles. It is working and the power output from the arrays has increased a little and continuing to do so.
The powering down of the science instruments was not required as the above campaign was highly successful. The fourth rock from the Sun is now well past Aphelion and an increase in power has been detected. Looks like Mars InSight will be able to complete the extended mission. The more seismic & RISE data, the better for sure. The cameras too can keep capturing images.
It was hoped that dust devils would at times pass over InSight and they would remove dust from the solar panels. This happened fairly frequently with the Mars Exploration Rovers, MER A Sprit and MER B Opportunity as well as the Phoenix Mars Lander. All three had vastly extended operational missions in part due to this.
However, this has not happened with Mars InSight Lander.
Whilst it was late Spring in the northern hemisphere on Mars, (InSight landed at about 4.5 North, well within the martian tropics between the equator and the Tropic of Aquarius, Mars's northern tropic), the increased distance towards Aphelion is offsetting the higher rising Sun. It was the Martian Solstice, northern Summer, southern Winter on: Tuesday 25th August 2021.
Text: Andrew R Brown.
IRIS / Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. Earth & Mars.
NASA / JPL-Caltech. Mars InSight.
Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.
The Trojan Asteroid bound LUCY spacecraft back in February thoroughly tested both science cameras the L,MVIC (LUCY, Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera including L,RALPH) and L,LORRI (LUCY, Long Range Reconnaissance Imager). Both are clones of the MVIC, RALPH and LORRI that operated flawlessly within the Jupiter and Pluto systems as well as past the Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth (2014 MU69) on board the New Horizons Spacecraft.
The very wide angle T2Cam shows the Rosetta Nebula very faintly just below the centre.
The instruments were pointed at a fairly dim area within the constellation of Monoceros the Unicorn, immediately east of Orion the Hunter.
A ground based photograph of the area as photographed from the Fajada Butte in New Mexico, USA, courtesy National Parks Service. The large red box shows the field of view from the T2c Camera, the lond narrow white box shows the area taken by L,MVIC and the tiny yellow box in the dead centre the field of view from the L,LORRI.
Recap of the LUCY mission.
The NASA LUCY spacecraft launched very early on the morning of: Saturday 16th October 2021 @ 09:34 UTC / 05:34 EDT at Launch Complex 41 at the Kennedy Space Centre, in Florida, USA, to begin a mission to the Jupiter Trojan Asteroids. The launch vehicle is an Atlas 5 in 401 configuration, using four solid fuelled motors and one Centaur liquid fuelled stage provided by ULA / United Launch Alliance.
The Jupiter Trojan Asteroids generally share the orbit around the Sun as Jupiter, but are centred 60 degrees ahead and behind Jupiter. The orbit around the Lagrange points L4 (ahead) and L5 (behind) the giant planet. The L4 group are known as the Greek Camp & the L5 group are known as the Trojan Camp. However both groups are generally collectively known as the Jupiter Trojan Asteroids.
LUCY was named after the early Australopithecus Afarensis, female hominid fossil discovered in Hadar within the Afar Depression, Ethiopia on Sunday 24th November 1974 by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray. LUCY was also named after the Beatles hit Lucy in the sky with diamonds.
After launch at 09:34 UTC on Saturday 16th October 2021, LUCY will go into orbit around the Sun. On Saturday 15th October 2022, LUCY will swing by Earth to get a speed boost to cause the spacecraft to start receding from the Sun, in effect climbing uphill within the gigantic Sun’s gravity well.
Then LUCY will encounter Earth again on Thursday 12th December 2024, for the final gravity boost towards the leading Trojan group known as the Greek Camp.
On the way to the Greek Camp of Jupiter Trojan asteroids, on Sunday 20th April 2025, LUCY will encounter the small 4 KM / 2.4 mile wide Main Belt Asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson aka 1981 EQ5. The small asteroid was discovered on Monday 2nd March 1981. The asteroid was numbered, but was unnamed until very recently, when it was found that the LUCY spacecraft would be able to encounter this asteroid, it was then given a proper name, named after the discoverer of the hominid in Ethiopia, Donald Johansen. Main Belt Asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson, has been determined to be a small Type C, Carbonaceous Chondrite asteroid, very primitive, with carbon compounds.
Asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson is thought to be a piece knocked off the 73 KM / 45 mile wide Asteroid 163 Erigone during a giant impact about 130 million years ago. Asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson is a very slow rotating asteroid, rotating once on its axis once every 10 days & 11 hours or 251 hours. The close up images and spectra will help determine why this is. This will also be an excellent test of the instruments and will be the first new science data from LUCY. Lucy will pass 52246 Donaldjohanson at a distance of 922 KM / 573 miles.
On Sunday 12th August 2027, LUCY will pass the first Trojan Asteroid in the Greek Camp, 3548 Eurybates. This asteroid was discovered on Wednesday 19 September 1973 and was initially dubbed 1973 SO. In fact 3548 Eurybates, was first seen way back in February 1954, but was not followed up and was lost. 3548 Eurybates is a very primitive Type C, Carbonaceous Chondrite asteroid and is 68 KM / 42 miles wide. The rotation period on its axis is about 8 hours and 12 minutes, so LUCY should be able to image most of it with one half at very high resolution. 3548 Eurybates has a tiny moon, since named Quetta. Quetta orbits 3549 Eurybates once every 82 days & 14 hours at a mean distance of 2,310 KM / 1,435 miles and is at most 1 KM / 0.62 mile wide. LUCY will also take detailed images and spectra of Quetta. LUCY will pass 3549 Eurybates at a distance of about 1,000 KM / 621 miles.
Only just over a month later, LUCY will closely encounter the Greek Camp Trojan Asteroid 15094 Polymele on Wednesday 15th September 2027. Asteroid 15094 Polymele was discovered on: Tuesday 17th November 1999. 15094 Polymele is only 21 KM / 13 miles wide, rotates on its axis once every 5 hours & 54 minutes and appears to be very spherical, very unusual for such a small object. 15094 Polymele is one of an extremely rare known P Type asteroid, one of only a 33 known ‘Red Asteroids’. There are carbon compounds as well as silicates. LUCY will pass Asteroid 15094 Polymele at a distance of only 416 KM / 258 miles, allowing for very high resolution images and spectral data. 15094 Polymele appears to be a lone traveller in space, as of October 2021, no moons have been discovered.
On Tuesday 18th April 2028, LUCY will encounter the Asteroid 11351 Leucus. 11351 Leucus is 34 KM / 21 miles wide and is a very primitive D Type asteroid, very carbon rich. One very strange characteristic is the very long rotation period on its axis of 18 days & 8 hours or 440 hours and is certainly very elongated in shape. LUCY will get to see one side only, but in great detail. LUCY will pass 11351 Leucus at a distance of about 1,000 KM / 621 miles. 11351 Leucus appears to be a lone traveller in space, as of October 2021, no moons have been discovered.
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On Monday 20th November 2028, LUCY will encounter the Asteroid 21900 Orus. This asteroid is a type C, Carbonaceous Chondrite, and is 54 KM / 34 miles wide. Asteroid 21900 Orus rotates on its axis once every 13 hours & 11 hours. Asteroid 21900 Orus appears to have a very tiny moon, barely 500 metres wide at most. It has only been seen twice in Hubble Space Telescope images in August 2018, but is so faint, that an orbit could not be computed. The Hubble Space Telescope and the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will carry out further searches. LUCY will pass 21900 Orus at a distance of about 1,000 KM / 621 miles. Any moons will be imaged.
21900 Orus will be the final asteroid in the leading L4 Greek Camp of Jupiter Trojan asteroids to be encountered by the LUCY Spacecraft.
Lucy will then head back for a close Earth gravity assist on Thursday 26th December 2030 / Boxing Day 2030, making LUCY the first spacecraft to return to near Earth space from the outer solar system. The Earth gravity assist will throw LUCY towards the trailing L5 Trojan Camp of Jupiter Trojan asteroids.
Then on Wednesday 2nd March 2033, LUCY will make the one and only planned close encounter with a Trojan Camp Jupiter Trojan. The binary asteroid 617 Patroclus. Both components of this system appear to be very similar in size. The primary 617 Patroclus is 127 KM by 117 KM by 98 KM / 79 by 73 by 60 miles in size. The companion since named Menoetius is slightly smaller at 117 KM by 108 KM by 90 KM / 73 by 67 by 56 miles in size. The orbit around their common centre of gravity, which is slightly closer to the larger component at a distance of 664 KM / 413 miles apart once every 4 days & 6 hours or 102.8 hours. Both are of an extremely rare known P Type asteroid, two of only 33 known ‘Red Asteroids’. There are carbon compounds as well as silicates.
If the LUCY spacecraft continues to operate well (NASA spacecraft tend to last for far longer than planned) then possible further L5 asteroids could be encountered. The LUCY spacecraft is on a cyclical extremely long term heliocentric (Sun Centred) orbit, cycling between both the L 4 and L5 Jupiter Trojans. LUCY is likely to be in this orbit for many millions of years (unless collected in the very far future). Depending on how long LUCY remains operable, there is a chance that several more asteroids could be encountered in both groups as well as in the Main Belt Asteroid Belt.
Text: Andrew R Brown.
NASA / SWRI / Lockheed Martin. Lucy Spacecraft.
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RASNZ
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. Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand
. Email Newsletter Number 256, 21 April 2022
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Affiliated Societies are welcome to reproduce any item in this email
newsletter or on the RASNZ website http://www.rasnz.org.nz/
in their own newsletters provided an acknowledgement of the source is
also included.
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Contents
1. President's Notes
2. The Planets and Lunar Eclipse May
3. New Zealand Astrophotography Competition
4. The Dark Skies Retreat - June 24-26
5. Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy - Martinborough, 8-10 July 2022
6. Variable Star News
7. Alan Maxwell (1929–2021)
8. Latest Southern Stars
9. Copernicus's Secret Readers
10. The Most Distant Star
11. Did Gravity Make Dark Matter?
12. Astronomy's Carbon Footprint
13. How to Join the RASNZ
14. Kingdon-Tomlinson Fund
15. Gifford-Eiby Lecture Fund
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1. President's Notes
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Newsletter Editor
This is likely to be the second last newsletter produced by Alan Gilmore as he is standing aside at this year's AGM in June. Alan has done a fine job keeping us informed of happenings in astronomy and the astronomical community. RASNZ now needs a new editor to carry on the important role. Please contact me at: president@rasnz.org.nz if you are able and willing to step into this position. Thank you.
RASNZ Conference Registrations
The 2022 RASNZ Conference and AGM are fast approaching. This year we will be in Whangarei 3rd June - 5th June. Conference information can be found at https://rasnzconference.org.nz/ Please register and support the Northland Astronomical Society who are hosting this year's conference. Whangarei is developing a very interesting city centre area with new and interesting attractions. These will be showcased with a walking tour during Friday afternoon.
Two keynote speakers are on the program both talking about their leading space base astronomy projects.
Dr. John C. Mather is a Senior Astrophysicist in the Observational Cosmology Laboratory located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. He is also the Senior Project Scientist on the James Webb Space Telescope.
Dr. Emily Kendall is a post-doctoral researcher at Auckland University and part of the New Zealand contribution to LISA an international project, lead by the European Space Agency, to develop a space-based gravitational wave interferometer. Dr Kendall will also give a public lecture on Sunday after the conference.
RASNZ Conference Presentations
If you are attending this year's Conference please consider presenting a paper. We are building a very interesting program but need a few more presentations to round out the full program. You can register for the conference and to present a paper at: https://rasnzconference.org.nz/registration/
RASNZ Membership system
A reminder to ensure you have paid your subscriptions for the 2022 year. Payments can be made at https://www.rasnz.org.nz/rasnz/payments-and-donations
A new membership system will be implemented over the next two months. This system will improve our services to you as members. There will be a new website which will form a major part of this new system. You will be able to check and confirm your membership details and pay on line with automatic reminders, finances will be directly connected with our financial software, events such as our conference will be more easily managed, and communications with you our members will be much easier.
You can expect to receive emails from RASNZ and the new system as we move our information across to it. These emails will let you know what is happening and give you the chance to confirm the information we have for you.
If you have any questions please contact me at president@rasnz.org.nz
Covid
As the country re-opens please continue to do your bit to keep your selves and others safe. Wearing masks in indoor settings in crowds is highly recommended and will be required to be worn at the conference.
Keep well and safe.
Steve Butler
RASNZ President
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2. The Planets and Lunar Eclipse May
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The bright planets are all in the morning sky. Saturn is the first to appear, rising in the east around 1 a.m. at the beginning of the month. It is cream-coloured and of medium brightness, but is the brightest 'star' in this part of the sky. Mars follows it around 2:30. It is the same brightness as Saturn but red coloured. Around 4 a.m., at the beginning of the month, bright Jupiter and brilliant Venus appear looking like a pair of unmatched headlights. Venus is silver, Jupiter is golden. By that time Saturn, Mars and the Venus-Jupiter pair are equally spaced down the eastern sky.
Saturn and Jupiter rise four minutes earlier each morning as we catch them up. Mars continues to rise around 2:30 while Venus slowly slips lower as it moves to the other side of the Sun. In the last week of May Jupiter will be approaching then passing Mars. On the morning of the 25th the Moon will be above the two planets. The Moon will be above Venus on the 27th and below it on the 28th.
There is an eclipse of the Moon on May 16 but we see only the end of it. The moon will rise partly eclipsed. It moves clear of the Earth's inner shadow by 5:55 pm and clear of the outer shadow an hour later.
Star charts are available at https://www.rasnz.org.nz/in-the-sky/the-evening-sky/
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3. New Zealand Astrophotography Competition
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2022 New Zealand Astrophotography Competition is now open for entries
This year's competition will be judged by Alyn Wallace, arguably one of the world's top Astro, landscape, and time-lapse photographers. He was featured on the BBC Two "Moonshot" documentary to mark the anniversary of the Moon landings, where he set out to take his ultimate image of the Moon and celebrate Wales' Dark Sky Reserves.
Alyn's work has been recognized by NASA, National Geographic, the BBC, and The Times. He loves to share his knowledge and love of astrophotography through public speaking, astrophtography work-shops and Astrovlogs on his YouTube channel. In 2021, Alyn quit his Mechanical design engineer job and became a full-time Astrophotographer. His book titled "Photographing the Night Sky," includes some of the best locations
he has been for astrophotography. For more information on our judge, please look here: https://alynwallacephotography.com
The competition has four main categories:
1. Deep-Sky
2. Nightscape
3. Solar system
4. Time-lapse
Please read over the rules and conditions of entry at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xMg-rKYyB7afWdlWRgM1k8qrMlt1p818/view
Like previous years, the competition is sponsored by the Australian Sky & Telescope magazine, with a free 12-month subscription. The nightscape and deep-sky category winners will have their images printed in the magazine.
Here is the list of prizes provided by our amazing sponsors:
Star Adventurer 2i Photo Kit Valued at $549 AUD to the competition's overall winner, provided by Skywatcher Australia.
Nature DX 12x56 Binoculars - Valued at $490 AUD to the winner of the Deep Sky category, provided by Celestron Australia.
A $300 AstroNZ gift voucher for the solar system category winner, sponsored by AstroNZ (https://astronz.nz/). They are easily New Zealand's best known and most trusted supplier of Astronomical instruments.
Skylabs NZ (https://www.skylabs.co.nz) is sponsoring each category with some fantastic products:
Deep-Sky and Solar System: Skylabs NZ Cheshire Eyepiece 2" and improved Sensitivity tri-Bahtinov Mask.
Nightscape and Time-lapse: Enhanced Bahtinov Focusing Mask and polar Alignment Adapter
The Auckland Astronomical Society will provide a cash prize for each category winner.
The last date for submitting your entries is the 21st of September 2022. The competition awards will be announced at the Burbidge dinner, Auckland Astronomical Society's premier annual event. Keep an eye out on the society's website for details of the forthcoming Burbidge dinner.
This year, the entries are to be submitted via Google Form: https://forms.gle/GdmNFiUCfaNeLjFj6
We are looking forward to seeing all your images and wishing you all clear skies.
-- From the Auckland Astronomical Society's March Newsletter.
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4. The Dark Skies Retreat - June 24-26
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The Dark Skies Retreat, Supported by ASTRONZ, June 24th to June 26th. A weekend getaway of astronomical proportions! Astronomy, astrophotography, night sky education, outreach, with a big focus on dark skies. Held over the first Matariki Public Holiday in June, under the dark skies of Camp Iona, Herbert Forest, Herbert (20-minutes south of Oamaru). Registrations are essential, and forms can be obtained by contacting Damien McNamara at - solaur.science@gmail.com
-- Damien McNamara
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5. Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy - Martinborough, 8-10 July 2022
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The Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy will be running its next course in Martinborough 8-10 July 2022.
The course will run from the afternoon of Friday July 8 to the early evening of Sunday July 10. The venue will be the Wellington Conference Room in the Martinborough Hotel, Memorial Square, Martinborough.
The course is designed for current or prospective astrotourism night-sky guides or for anyone interested in navigating the night sky and understanding more about astronomy. Places at the course are limited to 30.
We have assembled seven expert instructors to present the lectures and workshops, all of them well-known members of the New Zealand astronomical community.
More details of the programme and of how to register are to be found on the AAA website at https://aaanz.org. Registration for the course can be made on-line at the AAA website.
Please email John Hearnshaw (john.b.hearnshaw@gmail.com) or Nalayini Davies (nbrito@vinstar.co.nz) if you have any queries.
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6. Variable Star News
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The March 2022 issue (Vol 61, No 1) of the RASNZ Southern Stars Journal has reports from RASNZ Sections. There is a comprehensive report (pp 26-30) on the activities of Variable Stars South (VSS), the RASNZ Variable Star Section. The Member Hi-lights section of the report documents the very wide range of activities of individual members, covering both observing programmes and analysis. The report concludes with a list of publications in refereed journals during the calendar year.
Video Tutorials
The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) are continuing this year their monthly series of “How To” webinars. After the initial screening they are available to watch on You Tube. The 5th March webinar was “Understand Star Photometry – How it Works”, given by Richard Berry, a long standing user of photometric equipment and also a software developer. This video is long, the viewing time including discussion is 2h 25mim. The link is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufbFaUywEBg&list=PLnZ_rvnR35rfGTaq4g3kzVOfkna1JeDyX&index=2
The April Webinar was “How to Image Star Guts with Cosmic Music” was presented by Jim Fuller, Assistant Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics at California Institute of Technology (broadcast 2 April 2022).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKtQcmRtYzI&list=PLnZ_rvnR35rfGTaq4g3kzVOfkna1JeDyX&index=3
AAVSO Abstract. What lies at the centre of a star? A stellar core is surrounded by a million Earths worth of plasma, so we cannot see it directly. However, the immense power of a star’s radiation causes nearly all stars to pulsate, creating “star quakes” at their surfaces. These oscillations are a collection of musical notes that uniquely define each star and are determined by its internal structure, just as the sound of a musical instrument is determined by its size and shape. Join us for a cosmic symphony as we journey to the centre of the Sun, Saturn, white dwarfs, red giants, and heartbeat stars.
-- Alan Baldwin
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7. Alan Maxwell (1929–2021)
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It is with great sadness that I report the death of Professor Alan Maxwell in San Diego, USA, on 22 August 2021 at the age of 94. Alan was one of a select band of New Zealand astronomers who found it necessary to build careers overseas when there were no opportunities for them in New Zealand.
Alan Maxwell was born in Auckland in 1926, and during 1947–1948 carried out research on solar radio emission at Auckland University College for an MSc. This was in the very earliest days of solar radio astronomy, and it would appear that Alan’s was one of the first Master's thesis on radio astronomy written anywhere in the world.
From Auckland Alan moved to Manchester University, where he completed a PhD under Bernard Lovell, before accepting a post at Harvard University in the USA and establishing their Fort Davis Radio Astronomy Field Station in Texas. It was there that Alan established an international reputation in solar radio astronomy.
Alan retired in 1983 but he retained an office at Harvard and went in to work most days. However, he never forgot his New Zealand roots and each year (until Covid intervened) would return to New Zealand and visit family and friends in Auckland and elsewhere. This is when I first met him.
Alan was one of New Zealand’s most distinguished international radio astronomers, and Jim Moran from Harvard University will provide further details in an obituary that will be published in Southern Stars later this year.
-- Professor Wayne Orchiston, Centre for Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia.
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8. Latest Southern Stars
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The latest Southern Stars Journal (Vol 61, No 1, 2022 March) has an illustrated article featuring the Fellows of the Society put together by Jennie McCormick. There are articles on Jan Matejko’s Copernicus painting by William Tobin and Solar Cycle 25 “Enigma” by Harry Roberts. It also contains reports from Council, Sections and some Affiliated Societies. The front cover has a striking photo of Comet Leonard taken by astrohotographer Ian Cooper who is based in Palmerston North.
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9. Copernicus's Secret Readers
------------------------------
John Harper writes:
People who enjoyed the article about the painting of Copernicus in the
latest Southern Stars might also enjoy an intriguing book an American
historian of science wrote after he had chased up the surviving copies of
Copernicus's great work. It says a lot about book-collecting, astronomy,
and what Catholics did after Copernicus's book had been put on the Index
Librorum Prohibitorum.
The book nobody read: chasing the revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus
by Owen Gingerich, 2004.
Gingerich's PhD supervisor told him that nobody had read it, but many
copies had notes written in the margins by previous owners, including
Galileo.
One amusing thing about this is that a German university had three copies of Copernicus's book. They sold the tattiest one to a wealthy US university. When Gingerich saw it he recognised the handwriting in the marginal notes: it was Galileo's copy!
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10. The Most Distant Star
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The most distant single star seen yet dates back to less than 1 billion years after the universe's birth in the Big Bang, and may shed light on the earliest stars in the cosmos, a new study finds.
The scientists nicknamed the star "Earendel," from an Old English word meaning "morning star" or "rising light." Earendel, whose technical designation is WHL0137-LS, is at least 50 times the mass of the sun and millions of times as bright.
This newfound star, detected by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, is so far away that its light has taken 12.9 billion years to reach Earth, appearing to us as it was when the universe was about 900 million years old, just 7% of its current age. Until now, the most distant single star detected, discovered by Hubble in 2018, existed when the universe was about 4 billion years old, or 30% of its current age.
"This finding gives us an opportunity to study a star in detail in the early universe," study lead author Brian Welch, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, told Space.com.
Normally, even a star as brilliant as Earendel would be impossible to see from Earth given its vast distance. Previously, the smallest objects seen at such a great distance were clusters of stars embedded inside early galaxies.
Scientists detected Earendel with the help of a huge galaxy cluster, WHL0137-08, sitting between Earth and the newfound star. The gravitational pull of this enormous galaxy cluster warped the fabric of space and time, resulting in a powerful natural magnifying glass that greatly amplified the light from distant objects behind the galaxy, such as Earendel. This gravitational lensing has distorted the light from the galaxy hosting Earendel into a long crescent the researchers named the Sunrise Arc.
The rare way in which Earendel aligned with WHL0137-08 meant that the star appeared directly on, or extremely close to, a curve in spacetime that provided maximum brightening, causing Earendel to stand out from the general glow of its home galaxy. This effect is analogous to the rippled surface of a swimming pool creating patterns of bright light on the bottom of the pool on a sunny day — the ripples on the surface act as lenses and focus sunlight to maximum brightness on the pool floor.
Welch emphasized this is not the most distant object scientists have ever discovered. "Hubble has observed galaxies at greater distances," he explained. "However, we see the light from their millions of stars all blended together. This is the most distant object where we can identify light from an individual star."
He also noted this star was distant, but not old. "We see the star as it was 12.8 billion years ago, but that does not mean the star is 12.8 billion years old," Welch said. Instead, it's probably just a few million years old and never reached old age. "Given its mass, it almost certainly has not survived to today, as more massive stars tend to burn through their fuel faster and thus explode, or collapse into black holes, sooner," he added of Earendel. "The oldest stars known would have formed at a similar time, but they are much less massive, so they have continued to shine until today."
Many details about Earendel remain uncertain, such as its mass, brightness, temperature and type. Scientists are not even sure yet if Earendel is one star or two — most stars of Earendel's mass usually do have a smaller, dimmer companion, and it's possible that Earendel is outshining its partner.
Scientists intend to conduct followup observations with NASA's recently launched James Webb Space Telescope to analyze Earendel's infrared light and pin down many of its features. Such information in turn could help shed light on the first stars in the universe, which formed before the universe was filled with the heavy elements produced by successive generations of massive stars.
"I think one of the most exciting things about this result is that it opens a new window into the early universe," Welch said. "Typically at these distances, we see full galaxies as small, fuzzy objects, and we then infer details about the stars within from their aggregate light."
Not so for Earendel. "With this lensed star, we can study its light independently," he said. "This lets us compare directly to stars in the Milky Way and look for differences which will improve our understanding of stars in the early universe."
The scientists detailed their findings online on March 30 in the journal Nature. See Charles Q. Choi's article in Space.com, with images, at
https://www.space.com/hubble-telescope-sees-most-distant-star-earendel
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11. Did Gravity Make Dark Matter?
---------------------------------
A new model of the very early universe proposes that the graviton, the quantum mechanical force carrier of gravity, flooded the cosmos with dark matter before normal matter even had a chance to get started.
The proposal could be a way to connect two of the biggest outstanding puzzles in modern cosmology: the nature of dark matter and the history of cosmic inflation.
Many cosmologists think that when the universe was incredibly young (that is, less than a fraction of a second old), it experienced a period of incredibly rapid expansion known as inflation. This inflationary epoch was critical to the future evolution of the universe, as that incredible expansion turned microscopic quantum fluctuations of space-time into the seeds that would someday become stars, galaxies and clusters.
The actual inflation event is rather mysterious. For example, cosmologists don't know what triggered inflation, what powered it, how long it lasted or when it shut off.) But this general picture is the only one that can explain the patterns found in the cosmic microwave background (the afterglow light pattern formed when the universe was 380,000 years old) and the large-scale distribution of matter in the universe. The statistics of those patterns match what we see in quantum fluctuations, which gives cosmologists the confidence they need to hypothesize that there's a link.
At the end of inflation, the cosmos was much larger than it was before. But it was also much emptier, as all the contents that had previously been in the universe had just been flung far away from each other. There was just one thing remaining: whatever powered inflation in the first place but eventually ran out of steam. Cosmologists call this driving force the "inflaton," and they think it was a quantum field that soaked all of space.
When inflation ended, the inflaton decayed, flooding the universe with the variety of particles we see in the present day. In many ways, inflation was the "real" Big Bang. If you imagine an empty universe suddenly rich with an explosion of particles, then this is it.
Silent dark matter
When inflation ended, it triggered the creation of all known particles. So, presumably, that same event also manufactured dark matter. Cosmologists aren't sure what dark matter is made of, but an abundance of evidence suggests that it's some new, unknown kind of particle. Whatever this particle is, it accounts for over 80% of all the matter in the universe.
Physicists have spent decades searching for any hints of a direct interaction between dark matter particles and normal matter, to no avail. If dark matter is indeed a particle, then it really, really doesn't like talking to normal matter. This non-detection of dark matter is quite annoying for the story of inflation, because if dark matter doesn't talk to normal matter, then there's little reason why the inflaton should create dark matter along with normal matter in the early universe.
Now, a pair of physicists at the Helsinki Institute of Physics has proposed a new mechanism to generate lots of dark matter in the early universe, even if the inflaton didn't like to produce dark matter. And that new mechanism relies purely on gravity.
This mechanism, which the physicists outlined in a paper in the preprint database arXiv, assumes that the inflaton and the dark matter don't talk to each other, so the dark matter particle isn't produced in the normal way at the end of inflation.
Instead, the researchers examined the behaviour of the inflaton just before it decayed. At the end of inflation, right before the inflaton goes away and gives rise to the particle zoo of our universe, the inflaton sloshes around the cosmos like a ball that just rolled down a steep hill but hasn't settled down yet.
Cosmologists call this step the preheating phase of the inflaton decay, and it can give rise to some crazy physics. For example, in this brief phase, gravity itself may play a major role, allowing the inflaton to connect to the dark matter particle. In this case, gravity takes the form of its supposed quantum mechanical force carrier, the graviton. Usually, the graviton doesn't participate in particle reactions, but the physicists found a way for it to appear in the preheating phase near the end of inflation.
The pair discovered that when the graviton appears in the particle interactions at this epoch, it could provide channels for the inflaton to decay into dark matter particles. These dark matter particles would then already have been present in the universe before the rest of the normal matter followed suit when the inflaton finally went away.
This mechanism works only when space is doing something interesting, like rapidly expanding during inflation. And so, when inflation finally tampered the universe's ability to create, dark matter particles faded.
The physicists tuned their model to create the right amount of dark matter that observations of the cosmos demand. However, it's still theoretical work. Most important, physicists aren't exactly sure how gravity interacts with particles. This is the regime of quantum gravity, a theory of strong gravity at small scales, which is the current holy grail of modern physics. So, for their work, the co-authors of the paper had to make a lot of assumptions as to how gravity operated at these scales.
Still, the idea is interesting because it provides a way for the early universe to produce significant amounts of dark matter and for that dark matter to (essentially) never talk to normal matter ever again.
See Paul Sutter's original article at https://www.space.com/dark-matter-origin-gravity-theory
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12. Astronomy's Carbon Footprint
--------------------------------
Astronomers in the future may not be able to build large complex power-hungry observatories if they want to reduce their carbon footprint in line with greenhouse gas emission requirements, a study suggests.
Powerful ground and space-based telescopes, such as the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope or the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) currently being built in Australia and South Africa, come with large life-time carbon footprints that pushes up astronomy's overall greenhouse gas emissions.
In a new study, a team of researchers from the Institute for Astrophysics and Planetology Research (IRAP) in Toulouse, France, found that all combined, the world's cutting-edge astronomical observatories generate over their lifetime about 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. That value equals the annual carbon emission of some small European countries, such as Estonia, Croatia or Bulgaria, the authors said in a news conference on March 17.
This value involves the carbon emission generated during the construction and manufacturing phase as well as the greenhouse gas produced as a result of the observatories' operations. In the case of space telescopes, such as Webb and the Hubble Space Telescope, the researchers also included the carbon footprint of delivering the telescopes to space.
Every year, the world's astronomical research facilities emit a combined 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is about five times more than the annual flying-related carbon footprint of the world's astronomers, the study's researchers said.
"No study has ever tried to calculate the carbon emissions due to the construction and operation of all the telescopes and space missions that astronomers use to make observations," Annie Hughes, an astronomer at IRAP and one of the authors of the paper, said in the news conference. "So the results in our paper are the first quantitative estimate for the carbon footprint associated with those infrastructures. Their footprint is large, much larger than all other sources of our professional carbon emissions combined."
For example, the above mentioned Webb and SKAO will each generate an equivalent of at least 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over their life-time, which is the largest carbon footprint of all the telescopes and observatories included in the study, the researchers said in the paper.
To estimate the carbon footprint, the astronomer used a method called the economic input–output (EIO) analysis, which, they admitted, provides only a very rough idea of the emissions generated by those facilities. "The method that we used assumes that greenhouse gas emissions of astronomical research infrastructures are proportional to their costs or their weight," Jürgen Knödlseder, also an IRAP astronomer and lead author of the study, said in the news conference. "To understand that, just think about what happens when you double the amount of fuel that you fill in your car's gas tank. It will cost you twice as much, you will double the weight that your gas tank carries, and when you dry your gas tank empty, you will emit twice as much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere."
This cost-based estimate, however, is only accurate in an order of magnitude, coming with a huge 80% uncertainty, the researchers admitted. A more accurate method of estimating the carbon footprint of astronomy research facilities would be the life-cycle assessment, which would, however, require detailed data on each of the projects. This data, however, is usually not available due to industrial confidentiality reasons, the researchers said.
Regardless of the accuracy of the estimate, the scientists said that the astronomical community will have to slash the carbon footprint of its research facilities by up to a factor of 20 if it wants to comply with global emission reduction targets.
"We have a global reduction target for humanity and this is that the emissions of greenhouse gasses need to decline by about half from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050," Luigi Tibaldo, a co-author and also an IRAP astronomer, said in the news conference. "This is a necessary condition to keep the increase in the average world temperature within 1.5°C that has been identified as a target to keep our planet habitable. This will require a strong reduction for all activity sectors, including research and astronomy."
Meeting these targets will not be possible with the current pace of building new, bigger, more complex facilities, the researchers said.
"We think that the only way we have to achieve a quicker adoption [of the emission reduction goals] in the short term is to reduce the pace at which we build the new infrastructures," Tibaldo said. "Not necessarily stop building new infrastructures, but doing it slower. This has many benefits, besides the reduction in the emissions, for example, we will have more time to perform a more comprehensive exploitation of the data from the existing infrastructures."
The researchers admitted they didn't take into account the different proportions of renewable energy in the energy mix used by individual observatories or facilities involved in the development and manufacturing. Instead, they based their calculations on a current global average energy mix.
Many astronomical observatories, including SKAO and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, have, however, made commitments in recent years to improve their carbon footprint by investing into solar energy generation and focusing on reducing energy consumption.
SKAO, for example, wants to cover a minimum of 45% of its electricity needs from renewable resources, but hopes to eventually increase that proportion to 90%, the observatory's representatives told Space.com in an earlier interview.
ESO, which runs cutting-edge observatories in Chile's Atacama Desert, including the Very Large Telescope, has also embarked on a major greening program, which includes replacing gas turbine power generation with solar power plants at its remote facilities, which are not connected to the electricity grid.
The study was published on March 21 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
See Tereza Pultarova's original article at https://www.space.com/astronomy-observatories-carbon-footprint-climate-change
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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 2022 year starts at $40 for an ordinary
member, which includes an electronic subscription to our journal
'Southern Stars'.
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14. Kingdon-Tomlinson Fund
--------------------------
The RASNZ is responsible for recommending to the trustees of the Kingdon
Tomlinson Fund that grants be made for astronomical projects. The grants may be to any person or persons, or organisations, requiring funding for any projects or ventures that promote the progress of astronomy in New Zealand. The deadline for this round of the Kingdon-Tomlinson Grants is 1st May 2022. Full details are set down in the RASNZ By-Laws, Section J. Information on the K-T Fund is at
http://rasnz.org.nz/rasnz/kt-fund
Send applications to the RASNZ Executive Secretary at rasnz.secretary@gmail.com.
The application form at
http://rasnz.org.nz/Downloadable/RASNZ/KT_Application2019.pdf
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15. 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 and at http://rasnz.org.nz/rasnz/ge-fund
The application form is at
https://www.rasnz.org.nz/rasnz-ge
================================================================
Alan Gilmore Phone: 03 680 6817
P.O. Box 57 alan.gilmore@canterbury.ac.nz
Lake Tekapo 7945
New Zealand
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December Celestial Calendar by Dave Mitsky
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Minor Planet Occultation Updates:
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Please note:
My standard caveat that these are the views of a learned amateur, not a professional in the sector, applies as always.
The above post/email/update represents my own words, views, research and opinions, unless stated otherwise the above work
represents my own writing. I’ll give credit or thanks if I have used or represented other people’s words and/or opinions.
The links and references listed below represent the work and research of the respective author’s.
Questions and constructive criticism are always welcome, however I don’t believe anything written here by myself is any reason for impolite behaviour.
Thanks for your time and I hope you have enjoyed reading.
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