July 2022 - News, research and Starcharts
Research_News_20_07_2022
Further links and discussion can be found at the groups/links below
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Quaroa
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Twitter
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Research papers
Predictions for Observable Atmospheres of Trappist-1
https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.04164
The Effect of Accretion Rate and Composition on the Structure of Ice-rich Super-Earths
https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.12861
Water UV-Shielding in the Terrestrial Planet-Forming Zone
https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.04063
Different ice shell geometries on Europa and Enceladus due to their different sizes
https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.15325
On the long-term stability of the Solar System in the presence of weak perturbations from stellar flybys
https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.14240
The Resonant Tidal Evolution of the Earth-Moon Distance
https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.00438
Searching for giant planets in the outer Solar System with far-infrared all-sky surveys
https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.09985
Flares and rotation of M dwarfs with habitable zones accessible to TESS planet detections
https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.03794
Resolved imaging of exoplanets with the solar gravitational lens
https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.04866
The Chiral Puzzle of Life
https://arxiv.org/abs/2002.12138
Biolocomotion and premelting in ice
https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.14038
Stellar metallicity is a key parameter for the search of Life in the Universe
https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.03748
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Interesting News items
How did I miss this one? Wellington city was very overcast and hazy all day!
Second video shows brightness of fireball seen in lower North Island
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/07/07/second-video-shows-brightness-of-fireball-seen-in-lower-north-island/
A good overview of the meteor over Cook Straight - I personally didnt see or hear it.
https://theconversation.com/equivalent-to-1-800-tonnes-of-tnt-what-we-now-know-about-the-meteor-that-lit-up-the-daytime-sky-above-new-zealand-186636
Georgia Guidestones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t3SCc1tSQs
Light pollution and Heyfever combined
https://theconversation.com/light-pollution-is-disrupting-the-seasonal-rhythms-of-plants-and-trees-lengthening-pollen-season-in-us-cities-184730
A good update on the SKA
https://casca.ca/?p=17648
Obituarie
ANDREWS, Frank Pelham. Of Silverstream, Upper Hutt
Frank gently and peacefully slipped away at Kandahar Rest Home, Masterton on 11 July 2022.
Beloved husband of Anne for 56 years.
Adored father of Katie.
Treasured Poppa of Isabella, Eliana and Benicio.
A loved brother, brother in law, uncle, mentor and friend to many.
Lifelong stargazer, astronomer and educator extraordinaire. A service for Frank will be held at St Mary’s Anglican Church, Silverstream on Friday 15th July 2022 at 1.30pm. For the livestream click on the light blue tab at top of this page. Messages to the Andrews family C/- PO Box 185, Carterton 5743 or can be left here on Frank's tribute page
https://www.tributes.co.nz/ViewMyTribute.aspx?id=17597
Frank Pelham Andrews (20.05.1939-11.07.2022) St Marys Anglican Church - 15 July 2022 @ 13:30 NZST
https://vimeo.com/729407872/79e4a256fa
Like many of you I have known Frank for many years and it was sad to hear of his passing.He really was a character in New Zealand Astronomy for many years, I must have attended workshops, Starparties, Observatory events with Frank for well over 20 years, I've found a few photos of him working on Johns Observatory attached,
Hi. For those who don't know, Frank Andrews passed away a couple of days ago. Frank was a very well known character in New Zealand (and overseas) astronomical circles. He worked for a number of years at Carter Observatory in Wellington. Frank's death notice was in the Dominion Post today. It states that people can watch the service online. It starts at 1:30pm on Friday 15th July NZST (tomorrow).
See:
https://tributes.co.nz/ViewMyTribute.aspx?id=17597
Watch the service:
https://vimeo.com/729407872/79e4a256fa
A photo of Frank with the 9.75" Carter Obs telescope is attached. It was taken at the 2021 RASNZ conference in Wellington.
Bye Frank...
Cheers
John D
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Updates from Andrew B,
A beautiful James Webb Space Telescope dual image using the near Infrared and Mid Infrared Cameras NIRcam & MIRI Cameras.
The MIRI camera detector had to be cooled to minus 267 Celsius / minus 449 Fahrenheit or 6 Kelvin in order to take mid infrared images!!!!!
SKY 'News' obtained these two James Webb Space Telescope views during the commissioning phase. Even from these, it is clear that Jupiter looks very different between the near and mid infrared. Mind you, these images would not have been calibrated as during commissioning. Metis is Jupiter's innermost known moon. Metis is about 60 KM by 40 KM by 34 KM / 37 by 25 by 21 in size with the longest axis permanently pointed towards Jupiter.
Jupiter orbits the Sun once every 11.82 years or 11 years & 315 days at an average distance of 778.57 million KM / 483.78 million miles from the Sun. Jupiter rotates on it's axis once every 9 hours & 56 minutes, the shortest day of any of the planets in our solar system.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, 142,984 KM / 88,846 miles wide through the equator (11.21 times wider than the Earth) and 133,692 KM / 83,082 miles through the poles (10.25 times wider than the Earth). Jupiter is also the most massive planet in our solar system with a mass of 317.8 times that of the Earth or about 1.899 trillion trillion tons (1,898.2 followed by twenty two zeros) and a mean global density of 1.326 g/cm3 (grams per cubic centimetre). Jupiter's rapid rotation causes the equator to bulge out and the polar regions to flatten, hence the somewhat oval shape of Jupiter.
Our own Earth with a diameter of 12,742 KM / 7,917 miles, with a mass of 5,972.2 billion trillion tons (5,972.2 followed by twenty zeros) and a mean global density of 5.517 g/cm3.
Jupiter is a gas giant, mostly composed of compressed hydrogen and helium, with new evidence pointing at a dense core of rock and metal roughly 15 times the mass of the Earth at the centre, more recent findings suggest a more diffuse outer core. About the inner two thirds of Jupiter appears to be composed of Metallic Hydrogen, liquid hydrogen under so much pressure, that the regular diatomic hydrogen H2 (two atoms consisting on one Proton with one electron each) are squashed together so hard that the compressed hydrogen acts as liquid metal as is conductive. Within Jupiter to put is simply, this huge layer of metallic hydrogen is convecting and is generating Jupiter's gigantic magnetosphere, with traps particles from the Sun creating belts of very powerful radiation.
Two of Jupiter's large Galilean moons, Io and Europa orbit within one of these, hence radiation hardened spacecraft are needed to approach these two fascinating and very different moons
Both Io and Europa have been successfully approached by Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and Galileo, these were radiation hardened as the earlier Pioneer 10 way back on Monday 3rd December 1973 was nearly fried by the trapped radiation near Io. It was by sheer luck Pioneer 10 survived but this finding meant all future spacecraft closely approaching Jupiter and the inner moons would be radiation hardened including the current JUNO spacecraft.
Ganymede (Jupiter's and the Solar System's largest and most massive moon) is sometimes inside and at times outside of intense radiation and only the very large Callisto (Jupiter's second largest and the Solar System's third largest moon) out of the very large moons orbits permanently outside of dangerous radiation. All of the four smaller inner moons (Thebe, Amalthea, Adrastea and Metis from outside in) are all within intense trapped radiation. Jupiter's vastly extended family of outer moons (most of which are very small) are all outside of the radiation belts.
The JWST was launched on Christmas Day 2021 on board an Ariane 5 booster from the Kourou Spaceport, French Guiana.
Text: Andrew R Brown.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI. James Webb Space Telescope.
A beautiful James Webb Space Telescope dual image using the near Infrared and Mid Infrared Cameras NIRcam & MIRI Cameras.
The MIRI camera detector had to be cooled to minus 267 Celsius / minus 449 Fahrenheit or 6 Kelvin in order to take mid infrared images!!!!!
The Southern Ring Nebula, NGC 3132 a planetary nebula, the remnants of a dying star that is ejecting it's outer layers. In this case the dying star is actually one of a pair, the binary companion is still at an earlier phase of it's evolution and is still on the Main Sequence. The gravitational forces of the two orbiting around their common centre of gravity gives the nebula a more ovoid shape.
Southern Ring Nebula, NGC 3132, is located about 2,000 light years away from our Solar system within the southern constellation of Vela the Sails.
The JWST was launched on Christmas Day 2021 on board an Ariane 5 booster from the Kourou Spaceport, French Guiana.
Text: Andrew R Brown.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI. James Webb Space Telescope.
Jupiter.
Imaged: Sunday 26th June 2022.
A beautiful James Webb Space Telescope calibrated image @ 2.12 microns using using the near Infrared NIRcam Camera.
The very large Galilean moon Europa is seen to the left, with Europa's shadow seen to the left of the Great Red Spot.
The MIRI (mid infrared) camera detector had to be cooled to minus 267 Celsius / minus 449 Fahrenheit or 6 Kelvin in order to take mid infrared images!!!!!
SKY 'News' obtained these two James Webb Space Telescope views during the commissioning phase. Even from these, it is clear that Jupiter looks very different between the near and mid infrared. Mind you, these images would not have been calibrated as during commissioning. Metis is Jupiter's innermost known moon. Metis is about 60 KM by 40 KM by 34 KM / 37 by 25 by 21 in size with the longest axis permanently pointed towards Jupiter.
Jupiter orbits the Sun once every 11.82 years or 11 years & 315 days at an average distance of 778.57 million KM / 483.78 million miles from the Sun. Jupiter rotates on it's axis once every 9 hours & 56 minutes, the shortest day of any of the planets in our solar system.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, 142,984 KM / 88,846 miles wide through the equator (11.21 times wider than the Earth) and 133,692 KM / 83,082 miles through the poles (10.25 times wider than the Earth). Jupiter is also the most massive planet in our solar system with a mass of 317.8 times that of the Earth or about 1.899 trillion trillion tons (1,898.2 followed by twenty two zeros) and a mean global density of 1.326 g/cm3 (grams per cubic centimetre). Jupiter's rapid rotation causes the equator to bulge out and the polar regions to flatten, hence the somewhat oval shape of Jupiter.
Our own Earth with a diameter of 12,742 KM / 7,917 miles, with a mass of 5,972.2 billion trillion tons (5,972.2 followed by twenty zeros) and a mean global density of 5.517 g/cm3.
Jupiter is a gas giant, mostly composed of compressed hydrogen and helium, with new evidence pointing at a dense core of rock and metal roughly 15 times the mass of the Earth at the centre, more recent findings suggest a more diffuse outer core. About the inner two thirds of Jupiter appears to be composed of Metallic Hydrogen, liquid hydrogen under so much pressure, that the regular diatomic hydrogen H2 (two atoms consisting on one Proton with one electron each) are squashed together so hard that the compressed hydrogen acts as liquid metal as is conductive. Within Jupiter to put is simply, this huge layer of metallic hydrogen is convecting and is generating Jupiter's gigantic magnetosphere, with traps particles from the Sun creating belts of very powerful radiation.
Two of Jupiter's large Galilean moons, Io and Europa orbit within one of these, hence radiation hardened spacecraft are needed to approach these two fascinating and very different moons
Both Io and Europa have been successfully approached by Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and Galileo, these were radiation hardened as the earlier Pioneer 10 way back on Monday 3rd December 1973 was nearly fried by the trapped radiation near Io. It was by sheer luck Pioneer 10 survived but this finding meant all future spacecraft closely approaching Jupiter and the inner moons would be radiation hardened including the current JUNO spacecraft.
Ganymede (Jupiter's and the Solar System's largest and most massive moon) is sometimes inside and at times outside of intense radiation and only the very large Callisto (Jupiter's second largest and the Solar System's third largest moon) out of the very large moons orbits permanently outside of dangerous radiation. All of the four smaller inner moons (Thebe, Amalthea, Adrastea and Metis from outside in) are all within intense trapped radiation. Jupiter's vastly extended family of outer moons (most of which are very small) are all outside of the radiation belts.
The JWST was launched on Christmas Day 2021 on board an Ariane 5 booster from the Kourou Spaceport, French Guiana.
Text: Andrew R Brown.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI. James Webb Space Telescope.
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RASNZ
RASNZ eNews July 2022
President's Message July 2022
Dear Member
As the new RASNZ Council starts to settle into its work, I believe this to be an appropriate time to outline to you some of the actions we have commenced. All of these are being undertaken with a view to continuing to build a diverse and engaged astronomic community in New Zealand and with a renewed focus on being responsive to the specific needs of our diverse community.
Actions undertaken to date include:
Commencing a dialogue with the Professional Astronomy Group - to identify their needs.
Attending, learning from and contributing to the Royal Society of New Zealand’s ‘Forum for Constituent Organisations.
Initiating the soft launch of our new Membership Management System and also our new Website - starting with their announcement in this Newsletter.
Strengthening our relationship with our Affiliated Societies – through a programme of engaging more regularly with them and providing support as needed to them.
Progressing arrangements relating to our 2023 Annual Conference - to be hosted by Auckland Astronomical Society on 3-4 June 2023.
Arranging meetings with each of our Sections and Groups - to build more mutually supportive relationships - starting with Variable Star South in early August.
Evaluating the relaunch of ‘Southern Stars’ – consider becoming a premier, free-to-publish and open access journal that will focus on peer-reviewed articles in line with modern scientific publishing.
Modernising and improving the format of our ‘Newsletter’.
Repositioning ‘Keeping in Touch'.
RASNZ remains an entirely volunteer run society. To facilitate the process of implementing many of the above already commenced initiatives as well as others still in the pipeline, we need more volunteers to help out. We are considering establishing a number of Sub Committees to expedite this, and it’s our intention that these Sub Committees include RASNZ members who are not on the RASNZ Council. If you would like to volunteer to help your Council to make a difference at RASNZ then please feel free to contact me. I can assure you that your contribution will be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely
Nalayini Davies, FRASNZ
President – Royal Astronomical Society of NZ
president@rasnz.org.nz
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Announcements
New Newsletter format
Welcome to this new format newsletter from our Member Management software. This may be the first sign you will see of the many benefits we expect from this new tool for RASNZ to communicate with you and to manage our records of your membership.
You will note there is an unsubscribe option at the foot of the Newsletter. If you don't want to receive further copies please use this option.
Also there is a Newsletter Registration option on our website at: https://www.rasnz.org.nz/applications-forms/newsletter-registration where you can register your interest. You can use this if you need to update your details.
Please let us know if you have suggestions or articles to include in future newsletters. mailto:enews@rasnz.org.nz
Breaking News: We already have a proposal for a new format from the next Newsletter:- watch this space.
New Membership Software
In the next few weeks we will be contacting our members to update your details held in our new software database. You will be able to update your own details directly on line.
Following this there will be an email for members with outstanding subscriptions.
Payments for subscriptions and conference items will be able to be paid on line and will directly connect with the RASNZ financial management software. We will be able to keep our records up to date and report easily to our members.
New RASNZ Website
Another feature of the new software is a Website. This was launched today and is under ongoing development.
The Website replaces our existing site but the main address will remain the same. www.rasnz.org.nz
This website provides us with a modern and attractive site, with easy access for members to check their membership details and to make payments as needed. After the site is launched there will be ongoing development as we transfer information and services from the old site. Keep checking in.
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The Night Sky in August 2022
Bright stars and planets light up the evening sky. Mercury makes its best evening sky appearance of the year in August. At the beginning of the month it appears low in the northwest, setting 70 minutes after the Sun. It makes a close pair with Regulus on the 4th. Regulus is the brightest star in Leo but fainter than Mercury. By the end of August Mercury is setting due west two hours after the Sun. The thin crescent Moon will be near Mercury on the 29th and 30th. Mercury shows only a tiny disc in a telescope.
Saturn appears on the opposite horizon to Mercury an hour after sunset at the beginning of August. It rises four minutes earlier each night. By mid-month it is well above the eastern skyline at dusk. It looks like a medium-bright star with a cream colour. The Moon will be near Saturn on the 12th. Saturn is at its closest distance for the year, 1325 million km away.
Jupiter rises due east after 10 pm at the beginning of August. It is the brightest 'star' in the late night sky and shines with a steady golden light. It also rises earlier each night. By the end of August it appears soon after 8 pm. The near-full Moon will be by Jupiter on the night of the 15th-16th.
Canopus twinkles colourfully on the south skyline. It is the brightest true star in the evening sky and the second-brightest star overall. It is balanced by Vega low in the north. Orange Arcturus is in the northwest, often twinkling red and green as it sets. Vega and Arcturus are the brightest stars north of the equator.
Midway down the southwest sky are 'The Pointers ', Beta and Alpha Centauri. They point down and rightward to Crux the Southern Cross. Alpha Centauri is the third brightest star and the closest of the naked-eye stars. Beta Centauri, like most of the stars in Crux, is a blue-giant star a hundred times further away than Alpha Cen and thousands of times brighter than the Sun.
Antares marks the heart of the Scorpion. The Scorpion's tail hooks around the zenith like a back-to-front question mark. Antares and the tail make the 'fish-hook of Maui' in some Maori star lore. Antares is a red giant star, half as hot as the Sun, hence its orange colour. Below or right of the Scorpion's tail is 'the teapot' made by the brightest stars of Sagittarius. It is upside down in our southern hemisphere view.
The Milky Way is brightest and broadest overhead in Scorpius and Sagittarius. In a dark sky it can be traced down past the Pointers and Crux into the southwest. To the northeast it passes Altair, meeting the skyline right of Vega. The Milky Way is our edgewise view of the galaxy, the pancake of billions of stars of which the Sun is just one. Relatively nearby dust clouds between the stars appear as gaps and slots in the Milky Way. Binoculars show many clusters of stars and some glowing gas clouds in the Milky Way.
The Large and Small Clouds of Magellan LMC and SMC look like two misty patches of light low in the south, easily seen by eye on a dark moonless night. They are galaxies like our Milky Way but much smaller.
Mars rises around 1:30 a.m. It is the same brightness as Saturn but orange-red. At dawn mid-month, Mars is just above the Matariki/Pleaides star cluster. To its right are similar orange stars: Aldebaran in Taurus and Betelgeuse in Orion. The last-quarter Moon will be near Mars on the morning of the 20th.
From places with a low eastern skyline brilliant Venus might be seen in the dawn twilight. It rises 70 minutes before the Sun at the beginning of the month; 30 minutes before at the end. It is leaving us behind as it moves to the far side of the Sun. It will reappear in the western evening sky at the end of the year.
For evening sky charts see rasnz.org.nz .
-- Alan Gilmore
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New RASNZ Website and Member Management
The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand has adopted a new member management system from Sporty NZ. The new RASNZ ...
Read more
RASNZ Conference 2023
The 2023 RASNZ Conference and Annual General Meeting will be hosted by the Auckland Astronomical...
Read more
Capstone
On June 28, 2022, Rocket Lab launched a CubeSat to the Moon - a path-finding mission to support NASA’s Artemis program which will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.
Using their Electron rocket and new Lunar Photon upper stage, Rocket Lab sent the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) CubeSat on a highly efficient transfer orbit to the Moon. CAPSTONE is owned and operated by Advanced Space in Westminster, Colorado, for NASA.
CAPSTONE’s primary objective is to test and verify the calculated orbital stability of a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the Moon, the same orbit planned for Gateway. NASA’s Gateway is a small space station that will orbit around the Moon to provide astronauts with access to the lunar surface. It will feature living quarters for astronauts, a lab for science and research and ports for visiting spacecraft. CAPSTONE will also test a navigation system developed by Advanced Space that will measure its absolute position in cislunar space using interaction with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter without relying on ground stations for navigation support.
CAPSTONE is one of the first steps to learn how to operate more robust missions in this unique orbit, thus laying the groundwork for future exploration of our solar system.
A communication loss occurred on Monday (July 4), shortly after CAPSTONE separated from its Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft bus and began its long solo trek to the moon.
While investigating inconsistent CAPSTONE ranging data noticed by technicians with NASA's Deep Space Network, "the spacecraft operations team attempted to access diagnostic data on the spacecraft's radio and sent an improperly formatted command that made the radio inoperable," NASA officials wrote.
"The spacecraft fault detection system should have immediately rebooted the radio but did not because of a fault in the spacecraft flight software," they added. "CAPSTONE's autonomous flight software system eventually cleared the fault and brought the spacecraft back into communication with the ground, allowing the team to implement recovery procedures and begin commanding the spacecraft again."
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James Webb Space Telescope
The dawn of a new era in astronomy is here as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
The full set of the telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data, which uncover a collection of cosmic features elusive until now, released Tuesday, are available at: https://www.nasa.gov/webbfirstimages
“Today, we present humanity with a groundbreaking new view of the cosmos from the James Webb Space Telescope – a view the world has never seen before,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “These images, including the deepest infrared view of our universe that has ever been taken, show us how Webb will help to uncover the answers to questions we don’t even yet know to ask; questions that will help us better understand our universe and humanity’s place within it.
“The Webb team’s incredible success is a reflection of what NASA does best. We take dreams and turn them into reality for the benefit of humanity. I can’t wait to see the discoveries that we uncover – the team is just getting started!”
NASA explores the unknown in space for the benefit of all, and Webb’s first observations tell the story of the hidden universe through every phase of cosmic history – from neighboring planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets, to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe.
“This is a singular and historic moment,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “It took decades of drive and perseverance to get us here, and I am immensely proud of the Webb team. These first images show us how much we can accomplish when we come together behind a shared goal, to solve the cosmic mysteries that connect us all. It’s a stunning glimpse of the insights yet to come.”
“We are elated to celebrate this extraordinary day with the world,” said Greg Robinson, Webb program director at NASA Headquarters. “The beautiful diversity and incredible detail of the Webb telescope’s images and data will have a profound impact on our understanding of the universe and inspire us to dream big."
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New Zealand Astrophotography Competition
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.
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
-- From the Auckland Astronomical Society's March Newsletter.
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Equivalent to 1,800 tonnes of TNT: what we now know about the meteor that lit up the daytime sky above New Zealand
Meteorites hit New Zealand three or four times a year, but the fireball that shot across the sky above Cook Strait last week was unusual.
It had the explosive power of 1,800 tonnes of TNT and was captured from space by US satellites. It set off a sonic boom heard throughout the southern parts of the North Island.
Witnesses described a “giant bright orange fireball” and a flash that left a “trail of smoke that hung around for a few minutes”.
The fireball was most likely caused by a small meteor, up to a few metres in diameter, traversing Earth’s atmosphere. It was one of only five impacts of greater than a thousand tonnes of energy globally in the past year. Most meteors are tiny, creating “shooting stars” that only briefly skim the atmosphere.
The fragmentation of the meteor produced a shock wave strong enough to be picked up by GeoNet, a network of earthquake seismometers, with a flash bright enough to be recorded by a global lightning-tracking satellite. The Metservice’s Wellington radar picked up the leftover smoke trail south of the tip of the North Island.
But what is the chance of finding any of the its fragments, or meteorites, that dropped to Earth?
As part of Fireballs Aotearoa, a recently established collaboration between the universities of Otago and Canterbury and the astronomy community to track down freshly fallen meteorites, we are deploying specialised night-sky meteor cameras across New Zealand.
Fireballs Aotearoa’s meteor cameras only operate at night, but the compiled witness reports reveal the July 7 fireball travelled from northwest to southeast and most likely fragmented over the ocean. Unfortunately, any meteorites are therefore probably inaccessible.
If a meteor is recorded by several night-sky cameras, then its trajectory can be calculated and any resulting meteorites potentially located. The trajectory also tells us the meteor’s pre-impact orbit, allowing us to estimate where in the Solar System it originated.
To read the full article:
https://theconversation.com/equivalent-to-1-800-tonnes-of-tnt-what-we-now-know-about-the-meteor-that-lit-up-the-daytime-sky-above-new-zealand-186636
For more information on the Fireballs Aotearoa network go to https://fireballs.nz/
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Frank Andrews - 20th May 1939 - 11 July 2022
Sadly, we have to farewell our friend Frank Andrews, who passed away on 11 July 2022. His funeral will be on Friday afternoon 15th July at Saint Marys Church in Silverstream.
Frank was born in Christchurch on 20th May 1939 he was 83 and lived in Christchurch until he joined the Staff at Carter Observatory in 1978.
His school days were at Christs College. He was a School Teacher at Aranui School for a few years and then he taught at Christs College until he moved to Wellington.
While in Christchurch he built a Roll on Roll off roof observatory which was to house his 24" Telescope. The pier is still there. The telescope was never built but he did construct a heavy German Equatorial Mount that was for the telescope.
Much of the Machining for the mount was done at the Water Treatment workshop in Christchurch. Frank did most of the work himself.
The mount was never finished and is not a long way from finishing.
Frank moved to Wellington in 1978 and joined the Carter Observatory as an Educator. He worked at Carter up to 2008 and was a great Planetarium Presenter although the Planetarium was not install until 1993.
Frank was on the Royal Society Council RAS and also the RASNZ council.
He was also collaborating with the Mt Hood Planetarium in Oregon USA.
He spent a lot of time at the Black Birch Observatory in the 1990's doing research for Carter Observatory on Planet X. This involved taking Photos of certain areas of the Night Sky through the 10" Astrograph which was basically two 10" refracting Telescopes.
He used the 16" Boller & Chivens telescope for variable stars while at Black Birch.
Frank loved his photography and was always taking photos of the Night Sky with his Nikon Camera.
Most of the Papers that Frank had written were published through Carter Observatory.
Frank was a very helpful person and would always have time to talk about Astronomical things.
Over the years Frank gave many talks to Schools and was well known for his presentations and was paramount for many School Children to start in Astronomy.
Frank's last tour of duty was during the RASNZ conference in Wellington last year and he can be seen in the Photograph adjusting the 10" Cook Refractor. See below.
Frank will be sadly missed.
Gordon Hudson
From Bob Evans:
I first met Frank at the end of 1958, the first time I attended a meeting of the Canterbury Astronomical Society. He was commenting on some astronomical event, resplendent in his Christ's College uniform. I think he may have been a foundation member of the society. His father was a regular attendee too. Later on Frank was president of CAS and at this time we were developing the Joyce Observatory at West Melton. We were there when Alan Westland officially opened it. During the ensuing years, after I left Chiristchurch, we'd bump into each other occasionally. In about 1970 we traveled to Wellington together on a DC3. I thought it was never going to get into the air but it did: at the end of the runway. I was on the RASNZ Council at the time; I can't remember if Frank was or not. He took me to meet Clive Rowe and also Peter Read and Norman Rumsey. He introduced me to Ivan Thomsen at the Carter Observatory too, but I didn't know who the little man was until later!
In those days we attempted to observe and time grazing occultations. I don't know if we were ever successful. One time we traveled to somewhere near Tai Tapu or Motukarara at the south west end of Banks Peninsula in the early hours of the morning. I went with Frank in his little car; an Austin 7 or something like that. He told me that he had had the pistons planed down so that he could use airplane fuel. To this day I'm not sure whether I believe him or not but nevertheless, when we arrived the others were there. Even before we got out they clustered around the car pointing and oohing and aahing (probably). When Frank and I got out we could see the exhaust manifold still cooling from the bright red that had been noticed through the grills on the bonnet.
Another grazing occultation attempt occurred in the evening after his mother's funeral. Frank and his father accompanied us out to the selected spot, this time on the north side of Banks Peninsula. While his father walked a short distance away to be on his own for awhile the rest of us made the attempt to time the event. I can't remember if we were successful but I do remember feeling that this was possibly the best way for Frank and his father to end what was otherwise a sad day for them.
I was pleased to attend his wedding to Anne. It was a fairly astronomical event so I knew quite a few people there. After that I used to visit them in their flat (well, half a house) at the end of Fendalton Road. The house is still there, exactly as it was when they lived there. It was back door entry only as the hallway to the front door was filled with cameras, lenses and other photo-graphical paraphernalia. His plan was to set up astrophotography at the Joyce Observatory and to that end he built a run off roof observatory. However, they left Christchurch before it was completed. It is now used by the Canterbury Astronomical Society.
Meanwhile, Frank's father remarried and settled in Ashburton. Consequently, Frank visited the town often and became a good friend of the Ashburton Astronomy Group. He often spoke at their meetings.
In later years we had less to do with each other but we knew of each other's activities. The last time I met Frank and Anne was at the New Plymouth RASNZ Conference.
Bob
Frank Andrews adjusting the 10" Cook Refractor at Space Place during the Walk About Tour prior to the RASNZ Conference in Wellington in 2021.
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Tim Homes
RASNZ Member Tim Homes passed away peacefully on July 3, 2022, after a short battle with cancer. Dearly loved husband of Rose; treasured Dad to Emma and Anthony (Australia), Kirsty and Jesse (Ashburton), and Alan; and Grandad to Cooper and Skye. Loved son of the late Patricia (Pat) and Gerald (Gerry), and brother to John, Kathy, Leo (deceased), David, Geraldine (deceased) and Liz. Messages may be sent to flyingkea@gmail.com.
Some words from Dennis Goodman: I've known Tim for over 40 years. In fact Rose quipped recently I'd known Tim for longer than she had! I last saw Tim just 4 days prior to his passing and will be eternally grateful I could make that final visit. Tim and I shared a number of interests, but especially astronomy. Tim and I spent time together on the committee of the Wellington Astronomical Society, and both the local and national committees that organised the conferences of the Royal Astronomical Society of NZ.
In 1993 we shared a flight on the NASA C141 Kuiper Airborne Observatory, the predecessor of SOFIA 747SP currently operating out of Christchurch Airport.
Tim was also a painter in latter years. I am lucky to have two of his paintings. So, fly among the stars, my friend, as you yourself were one stellar guy.
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William Tobin (1953-2022)
Members of RASNZ who knew the Kiwi astronomer, William Tobin, will be saddened to know that William passed away in Vannes, France on Wednesday 6 July after a long illness. He was an astronomer at the University of Canterbury and a former director of Mt John Observatory and is remembered for his definitive biography of the French astronomer Léon Foucault. He served the University for 19 years from April 1987 to April 2006. He was a friend of many in New Zealand. William leaves behind his wife Laurence and two daughters, Lara and Melanie.
William did his first degree in Natural Sciences at Cambridge and then he did master’s and doctoral degrees in observational astronomy at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. This was followed by a postdoc fellowship at St Andrews (1979-82) followed by five years at the Laboratoire d’Astronomie Spatiale in Marseille. William came to Canterbury in April 1987 as a lecturer in astronomy. He loved New Zealand and acquired dual UK and Kiwi nationality.
His academic interest was in the spectra and photometry of blue stars, and he made a special study of beta Pictoris. He also studied eclipsing binary stars. Another interest was the history of astronomy, which led to an extensive study of past transit of Venus expeditions as well as the biography of Foucault (published by Cambridge University Press 2004). William was a regular contributor to Southern Stars with articles and book reviews.
William retired from Canterbury in 2007, but he maintained a close connection with New Zealand, returning on five occasions between 2008 and 2017.
In 2019, William stood as a candidate in the UK general election in Boris Johnson’s constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, in order to protest that as an expat Brit in France, he was ineligible to vote himself. He got five votes, and successfully drew attention to the plight of disenfranchised expats.
For all who knew William Tobin, we will greatly miss his academic excellence as an astronomer, his warm friendship and his wit and repartee. He was a great friend to many in this country. We send our heartfelt condolences to Laurence, and to his daughters Lara and Melanie.
A longer obituary will appear in Southern Stars.
John Hearnshaw
17 July 2022
William Tobin
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Prof. Michael Zeilik
It's with great sadness that I report the passing away of Prof. Michael Zeilik in early June. Older members may recall his visiting New Zealand in the late eighties, under the terms of the US-NZ Cooperative Science Programme. More specifically, the programme was drawn up between the Physics and Astronomy Department of the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque and the Carter Observatory of Wellington, intermediated by the Royal Society of New Zealand.
During a crowded fortnight schedule, Prof Zeilik ("Mike") gave popular talks at local society meetings as well as a research engagement at VUW, Wellington. The programme included his special presentation at the Annual Conference of the RASNZ that was received with great warmth and applause. It also included discussions on a proposal to enhance the observational work of Carter Observatory through then-contemporary advances in instrument automation.
Michael attended Princeton University receiving the Woodrow Wilson and National Science Fellowships, and graduated with honors in 1968. He taught astronomy at Southern Connecticut University while completing his Doctorates in Astrophysics. After receiving his PhD from Harvard in 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, where he became a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at University New Mexico, retiring in 2004.
Michael had a passion for teaching and writing excelling at both. He received numerous accolades for his work and was a frequent conference speaker on teaching science. Michael wrote over 40 published works in 234 publications in 4 languages. In addition to numerous scientific journal publications, Michael authored three Astronomy text books: Evolving Universe, Conceptual Astronomy, and Introduction to Astronomy & Astrophysics. At one time, he was the bestselling astronomy text book author in the world.
Ed Budding.
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Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy - Auckland, 21-23 October 2022
The Aotearoa Astrotourism Academy will host its next course in Auckland, 21-23 October, 2022.
The Academy, AAA, was launched last year by Professor John Hearnshaw, Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at the University of Canterbury, with Nalayini Davies from the Auckland Astronomical Society to satisfy an unmet need in the astronomical community.
The primary goal of AAA is to offer educational courses for current or aspiring astro-tourism night-sky guides, or for anyone interested in navigating the dark night sky and learning more about astronomy.
AAA has assembled a small team of dedicated and expert instructors, and the courses offered cover all aspects of night-sky guiding, star-gazing, how to use a small telescope, astrophotography and the best objects to view in the night sky. AAA hopes to impart some of the basic skills and knowledge considered essential for those working in the fast growing astro-tourism industry. A talk on Matariki and Maori astronomy is also included.
This intensive course comprises lectures, practical sessions (weather permitting for evening observing), workshops and plenty of interactions between instructors and participants. The venue for the Auckland course will be the Commodore’s Room at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, 181 Westhaven Drive, Westhaven Marina, Auckland 1011.
The Auckland AAA school will include:
• an immersive programme of lectures, talks, workshops and night-time observing (weather permitting),
• an evening reception on Friday 21 October,
• morning and afternoon teas and lunch on both Saturday and Sunday.
AAA has chosen Auckland for their fourth AAA course in recognition of the strong local support for protecting dark skies on Auckland’s Aotea/Great Barrier Island, which is an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, from the aspiring and active dark sky community on Waiheke Island and the strong support for dark skies at the Auckland Astronomical Society. AAA wishes to support the growing astrotourism industry in this region of Aotearoa.
Full details of the course are on the AAA website at https://aaanz.org and on-line registrations are now open. Places at the course are limited to about 30.
Contact emails: john.hearnshaw@canterbury.ac.nz and nbrito@vinstar.co.nz
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Participants and instructors at the third AAA school in Martinborough, Wairarapa, 8-10 July 2022. L to R: Gareth Davies, Alan Gilmore, Pam Kilmartin, John Hearnshaw, Antony Gomez, Janine McGruddy, Mike Armour, Lodewijk Henneveld, Nalayini Davies, Kieran Turner, Steve Chadwick, Gavin McLellan, Brian Leighs, Jeremy Taylor, Anthea Prentice, Callum Dickson, Ken Hippolite, Deb Brunning, Jami Parkinson, Karen (Tiggy) Reid, John Drummond, Emily Barraclough. Absent: John Almond.
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Variable Stars South Website
David O’Driscoll the webmaster of the Variable Stars South website is currently undertaking a revamp of the website. It is being based on a new platform which will make it faster to access and easier to use. The opportunity is being taken to refresh the look of the site and revise and up-date much of the content.
The site is currently out of action, but it should be up and running by the beginning of August. As all the new material may not be available when the site is first started up it may be down for short intervals to add new material once it is up and running. Having seen a preview of the new site I am sure people who access it will appreciate the new look and its navigation features.
Alan Baldwin
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Margherita Hack Honoured with Statue
Astronomer Margherita Hack has become the first female scientist honoured with a public statue in Italy. Hack, who was born in 1922 and died in 2013, was a high-profile figure for decades in the country, where she was a prominent science communicator and is credited with inspiring generations of young women to pursue a career in science. The bronze monument, by Italian artist Sissi, was unveiled on 13 June — a day after what would have been Hack’s 100th birthday — next to the main campus of the University of Milan.
In 1964, Florence-born Hack became the first woman to head the Astronomical Observatory of Trieste, a role she held until her retirement in 1987. She was also Italy’s first woman to become full professor in astronomy. She specialized in spectroscopy and stellar evolution, and made frequent appearances on television, communicating science to the public. She was also politically active, campaigning for gay and abortion rights and against the Vatican City’s influence on Italian public life.
The statue shows Hack emerging from a vortex, representing the spiral shape of a galaxy. She is pretending to hold and look through a telescope, an inspirational pose she had taken during a photo shoot. Sissi was one of eight women who had proposed designs for the statue, and was chosen as the winner by a jury. The piece was funded by the non-profit Deloitte Foundation; it joins fewer than 200 public statues of women in Italy.
To mark the astronomer’s 100th birthday, Italy’s postal service released a stamp depicting her.
-- For the original Nature Briefing note, with photos, see:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01665-4
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01665-4
Alan Gilmore
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Comet ephemeris from Alan Gilmore
C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)
This comet may now be bright enough to see in small telescopes. Below are daily positions at 8h UT (8 pm NZST) in July and August.
d h m o m1 d h m o m1
20 16 46.9 -5 48 9 16 15.9 -14 12
21 16 45 -6 13 10 16 14.7 -14 36
22 16 43.2 -6 39 6.9 11 16 13.5 -15 0 6.8
23 16 41.4 -7 4 12 16 12.4 -15 24
24 16 39.7 -7 30 13 16 11.3 -15 48
25 16 37.9 -7 55 14 16 10.3 -16 12
26 16 36.2 -8 21 15 16 9.3 -16 36
27 16 34.5 -8 46 6.9 16 16 8.3 -16 59 6.8
28 16 32.9 -9 12 17 16 7.4 -17 22
29 16 31.3 -9 37 18 16 6.5 -17 46
30 16 29.7 -10 3 19 16 5.6 -18 9
31 16 28.2 -10 28 20 16 4.8 -18 32
1 16 26.7 -10 53 6.8 21 16 4 -18 54 6.7
2 16 25.2 -11 19 22 16 3.2 -19 17
3 16 23.8 -11 44 23 16 2.5 -19 39
4 16 22.4 -12 10 24 16 1.8 -20 2
5 16 21 -12 34 25 16 1.2 -20 24
6 16 19.7 -12 58 6.8 26 16 0.5 -20 46 6.7
7 16 18.4 -13 23 27 16 0 -21 8
8 16 17.1 -13 48 28 15 59.4 -21 30
m1 is the total magnitude, the brightness of a star defocused to the size of the
comet. It is a lot fainter than a focused star of the given magnitude.
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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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A Quote:
One for the amateur astronomers: ‘Amateur’ comes from the Latin word ‘amare’, which means to love. To do things for the love of it." Mozart in the Jungle. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December Celestial Calendar by Dave Mitsky
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Minor Planet Occultation Updates:
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