Astronomy_News_20_06_2019

This months research Papers 20_06_2019
RASNZ_20_06_2019




The Chaotic Nature of TRAPPIST-1 Planetary Spin States
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.11419

Water delivery to the TRAPPIST-1 planets
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.11298

Brown Dwarf Atmospheres As The Potentially Most Detectable And Abundant Sites For Life
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.11410

Seismic Signals from Waves on Titan's Seas
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.11251

Evolution of the inner core of the earth
https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.13115

"First in, last out" solution to the Fermi Paradox
https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.08425

From cosmic explosions to terrestrial fires?
https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.01501
https://news.ku.edu/2019/03/12/supernovae-zapped-earth-26-million-years-ago-researchers-wonder-if-they-prompted-human
https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2019/06/04/a-supernova-link-to-ancient-wildfires/

On the enlargement of habitable zones around binary stars in hostile environments
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.00201

Typical Climate Perturbations Unlikely to Disrupt Gaia Hypothesis
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.01112

Simulated Phase-dependent Spectra of Terrestrial Aquaplanets in M Dwarf Systems
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.02697

Signatures of planet-planet impacts in systems hosting giant planets
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.03266 

The runaway greenhouse radius inflation effect
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.03527

Frequency of planets orbiting M dwarfs in the Solar neighbourhood
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.04644

Giant Planet and Brown Dwarf Demographics From 10-100 AU
https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.05358

Ultralight Space Telescope Array for Atmospheric Biosignature Surveys
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.05079

Effects of a Binary Companion Star on Planets around an M Star
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.05844

Atmospheric Dynamics on Terrestrial Planets
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.05748





Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand
eNewsletter: No. 222, 20 June 2019
Affiliated Societies are welcome to reproduce any item in this email newsletter or on the RASNZ website www.rasnz.org.nz in their own newsletters provided an acknowledgement of the source is also included.

Contents
1. Satellites Threaten Astronomy
 2. Conference Honours
 3. The Solar System in July
 4. Stargazers Getaway August 30 - September 1
 5. RASNZ Beatrice Hill-Tinsley Lecture Series
 6. 2020 Conference and RASNZ Centenary
 7. Space Weather Section Director Sought
 8. Secretary for National Astronomical Society
 9. New Zealand Starlight Conference
10. Ed Stone of Voyager Awarded Shaw Prize
11. 'Sky & Telescope' Bought by the American Astronomical Society
12. How to Join the RASNZ
13. Kingdon-Tomlinson Fund
14. Quotes
  1. Satellites Threaten Astronomy
In May, SpaceX launched 60 200 kg satellites. Soon amateur astronomers started sharing images of those satellites in night skies, igniting an uproar among astronomers who fear that the planned orbiting cluster will wreak havoc on scientific research and trash our view of the cosmos.

The following is the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) statement about the threat:

Over the past decades, considerable effort has gone into designing, building, and deploying satellites for many important purposes. Recently networks, known as satellite constellations, have been deployed and are planned in ever greater numbers in mainly low-Earth orbits for a variety of purposes, including providing communication services to underserved or remote areas. Until this year, the number of such satellites was below 200, but that number is now increasing rapidly, with plans to deploy potentially tens of thousands of them. In that event, satellite constellations will soon outnumber all previously launched satellites.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is concerned about these satellite constellations. The organisation, in general, embraces the principle of a dark and radio-quiet sky as not only essential to advancing our understanding of the Universe of which we are a part, but also as a resource for all humanity and for the protection of nocturnal wildlife. We do not yet understand the impact of thousands of these visible satellites scattered across the night sky and despite their good intentions, these satellite constellations may threaten both.

The scientific concerns are twofold. Firstly, the surfaces of these satellites are often made of highly reflective metal, and reflections from the Sun in the hours after sunset and before sunrise make them appear as slow-moving dots in the night sky. Although most of these reflections may be so faint that they are hard to pick out with the naked eye, they can be detrimental to the sensitive capabilities of large ground-based astronomical telescopes, including the extreme wide-angle survey telescopes currently under construction. Secondly, despite notable efforts to avoid interfering with radio astronomy frequencies, aggregate radio signals emitted from the satellite constellations can still threaten astronomical observations at radio wavelengths. Recent advances in radio astronomy, such as producing the first image of a black hole or understanding more about the formation of planetary systems, were only possible through concerted efforts in safeguarding the radio sky from interference.

The IAU is a science and technology organisation, stimulating and safeguarding advances in those areas. Although significant effort has been put into mitigating the problems with the different satellite constellations, we strongly recommend that all stakeholders in this new and largely unregulated frontier of space utilisation work collaboratively to their mutual advantage. Satellite constellations can pose a significant or debilitating threat to important existing and future astronomical infrastructures, and we urge their designers and deployers as well as policy-makers to work with the astronomical community in a concerted effort to analyse and understand the impact of satellite constellations. We also urge appropriate agencies to devise a regulatory framework to mitigate or eliminate the detrimental impacts on scientific exploration as soon as practical.

The IAU’s Commission B7 Protection of Existing and Potential Observatory Sites welcomes the opportunity to work proactively with everyone involved in these efforts.
 ---------------------
See the full IAU statement with explanatory footnotes at https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann19035/
See also
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/01/science/starlink-spacex-astronomers.html
  2. Conference Honours
The Murray Geddes Prize was awarded to Antony Gomez, the current President of the Wellington Astronomical Society.  The nominators noted that Antony has been very heavily involved in our local astronomical community for 20 years.  Among his activities he has developed very strong links with local schools; established a regular ‘Astronomy Club’ at Hutt City Library; held many outreach events, generally on the Wellington waterfront, which attract hundreds, including many tourists; doubled the membership of WAS, with many younger and active members; set up a Facebook presence for WAS which has led to significant publicity of activities to especially younger people; assisted the Student Space Society become established; been a significant contributor to the Space and Science Festival and actively supported the establishment of the Martinborough Dark Sky Society.

----------
 John Drummond was made a fellow of the RASNZ at the Annual General Meeting.  John is Immediate Past President RASNZ and long-serving President of the Gisborne Astronomical Society. John was Director of the RASNZ Astrophotography Section, 2005-2018, and has been Director of the RASNZ Comet and Meteor Section since 2006. Along with Professor John Hearnshaw, John has run the SWAPA competition for the last three years. He was also a moderator of the Digital-Astro Yahoo Group (with over 10,000 members) for five years and organised numerous annual NZ-wide astrophotography competitions – which were displayed at RASNZ conferences.

John runs several telescopes and cameras at Possum Observatory, IAU Code E94, near Gisborne. From there he has helped discover over a dozen exoplanets in conjunction with the Ohio State University – including the unusual 2-Earth-massed planet orbiting a binary star which helped astronomers rethink planetary formation models. He does astrometry of comets and has worked with the British Astronomical Association (Richard Miles) in monitoring enigmatic comet 29P (Schwassmann/Wachmann) for a decade. John observed southern hemisphere meteor showers in the 1970s, to help confirm the list of southern radiants created by NZer R.A McIntosh and is the only regular New Zealand observer to submit observations to the International Meteor Organisation. He was the most prolific visual observer of comets in New Zealand in the late 1990s-2000s.

John is listed as an author in over 60 journal publications as well as appearing in many Minor Planet Electronic Circulars; had a section dedicated to his work in Martin Mobberly’s book, ‘Hunting and Imaging Comets’ (Springer 2011), and is a contributing editor for the ‘Australian Sky and Telescope’ magazine.

Among John's outreach activities include a monthly astronomy presentation on a Gisborne radio station and numerous public night star gazing events. He helped organise (with Gordon Hudson) the highly successful Central Star Parties in the mid-1990s 2000s. John produces the RASNZ's ‘Keeping in Touch’ and the ‘In Touch with the Sky’ and ran early morning Matariki viewing/singing/public speaking events for ten years.  John trained 20 adults at Aotea Great Barrier Island International Dark Sky Sanctuary, enabling them to provide astro-tourism services. He provided sky measurements before and after the implementation of LED lights in Gisborne which were used in an international survey.
  3. The Solar System in July
Dates and times shown are NZST (UT + 12 hours).  Rise and Set times are for Wellington. They will vary by a few minutes elsewhere in NZ.  Data is adapted from that shown by GUIDE 9.

THE SUN and PLANETS in JULY, Rise & Set,  Mag. & Cons.
            July 1     NZST            July 31     NZST
      Mag  Cons    Rise    Set     Mag  Cons    Rise    Set
SUN  -26.7  Gem   7.45am  5.04pm  -26.7  Cnc   7.28am  5.26pm
Merc   1.1  Cnc   9.08am  7.00pm    2.2  Gem   6.23am  4.24pm
Venus -3.9  Tau   6.55am  4.10pm   -3.9  Cnc   7.21am  5.02pm
Mars   1.8  Cnc   9.07am  6.38pm   .1.8  Leo   8.07am  6.18pm
Jup   -2.6  Oph   3.18pm  6.16am   -2.4  Oph   1.11pm  4.08am
Sat    0.1  Sgr   5.33pm  8.28am    0.2  Sgr   3.24pm  6.22am
Uran   5.8  Ari   2.39am  1.15pm    5.8  Ari  12.45am 11.19am
Nep    7.9  Aqr  10.39pm 11.26am    7.8  Aqr   8.39pm  9.27am
Pluto 14.4  Sgr   5.51pm  8.47pm   14.4  Sgr   3.50pm  6.47am

               July 1  NZST               July 31  NZST
Twilights    morning     evening        morning     evening
Civil:    start 7.16am, end  5.33pm   start 7.01am, end 5.54pm
Nautical: start 6.42am, end  6.08pm   start 6.28am, end 6.27pm
Astro:    start 6.08am, end  6.41pm   start 5.55am, end 7.00pm

      JULY PHASES OF THE MOON, times NZST (& UT)
  New moon:      July 3 at  7.16am (July 2, 19:16 UT)
  First quarter: July 9 at 10.55pm (10:55 UT).
  Full Moon:     Jun 17 at  9.38am (Jul 16, 21:38 UT)
  Last quarter   Jun 25 at  1.18pm (01:18 UT).

A total eclipse of the Sun occurs on July 2 (July 3 NZ time).  The path of totality arcs across the South Pacific starting at sunrise several degrees east of New Zealand.  It ends just south of Buenos Aries at sunset.

A partial umbral eclipse of the moon occurs a fortnight later.  Only the very early stages of the penumbral eclipse are visible from New Zealand.  Australia, especially the west, sees more of the eclipse.

More information about both eclipses can be found on the RASNZ web site.

PLANETS in July

MERCURY and MARS start July as very early evening objects, quite close to one another.  An hour after sunset on the 1st it may be possible to glimpse Mercury some 9° above the horizon and 35° to the north of due west, as seen from Wellington.  Mars will be even lower and a little fainter.  Mercury in particular will get lower each following evening, particularly after it is stationary on the 7th.  The following evening Mars will move past it to become the higher object.

Mercury is at inferior conjunction on the 21st when it will be 5° south of the Sun.  After conjunction Mercury moves into the morning sky, but will remain too close to the Sun for observation during the rest of July.

VENUS rises 50 minutes before the Sun on the 1st and only 7 minutes before it on the 31st.  Thus it is a difficult morning object all month.

Meanwhile Mars, still in the evening sky and the Sun will slowly get closer, making it impossible to see the planet.

The presence of the moon on the 4th as a very thin crescent less than 2 days old and just below Mars will be a challenge to see.

JUPITER and SATURN are well placed for viewing during July, especially by mid evening.  Jupiter will be higher in the evening sky, although by the 31st the two planets will be at similar altitudes at 10pm, with Jupiter further west than Saturn.

Saturn is at opposition on July 10 at 5 am.

The path of this month's occultation of Saturn by the moon takes place on the 16th.  It misses New Zealand by a very small amount, the outer limit of the graze path just touching North Cape where the event occurs at 5.50 pm, a few hours before full moon.  The Sun will be only 3° below the horizon.

The moon passes Jupiter on the morning of July 14.  For NZ the two are 4° apart, shortly before moonset about 5 am.

PLUTO is close behind Saturn, rising slightly later.  It is at opposition 5 days later than Saturn.

URANUS is a morning object in Aries.

NEPTUNE, in Aquarius, rises well before midnight by the end of July.


BRIGHTEST ASTEROIDS in JULY, mag. const. time of transit

               JULY 1     NZDT      JULY 31    NZST
               Mag  Cons  transit    Mag  Cons  transit
(1)  Ceres     7.8   Lib   9.43pm    8.4   Lib   7.42pm
(2)  Pallas    9.4   Boo   7.22pm    9.8   Boo   5.47pm
(4)  Vesta     8.3   Cet   8.16am    8.1   Ari   6.57am
(15) Eunomia   9.3   Aqr   3.32am    8.5   Aqr...1.17am
(18) Melpomene 9.3   Sct  12.23am    9.6   Ser   9.58pm

CERES is in Libra about 16° west (left) of Jupiter. The asteroid is stationary mid month when its apparent motion reverts to easterly.

PALLAS is an evening object in Bootes.  The asteroid will be 15 arc-minutes, half the diameter of the full moon, from eta Boo, mag 2.7, on the evening of July 25.  At the end of July Pallas will be just over 4° from Arcturus.

VESTA is in the morning sky, rising by 1.30 am on the 31st.  It moves into Aries a day earlier.

EUNOMIA brightens to magnitude 8.5 during July.  At the end of the month, the asteroid will be 45 arc-minutes from beta Aqr, mag 2.9.

MELPOMENE is at opposition on July 1.  Following opposition it starts to fade again.  On the 17th Melpomene crosses into Serpens.

-- Brian Loader
  4. Stargazers Getaway August 30 - September 1
The North Otago Astronomical Society Inc, would like to invite you to Stargazers Getaway 2019, over the weekend of, Friday August 30th to Sunday September 1st at Camp Iona in Herbert.

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

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

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

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

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

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

-- From Keeping in Touch #32, 6th May 2019.
  6. 2020 Conference and RASNZ Centenary
The 2020 Conference will be held 8-10 May at Wellington with the Wharewaka Function Centre the venue (near the Michael Fowler Centre) in downtown Wellington.  The Wellington Astronomical Society is hosting this conference.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yours,
Nicholas Rattenbury, RASNZ President.
  8. Secretary for National Astronomical Society
 The Royal New Zealand Astronomical Society (RASNZ) is seeking a suitable person to take on the voluntary role of Secretary.  This is an important role within RASNZ. The new appointee will be a key member of RASNZ helping administer and make strategic decisions for RASNZ.

 No formal qualifications or prior experience in a similar role are necessary, and, this role does not preclude holders of positions in other astronomical societies. However, knowledge of RASNZ rules
(https://www.rasnz.org.nz/images/articleFiles/Council/Rules2015.pdf), history and operations would be beneficial to performing the duties.  Templates created by former holders of this position will be made available.  This role can be undertaken entirely from the home office but attendance at the RASNZ Council's AGM held once a year at the RASNZ annual conference is strongly encouraged.

 The responsibilities of the Secretary include:

 (i) Receive and send physical and electronic correspondence on behalf of the RASNZ, document it and draw appropriate people's attention to the
correspondence;

 (ii) Compile the Council's Annual Report and prepare it for approval by the Council in time for publication in the March issue of Southern Stars, and
 (iii) Maintain a record of meetings and motions, both physical and electronic.

 This offers a great opportunity for someone to contribute to the nationwide support and promotion of astronomy, science education and related research.

 Contact: Nick Rattenbury (nicholas.rattenbury@gmail.com)
 President - RASNZ
  9. New Zealand Starlight Conference
Planning for the New Zealand Starlight Conference is progressing well. The conference will take place this year at Lake Tekapo and will discuss all aspects of dark skies protection, combatting light pollution, astro-tourism, astro-photography, lighting technology, the aesthetics of the starry night sky, the health and environmental issues of light pollution and much more. The dates will be 20 – 23 October 2019.

We have confirmed nine outstanding keynote speakers, with a tenth to be confirmed in the near future. These speakers are:

Babak Tafreshi, Massachusetts, of TWAN, the World at Night, the renowned astro-photographer;

Dr Paul Bogard, author of The End of Night, associate professor of English at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, where he teaches creative writing and environmental literature;

Dr Fabio Falchi, author of the New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, a renowned researcher on light pollution, from the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute (ISTIL) in Italy;

Dr George ‘Bud’ Brainard, world expert on the effects of light on biological and behavioral responses of animals and humans; co-author of the American Medical Association report in 2016 Human and Environmental Effects of Light Emitting Diode (LED) Community Lighting, from Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA

Dr Richard Wainscoat, astronomer at the University of Hawaii, an expert on preserving the dark night sky at observatories in the era of LED lighting

Ruskin Hartley, Executive Director of the International Dark Sky Association in Tucson, AZ, USA

Dr Antonia Varela, Director of the Fundación Starlight, and researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, Tenerife, Spain

Dr Karen Arthur, an Australian expert on the environmental impacts of light pollution, from the Ministry of the Environment, Canberra, Australia

Dr Rangi Matamua, expert on Maori astronomy from the University of Waikato, Hamilton NZ. He will talk about Matariki and Maori astronomy.

Karen Trevino, Chief, Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, US National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA (her participation is to be confirmed)

Many other speakers have offered talks on a wide range of topics based on lighting technology, light pollution and its health and environmental impacts, stargazing and astrotourism. This will therefore be a highly multidisciplinary conference.

A theme of the Starlight Conference is ‘towards the first dark-sky nation’. To this end we are encouraging people from New Zealand’s already accredited dark sky places, and representatives from all aspiring dark sky places (about a dozen of them) to participate in the conference. We plan to run a workshop with experts from the International Dark-Sky Association on how to become a dark sky place with IDA accreditation.

Our website is up and running and gives all information you will need to register for the NZ Starlight Conference 2019. Please visit https://starlightconference.org.

The NZ Starlight Conference has been registered as an official IAU100 event.

We hope to see you in Tekapo this October. Please let me know if you can come and present a paper.

-- John Hearnshaw
Chair, Organizing Committee, NZ Starlight Conference
  10. Ed Stone of Voyager Awarded Shaw Prize
The Shaw Prize in Astronomy 2019 is awarded to Edward C. Stone, David Morrisroe Professor of Physics and Vice Provost for Special Projects, California Institute of Technology, USA, for his leadership in the Voyager project. The latter has, over the past four decades, transformed our understanding of the four giant planets and the outer Solar System, and has now begun to explore interstellar space. This prestigious award is one way in which the Shaw Prize promotes astronomy, a goal shared by the International Astronomical Union (AU). The two organisations have a collaboration agreement which, among other things, involves promotion of astronomy in education through the Annual Shaw–IAU Workshop Astronomy for Education.

The Voyager project consists of two spacecraft launched by NASA in August and September 1977 to explore the outer Solar System. Both spacecraft flew past Jupiter and Saturn in the period 1979–1981, and Voyager 2 also visited Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989. For the foreseeable future, Voyager 2 will remain the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus and Neptune. These unique data are particularly important for the study of exoplanets, since Uranus and Neptune now appear to be more representative of the bulk of the exoplanet population than the other Solar System planets.

The highlights of the encounters from Voyager’s journey include:

    The discovery that Jupiter’s satellite Io has many volcanoes, powered by tidal heating of Io’s interior;
    The first images of the rings of Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, and the discovery of complex structure in Saturn's rings, including gaps, narrow ringlets, density and bending waves, and transient “spokes”;
    The first high-resolution images of the four giant planets in the Solar System, as well as their larger satellites, and the discovery of almost two dozen new satellites;
    The discovery that Uranus and Neptune have magnetic fields, and these fields differ from those of other Solar System planets in that the magnetic pole is strongly tilted and offset relative to the north pole or spin axis. Voyager also provided our first data on the magnetospheres — extended atmospheres of ionized gas — surrounding these planets, including size, density, composition, and plasma waves. It also showed that Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune all have aurorae in their upper atmospheres;
    The first detailed measurements of the atmospheres of Saturn's satellite Titan and Neptune’s satellite Triton;
    The discovery that Neptune radiates about 2.5 times as much energy as it receives from the Sun. The nature of this energy source is not yet understood;
    Measurements of the composition, winds, temperature and pressure profiles of the planetary atmospheres; in particular Voyager showed that Neptune’s atmosphere has winds of up to 2000 km/h and a vast storm system called the Great Dark Spot;
    Voyager dramatically improved our knowledge of the masses, sizes, shapes, and gravitational fields of all the giant planets and many of their satellites.
    Each spacecraft carried a “golden record” containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth and intended to be played only if Voyager encountered an advanced spacefaring civilization.
    Voyager 1 looked back to take a famous “family portrait” of the planets including the image of Earth known as the “pale blue dot”, which became an icon for how small we are in the larger Universe.

Voyager 1 is now 145 times as far from us as the Sun and has become the most distant human artefact, while Voyager 2 is the second most distant. Many of their instruments continue to send back valuable data, more than forty years after the launch date. After this long voyage, the spacecraft has finally reached the outer boundary of the Solar System.

There are several possible ways to define the “boundary” of the Solar System, but the most natural one is the heliopause. The heliopause marks the end of the heliosphere, where the wind of ionized gas emitted by the Sun is finally halted by the pressure from interstellar gas. Inside the heliopause, space is filled by low-density material from the Sun, while outside the heliopause it contains material from other stars. Voyager 1 and 2 crossed the heliopause in 2012 and late 2018, respectively, and returned data on the velocity, density, temperature and other properties of the ambient plasma as the spacecraft crossed into interstellar space. This was the final major milestone of the Voyager mission.

Although many scientists and engineers have devoted much or most of their careers to Voyager, the dominant figure in the mission is Edward C. Stone, who has served as Project Scientist from 1972 to the present — over 45 years — and is also in charge of one of the spacecraft’s 11 instruments. During the planetary flybys, he became internationally known as the public spokesman for Voyager, and explained Voyager’s scientific discoveries to the public with remarkable lucidity and scientific authority.

For images see https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1906/?lang
Ed Stone
  11. 'Sky & Telescope' Bought by the American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) has agreed to acquire Sky & Telescope (S&T) magazine and its related business assets, including the skyandtelescope.com website, SkyWatch annual, digital editions, astronomy-themed tours, and S&T-branded books, sky atlases, globes, apps, and other stargazing products.

S&T's current owner, the magazine- and book-publishing company F+W Media, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2019 after what court filings described as six years of poor strategy and management at the corporate level. The AAS, the major organization of professional astronomers in North America and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, was the winning bidder for S&T in a bankruptcy auction process that concluded on Monday, 17 June, pending approval by all parties to the transaction, final documentation, filing of final sales agreements and schedules with the bankruptcy court, and a successful closing process.

The AAS anticipates that S&T's staff of editors, designers, illustrators, and advertising sales representatives will become AAS employees but will continue to work out of the magazine's offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The AAS is headquartered in Washington, DC, but already has about a dozen remote staff members scattered from coast to coast. As it accomplishes the operational transitions needed to publish S&T, the Society anticipates making few if any changes to the editorial content or the way the magazine operates, and subscribers should see no interruption in its monthly delivery schedule. Enhancements and new products and services are likely in the future; these will be developed in partnership with the magazine's editors and readers and with the Society's members and other stakeholders.

"The synergies between our two organizations are many and strong," says Peter Tyson, Editor in Chief of Sky & Telescope. "Many AAS members grew up on S&T, and we regularly report on the discoveries made by AAS members."

Sky & Telescope was founded in 1941 through the merger of two earlier magazines: The Sky, produced at New York's Hayden Planetarium, and The Telescope, published first at Ohio's Perkins Observatory then later at Harvard College Observatory. The business was employee-owned until 2006, when the staff sold it to the craft-and-hobby publisher New Track Media, which in turn sold it to F+W in 2014.

Before he became AAS Press Officer in 2009, astronomer Rick Fienberg worked at S&T for 22 years, serving from 2001 to 2008 as Editor in Chief. Upon learning of F+W's financial difficulties, he suggested that the magazine could be a good fit for the AAS, which publishes two of the leading peer-reviewed journals in the field - the Astronomical Journal (AJ) and the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ) - and which recently created an Amateur Affiliate category of membership for backyard astronomers, many of whom collaborate on scientific research with their professional counterparts. AAS Executive Officer Kevin Marvel agreed and wrote a detailed proposal to the Board of Trustees, who unanimously endorsed the idea of trying to acquire S&T's business assets, not only because of S&T's close strategic alignment with the Society's own goals, but also because it would enhance the AAS's ability to connect with amateur astronomers and the general public.
-- Abridged from an AAS email to members.
  12. How to Join the RASNZ
RASNZ membership is open to all individuals with an interest in
astronomy in New Zealand. Information about the society and its
objects can be found at
http://rasnz.org.nz/rasnz/membership-benefits
A membership form can be either obtained from treasurer@rasnz.co.nz or
by completing the online application form found at
http://rasnz.org.nz/rasnz/membership-application
Basic membership for the 2018 year starts at $40 for an ordinary
member, which includes an electronic subscription to our journal
'Southern Stars'.
  13. 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.  Applications are now invited
for grants from the Kingdon-Tomlinson Fund.  The application should
reach the Secretary by 1 November 2018.  Full details are set down in
the RASNZ By-Laws, Section J.
For an application form contact the RASNZ Executive Secretary,
secretary@rasnz.org.nz
  14. Quotes
  In explaining June's 'Strawberry Moon' "Space agency NASA said the Moon will position itself opposite the Moon, fully illuminating its Earth-facing side."  As quoted in 18 June Daily Mail science page.

  ”On the evening of the 15th of April a magnetic storm of unusual force prevailed over the entire northern section of the country, which so seriously affected the operation of the wires that, on some circuits, they could only be worked by taking off the batteries and employing the auroral current instead.  The effects of this great disturbance of the earth's magnetism was manifested with particular power upon the wires between New York and Boston, and for several hours the lines upon this route depended entirely upon this abnormal power for their working current."  -- Scientific American, June 1869, quoted in S.A. June 2019, p. 71.

  "As for zeal, nobody has any zeal about arithmetic. It is not the vaccinationists but the anti-vaccinationists who generate zeal. Zeal is a bad mark for a cause." -- Harold Nicolson, January 1951.
  Alan Gilmore               Phone: 03 680 6817
P.O. Box 57                alan.gilmore@canterbury.ac.nz
Lake Tekapo 7945
New Zealand
 





June Celestial Calendar by Dave Mitsky

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

6/1 The Moon is 3.1 degrees south-southeast of Venus at 21:00
6/2 The Moon is 7.9 degrees south-southeast of the bright open cluster M45 (the Pleiades or Subaru) in Taurus at 13:00
6/3 Mercury is at its greatest heliocentric latitude north today; asteroid 2 Pallas is stationary at 2:00; the Moon is 2.3 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 6:00; New Moon (lunation 1193) occurs at 10:02
6/4 The Moon is 3.7 degrees south of Mercury at 17:00
6/5 A double Galilean satellite shadow transit (Ganymede’s shadow precedes Io’s) begins at 0:29; the Moon is 1.6 degrees south of Mars at 15:00; the Moon is at the ascending node (longitude 107.9 degrees) at 23:00
6/6 Mercury is 1.2 degrees north of the bright open cluster M35 in Gemini at 1:00; the Moon is 6.2 degrees south of the first-magnitude star Pollux (Beta Geminorum) at 10:00
6/7 The Moon makes a close approach to the bright open cluster M44 (the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe) in Cancer at 8:00; the Moon is at perigee, subtending 32' 26" from a distance of 368,504 kilometers (228,978 miles), at 23:15
6/8 The Moon is 3.0 degrees north-northeast of the first-magnitude star Regulus (Alpha Leonis) at 22:00
6/9 Venus is 5.1 degrees south-southeast of the bright open cluster M45 at 5:00
6/10 The Purbach Cross or Lunar X, an X-shaped illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to be visible at 4:17; First Quarter Moon occurs at 5:59; Jupiter (magnitude -2.5, apparent size 46.0") is at opposition at 16:00
6/12 A double Galilean satellite shadow transit (Io’s shadow precedes Ganymede’s) begins at 3:33; the Moon is 7.3 degrees north-northeast of the first-magnitude star Spica (Alpha Virginis) at 18:00
6/13 The equation of time, which yields the difference between mean solar time and apparent solar time, equals 0 at 10:00
6/14 The earliest sunrise of the year at latitude 40 degrees north occurs today
6/15 The Moon is 0.9 degree north of dwarf planet/asteroid 1 Ceres, with an occultation taking place in Japan, northern and eastern China, northeastern Kazakhstan, and central and eastern Russia, at 15:00
6/16 The Moon is 7.8 degrees north-northeast of the first-magnitude star Antares (Alpha Scorpii) at 5:00; the Moon is 2.0 degrees north-northeast of Jupiter at 20:00
6/17 The earliest morning twilight of the year at latitude 40 degrees north occurs today; Full Moon, known as the Rose or Strawberry Moon, occurs at 8:31; Venus is 5.0 degrees north of the first-magnitude star Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) at 21:00
6/18 Mercury (magnitude +0.2) is 0.2 degree north of Mars (magnitude +1.8) at 14:00
6/19 The Moon is at the descending node (longitude 287.6 degrees) at 2:00; the Moon is 0.4 degree south of Saturn, with an occultation taking place in southern Africa, the Antarctic Peninsula, southern South America, and Easter Island, at 4:00; the Moon is 0.1 degree south of Pluto, with an occultation taking place in western South America, Central America, southern Polynesia, southern Micronesia, northeastern Australia, and Melanesia, at 11:00; Mercury is 5.4 degrees south-southwest of Pollux at 14:00
6/21 Mars is 5.5 degrees south of Pollux at 8:00; the Sun reaches an ecliptic longitude of 90 degrees and the northern hemisphere summer solstice occurs at 15:56
6/22 The Sun enters Gemini, at longitude 90.43 degrees on the ecliptic, at 3:00; Neptune is stationary at 4:00
6/23 The Moon is at apogee, subtending 29' 32" from a distance of 404,548 kilometers (251,375 miles), at 7:50; Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation (25 degrees) at 23:00
6/24 The latest evening twilight of the year at latitude 40 degrees north occurs today; the Moon is 3.6 degrees south-southeast of Neptune at 4:00
6/25 Last Quarter Moon occurs at 9:47
6/26 Mercury is at the descending node today; the Curtiss Cross, an X-shaped illumination effect located between the craters Parry and Gambart, is predicted to be visible at 6:33
6/27 The latest sunset of the year at latitude 40 degrees north occurs today
6/28 The Moon is 4.5 degrees south-southeast of Uranus at 2:00
6/29 The Moon is 7.9 degrees south-southeast of the bright open cluster M45 at 23:00
6/30 The Moon is 2.3 degrees north of Aldebaran at 15:00

Giovanni Cassini (1625-1712), John Dollond (1706-1761), Charles Messier (1730-1817), William Lassell (1799-1880), George Ellery Hale (1868-1938), and Carolyn Shoemaker (1929) were born this month.

The British astronomer Edmund Halley discovered M13 on June 1, 1714. The French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille discovered the globular cluster M55 on June 16, 1752. A transit of the Sun by Venus was observed by Austrian, British, and French astronomers from various parts of the world on June 6, 1761. The French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the globular cluster M14 on June 1st, 1764, the emission and reflection nebula M20 (the Trifid Nebula) on June 5, 1764, and the open cluster M23 on June 20, 1764. The globular cluster M62 was discovered by Charles Messier on June 7, 1771. The French astronomer Pierre Méchain discovered his first deep-sky object, the spiral galaxy M63 (the Sunflower Galaxy), on June 14, 1779. The German/English astronomer William Herschel discovered the globular cluster NGC 6288 on June 24, 1784. Neptune was independently discovered by the British astronomer John Couch Adams on June 5, 1846. The Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati discovered Comet C/1858 L1 (Donati), the first comet to be photographed, on June 2, 1858. A large storm on Saturn was observed by the American astronomer E. E. Barnard. The Tunguska event occurred on June 30, 1908. The largest known solar flare was recorded on June 27, 1984. The Georgian astronomer Givi Kimeridze discovered a Type Ia supernova in the spiral galaxy M58 on June 28, 1989. Namaka, a satellite of the dwarf planet Haumea, was discovered on June 30, 2005. Kerberos, Pluto’s fourth satellite, was discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope team on June 28, 2011.

The minor Boötid meteor shower (5 per hour) peaks on the morning of June 27th. The source of Boötid meteors is the periodic comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke. The radiant lies in northern Boötes at right ascension 14 hours 56 minutes, declination 48 degrees. Browse http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/junebootids.html http://www.spaceweather.com/meteors/junebootids.html for additional information.

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

The Moon is 26.9 days old, is illuminated 7.6%, subtends 30.3 arc minutes, and is located in Cetus on June 1st at 0:00 UT. The June lunar month is 29 days 09 hours 14 minutes in length. The Moon is at its greatest northern declination of +22.2 degrees on June 6th and at its greatest southern declination of -22.3 degrees on June 19th. Longitudinal libration is at a maximum of +5.1 degrees on June 16th and a minimum of -5.2 degrees on June 2nd and -6.1 degrees on June 29th. Latitudinal libration is at a maximum of +6.8 degrees on June 27th and a minimum of -6.7 degrees on June 12th. New Moon occurs on June 3rd. On June 7th, the Moon passes very near the bright open cluster M44. The Moon is at perigee on June 7th (distance 57.78 Earth-radii) and at apogee on June 23rd (distance 63.43 Earth-radii). The Moon occults 1 Ceres on June 15th and Saturn and Pluto on June 19th from certain parts of the world. See http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm for information on lunar occultations taking place this month. Visit http://saberdoesthestars.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/saber-does-the-stars/ http://saberdoesthestars.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/saber-does-the-stars/ for tips on spotting extreme crescent Moons. Click on http://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2019/june http://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/2019/june for a lunar phase calendar. Times and dates for the lunar light rays predicted to occur this month are available at http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm http://www.lunar-occultations.com/rlo/rays/rays.htm

The Sun is located in Taurus on June 1st. It enters Gemini on June 22nd. The Sun reaches its farthest position north for the year on June 21st. There are 15 hours and one minute of daylight at latitude 40 degrees north on June 21st, the day of the summer solstice. At latitude 40 degrees north, the earliest sunrise occurs on June 14th and the latest sunset on June 27th.. For an explanation of why this occurs, click on https://earthsky.org/?p=4027 https://earthsky.org/?p=4027

Brightness, apparent size, illumination, distance from the Earth in astronomical units, and location data for the planets and Pluto on June 1st: Mercury (-1.1, 5.5", 87% illuminated, 1.23 a.u., Taurus), Venus (magnitude -3.8, 10.5", 94% illuminated, 1.59 a.u., Aries), Mars (magnitude +1.8, 3.9", 98% illuminated, 2.43 a.u., Gemini), Jupiter (magnitude -2..6, 45.8", 100% illuminated, 4.30 a.u., Ophiuchus), Saturn (magnitude +0.3, 18.0", 100% illuminated, 9.25 a.u., Sagittarius), Uranus on June 16th (magnitude +5.9, 3.4", 100% illuminated, 20.49 a.u., Aries), Neptune on June 16th (magnitude +7.9, 2.3", 100% illuminated, 29.82 a.u., Aquarius), and Pluto on June 16th (magnitude +14.2, 0.1", 100% illuminated, 32.93 a.u., Sagittarius).

Mercury and Mars are in the northwest and Jupiter is in the southeast in the evening sky. At midnight, Jupiter lies in the south and Saturn lies in the southeast. Venus in the northeast, Jupiter and Saturn can be found in the southwest, Uranus in the east, and Neptune in the southeast at dawn.

Mercury grows in apparent size from 5.5 to 9.2 arc seconds but decreases in magnitude from -1.1 to +0.9. Mercury reaches its highest heliocentric latitude on June 3rd. On June 4th, a very thin two-day-old waxing crescent Moon passes four degrees south of the planet at sunset. Mercury is located 1.2 degrees north of the bright open cluster M35 on June 8th. Mercury and Mars are separated by 28 arc minutes on June 17th and just 18 arc minutes during their closest conjunction in 13 years on June 18th. Mercury shines at magnitude +0.2, which is five times brighter than the Red Planet, and subtends 7.4 arc seconds, which is twice the apparent size of Mars at the time. As June progress, Mercury climbs higher into the sky and Mars loses altitude. The speediest planet reaches its greatest eastern elongation on June 23rd, when it is located at an altitude of 11 degrees 30 minutes after sunset.

Brilliant Venus and the waning crescent Moon lie six degrees apart and six degrees above the horizon 30 minutes before sunrise on June 1st. The planet is at an elongation of 20 degrees at the time. Aldebaran is approximately five degrees to the lower right of Venus on the morning of June 18th. Venus is just three degrees above the horizon one half-hour before the Sun rises on June 30th.

During June, Mars shines faintly at magnitude +1.8 and shrinks to 3.7 arc seconds, just three arc seconds larger than Uranus. The waxing crescent Moon passes 1.6 degrees south of Mars on June 5th. Mars and Mercury undergo a very close conjunction on June 18th.

Jupiter reaches opposition on June 10th. At that time, it shines at magnitude -2.5, subtends 46.0 arc seconds, has a declination of -22 degrees, and is 36 light minutes from the Earth. The waxing gibbous Moon passes two degrees north of Jupiter on June 16th. An article on observing Jupiter appears on pages 52 and 53 of the May 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope. Browse http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ or http://www.projectpluto.com/jeve_grs.htm http://www.projectpluto.com/jeve_grs.htm in order to determine transit times of Jupiter’s central meridian by the Great Red Spot. GRS transit times are also available on page 50 of the June 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope. Javascript Jupiter at http://www..shallowsky.com/jupiter/ http://www.shallowsky.com/jupiter/ shows Galilean satellite events. Data on the Galilean satellite events can also be found on page 51 of the June 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope and at https://www.projectpluto.com/jevent.htm#jun and http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/

Saturn rises at about 11:00 p.m. local daylight time on June 1st. The planet shines at magnitude +0.2 and subtends 18.2 arc seconds at its equator, while its rings span 41 arc seconds and are inclined 24 degrees. The waxing gibbous Moon passes less than one degree south of Saturn, with an occultation occurring in some parts of the world, on June 19th. Eighth-magnitude Titan passes north of Saturn on the mornings of June 13th and June 29th and south of the planet on the mornings of June 5th and June 21st. For information on Saturn’s satellites, browse http://www.skyandtelescope..com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/ http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/

By the end of the month, Uranus rises at about 2:00 a.m. local daylight time. The ice giant is situated in southern Aries, some ten degrees south of the first-magnitude star Hamal (Alpha Arietis) and 2.4 degrees south of the sixth-magnitude star 19 Arietis. The waxing gibbous Moon passes five degrees north of Uranus on June 27th. Visit http://www.bluewaterastronomy.info/resources/Maps/Charts-2019/09uranus_2019_1.pdf http://www.bluewaterastronomy.info/resources/Maps/Charts-2019/09uranus_2019_1.pdf and http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/uranus.htm#finderchart http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/uranus.htm#finderchart for finder charts.

Neptune rises shortly after 1:00 a.m. local daylight time by mid-June. The eighth planet lies 1.2 degree east-northeast of the fourth-magnitude star Phi Aquarii on June 1st. Neptune reaches its first stationary point on June 22nd, when it will be less than 1.5 degrees northeast of Phi Aquarii and less than 0.5 degree south of the sixth-magnitude star 96 Aquarii. The waning gibbous Moon passes four degrees south of Neptune on June 24. Browse https://s22380.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/UrNep-2019-2020.pdf https://s22380.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/UrNep-2019-2020.pdf and http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/neptune.htm#finderchart http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/neptune.htm#finderchart for finder charts.

Finder charts for Uranus and Neptune are available at https://s22380.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/UrNep-2019-2020.pdf https://s22380.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/UrNep-2019-2020.pdf

Pluto resides in northeastern Sagittarius. The waxing gibbous Moon passes 0.1 degree south of Pluto, with an occultation occurring in some parts of the world, on June 19th. Finder charts can be found at http://www.bluewaterastronomy.info/resources/Maps/Charts-2019/Pluto2019.jpg http://www.bluewaterastronomy.info/resources/Maps/Charts-2019/Pluto2019.jpg and on pages 48 and 49 of the July 2019 issue of Sky & Telescope and page 243 of the RASC Observer’s Handbook 2019.

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

Comet C/2018 N2 (ASASSN) travels northeastward through northeastward through northeastern Cetus during June. The faint comet lies about 1.5 degrees to the east of the fourth-magnitude star Xi Ceti on June 30th. Visit http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/ http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/ and http://www.aerith.net/comet/future-n.html http://www.aerith.net/comet/future-n.html for information on comets visible this month.

Shining at ninth magnitude, asteroid 2 Pallas glides southeastward through eastern Coma Berenices this month. It lies about two degrees to the west of the sixth-magnitude star 2 Boötes on June 21st. The main belt asteroid passes very close to similarly bright stars on June 12th and June 26th.. Asteroids brighter than magnitude +11.0 that reach opposition this month include 410 Chloris (magnitude +10.3) on June 14th, 22 Kalliope (magnitude +10.8) on June 15th, and 914 Palisana (magnitude +10.8) on June 28th. Information on asteroid occultations taking place this month is available at http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2019_06_si.htm http://www..asteroidoccultation.com/2019_06_si.htm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Forty binary and multiple stars for June: Struve 1812, Kappa Bootis, Otto Struve 279, Iota Bootis, Struve 1825, Struve 1835, Pi Bootis, Epsilon Bootis, Struve 1889, 39 Bootis, Xi Bootis, Struve 1910, Delta Bootis, Mu Bootis (Bootes); Struve 1803 (Canes Venatici); Struve 1932, Struve 1964, Zeta Coronae Borealis, Struve 1973, Otto Struve 302 (Corona Borealis); Struve 1927, Struve 1984, Struve 2054, Eta Draconis, 17-16 Draconis, 17 Draconis (Draco); 54 Hydrae (Hydra); Struve 1919, 5 Serpentis, 6 Serpentis, Struve 1950, Delta Serpentis, Otto Struve 300, Beta Serpentis, Struve 1985 (Serpens Caput); Struve 1831 (Ursa Major); Pi-1 Ursae Minoris (Ursa Minor); Struve 1802, Struve 1833, Phi Virginis (Virgo)

Notable carbon star for June: V Coronae Borealis

Fifty deep-sky objects for June: NGC 5466, NGC 5676, NGC 5689 (Bootes); M102 (NGC 5866), NGC 5678, NGC 5879, NGC 5905, NGC 5907, NGC 5908, NGC 5949, NGC 5963, NGC 5965, NGC 5982, NGC 5985, NGC 6015 (Draco); NGC 5694 (Hydra); NGC 5728, NGC 5791, NGC 5796, NGC 5812, NGC 5861, NGC 5878, NGC 5897 (Libra); M5, NGC 5921, NGC 5957, NGC 5962, NGC 5970, NGC 5984 (Serpens Caput); M101, NGC 5473, NGC 5474, NGC 5485, NGC 5585, NGC 5631 (Ursa Major); NGC 5566, NGC 5634, NGC 5701, NGC 5713, NGC 5746, NGC 5750, NGC 5775, NGC 5806, NGC 5813, NGC 5831, NGC 5838, NGC 5846, NGC 5850, NGC 5854, NGC 5864 (Virgo)

Top ten deep-sky objects for June: M5, M101, M102, NGC 5566, NGC 5585, NGC 5689, NGC 5746, NGC 5813, NGC 5838, NGC 5907

Top five deep-sky binocular objects for June: M5, M101, M102, NGC 5466, NGC 5907

Challenge deep-sky object for June: Abell 2065




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

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

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

Events of particular ease or importance below are marked: *****
In particular, note the Kalliope occultation of mag 8.0 star on the 27th.

Jun 1 2010GX34: No update for this 13.5 mag Centaur event.

Jun 1 (79969) No update for this 14.3 mag Centaur event across northern Australia.

Jun 1 (193) AMBROSIA: Star Mag 12.4, Max dur 4.1 sec, Mag Drop 2.6
Somewhat uncertain path across New Zealand, passing near Gisborne.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190601_193_60246_u.htm

Jun 3 Jupiter: Jupiter occults 9.4 mag HIP 84543.

Jun 5 (360) CARLOVA: Star Mag 11.0, Max dur 8.2 sec, Mag Drop 2.8
Path across New Zealand, then across south-eastern New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, passing over Whangarei, Bega, Shepparton, Bendigo and Kingston SE.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190605_360_60278_u.htm

Jun 5 (914) PALISANA: Star Mag 9.5, Max dur 6.4 sec, Mag Drop 1.9
Slightly uncertain path across New Zealand, passing near Nelson and Westport.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190605_914_60280_u.htm

Jun 6 (108) HECUBA: Star Mag 12.2, Max dur 3.2 sec, Mag Drop 1.9
West Australia, South Australia and New South Wales.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190606_108_60286_u.htm

Jun 6 (957) CAMELIA: Star Mag 11.4, Max dur 7.8 sec, Mag Drop 3.1
Path across outback West Australia.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190606_957_60288_u.htm

Jun 6 (914) PALISANA: Star Mag 12.4, Max dur 6.3 sec, Mag Drop 0.3
Slightly uncertain path across Queensland passing over Maryborough, Bundaberg and Rockhampton.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190606_914_60290_u.htm

Jun 7 (129) ANTIGONE: Star Mag 11.4, Max dur 4.8 sec, Mag Drop 1.2
Path across New Zealand, passing over Christchurch.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190607_129_60294_u.htm

Jun 8 (1197) RHODESIA: Star Mag 10.8, Max dur 4.5 sec, Mag Drop 2.7
Slightly uncertain path across Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, West Australia and Northern Territory, passing over Orbost, near Albury-Wodonga and Broome.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190608_1197_60302_u.htm

***** Jun 8 (114) KASSANDRA: Star Mag 11.3, Max dur 12.1 sec, Mag Drop 1.2
Southern New South Wales, north-eastern Victoria, southern South Australia and south-western West Australia, passing over Wollongong, Goulburn, Canberra, Wagga Wagga and Adelaide.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190608_114_60304_u.htm

Jun 8 2014JV80: TNO event

Jun 9 (661) CLOELIA: Star Mag 12.4, Max dur 4.8 sec, Mag Drop 1.9
Slightly uncertain path across New Zealand, passing over Nelson.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190609_661_60310_u.htm

***** Jun 9 (79) EURYNOME: Star Mag 11.9, Max dur 6.4 sec, Mag Drop 0.7
Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia, passing over Townsville.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190609_79_60312_u.htm

Jun 10 (978) AIDAMINA: Star Mag 12.4, Max dur 8.6 sec, Mag Drop 2.9
South-central Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190610_978_60326_u.htm

Jun 10 (323) BRUCIA: Star Mag 10.2, Max dur 2.8 sec, Mag Drop 3.1
Somewhat uncertain path across northern Queensland and Northern Territory, passing over Mackay, Mount Isa and Tennant Creek.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190610_323_62798_u.htm

Jun 11 (856) BACKLUNDA: Star Mag 12.0, Max dur 5.3 sec, Mag Drop 1.8
Slightly uncertain path across New South Wales and South Australia, passing over Byron Bay and Port Lincoln.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190611_856_60336_u.htm

Jun 12 (791) ANI: Star Mag 11.8, Max dur 27.2 sec, Mag Drop 1.9
New South Wales, South Australia and West Australia, passing over Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Coonabarrabran and Port Pirie.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190612_791_60352_u.htm

Jun 12 2002GV32: Plutino event

***** Jun 12 (564) DUDU: Star Mag 10.7, Max dur 5.8 sec, Mag Drop 2.8
Somewhat uncertain path across Queensland, Northern Territory and South Australia, passing over Cairns.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190612_564_60356_u.htm

Jun 12 (11) PARTHENOPE: Star Mag 11.9, Max dur 25.7 sec, Mag Drop 0.2
Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia, passing over Proserpine, Mount Isa and Exmouth.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190612_11_60358_u.htm

Jun 12 (331) ETHERIDGEA: Star Mag 12.5, Max dur 6.8 sec, Mag Drop 1.7
Path across New Zealand, passing over Christchurch.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190612_331_60360_u.htm

***** Jun 13 (161) ATHOR: Star Mag 8.9, Max dur 4.6 sec, Mag Drop 4.8
Path across New Zealand, passing over Westport.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190613_161_60368_u.htm

***** Jun 13 (336) LACADIERA: Star Mag 9.4, Max dur 2.2 sec, Mag Drop 5.3
West Australia, South Australia, northern Victoria and southern New South Wales, passing over Swan Hill, Albury-Wodonga and Merimbula.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190613_336_62800_u.htm

Jun 14 (406) ERNA: Star Mag 11.8, Max dur 5.2 sec, Mag Drop 2.5
Slightly uncertain path across northern New South Wales, northern South Australia and southern West Australia, passing over Coffs Harbour and Geraldton.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190614_406_60372_u.htm

Jun 14 (28978) IXION: Plutino event.

Jun 15 (747) WINCHESTER: Star Mag 12.1, Max dur 11.6 sec, Mag Drop 1.2
Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia, passing over Harvey Bay and Bundaberg.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190615_747_60382_u.htm

Jun 15 (201) PENELOPE: Star Mag 12.4, Max dur 10.2 sec, Mag Drop 0.4
Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190615_201_60384_u.htm

Jun 16 (914) PALISANA: Star Mag 12.5, Max dur 6.1 sec, Mag Drop 0.2
Slightly uncertain path across New Zealand, north-eastern New South Wales, Queensland and Northern Territory, passing over Gisborne, Hamilton, Coffs Harbour, Mount Isa and Katherine.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190616_914_60394_u.htm

Jun 17 (179) KLYTAEMNESTRA: Star Mag 10.8, Max dur 6.6 sec, Mag Drop 1.6
Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia, passing over Mackay and Mount Isa.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190617_179_60404_u.htm

***** Jun 18 (349) DEMBOWSKA: Star Mag 8.2, Max dur 5.9 sec, Mag Drop 3.6
Northern Territory, Queensland and New Zealand, passing over Rockhampton, Harvey Bay, Whangarei and Coromandel.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190618_349_60416_u.htm

***** Jun 19 (410) CHLORIS: Star Mag 10.4, Max dur 16.3 sec, Mag Drop 0.7
New Zealand, Victoria and South Australia, passing over Whakatane, Bairnsdale, Melbourne and Ballarat.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190619_410_60426_u.htm

Jun 19 (287) NEPHTHYS: Star Mag 11.9, Max dur 6.3 sec, Mag Drop 1.1
Path across southern far south-western West Australia, southern South Australia, north-western Victoria and New South Wales, passing over Albany, Victor Harbor, Swan Hill, Canberra and Ulladulla.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190619_287_60428_u.htm

Jun 20 (856) BACKLUNDA: Star Mag 12.5, Max dur 5.5 sec, Mag Drop 1.6
Slightly uncertain path across Queensland and South Australia, passing near Rockhampton and Ceduna.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190620_856_60436_u.htm

Jun 20 2014JT80: TNO event

Jun 20 (328) GUDRUN: Star Mag 11.0, Max dur 9.5 sec, Mag Drop 2.9
Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190620_328_60440_u.htm

Jun 21 (679) PAX: Star Mag 10.9, Max dur 4.5 sec, Mag Drop 2.0
Queensland and South Australia, passing over Bundaberg.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190621_679_60452_u.htm

Jun 22 (179) KLYTAEMNESTRA: Star Mag 10.9, Max dur 6.7 sec, Mag Drop 1.6
Across Tasmania and West Australia, passing over Hobart and Geraldton.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190622_179_60462_u.htm

Jun 22 (79) EURYNOME: Star Mag 12.1, Max dur 5.5 sec, Mag Drop 0.5
Across Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia, passing over Rockhampton and Carnarvon.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190622_79_60466_u.htm

Jun 22 (586) THEKLA: Star Mag 12.2, Max dur 6.6 sec, Mag Drop 1.8
Northern Queensland, northern Northern Territory and northern West Australia.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190622_586_60468_u.htm

Jun 23 (386) SIEGENA: Star Mag 12.3, Max dur 17.2 sec, Mag Drop 0.6
New Zealand, southern New South Wales, northern Victoria and southern South Australia, passing over Whangarei, Canberra and Kingston SE.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190623_386_60478_u.htm

Jun 24 (746) MARLU: Star Mag 10.6, Max dur 18.0 sec, Mag Drop 3.5
Southern Tasmania
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190624_746_60492_u.htm

Jun 25 (259) ALETHEIA: Star Mag 12.0, Max dur 15.8 sec, Mag Drop 1.3
Northern and eastern Queensland, north-eastern New South Wales and the South Island of New Zealand, passing over Toowoomba, Casino, Greymouth and Christchurch.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190625_259_60496_u.htm

Jun 25 (648) PIPPA: Star Mag 11.3, Max dur 4.5 sec, Mag Drop 3.8
Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia, running from Sarina to Shark Bay.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190625_648_60500_u.htm

Jun 25 (245) VERA: Star Mag 9.5, Max dur 10.2 sec, Mag Drop 3.4
West Australia, Northern Territory and northern Queensland, passing over Tennant Creek, Ingham and Cardwell.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190625_245_60502_u.htm

***** Jun 27 (22) KALLIOPE: Star Mag 8.0, Max dur 14.1 sec, Mag Drop 3.1
Path across Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia, passing over Maryborough, Bundaberg and Broome.
This object has a moon orbiting around 1100km away but no prediction for it is available. Additionally, the star is double.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190627_22_60516_u.htm

Jun 29 (1197) RHODESIA: Star Mag 11.5, Max dur 7.2 sec, Mag Drop 2.6
Somewhat uncertain path across New Zealand, passing near Palmerston North, Napier and Hamilton.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190629_1197_60536_u.htm

Jun 29 (471) PAPAGENA: Star Mag 12.1, Max dur 8.6 sec, Mag Drop 0.4
Southern Queensland and Northern Territory.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190629_471_60538_u.htm

Jun 29 (754) MALABAR: Star Mag 11.5, Max dur 8.3 sec, Mag Drop 2.8
New South Wales, South Australia and West Australia, passing over Forster, Dubbo, Broken Hill, Port Augusta and Albany.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190629_754_60540_u.htm

Jun 29 (406) ERNA: Star Mag 12.1, Max dur 4.2 sec, Mag Drop 2.1
Slightly uncertain path across north-western Tasmania.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190629_406_60542_u.htm

Jun 30 (147) PROTOGENEIA: Star Mag 11.5, Max dur 11.9 sec, Mag Drop 1.6
Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia, passing over Sarina, Mackay and Mount Isa.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190630_147_60554_u.htm

***** Jun 30 (371) BOHEMIA: Star Mag 10.7, Max dur 5.6 sec, Mag Drop 1.7
Across New Zealand, Flinders Island and south-western West Australia, passing over Westport, Greymouth, Mandurah and Rockingham.
Details: http://occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/190630_371_60556_u.htm

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

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

Peter Litwiniuk

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