Thursday 13 May 2010

:MeerKAT, South Africa's new radio telescope takes its first picture


Click to enlarge image

South Africa is building an 80-dish radio telescope - "MeerKAT" - in the Karoo, as part of a global effort to develop the technologies required for the planned Square Kilometre Array.  MeerKAT should be complete around 2013, but the first four dishes have already been connected - for more, visit www.ska.ac.za


Regards
Claire Flanagan
Jhb Planetarium
011-717-1390

Don't miss this one: Venus below the crescent Moon on Sunday evening.

See if you can find Venus in daylight!

The very young crescent Moon will be just above Venus (the very bright "evening star") as the Sun sets on Sunday 16th May.  For a few minutes we'll see the pair of them shining brightly in the darkening sky above the colours of sunset.

Start looking for Venus and the Moon as the Sun sets (while the sky is still light).  As the sky darkens, the two will appear to brighten, and then for about ten minutes they'll be high enough above the horizon to be very bright.  As time passes, they'll move downwards, fade away and set.  If you watch this, you're watching the Earth spin - if you're looking towards sunset, you're moving backwards at 1,500 km/hr (one thousand five hundred km/hr).  We don't feel this movement because it's so smooth.

Venus will change colour a bit and "twinkle" as it gets lower - this is because light from objects out in space low in our sky passes through a lot of atmosphere to get to us, and the air in our atmosphere is moving.

Look also for "Earthshine" on the dark part of the Moon - this is sunlight reflecting off the Earth below the horizon in front of you (the part of the Earth that is still having day), back to the Moon.

And while you're out, take a last look at Orion, over to the left of Venus and the Moon.  By the end of the month, our planet will have moved on around the Sun a bit, and we won't see Orion (it will be on the other side of the Sun from us).  Venus however is now catching up with the Earth, and will be our "evening star" for the next few months.


By Monday evening, the Moon will have moved on a bit.  Moon-observing charts for intermediate phase learners can be downloaded from www.planetarium.co.za

Starcharts are available at www.planetarium.co.za under "In the Sky".


Regards

Claire Flanagan

Jhb Planetarium

011-717-1390

Friday 7 May 2010

S&T in Bloemfontein

Vir kennisname

Ek sien die Sky and Telescope-tydskrif is nou by die Mimosa Mall se Exclusive Books in Bloemfontein beskikbaar,

`n Maand laat en teen `n hele R99.00 per eksemplaar.

Steeds goedkoper om in te teken.

Astronomy (USA) is darem al lankal beskikbaar.

As jy dit gereeld wil kry kan jy vir die toonbankpersoneel vra om maandeliks een vir jou te bêre. 

Groete

Hannes Pieterse

Maak jou waarnemings maklik met dié sagteware

Sagteware wat jou waarnemings baie maklik kan maak. Gaan loer gerus.

Ongelukkig is dit nie gratis nie.


(Nee, ek kry nie iets as vergoeding nie.)

Groete

Hannes Pieterse

Sunday 2 May 2010

Op die waarnemingsplatform

Groete
Hannes Pieterse

Wikisky


Hier is `n wiki waar jy vir ure kan rondspeel. Gaan ontdek self.

- Op die glyskaal links bo vergroot jy die kaart.
- Kliek op die muisikon heel links om na die Beta Skybrowser te gaan. Kliek dan op die afpyltjie (Sien foto hier onder en kies dan van die verskillende opsies wat gebied word.
- Ek weet nie hoe hierdie met Telkom se koperdraad gaan werk nie. Dalk nie! Laat weet asb.
- Kliek op die foto's om te vergroot.

Groete
Hannes Pieterse

Sunday 25 April 2010

The Sky at Night - Sir Patrick Moore

Vir die ouens wat DSTV het: Gaan loer `n bietjie op BBC World News. Sir Patrick Moore se programme The Sky at Night kan interesasante kykstof wees. Dit lyk of dit elke Sondag uitgesaai word.
 
The Sky at Night life. The Sky at Night returns to BBC World News. First of two episodes debating the question of life in the universe...
 
Sunday:25 April

Friday 16 April 2010

Iridium 55 , Dondardagaand om 18:50

Kliek op die foto om te vergroot.


Die afgelope twee aande was daar lekker helder Iridum flitse oor Bloemfontein. Hierdie een was volgens Heavens Above so -5 Magnitude. Omtrent soos `n ontploffing gelyk. Woensdagaand (sonder my kamera) was -8 magnitude. Die voorspelling vir vanaand (Vrydagaand) se flitsende Iridium-satelliet is net -1. Wees op die uitkyk.  

Let op die ligbesoedeling van die stad onder op die foto. Die Suiderkruis (onder)  is ook duidelik sigbaar op die foto.  

Groete
Hannes Pieterse