Open Evening at the Naval Hill Planetarium - Saturday 15 October 2016

Ope-Aand by die Naval Hill Planetarium

 

18:30, Saterdag 15 Oktober 2016  

Die Vriende van Boyden Sterrewag in samewerking met die Sterrekundevereniging nooi die publiek vriendelik uit na hul OPE-AAND op Saterdag 15 Oktober 2016 by die Planetarium op Naval Hill. Toegang is gratis (donasies welkom). Vooraf bespreking is nodig omdat die Planetarium slegs ‘n beperkte aantal mense kan akkommodeer. Mense sal van 18:30 tot 19:00 deur ‘n teleskoop na Saturnus kan kyk en daar sal ook verversings te koop wees, gevolg deur ‘n aanbieding om 19:00:

Navigeer met Sterre

- Braam van Zyl

Open Evening at the Naval Hill Planetarium

18:30, Saturday 15 October 2016

The Friends of Boyden in collaboration with the Astronomical Society cordially invite the public to their Open Evening on Saturday 15 October 2016 at the Planetarium on Naval Hill. Entrance is free (donations welcome). Advance booking is essential since the Planetarium can only accommodate a limited number of people. From 18:30 to 19:00 people will have to opportunity to look at Saturn through a telescope and there will be refreshments for sale, followed by a presentation in Afrikaans at 19:00:

Toegang:  Gratis -  Bespreking nodig

Entrance:  Free - booking essential

Bespreking en navrae / Booking and queries:

Kantoor-ure/Office hours (weekdays):  Yolande Loots, tel. 051 401 9751 (of/or ficky@ufs.ac.za)

Na-ure/After hours:  Prof. Matie Hoffman, tel. 083 625 7154

Naval Hill Planetarium: 7 and 8 October 2016 - International Observe the Moon Night

This is how we will observe the moon on the Android app on Saturday night
(8 October 2016) from the Southern Hemisphere.

• Phases of the Moon Free - Android Apps on Google Play  
  Download and enjoy!
  
   8 October 2016
• International Observe the Moon Night in Bloemfontein (InOMN)
  
  - Join in the fun!
  
•  Tickets at at Computicket. (Search Navall Hill)

Programme:
Naval Hill Planetarium, Bloemfontein
7 and 8 October 2016

Dear Planetarium supporter

Tickets for the weekend of 7 and 8 October 2016 shows are available at Computicket.

7 October 2016, 18:30

Vanaf die aarde na die heelal (Afr)

This voyage through space and time conveys the Universe as revealed to us by science through the ages. Revel in the splendour of the worlds in the Solar System. Travel to the colourful birthplaces and burial grounds of stars. Fly beyond the Milky Way to the unimaginable immensity of myriads of galaxies.

• Weather permitting - ASSA Bloemfontein will have a telescope at the planetarium to observe  the moon. 

8 October 2016, 17:30

Fly me to the moon (Eng)

The moon is our nearest neighbour and the only other celestial body we've set foot on.​ Its orbit around the Earth has a big influence on the planet and it dominates our night sky. The six manned missions to the moon have left more than just footprints, and are still contributing to science today.

• Weather permitting - ASSA Bloemfontein will have a telescope at the planetarium to observe  the moon.

Naval Hill Planetarium - New Horizons: Painting a portrait of Pluto

New Horizons: Painting a portrait of Pluto

Public talk by leading NASA engineer

Place / Plek: Naval Hill Planetarium

Date / Datum: Monday / Maandag 3/10/2016

Time / Tyd: 18:15 for 18:30

Free - No booking required / Gratis - Geen bespreking is nodig nie

Launched in 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft was sent on a decade-long trek to gather data from Pluto, one of the most endeared and debated bodies in our Solar System. After swinging past Jupiter for a gravity boost, the tiny spacecraft gained enough speed to make its closest approach of Pluto on 14 July 2015, and conducted a six-month-long reconnaissance flyby study of the (now) exoplanet and its moons. Because of the distance from Pluto to Earth (five billion kilometres), the massive amount of data collected from the fly-by continues to stream back, offering new insights into Pluto and the space environment at the Solar System’s outermost regions. So what have scientists learned about the enigmatic Pluto? And what does the future hold for the tiny spacecraft? Join NASA Deputy Chief Technologist (Retired), Jim Adams, to find out.

Jim Adams

NASA Deputy Chief Technologist, Retired

  

Jim Adams retired as NASA’s Deputy Chief Technologist in September 2016 to focus on the development of young and emerging innovators and entrepreneurs by encouraging creative processes and innovative thinking. He served in NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC from 2012, where he was responsible for the management of the technology strategy and innovation initiative across the entire agency.

Jim’s more than 25-year career at NASA saw him work on over 30 successful space missions. He was also the recipient of three NASA medals recognising exceptional service, including NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal.

 
Mr Adams’ travel is provided by SKA Africa in support of 2016 World Space Week, 4-10 October 2016.

Jim holds a BSc in Physics from Westminster College and a MSc in Electrical Engineering from Villanova University.

Apparently, he bakes a mean apple pie, but this is yet to be confirmed by a reputable judge in South Africa. 

ScopeX - Annual Telescope & Astronomy Expo - 15 October 2016 - 9am to 9pm

Visit Web site

Download Flyer

Partial eclipse of the Sun in South Africa - Thursday, 1 September 2016

Today, sky watchers in more than 50 African countries witnessed a solar eclipse. On Thursday, 1 |September 2016, the new Moon passed in front of the sun, covering as much as 97% of the solar disk. This is how the sun looked from Bloemfontein, Free state, South Africa at almost maximum partial eclipse.

Visible sunspots are 2581 (left) 2585 (right).

Photographer: Hannes Pieterse
A single image trough an Celestron 11GPS telescope and F/6.3 reducer with Astro solar filter (ND 3.8)
Camera: Canon 40D
Exposure Time: 1/2000
ISO: 400
Date Taken: 2016:09:01 10:55:34
Conditions: Mild Cloud cover.

 Links to the Solar Eclipse (1 September 2016)

• Spaceweather Gallery 
• Animations of the 2016 1 Sep pan-African eclipse, showing where and when the shadow of the Moon passes over the Earth.

Eclipse of the Sun visible in South Africa

 

What will I see?

A solar eclipse is a rare opportunity to see the solar system in action.

For a short time, the Moon will pass between us and the Sun, and instead of seeing the Sun as a round disc, it will have a “bite” out of it. This “bite” is the Moon, and the size of the “bite” changes as the Moon slowly moves along. 

• Visit  the the ASSA website for detailed information

Special shows at the Planetarium during the Arts festival

Spesiale vertonings by die Planetarium tydens die Kunstefees - bespreek by Computicket.
Special shows at the Planetarium during the Arts festival - book at Computicket.

1.5.3 Measuring the field of view (Plan your Observing)

Click on image  to Enlarge (Source: NASA - Chandra X-Ray Observatory )

The simplest method of measuring the field of view relies on the use of a star chart.

Knowing north and east in the sky, you can easily turn your star chart so that the image in the eyepiece corresponds to the chart. Look for two stars that just fit in your field of view, and locate these stars on the star chart. You can now measure this distance on the map and compare it with the scale on the margin of the map to convert your linear measurement to degrees or arc minutes.

Remember that 1 degree (°) = 60 arc minutes (60′) = 3600 arc seconds (3600″). Binoculars typically have fields larger than 4degrees , and telescopes normally give a view smaller than 2degrees.

It is essential to be able to judge angular distances in the sky. The following table lists some angular estimates:

Solar / lunar diameter: ½°
Width of index nail at arms length: 1°
Orion’s Belt: 3°
Short arm of Crux: 4½°
Long arm of Crux: 6°
Width of clenched fist at arm’s length: 10°
Long arm of Diamond Cross: 10°

   Everyday objects can also serve as angular gauges. To determine the apparent angular size of anything in degrees, divide its linear width by its distance from your eye, then multiply by 57. For example, a 30cm ruler held one metre from your eye measures 30 ÷ 100 x 57 = 17°.
  
   A more accurate method to determine the diameter of your field of view involves measuring the time it takes for a star to drift across your field along the east-west line.
  
   This method is only useful for telescopes, since a star will take ages to cross the large field offered by binoculars. Choose any bright star, preferably far from the south pole – a star in Orion’s belt would be a good choice.
  
   Centre the star in your field of view, turn off the drive, and place the star just outside the eastern edge of the field. As the star drifts into view, start your stop-watch. When the star dis appears at the western edge, stop the watch and note down the elapsed time. Repeat this measurement several times and take the average.
  
   If this average time, T, is measured in minutes, then: field of view in arc minutes = 15 x T x cosine( D ), where D is the declination of the star (taken from a star catalogue, or estimated from a starmap).
  
   For example, suppose you measure several transits of Canopus and calculate the average time to be 3.5 minutes. Canopus’ declination is roughly –52.7°. The field of view is then 15 x 3.5 x cos(–52.7) = 15 x 3.5 x 0.6 = 31.5 arc minutes. Thus the field of view is roughly half a degree across.
  
   Make a note of the size of each eyepiece in your logbook, since a given eyepiece used on a specific telescope has a fixed field of view.

Source
- Download - Deepsky Observer's Companion (Pdf)
Deepsky Observer’s Companion (P 13)
Auke Slotegraaf
Director: Deepsky Observing Section,
Astronomical Society of Southern Africa

A little red dot....

Skytools 3 view of the carbon star, DY Cru (feint red dot) with 10" Dobsonian and 10mm eyepiece.

DY Cru. The little red dot that could!

At the 2016 Free State Star Party  Johan Smit  (ASSA Pretoria)  "exposed" us to a feint red dot in the constellation of Crux.


 Most observers use beta Crucis as a beacon  to find nearby NGC 4755, the ‘Jewel Box’ (Kappa Crucis Cluster, NGC 4755, Caldwell 94).

Therefore we miss out on this ruby of the 9th magnitude carbon star within its glow. Nicknamed 'Ruby Crucis. (aka DY Cru, NSV 19481, CCCS 2031, EsB 365)

 From ICEINSPACE

little red star near beta crux

"Ok, given up trying to find the name of the star. It is a little red star near beta crux. You can;t see it with the nude eye but through my 8" Dob it is there. You don;t really notice it unless you are looking for it but in a 12.5mm EP it should be in the same FOV as beta crux. I hope one of you knows which this is."

Go and find it...

Links to explore this little red gem and other carbon stars

•  Chris Forder's Star
• AAVSO light curve for DY Cru
•  Carbon Stars Will Make You See Red
•  Carbon Star Observing Program  (www.astroleague.org)
•  Mimosa or Beta Crux and EsB 365/DY Crucis
• The RASC Calgary Centre - The Reddest Stars in the Sky
• Tour the sky; s reddest stars
• Beta Crucis
• The brightest "very red" stars (Brian Skiff's list of very red stars)
• Carbon Star (Wikipedia)

Photo Gallery: FS Star Party, 3 - 5 June 2016, Gansvlei, Brandfort

Looking South at the FS Star Party in windy conditions.

Photo: Hannes Pieterse. ASSA Bloemfontein.

• More images