[Astronews] IAAS Monthly Astronomy Newsletter

[IAAS Monthly Astronomy Newsletter]

IAAS Monthly Astronomy Newsletter
December 2012



The International Association for Astronomical Studies provides this newsletter as a service for interested persons worldwide.






This newsletter is published on the World Wide Web at http://www.ki0ar.com/astro.html - The Home of KI0AR - and is received nationally and internationally. A PDF formatted downloadable version of the newsletter is at http://www.ki0ar.com/current_nl.pdf.

An Open Invitation - For amateur radio operators and scanner enthusiasts, when in the Denver metro area, please join the Colorado Astronomy Net on the Rocky Mountain Radio League's (http://rmrl.hamradios.com/) 146.94 MHz repeater on Tuesday nights at 7 P.M. local time.

Special Notice to Denver, CO area residents and visitors to the area: The Plains Conservation Center in Aurora hosts Full Moon Walks every month, weather permitting, on or near the night of the full Moon. Visit http://www.plainsconservationcenter.org for more information and directions.

Excerpts from JPL mission updates are provided as a public service as part of the JPL Solar System Ambassador / NASA Outreach program. http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/index.html

In This Newsletter...

The Month At-A-Glance	3

The Moon	3

The Planets & Dwarf Planets	4

Astronomical Events	6

Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions	8

Mars Missions	12

Links and Other Space News	16

Acknowledgments and References	18

Subscription Information	18

Keep looking UP!	19


The Month At-A-Glance
A calendar displaying the daily astronomical events.

The Moon


Phases:
* Last Quarter Moon occurs on the 6th.
* New Moon occurs on the 13th.
* First Quarter Moon occurs on the 20th.
* Full Moon occurs on the 28th.

* The Moon is at Perigee on the 12th, 221,876 miles from Earth.
* The Moon is at Apogee on the 25th, 252,337 miles from Earth.

Moon/Planet Pairs:
Jupiter passes 5° north of Aldebaran on the 7th.
The Moon passes 0.8° south of Spica on the 9th.
The Moon passes 4° south of Spica on the 9th.
The Moon passes 1.6° south of Venus on the 11th.
The Moon passes 1.1° south of Mercury on the 11th.
The Moon passes 0.2° north of Pluto on the 14th.
The Moon passes 6° north of Mars on the 15th.
Mercury passes 6° north of Antares on the 17th.
The Moon passes 6° north of Neptune on the 18th.
The Moon passes 5° north of Uranus on the 20th.
Venus passes 6° north of Antares on the 23rd.
The Moon passes 0.4° south of Jupiter on the 25th.

For reference: The Full Moon subtends an angle of 0.5°.


The Planets & Dwarf Planets
Planetary Reports are generated by "TheSky" software. (http://www.ki0ar.com/planrpts.html) These reports provide predicted data for the planets on the first of each month for the current year. The rise and set times for the Sun and the Moon for each day of the month are also included in the reports. These reports have been optimized for the Denver, Colorado location, however, the times will be approximate for other locations on Earth.

(All times are local unless otherwise noted.)

* Planetary Highlights for December
 - Jupiter dominates the evening sky all month and is at its best for the year. Mars can be spotted very soon after the Sun sets, however, observers will need an unobstructed horizon to the west. Uranus and Neptune are also visible through small telescopes in the early evening. Venus shines prominently in the morning sky along with Mercury and Saturn. The Geminids meteor shower peaks mid-month the the Ursids meteor shower peaks just before Christmas. 

* Mercury
 - Is at greatest western elongation (21° above the eastern horizon) on the 4th. Look for Mercury low in the east before sunrise. Mercury rises about 5:19 a.m. on the 1st and about 6:45 a.m. by month's end. Mercury moves from the constellation of Libra into Sagittarius shining at magnitude -0.3.

* Venus
 - Is visible in the early morning sky before sunrise. Venus rises at 4:40 a.m. on the 1st and about 5:49 a.m. by month's end. Venus moves from the constellation of Libra into Ophiuchus shining at magnitude -3.9.

* Earth
 - The Winter Solstice occurs on the 21st at 6:12 a.m. EST.

* Mars
 - Is relatively stationary this month. Mars sets at 6:41 p.m. on the 1st and about 6:39 p.m. by month's end. Look to the west to spot the Red Planet about 10° above the western horizon soon after sunset. A clear horizon will be needed to spot Mars. Mars moves from the constellation of Sagittarius into Capricornus shining at magnitude 1.2.

* Jupiter
 - Is at opposition on the 2nd. Jupiter is at its best for the year. Jupiter rises at 4:36 p.m. on the 1st and about 2:20 p.m. by month's end. Jupiter dominates the entire night sky this month. By the time Jupiter is low in the west, look to the east to spot Venus,

Mercury and Saturn in the east. Jupiter is in the constellation of Taurus shining at magnitude -2.8.

Saturn
- Rises at 4:14 a.m. on the 1st and about 2:26 a.m. by month's end. Look for Saturn in the east before sunrise. Saturn moves from the constellation of Virgo into Libra shining at magnitude 0.7.

Uranus
- Sets at 1:43 a.m. on the 1st and about 11:37 p.m. by month's end. Uranus will be high in the southwest soon after the Sun sets and will be visible all evening. Uranus is in the constellation of Pisces shining at magnitude 5.8.

Neptune
- Sets at 10:48 p.m. on the 1st and about 8:49 p.m. by month's end. Look for Neptune in the early evening to the west soon after sunset. Neptune is in the constellation of Aquarius shining at magnitude 7.9. 

Dwarf Planets
Ceres
- Rises at 5:46 p.m. on the 1st and about 3:05 p.m. by month's end. Look for Ceres in the east in the evening soon after the Sun sets. Ceres moves from the constellation of Gemini into Taurus shining at magnitude 7.7.

Pluto
- Is in conjunction with the Sun on the 30th. Pluto is lost in the twilight glow this month and is not visible. Pluto is in the constellation of Sagittarius.

As always, good luck at spotting these two, a large telescope and dark skies will be needed.

Astronomical Events

Meteor Showers

The Geminids
- This shower is active during the period December 6 to December 19. Upon reaching maximum activity during December 13 to 14, hourly rates are typically near 80. The meteors are described as rapid and yellowish, with about 4% displaying persistent trains. They possess an average magnitude of 2.4.

The Ursids
- Occurring primarily between December 17 and 24, this meteor shower reaches maximum on December 22. The maximum hourly rate is usually between 10 and 15. Meteors belonging to this stream are typically faint.

* For more information about Meteor Showers, visit Gary Kronk's Meteor Showers Online web page at http://meteorshowersonline.com/.

Comets

* Comet C/2012 K5 LINEAR is traveling through the constellations of Ursa Major and Canes Venatici this month. This comet is expected to glow around 10th or 11th magnitude, so dark skies will be needed. The best time to catch comet K5 will be during the first 2 weeks of December.During the second week of the month, try to spot K5 passing near the Whirlpool Galaxy M51.

* For information, orbital elements and ephemerides on observable comets visit the Observable Comets page from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/Ephemerides/Comets/index.html).

* For more information about Comets, visit Gary Kronk's Cometography.com web page at http://cometography.com/.

Eclipses
* No eclipse

Observational Opportunities
* Jupiter dominates the evening sky all month.
* Venus, Mercury and Saturn are prominent in the morning sky before sunrise.
* The Geminids meteor shower peaks on the morning of the 13/14th.


Asteroids
(From west to east)
* Pallus is in the constellation of Cetus.
* Dembowska is in the constellation of Taurus.
* Vesta is at opposition on the 9th in the constellation of Taurus.
* Metis is in the constellation of Gemini.

* Information about the Minor Planets can be found at http://www.minorplanetobserver.com the Minor Planet Observer web site.

Occultations
* Information on various occultations can be found at http://lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm , the International Occultation Timing Association's (IOTA) web site.
Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions
(Excerpts from recent mission updates)


* Cassini - November 28, 2012
Swirling Storms on Saturn





"NASA's Cassini spacecraft has been traveling the Saturnian system in a set of inclined, or tilted, orbits that give mission scientists a vertigo-inducing view of Saturn's polar regions. This perspective has yielded images of roiling storm clouds and a swirling vortex at the center of Saturn's famed north polar hexagon.

These phenomena mimic what Cassini found at Saturn's south pole a number of years ago. Cassini has also seen storms circling Saturn's north pole in the past, but only in infrared wavelengths because the north pole was in darkness. (See http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsreleases/newsrelease20081013/ .) But, with the change of the Saturnian seasons, the sun has begun to creep over the planet's north pole.

This particular set of raw, unprocessed images was taken on Nov. 27, 2012, from a distance of about 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Saturn.

More raw images are available at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/index.cfm ."

Cassini Imaging Team's website - http://ciclops.org.

For the latest mission status reports, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The speed and location of the spacecraft can be viewed on the "Present Position" web page.
(http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/operations/present-position.cfm)




* New Horizons - November 28, 2012
Halfway Between Uranus and Neptune, New Horizons Cruises On

"Today the Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft passed the halfway point between the orbits of Uranus and Neptune, zooming past another milepost on its historic trek to the planetary frontier.

New Horizons, launched in January 2006 and set to visit the Pluto system in July 2015, is the first spacecraft to cross this distant region since NASA's Voyager probes in the late 1980s. New Horizons is now more than 25 astronomical units from Earth – one AU being the distance between the Earth and sun, 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. New Horizons crossed the orbit of Uranus on March 18, 2011. It'll pass the orbit of Neptune on Aug. 25, 2014 – exactly 25 years after Voyager 2 made its historic exploration of that planet. The distance between the orbits of the two gas giants is about a billion miles.

So far, New Horizons has traveled more than 2.3 billion miles since launch. Pluto itself is a "mere" 711 million miles (1.14 billion kilometers) away from the spacecraft – nearly eight times the distance between Earth and the sun – and currently closer to New Horizons than any other planet."

Find New Horizons in the iTunes App Store here. (http://itunes.com/apps/newhorizonsanasavoyagetopluto)

New Horizons gallery http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/.

For more information on the New Horizons mission - the first mission to the ninth planet - visit the New Horizons home page: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/.

* Dawn - October 31, 2012
Dawn Sees "Young" Surface on Giant Asteroid



"Like a Hollywood starlet constantly retouching her makeup, the giant asteroid Vesta is constantly stirring its outermost layer to present a young face. Data from NASA's Dawn mission show that a form of weathering that occurs on the moon and other airless bodies we've visited in the inner solar system does not alter Vesta's outermost layer in the same way. Carbon-rich asteroids have also been splattering dark material on Vesta's surface over a long span of the body's history. The results are described in two papers released today in the journal Nature.

"Dawn's data allow us to decipher how Vesta records fundamental processes that have also affected Earth and other solar system bodies," said Carol Raymond, Dawn deputy principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "No object in our solar system is an island. Throughout solar system history, materials have exchanged and interacted."

Over time, soils on Earth's moon and asteroids such as Itokawa have undergone extensive weathering in the space environment. Scientists see this in the accumulation of tiny metallic particles containing iron, which dulls the fluffy outer layer. Dawn's visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) and framing camera detected no accumulation of such tiny particles on Vesta, and this particular protoplanet, or almost-planet, remains bright and pristine."

Dawn's Virtual Flight over Vesta

A gallery of images can be found online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/multimedia/gallery-index.html.

For more information on the Dawn mission, visit the Dawn home page: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/main/index.html.


* MESSENGER - November 29, 2012
MESSENGER Finds New Evidence for Water Ice at Mercury's Poles

"New observations by the MESSENGER spacecraft provide compelling support for the long-held hypothesis that Mercury harbors abundant water ice and other frozen volatile materials in its permanently shadowed polar craters. 

Three independent lines of evidence support this conclusion: the first measurements of excess hydrogen at Mercury's north pole with MESSENGER's Neutron Spectrometer, the first measurements of the reflectance of Mercury's polar deposits at near-infrared wavelengths with the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA), and the first detailed models of the surface and near-surface temperatures of Mercury's north polar regions that utilize the actual topography of Mercury's surface measured by MLA. These findings are presented in three papers published online today in Science Express (http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/recent).

Given its proximity to the Sun, Mercury would seem to be an unlikely place to find ice. But the tilt of Mercury's rotational axis is almost zero -- less than one degree -- so there are pockets at the planet's poles that never see sunlight. Scientists suggested decades ago that there might be water ice and other frozen volatiles trapped at Mercury's poles."

The new app is available for download at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/messenger-nasas-mission-to/id510144229?ls=1&mt=8.

For more information on the MESSENGER mission, visit the MESSENGER home page: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/.


* Pack Your Backpack
Calling all explorers! Tour JPL with our new Virtual Field Trip site. Stops include Mission Control and the Rover Lab. Your guided tour starts when you select a "face" that will be yours throughout the visit. Cool space images and souvenirs are all included in your visit.
+ http://virtualfieldtrip.jpl.nasa.gov/ 
* Past, Present, Future and Proposed JPL Missions - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions.

* For special JPL programs and presentations in your area visit the JPL Solar System Ambassador web site at http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/index.html.
Mars Missions

Be A Martian


* JMARS - https://jmars.mars.asu.edu/
JMARS is an acronym that stands for Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing. It is a geospatial information system (GIS) developed by ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility to provide mission planning and data-analysis tools to NASA's orbiters, instrument team members, students of all ages, and the general public.


* Mars Science Laboratory - Curiosity - November 29, 2012
Update Set In San Francisco About Curiosity Mars Rover

"PASADENA, Calif. -- The next news conference about the NASA Mars rover Curiosity will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 3, in San Francisco at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
Rumors and speculation that there are major new findings from the mission at this early stage are incorrect. The news conference will be an update about first use of the rover's full array of analytical instruments to investigate a drift of sandy soil. One class of substances Curiosity is checking for is organic compounds -- carbon-containing chemicals that can be ingredients for life. At this point in the mission, the instruments on the rover have not detected any definitive evidence of Martian organics.

The Mars Science Laboratory Project and its Curiosity rover are less than four months into a two-year prime mission to investigate whether conditions in Mars' Gale Crater may have been favorable for microbial life. Curiosity is exceeding all expectations for a new mission with all of the instruments and measurement systems performing well. This is spectacular for such a complex system, and one that is operated so far away on Mars by people here on planet Earth. The mission already has found an ancient riverbed on the Red Planet, and there is every expectation for remarkable discoveries still to come.

Audio and visuals from the briefing also will be streamed online at: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl ." 

Mars Rover Landing - Free for the Xbox (requires Kinect)

Visit the Mars Science Laboratory page at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl.







* Mars Exploration Rover Mission (Spirit and Opportunity) - November 28, 2012

SPIRIT UPDATE: Spirit Remains Silent at Troy - sols 2621-2627, May 18-24, 2011:

"No communication has been received from Spirit since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010).

More than 1,300 commands were radiated to Spirit as part of the recovery effort in an attempt to elicit a response from the rover. No communication has been received from Spirit since Sol 2210 (March 22, 2010). The project concluded the Spirit recovery efforts on May 25, 2011. The remaining, pre-sequenced ultra-high frequency (UHF) relay passes scheduled for Spirit on board the Odyssey orbiter will complete on June 8, 2011.

Total odometry is unchanged at 7,730.50 meters (4.80 miles)."

OPPORTUNITY UPDATE: Opportunity Gets To Work On Interesting Rock Targets- sols 3137-3145, Nov. 19, 2012-Nov. 28, 2012:

"Opportunity, after completing the local area survey around the location called "Matijevic Hill" (named in honor of Jake Matijevic) at the inboard edge of Cape York on the rim of Endeavour Crater, has started conducting an in-situ (contact) science campaign on some high-value surface targets.

On Sol 3137 (Nov. 19, 2012), Opportunity began her in-situ investigation on the surface target, called "Sandcherry" with a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic, followed by the placement of the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). 
The plan on Sol 3139 (Nov. 22, 2012), was the use the Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) to brush the target. However, the robotic arm experienced a stall in the shoulder elevation joint and stopped all further robotic arm activity. The sequenced APXS measurement on Sol 3140 (Nov. 23, 2012), then fortuitously became an atmospheric argon measurement. The joint stall had been experienced before with Opportunity when slow moves are commanded as in this instance. However, the engineering team did review all the associated telemetry and found no indication of any change in the health of the joint.

As a further step, a diagnostic move was included at the start of the plan on Sol 3144 (Nov. 27, 2012). That diagnostic showed a nominally functioning joint. The subsequent activity on Sol 3144 (Nov. 27, 2012), included a successful RAT brushing of the target followed by a MI mosaic and placement of the APXS. Also, over the last several sols, the rover has been collecting an extensive color panorama (Pancam), called the "Matijevic pan."

As of Sol 3145 (Nov. 28, 2012), the solar array energy production was 559 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.793 and a solar array dust factor of 0.608.

Total odometry is 22.01 miles (35,429.63 meters)."

Landing sites link - http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/ 

Visit the Mars Exploration Rover page at
 http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html.


* Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission - November 27, 2012
Regional Dust Storm Dissipating





Mars Status Report

"PASADENA, Calif. -- A regional dust storm on Mars, tracked from orbit since Nov. 10, appears to be abating rather than going global.

"During the past week, the regional storm weakened and contracted significantly," said Bruce Cantor of Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego. Cantor uses the Mars Color Imager camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to monitor storms on the Red Planet.

Effects of the storm on global air-pressure patterns have been detected at ground level by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity.

"We are getting lots of good data about this storm," said Mark Richardson of Ashima Research, Pasadena, Calif. He is a co-investigator both on REMS and on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Mars Climate Sounder instrument, which has been detecting widespread effects of the current storm on atmospheric temperatures."

MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER HIRISE IMAGES

All of the HiRISE images are archived here:
http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/.

More information about the MRO mission is available online at http://www.nasa.gov/mro.


* Mars Odyssey Orbiter - November 12, 2012
Long-Lived Orbiter Resumes Work With Fresh Equipment

"PASADENA, Calif. -- The NASA Mars Odyssey orbiter has resumed duty after switching to a set of redundant equipment, including a main computer, that had not been used since before the spacecraft's 2001 launch.

Odyssey relayed data to Earth late Sunday that it received from NASA's Opportunity rover on Mars using the orbiter's fresh "B-side" radio for UHF (ultra-high frequency) communications. In plans for this week are relay opportunities for the newest Mars rover, Curiosity, and resumption of Odyssey's own scientific observations.

"The side-swap has gone well. All the subsystems that we are using for the first time are performing as intended," said Odyssey Project Manager Gaylon McSmith of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Like many spacecraft, this orbiter carries a pair of redundant main computers, to have a backup available if one fails. Odyssey's A-side computer and B-side computer each have several other redundant subsystems linked to just that computer.

Odyssey is already the longest-working spacecraft ever sent to Mars. The side swap was initiated last week in response to months of diagnostic data indicating that the A side's inertial measurement unit shows signs of wearing out. This gyroscope-containing mechanism senses changes in the spacecraft's orientation, providing important information for control of pointing the antenna, solar arrays and instruments."

Global Martian Map: http://www.mars.asu.edu/maps/?layer=thm_dayir_100m_v11.

"A simulated fly-through using the newly assembled imagery is available online at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/missions/odyssey/20060313.html.

The fly-through plus tools for wandering across and zooming into the large image are at http://themis.asu.edu/."

DAILY MARS ODYSSEY THEMIS IMAGES
Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) web site: (http://themis.asu.edu/gallery)

The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System at: http://starbrite.jpl.nasa.gov/pds/ 

Visit the Mars Odyssey Mission page at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/index.html.

* Mars Missions Status - New Mars missions are being planned to include several new rover and sample collection missions. Check out the Mars Missions web page: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/ and the Mars Exploration page: http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/.


Links and Other Space News
(If you have a link you would like to recommend to our readers, please feel free to submit it.)

* Kids Space Center - Telescopes and Astronomy -  http://www.orlandofuntickets.com/kids-space-center-telescopes-and-astronomy/ - Another site suggested by a young student - Great info about telescopes.

* Astronomy 2009 - http://www.surveillance-video.com/astronomy-sept-2009.html - This site has some good links a young, interested student wishes to share.

* "TheSky" Software - http://www.bisque.com - Astronomy software by Software Bisque.

* A Short Guide to Celestial Navigation - http://www.celnav.de/ - Celestial navigation is the art and science of finding one's geographic position by means of astronomical observations, particularly by measuring altitudes of celestial objects − sun, moon, planets, or stars.

* Astrogirl Homepage - http://www.astrogirl.org - Family-friendly educational astronomy website.

* Astronomical Lexicon - http://www.ki0ar.com/astrolex.html - Many of the astronomical terms used in this newsletter are defined here.

* Astronomy Picture of the Day - http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html - A different picture of the cosmos every day.

* Black Hole Encyclopedia - http://blackholes.stardate.org/ - Excellent site from StarDate - University of Texas McDonald Observatory (http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/)

* Celestron Telescopes - http://www.celestron.com/ - Celestron telescopes.

* Cloudbait Observatory, Guffey Colorado - http://www.cloudbait.com - Submit your fireball reports here. Interesting, knowledgeable site.

* Colorado Springs Astronomical Society - http://csastro.org

* The Constellations and Their Stars - http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations.html - Good site for finding out more about the 88 constellations and their associated stars.

* Denver Astronomical Society - http://www.denverastrosociety.org - Promotes the enjoyment and understanding of astronomical phenomena, history and lore by providing educational and observing opportunities for our members, general public, and outreach activities at the University of Denver's historic Chamberlin Observatory, schools, and nature centers.

* Distant Suns - http://www.distantsuns.com/ - Desktop Astronomy package for PCs.

* Green Laser - http://www.greenlaser.com - If you're looking for a reasonably priced laser pointer that is great for astronomy work, visit this site.

* Groovy Adventures - http://www.groovyadventures.com - Unique adventures and vacations including astronomy related vacations.

* Heavens Above - http://www.heavens-above.com - As the name implies - What's up in the heavens, particularly satellite passes.

* The International Dark-Sky Association - http://www.darksky.org - To preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies.

* JPL Solar System Ambassador Program - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/front.html - "Volunteers Bringing the Solar System to the Public"

* JPL Solar System - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/ - Jet Propulsion Laboratory information on our solar system.

* Meade Advanced Products Users Group - http://www.mapug-astronomy.net/ - Mapug-Astronomy Topical Archive & information resource, containing a massive 335 page archive of discussions about Meade equipment, and much more: observatories, observing lists, permanent piers, equatorial wedges, remote operations, software, eyepieces, etc.

* My Stars Live - http://www.mystarslive.com/ - Interactive Star Chart

* NASA Science News - http://science.nasa.gov/ - NASA missions, updates, astronomy news, excellent resource.

* Northern Colorado Astronomical Society - http://ncastro.org/ - The purpose of our organization is to encourage the understanding & interest in the science & hobby of astronomy.

* Rocky Mountain Star Stare - http://www.rmss.org - The Premier Star Part in The Rocky Mountains

* Sangre Stargazers - http://sangrestargazers.skymtn.com/ - New astronomy club in the Wet Mountain Valley of Custer County (about 45 miles due west of Pueblo, CO).

* Skymaps.com - http://www.skymaps.com - Free sky maps each month.

* Skywatch Sightings from NASA - http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ - This site gives you the best times to watch the ISS pass over or near your location.

* Southern Colorado Astronomical Society - http://www.scasastronomy.info/ - Site under construction.

* Space.com - http://space.com - Interesting space and astronomy articles.

* SpaceLinks/Space Careers - http://www.spacelinks.com/SpaceCareers/ - SPACELINKS is a specialist staffing consultancy sourcing and supplying high caliber professionals for a wide range of world class organizations in the Space and Defense industry.

* Spaceflight Now - http://spaceflightnow.com/ - Launches and satellite news.

* "SpaceRef.com" - http://www.spaceref.com/ - SpaceRef's 21 news and reference web sites are designed to allow both the novice and specialist alike to explore outer space and Earth observation.

* Space Weather - http://www.spaceweather.com - Check out what the Sun is doing as seen from space.

* Stellarium - http://www.stellarium.org - Free, downloadable planetarium/astronomy software.

* Universe Today - http://www.universetoday.com - Short, interesting articles about space and related topics.

* Wikisky - http://www.wikisky.org - WIKISKY is a non-commercial project. The main purpose of WIKISKY is to consolidate astronomical, astrophysical and other information about different space objects and astrophysical facts.

Acknowledgments and References

Much of the information in this newsletter is from "Astronomy Magazine" (Kalmbach Publishing), JPL mission status reports, "Meteor Showers - A Descriptive Catalog" by Gary W. Kronk and other astronomical sources that I have stashed on my book shelves.

The author will accept any suggestions, constructive criticisms, and corrections. Please feel free to send me any new links or articles to share as well. I will try to accommodate any reasonable requests. Please feel free to send questions, comments, criticisms, or donations to the email address listed below. Enjoy!

Subscription Information

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 http://ki0ar.com/pipermail/astronews_ki0ar.com/ 

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- The latest version of the newsletter is accessible from http://www.ki0ar.com/astro.html.

Keep looking UP!
73 from KI0AR

Created by Burness F. Ansell, III
ki0ar at ki0ar.com

COO, Director of Aerospace Technologies, IAAS
JPL Solar System Ambassador, Colorado
Last modified: November 30, 2012

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