[Astronews] IAAS Monthly Astronomy Newsletter

[IAAS Monthly Astronomy Newsletter]

IAAS Monthly Astronomy Newsletter
June 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.

This newsletter is now available as an iTunes podcast. Visit http://www.apple.com, download and install iTunes (for either Mac or Windows). Search for "IAAS" and subscribe to the podcast. You may also go to http://www.ki0ar.com/astro.html and click on the Subscribe/RSS link. Update your smart phone, iPod or mp3 player and listen to the newsletter at your leisure. Comments and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated.

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 Moon
* The Planets
* Astronomical Events
* Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions
* Web Sites of Interest
* Acknowledgments and References
* Subscription Information

The Month At-A-Glance at http://www.ki0ar.com/ataglance.html
A calendar displaying the daily astronomical events.

The Moon

Phases:
* Full Moon occurs on the 4th.
* Last Quarter Moon occurs on the 11th.
* New Moon occurs on the 19th.
* First Quarter Moon occurs on the 26th.


* The Moon is at Perigee on the 3rd, 222,752 miles from Earth.
* The Moon is at Apogee on the 15th, 252,144 miles from Earth.


Moon/Planet Pairs:
* The Moon passes 7° south of Saturn on the 1st.
* The Moon passes 1.0° south of Pluto on the 5th.
* The Moon passes 6° north of Neptune on the 10th.
* The Moon passes 0.8° north of asteroid Pallas on the 12th.
* The Moon passes 5° north of Uranus on the 12th.
* Venus passes 4° north of Aldebaran on the 15th.
* The Moon passes 1.1° north of Jupiter on the 17th.
* The Moon passes 2° north of Venus on the 17th.
* Mercury passes 5° south of Pollux on the 21st.
* The Moon passes 6° south of Mercury on the 21st.
* The Moon passes 6° south of Mars on the 26th.
* The Moon passes 6° south of Saturn on the 28th.

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 June - This month starts off with a rare astronomical event - the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun occurs on June 5th for western hemisphere observers and June 6th for eastern hemisphere observers. Most of us will not be around for the next Venus transit, which will occur in 2117. A partial lunar eclipse will precede the Venus transit on the 4th. Mercury, Mars and Saturn are prominent in the evening sky. Followed by Pluto, Neptune and Uranus in late evening and early morning. Ceres and Jupiter can be spotted before Sun rise. Venus will also return to the morning sky after its transit.

* Mercury - Is at greatest eastern elongation (26° above the western horizon) on the 30th. Look for Mercury very low on the western horizon about 30 minutes after sunset all month. Mercury sets at 8:59 p.m. on the 1st and about 10:01 p.m. by month's end. Mercury moves from the constellation of Taurus into Cancer shining at magnitude 0.4.

* Venus - Is in inferior conjunction on the 5th. Venus transits the Sun on the 5th/6th for the second and final time this century. Check out http://www.transitofvenus.org/ or http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/transit.html. Venus is stationary on the 26th. Venus returns to the morning sky this month after its transit. Venus will be visible in the morning sky after the second week in June. Venus rises at 5:57 a.m. on the 1st and about 3:43 a.m.  by month's end. Venus is in the constellation of Taurus shining at magnitude -4.6.




* Earth - The Summer solstice occurs at 7:09 p.m. EDT on the 20th.

* Mars - Sets at 1:51 a.m. on the 1st and about 12:20 a.m. by month's end. Look towards the south to spot the Red Planet soon after sunset. Mars moves from the constellation of Leo into Virgo shining at magnitude 0.7.

* Jupiter - Has returned to the morning sky rising at 4:52 a.m. on the 1st and about 3:16 a.m. by month's end. Jupiter is in the constellation of Taurus this month shining at magnitude -2.0.

* Saturn - Is stationary on the 26th. Saturn sets at 3:30 a.m. on the 1st and about 1:30 a.m. by month's end. Look for Saturn in the south soon after sunset. Saturn is in the constellation of Virgo shining at magnitude 0.6.

* Uranus - Rises at 2:38 a.m. on the 1st and about 12:37 a.m. by month's end. Uranus can be spotted in the early morning sky before sunrise. Uranus is in the constellation of Cetus shining at magnitude 5.9.

* Neptune - Rises at 1:14 a.m. on the 1st and about 11:12 p.m. by month's end. Neptune is best viewed after midnight and early morning before sunrise. Neptune is in the constellation of Aquarius shining at magnitude 7.9. 

Dwarf Planets
* Ceres - Rises at 4:50 a.m. on the 1st and about 3:27 a.m. by month's end. Ceres is still low on the eastern horizon but a small telescope should be able to resolve this ball of rock. Ceres moves from the constellation of Aries into Taurus shining at magnitude 9.1.

* Pluto - Is at opposition on the 29th, rising as the Sun sets. Pluto rises at 9:57 p.m. on the 1st and about 7:57 p.m. by month's end. Pluto is at its best for the year. Pluto is in the constellation of Sagittarius shining at magnitude 14.0.

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

Astronomical Events

Meteor Showers
* The Arietids Meteor Shower - This is the strongest daylight meteor shower of the year. The duration extends from May 22 to July 2, with maximum activity occurring on June 8. The hourly rate is near 60 at maximum.

* The June Lyrids - This shower is active during June 10 to 21, producing predominantly blue and white meteors at a maximum hourly rate of 8 per hour on June 15. The average magnitude of this shower is near 3, while 32% of the meteors leave trains.

* The Zeta Perseids - This daylight shower occurs during May 20 to July 5. Maximum occurs on June 13. Radar surveys have revealed the activity of this shower to be near 40 per hour.

* The June Boötids - This shower is currently active during June 27 to July 5 and possesses a maximum of activity that falls on the 28th... The shower is notable in that its meteors are primarily faint, with an average magnitude near 5; however, bright meteors do occur regularly.

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

Comets
* Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd is quickly fading from view as it dims from 10th to 11th magnitude this month. Comet Garradd can be found along the eastern edge of Cancer but you may need at least a 6 inch telescope and dark skies to view it.

* 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
* A partial lunar eclipse occurs on the morning of the 4th over North and South America, eastern Asia and Australia. For more information on the path of the eclipse and times, visit 
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2012.html#LE2012Jun04P.

Observational Opportunities
* A partial lunar eclipse occurs on the 4th in the early morning hours. - Greatest eclipse occurs at 11:03 UT (5:03 a.m.)
* Venus transits the Sun on the 5th, starting around 22:00 UT (4 p.m. MDT).
* Watch Mars and Saturn as they make their way into the western skies in the evening.
* Daylight meteor showers may provide some interesting meteor scatter opportunities for amateur radio operators in the VHF/UHF bands.

Asteroids (From west to east)
* Melpomene is at opposition on the 24th in the constellation of Scutum.

* 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 - May 28, 2012
Splitting Titan
(Full Res Image)

"Light and dark halves of Titan are visible in this Cassini image which illustrates the seasonal changes in the northern and southern hemispheres. This picture was taken with a spectral filter that is sensitive to absorption of certain wavelengths of light by the methane present in the moon's atmosphere.

See Two Halves of Titan to learn more about this seasonal hemispheric dichotomy. This view looks toward the anti-Saturn side of Titan (3,200 miles, or 5,150 kilometers across). North on Titan is up and rotated 29 degrees to the right. The moon's north polar hood is also visible in the top right of the view (see Haze Layers on Titan and Titan's North Polar Hood).

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 31, 2012 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 130,000 miles (210,000 kilometers) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 24 degrees. Image scale is 8 miles (12 kilometers) per pixel."

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 - May 09, 2012
The PI's Perspective
Extending Our Horizons

"New Horizons remains healthy and on course, now more than 23 times as far from the Sun as the Earth is. We will be 32.9 times as far from the Sun as the Earth is when we reach Pluto in three years, in the summer of 2015, so we're now about 70 percent of the way there.

On April 30, New Horizons exited its most recent hibernation period, which lasted from late January through all of February, March and April. The spacecraft and our mission operations team are now beginning an intensive, two-month long series of activities that are the centerpiece of our 2012 mission operations. Those activities include thorough checkouts of every prime and backup system on the spacecraft, checkouts of all seven scientific instruments, calibrations of the entire scientific payload, two major flight-software updates and a rehearsal of the most intensive day of the Pluto encounter."

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 - May 10, 2012
NASA Dawn Mission Reveals Secrets of Large Asteroid

"PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Dawn spacecraft has provided researchers with the first orbital analysis of the giant asteroid Vesta, yielding new insights into its creation and kinship with terrestrial planets and Earth's moon.

Vesta now has been revealed as a special fossil of the early solar system with a more varied, diverse surface than originally thought. Scientists have confirmed a variety of ways in which Vesta more closely resembles a small planet or Earth's moon than another asteroid. Results appear in today's edition of the journal Science.

"Dawn's visit to Vesta has confirmed our broad theories of this giant asteroid's history, while helping to fill in details it would have been impossible to know from afar," said Carol Raymond, deputy principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Dawn's residence at Vesta of nearly a year has made the asteroid's planet-like qualities obvious and shown us our connection to that bright orb in our night sky."

Scientists now see Vesta as a layered, planetary building block with an iron core - the only one known to survive the earliest days of the solar system. The asteroid's geologic complexity can be attributed to a process that separated the asteroid into a crust, mantle and iron core with a radius of approximately 68 miles (110 kilometers) about 4.56 billion years ago. The terrestrial planets and Earth's moon formed in a similar way."

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 - May 22, 2012
MESSENGER Measures Waves at the Boundary of Mercury's Magnetosphere

"MESSENGER scientists have concluded that waves driven by the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability play a key role in driving Mercury's magnetosphere. In a paper published recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research, the team reports on frequent detections of such waves at the outer edge of the innermost planet's magnetosphere.

The paper was selected as an Editor's Highlight by the journal editor, and its findings are scheduled to be featured as a Research Highlight in Eos, the weekly newspaper of the American Geophysical Union.

KH waves can develop at boundaries between two media in relative motion. "In principle, they are similar to the surface waves on water when there's a strong wind blowing," explains Torbjorn Sundberg, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the lead author of the paper, entitled "MESSENGER orbital observations of large-amplitude Kelvin-Helmholtz waves at Mercury's magnetopause."

"You can, for example, sometimes see these waves develop on the upper edge of clouds, where they manifest as rolled-up vortices. Kelvin-Helmholtz waves can also be seen in Saturn's atmosphere, where they can develop at the boundary between the counter-streaming gas in the belts and the zones, the dark and bright bands seen across the planet," says Sundberg.

In space plasmas, such waves are of interest because they can transfer mass and energy across the boundary between two otherwise separated regions. At Mercury, the boundary is between the relatively dense and fast-streaming solar wind and the more rarified magnetosphere."

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 - May 11, 2012
Mojave Desert Tests Prepare for NASA Mars Roving

"Team members of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission took a test rover to Dumont Dunes in California's Mojave Desert this week to improve knowledge of the best way to operate a similar rover, Curiosity, currently flying to Mars for an August landing.

The test rover that they put through paces on various sandy slopes has a full-scale version of Curiosity's mobility system, but it is otherwise stripped down so that it weighs about the same on Earth as Curiosity will weigh in the lesser gravity of Mars.

Information collected in these tests on windward and downwind portions of dunes will be used by the rover team in making decisions about driving Curiosity on dunes near a mountain in the center of Gale Crater."

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

* Mars Exploration Rover Mission (Spirit and Opportunity) - May 23, 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: Waking Up with the Sun's Rays - sols 2956-2961, May 18-23, 2012:

"After moving from her winter perch, Opportunity drove to an undisturbed dusty patch to investigate the chemical origin of the ubiquitous Martian dust.

On Sol 2957 (May 19, 2012), the rover used her robotic arm to collect a Microscopic Imager (MI) mosaic of the surface target, called "North Pole." This was followed by an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) placement for a multi-sol integration. On Sol 2960 (May 22, 2012), Opportunity repositioned the robotic arm instruments on an associated target for another set of Microscopic Imager mosaics followed by a placement of the APXS for a long measurement.

The plan ahead is to resume driving toward the north end of Cape York in search of more gypsum veins. The rover benefited from another small dust cleaning event, improving solar array energy production. With the seasonally improving solar insolation and the recent dust clearing events, the rover is now experiencing solar array wake-ups, the autonomous rover wake-ups induced by bright morning sunlight.

As of Sol 2961 (May 23, 2012), solar array energy production was 395 watt-hours with an atmospheric opacity (Tau) of 0.387 and an improved solar array dust factor of 0.559.

Total odometry is 21.36 miles (34,380.58 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 - May 09, 2012
NASA Spacecraft Detects Changes in Martian Sand Dunes

"PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed that movement in sand dune fields on the Red Planet occurs on a surprisingly large scale, about the same as in dune fields on Earth.

This is unexpected because Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth, is only about one percent as dense, and its high-speed winds are less frequent and weaker than Earth's.

For years, researchers debated whether sand dunes observed on Mars were mostly fossil features related to past climate, rather than currently active. In the past two years, researchers using images from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera have detected and reported sand movement."

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 - February 29, 2012
Camera On NASA Mars Odyssey Tops Decade Of Discovery

"Ten years ago, on Feb. 19, 2002, the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), a multi-band camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, began scientific operations at the Red Planet. Since then the camera has circled Mars nearly 45,000 times and taken more than half a million images at infrared and visible wavelengths.
"THEMIS has proven itself a workhorse," said Philip Christensen of Arizona State University, Tempe, the camera's principal investigator and designer. "It's especially gratifying to me to see the range of discoveries that have been made using this instrument."

Highlights of science results by THEMIS over the past 10 years include:

Confirming a mineral exposure selected as the landing site for NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity
Discovering carbon-dioxide gas jets at the south polar ice cap in spring
Discovering chloride salt deposits across the planet
Making the best global image map of Mars ever done
Identifying safe landing sites landing sites for NASA's Mars Phoenix lander by finding the locations with the fewest hazardous boulders
Monitoring dust activity in the Martian atmosphere
Discovering that a large crater, Aram Chaos, once contained a lake
Discovering that Mars has more water-carved channels than previously thought
Discovering dacite on Mars, a more evolved form of volcanic lava not previously known on the Red Planet

THEMIS combines a five-wavelength visual imaging system with a nine-wavelength infrared imaging system. By comparing daytime and nighttime infrared images of an area, scientists can determine many of the physical properties of the rocks and soils on the ground.

Mars Odyssey has a two-hour orbit that is nearly "sun-synchronous," meaning that Odyssey passes over the same part of Mars at roughly the same local time each day. In September 2008 its orbit was shifted toward an earlier time of day, which enhanced THEMIS' mineralogical detection capability.

Says Christensen, "Both Odyssey and THEMIS are in excellent health and we look forward to years more science with them."

NASA launched the Mars Odyssey spacecraft April 7, 2001. Odyssey arrived at Mars Oct. 24, 2001. After arrival the spacecraft spent several months in a technique called aerobraking, which involved dipping into the Martian atmosphere to adjust its orbit. In February 2002, science operations began."

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.)

* 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.

* 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.

* 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).

* Sky and Space - http://www.skyandspace.com.au/public/home.ehtml 
Astronomy from Down Under - The Southern Hemisphere's first astronomy and space magazine.
 
* 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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- 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 yahoo.com

COO, Director of Aerospace Technologies, IAAS
JPL Solar System Ambassador, Colorado
Last modified: June 01, 2012

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