Erik
Bakke, CWU Astronomy Club Secretary
For
the week starting with
Greetings
everyone!!
you will know what will be available in
the night sky for the coming week.
B. CNN news
and link
C. MSNBC
news and link
D. NASA
E. Space
news and link
F. Web
site and link
G. Last
meeting and minutes (in brief)
H Announcements
I. Close
that is produced a the entry of a small
meteoroid into the atmosphere of Earth.
If you have a
clear dark sky, you will probably see a few per hour on an average
night; during one of the annual meteor
showers a person may see as many as 100
meteors an hour. Very bright meteors are
known as fireballs; so if you see a fireball
be sure to report it.
Further
information can be found at this link:
http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/meteorites.html
The launch of
the space shuttle Discovery on
But with the
launch comes further problems with insulating material coming off of the
external fuel tanks; along with a piece of
insulating foam coming off of the space shuttle Discovery. Discovery is
currently docked at the International Space Station (ISS) with an extra day added
to the schedule.
Discovery will
return to Earth on August 8, but when it does, the
Further
information can be found at this link:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/07/28/space
shuttle/index.html
With the
possible discovery of a new planet out beyond Neptune and Pluto, the debate
rages as to whether or not 2003 UB313 is the "10th" planet.
The size of
the new world is not an issue, but the very definition of what constitutes a
planet is the issue.
The
object, temporarily named 2003 UB313. is
about three times as far from the Sun as Pluto, and is about 1.5 to 2 times
larger in diameter than Pluto.
Further
information can be found at this link:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8760309/
Further
information can be found at this link:
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/newplanet-072905.html
The frozen
patch of water ice is found in an unnamed crater; the feature is located on Vastitasd Borealis, a broad plain that covers much of the
far northern latitudes.
The crater is
22 miles (35 kilometers) wide and has a maximum depth of about 1.2 miles (2
kilometers) beneath the crater rim.
The ice patch
is present all year round, as the temperature and pressure are not high enough
to allow the frozen water to escape into the atmosphere.
Both of the
poles on Mars contain large quantities of water ice, but the south
pole is covered by carbon dioxide ice (aka dry
ice). There is also a lot of water ice beneath the surface of Mars.
Further
information can be found at this link:
http://space.com/scienceastronomy/050729_mars_ice.html
The Perseids are coming! They should reach their 2005
peak on Thursday and Friday nights, August 11-12 and August 12-13. The
Moon will set by late evening, which will leave the sky dark for the prime
meteor watching hours from about
Further
information can be found at this link:
http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/meteors/article_1557_1.asp
Meeting of the CWU Astronomy Club from
Lind Hall 215.
The CWU
Astronomy Club web site can be found at www.cwu.edu/~astroclb
CWU Astronomy
Club web site at www.cwu.edu/~astroclb
If you want to
be removed from this list, e-mail the club secretary.
in your computer's e-mail system for
the newsletter.
If you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions about the newsletter, let me
know (e-mail the club secretary).
Be sure to read Bruce Palmquist's column in the
Saturday edition of the Ellensburg Daily Record that is titled "What's Up In The Sky" so that you will know what will be
available in the night sky for the coming week.
As Summer
Quarter 2005 continues, there will be more to talk about and inform you as
to what will be happening during Summer Quarter 2005 with
the CWU Astronomy Club.
Look to the stars and see what you can see....
Enjoy your summer,
Erik