Astronomy Scrapbook Saturday March 1st 2014

On This Day
March 1st 1982 First Colour photograph from surface of Venus

The Russian Venera 13 space craft landed and then transmitted the first colour photographs from the surface of Venus, the space craft survived fro two hours before the Venusian atmosphere destroyed the probe.

Astronomy Scrapbook Friday 28th February 2014

On This Day
February 28th 1908 discovery of Jupiter Moon Pasiphae

This moon was first observed on a glass plate at the Royal Greenwich Observatory by  Philibert Melotte, a British astronomer who had Belgium parents.

It was not until 1975 that the moon was named Pasiphae who was the wife of Minos and mother of the Minotaur. From its discovery in 1908 until 1975 Pasiphae was simply known as Jupiter VIII.

Astronomy Scrapbook Thursday 27th February 2014

On This Day
February 27th 2000 death of J S Hey

James Stanley Hey was born in Nelson, Lancashire and became a physicist and a pioneer radio astronomer. He noticed a connection between radio interference and Solar flares in 1942 about the time of the channel dash by German Battle-cruisers in WW2. He concluded that jamming was not caused by the Germans but due to the Sun.

Later, in 1945, Hey used radar to track the paths of  V2 rockets approaching London. When the V-2 attacks ceased, the echoes did not; Hey concluded that meteor trails were responsible and that radar could be used to track meteor streams, by day and night.

Astronomy Scrapbook Wednesday 26th February 2014

Eye in the Sky

On February 26th the Moon and Venus will rise at about 05.00hrs and be only 40 arc minutes apart as they appear above the east south east horizon.

On This Day
February 26th 1943 Harold Dennis Taylor died.

H.D. Taylor worked at the Thomas Cooke factory in York, he was an optical designer and inventor.

 In 1893 he invented the Cooke Triplet Lens that allowed the elimination of most of the colour distortion or Aberration in a lens. It would be the fore runner of all future lenses.

Astronomy Scrapbook Tuesday 25th February 2014

On This Day (1)
February 25th 1598 The Black Saturday Eclipse

The total eclipse of 1598 seen in Scotland  is often referred to as the Black Saturday Eclipse, according to stories it became so dark that some people lost their way at the time of the eclipse and perished in the snow.

On This Day (2)
February 25th 1964
Construction begins of facilities to design probes to soft land on the Moon.

Surveyor 1 became the first NASA soft lander mission to the Moon on June 2nd 1966

Construction begins in San Diego at the CENTRAL DYNAMICS/ASTRONAUTICS factory of a test facility in which the CENTAUR/SURVEYOR combination will rehearse it lunar mission

Astronomy Scrapbook Monday 24th February 2014

On This Day (1)
February 24th 453AD

"Even the Sun appeared hideous, so that scarcely a third part of it gave light, I believe on account of such deeds of wickedness and the shedding of innocent blood". Gregorius Turonensis refers to the solar eclipse of 24th February 453 when Atiila the Hun was raiding Italy.

On This Day (2)
February 24th 1964

NASA reveals an extensive series of experiments are to be flown on the X-15 craft in the coming months, effectively guaranteeing the vehicles work until the end of 1968. The experiments will be supplied by either NASA or USAF; they will cover ramjet research, stellar ultraviolet photography, structures and materials investigations, optical research and micrometeorite collection and study.

Astronomy Scrapbook Sunday 23rd February 2014

On This Day (1)
February 23rd 1933 birth of Joseph Ruland Optician

The Belgian optician and solar eclipse chaser Joseph Ruler was born in Belgium on this day. He was the founder of Lichtenknecker Optics.

On This Day (2)
February 23rd 1964 Italy and Kenya sign space agreement

Italy and Kenya are reported to have signed an agreement today whereby Italy will moor a platform off the Kenyan coast in support of the SAN MARCO satellite programme that it is carrying out with NASA support.

Astronomy Scrapbook Saturday 22nd February

Eye in the Sky
Max Delta Leonids Meteor Shower

The Delta Leonid meteor shower reach maximum on the night of February 22nd. It is a weak shower with a ZHR of 3 per hour. The shower was first detected in 1911 by meteor observer William Denning.

Astronomy Scrapbook Friday 21st February 2014

On This Day (1)
February 21st 1900 Death of Charles Piazzi Smyth

Charles Piazzi Smyth was born in 1819 he became Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846-1888.

Apart from his astronomical work he was very interested in studying the weather and the Pyramids in Egypt.

On This Day (2)
February 21st 1901 Discovery of Nova Perseus 1901 by Thomas Anderson

Nova Perseus 1901 or GK Perseus was discovered by Scottish astronomer Thomas Anderson. It reached  magnitude 0.2, since discovery it has made a number of outbursts suggesting it is more like a dwarf nova rather than a classical nova.

Surrounding the nova is the Firework Nebula discovered in 1902 consisting of an expanding cloud of gas.

On This Day (3)
February 21st 1938 Death of George Ellery Hale

George Ellery hale was an astrophysicist and studied stellar spectra and sunspots. Hale supervised the construction of the Mount Palomar observatory in California with the then biggest telescope in the world the 200 inch reflector.

Audience under the 200 inch telescope

 He never lived to see the observatory operation, but when declared operational  in 1948 the 200 inch telescope was named in his  honor The Hale Reflector

Astronomy Scrapbook Thursday 20th February 2014

On This Day
February 20th 1962 launch of the Friendship 7

On February 20, 1962, John H. Glenn, Jr., became the first American to orbit Earth. An Atlas launch vehicle propelled a Mercury spacecraft called the Friendship 7 into Earth orbit and enabled Glenn to circle Earth three times. The flight lasted a total of 4 hours, 55 minutes, and 23 seconds before the spacecraft splashed down in the ocean.

Astronomy Scrapbook Wednesday 19th February 2014

Eye in the Sky
February 19th Mars, Moon and Spica

The waning gibbous Moon, Mars and Spica (alpha Virgo) form an attractive triangle around midnight..

Astronomy Scrapbook Tuesday 18th February 2014

On This Day
February 18th 1930 Discovery of Pluto

On February 18, 1930, after nearly a year of searching Clyde Tombaugh discovered a possible moving object on photographic plates taken on January 23 and January 29 of that year. After the observatory obtained further confirmatory photographs, news of the discovery was telegraphed to the Harvard College Observatory on March 13 1930

Astronomy Scrapbook Sunday 16th February 2014

On This Day
February 16th 1980 Solar Eclipse stops Cricket

The only cricket match to have been interrupted by an eclipse of the Sun was the Jubilee test between India and England on February 16th 1980. It was agreed that the Indian cricket board did not want the responsibility of a crowd of 50,000 damaging their eyes by looking at the Sun when the eclipse began. The Test Match continued on the following morning.

Astronomy Scrapbook Saturday 15th February 2014

Eye in the Sky
Feb 15th 2014 Summer Solstice on Mars

The Sun reaches its highest peak in the sky in the northern hemisphere on Mars today.

On This Day (1)
Feb 15th 538 AD first recorded solar eclipse in Britain

Described in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, it occurred four years after the death of Cerdic, first king of the West Saxons.

On This Day (2)
Feb 15th 1564 birth of Galileo

Probably the first person to use a telescope to look at the night sky. Among his many discoveries were the four large moons of Jupiter and sunspots.

On This Day (3)
Feb 15th 1868 death of William Rutter Dawes

Dawes was a clergyman, he made measurements of double stars and observed Mars and Jupiter.

 An optical limit the "Dawes Limit" is named after him.  The Dawes Limit is a formula to determine the maximum resolving power of a telescope.

Astronomy Scrapbook Friday 14th February 2014

On This Day
February 14th 1953 Last solar eclipse on Valentines Day

During the 20th century there were three solar eclipses on the most romantic day of the year , Valentines Day. An annular eclipse in 1915, a total solar eclipse in 1934 and the last a partial eclipse in 1953. This was visible in the far east.  The next Valentine Day eclipse which will be total will not be until 2306!

Astronomy Scrapbook Thursday 13th February 2014

On This Day
February 13th 1964

Speaking on a BBC radio programme Robert Hotz, Editor of Aviation Week, says that the UK would lose scientists to the US and other countries where the space programme is burgeoning so long as the British did not have a strong national programme of space research.

Astronomy Scrapbook Wednesday 12th February 2014

On This Day
February 12th 1831, Annular Eclipse of Sun and Slave Rebellion

Nat Turner 1800-1831 

On February 12th 1831 the black slave preacher Nat Turner saw an annular eclipse of the Sun, he took this to mean it was a message from God of a "black angel" overtaking a "white angel" and  to lead a rebellion of black slave workers in Virginia ,USA.The rebellion began on August 21st 1831 and during the next two days about 70 black slaves attacked  and killed 55 white people. The local militia either captured or killed the slaves with Turner himself being captured about 6 weeks later and then hanged.

An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is directly in front of the Sun but not large enough to cover the entire disc of the Sun as would be seen during a total solar eclipse

Astronomy Scrapbook Tuesday 11th February 2014

Eye in the Sky
February 11th about 20.00 hrs Occultation of a star by the Moon

At about 20.00 hrs as seen from the center of the UK the Moon will pass in front of  or occult the 3rd magnitude star Lambda Gemini. The star will vanish for about 30 minutes before re appearing. Times will vary slightly in different locations.

On This Day (1)
February 11th 1868 death of Jean Bernard Leon Foucault.

Jean Bernard Leon Foucault (1819-1868)

Foucault was a French physicist best know for his demonstration of the Foucault Pendulum a device for demonstrating the effect of the rotation of the Earth.

Foucault Pendulum

On This Day (2)
February 11th 1942
The beginning of the Channel Dash. Did the Sun Play its Part?

In 1942 the two German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau successfully ran the gauntlet of the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy to safely reach Germany in an operation called Cerberus. Radar on both sides had problems each thinking the other side was jamming their systems, however the Sun was very active and flares hitting the Earth could have caused problems with the radar.

The route of Operation Cerberus February 11th-13th 1942

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Astronomy Scrapbook Monday 10th February 2014

On This Day
February 10th 1974 Mars 4 spacecraft passes Mars

Launched in July 1973 Mars 4 was a Russian space craft designed to enter orbit and study Mars unfortunately the failure of 2 on-board computers meant that Mars 4 only flew by Mars rather than entering into orbit. This meant that  only a small amount of data was transmitted back to Earth.

Astronomy Scrapbook Sunday 9th February 2014

On This Day
February 9th 1964 NASA prediction for manned Moon mission.

Officials at NASA believed it would be mid 1969 before the first manned mission to the Moon would be attempted. Not a bad estimate!

Astronomy Scrapbook Saturday 8th February 2014

Eye in the Sky
alpha and Beta Centaurid meteor shower

On the night of Feb 8th the alpha and beta centaurid meteor shower reaches its peak. The shower is active from Feb 2nd to Feb 25th, first observed in 1969 the shower is weak with a maximum rate of between 8-14 meteors per hour.

Astronomy Scrapbook Friday 7th February 2014

On This Day
February 7th 1824 birth of Sir William Huggins

Sir William Huggins was an English astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy. He worked with his wife Lady Margaret Lindsay Huggins. He built an observatory in Tulse Hill near London.

Astronomy Scrapbook Thursday 6th February 2014

On This Day
February 6th 1612 death of Christophorus Clavius

Christophorus Clavius was a German mathematician and astronomer, he observed the solar eclipse of 1567 and was an adviser to pope Gregory XIII when the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582.

Astronomy Scrapbook Wednesday 5th February 2014

Eye in the Sky
Mare Humboldtianum visible

Due to the Libration or wobbling of the Moon it is possible to see 59% of the surface of Moon that faces us, although never more than 50% at a time! Now is a good time to look for the Mare Humoldtianum (Humboldts Sea) on the Northeast limb


On This Day
February 5th 1974 Mariner 10 reaches Venus

The Mariner 10 probe was a Mercury/Venus fly by mission. It was the last of the Mariner missions Mariner 11 and 12 would become Voyager 1 and 2.

While at Venus Mariner 10 discovered evidence of rotating clouds an a weak magnetic field.

Astronomy Scrapbook Tuesday 4th February 2014

Eye in the Sky
3 comets in the Sky

On the morning of February 4th early risers at around 05.50UT get the chance to view through telescopes no fewer than 3 comets brighter than magnitude +12. These are C/2013 R1 Lovejoy, C/2012 X1 Linear both in Ophiuchus and C/2012 K1 PANSTARRS which is in Hercules.

On This Day
February 4th 1964 Valentina Tereshkova arrives in London.

Valentina Tereshkova the first woman in space, she flew in Vostok 6 on June 16th 1963 arrived in London for a planned 3 day visit organised by the British Interplanetary Society

Astronomy Scrapbook Monday 3rd February 2014

On This Day
February 3rd 1966 First Soft Lander on the Moon

The Russian  Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to soft land on the Moon and send back a photograph from the Moon`s surface.

Astronomy Scrapbook Sunday February 2nd 2014

On This Day
February 2nd 1461 Battle of Mortimer`s Cross

A Sun Dog or Parhelia was seen before this battle.

Sun Dogs are caused by light being refracted through hexagon shaped ice crystals high in the atmosphere.

A major battle fought between King Henry VI and the future King Edward IV in Herefordshire on the England/Wales border. It was a significant battle during the wars of the roses fought in England. Edward won the battle because he convinced his troops that the Sun Dog  represented the Holy Trinity and that therefore God was on their side. The War of the Roses was a series of battles

between the royal houses of Lancaster and York and lasted from the 1450s until the 1480s.

Recreation of the Battle of Mortimer`s Cross