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Old 03-11-2013, 14:14
tiger2000
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Live Coverage of today's eclipse.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24794141
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Old 04-11-2013, 00:50
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Thanks for the update.
There are currently four comets on display although how bright they will eventually be remains to be seen:

Four Comets Haunt the Halloween Dawn! Here’s How to See Them
http://www.universetoday.com/105806/...w-to-see-them/

This month, both NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation will be launching probes to Mars to study the atmosphere of the planet and the links are below:

http://www.space.com/23364-mars-mave...er-launch.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAVEN
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily...light-faq.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...1-f0feafdd1394
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangalyaan


...and in other news...

A doomed "lava world" with a similar mass and density to that of Earth has been discovered orbiting a star 400 light-years away. Observations suggest the planet, named Kepler 78b, is composed mostly of rock and iron, much like our own planet.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24748601

Astronomers have detected the tell-tale signs of a shattered asteroid being eaten by a dead star, or white dwarf. The Hubble telescope spotted the event some 150 light-years from Earth.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24491845

Finally, there are some links to interesting audio materials about Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield:
http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/episode/201...vember-2-2013/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006...guide#b03glzqd
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Old 05-11-2013, 21:00
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New Seven-planet solar system discovered orbiting dwarf star
The astronomers say that the planetary system has some similarities compared to our own. However, all seven planets orbit much closer to the host star than planets in our solar system orbit the sun. The solar system is about 2500 light years away from the Earth.
http://www.slashgear.com/seven-plane...star-25303061/

Very low chance of habitable planets though but at least another complete solar system has been found.
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Old 18-11-2013, 18:12
tiger2000
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MAVEN Mars Probe - Live Coverage of the Launch.

http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv
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Old 18-11-2013, 20:24
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MAVEN Mars Probe - Live Coverage of the Launch.

http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv
I saw the launch live on the evening news and it can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh_nyFIwPy0

It's got a 10 month journey to Mars and this probe will orbit Mars to study the atmosphere of the red planet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAVEN

Incidentally, India's Mars Orbiter Mission was successfully launched on 5 November this year and its mission is also to study Mars' atmosphere along with Mars' surface features and mineralogy. More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Orbiter_Mission and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tXsZdTKr_Y.

I hope that both missions get to Mars and successfully complete their missions.
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Old 23-11-2013, 00:05
atg
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2014 Yearbook thudded into the doormat this morning. Looking forward to a good read.
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Old 23-11-2013, 01:03
balthasar
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2014 Yearbook thudded into the doormat this morning. Looking forward to a good read.
Could you elaborate about the book?
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Old 23-11-2013, 02:02
atg
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Could you elaborate about the book?
Certainly. It's evolved into a weighty tome the last few years, and you would have to say "indispensible". This is the first one since Sir Patrick died too.

I still haven't had a chance for a proper read yet, but there are interesting articles on the Planck mission and Higgs boson.
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Old 23-11-2013, 02:11
Sad_BB_Addict
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Comet ISON prog tonight
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03k3881
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Old 23-11-2013, 02:15
balthasar
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Certainly. It's evolved into a weighty tome the last few years, and you would have to say "indispensible". This is the first one since Sir Patrick died too.
Ah, Thank you atg, I did wonder yearbook erm best to ask. I will be looking for a copy and a few past editions.
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Old 23-11-2013, 02:20
atg
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Ah, Thank you atg, I did wonder yearbook erm best to ask. I will be looking for a copy and a few past editions.
Ebay and amazon are good places to look for old editions.
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Old 23-11-2013, 02:22
atg
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Thanks. Has anybody managed a naked eye view yet?
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Old 24-11-2013, 23:43
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...starting with...

A rock discovered in the Sahara Desert is the oldest Martian meteorite ever found, scientists believe. Earlier research had suggested it was about two billion years old, but new tests indicate the rock actually dates to 4.4 billion years ago. The dark and glossy meteorite, nicknamed Black Beauty, would have formed when the Red Planet was in its infancy.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25016479
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...ture12764.html
http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/nature12764

next...

MAVEN Breathes Martian Air. NASA's latest mission to Mars launched successfully this week. The MAVEN mission is something new for Mars. Most missions, so far, have been designed to study the Martian surface, but MAVEN is designed to study the thin Martian atmosphere.
http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/episode/201...ember-23-2013/

penultimately...

Mars: The Red Planet Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCJ09keTEvA

finally:

True or False: Mars Edition Quiz
http://classroom.synonym.com/true-or...s-edition.html

Spoiler


Thanks. Has anybody managed a naked eye view yet?
Nope, really need binoculars to see the dim fuzz. Hopefully, it will significantly brighten but only time will tell.

Links:
http://news.sky.com/story/1172856/co...rgin-for-error
http://events.slooh.com/
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Old 25-11-2013, 00:21
atg
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finally:

True or False: Mars Edition Quiz
http://classroom.synonym.com/true-or...s-edition.html

Spoiler
I got 9/10 - those pesky seasons!
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Old 28-11-2013, 00:13
atg
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D-day for ISON then. 1838 GMT when it should be getting a bit toasty. Let's hope it comes out the other side more or less unscathed and gives us a decent show.

Coverage here.

And a comet quiz here.
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Old 28-11-2013, 22:37
atg
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Well so much for that then. It travels 20 billion miles in a million years and just ends in a 'phut'!
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Old 28-11-2013, 22:42
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Comet ISON did not survive its close passage around the Sun. Very little emerged from perihelion. The comet's head dwindled away to nothing, and most of its dust and debris tail apparently evaporated. The sparse remaining debris stream is destined to disperse far and wide
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser...193909261.html

So passes Ison, 'Comet of the Century'...
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Old 28-11-2013, 22:48
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Oooh, that's disappointing. Was hoping to see something spectacular.
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Old 28-11-2013, 22:58
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Oooh, that's disappointing. Was hoping to see something spectacular.
It appears that a large fragment has actually survived the close shave with the Sun (look at the bottom right - https://twitter.com/cosmos4u/status/.../photo/1/large) but we don't yet know whether that fragment will put on a good display.

In the meantime, there's another comet to look out for:

Right now, Comet Lovejoy is now the better bet and here's its path in the night sky from early to late November http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net...ov11-Nov30.jpg and this is what it'll probably look like in binoculars/telescopes http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net...d2fdc5e5_b.jpg (the fuzzy thing, bottom right).
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Old 29-11-2013, 00:19
atg
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I never really got over Kohoutek. It's just one disappointment after another.
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Old 29-11-2013, 00:41
Kapellmeister
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It appears that a large fragment has actually survived the close shave with the Sun (look at the bottom right - https://twitter.com/cosmos4u/status/.../photo/1/large) but we don't yet know whether that fragment will put on a good display.

In the meantime, there's another comet to look out for:
I'll have a look out for Lovejoy. I've got a 10'' Dobsonian that I wheel out when it's clear/not freezing cold so hopefully I'll see something through it!
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Old 29-11-2013, 15:52
balthasar
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Well Ison seems to have entered the yes/no/maybe/ask me tomorrow zone.
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Old 29-11-2013, 16:50
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Well Ison seems to have entered the yes/no/maybe/ask me tomorrow zone.
Indeed, balthasar:

Comet Ison appears to have survived a close encounter with the sun that had threatened to vaporise it. The remnant could now go on to be visible from Earth in December, but astronomers do not know how bright it might become..."It would be an absolutely hellish environment, there's never been a better time to use the words 'snowball's chance in hell'," said Tom Kerss, astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, south-east London.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2...nter-sun-earth
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Old 30-11-2013, 11:01
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The latest SOHO image shows Ison's remnants as a fading smudge: http://soho.esac.esa.int/data/realti...24/latest.html
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Old 30-11-2013, 13:22
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Animation of the slides: http://sohodata.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-...CO&Detector=C3
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