Scientists at LHC claim to have trapped a large number of anti-hydrogen atoms that too with a long life (read the article to know how many were trapped and how long they lived!)
The discovery has to potential to lead us to a better understanding of the world we live in . . . and just how everything we know of was created!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11773791
18 November 2010
15 November 2010
Green Laser - something to know
Many of us use the green laser as a very useful tool in star parties and in teaching newbies to learn the constellations. But there are certain things one should know about the dangers involved with this useful "toy". Here is an informative link:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/99956999.html
Let us take care to use this useful instrument safely!
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/99956999.html
Let us take care to use this useful instrument safely!
09 November 2010
Updates on comet Ikeya-Mukarami
All eyes are now on the newly found comet Ikeya-Mukarami (C/2010 V1).
The comet is now located in Virgo and is shining with a brightness of Mag 9 (which means it will be visible through telescopes and not be visible to the naked eye). It currently has a 3' coma (about 1/10th the size of the full moon).
The most recently available orbit indicates that the comet has already passed perihelion, and is just now emerging into the morning sky following conjunction with the sun. It spends the next several months climbing higher into the morning sky, until it reaches opposition at the end of May 2011. A "normal" brightness behavior would suggest that the comet could be visually detectable for a long time, fading only to about 11th magnitude by the time it is at opposition.
There is, however, more and more evidence that indicates the comet has recently undergone an outburst. Observer Alan Hale notes that on November 8 it appeared about half a magnitude fainter, and was distinctly less condensed, than it was on the 4th.
It is thus somewhat likely that it might fade away fairly quickly. Because the comet is traveling in a low-inclination direct orbit it is also possible that it is a short-period object, and if that turns out to be true it is conceivable that it might be found identical to some comet observed in the past.
The comet is currently located just over a degree south of Saturn. According to latest orbital elements, here are the predictions:
Its elongation will slowly increase over the coming days.
It will travel to the east-southeast through Virgo
It will pass some two degrees northeast of the bright star Spica by third week of November.
It crosses into Libra shortly after mid-December and then into northern Scorpius during the latter part of January 2011.
It will reach its stationary point in early April
It will reach Opposition by end of May.
A "normal" brightness behavior would suggest only a half-magnitude or so of fading from its present brightness by the end of 2010 and a still relatively bright 11th magnitude when the comet is near opposition, however the outburst scenario that is starting to look increasingly likely suggests a fairly rapid fading during the coming weeks, and it may well be beyond the range of visual detectability by the end of this year.
Here are some pics of this fresh comet...
The comet:
http://www.spaceobs.org/images/C2010V1-crop-web.jpg
Widefield:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VJxlsSAndzP73wp8f-Yjt17FIMLW8U1-gFbgUYeKtZKR4TZCgc2XfyvQcU0NhyFHh1wiM5ZqufH57tddZW3av1I3CXOb7dkzYM3_HZ7O1H-nEKcS4ptmzIP_sj94CINr3hYeCuy6cYI/s1600/Ikeya-Murakami+7nov10_FBroms.jpg
A short video of the evolution of the comet over the last few days:
http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2010/11/evolution-of-morphology-of-comet-c2010.html
More info on the comet here:
http://www.earthriseinstitute.org/coms48.html#481
Regards,
Keerthi.
The comet is now located in Virgo and is shining with a brightness of Mag 9 (which means it will be visible through telescopes and not be visible to the naked eye). It currently has a 3' coma (about 1/10th the size of the full moon).
The most recently available orbit indicates that the comet has already passed perihelion, and is just now emerging into the morning sky following conjunction with the sun. It spends the next several months climbing higher into the morning sky, until it reaches opposition at the end of May 2011. A "normal" brightness behavior would suggest that the comet could be visually detectable for a long time, fading only to about 11th magnitude by the time it is at opposition.
There is, however, more and more evidence that indicates the comet has recently undergone an outburst. Observer Alan Hale notes that on November 8 it appeared about half a magnitude fainter, and was distinctly less condensed, than it was on the 4th.
It is thus somewhat likely that it might fade away fairly quickly. Because the comet is traveling in a low-inclination direct orbit it is also possible that it is a short-period object, and if that turns out to be true it is conceivable that it might be found identical to some comet observed in the past.
The comet is currently located just over a degree south of Saturn. According to latest orbital elements, here are the predictions:
Its elongation will slowly increase over the coming days.
It will travel to the east-southeast through Virgo
It will pass some two degrees northeast of the bright star Spica by third week of November.
It crosses into Libra shortly after mid-December and then into northern Scorpius during the latter part of January 2011.
It will reach its stationary point in early April
It will reach Opposition by end of May.
A "normal" brightness behavior would suggest only a half-magnitude or so of fading from its present brightness by the end of 2010 and a still relatively bright 11th magnitude when the comet is near opposition, however the outburst scenario that is starting to look increasingly likely suggests a fairly rapid fading during the coming weeks, and it may well be beyond the range of visual detectability by the end of this year.
Here are some pics of this fresh comet...
The comet:
http://www.spaceobs.org/images/C2010V1-crop-web.jpg
Widefield:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VJxlsSAndzP73wp8f-Yjt17FIMLW8U1-gFbgUYeKtZKR4TZCgc2XfyvQcU0NhyFHh1wiM5ZqufH57tddZW3av1I3CXOb7dkzYM3_HZ7O1H-nEKcS4ptmzIP_sj94CINr3hYeCuy6cYI/s1600/Ikeya-Murakami+7nov10_FBroms.jpg
A short video of the evolution of the comet over the last few days:
http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2010/11/evolution-of-morphology-of-comet-c2010.html
More info on the comet here:
http://www.earthriseinstitute.org/coms48.html#481
Regards,
Keerthi.
06 November 2010
Sky charts for C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) comet
Here are few approximate reference sky charts for the spotting comet C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami). As the comet is bright, just scan the area shown in the sky charts, and comet should be in the field. Hope for clear skies. The comet can be spotted with binoculars or telescope in the early morning, in the constellation of Virgo. Charts are below rise times of comet C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami)
Date: Rise(IST)
08 Nov 2010: 03:58:35
09 Nov 2010: 03:57:30
10 Nov 2010: 03:56:24
11 Nov 2010: 03:55:18
12 Nov 2010: 03:54:12
13 Nov 2010: 03:53:05
14 Nov 2010: 03:51:57
15 Nov 2010: 03:50:50
16 Nov 2010: 03:49:42
17 Nov 2010: 03:48:33
18 Nov 2010: 03:47:24
19 Nov 2010: 03:46:15
20 Nov 2010: 03:45:05
21 Nov 2010: 03:43:55
22 Nov 2010: 03:42:44
23 Nov 2010: 03:41:33
24 Nov 2010: 03:40:22
25 Nov 2010: 03:39:10
26 Nov 2010: 03:37:57
27 Nov 2010: 03:36:44
28 Nov 2010: 03:35:31
29 Nov 2010: 03:34:17
30 Nov 2010: 03:33:02
C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) on Nov 8
C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) on Nov 11th
C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) on Nov 16th
C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) on Nov 19th
C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) Nov 23rd
C/2010 V1 (Ikeya-Murakami) Nov 27th
05 November 2010
New comet sighted using the good old technique - for a change!
This is an astroalert from Sky & Telescope. If sky is clear in the next couple of days those with binocs/small scopes should be able to spot this. Though it won't be an exciting sight, worth trying!!
regards,
Chandrainsky
Two observers in Japan have independently spotted an 8th-magnitude comet, low in the eastern sky just before before dawn. Kaoru Ikeya spotted the comet with his 25-cm (10-inch) reflector at 39x, while Shigeki Murakami used a 46-cm (18-inch) reflector at 78x, as reported in IAU Circular 9175 of November 3rd from the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT),.
What's truly astonishing is that both Ikeya and Murakami did it the old-fashioned way: by looking into the eyepiece of a telescope! Use of the time-honored technique has become a rarity in this age of powerful professional surveys and digital imaging techniques.
Brian G. Marsden (Minor Planet Center) has calculated a preliminary orbit for the comet, which is officially designated C/2010 V1. It is moving in a parabolic orbit and is just past perihelion, at 1.7 astronomical units from the Sun (that is, well outside the orbit of Mars). So while this comet won't be getting any brighter in the coming weeks, it should stay within reach of binoculars as it moves slowly southeastward across Virgo. On November 4th, J. J. Gonzales in Spain and Carl Hergenrother in Arizona called it roughly magnitude 7.5 in their binoculars, while Alan Hale in New Mexico put it at 9.0. To all three observers, it resembled a fuzzy round glow with no tail.
The following ephemeris gives the comet's coordinates (equinox 2000.0) at 0 hours Universal Time on selected dates and its angular elongation from the Sun.
Comet Ikeya-Murakami
Date
2010 R. A.
h m Dec.
o ' Elong.
o
Nov. 5 12 38.0 -02 26 32.6
Nov. 7 12 43.1 -03 06 33.2
Nov. 9 12 48.2 -03 47 33.8
Nov. 11 12 53.3 -04 27 34.4
Nov. 13 12 58.3 -05 06 35.0
Nov. 15 13 03.4 -05 46 35.6
Be sure to check the online version of this AstroAlert on Sky & Telescope's website for updates when the orbit is improved:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/proamcollab/astroalert/
Also stay tuned to our website's observing highlights. Good luck, and clear skies!
Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Contributing Editor
Sky & Telescope
regards,
Chandrainsky
Two observers in Japan have independently spotted an 8th-magnitude comet, low in the eastern sky just before before dawn. Kaoru Ikeya spotted the comet with his 25-cm (10-inch) reflector at 39x, while Shigeki Murakami used a 46-cm (18-inch) reflector at 78x, as reported in IAU Circular 9175 of November 3rd from the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT),.
What's truly astonishing is that both Ikeya and Murakami did it the old-fashioned way: by looking into the eyepiece of a telescope! Use of the time-honored technique has become a rarity in this age of powerful professional surveys and digital imaging techniques.
Brian G. Marsden (Minor Planet Center) has calculated a preliminary orbit for the comet, which is officially designated C/2010 V1. It is moving in a parabolic orbit and is just past perihelion, at 1.7 astronomical units from the Sun (that is, well outside the orbit of Mars). So while this comet won't be getting any brighter in the coming weeks, it should stay within reach of binoculars as it moves slowly southeastward across Virgo. On November 4th, J. J. Gonzales in Spain and Carl Hergenrother in Arizona called it roughly magnitude 7.5 in their binoculars, while Alan Hale in New Mexico put it at 9.0. To all three observers, it resembled a fuzzy round glow with no tail.
The following ephemeris gives the comet's coordinates (equinox 2000.0) at 0 hours Universal Time on selected dates and its angular elongation from the Sun.
Comet Ikeya-Murakami
Date
2010 R. A.
h m Dec.
o ' Elong.
o
Nov. 5 12 38.0 -02 26 32.6
Nov. 7 12 43.1 -03 06 33.2
Nov. 9 12 48.2 -03 47 33.8
Nov. 11 12 53.3 -04 27 34.4
Nov. 13 12 58.3 -05 06 35.0
Nov. 15 13 03.4 -05 46 35.6
Be sure to check the online version of this AstroAlert on Sky & Telescope's website for updates when the orbit is improved:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/resources/proamcollab/astroalert/
Also stay tuned to our website's observing highlights. Good luck, and clear skies!
Roger W. Sinnott
Senior Contributing Editor
Sky & Telescope
01 November 2010
Planets for the Month
Mercury: Mercury will be close to the Sun in the western horizon and its only after 15th of November that Mercury will be little easy to detect in the evening sky after sunset.
On 20th Mercury will be 1degree and 40 minutes of red planet Mars. The planet Mars will be north east of Mercury.
| Date | Set |
| 01/11/10 | 06:25:00 PM |
| 11/11/10 | 06:43:00 PM |
| 21/11/10 | 07:03:00 PM |
Venus: Venus will be in a good altitude to observe from second week of November. In the constellation of Virgo Venus will be in thin crescent phase and towards the end of the month, about 20 percent of the planet will be illuminated.
| Date | Rise |
| 01/11/10 | 05:51:00 AM |
| 11/11/10 | 04:53:00 AM |
| 21/11/10 | 04:10:00 AM |
Mars: Mars will be visible in the western just after sunset. As the planet is close to the Sun, it will be difficult to make any detailed observation of the planet.
| Date | Set |
| 01/11/10 | 07:22:00 PM |
| 11/11/10 | 07:12:00 PM |
| 21/11/10 | 07:02:00 PM |
Jupiter and Uranus: These two planets are well placed for observations as they will be close to Zenith at the time of sunset. Both planets will remain in this favorable position for observations all month.
Saturn: Saturn in now a morning planet. It will be well placed for observation in the later part of the month as it will rise to a comfortable altitude before twilight.
| Date | Rise |
| 01/11/10 | 04:24:00 AM |
| 11/11/10 | 03:49:00 AM |
| 21/11/10 | 03:14:00 AM |
Neptune: Neptune in the constellation of Capricornus is also well placed for observations.
| Date | Set |
| 01/11/10 | 01:22:00 AM |
| 11/11/10 | 12:43:00 AM |
| 21/11/10 | 12:04:00 AM |
Phases of Moon:
New moon: 06/11/10
First quarter: 13/11/10
Full moon: 21/11/10
Last quarter: 28/11/10
Sun: The Sun will be in the constellation of Libra most part of the month and will move to Scorpio at the end of the month.
Leonids Meteor Shower:
This year there is some good news and little bad news regarding the Leonids shower. First the good news, the Maximum of the Leonids this year will happen at 2:45am IST on 18th November, making it a high probability of observing large number of meteors. Little bad news is that Moon will be at the western horizon, Moon will be close to Full phase and on 18th it will be bright with 85 percent illuminated, it will set at 3:15am. For best results its best to observe on 17th to 19th . Leo will rise at 12am.
20 September 2010
First light of ATM workshop telescope
It was a nice evening at ABAA on Sunday 19th, as the first telescope of this year's ATM workshop saw the first light. The 6 inch telescope mirror was ground and polished by ATM workshop participant Amrutha. The skies were pretty decent, as shiva prasad described it, with very little haze. Later the haze also cleared. The First object the telescope observed was Moon, in gibbous stage. Members and ATM participants enjoyed observing moon's surface and few photos were taken, thanks to Anita and her iPhone 3GS.
Next was the giant planet Jupiter. Witnessing the transit of IO on the surface of Jupiter and wonderful sight of emergence of IO was a good experience.
Congratulations to Amrutha for completing the telescope. In coming couple of Sundays all the telescope will see the first light.
Moon taken through Amrutha's telescope with 9mm eyepiece. Camera is Anita's iPhone 3GS.
Another pic of Moon taken through Amrutha's telescope again with 25mm eyepiece. Camera is Anita's iPhone 3GS.
Vinay trying to photograph Moon with his mobile phone. Anita and Shiva waiting to see the result.
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