Don Utton, Paul Clark and myself went to Llyn Brenig on Thursday night, 5th Dec. The sky had been gloriously clear all day, and my hopes of taking some good photos were raised. I was greeted on arrival by a pristine clear sky, the Milky Way visible from horizon to horizon, but unfortunately this was not to last. Throughout the night, large bands of cloud kept sweeping in, and observing was only possible during the clearer periods, which thankfully were fairly long. I managed to view a few favourites, M15, 37,78, 42, NGC 1977,(Running Man Nebula) 7331, (mag 9.5 galaxy in Pegasus) 2264, (open cluster adjacent to the Cone Nebula in Monoceros) and about half a dozen other open clusters from my target list, heading southwards to NGC2239, the open cluster at the centre of the Rosette Nebula. I did manage to take a couple of photos, piggybacking a camera and 300mm lens, but by 1.30am the periods of cloudy sky became longer than the periods it was clear for, so the decision to pack up was made. by Dave Timperley Desperate Measures The weather has been so bad for dark sky trips! We are now into December and this was only the second rather patchy observing session at Llyn Brenig since mid-summer. Don and I arrived about 18:00. It clouded over after 5 minutes. After setting up the scope it cleared for about an hour. I looked at the Veil for a treat and then searched low down in Aquarius for an obscure and pale mag. 11.3 globular cluster NGC 7492. A re-visit to the area around 1 Arietis found 8 galaxies down to mag. 15 arranged in a ‘tick’ formation. We waited for gaps in the cloud. Abell planetary nebulae are usually faint but realitively large and un-starlike. Numbers 84 and 77 were found near the zenih. Near the Owl Cluster lies another big planetary Sh2-188, originally thought to be an emission nebula this looks like a nice brushed curl of nebulosity. Dropping down to Pisces I(could only just)C 1613 is a very low surface brightnes face-on local group galaxy. A nice trio of NGC galaxies is on the way there. Another similar trio was seen up in Andromeda, NGCs 48, 49 and 51, I don’t know where 50 went. Again intermittent cloud gave opportunity for a coffee break. I found out Dave T had already been there for an hour or so. Abell 4 is near M34, a stiff target at mag. 16.7? The visual magnitude must be higher, it came forth using the OIII filter. Whilst in that area I got an excellent view of the pale edge-on spiral NGC 891. I also picked up 17 other nearby galaxies. Hopping off from the Double Cluster landed me on Maffei I, another local group galaxy. If this was not hidden by the dusty Milky Way it would be *way* bright. I also showed Mayall II to Dave. This is the brightest of the Andromeda galaxy globular clusters. Another big planetary was picked up in Auriga along with the small globular Palomar 2 at mag. 13. The sky became very clear for a while. I saw good spiral arm detail in M74 and also the Horsehead nebula without the aid of a filter. A brief respite allowed some nice views of M35 and NGC 2175, a cluster with lots of nebulosity. Abell 10 in Orion was the last of the night along with some nice views of M42.The cloud set in so we set off home. by Paul Clark #Nebula #LlynBrenig #DoubleCluster #Galaxy

X-OriginalArrivalTime: 13 Oct 2001 14:30:44.0986 (UTC) FILETIME=[A4C8B5A0:01C153F3] Report on Observations of Naked Eye Stars in Pegasus Aim: To observe as many naked eye stars as possible inside the Square of Pegasus, from a dark site in Oman, so as to draw a comparison between skies here, Llyn Brenig and elsewhere. Method: A dark site was visited at an isolated location in the Hajjar Mountains, and once dark-adapted a count was made of the naked eye stars inside the Square of Pegasus. The region was at a high altitude, so there was so there were no problems with atmospheric extinction. Stars observed on the perimeter of the square (Alf And - Bet Peg - Alf Peg - Gam Peg - Alf And) would be counted as being inside the square. Once a star had been positively identified it was ticked off in Norton's. Observations were concluded when no more stars were detected. Results: The following stars were identified: Star                      mv Ups Peg              4.43 Tau Peg              4.60 - 4.62 (v) Psi Peg               4.66 56 Peg               4.76 Phi Peg              5.08 HW Peg            5.32 - 5.62 (v) 75 Peg               5.49 87 Peg               5.56 SAO 108443     5.68 85 Peg               5.80 69 Peg               5.96 - 5.98 (v) SAO 108400     6.16 60 Peg               6.20 65 Peg               6.29 SAO 91321       6.41 SAO 91133       6.57 Observations were made on October 12th., 2001, between 16.13 UT and 16.39 UT. Conclusions: Sixteen stars were identified, of which SAO 91133, at 6m.57 was the faintest. References: Marriott, Chris; SkyMapPro7. by Colin Henshaw #Oman

The Monster, as my wife has christened the 18”, had brought on the ‘new scope’ curse with a vengeance.   Ten days of solid cloud cover had followed delivery (the 1 day old Monster is seen at the last General Meeting left with Bin Wu, Mark Adamson and Paul - GC).  The Sunday forecast suggested a brief interlude between two weather fronts.  A message on the Internet (to Adastra_ADAS) brought no replies.  Not surprising with the drizzling rain!  I set off at 16:30, the car full of telescope.  I arrived to hill fog at Llyn Brenig however 4 miles nearer the coast brought a good clear sky. The mirror box is as heavy as I can lift out of the car.  Set up went OK apart from the laser collimator falling apart! I started off using a 31 mm Type V Nagler eyepiece.  The view through this is like having a porthole on the Universe.  Stars galore spread across an 82 degree apparent field of view.  M42 was stupendous at only 20 degrees elevation., a maelstrom of swirling nebulosity.  Nearby nebulae gave up detail for the first time.  M35 was unrecognisable! I moved over to Stephan’s Quintet in Pegasus.  All 5 components were revealed in a beautiful cluster of galaxies down to mag. 13.5.  Nearby Jones 1 is a huge annular planetary nebula.  Visible with the UHC filter this low surface brightness object was a treat. After an hour the hill fog started to intrude and I packed up to go home.  Heading directly towards the coast instead of the usual route via Denbigh resulted in the sky clearing again.  However, the limiting magnitude deteriorated to about 5.5 owing to the nearby lights of the coastal resorts. Setting up on an unknown side road I found the wind had started to increase.  Freezing my hands and buffeting the telescope.  NGC 7789 competed with the Double Cluster for the title of best ‘open’ of the evening.  Observed on tiptoe, I’d forgotten to bring a step to reach the eyepiece!  Using the 32 mm Plossl with the UHC filter allowed me an excellent view of IC 443 a large, broad curving supernova remnant in Gemini.  Dropping down to Orion the long wide reef of IC 434 dropped down from Zeta Orionis.  A while later the dark notch of the Horsehead nebula became apparent. The conditions were deteriorating and I loaded up to come home.  I’d had two quality hours with the new scope.  (To my surprise) I experienced quite a few teething problems and hopefully learnt a few lessons to make the next time even more successful. by Paul Clark #Dobsonian #DoubleCluster #LlynBrenig #Nebula

The longest day in the Northern hemisphere and it's shortest in the Southern hemisphere. The day of the total eclipse in Zimbabwe on the Mozambique border. The eclipse was absolutely incredible. These pages will have the day from the view point of Graham and Pauline Cliff of ADAS who spent 2 weeks in South Africa and Zimbabwe working up to the eclipse day on 21st June. Well done EXPLORERS it was a brilliant experience! Watch these pages. (NB DV initialise failure and bad IRQ's are slowing progress!) by Unknown ADAS member

NASA has announced a study to explore the impact of the conditions that astronauts might experience while travelling in space. NASA hopes to find out what physical changes occur to scientists on these missions and how much body function is required for a person to complete a specific task.The information will be used to develop methods that allow astronauts to have an easier time physically acclimating to daily life following space exploration. by Unknown ADAS member #NASA #SpaceFlight

Society News Tonight’s meeting will be Dave Timperley talking about globular clusters.  Saturday 11th November is the Leeds Astrofest with talks and exhibitors.  Graham Cliff has details but internet information available at web pagehttp://www.astro.leeds.co.uk/astromeet.html. Manchester Airport Community Fund Paul Clark has sent off the bid to Manchester Airport Community Fund and we will receive initial feedback shortly. Application formally considered mid-January.  Given the bid is in part for the renovation of the clubhouse it is important that we make an effort to do an initial clean out and redecoration.  It is probable that the fund’s members will want to see the buildings if we are to receive support.  Working parties are required to make a start on the clubhouse beginning this Sunday, 5th, bring your own fireworks for 7pm firing. Dark Sky Sites It often seems that the skies are getting cloudier here, perhaps, but whatever there’s nothing we can do about that.  What we can do is to make the most of the clear nights we have and this is what the society is increasingly doing.  One way is by making dark sky trips often with quite large telescopes, as Dave T will testify.  In the last six months we have established a network of sites.  So far the darkest within reasonable range is Gradbach, Staffordshire at Grid ref SJ 000 662 between Wincle and Flash, off the A54 Congleton-Buxton road.  A more accessible site is Teggs Nose, Macclesfield Forest, 953 736, which has the advantage of good hard standing.  Lamaload reservoir, two miles NE of Teggs Nose at 976 746 has darker skies but poorer surface and is not as easy to get to.  Chris Heapy and Paul Brierley use a site at Siddington, SW of Macclesfield 873 725I a small lay-by, the area is dark but with occasional passing cars.  Promisingly Don has found a good site at the end of Lapwing Lane, Monks Heath near Chelford, 822 724.  My recent suggestion has been for a site that is close to Altrincham accepting that it will not be as good as the others yet is easy to get to, one possibility is at Ashley, Brickhill Lane, 787 833 just 3 miles away.  For northern skies Paul C found Hordern Stoops, Winter Hill, Bolton at 656 159.              . Shuttle Discovery Last month the 100th flight of the Shuttle was visible in the evening skies.  The launch of STS-92 discovery was delayed for several days.  In the middle of last month the ISS and Shuttle combination were visible at mag -2 passing through Ophuichus, Aquila and Pegasus.  On the 21st and 22nd October Discovery was seen by several members as a separate object trailing the ISS after it de-docked by 25 and then 50 degrees at maximum elevation. The Shuttle was about one mag fainter than ISS.  There was an outside chance of seeing Discovery on its delayed last orbit as it re-entered for landing.  John followed the ISS well into eclipse suggesting that it had lights on Digital projector Having recently been asked to give a couple of talks using someone else’s material I was given the chance to use the Microsoft package called Powerpoint.  It produces images and text on a laptop and sends them to be projected onto a screen.  The talks were given  in the Bill Shankly suite at Liverpool FC, a shame Sean couldn’t have helped me out wearing his Man U kit.  I reluctantly tried out the still relatively new system but found just how easy it was to prepare and run a professional looking talk (speaker excepted).  Whatever happens to our MIA bid it would be useful if anyone has access to such a system for us to borrow it for use at meetings.  It might also encourage more members to give talks if it could be shown that good quality visual aids can be quite easily produced. Help! You will have noticed that this is a slimmed down newsletter.  The reasons are numerous and the problems are likely to get worse.  I’ve changed jobs, which mean working in Liverpool, and I’ve gone back to studying.  So if anyone can help do the newsletter or provide items it would be appreciated. OBSERVING NOTES Sun In Libra Moon  1st Q 4th, Full 11th, Last Q 18th, New 25th, Mercury  Morning apparition in Virgo, observe low in SE at -0.6 from mid-month Venus has emerged into the evening skies, Sagittarius, -4.4. Sets between 2 to 3 hours after sunset and so should be sighted this month.  Very close to the Moon on the 29th Mars in Virgo in the morning skies, +1.7, approaching Spica by the end of the month. Jupiter in Taurus -2.8.  On the 12th the Moon is between Jupiter and Saturn, with the Pleiades above them. Saturn in Taurus - 0.3.  The planet presents a sizeable disc of 20” and the rings are nicely tilted towards us and so visible in firmly held binoculars. Uranus in Capricornus +5.7, near  Capricornus Neptune also in Capricornus, +7.8, near  Capricornus Asteroids   Good selection this month . 3 Juno +9.8 Aquarius, 4 Vesta 7.9 Capricornus, 16 Psyche 9.8 Taurus, 115 Thyra 9.7 Perseus. 192 Nausikaa 9.3 Pisces, 324 Bamberga 8.9 Perseus.  On the 26th 8 Flora at 10.5 is just 6’S of  Cap. Meteors      Leonids badly affected by moonlight but still worth a go at maximum on the morning of the 17th   . Also could try on the morning of the 18th, no storm predicted but rate of up to 100 meteors per hour possible. Comets    C/1991 Y1 a difficult mag 12 comet in Andromeda.  There is McNaught-Hartley (C/1999 T1) at mag 8 in Centaurus currently heading northwards and brightening, due to enter northern skies next month. Variable Stars Mira fading from maximum.  Algol at minima 15th 0210, 17th 2259, 20th 1948, 23rd 1647 Satellites    Mir has just entered a two week period of evening visibility and can be seen every evening.  Moscow announced in October that it will be ‘ditched’ next February.  That means it will only be visible in the evening skies for this month and in January before its demise after fifteen years in orbit. More information from Roger Livermore on 0161-969-4507 or e-mail at Roger.Livermore@btinternet.com FOOTNOTE Roger now has TWO e-mail addresses, compuserve at page head will remain until btinternet works OK !!! You can receive ADAS news by joining Ad.Astra via http://ad.astra.listbot.com The Sun from SOHO. (Dave T. recommended)!: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov The Sun as observed this day  through the Mees white light telescope in Hawaii: http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/MWLT/mwlt.html Stars from ADAS's Sky Map 8 planisphere: http://www.adas.u-net.com/skymaps.html Planets via Sky and Telescope ‘What’s Up?’: http://www.skypub.com/sights/sights.shtml Asteroids via Heavens-Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Comets BAA: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds Comets NASA: http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/whats_visible.html Meteors  the IMO calendar via: http://www.imo.net Aurora alert  York University: http://www.aurorawatch.york.ac.uk/ Satellites from Heavens Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Variable stars, novae and supernovae AAVSO: http://www.aavso.org by Rodger Livermoore

Society News Tonight’s meeting (Friday 4th May) we have Sean talking about the Space Shuttle and Paul Clark on his recent observing from Tenerife.  Paul will also give an animated sky diary tour including the brighter deep sky objects of Scorpius and Sagittarius. Colin H will show slides of the lunar eclipse.  Graham Cliff showed the 200 MB Media Player CD of the Christmas Quiz video (contact him for copies).  Next September's meetings will move into the larger upstairs room at the village hall due to the increased membership of the society, thanks to Colin H for arranging.  We are considering splitting the secretary post as it is the most onerous.  Please remember that there is astronomical equipment for loan.  There is the Critchley Meade and the MIA binoculars but we’d like to have them available for Friday nights at the obs. Working Party Work is proceeding on the MIA front with us having received the binocular pillar and parallelogram mount.  There are quotes for the hard standing for an observing platform at the obs and we have marked out the area.  There are still decisions to be made on this and the meeting room renovations. Have fun at the working party tomorrow Sat 5th rain/shine. For Sale: Orion Optics GX200 f/5.6 Newtonian on Vixen Great Polaris Mount. Telescope and mount are in excellent condition.  Price £495.00 but I will accept offers from ADAS members. Please contact Paul Brierley on 01625 427148 or e-mail paul.brierley@easynet.co.uk Lamaload Observing Paul Brierley and Chris Heapy report on a good night’s darksky observing at Lamaload Res near Macclesfield on 20th April. The ‘scope used was the impressive 16 inch F/5.0 Dobsonian and the naked-eye limiting magnitude was +5.0.  Paul writes: -   ‘We arrived at Lamaload at 8:30 to find it closed because of Foot and Mouth Disease, so we had to make do with the entrance to the car park.  Chris soon had the ‘scope unpacked and after some teething problems we were ready to observe. Our first target was M3 in Canes Venatici.  Using a 24 mm TeleVue zoom eyepiece the globular cluster was easily resolved to the core it was certainly a tremendous sight even in the twilight you could see stars almost to the core.  We next had a look at M51/NGC5195.  This galaxy was very clear we could see the connecting dust lane that connects M51 to NGC 5195.  Also we were able to see the spiral arms in M51, which I have only seen in pictures.  We then had a look at M13.  Wow the eyepiece was just filled with hundreds of stars I've never seen anything like it. We then took a break and then pointed the ‘scope towards the Virgo Cluster.  I found M87, M84, M85, M86, and a whole load of other fainter NGC galaxies.  I think we must have seen about twelve galaxies in total.  NGC 4565 in Coma Berenices was another target.  I have seen it in my 8" Newtonian but only as a faint edge on smudge.  The 16" showed some detail.  We could see the dust lane as well as a bright nucleus.  M53 in Coma was another object we looked at. This globular cluster filled the low power eyepiece with hundreds of stars. Whilst in Coma Berenices we found M64 "The Black Eye" galaxy, and you could see why it was given this name.  A bright nucleus and tight spiral arms were visible in the 24 mm TV eyepiece.  M65/66 in Leo was also visible through the ‘scope and it was nice to see detail in these objects.  I hope that more of you will come out and join myself and Chris during the coming months.’ Asteroid Party This month sees a flyby of the potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) 1999 KW4 which will be visible in small telescopes at mag 10.7.  The Aten flies through Aquila on 25th at 0.0032 AU whereas in 2036 it will be closer at 0.015 size unknown, orbit uncertain.  It will be moving at about one degree per hour.  We are proposing an asteroid party to observe it; it will need to be after midnight, my obs is the suggested venue.  As a project we can try and get positions and timings on it over a few days.  If successful Mike Prescott and I will try and calculate the orbit.  We can also try and locate other asteroids.  A versatile asteroid resource is the Lovell Observatory which will give the location of any known asteroid, go to http://asteroid.lowell.edu Total Eclipse Next month Graham and Pauline will be going to southern Africa to see the first total solar eclipse of the millennium, we wish them a good trip and clear skies. OBSERVING NOTES This month’s ‘star’ attraction is the chance to see the elusive Mercury.  So if you haven’t seen it before why not give it a go.  It moves significantly from night to night, so if you need very specific information on where to see it either use a planetarium program* or if you don’t have one then give me call and I can give alt-az information for particular times. Sun   In Aries and moves into Taurus.   For calculating the latitude, longitude and size of sunspots try the software by Peter Meadows at: -http://www.meadows3.demon.co.uk/html/software.html   This is a simple to use program and well worth a try for monitoring sunspots. Moon  Full 7th, Last Qtr 15th, New 23rd, 1st Qtr 30th. Mercury  Best chance of seeing Mercury this year with a good evening apparition. Mag –1.5 at the start of the month in rises to maximum elongation on 22nd but by which time it will have faded below mag +0. Just N of Saturn on 7th and Jupiter on 16th. Moon to the S on 24th. Venus  Bright morning object mag –4.5, Moon nearby on 19th. Mars  Mag –2 low in Sagittarius, rises by 2200, Moon nearby on 10th/11th.  Opposition next month. Jupiter   Bright and visible in the west early in the month, setting by 2100, Moon nearby on 24th. Saturn In conjunction with the Sun on 25th.. Uranus Morning object in Capricornus , +6 rising at midnight. North of Moon on 15th.  Lies between 42, 44 and 45 Cap- near mu Cap. Neptune Also in Capricornus mag 8 near upsilon Cap. Pluto  In Ophuichus mag 14, nearing oppostion. Asteroids Rare occultation of a star by a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) on May 27/28.  1994 JR1 predicted to occult 11th mag star TYC 6240 0697 in Ophuichus , shadow may cross UK at 23.57UT.  Details from http://wwww.ast.cam.ac.uk/~baaa/occ.html The TNO is mag 23 and has dia 193 km.  The orbit is insufficiently well known to give accurate predictions at this stage.  Brightest asteroid this month is 532 Herculina +9 in Bootes, within 10” of 14 Boo on May 18. Comets  LINEAR 2001 A2 unexpectedly brightened substantially last month up to +7/8 in Monoceros but was very low and is now lost in twilight.  1991 T1 McNaught-Hartley mag 11 in Draco.  Brighter is 24P/Schaumasse at mag 10 in Auriga and Gemini. Meteors No showers worth observing this month.  A watch on the Lyrids by Colin Henshaw on the morning of the 21st April gave none. Variables Delta Sco still in outburst, Colin Henshaw has recent mag estimates Satellites Last month we observed the International Space Station from the obs on two occasions and on the 20th we may have got a sighting of the Shuttle Endeavour following it.  On the 20th they were both low in the west at mag +2 and 4 respectively. * Planetarium Program a reminder that there is a free planetarium program available via ADAS webpage links to Cartes du Ciel,  http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/index.html It lacks some of the features and slickness of commercial packages such as Skymap, Red Shift or Guide but it is quite suitable for many needs.  It shows comets and asteroids and can be used to control telescopes such as the Meade Autostars and LX 200 and the Celestron NexStars New Newsgroup: There is a new free newsgroup to give UK observers an alert warning.  Advertised in the April BAA Journal, for information check out at  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/star-ge More information from Roger Livermore on 0161-969-4507 or e-mail at Roger.Livermore@btinternet.com Ad.Astra newsgroup at http://ad.astra.listbot.com. Click HERE to access April newsletter. The links below have been copied over from Roger's December newsletter. The Sun from SOHO. (Dave T. recommended)!: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov The Sun as observed this day  through the Mees white light telescope in Hawaii: http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/MWLT/mwlt.html Stars from ADAS's Sky Map 8 planisphere: http://www.adas.u-net.com/skymaps.html Planets via Sky and Telescope ‘What’s Up?’: http://www.skypub.com/sights/sights.shtml Asteroids via Heavens-Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Comets BAA: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds Comets NASA: http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/whats_visible.html Meteors  the IMO calendar via: http://www.imo.net Aurora alert  York University: http://www.aurorawatch.york.ac.uk/ Satellites from Heavens Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Variable stars, novae and supernovae AAVSO: http://www.aavso.org by Rodger Livermoore

The recent inclement weather in Britain (the flooding) and the fact that this year (2000) is Sunspot maximum reminds me that the last bad storms were 1987/90, nearly one Sunspot cycle ago! This was the last time we had major Aurora Borealis, just like we have had this year (2000)! And apparently the USA has had clear skies, hot weather and drought in the midwest! The start of 2001 has had reports of coldest ever temperatures in parts of the USA and Siberia whilst Moscow has had warmer than usual temperatures. All blamed on global warming!? At least the EURO's value is NOT blamed on global warming or will it? Is there even any correlation between Sunspot cycles and El Nino? In fact is there any chance of anyone out there getting  research data identified to chase up the BAD WEATHER Storms/Sunspot connection and NOT simply a temperature connection? Dr. Chris Butler of Armagh observatoryand planetarium, Northern Ireland has already demonstrated that there exists a temperature connection between Sunspot cycle length and temperature in the literature. That is for the last 200 YEARS at least! ie when there was NO global warming!?  I remember recently an explanation on TV that the solar wind detector satellites sent up by NASA were there to check for particle densities in near Earth orbit to anticipate satellite interference problems. However there was also speculation that higher Sunspot activity, increasing the Solar wind density, could also result in an increase in particles getting into the Earth's atmosphere. This potentially had the knock-on effect of causing more rain generally, therefore FEWER clouds and hence clearer skies, which meant then, in warmer climes, more evaporation and therefore more water in suspension in the atmosphere. This would subsequently fall elsewhere as rain because of the increased availability of the particles on which moisture could condense. And so NASA thought Sunspots and Storms/Heavy Rains are related - QED!? Are there any storm record achives that anyone knows of and which could be accessed by private individuals? Anybody out there got any thoughts on this interesting hypothesis? Wednesday 18th October provided an opportunity to check for Sunspots. The effort was a complete waste of time.  "TWO" groups only worthy of comment and certainly not worth photographing or even going to MEES in Hawaii for a decent picture! Sadly the naked eye Sunspots reported below have gone and been replaced by a line of Sunspot "minnows"! C'est la vie.  They were seen Friday 22nd September from Shrewsbury rail station (on the way to Portmeirion) using pin-hole projection, to other rail users amusement. Did anyone see any Aurora caused by them? YIPPEE!!!! Two NAKED EYE Sunspots! Can you believe it? At LONG last!!!!!! Click ON the thumbnails below to get the BIGGER pictures. You will then need to go BACK in your browser to return to this page.  The BW picture is courtesy Paul Brierley from England taken at 10.15 UT 21st September. Even better you can have a look yourself at the Mees White Light Telescope image set from Hawaii, from which the first thumbnail below was taken. If you try it visually do not forget to use last year's eclipse shades!? MWLT access is indicated below. Check out Aurora predictions from Alaska at http://www.hamradio-online.com/aurora.html The Sun from Manchester England showed 4 Sunspot groups 7th July at 3pm BST. One Sunspot was possibly naked eye!? Keep a check on the Mees White Light telescope page if you cannot observe for yourself. Go to the web links page for access to the Mees White Light Scope. Click HERE to quicklink the links page. by Unknown ADAS member #SunSpots #Sun #Aurora

Our meeting on Friday May 5th at our new venue was, judging by the reactions of those present, a great success. Our new venue is upstairs in the Scout hut on Park road near to the junction with Stockport road. Heading from the junction it’s on your left and there is ample off road parking. It is also marked on the map on the “where to find us” page on the web site. Please enter through the door nearest the car park. by Kevin

Have a look at this fascinating tour around the ISS. This is an excellent video (25 Mins) from NASA and illustrates much of the way that astronauts live. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doN4t5NKW-k by Geoff Flood #ISS #NASA #Link #Video

Friday 27th Borg 101ED A range of observers saw a mixed bag of objects in a clear sky and blinding nearly full moon. Coathanger Cr 399 3.6 asterism - Vulpecula Dumbell M27 7.4 planetary nebula - Vulpecula Albireo 3 colourful double - Cygnus Owl cluster NGC 457 6.4 open cluster - Cassiopeia M39 4.6 open cluster - Cygnus M103 7.4 open cluster - Cassiopeia Mizar & Alcor 2 double/triple - Ursa Major NGC 6633 4.6 open cluster - Ophiuchus M15 6.3 globular cluster - Pegasus Makes a change! by Paul Brierley #OpenCluster #GlobularCluster #PlanetaryNebula

The Newsletter of the Altrincham and District Astronomical Society. Society News January 2001. Tonight’s meeting (5th January) we hope to have Mark Adamson, subject Astrophotography. The Christmas quiz was an outstanding success thanks to the organisers Chris, Chris and Derek and Don together with our resident caterers the Oldburys (a question for Sean-where were the Keane prawn sandwiches?).  The event was memorable for seeing other societies join us, particularly the far-travelling Gwynedd team from Bangor, and the prizes for all teams given by Gavin.  It did of course also produce the right result as the Hale-Boppers ran in as narrow winners.  I’d feared a home loss due our lack of training and our waterlogged pitch.  But now the ADAS trophy sits proudly (!) on my sideboard and Sean, Paul, Colin S and I have our NASA T-shirt prizes. Kevin won the audience participation constellation quiz and the collective of Joan, Helen and Kirsty won the cartoon caption competition (click HERE to have a look at the cartoon AND their winning caption!?).  The annual European Astrofest takes place in London at Kensington and Chelsea Town Hall Feb 2nd and 3rd.  Away from observing, Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs made a rare excursion into astronomy when it shipwrecked Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, the discoverer of pulsars (click HERE to access the page of photos from  her IAU lecture in August).  In addition to the tale of discovery which some of us heard in August she also gave insights into the status of women in science during the 60’s and 70’s.  From a Quaker perspective she gave a gentle balance of religion and science, which accommodated both.  Also at last there has been recognition for Patrick Moore who received a knighthood in the New Year’s honours list for his services in popularising science.  Indeed there can be few who have had such an influence in any field. Lapwing Lane. Paul Clark confirms this site at Monks Heath near Chelford, 822 724 as a good dark sky site. ‘After the December meeting I drove out to the site at the end of the lane overlooking the disused quarry and woodland.   Keeping at a reasonable elevation (above 30 degrees) I could see Planetary Nebulae down to mag. 13 and 12.8, Open Clusters to 11.5 & 10.2, Galaxies to a surface brightness of 13.6 and a diffuse Globular Cluster at mag. 10.4.  All seen with a 140mm Mak-Cass.  Many of the showpiece objects showed up very well. The Orion and Eskimo nebulas, the Messier clusters etc. I set my telescope up on the road, not over the gate. This was more than adequate with the trees providing shelter from the wind and some of the Manchester light pollution.  It is about 30 minutes drive from Timperley and a good alternative to the exposed and cosmopolitan Teggs Nose.  Promisingly Don has found a good site. December Observing. December saw some observing between the clouds and rain with Graham C using his digital video camera on the 14” Newtonian.  Good images were obtained of the Moon, Jupiter’s cloudbelts, and Saturn.  A case is being made to purchase a colour system for £130 from Peter Drew of the Amateur Astronomy Centre plus an additional monitor for the clubhouse.  A two monitor system would enable the thin-blooded society members to sit in the clubhouse watching the screen whilst the hardy workers find and focus the objects from the observatory roof out in the elements.  I still get this impression of us moving towards imitating the Royle family, all sat around watching television.  The fact that they live within our catchment area just compounds the image.  As was sensed Christmas did give some good observing with the Moon out the way. Our pre-Christmas observing gave a good night with the 14” and Paul’s Maksutov.  There was an Ursid on the night of the maximum and Kevin set the scope up with good contrast views of the Orion Nebula and of the open cluster M36 in Auriga with a field full of stars and a bright red star at the centre.  Paul set about a festive tour where we tried to find objects with a seasonal connection. We first got the Rosette nebula cluster NGC 2244 near Betelgeuse and followed it with the Christmas Tree cluster NGC 2264, in Monoceros near 15 Mon.  Next was the Snowball cluster, Cassiopeia followed by the Eskimo planetary nebula, NGC 2392 near delta Gem. Then the imagination ran out, - any other suggestions?  Mark took images of Jupiter and the Orion Nebula using a hand-held digital camera, the Nikon Coolpix 880, on the 14”.  For more of Mark’s images visit his very popular site at http://www.carmine.demon.co.uk/astro/astro.htm.  The Christmas holiday did bring some clear skies and excellent views of the major planets, and the star fields of Orion and Monoceros.  The national press and BBC gave good predictions of the International Space Station, which must have meant that many more would have seen it.  The ISS has increased in brightness since the fitting of the larger solar panels, though the difference is variable depending on their angle relative to us. TV and radio gave good coverage of the passes.   The morning of the 27th gave a first sighting of the long period comet McNaught-Hartley at mag +8 near alpha Librae. Party. In considering a joint event with other societies we are now planning to hold an August meteor watch for the Perseids from Teggs Nose.  The shower peaks at 15h on the Sunday 12th so a watch on the night of Saturday 11th should be productive - skies willing.  There is the option of a BBQ if we have the equipment and there are no local byelaws against it.  We have plenty of time to contact other societies via NWGAS and to make arrangements. The Astronomy Centre star party takes place on Easter Saturday George Alcock. The death of George Alcock has been announced by the RAS (according to Colin H, FRAS).  He was a successful amateur astronomy responsible for comet and novae discoveries. The most famous of these was Nova Delphini, also known as HR Delphini.  Many of us will remember seeing the nova in 1967 when it rose to +3.5 before slowly fading.  It is currently about mag 12.5 and still within reach of amateur ‘scopes.  It is at RA 20 40.1 Dec + 18 59  Starchart from me. Comet C/2000 WM 1(LINEAR) A comet discovery by LINEAR has given us the promise of another naked-eye comet later this year. C/2000 WM 1 was originally thought to be asteroidal when first picked up on November 16 but by a month later was seen at mag 17 with a 10" coma and a broad, faint tail some 10"-20" long in p.a. 45 deg.  It will only come within binocular range during October and November when it will be swooping south through Perseus, Aries and Cetus brightening to around mag 4 or 5 as it moves well south and is lost to us. OBSERVING NOTES. Earth   At perihelion 4d 09h, 147 million km. Sun   In Sagittarius / Capricornus. Moon  Total eclipse on 9th, totality between 1948-2052, it enters the umbra at 1842 and leaves it at 2200. Click HERE to access a SkyMap Pro7 composite of the predicted eclipse detail. There are also occultations visible at the same time. ZC 1125 mag +6.5 at 1947, ZC 1129 mag 5.3 at 20.21 but marginal if visible from here, Timperley.  1st Qtr 2nd, Full 9th, Last Qtr 16th, New 24th. Mercury  Visible in the evening skies, greatest eastern elongation on 28th, near the Moon on 25th and 26th Sets about 1.5 hrs after sunset about the 20th, low in the south-west. Venus Brilliant object mag –4.5 in the western evening skies, greatest elongation of 47 degrees on the 17th. Near the Moon on 28th. Mars  Morning object and brightening to mag 1, moves from Virgo into Libra by the end of the month. Rises by 2am at end of the month. Moon nearby on the 18th. Jupiter, mag –2.5 in Taurus, stationary point 27th. Sets by 3am, Moon close on the 6th. Saturn mag 0 also in Taurus, stationary point 27th. Moon nearby on the 5th. Uranus +6 and very low in evening twilight in Capricornus Neptune +8 and also in Capricornus Pluto  Emerging as a difficult morning object in Ophiuchus. Meteors  The Quadrantids took place on the 3rd but there are no reasonable showers now till April’s Lyrids.  However this year should be a good year for meteors with the Moon missing the major showers, unlike last year.  It will also be a year to try for the Leonids, which could storm in November. Comets  C1999 T1 McNaught-Hartley is now visible in the morning skies moving northwards in Serpens at around mag +8 and so within binocular range Asteroids 16 Psyche +10.1 in Taurus and 64 Angelina  +10.5 in Gemini. Variables Mira-type variable Chi Cygni at maximum of about +5 ~24th. Satellites Mir is visible in the early evening for the first part of the month.  This could be the last chance to see the space station before it is due to be brought down in February.  It has been in our skies for the last fourteen years and has probably become the most seen man-made object.  Mir is due to re-enter between 26 & 28 February (hopefully) east of Australia. The Sun from SOHO. (Dave T. recommended)!: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov The Sun as observed this day  through the Mees white light telescope in Hawaii: http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/MWLT/mwlt.html Stars from ADAS's Sky Map 8 planisphere: http://www.adas.u-net.com/skymaps.html Planets via Sky and Telescope ‘What’s Up?’: http://www.skypub.com/sights/sights.shtml Asteroids via Heavens-Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Comets BAA: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds Comets NASA: http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/whats_visible.html Meteors  the IMO calendar via: http://www.imo.net Aurora alert  York University: http://www.aurorawatch.york.ac.uk/ Satellites from Heavens Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Variable stars, novae and supernovae AAVSO: http://www.aavso.org by Rodger Livermoore For the previous newsletter, click here.

So far, we have 2 confirmed sightings of the object by Roger Livermore Richard Bullock and Phil Masding. No such luck for Paul Brierley or myself. Interesting to see that varying equipment produced varying results - Roger's sighting was with a 10'' SCT, and Richard's with a 4'' Newtonian. Paul drew a blank using a 12'' Newtonian, and I also failed to see it with the society's 20x100 bins. I was definitely looking in the right place at the right time, but no luck, ho hum. Don Utton and Colin Henshaw may well have managed to image the asteroid, so let's hope they were successful in their attempts, and watch this space for results. by Unknown ADAS member #Asteroid

It seems the weather in the good old North-West of England has lived up to it's usual reputation, robbing us of yet another meteor shower following last year's cloud cover for this event, the Leonids and the Geminids. The sky was beautifully clear right up until about an hour before sunset, and then right on cue, in rolls heavy cloud cover from the west. I sat on my back doorstep and watched in dismay as pristine blue sky gave way to total cloud cover, which has remained up until the time of this posting, just after 2am, Tuesday morning. Now I must go and sulk. The Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday, September 6th at 8pm, at the village hall as usual. I hope to make the Latest News page an interesting place to visit, and welcome any suggestions regarding improvements, etc., so please don't be backward in coming forward if you have ideas. Tony Blair commented on winning the General Election in 1997 that his new government had to 'hit the ground running', whereas I have just, well, 'hit the ground' when it comes to web publishing, and will be continuously looking at ways to improve 'The Astroadas Experience'. That's all for now, more updates soon. Well, another observing season beckons with the approach of the Perseids Meteor Shower, on 'The Glorious Twelfth' (unless you happen to be a grouse of course, and then you'll stay in bed if you know what's good for you) Paul Brierley has suggested a visit to Siddington that very night to view proceedings, so please keep an eye on the dark sky page for confirmation and details if you are interested by Unknown ADAS member #MeteorShower #Perseids

The society was again involved in Timperley Country Fair on Saturday 18th September to raise money for the society as a group having charity status. The weather was expected to be inclement i.e. pouring rain and gales. Cats and dogs weather. The Fair was expected to be a sad event as the Friday night before we had the best view of dark skies for months. The Gavin Critchley Meade was a treat finding everything it was pointed at! Jupiter was superb as was Saturn. We even saw Uranus and Neptune(?). Messier objects were real easy! The Moon although low was in fine fettle. Thanks Gav. The Fair however was dry and with good attendance we raised £182. The picture mosaic below summarises the day. No telescope because of the expected inclement weather, Ged and Don setting up, people buying, Colin Steele and stall staff doing a photo shoot for the record and Don with his, Christine Lavender's and Christine McCominskey's LUNAR LUCKY DIP (EVERYONE A WINNER). The kids loved it. They picked NASA straw test probes from the 'LUNAR' surface and won a lolly, a fine prize or lesser prize as luck would have it. Seems like we will have it again next year. by Unknown ADAS member #TimperleyFair #Fundraising

(RASC=Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, NGC= New General Catalogue) The drive across to Llyn Brenig was tedious.  It was early evening on a Sunday.  The weekend had already been long and I wondered if it would be worth the effort.  I reached my normal turn off to find the gate padlocked shut.  Turning off a little further down I drove for a long way through a gloomy forest until a clearing appeared.  This looked fair and after another 100 yards I was back on the road!   I drove back to the start of the clearing to set up.  On stepping out of the car I realised immediately that the trip had been worthwhile.  The Milky Way arced clearly across the sky from west to east and the constellations were hiding amongst an almost overwhelming number of stars! I started low in the south-west in Cetus.  I was hoping to pick off some galaxies that had been missed previously owing to the poor transparency and light pollution that plagues observing sites south of Manchester.  NGCs 157 and 210, at mags. 10.4 and 10.9 respectively were easily found between and adjacent to convenient finder stars.  Moving right down to the horizon I was then amazed to pick up the large galaxy NGC 247 at an elevation of 5 degrees!  This galaxy has in integrated magnitude of 9.1 however, being over 20 arc minutes long and 5 wide has a relatively low surface brightness of 14 mag/sq.arcmin.  I could trace an elliptical glow from the finder star at one end up and across the FOV for about 15 arc minutes. Another galaxy missed on several occasions is a member of the Local Group NGC 147.  This time I had brought along a particularly detailed finder chart and the 14.2 mag/sq.arcmin galaxy finally faded into view.  On the way I had seen M31, 32 and 110 blazing out from the dark sky.  NGC 185 was also picked up again, another Local Group member. Dropping right down to the horizon I had a try for some objects in eastern Cetus and Fornax (The Furnace).  NGC 908 was an undistinguished galaxy however, NGC 1360 is a large bright planetary.  It has a bright central star with a round diffuse halo about twice the size of the Ring Nebula.  Moving up to the dizzy elevation of 15 degrees NGC 1232 is a galaxy with a bright central condensation and NGC 1300 a diffuse faint face-on spiral, both in Eridanus.  Shifting a little to the east Lepus was now available below Orion.  The galaxy NGC 1964 proved awkward right next to a star with an inadequate chart.  IC 418 appears as a non-star-like planetary at mag. 10.7.  This can be seen in the February Astronomy Now as The Spirograph Nebula. The sky was still very clear and dark, with the telescope optics showing no sign of dew it was Bright Nebula time.  I had hand marked a nebula NGC 1333 on a chart of the Perseus/Pleiades region.  It had been commented upon in one of the magazines as worthwhile.  On first sight I thought I’d found a comet!  A bright oval coma with dense nebulosity hiding a star as the nucleus, recommended.  Next I tried for the Tank Track Nebula.  This is adjacent to zeta Orionis, the left-most star in the belt.  The glare of the star did not overwhelm the nebulosity to the east, however it was much brighter with zeta Orionis just outside the FOV.  The nebula had an obvious dark notch just like in the photographs.  I then took the opportunity to have a look at the Rosette Nebula for the first time under dark sky.  This was best seen using an Ultra High Contrast filter held over the eyepiece of the finder scope!  Possibly even more spectacular then the Great Orion Nebula.  A definite must for anyone, this large wreath of turbulent nebulosity surrounds a bright mini-Gemini star cluster.  Nearby, I also found Hubble’s Variable Nebula, a fan shaped brightness hiding a star at the pointy end.  Bright nebulae in Orion were also easily found this time.  Mini comets, blobs and curtains of light all worthwhile. Monoceros and Canis Major were now both well up.  The Herschel 400 lists numerous open clusters in this region.  Of the twelve I identified I can recommend NGC 2301 in Monoceros and NGC 2362 in Canis Major as well worth seeking out.  At mags. 6 and 4.1 respectively they are bright and interesting.  To finish of I sought out a couple of galaxies in Ursa Major.  NGC 2742 was challenging at 11.4 whilst NGC 2768 is well worth finding at mag. 9.9.  By now the moon was rising and it was time to finish. I have been using the Herschel 400 and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Finest 110 NGCs catalogue to guide my observing program.  I can certainly recommend the RASC Finest 110 NGCs.  None of the objects listed have disappointed.  The H400 can be a bit tedious, with some nondescript open clusters and galaxies. by Paul Clark #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Nebula #GlobularCluster #LocalGroup

Mark Crossley has "some" of the bits for the ADAS web cam, he says "Well the webcam and cables have arrived, now we need to wait for the 1 1/4 inch adapter from the USA. I (will) try the web cam on my laptop with the two extension cables and see if it will work at that sort of distance. I'll keep you posted. Mark. John Locker has sent over the image of Saturn from Sunday taken from his home(?) in the Wirral. They are getting better! by Unknown ADAS member #WebCam #Saturn

Tonight’s meeting (1st June) is scheduled to be Chris Heapy and Paul Brierley.  (editor's note Chris and Paul were unable to make it. Dr. Colin Steele stood in with a talk on "Calendrical Systems", see him on the June late breaking news page by clicking HERE). At the time of going to press it was not known what the subject would be but is likely to be on observational astronomy and imaging.  There are no formal meetings for July and August; the next meeting will be on Friday September 7th at 8pm prompt when we will have moved to the upstairs room of the Timperley Village Hall.  That meeting will be the AGM and there will be a talk by Mike Molnar on Pluto.  Paul Clark got an item into this month’s Astronomy Now society page on the Manchester Airport Community Fund award.  The working party took place on 5 May and we managed to tidy out the meeting room, do some painting and re-carpet.  There were some repairs to the external structures and clearing and burning of rubbish.  The fence has been redone and is much more substantial, whilst some of the late-planted hawthorns have taken and should grow quite quickly to give us back the hedge in 3-4 years.  Paul has been arranging with contractors to do the hard-standing- one problem was that they wanted to demolish the new fence and hedge that it had taken us so long to get fixed!  For the next session we’ll need a newsletter editor.  Due to work and studying the current incumbent has a lack of time, energy and inspiration. I’ll still be able to help but anyone interested please contact chairman Chris or myself. May Observing Reports As hoped for, many of us managed to see Mercury and we had two good Fridays at the obs where we observed it firstly to the right of the brighter Jupiter and then well above it the following week.  Several members at other locations with larger telescopes were able to see the phases of the planet.  Chris Heapy and Paul Brierley have been active with the 16” Dobsonian and Paul’s new 12” Orion out at Siddington.  Paul Clark and Colin H joined them for an evening of galaxies, globulars and planetary nebulae.  Our other dark sky sites remain out of bounds with the continuing Foot and Mouth restrictions.  Elsewhere John Tipping’s homemade and very portable 6” Newtonian has seen first light.  He has already made some difficult observations of the features of Mars with the planet being very low in the sky.  The runes finally held good for the Aten 1999KW4.  Most of the Spring Bank Holiday weekend was clouded-out.  However on Monday 28th the weather cleared, I dashed back from Everest (the Imax film) and was joined by Paul C, Graham C, Peter and Alison Ward.  We got in the midnight hour before the clouds came in again.  The asteroid was visible in the OMC140 and 10” LX200, gradually moving through the head of Serpens at about mag 11.5 var.  As Paul noted it moved quite perceptibly in a minute and was ahead of the 1 April orbital elements.  Radar observations have just found the asteroid to be a binary; one half is at least three times the size of the other.  Both are less than 2 or 3 km across.  It has a very peculiar light curve with brightness fluctuations of 0.1 to 0.2 mag, in about three hours.  Reports now in from Don and John T having got the Aten with 8” SCT and 6” Newtonian on 28/29th. Diary Dates Gatley Festival July 1.  Priority -Tombola and help needed to staff the ADAS stall. Perseids Star Party currently scheduled for the ADAS Observatory Saturday August 12 UK Space Centre, Leicester to be announced for July/August. Also considered is a trip to Manchester Printworks to see the Imax space film.   During the summer stay tuned to ADAS webpages and Ad.Astra newsgroups.  We will continue to meet at the obs on Friday evenings and at the Quarry Bank PH on Wednesdays from about 9.30. NorthWest GAS Meeting A meeting of the NWGAS took place on 19th May, hosted by Gynedd AS at the Gard Fon pub, Y Felinheli which overlooks the Menai Straits. There were representatives from Gynedd AS, Chester AS, Liverpool AS, Manchester AS, Don Utton and Graham Cliff on behalf of ADAS. The Campaign for Dark Skies continues with some success, it seems that potential financial savings has the greatest impact. The Federation of Astronomical Societies (FAS) is considering setting up an E-Group for news etc. We mentioned that we already have a group (Ad.Astra) and that it works well. The premium for public liability insurance is likely to increase to around £15 due to a change in insurer. Manchester AS in collaboration with Salford AS are embarking on a group project to make five 16" Dobsonians.  Liverpool reminded everyone that they are holding a convention on 20th October to which we are all invited. There are a couple of slots open for anyone interested in giving a 20-minute talk.  Several societies have visited the factory of Liverpool Telescope Technologies and impressed.  We mentioned that we’d been to Llyn Brenig several times, thought it was the best dark sky site around, and asked if there was any interest in a joint NWGAS session some time - probably late summer. Liverpool, Gwynedd and Chester all said yes. It was agreed that details would be worked out later and it would have to be finalised on the day.  Gerard Gilligan (LAS) said he would try to send details of their local contact. We returned by way of Llyn Brenig, Graham not having seen it before, and Gerard had described in more detail where they go. The sheltered site first found by Paul is now blocked off with a padlocked gate. The exposed site '1' (53deg 6.44' N, 3deg 32.16'W) has a temporary 'foot and mouth' keep out notice. The LAS site (53deg6.25'N, 3deg 31.2'W), which is about a mile away, is at the end of a 1/2-mile long narrow but well paved track. There is plenty of space for around half a dozen cars, a couple of picnic benches, and a locked toilet building. The horizons are reasonable but are somewhat limited by trees and hills however it is clearly more sheltered than the exposed site. I would think a good alternative if it was too windy at '1'.  The next meeting will be hosted by MAS at their Godlee Observatory on 15th September. Varuna   Last November this object was found which was perhaps the largest in the Kuiper Belt except for Pluto and its moon Charon.  Combining data obtained from two different types of telescope, the researchers have calculated Varuna's diameter to be 900 km (550 miles). Varuna's large size threatens Pluto's status as a fully-fledged planet as it now seems to be merely the largest of a swarm of similar large worlds in deep space. Until now, Pluto and its moon Charon were the only members of this ancient ring of icy bodies for which accurate sizes were known. At 900 km across, Varuna is only slightly smaller than Charon (1,200 km), the tiny moon that orbits Pluto (2,400 km). The data also indicates that Varuna is more reflective than most other small worlds for which accurate measurements are available - though it is less reflective than Pluto or Charon. Curiously the object had been photographed in 1953 but not recognised for what it was. Scientists say that Varuna goes some way to vindicate the views held by the late US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh. He discovered Pluto in 1930 looking for what he called Planet X. He continued his search after its discovery believing there were other worlds out there waiting to be discovered.  Astronomers are hopeful that further discoveries could be made in the Kuiper Belt, following the launch of the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility. It will be deployed in 2002 and is expected to measure the diameters and reflectivities of dozens of Kuiper Belt objects. OBSERVING NOTES Sun   Solstice on 21st and eclipse visible from South Atlantic and parts of southern Africa. Moon  Full 6th, Last Qtr 14th, New 21st,Last Qtr 28th . Mercury  Not visible, inferior conjunction 16th. Venus  Brilliant morning object mag –4.3, max elongation 46 degrees on 8th. Moon nearby on 18th. Mars  At opposition on 13th. Very bright at mag –2.4 but low on border of Sagittarius and Ophuichus. Moon is nearby on 5th and 6th. Jupiter   In conjunction with the Sun on 14th. Saturn Too near the Sun to be observable. Uranus In Capricornus rising by 2300, mag 5.8, Moon nearby on 11th. Neptune Also in Capricornus , mag 7.8 Pluto  In Ophuichus mag 13.7, probably needs a 10” telescope to see it from these light-polluted skies.  As Mike will be talking about the planet in September has any member actually seen it?  Last year I imaged it with a 200mm telephoto camera lens on a CCD but have not caught it visually.  This year Philip Masding and Mike Tyrrell have imaged it with a geostationary satellite trailing across the field. Satellites International Space Station visible in the first couple of weeks in the month. Click HERE to access May newsletter. The Sun from SOHO. (Dave T. recommended)!: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov The Sun as observed this day  through the Mees white light telescope in Hawaii: http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/MWLT/mwlt.html Stars from ADAS's Sky Map 8 planisphere: http://www.adas.u-net.com/skymaps.html Planets via Sky and Telescope ‘What’s Up?’: http://www.skypub.com/sights/sights.shtml Asteroids via Heavens-Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Comets BAA: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds Comets NASA: http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/whats_visible.html Meteors  the IMO calendar via: http://www.imo.net Aurora alert  York University: http://www.aurorawatch.york.ac.uk/ Satellites from Heavens Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Variable stars, novae and supernovae AAVSO: http://www.aavso.org by Rodger Livermoore

Society News Tonight (Friday Dec 1st) is the annual ADAS Christmas Quiz with a return to the open invitation to astronomical societies in the north-west.  Tonight we hope to have teams from Manchester, Bolton, Chester and Gwynedd.  Welcome to the teams and visitors.  The ADAS team (aka the Hale-Boppers) is Mike Molnar, Paul Clark, Colin Steele and Roger.  The questions have been set by Chris and Derek McComiskey and Don Utton, who have all resisted the customary bribes (free telescopes, eyepieces, clear skies!?).  The prizes have been given by Gavin Critchley many thanks to him for the generosity and to all involved. As a résumé, the society meets every Friday, at the ADAS observatory Grove Lane Recreation ground from 9pm but if clear the obs now opens at 8pm to enable more observing, but the GM is always the first Friday in the month at the Village Hall.  The obs houses a 14” Newtonian reflector.  After the obs. and monthly meeting we adjourn to the Quarry Bank PH.  Wednesday evenings also find us congregating at the Quarry Bank from 9.30 on for astronomy talk.  Next meeting at the Village Hall is on Friday the 5th January 2001.  In addition the society is becoming increasingly active observationally with members making trips to dark sky sites seemingly at every chance of a clear sky.  Announcements and arrangements of such trips are frequently made via the Ad.Astra newsgroup.  The group can be joined to keep up to date with ADAS by free subscription, visit http://ad.astra.listbot.com Graham Cliff maintains the website at http://www.adas.u-net.com.  For more information contact committee members, or Roger Livermore on 0161-969-4507, Roger.Livermore@btinternet.com  (NB this address not yet reliable). Manchester Airport Community Fund Paul has heard from the fund and has answered the initial questions.  We do need to be able to arrange insurance on a portable telescope and suggestions would be appreciated as to how this can be done.  Working parties with Graham C, Stuart, Paul, Don and others have cleared out the obs meeting room.  Dave Timperley carried out repairs and repainting, being careful not to disturb the spider family for which he may have to apologise to those not so fond of arachnids.  Unfortunately we’ve been subject to the exceptional weather with water from the field coming in and damaging the clubhouse carpets. The carpets have been removed and the drainage of the site improved.  The drying out of the obs meeting room will take some time. Grazing Occultations In looking for possible joint ventures with other societies Graham Cliff and Mike Prescott have run a search for lunar grazing occultations visible by ADAS and local societies of NWGAS.  This follows our May success of the graze seen by six ADAS members.  From the program that Mike wrote for the BAA, they came up with three for November and December 2001, which will be researched further.  Meanwhile other ideas for activities appreciated. Astronomy: Observing Today It can be problem knowing just what to observe on those precious clear nights.  We don’t always have the time to search or remember what’s happening.  One solution is to have a website or page that largely does it by providing the quicklinks to sites that provide good information.  As an experiment ADAS will be trialling this idea.  The first month will be by using the Internet version of this newsletter found from the ADAS homepage. Subsequently it could be on a direct link off the homepage or linked to an ADAS member’s page.  It should only require progressive refinement of the links and the checking of their availability.  The first suggested links are as follows: - The Sun from SOHO. (Dave T. recommended)!: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov The Sun as observed this day  through the Mees white light telescope in Hawaii: http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/MWLT/mwlt.html Stars from ADAS's Sky Map 8 planisphere: http://www.adas.u-net.com/skymaps.html Planets via Sky and Telescope ‘What’s Up?’: http://www.skypub.com/sights/sights.shtml Asteroids via Heavens-Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Comets BAA: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds Comets NASA: http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/whats_visible.html Meteors  the IMO calendar via: http://www.imo.net Aurora alert  York University: http://www.aurorawatch.york.ac.uk/ Satellites from Heavens Above: http://www.heavens-above.com Variable stars, novae and supernovae AAVSO: http://www.aavso.org OBSERVING NOTES New Moon at Christmas with a chance of deep sky observing. (Do not forget the lunar eclipse Jan 9th next)! Moon  1st Q 3rd, Full 10th, Last Q 17th, New 24th.  Near Jupiter and Saturn on 9th. Sun In Sagittarius.  Partial eclipse visible in USA 25th, Gavin in Houston should catch a 30% eclipse with first contact at 0943, max at 1100 and last contact at 1223. Mercury Not readily visible Venus has emerged into the evening skies, brilliant object mag. –4, near the Moon on 29th. Mars in Virgo+1.5, diameter only 5” at present. VenusJupiter in Taurus –2.7 and visible all night. Saturn in Taurus - 0.3. Uranus in Capricornus +5.7, near i Capricornus, one degree north of Venus on 23rd. Neptune also in Capricornus, +7.8, near o Capricornus, two degrees north of Venus on 11th Asteroids 4 Vesta +8, close to e Capricornus on 17th. 2 Pallas +9.7 in Virgo, 16 Psyche +9.5 Taurus, 115 Thyra +9.2 Perseus, 324 Bamberga +9.5 Triangulum. Meteors Geminids Full Moon interferes but as these meteors are bright and slow still worth observing.  Try the Ursids 22/23 at 10 per hour radiating from the bowl of the Plough.  Quadrantids Jan 3rd morning. Last month’s Leonids affected by moonlight.  From Edinburgh-Pentlands I did get a reasonable rate on the morning of 17th Nov. Comets C/1999 T1 McNaught-Hartley binocular object +8 low in Hydra/ Virgo but moving north in the morning skies. Variable Stars Algol at minima 8th 0042, 10th 2131, 13th 1820, 30th 2315 Happy Christmas and clear skies. by Rodger Livermoore For the previous newsletter, click here.

LOCATION: Yarnshall Hill INSTRUMENT: 127mm f/8.03 OG MAGNIFICATION: mostly x41 SEEING: ANT III Transparency Good DATE/TIME: 08 04. 20:30 23:05. NLM +5.1 Members present. Kevin and Norman, Colin, PaulC, Nick and Richard Bullock. At the request of Kevin Thurston and also the forecast of a clear sky, myself and members of the society ventured out to one of our observing sites. Yarnshall Hill nr Shuttlings Low is a good site and offers shelter if windy. The sky was lovely and clear but not quite as dark as we had hoped nlm+5.1. I was using my 127mm f/8.03 Konus refractor and I was able to pick out a good selection of DSO's despite the telescopes small aperture. M65 & M66. Both galaxies were very bright and I could see in the same field NGC 3628 which was just visible as a faint haze. M84 & M86. Visible as two patches of bright stellar light with a couple of other faint galaxies visible in the same area. M3. I was Just able to resolve M3 and through my LV zoom set to 8mm x125 M3 is a bright granular ball. M51 NGC 5195. Both galaxies were visible and were very bright. I was only using the 24 Pan (what an eyepiece). And you could see the connecting gas between M51 and NGC 5195. M51 has a bright nucleus with faint spiral arms just visible with averted vision. M94. Another galaxy this time in near by Canes. It's bright and looks rather like a round unresolved globular cluster. Jupiter. Plenty of detail visible at x125. With both the NEB and SEB clearly visible as were other belts and zones. I then returned to the centre of the Virgo Cluster and just spent a while hopping from one galaxy to the other. Although my 127mm 4.75" Konus is small, it doesn't half pack a punch. by Paul #Galaxy #GlobularCluster #Jupiter