SolarPlanetary LtE Now for CMO/ISMO #28 (CMO #402)  

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¤·····Subject: Jupiter on 29 August

Received; 1 September 2012 at 11:17 JST

 

Images of Jupiter on 29 August.


Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, the PHILIPPINES)

 

¤·····Subject: solar images 26th August-2012

Received; 31 August 2012 at 08:06 JST

 

Hi guys here are some action shots from the 26th. Lone spot AR 11553 might be small but look at the size of the disruption !

 


Best wishes

 

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

 www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

¤·····Subject: Message from Grischa

Received; 31 August 2012 at 05:39 JST

 

> Hi all,
>   WinJUPOS 10 is up.
> Best regards,
> Grischa
> *************

fwded by

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

 www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Saturn and Titan Reflect Their True Colors ... from Cassini

Received; 30 August 2012 at 07:35 JST

 

August 29, 2012

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

For no other reason than that they are gorgeous, the Cassini imaging
team is releasing today a set of fabulous images of Saturn and
Titan...in living color...for your day-dreaming enjoyment.

Note that our presence at Saturn for the last 8 years has made possible
the sighting of subtle changes with time, and one such change is obvious
here.  As the seasons have advanced, and spring has come to the north
and autumn to the south throughout the Saturn system, the azure blue in
the northern winter Saturnian hemisphere that greeted Cassini upon its
arrival in 2004 is now fading; and it is now the southern hemisphere, in
its approach to winter, that is taking on a bluish hue.

So, go to ...

http://www.ciclops.org/view_event/179/Giants_in_Living_Color?js=1

... and take a good, long, luxurious look, and find out why.

Meanwhile, back here on Earth, the Cassini mission was recently given
rave reviews by a panel of planetary scientists and NASA program
managers for its contributions to our understanding of the solar system,
a circumstance that bodes well for a well-funded continuing mission over
the next 5 years.  Despite the fact that we can't know exactly what the
next five years will bring us, we can be certain that whatever it is
will be wondrous.

Stay tuned for more!

Carolyn PORCO
Cassini Imaging Team Leader
Director, CICLOPS
Boulder, CO
http://ciclops.org
http://twitter.com/carolynporco
http://www.facebook.com/carolynporco

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter 28thAugust-2012

Received; 29 August 2012 at 22:46 JST

 

Hi Guys at last a clear morning with good seeing. The cyan festoons seem to be building nicely . Always one of my favourite features. 

 Many thanks for the derotate tutorial Grischa

 Best wishes 

 

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

 www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Re

Received; 28 August 2012 at 22:45 JST

Dear Masatsugu,
   I thought you might find this of interest--it's a painting I saw in a Flagstaff restaurant, and shows the town as it looked when Douglass arrived in April (and Lowell at the end of May) 1894; the train station is still
 there, as is the hotel across the street where Douglass stayed for two nights while awaiting the arrival of his gear.

Bill SHEEHAN (Willmar, MN)

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter 2012.08.27

Received; 28 August 2012 at 02:51 JST

Dears,
Jupiter this morning with an average RGB, but a nice seeing for the IR (the EZ festoon at CM is nicely detailed):
http://astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120827-MDe.jpg
The NNTZ red spot is prominent in methane absorption band.
Sincerely,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: solar images 11th August 2012

Received; 27 August 2012 at 05:47 JST

 

Hi Guys here are 4 images from the 11th. There was a beautiful delicate arching prominence. AR 1538 was heading to the off limb with big fil.



Best wishes

 

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

 www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Venus images 17 and 18 august

Received; 27 August 2012 at 05:38 JST

 

Hi all,
Here are some Venus images taken under very good seeing on 17 and 18 august.

http://www.astrosurf.com/pellier/V2012_08_17-CPE
http://www.astrosurf.com/pellier/V2012_08_18-CPE
With an IR rotation on the 17th :
http://www.astrosurf.com/pellier/VANIM_20120817-CPE
The goal of these sessions was to try to mesure the rotation of the planet in near-IR. IR images has been acquired every 30 mn during 3 hours with the Astronomik 807 and the Murnaghan 1000 nm. I have taken 3 mesures (2 on the 17, one on the 18) but the result of around 4 days is not coherent with value I had previously in mind (5-6 days).
Will do more when I can...
Best wishes

Christophe PELLIER  (Nantes, FRANCE)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter August 25, 2012

Received; 26 August 2012 at 23:17 JST

 

Nice morning. The Dec slow motion drive failed and I had to image while Jupiter drifted through the FOV N-S as I am not perfectly polar aligned. A real pain but I was able to get this image.

best,

Jim PHILLIPS (Charleston, SC)

 

 

¤·····Subject: August 25 2012 solar in Ha

Received; 26 August 2012 at 08:44 JST

Hi folks---

Here is today's view of the sun with the Lunt 100(.8A) and Luntanado (.5A) and DMK 41 camera.  Processing with Avistack and PS2/

 

Enjoy, and thanks for looking!

Jim LAFFERTY (Redlands, CA)
http://scopetrader.com/jimlafferty/

 

 

¤·····Subject: solar images 10-August-2012

Received; 26 August 2012 at 01:57 JST

Hi Guys

The sun was quite busy on the 10th, here are three of the active regions and one prominence. The 1004 image contains the very large filament that I sent out on the 6th.

 

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

 www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter on 21 and 24 August

Received; 26 August 2012 at 01:23 JST

 

Images of Jupiter on 21 and 24 August



 

Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, the PHILIPPINES)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Solar images 6th & 9th August -2012

Received; 24 August 2012 at 20:25 JST

Hi Guys, here are a couple more from a quietening early August sun, including a very large filament from the 6th. , and a newish spot group on the 9th.

Best wishes

 

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

 www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Mars: August 23, 2012

Received; 24 August 2012 at 07:33 JST

 

Hi -

  I have attached my latest image of Mars August 23, 2012 at 23:26 UT to be posted.

 http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2011/120823/FMl23Aug12.jpg

  Thanks,

 

Frank J MELILLO (Holtsville, NY)

 

¤·····Subject: Solar images 4August2012

Received; 24 August 2012 at 07:33 JST

 

Hi guys here are a couple of shots of the awesome surface activity from the 4th 

 Best wishes

 Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

 www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

¤·····Subject: Uranus 2012.08.10 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 23 August 2012 at 03:34 JST

Dears,
Last Uranus/Neptune/Jupiter images processed from the August 2012 Pic du Midi planets observing session, Uranus first in infrared, the stack of several images in 685nm high pass filter turns out rather good, showing nicely dark belts:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/u20120810i-PIC.jpg
The RGB images (unfortunately not as good as the day before), the red image might show a darker zone near the pole:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/u20120810-PIC.jpg

Images (c)
S2P/IMCCE/OMP/F.Colas/JL.Dauvergne/M.Delcroix/T.Legault/C.Viladrich

Hope you did not mind getting all of these images and rather enjoyed my
sharing the results of such an interesting mission.
Steady skies!

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

 

¤·····Subject: Uranus 2012.08.07 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 23 August 2012 at 03:22 JST

Dears,
Uranus with the 1 meter telescope from Pic du Midi, in difficult wavelengths (IR 742nm high pass filter, and in methane absorption band) :
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/u20120807-PIC.jpg
There might be sign of one dark belt on both images.
Sincerely,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Full h-alpha disc - 22nd August 2012

Received; 22 August 2012 at 17:19 JST

Hi all,
A late clear sky allowed me to capture the frames necessary for a full h-alpha disc mosaic today (Aug 22nd). A fairly quiet disc is presented with a notable bright prom off the northwest limb and a lovely curving filament to in the southeast.
Best regards,
Pete LAWRENCE (Selsey, WS, the UK)
http://www.digitalsky.org.uk

 

 

¤·····Subject: Uranus 2012.08.09 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 22 August 2012 at 06:35 JST

Dears
Under conditions not as good as the day before, Uranus with the 1 meter
scope, first in RGB:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/u20120809-PIC.jpg
I did not adjust the color balance at all; it seems like in the red band
some dark belt and polar zone are very faintly seen.
In infrared, those are better seen, and Ariel, Umbriel, Miranda and
Titania also
:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/u20120809i-PIC.jpg
Images (c)
S2P/IMCCE/OMP/F.Colas/JL.Dauvergne/M.Delcroix/T.Legault/C.Viladrich
Sincerely,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Uranus 2012.08.08 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 22 August 2012 at 06:29 JST

Dears,
Under very good conditions, Uranus in IR with the 1 meter telescope,
showing very clearly two bright bands and a bright limb:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/u20120808-PIC.jpg
Images (c)
S2P/IMCCE/OMP/F.Colas/JL.Dauvergne/M.Delcroix/T.Legault/C.Viladrich
Sincerely,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Neptune 2012.08.09 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 21 August 2012 at 14:54 JST

 

Dears,
Here is
Neptune taken with the 1 meter Cassegrain from Pic du Midi:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/n20120809-PIC.jpg
Images (c)
S2P/IMCCE/OMP/F.Colas/JL.Dauvergne/M.Delcroix/T.Legault/C.Viladrich
The image color has been set according to the look at the eyepiece.
The Southern hemisphere looks again brighter, and the northern one is daker in red and infrared.
Regards,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Neptune 2012.08.08 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 21 August 2012 at 14:52 JST

 

Dears,
Here is Neptune taken with the 1 meter Cassegrain from Pic du Midi:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/n20120808-PIC.jpg
Images (c)
S2P/IMCCE/OMP/F.Colas/JL.Dauvergne/M.Delcroix/T.Legault/C.Viladrich
Some bright and dark zones are seen, the two bright in the southern hemisphere being similar to the ones imaged the day before (same CM), but more prominent. There is also a faintly bright one one the limb of the Northern hemisphere.
Regards,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Neptune 2012.08.07 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 21 August 2012 at 14:48 JST

 

Dears,
Here is
Neptune taken with the 1 meter Cassegrain from Pic du Midi:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/n20120807-PIC.jpg
Images (c)
S2P/IMCCE/OMP/F.Colas/JL.Dauvergne/M.Delcroix/T.Legault/C.Viladrich
The Southern hemisphere is brighter.
Regards,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

¤·····Subject: FW: bill sheehan: observations of Venus transit

Received; 21 August 2012 at 10:11 JST

 

Hi, all,
  Here's an edited version of the transit of Venus paper some of you commented on, complete with illustrations.  Hope it's of some use.
   Best,

Bill SHEEHAN (Willmar, MN)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter images 20 August

Received; 20 August 2012 at 23:06 JST

 

A dark spot is following BA. Several white clouds on the NEBs are seen on the shadowy belt.

 


Tomio AKUTSU (Cebu, the PHILIPPINES)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Re: Uranus images 18/08

Received; 20 August 2012 at 12:57 JST

 

Still Excellent Christophe! It is kind of disappointed that we couldn't image Uranus with the belts and zones during the edge-on presentation. Not even the white spot nearly two years ago. I guess it was too much to hope for. 

  It is five year after edge-on so the Northern hemisphere is tilting close to 20 degrees toward us. I think the brightening of the NPR should be imaged in coming days. Always use a red filter.

  Keep up with your great work!

Frank J MELILLO (Holtsville, NY)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter images, 18th august 2012

Received; 19 August 2012 at 06:01 JST

 

Hi all,
Here are some Jupiter images from this morning. Seeing was again very good, although it's still not easy to use the UV and CH4 filters :(
http://www.astrosurf.com/pellier/J2012_08_18-CPE
I really enjoy the "new" orange equatorial belt !
Best wishes,

Christophe PELLIER  (Nantes, FRANCE)

 

¤·····Subject: Uranus images 18/08

Received; 19 August 2012 at 02:27 JST

 

Hi all,
Here are some Uranus images from last night, taken under superb seeing.
http://www.astrosurf.com/pellier/U2012_08_18_CPE.jpg
Despite ideal conditions, there is still not any belt system detectable (in visible light of course)
Best wishes

Christophe PELLIER  (Nantes, FRANCE)

 

¤·····Subject: Drawings of Mars

Received; 19 August 2012 at 01:08 JST

 

Dear Dr. Minami, Sorry to be late in submitting my observations.  Here I am attaching my latest drawings of Mars. The weather here hasn't been cooperative at all in this August. By the time I finish my work in the evening lately, Mars is just hiding behind the southwestern mountain range, so I have to admit my observation in this apparition is closing soon.
  Best Regards,
 
http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2011/120731/Kn31July12.jpg

http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2011/120801/Kn01Aug12.jpg

http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2011/120803/Kn03Aug12.jpg

http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2011/120805/Kn05Aug12.jpg 
PS:I have already started translating Christophe's essay for CMO#401 Japanese version.

 

Reiichi KONNAÏ (Fukushima, JAPAN)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter August 17, 2012

Received; 19 August 2012 at 00:38 JST

 

Hello,
   At the farm using the TMB 10" F/9 apo. The temperature was downright chilly, 68 degrees and an unbelievable 44% humidity (compared to 80 degrees and 94% humidity at the Isle of Palms). Good seeing, not great but good. Attached are three images showing the rotation of the planet during the session FYI.

best,


Jim PHILLIPS (Charleston, SC)

 

¤·····Subject: Mars: August 16, 2012

Received; 18 August 2012 at 15:46 JST

 

Hi -

 I have attached my latest image of Mars August 16, 2012 at 23:51 UT to be posted.

http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2011/120816/FMl16Aug12.jpg

Thanks,

  Frank J MELILLO (Holtsville, NY)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Solar images 29th / 30th-July-2012

Received; 18 August 2012 at 07:02 JST

 

Hi guys this finishes  the solar images taken in July.  Quite a busy month, with 13 solar imaging days and plenty of activity.

 


best wishes

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter images 17th august 2012

Received; 18 August 2012 at 01:44 JST

 

Hi all,
Here are finally my first images of the season. Seeing was excellent.
http://www.astrosurf.com/pellier/J2012_08_17-CPE
Best wishes
Christophe PELLIER  (Nantes, FRANCE)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter 2012.08.07 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 17 August 2012 at 08:07 JST

 

Dears,
Last Jupiter processed from the Pic du Midi, the one taken on the first clear night with a nice view on GRS and oval BA - unfortunately the camera had a vertical lines defect, corrected the days after by powering it directly (instead of from USB).

All images copyright S2P / IMCCE / OMP / F.Colas / JL.Dauvergne / M.Delcroix / T.Legault / C.Viladrich.

RGB:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120807-03h57.0UT-PIC.jpg
R, G, B:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120807r-03h56.3UT-PIC.jpg
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120807g-03h57.0UT-PIC.jpg
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120807b-03h57.7UT-PIC.jpg
IR:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120807i-04h15.7UT-PIC.jpg
CH4 (processed by Jean-Luc Dauvergne) :
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120807c-04h35UT-PIC.jpg
Sincerely,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter 2012.08.04

Received; 17 August 2012 at 01:17 JST

 

Dears,
Taken from my backyard the very morning I left for the Pic du Midi, the conditions turned out rather good :
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120804-MDe.jpg
Clear skies,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

 

 

¤·····Subject: Saturn 2012.08.06

Received; 17 August 2012 at 01:15 JST

Dears,
 From the Pic du Midi on the 1 meter telescope, under hazardous conditions and at a low altitude (18
), not much to be seen:
http://astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/s20120806i-20h18.9UT-PIC
Clear skies,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter 2012.08.10 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 16 August 2012 at 06:18 JST

 

Dears,
Here are the results of my last session on Jupiter at Pic du Midi. All images are copyrighted S2P / IMCCE / OMP / F.Colas / JL.Dauvergne / M.Delcroix / T.Legault / C.Viladrich.

RGB and IR 685/742nm images taken with a DMK41 camera - unfortunately mitigated results, and strong "ring" artifacts on the RGB probably due to my misknowledge of this camera.
IR 685nm:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120810i-04h23.9UT-PIC.jpg
IR 742nm:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120810i-04h12.8UT-PIC.jpg
RGB:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120810-04h25.0UT-PIC.jpg

More interesting are the tests with fainter filters (methane absorption band, UV and IR 1µm) with the Merlin EMCCD Raptor camera:
UV:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120810u-04h50.4UT-PIC.jpg
CH4:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120810c-04h41.2UT-PIC.jpg
IR 1µm:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120810i-04h59.1UT-PIC.jpg
Sincerely,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Uranus and Neptune images 09/08 and 11/08

Received; 15 August 2012 at 09:32 JST

 


Hi all,
Here are some Uranus and Neptune images taken recently, all under good seeing (excellent for Neptune)
http://www.astrosurf.com/pellier/U2012_08_09_CPE
http://www.astrosurf.com/pellier/N2012_08_11_CPE
Since I have the ADC, I have been able to take images with a luminance filter to make LRGB images. This helps a lot to get a correct signal to noise ratio.
The SNR of the L Uranus image is good enough to bear strong processing.
Despite this, the visible wavelenghts still don't reveal any belt system.
Best wishes,

Christophe PELLIER  (Nantes, FRANCE)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Solar images 28thJuly-2012

Received; 15 August 2012 at 02:53 JST

 

Hi Guys 

here are a couple more from the last days of July It was quite busy down on the lower left quadrant.

Best wishes

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Persistance

Received; 15 August 2012 at 00:09 JST

After getting set up this morning the sky clouded over and I could see lightening in the distance. I began to go over in my mind what I'd do and in what order if it started raining. I could have packed it all up but I knew the seeing was supposed to be good. Not great, but good. So, I stayed with camera set up and ready to go. It finally cleared around 5:50 and I was able to get this image.
best,

Jim PHILLIPS (Charleston, SC)

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter and Io 2012.08.09 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 14 August 2012 at 17:39 JST

 

Dears,
Another session, with seeing not as good as the day before, GRS is rising.
All images copyright S2P / IMCCE / OMP / F.Colas / JL.Dauvergne / M.Delcroix / T.Legault / C.Viladrich.

RGB:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120809-04h10.4UT-PIC.jpg
R,G,B:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120809r-04h08.8UT-PIC.jpg
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120809g-04h10.4UT-PIC.jpg
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120809b-04h12.0UT-PIC.jpg
IR:
 http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120809i-04h05.6UT-PIC.jpg
CH4, just for the record as it was taken too late after the sunrise, and there were two big spots of dust on the Raptor sensor ... Both GRS and BA were rising:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120809c-05h13.3UT-PIC.jpg
Clear skies,

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: solar images 26July-2012

Received; 14 August 2012 at 17:30 JST

 

Hi Guys here are a couple of images from the 26 July, including that super prom. All a bit belated due to avid Olympic watching.

Best wishes

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter August 13, 2012

Received; 14 August 2012 at 05:28 JST

10" F./14.6 Maksutov @ F/36
77 degrees  93% Humidity   Dew Point  75 degrees
Good Seeing but Wet (what else?!). GRS was visible and rotating off as Jupiter got higher in the sky.See attached FYI.
best,

Jim PHILLIPS (Charleston, SC)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Starry background to solar disks

Received; 13 August 2012 at 10:16 JST

 

Hi folks--its been so hot here this week I thought Id stay indoors and apply a starry background to some full solar disks in HA and white light to see how it worked.  The background is from an earlier image I took during my DSO days.  Just something a little different.  Adding the starry background which was shot with an STL-11000 camera sure added to the file size.

Jim LAFFERTY (Redlands, CA)
http://scopetrader.com/jimlafferty/

 

 

¤·····Subject: MARS - August 06, 2012 - poor seeing

Received; 13 August 2012 at 09:28 JST

 

Mars last MARS, didn't even try to process it nicely.

Conditions were really poor.

http://www.kwasan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~cmo/cmons/2011/120806/FWl06Aug12.jpg

Freddy WILLEMS  (Waipahu, HI)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter, Io and Europa 2012.08.08 (from Pic du Midi)

Received; 13 August 2012 at 08:25 JST

Dears,
I had the chance to spend a week at Pic du Midi, France, using the 1 meter telescope there for planetary imaging. Plenty of processing pending on many planets, but here is first a full session of Jupiter imaging (unfortunately at this azimuth Jupiter is not well placed from the 1 meter telescope, above another building).

All images are copyrighted S2P / IMCCE / OMP / F.Colas / JL.Dauvergne / M.Delcroix / T.Legault / C.Viladrich.

RGB:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120808-04h30.9UT-PIC.jpg
IR>685nm, the most detailed:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120808i-03h49.5UT-PIC.jpg
IR>742nm
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120808i-03h45.0UT-PIC.jpg
R, G, B:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120808r-04h30.3UT-PIC.jpg
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120808g-04h30.8UT-PIC.jpg
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120808b-04h31.6UT-PIC.jpg
CH4:
http://www.astrosurf.com/delcroix/images/planches/j20120808c-04h44UT-PIC.jpg

All images with a SKYnyx 2-1M processed by myself, except the CH4 with a Merlin EMCCD Raptor, processed by Jean-Luc Dauvergne.
More to come in the next days (we had 4 days of good weather, even if this session might be the best one).

Marc DELCROIX (Tournefeuille, FRANCE)

http://astrosurf.com/delcroix

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter 29 July

Received; 13 August 2012 at 04:19 JST

 


Hi All,
 I have attached some very belated RGB, CH4 and UV Jupiter images from 28 July.
Best,

Don PAKER (Coral Gables, FL)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Saturn, August 12

Received; 12 August 2012 at 20:05 JST

 

Hi all, here is an RGB image of Saturn from this evening in reasonable seeing. I've added an enhanced inset showing a prominent bright spot (although there are other bright spots in the image as well) and a dark spot.
link:

http://www.acquerra.com.au/astro/gallery/saturn/20120812-090734/large.jpg
regards,
Anthony WESLEY  (NSW, AUSTRALIA)

 

 

¤·····Subject: FW: UCLA: Scientist Discovers Plate Tectonics on Mars

Received; 12 August 2012 at 15:58 JST

 

------------------------------------------

From: "AAS Press Officer Dr. Rick Fienberg" <rick.fienberg@aas.org>
Date:
Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:11:22 -0400
To: "AAS Press Officer Dr. Rick Fienberg" <rick.fienberg@aas.org>
Subject: UCLA: Scientist Discovers Plate Tectonics on Mars

 

THE FOLLOWING ITEM WAS ISSUED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, AND IS FORWARDED FOR YOUR INFORMATION. FORWARDING DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT BY THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.

9 August 2012

** Contact information appears below. **

Text, images, and video:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-scientist-discovers-plate-237303.aspx

UCLA SCIENTIST DISCOVERS PLATE TECTONICS ON MARS

For years, many scientists had thought that plate tectonics existed nowhere in our solar system but on Earth. Now, a UCLA scientist has discovered that the geological phenomenon, which involves the movement of huge crustal plates beneath a planet’s surface, also exists on Mars.

“Mars is at a primitive stage of plate tectonics. It gives us a glimpse of how the early Earth may have looked and may help us understand how plate tectonics began on Earth,” said An Yin, a UCLA professor of Earth and space sciences and the sole author of the new research.

Yin made the discovery during his analysis of satellite images from THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System), an instrument on board the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, and from the HIRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. He analyzed about 100 satellite images -- approximately a dozen were revealing of plate tectonics.

Yin has conducted geologic research in the
Himalayas and Tibet, where two of the Earth’s seven major plates divide.

“When I studied the satellite images from Mars, many of the features looked very much like fault systems I have seen in the
Himalayas and Tibet, and in California as well, including the geomorphology,” said Yin, a planetary geologist.

For example, he saw a very smooth, flat side of a canyon wall, which can be generated only by a fault, and a steep cliff, comparable to cliffs in
California’s Death Valley, which also are generated by a fault. Mars has a linear volcanic zone, which Yin said is a typical product of plate tectonics.

“You don’t see these features anywhere else on other planets in our solar system, other than Earth and Mars,” said Yin, whose research is featured as the cover story in the August issue of the journal Lithosphere.

The surface of Mars contains the longest and deepest system of canyons in our solar system, known as Valles Marineris (Latin for Mariner Valleys and named for the Mariner 9 Mars orbiter of 1971-72, which discovered it). It is nearly 2,500 miles long -- about nine times longer than the Earth’s
Grand Canyon. Scientists have wondered for four decades how it formed. Was it a big crack in Mars’ shell that opened up?

“In the beginning, I did not expect plate tectonics, but the more I studied it, the more I realized Mars is so different from what other scientists anticipated,” Yin said. “I saw that the idea that it is just a big crack that opened up is incorrect. It is really a plate boundary, with horizontal motion. That is kind of shocking, but the evidence is quite clear.

“The shell is broken and is moving horizontally over a long distance. It is very similar to the Earth’s
Dead Sea fault system, which has also opened up and is moving horizontally.”

The two plates divided by Mars’ Valles Marineris have moved approximately 93 miles horizontally relative to each other, Yin said.
California’s San Andreas Fault, which is over the intersection of two plates, has moved about twice as much -- but the Earth is about twice the size of Mars, so Yin said they are comparable.

Yin, whose research is partly funded by the National Science Foundation, calls the two plates on Mars the Valles Marineris North and the Valles Marineris South.

“Earth has a very broken ‘egg shell,’ so its surface has many plates; Mars’ is slightly broken and may be on the way to becoming very broken, except its pace is very slow due to its small size and, thus, less thermal energy to drive it,” Yin said. “This may be the reason Mars has fewer plates than on Earth.”

Mars has landslides, and Yin said a fault is shifting the landslides, moving them from their source.

Does Yin think there are Mars-quakes?

“I think so,” he said. “I think the fault is probably still active, but not every day. It wakes up every once in a while, over a very long duration -- perhaps every million years or more.”

Yin is very confident in his findings, but mysteries remain, he said, including how far beneath the surface the plates are located. “I don’t quite understand why the plates are moving with such a large magnitude or what the rate of movement is; maybe Mars has a different form of plate tectonics,” Yin said. “The rate is much slower than on Earth.”

The Earth has a broken shell with seven major plates; pieces of the shell move, and one plate may move over another. Yin is doubtful that Mars has more than two plates.

“We have been able to identify only the two plates,” he said. “For the other areas on Mars, I think the chances are very, very small. I don’t see any other major crack.”

Did the movement of Valles Marineris North and Valles Marineris South create the enormous canyons on Mars? What led to the creation of plate tectonics on Earth?

Yin, who will continue to study plate tectonics on Mars, will answer those questions in a follow-up paper that he also plans to publish in the journal Lithosphere.

Contact:
Stuart Wolpert
swolpert@support.ucla.edu
+1 310-206-0511

UCLA is
California’s largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 38,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university’s 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer 337 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Six alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

------------------------------------------

Bill SHEEHAN (Willmar, MN)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Solar Images 25-July-2012

Received; 10 August 2012 at 23:38 JST

 

Hi Guys here are the major features from the 25th. An odd mast like prom of great height.  Ha and white shots of Active Regions  11530 and 11529 and a large billowing prominence.

 All images 90 Coro single stack at 80 inches fl.

 Best wishes

 

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: August 9, 2012 solar Ha and white light

Received; 10 August 2012 at 08:45 JST

 

Hi folks--
Had some fun combining white light and Ha today. That and some other shots with the ES 127 ED APO, ES 80mm APO, Lunt 100, Lunt wedge, and the DMK41. Pretty hot here at 109F so only had time for about an hour under the sun before a cold brew beckoned me inside!
Enjoy and thanks for looking!

Jim LAFFERTY (Redlands, CA)
http://scopetrader.com/jimlafferty/

 

 

¤·····Subject: SOLAR IMAGES 23rd July 2012

Received; 10 August 2012 at 00:55 JST

 

Hi guys  

Another set of proms, two that had nice arches of faint extensions and one bright active one shown here (08:34), looping over the horizon.

 Best wishes

 

 

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter July 31

Received; 8 August 2012 at 03:49 JST

 

Jupiter under variable seeing from fair to good at dawn on July 31
http://www.astrosurf.com/pcasquinha/jup120731.jpg

 

Paulo CASQUINHA (PORTUGAL)
www.astrosurf.com

 

 

¤·····Subject: Solar images 22-July-2012

Received; 7 August 2012 at 15:45 JST

 

Hi Guys we have had a pretty shabby summer here in UK, but the last week in July bestowed some daily sporadic sunshine, with some spectacular activity. Here are some proms from the 22nd.

 

REF Gong website     

http://halpha.nso.edu/keep/hag/201207/20120722/20120722094914Th.jpg 

This website is an excellent reference tool for confirming when, where and orientation when post processing images.

Best wishes

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter August 5, 2012

Received; 6 August 2012 at 09:27 JST

 

I initially set the alarm for 4:00AM as Jupiter clears the treeline at the Farm a lot earlier than it clears the rooftop at the beach. But, when I went to bed, it was pouring rain and I wasn't sure I would need any extra time. :^)
 Well, when I got up there were a few nice sized openings in the clouds so I headed out to the observatory. Once there with everything set up it clouded over completely. Nothing to do but wait and sure enough, at 5:40 it cleared and the seeing was good!
best,

Jim PHILLIPS (Charleston, SC)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter August 4, 2012

Received; 6 August 2012 at 09:02 JST

 

Up Saturday morning and was surprised to find that at the farm the temp was a cool 72 degrees with low humidity. Good seeing.

Jim PHILLIPS (Charleston, SC)

 

 

 

 

¤·····Subject: FW: From bill sheehan: interview

Received; 3 August 2012 at 23:40 JST

Dear Masatsugu,Bob,
  Here’s the story the reporter wrote based on her interview with me this AM:
  http://www.livescience.com/22119-mars-cultural-fascination.html
  This is only the meagerest sketch of what we discussed in 20 minutes.  Should I write up a sketch for CMO/ISMO on the whole conversation?  It included a number of interesting developments that this sketch doesn’t touch on.  Perhaps this would serve for the CMO/ISMO next issue?
  Exciting the landing of Curiosity—its firsts pictures will be beamed back on August 6, the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. (Masatsugu: the tour we made, with Asada, of the Nagasaki bomb museum will never be forgotten, and I also reel still at the thought that the Peace Park, located where Fat Man exploded in 1945, is on St. Paul Avenue—just yesterday I was in St. Paul ( a city in Minnesota).

 

Bill SHEEHAN (Willmar, MN)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Full solar disc mosaic, August 2nd

Received; 3 August 2012 at 10:37 JST

Hi all,
A wonderful display of filaments on yesterday's h-alpha solar disc. A nice spread of good activity in both hemispheres too.
Best regards,

Pete LAWRENCE (Selsey, WS, the UK)
http://www.digitalsky.org.uk

 

 

¤·····Subject: From bill sheehan

Received; 2 August 2012 at 22:38 JST

 

Dear Masatsugu,
   I am hoping to see if I can find some Mars-related article for you to run—meanwhile, I got called just today by a reporter who wants to interview me on the eve of the Curiosity landing next week.  I just got back from the Twin Cities where I presented a PowerPoint on neurodevelopmental disorders—it’s great to have that out of the way.
   Meanwhile, I thought you might like to see these—one of two Lowell staff setting up Percival’s 6-inch refractor (the one he brought with him to Japan) in the front yard of Baronial Mansion-II, where the Sole Trustee Bill Putnam lives, and the other of a group of us, including myself with the funny hat, posing with the coronagraphs used to observe the aureole.  Paolo Tanga, who led the expedition (from the Cote d’Azur Observatory) isn’t shown since he took the picture.

 


   Kind regards,

Bill SHEEHAN (Willmar, MN)

 

 

¤·····Subject: Jupiter 23 July 2012

Received; 2 August 2012 at 09:40 JST

 

Hi Guys Here are a couple of belated images from 23rd July.  Red seeing was good but green and blue seeing was a bit sad.

Best wishes

Dave TYLER (Bucks, the UK)

www.david-tyler.com
Ham call G4PIE

 

 

¤·····Subject: Mars Animation and Albedo Map

Received; 2 August 2012 at 06:46 JST

 

Dear Mr Minami and Mr Murakami,

I am just checking that you received a copy of my Mars albedo map which can be seen at

http://www.skyinspector.co.uk/Mars-Albedo-Maps(2376972).htm 

and which I have also attached. Also please see my Mars 2012 rotational animation which you can view at;

http://www.skyinspector.co.uk/Mars-Rotation-Animations(2369874).htm

 I would be very happy if  you put the map on the CMO website and a link to the rotational animation.

 Best regards,

Martin LEWIS (St. Albans, Hertfordshire, the UK)


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