Notice of Next Meeting
Our next monthly meeting takes place on:
- Date: Wednesday 12 February 2020
- Time: 19h00 for 19h30
- Location: Jhb. Observatory
- Presenter: TBA
- Topic: TBA
Meetings generally last about one and a half hours, and include a Topic of Interest, What’s Up in the Night Sky, and the Main Speaker’s Presentation. Tea and coffee are served afterwards. Visitors are welcome.
Picnic under the Stars
Our next Picnic under the Stars takes place on:
- Date: 2 February 2020
- Time: 18h30 – 22h00
- Location: Jhb. Observatory, Top of the hill at the Herbert Baker Library. Map.
- Topic: Whats Up – a detailed overview of some objects.
The murmering and chuckling displays delight, comfort and contemplative joy at what will be seen in the sky tonight. Bursts of joyous laughter bring one back to the chatter and fun of the evening. Do join ASSA JHB on the hill for a lovely picnic and stars evening. Dress warmly, bring along your own food and drinks. and oops, do not forget a chair or ‘situpon’. You may bring your own telescope if you want to.
There is a gas braai available at the picnic.
Events
Astronomy.com
- How to make air from Moon dust
- The two main types of exoplanets: Small and rocky or big and gassy
- Meteorite impact 2 billion years ago may have ended an ice age
- Because of physics, there are really only two types of exoplanets
- You can help name NASA's Mars 2020 rover
- New high-energy gamma-ray sources found in the galaxy
- SpaceX completed its last test before bringing astronauts to space
- Four strange new objects found around the Milky Way's huge black hole
- The Sky This Week from January 17 to 26
- Second terrestrial planet found around closest star to the Sun
- NASA will broadcast final spacewalk to repair AMS
- Binary stars may be an explanation for powerful gamma-ray bursts
- Why does a week have seven days?
- Scientists find meteorite pieces older than the solar system
- Binary star V Sagittae expected to light up the night sky in 2083
Space.com
- How NASA's Apollo Astronauts Went to the Moon
- Why the Lunar Module Looked So Much Like a Moon Bug
- Could NASA Build the Famous Saturn V Today? It's Working on It, with a Twist
- At Solar System's Edge, NASA's Voyager 2 Probe Copes with Reduced Power
- In Photos: Soyuz Rocket Launches Russia's Meteor M2-2 Weather Satellite on Rideshare Mission
- Voyager 2 Transformed Our Ideas of Jupiter's Moons 40 Years Ago
- Surface Rupture from Ridgecrest Earthquake Spotted from Space (Photo)
- Saturn's Rings Shine Extra Bright This July: How to Catch Them
- SpaceX's Starhopper Prototype to Make 1st Untethered Hop Soon, Musk Says
- NASA's 'Green' Fuel Satellite Passes Its First Test
- July Full Moon 2019: 'Thunder Moon' Lunar Eclipse Meets Saturn in the Night Sky
- NASA Announces a Dozen Science and Tech Experiments to Scout the Moon
- India Gearing Up to Launch 2nd Moon Mission This Weekend
- LightSail 2 Beams 1st Photos Home from Orbit! How to Track the Little Satellite.
- Telescope Teamwork Reveals Gas Dwarf Planet's Atmosphere
Universe Today
- Space Force Uniforms are Perfectly Camouflaged for a Forest Moon
- Curiosity Looked up and Saw Phobos During the Daytime
- China’s 500-Meter FAST Radio Telescope is Now Operational
- According to NASA, 2019 Was the Second Hottest Year on Record
- SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Nails In-Flight Abort Test! Next Stop, the ISS!
- More Mysterious Space Blobs Have Been Found Near the Center of the Milky Way
- Crew Dragon Abort Test is Scheduled for Saturday Morning
- A Mysterious Burst of Gravitational Waves Came From a Region Near Betelgeuse. But There’s Probably No Connection
- The Debate Over Cold Dark Matter Warms Up As Astronomers Take Its Temperature
- ESA Recruits Amateur Astronomers Ahead of Hera Asteroid Mission
- An Asteroid has been Found that Orbits the Sun Closer than Venus
- Scientists Figure Out How to Continuously Watch the Entire Planet With Just 4 Satellites
- Another Beautiful Image of Jupiter from Juno During its Latest Flyby. Great Work by Gerald Eichstadt and Sean Doran
- Beautiful Image of Ice at Mars’ Northern Polar Cap
- A Second Planet May Have been Found Orbiting Proxima Centauri! And it’s a Super Earth.
British Astronomical Association
- Deep Sky Update - January 2020
- The quest for ET (Exoplanet Transits not Extra-Terrestrials that is)
- Observer’s Challenge - Spot a Supernova
- Could V Sagittae become a bright nova this century?
- Is Betelgeuse about to go supernova?
- Here Come the Geminids
- Observer’s Challenge - Conjunction of Venus and Saturn
- Why have we all heard of Einstein?
- Observing the transit of Mercury
- Observer's Challenge – Colours of Double Stars
- Mercury and Venus Section Newsletter
- Observer's Challenge – opposition of Neptune
- Get out early for this year's Perseid meteors – and persevere!
- Observer's Challenge – Locate the Landing Site of Apollo 11
- Observer's Challenge – Measuring the size of the Great Red Spot