tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23849552211409468072024-03-18T21:30:29.090-07:00Space Is AceA little blog about what's going on in the big UniverseNickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-1092379775913264462014-01-16T14:42:00.001-08:002014-01-16T14:42:00.380-08:00Things We Don't Know: The six-tailed comet, and other mysteries<a href="http://blog.thingswedontknow.com/2014/01/the-six-tailed-comet-and-other-mysteries.html#.UthgIFHpCFI.blogger">Things We Don't Know: The six-tailed comet, and other mysteries</a>NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-67927795317228989592013-09-25T13:09:00.002-07:002013-09-25T13:09:53.454-07:00Paying it Forward : Don't forget to look up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 18px;">After speaking to my colleagues at FT today, I would like to post something a bit personal.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 18px;">Quietly and with a bit of free time , which was not booked on the telescope, which I then had allocated to me today, I pointed our Faulkes Telescope South, a wonderful educational resource run by the great people at LCOGT at an asteroid. This is something we do at Faulkes a lot, with projects engaging schools and young minds in astronomy, as we've had a lot of success with our asteroid programs with</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 18px;"> the IASC, my own team and teams from the BAA + more. It's now something we're developing more and more in to great school projects with comets and asteroids, and above all, it's valuable science too.<br /><br />It's a wonderful facility to work with and for, as you get to see/hear via teachers about the look on kids faces when they take an image or find a new object. But today was (and only for a short period of time) something a bit more personal.<br /><br />I took an image of an asteroid, named after someone who himself, as a young child, showed an interest in astronomy. A young child who went on to write presentations, make maps, but never ever became a professional astronomer in his own right, despite showing a phenomenal level of intelligence.</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: black; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: white;">He helped in the RAF during the war, and lost the person he loved during that sad and devastating conflict.<br /><span style="font-size: 13.333333015441895px;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: black; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13.333333015441895px;">This young man continued to win many awards and plaudits throughout his long and illustrious life, and was admired the world over, despite being an amateur through and through, and with his colourful views on many topics, split people's opinions, but he did it in a way, that you still could not but admire his passion for astronomy. He played cricket until a ripe old age, whilst also helping mankind land on the Moon, and the Russians used his considerable skills too, for his maps of the Moon were the best in existence. He count count pretty much every single moonwalker as a friend, so much so, that when it came to him receiving one of the greatest awards in broadcasting, none other than Buzz Aldrin flew over to present it to him.</span><br /><br />He played music with Einstein, and was one of the only people to ever meet the first man to fly a plane the first man in space, and the first man on the Moon, and until the day he died, dedicated his life to astronomy, outreach and engaging young and old in looking at the sky.<br /><br />Above all thing he said to me once , was that his greatest legacy "was that he inspired millions of people to look up at the skies "<br /><br />In honour of this great man, some years back now, the IAU granted a request to name an asteroid after him, an honour which is granted to those who find these celestial wanderers,and are then permitted to suggest a name for these bodies in honour of great people.I am sure the IAU agreed this citation in record speed.<br /><br />The asteroid I pointed our telescope at today, a robotic telescope the like of which this man was instrumental in the initial formation of in Liverpool many years ago is 2602 Moore, it was an image of an object quietly moving through space, going around the Sun just like we are... taken with this telescope, remotely controlled from several thousand miles away.. taken in just a few minutes.<br /><br />So this one's for Patrick, for whom this asteroid is name, we'll hopefully use this data to help train school kids how to detect asteroids, something which could even help save our planet one day...who knows!... but..maybe, just maybe one of those kids, like millions of others across the globe, will ask "who was this man" and someone of my generation will tell them. And in doing so we may help inspire that kid to go on, and become an astronomer.. inspired not only by the image they have taken and the science they have done, but also by the man who inspired so many of us to do it.<br /><br />So here is 2602 Moore, named in honour of Sir Patrick by the discoverer...This is a raw screen capture from the software we use to detect moving objects. I hope, in this topical time, when the show and its very future is being discussed, that people can look at what he achieved, and hopefully the BBC will come to a sound decision that takes astronomy broadcasting forward in to the 21st Century and beyond.</span></span><br />
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NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-90731505895218023842013-06-13T07:23:00.001-07:002013-06-13T07:23:19.163-07:00Bringing Space to the Masses: Q&A with Planetary Resources’ Chris Lewicki<a href="http://www.universetoday.com/102895/bringing-space-to-the-masses-qa-with-planetary-resources-chris-lewicki/#.UbnVtnkBmoo.blogger">Bringing Space to the Masses: Q&A with Planetary Resources’ Chris Lewicki</a>NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-66229132015580926132013-05-20T08:12:00.001-07:002013-05-20T08:12:24.836-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2013/05/close-approach-of-asteroid-285263-1998.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2</a>: Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2 was discovered on Aug. 19, 1998 , by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Res...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-58371348533291672542013-03-12T15:07:00.003-07:002013-03-12T15:07:46.447-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of Asteroid 2013 CL22<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2013/02/close-approach-of-asteroid-2013-cl22.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of Asteroid 2013 CL22</a>: M.P.E.C. 2013-C24 , issued on 2013 Feb. 6, reports the discovery of the asteroid 2013 CL22 (discovery magnitude 16.7) by J75 OAM Observato...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-69967116922856149392013-03-12T15:07:00.001-07:002013-03-12T15:07:20.131-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Images & Animations of 2012 DA14 Close Approach<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2013/02/images-animations-of-2012-da14-close.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Images & Animations of 2012 DA14 Close Approach</a>: Asteroid 2012 DA14 had a close approach with Earth at 1925 UT on 2013 Feb. 15. at about 0.09 LD (Lunar Distances = ~384,000 kilometers) or ...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-30755381938985870412013-03-12T15:06:00.001-07:002013-03-12T15:06:58.900-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close approach of Asteroid 2013 ET<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2013/03/close-approach-of-asteroid-2013-et.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close approach of Asteroid 2013 ET</a>: M.P.E.C. 2013-E14 , issued on 2013 March 04, reports the discovery of the asteroid 2013 ET (discovery magnitude 16.9) by Catalina Sky Surv...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-84814361464368401972013-02-12T15:25:00.001-08:002013-02-12T15:25:20.072-08:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of Asteroid 2012 DA14<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2013/02/close-approach-of-asteroid-2012-da14.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of Asteroid 2012 DA14</a>: Asteroid 2012 DA14 was discovered by J75 OAM Observatory, La Sagra on images taken on February 23.03, 2012 with a 0.45-m f/2.8 reflector ...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-31598375297982717372013-01-09T02:46:00.000-08:002013-01-09T03:09:25.760-08:00New Comet for Stargazing Live<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Astronomers coordinating imaging with UK Schools as part of BBC Stargazing Live week have remarkably helped discover a new comet.
Analysis of the Minor Planet Centre's NEOCP target list by Faulkes Telescope Pro-Am programme manager Nick Howes and his colleague at the Remanzacco Observatory Italy, Ernesto Guido, showed that one of the newly detected but as yet unclassified objects was likely to be a comet. "We'd selected this target based on the preliminary data published by the minor planet centre" says Howes, but then the power of social networking helped out even more.<br />
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With only one set of limited observations on it by the Spacewatch Observatory, Nick communicated via the social network site Twitter with Jim Scotti, an astronomer in Arizona, who's observations were the first. "It became clear from speaking to Jim, that they thought they had something, but in following with IAU rules would not say what... but encouraged us to perform additional observations to make sure what we had was indeed what we suspected from the orbit...a new comet"
The new object at magnitude 20, billions of times fainter than the human eye can see was then imaged by Howes/Guido using Faulkes Telescope North.<br />
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Fortunately, the elevation of the comet in the sky also permitted them to request additional observations from Peter Phelps at Hazlemere school in the UK. "The data from Faulkes North was not 100% clear, as the object was so faint, but we suspected it was a comet, and asked for more images". The extra images, from Faulkes South showed the comet very near to a bright field star, but were enough to convince Howes and Guido that it was indeed a comet.<br />
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The minor planet centre later on the 8th January confirmed this and cited the Faulkes observations in the discovery circular and telegrams.<br />
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The new Comet is called P2012 A2 Scotti
http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K13/K13A45.html
CBET is 3376
Cbet nr. 3376, issued on 2013, January 08, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 19.5) by J. Scotti with the 691 Steward Observatory, Kitt Peak, on images obtained with the 0.9-m f/3 reflector + CCD on January 06.2. The new comet has been designated P/2013 A2 (SCOTTI).<br />
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"To say we're over the moon would be an understatement, this was one of the trickiest comets we've ever worked on, faint at magnitude 20, with a minuscule tail, it took all our efforts for several hours to confirm it with the 2m scopes" says Howes. "It's fantastic that with the third episode of Stargazing Live coming up and focussing on comets, that we managed to nail this one during the airing of the live show"
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The team have been observing and imaging comets and asteroids all week with UK schools, and on Wednesday 9th have a full day devoted to detecting and refining orbits on Kuiper belt objects in the far reaches of the solar system with a large number of schools. This is part of an ongoing research collaboration with the world famous Lowell Observatory in Arizona.<br />
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For more on the team and their discoveries visit<br />
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http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/</div>
NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-38581570462200216632012-12-26T16:45:00.003-08:002012-12-26T16:45:53.254-08:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Recovery of comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/12/recovery-of-comet-26pgriggskjellerup.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Recovery of comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup</a>: MPEC 2012-Y30 , issued 2012 December 26, reports our recovery of comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup . We found the comet on 2012 December 05.6 and ...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-20901387123009712832012-12-26T16:45:00.001-08:002012-12-26T16:45:50.486-08:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Recovery of comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/12/recovery-of-comet-26pgriggskjellerup.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Recovery of comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup</a>: MPEC 2012-Y30 , issued 2012 December 26, reports our recovery of comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup . We found the comet on 2012 December 05.6 and ...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-1438694947037257612012-12-09T15:47:00.000-08:002012-12-10T05:49:14.793-08:00A Knights Tale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this year I was commissioned to conduct an interview and write it up for a magazine. The article didn't go out for reasons, that are private, but here, in its uncut form is the piece I wrote about someone who I had known for 22 years, who was my teacher, and like millions of others, an inspirational astronomer... Sir Patrick Moore. The poignant last paragraph a testament to a man, who I spent the entire day with, laughing, joking and talking about all things astronomy. The almost 3 hours of mp3 recordings I still have of this interview are very precious to me for many reasons, as they tell the truth of the day with a great astronomer, and the wonderful day spent in his company.</span><br />
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Knights Tale<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After
a record breaking 55 years presenting the BBC’s seminal “Sky at Night”
television program, Nick Howes visits the home of Sir Patrick Moore<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
drive down to Selsey, a seaside town on the south coast of England is always
one filled with excitement. I have known Sir Patrick (or just Patrick as he
likes to be called) since the late 1980s when he was a visiting lecturer in
planetary science at my University. In those days, he’d make the journey in a
vintage black car, typically eccentric in style, and come bounding in to what
was always a packed lecture hall, full of wide eyed undergraduates devouring
his every word. I’d been re-introduced after almost 20 years courtesy of
invites to be a part of some Sky at Night television shows, where a group of
amateurs were invited to his large garden, with telescopes, to have a mini star
party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patrick
lives in a wonderful thatched roof house, in an area famed for its almost
mythical micro climate. Selsey, despite its proximity to the large naval city
of Portsmouth, is a relatively good dark site location, and with its closeness
to the sea, and protrusion out from the nearby coast, seems to have clear
skies, even when the aforementioned nearby city is overcast. The house, which Patrick has lived in for
around 50 years is known as “Farthings” (Far Things!), resplendent with wood
panelling throughout, it’s like entering a gallery or museum of the greatest
achievements in astronomy of the past half a century.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Barring
the Knighthood, which Patrick received from her Majesty the Queen in 2001, he
also holds a CBE, OBE, and one of his proudest achievements, being made an
honorary fellow of the Royal Society, also in 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
was greeted at the door by one of his assistants. Patrick, at the tender age of
89, has long suffered with ailments which he says stem from a “war time spinal
injury, which finally caught up with me”. He finds his current physical state,
compounded with acute arthritis “immensely frustrating” not only due to the fact
that he cannot use his beloved telescopes any more, but also that he can’t
pursue some of his other passions in life, being cricket and music.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
asked Patrick first about his music. An accomplished xylophone player since the
age of 9, though he was playing the piano from a much earlier age (allegedly
before he could even talk), he famously once accompanied Albert Einstein who
was playing Saint-Saen's the Swan
on the violin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I loved to compose,
and as for my own musical tastes the music of Strauss is some of my favourite
music. I love his grasp of harmony” Patrick himself having many notable
compositions to his name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A long-time friend of
Brian May, the guitarist from Queen, who recently returned after 36 years with
that iconic group to complete his doctorate in “zodiacal dust clouds”, Patrick
says “I like Brian so much, a terrific friend, and a good astronomer, but I
don’t like his music, and I’ve told him as much. Our musical tastes are sadly
separated by a few hundred years”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patrick’s xylophone
still gets played by those he invites to use it, and his musical compositions,
were even that week being played at a local concert by a young local
xylophonist. He hands me a leaflet with the concert details “I shall be going
to see that, would you like to come along?” he asks. This is Patrick through
and through; he’s an incredibly warm and welcoming individual, who makes you
feel very much at home whenever you see him. In a time when celebrity culture
is being criticised so much in the press, to find a man, who still lists his
phone number in the telephone book, and welcomes guests, is refreshing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patrick famously
mapped the moon in the 1960s for both the Russian and U.S programs, and pre
missions to the lunar far side, discovered the crater Einstein, and for a time
was credited also with the “discovery” of Mare Orientale (though this is now
credited to Julius Franz) His lunar maps were and still are some of the best
ever made, pre the large scale imaging surveys. Patrick has always been a
visual observer, even with the advent of modern CCD imagers at a time when he
was still active, Patrick stated that there was and is nothing better than
being at the eyepiece. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His lunar and
planetary sketchbooks are almost legendary, with detailed annotated (sometimes
amusingly) drawings, his passion for solar system planetary bodies really does
shine through. “I am pleased that one of the new co-presenters of the Sky at
Night, Paul Abel is also so keen on sketching the skies” says Patrick “I know
with modern computers, and imagers like my good friends Pete Lawrence, and
Damian Peach (both of whom live in Selsey as well, testament to the good skies
it has), that sitting and drawing objects in the sky is a dying art, but Paul
really does it so well, much better than me” Patrick is nothing if not modest
in his achievements. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The television show
has now moved on quite substantially from its roots. In 1957, shows were live
to air, with some famous episodes, where Patrick and often keen amateur
astronomers, would be trying to observe objects, and be clouded out for the
entire show. Nowadays, whilst Patrick still opens and presents the show, a team
of reporters, such as Pete Lawrence, Dr Chris Lintott (of Galaxy Zoo fame), Dr
Chris North and Paul Abel, assist with outside broadcast and observing duties. “I
don’t get to travel much, London is about as far as I can get now” says
Patrick, who regularly attends the European Astrofest show, where queues of
people hundreds of yards long will form, to see him and get him to sign one of
the hundreds of books he has authored.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from the honours
and medals, including an honorary doctorate (“I never wanted to be a
professional astronomer, as my maths is not very good”) which take up a glass
cabinet on the wall next to where Patrick presents the TV show, is a BAFTA
award. Like the British version of the Oscars, Patrick was presented this in
2002 by none other than Buzz Aldrin, another long-time friend. Patrick knows
all of the Apollo astronauts well, having interviewed pretty much all of them,
including Neil Armstrong not long after the lunar landing. “I think I am the
only person alive who’s met the first man on the Moon, the first man in space
and the first man to fly” says Patrick, having met Gagarin and Orville Wright.
“It’s quite incredible that we went from the first flight to manned spaceflight
and then on to the Moon in such a short period of time” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patrick has no time at
all for modern politicians and their meddling with science. “Kennedy was in a
different league to modern politicians, whom I’d mostly like to send on a one
way trip to Alpha Centauri if I could” He goes on to name various U.S
presidents and British politicians who he’d probably actually pay for that
ticket for. “Missions like Voyager, Apollo, Viking and the Hubble Space
telescope show what we can achieve, but political will needs to be there, and I
don’t think any of them really have it any more”. Werner Von Braun, who Patrick
knew and liked immensely “could not see his ultimate dream through of sending a
man to Mars, and that’s a shame”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Patrick’s own work,
which included helping set up and saving the William Herschel Museum in Bath,
where Uranus was discovered, and being on the planetary commission of the IAU (he
also has his own asteroid), also involved helping set up one of the first
robotic telescopes for schools. The Liverpool Telescope in La Palma. “I was approached to chair a committee
setting it up, and I am very proud of that” states Patrick “I think, if
anything, my greatest achievement is that I have encouraged so many people,
especially youngsters in to astronomy” If you ask most people in the UK, and
even globally, his reach is as prolific as someone like Carl Sagan, they will
tell you that it was “The Sky at Night” and Patrick’s infectious enthusiasm
which got them in to this hobby. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“It’s wonderful that
many professional astronomers come back and say it was me that got them
inspired, even my co-presenter Chris Lintott, who was an enthusiastic youth at
a school I gave a talk to” I asked Patrick if he considered, given his inability
to use his own telescopes, using a robotic scope “not really, I love being out
under the stars, at the eyepiece” a sadness briefly comes over him, but then in
his usual style, he bounces back, announcing that lunch will be served up, and
that we must all join him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have lunch together
in his wood panelled dining room, and then the British Astronomical
Associations lunar director Bruce Kingsley, (whom I’ve known for years, and who
was one of the amazing team that worked on the lunar world record image, which
Patrick also sat in on), , took me round the telescopes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The 15” Newtonian on its Fullerscope mount
being one of the most photographed telescopes in the world in the “dome” at the
back of the garden, being our first port of call. Balanced with weight lifting
weights, it’s clearly a loved and well used scope that Patrick still encourages
everyone to look through. My own personal favourite though is the Cooke
refractor, recently expertly restored by Steve Collingwood of Meade’s
distributors in the UK, it sits in an also recently restored run off roof shed,
and looks as remarkable and pristine as any modern refractor, though suffering
with colour fringing, the views having looked through it, are still
breath-taking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the telescope
tour, we go back in to find Patrick at his computer, the famous Woodstock
typewriter on which he wrote so many of his books, sitting now, silently on a
desk. He offers us drinks, and we chat about a plethora of topics from world
politics to current deep space missions and the budget cuts impacting them.
Time really does fly by with Patrick, and my stay, initially planned for only a
few hours, quickly runs well in to the early evening. We bid each other
farewell, and it’s clear Patrick has enjoyed, as he always seems to, having
people who are as passionate about astronomy as he is, around. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">55 years of the Sky at
Night has inspired so many people to look up and observe the wonders of our
universe. As Patrick himself says “nobody else has done anything quite the
same, many people come and go in astronomy, but I’m still here” With his
passion for astronomy, who’d bet that it won’t continue for more years yet.
Only Patrick knows the answer to that, but, in a world where Knighthoods are
given to people, who may not deserve it, Patrick truly deserves his. A defender
of the skies for hopefully many more years to come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">END</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Footnote - Added 10th Dec 2012</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a lot of debate on social media forums, about the rights and wrongs of Patrick's political and cultural views. Whilst I am not someone who would ever think ill of the depearted, it's hopefully clear that any decent minded person would not in any way shape or form endorse or support any of his views w.r.t race/politics/immigration or the role of women in science/society. They were his views, and the views of a different generation. It's not to excuse them, it's just to explain I hope where and how they were formed.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I have tried to convey in this story, is the man who inspired a generation of amateur and professional astronomers, and nothing else.</span></div>
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NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-24839454656095610702012-12-07T08:29:00.001-08:002012-12-07T08:29:27.381-08:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Giovanni Sostero 1964 - 2012<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/12/giovanni-sostero-1964-2012.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Giovanni Sostero 1964 - 2012</a>: It is with deep sadness that we share with you the loss of our dear friend Giovanni Sostero . Giovanni was a great person, a great astronom...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-43044376817964275882012-11-30T05:30:00.000-08:002012-11-30T05:30:38.850-08:00"Bilge and a waste of money"...by Royal Decree<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 11.333333015441895px;">Dr Ian Crawford is a brilliant scientist, of that there is no doubt...but his article in A&G the RAS journal this month on the legacy of Apollo is just outstanding. The ADS citation count alone, and the efficiency of the astronauts on the moon walks shows time and again that WE HAVE TO EXPLORE not just send robots. Even Steven Squyres conceded that point, and he's had two rovers on mars for the best part of a decade, not a cumulative 25 days across 6 missions.</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 11.333333015441895px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 11.333333015441895px;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 11.333333015441895px;">What stunned me though in the article was the irresponsible and quite appalling comments by the then "Astronomer Royal" which sadly seem to have been passed down through successive ones... that "it was bilge and a waste of money"...</span><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 11.333333015441895px;" /><br style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 11.333333015441895px;" /><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 11.333333015441895px;">If taking part in humankind's greatest technological achievement, uniting most of the planet, ending the cold war, and delivering inspiration to millions of kids, whilst generating thousands of scientific papers and research, and making international heroes </span></span></span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333015441895px; line-height: 11.333333015441895px;">
<span style="color: white;">out of a group of men who risked their lives to do something that 43 years on we've STILL not matched is "bilge" then I give up with these people...<br /><br />Appointed spokesmen (and women) for science like the Astronomer Royal should support breakthroughs and discovery. Werner and his team delivered a breakthrough in technology, whilst Aldrin/Armstrong through to Cernan and Schmitt from the Crawford paper delivered science on a scale which is still unprecedented and has never been matched since by all of the robotic landers on other worlds..<br /><br />Science is science, we should all applaud it, if it furthers our knowledge, and yes, it may and did have political aims too, but it had them and delivered something great from it, unlike the Vietnam War and every damn war since, which has done nothing but bring misery and suffering to millions. A political desire to "outperform" or "show off" to your "sworn enemies" in the case of Apollo was the spark that ended the cold war...if that's a bad thing then we live in a very very messed up world.</span></div>
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NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-31046758233531367642012-11-24T16:05:00.001-08:002012-11-24T16:05:58.549-08:00A Passion for Space<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs6/i/2005/103/a/5/Grand_Universe_by_ANTIFAN_REAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs6/i/2005/103/a/5/Grand_Universe_by_ANTIFAN_REAL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="line-height: 11.333333015441895px;">Some nights I dream of what it must have been like to walk on the Moon or what it will be like to walk on Mars for someone in a few decades time. Then there's the dream of seeing the sky with your own eyes in the way that the giant telescopes do... that "Rutger...time to die" moment from Bladerunner, imagining what it must be like to skim past the Orion Nebula or hover above the galaxy. Most of humanity look up at the sky, and never pay it any attention, it's always there, so, like a local building or corner shop, why would/should they care..? Some people look up and may wonder a bit, or stare at the Moon looking for meaning to a problem in their life,,,,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="line-height: 11.333333015441895px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="line-height: 11.333333015441895px;">I think astronomy people and fans of space science are blessed, in that we look up, and see a million suns burning brightly, consuming their gaseous fuel at a relentless pace... with a plethora of planets orbiting probably each and every one of them, we see gas clouds, intricate in form, and colour making new stars, we see the explosive remnants of stars, weaving their spider like tendrils across the sky... that once may have harboured life bearing planets in their own solar systems, we see galaxies of every conceivable shape and size, huge black holes at their centres with arms that stretch out for distances we cannot begin to comprehend, we see our nearest satellite, shining brightly, never changing and yet constantly illuminated in subtly different ways... with the footprints of 12 great human beings imprinted on them for the next 10-20-30 million years, but most of all, I think we see and grasp the Universe in a way most don't... an infinite sea, as I think Sagan once called it, where we're just starting to dip our toes in to the cosmic shore.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="line-height: 11.333333015441895px;">Like most things we may take for granted, one day it may not be there, maybe light pollution, maybe illness or maybe some other factor will make it impossible for you as an individual to see it.. so next time you step outside, don't forget to look up, and if it's a clear night, just take a few moments to enjoy the greatest, most beautiful free light show this planet has to offer... and then realise why people who are passionate about astronomy and space are that way..</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="line-height: 11.333333015441895px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="line-height: 11.333333015441895px;">This post is dedicated to friends who are "the astronomy" people , and to my friend Giovanni Sostero, who I hope against hope will again see the universe he loves so much</span></span><br />
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NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-826429944573558332012-11-23T07:56:00.001-08:002012-11-23T07:56:23.455-08:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Two Irregular Satellites of Jupiter<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/11/two-irregular-satellites-of-jupiter.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Two Irregular Satellites of Jupiter</a>: The planetary satellites can be distinguished into two characteristic groups: regulars and irregulars. Satellites are classified as “irreg...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-9160021503907211482012-11-14T02:12:00.001-08:002012-11-14T02:19:50.044-08:00Giovanni Sostero<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #eeeeee;">It is with deep sadness that I must tell you of the sudden illness of our</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;">friend, mentor and colleague at Remanzacco Observatory, Giovanni Sostero.</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;">Giovanni suffered a heart attack last weekend, and is now in intensive care in</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;">hospital, after having surgery.</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #eeeeee;">I hope that you will all join us in wishing him a speedy recovery, as our</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;">community is a better place with people of his calibre among us.</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #eeeeee;">Ernesto is in contact with Giovanni's family and is passing on the thoughts and</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;">prayers of everyone.</span><br />
<span style="color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #eeeeee;">Nick Howes and Ernesto Guido</span><br />
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NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-87799475703115332402012-10-20T01:50:00.001-07:002012-10-20T01:50:11.136-07:00<div><p dir=ltr><a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.it/">Remanzacco</a><a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.it/"> Observatory - Comets & Neo</a></p>
<p dir=ltr>Three comets in a week.. <br>
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</div>NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-181533606991580672012-10-01T16:08:00.001-07:002012-10-01T16:08:47.616-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Updated data for comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/10/updated-data-for-comet-c2012-s1-ison.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Updated data for comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)</a>: Our team performed follow-up observations of comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) on 2012, Sept. 28.6, remotely through the 2m, f/10 Ritchey-Chretien + ...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-12314968597153933592012-09-24T16:10:00.001-07:002012-09-24T16:10:21.524-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: New Comet: C/2012 S1 (ISON)<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-comet-c2012-s1-ison.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: New Comet: C/2012 S1 (ISON)</a>: Cbet nr. 3238 , issued on 2012, September 24, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude 18.8) by Vitali Nevski (Vitebsk,...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-64359752314438653172012-09-13T08:45:00.007-07:002012-09-13T08:45:49.920-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Distant Minor Planets 248835 & 2009 MS9<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/08/distant-minor-planets-248835-2009-ms9.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Distant Minor Planets 248835 & 2009 MS9</a>: The Lowell Observatory LARI program hopes to engage the ever-growing and technically sophisticated amateur astronomy community in some ex...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-82698408923267209792012-09-13T08:45:00.005-07:002012-09-13T08:45:36.515-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of PHA Asteroid 2012 QG42<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/09/close-approach-of-pha-asteroid-2012-qg42.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of PHA Asteroid 2012 QG42</a>: M.P.E.C. 2012-Q72 , issued on 2012 Aug. 28, reports the discovery of the PHA asteroid 2012 QG42 (discovery magnitude 16.8) by Catalina Sky...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-10820487945622668042012-09-13T08:45:00.003-07:002012-09-13T08:45:22.291-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of Asteroid 2012 QC8<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/09/close-approach-of-asteroid-2012-qc8.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: Close Approach of Asteroid 2012 QC8</a>: M.P.E.C. 2012-Q25 , issued on 2012 Aug. 20, reports the discovery of the asteroid 2012 QC8 (discovery magnitude 17.1) by Siding Spring Sur...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-59809110570150133642012-09-13T08:45:00.001-07:002012-09-13T08:45:02.627-07:00Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: New update on comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)<a href="http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2012/09/new-update-on-comet-c2011-l4-panstarrs.html?spref=bl">Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: New update on comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)</a>: Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) , discovered by Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on Haleakala, Maui, on the night of 2011, June 5-6, will reach perihelio...NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2384955221140946807.post-80510808607205409762012-09-13T08:44:00.003-07:002012-09-13T08:44:24.500-07:00Saving the planet - 1 asteroid at a time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Thank you Neosheild<br />
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<a href="http://www.neoshield.net/en/news-and-events/news/2012qg42-close-approach.htm">http://www.neoshield.net/en/news-and-events/news/2012qg42-close-approach.htm</a>
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NickAstronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17313882936102243914noreply@blogger.com0