From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Sat Feb 14 2004 - 12:36:08 PST
>From: <bulletins_at_SkyandTelescope.com>
>Reply-To: <wnb_at_SkyandTelescope.com>
>To: <ljk4_at_msn.com>
>Subject: S&T's Weekly News Bulletin for February 13
>Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 20:03:06 -0500
>
>========================================================================
>
> * * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - February 13, 2004 * * *
>
>========================================================================
>
>Welcome to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin. Images, the full text of stories
>abridged here, and other enhancements are available on our Web site,
>SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided below. (If the links don't work,
>just manually type the URLs into your Web browser.) Clear skies!
>
>========================================================================
>
>LENSED QUASARS HIT THE CHARTS
>
>Astronomy is a record-breaking science. When a very wide gravitationally
>lensed quasar was announced in late 2003, breaking the separation record
>set by a similar object discovered in 1979, Joachim Wambsganss (University
>of Potsdam, Germany) wrote in the journal NATURE: "It's a safe bet that it
>won't be another 24 years until this quasar record is broken." Little did
>he know that the record would be shattered within three weeks....
>
> > http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1177_1.asp
>
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>AMATEUR SHOOTS MARS "PICTURE OF THE YEAR"
>
>A California amateur astrophotographer recently received a unique double
>honor by having two of his Mars images featured in two well-known
>publications. Wally Pacholka's portraits of the red planet last July 21st
>over Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park near Lake Mead were chosen by TIME
>and LIFE magazines for their respective editions of pictorial highlights
>of 2003. His photo of brilliant Mars shining through Arch Rock was
>published as one of TIME's "Pictures of the Year" last December 22nd,
>while his image showing the planet next to a formation called Poodle Rock
>is in LIFE's "The Year in Pictures...."
>
> > http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1176_1.asp
>
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>STARDATE 2004: "SIMPLY THE BEST"
>
>On January 23-26 New Zealand's Phoenix Astronomical Society held its 16th
>annual Stardate star party near Napier on the North Island's east coast.
>Nearly 150 attendees were treated to spectacular views of the Magellanic
>Clouds, the Eta Carinae Nebula, and a host of deep-sky splendors in the
>rich southern Milky Way. An auroral display on the 23rd as well as the
>fine placement of Comet NEAT (C/2001 Q4) near the Small Magellanic Cloud
>added to the sky's grandeur that night. "To quote Tina Turner," says
>Lesley Hall, the event's organizer, "this year's Stardate was 'simply the
>best, better than all the rest.'"
>
>But the observing was just a part of Stardate's success. "This year," Hall
>says, "Stardate achieved a balance, providing a little bit of enjoyment
>for everyone -- from kids to adults, from telescope makers to binocular
>observers, and from astrophotographers to armchair learners...."
>
> > http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1174_1.asp
>
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>
>HUBBLE DEBATE HEATS UP
>
>The fate of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) remains uncertain as
>astronomers, the public, and Congress continue to question whether NASA
>administrator Sean O'Keefe was justified in deciding to stop servicing the
>orbiting observatory. Without another upgrade by Space Shuttle astronauts,
>the telescope will cease to function within the next few years rather than
>last till the end of the decade, as astronomers had hoped. O'Keefe
>announced his surprise ruling on January 16th; since then, growing
>opposition to the decision has kept him and his deputies on the defensive.
>With Congress set to hold hearings this week on the space agency's budget
>and on President George W. Bush's plan to send astronauts to the Moon and
>Mars, there's no sign that the controversy will subside anytime soon....
>
> > http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1175_1.asp
>
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>
>BLOWIN' IN THE PLANETARY WIND
>
>First it was sodium, then it was hydrogen, now it's oxygen and carbon.
>Astronomers are detecting more and more atmospheric constituents of HD
>209458b, a gas-giant extrasolar planet that orbits its star at only
>one-eighth the average distance of Mercury from the Sun....
>
> > http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1172_1.asp
>
>========================================================================
>
>HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY
>
>* Last-quarter Moon on Friday, February 13th.
>* New Moon on Friday, February 20th.
>* Venus (magnitude -4.1, in Pisces) is the brilliant white "Evening Star"
>shining in the west during twilight and early evening. A telescope will
>show its gibbous shape.
>
>For details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:
>
> > http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/
>
>========================================================================
>
>SEE THE ASTRONOMICAL STATES OF AMERICA (Advertisement)
>
>Join SKY & TELESCOPE as we travel to USA astronomy destinations!
>
>Arizona Deep Skies & Deserts
>October 2-9, 2004
>
>Explore the astronomical capital of the world as we visit Kitt Peak
>National Observatory, Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory, U.S.
>Geological Survey's Astrogeology Branch, as well as magnificent Barringer
>Meteor Crater and Whipple and Lowell observatories. We'll also enjoy
>specially arranged stargazing sessions under the dark, deep-desert skies.
>
> > http://www.tq-international.com/Arizona2004/arizona.htm
>
>New Mexico Astronomy & Aerospace
>October 9-16, 2004
>
>Discover the astronomical history of New Mexico as we visit Los Alamos,
>site of the famous Manhattan Project, Soccoro's Very Large Array
>Telescopes, White Sands Missile Range, Apache Point and Sacramento Peak
>Observatories, and Roswell's UFO Museum! Add to this the giant dunes of
>White Sands National Monument, the ancient Anasazi Indian cliff dwellings
>at Bandelier National Monument, and Albuquerque's International Balloon
>Fiesta, and you have a travel experience not to be missed.
>
> > http://www.tq-international.com/NewMexicofeedback.html
>
>Space is limited for these astronomical adventures -- make your
>reservation today!
>
>Call toll free 800-830-1998, visit www.tq-international.com
>
>========================================================================
>
>Copyright 2004 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin is provided
>as a free service to the astronomical community by the editors of SKY &
>TELESCOPE magazine. Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as
>long as our copyright notice is included, along with the words "used by
>permission." But this bulletin may not be published in any other form
>without written permission from Sky Publishing; send e-mail to
>permissions_at_SkyandTelescope.com or call +1 617-864-7360. More astronomy
>news is available on our Web site at http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/.
>
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>
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>
> > http://SkyandTelescope.com/shopatsky/emailsubscribe.asp
>
>=======================================================================
>
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