THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 450        1990 Oct 03 20.10UT
Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close,  Kempshott Rise,  Basingstoke,
Hants, RG22 4PP, England. Telephone:   (0256)471074 Int:+44256471074
Telex: 94082518 Answerback: TAGUY                Microlink: MAG60138
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TELECOM GOLD: 10074:MIK2885                        PRESTEL 256471074
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SATURN
Further to the report on E449, Mark Kidger, Tenerife, tells us that
he first observed the white spot on 1990 Sept 29.8333UT when it was
seen in the 0.08-m finder of the 0.51-m telescope at Teide
Observatory. The spot, located in the EZ, was examined at x300 in
the main telescope and was about 10-15 degrees west of the meridian.
It was positioned hard against the NEB, which "wrapped" around the
eastern side of the spot, causing an unusual type of plateau in the
NEB which extended across a significant fraction of the disk. The
spot is very bright, more intense than Ring B. He notes that the
Will Hay Spot of 1933 lasted only 6 weeks and observations of the
current spot: transits, evolution, intensity estimates and general
behaviour, are urgently required.
A later report from Mark indicates the following meridian crossings:
1990 Oct 1.951UT, 22.50UT (V.Gonzalez, F.Hernandez)
1990 Oct 1.951UT, 22.49UT (M.Kidger, J.Gonzalez)
There is a suggested rotation period of 10h15m45s (+/-49s)
Semi-major axis is about 17,000km.

BC URSAE MAJORIS
Further to the note on E442, Harold Ridley has photographed the star
on 1990 Sept 17 (20.55-21.00UT) with the Zeiss Triplet Lens of 1.2-m
focal length using Kodak T-Max 400 emulsion.
Denis Buczynski, Conder Brow Observatory, reports the following
precise position measured by him from the above photograph:
RA 11h49m38.8s DEC +49 31'22.3"(1950)

Guy M Hurst