------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ASTRONOMER Electronic Circular No 2091 2005 Mar 04 09.52UT Ed:Guy M Hurst, 16,Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise, Basingstoke, Hants, RG22 4PP,England.Telephone/FAX(01256)471074Int:+441256471074 INTERNET: GUY@TAHQ.DEMON.CO.UK GMH at AST.STAR.RL.AC.UK WORLD WIDE WEB http://www.theastronomer.org ------------------------------------------------------------------- ROSETTA Peter Meadows has kindly e-mailed to draw out attention to ESA's Rosetta spacecraft which is due to fly past the Earth tonight 2005 March 4 and may reach magnitude 8-9. It will be the first to undertake the long-term exploration of a comet (Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko) at close quarters. It comprises a large orbiter, which is designed to operate for a decade at large distances from the Sun, and a small lander. Each of these carries a large complement of scientific experiments designed to complete the most detailed study of a comet ever attempted. Peter quotes the following address for more background details; http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Rosetta/SEMMTBYEM4E_0.html Ephemeris from JPL Horizons WWW page based on Greenwich: Date__(UT)__HR:MN R.A.__(a-apparent)__DEC Cnst 2005-Mar-04 19:00 A 10 27 26.43 +07 16 53.5 Leo 2005-Mar-04 19:10 A 10 25 26.44 +07 30 04.0 Leo 2005-Mar-04 19:20 A 10 23 12.01 +07 44 28.5 Leo 2005-Mar-04 19:30 A 10 20 40.54 +08 00 18.6 Leo 2005-Mar-04 19:40 10 17 48.80 +08 17 48.5 Leo 2005-Mar-04 19:50 10 14 32.58 +08 37 15.7 Leo 2005-Mar-04 20:00 10 10 46.38 +08 59 02.6 Leo 2005-Mar-04 20:10 10 06 22.81 +09 23 37.3 Leo 2005-Mar-04 20:20 10 01 11.71 +09 51 36.6 Leo 2005-Mar-04 20:30 09 54 58.59 +10 23 48.7 Leo 2005-Mar-04 20:40 09 47 22.14 +11 01 18.1 Leo 2005-Mar-04 20:50 09 37 49.47 +11 45 32.0 Leo 2005-Mar-04 21:00 09 25 26.90 +12 38 27.4 Leo 2005-Mar-04 21:10 09 08 40.53 +13 42 33.5 Cnc 2005-Mar-04 21:20 08 44 30.75 +15 00 11.3 Cnc 2005-Mar-04 21:30 08 06 35.16 +16 28 51.5 Cnc 2005-Mar-04 21:40 t 06 59 58.62 +17 32 44.9 Gem 2005-Mar-04 21:50 04 55 17.60 +14 40 57.3 Ori 2005-Mar-04 22:00 s 02 03 42.50 +01 40 20.1 Cet A=Astronomical Twilight; t=transit; s=sets Positions depend on your location so use the following to generate your own ephemeris: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.html David Briggs reports that he imaged Rosetta on 2005 Feb 27 using Hampshire Astronomical Group's 0.60-m f/4.75 Newtonian and a Starlight Xpress MX916. Using Astrometrica the estimated magnitude was then 18 with the spacecraft 0.012AU from the Earth. A further report has also been received from Giovanni Sostero, Remzacco Observatory Italy, who imaged the space craft on 2005 March 2 at 21.18UT. This was recorded with 0.25-m f/7.2 Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD on 5 x 180 second co-added unfiltered exposures. SUPERNOVA 2005ab IN NGC 4617 Discovery by Koichi Itagaki, Japan, of a possible supernova (IAUC 8478): SN 2005 UT R.A. (2000.0) Decl. Mag. Offset 2005ab Feb. 6.63 12 41 05.18 +50 22 56.2 16.7 7"W , 40"S SUPERNOVA 2005ac IN ANONYMOUS GALAXY Discovery by LOSS of a possible supernova (IAUC 8478): SN 2005 UT R.A. (2000.0) Decl. Mag. Offset 2005ac Feb. 4.50 13 39 55.82 +00 52 15.0 18.0 2.2"W, 0.9"S Guy M Hurst