The Journal of the British Astronomical Association

Volume 118, No.3: 2008 June

Summary contents page

Detailed contents: Notes and News / Articles / Observers' Forum / Reviews / Letters / Meetings / BAA Update


Cover image

Thirty years of auroral observing. Top: The auroral oval photographed from Greenland by Lars Poort, 2006 November 23/24. Bottom: Noctilucent cloud from Dundee, 2006 July 14/15 by Ken Kennedy. See Ron Livesey's article on page 125-130.









Notes and News

Carry on Cassini: NASA extends spacecraft's active life for two more years (Hazel McGee ) / Schools use Faulkes Telescope to investigate near-Earth asteroid (Richard Miles ) / Solar Section (Lyn Smith) / Three in one night again for Tom Boles (Stewart L. Moore) / Observing the Sun in VLF (John Cook)

[Right: A spectacular and unique natural colour mosaic acquired by Cassini on 2007 May 9 from a position 39° above the unilluminated side of Saturn's ring system, at a distance of approximately 1.1 million km from the planet. The view combines 45 red, green and blue images taken over the course of about two hours. NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.]


Refereed papers

Some aspects of auroral observing, 1976-2005 ... R. J. Livesey

This paper reviews some of the activities of the Aurora Section in the period 1976-2005, observing and collecting data on the aurora and its allied phenomena.


The eastern and western elongations of Venus, 1999-2006 ... Richard McKim

This Report discusses ten successive morning and evening elongations of Venus. BAA data concerning phase anomaly, atmospheric markings, cusp extensions and the Ashen Light are presented and compared with historical data. The observational data include infrared imaging of the thermal emission from the planet's nightside, and extensive ultraviolet imaging. An improved BAA estimate for the UV rotation period has been determined from our data as 3.99515±0.0004 days.


Photometry of the dwarf nova AW Sagittae during the 2006 November superoutburst ... Jeremy Shears, Roger Pickard, Tom Krajci & Gary Poyner

During 2006 November an outburst of the dwarf nova AW Sge was observed using CCD photometry. This revealed 0.25 magnitude superhumps confirming it to be a superoutburst, possibly only the second confirmed such outburst of this star. The superhumps were observed for 4 days and had a stable period Psh = 0.0745(2)d, a value which is consistent with Psh measured during the 2000 superoutburst.


Superhumps and flickering in V1316 Cygni ... David Boyd, Christopher Lloyd, Robert Koff, Thomas Krajci, Bart Staels, Jerrold Foote, William Goff, Tonny Vanmunster, Lewis Cook, Joseph Patterson

We present analysis and results of a coordinated CCD photometry campaign to observe the 2006 June superoutburst of the cataclysmic variable V1316 Cyg involving eight longitudinally-distributed observers. The outburst peaked at magnitude 15.03 on 2006 June 10, declined at a rate of 0.14 mag/day, lasted 11 days and had an amplitude above quiescence of 2.4 magnitudes. We detected common superhumps for the first time, thereby confirming that V1316 Cyg is a member of the UGSU class of dwarf novae.


Total penumbral lunar eclipses ... Darren Beard

The main canons of lunar eclipses do not give many details of penumbral lunar eclipses in general or of total penumbral lunar eclipses in particular. This paper investigates the circumstances required for total penumbral lunar eclipses and gives details of all such eclipses occurring from AD 1000 to AD 3000.

Click here to obtain a PDF file of any of these articles


Meetings

  • Ordinary Meeting, 2007 May 30 including 'The Sky at Night at 50' ... Hazel McGee
  • Hunting for killer asteroids - the past, present and future of near-Earth asteroid surveys (Talk given by Dr Alan Harris) ... Roger Dymock
  • Exhibition Meeting, 2007 June 30 including the presentation of the 2007 BAA Awards and Medals ... Hazel McGee
  • Why not join us at a BAA meeting near you? Meetings are open to all and you will be made very welcome. Click here for the latest Meetings Diary



    Observers' Forum

  • M22: the great Sagittarius globular cluster ... Stewart L. Moore
  • An Antarctic meteor fall? ... Jonathan Shanklin

  • Imaging a transit of an extrasolar planet ... Martin Crow
  • The Eta Carinae nebula (NGC 3372) ... Jonathan Shanklin

  • The inaugural Isle of Wight Star Party ... Lucy Rogers
  • Right: Globular cluster M22 imaged from Sardinia by Andrea Tasselli


    BAA Update

  • Obituary: Keith W. Abineri ... Bill Leatherbarrow
  • Your annual BAA subscription ... Jean Felles


  • Sky notes for 2008 June & July by Neil Bone



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