The solar system applet on the Computing Section web site
(http://britastro.org/computing) has been considerably enhanced to make
it an invaluable tool for planning observing sessions.
It gives a rapid summary of where solar system objects appear for your
latitude, and will appear in the near future, in a readily assimilated
graphical format.
Initially it shows the positions of the Sun, major planets and,
importantly, the Moon so it is immediately obvious whether that will
interfere with observing.
It is easy to add minor planets (from a list of 93) and periodic comets
(30 at opposition in the coming year) or any objects for which you know
the heliocentric elliptical orbital elements.
The plot is interactive. Click on any object to get a summary of its
position, phase angle and, for minor planets, a magnitude estimate (from
H and G parameters). This summary can be copied and pasted to compile a
list of observable objects to go and see.
The Computing section website can be found from the BAA website:
http://www.britastro.org
or directly: http://britastro.org/computing/
To go straight to the applet:
http://britastro.org/computing/applets_planets.html

Sheridan Williams
Computing Section Director
British Astronomical Association
baa (at) clock-tower (dot) com

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Bulletin transmitted on Mon Oct 18 21:35:30 BST 2010

There are still a few places left for the Cardiff Back to Basics
Workshop on Saturday 16th October 2010. The closing date has been
extended so if you would still like to attend please contact the BAA
office before 5th October to avoid disappointment. (The British
Astronomical Association, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J ODU
Telephone: 020 7734 4145)

The workshop is being held at the Cardiff School of Physics and
Astronomy, Cardiff University, Queens Building, The Parade Cardiff
CF24 2AA

This workshop has been designed with a programme of short talks and
interactive practical sessions to help you learn basic techniques and
develop your interest to its full potential whether you are a complete
beginner or would like to develop the skill to do a different area of
observation. There will be experienced people on hand to answer your
questions throughout the day.

It is with great sadness I have to inform you that Val White, editor of the Handbook and until recently a member of Council, died peacefully at home on 23rd September after a long and courageous fight with cancer. Some of you will have met Val at meetings or on solar eclipse trips with her husband Andrew. She was a delightful person, always warm and friendly and willing to help.

Val was first elected to Council in 2003 and brought a calm, level-headed presence to our discussions. She could be relied on to give an honest opinion and I valued her advice and judgement. With a degree in Astronomy and Pure Maths, she was the perfect volunteer to take on editing the Handbook which she has done for the last 6 years. With great skill, tact and persistence she has steered it through the transition to a digitally produced format and as a result reduced its production costs considerably. In doing this she was helped and supported by Andrew.

In the October Journal, in my From the President article, there is an appeal for someone to take over editing the Handbook. When I wrote that we did not expect to lose Val so quickly. Throughout her illness she continued to work on the 2011 Handbook and it will stand as a lasting memorial to her commitment and dedication.

Her passing when she still had so much to offer is a great loss to the Association but a much greater one to her family and friends.

Our thoughts and condolences are with Andrew at this very difficult time.

David Boyd, President
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Jupiter is now a brilliant sight throughout the night. At opposition
in a few days time, it will be at its closest distance for 47 years,
so the disk appears larger than at any time since 1963.  It is also at
its highest declination this year than at any time since 2004, so it
appears higher in the sky (for observers north of the tropics).
Uranus is also at opposition on the same day.

Specifically, Jupiter reaches minimum distance (3.95393 AU) on Sep.20d
21h, and maximum phase angle (178.4 deg) on Sep.21d 12h.  Uranus
reaches minimum distance (19.08816 AU) on Sep.20d 20h, and maximum
phase angle (179.2 deg) on Sep.21d 17h.  Uranus is 1 degree N of
Jupiter; the two planets have exactly the same right ascension on
Sep.22d 19h. (Data from the JPL Ephemeris Generator)

A preliminary report on BAA observations of this eclipse has already
appeared in the August Journal:

http://britastro.org/journal/pdf/120-4eclipse.pdf

and further reports will be published in the October issue.

We have already received a considerable amount of material for potential
inclusion on the planned 2010 total eclipse DVD. Roger Perry has started
to compile this disk but there is still time to include other suitable
items. If you have any material that you think may be suitable please
e-mail it to me at the address below. Large items, such as videos, can
be uploaded to our FTP site. If you want to send such items please
contact me for FTP access details.

Nick James ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Observers may be interested to know that during the last few days the
planets Jupiter and Uranus have been passing close to each other in the
constellation of Pisces as seen from the Earth and are currently separated
by an angular distance of less than 50 arcminutes with Uranus approximately
north of Jupiter as seen in the sky.

What makes this special is that both planets reach opposition on the same
day, September 21 and furthermore, Jupiter's opposition is a particularly
favourable one in that the planet is the closest and brightest since 1963.
Details are as follows:

Sep 20 20:20 UT  Uranus closest to Earth (19.0881644 AU)
Sep 20 21:20 UT  Jupiter closest to Earth (3.9539288 AU)
Sep 21 11:40 UT  Jupiter at opposition (V = -2.94)
Sep 21 17:00 UT  Uranus at opposition (V = 5.73)

Positions and magnitudes were derived from JPL HORIZONS.

Observers should note that when at opposition the nearly full Moon will be
about 20 degrees to the west of the planets and so the better views should
be obtained tonight (19/20th) and tomorrow might (20/21st).  Using a
low-power eyepiece, visual observers should be able to easily see both
planets in the same field of view.  When closest, the disk of Jupiter will
be some 49.86 arcsec in diameter (equatorial) as compared to Uranus which
appears a mere 3.69 arcsec across and nearly 3,000 times fainter.  Look out
for the unusual bluish-green colour of Uranus largely caused by the presence
of methane in its atmosphere.

Richard Miles
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