Archives

In this paper we review telescopic observational data of Mercury from 2007 November to 2016 October inclusive, and describe the results of the 2016 solar transit. A gradual improvement in imaging technique has enabled observers to record albedo features upon Mercury’s surface as well as many bright patches corresponding to the ejecta regions of bright craters. An albedo chart and a Messenger map are presented for comparison. At the solar transit, observers obtained images in white light as well as in the wavelengths of H-alpha and Calcium K, timed the various contacts, and re-observed certain optical effects, comparing the results with those obtained at previous events.

For amateur astronomers the distant planet Uranus is a considerable observing challenge. With its angular size of about 3.6 arcseconds it is not easy to detect details in its atmosphere, and imaging of its faint satellites requires relatively long exposure times. Nevertheless, with the development of new digital cameras with increased sensitivity the planet and its satellites have become interesting objects of study. In this report covering the period 2006-2016, progress in imaging Uranus by the author is demonstrated. In particular this shows that the detection of features in the atmosphere of Uranus has become a promising field for future investigation.

Unfiltered CCD observations acquired using the 6-inch [155mm] robotic telescopes of the NASA/Harvard Smithsonian MicroObservatory e-learning project covering the first 163 days following the discovery of the Type IIb supernova 2011dh in Messier 51 are presented.

The Great Filter Debate took place in the BAA in the 1950s. As the writer was involved in the experiment, members of the Association may find the following account of interest.

Cycles of fading and revival of the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) are the most spectacular large-scale events that occur on Jupiter. The most recent started in 2009, when the SEB suddenly ceased its convective activity and began to fade. Modern amateur images, combined with measurements by the JUPOS team, have revealed several new insights into the process. In this pair of articles, I synthesise all the important results of the 2010 Fade (this paper) and Revival (following paper).

Bipolar magnetic regions (BMRs) are the underlying cause of all photospheric and chromospheric solar activity including active sunspot regions, white light faculae and disturbances in the solar granulation. This paper describes how monochrome imaging with commercially available H-alpha telescopes can reveal intricate detail in BMRs.

Saturn’s rings were open to their maximum extent upon the southern face. Significant new spot activity began in the South Tropical Zone and the South Equatorial Belt Zone. The STropZ activity took the form of small white spots at Saturnicentric latitude −35°, with a mean drift rate of +0.5°/day with respect to System III. White spots in the SEBZ showed a drift rate of −8.0°/day versus System III, while there was continuing evidence for a relatively slow drift in the S. Equatorial Current. A historical survey of STropZ activity is included in an Appendix, which includes previously unpublished BAA data for the 1971−’72 apparition.