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Presidential Address 1998:
Novae ... Martin Mobberley

A general overview of novae is given and the lightcurves of selected prominent novae of the last three decades are discussed, along with some interesting statistics for these cataclysmic variable stars. The neglected fields of nova hunting and CCD photometry of fading novae are also examined. (13 pp)

The date of the traditional Chinese New Year always occurs on a New Moon. This is a consequence of the calendar being lunisolar. Clearly, solar eclipses are possible on these dates. Data presented in this paper show the frequency of the coincidence of solar eclipses and Chinese New Year. An analysis of the types of eclipses is presented. (3 pp)

In this paper I describe the evolution of a system for automatically photographing a total eclipse of the Sun using several cameras. The paper also describes the final Psion Organiser-based solution and how this can interface to ordinary cameras. (5 pp)

Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) was an active astronomer at a time when discovering comets, and calculating their orbits, was one of the main astronomical activities. She discovered eight comets and held the ladies' world record in this field until April 1987 when she was toppled from the podium by Carolyn S. Shoemaker. This paper places the Herschel cometary discoveries into the context of the contemporary cometary astronomy. (8 pp)

This report summarises observations of the aurora made in the northern hemisphere by members and correspondents of the Aurora Section in 1997. (5 pp)

(Copies of any of these articles may be ordered from the BAA office.)

Read the letters here

Reviews

Hubble Revisited - New Images from the Discovery Machine by Daniel Fischer & Hilmar Duerbeck Copernicus (Springer-Verlag), 1998. ISBN 0-387-98551-4. Pp 216, large format, £24.50 (hbk).

• Extrasolar Planets: The search for new worlds by Stuart Clark Wiley/Praxis 1998. ISBN 0-471-97633-4 (hbk), 0-471-97634-2 (pbk). Pp xix + 218, £50.00/19.99
  reviewed by Roger O'Brien

• USNO Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac (Version 1.5). US Naval Observatory [ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA ] / Willmann-Bell Inc., 1998. ISBN 0-943396-56-5. Pp viii + 142 + CD-Rom, $24.95.
  reviewed by Nick James

• Linux for Astronomy (volumes 3/4) The Random Factory, PO Box 44070, Tucson, AZ 85733-4070, USA. [http://www.randomfactory.com/lfa.html]. Two CD set, $81.00 + shipping.
  reviewed by Nick James

The Heavens on Fire: The Great Leonid Meteor Storms by Mark Littmann Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-521-62405-3. Pp x + 349, £25.00 (hbk).
reviewed by Colin Steele

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