On this page: Notes and News / Articles / Letters / Reviews / Meetings / BAA Update

This report summarises observations of the aurora relating to the northern hemisphere collected in 1996 by members and correspondents of the Aurora Section. (5 pp)

Universal Time (UT), or Greenwich Civil Time, which is needed for civil life, is based on the rotation of the Earth. But the Earth's rotation is slowing down and, moreover, this occurs with unpredictable irregularities. For this reason, UT is not a uniform time-scale. However, astronomers need a uniform time-scale for their accurate calculations (celestial mechanics, orbits, ephemerides). This paper describes the effect of these differences on actual observations. (3pp)

Comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake): The Great Comet of 1996

A preliminary report on this comet has already appeared in the Journal and a more detailed set of observations has been published by The Astronomer. This paper records those observations submitted to TA and the BAA up to the end of 1996 October. Whilst there is some analysis here it is not extensive. It is hoped that a final report will be published as a Memoir at a later date. Many of the observations and images have been archived electronically on a CD-ROM. A selection of these observations is also available on the Internet. The visual observations were converted to electronic format and have been forwarded to the International Comet Quarterly. (16pp, 35 illustrations, 7 in colour)

A description is given of two types of simple magnetometer which may be readily constructed by the amateur for the detection of disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field. (2pp)

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

Read the letters here

Fire in the Sky: Comets and Meteors, the Decisive Centuries, in British Art and Science by Roberta J. M. Olson and Jay M. Pasachoff. Cambridge University Press, 1998. (Published with the support of Gresham College, London.) ISBN 0-521-630606. Pp. xiv + 369 (hbk).
reviewed by Julian Baum

• Make Your Own Telescope from everyday materials by Reg Spry. South Downs Planetarium Trust, 1998. (Available from S.D.P.T., 46 Central Avenue, Bognor Regis, West Sussex PO21 5HH). ISBN 0-9531 716 04. Pp 48, £4.95 (Pbk.)
  reviewed by Rossie Atwell

• Large Scale Structures in the Universe by Anthony Fairall. Wiley/Praxis, 1997. ISBN 0-471-96252-X (hbk), 0-471-96253-8 (pbk). Pp xix + 196, £50.00/£19.99.
  reviewed by Stuart Clark

The Observer's Year: 366 Nights of the Universe by Patrick Moore. Springer-Verlag, 1998. ISBN 3-540-76147-0. Pp xi + 368, £19.00, pbk.
reviewed by Alan Dowdell

• Cosmic Winds and the Heliosphere by J. R. Jokipii, C. P. Sonett and M. S. Giampapa (Eds.). University of Arizona Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8165-1640-5 (hbk), 0-8165-1641-3 (pbk). Pp x + 270, $45.00/$19.95.
  reviewed by Michael Gadsden

Back to top of page

Go to the BAA Journal home page