Sky & Telescope's News Bulletin - Dec 3

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* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - December 3, 2004 * * *

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Welcome to S&T's Weekly News Bulletin. Images, the full text of stories
abridged here, and other enhancements are available on our Web site,
SkyandTelescope.com, at the URLs provided below. (If the links don't work, just
manually type the URLs into your Web browser.) Clear skies!

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'TIS THE SEASON TO DETECT EXOPLANETS

This holiday season, advanced amateur astronomers can present the astronomical
community with an extraordinary gift: the detection of a new transiting
exoplanet.

Since 2000, amateur astronomers have used CCD photometry to detect planets
transiting other stars. But so far, professionals have discovered all six known
transiting exoplanets. This time will be different. We are recruiting amateurs
to discover rather than confirm a new transit....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1400_1.asp

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BUSH FIRES THREATEN "THE DISH"

Over the past several days, bush fires raged within 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) of
the 64-meter Parkes radio telescope, located in New South Wales, Australia.
Besides making innumerable contributions to science, and receiving footage from
the Apollo moonwalkers, Parkes Observatory was featured in the 2001 critically
acclaimed movie "The Dish" starring Sam Neill. Fortunately, the telescope
sustained no damage, and the winds have shifted away from the facility, so it
is no longer in danger. Still, the fire forced the evacuation of most of the
observatory's staff....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1397_1.asp

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SURREAL SATURN PORTRAIT

As Cassini recedes from Saturn after completing its first orbit, the
spacecraft's narrow-angle camera is returning mesmerizing images of the planet,
rings, and moons. A new image showcases curving shadows cast by the rings on
Saturn's northern hemisphere....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1395_1.asp

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* The Moon occults (covers) Jupiter early Tuesday morning, December 7th, for
eastern and central North America.
* Last-quarter Moon on Saturday, December 4th.
* The Geminid meteor should peak on the night of December 13-14.

For more details, see This Week's Sky at a Glance and Planet Roundup:

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing/ataglance/

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By Antonin Rukl
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Copyright 2004 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin is provided as a
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http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/.

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*-----------------------------------------------------*
| Stuart Goldman |
* Associate Editor *
| Sky & Telescope |
* 49 Bay State Rd. Sky & Telescope: The Essential *
| Cambridge, MA 02138 Magazine of Astronomy |
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