Sky & Telescope's News Bulletin - Aug 8

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* * * SKY & TELESCOPE's WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN - August 8, 2003 * * *

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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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SCRUTINIZING SUPERNOVAE

Astronomers have observed important new details about the type of supernova
that has become crucial to tracking the history of the expanding universe.

Supernovae come from two very different kinds of exploding stars. One kind
happens when the core of a massive giant suddenly collapses to form a tiny,
superdense neutron star or black hole. In this case the explosion energy comes
from the core's gravitational collapse. The other kind, known as Type Ia, is a
true nuclear bomb; it occurs when the bulk of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf
suddenly undergoes a runaway fusion reaction. This happens when the dwarf
collects just enough mass to tip it over the brink of nuclear instability....

But Type Ia supernovae are not exactly alike, and how they actually work is
more a matter of theory than observed fact. So astronomers are rushing to learn
all about them they can. Several new findings have just been reported....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1024_1.asp

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TWO FINE WESTERN STAR PARTIES

With the summer star-party season in high gear, Sky & Telescope editors are
fanning out to take in as many gatherings as possible. The end of July dark of
the Moon was chosen for two premier annual events -- one in Washington State
and another in British Columbia, Canada.

The Table Mountain Star Party is held annually near the small town of
Ellensburg in central Washington. This year saw about 1,000 amateur astronomers
enjoying clear, dark skies and mild temperatures on the July 25th weekend. In
addition to cooperative weather, attendees were also treated to an observing
field crowded with hundreds of telescopes of all shapes and sizes, plus vendor
displays and a packed schedule of informative talks....

Across the border, the Mt. Kobau Star Party celebrated its 20th anniversary
with events culminating on the weekend of August 1st. MKSP is one of Canada's
largest gatherings, but attendance was down somewhat this year because of the
perception that numerous forest fires in the region would produce skies dimmed
by smoky haze. Although the southernmost region of the sky was compromised by
smoke from a large fire in Washington, viewing conditions were for the most
part excellent....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/news/article_1023_1.asp

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ANOTHER MARTIAN DUST STORM

Less than one month after a localized dust storm appeared on the Martian
surface between Syrtis Major and the Hellas impact basin, another dust cloud
has sprung up, this time in the Chryse Planitia region.

As first reported by Texas amateur Ed Grafton, the storm likely began on July
30th, because no dust showed on an image he acquired a day earlier....

http://SkyandTelescope.com/observing...cle_1019_1.asp

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HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S SKY

* Full Moon on August 11-12.
* The Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of August 12-13, but strong
moonlight interferes.
* Mars (magnitude -2.6, in Aquarius) rises in the east-southeast in late
twilight, shining brilliant, fiery yellow-orange.

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

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

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VENUS IN TRANSIT (Advertisement)

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http://www.tq-international.com/Rome/RomeHome.htm
http://www.tq-international.com/Veni...CruiseHome.htm

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Copyright 2003 Sky Publishing Corp. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin is provided as a
free service to the astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE
magazine. Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as our
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from Sky Publishing; send e-mail to or call +1
617-864-7360. More astronomy news is available on our Web site at
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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