philippine astronomical society - august 2009 appulse issue

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APPULSEOfcial Newsletter of the Philippine Astronomical Society

August 2009Vol. 41 No. 64

PROPELLING ASTRONOMY EDUCATION TOWARD THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE AMONG FILIPINOS

Special Issue: Total Solar Eclipse July 22, 2009 -

The Longest in the Century!

Photo by Allen Yu

Volume 41 No. 64 1


2/122 Appulse - August 2009

T h e T o t a l S o l a r E c l i p s e P A S E x p e d i t i o n e r s t o C h i n a


3/12

APPULSE

THE

The Appulse is published monthly by the

Philippine Astronomical Society.

TheAppulse 2009. All rights reserved.

Please send articles, letters, observations,

reports to

Email: [email protected]

or to [email protected]

Website: www. philastrosoc.org

editorial Advisr

Edna Azucena

editorial Staff

Victoria Evarretta

Editor-in-Chief

Francis Ferdinand Irlandez

Layout Editor

Allen Yu Agnes Oclarit

Azrael Coladilla Ghela Lequiron

Jake Irlandez John Nassr

Julian Oliveros Marnelli AtienzaRoland Roldan Victoria Evarretta

Dennis Pambid Nico Mendoza

Contributors

THE FASTEST, HIGHEST, DARKEST, AND LONGEST!!

AFTERMATH OF THE ECLIPSE . . . .RECALLING THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE EVent.

by Allen Yu

There was a queuing of planes on therunway of Centennial Airport, or ratherof our one and only national runway wherethree terminals, NAIA, Centennial and

NAIA3 all pathetically shared together (no-

tice the sourness of my introduction). I was

pretty excited about the sight, I sat beside

the newly installed PAS President Ian Mark

Allas who sits by the window, then me and

my girlfriend Sally just beside the catwalk.

The group had already a grand time taking

group pictures while waiting for our late

plane (2nd sour note, hehe) of one hour,

then further escalated by the trafc on the

runway, which makes us arrive at Pudong

Shanghai a good 2 hours late (4:30pm).There were seats switching to and fro, to

make all pairs as close as possible.

Pudong Airport was bathing in the after-

noon shine when we crossed the bridge

from the plane to the terminal. I shared

with Mr. Sacro, Ill be damn happy if the

weather holds like this on Wednesday, the

E-day. He agreed. I wonder why we have to

share such suspense and doubts; the weath-

er in Shanghai has been all the best that

came lately (not the usual climate there)

- Shanghai is always fogged with haze and

low-lying rain clouds, weird is it if it has

been so shiny for quite a time.

Our bus drove 2 hours to Suzhou for a

quickly prepared dinner. Along the way go-

ing out of Shanghai, we glimpsed from afar

the behemoth tower of Shanghai WorldFinancial Center, the tallest building in the

world according to my books (I will share

later why). The restaurant is about to close,

and we know very well we were late, so

that took away the smiles on the Chinese

waitresses. We smiled anyway, and felt it

is perfectly normal. We Filipinos always

wear the best smiles around the world,

nothing unusual of meeting less happy

folks abroad.

Checked in the hotel. The rooms are okay

but the ambiance is eerie to me.

2nd day Suzhou sight-seeing tour. It was

a sizzling 42 degrees temperature outsideeven though in the shade. Not comfortable

in fact - if one is not properly hydrated, one

may get sick. There was a stone garden we

went, and though it was a sheltered struc-

ture it can still get very hot. This is a big

group we had, and the maze of stoneworks

made a perfect sense to play hide and seek

Mr. Sacro and Emman were lost. But they

were quite smart enough to wait for us at

the bus. They insisted it was the rest of the

group who got lost...lets count the numbers

2 of them versus 16 of us, and we should

take the blame. Haha what a logical non-sense I felt. In the afternoon we visited the

Silk Factory, and though as boring as it may

sound, we were actually entertained by the

process of it being done. Are we smarte

now because we are older. Many of my

friends, Ritchie, Andrea, and my gf Sally

felt the same way; they have been here be-

fore, but only now that did they start to ap

preciate it. It was a good eld trip after all.

Continued on page 4

Volume 41 No. 64


4/12

Continued on page 3

Silk is expensive, and we all felt just too

expensive for our local taste. Imagine hav-

ing a pair of silk handkerchief for U$200?

Perhaps this is a tourist area and they

wanted to burn our pockets here, but not

and no way. Stinginess is vital in this part

of the tour. Our local climate here in Ma-nila prefers cotton than silk. So, off we go,

after saying so many No, thanks. Never-

theless, those who wanted to take a piece

of China with them bought some few, and

some smiles from the tourist guide?

We arrived at the hotel early to get some

good rest and to prepare for the big day

ahead. News on tv....not good. Some rain

clouds from the north or from Beijing start-

ed their descent to Shanghai area and is due

to arrive the next day, Eclipse Day! What

better way to spoil the fun I thought, thiscould be no coincidence! And the string or

train of clouds shall encompass the entire

eclipse path. I cant believe my eyes, and

now my doubts start to disturb me. I asked

some Quezon City Science High to check

the weather in the Internet, since they

brought with them some laptops. Gracious.

Where did those clouds come from? A

dream slowly running down the drain. I am

preparing myself to accept the inevitable.

Wake up time was 3 am and time for show-

ers and preparation of everything including

our baggages. At 4:30 am we were down

at the hotel lobby and have a quick bite of

breakfast. Some sweet at pies and a cou-

ple of boiled eggs. I forgot to bring some

with me to the eclipse site to experiment

the case of the standing eggs. It could have

spiced up the day even more.

The skies were still red in cloudiness, and I

momentarily detected a hole, which might

give some hope that the skies might clear

somehow. GPS readings outside gave me

the most accurate time to date, and after-

wards I have all the watches and timekeep-

ers among the group synchronized with

the GPS reading. Dawn is breaking, our

bus crashed through the darkness on to the

light. Mr. Sacro thought of backing out to

the opposite direction. Pointing at the sight,

he said that with the zero visibility, rains,and clouds, we maybe going straight to the

tornado alley. I said, there is no other way.

We are to set up our camp at the govern-

ment-designated place of observation and

not anywhere else. The government does

not allow us to set up anywhere in the city.

So we have no choice. We leave our fate to

the heavens.

Upon arrival it was a sight to behold. Surely

one would be impressed by the preparation

the city mayor presented to us. I would like

to call it like a Quirino Grandstand with an

edice more like that of Folk Arts Theatre

A big vast space for everybody to set up

and security was a welcome sight. Outsid

ers treading their bikes were forbidden to

come close to us, and we were all given

visitors ID, a bag of goodies but no noo-dles (thats what I was looking for), and

where the best part is of course, a solar l

ter! Then there were reporters from the lo

cal newspapers and tv stations training their

wares on us as if we were superstars. For

these few minutes, we indeed felt like one

At the sides were tents in case of a morning

shower. One would think why will we eve

need them since we are ready to bathe in

the suns shadow, not any rain waters. True

enough, the weather worsened, drops of

tears from heaven were felt, and my heart

started to sink in oblivion, trying very hardnot to think that we may go home tonigh

not seeing anything.

Mr Sacro gathered the rest, the students

and teachers inside the tent and presented

a brieng on what to expect. I was being

called to the stage (me because I speak Chi

nese and the organizers handpicked me to

receive a certicate in behalf of the group)

when the Sun briey shone through thick

clouds. Cheers started to be heard...and al

of a sudden astrophoto equipments were

being set up to catch whatever is salvageable that morning.

1st contact! And the Sun hides again

Drats..this could be it...of all the days

Minutes passed without seeing the Sun

and then amidst the chitchat and clicking o

cameras...and of course some more rains.

the frustrated mood of everybody else.

foreigners from Europe, United States

Malaysia...the shout of a countdown broke

the morning gloom. Last 2 minutes., las

2 minutes I shouted, it was 2 minutes to

go before the sudden crash of darkness de-

scended on us.

Sally was shocked to know that darkness

would come so sudden, and Ms. Paning-

batan pointed to me a very dark cloud in

the western horizon. I dismissed it as only

rain clouds but on second thought, I think

that was darkness coming toward us from

The Fastest... from page 3

4 Appulse - August 2009


5/12

the west! That was in fact a very unusually

dark cloud coming in. And before I knew

it, I lost track of the countdown and it was

less than a minute before totality, seconds

coming in so fast, and the whole sky was

considerably darker and darker, and then,

REAL DARKNESS, TOTALITY!

My camera having been preset to accurate-

ly match the incoming darkness failed to

respond properly, as it can no longer depict

an accurate picture of the surroundings. In

other words, it was too dark for the camera

to perform so ash bulbs have to be used to

lighten up the subjects again. I then whis-

pered to Sally, I love you and this darkness

I dedicate to thee.

Surely, the totality is one of those moments

where a lover can rightfully propose, but

who would expect not to see the SunsDiamond Ring? I reminded everyone to

feel and digest this 5min and so duration

of darkness, as this will be the longest in

history. Savor the darkness, the horizons

orange glow shared the moods delight.

Sadness took a back seat and just then eve-

rybody was giggling and shouting songs of

joy enjoying the Moons umbra. Well, not

bad for a morning gone sour. Perhaps there

is good even in the worst of it.

The suddenness of daylight broke the dark

delight and Mr. Sacro shouted, the show

is over! Now we are part of the history.

Never mind not seeing the Suns corona,

prominences, or all together, the black

Sun. It can be seen in every eclipse in

the future, but this 5min 50s of darkness

one can cherish it in the record books. We

took part in this history and can no longer

be experienced again. The darkness of this

eclipse, I was reminded later, was to be one

of the darkest too in history. I noticed that

it wasnt a normal twilight show, it was in-

deed like night, just a skin brighter.

The stage is now open as the many groups

have started to line up to have their pictures

taken. We then took our step, and formal-

ly placed PAS back into the international

scene of eclipse chasers and astronomy en-

thusiasts. Now the world will conrm that

PAS is back and kicking ass again.

Back in the bus, I was hounded by thoughts.

Fastest... from page 4 I changed my clothes

drenched with eclipse rain

and took a few minutes nap

en route to Hangzhou for

our lunch. Sally sat beside

me, both happy and sad at

the same time. It took two

hours to get to Hangzhou,

the folks there told us they

saw the black Sun, whichtormented me day and

night. But they said Jiax-

ing is far better place than

Hangshou, and most of

their folks went to Jiaxing

too.

In the afternoon we went to

a boat cruise at West Lake,

said to be Chinas most

beautiful lake because it

was decorated by those

foggy gures of mountains

along its sides like those we usually see

in Chinese traditional paintings. The tour

guide shared that today is better as it wasnt

as hot as yesterday, he welcomed the rains

to dampen the temperature a bit. I protested

inside of me...that wasnt a bit good news.

We failed to see the eclipse this morning,

whats so good about the morning!? Haha,

Yuefei temple is next and everybody is ex-

hausted. We went back to Shanghai late in

the afternoon to spend the night there; to-

morrow the only consolation I felt that willbe enjoyed are the worlds tallest building

Shanghai World Financial Center and the

Science Museum.

The tallest building right now is Shanghai

World Financial Center at 497 meters tall.

Taipei 101 is higher only at 507m because

it has spire atop and Burj Dubai 888me-

ters is yet to be nished. Our own PBCom

tower is 259meters tall so its just a bit half

of Shanghais. Empire State building is

380plus meters and Petronas is 470m. I

am delighted to be here, the worlds high-est observatory feels like heaven, so white

and glassy and classy too. The building

is shaped like a bottle-opener. Atop the

worlds tallest building one gets the feeling

the entire world is below our feet. Shang-

hai is building another mega buliding at

more than 630meters high, so that makes 3

behemoth buildings side by side altogether

by 2014, with JinMao (shaped like Empire

State and higher than Empire state), World

Financial Tower, and the new Shangha

Tower.

One hour left to go to the the Shanghai Sci

ence Museum. Hardly any time left for a

good look, so everybody was well-informed

that we have to rush everything. The na

consolation piece was the road back to Pu-

dong airport riding the Maglev train with

top speed of 431kph. Beetles, bees, and in

sects smashed through the windshield into

unrecognizable pulp, it was a sight to be

hold. Yesterday, we were atop the worldshighest, today we are the worlds fastest.

These are the records we can put into the

PAS journal. We have the longest (duration

of eclipse), the darkest (eclipse magnitude)

the highest (atop the building), and the fast

est (the Maglev Train ride). I propose to

days Appulse headlines: Fastest, Highest

Darkest, and Longest (like the Olympics

Motto of Faster, Higher, Stronger).

Aside from this, PAS registered the rsts

First Formal Eclipse Expedition undera new leadership, rst total solar eclipse

awareness program, and rst time I heard

PASers asking: When is the next eclipse?

We will be there again! . Its about time

that such major events like a total solar

eclipse in nearby feasible vicinity be in

cluded in the calendar of PAS activities. To

God be the Glory.

Volume 41 No. 64


6/12

From Science Centrum - by Jake Irlandez

It was my rst time to observe a partial solar eclipse with PAS and

Philippine Science Centrum. The event was very blessed for we

had an almost clear sky with partial white clouds that blocked the

Sun. It was just enough to cool our telescopes from the heat.

I was amazed rst at the fact that people did not even notice the

eclipse going on, so we invited the people and students who passed

by.

All batches of observers were always amazed by the presentation

of Edmund Rosales on how to observe safely a solar eclipse: like

projecting the Suns image through a cardboard to the wall using

a large mirror, the pinhole effect on punched holes on a paper, and

the shadows cast by the leaves of a tree. They also were awed by

the Sun when they saw it through the telescope for it looked or-ange because of the lter.

This eclipse is a fun experience. Thanks to Edmund Rosales and

Philippine Science Centrum for inviting PAS. Thank you too to

PASers Dennis, Marnelli, and Edmund for helping and to Karen

Cantos of Philippine Science Centrum for her hospitality and for

allowing us to experience how wonderful the Science Centrum is.

Like the eclipse, it made me feel like a child again.

The eclipse is very beautiful - Marnelli Atienza (also from Sci-

ence Centrum)

Partial Solar Eclipse Observations

Continued on page 7

From Rizal Technological University - by Ghela Lequiron

July 22, 2009 is another signicant day for us. A partial Solar

Eclipse occurred giving us a chance to witness it - enhancing our

knowledge, experience and skills in Astronomy. It also tested our

ability on how we can apply what we have learned, conduct

observatory activity by ourselves with less supervision, and assessour mastery in Astronomy.

The activity was organized and conducted using Dr. Torres 6

Newtonian and another telescope with a folder as improvised pro

jector because a solar lter was not available, thereby using the

solar projection method.

At rst, it was cloudy and we thought that the weather would not

cooperate with us. At around 8:30 am, the predicted time of the


PhotosbyNicoMendoza


7/12

Continued on page 8

Partial... from page 6From Bacoor, Cavite - by Azrael Coladilla

I woke up at 7:30am of July 22, 2009 and went outside to check

out where the sun is rising, I was planning to go to SM Mall of

Asia at 8:00am but I decided to stay home and it will be more

easier for me to observe the partial solar eclipse. The sun is shin-

ing in its brightest light and its my 3rd time to cover this heavenly

body event for my blog. I used again my 3 sun glasses as lter for

my camera, but this time Im no longer using a 10x zoom Olympus

SP 500UZ, and I miss using it and now I used for the rst time a

DSLR Olympus E520. in cloud setting ,-1.3, action sport setting

150mm.

From Baguio City - by John Nassr

The longest solar eclipse of the century was only partially visible

from Baguio, Philippines but nevertheless an awe inspiring spec

tacle under bright sunny skies.

rst contact, the sky got cleared allowing us to see perfectly the

phenomenon till the last contact at around 11:04 am, though clouds

occasionally blocked our view.

Students from different colleges and from the high school depart-

ment joined us, eagerly took the chance looking at the projected

image and got fascinated on what they saw. We never anticipated

that so many students would participate in this event. Because ofthis, Dr. Torres decided to bring out his two other telescopes - 8

Newtonian and 10 Dobsonian - to accommodate all the students.

Unluckily, the eyepiece used in the Dobsonian was burnt twice;

but this did not hinder the success of the activity.

The students felt so excited of their awesome experience and asked

so many questions, which we satisfactorily answered to their de-

light. Some took pictures of the folder where the projected image

of the eclipse was reected, others drew their observations. For our

own documentation and recording , we took photo shots and video

coverage of the entire event.

At the end of the day, I felt so fullled and elated - rst, because

I am lucky to witness the solar eclipse with the use of telescopes;

second, such experience was shared with others who got fasci-

nated with the experience and satised their thirst for knowledge

by answering their questions; third, I am glad to be an Astronomy

student because I have a chance to unravel the vast mystery envel-oping the universe. I have one remorse though, I got tanned !

Fromkanmaedexandzelbladex


8/12

preparation started at 8:15 am gathering my dusty telephoto mirror

lens, one 1,500mm and one 800mm. Since breaking my solar lter

(huhuhu), I have to rely on my time-tested 2 polarizer combina-

tion. I usually do this when I shoot in mid morning and I want a

nighttime effect. Also used different sets of colored lters. Under

exposed, normal exposure, etc.

Came 8:33am, the rst tiny weeny shadow came into view. Shot

in time-lapse....until its peak at 9:43am up to its end at 11:01am

There were few passing clouds but overall the weather was ummp-phhh, cooperatively beautiful.

From General Santos City - by Agnes Oclarit

Nakita ko na eclipse. Wala akong solar lter so I used a basin of

water as taught when I was in high school. Parang kagat sa araw

Ang ganda!

From Tuguegarao City - by Victoria Evarretta

My preparation was too rushed.. I just arrived from Manila the day

before and was very exhausted from the trip; worse, I was not able

to get my solar lter from Jake because I was not able to go to the

Ateneo Jesuits Residence for the PAS ofcers oathtaking.

Ah well, I resigned myself to just watching the live free video

coverage of the total solar eclipse from the link Dennis posted. I

thought of showing this live as well on a huge projection screen soothers can see.

So I started setting up my laptop and projector in our living room

on early morning of July 22.

I think I got a barrage of demons. Suddenly, I had no network

connection - my router didnt work. I checked my desktop in my

bedroom with the router, but the network was working ne. I was

getting frustrated. It was almost 9 am, and I was still frantically

setting up the projector, laptop, and network connections.

Partial... from page 7

From Muntinlupa City - by Roland Roldan

Wow, thank goodness for beautiful skies here in Muntinlupa. My

Continued on page 9


PhotobyDennisPambid

PhotosbyRolandRoldan


9/12

The Japanese coverage as seen from my

desktop showed nothing so far but an im-

age of a rainy area in China. I abandoned

the idea of projecting the coverage on the

screen and went back to my room to watch

the coverage on my desktop. Suddenly, my

computer shut down. Why on hell? It was

conguring updates! Oh my God, I hated

this interruption.

My cellphone signaled I had a message. It

was from Agnes asking how the weather

is in Tuguegarao. Then another message

came - this time from John. He said that

they have bright sunny skies in Baguio and

that the eclipse has started. I was already

mad because my computer was still con-

guring the updates. Then, it was okay. I

checked the video coverage link again, and

I can no longer access it. Since the eclipsehas begun, I guess the whole world was

watching it on that same coverage.

Agnes texted me again that she already saw

the parang kagat ng araw on her basin of

water. I ran to the roof deck with our big

basin and lled it with the collected rainwa-

ter. Soon enough I saw the partial eclipse!

Ah, there it was. I couldnt explain the joy

I felt from seeing that tiny image of the

eclipsed sun on the basin of water. I rested

and looked again, then rested, and lookedagain. Because I didnt have my camera

with me and I hated running down the stairs

to get it from my room in the other house,

I let the eclipse go without taking a picture.

When suddenly I remembered that my cell

phone has a camera. Another frustration

- just when I was aiming the camera, the

clouds covered the sun. I think my blood

pressure shot up. By the time, the clouds

cleared, it was almost 10:30 am. The sun

was too bright already to take a picture.

I remember when Richard Taylor was tell-

ing us that he had to bait his family with

a vacation in the Caribbean to see the to-

tal solar eclipse. That time I was still dis-

interested with the idea. Now I have seen

and have known why. I was very frustrated

when I didnt join the group to China. There

may be a reason thus. But Tahiti anyone?

Partial... from page 8

The month of August is char-acterized usually by rainsand/or clouded skies, but that

shouldnt stop anyone from star-

gazing when an opportunity of

clear skies breaks open.

To begin with, naked eye star-

gazers will be able to appreciate

the night sky of the month with

the Perseids Meteor Shower. The

meteor activity of Perseids begin

as early as late July but will peak

on August 13, between 1:30 am

to 4:00 am. Although the meteor

shower may be badly lit by the

last quarter moon, Perseid me-

teors are usually known to be

bright and fast, and may still beseen through the moonlit night.

The radiant of the meteor shower can be

found in the constellation Perseus and can

be seen rising after midnight at the North-

east horizon.

For those with telescope, August is the best

time to view Jupiter as we now approach

opposition. (August 14); that is, when Jupi-

ter and Earth are at its closest or when Jupi-

ter and Sun are opposite of each other rela-

tive to Earth. Late last month an Australian

Amateur Astronomer discovered an impacton Jupiter leaving a dark black spot, though

NASA has said that the gaseous scar could

last only about 2 to 3 weeks only. Those

with high-powered telescope may want to

catch a glimpse of this rare event. Jupiter

will be the brightest object for the month

of August as we see it rise on the East at

sunset.

Also during this month, one can also spot

the two other planets after sunset. The

shrinking Saturn and the elusive Mercury.

Beginning August 1, observers can keep an

eye on these two planets day by day as the

A U G U S T O U T L O O K by Ronald Tanco

two approach each other with Mercury go

ing below Saturn. By August 17, the plan

ets will be closest to each other. On Augus

22 and 23, observers will see a thin cres-

cent moon to the left of the planets. Mercu

ry, elusive to many observers, will reach its

greatest eastern elongation and will quickly

disappear into the suns light by the end of

the month. Observers seeing Saturn for the

rst time my nd it difcult to accept see-

ing Saturn without its rings. We see Saturn

now with its rings edge on creating an illu-

sion that the planets ring has disappeared.Venus continues to be the morning star, and

it is easily spotted as the brightest objec

just before dawn. It has reached its Greatest

Western Elongation last June 6 and contin-

ues to rise at a later time as it orbits behind

the sun. The morning on August 18 wil

have the Moon and Venus by each other.

Mars, found just above Venus before dawn

will break away and leave Venus behind. A

the start of August, Mars can be found on

the constellation Taurus or north of Orion

By the end of August, Mars would have

made its transition to Gemini. Binoculaand telescope observers would nd it inter

esting to view Mars on the 26th and 27th of

the month as it nears the open cluster M35

of Gemini.

If dark skies are available, telescope users

should use the opportunity to try to spo

Uranus. Uranus will reach its opposition

next month on September 4.

Volume 41 No. 64 9


10/1210 Appulse - August 2009

HST

Date Mag Starts Max. altitude Ends

Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az.

16-Aug 4.3 19:01:33 10 SW 19:03:09 12 SSW 19:04:45 10 S

19-Aug 4.5 5:19:50 10 SSE 5:20:40 10 SSE 5:21:31 10 SE

20-Aug 4 5:15:51 10 S 5:18:38 17 SSE 5:21:26 10 ESE

21-Aug 3.4 5:12:59 10 SSW 5:16:35 26 SSE 5:20:11 10 E

22-Aug 2.7 5:10:30 10 SW 5:14:33 41 SSE 5:18:35 10 E

23-Aug 4.5 3:32:21 11 SE 3:32:21 11 SE 3:32:36 10 SE

23-Aug 1.9 5:08:16 10 SW 5:12:30 65 SSE 5:16:45 10 ENE

24-Aug 4.3 3:30:41 15 ESE 3:30:41 15 ESE 3:31:56 10 ESE

24-Aug 1.7 5:06:34 12 WSW 5:10:29 81 NNW 5:14:47 10 ENE

25-Aug 4.1 3:28:59 19 ESE 3:28:59 19 ESE 3:30:33 10 E

25-Aug 2 5:04:52 13 W 5:08:31 53 NNW 5:12:42 10 NE

26-Aug 4 3:27:15 21 E 3:27:15 21 E 3:28:53 10 ENE

26-Aug 2.6 5:03:08 13 W 5:06:34 36 NNW 5:10:33 10 NE

27-Aug 4.1 3:25:28 21 ENE 3:25:28 21 ENE 3:27:00 10 ENE

27-Aug 3.1 5:01:21 12 WNW 5:04:39 27 NNW 5:08:20 10 NE

28-Aug 4.2 3:23:39 20 ENE 3:23:39 20 ENE 3:25:00 10 ENE

28-Aug 3.5 4:59:33 10 WNW 5:02:49 21 NNW 5:06:05 10 NE

29-Aug 4.3 3:21:47 17 NE 3:21:47 17 NE 3:22:54 10 NE

29-Aug 3.8 4:58:10 10 NW 5:01:00 17 NNW 5:03:49 10 NNE

30-Aug 4.5 3:19:55 14 NE 3:19:55 14 NE 3:20:43 10 NE

30-Aug 4 4:56:50 10 NW 4:59:13 14 N 5:01:36 10 NNE

31-Aug 4.6 3:18:01 12 NE 3:18:01 12 NE 3:18:29 10 NE

31-Aug 4.2 4:55:28 10 NNW 4:57:28 13 N 4:59:27 10 NNE

Iridium

Date Local Intensity Alt. Azimuth Distance to Intensity at Satellite

Time ( Mag) are centre are centre

(Mag.)

8-Aug 19:41:13 0 54 122 (ESE) 43.6 km (W) -8 Iridium 4

9-Aug 19:35:11 -8 53 122 (ESE) 1.9 km (E) -8 Iridium 19

14-Aug 5:14:15 -5 30 23 (NNE) 9.6 km (W) -7 Iridium 90

15-Aug 5:08:17 -3 28 22 (NNE) 16.9 km (E) -7 Iridium 59

15-Aug 19:07:52 -1 62 136 (SE ) 31.6 km (W) -8 Iridium 416-Aug 5:02:20 -2 27 21 (NNE) 24.3 km (E) -7 Iridium 95

16-Aug 19:01:50 -4 60 135 (SE ) 10.3 km (E) -8 Iridium 19

23-Aug 18:28:27 -8 67 157 (SSE) 0.4 km (E) -8 Iridium 19

24-Aug 4:23:57 0 19 11 (N ) 49.4 km (W) -6 Iridium 30

25-Aug 4:18:14 -2 17 10 (N ) 33.1 km (W) -6 Iridium 57

26-Aug 4:12:26 -1 15 9 (N ) 48.9 km (W) -6 Iridium 60

27-Aug 4:06:45 -1 13 9 (N ) 60.8 km (W) -6 Iridium 29

28-Aug 4:01:05 0 10 9 (N ) 115.6 km (W) -6 Iridium 32

A U G U S T S AT E L L I T E Sby Ronald Tanco


11/12Volume 41 No. 64 11

Monthly Star Map September 2009

This map shows the sky at 9pm on September 1, 2009 as seen from the latitude ofMetroManila, Philippines with North on top and the zenith at the center. The large circle representsthe horizon. Star limiting magnitude is .. Deep sky limiting magnitude is 7.0.

Prepared by PAS Observation Committee using SkyMap Pro 9 software.


12/12

John Nassrs eclipse photo from Baguio

Date Imaged: July 22, 2009 01:28UT

Lens: Borg 77ED f/6.5

Camera: Dragonfy 2

Exposure: 15 seconds

Filter: SM60 Ha

Mount: Losmandy Titan

Location: Stardust Observatory, Baguio

philippine astronomical society - august 2009 appulse issue

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