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A 'polar cyclone' imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on 1999 April 27. South is up. Mare Acidalium is central in the N. hemisphere, and the event (marked by an arrow) is north following it. The 'hole' in the centre of this white cloud, showing the ground beneath, was below the resolution of Earth-based telescopes.[Image courtesy STScI/NASA]
Mars Section: The opposition of Mars, 1999 / Flares are out / From the President: Responding to change in the new century / Aurora Section
The strange behaviour of Torricelli 'B'... Marie C. Cook Uranus 1987-1997 ... Andrew J. Hollis Observations of Uranus during the period 1987-1997 are analysed. A mean brightness of magnitude 5.59 +/- 0.171 is derived. Observations of surface detail are also recorded. (3 pp)
Quasars - powerhouses at the edge of time ... Maurice Gavin 1999 was the 70th anniversary of Edwin Hubble's seminal publication showing a cosmological redshift in galaxies. More recent discoveries of quasars have extended the universe's boundaries back in time nearer to the Big Bang. Some amateur spectrograms of quasars are presented showing a cosmological redshift. (4 pp)
Further investigations of R Aquilę ... J. Greaves & J. J. Howarth R Aquilę is well known as a Mira variable of ever decreasing period. Statistical tests upon, and descriptive analyses of, this star are conducted. Conclusions are drawn regarding the significance of R Aquilę's variation in period. Since this star's change in period is so conspicuous, it serves as a baseline against which the results for other Miras can be compared. (12 pp)
Clear sky detection with a compensation pyrgeometer ... Patrick Miles A method of clear sky detection is described. The results of an evaluation show the instrument to be accurate and reliable. (7 pp)
The vetting of possible astronomical discoveries ... Guy Hurst A brief report on the number of discovery claims received between 1997-1999 shows the need to follow careful guidelines with suspected new objects to avoid false alarms. This is particularly true for new suspected variable stars where there has been a significant increase in the volume of reports. The aim of vetting is to filter out spurious reports to avoid large volumes reaching the professional organisations. (2 pp)
(Copies of any of these articles may be ordered from the BAA office.)
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The Journal of the British Astronomical Association: Volume 110, No.3: 2000 June
List of Contents
Notes and News
Articles
Torricelli B is a small lunar impact crater on the Sinus Asperitatis, which attracted the attention of observers on the night of 1983 January 29 when it was reported to outshine all other features on the Moon, and to display colour generally at the violet end of the spectrum. Since then, a number of observations of the crater have been made by the author during which time it has varied considerably in brightness with respect to its surroundings and in different coloured filters.(7 pp)
Reviews
Starlight Nights: The Adventures of a Star-gazer by Leslie C. Peltier. Sky Publishing Corporation, 1999. ISBN 0-933346-94-8. Pp xv+240, $19.95 (pbk).
reviewed by Michael Hendrie
reviewed by Roger O'Brien
Life on Other Worlds and How to Find It by Stuart Clark. Springer-Praxis, 2000. ISBN 1-85233-097-X. Pp. xvi + 179, £16.95 (hbk).
reviewed by Jacqueline Mitton
reviewed by Richard McKim
reviewed by Owen Brazell
Great Comets by Robert Burnham. Cambridge University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-521-64600-6. Pp ix + 228, £14.95.
reviewed by Martin Mobberley
Letters
Meeting reports
BAA Update
Observers' Forum
The aurora display of April 6/7 by John H. Rogers
Photocopies of articles, or a copy of any recent issue of the Journal may be ordered from the BAA office.