Comet Lulin may become visible to the naked eye

Comet Lulin was discovered in 2007 by astronomers at the Lulin Observatory in Taiwan. It is believed to be several kilometres wide and its track suggests it may never have entered the inner Solar System before. If it has been close to the Sun in the past it will have been millions of years ago so predicting its behaviour is difficult.

Recent observations indicate it should become visible to the naked eye but only in quite clear skies. It is due to pass within 60 million kilometres of the Earth on February 27th making this a good month to look for it. Using binoculars should make it easy to see. It is moving through Virgo into Leo, passing below Saturn on February 24th and coming close to Regulus on February 28th.

Not all prices are rising

You will probably have noticed that prices of imported telescopes and accessories are going up after the sudden collapse in the value of the pound. We receive new price lists from suppliers almost daily and are spending quite a bit of time dealing with them.

So it makes a nice change to be able to offer some real bargains on high-quality telescopes. The best current offers are on Celestron CPC Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. The CPC 800 is especially good value and the current price is offered indefinitely (please note this means it could end at any time but no date has been given). The CPC 925 and 1100 are also on special offer but these must be ordered by 3 pm on February 27th. Full details are on our web site.

Space Traffic Accident

Having worked on a Space Debris project at the Royal Greenwich Observatory I was especially interested by last week's story of the two satellites that collided in orbit. Apparently, their closing speed was over seven miles per second so both were completely destroyed creating a large cloud of debris.

This is the first accidental collision of two staellites, other than minor bumps during docking manoeuvres, but it was inevitable that it would happen sometime. One of the satellites was a defunct one called Kosmos 2251 owned by the Russian Military. The other was Iridium 33, a working communications satellite owned by Iridium Satellite LLC.

Iridium 33 was launched in 1997 and was one of the oldest members of a constellation of 66 operational satellites and several orbiting spares that provide world-wide coverage for satellite telephones. Some minor disruption to the coverage resulted from the collision but a spare satellite is being manoeuvred into position to fill the gap. This will take about 30 days to complete.

The satellites take their name from the rare metal Iridium, which is part of the platinum family. Extremely hard, brittle and dense it is used in exotic applications where its resistance to corrosion and high temperatures are required. It is one of the rarest metals in the Earth's crust and only 3 tonnes of Iridium are produced each year. Its atomic number is 77, the number of satellites planned for the original constellation.

Iridium satellites can be seen with the naked eye when still illuminated by sunlight after night falls on the ground. They brighten by several magnitudes when sunlight is reflected directly from their antennae, and can even be seen in daylight. Go to www.heavens-above.com for precise predictions of Iridium flares and other visible satellites.

National Nest Box Week

Switching to a different type of flying object, did you know that this is National Nest Box Week? I believe it's a marketing idea to encourage us to put up more nest boxes but it's a useful reminder if you are inclined to do so. The ideal time is earlier in the year but it's not too late if you act soon.

I'm trying out a sparrow terrace in addition to the more conventional boxes we have in the garden. I've sited it alongside some ivy in the hope the birds will roost in that as well. I miss their cheerful chirping which I remember from my childhood.

We sell several different types of nests to encourage most of the common garden birds and some you might not have considered such as Nuthatches, Swifts and Swallows. You can find them in our online catalogue - why not try something a little different this year?

Saturn

Saturn's rings are close to edge-on so don't present the kind of view we've been enjoying for the last few years. However, they do open up the possibility of searching for the fainter moons and even watching a transit of Titan. These occur very infrequently and there are four this year. Two have passed already but there are two to come on February 24th and March 12th. Unfortunately for us in the UK they happen in the middle of the day but if you are on the right side of the world why not look for them. A 6-inch or larger telescope is recommended.

Looking South at 10 pm from Cambridge UK (on Tuesday 17th February 2009)

Right in the centre of our view, half-way between the horizon and zenith lies the small constellation of Canis Minor, Orion's lesser dog. Its brightest star, Procyon stands out clearly and is about on a level with Orion's shoulders away to our right.

Castor and Pollux in Gemini are directly above Procyon, and the two rows of stars marking the heavenly twins' bodies slope down to the right towards Orion. Pollux is the lower and brighter of the pair but Castor is a fine double with a separation of 2.5 arc-seconds which you should be able to split in a small telescope.

Castor and Pollux were the twin sons of the Queen of Sparta; their father was Jupiter but only Pollux inherited his immortality. When Castor was killed in battle, Pollux pleaded to share his immortality so both were transferred to the sky where we see them today.

Above the twins and in our overhead lies the indistinct constellation of Lynx. Its brightest star alpha is quite red and so should be easy to identify to the left of our meridian. It makes an isosceles triangle with Pollux and Regulus in Leo.

Below Procyon we have another indistinct constellation, Monoceros the Unicorn. Its stars don't stand out but the Milky Way crosses it so there are deep-sky objects to look for such as the Rosette Nebula, well to the right of our meridian.

Between Monoceros and the horizon we find Puppis, the poop of the good ship Argo which carried Jason and the Argonauts on their adventures. It has several open clusters including three on Messier's famous list, ie M46, M47 and M93. If you have a good southern horizon it is worth spending some time browsing this area.

Immediately to the right of Puppis is Canis Major with its bright beacon Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. It makes a very obvious marker from which to navigate with a finder chart or star atlas.

And finally...

If you were planning a holiday break on the International Space Station you will need to act soon. The resident crew will increase from three to six soon which means all seats on the Soyuz service vehicle will be taken up with crew shift changes. Spare seats are unlikely to be available after the end of this year.

Clear Skies and Best Wishes

Neil

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