AstroNews 1/2000

January
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North America witnessed a TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE FULL MOON on January 20! Read on...

IT'S STILL THE 20TH CENTURY, DAMMIT!
You're expecting to be in the 21st century at the start of the third millennium? Go back to sleep for another year! Much of the world (the part that is confused) follows the Gregorian or Christian calendar. This calendar has NO YEAR ZERO. The first century occurred from 1-100 AD and the first millennium occurred from 1-1000 AD. That means new centuries begin with numbers that end with one (i.e. 101, 201, 301 ... 2001, etc.) and THE 21ST CENTURY WILL BEGIN ON JAN. 1, 2001, which will also be the first day of the third millennium.

The confusion in 1999 is not unique - the same confusion existed at the beginning of the 19th century. Besides the end of Y2K bug hysteria, what was there to celebrate? Well for one, the year 2000 is the 100th anniversary of the 24-hour day. It was first noted for the year 1900.

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Up This Month
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TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON
The Moon will hide behind the shadow of the Earth on January 20. This also happens to be a Full Moon, and the largest of the year at that! Weather permitting the moon should glow a deep, dim orange-red. Get your binoculars!

here's an article you can read to prepare yourself:
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/lunar/0001preview.html
 

WARNING: GEOMAGNETIC STORMS APPROACHING!
Geomagnetic storms that could cause POWER BLACKOUTS, DISRUPTIONS IN COMMUNICATIONS and satellite failures are predicted for early this year. So says the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the agency primarily responsible for tracking geomagnetic activity.

When charged particles from the Sun hit the Earth's magnetic field geomagnetic storms arise. The next peak in sunspot activity will occur early this year. Magnetic storms are not rare, but great storms like the one forecast for early this year are.

Geomagnetic storms produce beautiful NORTHERN LIGHTS, but also pose a threat for satellite operators, power companies, and astronauts. They even shorten the life of oil pipelines in Alaska by increasing pipeline corrosion.

Earth’s magnetic field can undergo large and rapid fluctuations due to the interaction of charged particles ejected by the Sun that collide with the geomagnetic field. These solar ejections, traveling at more than a million miles an hour, are associated with sunspots which increase and decrease over an 11 year cycle. The number of geomagnetic storms also increases and decreases in concert with that 11 year cycle.

During the sunspot maximum we are going through now, smaller storms can occur rather frequently - even several times a week.

The last great magnetic storm occurred exactly 11 years ago this coming March 13. That storm caused the collapse of the Hydro-Quebec power system in Canada, leaving six million people in the dark. The blackout could have been much worse if it happened during daytime hours. WHAT COULD MAKE THINGS WORSE for us now is our increasing dependence on technology in general and on space-based technology in particular.

NASA produces daily SOLAR FLARE FORECASTS. Check their SPACEWEATHER site:
http://www.spaceweather.com

USGS GEOMAGNETIC DATA is available at:
http://geomag.usgs.gov
 

NOW WE KNOW WHY NASA IS IN TROUBLE
Spacewalks are tricky. Especially when a big fat thing like the Hubble Space Telescope is involved. NASAs recent failures put pressure on the shuttle astronauts to get this repair mission right. But wait, what incredible technology is NASA using?

These guys are giving Hubble a zippier computer - with an Intel 486 microchip! And this grandfather is even supposed to significantly boost data speed!! They say that the new memory device will increase Hubble's memory nearly fivefold!!!!! What was it before, a Palm Pilot?

To get your free copy of Distant Suns/The SETI version go to:
http://www.distantsuns.com/index_seti_at_home.html

And be sure to check the latest news about SETI@home:

http://setiathome.berkeley.edu

ET phone home! With long distance services by GlobalCom. SUPPORT ASTRONEWS by trying the great deals on cheap calls (especially for calling abroad!), calling cards, callback service, and more telecommunication tidbits at:
http://www.kahl.net/global

(1) The Heavens with Paul Mortfeld, The Backyard Astronomer
- tells you what you can see up in the heavens this week.
http://www.planetweather.com/heaven

(2) Weather Underground Sky
- if you live in the USA just enter you ZIP code and presto - a map shows what is visible tonight.
http://www.wunderground.com/sky

See the Salon.com portrait of Marcy at:
http://salon.com/people/feature/1999/12/02/marcy/index.html
 

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FAR OUT FACT
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NEPTUNE AND TITAN REVEALED
The best ever Earth-based images of two distant celestial bodies reveal giant storms on Neptune and possible landmasses separated by chilled hydrocarbon oceans on Titan.

The infrared light images were captured with the W.M. Keck II telescope in Hawaii using adaptive optics technology. Their unprecedented clarity exceeds even the capability of the Hubble Space Telescope!

In 2004 the Cassini spacecraft (built by NASA and the European Space Agency) is scheduled to land the Huygens probe on Titan. The new images will help determine beforehand whether the probe will plunge into an extra-terrestrial sea or land on a solid surface.
 

DRESS WARM WHEN YOU STARWATCH!
 

LAST PLUG
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