The Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit

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2 Comets This year
The First in March PANSTARRS. Should be Best Around March 14th.
Finder Chart for Pannstars

Comet Pannstars Images by Paul Winn

Then at the End of the Year in December of 2013 another comet Called C/2012 S1 ISON, it's expected to be the brightest visitor to our solar system in the past century

Meteor Storm Brewing for 2014?
On May 24, 2014, Earth will plow through a dense stream of dust particles shed by Comet 209P/LINEAR.


The MPC is responsible for the designation of minor bodies in the solar system: minor planets & comets

VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE

The schedule below is a composite of unclassified information approved for public release from government, industry, and other sources. It represents the Editor's best effort to produce a schedule, but may disagree with other sources. Details on military launches are withheld until they are approved for public release. For official information regarding Vandenberg AFB activities, go to http://www.vandenberg.af.mil.

VANDENBERG AFB LAUNCH SCHEDULE   As of 2013 May 2

                  

  Date      Time/Window (PST/PDT)       Vehicle          Pad/Silo

--------        -----------------        -------------       --------

MAY             To be announced          Minuteman III       ---

The vehicle will probably send an unarmed warhead on a ballistic trajectory to Kwajalein in the Central Pacific. Delayed from mid-April to prevent the test from being misconstrued by North Korea following heightened tensions in East Asia. The Defense Department will probably release details about the test a few days in advance. 

JUN 26          19:27:34                 Pegasus XL          Offshore

Payload is NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) satellite. Vehicle will be air dropped from an L-1011 jumbo jet flying offshore. The aircraft will be staged from Vandenberg AFB. The launch window is 5 minutes in duration. 

JUL 9           09:00-11:00              Falcon 9            SLC-4E

Vehicle will launch the Cassiope satellite for the Canadian Space Agency 

Summer          To be announced          GBI                 ---

Missile defense system test. A Ground-based Interceptor will be launched from Vandenberg in an attempt to intercept a target launched from Kwajalein in the central Pacific. 

AUG 28          To be announced          Delta IV Heavy      SLC-6

Vehicle will launch the classified NROL-65 payload for the U.S.

National Reconnaissance Office 

The above schedule is a composite of unclassified information approved for public release from government, industry, and other sources. It represents the Editor's best effort to produce a schedule, but may disagree with other sources. Details on military launches are withheld until they are approved for public release. For official information regarding Vandenberg AFB activities, go to http://www.vandenberg.af.mil.

All launch dates and times are given in Pacific Time using a 24-hour format similar to military time (midnight = 00:00, 1:00 p.m. = 13:00, 11:00 p.m. = 23:00, etc.).

The dates and times in this schedule may not agree with those on other online launch schedules, including the official Vandenberg AFB schedule because different sources were used, the information was interpreted differently, and the schedules were updated at different times. All launch dates and times are given in Pacific Time using a 24-hour format similar to military time (midnight = 00:00, 1:00 p.m. = 13:00, 11:00 p.m. = 23:00, etc.).

Click Here for Vandenberg Launch Schedule
Click here to sign-up for the Launch Alert

.

Information & Links

Local Clubs

Ventura County Astronomy Club

Vandenberg Astronomy Club

Central Coast Astronomical Society

Griffith Observatory

 

Take a Journey from Deep Space to
The Nucleus of the Atom with
POWERS OF TEN


Planet and star size comparisons

 

Space Station 'flying' over the Northern Lights
 

Fly Through a 3D Map of the Universe

Stay up to date on the MARS LANDER 
Get the latest new HERE

 

 

Space News from SpaceDaily.com

http://news.yahoo.com/science/space-astronomy

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news

http://www.astronomy.com/

http://www.physorg.com/space-news/astronomy/

http://www.nightskyobserver.com/astronomy-video-news.php

http://www.nasa.gov/

Hubble Ultra Deep Field 3D

Telescope Comparison Charts
Great for the Beginner.

Meteor Showers: When are they?

The Nine Planets  
A tour of the solar system

ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY

SpaceWeather.com


CHECK THIS OUT
AstronomyDaily.com
A wealth of sky information.
No hassle registration.
 


Get the Latest New from NASA

 

 

Click here for a YouTube Video of the Rocket


Breaks Ground for it Falcon Heavy at
Vandenberg Air Force Base

Click here to view the Falcon Heavy press conference.

 

 

Find Used Telescopes

ASTROMART
Astronomical Swap Meet

EBay Telescope Search
Telescopes listed on E-Bay

CloudyNights
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Home
Up-to-the-minute information to help you plan your viewing activities. Listen to today's StarDate broadcast.

Vandenberg Launch Links
Find out when the next launch is


Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

 

 

Publications

Astronomy Magazine
is another definitive source for amateur astronomers

Sky & Telescope
always a great place to get up to date

AmSky
The on-line mega-magazine for amateur astronomy

www.amsky.com

 

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SETI at Home

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Hitchhikers Guide to the Moon

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Cassini Mission

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Ray Cash's
Deep Sky Page

Jim Shields

Steve Gottlieb

Steve Gottlieb is also involved in the NGC-IC program

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