News, 05 AUG 2003 Mars Reaches 23.2 Arc Seconds Today (Surpassing the mark set during the 1986 Mars opposition) +++++ Utahns Catch A Glimpse As Mars Spins Nearer To Earth

From Joe Bauman, Deseret Morning News

A salmon-colored orb blazes in the heavens, a brilliant white spot at one end and a vast sidewards Y feature stretching across the center. It is the planet Mars, seen through a telescope this reporter had set up near Snowville early Saturday morning. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510044651,00.html? Note: Joe notes that the version of his picture in the above link is much better than the one printed in the hard copy version of the paper. +++++ Observatory Has Small Footprint SLAS member Jerry Foote passes on this link for those who would like to build a backyard observatory but don't have a lot of room. http://www.skyfoto.com/ccd_observatory.htm +++++ Mars Dust Storms Update

From The International Marswatch Newsletter

It looks as though the dust activity that had been spilling out of Hellas Basin has begun to subside. TES measurements (http://tes.asu.edu) of dust optical depth in the area indicate that the amounts of airborne dust have decreased and the late July images from all our MarsWatch participants are in agreement. The brightness in red over Hellas looks a bit diminished from the beginning of the month, and the surrounding area also looks less active. +++++ NASA's First Scout Mission Select For 2007 Mars Launch NASA today selected Phoenix, an innovative and relatively low cost mission, to study the red planet, as the first Mars Scout mission. The Phoenix lander mission is scheduled for launch in 2007. http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2003/aug/HQ_03256_mars_scout.html +++++ NASA Selects UA 'Phoenix' Mission To Mars In May 2008, the progeny of two promising U.S. missions to Mars will deploy a lander to the water-ice-rich northern polar region, dig with a robotic arm into arctic terrain for clues on the history of water, and search for environments suitable for microbes. http://uanews.opi.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/1/wa/SRStoryDeta... +++++ Ulysses Sees Galactic Dust On The Rise Since early 1992 Ulysses has been monitoring the stream of stardust flowing through our Solar System. The stardust is embedded in the local galactic cloud through which the Sun is moving at a speed of 26 kilometres every second. http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=33618 +++++ 'First Light' For Canada's First Space Telescope After a perfect launch and orbit insertion one month ago, Canada's first space telescope -- called MOST (Microvariability & Oscillations of STars) -- opened its eye to the cosmos for the first time last week. Astronomers traditionally call this milestone for a telescope "first light." http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/media/press_room/news_releases/2003/030804.as... +++++ Send A Birthday Greeting To Ray Bradbury On August 22, 2003, Ray (Martian Chronicles) Bradbury turns 83 years old. To honor the man who has contributed so much to the world of science fiction, The Planetary Society wants to present Mr. Bradbury with the world's largest birthday card - with "Happy Birthday" wishes from fans around the world. https://planetary.org/bradbury +++++ More Amateur Pix NGC6618, The Omega Nebula, The Swan Nebula http://astroshed.com/st10pics/m17-500.html M16 - NGC NGC6611, The Eagle Nebula, The Star Queen Nebulahttp://astroshed.com/st10pics/m16-500.html M27 in False Color http://www.rc-astro.com/nebulae/m27_2003-08-03.htm Planetary Nebula NGC 7094 http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/n7094.html A Very Old Moon, ~ 13 hours Before New Phase http://www.galaxies.com/CCDS/BIG/moon20030728BIG.jpg M20 http://members.cox.net/m-e-thomas/CCD/M20.html +++++ ************************************************** News is being sent to you because of your affiliation with an astronomy club in Utah or because you asked to be subscribed. To unsubscribe please send your request to paw@trilobyte.net. News Internet access provided by: Trilo BYTE, http://www.trilobyte.net. Check out my NASA Solar System Ambassador web site at: http://planet.state.ut.us For astronomy clubs in Utah see: http://planet.state.ut.us/utahclubs.html For the Utah Astronomy Listserve see: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy ************************************************** -- Patrick Wiggins NASA Solar System Ambassador to Utah http://planet.state.ut.us 435.882.1209 (observatory) 801.918.9092 (cell)