[Launch Alert] Moon-Mars Encounter

Tue, 27 Jan 2004 06:15:19 -0800

                            LAUNCH ALERT

			           Brian Webb
		         Ventura County, California
		        E-mail: [email protected]
	         Web Site: http://www.spacearchive.info

	   Reaching more than 2,400 e-mail addresses worldwide

				           2004 January 27 (Tuesday) 06:15 PST
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                         MOON-MARS ENCOUNTER

The Moon and Mars will have a close encounter this evening. Using
little more than the naked eye, observers will be able to watch the
Moon's eastward motion carry it 3� south of the red planet. Closest
approach occurs at 19:00 PST.

If you're interested in photographing this event, I suggest using a
tripod-mounted film or digital camera. For film cameras, use a 135mm
telephoto lens, ASA 400 film (such as Fuji Superia 400), and exposures
of 5, 3, and 1 seconds at f/3.5 or f/4.

Regardless of the type of camera you use, I further recommend taking
photos at 10- or 15-minute intervals between 18:00 and 20:00 PST.

If you get any good photos of tonight's event, please forward them to
me for possible posting on my web site.

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

              COLUMBIA REENTRY PHOTOGRAPHERS TO GATHER

Jay Lawson of Reno is putting together a gathering for people who were
key players in photographing or observing last year's ill-fated
Space Shuttle reentry.

The event is tentatively planned for the afternoon of 2004 February 1
between 13:00 and 17:00 PST in San Jose, California. The exact venue
is yet to be determined.

Jay is trying to contact the following people in connection with this
gathering:

  Mr. Blevins who photographed the reentry from Owens Valley

  Lionel Machado of Fairfield, Calif.

If you're interested in attending this event, or know how to contact
Blevins or Machado, you can reach Jay at [email protected].

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

                        WEB SITE IMPROVEMENTS

My web site has recently undergone some improvements. Here's a summary
of what's new:

Main Page Redesigned

The site's main page (www.spacearchive.info) was recently reformatted
and has a new look.

Regional News

The front page of the site now features space and astronomy news and
images of interest to the Southwest. This portion of the page will be
updated at least twice a week.

Past Vandenberg Launch Data

A listing of all Vandenberg AFB missile and rocket launches is now
online at www.spacearchive.info/vafblog.htm.

The listing has information on 1,843 launches and took me from late
July to mid-January to create.

Although this data has been posted elsewhere, it is broken down by
launch vehicle, pad/silo, etc. My list is probably the first such
monolithic chronology on the Internet.