APPULSE
the
Official Newsletter of the Philippine Astronomical Society
PROPELLING ASTRONOMY EDUCATION TOWARD THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE AMONG FILIPINOS
Vol. 41 No. 63
ONCE A DREAMER... A Prelude on History’s 2nd Longest Total
Solar Eclipse
W e are now aboard the plane en route
to Asia’s motherland, the historic
communist stronghold on this side of the
world. Once we touch down we will ac-
climatize ourselves to the Chinese air and
skyline, where ultra-modern urbanization
has caused the night sky to be completely
washed out leaving only the Moon as the
celestial object visible in its night sky.
But we are not seeing the Moon at night,
in fact, the night sky is useless to us. In the
dead of the night, just a few hours before
sunrise we drag our weary bodies off the
bed, force our face into the cold morn-
ing water and dress up for the day’s main
event.
We have our checklist of things and leave
no stones unturned, then grab a bite of
quick breakfast and leave Suzhou for Jiax-
ing, the site reserved for visitors to view the
eclipse. For in a few more hours past nine in
the morning, the morning shine seems pal-
er than usual, the wind gets colder, and an
eerie atmosphere starts to replace the lively
morning chatter and festivities. The Sun’s
shadow appears crescent through the pin-
holes of the leaves of the trees. The Earth, it
seems will stand still, perhaps caught nap-
ping as well, along with the morning souls
that went into hiding, the cocks crow, the
creatures of the night take their heads out
of the burrows, and 100 million chinky-
eyed people living along the eclipse path,
plus an assortment of united colors of Ben-
etton, red, white, black, green, strain their
necks counting precious seconds from a
few minutes of arrested anticipation, pray-
ing darn hard that no clouds would spoil
the perfect day.
Just then, a running shadow wavers through
the ground like a shockwave of an impact,
impossible to miss, and more impossible
to photograph. Take a moment to observe
July 2009
by Allen Yu
the ground too,
folks. And if
you want some
weird experi-
ment, try to let
an egg stand
during totality.
Debatable theo-
ry has it that the
combined grav-
itational forces
of the Moon
and the Sun is
enough to make
an egg stand… SOME OF THE PAS DELEGATES TO THE
Hmmmm….I 2009 CHINA TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE
wonder if I can
stand my egg as
This is a remarkable coincidence having
well hehehe, but hey, don’t laugh, they at-
the size of the Moon and Sun almost the
tempted it in Thailand in the 90’s - just one
same is the magic behind it. This wouldn’t
of those powerful eclipse myths around.
be possible plus or minus a few tens of
thousands years from now, as the Moon
Seconds before, the feeble light of the once
continues to go farther and farther from
mighty Sun came to naught as the spectacle
the Earth. And O’Sole Mio…O’Sole Mio,
now shows the Diamond Ring and the Bai-
Sta n’fronte a te, sta n’fronte a te!...Andrea
ley’s Beads. I want to observe these shows
Bocelli bellows his diaphragm till kingdom
personally, and photography might spoil
comes/
this opportunity; so if you have a videocam
aimed at the vastness of the lands, a rush-
After 5 minutes, the first rays of the mighty
ing gigantic shadow crashes in turning day
Sun leaks out of the Moon’s edge, and final-
into that artificial darkness we all spent
ly the land claims back its glory. The show
money, effort, tears and sighs, uneasiness
is over. Long live this expedition trip!
and discouragement, and despair preying
on our souls. and all what we waited for
So what is so exciting about an eclipse any-
- the Totality!
way? What’s the fuss of being under the
Moon’s shadow for a few minutes? Nothing
The crowd erupts, cheers and tears flowing
I guess, only my sane part can answer that;
as we see the Sun’s corona dancing, and
and I now know life and God are wonderful
suddenly we realized, the long-forgotten
in many weird ways. I will sleep soundly
Sun is a wonderful sight to behold! The co-
and smiling tonight. A dream I have dared
rona is a story of beauty and danger. Prom-
to live to see, and finally, ever worthwhile.
inences arc their way back to the Sun’s
surface, and when they snap, they release
coronal mass ejection. Spaceweather relies
heavily on it.
Volume 41 No. 63 
 jUNE mEETING rEPORT
by FFSIrlandez

A s part of its vision to promote astron-

omy education to the Filipino people,
the Philippine Astronomical Society visited
and held its June monthly meeting at the
Universidad de Manila, Lawton, Manila
last June 20.

The program started with Mr. Ronald Tanco

who gave an overview lecture of how deep
the subject of Astronomy is. After him, Mr.
Edmund Rosales presented to the students
tips on observational astronomy; the audi-
ence was awed with his simulation of the
upcoming Total Solar Eclipse in China in
July. It was like Edmund took us there to
experience that spectacular event. After the
lectures, the BS Education students were
all very thankful for the fun experience
of PAS meeting. They even requested that
PAS holds a stargazing for them. And PAS

THE
APPULSE
Editorial Adviser
Edna Azucena

Editorial Staff

Victoria Evarretta
Editor-in-Chief

Francis Ferdinand Irlandez

Layout Editor
Images by Jenny Baltazar

John Nassr
Joel Linao
Victoria Evarretta
Allen Yu
Francis Ferdinand irlandez
Contributors

The Appulse is published monthly by the

Philippine Astronomical Society.
The Appulse © 2009. All rights reserved.
Please send articles, letters, observations,
reports to
Email: appulse@philastrosoc.org
or to orion278@yahoo.com
Website: www. philastrosoc.org
will surely answer their call. Mr. Ian Allas then called the delegates of the “Astronomy
Educational Tour in China”. They discussed certain things like the design of their shirt,
streamers, etc. When all were agreed upon on the China trip, it was Mr. Hernan Dizon’s
turn to present the qualified members who may run for the Board in the July election. The
meeting ended about 5:00PM.

2 Appulse - July 2009

 A DATE WITH THE STARS
T hese days when the skies are all but
clear and there seem to be no let up
with the afternoon and night rains, casual
observing seems impossible.
But I got the break last week of June when
the usual scorching heat here in Tuguega-
rao took its normal course. The sky was
clear and everything seemed to be a para-
dise astronomically for me. Clear, clear,
clear blue skies in the morning (see pic-
tures) with unbelievably no speck or streak
of clouds at all west, east, north, south. And
the night became the jeweled sky any star-
gazer would hanker to see. Luckily, I felt
no body aches those days; it was thus just
right and perfect condition for a date with
the stars.
I went up the roof deck, pulled out my
Starry Night Guide, my binoculars, sleep-
ing mat, red flashlight, and laser pointer
from the observatory and readied myself
for a two-hour stargazing while lying down
at the cement floor. I told myself that this is
just a night for the constellation hunting as
the constellations presented in the sky from
8:00 to 10 PM. Beyond that time, I begged
off - for the spirit is willing but the flesh
is weak, as they say. (This reminded me of
our PAS out-of-town-stargazing sessions in
Noveleta, Cavite and once in
Sampaloc, Rizal.)
Our two coconut trees still
block the eastern view, but I
cannot get myself to cut these
down. Doing so would mean
harsh heat and no shady com-
forts and breeze in the morn-
ings. Waiting for the stars until
they are in the zenith or in the
western horizon is good enough
for me.
Sky completely blue indeed (with the observatory at foreground) that turned
I like looking northeast because into a jeweled cloudless sky at night. The big space in front of the observatory
this has no obstruction in our is where I usually stargaze.
roof deck. While southwest has
no obstruction either, the glar-
ing lights from the nearby tennis courts dim
the view of the southern side. It so happen
that the end week of June is also the week
of province-wide festivities here in the City
because the provincial government cel-
ebrates the Aggao Nac Cagayan (literally,
by Victoria Evarretta
Day of Cagayan).
The sweet music of the
Bee Gees, Cascades, and
the Beatles all-the-more
heightened the beauty of
the breezy night with fes-
tive atmosphere brought
about by the town’s night
activities. Perfect night
indeed for a date with the
stars. Note the completely blue sky west of the mini-semi observa-
tory with the early morning shadows from the coconut trees.
Northeast instantly
showed the Ursa Minor a big responsibility for me and would
with its Little Dipper and Polaris. Then greatly diminish my enjoyment, for that
came Cygnus, Cepheus, Draco while Ursa would mean work for me trying to enter-
Major was already girding close to the tain them. In between this constellation
western horizon. Up in the zenith are Co- hunting, I liked teasing the groups chatting
rona Borealis, Bootes, Hercules, Ophiucus, near the barangay hall by aiming the laser
Virgo, and Libra. Leo is seen prominently pointer with the light show at them. One
near the western horizon while Scorpius kid cried and ran to his mother when I did
and Lupus in the southeast are still taking so. Ha ha ha.
their turn going up the zenith.
You noticed that I did not mention the wax-
So what’s the big deal with the constella- ing crescent moon yet. I did observe that
tions for me? I guess I like to be fully fa- - its dark lowland plains contrasting the
miliar with the constellations and the sto- bright highlands. While I was mentioning
ries/legends that each tell. This is good for the marias and highlands to our helper who
the kids, and there’s still the kid fire in me occasionally came up, he saw instead the
wanting to know all. I am not into that gear two eyes, nose, and white teeth of the moon
- something I failed to notice
before. He even thought the
moon looked like a skull then
(days after when it was already
the first quarter. Bending one’s
imagination, indeed, it looked
like one. The Mare Serenitatis,
Mare Crisium looked like the
moon’s two eye sockets; and
Mare Tranquillitatis, its nose.
Wonder what the supposed
“teeth “ were - I guess they
are the highlands surrounding
Mare Nectaris (don’t think I’m
this familiar with the moon’s
features; I’m just looking at
my reference book).
yet where every night with clear sky is a Anyway, come August, I will observe what-
night to observe throughout until the sun ever planets and deep-sky objects will be
rises. observable by then. I hope that I will have
the energy to stay whole night for the ob-
Why didn’t I invite friends for more com- servation.
pany? Inviting friends around would mean
Volume 41 No. 63 
 GREETINGS FROM DUBAI!
I t’s really been a long time since I last
participated in the forum discussions, but
I assure you that I’ve been lurking around
for quite a while now, just listening in on
the latest news, events, and general chika-
chika in our beloved PAS. Reading your
posts really livens up my otherwise bland
day here in the office. It feels so good to
hear about your monthly meeting sessions,
observation programs, and other activi-
ties...most of the time, I just pretend that
I’m also there, enjoying the dark skies of
the Philippines with you guys. I’m happy
to see that there are lots of discussions on
different topics taking place, and that peo-
ple are actively participating.
So how’s everyone? How’s the PAS gang?
Brother Dennis, Brother Leo, Sis Mitz, Sis
Nelli? What’s up with you, guys? I heard
recently that Allen has rejoined PAS...wel-
come back, man! Sir Milo, Sir Hernan, Ate
Agnes, Ate Edna, Kuya Berns, the Wonder
Kids --- Leo Minor, Jane, et al --- and eve-
ryone else that I’ve had the opportunity to
rub shoulders with when I was still in the
Philippines...kumusta na kayong lahat? I
miss you all so much! I really need to do
a lot of catching up; for the past few years,
I’ve always tried to make it a point to visit
you guys whenever I’m on vacation in the
Philippines, but my personal commitments
just won’t allow me to spare some time,
even for just a few hours. That’s how my
vacations are. They’re hardly relaxing. I
think Brother Dennis knows about that al-
ready. But I hope to set things right on my
next annual vacation, because I really want
to meet up with all of you again, and may-
be catch a few planets and constellations
while I’m there. I also want to finally meet
Ate Vicky...lagi na lang po napo-postpone
ang pagkikita natin, ma’am! And Mr. John
Nassr...sir, champion ang mga astropho-
tos mo! Very inspiring, breathtaking, and
mind-expanding talaga sila! I hope I’ll get
the chance to personally shake your hand,
and maybe visit Stardust Observatory, in
the near future!
Well, as for me, I can’t really share any-
thing with regard to urban observations,
since the only celestial bodies that I can see
from my flat’s balcony are the Sun, Moon,
the brighter planets like Venus and Jupi-
4 Appulse - July 2009
ter, a handful of bright
stars like Sirius, and the
Big Dipper asterism in
Ursa Major. Quite pa-
thetic, isn’t it? Too bad
that I’m in a part of the
world where the nights
are --- at least within the
city limits --- an astrono-
mer’s worst nightmare.
On any given night, the
sky above my flat glows
with an eerie orange hue
so bright that one would
think that twilight just
set in...at midnight. Liv-
ing just a few kilometers
away from one of the
world’s most busiest airports also doesn’t
help much. The rural desert skies are a
completely different story altogether, but I
don’t really get to go camping in the boo-
nies that much anymore since I’m virtually
bogged down with office work for much of
the week. Until recently, I used to drive into
the desert in the wee hours of the morning
just to escape the glare of Dubai, armed
only with a pair of binoculars, my old
starmap, and a red LED flashlight. Those
nights were truly unforgettable, not just be-
cause of the fact that the Milky Way was
so bright in the middle of the desert that I
could see the dark knots of obscuring dust
within it without using averted vision, but
also due to the exciting, funny, and scary
experiences that I’ve had as I tried to look
for dark skies farther and farther away from
the city limits. I’ve had my fair share of hits
and misses because of my penchant for get-
ting into sticky situations just so I can get
my astronomy fix. Come on, guys, let’s ad-
mit it...we’re all addicted to the stars!
For instance, there was this time when I
was all alone in the desert about 60-70 kil-
ometers away from Dubai, and everything
was pitch black...it was so dark that when-
ever I activated my watch’s light function
so I could see what time it was, I would
get temporarily blinded for a few short sec-
onds. It was also very quiet, and it was a
spooky sort of silence, the kind that you
only get to experience in the movies just
before some hideous thing hiding in the
bushes suddenly snatches the scantily-clad
by Joel Linao
heroine away and rips her guts out. That’s
how creepy it was. From somewhere in the
dark, I hear a few short snorts a few meters
away, and I suddenly jump into my car for
fear of being eaten by some unseen mon-
ster. I turn on my headlights and I see...a
small group of wild donkeys blinking in
the harsh glare of my headlights while la-
zily grazing away. Then there was this time
when I was in a different patch of desert
near the border with Oman about 150 kil-
ometers away from Dubai. Unlike before,
it wasn’t completely dark because it was
almost 5:30 in the morning, and the eastern
horizon was already awash in hues of blue,
rose, and orange. It was wintertime, and
beautiful Venus floated serenely to the east.
I sighed to myself, “Ahhh...what a nice
end to a perfect evening of observation...”
I was sipping from a cup of hot chocolate,
and I already felt chilled to the bone so I
was about to pack up for the evening when,
from out of nowhere, a loud boom that
sounded like something exploded nearby
shattered the silence of the early morning
sky, followed closely by two slightly lesser
booms. Shortly afterwards came a persist-
ent deep rumbling that sounded like rolling
thunder, with vibrations so intense that I felt
them deep inside my chest. I looked around
me in disbelief; seeing nothing out of the
ordinary, my eyes were drawn reflexively
to the skies. And then I saw them! To the
northeast and relatively close but climbing
swiftly at almost the speed of sound were
the bright glows of engine exhaust pipes
Continued on page 5
Greetings..
from page 4
on full afterburner --- the aircraft spotter
in me kicks in, and I spy an American B-1
bomber and two unidentified F-16 fighter
aircraft (most likely from the US Air Force,
as well) escorting it. I’ve just been buzzed
by UAE-based American military aircraft
at a height of less that 150 feet, in the mid-
dle of winter while in some desert near the
Omani border, while enjoying a cup of hot
chocolate! It doesn’t get any stranger that
that! I could still smell the aviation-grade
kerosene hanging in the air long after they
disappeared into the morning sky. Talk
about closing an uneventful night of ob-
servation with a bang. Or rather a boom.
Or three booms. Later that week, due to
extreme curiosity, I found out that Ameri-
can and UAE military aircraft based at an
airfield near the UAE capital city of Abu
Dhabi were conducting a month-long joint
military exercise near the patch of desert
that I chose for my “quiet” night of stargaz-
ing, and that they were using laser targeting
systems to simulate attacks on random tar-
gets instead of using actual bombs. I have
a weird feeling that my car became one of
their unwilling “targets” during their train-
ing maneuvers. Hmmm...
Anyway, I’ve still got a lot of stories to tell
about my astronomy adventures here in the
UAE, stories that have accumulated for the
past five years. There’s this story involving
the border police, another story about a car
stuck in the sand until noontime, and yet
another story about a crazy Indian build-
ing watchman who mistook a telescope
for a “cannon”, among other stories. But
those stories will be for a different time,
when I’m no longer swimming neck-deep
in office paperwork (when would that be,
Brother Dennis is probably asking himself
right now...hehe). As for now, I’m cutting
this post short because it’s starting to be-
come a short novel. I would just like to say
that it really, really feels good to be finally
posting something in our forum again after
an absence of almost four years. From this
point in time onwards, I don’t think I can
afford to sit by the sidelines any longer...it’s
time to jump in once more. Active Mode:
ON!
Mabuhay ang astronomiya sa Pilipinas!
Long live the Philippine Astronomical So-
ciety!
July - August Meteor Shower Watch
M
eteors, also called falling or shooting
stars, occur when the Earth passes
through debris fields left by passing com-
ets. What we are witnessing when we see a
shooting star is a small piece of interplan-
etary matter, called a meteor, entering the
Earth’s atmosphere and ‘burning up’ at a
height of about 100 km. While most look
white, some can appear blue, green, yellow,
orange, or red. Some may even explode at
the end of its visible flight. Most showers
produce about 20 or more meteors per hour
, but there are showers which can produce
hundreds of meteors in less than an hour.
Such shows are, unfortunately, very rare.
Meteor showers are named after the radiant
- the constellation from which they appear
to radiate.
DELTA AQUARIDS
This shower favors the southern hemi-
sphere (Southern Delta Aquarids) and the
tropical latitudes in the northern hemi-
sphere (Northern Delta Aquarids). From
northern temperate latitudes, the maximum
hourly rate may reach 15-20 meteors. Like
most meteor showers, the best observing
time for this shower is before dawn. Unlike
most meteor showers, the Delta Aquarids
does not have a very definite peak, despite
the date given below. Instead, these me-
dium-speed meteors ramble along fairly
steadily throughout late July and early Au-
gust. The waxing gibbous moon around the
peak of the Delta Aquarids won’t really
tarnish the luster of these fainter than av-
erage meteors, because the shower is best
in the wee hours before dawn. An hour or
two before dawn presents the most favo-
rable view of the Delta Aquarids. Because
the peak of the Delta Aquarid shower is so
broad, the expected meteor rates (15-20 per
hour) may be about the same from July 28-
30. The meteors will appear to radiate from
the southern part of the sky. Peak date: July
28. Radiant: Constellation Aquarius.
ALPHA CAPRICORNIDS
The Capricornids are characterized by their
often yellow coloration and their frequent
brightness. They are also slow interplan-
etary interlopers, hitting our atmosphere at
around 15 miles per second. Though you
can expect only 15 meteors per hour at best
under dark sky conditions, the Capricornids
are noted for producing brilliant fireballs.
The duration of this shower extends from
July 15 to September 11. The shower
has the reputation of producing some of
the brightest meteors. The Alpha Capri-
cornid meteor shower occurs every year
from about July 15 to September 11. The
shower’s maximum is usually July 31 and
August 1. The maximum rate is about ten
meteors per hour. Astronomers have not
identified the object responsible for pro-
ducing the Alpha Capricornids. Since 1953
at least three comets and one asteroid have
been suggested, but none perfectly fits the
orbit of the meteor stream that causes the
shower.
PERSEIDS
Like a messy
tourist, the
comet Swift-
Tuttle passed
through our
solar system
in 1992 (as it
did in 1863)
leaving behind
its trash: tiny
grains of ice,
dust, rock, and other debris. As the Earth
makes its trip around the sun, we pass
through this debris field with some spectac-
ular results - the Perseid meteor shower..
The Perseids is the most reliable and still
very spectacular as they create 50 to 150
meteors an hour on average, and increas-
ing at times as high as 400 an hour. It can
be a most spectacular display. The Perseid
meteor shower is named after the constella-
tion Perseus (located near Cassiopea) from
which it first appeared to have come.
These typically fast and bright meteors ra-
diate from a point in the constellation Per-
seus, and like all meteors in annual show-
ers, they cover a large part of the sky. The
Perseids are considered by many people to
be the year’s best shower when the moon
is out of the way during the shower’s peak.
Unfortunately, this year’s moon is not to-
Continued on page 6
Volume 41 No. 63 
 ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
July - August... from page 5

tally out of the way during the Perseids.

by John Nassr
The slightly waning gibbous moon rises
around midnight – just as the Perseids start
to pick up steam. Nonetheless, you should
be able to catch some Perseid meteors be-
fore moonrise and even after. The Perseids
tend to strengthen in number as midnight
ebbs toward dawn. Although not a favora-
ble year, these meteors are often bright and
frequently leave persistent trains. From
late night on Tuesday August 11 till dawn
on Wednesday August 12, a decent sprin-
kling of Perseid meteors may adorn this
summer night, despite the pesky moon. Lie
back and watch meteors until dawn’s light
washes the stars, moon, and planets from
the sky. Peak date: August 12

Sources: Earth Sky, and Skyscrapers, Inc., Total Es-

cape, About.com

AR 1024 through a hydrogen alpha filter showing the sunspot

Astronotes on the outer solar chromosphere

Thank you for the latest issue of Appulse

which I enjoyed a lot as usual. I found the
introduction of the editorial staff especially
timely and well presented. I commend and
salute the editorial staff because without
all of you, the Appulse would simply not be
possible!

John Nassr
Stardust Observatory
Baguio City

I saw your design in the May Appulse 2009

(the paper was very well prepared!).

Dr. Jesus Torres

Rizal Technology University
Mandaluyong City

AR 1024 in white light taken through a Herschel wedge show-

WATCH: ing the sunspot in the lower solar photosphere region

Date Imaged: July 6 - 7, 2009

“THE UNIVERSE” L e n s : Astrophysics 5” f/8 Starfire
C a m e r a : Dragonfly 2
(NEW SEASON)
E x p o s u r e : 15 seconds
F i l t e r : H a , B a a d e r H e r s c h e l We d g e
AT THE HISTORY CHANNEL M o u n t : AP600
EVERY MONDAY AT 9 PM!!! Location: Stardust Observatory

6
6 Appulse -- July
Appulse May 2009
2009
 Astronomy Update
Source of Cosmic
Rays Pinned Down
By Clara Moskowitz
Staff Writer
posted: 25 June 2009
02:18 pm ET

A s astronomers have long expected,

exploding stars called supernovas
can accelerate particles up to almost the
speed of light, a new study shows.
The discovery helps explain where the
extremely energetic cosmic rays we find
near Earth come from.

Cosmic rays are charged particles, most-

ly protons, that come swooping through
space from beyond the solar system.
They carry such an energetic punch they
can knock out electronics systems on
Earth if they manage to make it past our
atmosphere.
Until now, scientists couldn’t be sure
how cosmic rays acquire their energy
and speed.
Cosmic rays originate in supernova, like the one that created this rem-
“It has long been thought that the super-
nant, Cassiopeia A, photographed by the Chandra X-ray observatory.
accelerators that produce these cosmic
Credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/UMass Amherst/M.D.Stage et al
rays in the Milky Way are the expanding
envelopes created by exploded stars, but
our observations reveal the smoking gun
said. “The energy that is used for particle expected given the shock wave’s velocity.
that proves it,” said Eveline Helder of the
acceleration is at the expense of heating the Rather than heat up the gas, some of the
Astronomical Institute Utrecht of Utrecht
gas, which is therefore much colder than supernova’s energy went toward speeding
University in the Netherlands, leader of the
theory predicts.” up particles to near the velocity of light, the
new study.
astronomers concluded.
Helder and team looked at the leftovers
When a star dies in a supernova, the blast
from a supernova called RCW 86 with the “The missing energy is what drives the
releases a huge amount of energy. Much
European Southern Observatory’s Very cosmic rays,” said collaborator Jacco
of that energy is used to heat up a bubble
Large Telescope. The star exploded about Vink, also from the Astronomical Institute
of gas that expands around the remnant of
8200 light-years away in AD 185, and was Utrecht.
the star. Some energy, though, goes toward
recorded by Chinese astronomers.
speeding up the particles that become cos-
mic rays, the researchers determined. Helder and team describe their findings in
The modern researchers measured the tem- the June 26 issue of the journal Science.
perature and speed of the gas behind the
“When a star explodes in what we call a
shock wave created by the stellar explo-
supernova a large part of the explosion en-
sion. They found that the gas, at 54 million http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090625-cos-
ergy is used for accelerating some particles mic-accelerator.html
degrees Fahrenheit (30 million degrees
up to extremely high energies,” Helder
Celsius), was much lower than would be

Volume 41 No. 63 
 Monthly Star Map – August 2009

This map shows the sky at 9pm on August 15, 2009 as seen from the latitude of Metro Manila,
Philippines with North on top and the zenith at the center. The large circle represents the horizon.
Star limiting magnitude is 5.5. Deep sky limiting magnitude is 7.0.

Prepared by PAS Observation Committee using SkyMap Pro 9 software.

8 Appulse - July 2009