APPULSE

the

Official Newsletter of the Philippine Astronomical Society

PROPELLING ASTRONOMY EDUCATION TOWARD THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE AMONG FILIPINOS

Vol. 41 No. 64 August 2009

Special Issue: Total Solar Eclipse July 22, 2009 -

The Longest in the Century!

Photo by Allen Yu

Volume 41 No. 64 
 T h e T o t a l S o l a r E c l i p s e PA S E x p e d i t i o n e r s t o C h i n a

2 Appulse - August 2009

 THE FASTEST, HIGHEST, DARKEST, AND LONGEST!!
AFTERMATH OF THE ECLIPSE ....RECALLING THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE EVent. by Allen Yu

T here was a queuing of planes on the

runway of Centennial Airport, or rather
of our one and only national runway where
three terminals, NAIA, Centennial and
NAIA3 all pathetically shared together (no-
tice the sourness of my introduction). I was
pretty excited about the sight, I sat beside
the newly installed PAS President Ian Mark
Allas who sits by the window, then me and
my girlfriend Sally just beside the catwalk.
The group had already a grand time taking
group pictures while waiting for our late
plane (2nd sour note, hehe) of one hour,
then further escalated by the traffic on the
runway, which makes us arrive at Pudong
Shanghai a good 2 hours late (4:30pm).
There were seats switching to and fro, to
make all pairs as close as possible.

Checked in the hotel. The rooms are okay,

Pudong Airport was bathing in the after- but the ambiance is eerie to me.
noon shine when we crossed the bridge
from the plane to the terminal. I shared 2nd day Suzhou sight-seeing tour. It was
THE
APPULSE with Mr. Sacro, I’ll be damn happy if the a sizzling 42 degrees temperature outside
weather holds like this on Wednesday, the even though in the shade. Not comfortable,
Editorial Adviser E-day. He agreed. I wonder why we have to in fact - if one is not properly hydrated, one
Edna Azucena
share such suspense and doubts; the weath- may get sick. There was a stone garden we
er in Shanghai has been all the best that went, and though it was a sheltered struc-
Editorial Staff
came lately (not the usual climate there) ture it can still get very hot. This is a big
Victoria Evarretta - Shanghai is always fogged with haze and group we had, and the maze of stoneworks
Editor-in-Chief low-lying rain clouds, weird is it if it has made a perfect sense to play hide and seek.
been so shiny for quite a time. Mr. Sacro and Emman were lost. But they
Francis Ferdinand Irlandez
Layout Editor were quite smart enough to wait for us at
Our bus drove 2 hours to Suzhou for a the bus. They insisted it was the rest of the
Allen Yu Agnes Oclarit quickly prepared dinner. Along the way go- group who got lost...lets count the numbers
Azrael Coladilla Ghela Lequiron ing out of Shanghai, we glimpsed from afar 2 of them versus 16 of us, and we should
Jake Irlandez John Nassr
Julian Oliveros Marnelli Atienza
the behemoth tower of Shanghai World take the blame. Haha what a logical non-
Roland Roldan Victoria Evarretta Financial Center, the tallest building in the sense I felt. In the afternoon we visited the
Dennis Pambid Nico Mendoza world according to my books (I will share Silk Factory, and though as boring as it may
later why). The restaurant is about to close, sound, we were actually entertained by the
Contributors
and we know very well we were late, so process of it being done. Are we smarter
The Appulse is published monthly by the that took away the smiles on the Chinese now because we are older. Many of my
Philippine Astronomical Society. waitresses. We smiled anyway, and felt it friends, Ritchie, Andrea, and my gf Sally
The Appulse © 2009. All rights reserved.
is perfectly normal. We Filipinos always felt the same way; they have been here be-
Please send articles, letters, observations, wear the best smiles around the world, fore, but only now that did they start to ap-
reports to nothing unusual of meeting less happy preciate it. It was a good field trip after all.
Email: appulse@philastrosoc.org folks abroad.
or to orion278@yahoo.com
Website: www. philastrosoc.org Continued on page 4

Volume 41 No. 64 
The Fastest... from page 3
Silk is expensive, and we all felt just too
expensive for our local taste. Imagine hav-
ing a pair of silk handkerchief for U$200?
Perhaps this is a tourist area and they
wanted to burn our pockets here, but not
and no way. Stinginess is vital in this part
of the tour. Our local climate here in Ma-
nila prefers cotton than silk. So, off we go,
after saying so many “No, thanks.” Never-
theless, those who wanted to take a piece
of China with them bought some few, and
some smiles from the tourist guide?
We arrived at the hotel early to get some
good rest and to prepare for the big day
ahead. News on tv....not good. Some rain
clouds from the north or from Beijing start-
ed their descent to Shanghai area and is due
to arrive the next day, Eclipse Day! What
better way to spoil the fun I thought, this
could be no coincidence! And the string or
train of clouds shall encompass the entire
eclipse path. I can’t believe my eyes, and
now my doubts start to disturb me. I asked
some Quezon City Science High to check
the weather in the Internet, since they
brought with them some laptops. Gracious.
Where did those clouds come from? A
dream slowly running down the drain. I am
preparing myself to accept the inevitable.
4 Appulse - August 2009
Wake up time was 3 am and time for show-
ers and preparation of everything including
our baggages. At 4:30 am we were down
at the hotel lobby and have a quick bite of
breakfast. Some sweet flat pies and a cou-
ple of boiled eggs. I forgot to bring some
with me to the eclipse site to experiment
the case of the standing eggs. It could have
spiced up the day even more.
The skies were still red in cloudiness, and I
momentarily detected a hole, which might
give some hope that the skies might clear
somehow. GPS readings outside gave me
the most accurate time to date, and after-
wards I have all the watches and timekeep-
ers among the group synchronized with
the GPS reading. Dawn is breaking, our
bus crashed through the darkness on to the
light. Mr. Sacro thought of backing out to
the opposite direction. Pointing at the sight,
he said that with the zero visibility, rains,
and clouds, we maybe going straight to the
tornado alley. I said, there is no other way.
We are to set up our camp at the govern-
ment-designated place of observation and
not anywhere else. The government does
not allow us to set up anywhere in the city.
So we have no choice. We leave our fate to
the heavens.
Upon arrival it was a sight to behold. Surely
one would be impressed by the preparation
the city mayor presented to us. I would like
to call it like a Quirino Grandstand with an
edifice more like that of Folk Arts Theatre.
A big vast space for everybody to set up,
and security was a welcome sight. Outsid-
ers treading their bikes were forbidden to
come close to us, and we were all given
visitors’ ID, a bag of “goodies” but no noo-
dles (that’s what I was looking for), and
where the best part is of course, a solar fil-
ter! Then there were reporters from the lo-
cal newspapers and tv stations training their
wares on us as if we were superstars. For
these few minutes, we indeed felt like one.
At the sides were tents in case of a morning
shower. One would think why will we ever
need them since we are ready to bathe in
the sun’s shadow, not any rain waters. True
enough, the weather worsened, drops of
tears from heaven were felt, and my heart
started to sink in oblivion, trying very hard
not to think that we may go home tonight
not seeing anything.
Mr Sacro gathered the rest, the students
and teachers inside the tent and presented
a briefing on what to expect. I was being
called to the stage (me because I speak Chi-
nese and the organizers handpicked me to
receive a certificate in behalf of the group)
when the Sun briefly shone through thick
clouds. Cheers started to be heard...and all
of a sudden astrophoto equipments were
being set up to catch whatever is salvage-
able that morning.
1st contact! And the Sun hides again.
Drats..this could be it...of all the days.
Minutes passed without seeing the Sun,
and then amidst the chitchat and clicking of
cameras...and of course some more rains..
the frustrated mood of everybody else..
foreigners from Europe, United States,
Malaysia...the shout of a countdown broke
the morning gloom. Last 2 minutes., last
2 minutes I shouted, it was 2 minutes to
go before the sudden crash of darkness de-
scended on us.
Sally was shocked to know that darkness
would come so sudden, and Ms. Paning-
batan pointed to me a very dark cloud in
the western horizon. I dismissed it as only
rain clouds but on second thought, I think
that was darkness coming toward us from
Continued on page 3
Fastest... from page 4
the west! That was in fact a very unusually
dark cloud coming in. And before I knew
it, I lost track of the countdown and it was
less than a minute before totality, seconds
coming in so fast, and the whole sky was
considerably darker and darker, and then,
REAL DARKNESS, TOTALITY!
My camera having been preset to accurate-
ly match the incoming darkness failed to
respond properly, as it can no longer depict
an accurate picture of the surroundings. In
other words, it was too dark for the camera
to perform so flash bulbs have to be used to
lighten up the subjects again. I then whis-
pered to Sally, I love you and this darkness
I dedicate to thee.
Surely, the totality is one of those moments
where a lover can rightfully propose, but
who would expect not to see the Sun’s
Diamond Ring? I reminded everyone to
feel and digest this 5min and so duration
of darkness, as this will be the longest in
history. Savor the darkness, the horizon’s
orange glow shared the mood’s delight.
Sadness took a back seat and just then eve-
rybody was giggling and shouting songs of
joy enjoying the Moon’s umbra. Well, not
bad for a morning gone sour. Perhaps there
is good even in the worst of it.
The suddenness of daylight broke the dark
delight and Mr. Sacro shouted, the show
is over! Now we are part of the history.
Never mind not seeing the Sun’s corona,
prominences, or all together, the “black
Sun.” It can be seen in every eclipse in
the future, but this 5min 50s of darkness
one can cherish it in the record books. We
took part in this history and can no longer
be experienced again. The darkness of this
eclipse, I was reminded later, was to be one
of the darkest too in history. I noticed that
it wasn’t a normal twilight show, it was in-
deed like night, just a skin brighter.
The stage is now open as the many groups
have started to line up to have their pictures
taken. We then took our step, and formal-
ly placed PAS back into the international
scene of eclipse chasers and astronomy en-
thusiasts. Now the world will confirm that
PAS is back and kicking ass again.
Back in the bus, I was hounded by thoughts.
I changed my clothes
drenched with eclipse rain
and took a few minutes nap
en route to Hangzhou for
our lunch. Sally sat beside
me, both happy and sad at
the same time. It took two
hours to get to Hangzhou,
the folks there told us they
saw the black Sun, which
tormented me day and
night. But they said Jiax-
ing is far better place than
Hangshou, and most of
their folks went to Jiaxing
too.
In the afternoon we went to
a boat cruise at West Lake,
said to be China’s most
beautiful lake because it
was decorated by those
foggy figures of mountains Financial Tower, and the new Shanghai
along its sides like those we usually see Tower.
in Chinese traditional paintings. The tour
guide shared that today is better as it wasn’t One hour left to go to the the Shanghai Sci-
as hot as yesterday, he welcomed the rains ence Museum. Hardly any time left for a
to dampen the temperature a bit. I protested good look, so everybody was well-informed
inside of me...that wasnt a bit good news. that we have to rush everything. The final
We failed to see the eclipse this morning, consolation piece was the road back to Pu-
what’s so good about the morning!? Haha, dong airport riding the Maglev train with
Yuefei temple is next and everybody is ex- top speed of 431kph. Beetles, bees, and in-
hausted. We went back to Shanghai late in sects smashed through the windshield into
the afternoon to spend the night there; to- unrecognizable pulp, it was a sight to be-
morrow the only consolation I felt that will hold. Yesterday, we were atop the world’s
be enjoyed are the world’s tallest building highest, today we are the world’s fastest.
Shanghai World Financial Center and the
Science Museum. These are the records we can put into the
PAS journal. We have the longest (duration
The tallest building right now is Shanghai of eclipse), the darkest (eclipse magnitude),
World Financial Center at 497 meters tall. the highest (atop the building), and the fast-
Taipei 101 is higher only at 507m because est (the Maglev Train ride). I propose to-
it has spire atop and Burj Dubai 888me- day’s Appulse headlines: Fastest, Highest,
ters is yet to be finished. Our own PBCom Darkest, and Longest (like the Olympics’
tower is 259meters tall so its just a bit half Motto of Faster, Higher, Stronger).
of Shanghai’s. Empire State building is
380plus meters and Petronas is 470m. I Aside from this, PAS registered the firsts:
am delighted to be here, the world’s high- First Formal Eclipse Expedition under
est observatory feels like heaven, so white a new leadership, first total solar eclipse
and glassy and classy too. The building awareness program, and first time I heard
is shaped like a bottle-opener. Atop the PASers asking: “When is the next eclipse?
world’s tallest building one gets the feeling We will be there again!” . It’s about time
the entire world is below our feet. Shang- that such major events like a total solar
hai is building another mega buliding at eclipse in nearby feasible vicinity be in-
more than 630meters high, so that makes 3 cluded in the calendar of PAS activities. To
behemoth buildings side by side altogether God be the Glory.
by 2014, with JinMao (shaped like Empire
State and higher than Empire state), World
Volume 41 No. 64 
 Partial Solar Eclipse Observations
From Science Centrum - by Jake Irlandez From Rizal Technological University - by Ghela Lequiron
It was my first time to observe a partial solar eclipse with PAS and July 22, 2009 is another significant day for us. A partial Solar
Philippine Science Centrum. The event was very blessed for we Eclipse occurred giving us a chance to witness it - enhancing our
had an almost clear sky with partial white clouds that blocked the knowledge, experience and skills in Astronomy. It also tested our

Sun. It was just enough to cool our telescopes from the heat.

I was amazed first at the fact that people did not even notice the

Photos by Nico Mendoza

eclipse going on, so we invited the people and students who passed
by.

All batches of observers were always amazed by the presentation

of Edmund Rosales on how to observe safely a solar eclipse: like
projecting the Sun’s image through a cardboard to the wall using
a large mirror, the pinhole effect on punched holes on a paper, and
the shadows cast by the leaves of a tree. They also were awed by
the Sun when they saw it through the telescope for it looked ‘or-
ange’ because of the filter.
This eclipse is a fun experience. Thanks to Edmund Rosales and
Philippine Science Centrum for inviting PAS. Thank you too to
PASers Dennis, Marnelli, and Edmund for helping and to Karen
Cantos of Philippine Science Centrum for her hospitality and for
allowing us to experience how wonderful the Science Centrum is.
Like the eclipse, it made me feel like a child again.
“The eclipse is very beautiful” - Marnelli Atienza (also from Sci-
ence Centrum)
ability on how we can apply what we have learned, conduct
observatory activity by ourselves with less supervision, and assess
our mastery in Astronomy.
The activity was organized and conducted using Dr. Torres’ 6”
Newtonian and another telescope with a folder as improvised pro-
jector because a solar filter was not available, thereby using the
solar projection method.
At first, it was cloudy and we thought that the weather would not
cooperate with us. At around 8:30 am, the predicted time of the
Continued on page 7

6 Appulse - August 2009

Partial... from page 6 From Bacoor, Cavite - by Azrael Coladilla

first contact, the sky got cleared allowing us to see perfectly the I woke up at 7:30am of July 22, 2009 and went outside to check
phenomenon till the last contact at around 11:04 am, though clouds out where the sun is rising, I was planning to go to SM Mall of
occasionally blocked our view. Asia at 8:00am but I decided to stay home and it will be more

Students from different colleges and from the high school depart-
ment joined us, eagerly took the chance looking at the projected
image and got fascinated on what they saw. We never anticipated
that so many students would participate in this event. Because of
this, Dr. Torres decided to bring out his two other telescopes - 8”
Newtonian and 10” Dobsonian - to accommodate all the students.

Unluckily, the eyepiece used in the Dobsonian was burnt twice;

but this did not hinder the success of the activity.

The students felt so excited of their awesome experience and asked

so many questions, which we satisfactorily answered to their de-
light. Some took pictures of the folder where the projected image
of the eclipse was reflected, others drew their observations. For our
own documentation and recording , we took photo shots and video
coverage of the entire event.
easier for me to observe the partial solar eclipse. The sun is shin-
At the end of the day, I felt so fulfilled and elated - first, because ing in its brightest light and it’s my 3rd time to cover this heavenly
I am lucky to witness the solar eclipse with the use of telescopes; body event for my blog. I used again my 3 sun glasses as filter for
second, such experience was shared with others who got fasci- my camera, but this time I’m no longer using a 10x zoom Olympus
nated with the experience and satisfied their thirst for knowledge SP 500UZ, and I miss using it and now I used for the first time a
by answering their questions; third, I am glad to be an Astronomy DSLR Olympus E520. in cloud setting ,-1.3, action sport setting,
student because I have a chance to unravel the vast mystery envel- 150mm.
oping the universe. I have one remorse though, I got tanned !

From Baguio City - by John Nassr

From”kanmaedexandzelbladex” <kanmaedexandzelbladex@
yahoo.com.ph The longest solar eclipse of the century was only partially visible
from Baguio, Philippines but nevertheless an awe inspiring spec-
Grabe!! Asteeg, first time ko lng makawitness ng partial solar tacle under bright sunny skies.
eclipse wahahaha.. pumunta ako kanina sa PAG-ASA Observa-
tory sa UP eh, tinry ko ung “pinhole projection.” It really works!!!
Sayang at d ako nakapunta sa China.
Continued on page 8

Volume 41 No. 64 
Partial... from page 7 preparation started at 8:15 am gathering my dusty telephoto mirror
lens, one 1,500mm and one 800mm. Since breaking my solar filter
From Muntinlupa City - by Roland Roldan (huhuhu), I have to rely on my time-tested 2 polarizer combina-
tion. I usually do this when I shoot in mid morning and I want a
Wow, thank goodness for beautiful skies here in Muntinlupa. My nighttime effect. Also used different sets of colored filters. Under-
exposed, normal exposure, etc.

Came 8:33am, the first tiny weeny shadow came into view. Shot
in time-lapse....until its peak at 9:43am up to its end at 11:01am.
There were few passing clouds but overall the weather was ummp-
phhh, “cooperatively” beautiful.

From General Santos City - by Agnes Oclarit

Nakita ko na eclipse. Wala akong solar filter so I used a basin of

water as taught when I was in high school. Parang kagat sa araw!
Ang ganda!

From Tuguegarao City - by Victoria Evarretta

My preparation was too rushed.. I just arrived from Manila the day
before and was very exhausted from the trip; worse, I was not able
to get my solar filter from Jake because I was not able to go to the
Ateneo Jesuits’ Residence for the PAS officers’ oathtaking.

Photo by Dennis Pambid

Ah well, I resigned myself to just watching the live free video

coverage of the total solar eclipse from the link Dennis posted. I
thought of showing this live as well on a huge projection screen so
others can see.
So I started setting up my laptop and projector in our living room
on early morning of July 22.
Photos by Roland Roldan

I think I got a barrage of demons. Suddenly, I had no network

connection - my router didn’t work. I checked my desktop in my
bedroom with the router, but the network was working fine. I was
getting frustrated. It was almost 9 am, and I was still frantically
setting up the projector, laptop, and network connections.
Continued on page 9

8 Appulse - August 2009

Partial... from page 8
The Japanese coverage as seen from my
desktop showed nothing so far but an im-
age of a rainy area in China. I abandoned
the idea of projecting the coverage on the
screen and went back to my room to watch
the coverage on my desktop. Suddenly, my
computer shut down. Why on hell? It was
configuring updates! Oh my God, I hated
this interruption.
My cellphone signaled I had a message. It
was from Agnes asking how the weather
is in Tuguegarao. Then another message
came - this time from John. He said that
they have bright sunny skies in Baguio and
that the eclipse has started. I was already
mad because my computer was still con-
figuring the updates. Then, it was okay. I
checked the video coverage link again, and
I can no longer access it. Since the eclipse
has begun, I guess the whole world was
watching it on that same coverage.
Agnes texted me again that she already saw
the “parang kagat ng araw” on her basin of
water. I ran to the roof deck with our big
basin and filled it with the collected rainwa-
ter. Soon enough I saw the partial eclipse!
Ah, there it was. I couldn’t explain the joy
I felt from seeing that tiny image of the
eclipsed sun on the basin of water. I rested
and looked again, then rested, and looked
again. Because I didn’t have my camera
with me and I hated running down the stairs
to get it from my room in the other house,
I let the eclipse go without taking a picture.
When suddenly I remembered that my cell
phone has a camera. Another frustration
- just when I was aiming the camera, the
clouds covered the sun. I think my blood
pressure shot up. By the time, the clouds
cleared, it was almost 10:30 am. The sun
was too bright already to take a picture.
I remember when Richard Taylor was tell-
ing us that he had to bait his family with
a vacation in the Caribbean to see the to-
tal solar eclipse. That time I was still dis-
interested with the idea. Now I have seen
and have known why. I was very frustrated
when I didn’t join the group to China. There
may be a reason thus. But Tahiti anyone?
AUGUST OUTLOOK
by Ronald Tanco
T he month of August is char-
acterized usually by rains
and/or clouded skies, but that
shouldn’t stop anyone from star-
gazing when an opportunity of
clear skies breaks open.
To begin with, naked eye star-
gazers will be able to appreciate
the night sky of the month with
the Perseids Meteor Shower. The
meteor activity of Perseids begin
as early as late July but will peak
on August 13, between 1:30 am
to 4:00 am. Although the meteor
shower may be badly lit by the
last quarter moon, Perseid me-
teors are usually known to be
bright and fast, and may still be
two approach each other with Mercury go-
seen through the moonlit night.
ing below Saturn. By August 17, the plan-
The radiant of the meteor shower can be
ets will be closest to each other. On August
found in the constellation Perseus and can
22 and 23, observers will see a thin cres-
be seen rising after midnight at the North-
cent moon to the left of the planets. Mercu-
east horizon.
ry, elusive to many observers, will reach its
greatest eastern elongation and will quickly
For those with telescope, August is the best
disappear into the sun’s light by the end of
time to view Jupiter as we now approach
the month. Observers seeing Saturn for the
opposition. (August 14); that is, when Jupi-
first time my find it difficult to accept see-
ter and Earth are at its closest or when Jupi-
ing Saturn without its rings. We see Saturn
ter and Sun are opposite of each other rela-
now with its rings edge on creating an illu-
tive to Earth. Late last month an Australian
sion that the planet’s ring has disappeared.
Amateur Astronomer discovered an impact
Venus continues to be the morning star, and
on Jupiter leaving a dark black spot, though
it is easily spotted as the brightest object
NASA has said that the gaseous scar could
just before dawn. It has reached its Greatest
last only about 2 to 3 weeks only. Those
Western Elongation last June 6 and contin-
with high-powered telescope may want to
ues to rise at a later time as it orbits behind
catch a glimpse of this rare event. Jupiter
the sun. The morning on August 18 will
will be the brightest object for the month
have the Moon and Venus by each other.
of August as we see it rise on the East at
Mars, found just above Venus before dawn,
sunset.
will break away and leave Venus behind. At
the start of August, Mars can be found on
the constellation Taurus or north of Orion.
By the end of August, Mars would have
made its transition to Gemini. Binocular
and telescope observers would find it inter-
esting to view Mars on the 26th and 27th of
the month as it nears the open cluster M35
of Gemini.
If dark skies are available, telescope users
Also during this month, one can also spot
should use the opportunity to try to spot
the two other planets after sunset. The
Uranus. Uranus will reach its opposition
shrinking Saturn and the elusive Mercury.
next month on September 4.
Beginning August 1, observers can keep an
eye on these two planets day by day as the
Volume 41 No. 64 9
 AUGUST S AT E L L I T E S by Ronald Tanco

HST

Date Mag Starts Max. altitude Ends
Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az.

16-Aug 4.3 19:01:33 10 SW 19:03:09 12 SSW 19:04:45 10 S

19-Aug 4.5 5:19:50 10 SSE 5:20:40 10 SSE 5:21:31 10 SE
20-Aug 4 5:15:51 10 S 5:18:38 17 SSE 5:21:26 10 ESE
21-Aug 3.4 5:12:59 10 SSW 5:16:35 26 SSE 5:20:11 10 E
22-Aug 2.7 5:10:30 10 SW 5:14:33 41 SSE 5:18:35 10 E
23-Aug 4.5 3:32:21 11 SE 3:32:21 11 SE 3:32:36 10 SE
23-Aug 1.9 5:08:16 10 SW 5:12:30 65 SSE 5:16:45 10 ENE
24-Aug 4.3 3:30:41 15 ESE 3:30:41 15 ESE 3:31:56 10 ESE
24-Aug 1.7 5:06:34 12 WSW 5:10:29 81 NNW 5:14:47 10 ENE
25-Aug 4.1 3:28:59 19 ESE 3:28:59 19 ESE 3:30:33 10 E
25-Aug 2 5:04:52 13 W 5:08:31 53 NNW 5:12:42 10 NE
26-Aug 4 3:27:15 21 E 3:27:15 21 E 3:28:53 10 ENE
26-Aug 2.6 5:03:08 13 W 5:06:34 36 NNW 5:10:33 10 NE
27-Aug 4.1 3:25:28 21 ENE 3:25:28 21 ENE 3:27:00 10 ENE
27-Aug 3.1 5:01:21 12 WNW 5:04:39 27 NNW 5:08:20 10 NE
28-Aug 4.2 3:23:39 20 ENE 3:23:39 20 ENE 3:25:00 10 ENE
28-Aug 3.5 4:59:33 10 WNW 5:02:49 21 NNW 5:06:05 10 NE
29-Aug 4.3 3:21:47 17 NE 3:21:47 17 NE 3:22:54 10 NE
29-Aug 3.8 4:58:10 10 NW 5:01:00 17 NNW 5:03:49 10 NNE
30-Aug 4.5 3:19:55 14 NE 3:19:55 14 NE 3:20:43 10 NE
30-Aug 4 4:56:50 10 NW 4:59:13 14 N 5:01:36 10 NNE
31-Aug 4.6 3:18:01 12 NE 3:18:01 12 NE 3:18:29 10 NE
31-Aug 4.2 4:55:28 10 NNW 4:57:28 13 N 4:59:27 10 NNE

Iridium

Date Local Intensity Alt. Azimuth Distance to Intensity at Satellite
Time ( Mag) flare centre flare centre
(Mag.)
8-Aug 19:41:13 0 54° 122° (ESE) 43.6 km (W) -8 Iridium 4
9-Aug 19:35:11 -8 53° 122° (ESE) 1.9 km (E) -8 Iridium 19
14-Aug 5:14:15 -5 30° 23° (NNE) 9.6 km (W) -7 Iridium 90
15-Aug 5:08:17 -3 28° 22° (NNE) 16.9 km (E) -7 Iridium 59
15-Aug 19:07:52 -1 62° 136° (SE ) 31.6 km (W) -8 Iridium 4
16-Aug 5:02:20 -2 27° 21° (NNE) 24.3 km (E) -7 Iridium 95
16-Aug 19:01:50 -4 60° 135° (SE ) 10.3 km (E) -8 Iridium 19
23-Aug 18:28:27 -8 67° 157° (SSE) 0.4 km (E) -8 Iridium 19
24-Aug 4:23:57 0 19° 11° (N ) 49.4 km (W) -6 Iridium 30
25-Aug 4:18:14 -2 17° 10° (N ) 33.1 km (W) -6 Iridium 57
26-Aug 4:12:26 -1 15° 9° (N ) 48.9 km (W) -6 Iridium 60
27-Aug 4:06:45 -1 13° 9° (N ) 60.8 km (W) -6 Iridium 29
28-Aug 4:01:05 0 10° 9° (N ) 115.6 km (W) -6 Iridium 32

10 Appulse - August 2009

 Monthly Star Map – September 2009

This map shows the sky at 9pm on September 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.

Volume 41 No. 64 11
 John Nassr’s eclipse photo from Baguio

Date Imaged: July 22, 2009 01:28UT

Lens: Borg 77ED f/6.5
Camera: Dragonfly 2
Exposure: 15 seconds
Filter: SM60 Ha
Mount: Losmandy Titan
Location: Stardust Observatory, Baguio

12 Appulse - August 2009