In keeping with our decision to meet every other month during the first half of 2002, there was no General Meeting during March.  Thus, there are no minutes in this Newsletter.  Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, April 10.

       The last flight of the shuttle ended in a night landing at Cape Kennedy at about 3:30 AM on March 12.  The information that NASA made available was not straightforward for this flight.  However, Bernie Zelazny was able to pin down the time the landing approach would be visible from our area.  And it was visible - beautifully so!
       Barbara and I watched from our house south of Alpine.  The shuttle appeared on the WNW horizon, rose to about 70 deg above our north horizon, crossed the sky, and disappeared below the ESE horizon.  Shortly after the shuttle disappeared, we heard a loud ka-BOOM, clearly a double sonic boom, the second phase occurring about 1/10 second after the first. 
       The shuttle looked very much like a bright comet leaving a wide, brightly glowing tail of ionized air across the entire sky.  The shuttle itself made a very bright spot, like a condensation in the coma of a comet.  The glowing trail lasted perhaps 10 minutes, well after the shuttle had disappeared below the horizon.  Surviving a ride - indeed, many rides - on such a fireball is a huge accomplishment.
       Bernie and Petei Zelazny saw essentially the same things from their house in Sunny Glen, about 12 miles northwest of our house.  However, they saw the shuttle pass directly overhead.  When observers are close to the flight path, the height of the shuttle above their local horizons can differ considerably.  And of course, without using measuring instruments, even skilled observers can differ in their estimates of the height of an object above the horizon.
       Seeing a night landing is an unforgettable experience.  Bernie is now working on a phone and e-mail network to track any future landing approaches visible from our area.  If you want to be on Bernie's e-mail network, and if you don't hear from him soon, then send him an e-mail: <bdz.pz@UnltdLtd.com>.  If you don't have e-mail, then call Bernie at 837-1717.
       The next shuttle flight is scheduled to land on April 15th, but no landing tracks will be available until after the April 4th launch due to increased security measures being taken after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
       Seeing a nighttime landing approach is a thrilling experience.  By all means, take advantage of Bernie's efforts to keep us informed.  Stay tuned!

       (Edited from Sky & Telescope News Bulletin, 3/8 and 3/21/02.)  On the evening of March 2nd, Rafael Ferrando, an accomplished amateur astronomer in Castellon, Spain, discovered an Earth-crossing asteroid using a CCD camera on a 10" scope.  At the time the 18th-magnitude blip (roughly 130 meters across) was sailing across eastern Leo.  A preliminary orbit suggests that the asteroid, designated 2002 EA, will come within about 5 million miles of Earth on March 15th. According to Mark Kidger (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias), this is the first near-Earth object ever discovered by a Spanish observer.
       On March 21, 2002, S & T reported that a building-size space rock passed the Earth unnoticed two weeks ago.  An automated sky survey detected minor planet 2002 EM on March 12th.  The asteroid had in fact come closest to the Earth four days earlier at a distance of about 288,000 miles.  Before the flyby, 2002 EM was too close to the Sun to be seen.
        The close call has raised considerable concern.  Researchers estimated the object to be about 50 to 70 meters across, thought to be a little smaller than the object that exploded over the Tunguska River region of Siberia in 1908, flattening thousands of square kilometers of forest.  A Tunguska explosion over a populated area would undoubtedly cause incredible damage. 
Despite the media attention in the wake of 2002 EM's passage, such "close" flybys are not uncommon.  According to Jim Scotti, University of Arizona, "Simply put, objects the size of the Tunguska impactor pass within the distance that 2002 EM did about 25 times every year."  Rocks the size of 2002 EM come by nearly 100 times a year.  This particular instance grabbed headlines because the minor planet was actually observed.  Scotti explains that astronomers cannot fully tally asteroids about 50 m in diameter using today's survey techniques, regardless of whether the objects are moving from the direction of the Sun or not.  Alas, this is of little solace to people worried about space-borne threats. 

        (Edited from Ted Schaar, Volunteer Writer, International Dark-Sky Association, 3/18/02.)  The Czech Republic recently became the first country to enact national legislation aimed at eliminating light pollution.  Known as the "Protection of the Atmosphere Act," the bill passed both 
houses of parliament  and was signed into law by President Vaclav Havel on February 27, 2002. It takes effect June 1, 2002, and addresses light and other kinds of air pollution.
        The law defines "light pollution" as "every form of illumination by artificial light which is dispersed outside the areas it is dedicated to, particularly if directed above the level of the horizon." Czech Republic citizens and organizations are now obligated to "take measures to prevent the occurrence of light pollution of the air."  The new law requires full-cutoff light fixtures throughout the country.

       Our currently visible comet is now shining at about mag 3.5 or 4.0 in the early evening.  How-ever, it is so low in the sky that it does not appear that bright.  It is prominent in a scope and in binoculars, with a tail perhaps 3 deg long.
       Several of us have seen the comet naked eye.  It is hardly a prominent naked eye object, but you can see it if you know just where to look.
       By April 14, I-Z is a morning as well as an evening object.  At 4:00 AM, it is about 9 deg above the NNE horizon.  On subsequent days it will rise higher above the horizon in the morning.  The comet reached perihelion on March 18, so it is possible that it will continue brightening.  It is also possible that it won’t.