Hi everybody

Here is the latest article from the Astronomy site at BellaOnline.com.

Octans – the Octant
Octans was one of the southern constellations created by 18th-century French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille. He used them to fill the gaps in the southern sky map, naming them for tools of the arts and sciences of his day. An octant was a navigation device that preceded the sextant.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art306466.asp

*August – a great month for astro women's birthdays*
(1) August 1, 1818: American astronomer Maria Mitchell, first American woman to discover a comet, first to be a college professor, and first to be elected to a scientific society in the USA.
(2) August 8, 1948: Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, second woman in space and the first to carry out a spacewalk.
(3) August 12, 1919: Anglo-American astronomer Margaret Burbidge turned 100 this year.
She made notable contributions to the theory of quasars, to measurements of the rotation and masses of galaxies, and to the understanding of how chemical elements are formed in the depths of stars through nuclear fusion.
(4) August 17, 1936: Margaret Hamilton was the lead developer for the Apollo flight software, and her rigorous systems approach was essential to its success.
(5) August 26, 1918: Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson was 101 this year; her calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. manned spaceflights.

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I wish you clear skies.

Mona Evans, Astronomy Editor
www.bellaonline.com/astronomy
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