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Who of you have an interest in astronomy? What telescope(s) so you own? What is your favorite type of object to observe? In other words, discuss astronomy here.
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Betelgeuse looks visibly orange/red tonight.
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Comet Hale-Bopp in March of 1997? It was one of the biggest, brightest comets in the history of Earth. I read about it the other day, something about it still being partially visible. Turns out that it's just past Pluto's orbit right now, and is only visible with large telescopes. Anyway, I remember going up to the school one night with my Dad for a basketball game, and Comet Hale-Bopp was high in the southern sky. I haven't seen a comet like that since. Argy
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Want to know the current phase of the moon? It's been added to the Astronomy page of nathan8472.com. Oh man, I've got so many updates I want to get done, it's not even funny. Not sure how long it'll take to get them all up though. Argy
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That's right, I've updated my website (link in previous entry) with an Astronomy section Update: and now a multimedia section. Check it out and relay your feedback! -Xai
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Ok, so there won't be a special edition MOC of the Week today, as my banner program is on the fritz again. I should get it fixed by tomorrow though, so in the mean time, here are some awesome pictures I took of the moon. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Also, I think there are some people here who don't like me. << >>
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The previously mentioned total Lunar Eclipse finally occurs tonight. Earth's dark shadow moves across the lunar surface starting at 7:43 PM Central Time. Along the East Coast, the Moon sits 30° high in the dark eastern sky by then. For those on the West Coast, the Moon rises minutes after the partial eclipse begins, just as the Sun sets. If you're on a hilltop with a clear view of both the western and eastern horizons, you might get a unique opportunity to briefly see both the Sun and eclipsed Moon. Earth's shadow takes 78 minutes to envelop the Moon completely. Once totality starts, at 9:01 PM Central Time, our companion takes on a reddish-orange color. Totality lasts 51 minutes, ending at 9:52 PM (again, Central Time). The Moon then leaves our shadow over the following 78 minutes. There's a slight chance that I may not get pictures of this awesome event, so if any of you, absolutely any of you, are able to see it and can get pictures of it, please PM them to me.
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If my sources are correct, the upcoming Lunar Eclipse is the very last one until December 20th .................... of 2010. *is gonna cry if this one's cloudy*
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I'm so excited for the upcoming total Lunar Eclipse next month. It'll start sometime around 7:30 PM (Central Time) and totality will begin at precisely 9 PM. This event will be visible to all of North America. *waits impatiently*
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New and awesome title for my blog... What do you think?
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Each month will be listed in this entry one after the other, and will be updated once a day until complete. Also note that all times are central time, so adjust accordingly. January 2008 Relatively regular events: 4th - Quadrantid meteor shower reaches it's highest rate of meteors per hour 5th - Moon passes just south (7 degrees) of Venus at midnight (night of 4th, morning of 5th) - Moon passes even closer (0.5 degrees) to Antares at 8 PM. 6th - Venus passes 6 degrees north of Antares 8 PM. 10th - Moon passes 0.4 degrees south of Neptune at 7 PM (closer than it has in several years). 12th - The Moon passes just above (3 degrees) Uranus at 7 PM. 19th - The Moon passes 1.1 degrees north of Mars at 6 PM (this is an event that will look stunning through binoculars) 20th - Mercury is at it's greatest eastern elongation at 11 PM. 24th - Moon passes 0.7 degrees south of Regulus at 9 AM (this will be a great telescope event). 25th - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Saturn at midnight (night of 24th, morning of 25th). Special events: Comet 8P/Tuttle shows itself in Andromeda in the last week of December 2007 and puts on a spectacular show for us over the first two weeks of January. The comet hasn't been seen since the end of 1980, long before most of us were born, and reaches it's closest point to the earth on January 1st. Around that time, make a quick scan of the night sky and you'll immediately see this wonderful beauty. Mars is especially bright this time of the year, and gives off it's brilliant red glow throughout the nighttime sky. Saturn's rings are approaching a side on view right now, an event that will happen in the beginning of 2009. For now, you can barely see Saturn's ring system, but a reminder; this event happens only once every 14.5 years! Saturn will dominate the winter sky with Mars for as long as Winter lasts! February 2008 Relatively regular events: 1st - Venus passes 0.6 degrees north of Jupiter at 7 AM, and the Moon will pass 0.6 degrees south of Antares at noon. 4th - The Moon will pass 4 degrees south of Jupiter at midnight (morning of 4th) and passes 4 degrees south of Venus 6 hours later. 6th - Mercury reaches inferior conjunction at noon. 9th - Moon travels almost 3 degrees north of Uranus at 4 AM. 10th - Neptune reaches conjunction with the sun at 8 PM, and leaves conjunction 14 days later. 13th - It's my birthday. 16th - The Moon passes within a degree and a half of Mars at 2 AM, and the moon will be nearing full phase at that time. This would be a really cool thing to see through a small telescope. 20th - Asteroid Vesta is in conjunction with the sun, 9 AM. 21st - Moon passes 3 degrees south of Saturn at 6 AM. Wake up for this one, it'll be cool! 24th - Saturn is at opposition 4 AM. This means that Saturn is as close to us as it will be all of this year. Along with that comes the fact that Saturn should be really bright. 25th - Mercury passes 1.3 degrees (very close compared to previous encounters) north of Venus at 9 PM. They only come this close to each other once a decade or so. 28th - The Moon will pass 0.6 degrees south of Antares (again) at 9 PM. Special events: There will be a Solar Eclipse on the 6th of February at 10 PM, but chances are that nobody here on BZP will be able to see it. More information will come as February nears. Also, something that I'm really excited about; a total Lunar Eclipse on the 20th of February at approximately 10 PM. This event will be visible to all of North America and parts of Europe, Africa, and South America. I'm gathering as much info on this as I can, but no details will be available for another month or two. Just make sure that you've got nothing too important going on the night of the 20th! March 2008 Relatively regular events: 2nd - The Moon will pass 4 degrees south of Jupiter at 7 PM. 3rd - Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation (27 degrees) at 5 AM. 6th - Venus passes half a degree south of Neptune at 2 PM. 8th - Uranus enters conjunction with the sun at 2 PM, and Mercury passes a degree within Neptune at 9 PM that same day. 14th - The Moon passes 1.7 degrees north of Mars at 10 PM (something cool, as the moon will be in last quarter phase). 19th - The Moon passes just south of Regulus at 3 AM, and 5 hours later, passes just south of Saturn. 20th - Spring equinox at 1 AM! 23rd - Mercury travels a degree south south of Venus, 5 AM. 27th - The Moon passes just half a degree south of Antares at 5 AM. 30th - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Jupiter at noon. Special events: On the 5th of March, the Moon, as a slim crescent, will pass within a quarter of a degree of Mercury at 8 AM, then will pass within quarter of a degree of Venus at 1 PM, and will pass within a tenth of a degree of Neptune at 4 PM. Even though one of these events is in broad daylight and the other two are during sunrise/sunset; all three will be clearly visible through binoculars or (preferably) a telescope. This is a very rare event (although not really anticipated) that probably won't happen again for a long time. It may take a thousand years for these three planets and our moon to align themselves like this again. April 2008 Relatively regular events: 4th - The Moon will pass 3 degrees north of Uranus at 5 in the morning, and will pass 5 degrees north of Venus at 8 that night. 12th - The Moon passes only 1.2 degrees north of Mars, but it happens early in the morning, at 1 AM. 15th - The Moon passes extremely close (0.9 degrees) to Regulus at 9 AM, and passes almost as close to Saturn 4 hours later. 16th - Mercury reaches superior conjunction at 2 AM. 22nd - Lyrid meteor shower peaks, more info to come in April. 23rd - The Moon passes only 0.3 degrees south of Antares at noon. 27th - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Jupiter at midnight (morning of 27th). 28th - Mars passes 5 degrees south of Pollux at 3 PM. 29th - The Moon passes 0.3 degrees north of Neptune at 2 PM. Special events: On the second of April 2008, the Moon (in a slim crescent phase) will pass, dead serious, 0.002 degrees north of Neptune at 4 AM. It might me a little early for some of you, but an event like this very rarely happens. Through a telescope, you can see the Moon approach Neptune, almost touch it, and then pass it. I'll stay up and watch it, but if you don't want to stay up that late, go to bed early and wake up for it when it starts. The entire event will last little more than a half hour, so you can see the whole thing quite easily. May 2008 Relatively regular events: 1st - The Moon passes 3 degrees north of Uranus at 6 PM. 4th - Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks. 10th - The Moon passes 0.2 degrees north of Mars at 9 in the morning. 12th - The Moon passes 1.2 degrees south of Regulus at 2 PM, and passes 3 degrees south of Saturn 5 hours later. 13rd - Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation at midnight. 20th - The Moon passes 0.2 degrees south of Antares at 6 PM. 24th - The Moon passes 2 degrees south of Jupiter at 6 AM. 26th - The Moon passes 0.6 degrees north of Neptune at 10 PM. 29th - The Moon passes 4 degrees north of Uranus at 4 AM. Special events: As you can see, nothing too exciting happens in May, but I do know of one totally amazing thing that all of you will have to see that month, but I won't say anything about it now. You'll have to wait and see what awesome, rare thing happens. Info on this event will come as the month nears. He he he... June 2008 Relatively regular events: 7th - Mercury is in inferior conjunction at 10 AM, and the Moon passes 1 degree south of Mars at 9 PM. 8th - Venus is in superior conjunction at midnight. 9th - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Saturn at 4 in the morning. 12th - Asteroid Juno is at opposition at 11 AM. 17th - The Moon passes 0.2 degrees south of Antares at midnight. 20th - The Moon passes 2 degrees south of Jupiter at 8 AM, Pluto reaches opposition at 3 PM, and the Summer Solstice occurs at 7 PM. 23rd - The Moon passes 0.8 degrees north of Neptune at 4 AM. 25th - The Moon passes 4 degrees north of Uranus at 11 AM. 29th - Mars passes 0.7 degrees north of Regulus at 11 PM. Special events: Jupiter begins it's reign as King of the Skies this month, and king it is. Jupiter can be seen in the south from sunset until sunrise as it brightly shines among the visible Milky Way. Through a telescope, Jupiter's four Galilean moons can be seen as well. These moons move extremely fast, and changes can be seen in their positions in a matter of hours. With a good telescope, you can even see the features of Jupiter clearly, and if your lucky, maybe even some color. July 2008 Relatively regular events: 1st - Mercury is at greatest western elongation at 1 PM. (man, it's traveling everywhere ) 6th - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Mars at 1 PM, and passes 3 degrees south of Saturn 4 hours later. 9th - Jupiter is at opposition at 3 AM, and that puts it at its brightest for the year. 14th - The Moon passes 0.3 degrees south of Antares 7 AM. 17th - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Jupiter at 7 AM. 20th - The Mon passes 0.9 degrees north of Neptune at 8 AM. 22nd - The Moon passes 4 degrees north of Uranus at 5 PM. 29th - Mercury is in superior conjunction at 3 PM. Special events: On the 11th of July, Mars will pass just 0.7 degrees south of Saturn at 1 AM. This happens only once every other year, and it has been a long time since the two of them have been even that close. This will be visible to the naked eye, to binoculars, and to telescopes of all sizes. You don't want to miss this one, through a telescope, you'll see features of bright red Mars, and rings of bright white Saturn. Also, it's the middle of July, so the temperature shouldn't be any lower than 50 F. August 2008 Relatively regular events: 3rd - The Moon passes 4 degrees south of Saturn at 9 AM. 5th - Venus passes 1.1 degrees north of Regulus at 3 PM. 10th - Mercury passes 1.1 degrees north of Regulus at midnight. 12th - The Perseid meteor shower peaks; more info to come in August. 13th - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Jupiter at 9 AM, and Venus passes 0.2 degrees south of Saturn at 2 PM. 15th - Neptune is at opposition at 3 AM. Mercury passes 0.7 degrees south of Saturn at 7 PM. 16th - The Moon passes 0.8 degrees north of Neptune at 2 PM. 18th - The Moon passes 4 degrees north of Uranus at 9 PM. 23th - Mercury passes 1.2 degrees south of Venus at midnight (You'll want to watch this one!) Special events: There's a total solar eclipse on the first of August, but I don't have any details about it yet. More than likely, it'll be seen in parts of Europe and Asia, but not in North America. This is merely a guess, as that's usually the place that solar eclipses occur. Also, on the sixteenth, there will be a partial lunar eclipse visible to most of the world. Again, I lack details for now, but as the event nears, more info will come. September 2008 Relatively regular events: 2nd - The Moon passes 5 degrees south of Mars at 3 AM. 3rd - Saturn is in conjunction with the sun at 9 PM. 6th - The Moon passes 0.3 degrees south of Antares at 10 PM. 9th - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Jupiter at 3 PM. 10th - Mercury reaches (yet again) greatest eastern elongation at midnight. 11th - Mercury passes 4 degrees south of Venus at midnight, and Venus passes 0.3 degrees south of Mars at 4 PM. 12th - Mercury passes 3 degrees south of Mars at 4 PM, and Uranus reaches opposition at 9 PM. 18th - Venus passes 3 degrees north of Spica at 4 Am. 22th - Autumn Equinox occurs at 11 AM! Special events: Nothing too out of the ordinary happens in September of 2008, but keep your eyes on Venus and Mercury, as both traverse much of the sky in this month and pass each other (among other planets and stars) quite often. October 2008 Relatively regular events: 4th - The Moon passes 0.1 degrees south of Antares at 6 AM. 6th - Mercury is in inferior conjunction at 4 PM. 7th - The Moon passes 2 degrees south of Jupiter at 2 AM. 10th - The Moon passes 0.9 degrees north of Neptune at 5 AM. 21st - Orionid meteor shower peaks. More info to come in October. 22nd - Mercury is at greatest western elongation (18 degrees) at 5 AM. 25th - The Moon passes 5 degrees south of Saturn at 3 AM. 26th - Venus passes 3 degrees north of Antares at 8 AM. 29th - Asteroid Vesta is at opposition at 9 PM. 30th - Mercury passes 4 degrees north of Spica at 3 PM. Special events: On Halloween, 2008, the Moon will pass 0.06 degrees above Antares at 1 PM. The Moon will still be that close to it by nightfall, and it'll be a really cool sight. Also, the Moon will be in a waxing crescent phase, so the sight won't hurt your eyes through a telescope. November 2008 Relatively regular events: 1st - The Moon passes 3 degrees south of Venus at 3 AM. 3rd - The Moon passes 1.9 degrees south of Jupiter at 4 PM. 6th - The Moon passes 1.1 degrees north of Neptune at 7 PM. 17th - Leonid meteor shower peaks. 21st - The Moon passes 6 degrees south of Saturn at noon. 25th - Mercury is in superior conjunction at 11 AM. 30th - Venus passes 2 degrees south of Jupiter at 7 PM. Special events: The Leonids will be especially bright this coming year as the Moon will be in the opposite end of the sky. The Leonids are known for their high speeds and great frequencies of fireballs (super close meteors). To those who read this: What do you call a meteoroid that misses the Earth? December 2008 Relatively regular events: 1st - The Moon passes 1.3 degrees south of Jupiter at 9 AM, and passes 0.8 degrees north of Venus one hour later. 3rd - The Moon passes 1.4 degrees north of Neptune at 9 PM. 4th - Asteroid Pallas is at opposition at 11 AM. 5th - Mars is in conjunction with the sun at 4 PM. 6th - The moon passes 4 degrees north of Uranus at 3 AM. 13th - The Geminid meteor shower peaks. More info to come next year. 21st - Winter Solstice occurs! 25th - The Moon passes 0.09 degrees north of Antares at 1 AM. 26th - Venus passes 1.5 degrees south of Neptune at 8 PM. 28th - The Moon passes 0.7 degrees north of Mercury at 10 PM. 29th - The Moon passes 0.6 degrees south of Jupiter at midnight. Special events: On the very last day of 2008, Mercury will pass within a degree of Jupiter at midnight, and the Moon will pass within a degree of Neptune 5 hours later, and then will pass within a degree of Venus 10 hours after that. These may not seem exciting, but seeing all of them in one day is much cooler than watching them occur over the course of a whole week! Also, Orion displays itself in full throughout all Decembers, and is one of my favorite targets in the night sky for all forms of viewing. Questions? Comments? Etc.? Ask them here and I'll be happy to answer them for you.
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How many of you would like an entire rundown of all the major celestial events of 2008? Please comment even if you're only slightly interested so I can know how many people would view it.
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A comet mentioned in an earlier entry was Comet 17P/Holmes, and will still be visible for quite a while to come. I didn't want to just tell you what it was, but I had no other information on it. Knock yourself out.
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Ducky O'Dalek, a distinguished member of BZPower recently sent me a PM with this little bit of information. Something like this happens once in a century! Also, I've seen the comet mentioned in that article, and it looks amazing. Use the star chart in the article to find it. Many thanks to Ducky O'Dalek, and I'll definitely be outside seeing all this; will you?
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The Orionid Meteor Shower started yesterday, and will peak with over 30 meteors per hour around the night of Oct. 21 and the morning of Oct. 22. Orion rises in the east at about midnight, and comes into best viewing time around 2 in the morning (note this is CDT times). I hope you enjoy these meteors, as these produce lots, yes I said lots of fireballs. What's a fireball? A fireball is a meteor that's so bright and so close that you can even see the smoke trail it leaves behind! I hope you'll join me (although probably not in person) in viewing these!
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A customized banner goes to anyone who can guess (correctly I might add) what inferior conjunction is. I'll give you a hint: it deals with astronomy.
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Hey there everyone! This week is an exciting week for astronomers, as is the case for most of fall. This week is especially eventful however, because first off, the Autumnal equinox occered yesterday at 4:51 a.m. CDT! Fall is now officially here. Later on tonight, yes, tonight, Venus reaches its greatest brilliancy for the year at magnitude -4.8. That's brighter than it has been in over 20 years. Venus can be seen in the east from about an hour before sunrise until sunrise. You can't miss it either, it's too bright for you to miss it. The Moon passes 1.9 degrees north of Uranus at 12 p.m. CDT on the 25th, and it'll stay pretty close to that planet through that night as well. Full Moon occurs at 2:45 p.m. CDT on the 26th, and the moon is at perigee (it's closest point to the earth in it's orbit) on the 27th, being on 223,332 miles from the earth (no, I didn't make those numbers up). Jupiter remains in view for part of the night, and shines brightly at magnitude -2.1. Jupiter can be seen in the south-southwest for about 3 or 4 hours each night before it sets in the west. Mercury is at its greatest eastern elongation (26 degrees) at 11 a.m. on the 29th, meaning that it's farthest from the sun (from our perspective) and is seen in the east in the morning. Mercury is tricky to find reguardless, because of its proximity to the sun. That's all for this week! Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I'd be glad to here them! nathan8472
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Just a question, but does anybody care about my Astronomy updates at all, because if not, I'll stop posting them on my blog.
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Ok, there's a wierdo in my town that's convinced he sees a UFO every morning in the east. I would just like to let you know that if you see the same thing, it's Venus, and not some alien invader.
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To whom it may concern: the Lunar Eclipse that I reported last month will occur the morning of August 28th. Umbral eclipse begins at 3:51 a.m. CDT, Totality begins 4:52 a.m. CDT, Mid-eclipse is at 5:37 a.m. CDT, Totality ends at 6:22 a.m. CDT, and the Umbral eclipse ends at 7:24 a.m. CDT. The entire event will be visible on the west coast of North America, and most of it will be visible in the midwest. Those of you on the eastern coast may not see very much of it, but still should be able to catch at least a glimpse. Be sure that you see this event, because North America might not see another lunar eclipse in as long as TWO years. That's a long time to wait, so don't miss this one.
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I just found out that there's a Lunar Eclipse on August 28th that will be visible for most (if not all) of North America. The moon will turn completely red as it passes through Earth's shadow. This event will last a few hours, and there won't be another Lunar Eclipse visible in North America for over a year. Be sure that you at least try to see it, as it is quite a sight to behold.
