Posts Tagged ‘waning’
June 27, 2011
by yaska77
Latest edition of our monthly posts, listing upcoming Astronomy events for July. Should all go to schedule the last ever Shuttle launch will happen on 8th July, so keep an eye on Sky-Watching for details and updates!
Friday 1st July – Start the month with a new Moon! Darker skies provide great conditions for astrophotography. There is also a partial solar eclipse in the southern hemisphere. Noctilucent clouds are still sometimes visible in the northwest (after sunset) and northeast (just before sunrise) at the beginning of July. Try catching them on camera using a 5 to 10 second exposure, trying different ISO’s to find which work best for you! Also, Jupiter’s largest moon Ganymede will transit the planet’s South Pole region early this morning (best viewed through a telescope around 03:50 (BST))
Sunday 3rd July – The crescent Moon can be located close to the western horizon soon after sunset, with Mercury located to the right of it just about visible in clear skies. Photographing the Moon when it’s waxing or waning can reveal the features behind the shadow, a phenomenon known as Earthshine. This is where light reflecting back off the Earth is strong enough to illuminate the night side of the Moon
Earthshine on a crescent Moon (7th March 2011) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Monday 4th July – The Earth will be at aphelion today, the farthest point from the Sun on its elliptical orbit. Remember if planning to observe the Sun only use certified filters or Solar Telescopes
Thursday 7th July - Moon at Perigee, the closest its orbit comes to Earth (369,570 km)
Friday 8th July – Although generally fairly weak, the Capricornids Meteor Shower reaches the first of three predicted peaks tonight. The ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate) is around 5 meteors per hour (peaking up to 9), with similar rates expected on both 15th and 26th July. NASA’s last ever shuttle mission (STS-135 Atlantis) is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center at 11:26 EDT (15:26 GMT/ 16:26 BST)
NASA STS-135 astronauts Commander Chris Ferguson (center right), Pilot Doug Hurley (center left), and Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus (mission specialists) - Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Tuesday 12th July – Today the planet Neptune completes its first full orbit of the Sun since its discovery in 1846. That’s some year!
Friday 15th July – Full Moon. Tonight is another good night to witness the “Moon-Illusion” as it lies quite low in the sky. It’s also the only night this month the Moon will be in visible in the sky all night, from sunset to sunrise.
Thursday 21st July – The weak Alpha Cygnids Meteor Shower peaks tonight, with ZHR predicted at 5 per hour. Moon at Apogee (404,355 km)
A Perseid Meteor captured in 1993 - Credit: S. Kohle & B. Koch, Bonn University (Image links to NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day from 2002)
Saturday 23rd July – The Perseid Meteor shower begins today and should run until 20th August. While the shower peak isn’t until 13th August, this will coincide with a full Moon meaning many of the meteors will be washed out in the glare
Sunday 24th July – Jupiter is easily spotted this evening (best seen after midnight), just to the right of the waning crescent Moon. It should appear very bright and be difficult to miss, despite the light coming from the Moon nearby
Our image of Jupiter captured with a colour CCD camera - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Monday 25th July – The Moon will be close to the Pleiades Open Cluster in the morning sky. Best viewed around 03:00 BST the glow from the Moon shouldn’t be too strong allowing you to locate the Pleiades with ease
Friday 29th July – The fairly active Delta Aquariids Meteor shower will reach its first peak this evening, with a ZHR of up to 20 meteors per hour
Saturday 30th July - Tonight will see the second new Moon of July, so if your skies are sufficiently dark enough you should easily spot the Milky Way, crossing the sky in an arc from north to south (and up high to the east) from nightfall
Should the weather allow we’re targeting the Milky Way for imaging this month (with two new Moons helping keep the skies dark), with any luck we’ll bring you some new photos so wish for clear skies!
Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!
Archive:
Astronomy Events – June 2011
Astronomy Events – May 2011
Astronomy Events – April 2011
Astronomy Events – March 2011
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Posted in Astronomy, Moon, Nebula, Night sky, Resources, Stars, yaska77 | Tagged 2011, 550D, Alpha Cygnids, amateur, aphelion, Apogee, astronomical, Astronomy, astrophotography, atlantis, binoculars, camera, Canon, Capricornids, ccd, Center, Chris Ferguson, clouds, cluster, crescent, Doug Hurley, Earthshine, eclipse, EOS, events, ever, galaxy, ganymede, highlights, July 8, Jupiter, Kennedy, last, launch, lunar, Mercury, meteor, milky way, mission, Moon, moon illusion, NASA, Nebula, neptune, new, noctilucent, open, Perigee, Perseid, Piscid Australids, pleiades, postaweek2011, Rex Walheim, Sandy Magnus, shower, shuttle, sky-watching, solar, space, star, STS-135, summer, telescope, the, waning, waxing, ZHR | Leave a Comment »
May 29, 2011
by yaska77
Latest edition of our monthly posts, listing upcoming Astronomy events for June. Get inspired, get involved and get sky-watching!
Wednesday 1st June – It is a new Moon today so it will be virtually absent all week, a great time for observing deep sky objects like galaxies and nubulae. There is also a partial solar eclipse in the northern hemisphere. NASA space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center at 02:32 EDT (06:32 GMT/ 07:32 BST)
Thursday 2nd June – Double star Epsilon Lyrae is a challenging target. The split star is near to Vega and will be in an overhead position at about midnight BST
Friday 3rd June – Keep watching the skies for noctilucent clouds, which sometimes appear low down in the northwest (after sunset) and northeast (just before sunrise). These clouds are in the upper atmosphere and are usually too faint to see, becoming visible only when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon while the lower layers of the atmosphere are in the Earth’s shadow
Noctilucent clouds over Sweden - Credit: P-M Hedén
Friday 10th June – Saturn is close to the double star Porrima in Virgo this evening (and has been getting closer in the past few weeks). The planet will be located at just 15 arcminutes (about half a full Moon diameter) from the star
Saturday 11th June – The waxing gibbous Moon is about 80% lit, and will appear to the south east of Spica (also in Virgo) the 15th brightest star in the night sky
Sunday 12th June – Mercury is in superior conjunction with the Sun and not currently visible. After this date however the planet will slowly start to re-appear in the evening sky being visible from around 16th onwards. Moon is at Perigee (367,190 km)
Monday 13th June – Watch out for the Moon over the next couple of nights as it rises over the southern horizon. Now is the best time of year to experience the “Moon-Illusion” which makes the moon look bigger than it actually is
Wednesday 15th June – Tonights full Moon will be completely eclipsed as it appears above the south east horizon in the UK. It will be visible from Moon-set in Austraila to Moon-rise in the UK. Totality for UK viewers should last for about an hour from rise at 21:00 BST, and will get easier to see as the Moon gets higher
We're hoping the skies are clear so we can take similar pictures of the actual eclipse! Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Sunday 19th June – Another beautiful double star Beta Cygni (or Albireo) is a must see tonight through a small telescope. Located at the foot of the asterism of the northern cross (in Cygnus the Swan), Albireo has a bright yellow primary star next to a dimmer, blue companion
Tuesday 21st June – Summer solstice is today, so the Sun will be at its highest in the sky all year, perfect for solar observing. Remember, do not look directly at the Sun, or use unmodified telescopes. Always use correctly certified filters, or better still a purpouse built Solar Telescope
Friday 24th June – Mercury is visible as a point of light low down in evening twilight sky just after sunset. Look just to the left of the point the Sun disappeared below the horizon at around 21:45 BST (20:45 GMT). Moon at Apogee (404,270 km)
Saturday 25th June – The centre of the Milky Way Galaxy will be visible in dark skies to the south just after midnight. For the remainder of the month the Moon will be below the horizon giving you a great opportunity to view and photograph this most spectacular part of our home galaxy
The Milky Way as photographed over the French Alps - Credit: Marc Sylvestre (Image links to NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day from 2002)
Monday 27th June – The June Boötids Meteor Shower should reach its peak tonight, and although it usually only sees 1 to 2 meteors per hour, it has been known to give bursts of up to 100 per hour. Keep an eye towards the constellation Boötes from around 22:30 BST.
Should the weather allow we’re targeting the Lunar eclipse and the Milky Way for imaging this month, so keep watching for any new photos and wish for clear skies!
Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!
Archive: Astronomy Events – May 2011
Archive: Astronomy Events – April 2011
Archive: Astronomy Events – March 2011
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Posted in Astronomy, Moon, Nebula, Night sky, Resources, Stars, yaska77 | Tagged 2011, 550D, albireo, amateur, Apogee, astronomical, Astronomy, astrophotography, binoculars, bootes, bootids, camera, Canon, ccd, clouds, cluster, comet, crescent, cygnus, double star, eclipse, Endeavour, EOS, epsilon, events, galaxy, gibbous, highlights, lunar, lyrae, Mercury, meteor, milky way, Moon, moon illusion, NASA, Nebula, new, noctilucent, owl, Perigee, porrima, postaweek2011, Saturn, shower, sky-watching, solar, solstice, spica, star, STS-134, summer, telescope, the, vega, Virgo, waning, waxing | Leave a Comment »
April 26, 2011
by yaska77
Here is the latest of our monthly posts, listing upcoming Astronomy events for May. It’s a little earlier than last time but there’s nothing like being prepared, here’s hoping we get clear skies for them!
Sunday 1st May – Venus is visible low down in the dawn sky from 05:10 BST, and if you have a flat eastern horizon Jupiter also rises just before the Sun
Tuesday 3rd May – New Moon
Wednesday 4th May – This evening the crescent Moon, which will be only 2% lit, lies just below the Pleiades star cluster. They will be low in a fairly bright sky (around 21:30 BST), but should be visible in binoculars to the WNW horizon, or a good target for those with a camera with a good zoom lens
Our snap of The Pleiades taken using a Canon DSLR and a Sky-Watcher 200P Telescope - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Friday 6th May – Anyone up late (or early!) should keep a look out for Eta Aquarid meteors, from 03:30 BST until dawn (in the eastern sky). This shower has been known to peak at one meteor every few minutes, and with the recent New Moon the skies should be relatively dark until the Sun rises
Saturday 7th May – Mercury is at its Greatest Western Elongation (27°)
Wednesday 11th May – Jupiter and Venus appear less than a degree apart in the dawn sky after 04:50 BST
Sunday 15th May – Moon at Perigee (362,135 km). Saturn, Spica and the waxing gibbous Moon form a straight line around midnight, and faint comet C/2010 G2 Hill passes less than a degree away from Polaris the Pole Star
Tuesday 17th May – Full Moon
The image of the Paschal Full Moon we took on 17th April 2011 - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Wednesday 18th May – The red supergiant Antares lies just below and to the right of the bright Moon. Its name means “Rival of Mars”
Saturday 21st May – Just before dawn look for Venus using a pair of binoculars in the ENE sky. Nearby (and forming a right angled-triangle) will be Mercury and Mars
Monday 23rd May – This is the time of year to start looking for noctilucent clouds, which sometimes appear low down in the northwest (after sunset) and northeast (just before sunrise). These clouds are in the upper atmosphere and are usually too faint to see, becoming visible only when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon while the lower layers of the atmosphere are in the Earth’s shadow
Noctilucent clouds over Sweden - Credit: P-M Hedén
Thursday 26th May – As the Moon is largely absent tonight it’s a good night to look at deep-sky objects. M101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy), M51 (the Whirlpool Galaxy) and the Owl Nebula are all good targets around The Plough (or Big Dipper), as is M13 (the Great Globular Cluster) in the Hercules constellation (from midnight BST)
Friday 27th May – Moon at Apogee (405,005 km)
Sunday 29th May – The gathering of planets in the dawn sky continues, as at around 04:15 BST Venus will be low in the ENE sky, and higher up to the east Jupiter can be seen just below a waning crescent Moon.
Tuesday 31st May – The double-star Porrima can be located close to Saturn this evening, low to the southwest around midnight (BST), a great view through a telescope
Our first attempt at Saturn using a CCD Camera - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn
Should the weather allow we’re targeting Saturn for better imaging this month, so keep watching for any new photos!
Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!
Archive: Astronomy Events – April 2011
Archive: Astronomy Events – March 2011
Also, now follow us on Twitter @sky_watching
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Posted in Astronomy, Moon, Nebula, Night sky, Resources, Stars, yaska77 | Tagged 2011, 550D, amateur, Antares, Apogee, aquarid, aquarius, astronomical, Astronomy, astrophotography, big, binoculars, c/2010, camera, Canon, ccd, clouds, cluster, comet, crescent, dipper, elongation, EOS, eta, events, galaxy, gibbous, globular, greatest, hercules, highlights, Jupiter, lunar, m101, m13, m51, Mars, may, Mercury, meteor, Moon, Nebula, new, noctilucent, owl, paschal, Perigee, pinwheel, pleiades, Plough, polaris, pole, porrima, postaweek2011, Saturn, shower, spica, star, supergiant, telescope, the, Venus, waning, waxing, western, whirlpool | 1 Comment »
April 18, 2011
by yaska77
We may not have had the traditional April showers in the UK this year, but that is about to change! As highlighted in our astronomy events guide, between the 16th to the 26th this month we see the April Lyrid meteor shower (peaking on April 22nd).
The meteors in this shower tend to be bright and leave persistent trains as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere. In recent years the shower has averaged 10 to 20 meteors per hour.
That might sound like a fairly mediocre shower, but it has been known for the Lyrids to surge to over 100 per hour! This is what makes this shower so difficult to predict. Will it be a downpour or a washout this year!?
Lyrid Radiant Point (Universe Today/Adrian West)
Lyrid meteors radiate from a point (radiant) in the constellation of Lyra and this is where this shower gets its name. The best time to look for Lyrid meteors is late in the evening on April 22nd after 10pm as the constellation of Lyra rises up from the northeast.
This will give you 2 or 3 hours of meteor watching before the waning gibbous moon rises and starts to wash out the sky. But still, it’s well worth staying up to see as many bright meteors as possible.
Originally posted on Universe Today by Adrian West @VirtualAstro on Twitter (Paraphrased above)
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Posted in Astronomy, Meteor, yaska77 | Tagged April, Astronomy, constellation, events, gibbous, lyra, lyrid, meteor, Moon, postaweek2011, shooting, shower, skywatching, stargazing, Stars, waning | Leave a Comment »
