This week’s “Look Up” report features the waning and waxing Moon, sunset planets, and a Perseids preview! Audio and Text versions available, here.
Posts Tagged ‘Crescent Moon’
The Sky Tonight: Aug 5 – Aug 11
Thursday, August 5th, 2010Look Up, Log In, or Listen: An Exciting Week of Astronomy!
Monday, October 19th, 2009If you ever needed an excuse to go out and look up at the night sky, this week is it . In fact, astronomy is so hot right now, you can even stay inside and enjoy many of this week’s events right from your computer!
Moon-less Nights … First, the frosting on the cake (I always did like dessert, first) … We had a New Moon last Saturday evening! That means a lovely crescent Moon at sunset and “moon-less” nights for darker skies! Perfect timing for a week full of astronomy opportunities!
Moons You’ll Like … Jupiter’s Galilean satellites are putting on a show this week, with three occultations for eastern North America. No doubt you’ve noticed Jupiter as that brightest “star” on your south horizon after sunset. Even smaller binoculars will reveal the giant planet’s four largest moons, but you will need a telescope to fully appreciate the occultation events.
Shooting Stars … Those aren’t stars – they’re comet debris! Heralding in this exciting week, the Orionids Meteor Shower is in full display right now. Maximum occurs over the next three mornings, with peak expected on Oct. 21st (late Tuesday night / early Wednesday morning.) Named for its apparent point of origin – the radiant is just east of Orion’s Betelgeuse – this shower is the second of two yearly passes through the debris trail of Comet Halley. Currently, Orion rises around 11pm local time, so your best observing will be after midnight. While the Orionids is not an especially prolific shower (20-30 zhr,) it is consistent and the streaks are distinctively quick and bright. This year should offer an especially nice show with those moon-less nights.
Counting Stars … The Great World Wide Star Count winds down this week. Counting stars is another activity best done on a moon-less night. This citizen science event is a fun and easy way to learn more about the night sky, raise awareness about light pollution, and participate in the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
A Sky Full of Stars … On Wednesday evening, Rob and I will host a special edition of A Sky Full of Stars on AFM*Radio. We’ll feature guests Adrian West, of the Newbury Astronomical Society (@NewburyAS), and young astronomer-extraordinaire Elias Jordan (@ksastro) to talk about some exciting upcoming astronomy events, including this year’s second Twitter MoonWatch and the IYA 2009′s Galilean Nights. The live show airs Oct. 21st at 8pm EDT (Oct. 22nd, 00:00 UTC) – we’ll post the podcast version here and at Astronomy.FM.
Star-Filled Nights … Speaking of Galilean Nights, Astronomy.FM is celebrating with two special events this week. First, they want to help you capture the stars with free imaging sessions from Global-Rental-A-Scopes. Then, on Saturday evening, the Marleen Bryan and I will feature all things Galileo, with a special Galilean Nights edition of the DeepSkyDivas. If you haven’t yet checked out Astronomy.FM, this is a good time to do it. AFM offers an enthusiastic international community, a members forum, radio events, a daily Amateur Astronomer Picture of the Day (AAPOD), and regularly-updated space and astronomy news. The DeepSky Divas airs, live, Oct. 24th at 9pm EDT (Oct. 25th, 01:00 UTC).
A Red Planet … While you’re out watching for meteors, see if you can spot the planet Mars, directly beneath Gemini’s Castor and Pollux. Currently, Mars rises around midnight, about an hour behind Orion. As you look at Mars, consider this – there are currently five crafts exploring our red neighbor. Three crafts are orbiting the planet and another two are roaming its surface.
Morning Planets … Venus and Saturn grace the morning sky this week. You’ll find the two together on your east horizon in the hour before sunrise. Take advantage of this opportunity to see Venus before it leaves the morning sky next month.
Close Calls … Last but least – this event is one that you can’t see, but it is something you’ll probably find very interesting. Seventeen near-Earth-objects (NEO) will be passing our planet this week; thirteen were discovered just this year. Seven of the seventeen will pass within just 10 lunar distances (LD) – the closest of those passed at a mere 2.5 LD last night! Most of this week’s NEOs are smaller objects, measuring tens of meters wide. Only two are considered larger objects, with the largest being 1.7 km – 3.8 km.
So, there you have it – opportunities to Look Up, Log In, and Listen – all with an eye on the stars!
Crescent Moon with Beta Tauri
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009Another night of cloudy skies, so once again, the moon took center stage in my observing. Of course, I don’t mind when it’s such a lovely crescent as we’ve seen the past couple of nights. Like last night, a thin layer of clouds veiled the moon enough to challenge a sharp focus, but I like the end result with the clouds appearing as a mist laced across the earthshine. Over to the right, Beta Tauri is peeking through the bushes. This image was a 4 sec exp, ISO-400, f/5.6, at 300mm. You can click on the image for a larger version.
Crescent Moon at Sunset
Monday, May 25th, 2009At just 3% illuminated and 37 hours old, tonight’s crescent moon was one of the thinnest I’ve seen. I was fortunate to see it at all, with the cloud coverage that we had tonight. In fact, the moon was barely visible to the naked eye, apparent only as a soft glow behind the clouds. Focusing through the clouds in the dark was an interesting challenge, but I knew an image would reveal the hidden moon. You can almost even see the un-illuminated region of the moon, through the clouds. This exposure was 3.2secs, ISO-400, f/5.6, 263mm.
Looking at Luna
Friday, April 24th, 2009
This weekend offers two excellent opportunities to observe a very thin crescent moon at sunset. It’s also a good time to capture some nice “earthshine” images and spot the planet Mercury.
Saturday evening, the new moon will be mere hours old – the thinnest of slivers – with it’s actual age depending upon your location and what time you are observing. Sunday evening, the moon will be less than two days old – still a thin sliver – and will appear in close position with Pleiades and Mercury.
On both evenings, you’ll find the moon just above your WNW horizon. On Saturday, Mercury appears above and slightly left of the Moon. On Sunday, Mercury appears closer to Luna, this time beneath it, with Pleiades in the middle to form a beautiful trio of objects both near and distant.
Using your binoculars, you can get a good look at that darker portion of the Moon – that region not illuminated by direct sunlight – known as “earthshine.” We call this ashen-colored region of the Moon “earthshine” because it is the Earth’s own reflected sunlight that makes it visible. Surprisingly, it was Leonardo Da Vinci, even before Copernicus’ sun-centered theory, who first described the source of the moon’s illumination, including the secondary glow of earthshine.
Once you’ve browsed the lunar surface, have a look at Mercury. You might notice a pinkish hue, and this is due to our own atmosphere, just as sunsets and a rising moon sometimes display a red or orange tint. Of course, you’ll have to focus on Pleiades, as well. This beautiful cluster is much more distant, but younger than either Mercury or the Moon. The Pleiades cluster contains about three-thousand member stars, some one-hundred-million years old, and is positioned more than four-hundred light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Even at that distance, this cluster is actually one of our galaxy’s closest.
Luna currently appears close to the Sun, following it into the horizon at sunset, so you’ll have to keep two things in mind. One, use special care when observing anywhere near the sun and never ever look directly at the sun through unfiltered binoculars or telescopes. Two, start your observations before full darkness sets in, else you may find the moon already too low from your location.
For local lunar calculations, I use an excellent program called Quick Phase Pro. You can also check out the U.S. Naval Observatory for regional lunar information. Both programs offer lunar rise/set/transit times, phase information, and lunar illumination. The Quick Phase program offers a few more details, like phase age and historical data.
If you’ve never taken a picture of the moon or evening sky, this is a good time to give it a try. Any camera should work fine; and remember, it’s not so much how accomplished an image appears, rather, its that you accomplish the effort of imaging. For better results, take several pictures, changing your settings if your camera allows.
So, get out there this weekend and have a look at Luna; and if you do capture some images, share them with us. We’d love to see your work.
