Christmas Conjunction
A
tiny 8% illuminated crescent Moon posed with Venus on 12/25/03. These two
always make a beautiful pairing. This event will have a little more than 4° of
separation... considerably more than in the accompanying shot, but...
beautiful none the less. Checkout Science@NASA
for the full story.
I took the accompanying shot in May of 2002 when the two were separated by a little over 1.6°.
Comet Encke
G. Rhemann and M. Jäger captured this beautiful image of Comet Encke on 11/12/03. The comet will reach perihelion on December 29th, 2003. At that point, it will be approximately mag4... making it visible to the naked eye... and a beauty in a small telescope or binoculars. The comet can be found in the morning sky... just above the eastern horizon in the constellation Ophiuchus. Checkout the Ephemeris for specific dates & locations.
Beagle 2 Quiet, Mars Express in Orbit
Mars Express flight controllers recently reported all systems go and on Christmas Day, 12/25/03, the Mars Express Spacecraft was inserted into Martian orbit. On the same day, the Beagle 2 Lander was scheduled to touch down on the surface of the red planet. Visit the Mars Express Website for up to the minute details.
Christmas brought mixed results to European Space Agency efforts to study the planet Mars. The Mars Express Spacecraft successfully entered Martian orbit, while communications with the Beagle 2 Lander have not taken place after is planned Christmas landing. Checkout The Mars Express and The Beagle 2 Lander websites for up to the minute information.
Solar System
Space Weather Update
The
number as size of the sunspots on our star has increased again lately. While
none seem willing to begin the tirade of CME's we experience a couple of
months ago, they are impressive in their restraint. I took the accompanying
shot of Sunspot
#528 on Saturday 12/20/03... shortly after it came into view along the eastern
edge of the Sun.
The sun is a fascinating subject. It's appearance changes from day to day. In fact, it is the only star in the sky that we can see any details on at all! If you'd like to observe our star, make sure you do so safely. Checkout these Safe Viewing Techniques.
Planetary Report
Mercury, the 1st Planet
| Rising: | 7:50 am | |
| Visual Magnitude: | 4.90 | |
| Visual Diameter: | 10" | |
| Distance: | 0.68 AU | |
| Constellation: | Sagittarius |
On Monday evening (12/08/03), Mercury reached greatest elongation… it’s largest angular distance from the sun. For the next week or so… Mercury was a relatively easy target for those with a clear view to the west. Mercury has since dropped significantly though... so I hope you took a peak when you could. If not, it will be visible in the morning sky before sunrise in the coming weeks.
Venus, the 2nd Planet
| Rising: | 10:05 am | |
| Visual Magnitude: | -3.98 | |
| Visual Diameter: | 13" | |
| Distance: | 1.33 AU | |
| Constellation: | Capricornus |
Venus
is now rising little more than two hours after the sun. You should now be able
to find it in the evening sky shortly after sundown. In fact, now would be a
good time to start watching Venus. Why? Well, because Venus is getting ready
for some major changes. It is currently about 88% illuminated. As it climbs higher
in the sky over the coming months, it will grow considerably in size and
brightness... while shrinking just as considerably in phase. By late
winter / early spring Venus will only be 1/2 illuminated, but will be almost
half again as bright.
I've been catching Venus above the western horizon about 30-45 minutes after sunset for the last couple of weeks. It'll only get easier at this point. Slowly but surely, Venus will come to dominate the night sky. If you have a nice wide sky horizon to horizon, compare Venus with Mars. Ok... there's no comparison, but... it does make an interesting point. With all the talk about how bright Mars got... it pales in comparison with Venus... which blows them all away!
I took the accompanying image on Tuesday evening (12/09/03). I'd hoped to snag Mercury in the shot as well, but unfortunately, it had dropped behind the mountains west of my home. My guess is that I missed it by about 10 minutes or so... Oh, well. Venus is always a fun target. It'll be rising on a weekly basis and brightening dramatically in the coming weeks.
Need to no more about Venus? Checkout this article by The Planetary Society.
Earth, the 3rd Planet
Sun Dog at Dawn
Moments before sunrise one frigid morning last February, ice crystals in the atmosphere took on a special look. Caught by the soon to be rising Sun, a Sun Dog appeared on the horizon just east of Park City. Luckily, Utah Skies own Don Brown was ready and snapped this picture.
Lunar Phase
The
moon reaches first quarter on Tuesday. In the meantime, we'll be
under waxing crescent phase with 15% of the moon's visible surface
illuminated when it rises just just before 11:00am.
I took the accompanying shot on the morning on 09/24/03, when the moon was only 5% illuminated... similar to it's appearance on Wed or Thursday. You should be able to easily spot the moon this week as it climbs in the western sky after sunset. In fact, the Moon posed alongside Venus yesterday evening.
Visit our Lunar Information Page for even more great images and information
Mars, the 4th Planet
| Rising: | 12:25 pm | |
| Visual Magnitude: | 0.12 | |
| Visual Diameter: | 9" | |
| Distance: | 1.07 AU | |
| Constellation: | Pisces |
After traveling for 6 months and 400 million kilometers, the European Space Agency's Mars Express is scheduled for a Christmas arrival at the red planet. In preparation, Mars Express flawlessly released the Beagle 2 lander.
Technicians recently were testing the camera onboard the approaching Mars Express Spacecraft. This beautiful image was the result of their efforts.
Jupiter, the 5th Planet
| Rising: | 11:10 pm | |
| Visual Magnitude: | -2.17 | |
| Visual Diameter: | 39" | |
| Distance: | 5:04 AU | |
| Constellation: | Leo |
Jupiter
can now be seen rising late at night... or high in the morning sky... just before first light is approaches.
Jupiter and it's moons are involved in a continuous dance. Views will
only be improving for the next several months, so... get out and take a peak
at the giant planet.
I took the accompanying shot of Jupiter and the 4 Galilean Moons on Tuesday morning. The shot was made using a Sony DSC-F717 digital camera through a 25" Obsession Dobsonian Reflector shooting eyepiece projection to 75x.
Saturn, the 6th Planet
| Rising: | 5:30 pm | |
| Visual Magnitude: | -0.43 | |
| Visual Diameter: | 21" | |
| Distance: | 8.05 AU | |
| Constellation: | Gemini |
Saturn
reaches opposition on New Years Eve. Opposition occurs when the Sun and Saturn appear in opposite directions
as viewed from Earth. So, on December 31st, as the Sun is setting, Saturn
will be rising. This opposition should provide us with some of the best
views of Saturn in quite some time. Saturn always looks great, right? What
makes this year so special? Well... first off, Saturn recently reached
perihelion... it's nearest distance to the Sun. This makes it seem just a
little brighter than usual. Second, Saturn's rings are tipped about as much
as they can be... roughly
26° from edge-on. This gives us a great view of
the solar systems most incredible ring system. Third, Saturn is cruising
much further north than usual. This puts Saturn in a favorable position for
northerners. Saturn spend much of the night in the clearest, steadiest
portion of the sky.
So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and checkout the ringed planet. This winter will be the best absolute time to study Saturn's beautiful ring structure for some time, so... get out there and do it. If you find yourself under incredibly good skies... with incredibly good optics... see what kind of detail you can tease from the eyepiece.
Check this shot out!!! Taken just last month (11/03) by the approaching Cassini Spacecraft, this is one of the sweetest shots of Saturn I've ever seen. Look at the incredible detail within the ring system... and throughout the body of the giant planet. You can even see a few of Saturn's moon. Sweet!
Ok... here's an interesting note... Saturn's shadow... visible in these images on the rings... to the upper left of the planet... will switch to the opposite side in the coming months. Make a mental note next time you're out viewing. In the coming weeks, the shadow will get smaller and smaller... until it disappears and then slowly reappears on the opposite side of the planet.
Uranus, the 7th Planet
| Rising: | 11:05 am | |
| Visual Magnitude: | 5.89 | |
| Visual Diameter: | 3" | |
| Distance: | 20.58 AU | |
| Constellation: | Aquarius |
Interested
in viewing the 7th planet? You'd better get on it quick. Uranus
is rising in the early afternoon... putting it high in the sky by the time
it gets dark If you wait too far after dark, you'll have trouble viewing the
planet in the turbulent skies above the western horizon. Uranus has recently dropped back to
3" in apparent
diameter. 1" smaller than it's peak this fall. Ok.. it's only a 1"
decline, right... Well... there wasn't a whole lot to work with originally.
1" marks a 25% decline... So... don't waste any time..This shot by Bob Sandy of Roanoke, Virginia shows the beautiful color of Uranus. This shot was a 4 second exposure through a Celestron C8 using a D60 Digital Camera.
Neptune, the 8th Planet
| Rising: | 10:10 am | |
| Visual Magnitude: | 7.97 | |
| Visual Diameter: | 2" | |
| Distance: | 30.85 AU | |
| Constellation: | Capricornus |
Springtime
on Neptune? Yup... that's what the latest observations seem to indicate. The
southern portion of the 8th planet is having some spring like
conditions. Spring is always a fun time of year.. and that's a good
thing, because spring last for over 40 Earth years on Neptune. 40 years?
Yup... Because it takes Neptune 165 years to orbit the Sun, seasons last
just a smidge over 40 earth years.
The accompanying image was taken in June of 2003 by Astrophotographer Bob Sandy or Roanoke, Virginia. What a gorgeous blue. This shot was a 4 second exposure through a Celestron C8.
Pluto, the 9th Planet
| Rising: | 6:25 am | |
| Visual Magnitude: | 13.95 | |
| Visual Diameter: | <1" | |
| Distance: | 31.68 AU | |
| Constellation: | Serpens |
Astronomers made a surprising discovery about Pluto recently. As Pluto begins to move away from the Sun... towards the beginning of it's winter... things are actually heating up on the distant planet instead of cooling down. Checkout CNN.com/SPACE for more detailsTake this bit of planetary information either as an interesting side note, or an observing challenge. Pluto is in the constellation Ophiuchus, less than °1 southwest of NGC6309 aka The Bug Nebula. I viewed The Bug this past weekend, so... photons from Pluto must have hit my retina :-) At magnitude 13.9, Pluto is basically out of reach of smaller telescopes... Even in the big scope... it's difficult to be sure that you've seen Pluto. One way to verify that you have found Pluto is to sketch the star patterns over several nights. If you have actually found Pluto, one of the the faint star-like objects will have moved over the course of a few nights. This is Pluto.
This image was taken by The
Hubble Space Telescope.
Need more information? Checkout the Pluto
Home Page.
Deep Sky
Hubble Vision
Hubble Captures Collision of Gases Near Dying StarThis colorful image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the collision of two gases near a dying star. Astronomers have dubbed the tadpole-like objects in the upper right-hand corner "cometary knots" because their glowing heads and gossamer tails resemble comets. Although astronomers have seen gaseous knots through ground-based telescopes, they have never seen so many in a single nebula.
Hubble captured thousands of these knots from a doomed star in the Helix nebula, the closest planetary nebula to Earth at 450 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. Each gaseous head is at least twice the size of our solar system; each tail stretches 100 billion miles, about 1,000 times the Earth's distance to the Sun. The most visible gaseous fragments lie along the inner edge of the star's ring, trillions of miles from the star at its center. The comet-like tails form a radial pattern around the star like the spokes on a wagon wheel. Astronomers have seen the spoke pattern using ground-based telescopes, but Hubble reveals for the first time the sources of these objects.
Astronomers theorize that the gaseous knots are the results of a collision between gases. The doomed star spews the hot gas from its surface, which collides with the cooler gas that it had ejected 10,000 years before. The crash fragments the smooth cloud surrounding the star into smaller, denser finger-like droplets, like dripping paint. Astronomers expect the gaseous knots, each several billion miles across, to eventually dissipate into the cold blackness of interstellar space.
This image was taken in August, 1994 with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. The red light depicts nitrogen emission ([NII] 6584A); green, hydrogen (H-alpha, 6563A); and blue, oxygen (5007A).
Credit: C. Robert O'Dell and Kerry P. Handron (Rice University), NASA
If you are able to find all of these objects, you may be one of the
few, the proud, the Deep Sky Obsessed.
E-mail your findings to DeepSkyObservations@UtahSkies.org.
IDA-Utah Light Pollution Update
Stay up to date on astronomical happenings by regularly checking the Utah Skies website at http://www.UtahSkies.org