Astronomy

Waxing crescent moon near Castor and Pollux on May 14

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Earthsky.org- 5/14/13, Deborah Byrd

 

http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/05/13may14_430.jpg

 

On the evening of May 14, 2013, the waxing crescent moon shines close to Castor and Pollux, the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini the Twins. On the opposite side of the moon is even a brighter star, Procyon. By the way, an imaginary line drawn from Procyon and right in between the Gemini stars takes you to Polaris, the North Star. It’s a very long jump across the heavens but the imaginary line will take you there. Try it tonight!

 

Link: Earthsky.org

 

Moon and Jupiter closest together for the month on May 12/ Gorgeous Milky Way Photo

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Earthsky.org - 5/12/13, Bruce McClure

 

 

 

http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/05/13may12_430.jpg

 

Gaze westward at dusk and early evening on May 12, 2013 to see a wondrous evening tableau. You’ll find waxing crescent moon with the dazzling planet Jupiter. If you’re looking early enough, the planet Venus is also nearby.

 

Milky Way over Joshua Tree National Park

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Venus and moon on May 10, with Jupiter nearby

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Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

Earthsky.com - 5/10/13, Bruce McClure

 

http://en.es-static.us/upl/2013/05/13may10_430.jpg

 

The three brightest heavenly bodies of nighttime – the moon, Venus and Jupiter, respectively – can be found in the western sky after sunset now. Jupiter is easy to see because this king of planets stays out until about an hour after dark, but the moon and Venus are harder to catch because they follow the sun below the horizon before it gets truly dark outside. But – on May 10, 2013 – you’ll have a chance to catch the moon and Venus near each other, low in the western twilight sky. Whether you see them will depend on the clarity of your sky – and the lack of trees or tall buildings in the way!

 

Link: EarthSky.org

Sighting the Sombrero

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Eyes on the Sky.com - 5/6/13, David Fuller

 

 

The Sombrero Galaxy is one of the better-known photographs of night sky phenomenon.  But where to find it in the night sky?  It's not as difficult as it might seem, and Saturn helps point the way for the next few weeks as well.  With a fairly high surface brightness, along with several nearby double stars that are worth observing (even if you can't find or see the galaxy), get to know this area of sky this week while the Moon stay mostly out of the way and provides darker skies.  For a printable star chart of this area, use Star Chart #11 here at Eyes on the Sky, and look for M104 in the lower right hand corner near Corvus.  (Saturn will not be on this star chart.)

Eyes on the Sky astronomy videos are now closed captioned, allowing for translation into 58 languages as well as benefitting the hearing impaired.  Or, watch at work! Just don't tell your boss.

 

The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower

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Accuweather.com- 5/1/13, Mark Paquette

 

 

A couple of interesting facts about this meteor shower (meteors are also known as shooting stars):

Mid and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere will average about 10-20 meteors per hours, while closer to the equator (ie. the tropics) and the Southern Hemisphere you could see up to 80.

This meteor shower has a relatively broad peak - meaning you can watch watch it for several days from May 4 through May 7 with the peak hours likely being in the predawn hours of Sunday morning, May 5.

 

For more information please see Accuweather.com

 

 

SLIGHT LUNAR ECLIPSE

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Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

Spaceweather.com - 4/27/13

 

 

Last night, the full Moon over Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia passed through the outer edge of Earth's shadow. It was the slightest of eclipses, with less than 2% of the lunar disk falling into darkness. Nevertheless, many sky watchers noticed, such as amateur astronomer Walter Borghini. He sends this picture of the shadow-zone from Casasco (AL), Italy:

As for lunar eclipses, this is as good as it gets until April 15, 2014. On that date, the the Moon will be fully engulfed by Earth's shadow and the lunar disk will turn a dark shade of sunset red. The total eclipse will be visible from the Americas and Australia: map. Until then, browse the gallery for images of last night's partial shadowfall.

 

For a realtime eclipse photo gallery please see Spaceweather.com

Finding Dark Skies

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Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

Accuweather.com - 4/25/13, Mark Paquette

 

 

One of the biggest obstacles facing astronomy enthusiasts is light pollution. A majority of people worldwide live in areas where the glow from city lights obscures much of the beauty of the night sky. In order to really appreciate the night sky and see as many stars as possible, it helps to make your way to a place away from city lights and the glow that they create. The most obvious thing to do is to go to the most remote area you can get to easily. However, how can you find the most remote dark sky location close to you? When I started observing a few years ago, I found a number of resources that have helped to pinpoint the best locations.

Stargazing Basics: Understanding magnitudes

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Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

Eyesonthesky.com- 4/25/13

 

The second video in this series explores how to understand the magnitude scale, starting with visible stars in the naked eye range, going up in brightness to understand the relative brightness of bright planets such as Venus and Jupiter and then the full Moon and Sun, and then heading back down the magnitude scale (but UP in numbers - all explained!) to dimmer objects.  In addition to visual magnitude, absolute magnitude, integrated magnitude and surface brightness are covered.

 

 

Link: Eyesonthesky.com

Stargazing Basics - Getting oriented in the night sky

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Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

EyesontheSky.com - 4/24/13

 

 

 

 

Complete beginner to astronomy?  Want to learn the stars and constellations?  Or wish you just knew how to get around the night sky?  You have come to the right place.  These "Stargazing Basics" videos by Eyes on the Sky take the budding amateur astronomer through all the basics of stargazing, quickly and easily.  

These videos follow a proven formula I have developed over the past few years, and teach regularly at informal education presentations about astronomy, with excellent beginner results.  You will learn where the important locations in the sky are, how to understand the differences in the brightness of stars and planets, and finally, how to get a better sense of measuring from objects you can identify to ones you wish to find.

 

 

Suave Saturn

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Submitted by Desert Gypsy on

Eyes on the Sky- 4/22/13

 

 

There are few sights in the night sky that cause people to audibly gasp at the eyepiece of a telescope; craters on the Moon, Albireo, and a few others are up there on the list.  But almost without fail, the one object that tops that list?

Saturn.

With its majestic rings floating silently against a velvety black (or even slightly orange from light pollution) background, this planet evokes the wonder and awe inside many observers minds unlike other planets can.  At opposition this coming weekend, the planet will become a mainstay of evening observing from now through the end of summer.  Look for Titan, the Cassini division, and the subtle shading of the cloud tops - all covered in this video, along with observing tips on how to see this best-of-the-planets solar system object.

 

 

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