Monday, October 26th, 2009
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Jupiter & the Moon dance tonight
Be sure to look up and to the South tonight (October 26th) to see Jupiter and the Moon in close proximity. It should be directly south and viewable at about 7:30 PM. All it takes is a glance up.
Friday, October 16th, 2009
Planets:
8:30 PM … Jupiter will be in the South at about 30° It will e unmistakably bright.
6:00 AM … The crescent Moon will rise in the Southeast at about 30°
6:00 AM … Mars will rise in the Southeast at about 65° above the horizon. Look for the reddish planet. At about 2:00 AM, Mars will be in the East.
6:00 AM … Venus, the morning star, will be rising brightly in the East at about 10° above the horizon. It will be getting light out but it will still be very visible. Just above Venus, Saturn will almost merge with Venus. Following, low on the horizon, Mercury will disappear in the light of the sunrise.
Stars and Constellations:
8:00 PM … The Big Dipper will be North Northwest (NNW) between 20°and 30°. If you follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper, you will come o a bright star, Arcturus.
8:00 PM… Arcturus will be a bright star just above the horizon in the West.
8:00 PM … Vega, a very bright star, will be visible most of the night high in the sky. Look up and to the West at about 65°.
8:30 PM… Cassiopeia (makes a big “W”) will be in the Northeast at about 50° above the horizon. The “W” will be on it’s side.
Current Events:
8:30 PM… Find the Summer Triangle. Vega, Deneb and Altari. Look straight overhead you will see Deneb. Vega will be below Deneb to the south. Altair will be in the South Southwest at about 55°. Together they form a triangle.
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
What’s Where Tonight May 13, 2009
What’s Where Tonight
May 13, 2009
Planets:
1:00 AM … The Moon will rise in the Southeast and travel across the south until sunrise.
10:00 PM …. Saturn will be in the Southwest. It will be at about 50° above the
horizon. Saturn will set in the West at around 4:00 AM.
4:00 AM … Jupiter will rise from the Southeast just about 20° above the horizon before it is washed out by the sunrise. It will be to the left of the Moon.
4:00 AM … Venus will peak out over the horizon in the East and may be visable in the increasing light of the sunrise. Venus, Jupiter and the Moon will form a line from the East to the South.
Stars and Constellations:
10:00 PM … Orion will be in the West Southwest at around 10° – 20°.
10:00 PM … Cassiopeia will be in the North. It will look like a “W”. Polaris is the bright star above Cassiopeia
10:00 PM …..Capella, a very bright star, will be at about 20° to the Northwest.
10:00 PM … The two brightest stars of the Gemini Constellation, Castor & Pollux, will be West Northwest at about 30° above the horizon. Pollus will be on the left and Castor on the right.
10:00 PM … Procyon is a bright star in the South Southwest at about 50°. Procyon, Serius & Betelgeuse form the Winter Triangle. The winter triangle will not be visable in the summer sky.
10:00 PM … If you follow the arc of the Big Dipper’s handle, almost directly overhead, and you will come to a bright star; its Arcturus in the North. If you continue the arc, you will come to Spica at about 10° aboue the horizon in the South Southeast
Current Events:
The summer triangle will be visable, in the East, after Midnight.
· 12:00 AM….. Find the Summer Triangle.
Vega (East Northeast at 45°), Deneb (Northeast at 30°) and Altari (East at 15°).
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
From CNN on April 29, 2009 (courtesy my sister Connie)
The exploding star was up to 100 times larger than our own sun, pictured above.Scientists spot oldest ever object in universe (CNN) — Edo Berger got an alert early last Thursday morning when a satellite detected a 10-second blast of energy known as a gamma ray burst coming from outer space.
Telescopes around the world swiveled to focus on the explosion, soon picking up infrared radiation, which travels more slowly than gamma rays. Berger waited for the visible light which he expected to come next. It never arrived.”We were kind of blown away. We immediately knew what that meant,” Berger said.What it meant was that he was looking at the oldest thing ever spotted — an enormous star exploding 13 billion years ago.”At that point the age of the universe was only 600 million years,” he said. In other words, Berger said, he was looking “95 percent of the way back to the beginning of time.”The star which exploded was 30 to 100 times larger than our own sun, and when it died, it gave off “about million times the amount of energy the sun will release in its entire lifetime,” Berger told CNN by phone from Harvard University, where he is an assistant professor of astronomy.Its death throes produced so much energy that “momentarily, we can essentially see it anywhere in the universe,” Berger said.The object, known as GRB 090423, is about 200 million years older than the previous record-holder for oldest object ever seen.Berger isn’t just interested in the record books, though — the gamma ray burst extended the frontiers of human knowledge about the history of the universe.”We learn that already massive stars were around 600 million years after the universe formed,” Berger said. “We suspected that, but now we have proof. Now that we know these objects are so bright, in the next few years we should be able to pinpoint exactly at what stage in the evolution of the universe stars and galaxies formed.”
The gamma radiation from GRB 090423, which took 13 billion years to reach earth, was detected by a NASA satellite called Swift. The infrared radiation was detected by the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii.
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
What’s Where Tonight April 29, 2009
Planets:
9:00 PM … The Moon will be in the West between Betelgeuse (in Orion) and the Castor & Pollux Genini twins. The Moon will set at about midnight.
9:00 PM …. Saturn will be in the South. It will be at about 55°
above the horizon. Saturn will set in the West at around 4:00 AM.
5:00 AM … Jupiter will rise from the Southeast just about 20° above the horizon before it is washed out by the sunrise.
5:00 AM … Venus will peak out over the horizon in the East and may be visable in the increasing light of the sunrise.
Stars and Constellations:
9:00 PM … Orion will be in the West Southwest at around 10° – 20°.
9:00 PM … Sirius will be about 15° above the horizon. It will be to the left of Orion (follow a line from the three stars that form the “Belt of Orion”).
9:00 PM … The Pleiades (7 sisters) star cluster will be visible in the West at about 15° above the horizon. It will be to the right of Orion; follow the belt of Orion until you see a small star cluster.
9:00 PM … Cassiopeia will be in the North Northwest. Polaris is the bright star to the upper right of Cassiopeia.
9:00 PM ….. Capella, a very bright star, will be high overhead at about 40° to the West Northwest. It will be above and to the right of the Pleiades.
9:00 PM … The two brightest stars of the Gemini Constellation, Castor & Pollux, will be West at about 70° above the horizon. Draw a line from Rigel & Betelgeuse (in Orion) and extend it upward and there will be the two bright stars of Gemini.
9:00 PM … Procyon is a bright star in the South Southwest at about 50°. Procyon, Serius & Betelgeuse form the Winter Triangle.
10:00 PM … If you follow the arc of the Big Dipper’s handle, almost directly overhead, and you will come to a bright star; its Arcturus in the East Southeast. If you continue the arc, you will come to Spica at about 20° aboue the horizon in the Southeast.
Friday, April 17th, 2009
Venus and the Moon do it again! April 22 2009
Attention all early risers (or late night people), we are having another crack at seeing the conjunction of Venus and the Crescent Moon. This occurs on April 22 (Wednesday) between 5:00 AM and 6:00 AM. My reference is Cortland N.Y.; times will vary a little other locations. As the Cresent Moon climes into the sky in the East, Venus will start to disappear behind the Moon. The whole event will end by being washed out by the rising Sun. Just below the moon will sit Mars, may not see it but you never know. Also, to the upper right (Southeast) will be the very bright Jupiter. So, given a clear sky to the East, pleasant temperature, and lots of coffee, we can expect a very nice celestial evert on Wednesday morning.
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
Friday, February 27 at sunset…….
If the skys are clear, and it’s February 27th, and you can see to the West… You will be in for a very pleasant celestial observation. The Crescent moon and Veneus will move into conjunction. We have been watching Venus in the evening sky shining brightly, even in the bright sky of dusk, for a while now. Now, this bright object, so near the crescent moon, will frame a truly special picture. It will only be seen on the evening of February 27th so keep an eye out.
Monday, February 16th, 2009
What’s Where Tonight
February 17, 2009
Planets:
5:00 AM …. The Moon will be rising in the South at about 30° above the Horizon.
6:00 PM….. Venus will be very bright in the South Southwest just at 30° above the horizon. Venus will set at around 8:00 PM.
9:00 PM …. Saturn will be rising from the East, It will be at about 20° above the
Horizon. Saturn will be high in the Southern Sky ( about 55°) at
about 1:00 AM and set at around Sunrise.
Stars and Constellations:
2:00 AM … A very bright star, Vega, will be in the Northeast at about 20° above the horizon. These are the last days of the Summer Triangle consisting of Deneb, Altair and Vega. They will be visable at about 5:00 AM.
7:00 PM … Orion will be overhead in the South at about 50°.
9:00 PM … Orion will be at 40° above the Horizon in the Southwest
9:00 PM … Sirius will be about 30° above the horizon. It will be to the left of Orion (follow a line from the three stars that form the “Belt of Orion”).
9:00 PM … The Pleiades (7 sisters) star cluster will be visible in the West Northwest at about 45° above the horizon. It will be to the right of Orion; follow the belt of Orion until you see a small star cluster.
9:00 PM … Cassiopeia will be in the Northwest. Polaris is the bright star to the right of Cassiopeia.
9:00 PM ….. Capella, a very bright star, will be high overhead at about 70° to the West. It will be above the Pleiades.
9:00 PM … The two brightest stars of the Gemini Constellation, Castor & Pollex, will be in the Southeast. Draw a line from Rigel & Betelgeuse (in Orion) and extend it to the left and there will be the two bright stars of Gemini.
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
The full Moon of Dec. 12th is the biggest and brightest full Moon of the year.
