Tuesday, August 15, 2017
The Sky This Week - Thursday August 17 to Thursday August 24
The New Moon is Tuesday, August 22. Mercury starts the week high above the horizon but sinks rapidly. Jupiter and the
bright star Spica are nearby in the evening sky.
Saturn is visible all evening in the
heart of the Milky Way. Venus
dominates the morning sky forming a triangle with the bright stars Betelgeuse and Procyon and is joined by the crescent Moon on the 19th.
The New Moon is Tuesday, August 22. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on the 18th (There will be a total eclipse of the Sun on August 21 (US time) in the United States, there will be lots of live website viewing for this).
Evening sky on Saturday August 19 looking west as seen from Adelaide at
18:25 ACST (45 minutes after sunset). Mercury is low above the western horizon.
Mercury begins to fall back into the evening twilight sky. It was highest above the horizon on the 12th and is now heading towards the horizon again. Mercury remains visible around 45 minutes after sunset
Evening sky on Wednesday August 24 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide
at
19:12 ACST (90 minutes after sunset). Jupiter is above the
horizon between the bright star Spica and the relatively bright star
Porrima. The crescent Moon is below the trio making a nice evening sight, The
inset shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is rising before sunset and is above the northern-western horizon in the early evening at full dark. It is between the bright star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, and the relatively bright star Porrima. Jupiter is now closer to Spica.
Opposition, when Jupiter is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, was on April the 8th. Jupiter is rising before the sun sets and is visible until just before midnight. Jupiter is a good telescopic target from astronomical twilight on, and the dance of its Moons is visible even in binoculars. The following Jupiter events are in AEST.
Evening sky on Saturday August 12 looking north as seen from Adelaide at 19:46 ACST, when Saturn is at its highest. Saturn is almost overhead
high
above the northern horizon.
The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen).
Saturn was at opposition on the 15th, when it was biggest and brightest in the sky as seen from earth. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is a good telescopic target from 9 pm on. It is poised above the dark rifts in the Milky Way and is in a good area for binocular hunting. It continues to climb into the evening skies as the week progresses. Saturn's rings are visible even in small telescopes and are always good to view.
The constellation of Scorpio is a good guide to locating Saturn. The distinctive curl of Scorpio is easy to see above the north-eastern to northern horizon, locate the bright red star, Antares, and the look below that towards the horizon, the next bright object is Saturn.
Morning sky on Saturday August 19 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:56 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise). Venus is dazzling below the
bright star Betelgeuse and forms a triangle with Procyon and Betelgeuse.
The crescent Moon is close to the Venus.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (that is 60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).
Venus is lowering in the morning sky and is visible in telescopes as a "Gibbous Moon". This week Venus forms a triangle with Procyon and Betelgeuse. The triangle is visited by the creescent Moon on the 19th.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The New Moon is Tuesday, August 22. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on the 18th (There will be a total eclipse of the Sun on August 21 (US time) in the United States, there will be lots of live website viewing for this).
Mercury begins to fall back into the evening twilight sky. It was highest above the horizon on the 12th and is now heading towards the horizon again. Mercury remains visible around 45 minutes after sunset
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is rising before sunset and is above the northern-western horizon in the early evening at full dark. It is between the bright star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, and the relatively bright star Porrima. Jupiter is now closer to Spica.
Opposition, when Jupiter is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, was on April the 8th. Jupiter is rising before the sun sets and is visible until just before midnight. Jupiter is a good telescopic target from astronomical twilight on, and the dance of its Moons is visible even in binoculars. The following Jupiter events are in AEST.
Thu 17 Aug 19:12 Io : Transit Begins T Thu 17 Aug 20:15 Io : Shadow Transit Begins ST Thu 17 Aug 21:09 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian Thu 17 Aug 21:25 Io : Transit Ends S Fri 18 Aug 18:29 Gan: Disappears into Eclipse Fri 18 Aug 19:46 Io : Reappears from Eclipse Fri 18 Aug 20:35 Gan: Reappears from Eclipse Sat 19 Aug 20:14 Eur: Transit Begins T Sun 20 Aug 18:40 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian Mon 21 Aug 18:55 Eur: Reappears from Eclipse Tue 22 Aug 20:19 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian Thu 24 Aug 21:12 Io : Transit Begins T
The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen).
Saturn was at opposition on the 15th, when it was biggest and brightest in the sky as seen from earth. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is a good telescopic target from 9 pm on. It is poised above the dark rifts in the Milky Way and is in a good area for binocular hunting. It continues to climb into the evening skies as the week progresses. Saturn's rings are visible even in small telescopes and are always good to view.
The constellation of Scorpio is a good guide to locating Saturn. The distinctive curl of Scorpio is easy to see above the north-eastern to northern horizon, locate the bright red star, Antares, and the look below that towards the horizon, the next bright object is Saturn.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (that is 60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).
Venus is lowering in the morning sky and is visible in telescopes as a "Gibbous Moon". This week Venus forms a triangle with Procyon and Betelgeuse. The triangle is visited by the creescent Moon on the 19th.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Astrophiz Podcast 40 (space junk edition) is Out!
In this episode we celebrate our 40th episode and 10,000+ downloads into 50+ countries.
In this episode we feature Dr Alice Gorman ('Dr Spacejunk') who is a Space Archaeologist and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Archaeology, Flinders University in South Australia.
She is a member of the Advisory
Council of the Space Industry Association of Australia. Alice casts a
new focus on WRESAT-1, Australia's first satellite launch, positioning
Australia as the third nation in space in 1967. She explains how the
Voyager probes and the 'Golden record' are cultural milestones which
mark humanity's place in the solar system. As one of the few space
archeologists on planet earth, she gives fabulous and new insights into
the ISS and the treasure it has become.
Follow Alice on Twitter @drspacejunk
I tells you what to look for in the evening and morning skies, the skinny on the Perseid Meteor Shower, and in 'Ian's Tangent' I shines the light on the Osiris REx mission, occultations, the imminent US eclipse and gravitational lensing.You can follow me @ianfmusgrave on Twitter and southern skywatch on facebook.
In the News: How big is space? (Yuge!)
Latest NASA missions
Labels: Astrophiz
Southern Skywatch August 2017 edition is now out!
The August edition of Southern Skywatch is up Yes, it's late, my life is still not on track yet lots of tooing and froing over mum's health.
This month Mars is lost in the suns glare.
Jupiter is still in an good position to watch the banded world in a telescope. Jupiter comes closeer to the bright star Spica during this month. On the 25tg the Moon is just below Jupiter forming a line with Spica..
Saturn is high in the evening sky this month. This is a perfect time to watch this ringed world in a telescope. On the 3rd Saturn is close to the Moon.
Mercury climbs higher in the evening sky early this month, and is in an excellent position for viewing. After the 12th Mercury lowers towards the horizon.
Venus gets lower in the morning sky this month. The crescent Moon is close to Venus on the 19th.
Labels: southern skywatch
Tuesday, August 08, 2017
The Sky This Week - Thursday August 10 to Thursday August 17
The Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday, August 15. Mercury is at its highest above the horizon on the 12th. Jupiter and the
bright star Spica are nearby in the evening sky.
Saturn is visible all evening in the
heart of the Milky Way. Venus
dominates the morning sky forming a triangle with the bright stars Betelgeuse and Procyon.
The Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday, August 15.
Evening sky on Saturday August 12 looking west as seen from Adelaide at
18:38 ACST (60 minutes after sunset). Mercury is high above the western horizon.
Mercury climbs higher in the evening twilight sky. It is highest above the horizon on the 12th and is now readily visible above the western horizon half an hour after sunset, and is obvious 90 minutes after sunset. After this Mercury heads towards the horizon again.
Evening sky on Saturday August 12 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide
at
19:08 ACST (90 minutes after sunset). Jupiter is above the
horizon between the bright star Spica and the relatively bright star
Porrima. The
inset shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time with Europa crossing Jupiter disk.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is rising before sunset and is above the northern-western horizon in the early evening at full dark. It is between the bright star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, and the relatively bright star Porrima. Jupiter is now closer to Spica.
Opposition, when Jupiter is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, was on April the 8th. Jupiter is rising before the sun sets and is visible until just before midnight. Jupiter is a good telescopic target from astronomical twilight on, and the dance of its Moons is visible even in binoculars. The following Jupiter events are in AEST.
Thu 10 Aug 18:20 Io : Shadow Transit Begins ST
Thu 10 Aug 19:26 Io : Transit Ends S
Thu 10 Aug 20:20 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Thu 10 Aug 20:31 Io : Shadow Transit Ends
Thu 10 Aug 22:27 Eur: Disappears into Occultation
Fri 11 Aug 17:51 Io : Reappears from Eclipse
Sat 12 Aug 19:45 Eur: Shadow Transit Begins ST
Sat 12 Aug 19:59 Eur: Transit Ends S
Sat 12 Aug 21:59 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Sat 12 Aug 22:06 Eur: Shadow Transit Ends
Sun 13 Aug 17:50 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Tue 15 Aug 19:30 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Wed 16 Aug 22:03 Io : Disappears into Occultation
Thu 17 Aug 19:12 Io : Transit Begins T
Thu 17 Aug 20:15 Io : Shadow Transit Begins ST
Thu 17 Aug 21:09 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Thu 17 Aug 21:25 Io : Transit Ends S
Evening sky on Saturday August 12 looking north as seen from Adelaide at
20:14 ACST, when Saturn is at its highest. Saturn is almost overhead
high
above the northern horizon.
The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen).
Saturn was at opposition on the 15th, when it was biggest and brightest in the sky as seen from earth. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is a good telescopic target from 9 pm on. It is poised above the dark rifts in the Milky Way and is in a good area for binocular hunting. It continues to climb into the evening skies as the week progresses. Saturn's rings are visible even in small telescopes and are always good to view.
The constellation of Scorpio is a good guide to locating Saturn. The distinctive curl of Scorpio is easy to see above the north-eastern to northern horizon, locate the bright red star, Antares, and the look below that towards the horizon, the next bright object is Saturn.
Morning sky on Tuesday August 16 looking east as seen from Adelaide at
6:04 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise). Venus is dazzling below the
bright star Betelgeuse and forms a triangle with Procyon and Betelgeuse. The waning Moon is close to the Hyades. The inset shows the
telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (that is 60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).
Venus is lowering in the morning sky and is visible in telescopes as a "Gibbous Moon". At the start of the week Venus forms a triangle with Procyon and Betelgeuse.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday, August 15.
Mercury climbs higher in the evening twilight sky. It is highest above the horizon on the 12th and is now readily visible above the western horizon half an hour after sunset, and is obvious 90 minutes after sunset. After this Mercury heads towards the horizon again.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is rising before sunset and is above the northern-western horizon in the early evening at full dark. It is between the bright star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, and the relatively bright star Porrima. Jupiter is now closer to Spica.
Opposition, when Jupiter is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, was on April the 8th. Jupiter is rising before the sun sets and is visible until just before midnight. Jupiter is a good telescopic target from astronomical twilight on, and the dance of its Moons is visible even in binoculars. The following Jupiter events are in AEST.
Thu 10 Aug 18:20 Io : Shadow Transit Begins ST
Thu 10 Aug 19:26 Io : Transit Ends S
Thu 10 Aug 20:20 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Thu 10 Aug 20:31 Io : Shadow Transit Ends
Thu 10 Aug 22:27 Eur: Disappears into Occultation
Fri 11 Aug 17:51 Io : Reappears from Eclipse
Sat 12 Aug 19:45 Eur: Shadow Transit Begins ST
Sat 12 Aug 19:59 Eur: Transit Ends S
Sat 12 Aug 21:59 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Sat 12 Aug 22:06 Eur: Shadow Transit Ends
Sun 13 Aug 17:50 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Tue 15 Aug 19:30 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Wed 16 Aug 22:03 Io : Disappears into Occultation
Thu 17 Aug 19:12 Io : Transit Begins T
Thu 17 Aug 20:15 Io : Shadow Transit Begins ST
Thu 17 Aug 21:09 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Thu 17 Aug 21:25 Io : Transit Ends S
The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen).
Saturn was at opposition on the 15th, when it was biggest and brightest in the sky as seen from earth. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is a good telescopic target from 9 pm on. It is poised above the dark rifts in the Milky Way and is in a good area for binocular hunting. It continues to climb into the evening skies as the week progresses. Saturn's rings are visible even in small telescopes and are always good to view.
The constellation of Scorpio is a good guide to locating Saturn. The distinctive curl of Scorpio is easy to see above the north-eastern to northern horizon, locate the bright red star, Antares, and the look below that towards the horizon, the next bright object is Saturn.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (that is 60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).
Venus is lowering in the morning sky and is visible in telescopes as a "Gibbous Moon". At the start of the week Venus forms a triangle with Procyon and Betelgeuse.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Friday, August 04, 2017
Geomagnetic warning and Aurora Watch (4-5 August)
The SWS has issued a geomagnetic warning and aurora watch for 4-5 August (UT)
due to an impact from a coronal holes high speed wind-stream. This is expected to
arrive late in the UT day on the 4th (which is the morning of the 5th Australian
time). The Space Weather Prediction Service has Predicted a G1-G2 storm on 4
August UT (with most of the action after sunrise on the 5th, but possibly G1
storms around 4 am).
If these geomagnetic events occur and result in aurora they could be seen from Tasmania and Southern Victoria, weather permitting. The Moon is waxing, and is setting around 4am in the early morning so will only modestly interfere with morning aurora. Be patient, as the activity may rise and fall of the magnetic polarity of the wind may fluctuate significantly.
Dark sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.
As always look to the south for shifting red/green glows, beams have been reported consistently over the last few aurora, as well as bright proton arcs and "picket fences".
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
A new aurora camera is being installed at Campania, Tasmania. A live feed of the images from this camera is sill not available.
SUBJ: SWS GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE WARNING 17/36
ISSUED AT 0547UT/03 AUGUST 2017
BY THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE.
During UT days 4-5 August expect an increase in geomagnetic activity
up to active to minor storm levels due to influence of the recurrent
coronal hole.
INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED
DUE TO CORONAL HOLE HIGH SPEED WIND STREAM
FROM 04-05 AUGUST 2017
_____________________________________________________________
GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY FORECAST
04 Aug: Active
05 Aug: Active
_____________________________________________________________
SUBJ: SWS AURORA WATCH
ISSUED AT 0003 UT ON 04 Aug 2017 by Space Weather Services
FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE
Effects of a coronal hole are expected to impact the Earth during the
next 48 hours, possibly resulting in significant geomagnetic activity
and visible auroras during local nighttime hours. Aurora sightings are
expected to be possible for Tasmania and coastline of Victoria. Aurora
alerts will follow if significant geomagnetic activity actually
occurs.
If these geomagnetic events occur and result in aurora they could be seen from Tasmania and Southern Victoria, weather permitting. The Moon is waxing, and is setting around 4am in the early morning so will only modestly interfere with morning aurora. Be patient, as the activity may rise and fall of the magnetic polarity of the wind may fluctuate significantly.
Dark sky sites have the best chance of seeing anything, and always allow around 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.
As always look to the south for shifting red/green glows, beams have been reported consistently over the last few aurora, as well as bright proton arcs and "picket fences".
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
A new aurora camera is being installed at Campania, Tasmania. A live feed of the images from this camera is sill not available.
SUBJ: SWS GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE WARNING 17/36
ISSUED AT 0547UT/03 AUGUST 2017
BY THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE.
During UT days 4-5 August expect an increase in geomagnetic activity
up to active to minor storm levels due to influence of the recurrent
coronal hole.
INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED
DUE TO CORONAL HOLE HIGH SPEED WIND STREAM
FROM 04-05 AUGUST 2017
_____________________________________________________________
GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY FORECAST
04 Aug: Active
05 Aug: Active
_____________________________________________________________
SUBJ: SWS AURORA WATCH
ISSUED AT 0003 UT ON 04 Aug 2017 by Space Weather Services
FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE
Effects of a coronal hole are expected to impact the Earth during the
next 48 hours, possibly resulting in significant geomagnetic activity
and visible auroras during local nighttime hours. Aurora sightings are
expected to be possible for Tasmania and coastline of Victoria. Aurora
alerts will follow if significant geomagnetic activity actually
occurs.
Labels: aurora
Wednesday, August 02, 2017
Partial Lunar Eclipse (Morning, Tuesday August 8, 2017)
 |  |
| Morning sky on Tuesday, August 8 looking west as seen from Adelaide at 03:51 ACST. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen). Note the darkening of the edge of the Moon. | Earth's shadow is formed from two overlapping cone-shaped sections. The outer or penumbral shadow is where the Earth blocks part but not all of the Sun's light from reaching the Moon, the Umbra is where all of the light is blocked. This year the Moon brushes the edge of the Umrba. Click to embiggen |
On the morning of Tuesday 8 August there is a partial eclipse of the Moon, where the Moon only partially enters the inner, darkest segment of the shadow cast by Earth. This is the first Umbral eclipse since 2015.
Unfortunately, this all occurs in the early morning,
so you will need to get up in the early hours to see it. However, to
eclipse aficionados seeing a dark sliver carver from the Moons silver glow is worth it.
All of Australia will see this partial eclipse from start to finish. The eclipse is quite shallow, so only a small fraction of the Moons southern edge is in darkness (although the southern half of the moon will be dimmer due to the penumbral shadow).
All of Australia will see this partial eclipse from start to finish. The eclipse is quite shallow, so only a small fraction of the Moons southern edge is in darkness (although the southern half of the moon will be dimmer due to the penumbral shadow).
See the table below for timings for major cities (all times are am on the morning of the 17th). Twilight is Astronomical twilight, an hour and a half before sunrise, when the sky is still fully dark. See here for a map and contact timings in UT for sites outside Australia. Asia and Africa have the best views. My guide to imaging eclipses may be helpful.
| City | Eclipse start | Mid eclipse | End eclipse | Twilight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide (ACST) | 2:52 | 3:51 | 4:49 | 5:38 |
| Brisbane (AEST) | 3:22 | 4:21 | 5:19 | 5:07 |
| Canberra (AEST) | 3:22 | 4:21 | 5:19 | 5:28 |
| Darwin (ACST) | 2:52 | 3:51 | 5:50 | 6:26 |
| Hobart (AEST) | 3:22 | 4:21 | 5:19 | 5:41 |
| Melbourne (AEST) | 3:22 | 4:21 | 5:19 | 5:57 |
| Perth (AWST) | 1:22 | 2:21 | 3:19 | 4:56 |
| Sydney (AEST) | 3:22 | 4:21 | 5:19 | 5:19 |
The Sky This Week - Thursday August 3 to Thursday August 10
The Full Moon is Tuesday, August 8, and a partial Lunar eclipse occurs at this time. Mercury climbs higher above Regulus. Jupiter and the
bright star Spica are nearby in the evening sky.
Saturn is visible all night in the
heart of the Milky Way and is close to the Moon on August 3. Venus
dominates the morning sky below the head of Taurus the
Bull.
The Full Moon is Tuesday, August 8, and a partial Lunar eclipse occurs in the early morning.
Morning sky on Tuesday, August 8 looking west as seen from
Adelaide at 03:51 ACST. Similar views
will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen). Note the darkening of the edge of the Moon.
After a significant break (no umbra eclipses since 2015)lunar eclipses are back, Augusts Lunar eclipse is a fairly shallow partial eclipse occurring early in the morning.
None the less an obvious chunk will be seen on the southern edge to the Moon. This will be visible throughout Australia. See here for more details, timings and observing hints.
Evening sky on Saturday August 5 looking west as seen from Adelaide at
18:34 ACST (60 minutes after sunset). Mercury is high above the western horizon.
Mercury climbs higher in the evening twilight sky. It is now readily visible above the western horizon half an hour after sunset, and is obvious 90 minutes after sunset. Mercury climbs away from the bright star Regulus. By the end of the week Regulus sets well before Mercury.
Evening sky on Saturday August 5 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide
at
19:04 ACST (90 minutes after sunset). Jupiter is above the
horizon between the bright star Spica and the relatively bright star
Porrima. The
inset shows the telescopic view of Jupiter on Saturday at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is rising before sunset and is now high above the northern-western horizon in the early evening at full dark. It is in between the bright star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, and the relatively bright star Porrima. Jupiter is now almost between Porrima and Spica.
Opposition, when Jupiter is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, was on April the 8th. Jupiter is rising before the sun sets and is visible until just before midnight. Jupiter is a good telescopic target from astronomical twilight on, and the dance of its Moons is visible even in binoculars. The following Jupiter events are in AEST.
Thu 3 Aug 18:36 Io : Shadow Transit Ends
Thu 3 Aug 19:31 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Thu 3 Aug 19:45 Eur: Disappears into Occultation
Sat 5 Aug 19:30 Eur: Shadow Transit Ends
Sat 5 Aug 21:10 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Mon 7 Aug 19:29 Gan: Transit Begins T
Mon 7 Aug 22:03 Gan: Transit Ends
Tue 8 Aug 18:40 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Wed 9 Aug 20:03 Io : Disappears into Occultation
Thu 10 Aug 18:20 Io : Shadow Transit Begins ST
Thu 10 Aug 19:26 Io : Transit Ends S
Thu 10 Aug 20:20 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Thu 10 Aug 20:31 Io : Shadow Transit Ends
Thu 10 Aug 22:27 Eur: Disappears into Occultation
Evening sky on Thursday August 3 looking north as seen from Adelaide at
20:50 ACST, when Saturn is at its highest. Saturn is almost overhead
high
above the northern horizon. The Moon is just below Saturn.
The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen).
Saturn was at opposition on the 15th, when it was biggest and brightest in the sky as seen from earth. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is a good telescopic target from 9 pm on. It is poised above the dark rifts in the Milky Way and is in a good area for binocular hunting. It continues to climb into the evening skies as the week progresses. Saturn's rings are visible even in small telescopes and are always good to view.
The constellation of Scorpio is a good guide to locating Saturn. The distinctive curl of Scorpio is easy to see above the north-eastern to northern horizon, locate the bright red star, Antares, and the look below that towards the horizon, the next bright object is Saturn.
Morning sky on Saturday August 5 looking east as seen from Adelaide at
6:10 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise). Venus is dazzling below the
bright star Aldebaran and forms a triangle with Aldebaran and Betelguese. The inset shows the
telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (that is 60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).
Venus is lowering in the morning sky and is visible in telescopes as a "Gibbous Moon". At the start of the Week Venus forms a triangle with Aldebaran and Beteguese.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The Full Moon is Tuesday, August 8, and a partial Lunar eclipse occurs in the early morning.
After a significant break (no umbra eclipses since 2015)lunar eclipses are back, Augusts Lunar eclipse is a fairly shallow partial eclipse occurring early in the morning.
None the less an obvious chunk will be seen on the southern edge to the Moon. This will be visible throughout Australia. See here for more details, timings and observing hints.
Mercury climbs higher in the evening twilight sky. It is now readily visible above the western horizon half an hour after sunset, and is obvious 90 minutes after sunset. Mercury climbs away from the bright star Regulus. By the end of the week Regulus sets well before Mercury.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is rising before sunset and is now high above the northern-western horizon in the early evening at full dark. It is in between the bright star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo, and the relatively bright star Porrima. Jupiter is now almost between Porrima and Spica.
Opposition, when Jupiter is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, was on April the 8th. Jupiter is rising before the sun sets and is visible until just before midnight. Jupiter is a good telescopic target from astronomical twilight on, and the dance of its Moons is visible even in binoculars. The following Jupiter events are in AEST.
Thu 3 Aug 18:36 Io : Shadow Transit Ends
Thu 3 Aug 19:31 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Thu 3 Aug 19:45 Eur: Disappears into Occultation
Sat 5 Aug 19:30 Eur: Shadow Transit Ends
Sat 5 Aug 21:10 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Mon 7 Aug 19:29 Gan: Transit Begins T
Mon 7 Aug 22:03 Gan: Transit Ends
Tue 8 Aug 18:40 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Wed 9 Aug 20:03 Io : Disappears into Occultation
Thu 10 Aug 18:20 Io : Shadow Transit Begins ST
Thu 10 Aug 19:26 Io : Transit Ends S
Thu 10 Aug 20:20 GRS: Crosses Central Meridian
Thu 10 Aug 20:31 Io : Shadow Transit Ends
Thu 10 Aug 22:27 Eur: Disappears into Occultation
The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen).
Saturn was at opposition on the 15th, when it was biggest and brightest in the sky as seen from earth. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is a good telescopic target from 9 pm on. It is poised above the dark rifts in the Milky Way and is in a good area for binocular hunting. It continues to climb into the evening skies as the week progresses. Saturn's rings are visible even in small telescopes and are always good to view.
The constellation of Scorpio is a good guide to locating Saturn. The distinctive curl of Scorpio is easy to see above the north-eastern to northern horizon, locate the bright red star, Antares, and the look below that towards the horizon, the next bright object is Saturn.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (that is 60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).
Venus is lowering in the morning sky and is visible in telescopes as a "Gibbous Moon". At the start of the Week Venus forms a triangle with Aldebaran and Beteguese.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Monday, July 31, 2017
Australian Perseid Meteor Shower - Morning August 13, 2017
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| Perseid radiant as seen from Darwin at 5:00 am local time, August the 13th, looking north. Click to embiggen. | Perseid radiant as seen from Brisbane at 5:00 am local time, August the 13th, looking north. Note how much lower the radiant is than in Darwin. |
You may have seen Facebook posts (or twitter notifications ) saying that on August 12/13 there will be a meteor shower that will be the brightest ever seen by mankind with Thousands of shooting stars. Well nope. This is the Perseid meteor shower, and though a reliable and good northern hemisphere shower, and hundreds of meteors may be seen under the best condition, this year the just bright waning Moon is in the sky above the meteor radiant, so rates will be lower than usual.
The Perseid Meteor Shower runs from July 17–August 24, and peaks in the early morning between Saturday August 12 - Sunday August 13 AEST. The midpoint is 20 H UT on the 12th (6 am AEST). See the International Meteor Calendar for 2017 for further details.
Despite this being a quite reasonable meteor shower in the northern hemisphere, for most of Australia the radiant is below the horizon, and only the very occasional meteor will be seen shooting up from the northern horizon. Only observers in northern Australia (at the latitude of Brisbane or further north) will have decent rates.
This is a poor year, while the peak occurs after sunrise in Australia, it still occurs reasonably close to radiant maximum height and while this years peak is higher than usual (with a ZHR of 150 meteors per hour predicted) the bright waning Moon will substantially reduce the number of meteors you can see.
However, these ZHR predictions are ideal rates for sites with the meteor radiant directly overhead, under the darkest possible skies with nothing obscuring the sky. From Australia, we will see much lower rates than these ideal ones. Anyone south of Brisbane will see only the occasional meteor, say maybe one or two per hour (or less), the further north of Brisbane you are, the more meteors you will see.
You can check predictions for your local area at the NASA meteor flux estimator (choose 7 Perseids and 12-13 or 13-14 August 2017). Unfortunately, both Chrome and Firefox have changed their security
settings to prevent plugins from running, and the flux estimator only
runs under Internet Explorer now.
People around the latitude of Darwin have the best chance of seeing meteors, possibly as many as one every 5 minutes at the peak (see table below). Next is places with the latitude of Cairns (around a meteor every 6 minutes), then with the latitude of Mackay (like Port Headland and Mt Isa), and the places with the latitude of Alice Springs (again,see table below).
To see the meteors, you will need to be up from around 3:00 am local time on the 12th, 13th or 14th (yes, a really horrible hour of the morning), with best views 4:00 am-5:30 am on the 13th. The meteor shower will be located due North, with the radiant just above the northern horizon (see charts above). Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
When you get up, allow at least 5 minutes for your eyes to adjust, and be patient, it may be several minutes before you are rewarded with you first meteor, then a couple will come along in quick succession. Choose a viewing spot where you can see a large swathe of sky without trees or buildings getting in the way, or with street lights getting in your eyes. The darker the spot the better (but do be sensible, don't choose a spot in an unsalubrious park for example).
A lawn chair or something similar will make your observing comfortable (or a picnic rug spread on the ground and a nice pillow), and having a Thermos of hot coffee, tea or chocolate to swig while watching will increase your comfort. (Here's some hints on dark adaptation of your eyes so you can see meteors better).
The following table show the predicted peak rates at around 5 am local time on the mornings of the 12th, 13 and 14th of August for a number of cities under dark sky conditions. Rates will be similar at the same latitude as these cities, and rates will be intermediate at spots between these cities.
Rates on the morning of the 15th are similar to that of the 14th. Note, those of you who have Stellarium, in version 13 they have added meteor shower radiants (rates set in the planets dialogue, F4). However while the radiants are shown, the simulated meteors come from random points in the sky, not the radiants.
People around the latitude of Darwin have the best chance of seeing meteors, possibly as many as one every 5 minutes at the peak (see table below). Next is places with the latitude of Cairns (around a meteor every 6 minutes), then with the latitude of Mackay (like Port Headland and Mt Isa), and the places with the latitude of Alice Springs (again,see table below).
To see the meteors, you will need to be up from around 3:00 am local time on the 12th, 13th or 14th (yes, a really horrible hour of the morning), with best views 4:00 am-5:30 am on the 13th. The meteor shower will be located due North, with the radiant just above the northern horizon (see charts above). Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
When you get up, allow at least 5 minutes for your eyes to adjust, and be patient, it may be several minutes before you are rewarded with you first meteor, then a couple will come along in quick succession. Choose a viewing spot where you can see a large swathe of sky without trees or buildings getting in the way, or with street lights getting in your eyes. The darker the spot the better (but do be sensible, don't choose a spot in an unsalubrious park for example).
A lawn chair or something similar will make your observing comfortable (or a picnic rug spread on the ground and a nice pillow), and having a Thermos of hot coffee, tea or chocolate to swig while watching will increase your comfort. (Here's some hints on dark adaptation of your eyes so you can see meteors better).
The following table show the predicted peak rates at around 5 am local time on the mornings of the 12th, 13 and 14th of August for a number of cities under dark sky conditions. Rates will be similar at the same latitude as these cities, and rates will be intermediate at spots between these cities.
| Town | Morning August 12 | Morning August 13 | Morning August 14 |
| Alice Springs | 3 meteors/hr | 6 meteors/hr | 4 meteors/hr |
| Brisbane | 2 meteors/hr | 3 meteors/hr | 2 meteors/hr |
| Cairns | 5 meteors/hr | 10 meteors/hr | 7 meteors/hr |
| Darwin | 8 meteors/hr | 13 meteors/hr | 9 meteors/hr |
| Mackay | 4 meteors/hr | 7 meteors/hr | 5 meteors/hr |
Rates on the morning of the 15th are similar to that of the 14th. Note, those of you who have Stellarium, in version 13 they have added meteor shower radiants (rates set in the planets dialogue, F4). However while the radiants are shown, the simulated meteors come from random points in the sky, not the radiants.
Labels: Meteors
Saturday, July 29, 2017
How to see Bright Nova ASSN-17hx from Australia
Galactic nova ASASSN-17hx has brightened remarkably since it was first seen at magnitude 12.5, it is now magnitude 8-9. It may have peaked, and observations are reguested to follow this bright nova.
The Nova is definitely bright enough to be seen in small telescopes, and may even be picked up in binoculars from dark sky locations. Watching over the next few days will reveal if it brightens more or fades.
It is visible from the southern hemisphere and Australia. from astronomical twlight (and hour and a half after sunset to astronomical twight. It is higest and best for observation around 10 pm local time.
The Moon is setting around midnight so viewing and imaging is best after Moon set. However, over the coming days this means the nova will be closer to the horizon.
The J2000 location of the NOVAis RA = 18:31:45.918, Dec = -14:18:55.57
Labels: nova
Southern Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower 29-31 July, 2017
Evening sky looking east from Adelaide at 2 am local time on July 30th in South
Australia. The cross marks the radiant (the point where the meteors
appear to originate from) of the Southern Delta Aquariids. Similar views
will
be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).The Southern Delta-Aquarids meteor shower runs from from 12 July to 23rd August, peaking on Sunday July the 30th. The number of meteors you will see depends on how high the radiant is above the horizon, and how dark your sky is. This shower is fairly faint, with the highest rate of around a meteor every 4 minutes (more detail below).
The ZHR for Southern Delta Aquariids is 16 meteors per hour. The figure ZHR is zenithal hourly rate. This is the number of meteors that a single observer would see per hour if the shower's "point of origin", or radiant, were at the zenith and the sky were dark enough for 6.5-magnitude stars to be visible to the naked eye.
In practise, you will never see this many meteors as the radiant will be some distance below the zenith. Also, unless you are out deep in the countryside, the darkness will be less than ideal. As well, moonlight will significantly reduce rates. How many are you likely to see in reality? I discuss this further down, lets talk about when to see them first.
At 10 pm, face east, and look 4 hand spans and two finger widths above the horizon. One finger width right is the 4th magnitude star delta Aquarii. The radiant is just above this star. This meteor shower should be visible from 10.00 pm until dawn. The Moon will interfere until around mdinght, just after it sets. The best rates will be at 2 am in the morning of the 30th. The radiant will be due north then, and close to the Zenith near the bright star Fomalhaut.
At 2 am people in the suburbs should see a meteor around once every 8 minutes, and in the country about once every 4 minutes at 2 am in the morning of the 30th.
When looking, be sure to let your eyes adjust for at least 5 minutes so your eyes can be properly adapted to the dark. Don't look directly at the radiant site, because the meteors will often start their "burn" some distance from it, but around a handspan up or to the side. Be patient, although you should see an average of a meteor every six to three minutes, a whole stretch of time can go by without a meteor, then a whole bunch turn up one after the other.
Make yourself comfortable, choose an observing site that has little to obstruct the eastern horizon, have a comfortable chair to sit in (a banana lounger is best), or blankets and pillows. Rug up against the cold. A hot Thermos of something to drink and plenty of mosquito protection will complete your observing preparations. As well as meteors, keep an eye out for satellites (see Heavens Above for predictions from your site).
The sky will also be particularly beautiful, with the Milky Way stretching over the sky and constellation of Scorpius and Saturn gracing the western sky, And Venus rising in the eastern morning sky.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Labels: Meteors
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