Tuesday, February 12, 2019
The Sky This Week - Thursday February 14 to Thursday February 21
The Full Moon is Wednesday, February 20. This is a perigee ("super") Moon on the 19th/20th. This year Perigee on Feb 19 will be 6 hours from Full (which occurs at around 2 am in the morning of the 20th) and the full Moon of Sep 13 will be 15 hours from apogee, giving a somewhat better contrast than the perigee Moon of Jan 21 (14 hours between perigee and full). This year (Feb/Sep) is the best pairing until 2032.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars at its brightest. Sadly, it is best seen around midnight, but is well placed for Australian viewers. Unfortunately the moon now begins to interfere with the comets visibility.
More details and black and white charts suitable for printing are here.
This year Perigee on Feb 19 will be 6 hours from Full (which occurs at around 2 am in the morning of the 20th) and the full Moon of Sep 13 will be 15 hours from apogee, giving a somewhat better contrast than the perigee Moon of Jan 21 (14 hours between perigee and full). This year (Feb/Sep) is the best pairing until 2032.
What can you expect to see with the "Super Moon" of January 21 ?
Not much really, unless you are a regular observer of the Moon, have good visual acuity and a good memory.
The problem is, while the Moon is close this time around, it doesn't actually translate into something you can easily see with your unaided eye. Mondays Full Moon will be around 14% larger and 30% brighter than September's apogee Full Moon.So unless you have a good memory, you won't see much (but it will be a good opportunity to photograph the full Moon, then again in September and compare the images like I did for the Jan 21 perigee Moon).
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter. Venus is close to a number of interesting clusters, Venus is initially within a binocular field of the the beautiful globular cluster M22 but rapidly moves away. Saturn is coming closer to Venus, and the pair are closest on the 19th.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets just before 11pm. Mars is coming moving away from Uranus but the pair can still be seen in a binocular field early in the week.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading towards Venus. The pair are closest on the 19th.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. 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
Sunday, February 10, 2019
iTelescope ALERT! comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto at its brightest this week
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| Comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto as seen at 1:41 Local time on 11 Feb for Mayhill, NewMexico, when it is at transit. The Comet is near between 53 Leo and Regulus. the larger rectangle is the field of view of T14/20 medium rectangle is T5/T11 (Mayhill)Click to embiggen. | Comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto as seen at 3:00 Local time on 11 Feb for SSO, Siding Spring, when it is at transit (astronomical twilight starts at 5:09). The Comet is near 53 Leo . The large square is the field of View of T12 (SSO) the medium T30 (SSO) and the small that of T17 (SSO). Click to embiggen. |
Comet C/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) will be at its brightest over the next few days, notionally peaking on the 12th. Australian observers are reporting that the comet is around magnitude 6.5, easily visible in binoculars, and long exposure astro-photographs are revealing a nice little tail. The comet is currently in Leo.
Comet C/2018 Y1 isin Leo and is visible from both Northern and Southern scopes from with transit around 1:30 am-midnight am (Northern scopes) and 3:00-2:30 am (Southern scopes). Currently The Southern scopes have the best view but after a week the Northern scopes have better views, however the moon will begin to interfere. Currently the Moon sets around midnight so imaging at transit will give the best shots.
Comet C/2018 Y1 is quite bright and moving fats, and will need short exposures with stacking on scopes with tracking for the best results.
iTelescope users have been getting nice shots of the comet.
The MPC one line ephemeris is:
CK18Y010 2019 02 07.0247 1.286916 0.989575 358.0526 147.4829 160.4008 20190427 11.5 4.0 C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)
Ephemeris of comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto from SSO Date Rise Ast Twi E Altitude Transit Set Ast Twi B 10 Feb 2019 20:59:53 21:25:40 +33° 00' 07" 03:00:46 08:41:42 05:09:28 11 Feb 2019 20:42:49 21:24:33 +34° 45' 20" 02:35:53 08:07:30 05:10:37 12 Feb 2019 20:24:27 21:23:24 +35° 53' 27" 02:09:07 07:30:59 05:11:46 13 Feb 2019 20:04:55 21:22:14 +36° 13' 23" 01:40:46 06:52:45 05:12:54 14 Feb 2019 19:44:23 21:21:04 +35° 40' 13" 01:11:17 06:13:37 05:14:02 15 Feb 2019 19:23:10 21:19:53 +34° 17' 23" 00:41:18 05:34:35 05:15:09 16 Feb 2019 19:01:38 21:18:40 +32° 15' 22" 23:42:36 04:56:43 05:16:15 17 Feb 2019 18:40:10 21:17:27 +29° 47' 36" 23:15:00 04:20:54 05:17:21 18 Feb 2019 18:19:10 21:16:14 +27° 06' 44" 22:49:09 03:47:44 05:18:26 19 Feb 2019 17:58:56 21:14:59 +24° 22' 28" 22:25:16 03:17:34 05:19:30
Ephemeris of comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto from Mayhill Date Rise Ast Twi E Altitude Transit Set Ast Twi B 10 Feb 2019 18:51:22 19:06:17 +55° 24' 59" 01:41:43 08:01:37 05:26:45 11 Feb 2019 18:13:43 19:07:05 +62° 27' 12" 01:15:30 07:45:00 05:25:58 12 Feb 2019 17:34:26 19:07:53 +69° 28' 43" 00:47:35 07:27:10 05:25:10 13 Feb 2019 16:54:25 19:08:40 +75° 45' 56" 00:18:24 07:08:15 05:24:20 14 Feb 2019 16:14:43 19:09:28 +79° 30' 29" 23:18:26 06:48:24 05:23:28 15 Feb 2019 15:36:24 19:10:16 +78° 20' 11" 22:49:11 06:27:56 05:22:36 16 Feb 2019 15:00:20 19:11:03 +73° 48' 45" 22:21:10 06:07:09 05:21:42 17 Feb 2019 14:27:06 19:11:50 +68° 27' 04" 21:54:49 05:46:26 05:20:47 18 Feb 2019 13:57:02 19:12:37 +63° 10' 45" 21:30:22 05:26:07 05:19:50 19 Feb 2019 13:30:07 19:13:24 +58° 16' 09" 21:07:54 05:06:30 05:18:52
Example plan for following the comet, check filter availability.
; ; Single target image example, adjust filter as necessary for chosen scope (scopes 12,14 and 20 can’t track, the comet is moving so fast that untacted 60s exposures will trail).
;
#trackon
#count 15
#interval 60
#binning 2
#filter Red
CK18Y010 2019 02 07.0247 1.286916 0.989575 358.0526 147.4829 160.4008 20190427 11.5 4.0 C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)
#shutdown
Labels: comet, iTelescope
Seeing comet C/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) at its brightest from Australia (February 2019)
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| Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north from Adelaide at 2:30 ACDST on Monday the 11th of February, when the comet is (almost) highest. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). | Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north from Adelaide at 2:30 ACDST on Tuesday the 12th of February, when the comet is brightest and (almost) highest. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). | Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north from Adelaide at 2:30 ACDST on Wednesday the 13th of February, when the comet is(almost) highest. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). |
Just a reminder that comet C/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) will be at its brightest over the next few days, notionally peaking on the 12th. Australian observers are reporting that the comet is around magnitude 6.5, easily visible in binoculars, and long exposure astro-photographs are revealing a nice little tail. The comet is currently in Leo. It is rising about 9 pm (ACDST and AEST), is about 25 degrees above the horizon at 23:00, which is good for beginning observation and is highest around 2:30 (ACDST) to 3:00 (AEDST). The moon sets around midnight, so will be out of the way for early morning observations (23:48, 00:00, 00:22, 11th 12th an 13th respectively).
On the 10th (morning 11th) the comet is in the same binocular (spotter scope) field as Sigma Leonis. On the 11th (morning 12th)it is between sigma and rho Leonis.
At its brightest it is just below Regulus, just outside of a binocular field, forming a triangle with rho Leonis and Regulus, so will be relatively easy to find. On the 13th it is almost on top of eta Leonis, so should again be very easy to spot. On the 14th it forms a triangle with Lambda and epsilon Leonis, and again should be easy to find.
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| Printable black and white spotters map for Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight ACDST (click to embiggen and print) | Printable black and white binocular map for Comet C/2018 Y1 from the 10th to 15th February. To be used in conjunction with the spotters map. (click to embiggen and print) |
As well as the charts above, there are PDF charts available A black and white PDF spotters chart suitable for printing is here . A black and white PDF chart suitable for binoculars is available here , the large circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.
Labels: binocular, comet, telescope
Tuesday, February 05, 2019
The Sky This Week - Thursday February 7 to Thursday February 14
The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, February 13. Mars is visible low in
the evening skies and is visited by the Moon on the 10th-11th.
Mars and Uranus are close on the 12th-13th. Venus is bright in the morning sky with Jupiter above it
and Saturn below. Saturn comes closer to Venus over the week. Comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) should be bright enough to be easily seen in binoculars.
The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, February 13.
Morning twilight sky on Saturday, February 9 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:11 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright with Jupiter above Venus and Saturn below
it. During the week Saturn draws closer to Veuns The left
upper insert inset shows the telescopic
view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic
view of Jupiter at the same scale and the lower right that of Saturn.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
Evening sky on Sunday, February 10 as seen looking north-west from Adelaide
at 21:48 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is the brightest object
above the western horizon.Uranus is visible in binoculars not far away. The inset is the approximate view in 10x50 binoculars of Mars and Uranus on the 12 when they are at their closest.
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Evening sky on Saturday, February 9 as seen looking South-east from Adelaide
at 21:48 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset).
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
This week is is still a good time to observe our wonderful southern sky before the Moon gets too bright. The Moon is a waxing crescent that does get too bright until the end of the week so this is a good time to look at the wonderful clusters and nebula of our southern skies with the unaided eye or binoculars.
The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross (Wilto the Eagle to the people of the Adelaide Plains) in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Milky ways' satellite dwarf galaxies, the Magellanic clouds, (between and below the bright stars Canopus and Achernar) are easily seen away from the city lights. The braketed are shows the area of sky where the distinctive Eta Carina nebula is,The inset shows the approximate 10x50 binocular view of the are around the Eta Carina nebula.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight
ACDST on Tuesday the 12th of February, when the comet is brightest.
Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent
local time (click to embiggen).
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars at its brightest.Sadly, it is best seen after midnight, but is well placed for Australian viewers, and the Moon will have set when the comet is at its brightest, making it easier to see.
More details and black and white charts suitable for printing are here.
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter. Venus is close to a number of interesting clusters, Venus is initially within a binocular field of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebula and is in binocular distance of the beautiful open clusters M24 and M25 by the end of the week, although Venuses brightness may make them difficult to see.Saturn is coming closer to Venus, and will be closest next week.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets just before 11pm. Mars is close to the waxing Moon on the 10-11th. Mars is coming closer to Uranus and the pair will be at their closest on the 12th and 13th.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading towards Venus.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. 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 First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, February 13.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
This week is is still a good time to observe our wonderful southern sky before the Moon gets too bright. The Moon is a waxing crescent that does get too bright until the end of the week so this is a good time to look at the wonderful clusters and nebula of our southern skies with the unaided eye or binoculars.
The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross (Wilto the Eagle to the people of the Adelaide Plains) in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Milky ways' satellite dwarf galaxies, the Magellanic clouds, (between and below the bright stars Canopus and Achernar) are easily seen away from the city lights. The braketed are shows the area of sky where the distinctive Eta Carina nebula is,The inset shows the approximate 10x50 binocular view of the are around the Eta Carina nebula.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars at its brightest.Sadly, it is best seen after midnight, but is well placed for Australian viewers, and the Moon will have set when the comet is at its brightest, making it easier to see.
More details and black and white charts suitable for printing are here.
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter. Venus is close to a number of interesting clusters, Venus is initially within a binocular field of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebula and is in binocular distance of the beautiful open clusters M24 and M25 by the end of the week, although Venuses brightness may make them difficult to see.Saturn is coming closer to Venus, and will be closest next week.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets just before 11pm. Mars is close to the waxing Moon on the 10-11th. Mars is coming closer to Uranus and the pair will be at their closest on the 12th and 13th.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading towards Venus.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. 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
Sunday, February 03, 2019
Moon Images from the 100 Hours of Astronomy
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| Moon image at 10:12 pm ACDST 10 Jan using a 10mm eyepiece with an unguided 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/250 second exposure ASA 800. Click to embiggen | Moon image at 10:21 pm ACDST 11 Jan using a 10mm eyepiece with an unguided 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/1000 second exposure ASA 3200.Click to embiggen | Moon image at 10:21 pm ACDST 11 Jan using a 10mm eyepiece with an unguided 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/1000 second exposure ASA 1600. Click to embiggen |
On the 100 days of astronomy, I had a chance to play around with my mobile phone and its telescope adapter. I too a variety of images with different exposure conditions and different eyepieces. I had a mostly good run with the Moon. the images I took on the 10th were badly affected by turbulence, and it set shortly after, so I had no chance to do 25 mm eyepiece images. On the 12th I started after the Moon had set, so no images then. But I still now have a better idea of how to balance high iso (allowing for short exposures but less crispness in the images) and fast shutter speed.
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| Moon image at 10:15 pm ACDST 11 Jan using a 25mm eyepiece with a 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/1000 second exposure ASA 800. Click to embiggen | Moon image at 8:54 pm ACDST 13 Jan using a 25mm eyepiece with a 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/2000 second exposure ASA 800.Click to embiggen |
Atmospheric turbulence is a beggar, especially on unguided mounts, even with really shot exposure times. So I have to time my imaging when the moon is much higher (not always practical with family). I will also have to try my hand using the guided 8" Newtonian. But that takes a lot more set-up so I can't be as spontaneous.
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| Moon on 11-01-19 overlay of 2ximages using 10 mm eyepiece. Click to embiggen (compare to the 25mm shot above) | Moon on 13-01-19 . overlay of 2ximages using 10 mm eyepiece.Click to embiggen. (compare to the 25mm shot above) |
I was able to do some mosaics with the 10mm images, but field rotation makes overly a pain in the bottom. I will have to be more caerful in timing to get better overlap of the images.
But overall, not bad for my first serious imaging attempt with the mobile phone. Images of Nebula and clusters to come.
Labels: astrophotography, mobile Phone, Moon, public outreach
Friday, February 01, 2019
Seeing C/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) from Australia (February 2019)
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| Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight ACDST on Friday the 1st of February, The comet is around magnitude 8.2. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). | Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight ACDST on Tuesday the 12th of February, when the comet is brightest. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). |
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars at its brightest. It is reasonably well placed for Australian viwers, but you may have to wait until afyerAs a fuzzy dot admittedly, but visible none the less. C/2018 Y1 currently in the constellation Virgo but will move rapidly into Leo. It is brightening and should be visible in binoculars by early February. It is currently magnitude 8 and may peak at magnitude 6.5 when it is 0.3 AU from Earth on the 12th. Its fuzzy, diffuse nature means it will be difficult to spot under suburban conditions. The comet passes a number of relatively bright stars that will make it easier to find.
The comet is at its best around 2:30 am, but is reasonably okay around midnight in the second week of February. On the 1st it is just above Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, on the subsequent nights it is within one or one and and a half binocular widths of each of the brighter stars in Virgo (see spotters chart). On the 7th in is in the same binocular (spotter scope) field as beta Virginis, on the 10th in the same binocular (spotter scope) field as Sigma Leonis. On the 11th it is between sigma and rho Leonis.
At its brightest it is just below Regulus, just outside of a binocular field, forming a triangle with rho Leonis and Regulus, so will be relatively easy to find. On the 13th it is almost on top of eta Leonis, so should again be very easy to spot. On the 14th it forms a triangle with Lambda and epsion Leoonis, and again should be easy to find.
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| Printable black and white spotters map for Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight ACDST (click to embiggen and print) | Printable black and white binocular map for Comet C/2018 Y1 from the 10th to 15th February. To be used in conjunction with the spotters map. (click to embiggen and print) |
As well as the charts above, there are PDF charts available A black and white PDF spotters chart suitable for printing is here . A black and white PDF chart suitable for binoculars is available here , the large circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Don't forget, early morning action as the crescent Moon visites three bright planets (31 Jan-2 Feb)
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| Morning twilight sky on Thursday, January 31 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:32 ACDST (60 minutes before sunrise). The thin crescent Moon is close to Jupiter. Venus is below Jupiter. Saturn is low to the horizon. The left upper insert inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at the same scale and the lower right that of Saturn. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise) | Morning twilight sky on Friday, February 1 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:34 ACDST (60 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright and is close to the crescent Moon. Jupiter is above Venus and Saturn below it. The left upper insert inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at the same scale and the lower right that of Saturn. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise). | Morning twilight sky on Saturday, February 2looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:34 ACDST (60 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright with Jupiter above it and Saturn below it. Saturn is close to the thin crescent Moon. The left upper insert inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at the same scale and the lower right that of Saturn. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise) |
The astronomical action is in the morning sky over the next three mornings as the thin crescent Moon visits Jupiter, Venus and Saturn in turn. The 31st has a bonus of an occultation of Ganymede by Jupiter. On the 2nd Venus can be seen in binoculars amongst some interesting clusters and nebulae.
Labels: binocular, Conjunction, Jupiter, Moon, Saturn, telescope, unaided eye, Venus
Southern Skywatch February 2019 edition is now out!
The left upper insert inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at the same scale and the lower right that of Saturn. The previous morning the crescent Moon was close to Jupiter, the following morning the crescent Moon will be close to Saturn.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).
The February edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.
Mercury is in the evening sky but too close to the horizon to see in the twilight.
Venus is climbing higher in the morning skies and is close to the crescent Moon on the 1st. In even small telescopes it is a "gibbous moon"shape. Venus is close to some interesting clusters and nebulae from the 2nd to the 12th. Venus is close to Saturn in the morning sky on the 19th
Jupiter is close to waning Moon on the 28th.
Mars is close to the waxing Moon on the 10-11th. Mars and Uranus are closest on the 19th.
Saturn climbs higher in the morning sky chasing then catching Venus on the 19th.
Comet C/2018 Y1 may be visible in binoculars.
February 1, crescent Moon near Venus.
February 2 crescent Moon close to Saturn. February 10-11; Mars close to the waxing Moon. February 28; waning Moon close to Jupiter.
February 5; Moon at Apogee; February 19 Moon at perigee (near perigee full Moon, the second so called "super Moon" of this year, with full Moon on the 20th, this year is the best perigee/agpogee full Moon combination until 2032)
Labels: southern skywatch
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
The Sky This Week - Thursday January 31 to Thursday February 7
The New Moon is Tuesday, February 5. Mars is visible low in
the evening skies.
With the New Moon this is an excellent time to view the summer
constellations. In the lead up to new Moon the morning skies are a glorious sight. Venus is bright in the morning sky with Jupiter above it and Saturn below.
The crescent Moon is close to Jupiter on the 31st, Venus on the 1st and Saturn on the 2nd.
The New Moon is Tuesday, February 5. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 5th as well.
Morning twilight sky on Friday, February 1 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:34 ACDST (60 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright and
is close to the crescent Moon. Jupiter is above Venus and Saturn below it. The left
upper insert inset shows the telescopic
view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic
view of Jupiter at the same scale and the lower right that of Saturn. The previous morning the crescent Moon was close to Jupiter, the following morning the crescent Moon will be close to Saturn.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).
Evening sky on Saturday, February 2 as seen looking north-west from Adelaide
at 21:56 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is the brightest object
above the western horizon.Uranus is visible in binoculars nut far away. Next week the pair will be close together.
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Evening sky on Saturday, February 2 as seen looking South-east from Adelaide
at 21:56 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset).
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
This weekend is a perfect time to observe our wonderful southern sky. The Moon is a waning crescent that does not rise until morning twilight so this is an excellent time to look at the wonderful clusters and nebula of our southern skies with the unaided eye or binoculars.
The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross (Wilto the Eagle to the people of the Adelaide Plains) in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Milky ways' satellite dwarf galaxies, the Magellanic clouds, (between and below the bright stars Canopus and Achernar) are easily seen away from the city lights. This is the last week to get a good look at these wonders before the Moon's light washes them out. The yellow lines bracket the globular cluster 47 Tucana, next to the Small Magellanic cloud under Achernar. The inset shows the approximate binocular view of 47 Tucana and the Small Magellanic cloud.
Evening sky on Saturday, February 2 as seen looking north from Adelaide
at 21:56 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). The constellation of Orion dominates the northern sky, closer to the horizon, just
to the west of Aldebaran and the A shape of the Hyades is the delightful Pleiades
cluster.
The inset shows the approximate field of view of the Sword of Orion and the Orion nebula (although you will have to be at a dark sky location to see it at its best)
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter. Venus and the crescent Moon are close on the 1st. Venus is close to a number of interesting clusters, although you will have to wait until the 4th, when the Moon has moved out of the way, to see them at their best. Venus is initially within a binocular field of the open cluster M23, and by the end of the week is within a binocular field of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebula, although Venuses brightness may make them difficult to see.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus. Jupiter and the crescent Moon are close on the 31st.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets just before midnight. Mars is coming closer to Uranus and the pair will be close next week.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky. Saturn and the crescent Moon are close on the 2nd.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. 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, February 5. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 5th as well.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
This weekend is a perfect time to observe our wonderful southern sky. The Moon is a waning crescent that does not rise until morning twilight so this is an excellent time to look at the wonderful clusters and nebula of our southern skies with the unaided eye or binoculars.
The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross (Wilto the Eagle to the people of the Adelaide Plains) in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Milky ways' satellite dwarf galaxies, the Magellanic clouds, (between and below the bright stars Canopus and Achernar) are easily seen away from the city lights. This is the last week to get a good look at these wonders before the Moon's light washes them out. The yellow lines bracket the globular cluster 47 Tucana, next to the Small Magellanic cloud under Achernar. The inset shows the approximate binocular view of 47 Tucana and the Small Magellanic cloud.
The inset shows the approximate field of view of the Sword of Orion and the Orion nebula (although you will have to be at a dark sky location to see it at its best)
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter. Venus and the crescent Moon are close on the 1st. Venus is close to a number of interesting clusters, although you will have to wait until the 4th, when the Moon has moved out of the way, to see them at their best. Venus is initially within a binocular field of the open cluster M23, and by the end of the week is within a binocular field of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebula, although Venuses brightness may make them difficult to see.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus. Jupiter and the crescent Moon are close on the 31st.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets just before midnight. Mars is coming closer to Uranus and the pair will be close next week.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky. Saturn and the crescent Moon are close on the 2nd.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. 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
A belated Christmas and Birthday reflection
"How to make gravy" always makes me cry uncontrollably since Jack died. Even writing about it is uncomfortable. Despite it being a song about loss and yearning to be with family and worry that your role in the family will be replaced (and maybe not as well), I have no idea why this song brings feelings of Jack back so vividly and forcibly.
Loss and yearning plays a big role of course, but Jack never played a central role in the cooking of family Christmas feasts (the main concern of the singing character which stands for his other worries about loss). He certainly never made gravy (although he consumed it with gusto), however on two occasions he played a central role in making dessert pizzas with his brothers and cousins. But I suppose the song just brings home the gap in the family Christmas celebration, the empty chair at the table. All I can say is that song brings grief bubbling unbidden and uncontrollably to the surface in the way no other memory of Jack does.
This was the third Christmas without Jack, and the first without mum, a double dealing of loss. Mum was at the Newberry Hill Christmas celebration only once, but ever after I would hold the phone up on Christmas day so everyone could shout "Merry Christmas" at her from the long table. She loved it, but I will never again make this small ritual of connection.
Jack may not have been a maker of gravy, but we had a semi-occasional birthday ritual of him consuming an enormous schnitzel, which started when poppa Tom challenged him to eat an similarly enormous schnitzel when he was a young lad (he succeeded to everyone's surprise).
This year of course no schnitzels were consumed, the pool untroubled by joyful, energetic young men laughing, jumping and splashing to help him celebrate. But his mate Alex came over and we drank many cups of coffee and discussed life, remembering Jack, coping and animae and manga.
Another loss will be the somewhat late birthday cards from mum, bearing $50 checks for the boys. They will come no more, along with the birthday phone calls, somewhat louder each year as mum got progressively deafer. Another ritual of connection with distant loved ones gone.
Soon mums ashes will rest nestled up to dads, a simple bronze plaque carrying the lines of their service to country and the love of their family. Amounts those ashes will be the ashes of messages of love that accompanied her final journey.
Jack's resting place has no plaque, but bushland, birdsong and a growing collection of beautiful stones to carry his memory with us.
In the future we will have other rituals of connection, as the families grow older, and the children move away with the new lives they forge. One day we will be the distant voices they yell Christmas greetings to, metaphorically passing the gravy recipe to new hands, to carry on where we cannot.
Labels: home life
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