Thursday, May 30, 2013
Asteroid 1998 QE2, 28 May 2013 (and viewing hints)
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| Asteroid 1998 QE2, 28 May, 12x10 second exposures stacked in ImageJ and MAX Z-project applied. R filter, iTelescope T9 (it's the bright point like object, the stars are trailed as the scope tracks on the asteroid). | Animated GIF from the 12 frames |
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| Evening sky as seen looking north from the Siding Springs Observatory at 11 pm AEST (similar views will be seen elsewhere at an equivalent time) | Close up view of the track of 1998 QE2. The tick marks are every 3 hours, closest approach is at 4:59 AEST June 1. |
Near Earth Object 285263 1998 QE2 will be of interest for the those with modest sized telescopes and up. This is a "bright" (bit better than magnitude 11), relatively slow mover, visible from all of Australia (and the world) and you don't have to do much fancy foot work to catch it as it passes through Libra.
285263 1998 QE2 is a whopping 2.1 Km diameter rock that will be 15.2 Earth-Moon distances from us at closest approach.
It is closest on May 31 at 20:59 UT. That's 4:59 AEST June 1 in Australia. But it is pretty bright before this (magnitude 10.8), and is actually slightly brighter after this (magnitude 10.7 for a couple of days). From Australia it is quite high in the sky, and passes some reasonably obvious sky landmarks, so is easy to find. Also, it is moving fast enough that after a relatively short while you can see it move with respect to the background stars.
Standard planetarium plotting will work well, if your planetarium program can import orbital elements. Unfortunately Stellarium chokes on NEO orbits, even 1998 QE2, which is relatively far away, so you have to use something else. You can also create an ephemeris directly from the Minor Planet Center. For MPC ephemerides or downloadable orbital elements go to
http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/MPEph/MPEph.html
Here's my GIF animation as a Youtube video http://youtu.be/tCY2Cl8eaOQ
Even better, here's Andrew Wall's widefield video from tonight
Labels: asteroids, imageJ, iTelescope, NEO
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Planet Dance Seen Again (Venus and Jupiter at their closest, 28 May 2013)
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| Jupiter, Venus (just near the cloud band above the horizon) and Mercury (off to the right of Venus and above the channel light) at around 6:10 pm ACST as seen from the beach at Largs North, Adelaide. Image taken with a Canon IXUS, 3 x Zoom 400 ASA, shutter speed 2 seconds. Click to embiggen | A few minutes later, Venus is just touching the surface of the ocean, Mercury is closer to the channel light. |
One of the "benefits" of being sick these past few days was that I got picked up by the Bettdeckererschnappender Weisle and the kids in the afternoon. Driving back home the clouds parted and I could see the triangle of Venus, Jupiter and Nercury just above the horizon. I pointed it out to the family, and when we got home I jumped out, grabbed the camera and was able to get off a few shots with the planets just above the horizon.
The whole thing looked really spectacular, and I'm more than slightly astounded I could see Venus all the way until it touched the horizon.
Labels: Conjunction, Jupiter, Mercury, unaided eye, unaided eye observation, Venus
The Sky This Week - Thursday May 30 to Thursday June 6
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday June 1. Venus, Jupiter and Mercury form a line in the evening twilight. Saturn
is high in the evening skies.
Sky on Saturday June 1 looking north-east as seen from Adelaide at 22:00
local time in South Australia. The left inset shows a telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday June 1.
Saturn is easily visible above the eastern horizon in the early evening in the constellation of Libra. By 10 pm local time it is high above the northern horizon and very easy to see.This is an excellent ime to view this planet in a small telescope, as there will be the least interference from horizon murk and air turbulence.
Saturn, Arcturus and Spica from a broad triangle above the northern horizon.
Opposition (when Saturn is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth) was on April 28. However, Saturn will be a worthwhile evening target for telescopes of any size for several months. The sight of this ringed world is always amazing.
Mars is lost in the twilight, but will emerge in the morning next week.
Evening sky
looking west as seen from Adelaide at 17:45 pm local time on Friday
May 31. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local times indicated
here. Click to embiggen.
Jupiter, Venus and Mercury form a line in the evening sky this week.
Mercury leads the pack of bright planets and becomes more visible as it climbs in the evening sky.
Venus also climbs higher in the evening twilight. It is still close to the horizon, and you need a clear, level horizon like the ocean to see it at its best. However, it is quite visible soon after sunset, and becomes easier to see as the week progresses.
Jupiter is visible low in the early evening and rapidly descends into the twilight, leaving behind Venus and Mercury. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 6:10 pm local time, and becomes harder to see as the week progresses.
On 31 May the planets from a straight line, and remain in a line for the rest of the week.
You don't need a telescope to see this fine display, just your eyes. For more charts and observing hints (and an animation) see my Planet Dance page.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums. Especially during the school holidays.
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.
Sky on Saturday June 1 looking north-east as seen from Adelaide at 22:00
local time in South Australia. The left inset shows a telescopic view of Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday June 1.
Saturn is easily visible above the eastern horizon in the early evening in the constellation of Libra. By 10 pm local time it is high above the northern horizon and very easy to see.This is an excellent ime to view this planet in a small telescope, as there will be the least interference from horizon murk and air turbulence.
Saturn, Arcturus and Spica from a broad triangle above the northern horizon.
Opposition (when Saturn is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth) was on April 28. However, Saturn will be a worthwhile evening target for telescopes of any size for several months. The sight of this ringed world is always amazing.
Mars is lost in the twilight, but will emerge in the morning next week.
Jupiter, Venus and Mercury form a line in the evening sky this week.
Mercury leads the pack of bright planets and becomes more visible as it climbs in the evening sky.
Venus also climbs higher in the evening twilight. It is still close to the horizon, and you need a clear, level horizon like the ocean to see it at its best. However, it is quite visible soon after sunset, and becomes easier to see as the week progresses.
Jupiter is visible low in the early evening and rapidly descends into the twilight, leaving behind Venus and Mercury. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 6:10 pm local time, and becomes harder to see as the week progresses.
On 31 May the planets from a straight line, and remain in a line for the rest of the week.
You don't need a telescope to see this fine display, just your eyes. For more charts and observing hints (and an animation) see my Planet Dance page.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums. Especially during the school holidays.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
Sunday, May 26, 2013
My First View of the Planet Dance (26 May 2013)
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| Jupiter (roughly middle in the gap between the clouds), Venus (just under cloud band) and Mercury (off to the right of Venus) at around 5:55 pm ACST as seen from the beach at Largs North, Adelaide. Image taken with a Canon IXUS, 3 x Zoom 400 ASA, shutter speed 0.8 seconds. Click to embiggen (or you won't be able to see them) | Close-up crop showing the three planets (need I say click to embiggen?). |
After days of solid cloud, finally the sky was a bit clear as I went down to the beach. I went down about 15 minutes after sunset, and could immediately see Venus above a patch of cloud.
Of course, by the time I set up the cloud had covered it, it waited and waited, every so often Venus would peek out then disappear. Finally, at bit after civil twilight Venus came out from under the cloud, just as Jupiter appeared in a break between two cloud bands.
I shot off a few images before Venus finally vanished behind the horizon cloud. I didn't see Mercury with my uaided eye, but it did show up when I looked at the images.
Hopefully the horizon will be clearer tomorrow .
Labels: Conjunction, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus
Friday, May 24, 2013
Asteroid 1998 QE2, 24 May 2013
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| Asteroid 1998 QE2, 24 May, 5x120 second exposures stacked in ImageJ and MAX Z-project applied. R filter, iTelescope T9, | Animated GIF from the 5 frames |
I may be wrong in my assessment of the ability of iTelescopes to track Asteroid 1998 QE2 with automated tracking, it might be just a tad too fast at closest approach on May 31. Will try a couple of approaches over the next few days and see if I can catch its rotation period (if the Moonlight isn't too much of an issue, but closer to maximum approach I can use shorter exposures).
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The Planet Dance's Main Attraction Starts This Friday (24 May, 2013)
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| Western horizon as seen from Adelaide this Friday at 5:45 pm ACST on 24 May, when Venus and Mercury are closest. Similar views will be seen from the rest of the southern hemisphere at the equivalent local time. Click on any image to embiggen | Western horizon as seen from Adelaide at 5:45 pm ACST on Sunday 26 May, when all 3 planets are within a circle 3° across. |
 |  |
| Eastern horizon as seen from Adelaide at 5:45 am ACST on 20 April 2026, when Mercury, Saturn and Marsare within a circle less than 2° across. | Western horizon as seen from Adelaide at 6:23 pm ACST on 8 September 2040, showing all 5 bright planets and the crescent Moon.. |
The weather seems to be fining up, so there is a good chance we will see the main part of the planet dance under clear skies.
This Friday evening (24 May) Mercury and Venus are closest, then on Sunday evening and Monday evening (26 and 27 May respectively), Mercury Venus and Jupiter are are within a circle 3° across (that's the distance covered by three out-stretched fingers).
For more details, viewing hints and an animation, see my Planet Dance post.
The line-up is the best until 2026, when Mercury, Saturn and Mars are within a circle less than 2° across. Then in 2040, all 5 of the bright planest are close together in the evening twilight, with lots of close approachs of pairs of planets, a real planet dance to look forward to.
Labels: Conjunction, Jupiter, Mercury, stellarium, unaided eye observation, Venus
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Occultation (and close approach) of Spica Wednesday May 22, 2013
The evening sky facing north-east in Darwin on May 22 at
19:00 pm ACST showing the waxing Moon just about to cover Spica (alpha
Virginis). (similar views will be seen from other locations north of
Bundaberg at a similar local time eg 20:05 AEST Cairns). The inset shows
a telescopic view of the Moon at 19:00 ACST, with Spica about to go
behind the Moon. The waxing Moon passes in front of the bright star Spica in the constellation of Virgo on the evening of May 22. Spica is a bright white star visible to the unaided eye (magnitude 1).
The occultation will only be seen from north-eastern Australia, anywhere north of a line running just below Darwin to Bundaderg.
Every where else will see Spica dramatically close to the Moon, it is well worth watching even if you don't have an occultation. In Adelaide and Alice Springs the Moon is less than half a lunar diameter from Spica, and in Brisbane it floats just above the surface, almost grazing. Nambour sees a graze starting at 20:01 AEST.
From Darwin the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 19:17 ACST, and reapppears at 19:43 ACST. From Rockhampton the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 20:35 AEST, and reapppears at 21:11 AEST. From Cairns and Townsville the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 20:05 AEST, and reapppears at 21:07 AEST.
With the Moon nearly Full, this event is really best seen with binoculars or a small telescope (especially for the reappearance of the star on the bright limb of the Moon). If you have a tripod or other stand for your binoculars, it will be much easier to observe. Otherwise try and stabilise your binoculars on the back of a chair, or a car roof or something similarly solid. Set up about half an hour before the occultation to watch the star dissapear (so you are not mucking around with equiment at the last moment).
Labels: Moon, Occultation
The Sky This Week - Thursday May 23 to Thursday May 30
The Full Moon is Saturday May 25. Mercury returns to the
evening sky. Venus, Jupiter and Mercury meet in the evening twilight. This will be the closest bright planet grouping until 2026. Saturn
is high in the evening skies with the Moon close to Saturn on the 23rd. See an Emu in the sky.
Sky on Wednesday May 23 looking north-east as seen from Adelaide at 21:00
local
time in South Australia. The left inset
shows a telescopic view of
Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
The Full Moon is Saturday May 25.
Saturn is now easily visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see. On Thursday the 23rd the Moon is close to Saturn.
Saturn, Arcturus and Aldebaran from a broad triangle above the eastern horizon.
Opposition (when Saturn is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth) was on April 28. However, Saturn will be a worthwhile evening target for telescopes of any size for several months. The sight of this ringed world is always amazing.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Evening sky
looking west as seen from Adelaide at 17:45 pm local time on Thursday
May 23. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local times indicated
here. Click to embiggen.
There will be a beautiful meeting of three bright planets in the twilight this evening, the closest meeting of three bright planets until 2026.
Mercury returns to the evening skies this week week, but is very low in the twilight. You will need a level, unobscured horizon to see it (see below).
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It is still quite close to the horizon, and you need a clear, level horizon like the ocean to see it at its best. As the week progresses it climbs towards a meeting with Jupiter, making a fine sight in the twilight (see below).
Jupiter is visible low in the early evening and rapidly descends into the twilight, heading towards a rendezvous with Venus and Mercury this week. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 6:40 pm local time, so the giant world is now not really possible to follow in a telescope (see below).
On Friday 24 May Venus and Mercury are closest. On 26 and 27 May (Sunday and Monday), these three bright planets will be inside a circle 3 degrees wide (that's three finger-widths wide). On the 27th, Mercury and Jupiter will be at their closest. On the 28th, Venus and Jupiter will be at their closest. On 31 May the planets from a straight line.
You don't need a telescope to see this fine display, just your eyes. For more charts and observing hints (and an animation) see my Planet Dance page.
The south-eastern horizon, around 9:00 pm local time in Australia. Can you see the Emu? Click to embiggen.
Now that the Moon is past full and the evening sky is dark it is a great time to find the constellation of the Emu. Now you are saying: ‘Emu – but there is no Emu!’ However, the Emu is one of the indigenous Australian constellations. And interestingly, it is a "dark" constellation, one that is made up entirely of dark dust lanes!
"Dark" constellations are unique to the Southern hemisphere. In South America they had the constellations of the Tinamou (and Emu relative) and two llamas making up the constellation the Indigenous Australians called the Emu*.
See the Emu now?
The Emu consists of the Coal Sack, the dark dust cloud that nestles in the crook of the Southern Cross (the head of the Emu), and a dark dust lane that stars near the Pointers (alpha and beta Centauri) and runs down to the curl of stars that forms the body of Scorpio. This is the neck and wings of the Emu. A second dark dust lane forms the lower body and legs.
Being made of dark dust lanes, it is almost impossible to see in any city. However, here in the suburbs, if I let my eyes adapt for several minutes I can make it out. And of course in the country it is almost immediately obvious. Once you spot it, you will wonder why you never saw the Emu before. The best time too look currently is about an hour and a half after sunset, when the Emu is nearly vertical and easier to recognise. Later, it stretches over the Southern sky more or less side on, so it is less impressive.
*There is more than one Emu, another Indigenous group identifies Orion as an Emu.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums. Especially during the school holidays.
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.
Sky on Wednesday May 23 looking north-east as seen from Adelaide at 21:00
local
time in South Australia. The left inset
shows a telescopic view of
Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
The Full Moon is Saturday May 25.
Saturn is now easily visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see. On Thursday the 23rd the Moon is close to Saturn.
Saturn, Arcturus and Aldebaran from a broad triangle above the eastern horizon.
Opposition (when Saturn is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth) was on April 28. However, Saturn will be a worthwhile evening target for telescopes of any size for several months. The sight of this ringed world is always amazing.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Evening sky
looking west as seen from Adelaide at 17:45 pm local time on Thursday
May 23. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local times indicated
here. Click to embiggen.There will be a beautiful meeting of three bright planets in the twilight this evening, the closest meeting of three bright planets until 2026.
Mercury returns to the evening skies this week week, but is very low in the twilight. You will need a level, unobscured horizon to see it (see below).
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It is still quite close to the horizon, and you need a clear, level horizon like the ocean to see it at its best. As the week progresses it climbs towards a meeting with Jupiter, making a fine sight in the twilight (see below).
Jupiter is visible low in the early evening and rapidly descends into the twilight, heading towards a rendezvous with Venus and Mercury this week. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 6:40 pm local time, so the giant world is now not really possible to follow in a telescope (see below).
On Friday 24 May Venus and Mercury are closest. On 26 and 27 May (Sunday and Monday), these three bright planets will be inside a circle 3 degrees wide (that's three finger-widths wide). On the 27th, Mercury and Jupiter will be at their closest. On the 28th, Venus and Jupiter will be at their closest. On 31 May the planets from a straight line.
You don't need a telescope to see this fine display, just your eyes. For more charts and observing hints (and an animation) see my Planet Dance page.
The south-eastern horizon, around 9:00 pm local time in Australia. Can you see the Emu? Click to embiggen.Now that the Moon is past full and the evening sky is dark it is a great time to find the constellation of the Emu. Now you are saying: ‘Emu – but there is no Emu!’ However, the Emu is one of the indigenous Australian constellations. And interestingly, it is a "dark" constellation, one that is made up entirely of dark dust lanes!
"Dark" constellations are unique to the Southern hemisphere. In South America they had the constellations of the Tinamou (and Emu relative) and two llamas making up the constellation the Indigenous Australians called the Emu*.
See the Emu now?The Emu consists of the Coal Sack, the dark dust cloud that nestles in the crook of the Southern Cross (the head of the Emu), and a dark dust lane that stars near the Pointers (alpha and beta Centauri) and runs down to the curl of stars that forms the body of Scorpio. This is the neck and wings of the Emu. A second dark dust lane forms the lower body and legs.
Being made of dark dust lanes, it is almost impossible to see in any city. However, here in the suburbs, if I let my eyes adapt for several minutes I can make it out. And of course in the country it is almost immediately obvious. Once you spot it, you will wonder why you never saw the Emu before. The best time too look currently is about an hour and a half after sunset, when the Emu is nearly vertical and easier to recognise. Later, it stretches over the Southern sky more or less side on, so it is less impressive.
*There is more than one Emu, another Indigenous group identifies Orion as an Emu.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums. Especially during the school holidays.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
Monday, May 20, 2013
Dance of the Planets, May 20-June 4 2013
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| Western horizon as seen from Adelaide at 5:45 pm ACST on 24 May, when Venus and Mercury are closest. Similar views will be seen from the rest of the southern hemisphere at the equivalent local time. Click on any image to embiggen | Western horizon as seen from Adelaide at 5:45 pm ACST on 26 May, when all 3 planets are within a circle 3° across. |
 |  |
| Western horizon as seen from Adelaide at 5:45 pm ACST on 28 May, when Venus and Jupiter are closest. | Western horizon as seen from Adelaide at 5:45 pm ACST on 31 May, when all the planets are in a straight line. |
Over the next week there will be a beautiful sight as the three planets Mercury, Venus and Jupiter dance around each other in the twilight.
You don't need a telescope to see this, just your eyes. The conjunction is quite close to the western horizon though, you will need a level, clear horizon to see it at its best. Ocean or desert is best, or somewhere high.
The planets will be between 4 finger-widths (4 degrees) and a bit over a hand span (7 degrees) above the horizon half an hour after Sunset. A hand-span is the with of your hand making a "stop" sign when your arm is held out straight in front of you.
Although half an hour after Sunset is the best trade-off between visibility and hight above the horizon, I found I could see Venus and Jupiter at least 25 minutes after Sunset, you might like to try looking earlier too. Successful photography will have to wait until the sky is somewhat darker so the planets are not washed out
Mercury and Venus are closest on 24 May All 3 planets are within 3 degrees of each other on 26 and 27 May, then Jupiter and Mercury are closest on 27 May, Jupiter and Venus are closest on 28 May. Finally all 3 form a straight line on 31 May.
Venus and Jupiter as seen from Adelaide on 17 May, 2013. Imaged with a Canon IXUS, 1/4 sec exposure, ASA 400 3x Zoom at 5:55 pm ACST. Jupiter is the dot at the top right, Venus is bottom left, indicated by the yellow lines. You will need to click on the image to embiggen to see Venus clearly.
A video of the encounter is below:
Labels: Jupiter, Mercury, unaided eye observation, Venus
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Aurora Alert 18-20 May, 2013
There is a minor geomagnetic storm on NOW (yes, it's still daytime) from a glancing blow from a coronal mass ejection. If the activity lasts until nightfall, then Tasmania and Southern New Zealand may see aurora. However, the light of the waxing Moon will make seeing aurora difficult, and you will need to be in a dark sky site to have a chance of seeing aurora. Look to the south, looking for unusual colours or breams of light.
A second coronal mass ejection will impact us sometime after midday on Sunday May 19, quoting the Australian IPS space weather:
Again, aurora could occur at anytime during these storm periods, Moonlight will interfere until Moonset in the early hours of the 20th. Dark sky sites are best, and you should be looking south for unusual colours or beams of light.
A second coronal mass ejection will impact us sometime after midday on Sunday May 19, quoting the Australian IPS space weather:
SUBJ: IPS GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE WARNING 13/07
ISSUED AT 0300UT/18 MAY 2013
BY THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE.
Aurora could potentially be seen as far north as southern Victoria and Northern New Zealand.A full halo earthward directed CME was observed on 17-May. This may increase geomagnetic activity to Minor Storm levels, with periods at Major storm level from mid 19-May and into early 20-May. The magnitude of the storm will depend on the orientation of the magnetic field in the CME.
INCREASED GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY EXPECTED DUE TO CORONAL MASS EJECTION FROM 19-20 MAY 2013 ___________________________________________________________
GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY FORECAST
19 May: Minor Storm
20 May: Active to Minor Storm
Again, aurora could occur at anytime during these storm periods, Moonlight will interfere until Moonset in the early hours of the 20th. Dark sky sites are best, and you should be looking south for unusual colours or beams of light.
Labels: aurora
Friday, May 17, 2013
Venus Returns (and Heralds the Planet Dance), 17 May 2013.
Venus has finally returned to the evening skies. Well, it's been in the evening skies fro a while, but with the lousy weather of the past few week, there was no chance to see it.
Venus is very close to the horizon, and deep in the twilight, but I could see it and Jupiter clearly at 5:40 pm. Venus was a mere three finger-widths from the horizon, and lowere by the time the sky was dark enough for a photo 15 minutes later.
Over the coming week Venus will rise higher in the sky, and Jupiter gets lower, with the pair meeting on the 28th and 29th. Before that Mercury will join them in the evening sky. The next two weeks will be quite interesting.
Labels: Conjunction, Jupiter, Venus
Thursday, May 16, 2013
At EldestOne's Play
Labels: homelife, miscellaneous
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The Sky This Week - Thursday May 16 to Thursday May 23
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday May 18. Mercury returns to the evening sky. Venus is visible low on the evening horizon. Jupiter is low in the
early evening sky and is comes closer to Venus. Occultation of Spica May 22. Saturn
is high in the evening skies. The Moon is close to Saturn on the 23rd.
Sky on Wednesday May 22 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 19:30 local
time in South Australia. The Moon is very close to Spica and there will be an occultation in northern Australia (see below). The left inset shows a telescopic view of
Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday May 18.
Saturn is now easily visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see. On Thursday the 23rd the Moon is close to Saturn.
Saturn, Arcturus and Aldebaran from a broad triangle above the eastern horizon.
Opposition (when Saturn is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth) was on April 28. However, Saturn will be a worthwhile evening target for telescopes of any size for several months. The sight of this ringed world is always amazing.
The evening sky facing north-east in Darwin on May 22 at
19:00 pm ACST showing the waxing Moon just about to cover Spica (alpha
Virginis). (similar views will be seen from other locations north of
Bundaberg at a similar local time eg 20:05 AEST Cairns). The inset shows
a telescopic view of the Moon at 19:00 ACST, with Spica about to go
behind the Moon.
The waxing Moon passes in front of the bright star Spica in the constellation of Virgo on the evening of May 22. Spica is a bright white star visible to the unaided eye (magnitude 1).
The occultation will only be seen from north-eastern Australia, anywhere north of a line running just below Darwin to Bundaderg.
Every where else will see Spica dramatically close to the Moon, it is well worth watching even if you don't have an occultation. In Adelaide and Alice Springs the Moon is less than half a lunar diameter from Spica, and in Brisbane it floats just above the surface, almost grazing. Nambour sees a graze starting at 20:01 AEST.
From Darwin the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 19:17 ACST, and reapppears at 19:43 ACST. From Rockhampton the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 20:35 AEST, and reapppears at 21:11 AEST. From Cairns and Townsville the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 20:05 AEST, and reapppears at 21:07 AEST.
With the Moon nearly Full, this event is really best seen with binoculars or a small telescope (especially for the reappearance of the star on the bright limb of the Moon). If you have a tripod or other stand for your binoculars, it will be much easier to observe. Otherwise try and stabilise your binoculars on the back of a chair, or a car roof or something similarly solid. Set up about half an hour before the occultation to watch the star dissapear (so you are not mucking around with equiment at the last moment).
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Evening sky
looking west as seen from Adelaide at 17:45 pm local time on Thursday
May 23. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local times indicated
here. Click to embiggen.
Mercury returns to the evening skies next week, but is very low in the twilight. You will need a level, unobscured horizon to see it.
Bright white Venusclimbs higher in the evening twilight. It is still difficult to see early in the week, as it is quite close to the horizon, and you need a clear, level horizon like the ocean to see it at its best. As the week progresses it climbs towards Jupiter, making a fine sight in the twilight.
Jupiter is visible low in the early evening and rapidly descends into the twilight, heading towards a rendezvous with Venus and Mercury. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 6:45 pm local time, so the giant world is now not really possible to follow in a telescope. However, with Venus and later on Mercury near it, it is well worth watching.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums. Especially during the school holidays.
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.
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday May 18.
Saturn is now easily visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see. On Thursday the 23rd the Moon is close to Saturn.
Saturn, Arcturus and Aldebaran from a broad triangle above the eastern horizon.
Opposition (when Saturn is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth) was on April 28. However, Saturn will be a worthwhile evening target for telescopes of any size for several months. The sight of this ringed world is always amazing.
The evening sky facing north-east in Darwin on May 22 at
19:00 pm ACST showing the waxing Moon just about to cover Spica (alpha
Virginis). (similar views will be seen from other locations north of
Bundaberg at a similar local time eg 20:05 AEST Cairns). The inset shows
a telescopic view of the Moon at 19:00 ACST, with Spica about to go
behind the Moon. The waxing Moon passes in front of the bright star Spica in the constellation of Virgo on the evening of May 22. Spica is a bright white star visible to the unaided eye (magnitude 1).
The occultation will only be seen from north-eastern Australia, anywhere north of a line running just below Darwin to Bundaderg.
Every where else will see Spica dramatically close to the Moon, it is well worth watching even if you don't have an occultation. In Adelaide and Alice Springs the Moon is less than half a lunar diameter from Spica, and in Brisbane it floats just above the surface, almost grazing. Nambour sees a graze starting at 20:01 AEST.
From Darwin the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 19:17 ACST, and reapppears at 19:43 ACST. From Rockhampton the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 20:35 AEST, and reapppears at 21:11 AEST. From Cairns and Townsville the star disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 20:05 AEST, and reapppears at 21:07 AEST.
With the Moon nearly Full, this event is really best seen with binoculars or a small telescope (especially for the reappearance of the star on the bright limb of the Moon). If you have a tripod or other stand for your binoculars, it will be much easier to observe. Otherwise try and stabilise your binoculars on the back of a chair, or a car roof or something similarly solid. Set up about half an hour before the occultation to watch the star dissapear (so you are not mucking around with equiment at the last moment).
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Mercury returns to the evening skies next week, but is very low in the twilight. You will need a level, unobscured horizon to see it.
Bright white Venusclimbs higher in the evening twilight. It is still difficult to see early in the week, as it is quite close to the horizon, and you need a clear, level horizon like the ocean to see it at its best. As the week progresses it climbs towards Jupiter, making a fine sight in the twilight.
Jupiter is visible low in the early evening and rapidly descends into the twilight, heading towards a rendezvous with Venus and Mercury. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 6:45 pm local time, so the giant world is now not really possible to follow in a telescope. However, with Venus and later on Mercury near it, it is well worth watching.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums. Especially during the school holidays.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Jupiter and the Moon, Close on Mothers Day, May 12 2013
Start looking half an hour after sunset, if you have a flat, clear horizon you may see Venus just above it.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Quick Images of the Solar Eclipse from Adelaide, 10 May 2013
 |  |
| The Sun finally rises above the cloud at 7:42 am (binocular projection) Click on this or any image to embiggen for greater viewing pleasure | Near maximum eclipse, 8:15 am. Taken through my 4" Newtonian with a 30 mm Plossl eyepiece and a Canon IXUS 400 ASA 1/500 sec exposure (infinity to infinity focussing). Nice and clear, good detail on the sunspots, shame about the guff on the CCD chip (upper left) |
 |  |
| Gaps between the vine leaves on the verandah acted as a pinhole camera and cast shadows of the eclipse on the wall. | As the Moon moved off the Sun, the cloud came over again. This is a nice effect I think. The image is brighter due to auto exposure over compensating. |
 |  |
| The Moon edges off the Sun - Binocular Projection | 9:20 am, the Moon is just about to leave the Sun. Foolishly, I tried to swap lenses. This was a disaster, went back to the original lens, but forgot to adjust the focus (GRRR) so everything is slightly out of focus. |
so I got up at 5:30 am to prepare for the eclipse. Most of that preparation was making the boys lunches early so I didn't have to interrupt eclipse viewing to get them ready. Needn't have bothered as the cloud meant the Sun wasn't visible until after they had left for School.
All the plans I had made for viewing the eclipse were thrown out by the cloud lurking on the horizon. There was no point going to the viewing spot I selected as the cloud rendered it pointless, so I viewed from my back yard instead.
At least that gave me plenty of time to set up my telescope and binocular projection system. I was also going to set up the SLR camera, but the solar filter I had made for it was tidied away in the Great Room Renovation, and I stuck with the two systems I had.
The Sun finally struggled through the clouds, already significantly eclipsed. But it did look quite dramatic with the cloud streaked over it. This was the point everything started to go wrong with the telescope. First I couldn't get the scope pointed, after much struggle and a strategic move of a portable washing line to project the shadow of the scope, I finally got it lined up. Then the camera adaptor wouldn't adapt. I've been using it quite a lot, but this morning I just couldn't get anything to align.
I finally got it set up and taking pictures just before maximum eclipse, and got through util 8:30, when I had to take smallest one to School. He did see the eclipse at maximum, and the pinhole shadows made by the vine leaves though. I was noticeably cool as we walked to school.
When I got back, clouds had come over again. After a bit of futzing around I got imaging again.
Then I had the bright idea of swapping lenses from the 30 mm Plossl to the 25 mm Plossl, we that was a disaster, if I had trouble with the camera adaptor with the 30 mm, the 25 mm was a nightmare. Note that this is my workhorse combination for lunar imaging, so I have no idea why it went pear-shaped today.
Went back to the 30 mm, and started taking snaps, as the Moon edged off the Sun. To capture it clearly, I ran set of 10 auto exposures. It was only after the eclipse was over that I realised that I had forgotten to refocus after swapping lenses, so I have a complete set of the Sun moving off the Moon, out of focus.
Still, I got to see it, and it was awesome.The sight of the eclipsed Sun emerging through the clouds, the crescent shadows, the big bite through the Sun, the cool effects of thin cloud going over, and sharing it with SmallestOne. Who cares if a few photos are out of focus.
Labels: eclipse, partial, solar
Maximum Eclipse
Semi-live blogging the Partial Eclipse, May 10
7:00 am, Kids lunches packed, setting up scope and binocs, cloud squats on the horizon
7:15 am, cloud covers the sun
7:30 am, cloud still over the sun, but thin enough I can see the chip out of its side through the sun filt specs
9:18 am live blogging not going well, Maximum eclipse great, saw eclipse shadows, moon about to move off sun
9:30 am clouds covered last bit of Moon exiting sun. Have bad feeling my photos are all out of focus. Off to work now, will post images tonight.
7:15 am, cloud covers the sun
7:30 am, cloud still over the sun, but thin enough I can see the chip out of its side through the sun filt specs
9:18 am live blogging not going well, Maximum eclipse great, saw eclipse shadows, moon about to move off sun
9:30 am clouds covered last bit of Moon exiting sun. Have bad feeling my photos are all out of focus. Off to work now, will post images tonight.
Thursday, May 09, 2013
Comet C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS, May 8
Not bad for a first pass, I've got a few more images to stack and play around with.
Now off to be so I can be ready for the eclipse tomorrow.
Labels: C/2011 L4, comet, imageJ, iTelescope
Reminder; Annular Eclipse Friday May 10, 2013
Just a reminder that an annular Solar eclipse will take place early this Friday morning, May 10.
The annular eclipse starts in remote Western Australia, and the eclipse track passes through the Northern Territory, over far North QLD, then passes over Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Gilbert Islands before reaching its greatest eclipse near Kiribati.
Outside the annular eclipse track, people will see a partial eclipse, with most of Australia, North Island New Zealand, Indonesia and many pacific nations such as New Britain, New Caledonia, Micronesia, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and the Marshal Islands seeing significant partial eclipses.
This Google Map from the NASA eclipse site will allow you zoom into the eclipse track. Click anywhere on the map and a pop-up will inform you when the eclipse is (in Universal Time, UT) and how much of the Sun will be covered. Or you may prefer a standard map with eclipse times in UT. Eclipse times for selected cities (Indonesia, Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Fiji, Honolulu etc.) along the path in UT are given in this table.
Full details of the eclipse as seen from Australia, and detailed safe viewing instructions are at my guide to the annular eclipse. I've also written an article for the ABC on viewing the eclipse.
Unlike a total eclipse, there is no time when it is safe to look at the sun without eye protection, do NOT look directly at the Sun, as irreparable eye damage or blindness can occur. Again, detailed safe viewing instructions are at my guide to the annular eclipse.
In Tasmania, the Queen Victoria Museum and Gallery is holding a safe eclipse viewing session. A live webcast will be put on by the SLOOH remote telescope.
For people coming to this page from Radio Australia, I've made the table below which show the eclipse times in local, rather than universal, time for selected localities. Other locations nearby will see similar eclipse times and durations. For the sites with Annular eclipses, the annular duration lasts between 4-5 minutes around the eclipse maximum. (Again, for Australian timings see my guide to the annular eclipse )
| City/Location | Eclipse Start | Mid Eclipse | Eclipse End | % Sun covered |
| Port Moresby | 7:30 am | 8:55 am | 10:37 am | 89 |
| Milne Bay | 7:32 am | 8:59 am | 10:46 am | 95 (annular) |
| Normanby Island | 7:33 am | 9:00 am | 10:48 am | 95 (annular) |
| Kimbe, New Britain | 7:36 am | 9:03 am | 10:50 am | 83 |
| Honiara, Solomon Islands | 8:42 am | 10:18 am | 12:19 pm | 88 |
| Choiseul, Solomon Islands | 8:39 | 10:15 am | 12:12 pm | 95 (annular) |
| Rontiki, Micronesia | 9:02 am | 10:36 am | 12:28 am | 63 |
| Mili Island, Marshal Islands | 9:20 am | 11:16 am | 1:20 pm | 83 |
| Tuvalu | 10:27 am | 12:27 pm | 2:26 pm | 66 |
| Bonriki, Kiribati | 10:15 | 12:15 pm | 2:22 pm | 95 (annular) |
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
At a Concert Tonight
Aquariid Report, 7 May, 2013
I got up at 3:30 this morning to watch the eta Aquariid meteros, I had prepared the night before, but I still managed to stumble and fluff around.
When I did get out I saw a Aquarid and a Sporadic almost immediately, and then some cloud came over.
However, by 3:45 the sky was clear, and I got to see the first of the really bright meteors with persistant trains of the night.
Overall I saw 25 Aquariid meteors in an hour and a half (and 4 sporadic), not bad for suburban Adelaide. Many of them were quite bright and long and a few with persistent trails. There was a 10 minute lull at 4:15, made up for by a group of 7 bright meteors at around 4:30.
Reports coming in from other suggest similar rates in suburban locations, and higher rates in the country. A bit highre than predicted, but we seem to have missed the outburst peak.
Labels: Meteors
Monday, May 06, 2013
eta Aquariids in Outburst
The eta Aquariids are in an outburst, compare
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2013/
with
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2012/
and here
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2011/
If the outburst lasts we could have very good rates in the morning of the 7th. Viewing info here.
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2013/
with
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2012/
and here
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2011/
If the outburst lasts we could have very good rates in the morning of the 7th. Viewing info here.
Labels: Meteors
The Sky This Week - Thursday May 9 to Thursday May 16
The New Moon is Friday May 10 and there is an annular solar eclipse on this day. Venus appears on the evening horizon and is near the crescent Moon on May 11. Jupiter is low in the
early evening sky and is visited by the crescent Moon on May 12. Saturn is high in the evening skies. Mercury will return to the evening sky next week.
Annular Eclipse as seen from Tennant Creek at maximum eclipse, 8:48 am ACST on May 10.
The New Moon is Friday May 10.
On the morning of May 10, there will be an annular Solar eclipse. In an annular eclipse the Moon does not completely cover the Sun, and the Sun forms a thin ring around the Moon at maximum eclipse depth.
The annular eclipse will be seen from a thin strip in WA, the Northern Territory and remote far north Queensland.
Everywhere else will see a partial eclipse of varying depth, the north-east coast of Australia having the best views. The eclipse starts shortly after sunrise. In places along the annular eclipse path, such as Tennant Creek (NT) and Musgrave Roadhouse (QLD), viewers will see a thin rim of Sun around the moon.
Elsewhere viewers will see between 13% (Hobart) - 83% (Cairns) of the Sun covered by the Moon.
Detailed timings and observing hints are in this post.
Sky on Saturday May 11 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 20:00 local
time in South Australia. The left inset shows a telescopic view of
Saturn at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Saturn is now easily visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see.
Saturn, Arcturus and Aldebaran from a broad triangle above the eastern horizon.
Opposition (when Saturn is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth) was on April 28. However, Saturn will be a worthwhile evening target for telescopes of any size for several months. The sight of this ringed world is always amazing.
Mercury is lost in the twilight, but will return to the evening skies next week.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Evening sky
looking west as seen from Adelaide at 17:50 pm local time on Sunday
May 12. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local times indicated
here. Click to embiggen.
Bright white Venus returns to the evening twilight. It is very difficult to see initially, as it is quite close to the horizon, and you need a clear, level horizon like the ocean to pick it out. On the 11th Venus is close to the crescent Moon.
Jupiter is visible low in the early evening and rapidly descends into the twilight, heading towards a rendezvous with Venus and Mercury. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 7:06 pm local time, so the giant world is now not really possible to follow in a telescope. However, with Venus and later on Mercury near it, it is well worth watching
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums. Especially during the school holidays.
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.
Annular Eclipse as seen from Tennant Creek at maximum eclipse, 8:48 am ACST on May 10.The New Moon is Friday May 10.
On the morning of May 10, there will be an annular Solar eclipse. In an annular eclipse the Moon does not completely cover the Sun, and the Sun forms a thin ring around the Moon at maximum eclipse depth.
The annular eclipse will be seen from a thin strip in WA, the Northern Territory and remote far north Queensland.
Everywhere else will see a partial eclipse of varying depth, the north-east coast of Australia having the best views. The eclipse starts shortly after sunrise. In places along the annular eclipse path, such as Tennant Creek (NT) and Musgrave Roadhouse (QLD), viewers will see a thin rim of Sun around the moon.
Elsewhere viewers will see between 13% (Hobart) - 83% (Cairns) of the Sun covered by the Moon.
Detailed timings and observing hints are in this post.
Saturn is now easily visible above the eastern horizon before midnight in the constellation of Libra. Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky during the week, becoming easier to see.
Saturn, Arcturus and Aldebaran from a broad triangle above the eastern horizon.
Opposition (when Saturn is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth) was on April 28. However, Saturn will be a worthwhile evening target for telescopes of any size for several months. The sight of this ringed world is always amazing.
Mercury is lost in the twilight, but will return to the evening skies next week.
Mars is lost in the twilight.
Bright white Venus returns to the evening twilight. It is very difficult to see initially, as it is quite close to the horizon, and you need a clear, level horizon like the ocean to pick it out. On the 11th Venus is close to the crescent Moon.
Jupiter is visible low in the early evening and rapidly descends into the twilight, heading towards a rendezvous with Venus and Mercury. Jupiter is setting progressively earlier, by 7:06 pm local time, so the giant world is now not really possible to follow in a telescope. However, with Venus and later on Mercury near it, it is well worth watching
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Saturn so prominent in the sky. If you don't have a telescope, now is a good time to visit one of your local astronomical societies open nights or the local planetariums. Especially during the school holidays.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
Update for the eta Aquariid Meteor Shower, 7 May 2013
Compare
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2013/
with
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2012/
and here
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2011/
Morning sky on Tuesday May 7 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:00 am local time in South Australia showing the eta Aquariid meteor shower radiant, the crescent Moon, Uranus and comet Lemmon. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen)
The eta Aquariids may be in outburst this year. On the MeteorObs list there are a reports of an outburst, with substantially greater numbers of meteors seen in the northern hemisphere than usual.
Also a new dust trail analysis suggests that some dust trails will intersect Earth on the morning of Tuesday the 7th (Australian time). So definitely go an look on the morning of the 7th.
Reports from dark sky sites in Australia on the morning of the 6th (waves to Liz Gleeson and Adam Marsh) suggest rates of around 25 per hour (over 1 every 3 minutes) this morning, despite Moonlight interference. There are reports of many bright meteors and persistent trains. And reports from suburban sites have given rates of 11 meteors per hour again with Moonlight interference. So it looks like the morning of Tuesday the 7th may be very good.
Instruction for viewing the eta Aquariids are here. Best times are around 4:00-5:30 am, but it may be worth getting up around 3-3:30 am just in case.
Labels: Meteors
Saturday, May 04, 2013
Images from the May 1, 2013 Aurora
An unexpected speed-up in the solar wind produced aurora on Wednesday May 1. Here are some images from that event (note all images are copyright their takers, please play nice).
James Garlick took this at 2:00 am in Tasmania
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151623146219238&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Janelle Walker took this one at Dru Point, Tasmania
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=577963298901028&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Nice atmospheric shot from Nick Monk
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=525246847537345&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
James Stone shows the Arch of the Milky Way
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=501931323199821&set=oa.578144048887149&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Jonathan Esling has some brilliant light pillars
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152775334630720&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
A brooding image from Laurie Davison
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4976933385189&set=oa.578477268853827&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Ian Stuart has a Snow Dome aurora
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151651913367953&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
A couple of beauties from Francois Fourie
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151658549577990&set=oa.578533055514915&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151658549577990&set=oa.578533055514915&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Lightpillar animation from Rob Kaufmann in Victoria
http://s727.photobucket.com/user/Rob_Kau/media/Aurora01May2013b.gif.html
James Garlick took this at 2:00 am in Tasmania
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151623146219238&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Janelle Walker took this one at Dru Point, Tasmania
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=577963298901028&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Nice atmospheric shot from Nick Monk
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=525246847537345&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
James Stone shows the Arch of the Milky Way
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=501931323199821&set=oa.578144048887149&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Jonathan Esling has some brilliant light pillars
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152775334630720&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
A brooding image from Laurie Davison
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4976933385189&set=oa.578477268853827&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Ian Stuart has a Snow Dome aurora
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151651913367953&set=o.215002295201328&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
A couple of beauties from Francois Fourie
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151658549577990&set=oa.578533055514915&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151658549577990&set=oa.578533055514915&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
Lightpillar animation from Rob Kaufmann in Victoria
http://s727.photobucket.com/user/Rob_Kau/media/Aurora01May2013b.gif.html
Labels: aurora
Thursday, May 02, 2013
eta Aquariid Meteor Shower 6-9 May, 2013
definitely an outburst, compare
Compare
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2013/
with
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2012/
and here
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2011/
Update: on the MeteorObs list there is a report of an outburst, and a new dust trail analysis suggests that some dust trails will intersect Earth on the morning of the 7th (Australian time). So definitely go and look on the morning of the 7th.
Morning sky on Tuesday May 7 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:00 am local time in South Australia showing the eta Aquariid meteor shower radiant, the crescent Moon, Uranus and comet Lemmon. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen)
The eta Aquariids meteor shower, the debris from Halleys comet, peaks on May 6 at 01 UT (thats 11 am AEST and 10:30 am ACST, disappointingly in daytime) with a ZHR of 55. However, the radiant rises around 2 am, so you can't see the shower until the morning of Tuesday the 7th (see update above).
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.
Although the actual peak is on 6th at 13:00 AEST, for Australia the best time to see the eta-Aquarids is in the early mornig of the 7th (see update above).
Why the 8th, when the 7th is closer to the peak of the shower? On the 7th the Moon significantly interferes with seeing the meteors (but it may still be worth watching, it's even worse on the 6th when the Moon is just below the radiant)
How many will br seen on the 7th is not clear, but very good rates have been seen already, and dark sky sites may possibly see one meteor every two minutes or so. There have been many bright ones reported with persistent trains. People in the suburbs may be will see less, but at least one every 6 minutes should be possible.
People in the suburbs should see a meteor around once every 6 minutes, and in the country about once every 3 minutes on the 8th, a bit fewer on the
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).
Use the NASA meteor shower flux estimator for an estimate of what the shower will be like from your location. You need to choose 31 Eta Aquariids and remember to set the date to 7-8 or 8-9 May 2013. You can follow the progress of the shower at the IMO live Aquariid site.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Labels: Meteors
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Aurora Happening Now! (May 1, 11:00 ACST)
Look to the south for unusual coloured glows. Best bets to see something are dark sky sites.
Labels: aurora
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