Tuesday, October 29, 2013
The Sky This Week - Thursday October 31 to Thursday November 7
The New Moon is Sunday November 3. Mars and Jupiter are prominent in
the early morning. Venus is easily visible in the western evening sky in the heart of the Milky Way. It is visible late into the night in the heart of the galaxy, and is visited by the crescent Moon on the 7th. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON possibly visible in binoculars not far from Mars.
The New Moon is Sunday November 3. Moon is at perigee on the 6th.
Evening sky looking west as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 pm ACDST on Thursday November 7. Venus is quite high in the evening sky in the heart of the Milky Way. The insets shows the
telescopic
view of Venus. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local times. Click to
embiggen.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen shortly after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset).
The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to three hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is) when the sky is fully dark.
On November 1 Venus is at its greatest distance from the Sun.
Venus moves from the constellation Ophiuchus to the Constellation of Sagittarius. It is a distinct half moon shape in even small telescopes. This week Venus is in the heart of the Milky Way, and passes with binocular distance of the beautiful cluster M21 and the Lagoon and Triffid nebulas between the 3rd-6th.
On the 7th the crescent Moon is not far from Venus.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Saturn is lost in the twilight.
Morning sky on Saturday
October 26. looking north-east as seen from
Adelaide
at 5:30 am ACST in South Australia. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is to the right of Mars, and visible in amateur
telescopes and possibly binoculars. The inset shows the view of Jupiter through a telescope at
this time. Similar views will
be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is is in the constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible well before twilight. Mars starts the week near the bright star Regulus and continues to draw away during the week. Mars is also not far from comet C/2012 S1 ISON.
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon near the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is continuing to brighten.
On November 1 ISON crosses Earth's orbit (although Earth will be over an AU from it at the time)
Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 8" reflecting telescopes and has been imaged with DSLR cameras at high ISO values.
The image to the left shows a high power view of the region around Mars with ISON (expanded from the unaided eye view above) on November 3rd at Nautical twilight. ISON is close to Sigma Leonis at this time.
The comet most recently been reported somewhere around magnitude 8.5-9.5, the bright Moon being close to ISON makes magnitude estimation hard.
The comet should is on line to be visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and strong binoculars under dark skies by the 1st, when the Moon is no longer a problem. You can get a PDF map suitable for printing here.
The comet is to the right of Mars, theoretically making finding it relatively easy,on the 3rd it is close to the moderately bright star Sigma Leonis.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
The New Moon is Sunday November 3. Moon is at perigee on the 6th.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen shortly after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset).
The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to three hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is) when the sky is fully dark.
On November 1 Venus is at its greatest distance from the Sun.
Venus moves from the constellation Ophiuchus to the Constellation of Sagittarius. It is a distinct half moon shape in even small telescopes. This week Venus is in the heart of the Milky Way, and passes with binocular distance of the beautiful cluster M21 and the Lagoon and Triffid nebulas between the 3rd-6th.
On the 7th the crescent Moon is not far from Venus.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Saturn is lost in the twilight.
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is is in the constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible well before twilight. Mars starts the week near the bright star Regulus and continues to draw away during the week. Mars is also not far from comet C/2012 S1 ISON.
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon near the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is continuing to brighten.
On November 1 ISON crosses Earth's orbit (although Earth will be over an AU from it at the time)
Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 8" reflecting telescopes and has been imaged with DSLR cameras at high ISO values.
The image to the left shows a high power view of the region around Mars with ISON (expanded from the unaided eye view above) on November 3rd at Nautical twilight. ISON is close to Sigma Leonis at this time.
The comet most recently been reported somewhere around magnitude 8.5-9.5, the bright Moon being close to ISON makes magnitude estimation hard.
The comet should is on line to be visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and strong binoculars under dark skies by the 1st, when the Moon is no longer a problem. You can get a PDF map suitable for printing here.
The comet is to the right of Mars, theoretically making finding it relatively easy,on the 3rd it is close to the moderately bright star Sigma Leonis.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
More Media Appearances in the Next Few Days
Tomorrow morning (30 October) Sydney morning ABC TV will feature a (very short) interview with me at around 7:40 am. It is also on caffeine, but not related to the death by caffeine article.
This Sunday (3 November) I'll be on ABC local radio (Adelaide 891 AM) with Ashley Walsh , going live about 11:40 am ACDST.
I'll be talking about finding comet ISON in the morning skies, so listen if you can (they doing streaming, so even if you are not in Adelaide you can catch this on your computer.
Labels: C/2012 S1 ISON, comet, public outreach, Radio
Friday, October 25, 2013
Shark Pilot
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON farewells Mars, 24-31 October 2013
 |  |
| Location of comet C/2012 S1 ISON in the solar system on 24 October. Click to embiggen | Morning sky on Thursday October 24 looking north-east as seen from Adelaide at 5:30 am ACST in South Australia. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is to the right of Mars, and visible in amateur telescopes. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). |
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON continues to brighten. Currently somewhere around magnitude 9, It should theoretically be visible in small scopes and strong binoculars, but its fuzzy, diffuse nature, its closeness to the horizon (between 7 -12 degrees depending on where you are, except Darwin and Far North Queensland, where it is more like 20 degrees above the horizon) and the closeness of the bright Moon means that it is difficult to spot visually in smaller scopes.
The Moons light will fade as the week passes, but the Moon also gets closer to ISON making it tricky to see in the coming week. The comet is just below and to the right of Mars, making finding it relatively easy. It is within a binocular field of Mars for the first few days. The it passes close by the brightish star 53 Leo (not labelled in the B7W map, but obvious) .
Some new images of ISON have been released from the Hubble Space telescope, and despite the Moonlight there are some nice images of ISON being taken by amateurs, see here and here. A printable PDF map is here.
 |  |
| A black and white map suitable for printing for use with binoculars and telescopes. The large circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars, the medium circle the approximate field of view of a 24 mm eyepiece for a reflecting telescope and the small circle a 12 mm eyepiece for a reflecting telescope.Time is astronomical twilight.Click to embiggen. The image is reversed and inverted as seen through a telescope | A high power stellarium view of the region around Mars with ISON to go with the black and white spotters map.Unlike the spotters map it is not reversed and inverted as in telescope views. This view is on the 18th. Click to embiggen. |
Labels: binocular, C/2012 S1 ISON, telescope
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
The Sky This Week - Thursday October 24 to Thursday October 31
The Last Quarter Moon is Sunday October 27. Mars and Jupiter are prominent in
the early morning. The Moon visits Jupiter on the 26th and the crescent Moon is near Mars on the 30th. Venus is easily visible in the western evening sky above the bright star Antares. Mercury and Saturn are low in the
evening sky. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON visible in telescopes not far from Mars.
The Last Quarter Moon is Sunday October 27. Moon is at apogee on the 25th.
Evening sky looking west as seen from Adelaide at 20:15 pm ACDST on Saturday
October 26. Venus is quite high in the evening sky above Antares. Saturn and
Mercury are low on the horizon. The insets shows the
telescopic
view of Venus and Mercury at this time. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local times. Click to
embiggen.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen shortly after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset). The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to three hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is).
Venus starts the week close to the bright star Antares and continues its journey up the body of the Scorpion into the constellation Ophiuchus. It is a distinct half moon shape in even small telescopes
Mercury is still easily visible in the evening twilight. Mercury is lower in the evening sky this week heading towards the horizon, but remains reasonably visible for the rest of the week.Mercury is a crescent in telescopes.
Saturn is still visible above the western horizon in the early evening twilight in the constellation of Virgo. It is now too low in the twilight for telescopic views, and will be effectively lost to sight by the end of the week.
Morning sky on Saturday
October 26. looking north-east as seen from
Adelaide
at 5:30 am ACST in South Australia. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is to the right of Mars, and visible in amateur
telescopes. The inset shows the view of Jupiter through a telescope at
this time. Similar views will
be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is is in the constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible well before twilight. Mars starts the week not far from the bright star Regulus and continues to draw away during the week. Mars is also not far from comet C/2012 S1 ISON.
The crescent Moon is near Mars on the 30th.
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon near the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
The Moon visits Jupiter on the 26th.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON
is continuing to brighten.
Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 8"
reflecting telescopes and has been imaged with DSLR cameras at high ISO values.
The image to the left shows a high power view of the region around Mars with ISON (expanded from the unaided eye view above).
While the comet is somewhere around magnitude 9-10, the bright Moonlight making magnitude estimation hard. It is never very high at Astronomical twilight (5 and 7 degrees above the horizon in most of Australia). While the comet should be visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and strong binoculars, the proximity of the bright Moon makes spotting the comet difficult. You can get a PDF map suitable for printing here.
The comet is to the right of Mars, theoretically making finding it relatively easy, but the Moon interference (see above) makes it hard to distinguish.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
The Last Quarter Moon is Sunday October 27. Moon is at apogee on the 25th.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen shortly after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset). The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to three hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is).
Venus starts the week close to the bright star Antares and continues its journey up the body of the Scorpion into the constellation Ophiuchus. It is a distinct half moon shape in even small telescopes
Mercury is still easily visible in the evening twilight. Mercury is lower in the evening sky this week heading towards the horizon, but remains reasonably visible for the rest of the week.Mercury is a crescent in telescopes.
Saturn is still visible above the western horizon in the early evening twilight in the constellation of Virgo. It is now too low in the twilight for telescopic views, and will be effectively lost to sight by the end of the week.
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is is in the constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible well before twilight. Mars starts the week not far from the bright star Regulus and continues to draw away during the week. Mars is also not far from comet C/2012 S1 ISON.
The crescent Moon is near Mars on the 30th.
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon near the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
The Moon visits Jupiter on the 26th.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON
is continuing to brighten.
Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 8"
reflecting telescopes and has been imaged with DSLR cameras at high ISO values.The image to the left shows a high power view of the region around Mars with ISON (expanded from the unaided eye view above).
While the comet is somewhere around magnitude 9-10, the bright Moonlight making magnitude estimation hard. It is never very high at Astronomical twilight (5 and 7 degrees above the horizon in most of Australia). While the comet should be visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and strong binoculars, the proximity of the bright Moon makes spotting the comet difficult. You can get a PDF map suitable for printing here.
The comet is to the right of Mars, theoretically making finding it relatively easy, but the Moon interference (see above) makes it hard to distinguish.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Orionid Meteor Shower 22 October 2013
The Orionids are normally a worthwhile shower, best seen between 2-4 am, the radiant being just under Betelgueuse, the bright red star in Orion.
This year the just past Full Moon's light will significantly lower rates. The best viewing is the morning of the 22nd, when between 3-5 am under dark skies you should see about a meteor every 5-10 minutes.
You can find out the preidcted rates for your location using the NASA meteor flux estimator (use 8 Orionids and make sure you set the dates to 21-22 October 2013).
If you decide to get up, despite the Moon contaminated skies, allow at least 5 minutes for your eyes to adjust, and be patient, it may be several minutes before you are rewarded with you first meteor, then a couple will come along in quick succession.
Choose a viewing spot where you can see a large swathe of sky without trees or buildings getting in the way, or with streetlights getting in your eyes. The darker the spot the better (but do be sensible, don't choose a spot in an unsalubrious park for example). It will be difficult but try and block the Moon with a post or wall so it doesn't interfere with your viewing too much.
A lawn chair or something similar will make your observing comfortable (or a picnic rug spread on the ground and a nice pillow), and having a Thermos of hot coffee, tea or chocolate to swig while watching will increase your comfort. (Here's some hints on dark adaption of your eyes so you can see meteors better).
Labels: Meteors
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Dolphin Spotting
Friday, October 18, 2013
Venus above the Port Adelaide Illumination Exhibition
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON meets Mars, 16-23 October 2013
 |  |
| Location of comet C/2012 S1 ISON in the solar system on 16 October. Click to embiggen | Morning sky on Friday October 18 looking north-east as seen from Adelaide at 5:30 am ACST in South Australia. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is below Mars, and visible in amateur telescopes. The inset shows the view of Jupiter through a telescope at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). |
Rumors of Comet C/2012 S1 ISON's demise are greatly exagerated. It is still brightening and looking very nice. Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 10-12" reflecting telescopes. Currently magnitude 10, It should theoretically be visible in smaller scopes, but its fuzzy, diffuse nature and its closeness to the horizon (between 7 -12 degrees depending on where you are, except Darwin and Far North Queensland, where it is more like 20 degrees above the horizon) means that it is difficult to spot visually in smaller scopes.
The highlight of this week is the comets close encounter with Mars. Comet ISON was actually closest to Mars on October 1, but the orbital geometry means that from Earth it will appear closest on the 18th. Between now and the 23rd though Mars and ISON (and the nearby bright star Regulus) are still close enough for good imaging opportunities (although you can't see it visually, long exposures on varuous imaging systems will bring it out). The comet is just below and to the left of Mars, making finding it relatively easy. Over the next few days it is roughly midway between the brightish star 37 Leo and Mars, making it even easier to find.
There have been some great images taken so far of ISON and Mars and Regulus, some with just DSLR's (at really high ISO ratings though). Here's another using a telephoto lens. So it's well worth having a go at imaging it under dark skies (the waxing Moon may be a problem though). Some charts that allow you to find the comet more easily. A printable PDF version is here.
 |  |
| A black and white map suitable for printing for use with binoculars and telescopes. The large circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars, the medium circle the approximate field of view of a 24 mm eyepiece for a reflecting telescope and the small circle a 12 mm eyepiece for a reflecting telescope.Time is astronomical twilight.Click to embiggen. The image is reversed and inverted as seen through a telescope | A high power stellarium view of the region around Mars with ISON to go with the black and white spotters map.Unlike the spotters map it is not reversed and inverted as in telescope views. This view is on the 18th. Click to embiggen. |
Labels: binoculars, C/2012 S1 ISON, telescope
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The Sky This Week - Thursday October 17 to Thursday October 24
The Full Moon is Saturday October 19. Mars and Jupiter are prominent in the early morning. Venus is easily visible in the western evening sky close to the bright star Antares. Mercury and Saturn lower in the evening sky. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON visible in telescopes close to Mars. Orionid meteor shower peaks the morning of October 22.
The Full Moon is Saturday October 19.
Evening sky looking west as seen from Adelaide at 20:00 pm ACDST on Saturday
October 19. Venus is quite high in the evening sky above Saturn and
Mercury. The insets shows the
telescopic
view of Venus and Mercury at this time. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local times. Click to
embiggen.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen shortly after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset). The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to three hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is).
Venus starts the week close to the bright star Antares and continues its journey up the body of the Scorpion. It is a distinct gibbous shape in even small telescopes
Mercury is still easily visible in the evening twilight. Mercury is lower in the evening sky this week heading towards the horizon, but remains prominent for the rest of the week.
Saturn is still visible above the western horizon in the early evening twilight in the constellation of Virgo. Telescopic views of the ringed world are progressively harder as the planet gets lower in the sky and deeper in the twilight. Saturn sets around 9:00 pm local daylight saving time.
Morning sky on Friday October 18 looking north-east as seen from
Adelaide
at 5:30 am ACST in South Australia. Jupiter is close to the star
Wassat. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is below Mars, and visible in amateur
telescopes. The inset shows the view of Jupiter through a telescope at
this time. Similar views will
be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is is in the constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible well before twilight. Mars starts the week close to the bright star Regulus and draws away during the week. Mars is closest to comet C/2012 S1 ISON on the 18th.
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon, above and well to to the left of Mars and near the birgt stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. During the week Jupiter rises higher and draws away from the moderately bright star Wassat. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON
is expected to become very bright in late November Early December.
Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 8"
reflecting telescopes and has been imaged with DSLR cameras at high ISO values. The image to the left shows a high power view of the region around Mars with ISON (expanded from the unaided eye view above).
While the comet is currently around magnitude 10 and should be around 9 by the 18th October, it is never very high at Astronomical twilight (5 and 7 degrees above the horizon in most of Australia). The horizon murk means that that it will be mid October before the comet is visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and late October for strong binoculars. You can get a PDF map suitable for printing here.
The comet is just below and to the right of Mars (56 arc seconds at closest approach on the 18th), making finding it relatively easy. Comet ISON was closest to Mars on October 1, but the orbital geometry means that from Earth it will appear closest on the 18th.
Morning sky facing north-east at 3:00 pm AEDST on 22 October, the Orionid radiant is indicated with a cross.
The Orionids are normally a worthwhile shower, best seen between 2-4 am, the radiant being just under Betelgueuse, the bright red star in Orion. This year the just past Full Moon's light will significantly lower rates. The best viewing is the morning of the 22nd, when between 3-5 am under dark skies you should see about a meteor every 5-10 minutes.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
The Full Moon is Saturday October 19.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen shortly after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset). The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to three hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is).
Venus starts the week close to the bright star Antares and continues its journey up the body of the Scorpion. It is a distinct gibbous shape in even small telescopes
Mercury is still easily visible in the evening twilight. Mercury is lower in the evening sky this week heading towards the horizon, but remains prominent for the rest of the week.
Saturn is still visible above the western horizon in the early evening twilight in the constellation of Virgo. Telescopic views of the ringed world are progressively harder as the planet gets lower in the sky and deeper in the twilight. Saturn sets around 9:00 pm local daylight saving time.
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is is in the constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible well before twilight. Mars starts the week close to the bright star Regulus and draws away during the week. Mars is closest to comet C/2012 S1 ISON on the 18th.
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon, above and well to to the left of Mars and near the birgt stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. During the week Jupiter rises higher and draws away from the moderately bright star Wassat. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
While the comet is currently around magnitude 10 and should be around 9 by the 18th October, it is never very high at Astronomical twilight (5 and 7 degrees above the horizon in most of Australia). The horizon murk means that that it will be mid October before the comet is visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and late October for strong binoculars. You can get a PDF map suitable for printing here.
The comet is just below and to the right of Mars (56 arc seconds at closest approach on the 18th), making finding it relatively easy. Comet ISON was closest to Mars on October 1, but the orbital geometry means that from Earth it will appear closest on the 18th.
The Orionids are normally a worthwhile shower, best seen between 2-4 am, the radiant being just under Betelgueuse, the bright red star in Orion. This year the just past Full Moon's light will significantly lower rates. The best viewing is the morning of the 22nd, when between 3-5 am under dark skies you should see about a meteor every 5-10 minutes.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
The Sky This Week - Thursday October 10 to Thursday October 17
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday October 12. Mars and Jupiter are
prominent in the early morning. Venus is easily visible in the western
evening
sky with Mercury below it. Saturn lowers in the evening sky. Venus comes close to the bright star Antares. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON
visible in
telescopes close to Mars.
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday October 12. The Moon is at Perigee on the 11th.
Evening
sky looking west as seen from Adelaide at 20:00 pm ACDST on Thursday
October 17. Venus is quite high in the evening sky above Saturn and
Mercury, with the Moon just above the pair. The insets shows the
telescopic
view of Venus and Mercury at this time. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local times. Click to
embiggen.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen 20 minutes after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset). The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to two hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is).
Venus traverses the head of the Scorpion and comes close to the bright star Antares. It is a distinct gibbous shape in even small telescopes
Mercury is now easily visible in the evening twilight. Mercury climbs higher in the evening sky this week heading heading for Saturn. The pair are close on the 7th. Mercury is highest in the sky on the 9th, and will return towards the horizon after this.
Saturn is still visible above the western horizon in the early evening twilight in the constellation of Virgo. Telescopic views of the ringed world are progressively harder as the planet gets lower in the sky and deeper in the twilight. Saturn sets around 9:00 pm local daylight saving time.
Neptune is passed opposition, and still visible in strong binoculars. Location maps here which can be used in conjunction with the printable PDF maps below. My images with a little point and shoot camera here.
Morning sky on Tuesday October 15 looking north-east as seen from Adelaide
at 5:30 am ACST in South Australia. Jupiter is close to the star Wassat. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is below Mars, and visible in amateur
telescopes. The inset shows the view of Jupiter through a telescope at
this time. Similar views will
be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is is in the constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible well before twilight. Mars comes closer to the bright star Regulus and is closest between the15th and 17th .
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon, above and well to to the left of Mars. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. During the week Jupiter rises higher and draws away from the moderately bright star Wassat. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON
is expected to become very bright in late November Early December.
Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 12"
reflecting telescopes. The image to the left shows a high power view of the region around Mars with ISON (expanded from the unaided eye view above).
While the comet will be around magnitude 10 at the beginning of October and around 8.6-9 mid October, it is never very high at Astronomical twilight (5 and 7 degrees above the horizon in most of Australia). The horizon murk means that that it will be mid October before the comet is visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and late October for strong binoculars.
The comet is just below and to the left of Mars (one degree and 2 arc seconds), making finding it relatively easy. Comet ISON was closest to Mars on October 1, but the orbital geometry means that from Earth it will appear closest on the 15th.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday October 12. The Moon is at Perigee on the 11th.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen 20 minutes after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset). The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to two hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is).
Venus traverses the head of the Scorpion and comes close to the bright star Antares. It is a distinct gibbous shape in even small telescopes
Mercury is now easily visible in the evening twilight. Mercury climbs higher in the evening sky this week heading heading for Saturn. The pair are close on the 7th. Mercury is highest in the sky on the 9th, and will return towards the horizon after this.
Saturn is still visible above the western horizon in the early evening twilight in the constellation of Virgo. Telescopic views of the ringed world are progressively harder as the planet gets lower in the sky and deeper in the twilight. Saturn sets around 9:00 pm local daylight saving time.
Neptune is passed opposition, and still visible in strong binoculars. Location maps here which can be used in conjunction with the printable PDF maps below. My images with a little point and shoot camera here.
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is is in the constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible well before twilight. Mars comes closer to the bright star Regulus and is closest between the15th and 17th .
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon, above and well to to the left of Mars. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. During the week Jupiter rises higher and draws away from the moderately bright star Wassat. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
While the comet will be around magnitude 10 at the beginning of October and around 8.6-9 mid October, it is never very high at Astronomical twilight (5 and 7 degrees above the horizon in most of Australia). The horizon murk means that that it will be mid October before the comet is visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and late October for strong binoculars.
The comet is just below and to the left of Mars (one degree and 2 arc seconds), making finding it relatively easy. Comet ISON was closest to Mars on October 1, but the orbital geometry means that from Earth it will appear closest on the 15th.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Going Quiet
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Aurora Alert Wednesday October 2
SUBJ: IPS AURORA ALERT HIGH LATITUDES
ISSUED AT 0620 UT ON 02 Oct 2013 BY IPS RADIO AND SPACE SERVICES
FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE FORECAST CENTRE
Geomagnetic storm in progress. Aurora may be observed
during local night time hours in good observing conditions
at high latitudes (e.g. Hobart, Tas).
Follow the progress of this event on the IPS web site
by following the links to the Space Weather Status Panel.
http://www.ips.gov.au/Space_Weather
Labels: aurora
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
The Sky This Week - Thursday October 3 to Thursday October 10
The New Moon is Saturday October 5. Mars and Jupiter are
prominent in the early morning. Venus is easily visible in the western
evening
sky with Saturn below . Mercury rises higher in the evening sky and is close to Saturn on the 7th. The Moon is near the pair of Mercury and Saturn on the 7th and close to Venus on the 8th. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON visible in
telescopes.
The New Moon is Saturday October 5.
Evening
sky looking west as seen from Adelaide at 20:00 pm local daylight saving time on Monday October 7. Venus is quite high in the evening sky above Saturn and Mercury, with the Moon just above the pair. The inset shows the telescopic
view of Venus at this time. Similar
views will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local times. Click to
embiggen.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen 20 minutes after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset). The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to two hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is).
Venus enters the head of the Scorpion. It is a distinct gibbous shape in even small telescopes
Mercury is now easily visible in the evening twilight. Mercury climbs higher in the evening sky this week heading heading for Saturn. The pair are close on the 7th. Mercury is highest in the sky on the 9th, and will return towards the horizon after this.
Saturn is still easily visible above the western horizon in the early evening in the constellation of Virgo and is visited by Mercury. Telescopic views of the ringed world are progressively harder as the planet gets lower in the sky and deeper in the twilight. Saturn sets around 8:30 pm local time.
Neptune is just past opposition, and visible in strong binoculars. Location maps here which can be used in conjunction with the printable PDF maps below. My images with a little point and shoot camera here.
Morning sky on Tuesday October 8 looking north-east as seen from Adelaide
at 5:30 am local daylight saving time in South Australia. Mars, Jupiter, and Procyon form a long triangle in the morning sky.
Jupiter is close to the star Wassat. The crescent Moon is close to Mars. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is below Mars, and visible in high end amateur telescopes. The inset shows the view of Jupiter through a telescope at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Mars, Jupiter and the bright star Procyon start the week forming a triangle in the morning twilight. Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is passing through the constellation Cancer and enters The constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible before the sky pales substantially. The crescent Moon is close to Mars on October 1. Mars comes closer to the bright star Regulus and is less than 4 degrees away by the end of the week.
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon, above and well to to the left of Mars. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. During the week Jupiter rises higher and comes close to the moderately bright star Wassat. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is expected to become very bright in late November Early December. Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 12" reflecting telescopes. While the comet will be around magnitude 10 at the beginning of October and around 8.6-9 mid October, it is never very high at Astronomical twilight (5 and 7 degrees above the horizon in most of Australia). The horizon murk means that that it will be mid October before the comet is visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and late October for strong binoculars.
The comet is just below and to the left of Mars (one degree and 53 arc seconds), making finding it relatively easy. Comet ISON is closest to Mars on October 1, but the orbital geometry means that from Earth it will appear closest on the 15th.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
The New Moon is Saturday October 5.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight. It can easily be seen 20 minutes after sunset (indeed, with a little effort you can see it before sunset). The brightest (spectacularly so) object above the western horizon it is visible up to two hours or more after sunset (depending on how flat your western horizon is).
Venus enters the head of the Scorpion. It is a distinct gibbous shape in even small telescopes
Mercury is now easily visible in the evening twilight. Mercury climbs higher in the evening sky this week heading heading for Saturn. The pair are close on the 7th. Mercury is highest in the sky on the 9th, and will return towards the horizon after this.
Saturn is still easily visible above the western horizon in the early evening in the constellation of Virgo and is visited by Mercury. Telescopic views of the ringed world are progressively harder as the planet gets lower in the sky and deeper in the twilight. Saturn sets around 8:30 pm local time.
Neptune is just past opposition, and visible in strong binoculars. Location maps here which can be used in conjunction with the printable PDF maps below. My images with a little point and shoot camera here.
Jupiter is close to the star Wassat. The crescent Moon is close to Mars. Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is below Mars, and visible in high end amateur telescopes. The inset shows the view of Jupiter through a telescope at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Mars, Jupiter and the bright star Procyon start the week forming a triangle in the morning twilight. Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini. Mars is passing through the constellation Cancer and enters The constellation of Leo.
Mars rises still higher in the morning twilight, and is visible before the sky pales substantially. The crescent Moon is close to Mars on October 1. Mars comes closer to the bright star Regulus and is less than 4 degrees away by the end of the week.
Jupiter is now well above the north-eastern horizon, above and well to to the left of Mars. It is quite easy to see in the morning sky well into the twilight. During the week Jupiter rises higher and comes close to the moderately bright star Wassat. Jupiter's Moons are now readily visible in binoculars.
Comet C/2012 S1 ISON is expected to become very bright in late November Early December. Currently it is visible in modest amateur instruments such as 12" reflecting telescopes. While the comet will be around magnitude 10 at the beginning of October and around 8.6-9 mid October, it is never very high at Astronomical twilight (5 and 7 degrees above the horizon in most of Australia). The horizon murk means that that it will be mid October before the comet is visible in smaller telescopes such as 4" reflectors and late October for strong binoculars.
The comet is just below and to the left of Mars (one degree and 53 arc seconds), making finding it relatively easy. Comet ISON is closest to Mars on October 1, but the orbital geometry means that from Earth it will appear closest on the 15th.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Venus 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.
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.
Labels: weekly sky
Carnival of Space #321 is Here!
Carnival of Space #321 is now up at Links Through Space. There's comet ISON, Black Hole "volcanoes", laser starways and much more. Zap on over and have a read.
Labels: carnival of space
Southern Skywatch October, 2013 edition is now out!
The October edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.
There's lots of planetary action this month with Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Saturn and Mercury meeting the Moon.
Mars climbs higher to the morning sky and is near the crescent Moon on the 1st. Jupiter climbs higher still and is also near the crescent Moon on the 26th.
Mercury is at its best in the evening sky. It is near the crescent Moon and Saturn on the 7th.
Saturn leaves the evening sky this month. On the 7th the crescent Moon and Mercury is close to Saturn.
On the 8th the crescent Moon is close to Venus . Venus is close to the bright star Antares on the 1th.
The Orionid meteor shower is best on the morning of the 22nd.
Labels: southern skywatch
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