Monday, March 31, 2014
MiddleOne is an odd number old
His age has two digits. The sum of the two digits is an even number, as is the sum of the two digits of EldestOne's age.
Adding these two numbers together gives you a two digit number that is one less than MiddleOne's age. Subtracting them gives you an even prime number.
Labels: home life, miscellaneous
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Venus and the Crescent Moon 27-28 March 2014 (see Venus in the daylight)
This Thursday and Friday Mornings will see the crescent Moon close to Venus, this will be lovely to look at, and a nice subject for photography.
Thursday morning is also a good time to see Venus in the daytime. Venus can be readily visible during the day if you know where to look. Using the Moon as a handy guide will help you find it. Make sure the Sun is hidden behind something solid like a building or a wall when you are looking for Venus, not trees or your hand. Exposing your eyes directly to the glare of the Sun can be very dangerous and you could potentially lose your sight.
Look for the crescent Moon, and Venus should be visible as a bright dot about a hand-span (the distance covered by your fingers when you hand is help up at arms length in at "stop" gesture, about 6 degrees) below and a little to the right of the Moon. It's best to look just after Sunrise when the Sun is still low and the sky is less bright. You may need to look carefully for a while before Venus"pops" out at you. Sometimes locating Venus in binoculars will help with locating it with the unaided eye.
On Friday morning the Moon is below Venus, and a bit further away (8 degrees) so it may be harder to spot Venus.
Labels: Daylight, Daytime, Moon, Venus
The Sky This Week - Thursday March 27 to Thursday April 3
The "Blue" New Moon is Monday March 31. Jupiter is the brightest object in the evening sky, visible all evening. Mars is prominent in the late evening sky. Saturn rises higher in the evening sky. Venus is prominent in the morning sky. The Moon is near Venus on the 27th and 28th. Mercury is dimming in the morning sky and is near the crescent Moon on the 29th. The asteroids Vesta and Pallas are visible in binoculars.
The New Moon is Monday March 31. This is a "Blue" New Moon, the second New Moon of the month (the other was on the 1st). The Moon is at Perigee, closest to the Earth, on the 28th.
Evening
sky on Saturday March 29 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at
21:00 pm ACDST in South Australia. Jupiter is above the north-western
horizon. The inset
shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere
at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini and is the brightest object in the evening sky. Jupiter was at opposition on the 6th of January, when it was brightest and closest to Earth, but will remain bright and easily observable in telescopes for some time.
Jupiter is highest around 19:30 pm local daylight saving time. It is high enough to begin observing telescopically when twilight ends.Jupiter sets around midnight, so there is only a few hours for good telescopic observation now.
In the early evening it is above the north-eastern horizon between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and the bright red star Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object in the entire sky, in the late evening the sight of bright Jupiter sinking to the west, and bright Mars (still not as bright as Jupiter though) rising in the east is quite beautiful.
Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars.
Mars rises around 20:00 pm local daylight saving time, and is now easily seen in the late evening, rising as Jupiter is setting. Mars is rapidly brightening ahead of opposition next month, and is readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the late evening horizon. Mars is is in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star Spica (see below).
Morning sky on Saturday March 29 looking east as seen from Adelaide
at 6:00 am ACDST in South Australia. Venus is well above the
horizon. Mercury is still reasonably high above the horizon, with the crescent Moon nearby. The
inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time. Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click
to embiggen).
The morning sky is quite impressive at the moment, with Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury strung out across the sky.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the morning sky for some months to come. Venus was at its furthest distance from the Sun on the 23rd, and now will begin to slowly sink towards the horizon. Venus is now a clear half-Moon shape. The crescent Moon is near Venus on the 27th and 28th.
Mercury is continues to sink towards the horizon. Although dimming it is still readily visible below Venus. It is near the crescent Moon on the 29th.
Saturn is rising higher in the evening sky, but is still best visible high above the northern horizon before dawn. Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion. Saturn forms a triangle with the two brightest stars of Libra, its apex pointing towards the head of the Scorpion. Saturn is high enough in the early morning for decent telescopic observation.
Evening
sky on Saturday March 29 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 pm
ACDST in South Australia. Mars is close to the bright star
Spica. Saturn forms a triangle with the two brightest stars of Libra. The asteroid Vesta is just below Mars, and easily visible in
binoculars. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent
local time (click to embiggen).
Two bright asteroids are now visible in binoculars in the evening sky. 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta. By the end of the week Vesta will become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye in dark sky locations.While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement. See here for more details on seeing Vesta and here for more details on seeing Pallas.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Jupiter and Venus so prominent in the sky, and Mars and Saturn coming into view. 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 Monday March 31. This is a "Blue" New Moon, the second New Moon of the month (the other was on the 1st). The Moon is at Perigee, closest to the Earth, on the 28th.
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini and is the brightest object in the evening sky. Jupiter was at opposition on the 6th of January, when it was brightest and closest to Earth, but will remain bright and easily observable in telescopes for some time.
Jupiter is highest around 19:30 pm local daylight saving time. It is high enough to begin observing telescopically when twilight ends.Jupiter sets around midnight, so there is only a few hours for good telescopic observation now.
In the early evening it is above the north-eastern horizon between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and the bright red star Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object in the entire sky, in the late evening the sight of bright Jupiter sinking to the west, and bright Mars (still not as bright as Jupiter though) rising in the east is quite beautiful.
Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars.
Mars rises around 20:00 pm local daylight saving time, and is now easily seen in the late evening, rising as Jupiter is setting. Mars is rapidly brightening ahead of opposition next month, and is readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the late evening horizon. Mars is is in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star Spica (see below).
The morning sky is quite impressive at the moment, with Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury strung out across the sky.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the morning sky for some months to come. Venus was at its furthest distance from the Sun on the 23rd, and now will begin to slowly sink towards the horizon. Venus is now a clear half-Moon shape. The crescent Moon is near Venus on the 27th and 28th.
Mercury is continues to sink towards the horizon. Although dimming it is still readily visible below Venus. It is near the crescent Moon on the 29th.
Saturn is rising higher in the evening sky, but is still best visible high above the northern horizon before dawn. Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion. Saturn forms a triangle with the two brightest stars of Libra, its apex pointing towards the head of the Scorpion. Saturn is high enough in the early morning for decent telescopic observation.
Two bright asteroids are now visible in binoculars in the evening sky. 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta. By the end of the week Vesta will become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye in dark sky locations.While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement. See here for more details on seeing Vesta and here for more details on seeing Pallas.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Jupiter and Venus so prominent in the sky, and Mars and Saturn coming into view. 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
Monday, March 24, 2014
Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring), 21 March 2014
 |  |
| Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring taken with iTelescope T9 on 6 Feb 2014. 5x120 second clear images stacked with ImageJ and SUMMED, then light contrast enhancement. Image cropped to 800x600 from 1530 by 1020 pixels. North is to the top. Click to embiggen. | Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring taken with iTelescope T9 on 21 March 2014. 5x120 second clear images stacked with ImageJ and SUMMED, then light contrast enhancement. Image cropped to 800x600 from 1530 by 1020 pixels. Click to embiggen. |
Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring is brightening ahead of its visit to Mars in October of this year. It is still fairly dim, around magnitude 14, but brightening all the same. Here I've contrasted two shots one from Early Februray and the first one I have been able to get in March (moon weather, kids). Despite there being nearly two month between images, the overall coma brightness and tail length are pretty similar.
Scope details:
0.32-m f/9.3 Ritchey-Chretien
CCD: SBIG ST8 XME
Labels: C/2013 A1, comet, iTelescope
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Herbal Medicines, an Interview
Last night a short news segment on herbal
medicines ran on Channel 9 which I not only appeared on, but actually referenced my research. You can see the interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3audRUF7C2I&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I have done a lot of radio, but I'm pretty much a newbie at television. Despite me not looking at the interviewer, waving my arms around and having the camera peer up my nose, the interview that went to air was a lot
less mortifying than I thought it would be.
Unfortunately in the clip they kept on saying "I" did the study and "I" purchased the medicine (that was the first author Lauren)
Emeritus Professor Alastair MacLennan was quite direct, but it was amusing that it was a Naturopath that they got to give the advice to always check with a health care provider.
You may be surprised that it took nearly and hour and a half to film those tiny segments. There was a lot of stuff that got left out, or was covered by voice-overs, and I did a fair few retakes as I stuttered a lot. Maybe I should run some workshops on how (not) to give TV interviews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3audRUF7C2I&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Unfortunately in the clip they kept on saying "I" did the study and "I" purchased the medicine (that was the first author Lauren)
Emeritus Professor Alastair MacLennan was quite direct, but it was amusing that it was a Naturopath that they got to give the advice to always check with a health care provider.
You may be surprised that it took nearly and hour and a half to film those tiny segments. There was a lot of stuff that got left out, or was covered by voice-overs, and I did a fair few retakes as I stuttered a lot. Maybe I should run some workshops on how (not) to give TV interviews.
Labels: Friends of Science and Medicine, herbal medicine, public outreach, science, televison
The Sky This Week - Thursday March 20 to Thursday March 27
The Last Quarter Moon is Monday March 24. Earth is at Autumnal equinox on the 21st. Jupiter is the brightest object in
the evening sky, visible all evening. Mars is prominent in the
late evening sky. Saturn rises higher in the evening sky. The Moon is near Saturn on
the 20th and 21st. Bright Venus is at its furthest distance from the Sun in the morning sky. The Moon is near Venus on
the 27th. Mercury is bright in the morning sky. The asteroids Vesta and Pallas are
visible in binoculars.
The Last Quarter Moon is Monday March 24. Earth is at Autumnal equinox on the 21st.
Evening
sky on Sunday March 23 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at
21:00 pm ACDST in South Australia. Jupiter is above the north-western
horizon. The inset
shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere
at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini and is the brightest object in the evening sky. Jupiter was at opposition on the 6th of January, when it was brightest and closest to Earth, but will remain bright and easily observable in telescopes for several months.
Jupiter rises around 15:00 pm local daylight saving time, and is highest around 20:00 pm local daylight saving time. It is high enough to begin observing telescopically when twilight ends.
In the early evening it is above the north-eastern horizon between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and the bright red star Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object in the entire sky. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars. On Sunday all of Jupiter's Galilean Moons are lined up on one side of Jupiter's disk.
Mars rises around 20:30 pm local daylight saving time, but is still best seen when high in the early morning sky. Mars is rapidly brightening ahead of opposition next month, and is readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the late evening horizon. Mars is is in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star Spica (see below).
Morning sky on Thursday March 27 looking east as seen from Adelaide
at 6:00 am ACDST in South Australia. Venus is well above the
horizon with the crescent Moon nearby. Mercury is relatively high above the horizon. The
inset show the telescopic view at this time. Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click
to embiggen).
The morning sky is quite impressive at the moment, with Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury strung out across the sky.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the morning sky for some months to come. Venus rises progressively higher during the week, and at its furthest distance from the Sun on the 23rd. Venus is now almost a half-Moon shape. The crescent Moon is near Venus on the 27th.
Mercury is begining to sink towards the horizon but is still readily visible below Venus.
Saturn is rising higher in the evening sky, but is still best visible high above the northern horizon before dawn. Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion. It is high enough in the early morning for decent telescopic observation. The Moon is near Saturn on the 20th and 21st.
Evening
sky on Friday March 21 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 pm
ACDST in South Australia. The Moon forms a triangle with Mars and
Spica. The asteroid Vesta is just below Mars, and easily visible in
binoculars. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent
local time (click to embiggen).
Two bright asteroids are now visible in binoculars in the evening sky. 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta. Later in March Vesta will become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye win dark sky locations.While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement. See here for more details on seeing Vesta and here for more details on seeing Pallas. Moonlight will make seeing these asteroid difficult in the first half of the week.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Jupiter and Venus so prominent in the sky, and Mars and Saturn coming into view. 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 Last Quarter Moon is Monday March 24. Earth is at Autumnal equinox on the 21st.
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini and is the brightest object in the evening sky. Jupiter was at opposition on the 6th of January, when it was brightest and closest to Earth, but will remain bright and easily observable in telescopes for several months.
Jupiter rises around 15:00 pm local daylight saving time, and is highest around 20:00 pm local daylight saving time. It is high enough to begin observing telescopically when twilight ends.
In the early evening it is above the north-eastern horizon between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and the bright red star Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object in the entire sky. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars. On Sunday all of Jupiter's Galilean Moons are lined up on one side of Jupiter's disk.
Mars rises around 20:30 pm local daylight saving time, but is still best seen when high in the early morning sky. Mars is rapidly brightening ahead of opposition next month, and is readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the late evening horizon. Mars is is in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star Spica (see below).
The morning sky is quite impressive at the moment, with Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury strung out across the sky.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the morning sky for some months to come. Venus rises progressively higher during the week, and at its furthest distance from the Sun on the 23rd. Venus is now almost a half-Moon shape. The crescent Moon is near Venus on the 27th.
Mercury is begining to sink towards the horizon but is still readily visible below Venus.
Saturn is rising higher in the evening sky, but is still best visible high above the northern horizon before dawn. Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion. It is high enough in the early morning for decent telescopic observation. The Moon is near Saturn on the 20th and 21st.
Two bright asteroids are now visible in binoculars in the evening sky. 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta. Later in March Vesta will become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye win dark sky locations.While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement. See here for more details on seeing Vesta and here for more details on seeing Pallas. Moonlight will make seeing these asteroid difficult in the first half of the week.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Jupiter and Venus so prominent in the sky, and Mars and Saturn coming into view. 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
Monday, March 17, 2014
Watch the Bright Star Regulus Blink Out on March 20 2014.
On the Morning of March 20, just after 2:00 am EDT people in a narrow strip of land that runs across New York (the city and the state) and through Canada will see something amazing.
They will see a bright star wink out for 14 seconds.
At this time the bright star Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo (and the handle of the Sickle of Leo) will be occulted (that is covered up briefly) by the asteroid Erigone.
This sort of event is incredibly rare, even more so to have it occur over a highly populated area. While occultations of bright stars by the Moon occurs moderately often, asteroids are so small from our point of view the chances that a bright star will be covered is extremely small (but the star is a point to us, so even the tiny apparent diameter of the asteroid can completely cover it).
So it is well worth watching, even if it is in the small hours of the morning, you don't even need any special equipment, just your eyes.
This is a great time to get involved in some citizen science. By carefully timing the disappearance and appearance of the asteroid, you can help to determine its size and shape more accurately. See this page from the International Occultation Timing Association about how you can join this citizen science effort (and a host of helpful links).
Here's an interactive map of the path of the occultation. Another map of the path, and a good article from Sky and Telescope.
Labels: asteroids, Occultation
Carnival of Space #344 is Here!
Carnival of Space #344 is now up at the Chandra Blog. There's women astronomers, runaway galaxies, what Curiosity has been up to, disintegrating asteroids, naming names in space and so much more. Glide on over and have a read.
Labels: carnival of space
Sunday, March 16, 2014
New Comet C/2014 E2
 |  |
| Location of the new comet, C/2014 E2, as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 ACDST on 15 March (click to embigen). | My image of the C/2014 E2 taken with iTelescope T12. The image is the SUM of two 120 second images. SUMMing and some light brightness /contrast adjusting done in ImageJ, the bright streak is a satellite. (click to embiggen) |
A new, potentially bright comet has been discovered by a team in Brazil.Currently only visible from the Southern Hemisphere. C/2014 E2 (Jacques) is currently somewhere between magnitude 11.5 and 13 (the predicted ephemeris values are around 14.5, but this is incorrect). It may get to be as bright as magnitude 8, or even a bit more. At the very least it will be an easy object in small telescopes, if not binoculars.
It is just outside the orbit of Mars at the moment, and is already showing a nice little tail and a decent coma, despite substantial interference from Moonlight. For the next few nights viewing will be difficult with the nearly full Moon close to the comet, but after Tuesday the comet rises before the Moon and will be better to see.
C/2014 E2 is moving rapidly, it is currently skimming between Hydra and the Milky way, and there should be some nice imaging opportunities. From now to approximately 25 May the comet will be well placed for imaging. After this it is too low in the evening twilight.You can get an ephemeris from the minor planet ephemeris service.
The comet is at Perihelion on 3 July, but will be too close to the Sun to see. After perihelion it will be a northern hemisphere object only, but still reasonably bright. It is closest to Earth on August 30th, when it is 0.57 AU away, and will probably be around magnitude 8 or 9 at this time.
 |  |
| Chart of C/2014 E2 as seen from the Southern Hemisphere, suitable for printing. (click to embiggen). | Chart of Comet C/2014 E2 as seen from the Southern Hemisphere. The circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.(click to embiggen). |
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Einstein the Musical
It was brilliant, with a rap song about E = MC2, and lots of audience participation.
The Bettdeckererschnappender weisel and I were chosen to act out time dilation (standing in foor the previous two audience members who were acting out vector addition), I got to hold a light saber, BDEW got a vacuum cleaner named Hette, she was not amused, and muttered about 21st century role models, but we were informed it was 1936, so that didn't apply).
It was an absolute hoot, the last show is tomorrow, why not go along?
(PS, do I need to tell you I have the best family ever?)
Labels: home life, miscellaneous
Thursday, March 13, 2014
A String of Bright Planets
 |  |
| Evening Sky around 11:00 pm local daylight saving tine showing Jupiter, Mars and Saturn (and the Moon and Vesta). Click to embiggen. | Morning Sky around 6:00 am local daylight saving tine showing Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury. Click to embiggen. |
You can see all five of the classic bright planets strung out across the sky if you stay up a bit late and arise a bit early over the next week or so.
Jupiter, Mars and Saturn can be seen stretched across the sky from the north-western to the eastern horizon if you are up late (there is also Vesta as well). With golden Jupiter over the north-west and orange Mras over the east, and the Milky Way curved above then, it al looks beautfiul.
If you are up in the morning then you can see Mars above the north-western horizon, Saturn forms a triangle with the two brightest stars of Libra, pointing towards the head of Scorpius the Scorpion (this is not so evident in the late evening but quite obvious in the early morning). The Milky way flows between these two bright planets and Venus and Mercury, bright above the eastern horizon.
It's quite hard to represent the effect with planetarium programs (embiggen my feeble attempts above to see what I mean), but head out in the late evening or morning and you will be rewarded.
Labels: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Venus
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
The Sky This Week - Thursday March 13 to Thursday March 20
The Full Moon is Monday March 17. Jupiter is the brightest object in the evening sky, visible all evening. Mars becomes more prominent in the evening sky. The Moon is near Mars on the
18th. Saturn rises higher in the evening sky. The Moon is near Saturn on the 20th. Venus is bright in the morning sky. Mercury reaches its highest point in the morning sky. The asteroids Vesta and Pallas are visible in binoculars.
The Full Moon is Monday March 17.
Evening sky on Thursday March 20 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 pm ACDST in South Australia. Jupiter is above the north-western horizon. The inset
shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini and is the brightest object in the evening sky. Jupiter was at opposition on the 6th of January, when it was brightest and closest to Earth, but will remain bright and easily observable in telescopes for several months.
Jupiter rises around 15:30 pm local daylight saving time, and is highest just before 20:30 pm local daylight saving time. It is high enough to begin observing telescopically in the early evening.
In the early evening it is above the northern horizon between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and the bright red star Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object in the entire sky. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars. On Thursday around 22:00 Ganymede goes into eclipse and between 20:00 and 22:00 Io and Io's shadow transits Jupiter's disk.
Mars rises around 21:00 pm, but is still best seen when high in the morning sky. Mars is rapidly brightening ahead of opposition next month, and is readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the late evening horizon. Mars is is in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star Spica (see below). The Moon is near Mars on the 18th.
Morning sky on Sunday March 16 looking east as seen from Adelaide
at 6:00 am ACDST in South Australia. Venus is well above the
horizon. Mercury is relatively high above the horizon. The
inset show the telescopic view at this time. Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click
to embiggen).
The morning sky is quite impressive at the moment, with Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury strung out across the sky.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the morning sky for some months to come. Venus rises progressively higher during the week, and is now almost a half-Moon shape.
Mercury is climbing higher in the dawn sky, and is now readily visible below Venus. It will reach its maximum elongation from the Sun on Friday 14th. Although after this it begins to return to the horizon this is still a great time to view this fleet world.
Saturn is rising higher in the evening sky, but is still best visible high above the northern horizon before dawn. Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion. It is high enough in the early morning for decent telescopic observation. The Moon is near Saturn on the 20th.
Evening sky on Saturday March 18 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 pm ACDST in South Australia. The Moon forms a triangle with Mars and Spica. The asteroid Vesta is just below Mars, and easily visible in binoculars. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).
Two bright asteroids are now visible in binoculars in the evening sky. 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta. Later in March Vesta will become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye win dark sky locations.While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement. See here for more details on seeing Vesta and here for more details on seeing Pallas. Moonlight will make seeing these asteroid more difficult later in the week.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Jupiter and 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 Full Moon is Monday March 17.
Evening sky on Thursday March 20 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 pm ACDST in South Australia. Jupiter is above the north-western horizon. The inset
shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini and is the brightest object in the evening sky. Jupiter was at opposition on the 6th of January, when it was brightest and closest to Earth, but will remain bright and easily observable in telescopes for several months.
Jupiter rises around 15:30 pm local daylight saving time, and is highest just before 20:30 pm local daylight saving time. It is high enough to begin observing telescopically in the early evening.
In the early evening it is above the northern horizon between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and the bright red star Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object in the entire sky. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars. On Thursday around 22:00 Ganymede goes into eclipse and between 20:00 and 22:00 Io and Io's shadow transits Jupiter's disk.
Mars rises around 21:00 pm, but is still best seen when high in the morning sky. Mars is rapidly brightening ahead of opposition next month, and is readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the late evening horizon. Mars is is in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star Spica (see below). The Moon is near Mars on the 18th.
Morning sky on Sunday March 16 looking east as seen from Adelaide
at 6:00 am ACDST in South Australia. Venus is well above the
horizon. Mercury is relatively high above the horizon. The
inset show the telescopic view at this time. Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click
to embiggen).The morning sky is quite impressive at the moment, with Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury strung out across the sky.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the morning sky for some months to come. Venus rises progressively higher during the week, and is now almost a half-Moon shape.
Mercury is climbing higher in the dawn sky, and is now readily visible below Venus. It will reach its maximum elongation from the Sun on Friday 14th. Although after this it begins to return to the horizon this is still a great time to view this fleet world.
Saturn is rising higher in the evening sky, but is still best visible high above the northern horizon before dawn. Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion. It is high enough in the early morning for decent telescopic observation. The Moon is near Saturn on the 20th.
Evening sky on Saturday March 18 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 pm ACDST in South Australia. The Moon forms a triangle with Mars and Spica. The asteroid Vesta is just below Mars, and easily visible in binoculars. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).Two bright asteroids are now visible in binoculars in the evening sky. 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta. Later in March Vesta will become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye win dark sky locations.While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement. See here for more details on seeing Vesta and here for more details on seeing Pallas. Moonlight will make seeing these asteroid more difficult later in the week.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Jupiter and 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
Thursday, March 06, 2014
Seeing Vesta (and Ceres) in Binoculars, March 2014
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| Evening sky on Saturday March 8 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 pm ACDST in South Australia. The asteroid Vesta is just below Mars, and easily visible in binoculars. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). | Higher power view of the region near Vesta whic is approximately a binoculars field of vision (see b7w map below. Ceres is visible dimly below it (click to embiggen). Use the wide field map to the left for orientation. |
Vesta (and Ceres) is now rising before midnight. Currently around magnitude 6.5, it is readily visible in binoculars (and a lot easier to spot than Pallas). Vesta is relatively easy to find, below Mars (and Ceres is in turn below Vesta, but much dimmer at magnitude 7.5, still visible in 10x50 binoculars under dark skies though). Vesta can be seen to move from night to night, brightening gradually, and reaching unaided eye threshold by the end of the month. Ceres also brightens and becomes easier to see.
Seeing both the past and current targets of the Dawn mission together is kind of fun.
Labels: 4 Vesta, asteroids, binoculars
Don't Forget Tomorrows ISS Pass
Don't forget that tomorrow (Friday March 7) sees a nice bright ISS pass near the Moon from most Australian sites.
Yopu will need to check your times again. in the intervening days the ISS orbit has changed a little bit, so it is about 30 seconds later.
Also have a look for Iridium flares, from Adelaide there is one at 20:33:29, as the ISS is rising (hat tip to Dean Male).
Tuesday, March 04, 2014
Carnival of Space #343 is Now Here!
Carnival of Space #343 is now up at the Urban Astronomer. There's the next big Super Collider, Saturn's hexagonal clouds, selling naming rights to craters on Mars and much, much more. Zap on over and have a read.
Labels: carnival of space
The Sky This Week - Thursday March 6 to Thursday March 13
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday March 8. Jupiter is the brightest object in
the evening sky, visible all evening. The Moon is near Jupiter on the 10th. Mars becomes more prominent in the evening sky. Saturn appears in the evening sky. Venus is bright in the morning sky. Mercury climbs higher the morning sky. There is a series of bright ISS passes in the evening. The asteroids Vesta and Pallas are visible in binoculars.
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday March 8. The Moon is at Apogee, furthest from the Earth, on Thursday March 13. In the evening starting from March 5 there are a series of bright International Space Station passes. In some states the Thursday and Friday passes are close to the Moon. For more details and links see here.
Evening sky on Monday March 10 looking north as seen from Adelaide
at 22:00 pm ACDST
in South Australia. Jupiter is above the northern horizon. The inset
shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. Similar views
will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local time
(click to embiggen).
Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini and is the brightest object in the evening sky. Jupiter was at opposition on the 6th of January, when it was brightest and closest to Earth, but will remain bright and easily observable in telescopes for several months.
Jupiter rises around 16:00 pm local daylight saving time, and is highest just before 21:00 pm local daylight saving time. It is high enough to begin observing telescopically in the early evening.
In the early evening it is above the northern horizon near between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object in the entire sky. On Monday 10th the Moon is close to Jupiter. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars. On Sunday evening transits Jupiter around 22:00, on Thursday around 21:30 Ganymede comes out of eclipse and Io's shadow is about to exit Jupiter's disk.
Mars rises around 22:00 pm, but is still best seen when high in the morning sky. Mars is rapidly brightening ahead of opposition next month, and is readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the late evening horizon. Mars is is in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star Spica (see below).
Morning sky on Sunday March 9 looking east as seen from Adelaide
at 6:00 am ACDST in
South Australia. Crescent Venus is well above the
horizon. The crescent Moon is close to Mercury low on the horizon. The
inset show the telescopic view at this time. Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at
the equivalent local time (click
to embiggen).
The morning sky is quite impressive at the moment, with Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury strung out across the sky.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the morning sky for some months to come. Venus rises progressively higher during the week, and is now almost a half-Moon shape.
Mercury is climbing higher in the dawn sky, and is now readily visible below Venus. It will reach its maximum elongation from the Sun next week. This is a great time to view this fleet world.
Saturn is now entering the evening sky, but is still best visible high above the northern horizon before dawn. Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion. It is high enough in the early morning for decent telescopic observation.
Evening sky on Saturday March 8 looking east as seen from Adelaide
at 23:00 pm ACDST
in South Australia. The asteroid Vesta is just below Mars, and easily visible in binoculars. Similar views
will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local time
(click to embiggen).
Two bright asteroids are now visible in binoculars in the evening sky. 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta. Later in March Vesta will become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye win dark sky locations.While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement. See here for more details on seeing Vesta.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Jupiter and 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 First Quarter Moon is Saturday March 8. The Moon is at Apogee, furthest from the Earth, on Thursday March 13. In the evening starting from March 5 there are a series of bright International Space Station passes. In some states the Thursday and Friday passes are close to the Moon. For more details and links see here.
Evening sky on Monday March 10 looking north as seen from Adelaide
at 22:00 pm ACDST
in South Australia. Jupiter is above the northern horizon. The inset
shows Jupiter's Moons at this time. Similar views
will be seen elsewhere at the
equivalent local time
(click to embiggen).Jupiter is in the constellation Gemini and is the brightest object in the evening sky. Jupiter was at opposition on the 6th of January, when it was brightest and closest to Earth, but will remain bright and easily observable in telescopes for several months.
Jupiter rises around 16:00 pm local daylight saving time, and is highest just before 21:00 pm local daylight saving time. It is high enough to begin observing telescopically in the early evening.
In the early evening it is above the northern horizon near between the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the twins of Gemini, and Betelgeuse. Jupiter is quite easy to see as the brightest object in the entire sky. On Monday 10th the Moon is close to Jupiter. Jupiter's Moons are readily visible in binoculars. On Sunday evening transits Jupiter around 22:00, on Thursday around 21:30 Ganymede comes out of eclipse and Io's shadow is about to exit Jupiter's disk.
Mars rises around 22:00 pm, but is still best seen when high in the morning sky. Mars is rapidly brightening ahead of opposition next month, and is readily distinguishable as the bright red/orange object above the late evening horizon. Mars is is in the constellation of Virgo near the bright star Spica (see below).
The morning sky is quite impressive at the moment, with Mars, Saturn, Venus and Mercury strung out across the sky.
Venus is in the morning sky, above the eastern horizon. The brightest object in the morning sky, it is now easy to see and although it is past maximum brightness, it will dominate the morning sky for some months to come. Venus rises progressively higher during the week, and is now almost a half-Moon shape.
Mercury is climbing higher in the dawn sky, and is now readily visible below Venus. It will reach its maximum elongation from the Sun next week. This is a great time to view this fleet world.
Saturn is now entering the evening sky, but is still best visible high above the northern horizon before dawn. Saturn is in Libra near the head of the constellation of the Scorpion. It is high enough in the early morning for decent telescopic observation.
Two bright asteroids are now visible in binoculars in the evening sky. 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta. Later in March Vesta will become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye win dark sky locations.While Vesta is easily seen in binoculars, you will need to watch the same patch of sky in binoculars for a couple of nights to identify it by its movement. See here for more details on seeing Vesta.
There are lots of interesting things in the sky to view with a telescope. Especially with Jupiter and 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
Sunday, March 02, 2014
Bright International Space Station Passes Near the Moon (4-11 March 2014)
 |  |  |
| The ISS passes near the Moon, as seen from Melbourne on the evening of Friday March 7 at 21:07 AEDST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen. | The ISS passes near the Moon, as seen from Adelaide on the evening of Friday March 7 at 20:35:32 ACDST. Th iset shows an enlarged view of how close the two will get. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen. | The ISS passes near the Moon, as seen from Perth on the evening of Friday March 7 at 19:37 AWST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen. |
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| All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Friday March 7 for Melbourne. | All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Friday March 7 for Adelaide. | All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Friday March 7 for Perth. |
Starting Wednesday there are a series of bright evening passes of the International Space Station. For many places in Australia this series has the ISS gliding close to the Moon. For most places the best time is the evening of Friday March 7, but there are good passes on the 6th, 8th and 9th as well.
When and what you will see is VERY location dependent, so you need to use either Heavens Above or CalSky to get site specific predictions for your location (I'm using Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth as examples, the view from Melbourne is different from that of Adelaide and Perth on the evening of Friday March 7).
Note that from Adelaide the ISS is VERY close to the Moon. Places a little more mort may see the ISS go directly over the Moon.
Start looking several minutes before the pass is going to start to get yourself oriented and your eyes dark adapted. Be patient, on the night there may be slight differences in the time of the ISS appearing due to orbit changes not picked up by the predictions. The ISS will be moving reasonably fast when it passes near the Moon, so you need to be alert or you will miss it.
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