Tuesday, December 25, 2018
The Sky This Week - Thursday December 27 to Thursday January 3
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday, December 29. The Earth is at Perihelion. Mars is visible low in
the evening skies.
Venus is bright in the morning sky with Mercury and Jupiter below. Venus is visited by the crescent Moon on the 2nd. The Milky way graces the evening sky.
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday, December 29. The Earth is at Perihelion on January 3, where it is closest to the Sun.
Morning twilight sky on Wednesday, January 2 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:15 ACDST (45 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright with
Mercury and Jupiter low to the horizon below it. The crescent Moon is close to Venus. The left inset shows the telescopic
view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes before sunrise)
Evening sky on Saturday, December 29 as seen looking west from Adelaide
at 22:18 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is the brightest object above the western horizon.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Evening sky on Saturday, December 29 as seen looking South-east from Adelaide
at 22:18 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset).
During the holidays many people will be away from the city lights. This is a perfect time to observe our wonderful southern sky. The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Magellanic clouds, dwarf galaxies, are easily seen away from the city lights.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. Click to embiggen.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies and is visited by the Moon on January 2.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight.
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets after midnight.
Saturn is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The Last Quarter Moon is Saturday, December 29. The Earth is at Perihelion on January 3, where it is closest to the Sun.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes before sunrise)
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
During the holidays many people will be away from the city lights. This is a perfect time to observe our wonderful southern sky. The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Magellanic clouds, dwarf galaxies, are easily seen away from the city lights.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. Click to embiggen.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies and is visited by the Moon on January 2.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight.
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets after midnight.
Saturn is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Friday, December 21, 2018
Southern Skywatch January 2019 edition is now out!
The January edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.
This month Saturn is lost from the evening sky for the first half of the month, it then meets Mercury late in the month. Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky, catching up with Venus.
Venus climbs higher in the morning sky, and is close to Jupiter in the morning sky on the 23rd, then is overtaken by it. Mars is is rapidly dimming.
Mercury is visible in the low in the morning sky this month, meeting Saturn on the 15th.
Venus is climbing higher in the morning skies and is close to the crescent Moon on the 2nd. In even small telescopes it is a crescent. Venus is close to Jupiter in the morning sky on the 23rd
Jupiter is close to Venus on the 23rd.
Mars is close to the waxing Moon on the 13th.
Saturn returns to the morning sky late in the month and is close to Mercury on the 15th.
January 2, crescent Moon near Venus.
January 3 Moon close to Jupiter. January 13, Moon and Mars close.
January 9, Moon at Apogee; January 22, Moon at perigee (near perigee full Moon, so called "super Moon" 21st)
Labels: southern skywatch
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Coming Events: A Year of Southern Astronomy for 2019
The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2019 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific).
Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful.
Special events are bolded.
Sadly, the partial solar eclipse is just visible from parts of northern Australia, and the partial lunar eclipse is somewhat sad, but we have three occultations of Saturn and a number of beautiful planetary events to keep us occupied. The asteroid Vesta should be (just) visible to the unaided eye too.
| Date | Event |
| 2 January 2019 | Venus close to crescent Moon in morning |
| 3-4 January 2019 | Crescent Moon and Jupiter close |
| 4 January 2019 | Crescent Moon near Mercury |
| 12-13 January 2019 | waxing Moon and Mars close |
| 14 January 2019 | Mercury a bit over a finger-width from Saturn low in the morning twilight |
| 21 January 2019 | Perigee Full Moon ("super" Moon, strictly at its biggest on the morning of the 22nd) |
| 23 January 2019 | Venus and Jupiter close in the morning |
| 31 January 2019 | Crescent Moon and Jupiter close again |
| 1 February 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Venus in the morning sky |
| 2-3 February 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Saturn in the morning |
| 10 February 2019 | Waxing Moon close to Mars |
| 12-13 February 2019 | Uranus close to Mars (binocular viewing) |
| 20 February 2019 | Perigee Full Moon ("super" Moon, strictly at its biggest on the evening of the 19th) |
| 28 February 2019 | Waning Moon close to Jupiter |
| 2 March 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Saturn in the morning |
| 3 March 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Venus in the morning sky |
| 11 March 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Mars |
| 30 March 2019 | Waning Moon close to Saturn |
| 2-3 April 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Venus in the morning sky |
| 3 April 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Mercury in the morning sky |
| 9 April 2019 | Moon close to Mars in evening sky |
| 23 April 2019 | waning Moon close to Jupiter in the evening sky |
| 25 April 2019 | Occultation of Saturn by the Moon, very low on horizon |
| 4-25 May 2019 | Asteroid Ceres visible in binoculars (opposition on 28th) |
| 3 May 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Venus in the morning sky |
| 6 May 2019 | Eta Aquariid meteor shower. |
| 8 May 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Mars |
| 19 May 2019 | Venus and Uranus a finger-width apart in the morning twilight (binoculars) |
| 20 May 2019 | Jupiter near waning Moon |
| 22 May 2019 | Waning Moon close to Saturn |
| 1-29 June 2019 | Asteroid Ceres visible in binoculars |
| 2 June 2019 | Crescent Moon and Venus close in twilight |
| 4 June 2019 | Crescent Moon and Mercury close |
| 5 June 2019 | Crescent Moon and Mars close |
| 11 June 2019 | Jupiter at Opposition |
| 16 June 2019 | Jupiter and Full Moon close |
| 19 June 2019 | Moon and Saturn close |
| 4 July 2019 | Mercury close to Crescent Moon and Mars in the twilight |
| 10 July 2019 | Saturn at Opposition |
| 13-14 July 2019 | Moon and Jupiter close |
| 16 July 2019 | Moon and Saturn close |
| 16-17 July 2019 | Partial Lunar Eclipse, early morning, really only visible from WA and a bit in the Central states |
| 30 July 2019 | Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower |
| 10 August 2019 | Moon close to Jupiter |
| 12 August 2019 | Moon close to Saturn, Occultation seen on East coast only |
| 6 September 2019 | Waxing Moon and Jupiter close |
| 8-9 September 2019 | Saturn close to Moon, Occultation in northern and Western Australia |
| 13 September 2019 | Apogee Full Moon (mini-Moon) |
| 29 September 2019 | Mercury close to bright star Spica |
| 30 September 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Spica and Mercury with Venus below |
| 3-5 October 2019 | Venus and the bright star Spica close |
| 4 October 2019 | Jupiter and waxing Moon close |
| 6 October 2019 | Saturn and waxing Moon close |
| 22 October 2019 | Orionid meteor shower |
| 24 October 2019 | Variable star Mira at its brightest |
| 29 October 2019 | Mercury, Venus and Crescent Moon close |
| 31 October 2019 | Jupiter and waxing Moon close |
| 2 November 2019 | waxing Moon close to Saturn |
| 9 November 2019 | Jupiter crescent Moon close |
| 11 November 2019 | Crescent Moon and Saturn close |
| 12 November 2019 | Asteroid Vesta at opposition, potentially (just) visible with the unaided eye |
| 17 November 2019 | Leonid Meteor Shower |
| 24 November 2019 | Jupiter and Venus just two finger-widths apart |
| 25 November 2019 | the Crescent Moon, Mars and Mercury form a triangle in the dawn sky |
| 28-29 November 2019 | the Crescent Moon, Jupiter and Venus form a line in the evening twilight |
| 2 December 2019 | Venus close to the globular cluster M22 in the evening twilight (binocular) |
| 11 December 2019 | Venus and Saturn two finger-widths apart |
| 15 December 2019 | Geminid Meteor shower (full Moon, poor rates) |
| 23 December 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Mars in morning sky |
| 26 December 2019 | Partial Eclipse of the Sun, visible only in northern Australia |
| 27 December 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Saturn in the evening twilight |
| 29 December 2019 | Crescent Moon close to Venus in the evening sky |
Labels: asteroids, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
The Sky This Week - Thursday December 20 to Thursday December 27
The Full Moon is Sunday, December 23. Mars is visible low in
the evening skies.
Venus is bright in the morning sky with Mercury and Jupiter below. Jupiter and Mercury close on the 22nd. Earth is at solstice on the 22nd. Comet 46P is lost below the horizon.
The Full Moon is Sunday, December 23. The Moon is at Perigee, where it is closet to Earth on the 24th. Earth is at Solstice on the 22nd, where the day is longest.
Morning twilight sky on Saturday, December 22 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:07 ACDST (45 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright with
Mercury and Jupiter close together low to the horizon below it. The left inset shows the telescopic
view of Venus at this time. The right inset shows a simulated binocular view of Mercury and Jupiter at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes before sunrise)
Evening sky on Saturday, December 22 as seen looking west from Adelaide
at 22:16 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is the brightest object above the western horizon.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Early morning sky on Sunday, December 23 as seen looking north from Adelaide
at 00:10 ACDST (shortly after midnight when the comet is highest). The location of comet 46P is shown.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. Click to embiggen.
Comet 46P is has passed it peak brightness and is now fading. With the bright Moon interfering it is hard to say how bright it is but magnitude 4.5 is probably in the ball park. Over the next few days the proximity of the bright Moon makes the comet quite hard to see. But after the weekend it should be seen as a fuzzy blob in binoculars if you have a clear, unobstructed northern horizon.
On the 23rd the comet in in the centre of a distinctive triangular asterism, on the 24th it is next to the bright star Capella, but the stars brightness may overwhelm it. On the 25th (Christmas day) it is just below Capella. After this in Southern Australia it will be too close to the horizon for good viewing, although in Northern Australia it may be visible until early January. More details on how to see it, along with charts suitable for printing, are here.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight with Jupiter rising to meet it.
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning twilight and is closet to Mercury on the 22nd.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets after midnight.
Saturn is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The Full Moon is Sunday, December 23. The Moon is at Perigee, where it is closet to Earth on the 24th. Earth is at Solstice on the 22nd, where the day is longest.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (45 minutes before sunrise)
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. Click to embiggen.
Comet 46P is has passed it peak brightness and is now fading. With the bright Moon interfering it is hard to say how bright it is but magnitude 4.5 is probably in the ball park. Over the next few days the proximity of the bright Moon makes the comet quite hard to see. But after the weekend it should be seen as a fuzzy blob in binoculars if you have a clear, unobstructed northern horizon.
On the 23rd the comet in in the centre of a distinctive triangular asterism, on the 24th it is next to the bright star Capella, but the stars brightness may overwhelm it. On the 25th (Christmas day) it is just below Capella. After this in Southern Australia it will be too close to the horizon for good viewing, although in Northern Australia it may be visible until early January. More details on how to see it, along with charts suitable for printing, are here.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight with Jupiter rising to meet it.
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning twilight and is closet to Mercury on the 22nd.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets after midnight.
Saturn is lost in the twilight.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Monday, December 17, 2018
Comet 46P Wirtanen at its closest to Earth (16-17 December 2018)
 |  |
| My sketch of 46P tonight at 12:38 am ACDST from suburban Adelaide. Made with 10x50 binoculars. Atlas in the Pleiades is indicated. click to embiggen | Simulation of 10x50 binoculars view of the same field at the same time in SkyMap. The location to the Pleaides is the big cluster at the bottom left. click to embiggen. |
After days of cloud and rain I finally got to see 46P again tonight. Star hopping to the comet was much easier, once I had done a bit of dark adadption, as the Pleiades made and obvious signpost, but even with the moonlight comet 46P was readily see as a large fuzzy patch. Despite being closer and more bright it was not as obvious as the first time, due to the Moonlight, but still obvious. The justaposition of the comet and Pleaides was marvellous. Like last time, the sketch is a bit wobbly from trying to juggle sketch pad, binoculars and red light torch, but not too bad.
Trying to get some camera images now, hope the cloud stays away.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Comet 46P aaproaches Earth, Geminid Meteors ramp up.
Tonight Comet 46 P is closest to the Sun, over the next few days, as the comet heads towards its closest approach of Erath on the 16th, the comet will be at its brightest and best to view (even though it is basically a fuzzy patch, even under the best viewing conditions). For detailed maps and viewing instructions see my 46P page.
The next few days also see the Gemenids ramp up towards their peak on Saturday morning, good rates have already been reported in the northern hemisphere.
The Geminids are a fairly reliable meteor and this will be a good year for them with little moon interference.
The radiant doesn't rise until just before midnight (daylight saving time) in most of Australia, so you will still have to disturb your sleep for this one. The peak is not until next Saturday when Australians should see a meteor every one to two minutes under dark skies in the early morning of the 14th, between 1:00 am and 4:00 am local time. However, in the lead up to the peak you should see some decent meteors under dark skies. The further north you are the better the meteor rates. You can find predictions for your local site at the meteor flux estimator (choose 4 Geminids and date 14-15 December, don't forget to change the year to 2018). For more details see my Geminid page.
Of course, most of Australia is currently under thick cloud, but lets hope for a break.
Labels: 46P, comet, geminids, Meteors
Monday, December 10, 2018
The Sky This Week - Thursday December 13 to Thursday December 20
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday, December 15. Mars is visible low in the evening skies. The First Quarter Moon is close to Mars on the 15th. Venus is bright in the morning sky with Mercury below. Comet 46P is readily visible in binoculars and in dark sky locations has been seen with the unaided eye. Geminid meteor shower peaks
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday, December 15.
Morning twilight sky on Saturday, December 15 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 5:26 ACDST (30 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright with Mercury low to the horizon below it. The inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise)
Evening sky on Saturday, December 15 as seen looking west from Adelaide at 22:12 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is close to the First Quarter Moon. The inset shows the telescopic view of Mars at this time.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Evening sky on Sunday, December 16 as seen looking north from Adelaide at 22:12 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). The location of comet 46P and the variable star Mira is shown. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (and most of the Southern Hemisphere 90 minutes after sunset)). Click to embiggen.
Comet 46P is rapidly brightening and is roughly magnitude 4.5 now, readily seen as a fuzzy blob in binoculars. Is bright enough to (just) see with the unaided eye under dark sky conditions and is brightest this week, between the 13th and the 16th of December. The comet is closest to the Earth on the 16th, but you may wish to wait until the Moon sets on the morning of the 17th to see the comet at its best. More details on how to see it, along with charts suitable for printing, are here.
Mira (omicron ceti), a star in the constellation of Cetus the whale, is a red giant that pulsates over a period of about 331 days and changes brightness from below naked eye visibility to a peak of round magnitude 2 (roughly as bright as gamma Crucis in the Southern Cross) in around 330 days. Mira is at past peak magnitude this week, but may stay bright the rest of this month. Following a line drawn between Sirus and Rigel will bring you to Mira.
Geminids as seen from Brisbane facing north at 2:00 am AEST on the morning of Saturday December 15. The Geminid radiant is marked with a starburst. (similar views from elsewhere at equivalent local time eg Sydney 3:00 am AEDST, Adelaide 3:30 am, click to embiggen).
The Geminids are a fairly reliable meteor shower and this will be a good year for them with little moon interference.
The radiant doesn't rise until just before midnight (daylight saving time) in most of Australia, so you will still have to disturb your sleep for this one. The peak is on the morning of Saturday the 15th when Australians should see a meteor every one to two minutes under dark skies in the early morning of the 15th, between 1:00 am and 4:00 am local time. The further north you are the better the meteor rates. You can find predictions for your local site at the meteor flux estimator (choose 4 Geminids and date 14-15 December, don't forget to change the year to 2018). For more details see my Geminid page.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight.
Jupiter is returns to the morning sky but is low in the twilight.
Mars is in Capricornius and is readily seen in the evening. Mars is now rapidly dimming and shrinking. When Sirius rises Mars is no longer the brightest object in the night sky aside from the Moon. In a telescope the "gibbous" shape of Mars will be obvious. Mars is close to the First Quarter Moon on the 15th.
Saturn is lost in the twilight..
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The First Quarter Moon is Saturday, December 15.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise)
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Comet 46P is rapidly brightening and is roughly magnitude 4.5 now, readily seen as a fuzzy blob in binoculars. Is bright enough to (just) see with the unaided eye under dark sky conditions and is brightest this week, between the 13th and the 16th of December. The comet is closest to the Earth on the 16th, but you may wish to wait until the Moon sets on the morning of the 17th to see the comet at its best. More details on how to see it, along with charts suitable for printing, are here.
Mira (omicron ceti), a star in the constellation of Cetus the whale, is a red giant that pulsates over a period of about 331 days and changes brightness from below naked eye visibility to a peak of round magnitude 2 (roughly as bright as gamma Crucis in the Southern Cross) in around 330 days. Mira is at past peak magnitude this week, but may stay bright the rest of this month. Following a line drawn between Sirus and Rigel will bring you to Mira.
The Geminids are a fairly reliable meteor shower and this will be a good year for them with little moon interference.
The radiant doesn't rise until just before midnight (daylight saving time) in most of Australia, so you will still have to disturb your sleep for this one. The peak is on the morning of Saturday the 15th when Australians should see a meteor every one to two minutes under dark skies in the early morning of the 15th, between 1:00 am and 4:00 am local time. The further north you are the better the meteor rates. You can find predictions for your local site at the meteor flux estimator (choose 4 Geminids and date 14-15 December, don't forget to change the year to 2018). For more details see my Geminid page.
Venus climbs higher in the morning skies.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight.
Jupiter is returns to the morning sky but is low in the twilight.
Mars is in Capricornius and is readily seen in the evening. Mars is now rapidly dimming and shrinking. When Sirius rises Mars is no longer the brightest object in the night sky aside from the Moon. In a telescope the "gibbous" shape of Mars will be obvious. Mars is close to the First Quarter Moon on the 15th.
Saturn is lost in the twilight..
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Friday, December 07, 2018
Southern Skywatch December 2018 edition is now out!
The December edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.
This month Saturn is lost from the evening sky, sky for the first half of the month as Mercury and Jupiter return to the morning sky.
Venus is lost to view in the twilight. Uranus is at opposition on the 24th and is (just) visible to the unaided eye in dark sky locations. Venus climbs higher in the morning sky, Jupiter and Mercury are close together in the morning sky on the 22nd. Mars is is rapidly dimming and is close to Neptune on the 7th.
December 13-21st, comet 46P at its brightest, possibly visible to the unaided eye. Variable star Mira fades. Morning December 15, Geminid meteor shower.
Mercury is visible in the evening sky this month, meeting Jupiter on the 22nd.
Venus is climbing higher in the morning skies and is close to the crescent Moon on the 4th. In even small telescopes it is a thin crescent (may also be visible as a crescent in good binoculars).
Jupiter is close to Mercury on the 22nd.
Mars was at opposition on July the 27th. Mars is close to Neptune on the 7th and the first quarter Moon on the 15th.
Saturn is low in the twilight. December 9 crescent Moon close to Saturn.
December 4, crescent Moon near Venus.
December 9 Moon close to Saturn. December 15, Moon and Mars close.
December 12, Moon at Apogee; December 24, Moon at Perigee.
Labels: southern skywatch
Mars and Neptune spectacularly close tonight (7 December 2018)
Mars and Neptune will be spectacularly close tonight (Friday 7 December). The pair will be a mere 4 arc minutes apart (that's a fraction of a finger-width), and the pair will easily fit into the field of view of the high power eyepiece.
Mars is readily obvious as the bright red object above the western horizon. Even small telescopes will pick the pair up, with Neptune being the brightest (dim) object close to Mars, but you may need a larger scope to pick up Neptune's bluish hue. You will need large binoculars (10x50 or bigger) and dark skies to see Neptune in binoculars (it is currently magnitude 7.9 so you need to be able to see faint stars of magnitude 8 or dimmer to pick it up).
The pair will be closer tonight than they will come for the next 200 years, so go have a look if you can.
Labels: binocular, Conjunction, Mars, Neptune, telescope
Thursday, December 06, 2018
My First View of Comet 46P Wirtanen (6 December 2018)
 |  |
| My sketch of 46P tonight at 10:57 pm ACDST from suburban Adelaide. Made with 10x50 binoculars | Simulation of 10x50 binoculars view of the smae field at the same time in Stellarium. |
I finally got to see 46P tonight (after cloud, rain and a range of other issues). Took a while to sort out the star hopping to Azha (eta (η) Eridani, but once that was done comet 46P was readily see as a large fuzzy patch. The sketch is a bit wobbly from trying to juggle sketch pad, binoculars and red light torch, but not too bad after a long break fro sketching.
Hopefully the weather will stay clear and I can get some camera images as well.
Seeing comet 46P Wirtanen at its brightest from Australia
 |  |
| Location of Comet 46 P Wirtanen as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at 22:10 ACDST on Tuesday the 13th of December (90 minutes after sunset), when the comet is closest to the Sun. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). Click to embiggen. | Location of Comet 46 P Wirtanen as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at 22:13 ACDST on Sunday the 16th of December (90 minutes after sunset), when the comet is closest to the Earth. Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). Click to embiggen. |
Comet 46P is on track to be the brightest comet of this year. Currently magnitude 5.0, it is set to pass pass Earth at 0.0781 AU (~30 time the distance between the earth and Moon), this makes it the 10th closest comet to pass Earth in the modern era.
It is still a bit uncertain how bright it will get but it should get to between magnitude 4 and possibly as bright as magnitude 3 (about as bright as gamma Crucis, the fifth brightest star in the Southern Cross).
The comet will be brightest between December 13 to December 19. It will be closest to the Sun on the 13th, and closest to Earth on the 16th (just after midnight on the 17th of AEDST).
However, although potentially bright, its fussy, diffuse nature means it will be difficult to spot with the unaided eye under suburban conditions. Even under dark sky conditions it will be a faint fuzzy dot. Despite breathless statements about it being "as big as the full Moon" the comet is so diffuse you can only see this extended coma with long exposure camera images, not with the eye.
However, there are already reports of the comet being visible to the unaided eye under dark sky conditions in Australia, and it is being picked up by simple DSLR cameras. It is readily visible in strong binoculars and small telescopes, but you will need a serious telescope and astronomical camera to pick up any detail, including the faint tail.
The comet is a reasonably easy target for binoculars, unfortunately the waxing moon will make it harder to spot during the time when it is brightest.
However, if you wait until Moon set (around midnight on the 13th and 2 am on the 17th (actually, for the east coast on daylight savings time the comet is closest just after midnight), the comet will be reasonably high above the northern sky and in a good position to view.
The comet is now is an area where there are useful guide stars.
At the moment the best way to find it is draw an imaginary line between Sirius and Rigel, then continue on until you reach the next brightest star Menkar (α Ceti) that is the constellation of Cetus. Then back off about a hand-span and up two and you will come to the brightish star Azha (eta (η) Eridani) on the 6th the comet is above, and on the 7th below this star.
The comet is moving rapidly as it comes close to the Earth. While it won't "whizz" across the sky it will move substantially night to night.
 |  |
| Black and white printable binocular chart for locating comet 46P between 6- 14 December as seen from Adelaide at 22:06 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset, basically a black and white version of the chart at the top). The circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars. Click to embiggen and print. Use in conjunction with the spotters maps for orientation. | Black and white printable binocular chart for locating comet 46P between 13- 21 December as seen from Adelaide at 22:10 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset, basically a black and white version of the chart at the top). The circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars. Click to embiggen and print. Use in conjunction with the spotters maps for orientation. |
On the 10th and 11th the comet is within a binocular field of Menkar. On the 13th if you look for the distinctive upside down V shape of the head of Taurus the Bull, then follow the line of stars up from the bright red star Aldebaran you will come to a pair of brightish stars, the comet is just under that. On the 16th the comet is between the distinctive cluster the Pleiades and bright red Aldebaran.
PDF versions of the black and white charts above which are higher quality print are linked below. Spotters chart
Binocular Chart 6-14 Dec
Binocular Chart 13-21 Dec
Wednesday, December 05, 2018
Geminid Meteor Shower 13-15 December 2018
 |  |
| The northern horizon at 4:00 am ACDST as seen from Adelaide on Saturday December 15. The Geminid radiant is marked with a starburst. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at a similar latitude and the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen). | The northern horizon at 3:00 am AEDST as seen from Sydney on Saturday December 15. The Geminid radiant is marked with a starburst. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at a similar latitude and the equivalent local time. (click to embiggen). |
The Geminids are unusual meteor shower in that their parent body is 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid, rather than a comet. It is speculated though that Phaeton is actually a "gassed out" comet, and so the debris that makes up the Geminids may still be cometary particles, but is more likely broke rock fragments from its close approach to the sun.
The Geminids are a fairly reliable meteor shower and this year moonlight will not significantly interfere. Some decent meteors rates should be seen.
Unlike the Leonids, where there is a very narrow peak of high activity, the Geminids have a broad peak and will show good activity well before and after the peak, and on the day before and after. The peak is December 14, 12h 30m UT. That is 23:30 pm AEDST December 14 in Australia. This is just before the Moon set, and before the radiant is high enough for decent rates, but there will still be very goor rates from around 2-3 am AEDST (1-2 am AEST) on the morning of the 15th in Australia. As the radiant doesn't rise until just before midnight (daylight saving time) in most of Australia, so you will still have to disturb your sleep for this one.
Unfortunately, both Chrome and Firefox have changed their security settings to prevent plugins from running, and the flux estimator only runs under Internet Explorer now.
You can follow the progress of the shower at the IMO Geminids Live page.
At 1.00 am in the morning AEDST (midnight, AEST) Castor (alpha Geminorum) is about two hand-spans above the horizon and 10 hand-spans to the right of due north. Pollux, the other twin, is less than a hand-span to the right again. The radiant is just below Pollux.
When you get up, allow at least 5 minutes for your eyes to adjust and become dark adapted (even if you have stumbled out of bed in the dark, here's some hints on dark adaption of your eyes so you can see meteors better) 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 (a meteor every three minutes is an average, they won't turn up like a ticking clock but more or less randomly).
Predicted meteor rates for selected towns
| Town | Morning December 13 | Morning December 14 | Morning December 15 |
| Adelaide | 8 meteors/hr | 17 meteors/hr | 22 meteors/hr |
| Brisbane | 10 meteors/hr | 21 meteors/hr | 31 meteors/hr |
| Darwin | 14 meteors/hr | 31 meteors/hr | 40 meteors/hr |
| Perth | 10 meteors/hr | 21 meteors/hr | 31 meteors/hr |
| Melbourne | 7 meteors/hr | 15 meteors/hr | 20 meteors/hr |
| Hobart | 5 meteors/hr | 12 meteors/hr | 16 meteors/hr |
Choose a viewing spot where you can see a large swathe of sky without trees or buildings getting in the way, or with street lights getting in your eyes. The darker the spot the better (but do be sensible, don't choose a spot in an insalubrious park for example). While the radiant is where the meteors appear to originate from, most of the meteors will be seen away from the radiant, so don't fixate on the radiant, but keep your eye on a broad swath of sky roughly centred just above the radiant (as the radiant doesn't rise very high, looking exactly at the radiant will mean you miss some higher up).
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. Despite it being summer, make sure you have a jumper or something as the night can still get cold
Guides to taking meteor photos are here and here.
As well, Orion and the Hyades will be visible and bright Venus, rises an two and a half hours before sunrise. So it will be a quite nice morning for sky watching. Keep an eye out for satellites!
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
The Sky This Week - Thursday December 6 to Thursday December 13
The New Moon is Friday, December 7. Saturn and Mars are
visible low in the
evening skies. The crescent Moon is close to Saturn on the 9th, Venus is bright in the morning sky and is joined by Mercury late in the week. Comet 46P is visible in binoculars. Variable star Mira is bright. The Geminid meteor shower begins at the end of the week.
The New Moon is Friday, December 7. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on Wednesday the 12th.
Morning twilight sky on Thursday, December 13 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:52 ACDST (30 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright with Mercury low to the horizon below it. The inset shows the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise)
Evening sky on Sunday, December 9 as seen looking west from
Adelaide at 21:26 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset). Saturn is just on
the horizon near the crescent Moon with Mars above. The inset shows the telescopic view of Mars at this time.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Evening sky on Saturday, December 8 as seen looking north-east from
Adelaide at 22:06 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). The location of comet 46P and the variable star Mira is shown.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent
local time (and most of the Southern Hemisphere 90 minutes after sunset)). Click to embiggen.
Comet 46P is rapidly brightening and is roughly magnitude 5.0 now, readily seen as a fuzzy blob in binoculars. It may become bright enough to (just) see with the unaided eye in late December. More details on how to see it, along with charts suitable for printing, are here.
Mira (omicron ceti), a star in the constellation of Cetus the whale, is a red giant that pulsates over a period of about 331 days and changes brightness from below naked eye visibility to a peak of round magnitude 2 (roughly as bright as gamma Crucis in the Southern Cross) in around 330 days. Mira is at peak magnitude this week, and may stay bright the rest of this month. Following a line drawn between Sirus and Rigel will bring you to Mira.
Geminids
as seen from Brisbane facing north at 2:00 am AEST on the morning of December 14. The Geminid radiant is marked with a starburst. (similar views from
elsewhere at equivalent local time eg Sydney 3:00 am AEDST, Adelaide
3:30 am, click
to embiggen).
The Geminids are a fairly reliable meteor and this will be a good year for them with little moon interference.
The radiant doesn't rise until just before midnight (daylight saving time) in most of Australia, so you will still have to disturb your sleep for this one. The peak is not until next Saturday when Australians should see a meteor every one to two minutes under dark skies in the early morning of the 14th, between 1:00 am and 4:00 am local time. However, in the lead up to the peak you should see some decent meteors under dark skies. The further north you are the better the meteor rates. You can find predictions for your local site at the meteor flux estimator (choose 4 Geminids and date 14-15 December, don't forget to change the year to 2018). For more details see my Geminid page.
Venus has returned to the morning skies.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight.
Jupiter is lost in the twilight and will return to the morning sky mid December.
Mars is in Capricornius and is readily seen in the evening. Mars is now rapidly dimming and shrinking. When Sirius rises Mars is no longer the brightest object in the night sky aside from the Moon. In a telescope you may see a few features but viewing will be difficult. This week the "gibbous" shape of Mars will be obvious.
Saturn is low in the north-western evening sky in the early evening and is setting around 10:00 pm. Its closeness to the horizon means it is no longer a good telescopic target. It is close to the crescent Moon on the 9th.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The New Moon is Friday, December 7. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on Wednesday the 12th.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise)
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Comet 46P is rapidly brightening and is roughly magnitude 5.0 now, readily seen as a fuzzy blob in binoculars. It may become bright enough to (just) see with the unaided eye in late December. More details on how to see it, along with charts suitable for printing, are here.
Mira (omicron ceti), a star in the constellation of Cetus the whale, is a red giant that pulsates over a period of about 331 days and changes brightness from below naked eye visibility to a peak of round magnitude 2 (roughly as bright as gamma Crucis in the Southern Cross) in around 330 days. Mira is at peak magnitude this week, and may stay bright the rest of this month. Following a line drawn between Sirus and Rigel will bring you to Mira.
The Geminids are a fairly reliable meteor and this will be a good year for them with little moon interference.
The radiant doesn't rise until just before midnight (daylight saving time) in most of Australia, so you will still have to disturb your sleep for this one. The peak is not until next Saturday when Australians should see a meteor every one to two minutes under dark skies in the early morning of the 14th, between 1:00 am and 4:00 am local time. However, in the lead up to the peak you should see some decent meteors under dark skies. The further north you are the better the meteor rates. You can find predictions for your local site at the meteor flux estimator (choose 4 Geminids and date 14-15 December, don't forget to change the year to 2018). For more details see my Geminid page.
Venus has returned to the morning skies.
Mercury is low in the morning twilight.
Jupiter is lost in the twilight and will return to the morning sky mid December.
Mars is in Capricornius and is readily seen in the evening. Mars is now rapidly dimming and shrinking. When Sirius rises Mars is no longer the brightest object in the night sky aside from the Moon. In a telescope you may see a few features but viewing will be difficult. This week the "gibbous" shape of Mars will be obvious.
Saturn is low in the north-western evening sky in the early evening and is setting around 10:00 pm. Its closeness to the horizon means it is no longer a good telescopic target. It is close to the crescent Moon on the 9th.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
