Thursday, February 28, 2019
Once Again, early morning action as the crescent Moon visites two bright planets (2 Mar-3 Mar)
 |  |
| Morning sky on Saturday, March 2 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:35 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). At this time Saturn
and the crescent Moon are close.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise). | Morning sky on Sunday, March 3 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:37 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). At this time Venus
and the crescent Moon are close.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise). |
The astronomical action is in the morning sky over the next two mornings (Saturday 2 March and Sunday 3 March) as the thin crescent Moon visits Saturn and Venus in turn. In both cases the Moon is less than a finger-width from the bright planets, and viewable in binoculars and wide-field telescope eye pieces. However at this magnification neither Saturn or Venus will be spectacular, but it will be interesting to see them together.
Sunday will also be a good time to view Venus in the daylight. Once you have located the Moon and venus in the twilight, watch as sunrise progresses, using safe solar technique (ie have the sun always hidden by a large object such as a building, never tlook directly at the sun), and use the Moon to guide you to Venus. it may take a while for Venus to "pop out" but once you see it you can locate it again. My guides to observing Venus in the daylight are here.
 |  |
| Approximate wide field telescope view of Venus and the crescent Moon on Saturday, March 2 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:35 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). The field of view is
approximately that of a 25mm eyepiece on a 4" Newtonian reflector.
Venus and the Moon are approximately 57 minutes of arc from each other
(just over two lunar diameters, click to embiggen) Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time using wide-field eyepieces (90 minutes before sunrise). | Approximate wide field telescope view of Venus and the crescent Moon on
Sunday, March 3 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:37 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). The field of view is
approximately that of a 25mm eyepiece on a 4" Newtonian reflector.
Venus and the Moon are approximately 43 minutes of arc from each other
(approximately two lunar diameters, click to embiggen) Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time using widefield eyepieces (90 minutes before sunrise). |
Labels: binocular, Conjunction, Daylight, Daytime, Moon, Saturn, telescope, unaided eye, Venus
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
The Sky This Week - Thursday February 28 to Thursday March 7
The New Moon is Thursday, March 7. Mars is visible low in
the evening skies. Jupiter is high in the morning skies above Saturn
and bright Venus. The crescent Moon is close to Saturn on the 2nd and Venus on the 3rd.
Saturn pulls away from Venus over the week.
The New Moon is Thursday, March 7. The New Moon is at apogee on the 4th.
Morning sky on Sunday, March 3 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:37 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). Jupiter is high in the morning sky above the pair of Venus and Saturn. At this time Venus and the crescent Moon are close. The left
upper insert inset shows the telescopic
view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic
view of Jupiter at the same scale and the upper right that of Saturn.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
Approximate wide field telescope view of Venus and the crescent Moon on Sunday, March 3 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:37 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). The field of view is approximately that of a 25mm eyepiece on a 4" Newtonian reflector. Venus and the Moon are approximately 43 minutes of arc from each other (approximately two lunar diameters, click to embiggen)
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time using widefield eyepieces (90 minutes before sunrise).
Evening sky on Saturday, March 2 as seen looking north-west from
Adelaide
at 21:20 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is the brightest object
above the western horizon.
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Evening sky on Saturday, March 2 as seen looking South-east from Adelaide
at 21:20 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset).
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
This week is is a good time to observe our wonderful southern sky with the Moon out of the way. Looking at the wonderful clusters and nebula of our southern skies with the unaided eye or binoculars will be a treat.
The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross (Wilto the Eagle to the people of the Adelaide Plains) in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Milky ways' satellite dwarf galaxies, the Magellanic clouds, (between and below the bright stars Canopus and Achernar) are easily seen away from the city lights. Near Mimosa (beta Crucis) is a delightful southern gem, the Jewel box cluster. The inset shows the approximate 10x50 binocular view of the are around the Jewel box cluster. The bracketed area shows the jewel box cluster itself.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter and Saturn. Venus is visited by the cresent Moon on the 3rd. The pair are less than a finger-width apart, and so should fit into the same filed of view in widefiled telescope eyepieces. This will alos be a good time to seen Venus in the daylight, if you are acreful to keep the sun blocked by a large building or so.
Mercury is lost in the 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 around 10:30pm.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus. It is close too the thin crescent Moon on the 2nd.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The New Moon is Thursday, March 7. The New Moon is at apogee on the 4th.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time using widefield eyepieces (90 minutes before sunrise).
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
This week is is a good time to observe our wonderful southern sky with the Moon out of the way. Looking at the wonderful clusters and nebula of our southern skies with the unaided eye or binoculars will be a treat.
The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross (Wilto the Eagle to the people of the Adelaide Plains) in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Milky ways' satellite dwarf galaxies, the Magellanic clouds, (between and below the bright stars Canopus and Achernar) are easily seen away from the city lights. Near Mimosa (beta Crucis) is a delightful southern gem, the Jewel box cluster. The inset shows the approximate 10x50 binocular view of the are around the Jewel box cluster. The bracketed area shows the jewel box cluster itself.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter and Saturn. Venus is visited by the cresent Moon on the 3rd. The pair are less than a finger-width apart, and so should fit into the same filed of view in widefiled telescope eyepieces. This will alos be a good time to seen Venus in the daylight, if you are acreful to keep the sun blocked by a large building or so.
Mercury is lost in the 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 around 10:30pm.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus. It is close too the thin crescent Moon on the 2nd.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Monday, February 18, 2019
Reminder, Perigee Full Moon of February 19/20 2018
A full Moon at perigee has been called a "Super Moon", this is not an astronomical term (the astronomical term is perigee syzygy, but that doesn't trip off the tongue so nicely), but an astrological one first coined in 1979 (see here).
Still, it is a good excuse to get people out and looking at the Moon.
While perigee (closest approach) of the Moon is actually at 19:30 ACDST, and the Full Moon is on 2:20 ACDST on the 20th, tcatching the Moon shorlty before midnight will give you a good sized Moon so close to Full you can't tell the difference.
Even so it will be hard to distinguish from most normal full Moons.
However, this will be a good opportunity to image the full moon through telescopes or binoculars. If then take a photo of the Moon on September 13 you will see a decent difference (you need to use exactly the same zoom enlargement. The pairing of the February 19 Perigee Moon and the September 13 apogee Moon will be the best contrast we will get until 2032.
Full details and links to hints on imaging the perigee Moon are here for mobile phone and here for standard cameras.
Images of the January 21 Perigee Moon are here, and of the the perigee apogee pair from 2014.
Labels: astrophotography, mobile Phone, Moon, perigee, telescope
The Sky This Week - Thursday February 21 to Thursday February 28
The Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday, February 26. Mars is visible low in
the evening skies. Jupiter is high in the morning skies above Saturn and bright Venus. The waning Moon is close to Jupiter on the 28th. Saturn pulls away from Venus over the week. Comet
C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) is be bright enough to be easily seen in
binoculars but moonlight interferes early in the week.
Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday, February 26.
Morning sky on Thursday, February 28 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:32 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). Jupiter is high in the morning sky above the pair of Venus and Saturn below
it. At this time Venus and Saturn are moving away from each other. The left
upper insert inset shows the telescopic
view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic
view of Jupiter at the same scale and the lower right that of Saturn.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
Evening sky on Saturday, February 23 as seen looking north-west from
Adelaide
at 21:30 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is the brightest object
above the western horizon.
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north from Adelaide at 21:30
ACDST (90 minutes after sunset) on Saturday, February 23, when the comet is highest.
Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent
local time (90 minutes after sunset,click to embiggen).
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars, however, at the beginning of the week the Moon interferes significantly with seeing it. Later in the week the comet is well placed for viewing. However this is the last week of good viewing from Australia.
More details and black and white charts suitable for printing are here.
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter and Saturn. The pair are closest on the 19th. but are now moving away from each other as Saturn climbs higher.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky. On the morning of the 28t the waning Mon is clsoe to Jupiter.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets around 10:30pm.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday, February 26.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars, however, at the beginning of the week the Moon interferes significantly with seeing it. Later in the week the comet is well placed for viewing. However this is the last week of good viewing from Australia.
More details and black and white charts suitable for printing are here.
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter and Saturn. The pair are closest on the 19th. but are now moving away from each other as Saturn climbs higher.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky. On the morning of the 28t the waning Mon is clsoe to Jupiter.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets around 10:30pm.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Alert! Bright Pass of the ISS tonight from most of Australia (Monday 18 February)
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| The ISS passes near Orion's belt, between the bright stars Sirius and Canopus as seen from Adelaide on the evening of Monday 18 February at 21:01 ACDST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen. | All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Monday 18 February for Adelaide. (click to embiggen) |
Tonight most of Australia will see a bright pass (greater than magnitude -3, almost as bright as Venus) of the ISS. Most locations will see it pass close to Orion and the bright stars Sirius and Canopus. Some of the passes will be in the twilight, but will still be readily visible.
The passes range form around 6pm (Brisbane) to 8:00 pm Perth, to 9 pm (Adelaide) to 9:30 pm (Melbourne). 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,
Labels: ISS, Satellite, unaided eye
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
The Sky This Week - Thursday February 14 to Thursday February 21
The Full Moon is Wednesday, February 20. This is a perigee ("super") Moon on the 19th/20th. This year Perigee on Feb 19 will be 6 hours from Full (which occurs at around 2 am in the morning of the 20th) and the full Moon of Sep 13 will be 15 hours from apogee, giving a somewhat better contrast than the perigee Moon of Jan 21 (14 hours between perigee and full). This year (Feb/Sep) is the best pairing until 2032.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars at its brightest. Sadly, it is best seen around midnight, but is well placed for Australian viewers. Unfortunately the moon now begins to interfere with the comets visibility.
More details and black and white charts suitable for printing are here.
This year Perigee on Feb 19 will be 6 hours from Full (which occurs at around 2 am in the morning of the 20th) and the full Moon of Sep 13 will be 15 hours from apogee, giving a somewhat better contrast than the perigee Moon of Jan 21 (14 hours between perigee and full). This year (Feb/Sep) is the best pairing until 2032.
What can you expect to see with the "Super Moon" of January 21 ?
Not much really, unless you are a regular observer of the Moon, have good visual acuity and a good memory.
The problem is, while the Moon is close this time around, it doesn't actually translate into something you can easily see with your unaided eye. Mondays Full Moon will be around 14% larger and 30% brighter than September's apogee Full Moon.So unless you have a good memory, you won't see much (but it will be a good opportunity to photograph the full Moon, then again in September and compare the images like I did for the Jan 21 perigee Moon).
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter. Venus is close to a number of interesting clusters, Venus is initially within a binocular field of the the beautiful globular cluster M22 but rapidly moves away. Saturn is coming closer to Venus, and the pair are closest on the 19th.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets just before 11pm. Mars is coming moving away from Uranus but the pair can still be seen in a binocular field early in the week.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading towards Venus. The pair are closest on the 19th.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Sunday, February 10, 2019
iTelescope ALERT! comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto at its brightest this week
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| Comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto as seen at 1:41 Local time on 11 Feb for Mayhill, NewMexico, when it is at transit. The Comet is near between 53 Leo and Regulus. the larger rectangle is the field of view of T14/20 medium rectangle is T5/T11 (Mayhill)Click to embiggen. | Comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto as seen at 3:00 Local time on 11 Feb for SSO, Siding Spring, when it is at transit (astronomical twilight starts at 5:09). The Comet is near 53 Leo . The large square is the field of View of T12 (SSO) the medium T30 (SSO) and the small that of T17 (SSO). Click to embiggen. |
Comet C/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) will be at its brightest over the next few days, notionally peaking on the 12th. Australian observers are reporting that the comet is around magnitude 6.5, easily visible in binoculars, and long exposure astro-photographs are revealing a nice little tail. The comet is currently in Leo.
Comet C/2018 Y1 isin Leo and is visible from both Northern and Southern scopes from with transit around 1:30 am-midnight am (Northern scopes) and 3:00-2:30 am (Southern scopes). Currently The Southern scopes have the best view but after a week the Northern scopes have better views, however the moon will begin to interfere. Currently the Moon sets around midnight so imaging at transit will give the best shots.
Comet C/2018 Y1 is quite bright and moving fats, and will need short exposures with stacking on scopes with tracking for the best results.
iTelescope users have been getting nice shots of the comet.
The MPC one line ephemeris is:
CK18Y010 2019 02 07.0247 1.286916 0.989575 358.0526 147.4829 160.4008 20190427 11.5 4.0 C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)
Ephemeris of comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto from SSO Date Rise Ast Twi E Altitude Transit Set Ast Twi B 10 Feb 2019 20:59:53 21:25:40 +33° 00' 07" 03:00:46 08:41:42 05:09:28 11 Feb 2019 20:42:49 21:24:33 +34° 45' 20" 02:35:53 08:07:30 05:10:37 12 Feb 2019 20:24:27 21:23:24 +35° 53' 27" 02:09:07 07:30:59 05:11:46 13 Feb 2019 20:04:55 21:22:14 +36° 13' 23" 01:40:46 06:52:45 05:12:54 14 Feb 2019 19:44:23 21:21:04 +35° 40' 13" 01:11:17 06:13:37 05:14:02 15 Feb 2019 19:23:10 21:19:53 +34° 17' 23" 00:41:18 05:34:35 05:15:09 16 Feb 2019 19:01:38 21:18:40 +32° 15' 22" 23:42:36 04:56:43 05:16:15 17 Feb 2019 18:40:10 21:17:27 +29° 47' 36" 23:15:00 04:20:54 05:17:21 18 Feb 2019 18:19:10 21:16:14 +27° 06' 44" 22:49:09 03:47:44 05:18:26 19 Feb 2019 17:58:56 21:14:59 +24° 22' 28" 22:25:16 03:17:34 05:19:30
Ephemeris of comet C/2018 Y1 Iwamoto from Mayhill Date Rise Ast Twi E Altitude Transit Set Ast Twi B 10 Feb 2019 18:51:22 19:06:17 +55° 24' 59" 01:41:43 08:01:37 05:26:45 11 Feb 2019 18:13:43 19:07:05 +62° 27' 12" 01:15:30 07:45:00 05:25:58 12 Feb 2019 17:34:26 19:07:53 +69° 28' 43" 00:47:35 07:27:10 05:25:10 13 Feb 2019 16:54:25 19:08:40 +75° 45' 56" 00:18:24 07:08:15 05:24:20 14 Feb 2019 16:14:43 19:09:28 +79° 30' 29" 23:18:26 06:48:24 05:23:28 15 Feb 2019 15:36:24 19:10:16 +78° 20' 11" 22:49:11 06:27:56 05:22:36 16 Feb 2019 15:00:20 19:11:03 +73° 48' 45" 22:21:10 06:07:09 05:21:42 17 Feb 2019 14:27:06 19:11:50 +68° 27' 04" 21:54:49 05:46:26 05:20:47 18 Feb 2019 13:57:02 19:12:37 +63° 10' 45" 21:30:22 05:26:07 05:19:50 19 Feb 2019 13:30:07 19:13:24 +58° 16' 09" 21:07:54 05:06:30 05:18:52
Example plan for following the comet, check filter availability.
; ; Single target image example, adjust filter as necessary for chosen scope (scopes 12,14 and 20 can’t track, the comet is moving so fast that untacted 60s exposures will trail).
;
#trackon
#count 15
#interval 60
#binning 2
#filter Red
CK18Y010 2019 02 07.0247 1.286916 0.989575 358.0526 147.4829 160.4008 20190427 11.5 4.0 C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto)
#shutdown
Labels: comet, iTelescope
Seeing comet C/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) at its brightest from Australia (February 2019)
 |  |  |
| Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north from Adelaide at 2:30 ACDST on Monday the 11th of February, when the comet is (almost) highest. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). | Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north from Adelaide at 2:30 ACDST on Tuesday the 12th of February, when the comet is brightest and (almost) highest. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). | Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north from Adelaide at 2:30 ACDST on Wednesday the 13th of February, when the comet is(almost) highest. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). |
Just a reminder that comet C/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) will be at its brightest over the next few days, notionally peaking on the 12th. Australian observers are reporting that the comet is around magnitude 6.5, easily visible in binoculars, and long exposure astro-photographs are revealing a nice little tail. The comet is currently in Leo. It is rising about 9 pm (ACDST and AEST), is about 25 degrees above the horizon at 23:00, which is good for beginning observation and is highest around 2:30 (ACDST) to 3:00 (AEDST). The moon sets around midnight, so will be out of the way for early morning observations (23:48, 00:00, 00:22, 11th 12th an 13th respectively).
On the 10th (morning 11th) the comet is in the same binocular (spotter scope) field as Sigma Leonis. On the 11th (morning 12th)it is between sigma and rho Leonis.
At its brightest it is just below Regulus, just outside of a binocular field, forming a triangle with rho Leonis and Regulus, so will be relatively easy to find. On the 13th it is almost on top of eta Leonis, so should again be very easy to spot. On the 14th it forms a triangle with Lambda and epsilon Leonis, and again should be easy to find.
 |  |
| Printable black and white spotters map for Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight ACDST (click to embiggen and print) | Printable black and white binocular map for Comet C/2018 Y1 from the 10th to 15th February. To be used in conjunction with the spotters map. (click to embiggen and print) |
As well as the charts above, there are PDF charts available A black and white PDF spotters chart suitable for printing is here . A black and white PDF chart suitable for binoculars is available here , the large circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.
Labels: binocular, comet, telescope
Tuesday, February 05, 2019
The Sky This Week - Thursday February 7 to Thursday February 14
The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, February 13. Mars is visible low in
the evening skies and is visited by the Moon on the 10th-11th.
Mars and Uranus are close on the 12th-13th. Venus is bright in the morning sky with Jupiter above it
and Saturn below. Saturn comes closer to Venus over the week. Comet C/2018 Y1 (Iwamoto) should be bright enough to be easily seen in binoculars.
The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, February 13.
Morning twilight sky on Saturday, February 9 looking east as seen from
Adelaide at 5:11 ACDST (90 minutes before sunrise). Venus is bright with Jupiter above Venus and Saturn below
it. During the week Saturn draws closer to Veuns The left
upper insert inset shows the telescopic
view of Venus at this time. the lower left insert shows the telescopic
view of Jupiter at the same scale and the lower right that of Saturn.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
Evening sky on Sunday, February 10 as seen looking north-west from Adelaide
at 21:48 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset). Mars is the brightest object
above the western horizon.Uranus is visible in binoculars not far away. The inset is the approximate view in 10x50 binoculars of Mars and Uranus on the 12 when they are at their closest.
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Evening sky on Saturday, February 9 as seen looking South-east from Adelaide
at 21:48 ACDST (90 minutes after sunset).
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
This week is is still a good time to observe our wonderful southern sky before the Moon gets too bright. The Moon is a waxing crescent that does get too bright until the end of the week so this is a good time to look at the wonderful clusters and nebula of our southern skies with the unaided eye or binoculars.
The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross (Wilto the Eagle to the people of the Adelaide Plains) in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Milky ways' satellite dwarf galaxies, the Magellanic clouds, (between and below the bright stars Canopus and Achernar) are easily seen away from the city lights. The braketed are shows the area of sky where the distinctive Eta Carina nebula is,The inset shows the approximate 10x50 binocular view of the are around the Eta Carina nebula.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight
ACDST on Tuesday the 12th of February, when the comet is brightest.
Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent
local time (click to embiggen).
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars at its brightest.Sadly, it is best seen after midnight, but is well placed for Australian viewers, and the Moon will have set when the comet is at its brightest, making it easier to see.
More details and black and white charts suitable for printing are here.
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter. Venus is close to a number of interesting clusters, Venus is initially within a binocular field of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebula and is in binocular distance of the beautiful open clusters M24 and M25 by the end of the week, although Venuses brightness may make them difficult to see.Saturn is coming closer to Venus, and will be closest next week.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets just before 11pm. Mars is close to the waxing Moon on the 10-11th. Mars is coming closer to Uranus and the pair will be at their closest on the 12th and 13th.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading towards Venus.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, February 13.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).
The Pleiades and Hyades also grace the north-western sky.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
This week is is still a good time to observe our wonderful southern sky before the Moon gets too bright. The Moon is a waxing crescent that does get too bright until the end of the week so this is a good time to look at the wonderful clusters and nebula of our southern skies with the unaided eye or binoculars.
The Milky way stretches from the Southern cross (Wilto the Eagle to the people of the Adelaide Plains) in the south to the distinctive constellation of Orion and beyond. The Milky ways' satellite dwarf galaxies, the Magellanic clouds, (between and below the bright stars Canopus and Achernar) are easily seen away from the city lights. The braketed are shows the area of sky where the distinctive Eta Carina nebula is,The inset shows the approximate 10x50 binocular view of the are around the Eta Carina nebula.
Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars at its brightest.Sadly, it is best seen after midnight, but is well placed for Australian viewers, and the Moon will have set when the comet is at its brightest, making it easier to see.
More details and black and white charts suitable for printing are here.
Venus is bright in the morning skies below Jupiter. Venus is close to a number of interesting clusters, Venus is initially within a binocular field of the Trifid and Lagoon Nebula and is in binocular distance of the beautiful open clusters M24 and M25 by the end of the week, although Venuses brightness may make them difficult to see.Saturn is coming closer to Venus, and will be closest next week.
Mercury is lost in the twilight
Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky heading away from Venus.
Mars is in Pisces and is readily seen as the brightest object in the western evening sky. Mars sets just before 11pm. Mars is close to the waxing Moon on the 10-11th. Mars is coming closer to Uranus and the pair will be at their closest on the 12th and 13th.
Saturn is climbs higher in the morning sky heading towards Venus.
Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEDST, Western sky at 10 pm AEDST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.
Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.
Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/
Labels: weekly sky
Sunday, February 03, 2019
Moon Images from the 100 Hours of Astronomy
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| Moon image at 10:12 pm ACDST 10 Jan using a 10mm eyepiece with an unguided 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/250 second exposure ASA 800. Click to embiggen | Moon image at 10:21 pm ACDST 11 Jan using a 10mm eyepiece with an unguided 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/1000 second exposure ASA 3200.Click to embiggen | Moon image at 10:21 pm ACDST 11 Jan using a 10mm eyepiece with an unguided 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/1000 second exposure ASA 1600. Click to embiggen |
On the 100 days of astronomy, I had a chance to play around with my mobile phone and its telescope adapter. I too a variety of images with different exposure conditions and different eyepieces. I had a mostly good run with the Moon. the images I took on the 10th were badly affected by turbulence, and it set shortly after, so I had no chance to do 25 mm eyepiece images. On the 12th I started after the Moon had set, so no images then. But I still now have a better idea of how to balance high iso (allowing for short exposures but less crispness in the images) and fast shutter speed.
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| Moon image at 10:15 pm ACDST 11 Jan using a 25mm eyepiece with a 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/1000 second exposure ASA 800. Click to embiggen | Moon image at 8:54 pm ACDST 13 Jan using a 25mm eyepiece with a 114mm Newtonian and a Sony Xperia mobile phone. 1/2000 second exposure ASA 800.Click to embiggen |
Atmospheric turbulence is a beggar, especially on unguided mounts, even with really shot exposure times. So I have to time my imaging when the moon is much higher (not always practical with family). I will also have to try my hand using the guided 8" Newtonian. But that takes a lot more set-up so I can't be as spontaneous.
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| Moon on 11-01-19 overlay of 2ximages using 10 mm eyepiece. Click to embiggen (compare to the 25mm shot above) | Moon on 13-01-19 . overlay of 2ximages using 10 mm eyepiece.Click to embiggen. (compare to the 25mm shot above) |
I was able to do some mosaics with the 10mm images, but field rotation makes overly a pain in the bottom. I will have to be more caerful in timing to get better overlap of the images.
But overall, not bad for my first serious imaging attempt with the mobile phone. Images of Nebula and clusters to come.
Labels: astrophotography, mobile Phone, Moon, public outreach
Friday, February 01, 2019
Seeing C/2018 Y1 ( Iwamoto ) from Australia (February 2019)
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| Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight ACDST on Friday the 1st of February, The comet is around magnitude 8.2. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). | Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight ACDST on Tuesday the 12th of February, when the comet is brightest. Similar views will be seen in elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). |
C/2018 Y1 is a "bright" comet that should be readily visible in binoculars at its brightest. It is reasonably well placed for Australian viwers, but you may have to wait until afyerAs a fuzzy dot admittedly, but visible none the less. C/2018 Y1 currently in the constellation Virgo but will move rapidly into Leo. It is brightening and should be visible in binoculars by early February. It is currently magnitude 8 and may peak at magnitude 6.5 when it is 0.3 AU from Earth on the 12th. Its fuzzy, diffuse nature means it will be difficult to spot under suburban conditions. The comet passes a number of relatively bright stars that will make it easier to find.
The comet is at its best around 2:30 am, but is reasonably okay around midnight in the second week of February. On the 1st it is just above Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, on the subsequent nights it is within one or one and and a half binocular widths of each of the brighter stars in Virgo (see spotters chart). On the 7th in is in the same binocular (spotter scope) field as beta Virginis, on the 10th in the same binocular (spotter scope) field as Sigma Leonis. On the 11th it is between sigma and rho Leonis.
At its brightest it is just below Regulus, just outside of a binocular field, forming a triangle with rho Leonis and Regulus, so will be relatively easy to find. On the 13th it is almost on top of eta Leonis, so should again be very easy to spot. On the 14th it forms a triangle with Lambda and epsion Leoonis, and again should be easy to find.
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| Printable black and white spotters map for Comet C/2018 Y1 as seen looking north-east from Adelaide at midnight ACDST (click to embiggen and print) | Printable black and white binocular map for Comet C/2018 Y1 from the 10th to 15th February. To be used in conjunction with the spotters map. (click to embiggen and print) |
As well as the charts above, there are PDF charts available A black and white PDF spotters chart suitable for printing is here . A black and white PDF chart suitable for binoculars is available here , the large circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
