Monday, November 30, 2020
Thursday December 3 to Thursday December 10
The Last Quarter Moon is Tuesday December 9.
The
insets show the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same
magnification at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset), click to embiggen.
Adelaide.
Three bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.
Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.
Morning sky on Saturday, December 5 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide at 5:05 am ACDST (45 minutes before sunrise). Venus is getting lower to the horizon. The comet C/2020 S3 Erasmus is visible in binoculars near Venus. The left inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Venus is still visible low above the horizon in the morning.
Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north -eastern horizon in the early evening. Mars is close to the variable star Mira, which is still reasonably bright. Mars was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on October the 14th, but is still worthwhile observing. Observing details and more at the Mars Opposition site.
Jupiter can be readily seen in the early evening sky in the west. Jupiter and Saturn start out two finger-widths apart at the beginning of the week but slowly draw closer heading for their spectacular meeting later this month. The pair are prominent in the early evening skies along with Mars.
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.
Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.
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
Saturday, November 28, 2020
Southern Skywatch December 2020 edition is now out!
The December edition of Southern Skywatch is now up. The highlight the the month is the meeting of Jupiter and Saturn, where the two will seem to merge into one object.
In December three bright planets can be seen for most of the evening Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.
Jupiter and Saturn come closer
together over the month. December 13; crescent Moon close to Venus.. Morning December 14; Geminid meteor shower peaks.
December 17; The crescent Moon close to the pair of Jupiter and Saturn,
themselves very close in the evening twilight sky. December 21;
Jupiter and Saturn spectacularly close close in the evening twilight
sky. December 23-24; Waxing Moon near to Mars.
Mercury is difficult to see low in the morning twilight.
Venus is close to the crescent Moon on the 13th low in the morning twilight..
Mars is close to the Moon on the 23rd and 26th.
Jupiter is prominent in early the evening sky and is close to Saturn. As the month progresses Jupiter and Saturn come closer, starting roughly 3 finger-widths apart. On the 17th Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn form a triangle in the evening sky.Finally a spectacular close conjunction on the 21st, where the pair will look like one object to the unaided eye.
Saturn is also prominent in early the evening sky near Jupiter. On the 17th Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn form a triangle in the evening sky.Finally a spectacular close conjunction on the 21st, where the pair will look like one object to the unaided eye.
Geminid meteor shower, December 14.
December 13; Moon at perigee. December 25; Moon at Apogee.
Labels: southern skywatch
Twilight "Blue Moon" Penumbral Lunar Eclipse Monday, November 30, 2020
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| Evening sky on Monday November 03 looking east as seen from Sydney at 20:43 AEDST, at mid-eclipse. (The inset shows the Moon in binoculars at this time click to embiggen). At this time the Moon is nearly two hand-spans above the horizon, shortly before Nautical Twilight (and hour after sunset). The subtle darkening of the Moon may be hard to spot. | Evening sky on Monday November 03 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 20:12 ACDST, at mid-eclipse. (click to embiggen). The Moon is just rising, but the subtle darkening of the Moon may be visible an hour after sunset (Nautical Twilight) when the Moon is two hand-spans above the horizon (similar to the Sydney image). |
The November 30 penumbral eclipse is a "Blue Moon" eclipse, occuring on the second Full Moon of the month everywhere except WA (they got their blue moon last month thanks to time zones).
Unfortunately, the penumbral eclipse occurs in the early evening, mostly in twilight. While this is a good time for the kids to watch, the moon is only partly embedded in Earths' outer shadow and the darkening will be difficult to spot. Eastern states have the best view and WA misses out.
You don't need special filters or fancy equipment to watch the lunar eclipse, you just need your eyes and somewhere comfortable to sit and watch. Watching the faint outer shadow of earth creep across the Moons face is quite challenging, as the darkening is subtle and the clise is mostly in twilight, but those on the east coast may find it rewarding (see my images here for January's better penumbral eclipse and the September 2016 penumbral eclipse) . The Moon is very obvious as it rises in the east.
In a penumbral eclipse,
the Moon only enters the outer part of Earth's shadow. This will
results in a subtle darkening of the Moons northern half.
Depending on how good your eyesight is, it could be reasonably visible,
or only visible via photography.
A guide I wrote for the October 2014 lunar eclipse about taking photos of the eclipse is here. And my guide for the 2019 perigee Moon may be helpful for mobile phone users. And there is a downloadable PDF guide to mobile phone astronomy at SpaceMath@NASA.
For all states, the eclipse starts with the Moon below the horizon.
For the eastern states mid eclipse occurs at 20:43 AEDST with the Moon nearly two hand-spans above the horizon, and after civil twilight, so although faint it should be visible. The eclipse ends at 22:56 pm AEDST.
In the central states, mid-eclipse occurs with the Moon just rising, deep in the twilight shortly after sunset and will be difficult to see, however by Nautical twilight, an hour after sunset, the darkening is still extensive and should be seen. the eclipse end occurs 22:26 pm ACDST, after the end of astronomical twilight.
In WA, the eclipse start and mid eclipse all occur with the Moon below the horizon, and the rest of the eclipse deep in the twilight.
The table below shows the time of the eclipse from Eastern, Central and
Western Australia. For Eastern and Central Australia subtract an hour
for non-daylight saving states. The early parts of the eclipse will be
effectively invisible to the unaided eye. When around 2/3 of the Moons
disk is immersed in the penumbra, then you will see an effect (around
half an hour either side of maximum eclipse, so central state observers may see something).
| Penumbral Eclipse Begins | Maximum Eclipse | Penumbral Eclipse Ends |
| below horizon | 20:43 AEDST | 22:56 pm AEDST |
| below horizon | 20:12 ACDST | 22:26 pm ACDST |
| below horizon | below horizon | 19:56 pm AWST |
See here for a map and contact timings in UT for sites outside Australia
Labels: astrophotography, eclipse, mobile Phone, Moon, penumbral, unaided eye
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Thursday November 26 to Thursday December 3
The Full Moon is Monday November 30, this is a Blue Moon with a penumbral eclipse. the Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 27th.
The
insets show the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same
magnification at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset), click to embiggen.
Adelaide.
Three bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The Moon moves away from the lineup this week.
Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.
The left inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Unfortunately, the November 30 penumbral eclipse occurs in the early evening, mostly in twilight. The moon is only partly embedded in Earths' outer shadow and the darkening will be difficult to spot. Eastern states have the best view and WA misses out.
You don't need special filters or fancy equipment to watch the lunar eclipse, you just need your eyes and somewhere comfortable to sit and watch. Watching the faint outer shadow of earth creep across the Moons face is quite challenging, as the darkening is subtle, but those on the east coast may find it rewarding (I have with past penumbral eclipses). The Moon is very obvious as it rises in the east.
For all states, the eclipse starts with the Moon below the horizon.
For the eastern states mid eclipse occurs at 20:43 AEDST with the Moon nearly two hand-spans above the horizon, and after civil twilight, so although faint it should be visible. The eclipse ends at 22:56 pm AEDST. In the central states, mid-eclipse occurs with the Moon just rising, deep in the twilight shortly after sunset and will be difficult to see, the eclipse end occurs 22:26 pm ACDST, after the end of astronomical twilight.
In WA, the eclipse start and mid eclipse all occur with the Moon below
the horizon, and the rest of the eclipse deep in the twilight. Further details, and links to photography guides and past penumbral eclipses are here.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Venus is still visible low above the horizon in the morning.
Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north -eastern horizon in the early evening. The waxing Moon is close to Mars on the 26th. Mars is close to the variable star Mira, which is still reasonably bright but will be difficult to see in the Moonlight. Mars was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on October the 14th, but is still worthwhile observing. Observing details and more at the Mars Opposition site.
Jupiter can be readily seen in the early evening sky in the west. Jupiter and Saturn start out two finger-widths apart at the beginning of the week but slowly draw closer. The pair are prominent in the evening skies along with Mars.
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.
Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.
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
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Leonid Meteor Shower, November 18, 2020
Morning
sky looking
north-east as
seen from Adelaide at 4:00 am AEDST on Wednesday 18 November showing Leo, with the Leonid Meteor shower radiant
indicated with
a starburst.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time . Click to embiggen.
The starburst indicates the radiant, the apparent point of origin of the meteors (they can actually first appear much further away from the radiant).
The Leonids are an iconic meteor shower due to spectacular displays in 1833, 1966, 2001 and 2002. They are due to dusty debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle slamming into Earth's atmosphere. While occasional Leonid meteors can be seen most of November, the rate rises to a peak in mid-November. However, the spectacular rates of the storm years are long gone and will not reoccur for some time, For the foreseeable future only the occasional meteor will be seen, even at the peak.
This year the peak is on Sunday, November 18, with estimates of between 10-15 ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate - the number of meteors you could expect to see if the radiant was at the Zenith under dark skies). However, the radiant never gets very high in Australia, and although the peak occurs 3:30 am in Australia, we expect to see far fewer meteors than the ZHR. Somewhere in the range of one meteor every 30 minutes is likely even under dark skies. The early waxing Moon sets sets well before radiant rise on the 18th and so will not interfere.
While we can expect to see very few meteors, the morning will be a beautiful sight anyway.Orion the Hunter is stretched out overhead, and the Pleiades nearby. You might even see a satellite or two (but not the ISS or iridium flares). To check the weather forecast, go to the Meterology Departments forecast site, or alternately the Weather Channel.
When to look: The best time is between 3:00 am to 5:00 am daylight saving time (2-4 am standard time) on the mornings of the 18th to 19th.
Where to look: Face north-east. A hand span to the right brings you to the bright white star Alpha Leonis, Regulus (the point of a triangle made by the obvious bright stars Procyon and Pollux to the north). Following down and to the left from Regulus you will see a number of fainter stars which form a sickle shape, the head of the lion. The radiant of the Leonid shower will be roughly in the center of the curve of the sickle, about one finger width up (see image above). However, the meteors can turn up almost anywhere in the eastern half of the sky, so make sure you have a spot with a fairly clear field of view, without any bright street-lights in the way. Use common sense in choosing a viewing site. Lone persons should not choose dark parks in the seedy part of town to watch the Leonids, as a mugging can ruin your entire day.
What do you need: For meteor watching, very little is needed. Basically, all you need is you. If you want to try and count the meteors, you will need a couple of sheets of paper, a pencil and a good watch. Bundle up against the pre-dawn cold, warns shoes, thick socks, sensible pants and a good jumper and possibly a blanket to wrap yourself in (I really mean this, last time I had a jumper and a windproof and I was seriously cold). Bring a reclining chair if you have one, or just a picnic chair or a good picnic blanket, and find a dark site with a wide-open view of the sky. Then just lie back, relax, and look up at the stars. Optional extras are a torch with red cellophane over the business end (otherwise you ruin your night vision every time you turn it on), and a thermos of something warm to drink. Mosquito repellent is also a very good idea.
Give it some time: Many people wander out, look around for five minutes, see nothing and wander back in. It will take about five minutes for your eyes to become accustomed to the dark. Also, meteors tend to come in bursts, and if you wander out in a lull, you may miss lots. As well, our time perception sucks. You may think you have been watching for 10 minutes, but in reality only about 2 minutes has passed. Give it time, watch the stars, and enjoy.
Labels: Meteors
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Thursday November 19 to Thursday November 26
The First Quarter Moon is Sunday November 22.
The
insets show the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at the same
magnification at this time.
Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset), click to embiggen.
Adelaide.
Three bright planets are visible stretching west to east. Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The Moon moves through the lineup this week.
Similar views will be seen
elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.
The left inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time. The right inset is the binocular view of the comet.
Mercury is lost in the twilight.
Venus is still visible low above the horizon in the morning.
Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north -eastern horizon in the early evening. The waxing Moon is close to Mars on the 25th and 26th. Mars is close to the variable star Mira, which is still reasonably bright. Mars was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on October the 14th, but is still worthwhile observing. Observing details and more at the Mars Opposition site.
Jupiter can be readily seen in the early evening sky in the west. Jupiter and Saturn start out three finger-widths apart at the beginning of the week but slowly draw closer. The pair are prominent in the evening skies along with Mars. On the 19th the crescent Moon is close to Jupiter forming a triangle with Saturn. On the 20th the Moon form a line with the pair
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.
Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.
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
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Observing comet C/2020 M3 Atlas
 |  |
| Location of comet C/2020 M3 Atlas on Saturday, November 14 at 3:09 am ACDST, when it is highest in the sky. Similar views will be see elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. | Higher power view of the location of comet C/2020 M3 Atlas on Saturday, November 14 at 3:09 am ACDST, when it is highest in the sky. Similar views will be see elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time. |
Comet C/2020 M3 ATLAS is the brightest comet at the moment, at reported magnitudes of 7.5-8.2. It is much brighter that the originally predicted magnitude of 13. It is relatively easly to find at the moment as it passes through the constellation of Orion, and at magnitude 7.5-8.2 it should be visible in 10x50 and stronger binoculars under dark skies, but may be a challenge under suburban skies.
Sadly the best views are when t is hignest in the sky at around 3 am in the morning.
A black and white spotters chart suitable for printing. Click to embiggen and print. The large circles are the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.
Use with a red-light torch (or a standard torch with red cellophane over it) so as to not disturb your night vision.
Because the comet is a fuzzy dot it will be a bit harder to spot the equivalent brightness stars. Allow at least 5 minutes for your eyes to become dark adapted.
For the next fe days the comet will be within binocular range of teh bright star Bellatrix, being closest on the morning of the 16th.
Click to read about or order
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