Astroblog: May 2021

The New Moon is Thursday, June 10. Saturn and Jupiter are visible late in the evening sky. Venus is visible in the evening twilight. Mercury is lost in the twilight. Mars forms a line with the bright stars Castor and Pollux.

The New Moon is Thursday, June 10. Apogee, when the Earth is furthest from the earth, is on June 8.

Evening sky on Saturday June 5 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide at 23:59 pm ACST (just before midnight). Saturn and Jupiter form a line in the late evening sky.

The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at this time.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (just before midnight), click to embiggen.

Whole sky at 18:42 ACST (90 minutes after sunset), on Saturday, June 5 as seen from

Adelaide.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.

Evening twilight sky on Saturday June 5 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 17:39 ACST (30 minutes after sunset). Venus is low above the horizon.

Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Evening sky at 18:10 ACST (60 minutes after sunset), on Saturday June 5 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide.

Mars is a low above the horizon forming a line with the bright stars Pollux and Castor.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time

Mercury is lost in the twilight.

Venus is becoming more visible low in the twilight. I have been able to see Venus from 15 minutes after sunset and it is easily seen 30 minutes after sunset.

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is in Gemini forming a line with the bright stars Pollux and Castor.

Jupiter is high in the morning sky forming a line with Saturn above the north-western horizon. Jupiter is now above the eastern horizon before midnight.

Saturn is now rising well before midnight. It is still best in the morning sky and is easily seen near Jupiter above the north-western horizon.

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

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:51 pm 0 comments


Eastern horizon as seen from Sydney on 26 May at 21:00 AEST. The Moon is at Perigee when it is closest to Earth and the eclipse is about 10 minutes from totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen	Eastern horizon as seen from Adelaide on 26 May at 20:30 ACST. The Moon is at Perigee when it is closest to Earth and the eclipse is about 10 minutes from totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen	Eastern horizon as seen from Perth on 26 May at 19:00 AWST. The Moon is at Perigee when it is closest to Earth and the eclipse is about 10 minutes from totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen

A reminder that tonight ( Wednesday, May 26), there will be an excellent total eclipse of the Moon, the first in Australia since 2018. Even though it will be cloudy in most of southern Australia, it is still worth going out to catch the eclipse between gaps in the cloud, or shining weirdly through the cloud layer. Times for the eclipse at cities around Australia are below.

A guide I wrote for the October 2014 lunar eclipse to taking photos of the eclipse is here. And here is a more general (and more recent) link to lunar photography with mobile phones and adapters that is useful for mobile phone imaging of the eclipse.

See here for a map and contact timings in Universal Time for sites outside Australia.

City	Civil Twilight	Nautical Twilight	Astronomical twilight	Eclipse Start	Totality Start	Maximum Eclipse	Totality End	Eclipse End
Adelaide (ACST)	17:42	18:13	18:43	19:15	20:40 (perigee 20:30)	20:49	20:58	22:23
Alice Springs (ACST)	18:21	18:48	19:16	19:15	20:40 (perigee 20:30)	20:49	20:58	22:23
Auckland (NZT)	17:43	18:15	18:46	21:44	23:09	23:18	23:27	00:52
Brisbane (AEST)	18:21	18:48	19:16	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Cairns (AEST)	18:13	18:40	19:06	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Canberra (AEST)	17:29	18:00	18:31	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Christchurch (NZT)	17:37	18:12	18:47	21:44	23:09	23:18	23:27	00:52
Darwin (ACST)	18:50	19:16	19:42	19:15	20:40 (perigee 20:30)	20:49	20:58	22:23
Hobart (AEST)	16:50	17:25	17:59	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Melbourne (AEST)	17:41	18:14	18:45	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Perth (AWST)	17:49	18:18	18:48	17:45	19:10 (perigee 19:00)	19:19	19:28	20:53
Rockhampton (AEST)	17:44	18:12	18:39	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Sydney (AEST)	17:24	17:55	18:26	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Townsville (AEST)	18:05	18:32	18:59	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53

Weather: 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: eclipse, Moon, perigee, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:44 pm 0 comments


Full Moon April 27 23:00 AEST, perigee was at April 28 2:00 AEST (+ 11h from full). Overlain is the apogee Moon of October 28, 2020 (click to embiggen).	Perigee Moon of April 27 and apogee Moon of October 28 simulated in Stellarium.

Perigee Full Moon April 27 23:00 AEST, overlain with apogee First Quarter Moon of January 21, 2021.	Perigee Moon of April 27 and apogee Last Quarter Moon of January 21 simulated in Stellarium.

While everyone is eagerly awaiting the Total Lunar Eclipse and Perigee Full Moon, last month was a perigee Full Moon as well.

Not as big as this months perigee Full Moon but not bad at all. For comparison I have overlain the apogee full moon from last October and the apogee First Quarter Moon from January this year and compared them with the simulated diameters in Stellarium. As you can see there is a clear difference between the Apogee and Perigee Moons which are pretty close to their simulated differences.

If anything the perigee Moon is slightly larger than expected compared to the two apogee Moons. possibly due to field distortion form not centering the Moon in the eyepiece properly. it will be interesting to compare the full Moon at perigee and total eclipse with the apogee moons as well.

The images were taken with an Xperia mobile phone (Focus at infinity, 1/4000 second, ISO 200 Full Moon, ISO 800 First Quarter Moon, through a 25 mm eyepiece on a tracking 8" Newtonian (Saxon EQ6 mount).

Labels: apogee, astrophotography, Moon, perigee

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:07 pm 0 comments

The Last Quarter Moon is Wednesday, June 2. Saturn and Jupiter are visible late in the evening sky and are visited by the waning Moon from the 30th to the 1st. Venus and Mercury are visible in the evening twilight and are close together on the 29th, low in the twilight.

The Last Quarter Moon is Wednesday, June 2.

Evening sky from Sunday, May 29 to Tuesday June 1 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide at 23:45 pm ACST (just before midnight). Saturn and Jupiter form a line in the late evening sky being visited by the Moon.

The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn on June 1. The Jovian Moons Callisto and Io will go have just appeared from behind Jupiter's disk.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (just before midnight), click to embiggen.

Whole sky at 18:43 ACST (90 minutes after sunset), on Saturday, May 29 as seen from

Adelaide.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.

Evening twilight sky on Saturday May 29 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 17:41 ACST (30 minutes after sunset). Venus is just above the horizon with Mercury just next to it. You will need a clear level horizon to see Venus and Mercury and probably binoculars to see Mercury. The inset shows the approximate binocular view of Venus and Mercury.

Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Evening sky at 18:43 ACST (90 minutes after sunset), on Monday May 24 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide.

Mars is low above the horizon near the bright star Pollux.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time

Mercury is visible low in the evening twilight. Best seen from half an hour after sunset with a level, unobstructed horizon. It is less than a finger-width from Venus on the 29th.

Venus is becoming more visible low in the twilight. I have been able to see Venus from 15 minutes after sunset and it will be much easier to see this week.

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is in Gemini not far from the bright star Pollux.

Jupiter is high in the morning sky forming a line with Saturn above the northern horizon. Jupiter is now above the eastern horizon before midnight and is close to the waning Moon on the 1st.

Saturn is climbing higher in the morning sky and is now rising well before midnight. On the 30th and 31st the waning Moon is close to Saturn. It is still best in the morning sky and is easily seen above Jupiter above the northern horizon.

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

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:06 pm 0 comments

The Full Moon is Wednesday, May 26. This is a perigee full Moon and there is a Total Lunar Eclipse in the early evening. Saturn and Jupiter are readily visible in the morning sky. Venus and Mercury are visible in the evening twilight. On the evening of the 24th the star Wasat and Mars are close.

The Full Moon is Wednesday, May 26. This is a perigee ("super") full Moon and there is a Total Lunar Eclipse in the early evening.

Morning sky on Saturday, May 22 showing the northern sky as seen from Adelaide at 5:42 am ACST (90 minutes before sunrise). Saturn and Jupiter form a line in the morning sky.

The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at this time. The Jovian Moon Ganymede behind Jupiter's disk and Io will go behind Jupiter shortly.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.

Whole sky at 18:45 ACST (90 minutes after sunset), on Saturday, May 22 as seen from

Adelaide.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.

Evening twilight sky on Saturday May 22 looking north-west as seen from Adelaide at 17:43 ACST (30 minutes after sunset). Venus is just above the horizon with Mercury above. You will need a clear level horizon to see Venus.

Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Evening sky at 18:44 ACST (90 minutes after sunset), on Monday May 24 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide.

Mars is a finger-width from the star Wasat (𝛿 Geminorum).

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time

Eastern horizon as seen from Adelaide on Wednesday 26 May at 20:30 ACST. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to Earth and the eclipse is about 10 minutes from totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time.

More charts and timings for the eclipse from selected cities in Australia and New Zealand, along with observing hints, are here.

Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight. Best seen from half an hour to 45 minutes after sunset with a level, unobstructed horizon.

Venus is visible low in the twilight. I have been able to see Venus from 15 minutes after sunset with averted vision, it should be much easier to see this week.

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is in Gemini. On the 24th Mars Mars is a finger-width from the star Wasat (𝛿 Geminorum).

Jupiter is high in the morning sky forming a line with Saturn above the northern horizon.

Saturn is climbing higher in the morning sky and is now rising just before midnight. It is still best in the morning sky and is easily seen above Jupiter above the northern horizon.

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

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:32 pm 0 comments


Eastern horizon as seen from Sydney on 26 May at 21:00 AEST. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to Earth and the eclipse is about 10 minutes from totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen	Eastern horizon as seen from Adelaide on 26 May at 20:30 ACST. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to Earth and the eclipse is about 10 minutes from totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen	Eastern horizon as seen from Perth on 26 May at 19:00 AWST. The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to Earth and the eclipse is about 10 minutes from totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen

On the evening of Wednesday, May 26, there will be an excellent total eclipse of the Moon, the first in Australia since 2018.

As well as being the first total eclipse in a while, this one will be a rather special eclipse, as perigee (when the Moon is closest to Earth) will occur during the eclipse leading to some folks calling it a "super moon" eclipse.


Full Moon May 26 21:00, perigee May 26 -9h Total Lunar Eclipse. 21:10	Full Moon December 19 15:00 Moon at apogee 18th -26h

You will also see some sites calling this a "blood Moon", The Moon does not turn the colour of blood but will go a deep copper colour due to the refraction of red light through our atmosphere. This will be a fairly shallow eclipse with the Moon remaining visible as a coppery disk.

Unfortunately, the May 26 eclipse occurs midweek. Fortunately, it occurs in the early evening, so you don't have to stay up late and the kids can watch. All of Australia gets to see the deepest totality, and only Western Australia sees the early part of the eclipse in the twilight. Totality is relatively short and not very deep, only 18 minutes of totality, compared to the July 28, 2018 total eclipse of 104 minutes, the longest this century.

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 earth's shadow creep across the Moon's face, as the stars begin to appear again is quite beautiful. The Moon is very obvious to the west with the bright red star Antares close by in the head of the constellation of the scorpion. Binoculars or a telescope are a plus, but not necessary.

While this is not a very deep or dark eclipse you should still see the stars become more visible. As noted, the Moon is in the head of the scorpion, close to the brightish star Acrab (Graffias) the third brightest star in Scorpius and not far from Antares, the reddish disk of the Moon and red Antares should make a fine sight. The Moon is closer still to the dimmer star Jabbah and Omega 1&2 Scorpii, which form a triangle with Acrab. If you watch from before the start of the eclipse you can see the Moon glide between Jabbah and omega1&2 Scorpii (may require binoculars).

A guide I wrote for the October 2014 lunar eclipse to taking photos of the eclipse is here. And here is a more general (and more recent) link to lunar photography with mobile phones and adapters that is useful for mobile phone imaging of the eclipse.

Perigee occurs during totality so you if you are imaging will have to have a longer exposure to get the diameter of the moon (to compare with December 19’s mini moon).

On the East coast, the eclipse starts after astronomical twilight when the sky is fully dark (see the table below for times).

In the central states the eclipse starts on or jsu before astronomical twilight so the sky will be dark enough to see the shaow of earth. Totality when the sky is fully dark (see table below).

In WA, the eclipse begins in the early twilight, but Earth's shadow should still be visible, totality begins when the sky is full dark (see table below).

The eclipse starts reasonably high in the sky and is good viewing from almost anywhere, urban, suburban, or country. You don't need to move from your backyard unless there is a high-rise blocking your view to the east. It is late autumn so don't forget to get rugged up and have some hot drinks on hand. Even if it is cloudy it is still worth watching for the changing light and the occasional glimpses of the darkening Moon.

New Zealand sees the whole of the eclipse.

See here for a map and contact timings in Universal Time for sites outside Australia.

City	Civil Twilight	Nautical Twilight	Astronomical twilight	Eclipse Start	Totality Start	Maximum Eclipse	Totality End	Eclipse End
Adelaide (ACST)	17:42	18:13	18:43	19:15	20:40 (perigee 20:30)	20:49	20:58	22:23
Alice Springs (ACST)	18:21	18:48	19:16	19:15	20:40 (perigee 20:30)	20:49	20:58	22:23
Auckland (NZT)	17:43	18:15	18:46	21:44	23:09	23:18	23:27	00:52
Brisbane (AEST)	18:21	18:48	19:16	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Cairns (AEST)	18:13	18:40	19:06	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Canberra (AEST)	17:29	18:00	18:31	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Christchurch (NZT)	17:37	18:12	18:47	21:44	23:09	23:18	23:27	00:52
Darwin (ACST)	18:50	19:16	19:42	19:15	20:40 (perigee 20:30)	20:49	20:58	22:23
Hobart (AEST)	16:50	17:25	17:59	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Melbourne (AEST)	17:41	18:14	18:45	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Perth (AWST)	17:49	18:18	18:48	17:45	19:10 (perigee 19:00)	19:19	19:28	20:53
Rockhampton (AEST)	17:44	18:12	18:39	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Sydney (AEST)	17:24	17:55	18:26	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53
Townsville (AEST)	18:05	18:32	18:59	19:45	21:10 (perigee 21:00)	21:19	21:28	22:53

Weather: 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: eclipse, Moon, perigee

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:21 am 1 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday, May 20. Saturn and Jupiter are readily visible in the morning sky. Venus and Mercury are becoming more visible in the twilight. On the 13th the thin crescent Moon forms a line with Venus and Mercury low in the evening twilight. On the evening of the 16th the crescent Moon and Mars are close.

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday, May 20.

Morning sky on Saturday, May 15 showing the eastern sky as seen from Adelaide at 5:31am ACST (90 minutes before sunrise). Saturn and Jupiter form a line in the morning sky with the crescent Moon below Jupiter.

The insets shows the telescopic views of Jupiter and Saturn at this time. The Jovian Moon Ganymede is exiting Jupiter's disk and Io is hidden behind Jupiter.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise), click to embiggen.

Whole sky at 18:49 ACST (90 minutes after sunset), on Saturday, May 15 as seen from

Adelaide.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). click to embiggen.

Evening twilight sky on Thursday May 13 looking west as seen from Adelaide at 17:49 ACST (30 minutes after sunset). Venus is just above the horizon, not far from the crescent Moon with Mercury above. You will need a clear level horizon and probably binoculars to see Venus.

Similar views will be seen throughout Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Evening sky at 18:49 ACST (90 minutes after sunset), on Sunday May 16 facing north-west as seen from Adelaide.

Mars is two finger-widths from the crescent Moon.

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time

Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight. On the 13th the thin crescent Moon forms a line with Venus and Mercury low in the twilight, best seen half an hour after sunset with a level, unobstructed horizon, you may need binoculars to see Venus.

Venus is visible low in the twilight from around the 10th on. I have been able to see Venus from 15 minutes after sunset with averted vision

Mars is readily visible in the evening sky above the north-western horizon in the early evening. Mars is in Gemini. On the 16th Mars is two finger-widths from the crescent Moon.

Jupiter is climbing higher in the morning sky forming a line with Saturn.

Saturn is climbing higher in the morning sky and is now rising just before midnight. It is still best in the morning sky and is easily seen above Jupiter .

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

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:03 pm 0 comments


The ISS passing through Canis Major (Sirius lower far right) as seen from Adelaide on the evening of Saturday 8 May at 21:04-21:05 ACST. Click to embiggen.	Tonight's ISS pass between the Southern Cross and the False Cross in the late twilight as seen from Adelaide (Sunday 9 May at 18:17-18:22 ACST. Click to embiggen.

Failed to see the tumbling rocket booster CZ-5B which splashed down near the Maldives. Caught two bright and impressive passes of the ISS on my new Canon IXUS 285 HS, my old workhorse's battery compartment has failed, so I have had to replace it.

Still getting used to the new one and it's quirks (long shutter mode seems stuck on ISO 80, no matter what I do, making it pretty useless, although it comes out okay stacked), which is why the first one is off centre.

Stacked in Deep-Sky stacker which dropped frames for no discernible reason, brightness adjusted with GIMP.

Area around theta Carina and southern cross, 10x15sec frames at ISO 80 (sob) stacked in Deep-Sky stacker, 9 frames survived. I have left it at a ginormous size so you can see the detail.bit of an edge effect with the ens but food detail in theta Carina. You do have to click to embiggen for best effect.

Labels: astrophotography, ISS, Satellite, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:17 pm 0 comments

The north-eastern Horizon as seen from Adelaide at 4:30 am ACST, the eta Aquariid radiant is marked with a starburst. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

Just a reminder that the eta Aquariid meteor shower, which is produced by the debris from Halley’s Comet, is best seen on the mornings of the 7th, 8th and 9th from 4:00 AM to 5:00 AM (that's tomorrow morning and this wekend), when Aquarius is fairly high above the horizon and the crescent Moon is low.

I you have dark skies you may see between a meteor every 3-4 minutes at this time. The radiant of the shower is about five hand-spans up from the eastern horizon, and three hand-spans to the left of due east at 4:30 am (see diagram above).

More details and rate predictions for different cities at my eta Aquariid page.

Labels: eta aquarid, Meteors, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:48 pm 0 comments


The ISS as seen from Brisbane on the evening of Sunday 9 May at 18:48 AEST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen.	The ISS as seen from Adelaide on the evening of Sunday 9 May at 18:15:30 ACST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen.	The ISS as seen from Perth on the evening of Sunday 9 May at 18:19 AWST. Simulated in Stellarium (the ISS will actually be a bright dot), click to embiggen.

All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Sunday 9 May for Brisbane.	All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Sunday 9 May for Adelaide.	All sky chart showing local times from Heavens Above for Sunday 9 May for Perth.

Over the next few days there are a series of bright ISS passes in the late evening twilight/early evening. The outstanding passes are when the ISS passes below or through the Southern Cross (5&6th Hobart, 7th Melb, 8th Sydney, Melb (through pointers) 9th, SA, WA, 10th QLD, 12th Darwin). As well there a number of passes close to bright stars.

The following tables are from data provided from Heavens Above. Particularly impressive passes are highlighted.

Passes from Adelaide (ACST)

Date	Brightness	Start			Highest point			End			Pass type
Date	(mag)	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Pass type
04 May	-1.3	18:59:16	10°	S	19:00:04	13°	S	19:00:04	13°	S	visible
05 May	-1.4	18:12:37	10°	S	18:13:27	11°	SSE	18:14:17	10°	SE	visible
05 May	-0.6	19:47:27	10°	SW	19:47:34	11°	SW	19:47:34	11°	SW	visible
06 May	-2.4	18:59:51	10°	SSW	19:02:06	28°	S	19:02:06	28°	S	visible
07 May	-2.2	18:12:15	10°	SSW	18:14:58	22°	SSE	18:16:40	15°	ESE	visible
07 May	-0.8	19:48:40	10°	WSW	19:49:38	17°	WSW	19:49:38	17°	WSW	visible
08 May	-3.6	19:00:26	10°	SW	19:03:50	72°	NW	19:04:19	60°	NNE	visible
09 May	-3.7	18:12:16	10°	SW	18:15:39	58°	SE	18:19:00	10°	ENE	visible
09 May	-0.5	19:51:01	10°	WNW	19:52:00	11°	NW	19:52:11	11°	NW	visible
10 May	-1.1	19:01:14	10°	W	19:03:51	21°	NW	19:06:26	10°	N	visible
11 May	-2.2	18:12:17	10°	WSW	18:15:30	39°	NW	18:18:41	10°	NNE	visible

Passes from Brisbane (AEST)

Date	Brightness	Start			Highest point			End			Pass type
Date	(mag)	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Pass type
07 May	-1.3	18:45:52	10°	SSW	18:46:39	15°	SSW	18:46:39	15°	SSW	visible
08 May	-2.0	17:58:26	10°	S	18:00:44	17°	SE	18:01:20	16°	SE	visible
09 May	-3.4	18:46:01	10°	SW	18:49:11	65°	W	18:49:11	65°	W	visible
10 May	-3.6	17:57:46	10°	SSW	18:01:06	54°	SE	18:04:20	11°	NE	visible
11 May	-0.8	18:46:52	10°	W	18:49:08	17°	NW	18:51:22	10°	NNW	visible
12 May	-1.9	17:57:32	10°	WSW	18:00:39	34°	NW	18:03:44	10°	NNE	visible

Passes from Darwin (ACT)

Date	Brightness	Start			Highest point			End			Pass type
Date	(mag)	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Pass type
10 May	-1.7	19:05:57	10°	SSE	19:07:11	12°	SE	19:07:22	11°	SE	visible
11 May	-3.4	19:52:05	10°	SW	19:55:26	65°	NW	19:56:05	50°	N	visible
12 May	-3.5	19:03:35	10°	SSW	19:06:52	48°	SE	19:10:06	10°	NE	visible

Passes from Hobart (AEST)

Date	Brightness	Start			Highest point			End			Pass type
Date	(mag)	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Pass type
03 May	-2.7	18:39:12	10°	SW	18:42:18	30°	SSE	18:42:33	30°	SSE	visible
04 May	-2.3	17:51:46	10°	SW	17:54:39	24°	SSE	17:57:06	12°	ESE	visible
04 May	-1.7	19:28:22	10°	WSW	19:30:04	27°	WSW	19:30:04	27°	WSW	visible
05 May	-3.7	18:40:45	10°	SW	18:44:10	60°	SSE	18:44:36	54°	ESE	visible
06 May	-3.1	17:53:02	10°	SW	17:56:19	40°	SSE	17:59:07	13°	E	visible
06 May	-1.6	19:29:58	10°	WSW	19:32:06	26°	WNW	19:32:06	26°	WNW	visible
07 May	-3.1	18:41:53	10°	WSW	18:45:14	53°	NW	18:46:40	29°	NNE	visible
08 May	-3.7	17:53:47	10°	WSW	17:57:13	89°	NW	18:00:38	10°	NE	visible
08 May	-0.7	19:32:11	10°	WNW	19:33:30	12°	NW	19:34:19	11°	NW	visible
09 May	-1.1	18:42:57	10°	W	18:45:31	20°	NW	18:48:04	10°	N	visible
10 May	-1.9	17:54:13	10°	WSW	17:57:20	33°	NW	18:00:25	10°	NNE	visible
12 May	-0.4	17:55:04	10°	WNW	17:56:38	13°	NW	17:58:14	10°	NNW	visible

Passes from Melbourne (AEST)

Date	Brightness	Start			Highest point			End			Pass type
Date	(mag)	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Pass type
03 May	-1.5	18:40:36	10°	S	18:42:18	13°	SSE	18:42:33	13°	SSE	visible
04 May	-1.4	19:28:59	10°	SW	19:30:04	18°	SSW	19:30:04	18°	SSW	visible
05 May	-2.3	18:41:35	10°	SSW	18:44:24	23°	SSE	18:44:36	23°	SE	visible
06 May	-1.8	17:54:07	10°	SSW	17:56:27	17°	SSE	17:58:47	10°	ESE	visible
06 May	-2.0	19:30:11	10°	SW	19:32:06	31°	SW	19:32:06	31°	SW	visible
07 May	-3.6	18:42:19	10°	SW	18:45:41	56°	SE	18:46:40	39°	E	visible
08 May	-2.9	17:54:25	10°	SW	17:57:34	33°	SSE	18:00:43	10°	E	visible
08 May	-1.6	19:31:23	10°	WSW	19:34:14	25°	NW	19:34:19	25°	NW	visible
09 May	-2.7	18:42:51	10°	WSW	18:46:09	45°	NW	18:49:11	11°	NNE	visible
10 May	-3.7	17:54:26	10°	SW	17:57:52	86°	NW	18:01:16	10°	NE	visible
11 May	-0.6	18:43:48	10°	W	18:45:49	15°	NW	18:47:48	10°	NNW	visible
12 May	-1.3	17:54:26	10°	WSW	17:57:21	27°	NW	18:00:16	10°	NNE	visible

Passes from Perth (AWST)

Date	Brightness	Start			Highest point			End			Pass type
Date	(mag)	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Pass type
06 May	-1.7	19:03:38	10°	SSW	19:05:04	19°	S	19:05:04	19°	S	visible
07 May	-1.9	18:16:16	10°	S	18:18:28	16°	SSE	18:19:38	14°	ESE	visible
07 May	-0.6	19:52:08	10°	WSW	19:52:37	13°	WSW	19:52:37	13°	WSW	visible
08 May	-3.8	19:03:59	10°	SW	19:07:18	82°	S	19:07:18	82°	S	visible
09 May	-3.3	18:15:54	10°	SSW	18:19:11	42°	SE	18:22:10	12°	ENE	visible
09 May	-0.5	19:53:58	10°	W	19:55:11	13°	WNW	19:55:11	13°	WNW	visible
10 May	-1.5	19:04:35	10°	WSW	19:07:26	25°	NW	19:10:15	10°	N	visible
11 May	-2.8	18:15:44	10°	SW	18:19:03	50°	NW	18:22:20	10°	NNE	visible

Passes from Sydney (AEST)

Date	Brightness	Start			Highest point			End			Pass type
Date	(mag)	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Time	Alt.	Az.	Pass type
05 May	-1.5	18:43:30	10°	SSW	18:44:36	16°	S	18:44:36	16°	S	visible
06 May	-1.7	17:56:20	10°	S	17:58:12	14°	SSE	17:59:07	13°	SE	visible
06 May	-0.5	19:31:55	10°	SW	19:32:06	11°	SW	19:32:06	11°	SW	visible
07 May	-3.0	18:44:03	10°	SW	18:46:40	44°	S	18:46:40	44°	S	visible
08 May	-2.9	17:56:12	10°	SSW	17:59:19	32°	SE	18:01:20	17°	E	visible
08 May	-0.6	19:33:21	10°	W	19:34:19	15°	W	19:34:19	15°	W	visible
09 May	-2.3	18:44:39	10°	WSW	18:47:51	37°	NW	18:49:11	26°	N	visible
10 May	-3.6	17:56:11	10°	SW	17:59:36	77°	NW	18:02:58	10°	NE	visible
11 May	-0.4	18:46:19	10°	WNW	18:47:29	11°	NW	18:48:37	10°	NW	visible
12 May	-1.0	17:56:22	10°	WSW	17:59:03	22°	NW	18:01:42	10°	N	visible

When and what you will see is VERY location dependent, so you need to use Heavens Above to get site specific predictions for your location, a small difference in location can mean the difference between the ISS passing over a star or planet or missing it completely. As always, start looking several minutes before the pass is going to start to get yourself oriented and your eyes dark adapted. Be patient, there may be slight differences in the time of the ISS appearing due to orbit changes not picked up by the predictions. Use the most recent prediction for your site.

Labels: ISS, Satellite, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:11 pm 2 comments