Astroblog

The Moon as seen  from Adelaide looking Northeast at 19:30 ACST, (astronomical twilight, 90 minutes after sunset) similar views will be seen for other parts of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset) . Click to embiggen. The insets show the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

Saturday 14 September is  International Observe the Moon Night. An international initiative to get people out and observe our beautiful nearest neighbor. You don't need much, just your unaided eyes, but even binoculars or a small telescope will greatly aid your appreciation of our Moon. 

This weekend the Moon is three days past first quarter and above the North-east horizon not far from the planet Saturn. It also forms another line with the bright stars Altair and Vega. All in all a lovely sight.

While not quite as good as Last Quarter, it is a good phase as the terminator, the light dark boundary on the Moons surface, is close to may interesting craters that are at their best at this sun angle.

The prominent dark areas, the Sea of Tranquility, the sea of serenity and the sea of showers (which form the eyes and chin of  "the man in the Moon" are easily seen with the unaided eye.  Click to embiggen.

Even with modest binocular craters can be seen along the Moons terminator. A small telescope reveals a wealth of detail, and finding and focusing on the Moon is so much easier than any other class of astronomical object. You can use this map to identify the features you see (the map is upside down from our perspective). This interactive map will help you explore more.

You may wish to try some astrophotography with a mobile phone or a point and shoot camera. Follow the links for hints on imaging the Moon with these systems.

Even if you don't have a telescope, just go out and look to the north-east (and the west, where Venus and Spica dominate the horizon, with Scorpius above), the view will be lovely. Around 19:40 you may even see a satellite or two pass over. If you don't have a telescope, a local astronomical club may be having an  International Observe the Moon Night near you. Check out this map for locations.

So if the sky is clear, go out and have a look!

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: citizen science, Moon, public outreach, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:33 pm 0 comments

Morning sky on Saturday, September 14 as seen from Adelaide at 05:25 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible in the twilight, in the coming days it will rise higher in the twilight and may become visible to the unaided eye possibly with a nice little tail. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).	Morning sky on Sunday, September 22 as seen from Adelaide at 05:10 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible in the twilight, the comets brightness is exaggerated in the illustration to make it eaier to see. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (click 60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).	Morning sky on Thursday, September 26, on the day before perihelion, as seen from Adelaide at 05:05 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible in the twilight, the comets brightness is exaggerated in the illustration to make it easier to see. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).
Morning sky on Monday, September 30 as seen from Adelaide at 04:59 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible in the twilight, the comets brightness is exaggerated in the illustration to make it easier to see. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).	Path of C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the eastern morning sky from 12 September on. Black&White chart suitable for printing (click on the image to embiggen and print). The image is at civil twilight 30 minutes before sunrise to show the path of the comet over the month, however, the best time to observe is nautical twilight (60 minutes before sunrise). The circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.	Binocular hart of the path of C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the eastern morning sky from 12 September on. Black&White chart suitable for printing (click on the image to embiggen and print). The image is at civil twilight 30 minutes before sunrise to show the path of the comet over the month, however, the best time to observe is nautical twilight (60 minutes before sunrise). The circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars.

The long anticipated  comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has been seen in the morning sky by Terry Lovejoy (of comet Lovejoy fame). At magnitude 5.5 it is a bit brighter than predicted, and although the more optimistic predictions of it's potential brightness are unlikely to be fulfilled, it looks like it will be a nice little comet. Visible to the unaided eye but not spectacular. 

Probably the earliest most of us will be able to see the comet is this Saturday, when it is around 4 degrees above the horizon. You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see it and binoculars. Although theoretically visible to the unaided eye, the atmospheric density near the horizon and the encroaching dawn will mean the comet will be obscured. Through binoculars it will be a fuzzy dot. 

The printable black and white charts above  will help you locate the comet, you may need binoculars first to locate it before you can spot is with your unaided eye.

 When the comet makes its closest approach to the Sun on 27 September, at a distance of 0.40 A, it will be in a better position at around 9 degrees (nearly two hand-spans) above the horizon at nautical twilight (60 minutes before sunrise) and should be (just) unaided eye visible and likely its tail will be binocular visible. 

The comet will continue to brighten as it heads towards its closest approach to earth on the 12th of October, sadly for most of the time it is too close to the sun to see. and from 2nd October to 13 October the comet will be lost in the twilight.

Labels: binocular, C/2023 A3, comet, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:40 pm 0 comments

The eastern sky at 19:26 AEST Tuesday, September 17 as seen from Brisbane (almost 60 minutes after sunset) with Saturn just about to be occulted by the Moon.   The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).	The eastern sky at 18:33 ACST Tuesday, September 17 as seen from Darwin with Saturn just exiting the Moon as the occultation ends.   The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).	The eastern sky at 19:08 ACST Tuesday, September 17 as seen from Cairns with Saturn just exiting the Moon as the occultation ends.   The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).

On the early evening of Tuesday, 17 September, between 6pm and 7pm  there is an occultation of Saturn as seen from Northern Australia (Queensland and Central Australia). Everywhere else sees a graze or close approach. This is the third and final of three occultations seen from Australia this year. This best as a binocular and telescope event. The Moon will have just risen in some areas, so ingress may be difficult for telescopes, although Saturn's exit may be a lot easier.

The path of the occultation, taken from the IOTA site 

This occultation is visible from the eastern and central Australia from the latitude of Surfers paradise and up (see table below). Other sites at the same approximate latitude will see similar views.

In the rest of Australia the Moon and Saturn will be very close when the Moon rises (eg Coffs Harbour sees a graze).  

Start watching about half an hour beforehand to get set up and familiar with the sky. Saturn will disappear behind the dark limb of the Moon very close to the horizon. In Alice Springs and Darwin the Moon will rise with Saturn behind the Moon. Generally, you will need a level, unobscured horizon to see the occultation at its best. 

Again, as the Moon is close to the horizon when ingress occurs (15-20°) it may be difficult to get telescopes to point that low, and binoculars may be required. By the time Saturn reappears the Moon will be higher (around 26°) so telescopes will be successful. 

Imaging Saturn and the Moon together will be a challenge, due to the differences in brightness, especially as the Moon is nearly full and the dark limb is a thin sliver. You will need a high ISO (3200 to 1600) to have a short enough exposure time to stop Saturn from trailing, but the Moon will be over exposed , you may need to take short exposures of the Moon and  long exposures of Saturn and overlay them. 

Try practicing the night before to get an idea of your cameras/mobile phones performance. You will need a tripod for your camera or binoculars, and possibly some way to attach the camera to binoculars or telescope (dedicated amateur astronomers will already have this kit). See this post for some examples.

Labels: binocular, Moon, Occultation, Saturn, telescope

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 6:03 pm 0 comments

The Full Moon is Wednesday, September 18, this is a perigee/syzygy moon. The Moon occults Saturn as seen from northern Australia on the 17th. Saturn is just past opposition, and is visible all night long. Venus draws close to the bright star Spica and is closest on the 18th. Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart as Mars enters Gemini. Mars is close to the star mu Geminorum on the 14th. Comet C/2023 A3  might be seen low in the morning twilight.

The Full Moon is Wednesday, September 18, this is a perigee/syzygy (super) moon. The Moon occults Saturn as seen from northern Australia on the 17th.

 Western evening sky on Thursday, September 18 as seen from Adelaide at 19:04 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).   

Venus is readily visible now and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus has been coming closer the the bright star Spica (alpha Virginis) and is closest on the 18th at two finger-widths away.

 

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

 

The eastern sky at 19:26 AEST Tuesday, September 17 as seen from Brisbane (almost 60 minutes after sunset) with Saturn just about to be occulted by the Moon.

 

The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).

 

 Brisbane see Saturn disappear at 18:26 and reappear at 18:53. Darwin sees it reappear at 18:33. Also visible from Alice springs (reappear at 18:23), Rockhampton (disappear 18:15 reappear at 19:02) , Cairns disappear (18:10 reappear at 19:07) etc.

 

 

Similar views will be seen from northern Australia, the rest of Australia will see a close approach in the twilight at the equivalent local time.

Morning sky on Saturday, September 14 as seen from Adelaide at 05:22 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise), Mars and Jupiter form a line with the red star Aldebaran. Mars is close to the moderately bright star mu Geminorum.

 

The inset is the telescope view of the Jupiter at this time. 

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).  

 

Morning sky on Thursday, September 19 as seen from Adelaide at 05:15 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible in the twilight, in the coming days it will rise higher in the twilight and may become visible to the unaided eye with a nice little tail.  

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise). 

 

Whole sky on Saturday, September 14 as seen from Adelaide at 19:30 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Saturn is peeking over the eastern horizon as Venus sets on the western horizon. Scorpius is moving off the zenith with the heart of the milky way now at the zenith. The Southern Cross is low in the Southern sky and Canopus can no longer be seen.  The moon makes the fainter clusters difficult to see.

 

 

   

 Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

 

 

Mercury is lost in the twilight.

Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is readily visible in the evening twilight. Venus draws close to the bright star Spica and is closest on the 18th.

Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars enters Gemini. Mars is close to the star mu Geminorum on the 14th.

Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran.

Saturn climbs higher in the late evening sky. Saturn is visible all night long. The Moon occults Saturn as seen from northern Australia on the 17th.

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 @ 10:39 pm 0 comments

The western sky at 23:50 ACST Tuesday, September 10 as seen from Adelaide. The moon is about to occult the bright star Antares. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen). Click to embiggen	The western sky at 23:50 ACST Tuesday, September 10 as seen from Alice Springs. The moon is about to occult the bright star Antares. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen)Click to embiggen	The western sky at 22:07 AWST Tuesday, September 10 as seen from Perth. The moon is about to occult the bright star Antares. The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. Click to embiggen

On Tuesday 10 September, Antares, the brightest start in Scorpio, is occulted by the Moon as seen from the central and western states. This can be seen from Perth, Darwin, Alice Springs, Adelaide and other sites (see the table below for more locations). Everywhere else sees a close approach or graze low to the horizon

The occultation occurs with the moon low above the western horizon for the central states just before midnight. Perth and Western Australia generally sees the occultation start around 10 pm well above the western horizon.  Northern sites will see the Moon set before the Antares reappears. Disappearance and appearance times are given in the table below. For several sites the Moon sets before Antares reappears. Other locations will see the occultation at a similar time for cities at a similar latitude (eg Woomera is similar to Adelaide).

While the occultation is visible to the unaided eye, the sight will be better in binoculars or a small telescope. Set up ahead of time so that you can be sure everything is working well and you can watch the entire event comfortably. Antares will be clearly visible to the unaided eye near the Moon. Other sites can be found at IOTA (timings in UT)

Labels: binocular, Moon, Occultation, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 8:59 pm 0 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, September 11. The Moon occults Antares as seen from central and Western Australia on the 10th. The thin crescent Moon is very close to Venus on September 5 in the evening twilight.  Saturn is rising in east when the sky is fully dark, and is at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 8th. Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart as Mars enters Gemini. On the 9th Mars is close to the open cluster M35. On the 12th comet C/2023 A3  might be seen low in the morning twilight.

The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, September 11. The moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 6th. the Moon occults Antares as seen from central and Western Australia on the 10th.

Western evening sky on Thursday, September 5 as seen from Adelaide at 18:55 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).   

Venus is readily visible now and is now visible when the sky is fully dark.The crescent Moon is very close to Venus. The inset is the binocular view of the pair at the time. The pair will also be visible in low power telescope eye pieces.

 

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

 

The eastern sky at 19:26 ACST Sunday, September 8 (90 minutes after sunset) with Saturn at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth. It is still best for telescopic viewing in the late evening.

 

The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

 

The western sky at 23:50 ACST Tuesday, September 10. The moon is about to occult the Bright star Antares.

 

The inset shows the telescopic view at the time. (click to embiggen).

 

Adelaide 23:58 ACST
Darwin 23:58 ACST
Alice springs 23:38 ACST
Perth 22:07 AWST

Similar views will be seen from the rest of central and Western Australia at the equivalent local time (see times above). 

 

Morning sky on Monday, September 9 as seen from Adelaide at 05:29 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise), Mars and Jupiter are below the red star Aldebaran.Mars is close to the open cluster M35.

 

The insets are the telescope view of the Jupiter at this time and the binocular view of Mars and M35. 

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise). 

 

Morning sky on Thursday, September 12 as seen from Adelaide at 05:40 ACST (45 minutes before sunrise), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible in the twilight, in the coming days it will rise higher in the twilight and may become visible to the unaided eye with a nice little tail.  

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (45 minutes before sunrise). 

 

Whole sky on Saturday, September 7 as seen from Adelaide at 19:25 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Saturn is peeking over the eastern horizon as Venus sets on the western horizon. Scorpius is moving off the zenith with the heart of the milky way now at the zenith. The Southern Cross is low in the Southern sky and Canopus can no longer be seen. 

 

 

   

 Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

 

 

Mercury is lost in the twilight.

Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is readily visible in the evening twilight. The crescent Moon is close to Venus on September 5.

Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars enters Gemini. On the 9th Mars is close to the open cluster M35.

Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran.

Saturn climbs higher in the late evening sky. Saturn is at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 8th.

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 @ 12:28 am 0 comments