Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Thursday October 31 to Thursday November 7
The New Moon is Friday November 1. Comet C/2023 A3 is rising into darker skies, but fading and this may be the last week to see it in binoculars. Venus is leaving the the Scorpion with Mercury taking its place. Mercury is close to Delta Scorpii on the 4th and 5th. The thin crescent moon is close to Mercury on the 3rd and Venus on the 5th. Saturn is in the northern skies. Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart. Mars forms a line with the bright stars Castor and Pollux. Mars is leaving Gemini for Cancer.
The New Moon is Friday November 1.
Venus is readily visible and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus passing from the Scorpion in Sagittarius. Mercury is below and close to the thin crescent moon. Comet C/2023 A3 is nearby.
You will need binoculars to see the comet. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Venus is close to the thin crescent
moon. Mercury is in the head of the Scorpion and close to Delta Scorpii
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).
Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).
Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight below Venus. Mercury is close to Delta Scorpii on the 4th and 5th. The thin crescent moon is close to Mercury on the 3rd and Venus on the 5th.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is readily visible in the evening twilight. Venus leaves the scorpion this week. The thin crescent moon is close to Venus on the 5th.
Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars passes through Gemini into Cancer forming a line with Castor and Pollux.
Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran forming a line with Mars. Jupiter is now rising before midnight but is best in the morning.
Saturn is high in the evening sky. Saturn is visible all night long.
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
Monday, October 21, 2024
Thursday October 24 to Thursday October 31
The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday October 24. Comet C/2023 A3 is rising into darker skies, but fading and is visible in binoculars. Venus is in the the Scorpion and is close to the red star Antares on the 26th. Mercury is low in the twilight below Venus. Saturn is in the north-eastern skies. Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart. Mars forms a line with the bright stars Castor and Pollux and the last quarter Moon.
The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday October 24.
Venus is readily visible and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus is in the head of the Scorpion, close to the bright star Aldebaran, alpha Scorpii. Mercury and Comet C/2023 A3 are below it.
You will need binoculars to see the comet. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).
Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).
Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight below Venus.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is readily visible in the evening twilight. Venus is in the the Scorpion this week and close to the bright red star Antares.
Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars passes through Gemini forming a line with Castor and Pollux and the last quarter moon on the 24th.
Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran forming a line with Mars. Jupiter is now rising before midnight but is best in the morning.
Saturn is high in the evening sky. Saturn is visible all night long.
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
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Thursday October 17 to Thursday October 24
The Full Moon is Thursday October 17. This is a perigee ("super") Moon. The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday October 24. Comet C/2023 A3 has been low in the evening twilight is rising into darker skies, but fading as it goes. Venus is in the head of the Scorpion with Mercury low in the twilight below Venus. Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart. The Moon is near Jupiter on the 21st and 22nd and Mars forms a triangle with the bright stars Castor and Pollux.
The Full Moon is Thursday October 17. This is a perigee ("super") Moon as perigee, when the Moon is closest to the earth, is also on the 17th. The Last Quarter Moon is Thursday October 24.
Venus is readily visible and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus is in the head of the Scorpion, close to the bright star delta Scorpii. Mercury and Comet C/2023 A3 are below it.
You may need binoculars to see the comet. It might be possible to see the comets tail after the head has set as twilight deepens. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).
Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).
Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight below Venus.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is readily visible in the evening twilight. Venus is in the head of the Scorpion this week.
Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars passes through Gemini forming a shallow triangle with Castor and Pollux.
Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran forming a line with Mars. The Moon is near Jupiter on the 21st and 22nd.
Saturn climbs higher in the evening sky. Saturn is visible all night long.
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
Tuesday, October 08, 2024
Thursday October 10 to Thursday October 17
The First Quarter Moon is Friday, October 11, the Full Moon is Thursday October 17. This is a perigee ("super") Moon. Comet C/2023 A3 may be visible low in the evening twilight from the 13th and should be visible by weeks end not far from Venus. Mercury is low in the twilight below Venus. Saturn is just past opposition, and is visible all night long. Saturn is close to the Moon on the 14th. Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart and Mars forms a triangle with the bright stars Castor and Pollux.
The First Quarter Moon is Friday, October 11, the Full Moon is Thursday October 17. This is a perigee ("super") Moon as perigee, when the Moon is closest to the earth, is also on the 17th.
Venus is readily visible now and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus is passing through Libra and heading for the head of the Scorpion. Mercury and Comet C/2023 A3 are below it.
You will need a level, unobstructed horizon and possibly binoculars to see them. It might be possible to see the comets tail after the head has set as twilight deepens. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).
Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).
Mercury is now visible in the evening twilight below Venus.
Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is readily visible in the evening twilight.
Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars passes through Gemini forming a triangle with Castor and Pollux..
Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran forming a line with Mars.
Saturn climbs higher in the late evening sky. Saturn is visible all night long. Saturn is close to the Moon on the 14th.
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
Friday, October 04, 2024
Viewing Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) from Australia in October 2024.
Evening
sky on Sunday, October 13 as seen from Adelaide at 20:09 ACDST (45
minutes after sunset), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible in
the twilight, in the coming days it will rise higher in the twilight should 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 (45
minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). | Evening sky on Tuesday, October 15 as seen from Adelaide at 20:11 ACDST (45 minutes after sunset), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be visible in the twilight. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (45 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). | Evening sky on Saturday, October 19 as seen from Adelaide at 20:31 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible in the twilight. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). |
Evening sky on Saturday, October 26 as seen from Adelaide at 20:31 ACDST (60 minutes after sunset), C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible in the twilight, although you may need binoculars. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). | Path of C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the western evening sky from 9 October on.
Black&White chart suitable for printing (click on the image to embiggen and print). The image is at civil twilight 30 minutes after sunset 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 greyed out section is below the horizon. The path of Venus and Mercury is also shown. | Binocular hart of the path of C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the western evening sky from 13 October 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 greyed out section is below the horizon. The path of Venus and Mercury is also shown. |
The long anticipated comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has been putting on a nice show for early risers (although the spectacular images are all zoomed in long exposures, most people see fuzzy dots with their unaided eyes).
The comet is now too deep in the twilight to be seen. It will return to western evening twilight from around 12 October. It has been preforming better than expected, and while the most optimistic predictions of it's potential brightness are unlikely to be fulfilled, it looks like it will peak somewhere around magnitude -3 to -4, around as bright as Venus, it will be around 8° from the Sun, and unlikely to be seen at its brightest. How bright it will be when it emerges from the twilight is still uncertain.
Probably the earliest most of us will be able to see the comet is next Saturday, 12 October, when it is closest to the Earth. You will need a level, unobstructed horizon to see it, as it is only a degree above the horizon, and binoculars. Although theoretically visible to the unaided eye, the atmospheric density near the horizon and the bright twilight will mean the comet will be obscured. Through binoculars it may be a fuzzy dot, depending on exactly how its brightness evolves.
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. Fortunately Venus is a bright landmark, and if you sweep down from Venus with binoculars you should be able to catch the comet.
Although the comet may be obscured, it is possible to catch the tail above the horizon as twilight deepens.
C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS rapidly climbs into darker skies, unfortunately dimming as it goes, but long exposure images should catch it quite nicely even if it looks like a fuzzy dot to the unaided eye.
The comet should remain visible for the rest of October (although possibly only in binoculars towards the end), at the same time you will be able to follow Venus moving through the Scorpion and Mercury rising towards the head of the Scorpion too.
Labels: binocular, C/2023 A3, comet, unaided eye
Tuesday, October 01, 2024
Thursday October 3 to Thursday October 10
The New Moon is Thursday, October 3. Daylight savings stars October 6. Saturn is just past opposition, and is visible all night long. Venus is near the crescent moon on 5 and 6 October, and is also close to the star 𝛂2 Librae. Mars and Jupiter continue to draw apart and Mars is in the heart of Gemini. Comet C/2023 A3 is too close to the Sun to be seen after October 5, although we might get a glimpse of its tail by weeks end. It will reappear in the evening twilight next week.
The New Moon is Thursday, October 3. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth on the 3rd as well. Daylight savings stars October 6.
Venus is readily visible now and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus is near the crescent moon on 5 and 6 October, and is also close to the star 𝛂2 Librae.. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.
Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).
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 is near the crescent moon on 5 and 6 October, and is also close to the star 𝛂2 Librae.
Mars is rising in the morning sky and near Jupiter. The pair continue to draw apart as as Mars enters the heart of Gemini.
Jupiter is rising in the the morning twilight sky. Jupiter is below the red star Aldebaran forming a line with Mars.
Saturn climbs higher in the late evening sky. Saturn is visible all night long.
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