This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

Mars and the Hexagon

Flame Nebula, Alnitak, Horsehead Nebula

• Mercury- moving into inferior conjunction on the 4th and moving into the morning sky later in the month 2.9 mag (1st) to -0.0 (21st)
• Venus- too close to the Sun for reliable viewing passing through superior conjunction on the 11th moving into the evening sky -4.0 mag (1st) to -4.0 mag (21st)
• Mars- in Western Leo (between Cancer and Leo) visible most of the night (yeah!). In opposition on the 29th 5.5 light minutes from Earth. Closest to Earth on the 27th. -0.8 mag (1st) to -1.2 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- low on the western horizon after sunset moving from Capricorn to Aquarius. Starts the month out near Neptune before heading quickly eastward -2.1 mag (1st) to -2.0 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- in Virgo all month rising after midnight and about 4 hours after Mars. Time to start watching for a return of the ring (yessss my Precious)through 2010. 1.1 mag (1st) to 1.1 mag (21st)
• Uranus- Hovering just inside the Aquarius side of the Aquarius/Pisces border crossing back into Pisces in mid-January 5.7 mag (1st) to 5.7 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn all month. Jupiter slides eastward south of Neptune with a close, moon-less encounter on Dec. 24-25 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)

Astronomical Highlights for January 2010

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 8 pm for Northern Hemisphere and 10 pm for the Southern Hemisphere.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

This month on the tour we will be attempting several of the most difficult objects in the Catalog, a small faint planetary nebula, and a pair of face on spiral galaxies. Also featured this month is a small, but fairly bright galaxy and three open clusters. You will need binoculars and a telescope to fully enjoy the January tour.

M33 - This is a very large (about the size of the full moon) face on spiral galaxy in the constellation Triangulum. The total light from M33 is about magnitude 5.3, but when spread out over its large area it yields a very low surface brightness. The best and easiest views of M33 can be found with a pair of binoculars. Look for a large, round hazy patch of light with little detail at first glance. M33 can be glimpsed with the naked eye in dark clear skies. Finding M33 in a telescope can be a challenge because of its size. Use the widest field eyepiece you have and look for a change in light level to identify the galaxy.

M103 - This is a fairly small, sparse open cluster in Cassiopeia. Look for a tight group of stars in binoculars, being careful not to mistake it for several other clusters in the same area. Through a telescope the cluster is very sparse, four bright stars amidst the slight glow of much fainter companions.

M52 - This rich open cluster in Cassiopeia is fairly easy to see in binoculars as a faint smudge of light. A small to mid telescope will begin to resolve this cluster. Look for a triangular patch of light with some stars clearly resolved, but most of the cluster members provide only a hint of graininess.

M76 - Known as the little dumbbell, this planetary nebula in Perseus is one of the dimmest objects in the Catalog. Look for a small, faint, oblong patch of light. Not a very obvious object, if you don't see it at first try varying magnifications in an attempt to bring it out. Fortunately M76 is located near a bright star which aids in locating the correct field to search.

M34 - This is a large and bright, but sparse open cluster located in Perseus. Visible as a faint patch of light to the naked eye, it is very obvious and easy to resolve in binoculars. In fact, binoculars provide a better view of this cluster than most telescopes.

M74 - This galaxy in Pisces is a smaller and fainter version of M33, a face on spiral galaxy with low surface brightness. M74 is arguably the most difficult object to find in the Catalog. You will need very dark, clear skies to easily see it, anything less than perfect conditions will make M74 nearly impossible to find. Look for a very faint fuzzy star, which is the bright central condensation, surrounded by a very faint glow. Try all of your tricks on this one; star hop to the correct field, try varying magnification, tap the scope to detect the galaxy through its motion. If all of the above fail, try again another night or seek darker skies.

M77 - This is a small faint galaxy in Cetus. Possible to see in binoculars, but very difficult, look for a faint fuzzy star. Through a telescope look for a fuzzy, oval shaped patch of light, bright in the center, fading towards the edges.

From the Astronomical Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada

From the Tony Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog

Bright(er) Comets for January 2010

• C/2007 Q3 (Siding Spring): ~9 mag - in Pictor

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music B.D. Lenz Quartet -"Lazy Bones"
Greg Federico- "Beneath the Stars"
Boom Boom Beckett- "In a Sentimental Mood"

Great Astronomy Activities!

Citizen Sky

For those in Northern Hemisphere, Capella, the "She Goat" in Aurigae, is circumpolar. At my 47 deg North, Capella disappears behind the tree line, and into the light polluted horizon, but she pops up in a few hours and is easy to find. Also easy to find are epsilon Aurigae (al Maaz the Billy Goat) and "The Kids" which make a small, long, triangle of stars just to the Southwest of Capella.

For the next 21 months Epsilon Aurigae, usually the brightest of the trio, will start behaving quite differently than it has for the past 27 years. Epsilon Aurigae is a type of variable star called an eclipsing binary. Epsilon Aurigae and some unknown dark partner, rotate around a common center of mass and every 27 years that dark companion eclipses the giant F-type star. August marks the anticipated beginning for that eclipse which will last for 714 days, dimming from 3.0 mag to about half of its brightness.

So why am I calling this a great astronomy activity? Epsilon Aurigae has some definite quirks and more eyes are needed to help scientist figure out what Epsilon Aurigae's invisible partner really is! We need help...WE NEED YOU!! Anyone can participate; we need people to observe epsilon Aurigae, folks to look at the data for quirks, patterns, or voids, artist to help present the data to the public, friends willing to get the word out to others! To find out more visit:

• The Citizen Sky Project
• AAVSO page on Epsilon Aurigae

This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

December morning sky

December evening sky

December late night

• Mercury- the "evening star" through December much better viewing the further South your viewing site -0.5 mag (1st) to -0.4 mag (21st)
• Venus- too close to the Sun for reliable viewing -3.8 mag (1st) to -3.8 mag (21st)
• Mars- in Western Leo (between Cancer and Leo) look very late evening or very early morning. Mars will slowly creep towards the 'mouth' of the Lion all month -0.1 mag (1st) to -0.5 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- in Capricorn in the early evening. Bright in the SW for a few hours after Sunset look for Mercury, Jupiter and the Moon together on the 18-19th. -2.3 mag (1st) to -2.2 mag (21st)
  
  
• Saturn- in Virgo all month rising after midnight and about 4 hours after Mars 1.1 mag (1st) to 1.1 mag (21st)
• Uranus- Hovering just inside the Aquarius side of the Aquarius/Pisces border crossing back into Pisces in mid-January 5.7 mag (1st) to 5.7 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn all month. Jupiter slides eastward south of Neptune with a close, moon-less encounter on Dec. 24-25 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
• Ceresand Eta - Finder chart from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
  Vesta chart temporarily missing...use this one until site is corrected

Key Dates for December 2009

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 8 pm for Northern Hemisphere and 10 pm for the Southern Hemisphere.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Astronomical Highlights - December 2009

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

This will be a fairly easy month on the tour. We will view two small, but bright globular clusters, two open star clusters, and the grandest galaxy in the sky along with it's two companions. All of these objects are possible to find in binoculars, most are fairly easy.

M2

This is a small, bright globular cluster in Aquarius. To find it in binoculars look for a fuzzy star in a star poor field. A low power telescope field will show a round fuzzy patch, brighter in the center and fading to the edge, in a field with no other bright objects.

M15

This globular cluster in Pegasus is very similar to M2 in size and brightness, except it is surrounded by several bright stars. Fairly easy to find in binoculars but the best view is through a telescope at medium to high power.

M29

This galactic cluster is a small, sparse group of stars in Cygnus. It appears as a small fuzzy patch amongst a rich star field in binoculars. A telescope will easily resolve the members of this cluster. The shape of the cluster reminds me of the Pleiades as viewed through binoculars.

M39

Dark skies will allow this large, bright cluster in Cygnus to be seen with the naked eye as a hazy patch of light. Binoculars easily resolve this cluster into it's bright and widely scattered members, and provide a better view than can be seen with most telescopes.

M31

This is the famous Andromeda Galaxy, our closest galactic neighbor, and the largest, brightest galaxy to be seen in the northern sky. The ability to see M31 with the naked eye provides a good test of the darkness of your skies. M31 is so large that binoculars provide the best view, allowing the entire galaxy to be seen in one field of view. Look for an elongated patch of light, with a bright, round central core.

M32

This is an elliptical companion galaxy to M31. Through a telescope look for a slightly oval ball of fuzz in the same low power field as the core of M31. M32 is very possible to find in binoculars as a star like point of light.

M110

Another elliptical companion galaxy to M31, lying on the opposite side of the core as M32. Through a telescope look for a large, oval patch of light. Although M110 is as bright as M32 it is much larger and thus has a lower surface brightness making it a difficult object in light polluted skies. M110 is a very difficult binocular object requiring dark transparent skies, and trained eyes to have a chance at finding it.

From the Astronomical Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada

From the Tony Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog

Comets for December 2009

• 88P/Howell: ~ 9 mag - in Capricorn (passing below Jupiter)
• C/2006 W3 Christensen: ~9 mag - moving from Aquila to Sagittarius
• C/2007 Q3 (Siding Spring): ~9 mag - in Pictor

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance Within You"
Black Lab- "See the Sun"
Anne Farnsworth- "Saturday Morning"

Great Astronomy Activities!

Citizen Sky

For those in Northern Hemisphere, Capella, the "She Goat" in Aurigae, is circumpolar. At my 47 deg North, Capella disappears behind the tree line, and into the light polluted horizon, but she pops up in a few hours and is easy to find. Also easy to find are epsilon Aurigae (al Maaz the Billy Goat) and "The Kids" which make a small, long, triangle of stars just to the Southwest of Capella.

For the next 21 months Epsilon Aurigae, usually the brightest of the trio, will start behaving quite differently than it has for the past 27 years. Epsilon Aurigae is a type of variable star called an eclipsing binary. Epsilon Aurigae and some unknown dark partner, rotate around a common center of mass and every 27 years that dark companion eclipses the giant F-type star. August marks the anticipated beginning for that eclipse which will last for 714 days, dimming from 3.0 mag to about half of its brightness.

So why am I calling this a great astronomy activity? Epsilon Aurigae has some definite quirks and more eyes are needed to help scientist figure out what Epsilon Aurigae's invisible partner really is! We need help...WE NEED YOU!! Anyone can participate; we need people to observe epsilon Aurigae, folks to look at the data for quirks, patterns, or voids, artist to help present the data to the public, friends willing to get the word out to others! To find out more visit:

• The Citizen Sky Project
• AAVSO page on Epsilon Aurigae

Earth's major motions for 2009

Planet Positions for 2009

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009

• December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home binoculars.
• January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
• February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide. Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
• March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent moon.
• April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA website for occultations in your area.
• May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2 degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
• June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
• August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
• September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
• September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
• October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of the trio.
• December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"

Phases of the Moon 2009

(click to enlarge)

Universal Time

      NEW MOON    FIRST QUARTER       FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m          d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m
       
                 JAN.   4 11 56   JAN. 11  3 27   JAN.  18  2 46
JAN.  26  7 55   FEB.   2 23 13   FEB.  9 14 49   FEB.  16 21 37
FEB.  25  1 35   MAR.   4  7 46   MAR. 11  2 38   MAR.  18 17 47 
MAR.  26 16 06   APR.   2 14 34   APR.  9 14 56   APR.  17 13 36  
APR.  25  3 23   MAY    1 20 44   MAY   9  4 01   MAY   17  7 26
MAY   24 12 11   MAY   31  3 22   JUNE  7 18 12   JUNE  15 22 15
JUNE  22 19 35   JUNE  29 11 28   JULY  7  9 21   JULY  15  9 53  
JULY  22  2 35   JULY  28 22 00   AUG.  6  0 55   AUG.  13 18 55  
AUG.  20 10 02   AUG.  27 11 42   SEPT. 4 16 03   SEPT. 12  2 16
SEPT. 18 18 44   SEPT. 26  4 50   OCT.  4  6 10   OCT.  11  8 56  
OCT.  18  5 33   OCT.  26  0 42   NOV.  2 19 14   NOV.   9 15 56  
NOV.  16 19 14   NOV.  24 21 39   DEC.  2  7 30   DEC.   9  0 13  
DEC.  16 12 02   DEC.  24 17 36   DEC. 31 19 13

Eclipses for 2009

February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases are listed below.

July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked eye.

July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): To make up for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked eye.

December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.

Explanation of the 2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a constellation where the radiant is located at maximum activity.

Activity Period: the dates when the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rates) are equal to or greater than one.

Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.

S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum activity. Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the exact moment of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the autumnal equinox, and 270 at the winter solstice.

Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from. This position is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and declination (celestial latitude).

Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth's atmosphere. The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space) intersect the Earth. Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth and striking the atmosphere head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the same direction as the Earth. This velocity is measured in kilometers per second.

r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number of meteors in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the "r" value, the resulting overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. "r" usually ranges from 2.0 (bright) to 3.5 (faint).

ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower meteors visible per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the limiting magnitude equals +6.5. Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and the limiting magnitude is usually lower. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed rates between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same standards.

Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by their intensity:

Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR's normally ten or better.

Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR's normally three or better.

Class III: showers with widely variable rates. They may be strong one year and totally inactive the next.

Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR's rarely exceeding three. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III. These showers are also good targets for video and photographic work.

Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter, 14 is full, and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence of moonlight so showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10 days old or more than 25 are much more favorably observed than those situated closer to the full moon.

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2009" RASC

This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

Great Astronomy Activities!

Citizen Sky

For those in Northern Hemisphere, Capella, the "She Goat" in Aurigae, is circumpolar. At my 47 deg North, Capella disappears behind the tree line, and into the light polluted horizon, but she pops up in a few hours and is easy to find. Also easy to find are epsilon Aurigae (al Maaz the Billy Goat) and "The Kids" which make a small, long, triangle of stars just to the Southwest of Capella.

For the next 21 months Epsilon Aurigae, usually the brightest of the trio, will start behaving quite differently than it has for the past 27 years. Epsilon Aurigae is a type of variable star called an eclipsing binary. Epsilon Aurigae and some unknown dark partner, rotate around a common center of mass and every 27 years that dark companion eclipses the giant F-type star. August marks the anticipated beginning for that eclipse which will last for 714 days, dimming from 3.0 mag to about half of its brightness.

So why am I calling this a great astronomy activity? Epsilon Aurigae has some definite quirks and more eyes are needed to help scientist figure out what Epsilon Aurigae's invisible partner really is! We need help...WE NEED YOU!! Anyone can participate; we need people to observe epsilon Aurigae, folks to look at the data for quirks, patterns, or voids, artist to help present the data to the public, friends willing to get the word out to others! To find out more visit:

• The Citizen Sky Project
• AAVSO page on Epsilon Aurigae

NASA's MicroObservatories

Another fantastic project, that AAGG is supporting all through the month of September, it the "Capture the Colorful Cosmos" project using the NASA MicroObservatories. This project gives you the opportunity to direct a robotic telescope and then manipulate the resulting images!

I had the opportunity to help school age kids, and some kid-like adults, through the project at the Tacoma Astronomical Society's annual Astronomy Fair in August and we had a wonderful time! They were using filter, shifting and stacking images, and turning out images like the pros!

• Capture the Colorful Cosmos
• NASA's Robotic Telescopes

Sweet and innocent "A", and the postcard of M51 he created (Blasters of Death -- go figure), and his sister's Orion composite image (ahhhhhh!)

LCROSS Impact

I mean... what other impactor mission has its own music video!

More information can be found at the LCROSS Citizen Observing Campaign Site.

Images courtesy of: New Mexico State Univ

Planets for September 2009

Beginning of the month

End of the month

• Mercury- Starts September headed for the Sun in the early evening sky, best observed by lower and southern latitudes. By the end of the month Mercury will join Venus, Mars, and Saturn in the morning sky. 0.5 mag (1st) to 5.5 mag (21st)
• Venus- Beautiful in the morning sky and is heading eastward towards Regulus. Venus will be half a degree north of Regulus on the 20th of the month as she heads back towards the Sun. She will pair up with Mercury and Saturn in the early October sky so make sure you spend some time pre-sunrise time around the 5th of October with Venus and Saturn making a Mercury breakfast sandwich! -3.8 mag (1st) to -3.8 mag (21st)
• Mars- Spends the month in Gemini so you'll need to get up early for this one too! 1.00 (1st) to 0.9 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- AAGG missed Jupiter's vanishing moons due to bad weather but John Chumack, of The Chumack Observatories, captured the event and has a movie posted at his site! -2.8 mag (1st) to -2.7 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- In conjunction with the Sun on the 17th, moving into the morning sky. Look for the return of Saturn in October. 1.1 mag (1st) to 1.1 mag (21st)
• Uranus- At opposition in Pisces on the 17th. 5.7 mag (1st) to 5.7 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 7.8 mag (1st) to 7.8 mag (21st)
• Ceresand Eta - Finder chart from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
  Vesta chart temporarily missing...use this one until site is corrected

Key Dates for September 2009

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 10 pm for Northern Hemisphere and 8pm for the Southern Hemisphere.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Astronomical Highlights - September 2009

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

This month our monthly Messier hits some big easy targets, eight more globular clusters, all are possible in binoculars, and two of these are the finest globulars which can be seen from northern locations.

Sagittarius is the home of many globular clusters which surround the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Seven of the these globulars appear in the Messier catalog, we will be visiting five of them this month. When you complete the search for these objects be sure to spend some time scanning this region with binoculars or a telescope and see what other sights you can discover. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

• M13 - The great globular cluster in Hercules is bright enough to be seen with naked eye and typically the first GC found by amateur astronomers in the NH. Binoculars easily show this cluster as a bright fuzzy ball. M13 is partially resolvable in small aperture telescopes and becomes a fantastic swarm of tightly packed individual stars through large scopes.
• M92 - Another globular cluster in Hercules, M92 is easy to find in binoculars appearing slightly dimmer and smaller than M13. As with M13 it is partially resolvable in small scopes and is a fine sight in large instruments.
• M14 - A small, bright globular cluster in Ophiuchus. It is a difficult binocular object, look for a small fuzzy patch of light. Through a telescope M14 is an even patch of light, the stars not resolvable except through large scopes.
• M22 - This is the other great globular in our tour this month. Located just above the teapot asterism in Sagittarius, M22 can be seen with no optical aid. M22 is easy to find in binoculars, and easy to resolve in telescopes, with about the same impressiveness as M13.
• M28 - Located near M22 in Sagittarius, this is a small bright globular. A tough binocular object, look for a small fuzzy patch. Easily seen in a telescope, but requires large aperture to resolve individual stars.
• M69, M70, M54 All of these are small bright globular clusters laying along the bottom of the teapot in Sagittarius. Very similar in appearance to M28, these are all tough binocular objects requiring dark skies and possibly averted vision to see. M54 is slightly brighter and appears more star like through binoculars than the other globulars. These are all easily seen in telescopes, though not easily resolvable.

From the Astronomical Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada

From the Tony Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog

Comets for September 2009

• C/2006 W3 (Christensen): ~ 8.5 mag - in Aquila, evening (chart)

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance Within You"
Black Lab- "See the Sun"
Anne Farnsworth- "Saturday Morning"

Earth's major motions for 2009

Planet Positions for 2009

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009

• December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home binoculars.
• January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
• February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide. Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
• March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent moon.
• April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA website for occultations in your area.
• May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2 degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
• June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
• August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
• September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
• September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
• October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of the trio.
• December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"

Phases of the Moon 2009

(click to enlarge)

Universal Time

      NEW MOON    FIRST QUARTER       FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m          d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m
       
                 JAN.   4 11 56   JAN. 11  3 27   JAN.  18  2 46
JAN.  26  7 55   FEB.   2 23 13   FEB.  9 14 49   FEB.  16 21 37
FEB.  25  1 35   MAR.   4  7 46   MAR. 11  2 38   MAR.  18 17 47 
MAR.  26 16 06   APR.   2 14 34   APR.  9 14 56   APR.  17 13 36  
APR.  25  3 23   MAY    1 20 44   MAY   9  4 01   MAY   17  7 26
MAY   24 12 11   MAY   31  3 22   JUNE  7 18 12   JUNE  15 22 15
JUNE  22 19 35   JUNE  29 11 28   JULY  7  9 21   JULY  15  9 53  
JULY  22  2 35   JULY  28 22 00   AUG.  6  0 55   AUG.  13 18 55  
AUG.  20 10 02   AUG.  27 11 42   SEPT. 4 16 03   SEPT. 12  2 16
SEPT. 18 18 44   SEPT. 26  4 50   OCT.  4  6 10   OCT.  11  8 56  
OCT.  18  5 33   OCT.  26  0 42   NOV.  2 19 14   NOV.   9 15 56  
NOV.  16 19 14   NOV.  24 21 39   DEC.  2  7 30   DEC.   9  0 13  
DEC.  16 12 02   DEC.  24 17 36   DEC. 31 19 13

Eclipses for 2009

February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases are listed below.

July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked eye.

July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): To make up for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked eye.

December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.

Explanation of the 2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a constellation where the radiant is located at maximum activity.

Activity Period: the dates when the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rates) are equal to or greater than one.

Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.

S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum activity. Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the exact moment of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the autumnal equinox, and 270 at the winter solstice.

Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from. This position is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and declination (celestial latitude).

Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth's atmosphere. The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space) intersect the Earth. Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth and striking the atmosphere head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the same direction as the Earth. This velocity is measured in kilometers per second.

r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number of meteors in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the "r" value, the resulting overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. "r" usually ranges from 2.0 (bright) to 3.5 (faint).

ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower meteors visible per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the limiting magnitude equals +6.5. Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and the limiting magnitude is usually lower. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed rates between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same standards.

Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by their intensity:

Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR's normally ten or better.

Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR's normally three or better.

Class III: showers with widely variable rates. They may be strong one year and totally inactive the next.

Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR's rarely exceeding three. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III. These showers are also good targets for video and photographic work.

Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter, 14 is full, and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence of moonlight so showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10 days old or more than 25 are much more favorably observed than those situated closer to the full moon.

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2009" RASC

This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

Planets for July 2009

Beginning of the month

Pre-dawn, July 18th

• Mercury-in superior conjunction on the 14th. If you are on the path of the Total Solar Eclipse then look for Mercury 9 degrees NE of the Sun. At the end of the month, Southern viewers can catch Mercury in the early evening. -0.9 mag (1st) to -1.3 mag (21st)
• Venus- still fantastic in the morning pre-dawn sky. Since Venus is moving towards the North, as the Sun heads South, her placement it spectacular for N. Hemisphere viewers. On the 14th she will be just 3 degrees from Aldebaran and the Hyades -4.0 mag (1st) to -3.9 mag (21st)
• Mars- moves into Taurus on the 2nd. Mars, Venus, the waning crescent Moon, and the Hyades make a lovely cluster on the 18th. Compare Mars, and its color, to that of Aldebaran. 1.1 (1st) to 1.1 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- will be ~ .5 degree from Neptune on the 13th! Jupiter will be at opposition on August 14th. -2.7 mag (1st) to -2.7 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- strangely faint low in the west after sunset! The combination of the rings near edge on and the receding gas giant decrease the apparent magnitude. 1.0 mag (1st) to 1.0 mag (21st)
• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
• Ceresand Eta - Finder chart from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
  Vesta chart temporarily missing...use this one until site is corrected

Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus Mid-month

Key Dates for July 2009

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 10 pm for Northern Hemisphere and 8pm for the Southern Hemisphere.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Astronomical Highlights - July 2009

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

Great Amateur Activity

For those in the high Northern Hemisphere, Capella, the "she goat" in Aurigae, is circumpolar. At my 47 deg North, Capella disappears behind the treeline, and into the light polluted horizon, but she pops up in a few hours and is easy to find. Also easy to find are "The Kids" the small, long, triangle of stars just to the Southwest of Capella. However, this summer one of those kids, Epsilon Aurigae, usually the brightest of the trio, will drop in brightness....for about two years. Epsilon Aurigae, or Almaaz, is an eclipsing binary and beginning in Aug it will be eclipsed by its invisible companion for 714 days! Brightest of the three "Kids" Epsilon Aurigae will dim from 3.0 mag to about half of its brightness, a little trick it performs every 27.1 years. Epsilon Aurigae has some definite quirks and more eyes are needed to help scientist figure out what Epsilon Aurigae's invisible partner really is! To find out more visit:

• AAVSO page on Epsilon Aurigae
• The Citizen Sky Project

Monthly Messier*

M3

This globular cluster in Canes Venatici is one of the brightest objects in the sky. In binoculars this object is definitely not star like, but more of a bright, small snowball easy to see. Small telescopes will begin to resolve M3 into individual stars. The hardest part of this object is locating it in a portion of sky that contains few bright landmarks.

M53

Another globular cluster in Canes Venatici. While not quite as big or bright as M3 it is still an obvious binocular object. Resolvable in small telescopes, it as easy object to find sharing the same low power telescope field as fifth magnitude Alpha Coma Berenices.

M5

A big, bright globular cluster located in Serpens Caput. M5 is as nice as M3 but lies near a fifth magnitude naked eye star (5 Serpentis) making it an easy object to find.

M68

An eighth magnitude globular cluster in Hydra, M68 is a difficult binocular object for Northern observers. It appears as a faint fuzz spot in binoculars, you may need to use averted vision or large binoculars to find this one. Appearing as a round fuzzy patch in a 8" telescope, you will need a much larger aperature to really resolve it.

M83

A face on spiral in Hydra. M83 is fairly easy in binoculars as a faint, fuzzy patch of light. In a telescope look for a large patch of light with a bright center.

M4

A big bright globular in Scorpius, easily located near Antares. This is an easy binocular object appearing as a round snowball. Partially resolvable in a telescope, the trade mark of this globular is a line of bright stars crossing the center.

M80

This is the smallest and faintest globular cluster this month. Located in Scopius, M80 is a very tough binocular object appearing as a faint star with slight fuzziness around the edges. This is confirmed with a telescope, M80 has a bright central condensation in the middle of faint fuzz. It is one of the Messier objects that even through a medium telescope still looks like a comet.

From the Tony Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog

Comets for July 2009

• C/2008Q3/Garradd: ~ 8.5 mag - near Corvus, evening (chart)
• C/2009 G1 (STEREO) ~8.5 mag moving from Aquarius to Phoenix
• C/2006 W3 ( Christensen ): ~9 mag between Pegasus and Cygnus, pre-dawn (chart)

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance Within You"
Black Lab- "See the Sun"
Anne Farnsworth- "Saturday Morning"

Earth's major motions for 2009

Planet Positions for 2009

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009

• December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home binoculars.
• January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
• February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide. Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
• March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent moon.
• April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA website for occultations in your area.
• May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2 degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
• June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
• August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
• September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
• September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
• October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of the trio.
• December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"

Phases of the Moon 2009

(click to enlarge)

Universal Time

      NEW MOON    FIRST QUARTER       FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m          d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m
       
                 JAN.   4 11 56   JAN. 11  3 27   JAN.  18  2 46
JAN.  26  7 55   FEB.   2 23 13   FEB.  9 14 49   FEB.  16 21 37
FEB.  25  1 35   MAR.   4  7 46   MAR. 11  2 38   MAR.  18 17 47 
MAR.  26 16 06   APR.   2 14 34   APR.  9 14 56   APR.  17 13 36  
APR.  25  3 23   MAY    1 20 44   MAY   9  4 01   MAY   17  7 26
MAY   24 12 11   MAY   31  3 22   JUNE  7 18 12   JUNE  15 22 15
JUNE  22 19 35   JUNE  29 11 28   JULY  7  9 21   JULY  15  9 53  
JULY  22  2 35   JULY  28 22 00   AUG.  6  0 55   AUG.  13 18 55  
AUG.  20 10 02   AUG.  27 11 42   SEPT. 4 16 03   SEPT. 12  2 16
SEPT. 18 18 44   SEPT. 26  4 50   OCT.  4  6 10   OCT.  11  8 56  
OCT.  18  5 33   OCT.  26  0 42   NOV.  2 19 14   NOV.   9 15 56  
NOV.  16 19 14   NOV.  24 21 39   DEC.  2  7 30   DEC.   9  0 13  
DEC.  16 12 02   DEC.  24 17 36   DEC. 31 19 13

Eclipses for 2009

February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases are listed below.

July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked eye.

July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): To make up for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked eye.

December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.

Explanation of the 2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a constellation where the radiant is located at maximum activity.

Activity Period: the dates when the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rates) are equal to or greater than one.

Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.

S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum activity. Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the exact moment of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the autumnal equinox, and 270 at the winter solstice.

Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from. This position is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and declination (celestial latitude).

Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth's atmosphere. The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space) intersect the Earth. Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth and striking the atmosphere head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the same direction as the Earth. This velocity is measured in kilometers per second.

r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number of meteors in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the "r" value, the resulting overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. "r" usually ranges from 2.0 (bright) to 3.5 (faint).

ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower meteors visible per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the limiting magnitude equals +6.5. Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and the limiting magnitude is usually lower. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed rates between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same standards.

Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by their intensity:

Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR's normally ten or better.

Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR's normally three or better.

Class III: showers with widely variable rates. They may be strong one year and totally inactive the next.

Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR's rarely exceeding three. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III. These showers are also good targets for video and photographic work.

Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter, 14 is full, and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence of moonlight so showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10 days old or more than 25 are much more favorably observed than those situated closer to the full moon.

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2009" RASC

Sorry everyone...life does get complicated.

Alice

This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map or theSouthern hemisphere sky map so you can follow along with our viewing sessions.
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

Planets for May 2009

April will be a morning viewing month for planets with a lovely lunar meet and greet with Jupiter and Mars and an occultation of Venus. Saturn is available for evening viewers!

Beginning of the month

End of the month

• Mercury- Quickly receding back towards the Sun and will be in inferior conjunction on May 18th moving into the early morning sky along with Venus, Mars and Jupiter 1.0 mag (1st) to 5.6 mag (21st)
• Venus- The brightest object low in the morning sky as she moves towards greatest western elongation in June -4.7 mag (1st) to -4.4 mag (21st)
• Mars- Plays little game of tag with Venus within Pisces this month, Venus trail about 6 degrees behind Mars. 1.2 (1st) to 1.2 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- Beautiful close to the meridian in the morning sky, rising at midnight for southern observers this month, in June for northern observers. (unless you are in Seattle and we have our perpetual planet zapping cloud banks) -2.2 mag (1st) to -2.2 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- In eastern Leo Saturn's were rings were seemingly flat at the end of April and beginning of May. The rings will open to 4.2 degrees by the 15th, the widest they will be until late November. Saturn begins the month in retrograde motion, becoming stationary on the 17th before resuming eastward motion 0.7 mag (1st) to 0.8 mag (21st)
• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
• Ceresand Eta - Finder chart from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
  Vesta chart temporarily missing...use this one until site is corrected

Key Dates for May 2009

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 10 pm for Northern Hemisphere and 8pm for the Southern Hemisphere.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Astronomical Highlights - May 2009

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

More sites to help with Virgo hunting

Galaxy hopping in Leo

Monthly Messier*

M51

The famous Whirlpool galaxy in Canes Venatici is a bright face on spiral with a smaller elliptical companion, NGC 5195. Look for a pair of fuzzy patches of light. The slightly larger and brighter one is M51. Make sure to spend some time here as there is almost always some spiral structure to be seen, on good nights the detail possible is unbelievable. This is a difficult but very possible object in binoculars appearing as a hazy patch of light.

M63

Another spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici smaller and fainter than M51, but seen more edge on so the galaxy appears as an elongated patch of light with a bright star at one end. Further inspection will show a faint halo around this patch. A difficult object in binoculars.

M94

Just past M63 is another galaxy in Canes Vanitici. Look for a bright fuzzy star to find the core of M94, surrounded by a faint haze. A tough binocular object.

M101

I consider this face on spiral galaxy in Ursa Major one of the most difficult Messier objects to find in a telescope. This is a large faint patch of light almost as big as the full moon. There are no real condensations so use low power and look for a brighter part of the sky, more of a change in contrast than an object at first glance, which is the galaxy. Dark skies really help in the search of this one and are a to find M101 in binoculars.

M102

Not an official Messier object in most references, we will look for the galaxy NGC 5866 which is a somewhat standard insertion. Look for a small, faint patch light that looks like a short fuzzy line.

M64

In a telescope this galaxy in Coma Berenices is a fairly bright, slightly oval shaped patch of light. Look for the dark lane which gives this galaxy the common name Black Eye. The galaxy appears as a faint fuzzy patch in binoculars.

M85

This elliptical galaxy lies in Coma Berenices just north of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. This appears as a bright, but small, patch of light with a bright stellar core.

M49

This is an elliptical galaxy in Virgo just south of the main cluster of galaxies. M49 is round patch of light with bright center gradually fading to a round halo. M49 looks like a faint fuzzy star in binoculars.

M61

This is a face on spiral galaxy just south of M49 in Virgo, but much fainter. Look for a faint, round fuzzy patch of light.

M104

This is the well known Sombrero galaxy in Virgo. It is bright edge on spiral galaxy which looks like a bright, elongated streak. It is very possible to see in binoculars.

From the Tony Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog

Comets for May 2009

• C/2008Q3/Garradd: ~ 8.5 mag - in Pavo, evening (chart)
• C/2009 F6/(Yi-Swan): ~ 9.2 mag in Perseus evening (chart)
• C/2006 W3 ( Christensen ): ~9 mag in Pegasus, pre-dawn (chart)

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance Within You"
Angelique Kidjo- "Salala"
Antonin Bastian- "Tu Cha Cha Cha"

Earth's major motions for 2009

Planet Positions for 2009

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009

• December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home binoculars.
• January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
• February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide. Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
• March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent moon.
• April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA website for occultations in your area.
• May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2 degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
• June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
• August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
• September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
• September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
• October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of the trio.
• December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"

Phases of the Moon 2009

(click to enlarge)

Universal Time

      NEW MOON    FIRST QUARTER       FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m          d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m
       
                 JAN.   4 11 56   JAN. 11  3 27   JAN.  18  2 46
JAN.  26  7 55   FEB.   2 23 13   FEB.  9 14 49   FEB.  16 21 37
FEB.  25  1 35   MAR.   4  7 46   MAR. 11  2 38   MAR.  18 17 47 
MAR.  26 16 06   APR.   2 14 34   APR.  9 14 56   APR.  17 13 36  
APR.  25  3 23   MAY    1 20 44   MAY   9  4 01   MAY   17  7 26
MAY   24 12 11   MAY   31  3 22   JUNE  7 18 12   JUNE  15 22 15
JUNE  22 19 35   JUNE  29 11 28   JULY  7  9 21   JULY  15  9 53  
JULY  22  2 35   JULY  28 22 00   AUG.  6  0 55   AUG.  13 18 55  
AUG.  20 10 02   AUG.  27 11 42   SEPT. 4 16 03   SEPT. 12  2 16
SEPT. 18 18 44   SEPT. 26  4 50   OCT.  4  6 10   OCT.  11  8 56  
OCT.  18  5 33   OCT.  26  0 42   NOV.  2 19 14   NOV.   9 15 56  
NOV.  16 19 14   NOV.  24 21 39   DEC.  2  7 30   DEC.   9  0 13  
DEC.  16 12 02   DEC.  24 17 36   DEC. 31 19 13

Eclipses for 2009

February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases are listed below.

July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked eye.

July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): To make up for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked eye.

December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.

Explanation of the 2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a constellation where the radiant is located at maximum activity.

Activity Period: the dates when the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rates) are equal to or greater than one.

Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.

S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum activity. Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the exact moment of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the autumnal equinox, and 270 at the winter solstice.

Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from. This position is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and declination (celestial latitude).

Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth's atmosphere. The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space) intersect the Earth. Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth and striking the atmosphere head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the same direction as the Earth. This velocity is measured in kilometers per second.

r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number of meteors in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the "r" value, the resulting overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. "r" usually ranges from 2.0 (bright) to 3.5 (faint).

ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower meteors visible per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the limiting magnitude equals +6.5. Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and the limiting magnitude is usually lower. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed rates between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same standards.

Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by their intensity:

Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR's normally ten or better.

Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR's normally three or better.

Class III: showers with widely variable rates. They may be strong one year and totally inactive the next.

Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR's rarely exceeding three. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III. These showers are also good targets for video and photographic work.

Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter, 14 is full, and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence of moonlight so showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10 days old or more than 25 are much more favorably observed than those situated closer to the full moon.

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2009" RASC

The main thing to look for in April is next week so take a look at the calendar.

Sorry....again.

Alice

This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map or theSouthern hemisphere sky map so you can follow along with our viewing sessions.
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

Planets for April 2009

April will be a morning viewing month for planets with a lovely lunar meet and greet with Jupiter and Mars and an occultation of Venus. Saturn is available for evening viewers!

Beginning of the month

April 21st

• Mercury- In superior conjunction on March 31st look for Mercury at its greatest elongation east on April 26th. This will be the Northern H. best view all year. Look just between the waxing crescent Moon and the horizon just after sunset -2.1 mag (1st) to -0.4 mag (21st)

  
  April 26th

   

• Venus- Just stunning in the morning sky growing to -4.7 after mid month. Watch for the lunar occultation starting just around sunrise and ending about an hour later! Large binos and small telescope should catch the action! -3.9 mag (1st) to -4.4 mag (21st)

  
  Venus just before sunrise passing behind the Moon....and later, after sunrise, reappearing

   

• Mars- Finally starts to get brighter and over the next few months Mars will run (almost) a circle around Venus as their positions change in relation to Earth. This little game of tag within the constellations will be fun to watch for the next several months. 1.2 (1st) to 1.2 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- Should be high enough in the morning to be seen. (unless you are in Seattle and we have our perpetual planet zapping cloud banks) Look for Jupiter during the day on the 19th as the Moon passes close by. On the 26th pull out the telescope and see if you can catch the "fake moon" mag 5.9 44 Capricorni -1.9 mag (1st) to -1.9 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- In eastern Leo Saturn's rings are inclined 3.8 deg towards Earth. Definitely a dramatic difference from last year! 0.6 mag (1st) to 0.6 mag (21st)

  

   

• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
• Ceresand Eta - Finder chart from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
  Vesta chart temporarily missing...use this one until site is corrected

Key Dates for April 2009

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 9 pm for everyone!
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Astronomical Highlights - April 2009

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

Monthly Messier*

(I'm trying to find out what has happened to the NGC/IC Project homepage. It has been a standard AAGG reference for 3 years but seems to have disappeared! If you have any information on this great site please let me know....until then the images will be from: "Messier45.com" )

M41

This cluster in Canis Major is visible as a hazy patch to the naked eye just below Sirius. M41 is resolvable in binoculars and appears fairly loose in telescopes at low power.

M93

This is a small fuzzy patch of light in Puppis, partially resolvable in binoculars. The hardest part of finding this cluster in binoculars is picking it out of a fairly rich region of the milky way. Use low power to examine this cluster and the surrounding richness in a telescope. Medium power provides a nice view of the cluster itself.

M47

A bright cluster in Puppis, easily visible as a hazy patch to the naked eye. Binoculars will show a large hazy patch with many stars resolvable. Telescopes show a fairly loose cluster with stars of wide variety of magnitudes.

M46

This cluster is right next to M47 and is also visible to the naked eye. In binoculars M46 appears as a large hazy patch with no stars resolvable, giving a nice contrast to M47. In telescopes at low powers this cluster evenly fills the eyepiece. While you are here go to medium or high power and look for the planetary nebula NGC2438. It will appear as a faint uneven ring, with a blue/green color.

M50

An open cluster in Monoceros. This is a small hazy patch in binoculars, partially resolvable. Like M93, the richness of the surrounding field is the only difficulty in finding this object. This is a fairly tight cluster at low power in a telescope.

M48

Moving on to Hydra, we find another naked eye cluster. M48 is a large fuzzy patch in binoculars, partially resolvable. Use low to medium power in your telescope for a spectacular view.

M67

In the southeast portion of Cancer is another open cluster, barely visible as a fuzzy patch to the naked eye. Binoculars show M67 as a large hazy patch of light, similar to M46. Use low power to resolve this large, rich cluster in a telescope.

M44

Known as the Praesepe or Beehive Cluster, this open cluster is easily visible to the naked eye as a large, fuzzy patch bigger than the moon. Binoculars or rich field telescopes provide the best view of M44.

M81, M82

This pair of galaxies in Ursa Major are very possible to see in binoculars, they look like a pair of fuzzy stars. Both galaxies will fit into the same low power telescope field. M81 will appear as a large oval gray patch of light. M82 is a pencil like streak of light next to and perpendicular to the long axis of M81.

From the Tony Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog

Comets for April 2009

• 144P/Kushida: ~ 8 mag - in Gemini, evening
• C/2007 N3/Lulin: ~8.5 mag in Gemini early evening
• C/2006 W3 ( Christensen ): ~9 mag in Pegasus, pre-dawn

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance Within You"
Marqui Adora- "Catch the Sun"
Sean Wiggins- "Mercury in Retrograde"

Earth's major motions for 2009

Planet Positions for 2009

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009

• December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home binoculars.
• January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
• February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide. Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
• March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent moon.
• April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA website for occultations in your area.
• May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2 degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
• June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
• August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
• September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
• September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
• October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of the trio.
• December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"

Phases of the Moon 2009

(click to enlarge)

Universal Time

      NEW MOON    FIRST QUARTER       FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m          d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m
       
                 JAN.   4 11 56   JAN. 11  3 27   JAN.  18  2 46
JAN.  26  7 55   FEB.   2 23 13   FEB.  9 14 49   FEB.  16 21 37
FEB.  25  1 35   MAR.   4  7 46   MAR. 11  2 38   MAR.  18 17 47 
MAR.  26 16 06   APR.   2 14 34   APR.  9 14 56   APR.  17 13 36  
APR.  25  3 23   MAY    1 20 44   MAY   9  4 01   MAY   17  7 26
MAY   24 12 11   MAY   31  3 22   JUNE  7 18 12   JUNE  15 22 15
JUNE  22 19 35   JUNE  29 11 28   JULY  7  9 21   JULY  15  9 53  
JULY  22  2 35   JULY  28 22 00   AUG.  6  0 55   AUG.  13 18 55  
AUG.  20 10 02   AUG.  27 11 42   SEPT. 4 16 03   SEPT. 12  2 16
SEPT. 18 18 44   SEPT. 26  4 50   OCT.  4  6 10   OCT.  11  8 56  
OCT.  18  5 33   OCT.  26  0 42   NOV.  2 19 14   NOV.   9 15 56  
NOV.  16 19 14   NOV.  24 21 39   DEC.  2  7 30   DEC.   9  0 13  
DEC.  16 12 02   DEC.  24 17 36   DEC. 31 19 13

Eclipses for 2009

February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases are listed below.

July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked eye.

July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): To make up for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked eye.

December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.

Explanation of the 2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a constellation where the radiant is located at maximum activity.

Activity Period: the dates when the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rates) are equal to or greater than one.

Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.

S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum activity. Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the exact moment of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the autumnal equinox, and 270 at the winter solstice.

Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from. This position is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and declination (celestial latitude).

Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth's atmosphere. The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space) intersect the Earth. Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth and striking the atmosphere head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the same direction as the Earth. This velocity is measured in kilometers per second.

r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number of meteors in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the "r" value, the resulting overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. "r" usually ranges from 2.0 (bright) to 3.5 (faint).

ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower meteors visible per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the limiting magnitude equals +6.5. Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and the limiting magnitude is usually lower. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed rates between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same standards.

Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by their intensity:

Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR's normally ten or better.

Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR's normally three or better.

Class III: showers with widely variable rates. They may be strong one year and totally inactive the next.

Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR's rarely exceeding three. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III. These showers are also good targets for video and photographic work.

Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter, 14 is full, and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence of moonlight so showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10 days old or more than 25 are much more favorably observed than those situated closer to the full moon.

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2009" RASC

This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map or theSouthern hemisphere sky map so you can follow along with our viewing sessions.
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

Planets for March 2009

This year will be a morning viewing year but we still have bright Venus in the early evening and Saturn for late night viewers!

• Mercury- By the 1st of March Mercury will neck-and-neck with Mars. 0.6 mag (1st) to 0.0 mag (21st)
• Venus- Make sure you share Venus with your friends and let them see the wonderful 'phases' she shares with our Moon. -4.4 mag (1st) to -4.5 mag (21st)
• Mars- Start looking later in the month when on the 24th it is paired with Mercury. 1.3 (1st) to 1.3 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- -1.9 mag (1st) to -1.9 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- In eastern Leo Saturn's rings are inclined 1.74 beg towards Earth and will be at opposition on March 8th 0.9 mag (1st) to 0.9 mag (21st)
• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 8.0 mag (21st)
• Ceresand Eta - Finder chart from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
  Vesta chart temporarily missing...use this one until site is corrected

Key Dates for March 2009

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 10 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 7 pm for the mid-northern latitudes.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Astronomical Highlights - March 2009

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

Monthly Messier*

(I'm trying to find out what has happened to the NGC/IC Project homepage. It has been a standard AAGG reference for 3 years but seems to have disappeared! If you have any information on this great site please let me know....until then the images will be from: "Messier45.com" )

M41

This cluster in Canis Major is visible as a hazy patch to the naked eye just below Sirius. M41 is resolvable in binoculars and appears fairly loose in telescopes at low power.

M93

This is a small fuzzy patch of light in Puppis, partially resolvable in binoculars. The hardest part of finding this cluster in binoculars is picking it out of a fairly rich region of the milky way. Use low power to examine this cluster and the surrounding richness in a telescope. Medium power provides a nice view of the cluster itself.

M47

A bright cluster in Puppis, easily visible as a hazy patch to the naked eye. Binoculars will show a large hazy patch with many stars resolvable. Telescopes show a fairly loose cluster with stars of wide variety of magnitudes.

M46

This cluster is right next to M47 and is also visible to the naked eye. In binoculars M46 appears as a large hazy patch with no stars resolvable, giving a nice contrast to M47. In telescopes at low powers this cluster evenly fills the eyepiece. While you are here go to medium or high power and look for the planetary nebula NGC2438. It will appear as a faint uneven ring, with a blue/green color.

M50

An open cluster in Monoceros. This is a small hazy patch in binoculars, partially resolvable. Like M93, the richness of the surrounding field is the only difficulty in finding this object. This is a fairly tight cluster at low power in a telescope.

M48

Moving on to Hydra, we find another naked eye cluster. M48 is a large fuzzy patch in binoculars, partially resolvable. Use low to medium power in your telescope for a spectacular view.

M67

In the southeast portion of Cancer is another open cluster, barely visible as a fuzzy patch to the naked eye. Binoculars show M67 as a large hazy patch of light, similar to M46. Use low power to resolve this large, rich cluster in a telescope.

M44

Known as the Praesepe or Beehive Cluster, this open cluster is easily visible to the naked eye as a large, fuzzy patch bigger than the moon. Binoculars or rich field telescopes provide the best view of M44.

M81, M82

This pair of galaxies in Ursa Major are very possible to see in binoculars, they look like a pair of fuzzy stars. Both galaxies will fit into the same low power telescope field. M81 will appear as a large oval gray patch of light. M82 is a pencil like streak of light next to and perpendicular to the long axis of M81.

From the Tony Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog

Comets for March 2009

• 85P/Boethin: ~7 mag - in Pisces, early evening
• 144P/Kushida: ~ 8 mag - in Taurus, evening
• C/2007 N3/Lulin: ~5 mag in Virgo and Leo, late evening
• 210P/2008 X4/Christensen: ~7 mag in Ophiuchus, pre-dawn

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance Within You"
Great Big Sea- "French Shore"
Amaryoni- "Woza"

This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map or theSouthern hemisphere sky map so you can follow along with our viewing sessions.
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

Planets for February 2009

This year will be a morning viewing year but we still have bright Venus in the early evening and Saturn for late night viewers!

• Mercury- Now a morning planet, Mercury starts the month further away from the Sun that the other two morning planets, Jupiter and Mars, and its angle favors the S.hemisphere. Look for greatest elongation on the 13th. Mercury has several close pairing this month with Jupiter on the 20th and Mars on the 24th. By the 1st of March Mercury will neck-and-neck with Mars. 0.6 mag (1st) to 0.0 mag (21st)
• Venus- Venus has been distancing herself from the Sun for months, a sparkling beacon in the early evening sky, even shining through the clouds from time to time. Having reached greatest elongation on the Jan 14, a full 47 deg east of the Sun, Venus begins her descent back towards the Sun. She was paired nicely with the moon at the beginning of the month and will be again at the end of the month with the next waxing crescent. RASC Observing guides recommend watching for rare green and blue flashes as Venus sets through strong inversion layers (possibly the only good thing about inversion layers!) Make sure you share Venus with your friends and let them see the wonderful 'phases' she shares with our Moon. -4.4 mag (1st) to -4.5 mag (21st)
• Mars- Has moved into the morning sky this month and will slowly crawl away from the Sun all month. Start looking later in the month when on the 24th it is paired with Mercury. 1.3 (1st) to 1.3 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- Still too close to the Sun at the beginning of the month. By mid-month Jupiter will start to stand out in the pre-dawn sky on a flat horizon growing stronger towards the end of the month and into March -1.9 mag (1st) to -1.9 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- In eastern Leo Saturn's rings are inclined 1.74 beg towards Earth and will be at opposition on March 8th 0.9 mag (1st) to 0.9 mag (21st)
• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 8.0 mag (21st)
• Ceresand Eta - Finder chart from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
  Vesta chart temporarily missing...use this one until site is corrected

Key Dates for February 2009

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 10 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 7 pm for the mid-northern latitudes.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Astronomical Highlights - February 2009

** "A descriptive parameter dubbed "illuminated extent" is proposed, defined as the total solid angle subtended, from an astronomer's view, by the illuminated portion of an object. A celestial body exhibiting wide variance in both phase and angular size - an inferior planet primarily - is well characterized by this parameter, for its peak value denotes when the luminous image maximally covers a telescope's focal surface, a prime viewing circumstance. " Gingrich, M Strolling Astron., Vol. 42, No. 1, p. 18 - 22

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

Monthly Messier*

(I'm trying to find out what has happened to the NGC/IC Project homepage. It has been a standard AAGG reference for 3 years but seems to have disappeared! If you have any information on this great site please let me know....until then the images will be from: "Messier45.com" )

• M1 - The Crab nebula is a supernova remnant in Taurus. It is a hazy patch in small telescopes, large scopes can resolve some detail. It is difficult but possible to see in binoculars.
• M45 - The Pleiades are a large open cluster in Taurus. Easy to resolve six stars naked eye. Binoculars provide the best view. Large telescopes can show some nebulosity.
• M35, M37, M36, M38 - A series of open clusters in the winter milky way. M35 is in Gemini, the others are in Auriga. All can be seen naked eye as faint fuzzy stars, binoculars reveal fuzzy patches, low power telescopes can resolve these rich clusters.
• M42 (seen here with M43), M43 - M42 is the great Orion Nebula. It can be seen as small fuzzy patch naked eye. Binoculars show some detail, and the view is superb in most any scope. M43 is a small region of nebulosity next to M42, and probably requires the use of a telescope to view. Use low to moderate powers for the best view of this pair.
• M78 - A small emission nebula in Orion, a tough binocular object. Best viewed in a telescope at moderate powers.
• M79 - One of the smallest and dimmest globular clusters in the catalog. A tough binocular object in Lepus, best viewed in a telescope at moderate powers.

From the Astronomical Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada, images vary.

Comets for February 2009

• 85P/Boethin: ~7 mag - in Pisces, early evening
• 144P/Kushida: ~ 8 mag - in Taurus, evening
• C/2007 N3/Lulin: ~5 mag in Libra, pre-dawn
• 210P/2008 X4/Christensen: ~7 mag in Ophiuchus, pre-dawn

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance Within You"
Great Big Sea- "French Shore"
Amaryoni- "Woza"

Earth's major motions for 2009

Planet Positions for 2009

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009

• December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home binoculars.
• January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
• February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide. Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
• March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent moon.
• April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA website for occultations in your area.
• May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2 degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
• June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
• August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
• September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
• September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
• October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of the trio.
• December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"

Phases of the Moon 2009

(click to enlarge)

Universal Time

      NEW MOON    FIRST QUARTER       FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m          d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m
       
                 JAN.   4 11 56   JAN. 11  3 27   JAN.  18  2 46
JAN.  26  7 55   FEB.   2 23 13   FEB.  9 14 49   FEB.  16 21 37
FEB.  25  1 35   MAR.   4  7 46   MAR. 11  2 38   MAR.  18 17 47 
MAR.  26 16 06   APR.   2 14 34   APR.  9 14 56   APR.  17 13 36  
APR.  25  3 23   MAY    1 20 44   MAY   9  4 01   MAY   17  7 26
MAY   24 12 11   MAY   31  3 22   JUNE  7 18 12   JUNE  15 22 15
JUNE  22 19 35   JUNE  29 11 28   JULY  7  9 21   JULY  15  9 53  
JULY  22  2 35   JULY  28 22 00   AUG.  6  0 55   AUG.  13 18 55  
AUG.  20 10 02   AUG.  27 11 42   SEPT. 4 16 03   SEPT. 12  2 16
SEPT. 18 18 44   SEPT. 26  4 50   OCT.  4  6 10   OCT.  11  8 56  
OCT.  18  5 33   OCT.  26  0 42   NOV.  2 19 14   NOV.   9 15 56  
NOV.  16 19 14   NOV.  24 21 39   DEC.  2  7 30   DEC.   9  0 13  
DEC.  16 12 02   DEC.  24 17 36   DEC. 31 19 13

Eclipses for 2009

February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases are listed below.

July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked eye.

July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): To make up for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked eye.

December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.

Explanation of the 2009 Meteor Shower Calendar

Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a constellation where the radiant is located at maximum activity.

Activity Period: the dates when the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rates) are equal to or greater than one.

Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.

S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum activity. Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the exact moment of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the autumnal equinox, and 270 at the winter solstice.

Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from. This position is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and declination (celestial latitude).

Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth's atmosphere. The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space) intersect the Earth. Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth and striking the atmosphere head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the same direction as the Earth. This velocity is measured in kilometers per second.

r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number of meteors in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the "r" value, the resulting overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. "r" usually ranges from 2.0 (bright) to 3.5 (faint).

ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower meteors visible per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the limiting magnitude equals +6.5. Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and the limiting magnitude is usually lower. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed rates between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same standards.

Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by their intensity:

Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR's normally ten or better.

Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR's normally three or better.

Class III: showers with widely variable rates. They may be strong one year and totally inactive the next.

Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR's rarely exceeding three. The study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. Observers with less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a rating of I to III. These showers are also good targets for video and photographic work.

Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter, 14 is full, and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence of moonlight so showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10 days old or more than 25 are much more favorably observed than those situated closer to the full moon.

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2009" RASC

This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a given month. For official phase times and dates for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map or theSouthern hemisphere sky map so you can follow along with our viewing sessions.
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

Planets for January 2009

This year will be a morning viewing year but we still have bright Venus in the early evening and Saturn for late night viewers!

Early January Evening Planets (click image to enlarge)

Late January Evening Planets (click image to enlarge)

• Mercury- Starts the year close to Jupiter in the evening twilight. The further south you are the easier it is to pick up this pair against the glowing horizon. Mercury reaches greatest elongation on the 4th before racing back towards the sun (passing Jupiter again) reaching inferior conjunction on the 20th. By the end of the month Mercury is with Mars and Jupiter in the morning, pre-dawn sky. They will all be quite faint, low for northern observers but better as you go further south. -0.7 mag (1st) to 5.1 mag (21st)
• Venus- Venus has been distancing herself from the Sun for months, a sparkling beacon in the early evening sky, even shining through the clouds from time to time. She reaches greatest elongation on the 14th, a full 47 deg east of the Sun. On the 30th look for a pretty pairing with the crescent Moon. -4.2 mag (1st) to -4.3 mag (21st)
• Mars- Mars reached conjunction with the Sun on Dec 5th, and is slowly drifting into the morning sky. Mars will play hide and seek with Mercury and Jupiter later in the month but will really start to become visible later in February. 1.3 (1st) to 1.3 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- Is paired up nicely with Mercury as the year starts but quickly slides into the glare of the Sun reaching conjunction on the 24th. Look for the return of the King to the pre-dawn sky in February. -1.9 mag (1st) to -1.9 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- Saturn has been our "planet of the night" and those rings are continuing to flatten out. Saturn spends most of the year in Leo before sliding into Virgo in September. With the rings at a close tilt of .81 deg. Although there are those who mourn the shallow ring angle others will be using the reduction of glare to chase after Saturn's moons. (See the RASC Observing Challenge for 2009) 0.9 mag (1st) to 0.9 mag (21st)
• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 8.0 mag (21st)
• Ceresand Vesta - Finder chart from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
  Vesta chart temporarily missing...use this one until site is corrected

Key Dates for January 2009

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 10 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 7 pm for the mid-northern latitudes.
Today's sunrise and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory Website

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!

Astronomical Highlights - January 2009

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

Monthly Messier*

This month has two of my personal Messier thorns; M77 and M74. Those two are offset by a favorite; the Little Dumbell. You will need binoculars and a telescope to fully enjoy the January Messier objects.

• M33 This is a very large (about the size of the full moon) face on spiral galaxy in the constellation Triangulum. The total light from M33 is about magnitude 5.3, but when spread out over its large area it yields a very low surface brightness. The best and easiest views of M33 can be found with a pair of binoculars. Look for a large, round hazy patch of light with little detail at first glance. M33 can be glimpsed with the naked eye in dark clear skies. Finding M33 in a telescope can be a challenge because of its size. Use the widest field eyepiece you have and look for a change in light level to identify the galaxy.
• M103 This is a fairly small, sparse open cluster in Cassiopeia. Look for a tight group of stars in binoculars, being careful not to mistake it for several other clusters in the same area. Through a telescope the cluster is very sparse, four bright stars amidst the slight glow of much fainter companions.
• M52 This rich open cluster in Cassiopeia is fairly easy to see in binoculars as a faint smudge of light. A small to mid telescope will begin to resolve this cluster. Look for a triangular patch of light with some stars clearly resolved, but most of the cluster members provide only a hint of graininess.
• M76 Known as the little dumbell, this planetary nebula in Perseus is one of the dimmest objects in the Catalog. Look for a small, faint, oblong patch of light. Not a very obvious object, if you don't see it at first try varying magnifications in an attempt to bring it out. Fortunately M76 is located near a bright star which aids in locating the correct field to search.
• M34 This is a large and bright, but sparse open cluster located in Perseus. Visible as a faint patch of light to the naked eye, it is very obvious and easy to resolve in binoculars. In fact, binoculars provide a better view of this cluster than most telescopes.
• M74 This galaxy in Pisces is a smaller and fainter version of M33, a face on spiral galaxy with low surface brightness. M74 is arguably the most difficult object to find in the Catalog. You will need very dark, clear skies to easily see it, anything less than perfect conditions will make M74 nearly impossible to find. Look for a very faint fuzzy star, which is the bright central condensation, surrounded by a very faint glow. Try all of your tricks on this one; star hop to the correct field, try varying magnification, tap the scope to detect the galaxy through its motion. If all of the above fail, try again another night or seek darker skies.
• M77 This is a small faint galaxy in Cetus. Possible to see in binoculars, but very difficult, look for a faint fuzzy star. Through a telescope look for a fuzzy, oval shaped patch of light, bright in the center, fading towards the edges.

From the Astronomical Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada

Comets for January 2009

• 85P/Boethin: ~7 mag - in Pisces, early evening
• 144P/Kushida: ~ 8 mag - in Taurus, evening
• C/2007 N3/Lulin: ~5 mag in Libra, pre-dawn
• 210P/2008 X4/Christensen: ~7 mag in Ophiuchus, pre-dawn

Mark has developed his own website so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us this month!

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance within you"
Three Blind Mice- "Watch Star"
Finniston- "Peace of Mind"

Earth's major motions for 2009

Planet Positions for 2009

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009

• December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home binoculars.
• January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
• February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide. Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
• March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent moon.
• April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA website for occultations in your area.
• May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2 degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
• June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
• August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
• September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
• September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
• October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of the trio.
• December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"

Phases of the Moon 2009

(click to enlarge)

Universal Time

      NEW MOON    FIRST QUARTER       FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m          d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m
       
                 JAN.   4 11 56   JAN. 11  3 27   JAN.  18  2 46
JAN.  26  7 55   FEB.   2 23 13   FEB.  9 14 49   FEB.  16 21 37
FEB.  25  1 35   MAR.   4  7 46   MAR. 11  2 38   MAR.  18 17 47 
MAR.  26 16 06   APR.   2 14 34   APR.  9 14 56   APR.  17 13 36  
APR.  25  3 23   MAY    1 20 44   MAY   9  4 01   MAY   17  7 26
MAY   24 12 11   MAY   31  3 22   JUNE  7 18 12   JUNE  15 22 15
JUNE  22 19 35   JUNE  29 11 28   JULY  7  9 21   JULY  15  9 53  
JULY  22  2 35   JULY  28 22 00   AUG.  6  0 55   AUG.  13 18 55  
AUG.  20 10 02   AUG.  27 11 42   SEPT. 4 16 03   SEPT. 12  2 16
SEPT. 18 18 44   SEPT. 26  4 50   OCT.  4  6 10   OCT.  11  8 56  
OCT.  18  5 33   OCT.  26  0 42   NOV.  2 19 14   NOV.   9 15 56  
NOV.  16 19 14   NOV.  24 21 39   DEC.  2  7 30   DEC.   9  0 13  
DEC.  16 12 02   DEC.  24 17 36   DEC. 31 19 13

Eclipses for 2009

February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases are listed below.

July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked eye.

July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): To make up for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked eye.

December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

2009 Meteor Shower Calendar