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

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

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

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map
Southern hemisphere sky map
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

James Barclay's site
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site
Southern Sky Watch.

Planets for December 2008

Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Neptune, Uranus all in the evening by months end. Saturn rising before midnight and only Mars is missing from the major planet lineup.

Early December Evening Planets (click image to enlarge)

Late December Evening Planets (click image to enlarge)

• Mercury- Starts the month passing into the evening sky and by mid-month appears in the evening twilight. By the end of the month look for Mercury next to Jupiter in the evening twilight. -0.8 mag (1st) to -1.2 mag (21st)
• Venus- Started the month in a stellar pairing with Jupiter but climbs eastward, and Jupiter westward, quickly. Venus will be the crown jewel of the evening sky for the entire month. -4.0 mag (1st) to -4.1 mag (21st)
• Mars- Mars is in conjunction with the Sun on Dec 5th, not to be seen again until 2009! 1.5 (1st) to 1.5 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- Setting earlier every night pairing up with Jupiter towards the end of the month. As 2009 dawns Jupiter sets in evening twilight. -2.1 mag (1st) to -2.0 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- By the middle of the month Saturn rises in before midnight (in Leo). Look carefully at the rings as the inclination closes to 0.8 deg 1.0 mag (1st) to 1.0 mag (21st)
  
• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.8 mag (1st) to 5.8 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
  (click for a larger images)

  2008 Finder Charts for Neptune and Uranus -Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere

Key Dates for December 2008

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 7 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 10 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 - December 2008

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2008, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

Monthly Messier*

• 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, M32, and M110 M31 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, modern day, 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 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

Comets for December 2008

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 Shores"
Antonin Bastian- "Tu Cha Cha Cha"

Earth's major motions for 2008

Planet Positions for 2008

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2008

• January (first two week) - Mars, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran - Mars will be moving westward into this red triangle, pausing at the end of the month and then returning to regular Eastward motion at the beginning of February.
• February 1 (start watching in early January) - Jupiter and Venus - Start this early in January with Jupiter just off the horizon and watch as they creep closer and closer. On the 1st of Feb early in the morning, about one hour before sunrise in the east, Jupiter and Venus are less than one degree apart in the constellation Sagittarius. They will be outstanding and you could imagine all sorts of symbolism that could be associated with this conjunction.
• February 27 - Mercury and Venus - Rising just one hour before the Sun in the East in the constellation Capricornus. Venus and Mercury will be just over one degree apart and then Venus will speed off, with Mercury in hot pursuit.
• March 24 - Mercury and Venus...again - Mercury catches up to Venus again, this time less than one degree apart and in the constellation Aquarius. They will also be rising above the horizon only a half hour before the sun, so seeing them will be quite a challenge.
• July 10 - Mars and Saturn - In the constellation Leo yellowish-white Saturn and reddish Mars will be less than one degree from each other. The pair is still up two hours after sunset and are bright so it should be easy to see.
• August 13 - Venus and Saturn - Less than one degree apart in the constellation Leo. Venus will be the brighter of the two.
• August 14 (watch from 10-16th)- Venus, Mercury, and Saturn - Just after sunset a triple conjunction! The three planets will be less than three degrees apart in the constellation Leo and almost in a line. Venus will be the highest and brightest Saturn the middle object and Mercury will be the lowest of the three but surprisingly brighter than Saturn. If you want to make this even more interesting look for Mars 16 degrees to the SW the trio.
• August 19-21 - Venus and Mercury - The two planets will be about one degree apart for three days. VERY low on the western horizon at sunset.
• September 11 (watch from 5-18)- Venus and Mars - Venus will come right next to the Red Planet, with the two less than one degree apart Mercury lying three and a half degrees away from the pair and shining brighter than Mars. The whole group will set just one hour after sunset.
• December 1 - Venus and Jupiter - All within Sagittarius, the two planets will be two degrees apart and they don't set until three hours after sunset. As a bonus, a 15%-lit moon will lie three degrees away from Venus.
• December 31 - 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.

      NEW MOON   FIRST QUARTER        FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m          d  h  m
       
JAN.   8 11 37   JAN. 15 19 46   JAN.  22 13 35   JAN.  30  5 03
FEB.   7  3 44   FEB. 14  3 33   FEB.  21  3 30   FEB.  29  2 18
MAR.   7 17 14   MAR. 14 10 46   MAR.  21 18 40   MAR.  29 21 47
APR.   6  3 55   APR. 12 18 32   APR.  20 10 25   APR.  28 14 12
MAY    5 12 18   MAY  12  3 47   MAY   20  2 11   MAY   28  2 57
JUNE   3 19 23   JUNE 10 15 04   JUNE  18 17 30   JUNE  26 12 10
JULY   3  2 19   JULY 10  4 35   JULY  18  7 59   JULY  25 18 42
AUG.   1 10 13   AUG.  8 20 20   AUG.  16 21 16   AUG.  23 23 50
AUG.  30 19 58   SEPT. 7 14 04   SEPT. 15  9 13   SEPT. 22  5 04  
SEPT. 29  8 12   OCT.  7  9 04   OCT.  14 20 02   OCT.  21 11 55
OCT.  28 23 14   NOV.  6  4 03   NOV.  13  6 17   NOV.  19 21 31
NOV.  27 16 55   DEC.  5 21 26   DEC.  12 16 37   DEC.  19 10 29
DEC.  27 12 22       

Eclipses for 2008

August 1 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): On Friday, 2008 August 01, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe and Asia. Special website with extra information and links to live eclipse webcasts can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website for the August 1st Eclipse

February 20th - Total Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): The first lunar eclipse of 2008 is perfectly placed for observers throughout most of the Americas as well as western Europe. The eclipse occurs at the Moon's descending node, midway between perigee and apogee. During the eclipse, Saturn lies about 3Â northeast of the Moon and shines brightly (mv = +0.2) because it is near opposition. Special website with live broadcast can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website

August 16 - Partial Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2008 is a partial lunar eclipse at the Moon's ascending node in Capricornus. It is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere as well as eastern South America

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

Meteor Showers for 2008

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2008" RASC

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map
Southern hemisphere sky map
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

James Barclay's site
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site
Southern Sky Watch.

Planets for November 2008

Venus and Jupiter dominate the early evening sky while Mercury and Saturn put on a nice display for the early riser

• Mercury- In Virgo starts the month visible to N. Hemisphere views just before sunrise. Mercury creeps closer to the Sun and is in superior conjunction on the 25th of the month, returning to the evening sky. -0.8 mag (1st) to -1.2 mag (21st)
• Venus- In Ophiuchus shine brighter as it slowly climbs away from the Sun and closer to Jupiter. Setting well after full dark. Venus, Jupiter and a 3 day old Moon will put on a beautiful show on the last day of November and the first day of December. Have your cameras ready! Keep an eye on Venus and her phases too, she will be moving from gibbous to a quarter phase in January. -3.9 mag (1st) to -4.0 mag (21st)
• Mars- Too close to the Sun for most viewers. Mars is in conjunction with the Sun on Dec 5th, not to be seen again until 2009! 1.5 (1st) to 1.5 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- In Sagittarius. Still a fantastic early evening object makes a wonderful pairing with Venus and the Moon at the end of this month and the beginning of the next. -2.1 mag (1st) to -2.0 mag (21st)
  
  
• Saturn- In Leo rising higher and earlier each morning until the end of the month when Saturn rises just before midnight for mid-Northern viewers. 1.0 mag (1st) to 1.0 mag (21st)
  
• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.8 mag (1st) to 5.8 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
  Both Neptune and Uranus are in nice, handy, positions for finding. This would be great time to bag these planets before bad weather and creeping horizons make them disappear!
  
  Uranus, and Neptune for Nov 08 (click for a larger image)

  
  Uranus finder

  
  Neptune finder
  
  Vesta finder
  (click for a larger images)

  2008 Finder Charts for Neptune and Uranus -Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere

Key Dates for November 2008

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2008, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

Monthly Messier*

Comets for November 2008

Earth's major motions for 2008

Planet Positions for 2008

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2008

• January (first two week) - Mars, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran - Mars will be moving westward into this red triangle, pausing at the end of the month and then returning to regular Eastward motion at the beginning of February.
• February 1 (start watching in early January) - Jupiter and Venus - Start this early in January with Jupiter just off the horizon and watch as they creep closer and closer. On the 1st of Feb early in the morning, about one hour before sunrise in the east, Jupiter and Venus are less than one degree apart in the constellation Sagittarius. They will be outstanding and you could imagine all sorts of symbolism that could be associated with this conjunction.
• February 27 - Mercury and Venus - Rising just one hour before the Sun in the East in the constellation Capricornus. Venus and Mercury will be just over one degree apart and then Venus will speed off, with Mercury in hot pursuit.
• March 24 - Mercury and Venus...again - Mercury catches up to Venus again, this time less than one degree apart and in the constellation Aquarius. They will also be rising above the horizon only a half hour before the sun, so seeing them will be quite a challenge.
• July 10 - Mars and Saturn - In the constellation Leo yellowish-white Saturn and reddish Mars will be less than one degree from each other. The pair is still up two hours after sunset and are bright so it should be easy to see.
• August 13 - Venus and Saturn - Less than one degree apart in the constellation Leo. Venus will be the brighter of the two.
• August 14 (watch from 10-16th)- Venus, Mercury, and Saturn - Just after sunset a triple conjunction! The three planets will be less than three degrees apart in the constellation Leo and almost in a line. Venus will be the highest and brightest Saturn the middle object and Mercury will be the lowest of the three but surprisingly brighter than Saturn. If you want to make this even more interesting look for Mars 16 degrees to the SW the trio.
• August 19-21 - Venus and Mercury - The two planets will be about one degree apart for three days. VERY low on the western horizon at sunset.
• September 11 (watch from 5-18)- Venus and Mars - Venus will come right next to the Red Planet, with the two less than one degree apart Mercury lying three and a half degrees away from the pair and shining brighter than Mars. The whole group will set just one hour after sunset.
• December 1 - Venus and Jupiter - All within Sagittarius, the two planets will be two degrees apart and they don't set until three hours after sunset. As a bonus, a 15%-lit moon will lie three degrees away from Venus.
• December 31 - 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.

      NEW MOON   FIRST QUARTER        FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m          d  h  m
       
JAN.   8 11 37   JAN. 15 19 46   JAN.  22 13 35   JAN.  30  5 03
FEB.   7  3 44   FEB. 14  3 33   FEB.  21  3 30   FEB.  29  2 18
MAR.   7 17 14   MAR. 14 10 46   MAR.  21 18 40   MAR.  29 21 47
APR.   6  3 55   APR. 12 18 32   APR.  20 10 25   APR.  28 14 12
MAY    5 12 18   MAY  12  3 47   MAY   20  2 11   MAY   28  2 57
JUNE   3 19 23   JUNE 10 15 04   JUNE  18 17 30   JUNE  26 12 10
JULY   3  2 19   JULY 10  4 35   JULY  18  7 59   JULY  25 18 42
AUG.   1 10 13   AUG.  8 20 20   AUG.  16 21 16   AUG.  23 23 50
AUG.  30 19 58   SEPT. 7 14 04   SEPT. 15  9 13   SEPT. 22  5 04  
SEPT. 29  8 12   OCT.  7  9 04   OCT.  14 20 02   OCT.  21 11 55
OCT.  28 23 14   NOV.  6  4 03   NOV.  13  6 17   NOV.  19 21 31
NOV.  27 16 55   DEC.  5 21 26   DEC.  12 16 37   DEC.  19 10 29
DEC.  27 12 22       

Eclipses for 2008

August 1 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): On Friday, 2008 August 01, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe and Asia. Special website with extra information and links to live eclipse webcasts can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website for the August 1st Eclipse

February 20th - Total Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): The first lunar eclipse of 2008 is perfectly placed for observers throughout most of the Americas as well as western Europe. The eclipse occurs at the Moon's descending node, midway between perigee and apogee. During the eclipse, Saturn lies about 3Â northeast of the Moon and shines brightly (mv = +0.2) because it is near opposition. Special website with live broadcast can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website

August 16 - Partial Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2008 is a partial lunar eclipse at the Moon's ascending node in Capricornus. It is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere as well as eastern South America

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

Meteor Showers for 2008

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2008" RASC

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map
Southern hemisphere sky map
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

James Barclay's site
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site
Southern Sky Watch.

Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune for Oct 08 (click for a larger image)

October morning planets (click for a larger image)

Planets for September 2008

Mercury and Saturn slip into the morning sky, Mars creeps closer to the Sun, Venus is brilliant in the evening sky and the rest of the gang

• Mercury- Starts in Virgo moves to Leo. By the end of the month look for little Mercury 4 deg from Spica in Virgo 2.6 mag (1st) to -0.4 mag (21st)
• Venus- In Libra. Much easier to see this month as she rises a little higher each night. Brighter than Jupiter the two make nice finder 'stars' in the early evening. On the 31st look for a slender crescent moon together with the goddess of love and beauty. -3.8 mag (1st) to -3.8 mag (21st)
• Mars- In Virgo. Mars heads off to do battle with the Sun. Very low on the horizon for southern viewers at the beginning of the month it is lost to high northern latitudes, not to be seen again until 2009! 1.6 (1st) to 1.6 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- In Sagittarius. Still a fantastic sight to see Jupiter transits around sunset for northern viewers. Jupiter reaches its east quadrature (90 deg east of the Sun) on the 6th. -2.3 mag (1st) to -2.2 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- In Leo. Climbing higher in the morning sky northern latitude views have their best views mid-month. 1.0 mag (1st) to 1.0 mag (21st)
  
• Uranus- In Aquarius 5.7 mag (1st) to 5.8 mag (21st)
• Neptune- In Capricorn 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
  Finder Charts for Neptune and Uranus -Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere

Key Dates for October 2008

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 9 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 9 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 - October 2008

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2008, CalSky. sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night

Equinox pole and those having more fun watching the observers....

...the early risers of Gold Hill, CO (some of the nicest folk on the planet!)
(Photo Credit: Joan Few;
Equinox Pole Project Grand Master, pole leveler, and pivotal mathematician: Arthur Few;
Pole transportation, hole digging, knots, and lashes by yours truly...that's right, I get the good jobs!)

Monthly Messier*

Our October tour includes two nebulae and the clusters that power them, four open clusters, a star cloud, and lastly two globular clusters. All of these objects are possible in binoculars, most are easy in even small binoculars. Several of these are also possible naked eye objects.

M24 - This "object" is actually a section of the Milky Way in Sagittarius. It is easily seen with the naked eye as a fuzzy, oval patch about four times the size of the full moon. The best views are through binoculars or rich field telescopes.
M25 - Just east of M24 in Sagittarius we find this open cluster. Visible to the naked eye, M25 lies in the same binocular field as M24. In binoculars it appears as a partially resolved star cluster buried in faint nebulosity. A view through a telescope shows the nebulosity is in fact many faint stars that are not resolved in small instruments.
M18 - This is a small open cluster just north of M24 in Sagittarius. In binoculars M18 is easy to see as a small fuzzy patch of light in the same field of view as M24. Telescopes reveal this cluster for what it is, a small, sparse collection of fairly bright stars.
M17 - Just north of M18 and in the same binocular field as M24 and M18 lies the Omega nebula. Possible to see with the naked eye and easy with binoculars, this nebula appears as a small faint patch of fuzz. A telescope will show the unique V shape nebulosity that gives the cluster its name. The shape reminds me of a swan with two bright stars that power the cluster embedded in the head and neck of the swan.
M16 - Continuing north of M17 we find another nebula in Serpens. To the naked eye and binoculars, this small patch of haze is very similar in appearance to M17 which is in the same binocular field of view. Through a telescope the M16 looks like a sparse open cluster of stars surrounded by faint wisps of smoke.
M26 - Continuing to head north through the Milky Way we find this open cluster in the constellation Scutum. This is a difficult object to find in binoculars, but possible as a faint patch of fuzz. Telescopes partially resolve this cluster and show several stars buried in a faint glow from the unresolved stars.
M11 - Just north of M26 in Scutum lies the Wild Duck Cluster. Possible to see with the naked eye, binoculars show a small faint patch surrounding a bright star. Telescopes resolve many of the stars in this very rich cluster.
M55 - Dipping back into Sagittarius we find two more globular clusters waiting for us. The first is one of the brightest and largest globulars in the catalogue. Possible to see naked eye, it is an easy binocular object appearing as a bright fuzzy ball of light. Telescopes show a round patch of light bright in the center and fading toward the edges. Large aperatures are needed to resolve this globular.
M75 - The last object of the month, and the last object to be visited in Sagittarius. In binoculars, M75 is not too hard to see, look for a small fuzzy star. A telescope will show a small fuzz ball with a bright center.

From the Astronomical Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada

Comets for October 2008

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"
Katy Pfaffl- "Halfway There"
Albert Collins- "Brick"

Earth's major motions for 2008

Planet Positions for 2008

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2008

• January (first two week) - Mars, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran - Mars will be moving westward into this red triangle, pausing at the end of the month and then returning to regular Eastward motion at the beginning of February.
• February 1 (start watching in early January) - Jupiter and Venus - Start this early in January with Jupiter just off the horizon and watch as they creep closer and closer. On the 1st of Feb early in the morning, about one hour before sunrise in the east, Jupiter and Venus are less than one degree apart in the constellation Sagittarius. They will be outstanding and you could imagine all sorts of symbolism that could be associated with this conjunction.
• February 27 - Mercury and Venus - Rising just one hour before the Sun in the East in the constellation Capricornus. Venus and Mercury will be just over one degree apart and then Venus will speed off, with Mercury in hot pursuit.
• March 24 - Mercury and Venus...again - Mercury catches up to Venus again, this time less than one degree apart and in the constellation Aquarius. They will also be rising above the horizon only a half hour before the sun, so seeing them will be quite a challenge.
• July 10 - Mars and Saturn - In the constellation Leo yellowish-white Saturn and reddish Mars will be less than one degree from each other. The pair is still up two hours after sunset and are bright so it should be easy to see.
• August 13 - Venus and Saturn - Less than one degree apart in the constellation Leo. Venus will be the brighter of the two.
• August 14 (watch from 10-16th)- Venus, Mercury, and Saturn - Just after sunset a triple conjunction! The three planets will be less than three degrees apart in the constellation Leo and almost in a line. Venus will be the highest and brightest Saturn the middle object and Mercury will be the lowest of the three but surprisingly brighter than Saturn. If you want to make this even more interesting look for Mars 16 degrees to the SW the trio.
• August 19-21 - Venus and Mercury - The two planets will be about one degree apart for three days. VERY low on the western horizon at sunset.
• September 11 (watch from 5-18)- Venus and Mars - Venus will come right next to the Red Planet, with the two less than one degree apart Mercury lying three and a half degrees away from the pair and shining brighter than Mars. The whole group will set just one hour after sunset.
• December 1 - Venus and Jupiter - All within Sagittarius, the two planets will be two degrees apart and they don't set until three hours after sunset. As a bonus, a 15%-lit moon will lie three degrees away from Venus.
• December 31 - 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.

      NEW MOON   FIRST QUARTER        FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m          d  h  m
       
JAN.   8 11 37   JAN. 15 19 46   JAN.  22 13 35   JAN.  30  5 03
FEB.   7  3 44   FEB. 14  3 33   FEB.  21  3 30   FEB.  29  2 18
MAR.   7 17 14   MAR. 14 10 46   MAR.  21 18 40   MAR.  29 21 47
APR.   6  3 55   APR. 12 18 32   APR.  20 10 25   APR.  28 14 12
MAY    5 12 18   MAY  12  3 47   MAY   20  2 11   MAY   28  2 57
JUNE   3 19 23   JUNE 10 15 04   JUNE  18 17 30   JUNE  26 12 10
JULY   3  2 19   JULY 10  4 35   JULY  18  7 59   JULY  25 18 42
AUG.   1 10 13   AUG.  8 20 20   AUG.  16 21 16   AUG.  23 23 50
AUG.  30 19 58   SEPT. 7 14 04   SEPT. 15  9 13   SEPT. 22  5 04  
SEPT. 29  8 12   OCT.  7  9 04   OCT.  14 20 02   OCT.  21 11 55
OCT.  28 23 14   NOV.  6  4 03   NOV.  13  6 17   NOV.  19 21 31
NOV.  27 16 55   DEC.  5 21 26   DEC.  12 16 37   DEC.  19 10 29
DEC.  27 12 22       

Eclipses for 2008

August 1 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): On Friday, 2008 August 01, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe and Asia. Special website with extra information and links to live eclipse webcasts can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website for the August 1st Eclipse

February 20th - Total Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): The first lunar eclipse of 2008 is perfectly placed for observers throughout most of the Americas as well as western Europe. The eclipse occurs at the Moon's descending node, midway between perigee and apogee. During the eclipse, Saturn lies about 3Â northeast of the Moon and shines brightly (mv = +0.2) because it is near opposition. Special website with live broadcast can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website

August 16 - Partial Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2008 is a partial lunar eclipse at the Moon's ascending node in Capricornus. It is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere as well as eastern South America

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

Meteor Showers for 2008

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2008" RASC

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map
Southern hemisphere sky map
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

James Barclay's site
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site
Southern Sky Watch.

Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune for Sept 08 (click for a larger image)

The Venus, Mars, Mecury Trio for lower latitudes, Sept 08 (click for a larger image)

Planets for September 2008

Southern and Equatorial viewers will have a splendid view of the Venus, Mars, Mercury trio-triangle early in the month in Virgo SW of Porrima (Virgo's southern shoulder). Best view of Mercury for the entire year. Those above 30 deg North will struggle to pick out Venus and Mercury in the bright twilight evening sky.

• Mercury- In Virgo. Best viewed by those in the South until mid-month. By early October Mercury will be in inferior conjunction and returning to the morning sky. 0.0 mag (1st) to 0.5 mag (21st)
• Venus- In Virgo. The brightest member of the Venus, Mars, and Mercury trio look for outstanding conjunctions on the 11th and 12 as the goddess of love pairs up with the god of war. Best for viewers south of 30 deg North -3.8 mag (1st) to -3.8 mag (21st)
• Mars- In Virgo. In addition to the groupings and conjunctions listed above, from the 15th-20th Spica joins the group for a lovely traveling quartet 1.7 (1st) to 1.7 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- In Sagittarius. Starts the month in retrograde (westward) motion becoming stationary on the 8th and returns to proper motion. The best planet show for the northern hemisphere -2.5 mag (1st) to -2.4 mag (21st)
  
• Saturn- In Leo. Starts the month in conjunction with the Sun but by month's end early rising viewers will find it rising in the East about two hours before the Sun. Look for Regulus and find Saturn just under 15 deg East. After about 4 months without Saturn make sure you look at the rings and see how much they have 'closed' or moved parallel to our perspective. On the 26th look for a sliver of a waning crescent Moon near Regulus. 0.8 mag (1st) to 0.9 mag (21st)
  
• Uranus-In Aquarius all year. Use the finder charts above to help you find Uranus, it is only a little smaller, optically, than Mars looks now. 5.7 mag (1st) to 5.7 mag (21st)
• Neptune-In Capricorn 7.8 mag (1st) to 7.8 mag (21st)
  Finder Charts for Neptune and Uranus -Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere

Key Dates for September 2008

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 9 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 9 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 - September 2008

Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com, Astronomical Calendar 2008, CalSky.

*The time when the Sun reaches the point along the ecliptic where it crosses into the southern celestial hemisphere marking the start of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and Spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

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

Comets for September 2008

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"
Mathew Ebel- "Trees" and "Drive Away"

Earth's major motions for 2008

Planet Positions for 2008

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2008

• January (first two week) - Mars, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran - Mars will be moving westward into this red triangle, pausing at the end of the month and then returning to regular Eastward motion at the beginning of February.
• February 1 (start watching in early January) - Jupiter and Venus - Start this early in January with Jupiter just off the horizon and watch as they creep closer and closer. On the 1st of Feb early in the morning, about one hour before sunrise in the east, Jupiter and Venus are less than one degree apart in the constellation Sagittarius. They will be outstanding and you could imagine all sorts of symbolism that could be associated with this conjunction.
• February 27 - Mercury and Venus - Rising just one hour before the Sun in the East in the constellation Capricornus. Venus and Mercury will be just over one degree apart and then Venus will speed off, with Mercury in hot pursuit.
• March 24 - Mercury and Venus...again - Mercury catches up to Venus again, this time less than one degree apart and in the constellation Aquarius. They will also be rising above the horizon only a half hour before the sun, so seeing them will be quite a challenge.
• July 10 - Mars and Saturn - In the constellation Leo yellowish-white Saturn and reddish Mars will be less than one degree from each other. The pair is still up two hours after sunset and are bright so it should be easy to see.
• August 13 - Venus and Saturn - Less than one degree apart in the constellation Leo. Venus will be the brighter of the two.
• August 14 (watch from 10-16th)- Venus, Mercury, and Saturn - Just after sunset a triple conjunction! The three planets will be less than three degrees apart in the constellation Leo and almost in a line. Venus will be the highest and brightest Saturn the middle object and Mercury will be the lowest of the three but surprisingly brighter than Saturn. If you want to make this even more interesting look for Mars 16 degrees to the SW the trio.
• August 19-21 - Venus and Mercury - The two planets will be about one degree apart for three days. VERY low on the western horizon at sunset.
• September 11 (watch from 5-18)- Venus and Mars - Venus will come right next to the Red Planet, with the two less than one degree apart Mercury lying three and a half degrees away from the pair and shining brighter than Mars. The whole group will set just one hour after sunset.
• December 1 - Venus and Jupiter - All within Sagittarius, the two planets will be two degrees apart and they don't set until three hours after sunset. As a bonus, a 15%-lit moon will lie three degrees away from Venus.
• December 31 - 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.

      NEW MOON   FIRST QUARTER        FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m          d  h  m
       
JAN.   8 11 37   JAN. 15 19 46   JAN.  22 13 35   JAN.  30  5 03
FEB.   7  3 44   FEB. 14  3 33   FEB.  21  3 30   FEB.  29  2 18
MAR.   7 17 14   MAR. 14 10 46   MAR.  21 18 40   MAR.  29 21 47
APR.   6  3 55   APR. 12 18 32   APR.  20 10 25   APR.  28 14 12
MAY    5 12 18   MAY  12  3 47   MAY   20  2 11   MAY   28  2 57
JUNE   3 19 23   JUNE 10 15 04   JUNE  18 17 30   JUNE  26 12 10
JULY   3  2 19   JULY 10  4 35   JULY  18  7 59   JULY  25 18 42
AUG.   1 10 13   AUG.  8 20 20   AUG.  16 21 16   AUG.  23 23 50
AUG.  30 19 58   SEPT. 7 14 04   SEPT. 15  9 13   SEPT. 22  5 04  
SEPT. 29  8 12   OCT.  7  9 04   OCT.  14 20 02   OCT.  21 11 55
OCT.  28 23 14   NOV.  6  4 03   NOV.  13  6 17   NOV.  19 21 31
NOV.  27 16 55   DEC.  5 21 26   DEC.  12 16 37   DEC.  19 10 29
DEC.  27 12 22       

Eclipses for 2008

August 1 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): On Friday, 2008 August 01, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe and Asia. Special website with extra information and links to live eclipse webcasts can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website for the August 1st Eclipse

February 20th - Total Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): The first lunar eclipse of 2008 is perfectly placed for observers throughout most of the Americas as well as western Europe. The eclipse occurs at the Moon's descending node, midway between perigee and apogee. During the eclipse, Saturn lies about 3Â northeast of the Moon and shines brightly (mv = +0.2) because it is near opposition. Special website with live broadcast can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website

August 16 - Partial Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2008 is a partial lunar eclipse at the Moon's ascending node in Capricornus. It is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere as well as eastern South America

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

Meteor Showers for 2008

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2008" RASC

Astronomical Online Glossary

Download this month's sky map!

Northern hemisphere sky map
Southern hemisphere sky map
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis

Southern Hemisphere Additional Information

James Barclay's site
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site
Southern Sky Watch.

Planets for March 2008

• Mercury- reaches greatest elongation west on the 3rd. For southern observers Mercury is at it best morning apparition until mid-March. Mercury is visible all month brightening as it creeps back towards the Sun. Mercury will be close to Venus for most of the month making it much easier to find than usual. They are in close conjunction on the 23rd 0.1 mag (1st) to -0.1 mag (21st)
• Venus- in Capricorn is still preceding the Sun but Venus begins to fade as it creeps into glow of the Sun. Paired up with Mercury for most of the month those close to the equator will have a nice view of the pair. -3.8 mag (1st) to -3.8 mag (21st)
• Mars- Crosses over into Gemini this month and continues to shrink from 9" to 7", too small to show much detail in the average backyard telescope. Mars will be close to M35 on the 10th and it is appropriate that Mars is visible all night in the month which bears its name. Mars also shows a gibbous globe for the next two months. 0.2 (1st) to 0.6 mag (21st)
  
• Jupiter- For Southern observers will have Jupiter rising after midnight while those in the mid-northern latitudes. On the 30th use the nearly last quarter Moon to try and spot Jupiter, sitting to the Moon's NE, during the day. -2.0 mag (1st) to -2.1 mag (21st)
  
  
• Saturn- having reached opposition in February Saturn spend the month in Leo. The tilt of Saturn's rings increases from 6.7 deg to 9.9 deg in early May before beginning to close again at the end of 2008. 0.2 mag (1st) to 0.3 mag (21st)
  
  
• Uranus-In Aquarius all year 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
• Neptune-In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 8.0 mag (21st)

Key Dates for March 2008

Days and Times in UT: (help with time)
Observations are for 9 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 9 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 2008

	"In like a lion and out like a lamb"
	- Zodiacal Light best seen after evening twilight on the Western horizon through the 7th then again from the 23rd - April 5th
3	- Moon near Jupiter
	- Mercury at greatest elongation, 27 deg west from Sun (morning sky 11UT) Very low in the east-southeast just before sunrise. If using binoculars or telescope please follow "sun-safe" viewing methods and be aware of the sun!
5	- Moon, Mercury, Venus and telescopic Neptune clustered in the morning sky. TRIPLE occultation (although not all visible from all locations) Check the IOTA website for your location. Most central Moon-planet conjunction (appulse) this year. Daytime Moon/Venus occultation visible from North America and Cuba, check the IOTA website
6	- Sun's north pole most inclined away from Earth (7.25 degrees)
7	- Double or Triple shadow transit on Jupiter (15:05 UT Ganymede, 15:18 Callisto(?), 22:38 Io)
9	- For those who follow DST, Saving Time begins - set clocks forward an hour.
	- Mercury 1 deg South of Neptune (2hr UT)
10	- Moon at perigee (closest to Earth 366,298 km- )
	- Mars 1.7 deg North of M35 in Gemini (17h UT)
12	- Moon near the Pleiades
14	- First Quarter Moon (10:46 UT)
15	- Moon near Mars
	- The Ides of March (every month has one)
17	- Moon near Beehive cluster (M44)
19	- Moon near Regulus, Check the IOTA website for occultation information for your area.
	- Moon near Saturn
21	- March or vernal equinox* (5:48 UT)
	- Full Moon (18:40 UT)
23	- Moon near Spica
	- An interesting Easter**
	- Zodiacal Lights visible in Northern latitudes in the west after evening twilight for the next two weeks
24	- Mercury 1 deg from Venus at 14h UT (20Â from Sun, morning sky) mags -0.3 and -3.9. Favors S. Hemisphere skywatchers.
26	- Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth distance 405,092 km-20h UT)
27	- Moon near Antares possible occultation, check the IOTA website for occultation information for your area.
	- Mercury 1.7 deg South of Uranus
29	- Last Quarter Moon (21:47 UT)
30	- Moon near Jupiter
	- Last Sunday in March: in the European Union, change clocks forward 1 hours to 'summer time'

*The time when the Sun reaches the point along the ecliptic where it crosses into the northern celestial hemisphere marking the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.

**Reduced to a one sentence definition, Easter Sunday is calculated as the first Sunday after the first full moon which falls on or after the Vernal(March) Equinox. This year the full moon is ON the Vernal(March) equinox so Easter is the 23rd. (The earliest Easter could ever be is March 22 and the latest April 25)

sunrise and sunset times for your home*
Comparative lengths of day and night


Monthly Messier*

The weekend of the 7-9th of March is a good 'first try' for a Messier Marathon. This is a better for those of you further South and, if we get clouded out then we have the 4-6th of April as a good back up date. The April date will be the better of the two for mid-to higher Northern latitude views but don't pass up on the chance in March if the weather is fair.

If you are looking for a good way to conquer the Virgo Cluster go to show #39. There you will find lots of information on navigating the Virgo Cluster.

This month highlights 10 messier objects, most are within reach of binoculars, and over half can be seen with the naked eye.

• M41 - This cluster is visible as a hazy patch to the naked eye just below Sirius in Canis Major. 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 Astronomical Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada

Comets for March 2008

Gary Kronk's
Skyhound



Historical and Current Events

...Did you know?

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Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance within you"
Mathew Ebel- "Trees" and "Drive Away"






Astronomical Highlights for 2008

Earth's major motions for 2008




Perihelion		Jan 3 00h(UT)
First Cross Quarter Day		Feb 2-6
Equinox		Mar 20 05:48(UT)
Second Cross Quarter Day		May 4-7
Solstice		June 20 23:59(UT)
Aphelion		July 4 08h (UT)
Third Cross Quarter Day		Aug 5-8
Equinox		Sept 22 15:44(UT)
Fourth Cross Quarter Day		Nov 5-8
Solstice		Dec 21 12:04(UT)

Planet Positions for 2008




2008

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Venus

Sgr

Cap

Aqr

Psc

Tau

Gem

Cnc

Vir

Vir

Sco

Sgr

Cap

Mars

Tau

Tau

Gem

Gem

Cnc

Leo

Leo

Vir

Vir

Vir

Sco

Oph

Jupiter

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Sgr

Saturn

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Leo

Interesting Planet Pairing for 2008

• January (first two week) - Mars, Betelgeuse and Aldebaran - Mars will be moving westward into this red triangle, pausing at the end of the month and then returning to regular Eastward motion at the beginning of February.
• February 1 (start watching in early January) - Jupiter and Venus - Start this early in January with Jupiter just off the horizon and watch as they creep closer and closer. On the 1st of Feb early in the morning, about one hour before sunrise in the east, Jupiter and Venus are less than one degree apart in the constellation Sagittarius. They will be outstanding and you could imagine all sorts of symbolism that could be associated with this conjunction.
• February 27 - Mercury and Venus - Rising just one hour before the Sun in the East in the constellation Capricornus. Venus and Mercury will be just over one degree apart and then Venus will speed off, with Mercury in hot pursuit.
• March 24 - Mercury and Venus...again - Mercury catches up to Venus again, this time less than one degree apart and in the constellation Aquarius. They will also be rising above the horizon only a half hour before the sun, so seeing them will be quite a challenge.
• July 10 - Mars and Saturn - In the constellation Leo yellowish-white Saturn and reddish Mars will be less than one degree from each other. The pair is still up two hours after sunset and are bright so it should be easy to see.
• August 13 - Venus and Saturn - Less than one degree apart in the constellation Leo. Venus will be the brighter of the two.
• August 14 (watch from 10-16th)- Venus, Mercury, and Saturn - Just after sunset a triple conjunction! The three planets will be less than three degrees apart in the constellation Leo and almost in a line. Venus will be the highest and brightest Saturn the middle object and Mercury will be the lowest of the three but surprisingly brighter than Saturn. If you want to make this even more interesting look for Mars 16 degrees to the SW the trio.
• August 19-21 - Venus and Mercury - The two planets will be about one degree apart for three days. VERY low on the western horizon at sunset.
• September 11 (watch from 5-18)- Venus and Mars - Venus will come right next to the Red Planet, with the two less than one degree apart Mercury lying three and a half degrees away from the pair and shining brighter than Mars. The whole group will set just one hour after sunset.
• December 1 - Venus and Jupiter - All within Sagittarius, the two planets will be two degrees apart and they don't set until three hours after sunset. As a bonus, a 15%-lit moon will lie three degrees away from Venus.
• December 31 - 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.

2008 Phases of the Moon








      NEW MOON   FIRST QUARTER        FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m         d  h  m          d  h  m          d  h  m
       
JAN.   8 11 37   JAN. 15 19 46   JAN.  22 13 35   JAN.  30  5 03
FEB.   7  3 44   FEB. 14  3 33   FEB.  21  3 30   FEB.  29  2 18
MAR.   7 17 14   MAR. 14 10 46   MAR.  21 18 40   MAR.  29 21 47
APR.   6  3 55   APR. 12 18 32   APR.  20 10 25   APR.  28 14 12
MAY    5 12 18   MAY  12  3 47   MAY   20  2 11   MAY   28  2 57
JUNE   3 19 23   JUNE 10 15 04   JUNE  18 17 30   JUNE  26 12 10
JULY   3  2 19   JULY 10  4 35   JULY  18  7 59   JULY  25 18 42
AUG.   1 10 13   AUG.  8 20 20   AUG.  16 21 16   AUG.  23 23 50
AUG.  30 19 58   SEPT. 7 14 04   SEPT. 15  9 13   SEPT. 22  5 04  
SEPT. 29  8 12   OCT.  7  9 04   OCT.  14 20 02   OCT.  21 11 55
OCT.  28 23 14   NOV.  6  4 03   NOV.  13  6 17   NOV.  19 21 31
NOV.  27 16 55   DEC.  5 21 26   DEC.  12 16 37   DEC.  19 10 29
DEC.  27 12 22       

Eclipses for 2008

2008 February 07 [ Solar: Annular ]

2008 February 21 [ Lunar: Total ]

2008 August 01 [ Solar: Total ]

2008 August 16 [ Lunar: Partial ]

February 07see map, timesanimation

August 1 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map, times, and animation!): On Friday, 2008 August 01, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe and Asia. Special website with extra information and links to live eclipse webcasts can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website for the August 1st Eclipse

February 20th - Total Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times.): The first lunar eclipse of 2008 is perfectly placed for observers throughout most of the Americas as well as western Europe. The eclipse occurs at the Moon's descending node, midway between perigee and apogee. During the eclipse, Saturn lies about 3Â northeast of the Moon and shines brightly (mv = +0.2) because it is near opposition. Special website with live broadcast can be found at the NASA Eclipse Website

August 16 - Partial Lunar Eclipse ( see map, times): The last eclipse of 2008 is a partial lunar eclipse at the Moon's ascending node in Capricornus. It is visible primarily from the Eastern Hemisphere as well as eastern South America

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

Meteor Showers for 2008

All times are UT

Name	Date of Peak Time in UT (help with time)	Moon Phase
Quadrantids	January 4, 7h	Waning Crescent
Lyrids	April 22, 4h	almost Full
Eta Aquarids	May 5, 18h	New Moon
Perseids	August 12, 11h	Waxing Gibbous
Orionids	October 21, 4h	Last Quarter
Leonids	November 17, 10h	Waning Gibbous
Geminids	December 13, 23h	Full Moon

Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2008" RASC