Astronomy a Go Go! 2009 Preview
Earth's major motions for 2009
| Perihelion |
|
Jan 4 15(UT) |
| First Cross Quarter Day |
|
Feb 2-6 |
| Equinox |
|
Mar 20 11:44(UT) |
| Second Cross Quarter Day |
|
May 4-7 |
| Solstice |
|
June 21 05:45(UT) |
| Aphelion |
|
July 4 02h (UT) |
| Third Cross Quarter Day |
|
Aug 5-8 |
| Equinox |
|
Sept 22 21:18(UT) |
| Fourth Cross Quarter Day |
|
Nov 5-8 |
| Solstice |
|
Dec 21 17:47(UT) |
Planet Positions for 2009
| 2009 |
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 |
Sgr |
Cap |
Aqr |
Psc |
Psc |
Ari |
Tau |
Tau |
Gem |
Cnc |
Cnc |
Leo |
| Jupiter |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
| Saturn |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Vir |
Vir |
Vir |
Vir |
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
January 26 - Annular Solar Eclipse (
see map, times, and
animation!): The first solar eclipse of 2009 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in western Capricornus. An annular eclipse will be visible from a wide track that traverses the Indian Ocean and western Indonesia. A partial eclipse will be seen within the much larger path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes the southern third of Africa, Madagascar, Australia except Tasmania, southeast India, Southeast Asia and Indonesia.
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)
| Shower | Activity Period | Maximum | Radiant | Velocity | r | ZHR | Class | Moon |
| | | Date | S. L. | R.A. | Dec. | km/s | | | | |
| Antihelion Source (ANT) |
Dec 14-Sep 07 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
30 |
3.0 |
3 |
II |
- |
| Quadrantids (QUA) |
Dec 26-Jan 13 |
Jan 03 |
283°16 |
15:20 |
+49° |
42 |
2.1 |
120 |
I |
6 |
| Alpha Centaurids (ACE) |
Jan 28-Feb 21 |
Feb 07 |
319°2 |
14:00 |
-59° |
56 |
2.0 |
5 |
II |
12 |
| Delta Leonids (DLE) |
Feb 15-Mar 10 |
Feb 25 |
336° |
11:12 |
+16° |
23 |
3.0 |
2 |
II |
0 |
| Gamma Normids (GNO) |
Feb 25-Mar 22 |
Mar 13 |
353° |
16:36 |
-51° |
56 |
2.4 |
4 |
II |
16 |
| Lyrids (LYR) |
Apr 16-Apr 27 |
Apr 23 |
033° |
18:12 |
+33° |
46 |
2.1 |
18 |
I |
27 |
| Pi Puppids (PPU) |
Apr 15-Apr 28 |
Apr 23 |
033°5 |
07:20 |
-45° |
18 |
2.0 |
var |
III |
27 |
| Eta Aquarids (ETA) |
Apr 27-May 23 |
May 07 |
047° |
22:36 |
-01° |
68 |
2.4 |
60 |
I |
12 |
| Eta Lyrids (ELY) |
May 06-May 14 |
May 10 |
050° |
19:22 |
+43° |
43 |
3.0 |
3 |
II |
15 |
| June Bootids (JBO) |
Jun 22-Jul 02 |
Jun 27 |
095°7 |
14:56 |
+48° |
18 |
2.2 |
var |
III |
5 |
| Piscis Austrinids (PAU) |
Jul 15-Aug 10 |
Jul 28 |
125° |
22:44 |
-30° |
35 |
3.2 |
5 |
II |
7 |
| Alpha Capricornids (CAP) |
Jul 12-Aug 08 |
Jul 28 |
125° |
20:20 |
-10° |
24 |
2.5 |
4 |
II |
7 |
| Delta Aquarids (SDA) |
Jul 21-Aug 30 |
Jul 30 |
127° |
22:42 |
-17° |
43 |
3.2 |
20 |
I |
9 |
| Perseids (PER) |
Jul 13-Aug 26 |
Aug 12 |
140° |
03:12 |
+58° |
59 |
2.6 |
100 |
I |
20 |
| Kappa Cygnids (KCG) |
Aug 03-Aug 25 |
Aug 17 |
145° |
19:04 |
+59° |
25 |
3.0 |
3 |
II |
25 |
| Alpha Aurigids (AUR) |
Aug 28-Sep 03 |
Sep 01 |
158°6 |
06:06 |
+39° |
65 |
2.6 |
7 |
II |
11 |
| September Perseids (SPR) |
Sep 06-Sep 13 |
Sep 10 |
168° |
03:12 |
+40° |
65 |
2.9 |
5 |
II |
19 |
| Delta Aurigids (DAU) |
Sep 18-Oct 10 |
Sep 29 |
186° |
05:52 |
+49° |
64 |
2.9 |
2 |
II |
13 |
| Draconids (GIA) |
Oct 06-Oct 10 |
Oct 08 |
195°4 |
17:28 |
+54° |
20 |
2.6 |
var |
III |
18 |
| Southern Taurids (STA) |
Sep 18-Nov 26 |
Oct 11 |
198° |
02:18 |
+09° |
29 |
2.3 |
5 |
II |
21 |
| Epsilon Geminids (EGE) |
Oct 18-Oct 21 |
Oct 20 |
207° |
06:48 |
+28° |
71 |
3.0 |
2 |
II |
2 |
| Orionids (ORI) |
Sep 28-Nov 10 |
Oct 21 |
208° |
06:22 |
+16° |
68 |
2.5 |
23 |
I |
3 |
| Leo Minorids (LMI) |
Oct 17-Oct 27 |
Oct 23 |
209° |
10:40 |
+37° |
61 |
2.7 |
2 |
II |
4 |
| Northern Taurids (NTA) |
Oct 20-Nov 29 |
Nov 13 |
231° |
03:52 |
+22° |
29 |
2.3 |
5 |
II |
25 |
| Leonids (LEO) |
Nov 07-Nov 28 |
Nov 18 |
236° |
10:16 |
+22° |
71 |
2.5 |
var |
III |
1 |
| Alpha Monocerotids (AMO) |
Nov 15-Nov 25 |
Nov 21 |
239°32 |
07:48 |
+01° |
65 |
2.4 |
var |
III |
4 |
| Dec Phoenicids (PHO) |
Nov 28-Dec 09 |
Dec 06 |
254°25 |
01:12 |
-53° |
18 |
2.8 |
var |
III |
18 |
| Puppid/Velids (PUP) |
Dec 01-Dec 15 |
Dec 07 |
255° |
08:12 |
-45° |
40 |
2.9 |
10 |
I |
19 |
| Monocerotids (MON) |
Dec 06-Dec 20 |
Dec 07 |
255° |
06:32 |
+09° |
41 |
3.0 |
2 |
II |
10 |
| Sigma Hydrids (HYD) |
Nov 22-Dec 23 |
Dec 09 |
257° |
08:24 |
+03° |
60 |
3.0 |
3 |
II |
21 |
| Geminids (GEM) |
Dec 05-Dec 19 |
Dec 14 |
262°2 |
07:36 |
+32° |
35 |
2.6 |
120 |
I |
26 |
| Coma Berenicids (COM) |
Dec 10-Jan 25 |
Dec 19 |
268° |
11:40 |
+25° |
64 |
3.0 |
5 |
II |
3 |
| Ursids (URS) |
Dec 16-Dec 25 |
Dec 22 |
270°7 |
14:34 |
+75° |
32 |
3.0 |
10 |
I |
5 |
Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.
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
