Weirdness in the pod-o-sphere!

Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night!

Happy Equinox Everyone!

Well the Show #29 seems to have been corrupted. Some folks are getting the gerbil talk, some folks are getting puddles of static and a few are getting the file just fine.

I guess we are all in mourning over Slacker Astronomy. Sigh.

So! Since I am in transit to the N.W.R.A.L. Youth Starparty I am sending you all a quick note just to let you know that I will fix the podcast when I get home!

But this is a great dark weekend and I don't want you waiting for me!! So I have a gift for you. Here is the Scavenger Hunt I put together for the kids at the starparty!

Yes, most of them are Messier objects!
Yes, there is a lot of silliness!
Yes, we have to force pre-teens to get to know each other! (sigh)
Yes there is some staying up late involved! (because that is when the sugar kicks in!)
But since when do we all have to be so serious!!

If you haven't visited the Celestial Wonders site you should. That is where AAGG goes for our lunar images!. Here is a 4 day old moon.

Planets

Evening Planets

• Mars - Mag +1.8 is at the western end of Virgo. Into the glare!
• Mercury - Mag -1.7 and only visible by the truly persistant near the equator and in the Southern Hemisphere. Mark your calendars for inferior conjunction and visible transit on Nov. 8th
• Jupiter - Mag -1.7 in Libra. Clearly visible high in the sky just after sunset. Any telescope can reveal its two widest cloud bands and four Galilean satellites. Listener Kevin recommended a piece of free software that I now have on all my computers Jupiter 2 (Thanks Kevin!).
• Uranus - Mag +5.7 in Aquarius Uranus is best seen in a dark moonless sky away from artificial lighting. It may be seen looking like a very faint star to the dark-adapted naked eye that shimmers in and out of visibility just over 1/2 degree east of Lambda Aquarii. Find the tipped over letter Y of Aquarius, go 4 thumbwidths southeast to find Lambda, and then look pinky nail east.
• Neptune - Mag +7.8 in Capricorn 1.5 degree north of the +4.3 magnitude star Iota Capricorni

Morning Planets

• Venus - Mag -3.8 from the high northern latitudes she is lost in the glare of the sun. We will see her again in late Nov (SH) or Dec (NH).
• Saturn - Mag +0.5 on the western edge of Leo! Naked eye in the morning before sunrise and climbing higher all the time.

Shall we be sassy? Dwarf Planets..er...Minor Planets...er...Icy Dwarfs....er...um...hmmmm

• Pluto Mag +13.9 in Serpens Cauda
• 1 Ceres +7.9 mag in Piscis Austeralis 18.5 degrees West of Formalhaut
• UB313 mag +19 in central Cetus

Comets

Comets for the Month.

Check out the Sky Hound site.

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin"
-- Shakespeare

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