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[...] now, you�ve no doubt been thrilled by last week�s dramatic passage of Venus and Saturn in the dawn sky. Well, as the old Late-night TV ad clich� says, �But wait, there�s [...]
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Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.
Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New.� A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.
The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.
Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.
Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.
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Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.
A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth�s shadow is apparent in the image.
Astro-Events: A Close Conjunction and a Penumbral Eclipse.
Looking east Nov 27 two hours before sunrise.
(Created by the author in Starry Night).
This week sees the second eclipse of the November eclipse season and the spectacular return of the ringed planet to dawn skies.
First up is the penumbral eclipse of the Moon on November 28th. A Penumbral eclipse occurs when the Full Moon misses the dark inner umbra and instead passes through the indistinct, bright outer penumbra of the Earth�s shadow. You may not even notice the subtle shading of the Moon unless you�re looking for it.
So, why bother? Well as we�ve written about previous, it�s a fun and easy experiment to take �before,� �during,� & �after� photos of the Moon during a penumbral eclipse. You can see the difference in side by side photos! We always thought that perhaps a penumbral would be an excellent chance to test the ability to observe subtle changes in the Moon�s color spectroscopically as a calibration for exoplanet analysis.
This eclipse will be visible in its entirety from Australia and the Asian Far East; western North America will see the eclipse at moonset, while eastern Africa, the Middle East and Europe will catch the eclipse at moonrise. South America and the eastern U.S. will miss out on the eclipse. Contact times are as follows;
P1: First contact = 12:15 UTC;
Mid-Eclipse = 14:34 UTC (The Full Moon is 92% inside the penumbra)
P4: Last contact = 16:51 UTC.
The entire duration of the eclipse 4 hours 36 minutes and 5 seconds. For umbraphiles, this eclipse is part of saros series 145, member 11 of 71. This saros began on August 11th, 1832 and will finally start producing total lunar eclipses on June 14th, 2337 AD. Mark your calendars for the final eclipse of saros 145 on July 12th, 2986 AD.
No one to our knowledge is live streaming this week�s penumbral, but hey, if you are, let us know and we�ll link to your feed!
And the most common lunar eclipse question we get is; when is the next total? That�s not �til Tax Day in the U.S. on April 15th, 2014 (there are no total lunar eclipses in 2013!) which is visible from the Americas!
This Full Moon is also the farthest and hence the visually smallest Full Moon of 2013 at an apogee of 406,364 km distant just 4 hours after Full. This Full Moon also reaches a declination (the most northerly for this lunation) of +21.0� 24 hours after Full. Other names for the November Full Moon are the Full Beaver, Frost, or Snow Moon.
And don�t miss the AM action as Venus approaches Saturn in the dawn sky. On the morning of November 27th, Venus will pass within 40� arc minutes of Saturn, the closest naked eye conjunction of two planets for 2012. Venus shines at a brilliant -3.9 magnitude, while nearby Saturn is just visible at magnitude +0.7, about 50 times fainter. Both rise about 2 hours before local sunrise for mid-northern latitudes. Don�t miss this fine dawn pairing!
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