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[...] to watch with binoculars- check out our best prospects for asteroid occultations of stars in 2013 here and [...]
The Sky is Waiting.
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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.
Addendum: Further Asteroid Occultation Highlights for 2013.
The January 26th path of the 106 Dione
occultation over the US SE.
(Created by the author using Google Earth).
You asked, and we answered. No sooner than our �Astronomy Top 100� hit the cyber-doorstep than we received �what about event X?� from several astute readers and lovers of the cosmos.� We love the feedback. That what makes this site tick and makes every year�s list of must-see events ever more weird and wonderful, just like the cosmos itself.
Of special interest to many were asteroid occultations; our best-of list was lovingly distilled down with a few exceptions from the Best Asteroid Occultations of 2013. To make the cut, said events had to 1). Possess a rank of 99% (the chance you would see the occultation from the�center-line), 2). Be reasonably visible under dark skies from a location worldwide, and 3). Occult a star of +9th magnitude or brighter.
Well, it turns out that several �second string� events still deserve honorable mention worldwide, enough to warrant this errata sheet of the strange and curious.� What follows is a compendium of events that �didn�t make the cut� for our best of 2013 but are still interesting in their own right nonetheless. Each is linked in to more info for the serious observer ala Steve Preston�s outstanding occultation website; we�ll also give the �box score� for centerline probabilities as well. Note that the 106 Dione event is coming right up this weekend, part of the reason that we wanted to get this list out pronto, to YOU, the worldwide astronomical observing public.
Now, down to astro-business. The following additional events are of interest to the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) in 2013;
January 26th: 106 Dione occults a +10.2 magnitude star from 11:26-11:34UT for observers across the central US. (Rank=74)(see above diagram).
February 11th: 451 Patientia occults a +10.7 magnitude star from 6:35-7:02UT for observers across the US southwest. (Rank=99).
July 26th: 387 Aquitania occults a +9.8 magnitude star from 7:11-7:33UT for observers across the central US and Mexico. (Rank=99)
October 21st: 617 Patroclus occults a +9.6 magnitude star from 6:38-6:50UT for observers across the central US. (Rank=59)
November 26th: 134 Sophrosyne occults a +11.6 magnitude star from 10:05-10:28UT for observers across the US southwest. (Rank=99)
December 28th: 141 Lumen occults a +10.6 magnitude star from 13:13-13:36UT for the US west coast. (Rank=99)
The IOTA always welcomes data from observers of these events. If enough data is gathered, a �shadow outline� of the profile of each asteroid can be built, with each observation serving as a cord in the plot.
Also, a few other events of interest made their way to us via Guy Ottewell�s outstanding 2013 Almanac; note that while many of these include significantly brighter stars, they also have much lower ranks, which means a much higher uncertainty concerning their path;
August 6th: 302 Clarissa occults a +6.6 magnitude star for observers in Australia. (Rank=82).
September 4th: 10386 Romulus occults the +2 magnitude star Beta Ceti for observers in Southeast Asia. (Rank=10) Note that *IF* this naked eye event can be captured, it would be the brightest star to be occulted by an asteroid in 2013.
September 8th: 1465 Autonoma occults a +3.6 magnitude star for observers across Hawaii. (Rank=19)
October 11th: 2085 Henan occults a +4.4 magnitude star for observers across the southern US. (Rank=39)
December 20th: 4455 Ruriko occults a +3.8 magnitude star for observers across western Canada. (Rank=29)
December 26: 733 Mocia occults a +7.2 magnitude star for observers across North America.� (Rank=97)
Be sure to get out and watch for these events if you live on or near the predicted paths; also, it�s worth checking back on these links a few days prior as event paths can shift as predictions are refined. Occult 4.1.0 is also a great tool in helping to find an occultation path near you. And to think, only a handful of these events had been observed a few decades ago! As always, let us know of any tales triumph and tragedy as you chase down those asteroid shadows; its input from you, the reader, which fuels this grass-roots enterprise known as astronomy worldwide!
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