Solar system objects

Who saw the moon last night

maryccc — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:54:38 GMT

I haven't seen the moon in such a long time and saw it last night and it was so beautiful. The sun was setting and I saw the crescent against the purple sky. I wished I had my camera because where I was at it was so close but I rushed home and tried to take a few pictures but they didn't turn out at all.

Does anyone know the best settings to take a picture of the moon with just the camera and no telescope and where it won't look like a bright light?

Europa Annularly Transits Ganymede - Nov 23

Centaur — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:05:20 GMT

I predict that Jupiter’s Galilean satellite Europa will appear in annular transit across Ganymede during the evening of 2009 NOV 23. This event will be visible from western North America, but not in the east where Jupiter will already have set. I’ve created two diagrams. The first is a view from above Jupiter’s north pole, and the second is a view from Earth. They can be seen by clicking: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical . Below is my timetable.

Europa Annularly Transits Ganymede
2009 NOV 23 PST (UT-8)

20:39:30 PST Partial Transit Begins
20:41:50 PST Annular Transit Begins
20:42:37 PST Minimum Separation between Satellite Centers
20:43:25 PST Annular Transit Ends
20:45:46 PST Partial Transit Ends

Photos, descriptions and timings of this event would be welcome additions to this thread.

Did I see the light from Utah Fireball in California?

superstarr — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:03:26 GMT

I was in the Mojave Desert (about 2 hours NorthEast of Los Angeles) watching the Leonoids when around midnight the sky lit up! I was with about 50 people and we were all watching the sky when it happened. We all saw the sky light up to a near daytime blue, no one saw a fireball or heard a noise. The videos from Utah look like what we saw, could we be seeing the light from a thousand miles away?

Leonids

maryccc — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:04:33 GMT

Are these going to be visible tonight?

Utah Fireball

zachsdad — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:31:42 GMT

Lots of news today on Spaceweather.com about a fireball which exploded over Utah last night;

http://spaceweather.com/

Did any forum members get a chance to see it?

Europa Annularly Transits Io - Nov 19

Centaur — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:48:17 GMT

I predict that Jupiter’s Galilean satellite Europa will appear in annular transit across Io during the evening of 2009 NOV 19. I’ve created two diagrams. The first is a view from above Jupiter’s north pole, and the second is a view from Earth. They can be seen by clicking: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical . Below is my timetable.

Europa Annularly Transits Io
2009 NOV 19 CST (UT-6)

22:19:15 CST Partial Transit Begins
22:21:04 CST Annular Transit Begins
22:21:12 CST Minimum Separation between Satellite Centers
22:21:21 CST Annular Transit Ends
22:23:11 CST Partial Transit Ends

Photos, descriptions and timings of this event would be welcome additions to this thread.

ISS

maryccc — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:07:38 GMT

I have wanted to see the ISS for such a long time and this site said I can see it next week but can you help me understand where to look?

It says this

Approach 10 degrees above N

departure 14 degrees above NE

So should I be looking towards the north star?

November New Moon Spotting

Centaur — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:19:31 GMT

Who will be the first to spot the November New Moon with naked eyes after sunset? The Dark Moon will be in geocentric longitudinal conjunction with the Sun on 2009 NOV 16 at 19:14 UT (13:14 CST).

We’re still in the period surrounding the autumnal equinox in which really young Moon spotting is quite a challenge for northern hemisphere observers. The first opportunity for those of us in the north could come during the early evening of November 17, although that may not be realistic. Many will have to wait until at least November 18.

I’ve created two graphics previewing the southwestern sky from Chicagoland shortly after sunset on November 17 & 18, although they should well serve most North American observers. They can be seen by clicking: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical

Photos and descriptions of the November New Moon would be welcome additions to this thread. Please include the date, time, time zone and location. Good Luck!

Below is a photo I took from Arlington Heights, Illinois of the Moon aged 1.5 days beneath Mercury and Venus on 2008 DEC 28.

Did anyone see the Moon impact today?

raleigh_star_gazer — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:48:32 GMT

I was set up for it( they said could see it with a 10 inch telescope), but clouds came in and couldn't see it at 7:31am( was surpised moon still bright here at that time)

Did anyone see it?

A NASA probe headed toward the moon for a deliberate crash Friday morning has separated into two parts, as planned.

What's supposed to happen: A 2.2-ton empty rocket stage will crash into the moon at twice the speed of a bullet, equal to the power of 1.5 tons of TNT. That will be followed four minutes later with a smaller hit.

if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']) document.write('

');if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']){ document.write(plpm['Mid-Story Ad']);} else { if(self['plurp'] && plurp['97']){} else {document.write(''); } }if (self['plpm'] && plpm['Mid-Story Ad']) document.write('

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The purpose of all of this is to try to kick up some ice. It will be the 20th lunar crash, most of them done on purpose, since the Russians first did it 50 years ago last month.

The impact is expected to happen at about 7:30 a.m. EDT.

For those fearing that the crashes could cause the moon to shift its orbit or send huge chunks back to Earth, agency scientists have some words of comfort.

They say such crashes have no more effect on the moon than an eyelash dropping on a jet. Sure the impact may seem big, but so is the moon.

Europa Annularly Transits Ganymede - Nov 16

Centaur — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:23:59 GMT

I predict that Jupiter’s Galilean satellite Europa will appear in annular transit across Ganymede during the evening of 2009 NOV 16. At the same time Callisto will be in transit across Jupiter. I’ve created two diagrams. The first is a view from above Jupiter’s north pole, and the second is a view from Earth. They can be seen by clicking: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical . Below is my timetable.

Europa Annularly Transits Ganymede
2009 NOV 16 CST (UT-6)

19:19:28 CST Partial Transit Begins
19:21:48 CST Annular Transit Begins
19:22:32 CST Minimum Separation between Satellite Centers
19:23:16 CST Annular Transit Ends
19:25:36 CST Partial Transit Ends

Photos, descriptions and timings of this event would be welcome additions to this thread.

Fireball November 8, 2009 10:20 pm EST

dogwalkin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:37:45 GMT

Sunday night while walkin my dog, I believe I saw a bolide. Did anyone in this forum see it? The bright white-blue fireball lasted between two and three seconds. I saw smaller pieces, orange in color, coming off the tail. Then it was gone. I couldn't believe how large and how low it seemed. So far, no one in my community has reported seeing it. I'm not able to give you any coordinates other than over NC traveling from southeast to north. dogwalkin

Orange Fireball Saturday 7th November 2009 9pm GMT

Bayney — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:31:12 GMT

Hi, I am new to the forum and wanted to share a sighting that I and the other half saw last Saturday. It was a clear sky in the North East of England 54 deg 34 min 11 sec N and 1 deg 21 min 34.7 sec W.

We saw a spherical bright orange object travelling due west to due east give or take 5 degrees. It was travelling at about the same speed as satelites I have seen in the past, taking about two to three minutes to transit. I went out the back of the house for a cigarette (as one does) and saw this thing glowing brightly in the west. My immediate thought was that it was a firework and expected to see it explode with a bang. A couple of seconds later I realised I was seeing something entirely different. I wanted to get a camera but at the same time I didn't want to take my eyes off it. My friend (who has little interest in anything astronomical unless it's part of a handbag design) described it as though it was on fire. It appeared about 1/4 the size of a full moon and was quite spectacular.

So much so that I expected to hear a report of it on the evening news, Nothing! I've seen many Earth satelites and the odd iridium flare but nothing like this before other than on old black and white footage of an Asteroid skimming the atmosphere taken somewhere in the US of A.

It remained bright from the moment I saw it (about an elevation of 30 degrees) until it went overhead and to the East at an elevation of maybe 60 degrees. It then started to dim down until it was out of sight.

I've checked the web and can find no other reports of this thing and no iridium flares forecast for that time.

Has anyone got any ideas? I can't believe that nobody else saw this especially at that time of night with such a clear sky and no wind.

Europa Annularly Transits Io - Nov 12

Centaur — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:10:04 GMT

I predict that Jupiter’s Galilean satellite Europa will appear in annular transit across Io during the evening of 2009 NOV 12. I’ve created two diagrams. The first is a view from above Jupiter’s north pole, and the second is a view from Earth. They can be seen by clicking: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical . Below is my timetable.

Europa Annularly Transits Io

2009 NOV 12 CST (UT-6)

20:03:41 CST Partial Transit Begins

20:05:29 CST Annular Transit Begins

20:05:36 CST Minimum Separation between Satellite Centers

20:05:44 CST Annular Transit Ends

20:07:33 CST Partial Transit Ends

Photos, descriptions and timings of this event would be welcome additions to this thread.

Jovian moon shadow

Nazgul — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:20:03 GMT

I pulled out the Z10 on Wednesday and decided to watch Jupiter since the full moon was putting off a lot of light. Got the new Telrad sighted in and must say that I'm impressed. It really helps find even simple objects like the Moon or Jupiter much easier. I used a 7mm Baader orthoscopic and a 5mm Hyperion to view Jupiter. Both EP's worked very well. However, I decided to use the new Hotech laser to adjust the scope outside and I must say that it made a big difference in the quality of the image that I saw before and after on Jupiter. Right after using it, and only made a slight adjustment, I was able to see the shadow of Io dead smack in the middle of Jupiter. The shadow appeared darker in the orthoscopic EP; however, the 5mm hyperion was performing great and the wider field is nice. That was the first time that I have seen a transit I I watched as Io popped out the other side like a small dimple. It was very cool. I was fighting the wind a little but I was able to see plenty of detail from time to time.

It has been clear here for days and I hope to have my first look at Mars this evening.

Eric

I wondered if the Moon is natural?

Mike Ford — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:28:45 GMT

I read a lot of articles that said the Moon is a hollow celestial. Do you think so? And if you are agree with the articles, how do you prove that?

Interesting article about LCROSS findings

zachsdad — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:33:01 GMT

Sky & Telescope has posted this article on their website about some of the findings from the LCROCC smackacrater project. They are finding some neat stuff.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/home/68841092.html

Mars and the Beehive, 2009/11/2

DaveMitsky — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:55:42 GMT

The weather forecast and the actual conditions differed but I was able to catch a few glimpses of Mars and M44 through sucker holes this morning, using my Orion ST80 achromat and an 8.8mm Meade UWA (45x). I had hoped to take a few photographs but with the sky being mostly cloudy it wasn't worthwhile setting up to do so.

Dave Mitsky

Mars by no-telescope for All Saints’ Day (Halloween)

AndesEbla — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:01:23 GMT

On November 1, 2005, Día de Todos los Santos, I jotted down this in my "observation" log, proving that Astronomy can be both scientific, mathematical and spiritual issue, as it inexorably has been in the last 10,000 years:

I call you my "lucero" (evening star in Spanish), and you know what it means. This week Mars has reached its greatest proximity to the planet Earth -it is half of its normal distance- and you could not believe how resplendent it is. It seems more a reddish balloon than a planet; it appears early at twilight and glitters during the evening like a plane approaching, and then it lingers for long in the middle of the sky in front of the glass wall of my study room (where I practically live!) and it is you giving me sweet companionship, radiating sweetness and loving promises at night. Normally the lucero is Venus but for some time now is being Mars. Due to the difference of time between Karviná and Santiago we cannot see it simultaneously; you are already sleeping but I am sending to you by the lucero my loving waves to watch your sleep and to be in your dreams.

Raúl Hernández Olea - raul hernandez chile - raul hernandez

I'm in prime position to...

Cwarren — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:28:06 GMT

Start observing Mars. My telescope is a Meade MTS-SN6 6" f/5 Schmidt-Newtonian. I have taken a look tonight, and it is a red ball. Nice to see, but I wondered, is there a better view I can get with this telescope? Any one know of anyway to bost the image?

Are the sun spots disappearing ?

peta62 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:14:45 GMT

First hello everybody after years I have not been here due to my personal situation, I hope I am back for long now.

In those years I had much more time for stargazing and "sungazing", I have seen sunspots every time I looked. I do not observe sun so often now, but last time I could see nothing at all. Today again the same situation, I started to worry about my equipment when I finally found one tiny dot. Is there anything going on with the sun that decreases sunspot creation ? ( Some global warming on sun ? )

Thank you,

Peter

jupiter's moons.

Wesessiah — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:39:29 GMT

it's been nearly a year since i've had the telescope out, and i have a friend who just moved into a new house out in a dark rural area... so i decided to pull it out. we saw 5 moons around jupiter with the 26mm plossl (this is with a 10" lx200) and i was curious which the inner smaller moon may have been. with the 26mm it appeared with barely any distance between itself and jupiter but was visible. with higher magnification it was easily discernable. i figured the other four were the galilean moons. i'm rusty and can't recall any of the moons besides io, ganymede, europa and callisto. thanks.

Mars plays hide and seek in the Beehive

Kevin Bozard — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:45:19 GMT

During the night of October 31st, look towards M44 for a Halloween trick, or treat. What is that orange star trying to disguise itself as one of the member stars of the Beehive Cluster?

Mars crosses the Beehive

Asteroid near miss tonight

TeleNoob — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:51:46 GMT

Small asteroid will fly by Earth tonight

A small asteroid will buzz the Earth late Friday EDT, flying just inside the orbit of the moon. It should pass safely by our home planet, according to a crack team of NASA space rock trackers.

The space rock, named 2009 TM8, was just discovered Thursday by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. It will get within 216,000 miles of Earth when it zooms by at a speed of about 18,163 mph.

"That's slightly closer than the orbit of our moon," NASA's Asteroid Watch team said Friday via Twitter.

The time of closest approach will be 11:44 p.m. EDT tonight.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33346941/ns/technology_and_science-space

----------------------

I wonder will it be visible from the ground? The article doesn't say. Mostly cloudy skies here tonight.,. but I might go and take a look.

New Sun Spots

Star Dragon — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:41:25 GMT

HI folks,

Last year I purchased a Thousand Oaks Glass Solar Filter for my C6RGT, Just to find out that there really hasn't been too much sunspot activity.

Today on the SOHO site I see this, http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/mdi_igr/512/

So guess what, Murphy's law has hit me again, were are socked in with heavy rains today!

I just cant win! ARGHHH!

Dennis

Zodiacal Light Over Valparaíso - Chile

AndesEbla — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:24:41 GMT

Zodiacal Light Over Valparaíso - Chile
Credit & Copyright: Manel Soria

NASA picture of the day, October 29, 2009

Explanation: An unusual triangle of light is visible this time of year just before dawn, in the northern hemisphere. Once considered a false dawn, this triangle of light is actually Zodiacal Light, light reflected from interplanetary dust particles. The bright reflecting triangle is clearly visible on the right of the above image taken from Laguna Verde near Valparaíso, Chile in late July. The band of our Milky Way Galaxy on the left mirrors the zodiacal band. Zodiacal dust orbits the Sun predominantly in the same plane as the planets: the ecliptic. Zodiacal light is so bright in the north this time of year because the dust band is oriented nearly vertical at sunrise, so that the thick air near the horizon does not block out relatively bright reflecting dust. Zodiacal light is also bright for people in Earth's northern hemisphere in March and April just after sunset. In the southern hemisphere, zodiacal light is most notable after sunset in late summer, and brightest before sunrise in late spring.

Raúl Hernández Olea - raul hernandez chile - raul hernandez