Our Earth moves in an elliptical orbit around the sun. It may seem strange with our recent cold winter weather, but today our planet reaches its annual minimum distance to the sun — called perihelion. Our distance now is about 91.4 million miles, which about 3 million miles closer, or about 3% closer, than in July. Therefore, the January sun appears a little brighter in our sky than the July sun! Odd.
such is our view from Earth...
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Quadrantid Meteor Shower: 1/04/12 after 2 am
The waxing gibbous moon tonight sits just to the east of bright Jupiter. As they set around 2 a.m., the Quadrantid Meteor Shower takes hold in the northeastern sky. (The center of the radiant is located just south of the tip of the handle of the Big Dipper.)
From a dark location, upwards of 60 meteors per hour might be seen under good conditions. Keep warm and relax in a comfortable chair while watching for these swift streaks of light. Binoculars are not necessary, nor even useful. How many do you count?
...such is the view from our Earth
From a dark location, upwards of 60 meteors per hour might be seen under good conditions. Keep warm and relax in a comfortable chair while watching for these swift streaks of light. Binoculars are not necessary, nor even useful. How many do you count?
...such is the view from our Earth
Monday, March 14, 2011
Mercury joins Jupiter in the evening sky
The smallest planet in the solar system, Mercury, joins Jupiter, the largest planet. On Sunday night, Mercury appeared to bright Jupiter's lower right. On Wednesday around 8 p.m., Mercury climbs to Jupiter's right. As the evenings pass, Mercury rises higher while Jupiter sinks lower, eventually disappearing by March 22. Mercury should remain visible until March 27 before it, too, disappears in the bright evening twilight.
Such is our view from Earth...
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Astronomy conference in Greensboro that never disappoints!
Here is an amateur astronomy event in Greensboro that never disappoints!
*Tri*Star*
Saturday, 5 March 2011
A Day of Astronomy Speakers & Displays
Presentation Topics Include Galaxy Mergers & Evolution, Supernovae, and the Geology of Titan
Triad Starfest, *Tri*Star* for short, is a gathering of astronomers of all types, from novice to professional, for a full day of presentations, displays, and observing. The event allows astronomy enthusiasts to share ideas, learn about a range of astronomical topics, get together with old friends, and make new ones. The event will draw astronomers from North Carolina and surrounding states.
The upcoming edition of *Tri*Star* will take place on Saturday, 5 March 2011 in the Percy H. Sears Applied Technologies Center on the campus of Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, NC. In addition to a series of speakers scheduled throughout the day, there will be a wide range of astronomical displays, assorted astronomy-related vendors, prize drawings, "how-to" help for astronomy beginners, an astrophotography exhibition, and daytime and nighttime observing sessions (weather permitting).
*Tri*Star* Speaker Schedule – Saturday, 5 March
9:00 *Tri*Star* Opens
10:00 Mike Malaska, Organic Chemist, SCYNEXIS, Titan's Earthlike Landscape
11:30 Stephen van Vuuren, Local Filmmaker, Outside In – Saturn Flyby film clip
2:00 Stephen Reynolds, NC State Univ., Supernova remnants, Cosmic Rays, and Cosmology
3:30 Sheila Kannappan, UNC-Chapel Hill, Galaxy Evolution by Mergers
4:30 Prize Drawings and Final Announcements
Note: there will not be a pre-*Tri*Star* Friday lecture this year.
Information about *Tri*Star* is posted at http://www.gtcc.edu/services/observatory/triStar/index.html
Such is our view from Earth...
*Tri*Star*
Saturday, 5 March 2011
A Day of Astronomy Speakers & Displays
Presentation Topics Include Galaxy Mergers & Evolution, Supernovae, and the Geology of Titan
Triad Starfest, *Tri*Star* for short, is a gathering of astronomers of all types, from novice to professional, for a full day of presentations, displays, and observing. The event allows astronomy enthusiasts to share ideas, learn about a range of astronomical topics, get together with old friends, and make new ones. The event will draw astronomers from North Carolina and surrounding states.
The upcoming edition of *Tri*Star* will take place on Saturday, 5 March 2011 in the Percy H. Sears Applied Technologies Center on the campus of Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, NC. In addition to a series of speakers scheduled throughout the day, there will be a wide range of astronomical displays, assorted astronomy-related vendors, prize drawings, "how-to" help for astronomy beginners, an astrophotography exhibition, and daytime and nighttime observing sessions (weather permitting).
*Tri*Star* Speaker Schedule – Saturday, 5 March
9:00 *Tri*Star* Opens
10:00 Mike Malaska, Organic Chemist, SCYNEXIS, Titan's Earthlike Landscape
11:30 Stephen van Vuuren, Local Filmmaker, Outside In – Saturn Flyby film clip
2:00 Stephen Reynolds, NC State Univ., Supernova remnants, Cosmic Rays, and Cosmology
3:30 Sheila Kannappan, UNC-Chapel Hill, Galaxy Evolution by Mergers
4:30 Prize Drawings and Final Announcements
Note: there will not be a pre-*Tri*Star* Friday lecture this year.
Information about *Tri*Star* is posted at http://www.gtcc.edu/services/observatory/triStar/index.html
Such is our view from Earth...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The 14th member of the zodiac
It may come as a surprise to many people, but the sun passes through 13 officially recognized constellations on its annual trek across the celestial dome. The 13th constellation is Ophiuchus, in which the sun spends nearly three weeks in December. There is another constellation in which the sun just nicks its boundary, Cetus, the Whale. Only 10% of the disk of the sun crosses into it and its partial border incursion lasts only twelve hours or so. Here are the dates and times that this relatively unknown event occurs:
Year Incursion begins Incursion ends
2010 3/27, 4:10 pm EDT 3/28, 5:40 am EDT
2011 3/27, 10:20 pm EDT 3/28, 11:45 am EDT
2012 3/27, 4:20 am EDT 3/27, 5:50 pm EDT
2013 3/27, 10:40 am EDT 3/28, 12:10 am EDT
2014 3/27, 4:50 pm EDT 3/28, 6:20 am EDT
2015 3/27, 10:50 pm EDT 3/28, 12:20 pm EDT
Keep in mind that the constellation boundaries are artificial constructs created by the International Astronomical Union about eighty years ago. They wanted to divide the sky into standardized sections so when an object in a particular spot in the sky was discussed, all astronomers would know where they were referring.
Such is our view from Earth...
Year Incursion begins Incursion ends
2010 3/27, 4:10 pm EDT 3/28, 5:40 am EDT
2011 3/27, 10:20 pm EDT 3/28, 11:45 am EDT
2012 3/27, 4:20 am EDT 3/27, 5:50 pm EDT
2013 3/27, 10:40 am EDT 3/28, 12:10 am EDT
2014 3/27, 4:50 pm EDT 3/28, 6:20 am EDT
2015 3/27, 10:50 pm EDT 3/28, 12:20 pm EDT
Keep in mind that the constellation boundaries are artificial constructs created by the International Astronomical Union about eighty years ago. They wanted to divide the sky into standardized sections so when an object in a particular spot in the sky was discussed, all astronomers would know where they were referring.
Such is our view from Earth...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Total Lunar Eclipse, 12/21/2010
Partial phase begins: 1:32 a.m.
Total phase begins: 2:40 a.m.
Total phase ends: 3:54 a.m.
Partial phase ends: 5:02 a.m.
Tuesday morning, our moon enters the Earth’s shadow becoming totally eclipsed. The entire lunar face is enveloped in darkness beginning at 2:40 a.m. and lasting until 3:54 a.m. Then, a silver sliver emerges from the shadow’s edge eventually growing into the bright full moon by 5:02.
During the eclipse, the moon will be difficult to see since it lies, not in sunlight, but in the same shadow that gives us our night. We happen to stand within its first few feet, while the moon moves 230,000 miles away in the shadow’s gently tapering cone.
Take particular note of the color of the dark orb. Due to the small amount of sunlight refracting through the Earth’s atmosphere, the moon won’t be black, but a shade of dark red. It will likely show a subtle 3D effect, making an eerie scene.
All of this can be much more easily seen through binoculars. When the darkened moon reaches totality, look at the region immediately around it. To its upper left, a dimly glowing patch of light can be glimpsed. That is the galactic star cluster M35, which will be quite invisible once the brightening moon begins to exit the shadow.
As astronomical events go, total lunar eclipses aren’t particularly rare, but they aren’t common, either. The next total lunar eclipse visible from southwest Virginia is April 15, 2014 at 3:00 a.m.
Such is our view from Earth...
Total phase begins: 2:40 a.m.
Total phase ends: 3:54 a.m.
Partial phase ends: 5:02 a.m.
Tuesday morning, our moon enters the Earth’s shadow becoming totally eclipsed. The entire lunar face is enveloped in darkness beginning at 2:40 a.m. and lasting until 3:54 a.m. Then, a silver sliver emerges from the shadow’s edge eventually growing into the bright full moon by 5:02.
During the eclipse, the moon will be difficult to see since it lies, not in sunlight, but in the same shadow that gives us our night. We happen to stand within its first few feet, while the moon moves 230,000 miles away in the shadow’s gently tapering cone.
Take particular note of the color of the dark orb. Due to the small amount of sunlight refracting through the Earth’s atmosphere, the moon won’t be black, but a shade of dark red. It will likely show a subtle 3D effect, making an eerie scene.
All of this can be much more easily seen through binoculars. When the darkened moon reaches totality, look at the region immediately around it. To its upper left, a dimly glowing patch of light can be glimpsed. That is the galactic star cluster M35, which will be quite invisible once the brightening moon begins to exit the shadow.
As astronomical events go, total lunar eclipses aren’t particularly rare, but they aren’t common, either. The next total lunar eclipse visible from southwest Virginia is April 15, 2014 at 3:00 a.m.
Such is our view from Earth...
Sunday, September 5, 2010
The crescent of Venus
Each evening, Venus drops a little closer to the horizon as it approaches the sun. By the end of October, Venus will be positioned between the Earth and the sun so that it appears directly next to the sun in our daytime sky.
Look at this bright planet this evening in the southwest right after sunset. Through a very steadily held pair of binoculars, a small crescent shape can be discerned. If the planet’s glare is overpowering, wear sunglasses. During the next few weeks, while Venus remains visible, its crescent shape will become thinner and larger.
To the right of Venus, Mars can be seen passing just north of Spica over the next few evenings. If the atmosphere isn’t very clear, binoculars will help greatly in seeing this event.
Such is our view from Earth ...
Look at this bright planet this evening in the southwest right after sunset. Through a very steadily held pair of binoculars, a small crescent shape can be discerned. If the planet’s glare is overpowering, wear sunglasses. During the next few weeks, while Venus remains visible, its crescent shape will become thinner and larger.
To the right of Venus, Mars can be seen passing just north of Spica over the next few evenings. If the atmosphere isn’t very clear, binoculars will help greatly in seeing this event.
Such is our view from Earth ...
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