Download December 15th 2016 - Newcastle Astronomical Society

Newcastle Astro Sky Notes
December 2016
Aurora and Solar Astronomy
What do Kp numbers mean?
The Kp number is a system of measuring aurora strength. It goes from 0 to 9, 0 being
very weak, 9 being a major geomagnetic storm with strong aurora visible.
The abbreviation Kp comes from the German “Planetarische Kenziffer”. In English
“Planetary Index”.
Meteor Report
November – December 2016
December 13-14, 2016, mid-evening until dawn,
Geminids
• Radiating from near the bright stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini
the Twins, the Geminid meteor shower is one of the finest meteors showers
visible in either the Northern or the Southern Hemisphere.
• However, in 2016, the full moon falls on the peak date of the Geminid shower. The
meteors are plentiful, rivalling the August Perseids. They are often bold, white and
bright.
• The zenithal hourly rate for the Geminids is up to 120 meteors per hour, after
some good displays in recent years. That is the predicted best rate of the shower,
which you might see if you’re watching in a dark country sky on the night of the
peak, around 2 a.m. local time (the time on your clock no matter where you are on
Earth), when the radiant point is highest in the sky.
• In 2016, the full moon will be out all night long, subduing the usually prolific
Geminid meteor shower on the night of December 13-24.
The Quadrantids
January 04-05, 2017, overnight
• The Quadrantids is usually active between the end of December and the
second week of January, and peaks around January 3rd to January 5th.
Unlike other meteor showers that tend to stay at their peak for about two
days, the peak period of the Quadrantids is only for a few hours.
• The shower owes its name to the now defunct constellation Quadrans
Muralis. The constellation was left off a list of constellations drawn out by
the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1922, but because the
shower had already been named after Quadrans Muralis, its name was not
changed. The Quadrantids is also sometimes called Bootids after the
modern constellation, Boötes. The Quadrantids are associated with an
asteroid - the 2003 EH1. The asteroid takes about 5.5 years to orbit around
the Sun.
• While it is not necessary to look in a particular direction to enjoy a meteor
shower, astronomers suggest lying down on the ground looking towards
the North and look at the sky above you to view the Quadrantids.
The Planets – December 2016
Mercury
BEST TIME TO SEE: 17 December, 20mins
after sunset.
ALTITUDE: 6° (low)
LOCATION: Sagittarius
DIRECTION: South West
Inner planet Mercury spends the month in
the evening sky, gradually increasing its
apparent distance from the Sun. On 11
December it will be 21° from the Sun.
All the same, its position is poor from the
UK and it’s not easily seen in December.
Its mag. 0.0 dot will be best seen on
evening of the 17th December.
Venus
BEST TIME TO SEE: 31 December 17.30
ALTITUDE: 17°
LOCATION: Aquarius
DIRECTION: South West
Venus is in the evening sky and it moves
out of Sagittarius, through Capricornus and
just into Aquarius.
Like all the bright planets, Venus never
appears to stray that far from the ecliptic
but this month it lies along the part of the
ecliptic that makes a steeper angle with
the South West horizon.
The planet is intensely bright, shining at a
dazzling mag. -4.1 at the beginning of the
month, and brightening slightly to -4.3 by
the end of the month.
Mars
BEST TIME TO SEE: 31 December 17.30
ALTITUDE: 25°
LOCATION: Aquarius
DIRECTION: South-Southwest
Its brightness remains pretty constant
throughout the month, at close to Mag
+0.8.
At the beginning of the month its small
disc is 6.5 arcseconds, while by the 31st, it
drops to 5.6 arcseconds.
Jupiter
BEST TIME TO SEE: 31 December 06.45
ALTITUDE: 30°
LOCATION: Virgo
DIRECTION: South
Mag. -1.9 Jupiter’s position continues to
improve during December and by the 31st
it reaches its highest point in the sky in
darkness.
Currently, it lies close to the Mag. +1.0 star
Spica – alpha Virginis.
The waning crescent Moon will be close by
on the mornings of the 22nd and 23rd
December.
Also visible around the planet are the
Galilean moons:- Io, Europa, Ganymede
and Callisto.
Saturn
BEST TIME TO SEE: 31 December 07.30
ALTITUDE: 3.5°
LOCATION: Ophiuchus
DIRECTION: South East
Saturn is not well placed for telescopic
viewing but there are opportunities to see
it.
It might be possible to glimpse its return to
the morning sky, low in the South East,
before sunrise, on the 31st.
At that time it will be Mag. +0.5.
Uranus
BEST TIME TO SEE: 01 December 20.30
ALTITUDE: 44°
LOCATION: Pisces
DIRECTION: South
Uranus remains well-placed, not too far
from mag. +5.2 Zeta and mag. +6.0 88
Piscium. These two stars form the base of
a pointed isosceles triangle with mag. +5.8
Uranus.
Throughout, Uranus is at the limit of naked
eye visibility. Through binoculars, it is starlike. In telescopes its 3.5 arc second disc
has a distinct green hue.
Neptune
BEST TIME TO SEE: 01 December 18.00
ALTITUDE: 28°
LOCATION: Aquarius
DIRECTION: South
Neptune is one zodiacal constellation west
of Uranus and is well-placed at the start of
December.
Its mag. +7.9 dot can be seen 2.4° south
west of mag. +3.7 Lambda Aquarii.
Like Uranus, a telescope is required to
reveal Neptune’s smaller 2 arcsecond
diameter blue disc.
Mars and Neptune are close on the 31st,
only 20 arcminutes apart. On 1st January,
2017, they will be 19 arcminutes apart.
Lunar Astronomy
Clavius
Plato and
Vallis Alpes
Tycho
Binocular Astronomy
• Decent tripod and ball head
connection to your bins, giving
you control of tilt/pan/swivel
• Access Sky at Night mag
Binocular Tour
• http://binocularsky.com/index.
php
Deep Sky Notes for December
• Winter nights tend to be chilly, damp and humid, so it is
important to let your telescope acclimatise to the same
temperature as the outdoors, before you use it.
• Dew formation on the outside of instruments is common, as
well as dewing on critical lenses and mirrors. Dew caps or
shields are recommended. Alternatively, hair dryers are
invaluable in coming to the rescue.
Winter Sky Guideposts
• Looking North, The Big Dipper lies along the Northern horizon.
• Looking to the South West, the Summer Triangle of Altair
(South), Vega (West) and Deneb (overhead) is steadily setting
towards the West.
• High overhead are the four stars of the Great Square of
Pegasus (Alpheratz-Scheat-Algenib-Markab. The Square is lined
up so that its sides are aligned North-South and East-West.
• After finding the Great Square, look North. You’ll see the five
main stars of Cassiopeia, making a bright “W” shape (or “M” –
orientation).
• From the Cassiopeia “w”, look to the East, where you’ll see a
little cluster of bright stars – The Pleiades (Messier 45).
• From the Cassiopeia “w”, look to the West and down,
binoculars will show the double cluster in Perseus (Caldwell
14/NGC 869 and NGC 884.
• Just North of The Pleiades, the brilliant star Capella is rising. It is
a +0.0 magnitude star, almost a perfect match for Vega in the
West.
• During this time of year the Milky Way rises high above the
horizon. Beautiful regions of the Milky Way are available to be
viewed, in and around Cassiopeia.
Deep Sky Suggestions
• The Pleiades, M45
• The Andromeda Galaxy , M31
• Almach, a double star,
Gamma Andromedae
Deep Sky Suggestions
• The Triangulum Galaxy, M33
• M15 globular cluster in
Pegasus
Members Images
Heather Parr
Members Images
Tom Moran
Members Images
Alison Bossaert
Members Images
Ray Palmer
Members Images
Tom Moran
Members Images
Alison Bossaert
Members Images
Stephen A. Carr
Members Images
Ivica Zajac
Members Images
Simon Murray
Members Images
Roger Snee
Some info shown sourced from
http://www.spaceweather.com/ and
http://www.aurora-service.eu/ , the
Sky at Night publication,
Wikipedia and the NAS group
members Facebook posts.