* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Here`s - Abrams Planetarium
Astrophotography wikipedia , lookup
Aquarius (constellation) wikipedia , lookup
Lost Cosmonauts wikipedia , lookup
Rare Earth hypothesis wikipedia , lookup
Star of Bethlehem wikipedia , lookup
History of astronomy wikipedia , lookup
Chinese astronomy wikipedia , lookup
Formation and evolution of the Solar System wikipedia , lookup
History of Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses wikipedia , lookup
Astrobiology wikipedia , lookup
Definition of planet wikipedia , lookup
Astronomical naming conventions wikipedia , lookup
Comparative planetary science wikipedia , lookup
Naming of moons wikipedia , lookup
Extraterrestrial life wikipedia , lookup
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems wikipedia , lookup
Lunar theory wikipedia , lookup
Michigan Celestial Highlights, October 2016 By Robert Victor New Moon occurred on Fri. Sept. 30 at 8:11 p.m. EDT, invisible as it passed close to the Sun. Each day it is getting bigger, setting later, and is easier to see. Here’s some highlights of what you can see for the moon followed by some tips on viewing the planets throughout October. On Tuesday the 4th, look for Venus about 12 degrees lower right of the Moon. On Wed. Oct. 5, look for Saturn 5 or 6 degrees to the left of the Moon. and on Thursday evening within 8 degrees to the Moon’s lower right. Note the reddish star Antares twinkling just over 6 degrees below Saturn. On Friday Oct. 7, look for Mars 8 degrees lower left of the Moon. On Sat. Oct. 8, Mars will appear 8 degrees to the lower right of the Moon. On both those nights, MSU Observatory will be hosting Public Observing Nights. The Observatory is located in the far south campus, at the corner of Forest and College Roads, and just west of the Agriculture Expo Pavilion. In addition to the 24-inch telescope in the dome, you can look through several portable telescopes set up in the parking lot just west of the entrance to the Observatory. The Moon, nearly half full and ideal for viewing with telescopes and binoculars, will be spectacular! Be sure to arrive right at the start of the session for a view of Saturn – the ringed planet sets in the first hour. Deep-sky objects for close-up views will include double and multiple stars such as Albireo and Epsilon Lyrae, star clusters such as M13, M11, M15, and the Pleiades, and the Andromeda Galaxy. JOIN US FOR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVE THE MOON NIGHT, SATURDAY, OCT. 8 Saturday, October 8, is International Observe the Moon Night 2016, so on that night, MSU Observatory will be hosting observing outside, and activities inside, rain or shine! You can start your evening earlier at the Abrams Planetarium and see their current feature show, Back to the Moon for Good, at 8pm. More information on the show and ticket prices can be found at www.abramsplanetarium.org/Programs/Public.html The Moon on Oct. 8 will feature a trio of craters, Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, and Arzachel, well placed near the Moon’s terminator, the landscape where the Sun is just rising, causing lunar surface features to cast long shadows, giving us spectacular views! Ptolemaeus is a “walled plain” nearly 100 miles in diameter with a smooth floor originating from a lava flow. Alphonsus, about 75 miles across, contains on its floor a prominent central mountain, craters, and hills. The obviously deep crater Arzachel, 60 miles across, has walls nearly 4 miles high and a central mountain over 1.6 miles high. Here’s how the planets are arranged on the night after Observing the Moon Night: Besides these three planets, other prominent objects at dusk include golden Arcturus sinking in the west, and blue-white Vega northwest of overhead, with Deneb and Altair, completing the Summer Triangle. The Full Moon of Sat. Oct. 15 rises just north of due east a few minutes after sunset that evening. The waning Moon rises later each night, shifting farther north along the horizon nightly through Oct. 20. Here are moonrise times for the Lansing area: Sat. Oct. 15 Sun. Oct. 16 Mon. Oct. 17 Tue. Oct. 18 Wed. Oct. 19 Thu. Oct. 20 Fri. Oct. 21 6:59 p.m. 7:38 p.m. 8:20 p.m. 9:07 p.m. 9:59 p.m 10:55 p.m. 11:55 p.m. 6° N of east (Full, Hunter’s Moon) 13° N of east 18° N of east 22° N of east 25° N of east 26° N of east (northernmost moonrise) 25° N of east In the Lansing area at 10:00 p.m. EDT on the evening of Tues. Oct 18, binoculars will show a bright star, Aldebaran, just 2 degrees to the lower left of the Moon, low in ENE. Four fainter stars of the nearby Hyades star cluster disappear behind the Moon’s bright edge and reappear at the dark edge between 10:05 p.m. and 11:46 p.m. (telescope needed). By 1:41 a.m. EDT, the sunlit edge of the Moon will cover firstmagnitude Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, the Bull. Aldebaran remains hidden by the Moon until 2:27 a.m., when the star reappears at the Moon’s narrow dark edge. Even though this is the brightest star the Moon can occult (cover), a telescope will still be required to observe the star disappear and reappear, since the Moon is very bright, only three days past Full. Watch the planets move! In the evening sky in October 2016, Venus goes east 1.2° per day against background stars, while Mars goes east about 0.7° daily. Follow their progress easily from one night to next for several evenings around dates when planet passes a star. Binoculars make it easier to see fainter stars in less than favorable conditions, such as during twilight, or on bright moonlit nights, or under the light-polluted skies of the Lansing area. Track Venus for a few evenings around following dates when it passes close to a background star: October 5, when Venus passes 0.8° lower left of 3rd-magnitude Alpha in Libra, also known as Zubenelgenubi, the southern claw of an early, larger version of the Scorpion; Oct. 20, when Venus passes within 1° above 2nd-mag. Delta Scorpii, the middle of the three stars in the head of the Scorpion; Oct. 26, when Venus passes 3.1° north (upper right) of first-magnitude Antares; and Oct. 29, when Venus passes 3.0° south (lower left) of Saturn. Watch Mars on Oct. 6, as it passes 0.2° below 3rd-mag. Lambda Sagittarii, marking top of the Teapot. This star is also known as Kaus Borealis, northern star of the Archer’s bow. On Oct. 15, Mars passes within 1.3° north (upper right) of 2nd-mag. Nunki, or Sigma in Sagittarius, brightest star in handle of the Teapot. Venus will close in on Mars until Feb. 1, 2017, but will fall just over 5° short of overtaking it. Saturn, the only other bright evening planet, moves only 2.7° east during Oct. 1-31, averaging less than 0.1° per day. On Friday, Oct. 7, Saturn appears midway between Venus & Mars, 25° from each. Throughout Oct., Saturn remains just over 6° from Antares, but the first-magnitude star, lower and fainter than Saturn, becomes harder to see as it sinks into twilight in the closing days of October. Mornings: Just before the start of twilight Sept. 29-Oct. 12 and Oct. 29-Nov. 11, from a very dark place, try for the zodiacal light, from sunlight reflected off comet and asteroid dust in the plane of the solar system. Look for a huge pyramid of faint light extending upward from the eastern horizon toward the star Regulus in Leo. Low in the east during morning twilight in Oct., bright, emerging Jupiter replaces Mercury. Using binoculars about 40 minutes before sunrise, see both planets for a few days around Oct. 11. The best mornings are Oct. 10-12: The planets are 1.6 degrees apart on Mon. Oct. 10, with Jupiter to the lower right of Mercury. They appear closest, 0.8 degrees apart, on Tues. Oct. 11, with Jupiter to the south (right) of Mercury. They’re 1.8 degrees apart on Wed. Oct. 12, with Jupiter to the upper right. On Friday, Oct. 21, in the predawn darkness hours, watch for the peak of the Orionid meteor shower, consisting of particles from Halley’s Comet. The number of meteors seen will be somewhat reduced by the light of the waning gibbous Moon, about 1.5 days before Last Quarter (half moon) phase. On Fri. Oct. 28, a waning crescent Moon, two days before New, will appear 1.5° lower left of Jupiter in morning twilight. On Sat. morning, Oct. 29, the last old crescent will appear 13° lower left of Jupiter. Binoculars will help you pick out emerging Spica, just 5° to the lower right of the delicate crescent. New Moon occurs on Sunday, Oct. 30, at 1:38 p.m. EDT. On Monday evening, Oct. 31, 30 minutes after sunset, the young crescent Moon will be 4 degrees up in WSW, 25° lower right of Venus.