News on what is visable in this months sky as posted by Adrian Zielonka's in his monthly sky notes.
Thank you Adrian and thank you CADAS.
Hi all
Here is the astronomy news for August.
Astronomy
News
Night Sky 2022 - August
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Sunrise |
Sunset |
Mercury |
Venus |
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1st 10th 20th 30th |
1st 10th 20th 30th |
1st 10th 20th 30th |
1st 10th 20th 30th |
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Moon |
Moon |
Moon |
Moon |
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1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th |
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st |
22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st ------------- All are for Somerton unless |
22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st ------------- Moon First Full Last |
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A |
A |
There
is a planned launch this month of the Artemis 1 mission. The Orion
spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will launch Artemis 1
from Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It will be the
first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems. The
first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis 1 will be
an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep
space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to
extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. During this flight,
the spacecraft will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of
miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a three-week mission.
Orion will stay in space longer that any ship for astronauts has done
without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter
than ever before.
From
the 31st July – 4th August Mars passes close to Uranus. On the 2nd
at 4:30am in the ESE Uranus will be just 1¼ degrees above Mars and ½
a degree to the left.
From
the 1st – 4th Venus passes close to the star Wasat (3.5 mag) in
Gemini. On the 2nd at 4:30am Wasat will be just a ¼ of a degree
below Venus.
On
the 1st
at 10:06pm the crescent Moon is due west and just 5½ degrees above
the horizon. The star Nu Virginis (4 mag) in Virgo is just 2¼
degrees to the right of the Moon and 1 degree above.
At
10:15pm on the 2nd
the star Porrima (2.7 mag) in Virgo is just 1¼ degrees to the upper
left of the crescent Moon low in the west.
On
the 3rd
at 10:00pm the star Spica (1 mag) in Virgo is 4 degrees to the lower
left of the crescent Moon in the WSW. The star Theta Virginis (4.3
mag) is 3½ degrees to the right of the Moon.
At
10:00pm on the 4th
the star Kappa Virginis (4.1 mag) is 2½ degrees above the crescent
Moon and 1 degree to the right.
From
the 5th – 27th Saturn passes within 1½ degrees of the star Nashira
(1.6 mag) in Capricornus. At midnight from the 15th – 17th Nashira
will be just 1¼ degrees below Saturn.
On
the 5th
at 10:15pm low in the south west, the star Zubenelgenubi (2.7 mag) in
Libra is 3¾ degrees to the right of the First Quarter Moon and ½ a
degree above.
From
10.00pm – 10:10pm on the 6th
the star Dschubba (2.2 mag) in Scorpius is just a ¼ of a degree
above the Moon. There is a lunar occultation of the star Dschubba. It
starts at 10:40:30 and ends at 11:10:45. (These times are set for
Yeovilton so there will be minor differences from your different
locations).
At
10:15pm on the 7th
the star 84405 ‘Hipparcus Catalog ID’ (4.3 mag) in Scorpius is
just 3 degrees to the left of the Moon.
On
the 8th
at 10:00pm the star Alnasl (2.9 mag) in Sagittarius is 2¾ degrees
below the Moon and a ¼ of a degree to the right.
At
10:00pm on the 9th
the star Tau Sagittarii (3.3 mag) is just 1½ degrees to the right of
the Moon and a ¼ of a degree above.
The
stars Castor (1.5 mag) and Pollux (1.1 mag) point to the planet Venus
on the mornings of the 10th & 11th in the ENE around 4:30am.
The
Moon is at perigee (359,828km) on the 10th
at 6:09pm. At 10:37pm the Moon is 10½ degrees above the horizon and
due SSE.
On
the 11th
at 10:15pm the star Zeta Capricorni (3.7 mag) is just 1 degree below
the Moon. The star 106039 ‘Hipparcus Catalog ID’ (4.5 mag) is 1
degree to the lower left of the Moon. Saturn is 6 degrees to the left
of the Moon and 4 degrees above. The star Nashira (3.6 mag) is just
1¼ degrees to the lower right of Saturn.
At
10:15pm on the 12th
the full Moon is 5½ degrees above the south east horizon at 124.5
degrees azimuth. Saturn is 8½ degrees to the right of the Moon and 6
degrees above.
The
Perseids meteor shower reaches its peak on the 12th – 13th though
they can be seen from the 17th July – 24th August. With the full
Moon at this time, only the brighter ones may be seen.
On
the 13th
at 10:22pm the Moon will be 4½ degrees above the horizon due ESE
amongst some fainter stars of Aquarius. Neptune is 9 degrees to the
left of the Moon and 2 degrees above.
Saturn
is at opposition on the 14th.
At
11:00pm on the 14th
Jupiter is 8 degrees to the left of the Moon and 1 degree above.
Neptune is 7 degrees upper right of the Moon.
On
the 15th
at 10:40pm the Moon is due east and just 3 degrees above the horizon.
Jupiter is 6¾ degrees above right of the Moon.
At
midnight on the 16th
the star Omicron Piscium (4.2 mag) is just 1 degree above the Moon
and a ¼ of a degree to the right.
On
the 17th
at midnight Uranus is 7½ degrees to the left of the Moon and 2
degrees below.
At
midnight on the 18th
the Moon is low in the ENE at 69 degrees azimuth. Mars is 5¾ degrees
lower left of the Moon. Uranus is 4½ degrees to the right of the
Moon and two degrees above. The Pleiades star cluster is 7½ degrees
to the left of the Moon and 1½ degrees above.
On
the 19th
at midnight the last quarter Moon is low in the north east and just
3½ degrees above the horizon with Mars 6½ degrees to the right of
the Moon and just ½ a degree above. The Pleiades star cluster is 7
degrees above right of the Moon.
At
1:00pm on the night of the 20th
the star Elnath (1.6 mag) in Taurus is 5½ degrees to the left of the
crescent Moon and 1 degree above. The star Aldebaran (0.8 mag) is 11
degrees to the right of the Moon and 2 degrees below and by 5:00am on
the 21st
their just 3¾ degrees apart.
From
the 20th – 25th Comet C/2017 K2 Panstarrs (8.5 mag – 23rd July)
passes close to the star Acrab (2.5 mag) in Scorpius. On the 22nd at
10:00pm Comet Panstarrs is just ½ of a degree to the right of Acrab
and a ¼ of a degree above low in the south west. (For further
information on this comet or others please see the “Comet”
section of the website above). The Moon is at apogee (405,418km) on
the 22nd
at 11:53pm.
Mercury
is at aphelion on the 23rd.
On
the 23rd
at 5:00am the star Mebsuta (3 mag) in Gemini is 4 degrees to the
right of the crescent Moon and 2 degrees above.
At
4:00am on the 24th
the two stars Castor and Pollux point the way to the crescent Moon in
the ENE. The star Kappa Geminorum (3.5 mag) is just 2 degrees to the
upper right of the Moon.
On
the 25th
at 5:30am Venus is 8¾ degrees below the thin crescent Moon and 1½
degrees to the left. Venus is at 71 degrees azimuth and 6¼ degrees
above the horizon.
At
5:30am on the 26th
Venus is 4½ degrees to the right of a very thin crescent Moon low in
the ENE. Their around 5½ degrees above the horizon.
Mercury
is at maximum eastern elongation on the 27th.
On
the 28th
at 8:35pm a very thin crescent Moon is very low in the west, and just
2½ degrees above the horizon at 276.5 degrees azimuth.
At
8:45pm on the 29th
the star Porrima (2.7 mag) in Virgo is 4¾ degrees to the left of a
thin crescent Moon and 2 degrees above.
On
the 30th
at 8:45pm the star Zeta Virginis (3.3 mag) is less than ½ a degree
above left of the crescent Moon.
At
8:45pm on the 31st
the star Spica (1 mag) in Virgo is 6½ degrees to the right of the
crescent Moon and 4 degrees below, and low in the WSW.
*=
Dates and times are subject to change.
News:
A recent lunar science mystery has provided an interesting result.
After a months-long search, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission
team recently found a pair of new craters on the lunar farside,
formed when an object hit the Moon on March 4th
2022. Observers had spotted the object on its moonbound trajectory,
though the impact itself was of course out of Earth’s line of
sight. Observers later refined the trajectory and identified the
object as a Long March 3C upper stage from China’s Chang’e 5 T1
mission. Chang’e 5 T1 flew past the Moon in late 2014 to
demonstrate capsule re-entry ahead of the full Chang’e 5
lunar-sample return. To date, however, China has not confirmed that
the object was related to the Chang’e 5 T1 mission.
Rubble
piles in space aren’t like the solid ones that gravity holds on the
ground. New analysis shows that NASA’s OSIRIS-REX probe punched
right through the surface of asteroid 101955 Bennu while on its way
to collect a sample. If the probe hadn’t been programmed to lift
itself back into orbit a few seconds after landing, the
half-kilometre asteroid could have swallowed it whole. Although the
first images from OSIRIS-REX’s sampling manoeuvre on October 20th
2020, took only 18 minutes to reach Earth, it took time for the team
to sort out what had happened during the brief touch-and-go. The team
estimates the probe was able to fill its hopper with 250 grams of
material to take home. Observations of Bennu so far have shown this
near-Earth asteroid is a strange world of its own right. The 5.4-gram
sample returned from Ryugu in December 2020 by Hayabusa 2 is now
being studied. Analysis of the much larger Bennu samples, to be
returned to Earth late next year, will reveal further details.
Astronomers
have found a dormant black hole in the Tarantula Nebula in the Large
Magellanic Cloud which is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The
system is composed of a hot blue star, with 25 times the Sun’s
mass, and a black hole, which is at least nine times the mass of the
Sun.
Facts:
The largest crater on Mercury is Caloris Planitia. Its informally
named Caloris and is 1,550 km in diameter. Its one of the largest
impact basins in the Solar System.
Extra:
If you havn’t managed to see Horizon: Super Telescope: Mission to
the Edge of the Universe, do watch it. Its on BBC iPlayer. It is an
excellent programme on the James Webb Space Telescope.
Hi all
Here is the astronomy news for July.
Astronomy
News
Night
Sky 2022 - July
|
Sunrise |
Sunset |
Mercury |
Venus |
|
1st 10th 20th 30th |
1st 10th 20th 30th |
1st 5th 10th 30th |
1st 10th 20th 30th |
|
Moon |
Moon |
Moon |
Moon |
|
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 20th |
1st 2nd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th |
21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st ------------- All are for Somerton unless |
21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st ------------- Moon First Full Last New |
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A |
A |
The
first flight of NASA’s X-57, a small, experimental airplane powered
by electricity. The all-electric technology will make flying cleaner,
quieter, and more sustainable. The flight will take place at NASA’s
Armstrong Flight Research Centre in California this month*.
From
the 1st
– 4th
Mars passes close to the star Omicron Piscium (4.2 mag) in the ESE.
At 4:30am on the 2nd
Omicron Piscium is just ¼ of a degree above Mars.
On
the 1st
at 10:30pm the Beehive star cluster is 4 degrees below the crescent
Moon and 1 degree to the right.
At
10.30pm on the 2nd
the stars Kappa Leonis (4.4 mag) and Lambda Leonis (4.3 mag) point
the way to the Moon. Lambda Leonis is 5 degrees to the right of the
Moon and 2 degrees above.
On
the 3rd
at 10:00pm the star Regulus (1.3 mag) in Leo is 5½ degrees to the
lower right of the crescent Moon.
At
11:30pm on the 4th
the star Iota Leonis (4 mag) is 2½ degrees above the crescent Moon.
On
the 5th
at 11:30pm the star Zavijava (3.5 mag) in Virgo is 3 degrees below
the crescent Moon and 2 degrees to the right.
At
11:30pm on the 6th
the star Porrima (2.7 mag) in Virgo is 2½ degrees to the right of
the crescent Moon.
On
the 7th
at 10:30pm the star Spica (2.7 mag) in Virgo is 3½ degrees below the
Moon and 1¼ degrees to the right.
At
10:30pm on the 8th
the star Zubenelgenubi (2.7 mag) in Libra is 5¾ degrees to the left
of the Moon.
On
the 9th
at 10:30pm the star Gamma Librae (3.9 mag) is 5½ degrees above the
Moon and 2 degrees to the left.
Mercury
is at perihelion on the 10th.
At
10:30pm on the 10th
the star Sigma Scorpii (2.9 mag) is 1½ degrees below the Moon and ½
a degree to the right. The star Antares (1 mag) is 2 degrees to the
lower left of Sigma Scorpii.
On
the 11th
at 10:30pm the star Theta Ophiuchi (3.2 mag) is 2½ degrees to the
upper right of the Moon.
At
10:30pm on the 12th
the star Phi Sagittarii (3.1 mag) is 2¼ degrees to the left of the
Moon.
From
the 12th
– 16th
Venus passes close to the star Zeta Tauri (2.9 mag). On the 14th
at 4:30am Zeta Tauri is just 1½ degrees to the lower right of Venus
low in the ENE.
The
Moon is at perigee (357,264km) on the 13th
at 10:06am. At 11:30pm the star numbered 98688 (4.4 mag) in the
Hipparcus catalog is 3½ degrees to the left of the Moon and 2¾
degrees below.
On
the 14th
at midnight the star Psi Capricorni (4.1 mag) is 2½ degrees to the
right of the Moon and ½ a degree below.
At
midnight on the 15th
Saturn is 5 degrees above the Moon in the south east. The star Delta
Capricorni (2.8 mag) is just 1½ degrees to the lower right of
Saturn. At 4:00am the following morning Saturn is 5 degrees above
right of the Moon.
Mercury
is at superior conjunction on the 16th.
From
the 17th
– 25th
Venus passes along a row of stars in Gemini low in the ENE. At 4:30am
on the 19th
the star 28734 (4.1 mag) in the Hipparcus catalog is just ¾ a degree
above Venus. On the 21st
at 4:30am the star Propus (3.3 mag) is just a ½ of a degree to the
right of Venus. At 4:30am on the 22nd
the star Mu Geminorum (2.8 mag) is just ½ a degree below Venus. On
the 25th
at 4:30am Venus is approximately midway between the stars Mebsuta (3
mag) and Nu Geminorum (4.1 mag).
On
the 17th
at 4:30am the star Tau Aquarii (4 mag) is 2¼ degrees to the right of
the Moon and 1¼ degrees below.
The
Perseids meteor shower can be seen from the 17th
July – 24th
August. They reach their peak on the 12th
/ 13th
August. This is associated with Comet Swift-Tuttle.
At
4:30am on the 18th
Neptune is 3¾ degrees above the Moon and 1 degree to the right.
Jupiter is 14 degrees to the upper left of the Moon.
On
the 19th
at 4:30am Jupiter is just 2¾ degrees upper right of the Moon.
Pluto
is at opposition on the 20th. At 1:18am Pluto is at 16.1 degrees
above the horizon, and due south.
At
4:30am on the 20th
Jupiter is 13½ degrees to the right of the last quarter Moon.
On
the 21st
at 4:30am Mars is 5¾ degrees to the left of the crescent Moon and 1
degree below.
At
4:30am on the 22nd
Mars is 5½ degrees to the right of the crescent Moon and 1 degree
above. Uranus is just 1¼ degrees to the left of the Moon and a ¼ of
a degree above.
On
the 23rd
at 4:30am the Pleiades star cluster is just 4 degrees upper left of
the crescent Moon. Uranus is 10 degrees to the right of the Moon and
5 degrees above.
At
4:30am on the 24th
the star Tau Tauri (4.2 mag) is just ¾ of a degree below left of the
crescent Moon. The star Aldebaran (0.8 mag) is 7 degrees below right
of the Moon.
On
the 25th
at 4:30am the crescent Moon is approximately midway between the stars
Elnath (1.6 mag) and Zeta Tauri (2.9 mag) in Taurus. Elnath is 4
degrees to the upper left of the Moon. Venus is 17 degrees to the
lower left of the Moon.
From
the 25th
– 31st
Comet C/2017 K2 Panstarrs (9.8 mag – June 12th)
passes close to the star Zeta Ophiuchi (2.5 mag). On the 28th
from 10:00pm in the SSW Comet Panstarrs is 1½ degrees to the upper
right of Zeta Ophiuchi. (For further information on this comet or
others please see the “Comet” section in the website above).
At
5:00am on the 26th
Venus is 5½ degrees below a thin crescent Moon and ¾ of a degree to
the left. The Moon is at apogee (406,275km) at 11:23am. They are in
the constellation of Gemini.
On
the 27th
at 4:30am a very thin crescent Moon will be seen low in the north
east. Venus is 7 degrees to the right of the Moon and 1½ degrees
above. At the time given, the Moon will be 6 degrees above the
horizon at 55.5 degrees azimuth.
At
9:30pm on the 29th
a very thin crescent Moon may be seen low in the WNW. At 9:25pm the
Moon is 4½ degrees above the horizon at 296 degrees azimuth. Mercury
is 3 degrees to the lower left of the Moon. Mercury is just 2 degrees
above the horizon at 293.5 degrees azimuth.
The
Delta Aquarids meteor shower reach their peak on the 30th,
though they can be seen from the 12th
July – 23rd
August.
The
Alpha Capricornids meteor shower reach their peak also on the 30th,
and can be seen from the 3rd
July – 15th
August. These are likely to be yellow slow fireballs.
On
the 30th
at 9:29pm the star Regulus is 3¾ degrees directly below a thin
crescent Moon in the WNW. The star Eta Leonis (3.4 mag) is 3 degrees
to the right of the Moon. The Moon is 7 degrees above the horizon at
285 degrees azimuth. Mercury is 2 degrees above the horizon at 293
degrees azimuth.
At
10:00pm on the 31st
the star Iota Leonis (4 mag) is 5 degrees to the upper left of the
Moon.
From
the 31st July – 4th August Mars passes close to Uranus. On the 2nd
at 4:30am in the ESE Uranus will be just 1¼ degrees above Mars and ½
a degree to the left.
*=
Dates and times are subject to change.
News:
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with European
Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), will release
its first full-colour images and spectroscopic data this Summer.
After launching on Dec 25th
last year, Webb has been going through a six-month period of
preparation. The first images and data will, for the first time,
demonstrate Webb at its full power, ready to begin its science
mission and unfold the infrared universe.
In
the short time since its launch in February 2020, the Solar Orbiter
has already returned some incredible photos and data of the Sun. The
joint ESA-NASA mission is expected to have its biggest scientific
breakthroughs when it tilts its orbit to be able to see the Sun’s
poles – a region that we’ve never photographed – but it has
already revealed never-before-seen phenomena like the miniature
explosions on the Sun’s surface called solar campfires.
A
magnitude 5 quake shook the surface of Mars on the 4th
May, the strongest temblor ever detected not only on Mars but on any
planet besides Earth. The marsquake, detected by NASA’s InSight
lander, surpassed the previous record-holder a 4.2-magnitude quake
that took place in August 2021.
Since
the arrival of NASA’s Perseverance on Mars on 18th
February 2021, the rover has surveyed its home in Jezero Crater,
deployed the Ingenuity helicopter, and begun to analyze and cache
samples for a future sample-return mission. But while geology and
astrobiology feature in its primary mission, Perseverance is also
proving to be a first-rate interplanetary meteorologist. Recently,
researchers have revealed some of the amazing dust storm activity the
rover is capturing in Jezero Crater. Jezero’s a good place to
watch this process in action because it sits near the dust storm
track that runs north to south across the planet. Perseverance has
witnessed hundreds of dust devils across the crater, at the rate of
four per sol and a peak rate of one per hour around local noon. The
rough surface of the crater floor – including the treacherous
Séítah dunes – make it an ideal source for dust-lifting events.
Indeed, large gust-lifting events, rare as they are, kick far more
dust into the air than the smaller daily whirlwinds. Astronomers
have witnessed dust storms over Mars for almost as long as they’ve
been observing the planet.
Pianist
Jeffrey Biegel’s longtime dream was to bring to life an updated
version of Holst’s - The Planets, infusing the music with current
scientific understanding. Biegel was born deaf, and until the age of
three, when corrective surgery allowed him to hear for the first
time, his world was very closed. He relied on other means of
expression and communication, and so music became his first language.
As a result, his projects often have an “out of the box” element.
Biegel’s vision of a revamped Planets features the pianist as a
space traveler journeying through the Solar System. Jeffrey Biegel
and composer Daniel Perttu (Professor of Music Theory and composition
at Westminster College) teamed up to produce “A Planets Odyssey”.
Shortly after meeting Perttu, Biegel realized that he’d found the
person who could help bring his project to fruition. Perttu loved the
idea, and so the pair embarked on their collaboration. A Planets
Odyssey, isn’t your typical three-movement concerto. Instead, it’s
in a theme-and-variations form. “It begins with the Big Bang,
followed by the pianist introducing the main theme of the concerto”,
Perttu explains. “This theme is then varied as the pianist visits
each planet and is inspired by the unique properties of each planet”.
Like Holst, Perttu skips the Earth. But unlike Holst, these planets
are featured in their order from the Sun. And more importantly,
Perttu focuses solely on the science. Perttu picked a few
characteristics of each planet for inspiration and transformed those
into sonic visions. For example, Mercury, subject of the first
variation, is the innermost and smallest of the solar system’s
planets and experiences extremes in temperature. It also has
virtually no atmosphere. So Perttu drew on those characteristics to
produce a variation that conveys the imagery of a “stark, extreme
kind of place”. Holst’s seven-movement orchestral suite The
Planets premiered
in London in 1918. Now, a little more than a century later, a modern
version on the theme saw first light on Sunday 22nd
May 2022. But while Holst turned to astrology for inspiration,
composer Daniel Perttu turned to astronomy.
Facts:
The Hubble Space Telescope reached the age of 32 back in April of
this year.
Hi all
Here is the astronomy news for May.
From Adrian.
Astronomy News
Night Sky 2021 - May
|
Sunrise |
Sunset |
Mercury Sets |
Venus Sets |
|
1st – 5:44am 10th – 5:28am 20th – 5:14am 30th – 5:03am |
1st – 8:33pm 10th – 8:47pm 20th – 9:02pm 30th – 9:14pm |
1st – 9:54pm 10th – 10:47pm 20th – 10:59pm 30th – 10:21pm |
1st – 9:18pm 10th – 9:45pm 20th – 10:14pm 30th – 10:36pm |
|
Moon Rise |
Moon Set |
Moon Rise |
Moon Set |
|
1st – 1:22am (SE) 2nd – 2:21am 3rd – 3:05am 4th – 3:37am 5th – 4:00am (ESE) 6th – 4:19am 7th – 4:35am 8th – 4:49am (E) 9th – 5:03am 10th – 5:17am 11th – 5:33am (ENE) 12th – 5:52am 13th – 6:16am 14th – 6:46am 15th – 7:26am 16th – 8:16am (NE) 17th – 9:16am 18th – 10:25am 19th – 11:40am |
1st – 8:47am (SW) 2nd – 9:54am 3rd – 11:08am 4th – 12:25pm 5th – 1:40pm (WSW) 6th – 2:52pm 7th – 4:02pm 8th – 5:11pm (W) 9th – 6:19pm 10th – 7:27pm (WNW) 11th – 8:36pm 12th – 9:44pm 13th – 10:51pm 14th – 11:54pm 16th – 12:50am (NW) 17th – 1:36am 18th – 2:12am 19th – 2:41am 20th – 3:04am (WNW) |
20th – 12:58pm (ENE) 21st – 2:18pm 22nd – 3:40pm (E) 23rd – 5:05pm 24th – 6:33pm (ESE) 25th – 8:04pm 26th – 9:34pm 27th – 10:58pm 29th – 12:08am (SE) 30th – 1:00am 31st – 1:38am - - - - - - -
All times in notes are set for Somerton unless stated |
21st – 3:24am 22nd – 3:42am 23rd – 3:59am (W) 24th – 4:18am 25th – 4:39am (WSW) 26th – 5:06am 27th – 5:42am 28th – 6:30am (SW) 29th – 7:33am (SW) 30th – 8:48am 31st – 10:06am - - - - - - -
Moon Phases Last Quarter – 3rd New Moon – 11th First Quarter – 19th Full Moon – 26th |
|
A useful site: www.heavens-above.com |
A S Zielonka |
Arianespace
will use a Soyuz rocket to launch 36 satellites into orbit for the
OneWeb internet constellation. The Mission, called OneWeb 7 will lift
off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Siberia sometime during this
month*.
China's Tianwen-1 Mars rover will touch down on the Red Planet this month*.
On the 1st at 4:45am the star Kaus Borealis (2.8 mag) in Sagittarius is 1¼ degrees upper right of the Moon.
From the 1st – 5th Jupiter passes the star Iota Aquarii (4.2 mag) in Aquarius. On the 3rd at 4:30am low in the south east Iota Aquarii is 1¼ degrees below Jupiter.
From the 2nd – 4th Mercury passes close to the Pleiades low in the WNW. On the 4th
at 9:05pm Mercury is 2½ degrees to the left of the Pleiades star
cluster with Venus 6½ degrees below the Pleiades at 296 degrees azimuth
and just 3 degrees above the horizon.
At 4:45am on the 3rd
Saturn is 9 degrees to the left of the Moon and 3½ degrees above. The
star Theta Capricorni (4 mag) in Capricorn is just ¾ of a degree to the
left of Saturn.
On the 4th
at 4:30am Saturn is 6 degrees above the Crescent Moon and 3½ degrees to
the right. Jupiter is 11½ degrees to the left of the Moon and 3 degrees
above. The star '106039' (4.5 mag) in Hipparcos Catalogue is 1 degree
lower right of the Moon.
At 4:30am on the 5th
the crescent Moon is in the south east and just 3 degrees above the
horizon at 122 degrees azimuth. Jupiter is 5¾ degrees above the Moon and
¾ of a degree to the right.
On the 6th
at 4:40am the crescent Moon is due ESE at 112.5 degrees azimuth and
just 2¼ degrees above the horizon in the constellation of Aquarius.
The Eta Aquarids meteor shower can be seen from 19th April - 28th May. They reach their peak on the night of the 6th/7th May.
Its produced by dust particles left behind by comet Halley. Best
viewing will be from a dark location after midnight and will radiate
from the constellation of Aquarius, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
At 4:45am on the 7th a
thin crescent Moon is barely a degree above the eastern horizon at 102
degrees azimuth. Neptune is 5½ degrees above the Moon and 2 degrees to
the right.
From the 7th – 10th Venus passes close the Pleiades low in the WNW. On the 8th
at 9:15pm Venus is 4 degrees to the lower left of the Pleiades with
Mercury 8 degrees above Venus and 3½ degrees to the left. Venus is at
298 degrees azimuth and just 3½ degrees above the horizon.
From the 7th – 11th Mars passes close to the star Mebsuta (3 mag) in Gemini. On the 9th around 10:00pm Mebsuta will be ¾ of a degree upper right of Mars in the west.
On the 8th at 5:00am a very thin crescent Moon will be low in the east at 94 degrees azimuth and just 1 degree above the horizon.
An occultation of the planet Venus by the Moon occurs on the 12th. This will only be visible from the South Pacific ocean.
At 9:15pm on the 12th
a very thin crescent Moon is just 3 degrees above the WNW horizon at
298 degrees azimuth. Venus is 2 degrees above the Moon. Mercury is 8
degrees above Venus and 4 degrees to the left. Aldebaran (0.8 mag) is 7½
degrees to the left of Venus. The Pleiades star cluster are 6 degrees
to the right of the Moon and Venus.
On the 13th
at 9:30pm Mercury is 2½ degrees to the upper right of the thin crescent
Moon in the WNW. Venus is 9 degrees to the lower right of the Moon at
300.5 degrees azimuth and just 3½ degrees above the horizon.
From the 14th – 16th Venus passes close to the Stars Kappa Tauri (4.2 mag) and Upsilon Tauri (4.2 mag). On the 15th at 9:30pm Kappa Tauri is less than ½ a degree to the upper right of Venus, and on the 16th at the same time Upsilon Tauri is 1½ degrees to the right of Venus.
At 10:30pm on the 14th
the star Zeta Tauri (2.9 mag) in Taurus is 4 degrees below the crescent
Moon. The star Elnath (1.6 mag) is 6½ degrees to the right of the Moon.
Mercury should easily be seen 6½ degrees below Elnath and 3 degrees to
the right.
On the 15th
at 10:30pm the star Mebsuta (3 mag) in Gemini is ½ a degree above left
of the crescent Moon. Mars is 3½ degrees to the left of the Moon and 2
degrees above.
At midnight on the 16th
the star Kappa Geminorum (3.5 mag) in Gemini is just 1¼ degrees above
left of the Moon. Mars is 8 degrees to the lower right of the Moon.
Mercury is at maximum eastern elongation (22 degrees) from the Sun on the 17th.
There is a planned launch on the 17th
*of an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It will put the
U.S. Space Force's fifth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous
satellite (SBIRS GEO 5) into orbit.
On the night of the 17th at 1:00am the Beehive Star Cluster is 2½ degrees to the left of the Moon and 1 degree below.
At 9:30pm on the 19th
the Moon is approximately midway between the stars Algieba (2 mag) and
Regulus (1.3 mag) in Leo. The star Eta Leonis (3.4 mag) is just 2
degrees to the right of the Moon.
From the 20th – 24th Mercury passes within 3 degrees of the star Elnath (1.6 mag) in Taurus. On the 23rd at 9:30pm Venus is 6½ degrees below Elnath. On the 24th at 9:30pm Mercury is midway between Elnath and Zeta Tauri (2.9 mag) with Venus 4¼ degrees lower right of Mercury.
On the 20th at 10:00pm the star Chertan (3.3 mag) in Leo is 5 degrees above the Moon.
At 10:00pm on the 21st the star Nu Virginus (4 mag) in Virgo is 3 degrees to the right of the Moon and 1 degree above.
From the 21st – 25th Mars pases close to the star Wasat (3.5 mag) in Gemini. On the 23rd at 10:00pm Wasat is just 1½ degrees lower left of Mars.
On the 22nd at 10:00pm the star Porrima (2.7 mag) in Virgo is just 2 degrees to the right of the Moon.
At 10:00pm on the 23rd the star Spica (0.9 mag) in Virgo is 6 degrees below right of the Moon.
On the 24th at midnight the star Zubenelgenubi (2.7 mag) in Libra is just 2¾ degrees lower left of the Moon.
At midnight on the 25th
the star Theta Librae (4.1 mag) in Libra is 3¾ degrees to the upper
left of the Moon... Then at 4:00am the following morning Theta Librae is
3½ degrees above the Moon and 1 degree to the right.
There is a Total Eclipse of the Moon on the 26th
May. As the greatest eclipse occurs around midday not even a partial
phase will be visible from any part of Europe or Africa. The penumbral
phase starts at 9:47am and ends at 2:49pm. Totality only lasts for 14½
minutes.
From the 26th – 31st Venus passes close to Mercury. On the 28th at 9:30pm Mercury is ½ a degree to the left of Venus low in the WNW. On the 29th at the same time Mercury is 1 degree below Venus.
On the 26th at midnight low in the SSE the star Antares (1 mag) in Scorpius is 5 degrees to the right of the Moon and 2 degrees below.
From the 28th – 31st Comet C/2020 R4 Atlas (9.5 mag – April 16th) passes close to the star Zosma (2.5 mag) in Leo. On the 29th and 30th at midnight Comet Atlas is 2½ degrees to the right of Zosma.
Low in the south east at 12:30am on the night of the 28th, the star Nunki (2 mag) in Sagittarius is just 1 degree upper right of the Moon.
On the 30th
at 4:00am Saturn is 13½ degrees to the left of the Moon and 6 degrees
above. The star Theta Capricorni (4 mag) is less than ½ a degree to the
left of Saturn.
From the 30th May – 1st June Mars passes close to the star Kappa Geminorum (3.5 mag). On the 31st
Kappa Geminorum will be just under 2 degrees to the upper right of Mars.
At 4:15am on the 31st Saturn is 5 degrees above the Moon in the SSE.
* = Dates and times are subject to change.
News: NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. Space
Launch System (SLS), along with NASA's Orion spacecraft, the Human
Landing System and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA's
backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can
send Orion, astronauts and cargo to the Moon on a single mission.
China's
Chang'e 4 mission is currently exploring Von Karman crater on the Moon.
A south pole site will also be the target for NASA's VIPER rover
launching in 2023. The crewed Artemis initiative could also pay it a
visit in the coming years.
NASA's
Ingenuity carries inertial sensors, a laser altimeter,and two cameras: a
13-megapixel colour camera and a 0.5-megapixel black-and-white
navigation camera. It also has internal heaters to withstand the cold
Martian nights. There's also a piece of fabric from the original 1903
Wright flyer aboard Ingenuity, a swatch about the size of a postage
stamp. The cost for design, development and construction of Ingenuity
was $85 million.
Future
helicopters could become standard aboard planetary missions to scout
terrain ahead, look into shadowed craters, and more. While Ingenuity's
mission is a short proof of concept, it's only the beginning. NASA plans
on sending a much more ambitious nuclear-powered helicopter named
Dragonfly to Saturn's large moon Titan, perhaps launching in 2027.
Facts: George Robert Carruthers (b.1939) was an African American inventor, who passed away at the age of 81 on December 26th
2020, is immortalized on the Moon. There, in the shadow of the
abandoned Orion lunar module, sits a 2 foot 7inch gold-plated camera
that he designed and built: the first astronomical telescope to observe
the heavens from another celestial body. It was launched aboard Apollo
16 in 1972.