CONJUNCTION

GREAT CONJUNCTION:
      A great conjunction in the east south east sky tonight. Perfect visibility here in Winnipeg with Jupiter slightly to the left and above the waxing Moon. Gotta get out there with binoculars, 41 below windchill or not.
Frozen but happy in Winnipeg.

AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT:

Well Molly has been back from vacation for a few days and is hard at it again. I'm almost over the agitating experience of coming back and having to make close to 70 phone calls. Let alone the usual set of mechanical disasters. It also means I'm back to my usual late nights. Good thing this evening as I was doing this, that and the other thing in the yard and at the car, and I had a chance to catch the pairing of the almost full Moon and the planet Jupiter when they were by my own crude estimate only 2 1/2 to 3 degrees apart. Quite striking.

As the diagram shows they will gradually separate over the next few days, but they still make a great sight. Jupiter is almost at the closest approach to Earth (it happened on September 20 last month) that it will have until 2022. The pairing with an almost full Moon (Hunters' Moon this Friday, October 22) makes for particularly good viewing. The best time today was in the early evening. By midnight clouds were already starting to obscure these strangers passing in the night.

The annual Orionid meteor shower is also due this week. The projected peak will be just before dawn on Thursday 21, but the almost full Moon will obscure all but the brightest meteors. The Orionids result when the Earth crosses through the debris of Halley's Comet.

This will probably be a disappointment, but do catch the couple now in the sky.

AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

A GREAT CONJUNCTION-NOV 30 TO DECEMBER 1:

Here's a little break from the usual political subject matter on this blog. Tonight and tomorrow there will be a "grand conjunction" of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter in the southwest sky. If you have been watching in that direction for the past few evenings, as Molly has, you will have seen Venus (lower and brighter) and Jupiter (higher and dimmer) gradually getting closer and closer together. The last time I was able to spot the pair, at about 5:00 on Friday the two planets were about 6 to seven degrees apart. Tonight Venus will overtake Jupiter and appear slightly below and to the east of Jupiter. A very thin crescent Moon will be seen closer to the horizon in the west. Tonight the two planets will be about 2 degrees away from each other, but you will be unable to see them from here in Winnipeg. It seems we almost always have overcast conditions for the best celestial events. The Environment Canada weather site predicts further cloud cover through tomorrow and the day after. A better site for those interested is the Clear Dark Sky site. they predict a period of relatively clearness tomorrow from 3 to 7 pm. This may be a chance to catch the events as the Moon climbs to the west of the planetary pair and Venus likewise moves further from Jupiter. This will actually be the best time to view the event as the three objects will be within a four degree triangle. After December 1 the Moon will be quite obviously to the east of the planets, and Venus will also be further from Jupiter in the same direction. Catch it if you can. The Clear Dark Sky site will give you viewing conditions for your locality if you live in North America.

The photo above, by the way, is from a prairie amateur astronomy site that I recently discovered, the Black Holes and Astro Stuff blog. I recommend it highly. The photo shows the Venus/Jupiter pair, along with the track of the International Space Station that was prominent in the southwest sky the last few days. I'm sure that, weather conditions permitting, that the BHAAS blog will be in the running for the Sky News photo contest this year. Would that I had such photo talent. By the way, here's another item from that blog, a picture of the area where the recent 'Prairie Meteor' was sighted. Pieces of the meteor have apparently been found near Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, but more on that later. See the BHAAS blog on our "Scientific Links' section, with many kudos to a great blogger.

AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

TRIPLE CONJUNCTION THIS EVENING:

Yesterday the planet Mercury reached its greatest elongation , 27 degrees,(its highest above the horizon), but today it is still quite visible in the evening twilight. During the past week Mercury has formed a triangle in the evening sky with the planets Venus and Mars, and tonight Venus and mars make their closest approach, being only 18 arc-minutes from each other. Venus, shining at a magnitude of -3.9, will be the brightest of the trio, Mercury will have a magnitude of -0.2 and Mars, the dimmest of the pair, will shine at about 1.7. The diagram to the left shows how the planets will be on a line of sight this evening.

Mars will be located just slightly left of and below Venus, and Mercury will be below the air and to the left. The bright star Spica will also be visible further to the left. You will need binoculars or a moderate power telescope to view the trio because of the closeness of Mars and Venus and because of the interference of twilight. People living further south than Canada will have a better chance of viewing as the planets will appear higher above the horizon to them. Conditions are likely to be overcast here in Winnipeg, but people elsewhere may have better luck.

Good viewing.

AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

MARS AND THE MOON:

Three days ago on the evening of the 26th Molly was struck by an intriguing sight that she had forgotten was coming. I'm speaking of the conjunction of Mars with the waning gibbous Moon in the constellation Gemini. Molly tends to shut down her stargazing in the winter months, even though these are perhaps the best of times because Molly hates cold beyond all other things. Thus it was that I was surprised by the sight that I saw. On that evening mars came within 1.5 degree of the Moon, just to the southeast (yes, the photo presented above is from the last conjunction in the spring of this year, so don't berate me too much).

Last Monday's view of Mars was perhaps one of the most striking, but for those with a specific interest in the planet itself it is hardly the best that will occur this year. About every 26 months Mars makes its closest approach to Earth, and this is the time when amateur astronomers have the best view of the red planet. Mars is actually the only planet on which one can see surface detail in the usual backyard scope, though this detail may be obscured this year due to recent dust storms on the planet. This year Mars will rise higher in the sky than it will for any time until 2022. The point of closest approach will be on December 19th. The apparent size of Mars on that date will be about 15.9 arc seconds, far lower than the close approach of 2003 when it had an apparent diameter of 25.1 arc seconds. The best times of viewing will be in the middle of the night. If the dust in the atmosphere has cleared you may be able to see the gradual turning of Mars from night to night because Mars' rotation period is 24 hours and 37 minutes. Thus each night you will see about 1/40th more of the Martian surface towards the East side. As Mars reaches its maximum size in December the northern hemisphere spring will have begun (Martian Equinox is on December 9th). The northern polar icecap will be prominently visible.

The closest approach of Mars to the Earth(88 million kms) will not be exceeded until 2016, and thus this is the best time to observe the surface for another 7 years. On the evening of December 23rd there will be an occultation of Mars by the Moon visible on the west coast and points west of Lloydminster on the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. Further east, such as here in Winnipeg, there will be merely another close approach such as what Molly saw three nights ago.

AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

UPCOMING CONJUNCTION OCTOBER 7TH:

Look east between 5:00 am and 7:00 am this coming Sunday, October 7th to see an impressive sight. The waning crescent Moon will sit just below and a tiny bit to the right of the planet Saturn. A little bit further to the right and a bit towards the zenith the planet Venus will also be within a regular 7 degrees binocular field, along with the star Regulus in the constellation Leo. All these bright objects will come together at this time for a spectacular show. Venus, now the "morning star", reached it greatest magnitude on September 23rd, but it is still very bright in the morning sky. On October 14th and 15th Venus and Saturn will make their closest approach, being within 3 degrees of each other just slightly below Regulus.

CONJUNCTION TONIGHT:

VENUS AND THE MOON:

The night sky will hold a particularly spectacular sight tonight as a close conjunction between the waxing crescent Moon and the planet Venus will occur in the sky across most of North America. The two bodies will be at about a degree of separation, and the Moon will appear to the right of Venus. The "dark" of the Moon will also be visible due to the phenomenon known as "Earthshine", and the entire lunar globe will be visible as a blueish grey globe. Events such as these often bring a flurry of UFO reports to local authorities and astronomers. The point of closest approach will occur at 9:55 pm here in Winnipeg (sunset is at 9:12 pm) with bodies well up in the sky at 26 degrees. The event will occur later in the East, but the Moon and Venus will be much closer to the horizon there. As you move further to the West the Moon and Venus will be higher in the sky, but the point of closest approach will occur before sunset. In Edmonton, for instance the Sun will set at 9:33 pm while the closest approach will be at 8:41 pm. The conjunction, however, will still be visible and well worth viewing. Where the event occurs at the proper time one can see the two bodies approach each other and then draw apart.

The conjunction of the Moon and Venus occurs on the flags of many Islamic nations such as Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Algeria, Mauritania and Tunisia. The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge used it as an "ominous portent" in 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'.

At the present time Venus, when viewed through binoculars appears as a gibbous disc. At the beginning of June it will have evolved into a "half-moon" phase, and in July it will present as a crescent.

LAST CHANCE FOR THE WINTER HUNTER:

THE STARS OF ORION:

Last night Molly observed a beautiful sight. In the early evening the waxing crescent Moon and Venus were present together in the southwest sky, with a separation of less than 5 degrees. Venus has been gradually brightening this month, from a magnitude of -4.02 at the beginning of April. It will continue to brighten to -4.11 by the end of April. Venus shines brightest when it is in a crescent phase. Yesterday the globe of the Moon was plainly outlined, even it dark portions. The star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus was shining a rusty red to their left, and the Pleiades were visible to the lower right of the Moon. Capella was a bright star higher in the sky to the right (north). Tonight Venus will appear beneath the crescent Moon (yesterday it was to the right/south), but the sky conditions here in Winnipeg are such that Molly will probably not be able to view this event. As a side note Saturn (see previous posts on this blog) was plainly visible almost due south just down from the "hook" of the constellation Leo.

Anyways, at the time of viewing Orion was low in the southwest. Soon it will no longer be visible as spring springs more fully. This is the last chance to observe the stars of Orion the Hunter before he departs until the fall. Please refer to the graphic above for what follows: a mini-tour of the sights of Orion. Orion is a constellation visible in both the northern and southern hemispheres (though the appearance differs). In Australia the "belt" of Orion is often referred to as "the saucepan". Orion's belt is also called "the three kings" in some places. In Sumeria this constellation was referred to as "The Shepherd of Anu". In ancient Egypt this constellation was associated with Osiris, the god of the underworld. The Greek mythology of Orion the Hunter, however, is that which has penetrated most deeply into popular western culture. Orion figures in works of literature from 'Paradise Lost' , Tennyson, Tolkien and numerous other books, comics, musical works to Star Trek and Stargate,Atlantis. Orion has also figured in native American and Australian aborigine mythology. In Norse mythology Orion's belt was known as 'Frigg's distaff'. The Bible mentions Orion 3 times (Job 9:9, Job 38:31, Amos 5:8). The Greek myths generally revolve around the goddess Artemis falling in love with the hunter Orion. She was apparently so entranced that she forgot her duty of illuminating the night sky (Artemis was a Moon goddess). Her twin brother Apollo supposedly saw Orion swimming in the sea and dared his sister to hit what seemed to be only a spot on the horizon with her bow. Artemis, being more accurate than the US military, "hit the spot". When she found what she had done she placed his body in the sky. This apparently explains why the "face in the Moon" looks sad. A variant ending to the myth is that Apollo summoned a giant scorpion (the constellation Scorpio) which stung Orion to death. The result was that Scorpio and Orion could never appear together in the sky. Scorpio is a summer constellation.

Look to the illustration above. The two most prominent stars are Rigel at the lower right and Betelgeuse at the upper left.Betelgeuse is a red giant (the colour is apparent to the naked eye as a yellow orange) with an diameter probably larger than the orbit of Mars. It is an irregular pulsar that varies from 0.3 to 0.6 in magnitude. It is somewhat dimmer than Rigel, a large blue white star. Rigel at 0.1 magnitude is one of the brightest stars in the sky. Rigel has three stellar companions invisible to the naked eye. The star Bellatrix is the apparent "left shoulder" or Orion in the diagram (to the right of the viewer actually). The star Saiph is at the lower left of the rectangle that describes the main part of Orion. The "head" of Orion is Meissa, just above a line drawn from Bellatrix to Betelgeuse. The three stars of Orion's belt are named (from right to left) Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak. Just below this is the "sword of Orion". The "tip" os Orion's sword is the star Hatsya. In this are one may see a faint blurry area that is the famous Orion Nebula (M 42). this overlaps with a multiple star system called the Trapezium. The famous Horsehead Nebula is just below the leftmost star, Alnitak, in Orion's belt.

Orion can be used as a celestial landmark to find many other stars and constellations. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky can be found by drawing a line to the left from the belt of Orion. Aldebaron, the "eye of Taurus", can be found by drawing a line rightward through the shoulders. A diagonal line from Rigel through Betelgeuse leads you to Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini. A line drawn leftward through the shoulders leads you to Procyon , another bright star in Canis Minor. Sirius is in Canis Major.

Molly

Interesting Conjunction Upcoming:
I've already mentioned the upcoming Leonid Meteor Shower due for Dec. 13th and 14th. Another interesting astronomical events will be happening at about the same time, Dec. 7th to 14th actually. This is a triple conjunction of the planets Mercury, Mars and Jupiter in the constellation of Scorpio. The magnitudes of the three planets will be Jupiter: -1.7, Mercury: -0.6 and Mars: +1.5. As you can gather from this Mars will be quite faint, and you will need a good pair of binoculars to spot it. This is compounded by the fact that the best time for viewing will be at about 6:30 AM, and the trio will be quite low in the southeast.
There will be 40 triple conjunctions in the period 1980 to 2050 ie about one every 21 months. Some of these, however, are impossible to observe. The unique aspect of the upcoming one this Dec. is that it will be the "tightest" of any of the events ie the planets will be the closest to each other as compared to other conjunctions. The relative positions of the planets will change over the course of the week of the event.