Skywatch March 2008
(newest at top)

This is Dudley Observatory's Skywatch Line for Friday, March 28, through Sunday, March 30, written by Alan French.

As shuttle missions deliver new parts to the International Space Station it grows in size, and as it gets larger it reflects more sunlight, so it also grows brighter. It is now brighter than any of the stars in the night sky, including Sirius, and approaches the brightness of Venus when it is high in our skies. You'll have a chance to see the ISS on each night over the weekend. As an added bonus, you'll also be able to see the Jules Verne – the Automated Transport Vehicle – that was built to deliver supplies. It does not appear as bright as the ISS, being smaller, but is as bright as an average star.

Some times will be given in hours, minutes, and seconds. Be sure to set your watch to the correct time.

On Friday night the ISS will appear moving up from the south southwestern horizon at 7:36 PM. It will be highest at 7:38:32 when it will be 35 degrees above the southeastern horizon, and will vanish in the east northeast at 7:41:12. Its path will bring in up just below Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, across the southeastern sky, and then below Saturn. The fainter Jules Verne will follow almost the same path across the sky about two and a half minutes later. It may be somewhat difficult to spot because evening twilight will still brighten the sky.

The best and highest path this weekend will be Saturday night, and the current forecast is for clear skies. The ISS will first appear, coming up from the west southwestern horizon, at 7:58 PM. It will be highest and 71 degrees above the north northwestern horizon just before 8:01, and will vanish in the northeast at 8:03:32. As it crosses the sky it will pass just above Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus, the Bull, and then move through Auriga. Its path will then take it above the bowl of the Big Dipper, and then along the dipper's handle. The Jules Verne will follow about six minutes later.

Sunday's appearance will be the lowest of the three, but the ISS will still be east to spot. It will first appear at 8:20:22 PM in the west, reach its highest point at 8:22:57 when 29 degrees above the north northwestern horizon, and vanish in the northeast at 8:25:32. It will travel below Perseus, through the familiar “W” of Casseopeia, and below Polaris, the North Star. The Jules Verne will follow almost 11 minutes later. This is the latest of the three passes, and at the later hour, with darker skies, the Jules Verne should be easy to see.

This is Dudley Observatory's Skywatch Line for Friday, March 21, through Sunday, March 23, written by Alan French.

The Moon was full early in the afternoon on Friday, so a bright waning gibbous Moon will dominate the night sky this weekend. If you look toward the east southeast on Saturday night at 9:45 you'll find the Moon almost twelve degrees above the horizon. To the lower left of the Moon you'll see the star Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. The Moon will be close to Spica all night.

Star parties.are gatherings of amateur astronomers and their telescopes to enjoy views of the night sky. Many clubs hold star parties, and they are usually held at sites away from city lights. They are also often open to the public. The local club, the Albany Area Amateur Astronomers, holds public star parties at a variety of locations. The complete schedule for “Star Parties West” for 2008 has just been published. It includes star parties held in Indian Meadows Park in Glenville, and at George Landis Arboretum in Esperance.

Indian Meadows Park is just off of Droms Road, not far from the YMCA, so it is convenient and easy to reach for many people. It offers a good view of the night sky, but suffers from light pollution. Most star parties there are held when the Moon is visible. Landis Arboretum offers a fine view of the night sky, and is away from significant light pollution, offering dark skies. Star parties there are held when the skies are moonless.

Both schedules are available on the web. Visit www.timesunion.com <http://www.timesunion.com/>, and click on “communities” in the menu on the left side of the page. Scroll down and enter “astronomers” in the Group search box. This will return a link to the club's web page. Click on that, and when you get to the Albany Area Amateur Astronomers' page, choose “Star Parties.” This will bring up a list of dates, and links to maps for the star party locations.

If you do not have web access, or prefer a printed copy of the star party schedule, call 374-8460 and ask to have one mailed to you.

For stargazers in the eastern part of the Capital District, there are also star parties in Grafton Lakes State Part and other locations. These are also listed on the web page.

One of the largest shows of equipment for amateur astronomers is at Rockland County Community College in Suffern, NY, which is a two to three hour drive from anywhere in the Capital District. The Northeast Astronomy Forum, or NEAF, for short, features more than 80 vendors, world renowned speakers, classes for beginners, one of the largest safe “solar” star parties, and is preceded by a two day imaging workshop. This year NEAF is being held on April 26 and 27. Visit www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.htm <http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.htm> for full information.

Perhaps I'll see you at NEAF, or a future star party.

 

This is the Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday, March Tenth and Eleventh.
by Joe Slomka

The Sun sets at 6:53 PM, with night falling at 8:30. Dawn breaks at 5:39 AM, ending with sunrise at 7:13.

As the sky darkens, a four-day-old Moon, high in the southwest, attracts our attention. Mars and Saturn are next to appear. Mars is moderately high in the southeast, while Saturn is much lower in the eastern firmament. Both are almost equally bright.

After nightfall, Mars is now found near Castor's foot, in Gemini. Although Mars fades and dwindles from its vivid appearance a few months ago, it is still quite bright and its red color stands out against mostly white stars. During March and April, Mars marches eastward across Gemini. Both Mars and Gemini are bright enough to track by naked eye viewing every available night

Saturn is also on the move, slowly closing in on Regulus, the brightest star in Leo. While Saturn appears small in our telescopes, it is so radiant that even small telescopes show it off. Binoculars hint at the rings; even small telescopes display the rings. While its main feature is the intricate ring system, the planet itself is worthy of study. Saturn is a smaller brother of Jupiter; both are gas giant plants - large balls of mostly hydrogen gas. Jupiter is noted for its very active systems of cloud zones and belts. Saturn has these too, although much more subtle. Patient observers with large telescopes can track these changes.

First light sees both gas giants at opposite ends of the horizon. Saturn prepares to set, while Jupiter has already risen. Both planets have moons visible to amateurs. Jupiter's can be seen with binoculars, while small telescopes capture Saturn's. Astronomical almanacs, magazines and websites help the observer identify these distant bodies.

Just before sunrise, Venus and Mercury rise within minutes of each other and appear quite low in the East. Both planets fill a single binocular field. Venus is the brightest and most illuminated. Mercury appears to Venus' upper right as a dimmer crescent copycat. These planets require an unobstructed horizon to watch their month-long pairing.

Clear Skies
Joe Slomka

This is Dudley Observatory's Skywatch Line for Friday, March 7, through Sunday, March 9, written by Alan French.

The weekend skies will be dark and moonless, except for a brief glimpse of a thin crescent young Moon just after sunset Saturday and Sunday nights. On Saturday, look for a very slender crescent ust above the western horizon at 6:40 PM. Look for it again above the western horizon at 7:30 PM on Sunday. Watch the Moon during the coming week as it moves higher into the sky and heads toward first quarter, which will occur early next Friday.

Learning the constellations is easy if you start with a familiar star pattern and work from there. Most people know the Big Dipper, an obvious pattern of bright stars that form part of the constellation Ursa Major, the Big Bear. It is an excellent guide to finding other constellations.

The Big Dipper is toward the northeast early in the evening. The four stars marking the bowl are highest and the top of the bowl opens toward the north. The three stars that form the handle dangle down toward the horizon.

As you may know, the Dipper can be used to find Polaris, the North Star, which is at the end of the Little Dipper's handle. The stars that of the Little Dipper also make up the constellation Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.

To find Polaris, start with the star at the bottom of the bowl's front. Imagine a line extending from that star, through the star at the top of the front of the bowl, and extending across the sky. The first reasonably bright star you encounter will be the North Star. If you are where the skies are fairly dark, you should be able to see the outline of the Little Dipper extending from Polaris. Under light polluted skies, you may only see Polaris and the two stars that mark the front of the bowl.

Now we can use the Big Dipper and Polaris to find the constellation Cassiopeia, the Queen. Start at the top star at the back of the Big Dipper's bowl, where the handle joins the bowl. Draw an imaginary line extending from there to Polaris, and then continue it across the sky. You'll soon come to a bright star that marks one end of a big “W” in the sky. This is Cassiopeia.

Finally, we'll journey from the Big Dipper to Leo, the Lion. Start at the middle of the bowl's bottom. Picture a line perpendicular to the bottom and extending away and toward the southeast. It will reach a pair of bright stars – Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, and Saturn, a wandering visitor to the constellation. Regulus marks the end of a backwards question mark, which outlines Leo's head, and a triangle of stars forms the lion's hindquarters.

Saturn's largest and brightest moon, Titan, can be spotted through almost any telescope. Depending on the type of telescope you use, Titan will be either just above or just below Saturn, and less than two Saturn diameters away, on Saturday night, making identification easy.

We start daylight savings time on Sunday night, meaning we set our clocks ahead one hour and lose an hour, which we regain on the first Sunday in November – November 2. Oddly, there are no real studies that prove any major advantages to daylight savings time. Some show it provides a marginal savings of energy, and others find it actually increases energy use. For skywatchers, daylight savings time means that the mid-summer skies do not get completely dark until after 10:00 PM.

This is the Skywatch Line for Monday and Tuesday, March Third and Fourth.
by Joe Slomka

The Sun sets at 5:45 PM, with night falling at 7:21. Dawn breaks at 4:51 AM, ending with sunrise at 6:25.

As the sky darkens, the bright star Sirius and the Red Planet Mars occupy the southeast. Mars is due south, and highest, at 7 PM. Mars shines near the foot of Gemini. It is less than three degrees from the star cluster M-35. Both objects easily fit in your binocular or telescope field. Mars is too small and dim for detailed observation. Mars sets before 3 AM.

Saturn remains beneath Leo. Saturn is about midway between Regulus, the constellation's brightest star, and a cluster of three galaxies. The Saturn-Regulus pair can be seen in binoculars; a telescope is required to see the galaxy cluster-planet pair. Saturn is visible for most of the night. The best time to observe it is about 11:30 PM, when it is highest. Telescopes show off the rings and several of its many moons.

First Light sees Saturn ready to set in the West, and Jupiter just risen in the East. Jupiter lies just above teapot-shaped Sagittarius.

On Tuesday, a thin crescent Moon appears between Jupiter and a Venus-Mercury cluster; Wednesday forms a trio with the Venus-Mercury pair.

Mercury and Venus share a binocular field for most of the month. Both rise shortly before 5:30 AM Low in the East.  Venus is much brighter and larger. Venus also appears as a fatter crescent. Horizon obstructions may frustrate early observers.

If you live in dark rural areas, the next two weeks are special. The Solar System is full of dust, which varies from small pebbles to smoke particles. When the position of the Sun and ecliptic are right, a faint glow may appear in the West, just after sunset. This phenomenon is called Zodiacal Light. It is best seen about a half hour after twilight ends. Sunlight is scattered by dust particles, which are positioned between the Sun and Earth. Moonlight, atmospheric pollution or haze can erase the effect. But, if you are lucky, you will see a pillar of light rising from the horizon in the direction of the Sun.

 

This is Dudley Observatory's Skywatch Line for Friday, February 29, through Sunday, March 2, written by Alan French.

The Moon was at last quarter late Thursday night, so the Moon will not rise until well after midnight over the weekend and most of the night will be dark and moonless. Early in the evening, just after the last remnants of twilight have vanished, the constellations of winter are toward the south. This would be a good weekend to learn your way around these distinctive star patterns, or reacquaint yourself with old friends.

The easiest way to learn the brighter stars and constellations is with a planisphere. A planisphere has a wheel that shows all the stars possibly visible in our skies, with outlines of the constellations. This wheel fits inside a sleeve, and a window shows what stars are visible at any particular time on any night of the year. The wheel just has to be turned so that the date on its outside matches the time on the window.

Planispheres are often available at bookstores, or perhaps you have one sitting, forgotten, in a drawer somewhere. (Just make sure it applies to 43 degrees north latitude.) If you don't have one, a quick and easy project is to make your own. You can download the two printed pieces you need from the web, print them, and follow the simple instructions included. For the planisphere “kit,” visit www.lhs.berkeley.edu/starclock/skywheel.htm <http://www.lhs.berkeley.edu/starclock/skywheel.htm> and print out the parts and instructions for Uncle Al's Skywheel. If your family is going to join you learning the stars, I suggest a planisphere for each person.

One problem using a planisphere is maintaining your night vision. As you may have noticed, it takes your eye 15 to 20 minutes to get used to the dark, and more stars are visible once you are dark adapted. If you use a regular flashlight to look at your planisphere, you will lose your night vision, and have to start getting used to the dark all over again. The solution is to use a dim red flashlight. It should be just bright enough to read the planisphere when you are dark adapted. You can cover a flashlight with red plastic, tissue paper, thin paper, or nail polish to make your own astronomer's flashlight.

To use your plansisphere, set it so the time and date correspond to when you are out under the stars. Note there are compass directions – north, west, south, and east - written around the outside of the planisphere. If you are looking south, hold “south” at the bottom. If you decide to explore the northern sky, hold “north” at the bottom.

Early risers on Monday will have a chance to see the International Space Station and a pretty paring of the Moon and Jupiter.

The ISS will be moving out of the Earth's shadow, low in the southwest, and will first appear near Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, at 5:26:22 AM. It will be highest at 5:28:39 when it will be 64 degrees above the southeast horizon, and will vanish below the east northeastern horizon at 5:31:31. The path of the ISS passes below Hercules and Lyra, and then moves down through the lower part of Cygnus, the Swan.

After watching the ISS look toward the southeast. You'll see a pretty crescent Moon with bright Jupiter about ten degrees above and somewhat to the right of it.