Astronomical Observing at Fishcreek - Friday 8/15/2008

Sunset				 8:27pm
Civil twilight ends:		 8:53pm ( When the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon )
Nautical twilight ends:		 9:29pm ( When the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon )
Astronomical twilight ends:	10:08pm ( When the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon )

Tonight's event will, again, be somewhat limited by the full Moon the entire night.  Despite the brightness of
the moon, we will be able to see Jupiter, colorful double stars, open clusters made up of hundreds of stars,
globular clusters comprised of hundreds of thousands of stars, planetary nebula formed by dying stars, diffuse
nebula and emission nebula where stars are being born, and galaxies.  Jupiter, the King of the planets, is a
beautiful sight.  With a high-power view through the telescopes, details in the cloud bands is possible, and
the four Galilean moons actually appear as disks instead of just point light sources.

We hope to see you here for a night under the stars - now in our thirteenth year!

The following Sun, Moon and planet detail was calculated as it will be on Friday 8/15/08 at 9:29:08pm (nautical twilight).
Source: Guide8 software available from www.projectpluto.com

All times are shown in EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) as seen from Stow, Ohio.

Above Horizon:
   Moon
   Mars
   Jupiter
   Neptune
   Pluto
   
Below Horizon:
   Sun
   Mercury
   Venus
   Saturn
   Uranus  

Sun data:
     Rise 6:32am
     Transit: 1:30pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Sets 8:27pm
     Constellation: Leo
     Distance: 1.01258081 AU = 151,479,933 km = 94,125,268 miles = 8.43 light-minutes
     Magnitude: -26.7
     Apparent size: 31.59 arcminutes in angular diameter
     Civil twilight ends at 8:53pm ( When the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon )
     Nautical twilight ends at 9:29pm ( When the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon )
     Astronomical twilight ends at 10:08pm ( When the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon )
     Fall Equinox: Monday Sept 22, 2008 at 11:45am (when Fall will officially be here)
     Next Solar Eclipse: Partial eclipse (>80%) on Monday August 21, 2017 2:30pm EDT
     Next TOTAL Solar Eclipse: Monday April 8, 2024 at 3:15pm
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm the Sun will be 12º below the west-northwest horizon

Moon data:
     Rise: 7:50pm
     Transit: 12:58am Aug 16 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Sets: 6:16am Aug 16
     Constellation: Capricornus
     Phase: 99.32% illuminated (waxing gibbous)
     14.64 days since last New Moon
     Distance: 0.00261107 AU = 390,610 km = 242,714 miles = 1.3 light-seconds
     Magnitude: -12.5
     Apparent size: 30.58 arcminutes in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 170.50 degrees (evening sky)
     Next Phase: Full Moon on Saturday Aug 16, 2008 at 5:17pm
     Next Lunar eclipse: Total eclipse (100%) on Sunday Sept 27, 2015 at 10:10pm EDT
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm the Moon will be 14.3º above the east-southeast horizon

Mercury data:
     Rise: 7:53am
     Transit: 2:33pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Sets: 9:11pm
     Constellation: Leo
     Phase: 86.70% illuminated
     Distance: 1.2799471 AU = 191,477,361 km = 118,978,518 miles = 10.66 light-minutes
     Magnitude: -0.5
     Apparent size: 5.25 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 16.37 degrees (evening sky)
     Next maximum elongations...
          Evening: Thursday, September 11, 2008 (26° 52' 17")
          Morning: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 (18° 19' 05")
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm Mercury will be 4.4º below the west horizon

Venus data:
     Rise: 8:05am
     Transit 2:42pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 9:18pm
     Constellation: Leo
     Phase: 94.68% illuminated
     Distance: 1.603493 AU = 239,879,138 km = 149,053,988 miles = 13.36 light-minutes
     Magnitude: -3.9 Bright, but lost in the glare of the setting sun
     Apparent size: 10.41 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 18.63 degrees (evening sky)
     Next maximum elongations...
          Evening: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 (47° 07' 21")
          Morning: Friday, June 05, 2009 (45° 51' 07")
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm Venus will be 3.1º below the west horizon

Mars data:
     Rise: 9:28am
     Transit 3:40pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 9:50pm
     Constellation: Virgo
     Phase: 96.80% illuminated
     Distance: 2.3552933 AU = 352,346,863 km = 218,938,193 miles = 19.62 light-minutes
     Magnitude: 1.7
     Apparent size: 3.97 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 34.31 degrees (evening sky)
     Next close approach of Mars is on Friday, Jan 29, 2010
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm Mars will be 2.9º above the west-southwest horizon
     No, Mars was *not* "...as big as a Full Moon on August 27!"
     Please see the following links for more information about this annual 'Mars Hoax'
         http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/8708182.html
         http://www.snopes.com/science/mars.asp
         http://www.hoax-slayer.com/mars-earth-close.html
         http://www.universetoday.com/2007/07/25/will-the-mars-look-as-big-as-the-moon-on-august-27-nope/ 

Jupiter data:
     Rise: 6:05pm
     Transit 10:44pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 3:23am Aug 16
     Constellation: Sagittarius
     Phase: 99.60% illuminated
     Distance: 4.34906248 AU = 650,610,486 km = 404,270,618 miles = 36.22 light-minutes
     Magnitude: -2.6
     Apparent size: 45.33 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 139.80 degrees (evening sky)
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm Jupiter will be 23.4º above the south-southeast horizon
     Next transit of the Great Red Spot: Saturday August 16, 2008 at 5:10am
     GRS longitude: 124.7
     Jupiter satellite events:
	Io shadow transit ends at 10:13pm

Saturn data:
     Rise: 7:55am
     Transit 2:34pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 9:13pm
     Constellation: Leo
     Phase: 99.98% illuminated
     Distance: 10.29676021 AU = 1,540,373,402 km = 957,143,669 miles = 1.43 light-hours
     Magnitude: 0.8
     Apparent size: 16.14 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 16.06 degrees (evening sky)
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm Saturn will be 4º below the west horizon

Uranus data:
     Rise: 9:25pm
     Transit 3:16am Aug 16 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 9:07am Aug 16
     Constellation: Aquarius
     Phase: 99.99% illuminated
     Distance: 19.19977673 AU = 2,872,245,716 km = 1,784,730,767 miles = 2.67 light-hours
     Magnitude: 5.7
     Apparent size: 3.67 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 151.83 degrees (morning sky)
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm Uranus will be 0.4º below the east horizon

Neptune data:
     Rise: 8:12pm
     Transit: 1:27am Aug 16 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 6:41am Aug 16
     Constellation: Capricornus
     Phase: 100.00% illuminated
     Distance: 29.02482595 AU = 4,342,052,159 km = 2,698,026,161 miles = 4.03 light-hours
     Magnitude: 7.8
     Apparent size: 2.35 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 179.18 degrees (evening sky)
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm Neptune will be 11.9º above the east-southeast horizon

Pluto (Dwarf Planet aka Asteroid 134340) data:
     Rise: 4:37pm
     Transit 9:40pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 2:43am Aug 16
     Constellation: Sagittarius
     Phase: 99.98% illuminated
     Distance: 30.91780825 AU = 4,625,238,281 km = 2,873,989,861 miles = 4.29 light-hours
     Magnitude: 14.1
     Apparent size: 0.11 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 124.84 degrees (evening sky)
     On 8/15/2008 at 9:29:08pm Pluto will be 31.5º above the south-southeast horizon