Astronomical Observing at Fishcreek - Friday 05/29/2009 Sunset: 8:53pm Civil twilight ends: 9:23pm - when the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon Nautical twilight ends: 10:04pm - when the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon Astronomical twilight ends: 10:53pm - when the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon Tonight, we have a nearly First Quarter Moon that will be with us until it sets at 1:27am, but don't despair. This phase is perfect for viewing detail in the craters on or near the terminator - the line separating lunar night from day. We'll also be able to see Saturn, colorful double stars, and open clusters made up of hundreds of stars. The 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 will be somewhat difficult in the light of the Moon. Saturn, the ringed planet, is a beautiful sight. With a high-power view through the telescopes, the cloud bands are now visible since the rings are nearly edge-on this entire year. Try to catch the rings now, or as soon as possible, because they'll continue to be more difficult to see as the year progresses becoming invisible to us by early September. We hope to see you here for a night under the stars - now in our fourteenth year! The following Sun, Moon and planet detail was calculated as it will be on Friday 5/29/09 at 10:04:24pm (nautical twilight). Source: Guide8 software available from www.projectpluto.com All times are shown in EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) as seen from Stow, Ohio. Longitude: W 81° 25' 37.4" Latitude: N 41° 11' 11.2" Altitude: 337m Above Horizon: Object Mag Const Rise Set Saturn 0.9 Leo 13:30 02:36 Luna -9.6 Leo 11:28 01:27 Below Horizon: Object Mag Const Rise Set Sun -26.7 Tau 05:53 20:53 Mercury 2.5 Tau 05:22 19:21 Venus -4.4 Psc 03:53 16:54 Mars 1.2 Psc 04:02 17:24 Jupiter -2.4 Cap 01:32 12:07 Uranus 5.9 Psc 02:42 14:37 Neptune 7.9 Cap 01:30 12:07 Pluto 14.1 Sgr 22:03 08:05 Sun data: Rise 5:53am Transit: 1:23pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets 8:53pm Constellation: Taurus Distance: 1.01373329 AU = 151,652,342 km = 94,232,398 miles = 8.44 light-minutes Magnitude: -26.7 Apparent size: 31.55 arcminutes in angular diameter Civil twilight ends at 9:23pm ( When the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon ) Nautical twilight ends at 10:04pm ( When the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon ) Astronomical twilight ends 10:53pm ( When the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon ) Summer Solstice: Sunday June 21, 2009 at 1:46am (when Summer 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 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm the Sun will be 12º below the west-northwest horizon Moon data: Rise: 11:28am Transit: 6:34pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets: 1:27am May 30 Constellation: Leo Phase: 38.06% illuminated (waxing crescent) Distance: 0.00245594 AU = 367,403 km = 228,294 miles = 1.23 light-seconds Magnitude: -9.6 Apparent size: 32.51 arcminutes in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 76.05° (evening sky) Age: 5.58 days since last New Moon Next Phase: First Quarter on Saturday May 30, 2009 11:22pm Next Lunar eclipse: Total eclipse (100%) on Sunday Sept 27, 2015 at 10:10pm EDT On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm the Moon will be 35.8º above the west-southwest horizon Mercury data: Rise: 5:22am Transit: 12:22pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets: 7:21pm Constellation: Taurus Phase: 10.51% illuminated Distance: 0.60659974 AU = 90,746,030 km = 56,386,970 miles = 5.05 light-minutes Magnitude: 2.5 Apparent size: 11.09 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 16.30° (morning sky) Next maximum elongations... Morning: Saturday, June 13, 2009 (23° 27' 17") Evening: Monday, August 24, 2009 (27° 21' 57") On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm Mercury will be 25.5º below the northwest horizon Venus data: Rise: 3:53am Transit 10:23am (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 4:54pm Constellation: Pisces Phase: 45.75% illuminated Distance: 0.64643474 AU = 96,705,260 km = 60,089,863 miles = 5.38 light-minutes Magnitude: -4.4 Apparent size: 25.81 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 45.67° (morning sky) Next maximum elongations... Morning: Friday, June 05, 2009 (45° 51' 07") Evening: Friday, August 20, 2010 (45° 57' 59") On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm Venus will be 41.5º below the north-northwest horizon Mars data: Rise: 4:02am Transit 10:43am (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 5:24pm Constellation: Pisces Phase: 94.14% illuminated Distance: 2.00333833 AU = 299,695,148 km = 186,221,934 miles = 16.69 light-minutes Magnitude: 1.2 Apparent size: 4.67 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 40.18° (morning sky) Next close approach of Mars is on Friday, Jan 29, 2010 On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm Mars will be 38º below the north-northwest 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: 1:32am May 30 Transit 6:49am May 30 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 12:07pm May 30 Constellation: Capricornus Phase: 99.03% illuminated Distance: 4.75158093 AU = 710,826,390 km = 441,687,047 miles = 39.58 light-minutes Magnitude: -2.4 Apparent size: 41.49 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 102.22° (morning sky) On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm Jupiter will be 39.8º below the east-northeast horizon Next transit of the Great Red Spot: None visible GRS longitude: 130.9 Jupiter satellite events: None during darkness Saturn data: Rise: 1:30pm Transit 8:03pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 2:36am May 30 Constellation: Leo Phase: 99.71% illuminated Distance: 9.24648057 AU = 1,383,253,805 km = 859,514,077 miles = 1.28 light-hours Magnitude: 0.9 Apparent size: 17.97 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 96.23° (evening sky) On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm Saturn will be 47.2º above the southwest horizon Uranus data: Rise: 2:42am May 30 Transit 8:40am May 30 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 2:37pm May 30 Constellation: Pisces Phase: 99.94% illuminated Distance: 20.37828734 AU = 3,048,548,394 km = 1,894,280,174 miles = 2.83 light-hours Magnitude: 5.9 Apparent size: 3.46 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 72.61° (morning sky) On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm Uranus will be 46.8º below the north-northeast horizon Neptune data: Rise: 1:30am May 30 Transit: 6:48am May 30 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 12:07pm May 30 Constellation: Capricornus Phase: 99.97% illuminated Distance: 29.79720869 AU = 4,457,598,973 km = 2,769,823,623 miles = 4.14 light-hours Magnitude: 7.9 Apparent size: 2.29 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 102.34° (morning sky) On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm Neptune will be 39.3º below the east-northeast horizon Pluto (Dwarf Planet aka Asteroid 134340) data: Rise: 10:03pm Transit 3:04am May 30 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 8:05am May 30 Constellation: Sagittarius Phase: 100.00% illuminated Distance: 30.72588284 AU = 4,596,526,648 km = 2,856,149,279 miles = 4.27 light-hours Magnitude: 14.1 Apparent size: 0.11 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 155.58° (morning sky) On 5/29/2009 at 10:04:24pm Pluto will be 1º below the east-southeast horizon *************** Web hosting generously provided by *************** JCSi - Jucikas Computer Services, Inc. 4381 Hudson Drive, Suite KV2, Stow, OH 44224 Tel: 330-689-0155 * Fax: 330-689-0165