Astronomical Observing at Fishcreek - Friday 07/03/2009 Sunset: 9:05pm Civil twilight ends: 9:35pm - when the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon Nautical twilight ends: 10:18pm - when the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon Astronomical twilight ends: 11:08pm - when the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon Tonight, we have a nearly full Moon that will be with us the entire night until it sets at 3:24am. This phase isn't the best for viewing detail in the craters on or near the terminator - the line separating lunar night from day, but a wealth of features can still be seen. 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 7/03/09 at 10:18:05pm (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 1.1 Leo 11:21 00:22 Pluto 14.1 Sgr 19:42 05:44 Luna -11.7 Sco 18:16 03:24 Below Horizon: Object Mag Const Rise Set Sun -26.7 Gem 05:54 21:05 Mercury -1.2 Gem 05:00 20:15 Venus -4.1 Tau 03:15 17:34 Mars 1.1 Tau 02:51 17:18 Jupiter -2.7 Cap 23:15 09:48 Uranus 5.8 Psc 00:26 12:22 Neptune 7.9 Cap 23:11 09:48 Sun data: Rise 5:54am Transit: 1:30pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets 9:05pm Constellation: Gemini Distance: 1.01667537 AU = 152,092,471 km = 94,505,881 miles = 8.47 light-minutes Magnitude: -26.7 Apparent size: 31.46 arcminutes in angular diameter Civil twilight ends at 9:35pm ( When the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon ) Nautical twilight ends at 10:18pm ( When the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon ) Astronomical twilight ends 11:08pm ( When the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon ) Autumnal Equinox: Tuesday Sept 22, 2009 at 5:19pm (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 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm the Sun will be 12º below the northwest horizon Moon data: Rise: 6:16pm Transit: 10:51pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets: 3:23am Jul 4 Constellation: Scorpius Phase: 90.39% illuminated (waxing gibbous) Distance: 0.00266683 AU = 398,952 km = 247,897 miles = 1.33 light-seconds Magnitude: -11.7 Apparent size: 29.94 arcminutes in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 143.80° (evening sky) Age: 11.28 days since last New Moon Next Phase: Full Moon on Tuesday July 7, 2009 at 5:21am Next Lunar eclipse: Total eclipse (100%) on Sunday Sept 27, 2015 at 10:10pm EDT On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm the Moon will be 22º above the south-southeast horizon Mercury data: Rise: 4:59am Transit: 12:37pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets: 8:15pm Constellation: Gemini Phase: 87.74% illuminated Distance: 1.23248205 AU = 184,376,690 km = 114,566,365 miles = 10.27 light-minutes Magnitude: -1.2 Apparent size: 5.46 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 11.68° (morning sky) Next maximum elongations... Evening: Monday, August 24, 2009 (27° 21' 57") Morning: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 (17° 56' 43") On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm Mercury will be 17.5º below the northwest horizon Venus data: Rise: 3:15am Transit 10:24am (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 5:34pm Constellation: Taurus Phase: 63.04% illuminated Distance: 0.92485259 AU = 138,355,978 km = 85,970,420 miles = 7.7 light-minutes Magnitude: -4.1 Apparent size: 18.04 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 43.69° (morning sky) Next maximum elongations... Evening: Friday, August 20, 2010 (45° 57' 59") Morning: Saturday, January 08, 2011 (46° 57' 24") On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm Venus will be 31.5º below the north-northwest horizon Mars data: Rise: 2:51am Jul 4 Transit 10:04am Jul 4 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 5:18pm Jul 4 Constellation: Taurus Phase: 92.33% illuminated Distance: 1.8813978 AU = 281,453,105 km = 174,886,854 miles = 15.67 light-minutes Magnitude: 1.1 Apparent size: 4.97 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 47.96° (morning sky) Next close approach of Mars is on Friday, Jan 29, 2010 On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm Mars will be 30.5º below the north 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: 11:15pm Transit 4:31am Jul 4 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 9:48am Jul 4 Constellation: Capricornus Phase: 99.51% illuminated Distance: 4.27419734 AU = 639,410,821 km = 397,311,469 miles = 35.6 light-minutes Magnitude: -2.7 Apparent size: 46.12 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 135.81° (morning sky) On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm Jupiter will be 11.6º below the east horizon Next transit of the Great Red Spot: Saturday July 4, 2009 at 2:29am GRS longitude: 131.7 Jupiter satellite events (during darkness): Io shadow transit starts at 10:42pm with Jupiter 7.2° below horizon Io transit starts at 11:39pm with Jupiter 3.1° above horizon Io shadow transit ends at 1:00am with Jupiter 16.5° above horizon Io transit ends at 1:57am with Jupiter 24.5° above horizon Ganymede eclipse begins at 4:35am with Jupiter 35.2° above horizon Saturn data: Rise: 11:21am Transit 5:52pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 0:22am Jul 4 Constellation: Leo Phase: 99.76% illuminated Distance: 9.81280415 AU = 1,467,974,606 km = 912,157,142 miles = 1.36 light-hours Magnitude: 1.1 Apparent size: 16.94 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 64.56° (evening sky) On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm Saturn will be 22.2º above the west-southwest horizon Uranus data: Rise: 0:26am Jul 4 Transit 6:24am Jul 4 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 12:22pm Jul 4 Constellation: Pisces Phase: 99.94% illuminated Distance: 19.80043738 AU = 2,962,103,271 km = 1,840,565,664 miles = 2.75 light-hours Magnitude: 5.8 Apparent size: 3.56 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 105.65° (morning sky) On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm Uranus will be 24.9º below the east-northeast horizon Neptune data: Rise: 11:11pm Transit: 4:29am Jul 4 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 9:48am Jul 4 Constellation: Capricornus Phase: 99.99% illuminated Distance: 29.28824374 AU = 4,381,458,900 km = 2,722,512,374 miles = 4.07 light-hours Magnitude: 7.9 Apparent size: 2.33 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 136.12° (morning sky) On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm Neptune will be 11º below the east horizon Pluto (Dwarf Planet aka Asteroid 134340) data: Rise: 7:42pm Transit 0:43am Jul 4 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 5:44am Jul 4 Constellation: Sagittarius Phase: 100.00% illuminated Distance: 30.67445635 AU = 4,588,833,355 km = 2,851,368,888 miles = 4.26 light-hours Magnitude: 14.1 Apparent size: 0.11 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 168.00° (evening sky) On 7/03/2009 at 10:18:05pm Pluto will be 22.1º above the 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