Astronomical Observing from Fishcreek Observing Site
Friday 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm (nautical twilight)
Sunset: 6:39pm
Civil twilight ends: 7:04pm
Nautical twilight ends: 7:36pm
Astronomical twilight ends: 8:08pm
Moon Phase: 30.70% illuminated (waning crescent)
Rise: 1:25am
Age: 24d 12h 28m since last New Moon
We hope to see you here for a night under the stars - now in our seventeenth year!
Tonight we're
Moon-free until it rises at 1:25am tomorrow morning. The DSOs (Deep
Space Objects) we love to see will be easy for us the entire night.
Jupiter will be visible by 8:20pm after it clears the trees to the east
of the observing field. We'll have an opportunity to see Jupiter's
closest moon, Io, appear from behind Jupiter at 9:04pm tonight and a GRS
(Great Red Spot) transit the planet at 11:10pm. Uranus and Neptune are
up, but rather unimpressive being so far away. Colorful double stars and
open clusters made up of hundreds of stars that will look beautiful; the
globular clusters will be fantastic as will the planetary nebula formed
by dying stars. The diffuse nebula and emission nebula where stars are
being born will be visible. Galaxies will be available to us, Bring your
binoculars and we'll show you how to find the Andromeda Galaxy!
Click
here for a list of DeepSky Objects
that will be available to us this session. |
All times are shown in EDT (Eastern Daylight Time (UT-4)) as seen from Stow, Ohio
Longitude: W 81 25' 38.3"
Latitude: N41 11' 11.1"
Altitude: 337m
The following Sun, Moon and planet detail was calculated as it will be
on Friday 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm (nautical twilight).
Source: Guide8 software available from www.projectpluto.com
ABOVE HORIZON:
Object Mag Const Rise Set
Jupiter -2.9 Ari 18:53 08:30
Uranus 5.7 Psc 17:27 05:36
Neptune 7.9 Aqr 16:07 02:47
Pluto 14.3 Sgr 12:52 22:42
BELOW HORIZON:
Object Mag Const Rise Set
Sun -26.7 Vir 07:40 18:39
Mercury -0.4 Lib 09:00 19:11
Venus -3.9 Lib 09:11 19:25
Mars 1.2 Leo 01:48 16:00
Saturn 0.7 Vir 07:04 18:31
Moon -9.2 Leo 01:25 15:25
Sun data:
Rise: 7:40am
Transit: 1:10pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 6:39pm
Constellation: Virgo
RA: 13h 44m 51.155s
DEC: -10° 50' 33.10"
Distance: .99542231 AU = 148,913,058 km = 92,530,286 miles = 8.29 light-minutes
Magnitude: -26.7
Apparent size: 32.13 arcminutes in angular diameter
Civil twilight ends at: 7:04pm ( When the Sun is 6° below the horizon )
Nautical twilight ends at: 7:36pm ( When the Sun is 12° below the horizon )
Astronomical twilight ends at: 8:08pm ( When the Sun is 18° below the horizon )
Fall began at the Autumnal Equinox which occurred on Friday Sep 23, 2011 at 5:05am
Winter begins at the Winter Solstice which will occur on Thursday Dec 22, 2011 at 12:31am
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 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm the Sun will be 12° below the west-southwest horizon
Moon data:
Rise: 1:25am
Transit: 8:31am (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 3:25pm
Constellation: Leo
Phase: 30.70% illuminated (waning crescent)
Distance: 0.00252246 AU = 377,354 km = 234,477 miles = 1.26 light-seconds
Magnitude: -9.2
Apparent size: 31.66 arcminutes in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 67.16° (morning sky)
Age: 24d 12h 28m since last New Moon
Prior Phase: Last Quarter on Wednesday Oct 19, 2011 at 11:30pm
Next Phase: New Moon on Wednesday Oct 26, 2011 at 3:56pm
Next Lunar eclipse: Total eclipse (100%) on Sunday Sept 27, 2015 at 10:10pm EDT
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm the Moon will be 36.6° below the northwest horizon
Mercury data:
Rise: 9:00am
Transit: 2:06pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 7:11pm
Constellation: Libra
Phase: 91.69% illuminated
Distance: 1.35060209 AU = 202,047,197 km = 125,546,309 miles = 11.25 light-minutes
Magnitude: -0.4
Apparent size: 4.98 arcseconds in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 15.00° (evening sky)
Next maximum elongations...
Evening: Monday, November 14, 2011 (22° 44' 52")
Morning: Friday, December 23, 2011 (21° 50' 30")
Conjunctions of Mercury...
Prior: Superior Conjunction on Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 at 8:28:40pm
Next: Inferior Conjunction on Sunday, Dec 4, 2011 at 2:12:42am
Next: Superior Conjunction on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2012 at 5:36:20am
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Mercury will be 5.5° below the west-southwest horizon
Venus data:
Rise: 9:11am
Transit: 2:18pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 7:25pm
Constellation: Libra
Phase: 95.48% illuminated
Distance: 1.60881091 AU = 240,674,686 km = 149,548,318 miles = 13.4 light-minutes
Magnitude: -3.9
Apparent size: 10.37 arcseconds in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 17.62° (evening sky)
Next maximum elongations...
Evening: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 (46° 02' 27")
Morning: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 (45° 48' 10")
Conjunctions of Venus...
Prior: Superior Conjunction on Tuesday, Aug 16, 2011 at 1:29:15am
Next: Inferior Conjunction on Tuesday, Jun 5, 2012 at 9:32:09pm
Next: Superior Conjunction on Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 at 8:37:10pm
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Venus will be 3° below the west-southwest horizon
Mars data:
Rise: 1:48am
Transit: 8:54am (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 4:00pm
Constellation: Leo
Phase: 90.73% illuminated
Distance: 1.66203791 AU = 248,637,333 km = 154,496,078 miles = 13.84 light-minutes
Magnitude: 1.2
Apparent size: 5.63 arcseconds in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 68.96° (morning sky)
Dates of Opposition (when Mars is closest to Earth)
Previous: Friday Jan 29, 2010 at 2:21pm. Distance: 99,400,435 km. Size: 14.08 arcseconds.
Next: Saturday Mar 3, 2012 at 3:52pm. Distance: 100,839,728 km. Size: 13.88 arcseconds.
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Mars will be 29.7° below the north-northwest horizon
Question: Will Mars be "as big as a Full Moon on August 27!" ???
Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
Question: Will there be "Two Full Moons in the Sky!" ???
Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
Mars was the closest in recorded history on August 27, but that was only in 2003, not every year!
At that time, it appeared to be 1/75th the apparent diameter of the Moon! NOT the "same size as the Full Moon".
Please check these respected sites for their stories on the "Mars hoax" by clicking on the links below:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/8708182.html
http://www.snopes.com/science/astronomy/brightmars.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: 6:53pm
Transit: 1:42am - Oct 22 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 8:30am - Oct 22
Constellation: Aries
Phase: 99.98% illuminated
Distance: 3.97495703 AU = 594,645,108 km = 369,495,344 miles = 33.11 light-minutes
Magnitude: -2.9
Apparent size: 49.60 arcseconds in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 171.85° (morning sky)
Dates of Opposition (when Jupiter is closest to Earth)
Previous: Tuesday Sep 21, 2010 at 7:28am
Next: Friday Oct 28, 2011 at 9:37pm
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Jupiter will be 6.7° above the east-northeast horizon
Next transit of the Great Red Spot: Friday Oct 21, 2011 at 11:10pm (The Red Spot transits about every 9 hours 56 minutes)
GRS longitude: 170.0°
Jupiter satellite events (during darkness):
Io occultation ends on Friday Oct 21, 2011 at 9:04pm when Jupiter is 23.2° above the horizon
Saturn data:
Rise: 7:04am
Transit: 12:48pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 6:31pm
Constellation: Virgo
Phase: 100.00% illuminated
Distance: 10.65809786 AU = 1,594,428,745 km = 990,732,103 miles = 1.48 light-hours
Magnitude: 0.7
Apparent size: 15.59 arcseconds in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 7.40° (morning sky)
Dates of Opposition (when Saturn is closest to Earth)
Previous: Sunday Apr 3, 2011 at 7:48pm
Next: Sunday Apr 15, 2012 at 2:19pm
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Saturn will be 13.3° below the west horizon
Uranus data:
Rise: 5:27pm
Transit: 11:31pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 5:36am - Oct 22
Constellation: Pisces
Phase: 99.99% illuminated
Distance: 19.18468087 AU = 2,869,987,408 km = 1,783,327,520 miles = 2.66 light-hours
Magnitude: 5.7
Apparent size: 3.67 arcseconds in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 153.34° (evening sky)
Dates of Opposition (when Uranus is closest to Earth)
Previous: Sunday Sep 25, 2011 at 8:07pm
Next: Saturday Sep 29, 2012 at 3:07am
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Uranus will be 22.7° above the east horizon
Neptune data:
Rise: 4:07pm
Transit: 9:27pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 2:47am - Oct 22
Constellation: Aquarius
Phase: 99.98% illuminated
Distance: 29.49453498 AU = 4,412,319,630 km = 2,741,688,343 miles = 4.09 light-hours
Magnitude: 7.9
Apparent size: 2.32 arcseconds in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 120.01° (evening sky)
Dates of Opposition (when Neptune is closest to Earth)
Previous: Monday Aug 22, 2011 at 7:18pm
Next: Friday Aug 24, 2012 at 8:24am
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Neptune will be 30.4° above the southeast horizon
Pluto (Dwarf Planet aka Asteroid 134340) data:
Rise: 12:52pm
Transit: 5:47pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 10:42pm
Constellation: Sagittarius
Phase: 99.98% illuminated
Distance: 32.49000208 AU = 4,860,435,130 km = 3,020,134,409 miles = 4.51 light-hours
Magnitude: 14.3
Apparent size: 0.10 arcseconds in angular diameter
Elongation from Sun: 67.05° (evening sky)
Dates of Opposition (when Pluto is closest to Earth)
Previous: Tuesday Jun 28, 2011 at 1:23am
Next: Friday Jun 29, 2012 at 11:03am
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Pluto will be 24.5° above the south-southwest horizon
Garradd (C/2009 P1)
Rise: 9:55am
Transit: 5:09pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
Sets: 0:24am - Oct 22
Constellation: Hercules
RA: 17h 43m 50.429s
DEC: +18° 44' 13.15"
Phase: 92.92% illuminated
Distance: 1.92677228 AU = 288,241,030 km = 179,104,675 miles = 16.05 light-minutes
Magnitude: 7.9
Elongation from Sun: 65.91° (evening sky)
Apparent Motion
Speed: 27.281"/hour at position angle 266.1
Motion is 0.18°/day in RA, -0.01°/day in DEC
On 10/21/2011 at 7:36:23pm Garradd (C/2009 P1) will be 51.5° above the southwest horizon
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