Astronomical Observing at Fishcreek - Friday 05/02/2008

Tonight's event will feature a Moonless sky for us since it sets at 5:20pm this afternoon and won't rise until 4:48am Saturday.
We'll have the beautiful planet Saturn, 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 galore in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster will all be available to us the entire night.
Springtime is the best time to observe galaxies since the Milky Way, the galaxy in which we live, is not directly overhead.
We're able to look out to the universe and not be blocked by the dust and gas in our own galaxy.
Also, Saturn is beautiful beyond words!  If you've never seen Saturn through a telescope, you owe it to yourself to do so.
It's said that one picture is worth a thousand words, but no picture can match the majesty of the real thing!

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 5/02/08 at 9:31:35pm (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:
  Mercury
  Mars
  Saturn

Below Horizon:
  Sun
  Venus
  Moon (rises at 4:48am Saturday)
  Jupiter  
  Uranus  
  Neptune  
  Pluto  

Sun data:
     Rise 6:18am
     Transit: 1:22pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Sets 8:27pm
     Constellation: Aries
     Distance: 1.00818185 AU = 150,821,858 km = 93,716,359 miles = 8.4 light-minutes
     Magnitude: -26.7
     Apparent size: 31.73 arcminutes in angular diameter
     Civil twilight ends at 8:55pm ( When the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon )
     Nautical twilight ends at 9:32pm ( When the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon )
     Astronomical twilight ends at 10:12pm ( When the Sun is 18 degrees below the horizon )
     Summer Solstice: Friday Jun 20, 2008 at 8:00pm (when winter will officially be here)
     Next Solar Eclipse: Partial eclipse (>80%) on Monday August 21, 2017 2:30pm EDT
     At 9:32pm the Sun will be 12º below the west-northwest horizon				

Moon data:
     Rise 4:24am
     Transit: 10:45am (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Sets 5:20pm
     Constellation: Taurus
     Phase: 9.03% illuminated (waning crescent)
     26.90 days since last New Moon
     Distance: 0.00247421 AU = 370,136 km = 229,992 miles = 1.24 light-seconds
     Magnitude: -7.3
     Apparent size: 32.27 arcminutes in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 34.89 degrees (morning sky)
     Next Phase: New Moon on xday May 5, 2008 at 8:18am
     Next Lunar eclipse: Total eclipse (100%) on Sunday Sept 27, 2015 at 10:10pm EDT
     At 9:32pm the Moon will be 38.1º below the northwest horizon				
				
Mercury data:
     Rise 6:59am
     Transit: 2:30pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Sets 10:02pm
     Constellation: Taurus
     Phase: 68.98% illuminated
     Distance: 1.08595197 AU = 162,456,102 km = 100,945,543 miles = 9.05 light-minutes
     Magnitude: -0.7
     Apparent size: 6.19 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 17.52 degrees (evening sky)
     Next maximum elongations...
          Evening: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 (21° 47' 34")
          Morning: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 (21° 47' 03")
     At 9:32pm Mercury will be 3.9º above the west-northwest horizon				
				
Venus data:
     Rise: 5:59am
     Transit 12:45pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 7:32pm
     Constellation: Aries
     Phase: 98.52% illuminated
     Distance: 1.69663303 AU = 253,812,689 km = 157,711,895 miles = 14.13 light-minutes
     Magnitude: -3.9 Bright, visible in the morning well before sunrise
     Apparent size: 9.83 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 10.00 degrees (morning sky)
     Next maximum elongations...
          Evening: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 (47° 07' 21")
          Morning: Friday, June 05, 2009 (45° 51' 07")
     At 9:32pm Venus will be 21º below the west-northwest horizon				
				

Mars data:
     Rise: 11:03am
     Transit 6:35pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 2:08am May 3
     Constellation: Gemini
     Phase: 90.73% illuminated
     Distance: 1.64431335 AU = 245,985,776 km = 152,848,477 miles = 13.7 light-minutes
     Magnitude: 1.2
     Apparent size: 5.69 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 73.41 degrees (evening sky)
     Next close approach of Mars is on Friday, Jan 29, 2010
     At 9:32pm Mars will be 48.9º above the west-southwest horizon				

Jupiter data:
     Rise: 1:30am May 3
     Transit 6:15am May 3 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 11:00am May 3
     Constellation: Sagittarius
     Phase: 99.17% illuminated
     Distance: 4.76014313 AU = 712,107,276 km = 442,482,953 miles = 39.65 light-minutes
     Magnitude: -2.4
     Apparent size: 41.42 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 110.70 degrees (morning sky)
     At 9:32pm Jupiter will be 44.8º below the east-northeast horizon				
     No Jupiter satellite events tonight
     Next transit of the Great Red Spot: Saturday May 3, 2008 at 3:42am
     GRS longitude: 122.0º

Saturn data:
     Rise: 2:07pm
     Transit 8:57pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 3:48am May 3
     Constellation: Leo
     Phase: 99.74% illuminated
     Distance: 8.92709194 AU = 1,335,473,945 km = 829,825,048 miles = 1.24 light-hours
     Magnitude: 0.6
     Apparent size: 18.62 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 108.67 degrees (evening sky)
     At 9:32pm Saturn will be 60.4º above the south horizon				

Uranus data:
     Rise: 4:21am
     Transit 10:12am (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 4:03pm
     Constellation: Aquarius
     Phase: 99.96% illuminated
     Distance: 20.70896234 AU = 3,098,016,670 km = 1,925,018,336 miles = 2.87 light-hours
     Magnitude: 5.9
     Apparent size: 3.40 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 51.52 degrees (morning sky)
     At 9:32pm Uranus will be 51.9º below the north-northwest horizon				

Neptune data:
     Rise: 3:08am May 3
     Transit: 8:24am May 3 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 1:40pm May 3
     Constellation: Capricornus
     Phase: 99.97% illuminated
     Distance: 30.21755925 AU = 4,520,482,521 km = 2,808,897,649 miles = 4.19 light-hours
     Magnitude: 7.9
     Apparent size: 2.26 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 78.90 degrees (morning sky)
     At 9:32pm Neptune will be 59.2º below the north-northeast horizon				

Pluto (Dwarf Planet aka Asteroid 134340) data:
     Rise: 11:39pm
     Transit 4:42am May 3 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South)
     Set: 9:46am May 3
     Constellation: Sagittarius
     Phase: 99.99% illuminated
     Distance: 30.77459521 AU = 4,603,813,914 km = 2,860,677,376 miles = 4.27 light-hours
     Magnitude: 14.1
     Apparent size: 0.11 arcseconds in angular diameter
     Elongation from Sun: 131.77 degrees (morning sky)
     At 9:32pm Pluto will be 24.6º below the east horizon