Astronomical Observing at Fishcreek - Friday 05/09/2008 Tonight's event will feature a nearly first-quarter Moon setting at 1:35am Saturday morning. Planet-wise, we'll have a chance to see fleeting Mercury in the west before it sets and 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 Moon (sets at 1:35am Saturday) Mars Saturn Below Horizon: Sun Venus Jupiter Uranus Neptune Pluto The following Sun, Moon and planet detail was calculated as it will be on Friday 5/09/08 at 9:40:48pm (nautical twilight). Source: Guide8 software available from www.projectpluto.com All times are shown in EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) as seen from Stow, Ohio. Sun data: Rise 6:09am Transit: 1:22pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets 8:35pm Constellation: Aries Distance: 1.00985303 AU = 151,071,862 km = 93,871,704 miles = 8.41 light-minutes Magnitude: -26.7 Apparent size: 31.68 arcminutes in angular diameter Civil twilight ends at 9:03pm ( When the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon ) Nautical twilight ends at 9:41pm ( When the Sun is 12 degrees below the horizon ) Astronomical twilight ends at 10:23pm ( 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 9:41pm the Sun will be 12º below the west-northwest horizon Moon data: Rise 9:45am Transit: 5:46pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets 1:35am May 10 Constellation: Gemini Phase: 27.39% illuminated (waxing crescent) 4.56 days since last New Moon Distance: 0.00244745 AU = 366,133 km = 227,505 miles = 1.22 light-seconds Magnitude: -9.0 Apparent size: 32.63 arcminutes in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 62.99 degrees (evening sky) Next Phase: First Quarter on Sunday May 11, 2008 at 11:47pm Next Lunar eclipse: Total eclipse (100%) on Sunday Sept 27, 2015 at 10:10pm EDT At 9:41pm the Moon will be 39.6º above the west-southwest horizon Mercury data: Rise: 7:06am Transit: 2:47pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Sets: 10:29pm Constellation: Taurus Phase: 47.79% illuminated Distance: 0.92546689 AU = 138,447,876 km = 86,027,523 miles = 7.71 light-minutes Magnitude: 0.0 Apparent size: 7.27 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 21.19 degrees (evening sky) Next maximum elongations... Evening: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 (21° 47' 34") Morning: Tuesday, July 01, 2008 (21° 47' 03") At 9:41pm Mercury will be 6.8º above the west-northwest horizon Venus data: Rise: 5:53am Transit 12:50pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 7:49pm Constellation: Aries Phase: 99.01% illuminated Distance: 1.70964844 AU = 255,759,767 km = 158,921,753 miles = 14.24 light-minutes Magnitude: -3.9 Bright, visible in the morning well before sunrise Apparent size: 9.76 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 8.15 degrees (morning sky) Next maximum elongations... Evening: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 (47° 07' 21") Morning: Friday, June 05, 2009 (45° 51' 07") At 9:41pm Venus will be 19.2º below the west-northwest horizon Mars data: Rise: 10:55am Transit 6:23pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 1:52am May 10 Constellation: Cancer Phase: 91.05% illuminated Distance: 1.70749471 AU = 255,437,573 km = 158,721,551 miles = 14.22 light-minutes Magnitude: 1.3 Apparent size: 5.48 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 70.34 degrees (evening sky) Next close approach of Mars is on Friday, Jan 29, 2010 At 9:41pm Mars will be 44.5º 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: 1:03am May 10 Transit 5:48am May 10 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 10:33am May 10 Constellation: Sagittarius Phase: 99.25% illuminated Distance: 4.65722109 AU = 696,710,359 km = 432,915,752 miles = 38.79 light-minutes Magnitude: -2.4 Apparent size: 42.33 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 117.42 degrees (morning sky) At 9:41pm Jupiter will be 38º below the east-northeast horizon No Jupiter satellite events tonight Next transit of the Great Red Spot: Saturday May 10, 2008 at 4:28am GRS longitude: 122.2º Saturn data: Rise: 1:40pm Transit 8:30pm (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 3:20am May 10 Constellation: Leo Phase: 99.72% illuminated Distance: 9.0394961 AU = 1,352,289,369 km = 840,273,668 miles = 1.25 light-hours Magnitude: 0.6 Apparent size: 18.39 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 101.93 degrees (evening sky) At 9:41pm Saturn will be 57.5º above the south-southwest horizon Uranus data: Rise: 3:54am Transit 9:45am (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 3:36pm Constellation: Aquarius Phase: 99.95% illuminated Distance: 20.61354994 AU = 3,083,743,178 km = 1,916,149,199 miles = 2.86 light-hours Magnitude: 5.9 Apparent size: 3.42 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 58.03 degrees (morning sky) At 9:41pm Uranus will be 52.8º below the north-northwest horizon Neptune data: Rise: 2:41am May 10 Transit: 7:57am May 10 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 1:13pm May 10 Constellation: Capricornus Phase: 99.97% illuminated Distance: 30.10003838 AU = 4,502,901,649 km = 2,797,973,401 miles = 4.18 light-hours Magnitude: 7.9 Apparent size: 2.27 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 85.61 degrees (morning sky) At 9:41pm Neptune will be 54.8º below the northeast horizon Pluto (Dwarf Planet aka Asteroid 134340) data: Rise: 11:11pm Transit 4:15am May 10 (Time of highest position in the sky, due South) Set: 9:18am May 10 Constellation: Sagittarius Phase: 99.99% illuminated Distance: 30.69424797 AU = 4,591,794,138 km = 2,853,208,634 miles = 4.26 light-hours Magnitude: 14.1 Apparent size: 0.11 arcseconds in angular diameter Elongation from Sun: 138.59 degrees (morning sky) At 9:41pm Pluto will be 17.7º below the east horizon