Click here for a Printer-Friendly version

Astronomical Observing at Fishcreek - Friday 5/9/2008

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!

for a list of DeepSky Objects that will be available to us this session.

We hope to see you here for a night under the stars - now in our fourteenth year!

For observing conditions at our site, please click on the link below: 
ClearSkyClock for Fishcreek Site  (the darker blue the squares are, the better)

Quick links:
    Inner Solar System     Outer Solar System    General Information about our events

Moon data   Rises: 9: 45am Transits: 5: 46pm - Time of highest position in the sky, due South Sets: 1: 35am May 10 Constellation:   Gemini Phase:   27.39% illuminated (waxing crescent) Distance:   0.00247421 AU = 370,136 km = 229,992 miles = 1.24 light-seconds Magnitude:   -9.0 Apparent size:   32.63 arcminutes in angular diameter Elongation from Sun:   62.99 degrees (evening sky) Age:   4.56 days since last New Moon 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 and will look like this... (back to 'Quick Links')

Jupiter data   Rises: 1: 03am May 10 Transits: 5: 48am May 10 - Time of highest position in the sky, due South Sets: 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 Next transit of the Great Red Spot:  Saturday May 10, 2008 at 4:28am GRS longitude: 122.2º Jupiter moons activity:      None tonight.  Positions of the moons will change very little during the course of the night.      Jupiter and it's four visible moons will look like this at 4:00am.  Notice the Great Red Spot. (back to 'Quick Links')

Inner Solar System - the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Earth
(Created using Software Bisque's TheSky software)

(back to 'Quick Links')
 

Outer Solar System - the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto
(Created using Software Bisque's TheSky software)

(back to 'Quick Links')
 

General Information you should know about our events - Q&A of Where, When and What


Very sincerely yours,
Dave Jessie
"Time spent observing the heavens is not deducted from your life span"

(back to 'Quick Links')

Back to home page