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Astronomical Observing at Fishcreek - Friday
5/30/2008
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hit the REFRESH button on your browser
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Event report:
Heavy cloud cover and high probability of rain prevented this event from taking
place. |
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Tonight's
event will feature a moonless sky
for us since it doesn't rise until 3:13am
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!
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
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Sun data |
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Rises: |
5: |
52am |
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Transits:
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1: |
23pm - Time of highest
position in the sky, due South |
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Sets:
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8: |
54pm |
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Constellation: |
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Taurus |
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Distance: |
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1.01396787 AU =
151,687,435 km = 94,254,204 miles = 8.45
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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-26.7 |
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Apparent size: |
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31.55 arcminutes in angular diameter |
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Twilight ends... |
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Civil: |
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9:24pm
- Sun is
6° below the horizon |
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Nautical: |
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10:06pm - Sun is 12° below the
horizon |
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Astronomical: |
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10:54pm - Sun is 18° below the
horizon |
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Summer Solstice: |
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Friday Jun 20, 2008 at 8:00pm
(when summer will
officially be here) |
Next Solar Eclipses
in Stow, Ohio:
Partial eclipse (>80%) on Monday August 21, 2017
2:30pm EDT
Total eclipse (an amazing sight!) on Monday April
8, 2024 2:15pm EST (3:15pm EDT)
At 10:05:43pm the Sun will be 12º below
the west-northwest horizon
(back to 'Quick Links') |
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Moon data |
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Rises: |
3: |
13am May 31 |
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Transits:
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10: |
14am May 31
- Time of highest
position in the sky, due South |
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Sets:
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5: |
28pm May 31 |
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Constellation: |
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Pisces |
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Phase: |
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19.71% illuminated
(waning crescent) |
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Distance: |
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0.00248352 AU =
371,530 km = 230,858 miles = 1.24 light-seconds
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Magnitude: |
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-8.5 |
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Apparent size: |
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32.15 arcminutes
in
angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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52.60 degrees
(morning sky) |
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Age: |
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25.57 days
since last
New Moon |
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Next Phase: |
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New Moon on Tuesday
June 3, 2008 at 3:23pm |
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Next Lunar eclipse: |
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Total eclipse (100%)
on Sunday Sept 27, 2015 at 10:10pm EDT |
At 10:05:43pm the Moon will be
38.6º below the north horizon
but will look like this at 4:00am Saturday...
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Mercury data |
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Rises: |
6: |
41am |
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Transits:
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2: |
11pm - Time of highest
position in the sky, due South |
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Sets:
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9: |
41pm |
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Constellation: |
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Taurus |
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Phase: |
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4.53% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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0.57877843 AU =
86,584,021 km = 53,800,817 miles = 4.82
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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3.5 |
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Apparent size: |
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11.62 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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10.85 degrees
(evening sky) |
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Next maximum elongations... |
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Morning: |
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Tuesday, July 01,
2008 (21° 47' 03") |
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Evening: |
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Thursday, September
11, 2008 (26° 52' 17") |
At 10:05:43pm Mercury will be
4.9º below the west-northwest
horizon
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Venus data |
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Rises: |
5: |
46am |
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Transits:
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1: |
12pm - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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8: |
39pm |
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Constellation: |
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Taurus |
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Phase: |
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99.91% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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1.73312966 AU =
259,272,507 km = 161,104,469 miles = 14.44
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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-3.9
(bright, but lost in the glare
of the rising Sun) |
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Apparent size: |
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9.63 arcseconds in
angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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2.48 degrees
(morning sky) |
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Next maximum elongations... |
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Evening: |
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Wednesday 1/14/2009
(47° 07' 21") |
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Morning: |
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Friday 6/05/2009
(45° 51' 07") |
At 10:05:43pm Venus will be
13.9º
below the northwest horizon
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Mars data |
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Rises: |
10: |
33am |
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Transits:
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5: |
48pm
- Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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1: |
03am May 31 |
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Constellation: |
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Cancer |
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Phase: |
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92.20% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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1.88565854 AU =
282,090,503 km = 175,282,914 miles = 15.71
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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1.5
(getting dimmer) |
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Apparent size: |
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4.96 arcseconds
in angular diameter (getting
smaller) |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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61.68 degrees
(evening sky) |
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Next
close approach: |
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Friday, Jan 29, 2010 |
At 10:05:43pm Mars will be 31.3º
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'
Sky & Telescope article
Snopes.com article
Hoax-slayer article
Universe Today article
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Jupiter data |
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Rises: |
11: |
38pm |
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Transits:
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4: |
22am May 31 - Time of highest
position in the sky, due South |
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Sets:
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9: |
06am May 31 |
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Constellation: |
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Sagittarius |
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Phase: |
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99.58% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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4.39065239 AU =
656,832,249 km = 408,136,643 miles = 36.57
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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-2.6 |
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Apparent size: |
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44.90 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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138.37 degrees
(morning sky) |
At 10:05:43pm Jupiter will be 17.4º below
the east horizon
Next transit of the Great Red Spot:
Saturday May 31, 2008 6:45am
GRS longitude: 122.7º
Jupiter moons activity:
Europa occultation ends at 11:08pm
Io occultation ends at 11:19pm
Jupiter and its four visible moons will look like this
at 3:00am Saturday.
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Saturn data |
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Rises: |
12: |
21pm |
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Transits:
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7: |
10pm - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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1: |
59am May 31 |
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Constellation: |
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Leo |
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Phase: |
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99.71% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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9.38708717 AU =
1,404,288,252 km = 872,584,276 miles = 1.3
light-hours |
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Magnitude: |
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0.7 |
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Apparent size: |
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17.70 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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82.35 degrees (evening sky) |
At 10:05:43pm Saturn will be 42º
above the southwest horizonThis is how Saturn and five
of its brightest moons will look at 10:06pm.
This image is neither inverted nor reversed
- Saturn would look like this in a non-inverting telescope.
Note that Saturn's moon Tethys is currently being occulted
by the planet - indicated by the orange color
in the image. It will come out of Saturn's shadow at
10:56:05pm tonight.
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Uranus data |
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Rises: |
2: |
29am May 31 |
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Transits:
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8: |
21am May 31 - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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2: |
136pm May 31 |
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Constellation: |
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Aquarius |
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Phase: |
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99.94% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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20.28993988 AU =
3,035,331,802 km = 1,886,067,764 miles = 2.82
light-hours |
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Magnitude: |
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5.9 |
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Apparent size: |
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3.47 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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77.64 degrees
(morning sky) |
At 10:05:43pm Uranus will be 46º
below the north-northeast
horizon
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Neptune data |
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Rises: |
1: |
19am May 31 |
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Transits:
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6: |
35am May 31 - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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11: |
51am May 31 |
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Constellation: |
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Capricornus |
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Phase: |
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99.97% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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29.74782258 AU =
4,450,210,915 km = 2,765,232,897 miles = 4.13
light-hours |
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Magnitude: |
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7.9 |
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Apparent size: |
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2.30 arcseconds in
angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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105.76 degrees
(morning sky) |
At 10:05:43pm Neptune will be
37.1º
below the east-northeast
horizon
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Pluto
(Dwarf Planet aka Asteroid 134340)
data |
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Rises: |
9: |
47pm |
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Transits:
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2: |
50am May 31 - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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7: |
54am May 31 |
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Constellation: |
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Sagittarius |
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Phase: |
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100.00% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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30.52209403 AU =
4,566,040,276 km = 2,837,205,926 miles = 4.24
light-hours |
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Magnitude: |
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14.1 |
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Apparent size: |
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0.11 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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158.71 degrees
(morning sky) |
At 10:05:43pm Pluto will be 2.1º above
the east-southeast horizon
(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')
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