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Astronomical Observing at Fishcreek - Friday
7/11/2008
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Event report...
The sky cleared, we set up
equipment, people started to arrive and we had beautiful views for about two hours
- then the sky totally clouded over. At midnight, we
decided to pack up the equipment and try another time.
If amateur astronomy teaches anything, it's patience!
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Tonight's event will feature a one day past First
Quarter Moon which doesn't set until 1:25am Saturday morning. This is a
great opportunity to view detail near the terminator of our closest celestial
neighbor. We'll be able to see the
beautiful planets
Saturn and
Jupiter,
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.
Saturn is beautiful beyond words!
If you've never seen Saturn through a telescope, you owe it to yourself to do
so. See it now while the rings are still visible - it is heading into the
west earlier and earlier in the evening and in 2009, the rings will be edge-on
and almost totally invisible. It's said that one picture is worth a thousand words, but no picture
can match the majesty of the real thing! Jupiter clears the trees to the
east of our observing field at a conveniently early hour now (see the
Outer Solar System
to see why this is so).
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: |
59am |
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Transits:
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1: |
31pm - Time of highest
position in the sky, due South |
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Sets:
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9: |
02pm |
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Constellation: |
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Gemini |
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Distance: |
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1.01659154 AU =
152,079,930 km = 94,498,089 miles = 8.47
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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-26.7 |
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Apparent size: |
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31.47 arcminutes in angular diameter |
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Twilight ends... |
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Civil: |
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9: |
32pm |
- Sun is 6° below the horizon |
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Nautical: |
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10: |
13pm |
- Sun is 12° below the
horizon |
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Astronomical: |
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11: |
02pm |
- Sun is 18° below the
horizon |
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Fall
Equinox: |
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Monday Sept 22, 2008
at 11:45am
(when Fall 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)
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm 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: |
28pm |
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Transits:
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8: |
30pm - Time of highest
position in the sky, due South |
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Sets:
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1: |
25am |
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Constellation: |
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Libra |
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Phase: |
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68.09% illuminated
(waxing gibbous) |
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Distance: |
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0.00267741 AU =
400,535 km = 248,881 miles = 1.34 light-seconds |
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Magnitude: |
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-10.7 |
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Apparent size: |
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29.82 arcminutes
in
angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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111.08 degrees
(evening sky) |
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Age: |
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9.00 days
since last
New Moon |
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Next Phase: |
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Full Moon on Friday
July 18, 2008 at 3:59am |
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Next Lunar eclipse: |
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Total eclipse (100%)
on Sunday Sept 27, 2015 at 10:10pm EDT |
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm the
Moon will be 23.6º above
the south-southwest horizon
and will look like this...
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Mercury data |
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Rises: |
4: |
39am |
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Transits:
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12: |
11pm - Time of highest
position in the sky, due South |
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Sets:
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7: |
44pm |
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Constellation: |
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Gemini |
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Phase: |
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65.69% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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1.07068613 AU =
160,172,365 km = 99,526,495 miles = 8.92
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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-0.6 |
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Apparent size: |
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6.28 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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18.17 degrees
(morning sky) |
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Next maximum elongations... |
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Evening: |
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Thursday, September
11, 2008 (26° 52' 17") |
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Morning: |
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Wednesday, October
22,
2008 (18° 19' 05") |
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm
Mercury will be 20.7º below the
northwest horizon
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Venus data |
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Rises: |
6: |
41am |
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Transits:
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2: |
10pm - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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9: |
38pm |
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Constellation: |
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Cancer |
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Phase: |
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99.73% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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1.70389035 AU =
254,898,368 km = 158,386,505 miles = 14.19
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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9.79 arcseconds in
angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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9.12 degrees
(evening 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") |
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm Venus
will be 6.7º below the
west-northwest horizon
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Mars data |
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Rises: |
9: |
55am |
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Transits:
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4: |
38pm
- Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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11: |
20pm |
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Constellation: |
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Leo |
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Phase: |
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94.79% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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2.18083885 AU =
326,248,849 km = 202,721,639 miles = 18.17
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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1.7
(getting dimmer) |
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Apparent size: |
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4.29 arcseconds
in angular diameter (getting
smaller) |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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46.13 degrees
(evening sky) |
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Next
close approach: |
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Friday, Jan 29, 2010 |
 On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm Mars
will be 11.2º above the west
horizon
No, Mars will *not
be* "...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: |
8: |
37pm |
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Transits:
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1: |
18am July 12 - Time of highest
position in the sky, due South |
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Sets:
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5: |
59am July 12 |
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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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4.16140626 AU =
622,537,515 km = 386,826,883 miles = 34.66
light-minutes |
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Magnitude: |
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-2.7 |
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Apparent size: |
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47.37 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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176.98 degrees
(evening sky) |
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm Jupiter will be 13.2º
above the southeast horizon
Next transit of the Great Red Spot: Saturday
July 12, 2008 at 1:21am
GRS longitude: 123.9º
Jupiter moons activity:
None tonight
Jupiter and its four visible moons will look like this
at 10:17:31pm tonight...
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Saturn data |
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Rises: |
9: |
52am |
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Transits:
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4: |
37pm - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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11: |
21pm |
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Constellation: |
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Leo |
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Phase: |
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99.85% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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10.00277035 AU =
1,496,393,145 km = 929,815,604 miles = 1.39
light-hours |
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Magnitude: |
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0.8 |
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Apparent size: |
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16.61 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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45.48 degrees (evening sky) |
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm
Saturn will be 11.5º
above the west horizonThis is how Saturn and
six
of its brightest moons will look at 10:13pm.
This image is neither inverted nor reversed
- Saturn would look like this in a non-inverting telescope.
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Uranus data |
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Rises: |
11: |
44am |
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Transits:
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5: |
37am July 12 - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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11: |
29am July 12 |
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Constellation: |
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Aquarius |
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Phase: |
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99.95% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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19.60729874 AU =
2,933,210,141 km = 1,822,612,305 miles = 2.72
light-hours |
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Magnitude: |
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5.8 |
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Apparent size: |
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3.59 arcseconds
in angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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117.55 degrees
(morning sky) |
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm
Uranus will be 18.3º
below the east-northeast
horizon
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Neptune data |
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Rises: |
10: |
32pm |
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Transits:
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3: |
48am July 12 - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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9: |
03am July 12 |
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Constellation: |
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Capricornus |
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Phase: |
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99.99% illuminated |
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Distance: |
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29.18605695 AU =
4,366,171,974 km = 2,713,013,519 miles = 4.05
light-hours |
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Magnitude: |
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7.8 |
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Apparent size: |
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2.34 arcseconds in
angular diameter |
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Elongation from Sun: |
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146.41 degrees
(morning sky) |
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm
Neptune will be 4.6º
below the east horizon
(back to 'Quick
Links') |
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Pluto
(Dwarf Planet aka Asteroid 134340)
data |
| |
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Rises: |
6: |
57pm |
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Transits:
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0: |
01am July 12 - Time of highest position in the sky,
due South |
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Sets:
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5: |
04am July 12 |
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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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30.54326757 AU =
4,569,207,792 km = 2,839,174,129 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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158.26 degrees
(evening sky) |
On 7/11/2008 at 10:13:29pm Pluto will be 26.6º above
the 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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