2018 Week 52: (December 23-December 29)

We are nearly at the end of 2018.  What a great year we have been having!  Will 2019 top this past year?  You'll have to stay tuned to find out!  The table below highlights what is happening throughout the upcoming week.

Date	Event
December 24	Moon 0.6°S of Beehive (M44)
December 29	Last Quarter

Comet 46P/Wirtanen is high in our Northern Hemisphere sky this week.  It starts off right next to Capella, the brightest star in Auriga. It ends it week in the lesser known constellation of Lynx.

Mars still sits bright and red directly south as it just recently crossed the border into Pisces.

On Christmas Eve the waning gibbous Moon will be within the same telescopic field as the Beehive Cluster.  This cluster is also known as Praesepe which is Latin for 'Manger'.  This is a perfect conjunction for this date!  Unfortunately I do not yet have a great picture of the Beehive but I hope to fix that in 2020!

Beehive Cluster - Praesepe (Manger)

This event will occur in the eastern sky with their closest approach being 10pm.  A map of this region can be found below to help you find it.  Just follow the line between the twin stars of Gemini towards the Moon and look through binoculars!

Moon/Manger Christmas Conjunction in the East

Just prior to the end of the year the Moon will be at its Last Quarter phase on its way to becoming a New Moon.  This New Moon will be quite special as it will cause a Partial Solar eclipse in some of the most populated areas in the world.  Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei will all have a glimpse of the Moon covering our very own home star!

We had a couple great nights of public star nights!  Unfortunately clouds rolled in but the Moon was still somewhat visible.  Public star nights are always a gamble as the weather is perhaps the largest casino in the world.  We are looking at having some basic telescope nights early in the new year with some scopes setup at dark locations throughout several communities.  This will be an outdoor event only dependent on the weather.  Thank-you to the amazing volunteers who helped put on these events and to the facilities who graciously let us use their space.

Public star night volunteers after their last shift

There is only one rocket launch scheduled for this week.  The Russian Government is sending observation satellites into orbit to help map forest fires.  You can catch this launch live at https://spaceflightnow.com just after 7pm on Boxing Day.

Date	Event
December 26	Soyuz - Kanopus-V 5&6 (19:07)

There are no public events planned for a couple weeks.  However, you can mark your calendars for January 10 when the Telus Spark will be hosting an Adult Night entitled 'Embrace Outer Space'.  A link to this event can be found below.

http://sparkscience.ca/experience-telus-spark/events/embrace-outer-space

Also, look out for a great event at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory on January 20.  There will be a Total Lunar Eclipse that evening which is being called a 'Super Blood Wolf Moon'.

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