This week we will have a Full Moon brightening the cool late Autumn sky. The next day the Full Moon will be in conjunction with the bright red star in Taurus called Aldebaran. The chart below highlights these events.
Date
Event
November 22
Full Moon
November 23
Aldebaran 1.7°S of Moon
The other morning I was walking around the house at around 7 in the morning. I looked in the southeastern sky and noticed Venus was very bright. Our closest planetary neighbour was in close proximity to the brightest star in Virgo--Spica. They are less than 2° apart in the sky and would fit quite nicely in binoculars or a wide field telescope.
Venus
It is amazing that Venus is so bright. Only 14% of the planet is currently illuminated in its waxing crescent phase. The above image shows Venus as a waning crescent from 2016. The planet is quite close to the Earth right now at approximately 50 million kilometers. The closest Venus can get to us in around 38 million kilometers.
When you are up in the morning look to the southeast to see this great sight!
The great constellation Orion is now peaking above the eastern horizon early in the evening. By 9pm you should be able to see its bright belt stars above the houses in the suburbs.
Southern Sky This Week (Left is East) 22:30
The Pleiades is in a perfect position to view with your eyes or any optical instrument. In four weeks Comet 46P/Wirtanen will be less than 5° from this famous cluster of stars. The comet may even reach naked eye visibility as it makes its closest approach to Earth on the 18th of December. I am sure you will see this in news reports over the next few weeks when the media catches a hold of this fish.
As of today the comet is current at -30° declination in the constellation of Fornax with a current average estimate of 6.5 magnitude. We will have a full write-up about this comet very soon.
There are two scheduled rocket launches happening this week. A Falcon 9 will be taking off from Vandenburg Air Force Base in California just before Noon on Monday. It is carrying several satellites to a polar orbit for a variety of different countries.
The next day a Vega rocket wll be taking off from French Guiana with an Earth observation satellite for Morocco. If you would like to check out either of these launches live the information is provided in the table below.
Date
Event
November 19
Falcon 9 - Spaceflight SSO-A (11:31)
November 20
Vega - Mohammed VI-B (20:42)
These launches can be viewed from the website below.
This week in the sky we have two Meteor Showers reaching their peaks! The Moon should not even play a role in polluting the light sky with its unnecessary light. The highlights of the week are shown in the chart below.
Date
Event
November 11
Saturn 1.5°S of Moon
November 12
Northern Taurid Meteors Peak
November 15
First Quarter
November 15
Mars 1.0°N of Moon
November 17
Leonid Meteors Peak
The Moon has begun a new cycle and we may have started to see it creep into the evening sky as a waxing crescent. It will be in conjunction with the great ringed planet, Saturn, during Sunday evening. You do not want to miss Saturn, it is currently singing its 2018 swan song and will be below the horizon. The ringed planet is speedily heading towards its solar conjunction on January 2, 2019.
Saturn
The next evening the Northern Taurid Meteor Shower will peak. We talked about these a little bit last week. They are not very prolific but with good eyes and dark skies you may catch a few. The radiant point for the Northern Taurids is shown below.
The peak is in a very convenient position as it sits right next to the Pleiades Star Cluster. By the time Taurus is high in the sky the Moon will be long gone down below the horizon.
Northern Taurid Radiant
The First Quarter Moon follows a few days later with the terminator running right through the middle. This is a great time to see some of the best features on our lunar neighbour. During the same evening you will be able to catch brilliantly red Mars in conjunction with the Moon. They will be only 1° apart. Provided below is a map of the sky at 19:30 on November 15, 2018.
Grab your binoculars, telescope or just your eyes and take in this sight. If you would like to get creative take your camera out and see if you can grab this pairing.
Mars/Moon Conjunction - November 15, 2018
If you think the wonders of the week are over you will be surprised. We have another meteor shower coming up at the end of the week. The Leonid Meteors will peak. This, unfortunately is a morning shower with the radiant coming above the horizon after midnight. However, if you get up early, Leo will be high in the sky and you may be able to catch several Leonids. The radiant point is shown in the map below.
Leonid Radiant
If you would like to sketch some of the observed meteors, please find a fillable map linked below.
The estimated hour rate as stated by the American Meteor Society can be found below. As a person who lives in the suburbs I should hopefully be able to catch 5 per hour. It is more likely I will be catching Zzz's instead.
City
Suburbs
Rural
Optimal
3
5
10
20
I hope to spend some time this week organizing some more personal and public observing. Orion is now heading up into the sky and we hope to showcase this wonderful constellation at a community star night. Also, stay tuned, I may have the opportunity to write new blog posts on things I observed last Summer in Sagittarius.
This week in the sky there will be a meteor shower and some tricks with the planet Mercury. The chart below highlights everything that is going on!
Date
Event
November 4
Daylight Saving Time Ends
November 5
Southern Taurid Meteors Peak
November 6
Mercury Greatest Elongation East
November 7
New Moon
November 8
Mercury 1.8°N of Antares
As we all know Daylight Saving Time ends at 2am on Sunday, November 4. We push the clocks back an hour and hopefully enjoy an extra hour in bed.
The Southern Taurid Meteors will peak during the evening of November 5. The constellationTaurus will be in the eastern sky and certainly visible by 9pm. The Pleiades Star Cluster is a famous sight in the great bull constellation. If you look in the general direction of the Pleiades you may catch a meteor. It is a particularly sparse shower and may only peak at 2-3 per hour from suburban conditions. You may be able to catch a few more in darker skies. The image below provides the location of the shower radiant (M45 - Pleiades).
Southern Taurid Radiant
Mercury is playful this week. It will reach its greatest elongation East on Thursday evening. This means it is as far East of the Sun as it gets this orbit. However, the geometry for Northern Hemisphere observers is not that great. If you are out for a walk with a clear view of the western horizon just after sunset you may have a shot at seeing this diminutive planet. A map to its location can be found below.
Mercury
It is tucked in nice and close to Jupiter and the bright red star Antares. As you can see it also sets right after the Sun. The bright twilight may wash out both the largest and smallest planet of our Solar System. After the Sun goes down try seeking them out with binoculars. Please, wait for the Sun to go down before you try!
Map to Mercury - Thursday, November 8, 2018
There are three rocket launches scheduled at the time of writing. Launch dates and times can change quickly without notice. The chart below indicates when they will occur. As always, you can catch live launches from the following webpage:
A Soyuz rocket will launch from South America and carry a polar-orbiting weather satellite for the ESA. The next day (or 6 hours later) a Pegasus XL rocket will be taking the delayed ionosphere monitoring satellite into orbit. Finally on the 10th of November a Electron rocket will be launching from New Zealand. This launch has been scrubbed since late June.
There are no public events occurring this week but the next RAO open house will be happening the following weekend. Stay tuned for more information soon! If you are reading this and haven't subscribed to our Facebook Page, now is the time. We have an action packed Winter with many free events! Join us below!
This week is Halloween when lots of people will be outside in the dark! This is a perfect time to take in the sky candy! On Halloween we will have a Super Last Quarter Moon; that's right I'm going there. Check out the highlights in the chart below.
Date
Event
October 29
Mercury 3°S of Jupiter
October 31
Moon 1°S of Beehive (M44)
October 31
Last Quarter
The evening of the 29th we will see Mercury sitting just 3° under Jupiter. If you hold your index finger and middle finger together at arms length that will be how close they are. Can you see them in the evening twilight? Try looking in the southwest sky shortly after sunset.
If you like to stay up really late try finding the Beehive Cluster near the Moon on the night before Halloween.
With all the excitement around this time of year don't miss out on a Super Last Quarter Moon! No it's not anything special. I just know that most people like to make a big deal out of perigean Full Moons so why leave Last Quarter out? Here is the deal: The Moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical path. There are times in the 28 day cycle when the Moon is closer to the Earth (perigee) and times when the Moon is further from the Earth (apogee). When the perigee coincides with a Full Moon everyone goes crazy about what has colloquially been termed a 'Super Moon'. The Full Moon is imperceptibly larger than when it is not at perigee. On October 31, 2018 the Last Quarter phase occurs 3 hours and 20 minutes before perigee. Hence, a Super Last Quarter. A picture of Last Quarter is shown below. I am very proud of it because I took it at 04:58. I am never up at that time.
Last Quarter
To learn more about the Moon's phases follow the link below where you can see all my phase pictures at odd times throughout the evening.
There is one rocket launch happening that has a scheduled time. A Japanese H-2A will be taking a greenhouse gas observing satellite for the Japanese Ministry of Environment. Also on board will be a UAE imaging satellite. The date and time can be found below.
Date
Event
October 29
H-2A - GOSAT & KhalifaSat (22:08)
There are no public events happening in Calgary this week. Stay tuned to this space as we will be planning a community stargazing night soon!
We have an action packed week in the sky coming up! With a great forecast it may be worth it to get out under the stars. Just don't let the Full Moon light pollution get you down!
Date
Event
October 21
Orionid Meteors Peak
October 23
Uranus at Opposition
October 24
Full Moon
October 26
Venus at Inferior Conjunction
October 27
Aldebaran 1.6°S of Moon
The Orionid Meteor Shower will peak Sunday evening/Monday Morning. This can usually produce up to 10 meteors per hour from suburban skies. It may be a few less than this due to the light pollution of a large waxing gibbous Moon nearby.
Uranus will be at opposition and at its biggest and brightest all year. It still resides in the constellation of Pisces which I hope to log at some point this year. I'll probably check it out closer to the New Moon.
The astronomers nightmare Full Moon occurs one day later brightening up the sky to the point of being unable to see much else. In news this week China is determined to create spacecraft to simulate this light. They are completely unaware of the damage this artificial light will have on local ecosystems and astronomical observations. Wishing them no luck on this absurd venture.
Full Moon
Venus will be at inferior conjunction and will be basically sitting in front of Sun. Advanced telescope users may be able to see the slim crescent during the day of conjunction. Great caution must be taken to avoid the Sun. Several of us made this observation in March of 2017. Hours before conjunction we were able to see just a bare sliver of our neighbouring planet.
To end the week, the eye of Taurus the bull will be in conjunction with a waning gibbous Moon. Look at the region of space when the Moon has further progressed in its cycle and you will see the Hyades and Pleiades Clusters in all their glory.
If you would like to check out a live rocket launch, NASA will be sending a satellite to study the Earth's ionosphere. Details are found below and all launches can be viewed at the following link.
The chart below highlights the public events happening this week! Don't miss coming to the University of Calgary on Tuesday to learn more about Cassini!
Date
Event
October 23
Cassini to Saturn: The Journey and the Legacy (19:30-22:30) (U of C, ST 148)
There will be a great event held at the University of Calgary this week. Carolyn Porco, leader of Cassini's Imaging Team is coming to give a wonderful lecture about this amazing mission. The synopsis is provided below followed by a link to attend.
Twenty-eight years ago, the United States and Europe joined hands and set off together on a spectacular adventure.
It was a mission named Cassini that called for a long journey across the solar system and entry into orbit around the planet Saturn, followed by an in-depth, comprehensive look at everything in the Saturn system.
Cassini spent 13 years in residence at Saturn. In that time, it revealed a planetary system rich in scientific wonder and splendor beyond compare. Processes at work in the early solar system have been found within Saturn’s rings. The planet itself has been a lavish source of meteorological detail, permitting comparison with the Earth’s atmosphere. And environments found on and within its moons give hope of learning the mechanisms by which life has arisen on our own planet and perhaps elsewhere in the cosmos.
Cassini
In this public lecture, Carolyn Porco, the leader of Cassini’s imaging team and former imaging team member on the Voyager mission to the outer solar system, will guide us through the enchanting realm of Saturn and the mission’s most profound scientific findings, and conclude with the legacy that Cassini and six decades of planetary exploration have left behind.
Dr. Carolyn Porco, planetary scientist and leader of the NASA Cassini Imaging Team will be presenting a free-to-the-public talk on the science of Saturn, its rings and satellites, with particular focus on the moon, Enceladus.
Enceladus
In addition to her work with the Cassini mission, Dr. Porco was also involved in the 1980 Voyager mission to the outer solar system, and is an imaging scientist on the New Horizons mission that did a flyby of Pluto and is now on its way to a second target in the Kuiper Belt. Porco has co-authored over 110 scientific papers and was selected by the London Sunday Times as one of 18 scientific leaders of the 21st century, and by Industrial Week as one of "50 Stars to Watch". In 2012, she was chosen as one of Time's Top 25 Most Influential People in Space.
This week we have some above seasonal temperatures and clear skies. It is the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy the Fall constellations. The chart below highlights what is happening in the sky this week.
Date
Event
October 14
Saturn 1.8°S of Moon
October 16
First Quarter
October 18
Mars 1.9°S of Moon
Saturn and Mars will both be in conjunction with the Moon and will be within the same view of wide field telescopes. If you have a pair of binoculars it may be worthwhile to witness these events.
Taurus is making its way into our sky later in the evening. Accompanying the great bull is the Pleiades Star Cluster which makes a great sight even with the naked eye. Following Taurus is Orion. This tends to be everyone's favourite constellation with the bright belt stars signifying the coming of Winter. I always look forward to reacquainting myself with the Orion Nebula that is beautiful through any optical instrument.
There are several rocket launches occurring this week from China, Florida and French Guiana. I am excited for the Ariane 5 rocket carrying the BepiColombo mission to Mercury. It will survey the geology, evolution and magnetic field. This will be the third mission to our innermost planet.
BepiColombo
Also on the schedule for this week will be an Atlas 5 launching the 'Advanced Extremely High Frequency' satellite. It will be used for highly secured communication for the US military. China will be launching two satellites for its navigation network on the 14th. All launches can be watched live at the following webpage.
The chart below provides the date and times for all these events.
Date
Event
October 14
Long March 3B - Beidou (22:15)
October 16
Atlas 5 - AEHF (22:15)
October 19
Ariane 5 - BepiColombo (19:45)
There is one public astronomy event in Calgary this week. A public lecture will be held at the Kerby Centre Thursday evening at 7:30pm. I will be giving a talk on Lacaille and his great work in the southern hemisphere. My blog highlighted his work late last year. A link is provided below.
Saturn and Mars are still prominent in the sky this week and are worth checking out before they get hidden in near the Sun. At the Ralph Klein Park Public Star Night last Saturday these two planets put on a great show. Mars was still quite large and bright while trusty Saturn showcased its beautiful rings. Other things happening this week are shown in the chart below.
Date
Event
October 8
Draconid Meteors Peak
October 8
New Moon
October 11
Jupiter 4°S of Moon
October 13
Zodiacal Light Visible
The Draconid Meteor Shower will peak on Monday, October 8. If the sky is clear and you can catch a good view of Draco you may just get lucky and see some meteors. Early reports from the UK indicate that this year is stronger than previous. More information on how to find them can be found at the link below.
Jupiter can still be seen in the dusk sky just after the Sun sets. It will certainly have bad seeing due to the amount of atmosphere its light must pass through. If you can catch it on the 11th you will see it in conjunction with the Moon. This will be a great binocular sight for those out on an evening stroll.
Further East of Jupiter you will catch Saturn and Mars.
Saturn
If you can get out to a dark sight during the next few weeks try to catch the Zodiacal Light. I have not seen it yet but hope to very soon. More information about this phenomenon can be found on a previous blog posting below.
There will be one notable rocket launch this week on October 11. A Soyuz spacecraft will be taking a crew to the International Space Station. Information and live updated can be found at the link below.
The Rothney Astrophysical Observatory will be hosting another Open House and it is the annual Science-Fiction night! There will be a lecture on exploring the ocean moons of the outer solar system and many telescopes setup to observe the sky. More information can be found at the link below.
