When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
Sky events
Full Moon will occur today at 18:33HST.
This evening look for the Moon rising in the east just as the Sun sets in the west. Across the Big Island this can often lead to moonbows as the low elevation moonlight interacts with fog and clouds.
Continue reading “Full Moon”Today the planet Neptune will pass through opposition, directly opposite the Sun in our sky. The planet will be well placed for observation all night long, rising at sunset, transiting at midnight, and setting at sunrise. If you are looking to observe Neptune, it is currently shining at magnitude 7.8 in the center of the constellation Aquarius.
As the outer planets Uranus and Neptune move so slowly across the sky, the timing of oppositions is driven by the Earth’s orbit and occur each year at nearly the same time. Neptune’s orbital period is 164.8 years, taking over a century and a half to circle the celestial globe once. As Neptune was discovered in 1846, it has completed a little over one orbit since discovery.
Over the next weeks Venus will appear above the sunset. Look for a brilliant, star-like object low in the glow of sunset, right above the setting Sun.
Over the following months the planet will rise high above the sunset, reaching maximum elongation on March 24th, 2020.
When Venus does reappear we can expect a few UFO reports by people unfamiliar with the normal workings of our skies. In late 2018, when it last emerged in the dawn we had a few such reports here on the island, including a very nice video and folks who could not accept the fact that the “strange light” was simply a bright planet.
Rising with Venus on this particular apparition is Mercury, the pair getting higher each evening until Mercury reaches maximum elongation on October 19th.
Today Mercury is passing through superior conjunction, passing around the far side of the Sun as seen from our earthbound vantage point. This fast moving planet will reappear in the sunset in about a week, rising towards maximum elongation on October 20th.
This will be a good apparition of mercury reaching over 24° from the Sun.
| Mercury Events for 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Apparition | Date | Elongation | Magnitude |
| Evening | Feb 27 | 18.1°E | -0.2 |
| Morning | Apr 11 | 27.7°W | +0.6 |
| Evening | Jun 23 | 25.2°E | +0.7 |
| Morning | Aug 9 | 19.0°W | +0.3 |
| Evening | Oct 20 | 24.6°E | +0.1 |
| Morning | Nov 28 | 20.1°W | -0.3 |
| Data from the Mercury Chaser’s Calculator by John Walker | |||
Today mars is passing through superior conjunction, passing behind the Sun as seen from our earthbound point of view.
Mars will reappear in the dawn around the end of September, a star like object low on the horizon, just above the glow of sunrise.
Mars will spend the remainder of 2019 and much of 2020 in the dawn sky, reaching opposition on Oct 13th, 2020.
New Moon will occur today at 00:37HST.
Tomorrow, August 31st offers the best conditions for a weekend observing session this month. Get out and enjoy the dark!
Continue reading “New Moon”Full Moon will occur today at 02:29HST.
This evening look for the Moon rising in the east just as the Sun sets in the west. Across the Big Island this can often lead to moonbows as the low elevation moonlight interacts with fog and clouds.
Continue reading “Full Moon”Today Venus is passing through superior conjunction, passing behind the Sun as seen from our earthbound point of view.
Venus will reappear in the sunset in mid-September, a brilliant star like object low on the horizon, just above the glow of sunset.
When Venus does reappear we can expect a few UFO reports by people unfamiliar with the normal workings of our skies. In late 2018, when it last emerged in the dawn we had a few such reports here on the island, including a very nice video and folks who could not accept the fact that the “strange light” was simply a bright planet.
Venus will spend the remainder of 2019 in the evening sky, reaching maximum elongation on March 24th, 2020.
Today Mercury is passing through maximum elongation, the furthest it will rise above the rising Sun in the dawn sky. After today the planet will slide back into the Sun’s glare headed for superior conjunction on September 3rd.
This is a modest apparition, with the planet only 19° from the Sun.
Continue reading “Mercury at Maximum Elongation”Over the next week the Perseid meteor shower will peak. As the most reliable shower each year this is also the most viewed meteor shower. Plentiful shooting stars combined with warm summer evenings makes this shower the easiest and most comfortable to view across much of the northern hemisphere. Quite a difference from the other reliable showers such as the Leonids and Quadrantids, that occur in November and January. Consider a warm summer night under a dark sky full of stars, a picnic blanket, relaxing while shooting stars streak across the sky. What could be better?
The Perseid meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through a stream of debris along the orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle. This shower has been consistent throughout recorded history, mentioned in Chinese, Japanese and Korean records as early as the 1st century. Active from July 17th to August 24th, the shower will build slowly for weeks before the peak. A week before or after peak the shower can still be seen with around 20 meteors each hour. The shower is a northern hemisphere event, for southern observers the radiant never rises above the horizon.
Continue reading “Perseid Meteor Shower”