When you want to see the stars, find someplace dark
Exploring the cosmos
Today Jupiter passes through superior conjunction, rounding the far side of the Sun as seen from our earthbound vantage point.
Jupiter will re-emerge in the dawn sky towards the end of the January. Look for the planet low in the glow of dawn, rising higher each day.
Jupiter will pass through opposition on July 13th, 2020, crossing into the evening sky.
New Moon will occur today at 19:13HST.
An annular solar eclipse will sweep across the Indian Ocean, Southern India, and Indonesia during this new Moon.
This coming weekend, Dec 29th, offers an excellent dark night for observing. Get out to enjoy some holiday stars!
Continue reading “New Moon”The winter solstice will occur at 18:19HST today.
The Sun has reached the most southerly declination it will achieve this year. After today the Sun begins to move north in our skies.
Today will be the shortest day of the year for those of us located in the northern hemisphere.
Today is considered the start of winter for most cultures in the northern hemisphere, or the start of summer for those in the southern hemisphere.
| 2019 Apsides and Seasons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Universal Time | Hawaii Standard Time | ||
| Perihelion | Jan 03 | 05:20UT | Jan 02 | 19:20HST |
| Spring Equinox | Mar 20 | 21:58UT | Mar 20 | 11:58HST |
| Summer Solstice | Jun 21 | 15:54UT | Jun 21 | 05:54HST |
| Aphelion | Jul 04 | 22:11UT | Jul 04 | 12:11HST |
| Fall Equinox | Sep 23 | 07:50UT | Sep 22 | 21:50HST |
| Winter Solstice | Dec 22 | 04:19UT | Dec 21 | 18:19HST |
| Data from US Naval Observatory Data Services | ||||
Our next club dark sky star party will be Dec 28th at the usual Kaʻohe site, in the lull between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
For the evening I have again assembled an observing list for those who want to explore some of the more interesting objects available in the sky this month.
These are all visible in the early evening, all suitable for average telescopes, with a couple more suitable for binocular viewing.
While most of these will be easy to locate and observe, there are a few more challenging objects in the list.
Continue reading “December Observing List”Full Moon will occur today at 19:12HST.
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”
Last week we got a little snow atop the mauna. I forgot to post the photos I took as we were pulling out. Snow was building on the roads and summit lead made the call to end the day a little early…
We just received the Costco Christmas sales mailer. Every year there is a telescope featured, promoted as a gift. Not just slightly featured either, but included on the front page of the flyer, the first thing you see when you pick the mailer up.
The telescope this year is a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ, the typical small reflector on an equatorial mount. The deal includes several eyepieces, filters, and a cell phone adapter for afocal photography.
Those of us with long practical experience just cringe when we see such telescopes. These cheap telescopes are usually more of a frustration to would be amateur astronomers than useful. Cheap ‘scopes have deterred more folks from the hobby than we will ever know.
Continue reading “Christmas Telescopes”
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 January 10th.
This is a modest apparition, with the planet only 20° from the Sun.
Continue reading “Mercury at Maximum Elongation”New Moon will occur today at 05:06HST.
Over the next few days a slim crescent Moon will slide through a number of bright planets low in the sunset including Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn.
This coming weekend, Nov. 30th, offers an excellent night for observing with a slim 4 day old Moon in the sunset. Get out and enjoy the dark!
Continue reading “New Moon”