Abandoned
The Moon and Mars
This evening will feature a 6 day old crescent Moon 5° from Mars. Look for a bright orange object a few degrees above and to the north of the Moon to spot the planet.
Sunset Ritual
Kohala Sunset
Make it Roll
A drone does not bank into a turn like a traditional aircraft, it remains level as it spins in the air to change direction. Even if the drone banks slightly to counteract the wind the camera gimbal keeps the video level.
The resulting video from the drone seems flat to me, a sense of something wrong, I expect a little roll while turning. I find myself struggling with the resulting imagery, what do I do with this?
It is not only aircraft that bank into a hard turn, even an automobile does this on a properly designed roadway. If the car does not truly bank, we passengers naturally lean into the turn to counteract the centrifugal force. We expect to lean into a turn, while a drone does not.
How do I restore that roll in the drone video?
New Moon
New Moon will occur today at 01:28HST.
A partial solar eclipse will occur across parts of the North Pacific and Japan during this new Moon.
Continue reading “New Moon”Dome in the Sunset
Venus at Maximum Elongation
Today Venus is passing through maximum elongation, the highest elevation it will attain in the dawn sky for this apparition.
The planet is currently 47° ahead of the rising Sun. After today the brilliant planet will slide back into the glow of dawn headed for superior conjunction on August 13th, and an evening apparition starting in mid-September.
Jan 20th Total Lunar Eclipse
The next full Moon on January 20th, will feature a sunset total lunar eclipse visible across the islands. The eclipsed Moon will rise just as the Sun sets on the opposite horizon.
The eclipse will be just underway as the Moon rises on the island of Hawaii, with the Moon rising at almost exactly 18:00HST and the total phase of the eclipse starting 41 minutes later. Maximum will occur at 19:12HST with the Moon 14° above the horizon.
| January 20, 2019 Total Lunar Eclipse | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Contact | UT | HST |
| Penumbral Begins | P1 | 02:36:28 | 16:36:28 |
| Partial Begins | U1 | 03:33:55 | 17:33:55 |
| Total Begins | U2 | 04:41:18 | 18:41:18 |
| Greatest Eclipse | Max | 05:12:18 | 19:12:18 |
| Total Ends | U3 | 05:43:18 | 19:43:18 |
| Partial Ends | U4 | 06:50:42 | 20:50:42 |
| Penumbral Ends | P4 | 07:48:05 | 21:48:05 |
| Data from Fred Espenak’s eclipse website | |||
Many references state that the eclipse will occur on January 21st, and it will, in time zones further east than us here in Hawaii. We are ten hours behind UT, thus it will be the evening of the 20th when the eclipse occurs in the islands.
An easy to view evening eclipse, no reason not to get out and view this one, no need for an alarm clock!
Perihelion
Earth’s perihelion will occur at 19:20HST today.
Perihelion occurs when the Earth reaches its closest distance to the Sun for the year.
It may seem odd to some the perihelion occurs in the middle of winter. One must recall that the distance from the Sun is not the cause of our seasons, that is the effects of axial tilt.
| 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 | ||||