Thu, 11 January 2007 Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night! Image courtesy of Sal Viviano of Washington, Michigan (featured on the Space Weather site Jan.11, 07) An amateur's reflection of the AAS conference.....(Mira B news was fun!)
When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer When I heard the learn'd astronomer,When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, How soon unaccountable I became tired, and sick, Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself, In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars. Walt Whitman, 1865 (TOAOAL-II, PP 821-822)
Listener FeedbackLots of great email out there with folk sharing their new astronomical acquisitions. This is a familiar scene:
I had my own great surprise! Can you guess what it is? (click on the picture for the answer) Many thanks to the entire Harris Family!
Observing ListsBen 34, NGC 1904, M79...a rose by any other name....listed in order of creator's birth... Abbe Nicholas Louis de la Caille (Lac), French deacon and astronomer (1713-1762) This catalog was compiled during his 2-year journey to the Cape of Good Hope in 1751-52, "Catalog of Nebulae of the Southern Sky"(list) Charles Messier (M), French astronomer (1730 - 1817) Between 1758 to 1782 compiled a list of 'non-comet' items. The SEDS (Students for the Exploration and Development of Space) site is one of the best resources for Messier Objects. (list. Messier compiled his list of deep sky objects in three parts; "Memoires de l'Academie" 1774, "Connoissance des Temps" 1780, and "Connoissance des Temps" 1781. Pierre Francois Andre Mechain , French astronomer (1744-1804) co-worker with Charles Messier at at the small observatory at Hotel de Cluny in Paris. Mechain contributed many object to the 'Messier' catalogue and has may other objects an comets to his credit. (list) Wilhelm (William) Herschel (H) , (1738-1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer who became famous for discovering the planet Uranus. Herschel published "Catalogue of One Thousand new Nebulae and Clusters of Stars" in 1786 and "Catalogue of a second Thousand of new Nebulae and Clusters of Stars; with a few introductory Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens" in 1789 500 more objects were added to complete the 2500 Herschel Objects (list)the Astronomical League has an award for observing 400 of the Herschel Objects. Johann Elert Bode, German astronomer (1747-1826) Bode was the director of the Berlin Observatory, where he published the Uranographia in 1801 that combined the artistic with the scientific. All amateurs should appreciate that he published a small atlas for amateurs called "Vorstellung der Gestirne" which looked at constellations and their mythologies. "Complete Catalog of Nebulous Stars and Star Clusters", Astronomisches Jahrbuch for 1779, Berlin (1977) (list) Caroline Herschel (CH), German born English astronomer (1750-1848) was an avid astronomical observer, discoverer of comets (she originally found 8 of them) and deepsky objects (list) collected from 1783-87 which are included in William Herschel's catalogue. John Herschel (h), (1792-1871 son of William Herschel) English born In 1833 Herschel traveled to South Africa in order to catalogue the stars, nebulae, and other objects of the southern skies. This was to be a completion as well as extension of the survey of the northern heavens undertaken initially by his father. James Dunlop (Dunlop), Scottish born Australian Astronomer (1793-1848), James Dunlop's Catalog of southern Deep Sky Objects, compiled 1823-27 "A Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars in the Southern Hemisphere observed in New South Wales" (list) the SEDS site has a highlight listJohn Louis Emile Dreyer (NGC, IC), (1852-1926) was a Danish-Irish astronomer. He worked with Lord Rosse at Birr where the giant six-foot Leviathan, at that time the largest telescope in the world, was at his disposal. His major contribution was the monumental "New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars" (NGC), whose catalogue numbers are still in wide use today, as well as two supplementary Index Catalogues (IC); "Index Catalogue of Nebulae Found in the Years 1888 to 1894". (list) Jack Bennett (Ben), (1914-1990) South African astronomer drew up two lists of southern objects that appeared comet-like in his telescope. His first list (Bennett, 1969) was published four months before he discovered his first comet. The supplementary list (Bennett, 1974) was followed three months later by his second discovery. Bennett's list reads like the "Who's Who of the Deepsky" and provides Southern observers will an extension to more northern lists. (list) Sir Patrick Moore and the Editors of Sky & Telescope created "The Caldwell Catalog: 109 Deep-Sky Delights for Backyard Observers" The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) has published several useful observing lists in their yearly Observer's Handbook, edited by Roy L. Bishop:The Astronomical League has provided extra observing tours beyond the Messier objects for binocular observers, each one for Northern and Southern Deep Sky Objects The Hawaiian Astronomical Society keeps a list of lists, so to speak. Astronomical Society of South Africa has a nice set of 100 deep sky objects ...plus many more. SunsunspotsPlanetsEvening Planets
 Morning Planets
ConstellationsLepus - the Hare - one of the animals presumed to be hunted by Orion
it is more likely that the poor hare was just startled from his burrow by the
great hunter charging Taurus the bull.
Puppis - the Poop or Stern - Puppis, the 'Poop' Deck or Stern of the
Argos Puppis is actually part of Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the
Argonauts
Next show....
Updates!"What's up 2007 - 365 Days of Skywatching" by Tammy Plotner and published/sponsored by Fraser Cain at the "Universe Today" website/blog/podcast. CometsMcNaught! (finder chart)
Comets for the Month.Check out the Sky Hound site.Thanks!Email us at astronomyagogo@gmail.com or leave a note in our show notes at
www.astronomy.libsyn.com Pumbaa: Timon? MusicDouglas Spotted Eagle "Starry Night" and "Doo'lit'Saa'Da (Another Silent Night) feat. Dine' Children's Choir"Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope is offering FREE web hosting on our servers for you or your organization's website. In order to promote the hobbies of Astronomy, Astrophotography, Photography, Birding or generally any topic that is of interest to our customer base, Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope is offering Hosting Grants.  Comments[0] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tue, 2 January 2007  Download this month's sky map!Kym Thalassoudis does a wonderful job creating accurate and easy to use star maps every month! Visit his site at www.skymaps.com for skymaps and links to other useful astronomical sites. Also a great portal for astronomical gifts! Northern hemisphere sky
map Those in the Southern Hemisphere should also visit James Barclay's site for a great tour of the Southern Hemisphere December sky.
Another great site for Southern Hemisphere viewers is the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar found at the RASNZ site Download "What's up 2007: 365 days of Skywatching" by Tammy Plotner, published by Universe Today (Faser Cain) it is a fantastic and it is free! Planets for January 2007Mercury will be in superior conjunction (behind the sun) on Jan 7th and not easily visible until late in the month as an evening planet. The first week of February marks it's greatest elongation and better viewing. -1.0 Mag peaking at -1.3 Mag mid-month. Venus sits low on the SW horizon in the evening twilight. By mid month Venus is setting after twilight in full dark. An almost fully illuminated disk shines at -3.8 mag. Mars starts off the month in Ophiuchus rising just 1.5 hours before the Sun the 1.5 mag planet competes with 1.06 variable star Antares (which means "like" Mars) and together with Jupiter they make a nice trio. By the end of the month Mars has moved into Sagitarrius. Jupiter starts the month rising 1 hour before the sun. Jupiter, at -1.8 mag, spends the first 11 months of the year in Ophiuchus! Saturn spends the entire year in Leo. Rising mid-evening at the beginning of the month and by the middle of the month is rising in the early evening making the 0.2 mag planet easy to share with friends. Uranus at 5.9 mag spends the entire year in Aquarius starting the month almost on top of Lambda Aquarii but by the end of the month it is 1 deg E of Lambda. Neptune another happy camper this 8.0 mag planet will camp out in Capricorn all year long. He starts the month out 1 deg North of Iota Capricorni. On the 25th of the month use Mercury to help you find Neptune Mercury will be less than .25 degs from Iota and much easier to see. After mid-month Neptune (mid latitudes NH) will be setting in twilight getting more difficult to see. Key Dates for January 2007Days and Times in UT (help with time) Observations are for 8pm for the mid-northern latitudes and for 10pm for the mid-southern latitudes. Great site for sunrise and sunset times and a downloadable toolbar application by Steve Edwards Astronomical Highlights
Astronomical Highlights for 2007Earth's major motions for 2007 Planet Positions for 2007 Eclipses for 2007 March 19 - partial solar eclipse (see map, times, and animation!): The first solar eclipse of 2007 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in Pisces and is visible from eastern Asia and parts of northern Alaska September 11 - partial solar eclipse (see map, times, and animation): The last eclipse of 2007 is a partial solar eclipse at the Moon's descending node in southern Leo. Its visibility is confined to parts of South America, Antarctica and the South Atlantic March 3-4 - total lunar eclipse (see map): The beginning of the umbral phase visible in the Arctic region, Africa, Europe, Asia except for extreme eastern region, most of Indonesia, western Australia, Queen Maud Land of Antarctica, extreme eastern South America, Greenland, the Indian Ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean; the end visible in Africa, Europe, western Asia, Queen Maud Land of Antarctica and Antarctic Peninsula, South America, eastern North America, Greenland, the Arctic region, the Atlantic Ocean, the western Indian Ocean, and the extreme eastern South Pacific Ocean. August 28 - total lunar eclipse (see map): The beginning of the umbral phase visible in North America, South America except extreme east, Antarctica except for Enderby Land, New Zealand, eastern Australia, extreme northeastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and the western Atlantic Ocean; the end visible in New Zealand, Australia, most of Antarctica except Queen Maud Land, Indonesia, eastern Asia, western North America, the Pacific Ocean, and the southeastern Indian Ocean. Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)Meteor Showers for 2007 As luck would have it, all the major meteor showers reach their peaks in 2007 with the Moon out of the sky. Any of these showers can produce dozens of shooting stars each dark hour leading up to dawn. Mark your calendar to look for...
Comets for January Gary Kronk's comet and meteor pagesSkyhound Comet pages Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat or write us a favorable review in iTunes of Podcast Pickle or iPodder! Music Scottish Guitar
Quartet -"Romance within you" Comments[0] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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