Mon, 18 December 2006
Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night! Image courtesy of Dr. Tyler Nordgren and his students.
ORION Eight stars pinhis frame to the night. He lies just above Not quite yet. Eight silent silver bells
Listener FeedbackFrom Ted - "I'd like to suggest a great book that I stumbled across at Barnes & Noble about 18 months ago. It is called "The Next Step, Finding and Viewing Messier's Objects." It was written by Ken Graun. The main part of the book is a section about the Messier Object. There are 2 pages per object. It has a little history and notes from Messier's original description. It gives the coordinates and a reference to it's location on star maps included in the book. What really sets this book apart is that it includes pictures taken by the author thru a 4 inch scope. It allows you to see exactly what you are looking for. The book also has a biography of Charles Messier, and a few general tips on astronomy. The book it not very large so it is easy to carry with you. I find the book extremely helpful to show people what they are looking for before they step up to the eyepiece. I hope you can find the book to review and recommend it on a future podcast. " Don has another book suggestion: "A great book for gifts is "There Once Was a Sky Full of Stars", by Bob Crelin. Great for helping children (and adults) learn about the effects of light pollution." Special Thanks!Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope for helping our club buy a PST for use with our club outreach!Just a reminder, Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope is offering a 5% discount for any AAGG listener! Just put "AAGG" in the discount code box at checkout to receive your discount.
Holiday lights in the sky - Stellar Spectrum
Mnemonics
for the Harvard Spectral Classification Scheme SunsunspotsPlanets  Evening Planets
 Morning Planets
Constellations Time for a quiz! Fornax - the Furnace - Invented by Lacaille during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope in 1751 - 1752 (who else!) ViewingNaked eye and binoculars - the Pleiades -the Hyades At a distance of only about 150 light years, the Hyades form one of the nearest open cluster to Earth.  Greek mythology, nymphs; daughters of Atlas and Aethra. They cared for both Zeus and Dionysus as infants. In recognition of these services, they were placed among the stars of the constellation Taurus, where their rising and setting corresponded to the rainy seasons. Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), the bright red star, is not a member of the cluster and situated much closer to us (about 60 light years, a factor 2.5 closer than the Hyades). Telescope - Northern Hemisphere chart You can use Taki's chart #14, chart 72 in the Pocket Sky Atlas NGC 7380 bright irregular open cluster, 7.2 mag, with bright nebulosity around. Once edge looks scalloped.NGC 7510- the "Little Piggy" cluster (Alice's name only) in Cephus 7.9 wedge or trapazoid shaped open cluster. Right across the boarder from... M52 - evil dustbunny cluster, 6.9 open cluster in Cassiopeia and just a few degree towards Polaris from Caph (beta Cassiopeia) is NGC 7790
Gifts for the Astronomer!Do it yourself (DIY) giftsThere are so many creative things you can do for your astronomer, or for yourself, that won't cost and arm and a leg! Consider the following:
Binocular
Mounts On to the shopping...
Off the scope
Atlases
...there are just toooo many but here is a start....
CometsComets for the Month.Check out the Sky Hound site."One touch of nature makes the whole world kin" Email us at astronomyagogo@gmail.com or leave a note in our show notes at
www.astronomy.libsyn.com 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.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sun, 3 December 2006
 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.
Planets for DecemberPlanetary highlight: Mercury, Jupiter and Mars. Start watching LOW on the eastern horizon between the 8th and the 13th as they start to move together until On Dec 9 and 10 Mercury, Mars and Jupiter will be in close conjunction, within a 1 degree circle of each other. Mercury then switches places with the other two as it head back towards the Sun.This is the closest grouping of 3 naked eye planets in the 1980-2050 time period.
Key Dates for DecemberDays 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
Monthly Messier
Historical/Events
Earth's major motions for 2006 Earth's major motions for 2007 Planet Positions for 2006 Planet Positions for 2007
Comets for December 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" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wed, 29 November 2006
Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night!excerpt from "Works and Days" "And if longing seizes you for sailing the stormy seas,when the Pleiades flee mighty Orion and plunge into the misty deep and all the gusty winds are raging, then do not keep your ship on the wine-dark sea but, as I bid you, remember to work the land." Hesiod, presumably lived around 700 BCE  Victoria Crater. Image credit: NASA/JPL/HiRISE (Thanks to Fraser at Universe Today) Michael this one is for you! Does it remind you of the SARLACC PIT from Episode VI? But wait there is more...WHAT makes straight parallel lines on Mars?
Listener FeedbackURL for the 7 Mag Charts Table of ContentsJim has had great luck with this red light/ white light head lamp from Lowes I picked up something similar from Home Depot and just love it! Unfortunately I can't find it on the internet site.
SunThere are two nice sunspots just appearing 926 and 927Planets Evening Planets Be ready around Dec 7th-11th with Mercury, Jupiter and Mars on converge on one another LOW on the pre-dawn sky!
Morning Planets
ConstellationsTime for a quiz! Fornax - the Furnace - Invented by Lacaille during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope in 1751 - 1752 (who else!) Indus - the Indian (Native American?) Invented by Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597 Epsilon Indi is one of the closest stars (17th)to Earth, approximately 11.82 light years away. Proxima Centauri is the closest at 4.2 light years away.
ViewingNaked eye - the Pleiades The Pleiades nebulae are blue-colored, which indicates that they are reflection nebulae, reflecting the light of the bright stars situated near (or within) them. The brightest of these nebulae, that around Merope, was discovered on October 19, 1859 by Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht (Wilhelm) Tempel at Venice (Italy) with a 4-inch refractor; it is included in the NGC as NGC 1435. The Pleiades also carry the name "Seven Sisters"; according to Greek mythology, seven daughters and their parents. In the Maori language, Matariki is the name of the constellation Pleiades. In traditional times, Matariki was a season to celebrate and to prepare the ground for the coming year. Offerings of the produce of the land were made to the gods, including Rongo. This time of the year was also a good time to instruct young people in the lore of the land and the forest. as well, certain birds and fish were especially easy to harvest at this time.
Binocular - Telescope -
M36 - open cluster mag 9 (NGC 1960) M37 - open cluster mag 11 (NGC 2099) M35 - open cluster mag 8 (NGC 2168) and near by NGC 2158 Southern Hemisphere chart
The MoonImages created with Lunar Phase Pro Our beautiful lunar photos are courtesy of Frank Barrett at celestialwonders.com I recommend visiting his site and checking out his lunar phase photos. You can zoom in for more detail.  Spanning 56 miles and descending 13,800 feet below lunar surface, Tycho�s massive walls are 13 miles thick. As one of the youngest craters, Tycho might not look like much tonight, but it is surely one of the most impressive of all features when the Moon reaches Full. Look around Tycho for six small craters encircling it like an old analog telephone dial. To the southeast, another prominent feature calls attention to itself - Maginus. Power up and look closely at the more than 50 meteoritic impacts that have all but destroyed it. The very largest of the wall craters is on the southwest crest and is named Maginus C. On the outer north wall, look for less conspicuous Proctor. It, too, has been struck many times! Gifts for the Astronomer!Do it yourself (DIY) giftsThere are so many creative things you can do for your astronomer, or for yourself, that won't cost and arm and a leg! Consider the following:
Binocular
Mounts On to the shopping...
Off the scope
Atlases
...there are just toooo many but here is a start....
CometsComets for the Month.Check out the Sky Hound site."One touch of nature makes the whole world kin" Email us at astronomyagogo AT gmail DOT com or leave a note in our show notes at
www.astronomy.libsyn.com 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wed, 15 November 2006
Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night! Photo by: Jon Bergskog "Mercury Transit" 76mm Televue Escape at Bedtime The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter, and all, Robert Louis Stevenson Listener FeedbackAAGG listener Dan has created a MySpace for AAGG listener AND he has started using TalkShoe and his own live chat show Astro-Tech (I hope I got that right) Check them both out at http://groups.myspace.com/aagglisteners ConstellationsOf the 88 modern constellations we have visited all of the Northern Hemisphere constellations and we are only missing 2 Southern Hemisphere constellation!
Andromeda -Antlia -Apus -Aquarius -Aquila -Ara -Aries -Auriga -Bootes -Caelum -Camelopardalis -Cancer -Canes Venatici -Canis Major -Canis Minor -Capricornus -Carina -Cassiopeia -Centaurus -Cepheus -Cetus -Chamaeleon -Circinus -Columba -Coma Berenices -Corona Australis -Corona Borealis -Corvus -Crater -Crux -Cygnus -Delphinus -Dorado -Draco -Equuleus -Eridanus -Fornax -Gemini -Grus -Hercules -Horologium -Hydra -Hydrus -Indus -Lacerta -Leo -Leo Minor -Lepus -Libra -Lupus -Lynx -Lyra -Mensa -Microscopium -Monoceros -Musca -Norma -Octans -Ophiuchus -Orion -Pavo -Pegasus -Perseus -Phoenix -Pictor -Pisces -Piscis Austrinus -Puppis -Pyxis -Reticulum -Sagitta -Sagittarius -Scorpius -Sculptor -Scutum -Serpens -Sextans -Taurus -Telescopium -Triangulum -Triangulum Australe -Tucana - Ursa Major -Ursa Minor -Vela -Virgo -Volans -Vulpecula Pictor - The Easel. Invented by Lacaille during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope 1751-1752Caelum (SEE-lum)- The Artist's chisel. Dorado - The Swordfish. Dorado was one of the eleven constellations invented by Pieter Diksz Keyser and Fredrich Houtman, during the years 1595-1597. Most famous not for its shape but for a famous inhabitant of its boundaries, the Large Magellanic Cloud Hydrus - The Southern water snake. The alpha star is very close to Achernar and the right angle seems to bracket the Small Magellanic Cloud  Another cultural tale of the now quickly receding Lyra, Altair and Cygnus. A young cowherd named Niulang (the star Altair) happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister Zhinu ("the weaver girl", the star Vega) to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niulang sees her naked she must agree to his request for marriage. She proves to be a wonderful wife, and Niulang a good husband, and they are very happy together. But the Goddess of Heaven (in some versions Zhinu's mother) finds out that a mere mortal has married one of the fairy girls and is furious. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratches a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever (thus forming the Milky Way, which separates Altair and Vega). Zhinu must sit forever on one side of the river, sadly weaving on her loom, while Niulang watches her from afar and takes care of their two children (his flanking stars Beta and Gamma Aquilae). But once a year all the magpies in the world take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, the seventh night of the seventh moon.  Planets Evening Planets Be ready around Dec 7th-11th with Mercury, Jupiter and Mars on converge on one another LOW on the pre-dawn sky!
Morning Planets
Famous AstronomersAbbe Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (March 15, 1713 - March 21, 1762) French astronomer.He is noted for his catalogue of nearly 10,000 southern stars, including 42 nebulous objects. This catalogue, called "Coelum Australe Stelliferum", was published posthumously in 1763. It introduced 14 new constellations which have since become standard. He also calculated a table of eclipses for 1800 years. In 1750, an astronomical expedition to the Cape of Good Hope, which was officially sanctioned. Among its results were determinations of the lunar and of the solar parallax (Mars serving as an intermediary), the first measurement of a South African arc of the meridian, and the observation of 10,000 southern stars.* He lives on in the funny little constellations he re-mapped in the southern hemisphere as well as with a named lunar crater and a named asteroid. But...he is the one who broke up the ship of the argonauts..... Song BreakA DIY Project - The Mag 7 Star Atlas Projectby Andrew Johnson and available on Cloudy Night Telescope Review"This project is my attempt to produce a free, downloadable set of high-quality star charts -- the Mag-7 Star Atlas -- capable of being printed at reasonable resolutions on the average home printer." " Yes. And not just free of charge -- you have other freedoms as well. This
work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Basically you are free to
download, use, and or distribute this work for non-commercial purposes with
appropriate attribution. You can create and distribute derived works if they
follow the same license. The Mag-7 Star Atlas There are 20 primary charts and one supplemental chart (11a for the Virgo Coma Berenices region) comprising the complete Mag-7 Star Atlas. Based on early feedback, I've made two versions available: a black on white version for use in the field (where red light may interfere with different color schemes), and a version with DSO's, constellation lines and boundaries, and grid lines highlighted in different colors. Different colors help to visually break up the charts making for a more relaxed viewing experience (whether viewing on-screen or printing in color for a "desktop" version). Apart from color, the two versions are identical. Enjoy." ViewingNaked eye - Leonid Meteor shower Peak time estimates range from 0445
UT to 0630 UT on Nov. 19th (more info at Spaceweather.com) The Sun exhibit differential rotation: at the equator the surface rotates once every 25.4 days; near the poles it's as much as 36 days. Similar effects are seen in the gas planets and other non-solid bodies...like stars. The differential rotation extends considerably down into the interior of the Sun but the core of the Sun rotates as a solid body. Sunspots sometimes form and fizzle in a matter of days. Other times they last weeks so we can keep an eye on this one. Binocular - Comet Garradd C/2006 L1 +9.7 mag comet that will be very near Saturn about the time of the Leonid Meteor Shower. Moving from Leo to the tip of Cancer at month's end. If you want more there is also 4P/Faye Comet Faye that is currently in Cetus not far from alpha Pisces. Open cluster M52 in Cassiopeia. Extend the last leg of the "W" from Schedar to Caph, one more like distance until you spot a narrow diamond pattern of stars. M52 is just to the south. NGC 7789 is a misty patch in binoculars but you are looking at one of the most densely packed open clusters north of the celestial equator. There is an estimated 1000 stars crammed into an area 40 light year across Telescope - Northern Hemisphere
chart Another fainter swarm is NGC 1528 this time on the other side of Mirfax almost due west. There is a faint trail of brighter stars that make a 'spoon' shape crossing through the cluster. The last of the open
cluster swarms in Perseus is NGC 1513 Tired of clusters, try planetary nebula NGC 7662, the 'Blue Snowball
Nebula' you will see a consistently 'glowing' blue tinted perfectly circular
disk. From Alpheratz (Sirrah on your chart) head NNE towards Lacerta (the
Lizard)use the star chart to help you get to the right spot. Another fine object in Cassiopeia is NGC 185 and elliptical galaxy at 9.3 mag. Southern
Hemisphere chart Scanning back up and in between the feet of Lepus is spiral galaxy NGC 1964 and while you are there take a look for M79 a globular cluster not too far away. This GC is so densely packed the center looks solid. One of the more challenging M objects for mid to upper northern latitudes. What's on your list!I am putting together an astronomer's "Must have" list for all those folks out there who are worried about the perfect gift for the astronomer on their list! I will divided the list up by skill level (just starting, amateur, with or without scope, astrophotographer, etc) so we need all your ideas! Our sponsor, Woodland Hills Camera and Telescope is creating a webpage with the ideas we have been bouncing around so far so now is a great time to pitch in your wish list and who knows, maybe if you drop enough hints we can get the right people to view the list and check it twice! Post your ideas here on the website or send me an email at astronomyagogo AT gmail DOT com! CometsComets for the Month.Check out the Sky Hound site."One touch of nature makes the whole world kin" Email us at astronomyagogo@gmail.com or leave a note in our show notes at
www.astronomy.libsyn.com MusicChristopher Burke - CarolineHipnotics -I Feel it Too 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wed, 8 November 2006
Hey! Were you out and about today sharing the Mercury
Transit with the public, your family or friends? Need some
blog-bling? Well here you go, your own "Local Transit
Authority" badge to wear proudly. Let the world know just how weird
we really are. (yeah I should have come
up with this last week!) Category:Solar
-- posted at: 11:49 PM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mon, 6 November 2006
 HOW the old mountains drip with sunset, - Emily Dickenson (1830-86), Complete Poems 1924, Part Two Nature: CX 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 October sky.
Transit of Mercury:Nov 8 19:12 UT - Nov 9 00:10 UTTransit Information NASA, nice animated gif of what we might expect. NASA Transit Webcast From Hawaii The Exploritorium View the transit from the SOHO pages Tacoma Astronomical Society will be out, weather permitting, check the website on the 7th for location updates. S.Hemisphere details visit James Barclay's site the Maidenwell Observatory will be having a sunrise transit breakfast. Safe Solar Viewing Space Weather Mr. Eclipse The Exploritorium Key Dates for NovemberDays 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
Historical
Earth's major motions for 2006 Planet Positions for 2006
Comets for November 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" 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wed, 1 November 2006
Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night! Week of Oct. 31, 2006
 The Starlight Night LOOK at the stars! look, look up at the skies!O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air! The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there! Down in dim woods the diamond delves! the elves'-eyes! The grey lawns cold where gold, where quickgold lies! Wind-beat whitebeam! airy abeles set on a flare! Flake-doves sent floating forth at a farmyard scare! Ah well! it is all a purchase, all is a prize. Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) Happy Halloween Astronomy Style!Here are some great creepy astronomy sites: PlanetsEvening Planets
 Too close to the sun..
Constellations Horologium -the pendulum clock - Horologium was named by Abbe' Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Originally named Horologium Oscillitorium to honor Christian Huygens, the inventor of the pendulum clock in 1656-57 but like most longer astronomical names it was shortened to Horologium . Huygens is also famous for discovering Saturn's rings. Reticulum - the grid - A reticle consists of sets of parallel and perpendicular lines, either in the form of thread or wire or in the form of markings etched in glass. The result is a square grid which may be accurately used to locate and plot the relative positions of objects viewed through the grid. Zeta Reticuli is a double star visible to the naked eye and strangely enough the home of the aliens in the alleged Barney and Betty Hill abduction. Aries - the ram - One of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy and one of the 13 zodiacal constellations In Greek mythology Athamas, the king of Orchomenos, was married first to the goddess Nephele with whom he had the twins Phrixus and Helle. He later divorced Nephele and married Ino, daughter of Cadmus. Phrixus and Helle were hated by their stepmother, Ino who hatched a plot to get rid of the twins, roasting all the town's crop seeds so they would not grow. The local farmers, frightened of famine, asked a nearby oracle for assistance. Ino bribed the men sent to the oracle to lie and tell the others that the oracle required the sacrifice of Phrixus. Athamus reluctantly agreed. Before he was killed, though, Phrixus and Helle were rescued by a flying golden ram sent by Nephele, their natural mother. Helle fell off the ram into the the strait between the Aegean and the Sea of Marmara (Hellespont which was named after her) and died, but Phrixus survived all the way to Colchis (kolkis), where King Aettees took him in and treated him kindly, giving Phrixus his daughter Medea in marriage. In gratitude, Phrixus gave the king the golden fleece of the ram, which Aettees hung in a tree in his kingdom. ViewingOctober30 -First Quarter Moon 11:04 UT 31 -Halloween! November 1 -Uranus 0.5 deg North of the Moon, occultation possible in New Zealand and SE Australia 5 -Full Moon and Taurid meteors peak 8 -Transit of Mercury Naked eye - Binocular - Telescope - Feature Attraction - Astronomy Trick or Treat!Top 10 Astronomy misconceptions""Be very, very careful what you put into that head, Thomas Cardinal Wolsey (1471-1530)
Transit of Mercury Nov. 8 2006Get more information about the Transit of Mercury: Wikipedia,HM Nautical Almanac, "Mr. Eclipse" Viewing the transit safely! New CometsComet Swan (8.5 mag) currently in Hercules check out the heavens-above.com site. From the city it looks like a faint nebulous globular cluster! I did NOT see this! Aerith.net, Heavens-above.comComet C2006 T1 (Levy) currently in Leo. Comets for the Month.Check out the Sky Hound site. Email us at astronomyagogo@gmail.com or leave a note in our show notes at www.astronomy.libsyn.comHelp us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat "Intelligent or not, we all make mistakes and perhaps the intelligent mistakes are the worst, because so much careful thought has gone into them" Peter Ustinov MusicRebecca Loebe - All This TimeWoodland 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mon, 16 October 2006
Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night! Week of Oct. 16, 2006 ARCTURUS IN AUTUMN When, in the gold October dusk, I saw you near to setting,Arcturus, bringer of spring, Lord of the summer nights, leaving us now in autumn, Having no pity on our withering; Oh, then I knew at last that my own autumn was upon me, Sara Teasdale, 1926 (TOAOAL-II, pg. 1245)
Listener QuestionDan wanted directions for finding the Andromeda galaxy! I like to start with Alpheratz (al-FEE-rahts) the corner star in the great square of Pegasus shared by both constellations. This is the corner closes to Perseus and Cassiopeia. There is a long slender "V" with the brighter of the two track further away from Cassiopeia. If you start at Alpheratz, jump two stars down the brighter track to Mirach. The jump towards Cassiopeia two stars and stop. M31, the Andromeda galaxy, is just a nudge to the east. You will have 3 galaxies right there, M31, M32 and M110.  If you are having problems with faint stars another way to find M31 is to follow Cassiopeia. Start by finding Cassiopeia, if you draw a "W" on paper from left to right you make 4 lines resulting in 2 "V"s (no vendetta here)the second "V" points straight to Mirach then just back up a quarter of the way and shift east. M31 from the city looks nothing like the pictures she huge smear in the telescope with a very bright center. Give yourself time and dark skies to improve her view.
Feature Attraction - MercuryHistorical/Myological Facts
Fast Facts!
Why care about Mercury? It offers a chance to examine another outcome of the processes that also produced Earth, Venus and Mars. Learning how Mercury ended up the densest planet (after correcting for internal pressures) will tell us much about planetary formation. Discovering how Mercury has sustained a magnetic field while larger bodies either have lost an earlier field (as Mars did) or have no present field and no record of a past field (Venus) will help us to understand magnetic field generation in our own planet. Mercury also has the thinnest atmosphere among all the terrestrial planets and an incredibly wide temperature range. In fact, temperatures vary from nearly the highest in the solar system (at the equator) to among the coldest (in the permanently shadowed areas where ice deposits seem to lurk). Documenting the nature of Mercury's tenuous and changeable atmosphere and the composition of its mysterious polar deposits - thought by many to consist of water ice - will give us new insight into the volatile materials in the inner solar system. Transit of Mercury Nov. 8 2006Get more information about the Transit of Mercury: Wikipedia,HM Nautical Almanac, "Mr. Eclipse" Viewing the transit safely! Fun Mercury Tools A DAY on MercuryVisualizing a Mecurian Orbit
PlanetsEvening Planets
Too close to the sun..
Constellations Circinus -Circinus was invented by Lacaille during his stay at the Cape of Good Hope between 1751 and 1752. Latin for compass, is one of the small southern (declination -50 to -60 degrees) constellations. It represents a tool used in drawing maps and as such should not be confused with Pyxis, a constellation associated with a ship's compass. Pyxis(-Latin for box as in Pyxis Navigatum [lit. Sailor's Box, a compass]) is a minor southern constellation introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille under the name Pyxis Nautica. It is perhaps supposed to represent the compass of Argo Navis but not formally a part of Argo Navis; that is, the stars in it have their own independent Bayer designations (unlike Carina, Puppis and Vela which retained and split among themselves the Bayer designations from Argo).  Vulpecula - (vul-pek-U-lu) the Fox, It was originally known as Vulpecula cum ansere = "the Fox with the Goose" created by Hevelius, but the goose no longer appears on star charts but the name remains in Alpha Vulpeculae is a red giant of spectral class M0 and has apparent magnitude +4.4 the least faint star in this very faint constellation. However! :-) As faint as this constellation is it has too noteworthy features; "The Coathanger" more formally named Brocchi's Cluster (Collinder 399) and M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, is a large, bright planetary nebula which was discovered by the French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764 as the very first object of its kind. Find them! ViewingOctober 14 -Last Quarter Moon 00:26 UT15 -Moon near the Beehive cluster -M44 17 -Mercury at greatest elongation (4 UT) 25 deg east of the sun in the evening sky 17-19 Algol complete a full cycle from min to max to min it's nice and dark to see if you can catch this variable 19 -Moon at apogee (the furtherest point from Earth 406,500 km) 21 -Orionid meteor shower -peak 14:05 UT 22 -New Moon 5:14 UT 24 -Waxing crescent moon 10 degrees SE of Jupiter and Mercury 3.5ish degrees S of Jupiter Naked eye - Binocular - Telescope -
The MoonImages created with Lunar Phase ProOur beautiful lunar photos are courtesy of Frank Barrett at celestialwonders.com I recommend visiting his site and checking out his lunar phase photos. You can zoom in for more detail.
Remember latitudes that are negative (-) are South and longitudes that are negative (-) are West! CometsComets for the Month.Check out the Sky Hound site."One touch of nature makes the whole world kin" Email us at astronomyagogo@gmail.com or leave a note in our show notes at
www.astronomy.libsyn.com MusicDanielle French - Till We Meet AgainBob Kirkpatrick -"I hate the Rain" 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tue, 3 October 2006
 The harvest moon hangs round and high It dodges clouds high in the sky, The stars wink down their love and mirth The Autumn season is giving birth. Oh, it must be October The leaves of red bright gold and brown, To Mother Earth come tumbling down, The breezy nights the ghostly sights, The eerie spooky far off sounds Are signs that it's October. The pumpkins yellow, big and round Are carried by costumed clumsy clowns It's Halloween - let's celebrate. - Pearl N. Sorrels, It Must be October Great site for sunrise and sunset times and a downloadable toolbar application by Steve Edwards Download this month's sky map! Northern hemisphere sky
map Also visit James Barclay's site for a great tour of the Southern Hemisphere October sky.
Key Dates for October Days and Times in UT (help with time)
Astronomical
Historical
EventsOct 14th -Sally Ride Science Festival, California State University Los AngelesOct 15th -European Southern Observatory (ESO) Headquarters Open House Day, Garching, Germany Oct 18-21 - Eldorado Star Party, near Eldorado, Texas Oct 18-22 - 24th Annual Deep South Regional Star Gaze, near Norwood, Louisiana Oct 18-22 - 17th Annual Mason Dixon Star Party, near Wellsville, Pennsylvania Oct 19-22 - Nightfall Star Party, Borrego Springs, California Oct 28 - Sally Ride Science Festival, Houston, Texas at RICE UNIVERSITY! Oct 28 - Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour tonight if you are changing to standard time (ahhh, and extra hour of sleep) Earth's major motions for 2006 Planet Positions for 2006
Comets for October 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 -"Near the Circle" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fri, 22 September 2006
Carpe Noctem - Seize the Night!Happy Equinox Everyone!Well the Show #29 seems to have been corrupted. Some folks are getting the gerbil talk, some folks are getting puddles of static and a few are getting the file just fine. I guess we are all in mourning over Slacker Astronomy. Sigh. So! Since I am in transit to the N.W.R.A.L. Youth Starparty I am sending you all a quick note just to let you know that I will fix the podcast when I get home! But this is a great dark weekend and I don't want you waiting for me!! So I have a gift for you. Here is the Scavenger Hunt I put together for the kids at the starparty! Yes, most of them are Messier objects! If you haven't visited the Celestial Wonders site you should. That is where AAGG goes for our lunar images!. Here is a 4 day old moon.    PlanetsEvening Planets
CometsComets for the Month.Check out the Sky Hound site."One touch of nature makes the whole world kin" Email us at astronomyagogo@gmail.com or leave a note in our show notes at
www.astronomy.libsyn.com 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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Astronomy a Go Go!
In the car, at work or under the night time sky astronomy goes where you go! |
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