Calendar Nov 14-21 2005
11/14/05 Monday Date
5:15 pm Earliest Lunar and Planetary Observing time
5:45 pm Earliest Star and Deep Sky Object observing time
13 days waxing Age of the Moon
Special notes:
Mars remains close and presents a disc of about 18 seconds in diameter. It and the moon are about the only observing targets available tonight.
A fun note, true all week and then some. Look first at Venus, very bright and low in the southwest sky. Then turn nearly 180 degrees and note Mars – not as bright, but brighter than any star, rising in the eastern sky. Now think about what you are seeing – a nice line up of the planets with Venus nearest the setting sun, then the Earth where you are standing, and then Mars, far away from the sun. If you could look down on the solar system from above at this moment, here’s what you would see, courtesy of Starry Nights software.
Get it? Now picture yourself on Earth, facing south. Look to your left – away from the sun – and there’s Mars. Look to your right, towards the sun, and there’s Venus. We are, incidentally, moving away from Mars since we go faster in our inner orbit. As a result Mars will get smaller and smaller in our telescopes over the coming weeks and months. Oh, and Venus, in its smaller orbit, will be catching up to us, getting brighter.
What I like about this is it allow the opportunity for one of those deep awareness moments when things not only make sense in the abstract, but you can combine your abstract knowledge with the experience of the real event to suddenly grasp the whole picture. (Easy to say - it doesn't always happen that way - but this is one of those opportunities.) The abstract idea of these huge balls of rock whirling around a common center of gravity (the sun) can become immensely real and simple to grasp at this time.
(Thanks to Sky and Telescope Email News Bulletin for calling this to my attention.)
11/15/05 Tuesday Date
5:15 pm Earliest Lunar and Planetary Observing time
5:45 pm Earliest Star and Deep Sky Object observing time
14 days full Age of the Moon
Special notes:
Mars remains close and presents a disc of about 18 seconds in diameter. It and the moon are about the only observing targets available tonight.
11/16/05 Wednesday Date
5:15 pm Earliest Lunar and Planetary Observing time
5:45 pm Earliest Star and Deep Sky Object observing time
15 days waning Age of the Moon
Special notes:
Mars remains close and presents a disc of about 18 seconds in diameter. It and the moon are about the only observing targets available tonight. Moon remains a difficult target when this bright and flatly lit.
11/17/05 Thursday Date
5:15 pm Earliest Lunar and Planetary Observing time
5:45 pm Earliest Star and Deep Sky Object observing time
16 days waning Age of the Moon
Special notes:
Mars remains close and presents a disc of about 18 seconds in diameter. It and the moon are about the only observing targets available tonight, although some double stars are worth pursuing. Moon getting a little more interesting.
11/18/05 Friday Date
5:15 pm Earliest Lunar and Planetary Observing time
5:45 pm Earliest Star and Deep Sky Object observing time
17 days waning Age of the Moon
Special notes:
Mars remains close and presents a disc of about 18 seconds in diameter. The moon rises about when our early observing session begins, but it’s quite low in the southeast most of the time, so it won’t begin to be a nuisance until about 8 pm and as it climbs higher, it does become an interesting target in itself. Good night for double stars and some deep sky objects in the west will be acceptable early in the evening.
11/19/05 Saturday Date
5:15 pm Earliest Lunar and Planetary Observing time
5:45 pm Earliest Star and Deep Sky Object observing time
18 days waning Age of the Moon
Special notes:
Mars remains close and presents a disc of about 18 seconds in diameter. The moon rises more than an hour after our early observing session begins, but it’s quite low in the southeast most of the time, so it won’t be a nuisance until it climbs higher, and eventually it does become an interesting target in itself, but later than our public observing sessions go. Another good night for double stars, constellation study, and some deep sky objects will be acceptable early in the evening.
11/20/05 Sunday Date
5:15 pm Earliest Lunar and Planetary Observing time
5:45 pm Earliest Star and Deep Sky Object observing time
19 days waning Age of the Moon
Special notes:
Bye bye moon! The moon doesn’t rise until after 8 and it will take it two or three hours to be well placed for observing, so it does not figure into our public sessions. Yes, it will cause some glow in the east before it rises, but will not be a serious impediment to most star and deep sky observing. Mars remains close and presents a disc of about 18 seconds in diameter.
11/21/05 Monday Date
5:15 pm Earliest Lunar and Planetary Observing time
5:45 pm Earliest Star and Deep Sky Object observing time
20 days waning Age of the Moon
Special notes:
Good night for constellation study, as well as observing deep sky objects. The Andromeda galaxy is well placed overhead and a great target for binoculars. Nice time for a close look at M15, as well – and the Pleiades will be fun for low power viewing as they rise in the East, Mars remains close and presents a disc of about 18 seconds in diameter.