Special events index:
Jump to January Sky Event
Jump to February Sky Event
Jump to March Sky Event
Jump to April Sky Event
Jump to May Sky Event
Jump to June Sky Event
Jump to July Sky Event
Jump to August Sky Event
Jump to September Sky Event
Jump to October Sky Event
Jump to November Sky Event
Jump to December Sky Event
It has been a long time since I updated this page. If you are interested in the events of the variable stars: take a look at this modified web page.
http://members.aol.com/sabiajohn/varstar.html
Right Click to download Saturnmoons.zip
Sky Almanac
All of these events are visible by the naked eye. Binoculars will improve the view.
New Moon visible to naked eye on August 8, 2008.
Mars will dominate the sky overhead as a bright orange/red star.
4 Meteors from Quandrantid meteor shower peak tonight. Moderate speed, typical 40 per hour but has been known to produce rates as high as 200/hour. Dress warm and look to the North.
8 Periodic comet 17 Holmes a binocular object in constellation Perseus. Larger than Full Moon and as bright as Andronmeda Galaxy. Check this comet for an outburst that may or may not occur.
15 First Quarter Moon in the sky.
18 04:03 am Moon and Pleiades close approach in morning sky.
19 Moon close to planet Mars in evening sky.
22 Full Moon
30 Last Quarter Moon
A Total Lunar Eclipse at the end of the Month.
1,2 In the morning sky, a bright pairing of planets Venus and Jupiter.
3,4 In the morning sky, the crescent Moon passes below the planets Venus and Jupiter
14 First Quarter Moon in the sky.
20 Total Lunar Eclipse Visible tonight. Saturn is 5° North East of the Moon.
Lunar eclipse Date Time
Begin of partial phase: 2/20/2008 8:43:28 PM
Begin of total phase: 2/20/2008 10:00:22 PM
Maximum of the eclipse: 2/20/2008 10:25:38 PM
End of total phase: 2/20/2008 10:50:54 PM
End of partial phase: 2/21/2008 12:07:48 AM
Look for comet Holmes in Perseus during the total eclipse phase.
24 Saturn is at it nearest approach to the Earth, rising at sunset. Rings are tilted 8.4 degrees to our line of sight. Full open ring tilt is 26 degrees.
27 Very low in the east less than 1 hour before sunrise are Venus and Mercury 1° apart.
28 Last Quarter Moon
Spring returns, Mars and Saturn are evening planets.
5 Moon close to Mercury and Venus. Mercury will be above the Moon. This will require a very clear sky and good unobstructed view of the SW horizon.
12 Moon is above the and Pleiades star cluster in the evening sky.
14 First Quarter Moon. Mars is 1 degree below the Moon.
19 The star Regulus, planet Saturn vie for attention with the Moon nearby this evening.
20 Spring arrives.
21 Full Moon
24 Before sunrise Venus and Mercury are 1 degree from each other. Very low in twilight sky.
29 Third Quarter Moon
Crescent Moon covers the Pleiades star cluster.
8 Moon occults stars of the Pleiades in the South West evening sky.
12 First Quarter Moon
15 The Moon, the star Regulus and Saturn are group together on the western horizon after sunset.
20 Full Moon
28 Third Quarter Moon
Mars encounters a star cluster.
2 Mercury is left of the Pleiades at sunset.
6 Moon and Mercury 2.1° apart in the west.
10 Mars and the Moon are close.
11 First Quarter Moon
14 Moon moves close to Saturn.
19 Full Moon
22,23 Mars moves through the Beehive cluster of stars.
28 Third Quarter Moon
Moon glides past a star and a planet.
7 Mars is above fat crescent Moon.
8,9 The Moon moves below the star Regulus and Saturn.
10 First Quarter Moon
18 Full Moon
26 Third Quarter Moon
30 Moon and the Pleiades meet again in the morning sky.
Saturn and Mars move closer.
1 Mercury is seen before dawn very low in the East.
Mars and Regulus are close, Saturn is farther to the left of them
5,6 The Moon joins the gather of Mars, Regulus and Saturn in the evening sky.
9 First Quarter Moon
17 Full Moon
25 Third Quarter Moon
Three planets gather in the west.
8 First Quarter Moon interferes with Perseid Meteor showed on the 1th2 August.
14 Planets Venus, Saturn and Mercury are a closly spaced in the west after sunset.
16 Full Moon
23 Third Quarter Moon
31 Low in the west after sunset are the inner planets Venus and Mercury climbing higher.
Venus and Mars pair up.
1 Mars joins Mercury and Venus in the west
4 Mercury reaches it's maximum distance from the Sun in the western sky.
7 First Quarter Moon
11 Mars is below Venus and less than 20 minutes of arc from Venus. Mercury is 3.5° lower. Moon is lower still.
14 Full Moon
19 Pleiades occulted by the Moon at 9:00 pm tonight.
22 Third Quarter Moon
29 Moon is 4° right of planet Saturn before Dawn
Two bright planets far apart.
6 First Quarter Moon
14 Full Moon
21 Third Quarter Moon
22 Mercury is at greatest Elongation in the Morning sky.
31 Thin crescent Moon below Venus at sunset.
Two bright planets pass by in the west.
1 Crescent Moon left of Venus.
5 First Quarter Moon
12 Full Moon
19 Third Quarter Moon
21,29 Watch Jupiter and Venus glide past each other in the western sky.
Mercury passes Jupiter in the west.
1 The Moon joins the show of Jupiter and Venus at sunset.
5 First Quarter Moon
12 Full Moon
19 Third Quarter Moon
28 Venus is high in the sky at sunset, Jupiter very low with Mercury below it.
31 Venus is below the Moon. Jupiter and Mercury 1.2° apart low in the west.
In the years since I first put this page on the internet, many fine Windows and Javascripts are available that out perform this simple listing.
For a list of the MUTUAL EVENTS of Jupiters moons see the web page by Bill
Gray at URL.
Jupiter Satellite Events
A new Java based software that will list the events of the moons of Jupiter
and the central merdian crossing of the Great Red Spot is
The Planets by Brendan Murphy.
The list can be printed in U.T or local time.
TO LOCATE THE MOONS OF THE OUTER PLANETS check out this web page.
Rings Node
Tools
Go to: [home page] [top of this page] [Jupiter's Red Spot Transit times]
Jovian Feature Ephemeris - . The values below are good enough for a window of visiblity. Future output will list more than one Jovian feature by UT Date,to cut down the amount of reference by feature.
NOTICE The software by Manfred Ding ET v2.0. will also list transit times of Jovian Features as well as those of Saturn.
Recently interactive online sources have become available for the observer to produce lists on their own. One of the better ones can be found on the Arkansas Sky Observatory - Online Calculators and Tools. This site is maintained by Dr. Clay Sherrod.
Jupiter - helpful rotation periods.
System I (9h 50m 30.00s)
System II (9h 55m 40.63s).
TheYahoo eGroup ALPO_Jupiter , provides insite to the events on the planet Jupiter.
NOTICE *** At the end of 2007 the GRS has been around 120 degrees. By the time it arrives back in the sky in 2008, it should move some 5 or 10 degrees futher if it keeps up the current pace. We'll just have to wait until then.
This is not the actual value at this time, I encourage observers to time the GRS transit to determine the CM of the GRS.
Go to:
[home page] [top of this page] [index]
Go to:[home page] [top of this page][index]
I had fun watching this stars regular variation in brightness with
the only equipment required were clear skies and your eyes. Good comparison
stars all around. More information can be found in Burnham's Celestial Handbook
Vol 1.
MAXIMUMS of Eta Aquilae - CEPHEID Mag 3.5 - 4.3, Period 7.17 days U.T. DATE TIME YEAR MON DAY A Winter Cepheid AAVSO charts Zip file for DeltaCepheus MAXIMUMS of Delta Cepheus - CEPHEID Mag 3.5 - 4.3, Period 5.36 days U.T. DATE TIME YEAR MON DAY Go to:
[home page] [top of this page] [index]
Minimums of Theta Orionis A, (V1016 Orionis), one of the stars that make
up the Trapezium of Messier 42. Normally this star shines at magnitude 6.7.
Every 65.43 days the star undergoes a eclipse lasting 20 hours. At mid-eclipse
Theta A will have dropped to magnitude 7.7 and remain this way for 2.5 hours
when it will slowly start to brighten once again.
The table here list the approximate mid-eclipse times for this event. The
date and time are expressed in U.T.
MINIMUMS of V1016 ORIONIS - EB Mag 6.7 - 7.65, Period 65.43 days U.T. DATE TIME YEAR MON DAY 24 54136.2325 17:35 2007 2 5
Comparison star magnitudes in the Trapezium
Recommend the observer become familiar with the normal appearance of the
Trapezium in their telescope. Dress warm and clear skies.
B = 7.9 (is also a eclipsing variable 7.9 - 8.6 every 6.47 days)
C = 5.1
D = 6.7
Visit these site for a map of the Trapezium .
Aslo check out the eclipses of BM Orionis, star Theta B. Minimums of BM Orionis Mag 7.9 - 8.6, Period 6.47 days U.T. DATE TIME YEAR MON DAY
Go to: [home page] [top of this page] [index]
Another EB variable star you may want to watch is in the constellation of Cepheus. It's postion is close to the North Star Polaris, therefore it is visible all night in the Northern Hemisphere. Binoculars or a telescope with a large field of view is the optical requirements. U Cep varies from it's normal 6.7 magnitude to about 9.2 every 2.49 days. More information can be found in Burnham's Celestial Handbook Vol 1.
AAVSO charts Zip file for U Cepheus
MINIMUMS of U CEPHEI - EB Mag 6.8 - 9.1, Period 2.49 days U.T. DATE TIME YEAR MON DAY Go to: [home page] [top of this page] [index]
A star worth watching in the summer skies is U Sagita. Like U Cep it exhibits a big drop in magnitude during eclipse. This star is much easier to find, located next to the asterisum known as "The Coathanger". More information can be found in Burnham's Celestial Handbook Vol 3.
AAVSO charts Zip file for U Sagitta
MINIMUMS of U SAGITTAE - EB Mag 6.6 - 9.2, Period 3.38 days U.T. DATE TIME YEAR MON DAY Go to: [home page] [top of this page] [index]
An Algol type eclipsing binary star in Spring skies. It drops from magnitude 4.8 to 5.9.
AAVSO charts Zip file for Delta Librae
MINIMUMS of Delta LIBRAE - EB Mag 4.8 - 6.1, Period 2.327 days U.T. DATE TIME YEAR MON DAY Go to: [home page] [top of this page] [index]
Here's another popular eclipsing variable star to watch this Winter.
MINIMUMS of Lambda TAURI - EB Mag 3.3 - 4.2, Period 3.95 days U.T. DATE TIME YEAR MON DAY
Go to: [home page] [top of this page] [index]
Summer is all most here. The Milky Way can be seen on the East. Time to spend observing deep sky objects. In between looking at some old favorite nebula with new instruments or equipment, add a few new items to that list of objects to see.
Beta Lyrae RA 18H 50m DEC + 33d 21m ET =2450452.53125 P= 12.93804;
Type Eclipsing Binary, Magnitude 3.2 - 4.3, Period 12.93 days
Comparison Stars
Gamma Lyr = 3.23, Mu Her = 3.42, Xi Her = 3.70, Theta Her = 3.86, Zeta Lyr = 4.09
Kappa Lyr = 4.33
When can this star been seen in eclipse. The eclipse time for this star has changed. I was not did not see the eclipse for the time predicted in July 2000. Here are times from a newer ephemeris from Manfred Ding software Ephemeris Tool v 3.3.
MINIMUMS of beta Lyra - EB Mag 3.40 - 4.3, Period 12.913 days U.T. DATE TIME
While scanning the summer skies with my old 10 x 50 Ziess binoculars, I have occasionally come across a pairs of stars that make a fine colorful double. In most cases these are not true binary stars rather a line of sight alignment. Which is why some will not be found in double star catalogs or listed in popular books. So Far these is the list of my favorite colorful binocular stars. Omicron Cygni RA: 20h 13m Dec: +46°44' Alpha Vulpeculae RA: 19h 28m Dec: +24°39' Delta 1 & Delta 2 Lyrae RA: 18h 53m Dec: +36°58' Beta Capricorni RA: 20h 21m Dec: -14°46' Alpha Ceti RA: 03h 02m Dec: +04°05' Sigma Persei RA: 03h 30m Dec: +48°00' SAO 23914 RA: 03h 16m Dec: +50°56' The first three members on my list makeup what I call the other summer triangle. Omicron Cygni is easy enough to find. It's blue and gold colors are very vivid and stand out against the Milky Way. At magnitudes of 3.8 and 4.8 they are also the brightest of the set. Its contrasting colors have made it in print of many books and catalogs. Close by can be found two other sets of colorful stars suitable for binoculars. Near the popular double star Alberio, in the constellation of Vulpecula is the golden star Alpha. At magnitude of 4.4 it is the dimmest of the primary pair. Just 7 minutes of arc away in PA 28 degrees is a 5.8 magnitude star of blue /white color. Their colors are not as deep as Omicron Cygni, but they do stand out against the Milky Way. Still in the same Milky Way region in Lyra is the double star Delta 1 and Delta 2 Lyrae. I find that the primary 4.0 magnitude star is a orangish color and the secondary some 10 minutes of arc away in PA 295 is a lilac or light purple color. Outside of this Milky Way region in the constellation of Capricorn is the star Beta Capricorni. It shows deep colors of yellow and blue. The brighter 3.0 magnitude star stands out as the yellow disk, in contrast to the 6 magnitude blue companion. At 3.1 minutes or arc separation it is the closest pair of binocular doubles. If you wait till the early morning hours you can see the pair with the widest separation at 16 minutes of arc. Cetus is known for the famous variable Mira, but the star 2.5 mag yellow / orange star Menkar, also known as Alpha it is an optical pair. Not mention much in observing literature is a 5.6 magnitude blue / white star nearly directly North. While still early in the morning check on two nearby pair in the Alpha Persei group. The brighter of the two is Sigma Persei, a orange / yellow star at magnitude 4.3, the star 6.5' in PA 3.5 degrees is a dull shade of blue white at magnitude 5.7. This stands out very well. More northern portion of this group are the stars SAO 23914, mag 5.0 and SAO 23907 in PA 286 degree. At mag 6.4 and 4 minutes from the yellow orange it is still an attractive combination. There are many more interesting colorful non-cataloged binocular pairs in the sky waiting to be rediscovered with your binoculars.
Go to: [home page] [top of this page] [index]
Backyard Astronomy
Magazines
Sky and Telescope
http://skytonight.com
Astronomy
http://www.astronomy.com
Astronomy Now
http://www.astronomynow.com
Sky News
http://www.skynews.ca
The Astronomer
http://www.theastronomer.org
Amateur Astronomy
http://www.amateurastronomy.com
Web pages that have advice for beginner.
Sky and Telescope magazine
http://skytonight.com/howto/visualobserving
http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/astronomy/astro21/sandt/backyard.html
Astronomy magazine
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=ps&id=6
Charts
Abrams Planetarium
http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/SkyCalendar/Index.html
Sky Maps
http://www.skymaps.com
Buying a Telescope
Ed Ting
http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html
Jay Reynolds Freeman via Tod Gross
http://www.weatherman.com/BEGINNER.HTM
Astronomy by Frank
http://www.my-spot.com/whatkind.htm
The Astronomical League
http://www.astroleague.org/al/astrnote/astnot19.html
Excelsis
http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/catalog.php?categoryid=3
StarWare - Phil Harrington
http://www.philharrington.net/
Astronomy Organizations
The Astronomical League
http://www.astroleague.org/al/astrnote/astnot19.html
ALPO Association of Lunar and Plnetary Observers
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu./alpo/
AAVSO American Association of Variable Star Observers
http://www.aavso.org
IDA International Darksky Association
http://www.darksky.org/darksky/
COMETS on the Internet
BAA and Society for Popular Astronomy, Comet Section http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/
The ICQ Comet Information Website http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/icq/CometMags.html
Comet Chasing http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CometObs/messages
Seiichi Yoshida http://www.aerith.net/comet/future-n.html
Comet Section of Germany http://www.fg-kometen.de/fgk_hpe.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/comets-ml
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Comets-Images
Cometography http://cometography.com/
Asteroid/Comet Connection http://www.hohmanntransfer.com/news.htm
Charts http://www.shopplaza.nl/astro/comets/comets.htm
Orbital elements for popular software http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/Ephemerides/Comets/SoftwareComets.html
Comet Orbit Home Page http://www9.ocn.ne.jp/~comet/
Southern Comets Homepage http://www.yp-connect.net/~mmatti/
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS on the Internet
Auroral Activity Extrapolated from NOAA POES http://www.sec.noaa.gov/pmap/
Current Space Weather Conditions http://www.sel.noaa.gov/
Auroral Activity Observation Network http://www.spacew.com/www/auroras.php
Space Weather Now http://www.sec.noaa.gov/SWN/
Tips on Viewing the Aurora http://www.sec.noaa.gov/Aurora/index.html
The Aurora Page - lots of links http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/
Aurora Forcast (Alaska) http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/
Noctilucent Clouds Observers' Home Page http://www.nlcnet.co.uk/
Go to: [home page] [top of this page] [index]