Tour of the Sky: February 2009
1 Feb 2009, 09:17 UTC
Astronomy a Go Go! February Sky Tour
This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a
given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates
for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval
Observatory.
Astronomical Online
Glossary
Download this month's sky map!Skymaps.com is our favorite monthly
skymap provider. Download either the
Northern hemisphere sky map
or theSouthern hemisphere sky
map so you can follow along with our viewing sessions.Creator: Kym
Thalassoudis
Southern Hemisphere Additional InformationAs Astronomy a Go Go! finds
its home in the higher Northern latitudes those of you who live south of the
equator will benefit from these two Southern Hemisphere sites: Royal
Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site (absolutely
outstanding) and Southern Sky Watch.
Planets for February 2009
This year will be a morning viewing year but we still have bright Venus in
the early evening and Saturn for late night viewers!
Feb Morning
Planets (Feb 22nd) (click image to enlarge)
Mercury- Now a morning planet, Mercury starts the month further away
from the Sun that the other two morning planets, Jupiter and Mars, and its angle
favors the S.hemisphere. Look for greatest elongation on the 13th. Mercury has
several close pairing this month with Jupiter on the 20th and Mars on the 24th.
By the 1st of March Mercury will neck-and-neck with Mars. 0.6 mag (1st) to 0.0
mag (21st)
Venus- Venus has been distancing herself from the Sun for months, a
sparkling beacon in the early evening sky, even shining through the clouds from
time to time. Having reached greatest elongation on the Jan 14, a full 47 deg
east of the Sun, Venus begins her descent back towards the Sun. She was paired
nicely with the moon at the beginning of the month and will be again at the end
of the month with the next waxing crescent. RASC Observing guides recommend
watching for rare green and blue flashes as Venus sets through strong inversion
layers (possibly the only good thing about inversion layers!) Make sure you
share Venus with your friends and let them see the wonderful 'phases' she shares
with our Moon. -4.4 mag (1st) to -4.5 mag (21st)
Mars- Has moved into the morning sky this month and will slowly crawl
away from the Sun all month. Start looking later in the month when on the 24th
it is paired with Mercury. 1.3 (1st) to 1.3 mag (21st)
Jupiter- Still too close to the Sun at the beginning of the month. By
mid-month Jupiter will start to stand out in the pre-dawn sky on a flat horizon
growing stronger towards the end of the month and into March -1.9 mag (1st) to
-1.9 mag (21st)
Saturn- In eastern Leo Saturn's rings are inclined 1.74 beg towards
Earth and will be at opposition on March 8th 0.9 mag (1st) to 0.9 mag (21st)
Uranus- In Aquarius 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
Neptune- In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 8.0 mag (21st)
Ceresand Eta - Finder chart
from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers
this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head! Vesta chart
temporarily missing...use this
one until site is corrected
Key Dates for February 2009
Days and Times in UT: (help with
time)Observations are for 10 pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 7
pm for the mid-northern latitudes. Today's sunrise and sunset times or
plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory
Website
Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!
Astronomical Highlights - February 2009
2
- First Quarter Moon
- First Cross Quarter Day (halfway between Solstice and the Equinox) also
Groundhog's Day or Candlemass.
7
- Moon at perigee (361488 km)
9
- Full Moon (14:49 UT)
9
- Penumbral Eclipse of the Moon - from 12:37 UT to mid-eclipse 14:38 UT to
16:40 UT - The Northern (Mare Frigoris) edge of the Moon will appear dimmer as
it is closer to the umbra. Visible from NW North America, Pacific, Asia,
Australia and New Zealand.
11
- Equation of Time is at the minimum for the year, -14.26 minutes (Sun
running slow...at 12noon (solar mean) clock time the Sun still needs 14.26
minutes to get to "noon"
12
- Zodiacal Lights - visible in Northern latitudes in the west after
sunset
13
- Mercury at greatest elongation W (26deg)
- Neptune in conjunction with the Sun...moving into the morning
14
- Comet Lulin 3 deg from Spica (5h UT) Mag +6
- Valentine's Day (hint, hint)
16
- Last Quarter Moon
17
- Mars 0.6 deg S of Jupiter
17
- Antares 0.04 deg S of Moon possible
occultation in your area.
19
- Moon at apogee (405129 km)
- Venus greatest illuminated extent** - Venus brightest at -4.6
mag
21
- Venus at perihelion
22
- Mercury 1.1 deg S of Moon possible
occultation in your area.
23
- Jupiter 0.7 deg S of Moon possible
occultation in your area.
- Mars 1.7 deg S of Moon
24
- Comet Lulin 2 deg from Saturn Mag +5
- Mercury 0.6 deg S of Jupiter
25
- New Moon (1:35 UT)
- Ceres
at opposition and closer to Earth than it will be for another 2000 years. On
this date it makes the North point of a "Saturn-Regulus-Ceres" equilateral
triangle.
27
- Moon and Venus make a lovely pair
- Uranus at aphelion (20+AU from Sun) Uranus has an 84 year orbit
** "A descriptive parameter dubbed "illuminated extent" is proposed, defined
as the total solid angle subtended, from an astronomer's view, by the
illuminated portion of an object. A celestial body exhibiting wide variance in
both phase and angular size - an inferior planet primarily - is well
characterized by this parameter, for its peak value denotes when the luminous
image maximally covers a telescope's focal surface, a prime viewing
circumstance. " Gingrich, M Strolling Astron., Vol. 42, No. 1, p. 18 - 22
Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com,
Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times
for your home*Comparative lengths of
day and night
Monthly Messier*Wahoo! This
month has objects which are big, bright and easy to find!
(I'm trying to find out what has happened to the NGC/IC Project homepage. It
has been a standard AAGG reference for 3 years but seems to have disappeared! If
you have any information on this great site please let me know....until then the
images will be from: "Messier45.com" )
M1
- The Crab nebula is a supernova remnant in Taurus. It is a hazy patch in small
telescopes, large scopes can resolve some detail. It is difficult but possible
to see in binoculars.
M45 -
The Pleiades are a large open cluster in Taurus. Easy to resolve six stars naked
eye. Binoculars provide the best view. Large telescopes can show some
nebulosity.
M35,
M37, M36,
M38
- A series of open clusters in the winter milky way. M35 is in Gemini, the
others are in Auriga. All can be seen naked eye as faint fuzzy stars, binoculars
reveal fuzzy patches, low power telescopes can resolve these rich clusters.
M42 (seen here
with M43), M43
- M42 is the great Orion Nebula. It can be seen as small fuzzy patch naked eye.
Binoculars show some detail, and the view is superb in most any scope. M43 is a
small region of nebulosity next to M42, and probably requires the use of a
telescope to view. Use low to moderate powers for the best view of this pair.
M78 - A small emission
nebula in Orion, a tough binocular object. Best viewed in a telescope at
moderate powers.
M79 - One of the
smallest and dimmest globular clusters in the catalog. A tough binocular object
in Lepus, best viewed in a telescope at moderate powers.
From the Astronomical
Connection and the Moncton Center in Canada, images vary.
Comets for February 2009
85P/Boethin: ~7
mag - in Pisces, early evening
144P/Kushida: ~ 8
mag - in Taurus, evening
C/2007
N3/Lulin: ~5 mag in Libra, pre-dawn
210P/2008
X4/Christensen: ~7 mag in Ophiuchus, pre-dawn
More comet
information at Seiichi
Yoshida's comet website. Also checkout Gary Kronk's comet and meteor pagesSkyhound Comet pages
Historical and Current Events...Did you know?
Mark has developed his own website
so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us
this month!
Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hator write us a
favorable review in iTunes of Podcast Pickle or iPodder!
Music Scottish Guitar
Quartet -"Romance Within You"Great
Big Sea- "French Shore" Amaryoni- "Woza"
Earth's major motions for 2009
Perihelion
Jan 4 15(UT)
First Cross Quarter Day
Feb 2-6
Equinox
Mar 20 11:44(UT)
Second Cross Quarter Day
May 4-7
Solstice
June 21 05:45(UT)
Aphelion
July 4 02h (UT)
Third Cross Quarter Day
Aug 5-8
Equinox
Sept 22 21:18(UT)
Fourth Cross Quarter Day
Nov 5-8
Solstice
Dec 21 17:47(UT)
Planet Positions for 2009
2009
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Venus
Sgr
Cap
Aqr
Psc
Tau
Gem
Cnc
Vir
Vir
Sco
Sgr
Cap
Mars
Sgr
Cap
Aqr
Psc
Psc
Ari
Tau
Tau
Gem
Cnc
Cnc
Leo
Jupiter
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Cap
Saturn
Leo
Leo
Leo
Leo
Leo
Leo
Leo
Leo
Vir
Vir
Vir
Vir
Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009
December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a
little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and
telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular
cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home
binoculars.
January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees
apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early
morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide.
Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost
invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice
line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent
moon.
April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune
and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of
Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by
Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be
helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA
website for occultations in your area.
May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2
degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems
finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of
a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low
in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not
until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth
will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in
the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of
the trio.
December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset
Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of
the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"
Phases of the Moon 2009
(click to enlarge)
Universal Time
NEW MOON FIRST QUARTER FULL MOON LAST QUARTER d h m d h m d h m d h m JAN. 4 11 56 JAN. 11 3 27 JAN. 18 2 46JAN. 26 7 55 FEB. 2 23 13 FEB. 9 14 49 FEB. 16 21 37FEB. 25 1 35 MAR. 4 7 46 MAR. 11 2 38 MAR. 18 17 47 MAR. 26 16 06 APR. 2 14 34 APR. 9 14 56 APR. 17 13 36 APR. 25 3 23 MAY 1 20 44 MAY 9 4 01 MAY 17 7 26MAY 24 12 11 MAY 31 3 22 JUNE 7 18 12 JUNE 15 22 15JUNE 22 19 35 JUNE 29 11 28 JULY 7 9 21 JULY 15 9 53 JULY 22 2 35 JULY 28 22 00 AUG. 6 0 55 AUG. 13 18 55 AUG. 20 10 02 AUG. 27 11 42 SEPT. 4 16 03 SEPT. 12 2 16SEPT. 18 18 44 SEPT. 26 4 50 OCT. 4 6 10 OCT. 11 8 56 OCT. 18 5 33 OCT. 26 0 42 NOV. 2 19 14 NOV. 9 15 56 NOV. 16 19 14 NOV. 24 21 39 DEC. 2 7 30 DEC. 9 0 13 DEC. 16 12 02 DEC. 24 17 36 DEC. 31 19 13
Eclipses for 2009
2009 January
26[ Solar: Annular ]
2009 February
09[ Lunar: Penumbral ]
2009 July
07[ Lunar: Penumbral ]
2009 July
21-22[ Solar: Total ]
2009 August
05-06[ Lunar: Penumbral ]
2009 December
31[ Lunar: Penumbral
]
January 26 - Annular Solar Eclipse ( see map,
times, and animation!): The first
solar eclipse of 2009 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in western
Capricornus. An annular eclipse will be visible from a wide track that traverses
the Indian Ocean and western Indonesia. A partial eclipse will be seen within
the much larger path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes the southern
third of Africa, Madagascar, Australia except Tasmania, southeast India,
Southeast Asia and Indonesia.
February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map,
times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during
the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is
partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a
penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a
dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases
are listed below.
July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map,
times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the
magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most
of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked
eye.
July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map,
times, and animation!): To make up
for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the
Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across
India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak
and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of
the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and
the Pacific Ocean.
August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map,
times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar
eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked
eye.
December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map,
times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor
partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the
Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the
eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.
Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse
Homepage, Eclipses
Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)
2009 Meteor Shower Calendar
ShowerActivity PeriodMaximumRadiantVelocityrZHRClassMoon
DateS. L.R.A.Dec.km/s
Antihelion Source (ANT)
Dec 14-Sep 07
-
-
-
-
30
3.0
3
II
-
Quadrantids (QUA)
Dec 26-Jan 13
Jan 03
283Â16
15:20
+49Â
42
2.1
120
I
6
Alpha Centaurids (ACE)
Jan 28-Feb 21
Feb 07
319Â2
14:00
-59Â
56
2.0
5
II
12
Delta Leonids (DLE)
Feb 15-Mar 10
Feb 25
336Â
11:12
+16Â
23
3.0
2
II
0
Gamma Normids (GNO)
Feb 25-Mar 22
Mar 13
353Â
16:36
-51Â
56
2.4
4
II
16
Lyrids (LYR)
Apr 16-Apr 27
Apr 23
033Â
18:12
+33Â
46
2.1
18
I
27
Pi Puppids (PPU)
Apr 15-Apr 28
Apr 23
033Â5
07:20
-45Â
18
2.0
var
III
27
Eta Aquarids (ETA)
Apr 27-May 23
May 07
047Â
22:36
-01Â
68
2.4
60
I
12
Eta Lyrids (ELY)
May 06-May 14
May 10
050Â
19:22
+43Â
43
3.0
3
II
15
June Bootids (JBO)
Jun 22-Jul 02
Jun 27
095Â7
14:56
+48Â
18
2.2
var
III
5
Piscis Austrinids (PAU)
Jul 15-Aug 10
Jul 28
125Â
22:44
-30Â
35
3.2
5
II
7
Alpha Capricornids (CAP)
Jul 12-Aug 08
Jul 28
125Â
20:20
-10Â
24
2.5
4
II
7
Delta Aquarids (SDA)
Jul 21-Aug 30
Jul 30
127Â
22:42
-17Â
43
3.2
20
I
9
Perseids (PER)
Jul 13-Aug 26
Aug 12
140Â
03:12
+58Â
59
2.6
100
I
20
Kappa Cygnids (KCG)
Aug 03-Aug 25
Aug 17
145Â
19:04
+59Â
25
3.0
3
II
25
Alpha Aurigids (AUR)
Aug 28-Sep 03
Sep 01
158Â6
06:06
+39Â
65
2.6
7
II
11
September Perseids (SPR)
Sep 06-Sep 13
Sep 10
168Â
03:12
+40Â
65
2.9
5
II
19
Delta Aurigids (DAU)
Sep 18-Oct 10
Sep 29
186Â
05:52
+49Â
64
2.9
2
II
13
Draconids (GIA)
Oct 06-Oct 10
Oct 08
195Â4
17:28
+54Â
20
2.6
var
III
18
Southern Taurids (STA)
Sep 18-Nov 26
Oct 11
198Â
02:18
+09Â
29
2.3
5
II
21
Epsilon Geminids (EGE)
Oct 18-Oct 21
Oct 20
207Â
06:48
+28Â
71
3.0
2
II
2
Orionids (ORI)
Sep 28-Nov 10
Oct 21
208Â
06:22
+16Â
68
2.5
23
I
3
Leo Minorids (LMI)
Oct 17-Oct 27
Oct 23
209Â
10:40
+37Â
61
2.7
2
II
4
Northern Taurids (NTA)
Oct 20-Nov 29
Nov 13
231Â
03:52
+22Â
29
2.3
5
II
25
Leonids (LEO)
Nov 07-Nov 28
Nov 18
236Â
10:16
+22Â
71
2.5
var
III
1
Alpha Monocerotids (AMO)
Nov 15-Nov 25
Nov 21
239Â32
07:48
+01Â
65
2.4
var
III
4
Dec Phoenicids (PHO)
Nov 28-Dec 09
Dec 06
254Â25
01:12
-53Â
18
2.8
var
III
18
Puppid/Velids (PUP)
Dec 01-Dec 15
Dec 07
255Â
08:12
-45Â
40
2.9
10
I
19
Monocerotids (MON)
Dec 06-Dec 20
Dec 07
255Â
06:32
+09Â
41
3.0
2
II
10
Sigma Hydrids (HYD)
Nov 22-Dec 23
Dec 09
257Â
08:24
+03Â
60
3.0
3
II
21
Geminids (GEM)
Dec 05-Dec 19
Dec 14
262Â2
07:36
+32Â
35
2.6
120
I
26
Coma Berenicids (COM)
Dec 10-Jan 25
Dec 19
268Â
11:40
+25Â
64
3.0
5
II
3
Ursids (URS)
Dec 16-Dec 25
Dec 22
270Â7
14:34
+75Â
32
3.0
10
I
5
Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.
Explanation of the 2009 Meteor Shower Calendar
Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a
constellation where the radiant is located at maximum activity.
Activity Period: the dates when the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rates) are
equal to or greater than one.
Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.
S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum
activity. Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the
exact moment of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the
autumnal equinox, and 270 at the winter solstice.
Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from.
This position is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and
declination (celestial latitude).
Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth's
atmosphere. The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space)
intersect the Earth. Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth
and striking the atmosphere head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the
same direction as the Earth. This velocity is measured in kilometers per second.
r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number
of meteors in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the "r"
value, the resulting overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. "r"
usually ranges from 2.0 (bright) to 3.5 (faint).
ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower
meteors visible per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the
limiting magnitude equals +6.5. Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the
zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and the limiting magnitude is
usually lower. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed rates
between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same
standards.
Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by
their intensity:
Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR's normally ten or
better.
Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR's normally three or better.
Class III: showers with widely variable rates. They may be strong one
year and totally inactive the next.
Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR's rarely exceeding three. The
study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting
and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. Observers with
less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a
rating of I to III. These showers are also good targets for video and
photographic work.
Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter,
14 is full, and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence
of moonlight so showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10
days old or more than 25 are much more favorably observed than those situated
closer to the full moon.
Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2009" RASC
