The Milky Way is in the zenith at midnight and observation is affected by the Moon with a phase of 86%, just past Full Moon. After the weekend it will be better and good for observation. Deep Sky observing and watching dim objects is best between 9.35 pm and 10.10 pm, but after the weekend with less Moon disturbance from 9.20 pm to 4.40 am.
The planet Mercury is at greatest elongation on Friday. The planet is 27° East of the Sun and try to watch the planet in the early evening. Venus is rather close to the Sun and is best seen from 4.35 am to 6.20 am in the constellation Cancer. Mars is also close to the Sun and is best seen from 4 am to 5.45 am in the constellation Cancer. Jupiter is too close to the Sun and barely visible. Try around 6 am in the constellation Leo. Saturn is best seen from 8.30 pm to 10.25 pm in the constellation Libra. You will need a binocular to observe Uranus. The planet is best seen from 10.45 pm to 4.30 pm in constellation Pisces.
The Sun rises at 6.17 am in the East North East and sets at 7.54 pm in the West North West. The Sun rises 12 minutes later in one week's time and sets 17 minutes earlier.
It is Last Quarter Moon on Saturday 5 September.
Wednesday 2 September
Today in 1752 was the last day of the Julian calendar in Great Britain, Ireland and the British colonies, including those on the East coast of America. Eleven days were skipped to adopt the Gregorian calendar, designed to realign the calendar with equinoxes. Hence the following day was 14 September.
At 6.50 pm the planet Venus is close to Mars. They are 9° separated. Look before Sun rise in the West.
A flare is visible at 10.17 pm in the North East at 36° high and in the constellation Andromeda. A second flare at 0.01 am in the West at 12° in the constellation Hercules.
Thursday 3 September
A flare is visible at 10.16 pm in the East North East at an altitude of 37° in the constellation Andromeda. A second, somewhat brighter flare at 2.48 am in the North West at 12° in the constellation Corona Borealis.
Friday 4 September
The planet Mercury at at greatest elongation at 11.20 am. The planet is 27° East of the Sun. Try to watch the planet in the early evening.
The Moon crosses the Hyades, a group of stars in the constellation Taurus. Use a binocular or nice tele lens from your camera to observe after midnight. At 0.30 am the Moon is close to the star Hyadum II with only 1.40° or 2.64 lunar diameters separation. At 1.59 am the star 1 Tau disappears at the bright limb of the Moon. At 2.15 am the star 2 Tau disappears at the bright limb of the Moon. At 2.32 am the star 2 Tau reappears at the dark limb of the Moon. At 2.49 am the star 1 Tau reappears at the dark limb of the Moon. At 5.49 am the bright star Aldebaran disappears at the bright limb of the Moon. The altitude of the Moon is then 52° and the phase is 53%, near to Last Quarter Moon. By that time the Sun is just under the horizon. The Sun rises at 6.23 am in the East North East. Watch this sequence of events well before and you will see the brighter star Aldebaran with the naked eye getting closer to the Moon.
Saturday 5 September
It is Last Quarter Moon at 10.54 am. This is the second Northern most Last Quarter Moon of the year. Former more Northern Last Quarter Moon was on 16 September 2014. The next more Northern Last Quarter Moon is on 4 October 2015.
After midnight, at 3.48 am a very bright flare appears in the West at 43° altitude in the constellation Cygnus.
Sunday 6 September
Today in 1879 Telephone Company Ltd opened the first public British telephone exchange in Lombard Street in London using Edison's system.
The Moon is in maximum libration East at 6.51 am. The Mare Crisium limb on the Moon is tipped into the Earth's view.
The Moon is in maximum declination North at 6.04 pm. This is the 6th lowest Northernmost Moon position of the last 1000 years, the 4th lowest of the last 100 years, the lowest of the last 10 years, the 7th lowest of the next 100 years, the 2nd lowest of the next 10 years, the 2nd lowest of the year, the 2nd lowest of the decade, and the 6th lowest of the century. The former lower Northern Northernmost Moon position was on 16 March 1997. The next lower Northern Northernmost Moon position is on 3 October 2015.
The Moon is in maximum libration North at 8.59 pm. The Moon's North Pole and Mare Frigoris are tipped into the Earth's view.
At 10.02 pm a bright flare appears in the East North East at 41° in the constellation Andromeda.
Something worth to observe is the Moon's Earthshine after midnight at 5.10 am. And at 5.18 am a really bright flare in the South West at 62° altitude in the constellation Triangulum. At 5.50 am the Moon is close to the star A24 Geminorum, a bright star in the constellation Gemini. The limb separation is only 3° or 5 lunar diameters. The Moon at that time is 41° high and the Moon phase is 32%. The Sun is just under the horizon.
Monday 7 September
At 8.07 am the Carrington Solar Rotation begins on the Sun. Carrington rotation number is 2168. The planet Mercury is in Dichotomy or Half phase at 9.50 am. Not visible but look early evenings with a binocular and you will see a phase as you will do with a Quarter Moon.
After midnight at 1.10 am the Gegenschein, or a faint glowing patch of sky is good for observation 31° above the Southern horizon and in the constellation Aquarius.
At 4.44 am the star Lam Gem disappears at the bright limb of the Moon. The Moon altitude is 26°, and the Moon phase is 23%. Watch this event with a binocular.
The Moon's Earthshine is once more visible at 5.10 am.
Tuesday 8 September
Today in 2040 the first visible conjunction during the 21st century of the crescent Moon with the five naked eye visible planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will occur. They will be seen clustered within a small distance of each other in the early evening sky, well East of the Sun. When a similar grouping happened in the sky on 5 May 2000, the Moon and the same five planets were lost to view because of the glare of the Sun from among them.
At 11.47 pm the Sun's North Pole points towards us. Of course, at night time the Sun is not visible.
The Moon's Earthshine is once more visible after midnight at 5.15 am.
Wednesday 9 September
Today in 1839 John Herschel made the first photograph on a glass plate. The image he captured was of the 40 foot, 48" aperture telescope used by his father William Herschel in Slough. It is also the 40th Anniversary of the Viking 2 Launch. The Mars Orbiter and Lander were launched in 1975.
After midnight at 1.10 am the Gegenschein, or a faint glowing patch of sky is good for observation 31° above the Southern horizon and in the constellation Aquarius.
The Moon's Earthshine is once more visible at 5.15 am. The 8% Moon is close to Venus, only 4 lunar diameters away.
Get in touch with me via www.patrickpoitevin.weebly.com if you need more information.
Ashbourne Special week of 2 September
The difference between Occultations, Transits and Eclipses
This week we have a few occultations to watch. And by the end of September, there will be a Lunar Eclipse. What is this all about? What is the difference between occultations, transits and eclipses in astronomy?
In the night from Friday 4 to Saturday 5 September, the bright star Aldebaran from the constellation Taurus will be occulted by the Moon. Not a really rare event, but worth while watching. As the Moon moves from West to East in our night skies, on its track, it will occult or pass over some stars. Most of the time these are starts not bright enough to see. But in this case, Aldebaran is bright enough to see getting closer to the Last Quarter Moon on this early Saturday morning. Watch the event well before and you will see the star getting closer and closer to the Moon. Than the star will disappear behind the Lunar surface. Look with some binoculars to watch is closer. At the given times, Aldebaran will reappear at the other side of the Moon.
Stars will disappear at the dark limb of the Moon when the Moon is before Full Moon. The stars then will reappear at the bright limb of the Moon. After Full Moon, the stars do disappear, or what they call immersion, at the bright limb of the Moon. The stars will reappear or what they call emersion, at the dark limb of the Moon.
Will it happen again in the near future? Oh, yes. Besides the event 4 to 5 September, Aldebaran will be once more occulted on 29 October and once more 23 December 2015.
It is not just stars, but also plants, who can be occulted by the Moon. It does not happened that often, but it is worthwhile to see or even to record, photograph or film. Venus will be occulted by the Moon on 08 October. Unfortunately, only visible in West Australia. On 26 October this year, the planet Uranus will be occulted by the Moon and visible from New Zealand. The planet Mars will be occulted on 06 December and visible from West and Central Africa. And from Alaska, the planet Venus will be occulted on 07 December. For Britain we have a Venus occultation on 6 April 2016 at day time and hard to observe. Jupiter will be occulted by the Moon on 1 October 2016 in the early morning but low on the horizon. The planet Neptune will be occulted a few times next year. From Britain visible on 26 June 2016, but on the horizon, and 16 September 2016.
When the star or the planet occults at the edge of the Moon, it is called grazing occultations. With some calculations we can map exactly where in Britain a star or a planet passes at the edge of the Moon limb. The star will then disappear and reappear behind the various Moon mountains and dales. Quite spectacular to see and to record.
Lunar occultations and graze observations refine the scientific knowledge of the shape of the lunar profile and the fundamental star coordinate system. These observations complement those made by other techniques, such as Kaguya and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter laser ranging and photographs. Observations, exact timings are sending out and collected and contribute as an amateur astronomer to the professional world.
When the Moon, the Sun and the Earth are aligned, we call it an eclipse. Or the Earth is between and Sun and the Moon and no Sun light can reach the Moon, than we have a Lunar Eclipse. When the Moon is in front of the Sun, we call it a Solar Eclipse. Technically, it is an occultation.
Can Planets pass in front of the Sun? Yes, they can. Only the planets which are closer to the Sun then ourselves. We call it a Transit. The planet Venus and the planet Mercury can transit in front of the Sun. Venus Transits are rather rare. We had the lasts one in Britain in 2012. They occur in a pattern that generally repeats every 243 years. The next Venus Transit will be in 2117. Would be glad to wait for it, but I think I will give it a miss. ...
Mercury Transit happens more often. Mercury Transits happen about 13 or 14 per century. It is more often because Mercury is closer to the Sun and its orbit is more rapidly. The last Mercury Transit was on 8 November 2006. The next one, and also visible from Britain, will be 9 May 2016. The entire transit in visible in South America, Eastern North America, Western Europe and a partial transit everywhere else except Australia and far Eastern Asia. Thereafter the next Mercury Transit is on 11 November 2019.
On 3 June 3 2014, the Curiosity rover on the planet Mars observed the planet Mercury transiting the Sun, marking the first time a planetary transit has been observed from a celestial body besides Earth.
And ...
As Galileo invented his first telescope in 1609 the first chance to observe a Venus transit using modern optical devices came with the transits of 1631 and 1639. Five years before the 1631 transit, in 1627, Johannes Kepler became the first person to predict a transit of Venus. Kepler successfully predicted the 1631 event. However, Kepler was unable to determine where would be the best location to observe the transit, nor did he realize that in 1631 the transit would not be observable in most of Europe. Therefore, no one made arrangements to travel to where they could see it, and this transit was missed.
Fortunately, 8 years later on 4 December 1639, the young amateur astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks became the first person in modern history to predict, observe, and record a Venus transit. He observed from Carr House in Much Hoole, near Preston. His friend William Crabtree spotted the planet’s silhouette on the solar disk near Broughton, Manchester.
A transit can be as well the International Space Station (ISS), a plane or a bird passing in front of the Sun. For all Solar transits, you will need a special solar telescope, special filters and a eye safe viewing. Never look direct in the Sun. It will cause permanent damage to your eyes. Use a special telescope. When observing the Sun, or predicted and calculated, you can observe the International Space Station crossing in front of the Sun. Or by luck and a plane or a bird crosses in front of the Sun. These phenomena are also called transits.
Attached pictures all taken by Patrick Poitevin: The Venus Transit in 2012 in Hawaii, ISS transit, a plane crossing in front of the Sun, and some birds.