All planets are getting into our capable vision. The small planet Mercury is now visible, difficult though, in the early evenings, just after Sun set and between 4.10 pm and 4.40 pm. Look in the South West. The very bright Venus is in the constellation Libra and is visible in the mornings from 4.35 am onwards. The red planet Mars is just above Venus in the morning skies and so is the brighter giant planet Jupiter. This giant planet is already visible from midnight onwards. Saturn, the planet with the rings is just before Sun rise visible. Try around 7 am in the morning, very low on the horizon and just before Sun rise.
The International Space station, ISS has since yesterday our UK astronaut on board. Try to spot it on the days described below and give our colleague wave! His Twitter account is @astro_timpeake . Let him know you have been waving!
The winter constellations are well in place. We have Taurus, Orion, Gemini, Leo. Nice and chilly, but beautiful constellations, and ... the night s are nice and long so you have plenty of time to explore. Get a small telescope or binocular and explores the wonders of the universe!
Wednesday 16 December
Let's start today with the International Space Station (ISS). If the calculations are right, if it is clear and if you could find the Moon. ISS crosses the disk of the Moon at 2.47 pm for the Tissington area. The Moon is in the South South East at an altitude of 23°. The crossing will only take about one second, so be quick and use your tele zoom to film! Let us hear how it went!
After one orbit around the Earth, which takes about 90 minutes, ISS appears again at 4.17 pm in the West South West. Highest point in the sky, or culmination is at 4.23 pm in the South South East at 59° altitude. ISS disappears at 4.27 pm in the East. ISS can be seen with the naked eye and appears as a bright “dot” moving across the sky.
Look for the Moon's Earthshine from 5.20 pm onwards.
Once more, ISS appears at 5.54 pm in the West. Culmination at 5.59 pm in the South at 64° and disappears at 6.00 pm in the South East of an altitude of 45°.
At 6.23 pm a very bright Iridium flare appears in the South South East at 34° in the constellation of Cetus. Flare appears in the sky as a satellite and brightens up sudden. Another flare appears at 6.25 pm in the South South East at an altitude of 34° in the constellation Cetus.
And if you did not had enough of the International Space Station yet, once more a pass at 7.30 pm. Starting from the Western horizon and disappearing at 7.33 pm in the West already at 11° high.
Jupiter and its 4 bright Moons are best to be observed with a small telescope or binocular. At 5.19 am the Jupiter Moon Europa begins it shadow over the giant planet Jupiter. At 5.51 am the Jupiter Moon Callisto disappears from it occultation. The Jupiter Moon Io is at its Eastern elongation at 6.28 am, which means it is the furthest away from the giant planet. Let's finish off at 6.49 am when the Great Red Spot on Jupiter is in transit. Have a look and let us know if you were able to see.
An Iridium flare is visible at 5.23 am in the West at 72° high and in the constellation of Ursa Major.
Thursday 17 December
Today in 1836 the world's first suburban railway opened in England. The London and Greenwich Railway ran with two tracks between Depford and London Bridge. The arch viaduct remains in use today.
Just before 5 pm the Moon is close to the brighter star called Lam Aqr. The limb separation is only 1° or 2 lunar diameters.
ISS appears at 5.01 pm in the Western horizon. Culmination is at 5.06 pm in the South at an altitude of 70°. ISS disappears at 5.09 pm in the East at 12° high.
Look out for the Lunar crescent and its Earthshine after 5.20 pm.
After one orbit, ISS is visible again at 6. 37 pm, appearing in the West, passing the bright star Altair in the constellation Aquila. Separation is only 1°. ISS disappears at 6.42 pm in the South West at 34° altitude.
The bright planet Venus is close to the star Zuben Elgenubi in the constellation Libra at about 2.24 am in the morning. They are only 2° separated.
Jupiter time. Get your telescope or binocular out. At 2.38 am the Great Red Spot will transit the giant planet Jupiter. At 3.39 am the Jupiter Moon Io is in Western elongation. This means, the little Jovian Moon is the furthest away from Jupiter. At 6.17 am the Jupiter Moon Ganymede begins its eclipse. Although twilight begins, at 6.45 am the Jupiter Moon Europa is in Western elongation.
Friday 18 December
Today in 1839 John William Draper took a daguerreotype of the Moon, the first celestial photograph made in the US. He exposed the plate for 20 minutes using a 5 inch telescope and produced an image one inch in diameter.
The Moon is in First Quarter at 3. 14 pm. This is the biggest First Quarter Moon of the year. The former larger First Quarter Moon was on 29 November 2014. The next larger First Quarter Moon is on 16 January 2016.
ISS appears at 4.08 pm in the West. Culmination at 4.14 pm in the South at 69° high. ISS disappears at 4.19 pm in the East. After one orbit, about 90 minutes ISS appears again at 5.44 pm in the West. Culmination is at 5.50 pm in the South South West at 50° high. ISS disappears at 5.51 pm in the South East at an altitude of 25°. And if you did not had enough. Another ISS pass at 7.21 pm in the West. ISS disappears already after a few minutes at 7.24 pm in the West South West at 13° high.
Time for some Jupiter Moon events. At 0.27 pm the Jupiter Moon Europa begins its eclipse. The altitude is only 9°, so you need a good clear horizon. At 0.57 am, when Jupiter will be higher, the Jupiter Moon Io is in Eastern elongation. And at 5.42 am the Jupiter Moon Europa reappears from its occultation.
Finish off the night, the morning, with an appearance of a very bright Iridium flare at 7.15 am. The flare will appear in the North North West at an altitude of 64° in the constellation Draco.
Saturday 19 December
Today in 1958 the first known radio broadcast from outer space was transmitted. President Eisenhower's voice issued a Christmas greeting from a pre-recorded tape on a recorder aboard an orbiting space satellite. His full message was: "This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite circling in outer space. My message is a simple one. Through this unique means I convey to you and all mankind America's wish for peace on earth and good will to men everywhere."
The first ISS pass of the night is at 4.52 pm in the West. Culmination at 4.57 pm in the South at an altitude of 62°. ISS disappears at 5.01 pm in the East South East. After one orbit ISS appears at 6.28 pm in the West. The culmination is at 6.33 pm in the South South West at 25° high. ISS disappears at 6.34 pm in the South South West at about 24° high
At 8.38 pm the little planet Mercury is close to Pluto. Only about 4° separated. Although Mercury is visible in the very early evening, just after Sun set, for Pluto you will need a rather bigger telescope.
At 1.25 am the Jupiter Moon Europa is in Eastern elongation. At 4.16 am the Great Red Spot of Jupiter transits. And at 6.20 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins its eclipse.
A rather bright Iridium flare appears at 7.09 am in the North North West at an altitude of 63° in the constellation of Draco.
Sunday 20 December
Carl Sagan died today in 1996 at the age of 62. He was born on 9 November 1934. Carl Sagan was US astronomer, exobiologist and writer of popular science books.
ISS appears at 3.59 pm in the West. Culmination at 4.04 pm in the South at 68° high. ISS disappears at 4.10 pm in the East.
At 5.03 pm a rather bright Iridium flare appears in the South South West at an altitude of 14° in the constellation of Capricornus.
After one orbit ISS appears at 5.35 pm in the West. Culmination at 5.40 pm in the South South West at 35° high. ISS disappears at 5.43 pm in the South East at 11° high. And one more orbit and ISS appears at 7.12 pm in the West. ISS disappears already after a few minutes at 7.16 pm in the South West at about 10° high.
After midnight at 0.08 am the Great Red Spot will transits the giant planet Jupiter. Looks for a spot low at the horizon.
Look at the Moon. The Golden Handle is visible on the Moon from 1.10 am to about 3.20 am. The Sun rises on the Jura mountains, while Sinus Iridium is still in shadow. Use a binocular and watch the Moon.
Jupiter time. At 3.41 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins it shadow over the giant planet. At 4.55 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins its own transit over the planet. At 5.57 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends its shadow transit. And at 6.03 am the Jupiter Moon Io is in inferior conjunction. The Jupiter Moon Io ends it transit at 7.10 am. Ready for bed?
Prior to finish off, at 7.03 am an Iridium flare appears in the North North West at an altitude of 61° in the constellation of Draco.
Monday 21 December
Today in 1872 HMS Challenger sailed from Portsmouth on the first expedition organized and funded for a specific scientific purpose. It was to examine the deep-sea floor and investigate specific questions about the ocean environment.
Daytime, at 9.09 am the Moon is in perigee. The distance of the Moon to the Earth is 230291.8 miles or 368446.8 km.
Daytime, and not visible, but Saturn, the planet with the rings is close to the bright star Antares. The separation is about 6°. Look in the morning, just before Sun rise for the planet Saturn and spot the star nearby.
ISS appears at 4.42 pm in the West. Culmination is at 4.48 pm in the South South West at 46° altitude. ISS disappears at 4.53 pm in the East South East.
An Iridium flare appears at 5.56 pm in the West North West at an altitude 13° in the constellation of Hercules. Another flare at 6.13 pm in The West North West at only 9° in the constellation of Hercules.
ISS appears after an orbit at 6.19 pm in the West. ISS culminates in the South West at 16° altitude. ISS disappears at 6.26 pm in the South.
Time to get the telescope or binocular out. At 0.49 am the Jupiter Moon Io begins its eclipse. At 1.18 am the Jupiter Moon Ganymede begins its transit. At 2.54 am the Jupiter Moon Ganymede is in inferior conjunction. At 4.19 am the Jupiter Moon Io is reoccurring its occultation. At 4.30 am the Jupiter Moon Ganymede ends its transit. And at 5.55 am the Great Red Spot transits the giant planet Jupiter.
The December southward solstice occurs at 4.48 am. The December solstice, also known as the Southern solstice, is the solstice that occurs each December, typically between the 20th and the 22nd day of the month according to our Gregorian calendar. In the Southern hemisphere, the December solstice is the summer solstice, whilst in the Northern hemisphere it is the winter solstice.
Tuesday 22 December
Today in 1968 the first US live telecast from a manned spacecraft in outer space was transmitted at 3.01 pm from Apollo VIII. The Earth appeared as a blurred ball of light. A total of six live television transmission sessions were done by the crew during the mission, including the famous Christmas Eve broadcast in which the astronauts read from the book of Genesis. The crew for the flight was Captain James Lovell, Colonel Frank Borman and Major William Anders. The primary purpose of this mission was to further progress toward the goal of landing men on the Moon by gaining operational experience and testing the Apollo system.
ISS appears at 3.49 pm in the West. Culmination is at 3.55 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 58°. ISS disappears at 4 pm in the East South East. After one orbit of about 90 minutes, ISS appears again at 5.26 pm in the West. Culmination at 5.31 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 22°. ISS disappears at 5.36 pm in the South East.
A rather bright Iridium flare appears at 5.41 pm in the West North West at an altitude of 16° in the constellation of Hercules. Another flare, less bright appears at 5.17 pm in the West North West at an altitude of 14° in the constellation of Hercules.
After midnight, at 0.26 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends its shadow transit over the giant planet. At 0.31 am the Jupiter Moon Io is in inferior conjunction. At 1.38 am the Jupiter Moon Io ends it transit over the planet. And at 1.46 am the Great Red Spot transits over Jupiter.
Look out for the meteor shower called Ursae Minorids. The meteors are best seen from 5.30 pm until early mornings. The local hour rate is expected to be over 5 and the velocity is 34.8 km/s, which is a medium speed.
Wednesday 23 December
Today in 1970 the construction of the World Trade Center in New York City reached 1353 feet high or 411 meters, its highest point. Once the highest skyscrapers in the world. The twin towers were totally destroyed on 11 September 2001 by terrorists.
The meteor shower Ursae Minorids is at maximum at 9 am. Look in the early mornings. The stream is active from 17 to 26 December.
The International Space Station, called ISS appears at 4.33 pm in the West. Culmination or highest point is at 4.38 pm in the South South West at an altitude of 12°. ISS disappears at 4.43 pm in the South East.
The Moon is passing the Hyades in the constellation Taurus. The Hyades has several brighter stars. It will pass a few quite close. At 5 pm the Moon is close to the star called Hyadum I. The separation is 5 lunar diameters. The Moon is that time as well close to the star Hyadum II with a separation of 4 lunar diameters. And the Moon is close to the star called The1 Tau with a separation of only 1 lunar diameter. The Moon is also close to the star The2 Tau with a separation of 1 lunar diameters. The Moon phase is 96% so be careful with the bright light of the nearly Full Moon.
At 5.04 pm an Iridium flare appears in the South West at an altitude of 10° and in constellation of Capricornus. Another Iridium flare, this time brighter, appears 5.26 pm in the West North West at an altitude of 18° in the constellation of Hercules. An Iridium flare appears as a bright dot, a satellite moving in the sky and sudden lighting up at the position as described.
At 6.12 pm the Moon occults the brighter star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. The star disappears at the dark limb of the Moon.
After one orbit, which is about 90 minutes, the ISS appears again at 6.10 pm in the West. Culmination is at 6.14m pm in the South West at an altitude of only 9°. ISS disappears at 6.18 pm in the South.
At 7.12 pm the bright star Aldebaran reappears behind the Moon. This will be at the bright side of the Moon.
Look in the early mornings, but at 11.29 pm the red planet Mars is close to the bright star Spica of the constellation Virgo.
At 6.46 am an Iridium flare appears in the North North West at an altitude of 55° and in the constellation of Camelopardalis.
Time to close the night or morning, at 7.33 am the Great Red Spot is transiting the giant planet Jupiter. You will need a smaller telescope or binocular to see the details on Jupiter or the 4 brighter Moons around the giant planet.
Get in touch with me via www.patrickpoitevin.weebly.com if you need more information.