Welcome to Heads-Up, the Mayborn Planetarium’s informal, yet in depth look at tracking the constellations, planets and all things galactic. The report is written each month by our resident astronomer, Warren Hart. A former U.S. Air Force navigator, an astronomical guide on cruise ships and for the Texas Parks and Wildlife, Hart has an extensive background in astronomy. Follow his report for each day’s occurrences or click on a specific day on the calendar link to the right.
Astronomy question of the month
Which planet in our solar system comes closest in its orbit to Earth?
Answer and explanation next month
August
Friday 1
At midnight, Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, has already risen in the southern sky. It sets at 4:58 a.m.
Uranus, the first planet telescopically discovered, has already risen in the eastern sky at midnight and will set at 10:15 a.m.
The sun, moon, Mercury, Venus and Saturn have all risen by midnight.
--- Special Planetarium Observation Event ---
Watch the Sun Disappear
From 5 – 7 a.m., there will be a total solar eclipse. It begins at 4:21 a.m. in northern Canada and heads northeast across the northern tip of Greenland. It then crosses the Arctic Ocean and heads southeast across middle Russia and finishes up in central China at 6:21 a.m. Unfortunately the eclipse will not be visible here in Texas. A team of Exploratorium and NASA heliophysics experts will capture and broadcast the eclipse live from a location in China and you will be able to watch it at the Mayborn Planetarium. The total solar eclipse should last almost two minutes from 6:09 – 6:11 a.m. The planetarium will open at 5 a.m. with some refreshments (coffee, juice) to help us wake up. We also plan to show the large format films “Solar Max” and “Cosmic Voyage.”
At 5:13 a.m. there will be a new moon (position 1 on the Phases of the Moon chart). The moon changes from a waning crescent moon (position 8) to a waxing crescent moon (position 2). This is when the center points of the sun, moon and the Earth are in line with each other. They are also in that order with the moon in between the sun and the Earth. This will be the beginning of Lunation 1059. Since the moon’s ecliptic latitude is +0.4° when it passes in line with the sun and Earth, its shadow will come in contact with Earth’s surface thus causing the total solar eclipse.
The sun rises at 6:49 a.m. and will set at 8:26 p.m.
The moon rises at 6:57 a.m. In its waxing crescent phase (position 2), it is considered to be less than one day old. The so-called ‘age’ of the moon is determined from how many days it has been since the last new moon.
Mercury rises at 7:02 a.m. and sets at 8:43 p.m.
Venus rises at 7:58 a.m. and sets at 9:17 p.m.
Saturn rises at 9:02 a.m. and sets at 9:55 p.m.
Mars rises at 9:54 a.m. and sets at 10:23 p.m.
At 8:21 p.m., the moon is in its descending node. The tilt of the moon’s orbit causes it to cross the plane of the ecliptic and go below the plane. This point is the moon’s descending node. The moon sets at 8:49 p.m.
Friday 8
At 3:20 p.m., the moon is in first quarter (position 3) and will change from a waxing crescent moon (position 2) to a waxing gibbous moon (position 4). It will set at 12:28 a.m.
Sunday 10
At 2 a.m., the sun will ‘leave’ the eastern boundary of the constellation Cancer, the Crab, and enter the western boundary of the constellation Leo. Of the 13 constellations the sun passes through in its annual travel along the ecliptic path, it will be in Leo for 38 days (until September 16). This is the fourth longest amount of time the sun will be in any of those 13 constellations.
The sun rises at 6:54 a.m. and will set at 8:18 p.m.
At 3:19 p.m. the moon is at apogee. When it is farthest from the Earth it is called apogee and when it is closest to the Earth it is called perigee. This is the ninth of the 14 moon apogees this year and is the 11th farthest distance the moon will be from Earth during 2008. The farthest the moon will be from Earth will be on December 26.
The moon rises at 3:58 p.m. and sets at 1:53 a.m.
Monday 5
At midnight, the moon has already risen in the southwestern sky and will set on the western horizon at 1:53 a.m.
Jupiter has already risen at midnight and will set at 4:14 a.m.
Uranus has already risen at midnight and will set at 9:34 a.m.
The sun rises at 6:55 a.m. and will set at 8:17 p.m.
Mercury rises at 7:55 a.m. and will set at 9:01 p.m.
Venus rises at 8:17 a.m. and will set at 9:13 p.m.
Saturn rises at 8:28 a.m. and will set at 9:19 p.m.
Mars rises at 9:44 a.m. and will set at10 p.m.
Tuesday 12
A Perseid meteor shower will occur. The predicted maximum number of meteors one could see hourly is called the ZHR. The ZHR for this meteor shower is 100.
Saturday 16
At 5:27 a.m., the moon is in ascending node. The tilt of the moon’s orbit causes it to cross the plane of the ecliptic and go above the plane. This point is the moon’s ascending node. At 4:17 p.m. a full moon (position 5) occurs. Prior to the full moon it will change from a waxing gibbous moon (position 4) to a waning gibbous moon (position 6). The moon’s ecliptic latitude is +00° when it passes in line with the sun and Earth. The Earth’s shadow will come in contact with the moon’s surface causing a lunar eclipse. However, it will not be visible here in Texas.
Friday 22
Jupiter has already risen at midnight and will set at 3:27 a.m.
Uranus has already risen at midnight and will set at 8:49 a.m.
The moon has already risen at midnight and is in its waning gibbous phase (position 2). It will set at 12:56 p.m.
The sun rises at 7:02 a.m. and will set at 8:06 p.m.
Saturn rises at 7:51 a.m. and will set at 8:40 p.m.
Venus rises at 8:37 a.m. and will set at 9:07 p.m.
Mercury rises at 8:39 a.m. and will set at 9:04 p.m.
Mars rises at 9:33 a.m. and sets at 9:35 p.m.
Saturday 23
At 6:49 p.m., the moon is in last quarter (position 7) and changes from a waning gibbous moon (position 6) to a waning crescent moon (position 8). This begins the best (darkest) seven-day period of the month for viewing the evening night sky without any light of the moon.
Monday 25
At 11 p.m. the moon is at perigee. The moon’s orbit around Earth is elliptical which means the moon’s distance from Earth varies. When it is closest to the Earth it is called perigee and when it is farthest from the Earth it is called apogee. This is the ninth of the 13 moon perigees this year. This is the 11th closest the moon will be to Earth during 2008. The closest the moon will be to Earth will be on December 12.
Thursday 28
At 5:09 a.m., astronomical twilight begins on the eastern horizon At 5:39 a.m., nautical twilight begins on the eastern horizon At 6:09 a.m., civil twilight begins on the eastern horizon At 7:05 a.m., the sun rises and will set at 7:59 p.m. The conditions for observing the zodiacal light are favorable for the next two weeks (until September 11). This light appears as a faint glow visible in the east before sunrise and shaped like a slanting cone extending from upwards the horizon for possibly 20°. This is sunlight scattered by minute dust particles in a dust cloud associated with our ecliptic path. The Earth is immersed in a cloud of dust in the inner region of the solar system. Despite its brightness, most people have not seen it or have confused it with twilight.
Friday 29
At 5:30 a.m., the moon is in descending node.
Saturday 30
At 2:58 p.m. there is a new moon. The moon changes from a waning crescent moon (position 8) to a waxing crescent moon (position 2). This is when the center points of the sun, moon and Earth are in line with each other. They are also in that order with the moon in between the sun and the Earth. This will be the beginning of Lunation 1060. Since the moon’s ecliptic latitude is -02.2° when it passes in line with the sun and Earth, its shadow will not come in contact with Earth’s surface and there will not be a solar eclipse at this time. The next lunar eclipse will be an annular eclipse on January 26, 2009, and the next total lunar eclipse will be July 22, 2009.
What's Happening
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{click on the dates to view the activities descriptions}
Related Links
NOVA
StarDate
Weather Underground
The information in this newsletter is compiled from many resources including the following: Astronomical Calendar 2007 by Guy Ottewell © Universal Workshop [ISBN 0-934546-52-5]; The Facts on File Dictionary of Astronomy © Checkmark Books [ISBN 0-8160-4284-5]; Observer’s Handbook 2007 © The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada [ISBN 0-9738109-3-9]; Skywatch 2007 © New Track Media [ISSN 1089-4888]
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