THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet
70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N 70.2667° W
Founded January 1970
Julian date: 2457680.16
"If space-time is so rigid, why don’t' we make our houses out of
it?"
*THE DAILY ASTRONOMER*
*Monday, October 17, 2016*
*Week # 7 Night Sky Calendar*
____________________________________
Happy Birthday, Nicolas!
You prove that evolution is so often an improvement.
You enrich our lives both immeasurably and effortlessly.
Happy Birthday, Nick.
______________________________________
The big deal this week is the lunar occultation of Aldebaran!
For the benefit of those readers who haven't now left, on Wednesday, the
moon will appear to move directly in front of Aldebaran, the brightest star
in Taurus the Bull. Those who observe this occultation will see the
Moon drawing ever closer to this star until the star instantly snaps out of
sight as the lunar orb maneuvers in front of it. Since the moon is devoid
of any atmosphere, the star will disappear at once, instead of gradually
fading out into invisibility.
Also, we will see the peak of the Orionid meteors! These meteors are
particularly interesting as they are produced by fragments of Halley's
Comet , an interloper that is due to return in 2061. Those who do not wish
to wait that long to see the most famous of all comets can at least see
pieces of it streaking through the sky.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18: MOON 9.1 DEGREES SOUTH OF THE PLEIADES
The moon is passing through the waning gibbous phase today and is 91%
illuminated. Even though the moon remains quite bright, it will appear
displaced enough from the Pleiades so that one can observe both. Both
the moon and star cluster will rise in the early evening and remain visible
for the rest of the night.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19: LUNAR OCCULTATION OF ALDEBARAN! (PLATINUM EVENT!!!)
As mentioned in the introduction, tonight the moon will appear to move in
front of Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus the Bull. This event,
called an "occultation" is not rare, per se. However, occultations are
only visible at specific locations. The last lunar occultation of
Aldebaran (Sept 21) was only visible from parts of Asia, as will the
following lunar occultation of Aldebaran (Nov 15).
*Finding Aldebaran. One can envision a line extending from the*
*northwest from Orion's belt to find Aldebaran, the brightest star*
*in Taurus the Bull. Of course, tonight, the moon will be quite close
to Aldebaran, **enabling one to easily find it. Image: Earth-Sky*
As our subscribers do not occupy the same point in space (please work on
correcting this), we cannot specify the precise time when the occultation
will occur at your specific location. (We encourage you to visit
www.occultations.org for more information about the occultation prediction
for your location. This is the web-site of IOTA, the International
Occultation Timing Association.)
It will happen in the very early hours of Wednesday, October 19., around
1;00 a.m. However, the times vary from location to location. It is
best to know at least the approximate time when the occultation will occur
so one can prepare for this amazing sight. By watching an occultation.
one can notice the moon's motion and see a star instantly disappear. As
the moon moves its own diameter every hour, Aldebaran won't be hidden from
us for long. (Later this "school year," we'll discuss the occultation
seasons relative to the four brightest stars that the moon can occult:
Aldebaran, Antares, Regulus and Spica)
*The Lunar Occultation of Aldebaran. **Wednesday's occultation of
Aldebaran will only be visible within the region within the "curved
cylinder" extending from the mid-Pacific to mid Northern Africa. The
eastern US is completely within the area of visibility. Image: IOTA*
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21: ORIONID METEOR SHOWER PEAKS
Halley's Comet will return to our skies in 2061 A.D. (And, the planetarium
will have special viewing sessions, we promise.) Although that might
seem like a long wait, you can at least see pieces of Halley's Comet
burning in up in the night sky. The Orionid meteors, so named as they
appear to emerge from Orion the Hunter, are caused by Earth passing through
a stream of debris that Halley's Comet left behind. The Orionid shower
begins around October 2 and concludes around November 7th. Tonight, it
peaks, providing us with 20 - 40 meteors an hour under ideal conditions.
Therefore, one should expect to observe perhaps 15 - 20 an hour. They
often have persistent trains, meaning that the streak will travel through
the sky for a few seconds after it appears. Some meteors just snap out
almost as soon as one sees them.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22: LAST QUARTER MOON
PLANET WATCH
MERCURY (Host constellation: Virgo) . *Mercury is now gone!*
VENUS (Host constellation: Libra/Scorpius) PICK PLANET!
Venus gets the crown again because it is so bright, even if it doesn't
remain in the western evening sky for long. Venus brightens only
slightly throughout the month, but, as always, is brighter than any night
sky star. VERDICT: It will be easy to find Venus provided you venture
outside in the early evening. Look to the west and see the brilliant
Venus. Best day to look this week will be October 3, when Venus will be
close to the moon
MARS (Host constellation: Sagittarius)
Though it is not as bright as Venus, Mars is easy to find in the western
evening sky. Interesting note: Mars will be setting around 9:30 p.m. each
night throughout the month. This equivalence occurs because of the way
Earth and Mars are moving relative to each other at the moment.
VERDICT: Seek out the red world in the evening this month. It will
remain above the horizon for a couple hours after sunset.
JUPITER (Host constellation: Virgo)
After a month-long hiatus, Jupiter retrurns to the early morning eastern
sky. Consider this to be a perfect "changing of the guard." As Mercury
vanishes in the pre-dawn twilight, Jupiter emerges. Though not as
bright as Venus, Jupiter shines brighter than any night sky star. VERDICT:
If you've dearly missed Jupiter, just venture outside to find it starting
mid-month. Jupiter will brighten throughout the rest of 2016 as it rises
earlier each morning.
SATURN (Host constellation: Libra
We'll lose Saturn next month. In October, Saturn lurks low in the
southwestern evening sky. It is still a moderately bright planet and will
be easy to find, at least early in October. VERDICT: Seek out Saturn at
month's beginning just after dark. Still a beautiful world,
particularly through a telescope. Although we lose Saturn in November,
we'll regain it in late December.