Podcaster: Shane and Chris
Title: The Great Great Conjunction!
Organization: Actual Astronomy
Link : https://actualastronomy.podbean.com/
Description: The Actual Astronomy Podcast presents The Great Great Conjunction! We discuss how to watch the Great Conjunction from now until Christmas, don’t just hope for clear skies on the 21st. From unaided eye to binoculars and high power telescopes we detail what the Great Conjunction has in store for you and how to make sure you will have a fun and successful observation of the event.
Bio: Shane and Chris are amateur astronomers who enjoy teaching astronomy classes and performing outreach where they help the eyes of the public to telescope eyepieces.
Today’s sponsor: Big thanks to our Patreon supporters this month: David Bowes, Dustin A Ruoff, Brett Duane, Kim Hay, Nik Whitehead, Timo Sievänen, Michael Freedman, Paul Fischer, Rani Bush, Karl Bewley, Joko Danar, Steven Emert, Frank Tippin, Steven Jansen, Barbara Geier, Don Swartwout, James K. Wood, Katrina Ince, Michael Lewinger, Phyllis Simon Foster, Nicolo DePierro, Tim Smith, Frank Frankovic, Steve Nerlich
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Transcript:
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Chris Beckett: Welcome to episode 75 of the actual astronomy podcast. This is the great great conjunction episode.
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Chris Beckett: I am Chris and joining me is Shane, we are amateur astronomers. That means we do astronomy, just for the fun of it. And this podcast is how we share the fun of astronomy and looking up in the nighttime sky with you, Shane. Did you watch the mandatory conjunction video I sent you.
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Shane Ludtke: Before I answer that.
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Shane Ludtke: I thought this was just a great conjunction about a great, great conjunction. Well, no, see the conjunction is great.
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Chris Beckett: But the episode is also great.
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Shane Ludtke: Oh, now I understand. Okay.
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Chris Beckett: Okay perfect, so this is the great episode of The Great conjunction there. You got it.
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Shane Ludtke: Got it, okay.
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Shane Ludtke: All right, so
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Shane Ludtke: How would I
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Shane Ludtke: Do video. Oh, yeah.
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Shane Ludtke: It’s four minutes. I won’t get back and so
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Chris Beckett: So I grew up on American cartoon. So I live very close to the states in in sort of rural Canada, and as such we didn’t get Canadian
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Chris Beckett: Broadcast. And so we’re not very much anyway. You got CBC CTV and that was it. Everything else came from the states and so
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Chris Beckett: When I watch cartoons on Saturday morning, I got the American cartoons and they used to have these amazing public service announcements for educational content between Hanna Barbera and Looney Tunes and one of those was the conjunction.
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Chris Beckett: What is it called conjunction function or something like that. Anyways, about conjunctions wasn’t about planetary conjunctions. It was about conjunction words they’re amazing public service announcements educational content because the or car. The car was full of or thought that wasn’t
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Chris Beckett: OK. Okay, so
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Chris Beckett: Before we begin work. We’re going to talk about
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Chris Beckett: The actual conjunction in the sky of Jupiter and Saturn and and how to observe this. But before we go any further, I thought I would have a little fun and look up and see what the astrologers were saying about this because
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Chris Beckett: It always seems like when there’s there’s such events, the astrologers
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Chris Beckett: You know, they’ll, they’ll write a fair bit about what it means for people’s lives. So to clarify, though. And to clarify this first astrologers are the people who use the stars to foretell the future of humans. Well, astronomers are the scientists who tell the future of the stars.
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Shane Ludtke: Oh, wow.
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Shane Ludtke: But, but we’re amateur astronomers so that just means
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Chris Beckett: We just we just look at
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Shane Ludtke: Just look at things.
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Chris Beckett: So that, that’s all good. But when I when I started looking into this, I became so confused and baffled what the astrologers were saying, I didn’t even want to put it in the podcast, because I just, I couldn’t have explained it to you at all.
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Shane Ludtke: Well, and, in all fairness, people that want to listen to, you know, there’s the fortunes or the whatever the astrologers have to say there’s probably podcasts for that anyway so
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Chris Beckett: I believe there is
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, I’ve never listened to one.
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Chris Beckett: I just remember that during the transit of Venus.
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Chris Beckett: I had individuals contacting me
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Chris Beckett: And it was, it was very interesting. Their thoughts on on what the transit of Venus would mean. And it was interesting that they were looking for. I forgot I had some materials on it. They wanted the materials. And I’m like,
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Chris Beckett: Anyway, it didn’t make any sense. So Shane What is the great conjunction.
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Shane Ludtke: Will Saturn and Jupiter will appear exceptionally close and this is happening on December 21 so when this podcast comes out, it will just be days away and
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Shane Ludtke: This conjunction is is really the closest what the best quote or the best reference I heard to this was, this is the closest conjunction of these two planets in the telescope age.
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Shane Ludtke: They will be one 10th of one degree apart.
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Shane Ludtke: Which is really, really close.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, yeah. So, so it is
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Chris Beckett: It is a fairly good event. How far is one 10th of one degree. How big is the degree. Again, just so people kind of kind of have this we can give them kind of a bit of a handy sky measurement tool here that most people will be in possession of
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, so if you hold your arm out, you know, extend your arm in front of you and hold up one finger against the sky, you know, you’re looking at about one degree there.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, or maybe just a little bit more. Yeah, your fist your fist at arm’s length is going to be 10 degrees. So one 10th of that is going to be one degree and one 10th of that is going to be one 10th of one degree, which is how far apart these planets are kind of be so
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Chris Beckett: As mentioned, we are amateur astronomers. We are visual observers, but
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Chris Beckett: Why that is important is that we’re really used to looking at the night sky and witnessing events for ourselves. And this is where our expertise comes into play.
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Chris Beckett: So with that in mind, we’re going to kind of give you some information on how to equip yourself.
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Chris Beckett: For doing this. So Shane should people really be focused only on the night of the 21st, like they’re saying in the media people are getting really focused on this one night. What are your thoughts on this is a one night event.
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Shane Ludtke: Not at all. Not at all. This event, really, to me, starts at about well in any time right now but
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Shane Ludtke: On December the 16th. These two planets will be about a third of a degree apart. So that is still closer than I think all but two of the previous conjunctions in the telescope age. So even if you only see it, then you’ve still probably seen them closer than just about anybody else alive.
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Shane Ludtke: It’s such a great opportunity the week leading up and even though you know these after
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Shane Ludtke: So yeah, start observing it now and then you’re you’re sort of doubling down in a way, right, because if December the 21st is cloudy around you.
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Shane Ludtke: Right. You’ve at least seen them exceptionally close. Probably closer than anybody else, you know, with the exception of those that see it on the 21st, but still it’s
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Shane Ludtke: The, the media and I think you probably were going to get on to this, so maybe I’m
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Shane Ludtke: Stealing so that’s fine. You got your words. But that’s, you know, the media tends to make a big deal out of these events and in this case it’s rightfully so, like, December the 21st will be
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Shane Ludtke: An exceptional view. If you get to have it. But the view on December the 18th or 19th or any of these other days or is it will be except
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Chris Beckett: 23rd. Yeah.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah. So anyway, there’s my little rant.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, well, all kind of build on your ramp because so in some of the interviews and in some of the articles and these are not just read these are reputable sources by reputable
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Chris Beckett: Astronomers like astrophysics astronomers have which we’re not. We’re just people who look at the sky.
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Chris Beckett: They really focused on this being an event that hasn’t occurred for 800 years and I was like, What is going on because I remember one of these happened.
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Chris Beckett: Since I’ve been doing astronomy and there was, I looked it up. There was one that occurred there was a great conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn in 2000
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Chris Beckett: It was close to the sun, but it was 15 degrees away from the Sun, which is a fist and a half. And I remember, I don’t think I tried to see it, but I remember people were trying to see it. Now that is a difficult thing to observe
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Chris Beckett: But there was also three such events in 1981 there was, I think, one or two in 1961 and a couple in the 1940 1941 range.
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Chris Beckett: And it was like weird is this 800 year comment come from. So where that comes from. It takes 800 years for the cycle of Jupiter and Saturn to complete and so they’re kind of back to where they were. I think it’s like 796 years ago or something like that.
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Chris Beckett: But these great conjunctions between Jupiter and Saturn. They occur about every 20 years but this is the best one that we’re going to have to look at in our lifetimes. Very likely.
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Chris Beckett: So anyway, you’ve got something written here and read. I’m gonna let you you sort of run with this.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, so I kind of mentioned some of this already about on December the 16th, it will be a third of a degree apart, which is exceptionally close like the ones that have occurred in recent times, let me just bring up my chart here.
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Shane Ludtke: They have been quite close, but they’ve all a lot of them have been over one degree apart so like I don’t want to understate that one degree is still very, very close. But when you’re one 10th of one degree. That’s what makes this one so special.
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Shane Ludtke: So, you know, it’s definitely worth making an effort to see this.
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Shane Ludtke: Because the next time that these two planets will be less than one degree apart.
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Shane Ludtke: Will be in the year 2018 and, you know, Chris. I’m not sure about you, but I don’t know if I’m going to live into triple digits. So I’m not going to wait for 2080 and I’m going to make every effort to see it in
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Chris Beckett: And we can people. People should know as we were as we were getting ready for this podcast Shane. Shane was going on about his, his pension for high salt and pickled foods.
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Chris Beckett: That that could be more accurate than
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Shane Ludtke: pickled foods and sausage.
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Chris Beckett: I’m trying to make it, but
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Chris Beckett: But I may be doing the podcast solo, but I’m just kidding. Alright, so if people want a good article because I really like to point people towards a good article that that does an excellent job of explaining this.
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Chris Beckett: Probably better than we do today. And it’s a it’s a great magazine is Sky at Night magazine. It’s a UK based magazine and they give a great it’s it’s online, it’s free, you can for this article in the magazine is not free.
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Chris Beckett: And they go into great detail and all this. So if you just go to sky in a magazine com it’s under the advice skills and green conjunction. So
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Chris Beckett: Let’s see. I’m also being told that my windows needs to update so
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Shane Ludtke: Maybe I can leave that for 20
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Shane Ludtke: Or the sky at night magazine. The BBC sky at night.
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Shane Ludtke: Magazine, I think, is one of the best if not the best out there. I love reading it it’s it’s fantastic. Like they’re they cover so many different topics but they do it really from an amateur’s perspective and I love it.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah.
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Chris Beckett: It is little boys there.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, it is really good. And they and they actually have in that article.
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Chris Beckett: It’s really neat, they actually show the distance certain night tonight as we as we get into the 21st and they do really focus on how you can observe this
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Chris Beckett: Burning
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Chris Beckett: On the nights leading up to it that I don’t think they do much after it. But, but still, even, even after you get the idea. They’re
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Chris Beckett: Very, very good article by by reputable visual observing magazine. They also have lots of good astrophysical content in there and great interviews with astrophysicists to have that your that’s your thing, so
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Chris Beckett: In looking at the articles online and some of the other stuff.
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Chris Beckett: These great conjunctions occur in in the sequences that that that make it appear
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Chris Beckett: As though, at least.
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Chris Beckett: From our perspective memory or another that that the great conjunctions are 117 degrees apart so they form this kind of weird overhead triangle and the best
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Chris Beckett: Piece of work to take a look at this is in your hand is Kepler’s and it’s called this Stella Nova.
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Chris Beckett: Which is actually work. I’m quite familiar with because I think it’s, it’s one of the great Cornerstone works of astronomy by really the father of
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Chris Beckett: Many the well the laws of planetary motion is what they are. And this came out 1606 so just just before the telescope
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Chris Beckett: Was being used in the nighttime sky and 16 oni by Galileo, so it’s really in that that Galileo timeframe.
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Chris Beckett: So if you’re a fan of the history of astronomy as well. I would say, take a look at this. Stella Nova, you can get on the internet archive.
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Chris Beckett: That would be in Latin. I’m sure there’s, I know there’s good translations of out there. But let’s move ahead going to talk about how the conjunction happens and then we’re going to talk about how to observe it, so
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Chris Beckett: Maybe we’ll just asking what is a conjunction. Anyway, like what is just basically a conjunction.
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Shane Ludtke: Well, it’s when two astronomical objects appear to have either the same right ascension, or the same he cryptic longitude.
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Shane Ludtke: As seeing from Earth. So really, you know, that’s the technical definition or the true definition. But really, what it means is
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Shane Ludtke: These objects and you know two objects or more will be so close in the sky that you can typically fit them in like a very wide field of view, or in this case, sometimes a narrow field of view.
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Shane Ludtke: But often like within a binocular field will will show this off. But what is so rare about this one is that
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Shane Ludtke: Jupiter and Saturn will essentially look like one bright stars, what we’re expecting
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Shane Ludtke: And even through a high tell us are high powered telescope, you know, they’re going to be exceptionally close like
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Shane Ludtke: Some, some of these things like in the previous episode. You and I were talking about our love of wide field observing
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Shane Ludtke: And really if you want to take in all of them a lot 20 probably need at least a three degree field of view. Will you know with this conjunction, you could look through a strong see both of these things, Jupiter and Saturn. So they will be so close.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, I think I looked and I can’t remember this talking to you or somebody else about this, but I was looking at the planetarium software and now center will be in a different spot. I think it’s sort of like, I think it’s going to be just north of Jupiter.
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Chris Beckett: But it’s only going to be a boat as far away as I think, again, you need gets from from Jupiter. So I think anime.
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Chris Beckett: Can get as far as a boating, you know, this is all within a few tenths of a of a degree. Anyway, so it’s it’s pretty amazing that
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Chris Beckett: That is going to be sitting right there so typical high power IPs. Few of Jupiter is is going to have the moon’s in any way and
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Chris Beckett: You know, I think that even well above and willing to those mid hundred powers, you’re going to be able to see Jupiter and all the moon’s as well as Saturn and the rings. I’ve been testing this out and yeah you know the sky that low, at least for us. Things are a little bit murky so
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Chris Beckett: You’re really going to be doing good. Just, just, just to see the rings and to see the ball of center and I couldn’t see detail.
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Chris Beckett: On Saturn and and on Jupiter. Maybe I can start to see some some detail with them this low, they’re not as good as they were
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Chris Beckett: A few months ago, but really just, just to be able to see them sort of on the same field. So I want to explain a little bit of both, this the way this conjunction actually works with Jupiter and Saturn.
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Chris Beckett: As mentioned, they’re there in conjunction about every 20 years. So, as we mentioned, there was one about, I think, was in May of 2000 and then 1981 and then 1961 and 1940 1941
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Chris Beckett: So they occur on or about these these 20 year intervals. And this is because Jupiter orbit Jupiter’s orbit is just under 12 years
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Chris Beckett: And Saturn’s orbit is just under 29 and a half years. So what happens because of that sort of on the on the race track of the solar system.
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Chris Beckett: It takes about 20 years in earth time like on, you know, because we’re dealing on our own orbit for those those planets to line up as seen from Earth.
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Chris Beckett: So basically, at the time of the great conjunctions. What we are witnessing. And this is the really cool part from an observational visual observer perspective is we’re actually watching Jupiter overtake Saturn.
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Chris Beckett: On the inside track of the race track of our solar system. And that’s super cool to see because you can actually see something changing kind of in real time, or at least over a few nights and that’s our point here with this podcast today.
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Chris Beckett: We’re trying to get people to to focus away from necessarily that event as as a December 21 event because if you watch it leading up on the days at least.
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Chris Beckett: At least that that sort of several days before the event and a few days after the event you’re going to witness Jupiter actually passing Saturn.
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Chris Beckett: In our solar system and i think i think that’s really what makes the event. It’s going to be really cool when they’re very close in the sky, how much detail we see through a telescope
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Chris Beckett: Interesting, but not that much detail is gonna be interesting, but the event, really, is this passing. And I think that’s really what
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Chris Beckett: What makes this a sky event worth watching. What are your thoughts, Shane.
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Shane Ludtke: Really agree. One of the things that fascinates me is like solar system movement.
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Shane Ludtke: When you can see moons are planets moving through the eyepiece. And in particular, Jupiter is one of the better ones for that because you can often watch the Galilean moons, you know, travel behind Jupiter and reappear or cross the face of Jupiter.
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Shane Ludtke: That kind of stuff is is just fascinating to me because so many of the things that we look at.
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Shane Ludtke: While there while everything is moving.
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Shane Ludtke: The scale is so large that everything really does appear static, you know, to our eyes and through a telescope. So to be able to see planetary movement or things in our solar system, actually, you know, changing place in the sky. I think it’s just a phenomenal thing.
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Chris Beckett: Mm hmm. Yeah. So let’s talk about when and where people can can see this
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, so
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Shane Ludtke: You’re going to need a pretty good view to the southwest and it needs to be unobstructed like you need to be able to see the horizon, because they’re going to be quite low in the sky.
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Shane Ludtke: So what I’ve done is, well actually it was last weekend I went for a little drive because from my house. I can’t see low enough. I don’t have all of the Southwest sky. There’s too many other houses and trees around me.
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Shane Ludtke: The blocks that so where I live in the city. I don’t have to travel too far until I’m just right out of the city.
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Shane Ludtke: So I drove about five to 10 minutes away from my house and right on the edge of the city. There’s a brand new school that has just been built
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Shane Ludtke: And they have a really nice paved area where like, there’s nothing but flat prairie in front of me.
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Shane Ludtke: Which is one of the kind of the nice things about where you and I live Christmas, it’s, it’s very flat. There’s no mountains in our way there’s there’s really nothing that takes away our view so
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Shane Ludtke: From that spot right there. I will have a wonderful, wonderful view of the South West sky and very easy to just park.
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Shane Ludtke: In, you know, put a telescope right beside the vehicle and take take this all in
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Nice.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, so I think, yeah, looking looking so good to be in the northern hemisphere to be looking south to see this. I think when you get to the southern hemisphere. You’re here looking north, aren’t you
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah. Yeah, I think so.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, you’re going to be looking back towards the ecliptic. But you’re right, you need a really good southern horizon. I think I should be able to see
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Chris Beckett: It from my front driveway. So yeah, I think it definitely still is visible. I was looking at last week I’ve already been observing this I’ve really been watching
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Chris Beckett: Jupiter and Saturn all year through binoculars and the there’s times they get closer, and then they move apart. And then, of course, now they’re they’re readily readily approaching each other’s so
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, and and it will be well visible, I think, up until the 24th. So it should be should be pretty good but
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Chris Beckett: How, how close with this conjunction look to your unaided I like you’re a double star observer. So I’m just wondering what this will look like to the unaided eyes so people without optical instruments.
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Chris Beckett: Or people with binoculars and then then people will telescope. So Shane. Do you think you’ll be able to split them.
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Well,
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Shane Ludtke: I don’t know. I’m definitely going to try to split them just naked eye, but I think it will be quite challenging.
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Shane Ludtke: So in terms of reference for how far apart they will be what what people can do or you know practice with leading up to this is in Ursa Major are the big dipper
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Shane Ludtke: Look for miser and l core. Now if you’re not familiar with those look them up on your planetary software or on any star map.
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Shane Ludtke: But those two are visible naked eye, and they are about twice as far apart as what Saturn and Jupiter will appear on the 21st. Now, I think that miser and ALCOR is a pretty easy naked eye split
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Shane Ludtke: Now imagine them half the distance apart.
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Shane Ludtke: I think that I could still split them.
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Shane Ludtke: I think it’s quite possible. However, when you’re splitting double stars, or in this case, you know, two planets, there’s more factors at play than just their how far apart. They’ll be
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Shane Ludtke: Right there’s magnitudes. So if there’s uneven magnitudes with objects that you’re trying to split that can add to the challenge.
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Shane Ludtke: If you look at Polaris through a telescope. It’s actually a double star. But I forget what Polaris is magnitude is it’s probably around magnitude five is my guess.
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Shane Ludtke: Somewhere around there.
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Shane Ludtke: Polaris. Yeah.
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Chris Beckett: I think it’s like two isn’t it or something.
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Shane Ludtke: Or is it that Hi. Yes, I’m sure.
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Shane Ludtke: It’s, it’s quite bright, actually, but its companion star i think is magnitude 11 so it’s quite a discrepancy and that’s not always an easy split especially depending on the
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Shane Ludtke: Size of aperture that you’re using now on the 21st Jupiter will be magnitude negative 1.7 and Saturn will be positive point six three
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Shane Ludtke: So they’re close but there’s still enough of a variation there that it might Jupiter’s brightness might wash out the like the distance between the two, which makes it difficult to to separate
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Chris Beckett: Oh,
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Chris Beckett: I looked it up. I was wrong, it’s magnitude 1.97
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For basically
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Shane Ludtke: Jupiter.
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Shane Ludtke: Polar pillars. Right, right, right.
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Shane Ludtke: So anyway, that so like just bright objects can be difficult to separate and then atmosphere conditions can add to that, and we know that these will be low on the horizon, which
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, with that.
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Shane Ludtke: Now with all that being said, there’s something that’s actually working in our favor that will help us potentially split these naked eye. Okay, that’s that the background will be more of a twilight sky, rather than a real dark black sky.
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Shane Ludtke: Okay, because these objects are so bright, having a twilight as a backdrop will increase the chances because Jupiter and Saturn won’t be so the brightness won’t be so
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Shane Ludtke: What’s the right word here like almost over saturating your view.
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Shane Ludtke: So try it out. You know, I’m curious. I’m curious if you know if you and I will be able to separate it. But I’m also curious if any of our listeners will be able to separate it naked eye as well certainly through a telescope, there shouldn’t be a problem.
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Shane Ludtke: The Naked eye or even with binoculars.
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Shane Ludtke: Land on the arms. Yeah, yeah.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, so
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Chris Beckett: Easily easily bring them apart. Yeah.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, yeah. So I’m very curious. I don’t know if it’s possible. I think it is, but I guess we won’t know until we dry, you know, in a week.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, it should be interesting. I think you made a good point there because when do you observe this so
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Chris Beckett: You know, if you start going out on on the evenings think this is going to come out on the on the 16th or 17th of December, so
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Chris Beckett: People should start going out as as soon as possible on that day forward and and then you want to go as soon as Sun has said.
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Chris Beckett: And get your view to the to the southern so sort of southwestern horizon and you’ll see that you know on the on the 17th. Anyway, these will be still quite easily separated
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Chris Beckett: But really getting close. It’s going to look kind of like a very, you know, a very significant thing in the southern sky and of course the further south. You are the higher up, they will appear right so
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Chris Beckett: We’re at about 50 degrees north latitude, so it will be a little low. But we had the advantage that it’s dark, all the time. Or at least that’s what it seems like to be so.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, we’ll start to be able to see them at about 430 or something.
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Shane Ludtke: Like yeah yeah yeah you’re right.
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Shane Ludtke: You know, and something else that
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Shane Ludtke: I would recommend for anybody that is interested in splitting, these two is to do just a little bit of double star work prior to the event, just to get your I trained to separating things so
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Shane Ludtke: If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere. I’d recommend Polaris. If you have a telescope. See if you can find its companion, but the other one to work with is miser and elk or up in or semi major
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Shane Ludtke: See if you can split those naked eye. And then if you can put a telescope on miser, because it’s a double itself and see if you can split that
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Shane Ludtke: And and that just training your eyes to see the separation and understanding, maybe some of the magnification is involved. I think might be a benefit actually when you try to separate Saturn Jupiter.
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Chris Beckett: Hmm, well you know I was looking up. Just, just to see how this might appear through the telescope and sorry I think it really is a game it but i i had looked it up and it was Callisto that gets about the same distance at least around around this time is as Saturn will be
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Chris Beckett: But in my planetarium software I put in
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Chris Beckett: My three and a half millimeter Pentax
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Chris Beckett: Barlow and and I still get a field of view, that would be more than twice the separation of of these two planets. So that’s kind of where we’re at now.
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Chris Beckett: Like you were saying because it’s low down. I actually think probably the maximum power.
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Chris Beckett: That will be able to use from this far north and with these planets this low is probably going to be between about 75 and maybe 100 and change right we’re just, we’re going to be lucky to get 100 power to this.
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Chris Beckett: And you know it. Do you have a good resource for looking at forecast is am I reading this right here. You put a thing in here for forecasting.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, yeah, I did. One of the things that is important is to know your weather forecast whether or not you’ll be clear skies in your location.
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Shane Ludtke: Or if there’s maybe clear skies that you can drive to if you want to witness this especially if seeing it on the 21st is important to you. One of the resources that I really like. It’s called ven to Sky. So that’s V E and t you sky, all one word.
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Shane Ludtke: Okay. Um, it, it goes quite a ways into the future, to show you forecasts. But what I like about it is
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Shane Ludtke: You can you can look at the forecast for various hours throughout the day. So, you know, you can for us.
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Shane Ludtke: I think 3pm or 6pm they do it in three hour increments, we can take a look to see what the cloud situation will look like, but it will show you
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Shane Ludtke: Every aspect of what they think the weather will be that day so you can also look at wind temperature. Other things that are sort of important to consider for this.
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Shane Ludtke: Observation clear skies are one thing, but if it’s, you know, if you have hurricane force winds that day, you want to think about, you know, either like some wind protection or maybe a whole different location where there isn’t.
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Shane Ludtke: That much wind, you know, so eventually sky is is really good for that. Now the other neat thing is it’s not just a static forecast in the future, like this forecast for December 21 will change throughout the day today.
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Shane Ludtke: As they gain more information about you know what the jet stream is doing and other factors that impact the weather.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, yeah. Cool. Yeah, I guess, you know, if it’s like that, you know, I’ll probably just take binoculars and
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Chris Beckett: And just observe from inside my car. We’re definitely getting into the colder weather here now being forecasts into the minus 30 degrees Celsius range, so could have to be a little bit more creative than we would have been the past couple weeks, that’s for sure.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah. Yeah. And I think one of the key things within again if if seeing it on the 21st is really important to anyone.
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Shane Ludtke: You have to be prepared to be flexible with your location because yeah
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Shane Ludtke: You know, even though this Vinci sky looks quite a ways into the future. The real forecast that matters is the one that morning, you know, because weather can change so much at least around here, you can certainly change a lot
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah and you know myself. I think, you know, weather conditions or sorry road if the road conditions cooperate, meaning there’s not ice and, you know, dangerous things around, you know, I’ll probably be ready to drive about two hours in any direction.
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Shane Ludtke: To go to see this because I seeing it on the 21st is kind of important to me and I, you know, if it’s within my means to make it happen. I certainly will do it.
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Chris Beckett: I guess you’re reading your horoscope
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Shane Ludtke: Good stuff. Yeah, I would, I would like to see it. I might take a bit of a drive. But let me know what your plans are.
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Chris Beckett: I’m really happy just kind of watch it over the longer duration to to witness, then the business of it actually passing
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Chris Beckett: Because for me that’s
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Chris Beckett: You know, that’s kind of what Kepler was doing, you know, and take a break here. We’re doing back in the 1500s and early 1600s. These for Kepler bra. Having done before the 1600s.
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Chris Beckett: And I think that’s kind of really need space to make which can be made with the with the I needed i and then again I would like to try to have a peek at it through at least one of my telescopes on that night. But you know, I really think that
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Chris Beckett: As far as a telescope goes as far as equipment Goshen. I’m going to use a smaller telescope. I’m probably going to use my 60 millimeter telescope that night because I think that with the planets being so low down
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Chris Beckett: The smaller the aperture, the less the seeing will impact my view. And then my 60 millimeter is pretty sharp. So I think that’s going to be
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Chris Beckett: My instrument of choice. And then as well. When I put a super low power eyepiece in I kind of want to get like that six or seven degree true field of view and then then just see these two planets just basically creamy on top of each other, you know,
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Chris Beckett: Like, just like zooming in, you know, I’d like to see if I can kind of almost detect the motion.
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Chris Beckett: Of the planets as as the past so I don’t know what are you thinking of for an instrument, you can use like you’re 76. Are you going to use a 16 millimeter or like your little 50 millimeter telescope, you’ve been playing with
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Shane Ludtke: Um, and, you know, I haven’t really decided yet. But one of the things that you know
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Shane Ludtke: I’ve read about and I can’t say I can confirm this, but that longer focal length telescope sometimes handle bad seeing conditions.
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Shane Ludtke: That better
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Chris Beckett: Dude. Yeah, that’s good. Focus.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, so, you know, I was thinking if I take my 76 I would probably put that qx extender in it.
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Shane Ludtke: Okay, which you know simulates or extends the focal length to 969 millimeters, but also like my little Frank and scope that I’ve been talking about lately, like you mentioned, smaller aperture might be better so that
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Shane Ludtke: Means 60 millimeters with a 910 millimeter focal length.
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Shane Ludtke: That’s good.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah yeah i think that that could be good. I’ll take a variety of it says, you know, I do want to, you know, see it a wide field. So I’ll take the widest field eyepiece that I can fit in whichever telescope. I choose
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Shane Ludtke: But then also a little bit of power.
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Shane Ludtke: Just to see because who knows, maybe we get lucky and the scene conditions are good, that can be a benefit of the quote cold climate that we live in.
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Shane Ludtke: But I also will have some binoculars in the back.
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Shane Ludtke: Just in case you know the for whatever reason to telescope, you know, isn’t
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Shane Ludtke: isn’t possible or what have you. So I’ll be ready with a couple different instruments and
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Shane Ludtke: The key though to for me is I want to be out there kind of early like, you know, a to let the the telescope optics to cool.
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Chris Beckett: But I just
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Shane Ludtke: I want to be set up and ready to go, because this event will pass us by pretty quickly. Like if you can get out on the 21st at least where we live. You know, we have a window to observe this before the planets actually get too low on the horizon.
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Shane Ludtke: I think the time is going to go by very quickly. So I don’t want to be you know fussing around with deploying a tripod and telescope
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Shane Ludtke: So, you know, I think I’ll get there. Probably about 30 minutes before the planets are even visible, just to get
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Shane Ludtke: My equipment on the ground. I can you know warm up in the vehicle and then spend some time outdoors observing the whole event because my dad really is as soon as these things are visible. I want to be observing Jupiter and Saturn until they’re not visible.
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Chris Beckett: Because, because I think they’re going to set you know within within you know a couple hours at most once once they are visible.
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Chris Beckett: We are very quickly here, losing daylight. It’s pretty surprising the past week or 10 days because because from 30 degrees north and I grew up at about 45
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Chris Beckett: And it’s pretty shocking. The difference between 45 and 50 I did move to about 5040 degrees at one point in time. And there were some difference but
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Chris Beckett: It really didn’t seem like that much of a difference. We didn’t really gain that much more darkness, you would notice it around. Summer solstice. You got about another half hour or so. And that was noticeable.
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Chris Beckett: And then during winter solstice, you know, again, like another seems like only another half hour of light, maybe that you got but
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Chris Beckett: But here I find like it now almost seems like it’s almost a little bit dark all the time.
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Chris Beckett: Like it’s cloudy today. And I think the streetlights are still on in places like and I’m not joking or anything like it does seem to get that dark from time to time, even during the middle of the day so
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Shane Ludtke: That’s the
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Shane Ludtke: That’s the shortest day of the year as well.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So, so I think for us is as soon as that sun.
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Chris Beckett: Even approaches the horizon, or if there’s any cloud at all. You know, should be able to get them you know immediately upon sunset. But then, then I think by about 630 or so they are going to be at the horizon, so
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Chris Beckett: That is our timeline.
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Chris Beckett: For us here now for listeners are, they’re going to be
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Chris Beckett: Having times that very so just get get used to when that sun is setting and when it’s getting dark enough to see the planets and then just be prepared to start to start looking for this. As soon as the sun has set so
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah yeah
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Chris Beckett: Anything else to add on the business of the great conjunction function of
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Shane Ludtke: Well, I did, I did check our forecast Chris and right now the cloud forecast is pretty favorable
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Shane Ludtke: OK for Regina. I think it’s about 20% overcast, but like if we were just to even drive to Moose Jaw which is about. It’s an neighboring city about, I don’t know 40 minutes away. I think we’d have 100% clear skies, but then
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Chris Beckett: We go.
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Shane Ludtke: What is also good news about that is you know our clouds usually move from west to east. So, because we’d be looking southwest and looking quite low in the
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Shane Ludtke: Sky that is even more favorable for us. So we’re looking good, but I’ll keep my eye on it because I can change.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, yeah. Well that’s great scene. Well, I think that’s it for our podcast on the great conjunction.
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Chris Beckett: For 2020 and and what what to look for and what you might expect to see and and how to see it. Do we want to just give a quick plug for our giveaway from the extra observers handbook that that I I recently had materialized at my door unexpectedly.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah, for sure. So we are giving away one of the
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Shane Ludtke: Royal Astronomical Society of Canada observers handbook for 2021 Chris ended up with a an extra one, while an extra couple and
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Shane Ludtke: He’s, he’s generously agreed to donate one of these are you know give away to one of our listeners. So if you’re interested in maybe receiving this we will do just a random draw
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Shane Ludtke: I think on January 3 when we record so early January. So if you’re interested, send us an email actual Astronomy at GMAIL. COM. Do this by January 1
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Chris Beckett: And what they want to they write in this email.
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Shane Ludtke: Yeah. What we’re interested in hearing about is
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Shane Ludtke: One of your observing logs, just send us some notes about an object that you’ve looked at, or maybe a sketch that you’ve drawn of an object that you’ve looked at
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Shane Ludtke: Or an object, you would like to look at and we love reading about that kind of stuff. And if we get enough submissions, we may turn that into a future episode as well.
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Chris Beckett: Yeah, so I am one of the contributing authors of the observers handbook and as such I get a
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Chris Beckett: Editing copy and some people sell them. Some people. I tend to mark mine up and yeah this this year instead of giving my mind away, which I frequently do
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Chris Beckett: Because of the pandemic and teaching in person classes. I’m going to give it away through the podcast. So look forward to reading everybody’s submissions and doing the draw on January 3. Thank you so much.
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Shane Ludtke: Thank you, Chris, and good luck to everybody and their attempts to observe this great conjunction.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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