Podcaster: Shane and Chris
Title: Objects to Observe in the May 2022 Night Sky
Organization: Actual Astronomy
Link : https://actualastronomy.podbean.com/
Description: The Actual Astronomy Podcast presents Objects to Observe in the May 2022 Night Sky and places a focus on the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn as they line up and meet up with the Moon. We also talk about when and how to observe the Lunar X, Lunar Straight Wall plus the Eta-Aquarid Meteor Shower and a potentially bright comet to look out for this month.
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: Rob Leeson, David Bowes, Brett Duane, Benett Bolek, Mary Ann, Frank Frankovic, Michael Freedman, Kim Hay, Steven Emert, Frank Tippin, Rani Bush, Jako Danar, Joseph J. Biernat, Nik Whitehead, Michael W, Cherry Wood, Steve Nerlich, Steven Kluth, James K Wood, Katrina Ince, Phyllis Foster, Don Swartwout, Barbara Geier, Steven Jansen, Donald Immerwahr
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Transcript:
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We shall. okay, ready for accounto. Yeah, go ahead. Okay. 3 2 one, and welcome to , Let’s see.
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This is going to be 218 I think no I think we’re right.
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This is 2 19, but we’re releasing the mode of order.
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That’s right. So for those listening to this out of order you you are not miss hearing us.
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We are going to record episode, 219 but the actual strategy podcast the objects to observe in the May the 22 night Sky Addition, I’m Chris and joining me a shane we’re amateur astronomers
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who love looking up the night sky. and this podcast is for anyone else like going on under the stars.
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I see this week international astronomy week, and that, I think Saturday is is the international day of astronomy.
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Any big plans. Yeah, just observe as much as I can.
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We finally have clear skies. I plan on being outside every night.
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If I if I can not just because it’s clear, but also because we’re approaching our perpetual twilight in June, so like every every day that passes Now we get less and less dark sky so
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I wanna be out as much as I can how about how about you i’m gonna go on the slide.
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Yeah, no, it’s very exciting yeah no i’m not actually it’s neat, I mean it I just really not sure what.
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But having this sort of annual day accomplishes, to be perfectly frank, like well, I think it galvanizes like a lot of clubs like a lot of clubs will be public outreach on that day.
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So you know. I think that that’s a good thing but for sort of John queue astronomer.
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It just is another day to observe. Yeah, I wish I had like a little flag I could like, hold up in with like sort of a sad face or something all good.
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Let’s see coma pan stars we’re not gonna talk about it much.
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This this episode because we don’t know what’s going to happen with comic pansters.
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Yet you were looking up as as we were recording the past episode, and that seems indeterminate.
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If if it’s survived or will survive it’s close path to to the sun.
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But it’s supposed to be getting close to earth now I think it was supposed to get within point.
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6 au of the earth. Yeah, yeah. so this will be a what’s referred to as a sun grazer, meaning it.
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It gets quite close to the sun. If it survives getting close to the sun, it will slings shot back out to the solar system.
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But also getting that close to the sun may make it flare up to a very bright comment with the tail potentially.
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But with the sun grazers they’re impossible to predict the survival. when they get that close to the sun.
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Sometimes they can be sucked right into the sun because of the intense gravity.
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Other times. What happens is just with the heat and the gravity the comment, essentially sort of blows up into multiple small pieces or fragments.
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So if any of that happens you really don’t know what you get when the the comment comes around from that close encounter.
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So we just wait and see. it has potential to be amazing.
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But the most likely outcome is disappointment. So so we shall see.
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Sit set your expectations low. Yes, that would be my that’s my recommendation.
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Yeah, yeah, cause I see it was supposed to be passing by Mercury towards the end of april, and we’re recording this on May first.
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So. yeah, I would have thought that somebody might have picked it up by now if it was gonna be like super super bright.
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And it makes me think that it is not. yeah. if if it does brighten up like this, could become a naked eye comment.
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So for anybody who loves looking at comets just kind of keep a watch on this one.
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If it flares up it’ll it’ll flare up very quickly.
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And then, you know, you you don’t know how long that will last for either.
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So be ready to observe it if it does survive it’s close encounter and and turns into a real bright comment. Yeah, because it is supposed to be closer to the beginning of the month.
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So I stuck this on top instead of instead of going down below.
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So yeah, and and we’ll keep talking about it in upcoming episodes just because it is an object of interest.
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So you know, next week, when we record our 2 weekly episodes we’ll, We’ll tell you what we know at that point.
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Yeah, I kind of think if we don’t know anything by 8 when we record the next set.
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Then there Won’t be anything to talk about yeah probably Yeah, we’ll see. I think you’re saying domicolts who or Mccles who we spoke with a few weeks back He was he was
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skeptical. He was in the probably not so bright Probably i’ll be gonna get eaten by the sun camp.
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Yeah, Yeah. And you know, don knows an awful lot about comets and
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He has his podcast, looking up with Don, which I was listening to, and you know his his his position on this was sort of wait and see.
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But yeah, most of these sun grazers just don’t survive.
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They’re close encounter. So we just wait and see that’s all we can do. So we can do.
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We’ve got some real new planets I think you see just with all the planets these days, just about and they’re They’re lining up with the moon and different things I know.
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Jim sent us some photos we talked about in the episode.
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We just recorded before this, which will come out after this.
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Strangely enough. but on me second which is tomorrow, which is when we’ll release this on our feed, we’re gonna have mercury.
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1.5 degrees north of the moon. Yeah. Yeah. So Chris, too, just to maybe qualify.
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I think all of the planets will talk about are visible in the morning sky.
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Is that correct? Well, mercury’s in the evenings guys, , all mercury will be evening. Okay, Good.
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I just wanted to clarify. Yeah, cause it’s it’s kinda coming around now, and yeah, the moon is coming starting to come up.
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So yeah that’s that’s when it’s it’s gonna compare it. huh?
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I look, looked up Mercury on the second I get Mercury in the second house.
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Vatic something all this weird stuff that’s not what we’re doing here?
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No mercury is is gonna be in the evening sky, and it’s gonna be sitting just a little bit above the moon.
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But this is very, very low, like chain people are going to be extremely careful, I think, unless it’s come background.
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But these are basically getting really, really close to to the sun.
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Yeah, which is always a little a little risky. So you do have to use a little bit of care when putting optics near the sun like that.
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Yeah, just trying to look this up really really quick man i’m getting all kinds of strange hits when I try to look things up. so i’m just not gonna do that we’ll recreate the show on
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May fourth, which would be Wednesday for us. The bright Minor Planet Series is going to be 0 point 0 1.
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The degrees north of the moon that’s that’s pretty close yeah, I think there’s there’s alienations in some areas.
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But not here, and I I don’t have my you know I have my server’s handbook here that I was I was reading this in, but I think maybe for some areas in South America.
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I think that it’s an occultation so I know we do have listeners down in that area of the world.
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So folks should should look that up I know it’s not here.
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In in service of Central Canada and Central us. But I know that in some areas of the world I feel like maybe Africa was in there, too.
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So yeah, folks are listening. They They should look it up it’s going to be really close.
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But yeah, that’s 0 point 0 one degrees north and moon for series on Wednesday May fourth.
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Maybe maybe before we get too much further along. I always like to give a bit of a primer on on the business of of degrees, because this goes out on the 365 days of astronomy We want to make sure that people
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are familiar with that. What what a degree is in the sky!
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And and Shane, when we talk about degrees on the sky, and how far apart things are, how competitive this out for themselves, orient them themselves.
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If if they never really try to figure out how far apart stuff is in in the night sky before.
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Well, we always talk about the the fist at arms length, so if you make a closed fist with your hand, and if you hold it out at arms length, the width of your fist, you know from knuckle to
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knuckle. is 10 degrees, and it is a fairly standard measurement, because we’re all built kind of proportionately the same.
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So you know, if you have longer arms you usually have a a bit of a wider hand, and if you have shorter arms, your hand isn’t quite as wide.
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So it’s a it’s a good measurement to kind of give you a rough idea of what 10 degrees Looks like,
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Yeah. So that one is is pretty common. So this is just a measure.
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On on the night sky, and so so, you know that 10 degrees is is pretty wide, and if you held your hand out one from her overhead, that’d be 90 degrees, and that if you just held it up and you saw some
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planets that were pretty close, and it was about half of your fist, or less, or approaching half of your fist.
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Then like between the 2 objects with the moon and the planet, or whatever that’s going to be 5 degrees and 5 degrees sort of a magical number, because anything about 5 degrees and error is going to fit nicely in most
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binoculars wanted. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And you know, just to kind of extrapolate beyond that.
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If you hold up 3 fingers that’s about 5 degrees and then one fingers about one degree.
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Yeah, and you can kinda when once you get the fist down, though. and the the thing I always do in my astronomy class is try to get people focused on on the fist and they’re all there is all kinds of other different
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measurements, but I always feel like once people get the fist as 10 degrees on the sky when they hold it up at arms length.
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They can kind of sort of figure everything else out pretty easily.
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But yeah, you’re right. you can use your your pinky finger is a degree or something like that.
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But yeah, they can kind of. they can kind of start there and work the way through.
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And then sometimes we mentioned magnitude. Magnitude is is the brightest of of brightness of the stars and planets, and that sort of thing.
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So. So let’s see seeing if something was magnitude negative. one is that really bright or really faint?
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That is quite bright definitely naked eyebrow it’s it’s one of the in fact, negative one would be one of the brightest things in the sky,
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And then let’s see how about positive let’s see positive 5 is positive 5 sort of brighter or fainter than these other things.
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Well, that’s that’s getting fainter so the magnitude scale is a little wonky that way and you know positive 5 magnitude.
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That’s getting to the threshold of what you could probably see in a light polluted city.
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In fact, you might not even see some of those stars depending on how light polluted your sky is.
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But certainly any fainter than that and and you’re definitely heading to dark skies to see it yeah, or or haven’t used a good pair of but binoculars or a small telescope to to
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pull it out. Yeah, And like you were saying that the 92 scale can be kind of walking embedded by.
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Some of the ancient Greeks around 2 or 3 millennia go.
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And yeah, that that’s why you know they they were just trying to get things going, and seems like we’ve just stuck with it ever since.
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Never made any modifications to it much other than to add stuff in and that certainly causes a lot of confusion for people that are just getting going, because you find out something like the minor planet.
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I’m gonna say this right have you ever heard of this one before this asteroid, Bgaria Julia.
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No, i’m not familiar with that one well it’s at opposition, and it’s gonna be magnitude 9.9 on Mayfour.
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So what kind of instrument would you need to see?
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And asteroid or minor planet that’s at magnitude 9.9. she.
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How would you go about tracking that down? I would use a small telescope.
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You know a 60 telescope I think it’d be great for that or larger and I think I don’t know would would 10 by fiftys get that 10 by 50
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binoculars per a dark site. Yeah, excuse me, dark site. Yeah. And what would what would this look like if you were looking at it through through a telescope from the city or Maybe binoculars
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from a more rural location when you’re looking at these minor planets.
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Don’t expect to see really any kind of shape or detail essentially what they’ll look like is a star they’ll look like a point of light.
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Now, the one of the best ways to that I think anyway, to observe these minor planets. is is to sketch it so where where you think it’s located in your star field sketch it as well
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as the stars around it, and then come back in a few hours or the next day to the same area of the sky. and just see if what you thought was.
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The minor planet has moved in association to the background stars.
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If it has you know boom you’ve you’ve observed it.
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If it hasn’t Well, you you know you’re just looking at a stars. So that’s probably the one of the better ways to look for these things cool and like i’m just kind of looking around it says it’s a g-type
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appetite. I think you know a little bit more about these sort of objects, and I do, because you’re a bit of a meteorite collector.
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But off the top. Your head like I had to look it up but you know.
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So It’s it’s a bit of a pop quiz but I didn’t know I I just looked it up.
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Do you know what a g-type asteroid is?
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Upstop your head or no. this this is beyond my field of research, Right?
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We, we are amateur astronomers, and we prove that in every episode.
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So yeah, I looked that up and yeah it’s kind of interesting because we’re talking about series a few minutes ago, and series is, I think it’s the largest minor planet.
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And it’s going to be 0 Point 1 degrees, point 0. one degrees north of the Moon on May fourth. but agaria is also a a G-type asteroid like series, and these asteroids are relatively uncommon
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They are carbonaceous asteroids, and they make up only 5% of all asteroids.
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Pretty rare. Do you have any carbonaceous meteorites?
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I would have to check yeah I don’t know I i’m one.
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No i’m not too sure not too sure I don’t you know if it’s only 5% of all asteroids.
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I’m guessing I don’t because that sounds pretty rare.
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But yeah it was discovered by and i’m gonna really embarrass missile. try to see this name.
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So it was discovered on November the second 1,850, by the Gasberries or the G.
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Perries works for me like spell like gas.
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Paris, G. A. s p a r I s so i’m probably seeing that incorrectly Jerry was also named after the mythical nymph of a recipe and named by
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Levaria, whose calculations so Laveri is is known for doing the calculations that eventually led to the discovery of Neptune.
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So the guy who did the calculations that led the discovery of Neptune named this asteroid. So kind of a little bit of interesting history there, for those sort of folks that enjoy that kind of stuff like I do Yeah, you
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know, interesting. So on May 6 we’ve got a meteor shower coming up the edit a query.
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Have you ever looked at the edit query meter chart before? You know just about any meteor shower.
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I to be perfectly honest, I don’t make any attempt to go out and observe them.
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I, However, i’ve been out many times observing during meteor showers, and when that happens I I take them in.
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But I have been out when this one’s been active in the past.
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I like this one, this this one’s kind of neat because well, I you know I like to get up in the mornings and go observing, and when we get into spring, like I was up this morning, observing as we get
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into spring it. you know it’s really nice to get up and like you said, trying to take advantage of the last few weeks of good dark skies that we have here at 50 degrees north, and yeah it’s really neat to watch these
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ones come in I i’ve gotten up to see them before they’re really fast meteorites. They travel at speed, and I did look this up, and they travel at speeds up up to 66 kilometers per
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second as they enter the earth that mature so that’s super quick!
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Yeah, that is fast. Th the this meteor shower does have a place in my heart.
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One of the first memories I have of like an astronomical event was the return of Haley’s comet in the 80 S. and I remember, I think I might even still have like a old astronomy
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magazine related to that. And this meteor shower is associated with Helen’s comment because well, just like any meteor shower.
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Really what you’re seeing is like the the leftovers or or like the kind of the material left behind by a comet that traveled through our solar system.
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But just happens to intersect earth’s orbit so as earth passes through this dust, and debris that the comment left behind that that debris gets sucked into earth’s atmosphere because of
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gravity, and then burns up and hence meteors. you you’re seeing all of this dust and debris.
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Really burning up in our atmosphere.
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So just because this one is associated, to haley’s comment, and that’s like, I say, my first real memory of a notable astronomical event.
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You know this. This has a special place to me yeah seeing with the Brian.
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It’s in October. I think they’re also associated with how these comment: Yeah, Yeah.
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Yeah, ones like the kind of the entry and I think one’s the exit.
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Yeah, exactly. I don’t know which is which though you no I don’t Actually, that’s a good question.
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. good point. Wonder where it was going faster. I guess and That’s where these ones come from.
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So may Eighth. we’re gonna have the lunar X.
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Visible. I think this is more in in sort of our area and west of here.
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So what is the lunar? What is the lunar exchange?
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And and what can people see when they, when they take a look for the lunar, acts?
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Well. so the Lunar X is not an actual object on the moon.
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It’s what’s known as a claire obscure effect mean?
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It’s a shadow play, and with all of the contour on the moon.
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Whether it’s you know mountain ranges or craters or ridges there, there’s a lot of different things there, but depending on the angle that it that the moon is to the sun different parts of the moon are
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illuminated or cast in shadow, and the Lunar X is one of these shadow plays.
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So at certain times of the month the way the the sun illuminates the moon. you, you can see that what appears to be an x, and it’s right along the terminator.
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So the terminator is where kind of the like.
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When the moon is in different phases, that’s the the line between the dark part of the moon, and the illuminated part of the moon, and when the lunar X is visible you’ll you’ll see like the dark, part of the moon but then
00:20:50.000 –> 00:21:02.000
there’ll be sort of a bright x that just is on the kind of just on the side of the dark part there, and it’s super cool to see. And on the same night, if you look a little bit I guess yeah, if you
00:21:02.000 –> 00:21:16.000
look north of the x there’s also a lunar v visible whenever the the x is there, so it’s too interesting effects to see and I never grow tired of it and and the lunar x Well, it’s
00:21:16.000 –> 00:21:19.000
not a rare thing to see, because it does happen every month.
00:21:19.000 –> 00:21:24.000
The timing of it sometimes just doesn’t align to make it visible to you.
00:21:24.000 –> 00:21:26.000
So sometimes the lunar X is only visible during the daytime.
00:21:26.000 –> 00:21:40.000
You know, for example, depending where you live so you know if it’s visible here in North America, my assumption, I think, is that Europe probably you know you’re not able to see it this month potential , or at least not, on the
00:21:40.000 –> 00:21:45.000
eighth. Yeah. Now everybody wants to are there pirates on the moon.
00:21:45.000 –> 00:22:00.000
I don’t. know i’ve i’ve never been to the moon, so I can’t confirm nor deny they maybe maybe there’s treasure buried there yeah ex marxist but the next day. may ninth I think in
00:22:00.000 –> 00:22:02.000
also Western North America. we have the lunar straight while visible.
00:22:02.000 –> 00:22:10.000
Now this is like some sort of a scartman? or something like that? or is it also a bit of the shadow playing It’s a little bit of a shadow play?
00:22:10.000 –> 00:22:16.000
Now, it’s a it’s a bit of a ridge I think, and it’s quite long like hundreds of kilometers long.
00:22:16.000 –> 00:22:29.000
But when when it’s not like when the the sun isn’t casting a shadow from this ridge, it’s very difficult to see, or I shouldn’t say difficult it’s just it doesn’t jump out now when
00:22:29.000 –> 00:22:40.000
the lunar straight wall is visible, it looks like a real straight line, like somebody almost took a sharpie on a picture of the moon, and just drew a line and it’s it’s kind of neat to see I I like
00:22:40.000 –> 00:22:47.000
that one a lot through a telescope yeah So That’s what I was gonna ask is so for the lunar acts and the lunar straight.
00:22:47.000 –> 00:22:49.000
Well like, what would you need to see them on the moon?
00:22:49.000 –> 00:22:57.000
Well, I think you’re definitely needing a telescope or high power higher powered binoculars.
00:22:57.000 –> 00:23:03.000
You know maybe what i’ll try this month chris i’ve never actually tried it with my 12 by 36 binoculars.
00:23:03.000 –> 00:23:10.000
But if it’s , on may the eighth I I should give it a try with those to see if it’s visible I’m.
00:23:10.000 –> 00:23:16.000
Not sure it it’s not a huge feature but i’ve easily seen it like in 60 telescopes.
00:23:16.000 –> 00:23:21.000
It’s , quite visible. Yeah, I was trying to remember, if if I’ve seen it.
00:23:21.000 –> 00:23:33.000
But not There’s I know i’ve seen it in my 60 but I couldn’t remember, and in fact, I I, when when Dave Chapman, who was the person who sort of re rediscovered it years
00:23:33.000 –> 00:23:36.000
ago we we were camping together, and he had a 70 on it.
00:23:36.000 –> 00:23:40.000
I I think that’s what he was using when he kind of sort of re ran across.
00:23:40.000 –> 00:23:51.000
It had been sort of originally, talked about decades prior but he kind of sort of re reigned in interest in it.
00:23:51.000 –> 00:23:55.000
But anyway, he was using, I think, just a 70 telescopes.
00:23:55.000 –> 00:23:59.000
You don’t need something big and I think the lunar straight wall is about the same.
00:23:59.000 –> 00:24:03.000
I think i’ve seen that my 60 yeah Yeah, I think you’re right.
00:24:03.000 –> 00:24:13.000
The the straight wall is is the larger feature than the x but I you know I i’m i’m curious to to find out if I can see them through binoculars.
00:24:13.000 –> 00:24:24.000
So if it’s clear out this week i’ll certainly try yeah, and let’s see on may sixteenth we’re going to have a full moon.
00:24:24.000 –> 00:24:32.000
But there’s also going to be a lunar eclipse which can be seen in its entirety from Eastern North America.
00:24:32.000 –> 00:24:42.000
But here in in Central North America we will see it rise just before the full eclipse occurs here in Saskatchewan, anyway.
00:24:42.000 –> 00:24:51.000
And then, if you get much west of here, I think if you get west of our province, you’ll see it rise in full eclipse, you know.
00:24:51.000 –> 00:25:04.000
So one of the neat things about our province Chris is is just how flat things are here, and we we can see all of the horizon here, you know, if you just get out of the city and get away from some
00:25:04.000 –> 00:25:16.000
buildings. So what will be kind of neat about this eclipse for us is just seeing a moon rise, but a moon that is mostly in eclipse already, and probably a very different color.
00:25:16.000 –> 00:25:25.000
You know. move a moon rising you know, just in and of itself usually takes on a little bit of an orangey color due to the atmosphere there.
00:25:25.000 –> 00:25:27.000
So to have it also in eclipse i’m intrigued.
00:25:27.000 –> 00:25:37.000
I am i’m wondering, what this will look like yeah i’m i’m quite intrigued as well, because, as it as it’s rising, it’s not quite in full eclipse yet so not going to
00:25:37.000 –> 00:25:41.000
get into all the technicalities of it because you know we don’t want to lose people, and we’re trying to make this approachable.
00:25:41.000 –> 00:25:44.000
But there’s there’s 2 parts to the lunar shadow.
00:25:44.000 –> 00:25:46.000
There’s there’s an outer part or sorry to the earth shadow.
00:25:46.000 –> 00:25:58.000
There’s an outer part which is kind of like a bit of a graying region, and then there’s this this inner part, which is is that area that can cause the the moon to go sort of a more copper
00:25:58.000 –> 00:26:11.000
reddish color as as it passes through and Now the the moon will be fully in that outer sort of graying shadow, but that really doesn’t impact the visibility of the moon.
00:26:11.000 –> 00:26:16.000
That much, but I think about 2 thirds of the moon will be inside that.
00:26:16.000 –> 00:26:22.000
That inner portion. So I rememberm really curious to see what it looks like as a rises that night.
00:26:22.000 –> 00:26:32.000
Because it some of the moon will still be visible to us shane. so it’s not it’s not as if we won’t see any moon rise, and then eventually it will become visible because i’ve seen the moon
00:26:32.000 –> 00:26:37.000
go into it, clips and set and it’s virtually impossible to see, at least for me, anyway.
00:26:37.000 –> 00:26:45.000
An eclipse moon when it gets within I don’t know like 10 or 15 degrees of the horizon, or whatever it was, it just kind of it’s so dim that it just sort of blends into the background sky,
00:26:45.000 –> 00:26:50.000
especially at dusk, or Don in in the case that I’m thinking about.
00:26:50.000 –> 00:26:58.000
But but this time we’re gonna have a little bit of moon left, and should be able, I think we should be able to pick that up as it’s rising.
00:26:58.000 –> 00:27:08.000
It should look very, very weird. Yeah. Yeah. I I was just looking back at our our backlog of episodes, and I think in episode, 171.
00:27:08.000 –> 00:27:11.000
I think we talked a little bit more about the details of lunar eclipses, too.
00:27:11.000 –> 00:27:19.000
So if you want some of those technical definitions and explanations maybe have a listen to that old episode, and I think we get into it.
00:27:19.000 –> 00:27:42.000
There pretty surprising. But yeah, love lunar eclipses, so that this is like a great month for me, because these sort of things like meteor showers lunar eclipses, you know, just seeing the planets
00:27:42.000 –> 00:27:53.000
you know, pairing up the sky that that’s how I really get into astronomy because it’s really easy, really easy to figure out, and kind of once you start seeing some of these things seeing some of the more complicated
00:27:53.000 –> 00:27:59.000
stuff comes a little bit more easier. Right? Yeah. Yeah, it really does.
00:27:59.000 –> 00:28:09.000
And Yeah, it’s a great month. this is an exciting time for me when we really get back to observing and and start to have all of these pretty cool opportunities.
00:28:09.000 –> 00:28:19.000
Yeah, one of the other neat opportunities that’s gonna come up is is all these planet pairings, and on the the next stand on me or the next morning I should say so.
00:28:19.000 –> 00:28:23.000
The the email of may sixteenth I mean that.
00:28:23.000 –> 00:28:34.000
That’s when we’re gonna actually it’s me fifteenth, I think the evening it’s the evening of the fifteenth we see it rob and then it’s just I think it’s it’s
00:28:34.000 –> 00:28:43.000
before midnight that we see the full eclipse but it’s it’s still eclipse by by midnight on the sixteenth. so it’s I believe it’s the fifteenth that people
00:28:43.000 –> 00:28:47.000
would want to go out here and and then on the seventeenth.
00:28:47.000 –> 00:29:03.000
So tune nights later. Mars in the morning mars on the morning of the seventeenth of May is going to be just over half a degrees south of Neptune, so people can see that paired up quite nicely yeah that’ll
00:29:03.000 –> 00:29:06.000
be that’ll be a really neat officer while all of these coming up here are gonna be super cool.
00:29:06.000 –> 00:29:12.000
Yeah, Yeah, exactly. So that’s one of the one of the challenging parts. when you’re getting into a astronomy.
00:29:12.000 –> 00:29:23.000
Sometimes you’ll see these dates you can you can hear me. so to stumble over my word still, and and and you have to watch the time of this and the time of some of these other events.
00:29:23.000 –> 00:29:35.000
So if we say it’s in the evening so even though for many places, the main part of the eclipse is going to be occurring, or more of the eclipse will be visible after midnight, they say it’s on the
00:29:35.000 –> 00:29:46.000
sixteenth that’s not the next night it’s may fifteenth that you want to head out and take a look for for the eclipse moon rising If you’re here kind of in Central North America like we
00:29:46.000 –> 00:29:58.000
are, and then you’d be able to follow it into the early morning hours of the sixteenth that’s kind of how that works, and then I may seventeenth that’s where you’re getting up early in the
00:29:58.000 –> 00:30:07.000
morning, and taking a look at from Mars and Neptune through a little telescope, or maybe, but not because I think Mars is fairly high now.
00:30:07.000 –> 00:30:14.000
In the morning sky. isn’t it i’m not too sure to be honest. , you know how I am waking up in the morning.
00:30:14.000 –> 00:30:19.000
The the guy just does not. How? How I do it so honestly, I don’t pay a lot of attention.
00:30:19.000 –> 00:30:23.000
Yeah. So I you know I do like to get up in the morning.
00:30:23.000 –> 00:30:36.000
And you know I I like the the one good thing about where my place is, is It’s not good for deep sky observing. But for seeing these sort of things with the planets lining up it’s perfect I can just
00:30:36.000 –> 00:30:46.000
basically one step out. my door, and I have a very good view to the to the east and to the southeast and to the northeast.
00:30:46.000 –> 00:30:57.000
And so I can see all these these morning alignments and and keep a good 60 very small portable telescope candy, and like I did today. I’ll be getting up on these mornings and plunk it out and
00:30:57.000 –> 00:31:04.000
seeing what I can see up there. Yeah, awesome. alright, May twenty-second Again, this is gonna be in the morning sky.
00:31:04.000 –> 00:31:16.000
We have Saturn just 4 degrees North of the Moon and it’s off last quarter moon on on May twenty-second as well pairing nicely with Saturn.
00:31:16.000 –> 00:31:30.000
So saying, the one thing I like to do when i’m teaching astronomy classes is use these sort of pairings to help people identify the objects that they’re seeing because one of the things and you’ve
00:31:30.000 –> 00:31:41.000
experienced this as well. we go we’re showing stuff to people in the sky. and we say, well, this is this and this is that this planet or this galaxy where people say, well, how do you know that’s it and you say well, you
00:31:41.000 –> 00:31:52.000
know we learn over time, but they’re they’re not understand There is a bit of a learning process there, and this kind of one of those processes, so that we know on this night. that’s when the moon.
00:31:52.000 –> 00:31:57.000
Will be close to Saturn, and when you look at Saturn Mail number 7 looks like through a telescope.
00:31:57.000 –> 00:32:05.000
Well, there, you go that’s that’s saturn 4 degrees north of the moon, so by 4 degrees that means that you can see it in.
00:32:05.000 –> 00:32:08.000
But binoculars. you can see Saturn and the moon in, but doctors.
00:32:08.000 –> 00:32:12.000
On the morning of the 20 s at the same time. Pretty cool to be able to see that.
00:32:12.000 –> 00:32:16.000
Yeah, for sure it is twenty-fourth of May.
00:32:16.000 –> 00:32:22.000
Mars is going to be 3 degrees north of the moon and the moon that night is going to have the Curtis X.
00:32:22.000 –> 00:32:30.000
Visible, which, from what I understand is very similar to like the lunar acts. Hmm! I don’t think i’ve, observed the Curtis X.
00:32:30.000 –> 00:32:41.000
Before. so I might have to give that a go. Yeah. So people can see the the Mars the planet Mars, just 3 degrees north of the moon on the morning of May the 20 fourth.
00:32:41.000 –> 00:32:47.000
And then, on the morning of May 20 fifth Jupiter will be just 3 degrees north of the moon.
00:32:47.000 –> 00:33:01.000
And of course, what’s happening? as the moon moves night tonight Tonight it moves, you know, like just over but a fist length throughout the throughout the course of a day, and so, by the following morning it’s moved to pair up with Jupiter,
00:33:01.000 –> 00:33:15.000
suit. Each of these planets is about the same distance apart as the moon moves on one night basis, which really gives you a feeling of kind of how this sort of celestial show kind of all plays out throughout the year.
00:33:15.000 –> 00:33:30.000
Oftentimes we don’t have the the planets or anything else to kind of allow us to make that market, because typically just the moon and move There’s some stars around whatever break planets you really get to see them line up and then on the
00:33:30.000 –> 00:33:37.000
morning of May. The 20 seventh is a really neat show, because Venus is just about a quarter of a degree that of the moons.
00:33:37.000 –> 00:33:41.000
It’s very, very close and in fact I think on the 20 seventh
00:33:41.000 –> 00:33:55.000
There’s an uncleitation somewhere and then on may 28 Uranus is just point 3 degrees north of the moon, and I think there’s a an occupation in Africa. but for us we we don’t get that opportunity
00:33:55.000 –> 00:33:58.000
but on the 20 seventh venus it’s gonna be very close to the moon.
00:33:58.000 –> 00:34:03.000
That’s gonna look spectacular in maybe even just with your eye alone, you’ll be able to see it.
00:34:03.000 –> 00:34:07.000
And then on the 28, you would definitely need a telescope.
00:34:07.000 –> 00:34:15.000
Yeah to see Uranus. but you know the cool thing about that is, is Uranus is a little harder to find, because it’s a little fainter.
00:34:15.000 –> 00:34:26.000
So when it’s got that anchor of the moon you know, basically, if you have the moon in your field of view, you’re going to see Uranus that night, So that’s that’s all awesome yeah,
00:34:26.000 –> 00:34:34.000
and then, on May 20 ninth Mars is going to be just point 6 degrees south of Jupiter.
00:34:34.000 –> 00:34:47.000
So they’re going to be very very close in the morning sky. Observing that night we’re scheduled to yeah observing that that morning together, so maybe we’ll be able to see that we might be observing
00:34:47.000 –> 00:34:56.000
the morning of the 20 eighth as well I mean we’ll see Uranus in the Moon, and be kind of need to to see Uranus and the moon on the 20 eighth the 28 and then Mars and
00:34:56.000 –> 00:35:09.000
Jupiter on the morning of May the 20 ninth of course they’re going to be close mars and Jupiter for a number of days on other sides. so hopefully, we’ll we’ll get a chance to to see that and then
00:35:09.000 –> 00:35:20.000
on, May the thirtieth, we have the new moon so that’s why we’re head note to do some observing together towards the end of me there, and yeah should be should be a pretty fun time.
00:35:20.000 –> 00:35:29.000
Yeah. yeah. So a couple of comments Number one is just a reminder, too, that 2,022 is an opposition year for Mars.
00:35:29.000 –> 00:35:39.000
So every 2 years Mars gets closer to Earth in its orbit, and it becomes a really good object to observe through amateur telescopes.
00:35:39.000 –> 00:35:45.000
So Mars is not super large at this point in time but basically every day it’s getting closer.
00:35:45.000 –> 00:35:58.000
So it’s going to grow in size and a need observation project is to start observing mars early in the year like now and then just watch as it changes and reaches opposition sometime in december which
00:35:58.000 –> 00:36:08.000
means you know at that Point it’ll appear largest and it’ll you know there’s a lot of detail that you can tease out of Mars.
00:36:08.000 –> 00:36:15.000
But you know you may have to wait until later in the year to really start observing some of the surface features.
00:36:15.000 –> 00:36:23.000
However, it’s a fun project I think the the opposition is what the ninth of December, or something like that.
00:36:23.000 –> 00:36:36.000
. can’t remember . and and then just the other comment I wanted to make is is you know, Chris and I will be in Grasslands National Park East. block that new moon weekend so, if you’re if
00:36:36.000 –> 00:36:50.000
you happen to be there we can desert a 7 on maybe maybe a few people will come.
00:36:50.000 –> 00:36:54.000
Actually I know I heard from one or 2 people maybe they’ll they’ll make it down.
00:36:54.000 –> 00:37:05.000
That would be that would be pretty pretty fun but yeah it’s yeah, it’s it’s pretty far for just vote anybody, except for us, and it’s still like a 3 and a half hour.
00:37:05.000 –> 00:37:09.000
Drive. so good stuff Yeah, that’s that’s exciting Yeah, some good points there.
00:37:09.000 –> 00:37:17.000
I’m pretty excited to see this mars opposition of course like this is the this will be the second Mars opposition that that we’re heading towards.
00:37:17.000 –> 00:37:23.000
Since we started this this. podcast So that’s kind of like hard to believe in a way.
00:37:23.000 –> 00:37:30.000
Yeah, yeah. the when we kicked off this, podcast, the timing was kind of lucky in that regard that Mars was was nearing opposition.
00:37:30.000 –> 00:37:36.000
And I tell you you and I had some incredible observations during that.
00:37:36.000 –> 00:37:40.000
Opposition. That was the best one for me that i’ve ever observed.
00:37:40.000 –> 00:37:52.000
And just I like even seeing some of the like clouds on Mars, you know, like I remember we both had some observations of like equatorial clouds.
00:37:52.000 –> 00:38:03.000
You know just incredible stuff you can see and and It’s such a dynamic planet that you just you you never know when some of that type of stuff is going to to make itself visible.
00:38:03.000 –> 00:38:08.000
So i’m super excited, for for this opposition yeah yeah, I am as well.
00:38:08.000 –> 00:38:10.000
I know that I started to be able to see detail in July.
00:38:10.000 –> 00:38:19.000
Kinda like second week of July, and we’re at a October opposition then, so that was like August, September eleventh, about 3 months before.
00:38:19.000 –> 00:38:28.000
So this time We’re going to be like September, October, November, December, so probably around mid September.
00:38:28.000 –> 00:38:37.000
Is when when we’ll really begin to to start to see some decent detail in our in our small telescopes, anyway, and that, you know.
00:38:37.000 –> 00:38:43.000
And then through that time over leading up to leading up to that the opposition data.
00:38:43.000 –> 00:38:52.000
And then for about a month and a half or so after that, that would probably be about the best time to. to get the views of Mars in.
00:38:52.000 –> 00:39:00.000
Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. winter Mars observing, though really not my favorite.
00:39:00.000 –> 00:39:02.000
So I will. I will be observing it sooner than later.
00:39:02.000 –> 00:39:09.000
For sure, Because, yeah, those those December time frames are gonna be some pretty quick looks.
00:39:09.000 –> 00:39:15.000
Yes, for sure. Good stuff. Anything else to to add to this episode Chain?
00:39:15.000 –> 00:39:18.000
No, that’s everything. alright. Well, thanks she thanks everybody for listening.
00:39:18.000 –> 00:39:31.000
We’re always excited to get your observing reports via email to actual astronomy at Gmail Com.
End of podcast:
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