New Horizons

[Tinkerbell]

I wonder if any of the folk visiting the Wild About Britain site have prior knowledge of any astronomical activity which they feel might be of interest to us. So often you hear that there was an excellent meteor shower yesterday, or some other planetary activity, which might be visible with the naked eye, has already passed and it would be great to know a little in advance, so that we can observe the night sky, albeit at enthusiastic amateurs. Remember all the interest generated by Hayle-Bopp.

[Tinkerbell]

I've just added some celestial events to the astronomy Facts and Figures pages of the reference section

http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/wi...ts-and-Figures

If anyone knows of extra events then please send them in and we'll them to the calendar.

Thanks

[Diane]

When I read your post it reminded me of an email my sister sent me some weeks ago. I just managed to find it - copied below. I'd completely forgotten about this.

So, tonight's the night. If there's a clear sky, that is.

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The Red Planet is about to be spectacular! This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide.

At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history. So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month.

Share this with your children and grandchildren as no one alive today will ever see this again.

[Diane]

Looks like this was a hoax.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2...l_marshoax.htm

[Tinkerbell]

Mars should still have been visible last night, with binoculars at the very least, but the cloud base meant that this sight eluded me. I shall keep my eye open for the next celestial event - big birthday next year, so I may just get the telescope I'm hoping for!

[Astronut]

Hi,
Mars Currently rises around 9.30pm in the Eastern sky, in the constellation of Aries. It won't really be observable until it has 10 degrees of altitude, about 3/4 hour later, but it will rise a couple of minutes earlier each night until Aries crosses the Meridian. It will brighten until November when it's orbit causes it to recede from the earth, and it will then grow dimmer, (it will be at its closest on Oct. 30th) Until then however (barring the Sun and tje Moon, it will be the brightest object in the sky, and a beautiful deep orange colour. You really need very steady atmospheric conditions and at least 100X magnification to see much as it is very small. Even at 200X, you'll only just make out the polar caps, and if you're really lucky some darker markings such as the huge caldera of the volcano, Olympus Mons, or Valles Marineris, which dawrfs the Grand Canyon in comparison.
We've missed the peak of the Perseid Meteor shower which was on Friday 12th August, although I've seen some meteors from the right direction as late as 2 nights ago.

[Tinkerbell]

Sincere thanks Astronut - I shall keep my eyes skyward and hope that your update will be the first of many.

[Astronut]

Hi,
No Problem, I love telescopic astronomy, it's my hobby. Just so You know, Saturn will be observable from Mid-November throughout the winter (well, I mean you can observe it now if you want to stay up until at least 02:30am) It's in the constellation of Cancer, and will be situated within 2-3 degrees of an interesting 'open' star cluster called the 'Beehive' which is a fuzzy patch to the naked eye in a dark sky, and a wonderful binocular object in anything around 7x50 upwards. it takes magnification up to about 30x, but then you begin to see 'through' it as the field of view is too small to contain the whole object.
Saturn's rings can be discerned at a magnification of around 25 upwards, but you really need 100X plus to see any real details, such as the cassini division, the largest gap in the rings.
just drop me a PM if there's anything you want to know or check up on, I'll be happy to oblige.