Summer Triangle Of Stars (click for larger)

The “Summer Triangle” is a startling asterism of three bright stars. Even non-astronomers notice this prominent triangle pattern, during the Northern hemisphere summer.

The star pattern is made more noticeable by the generally light sky at this time of year (it doesn’t get properly “nautical” dark, if you are more than about 52 degrees of latitude North).

I have enhanced the image below, by drawing the “triangle sides”. Hopefully, this will help you to spot the Summer Triangle, when you look up at this time of year. (Ignore the aeroplane trail!)

Enjoy the summer!

Summer Triangle of Deneb, Vega, Altair (click for larger)

The stars are Deneb in the constellation of Cygnus, Vega in Lyra and Altair in Aquila.

Tomorrow, the night of Sunday 13th December to Monday 14th December is the peak of the Geminids meteor shower.

This is the annual shower of “shooting stars” that appear to emanate from the constellation of Gemini (however, they are NOT stars, just fragments of dust and rock debris burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere and they are also completely unrelated to the stars we describe as Gemini).

Nevertheless, the Geminids is a sky event well worth making an effort for. You MAY see a wonderful display of streaks of light across your sky, if you are blessed with dark and clear skies where you are.

The peak is expected around 5am UT (that’s the same as Greenwich Mean Time), but it should be worthwhile for you to look to the sky in the early hours at your local time. The Geminids is often a broad maximum, so you may be surprised. Anything around one meteor per minute, is very good!

Here is a sky map of where to look.

December Geminids Meteor Shower Radiant (click for larger image)

Best of luck.

What is it?

This shower of meteors (often wrongly called “shooting stars”) occurs every year. It happens when the Earth on its orbit about the Sun, passes through dust and rock remnants, left behind in the past by the comet Tempel-Tuttle.

The brief, bright streaks of light we may see in the night sky, result when this material burns in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Why is this shower called the “Leonids”?

Because the meteor trails APPEAR to originate in the constellation of Leo (the Lion), if you trace back an imaginary straight line across the sky.. (But note, they have no true connection with the stars we see in the constellation, which are MUCH further away)

This apparent origin is illustrated by the sky map below. It shows the position of Leo and the meteor shower radiant point, rising above the Eastern horizon at 1.00UT during the night of 17 – 18 November.

Leonids Radiant Rising In East, 1.00 UT, 18 Nov, Lat 51 N, Long 0 E (click for larger)

Is it worth looking this year?

It should be – the conditions are extremely favorable.

With the new Moon on 16th November, there will be scarcely any moonlight to disrupt observation of meteors.

Also, some meteor specialists have suggested there may be a strong, even “storm force” shower this year, such as occured in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

When exactly should you look for meteors?

Various specialists use models to try to predict exactly when the shower peaks (both minor peaks and major peaks) will occur. But these are only predictions, so it should be worth looking over the 17th – 18th period.

It will be best to look when the radiant point (see map above) is above your local horizon. The further South you are, the earlier in the night Leo will rise above your local East horizon.

Summary

Wrap-up warmly if you are spending time outdoors and good luck!

Moon Jupiter Conjunction Sept 29th 2009 (click for larger image)

Lovely close conjunction (appulse, for some) of the Moon and planet Jupiter tonight.

The Moon appears to be about half a degree in diameter to us on Earth, so tonight, Jupiter is about half degree from the Moon.

I have just captured the image on the right from the UK, with my Canon dSLR camera, using its 18-55 mm standard lens.

If you are in the United States for example, this view of the Moon and Jupiter conjunction is coming towards you NOW!

So I suggest you get outside tonight, and take a look!

It’s rare to be able to see the Solar System’s giant planet Jupiter, so close to our Moon.

You’ll also notice the waxing gibbous Moon (as it’s called). This means it’s getting close to full.. the full “Harvest Moon” will be seen on Sunday October 4th.

So, best of luck.

Post a comment here, if you also manage to observe this wonderful spectacle tonight.

Anyway.. what I’ve realised is I need more focal length on the telescope, for the imaging of planets.

I put my old 6 inch Newtonian reflector onto the EQ6 mount, then added the Canon dSLR camera.

Ancient 6 inch Newtonian reflector, plus EQ6 telescope mount

It produced this image below, nicely showing three moons of Jupiter.. but no detail on the planet. The clouds must take a lot of the blame, but I see also, I need more focal length.

Jupiter And Moons (Io, Ganymede, Callisto)

The DSLR Canon camera is working at prime focus – using the telescope as its lens and nothing else.. (no eyepiece, or barlow lens etc).

Consequently, to get more magnification and fill the image field of view with the planet, I need a telescope with a longer focal length. My 6 inch (150 mm) reflector has a focal length of only about 700 mm.

(And as a PS. .  what would Galileo have given for an image of Jupiter and its moons, like this?)

So, any suggestions for a good telescope to observe the planets?

Q. What are the Orionid meteors?

A. Each year in October as the Earth orbits about the Sun, it passes through an area of Space containing dust and rock fragments left behind by Halley’s comet. As these particles hit the Earth’s atmosphere they burn up, producing streaks of light we can see in the Night Sky. Occasionally, larger particles may burn up producing very bright “Fireballs” that can sometimes even be seen in daylight

Q. Why is this October meteor shower called the “Orionids”?

A. Because of the location of the Halley’s Comet debris in space, the meteors APPEAR to us on the Earth’s surface to originate from the constellation of Orion. This is nothing more than a “line of sight” effect however. The rock fragments which cause the meteors are actually very close to Earth – they have nothing to do with the distant star pattern we call Orion.

Here’s a graphic showing the apparent origin of Orionid meteor trails (the Radiant), located between the constellations of Orion and Gemini.

Orionids Meteor Shower Radiant, East Horizon, 21 Oct 2009 (Click For Larger Image)

Q. So will the meteors be seen only in the area of Orion?

A. No. The streaks of light may appear anywhere in our sky… But if you extend the traces backwards and continue the path, they will seem to have started in the area of Orion.

Q. When is the best time to look for the Orionid meteors?

A. The range of dates is expected as 16th – 27th October, with the peak meteor activity expected on 21st October 2009. In recent years, good numbers of meteors have been seen 1-2 days before and after the peak date, so it should be well worth observing over the period 18th-23rd October.

In some previous years, a double-peak of activity has been reported and this is an unusual feature of the Orionid shower. This may be because the orbit of Halley’s Comet brings it back to the Sun every 76 years, giving plenty of opportunity for depositing dust and debris.

Q. Will 2009 be a good year to observe the Orionid meteors?

A. It should be. Sometimes a bright Moon spoils the observing of meteor showers, but this time it’s very favorable. At the expected Orionid peak, the Moon will be just 2 days old. Therefore, it won’t be bright and it will set below the horizon, soon after sunset.

Q. How many meteors can I expect to see?

A. At the shower peak, something like 25 meteors per hour is predicted (this is called the ZHR – Zenithal Hourly Rate). Obviously, you will need dark, clear sky conditions to see the most meteors, and the number is just a prediction.. this makes it more fun to get outside and see for yourself, how many meteors appear!

Q. What equipment do I need to observe the meteors?

A. Good news… no equipment is really needed – just use your eyes (it will help if you allow 10-15 minutes for your eyes to become accustomed to the dark). If you like, you can try using binoculars too, but they may limit your view to a small area of the sky.

Q. Any other suggestions?

A. It’s getting cold in October, so make sure you wear warm clothing if you’re planning to spend an extended period outside, watching for meteors. Your observing session will also be more comfortable with a reclining garden chair, allowing you to lay back and look upwards. Some people like to put blankets or cushions on the ground, so they can lay flat and feel closer to the Universe, as they hopefully experience a memorable meteor display in the Night Sky.

Conclusion

Here’s wishing you the best of luck with your Orionids 2009 experience!

If you have questions or comments, please leave a reply below. I’ll do my best to answer each one personally (although I have to admit, the hundreds of questions on the Perseid meteor post, rather overwhelmed me!).

If your astro soc is thinking of doing something like this, then I strongly recommend it.

I spent all weekend on our stand at Herstmonceux. It was a great opportunity to meet the public and let them know about CADSAS and it’s forthcoming meetings. Good local promotion and awareness building.

But just as important was meeting other local astronomy societies, getting to know some of their key people and generally “joining the local astro club community”.

Also, it provided a great opportunity to make a couple of (very) short videos for YouTube.com (above and below)

All it needed was a simple camcorder and a tripod. You should do the same for your club or society.

Don’t get put-off by thoughts of fancy video equipment.

Surely, the quality is not like the BBC. But in spite of the wind and excessive background noise, IT WORKS to help show people what you are doing.

A quick video like this, gives you something you can show to others. And it helps people find your society through the search engines.

Highly recommended!

Top of 35 Ton Bronze Dome of Harrison Planetarium

It was for the special SPA Greenwich event.  

After setting off from Kent early, I reached Greenwich and parked on Crooms Hill with plenty of the time for the 9.45am (sharp – “latecomers will not be admitted”) start to the show.

The presentation was given by Tony Sizer – it was a very interesting and visually stunning, look at the Night Sky.

The highlight for me, was the “Trip to the Southern Hemisphere”.

The whole audience got to view the constellation of Crux, the nearest stars to our own  Sun – Proxima, Alpha and Beta Centauri – plus the Larger and Smaller Magellanic Clouds.  All without leaving our seats!

Good fun and informative.

It’s been designated  ”Spring Moonwatch” week, as part of the IYA 2009 and we have been blessed with wonderful clear skies here in South-East England. 

I have helped run two public events at my local astro society . I even gave a talk yesterday to about 30 people, about the Moonwatch week and what to see on the Moon.  And it used my own Moon images, taken over the last couple of weeks.

Two or three of the newcomers, became obviously enthused with the idea of Moon observing, which made it feel very worthwhile.

Newtonian 6 inch reflector on EQ6 mount, observing the 9-day Moon

Tonight, I snapped the 9 day old Moon.

To the right, is my old 6 inch reflector, which I bought on eBay in 2003.  

Originally, it was on a simple alt-azimuth mount, but I have recently added new tube rings and dovetail bar, enabling it to be put on the Skywatcher EQ6 mount. (Vastly more stable and of course, driven)

It has worked really well this week for capturing images of the Moon, as it has progressed from 3-day crescent through to 9-day Moon, tonight.

(I shall put together a montage of images from this week.)

Using my now trusty, Canon 1000D dslr, I have (as always) been very pleased with  the results.

Here is an image of the 9+ day Moon, I took tonight.

9+ Day Old Moon, 2009/04/04 (click for larger)

“Spring Guide to the Night Sky” public event.. totally horrible, rainy and windy weather at 5pm. Event starts 6.30pm..

All clear! Plus very clean skies, after all the rain. Looked at 1st magnitude stars as they appeared from the twilight, then observed Orion and Saturn.  

We also saw two great fly-overs of the International Space Station (ISS) – the second pass was particularly bright.

About, 25 Cub Scouts came along with their Cub leaders.. made for a busy event.

Plus, I tried my Canon Digital SLR Camera in the mighty Alan Young 22.5″ telescope.

Fitted well mechanically, but poor images..

Here’s an example of an out-of-focus Betegeuse in Orion.

In Sufficient Focusser In-Travel On Star Betelgeuse

Insufficient in-travel on the focusser… It was not possible to move the camera in close enough, to bring the image to focus.

The difference between the Canon and the Mintron camera that’s usually used with this telescope, is the position of the ccd chip within the camera body. The Mintron has its chip very close to the front of the lens opening. The Canon’s chip however, is much deeper within the body.

However, we were much encouraged by the likely light-gathering power and plan to modify the focusser to move it’s travel inside of the tube. (We did consider moving the mirrors instead, to push the focal plane further outside of the telescope tube, but felt this would be too radical)

Stay tuned!

This will work, one way or another and deliver good results!