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Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! Heads up to observers in most of Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and South America for Saturday night’s partial lunar eclipse. For everyone else, be sure to keep a watch on western ecliptic plane as Mercury, Venus and Saturn join together for a dazzling weekend show! Although the Moon, will keep us in the “pits” we’ll still take a look at the “Eye of the Archer” and go “Butterfly” hunting. Now, let’s wait on night and slip outside… Together.
Friday, August 15, 2008 – It’s going to be very hard to ignore the presence of the Moon tonight – or the conjunction that’s about to happen in the west! Just in case you get clouded out tomorrow, be sure to have a look a Mercury, Venus and Saturn getting closer by the minute. But, oh my… It’s going to get even better yet because the Moon is also creeping closer and closer to Earth’s shadow!
Mark your StarGazer calendar for tonight, because it’s going to be one awesome show! Starting off just after sunset on the western horizon, look for Mercury, Saturn and Venus to gather together in a tight triangle to watch as the Moon heads quietly for the Earth’s shadow. A lunar eclipse is about to occur!
Begin watching at 18:23:07 UT as the Moon begins to enter the shadow; it will not fully exit the shadow until 23:57:06 UT. One of the most breathtaking adventures you can undertake is to watch the Moon through a telescope during an eclipse – both in ingress and egress. Craters take on new dimensions and subtle details light up as the shadow seems to race across the surface. And if you are lucky enough to see it at maximum, be sure to look at the stars near Moon. What a wonder it is to behold what is normally hidden by the light!
And what else is about to be hidden? Neptune! Less than a degree to the north of the lunar limb, the “King of the Sea” is about to be occulted. Check out IOTA for times and locations… Or just have a look for yourself. Enjoy your eclipse experience and remember to try your hand at photography!
Sunday, August 17, 2008 – Today in 1966 Pioneer 7 was launched. It was the second in a series of satellites sent to monitor the solar wind, and it also studied cosmic rays and the interplanetary magnetic field. Although the Moon will be along soon, return to previous study star Lambda Scorpii and hop three fingerwidths northeast to NGC 6406 (RA 17 40 18 Dec -32 12 00)… We’re hunting the “Butterfly!”
Wishing you clear skies and good luck!
This week’s awesome images are: Partial Lunar Eclipse: Credit: Fred Espenak – NASA, Zeta Sagittarii: Ascella – Credit: Palomar Observatory courtesy of Caltech, Nu Sagittarii: The Eye of the Archer – Credit: Palomar Observatory courtesy of Caltech, and M6: Credit – NOAO/AURA/NSF.
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