CentaurZ

My Mars Timetable:

The annual Lyrid Meteor Shower should already be underway. It is expected to peak during the night of 2024 APR 21-22. Its radiant is in the vicinity of the constellations Lyra and Hercules near the bright star Vega. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. The Lyrids are debris from the long period Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. The Lyrids typically present about 5 to 20 meteors per hour for sharp eyed observers, although this has varied considerably with 700 per hour seen in 1803. The show begins after Lyra rises, which is in the early evening for mid-latitude northern hemisphere observers, but much later in the southern hemisphere. It will continue through morning twilight. During the shower’s peak, the waxing gibbous Moon may present some interference in the evening but less so before dawn. Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos would be welcome additions to this thread.

Asteroid 6 Hebe will appear within Virgo in ecliptical opposition to the Sun on 2024 APR 22 at magnitude +9.8. Hebe is a very dense asteroid with a mean diameter of 186 km. It was discovered in 1847. Photos and descriptions of this asteroid would be welcome additions to this thread.

The Lunar X may be seen by telescopic observers in the Americas and perhaps briefly in far Western Europe during the night of 2024 APR 15-16 for an approximately four-hour period centered on 00:11 CDT (05:11 UT). The X should appear as the Sun rises on the clustered rims of the craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach, while a waxing Half Moon graces the sky. This is something to check-off from your astronomical “to-do” list. Photos and descriptions of the Lunar X would be welcome additions to this thread.

I'm waiting to hear from my brother who traveled from Chicago to Indianapolis to witness the Total Solar Eclipse. From my location in Florida, 61% of the Sun's diameter was covered by the Moon. Below are my computer-generated image and a projection through a slit in my venitian blinds:

David, half of the time the Moon is above your horizon. The other half of the time it is not. Nights that you see the Moon can be memorable. That's particularly true for a Full Moon, which is visible all night. Nights that that you do not see the Moon may be easily forgotten. A waning crescent Moon rises after midnight. A waxing crescent Moon sets before midnight.

It’s nearly time for my monthly New Moon spotting challenge. I use the term New Moon in its classical sense of one’s first sighting of the Moon after its monthly solar conjunction (Dark Moon). Sharp-eyed observers might attempt to spot the more than one-day-old Moon after sunset on Tuesday, April 9th, others should have better luck the following evening. April is a fine month for spotting an especially young Moon. This may present an opportunity to set an impressive personal record. Sorry, but viewing the solar eclipse won't count. Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon would be welcome additions to this thread.

A solar eclipse will be visible on Monday 2024 APR 08 throughout almost all of North America and essentially nowhere else. The eclipse will be total within an approximately 185 km (115 mi) wide band that crosses through Durango, Austin, Dallas, Little Rock, Carbondale, Indianapolis, Toledo, Cleveland, Akron, Buffalo, Rochester, Montpelier and Montreal. Outside that band the eclipse will at best be partial for North American observers. Even for observers in the band of totality, the eclipse will be partial before and after totality. Do not observe the partial phases of the eclipse without proper protective eyewear. Ordinary sunglasses are not nearly good enough. Photos and descriptions of the eclipse would be welcome additions to this thread. Below is my chart for the view from Indianapolis at the time the eclipse is total there.

A Penumbral Lunar Eclipse will occur during the night of 2024 MAR 24-25. All of it for observers in the Americas, and a portion for those in Europe. This will be a deep penumbral, implying that at mid-eclipse a slight darkening should be visible in a portion of the limb. Below is my preview graphic for the upcoming eclipse as seen against an imaginary blue wall to make the shadow fully apparent. The predicted event timings are in CDT (UT-5), but will occur at essentially the same real time for all observers experiencing nighttime if adjusted for time zones. The depicted orientation and Moon altitudes are for an observer in Chicagoland. Photos and descriptions of the eclipse would be welcome additions to this thread.

Elusive Mercury has commenced its apparition in the western sky after sunset following its superior conjunction behind the Sun on 2024 FEB 28. This is the most favorable Mercury apparition of 2024 for observers north of the tropics. Photos and descriptions of Mercury during this apparition would be welcome additions to this thread.

It’s nearly time for my monthly New Moon spotting challenge. I use the term New Moon in its classical sense of one’s first sighting of the Moon after its monthly solar conjunction (Dark Moon). Sharp-eyed observers might attempt to spot the less than one-day-old Moon after sunset on Sunday, March 10th. Others should have better luck the following evening. March is the best month for spotting an especially young Moon. This may present an opportunity to set an impressive personal record. Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon would be welcome additions to this thread.

Asteroid 3 Juno will appear within Leo in ecliptical opposition to the Sun on 2024 MAR 03 at magnitude +8.5. Photos and descriptions of this asteroid would be welcome additions to this thread.

A Waning Half Moon will occult (cover) magnitude +0.9 Antares in Scorpius during the post-midnight hours of 2024 MAR 03 for observers in eastern North America and northern South America. The immersion will occur on the lunar bright limb, with emersion from the dark limb. Lucky observers on one of the graze paths can witness the star passing through lunar hills and valleys. Those between the paths will see a full occultation. For observers at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, the emersion will occur at 01:21:30 CST while the Moon has begun rising over Lake Michigan. The immersion at 01:45:46 CST will occur with Antares 3.8˚ above the horizon. Photos and descriptions of the occultations would be welcome additions to this thread. If you would like specific occultation or graze predictions for your location, please reply to this post with your longitude, latitude, elevation and time zone.

The Lunar X may be seen by telescopic observers in the Americas and Western Europe during the night of 2024 FEB 16-17 for an approximately four-hour period centered on 19:19 CST (01:19 UT). The X should appear as the Sun rises on the clustered rims of the craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach, while a waxing Half Moon graces the sky. This is something to check-off from your astronomical “to-do” list. Photos and descriptions of the Lunar X would be welcome additions to this thread.

It’s nearly time for my monthly New Moon spotting challenge. I use the term New Moon in its classical sense of one’s first sighting of the Moon after its monthly solar conjunction (Dark Moon). Sharp-eyed observers might attempt to spot the one-day-old Moon after sunset on Saturday, February 10th. Others should have better luck the following evening. Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon would be welcome additions to this thread.

It’s nearly time for my monthly New Moon spotting challenge. I use the term New Moon in its classical sense of one’s first sighting of the Moon after its monthly solar conjunction (Dark Moon). Sharp-eyed observers might attempt to spot the over one-day-old Moon after sunset on Friday, January 12th. Others should have better luck the following evening. Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon would be welcome additions to this thread.

A waning crescent Moon will occult (cover) magnitude +2.9 Sigma Scorpii and +0.9 Antares during the predawn hours of 2024 JAN 08. The former will be for observers in the eastern USA and the latter for observers in the southwestern USA. The immersions will occur on the lunar bright limb, with emersions from the dark limb. Lucky observers on one of the graze paths can witness the star passing through lunar hills and valleys. Those between the paths will see a full occultation. Photos and descriptions of the occultations would be welcome additions to this thread. If you would like specific occultation or graze predictions for your location, please reply to this post with your longitude, latitude, elevation and time zone.

Here's my timetable for tonight that includes the shadow transits.

The shadows of the Galilean satellites #2 Europa and #3 Ganymede will be simultaneously transiting Jupiter during the night of 2024 JAN 06-07. Evening in North America. Photos and descriptions of the transits would be welcome additions to this thread.

Elusive Mercury has commenced its apparition in the predawn eastern sky following its inferior conjunction between Earth and Sun on 2023 DEC 22. This is a favorable apparition for most observation latitudes. Photos and descriptions of Mercury during this apparition would be welcome additions to this thread.

Periodic Comet 62P (Tsuchinshan) is currently at magnitude +13.9. It has an orbital period of 6.18 years and will reach perihelion of 1.2649 AU on 2023 DEC 25. Based on JPL parameters, it is expected to peak at magnitude +13.6 on 2024 JAN 03. The comet will pass 0.5935 AU from Earth on 2024 JAN 30. It was discovered in 1965 by a team of Chinese astronomers. Photos and descriptions of the comet would be welcome additions to this thread.

Asteroids 4 Vesta and 9 Metis will appear within Gemini in ecliptical opposition to the Sun on 2023 DEC 21 & 22 respectively at magnitudes +6.4 and +8.4. Photos and descriptions of these asteroids would be welcome additions to this thread.

Periodic Comet 12P (Pons-Brooks) is currently at magnitude +13.2 based on JPL parameters. It has an orbital period of 71 years and will reach perihelion of 0.781 AU on 2024 APR 21. It is expected to peak at magnitude +4.4 on the day of perihelion. The comet will pass 1.546 AU from Earth on 2024 JUN 02. It was discovered in 1812 by Jean-Louis Pons and rediscovered in 1883 by William Brooks. Below are my 3 related charts:

I programmed that chart based on my own PowerBASIC subroutines derived from the book Astronomical Algorithms by my Belgian friend Jean Meeus. Also, from Melpomene osculating elements provided by Solex numerical integration software written by my Italian friend Dr. Aldo Vitagliano. And here is my Melpomene ephemeris, also based on Solex osculating elements. The data are decimalized to ease interpolation.

Uranus will appear in opposition to the Sun on 2023 NOV 13. At magnitude +5.6 it may be visible to sharp naked eyes under dark skies. It has always amazed me that Uranus was not discovered until William Herschel pointed a telescope at it in 1781. I would imagine that countless people observed it by naked eye before then, but assumed it was a fixed star and never noticed that over a period of time it changed position relative to the actual fixed stars. I first observed it by naked eye fifty years ago, but of course I knew that it existed and exactly where to look. Photos and descriptions of Uranus would be welcome additions to this thread. The data are decimalized to ease interpolation.