CentaurZ

Reminder:

This rare event will occur predawn Friday for eastern North Americans. Some Europeans may be able to witness the occultation despite daylight.  😀

Reminder:

This rare event will occur predawn Friday for eastern North Americans. Some Europeans may be able to witness the occultation despite daylight. 😀

Asteroid 9 Metis currently rises in the early evening at magnitude +9.6. It will appear within Virgo in opposition to the Sun on 2021 APR 04 at magnitude +9.5, and near the bright star Spica in August. Metis is possibly the core of a larger destroyed asteroid. It was discovered in 1848, and has a mean diameter of 190 km.

Photos and descriptions of Metis would be welcome additions to this thread.

On 01/01/2021 at 17:27, CentaurZ said:

During periods of about six months separated by about six years, mutual events occur involving the Galilean satellites occulting and transiting each other, with similar effects from their shadows. The next such period will commence on 2021 JAN 03 and end on 2021 JUN 26. 

Photos and descriptions of these events would be welcome additions to this thread. The timing predictions posted below should not vary by much more than one second among locations.

Today Jupiter's axial tilt relative to Earth is 0˚, placing its four Galilean satellite planes in the sweet spot for mutual occulting and transiting events.

On 01/01/2021 at 17:29, CentaurZ said:

During periods of about six months separated by about six years, mutual events occur involving the Galilean satellites occulting and transiting each other, with similar effects from their shadows. The next such period will commence on 2021 JAN 03 and end on 2021 JUN 26. 

Photos and descriptions of these events would be welcome additions to my similar thread in the forum for Observing-Planetary. The timing predictions posted below should not vary by much more than one second among locations.

Today Jupiter's axial tilt relative to Earth is 0˚, placing its four Galilean satellite planes in the sweet spot for mutual occulting and transiting events.

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 may attempt to spot the nearly two-day-old Moon after sunset on Sunday, March 14^th.

Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon this month would be welcome additions to this thread.

Finally, my chart for Mars.

And here is my chart for Jupiter.

Here's my rendition. To calculate the local altitude above the horizon at meridian transit (essentially culmination) if you are north of the tropics, subtract your latitude from 90˚ and add the declination. For example, if your latitude is +51.5˚, then at opposition this year Saturn will get as high as 90˚ - 51.5˚ - 18.4˚ = 20.1˚. The altitudes in the chart are for my latitude of +42˚ and corrected for atmospheric refraction, but the declinations are global.

The brightest asteroid 4 Vesta currently rises in the early evening at magnitude +6.2. It will appear within Leo in opposition to the Sun on 2021 MAR 04 at magnitude +5.8. That’s within the limit of normal naked eye visibility. Vesta was discovered in 1807, and has a mean diameter of 525 km.

Photos and descriptions of Vesta 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 may attempt to spot the more than one-day-old Moon after sunset on Friday, February 12^th.

Photos and descriptions of the young crescent Moon this month would be welcome additions to this thread.

Asteroid 18 Melpomene will appear within Cancer in opposition to the Sun on 2021 FEB 02 at magnitude +9.5. It might have a satellite. Melpomene was discovered in 1852, and has a mean diameter of 141 km.

Photos and descriptions of Melpomene would be welcome additions to this thread.

During the predawn hours of 2021 APR 02, there may appear to be a fifth Galilean satellite around Jupiter. Actually, it will be the magnitude +5.9 star 44 Capricorni. 

Some observers in eastern North America may be able to witness the star during nighttime being occulted by Jupiter for over an hour. This would be a daytime occultation for Europe. Optical aid would be needed to witness this due to the brilliance of Jupiter overwhelming the star.

I calculate that the star will be occulted from 08:48 to 10:00 UT (03:48 to 05:00 CDT – 04:48 to 06:00 EDT).

Photos and descriptions of the event would be welcome additions to this thread.

During the predawn hours of 2021 APR 02, there may appear to be a fifth Galilean satellite around Jupiter. Actually, it will be the magnitude +5.9 star 44 Capricorni. 

Some observers in eastern North America may be able to witness the star being occulted by Jupiter during nighttime for over an hour. This would be a daytime occultation in Europe.

Optical aid would be needed to witness this due to the brilliance of Jupiter overwhelming the star.

I calculate that the star will be occulted from 08:48 to 10:00 UT (03:48 to 05:00 CDT – 04:48 to 06:00 EDT).

Photos and descriptions of the event would be welcome additions to my similar thread in the forum for Observing-Planetary. 

Asteroid 15 Eunomia is currently the second brightest asteroid at magnitude +8.6. Eunomia will appear within Cancer in opposition to the Sun on 2021 JAN 21 at magnitude +8.4.

Eunomia is the most massive stony asteroid. It was discovered in 1851, and has a mean diameter of 268 km.

Photos and descriptions of Eunomia would be welcome additions to this thread.

Mercury, Jupiter & Saturn will form a tight trio in the early evening southwestern sky during the weekend of 2021 JAN 09-10.

Photos and descriptions of the grouping would be welcome additions to my similar thread in the forum for Observing-Planetary.

Mercury, Jupiter & Saturn will form a tight trio in the early evening southwestern sky during the weekend of 2021 JAN 09-10.

Photos and descriptions of the grouping 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 2020 DEC 19. This should be a rather favorable apparition except for observers south of the tropics.

Photos and descriptions of Mercury during this apparition would be welcome additions to this thread.

During periods of about six months separated by about six years, mutual events occur involving the Galilean satellites occulting and transiting each other, with similar effects from their shadows. The next such period will commence on 2021 JAN 03 and end on 2021 JUN 26. 

Photos and descriptions of these events would be welcome additions to my similar thread in the forum for Observing-Planetary. The timing predictions posted below should not vary by much more than one second among locations.

During periods of about six months separated by about six years, mutual events occur involving the Galilean satellites occulting and transiting each other, with similar effects from their shadows. The next such period will commence on 2021 JAN 03 and end on 2021 JUN 26. 

Photos and descriptions of these events would be welcome additions to this thread. The timing predictions posted below should not vary by much more than one second among locations.

The annual Quadrantid Meteor Shower may already be underway, and is expected to peak during the night of 2021 JAN 02-03. Its radiant is in the no longer official constellation Quadrans Muralis, which is now part of Boötes. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. It is conjectured that the Quadrantids are debris from the asteroid 2003 EH1, which in turn may have been a castoff from comet C/1490 Y1.

The peak rate of the Quadrantids can be as great as the normally most prolific annual showers at possibly a hundred per hour for sharp eyed observers in dark skies. However, the peak period of less than half a day is unusually short, thus implying a narrow stream of particles. Also, the meteors are normally not very bright.

The show begins after Boötes rises, which is around local midnight for mid-latitude northern hemisphere observers, but later in the southern hemisphere. It will continue through morning twilight. Some interference might be expected during the peak from the waning gibbous Moon.

 Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos would be welcome additions to this thread. 

I noted in my original post that occultations of Saturn by Jupiter are exceptionally rare. And we also don't see mutual planetary occultations very often in the cases of any pairs of planets. We are currently in an unusually long dry spell. The most recent case was an 1818 occultation of Jupiter by Venus, with no observation reports. The only report ever of a mutual  planetary occultation was by an amateur astronomer who observed Venus occulting Mercury in 1737. The next mutual planetary occultation will be when Venus occults Jupiter in 2065, but that will be almost impossible to observe with an elongation from the Sun of only 8˚. 🙁

On 22/12/2020 at 13:15, Mark at Beaufort said:

That is very useful information. Several astronomers have quoted 800 years so your explanation sets it out better. Unfortunately I won't make 2080 so I am glad that I had view in my scope this time.

 

 

Indeed, there have been less complete descriptions published elsewhere. 2080 might also be difficult for me, since I am currently 75. 😉

I noted in my original post that occultations of Saturn by Jupiter are exceptionally rare. And we also don't see mutual planetary occultations very often in the cases of any pairs of planets. We are currently in an unusually long dry spell. The most recent case was an 1818 occultation of Jupiter by Venus, with no observation reports. The only report ever of a mutual  planetary occultation was by an amateur astronomer who observed Venus occulting Mercury in 1737. The next mutual planetary occultation will be when Venus occults Jupiter in 2065, but that will be almost impossible to observe with an elongation from the Sun of only 8˚. 🙁

The hour has arrived. 😎

Only one more day to go. 😎