CentaurZ

The annual Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower is already underway. It is expected to peak during the nights of 2019 MAY 04-05 & 05-06, but for as many as three nights on either side the rate should be near the peak. Its radiant is in the constellation Aquarius. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. The Eta Aquariids are debris from the famous Comet Halley.

The Eta Aquariids usually produce about fifty meteors per hour for sharp eyed observers in the southern hemisphere. Expectations are somewhat lessened for northern hemisphere observers due to Aquarius being a southern constellation. The show begins after midnight when Aquarius rises. It will continue through morning twilight. The waxing gibbous Moon during the peak this year may provide some interference until it sets.

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

The Lunar X may be seen by telescopic observers in the Americas during the evening of Wednesday 2020 APR 29 for an approximately four-hour period centered on 22:31 CDT (APR 30 – 03:31 UT). The X should appear as the Sun rises on the clustered rims of the craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach, while a waxing nearly 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.

Mile-wide Asteroid 52768 (1998 OR2) is expected to pass Earth by only 0.0421 AU on 2020 APR 29 at 09.59 UT (04.59 CDT). The estimated greatest brilliance by JPL is magnitude +10.8 on MAY 01.

Photos and descriptions of the asteroid 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 one-day-old Moon after sunset on April 23^rd.

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

5 hours ago, John said:

c2020 F8 Swan is in Sculptor at the moment at magnitude 7.8 according to "The Sky Live":

https://theskylive.com/c2020f8-info

What is your estimate of its current magnitude?

7 hours ago, Owmuchonomy said:

I was catching up on this here at breakfast: https://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=161451.  The suggestion in the article is that it is around mag 7 or 8?

What is your estimate of its current magnitude?

Comet C/2020 F8 SWAN was discovered on March 25 by use of the SWAN camera aboard a European satellite.

Based on JPL orbital elements, I calculate that its magnitude will peak at +8.9 on May 15. Although comet brightness predictions can vary significantly from eventual readings.

Below are two charts that I created. Photos and descriptions of the comet would be welcome additions to this thread.

The annual Lyrid Meteor Shower may already be underway. It is expected to peak during the night of 2020 APR 21-22. Its radiant is in the constellation Lyra 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. They have been observed for the past 2700 years, longer than any other meteor shower.

 The Lyrids typically present about 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.

 The Moon will be in its Dark phase during the peak this year, thus providing no interference around that time. Reduced road traffic due to the pandemic should provide clearer than usual skies.

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

This chart that I created should be helpful. Near the top is a sinusoidal curve of Full Moon declinations, that illustrates the matter under discussion.

There's another piece of misinformation that is ubiquitous in SuperMoon articles. That is the declaration that the varied distances between Earth and Moon are due to the Moon's elliptical orbit. Actually, the Moon's orbit is almost a perfect circle, only slightly elliptical. Both perigee and apogee occur on the orbit's major axis, not minor axis. The distance variance is due to the fact that the orbit is eccentric, i.e. the Earth is not exactly at the center of the Moon's orbit. (In celestial mechanics there is a relationship between ellipticity and eccentricity, but that is irrelevant here.)

My chart is based on the latest orbital and magnitude elements provided today by NASA JPL.

Comet C/2019 Y4 ATLAS may be disintegrating: EarthSky - April 6

Some in the media are already touting the upcoming Full Moon of 2020 APR 07-08 as being a SuperMoon and therefore the brightest Moon of the year.

Indeed, it will be the closest and widest Full Moon of 2020. But it will NOT be the brightest. Almost invariably popular science writers seem to assume that nearness to Earth is the only factor in determining a Full Moon's brightness. The other two factors are nearness to Sun and nearness to the ecliptic. The latter factor is related to the phase angle and degree of the oppositional flash. That's why a Moon immediately before or after a lunar eclipse is often one of the brightest of the year even if not nearly a SuperMoon. By my calculations, this month's Full Moon will be the fourth brightest Moon of 2020.

Indeed, Venus this evening will be passing just south of the principal Pleiades stars. It will actually pass among some of the cluster's telescopic members. A conjunction occurs every year, but is particularly close every eight years as is the case this year. In the coming eight-year cycles, Venus will pass among the cluster's principal stars.
 

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

Asteroid 3 Juno will appear within Virgo in opposition to the Sun on 2020 APR 02 at magnitude +9.5.

Asteroid 6 Hebe will appear within Virgo in opposition to the Sun on 2020 APR 03 at magnitude +10.0.

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

Nice shots, ShrewView. Thanks for sharing. 😃

You're welcome, Maw. And thank you for the fine photos and commentary. Glad you got to see the young Moon. 😃

It’s 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 less than two-day-old Moon after sunset today, March 25^th.

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

The emergence of the Lunar X may be observable in portions of Western Europe including the British Isles. From London the Moon will set at 01:01 UT on March 2nd, which is within the 4-hour window centered on 01:39 UT.

Below is my chart similar to the one above, but with Moon/Sun altitudes for London and in Universal Time (UT). 

The Lunar X may be seen by telescopic observers in the Americas during the evening of Sunday 2020 MAR 01 for an approximately four-hour period centered on 19:39 CST. The X should appear as the Sun rises on the clustered rims of the craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach, while a waxing nearly 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 may attempt to spot the over one-day-old Moon after sunset on February 24^th.

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

The waning crescent Moon will occult (cover) Mars during the morning of Tuesday 2020 FEB 18 for observers in North America.

The upcoming immersion will occur on the lunar bright limb, with emersion on the dark limb. Any observers on the graze path in Mexico can witness an interrupted Mars appearing to pass through lunar hills and valleys. Those north of the only graze path will see a full occultation.

Photos and descriptions of the occultation 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.