CentaurZ

A waxing gibbous Moon will occult (cover) the magnitude +3.3 star Tau Sagittatii for telescopic observers in North America during the night of 2022 SEP 05-06. The immersion will occur on the lunar dark limb, with emersion from the bright limb. Lucky observers on a graze path can witness the star passing through lunar hills and valleys. Those between the two graze paths 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.

Asteroid 3 Juno will appear within Aquarius in opposition to the Sun on 2022 Sep 07 at magnitude +7.7. It is the second most massive stony asteroid. Vesta was discovered in 1804 and has a mean diameter of 233 km. Photos and descriptions of Juno 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 Saturday, August 27th. Most others should have better luck the following evening.

Here in Florida, not only are we getting the usual early evening rain clouds, but also dust clouds from the Sahara. At least the latter inhibit hurricanes during what is normally hurricane season. Vesta will still be out most of the night for quite a while. We await your report and photos.

Today's the day.

Here is my rendering of how the event will appear from far above Jupiter's north pole:

Here is my timetable of Galilean Satellite Events for the next 24 hours:

The shadows of the Galilean satellites #1 Io and #3 Ganymede will be simultaneously transiting Jupiter during the night of 2022 AUG 15-16. Photos and descriptions of the transits would be welcome additions to this thread. The graphic is for 00:00 CDT (UT-5) or 05:00 UT.

Ringed Saturn currently rises during the early evening as it approaches its opposition from the Sun on 2022 AUG 14, when it will be out all night at stellar magnitude +0.3. Its rings will appear tilted at +13.9°. At the time of its opposition, Saturn’s brightness peaks abruptly, unlike the gentle brightness curve for other planets. This sharp “oppositional flash” is due to a lack of a visible shadow of its rings on the planet, and the lack of ring particle shadows visible on each other, as viewed from Earth. Photos and descriptions of Saturn and its rings would be welcome additions to this thread.

The annual Perseid Meteor Shower is already underway. The Perseids are usually the finest shower of the year. Normally at the peak more than sixty meteors per hour may be seen by some sharp-eyed folks. The Perseids are debris from the periodic comet 109P Swift-Tuttle. The shower is expected to peak during the night of 2022 AUG 12-13. Its radiant is in the constellation Perseus. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. For observers north of the tropics, the meteors appear virtually all night, although most prolifically during the hours before dawn. This year the waning gibbous Moon near the shower’s peak may provide significant interference. Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos would be welcome additions to this thread.

Asteroid 4 Vesta will appear within Capricornus in opposition to the Sun on 2022 AUG 22. It is the asteroid that can get the brightest, and at stellar magnitude +5.8 it should be visible to sharp naked eyes. 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 might attempt to spot the more than one-day-old Moon after sunset on Friday, July 29th. Most others should have better luck the following evening.

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 Monday, May 30th. Most others should have better luck the following evening.

Tonight's the night. 😃

Here are my similar charts for the eclipse with lunar altitudes and orientations for London and southwest Florida:

A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur during the night of 2022 MAY 15-16 for observers in the Americas, Europe and Africa. 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. The depicted orientation and Moon altitudes are for an observer at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium. Photos and descriptions of the eclipse would be welcome additions to this thread.

The annual Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower is already underway. It is expected to peak during the night of 2022 MAY 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 crescent Moon during the peak this year should not present interference.

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 Sunday, May 1st. Most others should have better luck the following evening.

Asteroid 18 Melpomene will appear within Libra in opposition to the Sun on 2022 MAY 05 at magnitude +10.3. It was discovered in 1852, has a mean diameter of 141 km, and possibly has a satellite. Photos and descriptions of Melpomene would be welcome additions to this thread.

The annual Lyrid Meteor Shower should already be underway. It is expected to peak during 2022 APR 22-23. 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. 3 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. During the shower’s peak, the waning gibbous Moon may present some interference after it rises in the late evening. Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos would be welcome additions to this thread.

Asteroid 15 Eunomia will appear within Corvus well south of Spica in opposition to the Sun on 2022 APR 16 at magnitude +10.0. This most massive stony asteroid was discovered in 1851, and has a mean diameter of 268 km. Photos and descriptions of Eunomia 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 2022 APR 03. This is the most favorable apparition of 2022 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 Friday, April 1st. Most others should have better luck the following evening.

Asteroid 8 Flora will appear within Virgo in opposition to the Sun on 2022 APR 12 at magnitude +9.8. The innermost large asteroid was discovered in 1847, and has a mean diameter of 128 km. Photos and descriptions of Flora would be welcome additions to this thread.

The Moon will occult (cover) the third magnitude star Eta Leonis on Tuesday, 2022 MAR 15. This will be an evening event in eastern North America and afternoon in the west. For occultation data specific to your location, please reply to this post with a geographic longitude, latitude, elevation above sea level, and time zone.