CentaurZ

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.

An hour ago I saw something I had never seen before: The Moon in the Zenith.

That was from my new home in Florida after recently moving from Illinois.

I phoned my brother whose winter home is less than 4 miles away. He got a kick out of it. He's moving back to Illinois tomorrow, and intends to brag about seeing it at 90.0 degrees altitude. For me it was at 89.9, but zenith was still within the disk of the Moon.

We also sighted the second brightest fixed star on the celestial sphere: Canopus. It can easily be seen from Florida, but not at all from Illinois.

The Lunar X may be seen by telescopic observers in the Americas during the evening of Sunday 2021 JAN 09 for an approximately four-hour period centered on 21:59 CST (UT-6).

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.

Brilliant Venus has commenced its apparition in the predawn eastern sky following its inferior conjunction between Earth and Sun on 2021 JAN 08. It will become its brightest and highest around mid-February.

Photos and descriptions of Venus 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 one-day-old Moon after sunset on Monday, January 3^rd. Most others should have better luck the following evening.

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

The annual Quadrantid Meteor Shower may already be underway, and is expected to peak during 2022 JAN 03-04. 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. No interference should be expected during the peak from the waxing crescent Moon.

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

Asteroid 7 Iris will appear within Gemini in opposition to the Sun on 2022 JAN 13 at magnitude +7.7. The stony asteroid was discovered in 1847, and has a mean diameter of 199 km.

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

A waning gibbous Moon will occult (cover) the magnitude +3.4 star Eta Leonis at nighttime for telescopic observers in eastern North America and western Europe during the night of 2021 DEC 23-24.

The immersion will occur on the lunar bright limb, with emersion from the dark limb. Lucky observers on a graze path can witness the star passing through lunar hills and valleys. Those between of 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.

Elusive Mercury has commenced its apparition in the western sky after sunset following its superior conjunction behind the Sun on 2021 NOV 28. This should be a moderately favorable apparition for most observers.

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

Here's my ephemeris for Comet Leonard:

Here's my latest finder chart:

The annual Geminid Meteor Shower may already be underway. It is expected to peak during the night of 2021 DEC 13-14. Its radiant is in the constellation Gemini. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. The Geminids are debris from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon.

The Geminids have been presenting an increasingly intense shower in recent years. At the peak between 120 and 160 meteors per hour may be seen by some sharp-eyed folks. The show begins after Gemini rises in the early evening and intensifies until morning twilight. Although observers south of the tropics will have to wait until midnight. The waxing gibbous Moon during the shower’s peak this year may provide some interference before it sets in the pre-dawn hours.

Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos 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 nearly two-day-old Moon after sunset on Sunday, December 5^th. Most others should have better luck the following evening.

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

Here's my updated finder chart.

The shadows of the Galilean satellites #3 Ganymede and #4 Callisto will be simultaneously transiting Jupiter during the evening of 2021 NOV 23 for observers in the Americas.

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

Asteroid 1 Ceres will appear within Taurus in opposition to the Sun on 2021 NOV 27 at magnitude +7.2. It is the largest main belt asteroid, and has also been designated a dwarf planet. Ceres was discovered in 1801, and has a mean diameter of 845 km.

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

A Partial (magnitude 97%, nearly total) Lunar Eclipse will be presented to many observers with clear skies on 2021 NOV 19. This will occur in the early hours after midnight for most of North America, and in the evening for Australia and New Zealand. For the British Isles and Norway, the partial eclipse will have just begun at moonset/sunrise. The rest of continental Europe will be shut out from the partial phase, but most Europeans will be able to view a penumbral phase.

Below is a 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 CST (UT-6), 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 my similar thread in the forum for Observing-Lunar.

A Partial (magnitude 97%, nearly total) Lunar Eclipse will be presented to many observers with clear skies on 2021 NOV 19. This will occur in the early hours after midnight for most of North America, and in the evening for Australia and New Zealand. For the British Isles and Norway, the partial eclipse will have just begun at moonset/sunrise. The rest of continental Europe will be shut out from the partial phase, but most Europeans will be able to view a penumbral phase.

Below is a 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 CST (UT-6), 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 Leonid Meteor Shower should already be underway. It is expected to peak during the night of 2021 NOV 16-17. Its radiant is in the constellation Leo. That is the direction toward which the meteor tails point, but the meteors are equally likely to appear anywhere in your sky. The Leonids are debris from the periodic comet 55P Tempel-Tuttle.

The Leonids vary considerably each year in their rates. At the peak, sharp-eyed observers may see as few as ten meteors per hour or as many as a hundred, although in exceptional years this can reach the thousands. This year the expectation is for around 10 to 15 per hour.

The real show begins after Leo rises around midnight and intensifies until morning twilight. At the shower’s peak the nearly Full Moon should could provide interference.

Descriptions of the shower or perhaps even lucky photos 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 Friday, November 5^th. Most others should have better luck the following evening.

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

Uranus will appear in opposition to the Sun during 2021 NOV 04. 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.

Venus' dichotomy (half phase - 50% illumination) is expected on October 22. Greatest eastern elongation from the Sun is expected on October 29. The difference in timing is twofold: The orbits of Venus and Earth are slightly eccentric, and observed eastern dichotomy usually occurs about 6 or 7 days earlier then would be expected from geometric calculations, likely due to a Venusian atmospheric effect.

Asteroid 1 Ceres (also dwarf planet) as viewed geocentrically will appear to pass only 6.9 arcminutes from the first magnitude star Aldebaran on 2021 NOV 03 at 08:37 UT.

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

Asteroid 1 Ceres (also dwarf planet) as viewed geocentrically will appear to pass only 6.9 arcminutes from the first magnitude star Aldebaran on 2021 NOV 03 at 08:37 UT.

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