Items Featured In TGP NOMINAL 4.10
Feel The Force Day 5 (30/09/2017) :
Thanks to the above folks for talking with us during Feel The Force Day 5
More photos will be available to view soon
More photos will be available to view soon
Click on the above map to see what there was to see at Feel The Force Day 5
and click on the promotional poster, to be taken to the Feel The Force Day website
and click on the promotional poster, to be taken to the Feel The Force Day website
Ross Hockham's June Skies:
June's Object Of The Month is Saturn, Last month was all about Jupiter as it was at opposition. Now its Saturn’s turn as we fly past the king of the planets onto the ringed wonder. Saturn rises at around 11pm and is at its highest around 1am where it is 9 AU from Earth. |
Saturn is the 2nd biggest planet and rotates in just over 10hrs.
This fast spin causes the planet to flatten or bulge out slightly like Jupiter,
Making it actually more of an oval shape than a perfect sphere.
That can be clearly seen through a scope.
Unfortunately for us in the UK, Saturn doesn't rise too well. I was out last month when it was lower and managed to get a decent view as well as my first astrophotography picture of the planet, without using my phone. Which you can see on the left, just to show you what’s possible even as a beginner. |
Titan is actually larger than Mercury. In fact it’s even bigger than our moon, and can be seen flying round the planet. Even with a pair of binoculars and of course a steady hand. Every night you will see its moved position. Titan's atmosphere is active and complex, and it is mainly composed of nitrogen (95%) and methane (5%). |
A great project is to draw or take a photo, where it is each night and see how quickly it swings around the planet.
Now what everyone really wants to see or as I call it the crowd pleaser is its rings. You should be able to see the Cassini gap. Even through a small scope, possibly binoculars. The Cassini Gap was named after Giovanni Domenico Cassini, who discovered many of its moons. It will look as if the planet is tipping its hat towards you so we will be seeing the top of its rings, maybe later even its shadow cast across them. |
As I have mentioned before its rings are made up of dirty water ice,
or snowballs a bit like a comets nucleus perhaps.
There are moons within them some scooping up material making gaps.
Others actually spraying debris out creating more,
from cryo geysers a bit like those on earth but a tad more extreme.
Saturn is best viewed from the 27th when it reaches opposition
and will appear brighter and closest to Earth, later this year.
Right onto what’s going on for the rest of this month.
On the 24th you will be able to follow its progress across the sky,
as it brightens up to the maximum in September.
Making it a possible naked eye comet as we pass through its tail in October,
creating the Draconid meteor shower.
It is best viewed this month through larger scopes for astrophotography, which should bring out a tail.
On the 15th/16th/ 17th, as the sun sets each evening,
watch the crescent moon brighten as it swings up past and under Venus, the second planet.
On the 18th Ganymede, Jupiter's moon will cast a shadow on the planet around 10pm as it moves across it.
On the 5th, NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft will hopefully come out of a 6 month hibernation period,
so that it can continue it's mission for the farthest planetary encounter in history,
a New Year's Day 2019 flyby of the Kuiper Belt object nicknamed Ultima Thule.
The New Horizons principle Investigator 'Alan Stern' announced that he would be in a week long team meeting on the 11th discussing the Europa Clipper mission to explore Jupiter's moon Europa.
On the 19th, the asteroid Vesta reaches opposition which can be seen in binoculars,
but you will need a keen eye to see a white dot move in relation to the back ground of stars
over a few days or hours,
Not far off Saturn, Vesta is one of the largest asteroids in our belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Vesta is thought to be part of a failed planet.
The 20th is a chance to see the lunar X and V if you missed it a couple of months ago.
it's where the shadow (or terminator) just happens to hit the crest of some lunar craters,
making an X and V appear on the moon.
More information about the lunar X and V can be found on the show notes for the
April (Yuri's Night) episode of TGP NOMINAL Podcast.
The 21st is when the sun reaches its most northerly position in the sky, around 11am marking the summer solstice, which also marks the shortest night.
If you still haven’t had a chance to see Jupiter, on the 23rd the moon will not be far from it tonight.
So get out there, even with binoculars and see the king of the planets before it slips away.
The 25th is the day that the sun sets at the latest time this year.
So, why not pop out and see what time the sun slips below the horizon.
Remember, Always Be Careful When Looking At The Sun!
On the 27th, Saturn reaches opposition
The full moon is not far from the planet, so use it as a signpost.
On the 28th, the full moon will rise just after Saturn at 10.30pm.
Its always great to watch it rise as it appears large with a reddish / yellow colour
and is another chance to spot Saturn.
As always, feel free to email U.K Astronomy at [email protected]
Or join the UK Astronomy FaceBook Group.
Where there are over 3000 members happy to help you with any questions.
Ross & Mick Return To Dunstable Downs:
Ross Hockham and Mick Scott recently took their second trip to the Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire,
this time in an attempt to capture the International Space Station transiting the moon.
They set up two scopes tracking the moon with CCD cameras (bit like a web cam) on, ready to capture it.
Ross also attached his phone to his 10” Dobsonian, which was manual.
For most of the evening cloud had been covering the moon and then
literally 5 minutes before the transit was due to take place, it cleared.
The boys rushed tea in hand to their scopes, sorting the exposure, gain and focus and hit record.
Ross ran to his Dobsonian and manually recorded for a few minutes…..
They saw nothing!
Ross also attached his phone to his 10” Dobsonian, which was manual.
For most of the evening cloud had been covering the moon and then
literally 5 minutes before the transit was due to take place, it cleared.
The boys rushed tea in hand to their scopes, sorting the exposure, gain and focus and hit record.
Ross ran to his Dobsonian and manually recorded for a few minutes…..
They saw nothing!
After they were sure the event was over they checked the data back in the van.
And VOILA….. mick found it on his data, a white dot skimming across the front of our moon!
To Ross's amazement, he also found his phone had captured also,
against all odds they had succeeded in getting not only their first ISS lunar transit but on all of their scopes.
As they watched the sun set over the downs, Venus popped up so naturally they had a peek seeing Venus’s ¾ phase as it now starts to slip in front of the Sun which can still be enjoyed this month.
Then Jupiter started to appear which is higher earlier this month and of course you can see its 4 main moons Ganymede being the biggest in our solar system.
They even had a couple of visitors come to chat and talk about astronomy with them and look through the scopes which of course they always invite people to do.
So if you see the UK Astronomy flag flying, always feel free to come and say Hi…
And VOILA….. mick found it on his data, a white dot skimming across the front of our moon!
To Ross's amazement, he also found his phone had captured also,
against all odds they had succeeded in getting not only their first ISS lunar transit but on all of their scopes.
As they watched the sun set over the downs, Venus popped up so naturally they had a peek seeing Venus’s ¾ phase as it now starts to slip in front of the Sun which can still be enjoyed this month.
Then Jupiter started to appear which is higher earlier this month and of course you can see its 4 main moons Ganymede being the biggest in our solar system.
They even had a couple of visitors come to chat and talk about astronomy with them and look through the scopes which of course they always invite people to do.
So if you see the UK Astronomy flag flying, always feel free to come and say Hi…
As they started to pack away our gear clouds rolled in and we noticed flashes in the back ground,
far over the downs…
They looked at the weather apps on their phones and saw a huge storm was coming in from Spain,
They spent from 11pm until 3am watching and filming possibly the best storm they had ever seen.
It's not recommend sitting in a metal box on top of a large hill during a lightning storm,
but as you can see from the above images, it was amazing,
far over the downs…
They looked at the weather apps on their phones and saw a huge storm was coming in from Spain,
They spent from 11pm until 3am watching and filming possibly the best storm they had ever seen.
It's not recommend sitting in a metal box on top of a large hill during a lightning storm,
but as you can see from the above images, it was amazing,