[Chaos-l] Alice's what's up

[Ned Light]

Hi Folks,

I again transcribed Alice's what's up from last night's meeting.  I added a
link and a few other details as well.

I also want to echo Mickey Jo Sorrell and make a plug for the globe at night
project (http://www.globeatnight.org). This project is an ongoing light
pollution survey.  It is very easy to do.  You sit outside one night during
the observation dates and basically look at Orion after your eyes dark
adapt.  Comparing the number of stars you see with some charts show the
light pollution in your area.  I have done this several years now, and it is
easy and fun. So please follow the link and be ready to go March 3-16.

Clear Skies,

Ned

*What’s up* for Tuesday, Feb 9, 2010     Next meeting March 9th



Sunset tonight – 5:52 PM, 31 minutes later than last month’s meeting

Sunrise tomorrow – 7:08 AM, 18 minutes earlier than last month’s meeting

Length of twilight – 1 hour, 26 minutes


Moon rise - 5 AM

Moon set – 2:53 PM

New Moon – Feb 13th
First quarter – Feb 21st

Full moon – Feb. 28th                                              Last
quarter – March 7th


Solar system round up



*Mercury* – in the morning twilight, mag. –0.2, will be near the moon on the
12th and then disappear a few days later



*Venus* – appearing in the evening sky, mag. –3.9, under Jupiter.  Sets at
6:17 PM mid month (the 10th) but will set later (7:06 PM) by March 1.  Venus
and Jupiter will be close, though low in the west on Feb. 18th



*Mars* – high and bright , mag. –1.2 with retrograde motion in Cancer, near
the beehive cluster (M44).  This might make a nice binocular view. Sets  6:40
AM.  Will be close to the nearly full moon on Feb. 25th.



*Vesta* - an asteroid, will be in opposition on Feb 17th at mag. 6.1,
currently
east of Gamma Leonis (Algieba ),  on Feb 16th, will thread the needle
between Algieba and 40 Leonis.  Algieba is one of the stars that make up the
sickle asterism in Leo and is also a double star with orange-red and yellow
components.  At 4” separation, you will need high power and good atmospheric
conditions to see both stars.



*Jupiter* – low in the twilight western sky, mag. –2, sets 6:53  PM



*Saturn* - rises at 9:01 PM, moving retrograde in Virgo, mag. 0.7
approaching opposition March 22 at mag. 0.6.



*Uranus* - in Pisces, mag. 5.9. above Jupiter in the west but will disappear
in twilight soon.



*Neptune* is behind the sun.



Zodiacal Light - visible in the west after evening twilight for the next
week and first two weeks in March.  You will need to be in dark location
with no moon to see it. This Wikipedia link explains it and offers observing
tips http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiacal_light  What makes now a good
viewing time is that the ecliptic is nearly perpendicular to the horizon.



Meteor Shower – the Delta Leonids peak before dawn on Feb. 24th, best seen
between 4-5 AM after the moon sets.  This is a lesser shower with only about
5-10 meteors per hour.  However, they are slow moving so they are easy to
see.


Things to see



Gemini, Monoceros and Canis Major



In Gemini, the open cluster, M35 with small, faint NGC 2158 near by.  NGC
2158 will appear to be a faint globular (mag. 8.6 vs. 5.1 for M35), but it
is confirmed as an open cluster.



In Monoceros, the winter Milky Way with many clusters, double stars and
nebulae



The Christmas Tree Cluster, NGC 2264, a good binocular target as well as one
for the telescope.  A large telescope and very dark skies might reveal the
nebulosity surrounding this cluster.



Rosette nebula, NGC 2237 and the open cluster NGC 2244  A nebula filter
might help to see the Rosette nebula, though dark skies will help more.



M50 another nice open cluster



Hubble’s Variable Nebula, NGC 2261 at Mag. 10 is a good target for those
with 8” or larger telescope for visual work.  Might be a cool astro photo
target too.



In Canis Major,  south of Monceros so it makes a good companion area to
visit, especially if you have decent views to the south.  It is also in the
winter Milky Way.



M41 (The Little Beehive) is a nice open cluster.  From a dark sky location,
you might be able to see this with the naked eye.



NGC 2362 a small open cluster around Tau Canis Major (mag. 4)



NGC 2327 a nebula near the border with Monoceros.  It is actually part of a
much larger nebula, IC 2177.  A very large scope and dark skies are needed
to see IC 2177
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://rtpnet.org/pipermail/chaos-l/attachments/20100210/84c56631/attachment.htm>