Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide

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This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings: When the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow (top), a lunar eclipse occurs. When it passes in front of the Sun (below) a solar eclipse occurs. An image of Ceres, obtained by the Dawn spacecraft on 4 May 2015 from a distance of 13,641 km. Ceres comes to opposition on 21 March 2023. Part of the auroral oval, photographed over Canada from the International Space Station. Parts of the Great Lakes may be seen at the bottom of the picture.

NIGHT SKY ALMANAC 2023: A stargazer’s guide - Goodreads NIGHT SKY ALMANAC 2023: A stargazer’s guide - Goodreads

Why does February have such an odd number of days, and why do we tinker with it every four years? The answer is suprisingly complicated, and involves the ancient Roman lunar calendar, Roman emperors, including Julius Caesar, the Roman Senate, the priests, and the way in which politicians messed about with the calendar, and how we have avoided even greater confusion. A fairly comprehensive description of how these changes came about is given here. As with all solar eclipses, view it safely only through proper solar filters. Otherwise, permanent eye damage will result. Oct 10, Nov 9 and Dec 9: Crescent moon meets Venus Some of the most eye-catching sky sights are when the moon glows near the brightest planet, Venus. Three such occasions will occur in fall’s morning sky. As dawn brightens on October 10, November 9 and December 9, look toward the eastern horizon for a dramatic scene. Venus will be unmistakable next to the waning crescent moon. What a sublime sight to start your day! Chart by John Goss/ EarthSky. Venus and Jupiter have both dropped into the solar glare, ending their lengthy reigns as evening stars. Mercury remains just above the horizon in the western evening twilight at magnitude 0. Mars, six times fainter than Mercury, hovers aboveit. Most of the brightest stars have names officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. A list of these, with their Bayer designations and magnitudes, is given here.On very rare occasions, under very dark skies, it is just possible to make out the dwarf planet with the naked eye, when it reaches magnitude 6.7. Generally, however, it requires telescopic or binocular aid to become visible. At opposition in 2023 it will reach magnitude 7.4. It did not come to opposition in 2022. On March 3, the waxing gibbous Moon is 1.7º south of Pollux (mag. 1.1) the brightest star in Gemini. On March 6, one day before Full Moon, it is 4.5º north of Regulus (mag. 1.4) in Leo. By March 10 it is 3.4º north of Spica and by March 14, one day before Last Quarter, it is 1.6º north of Antares in Scorpius. On March 19, the waning crescent is 3.6º south of Saturn (mag. 0.8). At New Moon, on March 21, it is 2.4º south of faint Neptune (mag. 0.8). The next day in twilight, it passes south of Mercury, and then 0.5º south of Jupiter (mag. -2.1). On March 24, the Moon occults Venus, partly visible from southeast Asia. On March 26, the waxing crescent is 8.7º north of Aldebaran in Taurus. It passes 2.3º north of Mars and on March 30 is again 1.6º south of Pollux. On April 2, the waxing gibbous Moon is 4.6° north of Regulus (mag. 1.4). On April 6, just after Full Moon, it is 3.3° north of Spica in Virgo. By April 10, it is 1.5° north of Antares in the morning sky. On April 16, it passes 3.5° south of Saturn low in the evening sky. On April 19, one day before New Moon, it is 0.1° north of Jupiter in Pisces. On April 20, there is a hybrid eclipse, visible from Indonesia (described here). The next day, the Moon is 1.9° south of Mercury and, later that day, 1.7° north of Uranus, both too faint to be readily visible. By April 23 the waxing crescent Moon is 8.8° north of Aldebaran in Taurus. Later that day it is 1.3° north of brilliant Venus (mag. -4.1). On April 26, the Moon is 3.2° north of Mars in Gemini and then 1.5° south of Pollux. By April 29, it is again 4.6° north of Regulus, as it was at the beginning of the month. There are indeed equinoctial tides, and these tend to be greater in extent than at other times of the year. The effect is well-known and was explained by Isaac Newton in the late-seventeenth century. He explained the effect by stating that the gravitational effect of the Sun is greatest when its declination (here) is at a minimum. It is then acting along a line to the centre of the Earth, and is not offset to north or south. The Sun’s declination is precisely zero when it crosses the celestial equator, and this occurs, twice a year, at the equinoxes. At the equinoxes, the Sun is directly over the Earth’s equator, and thus exerts the greatest influence over the tides. However, the effect is greatest at the equator itself, and is often masked by other effects, such as those caused by atmospheric pressure and winds. The key constellation when learning the pattern of stars in the northern sky is Ursa Major, in particular the seven stars forming the asterism known to many as the 'Plough’ or to people in North America as the ‘Big Dipper’. As the chart shows, this is just circumpolar for anyone at latitude 40°N, except for Alkaid (η Ursae Majoris), the last star in the ‘tail’. Even so, the asterism of the Plough is low on the northern horizon between September and November, so it will be much easier to make out at other times of the year.

Night Sky Almanac 2023 By Storm Dunlop, Wil Tirion, Royal

The only two names commonly used in Europe were ‘Harvest Moon’ and ‘Hunter’s Moon’. On rare occasions, particularly in religious contexts, the term ‘Lenten Moon’ was used for the Full Moon in March. The other terms, which originated in North America, have been adopted increasingly by the media in recent years. January 3 • Mars is occulted by the Moon. Times of disappearance and reappearance are given for Durban and Pretoria (as seen from South Africa). Sirius, α Canis Majoris (α Cma), in the southern celestial hemisphere, is the brightest star in the sky at magnitude -1.44. Learning the patterns of the stars, the constellations and asterisms is not particularly difficult. You need to start by identifying the various constellations that are circumpolar where you live. These are always above the horizon, so you can generally start at any time of the year. The charts here and here show the northern and southern circumpolar constellations, respectively. The fine, dashed lines indicate the areas that are circumpolar at different latitudes. The southern sky is dominated by Orion, visible from nearly everywhere in the world and prominent during the northern winter months. For observers near the equator it is, of course, high above near the zenith. Orion is highly distinctive, with a line of three stars that form the ‘Belt’. To most observers, the bright star Betelgeuse (α Orionis), shows a reddish tinge, in contrast to the brilliant bluish-white Rigel (β Orionis). The three stars of the belt lie directly south of the celestial equator. A vertical line of three ‘stars’ forms the ‘Sword’ that hangs south of the Belt. With good viewing, the central ‘star’ appears as a hazy spot, even to the naked eye, and is actually the Orion Nebula (M42). Binoculars reveal the four stars of the Trapezium, which illuminate the nebula.When the second such body, (2) Pallas, was discovered in 1802, William Herschel proposed the name ‘asteroid’ for these objects, because of their star-like appearance. The term ‘minor planet’ has also been extensively used for these bodies. Both terms are found in modern literature. February 14–15 • The Moon passes Antares. The 'Cat’s Eyes' are close to the horizon (as seen from central USA). Cygnus lies along the line of the Milky Way, the disk of our own Galaxy, and provides a wealth of stars and clusters to observe. Just to the left of the line joining Deneb and Sadr, the star at the centre of the outstretched wings, you may, under very clear dark skys, see a region which is darker than the surroundings. This is called the Cygnus Rift and is caused by the obscuration of light from distant stars by a lane of dust in our local spiral arm. the dust comes from elements such as carbon which have been built up in stars and ejected into space in explosions that give rise to objects such as the planetary nebula M57 described above.

Night Sky Almanac 2023 by Storm Dunlop, Wil Tirion - Waterstones

In the northern hemisphere, February is often the coldest month, and most countries on both sides of the Atlantic see significant falls of snow. The Full Moon of February is thus often called the ‘Snow Moon’, although just occasionally that name has been applied to the Full Moon in January. Some North American tribes named it the ‘Hunger Moon’ because of the scarcity of food sources during the depths of winter, while other names are ‘Storm Moon’ and ‘Chaste Moon’, although the last name is more commonly applied to the Full Moon in March. To the Arapaho of the Great Plains, the Full Moon was called the Moon ‘when snow blows like grain in the wind’. All objects in the sky appear to be located on an imaginary sphere: the celestial sphere. There are, however, certain fixed points on the celestial sphere, related to points on the Earth. The North Celestial Pole (NCP) and the South Celestial Pole (SCP) are located in line with the projection of the Earth’s rotational axis onto that sphere. In the north, the NCP is very close to Polaris, which has been known as the North Star since antiquity. In a similar way, the celestial equator is the projection onto the sphere of the Earth’s equator. The second co-ordinate, declination, is simply the angular distance, in degrees, north or south of the celestial equator. The Sun has a declination of zero when it appears to cross the celestial equator at the equinoxes. In this photograph, the narrow lunar crescent (about two days old) has been over-exposed to show the Earthshine illuminating on the other portion of the Moon, where the dark maria are faintly visible.

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Farther south, the Milky Way runs diagonally across the sky, and the constellation of Vela straddles the meridian. Slightly farther south is the constellation of Carina, with, to the west, brilliant Canopus (α Carinae), which lies below the constellation of Puppis, which is itself between Vela and Canis Major in the west.