Society News and Night Sky Notes – October 1999

Society News Headlines

  • Oct 2nd:FAS meeting at Cambridge.
  • Oct 5th:Venus 5° South of Moon.
  • Oct 5th:Regulus 1°.2 South of moon.
  • Oct 8th:Venus 3° South of Moon.
  • Oct 11th:Mercury 7° South of Moon.
  • Oct 13th:Neptune Stationary.
  • Oct 15th:Mars 5° South of Moon.
  • Oct 15th:Liverpool A.S. Monthly meeting at RC Catheral Crypt 7pm.
  • Oct 18th: NASA Jupiter probe Galileo launched to-day in 1989.
  • Oct 18th:Neptune 0.5° South of Moon.
  • Oct 19th:Uranus 0.4° South of Moon.
  • Oct 21st:Orionids meteor shower Max.
  • Oct 22nd:Vesta in conjunction with Sun.
  • Oct 22nd:LASSWA meeting at Halewood Country park, 7:30pm – telescopes and astronomical Slide show.
  • Oct 23rd:Jupiter at oppostion.
  • Oct 23rd:Uranus stationary.
  • Oct 24th:Mercury – greatest elongation East. (Evening sky) 24°.Badly placed for Liverpool.
  • Oct 25th:Saturn 2° North of Moon.
  • Oct 27th:BAA AGM & Presidential Address, 5:45pm Savile Row,London.
  • Oct 27th:Aldebaran 1.2° South of Moon.
  • Oct 31st:Venus – greatest elongation West. (Morning sky) 46°.

THE NIGHT SKY DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 1999.

Will it be cloudy to-night?, ask the The U.K. Goverment Met Office Weather service. To make your own star chart fo your location at any time, Click Here.

The Sun and Moon

All times are in British Summer Time (B.S.T.). But Please note that at the end of the month the clocks are put back one hour to take us into GMT.
Therefore subtract one hour from the times stated here to obtain GMT. Times For Observer in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.
Latitude 53 degs 24 mins North.
Longitude +3.0 degs West.

            3rd       8th       13th      18th      23rd      28th     2nd Nov
SUNRISE    07:17     07:26     07:35     07:44     07:53     08:03      08:12
SUNSET     18:45     18:33     18:21     18:10     17:59     17:48      17:38
PHASES OF THE MOON DURING OCTOBER 1999
LAST QUARTER
on 2nd
at 05h:03m		 NEW MOON
on 9th
at 00h:35m		 FIRST QUARTER
on 17th
at 16h:01m		 FULL MOON
on 24th
at 22h:03m		 LAST QUARTER
on 31st
at 13h:05m

THE PLANETS THIS MONTH.

MERCURY.

Although Mercury reaches its greatest Eastern elongation on the 24th, which means that it should be visible as an eveing object, the angle of its orbit with respect to our Northern horizon is shallow which means that it doesn’t appear above the horizon at all at the time of civil twilight.

VENUS.

In the middle of the month Venus is at its highest point above the horizon. Its’ greatest elongation is on the 30th when it lies 46°.5 West of the Sun in the morning sky. Phase is 43% diameter 28″.

MARS.

Mars still features in the evening sky, but is now at its furthest south of the apparition in the constellation of Sagittarius. It has shrunk below 7′ in diameter and it is now difficult to see the surface markings. CCD observers with a good Southern aspect may still be able to get reasonable images. On the 16th the Moon passes 4.5° South of Mars.

MARSWATCH – latest observations of the red planet.

ASTEROIDS.

  • 85 IO and Undina are at oppostion this month at Mag 10.
  • 16 Pysche and 198 Ampella remain on view from last month.
  • 216 Kleopatra, 354 Eleonora, and532 Herculina are all well placed at 11th Mag.

For More information on Asteroids Click Here.

JUPITER.

Jupiter reaches opposition on the 23rd and is a huge 49″ across, and makes a fine sight in telescopes. On the 24th the Moon passes a wide 4.°5 South of the planet.

Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.

SATURN.

Saturn is nicely placed, lying a little way to the left of Jupiter. Jupiter will start to overtake Saturn in the middle of 2000, the first time the two planets will be in the same small region of the sky at the same time since 1981.

URANUS and NEPTUNE.

Both are still with us, but by months end are hiding in the South Western horizon’s murk, within the constellation of Capricornus . Uranus should be visible through binoculars under a clear, dark sky, but Neptune may need further resolving power – i.e. a telescope – to distinguish it from a star.

Planet Positions During October 1999:

Uranus             Oct 1st       R.A. 21h:02m:57s     DEC -17°:33':50"     Mag 5.7

Neptune            Oct 1st       R.A. 20h:15m:16s     DEC -19°:32':19"     Mag 7.9

PLUTO.

Tiny distant pluto is now very poorly placed for observations from Liverpool. Please note even at opposition Pluto reachers 13.7 Mag.

METEORS.

13th                 Piscids                          Low Rates       Favouable  (4 day old Moon)

21st/22nd            Orionids                         20  Per Hour    Unfavourable (11 day old Moon)

COMETS.

Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.

OCCULTATIONS.

  • Oct 1st at 02h:53m:47s Reappearance of 199 Tauri.

Society News and Night Sky Notes – September 1999

Society News Headlines

  • 1st Sept – Saturn is 3° North of Moon.
  • 2nd Sept – Aldebaran 0.8° South of Moon.
  • 7th Sept – Venus 8° South of Moon.
  • 8th Sept – Regulus 1.1° South of Moon.
  • 8th Sept – Comet Temel II at Perihelion (1.482AU).
  • 9th Sept – Mercury at Superior Conjunction.
  • 10th Sept – Public Open Night at LAS Pex Hill Observatory. 7:30pm – 9:30pm.
  • 10th Sept – Horncastle Astronomy Weekend, Linconshire.(ends Sept 12th).
  • 11th Sept – Vesta 0.9° North of Moon.
  • 16th Sept – Comet Kearns-Kwee at Perihelion (2.339AU).
  • 16th Sept – Mars 3° North of Antares.
  • 17th Sept – LAS Presidental Address & Eclipse’99 reports, plus Cheese&Wine.7pm at RC Catheral, Crypt Concert Room.
  • 20th Sept – Neptune 0.7° South of Moon.
  • 21st Sept – Uranus 0.6° South of Moon.
  • 23rd Sept – NASA Mars Climate Orbiter reaches Mars Orbit.
  • 23rd Sept – Comet C/1999j3 (Linear) at Perihelion (1.148AU).
  • 23rd Sept – Autumn Equinox 23h:33m UT.
  • 24th Sept – Alston Hall Weekend – Developments in Telescope-Making & White-light Imaging.(Ends Sept 26th).
  • 24th Sept – Whirlpool Star Party, Birr Castle, County Offaly.
  • 25th Sept – Southampton A.S. 75th Anniversary Convention at The Univ of Southampton, 10:15 – 17:00.
  • 26th Sept – Venus at greatest brillancy.
  • 27th Sept – Jupiter 4° North of Moon.
  • 28th Sept – Saturn 3° North of Moon.
  • 30th Sept – Aldebaran 1° South of Moon.
  • 30th Sept – Mercury 1.7° North of Spica.

THE NIGHT SKY DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 1999

Will it be cloudy to-night?, ask the The U.K. Goverment Met Office Weather service. To make your own star chart fo your location at any time, Click Here.

The Sun and Moon

All times are in BRITISH SUMMER TIME (BST). Times For Observer in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, U.K.

Latitude 53 degs 24 mins North.
Longitude +3.0 degs West.

            3rd          8th         13th       18th       23rd        28th         3rd Oct
SUNRISE    06:24        06:33       06:42      06:50      06:59       07:08         07:17
SUNSET     19:57        19:45       19:33      19:21      19:09       19:57         18:45
PHASES OF THE MOON DURING SEPTEMBER 1999
FIRST QUARTER
on 17th
at 20h:07m		 FULL MOON
on 25th
at 11h:52m		 LAST QUARTER
on 2nd
at 23h:18m		 NEW MOON
on 9th
at 23h:03m

AUTUMN EQUINOX – SEPTEMBER 23rd.

The autumn equinox occurs on the 23rd. This is when the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south towards the winter solstice in December. At this time, from any point on the Earth’s Surface day and night are of Equal length.

THE PLANETS THIS MONTH.

MERCURY.

Mercury is at superior conjunction on the 8th and is there unobservable.

VENUS.

Venus very quickly becomes established in the morning sky passing through the constellation of Leo. On the evening of the 7th the Moon passes 7° North but by the time Venus has risen the following morning this distance will have widened a little. On the 9th look for the naked eye star Omicron Leonis a mere 11′ to the North. Venus ‘ diameter decreases quite dramatically from over 50″ on the 1st to 35″ at the end of September as the planet heads away from us. As Venus moves around the back of the Sun as seen from the Earth its phase increases to 50% by the end of October and as more of the sunlit hemisphere is turned towards the Earth the brightness correspondingly increases.

MARS.

Mars’ elongation has dropped to under 90° so the effect of its phase is at its most noticeable now. By the end of the month Mars sets one and a half hours after the Sun does and is much fainter than it was at the end of April.

MARSWATCH – latest observations of the red planet.

ASTEROIDS.

  • 16 Pysche can be found in Capricornus st 10th Mag.
  • 198 Ampella can be found in Pegasus and is at opposistion on the 10th, also at 10th Mag.

For More information on Asteroids Click Here.

JUPITER.

Jupiter, drawn by Ken Clarke, as viewed through a 10″ F4.3 Reflector, 308x. w1=54deg, w2=141deg, seeing 2/5, at 21:00 UTC on April 22nd, 1991

Jupiter, drawn by Ken Clarke, as viewed through a 10″ F4.3 Reflector, 308x. w1=54deg, w2=141deg, seeing 2/5, at 21:00 UTC on April 22nd, 1991

Image ©1991, Ken Clarke

Jupiter is nicely placed in the evening sky in the faint constellation of Pisces. On the 27th it is 4.5° North of the Moon and displays a 47″ diameter disk. Launched in October 1989, the Galileo Jupiter Probe entered orbit around the great planet on December 7th 1995. The Project Galileo Homepage will give you up-to-date information and the very latest images returned.

SATURN.

Saturn is now becoming visible in the South East late on in the evening. Its apparent diameter is 19″.

URANUS and NEPTUNE.

Both Outer planets are slightly past their best, are still available for viewing provided you know their exact locations. have a nice sky and have some kind of optical aid such as binoculars or preferably a telescope.. Both can be found in the Capricornus, Uranus maybe found close to the naked eye star theta Capricorni, whilst Neptune lies close to Sigma Capricorni.

Uranus Positions for the 1st September:

                          R.A.                   DEC                    TRANSIT TIME           MAG
                      21h:06m:16s           -17°:20':15"                   23h:36m             5.7
Neptune Positions for the 1st September:

                          R.A.                   DEC                    TRANSIT TIME           MAG
                      20h:17m:02s           -19°:26':03"                   22h:47m             7.9

PLUTO.

Pluto is now not favourable for observations until next year.

METEORS.

  • Alpha-Aurigids on Sept 15th ( 10per hour) Fairly favourable. Moon 6 days old.
  • Piscids on Sept 9th & 21st Double radiant-(8 per hour):
    • 9th – Favourable/MOON is NEW.
    • 21st – Unfavourable/MOON 11 days old.

COMETS.

Plus these pages will give daily and weekly reports of this and other Comets progress.

OCCULTATIONS.

  • Sept 23rd at 02h:17m:59s Disappearance of lota Aquarii
  • Sept 27th at 23h:09m:49s Reappearance of Zeta Aquarii
  • Sept 29th at 01h:45m:48m Reappearance of SAO93469

Solar Eclipse 11th August 1999 Report: Yvonne West (Penzance, Cornwall)

Thick black clouds covered the sky, suddenly it poured down. In the pub I heard the TV saying that first contact had been made at this point I thought that all was lost. Luckily the rain subsided, and a cold breeze blew up around 11.05am, then very quickly at 11.11am it went dark as night. We could see a thin band of light on the horizon at the edge of the shadow. The seagulls grouped together screeching frantically. Suddenly all the land around us glistened with thousands of flash bulbs from cameras. Fireworks were set off and the salvation army stopped singing, it was a pity that we could not see the diamond ring or the corona; but I think that it was worth the trip to see and fell the awe of it all. It is something that you can’t explain in words and photos don’t do it justice, you just have to be there!

Solar Eclipse 11th August 1999 Report: Robert Simpson (Penzance, Cornwall)

On the 10th August 1999 a group of 10 members of the LAS went on an expedition to Penzance to see the solar eclipse, the last one of the millennium. We met at the Ship & Mitre, where we had a meal before taking a mini bus to Manchester to get the train down South.

The train journey was very strenuous because it was 12.5 hours but we had a good time none the less. When the Sun came up on the Wednesday morning the conditions looked good, a nice red sunrise and clear skies.

When we arrived the place was packed with anxious people waiting to see the eclipse, so we walked around Penzance looking for a good spot to see it, then we went to have something to eat.

At 09:30am it unfortunately began to cloud over so we were hoping for a break in the clouds so that we could see the eclipse but it never came.

I was impressed with the fact that it went very dark and it was for two minutes, however it did not seem like two minutes it seemed more like 30 seconds it happened really quickly. It was an unreal feeling. The thing that impressed me most was the way it brought people together, there were church singers right next to us and all along the bay there were fireworks and music. I was, however, disappointed that it did not see totality because of the weather but we did see the 5 minutes. All in all I enjoyed it.

Solar Eclipse 11th August 1999 Report: David Owen (Penzance, Cornwall)

Despite not seeing the solar eclipse due to cloud, I was impressed by the sudden darkness for just 2 minutes. It was worth travelling 12 hours there and 12 hours for the return journey to see the eclipse even though it was cloudy, I hope the next one will be better.

Solar Eclipse 11th August 1999 Report: Dot Maline (Penzance, Cornwall)

I wouldn’t have missed the eclipse at Penzance for the world even after travelling 12 hours there and back. The atmosphere was electric at totality and with the complete darkness, an unearthly feeling passed over me. It would have been marvellous if the clouds had disappeared, but I am sure that I would not have felt any than I did at Penzance

Solar Eclipse 11th August 1999 Report: Colm Jackson (Penzance, Cornwall)

Even though we didn’t see the sun, I don’t think I would swap this eclipse for the real shebang. I will hopefully get to see the full blown thing someday in another part of the world. It was a very surreal experience. You could almost touch the cloud. I felt we where at the beginning of a wave that was travelling from Cornwall to the far side of India. A truly unforgettable experience.

John Knott’s Total Solar Eclipse 1999 Observations

Eclipse 1999 Observations by John Knott
From Altmunster, Salzkammergut Region, Austria

John Knott in Altmuster, Salzkammergut Region, Austria for the Total Solar Eclipse of August 11th 1999

Total Solar Eclipse, 11th August 1999, taken by John Knott from Altmunster, Salzkammergut Region, Austria, using Pentax K 1000 SLR Camera, fitted with 300mm f8 lens. 1/1000th second.

1/1000th second

Image ©1999, John Knott

Total Solar Eclipse, 11th August 1999, taken by John Knott from Altmunster, Salzkammergut Region, Austria, using Pentax K 1000 SLR Camera, fitted with 300mm f8 lens. 1/500th second.

1/500th second

Image ©1999, John Knott

Total Solar Eclipse, 11th August 1999, taken by John Knott from Altmunster, Salzkammergut Region, Austria, using Pentax K 1000 SLR Camera, fitted with 300mm f8 lens. 1/250th second.

1/250th second

Image ©1999, John Knott

Images taken using a Pentax K 1000 and 300mm f8 lens.

All Images are © John Knott

Members’ Observations: The Tears of Saint Lawrence, by Win Corry, August 1999

Perseid Meteor Shower as seen from Cappadocia, Turkey

Leaving our hotel dining room in the evening of the day after the eclipse we were drawn towards an excited crowd in the lobby. It was a party of some hundred Italians, like us, in Turkey for the eclipse. Included in their group was the editor of “L’Astronamia” which I suppose is the Italian equivalent of “Astronomy Now.”

However, they were a few steps ahead of us because they were already showing their videos. We watched and shared and admired their “spettacolo,” and although from their site they suffered from some patchy, thin cloud, this in no way detracted from the “prickles behind the eyes” excitement of seeing it all again, and anyway not all of their videos were affected. We began to talk to one of them and he must have seen our envy when he told us that two coach loads of them were leaving the hotel in half-an-hour (at around 11.00pm) to go to a dark-sky site to watch for Perseids, because he immediately invited some of us to go with them, provided they had room to spare.

There was room for us and they told us they would be travelling about ten kilometres from the hotel, and would return between one and two o’clock. Tired though we were from late nights and early starts and many miles of road and air travel, and packing to do before a ten-hour coach journey the next day, this was just too good an opportunity to miss. We gratefully accepted and six of us piled happily on to one of their coaches. The viewing from the intended site was spoiled by a light source so we moved on to a really dark site where the Milky Way was peerless compared with anytime I have seen it from the UK.

We had barely alighted from the coach and were still acquiring our night vision when we began to see our meteor shower. During the course of the next seventy minutes or so I saw about twenty meteors. Other people saw ones which I missed and I suppose the best estimate of the total meteors seen must be put at between thirty and fifty. Almost all of these clearly originated from the radiant but there were some sporadic ones too. Most of those seen were of the usual ‘fast and fine’ variety, which take less than a quarter of a second to cross five to ten degrees of sky. I didn’t see any extremely bright ones but I understand that possibly six were seen that left a bright trail lasting nearly half a second and the longest of these covered maybe ten to twenty degrees. The Italians, being more demonstrative than we British, vented their feelings by much shouting of “ecco l€” and “que bella” and we became infected with their enthusiasm and joined in with their joyful shouting.

We were observing from a roadside and we were forced to hide our eyes, from time to time, as occasionally cars passed. Nevertheless, we were very pleased with what we saw, especially as one of our party, Matthew, had been unable to resist the temptation to bring his telescope and had set it up by us. Firstly he showed us two globular clusters, M22 in Sagittarius, and M13 in Hercules, then M8 which is associated with the Lagoon Nebula, also in Sagittarius. Later we looked at the Pleaides and also Jupiter but by then the seeing was not so good and little detail was visible. The last object we tried for was a double cluster in Perseus, NGC 869 and NGC 884, which we were lucky to catch just rising above the rocks. According to Matthew the radiant’s position was just west of this cluster pair.

I know we were all tired and getting a bit cold and stiff-necked so when the first coach left around one-thirty we were on it, very tired but very happy, and very appreciative of our hosts’ kindness.

N.B.:

  1. Our Italian friends called the Perseids “Lacrime San Lorenzo” (The Tears of Saint Lawrence) who was apparently martyred on 10th August in 210 AD.
  2. I would like to thank one of our party, Terry Griffiths, and acknowledge the generous contribution she made towards this article. She is a far better observer than I am and subsequently displayed a remarkable memory for detail, even in a foreign language, and furthermore knew what she was talking about.