Art and Astronomy: Transit of Venus by Norman Marigza
Transit of Venus (medium: acrylic)
Only a few days left to the last transit of Venus of our lifetimes! Miss it and you won’t be able to witness it until the year 2117.
Amateur and professional astronomers from all parts of the globe were already gearing up for this big event. There were talks, lectures, public observations, videos, and other several projects and activities initiated by various local groups to promote this event among the public.
But one of our astro-friend here has another cool way of sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for this upcoming event.
Shown above is an artistic depiction of the upcoming Transit of Venus created by Norman Marigza, a young Filipino artist who is also in the field of Physics and Astronomy. According to him, his two greatest passions in life are Art and Astronomy, hence he can do both. He’s surely a gifted person, isn’t he?
To see his other astro-artworks, please visit his website http://blogstargazers.blogspot.com/2010/01/astroart-by-norman.html
During the transit of Venus, we will be able to see the Venus as a small dot gliding slowly across the face of the sun. It happens when Venus passes directly between Earth and the Sun.
Historically, this rare alignment is how we measured the size of our solar system.
Rekindling Venus: Experience A Rare Celestial Event
Next month we will be the last people living today to witness one of the rarest astronomical events. On June 6, a special celestial event called the transit of Venus will take place, and it won’t be repeated in your lifetime.
During the transit, Venus will pass directly in front of the sun from Earth’s perspective, appearing as a small moving black dot.
The entire transit can be witnessed from eastern Asia, eastern Australia, New Zealand and the western Pacific, as well as Alaska, northern Canada and almost all of Greenland.
How rare is this astronomical event?
Transits of Venus occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by gaps of 121½ years and 105½ years. Only six of these transit have been recorded by civilization: 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882, and 2004. This June’s transit, the end of the 2004-2012 pair, won’t be repeated until the December 2117. This is the last chance for anyone alive today to see the rare celestial sight. Fortunately, the event is widely visible.
Unlike a total eclipse of the sun, which is visible only within a long narrow track traced by the moon’s shadow, during the 2012 transit of Venus the entire hemisphere of Earth facing the sun will get to see at least part of the planet’s solar crossing.
Importance
Astronomers during the 18th Century travelled thousands of miles and risked their lives to witness this precious sight.
They did so because they believed Venus held the key to the most pressing astronomical quest of the age: the size of the solar system.
In 1716, astronomer Edmund Halley realized that by timing the transits of 1761 and 1769 from widely-spaced locations on Earth it should be possible to triangulate the distance to Venus using the principles of parallax and give the distance between Earth and the Sun.
For astronomers today, the Transit of Venus offers a chance to gain insights into the planet’s notoriously thick, cloudy atmosphere, and use the refraction of sunlight to finetune techniques for hunting planets orbiting distant stars.
One of the most useful exercises will be to compare observations of the transit made by Earth-based telescopes, orbital telescopes and robot probes.
The Transit of Venus (TOV) is among the rarest astronomical phenomena and won’t happen again until the year 2117. So prepare now, and don’t miss out on this extremely special event!
Observing the TOV from the Philippines
Filipinos are lucky because the entire Philippines is well positioned to witness the transit of Venus on Wednesday 6th June 2012.
To those who are planning to observe this rare event, you might just be interested in joining us in this free public viewing.
Rekindling Venus
June 06 2012, 6am – 1pm
College of Science Amphitheater, University of the Philippines Diliman
This event was launched through the collaboration of the Australian Embassy, UP Astronomical Society, UP- Los Banos Astronomical Society, RTU Astronomical Society, DOST-PAGASA and D’Great Rovers.
This event is for FREE and is open to everyone. Even those who would be coming from other parts of the globe are invited.
For more details, please visit its Facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/159096590888136/
Contact Times
Local transit times for Quezon City, Philippines. source: http://transitofvenus.nl/wp/where-when/local-transit-times/
The general transit circumstances can be found here.
Safe Viewing
Warning: NEVER look at the sun with your naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. Serious and permanent eye damage, including blindness, can result.
- Six ways to see the transit
http://transitofvenus.nl/wp/observing/six-ways-to-see-the-transit/ - Fred Espenak’s Solar Eye Safety
http://www.mreclipse.com/Totality/TotalityCh11.html
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/safety.html - Transit of Venus.org Safety
http://www.transitofvenus.org/safety.htm
The Black Drop Effect
The black drop effect occurs when Venus appears to “connect” to the edge of the Sun before actually reaching the edge. You can model the black drop effect by slowly pinching your index finger and thumb together. Your fingers seem to meet even before they touch. This optical phenomenon was originally thought to provide proof of Venus having an atmosphere. For an explanation of the black drop effect, check out the following links:
http://www.transitofvenus.org/history/black-drop
http://www.transitofvenus.nl/blackdrop.html
A YouTube video of modeling the black drop effect with your fingers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm_kZd_wGkE
An online simulation of the black drop effect:
http://home.comcast.net/~erniew/astro/bd.html
Other resources if you are looking for more information on the Transit of Venus:
- The Transit of Venus Project
http://transitofvenus.nl/wp/ - The Transit of Venus Website
http://www.transitofvenus.org - NASA – 2012 Transit of Venus http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/transit12.html
- Sun-Earth Day 2012: Shadows of the Sun
http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2012/about/about.php
Crescent Sun at Sunrise
A wonderful view of a golden crescent sun at sunrise dazzled a lot of skyviewers this morning. The partial solar eclipsed which began at sunrise at 5:27 am and ended at 7:06 am has been successfully observed by many using appropriate filters for visual observing and photography. Fortunately, the weather has been cooperative this time despite bad weather forecasts and continuous rains during the past few days.
Solar eclipses in are not so common in the Philippines. The last solar eclipse that was seen in the Philippines occurred about two years ago already, while the next one will not happen until 2016. This, plus the fact that this eclipse occurred at sunrise has left a lot of astronomy-enthusiasts like me to be in anticipation.
I observed this event from along with an orgmate in their house at Marikina City. Their location is great for observing events which can be viewed along the eastern sky. Moreover, it is also high enough to give a very good vantage point.
Only a few minutes after sunrise, a big yellowish grin in the east just abpve a layer of clouds greeted us who patiently waited for this event since last night.
Below were some of the images I took using a hand-held Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH2 digital camera on a 2-inch refractor (Galileoscope) with Baader 5.0 ND solar filter. (A extra piece was given to me for free by a generous UP AstroSoc orgmate. Thanks, Kuya Ets!)
By the way, these photos have been featured several times today in local news programs. They also got featured in spaceweather.com and one was reposted by EarthSky.org in their Facebook fanpage. Yay!
I will upload the other photos soon, including a complete observation report. For the meantime, I’d better get some sleep first because I still need to attend some other important conventions outside the city. 
To the stars!
May 2012 Solar Eclipse
The first solar eclipse in 2012 will be an annular solar eclipse on May 20–21. The term came from the Latin word “annulus,” meaning “little ring”, because the moon will not completely cover the sun during the totality (unlike in a total solar eclipse), but will leave a fiery ring around its circumference.
A telescopic picture of the Sun taken during the annular eclipse of January 15, 2010 from the city of Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India. Image Credit & Copyright: Mikael Svalgaard
Warning: NEVER look directly at the sun through binoculars, a telescope or with your unaided eye.
At its peak, the moon will block roughly 94 percent of the sun’s light.
This potentially spectacular solar eclipse will be visible from much of Asia, the Pacific region and North America, provided the weather cooperates.
Time table worldwide
The eclipse starts in one location and ends in another, the times below are for visibility for any location on earth.
| Event | UTC Time | Time in Manila |
|---|---|---|
| First location to see partial eclipse begins | 20 May, 20:56 | 21 May, 04:56 |
| First location to see full Eclipse begins | 20 May, 22:06 | 21 May, 06:06 |
| Maximum Eclipse | 20 May, 23:54 | 21 May, 07:54 |
| Last location to see full Eclipse ends | 21 May, 01:39 | 21 May, 09:39 |
| Last location to see partial Eclipse ends | 21 May, 02:49 | 21 May, 10:49 |
Note to Philippine observers: The fiery ring would not be visible in the Philippines. Instead, a partial solar eclipse beginning at sunrise on May 21 will be visible.
Local circumstances of the partial solar eclipse on Monday (May 21) in the Philippines courtesy of UPLB Astronomical Society. Screenshots were taken using Stellarium.
Remember that this spectacular sight can only be safely observed with approved solar filters or by projecting an image of the eclipsed Sun onto a flat white surface. Look for pinhole effects on the ground (shadows of trees or bushes) or use some another projection viewing method to safely view the eclipsed sun.
The Sun can be viewed safely with the naked eye ONLY during the few brief seconds or minutes of a total solar eclipse. Even at maximum, the annular eclipse will not cover the brightest parts of the sun. Partial eclipses, annular eclipses, and the partial phases of total eclipses are never safe to watch without taking special precautions. Do not attempt to observe the partial or annular phases of any eclipse with the naked eye. Failure to use appropriate filtration may result in permanent eye damage or blindness!
Tips on how to view the Sun safely
- Eye Safety during Solar Eclipses by Fred Espenak http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/safety.html
- Safe Viewing Techniques [of the Sun] http://www.transitofvenus.org/june2012/eye-safety
- Indirect way of viewing the Sun via pinhole projection http://www.education.com/activity/article/Pinhole_Projection/ http://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/how.html http://www.hartrao.ac.za/other/eclipse2002/pinhole.html
- Eclipse filters http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/filters.html
“Filters for visual and photographic use
Acceptable filters for unaided visual observations include: aluminized polyester specifically designed for solar viewing, shade 12 and 14 welding filters, black polymer filters (Thousand Oaks Solar Shield 2000 and Rainbow Symphony Polymer), and two layers of fully exposed and developed silver-bearing black and white film negative. For photographic and visual use, particularly with binoculars or telescopes, acceptable filters include: aluminized polyester specifically designed for the purpose, and Questar and Thousand Oaks T1 and T2 glass filters. The Thousand Oaks T3 filter should be used with extreme care for photographic use only. Not recommended are: metal-coated polyester that is not specifically intended for solar observation, smoked glass, floppy disk media, black colour transparency (slide) film, floppy disk media, and compact disks (because of the inconsistent quality of the metal coating).”
Clear skies!- NASA’s eclipse website http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html
- A series of detailed maps for this eclipse created by Michael Zeiler http://eclipse-maps.com/Eclipse-Maps/Gallery/Pages/Annular_solar_eclipse_of_2012_May_20.html
- Animation of the partial solar eclipse in Manila http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/philippines/manila
For those who won’t be able to observe the eclipse from their location, you may still watch via live webstreaming of the event.
- SLOOH Space Camera
http://www.slooh.com/pr/slooh-live-feed-annular-eclipse-may-2012.php - AstronomyLive
http://www.astronomylive.com/event/annular-solar-eclipse-20-may-2012
Transit of Venus Map in Many Languages
On 6 June, an event that takes place only four times every two centuries will enthral the world’s astronomers, as it has ever since the 1600s – but now it can provide priceless data in the hunt for habitable planets in deep space and in re-measuring the distance of the sun from Earth.
Venus will appear as a tiny speck on one side of the Sun in a few weeks and will slowly traverse the solar disc for a few hours. The movement of that little black dot may seem insignificant. But it is one of the rarest sights in astronomy, an event known as a transit of Venus. Miss this one and you will have to wait until 2117 for the next.
Image credit: NASA/LMSAL
As seen from Earth, only transits of Mercury and Venus are possible. On average, there are 13 transits of Mercury each century. In contrast, transits of Venus occur in pairs with more than a century separating each pair.
For Northern Hemisphere locations above latitude ~67° north (including the Philippines) all of the transit is visible regardless of the longitude.
A lot of astronomy-enthusiasts globally are preparing for this rare event. Some are even planning to travel in places where the transit will be fully visible.
As part of this preparation, visibility maps of the transit were created by volunteer groups to guide local observers. One of the efforts is called the Transit of Venus Project which is part of the Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) program. AWB is a global collaboration in astronomy.
Aside from providing useful information to the public about this event, the TOV Project also aims to form a collection of translated maps of the 2012 transit of Venus for different languages so that the transit of Venus will be enjoyed by more people around the world. Of course, some people would appreciate a map in their own native language.
Michael Zeiler of Eclipse-maps.com (and also one of the curators of the TOV Project website) sent me a message via Twitter asking for help with translating a summary map of the transit of Venus (June 5-6, 2012) into Filipino.
Here is a copy of the map:
These are the phrases to translate: World visibility of the transit of Venus on June 5 & 6, 2012 Venus overhead at transit maximum Entire transit visible Transit not visible Transit starts before sunset and ends after following sunrise Transit starts before sunrise and ends after sunset Transit visible from sunrise until end Transit visible from start until sunset Venus touches Sun’s disk at sunrise Venus within Sun’s disk at sunrise Venus within Sun’s disk at sunset Venus touches Sun’s disk at sunset
I made a draft of the translation in Filipino and consulted some professors from the Filipino Department of UP Diliman. Upon deciding that it the translated words were good enough, I emailed everything to Mr. Zeiler and he produced this map containing the translated phrases.
6 June 2012 Transit of Venus Visibility Map in our local language, Filipino. Credit: (map) Michael Zeiler/(translation) Raven Yu
Please take note that some of the phrases were not translated into its direct meaning but more of its contextual meaning so as not to confuse the map users.
Check out this link to view the translated maps of the 2012 transit of Venus for different languages.
If your language is not provided, you can help add a new map by following the simple instructions at this page.
You can also find local contact times of the transit at http://transitofvenus.nl/wp/where-when/local-transit-times/.
Remember that it is not safe to view the sun directly because it might damage your eyes. Read here for tips on how to safely view and photograph the transit using the right equipment and proper eye protection.
Don’t miss this rare spectacle! Clear skies!
How Big is a Supermoon?
The image above is a comparison of the apparent size of last month’s Paschal Full Moon and tonight’s perigee moon or Super Full Moon. Both were taken using the same method and same equipment.
Perigee is the point in moon’s elliptical path around the earth at which it is closest to the center of the earth.
Although decent focus was very hard to achieve due to passing clouds (hence my supermoon image appeared blurred), it is still noticeable that there was not much significant difference between the size of the two full moons eventhough the supermoon is the biggest and brightest of all the full moons this year.
In fact, looking at the moon in the sky without anything to compare it to, you wouldn’t notice find any specific difference in its shape, size, color or brightness. But the difference in size can be quite significant if you were to photograph a full moon at apogee (farthest) and perigee (closest) using the same lens. It’s 33 vs. 29 arc min for average perigee vs. apogee, meaning the apogee moon is about 15% larger in diameter or 35% larger in area.
The apogee moon this year will occur on November 28 at 406349 km.
By the way, for those who were asking, nothing special will ever happen at the particular moment when the ordinary “full moon” will become a “Super moon” at a given “point of time”. Only the media people were exaggerating the news about this event.
For astronomers, it’s just a common phenomenon taking place at regular period.
The Perigee Moon or Supermoon of 2012
We were about to go to the hospital a while ago when I caught a glimpse of the rising waning gibbous moon (almost full) across the road. Luckily I always have my point-and-shoot camera with me and I was able to take an image. It’s quite a challenge because a lot of vehicles were running on the road. Haha!
Anyway, I hope it won’t rain tomorrow night so that everyone of us could witness this year’s perigee moon or Supermoon It’s the biggest and closest full moon of the year.
According to NASA, “it will be as much as 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons of 2012″.
Moon closest: May 6 at 11:29 am PHT
Full moon: May 6 at 11:35 am PHT
Clear skies!
First Quarter Moon – April 30, 2012
When I look into the night sky on a clear evening I am always completely in awe of the immense beauty of it all. That is why before leaving the house last night, I thought of getting an image of the first quarter moon that seemed to smile at me in the western sky.
Image taken via afocal method (Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH2 digital camera on Galileoscope).
Skygazing at Predawn – April 19, 2012
This morning I took the chance to image the close pairing of Mercury and the thin waning crescent Moon.
Mercury an inner or inferior planets like Venus, always appear close to the sun in the sky due to their low elongation (angular separation from the sun as (angular separation from the sun as viewed from earth), hence it’s always interesting to spot this tiny elusive planet near other brighter objects such as the moon.
Neither Mercury or Venus ever appears very far from the sun and consequently never far above the horizon (except Venus at maximum elongation). Both can only appear in the west in the evening and in the east in the morning and only for a short amount of time.
Inferior planet elongation. Image credit: wapi.isu.edu
In the case of Mercury, take note that it will always be located in the sky no more than 28 degrees from the Sun.
After checking Stellarium, I prepared my trusty point-and-shoot camera and tripod and went outside before 4:00 AM. A view of Scorpius in the southwest greeted me as I set up.
The eastern horizon was fortunately clear that time. In just a little while, a thin golden arc of light began to appear above the horizon. I took my 2-inch Galileoscope out and pointed at the moon.
Thin crescent Moon rising at around 4 AM
It didn’t take long before the twilight began to creep out and push the darkness away. The sky turned blue and soon I noticed the earthshine, the ghostly illumination of the lunar dark side.
Mercury should be located only a few degrees away from the moon. I searched the area just below the lower limb of the moon where this planet was suppose to lie and found its faint shine.
It was barely visible in the images fo it lies above the glow of the rising Sun so I used the dodge tool in Photoshop during the post-editing to make it more visible.
After a few minutes of imaging, the light from the two objects were eventually washed out in the solar glow.
UP Astrosoc’s Summer 2012 Application
UP Astronomical Society is now open for Summer Application!
See you this thursday, 19 April 2012 6pm at the PAGASA Astronomical Observatory Moon Deck near CHE.
Get the chance to look through the largest telescope in the Philippines, Andre the Giant!
Don’t miss it!
For inquiries, please contact
Andro 09162309138
CR 09065880080
Credit: Kin Enriquez (UP Astrosoc associate member)
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About UP Astrosoc…
The University of the Philippines Astronomical Society (UP Astrosoc) is a non-profit, non-political and non-partisan organization in the University of the Philippines, Diliman established in 1991. UP Astrosoc now resides at the PAGASA Astronomical Observatory inside the UP Diliman Campus in Quezon City.
A Dark Moonless Night for the 2012 Lyrids
The New Moon this month will guarantee the perfect dark sky to watch the Ancient April “shooting stars” called the Lyrid Meteor Shower or the Lyrids.
The Lyrids fall from Comet C1861 G1 Thatcher as the Earth passes through her tail. Activity from this meteor shower can be observed from 16 April to 25 April, but the perfect time to catch the Lyrids is during late night of the 21st to the early morning of the 22nd.
The Lyrids can offer a display of 10 to 20 per hour or have a surge of activity of up to 100 per hour.
The Lyrids, so named because they appear to originate from the constellation Lyra (The Lyre), have been observed in the night sky during mid-April for at least 2,500 years, NASA scientists say. On 21 – 22 of April you can see Lyra rise at around 11PM (local time) from the north east and continue to rise high into the sky towards the south east during the darkest hours of the night sky.
A screencap from Stellarium showing the radiant of the Lyrids located near the star Vega of the constellation Lyra.
The fifth-brightest star of the sky, alpha Lyr, called Vega (arabic for “stone eagle”), radiates from the top of Lyra with a pure white colour. Together with alpha Cyg, Deneb , and alpha Aql, Atair, Vega forms the famous asterism, the Summer Triangle (shown above).
Lyrid meteors are usually around magnitude +2, which is bright enough to be visible from most cities, but you’ll see more and enjoy them more if you leave the city for a less light-polluted area where the stars shine brighter. They often produce luminous trains of dust that can be observed for several seconds. Some Lyrids will be brighter, though, and the occassional “fireball” can cast shadows for a split second and leave behind glowing, smoky debris trails that last for minutes.
So, how do you watch these meteors? Like any other meteor shower event, watching the Lyrids requires no special viewing equipment like binoculars or telescopes. All you need is an open sky and a place to lie down and relax. Someplace dark, away from trees and buildings is best. Meteors zip across the sky, so the more sky you see the better. Gaze into the stars, and be patient. The best direction to watch is wherever your sky is darkest, usually straight up, perhaps with a little inclination toward the radiant.
As an observer, you can make a careful meteor count and report it to the International Meteor Organization. Such counts are analyzed to yield the shower’s zenithal hourly rate (ZHR), which is the number of meteors that a single observer would see per hour under ideal conditions: with the radiant directly overhead (at the zenith) and the sky dark enough to reveal 6.5-magnitude stars.
Meteors Without Borders: #LyridsWatch
During Global Astronomy Month (GAM 2012), everyone is encouraged to observe the Lyrids and send in the reports of what they saw. You can also share your data by tweeting your postcode, your country (click here to find your country code) and, optionally, the meteor count along with the hashtag; #MeteorWatch (you are welcome to use GAM hastags as well – #GAM2012 #LyridsWatch)
The meteor data will appear in a map at MeteorWatch.org. This is an excellent way to get more immersed and socialize during your observations.
Observe the Lyrids with UP Astrosoc
For Philippine observers located near Quezon City, the University of the Philippines Astronomical Society (UP AstroSoc) invites you to its Lyrids observation on April 21-22, 9PM-6AM at the PAGASA Astronomical Observatory Sundeck (located within the UP Diliman Campus).
The event is for free and open to all, so feel free to bring along with you your friends and family.
For more information, please visit UP Astrosoc’s Facebook fanpage.
Meteor showers can be a lot of fun, so I hope you see some good ones this coming weekend! Clear skies!
Cosmic Trio: Saturn, Spica and the Moon
The planet Saturn formed a cosmic triangle with the star Spica in Virgo and the Waning Gibbous Moon last night, 7 April 2012.
This image is composed of two images that have been overlapped to create a composite: one underexposed image of the moon to show the lunar features, and one overexposed to make Saturn and Spica more visible. (Sorry for the bad editing. I still lack skills in using Adobe Photoshop).
Paschal Full Moon and the Astronomy of Easter
The image shown above was last night’s Full Moon called the Paschal Full Moon.
In Christianity, the first astronomical full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox is usually designated as the Paschal Full Moon or the Paschal Term. Traditionally, Easter is observed on the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon.
Image taken via afocal method (Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH2 on my Galileoscope)
Related links:
Hoax Alert: Cosmic Rays from Mars Entering Earth
There have been rumors circulating that cosmic rays from Mars are entering Earth tonight so we need to switch off our phones, or put them away from us.
Tonight 12:30 am to 3:30 am cosmo rays entering earth from mars. So switch off your mobile at night. Don’t keep your cell with you & put it away while you are sleeping because they are too much dangerous rays: NASA informs BBC NEWS. Pls spread this news.
The message above is clearly some kind of a HOAX. I don’t know why people are circulating panic messages such as this to disturb the lives of other people. From what I have read, this message has already been circulating since 2008 and it suddenly reappeared today, 6 April 2012. I even received a text message and saw wall posts containing the same fake information.
Meanwhile, I also did check the NASA and BBC news today to see if they really published something like this. Fortunately, NASA never said such a thing and will probably never make such a statement as Mars does produce any electromagnetic rays.
Anyway, there are several reasons to say that this information is untrue.
First, Mars could not emit harmful radiation because it is not a star. Cosmic rays are emitted by stars. i.e bodies that are undergoing nuclear reactions that is fusion (as occurs in our sun) or fission (as occurs in nuclear reactors). Mars is neither. It is a planet that just reflects sunlight. It cannot emit cosmic radiation.
Next, with regards to these rays the earth’s atmosphere is capable of taking care of them so no need to worry. The magnetosphere absorbs and protects us from the sun’s harmful radiation. Whatever remains is too feeble to affect any thing as far as earth.
The Earth’s magnetosphere prevents most of the particles from the Sun, carried in the solar wind, from hitting the Earth. Image credit: milesmathis.com
Another thing is that we are actually hit by cosmic rays every day — all day (and night too). If it was going to hurt your cell, then it would have already fried it by now.
Sometimes magnetic storms on the sun will fry the electronics of satellites in orbit, and may also blow out the power grid in high latitudes near the Earth’s magnetic poles, but other than static, I don’t see what it might do to your cell phones.
So, to anyone who will receive this kind of message, please think it over and help educate others.
Learn more about cosmic rays from this NASA website.
Mars, Regulus and the Waxing Gibbous Moon
Situated well above the 88% illuminated waxing gibbous moon tonight were two bright objects — one is the planet Mars and the other one is the star Regulus in the constellation Leo.
These three formed a nice cosmic triangle in the night sky just like what is shown above. (Please take note that the image was a composite.)
Reddish Mars has been in Leo close to the star Regulus for the past few weeks, and the two will remain companions all April. During May and June, Mars will drift away from Regulus, and will head toward the constellation Virgo where Saturn is currently residing.
Venus, the Pleiades and Hyades
Tonight, the planet Venus shining bright in the western sky appeared close to the dipper-shaped open star cluster, Pleiades.
Just above them was the V-shaped Hyades, another noticeable cluster. In mythology, the Hyades are the half sisters to the Pleiades, the daughters of Atlas.
Image taken with Nikon D60 DSLR camera (24 mm, f/5.6, 20 sec. exp. at ISO 1250).
More photos below:
(From bottom to top) Jupiter, Venus, the Pleiades, and the Hyades.
The streak of light was an airplane which happen to pass in between Venus and the Pleiades while the shot was being taken
Venus and Jupiter – March 16, 2012
Venus and Jupiter are slowly drifting apart after appearing side by side at twilight last week. Venus which now hangs above Jupiter will be climbing higher in our sky over the next three months, while Jupiter continuously sinks into the horizon. Both are in front of the constellation Aries the Ram.
For the past week, I’ve been setting up my camera and tripod after sunset to take photos of these two planets, with weather permitting of course. It was unfortunate however, that the skies were overcast during the time of their closest encounter and I only got the chance to see them again last March 16 when Venus has already glided past Jupiter.
Venus and Jupiter - 16 March 2012 8:33 pm, UP Diliman Sunken Garden
By April 2, Venus, placing about 15 degrees above Jupiter will head toward the Pleiades (M45) in Taurus and will spend the next few days near the dipper-shaped star cluster. It will be a fantastic photo opportunity for avid skygazers as this event happens only every 8 years.
APOD (15 April 2004): Venus and the Pleiades. Credit & Copyright: David Cortner
I am hoping that the sky condition will get better on the coming days ahead. Clear skies!
March Equinox 2012
It’s equinox time again, and this year’s March equinox took place today at precisely 5:14 a.m. GMT, or Universal Time (13:14 in Manila). The March equinox was also known as the ”spring equinox” in the northern hemisphere and “autumnal (fall) equinox” in the southern hemisphere as this event marks the change of seasons — the beginning of spring in the northern part of the globe and autumn in the south.
During equinox, night and day are nearly exactly the same length – 12 hours – all over the world. This is the reason it’s called an “equinox”, derived from Latin, meaning “equal night”.
However, even if this is widely accepted, it isn’t entirely true. In reality equinoxes don’t have exactly 12 hours of daylight. A good website for looking at sunrise and sunset times in Manila can be found here. The best one for checking the bearing (direction) of sunrise or sunset anywhere in the world is the US Naval Observatory.
A more appropriate way to define equinox is given by astronomers. According to its astronomical definition, an equinox is the moment when the sun arrives at one of two intersection points of the ecliptic, the sun’s path across the sky, and the celestial equator, earth’s equator projected onto the sky.
Image credit: Chris de Villiers (www.skywatch.co.za)
My plans today were to head on the top of a high place and catch the sun setting due west. Sadly, the weather was not very good and the visibility was terrible.
Had I been able to see the sun it would have set due west.
Everyone always says that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but if we were really aware of our surroundings and more attuned to the sky we would realize that this is not true. In fact this is only true for two days out of the entire year and those are during equinoxes.
By studying the sun’s position in the sky over the course of a year from the same location, one can notice that its rising and setting positions are changing by more at a particular time of year than at any other time.
The amount of change in the location of the rising and setting of the sun throughout the year depends upon where your viewpoint is. However, irrespective of where you are on the globe, the Sun will always rise exactly east and set exactly west during equinoxes (on March 20/21 and September 20/21)
On the other hand, near the solstices the sunrise position slows its change to close to a ‘standstill’ (the name ‘solstice’ being derived from the Latin for ‘sun standing still’).
Path of the Sun in the sky at different times of the year. Image copyright: Addison-Wesley
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Seasons Without Borders: Equinox March 2012
Wherever you are on 20 March, 2012, celebrate your season in the cycle of life with Astronomers Without Borders. Enjoy your own unique Equinox this year—and why not tell others about the experience? Being mindfully aware of your place on this moving Earth may bring out the storyteller and poet in you. AWB invites you to share your event reports and poems at the AWB Members’ Blog and AWB Astropoetry Blog. Send your poems to: astropoetry@astronomerswithoutborders.org.
AWB’s Venus-Jupiter Conjunction Image Collection
Enjoy the beautiful views of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction as seen from various parts of the globe through Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) image collection.
Last March 13-15, a lot of amateur astronomers participated in AWB’s event, “Beauty Without Borders: Conjunction of Glory” which highlighted the closest encounter of Jupiter and Venus – the two brightest planets in the night sky.
Images were submitted to AWB by uploading the them in Twitter and using the hashtag #VenusJupiter. Two of my images got included in this collection as well. Thank you, AWB!
Under the motto “One People, One Sky”, AWB brings people together from around the world through our common interest in astronomy .
True enough, ”the boundaries we place between us vanish when we look skyward.”
Closest Encounter of Venus and Jupiter in 2012
If you’ve been looking west after sunset recently you can’t have failed to see Venus blazing there so bright, outshining everything else in the sky. To Venus’ upper left is another bright” star”, which is actually another planet, Jupiter.
Jupiter and Venus - 8 degrees apart. Image captured 5 March 2012 at 6:45 pm.
These two bright planets visible in the night sky have been putting on quite a show this past month as they have been slowly getting closer together in the western sky just after sunset.
Next week, Venus and Jupiter will be MUCH closer than they are now.
On March 15, an impressive celestial show at twilight will surprise sky observers as these two planets reach what astronomers call conjunction – the closest they can appear in the sky together.
Getting closer - 5 degrees apart. Image taken 9 March 2012 at 6:24 pm.
The pair of planets will appear to be only 3 degrees apart in the western sky. That is equal to the width of your three middle fingers at arms’ length. Their proximity in the sky is an illusion, of course, as Venus is 180 million km away from Earth and Jupiter is more than 600 million km farther away.
After their mid March close encounter, the two planets will quickly go pass each other – Jupiter dropping down towards the horizon, getting closer to the Sun, while Venus moves higher up in the sky, moving away from the Sun, and brightening as it does so.
The next Venus-Jupiter conjunction after this one falls on May 28, 2013.
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Beauty Without Borders: Conjunction of Glory
The Jupiter-Venus conjunction on March 15 will be quite a spectacle, as both planets are very bright. This will be a fantastic visual and photographic opportunity, as it’s not often that you get the brightest planets in our Solar System so close together.
In line with this, Astronomers Without Borders (AWB), in collaboration with Amateur Astronomers Association of Kurdistan & Opportunity Astronomical Observatory (Iraq), presents “Beauty without Borders: Conjunction of Glory”.
All the amateur/professional groups out there are invited to participate and enjoy the beautiful views.
http://www.facebook.com/events/307475112650751/
Join the conversation on Twitter @awb_org using #VenusJupiter with other groups around the world. Post your images on our Flickr or Facebook page.
Tour the Planets: Jupter and Venus Conjunction Live
http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/projects/observing-activities/beauty-without-borders/1049.html
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Here is a video from Newsy.com to help you know more about this event: http://www.newsy.com/videos/venus-and-jupiter-set-for-cosmic-meetup/
Finding Mercury at Twilight
March 5, 2012 - This would have been a very fine evening for skygazing if only the clouds weren’t so annoying.
Various sky events were happening all at the same time, but nothing can be seen but the clouds.
This day marked the closest encounter of Mars to Earth until the year 2014. Mars is now displaying its greatest brilliance in our sky. Also on this day, the planet Mercury arrived at its greatest eastern point, 18 degrees to the east of the sun. This was Mercury’s best eastern apparition in 2012. In addition, a bright ISS (almost as bright as Jupiter) passed near Venus at around dusk. It was a nice opportunity to capture this ISS pass because of its proximity to two of the brightest objects in the night sky this month.
I was originally planning to take photos of Mars and Mercury during twilight – Mercury in the western sky, and Mars on the eastern side – but as I said, thick clouds came in and obscured my view.
Waxing gibbous moon at 6:01 pm. I took this photo while waiting.
Mercury, now shining at magnitude -1.2, is only a little fainter than Sirius (the brightest star in the sky). Though this planet is often cited as the most difficult of the five brightest naked-eye planets to see, there is now a fine “window of opportunity” for seeing Mercury in the evening sky. This window which began last February 22 and will close after March 12, provides several good opportunities to see this so-called “elusive planet” with our own naked eyes.
Locating Mercury in the west after sunset is quite a challenge because it’s so close to the horizon. Moreover, although it is actually as bright as a first-magnitude star, the glow of evening twilight tends to subdue its brilliance.
This month, Mercury starts become visible around 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. This tiny planet can be found hanging beneath the brighter planets Venus and Jupiter. Using Stellarium, I estimated its location to be about 25 to 30 degrees below Venus. It was hard to spot Mercury at first glance but after a few seconds, my eyes were able to detect its faint glow.
However, it was visible only for a very brief moment.
As soon as I finished setting up the tripod and the camera, the clouds have already covered about 5 degrees of the horizon and Mercury was nowhere to be seen.
Western sky - March 5, 2012. Mercury was hidden beneath those clouds near the horizon.
I tried my luck to look for this planet on the following evenings but the sky was not any better until March 8.
Weather was not so bad as the past few days so I was slightly optimistic. The sun set promptly at 6:06 pm and I searched in the same area of the sky, expecting to see Mercury. After more than half an hour, Jupiter and Venus popped into the view – still there is no sign of Mercury. A nice big full moon in the east was rising, and it seemed to grin at me cruelly!
I was just about to give in when at 6:40 pm, Mercury sailed into view; flashing yellow and orange and battling the murkiness. Having just enough time to take a few photos before it disappeared a few minutes after, I hurried and managed to get off a few shots.
It was a pleasant surprise.
Jupiter, Venus and Mercury at 6:44 pm | UP Diliman, Quezon City
Photos above were taken using my Panasonic Lumix digital camera and were post processed in Photoshop to enhance the visibility of Mercury. The planet was too dim and too small to be seen without zooming into the images.
Mercury is quickly decreasing in altitude as each day passes, so take the opportunity well this month to spot it.
Clear skies!
AWB March 2012 Events
Global Astronomy Month 2012 (www.gam-awb.org) is merely a month away. Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) has organized three exciting events in March to do the warm-ups!
Spread the word and join in.
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“Hello Red Planet”
3-5 March 2012
Mars will come into Opposition on March 3, 2012 in the constellation Leo with its face fully illuminated by the Sun and two days later, on March 5, 2012, the planet will have its closest approach to Earth during this apparition: 100.78 million km (0.6737 AU)—the best time to say “Hello” to the Red Planet.
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“Conjunction of Glory”
13 – 15 March 2012
Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets in the sky, will be within 3 degrees of each other in the evening sky of 15 March 2012 at 10:37:46 UTC. This will be quite a spectacle, as both planets are very bright—and this will be a fantastic visual and photographic opportunity, as it’s not often that you get the brightest planets in our Solar System so close together.
The next Venus-Jupiter conjunction after this one falls on May 28, 2013.
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“March Equinox 2012″
20 March 2012
The March equinox occurs at 05:14 UTC, Tuesday 20 March. The Sun will shine directly down on the Earth’s equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of spring (Vernal Equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of fall (Autumnal Equinox) in the southern hemisphere.
Wherever you are on 20 March, 2012, celebrate your season in the cycle of life with Astronomers Without Borders. Enjoy your own unique Equinox this year—and why not tell others about the experience?
To the stars!
More about GAM 2012:
Mars at Opposition – March 2012
Mars will reach opposition (when it is directly opposite the Sun in the sky and brightest for this apparition) on the night of March 3rd 2012, positioned 5º.4 SSW of the star Coxa ( Leo or Theta Leonis, mag. +3.9) and 4º.5 West of Leonis. Mars is now brighter and closer than it’s been for two years – and brighter and closer than it will be again until 2014.
However, Mars’ perigee (closest point to the Earth) will take place two days later – on March 5th – when it is 0.6737 AU (100.7 million kms or 62.6 million miles) from the Earth. This is due to the eccentricity of the orbit of Mars.
The motion of an outer planet, as seen from a "fixed" Earth. | image from cseligman.com
It’ll be hard to miss Mars because it’s the fourth-brightest star-like object to light up the night at this time, after the planets Venus and Jupiter, and the star Sirius.
You can find Mars in the eastern sky at nightfall and early evening, in front of the constellation Leo the Lion. Leo’s brightest star, Regulus, is to the upper right of Mars when they are in the east in the evening hours.
Looking for Mars | image: Stellarium
On opposition day this 2012, Mars will shine at magnitude -1.2 and will have an apparent disk diameter of 13″.9. This is not as bright nor as large (when seen through a telescope) as it was at its previous opposition in January 2010, when the planet reached magnitude -1.3 and had an apparent diameter of 14″.1.
Trivia: At opposition, the Earth passes in between the sun and Mars, so that the sun, Earth and Mars lie along a line in space. During this event a superior planet like Mars rises around sunset, is visible throughout the night and sets around sunrise. Its highest point in the sky is reached when it crosses the observer’s meridian at local midnight (due South at midnight in the Northern hemisphere and due North at midnight in the Southern hemisphere).
Say “Hello” to the Red Planet
Through the Beauty without Borders program, Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) will bring together groups around the world to enjoy the event through observing, webcasts, activities, photography and poetry.
Mars will come into Opposition on March 3, 2012 in the constellation Leo with its face fully illuminated by the Sun and two days later, on March 5, 2012, the planet will have its closest approach to Earth during this apparition: 100.78 million km (0.6737 AU)—the best time to say “Hello” to the Red Planet.
For more info visit http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/projects/observing-activities/beauty-without-borders/1045.html
Join this event and share it with your friends!
Clear skies!
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Useful links:
Triangular Spectacle: Moon, Venus and Jupiter
Last February 26, 2012, the crescent Moon joined the other two brightest objects in the night sky – Jupiter and Venus – to form a spectacular celestial grouping during and after twilight! They’re just a few degrees apart at the time of twilight in the west.
This sky show dazzled a lot of skywatchers around the world during the weekend.
I have always been fascinated with celestial conjunctions. Hence, I immediately headed to SM Mall of Asia (near the Manila Bay area) after my on-the-job training in Makati City to take pictures of this event.
Traveling around the city—especially during the busiest evening rush hour period is one hell of a headache. Nonetheless, all the effort was worth it.
When we came, big dark clouds threatened our view. As the brightest objects in the night sky, Venus, Jupiter and the Moon can shine through urban lights, fog, and even some clouds. During that time, however they were hardly visible behind the clouds.
Fortunately, the skies cleared up just in time and we saw the awesome celestial trio. Thank God!
Once the moon retreats from view, Jupiter and Venus will continue growing closer. The gap will narrow to 10 degrees by the end of February until they pass each other in mid-March. On March 13 and 14, Jupiter and Venus reach their closest distance to each other. They will lie only three degrees apart. That’s just about the width of a finger and a half at arms length.
March 26, 2012: Venus, Jupiter and the Moon align | Image : Stellarium
By March 26, a crescent moon will join them once again, producing another brilliant sky display visible at twilight.
Don’t miss it!
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