CURRENT MOON
moon phases
CURRENT PLANETS and brilliant stars in early July. Directions and times are for the northern subtropics and vary somewhat for other latitudes.
• Bright & golden Mercury is close to the western horizon at dusk, sets WNW after dark.
• Bright & orange Mars is SW at dusk, sets west near midnight.
• Bright & yellowish Saturn is SSW at dusk, sets west after midnight and is
accompanied very closely by the bright and blueish star Spica.
• Very brilliant off-white Jupiter rises ENE predawn, is low east late dawn.
• Extremely brilliant white Venus rises ENE predawn, is low east before sunrise and is
accompanied very closely by the bright and orange star Aldebaran.
• Brilliant & blueish star Sirius will rise before the Sun late July.
• Brilliant white star Canopus will peek above the horizon before the Sun around late August.
Scroll past the links below to find special events for current and future dates.
Scroll farther to find past events.
***** Links *****
Today - SpaceWeather.com
also EarthSky,
Astronomy Picture of the Day,
Lunar Photo of the Day,
365 Days of Astronomy
& Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine
This Week - SkyandTelescope.com - This Week's Sky at a Glance
also Jack Horkheimer - Star Gazer, Current Scripts
This Month - SkyandTelescope.com - Sky Tour Podcasts
also HubbleSite - Tonight's Sky: Your guide to constellations, deep sky objects, planets, and events
Anytime - Stellarium (free planetarium for your computer)
also Sky & Telescope Interactive Sky Chart (online planetarium)
Visible Satellites:
Simplest - Satellite Flybys by SpaceweatherPhone.com
More satellites and more info - Heavens-Above.com.
Launches:
Spaceflight Now - Worldwide Launch Schedule
also Vandenberg AFB Launch Schedule
& Wallops Flight Facility Launch Webcast & Blog
Reentries - Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies - Upcoming & Recent Reentries
Live Aurora Cams:
Sodankyla, Finland,
Kiruna, Sweden,
Jokkmokk, Sweden (cam 4),
Jokkmokk, Sweden (cam 5),
Abisko, Sweden,
Reykiavik, Iceland,
Yellowknife, Canada (click on CONNECT AURORAMAX LIVE),
& Poker Flat, Alaska
Most events described below can be viewed with your eyes alone.
Occasionally simple binoculars will improve the view and that will be noted.
***** Current & Future Events *****
Photo Op - Crescent & Morning "Stars"
Image created with Stellarium, a free download.
July 15 before Dawn
ENE before dawn the bright & orange star Aldebaran and the ">" shaped Hyades star cluster will be visible close to extremely brilliant white planet Venus. The tiny dipper shaped Pleiades star cluster will be visible well above very brilliant off-white Jupiter.
Even in the very bright dawn shortly before sunrise the thin crescent moon, Venus and Jupiter will still be visible.
Events earlier than those listed below will be found in previous blog entries.
***** Past Events *****
Moon Rides with Jupiter (& Jupiter's Moons)
WunderPhoto: Jupiter, Venus and the crescent moon....Day 2 by rds817 — Sunday February 26, 2012
February 26 after Sunset
A crescent moon will travel beside the brilliant off-white planet Jupiter. Below them is the brilliant white planet Venus. Jupiter and Venus will appear very close March 12 & 13.
As the sky darkens through binoculars as many as four of Jupiter's largest moons can be seen.
Interactive Animation of Jupiter's Moons - Current, Past and Future
Jupiter & Venus' Cozy Evenings
WunderPhoto: Jupiter & Venus from the Front Yard by phnielsen — Monday March 12, 2012
March 12 & 13 after Sunset
Brilliant off-white planet Jupiter travels close to even more brilliant white planet Venus.
As the sky darkens through binoculars as many as four of Jupiter's largest moons can be seen.
Interactive Animation of Jupiter's Moons - Current, Past and Future
Virginia Nightlight Cloud Launches
Milky white tracer clouds from a prior mission.
Credit: Miguel Larsen/Clemson Univ
Mission: Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX)
Launch Vehicle: Terrier-Improved Malemute
Launch from Wallops Flight Facility, Virgina
March 23
12:00-3:00am EDT
March 25
morning
March 27
12:00-5:00am EDT
2:00-5:00am EDT
".... where the rockets may be visible while the motors are burning ...."
Credit: NASA/Wallops
".... the projected area in which the chemical tracers released from the rockets may be visible ...."
Credit: NASA/Wallops
The Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX) will study the 200-300mph ultra-high level jet stream at the edge of space 60-65 miles above the Earth's surface. For details on the mission see
NASA - NASA Jet Stream Study Will Light up The Night Sky.
Crescent & Planets PhotoOps
(and beautiful binocular & naked eye views too.)
March 24-27 after Sunset
There will be good photo opportunities with the crescent moon in the western sky. (See the series of images just below.) Total darkness comes about 1½ hours after sunset. Between half an hour to an hour after sunset are some nice twilight skies. You can step outside any evening starting now, see the brilliant planets Jupiter and Venus, get an idea of lighting at various times and take some test shots.
After dark the two star clusters closest to Earth are easily seen above Jupiter and Venus. To the naked eye the Pleiades cluster appears as a tiny white dipper shaped pattern of stars standing above brilliant white Venus. The Hyades cluster appears farther above as a larger V-shaped pattern of stars with the bright and orangeish star Aldebaran at one corner. Binocular views of these star clusters are spectacular.
Crescent Moon, Venus & Jupiter - March 24, 2012 45 min. after Sunset
Crescent Moon, Venus & Jupiter - March 25, 2012 45 min. after Sunset
Crescent Moon, Venus & Jupiter - March 26, 2012 45 min. after Sunset
Crescent Moon, Venus & Jupiter - March 27, 2012 45 min. after Sunset
Images created with Stellarium, a free download.
Vandenberg Delta IV Launch
Photo credit: USAF/Airman 1st Class Lael Huss
Mission: National Reconnaissance Office Launch 25 (NROL-25)
Launch Vehicle: Delta IV Medium+ (5,2)
Launch from Vandenberg AFB, California
March 29
2230-(March 30)0015 GMT
6:30-8:15pm EDT
3:30-5:15pm PDT (local time).
March 30
2238-(March 31)0023 GMT
6:38-8:23pm EDT
3:38-5:23pm PDT (local time).
April 2
2304-? GMT
7:04pm-? EDT
4:04pm-? PDT (local time).
April 3
2312-? GMT
7:12pm-? EDT
4:12pm-? PDT (local time).
The smoke column produced by two solid rocket boosters will be easily visible for this afternoon launch.
Launch status updates are at
Spaceflight Now | Tracking Station | Worldwide launch schedule.
More details and updates appear on a launch blog at
Spaceflight Now | Delta Launch Report | Mission Status Center.
You can find a live launch webcast at
United Launch Alliance.
Annular Solar Eclipse
Photo Credit: sancho_panza
May 20
Partial begins: 2056 GMT
Annular begins: 2206 GMT
May 21
Annular ending: 0139 GMT
Partial ending: 0249 GMT
A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT VIEWING THE ECLIPSE:
"....no matter what, do not use "filters" such as smoked glass, stacked sunglasses, polarized filters, camera filters, candy wrappers, or compact discs. They might reduce the Sun's glare, but enough harmful radiation can sneak through to damage your eyes. Only use materials specifically manufactured for safe solar viewing, or #14 arcwelders glass."
That quote is from Safely View the Upcoming Eclipse and Transit - Observing Highlights - SkyandTelescope.com which gives directions for additional methods for viewing the Sun such as projecting an image, etc.
Map credit: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC
For a explanation of all the lines and terms on the map see
NASA - Key to Solar Eclipse Maps.
See a zoomable and clickable NASA - Annular Solar Eclipse Map that will show specific times and amount of Sun eclipsed for any locations you select.
Some phase of the eclipse will be visible for most of North America before or during sunset. The path of annularity (where the Sun will appear as a "ring of fire" arround the Moon) is at least 150 miles wide. The path of annularity makes landfall at the California-Oregon border and continues into NW Texas. See the general visibility map for North America.
Cape Canaveral Falcon 9 Launch
Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Kevin O'Connell
Mission: Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Demo Flight 2
Spacecraft: Dragon C2+
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9
Launch from Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida
May 19
0855 GMT
4:55am EDT (local time)
1:55am PDT.
no earlier than (NET)
May 22
0744 GMT
3:44am EDT (local time)
12:44am PDT.
Berthing at the International Space Station (ISS)
May 22
1505 GMT
11:05am EDT
8:05am PDT.
Departure from ISS
May 31
1000 GMT
6:00am EDT
3:00am PDT
Deorbit burn
May 31
1451 GMT
10:51am EDT
7:51am PDT
Splashdown west of central Baja California
May 31
1542 GMT
11:42am EDT
8:42am PDT (local time)
If all the ambitious mission goals are met the SpaceX Dragon capsule will be the first private commercial spacecraft to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and it will also return cargo to Earth.
Launch status updates are at
Spaceflight Now | Tracking Station | Worldwide launch schedule.
More details and updates appear on a launch blog at
Spaceflight Now | Dragon Mission Report | Mission Status Center.
You can find a live pre-launch and launch broadcasts at
NASA TV via cable, satellite or internet and
SpaceX.
Partial Lunar Eclipse
WunderPhoto: Lunar Eclipse by jajayy
June 4
Partial eclipse begins 1000 GMT
Partial eclipse ending 1206 GMT
Map credit: F. Espenak, NASA’s GSFC
The partial lunar eclipse will be in progress at moonset/sunrise for all but the most eastern and northern area of the Americas. The entire eclipse sequence will be visible from nearly all the Pacific Ocean including eastern Australia and eastern Indonesia. The partial lunar eclipse will be significantly in progress at moonsrise/sunset for the most eastern areas of the Asia.
Transit of Venus (across the Sun)
Photo credit: Jan Herold
June 5/6
First contact
2209 GMT
6:09 EDT
3:09 PDT
Final contact
0449 GMT
Map credit: Fred Espenak, NASAs GSFC
The transit of Venus will be visible on June 5 until sunset for the 48 states. Alaska and Hawaii will be able to observe the entire transit. Starting west of the International Date Line (IDL) the transit will be visible on June 6. Farther west the transit will be in progress at sunrise.
You can find timetables for major cities at 2012 Transit of Venus - Cities.
A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT VIEWING THE TRANSIT:
"....no matter what, do not use "filters" such as smoked glass, stacked sunglasses, polarized filters, camera filters, candy wrappers, or compact discs. They might reduce the Sun's glare, but enough harmful radiation can sneak through to damage your eyes. Only use materials specifically manufactured for safe solar viewing, or #14 arcwelders glass."
That quote is from Safely View the Upcoming Eclipse and Transit - Observing Highlights - SkyandTelescope.com which gives directions for additional methods for viewing the Sun such as projecting an image, etc.
I was able to buy a pair of eclipse shades like this...
... for $1 at a local camera & telescope store.
JPL Open House
June 9 & 10
9AM - 4PM
The annual Open House at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., welcomes over 38,000 visitors. This year's theme is "Great Journeys," inviting visitors to share in the wonders of space through high-definition and 3-D videos, live demonstrations, interactions with scientists and engineers, and a first look at JPL's new Earth Science Center.
Find directions and other vital info at Open House - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Cape Canaveral Atlas V Launch
Image credit: NASA/JPL/KSC/Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Mission: National Reconnaissance Office Launch 38 (NROL-38)
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V 401
Launch from Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida
June 20
1228-1327 GMT
8:28-9:27am EDT (local time)
5:28-6:27am PDT.
With no smoke producing solid rocket boosters the launch vehicle will rise on a bright flame with a long barely visible tail. A condensation trail may form at higher altitude.
You can find status updates and launch coverage at
Spaceflight Now | Atlas Launch Report | Mission Status Center.
You can find more information and a live webcast starting a 8:08am EDT on launch day at
United Launch Alliance.
Skinny Moon & Mercury - 20 June 20 min. after Sunset looking WNW
Image created with Stellarium, a free download.
Binoculars can help you find both or just offer another interesting view if you can find them with your eyes alone.
Skinny Moon & Planet Mercury - 21 June 20 min. after Sunset looking WNW
Image created with Stellarium, a free download.
The crescent moon should be more obvious this evening but binoculars still might be needed find Mercury 20 minutes after sunset. Binoculars will also give an improved view of the craters and mountains in the Moon's thin crescent.
By about 45 minutes after sunset Mercury should be obvious to the right of the thin crescent. The pair will make a nice photo op against a twilight sky with silhouettes on the horizon below.
Cape Canaveral Delta IV Launch
Image credit: US Air Force
Mission: National Reconnaissance Office Launch 15 (NROL-15)
Launch Vehicle: Delta IV Heavy
Launch from Cape Canaveral AFS, Florida
June 28
Target
1016 GMT
6:16am EDT (local time)
3:16am PDT,
June 29
Target
1013 GMT
6:13am EDT (local time)
3:13am PDT,
Window?
0930-1430 GMT
5:30-10:30am EDT (local time)
2:30-7:30am PDT.
The beginning of the previously announced launch window is early dawn. The Delta IV Heavy configuration uses two additional first stage engines as strap on boosters. The three RS-68 liquid hydrogen-oxygen engines create long orange flames and water vapor exhaust that shows up as a heavy condensation trail.
The announced target time of launch is about 10 minutes before sunrise. This could result in a condensation trail that rises from low light into bright and reddish sunrise colors - a nice photo op.
You can find status updates and launch coverage at
Spaceflight Now | Delta Launch Report | Mission Status Center.
You can find more information and a live webcast on launch day at
United Launch Alliance.
Past 24 Hours Visitors
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All Time Visitors
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Jupiter, Venus and the crescent moon (
rds817)
Important Sunspot Up Date 3/11/12 (
Ralfo)
Up Date Photo 3/11/12 . VERY IMPORTANT NEWS. Photo taken at 10:05A.M. What is going on now is the #1 event of importance regarding the Sun and Earths Weather and conditions for now and future. I am and have been entering Photos to advise. Below is a copy of updates and interest info! Sunspots - News Results Solar Storms Continue, Northern Lights Increase WebProNews - Mar 09 08:55am Earth Braces for Geomagnetic Storming After More Solar FlaresPC Magazine - Mar 10 02:48pm Biggest solar storms.
Dynamic, bright, and moving 'at the speed of light.' Constant motion, fast as a shiver in the cold, shimmering in the night sky. 18 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, wee hours this morning.
I believe these are Jupiter (below) and Venus (above). Just shot this photo without taking any kind of care. I wasn't even sure if they would turn out.
This evening's beautiful conjunction of the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, and the Pleiades.
Moon & planets form Tringle while Corn Takes Over. (
Skyepony)
All hail the corn, it's 8' high & the planets & moon have aligned to form a triangle, with Jupiter sitting with the moon & Venus above. Got 0.21" of rain, followed by perfect weather.
WALLOPS ISLAND, VA – NASA successfully launched five suborbital sounding rockets this morning from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia as part of a study of the upper level jet stream.
The first rocket was launched at 4:58 a.m. EDT and each subsequent rocket was launched 80 seconds apart.
Each of the rockets released a chemical tracer that created milky, white clouds at the edge of space.
This is the road to my house. We only get this kind of flooding when hurricanes are off shore. Tides were 4-6 ft above normal this evening due to the gravitational pull of the moon.
A sure sign that summer is on it's way. A view from Canadice Lake early this morning revealed fireflies dancing infront of the Milky Way.
2 hours of the annular eclipse of the sun (
redtim)
from Pyramid Lake, NV
View of the partial solar eclipse from the Manhattan Beach Pier. Edited using special filters from NIK Software.
Annular Eclipse Sunset over Mt. Taylor (
witokazu)
Absolutely awesome event. Shot from Albuquerque, NM, USA on I-40 Frontage Rd on MM-245. Nikon D300 and 50mm (non-DX) @ f/5.6 at 3-min intervals centered at mid-annularity.
2012 Solar eclipse sunset overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard with clouds.
Partial Eclipse. Was cloudy all the way thru. Had to wait for clouds to move enough for photos. Different settings etc.
partial eclipse still visible as the full moon sets
VENUS TRANSIT & MANY SUNSPOTS (
Ralfo)
Cloudy most of the day but got a break in between clouds. Took this picture at 6:37P.M. with many Sunspots. One of the rarest solar system events (only seven have happened since Galileo's time). Venus' transit of the Sun
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The Dragon 2+ mission has a busy agenda -
Spaceflight Now | Dragon Mission Report | Tests of new Dragon systems to begin minutes after launch.
Been a while since I counted my chromosomes. One, two, three,...forty-four, forty-five, forty...Hey...wait a minute...did someone say something about aliens?
It has seemed to me that Venus has been a bit brighter for the last few months. Just wrote it off to all the highs in the neighborhood and unusually clear skies. But, maybe not.
On that note, bright orange sunset here tonight. Nothing photoworthy, because for that, you need a few clouds.
Going to sign off soon, and hopefully get to sleep early, and hopefully (since I got a good night's sleep last night and that rarely happens twice) wake up in time to see tomorrow's launch.
Rest well!
The launch won't be that late here. I'll sacrifice my time with Craig Ferguson and maybe see you Late Late. :^)
Working nights has its advantages! I'll have to go upstairs to the bosses' computer(his is running IE8) and see some NASA TV!
Very clear this morning.
Was surprised how long I could keep it in sight.
Guess it was worth getting out of bed after all!
Glad you got to see it.
Very bright at first here, and as you said, gets tiny fast. Thought I was done and was surprised I could see the 2nd stage. Tiny orange star.
Now, I need to calm down and get some more sleep.
LOL
Skye's got the best seat in the house.
See ya tomorrow.
Here is the NASA TV schedule for the next 4 days. Times are EDT.
May 22, Tuesday
5:15 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Post-Launch News Conference - KSC (All Channels)
May 24, Thursday
2:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Fly-Under of the ISS Coverage - JSC (All Channels)
10 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing - JSC (All Channels)
May 25, Friday
2 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon ISS Grapple and Berthing Coverage - JSC (All Channels)
1 p.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Mission Status Briefing (Time subject to change) - JSC (All Channels)
May 26, Saturday
5:30 a.m. - SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening Coverage - JSC (All Channels)
11:25 a.m. - ISS Expedition 31 Post-SpaceX/Dragon Hatch Opening Crew News Conference - JSC (All Channels)
Thought this was cute:
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012
1039 GMT (6:39 a.m. EDT)
Elon Musk just tweeted: "Navigation bay pointing to deep space and star map being generated by star tracker one. Yes!"
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012
1032 GMT (6:32 a.m. EDT)
Elon Musk just tweeted: "Dragon spaceship opens the navigation pod bay door without hesitation. So much nicer than HAL9000 :)"
The opening of the bay door was a significant milestone in the mission. Inside the bay are Dragon's navigation sensors and grapple fixture required for the mission to the space station.
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012
0954 GMT(5:54 a.m. EDT)
Officials expect the door to the bay containing Dragon's navigation sensors to open soon. They will be watching to make sure the door locks in place, a prerequisite for berthing with the space station.
I never heard a rumble..Makes sense with no load that the burn wasn't as bright as it could have been.
I did take pics. I don't think there was any decent ones but I'll look when I get a chance.
Rob~ Seemed like it was higher or farther when it separated or it could have been a trick to the eye it being fainter. Glad you could see it from over there.
Just as well, saved me from climbing on the roof with a welders hood..
Spaceflight Now | Dragon Mission Report | Dragon early orbit timeline
Skye Very few informed observers have seen more launch vehicles climb up and over the hill firsthand. Your accounts are a valued contribution and appreciated all the more in light of all the other demands on your time.
At liftoff the Falcon 9 + Dragon is ~370 tons vs. ~2,000 tons for the space shuttle system.
The Falcon 9 + Dragon will deliver ~6.6 tons to low Earth orbit vs. ~27 tons for the space shuttle system.
That works out to about 33% more payload per launch weight for the Falcon 9 + Dragon vs. the space shuttle system. That's fine except when you have to get a lot of payload up all at once. The building of the International Space Station would have been totally impractical without the space shuttle system.
BTW the current price for a Falcon 9 launch is $54 million vs. the $1,500 million average cost of a space shuttle system launch.
GG There is an appreciable change in the quality of the daylight deep into a partial solar eclipse. The light seems weaker and maybe yellower and of course there's those crescent lights among the shadows.
I apologize for not disseminating more information and earlier. You could have cemented a reputation among the neighbors. ;^)
Let me give you an early heads up for the total solar eclipse on Monday, 21 Aug 2017. It will sweep from Oregon to South Carolina and it's only 1,917 days from now so start making your travel plans soon!
Miles O'Brien on SpaceX Launch: Space for the Rest of Us | PBS NewsHour
When I was a teen, I was sure we would have permanent colonies on the moon and beyond by now. Actually there is no reason we couldn't have. Just wasn't a national priority.
It's difficult for me, but it seems like we've lost our drive to excel, our need for each of us and our country as a whole, to be the very best that we can be. Maybe we got too comfortable. Anyway, that's not what I really want I came here to post about. I'm just blabbering...
I really do hope that this venture will inspire free enterprise to pick up the ball and run with it. Maybe see some of those old dreams fulfilled in my lifetime.
You all may have seen it already.
The Scale of the Universe
On that note...
shore That is a beautiful piece of work. Any time spent with it is well worth it. Thank you for sharing that.
I remember, a number of years ago, they lived on the island where SpaceX has launched a few rockets. I wonder what that might have been like!
Falcon 9 rockets have launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. In the future the Falcon 9 will launch from Cape Canaveral and from Vandenberg AFB, California. The Falcon Heavy will launch from Vandenberg. SpaceX is considering sites in Alaska, California, Florida, Texas and Virginia for a new commercial launch pad.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule closes in on the International Space Station for a series of tests to clear it for its final rendezvous and grapple.
Time to see SpaceX capsule in night sky is now - Technology & science - Space - Space.com - msnbc.com
Spaceflight Now | Dragon Mission Report | Mission Status Center
Your links in #282 prompted me to take time out a couple days ago to read up on what is going on there. Thanks.
The "Heavy" sounds like a very innovative bit of engineering.
SpaceX uses one rocket engine, the Merlin.
The Falcon 1 used another Merlin for the second stage with an exhaust system modified for maximum efficency above the atmosphere.
The Falcon 9 uses nine Merlin engines in a tic-tac-toe configuration in the first stage.
The Falcon Heavy will be a Falcon 9 with two additional Falcon 9 first stages on each side as boosters. Maybe one thing you're refering to is that Falcon Heavy will be the first rocket in history to feature propellant cross-feed from the side boosters to the center core. Propellant cross-feeding leaves the center core still carrying the majority of its propellant after the side boosters separate.
Additionally the are plans to make the first and second stages reusable and even to attempt to develop powered vertical landing for them.
It is also the first cargo delivery by a U.S. spacecraft since NASA's space shuttle Atlantis July 10, 2011.
All cargo delivery has been via government agency spacecraft. Other cargo delivery spacecraft are Roscosmos' Progress, ESA's ATV and JAXA's HTV.
The only currently active spacecraft capable of returning cargo from the ISS to the Earth is SpaceX's Dragon.
Roscosmos' Soyuz spacecraft is currently the only vehicle capable of carrying humans to the ISS.
Exactly, plus the engine out capability!
Good engineering.
:o)
:^)
Powered vertical landing would indeed be a milestone.
Take care LC!
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