Miscellaneous Astronomy Information Gleaned from the Web
Sky at a Glance
JUNE 25 -- THURSDAY
* Look very low in the west-northwest at dusk to spot Mercury; it's well to the right of the crescent Moon.
JUNE 26 -- FRIDAY
* The red long-period variable stars R Ursae Majoris and W Lyrae should be at their maximum brightnesses (7th or 8th magnitude) around this date.
JUNE 27 -- SATURDAY
* Latest sunset of the year (at latitude 40 degrees north).
* Regulus is upper left of the Moon in the western sky at dusk.
The Planets This Week, Beginning June 21
MERCURY
is emerging from the glow of sunset. Late in the week, look for it very low in the west-northwest about 45 minutes after sundown. It's to the lower left of Pollux and Castor.VENUS shines low in the east-northeast during dawn. It's far to the lower left of fainter Saturn, which in turn is far to the lower left of bright Jupiter high in the southeast.
MARS is hidden in the sunrise.
JUPITER rises around 12:30 a.m. daylight saving time. It's the brilliant "star" in the east-southeast before the first light of dawn, shining at magnitude -2.4. Jupiter is high in the southeast by the time the morning sky begins to grow bright.
SATURN, magnitude +0.3, is far to Jupiter's lower left at dawn, appearing about midway between Jupiter and Venus. Saturn is the faintest of the three.
URANUS and NEPTUNE, magnitudes 6 and 8, respectively, are in Capricornus in the south-southeast during early-morning hours. See the finder chart in the May Sky & Telescope, page 96.
PLUTO, magnitude 13.7, is near the Ophiuchus-Scorpius border. It's well up in the south during evening. See the finder chart in the May Sky & Telescope, page 97. The charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are also at http://www.skypub.com/whatsup/urnepl98.html.
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith are written for the world's midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude are for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time minus 4 hours.)
More details, sky maps, and news of other celestial events appear each month in Sky & Telescope, the essential magazine of astronomy. See our Web site at http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
Sky & Telescope, P.O. Box 9111, Belmont, MA 02178 * 617-864-7360 (voice)
Copyright 1998 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the astronomical community by the editors of Sky & Telescope magazine. Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may not be published in any other form without permission from Sky Publishing (contact permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360). Illustrated versions, including active links to related Internet resources, are available via SKY Online on the World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.
In response to numerous requests, and in cooperation with the Astronomical League http://www.mcs.net/~bstevens/al/ and the American Association of Amateur Astronomers http://www.corvus.com/, S&T's Weekly New Bulletin and Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list too. For a free subscription, send e-mail to skyline@gs1.revnet.com and put the word "join" on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send e-mail to skyline@gs1.revnet.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first line of the body of the message.
The Lawnchair Astronomer
Interesting website to visit, http://members.aol.com/thestarman/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/7137/solfutre.htm (future solar eclipses)
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/7137/lunfutre.htm (future lunar eclipses)
Up Coming Event: The August Meteor Shower Star Party
We plan to have a Star Party either August 12 or 13, stay tuned
1998 PERSEIDS - This is the most popular meteor shower of the year due to the combination of high rates and fair weather in much of the northern hemisphere. Any meteor seen in the month of August stands a good chance belonging to the Perseid shower. A majority of activity is produced on August 11,12,13. Since 1991 a second peak began with ZHR rates over 100. This new peak occurs 12 hours prior to the traditional peak. For 1998, the first peak is expected around 14hr UT on Aug 11/12
and the traditional peak around 22hr UT also on Aug 11/12. Rates at max may average 50-75/hour. However 1998's activity will occur near a full moon. The best direction to face during these conditions is North westerly in the evening and gradually North and then Northeast as the night progresses. The brighter members of this shower produce long lasting trains. The Perseids are easy to photograph near the date of
maximum activity. I prefer using a wide angle lens, but with high activity you're bound to capture several with a 50mm as well. Unfortunately this shower is nearly invisible from the southern hemisphere due to the northerly declination of it's
radiant. The Perseids are associated with comet P/Swift- Tuttle which visited the inner solar system in late 1992. Observers that are situated on the night-side of earth when we reach the core of the comet's orbit will witness enhanced activity for the next several years. Max: Aug 11/12; ZHR: 90; Vel. 59 km/s(Very Fast); Duration: Jul 17-Aug 24; Population Index: 2.6; Radiant Diameter: 5 degrees; Train Production:
41%; Radiant: RA 3h04m, Dec +58; Three Letter Shower Code: PER
GeoZay
August 12-13, 1998. The Perseid shower is often the best performer of
the year, and it's certainly the best-known. But again, a bright waning
gibbous Moon will hide many Perseids on the peak morning of August 13th.
October 20-23, 1998. This year, at last, the Orionids are free of
moonlight. See last year's description above.
November 17-18, 1998. The sky is dark and moonless on both of these
mornings, when there's a chance of a great Leonid meteor storm.
December 13-14, 1998. The Geminids should be at their best from about 10
p.m. local time on the evening of December 13th until the thick waning
crescent Moon rises around 3 a.m.-------------------------------------------------------------------------