Fall Semester 2020
Each semester offers opportunities and events worth your attention. Below are some astronomical news for your current semester.
The following web page offers a great overview of current activities in astronomy - http://skyandtelescope.com/
More on astronomy events at: http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy_calendar_current.html
And even more at: http://in-the-sky.org/newsindex.php?feed=DFAN
Robert Bonadurer, director of the MPM Planetarium, sends out a terrific monthly newsletter on astronomy. Email bonadurer@mpm.edu to request and receive his FREE monthly sky map and newsletter.
Planets
Mercury will be at its greatest eastern elongation (from the sun) @ 26 degrees on October 1st. Look for it just above the western horizon at dusk. It will be a challenge to find it and you only have a handful of days to see it because Mercury moves so fast around the sun. If you missed it, look for Mercury once again on November 10th when it swings around to the other side of the sun. It's elongation will be 19 degrees from the sun so look for it in the pre-dawn just above the eastern horizon.
Venus is a "morning star" all semester. It has already past its greatest separation with the sun (greatest elongation) but look for it in the east in the pre-dawn. As the semester progresses, it gets harder and harder to see because it appears closer and closer to the horizon as time marches on.
Mars reaches opposition on October 13th. Actually the entire semester is a good time to observe Mars. It is just that the best time to observe any superior planet is at opposition (when it is the closest).
The two giant gas planets - Jupiter and Saturn will be the good planets to view for the semester. Jupiter reached opposition on July 14th and was the very best time to view it at midnight. But don't worry because Jupiter will be putting on a great show still. The same goes for Saturn, which reached opposition on July 20th. Both appear very close to each other all semester. Just before the beginning of the class (August 28th), look for a nice grouping with the moon and then again on September 24th & 25th as well as October 22nd and finally again on November 18th & 19th. Another thing you will notice is that Jupiter and Saturn will be getting closer and closer to each other. By the very end of the semester, they will be almost in perfect alignment (conjunction) with each other. Look on December 16th and Jupiter and Saturn will again join the moon but this time it will be harder to see because all three will only be visible just after dusk in the south-west.
Eclipses (as seen from Milwaukee area)
There will be a penumbral eclipse of the moon on November 30th. No big deal because this is one of the least interesting kinds of eclipses (wait until unit 3 when we talk about all types of eclipses). All the moon does in this type of eclipse is get a bit darker (like looking at the full moon with sun glasses on). There is a solar eclipse on December 14th but it is not visible from the Milwaukee area :( Here is where you need to be to see it. All in all, a bad semester for eclipses.
Other
The Autumnal Equinox occurs on September 22nd. This marks the time when the duration of day equals the duration of night. The sun is on the celestial equator on this day. You can see this in the Stellarium program by going to this day and drawing in the ecliptic (of date) and the (celestial) equator (of date). It rapidly changes from there, reaching the Winter Solstice just after the class ends (actually December 21st). This marks the shortest day in Milwaukee and the longest night (about 9 hrs of light and 15 hours of dark).
ŠJim Mihal 2004, 2014, 2017, 2020- all rights reserved