Astronomy at Lick Observatory

Image courtesy Thirty Meter Telescope

A New Opportunity for Group Observing at the Lick Observatory

The Friends of Lick Observatory is introducing the "Saturday Stars" program at the Observatory's Main Building on Mt. Hamilton. These events are planned for amateur astronomers and others with a keen interest in astronomy.

Groups of 20 - 30 people will have the opportunity to observe a variety of astronomical objects through both the historic 36” Lick Refractor using its eyepiece and the 40” Nickel Reflector equipped with a CCD direct imaging camera; the camera has a 6.3x6.3-arcminute field of view and B, V, R, and I filters. Groups will be able to request the objects they would like to observe and will have access to that night's digital images from the Nickel Telescope. Participants may also bring their own telescopes to this prime viewing site.

Each event will start just prior to sunset, and the Lick Observatory Gift Shop will be open for the first hour of the night. Observing will commence at 11 degree twilight and end after 4 hours.

These exclusive astronomy events are scheduled for the following Saturday nights this summer: July 20, August 3, August 17, August 31, and September 21. The group rate is $1,000 for up to 30 people.

For more information or to sign up for one of these nights, please contact Paula Towle at ptowle@ucolick.org or (831) 459-2991. For questions regarding payment, please contact Leah Martin at lmartin@ucolick.org or (831) 459-5164. For technical questions regarding telescope limits and the CCD camera, please contact Elinor Gates at egates@ucolick.org or (831) 459-5910.

Celestial Sightings

Just about every evening before going to bed, I take a moment to look at the stars. While the weather isn’t always agreeable, when it’s clear there’s always something worth seeing.  Last Sunday, for example, there was the beautiful sight of Jupiter and the neighboring crescent moon closely paired together.

Tomorrow night, be on the lookout for the waning moon (after all, yesterday was the worm moon — the first full moon in March) sandwiched between Spica and Saturn. You will be able to find the moon midway between the star and the planet, which are currently 17° apart.

Spica will be the white star to the moon’s upper right and Saturn will be more creamy-colored down to the moon’s lower left. Because such a full moon would usually wash out anything in its near vicinity, this degree of separation will actually help the casual observer spot the trio. It will be easiest to spot this celestial arrangement in the southeast after 11 p.m.

Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo

Light from the moon, reflected from the sun, takes only 1.25 seconds to reach the earth. The light from Saturn, 830 million miles away, takes about 74 minutes. However, the light from Spica, a 1^st magnitude blue giant, takes about 260 years to finally reach our eyes. So be aware that the light you'll see left the brilliant star well before the American Revolution.

For more on lunar occulations — and the best time to see this trio in your area — check out details here.

Geminid Meteor Shower

If it's clear where you live, take a look at the Geminid meteor shower tonight, starting around 10 pm but especially after midnight. The peak was last night (Dec. 13/14), but tonight (Dec. 14/15) should be quite good as well. You can look anywhere in the sky. For more information, check out the EarthSky site.

Annual Perseid Meteor Shower

The annual Perseid meteor shower is coming on Saturday night, and I encourage you to view it. (Friday and Sunday nights should be okay, too, but not quite as good.) The shower peaks around 2-4am PDT on Sunday, August 12 (that is, Saturday night, August 11). Try to get as far away from city lights as possible. No binoculars or telescopes are needed; just view the sky with your unaided eyes from as dark a location as possible, away from city lights. Dress warmly, and bring a hot beverage if you wish. You can lie down on a blanket or a lawn chair, for comfort. Looking anywhere in the sky is fine, but views to the northeast should provide the most meteors.

There are many good references with viewing tips, etc. From Astronomy.com:

"If you ask most skygazers to name their favorite meteor shower, the odds are good that `Perseid' will be the first word out of their mouths. This annual shower seemingly has it all: It offers a consistently high rate of meteors year after year; it produces a higher percentage of bright ones than most other showers; it occurs in August when many people take summer vacation; and it happens at a time when nice weather and reasonable nighttime temperatures are common north of the equator. No other major shower can boast all four of these attributes.

 And this year’s Perseid meteor shower promises two other significant advantages. First, it occurs when the Moon is at a waning crescent phase, which means bright moonlight won’t diminish the number of visible meteors. And second, the shower peaks on a Saturday night, August 11/12, so most people can afford to sleep in or at least relax the following day... The crescent Moon, which rises shortly after 1 a.m., won’t have much impact because the shower consistently produces lots of bright meteors. Observers under clear dark skies likely will see 60 to 80 meteors per hour -— an average of at least one per minute —- in the hour or two before twilight starts to break shortly after 4 a.m. local daylight time. By then, the brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter will add to one of the finest predawn shows of 2012."

 Have fun, and I hope you have clear skies!

Upcoming Partial Lunar Eclipse

On the morning of Monday, June 4, there will be a partial eclipse of the full moon in the few hours before sunrise. About a third of the Moon will enter the Earth’s dark shadow, starting at 3:00 am PDT and ending at 5:06 am PDT (mid-­‐eclipse at 4:03 am PDT). No optical aid is needed to view the eclipse, though binoculars or telescopes will provide a magnified view. There is no danger when viewing a lunar eclipse with the naked eye, binoculars, or telescopes; filters are not needed (unlike the case for a partial solar eclipse). Just go outside wherever you are, and take a look! But some local astronomy clubs and science centers (such as the Chabot Space and Science Center in the Oakland hills) will hold official public viewing sessions; check online.

The entire easily visible part of the eclipse (when the Moon is in the Earth’s “umbra,” or full shadow) will be visible from California. As seen from the central USA, moonset will occur during the eclipse. The eastern US will basically miss out on this eclipse, since it will begin around or after moonset. West of California (say, in Hawaii), the entire eclipse [penumbra (partial, bright shadow) and umbra (full, dark shadow)] will be visible with the Moon high in the sky. For more information, see http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2012.html#LE2012Jun04P (courtesy of Fred Espenak, NASA’s GSFC.

Super Moon, Part Two

I hope everyone got a chance to check out the moon last Saturday! Here's a picture of it taken in North Berkeley with the moon over the Berkeley campus:

"Super Moon"

Tomorrow, Saturday May 5, there will be a "super moon." This means that the moon will be full when it happens to be at "perigee," which is the closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit. The full moon will look unusually large, about 14% larger than when it is at "apogee" (the farthest point
from Earth in its elliptical orbit).

If you are interested in seeing it, try to look for it around moonrise, shortly after sunset (around 8pm), when it is close to the horizon. Furthermore, a psychological effect (still not fully understood) makes it look even bigger then. No Shade 14 glass or any other equipment is needed to safely view the moon (but not the Sun!).

The Earth at Night

This is an image of the world at night, thanks to NASA's Visible Earth, 2001. The various colors that can be seen are city lights, natural gas flares, wildfires, and lights from fishing fleets. (Disclaimer: Obviously, this is a compiled image since the earth is never all dark at once, nor is it flat...)