Sun: Sets at 8:45pm.
Moon: (illuminated 0%) The Moon sets at 8:33pm on the evening of the
gaze (12 minutes bebore the Sun).
DEEP SKY OBJECTS (DSO's)
(Not the biggest or brightest, but interesting):
M24, NGC6603, B92, B93: The Earth is located on the inner edge
of the Orion-Cygnus Arm of the galaxy. When we look towards Sagittarius, we
are looking across a void at the Sagittarius-Carina Arm (6,000 light years (ly)
away) and towards the center of the galaxy, which is 27,000 ly away. Our view
to the galactic center is blocked by dust, but we can see through a gap in the
Sagittarius-Carina Arm to the Norma Spiral Arm 14,000 ly away. In this gap appears
the star cloud M24 and its several associated objects. M24 is 530 ly long and
is easily visible to the naked eye.
M24 itself appears very large (95'x35', 3 times the size of the full
moon) and is best viewed through a rich-field telescope. Keep in mind that what
you are seeing is twice as far away as the Swan Nebula (M17) to the NNE and
the Triffid Nebula (M20) to the SW.
NGC6603: A small (5') but dense open cluster of faint
stars, easily seen in scopes 8" or larger. True size 20 ly. (Location:
18hr 18.4m RA -18 deg 25' Dec, in Sagittarius).
B92, B93: Dark clouds of dust that obscure the stars beyond. B92 is one
of the most easily seen dark nebulae, about 15'x10' in apparent size.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Earth is at aphelion (farthest from the sun): July
5th.
Pegasid meteor shower: July 9th. Great time to view this
weak and short meteor shower, with only ZHR=3! These meteors are quite faint,
but very fast: 70 km/sec. They seem to originate from Pegasus' neck. If you
happen to be out star gazing in the early morning hours, when the radiant has
risen and the moon has set, you may see some.
35th anniversary of the 1st manned landing on the moon:
July 20th.
Delta Aquarid (south) meteor shower: July 28th. There's
more of them than the Pegasids: ZHR=20. These also tend to be faint and travel
about half as fast as the Pegasid meteors, at 41 km/sec. Sadly, this year the
shower will be washed out by the full moon.
Alpha Capricornid meteor shower: July 30. These meteors tend to
be slow (23 km/sec), but are bright, with an occasional fireball. This shower
will be washed out by the full moon also.
TERMS:
AFOV=apparent field of view / AU=Astronomical
Unit, the average distance from the Sun to the Earth / dec=declination / EP=eye
piece / FL=focal length / FOV=field of view / ISS=International Space Station
/ HST=Hubble Space Telescope / ly=light year / mag=magnitude / ra=right ascension
/ culminates=transits
the meridian=when an object as at its highest point in the sky / transit=passing
in front of another object / ZHR=zenithal hourly rate (basically, the most meteors
1 person could see in 1 hour under ideal conditions).
Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Time unless otherwise noted
Note: Links to other web pages are in color. Please go to the web page version of this page to follow those links.
You can check the AstroAsheville Yahoo
group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AstroAsheville/) or call Tim @ 251-0040 or John @ 251-1933
(before 5:00) or 667-9268 (after 5:00) for a go/no-go decision and to verify location.
CLUB MEETING:
The indoor club meeting is the first Thursday of every month,
at 6 p.m. at Sim’s
Group located at 230 Short Coxe Ave., Asheville, NC.
Happy Starwatching! Dress Warm!
Blue Ridge Parkway Information
Line is 828-298-0398
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(Much of the above info derived from Sky & Telescope magazine, Ottewell's
Astronomical Calendar, The Night Sky Observer's Guide, Megastar 5.0, Planets202,
the ol' Miller Planesphere, and a little (very little) common sense.)
www.AstroAsheville.org