Astronomy Club of Asheville, NC

September - 2003

"The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of science. He who knows it not and can no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead" (Albert Einstein)

MOON:
New Moon: Sept 26
Full Moon: Sept 10

STAR GAZE (Sept 26):
Sun: sets at 7:20pm.
Moon: (illuminated 2%) The New Moon is on the night of our Star Gaze!
Jupiter & it's moons: Jupiter rises 2 hours before the sun, so will not be high enough to observe well.

PLANETS:
Mercury: Greatest elongation is on Sept 26 (night of the Star Gaze!), only 18 degrees from the Sun. But the separation is vertical in relation to the horizon, so it is a good time to catch Mercury. It is 51% illuminated and 7" diameter, so will be fun to try and see it's shape in a high-power eye piece.

Venus: On the far side of the sun and very close to the Sun in the evening sky (11 degrees away). Too low to the horizon to get a sharp view, if you can even spot it. 98% illuminated on the 26th.

Mars!: 25.0" on Sept 1, it decreases to 20.9" on the 30th. Still a good view. Closest approach to Earth was on August 27th. This was the red planet's closest approach to Earth in at least 2000 years! Unfortunately, since Mars is south of the ecliptic, it will be only about 38 degrees above the southern horizon when it crosses the meridian on the night of the gaze, so Earth's atmosphere will blur the image a bit here at 35.5 degrees north. (To get Mars higher in the sky for a sharper view, I recommend a quick trip to Bolivia. How DO you say, "Yes sir, my relatives will be glad to pay a substantial ransom." in Spanish?)

Saturn: Rises at 12:55 am on the night of the Gaze. Transits at 8:04am, but good views to be had near sunrise.

Jupiter: Jupiter rises 2.5 hours before the sun by month's end, but still will not be high enough to observe well.

Uranus: Was at opposition in August, so a good time to find it.

Neptune: Was at opposition in August, so a good time to find it.

Asteroids: Pallas (in Cetus) transits at 3:17am on the night of the gaze, at mag 8.4. You can see it in binoculars.
Ceres (in Gemini) rises at 1:05am on the night of the gaze, doesn't transit until after sunrise. Magnitude 8.7

DEEP SKY OBJECTS (DSO's): (Not the biggest or best, but interesting)
Edge-on Galaxies:
NGC 891: Mag 9.9, size is 9'x2' through an 8" scope. It appears large, so it seems dimmer than it's magnitude would indicate. A 12" scope is needed to see it's dark lane. 16" scopes show much detail, such as the "chimneys" in the dark lane. This galaxy in inclined 88.2 degrees to our line of site (1.8 degrees from edge-on). (Location: 02hr 23m RA +42 deg 21' Dec, in Andromeda)
NGC676: Mag 9.6, size is about 3'x1' through amateur scopes. A superimposed star from our galaxy makes this galaxy's core deceptively bright. Individual stars can be seen through 16" scopes. It's location is relatively easy to find in a finder scope, after you find the bottom of the deep "V" in Pisces. (Location: 01hr 49m RA +05 deg 54' Dec, in Pisces)

(Note:These 2 galaxies transit at about 2:00am in Mid-September. This puts them highest in the sky just after many lights are turned out for the night.)

HIGHLIGHTS:Sept 10: Harvest Moon. This is the full moon nearest the fall equinox (Sept 23). The Moon is on the celestial equator at this time, and is progressing "up " (westward on) that equator. This helps compensate for the Moon's eastward movement against the stars, so the Moon rises only about 30 minutes later each night, instead of it's usual 50 minutes. This is more pronounced the further north you are, until eventually, at 62 degrees north, the Moon is actually rising earlier each night.
Sept 12: Saturn within 0.9 degrees on Ceres, see "Asteroids" above. Ceres is MUCH closer to us than is Saturn (2.7 AU vs 9.14 AU).
Sept 23: Comet C/2002 O7 Linear at perihelion, Mag 7. Maybe at it's brightest in October.
Sept 29: Mars's Winter Solstice (Summer begins in the Southern hemisphere, Winter begins in the Northern hemisphere).

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THE BIG PICTURE: Each chart below covers a very wide area of sky, roughly from eastern horizon to western horizon. Constellations are green stick figures. The dividing line between constellations are dashed blue lines. The purpose is to show the large scale structure of the night sky: why certain types of objects are visible in certain areas of the sky.

1. Above: 6 hr R.A. (passes overhead on winter evenings; climbs above the horizon before dawn on August mornings): OPEN CLUSTERS in the sky north to south (Auriga to Pupis). Open Clusters are generally within the arms of the galaxy and are roughly co-located with the Milky Way. They are plotted as tan circles above. You are looking away from the center of the galaxy. (Note: all types of objects are labeled, not just open clusters.)

2. Above: 12 hr R.A. (passes overhead on spring evenings; sets with the sun in August): GALAXIES in the sky north to south (Ursa Major to Virgo). They are plotted as blue ovals in the chart above. At 9:00pm during mid-June, the Milky Way is rising in the east. Just to the west of the zenith is the North Galactic Pole, in the constellation Coma Berenices. In southwest Coma Berenices happens to be the heart of the Local Supercluster of galaxies. Many of these galaxies are visible in medium-sized telescopes.

3. Above: 18 hr R.A. (passes overhead on summer evenings; such as in August): GLOBULAR CLUSTERS (yellow cross inside a circle) & PLANETARY NEBULAE (blue circle in a cross) in the sky north to south (Cygnus to Sagittarius). The lower-middle of this chart is towards the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Charts created using Megastar
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CLUB STARGAZE:
The September stargaze is Friday the 26th, 2003. You can check the Yahoo group for AstroAsheville (or call Tim @ 251-0040 or John @ 251-1933 x17 (before 5:00) or 667-9268 (after 5:00)) for a go/no-go decision and to verify location.

Blue Ridge Parkway Information Line is 828-298-0398 and go to Road Conditions on the menu.

CLUB MEETING:
The 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!

(Much of the above info derived from Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines, 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.)