August has now run out and the Perseids were a bit disappointing. A full Moon washed out the faint ones and the weather wasn’t perfect. Now we look at September and the “good” news is there’s quite a list of astronomical events, a total lunar eclipse Sept. 7, a partial solar eclipse Sept. 21 and during the month the Moon occults the following: Pluto, Regulus, Venus, Spica and Antares. The bad news is that we on the Sunshine Coast won’t be able to see any of them because some portion of the eight thousand miles of rock we inhabit will be in the way.
The morning of Sept. 19 will show a very close conjunction of a waning crescent Moon, brilliant Venus and Regulus, the bright star in Leo. By 05:00, all three will be grouped within a degree or so, just above the eastern horizon, a bit north of due east. The Moon will be a tiny sliver but Venus will be unmistakeable.
The Sunshine Coast Astronomy Club held its second annual Star Party in late August, a four-day event from Aug. 21 through 24. To quote the news from the club president: “Last night we had 37 people on site for our Star Party. Total attendance over 4 days last year was 81, this year was 131, which is an increase of 50 visitors. Thanks to everyone who volunteered to make this happen. Next year’s dates are 12 – 15 August.” The photo attached was taken by Laurel Ennis using a computerized telescope during the event; it shows a portion of the Veil Nebula, a faint remnant of the shell of gas and debris from a supernova explosion thousands of years ago. It lies about 2,400 light years distant in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan.
For those somewhat obsessive individuals (like me) who want to see some solar system objects that are waaay out there, you can still find Uranus and Neptune. First, you need a decent pair of binoculars – 8 x 50’s are excellent. The nice thing about the binocs is that everybody is used to using them: you can use both eyes, which makes our brains happy and the image is exactly as your eyes would see it –– if it were bright enough. Most telescopes for astro use are neither; the image is usually flipped vertically and horizontally, which makes for challenging mental gymnastics in trying to match sights with a star chart. Forty years of it and I still can’t do that well.
So, for Uranus, look due east about 25 degrees above the horizon around midnight and find the Pleiades star cluster, which is unmistakeable in binocs. If you keep the cluster at the top of the view there will be two objects near the bottom, a bright star on the left and directly to its right, an almost-as bright object that doesn’t twinkle (much). Congrats, that’s Uranus.
The real boonie-dweller is Neptune, which still hangs out near Saturn. It is at opposition on Sept. 23 although that doesn’t actually help to find it. Instead, find Saturn, about thirty degrees or so above the southeast horizon. Put Saturn near the lower right of the field with its two bright background stars. Now look up and left to see another fairly bright star about three times as far away as the lower pair. About three quarters of the way to that star, there are three faint objects in a row, lower left to upper right. The brightest one –– in the middle –– is Neptune.
As I mentioned a few months ago, this summer has been the first time I’ve actually seen either planet and known that was what I was seeing and the key for me was having something unmistakable as a guide marker while close enough to have the object in the same field of view. I urge you to do the same and brag about it to your friends. If you have kids or grandkids to demonstrate it to, you’re on your way to rock star status.
The SCAC monthly meetings will resume Sept. 12, held at the Sechelt Library at 7 p.m. Details for the meeting and ongoing observatory openings should be available on the club website at: sunshinecoastastronomy.wordpress.com.
