Moon and Star Fields in Wisconsin

While on a short vacation I managed to get a few reasonable skyward shots with my Nikon D80 and thought I'd share them with everyone. The first several in the set are of the moon as it was coming up and the last are long exposure shots with wider angles and tree leaves lit from below by a fire and porch light.

Moon and Stars in Wisconsin Gallery

Unfortunately, I didn't have a tripod or a battery for my remote so all shots were manual and had to be a little more simple than I would have otherwise tried to get.  Still, I think they turned out alright for what I had to work with.

Comet PanSTARRS Update for March 13th and 14th

I was able to catch a good glimpse of comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) again this evening (March 13th).  Fortunately, it was a bit warmer, the wind was lighter and the sky was just a tad clearer.  The viewing didn't give quite the same level of awe as the comet being near the moon.  However, I still managed to get some post worthy pictures of it.

Again, the comet was NOT visible to the naked eye from where I was viewing even with a reasonably clear sky.  It was not dark at the time so in a very dark location it just might be visible but even in that scenario, the comet is extremely small in the night sky so will probably only show up as a fuzzy pin-prick in the fabric of it all.

On March 14th, if you're up for it with binoculars or a telescope (or decent camera) you should be able to catch it around 10 degrees above the horizon almost due West for the next several nights.  Please see my former posts for details and charts of roughly where it will be located.

Comet PanSTARRS March 13th

 

Update on Comet PanSTARRS for March 13th

This is an update for Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) for March 13th 2013.  The reason it's for the 13th is because observational opportunities have run their course (except for possibly Hawaii and Alaska).

So, tonight, March 12th we were able to see the comet in the low western sky.  However.  The comet was 'not' as bright or as large as I was anticipating.  Unfortunately it did require a telescope to view and a bit of guess work with the camera to get some exposures of it.

Fortunately, that work did pay of with a few decent shots (for nothing but a Nikon D80, tripod and 70-300mm lens).

Please have a look in the gallery for more images from the 12th.

The good news is that tonight we were able to view the comet for almost 45 minutes and I would expect that timeframe to only increase as it gets further from the Sun.  As for viewing the comet on March 13th through March 26th, I've included a path diagram below for easy identification.  Based on viewing tonight, you will probably need a set of binoculars or a very clear sky since the comet is somewhat dim.  However, you should still give this a shot since this comet only comes around once every 100 million years, this is literally a once in a million lifetime chance!

Feel free to check back for more information and pictures.  We'll be posting more as we take them!

March 2013 Comet C/2011 L4 PanStarrs

We've had a few comets come through here and there over the past few years without much hype.  While this will not be as spectacular as Hale-Bopp or Hyakutake back in the late 90's, this month's comet PanStarrs (Designation C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS) will still provide a spectacle in the evening skies (weather and view permitting). The comet visits the Northern Hemisphere and be visible to the West in the evening skies starting this week.

You'll need good viewing conditions to the West and an unobstructed view, I would suggest a high point looking west as your best chance sine this comet will be fairly close to the horizon.

The most important aspect of this comet for the average person is that this comet will be visible to the naked eye which means you won't need to have binocolars or a telescope to view it.  However, for best viewing observing equipment such as a telescope or binoculars are certainly encouraged.  You might check your local astronomy organizations for possible viewing opportunities and star parties related to the comet.

In the Eastern Kansas area you can find information at the following sites:

Northeast Kansas Amateur Astronomers' League

Astronomy Associates of Lawrence

Astronomical Society of Kansas City

If you're unsure of organizations around you, an excellent resource for this is the Astronomical League as they keep track of most (but not all, so try Google if you don't find one) amatuer astronomy organizations and can provide links to their sites.

Now, back to the comet.  Based on it's name we can see that it was discovered in 2011 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System which sits near the top of the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii.  Until recently, the comet has been visible primarily in the Souther Hemisphere but as it rounds the Sun, that will change, giving way to our viewing pleasure in the Northern Hemisphere.

Comet PanSTARRS NH PathThe chart here shows you rough positioning of the comet as it makes it's way through the sky.  This image is courtesy of NASA.

Viewing Points

The comet reaches it's closest approah to the Sun on March 10th and the expected return to visibility is March 12th.  However, with luck and assistance you may be able to pick it up on March 11th.

One important viewing tid bit for this comet is that you do need to pay close attention to your viewing time.  Because this comet is low in the Western sky it presents a time problem, too early and the sun will still be up and if you try later it will be either obstructed by trees, hills, atospheric distortion or the lot of it.  Assuming you have low pollution and reasonably good weather, you can probably start looking at about 15 minutes past sunset.  For Lawrence, KS on March 11th this would be roughly at 7:40 PM local time.  To spot it you'll want to look around 8 degrees South of West and around 10 degrees above the horizon.  The easy way to do this is to remember that outstreched your fist is roughly 10 degrees plam horizontal and 5 degrees palm verticle.  So this would mean, it would be a little more than 1 fist width verticle to the left of where the Sun set and around 1 fist with horizontal above the 0 point of the horizon.

Over the course of the next several weeks the comet will be travelling from South to North along the Western horizon and getting further away from the Sun so the observing times will increase.  However, this is a tradeoff since the further away from the Sun the comet gets the less of a tail it will exhibit and the dimmer it will get.  That's part of the reason why this upcoming week beginning March 11th will present the best time to view.

Comet visibility will be best this week and will taper off through the end of the month of March when it will once again become difficult to detect even with optical aides like binoculars or telescopes.  Don't wait to see it!

There are a few points of interest over the next week for those viewing the comet.  I'm going to detail them out and provide pictures below.  All pictures made with Stellarium.

Comet PanSTARRS and Satellite SERT 2March 11th 2013 19:45:45 – Lawrence, KS – Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS and satellite SERT 2 pass within 3 angular minutes of one another.  This event will happen very fast and may not be visible due to sunlight, the comet was closest to the Sun just one day ago.  If you are seconds early or late you will not see this as the SERT 2 satellite crosses the entire sky in only seconds.  This will happen again over the course of the next several weeks as well as with a few other satellites (all from Lawrence), METEOR-PRIRODA, NOAA 15, SL-6 R/B(2), COSMOS 1500, COSMOS 2242, AJISAI (EGS) to cite a few.  Additionally, it should be noted that most of these kinds of sightings will be very subjective to your geographical location and may not be visible from where you're at.  You might have better visibility for other satellites posing for photo ops with the comet because of that.  Since these sightings will be brief and require precision, I suggest that you either download Stellarium or find other resources to help you plan your observation.

Comet PanSTARRS and New MoonMarch 12th 2013 All Visible Time – Everywhere – Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS and the New Moon will be close enough to make for some interesting photo ops as they will be less than 5 degrees apart.

Depending on how things play out, you may also find some good shots with Mars on the lower horizon as well since it is on it's move into the evening sky as well but with the comet moving away from it, these chances are subjective at best.

In any case, this event should prove to be a great opportunity to strech your legs, get some fresh evening air and see a great astronomy event.  I'm including some (hopefully) helpful technical and less technical links below:

Oribtal details can be found at the JPL site: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=C/2011+L4

This site will provide you a general idea of where the comet is with respect to other astronomical objects: http://www.heavens-above.com/comets.aspx?lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT

Several good images and some additional information can be found here: http://earthsky.org/space/comet-panstarrs-possibly-visible-to-eye-in-march-2013

June 5th 2012 Venus Transit

Rounding off a three-fer in Astronomical events of late is the June 5th 2012 Venus transit across the face of the Sun.

Included here is an approximation of what you should see viewing the sun from Lawrence, KS at approximately 7PM local time and an accompanying video of the transit progress from 5PM local time through sunset.

Transit Image:

Venus Transit 1900 from Lawrence, KS

Video: June 5th 2012, Venus Transit – Lawrence, KS

While this event may not seem as spectacular as the previous two eclipses (one solar on May 20th and one lunar on June 4th) this event is actually more significant because it is the very last time Venus will cross the face of the sun in our lifetime (unless we really have some astonishing medical accomplishments in the next 30-50 or so years)! The next transit will happen in the year 2117!

I'm also including a site with various viewing information here: http://www.transitofvenus.org

Again, please be safe when viewing this event. You should take the same precautions as you would for a solar eclipse or any other solar viewing event. The site above has a good section on eye safety so please view it in leiu of me regurgitating it here.

Happy viewing and be safe!