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Sun & Moon Today

JD 2460444  DoY 134  WoY 20
🔼04:40
🔽18:40

TWILIGHT
03:01~20:18
Ecl Long 53.5°
in Taurus

First quarter
Age 5.81 d
Phase 70.9°
Ecl Long 124.4°
in Cancer

SSE

Current asteroid count is 1,351,400

Observable comet count is 1122

Current exoplanet count is 5626

Current longitude II of the GRS is  53°

 

Today Monitor

Planet Oppositions

Mars: January 16, 2025
Jupiter: December 7, 2024
Saturn: September 8, 2024
Uranus: November 17, 2024
Neptune: September 31, 2024

 

Greatest Elongation of Venus

Evening: January 10, 2025 at 47.2°E
Morning: June 1, 2025 at 45.9°W

 

Greatest Elongation of Mercury

Evening: December 4,2023 at 21.3°E
Morning: January 12, 2024 at 23.5°W
Evening: March 24, 2024 at 18.7°E
Morning: May 9, 2024 at 26.4°W
Evening: July 22, 2024 at 26.9°E
Morning: September 5, 2024 at 18.1°W
Evening: November 16, 2024 at 22.5°E
Morning: December 25, 2024 at 22.0°W




Super Moons (full) 2024

Wednesday, September 18
Thursday, October 17

 

given for 00:00 UT

In Longitude (negative is western)

DateSizeAgeAnglePhase
14 Aug 202430.51'9.53-6.644°
15 Aug 202430.96'10.53-6.946°
16 Aug 202431.45'11.53-6.807°
27 Aug 202431.47'22.536.648°
28 Aug 202431.09'23.536.822°
29 Aug 202430.74'24.536.717°
11 Sep 202430.44'7.92-7.081°
12 Sep 202430.88'8.92-7.442°
13 Sep 202431.38'9.92-7.388°
14 Sep 202431.90'10.92-6.884°
23 Sep 202432.03'19.926.983°
24 Sep 202431.54'20.927.577°
25 Sep 202431.07'21.927.769°
26 Sep 202430.64'22.927.584°
27 Sep 202430.28'23.927.067°
09 Oct 202430.41'6.22-6.872°
10 Oct 202430.80'7.22-7.260°
11 Oct 202431.24'8.22-7.306°
12 Oct 202431.73'9.22-6.971°
21 Oct 202432.22'18.226.835°
22 Oct 202431.69'19.227.618°
23 Oct 202431.17'20.227.933°
24 Oct 202430.69'21.227.796°
25 Oct 202430.28'22.227.257°
08 Nov 202431.20'6.47-6.417°
19 Nov 202431.78'17.476.845°
20 Nov 202431.27'18.477.271°
21 Nov 202430.79'19.477.223°
22 Nov 202430.36'20.476.738°

 

In Latitude (negative is southern)

DateSizeAgeAnglePhase
11 May 202431.43'2.86-6.465°
12 May 202430.97'3.86-6.734°
13 May 202430.54'4.86-6.649°
26 May 202431.26'17.866.556°
27 May 202431.51'18.866.627°
08 Jun 202431.21'1.47-6.565°
09 Jun 202430.83'2.47-6.570°
22 Jun 202431.42'15.476.419°
23 Jun 202431.72'16.476.548°
05 Jul 202431.15'28.47-6.475°
06 Jul 202430.85'0.04-6.542°
20 Jul 202431.77'14.046.576°
01 Aug 202431.01'26.04-6.516°
02 Aug 202430.73'27.04-6.622°
16 Aug 202431.45'11.536.680°
17 Aug 202431.94'12.536.611°
28 Aug 202431.09'23.53-6.608°
29 Aug 202430.74'24.53-6.758°
30 Aug 202430.43'25.53-6.567°
12 Sep 202430.88'8.926.748°
13 Sep 202431.38'9.926.795°
14 Sep 202431.90'10.926.467°
24 Sep 202431.54'20.92-6.608°
25 Sep 202431.07'21.92-6.837°
26 Sep 202430.64'22.92-6.706°
09 Oct 202430.41'6.226.695°
10 Oct 202430.80'7.226.831°
11 Oct 202431.24'8.226.620°
21 Oct 202432.22'18.22-6.408°
22 Oct 202431.69'19.22-6.763°
23 Oct 202431.17'20.22-6.728°
05 Nov 202430.24'3.476.535°
06 Nov 202430.52'4.476.723°
07 Nov 202430.84'5.476.580°
18 Nov 202432.26'16.47-6.549°
19 Nov 202431.78'17.47-6.638°
03 Dec 202430.57'1.746.584°
04 Dec 202430.83'2.746.475°
16 Dec 202432.04'14.74-6.545°
30 Dec 202430.69'28.746.543°
31 Dec 202431.00'0.076.472°

Source: NASA/GSFC

 

Lunar Calendar 2024

Lunar Libration Calendar2024 (PDF 11.2 MB)

View table online

Lunar Libration Calendar 2023 (PDF 3.3 MB)

 

Latest Deepsky Image

2024-02-15, Samyang 135mm, Uranus-C (IMX585), UV/IR-Cut

 

Latest Planetary Image

2023-11-23, Celestron 8, Uranus-C, UV/IR-Cut filter

 

Latest Movie

2023-11-23, Celestron 8, Uranus-C, UV/IR-Cut filter

 

Latest Wide Field Image

2024-01-13, Nikon D5500, Samyang 135mm with LPR, at f/2.0, 98 x 60s, ISO1600

 

Latest Constellation Image

D5500, 35mm lens at f4, 81 x 120s, ISO1600.

 

Latest Lunar Image

C8, ASI290MM, IR642 filter (Mar 16, 2024).

 

Latest Astro Poster

Celestron 8 x 0.63, D5500, no filters.

 

Lunar Impressions March 2024

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Click to enlarge or show full screen

 


 

Source: apod.nasa.gov

Latest STScI News Release

NASA's Roman Space Telescope Could Help Researchers Detect the Universe’s First Stars

May 09, 2024

An illustration of a star being torn apart by a black hole. To the right of center, there is a black sphere representing a black hole, surrounded by many thick wisps of light. To the left of it, there is a fuzzy, bright white object representing a star. The star has a tail of gas coming off its right, which is brightest near the star, but becomes grayer further away. This tail flows into the black hole’s right side and swirls around the black hole in a horizontal disk. The disk is thicker toward its center and more diffuse farther away. Material in the disk also appears to wrap around the top of the black hole. Above and below the black hole, there are purple rays of light that extend upward and downward in two broad cones. This scene sits amid a black backdrop of space with many dim, white stars in the background.

An illustration of a star being torn apart by a black hole. To the right of center, there is a black sphere representing a black hole, surrounded by many thick wisps of light. To the left of it, there is a fuzzy, bright white object representing a star. The star has a tail of gas coming off its right, which is brightest near the star, but becomes grayer further away. This tail flows into the black hole’s right side and swirls around the black hole in a horizontal disk. The disk is thicker toward its center and more diffuse farther away. Material in the disk also appears to wrap around the top of the black hole. Above and below the black hole, there are purple rays of light that extend upward and downward in two broad cones. This scene sits amid a black backdrop of space with many dim, white stars in the background.

Source: Space Telescope Science Institute

Tonight's Sky

May Constellations

In May, we are looking away from the crowded, dusty plane of our own galaxy toward a region where the sky is brimming with distant galaxies. Locate Virgo to find a concentration of roughly 2,000 galaxies and search for Coma Berenices to identify many more. Keep watching for space-based views of galaxies like the Sombrero Galaxy, M87, and M64.

Source: hubblesite.org

“Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning.

NASA Image of the Day

That's Refreshing

An American Flamingo takes a sip of water in the Indian River at Haulover Canal on Merritt Island on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. The American Flamingos are more common in Mexico and Cuba but the winds from Hurricane Idalia relocated them to Florida in September 2023. Kennedy Space Center in Florida shares a border with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge where more than 310 species of birds inhabit the refuge.

Click to enlarge or show full screen

Fri, 10 May 2024 18:47 GMT


Source: www.nasa.gov

 

 

No, we are not on Facebook but proudly on AstroBin with Mille Gracie to the author Salvatore Iovene:


GoTo Astropical on AstroBin

 

If anybody is interested in the night life of bats, here is a funny 1-minute MP4 video (24MB).

 

Lunar Imaging e-brochure (PDF 96.5 MB)

 

Sky Photography e-brochure (PDF 61.4 MB)

 

EAA e-brochure (PDF 89.1 MB) In work. Pre-release for feedbacks.

 

Planetary Imaging e-brochure (PDF 16.8 MB) In work. Pre-release for feedbacks.

 


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Deepsky Overview
My Humble Gallery
Lunar Imaging
FOV Simulator
Astro Cameras
Let's Astrophoto
Telescopes for AP

 

Total Exoplanet Count: 5626

Kepler/K2: 3322 planets
TESS: 442 planets
Latest exoplanet around:  
as of 2024-05-08

ConstellationTaurus
Distance117.44 parsec
Known planet(s)1
View in Database | Star Chart | DSS IR Image 🔗

 


Acton Sky Portal Observatory 2
Anglo-Australian Telescope 36
Apache Point Observatory 1
Arecibo Observatory 3
Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) 1
Bohyunsan Optical Astronomical Observatory 26
Calar Alto Observatory 20
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 5
CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS) 3
CoRoT 35
European Southern Observatory 3
European Space Agency (ESA) Gaia Satellite 10
Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory 6
Gemini Observatory 9
Haleakala Observatory 2
HATNet 67
HATSouth 73
Haute-Provence Observatory 66
Hubble Space Telescope 6
Infrared Survey Facility 1
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) 1
K2 548
KELT 10
KELT-North 7
KELT-South 4
Kepler 2774
Kitt Peak National Observatory 1
KMTNet 91
KOINet 1
La Silla Observatory 284
Large Binocular Telescope Observatory 3
Las Campanas Observatory 29
Leoncito Astronomical Complex 1
Lick Observatory 36
Lowell Observatory 3
Mauna Kea Observatory 1
McDonald Observatory 31
MEarth Project 2
MOA 29
Multiple Facilities 18
Multiple Observatories 306
NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) 1
Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) 3
OGLE 101
Okayama Astrophysical Observatory 36
Palomar Observatory 2
Paranal Observatory 45
Parkes Observatory 2
Qatar 10
Roque de los Muchachos Observatory 32
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SAR 1
SPECULOOS Southern Observatory 1
Spitzer Space Telescope 4
Subaru Telescope 11
SuperWASP 113
SuperWASP-North 5
SuperWASP-South 32
Teide Observatory 1
Thueringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg 8
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) 442
TrES 5
United Kingdom Infrared Telescope 2
University of Canterbury Mt John Observatory 1
Very Long Baseline Array 1
W. M. Keck Observatory 188
WASP-South 11
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) Sat 1
Winer Observatory 1
Xinglong Station 2
XO 6
Yunnan Astronomical Observatory 3


 

⎘

Next NEO Approach

2024 JQ12 on 2024-May-13 11:18 UTC at 4.6609 LD

 

⎘

Next Meteor Shower

Daytime Arietids
14 May - 24 Jun, Peak: 6/7
Radiant: Star Chart, Rating: medium

 

⎘

Next ISS Passes

NOTE: You need to log in for correct data.

 

Random Objects

 

Gienah (4 Gam Crv) in Crv [HIP 59803]

Distance: 165 light-years, Magnitude: 2.58

Designated EPSILON in the constellation Cygnus, the 2nd-magnitude star Gienah is located in the wing of the "swan". The name is Arabic for "wing".

Star Chart | DSS IR Image 🔗

 

GJ 699 (Barnard's Star) in Ophiuchus

Distance: 6 light-years, Magnitude: 9.5

Located 5.98 light-years away in Ophiuchus (near the celestial equator), Barnard's Star is a small spectral class M red dwarf star known for its fast motion of 10.358 seconds of arc per year, for which reason it is also called the 'runaway star'. The 10 Gyr old star rotates around its axis in 130.4 days. At its radial velocity towards the sun at 110.6km/s it will make its closest approach around AD 9,800 at about 3.75 light-years. The star's radius is less than 0.2 that of the sun. Barnard's Star is a BY Draconis-type variable.

Star Chart | DSS IR Image 🔗

 

M68 (Globular Cluster) in Hydra

Magnitude: 7.8

The M68 globular cluster contains at least 2,000 stars, including 250 giants and 42 variables. Spanning 106 light-years in diameter, it is coming towards us at a speed of 112 km/s.

Star Chart | DSS IR Image 🔗

 

Dorado (southern), area rank: 72

Dorado is not Latin but Spanish. Based on the description of the sea voyager Theodorus in the 16th century, the constellation was created in the 17th century by astronomer Johann Bayer. At 25 degrees northern latitude it can be seen only partially in winter. Dorado is rich in deep sky objects. The Great Magellanic Cloud lies on the boundary with Mensa. The South ecliptic pole also lies within this constellation.

Star Chart

 

252P/LINEAR

252P/LINEAR was discovered by LINEAR survey on April 7, 2000. The comet is 230 meters across and flew by Earth on March 21, 2016 at a distance of about 5.2 million km, or 14 lunar distances. The visit was one of the closest encounters between a comet and our planet. On May 12, 2016, the Hubble team released details about observation of a jet rotating with Comet 252P/LINEAR.

 

 

Antiope (Asteroid)

Semi-major: 3.15600 AU, Size: 93 km

Discovered in 1866, 90 Antiope is a 93 km long main belt asteroid. In 2000 hi-res images taken with the Keck Telescope revealed a pair of asteroids of almost the same size orbiting each other in 16.5 hours at a center-to-center distance of 171 km. Antiope is the slightly larger of the binary. The satellite is dubbed S/2000 (90) 1.

 

 

Helene (moon of Saturn)

Discovered in 1980, Helene, a small (43.4x38.2x26 km) and faint moon of Saturn, is referred to as a Trojan satellite because it orbits Saturn in the Lagrange point of the larger moon Dione.

 

 

TOI-178 g (in Sculptor)

Mass: 0.0124 xJup
Radius: 0.256 xJup
SMA: 0.1275 AU
Period: 20.7095 days
Distance: 62.699 parsec
Category: Hot Neptunian
ESI: 0.350662

Star Chart | DSS IR Image 🔗

 

Android Astronomy Apps

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Lunar Imaging App (free, no ads)

 

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3D Visualizations

Solar System

Exoplanets

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Dark Site in Morocco

Some say that the seeing is better only in space.

Click on the banner to visit the new website of SaharaSky, the first and currently only private observatory with Casbah-style *** hotel in North Africa.

 

The owner, Fritz, is a German with a life-long passion for astronomy. Then, as he felt in deep love with Morocco and its wonderful people, he built a self-contained hotel at the feet of the Sahara about 30 kilometers to the southeast of the town of Zagora entirely in the traditional southern Moroccan Casbah-style and equipped it, besides comfortable rooms, a restaurant, spa and sauna, with a rich portfolio of optical instruments and accessories for amateur astronomers.

Fritz chose the location extremely well, a truly dark site in absence of city and street lights, blessed with an average of 300 clear dry nights annually. The observatory atop the hotel building offers a 360 degrees panoramic view on 500 square meters.

Most guests are professional and amateur astronomers, but also people of all ages with affection for the fascination of the stars and the desert. From the hotel's wide roof terrace, everybody can enjoy the starry sky dominated by the arch of the Milky Way with bare eyes or with rental telescopes and cameras.

The heart and soul of SaharaSky's observatory is Patrick from Belgium, not only a senior professional astronomer, but also a talented animator and entertainer under the Saharan stars.

A stay at SaharaSky is not limited to the night sky. SaharaSky provides equipment for solar observation, but Fritz also organises desert excursions for several days, overnight or day-return treks in a 4x4 or on dromedar backs, plus guided tours to historically invaluable local sites, such as the Petroglyphs of Ait Ouazzik.

Owner and staff as a team speak Arabic, local Berber, English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch.

Scotty, lock on to the coordinates of SaharaSky and beam us over!


SaharaSky owns telescopes with apertures from 40 to 400mm, such as Takahashi APOs, each of which can be saddled on high precision GM2000 mounts featuring GPS, GoTo and accurate guiding for both, visual observation and photography.

 

 

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