December 2017 – Skies News

12/8/2017
December Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Winter Solstice, Planet Plotting, December Moon

Focus Constellations: Gemini, Auriga, Taurus, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Pegasus, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Camelopardalis, Lynx

Comet Journal

No comet is expected to exceed 9th magnitude in December. Comet C/2017 O1 (ASASSN) circles through Cepheus in December at 9th magnitude. It is now retreating from the Sun and will get dimmer in 2018.

Mars Landers

Opportunity is at “Perseverance Valley” on the western rim of “Endeavor Crater”, the 14 mile wide crater located on “Meridiani Planum”. The crater was formed during the ”Noachian“ age on Mars, over 3.7 billion years ago. The rover has been limited in its activities in recent weeks by wintry conditions which influenced availability of solar energy, limiting energy available for exploration.

Opportunity is conducting extensive panoramic imaging as it descends “Perseverance Valley” on the west rim of the crater. The valley may be a major drainage sluiceway carved by flowing water or mudflows. The rover has also conducted Alpha Particle X-ray spectrographic studies of rock samples so as to determine the nature of the material on the floor of the valley. As of Sol 4923 (Nov. 28, 2017), the rover reached total travel on Mars of 28.00 miles (45.068 kilometers). Solar array energy production was 390 watt-hours per sol.

Curiosity is in “Gale Crater” which is even older than “Endeavor Crater”. The 96 mile wide crater was filled with water laid sediments sometime after the impact which formed it. These sediments were buried, lithified into sedimentary rock layers, then almost completely eroded away except for “Mt. Sharp”, the 18,000 foot high remnant in the center of the crater. The rover is climbing the mountain and reached a summit on Vera Rubin Ridge on September 13th. Curiosity then started traversing southward over bedrock exposures and fractured bedrock material with overlying scattered surficial pebble(s) or soil and a general lack of sand. This is unlike the landscape in the Murray formation at the base of the ridge, which was dominated by a combination of bedrock exposures and windblown sands. For most of October, mission scientists devoted a major effort to deliver a sand sample collected over 18 months ago to the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite. The instruments and mechanisms necessary for the task have been inoperable since the robotic arm’s drill feed mechanism became stuck on December, 2016. The sample was successfully delivered and the drill was tested on the ground on Sol 1863 (November, 1, 2017).

After an immobile two weeks in late October, travel resumed and Curiosity examined an outcrop of sedimentary rock with prominent sedimentary structures revealing how the sediment was initially deposited. The rover continued to climb southward over the Vera Rubin Ridge during November, then altered course to the east in early December. During the interval, daily observations of the rocks, sediments, terrain, and atmosphere were conducted with the Mast Camera (Mastcam) and the Chemistry and Camera Instrument (Chemcam) to provide scientists with the data necessary for understanding of the ridge and environment.

Meteor Showers

December Meteor Showers in December for the northern hemisphere include the Chi Orionids, the Geminids, the Coma Berenicids, and the Ursids. All are minor showers except for the Gemini’s and, occasionally, the Ursids. The former peak on the 13th/14th and the latter on the 23rd/24th. The Gemini’s often produce over 100 meteors per hour and the Ursids normally produce 5 to 10 meteors per hour and have stormed at 50 per hour. Dark skies associated with the accompanying crescent moons will favor each shower. The Geminid maximum also coincides with a bright return of its parent asteroid, 3200 Phaethon and Comet 8P/Tuttle is responsible for the Ursids.

Winter Solstice

On December 21st at 11:28AM, the Sun sinks to its lowest altitude of the year above the southern horizon. Earth’s axis is tilted away from the Sun and we experience the shortest day and longest night of the year.
The December Solstice marks the start of winter in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere. The beginning of winter for the Anishinaabe people in northern Michigan was the full moon after the solstice because time was measured by the Moon. After the sun sinks low in the south, it stands still, then it starts to rise higher. The next full moon marked the start of the New Year which was honored with feasts, songs, dances, and stories.

Planet Plotting

Morning planets include Venus (-3.8) in Libra, Ophiuchus, and Sagittarius, Mars (+1.7 to +1.5) in Virgo, and Jupiter (-1.5 to -1.6) in Libra. In early December, Mercury and Saturn sink deep into the glow of sunset and rise slightly before the Sun at month’s end. Jupiter rises about 5:30AM EST on the first and an hour earlier on the 31st. Venus rises before dawn early in the month, then sinks deeper into the sunrise during December. Mercury approaches Venus on the 15th and the waning crescent Moon is nearby on the 17th. The Moon approaches Saturn on the 18th and Venus follows on the 25th.

Uranus (+5.7 to +5.8) is in Pisces, and Neptune (+7.9) is in Aquarius. Uranus and Neptune are restricted to the evening skies. They rise mid-day and set in the evening in December. The waxing Moon passes Neptune on the 24th and Uranus on the 27th.

Planet…..Constellation(s)………..Magnitude….Planet Passages …………………………………………………………………..Time….Date

Sun..Ophiuchus, Sagittarius……..-26.8…………New Moon ………………………………………………………………1:30AM EST..12/18
Mercury..Sagittarius, Ophiuchus..+0.2 to -0.2…Inferior Conjunction …………………………………………………………….9:00PM EST….12/12
………………………………………………………….Venus 2.2°S …………………………………………………………….7:00PM EST….12/15
Venus..Libra, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius..-3.8………Mercury 2.2°N ……………………………………………………………….Noon EST….12/15
………………………………………………………….Saturn 1.1° N ……………………………………………………………..3:00AM EST..12/25
Mars…..Virgo………………………..+1.7 to +1.5
Jupiter….Libra……………………….-1.6 to -1.7
Saturn….Sagittarius……………….+0.5………….Solar Conjunction …………………………………………………………………4PM EST..12/21
………………………………………………………….Venus 1.1° S” ………………………………………………………………..Noon EST..12/25
Uranus….Pisces…………………….+5.7 to +5.8
Neptune…Aquarius…………………+7.9

December Moon

The New Moon of December is on the 18th at 1:30AM EST. It is the beginning of Lunation 1175 which ends 29.78 days later with the New Moon of Jan. 16th at 10:17PM EST.

The Full Moon of December in Gemini occurs at 10:47AM EST on the 3rd. The December Moon is known as the “Moon before Yule”. The Celts called it the “Cold Moon”, and Colonial Americans called it the “Christmas Moon”. Chinese refer to it as “Bitter Moon”, and it was the “Oak Moon” in Medieval England. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) recognize it as “Manidoo-gizisoons (Little Spirit Moon).

Lunar Perigee (closest to Earth) is 222,135 miles or 56.05 Earth radii on the 4th at 3:43AM EST. Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 18th at 8:28PM EST when it is at 252,651 miles (63.75 Earth radii).

The Full Moon is a “Supermoon” because it occurs slightly more than 17 hours before the closest perihelion of the year. Its proximity causes it to be the largest and brightest full moon of 2017, producing the highest tides. Does the Moon also influence the weather? Ocean tides can be as large as 50 feet depending on shoreline configuration, land tides have typical amplitudes of about a foot, and our atmosphere also responds to the tug of the Moon and Sun. Although measured amounts are minuscule compared to other atmospheric disturbances, there is a positive correlation between atmospheric tides and relative humidity (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015GL067342/full). However, correlation is not always cause and effect.

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passage..Moon Phase …………………………………………………………….Moon Age

Sun……..Sagittarius….-26.8…………………..1:30AM EST, 12/18 …………………………………………………………..New…0 days
Mercury..Ophiuchus….+2.1……………1.7°N, 4:00AM EST, 12/17 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent..28.89 days
Venus…..Ophiuchus….-3.8…………….4.1°N, 2:00PM EST, 12/17 ……………………………………………Waning Crescent..29.30 days
Mars…….Virgo…………+1.6………..3.9°NNE, 2:00PM EST, 12/13 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent..25.30 days
Jupiter….Libra………….-1.6………..4.1°NNE, 12:00PM EST, 12/14 ……………………………………………Waning Crescent..26.22 days
Saturn….Sagittarius….+0.4……………2.8°N, 9:00AM EST, 12/18 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent….3.13 days
Uranus….Pisces……….+5.8…………4.3°SSE, 4:00PM EDT, 12/27 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous….9.60 days
Neptune..Aquarius……+7.9…………1.4°SSE, 9:00AM EST, 12/24 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent….6.31 days

November 2017 – Skies News

11/1/2017
November Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, November Moon

Focus Constellations: Auriga, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Pegasus, Cygnus, Lyra, Cepheus, Draco, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Lynx, Camelopardalis

Comet Journal
Comet C/2017 O1 (ASASSN) moves northward at 8th magnitude through Camelopardalis in November. It passed perihelion on October 14th and was closest to Earth on October 18th. It is now retreating from the Sun and will get dimmer in 2018.

Mars Landers
Opportunity is at “Perseverance Valley” on the western rim of “Endeavor Crater”, the 14 mile wide crater located on “Meridiani Planum”. The rover has been dealing with low solar energy levels which limit energy available for exploration. In lieu of visiting new locations, Opportunity is conducting surface chemistry surveys in the immediate area. Moving about 59 feet (18 meters) to a nearby subject designated “La Bajada” allowed collection of over 40 color stereo-image pairs of the surroundings and positioned the rover in a better orientation for collection of solar energy. As of Sol 4882 (Oct. 17, 2017), the rover reached total travel on Mars of 27.98 miles (45.04 kilometers). Solar array energy production has risen from a low of 283 to 358 watt-hours per sol since Sol 4854 (Sept. 19th).

Upon reaching the summit of Vera Rubin Ridge on September 13th, Curiosity embarked on examination of the exposed bedrock surface. On the 20th, the rover headed south-southeast toward a series of stepped layers, stopping occasionally to obtain chemical and morphological data from adjacent rock exposures. On the 25th, an arm malfunction set back plans for a couple of sols. When it was working again, examination of the geometry of the bedrock layering and crosscutting veins continued.
On September 30th, a major breakthrough transpired when mission scientists finally were preparing for delivery of a Bagnold Dunes sample to the CheMin X-ray Diffractometer. The arm’s drill feed mechanism has been stuck since December, 2016, almost 180 sols, obviating possibilities of sample drilling and analysis. The original design involved placing the stabilizers on either side of the drill bit on the target rock surface and extending the drill forward with the motorized feed mechanism to penetrate the rock. Failure of the feed mechanism necessitated going to a non-existent plan B, so mission scientist were forced to come up with a work-around.
On October 17th, after planning and preparing for resumption of the drilling program, preload tests of the rover’s drill ensued as the arm was utilized to place the drill on the ground and guide the drill into the rock while taking measurements of sideways forces with the force/torque sensors. With this method, Curiosity’s twin at JPL on Earth has successfully delivered drill samples to its laboratory instrument.
The rover has been able to collect some chemical composition information during the last six months without drilling. In addition to the thousands of color images that it takes every year, its instruments are able to discern mineral properties and mineral chemistry by enhanced observation. Special light filters help in identification of minerals by their appearance under differing light colors, and the spectrometer sorts light from the mineral surfaces into thousands of wavelengths extending well into the infrared and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum, providing a means of chemical identification. The Mast Camera (Mastcam) accomplishes the former and the Chemistry and Camera Instrument (Chemcam) is utilized for the latter. The Chemcam can observe either solar light reflected by the mineral or zap the specimen with its laser in order to observe the resulting light. Vera Rubin Ridge was designated as a target due to satellite and surface observations of rocks exhibiting an assortment of colors inviting detailed examination with these instruments. Immediate targets include some nodular purple bedrock and a white-gray vein about 20 meters away.

Meteor Showers
Meteor Showers in November include the Southern and Northern Taurids which peak on the 5th and 12th respectively at about 5 meteors per hour in dark skies. The Leonids follow during the dark skies of the new moon phase on the 17th through 19th, and the Alpha Monocerotids are active from the 25th through the 30th. The latter is a minor shower that produced a storm of over 400 meteors per hour in 1995, and the Leonids have stormed numerous times in the last few hundred years. The storm in 1833 may have exceeded 100,000 meteors per hour, and typical showers from the debris from Comet Tempel-Tuttle are limited to 10 to 40 meteors per hour. Storms in 1866, 1900, 1966, and 1999 produced thousands of meteors per hour.

Planet Plotting
Morning planets include Venus (-3.8) in Virgo and Libra, Mars (+1.8 to +1.7) in Virgo, and Jupiter (-1.5 to -1.6) in Virgo and Libra. Jupiter was at conjunction with the Sun on October 26th and rises in the glow of sunrise during November. Its elongation from the Sun is 4.8° on the 1st and increases to 27.7° by the 30th. Venus rises before dawn and is 16.8° from the Sun at sunrise on the 1st. It descends into the glow of sunrise during November and is 9.6° from the Sun at month’s end. Venus and Jupiter are in close proximity during November and are less than a degree apart on the 13th. The waning crescent Moon is near the two planets in the middle of the month.

Mercury (-0.3 to +0.1) moves through Libra, Scorpius, Ophiuchus, and into Sagittarius in the evening skies of November. Saturn (+0.5) in Ophiuchus and Sagittarius rises during the morning and sets after sunset. It is about 45° from the Sun on the 1st and drops to 19° on the 30th. The waxing crescent Moon passes Mercury and Saturn on the 20th. Uranus (+5.7) is in Pisces, and Neptune (+7.9) is in Aquarius. Uranus and Neptune rise before the Sun and set during the wee hours in November. The waxing gibbous Moon passes Uranus on the 2nd and again on the 30th. It is near Neptune on the 27th.

Planet….Constellation(s)..Magnitude……….Planet Passages
………………………………………………………………Time Date
Sun……..Virgo……………..-26.8………………..New Moon ……………………………………………………….6:42AM EST..11/18
Mercury..Libra, Scorpius,..-0.3 to +0.1….Max East Elongation …………..Ophiuchus, Sagittarius……………7:00PM EST..11/23
Venus…..Virgo, Libra………-3.8……………….Jupiter 0.26° SSW ……………………………………………………….3:00AM EST..11/13
Mars…….Virgo………………+1.8 to +1.7
Jupiter….Virgo, Libra………-1.5 to -1.6………Venus 0.26° NNE ……………………………………………………….3:00AM EST..11/13
Saturn….Ophiuchus, Sagittarius..+0.5
Uranus….Pisces………………….+5.7
Neptune..Aquarius………….+7.9

November Moon
The New Moon of November is on the 18th at 6:42AM EST. It is the beginning of Lunation 1174 which ends 29.65 days later with the New Moon of Dec. 18th at 1:30AM EST.
The Full Moon of November in Taurus occurs at 1:23AM EDT on the 4th. The November Moon is known as the “Frosty Moon ”. The Celts called it the “Dark Moon”, and the Colonial Americans called it the “Beaver Moon”. Chinese refer to it as the “White Moon”, and it was the “Snow Moon” in Medieval England. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people in northern Michigan recognize it as “Baashkaakodin-Giizis (Freezing Moon).

Lunar Perigee (closest to Earth) is 224,587 miles or 56.67 Earth radii on the 5th at 7:21PM EST. Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 21st at 2:00PM EST when it is at 252,359 miles (63.68 Earth radii).

Planet….Constellation…..Magnitude…………..Moon Passage …………………………………………………Moon Phase..Moon Age
Sun……..Libra……………..-26.8……………6:42AM EST 11/18 ………………………………………………………………..New..0 days
Mercury..Ophiuchus……..-0.3…….6.8°N, 6:00AM EST, 11/20 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..1.97 days
Venus…..Libra…………….-3.8….3.8°NNE, 3:00 AM EST, 11/17 ………………………………………….Waning Crescent..28.49 days
Mars…….Virgo…………….+1.8..3.0°NNE, 10:00PM EST, 11/14 ………………………………………….Waning Crescent..26.20 days
Jupiter…..Libra……………-1.5…3.9°NNE, 7:00PM EST, 11/16 ………………………………………….Waning Crescent..28.16 days
Saturn…..Sagittarius…….+0.5..3.0°N, 8:00PM EST, 11/20 ……………………………………………Waxing Crescent..2.55 days
Uranus…..Pisces………….+5.7..3.5°SSE, 11:00PM EDT, 11/2
…………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous..14.33 days …………………………………………4.1°SSE, 7:00AM EST, 11/30 …………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous..12.01 days
Neptune…Aquarius……….+7.9…1.1°SSE, 1:00PM EST, 11/27 ……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..9.26 days

October 2017 – Skies News

09/30/2017
October Skies by Dick Cookman

HIGHLIGHTS: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, October Moon

FOCUS CONSTELLATIONS: Auriga, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Pegasus, Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, Hercules, Draco, Cepheus, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Camelopardalis

Comet Journal

Comet C/2017 O1, which was discovered on 7/19/2017 by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASASSN), moves through Perseus and into Camelopardalis in October. In September, comet aficionados observed aqua color from glowing carbon-rich gases in the 8th magnitude comet. It is expected to reach 7th magnitude in October and November and reaches perihelion on October 14th. It is closest to Earth on the 18th as it rises above the orbits of Mars and Earth and heads upward and outward to the inner Oort Belt in its 10,000 year circuit of the Sun.

Mars Landers

Opportunity is continuing with limited exploration of “Perseverance Valley” on the western rim of “Endeavor Crater” in “Meridiani Planum”. The rover is hopping between energy-favorable “lily pads” which are tilted to the north to maximize low levels of solar illumination on the solar panels. Activity is constrained by the need for recharging batteries with the solar panels. At each location, Opportunity is conducting and extensive stereo survey in order to produce a complete digital elevation model that will be utilized to determine answers to questions about the valley’s formation and development. Perseverance Valley may be an ancient spillway carved by water cascading from the rim to the crater floor. The rover observed copious evidence for water along the rim of the crater during the last year as alteration of ancient rock by fluid borne substances and fractures filled with minerals precipitated from aqueous solutions.

As of Sol 4854 (Sept. 19, 2017), the rover remained at a total travel on Mars of 27.97 miles (45.02 kilometers). Solar array energy production averaged 283 watt-hours per sol during the month.

Curiosity’s two year traverse over 3 billion year old Gale Crater’s floor (a remnant of the alluvial deposits which once filled the crater) required climbing almost 1000 feet before reaching 3 mile high Mt. Sharp in September, 2014. During the ensuing 3 year interval after arrival, the rover ascended another 30 feet up the north flank of the mountain comprised of Murray Formation mudstones. Then in July, 2017, Curiosity reached a ridge informally named Vera Rubin Ridge after the astrophysicist who uncovered first evidence that clusters of galaxies were organized into superclusters of galaxies. After resuming study of galactic rotation initiated in graduate school, she developed evidence that galaxies had far greater gravitational force than previously realized –– the first evidence for the “dark matter” which is now thought to comprise over 25% of the universe.

In early September, 2017, the rover embarked on a climb to reach the top of the ridge which is the edge of a hematite-containing layer supporting an overlying layer with abundant clay minerals identified from orbit. The ridge is one of the four unique terrains on lower Mt. Sharp recognized before the Science Laboratory landed in 98 mile wide Gale Crater 5 years ago. After approaching the ridge in August, the rover started reconnaissance by skirting along the base of the 213 foot high cliff before finding an embayment with a more gentle slope which it could ascend. The ascent, which started on the 1st and was completed by the 13th, revealed purple and tan rock layers, sedimentary structures, and cross cutting veins of calcium sulfate which collectively will be studied to determine the nature of the depositional and post depositional environments of the horizontally bedded hematite layer in detail. The summit of Vera Rubin Ridge revealed an abundance of rock outcrops and rock pavements exhibiting a variety of colors and textures and relatively steep slopes with a sequence of stepped layers to the south-southwest which the rover reached at the end of September.

Meteor Showers

October’s Meteor Showers include the Draconids which peak at about 5 meteors per hour in dark skies on the 8th, the Epsilon Gemini’s which peak on October 18th, and the Orionids which peak on the 21st.

The Draconid shower typically provides a few meteors per hour in dark skies but occasionally storms at 100’s or even 1000’s per hour. Comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner provided the stream of debris that produces the shower. Glare from the waning gibbous Moon is the main detraction.

Lunar glare is less of an issue with the Epsilon Geminids and the Orionids which occur near New Moon. The former is limited to 1 – 2 meteors per hour and the latter, which is derived from Comet Halley’s debris, produces many more, ranging from 20 to 70 meteors per hour during the last 40 years.

Planet Plotting

Morning planets include Venus (-3.8) and Mars (+1.8) in Leo and Virgo, Jupiter (-1.5) in Virgo. Mercury (-1.3 to -0.4) is inn Virgo prior to Superior Conjunction on October 8th after which it dims as it moves into Libra in the evening skies. It passes within a degree of Jupiter on the 18th when both are deep in the glow of sunset. The waxing crescent Moon passes Mercury and Jupiter on the 20th, and Jupiter will be lost from sight as it approaches conjunction with the Sun on October 26th. Venus rises in the wee hours and is well above the eastern horizon at sunrise. Venus and Mars are in close proximity during October and are less than a degree apart on the 5th. The waning crescent Moon passes nearby after the middle of the month.

Saturn (+0.5) in Ophiuchus rises during the day and sets in the evening. The waxing crescent Moon passes Saturn on the 24th. Uranus (+5.7) is in Pisces, and Neptune (+7.8 to +7.9) is in Aquarius. Uranus and Neptune rise in the early evening and set during the predawn hours. Uranus is near the waning gibbous Moon in early October and reaches opposition on the 19th. The waxing gibbous Moon passes Neptune on the 3rd and again on the 30th.

Planet..Constellation(s)..Magnitude..Planet Passages
………………………………………………………………Time……….Date

Sun……….Virgo……………-26.8………………..New Moon
………………………………………………………….3:12PM EDT..10/19
Mercury….Virgo, Libra…..-1.3 to -0.4…….Superior Conjunction
…………………………………………………………..5:00PM EDT..10/8
………………………………………………………….Jupiter 0.93° NNE
…………………………………………………………4:00AM EDT..10/18
Venus……..Leo, Virgo………-3.8……………….Mars 0.21° SSW
………………………………………………………….1:00PM EDT..10/5
Mars……….Leo, Virgo……..+1.8……………….Venus 0.21° NNE
………………………………………………………….1:00PM EDT 10/5
Jupiter……..Virgo…………….-1.5………………Mercury 0.93° SSW
………………………………………………………….4:00AM EDT..10/18
………………………………………………………….Solar Conjunction”
………………………………………………………….2:00PM EDT..10/26
Saturn……..Ophiuchus……..+0.5
Uranus……..Pisces…………..+5.7………………Opposition
………………………………………………………….1:00PM EDT..10/19
Neptune……Aquarius………..+7.8 to +7.9

October Moon

October’s New Moon is on the 19th at 3:12PM EDT. It is the beginning of Lunation 1173 which ends 29.57 days later with the New Moon of Nov. 18th at 6:42AM EST.

The Full Moon of October in Aquarius occurs at 2:41PM EDT on the 5th. It is the first full moon following the equinox which some define as the Harvest Moon. This year, September’s Full Moon was considered to be the Harvest Moon by those who define it as the full moon closest to the equinox. The October Moon is also known as the “Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon”. The Celts and the Colonial Americans called it the “Hunter’s Moon”. Chinese refer to it as “Kindly Moon” and it was the “Blood Moon” in Medieval England. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people in northern Michigan recognize it as “Binaakwe-giizis (Falling Leaves Moon).

Lunar Perigee (closest to Earth) is 227,954 miles or 57.52 Earth radii on the 9th at 1:53AM EDT. Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 24th at 10PM EDT when it is at 251,749 miles (63.52 Earth radii).

Planet..Constellation..Magnitude..Moon Passage
…………………………………………………Moon Phase….Moon Age

Sun………Virgo……..-26.8……………..New……………..0 days …………………………………………………………..3:12PM EDT, 10/19
Mercury…Virgo……….-0.7………..5.0°NNE, 7:00AM EDT, 10/20
…………………………………………….Waxing Crescent…0.66 days
Venus……Virgo………..-3.8……..1.9°NNE, 10:00 PM EDT, 10/17
……………………………………………Waning Crescent..27.85 days
Mars……..Virgo………..+1.8……….1.7°NNE, 7:00AM EDT, 10/17
……………………………………………Waning Crescent..27.23 days
Jupiter……Virgo………..-1.5……….3.7°NNE, 1:00AM EDT, 10/20
…………………………………………….Waxing Crescent…0.41 days
Saturn……Ophiuchus..+0.5…………..3.2°N, 8:00AM EDT, 10/24
…………………………………………….Waxing Crescent…4.70 days
Uranus……Pisces……..+5.7……….4.0°SSE, 3:00PM EDT, 10/6
…………………………………………….Waning Gibbous..16.56 days
Neptune….Aquarius…..+7.8…….0.71°SSE, 9:00AM EDT, 10/3
…………………………………………….Waxing Gibbous..13.31 days
Neptune Aquarius…….+7.8…….0.84°SSE, 5:00PM EDT, 10/30
……………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..11.08 days

September 2017 – Skies News

09/1/2017
September Skies-by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Autumnal Equinox, Planet Plotting, September Moon

Focus Constellations: Perseus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Pegasus, Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Draco, Cepheus, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Camelopardalis

Comet Journal

Comet C/2017 O1 is in Taurus in September. It is at 8th magnitude and may reach 7th magnitude and remain that bright through November. C2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) is also in Taurus and has dimmed to 10th magnitude as it retreats from the inner solar system.

Mars Landers

Opportunity is at “Perseverance Valley” on the western rim of “Endeavor Crater”, the 14 mile wide crater located on “Meridiani Planum”, the plain where the rover landed in January of 2004. Opportunity emerged from solar conjunction in late July after experiencing a warm reset on Sol 4795 (July 20, 2017) which stopped all sequencing and put the rover in a safe state called automode.

Recovery action ensued after the solar conjunction communication blackout period ended. One sol before the official conclusion of conjunction on Sol 4807 (August 1, 2017), successful real-time commands were sent to the rover restoring master sequence control allowing Opportunity to resume normal operations. After conducting extensive imaging to determine the nature of the valley and to examine potential locations for spending the oncoming winter season, Opportunity drove for the first time since conjunction on Sol 4813 (August 7, 2017). During the next 3 weeks, the drive from one energy-favorable “lily pad” to the next tested locations with terrain sufficiently tilted to the north to maximize solar illumination on the rover’s solar panels.

As of Sol 4834 (Aug. 29, 2017), the rover reached total travel on Mars of 27.97 miles (45.02 kilometers). Solar array energy production averaged 305 watt-hours per sol during the month.

Examination of Martian rocks and sediments in a former lake bed in Gale Crater by Curiosity, the Science Lab rover revealed numerous simple organic molecules. On Earth, chains of these molecules form cell walls and other organic structures. Although Mars is now cold and dry, Curiosity also examined samples with abundant evidence of much warmer and wetter conditions. In addition, unusually high ratios of heavy isotopes of elements in the Martian atmosphere indicate that lighter isotopes once present in the atmosphere may have been lost to space, a circumstance thought to result from bombardment by solar winds after Mars lost its protective magnetic field. As the rover ventures higher in its ascent of Mt. Sharp, younger rocks dominated by hematite, clay, and sulfate may record details of the transition to cold and dry conditions.

Meteor Showers

The minor Meteor Showers of September include the Alpha Aurigids which peak at about 5 meteors per hour in dark skies on the 1st, the Delta Aurigids which start in mid-September and peak in early October, and the Epsilon Perseids which peak on the 9th. The Alpha Aurigid shower is typically the best but is competing with the gibbous Moon this year which sets around midnight leaving a sky free of lunar glare to observe the meteors when Auriga is higher in the sky. Comet Kiess (C/1911 N1) is the source of the material that causes the meteors. The Epsilon Perseids will have to deal with the waning gibbous Moon throughout the night.

Autumnal Equinox

One month and one day after the 1st total Solar Eclipse to cross the entire USA since 1919, the Earth arrives at one of the two locations in its orbit where our axis is perpendicular to a line between Earth and Sun. The axis is also tipped toward the direction of orbital travel on the Sept. 22nd equinox at 4:02 PM EDT, marking the start of the autumn season and presaging the winter season in the northern hemisphere when the axis is tipped away from the Sun on the December solstice.

Fortunately, Earth is approaching perihelion on the solstice. It will be closest to the Sun in early January when warming rays make northern hemisphere winter less drastic than if we had to struggle with winter at aphelion like those poor folks in the southern hemisphere. To their benefit, southern hemisphere climate is moderated by large southern hemisphere water bodies which dominate minimal areas of southern hemisphere continents.

Both hemispheres share equal periods of light and darkness at the equinoxes when the main variance in solar intensity is related to latitude. Polar regions receive glancing tangential rays from a Sun barely above the horizon and equatorial regions bask in the direct rays of a high altitude Sun.

Planet Plotting

Morning planets include Venus (-3.9 to -3.8) in Cancer and Leo. Mars (+1.8) is in Leo in September. Mercury (3.7 to -1.3) is in Leo and Virgo, Uranus (+5.7) is in Pisces, and Neptune (+7.8) is in Aquarius.

Mercury gets brighter throughout September as it approaches Superior Conjunction in early October. It is over 10° from the Sun on the 1st, increases to 17.9 at maximum western elongation on the 12th, then decreases to 6° on the 30th. Venus rises before 5:00AM EDT and is still above the horizon at sunrise. Mercury and Mars are in close proximity during the first half of the month and Venus joins in at mid-month after which the waning crescent Moon passes close to each. Uranus and Neptune rise in the evening and are in the southwestern sky before dawn. Both are near the Full Moon in early September.

Jupiter (-1.6 to -1.5) in Virgo and Saturn (+0.4 to +0.5) in Ophiuchus rise during the day and set in the evening. Jupiter is falling into the glow of sunset and will be lost from sight as it approaches conjunction with the Sun in late October. The waxing crescent Moon passes Jupiter on the 22nd and Saturn on the 26th.

Planet……..Constellation(s)…..Magnitude…….Planet Passages
………………………………………………………….Time…………Date
Sun…………Leo, Virgo…………..-26.8…………..New Moon
………………………………………………………….1:30AM EDT…….9/20
Mercury…..Leo, Virgo…………..+3.7 to -1.3….Mars 3.2° NE
………………………………………………………….8:00PM EDT…….9/4
………………………………………………………Max West Elongation
………………………………………………………….6:00AM EDT…….9/12
……………………………………………………….Venus 10.9° WNW
………………………………………………………….8:00AM EDT…….9/14
……………………………………………………….Mars 0.06° SSW
………………………………………………………….3:00PM EDT…….9/16
Venus……Cancer, Leo……………-3.8…………..Mercury 10.9° ESE
………………………………………………………….8:00AM EDT…….9/14
Mars……..Leo…………………….+1.8…………..Mercury 3.2° SW
………………………………………………………….8:00PM EDT, 9/4
………………………………………………………..Mercury 0.06° NNE
………………………………………………………….3:00PM EDT, 9/16
Jupiter……Virgo……………………-1.6 to -1.5
Saturn……Ophiuchus……………+0.4 to +0.5
Uranus……Pisces…………………+5.7
Neptune….Aquarius……………..+7.8………………..Opposition
……………………………………………………………1:00AM EDT, 9/5

September Moon

The September New Moon is on the 20th at 1:30AM EDT. It is the beginning of Lunation 1172 which ends 29.57 days later with the New Moon of Oct. 19th at 3:12PM EDT.

The Full Moon of September in Aquarius occurs at 3:04AM EDT on the 6th. It is called the “Fruit Moon”. Colonial Americans called it the “Harvest Moon” which is defined as the full moon closest to the equinox or the first full moon following the equinox. September’s Full Moon is the Harvest Moon by the first definition and the second definition places it in October in 2017. To the Celts it was the “Singing Moon”, and Chinese refer to it as “Chrysanthemum Moon”. It was the “Barley Moon” in Medieval England. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people in northern Michigan recognize it as “Waatebagaa-giizis” (Leaves Turning Moon).

Lunar Perigee (closest to Earth) is 229,820 miles or 57.99 Earth radii on the 13th at 12:11PM EDT. Apogee (maximum orbital distance) occurs on the 27th at 3AM EDT when it is at 251,250 miles (63.40 Earth radii).

Planet…..Constellation….Magnitude………Moon Passage
………………………………………………….Moon Phase Moon Age
Sun………Virgo…………….-26.8……………………1:30AM EDT 9/20
…………………………………………………….New…………….0 days
Mercury…Sextans…………-0.9………0.05°SE, 7:00PM EDT, 9/18
…………………………………………Waning Crescent……..28.19 days
Venus……Gemini…………. -3.8…..0.53°SSW, 9:00 PM EDT, 9/17
…………………………………………Waning Crescent……..27.27 days
Mars……..Leo……………….+1.8……..0.17°NE, 4:00PM EDT, 9/18
…………………………………………Waning Crescent……..28.06 days
Jupiter…..Virgo………………-1.5….3.5°NNE, 6:00AM EDT, 9/22
…………………………………………Waxing Crescent……….2.19 days
Saturn…..Ophiuchus………+0.5…….3.5°N, 9:00PM EDT, 9/26
…………………………………………Waxing Crescent……….6.81 days
Uranus…..Pisces……………+5.7…….4.1°SSE, 9:00AM EDT, 9/9
…………………………………………Waning Gibbous……..18.77 days
Neptune…Aquarius………..+7.8….0.74°SSE, 1:00AM EDT, 9/6
…………………………………………Waxing Gibbous………15.44 days

August 2017 – Skies News

07/31/2017
August Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Solar Eclipse, Planet Plotting, August Moon

Focus Constellations: Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, Ophiuchus, Hercules, Corona Borealis, Bootes, Draco, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Camelopardalis

Comet Journal

Comet C/2017 O1 is in Cetus and Eridanus in early August and moves northward into Taurus late in the month. It is at 9th magnitude and expected to brighten to 8th magnitude. C2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) is in Aries and Taurus after passing through perihelion at 6th magnitude in May. It is at 9th magnitude and will continue to circle through the two constellations as it retreats from the inner solar system. Comet V2 Johnson, in southern hemisphere skies, is visible in southern USA at 8th magnitude in Lupus in early August.

Mars Landers
Opportunity is at “Perseverance Valley” on the western rim of “Endeavor Crater”, the 14 mile wide crater located on “Meridiani Planum”, the plain where the rover landed in January of 2004. Between Sol 4774 (June 28, 2017) and Sol 4793 (July 18, 2017), Opportunity entered the valley and moved to a position offering a favorable tilt for solar energy gain prior to and after the solar conjunction on July 26th. In addition, two weeks of instructions were uploaded for the conjunction due to expected communication difficulties during the conjunction. On Sol 4795, a computer warm reset halted use of the stored sequence of commands and kicked the rover into automode during which it awaits further instruction. Solar array energy production averaged 342 watt-hours per sol during the month and the rover has traveled 27.95 miles (44.97 kilometers) on Mars since 2004.

On Sol 1741 (June 29, 2017), Curiosity was preparing for the solar conjunction and drawing close to the base of Vera Rubin Ridge, the hematite bearing layer which is the next youngest layer above the Murray Formation mudstones. Analysis of the hematite rocks may reveal an ancient environmental change to more acid conditions in the water filling the crater. The layers of Mt. Sharp which lay above the ridge include more recent clay and sulfate bearing rocks which will reveal further details of Martian history.

Meteor Showers
Residual Southern Delta Aquarid Meteors which continue to grace the skies in early August after peaking on July 30th compete with glare from the gibbous Moon. On the 8th, the day after the partial eclipse of the Moon, the minor Northern Delta Aquarid Shower adds a few meteors piercing the lunar glare each hour.

The big bopper for August is the Perseid Meteor shower coinciding with the waning gibbous Moon on the nights of the 11th and 12th. Debris from former passages of Comet Swift-Tuttle fuels the Perseids which appear to come from the direction, or radiant, of the constellation Perseus, residing in the north-eastern part of the sky. The Perseids are renowned due to their appearance during the warm evenings and mornings of early August and a typical meteor count of 60 to 100 meteors per hour.

The Kappa Cygnids on the 18th and Iota Aquarids on the 20th are minor showers averaging 2 meteors per hour.

Solar Eclipse
We live in an era characterized by a phenomena unique in Earth history. The Moon has been retreating from the Earth during the last few billion years and now the Sun is 400 times farther than the Moon. Since the Sun is also 400 times larger, both subsume the same angle in the sky permitting the Moon to totally block the Sun during New Moon phases when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are lined up. Eclipses occurring when the Moon is at aphelion or farthest from Earth in its orbit are characterized by annular eclipses with the outer perimeter of the Sun surrounding the Moon in a “Ring of Fire”. The last annular eclipse for most of the USA was on 5/10/1994 and the next will be on 10/14/2023. The last total eclipse was on 2/26/1979 in the northwest USA from Washington and Oregon to North Dakota, and the last seen from coast to coast was in June, 1918. The next will be on 4/8/2024.

The August 21st solar eclipse will be total for areas in an ~ 70 mile wide swath stretching from the coast of South Carolina to that of Oregon. The Moon’s shadow will make the trip from west to east at 1700 miles per hour. All areas
the continental USA will see at least a partial eclipse with more than half of the Sun blocked by the New Moon. #14
welding glass is the minimum retina protection required to look at the Sun and stacking 2 #7’s does not provide sufficient protection. Eclipse blindness is a very real outcome of inadequate protection. Solar glasses with a (ce)
marking can be used, and solar glasses with optical lenses provide much clearer views, enabling observers to see the larger sunspots and details of Baily’s Beads and the Diamond Ring Effect caused by the disappearing or
emerging Sun peeking between lunar mountains.

Planet Plotting
Morning planets include Venus (-3.9 to -3.8) in Gemini and Cancer. Mars (+1.7 to +1.8) is in Cancer and Leo in August. Uranus (+5.8) is in Pisces, and Neptune (+7.8) is in Aquarius.
Brilliant Venus rises about 4:00AM EDT and spends most of August about 30° above the horizon at sunrise at 40° N latitude. It is near the waning crescent Moon on the 19th,. Uranus and Neptune rise about midnight and are in the southern sky before dawn. The Moon is adjacent to Neptune on the 13th and Uranus on the 16th.

Evening planets in August include Mercury (+0.6 to +4.7 to +0.4) in Leo, Sextans, and back into Leo. It is near the waxing crescent Moon in Sextans on the 22th, at inferior conjunction on the 26th, and reappears in the morning sky in September. Jupiter (-1.7 to -1.6) in Virgo is in the west after sunset. It sets about 11PM EDT early in the month and falls into the glare of sunset by month’s end. Saturn (+0.3 to +0.4) is in Ophiuchus in August. It is adjacent to the Moon on the 3rd and 30th and dims slightly in late August.

Planet Constellation(s) Magnitude Planet Passages Time Date

Sun…Gemini, Cancer…….-26.8..New Moon..2:30PM EDT..8/21
Mercury..Leo, Sextans, Leo..+0.6 to +4.7 to +0.6 …………………………………………….Inferior Conjunction 4.22° S ……………………………………………………………5:00PM EDT….8/26
Venus….Gemini, Cancer…-3.9 to -3.8
Mars……Cancer, Leo……..+1.7 to +1.8
Jupiter….Virgo……………….-1.7 to -1.6
Saturn….Ophiuchus ………+0.3 to +0.4
Uranus….Pisces…………….+5.8 to +5.7
Neptune..Aquarius…………+7.8

August Moon
The August 21st New Moon at 2:30PM EDT blocks out the Sun producing a solar eclipse as described above. It is the beginning of Lunation 1171 which ends 29.46 days later with the New Moon of Sept. 20th at 1:30AM EDT.

The Full Moon of August in Virgo occurs at 2:12PM EDT on the 7th. The August Moon is called the “Green Corn or Grain Moon”. Colonial Americans called it the “Dog Day’s Moon”. To the Celts it was the “Dispute Moon”, and Chinese refer to it as “Harvest Moon”. It was the “Corn Moon” in Medieval England. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people in northern Michigan recognize it as “Manoominike-giizis ” (Ricing Moon).

Lunar Apogee position in orbit (maximum orbital distance) is at 251,714 miles (63.51 Earth radii) from Earth on the 2nd at 2PM EDT. The Moon will again reach apogee on the 30th at 8AM EDT when it is at 251,239 miles (63.39 Earth radii). Perigee (closest to Earth) is 227,498 miles or 57.40 Earth radii on the 18th at 9:16AM EDT.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Moon Passage Moon Phase …………………………………………………………………………Moon Age

Sun……….Leo………….-26.8……….2:30PM EDT, 8/21 …………………………………………………………………….New..0 days
Mercury…Sextans……+3.8………..5.9°NNE, 5:00AM EDT, 8/22 ……………………………………………….Waxing Crescent..0.60 days
Venus……Gemini………-3.9………..2.2°S, Midnight EDT, 8/19 ……………………………………………..Waning Crescent..26.76 days
Mars……..Leo…………..+1.8……….1.5°SSW, Midnight EDT, 8/21 ……………………………………………..Waning Crescent..28.76 days
Jupiter…..Virgo………….-1.6……….3.3°NNE, 11:00AM EDT, 8/25 ……………………………………………….Waxing Crescent..3.85 days
Saturn…..Ophiuchus….+0.3………3.4°N, 4AM EDT, 8/3 ………………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..10.93 days
Saturn…..Ophiuchus…..+0.4……..3.5°N, 11AM EDT, 8/30 ……………………………………………….Waxing Gibbous..8.85 days
Uranus…..Pisces………..+5.8………4.2°SSE, 4AM EDT, 8/13 ………………………………………………Waning Gibbous..20.93 days
Neptune…Aquarius…….+7.8……….0.82°SSE, 7PM EDT, 8/9 ………………………………………………Waning Gibbous..17.55 days

July 2017 – Skies News

07/1/2017
July Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, July Moon

Focus Constellations: Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cygnus, Lyra, Aquila, Ophiuchus, Virgo, Hercules, Corona Borealis, Bootes, Draco, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Camelopardalis

Comet Journal

41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak is in eastern Serpens Cauda. After reaching 6th magnitude near perihelion in April, the comet has dimmed to 13th magnitude and is rapidly retreating from the inner solar system. C2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) is in Aries after passing through perihelion at 6th magnitude in May. It is at 8th magnitude and will move into Taurus in August. Comet V2 Johnson is at 7th magnitude in Virgo in early July. After the middle of the month, it will pass into Hydra then disappear from northern hemisphere skies.

Mars Landers

Opportunity is at “Perseverance Valley” on the western rim of “Endeavor Crater”, the 14 mile wide crater located on “Meridiani Planum”, the plain where the rover landed in January of 2004. Between Sol 4739 (May 23, 2017) and Sol 4773 (June 27, 2017), Opportunity maneuvered around the top of the spillway to obtain wide-baseline stereo down-valley images for a detailed map revealing the valley topography. This map is for planning a route down the valley to the floor of the crater. On Sol 4750 (June 4, 2017), the left front wheel actuator stalled with the wheel splayed out at a 33 degree angle. After attempting a variety of fixes over the next two weeks, the team started alternating small toe out actuations with attempts to straighten the wheel. The final attempt was successful, but the initial cause of the problem is yet to be discovered. Mission scientist plan to restrict steering to the rear wheels as the right front wheel has been unsteerable for many months and the left front wheel condition is now suspect. Solar array energy production averaged 351 watt-hours per sol during the month and the rover has traveled 27.90 miles (44.90 kilometers) on Mars since 2004.

On Sol 1680 (April 29, 2017), the Curiosity Science Laboratory rover climbed southeastward up Mt. Sharp following tilted Murray Formation layers (some with cross-bedding) toward Vera Rubin Ridge (initially called Hematite Ridge due to spectral hematite signatures obtained from orbit). The layers appear as discontinuous outcrops separated by rocky and sandy surfaces, some with megaripples that are darker and larger than those at Bagnold Dunes. The rover collected sand samples to be examined later and is making MAHLI, APXS, and Chemcam “touch and go” observations of adjacent rock outcrops. One mudstone outcrop slab exhibited color variations (gray, pink and orange) and patchy white veins, others display much darker veins. By Sol 1741 (June 29, 2017), Curiosity was drawing close to the base of Vera Rubin Ridge which is composed of the next youngest layer above the Murray Formation mudstones. Evidence gathered to date from the passage over the floor of Gale Crater and the ascent through the layers of the Murray Formation, the basal layer of Mt. Sharp, indicates that after the formation of the impact crater in the basaltic crust of the planet about 3.5 billion years ago, a lake filled part or all of the crater and sediments later transformed into the rock layers of the Murray Formation accumulated on the lake bottom over 100’s of millions of years. The depths of the stratified lake were oxygen poor and the surface waters were oxygen rich. The next pages of Gale Crater’s history will emerge as the rover examines the Vera Rubin Ridge and the layers of Mt. Sharp which lay above.

Meteor Showers

The Southern Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower on the 30th coincides with the 1st quarter Moon which sets slightly after midnight. Minimal lunar glare in the hours before dawn will maximize the shower which averages 15 to 20 meteors per hour in dark skies unpolluted by artificial lights. The meteors originated from the breakup of what are now the Marsden and Kracht Sungrazing comets.

Other meteor showers in July are restricted to the southern hemisphere with the exception of the early stages of the Perseid Shower which peaks on August 12th. The peak will compete with the glare of the almost full moon.

Planet Plotting

Morning planets include Venus (-4.2 to -4.0) in Taurus and Gemini. Uranus (+5.8) is in Pisces, and Neptune (+7.8) is in Aquarius.

Brilliant Venus rises about 3:00AM EDT and is 20° above the horizon by sunup. It is near the waning crescent Moon on the 20th. Uranus and Neptune rise about midnight and are in the southern sky before dawn. The Moon is adjacent to Neptune on the 13th and Uranus on the 16th.

Evening planets in July include Mercury (-1.2 to +0.4) in Gemini, Cancer, and Leo. It is near the waxing crescent Moon on the 25th and is at Maximum Eastern Elongation on the 30th, when it is 27.2° from the Sun and sets in the northwestern sky after sunset. Jupiter (-2.0 to -1.9) in Virgo is in the southwest after sunset and sets about midnight. Saturn (+0.2 to +0.4) is in Ophiuchus in July. Adjacent to the Moon on the 7th, it will dim toward month’s end. Mars (+1.7) in Gemini and Cancer reaches solar conjunction on the 26th and is not observable in July. It is near the waxing crescent Moon on the 23rd, about 2 hours after New Moon

Planet Constellation(s) Magnitude Planet Passages Time Date

Sun…..Gemini, Cancer…….-26.8……….New Moon
……………………………………………………………5:46AM EDT 7/23
Mercury..Gemini, Cancer, Leo..-1.2 to 0.4..Max. Elong E. 27.2° ……………………………………………………………1:00AM EDT..7/30
Venus….Taurus, Gemini..-4.2 to -4.0
Mars……Gemini, Cancer……+1.7……………..Solar Conjunction
………………………………………………………………9PM EDT 7/26
Jupiter….Virgo……………..-2.0 to -1.9
Saturn….Ophiuchus……..+0.2 to +0.4
Uranus….Pisces…………..+5.8
Neptune..Aquarius………..+7.8

July Moon

The New Moon of July 23rd at 5:46AM EDT is the beginning of Lunation 1170 which ends 28.63 days later with the New Moon of August 21st at 2:30PM EDT.
The Full Moon of July in Sagittarius occurs at 12:07AM EDT on the 9th. The July Moon is called the “Thunder or Hay Moon”. Colonial Americans called it the “Summer Moon”. To the Celts it was the “Moon of Claiming”, and Chinese refer to it as “Hungry Ghost Moon”. It was the “Mead Moon” in Medieval England. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people in northern Michigan recognize it as “Aabita-niibino-giizis” (Raspberry Moon).

Lunar Apogee position in orbit (maximum orbital distance) is at 252,236 miles (63.65 Earth radii) from Earth on the 6th at Midnight EDT. Perigee (closest to Earth) is 222,425 miles or 56.64 Earth radii on the 21st at 1:13PM EDT. The proximity of perigee and New Moon will produce higher than normal spring tides.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Moon Passage Moon Phase ………………………………………………………………………Moon Age
Sun………Cancer……-26.8…..5:46AM EDT 7/23..New..0 days
Mercury…Leo…………+0.2…….0.84°N, 5:00AM EDT, 7/25 ………………………………………………Waxing Crescent..1.97 days
Venus……Taurus……..-4.1……….2.7°S, 8:00AM EDT, 7/20 …………………………………………….Waning Crescent..25.73 days
Mars……..Cancer…….+1.7……….3.1°S, 8:00AM EDT, 7/23 ……………………………………………..Waxing Crescent..0.09 days
Jupiter……Virgo……….-2.0………..2.6°NNE, 5:00AM EDT, 7/1 ………………………………………………Waxing Gibbous..6.60 days
Jupiter……Virgo……….-1.9………..3.0°NNE, 6:00PM EDT, 7/28 ………………………………………………Waxing Crescent..5.51 days
Saturn……Ophiuchus..+0.2……….3.2°N, Midnight EDT, 7/7 ……………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous..12.39 days
Uranus……Pisces………+5.8………4.1°SSE, 10PM EDT, 7/16 …………………………………………….Waning Crescent..22.31 days
Neptune….Aquarius……+7.8………0.83°SSE, 2PM EDT, 7/13 ……………………………………………..Waning Gibbous..18.98 days

June 2017 – Skies News

05/29/2017
June Skies – by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Summer Solstice, Planet Plotting, June Moon

Focus Constellations: Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Auriga, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cygnus, Lyra, Draco, Hercules, Bootes, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Camelopardalis, Lynx

Comet Journal

41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak is in eastern Hercules at 8th magnitude after passing through perihelion in April and will dim to 12th or 13th magnitude by June 30th. It will move southward through eastern Ophiuchus into Serpens Caput in June as it starts its retreat to the outer asteroid belt.
C2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) is at 6th magnitude in Pisces after passing through perihelion on May 9th. It will move into Aries by the end of June as it decreases to 8th magnitude.
Comet V2 Johnson is at 7th magnitude in southern Bootes. It will brighten to 6th magnitude as it approaches perihelion on June 12th, then will move southward through eastern Virgo during June.

Mars Landers

Opportunity is on the western rim of “Endeavor Crater”, the 14 mile wide crater located on “Meridiani Planum”, the plain where the rover landed in January of 2004. Between Sol 4711 (April 25, 2017) and Sol 4738 (May 22, 2017), the rover imaged a few small “fresh” craters as it approached “Perseverance Valley” which cuts through the rim and descends to the bottom of the 984′ deep crater. Since Sol 4720 (May 4, 2017), after arrival at the top of the wide spillway that tapers downhill into the channel at the center of the valley, Opportunity maneuvered around the top of the spillway to obtain wide-baseline stereo down-valley images for a detailed map revealing valley topography. The map is for planning a route down the valley to the floor of the crater. Solar array energy production averaged 394 watt-hours per sol and the rover has traveled 27.86 miles (44.8 kilometers) on Mars since 2004.
After scooping numerous samples of Bagnold Dune sand at the end of March, Curiosity moved farther through the dune field characterized by dark rock slabs with intervening sand patches and arrived at a position in front of the interesting “Moosehead Lake” outcrop with lots of veins and grey patches on Sol 1668-70 (April 14, 2017). The outcrop was examined with the Chemcam, Mastcam, and MAHLI cameras and the Science Laboratory moved to a curb of Murray bedrock for further observation on Sol 1674 (April 21, 2017). After studying another rock outcrop on Sol 1679 (April 26, 2017), the rover continued upward, testing bedrock composition at vertical intervals of 5 feet, toward Vera Rubin Ridge (initially called Hematite Ridge due to spectral hematite signatures obtained from orbit).

Meteor Showers

The Bootid Meteor Shower on the 23rd or 27th coincides respectively with the waning or waxing crescent Moon which rises just before or after dawn. Minimal lunar glare in the predawn hours enhances visibility of the meteors. Meteor rate has been extremely variable. Prior to 1927 it was a relatively consistent shower but was dormant from 1927 to 1998 when it produced up to 100 meteors per hour. In 2004 it appeared again with rates approaching 50 meteors per hour. The meteors result from debris thrown off by Come 7P Pons-Winneke which orbits the Sun every 6 years and was last at perihelion in 2016. Since the showers seem to occur when the comet is close to perihelion, there may not be much of a show by the relatively slow moving meteors.

Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice is on June 21st at 12:24AM, slightly less than 3 days before New Moon. Since the axis of the Earth is inclined directly toward the Sun on the solstice, the Sun appears to be overhead at 23.5° north latitude at noon during the day of the solstice. At 45° north latitude the noon position of the Sun is 68.5° above the south point on the horizon (90°- 45° + 23.5°).
The night of the solstice is the shortest night of the year, the day is the longest. The Sun shines directly on the northern hemisphere of the Earth and less directly on the southern hemisphere causing northern hemisphere summer and southern hemisphere winter. The Earth is farthest from the Sun in early July which tends to moderate northern hemisphere summers and exaggerate winter in the southern hemisphere. This effect on average temperatures is counterbalanced by the moderating influence of widespread southern hemisphere oceans and the exaggerating effect of large northern hemisphere continents.

Planet Plotting

Morning planets include Mercury (-0.2 to -2.2 to -1.3) which moves through Aries and Taurus during June, and arrives in Gemini at month’s end. Venus (-4.3 to -4.1) tracks through Pisces and Aries, moving into Taurus in June. Uranus (+5.9) is in Pisces, and Neptune (+7.9) is in Aquarius.
Mercury is on the other side of the Sun and is at Superior Conjunction on the 21st, then it moves to the evening sky. It pairs with the waxing crescent Moon on the 24th. Mercury will be separated from Mars by less than 1° in Gemini after sunset on the 28th. They might be visible in the west in the Sun’s glow. Venus is within 2° of Uranus on the 3rd and reaches maximum western elongation 7 hours later when it is 45.9° from the Sun in the morning sky. It is next to the Moon on the 20th. Saturn (+0.2 to -0.1 to +0.2) is in Ophiuchus in June. Adjacent to the Moon on the 9th, it brightens when approaching opposition on June 15th, then will dim slightly toward month’s end. Uranus and Neptune rise after midnight and are in the southern sky before dawn. The Moon is adjacent to Neptune on the 16th and Uranus on the 19th.
Evening planets in June include Mars (+1.9) in Taurus and Gemini. It is within 20° of the setting Sun on the 1st and closes to less than 10° by the 30th as it nears conjunction in July. It is near the waxing crescent Moon on the 24th. Jupiter (-2.2 to -2.0) in Virgo is in the south after sunset and sets after midnight.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Planet Passages

Sun…….Taurus, Gemini………..-26.8…………….New Moon,
……………………………………………………………6/23 10:32PM EDT
Mercury..Aries, Taurus,..-0.2 to -2.2 to -1.3….Superior
…………….Gemini…………………………………………Conjunction, …………………………………………………………….9:55AM EDT, 6/21
……………………………………………………………….Mars, 0.77°S,
…………………………………………………………….6/28, 3PM EDT
Venus..Pisces, Aries, Taurus..-4.3 to -4.1…. Uranus, 1.7°NNW
…………………………………………………………….6/3, 1AM EDT
………………………………………………………Max. W. Elong. (45.9°),
…………………………………………………………….6/3, 8AM EDT
Mars….Taurus, Gemini………….+1.9…………….Mercury, 0.77°N,
……………………………………………………………..6/28, 3PM EDT
Jupiter………Virgo……………..-2.2 to -2.0
Saturn……Ophiuchus….+0.2 to -0.1 to +0.2….Opposition,
………………………………………………………………6/15, 5:15AM EDT
Uranus………Pisces………………+5.8……………..Venus, 1.7°SSE ………………………………………………………………6/3, 1AM EDT Neptune…..Aquarius…………….+7.9

June Moon

The New Moon of June 23rd at 10:32PM EDT is the beginning of Lunation 1169 which ends 28.95 days later with the New Moon of July 23rd at 5:46AM EDT.
The Full Moon of June in Scorpio occurs at 9:10AM EDT on the 9th. The June Moon is called the “Rose, Flower, or Strawberry Moon”. Colonial Americans preferred the former, calling it the “Rose Moon”. To the Celts it was the “Moon of Horses”, and Chinese refer to it as “Lotus Moon”. It was the “Dyan Moon” in Medieval England, possibly derived from the Roman goddess of the Moon and hunting. Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people in northern Michigan recognize it as “Odemiini-giizis” (Strawberry Moon).
Lunar Apogee position in orbit (maximum orbital distance) is at 252,507 miles (63.71 Earth radii) from Earth on the 8th at 6:21PM EDT. Perigee (closest to Earth) is 222,425 miles or 56.12 Earth radii on the 23rd at 6:52 EDT. The proximity of perigee and New Moon will produce higher than normal spring tides.

Cecil Adams’ response to : Is the Great Wall of China the only manmade object you can see from space?
“…..Any number of man-made structures can be seen from space, provided we construe “structure” to mean “anything built.” Many of these are things that look like long, straight lines when seen from afar, such as highways, railroads, canals, and of course walls. If the orbit is low enough you can see even more.”

Recently a reader incorrectly stated that the only man-made object visible from Earth orbit was the Great Wall of China. You set him straight — but you may be interested to know the Wall is the only man-made object visible with the unaided human eye from the surface of the moon. The quarter-million miles does make a perceptible difference.

“According to NASA, the earth as seen from the moon takes up less than one degree of arc in the sky. Basically it looks like a big blue marble. No man-made detail can be seen at all; sometimes even the continents are barely distinguishable.
Tom Burnam, author of “More Misinformation” (1980), quotes a letter from astronaut Alan Bean on the subject:
The only thing you can see from the moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white (clouds), some blue (ocean), patches of yellow (deserts), and every once in a while some green vegetation. No man-made object is visible on this scale. In fact, when first leaving earth’s orbit and only a few thousand miles away, no man-made object is visible at that point either.”

Planet Constellation Magnitude Moon Passage ……………………………………………………………Moon Phase/Age

Sun………Gemini…………-26.8…………..10:32PM EDT, 6/24
……………………………………………………………New ~ 0 days Mercury….Gemini…………-2.1…………..5.3°N, 5AM EDT, 6/24
………………………………………….Waxing Crescent ~ 0.60 days Venus…….Aries……………-4.2…..2.3°NNW, 5:12PM EDT, 6/20
…………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~ 26.06 days
Mars……….Gemini……….+1.9……4.4°N, 2PM EDT, 6/24
…………………………………………..Waxing Crescent ~ 0.98 days Jupiter……..Virgo………….-2.2…….2.2°SSW, 7:57PM EDT, 6/3
…………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous ~ 9.18 days
Saturn……Ophiuchus………0………3.1°S, 9:25PM EDT, 6/9
…………………………………………..Waning Gibbous ~ 15.24 days
Uranus…….Pisces…………+5.8…….3.9°NNW, 2PM EDT, 6/19
…………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~ 24.93 days
Neptune……Aquarius…….+7.9……0.70°NNW, 9AM EDT, 6/16
……………………………………………Waning Gibbous ~ 21.72 days

May 2017 – Skies News

05/1/2017
May Skies by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, May Moon

Focus Constellations: Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Auriga, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Cygnus, Lyra, Draco, Hercules, Bootes, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Camelopardalis, Lynx

Comet Journal

41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak is between Hercules and Lyra moving southeastward. It is at 6th magnitude, and is expected to reach 5th magnitude and possible naked eye visibility as it approaches and passes perihelion on the 12th.

C/2017 E4 (Lovejoy) is in Triangulum on the 1st and moves through Aries to the Pleiades in May. It approached 6th magnitude at perihelion on April 23rd. It is now less than 7th magnitude and rapidly dimming.

C/2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) moves from Aquarius in April. It is at 7th magnitude and is expected to remain at that level until it passes through perihelion on May 9th.

Comet V2 Johnson is at 8th magnitude on the border of Hercules and Bootes on the 1st and moves southward through Bootes in May. It brightens to 6th or 7th magnitude as it approaches perihelion in early June.

Mars Landers

Between Sol 4677 (Mar. 21, 2017) and Sol 4711 (April 25, 2017), Opportunity continued its mission to reach “Perseverance Valley” which cuts through the rim of the 14 mile wide Endeavor Crater. During the month the relatively smooth southerly journey along the western edge of the crater covered 430 meters and brought the rover within 80 meters of the 183 meter long valley. Total travel for each sol was limited to 50 to 100 feet by frequent dust storms which limited observing distance for route planning by mission scientists. “Perseverance Valley” is an attractive target because it may have been carved by water or debris flows 3 to 4 billion years ago and may contain evidence of microscopic life similar to that found as fossils in Earth rocks of similar age. Solar array energy production averaged 417 watt-hours per sol, and total travel on Mars is now is 27.75 miles (44.66 kilometers).

While ascending the lower part of the flank of Mt. Sharp, Gale Crater’s central peak, Curiosity explored the Murray Formation, the lowest and oldest of Mt. Sharp’s rock layers. Based on evidence gathered so far, the peak is an erosional remnant of a sequence of stream, delta, and lake deposits derived from erosion of the crater rim. The sequence accumulated over millions of years and was probably many hundreds of feet thick. The mobile science laboratory systematically characterized the chemistry and mineralogy of the rock layers in order to understand how these properties vary with elevation and to reveal changing conditions in the geologic processes that formed them.

On Sol 1650 (Mar. 28, 2017) Curiosity collected a number of scoops of the sand at “Ogunquit Beach” to analyze using the CheMin and SAM instruments. The rover departed the “beach” in “Bagnold Dune Field” which covers part of the outcrop of Murray Formation rock and headed southeastward along a spur extending northwestward from Vera Rubin Ridge (formerly Hematite Ridge). The path meandered between slabby rocks with intervening small patches of dark sand. Analyses of numerous slabs, surrounding landscapes, and the atmosphere were conducted with the various onboard instruments.

Meteor Showers

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will peak on May 6th. During the evening the waxing gibbous Moon interferes a bit with viewing. The best viewing time is after moonset in the hours before dawn when we are on the leading side of the Earth as it plunges into the river of debris shed by Comet 1P/Halley which last flew by in 1986. Up to 60 swift and bright meteors per hour may shoot out of Aquarius in the southeastern sky, often leaving persistent trains.

Planet Plotting

Mercury (+2.2 to -0.2) in Pisces and Aries, Venus (-4.5 to -4.2) in Pisces, Uranus (+5.9) in Pisces, and Neptune (+7.9) in Aquarius are the morning planets. Mercury will be separated from Uranus by 2.2° in Pisces on the 7th, when they may be seen in the east before sunrise. Mercury is on the other side of the Sun and provides an excellent apparition at maximum western elongation on the 17th (26°), after which it will get brighter and higher in the western skies as its phase waxes. It pairs with the waning crescent Moon on the 23nd. Venus is next to the Moon on the 22nd and displays a bright waxing crescent as it ascends in eastern morning skies in May. Uranus and Neptune rise after midnight and are in the southern sky before dawn.

Evening planets include Mars (+1.8 to +1.9) in Taurus which rises after the Sun and appears near the waxing crescent Moon on the 26th. It is approaching solar conjunction in July and can be found progressively closer to the Sun through May and June as it descends into its glow in early evening western skies. Jupiter (-2.2 to -2.1) in Virgo rises before sunset and sets in the wee hours. Saturn (+1.1 to +1.0) moves from Sagittarius and into Ophiuchus in May. It is getting brighter as it approaches opposition in June.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Planet Passages

Sun…………Aries, Taurus………..-26.8………….New Moon, ………………………………………………………………5/25 3:45PM EDT Mercury……Pisces, Aries…………+2.2 to -0.2..Uranus, 2.2°N ……………………………………………………………..5/7, 8AM EDT Mercury……Pisces…………………+0.6……..Max. West Elongation, ……………………………………………………………..5/17, 11PM EDT
Venus………Pisces…………………-4.5 to -4.2
Mars……….Taurus…………………+1.8 to +1.9
Jupiter………Virgo………………….-2.2 to -2.1
Saturn..Sagittarius, Ophiuchus…+1.1 to +1.0
Uranus………Pisces………………..+5.9………….Mercury, 2.2°S …………………………………………………………..5/7, 8AM EDT Neptune…..Aquarius……………….+7.9

May Moon

The New Moon of May 25th at 3:45PM EDT is the beginning of Lunation 1168 which ends 29.31 days later with the New Moon of June 23rd at 10:32PM EDT.

The Full Moon of May in Scorpio occurs at 5:43PM EDT on the 10th. The May Moon is called the “Milk Moon”, a name also utilized by Colonial Americans. It is also called the “Planting Moon”. To the Celts it was the “Bright Moon”, and Chinese refer to it as “Dragon Moon”. It was the “Hare Moon” of Medieval England, and Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people in northern Michigan recognize it as “Zaagibagaa-giizis” (Budding Moon).

Lunar perigee (closest to Earth) is 221,989 miles or 56.01 Earth radii on the 26th at 1:20 EDT. Apogee position in orbit (maximum orbital distance) is at 252,428 miles (63.69 Earth radii) from Earth on the 12th at 20 EDT.

Cecil Adams’ response to : Do things get crazy when the moon is full?
“…when it comes to exerting any influence on humankind, the moon has a lot of competition. Researchers have calculated that a mother holding her baby exerts 12 million times the tide-raising force on the child that the moon does, simply by virtue of being closer.

Another thing to remember is that the tides don’t occur just once or twice a month; they occur once or twice a day. What happens at full and new moon is that the earth, moon, and sun are lined up, resulting in higher tides than usual. (At full moon the earth is between the moon and sun; at new moon the moon is between the sun and the earth.) So when we talk about the influence of the full moon, we’re really talking about the additional influence of the sun. But small though the moon’s pull on the earth is, the sun’s is only half as much.

Just to make sure about all this, a pair of admittedly skeptically scientists (Rotton and Kelly, 1985) did what they called a “meta-analysis” of 37 studies of the moon’s effect on things like psychiatric admissions, suicides, crime, etc. They found that the moon accounted for no more than 3/100 of 1 percent of the monthly variation.

A new twist was recently given to lunar-effect theorizing by the discovery that positive and negative ions in the atmosphere have an effect on behavior (negative ions usually favorable, positives the opposite). It turns out that the positive ions are more abundant when the moon is full. However, the effect is slight compared to major sources of positive ions like air conditioning and air pollution.

So how do we explain all those cops and emergency room nurses who believe in the lunar effect? Easy. Nobody notices when there’s a full moon and nothing happens — you only notice when something does happen. In other words, heads I win, tails don’t count. Case closed.”

Dick Cookman’s addendum: Additional light provided by the full moon has also been put forward as an explanation for the lunar-effect as a more visible landscape provides incentive to go outside and engage in activities which for some may prove to be antisocial or dangerous and produce unfavorable consequences. This situation was certainly more important before the advent of artifical outdoor lighting and may explain current attitudes based upon traditional views.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Moon Passage ……………………………………………………………Moon Phase/Age

Sun………Taurus…………-26.8……………….3:45PM EDT, 5/25 ……………………………………………………………New ~ 0 days Mercury….Pisces…………+0.2………1.5°SSE, 10PM EDT, 5/23 ………………………………………….Waning Crescent ~27.57 days Venus…….Pisces…………-4.4……..2.3°SSE, 10AM EDT, 5/22 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~26.07 days Mars………Taurus………..+1.8……..5.3°S, 11PM EDT, 5/26 …………………………………………..Waxing Crescent ~1.22 days Jupiter……..Virgo…………-2.3……..2.0°NNE, 7PM EDT, 5/7 …………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous ~11.45 days Saturn……Ophiuchus…….+1.1……3.1°NNE, 7PM EDT, 5/13 …………………………………………Waning Gibbous ~ 17.45 days Uranus…….Pisces…………+5.9……….3.7°SSE, 3AM EDT, 5/23 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~28.78 days Neptune……Aquarius…….+7.9……0.46°S, 2AM EDT, 5/20 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~23.74 days

April 2017 – Skies News

04/5/2017
April Skies by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers, Planet Plotting, April Moon

Focus Constellations: Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Auriga, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Hercules, Bootes, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Camelopardalis, Lynx

Comet Journal

The brightest comet of April is 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak which moves through Draco. At almost 6th magnitude, it may reach naked eye visibility at 5th magnitude as it approaches and passes perihelion on the 13th. By the end of the month, it will arrive in Hercules then trace a path along the border of Hercules and Lyra in early May.

C/2017 E4 (Lovejoy) is in Pegasus in the morning sky and moves through Andromeda by month’s end. It is at 7th magnitude and may reach 6th magnitude near perihelion on the 23rd. It is expected to enter Taurus by the end of May.

C/2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) moves through Capricornus and Aquarius in April. It is approaching 7th magnitude and is expected to remain at that level until it passes through perihelion on May 9th.

Comet V2 Johnson is in western Hercules at 9th magnitude. It brightens and circles into Bootes in April and May as it approaches perihelion in early June.

Mars Landers

“Perseverance Valley” is the next target for investigation for Opportunity. It was about a half mile south of the rover’s location on the inside of the rim of the 14 mile wide Endeavor Crater on Sol 4651 (Feb. 22, 2017). The water or debris flow carved valley cuts through the crater’s rim and is about 600 feet long. The rover covered about 25% of the half mile by Sol 4677 (Mar. 21, 2017), despite dealing with a dust storm a few hundred kilometers away which increased atmospheric opacity, reducing solar panel output from earlier levels of 484 watt hours per sol. The resulting atmospheric turbulence in the vicinity produced dust removal from the solar panels, increasing output from a low of 366 to 423 watt hours per sol. Surface targets studied during the interval include “Boonville” and “Waverly”. Panoramic imaging of the area features/landscapes was also completed. Total odometry is 27.48 miles (44.23 km).

Curiosity is ascending the flank of Mt. Sharp, Gale Crater’s central peak. A 3.5 to 3.0 billion year old mudstone observed in January displays slabs with polygonal ridges of harder material. They appear to represent mudcrack fillings, indicating a period of drying conditions during which windblown sediment filled desiccation cracks in the muds of an ancient lake bottom. Other cracks are filled with younger calcium sulfate veins produced as ground water percolated through fractured rock layers formed from lithified mud. This combination is indicative of changing environments characterized by earlier humid conditions forming a bed of a lake. It dried up during later arid weather characterized by windblown sediments. Burial of sediments supplied pressure for lithification and fracturing. This was followed by resumption of humid conditions providing underground water from which calcium sulfate veins crystallized in fractures.

The absence of calcium carbonate in the veins suggests a dearth of carbon dioxide or methane in the environments of the time leading to the probability that greenhouse effects were minimal. This, in combination with the distance of Mars from an ancient Sun with 66% as much output, indicates existence of freezing conditions which obviate previously collected evidence of flowing and standing water in the rock record examined by all of the rovers. Mars again presents us with a paradox providing planetary scientists with abundant fodder for future study.

Meteor Showers

The best meteor shower in April is the Lyrids on the 22nd. The Lyrids often reach 25 to 30 meteors per hour in dark skies, but the waning Crescent Moon may interfere with glare in the eastern sky before sunrise. In 1982, meteor count reached 90 per hour in some locales. The shower is composed of debris left by former passages of Comet Thatcher through the inner Solar System. The best viewing time is at 4AM EDT when we are on Earth’s leading face as it plunges through the debris stream stretching across our orbit.

Planet Plotting

Morning planets in April include Venus (-4.2 to -4.5) in Pisces and Saturn (+0.4 to +0.2) in Sagittarius. Venus was at inferior conjunction on Mar. 25th and is low in the eastern sky at dawn early in April. Its waxing crescent will grow as the planet rises higher in the predawn skies and brightens during April and approaches maximum western elongation in June. In April, Saturn shines brightly in the southern and southeastern sky in Sagittarius before sunrise. It is gradually getting brighter as it approaches opposition in June. Neptune (+7.9) was at conjunction with the Sun on March 1st, after which it appeared in Aquarius in the morning sky where it will remain until opposition in September.

Mercury (-0.7 to +5.6 to +2.3), Mars (+1.5 to +1.6), and Jupiter (-2.5 to -2.3) are the brightest evening planets. Mercury travels from maximum eastern elongation on the 1st to inferior conjunction on the 20th, after which it is a morning planet in May. The 1st week of April is one of its best apparitions of 2017 when Mercury is low in the west in Pisces after sunset. It disappears into solar glare as it approaches inferior conjunction and will be separated from Uranus by 0.09° in Pisces on the 28th, when they may be seen in the east before sunrise. Mars (+1.3 to +1.5) is in early evening western skies in Aries and Taurus. By the 20th, it can be seen about 4 degrees from the Pleiades cluster. Jupiter (-2.5 to -2.3) is 4 times brighter than nearby Spica in Virgo and is at its brightest for 2017 when reaching opposition on the 7th when it rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Uranus (+5.9) in Pisces reaches solar conjunction on the 14th and is a difficult target in April.

Mercury (-0.7 to +5.6 to +2.3), Mars (+1.5 to +1.6), and Jupiter (-2.5 to -2.3) are the brightest evening planets. Mercury travels from maximum eastern elongation on the 1st to inferior conjunction on the 20th, after which it is a morning planet in May. The 1st week of April is one of its best apparitions of 2017 when Mercury is low in the west in Pisces after sunset. It disappears into solar glare as it approaches inferior conjunction and will be separated from Uranus by 0.09° in Pisces on the 28th, when they may be seen in the east before sunrise. Mars (+1.3 to +1.5) is in early evening western skies in Aries and Taurus. By the 20th, it can be seen about 4 degrees from the Pleiades cluster. Jupiter (-2.5 to -2.3) is 4 times brighter than nearby Spica in Virgo and is at its brightest for 2017 when reaching opposition on the 7th as it rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. Uranus (+5.9) in Pisces reaches solar conjunction on the 14th and is a difficult target in April.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Planet Passages

Sun..Pisces, Aries, Taurus…-26.8………………..New Moon, …………………………………………………………3/27 10:57AM EDT Mercury..Pisces…………………-0.2………..Max. East Elongation, ………………………………………………………….4/1, 6AM EDT
Mercury..Aries…………………..+5.6……….Inferior Conjunction …………………………………………………………..4/20, 2AM EDT
Mercury..Pisces………………….+2.3……….Uranus, 0.09°NW, …………………………………………………………..4/28, 8AM EDT
Venus…..Pisces………………-4.2 to -4.5
Mars…Aries, Taurus………..+1.5 to +1.6
Jupiter…..Virgo……………….-2.5 to -2.3….Opposition …………………………………………………………..4/7, 6AM EDT
Saturn…Sagittarius………….+0.4 to +0.2
Uranus….Pisces…………………..+5.9………..Solar Conjunction …………………………………………………………….4/14, 2AM EDT
Uranus….Pisces…………………..+5.9………..Mercury, 0.09°SE, …………………………………………………………….4/28, 8AM EDT Neptune…..Aquarius…………….+7.9

April Moon

The New Moon of April 26th at 8:17AM EDT is the beginning of Lunation 1167 which ends 29.39 days later with the New Moon of May 25th at 3:45PM EDT.

The Full Moon of April in Leo occurs at 2:08AM EDT on the 11th. The April Moon is called the “Planter’s Moon”, a name also utilized by Colonial Americans. It is also called the “Pink Moon” as some Native Americans related it to the blooming of wild ground phlox during April. To the Celts it was the “Growing Moon”, and the Chinese refer to it as the “Peony Moon”. Medieval English thought of it as the “Seed Moon”, and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people of northern Michigan recognize it as “Iskigamizige-giizis” (Sugarbushing Moon).

Lunar perigee (closest to Earth) is 223,273 miles or 56.34
Earth radii on the 27th at 12:14PM EDT. Apogee position in orbit (maximum orbital distance) is at 251,952 miles (63.57 Earth radii) from Earth on the 15th at 6AM EDT.

Cecil Adams’ scenarios for an Earth sans Moon (part 1):

Situation #1: “No more big tides to enhance surfing, etc. Tides wouldn’t disappear entirely, since the Sun would continue to tug on the oceans, causing high tides of diminished amplitude at noon and midnight. But, as one early consultant pointed out, it’s a safe bet the bottom would fall out of the tourist trade in the Bay of Fundy, noted for its tidal extremes.”

Situation #2: “Dogs would have to bay at, I dunno, Alpha Centauri or Sirius.”

Situation #3: “Much darker at night. Duh, you say, but a fair amount of nocturnal activity among the lower orders is pegged to moonlight.”

Dick Cookman’s Explanations:

#1 The intensity of tides varies with storms and configuration of coastlines which may focus and intensify tidal height. Gravitational effects of the Sun & Moon cause tides and influence their size based on solar and lunar distance. Intensity depends not only on mass and distance of each body but also on distances to the near and far sides of Earth. The Moon attracts the near side of Earth more than the far side, stretching the planet into a football shape. The ocean is stretched more because it is more fluid than earth, creating high tides on the near and far sides. Differences in gravitational pull compared to lunar distance & size are larger than for the Sun making lunar contributions to tides more than twice as great.

#2 My hypothesis is that dogs aren’t howling at the Moon, but at each other to establish territory and inquire as to position of other dogs. I think that they howl under full moons because the landscape is lit up, attracting their attention.

#3 Animals (and plants & microbes) are greatly influenced by nighttime light as they sleep, hunt, gather, and flee. This influence is not limited to light intensity but also is affected by color and wavelength. Moonlight is a significant contributor which impacts behavior and success of undertakings as it changes with lunar position and phase. Human intervention drastically complicates these conditions as light pollution invades habitats.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Moon Passage ……………………………………………………………Moon Phase/Age

Sun………Aquarius……..-26.8……………….8:17AM EDT, 4/26 ……………………………………………………………New ~ 0 days Mercury….Pisces…………+2.5………..4.3°SSE, 2PM EDT, 4/25 ………………………………………….Waning Crescent ~28.63 days Venus…….Pisces…………-4.5………4.9°SSE, 5PM EDT, 4/23 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~26.75 days Mars………Taurus………..+1.6………5.7°S, 5AM EDT, 4/28 …………………………………………..Waxing Crescent ~1.86 days Jupiter……..Virgo…………-2.5………2.3°NNE, 6PM EDT, 4/10 …………………………………………..Waxing Gibbous ~13.79 days Saturn……Sagittarius…….+0.3………2.1°NNE, 7PM EDT, 4/16 …………………………………………Waning Gibbous ~ 19.83 days Uranus…….Pisces…………+5.9……….3.5°SSE, 2PM EDT, 4/25 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~28.63 days Neptune……Aquarius…….+7.9……0.21°SE, 4PM EDT, 4/22 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~27.71 days

March 2017 – Skies News

03/1/2017
March Skies by Dick Cookman

Highlights: Comet Journal, Martian Landers, Meteor Showers,Vernal Equinox, Planet Plotting, March Moon

Focus Constellations: Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Orion, Taurus, Auriga, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco, Bootes, Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Lynx, Camelopardalis

Comet Journal

The short period (5.25 years) comet, 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, is in Leo in the morning sky in March. It has decreased to less than 10th magnitude. It will continue to dim as it moves through Leo and into Virgo during the Spring.

Comet 2P Enke is in early evening skies in Pisces and will move into Aquarius during March. It is approaching 6th magnitude and will be brightest near perihelion on March 10th.

Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak moves through western Leo Minor and eastern Lynx at 10th and 9th magnitude in early March, then enters Ursa Major and passes through the dipper as it approaches 6th or 7th magnitude in late March. It may achieve naked eye visibility near its perihelion on April 13th.

Comet V2 Johnson is in western Hercules at 9th magnitude. It will brighten and circle into Bootes in April and May as it approaches perihelion in June.

Mars Landers

Opportunity is headed away from Marathon Valley and Spirit Mound toward an ancient fluid carved gully about one kilometer south of its location on the inside of the rim of the 14 mile wide Endeavor Crater. The valley that the rover is to investigate cuts through the rim of the crater and is about 600 feet long. It may have been carved by water or by a debris flow composed of water and rubble. In addition to investigating the origin of the valley, Opportunity will look for differences between the rocks on the floor of the crater and the sulfate-rich rocks outside the crater. Water flows downhill into the crater and the environment deep within Endeavor may have differed in chemistry or timing from that outside.

From Sol 4623 (Jan. 24, 2017) to Sol 4643 (Feb. 14, 2017), the rover traveled 0.04 miles (0.07 km.) southwestward circuiting around Beacon Hill as it ascended the slope on the inner margin of the crater and approached its edge. The geologic formations at the edge exhibit extensive scours and grooves which may be related to the erosive action of flowing water or debris flows.

Solar array energy production averaged from 414 to 484 watt-hours. Total odometry is 27.36 miles (44.03 kilometers).

Curiosity is ascending the flank of Mt. Sharp, Gale Crater’s central peak. The rover examined the Murray Formation rock layers and is approaching the Hematite Unit. The Bagnold barchan dunes superposed on the Murray Formation were studied during the first phase of the investigation of active dunes. Phase II concentrates on linear dunes found near the Hematite Unit as the rover moved southward passed some buttes and Ireson Hill, climbing higher up Mount Sharp. Since the ChemCam is “sick”, extended remote sensing was conducted at Ireson Hill with the different cameras. At Stop 1 on the linear dunes, semi-parallel dune ridges with superposed sand ripples were examined and the leading and trailing slopes of the dunes were compared at Stop 2. On Sol 1620-22 (Feb. 24, 2017) a fault in the instrumentation occurred, halting further study until the problem is diagnosed and corrected.

Meteor Showers

March is characterized by very minor and infrequent meteor showers and sporadic fireballs. The Geminids on March 22nd were discovered in 1973 in Hungary when they reached a rate of 43 per hour. Confirmation occurred when they were observed again in 1975. The absence of meteor showers at this time a year is a puzzle awaiting solution by an enterprising observer. Do comets which produce meteor showers refrain from approaching the Sun from the Leo/Virgo sector of the Solar System? If so, why? Let the rampant speculation began.

Vernal Equinox

The Spring Equinox is at 6:29AM on March 20th under the light of a waning crescent Moon.

Planet Plotting

March morning planets include Saturn (+0.5 to +0.4), and Jupiter (-2.3 to -2.2). Saturn rises well before the Sun in Sagittarius and is in the southeastern sky before sunrise. Jupiter (-2.3 to -2.2), in Virgo, rises before midnight and sets after sunrise. It is gradually getting brighter as it approaches opposition in April. Neptune (+7.9) is in conjunction with the Sun on the 1st and at mid-month will appear in Aquarius.

Mercury (-1.1 to -0.8), Venus (-4.6 to -4.7) and Mars (+1.1 to +1.3) are the brightest evening planets. Mercury does not appear in the sky in Pisces until the last half of the month. It will be separated from Venus by 8.5° in Pisces on the 18th and by 2.1° from Uranus on the 26th. Venus in Pisces will disappear in the glow of sunset before its inferior conjunction with the Sun on the 25th. Mars (+1.3 to +1.5) is in Aries.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Planet Passages

Sun..Aquarius, Pisces…-26.8………………..New Moon, …………………………………………………………3/27 10:57AM EDT Mercury..Pisces…………..-1.1…………………Neptune, 1.0°NNW, ………………………………………………………….3/4, 7AM EST
Mercury..Pisces…………..-1.2……………….Superior Conjunction …………………………………………………………..3/6, 7PM EST
Mercury..Pisces…………..-1.1…………………Venus, 8.5°NNW, …………………………………………………………..3/18, 2PM EDT
Mercury..Pisces…………..-1.1…………………Uranus, 2.1°SSE, …………………………………………………………..3/26, 6AM EDT
Venus…..Pisces…………..-4.2…………………Mercury, 8.5°SSE, ……………………………………………………………3/18, 2PM EDT Venus…..Pisces…………..-4.2………………..Inferior Conjunction ……………………………………………………………3/25, 6AM EDT
Mars……..Aries………..+1.3 to +1.5
Jupiter…..Virgo………..-2.3 to -2.2
Saturn…Sagittarius…..+0.5 to +0.4
Uranus….Pisces…………….+5.9……………….Mercury, 2.1°NNW, …………………………………………………………….3/26, 6AM EDT
Neptune…..Aquarius……….+7.9……………..Solar Conjunction …………………………………………………………….3/1, 10PM EST
Neptune…..Aquarius……….+7.9…………….Mercury, 1.0°SSE, …………………………………………………………….3/4, 7AM EST

March Moon

The New Moon of March 27th at 10:57AM EDT is the beginning of Lunation 1166 which ends 29.04 days later with the New Moon of April 26th at 8:16AM EDT.

The Full Moon of March in Leo occurs at 10:54AM EDT on the 12th. The March Moon is called the “Sap, Crow, or Lenten Moon”. Colonial Americans named it the “Fish Moon”. To the Celts it was the “Moon of Winds”, and the Chinese refer to it as the “Sleepy Moon”. Medieval English thought of it as the “Chaste Moon”, and the Anishinaabe (Odawa and Ojibwe) people of northern Michigan recognize it as “Onaabani-giizis” (Snowcrust Moon).

Lunar perigee (closest to Earth) is 229,302 miles or 57.86 Earth radii on the 3rd at 2:29AM EST. Apogee position in orbit (maximum orbital distance) is at 251,415 miles (63.44 Earth radii) from Earth on the 18th at 1:00PM EDT.

Cecil Adams’ reasons why we need the Moon:

Reason #4: “It’s a steadying influence. In order for life to develop on earth, we needed stable temperatures and a regular climate. Variations of even one degree in earth’s axial tilt relative to orbit may have led to ice ages in the past. The moon, with its large mass, acts as a major stabilizing force on our axis (as well as helping keep us within the habitable zone). Without it, we could have ended up like Mars, whose moons are much smaller and whose tilt may vary over a span of 60 degrees. In the search for extraterrestrial life scientists regularly prioritize planets with similar-sized moons attached.

With no moon, of course, our fates would be drastically different because of the misalignment of our astrological signs, but on the plus side we wouldn’t hear any more about that lunar-cycle/menstruation myth. Would mooning still be popular? Would Pink Floyd still exist? These are questions that have not been subjected to the hard discipline of the sciences, leaving us to only imagine the potential horrors in store. Missed opportunities for night vision notwithstanding, let’s be grateful for what we have.”

Explanation: The Earth and Moon are gravitationally linked and behave as a system. In the Earth/Moon system, both bodies revolve around a common barycenter located about 1000 miles below the Earth’s surface between the Earth’s center and the center of the Moon. As the Moon orbits the barycenter each month, the Earth has a monthly wobble as its center completes a 18,850 mile circuit around the same barycenter.

Angular momentum associated with daily rotation stabilizes our axis. The tilt cycles between 21.5° to 24.5° over 40,000 years. Angular momentum also deforms Earth’s shape to an oblate spheroid (pumpkin). Tidal effects of the Moon (and to a lesser degree the Sun) are slowly realigning the long dimension of the spheroid so that it parallels a line connecting the centers of each body. The war between this tidal effect and Earth’s angular momentum gradually reduces Earth’s rotation rate which in turn is tied to the monthly orbital period of the Moon as the angular momentum lost by Earth is transferred to the Moon causing it to speed up and slightly increase its period and distance from the barycenter.

Planet Constellation Magnitude Moon Passage ……………………………………………………………Moon Phase/Age

Sun………Aquarius……..-26.8……………….10:58PM EDT, 3/27 ……………………………………………………………New ~ 0 days Mercury..Aquarius……….-1.1………….6.3°SSE, 7AM EST, 3/29 …………………………………………….Waxing Crescent ~1.33 days Venus……Pisces………….-4.2…….10.7°SSE, 3:00PM EDT, 3/27 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~28.71 days Mars………Pisces…………+1.3………4.1°SSE, 2:00PM EST, 2/1 …………………………………………..Waxing Crescent ~2.96 days Mars………Pisces…………..+1.5………5.3°SSE, Noon EDT, 3/30 …………………………………………..Waxing Crescent ~2.54 days Jupiter……..Virgo…………..-2.2…..2.3°NNE, 6:00PM EDT, 3/14 …………………………………………..Waning Gibbous ~18.70 days Saturn……Sagittarius………+0.4………3.4°N, 7AM EDT, 3/20 …………………………………………Waning Gibbous ~ 21.38 days Uranus…….Pisces……………+5.9……….3.4°SSE, 1PM EST, 3/1 …………………………………………..Waxing Crescent ~2.63 days Uranus…….Pisces……………+5.8……….3.4°SSE, 1AM EST, 3/29 …………………………………………..Waxing Crescent ~1.08 days Neptune……Aquarius……….+7.9….0.11°WSW, 4AM EDT, 3/26 …………………………………………..Waning Crescent ~27.25 days