Tag Archives: open star cluster

Taurus Head-Butts the Moon

Posted on by
Reply


   Wednesday morning August 16th the 24-day old waning crescent Moon is within 2-3o from the reddish star Aldebaran and the rest of the stars of the open star cluster the Hyades, forming the v-shaped face of Taurus the Bull.

   
   
   With 10×50 binoculars the Hyades and the Moon will all fit within the field of view as this graphic is showing.

   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

Venus Gets Buzzed!

Posted on by
Reply

   Tuesday morning August 1st the inner planet Venus will pass within 3o from the open star cluster, M-35. Also known as the ‘Beehive Cluster’ this is an open star cluster located near the feet of the Gemini Twins. M-35 consists of several hundred stars and is approximately 2800 light years from our solar system. The star cluster has an apparent magnitude of around 5.5 making it naked-eye visible and certainly a binocular-worthy object.

   Through binoculars it is easy to see M-35 as well as a 3rd and a 2nd magnitude star within a couple of degrees. However the ‘ruler’ of the binocular field of view is Venus with a -4.0 magnitude.

   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

Taurus Gets An Eyeful!

Posted on by
Reply

   Thursday July 13th morning in the couple of hours before sunrise local time the inner planet Venus will be within about 3o from the reddish star Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull. Aldebaran is often described as the “red, angry eye” of Taurus. It is located at the end of the v-shaped open star cluster the Hyades, a ‘loose’ grouping of several hundred stars of which the brightest form the v-shape of the Bull’s face.
   On the 13th Venus becomes the other eye of the Bull. The apparent brightness or magnitude difference between Venus (-4.07) and Aldebaran (0.84) is quite striking.

Venus passing Aldebaran July 12th-17th   Over the next few days Venus will steadily move away, toward the east, from Aldebaran as this animated graphic is showing. It is a simulated view through 10×50 binoculars and runs from July 12th to July 17th.

   
   
   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

Moon Cruises Past Planets and Stars

Posted on by
Reply

feb5-bino
   Over the next several evenings the Moon, as it orbits toward the east and waxes from crescent to first quarter phase will pass by several planets, dwarf planets, and star clusters. On the evening of February 5th the Moon will be close to the reddish star Aldebaran, the ‘eye’ in the face of the angry bull, Taurus. This should make for a nice view with binoculars or low power eyepiece when the Moon will sort of overlay the stars of the open star cluster the Hyades.

   These two animated graphics show the sky as viewed from Quito Ecuador at 0o latitude, and my home latitude of approximately 40o North. They show the sky at one day intervals starting with February 1st and ending with February 5th.


   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

Moon Gets Nosed by the Bull

Posted on by
Reply

   Sunday January 8th the 11 day old waxing gibbous Moon will be a few degrees from the nose of Taurus the Bull, and the stars making up the open star cluster the Hyades.
8jan-bino  Through 7×50 binoculars the stars of the open star cluster the Hyades and the Moon will make for an interesting sight.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

Full Moon – Spoiler Alert!

Posted on by
Reply

   Wednesday December 14th the Moon will be at its full phase and while pleasing to observe the reflected light from the Moon plus any local light pollution spoils the night sky as either one or both brightens the night sky making it difficult to impossible to see much of anything except the very brightest of celestial objects. What this brighter sky means in terms of December 14th is that the nearby open star cluster M-35 will not be seen, nor will the Geminids Meteor Shower with a radiant near the Moon and which peaks on the 14th.
   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

December Perigee Moon Hits the Bull’s Eye

Posted on by
Reply

14dec-perigee_moon   The Moon reaches perigee, (minimum distance from Earth), this month on Monday December 12th. At that time the Moon will more or less be at a distance of 28.1 Earth diameters (356,509 km or 221,524 miles) from the Earth.
   Does our Moon actually go around the Earth as this graphic shows? From our perspective on the Earth the Moon appears to circle around the Earth. However, in reality, the Moon orbits the Sun together with the Earth*
   On the day of the lunar perigee the 13.5-day old waxing gibbous Moon rises at around sunset local time and is over the southwest horizon at sunrise the following morning. The Moon is also very close to the star Aldebaran in the v-shaped open star cluster making the face of Taurus the Bull, the Hyades. Depending on your location this may be an occultation of the star by the Moon, or a very close conjunction. Nonetheless with binoculars or a wide field telescope eyepiece the Moon superimposed on the Hyades should make for great viewing.
   
   
   *Click here to read my 2006 Scope on the Sky column “The Real Shape of the Moon’s Orbit”. (PDF)

   Read this very informative article about the Earth-Moon system and their orbital motions, written by Joe Hanson. “Do We Orbit the Moon?”

   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to go to bobs-spaces.