Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! It’s big… It’s bright… It’s the Moon! The greatest night sky light polluter is back on the scene, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a great time as we use telescopes or binoculars to explore the Apollo 14 mission landing site. We’ll continue to visit the lunar surface this weekend, as well as take a look at double stars and two arriving meteor showers. Sky to bright to see meteors? Then let’s try something new….
Friday, June 13 – Today in 1983, Pioneer 10 became the first man made object to leave the solar system. What wonders would it see? Are there other galaxies out there like our own? Will there be life like ours? While we can’t see through Pioneer’s “eyes,” tonight let’s take an historic journey to the Moon, as we look at the northeast shore of Mare Cognitum and the Apollo 14 mission landing site – Fra Mauro.
As craters go, 3.9 billion year old Fra Mauro is on the shallow side and spans 95 kilometers. At some 730 meters deep, standing at the foot of one of its walls would be like standing at the bottom of the Grand Canyon… Yet, time has so eroded this crater that its west wall is completely missing and its floor is covered with fissures.
As you view Fra Mauro tonight, picture yourself in a lunar rover traversing this barren landscape and viewing the rocks thrown out from a long-ago impact. How willing would you be to take on the vision of others and travel to another world?
Saturday, June 14 – As the day begins and you wait on dawn, keep watch for the peak of the Ophiuchid meteor shower with its radiant near Scorpius. The fall rate is poor with only three per hour, but fast moving bolides are common. Today is about the midpoint – and the activity peak – of this 25 day long stream.
Too moony to see anything? Then try an experiment both Ian and I have been working on. When a meteoroid enters our atmosphere, it has an impact on the ionosphere. Take a few moments and download Google Ionosphere and watch what happens as the meteor shower progresses! And don’t forget the “radio” either… Simply tune any FM radio to the lowest frequency that doesn’t receive a clear signal and listen. These ionospheric disturbances will sound like snatches of radio signal, hisses, pops and more. It’s a great way to catch a meteor shower with more than just your eyes!
To the east, Jupiter is now rising… But give it some time to clear the atmospheric distortion! By far brighter than neighboring stars to the unaided eye, giant Jupiter will move slowly along the ecliptic plane over the course of the evening. To smaller binoculars it is easily observed as an orb with two grey bands across the middle. To larger binoculars, the equatorial belts become much clearer and the four Galilean moons are easily seen with steady hands. To the small telescope, no planet offers greater details. Even at very low magnifying power, the north, south and central equatorial zones are easily observable and all four moons are clear and steady.
To the mid-sized telescope, far greater details begin to appear – such as temperate belts on the planet’s surface and the soft appearance of the Great Red Spot. Finer details are visible during steady seeing, and small things like being able to see which satellite is closer to – or further away from – our vantage point become very easy. Simple things, like watching a moon transit the surface and the resulting shadow on the planet are much easier. With a large telescope, seeing details on Jupiter depends more on seeing conditions. While more aperture allows finer views – conditions are everything when it comes to the Mighty Jove!
As the very first to be mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey, the area around Kepler contains many smooth lava domes reaching no more than 30 meters above the plains. According to records, in 1963 a glowing red area was spotted near Kepler and extensively photographed. Normally one of the brightest regions of the Moon, the brightness value at the time nearly doubled! Although it was rather exciting, scientists later determined the phenomenon was caused by high energy particles from a solar flare reflecting from Kepler’s high albedo surface. In the days ahead all details around Kepler will be lost, so take this opportunity to have a good look at one awesome small crater!
No matter if you stayed up late chasing deep sky, or got up early, right now is the time to catch the peak of the June Lyrids meteor shower. Although the Moon will make observing difficult, it’s still an opportunity for those wishing to log their meteor observations. Look for the radiant near bright Vega – you may see up to 15 faint blue meteors per hour from this branch of the May Lyrid meteor stream. Try the ionosphere and radio observing!!
Wishing you clear skies and a great weekend…
This week’s image credits: Detail view of Fra Mauro, Capuanus, Kepler and Jupiter – Credit: Wes Higgins, Shepard at Frau Mauro – Credit: NASA, Iota Librae – Credit: Palomar Observatory, courtesy of Caltech.
Like a performer preparing for their big finale, a distant star is shedding its outer…
For a little over a month now, the Earth has been joined by a new…
Despite decades of study, black holes are still one of the most puzzling objects in…
74 million kilometres is a huge distance from which to observe something. But 74 million…
Astronomers have only been aware of fast radio bursts for about two decades. These are…
How do you weigh one of the largest objects in the entire universe? Very carefully,…