Earth’s Shadow Nicks the Moon During This Week’s Partial Lunar Eclipse

Moon
The partial lunar eclipse from October 2023 as seen from Oxfordshire UK. Credit: Mary McIntyre FRAS.

The Moon just brushes the umbral shadow of the Earth during Tuesday night’s partial lunar eclipse.

A shallow partial lunar eclipse is on tap for the night of September 17th/18th. The eclipse is a slight one to be sure, but will be noticeable as the northwestern limb of the Moon just slips past the dark inner umbral shadow of the Earth. The eclipse is just over 8% partial at its maximum, meaning the Full Moon will look a little ‘smushed’ on one side at mid-eclipse.

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Book Review: Is Earth Exceptional?

Book
On sale now. Credit: Hachette Books.

A new book looks at the latest scientific insights versus a key question in astronomy and space science.

It’s tough to answer a scientific question, with a just data point of one. How special are we, and how common (or rare) is the story of how life arose on the Earth in the grander drama of the cosmos?

A new book out this week entitled Is Earth Exceptional? The Quest for Cosmic Life by Mario Livio and Jack Szostak looks at the scientific state of answering this key question. The book offers a sweeping view of the nascent science of astrobiology, a multi-disciplinary field melding biology, chemistry, astronomy and more.

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Amateur Astronomer Finds Additional Asteroids With Remote Telescopes

Orbit
The orbit of Near Earth Asteroid 2024 QS. Credit: NASA/JPL

Three amazing recent asteroid finds show what’s possible in terms of astronomy online.

Practical astronomy is increasingly becoming an online affair. In 2023 we wrote about this trend, and highlighted how Russian observer and amateur astronomer Filipp Romanov used time on remote observatory networks to successfully discover two asteroids, which he named 623826 Alekseyvarkin and 623827 Nikandrilyich after his great-grandfathers. Now, Filipp has repeated this feat and pushed the limit of what’s possible online with the discovery of a trio of asteroids, including a rare near-Earth asteroid discovery found using a remote system.

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Catch a Fall Feast of Lunar Occultations in September

Occultation
The Moon occults Saturn in August 2024. Image credit: Roger Hutchinson.

September offers a number of fascinating lunar occultation events worldwide.

Chances are, there’s one near you this month. The Moon is certainly busy in September, as its passage covers up (occults) multiple celestial objects worldwide. If skies are clear, you may just get a chance to see one of these events listed below, as the Moon blocks out a star, planet or star cluster.

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ESA Cluster Satellite to Reenter in Early September

Cluster
An artist's impression, of a Cluster satellite reentry. Credit: ESA Standard License/David Ducross.

The first of a set of groundbreaking Cluster satellites is set for a controlled reentry next week.

The European Space Agency is paving the way in controlled reentry technology. ESA recently announced that plans to terminate the first of four Cluster satellites is about to come to fruition in early September, with the reentry of Salsa.

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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Set to Perform This Fall

Bartlett Comet
The comet from June. Credit: Dan Bartlett

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may be one to watch for at dawn late next month.

If predictions and prognostications hold true, a decent comet could grace dawn skies in late September into early October. We’re talking about Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, discovered early last year. Early signs suggest it could be the best comet of 2024… if it survives until perihelion.

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See JUICE Next Week During Its Earth-Moon Flyby

JUICE

Well-placed observers have a rare opportunity to see an interplanetary spacecraft early next week.

If skies are clear, dedicated observers and imagers have a shot early next week at seeing a spacecraft headed to Jupiter.

The Mission is JUICE, the European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. Launched atop an Ariane-5 rocket from Kourou Space Center in French Guiana on April 14th, 2023, JUICE is due to arrive at Jupiter in 2031. But first, the spacecraft will perform several planetary flybys to pick up speed, hurdling it towards the outer solar system.

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The Next Solar Cycle Has Started… But the Current One Hasn’t Finished Yet

Solar Cycle
The solar activity cycle over a one decade span. Credit: NASA/ESA/SOHO

We may be already seeing the makings of next solar cycle, peeking out through the current one.

It’s been a wild ride. Thus far, Solar Cycle Number 25 has been one of the strongest cycles in recent memory, producing several massive sunspot groups. The current large region turned Earthward (Active Region 3780) is now easily visible with eclipse glasses… no magnification needed. Cycle 25 started back in 2019.

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2024 Perseids Light Up the August Sky

Meteors
The 2023 Perseids, as seen from Sequoia National Forest. Credit: NASA/Preston Dyches

That ‘Old Faithful’ of meteor showers the Perseids peak early next week.

Great ready for one of the surefire astronomical events of 2024, as the peak for the Perseid meteors arrives next week.

To be sure, the Perseids aren’t the most intense annual meteor shower of the year; in the first half of the 20th century, that title now goes to the December Geminids. What the Perseids do have going for them is timing: they typically arrive in early August, before the academic year starts and during prime camping season, which finds lots of folks out under warm summer skies.

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Astro-Challenge: Catching Pluto at Opposition 2024

Pluto
Pluto, imaged in 2015. Credit: Mike Weasner

Why July 2024 is a prime time to see distant Pluto before it fades from view.

Lots of the ‘wow factor’ in astronomy revolves around knowing just what you’re seeing. Sure, a quasar might be a faint +14th magnitude point of light seen at the eyepiece, but it’s also a powerful energy source from the ancient Universe, billions of light-years distant.

The same case is true for finding Pluto. Though its 0.1” disc won’t resolve into anything more than a speck in even the most powerful backyard telescope, knowing just what you’re seeing is part of the thrill of finding the distant world.

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