Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide

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Continuing round from Canopus we pass the constellation of Dorado, the small constellation of Reticulum and the undistinguished constellation of Horologium, beyond which is Achernar (α Eridani) the brightest star in the long, winding constellation of Eridanus, which actually starts far to the north, close to Rigel in Orion. Between Achernar and the SCP lies the triangular constellation of Hydrus, next to the constellation of Tucana which contains the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The celestial sphere appears to rotate about an invisible axis, running between the north and south celestial poles. The location (i.e., the altitude) of the celestial poles depends entirely on the observer’s position on Earth or, more specifically, their latitude.

Night Sky Almanac 2023 By Storm Dunlop, Wil Tirion, Royal

With the aid of easy-to-understand monthly calendars and maps, you will chart the rhythm of the lunar phases, discover events that light up the sky for brief periods, and explore the rich tapestry of characters that adorn the starry canvas overhead. The southern meteor shower, the π-Puppids, begins in April. This shower starts to be active on April 15, two days after Last Quarter and lasts until April 28, one day after First Quarter, with maximum on the night of April 23–24 when the Moon is a waxing crescent. The shower was unknown until 1972. The rate seems to be variable, reaching a maximum of about 40 meteors per hour in 1977 and 1983. It is difficult to predict how many meteors will be seen. As with the Lyrids, maximum occurs just after New Moon. The parent comet is believed to be Comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup. A finder chart for the position of minor planet (2) Pallas, at its opposition. The grey area is shown in more detail on the map below. There are three different effects that common ideas associate with the equinoxes: One meteorological, and two astronomical. There are strong beliefs in ‘equinoctial gales’, ‘equinoctial tides’ and ‘equinoctial aurorae’. It is often thought that gales are more frequent and strongest at the equinoxes, particularly at the (northern) autumnal equinox. In fact, there are most gale-force winds around the time of the winter solstice in late December and early January. The concept has probably arisen because after the quiet period of summer, depressions, with their accompanying winds, tend to move south and bring high winds to the British Isles.

There is another, stronger shower, with a possible hourly rate of 50 meteors per hour. This is the η-Aquariid shower. This begins on April 19, the day before New Moon, and peaks on May 6, the day after Full Moon, continuing well into May (May 28). So conditions for observing this shower are good at the beginning, deteriorate around maximum, but then improve again after Full Moon on May 6. The η-Aquariid shower, like the Orionids in October, is the result of particles left in orbit behind the famous Comet 1P/Halley. This is a moderately predictable shower, and the maximum rate is between 40 and 50 meteors per hour. The radiant for this shower is close to the ‘Y’-shaped asterism known as the ‘Water Jar’ in Aquarius. All objects in the sky appear to be located on an imaginary sphere: the celestial sphere. There are, however, certain fixed points on the celestial sphere, related to points on the Earth. The North Celestial Pole (NCP) and the South Celestial Pole (SCP) are located in line with the projection of the Earth’s rotational axis onto that sphere. In the north, the NCP is very close to Polaris, which has been known as the North Star since antiquity. In a similar way, the celestial equator is the projection onto the sphere of the Earth’s equator. The second co-ordinate, declination, is simply the angular distance, in degrees, north or south of the celestial equator. The Sun has a declination of zero when it appears to cross the celestial equator at the equinoxes. The use of the epicycle and deferent was developed and propagated by the great astronomer Ptolemy (approximate dates 100 to 170 CE), who found that he had to introduce further terms, which he denoted the ‘eccentric’ and the ‘equant’. This further complicated the situation, and these terms are not explained here.

2023 Night Sky Almanac: A Month-by-Month Guide to North

Both the planets Mars and Uranus end their retrograde motion in January 2023 and revert to direct motion. August 28: Venus, having just moved from an evening to a morning star at mid-month, has now brightened to a dazzling magnitude -4.5 and is an eye-catching spectacle at 5:30 AM. (Remember, the lower the magnitude, the brighter thestar.) On 13 March 1989 a major geomagnetic storm created a nine-hour disruption of Hydro-Quebec’s electricity transmission system. The accompanying aurorae could be seen as far south as Texas and Florida. The geomagnetic storm was one of a number of incidents during a phase of major solar activity. In the northern hemisphere, February is often the coldest month, and most countries on both sides of the Atlantic see significant falls of snow. The Full Moon of February is thus often called the ‘Snow Moon’, although just occasionally that name has been applied to the Full Moon in January. Some North American tribes named it the ‘Hunger Moon’ because of the scarcity of food sources during the depths of winter, while other names are ‘Storm Moon’ and ‘Chaste Moon’, although the last name is more commonly applied to the Full Moon in March. To the Arapaho of the Great Plains, the Full Moon was called the Moon ‘when snow blows like grain in the wind’.March 22–24 • In the evening twilight, the narrow crescent Moon passes Jupiter and Venus (as seen from central USA). The aim of this book is to help people to find their way around the night sky and to understand what is visible every month, from anywhere in the world. The stars that may be seen depend on where you are on Earth, but even if you travel widely, this book will show you what you can see. The night sky also changes from month to month and these changes, together with some of the significant events that occur during the year are described and illustrated. The initial object (a small asteroid) was estimated to have a diameter of about 20 metres and approached from the direction of the Sun, which is why it was not detected before arrival. Following the airburst, some fragments survived to reach the ground, west of Chelyabinsk. The snow-covered ground made the recovery of these relatively easy. Most, however, found their way into private hands. The largest known fragment was eventually recovered from the frozen Lake Cherbakul after a long recovery process. This proved to have an initial mass of 654 kg. All the recovered meteorites were found to be ordinary stony chondrites (see here). February 3 • The Moon forms a nice, almost isosceles, triangle with Pollux and Castor (as seen from Sydney). The constellation of Auriga, with brilliant Capella which, although appearing as a single star, is actually a quadruple system, consisting of a pair of yellow giant stars, gravitationally bound to a more distant pair of red dwarfs. Elnath, near the bottom, actually belongs to the constellation of Taurus.

2023 Night Sky Almanac: A Month-by-Month Guide to North 2023 Night Sky Almanac: A Month-by-Month Guide to North

The two stars Dubhe and Merak (α and β Ursae Majoris) are known as the ‘Pointers’, because they indicate the position of Polaris, the Pole Star (α Ursae Minoris), at about a distance of five times their separation. Following this line takes you to the constellation of Ursa Minor, the ‘Little Bear’ or ‘Little Dipper’, where Polaris is at the end of the ‘tail’ or ‘handle’.

Multibuys

When the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow (top), a lunar eclipse occurs. When it passes in front of the Sun (below) a solar eclipse occurs. For observers in the far north, most of Cygnus, with its brightest star, Deneb (α Cygni), is visible in the north, and even Lyra, with Vega (α Lyrae) may be seen at times. Most of the constellation of Hercules is visible, together with the distinctive circlet of Corona Borealis to its east. Observers farther south may see Deneb and even Vega peeping over the northern horizon at times during the night, although they will often be lost (like all the fainter stars) in the inevitable extinction along the horizon. On February 3, two days before Full Moon, the Moon passes 1.9° south of Pollux in Gemini. One day after Full Moon, it is 4.5º north of Regulus in Leo. On February 11, it is 3.5º north of Spica in Virgo. On February 14, one day after Last Quarter, the Moon is 1.8º north of Antares in Scorpius. On February 19, one day before New Moon, it is 3.7º south of Saturn in Aquarius, but this will be lost in twilight. The same problem will apply on February 21, when the Moon is 2.5º south of Neptune, which is faint at mag. 7.9. The next day, the Moon is 2.1º south of Venus, which is mag. -3.9, so will be visible in the evening twilight. Later the same day, the Moon is 1.2º south of Jupiter (mag. -2.1) in Pisces. On February 28, the Moon is 1.1º north of Mars, in Taurus. Part of the auroral oval, photographed over Canada from the International Space Station. Parts of the Great Lakes may be seen at the bottom of the picture.

Night Sky Almanac 2023 | Storm Dunlop | download on Z-Library Night Sky Almanac 2023 | Storm Dunlop | download on Z-Library

There are just two, relatively minor, meteor showers in February 2023, which is a quiet month for astronomers with few notable events. The two showers are both southern ones, and neither is visible to northern observers. The most significant shower is the Centaurids, which actually begins on 31 January 2023. This shower has two separate branches, with radiants lying near the brightest stars in Centaurus (Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar, or α and β Cen, respectively). These two streams are thus known as the α-Centaurids and the β-Centaurids. Both branches of this shower reach a low maximum, with an hourly rate of about 5–6 meteors per hour, on February 8. That day the Moon is at Day 17 of the lunation, just two days after Full Moon, so observing conditions are not favourable.

Games

Some carbonaceous chondrites contain very high percentages of water – ‘high’ implying between 3 and 22 per cent. Many show evidence of being considerably altered by the presence of liquid water. The only two names commonly used in Europe were ‘Harvest Moon’ and ‘Hunter’s Moon’. On rare occasions, particularly in religious contexts, the term ‘Lenten Moon’ was used for the Full Moon in March. The other terms, which originated in North America, have been adopted increasingly by the media in recent years.