Astronomy - GEORGE BISHOP

Hunter’s Moon Tonight, Oct. 20

January 12, 2023October 20, 2021

You don’t have to be a hunter to enjoy the Hunter’s Moon tonight, Oct. 20. More below from EarthSky. Happy viewing and/or hunting.

“The Hunter’s Moon is the full moon after the Harvest Moon. It usually falls in October, but, if not, it falls in early November. [ . . .] It’s a characteristic of the Hunter’s Moon to rise around the time of sunset for several evenings in a row, as if this month has more than one full moon.”

Hunter’s Moon October 20, 2021

The Hunter’s Moon is the full moon after the Harvest Moon. It usually falls in October, but, if not, it falls in early November. October 2021’s full moon – the Northern Hemisphere’s Hunter’s Moon – will be 100% lit on October 20 at 14:56 UTC; translate UTC to your time. On October 21, and even on October 22, you might glimpse a full round moon ascending in the east in early evening. It’s a characteristic of the Hunter’s Moon to rise around the time of sunset for several evenings in a row, as if this month has more than one full moon.

Eastern Australia and New Zealand will see the full moon on October 21. It’s not a Hunter’s Moon for the Southern Hemisphere because it’s spring in that hemisphere now. So the full moon has different characteristics.

Every full moon has a slew of nicknames, and most are tied to months of the year. But some moon names, such as the Harvest and Hunter’s Moons, are tied to seasons. The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the September equinox, or autumnal equinox for the Northern Hemisphere. The equinox is typically September 22 or 23. So most Harvest Moons come in September. But, every three years, the Harvest Moon falls in early October and the Hunter’s Moon in November.

In North America, the Harvest Moon was a time when the bright moon meant farmers could stay out later, working in their fields, gathering in the crops before the first freeze. After the harvest, farmers would turn to hunting deer and other animals to bolster their food stores before winter. The light of the full moon would let them hunt into the evening hours. So today we have a Hunter’s Moon.

Hunter's Moon: Big, round, white full moon above temple with candles around every floor and onion dome on top. — The West’s Hunter’s Moon is sometimes celebrated as Kartik Purnima in India. In 2021, the dates vary a bit. The festival will come around the November full moon (night of November 18-19 in India). Swami Krishnananda in Ranchi, India, captured this photo during Kartik in 2017. Thank you, Swami Krishnananda!

What makes this moon special?

Nature is particularly cooperative around the time of the autumn equinox to make the fall full moonrises unique. On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox – either a Harvest or a Hunter’s Moon – the moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 to 35 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full moon. The reason is that the ecliptic – or the moon’s orbital path – makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumn equinox.

The result is that there’s a shorter-than-usual lag time between successive moonrises around the full Hunter’s Moon.

Early evening moonrises make every Hunter’s Moon special. Every full moon rises around sunset. After the full Hunter’s Moon, you’ll see the moon ascending in the east relatively soon after sunset for a few days in a row at northerly latitudes.

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, look for the moon to be bright and full-looking for several nights from around October 19 to the 22. Around all of these nights, you’ll see a bright round moon ascending in the east in the evening hours.

Harvest Moon Tonight – Which I’m Calling the “Hurricane Moon”

January 12, 2023September 21, 2021

It’s not too late to catch 2021’s Harvest Moon. From NPR: “For three days, moonrise will come shortly after sunset, but the harvest moon will reach its peak illumination at 7:54 p.m. ET Monday. Historically this lunar event provided farmers a little extra light to harvest their crops.”

Read more below. Happy viewing, and happy Fall.

Harvest Moon Oct. 2020

Celebrate The End Of Summer With Monday’s Harvest Moon

NPR

September 18, 20218:57 PM ET

by Dustin Jones

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, summer will come to an end next Wednesday. Slowly but surely since the middle of June, days have been getting shorter. With the arrival of the autumn equinox comes cooler weather and a change of color amongst the trees. And Monday, two days before the official start of fall, the harvest moon.

For three days, moonrise will come shortly after sunset, but the harvest moon will reach its peak illumination at 7:54 p.m. ET Monday. Historically this lunar event provided farmers a little extra light to harvest their crops. However, unlike the equinoxes, which take place at the same time each year, the harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Which means it can fall in September or October, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

But that’s not all that changes with the last full moon of the summer. You may recall glancing up at the night sky and noticed the moon varies in size from time to time. That’s because the its orbit around the Earth isn’t a perfect circle, NASA explains.

Sometimes the harvest moon appears to be enormous, such as in 2015, when it was the year’s closest and biggest super moon. The moon appears so much larger during super moon events because it’s closer to Earth, known as the perigee. At its closest point the moon is about 226,000 miles from Earth. But sometimes the harvest moon occurs when the moon is furthest from Earth in orbit, the apogee, at 253,000 miles away.

If spectators catch the moon rising at just the right time, it will appear orange in color. But this theatrical touch isn’t specific to the harvest moon. The moon varies in color depending on a handful of factors, including where the viewer is standing. When Earth’s satellite is closest to the horizon it takes on a red or yellow color, NASA says. But as it continues to rise it will gradually take on its traditional pale, white color.

East Asian culture celebrates the August Moon Festival, which doesn’t always coincide with the rising of the harvest moon itself. According to the Boston Public Library, the festival can be traced back to 771 B.C. and was celebrated by harvesting rice and wheat on the night of the full moon. Similar to Thanksgiving in the United States, the August moon is celebrated by the gathering of friends and families, but instead of turkey, people eat mooncakes, a sweet and savory dessert.

SUPER FLOWER BLOOD MOON Tomorrow, May 26

January 12, 2023May 25, 2021

Heads up, stargazers. Tomorrow, May 26, you can see the SUPER FLOWER BLOOD MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE from pretty much anywhere in the world.

It’s a Supermoon because the moon will be at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

It’s a Flower Moon because that’s a nickname for the Spring moon.

And it’s a Blood Moon because the Earth will be positioned directly between the moon and the sun, blocking the sun’s rays and causing the moon to appear red.

Viewing times and details in the article below. Enjoy.

How to Watch this Week’s Spectacular “Super Flower Flood Moon” Lunar Eclipse

By Sophie Lewis

CBS News

May 20, 2021

The most spectacular full moon of 2021 is quickly approaching, gracing the night sky in all its glory on May 26. That date marks not just a supermoon, but also a blood moon, thanks to a lunar eclipse.

“When this happens, the only light that reaches the moon’s surface is from the edges of the Earth’s atmosphere,” the space agency explains. “The air molecules from Earth’s atmosphere scatter out most of the blue light. The remaining light reflects onto the moon’s surface with a red glow, making the moon appear red in the night sky.”

NASA says the result will be a “ring of light” around the moon.

“Just how red it will look is hard to predict, but dust in the atmosphere can have an effect. (And keep in mind there have been a couple of prominent volcanic eruptions recently),” NASA said.

Not only does May bring a lunar eclipse, but also the year’s best supermoon. A supermoon occurs when the moon appears larger than usual in the night sky because it is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit, known as perigee.

May’s full supermoon is known as the “Flower Moon,” and it marks the second of three supermoons this year. It’s appropriately named for the abundance of flowers associated with spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

How to watch

On Wednesday, May 26, the cosmic phenomenon will be at least partly visible anywhere on the night side of the planet, NASA said. Under clear weather conditions, skywatchers around the world will be able to enjoy the show.

This includes parts of Asia and Australia, as well as much of the U.S. and South America. For skywatchers in the U.S., the best viewing will be in Hawaii, Alaska, and the western states, though the eclipse is partially visible further East during dawn twilight. And if you’re in the U.S. you should wake up early to see the rare celestial event.

According to NASA, the peak of the eclipse will last for about 14 minutes, but the entire event will last about five hours, from 08:47:39 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) to 13:49:41 UTC. It will peak at 11:19:52 UTC.

This means that in Asia, the eclipse occurs in the early evening when the moon first rises, while on the west coast of the Americas, it occurs in the early morning hours, when the moon is setting.

Solar eclipses should never be viewed with the naked eye, but lunar eclipses are completely safe to look at.

Don’t worry if you’re not located in the best place to spot the eclipse. The Virtual Telescope Project will have a live feed of the entire event, starting at 3 a.m. PT on May 26.

Rare Christmas Star Tonight

January 12, 2023December 20, 2020

Heads up, star gazers. Tonight and tomorrow night you can catch a once-in-400-year celestial event: the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on the Winter Solstice to form a rare “Christmas Star.” This year it also coincides with the Ursid Meteor Shower. You’ll be able to see it all without a telescope, as long as your city’s not too bright. A big holiday show in the sky.

Happy holidays, and happy viewing. More info below.

NASA

Dec. 15, 2020

The ‘Great’ Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn

Skywatchers are in for an end-of-year treat. What has become known popularly as the “Christmas Star” is an especially vibrant planetary conjunction easily visible in the evening sky over the next two weeks as the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn come together, culminating on the night of Dec. 21.

In 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the night sky, discovering the four moons of Jupiter – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. In that same year, Galileo also discovered a strange oval surrounding Saturn, which later observations determined to be its rings. These discoveries changed how people understood the far reaches of our solar system.

Thirteen years later, in 1623, the solar system’s two giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, traveled together across the sky. Jupiter caught up to and passed Saturn, in an astronomical event known as a “Great Conjunction.”

“You can imagine the solar system to be a racetrack, with each of the planets as a runner in their own lane and the Earth toward the center of the stadium,” said Henry Throop, astronomer in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “From our vantage point, we’ll be able to be to see Jupiter on the inside lane, approaching Saturn all month and finally overtaking it on December 21.”

The planets regularly appear to pass each other in the solar system, with the positions of Jupiter and Saturn being aligned in the sky about once every 20 years.

What makes this year’s spectacle so rare, then? It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction.”

The closest alignment will appear just a tenth of a degree apart and last for a few days. On the 21st, they will appear so close that a pinkie finger at arm’s length will easily cover both planets in the sky. The planets will be easy to see with the unaided eye by looking toward the southwest just after sunset.

From our vantage point on Earth the huge gas giants will appear very close together, but they will remain hundreds of millions of miles apart in space. And while the conjunction is happening on the same day as the winter solstice, the timing is merely a coincidence, based on the orbits of the planets and the tilt of the Earth.

“Conjunctions like this could happen on any day of the year, depending on where the planets are in their orbits,” said Throop. “The date of the conjunction is determined by the positions of Jupiter, Saturn, and the Earth in their paths around the Sun, while the date of the solstice is determined by the tilt of Earth’s axis. The solstice is the longest night of the year, so this rare coincidence will give people a great chance to go outside and see the solar system.”

Want to learn when and where to look up? Join Throop as he talks about the “Great Conjunction” on #NASAScience Live Thursday, Dec. 17. Submit your questions by using #askNASA. The NASA Science Live episode will air live at 3 p.m. EST Thursday on NASA Television and the agency’s website, along with the NASA Facebook, YouTube, and Periscope channels.

For those who would like to see this phenomenon for themselves, here’s what to do:

Find a spot with an unobstructed view of the sky, such as a field or park. Jupiter and Saturn are bright, so they can be seen even from most cities.
An hour after sunset, look to the southwestern sky. Jupiter will look like a bright star and be easily visible. Saturn will be slightly fainter and will appear slightly above and to the left of Jupiter until December 21, when Jupiter will overtake it and they will reverse positions in the sky.
The planets can be seen with the unaided eye, but if you have binoculars or a small telescope, you may be able to see Jupiter’s four large moons orbiting the giant planet.

Each night, the two planets will appear closer low in the southwest in the hour after sunset as illustrated in the above graphic.

Beaver Full Moon Lunar Eclipse Nov. 30!

January 12, 2023November 30, 2020

Catch a faint penumbral eclipse of the moon this Monday, Nov. 30. In the US, it’ll be early in the morning–4:22 a.m. EST and 1:22 a.m. PST. In Asia, it’ll be in the evening.

More info here and below from Space.com.

A Beaver Full Moon lunar eclipse occurs Monday. Here’s what to expect.

The moon will take 4 hours and 21 minutes to glide across the pale outer fringe (penumbra) of Earth’s shadow, never reaching the shadow’s dark umbra. However, penumbral lunar eclipses are rather subtle events which are usually difficult for most people to detect unless at least 70% of the moon’s diameter is immersed within it.

In this particular case the November full moon, known as a Beaver moon, is going to pass rather deep into the penumbra. In fact, at the moment of the deepest phase/greatest eclipse (09:42 UT) the penumbra will cover 82.9% of the lunar disk. Put another way, the uppermost limb of the moon will be 566 miles (911 kilometers) away from the unseen edge of the much darker umbral shadow of the Earth.

Phases of the Beaver moon lunar eclipse

About 20 minutes prior to the deepest phase of the eclipse, you might see some evidence of this faint penumbral shading on the moon’s upper edge. This corresponds to around 4:22 a.m. EST (0922 GMT); 3:22 a.m. CST; 2:22 a.m. MT and 1:22 a.m. PST. About 70% of the moon’s diameter will be immersed in the penumbra, so any unusual shading on the upper part of the moon should — in theory — be detectable. Some might even detect lesser traces of penumbral shading for some minutes beforehand.

After about 20 minutes, we will arrive at the deepest and most obvious part of the eclipse; the moon’s upper limb should appear sensibly shaded with a light charcoal gray or brownish colored hue.

After the deepest phase has passed, you might be able to perceive a slight darkening or “smudginess” on the moon’s right edge for around 20 additional minutes. So, while the moon will be inside the penumbral shadow for over 260 minutes, most will probably only be aware of it for only about 40 minutes.

The penumbral eclipse will also be detectable from parts of the Caribbean and South America as the moon sets. For observers in east-central Asia, Indonesia and Australia it happens on Monday evening as the moon is rising. At mid-eclipse, the moon will appear in the zenith (directly overhead) over the North Pacific Ocean, not far from the Hawaiian Islands. From the 50th state, greatest eclipse comes late on Sunday night as the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend winds down, at 11:42 p.m. Hawaii Time.

Halloween Full Moon!

January 12, 2023November 2, 2020

There was a rare full moon + blue moon for Halloween this year. Did you see it? Catch it waning tonight and for the rest of the week.

Here’s more from CNET:

This Halloween’s Blue Moon Will Bring a Rare Treat to the Skies

For the first time since World War II, people in all parts of the world will be able to see the Oct. 31 display.

Halloween may look different this year due to coronavirus restrictions, but at least we can enjoy a spooky spectacle in the sky: a rare second-in-the-month full moon to cap off a month of glorious skywatching.

The full moon that will be visible on Oct. 31 is called the blue moon because it’s the second full moon of the same month — following the harvest moon of Oct. 1 through Oct. 3. And in a rare treat, the 2020 Halloween full moon will be visible to the entire world, rather than just parts of it, for the first time since World War II.

“When I was teaching, my high school students thought a full moon occurred every Halloween,” astronomy educator and former planetarium director Jeffrey Hunt told me. Not quite, though pop culture decorations sure make it seem that way. The last Halloween full moon visible around the globe came in 1944, he said. He’s written about the event on his web site, When the Curves Line Up. There was a Halloween full moon for some locations in 1955, but that didn’t include western North America and the western Pacific, Hunt says.

While this year’s Halloween full moon will be visible in all parts of the globe, that doesn’t mean every single citizen will have a view. Residents across both North America and South America will see it, as will Africa, all of Europe and much of Asia. But while Western Australians will see it, those in the central and eastern parts of the country will not.

Know time zones well? “Every time zone has it except those east of (GMT) +8 time zones if they have daylight time, or (GMT) +9 with no daylight time,” Hunt says.

Want to see the Halloween full moon? It’s so bright at the full phase it doesn’t matter if you’re in a crowded city or out on the farm. And you don’t need pricey equipment.

“Walk outside, and take a look,” Hunt says.

Comet NEOWISE!

January 12, 2023July 16, 2020

I’ve been neglecting this site, I know But here’s something worth coming back for: Comet NEOWISE, which is lighting up skies all over the world. It’s visible right now to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s a recent photo from Slovakia:

Stunning, right? NEOWISE (named after the space observation satellite that first spotted it) has a 6,800-year orbit, which means it won’t pass this way again until the year 8820, when the Earth will be nothing but a black cinder ruled over by evil robots.

Space.com has useful information on how to view the comet, pasted here:

Don’t miss Comet NEOWISE in the evening sky now. It won’t be back for 6,800 years.

By Tariq Malik

“If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you can see it,” said Joe Masiero, deputy principal investigator of NEOWISE, the NASA space telescope that discovered the comet, in a NASA Science Live webcast Wednesday (July 15). “As the next couple of days progress, it will get higher in the evening sky, so you’re going to want to look northwest right under the Big Dipper.”

There are a few more comet-observing tips to keep in mind, according to Masiero.

First, you’re going to want to try and get away from city lights and set up in a location with a clear, unobstructed view of the northwest horizon.

Then, find out what time your local sunset is. You’ll want to wait until 45 minutes after sunset before hunting the comet.

“What you want to do is go out right around the time that the first stars start to show up. You’re not going to be able to see it before that,” Masiero said. “It’s probably about as bright as some of the stars in the Big Dipper.”

To the unaided eye, Comet NEOWISE will look like a fuzzy star with a bit of a tail, according to a NASA guide. But binoculars or a small telescope offer a much better view.

And finally, NASA’s “Astronomy Picture of the Day” is posting some remarkable photos of Comet NEOWISE from around the world right now on their Facebook site, “Sky.” Check it out. Below are just a few.

Get out there and look for it tonight. Happy viewing.

Super Pink Moon Tonight

January 12, 2023April 8, 2020

Catch the “Super Pink Moon” tonight, April 7, 2020. It’s the first full moon of Spring, and the biggest full moon of 2020. The “Pink” in its name comes from native North American wildflowers that bloom in early springtime: Phlox subulata, known as “moss pink.”

Try not to think of it as an emblem of the coronavirus pandemic that’s sweeping the world right now.

Wolf Moon!

January 12, 2023January 9, 2020

Watch for the “Wolf Moon” this Friday, January 10. And if you’re in Asia, Africa, Europe, or Australia, you’ll get see the “Wolf Moon Eclipse”–a rare penumbral eclipse of the moon. See below or here for more info.

Feel free to howl all you want.

How, When And Where You Can See The ‘Wolf Moon Eclipse’, 2020’s First Of Thirteen Full Moons

Jamie Carter

FORBES

January 6, 2020

Some of the world saw a “ring of fire” eclipse of the Sun on December 26, and exactly two weeks after some of it will see a “Wolf Moon Eclipse” as the moon drifts into Earth’s shadow.

That doesn’t include North America, but it will be visible from Europe, Africa, Asia and parts of Australia, where observers under clear skies will witness a rather odd-looking full moon on Friday, January 10, 2020.

In North and South America, however, the spectacle on offer a few hours later is the appearance of January’s full “Wolf Moon,” a beautiful full moon that will be best seen at moonrise and moonset.

Here’s everything you need to know about the “Wolf Moon Eclipse,” the first of full moon of the decade, and the deepest lunar eclipse of 2020.

When is January’s full Moon?

The moon will be 100% illuminated at precisely 7:21 p.m. Universal Time on January 10, which is 2:21 p.m. EST and 11:21 a.m. PST. That’s the daylight hours in North and South America, so it will be impossible for anyone there to see the “Wolf Moon Eclipse,” though dusk on Friday will be an excellent time to watch the full moon rise in the west close to sunset.

What those in Asia, Australia, Europe and Africa will see is a rare a penumbral eclipse of the moon.

What is a penumbral lunar eclipse?

It’s actually not that rare, at least, not in 2020, when there are four penumbral lunar eclipses, two of which North Americans will be able to see. More on that below. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the moon drifts into Earth’s penumbra (outer shadow).

It’s different to a total lunar eclipse. During a total lunar eclipse—often called a “blood moon”—the moon enters the Earth’s central shadow, its umbra. It then turns reddish because th only light moving to the lunar surface is being filtered by Earth’s atmosphere, which is very good at scattering blue, but not red, light. Instead, during a penumbral lunar eclipse, the moon simply loses a lot of brightness, in this case in its southern region. It’s a really odd sight to be able to look at a full moon when it’s high in the sky, though it’s best appreciated by taking photos of the full moon at the peak of the eclipse, then post-eclipse, to really appreciate the effect of Earth’s shadow.

How, when and where to see the ‘Wolf Moon Eclipse’

This depends on where you are. For anyone wanting to see the full moon at its best, just be sure to look at moonset (around sunrise) and moonset (around sunset) on January 10. However, if you’re in Asia, Australia, Europe or Africa, know that the penumbral lunar eclipse begins at 5:07 p.m. Universal Time and will be at “maximum eclipse” at 7:10 p.m. Universal Time. You can convert for your own location/time zone here, or consult this page, but here are a few times for “maximum eclipse” of the “Wolf Moon” from a select few cities in the eclipse-zone, when a dark shadow will move across the bottom half of the Moon:

London: 7:10 p.m. on January 10
Mainland Europe: 8:10 p.m. on January 10
Cairo: 9:10 p.m. on January 10
Moscow: 10:10 p.m. on January 10
Dubai: 11:10:02 p.m. on January 10
New Delhi: 12:40 a.m. on January 11
Shanghai: 3:10 a.m. on January 11
Perth: 3:10 a.m. on January 11

Note that these are the times for maximum eclipse; the event as a whole takes place over about four hours. It’s Western Europe that’s best-placed for those wanting to watch the “Wolf Moon” rise in the east followed quickly by the beginning of the penumbral lunar eclipse.

When to observe the full moonrise from North America

Although the penumbral lunar eclipse will have ceased before moonrise in North and South Americans, the sight of the “Wolf Moon” rising in the east will nevertheless be a beautiful sight. That will happen at 4:45 p.m. EST in New York and at 5:10 p.m. PST in Los Angeles very close to sunset.

Why are there thirteen full moons in 2020?

Lunar months are 29 days long. Most months have longer than 29 days, so the date of the full moon drifts to be sooner in successive months. Inevitably there comes a time when there’s a full moon on the first and last day of the month, something that in 2020 happens in October. The second full moon of that month, on October 31, 2020, will therefore be a “blue moon”, so 2020 will have 13 full moons in total.

When are the next lunar eclipses in Europe and the North America?

There are three more penumbral lunar eclipses in 2020, though none are as deep as the “Wolf Moon Eclipse:”

June 5, 2020: Asia, Africa and Australia
July 5, 2020: South America, North America and Africa
November 29, 2020: North and South America, Australia and East Asia

More Meteor Showers!

January 12, 2023December 13, 2019

The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks this weekend, Dec. 13-14. The near-full moon will hamper viewing, so the shower may not be as spectacular as some predict.

However, according to Space.com, you’ll still have a chance to catch some shooting stars between 6 and 7 p.m. on Saturday night–just before the moon comes up:

“Early Saturday evening, there is a fair chance of catching sight of some “Earth-grazing” meteors: long, bright shooting stars that streak overhead from a point near or just below the horizon.

“Such meteors are so distinctive because they follow very long paths nearly parallel to our atmosphere. In this year’s Geminids, look for meteors racing almost straight up from the northeast horizon to a point ending overhead.”

Happy viewing.