Posts Made By: Curt Renz

Get ready for UFO reports: Venus is returning to visibility as the brilliant Evening Star following its Superior Conjunction behind the Sun on 2006 OCT 27. This coming evening apparition will be better than the previous one for northern hemisphere observers.

For Chicagoans observing at 30 minutes after sunset, I calculate that Venus will achieve its highest altitude of 31.7° on 2007 MAY 07. It will reach its Greatest Eastern Elongation from the Sun of 45.4° on JUN 08 at 22 hr CDT. Its greatest brilliance at magnitude -4.5 should be on JUL 14. Venus will begin its apparent retrograde motion on JUL 27 at 17 hr CDT. Then it will move into Inferior Conjunction between Earth and Sun on AUG 17.

I've created a panoramic graphic demonstrating Venus' position in Chicago's western sky 30 minutes after sunset from 2006 DEC 02 to 2007 AUG 01. Although it should well serve most northern hemisphere observers. It can be seen at http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

The graphic will not remain permanently on the webpage.

The 88% illuminated waxing gibbous Moon will occult stars in the Pleiades cluster (M45) at nighttime during the early morning of 2006 DEC 31 (American time zones) for observers in western North America, the Pacific Ocean and eastern Asia. Immersions will occur on the Moon’s dark limb and emersions on the bright limb.

Anyone desiring occultation data for a specific location is invited to reply to this thread with his/her geographic longitude, latitude, approximate altitude above sea level and time zone. After the event occurs, descriptions and photos would be welcome additions to this thread.

I’ve created two preview graphics detailing the event. The first is an animated sequence of the occultation as it will be viewed from San Francisco. The second is a graze map of the occulted Pleiades stars for North America and Hawaii. Observers located on a graze path will have a rare opportunity to watch a star winking on and off as hills and valleys of a lunar polar region pass by. Those between a star’s graze paths will watch it become fully occulted.

To see the graphics, click:

http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

The graphics may be removed soon after the event occurs

I create a new astronomical calendar each month that can be downloaded as your computer's desktop background wallpaper or printed to paper. It includes information on the naked-eye planets, the Moon and eclipses. The calendar for January of 2007 is now available.

To see the calendar, click:
http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

For those interested in details, read on:

The lunar images and planetary visibility tables are topocentric and assume the observer is located at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. Although, the calendar should well serve those in most northern hemisphere locations.

Each daily lunar image is depicted as it would appear on the night of the two dates it straddles. That includes not only the Moon’s phase/shape, but also the orientation of its illuminated portion and its apparent angular size. A waxing Moon is shown as it would appear midway between sunset and moonset. A waning Moon is shown as it would appear midway between moonrise and sunrise. The effects of earthshine and the oppositional flash are also demonstrated.

The phases described at the bottom of the page are calculated for more classical and intuitive definitions, rather than the simplistic ones necessarily employed in more recent times but before the advent of computers. Dark Moon is the moment during the monthly cycle in which the apparent lunar disk is least illuminated. Full Moon is when the disk is most illuminated. Half Moon comes when the disk is 50% illuminated. The percentage illuminated is printed under each image.

The apogee and perigee data are geocentric: megameters (thousands of kilometers) from center of Earth to center of Moon. Otherwise, if topocentric, this information might have seemed somewhat chaotic as the Earth's rotation causes a daily oscillation of the distance between a surface based observer and the Moon.

In the planetary tables, a morning star is a planet appearing in the sky before sunrise. An evening star is a planet seen after sunset. And a midnight star is a planet visible at local midnight (the moment midway between sunset and sunrise.) If a planet appears too close to the Sun to be easily observed, it is referred to as being lost in glare.

The two-day-old waxing crescent Moon will appear about two and a half degrees to the upper-left of brilliant Venus during the early evening of Saturday 2007 JAN 20. It should be a pretty sight. Coincidentally, a lunar occultation of the Mag 2.9 star Delta Capricorni will be taking place at the same time.

Anyone desiring details of the occultation for a specific location can reply to this post with his/her geographic longitude, latitude, altitude above sea level and time zone. Descriptions and photos of the occultation or Moon/Venus conjunction would be welcome additions to this thread.

I’ve created three graphics related to these events of January 20. The first shows the western sky with the Moon, Venus and Mercury as they will be viewed from Chicago 30 minutes after sunset. The second graphic presents images and data for the occultation as it will be seen by an observer at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium. The third graphic is an occultation graze map for North America. Those located on a graze path will be able to witness the star winking on and off as lunar hills and valleys pass by. Those observing from between the two graze paths will see a full occultation.

To see the images, click:

http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

The graphics may be removed soon after January 20.

O’Hare UFO Cover-Up Revealed

By Barney Hill
Tribune staff reporter
Published January 2, 2007

Previously classified files regarding the November 7th UFO incident at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport have been obtained by the Tribune. Despite official denials, FAA logs indicate that air traffic controllers and Department of Homeland Security officials did indeed communicate with extraterrestrial beings that had requested clearance to land their ship.

Clearance was denied due to security concerns, according to the documents. Nevertheless, the alien craft hovered briefly above concourse C of the United Airlines terminal while awaiting instructions for a departure route through the crowded airspace. During those minutes DHS agents learned that the aliens had intended to negotiate with a UAL passenger for ownership of a weeping Madonna painting that he was planning to transport to his home.

Upon questioning, Hector Valenzuela, 43, of Roswell, New Mexico revealed he had come to Chicago knowing it contained the largest number of weeping Madonnas in the world. He claimed to have purchased one in Millennium Park in exchange for $100 and an undisclosed substance. However, after the extraterrestrials contacted him on his cell phone while he was in the airport security waiting line, Valenzuela said he quickly agreed to an offer of a sip of water from the Fountain of Youth and a guided tour of the alien ship in exchange for the artwork. Federal officials noted a greenish tint to Valenzuela’s complexion, suggesting a close relationship with the extraterrestrials. However, the agents accepted his explanation of having recently consumed a hefty portion of green Loch Ness monster meat.

President George W. Bush, after being advised of the incident, chastised his agents for not allowing the flying saucer to land. Bush lamented, “These were obviously creatures of faith who should have been treated with greater respect.”

Meanwhile, the Tribune has learned that witnesses to the UFO’s movements near O’Hare have hired Johnny Cochran to handle their defamation of character lawsuit against the US government, claiming that early dismissals of their sighting as that of a weather phenomenon were making them laughing stocks among their friends and families. Witness and UAL baggage handler, Chester Wooster, 38, who is a member of the Mutual UFO Network, told the Tribune that Cochran has proven that he can get people to believe the most preposterous things, making him “our kind of guy.”

Actor Dan Aykroyd, a life member of MUFON, took the opportunity to again denounce what he believes is the government’s blanket cover-up of extraterrestrial visitations. The highly regarded celebrity plaintively asked, “How can they continue to deny what we all know in our hearts must be true?”

Exactly sixty years ago on January 3, 1947 at the young age of 33, I was appointed by President Harry Truman to become the first Director of the ultra-secret Federal Bureau of Conspiracies. I held the position until my retirement at noon today, January 3, 2007. At this late stage of my life, I must clear my conscience and reveal the truth to the American people.

The primary mission of my agency was to investigate all possible candidates for national political office. If we had the slightest doubts about the ability of the candidates or their spouses to maintain for the rest of their lives the secrets on our primary list, we employed a variety of dirty tricks to ensure they were not elected. Once anyone was elected, we closely observed their reactions as we revealed the secrets one at a time. If we detected any hesitation on anyone’s part to maintain a secret, we first resorted to blackmail. If that failed, we disposed of the problem by other means (if you know what I mean.)

The same routine pertained to those appointed to high and mid-level positions within the federal government, including military officers of field grade or higher. Of course there were also millions of individuals at lower levels who would necessarily be involved with at least parts of certain secrets. This included personnel such as air traffic controllers and snoopy secretaries. Eliminating those about whom we had doubts took up the vast majority of our time.

At first it was only Truman who added secrets to the list. His initial motivation for creating the list was his embarrassment at having revealed to the nation the existence of the atomic bomb. He realized he had unnecessarily stressed the psyche of the American people. In that first year our main concern was keeping secret the visitations by extraterrestrial aliens. This was especially difficult, since so many office holders had already attained their positions before we could investigate them. Additionally, many of them hesitated at keeping a secret that had nothing to do with military related information that might reach our enemies, as was the case with the atomic bomb. In this case, we merely wanted to keep information secret from Americans for their own good so that they would not be burdened by one more worry. The possibility that the Russians would get the bomb was worrisome enough.

President Truman chose not to run again in 1952, although he was specifically exempted from a constitutional amendment that concerned the length of service of his successors. We had serious doubts about Dwight Eisenhower’s willingness to keep our secrets. But there was little we could do to derail the election of this hugely popular wartime hero. Besides, his opponent Adlai Stevenson was also problematic. So Harry decided that the existence of my bureau should be kept secret from the incoming President. Beginning January 20, 1953, I became the only one who could add to the list of secrets and maintain all of the related conspiracies.

Over the years I determined that other secrets had to be added. Buying off the inventors of efficient automobile engines that did not require petroleum based fuels was particularly costly. Getting people to believe that a worthless nobody could possibly murder someone as important as the President of the United States, initially seemed to be the high point of my career. Somehow we overlooked the possibility that potentially huge profits might induce Oliver Stone to create a film that would cater to the desire of the public to hear about a conspiracy to kill JFK. Although Ollie did not quite get to the truth. The truth was that by the fall of 1963, Jack was on to me and I had too order his assassination by my agents in Dallas. There – now my conscience is clear.

Harper College in northwest suburban Palatine, Illinois will be conducting a continuing education (non-credit) course in Deep Sky Observing on four Friday evenings from 8 to 10 beginning 2007 FEB 16. The focus will not only be on clusters, nebulae and galaxies but also comets.

Weather permitting, much of the class time will be spent at the college's Henize Observatory. The instructor will be 51-year-old police officer Walter Trentadue who is studying for his Ph.D. in astronomy. His specialty is DSO, and he is the one who has been maintaining and upgrading the observatory's telescopes for many years.

I registered yesterday. To learn more or register yourself, go to: http://www.harpercollege.edu or phone (847) 925-6300. 8)

Harper College in northwest suburban Palatine, Illinois will be conducting a continuing education (non-credit) course in Deep Sky Observing on four Friday evenings from 8 to 10 beginning 2007 FEB 16. The focus will not only be on clusters, nebulae and galaxies but also comets.

Weather permitting, much of the class time will be spent at the college's Henize Observatory. The instructor will be 51-year-old police officer Walter Trentadue who is studying for his Ph.D. in astronomy. His specialty is DSO, and he is the one who has been maintaining and upgrading the observatory's telescopes for many years.

I registered yesterday. To learn more or register yourself, go to: http://www.harpercollege.edu or phone (847) 925-6300. 8)

Elusive Mercury is about to begin a fine apparition as the lesser Evening Star following its Superior Conjunction behind the Sun on January 6. It will be joining its big sister Venus in the western sky after sunset. Mercury will achieve its Greatest Eastern Elongation of 18.2° on February 7. Its greatest altitude as seen from Chicago thirty minutes after sunset will be 10.8° on February 8. It will then dive toward Inferior Conjunction between the Earth and Sun on February 22. Mercury’s stellar magnitude is currently about –1 and will steadily dim to greater than +2 before it leaves the evening sky about a month from now. By contrast, Venus is currently shining at –3.9.

I’ve created a graphic that demonstrates Mercury’s position in Chicago’s western sky thirty minutes after sunset from now through February 19. Although the diagram should well serve most northern hemisphere observers. To see it, click: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

A series of occultations by the Moon over Saturn began on 2006 DEC 10 and will continue every 27.3 days until 2007 OCT 07. It can be quite a sight to watch through a telescope as the ringed beauty slides behind the Moon. Unfortunately, observers in the contiguous 48 US states will be effectively shut out.

The next event in the series will occur on the night of February 2-3 with a nearly Full Moon. The occultation will be visible in far northeastern Canada, Greenland, northern Scandinavia, Russia and Asia over to northern India. The Moon actually will be waning with 99% of its apparent disk illuminated. That means that the immersion of Saturn will occur on the bright limb and the emersion on the (barely) dark limb.

I’ve created maps tracing the southern graze path of the coming event. The maps show no northern graze path, since it would be in outer space above the North Pole. Those located on the graze path will have a chance to see Saturn’s image being interrupted as hills and valleys of the lunar south polar region pass by. Those north of the graze path can witness a full occultation. To see the maps, click: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

Descriptions and photos of the occultation would be welcome additions to this thread. The maps may be removed from the website soon after the event occurs.