Posts Made By: Curt Renz

The 98% illuminated waning Moon will occult the first magnitude star Regulus in Leo during the early morning of 2007 FEB 03 for observers in northwestern North America. The southern graze path will pass across southwestern Alaska. There will be no northern graze path. Those watching from the graze path will be able to witness Regulus winking on and off as hills and valleys of the lunar south polar region pass by. Those north or east of the graze path may see a full occultation. Immersion will occur on the Moon’s bright limb and emersion on the dark limb.

I’ve created a graze map that can be seen at:
http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

Descriptions and photos of the event would be welcome additions to this thread.

The coordinates of Mag 1.4 Regulus at the time of the event (not 2000.0) will be:
RA 10:08:46.6 – Dec N 11°55’52”

Here are my predictions of the immersion and emersion for an observer in Anchorage, Alaska. ZA is the stars Zenith Angle on the lunar limb measured counter-clockwise from the zenith.

05:19:09 AKST – ZA 152.0°
05:57:33 AKST – ZA 221.1°

The beautiful ringed planet Saturn is now in its period of apparent retrograde motion and will soon achieve Opposition relative to the Sun. I’ve created a chart demonstrating Saturn’s 2006-07 retrograde loop in ecliptical coordinates. The graphic also shows the various aspects of Saturn’s rings from 1995 to 2017. It can be seen at http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

Around the time of Opposition, Saturn will be rising near sunset, transiting the southern meridian around local midnight, and setting near sunrise. The following are my predictions of oppositional extremes during Saturn’s current synodic cycle (the period for Earth lapping Saturn: 1.035 years.) Saturn should achieve its greatest brilliance at magnitude 0.0 on 2007 FEB 06 at 04 hr UT. That is similar to the magnitude of Arcturus, the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. Saturn's closest approach to Earth of 8.20035 AU will come on FEB 10 at 15 hr UT. Shortly thereafter it will achieve all three types of Opposition:

FEB 10 at 18:42 UT: Opposition in Celestial Longitude
FEB 10 at 19 hr UT: Greatest Elongation of 178.7°
FEB 11 at 04:30 UT: Opposition in Right Ascension

Its ecliptical latitude at those times will be N 1.3°, and its declination will be N 15.5°. That means for northern hemisphere observers, at meridian transit Saturn will culminate at an altitude that is equivalent to one’s co-latitude (90° minus one’s geographic latitude) plus 15.5°. For example, I live at N 42.1°, therefore it will culminate at 63.4° above my southern horizon.

At Opposition, Saturn’s apparent equatorial angular diameter will be 20.2 arcseconds and its rings will cover 45.8 arcseconds. Its axial tilt relative to Earth will be –13.9°. That means we will still be viewing the southern side of its rings, which orbit above its equator. The tilt will reach its extreme of –15.4° for this synodic cycle on APR 18. The extreme tilt for its 29.5-year orbital cycle came in 2003 at -27.0°. The rings will seem to disappear around the period when Earth moves through Saturn’s equatorial/ring plane on 2009 SEP 04.

On the night of 2007 MAR 03/04 (Saturday/Sunday) the Full Moon will enter the Earth’s shadow and become totally eclipsed. The maximum magnitude will be 1.227, meaning the lunar limb will be separated from the edge of the umbra (dark central shadow) by 0.227 lunar diameters. It will be visible from the eastern half of North America and east across the Atlantic and most of Eurasia to India.

For most eastern North Americans the Moon will rise while in total eclipse. Those along the New England coast will witness the Moon entering totality shortly after it rises. Europeans will witness the entire event. Indians will see almost all of it except the final penumbral stage.

Descriptions and photos of the event will be welcome additions to this thread.

Below are my calculated event timings in Universal Time using the French Rule for shadow sizes. Unlike virtually all other sources, I also take into account the oblate shape of the Earth.

20:18 UT Penumbral Phase Begins (penumbra is light fringe shadow)
21:31 UT Partial Phase Begins (enters umbra)
22:45 UT Totality Begins (fully in umbra)
23:21 UT Maximum Eclipse
23:57 UT Totality Ends
01:11 UT Partial Phase Ends
02:23 UT Penumbral Phase Ends

I’ve created graphics that demonstrate the stages of the eclipse as observed from several cities. More will be added as the event nears. To see them, click:

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

The graphics may be removed soon after the event occurs. 8)

Mercury passed through Inferior Conjunction between the Earth and the Sun on 2007 FEB 23. It is now a morning star in the pre-dawn eastern sky. Its Greatest Western Elongation will come on MAR 22 at 27.7°. That is close to the limit, since Mercury will be near aphelion. However, the celestial geometry near the Vernal Equinox will be poor for northern hemisphere observers. The combination of factors will produce a barely mediocre apparition. However, for southern hemisphere observers the viewing will be ideal. Superior Conjunction on the far side of the Sun will come on MAY 03.


I’ve created two graphical panoramas of the apparition – one for northern hemisphere observers and one for those south of the equator. To see them, click: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

Later this month the Moon will occult two bright celestial bodies on successive nights. Early on March 29 Saturn will be occulted for observers in Greenland and Iceland. Early on March 30 the first magnitude star Regulus in Leo will be occulted for observers in Greenland, Iceland and Western Europe.

To see my maps of the graze paths for these two events, click: http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html

In both cases only the southern graze path over the Atlantic is shown. Those north of a path may witness an occultation. There are no northern paths since they would be above the North Pole.

On both dates the Moon will be a waxing gibbous. That means immersions will occur on the dark limb and emersions on the bright limb.

Here are my predictions for Reykjavik, Iceland on the 29th and London, England on the 30th. Coordinates are for the times of the events, not 2000.0. Zenith Angle is the position of the object on the lunar limb measured counterclockwise from the zenith.


2007 MAR 29
Reykjavik, Iceland
W 21°53’46”
N 64°08’06”
Alt +25 m

Moon
Waxing
82% Illumination of the apparent disk

Saturn
RA 09:25:44.3
Dec N 16°31’17”
Mag +0.2

Immersion 04:56:18 UT
Zenith Angle 143.8°
Emersion 05:27:48 UT
Zenith Angle 214.3°


2007 MAR 30
London, England
W 00°06’06”
N 51°31’07”
Alt +25 m

Moon
Waxing
89% Illumination of the apparent disk

Regulus
RA 10:08:46.9
Dec N 11°55’51”
Mag +1.4

Immersion 03:29:53 UT
Zenith Angle 108.2°
Emersion 04:19:13 UT
Zenith Angle 231.0°


Anyone desiring data for a specific location, please reply to this post with your longitude, latitude, altitude above sea level and the name of the celestial body.

Your reports of the events would be welcome additions to this thread.

The following piece is making the rounds. It was sent to me by my cousin who is a retired physicist.


Package warnings by physicists:

As scientists and concerned citizens, we applaud the recent trend towards legislation which requires the prominent placing of warnings on products that present hazards to the general public. Yet we must also offer the cautionary thought that such warnings, however well-intentioned, merely scratch the surface of what is really necessary in this important area. This is especially true in light of the findings of 20th century physics.

We are therefore proposing that, as responsible scientists, we join together in an intensive push for new laws that will mandate the conspicuous placement of suitably informative warnings on the packaging of every product offered for sale in the United States of America. Our suggested list of warnings appears below.

WARNING: This Product Warps Space and Time in Its Vicinity.

WARNING: This Product Attracts Every Other Piece of Matter in the Universe, Including the Products of Other Manufacturers, with a Force Proportional to the Product of the Masses and Inversely Proportional to the Square of the Distance Between Them.

CAUTION: The Mass of This Product Contains the Energy Equivalent of 85 Million Tons of TNT per Net Ounce of Weight.

HANDLE WITH EXTREME CARE: This Product Contains Minute Electrically Charged Particles Moving at Velocities in Excess of Five Hundred Million Miles Per Hour.

CONSUMER NOTICE: Because of the "Uncertainty Principle," It Is Impossible for the Consumer to Find Out at the Same Time Both Precisely Where This Product Is and How Fast It Is Moving. (Note: This one is optional on the grounds that Heisenburg was never quite sure that his principle was correct)

ADVISORY: There is an Extremely Small but Nonzero Chance That, Through a Process Know as "Tunneling," This Product May Spontaneously Disappear from Its Present Location and Reappear at Any Random Place in the Universe, Including Your Neighbor's Domicile. The Manufacturer Will Not Be Responsible for Any Damages or Inconvenience That May Result.

READ THIS BEFORE OPENING PACKAGE: According to Suggested Versions of the Grand Unified Theory, the Primary Particles Constituting this Product May Decay to Nothingness Within the Next Four Hundred Million Years.

THIS IS A 100% MATTER PRODUCT: In the Unlikely Event That This Merchandise Should Contact Antimatter in Any Form, a Catastrophic Explosion Will Result.

PUBLIC NOTICE AS REQUIRED BY LAW: Any Use of This Product, in Any Manner Whatsoever, Will Increase the Amount of Disorder in the Universe. Although No Liability Is Implied Herein, the Consumer Is Warned That This Process Will Ultimately Lead to the Heat Death of the Universe.

NOTE: The Most Fundamental Particles in This Product Are Held Together by a "Gluing" Force About Which Little is Currently Known and Whose Adhesive Power Can Therefore Not Be Permanently Guaranteed.

ATTENTION: Despite Any Other Listing of Product Contents Found Hereon, the Consumer is Advised That, in Actuality, This Product Consists Of 99.9999999999% Empty Space.

NEW GRAND UNIFIED THEORY DISCLAIMER: The Manufacturer May Technically Be Entitled to Claim That This Product Is Ten-Dimensional. However, the Consumer Is Reminded That This Confers No Legal Rights Above and Beyond Those Applicable to Three-Dimensional Objects, Since the Seven New Dimensions Are "Rolled Up" into Such a Small "Area" That They Cannot Be Detected.

PLEASE NOTE: Some Quantum Physics Theories Suggest That When the Consumer Is Not Directly Observing This Product, It May Cease to Exist or Will Exist Only in a Vague and Undetermined State.

COMPONENT EQUIVALENCY NOTICE: The Subatomic Particles (Electrons, Protons, etc.) Comprising This Product Are Exactly the Same in Every Measurable Respect as Those Used in the Products of Other Manufacturers, and No Claim to the Contrary May Legitimately Be Expressed or Implied.

HEALTH WARNING: Care Should Be Taken When Lifting This Product, Since Its Mass, and Thus Its Weight, Is Dependent on Its Velocity Relative to the User.

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A partial solar eclipse occurred a few hours ago. At Astronomy.com I had been advising a 17-year-old in Mongolia how to prepare for the event. Tuugii hopes to begin studying astronomy at the Universtiy of Arizona later this year. He has provided pictures of the eclipse that can be seen by going to: http://www.astronomy.com/ASY/CS/forums/332270/ShowPost.aspx

Here’s my first photo of this month’s new crescent Moon as seen from Arlington Heights, Illinois (northwest suburban Chicago). It was taken on 2007 MAR 19 at 19:28 CDT when the Moon was aged 21:45 hrs. At the time it was at altitude 6.5° and azimuth 272.5° with an elongation from the Sun of 12.0°. Its apparent disk was 1.1% illuminated with an angular diameter of 33.5 arcminutes. The Sun had set at 19:03 and the Moon was going to set at 20:10.

The photo was taken with my Sony Cyber-shot DSC F717 with ISO 100 at F2.4 and 1/30 sec at full 5x zoom. I then cropped the image and further reduced linear dimensions by 50%.

Give a warm welcome to Lunation #1042.

Here's a photo that I took on 2007 MAR 20 at at 19:55 CDT of the Old Moon in the New Moon's Arms under Venus as seen from Arlington Heights, Illinois (northwest suburban Chicago).

The Mag 1.1 star Antares in Scorpius will be occulted by the Moon for observers in Australia and New Zealand during the evening of 2007 APR 07. The graze paths will be over the ocean. Observers between the paths can witness a full occultation. I’ve created a graze map that can be seen at http://www.curtrenz.com/astronomical.html .

The waning gibbous Moon will be 80% illuminated. That means immersions will occur on the bright limb and emersions on the dark limb. At the time of the event (not 2000.0) the star’s coordinates will be:
RA 16:29:52.4
Dec S 26°27’01”

Below are data for Sydney and Auckland. UT is Universal (Greenwich) Time. ZA is the star’s Zenith Angle on the lunar limb measured counterclockwise from the zenith.

Sydney, Australia
E 151.2099°
S 33.8682
Alt +25 M
Immersion 10:41:33 UT – ZA 229.4°
Emersion 11:36:50 UT – ZA 052.1°

Auckland, New Zealand
E 174.7630°
S 36.8512
Alt +25 M
Immersion 10:45:31 UT – ZA 198.9°
Emersion 11:40:43 UT – ZA 080.0°

Anyone desiring data for other locations can simply reply to this thread with a longitude, latitude and altitude above sea level.

Your report of the event would be a welcome addition to this thread.