Showing posts with label Starman of Mitzpe Ramon. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Perseids Meteor Shower 2024

The peak night of the Perseids Meteor Shower in 2024 is August 12 which is Tisha B'Av this year. There is also a waxing moon which gets bigger and brighter every night after new moon on the 6th. Its bright light blocks the light of dimmer objects like meteors. The moon sets before midnight up to the 12th but one hour later each night thereafter. Starting August 13 the moon is first quarter and starts getting quite bright, blocking the light of dimmer meteors. Best viewing of the meteor shower is after midnight. Most families don't stay through the wee hours of the night but you are welcome to.

The radiating effect of meteors all originating from a single location in the sky called the "radiant". In the case of the Perseids Meteor Shower from the constellation Perseus, the hero who rescued Andromeda.

So what will you see? On a typical year on the peak night many meteors. You probably read numbers of 60-100 per hour, making this one of the best meteor showers of the year. But honestly I have only seen that many once in my life from Mitzpe Ramon. Off peak, which is about 2:00am on the morning of August 13 (Tisha B'Av this year), there are still many more meteors seen than on the average night (maybe 1-2 during a 2 hour star tour, maybe none) but nothing like the peak. The more days off the peak the fewer number of meteors. In addition the waxing moon starts to interfere after August 13.

As you can see, the peak of the Perseids is very steep, rapidly falling off on either side of the peak on the early morning of August 13.

We will not be going out on Tisha B'Av, so the best time to view on our star tour is August 6 (new moon) through August 11. The closer to August 11 the better.

This year Mitzpe Ramon turns off its lights on August 11, although we go into the Ramon Crater to observe. August 13-15 are good but because of the waxing moon not as good as August 6-11. August 11 is the best alternative to August 12.

To get information and book a tour: https://www.bookeo.com/astronomyisrael

If you would like to see an animation of the way the Earth's orbit intersects the debris trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle, which creates the Perseids Meteor Shower, click here. The Earth's orbit is blue: https://www.meteorshowers.org/view/Perseids

The most popular place to view the meteor shower is the Ramon Crater but literally tens of thousands of people come there on a good year. Well known dark locations are usually crowded everywhere.

Keep on looking up!☝🏻

Friday, September 25, 2015

The Total Lunar Eclipse of September 28, 2015

Early in the morning of September 28 a total eclipse of the moon will be widely visible around the world. In Israel the moon begins to enter the penumbra of the earth's shadow at 3:11AM IDT, however the darkening of the moon will probably not be visible until the moon enters the umbra of the earth's shadow at 4:07AM IDT. Totality begins at 5:11AM IDT with mid eclipse occurring at 5:47AM IDT, just before sunrise.

Lunar Eclipse Events, Israel Daylight Time (IDT)

03:11:46  Moon enters penumbra
04:07:12 Moon enters outer edge of umbra
05:11:11 Moon completely in umbra
05:47:09 Mid-eclipse
06:23:07  Moon begins to emerge from umbra, after moon set in Israel
07:27:06  Moon completely out of umbra, after moon set in Israel
08:22:33 Moon leaves penumbra, after moon set in Israel

View to the West with the moon half-eclipsed at 4:31AM IDT

View to the West during totality, just before sunrise at 5:46AM IDT. This should be spectacular over the Mediterranean.

Timing of the circumstances of the lunar eclipse. Add 3 hours to the times shown to get local Israeli time.

This eclipse is notable for a number of reasons. 1) It's the fourth in a series of total lunar eclipses in two years. 2) It occurs when the moon is closest in its orbit to the earth, called the "perigee" of the orbit, and in modern times referred to as a "supermoon", although in reality it will only appear about 15% larger than a regular full moon in the sky. Nevertheless, everyone will marvel at how large it is, although this is not really observable unless you can compare the two moons side-by-side. 3) It is the Harvest Moon, the fulll moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox, used by farmers to extend the time they can see in the dark to conduct their harvest. 4) It is called a "blood moon", turning red from the diffraction of light around the edge of the earth into the shadow on the moon, essentially projecting all of the sunsets and sunrises into the shadow of the earth on the moon. The darkness of the eclipse and the reddening of the moon vary widely from eclipse to eclipse, depending on weather conditions on our planet and how central the eclipse is, i.e. how deep into the shadow of the earth the moon goes. Finally for Jews, this full moon occurs on the first night of Succot, no coincidence since the beginning of Succot always falls out on the 15th of Tishrei, the night of the full moon, as does Pesach in the month of Nissan. A lunar eclipse can only happen when the moon is full and opposite the sun in the sky. Some have made alot of this "blood moon" hearkening back to the Prophet Joel (2:31) "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." I will let those better equipped to deal with Astrology deal with that one.

Since this eclipse occurs during the first day of Succot I will not be doing an early morning star tour but will merely be enjoying it personally. Star tours will continue normally during Chol Hamoed.

Want to photograph the moon? Here are some tips on how: http://www.popphoto.com/how-to-photography-moon

Monday, January 5, 2015

What is a Star Tour?

Everyone wants to know - what are these star tours that the Starman of Mitzpe Ramon is famous for?

Well, this blog is full of information about what we do on our star tours, but in brief:

WHAT WE DO

Thanks for your interest in my star tours. My tours last about two hours, usually starting at 9:30pm or sometimes 6:00pm/6:30pm in the winter. The first half we do naked eye observing of the sky, identifying constellations, learning star lore, understanding how the sky works; the second half we go to the telescopes to view the best sights of the night. I set up my "portable observatory" in the desert behind Mitzpe Ramon, meet people at their hotels and guide them up to my observing location. We provide chairs and blankets for everyone, and No, no walking is required. The planets and stars are too far away! We let our eyes do the walking. I can usually take people in my own car up to my observing location. But if my car is full I may ask you to follow me in yours the short distance to my observing location (about 3 kilometers) behind town. No four-wheel drive required.

WHEN DO WE DO IT?

We go out every clear night, except Shabbat (Friday night) and Jewish holidays.

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME FOR A STAR TOUR?

Mitzpe Ramon has some of the darkest, most easily accessible skies in Israel. There is some light pollution here, but on a dark night the Milky Way is bright and easily visible, and the sky is star studded. The best nights to come if you want to see the sky that way is when there is no moon in the sky. See the Moon Phase Calendar on this site for dates of the dark of the moon. Of course, if your schedule does not allow this, we still go out every clear, non-holiday night and have a star adventure non pareil.

COST

The cost is 150nis/adult, 75nis/child 6-12, no cost for children under 6yo, max charge of 750nis/nuclear family. Please pay in shekels or Israeli checks, but if you have Greenbacks, Euros, or Pounds, I can take those in a pinch. Ask about special prices for larger groups.

WEATHER

It is cold in the desert at night, even in the summer, so I recommend people dress warmly year round, very warmly in winter. I also bring blankets for people. My star tours are group activities.

SIZE OF THE GROUP

I do not do exclusive tours. Size of the group is highly variable. Could be only you; could be as many as 20 people. Holidays are usually the busiest time of year. Whatever the size, the sky is large so everyone gets a front row seat.

EXPERIMENTS

I sometimes experiment using different equipment and different modes of observation. When something works, it becomes a permanent part of the tour. For large groups I sometimes use my astrovideo camera which displays what the telescope is viewing on a TV monitor.

To make a reservation call or email with the following information --

Name:
Size of group with ages of children:
Date(s) of desired star tour:
Your email address:
Hotel where you will be staying:
Mobile number where you can be reached in Israel:
Will you have your own transportation:

Looking forward to seeing you under the starry skies of Mitzpe Ramon!

Ira "The Starman of Mitzpe Ramon" Machefsky

We make the mysteries of the Cosmos easier to understand than this!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Did You See Us in Today's Jerusalem Post?

Our interview about last night's total lunar eclipse made front page news in today's Jerusalem Post! Did you see it? Thanks to all who have helped to make us a success!!