Astronomy Israel

Monday, September 9, 2013

The New Moon with Venus, Spica and Saturn

I captured the close conjunction of the new moon of Tishrei with Venus last night, adding as a bonus the bright star Spica with Saturn entering the picture at the upper left towards the end.

Spica, the brightest star in Virgo appears just to the lower right of the moon with Venus above left. Towards the end of the animation Saturn enters the field at the top left.

New moon of September 8, 2013 with Venus to the upper left and Saturn to the far upper left. Around 8:00 PM above the hills of Mitzpe Ramon, Israel.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Don't Miss Venus and the New Moon in the Evening Sky Tonight

Tonight, Sunday September 8, the new moon of Tishrei, just 3 days old, will make a beautiful pairing with Venus in the evening sky at sunset. Venus and the moon will be the two brightest objects in the sky, with Saturn visible above and to the left of Venus. If you have a completely clear western horizon and a pair of binoculars you should also be able to glimpse the elusive planet Mercury due west, above and to the left of the setting sun. But it will be very low in the sky and will set shortly after the sun. The other two planets and the moon will be visible well into darkness. On Monday night the moon will be above and left of Venus, not nearly as close, but still a pretty sight.

Give it a try and let us know what you see. Venus, Saturn and the moon are bright enough to be visible from even light polluted skies in Israel.

Venus will be visible just above and left of the moon, impossible to miss in the darkening sunset sky. Saturn should also be easy to see above and left of Venus, with Mercury a difficult binocular object above and just left of the setting sun. This view of the sky is for 7:00PM Local Israel Time on September 8, 2013.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Hebrew Calendar - Shanah Tovah to All!

This post courtesy of my friend Ron Wilkins:

SHANA TOVA to ALL ---

Okay, here’s a question for all you trivia buffs out there. When was the last time Rosh Hashanah began as early as September 5th? Give up? Try 1899! That was the year that Queens and Staten Island became part of New York City, the Great Blizzard of 1899 pounded South Florida with snow, and fighting in Afghanistan continued to rage (then it was the British but sadly some things never change). This was also the year when the paperclip and Bayer aspirin were patented, and voting machines were okay’d for federal elections.(Hmm, chads, hanging or not)

Yep, the last time Rosh Hashanah fell on September 5th was the year the Bronx Zoo opened in New York, and when all is said and done, it will be another 76 years (2089) until this Rosh Hashanah comes this early again. So as you can imagine rabbis everywhere are scrambling to finish sermons and Jews everywhere are asking, “has the Jewish calendar gone crazy!?” Well, not exactly. In reality the Jewish calendar works on a 19 year cycle adding a 13th month (Adar 2) in years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19. This is year 17 of that cycle and represents the longest possible year in the Jewish calendar of 385 days.

The Jewish calendar which is based primarily on the lunar cycle, makes these adjustments in order to keep the holidays in sync with solar seasons. This keeps Passover in the spring and Sukkot in the fall. While it is not uncommon for the calendar to add a month during these leap years or for the holidays to be “early” or “late”, what is different this year is the extreme “earliness” in relation to the secular calendar.

The next time Rosh Hashanah will fall on September 5th will as mentioned above be in 2089 or in the Jewish counting 5850 which is why this year is so special.

But wait that’s not all. This year the first night of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving are on the same day! According to Steve Morse, this is the first time that’s happened since President Lincoln originally established Thanksgiving in 1863 and it is also the last time it'll happen until the year 79,811. I'll say that again: after this year, Hanukkah and Thanksgiving Day won't overlap for another 77,798 years! The reason is because the Jewish calendar is very slowly getting out of sync with the solar calendar, at a rate of 4 days per 1000 years (not bad for a many centuries old calendar!) This means that while presently Hanukkah can be as early as 11/28, over the years the calendar will drift forward, such that the earliest Hanukkah can be is 11/29.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Perseids Meteor Shower Star Party!! August 11-12!!!

The ever-reliable Perseids Meteor Shower peaks this year on the nights of August 11 and 12. During those nights, and especially after midnight, the shower can show as many as 100 meteors per hour, although this is the maximum theoretical number. Realistic numbers are more in the range of 40-60 meteors per hour under very dark skies. This will be a good year for the meteor shower since the moon sets early in the evening leaving the sky dark all night.

There are a number of star parties where you can come and watch the event. The most crucial conditions for a good show are a dark sky and clear horizon. So, what better place to view it than the dark, desert skies of Mitzpe Ramon? Mitzpe Ramon will have its own traditional star party on Monday night-Tueday morning, August 12 and 13. This star party attracts thousands of people from around Israel. Last year over 9,000 people attended. Although this sounds like a zoo, it was actually quite alot of fun, and everything was quite orderly and joyful. This may be the largest star party in the world. And if you've never heard 9,000 people cheer when a fireball flashes overhead, well, you've never lived.

If you want something a bit more intimate, on the previous night, Sunday, August 11 through the morning of Monday August 12, I will be hosting my own star party in conjunction with the Desert Shade Eco-Lodge in Mitzpe Ramon. I will be doing both naked eye and telescope star shows throughout the night until after 1:00AM, after which we can all sit back and watch the sky blaze with meteors. I will also be showing my video of the great Chelyabinsk Meteor that fell over Russia on February 15 of this year, cutting a huge swatch of destruction in its wake. To complement the video I will have a "show and hold" presentation of actual meteorites from space, including a genuine piece of the Chelyabinsk meteorite. The "piece de resistance" of my collection is a piece of the actual "Tohu va'Vohu" (See Beresheet 1:2) from which our solar system began over 5 billion years ago. It's more fun than a freak show and alot kinder to the children! We will also have a campfire around midnight and all the tea you can drink. Admission includes camping all night as well as use of the bathroom facilities. Bring your own sleeping bags, tents, camprolls, etc.

EVENT

What: Perseids Meteor Shower Star Party

When: Sunday night through Monday morning, August 11-12

Where: Desert Shade Eco-Lodge Mitzpe Ramon

Activities: Naked eye and telescopic star tours by Ira Machefsky, the Starman of Mitzpe Ramon; All night camping included in price of entry; Movie of the Great Chelyabinsk Fireball that crashed over Russia on Feb. 15 of this year; "Show and Hold" presentation of actual Rocks from Space together with the most primitive meteorite ever discovered, a piece of the "Tohu va'Vohu" of our world; Camp fire; and of course meteor watching all night long.

Language: English
Admission: 80nis per person, includes all night camping privileges, hot tea all night, bathroom facilities, camp fire, all presentations.

Upgrades: Price for star tour & over night in dorm eco tent 125 Nis per person

Price for star tour & over night in private eco tent 165 Nis per person ( MIN 2 PAX PER ECO TENT)

Vegetarian food will be available to purchase.

Optional sun rise jeep desert safari for just 240 NIS

For more details & reservation

Info@desert-shade.com

www.desert-shade.com

Reservations Required: info@desert-shade.com

A meteor shower occurs when the earth in its orbit around the sun encounters the orbit of an old comet. Comets slowly disintegrate as they orbit the sun, leaving behind a trail of cometary debris that consists of varying size rocks, dust and debris. When the arth encounters this material, it enters the earth's atmosphere at very high speed where friction causes it to burn up. The fiery remains are seen as meteors in the sky. The larger the debris, the brighter the meteor. The Perseids Meteor Shower is the result of the earth encountering the orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Surreal Photo of Phobos Captured Above Mars

Behold a surreal image of Mar's moon Phobos above the red planet, captured by the ESA's Mars Express orbiter circling Mars in 2010. Not a drawing. Not an artist's conception. But the real deal! Phobos orbits Mars at a height of about 5,800 miles and has a diameter of about 14 miles, very tiny in comparisson to Earth's moon with a diameter of 3,500 miles.

Mars's moon Phobos as imaged above the red planet in 2010 by the ESA's Mars Express satellite with features of Mars below. Mars's features look wavy because of the way the satellite captured this image.