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MaryM
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| Posted: Jan 30 2012 at 5:21pm | IP Logged
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Sent to me on a local science group.
Unique astronomical events: Two such events (of the predictable, as opposed to the unpredictable sort) are going to take place this spring. On May 20 there is going to be a “ring of fire” annular eclipse of the sun, visible in the western U.S. along a path covering parts of CA/OR, NV, UT, AZ, NM, TX. This is an eclipse in which the moon is directly between the earth and sun, but the relative distances of the three bodies are such that the moon’s disk is not large enough to completely cover the sun, so the sun appears as a fiery ring around the silhouette of the moon. For details and a map showing the path of the eclipse, see NASA Science News.
(For me it is only visible as a partial solar eclipse in Denver. Wonder it I could do some traveling as it will be full in NM which isn't toooo far.)
And, on June 5, a transit of Venus across the face of the sun will be visible across all of the U.S., also taking place before and at sunset. It can be viewed via the same techniques as used for viewing sunspots. For more info see NASA or Astronomical Society
Last chance to see! The last transit of Venus was in 2004 (they occur in pairs 8 years apart) and the next will not be until 2117 and 2125.
A total solar eclipse will be visible on a path across the U.S. (from Oregon to South Carolina) on Aug. 21, 2017; the next annular eclipse visible in parts of the conterminous U.S. will be in 2048.
Cautions, of course: Both the eclipse and the transit will require indirect observation methods or proper filters to view safely since the sun is not completely blocked and will be bright enough to cause eye damage if viewed directly.
(We saw the transit of Venus in 2004 at a local observatory. It was really cool and I'm so exciting it is happening again. Did not realize it was so rare.)
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Mary M. in Denver
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Aagot
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| Posted: Jan 31 2012 at 9:13am | IP Logged
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Wow! This is so great! I would really like to see these.
Thanks Mary!
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Feb 01 2012 at 11:04pm | IP Logged
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Anyone really interested in Astronomy, should visit Classical Astronomy - they've started putting out a monthly almanack (available on Currclick) that outlines exactly what is happening in the sky each day/night of the month. For only $3, the Alamanack is AWESOME!
I'm looking forward to getting their curriculum for my son on his birthday (not soon enough!). If it's as good as the Almanack, he'll love it!
Anyway, the author of both items, speaks about these items within a God-centered perspective. And he's a homeschooling dad to boot ;)
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MaryM
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| Posted: Feb 01 2012 at 11:56pm | IP Logged
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CatholicMommy wrote:
| Anyone really interested in Astronomy, should visit Classical Astronomy - they've started putting out a monthly almanack (available on Currclick) that outlines exactly what is happening in the sky each day/night of the month. For only $3, the Alamanack is AWESOME! |
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All these resources look great - thanks.
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Mary M. in Denver
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 1:29pm | IP Logged
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Oh gosh, I would love to see these with the kids! I just hope I remember....
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Krista
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MaryM
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| Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 1:37pm | IP Logged
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kristacecilia wrote:
| Oh gosh, I would love to see these with the kids! I just hope I remember.... |
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I will bump when they are closer. The solar ring though sounds like it is really only going to be visible in the western US - bummer for the east. The transit of Venus is something you need to get special sun filtering equipment or go to an observatory to be able to see - since it is looking at the sun. Well the solar eclipse is also  but that you can do with a pinhole box or special filters/goggles. And maybe can do the transit with a pinhole box, but I think it would be way to small to see.
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Mary M. in Denver
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MaryM
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| Posted: May 04 2012 at 12:50am | IP Logged
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As promised, I am bumping this thread since the annular eclipse will be in a few weeks - May 20. See above for details.
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Mary M. in Denver
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 04 2012 at 1:47am | IP Logged
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My mom was also telling me that on Saturday night - May 5.. the full moon will be at its closest point to the earth and look about 14% larger than normal.
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MaryM
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| Posted: May 04 2012 at 9:05am | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| My mom was also telling me that on Saturday night - May 5.. the full moon will be at its closest point to the earth and look about 14% larger than normal. |
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Hey, very timely as I was just commenting about this to our local group. Yes, that is a "big" story that is apparently making the internet rounds right now. Since the moon has an elliptical orbit, every year it has one cycle that is closer to the earth (lunar perigee) and one cycle that is further from the earth (lunar apogee). Sometimes the moon is full at that point - perigee. When it is closest it is about 14% larger and 30% brighter. But that 14% is not particularly noticeable to the naked eye though. You would have to take pictures at comparble times and places between perigee and apogee to really detect the difference. Here is a good explanation that gives a realistic view of the "hype".
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Mary M. in Denver
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juliana147
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| Posted: May 04 2012 at 10:26am | IP Logged
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Thanks for the information, Mary!
Here's another resource for those who love astronomy:
spaceweather
We are getting our cameras ready. I hope we will see something interesting this weekend. 
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 04 2012 at 1:00pm | IP Logged
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 figures.. at this rate we may have cloud cover anyway. But if we don't it could be fun anyway.. moon rise is right at sunset so it's not like we'd have to stay up late to check it out
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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MaryM
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| Posted: May 04 2012 at 4:10pm | IP Logged
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And I really want to do some of this trick/illusion photography with a full moon. Maybe this is the one to do it...
All pics from the Laurent Laveder photo gallery linked above.
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Mary M. in Denver
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MaryM
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| Posted: May 18 2012 at 10:06am | IP Logged
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This weekend is the annular eclipse. More info.
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Mary M. in Denver
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MaryM
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| Posted: May 30 2012 at 10:54pm | IP Logged
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Next week (June 5) is the transit of Venus.
During the annular eclipse we went to our local planetarium. They were giving out free paper eclipse shades.
Only one per family so looking for some more. Looks like they are harder to get right now - many out of stock and have to order in quanities. Still time to get some with quick shipping.
And here is a graphic that shows how rare this event is. Shows occurance in 500 years. From this site which has some really detailed info on the transit.
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Mary M. in Denver
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 05 2012 at 7:35am | IP Logged
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Transit of Venus is today, 5:30 EDT. webcast can be found here.
I was wondering if you have some easy (really.easy) suggestions for ways to view this. Pinhole or something... This is one thing we just might be able to see, if our clouds clear up.
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 05 2012 at 10:50am | IP Logged
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Here is the pinhole camera method:
You can easily and safely observe the Sun by projecting it through a tiny hole onto a white sheet of paper.
Purpose
To construct a simple sun-projecting device from a telescope or binoculars
Materials
1 sheet of stiff white paper
telescope or binoculars
(optional) tripod
Procedure
Point a telescope or binoculars at the Sun. Do not attempt to view the Sun directly through the telescope or the binoculars! In the case of a telescope, make sure that any small finder telescope is capped, and keep the cover on one half of the binoculars. The easiest way to find the Sun is tilt your instrument to get the smallest shadow.
Hold a piece of white card about 15 cm behind the eyepiece to act as a screen on which you can catch the image. You should see a bright circle of light, probably blurred, on the screen. Focus the instrument until the circle is sharp. This is the disc of the Sun itself. If the eclipse is in progress you should see the Moon as a dark bite out of one edge.
Experiment with moving the card farther closer and further away. What effect does the distance from the card have on the image?
Try mounting the binoculars or telescope firmly on a tripod. The advantage of this type of projection is that several people can see the image at once.
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knowloveserve
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| Posted: June 05 2012 at 11:53am | IP Logged
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Living in the PacNW makes astronomical events blah.
Gray skies had us miss the solar eclipse... and tonight will be rain. 
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 05 2012 at 4:41pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Mary.
knowloveserve wrote:
Living in the PacNW makes astronomical events blah.
Gray skies had us miss the solar eclipse... and tonight will be rain. |
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It's only a few minutes away, and we've got heavy cloud coverage.  Will have to view online.
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 05 2012 at 4:45pm | IP Logged
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It's cloudy here too. And so unusual for us as we generally have such sunny June days. Even if we get an afternoon thunderstorm it rolls in and out in an hour. Toady had been overcast most of day.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 05 2012 at 4:56pm | IP Logged
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It's mostly sunny here and we're off to the western yard with our telescope and cardstock! We should be able to view between 5:00 and 5:57 central time here. Here's hoping!!!!
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Unique astronomical events - 2012
