Category Archives: 32 inch Cassegrain Project

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month: July 2024

By Erich Karkoschka

Mercury is visible all month at dusk. It is best in the second week of July.

Venus is also visible all month at dusk. If you look before 8 pm, you will see Venus very low in the WNW. If you look after 8 pm, you see Mercury much higher and further left. They could be mixed up if you look at 8 pm because Venus may hide behind the horizon.

Saturn rises around 10 pm. In a telescope it shows its rings almost edge-on.

Mars rises around 1 am and gets 30 degrees high by dawn. It moves closer to Aldebaran which is of the same magnitude and almost the same color.

Jupiter is 40 degrees east of Mars at the beginning of July and thus rises much later, but the distance shrinks to 8 degrees by the end of the month for a close August 14 conjunction.

Uranus is .6 degrees north or Mars on the 15th. Neptune is close to Saturn.

The first minor planet and dwarf planet Ceres is in opposition on the 5th low in Sagittarius. At magnitude 8, one can find it in binoculars.

The extremely thin moon sits between Mercury and Venus on the 6th. It is more difficult to find than Mercury. The next evening the moon is very easy to see above Mercury. On the 30th, the moon joins Mars, Jupiter, and Aldebaran, all close together.

The most impressive event is the occultation of Spica by the moon on the 13th from 7:54 to 9:14 pm. At the disappearance, dusk is still bright so Spica is probably not visible naked eye, but great in a telescopes. At the reappearance, the bright limb of the moon makes it challenging to see Spica at the very moment of the event.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month – June 2024

By Erich Karkoschka

There are NO planets visible in the evening except for Mercury starting June 24th around 8 pm.

Saturn rises around 1 am, and just before midnight by the end of June. It is well up at dawn, visible with a thin ring only 2 degrees tilted.

Mars follows between 1 and 2 am.

Jupiter becomes visible again at dawn after June 5th.

Venus is moving into the evening sky and will become visible in early July.

The Moon shows a thin crescent on June 7th below Castor and Pollux. It occults Saturn on June 27th at 9 am, visible in a telescope since the Moon is easy to find. The exit at 10 will be more difficult because the moon will be only 14 degrees high and the location at the lunar dark limb will be hard to find.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month – April 2024

by Erich Karkoschka

The New Moon on the 8th brings a partial solar eclipse in Tucson during late morning It is total on a path from Mazatlan in Mexico, through Texas, to the Great Lakes. The following day, the thin crescent can be seen just before 8 pm.

Venus rises during the dawn and may be visible naked eye, at least during the first half of the month.

Mars is rising earlier, but it still is not very high when dawn starts.

Jupiter is visible in the west after dusk. By the end of the month it sets at 8 pm, just as it gets dark.

Saturn starts the month just to the lower left of Mars. On the 10th, both planets are only half a degree apart from each other. Both have the same brightness, but not the same color. By the end of the month, Saturn is much higher than Mars, and its rings are quite narrow.

Uranus gets passed by Jupiter on the 20th when they will be only half a degree apart from each other.

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is in the vicinity of Jupiter and may be fifth magnitude. It is heading south and is getting really low after mid-month.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month – February – March 2024

By Erich Karkoschka

Saturn is only visible until February 11 during dusk.

Mercury starts its best evening visibility of the year on March 10.

Jupiter transits high at sunset at the beginning of February. However, by the end of March it is already down to 20 degrees high in the west when it becomes visible right after sunset.

Uranus is high in the evening sky and sets around midnight.

Venus and Mars are visible during dawn. First, Mars is difficult to see 10 degrees to the lower left of Venus. On February 22, they are only .6 degrees apart from each other with Venus 100 times brighter than Mars. Then Mars will be to the upper right of Venus with their distance increasing to 18 degrees by the end of March.

The Moon has two conjunctions with Jupiter on February 14 and March 13. The close conjunction with Mercury or February 11 is also interesting to watch since the moon will be a very thin crescent.

There is a penumbral lunar eclipse at midnight of March 24. Since it is almost partial, the darkening will be quite obvious.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month – January 2024

By Erich Karkoschka

Saturn is well visible during the early evening. It sets around 8 pm. Soon it will be too close to the Sun. When it reappears in the Spring, Saturn’s rings will only be half as open as now.

Jupiter transits during dusk. It is very high and good for telescopic observations. On the 20th, Ganymede is transiting the disk after 10 pm, visible as a dark spot.

Uranus is high in the evening sky east of Jupiter.

Neptune is west of Jupiter.

Brilliant Venus is best observed between 5 and 6 am, just before down starts.

Mercury joins Venus, visible until the end of the month. It is to the lower left of Venus around 6-7 am. There is no other star at similar brightness in this area of the sky. If you see one, it is Mercury.

Mars is within half a degree of Mercury on the 27th. Since it is a magnitude fainter then Mercury, it may require very clear air to make it out naked eye. Binoculars will easily show this close pair.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month – December 2023

By Erich Karkoschka

Mercury has a modest evening visibility until December 14th. Look to the southwest around 6 pm with no star nearby to confuse it with.

Saturn transits before dark and is well visible until late evening.

Jupiter shifts its transits from 10 pm to 8 pm during the month. Its elevation is then 70 degrees and its 48 arc-second diameter is perfect for telescope viewing.

Venus comes up around 4 am and is almost 40 degrees high in the southeast by the time the sun rises.

Uranus is east of Jupiter and Neptune is east of Saturn. Both are placed well for evening observation with binoculars.

Vesta, minor planet number 4, comes into opposition on December 21st (Winter Solstice). It therefore is very close to the point where the sun is at the summer solstice, between Taurus and Gemini. Its magnitude of 6.4 is at the limit of naked eye visibility.

The Moon visits Venus on December 19th, when Venus is easily visible after sunrise and perhaps even at noon as the moon is a guide to the location of Venus. The Moon is close to Saturn on the 17th.

December 13th is one of the best times of the year to watch meteors as the Gemini’s peak that evening.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month — November 2023

By Erich Karkoschka

Saturn transits just after dark. Its rings are tilted less than during the last 10 years.

Jupiter is at opposition on the 3rd with an almost maximum magnitude of -2.8. It transits 71 degrees high. On the 24th, Ganymede transits on Jupiter’s disk early in the evening, followed by its shadow, lasting until 9 pm.

Uranus is at opposition on the 13th. It lies 10 degrees east of Jupiter at magnitude 5.6.

Neptune is between Jupiter and Saturn.

So, there are all four giant planets in the evening sky.

Venus is just past greatest elongation and very conspicuous at the beginning of dawn.

The Moon is close to Jupiter on the 24th and 25th.

32 inch Cassegrain Project

Fundamentals of Astronomy Class

Fundamentals of Astronomy Class open for enrollment

Place: Armory Park Center, 220 S. 5th Ave, Tucson

Date: 3 consecutive Saturdays: February 24, 2024, March 2, 2024, March 9, 2024

Time: 9 AM until 4 PM each day

Synopsis: This class covers all the basic topics in Amateur Astronomy. The course is designed for anyone interested in learning the basic concepts in Amateur Astronomy. Topics covered (but not limited to) include the solar system, deep sky objects, stars, telescopes, eyepieces, mounts, star hopping, observation techniques, plus much more. This course is highly recommended for novice amateur astronomers and for anyone who may have just purchased a telescope for the first time. Taking this class will also aide the student in understanding the more advanced lectures often given during general membership meetings.

If interested you can contact the instructor at the information listed below or sign up using the signup sheet that will be available at all General Members meeting starting October 2023 through February 2024. Enrollment is strictly limited to 20 students and is on a first come basis. If there is sufficient interest the class may be offered again in the fall/winter 2024 time frame.

Instructor – Douglas Smith

Phone: 520-396-3233 e-mail: alcor@tucsonastronomy.org or fundamentals@tucsonastronomy.org

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Planets of the Month: September & October 2023

By Erich Karkoschka

Saturn is 45 degrees high during the late evening. Rings are almost half open, the last time for several years.

Jupiter rises at 10 pm during early September, but close to sunset by late October. Its magnitude reaches -2.9, which is as high as it ever gets. Jupiter transits 73 degrees high during the morning hours.

Uranus is 10 degrees east of Jupiter at magnitude 5.7, getting closer to the Pleiades.

Neptune is between Jupiter and Saturn at magnitude 7.8. It reaches opposition on September 19.

Venus rises at 4 am, but later already at 3 am. It is high up by sunrise and is a large crescent in September, reaching half phase in late October. It is brightest in mid-September, and at -4.8, it is really bright. One could find it during daytime, for example around 9:30 am 65 degrees high in the south, or close to the moon September 11-12 and October 10.

Mercury is a morning object from September 15 to October 6, rising at 5 am below Regulus, which is below Venus.

The moon passes Jupiter on September 4, October 1 and 28. It is close to Pollux on the morning of October 7.

Arizona gets its second and last annular solar eclipse on October 14 with a maximum around 9:35 am. Tucson gets a good partial eclipse, while Four Corners (and parts of New Mexico) get the annular phase. A great event to watch, especially with a filtered telescope. Always use an approved SOLAR FILTER for observing Partial and Annular Eclipses.