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Planets of the Month – October 2022

By Erich Karkoschka

Jupiter is the most obvious planet, shining brightly at magnitude minus 3 all night. It just had its closest opposition in 50 years.
Saturn is 40 degrees to the west of Jupiter. It is first magnitude in an area of the sky without bright stars.
Mars rises at 10 pm and later in the month by 9 pm. It outshines all surrounding stars of the winter constellations until Sirius rises in the morning. It becomes interesting to observers with a telescope as its diameter reaches 15 arc-seconds, sufficient to see its surface detail.
Uranus rises after dusk in the constellation of Aries. It can be found naked eye if you know exactly where to look and have fairly dark skies.

Neptune is a binocular object 10 degrees to the west of Jupiter.

Mercury is visible during dawn in the first three weeks of October. It is often a challenge when it becomes visible, but around the center of its visibility period it should be quite obvious around 5:30 am low in the eastern sky.
Vesta is at 7th magnitude and thus even brighter than Neptune. It finishes its retrograde opposition period in Capricornus.
The Moon covers two planets. It occults Uranus on the 11th from 9:54-10:29. Ingress and egress take about 12 seconds due to the 4 arc-second disk of Uranus. On the 24th, it occults Mercury after sunrise. Only specialists will be able to locate Mercury in their telescope, and the moon will be invisible as it is not illuminated. Mercury will suddenly dim over 10 seconds and then be gone.
Orionid Meteor Shower. Parent Comet: Halley’s Comet. Peak is the early morning hours of October 21st around 3 am. Some may be visible late evening on the 20th. Comets will appear to radiate from the constellation of Orion. Will need a dark sky to see very many (10-20 per hour).
32 inch Cassegrain Project

Planets of the Month: July – September 2022

By Erich Karkoschka

Saturn is the first planet to rise at night, at 10 pm in early July. By the Opposition on August 14, it rises at sunset.
Jupiter is the second planet to rise, at midnight in early July. By the Opposition on September 26, it rises at sunset.
Mars is the third planet to rise, at 1 am in early July, but already at 10 pm by late September. It moves from Aries into Taurus, passing Aldebaran on September 7. It has brightened to zero magnitude. In a telescope, one can watch its diameter increasing from 7 to 12 arc-seconds.
Venus is the fourth planet to rise, at 3:30 am in early July, but close to 6 am by late September, which is not much before sunrise. This means Venus is leaving the morning sky by the Fall.
Mercury is the last planet to rise at dawn, visible until July 6. From Mercury to Saturn, all planets have been visible at dawn in the order of their distances from the Sun. All August, Mercury is visible low at dusk.
Neptune is visible in binoculars about 10 degrees west of Jupiter.
Uranus is rising at 2 am in early July, but 8 pm by late September. It moves slowly in Aries.
Vesta is an easy binocular object in Aquarius at 6th magnitude. Its Opposition is August 22.
The Moon has two beautiful approaches to Venus, on July 26 to 3 degrees distance, and on August 25 to 5 degrees distance. The latter one is visible only in bright twilight since Venus rises late.
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James Webb Space Telescope

Join Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) for the release of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images throughout the summer and fall. Our first event is scheduled for Saturday July 23rd at the Sunsites Library in Pearce AZ (210 N Ford St) from 1:30 – 2:30 pm. Keep an eye on our calendar for upcoming events.

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Planets for June 2022

By Erich Karkoschka

Saturn is the first planet to rise at night, first at midnight and almost at 10 pm by the end of June.
Jupiter is the second planet to rise, two hours after Saturn. It is up 45 degrees by sunrise.
Mars is the third planet to rise, only 2 degrees from Jupiter at the beginning of June, increasing to 19 degrees by the end of June.
Venus is the fourth planet to rise at 3:20 am. It displays the same phase as Mars in a telescope but is 50 times brighter.
Mercury is the last planet to rise at 4 am. It is just visible with naked eyes starting on the 11th and better visible between the 20th and the 30th.
Neptune is visible in binoculars about 10 degrees west of Jupiter.

Uranus is too close to the Sun at the beginning of June. On the 11th it can be found 1.5 degrees above Venus.

The Moon occults eta Leonis on June 5th between 8:05 and 9:06 pm. It is a 3rd magnitude star just above Regulus. The moon then passes the five bright planets, Saturn on the 18th, Jupiter on the 21st, Mars on the 22nd, Venus on the 26th, and Mercury on the 27th. Note that the order of the five bright planets is in the same order as their distance from the Sun. On the 23rd, 24th, and 25th, this is valid even if you include the Moon. The only day one cannot see the Moon is the 28th, although a sighting on the 29th around 8 pm is challenging at it is only 24 hours after New Moon.
Vesta is an easy binocular object at 7th magnitude, between Jupiter and Saturn. Thus the morning parade of all planets even extends to the brightest asteroid.
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DOUG SMITH (VICE PRESIDENT)

doug-smith

I have been into Astronomy for most of my life. Started when I was 5 with a 3 inch Tasco refractor. Have been into Amateur Astronomy ever since. More than 50 years.

Several clubs. First club was the Warren Astronomical Society which meets at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This is where the Astronomical League started. I have always been involved in the AL.

I am currently the ALCOR for TAAA. Second time at that position. I have been ALCOR for other clubs also. Also Program Coordinator for the AL Analemma Observing Program. I have my AL Master Observing Award.

I have several undergraduate and graduate degrees, including MS in Physics. I did several years of undergraduate and graduate studies in Astrophysics.

I am an Engineer at Raytheon with 37+ years’ experience.

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David Rossetter (Member At Large)

● From Chicago area. BS Business U of Montana, MS Computer Information
Systems, Regis University. Two adult kids, two step kids. Married to Pam. Live on far northeast side of Tucson.
● Airline Pilot: People Express Airlines, Continental Airlines, United Airlines
(mergers). Retired in 2016 on international 767 from Washington Dulles.
● Chair of the TAAA Nominations and Volunteer Resource Committee (four years).
● MemberPlanet Manager. Editor Desert Skies Bulletin.
●2 5 years of astronomy public outreach including teaching LLI astronomy classes.
● Currently have 25″ dob and 7″ refractor in my private observatory.
● Docent at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Folk and bluegrass musician. Hiking. Skiing.

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John Kalas (Member At Large)

●Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Penn State, Married with 2 grown children, Tucson resident for 28 years. TAAA awards: Bok Award 2004 & Service Award 2006.
●Various levels of engineering responsibilities including management with GTE Sylvania for 23 years and Rain Bird for 13 years.
● TAAA positions: MAL, Vice-President and President (1998 – 2001). Developed and ran Astronomy Services program (paid star parties) for 17 years. Supported development of the TIMPA observing site.
● Chiricahua Astronomy Complex: One of the four Perseus Group members who donated the property, CAC Site Construction Coordinator from 2008 – 2018 (Phases 1 – 6), CAC Site Director from 2010 – 2017, currently construction Coordinator for Member Observatories project. TAAA member for 28 years

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Barbara Whitehead (Treasurer)

● BS & BA in Accounting University of Alabama, CPA (licensed in Virginia),
● CRFAC (Certified Forensic Accountant).
●Bank CFO, Banking Regulator, Banking Consultant.
● Financial Managers Society, Inst Management Accountants, CPA Society,
Technology Club.
● Treasurer, Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (1,000+ members), various
positions including President, VP and Treasurer in the non-profits listed above.
● Experience includes Quickbooks, PayPal, Club Express and GroupWorks.
● Disaster Responder for American Red Cross, teaching classes for Technology Club where I am also the Treasurer.
● Other interests include MahJongg, Book Club, travel and my puppy, Pippa.

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Planets of the Month: May 2022

by Erich Karkoschka

Mercury is the only evening planet, but only visible during the first week of May. It sets around the end of astronomical twilight. It shows as a crescent in a telescope.

Saturn rises soon after Midnight and is 30 degrees up at dawn.

Mars follows Saturn an hour later. It is as bright as Saturn. Mars approaches Jupiter and passes it half a degree south on May 29th.

Venus and Jupiter are only half a degree apart from each other at the beginning of the month. Venus moves so fast that their separation increases to 30 degrees by months end.

Venus shows a small disk getting fuller while Jupiter gets high enough so that its bands and other features show up in telescopes.

On the 17th and `18th, Neptune is relatively easy to find in binoculars since it is less than a degree north of Mars.

The Moon is very hard to see on May 1st since it is such a thin crescent, one of the thinnest ones you have seen in your life. The following evening, it sits just above Mercury. By the 6th, the Moon is next to Pollux. The Full Moon the day after the Lunar Eclipse rises only 2 degrees from Aldebaran. On the 26th and 27th, it is in the vicinity of Venus.
The important event this month is the Total Lunar Eclipse on the evening of May 15th. The moon rises at 7:06 pm (Tucson Time/UTC-7). Sunset is at 7:15 pm. The partial phase starts at 7:28. Totality lasts from 8:29-9:54 pm. The partial phase ends at 10:56 pm. This is a deep total eclipse since the northern part of the Moon is at the center of the Umbra, right at 9:12 pm. In Tucson, TAAA will have a viewing party with telescopes on the University of Arizona Mall near Flandrau from 7:30-10 pm.
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Planets of the Month: April 2022

By Erich Karkoschka
Mercury is the only planet in the evening sky after April 10.
It is easily visible after mid-month as dusk fades.  It sets
shortly after the end of twilight.  On the 29th, Mercury is on the edge of the Pleiades, a nice sight in binoculars.
Venus and Mars have been close together in the morning sky for many weeks.  Now, Venus is getting faster so that Mars cannot keep up.  By the end of the month, they are 15 degrees apart. Venus is five magnitudes brighter than Mars and slightly losing
altitude at the beginning of twilight while Mars is slowly
gaining altitude.  
At the beginning of April, Venus is still almost half illuminated, but gets more round as the month progresses.

The moon is a thin crescent on the 2nd at dusk and on the 28th
at dawn with Full Moon mid month (16th).  On the 4th it is close to the Pleiades.  The most beautiful sight will be the moon, Venus, and Jupiter close together on the morning of the 27th.  Remembering this triangle during dawn, one can try to see how long one can watch it naked eye.  Jupiter becomes invisible at sunrise, 6:00 am while Venus can be seen at least another half hour, possible even past noon if the sky is very clear.

Jupiter rises during dawn at the beginning of the month, well
to the lower left of the three other planets.  Jupiter passes Neptune on the 12th in less than 0.1 degree distance.  This happens once every 13 years, but this time the distance is
closer than most other times.  Neptune is faintly visible in a
telescope since both planets only rise after the start of dawn.
Venus is approaching Jupiter and reaches it on the 30th. The two brightest planets will be less than half a degree apart, a sight one should not miss.  Around the 18th, the four bright planets of the morning sky are almost perfectly equally spaced. April is a good time to watch the planets move among the stars and between each other, each with its own speed.
Saturn starts the month between Venus and Mars.  On the 5th, Mars passes Saturn less than half a degree south, a nice sight of two planets with equal magnitude but different colors. For the next months, Saturn will be the first of the morning planets to rise, by 2 am at the end of the month.
Uranus is the only planet in the evening sky until April 10.
Afterwards it will be too low to find it during late dusk.