Category: News (Page 2 of 15)

JWST Targets Announced

NASA has announced exactly what the Early Release Objects will be that you’ll see on Tuesday, July 12!  Here’s your chance to get ahead of the curve – check out what has already been observed by other telescopes to compare with what you see on Tuesday!

  • Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula is one of the largest and brightest nebulae in the sky, located approximately 7,600 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. Nebulae are stellar nurseries where stars form. The Carina Nebula is home to many massive stars, several times larger than the Sun.
  • WASP-96 b (spectrum). WASP-96 b is a giant planet outside our solar system, composed mainly of gas. The planet, located nearly 1,150 light-years from Earth, orbits its star every 3.4 days. It has about half the mass of Jupiter, and its discovery was announced in 2014.
  • Southern Ring Nebula. The Southern Ring, or “Eight-Burst” nebula, is a planetary nebula – an expanding cloud of gas, surrounding a dying star. It is nearly half a light-year in diameter and is located approximately 2,000 light-years away from Earth.
  • Stephan’s Quintet: About 290 million light-years away, Stephan’s Quintet is located in the constellation Pegasus. It is notable for being the first compact galaxy group ever discovered in 1787. Four of the five galaxies within the quintet are locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters. 
  • SMACS 0723: Massive foreground galaxy clusters magnify and distort the light of objects behind them, permitting a deep field view into both the extremely distant and intrinsically faint galaxy populations.

Source: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-shares-list-of-cosmic-targets-for-webb-telescope-s-first-images

JWST First Image – July 12

The James Webb Space Telescope will release its first image to the public on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at 7:30 am PDT. Here are some resources to be ready for that first photo:

On July 12th:

July 16th:

Total Lunar Eclipse May 15

Mark your calendars, we have a very time favorable lunar eclipse coming up on Sunday, May 15. May’s eclipse starts during moonrise and reaches peak totality at 9:11 pm. More eclipse information can be found on the Time and Date website.

You can view the “blood moon” from anywhere and without a telescope but, our club will be at the San Bernardino County Museum for the show.

The next total lunar eclipse will be on November 8 but at 3:00 am!

Near-Total Lunar Eclipse Nov. 18-19

On the night of November 18 – 19, there will be a near-total lunar eclipse visible in our area. Technically it is a partial eclipse given that 97% of the moon will be in Earth’s umbral shadow but that is very nearly total. The umbral partial eclipse begins at around 11:19 pm on Nov. 18, max partial at 1:03 am on Nov. 19, and ends at 2:47 am. Additional information

EventUTC TimeTime in RedlandsVisible in Redlands
Penumbral Eclipse beginsNov 19 at 06:02:09Nov 18 at 10:02:09 pmYes
Partial Eclipse beginsNov 19 at 07:18:42Nov 18 at 11:18:42 pmYes
Maximum EclipseNov 19 at 09:02:55Nov 19 at 1:02:55 amYes
Partial Eclipse endsNov 19 at 10:47:04Nov 19 at 2:47:04 amYes
Penumbral Eclipse endsNov 19 at 12:03:40Nov 19 at 4:03:40 amYes
ref: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2021-november-19

Great Conjunction 2020

During the “Great Conjunction” on Dec. 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn will be about one-tenth of a degree apart, their closest approach since 1623. However, they will be very low in the western sky right after sunset. More information at Space.com

Image of Jupiter and Saturn's location in the sky on December 21, 2020 for the Great Conjunction
(Image: © SkySafari app) via Space.com

Sept. 26 Stream of Big Astronomy

The global Premiere of the award-winning Big Astronomy Planetarium show this Saturday! In just 30 minutes, tour the incredible observatories of Chile and meet some of the dedicated people who bring us big astronomy discoveries. We encourage you to tune into one of four live-streamed 360º showings this Saturday. (These will not be archived, so this is your chance!) https://www.bigastronomy.org/join-us-september-26-big-astronomy-premiere/

Big Astronomy 360 Premiere times

Mars

Start getting ready for Mars opposition on Oct. 6. Mars continues to get brighter in the late night sky. After the moon passes, Sept. 4-6, train your telescope on the red planet to view its features (unless there is a dust storm). Do forget to observe Jupiter and Saturn while your are at it.

Source: mars.nasa.gov
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