Basic Information for Amateur Astronomers in the Four Corners Area.
The main purpose of this site is to give some basic information on what's "up" to view in the night sky. This will include such items as:
As well as these links to various astronomy oriented sites.
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Some Tips on the Links listed above
Sky & Telescope's web site now requires cookies. If you are like me and have turned off cookies, you will have to turn them back on again to access this site.
When at the Internet's Virtual Telescope, enter an NGC number or an M number or the RA & DEC numbers of the object you want to view into the box under "Required Parameters" and select the type of survey from the boxes. ( I usually use the Digitized Sky Survey but feel free to play around with the different surveys.)
The "Cedar and Stars" web site is not astronomical. It is Dani's web site and has many of her drawings there to view as well as links to her Elfwood page and others. Hope you enjoy her amazing artwork.
If you are using a PC, hold your cursor over the picture for a description. For more information about the object and/or picture, visit the Astronomy Picture Of the Day web site by clicking on the link above.
For the Month of November 2008
The Taurid Meteor Shower will be from the 3rd through the 5th.
The Leonid Meteor Shower will be from the 16th through the 18th.
The Moon
The New Moon will be on the 27th.
The First Quarter Moon will be on the 5th.
The Second Quarter (full) Moon will be on the 13th.
The Third Quarter Moon will be on the 19th.
The Moon will be at Apogee (farthest from the Earth) on the 2nd and the 29th.
The Moon will be at Perigee (closest to the Earth) on the 14th.
Venus will be 3 degrees north of the Moon on the 1st.
Jupiter will be 1.9 degrees north of the Moon on the 3rd.
Saturn will be 6 degrees north of the Moon on the 21st.
Uranus will be 4 degrees south of the Moon on the 8th.
Neptune will be 1.1 degrees (occultation) south of the Moon on the 6th.
The Naked-Eye Planets
Mercury is very low in the east at sunrise.
- Venus will be 3 degrees north of the Moon on the 1st.
- Venus will be 2 degrees south of Jupiter on the 30th.
- Jupiter will be 1.9 degrees north of the Moon on the 3rd.
- Jupiter will be 2 degrees north of Venus on the 30th
- Saturn will be 6 degrees north of the Moon on the 21st.
The Outer (telescope only) Planets
Uranus is in the constellation Aquarius and is high in the south at sunrise.
- Uranus will be 4 degrees south of the Moon on the 8th.
- Neptune will be 1.1 degrees (occultation) south of the Moon on the 6th.
For more information about the paths of these planets, visit the Sky & Telescope or Astronomy websites by using the links above, or see the individual planet charts on Page 67 of the June 2008 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine.
Bright Deep Sky Objects
The Orion Nebula (M-42) is a great object to view in almost any telescope.Its visible naked eye below the middle belt star.
The Double Cluster (NGC 869 & NGC 884) in Perseus is always a nice object for any scope and is visible naked eye (its that fuzzy blob between Perseus and Cassiopia).
The Beehive Cluster (M-44) is a nice open cluster that can be viewed in any scope. It is located between the rectangle of Gemini and the sickle of Leo. It appears as a fuzzy patch of light to the naked eye.
The Hercules Cluster (M-13) is visible with binoculars and is a great view in any telescope! It is a globular star cluster with an estimated 500,000 stars and is located between the two bright stars that make up the western half of the keystone in the constellation Hercules.
The Summer Milky Way is rising after midnight. There are many bright deep sky objects in the summer Milky Way that are visible naked eye and with any size telescope. Many of the objects on the Messier List are located here.
The Andromeda Galaxy (M-31) is the most distant object visible to the naked eye at 2.2 million light years. It is located above and to the left (north-east) of the Great Square of Pegasus.
It Happened this Month in Astronomy
November 1st, 1977, Charles Kowal discovered the comet Chiron.
November 2nd, 1885, Harlow Shapley was born.
November 4th, 2008, is Election Day.
November 8th, 1656, Edmond Halley was born.
November 11th, 2008, is Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada.
November 12th, 1980, Voyager 1 flew past Saturn.
November 13th, 1971, Mariner 9 orbited Mars.
November 15th, 1738, William Herschel was born.
November 20th, 1889, Edwin Hubble was born.
November 26th, 1885, the first photograph of a meteor was taken.
November 17th, 2008, is Thanksgiving Day.
Fall is a great time to observe galaxies and open clusters.
( Have you bagged any deep sky objects lately? )
Don't Forget to Visit the Observatory at Chaco Canyon !
E-Mail me with questions, comments, or corrections by clicking here.
This site has been on the web since February 11, 2001
Last updated: November 1st, 2008