Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide

Product Information

The term conjunction is also used when a planet is either directly behind or in front of the Sun, as seen from Earth. (Under normal circumstances it will then be invisible.) The conditions of most favourable visibility depend on whether the planet is one of the two known as inferior planets (Mercury and Venus) or one of the three superior planets (Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) that are covered in detail. Brief details of the fainter superior planets, Uranus and Neptune, are given, especially when they come to opposition. Learning the patterns of the stars, the constellations and asterisms is not particularly difficult. You need to start by identifying the various constellations that are circumpolar where you live. These are always above the horizon, so you can generally start at any time of the year. The charts here and here show the northern and southern circumpolar constellations, respectively. The fine, dashed lines indicate the areas that are circumpolar at different latitudes. Below Cancer is the very distinctive asterism of the ‘Head of Hydra’, consisting of five (or six) stars, that is the western end of the long constellation of Hydra, the largest constellation in the sky, that runs far towards the east, roughly parallel to the ecliptic. Alphard (α Hydrae) is south, and slightly to the west of Regulus in Leo and is relatively easy to recognize as it is the only fairly bright star in that region of the sky. North of Hydra and between it and the ecliptic and the constellation of Virgo are the two constellations of Crater and Corvus. Farther west, the small constellation of Sextans lies between Hydra and Leo. The two stars Dubhe and Merak (α and β Ursae Majoris) are known as the ‘Pointers’, because they indicate the position of Polaris, the Pole Star (α Ursae Minoris), at about a distance of five times their separation. Following this line takes you to the constellation of Ursa Minor, the ‘Little Bear’ or ‘Little Dipper’, where Polaris is at the end of the ‘tail’ or ‘handle’.

NIGHT SKY ALMANAC 2023: A stargazer’s guide - Goodreads

The only two names commonly used in Europe were ‘Harvest Moon’ and ‘Hunter’s Moon’. On rare occasions, particularly in religious contexts, the term ‘Lenten Moon’ was used for the Full Moon in March. The other terms, which originated in North America, have been adopted increasingly by the media in recent years. At the equinox in March and again, in September, the Sun rises due east and sets due west. In theory, but not in practice, day and night are of equal length (see here). At the equinoxes, the Earth’s axis is exactly at right angles to the Earth–Sun line, and the Earth is neither tilted towards, nor away from the Sun. Learn more about the full Moons of August, how they got their name, and best days by the Moon in our August Moon Guide. Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion, and approved by the astronomers of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. I appreciate the language they use to explain everything and I appreciate how they highlight memorable moments of the planetary calendar and combine this with facts and history about space. I just really appreciate these books when they come out and look forward to adding this purple copy to my collection so far!

With the aid of easy-to-understand monthly calendars and maps, you will chart the rhythm of the lunar phases, discover events that light up the sky for brief periods, and explore the rich tapestry of characters that adorn the starry canvas overhead. There are just two, relatively minor, meteor showers in February 2023, which is a quiet month for astronomers with few notable events. The two showers are both southern ones, and neither is visible to northern observers. The most significant shower is the Centaurids, which actually begins on 31 January 2023. This shower has two separate branches, with radiants lying near the brightest stars in Centaurus (Rigil Kentaurus and Hadar, or α and β Cen, respectively). These two streams are thus known as the α-Centaurids and the β-Centaurids. Both branches of this shower reach a low maximum, with an hourly rate of about 5–6 meteors per hour, on February 8. That day the Moon is at Day 17 of the lunation, just two days after Full Moon, so observing conditions are not favourable. The southern sky is dominated by Orion, visible from nearly everywhere in the world and prominent during the northern winter months. For observers near the equator it is, of course, high above near the zenith. Orion is highly distinctive, with a line of three stars that form the ‘Belt’. To most observers, the bright star Betelgeuse (α Orionis), shows a reddish tinge, in contrast to the brilliant bluish-white Rigel (β Orionis). The three stars of the belt lie directly south of the celestial equator. A vertical line of three ‘stars’ forms the ‘Sword’ that hangs south of the Belt. With good viewing, the central ‘star’ appears as a hazy spot, even to the naked eye, and is actually the Orion Nebula (M42). Binoculars reveal the four stars of the Trapezium, which illuminate the nebula. Continuing round from Canopus we pass the constellation of Dorado, the small constellation of Reticulum and the undistinguished constellation of Horologium, beyond which is Achernar (α Eridani) the brightest star in the long, winding constellation of Eridanus, which actually starts far to the north, close to Rigel in Orion. Between Achernar and the SCP lies the triangular constellation of Hydrus, next to the constellation of Tucana which contains the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). At 21:54 on the evening of 28 February 2021, a brilliant fireball (a bolide) was observed over Gloucestershire. Observations allowed the orbit of the parent body to be determined, showing that the body’s original location was the outer region of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Night Sky Almanac 2023 | Storm Dunlop | download on Z-Library Night Sky Almanac 2023 | Storm Dunlop | download on Z-Library

Sirius, α Canis Majoris (α Cma), in the southern celestial hemisphere, is the brightest star in the sky at magnitude -1.44. This month the constellations Lyra and Cygnus are seen almost overhead as darkness falls with their bright stars Vega, in Lyra, and Deneb, in Cygnus, making up the "summer triangle" of bright stars with Altair in the constellation Aquila below. (see sky chart above) Lyra But then the priests messed things up again. They started counting leap years every three years. The error was corrected by the emperor Augustus and by 8 CE the matter had been solved and the months and the Sun were in agreement. But then the Senate decided to rename one month in honour of Augustus – so the month of Sextilis became our August. Unfortunately, under Caesar’s scheme that month had just 30 days, whereas Caesar’s (our July) had 31 days. Obviously Augustus had to have the same number of days, so they pinched one from poor February, leaving it with 28 days, except in leap years. (At the same time, to avoid having three months with 31 days in succession they also tinkered with the lengths of the months after August, which is why September and November now have 30 days and October and December 31.Most of the brightest stars have names officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. A list of these, with their Bayer designations and magnitudes, is given here. Observers at 50°N may occasionally be able to detect bright Deneb (α Cygni) and Vega (α Lyrae) skimming the horizon, together with portions of those particular constellations, although most of the time they will be lost in the extinction that occurs at such low altitudes. In this photograph, the narrow lunar crescent (about two days old) has been over-exposed to show the Earthshine illuminating on the other portion of the Moon, where the dark maria are faintly visible.

2023: Night sky events not to miss - EarthSky Best of 2023: Night sky events not to miss - EarthSky

Orion is now beginning to sink into the southwest, and the two brightest stars in the sky, Sirius and Canopus (α Carinae), are readily visible to observers at low northern latitudes and, of course, to those who are south of the equator. (Canopus is close to the zenith for those in the far south.)

Toys

January 3 • Mars is occulted by the Moon. Times of disappearance and reappearance are given for Durban and Pretoria (as seen from South Africa). The ‘base’ of the constellation of Cepheus lies on the edge of the stars of the Milky Way, but the red supergiant star Mu (μ) Cephei, called the ‘Garnet Star’ by William Herschel with its striking red colour remains readily visible. The groups of stars, known as the Double Cluster in Perseus (NGC 869 & NGC 884, often known as h and χ Persei), lying between Perseus and Cassiopeia, are well-placed for observation.

Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide – HarperCollins Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide – HarperCollins

The charts in this book are designed to be used more-or-less anywhere in the world. They are not suitable to be used at very high northern or southern latitudes (beyond 60°N or 60°S). That is slightly less than the latitudes of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, beyond which there are approximately six months of daylight, followed by six months of darkness. The design may seem a little complicated, but these diagrams should make their usage clear. The main charts are given in pairs, one pair for each month: Looking North and Looking South. Somewhat similarly, at a lunar eclipse, the Moon may pass through the outer zone of the Earth’s shadow, the penumbra (in a penumbral eclipse, which is not generally perceptible to the naked eye); pass so that just part of the Moon is within the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, the umbra (in a partial eclipse); or completely within the umbra (in a total eclipse). Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are visible from large areas of the Earth. Again, these are described in detail in the relevant month. The Square of Pegasus is in the south during the evening and forms the body of the winged horse. The square is marked by 4 stars of 2nd and 3rd magnitude, with the top left hand one actually forming part of the constellation Andromeda. The sides of the square are almost 15 degrees across, about the width of a clentched fist, but it contains few stars visibe to the naked eye. If you can see 5 then you know that the sky is both dark and transparent! Three stars drop down to the right of the bottom right hand corner of the square marked by Alpha Pegasi, Markab. A brighter star Epsilon Pegasi is then a little up to the right, at 2nd magnitude the brightest star in this part of the sky. A little further up and to the right is the Globular Cluster M15. It is just too faint to be seen with the naked eye, but binoculars show it clearly as a fuzzy patch of light just to the right of a 6th magnitude star. I appreciate everything they put into this book, the diagrams, the important dates, the incredible knowledge of the night skies they have to really make an interesting and informative book that really never stops giving you everything you need to know about the stars. Going by month, this book gives us, sunrises and sunsets in major cities, moon phases and what you need to be looking out for. The image by Damian Peach was taken with a 14 inch telescope in Barbados where the seeing can be particularly good. This image won the "Astronomy Photographer of the Year" competition in 2011.

The principal astronomical event in April is the hybrid eclipse of April 20, with maximum eclipse over Indonesia. Such hybrid eclipses are unusual, because totality is extremely short. In this case the duration of totality is just 1 minute 16 seconds. Only for this short time is the Moon close enough to the Earth to completely cover the disc of the Sun. Because of the curvature of the Earth, the distance is sufficiently great for the eclipse to appear as annular both before and after totality. January 31 • Mars is occulted by the Moon. Times of disappearance and reappearance are given for Houston and Mexico City (as seen from central USA). There are three different effects that common ideas associate with the equinoxes: One meteorological, and two astronomical. There are strong beliefs in ‘equinoctial gales’, ‘equinoctial tides’ and ‘equinoctial aurorae’. It is often thought that gales are more frequent and strongest at the equinoxes, particularly at the (northern) autumnal equinox. In fact, there are most gale-force winds around the time of the winter solstice in late December and early January. The concept has probably arisen because after the quiet period of summer, depressions, with their accompanying winds, tend to move south and bring high winds to the British Isles.