Sky this week 9-15 Jan 2013

Sky this week

January 2013

Second Week 9-15 jan

January 09 Asteroid 99942 Apophis Near-Earth Flyby

January 09 Eurpoa Occultation followed by Eclipse by Jupiter

January 10 Moon at perigee at 360047 km

January 10 -2.8 mag ISS pass from Delhi

January 11 New Moon

January 12 -2.7 mag ISS pass from Delhi

January 12 -5 mag Iridium flare

January 12 Io Shadow transit on Jupiter

January 13 -7 mag iridium flare

January 14 -7 mag iridium flare

January 15 -6 mag iridium flare

Constellation of the week:

Perseus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the Greek hero Perseus. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. It contains the famous variable star Algol (β Per), and is also the location of the radiant of the annual Perseids meteor shower.It crosses merdian during the first half of January and hence will be seen at its maximum height from the horizon.

Deep Sky object of the week:

Double cluster in perseus: These two open clusters (NGC 869 and NGC 884 respectively) belong to two objects of the night sky for binoculars and small telescopes. Both lie at distances of more than 7,000 ly and are separated by several hundred light-years. The cluster was first recorded during the reign of the Chinese king Tsung-K'ang, who reigned during the Hsia Dynasty (2858-2146 BCE). Both clusters are of approximately 4th magnitude and 0.5 degrees in diameter.. Both clusters are distinct from their star field and are clearly concentrated at their centers. naked eye objects from a dark site and are a treat to watch through a pair of binoculars or a moderate sized telescope.

Sunrise/Sunset Moonrise/Moonset data for delhi

Date              Sunrise Sunset
9 Jan 2013         07:15 17:41
10 Jan 2013      07:15 17:42
11 Jan 2013      07:15 17:43
12 Jan 2013      07:15 17:44
13 Jan 2013      07:15 17:45
14 Jan 2013      07:15 17:46
15 Jan 2013      07:15 17:46

Date              Moonrise Moonset
9 Jan 2013         04:24 15:14            
10 Jan 2013      05:27 16:18            
11 Jan 2013      06:26 17:25            
12 Jan 2013      07:19 18:32 New Moon at 01:14
13 Jan 2013      08:07 19:38            
14 Jan 2013      08:49 20:41            
15 Jan 2013      09:28 21:42     

This week offers so many bright iridium flares, ISS passes from delhi that astronomy lovers will forget about the cold and go out to see these bright passes and flares!! For details about the same check it out at http://space-india.org/space_calendar.html






99942 Apophis (previously known by its provisional designation 2004 MN4) is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a small probability (up to 2.7%) that it would strike the Earth in 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon in 2029. However, a possibility remained that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth. Apophis will pass within 0.0966 AU (14,450,000 km; 8,980,000 mi) of the Earth on 9th January, 2013.

GISC and GAN ends on 12th January, send in your observations at www.projectdarkskies.org


Few Jovian events have been listed as a start for amateurs who want to go one step ahead from just observing the Jupiter.