Sky this week
January 2013
Fourth Week 23-29 jan
January 25 -2.5 mag Iridium Flare from Delhi
January 25 Europa shadow transit (10:03 pm to 12:39 am)
January 27 Io shadow transit (12:10 am to 2:26 am)
January 27 Io goes into eclipse (11:40 pm)
January 27 Full Moon (at 10:08 am)
January 27 -2.0 mag Iridium Flare from Delhi
January 28 -7.0 mag Iridium Flare from Delhi
January 29 ISS earthkam starts
January 29 ISS earthkam starts
Watch Jovian events (events of jupiter’s satellites - eclipses, occultations, shadow transits, transits) through a moderate sized telescope (minimum 150mm or 6” dia objective) We are providing the events listing for easiest of the events (primarily shadow transits/eclipses) which can be seen by amateurs who have just started to observe. As you gather experience, we will be providing the info for the tough events to observe. For telescopes or optical instruments check out the products at our online store at www.spacearcade.in
Iridium flares have been calculated for east delhi locations and the brightness of flare can vary from place to place. For details keep on checking the SPACE calender at http://space-india.org/space_calendar.html
ISS eartkam mission starts. for details check out at http://space-india.org/
ISS eartkam mission starts. for details check out at http://space-india.org/
Constellation of the week
This week we will be seeing Taurus (the Bull or the Vrishabha in hindi) crossing the meridian just half an hour after 8:00 pm. Its a V shaped constellation to the folks living in big cities but it stands out in the dark skies with lot more stars.
Taurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac, which means it is crossed by the plane of the ecliptic. Its name is a Latin word meaning "bull",. Taurus is a large and prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's winter sky. It is one of the oldest constellations, dating back to at least the Early Bronze Age when it marked the location of the Sun during the spring equinox. Taurus came to symbolize the bull in the mythologies of India, Ancient Babylon, Egypt and Greece.
There are a number of features of interest to astronomers. Taurus hosts two of the nearest open clusters to Earth, the Pleiades and the Hyades, both of which are visible to the naked eye. At first magnitude, the red giant Aldebaran is the brightest star in the constellation. In the northwest part of Taurus is the supernova remnant Messier 1, more commonly known as the Crab Nebula. One of the closest regions of active star location, the Taurus-Auriga complex, crosses into the northern part of the constellation. The variable star T Tauri is the prototype of a class of pre-main-sequence stars.
Deep Sky Object of the week
Pleiades cluster (M45)
At 8:00 pm look just above your head, if the skies are clear and no haze is there, you should see a group of stars clustered together. You may be able to see 4-6 stars in a clump depending on how good your eyesight is!! Well this is not a constellation but what we call an open cluster of stars, or a nakshatra called Krittika in hindu astronomy.
In Hindu mythology, the god Murugan(Skanda/Subrahmanya/Kartikeya) was raised by the six sisters known as the Krittikā and thus came to be known as Kārtikeya. According to the Mahābhārata, Murugan was born to Agni and Svāhā, after the latter impersonated six of the seven wives of the Saptarishi and made love to him. The Saptarshi, hearing of this incident and doubting their wives' chastity, divorced them. These wives then became the Krittikā.(Takne from Wikipedia)
For astronomers, pliades or krittika offers so much to study. In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters (Messier object 45 or M45), is an open star cluster containing middle-aged stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. The name Pleiades comes from Greek mythology.
Its a treat to watch pleiades through any of the optical instruments. Binoculars do justice to the size of the cluster showing all the stars packed tightly, with a telescope you will have to move it a bit to see the whole extent of the cluster.
To get access to info about telescopes and other astronomy equipment just login to www.spacearcade.in
Delhi data:
Sunrise/Sunset Timings
23 Jan 2013 07:13 17:53
24 Jan 2013 07:13 17:54
25 Jan 2013 07:13 17:55
26 Jan 2013 07:12 17:55
27 Jan 2013 07:12 17:56
28 Jan 2013 07:11 17:57
29 Jan 2013 07:11 17:58
Moonrise/Moonset Timings
23 Jan 2013 14:45 03:58
24 Jan 2013 15:35 04:46
25 Jan 2013 16:27 05:31
26 Jan 2013 17:22 06:14
27 Jan 2013 18:17 06:54
28 Jan 2013 19:13 07:32
29 Jan 2013 20:09 08:08
Delhi Sky at 8:00 pm
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