| Friday, September 03, 2010 |
| 19:30 |
| SPACE: The next 50 years |
| Dr. David Whitehouse |
| United Reformed Church Hall, Newbury |
| Note: |
*** This meeting will take place in the URC Lecture hall instead of the normal church room. *** |
| |
| Wednesday, September 15, 2010 |
| 19:00 |
| St. Mary's Church Hall, Greenham |
| |
| Mark Byrne's Star Party |
| Saturday, September 11, 2010 |
| 19:00 |
| Mark Byrne's House |
| Note: |
Contact Mark for directions on 01380 816211 or e-mail at mark.byrne@virgin.net |
| |
| Christmas Dinner |
| Saturday, December 18, 2010 |
| 19:30 |
| To Be Confirmed |
| Dr. Allan Chapman
(Oxford University)
|
| The Square Restuarant, Weavers Walk, Newbury |
| Note: |
Booking essential for this meeting. Please contact a member of the committee to secure your place. |
| |
|
01 September 2010 - 30 September 2010 |
Page contents:
Moon's phase | Solar data |
Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | Pluto | Meteor showers
| Solar Data |
| Sunspot activity |
Aurora activity |
 Solar disk showing sunspots
Current sunspot image
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 Aurora activity
Current aurora activity
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Aurora Kp index
Current Kp index (strength of aurora)
The Kp index has to be at least 5 to be seen from the UK and above 7 to be seen from the Newbury area |
| Planetary Information |
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Mercury |
Round about the middle of the month, Mercury appears above the eastern Horizon at civil twilight - 40 minutes or so before sunrise. The unmistakable shape of Leo lies above Mercury when it is at its highest altitude above the horizon - which is at its brightest towards the end of the month as it starts to dip towards the Sun.
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35,983,095 miles (57,909,175 km)
1,516.0 miles (2,439.7 km)
58.646 Earth days
87.97 Earth days
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Venus |
Venus is too close to solar conjunction to be a favourable object.
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67,237,910 miles (108,208,930 km)
3,760.4 miles (6,051.8 km)
243 Earth days (retrograde)
224.7 Earth days
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Mars |
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Mars’ elongation for the Sun is only 38° mid-month and as it is relatively faint it will be a hard object to fins in the evening sky, setting only an hour after the Sun by the 30th.
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141,633,260 miles (227,936,640 km)
2,111 miles (3,397 km)
1.026 Earth days
1.8807 Earth years
2
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Jupiter |
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Jupiter is at opposition on the 21st and is therefore at its best for observation. Presenting a nice, big disk almost 50” across even a medium magnification will reveal detail about the planet’s cloud tops and binoculars show its four Galilean satellites clearly. Is your eyesight so good that you can see any of the satellites with your naked eye?
They are certainly bright enough but without optical aid, they are very close to the planet.
On the 18th there is a very favourable conjunction between Jupiter and Uranus with the latter lying less than a degree to the north of Jupiter.
On the 23rd at 0700 Jupiter is 6° south of the Moon.
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483,682,810 miles (778,412,020 km)
44,423 miles (71,492 km)
9.925 hours
11.8565 Earth years
62
3
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Saturn |
Saturn is poorly placed in the constellation of Virgo. After its solar conjunction last month it will be a little while before it’s available for viewing again.
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885,904,700 miles (1,426,725,400 km)
37,449 miles (60,268 km)
10.656 hours
29.4 Earth years
62
Thousands
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Uranus |
More info... |
Uranus is at opposition on the 22nd in Pisces. As it is quite low down as seen from the UK, it is not usually an object to search for under light-polluted skies but as mentioned above it is currently ideally placed, lying less than a degree north of Jupiter. It is bright enough to be visible using binoculars but a high magnification is necessary to reveal the ‘star’ as a small planetary disk.
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1,783,939,400 miles (2,870,972,200 km)
15,882 miles (25,559 km)
17.24 hours (retrograde)
84.02 Earth years
27
13
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Neptune |
More info... |
Neptune is also still available for viewing but a telescope is definitely needed to positively identify the planet.
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2,795,084,800 miles (4,498,252,900 km)
15,388 miles (24,764 km)
16.11 hours
164.79 Earth years
13
9
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Pluto |
More info... |
Pluto is in the constellation of Sagittarius, 2° 38’ NNE of Mu Sagittarii.
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3,670,050,000 miles (5,906,380,000 km)
715 miles (1,151 km)
6.387 Earth days (retrograde)
247.92 Earth years
1
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| Meteor showers |
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The Piscids have a double maximum this month; on the 9th and 21st. The 9th is favourable, but the 21st, is not due to a full Moon on the 23rd. rate are around 5 per hour can be expected on both dates.
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The Alpha Aurigids reach their second maximum of the year on the 15th and is fairly favourable this year.
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Pictures relating to this month's what's up
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Neptune in between Aquarius and Capricorn
Neptune reaches opposition on August 20th. Use this chart to find the planet between the constallations of Aquarius and Capricornus.
Neptune in between Aquarius and Capricorn
Neptune reaches opposition on August 20th. Use this chart to find the planet between the constallations of Aquarius and Capricornus.
Starry night/PaulGT
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Neptune in between Aquarius and Capricorn
Neptune can be seen between Aquarius and Capricorn through until November.
Neptune in between Aquarius and Capricorn
Neptune can be seen between Aquarius and Capricorn through until November.
Starry night/PaulGT
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Uranus and Jupiter
Usranus and Jupiter are visible in Pisces from June until November. Jupiter is a naked eye object, but you will need binoculars to see Uranus, using Jupiter as a guide.
Uranus and Jupiter
Usranus and Jupiter are visible in Pisces from June until November. Jupiter is a naked eye object, but you will need binoculars to see Uranus, using Jupiter as a guide.
Starry night/PaulGT
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Star chart for September 2010
Star chart for September 2010
Starry night/PaulGT
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