Dark Skies Above Downeast Maine Celestial Events for the month of January The Eagle Hill institute would like to invite you to take a college astronomy course which will run from Saturday, January 12, 2013, to March 16, 2013. Class lectures will meet from 5 to 7 pm, and continue with the telescope classes from 8 to 10 pm. CLEAR SKIES! January 1 – Earth is at perihelion (91.4 million miles from the Sun) at midnight. January 3 – The Quadrantid Meteor Shower Peaks. Look for this Beautiful shower to Be at its Best during the early hours of January 3rd. The Quadrantids have a very small window for when the meteors peak, so Be on the alert. The shower is good for 60 to 80 meteors per hour. It has been known to give off 110 meteors per hour. The meteors can have a Bluish appearance. This year, the Waning Gibbous Moon (Illumination ~60%) will wreak a little havoc with the night sky. The Quadrantids radiate from the area of the sky where the Big Dipper and Bootes are found. This shower is named for the now oBsolete constellation called Quadrans Muralis, The Mural Quadrant. The star pattern of Quadrans Muralis is quite dim, (around magnitude 5), and has Been removed from star charts as early as 1733. Dress warm and enjoy the shower. January 4 – Last Quarter Moon occurs at 10:58 pm. January 5 – The Moon passes 0.6 degrees south of Spica, Virgo’s brightest star, at 3pm. January 6 – The Moon passes 4 degrees south of Saturn at 8pm. January 10 – The Moon is at perigee (223,723 miles from Earth), at 5:27 am. The Moon passes 3 degrees north of Venus at 7 am. January 11 – New Moon occurs at 2:44 pm. January 13 – The Moon passes 6 degrees north of Mars at 7 am. January 16 – The Moon passes 4 degrees north of Uranus at midnight. The Moon will be a 32% illuminated waxing crescent. January 18 – First Quarter Moon occurs at 6:45 pm. January 21 – Jupiter will be 0.9 degrees north of the Moon at 11:15 pm. January 22 – The Moon is at apogee (251,848 miles from Earth), at 5:52 am. January 24 – Mars is at perihelion (128.4 million miles from the Sun), at 4 am. January 26 – Full Moon occurs at 11:38 pm. The Solar System (January 15, 2012) – Except for Mercury which is Jan. 31 Mercury Venus Mars Ceres Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Distance From 1.315 1.599 2.257 1.776 4.360 10.012 20.371 30.775 33.315 Earth (in AU)* Distance From Sun 0.376 0.726 1.382 2.649 5.068 9.796 20.057 29.990 32.368 (in AU)* Magnitude -1.2 -3.9 1.2 7.5 -2.6 0.6 5.9 8.0 14.2 *AU stands for astronomical unit. 1 AU is equal to the average distance between the Sun and Earth which is aBout 92,955,634 miles. To convert AUs into miles, simply multiply the number of miles in 1 au to the au distance given. Miles = (AU distance x 92,955,634) The solar system’s minor objects During the month of January, be sure to look for Ceres near Beta Tauri, and Vesta near Aldebaran. Also look for Comet C/2012 K5. On January 2nd and 3rd, the comet passes between M36 and M37 in Auriga the Charioteer. On the 4th, look for the comet near Beta Tauri and Ceres. On the 7th, the comet passes 5 degrees east of Aldebaran. This comet will Be aBout magnitude 10 during the first week of January. It will dim down quickly after the first week. During January, the closest approach will be from the asteroid known as 2002 AY1. It is scheduled to pass Earth on January 7 at an average distance of 3,541,610 miles. 2002 AY1 has a maximum size of about 450 meters in diameter, and will pass Earth at velocity of 17.35 km/s (38,812 mph). At this velocity and size, and assuming a density of 2,700 kg/m3; the asteroid would make a crater around 5.4 miles across. Thankfully, this asteroid will not hit us. Clear Skies! Math Challenge – Last month, you needed to calculate the velocity needed to escape The Sun’s gravity. The correct answer was 1,381,461 mph. Eagle Hill congratulates Noah Goldfarb of Steuben who sent in the correct answer. Excellent job Noah! This month, you need to calculate the rotational velocity of Earth at our latitude (44.4°) The first person to send in the correct answer will receive an Eagle Hill Astronomy T-Shirt. Good Luck! Don’t forget to include your name and other important information, or I won’t be able to send you your T-Shirt. E-mail [email protected] or call 546-2821. Use: V = ��� (cos lat.) Where: V = Rotational Velocity (mph) d = Earth’s diameter (7,926.38 miles) p = Earth’s rotational period (23.9344697 hours) V = _________________ mph Eagle Hill Institute Astronomy Survey: www.eaglehill.us/astronomy Eagle Hill Institute, 59 Eagle Hill Rd, PO Box 9, Steuben, ME 04680 For questions, please contact Ralph Battaline at 207-546-2821 x #212, or [email protected] .