Tom's Page

ASTRONOMICAL CALENDAR, HIGH LIGHTS & CHALLENGES

2010 SKIES FOR
TRI-CITIES, WASHINGTON
by Tom Page

W119° 17’, N46° 17’
(Richland, WA)

Tri Cities Astronomy Club
http://www.tricityastronomyclub.org

Last Quarter - Thu 7^th 2:39 AM	New Moon - Thu 10^th 11:11 AM
First Quarter - Sat 23^rd 2:53 AM	Full (Wolf) Moon - Fri 15^th 10:18 PM

Mercury	In the eastern morning sky for first ½ of Jan. It is at greatest elongation west on the 27^th.
Venus	Is not visible. At superior conjunction on the 11^th.
Mars	Visible most of the night, in retrograde portion of its orbit moving from Leo into Cancer. At opposition on the 29^th it will be 5.5 light-minutes from Earth. The springtime northern hemisphere is tipped towards Earth.
Jupiter	Low in SW in early evening sky, sets by mid-evening.
Saturn	In the morning sky near Virgo <0.5°N of Celestial equator, rising near midnight. North side of rings are visible during 2010. Tilt varies from 4.9° in early January to a minimum of 1.7° in late May. Rings open to 10° by year’s end.
Uranus	In the western sky and sets in late in the evening.
Neptune	Low in the early western evening western sky. It disappears in the twilight by month’s end.
1 Fri	Vesta, due to its light color, is generally the brightest asteroid. This year’s opposition on the evening of Feb 17^th is relatively north, near and bright. Between now and April will be an easy binocular object shining at 7.3 to 6.2 magnitude. Vesta now at 7.2 magnitude.
2 Sat	Leslie Peltier, discover of 12 comets and 132,000 observations of variable stars, born 1900 in Delphos Ohio. Earth at perihelion (149,597,900 km) 92,955,825 miles.
4 Mon	Latest sunrise 7:40 AM PST in the Tri-Cities.
7 Thu	Galileo discovered first 3 moons of Jupiter 400 years ago.
13 Wed	Galileo discovers Ganymede, moon of Jupiter 400 years ago.
30 Sat	Closest lunar perigee of 2010 and largest full Moon of 2010.

FEBRUARY

Last Quarter Fri 5^th 3:48 PM	New Moon Fri 13^th 6:51 PM
First Quarter Mon 21^st 5:42 PM	Full (Snow) Moon 28^th 8:38 AM

Mercury	In eastern morning sky, favoring southern hemisphere viewers.
Venus	Enters the western evening sky this month.
Mars	Visible most of the night in cancer and is just past opposition with a brightness of ‑1.4 and a disk of about 13”. The northern spring hemisphere is tilted towards Earth.
Jupiter	Leaves the evening twilight by mid-month. In conjunction with the Sun on the 28^th.
Saturn	In morning sky in Virgo. Rises at mid-evening.
Uranus	Sinks into the evening twilight by month's end. Approaching conjunction.
Neptune	At conjunction on the 14^th and not visible.
Vesta	At opposition on the night of the 17^th-18^th, becomes a near naked eye object. At magnitude of 6.1 it is an easy binocular object.
1 Mon thru 12 Fri	Venus, Saturn, and Mars put on a fine binocular display low in the southwest early evening sky. Venus is 3°S of Saturn on the 10^th and 2°S of Mars on the 23^rd. All three planets are in a binocular field of view for the first 12 days of the month.
2 Tue	Candlemas or Groundhog Day. One of four quarter-cross days, half way between the solstice and equinox. Mid-Winter in our calendar, the start of Spring in others.
12 Fri	Farthest lunar apogee of 2010.
14 Sun	Challenge No. 1: See a very young new Moon 23 hrs after new. Sunset 5:21 PM, azimuth 252°True. Moonset 6:23 PM, azimuth 262°True.
16 Tue	Venus is near conjunction with Jupiter, very low in the west southwest bright twilight, a difficult spotting. Challenge No. 2: Split Gamma Leonis. Vesta passes near Gamma Leonis (Algieba), a double star magnitude about 2 and the second star above Regulus in the sickle. Both stars are perhaps pale yellow and are now about as far apart (4.5”) as they can be.
18 Thu	Challenge No. 3: See Vesta at opposition. Vesta, in Leo is generally the brightest of the asteroids due to its light color. See January. Two-fer: If you see Vesta while splitting Gamma Leonis between the 16^th and the 18^th, you get credit for seeing the opposition.

MARCH

Last Quarter Fri 7^th 7:42 AM	New Moon 15^th 2:01 PM
First Quarter Wed 23^rd 4:00 AM	Full (Worm) Moon Mon 29^th 7:25 PM

Mercury	At superior conjunction on the 14^th. Reappears in the western evening sky in the last week of the month.
Venus	In western evening sky, well positioned for northern viewers. Crescent Moon passes 7° north of Venus on the 17^th.
Mars	Well position in evening sky, shrinking this month in apparent diameter from 12” to 9”. At aphelion on the 30^th.
Jupiter	Reappears in dawn twilight near mid-month; southern viewers favored.
Saturn	Visible most of the night. At opposition on the 21^st, 71 light-minutes from Earth. At opposition it shines at 0.5 magnitude and the north side of the ring plane is titled 3.2° toward Earth.
Uranus	Not visible, at conjunction on the 17^th.
Neptune	Reappears in the morning sky, not easily observed.
1 Mon	Vesta at 6.2 magnitude.
3 Wed	Zodiac light visible in the west after dark for the next two weeks.
12 Fri	Simon Newcomb, first President of the American Astrological Society, was born in Nova Scotia 175 yrs ago (1835).
14 Sun	Daylight Savings Time (Daylight Displacement Time - George Lovi) begins at 2:00 AM on 2nd Sunday of March. Spring your clocks a head 1 hr. Officially, no clock hour 2:00-3:00 AM. Daylight time now runs from 2^nd Sunday in March to 1^st Sunday in November. All summer it will be as though you were displaced one time zone east.
15 Mon	Ides of March. Buzzards return to Hinckley, OH.
20 Sat	Spring (Vernal) Equinox. Spring arrives in Tri-Cities at 10:32 AM PDT when the Sun crosses the equator into the northern hemisphere. Sun rises due E, sets due W. Marks mid-Spring in some alternative calendars. Until 2007 the vernal equinox fell on the 20^th or 21^st Universal Time (7 hours earlier than PDT). It will now be on the 20^th until the year 2044, after which it may occur on the 19^th or 20^th.
29 Mon	Mercury and Venus this week in the evening twilight, best planet pair of the year.

APRIL

Last Quarter Tue 6^th 2:57 AM	New Moon Wed 14^th 5:29 AM
First Quarter Thu 21^st 11:20 AM	Full (Pink) wed 28^th 5:18 AM

Mercury	At greatest elongation east on the 8^th, puts on the best evening show in the first half of the month. It is at inferior conjunction on the 28^th. The waxing crescent Moon is nearby on the 15^th and 16^th as are the Pleiades (use binoculars) on the 26^th.
Venus	Low in the western sunset sky all month. Mercury lies within 4° of Venus for the first 10 days of the month, northern observers favored. Crescent Moon passes 4° north of Venus on the 16^th.
Mars	Gibbous and shrinking in the evening twilight, dwindling to 9” to 7” but almost 70° high
Jupiter	Low in morning sky.
Saturn	Just past opposition and visible all night.
Uranus	Reappears in the dawn sky, not easily observed.
Neptune	In eastern morning sky, not easily observed.
1 Thu	Vesta at 7.3 magnitude.
3- 8	Mercury, at greatest elongation on the 8^th, just to lower right of Venus in quasi‑conjunction for the first two weeks of the month. They are closest on the 3^rd when they are 3° apart.
11 Mon	Frank Drake started Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence 50 years ago.
14 Wed	Challenge No. 4: See a very, very young Moon, 16 hrs after new. In the west soon after sunset at 7:43 PM, azimuth 285°True. Moonset at 8:32 PM, azimuth 295°True.
16 Fri	The Moon is close to the Pleiades in the evening twilight with Venus and Mercury below Mars 1°N of the Beehive cluster (M44).
22 Thu	Lyrid Meteor Shower peaks. ZHR variable, up to 90. Av=18. The radiant, on the Lyra-Hercules border (18h04m +32°), is in useful view after 10:30 PM and improves all evening. A waning gibbous Moon sets about 2:30 AM just after the expected peak starts. The best time will be in the pre-dawn sky. Lyrids are swift meteors (49 km/s), occasionally bright with about 20-25% leaving persistent trains. April can bring more sporadic fireballs (-3 magnitude or greater). Lunar Straight Wall visible.
24 Sat	International Astronomy Day.

MAY

Last Quarter Wed 5^th 9:15 PM	New Moon Thu 13^th 6:04 PM
First Quarter Thu 20^th 4:43 PM	Full (Flower) Moon Thu 27^th 4:07 PM

Mercury	In the eastern morning sky for last three weeks, but not easily observed.
Venus	In the western evening sky and eclipsed by the crescent Moon on the 16^th.
Mars	Gibbous and dimming in the western evening sky. It’s diameter is about ½ of what is was in February.
Jupiter	In the morning sky but not easily observed.
Saturn	In Virgo is the planetary gem in the evening sky this month. It shines high (47°) in the sky at sunset and remains in the sky until early morning. The north side ring plane reaches the minimum tilt of 1.7° this month, dramatically thin. This is the last chance for many years to see the rings as a luminous spike or thread of light.
Uranus	In the eastern morning sky in Pisces.
Neptune	In the eastern morning sky.
1 Sat	May Day or Beltane, the 2^nd cross-quarter day of the year, half way between the equinox and the solstice. Start of Summer on some alternative calendars, mid‑Spring in ours.
6 Thu	Eta Aquarid Meteors. Active Apr 19^th-May 28^th. ZHR 60 varying between ~40 to 85. Rates should be approaching the higher end in 2008-2010. Early reports from 2008 were 70 to 80/hr. Very fast (66 km/s), bright meteors, frequently leaving persistent trains (40-60). Associated with Comet 1P Halley. The radiant, the “Y”‑shaped water jar asterism of Aquarius does not rise to a useful altitude in the E until about 3:30 AM, coincident with astronomical twilight. The last quarter Moon, rising about 1:15 AM will compromise viewing.
9 Sun	On the mornings of Sunday the 9^th, Monday the 10^th, and Tuesday the 11^th, the waning crescent Moon slides down towards the horizon passing by Jupiter in the hour before dawn.
14 Fri	On the evenings of Friday the 14^th, Saturday the 15^th, and Sunday the 15^th, the waxing crescent Moon climbs up into the sky in the hour after sunset passing by Venus.
16 Sun	Crescent Moon above Venus in evening twilight.

JUNE

Last Quarter Fri 4^th 3:13 PM	New Moon Sat 12^th 4:15 AM
First Quarter Fri 18^th 9:30 PM	Full (Strawberry) Moon Sat 26^th 4:30 AM

Mercury	At superior conjunction on the 28^th, is not easily observed.
Venus	Not easily observed.
Mars	In the western evening sky. On the 6^th, it passes,1°N of Regulus in Leo.
Jupiter	In the morning sky in Pisces. On the 6^th is <1°S of Uranus.
Saturn	Easily observed this month.
Uranus	In the eastern morning sky, see Jupiter.
Neptune	In the eastern morning sky, rising after midnight.
11 Fri	Challenge No. 5: See an old crescent Moon, 24 hrs before new. Visible in morning twilight during the hour before sunrise at 5:05 AM, azimuth 54°True. Moonrise at 4:06 AM on azimuth 53°True. Phase ~1% lit.
14 Mon	Earliest sunrise 5:05 AM PDT in the Tri-Cities. Crescent Moon appears below Venus in evening twilight.
18 Fri	Lunar “X” near crater Werner visible at midnight.
20 Sun	Summer Solstice. Longest day of the year, 15 hr 48 m of daylight, in Tri Cities. Summer begins in the Tri Cities at 6:00 PM PDT, when the Sun reaches its farthest point N of the equator. Mid-Summer in some alternative calendars. Until 1975 the solstice fell on June 21^st or 22^nd(Universal Time). Now it will only fall on June 21^st (UT) until 2012 when it begins falling sometimes on the 20^th.
26 Sat	Partial Lunar eclipse. Eclipse begins with the Moon’s contact with Sun’s penumbral shadow at 1:57:21 AM Saturday morning. Umbral (partial) eclipse begins at 3:16:57 AM, greatest eclipse occurs at 04:38:27 when just over ½ (0.5368) of the Moon is in the Sun’s umbra shadow. Partial eclipse ends at 5:59:50 AM, 50 minutes after the Sun rises. Penumbral eclipse ends at 7:19:50 AM. Challenge No. 6: Partial Lunar eclipse, compare Danjon eclipse values with December 20^th full eclipse. Estimate Danjon Values at greatest partial eclipse (4:38 AM PST). Danjon Values: L=0 Very dark eclipse, Moon almost invisible especially at mid-totality. L=1 Dark eclipse, grey or brownish color to Moon, details distinguishable only with difficulty. L=2 Deep-red or rust colored eclipse, very dark central shadow, outer umbra relatively bright. L=3 Brick red eclipse, umbra shadow usually has a bright or yellow rim. L=4 Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse, umbra shadow has bluish, very bright rim.
27 Sun	Latest sunset at 8:53 PM PDT in the Tri-Cities.

JULY

Last Quarter Sun 4^th7:36 AM	New Moon Sun 11^th 12:40 PM
First Quarter Sun 28^th 3:00 AM	Full (Thunder) Moon Sun 25^th 6:36 PM

Mercury	Not easily observed.
Venus	Not easily observed this month.
Mars	Very low in the western evening sky setting after 10:00 PM.
Jupiter	Rises due east near midnight. For the first time in 6 yrs, Jupiter crosses the celestial equator, on the 8^th from S to N, and on the 31^st from N to S.
Saturn	Low in the western evening sky and is not easily observed this month.
Uranus	Rises after midnight and is in the eastern sky at dawn.
Neptune	Rises in late evening and is in the morning sky at dawn.
1 Thu	Saturn, Mars, Regulus, and Venus are strung out in a straight line in the western sky spanning about 38° from upper left to lower right in the hour after sunset. Watch all month long.
2 Fri	Mid point of the year occurs at 1:00 PM PDT, if you consider the year starting at midnight PST on New Years Eve. If you count the year beginning when it did at Greenwich (Coordinated Universal Time) the mid-point of the year occurs at) 7:00 AM PDT.
3 Sat	Challenge No. 7: See Jupiter after sunrise; i.e., in the daytime sky. Jupiter at magnitude -2.5 will be 8° to the lower left of the Moon in the eastern dawn sky. Start tracking it in the early dawn twilight before sunrise at 5:10 AM PDT.
14 Wed	The line of Saturn, Mars, and Venus (with Regulus about 1° below) has contracted to about 24°.
15 Thu	Challenge No. 8: Spot Arcturus unaided before sunset. Polarizing sunglasses may help. Very Challenging but can be done (RASC). Sun sets at 8:46 PM. Arcturus transits at 7:34 PM. Alt-azimuth coordinates are, approximately 16° west of south (azimuth 196°) and +16°.
31 Sat	Mars is now passing south of Saturn and the line of July 1^st has become a skinny triangle with Mars and Saturn both <8° from Venus.

AUGUST

Last Quarter Mon 2^nd 9:59 PM	New Moon Mon 9^th 8:08 PM
First Quarter Mon 16^th 12:14 PM	Full (Sturgeon) Moon Tue 24^th 10:05 AM

Mercury	Low in the western evening sky for the first three weeks and is not easily observed.
Venus	In the western evening sky and at greatest elongation east on the 20^th. Venus is 3°S of Saturn on the 10^th and 2°S of Mars on the 23^rd. All three planets lie within a binocular field of view for the first 12 days of the month, and Mercury is lower in the twilight. At greatest elongation, 46°, on the 20^th.
Mars	In the western evening sky and passes, 2°S of Saturn on the 1^st. It is 2°N of Venus on the 23^rd. Binoculars may help in spotting it.
Jupiter	Rises in the east in late evening. Best observing is in the period before dawn.
Saturn	Low in the western mid-evening sky and difficult to see. It is <2°N of Mars on the 1^st and 3°N of Venus on the 10^th. See Above.
Uranus	In the dawn sky.
Neptune	At opposition on the 20^th, is visible all night, 4.0 light-hours from Earth.
	Mars, Venus, and Saturn put on a good show, low in the evening twilight from the 3^rd through the 11^th. See above.
1 Sun	Lammas, the 3^rd cross-quarter day of the year, half way between the summer Solstice and autumnal Equinox. Beginning of Fall in some alternative calendars, mid-Summer in ours.
3 Fri	Double shadow transit on Jupiter 3:05 AM.
9 Mon	Challenge No. 9: See a very old Moon, 15 hrs before new. Rises 5:15 AM, at azimuth 67°True, about 1% lit. Sun rises at 5:49 AM, azimuth 66°True.
12 Thu	Perseid Meteors at maximum for the northwest on the night of 12^th-13^th. The radiant, a few degrees NE of double star cluster in Perseus, reaches useable elevation after 10:00 PM. New Moon on the 9^th assures dark skies. · Active from July 17 to August 24. · Peak variable: ZHR 100. · Swift atmospheric velocity 60 km/sec (~37 miles/sec) because head on to earth's orbit. · Beginning height 110-160 km. · Average magnitude 2.27. Brighter meteors often end in flares or bursts. · Some fire balls; about 1/3 leave trains up to 2 degrees wide, lasting to 100 sec. · Typically yellow, fewer white, brighter ones are green, orange, or red. · Derived from comet Swift-Tuttle, period now receding. · Historical record dates from 36 AD in China and 714 AD in Europe
16 Mon	Lunar “X” near crater Werner visible 8:00 PM.
20 Wed	Middle of the best time of the year to observe night skies.
24 Tue	Today’s full Moon is the smallest full Moon of 2010.

Current
SEPTEMBER

Last Quarter Wed 1^st 10:22 AM	New Moon Wed 8^th 3:30 AM
First Quarter Tue 14^th 8:50 PM	Full (Harvest) Moon Thu 23^rd 2:17 AM
Last Quarter Thu 30^th 8:52 PM

Mercury	At inferior conjunction on the 3^rd, and in the morning sky during the last half of the month. At greatest elongation W on the 19^th, best morning view of the year for northern observers
Venus	3°S of Saturn on the 10^th and 2°S of Mars on the 23^rd. All three planets are in a binocular field of view for the first 12 days of the month in the western evening sky. It is at its maximum brightness on the 23^rd at -4.6 magnitude.
Mars	Low in the western evening sky and not easily observed.
Jupiter	At its best this month rises in mid-evening and is visible all night. It is at opposition on the 21^st at 33 light minutes from Earth, 2°S of the celestial equator and 1°S of Uranus. At opposition within 6 months of perihelion, obtains its 12-year maximum diameter at 49.7”, and shines at -2.9 magnitude. On the 22^nd, 24 hrs after opposition, Jupiter is <1°S of Uranus.
Saturn	Sinks onto the evening twilight early this month.
Uranus	Visible all night. At opposition on the 21^st, 2.6 light-hours from Earth, shines at 5.7 magnitude, and is 3.7” wide.
Neptune	Just past opposition and is visible all night.
7 Tue	Challenge No. 10: See a very, very old Crescent Moon 21 hrs before new in the hour before dawn. Moon rises at 5:31 AM, about 1% lit, azimuth 80°True. Sun rises at 6:25 AM at azimuth 80°True.
18 Sat	Uranus 49’ north of Jupiter. Conjunction.
23 Thu	Fall or Autumnal Equinox. Fall starts in the Tri-Cities at 8:13 PM, when the Sun crosses the equator into the southern hemisphere. Mid-fall in some alternative calendars. Since 1968, this equinox has fallen on 23^rd or 22^nd. Until 1934 it also sometimes fell on the 24^th. The full Moon closest to the fall equinox is called the Harvest Moon. You can’t get any closer to the that equinox than today’s full Moon.

OCTOBER

New Moon Thu 7^th 12:44 PM	First Quarter Thu 14^th 2:27 PM
Full (Hunter’s) Moon Fri 22^nd 6:36 PM	Last Quarter Sat 30^th 5:46 AM

Mercury	At superior conjunction on the 17^th and is visible in the morning sky only early in the month.
Venus	3°S of Saturn on the 10^th and 2°S of Mars on the 23^rd. All three planets are in a binocular field of view for the first 12 days of the month. Venus is at inferior conjunction on the 28^th 6°S of Sun.
Mars	Low in the early western evening sky.
Jupiter	Just past opposition is visible most of the night and remains near peak brightness and angular bigness.
Saturn	In conjunction with the Sun on the 1^st, and reappears in the dawn twilight in the last half of the month. By month’s end it rises 2½ hrs before sunrise.
Uranus	Just past opposition and is visible most of the night.
Neptune	Well placed in the evening sky.
10 Sun	The Very Large Array radio telescope was dedicated 30 yr ago, Socorro, NM. Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI and Kristal Armendariz, Photographer
14 Thu	Lunar “X” visible, 8:00 PM.

NOVEMBER

New Moon Fri 5^th 9:02 PM	First Quarter Sat 13^th 8:38 AM
Full (Beaver) Moon Sun 21^st 9:27 AM	Last Quarter Sun 28^th 12:36 PM

Mercury	In the western evening sky and passes within 2° of Mars on the 21^st.
Venus	Reappears in our eastern morning twilight early in the month. By mid-month it shines brightly in the east-southeast early dawn sky.
Mars	Low in the southwestern early evening sky setting shortly after twilight.
Jupiter	Well placed in the evening sky.
Saturn	Low in the predawn sky.
Uranus	Well placed in the evening sky.
Neptune	Well placed in the evening sky and sets near midnight.
1 Mon	All Souls Day, the 4^th the last cross-quarter day of the year, half way between the equinox and solstice. Mid-Fall in our calendar, the start of Winter in some alternative calendars.
7 Sun	Daylight Saving Time ends. Officially the hour 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM is repeated.
11 Thu	First photo of the of Earth's curvature made from balloon, Explorer 2, over South Dakota at an altitude of 72,000 ft., which was an altitude record 75 years ago (1935).
13 Sat	Jupiter with only one Moon visible 11:32 PM.
17/18 Wed - Thu	Leonid meteors. Active 10 to 23 Nov. ZHR variable; perhaps 100+ in 2009. Most meteors, 71 km/s, often bright, 50-70% leave persistent trains. The radiant, in Leo’s head near the sickle rises about 11:00 PM. The waxing late crescent Moon setting at 3:00 AM makes for poor conditions with only a few hours viewing before sunrise. Associated with comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle.

DECEMBER

New Moon Sun 5^th 9:36 AM	First Quarter Mon 13^th 5:59 AM
Full (Long Nights) Moon Tue 21^st 12:13 AM	Last Quarter 27^th 8:18 PM

Mercury	In the evening sky for the first half of the month then disappears into the Sun’s glare; at conjunction on the 20^th.
Venus	In the southeast of the morning sky shining at -4.7 magnitude.
Mars	Disappears into the evening twilight.
Jupiter	Well placed in the early evening sky and sets near midnight.
Saturn	Appears well placed in the morning sky.
Uranus	Well place in the early evening sky, setting after midnight.
Neptune	In the early western evening sky.
8 Wed	Earliest sunset 4:11 PM PST in the Tri-Cities.
14 Tue	Geminid Meteors. ZHR 120, slightly variable. One of the best showers presently visible from Earth. Bright, medium speed meteors (35 km/sec), with few persistent trains. The radiant, above the head of Castor in Gemini (the twins) is available almost all night, rising in early evening. A reliable shower. A first quarter Moon sets at 12:49 AM on the morning of the 15^th. Associated with an Apollo asteroid 3200 Phaeton. If the skies are clear, this shower is strong and worth bundling up for.
20 Mon	Challenge No. 11: Compare Danjon Values of a total lunar eclipse with June’s partial eclipse. Penumbral eclipse begins at 9:21 PM. Partial (umbral) eclipse begins at 10:32 PM Dec 20^th. Total eclipse begins at 11:40 PM. Greatest eclipse occurs at 12:16:57 AM Dec 21^st. Total eclipse ends at 12:53 AM. Partial eclipse ends at 2:01 AM. Penumbral eclipse ends at 3:04 AM. Estimate Danjon Values at greatest total eclipse 12:16 AM PDT Dec 21^st. Danjon Values: L=0 Very dark eclipse, Moon almost invisible especially at mid-totality. L=1 Dark eclipse, grey or brownish color to Moon, details distinguishable only with difficulty. L=2 Deep-red or rust colored eclipse, very dark central shadow, outer umbra relatively bright. L=3 Brick red eclipse, umbra shadow usually has a bright or yellow rim. L=4 Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse, umbra shadow has bluish, very bright rim.
21 Tue	Winter solstice. Shortest day of the year. Winter arrives in the Tri Cities at 3:42 PM PST. Mid-Winter in some alternative calendars. The Sun, appearing to travel along the ecliptic, reaches its farthest point south of the celestial equator. Tri‑Cities get 8 hrs and 37 minutes of daylight. Sun rises at 7:37 AM and sets at 4:13 PM PST. The solstice was on the 20^th or 21^st until 1697. Since 1702, it has been on the 21^st or 22^nd. It will slip to the 20^th in 2080.

2010 Challenges

Challenge No. 1

February 14

See a very young new Moon 23 hrs after new.

Sunset 5:53 AM, azimuth 252°T. Moonset 6:23 PM, azimuth 262°T.

· Less than 24 hr, breathtakingly thin, barely brighter than surrounding sky.

· At 18 hr, very difficult even with binoculars and near perfect conditions.

· Visual record is now 15 hr.

· Binocular record is down to 11 hr 40 min with giant binoculars.

Assumed minimum detectible limits are an arc 3° above horizon and 7° from the Sun (about 30 minutes after sunset).

Challenge No. 2

February 16

Split Gamma Leonis

Vesta passes near Gamma Leonis (Algieba) a double star magnitude ~2 and the second star above Regulus in the sickle.

Challenge No. 3

February 18

See Vesta at opposition in Leo.

See Vesta and split Gamma Leonis on the same night and meet both Challenges 2 and 3, 16^th to 18^th of February.

Challenge No. 4

April 14

See a very, very young Moon 16 hrs after new.

In the west soon after sunset at 7:43 PM, azimuth 285°T. Moonset at 8:32 PM, azimuth 295°T.

Challenge No. 5

June 11

See an old Moon 24 hrs before new.

Visible in morning twilight during the hour before sunrise at 5:05 AM, azimuth 54°T. Moonrise at 4:06 AM on azimuth 53°T. Phase ~1% lit.

Challenge No. 6

June 26

See partial Lunar eclipse.

Observe and record Danjon eclipse values to compare with December 20^th full eclipse. Eclipse begins with the Moon’s contact with Sun’s penumbral shadow at 1:57:21 AM Saturday morning. Umbral (partial) eclipse begins at 3:16:57 AM, greatest eclipse occurs at 4:38:27 AM when just over ½ (0.5368) of the Moon is in the Sun’s umbra shadow. Partial eclipse ends at 5:59:50 AM, 50 minutes after the Sun rises. Penumbral eclipse ends at 7:19:50 AM.

Danjon Values:

L=0 Very dark eclipse, Moon almost invisible especially at mid-totality.

L=1 Dark eclipse, grey or brownish color to Moon, details distinguishable only with difficulty.

L=2 Deep-red or rust colored eclipse, very dark central shadow, outer umbra relatively bright.

L=3 Brick red eclipse, umbra shadow usually has a bright or yellow rim.

L=4 Very bright copper-red or orange eclipse, umbra shadow has bluish, very bright rim.

Challenge No. 7

July 3

See Jupiter in the daytime sky

Jupiter at -2.5 magnitude will be 8° to the lower left of the Moon in the eastern dawn sky. Start tracking in early twilight before sunrise at 5:10 AM PDT.

Challenge No. 8

July 15

Spot Arcturus unaided before sunset

Polarizing sunglasses may help. Very Challenging but can be done (RASC). Sun sets at 8:46 PM. Arcturus transits at 7:34 PM. Alt-azimuth coordinates are, approximately 16° west of south (azimuth 196°) and +16°.

Challenge No. 9

August 9

See a Very Old Moon 15 hrs before new.

Rises at 5:15 AM, azimuth 67°True, phase ~1% lit. Sun rises at 5:49 AM, azimuth 66°True.

Challenge No. 10

September 7

See a very old Crescent Moon 21 hrs before new.

Visible in the hour before dawn. Moon rises at 5:31 AM, about 1% lit, azimuth 80°True. Sun rises at 6:25 AM at azimuth 80°True.

Challenge No. 11

December 20

See the total Lunar eclipse

Observe and Compare Danjon Values of a total lunar eclipse with June’s partial eclipse. Penumbral eclipse begins at 9:21 PM. Partial (umbral) eclipse begins at 10:32 PM Dec 20^th. Total eclipse begins at 11:40 PM. Greatest eclipse occurs at 12:16:57 AM Dec 21^st. Total eclipse ends at 12:53 AM. Partial umbral eclipse ends at 2:01 AM. Penumbral eclipse ends at 3:04 AM.