ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS OF INTEREST, 2007-08
As featured in the Astronomy Calendar.
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October 7th and 8th, 2007: Moon, Venus, Regulus and Saturn in the morning sky. Pre-dawn mornings provide a series of conjunctions
between Venus, Regulus and Saturn. The three will form a close group with the
Crescent Moon on October 7th and 8th. Venus passes
Regulus on the 8th and Saturn on the 14th. |
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Late January/ early February 2008: Jupiter and Venus close together in the morning sky. In the last week of January and the
first week of February the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will be
close together in the morning pre-dawn sky, forming a spectacular double. The
two are closest together on the morning Friday February 1st, with
Venus about half a degree (about the diameter of the Full Moon) to the north
(left) of Jupiter. Top diagram shows Venus and Jupiter in the Eastern
pre-dawn sky near the crescent moon on the 4th and 5th
of February. Lower diagram shows the planets on February 1st. |
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February 7th, 2008 – Partial Solar Eclipse. On February 7th an Annular
Solar Eclipse occurs over the Antarctic (ie the Sun appears as a ring
around the Moon; the Sun is not completely covered.) Australia and NZ will
see the Sun partially eclipsed. The map at left shows the maximum
percentage of the Sun covered and the time of maximum, eg Melbourne will see
about 20% of the Sun covered at 3.30pm Daylight Saving Time. Only use safe methods to observe the
Sun, such as pinhole projection or eclipse glasses. |
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Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 – Early Easter Easter Sunday is defined as the first
Sunday after the “Ecclesiastical Full Moon” (the Church’s approximation of
when a Full Moon will occur, generally within a day of the actual Full Moon)
after March 20th, which was the date fixed by the Church as Equinox in
325AD. In 2008, Full Moon occurs two
days after March 20th, with Easter Sunday the next day. This will
be the earliest Easter Sunday since 1913; the next time Easter falls on March
23rd will be 2160. The earliest possible Easter Sunday is March 22nd,
this last occurred in 1818, and next in 2285. |
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August 10th - 18th, 2008 – all planets visible in the evening sky From about the 10th to the 18th of August, all the planets will be visible in the evening sky just after sunset. The diagram shows Mercury, Saturn and Venus low in the western sky, with Mars just above and to the right. Jupiter is high in the northeast at this time. Such an event is fairly rare, happening every decade or so. August also features a series of
conjunctions (close meetings) between Mercury, Venus and Saturn, in
particular Venus/ Saturn on the 14th, Mercury/ Saturn on the 16th
and Mercury/Venus on the 22nd. |
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August 17th, 2008 (morning) – Moon eclipsed at Moonset. On the morning of August 17th,
Eastern Australia will see a partially eclipsed Moon as it sets in the west,
just about the time the Sun rises in the East. The diagram shows the times of
the eclipse and the extent of the eclipse at moonset for the capital cities.
The eclipse starts at 5.35am AEST. By 6.30 the Moon is about half in shadow,
just as it sets in Sydney. It reaches maximum eclipse, with over 80% of the
Moon in shadow, at 7.10am, just after it sets in Melbourne (7am). Sunrise in
Melbourne is also at 7am. Note: the diagram shows the movement of the Moon
from west to east relative to the Earth’s shadow, but at the same time the
Moon and Earth’s shadow are setting in the west. |
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September 2008 – planetary conjunctions September features a series of conjunctions (close meetings) between Mercury, Venus and Mars.
The diagram shows the three by the
crescent moon on September 2nd. |
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December 1st, 2008 – Venus, Jupiter and
Moon form “smiley face” In the last week in November and the first week of December 2008, the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will be close together in the evening sky, forming a spectacular double. The two are closest together on Monday December 1st, with Venus lying about 2 degrees to the South (left) of Jupiter. On the same night the Crescent Moon will appear just beneath them, forming a “Smiley Face”. Upper
diagram shows graphic representation of the event; lower diagram shows a more
accurate representation of arrangement. Viewers in WA will see a better view,
with the moon closer to the planets, while in South Africa the Moon will move
between Venus and Jupiter. |
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December 29th, 2008 – Occultation of Jupiter On December 29th at around
9pm DST the Moon occults (moves in front of) Jupiter in the early evening
twilight for most of Eastern Australia. This will be a spectacular sight,
with Mercury also close by and Venus higher in the sky. Viewers will need a
clear sight of the southwestern horizon just after sunset. For Melbourne
viewers, Jupiter disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 9.05pm. It’s
reappearance at 9.50pm will be difficult to view, as the Moon sets at 10.03pm
DST. |
