A post-eclipse 2024 stargazing information from astronomer Darrell Heath

With the whole photo voltaic eclipse within the rearview mirror, we bought inquisitive about different phenomena for aspiring stargazers to hunt out within the night time sky this yr. Fortunate for us, the modestly self-described “beginner astronomers” on the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society have been there to assist us really feel much less clueless about it. 

First in your checklist ought to be attending one in every of CAAS’s month-to-month public “star events” the place specialists like Darrell Heath — Barnes & Noble worker by day, CAAS outreach coordinator by night time — aid you decode constellations, planet arcs, the summer time Milky Manner and different deep-sky delights. Discover particulars at caasastro.org/calendar.

The Arkansas Pure Sky Affiliation’s third annual Arkansas Darkish Sky Pageant set for Sept. 26-28, is a three-day, family-friendly star celebration alongside Bear Creek close to the Buffalo Nationwide River. Assume nature hikes by day, celestial excursions of the sky after darkish and talks from featured speaker Jennifer Wiseman of Mountain Dwelling, an astrophysicist at present engaged on NASA’s Hubble House Telescope. Go to darkskyarkansas.org for particulars.

Pregame for these occasions with a deep dive into the sources at CAAS web site’s “New Observers” tab, or go to the first-floor galleries on the state Capitol earlier than Sunday, Might 5, to catch “Astronomical Arkansas: Astronomy and House Science within the Pure State,” an exhibit highlighting Arkansas’s connections to area science — like Wiseman and Amber Straughn of Bee Department [Van Buren County], deputy mission scientist for the James Webb House Telescope. “Girls from Arkansas are operating the area telescope enterprise for NASA,” Arkansas Pure Sky Affiliation Chairman Bruce McMath informed us.Darkish Sky FestivalDark Sky Pageant

Heath stuffed us in on skygazing alternatives forward. 

OK, what are we on the lookout for within the night time sky in 2024? I perceive the moon cycle will intervene with my favorites — the Perseids — this yr. 

After all, so far as nature’s spectacles go, the eclipse is without doubt one of the most breathtaking and spectacular sights you possibly can see. However there are another cool issues to see. The meteor showers aren’t fully worn out. On Aug. 12, the Perseid meteor showers peak, and the moon goes to set round midnight — which is okay, as a result of many of the greatest meteors are to be seen after midnight anyway. While you see numbers listed, like, say, 100 meteors per hour, these are below very best circumstances, which few individuals ever have, however we should always be capable to see about 60 per hour after midnight. 

Then, Sept. 8, Saturn is in opposition. After we say a planet is in opposition, it means it’s simply reverse the solar from the Earth. … And when that occurs, that signifies that Saturn goes to be up all night time, and it’s additionally the closest to us it’s going to be for the yr. So if individuals have entry to a small telescope — and we have now put telescopes within the Central Arkansas Library System and different libraries within the space — that will be a good time to view it. One other factor I need to level out about Saturn this yr is that the rings of the planet are tilting. As we orbit across the solar, we get totally different views on these rings. Subsequent yr, we’re going to be alongside Saturn in such a method that we’re parallel with the equator, and the rings will utterly disappear and progressively come again into view. I’ve proven individuals Saturn via a telescope at our star events, and plenty of instances the response I get is, “That’s not actual.” One girl one time quite angrily swore up and down that I had painted the picture on the within of my lens. So it will get that type of response with individuals. 

On Sept. 18, there’s a supermoon. I’m at all times type of leery about selling supermoons as a result of it’s extra of an astrological occasion than it’s an astronomical occasion, in all probability extra media hype than anything. The moon, after all, orbits the Earth in an ellipse. And meaning when it’s at its closest strategy to Earth and it coincides with the complete moon, we see it greater in our sky, however it’s solely greater by about 10%. Now, most of us who don’t see a full moon usually don’t actually acknowledge that 10% distinction in dimension. When you view it because it’s rising above the horizon, you’ll see what’s known as the moon phantasm. At any time when we see the moon rising above mountains or the treeline, it appears actually, actually massive. … Catch it proper because it’s developing above the horizon.

The rest to be careful for this yr?

Yeah, on Dec. 7, Jupiter’s in opposition. And this yr, Jupiter goes to be positioned increased up within the sky than it has been previously. Jupiter for the previous few years has been comparatively low in opposition, and while you see it decrease within the sky, the sunshine from the article has to journey via extra of the Earth’s environment, so the picture will get a bit distorted, however when it’s increased up, the environment is thinner, so that you get a clearer picture of it. You may see the belts, the darkish and lightweight zones that crisscross the planet’s floor, and there are apps that can inform you when the Nice Crimson Spot [a gigantic, nonstop storm on Jupiter’s atmosphere] is in entrance of the planet, so we will see it with a small telescope. Even with a pair of binoculars, you possibly can see Jupiter’s 4 largest moons orbiting round it: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

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