Tag Archives: star gazing

Discovery Dome hits the George Observatory for weekends this summer!

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Summers at the George Observatory are about to get a whole lot sweeter.

In addition to our normal (but extraordinary) telescope viewings and astronomy lectures, beginning June 1, we’ll also have our portable planetarium — the Discovery Dome — on-hand Friday and Saturday nights through Aug. 25.

HMNS Outreach Programs: Discovery Dome
This young astronomer loves the Discovery Dome!

Each weekend night — plus member nights and at family events — the Discovery Dome will show one of three rotating shows every half hour: Black Holes, We Choose Space, and Life in the Universe.

Black Holes, narrated by Star Trek: the Next Generation’s John de Lancie, explores the mystifying phenomena of black holes, their origin and the latest scientific knowledge about what exactly black holes are and how we can locate them.

We Choose Space details the real-life adventures of astronauts at the International Space Station and on the Moon during the Kennedy administration.

Life in the Universe brings viewers behind the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, exploring the planets in our solar system. From the birth and death of stars to the formation of distant galaxies, this show is jam-packed with visuals of the universe.

Tickets are $3 for the Discovery Dome show and $5 for telescope and astronomy lecture tickets. For $10, a package of telescope and astronomy lecture tickets, a Discovery Dome ticket and a pass to HMNS Sugar Land’s permanent exhibits is available.

The Discovery Dome will run Fridays from 7:30 to 10 p.m. and Saturdays from 3:30 to 10 p.m.

For more information about programming at the George Observatory and all our great summer events at Brazos Bend State Park, click here!

Go Stargazing! August Edition

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Saturn is the only planet visible to the naked eye at night this August.  Face southwest at dusk and you’ll see Saturn near a star of similar brightness—Spica in Virgo.  Saturn is a bit to the right of Spica as you face southwest.   The ringed planet remains well placed for evening viewing and remains in the night sky until late September 2011.

Hubble Images Suggest Rogue Asteroid Smacked Jupiter
Creative Commons License photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

Mars and Jupiter are in the pre-dawn sky.  Jupiter, set against a background of very dim stars, dominates the southeastern pre-dawn sky and is due south at dawn by the end of the month.  Mars is dimmer and much lower in the east northeast.  It has fully emerged from the sun’s glare and will brighten slightly each morning. Venus is now out of sight.  Superior conjunction (alignment on the far side of the sun) is on August 16.

The Big Dipper is to the left of the North Star, with its handle pointing up.  From that handle, you can ‘arc to Arcturus’ and then ‘speed on to Spica’; those stars are in the west and southwest at dusk.  Antares, brightest star of Scorpius, the Scorpion, is in the south, with the ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius to its left.  Meanwhile, the Summer Triangle is approaching the zenith.  The stars of summer now dominate the evening sky.  In late evening, you can watch the Great Square of Pegasus rise in the east.

Moon Phases in August 2011:

1st Quarter                     August 6, 6:08 a.m.

Full Moon                       August 13, 1:57 p.m.

Last Quarter                  August 21, 4:56 a.m.

New Moon                      August 28, 10:03 p.m.

The annual Perseid Meteor Shower peaks this year on Saturday morning, August 13.  Unfortunately, the moon (full on the 13th) hides all but the very brightest meteors and thus spoils the show.  If you want to see just how many Perseids can outshine the moonlight, the best hours are from roughly 2 a.m. to dawn.

Go Stargazing! July Edition

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Saturn is the only planet visible to the naked eye in the evening skies of July, 2011.  Face south-southwest at dusk, and you’ll see Saturn near a star of similar brightness—Spica in Virgo.  Saturn is a bit to the right of Spica as you face southwest.   The ringed planet remains well placed for evening viewing, and remains in the evening sky until late September 2011.

Hubble Images Suggest Rogue Asteroid Smacked Jupiter
Creative Commons License photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

Mars and Jupiter are now higher in the pre-dawn sky.  Jupiter, set against a background of very dim stars, dominates the eastern sky at dawn.  Mars is dimmer and much lower in the east northeast.  It has fully emerged from the sun’s glare, and will brighten slightly each morning.  Venus is now out of sight, as it is passing around the far side of the sun from our perspective.

The Big Dipper is above the North Star, with its handle pointing up.  From that handle, you can ‘arc to Arcturus’ and then ‘speed on to Spica’; those stars are in the southwest at dusk.  Leo, the Lion, sets in the west at dusk.

Antares, brightest star of Scorpius, the Scorpion, is in the south, with the ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius rising behind it.  The Summer Triangle has fully risen in the northeast.  The stars of summer now dominate the evening sky.

Moon Phases in July 2011:

New Moon                       July 1, 4:02 p.m.

1st Quarter                     July 8, 9:09 p.m.

Full Moon                        July 15, 3:12 p.m.

Last Quarter                  July 23, 6:48 a.m.

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse
Creative Commons License photo credit: Bruce McKay~YSP

The new moon of July 1 partially blocks the sun, but only as seen from the Antarctic.  No one will get to see a total eclipse because the moon’s full shadow, or umbra, passes just below the Earth.

As we celebrate our independence this July 4, Earth will be at aphelion (at its greatest distance from the sun).  The precise time is 10 a.m.  Perihelion, the Earth’s closest approach to the sun, occurs in January.  Earth has perihelion and aphelion because its orbit is not a circle but an ellipse with an eccentricity (out-of-roundness) of about 1.6%.  Such a small variation, however, exerts no significant influence on our seasons, as you can determine for yourself by stepping outside.  The 23.5 degree tilt of Earth’s axis, on the other hand, is a much more dominant effect.  The very high midday sun of July ensures long days and baking heat in Houston and across much of the Northern Hemisphere.

By popular demand, our George Observatory will open to the public Fridays and Saturdays this summer (except July 8, due to a prior booking).  The Discovery Dome, our traveling planetarium, will be set up each of these Fridays to show films throughout the evening.

Go Stargazing: April Edition

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Saturn dominates April 2011 skies because yesterday, on April 3, the Earth passed between the sun and Saturn.  This alignment, called opposition, puts Saturn in the sky all night long; it rises in the east at dusk and sets in the west at dawn.

Venus’ apparition as a dazzling morning star is coming to an end.  It is getting lower and lower in the sky each morning as the angle between the solar system plane and the horizon gets shallower.  Face southeast at dawn, and you can’t miss it of you have a clear horizon.

Jupiter is directly behind the sun from our perspective on April 6 and therefore invisible all month.

Mars also remains lost in the sun’s glare all month.

A swath of brilliant winter stars continues to dominate evening skies.  These stars are now high in the west at dusk and set in late evening.  Orion, the Hunter, is in the southwest as April begins.  His two dogs, represented by Sirius and Procyon, are to his left.  Beside Orion in the west is Taurus, the Bull with Aldebaran as its eye. Gemini, the Twins, are above Orion.  The Big Dipper is to the upper right of the North Star, with its handle pointing down and to the right.  From that handle, you can ‘arc to Arcturus’ and then ‘speed on to Spica’; those stars are low in the east at dusk.  Leo, the Lion, passes almost overhead in late evening.

Below Sirius, just above the southern horizon in late twilight, is a star second only to Sirius in brightness.  This is Canopus, which marks the keel (bottom) of the legendary ship Argo Navis.  Canopus is so far south, in fact, that most Americans never see it.  From the Gulf Coast, however, Canopus does rise.  In early April, you can still see it in the evening just after dusk.

Lune
Creative Commons License photo credit: ComputerHotline

Moon Phases in April 2011:

New Moon                      April 3, 9:32 a.m.

1st Quarter                     April 11, 7:05 a.m.

Full Moon                       April 17, 9:43 p.m.

Last Quarter                  April 24, 9:46 p.m.

Sunday, April 24, is the first Sunday after the first Full Moon of spring.  Therefore, this is Easter Sunday.  This happens to be the second latest possible date for Easter.  Easter will fall on April 25, the absolute latest date, in 2038.