By John Loci
Next Month in Astronomy History
1, 1785
Caroline Herschel becomes the first woman to discover a comet.
1, 1818
Lady American astronomer, first cousin four times removed of Benjamin Franklin, and discoverer of "Miss Mitchell's Comet", Maria Mitchell is born.
1, 1955
First microgravity research begins.
2, 1880
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is officially adopted by Parliament in the UK.
2, 1971
A small meteorite falls through the roof of a farm building, in Havero, Finland.
2, 1989
Tthe Voyager Imaging Team discovers the Neptunian moon, Despina.
3, 1596
David Fabricius discovered light variation of Mira, the first star to be identified as a variable star.
4, 1181
Chinese and Japanese astronomers observe a supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia. It reached about magnitude 0 and was visible for about 6 months.
5, 1864
Giovanni Batista Donati makes the first spectroscopic observations of a comet, Tempel, 1864 II.
5, 1930
Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon is born.
5, 1962
A lunar occultation enables Australian radio astronomers to more precisely fix the location of the previously known radio source 3C 273, in Virgo.
5, 1969
Mariner 7 makes its closest flyby of Mars.
6, 1181
A supernova is observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers. It reaches magnitude 0.
6, 1996
NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin announces the discovery of evidence of a primitive life form on Mars in a fossil found on a meteorite in Antarctica believed to have come from Mars.
7, 1959
Explorer 6 satellite is launch from Cape Canaveral, FL
7, 1976
Viking 2 enters Mars orbit.
7, 1976
Scientists in Pasadena, California, announce Viking I found strongest indications to date of possible life on Mars
8, 1579
The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid.
9, 975
The Japanese declare "general amnesty" due to an eclipse.
10, 1675
The foundation stone for the Royal Observatory in Greenwich England is laid by King Charles II of England
10, 1990
The Magellen space probe reaches Venus
11, 3114 BCE
Beginning of Creation according to the Maya civilization
11, 1835
George Airy becomes England's Astronomer Royal, position he holds for 46 years.
11, 1877
American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Deimos, one of the moons of Mars.
11, 1999
The last total eclipse of the millennium travels across Cornwall, England, Europe, India, Iran.
12, 1960
Echo 1, the first communication satellite is launched.
12, 1977
The High Energy Astronomy Observatory 1 is launched into Earth orbit.
13, 3114 BCE
The Maya calendar starts according to the Lounsbury Corellation.
13, 1642
Christiaan Huygens discovered the Martian south polar cap.
13, 1907
German astronomer, Hermann Karl Vogel, dies. Vogel discovers spectroscopic binaries stars.
13, 2001
Matthew J. Holman, John J. Kavelaars, Dan Milisavljevic, and Brett J. Gladman discovers the Uranian moons: Ferdinand, Francisco, Margaret and Trinculo. Ferdinand is the outermost moon of Uranus.
14, 1992
Numerous small meteorites hit buildings and a boy was reportedly struck in Mbale, Uganda
14, 1995
The Hubble space telescope photographs Uranus and its rings.
14, 2126
The next scheduled perihelion for the Swift-Tuttle Comet. The 6 mile diameter is thought to be the same size as the asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs and will probably come within 15 million miles of planet Earth.
15, 1977
"The WOW!" signal is detected by the SETI program using The Big Ear radio telescope. The signal is never duplicated.
16, 1797
Comet C/1797 P1, known as Bouvard-Herschel, approaches 0.0879 AUs of Earth
16, 1920
British astronomer, Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer, dies. Sir Lockyer named the Sun's outer layer the "chromosphere."
16, 1989
A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.
17, 1877
Six days after discovering Deimos, American astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Phobos, another one of the moons of Mars.
17, 1970
The Soviet Venera 7 is launched. Venera 7 will become the first probe to transmit data from the surface of Venus.
18, 1868
French astronomer Pierre Janssen discovers helium in the solar spectrum during an eclipse of the Sun in India.
19, 1871
Orville Wright born in Dayton, Ohio. Happy Birthday Orville!
19, 1891
William Huggins describes the astronomical application of spectrum.
19, 1960
Soviet Union launches Sputnik 5. It contains: 2 dogs, 40 mice, 2 rats and some plants.
20, 1975
NASA launches Viking 1 planetary probe to Mars.
20, 1977
NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
21, 1560
Tycho Brahe becomes interested in astronomy.
21, 1665
French-Italian astronomer and mathematician, Giacomo Filippo Maraldi, is born. Giacomo Maraldi figured out that the corona seen during a solar eclipse belonged to the Sun and not the Moon.
21, 1972
US orbiting astronomy observatory Copernicus is launched.
21, 1995
American astrophysicist, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, dies. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar with William A.Fowler won the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics for formulating the theory on the later evolutionary stages of massive stars.
22, 1834
American astronomer, Samuel Pierpont Langley, who contributed to the knowledge of solar phenomena as related to meteorology, is born.
22, 1989
The first complete ring around Neptune was discovered.
23, 1609
The telescope is first demonstrated by Galileo.
23, 1966
Earth is photographed for the first time from lunar orbit from Lunar Orbiter 1.
24, 1989
Voyager 2 passes Neptune
24, 2006
After 76 years, our solar system goes from nine to eight planets. In an effort to shrink the solar system, International Astronomical Union demotes the planet Pluto to a 'pluton,' or dwarf planet or even a "trans-Neptunian object".
25, 1561
Dutch astronomer and writer, Philippe van Lansberge, is born. Philippe van Lansberge is best known for publishing a book of astronomical table of planetary positions. There were certain errors because he did not accept Keppler's discovery of elliptical
25, 1609
Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian officials.
25, 1822
British astronomer and discoverer of the planet Uranus, William Herschel dies.
25, 1835
In an effort to improve circulation, The New York Sun publishes a story that Sir John Hershel has observed little men living on the surface of the moon.
25, 1865
The Shergotty Meteorite is discovered near the town of Shergahti, Bihar State, India.
25, 2003
Mark R. Showalter and Jack J. Lissauer using the Hubble Space Telescope discovers the Uranian moons: Cupid and Mab.
26, 1990
Japanese astronomer, Minoru Honda, dies. During his life he discover 12 comets.
27, 413 BCE
A lunar eclipse causes panic in Athens' fleet.
27, 1962
NASA launches Mariner 2.
27, 2003
Mars makes the closest pass with Earth in 60,000 years and comes within 55,750,000 km.
28, 1789
William Herschel discovers Saturn's Moon, Enceladus.
28, 1993
The Galileo - USA & Europe Jupiter Orbiter/Atmospheric Probe makes an encounter with asteroid 243 Ida and its newly-discovered moon, Dactyl
29, 1541
Nicolaus Copernicus's book "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" ("On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres") goes to the printer.
29, 1864
William Huggins discovered the chemical composition of nebulae.
29, 1975
A star in Cygnus goes nova and becomes the fourth brightest in sky
30, 1997
The first observed occurrence of a comet hitting the Sun was made.
30, 2004
America astronomer, Fred Lawrence Whipple, dies. Fred Whipple first put forth the "dirty snowball" theory of the makeup of comets.
31, 1913
British radio astronomer, Sir Bernard Lovell, is born.
e-mail |
August 2010
The New Moon for August occurs on Monday, August 9th, which makes the weekend of August 7-8 the best weekend for dark sky observation.
The Full Moon for August happens on August 24th and is known as the Full Corn Moon or Full Fruit Moon.
Mercury is visible in the evening for the entire month of August. Mercury begin this month in the constellation Leo (The Lion) and begins to cross the corner of the constellation Sextans (The Sextant) on August 5th. On August 7th, Mercury finishes crossing the corner of Sextans and returns into the constellation Leo. On August 20th Mercury changes direction starting its retrograde motion toward the Sun and by August 31st, returns to the constellation Sextans.
 Mercury reaches its optimal viewing position on August 6th, when it reaches it’s Greatest Eastern Elongation. At that time Mercury will be 27°22’01” from the Sun and will set about 1 hour 50 minutes after sunset.
On August 11th the waxing, crescent Moon will pass within 3° of Mercury.
Venus is also observable in the evening for the entire month of August. In the very earliest hours of August Venus crosses from the constellation Leo (The Lion) to the constellation Virgo (The Maiden) where it will remain located for the rest of the month.
Venus reaches its optimal observing position on August 19th, as it reaches it’s Greatest Eastern Elongation and is in position for its best evening distance from the Sun. At this time Venus will be 45°57’32” from the Sun and will set 3 hours after sunset.
Venus is a member of several conjunctions and grouping of other planetary object this month, including:
On August 8th, Venus and Saturn will be less than 2°50’ apart.
On August 12th, Venus, Saturn, Mars and the waxing, crescent Moon will be within 10° of each other.
On August 20th, Venus and Mars will pass within 2° of each other.
| Finally on August 31st, Venus will pass within 1° of the Star Spica. |
 |
Mars is observable during the evening Hours of August in the constellation Virgo (The Maiden). Mars sets around 10:20 pm (PDT) at the start of August, and by the end of the month, sets around 9:10 pm (PDT).
On August 12th, Venus, Saturn, Mars and the waxing, crescent Moon will be within 10° of each other.
On August 20th, Venus and Mars will pass within 2° of each other.
Jupiter is located in the constellation Pisces (The Fish), moving in retrograde, this month and can be observed from the late evening to morning hours of August. Jupiter rises around 10:25 pm (PDT) at the start of the month, and by the end of August is rising as early as 8:30 pm (PDT).
 |
On August 26th, the waning, gibbous Moon passes with 5°50’ of Jupiter.
Jupiter is a great place to start if your are hunting Uranus this month. They are in proximity to each other for the entire month. Look for Jupiter at the opposite side of the sky from Saturn; as Jupiter rises in the East, Saturn is setting in the West. |
Located in the constellation Virgo (The Maiden) until December 2012, Saturn is observable during the evening hours of August. Saturn sets around 10:20 pm (PDT) at the start of August , and by the end of the month, sets around 8:30 pm (PDT). Look for Saturn at the opposite side of the sky from Jupiter; as Jupiter rises in the East, Saturn is setting in the West.
Uranus is located in the constellation Pisces (The Fish) until May 2012.
At the beginning of the month, Uranus rises around 10:15 pm (PDT), and by the end of August, it rises around 8:15 pm (PDT).
To find Uranus, you might start by looking for Jupiter and the two planets are in proximity to each other for the entire month. At the end of the month Jupiter and Uranus will be a mere 1°15’ from each other and will end up in conjunction next month on September 21st.
On August 26th, the waning, gibbous Moon passes within 5°15’ of Uranus. |
|
 Neptune is in optimal position for the year for observation as it reaches Opposition on August 20th.
Neptune will be observable all month and is at its closes point to Earth for the year. Moving in retrograde, Neptune begins the month in the constellation Aquarius (The Water Bearer) and on August 13th crosses into the constellation Capricornus (the Sea Goat) where it can be found until January 2011.
On August 24th, the Full Moon will pass within 3°40’ of Neptune which may make it difficult to observe on that night.
Pluto is located in the constellation Sagittarius until the year 2023 and is observable until the late evening hours of August. At the start of the month, Pluto sets around 3:30 pm (PDT) and by the end of the month Pluto sets around 1:30 am (PDT).
8/2/2010 Last Quarter Moon 8/6/2010 Mercury reaches its Greatest Eastern Elongation - Best Evening View (27°22'01") 8/8/2010 Venus and Saturn conjunction less than 2°50' apart 8/9/2010 New Moon 8/10/2010 Waxing, crescent Moon less than 3° from Mercury 8/12/2010 Venus , Saturn, Mars and the waxing, crescent Moon within 10° of each other 8/16/2010 First Quarter Moon 8/18/2010 waxing, gibbous Moonn passes within 6° of Pluto 8/19/2010 Venus reaches its Greatest Eastern Elongation - Best Evening View (45°57'32") 8/20/2010 Neptune reaches opposition 8/20/2010 Venus and Mars conjunction less than 2° apart 8/24/2010 Full corn Moon passes within 3°40' of Neptune 8/26/2010 Waning, gibbous Moon passes within 5°50' from Jupiter and less than 5°15' of Uranus 8/31/2010 Venus in conjunction with the Star Spica within 1° of each other.
|
