Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club
Menu

FOG Blog

Happy equinox, everyone!

9/22/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
During the equinox, day and night are of equal length. We are halfway between the longest day, on the summer solstice, and the shortest day, on the winter solstice.

We're starting the planning process for Longview's second annual
Solstice Lantern Walk Through the Solar System. We hope to see you there!

Hey, why not become part of Longview's history and help us out as a
sponsor or as a volunteer?

And in the meanwhile, join us for Sidewalk Astronomy on October 4 (check calendar for changes and weather info) or for our next club meeting on October 16.

Cheers!

Roy

0 Comments

Sky Report, September - October 2019

9/22/2019

0 Comments

 
Sky Report by Ted Gruber

Evening Sky

Venus (magnitude -3.9) and Mercury (magnitude -0.6) are visible in the west-southwest twilight for about 30 minutes after sunset. Both planets will be very low to the horizon, so you’ll need a clear line of sight to see them. Once you find Venus, look for fainter Mercury to the south of Venus and just slightly higher.

Jupiter (magnitude -2.2) and Saturn (magnitude 0.4) are much easier to spot. Jupiter becomes visible in the south-southwest sky as darkness falls. Jupiter dims slightly over the course of the month, but it will still be the brightest object in the night sky other than the moon. Saturn becomes visible about 30° east of Jupiter once the sky darkens more. On the evening of October 3, the moon appears about 2° east of Jupiter.

Orionid Meteor Shower

The Orionid meteor shower is active from October 2 through November 7, peaking the night of October 21-22. The Orionids typically produce a maximum of 20 meteors/hour at the peak, but the last quarter moon will drown out the fainter meteors once it rises around 12:30am. The Orionids appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Orion and result from the debris trail left by Halley’s Comet on its countless passes through the inner solar system.

Moon Phases

Last (9/21), new (9/28), first (10/5), full (10/13), last (10/21), new (10/27).

Messier of the Month – M30


M30 is a magnitude 7.7 globular cluster in the constellation Capricornus. The cluster contains an estimated 150,000 stars and has an estimated age of 12.9 billion years. Its estimated distance is about 27,000 light years. Through binoculars, M30 appears as a hazy patch of light, slightly elongated east-west. Smaller telescopes will resolve the brightest individual stars, while 8” or larger scopes will resolve more stars and reveal the cluster’s bright small core and larger halo.

Picture
Picture
0 Comments

FoG Newsletter, vol. 25, no. 5, September 2019

9/13/2019

0 Comments

 
Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
2019_09_september_fog.pdf
File Size: 317 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture
0 Comments

    Friends of Galileo

    We are astronomy enthusiasts who love to learn and to share our wonder at the amazing sights right overhead.

    Come to a meeting!

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018

    Categories

    All
    Event
    FoG History
    Galileo
    How To
    Newsletter
    Sky Report
    Solstice
    Star Party
    Wow

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
  • Solstice
    • Volunteer
    • Sponsor
  • Galileo
  • Calendar
  • FoG Blog
  • Solar System Map
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Solstice
    • Volunteer
    • Sponsor
  • Galileo
  • Calendar
  • FoG Blog
  • Solar System Map
  • Contact