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In the Sky This Week – August 11, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  11 Aug 2020

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This entry is part 160 of 248 in the series In the Sky This Week

Look up! The Perseid meteor shower is tonight! After midnight, look to the northeast – you may want to grab a lawn chair and a blanket. Just stare at one fixed point in the sky… and wait… Unfortunately, with the Moon being so close to the radiant, fainter meteors may be hidden from view.

Perseid meteor shower Radiant of the Perseid meteor shower in the northeastern sky after midnight on August 12th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

Jupiter and Saturn appear in the southern sky during the early morning and predawn hours this week.

Southern sky around midnight Jupiter and Saturn appear in the southern sky around midnight and move westward during the early morning hours. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The Moon appears with Mars in the eastern sky during the early morning hours from August 11-13th.

Eastern sky in the morning Mars appears high in the eastern sky during the early morning hours – a waning crescent Moon appears north of Mars from August 11-13th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The Moon appears near the star Aldebaran in the eastern predawn sky on August 13th.

The waning crescent Moon appears in conjunction with Venus and the stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse in the eastern predawn sky on August 14th. On August 15th, the Moon appears about 3 degrees from Venus.

 

The third-quarter Moon occurs on Tuesday August 11th – rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise.

After Tuesday, the Moon will be a waning crescent – visible low to the east before sunrise; this is one of the best times to try to spot earthshine.

Moon The Moon from 2020-08-11 – 2020-08-17. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

Moon News

Today, the Moon is 250999.79 miles (403945 km) away from Earth. How do we know that?

We bounce laser beams off of tiny mirrors on the Moon to calculate the Earth-Moon distance to within just a few millimeters.

It’s not easy. https://t.co/iXk8eusSuV pic.twitter.com/dGoDSLBPB7

— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) August 10, 2020

A close-up photograph of the laser reflecting panel deployed by Apollo 14 astronauts on the Moon in 1971. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Sunspot AR2770, which was rotating into view last week, is now in a state of decay; even at 4K resolution it appears only as a small smudge on the Sun’s face.

The coronal hole at the Sun’s north pole remains large; the coronal hole at the south pole has reopened but appears smaller than the hole to the north. Several regions of coronal loop activity appear in a line above the equator.

The Sun seen in 193 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) August 10, 2020:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2020/08/10/20200810_1024_0193.mp4

Prominences and coronal activity everywhere on the Sun’s limb over the last few days!

The Sun seen in 304 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) August 10, 2020:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2020/08/10/20200810_1024_0304.mp4
Videos courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.
You can view the Sun in near real-time, in multiple frequencies here: SDO-The Sun Now.
You can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.

Solar Activity on Facebook – Run by Solar System Ambassador Pamela Shivak

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10220701344157243&set=gm.3438259119518741&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Solar Corona

Solar wind speed is 300.7 km/sec (↓↓), with a density of 6.3 protons/cm3 (↓) at 1446 UT.

Near real-time animation of the corona and solar wind from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):

SOHO LASCO C2 Latest Image Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech-SOHO

Sun News

Well…. I need to update my Sun lecture!

Data from @NASASolarSystem’s Cassini & New Horizons missions is helping us study the shape of our solar system’s bubble. Their particle measurements let scientists develop a new model of how our solar system’s material interacts with interstellar space. https://t.co/uKXGwYJWaZ

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) August 10, 2020

Some research suggests that the heliosphere has a long tail, much like a comet, though a new model points to a shape that lacks this long tail. Credits: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Conceptual Imaging Lab

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 10  (+9), this year: 1494  (+13), all time: 23,338  (+33)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2037  (last updated  June 2, 2020)
Total Minor Planets
discovered: 991,765  (+1625)
Near Earth Asteroids Discovery Statistics. Source: JPL Center for NEO Studies (CNEOS)

Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters::

Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Velocity (km/s)
Diameter (m)
2020 PC
2020-Aug-11
3.1 LD
1.8
9
2020 PO
2020-Aug-12
4.2 LD
14.5
22
2020 FA1
2020-Aug-23
18.4 LD
1.9
20
2016 AH164
2020-Aug-26
15.7 LD
5.6
4
2011 ES4
2020-Sep-01
0.3 LD
8.2
30
465824
2020-Sep-06
19.4 LD
14
162
2012 RM15
2020-Sep-12
14.9 LD
9.8
45
2017 US
2020-Sep-13
17.3 LD
5.9
21
2014 QJ33
2020-Sep-18
11.5 LD
8.3
65
2017 SL16
2020-Sep-20
8.9 LD
6.4
25
2001 GP2
2020-Oct-01
6.1 LD
2.2
15
2010 UC
2020-Oct-04
14.6 LD
3.2
12
2019 SB6
2020-Oct-07
11.9 LD
7.6
16

Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Red highlighted entries are asteroids that either pass very close, or very large with high relative velocities to the Earth. Table from SpaceWeather.com

On August 10, 2020, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 53 fireballs. 
(30 Perseids, 23 sporadics)

Orbits In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point–Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). Credit: SpaceWeather.com

Fireball News: Perseids Meteor Shower Tonight!

The sky is falling! Or at least little teeny pieces of it!

Tonight and tomorrow night the Perseid meteor shower hits its peak. Here’s what you need to know to watch:https://t.co/leYvw1EgpS

— Phil Plait (@BadAstronomer) August 11, 2020

 

Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system.

Inner Solar System Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, 2020-08-11. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets in the middle solar system:

Middle Solar System Position of the planets in the middle solar system, 2020-08-11. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets, some dwarf planets and some transneptunian objects in the outer solar system:

Outer Solar System Position of the planets and some transneptunian objects in the outer solar system, 2020-08-11. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

 

Highlight: Ceres

(1) Ceres. (Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)

Ceres (/ˈsɪəriːz/; minor-planet designation: 1 Ceres) is the largest object in the main asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. With a diameter of 940 km (580 mi), Ceres is both the largest of the asteroids and the only dwarf planet inside Neptune’s orbit. It is the 25th-largest body in the Solar System within the orbit of Neptune.

Ceres was the first asteroid to be discovered (by Giuseppe Piazzi at Palermo Astronomical Observatory on 1 January 1801). It was originally considered a planet, but was reclassified as an asteroid in the 1850s after many other objects in similar orbits were discovered.

Ceres is the only object in the asteroid belt rounded by its own gravity, although Vesta and perhaps other asteroids were so in the past. From Earth, the apparent magnitude of Ceres ranges from 6.7 to 9.3, peaking once at opposition every 15 to 16 months, which is its synodic period. Thus even at its brightest, it is too dim to be seen by the naked eye, except under extremely dark skies. Ceres has been classified as a C-type asteroid and, due to the presence of clay minerals, as a G-type asteroid.

Ceres appears to be partially differentiated into a muddy (ice-rock) mantle/core and a less-dense but stronger crust that is at most 30 percent ice. It probably no longer has an internal ocean of liquid water, but there is brine that can flow through the outer mantle and reach the surface. The surface is a mixture of water ice and various hydrated minerals such as carbonates and clay. Cryovolcanoes such as Ahuna Mons form at the rate of about one every fifty million years. In January 2014, emissions of water vapor were detected from several regions of Ceres. This was unexpected because large bodies in the asteroid belt typically do not emit vapor, a hallmark of comets. The atmosphere, however, is transient and of the minimal kind known as an exosphere.

The robotic NASA spacecraft Dawn entered orbit around Ceres on 6 March 2015. – Wikipedia

There is an lot more about Ceres in this Wikipedia article.

Read more about Ceres on NASA’s Solar System Exploration site: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/ceres/overview/

Dawn Spacecraft at Ceres Simulation of the Dawn Spacecraft at Ceres. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
Occator Crater. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA/PSI

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

Can't wait for tomorrow – our engineers are ready! https://t.co/b3UsG6Q7oF

— Lockheed Martin (@LockheedMartin) August 11, 2020

International Space Station

.@Astro_Seal will answer prerecorded questions from the @GirlScouts live on @NASA TV at 10:55am ET on Tuesday. https://t.co/HwUz08OSMZ

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 8, 2020

The Exp 63 trio kicked off Monday researching advanced space physics and biotechnology benefiting humans on and off the Earth. More… https://t.co/2BKKNCxbx4 pic.twitter.com/MeMOcjU8MJ

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 10, 2020

NASA Perseverance Mars Rover

Congrats to you and your team, @MarsCuriosity. From the wild ride of landing to your eight years across the surface, you’ve blazed quite a trail. Can’t wait to join you on Mars.#CountdownToMars https://t.co/qOUSmlRbyH

— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) August 5, 2020

Climate

Earth is the only planet that nearly eight billion people call "home sweet home," but human activity is changing it. Watch this animated whiteboard series to learn why and how @NASA studies it with satellites, aircraft, and even the occasional boat. https://t.co/mvvEbrvXqq

— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) August 10, 2020

Parents, need an educational activity to do this weekend while safe at home with your kids? Print these coloring pages and help your kids learn about the water and carbon dioxide cycles.

The carbon dioxide cycle: https://t.co/uQsA4KSLFD
The water cycle: https://t.co/vRJyUJXpx1 pic.twitter.com/p3Qf3j97Vw

— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) August 7, 2020

Exoplanet
ex·o·plan·et /ˈeksōˌplanət/, noun: a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun.

All Exoplanets 4197 
Confirmed Planets with Kepler Light Curves for Stellar Host 2362
Confirmed Planets Discovered by Kepler 2342
Kepler Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 2418
Confirmed Planets with K2 Light Curves for Stellar Host 430
Confirmed Planets Discovered by K2 409
K2 Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 889
Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS 66
TESS Project Candidates Integrated into Archive (2020-08-10 13:00:02) 2165  (+145)
Current date TESS Project Candidates at ExoFOP 2173  (+153)
TESS Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 1342  (+50)

Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
* Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS refers to the number planets that have been published in the refereed astronomical literature.
* TESS Project Candidates refers to the total number of transit-like events that appear to be astrophysical in origin, including false positives as identified by the TESS Project.
* TESS Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed refers to the number of TESS Project Candidates that have not yet been dispositioned as a Confirmed Planet or False Positive.

Exoplanet discovery statistics. Source: https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/exoplanetplots/

Fifth anniversary of the world’s first @IDADarkSky Sanctuary ?? https://t.co/5Orw7Sr0yj

— Dr. John Barentine FRAS (@JohnBarentine) August 8, 2020

Hubble: Beautiful Universe

NGC 1614, captured in this Picture of the Week, is an eccentrically-shaped galaxy ablaze with activity, about 200 million light-years from Earth.

Credit: @ESA / @Hubble_Space / @NASA , A. Adamo https://t.co/6Jlyyf52jE pic.twitter.com/redK0AAkYJ

— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) August 10, 2020

The Local Stellar Neighborhood

Continuing with my visual tour of nearby stars and their systems, we travel to the Ross 614 system, 13.3 light years distant.

Ross 614 Ross 614 is about 13.3 light years from Sol; the plane (green) is aligned with the orientation of the plane of the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Ross 614

Ross 614 (V577 Monocerotis) is a red dwarf UV Ceti flare star and it is the primary member of a nearby binary star system in the constellation of Monoceros. This star has a magnitude of about 11, making it invisible to the unaided eye even though it is one of the stars nearest to the Sun. This system is among the closest to the Sun at an estimated distance of about 13.3 light years. Because this star is so close to the Earth it is often the subject of study, hence the large number of designations by which it is known.

Binary Star System

This binary star system consists of two closely spaced low-mass red dwarfs. The secondary star is a dim magnitude 14 lost in the glare of the nearby primary star. The most recent determination of the system orbital elements comes from a study by George Gatewood using older sources along with data from the Hipparcos satellite. This study yielded an orbital period of about 16.6 years and a semi-major axis separation of about 1.1 arc seconds (2.4–5.3 AU).

History

The primary star was discovered in 1927 by F. E. Ross using the 40 in (100 cm) refractor telescope at the Yerkes Observatory. He noticed the high proper motion of this dim 11th magnitude star in his second-epoch plates that were part of an astronomical survey started by E. E. Barnard, his predecessor at the observatory. Ross then included this new star in his eponymous catalog along with many others he discovered.

The first detection of a binary system was in 1936 by Dirk Reuyl using the 26-in refractor telescope of the McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia using astrometric analysis of photographic plates. In 1951 Sarah L. Lippincott made the first reasonably accurate predictions of the position of the secondary star using the 24 in (61 cm) refractor telescope of the Sproul Observatory. These calculations were used by Walter Baade to find and optically resolve this binary system for the first time using the then new 5 m (200 in) Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California. – Wikipedia

Ross 614  System Diagram

Ross 614 Ross 614 System Diagram. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley

Ross 614 System Orbital DiagramRoss 614

Artist’s Rendering of the Ross 614 system

Ross 614 Artistic rendering of the Ross 614 binary system – the position of Sol is highlighted in the upper right.. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Stay safe, be well, and look up!


Apps used for this post:

NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator – free for the PC /MAC. I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.
Universe Sandbox: a space simulator that merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Includes VR support.
SpaceEngine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for Windows. Steam version with VR support available.
Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It’s a great tool for planning observing sessions. A web-based version of Stellarium is also available.

NOTE: Stellarium version 0.20.2 has been released! Get it free here: http://stellarium.org/en/


Section header image credits:
The Sky – Stellarium / Bob Trembley
Observing Target – Turn Left at Orion / M. Skirvin
The Moon – NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Sun – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroids – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Fireballs – Credited to YouTube
Comets – Comet P/Halley, March 8, 1986, W. Liller
The Solar System – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Spacecraft News – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Exoplanets – Space Engine / Bob Trembley
Light Pollution – NASA’s Black Marble
The Universe – Universe Today

 

 

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More Posts in this Series:
"In the Sky This Week"

78  |  What Do We Lose When We Sacrifice Science?

By Br. Guy Consolmagno  |  27 May 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

69  |  To err is human… to admit it, is science

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159  |  In the Sky This Week – August 4, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  4 Aug 2020

161  |  In the Sky This Week – August 18, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  18 Aug 2020

162  |  In the Sky This Week – August 25, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  25 Aug 2020

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