The Moon appears near both Jupiter and Saturn this week in the southwestern sky at dusk. Saturn and Jupiter are excellent observing targets; Jupiter is getting lower towards the horizon each evening, and will be lost in the glare of the Sun in early December. Note: This region of the sky will have a conjunction of the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus in late November – stay tuned!
The Moon passes close to Saturn and Jupiter in the southwestern sky after sunset from Oct. 29 – Nov. 2. Credit: Stellarium / Bob TrembleyMars appears low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.
The planet Mars low on the eastern horizon before dawn this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob TrembleyThe Moon joins Venus and Mercury low on the southwestern sky at dusk on Oct. 29th – Mercury may be challenging to see. See if you can catch a glimpse of earthshine on the Moon for the next couple evenings.
A thin crescent Moon appears near Venus and Mercury just after sunset on Oct. 29th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob TrembleyThe constellation Ursa Major and the very familiar “Big Dipper” asterism appear in the north-northwestern sky a few hours after sunset this week
The constellation Ursa Major and the “Big Dipper” asterism in the north-northwestern sky a few hours after sunset this week. Credit: Stellarium / Bob TrembleyWe get a LOT of clouds here in Michigan, and thunderstorms are not unusual; I saw this article on SpaceWeather.com when I was writing this post – “Gigantic Jets” are pretty rare, and very hard to see from the ground.
https://twitter.com/AstroBalrog/status/1189188433039642624
M 106
Messier 106 (also known as NGC 4258) is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781. M106 is at a distance of about 22 to 25 million light-years away from Earth. M106 contains an active nucleus classified as a Type 2 Seyfert, and the presence of a central supermassive black hole has been demonstrated from radio-wavelength observations of the rotation of a disk of molecular gas orbiting within the inner light-year around the black hole. NGC 4217 is a possible companion galaxy of Messier 106. A Type II supernova was observed in M106 in May 2014.
Working with astronomical image processors at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., renowned astrophotographer Robert Gendler has taken science data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) archive and combined it with his own ground-based observations to assemble a photo illustration of the magnificent spiral galaxy M106.Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and R. Gendler (for the Hubble Heritage Team); Acknowledgment: J. GaBany
Here is where M 106 is located in the constellation Canes Venatici – very near Ursa Major:
Location of M106. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley
The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening.
The first-quarter Moon occurs on Nov. 4th, it will be visible high in the southern sky in early evening.
The Moon from Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.Moon News
The sun has been spotless for 26 days; the south pole coronal hole has reopened, and coronal holes now appear at both poles. There is a disconnected set of coronal holes below the equator.
Sun in 193 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) Oct. 29, 2019. Image courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.More impressive prominences on the Sun’s limb over the last couple days; there is a bright area rotating into view – possible a new active region.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10218144864486849&set=gm.2744703628874297&type=3&theater&ifg=1
The solar wind speed is 397.5 km/sec (↑), with a density of 5.9 protons/cm3 (↑) at 1539 UT.
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechYou 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.
Sun News
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2019 UC |
2019-Oct-29
|
2.9 LD
|
8.9
|
52
|
| 2019 TR2 |
2019-Oct-29
|
19.4 LD
|
13.8
|
75
|
| 2019 UB8 |
2019-Oct-29
|
0.5 LD
|
10.6
|
6
|
| 2019 UL5 |
2019-Oct-29
|
3.9 LD
|
5.3
|
11
|
| 2019 UT8 |
2019-Oct-29
|
2.8 LD
|
15.7
|
13
|
| 2019 UB2 |
2019-Oct-29
|
15.2 LD
|
8.4
|
24
|
| 2019 UH7 |
2019-Oct-30
|
10 LD
|
6.2
|
10
|
| 2019 UM8 |
2019-Oct-30
|
5.9 LD
|
7
|
7
|
| 2019 UJ3 |
2019-Oct-31
|
7.3 LD
|
8.6
|
23
|
| 2019 UF9 |
2019-Oct-31
|
2 LD
|
10.3
|
8
|
| 2019 UP7 |
2019-Nov-01
|
15.4 LD
|
9.4
|
24
|
| 2019 UM4 |
2019-Nov-01
|
11.1 LD
|
9.2
|
22
|
| 2019 UU3 |
2019-Nov-02
|
13.2 LD
|
13.8
|
28
|
| 2015 JD1 |
2019-Nov-03
|
12.9 LD
|
11.9
|
269
|
| 2019 UL8 |
2019-Nov-03
|
2.8 LD
|
12.8
|
19
|
| 2019 UH3 |
2019-Nov-03
|
10.4 LD
|
8.5
|
24
|
| 2019 UH5 |
2019-Nov-05
|
13.4 LD
|
3.5
|
12
|
| 2019 UL4 |
2019-Nov-07
|
16.6 LD
|
9
|
29
|
| 2019 UO7 |
2019-Nov-07
|
3.8 LD
|
4.1
|
10
|
| 2019 UR4 |
2019-Nov-08
|
7.4 LD
|
4.5
|
15
|
| 2019 UB7 |
2019-Nov-10
|
13.7 LD
|
17.5
|
53
|
| 2010 JG |
2019-Nov-12
|
19.6 LD
|
14.9
|
235
|
| 2019 UH1 |
2019-Nov-13
|
9.5 LD
|
9.1
|
50
|
| 2019 UE8 |
2019-Nov-15
|
7.7 LD
|
6.7
|
27
|
| 2019 UR2 |
2019-Nov-18
|
18 LD
|
13.4
|
122
|
| 2019 UK6 |
2019-Nov-20
|
15.4 LD
|
7.7
|
64
|
| 481394 |
2019-Nov-21
|
11.3 LD
|
7.9
|
372
|
| 2008 EA9 |
2019-Nov-23
|
10.5 LD
|
2.2
|
10
|
| 2017 AP4 |
2019-Dec-03
|
8.5 LD
|
7.5
|
15
|
| 2018 XW2 |
2019-Dec-07
|
17.4 LD
|
13
|
28
|
| 216258 |
2019-Dec-20
|
15.3 LD
|
11.8
|
324
|
| 2013 XY20 |
2019-Dec-21
|
18.4 LD
|
1.9
|
28
|
| 2017 XQ60 |
2019-Dec-22
|
11 LD
|
15.6
|
47
|
| 310442 |
2019-Dec-26
|
19 LD
|
12.3
|
372
|
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
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2018 (last updated Oct. 1, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 832,450 (+3008)
Asteroid News – Another Possible Dwarf Planet
I wasn’t sure where Hygiea was in the asteroid belt, so I found it in SpaceEngine:
Orbit of Hygiea. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley
On Oct. 28, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 31 fireballs.
(23 sporadics, 5 Orionids, 3 southern Taurids)
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). From: Spaceweather.comFireball News
Comet News
Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system:
Position of the planets and some spacecraft in the inner solar system, Oct. 29 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembl
