In the Sky Tonight
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Go Lim Chu Kang before and want to see stars. But a disappointment. No stars.
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i could even see the milky way at pulau tekongOriginally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Go Lim Chu Kang before and want to see stars. But a disappointment. No stars. 
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Sure or not? Last year Singapore big blackout I didn't even see a single star. Or my area cursed? Cannot see stars? Or I am just that unlucky?Originally posted by poon cho tang:i could even see the milky way at pulau tekong -
dark, means perfectly dark, faraway from any ambient light, far from city lights, at least a few tens of km awayOriginally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Sure or not? Last year Singapore big blackout I didn't even see a single star. Or my area cursed? Cannot see stars? Or I am just that unlucky? -
Maybe that blackout does not make Singapore dark enough. I should go some other countries to see the stars and planets.Originally posted by poon cho tang:dark, means perfectly dark, faraway from any ambient light, far from city lights, at least a few tens of km away -
bright stars like sirius and the orion constellation and a few planets like venus, mars, jupiter n saturn can still be seen hereOriginally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Maybe that blackout does not make Singapore dark enough. I should go some other countries to see the stars and planets. -
Never see most of the listed before. Probably have seen Venus, but I am not sure. I have either seen Mars or Jupiter but because they are too small and I have no telescope, cannot really be sure. Just see a red dot in the sky.Originally posted by poon cho tang:bright stars like sirius and the orion constellation and a few planets like venus, mars, jupiter n saturn can still be seen here -
of cos, u cant expect much to see much in sgOriginally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Never see most of the listed before. Probably have seen Venus, but I am not sure. I have either seen Mars or Jupiter but because they are too small and I have no telescope, cannot really be sure. Just see a red dot in the sky. -
Ursid meteor shower peaks tonight
Friday, December 23, 2005
Looking North-Northeast After Midnight or Before Dawn
Some meteor showers have been watched each year at the same time for many centuries. But the Ursid meteor shower, which peaks tonight, has been observed for only a single century. It was first observed around the turn of the 20th century, when a skywatcher noticed that some meteors seen around this time of year werenÂ’t random in their direction of motion across our skyÂ’s dome . . . but instead appeared to radiate from near the star Kochab in the bowl of the Little Dipper asterism. The Little Dipper asterism is in the constellation Ursa Minor the Lesser Bear: hence, the Ursid meteor shower. This shower has been known to produce short bursts of over 100 meteors per hour. But typically the shower is much sparser than that. It might produce only five to 10 meteors per hour at its peak. If you want to watch the Ursids, find a country location where you can camp tonight or tomorrow night. Dress warmly, and plan to spend several hours reclining under a dark sky, sometime during the night. TodayÂ’s chart shows the Big and Little Dippers around 1 a.m. when the Big Dipper is well up in the north-northeast. -
Hunter in close view
Friday, December 23, 2005
Looking East-Southeast at Nightfall
This month, we have focused a lot of our charts on the constellation Orion the Hunter, now in the east-southeast in early evening. And what a rich constellation it is! Besides the obvious placement of the stars on Orion's Belt -- Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak -- the Hunter is comprised of a number of very bright stars. One star whose name we particularly love is Bellatrix. According to the classic book by Richard Hinckley Allen called Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, the name Bellatrix means Female Warrior or Amazon Star. Rigel, which represents the left foot of the Hunter, is a blue-white supergiant and one of the most luminous stars known. Meanwhile, Betelgeuse represents the Hunter's right shoulder. It's a red supergiant whose outer layers extend very far from the star. In fact, if Betelgeuse replaced the sun in our solar system, its outer layers would extend beyond the orbit of Jupiter! Also look for the star Saiph which, like most of Orion's stars, is located very distantly, at approximately 720 light-years away. -
Moon occults Spica before dawn for some
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Looking South-Southeast Before Dawn
The star near the moon tonight is Spica, the brightest light in the large, rambling constellation Virgo the Maiden. Since August, the moon has occulted (or passed in front of) Spica from someplace on Earth about every 28 days -- and will continue to do so until the year 2007. Tomorrow morning marks the first visible event for parts of the U.S. this year. In the wee hours of the morning, the waning crescent moon can be seen rising in the east-southeastern horizon, with the star Spica located less than a degree to the bottom of it. The moon and Spica will travel in each otherÂ’s company until a couple of hours before dawn, when the moon will actually occult, or pass in front of the star Spica in some locales. Although most of North America is in a prime location to see this, it will occur after sunrise for most of us -- making it a difficult occultation to view. It will happen before sunrise for those in eastern Alaska, western Canada, and parts of southern and western U.S. -
the sky shalt rain fire.
Angels spreading wings of purity and donned gloden armour shalt swarm mdist buring skies;
wielding flamming swords and whips. visages a beauty beyond compreshension.
smiting all, felling all, F$%king all, cleansing all...acting in god;s divine name. carry out gods divine instruction.
earths rotted; trees bear putrid fruits. the dead shalt rise from tier resting place to consume the living.
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the seas shalt boil and pour forth in fiery tsumanis burying entire cities; evil encased in watery fiery tomb. they are a symbol to be forgetten. yet remembered.
the virtious shalt fall before the wicked. the wicked shalt fall before Gabriel.
Miachel and their host of holy serraphims
burn them all!!!! kill them all!!!! f$%k them all!!!!!
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Five planets visible throughout night
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Looking East in Late Evening
Monday, December 26, 2005
Looking Southeast Before Dawn
You can spot all five of the most easily visible planets in our solar system tonight -- all in different areas of the sky and times of day. The planets Venus and Mars are the most easily visible, as they are up in early evening. Venus is in the southwest shortly after sunset. Fiery red Mars is high in the southeast shortly after sunset. In late evening, you can spot the farthest easily visible planet, Saturn, in the east along with the famous star pair Castor and Pollux -- twin luminaries of the constellation Gemini the Twins. Just before dawn in the southeast, you will find the two remaining planets -- Jupiter and Mercury -- along with the waning crescent moon. Mercury is the white object near the horizon, while giant Jupiter is the brightest object near the moon. -
Dark side of Venus
Monday, December 26, 2005
Looking Southwest Shortly After Sunset
Here’s Venus in the southwest after sunset, where you’ll see it nearby the bright star Fomalhaut in the constellation Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish. The pink line represents the plane of the solar system, translated onto our sky. Notice that Venus lies along this line. We got this question: “Why doesn't the always bright object in the sky, Venus, ever dim when its orbit places it between the Earth and the sun, presumably showing its dark side to us?” That's good logic. When Venus is between us and the sun, its dark or “night” side is facing our way. But, at such times, we can’t see Venus. It’s only up in the daytime, and so lost in the sun’s glare. Venus will reach its “inferior conjunction” -- come between the sun and our planet -- on January 13th, 2006. -
Scorpion returns in southeast
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Looking Southeast Shortly Before Dawn
Legend says that the constellation Orion the Hunter and Scorpius the Scorpion are never in the sky at the same time. Since Orion is up in the evening now, you can only spot the Scorpion shortly before dawn, rising in the southeast. Tomorrow morning a very slim waning crescent moon will be resting on the top part of the constellation, known as “the Crown of the Scorpion.” Scorpius has a curved line of stars at its base resembling the curved tail of a true scorpion... but you won’t see it now. The lower part of Scorpius is still lost in the sun’s glare before dawn. At best, you might spot its brightest star Antares, the ruby heart of the Scorpion. Scorpius is just now returning to the predawn sky, after being located behind the sun from our earthly vantage point. You’ll see it all in another month or so, in the southeast before the sun comes up, when Earth’s motion in orbit around the sun has moved Scorpius farther from the sun along our line of sight. -
Eastern stars in mid-evening
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Sweeping Your Gaze Over the Eastern Horizon at Mid-Evening
TodayÂ’s chart shows a wide view of the east in mid-evening. Sirius, the brightest star in our skies, is just above the southeastern horizon at this time. Making a sharp angle to its upper left is its companion dogstar Procyon. To the upper left of Procyon is a familiar pair of stars -- the Twin stars Castor and Pollux of the constellation Gemini. To the upper right of bright Sirius is the star Rigel of the constellation Orion the Hunter. The bright object almost directly left of Rigel is Betelgeuse, also of Orion. Located above those two stars is the reddish-star Aldebaran -- brightest star of the constellation Taurus the Bull. The flashing star Capella of the constellation Auriga the Charioteer can be found to AldebaranÂ’s upper left. The planet Mars tops this celestial bevy of stars in the southeast with its red-tinged brightness. -
Second new moon this month
Friday, December 30, 2005
Looking Southwest Before Sunset
Don't expect to look westward this evening and see this ghostly moon near the sun. The image shows up fairly well on a computer screen -- but it won't show up at all in the real sky -- and you should never look toward the sun without a protective filter. Today's chart is purely an illustration of the fact that the moon is new today. That means it's passing between the Earth and sun as these bodies move in space. Thus, although the moon is near the sun in the sky today, you won't see the moon anywhere in today's sky. There are two reasons why. First, the moon's lighted face -- its "day side" -- is turned entirely away from us now. Also, the moon is hidden in the sun's glare. As the moon moves eastward in orbit around Earth, it'll edge slowly away from the sun on our sky's dome. Today's new moon marks the second for this month (the first being on December 1st). Thus, this month has completed a full lunar cycle from start to finish. -
Stars in other galaxies
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Looking West-Northwest in Late Evening
"Are there any stars outside our own galaxy that we can see with just the eye?"
The answer is no -- unless you count seeing the combined light of many billions of stars. From the northern hemisphere, the only galaxy outside our Milky Way that's easily visible to the eye is the Great Galaxy in the constellation Andromeda. In January, this galaxy is in the west-northwest each evening. You need a very dark country sky, on a night like tonight when there's no moon, to be able to look up and notice the galaxy without consulting a chart. It'll appear as a hazy patch in the night sky, as wide in diameter as a full moon. And, indeed, this haze represents the light of the Andromeda galaxy's billions of stars. But we still can't see individual stars within this galaxy -- not with the eye alone. Even with amateur telescopes, the patch of light that we see as the Andromeda galaxy looks, at best, like haze. -
Venus near moon tonight
Sunday, January 1, 2006
Looking Southwest Shortly Before Sunset
Today’s chart is set for shortly after sunset tonight in the southwest. A very slim crescent moon can be spotted just a few degrees to the left of the planet Venus. As the moon and Venus sink into the western horizon along with the evening twilight, a few stars can be spotted in that area. You can spot the star Altair of the constellation Aquila the Eagle due west. Altair is one of a triad of stars that make up the famous Summer Triangle now visible in the west in early evening. In the south-southwest you can spot the “Loneliest Star” Fomalhaut of the constellation Piscis Austrinus. It's said to be "lonely" because it's noticeable as the only bright object in an otherwise empty region of the sky. -
"River of stars" visible in southeast
Monday, January 2, 2006
Looking East-Southeast at Nightfall
If you have access to a dark country sky, you can see Eridanus, the constellation of the River. You won't see this one from the city, or even the suburbs. Eridanus the River begins near the star Rigel in the constellation Orion -- and wells up in a great loop before ambling back down toward the southern horizon. Eridanus is one of the longest and faintest constellations. It's variously said to represent the Nile, Euphrates or the River Po. It's also sometimes called the River of Orion. From most of the U.S., the River disappears below the southern horizon. But if you live at a very southerly latitude you can see a special sight -- the star that represents the end of the River. -
Star at "End of the River"
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Looking South-southeast at Nightfall
Today's chart is almost just like yesterday's chart. But today we've changed our observing location to more southerly latitudes in the northem hemisphere. It's only if you're farther south on Earth's globe, that you can see the famous star that marks the End of the River. This celestial River is called Eridanus. The star marking the End of the River star is very bright! But bright or not, you'll never see it anywhere but right next to the southern horizon if you're observing from the U.S. And you won't see it at all from the northern states. That's because this star is located very far to the south on the celestial sphere, the imaginary dome of stars surrounding Earth. This star makes only a tiny arc above the southern horizon from the more southerly latitudes, so you have to be looking at just the right time to see it . . . for example, tonight around 8 p.m. The star's name is Achernar. If you see it, you'll never forget it! -
Finding the North Star
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Looking North-Northeast in Late Evening
There is a neat trick to finding the North Star, also known as Polaris, in the night sky. That is, your latitude gives you its height above the northern horizon. In other words, if your latitude is 30 degrees, then the pole star is 30 degrees above the northern horizon. From a latitude of 40 degrees N., it is 40 degrees up -- and so on. Polaris can be seen at any time of night. But, at this time of year, you might want to wait until around midnight to look for it -- so you can use the Big Dipper as a guide. The two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris. -
Latest sunrises this week
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Looking East-Southeast at Sunrise
Today's chart shows the eastern sky shortly before sunrise . . . the last object to fade from view in the east before dawn is the planet Mercury. The sun rises very late in early January. The exact date of latest sunrise varies with latitude, but the sequence never varies: the earliest sunsets come in early December, the shortest day comes on the winter solstice around December 21, and the latest sunrises come in early January. For 40 degrees N. latitude (a line that runs approximately through the vertical middle of the U.S.) , January 5 is the date of latest sunrise. The reason it happens is complicated. Here's how sky guru Guy Ottewell explains it: "The reason why earliest/latest sunrise/set do not coincide exactly with the solstices is the slight eccentricity of the Earth's orbit. While rotating at essentially constant speed, Earth is traveling faster around its orbit at some times (Jan.) than at others (July), thus changing its angle with respect to the sun at different rates." -
Saturn and company
Friday, January 6, 2006
Looking East in Late Evening
Here is the view of the eastern horizon at late evening. The planet Saturn can be found amidst a smattering of bright stars. Most notable among them is the twin luminaries Castor and Pollux of the constellation Gemini, the bright dogstar Procyon of the constellation Canis Minor, and the glowing red giant sun Betelgeuse of the constellation Orion. -
Ram constellation near moon tonight
Saturday, January 7, 2006
Looking Southwest at Nightfall
A couple of hours after sunset, if you're looking in a dark enough sky, you can spot the tiny constellation Aries the Ram. You'll find this constellation in the southwest in early evening. Aries isn't conspicuous -- but tonight the Ram will reside by two great celestial markers -- the moon and the bright red planet Mars. We see it as three stars. Hamal and Sheratan are of medium-brightness and so will be the easiest stars to view. Sheratan marked the location of the vernal equinox about 2,000 years ago.