Night Sky Almanac 2023: A stargazer’s guide

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This month the constellations Lyra and Cygnus are seen almost overhead as darkness falls with their bright stars Vega, in Lyra, and Deneb, in Cygnus, making up the "summer triangle" of bright stars with Altair in the constellation Aquila below. (see sky chart above) Lyra Apart from ‘explaining’ the retrograde motion of the planets, the epicyclic theory also provided a solution to the apparent changes in the distances of the planets from the Earth.

Night Sky Guide October 2023 | Jodrell Bank Centre Monthly Night Sky Guide October 2023 | Jodrell Bank Centre

The southern sky is dominated by Orion, visible from nearly everywhere in the world and prominent during the northern winter months. For observers near the equator it is, of course, high above near the zenith. Orion is highly distinctive, with a line of three stars that form the ‘Belt’. To most observers, the bright star Betelgeuse (α Orionis), shows a reddish tinge, in contrast to the brilliant bluish-white Rigel (β Orionis). The three stars of the belt lie directly south of the celestial equator. A vertical line of three ‘stars’ forms the ‘Sword’ that hangs south of the Belt. With good viewing, the central ‘star’ appears as a hazy spot, even to the naked eye, and is actually the Orion Nebula (M42). Binoculars reveal the four stars of the Trapezium, which illuminate the nebula. Some carbonaceous chondrites contain very high percentages of water – ‘high’ implying between 3 and 22 per cent. Many show evidence of being considerably altered by the presence of liquid water. The 2023 Night Sky Almanac is now available. The 2023 Night Sky Almanac is the ideal resource for both novice and experienced sky watchers in the United States and Canada, with all the advice, information and data that enthusiasts need to understand and enjoy the wonders of the night sky. Of the 88 constellations, the largest is Hydra with an area of 1303 square degrees. It covers more than 7 hours of right ascension (105° in the sky). It is more than 19 times as large as the smallest, Crux, which has an area of just 68 square degrees. Equuleus (87th), is not much larger with an area of 72 square degrees. Sagitta is the 86th, area 80 square degrees, and Circinus, 85th, with an area of 93 square degrees. None of these four small constellation includes any objects of particular interest. Castor and Pollux in Gemini are near the zenith for observers at 30°N, but for most northern observers the constellation is best seen when facing south. The head of Draco is now higher in the sky and easier to recognize, with its long, straggling ‘body’ curling round Ursa Minor and the Pole. Ursa Major has begun to swing round towards the north, and Cassiopeia is now lower in the western sky.I appreciate the language they use to explain everything and I appreciate how they highlight memorable moments of the planetary calendar and combine this with facts and history about space. I just really appreciate these books when they come out and look forward to adding this purple copy to my collection so far! August 27: Saturn arrives at opposition, its brightest of the year at magnitude +0.4. That’s about as bright as a moderately bright star that you might see in the Big Dipper, and appears a pale yellow. Saturn now rises at sunset and remains outall night. August 28: Venus, having just moved from an evening to a morning star at mid-month, has now brightened to a dazzling magnitude -4.5 and is an eye-catching spectacle at 5:30 AM. (Remember, the lower the magnitude, the brighter thestar.) When the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow (top), a lunar eclipse occurs. When it passes in front of the Sun (below) a solar eclipse occurs. Beyond the Milky Way, Perseus and Cassiopeia, the constellation of Andromeda is beginning to be lost in the northwestern sky.

2023 Night Sky Almanac: A Month-by-Month Guide to North 2023 Night Sky Almanac: A Month-by-Month Guide to North

April from Aprilis (the reason for this one is uncertain, and possibly related to the raising of hogs) The southern meteor shower, the π-Puppids, begins in April. This shower starts to be active on April 15, two days after Last Quarter and lasts until April 28, one day after First Quarter, with maximum on the night of April 23–24 when the Moon is a waxing crescent. The shower was unknown until 1972. The rate seems to be variable, reaching a maximum of about 40 meteors per hour in 1977 and 1983. It is difficult to predict how many meteors will be seen. As with the Lyrids, maximum occurs just after New Moon. The parent comet is believed to be Comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup.

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Yet another factor that affects the visibility of objects is the amount of moonlight in the sky. At Full Moon, it may be very difficult to see some of the fainter stars and objects, and even when the Moon is at a smaller phase it seriously interferes with visibility if it is near the stars or planets in which you are interested. A full lunar calendar is given for each month and may be used to see when nights are likely to be darkest and best for observing. At 21:54 on the evening of 28 February 2021, a brilliant fireball (a bolide) was observed over Gloucestershire. Observations allowed the orbit of the parent body to be determined, showing that the body’s original location was the outer region of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The ‘base’ of the constellation of Cepheus lies on the edge of the stars of the Milky Way, but the red supergiant star Mu (μ) Cephei, called the ‘Garnet Star’ by William Herschel with its striking red colour remains readily visible. The groups of stars, known as the Double Cluster in Perseus (NGC 869 & NGC 884, often known as h and χ Persei), lying between Perseus and Cassiopeia, are well-placed for observation. The second southern shower, the γ-Normids, begins its activity around 25 February 2023 and continues into March, reaching a weak (but very sharp) maximum on March 14–15. Unfortunately, its meteors are difficult to differentiate from sporadics, so are likely to be identified by dedicated meteor observers only. Observing conditions at maximum are not very favourable in 2023, because the Moon is near or at Last Quarter (Days 22 and 23 of the lunation).

NIGHT SKY ALMANAC 2023: A stargazer’s guide - Goodreads

Running south from Orion is the long constellation of Eridanus (the River), which begins near Rigel in Orion and runs far south to end at Achernar (α Eridani). To the south of Orion is the constellation of Canis Major and several other constellations, including the oddly shaped Carina. The line of Orion’s Belt also points southeast in the general direction of Sirius (α Canis Majoris), the brightest star. Almost due south of Sirius lies Canopus (α Carinae), the second brightest star in the sky.For observers slightly farther north, say at 50°N, additional constellations become circumpolar. The most important of these are Perseus, not far from Cassiopeia, and most of which is visible and, farther round, the northern portion of Auriga, with bright Capella (α Aurigae). On the other side of the sky is Deneb, the brightest star in Cygnus, although it is often close to the horizon, especially during the early night during the winter months. Vega (α Lyrae) another of the three stars that form the Summer Triangle is even farther south, often brushing the northern horizon, and only truly circumpolar and clearly seen at any time of the year for observers at 60°N.