Louisville Astronomical Society

FYI. This is NOT the official Louisville Astronomical Society (LAS) Facebook group page. This particular group channel may have been made by a former president of the LAS.

EarthSky's 2021 meteor shower guide EarthSky's meteor shower guide features dates and times for meteor-watching in 2021. Coming up, Delta Aquariids and Perseids.

How to find and observe M31 (TOTS#1) Not sure where to observe next with a small telescope? The Telescopes On The Sky tutorials by Eyes on the Sky provide you a step-by-step process to find some of the very best AND easiest-to-find deep sky objects in the night sky. Here, learn how to find and best observe the closest spiral galaxy to....

https://idsw.darksky.org/activities/dark-sky-friendly-home/

Dark Sky Friendly Home lighting Program | International Dark Sky Week 2020 Dark Sky Friendly Home lighting Program Is your home nature, neighbor, and night sky friendly? Follow the steps below to find out. Most people will find that a few simple changes can lead to home lighting that is both beautiful and functional, without contributing excessive light pollution. Four Ste...

If you go out and observe the moon, you will see a double star next to it. c Vir. Not all that often that you can see a bright star right next to a full moon.

Sun is finally having some activity again.

Reminder: LAS Monthly Meeting
Location: UAC-Urban Astronomy Center
Date: Fri, January 17, 2020 8:00 PM EST

This month the LAS will be meeting for a presentation from Don Spain about transient lunar phenomena.

SPECIAL OBSERVATION ALERT

SpaceX launched 60 satellites on January 6. They will be be VERY visible in the evening sky two days this week before the orbits begin to rise up to their operational orbits. The first pass will be January 15, the second January 16 at roughly 6:45PM in the evening. Each pass will be as bright as the stars in Orion's Belt. You should see a string of "stars" drift across the sky. The peak altitude above the horizon will be 50°! Looking at the long range weather forecasts, one of these days should be clear.

Relevant links are below. Follow this page and the LAS group for updates on visibility. This is not to be missed!

https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=71066&lat=38.2527&lng=-85.7585&loc=Louisville&alt=0&tz=EST

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=38.2527&lng=-85.7585&loc=Louisville&alt=0&tz=EST&satid=71066&mjd=58863.9897236023&type=V

https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=38.2527&lng=-85.7585&loc=Louisville&alt=0&tz=EST&satid=71066&mjd=58864.991835848&type=V

Space Station Alert!

ISS Detector, link below, is predicting a fantastic Space Station Pass over the Louisville Metro area... and the weather reports are showing clear skies!

Details: Tuesday, January 7 starting roughly 7:24AM. ending roughly 7:31AM

The space station will be the brightest object in the sky as it passes nearly overhead, reaching a brightness comparable to Venus in the evening sky! The station will appear on the north-west horizon, move nearly overhead, then sink into the earth's shadow to the southeast.

While you are out in the early morning, check out the red 'star' that is not twinkling near where the ISS starts to fade away; that is Mars. Near Mars, 10° lower towards the horizon, is the bright red star Antares, or "rival of Mars." Ten degrees in the sky is roughly your fist held at arm's length. Antares is a bright red supergiant star, and will twinkle. If the weather in the morning cooperates, watch as Mars rushes through the constellation of Scorpion the Scorpion. By January 20-22 Mars will be less than 5° away from Antares.

And don't forget that the LAS will host an event on January 10 Using Your Telescope @ Rauch Planetarium for those of you that received telescopes for Christmas!

https://www.issdetector.com/

If you want to sign up for alerts directly from NASA, go here: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ALERT!

Brrr it is COLD out there! But, it is also CLEAR! And we have an Awesome ISS (Space Station) pass over the Kentuckiana area this evening!

Look to the north-west at about 5:50PM Eastern Standard Time. A light that looks like the planet Venus will start to move, slowly at first, to the north. This moving light is the International Space Station with six people on board! Point 10x50 binoculars at this light and you may be able to see that this light is square. Those with great vision, or 20x80 binoculars, or who are quick with a telescope, will see a letter "H" with gold colored arms. The Station will peak roughly 65° above the northern horizon before starting to sink into the eastern horizon. watch as the station starts to get dimmer as it moves into the earth's shadow.

This pass is predicted to last over six and a half minutes!

Bundle up, enjoy the nearly full moon and stay warm.

The December "In The Sky" is now live! This month I focus on a small, interesting area in the constellation Ta**us. and don't forget that that LAS has several events scheduled this month before our outreach efforts take a break in January!

http://www.lfpl.org/telescopes.htm

November in the Sky | Telescopes at Louisville Free Public Library