Archive - Events 2006 Asteroid - Vesta Date: 4^th/5^th January 2006 Time: 20.00 UT Description Vesta (asteroid no.4) is moving through Gemini. Its path between Delta Gem and Epsilon Gem is through a region that has few stars so the asteroid at mag 6.5 (increasing to 6.2 on 6^th Jan 06) is a relatively easy target even in binoculars. It will be visible for the next two months. Occultation Date: 25^th/26^th January 2006 Time: 18.50 UT Description Saturn was covering star BY Canci. Early cloud caused us to miss the start, but skies cleared for the reappearance of the star and for the rest of the night. RS Oph Nova Date: 18/19^th February 2006 Time: 05.30 UT Description Recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi had its first outburst on 13^th Feb 2006 since the last 1985. Brightening from mag +11.2 to a maximum of +4.8. Previously the nova has faded slowly, but this time seems to be fading much faster. The gibbous Moon is effecting estimates. It was just visible in binoculars low in the south east. The star lies at RA 17h 50.2m, Dec –6° 43'. Update - 25^th February 2006 Nova has slowed in rate of fade, but is now down to mag 7.7 and reddening. Click on map for photo image Venus & Mercury Date: 20^th February 2006 Description Venus returns as a morning object rising at approx. 05.30 UT. At –4.6 it is incredibly bright low in the south eastern dawn sky. In the evening we have Mercury heading towards greatest elongation. Visible shortly after sunset at mag –0.8 it is easy to find. Comet C2006 A1 - Pojmanski Date: 25^th February 2006 Description Discovered in 2^nd Jan 2006 Comet Pojmanski (C/2006 A1) has been in the Southern Hemisphere for a few weeks – now it has finally heading north. Located in Aquila to west of Venus, at only mag 5.5 in dawn sky you will at least need binoculars to see it. Click on Map to see finder chart. Information will be updated regularly. Note – magnitudes on map are early estimates – actual figures from observation are about 1 mag brighter. Update 3^rd /4^th March 2006 Time: 05.00UT Finally, the comet is now far enough ahead of the dawn to be seen. Easily visible in binoculars it has a bright nucleus and coma. A pencil thin dust tail stretches 1.5 deg to NW. Estimating the brightness is difficult in a light sky, but the +5.5 figures seems close. Update 18^th / 19^th March 2006 Fading to only +7.0 the comet is now circumpolar (i.e. it is above the horizon all night) in Cygnus. The comet is still quite large appearing to as a fuzzy ball with little seen of the tail. Aurora #1 Date: 18^th/19^th March 2006 Description First aurora of 2006. At approx 21.00UT a bright white band 10 deg high 20 deg long appeared on the northern horizon. At approx 21.45UT a broad ray formed on the left side followed by a shorted one on the far left. A very faint red glow appeared over the top occasionally. Activity died away by 22.30UT. No photographs taken. The sun is close to solar minimum with very little sunspot activity, but that does not mean there are no auroras. Solar Eclipse Date: 29^th March 2006 09.53 to 11.13 UT Description With cloudless blue skies we had perfect weather for the eclipse. In our local town of Whithorn we set up our 4" refractor with a suitable white light solar filter and also handed out solar viewers for the public to see the eclipse. At only 19% here it was not quite the same as Turkey or Libya, but it still a good view with 3 small sunspots also visible. Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Date: 19^th April 2006 Description This is a periodic comet with an orbit of 5.5 years. Back in 1995 it broke up into a number of fragments. Now approaching perihelion it is now estimated that the comet has produced upwards of 40 fragments. The brightest is Fragment C this is now well placed between Bootes and Corona Borealis. Our first view was on 19^th April. Estimated at magnitude +8.5 it is brighter than the estimated magnitude. The comet has a bright coma and a tail about 1.5 deg long. Update Date: 24^th April 2006 Four fragments have been accurately located and two of them (Fragment B and C) observed and also imaged. As it comes closer to the Earth Fragment C has increased to magnitude +7.5 and is visible as a faint smudge in binoculars. The overall structure has not changed. Fragment B which is 8 deg to NW has been see to fragment further releasing more material increasing its brightness. Its coma appears elongated as a result and the tail is a broad fan shape. Update Date: 28^th April 2006 Both Fragment B and C (now on the border with Hercules) are virtually the same brightness. The image shows the two brightest fragments leaving Corona Borealis Update Date: 8^th May 2006 Fragment C passed only 3 arcmins from M57 Ring Nebula in Lyra. Although closest approach occurred at 03.30UT which was near dawn we did have a very good view of the comet's rapid movement towards the nebula. The fragment appears to remain unchanged. Now it has passed Earth all the fragments are moving quickly across the night sky and will soon be lost to Northern observers. Update Date: 14^th May 2006 Fragment C remains unchanged as it moves into Pegasus. Despite the full Moon Fragment B approx 12 deg to NE is still bright with a broad fanlike tail and an elongated nucleus. The comet is now lost to the southern hemisphere. Mars and Saturn Conjunction Date: 19^th June 2006 22.30 UT Description Having swept through The Beehive Cluster, Mars has passed Saturn with a separation of less than ½ deg. Lunar Eclipse Date: 7^th September 2006 18.50 UT Description Halloween seemed to arrive nearly two months early. As the full Moon rose above the horizon the top third was missing which with the orange hue made it look like a pumpkin. This unusual sight was caused by the top of the Moon just passing through the umbra of the Earth's shadow. Comet 177P Barnard Date: 17^th September 2006 22.45 UT Description In June 2006 this comet was rediscovered after being lost for 119 years (it was last seen in 1889). Passing from Hercules, we first picked it up as it passed near to The Cat's Eye planetary nebula (NGC 6543). In the 16 inch telescope the comet was quite large, but not nearly as bright as the estimated +9 magnitude might suggest. The comet will slowly fade further over the next month as it moves from Draco through Cepheus into Cassiopeia. Aurora #2 Date: 23^rd/24^th September 2006 21.50 UT Description This aurora came as a complete surprise, starting as a bright patch to the north it soon expanded into a very well defined pale green arc stretching over 100 deg above the horizon. A faint red glow could be seen above the arc for a short time. The arc broadened vertically, fading over the next hour with an occasional hint of beams. With the solar cycle coming out of solar minimum we can look forward to many more aurora over the coming years. Comet C2006/M4 Swan Date: 26^th September 2006 04.45 UT Description Discovered in July 2006 from SOHO / SWAN images, the comet became visible from the Northern Hemisphere in mid September. At a relatively bright mag +8 it was easy to find in 7x50 binoculars against a lightening dawn sky. With our 16 inch scope the comet appears as a round fuzzy ball surrounding a bright star-like nucleus, typical of many small comets. The comet's path passes through Ursa Major into Bootes and then Hercules by the end of October. Click HERE for location map. Update: 16^th/17^th October 2006 Now quite high in the evening sky at the top of Bootes, the comet seems to have reach maximum brightness at +6.00. Photographs are showing a 2 to 3 degree long thin tail. Update: 24^th/25^th October 2006 Comet has moved into Corona Borealis. Due to a sudden outburst the comet is now an easy naked eye object in our dark skies. The night sky was stable and very transparent allowing the tail to be seen in 7x50 binoculars for about 2 deg. In the 16 inch it could be followed for over 3 degrees. Estimated at +4 magnitude we will be watching closely to see it brightens further or fades. Update: 2^nd /3^rd November 2006 Now in Hercules, the comet has faded back to approx. +5.5 so it is just naked eye. Orionid Meteor Shower Date 19^th/20^th October 2006 23.30 UT Description It is usual to wait for the radiant of a meteor shower to rise as high as possible so the most meteors can be seen. However, it is worth looking out earlier in the night. Finishing an observing session with our guests I saw two "Earthgrazer" meteors pass under the Plough. As the radiant was close to the horizon it meant that meteors entering the atmosphere produce trails much longer than normal upwards of 40 degs in the two examples I saw. Update: 20^th/21^st October 2006 Although hazy cloud limited observing with only the brightest stars visible we still managed a total of 24 meteors in a couple of hours. Most of the time only brief bright flashes were seen, the trail of the meteor being too faint to see in the conditions. Update: 22^th/23^st October 2006 While several bright meteors were seen tonight, there seemed to be far fewer than previous nights. It would seem that the shower has ended abruptly as none were seen after midnight. The highlight of the night was one of the last meteors which as it passed over the Plough flared to –3 and disappeared only to explode at mag –5 a moment later.