The Sky This Week, 2013 July 2 – 9 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Earth passes aphelion, its most distant point from the Sun, on the 5th at 10:44 am EDT. At this time we’ll be 152,097,413 kilometers (94,508,951 miles) from Old Sol. Since we’re at our most distant from the day-star we’re moving at our slowest orbital velocity for the year. This causes the Northern Hemisphere summer season to last a bit longer than the other three. That may be a small consolation to think about once we’re in the grip of winter!

The Sky This Week, 2013 July 2 – 9 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The Sky This Week, 2013 June 25 – July 2 — Naval Oceanography Portal

We are now currently experiencing the latest sunsets of the year for mid-northern latitudes. … By the week’s end [the sun] will start to slowly drift south along the horizon, setting at 8:37 pm on July 2nd. At the same time sunrise is beginning to occur a bit later each day, paring three minutes off the total length of day as the week progresses. If you like long summer evenings, though, don’t fret; the Sun won’t set before 8:00 pm until mid-August.

The Sky This Week, 2013 June 25 – July 2 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The Sky This Week, 2013 May 21 – June 4 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Full Moon occurs on the 25th at 12:25 am Eastern Daylight Time [mjh: 10:25pm 5/24 Mountain Time — should be about as big both nights].

The Sky This Week, 2013 May 21 – June 4 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The Sky This Week, 2013 April 23 – 30 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Full Moon occurs on the 25th at 3:57 pm Eastern Daylight Time. April’s Full Moon is popularly known as the Grass Moon, Fish Moon, Growing Moon, or Pink Moon among various cultures.

This month’s Full Moon is characterized by a very small partial lunar eclipse which will be visible throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. At its maximum just over one percent of the Moon’s disc will be covered by Earth’s umbral shadow. This is the final umbral eclipse in saros number 112, which began in the year 859 and will end in the year 2139. [mjh: That sentence blows my mind.]

The Sky This Week, 2013 April 23 – 30 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Get out. Look up. Howl.

Remember the moon will probably look full on rising 3/26 & 3/27. Don’t forget early morning near sunrise is another good time to view and photograph the moon. peace, mjh

The Sky This Week, 2013 March 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Full Moon occurs on the 27th at 5:27 am Eastern Daylight Time. In popular folklore this Full Moon goes by a variety of names since it occurs close to the time of the vernal equinox. Among the more common appellations are the Crow Moon, Sugar Moon, Sap Moon, Worm Moon, and Lenten Moon. In the Judeo-Christian faiths this is the Paschal Moon, which fixes the dates of two of the most important dates in religious calendars, Passover and Easter.

The Sky This Week, 2013 March 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The Sky This Week, 2013 February 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The Moon brightens the overnight hours this week as she waxes to Full Moon on the 25th at 3:26 pm Eastern Standard Time. February’s Full Moon is popularly known as the Snow Moon or Hunger Moon since it occurs at a time when winter exercises its strongest grip. Luna begins the week high above the head of Orion, the Hunter. On the evening of the 20th she perches between the "feet" of the Gemini twins. On the night of the 24th she rises with the bright star Regulus in Leo, the Lion, and remains within a few degrees of the star all night long.

The Sky This Week, 2013 February 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The Sky This Week, 2013 February 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

If you missed sighting the planet Mercury at dusk over the past several evenings, you still have a chance early this week. Mercury passed greatest elongation on the 16th and now seems to "hover" about 10 degrees above the western horizon about half an hour after sunset. Unfortunately he begins to fade quite rapidly as he begins his plunge back toward the Sun, so you’ll need binoculars and very clear skies to sight him after the 22nd. By the end of the week he will still be fairly high in evening twilight, but he will have faded to second magnitude and will be lost in the sunset glow. You’ll get another chance to see him near the end of May, however, when he returns to the evening sky with Venus and Jupiter in tow.

The Sky This Week, 2013 February 19 – 26 — Naval Oceanography Portal

I love the notion highlighted below. Same could be said of so much in any culture. peace, mjh

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 29 – February 5 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Groundhog Day. This is one of the traditional mid-season markers known as “cross-quarter” days that we still unwittingly celebrate, although most of us have no idea why. Loosely tied to a pagan festival called Imbolc, the day was brought to the U.S. by German immigrants who adopted the winter habits of the groundhog to those of their traditional old-world badger. As the mid-point of the season of winter, it does indeed mark the six-week interval leading to spring. Traditionally, if the groundhog sees his shadow, those six weeks will be cold and blustery.

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 29 – February 5 — Naval Oceanography Portal

A-OOoooooo! Follow the link to read about Orion in myth.

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 22 – 29 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The year’s first Full Moon falls on the 26th at 11:38 pm Eastern Standard Time. January’s Full Moon is popularly known as the Wolf Moon or Ice Moon. One popular Algonquian name that I particularly like is the “Frost in the Tepee” Moon.

The Sky This Week, 2013 January 22 – 29 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Sky Show: Jupiter and Moon in Super Close Pairing – News Watch

Two of the brightest objects in the night sky head towards a close encounter on Monday night. The sky show begins after local nightfall on the 21st when the waxing gibbous moon snuggles up to brilliant white Jupiter in the southeast. This closeness is of course just an illusion – they are in reality separate by hundreds of millions of kilometers. …

If you miss this alignment, the next time Jupiter and the Moon will pass close to each other will be on March 17 but won’t appear to North Americans quite as close as this one. On August 2016 when the pair will appear even closer in North American skies.

Sky Show: Jupiter and Moon in Super Close Pairing – News Watch

In particular, two comets, one in mid-March, one in November-December (possibly brighter than the moon).

2013 Stargazing Events: Comets, Eclipses, & Meteor Showers Not To Miss In New Year By: Joe Rao Published: 12/28/2012 12:18 PM EST on SPACE.com

In general, 2013 promises an action-packed 12 months for stargazers. Hopefully, your local weather will cooperate on most, if not all of these dates. The following list below includes some of the most promising night sky events of the upcoming year!

2013 Stargazing Events: Comets, Eclipses, & Meteor Showers Not To Miss In New Year

The Sky This Week, 2012 December 26 – 2013 January 2 — Naval Oceanography Portal

The last Full Moon of 2012 falls on the 28th at 5:21 am Eastern Standard Time. December’s Full Moon is variously known as the Cold Moon, Ice Moon, or Long Night Moon. The latter is particularly appropriate as we are just beginning to enter the time when the nights gradually begin to shorten after the winter solstice. Fortunately, Luna serves as our night-long companion to shed her pale light on the winter landscape as she reaches her highest declination for the year. On the evening of the 26th look for the Moon between the stars that mark the “horns” of Taurus, the Bull. By New Year’s Eve she has drifted to the east, rising just before Regulus, lead star of Leo, the Lion.

If you’ve been paying attention to the times of local sunset over the past week or two you will have noticed that the time of sunset has been gradually getting later. Our earliest sunsets occurred back on December 7, and by New Year’s Eve Old Sol will dip below the horizon some 10 minutes later than he did back then. However, the total length of day is still just one minute longer than it was at the solstice as the week begins, so what’s going on? The answer lies in noting the time of the latest sunrise, which is still getting later each morning and will continue to do so until January 4th. Once we’ve passed this marker the darkest days of the year will truly be behind us.

The Sky This Week, 2012 December 26 – 2013 January 2 — Naval Oceanography Portal

Last full moon of 2012 rises Friday – Technology & science – Space – Space.com | NBC News

By Geoff Gaherty  updated 12/26/2012

The last full moon of 2012 will rise into the night sky this week in a year-ending lunar treat.

The full moon is actually an instantaneous event when the moon is exactly opposite the sun in the Earth’s sky, and this month that occurs on Friday morning, Dec. 28, at 5:21 a.m. EST (1021 GMT). But, to the naked eye, the moon “looks” full for a couple of days on either side of that time, so the exact date doesn’t matter

Last full moon of 2012 rises Friday – Technology & science – Space – Space.com | NBC News

Astronomy Picture of the Day

2012 December 18

A Sun Pillar Over Sweden Image Credit & Copyright: Göran Strand

Explanation: Have you ever seen a sun pillar? When the air is cold and the Sun is rising or setting, falling ice crystals can reflect sunlight and create an unusual column of light. Ice sometimes forms flat, six-sided shaped crystals as it falls from high-level clouds. Air resistance causes these crystals to lie nearly flat much of the time as they flutter to the ground. Sunlight reflects off crystals that are properly aligned, creating the sun-pillar effect. In the above picture taken last week, a sun-pillar reflects light from a Sun setting over Östersund, Sweden.

Astronomy Picture of the Day