Ozark Skies Astronomy Club

Ozark Skies Astronomy Club Sharing the night sky... Ozark Skies Astronomy Club is an association of stargazers with varying levels of experience.

We share our love of the night sky by observing together as a club and hosting public presentations. Anyone, regardless of experience or age, is welcome to join us and membership is free. No astronomical equipment is required, as club members who own telescopes are happy to share with all.

12/09/2014

GEMINIDS THIS WEEKEND

Be looking up after dark on the nights of Dec. 13 – 14 to catch the Geminid Meteor Shower, considered one of the more reliable showers of the year.

If weather permits, observers could see as many as 100 fiery streaks per hour at the shower’s peak, though observed numbers will likely be less.

Meteor showers take their name from the portion of the sky from which they seem to originate, known as their radiant. The Geminids’ radiant is —you guessed it— the constellation Gemini, which will rise in the east around nightfall this weekend. The higher the radiant climbs in the sky, the more easily meteors can be seen.

Moonrise —bad news for skywatching— will occur shortly before midnight, so viewing will be best in the earlier evening hours.

10/22/2014

SOLAR ECLIPSE THURSDAY!

Sol rules the sky, but Luna will have something to say about that this Thursday, October 23rd. The Moon will pass in front of the Sun's face beginning at 4:44 local time.

The event will be a partial eclipse, with just over 36% of the Sun being obscured by the lunar disc. Maximum occultation will occur at 5:49 from our location, and the event will still be winding down into the sunset at 6:17.

Do NOT look directly at the Sun without a safe filter, such as a #13 or higher welder's glass. If that's not an option for you, a piece of cardboard with a pinhole in it can be used to project an image on a white card.

Weather willing, OSAC will have scopes set up for safe viewing on Skyline Drive's Sunset Overlook, located off Hwy 103 on the way to Big Spring. Everyone is welcome to stop by!

10/17/2014

ORIONID METEORS

Monday night and Tuesday morning, October 20-21 will be the peak of the Orionid meteor shower. Currently the weather forecast is good and a slim crescent Moon won't interfere with the viewing.

Reports are that an average of 25 meteors per hour are possible. Keep in mind that the night of the 20th-21st is just the peak of the shower: bolides may be seen a few days before and after this date, so if you're outside after dark, be looking up!

The Orionids are particles left in the orbit of Comet Halley.

MOON-EYEDAbby VW eyes the October 8 lunar eclipse through astronomical binoculars.
10/08/2014

MOON-EYED

Abby VW eyes the October 8 lunar eclipse through astronomical binoculars.

09/26/2014

HUNTER'S MOON ECLIPSE

The early morning of Wednesday, October 8 will see a total lunar eclipse of what is known as the "Hunter's Moon". This is the first full moon after September 8th's Harvest Moon.

The eclipse will last around 3 hours 20 minutes altogether, beginning at 4:15 a.m. CDT. Look for a shadow to become visible on the eastern, or "left" side of the Moon. Totality starts at 5:25 and will last until 6:24, after which the remaining partial eclipse will wind down into the sunrise at 7:03 a.m.

A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon's orbit carries it into Earth's shadow. In another way of looking at it, the Earth is precisely between the Moon and the Sun during a lunar eclipse.

If you have a telescope or powerful binoculars, try spotting the "star" about 1 1/2 Moon widths below and to the east of Luna. That's the planet Uranus!

09/22/2014

AUTUMN BEGINS!

The Autumnal Equinox of Monday, September 22nd marks the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere, the precise moment taking place at 9:29 p.m. local time. (The last posting of Fall beginning on the 23rd was a typo- sorry!)

Our hours of daylight will now become less than the hours of night, with the darkness stretching out until the Winter Solstice of December 21st, the longest night of the year.

The night sky marks the changing of the seasons just as surely as the cooler evenings. In the east, the Great Square of Pegasus is now visible climbing to the zenith, and in the northeast the "W" shape of Cassiopeiae is well clear of the horizon.

Mars and Saturn have ruled the summer skies, but they are now chasing the sunset. Look east in the mornings for bright Jupiter, whose time at center stage is coming.

09/08/2014

HARVEST MOON

Look due east at sunset tonight, Sept. 8, to catch the rising Harvest Moon. Luna will be precisely full at 7:38 p.m. Central Time.

Sometimes occurring in October, the so-called Harvest Moon is that full Moon nearest to the Fall Equinox on September 23.

"Equinox" is Latin for "equal night" and marks the point in Earth's orbit around the Sun when its tilt is perpendicular to the orbital plane.

This precise moment will occur at 9:29 p.m. on the 23rd, after which our nights will stretch longer than our days. This will reach a maximum on the Winter Solstice of December 21st, the longest night of the year.

09/02/2014

MARS AND SATURN IN THE EVENING

Look southwest in the early evenings of September to see two bright wanderers: golden ringed Saturn and Mars, the Red Planet.

Left of the planets is a large, reddish star. That's Antares, the "heart of the scorpion" in the constellation Scorpius. Its name means "rival of Mars" due to its color.

Antares is also interesting in that it's a dying star, bloating up hugely as it nears the end of its life. It is so large that, if it were in the place of the Sun, its gaseous envelope would extend past the orbit of Mars.

Earth and the Red Planet would be inside the star!

08/15/2014

VENUS AND JUPITER IN THE MORNING

Look east before sunrise on Monday, August 18 for a remarkable planetary pairing. The two brightest planets -Venus and Jupiter- will have their closest conjunction in 14 years.

An hour before dawn should be early enough, and bring your binoculars along. Jupiter, though actually much larger than Venus, will appear dimmer as it is seven times farther from the Sun.

A telescope should show both planets in the same field of view, always an amazing sight.

You might also glimpse a grouping of stars to the planets' left: that will be M44, the Beehive Cluster in the constellation Cancer.

07/16/2014

SOUTHERN DELTA AQUARIDS

The pre-dawn hours of July 29-30 will see the peak of the Southern Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower. Unlike the upcoming Perseids, the Moon won't interfere with the show.

Look to the south, about halfway up in the sky to spot any fiery streaks; as their name indicates, the meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Aquarius.

And yes, there is a Northern Delta Aquarid shower; it will peak on August 13. Both showers are spawned by dust in the orbit of comet 96P/Machholz; particles will be slamming into the Earth's atmosphere at 90,000 mph!

07/10/2014

SUMMER MOON SHOWERS

This month's full moon will parade the night sky on Saturday, July 12. Lunar lore offers interesting names for the event, and it is known variously as the Hay Moon, Antler Moon, or Thunder Moon. Picture a buck in his velvet antlers by a hay bale in a rainstorm and you've pretty much got the seasonal idea.

The night will also begin the one-month countdown to the Perseid Meteor Shower, which peaks this year on August 12. The Perseids are one of the most reliable showers of the year, but there's a catch: If you do the math you'll notice that a month means another full moon!

The Perseid's peak will occur just two nights past the full August moon which, incidentally, will be the "supermoon" for 2014, the largest full moon of the year. The waning light from Luna will make it a bit harder to see some of the fainter meteors.

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Van Buren, MO
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