Fw: May 20 Annular Eclipse Question; someone want to answer her?
--- On Wed, 4/4/12, Michelle & Cherie <mach25@sbcglobal.net> wrote: From: Michelle & Cherie <mach25@sbcglobal.net> Subject: May 20 Annular Eclipse Question To: retenney@yahoo.com Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2012, 4:38 PM Mr. Tenney, I was hoping you might be able to assist me with a question concerning the upcoming annular eclipse on May 20th. I am interested in information concerning St. George as a viewing location for this eclipse. I found an email listing for the Southern Utah Astronomical Society, but got a bounce back from the email I sent, so I was hoping you might be able to help. I have received conflicting reports as far as the suitability of the area for this late afternoon event. I understand the Sun will set at almost the same time as 4th contact, but that the full annularity will be visible approximately an hour before that time. I've spoken to two people at the St. George Chamber of Commerce. The first said St. George is not suitable in that there are numerous ways in which the low Sun would be blocked by surrounding mesas. However the other person told me that it is not a problem to find locations which are easily accessible and up high enough to get a clear horizon. It has been a few years since I was in this area myself, so can't recall for sure from personal experience, but hope that someone associated with astronomy in Utah might be more expert in this sort of question. Any assistance or guidance would be greatly appreciated as we have several eclipse chasers here who would like to come to this area to view this spectacular event. Thank you very much for your time. Michelle Evans
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120405.html One of the best images of the Zodiacal light I've seen...giving Kim Hyatt a run for his money ;-) The gegenschein is plainly visible as well. I've always liked the 'X marks the spot' near M35 in Gemini where the Zodiacal light and the Milky Way cross paths. Dave Bennett
Hi Michelle. First off, here's a graphic showing how maximum eclipse will look from various locations: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/appearance.jpg As you may already know, first you need to position yourself within the path of annularity. This interactive map shows the path: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2012May20Agoogle.html So long as you are between the blue lines you are in the right area. The closer to the red line you are the more centered the Moon will be on the Sun so the red line is where most folks seem to be heading. The trick, as you noted, is to be somewhere where the horizon is low and flat enough to allow you to be able to see annularity. The town of Kanarraville, Utah sits right on I-15 and right on the centerline. They have had their site surveyed and found their horizons will not interfere. Others places in the area like Newcastle are also on the centerline and have good horizons. St. George is within the path, albeit off the centerline a bit. I'm not terribly familiar with the area but I'm guessing there ought to be places where you can get up high enough to have an acceptable horizon. There are small astronomy clubs in both Cedar and St. George. The listings I have for them are here: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/%7Epaw/UTAHCLUBS.HTML Since they are local they will know there area best. Clear skies! patrick On 05 Apr 2012, at 08:54, Richard Tenney wrote:
--- On Wed, 4/4/12, Michelle & Cherie <mach25@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
From: Michelle & Cherie <mach25@sbcglobal.net> Subject: May 20 Annular Eclipse Question To: retenney@yahoo.com Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2012, 4:38 PM
Mr. Tenney,
I was hoping you might be able to assist me with a question concerning the upcoming annular eclipse on May 20th. I am interested in information concerning St. George as a viewing location for this eclipse. I found an email listing for the Southern Utah Astronomical Society, but got a bounce back from the email I sent, so I was hoping you might be able to help.
I have received conflicting reports as far as the suitability of the area for this late afternoon event. I understand the Sun will set at almost the same time as 4th contact, but that the full annularity will be visible approximately an hour before that time. I've spoken to two people at the St. George Chamber of Commerce. The first said St. George is not suitable in that there are numerous ways in which the low Sun would be blocked by surrounding mesas. However the other person told me that it is not a problem to find locations which are easily accessible and up high enough to get a clear horizon.
It has been a few years since I was in this area myself, so can't recall for sure from personal experience, but hope that someone associated with astronomy in Utah might be more expert in this sort of question. Any assistance or guidance would be greatly appreciated as we have several eclipse chasers here who would like to come to this area to view this spectacular event.
Thank you very much for your time.
Michelle Evans _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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Keep looking up! :) -Barrett Skywatchers are in for a treat in late April: An annual meteor shower will peak when the moon's absence leaves the night sky dark and great for viewing. The Lyrid meteor shower peaks overnight from April 21 to April 22, with the best observing coming between midnight and dawn on the 22nd local time, experts say. The moon will be new at this time, so the Lyrids' bright flashes won't be drowned out by the glare of Earth's nearest neighbor. The Lyrids will be visible all over the world. NASA officials estimate a maximum meteor rate of about 15 per hour, but the number could be higher or lower than this. The Lyrids are quite unpredictable, with maximum rates ranging from 10 to 100 meteors per hour over the years. Meteor showers are generated when Earth plows through streams of debris shed by periodic comets on their path around the sun. The chunks of debris die a fiery death in our planet's atmosphere, leaving bright streaks in the sky to commemorate their passing. The debris trails that spawn the Lyrids were sloughed by a comet known as C/1861 G1 Thatcher. The Lyrids, so named because they appear to originate from the constellation Lyra (The Lyre), have been observed in the night sky during mid-April for at least 2,500 years, NASA scientists say. In case cloudy skies hinder your viewing opportunities on the night of April 21 - or if you just want to augment your skywatching experience - NASA will host a live chat with meteor experts from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. EDT. Meteor experts Bill Cooke, Danielle Moser and Rhiannon Blaauw, all of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will stay up late to answer your questions, and a live feed from NASA meteor cameras will show the Lyrid shower as it happens. To participate in the chat and watch the streaming video, go to this site at the appropriate time: http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/lyrids2012_chat.html
participants (4)
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Barrett -
David Bennett -
Patrick Wiggins -
Richard Tenney