Bino Solar System Observers

1.  SUN: Sunrise, Sunset Azimuth Positions (B)
     (not attempted)

The Sun does not follow the same path across the sky every day. In the summer at northern latitudes, the Sun is high at midday, and in the winter, it is low in the southern sky. By observing the relative positions of the Sun at dawn or dusk, one can establish that the Sun does indeed shift along the horizon. Note where the Sun sets or rises once a week for at least four weeks in the spring or fall and for 6 to 8 weeks in the summer or winter. Be certain to observe from the same position each time. Note the time, day, month and year of each observation. At what season is the shift most noticeable?

4 MOON: Maria (B)
(done-3/20) 

A naked eye or binocular view of the Moon shows two distinct types of lunar surface material, the maria and the highland areas. Both areas have their own visual characteristics. The highland material reflects light to a greater degree and appears very rough in character. The various mare areas are much darker and appear smoother. Before the telescope, these dark areas were speculated to be bodies of water, hence their name mare which is sea in Latin. Observe these "seas" or maria with your telescope. What evidence do you find that these are not bodies of water? If you are interested in further study of the moon, check into the AL’s Lunar Program and the Lunar II Program.

Note: Lunar Program completed 6/14/2012 and Lunar II Program submitted on 10/15/2015. Lunar images below were taken as part of the Lunar II Program.

9 MOON: Lunar Eclipse (B)
(done-6/25)

Lunar eclipses happen twice a year and occur when at least some part of the moon moves into at least part of the Earth’s shadow. They occur only when the moon is in full phase. The types of lunar eclipse sand their meanings are:

• Penumbral Eclipse – The moon only slightly darkens. From anywhere on the moon you would see the Earth partially cover up the Sun.
• Partial Eclipse – Part of the moon becomes very dark, part of it remains bright. If you were on the moon in the darkened part, you would see the Sun completely covered by the Earth. From the bright part of the moon, the Earth would cover only part of the Sun.
• Total Eclipse – The entire moon becomes dark. From anywhere on the moon, the Earth would completely cover the Sun. Lunar eclipses can be rated as to how dark they really get. The ratings are the Danjon Scale. • L0 – Very dark: Moon is almost invisible, especially at mid-totality.
• L1 – Dark: Moon is dark gray or brownish, very hard to see details.
• L2 – Deep red of rust, dark center, edge is brighter.
• L3 – Brick red, rim is brighter and yellowish.
• L4 – Bright copper-red or orange, rim is bright and bluish.

Observe a lunar eclipse. Note the exact dates and times of:
start of partial eclipse, start of total eclipse, end of total eclipse, and end of partial eclipse. Also include your estimate of the rating from the Danjon Scale if it is a total eclipse

10 MERCURY (B)
(done-7/20) 

As an inner planet (closer to the Sun than the Earth), appearances of Mercury are fleeting, best seen just after sunset or just before sunrise. In compensation, this elusive planet can be seen, although sometimes with difficulty, several times a year. Mercury is never visible to the naked eye more than 28° above the horizon. Observations must therefore be accomplished during twilight, when Mercury is at or near its highest elevation for that particular apparition, or appearance. The result is we must observe through the thicker portion of Earth's atmosphere. For our purposes it will be sufficient just to locate this "Messenger of the Gods" on two different neighboring apparitions. Once in the morning sky and once in the evening sky. It may appear as a pinkish star-like object. Finding this elusive planet is its own reward. Watch for charts published in your favorite observing periodical. A pair of binoculars can be most helpful for the twilight observations, but you must wait until the Sun has sunk fully below the horizon. Record the time and date of the observations and the approximate azimuth (270°, 300°, etc.) and altitude (20°, 15°, etc.).

11 VENUS: Low Power Crescent (B)
(done-8/20) 

Earth's "sister planet" will show its crescent phase in a high quality binocular that is held perfectly still. You might try mounting it on a tripod. Consult the astronomy periodicals if you are unsure when or where to look. This observation will have to be accomplished when Venus is nearer the Earth and in its crescent phase. Galileo's observations of this the brightest of the planets provided crucial evidence for the triumph of the Copernican Sun-centered solar system. Since Venus exhibited phases it had to revolve around the Sun instead of the Earth. Can you repeat his observations? View before the sky gets too dark or Venus' brightness may obscure her phase.

12 VENUS: Daytime Observation  (B)
(done-9/20)

With a polar aligned telescope equipped with setting circles and a low power eyepiece, Venus can be readily observed during the day. Observing during the day can be a decided advantage. The planet's brightness will be subdued enough to not dazzle the eye. The planet is also high in the sky away from the denser portion of Earth's atmosphere. CHOOSE THIS PROJECT ONLY IF YOU HAVE A TELESCOPE PROPERLY POLAR ALIGNED AND CAPABLE OF LOCATING THE PLANET WITHOUT ENDANGERING EITHER THE INSTRUMENT OR YOURSELF - USE EXTREME CAUTION - EYE DAMAGE COULD RESULT.

In your favorite astronomy periodical note the right ascension and declination of the Sun and Venus. Center the Sun in your telescope by projecting the image onto a screen or the ground. Set your setting circles to that of the Sun and turn on your drive. Now offset the appropriate amounts to arrive at the coordinates for Venus. (Make sure your focus is correct, an out-of-focus planet may be impossible to see.) You should be able to see Venus in your finder scope. An orange filter in your main eyepiece will help increase image contrast. Describe your experience.

13 VENUS: Phases  (B)
(done - 10/20)

Like the Moon, Venus goes through phases. At Venus' brightest, about magnitude -4, it will be a thin crescent in your telescope. At its faintest the entire disk will be lit. This seeming contradiction is due to the fact that the thin crescent phase happens when our sister world is nearest us. The full phase happens when she is farthest away beyond the Sun. Try to watch Venus over about a two month period, making sketches. This will give you size and phase changes over about one forth of its orbit of 224.7 days. Keep them all at the same scale and always use the same eyepiece so you can get a feel for the changes in Venus' apparent diameter. Try to make them about a week apart. Viewing while the sky is still light will help cut down glare from the planet's brilliance and also help to eliminate atmospheric distortion because the planet will be higher in the sky. If the sky is still very light an orange filter will increase the contrast between Venus and the blue background and will also cut down Venus' glare.

Note the day/date/time and seeing conditions under each sketch on an 8-1/2X11 sheet of paper.

15 MARS: Retrograde Motion (not attempted)

Early naked eye observers had a problem. The planet Mars, slowly drifting west to east from night to night, when seen against the background stars, would once a year act very strangely. As Mars approached opposition it would suddenly slow down, reverse itself, drift westward for a while (retrograde motion), before again reversing to assume its normal (prograde) eastward motion. We now know that this is an illusion caused by the motion of the Earth catching up to and passing the slower Red Planet, causing Mars to appear to be moving backward. You are to plot the apparent motion of Mars through this regrograde loop. Determine what constellation Mars will be in at the time of opposition. This can be done by consulting the astronomy periodicals. Make a copy of that area out of a star atlas. For example, Will Tirion's Star Atlas 2000.0. Then watch Mars beginning about a month before opposition until a month after opposition. Plot the planet's daily position on your copy by comparing its position to the fixed stars of the constellation. After these two months you should be able to trace out Mars' retrograde motion. Fortunately for us, the Copernican Revolution solved nicely the odd behavior of Mars, and also the behavior of Jupiter and Saturn, the other classical outer planets which exhibit a lesser amount of retrograde motion.

Include Copy of Your Map of Mars Retrograde Motion.

16 CERES: Locating (B)
(done - 11/20)

With the IAU’s creating of the new classification of Dwarf Planet, Ceres the Asteroid was promoted to Ceres the dwarf planet. The difference between a dwarf planet and a planet (according to IAU) is that a dwarf planet does not have enough gravity to clear other debris from its neighborhood. Locate and observe Ceres, and sketch the starfield from your observation. Note the time and date of your observation.

21 JUPITER:Galilean Satellites (B)
(done - 13/20)

Ever since Galileo it has been noted that the planet Jupiter and its four brightest and largest satellites form a kind of miniature solar system with a speeded up time scale. This magnification of time scale makes the system specially interesting to those who study potential changes in orbital mechanics. We have observing data on Jupiter's moons going back about 300 years. This consists of the recorded times when a satellite disappeared on entering Jupiter's shadow or reappeared upon exiting from it. Studying this data makes it possible to determine if Jupiter' satellite's orbits, and by inference, planetary orbits, change over periods of time. These eclipses are spectacular phenomena to watch in a small telescope. Since timings require a WWV time signal receiver. For this exercise we will only ask you to sketch the satellite positions on the this page for six consecutive nights identifying each satellite in your sketches. Include a copy of them in your report. As much as possible, try not to skip more that one night between consecutive viewings. The "Jupiter's Moons" chart in the Almanac section of astronomy magazines each month will help you to identify the individual moons.

To show the East-West direction of your sketches show with an arrow the direction of drift in your field-of-view without a drive running.

22 JUPITER: The Cloud Belts  (B)
(done - 14/20) 

The first thing that comes to a person's attention when looking at the disk of the great planet Jupiter are the striated clouds of it's turbulent atmosphere. Fascinating and compelling, even a modest telescope reveals a good amount of detail, but always leaves you yearning for more. Through the years a system of nomenclature has been applied to the alternating dark and light areas called belts and zones, respectively. Coupled with the giants fast rate of spin (Jupiter's bulk rotates once in a little under ten hours) even the casual observer can notice something new. Below is a detailed list of the main cloud bands. Not all are always present all of the time. Jupiter's dynamics are too complicated for that. How many can you see? Make your own sketch and label those parts that seem to match up with the accompanying diagram. Include a copy of your sketch in your report.

Jupiter Nomenclature

Do not worry about a lot of detail. In fact Jupiter rotates so rapidly that features may move if you take too long to work on details. NOTE: Your telescope may show Jupiter inverted.

To show the East-West direction of your sketch show with an arrow the direction of drift in your field-of-view without a drive running.

26 JUPITER: Satellite Eclipses (B)
(done 16/20) 

Eclipses of the Galilean satellites occur as they move into or out of Jupiter’s shadow. This is different than an Occultation (see next requirement). Time the disappearance or reappearance of one of these satellites by using a radio tuned to the WWV National Time Standards signal out of Ft. Collins, Colorado. Then compare it to the time printed in the astronomy periodicals. Note the time when the satellite completely disappears into or reappears from behind Jupiter's shadow. Timing a reappearance is much more difficult since you do not know precisely when or where it will appear. Note the name of the moon that you observed.

32 URANUS: Locating  (B)
(done-19/20)

In 1781 the first non-classical planet was discovered by amateur astronomer William Herschel. The discovery changed Herschel's life forever and was a blow to astrologers who by their "craft" had no inkling that a seventh planet existed. Actually the planet had been seen and charted years before on no fewer than seventeen different occasions. Uranus is visible to the dark adapted naked eye under good skies. But the astronomers simply added it to their charts just like any other sixth magnitude star. It was Herschel who finally had enough resolving power and the observer's eye who could tell it had, in fact, a tiny disk, and was not a simple star-like point. He first suspected the tiny object to be a distant comet and took a series of measurements of its position. It was somewhat later that he realized its true nature.

It is much easier today for you and I. The 3.8 arc-second greenish disk shines at a magnitude of 5.7 and can be readily found using locator charts published in the astronomical periodicals. Give a verbal description your eyepiece impression.

33 NEPTUNE: Locating  (B)
(done--20/20)

Although similar in size and appearance as Uranus, Neptune's distance averages over one billion miles further from the Earth. This great distance makes it's apparent diameter about 2-1/2 arc-seconds, a little over half the size of Uranus.

The 7.6th magnitude bluish dot will probably look stellar, for its tiny disk is near the resolving limit of most amateur telescopes. Consult your favorite astronomy periodical to find out where it is currently located. Write a verbal description of your impression.