Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Wednesday, 10 May 2023 17:00

Monday 15th to Sunday 21st May 2023

How about a daytime astronomy challenge for a change? Between 2 and 3pm on Wednesday 17th a rare Lunar occultation of Jupiter occurs when the gas giant planet is obscured from our view by the Moon. Well at least it would be if you lived in the north of the country! From southern latitudes like down here in Somerset, the pair will just appear to get very close together.

But hang on.....it will be daylight! The Moon will be visible to the naked eye towards the south west, but quite hard to see as it will only be a thin 7%-lit waning crescent shape. Spotting Jupiter to the left of the Moon will require binoculars or a telescope, but there is an inherent danger in doing this as the Sun will only be a few degrees to the left of them and you must never catch even a brief glimpse of the Sun in an optical instrument. Because binoculars and telescopes collect light and then magnify it, accidentally doing this with the Sun would cause instant and permanent blindness.

So how can it be done safely? Either stand behind the wall of your house with your binoculars or set-up your tripod behind a fence so that you are in the shadow of the Sun, but have a clear view to the right of it. That way, if you point towards the Sun by mistake, you will only be looking at a blank wall. I cannot stress enough how important this safety measure will be!

There is one good opportunity so spot the International Space Station next week on Tuesday 16th at 12.13am when the ISS will appear in the west and spend six minutes passing almost directly overhead before disappearing towards the east.

Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2023
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