Astronomical Society of Eastern Missouri

   Mid winter brings us the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. In  Florida and in the southwestern states the second brightest star Canopus at - 0.74 magnitude is also visible, in some cases briefly.  Canopus which would be in mid sky below the equator was called the coyote star by the Hopi and Navajo Indians.  Both of these Indian nations have similar legend about Canopus, along with their cousins the Apache and the Pueblo Indians.  According to legend Black God had arranged the stars into constellations when coyote grabbed his pouch of stars and blew the remaining stars into the sky. One star he placed in the sky to the far south calling it "monthless."  To see it,  you must know when and the time it will appear.   It is thought the Navajo, who were the furthest north, climbed high onto the mountains to see it.  

   To calculate what stars are visible from your location subtract  your latitude from 90 degrees.  For example if you subtract  38 degrees from 90 degrees you will get 52 degrees .  Any star in the northern sky with a declination greater than 52 degrees will never set .   Any star to the south with a declination greater than 52 degrees will never rise.     

   Feb. 02  Ground hog day and full Moon at 11:45 AM. C.S.T.     

                   The Moon  passes 0.9deg north of Saturn, 5 PM. C.S.T.       

  Feb. 03    The Moon passes 1.1 degree north of  Regulus, 8 AM C.S.T.

  Feb. 11   The Moon passes 0.7  degrees south of Antares, 4 PM. C.S.T.

  Feb. 12   The Moon passes 6 degrees south of Jupiter, 4 AM. C.S.T.

  Feb. 14  The Moon passes 4 degrees south of Mars, 7 PM. C.S.T.

  Mar.  03  Full Moon occurs at 5:17 PM C.S.T.,  a total lunar eclipse.                                                                                                                                                                                        

The Regular meeting starts at 7:00 pm:

• Review of Astronomical Image processing fundamentals
• Review of a particular AIP program (TBD)
  
• open discussion

Call Jim Roe at 636-358-8414 for more information.

Driving directions: The Weldon Spring Interpretive Center is located in southwestern St. Charles County, Missouri, approximately 35 miles west of St. Louis. It is located on Missouri State Route 94, 2 miles south of the Route 94 and U.S. Highway 40/61 junction.

The 10.5 magnitude asteroid 372 Palma passed directly in front of the magnitude 6.2 star 32 Lyncis as viewed from a broad swath that reached all across the the U.S., but more particularly across the northern regions of Missouri.  Scientific value can be gained by observing such an occultation and timing precisely when it begins and ends.  By combining observations from many observers scattered across and along the path of the shadow, the orbit of the asteroid can be refined and an estimate of the size and shape of the asteroid can be made.  In this particular case, the event was predicted to occur about 09:45 UT on January 26, 2007 (3:35 am CST). 

Wayne and Nancy Clark, Yvonne and I traveled north from Wentzville, Missouri to LaGrange, Missouri where we observed the event and got timings.  Our geographical location was 40 02.679 N and 91 30.124 W and 611 ft elevation as determined by two different GPS receivers.  It was 22 deg F. at the time of the observations.  The occultation lasted just over 13 seconds beginning at 09:45:5.04 and ending at 09:45:18.27 as determined by measuring audio signals against a background of WWV time signals.

Comet McNaught C/2006 P1 




 Sony DSC-075, 1/9/2007 5:44pm, f/3.5, 21mmFL, 1.3sec @ ISO 100  

This is a 2002-vintage 3.3mp camera, and yet it still delivered a decent shot of McNaught!

Jim Twellman