Astronomy Minute for July 6, 2009

Well, as long as the moon is full today and it is we might as well talk about it. As you probably have noticed the full moon rises right at sunset. That’s why it’s full. What you may not have noticed is that the summer moon follows the path of the winter sun through the sky. The sun rises in the north east this time of year and takes a high path through the sky. That’s why it’s summer. The moon on the other hand rises in the south east and takes a low southerly path through the night sky. Why? Take a look at the diagram. The earth, moon and sun are nearly in the same plane so while we are tipped inward toward the sun in the summer we are then naturally tipped away from the full moon in the summer. Just the reverse of what happens in the winter.

ON July 10, Friday, the moon will be accompanied by Jupiter through the night sky. They rise together around 10 PM.

Also moon related, the Lunar Reconisance Orbiter is now sending back pictures of the lunar surface as promised. These are of a clarity and detail not available last time we were there. Ultimately the orbiter will map the entire lunar surface and when it goes into its lower orbit be able to image objects as small as a few feet across. Yes, we will finally see all the debris we left up there and yes it is all on the side of the moon facing us. You can see the early pics at www.nasa.gov and follow the link to LRO.

By the way if you are one of the few still thinking we did not go to the moon you are in a group of 3% of the population. Disappointingly that number briefly jumped to 20% after Fox TV (known for their accuracy and commitment to sensational journalism) had a special on this old and boring conspiracy theory. So if you think TV can’t mold public opinion think again! For a good website that de-bunks all the popular myths that “prove” we didn’t go just check this out. I'm guessing Fox's next special will be about JFK and Elvis and their love nest in Boliva! Of course you can't really argue with a conspiracy buff. No matter what you show them they can just enlarge the conspiracy to include the falsifcation of that data as well. But, like my uncle Hank used to say, "Never try to teach a pig to sing. You frustrate yourself and you annoy the pig!

Lastly we have a chance to catch a glimpse of the international space station. I say a glimpse because this baby is really cranking - orbiting the earth every 90 minutes. There are two chances this week in Grenada but I’m not sure it will be dark enough for either but you might give it a try. The first is Tuesday at 6:31 pm. Satellite will appear in the SW about 18 degrees above the horizon and then disappear in the NNE 11 degrees above the horizon. If you can see it, it will be up there for 5 minutes. The second will be on Wednesday. It appears later so it will be darker but it will also be lower and visible for a shorter time. Look in the WNW at 6:56 disappearing 2 minutes later in the NNW.

Sky and Telescope has a very nice satellite tracker. This link is already set up for Grenada but you can change that if you like. You can put in your location and get a listing of the next few possible sightings from that location.