Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - August 2017

— Continued from previous page
Do not look at the solar eclipse with your naked eye or even with a pair of sunglasses.
Use eclipse glasses or viewers that meet the ISO 12312-2 international standard.
Failure to observe the proper precautions may result in permanent eye damage or
vision loss. A solar filter must also be used in front of a camera’s lens if you plan on
photographing any stage of the eclipse. With proper glasses you may be able to pick out
Regulus near the Sun. Below or west of the eclipse, Mars will appear in the sky and
Venus will light up just above the horizon. Can you find Saturn in the southeast?
By 2020 China is planning to land on an asteroid, have people live on it and begin
mining operations. A single asteroid could be valued at more than a trillion dollars.
In the News – Friday, September 15th
It is Cassini’s Grand Finale. The unmanned spacecraft Cassini has made its last
dive through the rings of Saturn. Launched in 1997, Cassini started its orbit of
Saturn in 2004. The final orbits helped to improve our understanding of how giant
planets and planetary systems form and evolve.
The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (the European Space
Friday, August 25th
The Moon has been making its daily shift eastward away from the Sun and
is getting a little more illuminated. Four more days until the Moon is at First
Quarter phase. Tonight the Moon can be found in the west, positioned in Virgo
near Jupiter and Spica. Moonset is at 2127. Wait a couple of hours and watch
for the Northern Aquariids meteor shower. The shower is active between
August 11th and September 10th; however, tonight it reaches a peak.
Wednesday, August 30th
The Moon is now one day past First Quarter. With the Milky Way as a
backdrop you will see the conjunction between the Moon and Saturn.
Saturn is about four degrees south and west of the Moon. There is enough
distance between them so Saturn should be easy to spot.
Thursday, August 31st
It is the 85th Anniversary (1932) of the first photograph showing the
Moon’s shadow on the Earth during a Solar Eclipse. The photo was taken
by Captain Albert Stevens aboard a balloon five miles above the surface
of the Earth. He also took photographs showing the curvature of the
Earth. That should have been proof to those who even to this day still
believe the world is flat.
Wednesday, September 6th
In the predawn western sky the Moon reaches its full phase. While positioned
in Aquarius, the Moon turns full at 0302. The Moon will begin to
set at 0607. If you don’t want to start your Full Moon party this early in
the morning you could wait until it rises again this evening.
Saturday, September 9th
The Piscids meteor shower will reach its maximum rate of activity. The source of the
meteors will be high in the eastern sky around midnight. The maximum rate of shooting
stars could be ten per hour. Hope for clear skies tonight!
Tuesday, September 12th
The Moon is slowly making another close approach to Aldebaran today. The Moon’s
orbit pivots slightly, so its path across the stars will change from month to month.
So unlike on August 16th, the Moon will not obscure Aldebaran this time around.
Thursday, September 14th
A Soviet rocket made it to the lunar surface 58 years ago today. The probe was the
first man-made object to reach the Moon. The spacecraft made the trip in 36 hours
compared to the three days it took Apollo 10 to get there. China is currently collaborating
with the Ukraine to use this engine technology to land a man on the Moon.
Above: Times for the solar eclipse for other locations along the island chain
Below: Cassini’s Grand Finale — the spacecraft is shown breaking apart after entering
Saturn’s atmosphere
Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of
the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA’s
Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
The mission is ending because the spacecraft is running out of fuel. Mission control
directed Cassini to enter the atmosphere of Saturn so it will burn up. That would
eliminate any possibility of it crashing on the moons of Saturn and prevent anything
living on the spacecraft, such as bacteria, contaminating Titan or Enceladus. These
moons have the potential to hold life forms beyond Earth.
All times are given as Atlantic Standard Time (AST) unless otherwise noted. The
times are based on a viewing position in Grenada and may vary by only a few minutes
in different Caribbean locations.
Jim Ulik of S/V Merengue is a photographer and cruiser.
NASA/JPL CALTECH
AUGUST 2017 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 35
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