Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - June 2020

— Continued from previous page
Tuesday, June 30th
Asteroid Day is a global awareness campaign during which people
from around the world come together to learn about asteroids, the
impact hazard they may pose, and what can be done to protect our
planet, families, communities, and future generations from future
asteroid impacts. Asteroid Day was co-founded in 2014 by Dr. Brian
May, astrophysicist and lead guitarist of the rock band Queen,
together with Danica Remy, President of B612 Foundation; Rusty
Schweickart, Apollo 9 astronaut; and filmmaker Grig Richters. Live
and online events are held each year on the anniversary of the largest
impact in recent history, the 1908 Tunguska event in Siberia.
Saturday and Sunday, July 4th and 5th
A penumbral lunar eclipse begins on July 4th around 2300 hours.
It will end around 0200 hours on July 5th. A penumbral lunar eclipse
occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s partial shadow, or
penumbra. During this type of eclipse the Moon will darken slightly
but not completely. The eclipse will be visible throughout most of
North America, South America, the eastern Pacific Ocean, the western
Atlantic Ocean, and extreme western Africa.
At the more reasonable 2000 hours a celestial trio will appear
over the eastern horizon. This is a close approach between Jupiter,
Saturn and the Moon.
Tuesday, July 7th
The winter constellation Orion departed the night sky at the end
of May. This morning it begins to make its reappearance in the east
for a few minutes prior to sunrise. Currently Venus appears close
to Aldebaran. Over the next few days Venus will gradually move in
closer to Orion. Even though Venus is only illuminated 23 percent
it is at its greatest level of brightness in the morning sky.
Saturday, July 11th
The Moon makes a close approach to Mars just before they rise
above the eastern horizon. Throughout the night into twilight they
gradually move away from each other. Both will be visible to the
naked eye or through a pair of binoculars.
In the morning twilight Venus rises near Aldebaran. Performing a
flyby of Venus is the Parker Solar Probe. This is the third of seven
flybys that slow the spacecraft down to more precisely set its trajectory
toward the Sun.
Tuesday, July 14th
The gas giant Jupiter will be at its closest approach to Earth and
its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than
any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is
the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A
medium-sized telescope should be able to show you some of the
details in Jupiter’s cloud bands. A good pair of binoculars should
allow you to see Jupiter’s four largest moons, appearing as bright
dots on either side of the planet.
In the News
In addition to atmospheric and light pollution, the light reflected
off the large volume of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites has concerned
stargazers and astronomers. There will be 42,000 satellites launched
by SpaceX to deliver high speed broadband internet to locations
where access has been unreliable. Currently 362 satellites have
been put into orbit. With that in mind, consider that there are only
172 stars in the whole sky that exceed the expected brightness of
the Starlink satellites. All satellites beginning this June have been
redesigned with Sun-blocking visors and new software that will alter
the satellites’ orientation to reduce reflected sunlight.
*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 sails aboard S/V Merengue.
Above: Conjunction between Venus and Aldebaran on July 11th. Orion is now viewable in the predawn sky.
Below: A chain of 16 SpaceX Starlink internet satellites taken from the ISS. Small specks of light here,
but multiply this by 2,625 for the future launch total of 42,000 satellites.
NASA
june 2020 CARIBBEAN COMPAss pAGE 29
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