Looking up in 2017

One of the most spectacular events of 2017 will be a Total Solar Eclipse on August 21.  As it is the night of the new moon and with a little help from the clouds it will be a major event on the calendar. I am sure that the Sunshine Coast Astronomy Club will be hosting a premier viewing night at the Sunshine Coast Observatory  in Sechelt. Stay in touch as there is more to come on this one.

Mercury is not observable in January. Venus will be low in the E in the morning twilight. Mars will not be observable this month. Jupiter is very low in the W soon after sunset. Sets soon after dusk.  Saturn can be seen in the SSW at dusk and sets in the WSW near 1am.

On Friday January 13 at the Sechelt Art Gallery Vice President Mike Bradley of the Sunshine Coast Astronomy Centre will give a talk on Astro-Photography.  This is the second talk Mike has given in this series and it has proved to be very popular. During the coffee break, club members will be on hand to answer questions on that Christmas telescope and if you have brought the scope along it can be set up and demonstrated.

The full moon is on January 12 and is called the Tom-Cod moon. The name appears to have originated from the Mi’kmaq native tribes of Atlantic Canada.

Astronomy names and their meanings: Aurora, a glow in a planet’s  ionosphere caused by the interaction between the planet’s magnetic field and charged particles from the sun. This phenomenon is known as the Aurora Borealis in the Earth’s northern hemisphere and the Aurora Astrallis in the Earth’s southern hemisphere.  Azimuth is the angular distance of an object around or parallel to the horizon from a pre designed zero point.

It is interesting to note that on January 22 it will be 25 years to the day that Roberta Bondar became the first Canadian woman in space. During her time aboard Discovery Dr. Bondar was responsible for photographing the Earth. She later published a book called “Touching the Earth”.