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Showing posts from November, 2009

Talk Programme on Astronomy and Meteor Science on Nov 22,2009

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First row ( from left): Joe Malnar,USA;Jennifer Dudley Winter,Fred Bruenjes,Rishi Shah,Dr. Prakash Atreya and NASO Team.

November Sky:Meteor showers, mighty Jupiter and the Hunter's Moon

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-By Kedar S Badu This month, we have two meteor showers, the Hunter's Moon and Jupiter dominating the evening skies. But let's talk of the stars first. Along the Zodiac, from east to west, you can now observe the constellations Taurus, Aries, Pisces, Capricornus and Sagittarius. Just below Aries the Ram, enjoy the brilliant constellation Cetus the Whale, with its reddish, super giant binary star Mira, which will vary in brightness over successive nights. Note that the tail of Pisces the Fish points directly to Mira. Though summer has already given way to autumn, the well-known asterism of the Great Summer Triangle is still visible in the western skies. The Great Square (Pegasus) is just overhead. In the northern skies, you can easily identify the constellations Auriga the Charioteer, Perseus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Draco and Hercules from East to West. If you are away from dazzling city lights, enjoy the Milky Way, which stretches from the northeast to the southwest. Pre-dawn sta

Night Sky in November

-By Rishi Shah The night skies of this month delightfully display many fascinating planets, alluring stars and other captivating marvels of the heavens. As darkness descends enchanting zodiacal constellations of Sagittarius (archer), Capricornus (sea goat), Aquarius (water bearer), Pisces (fishes), Aries (ram) and Taurus (bull) are seen unfurling across the sky from western to eastern horizon. The great Square of Pegasus (winged horse) dominates the evening overhead sky. Attractive constellation Andromeda (chained princess) extends towards northeast from Pegasus, where the beguiling Andromeda Galaxy that is circa 2.5 million light-years away could be thrillingly observed. Constellations Cygnus (swan), Lyra (harp) and Aquila (eagle) drifting towards western sky. Their lustrous stars Deneb, Vega (Avijit) and Altair (Sravana) sketch imaginary winter triangle in the sky. Lengthy constellations Eridanus (river) and Hydra (sea serpent) are meandering in southeastern sky. Cetus (whale) and Pi