Dark Sky Maine Newsletter #5

Stars Over Katahdin, 2017

Stars Over Katahdin Virtual Star Party a Great Success!

by Nancy Hathaway

This year’s annual Stars Over Katahdin was held on Zoom due to the pandemic. Five hundred people registered online to attend. Having more folks attending this year, because of the easy online access, has been one of the silver linings of the pandemic. Thirty different states were represented.

However, being under the stars was greatly missed. At the traditional event when Campfire Chats were given, folks sat and listened around the campfire with Mt. Katahdin in the background, then folks walked up the road to the Overlook on the Loop Road of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (KWWNM) to where sometimes ten telescopes are set up. In the fall we view stars such as Arcturus, the bright star just to the west of Baxter Peak and at the end of an imaginary arch coming from the tip of the handle of the Big Dipper, while in the other direction Capella is seen rising up through the trees in the Northeast. Sagittarius is in the south this time of year with the Milky Way serving as steam coming out of the teapot shaped constellation.

On the Zoom webinar I missed the Milky Way overhead and the “oohs and aahs” coming from those looking through a telescope, some for the first time. This year Saturn was in the southwestern sky and its ring is definitely an ooh. If you’ve never seen Saturn through a telescope and even if you have, it is still usually worthy of an ‘oooh.’

This was the first Stars Over Katahdin since Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument has been designated by the International Dark Sky Association as a Dark Sky Sanctuary, the only Dark Sky Sanctuary east of the Mississippi River. It was a virtual star party due to Covid-19; however, this did allow our dark sky mission of education to reach more folks.

The evening began with opening remarks from Meghan Cooper of the Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters, who served as facilitator. She introduced the executive director of Friends of KWW, Andrew Bossie, who was followed by Tim Hudson, superintendent of KWWNM. The astronomy educational content of the evening followed beginning with John Meader, of Northern Stars Planetarium, who shared an overview of fall constellations. Shawn Laatsch, director of the Jordan Planetarium at the University of Maine, shared some deep sky wonders through remote telescope viewing via Slooh.com. A musical interlude was then provided by Larry Berz, director of the Francis Malcolm Planetarium. John Dennis, a Micmac storyteller shared native Wabanaki sky-lore. Kelly Beatty, formerly of the IDA and Sky and Telescope Magazine, discussed light pollution and the value of dark skies, followed by Nancy Hathaway speaking for our Dark Sky Maine organization. The evening closed with a limited Q&A.

Next year Stars Over Katahdin is planned for the fall. Our wish is that it will be under the stars, in Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

The Solar System.

What’s in November skies?

Presented by Northern Stars Planetarium

Moon

Full Moon Oct. 31 & Nov. 30
Third Quarter Moon Nov. 8
New Moon Nov. 15
First Quarter Moon Nov. 21

Nov. 1 Fall Back! Don’t forget to set your clocks back on November 1. That’ll mean you can start your evening observations an hour earlier!

Nov. 17 Leonid Meteor Shower peaks with about 15 meteors per hour. It’ll be a good year for viewing this shower as the Moon will not be obstructing the view.

Mercury appears in the morning sky about 13° from Venus, giving us two Morning Stars for the first half of the month before it slowly spends the second half of November sinking into the morning twilight. Watch on the morning of November 13 when Mercury will be just 5° below a thin crescent Moon.

Venus rises in the east around 4 a.m. in November. It will change little in appearance throughout the month, though it is moving about 1° easterly a day— matching Earth’s motion which keeps it in roughly the same position in the sky despite the fact that it traverses all of Virgo during that time.

Mars has proved to be an outstanding sight throughout October, outshining even Jupiter. This is caused by a combination of two recent events, on October 6 Mars was at the point in its orbit where it was closest to Earth and on October 13 Mars was at opposition, the point where the red planet was exactly opposite in the sky from the Sun. This combination made Mars the brightest object in the evening sky for October. Mars will continue to shine brightly throughout November, though its brightness will slowly fade a full magnitude over the course of the month. Mars will not be this large or bright again until 2035 for northern hemisphere observers.

Jupiter at sunset will be found just 27° above the southern horizon. Look for the brightest “star” in the southern sky and you won’t miss the king of the planets. The giant planet sets around midnight in early November, but by 9:30 at month’s end. Watch as it slowly draws nearer towards Saturn just to it’s east. The two will be in the closest conjunction since 1623 on December 21 when they will be less than half a degree apart!

Saturn is just east of Jupiter and is also in the southern sky at sunset. Look for a prominent yellowish-tinged star that is slightly fainter than Jupiter. Saturn being farther from the Sun than Jupiter moves more slowly, so as the gap between Jupiter and Saturn closes you should note that most of the motion is from the quicker Jupiter. Saturn’s rings are tilted to a nice angle for telescopic viewing, which is best just after twilight while Saturn is at its greatest height above the horizon.

Uranus is just past its opposition which means it’ll be in the sky all night long. Look for it with a small scope about midway between Hamal, the brightest star in Aries, and Menkar, the brightest stars in Cetus.

Neptune Look for it in the western sky within 1° of the 4th magnitude star Phi Aquarii. Look for a faint blue star.