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Earthsky Tonight - Nov 05 2009
Moon passes close to galactic anticenter star
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The bright waning gibbous moon rises an hour or more after nightfall tonight. If you look closely, you’ll see a star near the moon. It’s Elnath, the star representing Taurus the Bull’s northern horn. It’s a fairly bright star, though it’ll be obscured by the moonlit glare. After rising, the moon and Elnath stay out all night long tonight.
Elnath is a special star, because it pretty much aligns with the galactic anticenter. The galactic anticenter is the direction in the sky that’s about-face from the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
The moon always moves in front of the background stars, traveling its own diameter eastward every hour. By tomorrow night, the moon’s change of position will be obvious. It will have moved eastward into the constellation Gemini the Twins.
For a fixed reference to the galactic anticenter, use Elnath, Taurus the Bull’s second brightest star. The galactic anticenter lies some 3 degrees east of Elnath on the stellar sphere. By the way, the width of your thumb at an arm length away spans roughly 3 degrees of sky.
Written by Bruce McClure
Comments (11)
at 08.05 am on 11-04-2009 Bruce McClure
Hi gajanan.
The galactic anticenter is that direction in space that is exactly opposite (180 degrees) of the direction to the center of our Milky Way galaxy. If you travel in the direction of the galactic anticenter, you are traveling directly away from the galactic center.
Bruce
at 04.35 am on 11-05-2009 Judy Malone
Is it possible to give (when convenient) an idiot's explanation of the galactic centre itself, with a simple diagram? The gc has much publicity these days around December 21, 2012!
I absolutely love this site, by the way. Can't remember where I found it but it may have been via Twitter.
Replyat 06.23 am on 11-05-2009 Judy Malone
Is it possible to give (when convenient) an idiot's explanation of the galactic centre itself, with a simple diagram? The gc has much publicity these days around December 21, 2012!
I absolutely love this site, by the way. Can't remember where I found it but it may have been via Twitter.
Replyat 07.31 am on 11-05-2009 Bruce McClure
Hi Judy.
See our Friday, November 6 show, entitled "Moon, in Gemini, north of galactic equator." At the bottom of the page, click on the link "Will Earth pass through the galactic plane in 2012?" Hopefully, that will help!
Best,
Bruce
at 4.32 pm on 11-05-2009 Judy Malone
Just to say many thanks for your time, Bruce. Looking forward to following the link tomorrow. Best wishes, Judy (Bristol, England).
Replyat 9.35 pm on 11-05-2009 Amy
Hello. I'm new to the site. Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but does the Tonight/EarthSky image correspond to my geographical location? How do I know what I see in the picture is what I'm seeing in the sky where I am?
Thank you!
Replyat 03.44 am on 11-06-2009 Deborah Byrd
Hi Amy! No stupid questions here - ever. Ask away.
We all live under the same sky. Our charts work best for latitudes like those of the U.S. If you're in the northern hemisphere - not too near the equator - you should be great with these charts. If you're in Asia - which is still in the northern hemisphere - you'll find some time differences for charts showing the moon near planets or stars - but the charts can still be useful. If you're in the southern hemisphere, the charts won't work as well.
Clear skies!
Deborah
at 12.03 am on 11-06-2009 Adam
Early yesterday morning the 5th.I think I caught a glimpse of Leo and Regulus in the SE and then the lion quickly vanished in the morning light.Is it too early for the lion or was that Leo?
Replyat 03.47 am on 11-06-2009 Deborah Byrd
Hi Adam, Leo is indeed visible in the southeast before dawn now.
All best,
Deborah
at 08.42 am on 11-06-2009 Bruce McClure
Adam,
As Deborah said, Leo is easily visible before dawn. Don't forget the Leonid meteor shower - named after Leo - which is expected to peak before dawn on November 17 and 18. Although often a modest shower, exhibiting about 20 meteors per hour, many meteor enthusiasts think 2009 could be a banner year for the Leonids, with perhaps several times that number. They hasten to remind us, though - no guarantees! But with no moon to spoil the show, it's worth checking out.
Bruce
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at 08.05 am on 11-04-2009 Bruce McClure
Hi gajanan.
The galactic anticenter is that direction in space that is exactly opposite (180 degrees) of the direction to the center of our Milky Way galaxy. If you travel in the direction of the galactic anticenter, you are traveling directly away from the galactic center.
Bruce
at 04.35 am on 11-05-2009 Judy Malone
Is it possible to give (when convenient) an idiot's explanation of the galactic centre itself, with a simple diagram? The gc has much publicity these days around December 21, 2012!
I absolutely love this site, by the way. Can't remember where I found it but it may have been via Twitter.
at 06.23 am on 11-05-2009 Judy Malone
Is it possible to give (when convenient) an idiot's explanation of the galactic centre itself, with a simple diagram? The gc has much publicity these days around December 21, 2012!
I absolutely love this site, by the way. Can't remember where I found it but it may have been via Twitter.
at 07.31 am on 11-05-2009 Bruce McClure
Hi Judy.
See our Friday, November 6 show, entitled "Moon, in Gemini, north of galactic equator." At the bottom of the page, click on the link "Will Earth pass through the galactic plane in 2012?" Hopefully, that will help!
Best,
Bruce
at 4.32 pm on 11-05-2009 Judy Malone
Just to say many thanks for your time, Bruce. Looking forward to following the link tomorrow. Best wishes, Judy (Bristol, England).
Replyat 9.35 pm on 11-05-2009 Amy
Hello. I'm new to the site. Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but does the Tonight/EarthSky image correspond to my geographical location? How do I know what I see in the picture is what I'm seeing in the sky where I am?
Thank you!
at 03.44 am on 11-06-2009 Deborah Byrd
Hi Amy! No stupid questions here - ever. Ask away.
We all live under the same sky. Our charts work best for latitudes like those of the U.S. If you're in the northern hemisphere - not too near the equator - you should be great with these charts. If you're in Asia - which is still in the northern hemisphere - you'll find some time differences for charts showing the moon near planets or stars - but the charts can still be useful. If you're in the southern hemisphere, the charts won't work as well.
Clear skies!
Deborah
at 12.03 am on 11-06-2009 Adam
Early yesterday morning the 5th.I think I caught a glimpse of Leo and Regulus in the SE and then the lion quickly vanished in the morning light.Is it too early for the lion or was that Leo?
Replyat 03.47 am on 11-06-2009 Deborah Byrd
Hi Adam, Leo is indeed visible in the southeast before dawn now.
All best,
Deborah
at 08.42 am on 11-06-2009 Bruce McClure
Adam,
As Deborah said, Leo is easily visible before dawn. Don't forget the Leonid meteor shower - named after Leo - which is expected to peak before dawn on November 17 and 18. Although often a modest shower, exhibiting about 20 meteors per hour, many meteor enthusiasts think 2009 could be a banner year for the Leonids, with perhaps several times that number. They hasten to remind us, though - no guarantees! But with no moon to spoil the show, it's worth checking out.
Bruce