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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Moon Occults Antares - Thursday 24 August 2023


UPDATE:  Sorry astro kids....the Occultation observation event as been cancelled due to heavy cloud cover over Chicago.

Astro Joe 

In it's lunar orbit, sometimes the Moon passes in front of other things. Usually dim stars, but in October 2023,  a big event will occur, as the Moon will pass in front of the Sun for a Partial Solar eclipse (Details as the date approaches and the Chicago Astronomer will conduct an Observation Session for the Eclipse - stay tuned... ).

Get ready.....because on Thursday, the 24th of August, our closest celestial neighbor will pass in front of another star...and it's one of the brighter ones in our Summer night sky.

Antares in the constellation Scorpio, is the "Heart of the Scorpion", glowing red, displaying it's crimson giant boldness for millennia. Antares is a variable star, meaning that it's brightness fluctuates, but pretty much at a magnitude of -1.1 and about 550 Light years away. The light that we see emanating from that star, took 550 years to reach us. This star is old...and huge! Our own Sun/star would be a grain of sand in comparison. Consuming it's store of Hydrogen, Antares has swelled up, dining on heavier elements, cannibalizing it's own self, on it's way to Supernovae event...if it hasn't happened already.

But until then, we get to enjoy a semi-rare event when the Moon will pass in front of this bright star.  Such events are called "Occultations" (Latin "to hide")...and we in Chicago are set to observe this celestial phenomenon. 

9:27 pm

On Thursday evening, the 24th of August at 9:27 pm, Antares will "Blink Out" as the non-illuminated area of the waxing Moon glides in front of the red giant.  About an hour later, Antares will "pop" back into view from the lit portion of the lunar limb at 10:31 pm...

10:31 pm

10:35 pm

How to view this...

This event can be observed anywhere you have a open sky to the south.  As long as you can see the Moon on that night, you are good.  You certainly can view this naked eye, but Binoculars will enhance the experience.  I recommend 10x50s, but any pair will do.  To really connect with this event of one thing getting in the way of another thing, a telescope will be best.  Any telescope will enhance the experience, from table top scopes to large telescopes and everything in between.

And the Chicago Astronomer has you covered....

I will set-up a telescope for my fans to join me in observing and connecting with this event. 

The Chicago Astronomer will train a telescope on the Moon/Antares pairing for the Immersion and Emersion events. I will project this image onto a monitor screen and all can anticipate and witness the "Blinking Out" of the massive star behind the Moon.  It's always a contest on who will be the first to catch the first glimpse of the occulted object emerge from behind the Moon.

I will arrive on-site at Harrison Park (18th st & Damen) at 9:00pm and will remain until the end of the occultation event at about 10:30 pm.  Yea...it's a school/work night, but how many time do you get to see an event like this?  Well worth it for fellow space geeks and nerds.


Why is this important...?

We are all entwined in a cosmic dance.

All objects in the Universe are constantly moving, orbiting and influencing other objects...including us, on this smote of dust in a galaxy, spinning around a Black Hole.  The elements in our bodies came from stars like Antares - long gone, but we are the Universe looking at itself. It puts things in perspective to witness distant objects in relation with us, as we view this occultation between a a distant star and our natural Satellite...the Moon.

Wherever you are, take an hour from your busy schedules and share this celestial event with your friends & families.  Stick with the Chicago Astronomer, as I will always tell it like it is.

Astro Joe
www.chicagoastronomer.com 

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Antares - Lunar Occultation video - 24 August 2023

I had planned a public observation of the Occultation event at a local park, hooking up a monitor and capturing telescopic video. But clouds from the north threatened the event and my skies became quite hazy and the heavy north cloud cover were skimming the Moon.

So I scrubbed the event.

But, I could still see the Moon from my front porch and decided on just a DSLR on tripod capture. I also had a simple pair of 10x50 binoculars, which I used while the camera captured the video. Skies were hazy for the 9:27 pm Immersion event, but we worked with the conditions and captured Antares popping out of view behind the darkened lunar limb.

Emersion was scheduled at 10:31 pm, but buildings around me prevented observation of that event.

Here is the video of the Lunar/Antares Occultation of this very warm summer evening in Chicago.



www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfub9FaNkHw

Astro Joe

[Centaur]

Aug 24, 2023 22:30:20 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

Antares - Lunar Occultation video - 24 August 2023

I had planned a public observation of the Occultation event at a local park, hooking up a monitor and capturing telescopic video. But clouds from the north threatened the event and my skies became quite hazy and the heavy north cloud cover were skimming the Moon.

So I scrubbed the event.

But, I could still see the Moon from my front porch and decided on just a DSLR on tripod capture. I also had a simple pair of 10x50 binoculars, which I used while the camera captured the video. Skies were hazy for the 9:27 pm Immersion event, but we worked with the conditions and captured Antares popping out of view behind the darkened lunar limb.

Emersion was scheduled at 10:31 pm, but buildings around me prevented observation of that event.

Here is the video of the Lunar/Antares Occultation of this very warm summer evening in Chicago.

Astro Joe

Joe, did you actually time the immersion as 9:27, or was it closer to nearly 9:30 as in my posted predictions on this message board?