January Sky – Star Maps – Comet Holmes – Meteors

The star maps showing Comet Holmes position were popular last month. So, here are the maps updated for January 2008.

Sky maps for January 2008. Click thumbnails.

The map on the left shows the stars for the whole evening sky. The exact time when the moon and planets Saturn and Mars are in that position is 9 PM, January 23.

Comet Holmes will not move very far across the sky this month. Begin to locate it by finding Mirfak, in the constellation of Perseus. The second map show the section of Perseus with Mirfak and the track of Comet Holmes. The numbers beside the ticks on the track show the date and time the comet will be at that location. The comet is now faint and you will need clear dark skies and large binoculars or a telescope. Around Jan. 22 Holmes will pass in front of the star Algol. Unfortunately, there will be a brilliant Moon shining nearby.

The Quadrantid Meteors Shower will peak on January 4. Since there is a new crescent Moon, the sky will be dark, and it could be the best meteor shower of the year. Shower meteors seem to radiate from a single point in the sky, and normally the name of the shower uses the name of the radiant’s constellation. This one is named for a constellation that no longer exists called, Quadrans Muralis. The radiant is now in Boötes. Boötes is not up in the early evening, but you don’t need to see the radiant because the meteors will streak across all parts of the sky. The numbers of meteors could increase a little after midnight.

Technorati Tags: Comet Holmes, meteor shower, Sky map, star map

Igloo building tentatively planned for Sunday

The young people are planning an expedition to Hollyburn Mountain, in Cypress Bowl, to build an igloo next Sunday, December 30. We will probably use the same location as last year. << Click the link for directions. Follow the links to see how the igloo turned out. Edited to note: the usual throng of igloo builders has not materialized, and we will not be igloo-making on Sunday. If an igloo is to be built this season, I’ll mention it in this blog.

Probably the only weather that would prevent this is rain above 2500 feet (not too likely). We will be there all day. If you’d like to visit or participate: • dress for warmth • warm hat & dry extra mitts are good • all day means bring lunch and water or hot tea • a big shovel is useful… even better are large clean paint buckets – the trick is to easily move lots of fresh snow without working it into lumps • if you bring a dog, it must be on a leash – a dog running around will ruin an acre of snow in a couple of minutes • when you approach, please stay on the path so as not to mess up the snow we will use for construction. If you would like to participate, please call me at (six-oh-four) 947-0815. Thanks.

Technorati Tags: Cypress Bowl, Hollyburn, igloo

Caroling last night was delightful

Each year one of our neighbours on Bowen Island hosts a caroling party. About 30 people of all ages arrive, and a little after 5:30 PM we set out to tour some of the local houses. Homemade song books were provided. This year many of is showed up with headlights to make it easy to read the words and music. Others carried lanterns. Some of the people we visit knew we would arrive, and after our two carols plus singing “We wish you a Merry Christmas,” instead of figgie pudding, we were served hot mulled wine and cookies. As we proceeded, folks would join us and the throng became larger.

The temperature was above freezing, and the Moon with Mars as a very nearby companion, emerged to light our way. Just about the time when folks were tired of walking, and feeling a bit cold, we returned to the host’s where there was a huge pot-luck dinner, and lots more music.

Technorati Tags: caroling

Trying to glimpse Comet Holmes

After days of precipitation, we have a lovely clear evening. The temperature is hovering just above freezing. There is a brilliant moon near Comet Holmes in the sky. Shortly after 7 PM PST I went out to see the comet. Nothing. So, I took the time to become dark-adapted. Now 7:31 PM, and I have seen the comet. I used some software to make my computer screen dimmed red, and kept my dark adaption. On the computer I checked the exact position of the comet. Outside again, I used a tree so I could stand it its shadow (moonlight). On a line from Mirfak to Kappa Perseus, the comet was a vague faint cloud in the bluish (not black) sky, and at right angles “above” that line. I could see HIP13965 and HIP13713 (6th mag stars). The comet is at the tip of a long isosceles triangle formed with those faint stars. Actually, it fills lots of the space between those 2 stars and Kappa. It helps that the binoculars are hand-held. The contrast between the comet and the sky is so low that the comet is best seen because it is ‘moving’ in the field as a result of my unsteady hands. The sky map (above) looks much better if you right-click and open it full-size.

Technorati Tags: Comet Holmes, star map

The Salish Sea – sea lice – salmon

The latest scientific research paper on Canadian West coast fisheries has concluded that sea-lice infestations caused by aquaculture can drive the west coast wild salmon stocks to extinction. Today the news story is appearing internationally, including in Scientific American, The New York Times, the Globe and Mail, and more.

The study focused on the Broughton Archipelago, which is just north of the here. When you look at a map of Vancouver Island, it seems to be colliding with the mainland between the fjords of Knight Inlet and Bute Inlet. The landscape there is fractured into many islands, large and small. The Broughton Archipelago is the multitude of islands around Broughton Island where the passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland opens to Queen Charlotte Strait and the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The following thumbs lead to maps that show the region, but will be slow to load because they are PDF files.

Technorati Tags: aquaculture, Broughton Archipelago, Salish Sea, salmon, sea-lice, wild salmon

Howe Sound Weather is different from Vancouver

It is a 23-minute drive along the Upper Level Highway from downtown Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay in Howe Sound. Eagle Ridge is at the top of the hill just before Horseshoe Bay, where the road turns from west — facing the towers of Mt. Arrowsmith on Vancouver Island, to north and the peaks of the Tantalus Mountains. This is the entrance to Howe Sound and the gateway to Squamish and Whistler. Sometimes that turn reveals a different world. [click the title if you cannot see the rest of this article... ]

Technorati Tags: Bowen Island, Horseshoe Bay, Howe Sound, Pam Rocks, Vancouver, YVR

Is Comet Holmes fading?

It was clear last night for the first time since we observed with the telescopes (a previous article on this blog). I went out with binoculars wondering if there would still be enough left of the comet to find it with such small optics (7×50). Perseus was high overhead, and the comet was only a few degrees from the zenith. I didn’t need the binoculars. It was an easy naked-eye object. The Milky Way flows through Perseus, and the comet looks as if a patch of it has broken off and drifted southward. No, it is not brilliant or dramatic, but it is amazing to see something that looks larger than the sun in the sky and is also over 1.7 times farther away than the Sun. When I look at it, and think about the size of the explosion that produced that comet, I understand that I am seeing one of the most startling astronomical events of my life. Star Maps of the sky for December, including the path of the comet, are here.

Technorati Tags: Comet Holmes

Please stop using PDF files at web sites

This is a rant asking web designers to stop using PDF files on web sites. The subject doesn’t really belong on this blog, so I will hide it in the next pane.

Technorati Tags: Portable Document Format, PDF

Searching for Salish Sea Snow

Last Sunday, just to find a little snow, we went for a walk in Cypress Provincial Park, at an altitude over 3000 feet. We had a pleasant stroll along the Howe Sound Crest trail to the Bowen Island Lookout. Then we took the cabin trail (below the nordic ski area), in to Hollyburn lodge. It was closed awaiting more snow and some skiers.

For those of us who like snow… today it is here. Story in the next pane [click the title if you cannot see it...]

Technorati Tags: Cypress Bowl, hummingbird, snow, Snug Cove, Vancouver

December Sky – Comet – Meteors

For folks who want to follow Comet Holmes, I have made maps to find it and show its progress during the month of December. You will find them in the next pane along with a mention of the Geminid Meteor Shower. [If you don't see the next pane, please click the title of this article... ]

Technorati Tags: Geminid, sky map, Comet Holmes, meteor shower