Bayside Astronomy
1 Bruin Street N0H 1W0 Lions Head, ON, Canada

Time for Some Astronomy Memes! Everyone is under lock down, and the skies have been cloudy for weeks, so it's time for some fun Astronomy Memes. Dr. Becky the YouTube Oxford Astrophysicist reacts to some good Astronomy memes out there on the internet, and you can even learn something. For example, why do pictures of the moon look so terrible when taken on a cellphone? Check it out here https://youtu.be/HqYlqWvlPTA

The Best Meteor Shower of the Year Peaks on Dec 13 The best Meteor shower of the year is without doubt the Geminids. Over 150 meteors per hour are usually seen, and most of them are very bright. The Geminids occur annually from Dec 4 to Dec 16, usually reaching their peak on the night of Dec 13. This year they will be especially noticeable as the moon is new, so nothing to block the view of the meteors. The Geminids are the result of the earth passing through the orbit of deb...ris left by asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Usually meteor showers result from comet debris and the ice particles don't last long before they burn up in the earth's atmosphere. 3200 Patheon however is either an asteroid or an extinct comet that has had it's icey layers burnt off and all that is left is rocky debris, thus these meteors last longer and are unusually bright. Since Gemini is up early in the winter and the sun sets early, unlike other annual showers where the best view is after midnight, this one gets going around 9:00pm, so no need to stay up late. To get the best view, locate Gemini (just follow a line between Rigel and Betelgeuse in Orion crossing over the 3 belt stars to the upper left) and look in the opposite direction in the sky so you see the brightest meteors. Don't miss this shower, it's probably the best thing to happen in 2020 since Comet Neowise!

The Great Conjunction (Jupiter and Saturn) Dec 21 2020 Yes 2020 has been a terrible year due to COVID-19 BUT it ends with a spectacular conjunction. Jupiter and Saturn will appear almost as a single bright object in the sky on Dec 21 as they appear from the earth to be 0.1 degrees apart. In case you are wondering so what...Mizar and Alcor the apparent binary system (second star in the handle of the big dipper) are twice that distance apart and are often used a test of great e...yesight. The full moon is 1/2 degree in diameter. These conjunctions are very rare as it takes Jupiter 12 years to orbit the sun, and Saturn 29 years, so only every 20 years or so do we see a conjunction as Jupiter catches up to Saturn as viewed from the earth. During the last conjunction in 2000, Jupiter and Saturn were very close to the sun and thus difficult to observe. This time they appear at sunset in the south west. The last time the two giants were this close together was back in 1623, about 13 years after Galileo discovered Jupiter's moons. The next time they will be this close will be Mar 15, 2080, something for our grandkids to look forward to. NOTE: This conjunction occurs on the same day as the Winter Solstice (at 5:08 am EST). Could this year get any stranger? Here is where they will be in the sky, note they are so close together that the words in the Stellarium application overlap!

Now is the Time to See Mars! Mars will reach opposition (the point in it's orbit when it is directly opposite the sun from the earth) on Oct 13 at 7:20pm EDT. This means it rises when the sun sets and is up all night until it sets with the rising sun. Since sunlight is falling on it from behind us, it also appears the brightest. In fact Mars is now the 4th brightest object in the sky, after the sun, moon and Venus! This will also be at a point where Mars is the closest to ear...th in it's orbit, at around 62 million km. So while it won't be quite as large in diameter as the opposition of 2018, it will be higher in the night sky, so more details will be available in a telescope. You can find Mars as a very bright orange object in the east, very close to the moon around Oct 4th. While a telescope is required to see details on the red planet, it will still look very beautiful with the name eye. Enjoy this opposition as the planet won't be this bright again until Sept of 2035! https://astronomy.com/articles/2020/10/mars-opposition

Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon and Pluto Oh My! It's a great night to be out stargazing Sunday Aug 30th. The Moon will be bright in its waxing gibbous phase (12.7 days old) located in the southeast just to the left of Sagittarius, and will be joined by Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter. Use the moon to spot the yellow Saturn about 2 fist widths to the upper right, and the very bright object less than 1 fist to the right and almost level is Jupiter. A pair of good binoculars will show the ...4 Galilean moons of Jupiter. Pluto is right between the two planets, but you need a fairly large telescope to see it. Also in the same area look for the constellation Sagittarius (it looks like a big tea pot - I could never see the archer), and while you have the binoculars, scan them around the teapot to see the large number of stars that are found when you are looking directly near the centre of the Milky Way!

Bayside is Closed for 2020 I have received a number of calls asking whether Bayside is still running this summer. I am sorry but because of the pandemic we have had to close Bayside for the summer of 2020. If you are up in the Northern Bruce on vacation the skies are still open and free. Some of my favourite locations for star gazing are Lions Head Marina (be careful of the stones that have washed up on the beach), Singing Sands Park on Dorcas Bay Rd just south of Tobermory ...(note that paid parking is in effect) and the government dock at Dyer's Bay. Basically any location that has a beach or lake on Georgian Bay or Lake Huron will have nice views of the sky, just search Google for public beaches on the Bruce Peninsula. Of course maintain your social distancing and wear a mask if you can't. Join us again in 2021 when hopefully we can offer our full program!

Perseids Meteor Shower Peaks Aug 11-13 2020 The annual Perseids meteor shower peaks this week, and you can watch this show for free. Every year the earth passes through the dust and debris left from the last time Comet Swift-Tuttle approached the sun from it's 134 year orbit. That was in 1992, and the next spin by our solar system will be in 2126 (long after we are gone). You can expect to see anywhere between 60-70 meteors per hour, and the peak time to see them is in the ea...rly hours of Aug 12th. But basically anytime on the nights of Aug 11-13 should make for a good show. There is no need for binoculars or a telescope, just find a spot with a good view of as much sky as possible (so a flat field or by a lake) and in as dark a sky as you can find. Look up, give your eyes about 30 minutes to adapt to the dark, and turn off those cell phones and tablets. Enjoy the DARK! Here is a good link with more details: https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-meteor-shower-guide.html

Captured Neowise - Hurry as the crescent moon is now interfering with the view of the comet!