IYA2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first astronomical observation through a telescope. It is nothing short of a worldwide celebration, promoting astronomy and its contribution to society and culture, with events at regional, national, and global levels.
The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together almost 10 000 distinguished astronomers from all nations of the world. Its mission is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.
One of the year's most prolific meteor showers makes its appearance in mid-December. The Geminid shower peaks the night of December 13/14. Although frequently considered a poor cousin to August's Perseid shower, the Geminids often put on a better show. In a good year, observers can expect to see more than 60 "shooting stars" per hour -- an average of better than one per minute -- at the Geminids' peak.
Unfortunately, 2008 isn't the best year for the Geminids. The Moon reaches its full phase December 12 and won't appear much different the following night. With bright moonlight in the sky essentially from dusk to dawn, fainter meteors will be washed out, and only the bright ones will shine through. Under clear skies, attentive observers should see 10 to 15 meteors per hour -- not great, but better than all but a handful of nights during 2008.
One way to compensate for the Moon's presence is to find a spot where a building or tree blocks the Moon from view. This will make the sky appear darker. Also, try to observe from a rural location, where city lights won't add to the Moon's glow. Because December nights tend to be cold, bundle up in layers if you plan to view the Geminids. Reclining in a lawn chair is a great way to take in a lot of the sky at once, but be sure to get up and walk around occasionally. It also helps to drink some hot coffee or tea.
In 2009 we celebrate 400 years of Galileo's observations, the background theme for the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
One of Galileo's study objects was our star - the Sun, where he observed one of the first know types of solar activity - Sunspots. 400 years have past since Galileo's observations, but there are still a large number of people around the world that think the Sun is just a bright perfect yellow ball.
And this is where you come in!
"Dawn of the IYA2009" is a global, Sun observation campaign, proposed by Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto (CAUP) and the IYA2009's Solar Physics Group (SPG), which seeks not only to be the global teaser for the IYA2009 (a first calling card), but also to show to a larger, global public, what our star is all about.
For this activity we propose that, starting at local noon, 1st of January 2009, everyone with means to (safely) observe the Sun, gather outside science centers, town halls, shopping centers or simply your own street, and present the Sun and the IYA2009 to the world.
We call all professional and hobby astronomers to participate in what will be the largest Sun observation event in the world. Whether you have a telescope with a solar filter, an H-alpha telescope, a sunspotter or a simple pinhole projection system, you are the one we need.
All registered participants will download a set of instructions on how to safely observe the Sun, a IYA2009 logo to place on their equipment and/or a small poster presenting the IYA2009, which should be present during the activity.
Vesta swims with the Fishes
One of the sky's nicest gifts this month is an easy way to find and track the large asteroid 4 Vesta. This space rock remains within 1 binocular field of the 4th-magnitude star Alpha Piscium, which lies halfway up in the southeastern sky during early evening.
From a suburban backyard, you can spot the 7th-magnitude asteroid without much effort. Apart from Alpha, only three other stars in the area shine brighter than Vesta. From December 7 to 9, Vesta appears near the vertex of an equilateral triangle of these stars, the brightest of which is Alpha itself. Return every couple of evenings and you will notice one of the dots -- Vesta -- has shifted position.
Under a bright urban sky, however, you'll be challenged to spot Alpha with your naked eyes, and Vesta may even be out of binocular range, obscured by the veil of artificial light.
While you're in this area, point your scope to Alpha and crank up the magnification to 120x or more. This star is a binary system whose stars take about 930 years to orbit each other. The primary shines at magnitude 4.2 and the secondary a magnitude fainter. The stars lie 1.8" apart, near the limit of a 3-inch scope for a typical observer.