An interesting celestial event is happening right now.

If you look west just after sunset, you should notice a bright 'star'. This is actually the planet Venus. Once you found Venus, look at the right side of Venus. You may see a yellowish 'star", which appear much dimmer than Venus. If you succeed, congratulation! You have found Saturn, the ringed planet. Now, try looking above Venus. Try to see a dim red 'star'. If you fail, don't worry. Try again the next day as you may need a clear sky to do this. Again, if you can see this red 'star', congratulation! This is planet Mars.

On the night of August 12th, 2010, the planets will be joined by 3 day old Moon. 

Now for extra challenge. Try your luck hunting down Mercury. Mercury is rather elusive. It never strays to far from the Sun and it is relatively dim. You will need clear sky or sheer luck to see this planet.

To locate Mercury, the best chance will be on the evening of August 12th. Look to the lower right of the Moon.Mercury will be about 14 degrees to the right of the Moon and 5 degrees lower.

Here is a method how you can measure angle in the sky.

• Extend your little finger; it’s width is approximately 1 degree.
• Extend your three middle fingers (without the little finger); thats about 5 degrees.
• A clenched fist (thumb to little finger) is about 10 degrees.
• From the tip of the little finger to the tip of the thumb, an extended hand with fingers and thumb splayed subtends about 20 degrees.

It is not unusual to have this kind of planetary gathering know as conjunction. However, it is not too often we have these chance to see planets gathering close to each other in the sky.  

You can try imaging this event using your digital camera. It is not difficult. Use a tripod and try various setting on your camera to get best result. If you have nice photos, do share at my Penang Astronomy Facebook.

Good Luck.

VIEWING TIPS
You can use your naked eye to witness the whole event. However, for better view, use a binoculars or a small telescope.

On that day, the Moon will rise at 7.31pm. That means, as you as the Moon rises, it will be at mid eclipse (best show). Look toward the southeast direction. For those is Penang, best view will be along the coastal road looking towards the Penang Bridge or mainland.

For photographers, this is a good opportunity to take eclipsed Moon with famous landmarks such as the Penang Bridge. Use telephoto lens around 200mm or more.


4:57pm: Penumbral eclipse begin
6:17pm: Umbral eclipse begin
7:31pm: Moon rises
7:39pm: Greatest eclipse
9:00pm: Umbral eclipse end
10:19pm: Penumbral eclipse end

Among the activities planned by us are sun observation and star gazing. We will also be available to answer any questions that you may have regarding astronomy, telescopes and astro-photography as well as other related subjects.

Among the products available for sale are telescopes, binoculars, night vision binoculars, star charts as well as photo prints of astronomical objects taken by us.

For more info on the event, please go to

http://misti2010.johor.gov.my/

Or you can reach us via email (info@perseid.com.my)  or phone at 012-431 7980.

Take note that our shop will be closed from 20-30 June 2010 due to this event. 

RM2250

For shipping and handling, please add RM40.

PRICE - RM1395

(Please add RM90 for shipping and handling)

- Diameter/Aperture: 130mm
- Focal Length: 900mm
- Aluminized and overcoated mirrors
- 6x24 finderscope
- 130mm primary mirror collects 30% more light than the 114mm, resulting better image resolution and brighter image
- Smooth rack-and-pinion 1.25" focuser

GREAT FOR DEEP SKY AND PLANETARY

JUST ARRIVED!!! 

LIMITED TIME SPECIAL OFFER - RM250

(FREE SHIPPING VIA COURIER SERVICE WORTH RM30)

The affordable Sky-Watcher ST2060 zoom spotting scope is your ideal companion for terrestrial viewing. And it is great for looking at craters on the Moon too.

It will give you magnification from 20-60x by just turning the eyepiece. Very easily to setup and use anytime.

The model features a fully coated optical system.  A convenient lightweight table-top tripod is included as standard, but can be mounted on a photographic tripod via a standard tripod bush if required.

* Take note that the latest arrival is branded as Tasco and the tube is grey in colour. Everything else remain the same

On the early morning of the 18th November 2009, between 5-6am, the number of  Leonid meteor is expected to peak. You can start watching as early as midnight or from 3am onwards, if you plan to sleep a bit first. If you watch at 5am, the Leonid seems to be coming from a point in the east, halfway up in the sky. This year, the point is marked by a red 'star'. It is not a star, but planet Mars!!! What a good reward for waking up early on that day! You got to view two nice event in one night or rather morning. 

You can view this event from anywhere but preferably with minimal light pollution especially from the East. If clouds are present, look at the sky where there are less cloud cover. If clear sky all the way, then see overhead. Overhead is good as the light pollution is less intense at this part of the sky. 

I'll be watching from my observatory site at Balik Pulau. Please drop me an email if you plan to join. (perseid@streamyx.com)

JUPITER can be seen in the early evening till early morning this month. At 8pm, look east, half way between the horizon and zenith (overhead), you'll see a bright white 'star'. This is Jupiter. If you have a binoculars, you should be able to see up to four 'stars' at the side of Jupiter, forming a straight line. These are Jupiter's moon; Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede. Not to worry, if you can't see all four. Sometimes, they hide behide Jupiter or go in front of it, render them almost invisible. 

With a small telescope, you should be able to see the belts of Jupiter. At least two of them can be seen. They appeared to be brownish in colour. With medium size telescope, you can try to look for the Great Red Spot. This is a hurricane like storm that is a permanent feature of Jupiter since the invention of telescope. It is about twice the size of the Earth. 

JUPITER. Photo by C. K. Lim, Penang

This is the photo of Jupiter taken on the 12th September 2009 with Canon 450d camera and 8" telescope. The Great Red Spot can be seen rotating into view at lower left of Jupiter. 

On 30th September, the Moon will be 4 degrees next to Jupiter.

The other nice planet that you can see is Mars, rising around 2.30am. But do start to find it at that time. You'll need to give it enough time to rise higher in the sky. You best time to see Mars in September is around 5am when it has risen half way to zenith in the eastern sky. It will appear red in colour. 

A word of caution here. Don't expect Mars to be very prominent now. It is still very far away from Earth at this moment, thus appearing very, very small.  The best time to see Mars will be in January 2010. At that time, it will be twice as big as it is now. Even then, it will still be 'small' to most of us.

In the early morning before Sunrise, you may be lucky to spot Venus. At 6.30am, it will be very low in the Eastern sky. If you have a good sky, you won't miss this planet, as it is very bright and white in colour. Many thought it was a satellite due to its brightness. It will sink closer to the horizon each morning. So, your best chance to see it is now. A few months from later it will appear in the evening sky instead of morning. 

The New Moon will be on the 19th this month. On this day at Sunset, the Moon will be only 3 degrees above the horizon, when the Sun set. It will be too low to spot the 'anak bulan'. 

If you look West at 9pm, you can see the constellation of Scorpio about to set. If the sky is good, you should be able to see many stars around this region. This is because we are looking at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. A binoculars will enable you to see many nebulae and star clusters such as Lagoon Nebula, Butterfly Clusters, Wild Duck clusters and many more.

LAGOON NEBULA Taken by C. K. Lim, Penang in 2009

At 10pm, in the East, the nearest and brightest galaxy is rising. This is the Andromeda galaxy. If you know its exact location, you can see it with your naked eye. With a bino, you can definitely see its 'UFO' like shape, typical of a spiral galaxy. 

PLEIADES STAR CLUSTER Taken by C. K. Lim, Penang in 2008

Past midnight, beautiful star clusters and nebulae started to be visible such as the Seven Sisters Clusters, also known as Pleiades. The great orion nebula will also be visible a few hours later. 

Just a few days ago, it was announced that the first rocky planet was found. You can read more about it here.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2009-09-16-rocky-planet_N.htm

WASHINGTON: Astronomers have found the coldest spot in our solar system and it may be a little close for comfort. It's on our moon, right nearby.

NASA is making the first ever temperature map of the moon.

They found that at the moon's south pole, it's colder than far away Pluto.

The area is inside craters that are permanently shadowed so they never see sun.

Temperatures there were measured at 397 degrees (minus 238 Celsius) below zero. That's just 35 degrees (2 Celsius) higher than the lowest temperature possible.

It is also about a degree chillier than what's been found on Pluto.

The information is from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which started its science mission last week. - AP

SK90MAKEQ1...... RM1295 (add RM90 for S&H)

(LIMITED UNIT LEFT)

The Sky-Watcher Maksutov-Cassegrains are the ultimate take-anywhere telescopes. They are also ideal if working space is limited. Despite their small dimensions they pack a powerful punch. Their High-Resolution, diffraction limited optical systems are multi-coated to maximize contrast and image sharpness. This Sky-Watcher Maksutov comes in apertures of 90mm, and is available complete with equatorial mounts and tripod. It can also be mounted onto a standard photographic tripod. Whether your requirement is for terrestrial or astronomical use, these compact scopes are the perfect companion.

It will also make a powerful spotting scope for birders!

Tube material: Aluminium.

RM65 each

T-ring or M42 adapters for all brand DSLR Camera

(canon, nikon, pentax, olympus, minolta, sony)

This adapter is needed to attach any M42 mount lens that you may have to your camera body.

This adapter is also needed to connect your camera to a telescope. However, you'll need another part called t-adapter to create a complete attachment.

When order, please specify camera brand for correct adapter.

PRICE ....................... RM1295

(SORRY - OUT OF STOCK)

This is a special edition 130mm truss dob by Sky-Watchers to promote International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009).

It is the most portable 5 inch scope. Very compact and light. Very fast setup time ~ less than a minute (no kidding)

Ideal for all celestial objects; planets, moon, nebulae, galaxies, star clusters.  (one exception - due to open tube design, don't look at the Sun!)

Diameter: 130mm

Focal Length: 650mm

Eyepieces: 1.25" 10mm and 25mm

Red-dot finder scope

* Shipping via poslaju within Pen. Malaysia is RM50

TENTATIF KONVENSYEN ASTRONOMI PENANG 2009


3 Julai 2009 ( Jumaat )- Majlis Perasmian
9.00 pagi   : Ketibaan Tetamu
9.15 pagi   : Ketibaan VIP
9.20 pagi   : Ketibaan Y.B. Tuan Haji Abdul Malik Bin Abul Kassim
9.30 pagi   : Ketibaan Tuan Yang Terutama Tun Dato’ Seri Utama (Dr.) Haji Abdul Rahman Bin Hají Abbas (Yang Dipertua Negeri Pulau Pinang)
   : Nyanyian Lagu Negaraku
   : Nyanyian Lagu Negeri Pulau Pinang
9.35 pagi   : Ucapan Pengerusi Majlis
9.40 pagi   : Ucapan Y.B. Tuan Haji Abdul Malik Bin Abul Kassim
9.50 pagi   : Ucapan T.Y.T. Tun Dato’ Seri Utama (Dr.) Haji Abdul Rahman Bin Hají Abbas (Yang Dipertua Negeri Pulau Pinang)
10.05 pagi   : Penyampaian Cenderamata
10.10 pagi   : Syarahan Perdana
     Oleh : Tan Sri. Dato’ Dr. Dzulkifli (Naib Canselor USM)
     Tajuk : Mencipta Semula Andalusia Dalam Acuan Malaysia
10.45 pagi   : Penyampaian Cenderamata kepada N.C
10.50 pagi   : Jamuan Makan
   : Bersurai

3.30 petang   : Talk-Show Astronomi
     Oleh : Dr. Chong Hon Yew (USM)
     Tajuk : Astronomy ; Everybody Can
8.00 malam   : Kuliah Maghrib
     Oleh : Dr. Jamnul Azhar Bin Mulkan
                       Pengerusi Kuliah : Ust. Rizal Bin Ramli (Jab. Mufti Selangor)   
     Tempat : Masjid Al-Malik Khalid (USM)
   : Solat Isyak Berjemaah
9.30 malam   : Cerapan Langit Malam
     Tempat : Perkarangan Masjid Al-Malik Khalid (USM)

4 Julai 2009 ( Sabtu )
9.00 pagi   : Pameran Sains & Astronomi bermula
9.15 pagi   : Cerapan Matahari – Menjejak SunSpot
9.30 pagi   : Talk-Show Falak 1
     Oleh : En. Shahrin Bin Ahmad(Falak Online)
     Tajuk : Jalan Menuju Gerhana Matahari 2009 & Pengalaman Lepas
10.00 pagi   : Pertandingan Water Rocket ( Terbuka )
10.30 pagi   : Talk-Show Falak 2
     Oleh : En. Karzaman Bin Ahmad
     Tajuk : Sedekat Pengalaman Mengimej Cakerawala
11.00 pagi   : Jamuan Makan/ Bersurai

PERSIDANGAN PEGAWAI-PEGAWAI FALAK SEMALAYSIA
9.30 pagi   : Pendaftaran Peserta Persidangan Pegawai-Pegawai Falak
9.45 pagi   : Persidangan Bermula
10.00 pagi  : Pembentangan Kertas Kerja 1
10.30 pagi  : Pembentangan Kertas Kerja 2
11.00 pagi  : Perbincangan
11.15 pagi  : Rumusan/ Resolusi
11.30 pagi  : Ucapan Penangguhan
11.45 pagi  : Jamuan Makan/ Bersurai

2.30 petang   : Talk-Show falak 3
     Oleh : En. Juzaili
     Tajuk : Buruj-Buruj Di Langit Anda
3.00 petang   : Pertandingan Mendirikan Teodolit Antara Jabatan Mufti
9.00 malam   : Persembahan Mendeklamasi Sajak Falak
9.30 malam   : Cerapan Perdana
   : Talk-Show
     Oleh : En. Shahrin Ahmad  (Falak Online)
12.00 malam   : Bersurai


5 Julai 2009 ( Ahad )

9.00 pagi   : Pameran Sains & Astronomi bermula
9.15 pagi   : Cerapan Matahari – Menjejak Prominen
9.30 pagi   : Talk-Show Falak 4
     Oleh : Dr. Chong Hon Yew (USM)
     Tajuk : Info Falak Di Hujung Jari Anda
10.00 Pagi   : Kursus Kiraan Falak Dr. Abdul Halim (USM)
     Tajuk : Tranformasi Tarikh

The USM Astronomy Club will set up several telescopes. If the sky is clear, you'll be able to see Saturn, star clusters, constellation and many more interesting objects. 

For more information, please contact Dr. Chong Hon Yew (USM Astronomy Club Advisor) at 016-315 7318

Event: Science and Astronomy Carnival

Venue: Tunku Fauziah Museum and Gallery, USM

Date: 18-21 June 2009

Event: USM Astronomy Convention 2009

Venue: Examination Hall, USM (beside stadium)

Date: 3-5 July 2009

This is one of the brightest and finest nebula in the sky. It is also a nursery for stars; the giant cloud of gases will collapsed to form young stars!

It is located in the constellation of Sagittarius. June till September will be a good time to see this object. However, in Malaysia, these months are also famous for hazy months. 

From dark sky, you can see the nebula with your naked eye. It appeared as a patch of light to the left of Scorpio's tail. Use a star chart to navigate. There are way too many interesting objects in the vacinity as we are now looking at the center of our universe. 

Photography detail:

Taken by C. K. Lim

Telescope: Mak-Newt 190

Camera: Canon 300D

Exposure:The photo is a combination of images taken on two separate night. One of the night is used to take colour data of the photo and on other night, a special filter was used to capture the H-a information. H-a stands for hidrogen-alpha which essentially represented by the red part of the nebula. 

RGB DATA 27th April 2009 23x180sec @ 800ASA

H-a DATA 16th May 2009 16x300sec @ 800ASA

Base on requests, I am pleased to inform you that a special observation session will be held on the night of 20 Feb 2009. This observation is to observe the close approach of Comet Lulin.

It is not very often that we have the chance to see bright comet in our sky. Most of the time, comets are brightest when they approach the Sun. This makes the comet very difficult to see. Comet Lulin is different. On the night of 20 Feb 2009, the comet will rises around 10pm. By midnight, it should be high enough for viewing.  

On that night, it should be around mag +5. In layman term, it is bright enough to be seen with naked eye. Using a telescope and good sky condition, do expect to see the head of the comet and maybe a hint of tail.

Other than the comet, you’ll be treated with other famous astronomical objects, such as nebulae, galaxies, star clusters and Planet Saturn (bet most of you haven’t not seen Saturn through a scope before). Do pray for clear sky as we will not see a thing if it is too cloudy or raining!

Everyone is welcome. If you have a DSLR camera, please bring along, as I will help you take some photos of the comet. Together with USM Astronomy Club members, we will set up several telescopes and binoculars for this purpose. If you have your own equipment, you are more than welcome to bring them.

Bring your own food and drinks. Extra clothing will be good as the temperature in the morning can be rather chill ~23 deg.  

Here is the info on the observation session

Date: 20 Feb 2009

Time: 10pm till morning!

* you can come and leave anytime

Location: CK Lim Observatory

Add: Pulau Betong, Balik Pulau Penang.

If you are coming from Relau/Paya Terubong

As you reach the town of Balik Pulau, there is a small roundabout. Continue to go straight (12 o’clock) passing through the roundabout, heading towards Teluk Kumbar/Bayan Lepas.

Drive around 2 kilometers.

You’ll pass the Balik Pulau Police Station on the right and then a Petronas Station on the left. Soon after the station, look out for Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara. It’s a big building on the left.

Keep right. There is a small junction at the right. Turn into the junction. You will immediately pass under an arch. This is the town of Ginting. After the arch, you’ll reach a 4 way junction. Turn left toward Kem Bina Negara/Pulau Betong.

Continue for about 3 kilometers. After 2 km, look for a police base on the left. Once you pass the base, slow down. The observatory is on the right.

Turn right and park your car.

Note: It’s a small, private observatory. You’ve to look real hard to spot it !!!

If you are coming from Bayan Lepas/Airport

Continue pass the airport towards Balik Pulau. You’ll pass through the town of Sungai Batu and Teluk Kumbar. After several kilometers from Teluk Kumbar, you’ll go along a winding road, up hill with construction works. Watch out as some stretches of the road are quite narrow and have traffic lights.

Go along the winding road for about 8 kilometers.

As you are coming out of the winding road, watch out for a small junction on the left.

Turn into the junction. You will immediately pass under an arch. This is the town of Ginting. After the arch, you’ll reach a 4 way junction. Turn left toward Kem Bina Negara/Pulau Betong.

Continue for about 3 kilometers. After 2 km, look for a police base on the left. Once you pass the base, slow down. The observatory is on the right.

Turn right and park your car.

Please contact me at perseid@streamyx.com if you have questions. And if you can’t find your way, call me at 012-431 7980.

Please see here for map.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z85/perseid/obsmap.jpg

For more info on Comet Lulin, do visit this website

It is my pleasure to inform you that the Geminid Meteor observation will be held on the night 13^th December 2008. The location is at my observatory at Pulau Betong, Penang.

The observation is through out the night. You can arrive at any time after 9pm.

It’s open to everyone.

Drop me a mail at perseid@streamyx.com if you wish to come or need information on the event.

For those who are not aware of the meteor shower, a meteor shower is an event when you can see more meteors per night than usual. On average, we can see about 8 meteors every hour. However, during the meteor shower, do expect to see 25 or more per hour. One of the best such event is happening on the 13th December.

Our record was over 500 per night in December 2004. Unfortunately, we are not so lucky this time around. The almost full Moon will be in the sky that night. The moonlight will wash out all but the bright meteors.

Still it will be an interesting event to watch. It will be happening on the weekend, so more people can join in the fun. While doing meteor observation, we can also see the Moon, Saturn, Orion constellation, the “Seven Sisters” star cluster and other interesting objects in the sky. The USM Astronomy Club will set up several telescopes for the public.

DIRECTION

Please download the map here.

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z85/perseid/obsmap.jpg

If you are coming from Relau/Paya Terubong

As you reach the town of Balik Pulau, there is a small roundabout. Continue to go straight (12 o’clock) passing through the roundabout, heading towards Teluk Kumbar/Bayan Lepas.

Drive around 2 kilometers.

You’ll pass the Balik Pulau Police Station on the right and then a Petronas Station on the left. Soon after the station, look out for Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara. It’s a big building on the left.

Keep right. There is a small junction at the right. Turn into the junction. You will immediately pass under an arch. This is the town of Ginting. After the arch, you’ll reach a 4 way junction. Turn left toward Kem Bina Negara/Pulau Betong.

Continue for about 3 kilometers. After 2 km, look for a police base on the left. Once you pass the base, slow down. The observatory is on the right.

Turn right and park your car.

Note: It’s a small, private observatory. You’ve to look real hard to spot it !!!

If you are coming from Bayan Lepas/Airport

Continue pass the airport towards Balik Pulau. You’ll pass through the town of Sungai Batu and Teluk Kumbar. After several kilometers from Teluk Kumbar, you’ll go along a winding road, up hill with construction works. Watch out as some stretches of the road are quite narrow and have traffic lights.

Go along the winding road for about 8 kilometers.

As you are coming out of the winding road, watch out for a small junction on the left.

Turn into the junction. You will immediately pass under an arch. This is the town of Ginting. After the arch, you’ll reach a 4 way junction. Turn left toward Kem Bina Negara/Pulau Betong.

Continue for about 3 kilometers. After 2 km, look for a police base on the left. Once you pass the base, slow down. The observatory is on the right.

Turn right and park your car.

Note: It’s a small, private observatory. You’ve to look real hard to spot it !!!

PLEASE CALL ME AT

012-431 7980

if you need assistance.