[net.astro] "New & Improved"

amra@ihuxj.UUCP (Steven L. Aldrich) (08/30/84)

   I have Revised the format of my Cosmic Calendar posting in accordance
  with the suggestions I've recieved so far. Below is the "New & Improved"
  version. Please let me know if this is the kind of format you'd like
  to see every month. I eagerly await your input on this matter, and wish 
  to Thank Everyone who has/will respond(ed) with their ideas. Please let
  me know what Improvments are needed. 

   Thanks in advance for ALL Views/Opinions/Suggestions. They are read and
   greatly appreciated.

    The Cosmic Calendar for Sept, 1984 appears below, Happy Reading...

   Cosmic Events For: September, 1984


 Day  | Event

  02  | First Quarter Moon at 06:30 am EDT. Mars is 2 deg. N of Antares.

  04  | Mars Passes 2 deg. S of Uranus; Both in Southern Ophiuchus.

  08  | Look for Mercury and the Star Regulus together in E sky 1hr B4 dawn

  10  | Full Moon (Harvest Moon) at 3:01 EDT

  11  | Moon at apogee at 9:26 EDT; Dist=252,509 miles

  16  | Mercury passes through perihelion today.

  18  | Last Quarter Moon at 05:31 EDT.

  22  | Autumnal Equinox occurs at 16:33 EDT. Fall Begins in N. Hemisphere.

  24  | Moon at perigee 22:51 EDT; Dist=221,807 miles

  25  | New Moon at 23:11 EDT

     Planetary Data For: September, 1984

                                                  Distance
                           Angular                From (AU)
 Planet   | Date | Mag. |   Size    | % Illum. | Earth/Sun | R.A./Dec.

 Mercury  |  01  |  3.8 |   10.3"   |   03%    | 0.66/0.37 | 10h14.1m/7*22.0'

 Mercury  |  15  | 0.4  |    7.0"   |   52%    | 0.97/0.31 | 10h27.2m/10*26.2'

 Mercury  |  30  | 1.2  |    5.1"   |   95%    | 1.31/0.35 | 11h58.2m/2*10.6'

  Venus   |  01  | 3.9  |   10.7"   |   93%    | 1.57/0.72 |12h01.6m/1*03.9'

  Venus   |  15  | 3.9  |   11.1"   |   91%    | 1.51/0,72 |13h04.2m/6*06.6'

  Venus   |  30  | 3.9  |   11.7"   |   88%    | 1.43/0.73 |14h12.9m/13*21.0'

   Mars   |  15  |  0.1 |   08.6"   |   85%    | 1.08/1.40 | 17h01.5m/25*03.5'

 Jupiter  |  15  | 2.3  |   40.1"   |   99%    | 4.90/5.19 |18h16.3m/23*29.4'

  Saturn  |  15  | 0.7  |   15.8"   |   100%   | 10.50/9.89| 14h44.9m/13*41.9'

  Uranus  |  15  | 5.6  |    3.6"   |   100%   |19.22/19.03| 16h33.8m/21*56.9'

 Neptune  |  15  |  7.9 |   2.2"    |   100%   |30.13/30.26| 17h55.2m/22*16.2'

   Pluto  |  15  | 13.8 |    0.1"   |   100%   |30.56/29.81| 14h17.2m/03*38.5'



         --> EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS/TERMINOLOGY <--


     1) Mag.: Magnitude; degree of brightness of star/object/etc.
               Magnitude 1 is brightest, although some stars/planets/
               etc have Negative Magnitudes (These Are VERY BRIGHT)

     2) Angular Size: Size of object as viewed through telescope (?)
                      Measured in degrees of arc. (Is This Correct?)

     3) % Illum.: Percentage of surface illuminated by solar light.

     4) Earth/Sun (AU): Distance to object (planet) as measured from
                        either Earth or Sun. An "AU" is Astronomical
                         Units (distance of Earth from Sun). Roughly
                        this figure is rounded to 93 Million Miles.

     5) R.A./Dec.: Right Ascention/Declination of star/planet/object;
                   Right Ascention is measured in time units where 24
                   hours equals 360 degrees. When the first point of
                   Aries culminates the time is 00h 00min.

                   Declination; Celestial Latitude. North Celestial
                   Pole has a declination of N 90 degrees (*)

            Satellites of Jupiter (4:00 UT)
         (As Seen Through Refracting Telescope)
       [ Jupiter=0, Io=1, Europa=2, Ganymede=3, Callisto=4 ]

          | Date | Order |     | Date | Order |
          |  01  | 42103 |     |  16  |  4013 |
          |  02  | 40213 |     |  17  | 41023 |
          |  03  |  1023 |     |  18  | 42031 |
          |  04  |  2014 |     |  19  | 32410 |
          |  05  |  3204 |     |  20  |  3042 |
          |  06  |  3024 |     |  21  | 30124 |
          |  07  |  3014 |     |  22  |  2104 |
          |  08  | 21034 |     |  23  |  0134 |
          |  09  | 02134 |     |  24  | 10234 |
          |  10  | 10243 |     |  25  | 20314 |
          |  11  |  201  |     |  26  | 23104 |
          |  12  |  3420 |     |  27  | 30124 |
          |  13  |  4302 |     |  28  |  302  |
          |  14  | 43021 |     |  29  |  4210 |
          |  15  | 42103 |     |  30  | 4013  |
          |  31  |       |     | |------|



             That's all for this time!
              Steve Aldrich (ihnp4!ihuxj!amra)
              "The Universe is Far-Out!!" :)

    P.S. I will probably drop the "Explanation of Terminology/Symbols"
         portion of the "Cosmic Calendar", if there is enough Negative
         Reaction to this portion. I included it for this posting to
         see how people would react. It was requested by another net-
         -person who asked that I include such info in future postings.
          PLEASE Do Not Flame on this portion, Okay?? Just trying to keep
          as many people happy as possible.