[meteorite-list] Easy Observing Ceres Tonight (28-29 May)

[MexicoDoug at aol.com]

Hola list,
 
Ceres is still 2.5X brighter than Vesta tonight and twice as far as  Vesta!  
Take advantage of this to collect a memory of Ceres.  Just a  quick message 
hoping you get to see the main mass of the asteroid belt -Ceres-  tonight.  
 
That is starting right about now in Europe and lasting until nearly 3:00 AM  
local times.  Ceres normally is too dim to find with typical consumer  
binoculars, but as has been discussed it has just passed opposition (it opposes  the 
Sun in Earth's sky).  So we are still near a "full Ceres" at 99.4%  
illumination as happens at opposition, not to mention being so close at a  miniscule 
1.75 AU away from this object which has a 2.75 or so AU average  distance from 
the Sun.  The other benefit is that at opposition it is  highest in the sky 
around midnight.  Well, this situation is quickly  vanishing as the cosmic 
merry-go-round continues.  We had overcast skies  during opposition about three weeks 
ago when Ceres reached near 7.0  magnitude.  It is now at 7.35 magnitude - 
about only half as bright as  then, and these have been the first few nights 
since the nearly full moon has  delayed enough to five us 3 or 4 hours of peace, 
not to mention being a Saturday  night which covers the casual observer with 
Sunday relaxation the next day after  an astronomy night, if necessary.

Actually at 10:00 -11:00 PM wherever  most of you are, will be around the 
best time.  7.35 magnitude is about the  last chance to make this fun (unless you 
have more powerful optics and don't  mind hauling them).

I've printed out two finder charts for 2005 May 29  03:00 Universal Time 
(10:00 PM CDT May 28 today), which should give you no  trouble finding Ceres, the 
little pinpoint it will be.  Every 4 days it is  losing a tenth of a magnitude 
now - in other words - give it three weeks or so  to to be half as bright as 
tonight...and then there will be a Moon to deal with  soon enough.

The big picture first finder  chart
link:
http://www.diogenite.com/2005-5-29-125UT.JPG
will work to  orient one as Ceres is still in Libra, near Virgo.  It sort of 
makes a  triangle with Jupiter (mag=minus 2.3, brightest astro in the sky and  
unmistakable) and Spica (Ist mag), the nearest very bright star nearby 
(Arcturus  (0th magnitude) also isn't to far away and is the brightest star to the 
left  while Jupiter is to the right.  Ceres is the dimmist object at 7.35 mag,  
the stars are only show twice as bright mag=6.5 min, to aid in hopping about 
the  sky.

The second finer angle finder chart  
link:
http://www.diogenite.com/Ceres45Deg.JPG
has Spica in the upper  right good for reference, (near the ecliptic which is 
traced) and has all the  stars in the field up to the 8th magnitude visible.  
In other words  everything it includes everything half as dim as Ceres or so 
that  you  might be able to see in the binoculars.  The two concentric red 
circles  around Ceres show the sizes of a 5 degree and a 10 degree field of view, 
the  typical ranges in cheap binocs, which ought to give a good reference of 
what you  would see when on target if you use these convenient eyes into the  
sky.

Enjoy!  Hope all have a celestial weekend!
Clear  minds,
Doug