Babe Among The Stars: Planetary Playmates
Created | Updated Jul 28, 2013
Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth - Ptolemy
Planetary Playmates
The two additional moons detected orbiting Pluto have been given names connected with the mythological underworld. Kerberos was chosen for P4 and Styx for P5, after the hellhound guard dog and the river dividing the world of the living from the land of the dead respectively.
I had been writing up Neptune's moons for the Edited Guide - I finished my entry and submitted it to Peer Review on 14 July. At that time there were 13 Neptunian moons, the last one discovered in 2003. Imagine my surprise to be informed in the Peer Review conversation that a 14th moon had been detected that month and it had only just been announced! I'm indebted to Elektragheorgheni for the heads-up! I've tweaked the article now and just awaiting the IAU's decision on the name, which has to be connected with the Roman god of the sea. At the time of writing, 18 July, Neptune XIV remains unnamed. I'd like to guess that Thetis, the leader of the Nereids and mother of Achilles, might be chosen.
Perseids at APOD
This month sees the best (hopefully!) meteor shower of the year, the Perseids, which are remains left behind from the passing of comet Swift-Tuttle. The Astronomy Picture of the Day website (APOD) has provided us with a wealth of wonderful images over the years, both in space and Earth-bound. How people manage to capture photos of meteors is beyond me. They are so quick that even if you're looking in the right direction you wouldn't have time to aim and capture it with an ordinary, hand-held camera. I'm no digital wizard so I'll let you relish these images and just wonder, like me, how they were snapped for our delectation.
- Perseid over Albrechtsberg Castle
- Perseid Meteors and the Milky Way
- Perseid Storm
- Perseid Meteors over Quebec
- Night of the Perseids
- Perseid Prelude
- Perseids from Perseus
- Meteor by Moonlight
- Shuttle and Meteor
- Perseid over Vancouver
- Perseid Trail
- Moonless Perseid Sky
- Raining Perseids
- Perseid Fireball over Japan
- A Perseid Meteor
- Rainbow Perseid
- Perseids of Summer
- Aurora Persei
and my personal favourite:
August 2013 Diary Dates
- 03: The Moon is 4° south of Jupiter
- 04: The Moon is 5° south of Mars
- 04: Mercury passes 7° south of Pollux (beta Geminorium)
- 05: The Moon is 4° south of Mercury
- 06: New Moon
- 09: The Moon is 5° south of Venus
- 11: The Moon and Spica (alpha Virginis) are less than a degree apart
- 12: Perseid meteor shower peak
- 13: The Moon is 3° south of Saturn
- 21: Full Moon - the Sturgeon or Fruit Moon
- 21: The Moon is 6° north of Neptune
- 24: The Moon is 3° north of Uranus
- 31: The Moon is 4° south of Jupiter
Chat about your celestial observances at the H2G2 Astronomy Society. Comment on anything in this edition of Babe Among the Stars by starting a new conversation below.
