Did you or your kids get a telescope for Christmas or have you got one sitting in your office or basement that you don’t know what to do with?
With all the excitement about the supermoon-total lunar eclipse-blue moon event coming to the sky this Wednesday, Jan. 31, there’s more interest than ever in astronomical events, especially a rare one like this that brings the mysteries of space right into our own backyard.
This is one time you might really enjoy using a small telescope or binoculars, although this full moon event may not show the spectacular shadowy details of the moon as clearly as when it’s in a different phase than full.
“The moon is the best thing to look at through a telescope,” said Richard Walker, former Longway Planetarium manager in Flint. “It’s big, bright and easy to find the details, especially at the moon’s shadowy edges. But the worst time to look at the moon through a telescope is a full moon. The sun is shining straight down and you can’t see any shadows.”
This is just one of the things that you can learn from Walker during a telescope workshop, set for this Saturday, Jan. 27 at Longway Planetarium in Flint, to help people who may have gotten telescopes as Christmas gifts. “If there’s enough interest, I’ll do another in February or March,” he said.
Walker, 64, admits he’s an avid amateur astronomer as well as a collector and builder of telescopes. “I got my first telescope at age 7,” he said. “I’ve owned around 25 and have built several myself.”
He admits that telescopes can be a little intimidating, especially for a beginner.
Walker tells workshop participants to bring all the pieces and parts along with their telescope, and then shares with them, “here’s what you can throw away. If you don’t set them up correctly, it’s nearly impossible
to use them.” He admits that directions given with telescopes usually are confusing and poorly written. “If you’re interested, read magazines like ‘Astronomy’ or ‘Sky and Telescope,’” he said.
In addition to looking at the moon, Walker advises novice astronomers to take their telescopes outdoors on a clear Michigan morning at 7 a.m. and look for the planet Jupiter high in the southeast sky.
“It will look like the brightest star you’ll see, you can’t miss it,” he said. “Jupiter has four large moons you should be able to see, and you can even see the cloud bands that look like stripes around the planet.”
If you don’t have a telescope but would like to buy one, Walker said you should expect to pay $125 or more for a quality instrument. “Don’t worry about what the package says about magnification,” said Walker. “Look at the diameter of the mirror and get no smaller than 100 millimeters or 4-inches.”
In the case of telescopes, bigger is always better, said Walker. “Get it so big until it’s too big to lift,” he said.
Source: NASA.gov
watch the ‘lunar trifecta’ on Wednesday, Jan. 31
The Jan. 31 full moon is special for three reasons: it’s the third in a series of “supermoons,” when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit — known as perigee — and about 14 percent brighter than usual. It’s also the second full moon of the month, commonly known as a “blue moon.” The super blue moon will pass through Earth’s shadow to give viewers in the right location a total lunar eclipse. While the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow, it will take on a reddish tint, known as a “blood moon.”
This hasn’t happened for 150 years, so it’s literally “once in a blue moon.”
Your best place to view this lunar event is at a high point or unobstructed area that offers a free sight to the west-northwest sky, according to timeanddate.com.
These lunar events will be visible in the tri-county area with this schedule:
5:51 a.m.
Penumbral eclipse begins
6:48 a.m.
Partial eclipse begins, the moon is getting red
7:46 a.m.
Maximal eclipse is visible, when the moon is close under the horizon
7:49 a.m.
Moon sets, below the horizon
7:51 a.m.
Total eclipse begins
8:29 a.m.
Maximum eclipse
9:07 a.m.
Total eclipse ends
10:11 a.m.
Partial eclipse ends
11:08 a.m.
Penumbral eclipse ends
