Moondark 9.07 - January '06 by Doug Miller

Moondark for January: What's Up for Deep Night Weekends in 2006

2006 Calendar with Moon Phases

New Moons:
Jan 29 09:15
Feb 27 19:31
Mar 29 05:15
Apr 27 15:44
May 27 01:26
Jun 25 12:05
Jul 25 00:31
Aug 23 15:10
Sep 22 07:45
Oct 22 01:14
Nov 20 17:18
Dec 20 09:01

More phases from USNO

Moondark's Moon Phases and
Deep Nights

Deep Night Weekends (F-Sa):
(h of deep night)
Jan 27-28 (10.8h)
Feb 24-25 (9.9h)
Mar 24-25 (8.2h)
Mar 31-Apr 1 (6.7h)
Apr 28-29 Star Gaze (6.9h)
May 26-27(5.6h)
Jun 23-24 (5.1h)
Jul 21-22 (4.7h)
Jul 28-29 (6.0h)
Aug 25-26 (7.5h)
Sep 22-23 No Frills (8.9h)
Oct 20-21 (10.1h)
Nov 17-18 (10.3h)
Dec 22-23 (10.9h)

Current Time:
from USNO:

(Reload after 10 seconds)
and from NIST's time.gov

January opens with the crescent Moon sweeping past a brilliant Venus, en route to a rendezvous with the Pleiades on the 9-10th. This opening act of 2006 is just the first of a series occultations of this star cluster. In late winter and spring Venus fades, Mars draws distant, and thereafter Saturn and Jupiter dominate the sky through mid-year. A handful of eclipses occur in 2006 but unfortunately only one, Mar 13th's penumbral lunar eclipse, is marginally visible from the Mid Atlantic. Autumn brings us a transit of Mercury on November 8th, underway at sunset on the east coast.

Deep sky observers crave dark skies, unspoiled by moonlight, around the new moon—this year occuring in the latter part of each month. Especially favored are the deep nights of Fridays and Saturdays that are the club’s regular monthly observing nights. Regional star parties are held in April and September at the Equestrian Center at Tuckahoe State Park, MD, 38° 58' N and 75° 57' W.

Web sites for satellite passes, space weather overviews, auroras alerts and observations, bright comets and supernovae can be used to increase any observers knowledge and enjoyment of the sky. Online forecasts, satellite loops and dedicated clear sky clocks are invaluable, but they are no substitute for going outside and looking up. If clouds interfere, be sure to participate in the club's online Yahoo! discussion group. And on first Tuesdays, please join us at a monthly meeting held in Smyrna.

All times are local: Eastern Standard Time is 5 hours behind Universal Time; Daylight Saving Time, between 2 April and 29 October 2006, is 4 hours behind. Sources of information: Sky View Café, the club’s weather page, Jerry Truitt’s spreadsheet calendar, and Bob Bunge’s NOVAC weather pages. Images at right are "live" and linked from other sites: refresh this page to ensure they are up to date. For the updated sky info and events, be sure to check the Star Gazer News. Moondark is written by Doug Miller, published at the Moondark web site, and printed in the Delmarva Star Gazers' Star Gazer News. This document was last revised on 20 December 2005. Text and images fom the Moondark site are copyright © 2005 by Douglas C. Miller, All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without prior permission.

Current Moon Phase from USNO

Clear Sky Clock for Tuckahoe

Sky Cover Graphical Forecast from NWS

Current NWS Forecast for Tuckahoe, MD Region

Enhanced IR Satellite from AccuWeather .com

NE US Weather Satellite from cnn.com

Today's Moon and Sun with Current Weather from Weather Undergound .com