Halo Around The Sun

South Africans were treated to quite a rare sight in the sky yesterday - a perfect rainbow halo around the Sun. The sight caused quite a stir and made headlines in the news - with lots of photos on the net as well.

The scientific explanation is that the halo is caused by light reflecting off tiny ice-crystals or water droplets very high in the sky. The thing about theses halos is that they can't be predicted like eclipses, the conditions for them to form have to be absoultely right. The conditions that form halos often cause rain and this is what happened yesterday evening, we had heavy showers of rain. Sometimes halos appear as arcs and other times, like yesterday, they completely surround the Sun. Like all of creation, they are wonderful masterpieces of the Lord's work!

 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

- Genesis 1:14

Sept. 11 - A Rare Sight for S.A.

If you are in Southern Africa this Saturday, September 11th, you will be able to see a rare sight in the sky - and not at night, mind you, but during the day! It is rare as the next time it is predicted to be seen this well is in 2023.

What you will be able to see on Saturday afternoon is an "Occultation of Venus by the Moon", this means that the Moon will pass directly between Southern Africa and Venus. :)

At the moment the planet Venus, known as the 'Evening Star' is bright enough to see during the day but it is difficult to find it in the wide, bright blue sky. Tomorrow though it will be near the Moon and this will make it easier to find. You will have to look carefully to find the Moon as it is a thin cresent at the moment. (see the Moon-phase gadget on the right sidebar of our blog)

In a nutshell, on 11 September you will be able to see ~
*Venus during the day.
*Venus disappearing behind the Moon - an "occultation of Venus" - and then later re-appearing on the other side of the Moon.
*A spectacular early-evening sight: the young crescent Moon just above a brilliantly bright Venus (the "evening star").

Here are some tips from the Planetarium to help you enjoy your Sky watch tomorrow:
Look for the Moon early morning - rising in the east from about 9am (eastern SA) or 10am (western SA). At this time, Venus will be on the dark side (east) of the Moon, about four Moon-widths below and a bit to the right of the Moon.

As the day goes on the Sun and Moon will move across the sky towards the west (due to the rotation of the Earth); the Moon will be about 40 degrees (twice the size of your outstretched spread-out hand) to the east of the Sun. As the day goes by, the Moon will move noticeably towards Venus. Some time during the afternoon (depending on where you live in SA), the Moon will pass directly in front of Venus, hiding it - this is an "occultation".

The occultation will last from a few minutes (for Musina, on the edge of the "occultation path") up to nearly an hour and a half (for Cape Town, nearer the centre of the path).

By evening the Moon will have passed Venus; after the Sun has set, the crescent will be clearly visible for a couple of hours, just above Venus (Venus is the very bright "evening star"). This will be a beautiful sight, and if you have a small telescope, get it out and see if you can see the crescent shape of Venus - it needs a bit of magnification.

Another tip: while looking for Venus during the day, stand in the edge of the shade of a building - this will help you to avoid accidentally looking at the Sun which is very dangerous and could damage your eyes especially if you are using binoculars or a telescope.
The times of the occultation will depend on where in S.A. you are:
* Musina: 3:02 pm to 3:15 pm
* Johannesburg: 2:37pm to 3:41pm
* Durban: 2:43 pm to 3:57pm
* Cape Town: 2:15 pm to 3:41pm
For other towns, see this list http://www.planetarium.co.za/VenusOccultation2010Sep11.pdf

Have a wonderful day, marvelling at the Lord's Creation! :)

Dance of the Planets

Over the past few months an amazing performance has been going on in the sky - the astronomers call it "The Dance of the Planets".
It is the movement of the planets as they move towards and away from each other.
This year we've seen an amazing number of alignments and groupings of the planets and certain stars. As with all of God's creation, it has been fascinating to watch!

This week Venus, Mars and Saturn are grouped in a nice triangle, with Mercury below. Look for them over in the west just after sunset.

THIS EVENING (Aug. 11th) get out early to see all four planets above the new crescent Moon.     
Look for this grouping early evening in the western sky.
 *It is easiest to first look at the new crescent Moon and then look above it and find Venus, the Evening Star, which is the brightest of the group, then it will be easier to spot the other planets.
*Above Venus, just to the right is Mars.
*Below Venus, also to the right is Saturn.
*Once you find Saturn, start looking back down towards the Moon and you will see Mercury shining above it - also slightly to the right.
Click here for a diagram to help you find and identify the planets. Keep a look out over the next three nights to see how this grouping changes.

Here's a good animation  (although from the Northern Hemisphere) of the Dance of the Planets from Jul 04 to Oct 06 2010.

Enjoy star-gazing! :)

Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

- Jeremiah 31:35

The Shortest Day Of The Year

Today is the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm so pleased about it because it means that the days will slowly begin to get longer, the nights shorter and that we are heading towards Spring again and Spring is my favourite season of the year! :)

Today the Sun reaches it's northern-most point in planet Earth's sky, making it mid-summer in the Northern Hemisphere and mid-winter in the Southern. This event is known as a solstice and happens twice a year when the Earth's axis is most tilted away from or towards the Sun.
It's interesting that the word "solstice" comes from the Latin 'sol'(sun) and 'sistere'(to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south comes to a stop before it reverses direction. Summer solstice for the S.H. is on December, 21.

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?

- Psalms 8:3-4

Cresent Moon and the Evening Star

Our family has always been facinated with the night sky. Mom has good memories of many nights spent outside looking at the sky through a telescope while her dad sat next to her teaching and guiding her through the constellations and planets. etc. Mom has passed that interest onto Rachel and I and we too have memories of when we were still very young, walking out in the garden with her while she pointed out the more easily recognizable heavenly bodies. The very first planet we learnt to recognize was Venus - "the Evening and Morning Star". The first constellations were Orion and of course, our favourite one of all, "The Southern Cross". There is so much beauty in the night sky and one marvels at God's incredible creation!

We'd been away from home most of last Sunday and were returning just after sunset. The sky was perfectly clear and calm and we had a wonderful view of the young cresent moon and Venus close together in the western sky. Mom tried to take a photo but it didn't come out very well but I'm posting it anyway just to give a little idea of how brilliant the two looked.

Up coming sky events: This weekend, if you're up just before sunrise, you'll be able to see the International Space Station passing close by the bright planets Jupiter and Mercury. The ISS is very bright and easy to see, as is Jupiter. Enjoy the viewing! :)

"I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.”

- Abraham Lincoln