Astronomy Evening on 19 September in Louis Trichardt
Do you want to learn more about the evening skies, identify constellations, learn about South African starlore or look through a telescope? Soutpansberg Astronomy Club invites you for an evening under the stars on Saturday the 19th September phone 079 148 4934 for more information and directions. View the stellar "Big Five" at the eyepiece of a 10 inch Newtonian reflector with "GO TO" capabilities and over 30 000 objects in the data base. Otherwise sit back and enjoy a real-time, live image of the "King of the Planets" Jupiter with a view of the Giant Red Spot, a massive rotating high pressure weather system the size of the Earth.
Early on in the evening three of Jupiter's four moons can be seen. Discovered by Galileo 400 years ago, naming them J1, J2 J3 and J4 watch as the fourth moon appears after occultation behind the planet. Dutch astronomer Simon Marius quite independently saw the moons through his telescope and gave them names from mythology after the sons and daughters of the Greek gods, calling them Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Later, when Marius announced his discovery he was ridiculed by the followers of the great Galileo, who was a patron of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Marius was ostracized and no one would honour the names he had given to the moons. As other moons were discovered (a total of 64 known ones today), Galileo's method of numbering prevailed over giving names to the moons. These first four moons of Jupiter are now known as the Galilean moons. However, to recognize the work of Marius, the names he gave the moons are the names we know them by today.
GC 7009, the tiny planetary nebula also know as the Saturn Nebula, is bright but small, seen as a tiny green/blue shell in colour in a telescope. NGC 7009 is 3500 light years away while Jupiter is around 40 light minutes distant.
