Saturn to be occulted by Moon tonight on 14th October 2024!

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) easily visible in the evening

 
✪ Wonderful opportunity to witness Saturn- Moon occultation
✪ Saturn suddenly will disappear behind dark part of the Moon and will reappear from behind its lighted part!
✪ In Maharashtra, the timing is around 11.45 pm to 1.40 am
✪ Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is visible in evening near Venus
✪ Need dark skies and clear view of West of the comet
✪ Comet can be photographed with smartphone pro mode
✪ Both are wonderful events to experience
✪ Season of sky watching started!

Hello all.

Greetings. Tonight we have opportunity to witness and enjoy two sky wonders. The first is the Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). This comet has now become visible in the Evening sky. For next few days, from around 14th October to 19th October, it will appear in the Western sky near the brightest planet Venus. Best chance of observing this comet is coming 10 days. In ideal sky watching conditions- away from city lights, it will be visible to the naked eye as a small smudge. With binoculars and small telescope, it will be more clear. You can track its daily sky position on astronomical app such as stellerium. It can be photographed also by using a smartphone. For this, you need to use the pro- mode. Set the shutter speed to 4 seconds or 8 seconds. Set the ISO to 800 or 1600, depending on how dark sky you have. Set the focus to infinity. Have some support for mobile and keep it tilt towards west. Then set the timer to 5 seconds. You need to keep the mobile steady for some time (timer seconds + shutter speed duration). Then you can photograph it. After some attempts this comet can be photographed.

Observing a comet is always a great experience! It may not be as predominantly seen as we see in the advanced photographs! But still locating that faint smudge, the faint whitish spot in the sky is wonderful. If sky conditions are great, we can also spot its tail that is several degrees long in the sky! And comets also teach us patience! We need several nights to spot them. I attempted to spot this comet several times in the dawn sky, when it was approaching the Sun. When it became visible in the evening, there were clouds. So we also need better luck with clouds layer and visibility conditions.

Now let’s come to the second wonder that is visible right in the midnight! For this also, we need to pray for better skies without light pollution! These days Saturn is in Aquarius. Tonight the Moon will pass between Earth and Saturn and will obstruct Saturn for some time! Having watched the Moon’s Mars occultation, I can say that this is very unbelievable sight! The moment when Saturn suddenly “disappears” behind dark part of Moon and the moment when it suddenly emerges from behind the Moon- both moments are mesmerizing! Saturn is much much away then the Moon. The Moon is around 3 lac 84 thousand kms from us while Saturn is near 135 crore kilometers away! With a good telescope, you can also take video of Saturn and the Moon together. If we are watching with naked eyes, then Saturn will be seen to be lost into the Moon’s glow some minutes before it actually is obstructed. And for naked eyes, it will take some minutes to reach it little away from the Moon to be visible again. This event is best observed through a Binocular or a small telescope.

Both these events are spectacular and especially for children, these are worth attempting. Even if we may not spot the comet on the first night, attempting is worth and worth sharing with the children. Let’s us witness these events in actual sky and not on mobile or youtube! With the comet, we can also share the example of patience with the children! It takes time and efforts, but when it is VISIBLE, it is unforgettable!  Let’s be ready and try to watch it. After all, it is a guest arrived after 80,000 years to meet our Sun!

By the way, sky watching season has started. With last spell of rains receding in coming week, we are ready for clear skies! My sky watching seasons are starting soon. You can contact me to conduct a session at your place. I conduct sky watching sessions with my telescope and binoculars for groups of 25 persons.

(Thanks for reading! You can share with your near ones. You can read my sky watching experiences on my blog. You can also read about my experiences of trekking, cycling, running, meditation, sky watching etc. there. If you wish to get updates of such activities, you can contact me. Niranjan Welankar 09422108376)