Astronomical Highlights, 2006

Moon Phases 2006

New Moon	First Quarter	Full Moon	Third Quarter
Jan 29, 4:15 a.m.	Jan 6, 8:57 a.m.	Jan 13, 11:49 p.m.	Jan 22, 5:14 a.m.
Feb 27, 2:31 p.m.	Feb 4, 8:29 p.m.	Feb 12 , 6:45 p.m.	Feb 20, 9:27 p.m.
Mar 29 , 12:16 p.m.	Mar 6 , 10:16 p.m.	Mar 14 , 1:36 p.m.	Mar 22, 9:11 a.m.
Apr 27, 9:45 a.m.	Apr 5, 2:01 a.m.	Apr 13, 6:41 a.m.	Apr 20, 5:29 p.m.
May 26, 7:26 p.m.	May 4, 7:14 p.m.	May 12, 8:52 p.m.	May 19, 11:21 p.m.
June 25, 6:06 a.m.	June 3, 1:06 p.m.	June 11, 8:04 a.m.	June 18, 4:09 a.m.
July 24, 6:32 p.m.	July 3, 6:37 a.m.	July 10, 5:02 p.m.	July 17, 9:13 a.m.
Aug 23, 9:10 a.m.	Aug 1, 4:39 p.m. & Aug 31, 12:57 p.m.	Aug 9, 12:55 a.m.	Aug 15, 3:51 p.m.
Sept 22, 1:46 a.m.	Sep 30, 1:05 a.m.	Sep 7, 8:43 a.m.	Sept 14, 1:16 a.m.
Oct 21, 7:15 p.m.	Oct 29, 11:26 a.m.	Oct 6, 5:13 p.m.	Oct 13, 2:26 p.m.
Nov 20, 12:19 p.m.	Nov 27, 8:30 p.m.	Nov 5, 2:59 p.m.	Nov 12, 7:46 a.m.
Dec 20, 4:01 a.m.	Dec 27, 4:48 a.m.	Dec 4, 2:25 p.m.	Dec 12, 4:32 a.m.
All times are Hawai‘i Standard Time. Add ten hours for Universal Time.
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Solstices & Equinoxes

Vernal Equinox: March 20, 8:26 a.m.

Summer Solstice: June 21, 2:27 a.m.

Autumnal Equinox: September 22, 6:04 p.m.

Winter Solstice: December 21, 2:23 p.m.

Makahiki

Pleiades (Makali’i) rises as sun sets: November 17, 2006

Makahiki (lunar calendar): November 22, 2006 (new moon 11/20)

Daylight Savings Time

Begins April 2 - Ends October 29, 2006

Earth Orbit

Earth at Perihelion: January 4, 2006

Earth at Aphelion: July 3, 2006

Lāhaina Noon dates, 2006

Location	Spring Lāhaina Noon	Summer Lāhaina Noon
Līhu‘e, Kaua'i	May 30, 12:35 p.m.	July 11, 12:43 p.m.
Kāne'ohe, O‘ahu	May 27, 12:28 p.m.	July 15, 12:37 p.m.
Honolulu, O‘ahu	May 27, 12:28 p.m.	July 16, 12:37 p.m.
Kaunakakai, Moloka'i	May 25, 12:25 p.m.	July 17, 12:34 p.m.
Lāna'i City, Lāna'i	May 24, 12:24 p.m.	July 18, 12:34 p.m.
Lāhaina, Maui	May 24, 12:23 p.m.	July 18, 12:33 p.m.
Kahului, Maui	May 24, 12:22 p.m.	July 18, 12:32 p.m.
Hāna, Maui	May 23, 12:20 p.m.	July 19, 12:30 p.m.
Hilo, Hawai‘i	May 18, 12:17 p.m.	July 24, 12:27 p.m.
Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i	May 18, 12:20 p.m.	July 25, 12:30 p.m.

Background on Lāhaina Noon

In the tropics, there are two days each year when the sun is exactly overhead at local noon. This event only happens in the tropics; the sun is never overhead in the temperate or arctic zones of the world.

Since there was not a convenient single term for “that day when the sun is exactly overhead at local noon,” the Bishop Museum planetarium sponsored a contest twelve years ago to select a name for this event. “Lāhaina Noon” was the winner. “Lāhaina” means “cruel sun” in Hawaiian. One does not need to be in the town of Lāhaina, Maui, to see this event….anywhere in the tropics will do.

Lāhaina noon occurs only once on the tropic of Cancer, 23.5 degrees north of the equator, on the first day of summer. It occurs only once on the tropic of Capricorn, 23.5 degrees south of the equator, on the first day of winter. For all other locations in the tropics, this event occurs twice a year.

The closer a given latitude is to the tropic of Cancer, the closer the Lahaina noon dates will be to June 21. For instance, Lahaina noon dates in Līhu‘e, Kaua‘i, occur on May 31 and July 12. This is 21 days before and 22 days after the first day of summer on June 21. Lāhaina noon dates in Hilo, Hawai‘i, much further south, occur on May 18 and July 24. This is 34 days before, and 33 days after, the June solstice.

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Major Meteor Showers 2006

Shower Name	Dates	Expected Peak
Quadrantids	Dec. 28 - January 7	January 3, 6 a.m.
Lyrids	Apr. 16 - 25	Apr. 22, 2 a.m.
Eta Aquarids	Apr. 21 – May 12	May 5, 6 p.m.
Perseids	July 23 - Aug. 22	Aug. 12 2 p.m.
Orionids	Oct. 15 - 29	Oct. 21, 4 a.m.
Leonids	Nov. 13 - 20	Nov. 17, 9 a.m.
Geminids	Dec. 6 - 19	Dec. 14, 10 p.m.

Note: 2006 is a good year for meteor watching since at least five out of the seven major showers take place during a favorable moon phase, so there will be no moonlight to wash out the sky. The best time to view meteors is after midnight. The “peak” date given refers to that evening into the early morning hours of the next day. (Example: if the peak is the 3rd, that means the night of the 3rd into dawn on the 4th) You may also watch for meteors a day or two before or after the peak period, although you will most likely see less meteors than on the peak evening.

Meteor showers are most often the leftover debris of comets as they travel through our solar system. (Although some showers have unknown origins and others are asteroid in origin) The small, sand-size particles remain behind, and some of these patches are in the path of Earth’s orbit. When Earth encounters these patches of comet dust, the particles collide with our atmosphere at around 130,000 mph, burning up and causing what we see as “shooting stars”. Meteor showers are named after the constellation they appear to originate from, or the “radiant”. The best way to view a meteor shower is to be in a dark area as far from city lights as possible. Set up a comfortable chair or mat and just look up and around.

Quadrantid Meteor Shower
January 1 - 5, Peak January 3
The Moon sets at 10:18 p.m., making this a perfect night for meteor watching. The radiant of this shower is in the constellation Boötes, which was once part of an obsolete 18th-19th century constellation Quadrans Muralis, or “The Mural”. Boötes rises around 1:30 a.m., but you may start to see a few meteors before that time. The origin of the Quadrantids is unknown, but has been tentatively linked to an asteroid.

Lyrid Meteor Shower
April 16 - 25, Peak April 22
Conditions are pretty good for the Lyrids this year. The radiant of the Lyrids is between the constellations Lyra and Hercules, which rises around 9:30 p.m. The moon is in a waning crescent phase and rises around 3:30 a.m. on the 23rd, but shouldn’t interfere too much with the night sky. The “parent” of the Lyrids is comet Thatcher, last seen in the solar system in 1861. Lyrids are known for bright meteors with persistent trails.

Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower
April 19 - May 28, Peak May 5
This meteor shower requires you to be a night owl this year. Although the peak of the Eta Aquarids is stated here as May 5, you may also try the previous evening, since some sources also list that day (May 4) as the peak day. The moon is a waxing gibbous, which makes it difficult to do any early meteor watching, but sets at 1:30 a.m. on the morning of May 5, and 2:10 a.m. on the morning of May 6. That works out fine since the radiant, in Aquarius, does not rise until after 2:00 a.m. Eta Aquarids are one of two showers from the famous Halley’s comet—the other shower is the Orionids.

Perseid Meteor Shower
July 17 - August 24, Peak August 12
The famous Perseids is unfortunately hindered by a large gibbous moon, which rises at almost the same time as the radiant in the constellation Perseus around 9:30 p.m. the evening of Aug. 12. This is not a good year for this meteor shower, the product of comet Swift-Tuttle.

Orionid Meteor Shower
October 2 - November 7, Peak November 7
This is a great year for the Orionids since the moon is new at this time and will have set before darkness falls. The radiant is the upraised club of the constellation Orion, which is easily recognized. Orion rises by 10:30 p.m. and will be in the sky the entire night. The Orionids is the twin shower to the Eta Aquarids in May and is characterized as having very fast, bright meteors.

Leonid Meteor Shower
November 14 - 21, Peak November 17
Conditions couldn’t be better for the Leonids this year. The moon is a small waning crescent that will rise just before the sun on Nov. 18. The constellation Leo rises just after midnight on the 18th, which is the best time to look for the meteors as it appears to come from the head of the lion. Even when the moon rises close to 4:30 a.m. the morning of the 18th, it still will not cast that much light to spoil viewing. Leonids are from the parent comet Temple-Tuttle from its 1998 passage through the solar system. The meteors are very fast and leave persistent trails. Another characteristic of the Leonids are unexpected peaks other than Nov. 17, so you can keep an eye on the sky during the entire week.

Geminid Meteor Shower
December 7 - 17, Peak December 14
The Geminids have the reputation of being one of the best meteor showers as seen from Earth, and this year (as opposed to 2005) we have good conditions on the peak day. The radiant is near Castor, the “leading” star of the twin brothers in the Gemini constellation. Gemini rises by 8 p.m. the night of the 14 th in a moonless sky. The small crescent of the waning moon rises at 2:45 a.m. (the 15 th) but should not interfere much with meteor-watching since Gemini will be almost directly overhead by that time. The Geminids is the product of an asteroid, 3200 Phaethon.

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Other astronomy events in 2006:

January 4 – Earth at perihelion (closest to sun) at 5 a.m. HST. The difference between the closest and farthest point in Earth’s orbit is less than 2%.

January 13 – Venus in inferior conjunction.

January 27 – Saturn at opposition.

January 29 – Chinese New Year. First new moon before February 20.

February 27 – Moon at closest perigee (closest to Earth) for 2006.

March 14 – Penumbral lunar eclipse (NOT visible from Hawaii ).

March 20 – Equinox ( 8:26 a.m. HST).

March 29 – Total solar eclipse (NOT visible from Hawaii ).

April 2 – Daylight Savings Time begins. Clocks move ahead one hour except in Hawai‘i, American Samoa, most of Arizona (the Navajo Nation observes DST), Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 2006 is the first year that the entire state of Indiana will observe DST. NOTE: Beginning in 2007, DST will start the second Sunday of March and end on the first Sunday of November.

May 4 – Jupiter at opposition.

May 6 – Astronomy Day.

Junes 17 – Mars in conjunction with Saturn—very close in western sky at sunset.

June 21 – Summer Solstice ( 2:27 a.m. HST).

July 3 – Earth at aphelion (farthest point from the sun) at 1:00 p.m. HST.

August 10 – Mercury and Venus close in the morning sky at dawn.

August 26 – Venus and Saturn in conjunction—very close in morning sky.

September. 22 – Equinox ( 6:04 p.m. HST).

October 25 through 28 – Mercury and Jupiter in conjunction--close in the western evening sky at dusk.

October 29 – Daylight Savings Time ends.

November 8 – Rare transit of Mercury across the sun (begins 9:14 a.m HST)

December 9 – Mercury in conjunction with Mars in dawn sky in the east, with Jupiter very close by.

December 10 – Mercury in conjunction with Jupiter, with Mars nearby in eastern dawn sky. This is the closest grouping of three naked-eye planets in the period between 1980-2050.

December21 – Winter Solstice ( 2:23 p.m. HST)

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Bishop Museum sky information lines
808.848.4136 for pre-recorded sky information and planetarium schedule.