Muharam crescent

BBC Photo

Its first of Muharam, the first month of Islamic calendar and a national holiday in the country. The crescent is there just for those who are excited to observe it while the rest are inside the homes and the roads are closed because of the AGCC summit . Setting at 19:08 PM, there was plenty of time to spot it. With what I see on TV these 2 days. I could not stop myself from thinking about the people of Gaza, they have the same skies as ours, the same stars, and the same Muharam crescent moon but for sure not the same scenery. Thick black clouds of bombing and explosions are covering the skies. The Israelis have not left a single reason for people of Palestine to celebrate for. Not a Christmas star, nor the Muharam crescent. But what am I talking about! With the undiscriminating bombing in the city, the pleasure of watching the sky is on the n th order of priorities. If you come to think about it, we human take things for granted, from the piece of bread we put in our mouth, to the glimpse of that faint star in our skies. So the next time you look up to the sky, remember your next kin in humanity who are not able to enjoy it like you do .

Meeting with the seven sisters

Yesterday we suppose to have met the seven sisters in the evening, but the luck was not on our side. Yes all seven of them. Well if you are like most of us who have eye sight that is not comparable to the eagle, one can only see 5 to 6 of them with naked eyes. I am talking about the Pleiades cluster. PDO Planetarium invited us to watch them through 10 inches telescope directed towards the cluster so people could get closer to admire stars. Due to clouds covering almost everywhere you look in the east skies of Muscat, nothing could be seen. Pleiades have taken its place very extensively in most of ancient and modern cultures including the Greek mythology, the Persian and the Arabs. The Pleiades stars "Seven Sisters" according to Greek mythology, are the seven daughters and their father Atlas. Their Japanese name is "Subaru", which many of us can associate with the car and its branded logo of stars. The Persian have named it "Soraya", after which the former Iranian empress was named. Coincidently the Swahili culture calls it "kilimia" from the word "kulima" for those who can speak the language as it is been associated with signs of raining season for farmers to start planting "kulima". The Arabic poetry had no less interest in the Pleiades, beautiful poems have been sculptured describing their beauty and glamour. It appears that the Arabic name for the Pleiades may come from the word "Tharwa" meaning wealth and probably for the same reason when associated with raining season. Scientifically, the sisters are approximately 440 +/-6 light-years away! also known as Messier 45 (M45). So if you want to join any one of the seven sisters, better have a good stamina and a Ferrari with speed of light and of course a fuel that will last you 440 years if you are still alive! .

Note: for those who still want to see the seven sisters, they can visit the PDO Planetarium, they have got a nice show about them. Very entertaining I guarantee, and thanks to the efforts that went into producing it.

Happy Stargazing

Chrismas in Summer

It sound like it is contagious when I read yesterday about the Australian astronomer who claims that he has an explanation for what the Christian call the Charismas Star or Bethlehem Mystery. Yes, during the last two weeks or so we had a difference of opinion about when our religious Eid should start here in Oman. In Christianity, it is believed that a star revealed the birth of Jesus (PBUH) to the magi or "wise men" and regarded as a miraculous sign given by God to mark the birth of the Christ or Messiah. As per the astronomer, Dave Renek claims that he managed to solve the Bethlehem Mystery using the new technology that astronomical advancement have attained and the answer have even narrowed down the date of Jesus (PBUH) birth to a specific day!. News editor of Sky and Space magazine Dave Reneke says complex charting software has allowed astronomers to map the night sky as it would have appeared more than 2000 years ago and has revealed a spectacular astronomical event at the time of Jesus' birth. "It's like a digital map where we can move forward in time as well as backwards," the astronomer Dave Reneke explained. As a general acceptance, the dates for the birth is ranging between 3BC to 1AC. Using the Bible book of Matthew as a reference point, Dave Reneke identified the planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Venus to an exact date in 2BC similar to the planetary alignment of the "smiley face" witnessed on the 1st of December in Muscat night sky but much closer. He said a "beacon of light" would have been visible across the eastern dawn sky as Venus and Jupiter moved across the constellation of Leo on June 17, 2BC. The conjunction of the planets was so close, he said that the planets would have appeared as one bright star even with the naked eye. With this discovery if true, should charismas be celebrated in winter December (White Christmas) or during June (Hot Charismas)?!. This incident should suggest to us how difficult it is to submit to science without taking into account other religious facts or believes if I may say, and should challenge those who are for the pure use of science.
Have a nice stargazing and pleasant charismas while it is still celebrated in winter :)

some one's tool bag

After a foodie week it was time to get a glimpse of the sky. I thought about watching satellites this time, well not satellite TV, the real satellite that orbits our planet. Yes one can get a glimpse of it if watched at the right time. The Heavens-above website has this neat feature where you can find out when an object passes at your location. Objects like ISS, International Space Station are very popular beside other normal communication satellites. The glare of sun reflection on the object is what makes it look like a star. The funny one I came across is the tool bag that got lost by astronaut Stefanyshyn-Piper this 18th November while she was spacewalking during maintenance of the ISS. It was weighing about 1400 pound. Since then the tool bag is orbiting the earth among other space junk. The next bypass for me here will be on the 15th December at 06:21 in the morning but that will be impossible to watch as the sun would already be risen beside it's my time for breakfast. The perfect timing would be no more than 90 minutes before sun rise or not more than 90 after sun set. With this object the calculation indicates that it will require a least a binoculars to see it. So next time you see an object just before sunrise or sun set it does not necessary mean you have spotted a star or a planet, it could be some ones handbag who just been clumsy enough to drop it while doing his/her spacewalking.

Happy star gazing

Time keeping

It used to be simple to keep time, just observe the length of the shadow of the stick as it follows the position of the sun as it crosses the sky. Not any more, my uncle sundial stick at the Alamarat village is not any more accurate as it is going to loose one more second by the end of this year 2008. Yes, due to earth rotation slowing down and the way Seconds are defined, the atomic clocks around the world will have to add one leap second this 31 December 2008 at 23:59:59 UTC time, effectively delaying the entry of a new day by one second. To imagine what could happen if no adjustments are introduced, in a loooooooooong run, the clocks will show the coming of a new weekend while it is still working day! since 1972, there have been 24 seconds added already to keep up with the earth draging.
When our ancestors used to watch the stars, it was enough for them to make out the different seasons to decide what to plant or harvest. With that in mind, it is good reason for us to keep watching the sky and admire the God creation without thinking and bothering ourselves with the complexity of time frames of Einstein.

Public division

It became normal for people to start talking about the moon sighting every time we come closer to celebrate the two Eids of the year as their timing depends on the moon sighting of that lunar month as per the Islamic calendar. This year, the moon was not sighted on the 29th of the lunar month as no reports were received by the formed committee that was reporting live on TV just before and after the sun set the other day. And as per the sharia law, the month becomes 30 days for that month. What surprises me is the public. They are divided into two camps. One that support the decision of the committee for not announcing the sight of the moon and the other that is surprised why Oman has not joint some of our neighbors who announced the moon site, actually not accurate statement in a way but as they already completed 30 days of that lunar month they had to start a new lunar month. It seems it is very difficult for people to imagine how come one country could sight the moon while other not even though they are, in their opinion, are located almost on the same latitude. I hear one saying, “Did you see the moon last night? It was big, and lasted long time before it set in the west”. All that to justify that we should have announce the moon sight. I could image how difficult for those who could explain what has happened, as it is not easy to deliver complex matter to a street person without getting to explain terms like conjunction, ecliptic longitude and ephemeris tables. I believe that when the time comes where people get excited to sight the moon and gather outside with their binoculars and telescopes. The town will not get confused as they will know how difficult it is to sight the moon if it is just few degrees from the sun.
Happy gazing

smiling face

The day before yesterday evening was exciting one. Even the town got moved by it. It’s the configuration of the Jupiter, Venus and the moon. Looking at them, even with those with minimum imagination could see a face with two eyes smiling back. I thought of sharing it with others, I started sending SMS to those who will bother to look up at the sky for once and admire the scene. Being the International year of Astronomy next year 2009, I hope public here in Oman will be more aware about astronomy. We used to, I remember the old house of my uncle when I used to sleep over, there was a long stick behind the house with marks on the ground with different distances apart. Now I realize it was just a simple sundial telling the farmers when to start diverting the Falaj water to his neighbor farm. A smart way to divide scares water resources during summer time here in Oman.

my short break to nizwa

Back from the trip. Not like what I expected but still was nice one. Since I had to leave the mountain before sunset, as a recommendation from people not to drive down at night if I do not intend to sleep over. I did not get the chance to watch the dark sky of the Jabal Alakhdhar. The weather was nice beside being Brrrrrrrrrrrr, very cold. 13 degree in the morning and average 16 during afternoon. It was not totally disappointing thought. At the hotel I stayed it was located away from town and so the light flooding was not that bad and the sky was even better than Muscat. Venus was approaching Jupiter. Today as I observed them they are approximately 5 degrees apart. While watching a special program today on the TV, it was announce that the committee that was set to observe the moon sight did not get any report for sighing the newly born moon and therefore the month will complete its 30 days. Being close to the sun, it is always a challenge to sight the moon even with the special telescope that was set at the Jabal Shams. Germany made, the telescope has the capability of spotting the moon in hard conditions where sun light block the moon fading reflexted light.

My trip to interior Oman

Today I will be travelling to the interior Oman as we call it, and guess what, I will be away of light pollution of Muscat, at least for the two days I will be there. I will be enjoying the skies, especially with the chill weather of Jabal Alakhdhar in the evenings. Have not been there for some time now, I heard there are some street lights that have been installed lately. I do not know how much that have affected the dark sky of Aljabal. I always like to visit the little souk that is over there. Nothing much to buy but I like the aroma of the products they sell. Last time I visited them I bought a walking stick for my farther. It is a special one. It is called Utma. Local folklore says that it keeps away the bad spirits at light when you walk with it !!!. I need one my self, not for that purpose though, but to start practice walking with it as I always get embarrassed when I need to during special occasions like wedding or funerals. I look clumsy with it. Till then. Have a nice National holidays

Moon & Saturn

Today early morning, the conditions were really perfect. the two lovely objects, Moon and Saturn were enjoying each others company. being close to each other, just 6 degrees apart, the sight was very eye catching. on a friday morning 5:45AM and a bit of chill tempreture 23 degrees (Omani standard ), it was difficult not to prolong the gazing as friday breakfast can always wait for me. if you want to see another couple close to each other this month and without having to wakeup early morning or stay awake late night, don’t miss the 30th of November after sunset. Jupiter and Venus will be on a date, close to each other by just 2 degrees. such closenes between Jupiter and Venus happens once a year so do not miss this one!

The pleiades, the seven sisters are also visible these days. the moon is not so bright, only 35% disk and away from the cluster. it is a good way to test your eye sight, how many stars you can spot

Cloudy sky

It is cloudy tonight and it’s a full moon evening too. It is difficult to observe the moon with its craters with binoculars tonight, my most expensive equipment so far for my interest in star gazing and astronomyJ. I have a Nikon 10X50 and it is doing a good job for me. One thing I must admit is that my neck starts to complain when I decide to watch high latitude objects for longer time. It has the advantage of having wide field of view so it is not so difficult to find objects and shows you right-side-up images, making objects easy to find. The conditions are not so good these days, combined with the preparation of the country to receive the national day that is falling on the 18th of November. The capital Muscat is live with beautiful street neon lights with green and red colors flooding the streets and night skies. Neon lights have never been friendly to hobbyists including amateur ham radio enthusiasts. They produce significant levels of interference to the receivers that need to be filtered. Considering that Oman is not located in a region with high level of rain falls I should not complain about this and should not take the clear skies for granted. I can imagine countries with high levels of rain falls and cloudy skies; stargazing is not an easy venture. Here in Oman you just go out whenever you like as the skies are almost always clear.

Sense of Direction

Among the things that fascinated me for long time and came to appreciate it more when I learn more about it is the skills of our ancestors hundreds of year before us which enabled them to navigate across the high seas and deserts. And of course their skills could not come about without their understanding of stars and their behavior. Today we take for granted the GPS satellite receivers in our hands and the modern navigation systems that are commercially available to us let alone the more sophisticated navigation systems that enabled the mankind to send spaceship to Mars and even beyond Mars in the case of voyager I & II. Launched in 1977, The Voyager spacecrafts are the most distant human-made objects in space traveled more than 15 billion kilometers away from earth in just about 30 years. With the vast difference in technology available then and now, our ancestor’s capabilities to navigate was no less superior than what today’s technology can do. I must though note that we have been spoiled by this technology. We have ended up shutting down our sense of directions to the extent that if we stop a person on the street chances are that he would not be able to point to us where the east or west direction. Our cars and watches are now being equipped with GPS and campus. I just hope that humanity will not loose its instinct of knowing direction for a simple reason, if pigeon can navigate through earth magnetic field so should we.

Good night

My first post

It took me a while till i decided to start this blog even though my interest in astronomy can be traced back for long time. i am hoping that through this blog to catch attention of people like me and share our experience and interest in astronomy and star gazing in general. i would welcome any suggestions you may offer. for me it has always been difficult to stop outside in the evening and looking into the sky without thinking what people might think of me and what I am looking at. But at the same time it is also difficult when you think of people who never give a notice to the sky and its moon let alone the stars and their raise and set times and probably there will be months before they look up to the sky and think about those natural phenomena and not raising a single questions on how they exist and since when they have been in existence. one does not have to be a scientist to admire the night sky. I am sure there are allot of people in town who share my interest of watching stars and not necessarily involved in an expensive hobby of buying expensive gears like telescope and CCD’s. It is the month of November, early morning temperatures is dropping to 27 degrees C and cannot help to take moments to notice Orion right on top of our heads when we wake up early morning around 4:30 when light pollution is in its lowest level here in Muscat area. yes many people are aware of air pollution, water pollution but it seems there is little awareness of light pollution. i am not yet into telescopes but I am sure i would be very upset if that 100W bulb of my neighbor is flooding my field of view to catch a glimpse of Saturn as it raises these day in the early mornings.



good night

Welcome

Welcome Muscat area star gazers, this blog was created for those who are interested to discuss and talk about star gazing and astronomy in general. We will be happy that you join us and share you passion and feel free to suggest any thing that will promote the interest of star gazing in Oman. Happy bloging

Mohammed Alkindy