August 7, 2017 as part of the RIA56 project "Look at the stars" Orenburg astronomical club "Orion" invites all astronomy enthusiasts to free observations of a partial lunar eclipse.
This is a unique opportunity to see how the Moon plunges into the Earth's shadow, acquiring a burgundy-red hue, and learn more about space phenomena in the open air.
Event details
Organizers and support
Organizers:
- Astronomical community "Orion"
- RIA56 project "Look at the stars"
Event information
Venue:
- Location: Mount Goryun, 40 km from Orenburg along the Saraktash highway.
- For those who do not know how to get there: meet at 21:00 at the monument to Yu.A. Gagarin (Gagarin Avenue) in the pocket on the way to the center.
Date and time: 08/07/2017, starts at 21:00
Terms of participation:
- Participation is free.
- It is recommended to have a personal vehicle. If this is not possible, you can find free places with other participants.
Necessary things:
- Warm clothes (it is cool at night).
- A camping mat or chair for comfortable seating.
- Tea in a thermos, cookies, candies.
- Good mood!
Event program:
- Observation of a partial lunar eclipse.
- Lecture about the Moon: legends, myths, research and the first landing of a man on its surface.
- Quiz with prizes - detailed maps of the surface of the Moon.
- Observations of the giant planet Saturn and its bright satellites (Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys).
- A tour of the brightest constellations of the northern sky.
Results of the astronomical trip
On the night of August 7, 2017, more than 120 amateur astronomers gathered on Mount Goryun to observe a partial lunar eclipse. Clear weather allowed us to see all the details of this rare phenomenon.
Lunar eclipse:
- The eclipse began at about 22:20 Orenburg time.
- The maximum phase occurred at 23:20, when the Moon plunged into the Earth's shadow by a quarter of its disk.
- The eclipse ended at 1 am, lasting 1 hour 55 minutes. - At the time of the eclipse, the Moon acquired a reddish tint, which is explained by the refraction of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere.
Lectures and stories:
- Sergey Medvedev gave a fascinating lecture about the Moon, its legends, myths, space exploration and the first human landing on its surface.
- At the end of the lecture, a quiz was held, the winners of which received detailed maps of the Moon's surface with labeled craters, seas and oceans.
Observations:
- Participants observed the eclipse through three powerful telescopes:
- 250 mm Dobson reflector with SynScan computer control.
- 200 mm computerized reflector.
- 150 mm reflector on equatorial mounts. - Magnification of about 100 times allowed us to see in detail not only the surface of the Moon, but also the shadow cast by the Earth.
- Observations of Saturn and its bright satellites were also available.
Features:
- The Orion Club presented a new powerful telescope Sky-Watcher P2001HEQ5 SynScan (main mirror diameter 20 cm), which aroused great interest among the participants.
"We are glad that we were able to gather so many astronomy enthusiasts on this August night. Until next time under the starry sky!"