The first half of the year is coming to an end, and connoisseurs of extraterrestrial landscapes have already been able to see a lot of interesting things in the sky over Kuban. One of the significant events for them was the opposition of Mars on May 22. This is the name for the periods of the red planet’s closest approach to Earth, when it becomes brighter and better visible through telescopes. And a little earlier, on May 9, one could observe the first passage of Mercury across the disk of the Sun in ten years. His silhouette was visible for several hours against the background of the daylight.

But in the second half of the year there will also be something to see.

"Star Rain" Perseids

The annual Perseid meteor shower will begin its activity in mid-July. It received this name because it appears from the direction of the constellation Perseus. This phenomenon looks to an earthly observer as an abundant “star shower”, one of the strongest of the year.

In an hour you can count up to a hundred fast meteors, leaving behind a long and bright trail. Perseids are formed by the combustion of particles the size of a grain of sand in the atmosphere. They are released by comet Swift-Tuttle, through which the Earth passes every summer. The intensity of the meteor shower increases gradually and reaches its maximum on August 11-12.

Meteor fireball in the night sky. Photo: AiF/ Alexander Ivanov

Another bright meteor shower, called the Draconids, will delight astronomy lovers in the fall. Its peak occurs on October 8-10.

The cosmic trio and the “date” of Venus with Jupiter

This year is preparing for us several so-called planetary parades. On the night of August 23 and 24, Mars, Saturn and the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio - Antares - will line up almost in one line above each other in the southwestern part of the sky. This phenomenon is sometimes called the cosmic trio by astronomers. Of interest to them is not only the location of these bright luminaries, but also a comparison of the orange-red hues of Mars and Antares.

And on August 27, a “date” will take place in the night sky between Venus and Jupiter - the two brightest objects after the Sun and the Moon. The distance between them will be approximately one-third the diameter of the lunar disk in the sky, which is very close and therefore looks impressive. The conjunction will occur in the lower western sky and will be visible at dusk.

To see celestial bodies in all their beauty, you need to choose the right telescope. Photo: AiF/ Alexander Ivanov

Eclipse and supermoon

The brightest object in our night sky, the Moon, will not be left out. On September 16 at 21:55 Moscow time there will be a penumbral eclipse of the Earth's natural satellite. The shadow of our planet will appear on the northern edge of the lunar disk, although it is faintly visible to the naked eye.

Lunar surface. Photo: AiF/ Alexander Ivanov

But the supermoon on November 14, 2016 will certainly impress even those who do not have a telescope or binoculars. On this day, the distance between the Earth and the Moon will be 356,511 kilometers, making the latter appear larger in the sky than usual. The next time the planets will come this close will only be in November 2034. For your information, the average distance between the Earth and the Moon is 384 thousand kilometers.

You can admire such bright astronomical phenomena as the supermoon in August 2015 without a telescope. Photo: AiF/ Alexander Ivanov

At the end of the year - Geminids

One of the few meteor showers comparable in intensity, brightness and entertainment to the already mentioned Perseids is the Geminids. It is observed in the first half of December, and its peak occurs on the 13th and 14th of the month. These days you can see up to a hundred meteors per hour, although in some years there are much more of them - up to two hundred. Since the stream does not fly towards the Earth, but catches up with it, the speed of meteors is low. This makes photographing the Geminids much easier than photographing the Perseids. Scientists suggest that this stream is associated with the asteroid Phaethon.

Star cluster. Photo: AiF/ Alexander Ivanov

How to choose a telescope?

The Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca once said that if there were only one place left on Earth from where the stars were visible, then people would flock there in an endless stream from everywhere. In those days there were no optical instruments, which, however, did not prevent us from enjoying the beauty of the night sky. Nowadays, it truly reveals itself to the observer only outside the city, where there is no bright illumination from powerful lighting. But, on the other hand, even in the center of Krasnodar, if you have a telescope, you can see a lot of interesting things. You just need to approach its acquisition very seriously.

The fact is that with a frivolous attitude towards the choice of such a technique, a person can experience severe disappointment. The chief astronomer of our region and the first person at the astrophysical observatory of Kuban State University, Alexander Ivanov, never tires of warning about this.

“Many people believe that a very small, cheap telescope is enough to get started,” explains Alexander Leonidovich. - Like, over time, with experience, it will be possible to take on something more serious. But I believe that this approach can simply kill a person’s interest in amateur astronomy. This is especially true for children. Now there are a lot of beautiful pictures of space on the Internet. Imagine, a child has seen enough of them, and then they buy him a small telescope with a diameter of up to one hundred millimeters. Well, he will look several times at the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, and that’s all. Smaller and brighter objects are difficult to see through such a telescope, and the child will decide that he was simply deceived.”

There would be a desire

But there is another problem here. Telescopes in the “better” category were not cheap before, but with the rise in the dollar exchange rate, their price has generally skyrocketed. The market offers mainly imported optics, and their cost is now measured in tens, or even hundreds of thousands of rubles. But if finances still allow it, then it’s better not to save money and choose something more impressive. With a good telescope, you can not only directly admire the night sky through the eyepiece, but also create interesting astrophotography. This is a whole science that captivates many people. True, to practice it you will also need a digital camera with a computer.

We should not forget that specific knowledge is required to operate such equipment. It’s quite difficult to figure it out from scratch on your own, and it’s better if someone gives you some hints at first. For example, such help can be obtained from the astronomy club at Kuban State University. It is headed by Alexander Ivanov’s older brother Sergei.

Five bright planets - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - were known to people already in ancient times. For our ancestors, planets differed from bright stars primarily in that they wandered across the sky, finding themselves in one or another constellation of the Zodiac, now to the right, now to the left of the Sun, and even on the opposite side of the sky. But since each planet has its own period of “wandering,” it is not easy to see planets in more or less one area of ​​the sky, because such events do not happen every year, and are often accessible only to residents of southern countries.

In August 2016, the opportunity arose to see all 5 bright planets in the sky at the same time among residents of the southernmost regions of Russia. Today and in the coming days in the evenings near the western horizon you can see Jupiter, Mercury and Venus lined up almost in one line, and in the south - Mars and Saturn.

Start observing at dusk, about 45 minutes after sunset. Look west first. Close to the setting point of our daylight, very low from the horizon, try to make out Venus and Mercury. Will be closest to the horizon Venus- only 1-2 degrees. To the east, 3-4 degrees above the horizon is Mercury, even further east and higher - Jupiter, and even further on, on the continuation of the Jupiter-Venus line, the crescent moon catches your eye! On the evening of August 6 and 7, the Moon will help find Jupiter and Venus. Mercury can be found between these two planets.

Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and the Moon on the evening of August 6, approximately 45 minutes after sunset at the latitude of Sochi. The moon in the figure is enlarged fourfold for clarity. Drawing: Stellarium

To find Venus and Mercury against the backdrop of bright twilight, you'll likely need binoculars. But once you find these planets with binoculars, there is a high probability that you will be able to see them with the naked eye as well. It is important not to miss the point here: Venus is visible for only 30 minutes from the moment of its appearance in the sky, and Mercury - no more than 45 minutes.

It is much easier to find the bright planets Mars and Saturn. They are located in the southern part of the sky - in the first ten days of August to the left of the Moon. Reddish Mars dominates the August sky, sparkling almost until late in the evening. Less bright Saturn accompanies him along with the star Antares, which heads the constellation Scorpio. The two planets and Antares form a compact, conspicuous celestial triangle. Saturn sets below the horizon an hour after Mars - around midnight.

A general picture of the sky from south to west, which covers the area of ​​the sky with the Moon and five planets. Time: evening of August 6, 45 minutes after sunset. Latitude of Sochi. Drawing: Stellarium

Unfortunately, as we said above, all this beauty is available only to residents of the southern regions of Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. At mid-latitudes, neither Venus nor Mercury will be visible, and at the latitude of St. Petersburg, Jupiter will also disappear from view. And in the very north of Russia, even Saturn and Mars will not be accessible for observation.

A picture of the starry sky in the first ten days of August, 2 hours after sunset. At this time, Mars is the brightest celestial body with the exception of the Moon. Drawing: Stellarium

Every year in August, those interested can observe one of the most impressive natural phenomena - meteor shower in the constellation Perseus, Perseids. Starfall lasts several days, but its peak invariably falls on 12th of August. A meteor shower is not only a reason to go out of town with a whole bucket list, but also a great opportunity to practice shooting the starry sky.

Starry sky, August snowstorm,
There's a lot of traffic on the road,
They're carrying drought, but I'm happy,
I know for sure: the weather will change

The lines of the epigraph belong to the leader of the group Yuri Shevchuk. Few people know, but this phrase, included in the title of the fifteenth studio album of the group DDT « Blizzard of August"(2000), in Kazakhstan denote exactly Perseids. In the early 2000s, Yuri Yulianovich mentioned this in an interview, saying that the “blizzard of August” was a meteor shower in the Kazakh steppe.

In general, the Perseids are not the only meteor shower named after the constellation from which it appears. Here are the names of the following major starfalls: Draconids(October) - named after the constellation Draco, Leonids (november) - appear from the constellation Leo, the Geminids ( December) - from the constellation Gemini.

There wasn't much success in photographing meteors in 2016, however, any practice in photographing the sky will not be superfluous

Perseids- a fairly popular meteor shower, largely due to the fact that it is observed almost in midsummer. Warm, often dry weather allows you to spend several hours of the night outdoors without the risk of catching a cold.

This meteor shower is formed as a result of the Earth passing through a plume dust particles, left Comet Swift-Tuttle(109P/Swift-Tuttle). These are precisely dust particles several millimeters in size - this is important to remember, since many people confuse meteors with meteorites. The latter are so large that they often fall to Earth without having time to burn up in the atmosphere. Meteora burn completely, as a result of which we see a burning body and “tail”.

2016 Even if you didn’t manage to catch a meteor in your frame, don’t forget about other shooting options offered by a tripod and long shutter speeds

The Perseids are quite a phenomenon popular, so closer to the event many The media will definitely remind you to you about starfall and conditions for better observation of falling stars.

This year, 2017, it was predicted record flow - up 150 meteors per hour. Of course, this opportunity to catch meteors on camera could not be missed. Therefore, taking equipment and good company, I went photograph the starry sky.

Unlike this year, in 2016 the moon was very low on the horizon (see previous photo), so most of the sky was open for photography and observation (constellation Cassiopeia)

I’ll say right away that we didn’t see 150 meteors per hour. According to scientists, this figure refers to observations on completely open area outside the city in the absence of any sources of artificial light such as highway lighting, light in houses, and so on. Usually it is recommended to divide the predicted figure by 5-6. However, in the Kazakh steppe, 150 meteorites per hour probably really resemble snowfall.

This photo of the Big Dipper was taken directly from an apartment window. The only significant difference from other photographs is that that night there was a loss of electricity in several districts of Minsk. If this happens to you, don’t get lost and set up a tripod

The second factor influencing the observation was moon position. On the night of August 12-13, 2017, the moon was high, illuminating half the sky.

And finally clouds. This year the night was cloudless. However, somewhere around half past two clouds began to appear, covering almost the entire part of the sky not touched by moonlight, but after forty minutes they completely dissolved, which made it possible to continue filming.

In 2016, the skies were completely open thanks to cold weather. In the evening the temperature dropped to +12, and by midnight it dropped to +8 and continued to decline. Not the most pleasant conditions for shooting, despite the cloudless sky.

year 2014. My first meteor caught. Due to the high cloud cover, we had to literally shoot gaps in the clouds, constantly changing the camera position

According to scientists in the Moscow region, that night they noted 27 meteors in an hour and a half. During this time we counted 22. Well, not bad at all. Especially considering the spectacular meteors we've seen this year.

A little cloudiness, however, can make the photo more interesting.

A few words about how to photograph meteors.

So we know time the peak of starfall, which is already quite a lot.

The second significant aspect is terrain. Need to find open place away from artificial light sources. The most frequent sources of frame illumination are the city, and also highway lights. Even if it seems to you that the sky is completely dark, the flare will be visible in the frames when photographing with a high shutter speed (namely, it is used when shooting at night). It is worth noting that the frame will be more interesting if foreground there will be some object: a tree, a building...

Equipment. You will need the following equipment:

• camera(or better yet, several) with the ability to set all exposure parameters (shutter speed, aperture, photosensitivity). Ideally, a full-frame camera, since it will provide 1.5 times greater frame coverage than a crop camera: the larger area of ​​the sky you can cover, the more likely it is that a meteor will fall into the frame;

Two meteors with very long tails at once, neither of which entered the frame completely

• wide-angle fast lens(if the camera allows you to change lenses);
• tripod. A tripod is necessary for shooting at long shutter speeds. When shooting with a tripod, another factor appears - wind.
• cable. Using a cable will allow you to avoid being directly near the camera. It will also help avoid shaking at long shutter speeds. However, instead of a cable, you can use the delayed shooting mode (timer).
• mobile phone. He will serve flashlight. You can also download it compass, to make it easier to find the constellation Perseus and determine the shooting direction.

IN we used the cable place remote control for time-lapse shooting, which made it possible not to approach the camera placed on a tripod at all. The programmed remote took one picture after another throughout the shooting period.

Also don't forget about warm clothes. You will need to be out in the open all night, so dress according to the weather.

It's funny that all the Perseids caught this year were photographed in Ursa Major, quite far from the constellation Perseus

A few words about exposure parameters.

• The most important thing is that you have to use long exposure. Moreover, the longer the shutter speed, the greater the likelihood that a meteor will fall into the frame. Despite the ability to program any shutter speed using the time-lapse remote control, we used the maximum 30 seconds allowed by the camera. The obvious disadvantage of long exposures is the long processing and recording of the frame - this will further reduce the chances of catching a meteor.
• Should open as much as possible aperture. This will allow decreasephotosensitivity and by this improve image quality, reducing noise levels.

This basic principles. More precise parameters should be pick up on the spot, based on specific shooting conditions.

That's probably all.

A bit of luck. This shot was taken to photograph the landscape with the Big Dipper...

In general, the process of shooting meteors resembles fishing: a place is selected, it is approximately known at what time the fish bites best. A “fishing rod” is placed on a tripod, a “line” cable is in your hand. Good company for conversations under the starry sky, drinks and snacks...And then a discussion about who caught more meteors.

...and in the next frame I caught a meteor. In the landscape. Against the background of a universally recognizable constellation

But mainly, the Perseids are an opportunity to spend time outside the city, perhaps last warm nights year, enjoying the impressive natural phenomenon. Well, make a wish. What if it comes true?,..

The inhabitants of the Earth will be able to watch a beautiful and exciting star show on Friday. The Perseid shower that graces the sky every August will be denser than usual this year, making for a truly mesmerizing spectacle. Residents of all countries of the Northern Hemisphere will be able to enjoy the astronomical phenomenon with the naked eye. The main thing is to choose an open space so that the view is not obstructed by tall buildings and trees.

Star rain traditionally falls on planet Earth in August. And this phenomenon can be observed without optical instruments. The main thing is to move away from the illuminated streets of the city and be patient, reports.

The Perseids are a meteor shower that has been known since ancient times - almost two thousand years. It is reported in Chinese, Japanese, and European chronicles. They called it “Rain of Fire” or “Tears of St. Lawrence”, since in Italy the August starfall coincides with the celebration of the day of this saint. And only in the 19th century did scientists explain what meteors actually are.

“At a high speed, about 60 kilometers per second, a grain of sand flies into the Earth’s atmosphere, small, smaller than a thimble. But it flies very quickly and therefore, colliding with our air, it quickly evaporates, turns into a cloud of plasma. But we see this plasma from a distance approximately 100, or even 150 kilometers. Can you imagine how bright the flash is,” explained Vladimir Surdin, senior researcher at the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute, associate professor at the Faculty of Physics at Moscow State University.

These grains of sand are particles of comets. Their icy bodies heat up as they approach the Sun, and along with the steam, all the fine dust is carried away from the surface, forming that very romantic trail.

“Along the comet’s orbit, these particles fill a kind of pipe. And when our Earth passes through this pipe, naturally, there are more particles, and they hit the Earth’s atmosphere more often,” noted Vladimir Surdin.

Earthlings observe the Perseids when the orbit of our planet falls into a meteor cloud - the tail of the most beautiful of comets called Swift-Tuttle. However, meteors are not dangerous at all. Such particles, unlike large and heavy meteorites, simply do not reach the ground; they burn up at a high altitude. And in general, meteors have not been very pampering for earthlings in recent years.

“Last year we observed, went to the Ryazan region, to the black zone. And at the peak, we lay in sleeping bags all night and counted, did not sleep. We there, in my opinion, had a record of 17 meteors per hour,” said the director of the observatory Sokolniki Park Rustam Bekbulatov.

This year, scientists promise, the star shower should be especially bright - up to 150 meteors per hour. Astronomers around the world are already watching it and are even offering, if clouds and precipitation prevented them from seeing the Perseids, to join the international video broadcast. Maximum activity, by the way, is expected on the night of August 12-13, then the intensity will decrease. However, if you're lucky, you can bathe in the starry rain and make wishes until the end of the last summer month.

Yulia Bogomanshina, Ilya Ushakov, TV Center.

From August to September 2016, all 5 planets visible to the naked eye will line up in the evening sky. On some evenings, they will be joined by the young Moon, complementing the majestic picture of the parade of planets with the radiance of a thin crescent. Let me remind you that a parade of planets is now called not the alignment of planets in one line in orbits around the Sun - this, alas, does not happen, but - to some extent the close position of the planets in some one area of ​​​​the sky on one side of the daylight.

Unfortunately, observing the summer-autumn parade of planets in 2016 in Russia is unlikely to be possible - in the fall the ecliptic will creep low along the horizon in the evening and the planets will set almost together with the Sun or shortly after sunset during daylight hours. But in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth this spectacle will be enchanting. And there are even photographs from Chile - what it looks like now.

Even in the southern hemisphere, to successfully observe all the planets at once, you will need to choose a place with the most open view of the western sky.

Throughout the month of August, three planets - Mercury, Venus and Jupiter - will stay relatively close to each other, gradually drawing closer together, so that by the end of the period of joint visibility they will practically merge in the sky for the eye - enter into a close conjunction. This will happen on August 28, 2016 (in the Western Hemisphere - Chile, Argentina,... - it will still be August 27):

Jupiter and Venus will be so close that Venus will be closer to Jupiter than some of its moons. And even the most eagle-eyed people will not be able to see them separately during their closest approach - it will be one gigantic luminary with a brightness of -5 magnitude.

A few days later - September 3 and 4, 2016 (September 2 and 3, respectively, for residents of the Western Hemisphere) the Moon will visit this trinity. How it will look, see the illustrations below:

Pictures are clickable and enlarged

But in the next days, Mercury and Jupiter will disappear with the rays of the evening dawn and only three planets will remain available for observation - Venus, Mars and Saturn. Their community will be complemented by beautiful bright stars - blue Spica (alpha Virgo) and orange-red Antares (alpha Scorpio).

In September, Mars and Saturn, who had previously been paired, will begin to diverge more and more in the sky. And Venus will have to catch up with each of the planets in turn.

But the first meeting will still take place with Spica on the eve of the autumn equinox; these two luminaries will be separated by less than 3 degrees.

On October 4, 2016, the crescent of the young Moon will again appear next to Venus. Both luminaries will be located in the constellation Libra, while Saturn will slowly move through the constellation Scorpio, and the noticeably more agile Mars will move through the constellation Sagittarius.

Next, the Moon will visit each of the remaining evening planets in turn: Saturn (together with Antares) - October 6-7 (October 5-6 - for residents of the Western Hemisphere); Mars - October 8-9 (October 7-8, 2016 - for residents of the Western Hemisphere).

Moon transit near Saturn and Antares on October 6-7, 2016

Moon transit near Mars October 8-9, 2016

It is worth noting that even a day earlier - on October 7 - Mars itself will pass very close to a rather bright star - Lambda Sagittarius "Caus Borealis". This is a double star, although there is no reason yet to talk about a physical connection between the bright component and a faint 10th magnitude star.

At maximum approach, the angular distance between Mars and Lambda Sagittarius will be about 12 arc minutes, which corresponds to the distance between Alcor and Mizar, the double star in the handle of the Big Dipper, which the ancient Arabs used to test the vision of their warriors. It may seem to some that Mars and “Caus Borealis” have merged into one.

On October 18, 2016, Venus will enter the constellation Scorpio. Saturn will have left him by then. But the three luminaries - Venus, Saturn and Antares - will appear separately in the sky from about this day.

On October 28, 2016 (October 27 for residents of the Western Hemisphere), Venus will “slip” between Antares and Saturn. This spectacle will be worthy of the entire past parade of planets.

Venus will be able to catch up with the planet Mars only in the first days of the next year - 2017 - against the backdrop of a flaming evening dawn, in which both planets will already be lost. The evening visibility of Venus in the southern hemisphere of our planet will come to an end. And in our northern hemisphere, excellent conditions for observing the “evening star” will finally arrive. But this is a topic for a separate article, which will certainly be devoted to the visibility conditions of Venus in central Russia in 2016-2017.

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