The Cosmic Chronicle #1
Join me on my journey from stargazing dreams to sharing the wonders of astronomy in this Cosmic Chronicle!
Hi ,
This is the first issue of the Cosmic Chronicle, so it’s fair I put out a little introduction. I am Aniket from Kolkata, India. I have always loved the night sky and the dwellers of the sky. The interest sparked with my father narrating stories of the stars and planets to a little me, but we weren’t financially strong enough to afford a telescope. My thirst would be quenched by reading books and watching astronomy shows.
The smouldering fire, however, persisted deep beneath the mundane life. It was ignited during my B.Sc. when we were given access to the college observatory to observe the moon for the International Observe the Moon Night. That was the first time I looked through a telescope, which was breathtaking! That was when I decided I would have a telescope of my own.
Soon, I got a job and bought a very basic telescope. It was pretty low quality, but it gave me countless happy nights. I looked at the planets and the moon, but it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t see the nebulae or galaxies from our light-polluted rooftop. I soon upgraded to a 12-inch Dobsonian, but it still wasn’t enough. I realized I needed cameras to see the fainter objects. Over the next few years, I slowly built an Astrophotography setup, but that’s a different story for a different day!
I realized how inaccessible the night sky has become to the younger generation. We read about the constellations, stars, and planets in books, but how many of us have looked at them? Light pollution is definitely an issue, but so is the lack of resources. This is why it’s my goal to bring the night sky to everyone. This newsletter is one little step towards that goal. So, thank you for being a member and helping me out.
This year in Astronomy
Let’s have a look at some interesting astronomical events that will happen this year-
January 10 - Venus at Greatest Eastern Elongation. The planet Venus reaches the best time to observe since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for the bright planet in the western sky after sunset.
January 16 - Mars at Opposition. Mars will be at its closest approach to Earth and it will be brighter than any other time of the year.
March 8 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. Mercury will reach its highest point in the evening sky, although observing from a city will be challenging.
April 21 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation. This time, Mercury will reach its highest position in the eastern sky before sunrise.
May 31 - Venus at Greatest Western Elongation. It’s time for Venus to reach its highest point before sunrise.
July 4 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation. He’s back in the evening sky.
August 19 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation.
September 21 - Saturn at Opposition. Saturn will be on its closest approach to the Earth. It will be at its brightest, and it’ll be the best time to watch it.
October 29 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation.
December 7 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation.
This month in Astronomy
January 2025 is an interesting month for Astronomy as Mars will reach opposition in mid-January. Opposition occurs when a planet is directly opposite the Sun, with Earth in the middle. During opposition, the Sun will illuminate the entire disk of Mars, making it very bright and easy to observe. It’ll rise right at sunset and set at sunrise, giving you plenty of time to observe. It won’t be until 2033 that Mars will be this close to Earth, so don’t miss this chance!
This month, the full moon is on the 13th, and the new moon is on the 29th, so plan your observations carefully.
What to watch this week?
Right now, it’s a great time to observe the planets Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in this order from West to East.
Right after sunset, look West. Venus is a bright object in the western sky, and you won't miss it.
Saturn is a bit difficult to spot, especially from the city sky, because it’s very faint right now, but if you squint your eyes, you should find it very close to Venus, slightly eastwards.
Finding Jupiter will be super easy. It is the brightest object in the eastern sky during sunset. After it becomes dark, you should be able to see the stars Aldebaran and Capella on two sides of Jupiter.
Very close to Jupiter, you’ll see the great Orion constellation. You can see the four corner stars and the three stars in the belt from a city.
To observe Mars, you must wait a bit for it to rise above the horizon. Around 10 pm in Kolkata, it should be high enough to observe. Can you see the reddish colour?
If you’re a seasoned stargazer, don’t miss the Orion nebula and the Pleiades cluster!
Did you know?
Mars is opposite to the sun during opposition, making it brightly lit and available all night. But there’s a special type of opposition called a “perihelic opposition” when we pass between Mars and the Sun around the time of its perihelion (closest point to the Sun in orbit), which means Mars is also closest to the earth during perihelic opposition. This occurs every 15 to 17 years. The last one was in 2018, and the next will be in 2033.
Recent discoveries
Binary stars are prevalent - Around 85% of stars are estimated to exist in binary star systems or systems with three or more stars. However, in mid-December 2024, scientists were baffled to discover a binary star system. Why? The binary star system nicknamed D9 was found close to Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. This is amazing because the immense gravity of Sgr A* was thought to be too destructive to allow binary stars to exist nearby.
D9 is relatively young, at just 2.7 million years old, and the stars are expected soon to be forced to merge. This discovery suggests that black holes may not be as destructive as previously thought.
That’s all for this week. See you next week.
Excellent ! You inspire me