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Welcome.On behalf of the Minnesota Astronomical Society welcome to our web site! Please accept our invitation and join us in our explorations of the cosmos, either as a visitor to one of our many events or as a member of the Society.
Comet Garradd (C/2009 P1)Currently low in the northwest at sunset, in the constellation Hercules, comet Garradd is outbound after perihelion on Christmas eve. If you recall, Garradd passed globular cluster M15 August 1-2 and M71 on August 26. Garradd has one last hurrah, passing yet another globular, M92 on February 2-3 (best photo opportunity would be about 4:00 am on Feb. 3rd). Moving north through Hercules, Garradd becomes circumpolar on February 6th, making it visible all night long from here. On Feb. 13 the comet moves into Draco and will spend a month moving along Draco and past the bowl of the Little Dipper. On March 4 we will have the closest approach as Garradd continues heading away from the sun. More info for Comet Garradd can be found HERE. or on the MAS Discussion Forum. Planet Update (Jan. 12, 2012) Mercury is currently in the morning sky until February 7 when it once again returns to the evening sky. Gaining altitude each night, Mercury will be very well placed for early evening viewing by mid February. Greatest elongation is on March 4, when it will be more than 16 degrees above the horizon at sunset. Mercury will then quickly move towards the sun again, becoming a morning object on March 21. Venus (magnitude –4.0) is well placed in the evening sky, currently over 25 degrees above the horizon at sunset. Venus will have a few interesting conjunctions - on Feb. 9, with Uranus with a separation of 18' , the moon on Feb. 25 and Jupiter on March 12 & 13. A very interesting conjunction will be on April 2 and 3, when Venus passes through the Pleiades cluster. Venus reaches greatest eastern elongation in late March 2012 and will begin moving towards the Sun again. Venus will move closer to the Sun throughout the spring of 2012 and culminate by transiting the disk of the Sun on June 5th 2012. MARK YOUR CALENDARS - JUNE 5, 2012!!! This is a ''last in our lifetime'' event that will next happen in Dec. of 2117. Mars rising before 10:00 pm, is quickly improving and well worth viewing. Mars begins retrograde on Jan. 23, as the earth begins to overtake it on the inside track of our orbit. Mars moves towards opposition in early March, its apparent disk size will steadily increase from the current 10 arc-seconds to 14. Because of Mars' elongated orbit, not all oppositions are alike. This years opposition will be the farthest one since 1995. In the coming years each opposition will improve giving us a closer view of the red planet until July of 2018 when we'll have a greater than 24 arc-second Mars again. (only slightly smaller than the 25 arc-second size during the 2003 opposition). Jupiter is well above the horizon (50 degrees) before sunset. Jupiter is THE planet to see right now. It is by far the biggest and brightest object visible outside the sun and moon and now Venus. Jupiter, nearly due south at sunset, is well placed for viewing and will remain so through March of 2012. Saturn is gaining altitude in the morning sky, currently rising about 1:00 am. It is nearly 35 degrees altitude at sunrise. By the end of January, Saturn will rise before midnight, moving towards opposition in mid April. Uranus and Neptune are both early evening objects, Neptune currently more than 30 degrees west of Uranus. Both are up before sunset and are very well placed for viewing in the early evening. Neptune sets about 8:00 PM and Uranus about 10:50 PM Star Party Update
Our first Public event of 2012 will be Saturday March 17th.
Directions to Baylor Park and the Onan Observatory
Click on Wunderground box below for Minneapolis weather forecast. 
Clear Sky Charts for MAS Observing Sites. Click through for added detail. Our Clear Sky Charts are all sponsored by the MAS. This gives us earlier updates and additional information. Onan Cherry Grove Casby/Belwin/Metcalf LLCC Next MeetingFebruary 2nd at Fairview Community Center, 7:00 - 9:00 pmAnnual Budget Meeting Speaker: Professor Terrence Flower - St. Catherine University Topic: ''Significant Science Locations in Europe'' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ March 1st at Fairview Community Center, 7:00 - 9:00 pm Speaker: Dave Falkner - MAS President Topic: ''The Last Transit of Venus'' (in our lifetime anyway…) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meeting Location: Fairview Community Center 1910 County Road B West - Room 108 Roseville, MN 55113 Celestial Events Lunar Phase~~~~Solar activityNewsPayPal Option for New or Renewing MembersNew or renewing members can now use PayPal to pay their dues. Visit the membership section of the web (http://www.mnastro.org/membership/join.htm) or click on any 'Join the MAS' link to take advantage of this easy-to-use feature. MAS Joins JPL's 'Night Sky Network'The Minnesota Astronomical Society is pleased to announce its acceptance into the 'Night Sky Network'. Visit the MAS outreach page (www.mnastro.org/outreach) for details.
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