Night of the stars: planets to observe, shooting stars in the eyes<

Cette 30^e édition de la Nuit des Étoiles s'annonce un peu particulière.Firstly because, Crisis du Coronavirus obliges, access to certain events will be controlled and subject to booking.Then, because in fact, some will offer a program of evenings to follow from home.And finally, because the weather promises to be extremely conducive to the observation of the sky during this heat wave that begins.

In the spotlight throughout this weekend from August 7 to 9, 2020: the search for life, in the universe in general, and on Mars in particular (echoing the Mission Mars 2020 and the Rover Perseverance inroad to the red planet), as well as the protection of the night sky.

Several planets can be observed in the sky this weekend.Starting with Jupiter, after sunset.Saturn and Venus will also appear.The first at the start of the night and the second at the end of the night.But it is of course Mars which will be the most anticipated.She will get up to the east, around 11:30 p.m., and then travel in the sky throughout the night.

A night to share with enthusiasts

And even if the peak of its activity is announced around August 12, the rain of shooting stars of the Perseids should also mix with the party.But to take advantage of it, you will have to find a place away from the light pollution of urban lighting, in particular, to ensure you observation on a very dark sky.

Another tip: try to find a place where the horizon is as clear as possible.Because the objective of the night of the stars is to observe the whole of the sky and not only a particular region.

Finally, if you have the possibility, do not hesitate to participate in a vigil organized by astronomers, amateurs or professionals.In France, a hundred - and more during the day or at the nights that will follow - are planned.Maybe a near you.This will be an opportunity to admire the show of the sky through instruments that everyone does not have at home at home.Including the sun during the day with suitable equipment.And it is also an opportunity to exchange with experts and enthusiasts on the issue.

Night of stars 2019: Where, when, how to observe the sky this weekend?

As of Friday evening, more than 400 events are organized in France, in Belgium and elsewhere in the world, under the theme "From stone to the star".Besides, stars dust, or more exactly comets, you will see several this weekend in the night sky.Above all, do not miss the Jupiter and Saturn jewels, to admire in a telescope or a telescope.

Article by Xavier Demeersman published on 08/03/2019

It is this weekend, from Friday August 2 and until the end of the night of August 4, that the 2019 edition of the Stars Night will take place.No less than 410 sites, mostly located in mainland France and Belgium (see the map of all the events in the world), await you to spend pleasant evenings under the stars to exchange and of course observe - itThere are also day activities.With the naked eye, binoculars, foyer of glasses and also telescopes.There is no doubt that you will find something to satisfy your curiosity, and answers to your questions.

The rush to stars dust

This year, the French Association of Astronomy (AFA) has therefore chosen as the theme of discussion "from the Star Stone".Scientific personalities, amateur and professional astronomers will be keen to maintain you on the secrets of our solar system that these celestial rocks have been retaining for 4.5 billion years.Asteroids, comets, meteorites have a lot to tell us about our origins...Origins of planets, origins of water on earth and origins of life.The samples picked on the moon during the Apollo missions 50 years ago have already learned a lot about our natural satellite.And it's not over.Besides, the last surprise: the moon is even older than we thought.

Since the early 2000s, the fever of the harvesting of samples of these fossil stars has risen among specialists (cosmochemists, exobiologists, etc..) and large space agencies.It is the rush to asteroids and comets (not so long ago, Rosetta and Philae around and on the Comet Tchouri): two missions are currently collecting rocks on the surface - or will soon be theDo-, Hayabusa-2 of the Jaxa on Ryugu, and Osiris-Rex de la Nasa on Bennu (or Bennou). Citons aussi New Horizons qui, le 1^er janvier, a survolé Ultima Thulé, l'objet le plus lointain du Système solaire approché par l'humanité.Like Ryugu, in Japanese mythology, these bodies are real chests filled with treasures.

What can you see during the night of stars?

Often, the night of the stars evokes...shooting Stars. Alors, certes, vous en croiserez sans doute quelques-unes du regard au cours de ce week-end quasiment sans Lune (la Nouvelle Lune était le 1^er août) mais les Perséides n'atteindront leur maximum d'activité que le 12 et 13 août.The famous rain of shooting stars, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and active of the year, started on July 17 and will gradually rise in power as the earth enters the most dense regions of these currents ofdust.Small downside this year on this date: the moon will be almost full.The large light will bother to see the weakest meteors, but the most brilliant happiness, the racing cars, will remain visible.

So this weekend, open the eye.Near your home or your vacation place, you can certainly see a few small grains of dust ignite in the atmosphere and also and above all, in a telescope or a telescope: the planet Jupiter, accompanied by its satellites (4 areclearly visible), and Saturn, also surrounded by moons and its magnificent rings.Other planets are also to be seen, well hidden in the night, around the Milky Way: Uranus and Neptune.

Good observation!

The 2018 stars nights under the sign of March

Article by Jean-Luc Goudet published on August 2, 2018

On August 3, 4 and 5, we all have an appointment with the stars.More than 470 events are planned in France, organized by astronomy clubs which are keen to show the beauties of the sky.This 2018 edition is marked with the sign of March, as close as possible to the earth and clearly visible.

Between Friday and Sunday, a good idea to enjoy the night freshness is to leave home to meet amateur astronomers (remember that "amateur" means "the one who loves").For this twenty-edition of the Nuits des Étoiles, instruments will be installed in more than 470 places in France, in villages, stadiums, country roads or observatories.The complete list, illustrated on a map, is to be found on the AFA website (French Astronomy Association).

Volunteer enthusiasts will wait for the public, ready to inform about everything related to astronomy.The summer triangle, the constellations, the difference between a telescope and a telescope or between a planet and a star, which can be seen when you live in town, the visibility of satellites like the ISS, the applications forsmartphones...Questions never miss so much the heaven questioning our intellect, whatever the age.

Mars, the star of the stars

It is also an opportunity, especially for young people, but for others too, to discover a new hobby and to consider offering an observation instrument, which can be modest.Many discover in this kind of encounters than a pair of binoculars, easy to transport, is a good choice.

This year 2018, the star of the sky will be Mars.At the beginning of August, the red planet goes to "the opposition", that is to say that it stands in the sky opposite the sun and, therefore, rises to the east when it islayer to the west and, at the end of the night, disappears to the west when dawn points.For whom would fly into space and observe the solar system "above", to contemplate the round of the planets, the earth, close to Mars and faster, the double.

The storm calmed down

Only 67 million kilometers from us, Mars is currently appearing with the naked eye as a small reddish spot and cannot be missed, as long as we wait after sunset in order to locate it more easily when it ishigh enough above the horizon.A telescope or telescope then allows you to look at it in detail.If you have to choose, we will prefer a good magnification.Mars is indeed fairly bright to be observed with a small diameter instrument (which therefore collects little light) but it is pleasant to grow enough to distinguish details.

Qu'y voit-on ? Si l'on aime l'histoire, on notera l'absence des « canaux », ces immenses structures rectilignes que Giovanni Schiaparelli pensait voir à la surface de Mars à la fin du XIX^e siècle.The Italian astronomer had actually talked about channels (canali in Italian).Currently, a good instrument shows darker regions, such as Syrtis Major. On voit également distinctement le pôle sud, très clair car couvert de glace d'eau et de CO₂.

Mars very recently experienced one of these gigantic sandstorms of which she has the secret and which sometimes affect the whole planet.In 1971, the Mariner 9 probe, the first spacecraft to satellize around another planet, had been greeted by such a phenomenon, which completely hid the surface.We feared the worst for this 2018 opposition after the storm that got up in June, and of which Opportunity was the witness.But she has already calmed herself up, contenting herself with reducing contrasts and blurring the images a little.

So do not hesitate to go and have you told all of this and see it with your own eyes.Good nights !

The Night of Stars 2017 under the sign of habitable land

Article by Xavier Dermeersman published on July 28, 2017

The 2017 Star Night will take place this weekend, from July 28 to 30.It will have the "habitable land".Many events (conferences, observation of the starry sky) are organized everywhere in France.Discover the summer sky of summer.

This year, the night of the stars will take place everywhere in France (and even beyond) during the weekend of July 28, 29 and 30.On the program of the demonstration, always, planetariums, internships, sky discovery workshops (both for young and old alike), conferences, and, of course, when night came, observations in the telescope(some also offer the day to admire the sun with adequate equipment).To find an event near you, go to the AFA website (French Astronomy Association).

Stars night: 10 apps to better admire the sky

Note that the dates of the 2017 stars' night does not coincide with the peak of the rain of shooting stars of the Perseids, the most famous of the year.Some are certainly visible during the night, and this since July 17, but it is between August 12 and 13 that the chances of observing more than 100 per hour are maximum.

A night of stars on the theme of "habitable lands"

For the 2017 vintage, the chosen theme is "habitable land"."Lands" in the plural because, in fact, outside our house that humanity has nicknamed "the blue planet", there is a plurality of other "potentially habitable" worlds in the galaxy that we can hardly discover.In the space of two decades, we have already detected about twenty of these exoplanets: their size is similar to that of the earth and they revolve around their sun in the temperate zone (the habitable area).But the exoplanet hunters believe that they are probably hundreds of millions in the whole Milky Way.Which, of course, makes us ask the following question: are we alone in the universe?

The 20 most habitable worlds known

During the debates and meetings organized these three days everywhere in metropolitan and overseas France, the speakers will wonder about the habitability (how to define it?) In the mirror of our little planet, "fragile oasis" in the interstellar ocean.They will evoke the other habitable spots in the solar system (March, Europe, Encelade...) and will present, for some, the various discovery exoters, also evoking the means to flush them out and also what we could observe there.Good walk under the stars!

In 2015, a night of stars under the sign of climate and planetary atmospheres

Article by Xavier Demeersman published on August 6, 2015

For the night of the stars, a party that extends from August 7 to 9, amateur astronomers will be there to make the sky discover in their instruments. Cherchez donc le club de bénévoles le plus proche de chez vous ! Les professionnels sont aussi mobilisés pour cette 25^e édition.In connection with the Humanity and Biodiversity Association, events will take place around the theme "Climate, biodiversity and planetary atmospheres". C'est que l'on fête aussi le superbe survol de Pluton par New Horizons, la mission Rosetta autour de sa comète et le 20^e anniversaire de la découverte de la première exoplanète.

The twenty-fifth edition of the Nuits des Étoiles organized by the AFA (French Astronomy Association) will take place this weekend of August 7, 8 and 9, 2015.This year, in partnership with the Humanity and Biodiversity Association, of which Hubert Reeves is the honorary president, more than 416 events will take place in 285 different sites, everywhere in France (see map), on the theme "Climate, biodiversity andplanetary atmospheres ".On this occasion, the demonstration of the Nuits des Étoiles obtained the COP 21 label for its commitment to the fight against climate upheavals.A burning subject that will be at the center of the concerns of the decision-makers of the whole planet, in Paris, next December, for the 21st conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Several conferences and debates will be organized on this astronomical theme relating to the earthly atmosphere, greenhouse gases, ecosystem and biodiversity in danger more and more threatened in recent decades.Since we are celebrating this year the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the first exoplanet (Pegasi 51b by Michel Mayor and Didier Quéloz), and echoing our biosphere, it will be a question of the planetary atmosphere and, of course, the possibilities of lifeelsewhere or not.There is no doubt that Kepler-452B, the last potentially habitable exoterre detected, or the Gliese 892 system, just 21 light years from us, will be at the heart of conversations.

No question of forgetting Pluto and Charon, overflown on July 14 by the New Horizons probe.Both also display atmospheres, witnesses of their surface activity.The Tchouri comet whose atmosphere, the coma, continues to grow a few days from its perihelion (August 13 at 186 million kilometers from the sun) will also be there.The latest results of Rosetta and Philae will be addressed.

Discover the summer sky

Like every year, the general public will be able to take advantage of the sweet nights in the middle of summer to get to know the starry sky (see the sky of August) and observe in the instruments of volunteer amateur associations and astronomers around the four cornersof France and Europe many celestial objects.In particular Saturn, the Andromeda galaxy, many double stars or even clusters of stars or nebulae taps in the Milky Way...All sprinkled with shooting stars.

The peak of activity of the traditional Perseids is expected on the night of August 12 to 13.After a start around July 17, with a radiant in the Cassiopée constellation (above the northeast horizon), the meteoritic swarm gradually shifts in August towards Persée.When the earth receives a maximum of these dust ejected by the comet 109p/Swift-Tuttle (orbital period of 134.6 years), most of them seem to come from this direction of the sky.

In his sky guide, Guillaume Cannat, who reports the forecasts of the eminent specialist Jeremia Vaubaillion, estimates that on August 12, around 6:39 p.m. you (it will be 8:39 p.m. in mainland France), our planet could go to some 80.000 km of the vein of dust left during the passage of the comet in 1862.But there is no certainty.Also, to hope to see a maximum of these cometar debris enter our atmosphere, at an average speed of 59 km/s, it is preferable to remain long extended outside to scrutinize the firmament, as far as possible from any source of pollutionbright.We are lucky, moreover, that the moon be absent that night;His brightness will not bother us.

Conferences of the Stars Nights

Three conferences of great researchers are to be discovered on the theme "Climats and planetary atmospheres":

Humanity and biodiversity, CNES, CEA, CNRS-INSU, Airbus Defense and Space, ADEME, the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research and the Ministry of Ecology,Sustainable development and energy have joined forces with this 25th edition of the Nuits des Étoiles.