Calliope- Epic poetry

Erato- Love poetry

Euterpe- Flute Playing

Melpomene- Tragedy

Thalia- Comedy

Klio- History

Urania- Astronomy

Polyhymnia- Religious songs and rhyme

Terpsichore- Lyric poetry and dance.

Reiseermüdet kehrte Äolus,

Herr aller Winde, Wind selbst schon immer,

ein in das Haus der schönen Euterpe,

die ja bekanntlich Gesänge behütet,

Lieder in Menge, Wohlklänge verwaltend.

Wuchtige Orgeln stehen in Reihe,

Zimbeln und Glöckchen hängen am Fenster

und in den Gängen des würdigen Schlosses,

oben erbaut in den luftigen Wolken,

wohnen auch Flöten und goldene Harfen,

Pauken und Fiedeln in zahlreicher Auswahl.

Wenn je Äolus die Liebste besuchte,

klangen die Flöten, erschauern die Harfen.

Leise wird´s auf der Erde vernommen.

Still steht die Arbeit, vorbei scheint die Fron.

Lauschend und mit erhobenen Häuptern,

das Werkzeug unschlüssig in müßigen Händen,

starren die Menschen ins Goldne des Äthers,

freiatmende Seelen. Gelöst fiel das Band.

Und nach dem Götterklang hört man die Stille.

Wartend ersehenen wir weitere Lieder.

Aber Äolius ruht nun am Busen,

regt sich nicht mehr bei der Liebsten der Musen.

Still stehn die Harfen mit wartenden Saiten,

niemand will jetzt ihre Reihen durchschreiten.

Abends dann sagt Äolus „Ade“.

Und Euterpe ruft “Ach“ und ruft „Weh”

Brausend entflieht ihr der Windige wieder.

Lachend er, weinend sie. Das sind die Lieder.

Photographed by lamentables

The muse, Euterpe. This figure originally decorated the Apollo Inn (1898) on the corner of Tottenham Court Road and Torrington Place, but now enjoys the peace and greenery of St George’s Gardens, St Pancras

– License

Los Angeles Paranormal Association recently had the privilege to investigate the world’s oldest active ship, the Star of India, formerly the Euterpe, which is moored at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. We experienced several odd occurrences during our investigation, including unexplained crashing and dragging sounds, mysterious footsteps, phantom doors creaking open, and audible disembodied voices.

Here, Kirsten and Layla were conducting an EVP session in the first mate’s cabin. Layla asked the question ‘are you the first mate?’, and we heard an audible response. At the time, we knew we had heard something odd, but we weren’t sure what we had heard – in fact we bantered back and forth about it being the other person’s stomach. Listening to the clip later, we heard what sounds to us like a male voice saying ‘no.’ **This clip is audible without headphones, but clearer with headphones.

During the same session in the First Mate’s cabin, we noticed water dripping down from the ceiling. We were trying to identify the source of the dripping when we captured the following clip. Shortly after Kirsten says ‘but I can’t tell,’ listen for what sounds to us like a disembodied male voice.

**This clip requires headphones.

 The Greek Muse Euterpe

Mythologies, perhaps, originate as dreams, and their meanings are often open to debate. I like to think that the opportunities they afford for reflection and discussion are the meanings. Linda R. Herzog is an artist I discovered recently when searching online for images of Euterpe (yoo TER pee), the Greek muse of music who is usually depicted playing a flute or double aulos. Herzog tells us that her fantasy visions come to her in the night while she sleeps. They are so vivid and powerful that she wakes up to sketch them before falling back to sleep. Is this how it works … mythology? Her images are fantastic and surrealistic — surprising and fun — but we might be left puzzled at their meaning.

The work depicted above is called Euterpe and was painted in 2006. It immediately made me think of Darwin and the biblical Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The parting waters might also remind us of Moses parting the Red Sea. Euterpe, I naturally assumed, plays the flute. I’d seen images before of Adam and Eve depicted as monkeys. This one stands unabashedly exposed, minus a fig leaf — clearly before the biblical Fall (and perhaps even before the creation of woman). At the same time, he is depicted as a kind of Pied Piper, perhaps luring (a devil in disguise) or leading (Moses in disguise) his people out of slavery in Egypt and toward the Promised Land. The image is at once ominous and hopeful. But why connect the obviously male figure to the female muse?

Not much information is available about Euterpe. Hesiod identifies her only as one of the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). Only later, in classical Greece, was she given a flute and associated with music and lyric poetry. We also learn that she became pregnant by the river god Strymon and bore him a son. His name was Rhesus who, Homer tells us in the Iliad, led a small army of Thracian soldiers into the Trojan War, where he was tragically killed by Diomedes.

Don’t bother to look up the etymology of rhesus. I couldn’t find a Greek meaning for the word. The rhesus monkey, as it turns out, was arbitrarily named after the Thracian king. Each one of us has an rh (rhesus) factor helping to identify our blood type. So … the rhesus monkey in Herzog’s painting is not Euterpe, after all. It is representative of the son that Euterpe bore. It emerges out of the river (the god Strymon) and has inherited its mother’s flute. And because we are all blood-connected by the rh element, the painting ultimately depicts our own image mirrored back to us. Maybe we view ourselves as Adam tempted by the knowledge leading to his fall, or maybe we view ourselves as the Thracian king Rhesus fighting for a seemingly noble cause tragically leading to his death. We might even view ourselves as Moses leading “our people” to a better place, or as a semi-dark figure luring others toward an ambiguous end.

The monkey’s shadow connects him to the Tree of Knowledge, and the small bell suspended from a branch above him connects his mother Euterpe to both music and the fruit of knowledge–of both good and evil. When we call upon the muse, do we anticipate a tragic ending or a comic progression, or something else? If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I call it a journey of the dragonfly, my spirit mentor and, increasingly, mirror image of my own psyche. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, upon discovering that Herzog’s paintings were featured in a Kevin Costner film entitled Dragonfly.

Conhecidas filhas de Zeus são elas:  Calíope deusa da poesia épica,   Clio deusa da história,   Érato deusa da poesia erótica,   Euterpe deusa da poesia lírica,   Melpômene deusa da tragédia,   Polínia deusa da poesia sacra,   Terspsícore que se tornou muito conhecida por causa de um  filme musical com Rita Hayworth fazendo a deusa, deusa da dança e do canto,   Urânia deusa da astronomia    e Tália deusa da comédia.

Euterpe by Battoni

These days I am working on a new opera entitled A Child Possessed. I love writing vocal music, but I find that the more tuneful my melodies are, the harder it is to let them go. They end up permeating my thoughts when I am awake, and even my dreams. This may sound delightful—how much better could it be than to dream your own music, right?—but imagine having the same soundtrack running through your brain over and over again. It is both a blessing and a curse.

Not only do the melodies themselves repeat ad nauseam, but the singers who will be performing the roles are the muses behind those lines. I will be recording a demo of two scenes in a few days, and I haven’t even heard the singers sing the lines yet, but I already hear their voices—perfectly of course, because it’s all in my head.

Of course, sometimes I have someone else’s music as my life soundtrack. This is great, particularly if it is something I like, such as Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, Bach’s Golderberg Variations before bedtime, or if I am feeling particularly badass, the soundtrack to the The Matrix, but what if I just came from an awful concert? Then it’s hellish, but that’s what iPods are for: you can reset by listening to a favorite piece of music, or in my case, more often than not, either works submitted by composers for AME, or a recent podcast.

I wonder if other composers have this problem. What is the background music for Milton Babbitt’s dreams? Are they serialized? How about Helmut Lachenmann? Has he ever dreamt a melody? Is this phenomenon a thousand times worse for a composer like Stephen Schwartz, the composer who wrote Wicked? I would suspect that even for Schwartz, there are only so many times you could dream Defying Gravity before going a little batty. I can take comfort in never having had Philip Glass’s music as my background, as that would be too repetitive for my taste (I wonder what the background music for his dreams is?), or Kenny G.

I guess that’s when I will know I am in hell: when Kenny G becomes by permanent background soundtrack.

This feature highlights a number of meteor showers, comets and asteroids which are visible during the month of March 2009. This month sees the end to Venus’ reign over the evening sky. Also Comet Lulin should continue to be bright enough for easy evening observation.

Note: If anyone has pictures or observations of these objects/events and want to share them, send me a comment. I’ll post them here.

Planets

Venus has been putting on quite a display for the past few months in the evening sky. Unfortunately, the show comes to an end this month. At the beginning of the month, Venus is still riding high in the western sky after sunset. As the month progresses, it will appear lower and lower in the sky. Most people will have a hard time seeing it by mid-month. On March 27, Venus will pass between closest to the Sun. After that date, it will become a morning object. Early hour risers will witness Venus in all of its glory for most of the rest of the year.

This month Saturn will at opposition. The exact date being March 8. Opposition is when a planet (or comet or asteroid) is located opposite the direction of the Sun. On this date, Saturn will be closest to Earth and at its brightest. It rises at sunset and by 9pm is high enough to be easily seen. Even at its brightest, Saturn is not as brilliant as Venus or Jupiter. Still at magnitude +0.5, it is brighter than all but the 9 or 10 brightest stars.

The evening sky for March 15 at 9:45 pm. Chart produced with the Stellarium planetarium program.

This opposition is actually one of Saturn’s dimmest. The reason is that the rings of Saturn contribute a lot  to the brightness of Saturn. But this year, is a ring plane crossing year meaning that the rings are nearly edge-on. As a result, the rings are reflecting much less light in the Earth’s direction this year.

Jupiter and Mars are located near each other low in the early morning sky. As the month progresses Jupiter will become easier and easier to see. At magnitude -2.1, Jupiter is brighter than any star in the sky.  Mars on the other hand will only be visible to those with a clear view of the southeastern horizon. At magnitude 1.2, Mars would just crack the Top 20 in brightest stars in the sky.

Early morning sky right before dawn on March 15. (produced with Stellarium)

Mercury is still visible low in the east just before dawn. Due to the angle of the ecliptic with the morning eastern horizon this month, Mercury is a very difficult object to observe from the Northern Hemisphere but an easy object from the Southern Hemisphere. It will be lost to Northern observers a few days into the month. Southern observers will be able to follow it till a bit past mid-month.

Meteors

The month of March experiences no major showers and only a few minor ones. It continues the annual lull in meteor activity from mid-January to mid-April.

Sporadic Meteors

Sporadic meteors are not part of any known meteor shower. They represent the background flux of meteors. Except for the few days per year when a major shower is active, most meteors that are observed are Sporadics. This is especially true for meteors observed during the evening. During November, six (6) or so Sporadic meteors can be observed per hour from a dark moonless sky.

Major Meteor Showers

None.

Minor Meteor Showers

Minor showers produce so few meteors that they are hard to notice above the background of regular meteors.

Delta Leonids (DLE)

The Delta Leonids are another minor shower with a period of activity from February 15 to March 10. Near its February 25 peak, rates may reach a paltry 2 per hour.

Gamma Normids (GNO)

This shower is best from the Southern Hemisphere since it radiates from the southern constellation of Norma. Observers north of +40 deg North will not be able to see any GNOs. Then again it is such a minor shower that there is doubt whether it even exists!

The shower spans from Feb 25 to March 22 with a peak around March 13 with a maximum ZHR of 4.

Additional information on these showers and other minor showers not included here can be found at the following sites: Robert Lunsford’s Meteor Activity Outlook, Wayne Hally’s and Mark Davis’s NAMN Notes, and the International Meteor Organization’s 2008 Meteor Shower Calendar.

Comets

Naked Eye Comets (V < 6.0)

Comet Lulin starts the month as a barely naked eye comet at magnitude 5. More on this comet can be found in the next section.

Binocular Comets (V < 8.0)

Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin)

Comet Lulin was discovered by the Lulin Sky Survey in Taiwan on 2007 July 11. At the time the comet was located beyond the orbit of Jupiter. The comet will be closest to the Sun on 2009 January 10 at 1.21 AU from the Sun. It will be closest to Earth in late-February when it will be only 0.41 AU from us.

The comet is currently around magnitude 5.2 which makes it an easy object for binoculars and small telescopes from a dark sky. From a dark rural moon-less sky, it can even be seen with the naked eye. Over the course of the month, the comet will fade from naked eye view but still be bright enough for binocs/small telescopes. By the end of the month, Lulin will be close to 7th magnitude.

After a few months as a morning object, Lulin spends all of March visible in the evening. Due to its retrograde orbit, the comet is moving in almost the exact opposite direction as the Earth. As a result, it is rapidly moving to the west every night. Over the course of the month, Lulin will start the month in western Leo, cross Cancer and end in the middle of Gemini.

A finder chart for Comet Lulin can be found at Comet Chasing.

A nice collection of images can be found at the VdS-Fachgruppe Kometen (Comet Section of Germany) and Seiichi Yoshida’s Comet Homepage.

Small Telescope Comets (V < 10.0)

Comet C/2006 W3 (Christensen)

This comet was discovered over 2 years ago on 2006 November 18 by Eric Christensen of the Catalina Sky Survey north of Tucson. At the time the comet was located at 8.7 AU from the Sun which is nearly the distance of Saturn. The comet continues to move closer to the Sun and Earth and is currently 3.8 AU from the Sun and 3.4 AU from the Earth.

The comet is currently around magnitude 9.7 and will slowly brighten during the month.  It is moving near the border of Lacerta and Pegasus.  The comet is best seen in the early morning. I was able to observe the comet visually with my backyard 12″ reflecting telescope in November. Being small and condensed, the comet was fairly easy to see.

The comet will continue to brighten as it approaches perihelion at a still rather distant 3.12 AU from the Sun on 2009 July 6. At that time, the comet will be 8th magnitude and visible in many smaller backyard telescopes and even binoculars from dark sites. Christensen should remain bright enough to see in modest sized backyard telescopes for all of 2009.

A finder chart for Comet Christensen can be found at Comet Chasing.

A nice collection of images can be found at the VdS-Fachgruppe Kometen (Comet Section of Germany) and Seiichi Yoshida’s Comet Homepage.

Comet 144P/Kushida

Comet Kushida was discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yoshio Kushida back on 1994 January 8. With an orbital period of 7.6 years, this year marks its 3rd appearance since discovery.

The comet was not expected to get brighter than magnitude 10 or 11 but recently observers have estimated it is as bright as magnitude 9.1. With perihelion this January 26 at 1.44 AU from the Sun, the comet should start to rapidly fade. The comet starts the month near the border of Taurus and Orion before moving across the “club” of Orion and into Gemini.

A finder chart for Comet Kushida can be found at Comet Chasing.

A nice collection of images can be found at the VdS-Fachgruppe Kometen (Comet Section of Germany) and Seiichi Yoshida’s Comet Homepage.

Asteroids

Binocular and Small Telescope Asteroids (V < 10.0)

(1) Ceres

Ceres is the biggest asteroid in the Main Belt with a diameter of 585 miles or 975 km. It is so big that it is now considered a Dwarf Planet. Classified as a carbonaceous (carbon-rich) Cg-type asteroid, there are suggestions that it may be rich in volatile material such as water. Some even propose that an ocean exists below its surface. Ceres is one of two targets for NASA’s Dawn spacecraft which is scheduled to visit it in 2015. Last month Ceres was at opposition (at its closest to the Earth and at its brightest). This month Ceres will fade from from magnitude 6.9 to 7.4 as it moves into Leo Minor, just north of Leo. If you are observing Saturn with a telescope or pair of binoculars, try your hand at finding Ceres with one of the finder charts linked below.

A finder chart (needs to be flipped upside down for Northern Hemisphere observers) can be found at the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Finder chart for Ceres from Heavens Above.

(2) Pallas

Pallas is also a carbonaceous asteroid though with a slightly bluish B-type spectrum. Due to its high inclination (tilt of its orbit with respect to Earth’s orbit) of 34 degrees it is a difficult target for future spacecraft missions. Pallas is large with dimensions of 350×334x301 miles or 582×556x501 km. This month it continues moving north, leaving the constellation of Lepus and entering southern Orion. It fades from  magnitude 8.4 to 8.7 over the course of the month.

A finder chart (needs to be flipped upside down for Northern Hemisphere observers) can be found at the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Finder chart for Pallas from Heavens Above.

(4) Vesta

Though not as large as Ceres, Vesta is more reflective making it the brightest asteroid in the Main Belt. Vesta is peculiar in that it appears to have evidence of volcanism on its surface. Similar to the Moon, Vesta may be covered with large expanses of frozen lava flows. It is classified as a V-type asteroid and is the only large asteroid with this classification. Many of the smaller V-type asteroids are chips of Vesta blasted off it by past asteroid and comet impacts. Vesta is similar in size to Pallas with dimensions of 347×336x275 miles or 578×560×458 km. Vesta will also be visited by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft which will arrive in 2010. On October 30, Vesta was at opposition (directly opposite from the Sun in the sky) and at its brightest. This month Vesta is an evening object moving through Aries before entering Taurus near the end of the month. It will fade from magnitude 8.3 to 8.5.

A finder chart (needs to be flipped upside down for Northern Hemisphere observers) can be found at the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Finder chart for Vesta from Heavens Above.

(14) Irene

Irene was discovered by John Russel Hind in 1851, being only the 14th asteroid known at the time (if you are wondering ~400,000 asteroids have been discovered to date, we’ve come a long way). It is an S-type asteroid with a stoney or silicate composition. Its takes 6.3 years to orbit the Sun.

This month Irene will brighten from magnitude 9.9 to 9.2 as it travels through Virgo. Next month it will reach its brightest on April 21 at magnitude 8.9.

(27) Euterpe

Euterpe was the 27th asteroid discovered when it was first seen in 1853. It is an S-type asteroid with a stoney or silicate composition. With a diameter of 58 miles (96 km) it is much smaller than Ceres, Pallas or Vesta. The reason it can get as bright as them is due to its orbit which brings it closer to the Sun and Earth. This month Euterpe will be roughly 1 AU from Earth and 2 AU from the Sun.

This month Euterpe is located in Cancer not far to the east of the Beehive Star Cluster. It starts the month at magnitude 9.7 and fades to 10.5 making this an object for advanced observers.

A finder chart (needs to be flipped upside down for Northern Hemisphere observers) can be found at the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Finder chart for Euterpe from Heavens Above.

(29) Amphitrite

Discovered in 1854, Amphitrite was the 29th asteroid to be discovered. Similar to Euterpe, Amphitrite is also a stoney S-type asteroid. With an average diameter of  127 miles (212 km) it is bigger than Euterpe though its further distance from the Earth and Sun keeps it from getting as bright.

Ampitrite reaches it brightest for the year on March 22 at magnitude 9.1. It starts the month at mag 9.7, brightens to 9.1 at opposition and fades back to 9.4 at month’s end. It spends the entire month in Virgo.

Thou canst but hold me Sonnet one more hour
For I must answer Morpheus’ call anon.
Nectar thoughts lie within night’s Jasmine flower
That girds itself ‘gainst a determined dawn.
Morning’s pernicious fingers stealthy creep
Into the Muse’s garden fecund, green;
They roughly rouse Euterpe from her sleep
Seizing delight in snuffing out her dream.
When man is young, beauty’s the needed sprout-
A rosy cheek, verdant laugh, waves of gold;
Then skin turns, limbs do droop, eyelights go out-
Warm summer hath giv’n way to winter’s cold.
It pleaseth Time to make our words go wrong
So heed early and oft the Siren’s song.

This feature highlights a number of meteor showers, comets and asteroids which are visible during the month of January 2009. The month starts off with Mercury and Jupiter close together in the evening sky. January also has one major meteor shower, the Quadrantids on Jan 3/4.

Note: If anyone has pictures or observations of these objects/events and want to share them, send me a comment. I’ll post them here.

Planets

Venus rules the month of January. Located about 30-40 degrees above the southwest horizon, Venus is the brightest “star” in the sky for the first few hours of the night. Through a telescope, Venus appears like a brilliant half moon. The Moon will pass within 2.5 degrees of Venus on the night of the 30th.

Jupiter is located well below Venus in the west-southwest during the first week of January. After that Jupiter will be too close to the Sun to be seen.

Mercury is also visible a few degrees above Jupiter during the 1st week or so of January. It will be furthest from the Sun on the 4th and highest above the horizon on the 6th. By mid-month, Mercury will be too close to the Sun to be seen.

This month Saturn rises in the east around 11pm on the 1st and 9pm on the 31st. The best time to observe it, though, is when it is located directly overhead (5am on the 1st and 3am on the 31st). The Moon will pass close to Saturn on the night of the 15th.

Mars is still too close to the Sun to be seen.

Meteors

The month of January experiences 1 major shower, the Quadrantids, and only a few minor ones.

Sporadic Meteors

Sporadic meteors are not part of any known meteor shower. They represent the background flux of meteors. Except for the few days per year when a major shower is active, most meteors that are observed are Sporadics. This is especially true for meteors observed during the evening. During November, six (6) or so Sporadic meteors can be observed per hour from a dark moonless sky.

Major Meteor Showers

Quadrantids (QUA)

The Quadrantids are the best shower that you’ve probably never heard of. It’s bad enough that this shower peaks in the middle of winter in the northern hemisphere, but it is also named after a long defunct constellation. When first identified in the early 1800s, the meteors were observed to radiate from the small faint constellation of Quadrans Muralis (the Mural Quadrant). Unfortunately, the constellation didn’t make the cut when the official list of 80 constellations was set in 1930. Today, Quadrans Muralis and the radiant of the Quadrantids can be found north of the constellation of Bootes.

Another strike against observing the Quadrantids is their short duration. Showers, like the Perseids and Orionids, produce high rates of meteors for a few days near their maximum. The Quadrantids are only highly active for 12-24 hours. As a result, the shower can be missed if the peak does not coincide with your early morning observing.

This year there are 2 predictions for the peak. Based on past Quadrantid peaks, the International Meteor Organization predicts a peak on January 3 at 12h 50m UT. That’s 5:50 am MST or 4:50 am PST. If this prediction is correct, the Quadrantids will be best over western North America and probably pretty good for all of North America.

A second prediction is based on work by Jeremie Veubaillon and published in a chart in Peter Jenniskens’s book “Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets”.It predicts an earlier peak on January 3 at ~1:00 UT. That’s in the early evening for North America at a time when the shower will not be easily visible. The Veubaillon prediction is based on all of the Quadrantids having been released during the break-up of a comet in 1490.

Last year rates reached as high as ~80 meteors per hour under a dark sky. Like most meteor showers, the Quadrantids are only observable early in the morning a few hours before dawn. The International Meteor Organization will post up-to-date observations of the activity level at their ZHR Live site.

Where do the Quadrantids come from? According to Peter Jenniskens, the Quadrantids are the result of an outburst of material or even the break-up of a comet in 1490. This comet was observed by Chinese, Korean and Japanese astronomers. In 2003, a new asteroid was discovered named 2003 EH1. It now appears that 2003 EH1 is either the same as the comet seen in 1490 or the largest surviving piece of that comet.

Minor Meteor Showers

Minor showers produce so few meteors that they are hard to notice above the background of regular meteors.

Coma Berenicids (COM)

The Coma Berenicids are a minor shower with rates of ~5 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower is active from mid-December to late January as its radiant moves from southern Ursa Major through Coma Berenices and into Virgo. The shower may have been created by Comet C/1913 I (Lowe) a retrograde Halley-type comet. That is assuming Comet Lowe ever existed. There are some doubts that the comet was real since other observers were not able to observe the comet.

According to Peter Jennisken’s book “Meteor Showers and Their Parent Comets” a number of meteor outbursts seen between the years of 609 AD and 764 AD may have caused by this shower.

Additional information on these showers and other minor showers not included here can be found at the following sites: Robert Lunsford’s Meteor Activity Outlook, Wayne Hally’s and Mark Davis’s NAMN Notes, and the International Meteor Organization’s 2008 Meteor Shower Calendar.

Comets

Naked Eye Comets (V < 6.0)

There are no comets bright enough to be seen without binoculars or a telescope.

Binocular Comets (V < 8.0)

Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin)

The brightest comet of the month can be seen low in the southeast right before dawn. Starting the month near the “head” of Scorpius, the comet will move into and cross the constellation of Libra during the month. Comet Lulin was discovered by the Lulin Sky Survey in Taiwan on 2007 July 11. At the time the comet was located beyond the orbit of Jupiter.

The comet will be closest to the Sun on 2009 January 10 at 1.21 AU from the Sun. It will be closest to Earth in late-February when it will be only 0.41 AU from us. At that time the comet may be as bright as 4th magnitude making it an easy object for binoculars and small telescopes. In fact, the comet will be visible to the naked eye as a small faint fuzzball from dark sites.

The comet is currently around magnitude 7.5 which makes it an easy object for binoculars and small telescopes from a dark sky. By the end of the month, it should be around magnitude 6 and perhaps visible to naked eye observers in very dark skies.

A finder chart for Comet Lulin can be found at Comet Chasing.

A nice collection of images can be found at the VdS-Fachgruppe Kometen (Comet Section of Germany) and Seiichi Yoshida’s Comet Homepage.

Small Telescope Comets (V < 10.0)

Comet C/2006 W3 (Christensen)

This comet was discovered over 2 years ago on 2006 November 18 by Eric Christensen of the Catalina Sky Survey north of Tucson. At the time the comet was located at 8.7 AU from the Sun which is nearly the distance of Saturn. The comet continues to move closer to the Sun and Earth and is currently 3.8 AU from the Sun and 3.4 AU from the Earth.

The comet is currently around magnitude 10.2 and will slowly brighten during the month.  It will be traveling south through the constellation of Lacerta and is nicely positioned for evening observing. I was able to observe the comet visually with my backyard 12″ reflecting telescope in November. Being small and condensed, the comet was fairly easy to see.

The comet will continue to brighten as it approaches perihelion at a still rather distant 3.12 AU from the Sun on 2009 July 6. At the time, the comet will be 8th magnitude and visible in many smaller backyard telescopes and even binoculars from dark sites. Christensen should remain bright enough to see in modest sized backyard telescopes for all of 2009.

A finder chart for Comet Christensen can be found at Comet Chasing.

A nice collection of images can be found at the VdS-Fachgruppe Kometen (Comet Section of Germany) and Seiichi Yoshida’s Comet Homepage.

Comet C/2006 OF2 (Broughton)

Similar to Comet C/2006 W3 (Christensen), C/2006 OF2 (Broughton) is another intrinsically bright comet with a large perihelion distance. It was the 2nd comet discovered by amateur astronomer John Broughton of Queensland, Australia. He first saw it on 2006 July 17 with a CCD-equipped 0.25-m telescope. At first, no cometary activity was detected and the object was classified as an asteroid. In late September of 2006, I was able to find evidence of cometary activity on images taken with the University of Arizona 1.54-m and the object was reclassified as a comet.

Comet Broughton passed perihelion on 2008 September 15 at a distance of 2.43 AU from the Sun. Based on its prior brightness behavior, it was not expected to be brighter than 10th magnitude. In the past few weeks, the comet has experienced a minor outburst in brightness. At its current magnitude of 9.8, the comet can be seen in large backyard telescopes. Moving south through the constellation of Auriga, the comet should fade as it moves away from both the Sun and Earth.

A finder chart for Comet Broughten can be found at Comet Chasing.

A nice collection of images can be found at the VdS-Fachgruppe Kometen (Comet Section of Germany) and Seiichi Yoshida’s Comet Homepage.

Comet 144P/Kushida

Comet Kushida was discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yoshio Kushida back on 1994 January 8. With an orbital period of 7.6 years, this year marks its 3rd appearance since discovery.

The comet was not expected to get brighter than magnitude 10 or 11 but recently observers have estimated it is as bright as magnitude 8.8. With perihelion this January 26 at 1.44 AU from the Sun, the comet may brighten a little more over the next few weeks. It is currently retrograding through western Taurus.

A finder chart for Comet Kushida can be found at Comet Chasing.

A nice collection of images can be found at the VdS-Fachgruppe Kometen (Comet Section of Germany) and Seiichi Yoshida’s Comet Homepage.

Comet 210P/Christensen

Yet another comet discovered by Eric Christensen may be visible in backyard scopes in January. This comet is a short-period comet with a period of 5.7 years. It is very faint except when close to the Sun. Perihelion occurred on December 19 at a distance of 0.53 AU from the Sun.

Alan Watson found Comet 210P/Christensen on images taken by the STEREO-B spacecraft on 2008 December 8 and 9. At the time, he thought the comet might be new until Maik Meyer suggested the STEREO comet was actually Comet 210P/Christensen. STEREO (which stands for Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is a NASA mission to study the Sun and its immediate environment. Though not designed specifically to observe comets, its cameras have the ability to pick up bright comets close to the Sun. Quite often, these comets are too close to the Sun to be seen from Earth due to the scattering of sunlight by Earth’s atmosphere.

Though too close to the Sun to be seen from Earth, another spacecraft was able to see the comet as it sped past the Sun. Observations by the SOHO spacecraft estimated that the comet reached a brightness of 6th magnitude. The comet may still be bright enough for large backyard telescopes during the 1st half of January. The comet should be 9th-10th magnitude as it speeds through the constellation of Ophiuchus in the pre-dawn sky.

Asteroids

Binocular and Small Telescope Asteroids (V < 10.0)

(1) Ceres

Ceres is the biggest asteroid in the Main Belt with a diameter of 585 miles or 975 km. It is so big that it is now considered a Dwarf Planet. Classified as a carbonaceous (carbon-rich) Cg-type asteroid, there are suggestions that it may be rich in volatile material such as water. Some even propose that an ocean exists below the surface. Ceres is one of two targets for NASA’s Dawn spacecraft which is scheduled to visit it in 2015. This month Ceres is located in Leo brightening from magnitude 7.9to 7.2.

A finder chart (needs to be flipped upside down for Northern Hemisphere observers) can be found at the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Finder chart for Ceres from Heavens Above.

(2) Pallas

Pallas is also a carbonaceous asteroid though with a slightly bluish B-type spectrum. Due to its high inclination (tilt of its orbit with respect to Earth’s orbit) of 34 degrees it is a difficult target for future spacecraft missions. Pallas is large with dimensions of 350×334x301 miles or 582×556x501 km. This month it moves through the far southern constellations of Caelum and Eridanus. It fades from  magnitude 8.0 to 8.2 over the course of the month.

A finder chart (needs to be flipped upside down for Northern Hemisphere observers) can be found at the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Finder chart for Pallas from Heavens Above.

(4) Vesta

Though not as large as Ceres, Vesta is more reflective making it the brightest asteroid in the Main Belt. Vesta is peculiar in that it appears to have evidence of volcanism on its surface. Similar to the Moon, Vesta may be covered with large expanses of frozen lava flows. It is classified as a V-type asteroid and is the only large asteroid with this classification. Many of the smaller V-type asteroids are chips of Vesta blasted off it by past asteroid and comet impacts. Vesta is similar in size to Pallas with dimensions of 347×336x275 miles or 578×560×458 km. Vesta will also be visited by NASA’s Dawn spacecraft which will arrive in 2010. On October 30, Vesta was at opposition (directly opposite from the Sun in the sky) and at its brightest. This month Vesta will fade from magnitude 7.6 to 8.1 as it moves from Pisces into Cetus.

A finder chart (needs to be flipped upside down for Northern Hemisphere observers) can be found at the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Finder chart for Vesta from Heavens Above.

(27) Euterpe

Euterpe was the 27th asteroid discovered when it was first seen in 1853. It is an S-type asteroid with a stoney or silicate composition. With a diameter of 75 miles (125 km) it much smaller than Ceres, Pallas or Vesta. The reason it can get as bright as them is due to its orbit which brings it closer to the Sun and Earth. This month Euterpe will be roughly 1 AU from Earth and 2 AU from the Sun.

This month Euterpe will brighten from magnitude 9.7 to 8.9 as it moves from Leo into Cancer. The asteroid will be at its brightest in early February at magnitude 8.8.

A finder chart (needs to be flipped upside down for Northern Hemisphere observers) can be found at the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand. Finder chart for Euterpe from Heavens Above.

(40) Harmonia

[Thanks to Sam Millar for calling attention to this asteroid.]

Harmonia just barely makes the cut this month. Starting the month at magnitude 9.9, it peaks in brightness on January 12 at 9.5. By the end of the month, Harmonia is back below 10th magnitude.

Similar to Euterpe, Harmonia is a stoney silicate-rich S-type in the inner Main Belt. At opposition on the 12th, it will be 2.30 AU from the Sun and 1.31 AU from Earth.

Finder chart for Harmonia from Heavens Above.

Euterpe ist eine der neun Musen, die als Göttinnen der Künste und Wissenschaften agieren. Alle neun Musen sind Töchter des Zeus und der Mnemosyne, der Göttin und Personifikation der Erinnerung und des Gedächtnisses. Die Musen gelten als Beschützerinnen und Förderinnen des geistigen Lebens. Euterpe ist die Muse der Musik und des Flötenspiels.

Managementstrukturen im Spiegel musikalischer Abläufe – Seminare für Manager und Musiker

Beratung junger Musiker in der Praxis – Karriereplanung, Profilsuche, Trainéeprogramm, Erfahrungsaustausch, Strukturierung

Chormanagement – Beratung ehrenamtlich arbeitender Vereinsmitglieder

Schaffen von Auftrittsplattformen für junge Musiker, Sponsoring und Coaching, Projekt- und Konzertmanagement

Konzertagentur – Auftrittsvermittlung, Dramaturgie, Kontaktnetzwerk

Künstlersekretariat – langfristiges Management einzelner Künstler

Das erste grüne Auktionshaus ist gestartet.

www.palmenboerse.de

Wir sind ein spezielles Auktionshaus – ausschließlich rund um den Grünen Daumen.

Unsere Rubriken umfassen, Pflanzen von A wie Agave bis Z wie Zyperngrass. Aber auch Gartenzubehöt etc. kann angeboten werden. es werden insgesamt über 5.100 Rubriken angeboten.

Wie der Name schon sagt sprechen wir natürlich Liebhaber von Palmen, Bananen etc. an, aber selbstredend auch von Orchideen und weiteren Pflanzenraritäten.

Wr sich bis zum 15.05.2008 anmeldet erhält einen kompletten Freeaccount bis zum 31.12.2008.

Anbei eine Gebührenübersicht- ist ja für viele User ja sicherlich mit das wichtigste.

Apollo: “Ciao giovani. Luci. Horus. J.”
Horus: “Sempre splendido, eh, cugino?”
Apollo: “Splendente. Ah, ah. Dài, vi presento le ragazze: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polimnia…”
Gesù [a Lucifero]: “Che ti avevo detto?”
Apollo: “…Talia, Tersicore e Urania. Andiamo in terrazza?”
[suonano al campanello]
Apollo: “Vado io… Chi è?”
Shiva: “Hari om!”
Apollo: “Grande Shiva!
Shiva: “Ciao ragazzi. Ciao Tersicore!”
Loki: “Ce l´hai la charas?”
Shiva: “Ma che domande fai?”

[ VIII - continua ]

Controbatto al proselitismo jamendiano di Sgembo proclamando il mio amore se non eterno almeno a tempo indeterminato per Last.FM, il sito da cui proviene la mia chart alla vostra destra.

Per cominciare, è uno dei migliori siti cosiddetti ‘Web 2.0‘ che abbia visto. L’aspetto è impeccabile, tutti i link al posto giusto e nessuna funzione a più di un click di distanza. La musica è classificata dagli ascoltatori tramite tags, che alimentano un sistema di raccomandazioni analogo a quello della defunta radio Pandora. Oltre a rintracciare brani dei generi preferiti, ti indirizza verso altri utenti, o gruppi di utenti, con i tuoi stessi gusti (e qui entra in gioco l’aspetto sociale del sito), ti avvisa di concerti interessanti vicino a casa tua, fornendoti pure una mappa per il locale e la possibilità di coordinarti con altri fans.

Il bello però sta nei contenuti. Se Jamendo si oppone alle major discografiche, divulgando solo artisti indipendenti, Last.FM fa di meglio: pubblica a prescindere dall’etichetta. Quindi ci trovi i Radiohead e i Metallica, ma anche Chopin, o Gaber, o i Finsterforst; ci trovi pure quel tale Brad Sucks reclamizzato da Sgembo.

E dopo qualche giorno ad ascoltare le radio dei tuoi ‘vicini di gusti’, ci trovi qualche gruppo indescrivibile che ti fa innamorare, come la Diablo Swing Orchestra di cui vi propongo questo brano dal sobrio titolo Poetic Pitbull Revolutions:

Placebo para el alma que no podía soportar el dolor, falsa solución para un sufrir inexistente, tierno engaño para ocultar la verdad de que en tus pesadillas dejó de ocupar un lugar..Podrías ignorarme, podrías obviarme, pero nunca me olvides pues lamentaría volver al rechazo del no existir..Morir sin nacer, ahogar sin respirar..Triste decepción por mantener tan altas esperanzas en lo que no debía ser esperado, ahora disfruta el momento mientras dure pues su desenlace será poco placentero..Invisible ente al cual no preocupa la emoción de destacarse entre los demás, simplemente existe y le es suficiente con ocupar su lugar..Lamentable ser cuya existencia se basa en el simple vivir, deja los límites abiertos e inexplorados, tantas dudas sin responder y tantas interrogantes sin invocar..Dice que se encuentra sin camino, sin opciones, que su destino ha sido trazado incluso antes del comenzar de su vida y por ello ahora, renuente a siquiera intentar cambiarlo, se conforma con lo que le es dado sin intentar ganarse su propio título…Y después de tu muerte, qué será de ti? si en vida no fuiste nadie, qué esperarías ser luego que termine?..serás recordado, te lo aseguro, incluso siendo bajo el mínimo título de “quien no debería serlo”, pero lo serás…La existencia juega un papel mas importante que la vida e incluso se separa de ella, la vida pasa a ser parte de la existencia, mas allá de un simple paso es todo un camino..Existimos antes de nacer y continuamos el existir luego de la muerte, las condiciones están dadas, la vida describe la etapa mas importante de la existencia pues es la única de la que somos totalmente dueños, dependerá de nosotros moldear lo que seremos después del expirar..Antes de nacer existimos como una idea, un producto de la imaginación..En vida existimos porque existimos, simplemente..Al morir y luego existiremos como una memoria en los recuerdos de quienes nos acompañaron y aun viven, como una historia maravillosa en la que seamos protagonistas, como un nombre mal pronunciado o confundido, pero existiremos..Aún me baso en la esperanza ciega de un ser imperfecto pues de la muerte parezco saber nada, y día a día la vida me sigue instruyendo..Cuando llegue la noche moriré tranquilo y por mi propia voluntad sabiendo que fue solo mi decisión de vivir ya no mas..

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