{"665321":{"#nid":"665321","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tips for Delightful Stargazing in 2023","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStargazers are invited to the Georgia Tech Observatory to view celestial events this semester. Several telescopes will be set up for viewing, or you may bring your own telescope. (Please note that the first Public Night, originally scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 2, from 7 to 9 p.m. on the grounds between the Howey and Mason Buildings, has been canceled due to weather.)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EJim Sowell, principal academic professional and director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/astronomy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Observatory\u003C\/a\u003E, acts as a tour guide for public nights. \u0026ldquo;A clear evening with some celestial objects visible is as much a delight for me as it is for the visitors,\u0026rdquo; he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESowell and members of the Georgia Tech Astronomy Club will be available to answer questions. The viewing target for Feb. 2 is a comet that is barely visible with the naked eye, so viewers at Georgia Tech will have to use a telescope. The Public Night is from 7 to 9 p.m., with best viewing of the comet between 9 p.m. and midnight. However, forecasters are calling for heavy rain, so the odds of having the program are extremely low. Visitors to the Georgia Tech Observatory should check for updates on the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/astronomy.gatech.edu\/Observatory.php\u0022\u003Eastronomy website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOther celestial events to consider in 2023 range from a meteor shower to the \u0026ldquo;ring of fire\u0026rdquo; solar eclipse.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen to view the planets:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EVenus can be seen in the evening sky beginning in February and then it \u0026ldquo;rules the sky\u0026rdquo; into July.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EJupiter and Venus will be approximately 0.5 degrees apart on March 1 and 2, appearing close to colliding even though the two are millions of miles apart. March 2 is another Public Night at the Georgia Tech Observatory, so a large crowd is expected.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EJupiter remains visible until mid-March, then returns to the evening sky in autumn.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EMercury will be best seen after sunset during the first half of April.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EMars remains visible until July. It is currently bright but slowly fades during this time.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ESaturn is near the Sun\u0026rsquo;s direction and returns to the evening sky in late summer.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Perseid Meteor Shower always occurs on Aug. 11. Stargazers need to be away from bright lights to experience this, but no telescope is needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA blue moon \u003Cem\u003E\u0026mdash;\u003C\/em\u003E the second full moon in a calendar month \u003Cem\u003E\u0026mdash;\u003C\/em\u003E occurs in August.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA Ring of Fire solar eclipse, when the moon covers the sun\u0026rsquo;s disk, will occur mid-day on Oct. 14.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;From Georgia Tech we will see a partial solar eclipse where more than 50% of the sun\u0026rsquo;s disk will be blocked out at the peak,\u0026rdquo; Sowell said. \u0026ldquo;You will need to use eye-safe glasses, like those used for the 2017 eclipse, or use eye-safe telescopes, such as the several we have at the Observatory.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUnfortunately, there is no lunar eclipse visible from Atlanta for 2023. \u0026ldquo;Europe and Asia are getting two nice eclipses this year, so if you want to see them you will have to travel,\u0026rdquo; Sowell said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPublic Nights at the Georgia Tech Observatory are free, but remember to pay for parking if you use a visitor lot.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditional Public Nights will be held this spring on March 2, from 7 to 9 p.m.; March 30, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.; and on April 27, from 9 to 11 p.m.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EPublic Nights begin at the Georgia Tech Observatory.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Public Nights begin at the Georgia Tech Observatory."}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2023-02-01 12:23:35","changed_gmt":"2023-03-02 19:25:03","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-02-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-02-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"665323":{"id":"665323","type":"image","title":"The moon ","body":null,"created":"1675255356","gmt_created":"2023-02-01 12:42:36","changed":"1675255442","gmt_changed":"2023-02-01 12:44:02","alt":"The moon","file":{"fid":"251639","name":"Moon01.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Moon01.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Moon01.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":96022,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Moon01.jpg?itok=YTQvMgaG"}},"656052":{"id":"656052","type":"image","title":"Jim Sowell","body":null,"created":"1646419338","gmt_created":"2022-03-04 18:42:18","changed":"1646419367","gmt_changed":"2022-03-04 18:42:47","alt":"Jim Sowell with telescope","file":{"fid":"248712","name":"Jim Sowell.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jim%20Sowell_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Jim%20Sowell_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1736915,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Jim%20Sowell_0.jpg?itok=yy49C4bf"}},"665324":{"id":"665324","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech Observatory","body":null,"created":"1675255923","gmt_created":"2023-02-01 12:52:03","changed":"1675255948","gmt_changed":"2023-02-01 12:52:28","alt":"woman looking through telescope ","file":{"fid":"251640","name":"IMG_2758.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/IMG_2758.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/IMG_2758.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1001370,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/IMG_2758.jpeg?itok=cU1cXbrX"}}},"media_ids":["665323","656052","665324"],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"},{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192252","name":"cos-planetary"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}