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2022-12-08 at 08:03 - comment by HenryL
Mars Occultation of Dec 7, 2022 from Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles
2022-12-07 at 08:06 - comment by HenryL
Helen, check the Moon at about 7:30 pm or so. See how high in the sky it is. Then a good plan is to place yourself where you'll be able to see Mars dip in behind the Moon at a couple of minutes to 8.
I recommend to begin watching a few minutes early, in case your time is off.
This is really best as a binoculars or telescope event, but I know that you intrepid skiers will find a way to see it while out on the trails.
2022-12-06 at 13:42 - comment by HenryL
A correction.
To set your location in Stellarium, go into the left side slide-out menu by dragging your mouse cursor to the far left edge. Choose the top icon which looks like a compass rosette. Then use the list of cities or enter your longitude and latitude and finally "Set as default location".
Enjoy the show on Wedn. evening.
2022-12-06 at 12:22 - comment by Helen Read
And where do we sign up for this "night" course???
I think I need a private lesson on all these comments and url's. When I lead a Moonlight Ski, I just go on optimistic hope, that we'll be able to see the moon.
2022-12-06 at 06:19 - comment by HenryL
A correction.
To set your location in Stellarium, go into the left side slide-out menu by dragging your mouse cursor to the far left edge. Choose the top icon which looks like a compass rosette. Then use the list of cities or enter your longitude and latitude and finally "Set as default location".
Enjoy the show on Wedn. evening.
2022-12-05 at 21:42 - comment by HenryL
Hey DEM AB.
Indeed, "Time and Date" is a wonderful website, so thanks for sharing.
It is cool that for any date you can slide the cursor along the graphic, as you suggest. Nice!
I see that the altitudes from Time and Date match up with those from Stellarium, so that's a relief.
2022-12-05 at 21:21 - comment by HenryL
re. Stellarium.
When your mouse cursor hits the bottom of the screen a menu will appear.
Also, a pop up menu will appear when the mouse cursor hits the left edge of the screen.
From this left edge menu. choose the "wrench" icon to go into setup. Find your location, Calgary, in the list, and set as the default location.
2022-12-05 at 21:17 - comment by HenryL
Thanks Chuck for the translation into English. Yes, the Moon will hide the planet Mars for about an hour, starting at 7:59 PM Calgary time. This happens because of the Moon's eastern travel through the sky with respect to the stars/planets.
DEM AB, the link you provided had an error.
I use the free software Stellarium. (link below)
The interface is a bit crude, but okay. Use function keys F3 to find an object and F5 to change time/day/year. So in other words you can use this software to what stars will be in the sky tonight, or a thousand years ago!
In Stellarium, click on an object like the Moon and information, such as it's altitude above the horizon will appear.
I see that in Calgary at 8 pm the Moon will be at 33 degrees altitude, and at 9pm will be 42 degrees. So should be visible from broad valleys.
Good luck. We've got cloud in our forecast.
Free Stellarium software (web version is doesn't seem good at all. I use the downloaded app.
2022-12-05 at 21:15 - comment by Septuagenarians
Mr. Democracy,
Thank you for your useful link to the moon chart. If you add a space before and after the link, it will be easier to click on the link and not get a 404 not found error. Or you could remove the parenthesis.
I have attached the moon rise and set link below.
Moon Link
2022-12-05 at 19:51 - comment by Mike W
Too bad it won't be a crescent moon. Then we would have been able to see Mars between the tips of the crescent. ;-)
2022-12-05 at 19:37 - comment by DEMOCRATIZE AB
Hello Henry.
If you look at the following web site reguarding the moon on Dec.7 you will see the altitude of the moon on Wednesday. One can move the computer curser over the moon on the below website to get altitude and direction at any time of the day. It is pretty cool.
(
https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/canada/banff )
Skiers will have a low moon until later at night or very early in the morning before sunrise.
From what I can tell, in the evening before 9 pm Dec 7, it looks like the best place to ski to get reasonable direct moonlight is in very high elevations or in East West valleys, such as Watridge Lake trail area or Bryant Creek.
I had some very nice near 1/2 moonlight skiing on the Cascade Trail several days back where I just had to use my red headlamp light for the most part in shaded areas. I would turn it off in bright moonlit areas. On the big hill coming out I used my regular beam for safety at higher speeds in shaded areas. I probably turned my light on and off several dozen times while ski striding. It looks like the moon on Dec/ 7 is shifting so that the trail may not be lit like it was several days ago. However, Minnewaka "ski" Road to Upper Bankhead should be well lit on Dec. 7 though.
What effect the moon will have on Mars viewing is unclear to me.
For a solar panel headlamp that requires no batteries see:
https://hybridlight.com/products/the-headlamp
Just leave it in the car when not skiing to charge and you will never run out of battery power for skiing. Never worry about forgetting batteries in a charger again.
Moon ski cheers.
2022-12-05 at 19:30 - comment by Chuck
Thank you Henry for pointing this out.
As you suggest, a good night for a moon light ski when Mars will become hidden by the Full Moon.
The attached link might help folks like me!
How To Watch The Full Moon Occult Mars
2022-12-05 at 18:46 - comment by HenryL
This is an evening event.
Times are PM -)
Moonlight ski on Dec 7 to see the occultation of Mars
Report Submitted by HenryL
(trip) Date: Monday Dec 05, 2022
Submitted: Monday Dec 05, 2022 at 18:45
Discussion:
The interface seems a bit awkward for posting an upcoming event or announcement. But here goes.
Calgarians appear to have clear skies in the forecast for the night of the 7th.
That night the Moon occults Mars.
What a great excuse for an "almost full" Moon ski!
Mars disappears at about 7:59 local time and reappears at about 9:02. Check the link below for details.
I can't wait for the reports to pile in!
Location specific info for occultation of Mars Dec 7.
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