*Lunar Phases .GIF animation by Ed Stephan (stephan@cc.wwu.edu). Check out the Virtual Reality Moon Phase Pictures to view the phase of the moon for any date and time from 1800 to 2199 A.D.

Here are the lunar phases for 2007, in case you're interested in planning your observing sessions around them.

New Moon

First Quarter

Full Moon

Last Quarter

2007 Phases of the Moon

Universal Time

2007 Phases of the Moon
Universal Time

      NEW MOON    FIRST QUARTER        FULL MOON     LAST QUARTER

       d  h  m          d  h  m          d  h  m         d  h  m
       
                                  JAN.   3 13 57   JAN. 11 12 45    
JAN.  19  4 01   JAN.  25 23 01   FEB.   2  5 45   FEB. 10  9 51 
FEB.  17 16 14   FEB.  24  7 56   MAR.   3 23 17   MAR. 12  3 54
MAR.  19  2 43   MAR.  25 18 16   APR.   2 17 15   APR. 10 18 04
APR.  17 11 36   APR.  24  6 36   MAY    2 10 09   MAY  10  4 27
MAY   16 19 27   MAY   23 21 03   JUNE   1  1 04   JUNE  8 11 43
JUNE  15  3 13   JUNE  22 13 15   JUNE  30 13 49   JULY  7 16 54
JULY  14 12 04   JULY  22  6 29   JULY  30  0 48   AUG.  5 21 20
AUG.  12 23 03   AUG.  20 23 54   AUG.  28 10 35   SEPT. 4  2 32
SEPT. 11 12 44   SEPT. 19 16 48   SEPT. 26 19 45   OCT.  3 10 06
OCT.  11  5 01   OCT.  19  8 33   OCT.  26  4 52   NOV.  1 21 18
NOV.   9 23 03   NOV.  17 22 33   NOV.  24 14 30   DEC.  1 12 44
DEC.   9 17 40   DEC.  17 10 18   DEC.  24  1 16   DEC. 31  7 51

Deep Sky Objects

Most of these objects will require at least binoculars to see. Please consult a star chart for more precise location information.

Open Cluster

Globular Cluster

Nebula

Planetary Nebula

Galaxy

   M-2: Globular cluster in Aquarius.

   M-15: Globular cluster in Pegasus.

   M-27: Planetary Nebula (The Dumbell Nebula) in Vulpecula.

   M-29: Open cluster in Cygnus.

   M-31: Spiral galaxy (Andromeda Galaxy) in Andromeda.

   M-32: Elliptical galaxy in Andromeda.

   M-33: Spiral galaxy (Triangulum Galaxy) in Triangulum.

   M-34: Open cluster in Perseus.

   M-35: Open cluster in Gemini.

   M-36: Open cluster in Auriga.

   M-37: Open cluster in Auriga.

   M-38: Open cluster in Auriga.

   M-39: Open cluster in Cygnus.

   M-42: Emission nebula (Orion Nebula) in Orion.

   M-45: The Pleiades open cluster in Taurus.

   M-52: Open cluster in Cassiopeia.

   M-78: Diffuse nebula in Orion.

   M-81: Spiral galaxy located very close to another galaxy (M-82) in Ursa Major.

   M-82: Irregular galaxy located very close to another galaxy (M-81) in Ursa Major.

   M-101: Spiral galaxy (The Pinwheel Galaxy) in Ursa Major.

   M-103: Open cluster in Cassiopeia.

   NGC869 and NGC884: The Double Cluster in Perseus.

Double & Variable Stars

A telescope is usually required to split close double stars. Please consult a star chart for more precise location information.

  Double Stars: Algol - Variable binary, period about 3 days, distance 105 LY
Aldebaran - The follower, distance 65 LY

Satellites

Here is a link that will allow you to type in your city (in the U.S.) and get pass prediction information for the International Space Station (ISS). Note that this information is location-specific (in this example, the output for the latitude/longitude of Walled Lake, Michigan), so your mileage (actually timing) for viewing the ISS may vary!

Space Station ISS

DATE	PICKUP TIME hrs:min (Local Time)	DIRECTION (from/to)	DURATION (minutes)	MAXIMUM ELEVATION ABOVE HORIZON (degrees)
18-Apr-2002	9:21 PM	W/S	5	14

NOTES: Included are only major cities currently in the range of visibility, with maximum spacecraft elevations over the horizon larger than 10 degrees. The data are also valid for suburban regions around these cities, with slight changes in Direction of Movement and Max. Elevation.

Pickup Time: The local time of day that the spacecraft becomes visible on the horizon.

Direction of Movement: The spacecraft will appear in the first direction and travel across the sky, rising to the "Maximum Elevation" and disappearing at the horizon in the second direction shown. These compass directions are understood to embrace an angular field of 22.5 degrees each, with their symbols defined as follows:

N:  North    NW:  Northwest    NNW:  North-Northwest    SSE:  South-Southeast
E:  East     SW:  Southwest    WNW:  West-Northwest     ESE:  East-Southeast
S:  South    NE:  Northeast    WSW:  West-Southwest     ENE:  East-Northeast
W:  West     SE:  Southeast    SSW:  South-Southwest    NNE:  North-Northeast

J-Track Satellite Tracking is a nice site that will provide you with information on other satellite passes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

Heaven's Above is a site that provides you with all the information you need to observe satellites such as the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle, spectacular events such as the dazzlingly bright flares from Iridium satellites, as well as a wealth of other spaceflight and astronomical information. Not only does the site provide the times of visibility, but also detailed star charts showing the satellite's track through the heavens. All pages, including the graphics, are generated in real-time and customized for your location and time zone.

Meteor Showers

This shower calendar has been adapted from the Working List of Visual Meteor Showers published by the International Meteor Organization (IMO).

Details in this Table were correct according to the best information available in June 2006. Contact the IMO's Visual Commission for more information. Maximum dates in parentheses indicate reference dates for the radiant, not true maxima. Some showers have ZHRs that vary from year to year. The most recent reliable figure is given here, except for possibly periodic showers that are noted as “var.” = variable.

Radiant positions are listed in right ascension and declination coordinates. The column "V" is the velocity in kilometers per second. "Code" is the abbreviation for the shower that observers should use when reporting meteor observations. Periodic showers are listed as "var" under the ZHR column.