Bootleg Astronomers

The 2021 Bootleg Star Parties are now in the history books. They were a huge success!

The Bootleg Fall Star Party Registration Form is available HERE (pre-registration deadline is August 28th) 12th)

*** Due to the number of people doing imaging at the Bootleg Star Parties, Bootleg Management is indicating that Green Lasers will not be permitted starting one hour after sunset ***

2	Mercury 4.1° NNE of Spica at 7h UT (16° from Sun, morning sky). Mags. −0.8 and 1.0. • Mercury (Wikipedia)
3	Moon near Spica at 17h UT (17° from Sun, morning sky). • Spica (Wikipedia)
3	Moon near Mercury at 20h UT (15° from Sun, morning sky). Mag. −0.9.
4	New Moon at 21:14 UT. Start of lunation 1223.
5	Uranus at opposition at 0h UT. Mag. 5.6.
5	Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 22:28 UT (distance 358,844 km; angular size 33.3').
6	Venus at southernmost declination (−27.2°) at 16h UT.
6	Moon near Antares at 18h UT (evening sky). • Antares (Wikipedia)
8	Moon near Venus at 6h UT (evening sky). Mag. −4.5. • Venus (Wikipedia)
10	Moon near Saturn at 17h UT (evening sky). Mag. 0.6. • Saturn (Wikipedia)
11	First Quarter Moon at 12:47 UT.
11	Moon near Jupiter at 21h UT (evening sky). Mag. −2.4. • Jupiter (Wikipedia)
17	Leonid meteor shower peaks at 10h UT. Arises from debris ejected by Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Produces very fast meteors (71 km/sec). Expect 10−15 meteors per hour under dark skies. Bright moonlight will interfere with visual observations. • Meteor Shower Calendar (IMO) • Leonids Over Monument Valley (APOD)
19	Full Moon at 8:58 UT.
19	Partial Eclipse of the Moon from 7:19 to 10:47 UT, mid-eclipse at 9:03 UT. Visible from the Americas, northern Europe, east Asia, Australia and the Pacific. • NASA Lunar Eclipses: 2021-2030 (NASA) • Penumbral Lunar Eclipse of 2021 November 19 (PDF) (NASA)
19	Moon near the Pleiades at 17h UT (midnight sky). • The Pleiades (Wikipedia)
20	Moon near Aldebaran at 11h UT (morning sky). • Aldebaran (Wikipedia)
21	Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 2h UT (distance 406,279 km; angular size 29.4').
22	Moon at northernmost declination (26.3°) in 2021 at 23h UT.
23	Moon near Castor at 23h UT (morning sky).
24	Moon near Pollux at 4h UT (morning sky).
25	Moon near Beehive cluster M44 at 8h UT (morning sky). • Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia) • M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD)
26	Dwarf planet 1 Ceres at opposition at 21h UT. Mag. 7.2. • Ceres (dwarf planet) (Wikipedia)
27	Moon near Regulus at 3h UT (morning sky). • Regulus (Wikipedia)
27	Last Quarter Moon at 12:29 UT.
29	Mercury at superior conjunction with the Sun at 4h UT. The innermost planet passes into the evening sky.

>>> All times Universal Time (UT). USA Central Standard Time = UT-6 hours. (DST = UT-5 hrs,)

Zodiacal Light is caused by sunlight reflected off meteoric dust in the plane of the solar system. Choose a clear, moonless night, about 1-2 hours after sunset, and look for a large triangular-shaped glow extending up from the horizon (along the ecliptic). The best months to view the Zodiacal Light is when the ecliptic is almost vertical at the horizon: March and April (evening) and October-November (morning); times reversed for the southern hemisphere.
• Zodiacal Light (Wikipedia)
• Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)
• Photographing the Zodiacal Light (Weatherscapes)