By Henri Morineau
The Cayman Islands Astronomical Society is hosting a public stargazing event at Spotts cruise ship terminal on Friday, 12 Jan., from 6:30-8pm.
“It’ll be a great event for families and everyone,” said the society’s Tiyen Miller.
There will be plenty of telescopes and volunteers available to help everyone enjoy the beauty of space, including seeing Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, Neptune, the Moon, and the International Space Station.
“But don’t be late…they won’t wait,” Miller advises attendees who want to watch the space station pass overhead.
The International Space Station will appear above the southern horizon at 6:55pm, and disappear into the eastern sky at 6:58pm.
Some planets lately have been very visible with a naked eye, including Saturn, which currently is bright and closer to the setting sun, Miller said.
“You’ll probably have spotted the bright planet Jupiter almost overhead in the early evening – it’s super bright,” he added.
However, the other gas giants, Uranus and Neptune, “are really only visible through a telescope as they are very far and very faint,” Miller explained.
The moon will also offer a spectacle.
“The moon will be a very thin crescent, and during this special time you’ll also be able to see the unlit part of the moon faintly due to ‘earthshine’ – as light bounces off the Earth, then to the moon, then back to our eyes on the Earth,” Miller said.
The organisers are advising attendees that parking will be located at the dark parking lot just to the west of the Spotts cruise dock.
The event will be canceled if there is more than 50% cloud cover.
Updates can be found on the Cayman Islands Astronomical Society’s Facebook page.
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