SANParks.org Forums

As we all know, KTP is a most wonderful place to view the heavens at night. To add extra excitement to you viewing, I want share the following:

Whenever we visit KTP, I always print out the passes for the International Space Station (ISS) over KTP for the duration of our stay.



It is a beautiful sight as it is by far the brightest satellite in the sky. At times brighter than venus (the evening or morning star). Children love the thrill and affords the parents a wonderful opportunity for some 'on site' education.

How to get the information, visit the following web site:

http://iss.astroviewer.net/observation.php

Once you have opened the page, change your location using the map or by typing in the co- ordinates in the space provided. I have insert an extract from the web site for the rest of November 2012. I selected the 29.11.2012 which drops down the ground plot map of the ISS path over KTP. Brief explanation:

The ISS on this date will appear visible 10 degrees above the horizon in the SW at 18:38:22 in the evening, passing over at 75 degrees (almost directly overhead) and disappearing in the NE at 10 degrees above the horizont at 18:44:52. Therefore, it will be visible for 6 minutes and 30 seconds. It's maginute (or brightness) will be -3.2mag, which is exceptionally bright.



When it passes overhead just remember there is at least 5 people living on board at anyone time.

Hi Shane
Thank you. We have also used heavens-above.com
Have fun.
Guy

Do you have any experience observing the sky with a telescope in KTP?
I will be in Mata Mata, Nossob and TR camps, and as I'm also an amateur astronomer I would like to bring a "travel telescope".
Is there a lot of lights, trees, risks ...?

Thanks
Pat

Avet,
The conditions in the park are fantastic for astronomy ! Very low ambient light levels in most camps as the closest light source is 250 km away (Uptington). Best viewing time is about 9:30 PM after the ground heat dies away , be warned depending on what time of the year you go that the nights can be very very cold -11C we experienced. It is also great for star photography. In places like Kilikrankie it is possible to observe the entire horizon around you 360 degrees without obstructions. Great place for star swirls around the southern celestial pole , do some homework on how to find it.
Dennis

Avet, I agree with Lonehill, KTP is a perfect place to view the stars. Especially Kielie as Lonehill mentioned.

Find a darker part of the 3 main camps or wait till lights out at Nossob and Mata Mata.

To find the south celestial pole use the constellation Crux and the two brightest stars in Centaurus, Rigil Kent and Hadar. These stars are sometimes called the “Southern Pointers”. Extend an imaginary line through the long axis of the cross, from the star at the top (Gacrux) through the star at the bottom (Acrux). Now extend another line perpendicular to the Southern Pointers which is perpendicular to the line connecting them. The line from Crux intersects the line perpendicular to the pointers about 5 degrees NW of the south celestial pole.
As a double check, draw an imaginary line from Hadar in Centaurus to Achernar in the constellation Eridanus. The SCP lies just south of the halfway point between these two bright stars



Image taken from unit 3 at urikaruus. Kielie is better as the units faces south so placing the camera can be done from your terrace. The only problem is there isn't any features that can be placed in the for ground (eg. a tree etc).

Some thing to try with the Kids in KTP:

Making your own celestrial clock (extract from oneminuteastronomer):
On or about March 29, the Southern Cross stands upright in the southern sky at midnight local time, approximately. Doesn’t matter where you live… Pretoria, Perth, or Palmerston North… at midnight, roughly, as long as you can see it, the Cross will point upright, as in the following image:



Now the stars of Crux, like all stars, will appear to rotate around the south celestial pole during the night (and day). If you face south, Crux will rotate clockwise at half the rate of the hour-hand in a clock. In 24 hours, Crux comes all the way around to its original position. In 6 hours, Crux makes a quarter revolution, and in 3 hours, it makes ⅛ of a revolution, and so on. So, as an example, on March 29 you look up and see Crux pointing to 1:30 on its celestial clock, you know it’s 3 a.m. refer to the image below:



If it’s pointing to 3:00 on March 29, then it must be 6 a.m. And if it’s pointing to 11:00, then it must be 10 p.m.

You can use the same trick at other times of year, assuming you can see Crux from your location. But it’s a little more complicated because Crux will point to midnight at a time other than true midnight. That’s because the stars shift a little in position each night because of the Earth’s revolution around the Sun. In a month, the stars rise earlier by 2 hours. So Crux points directly upward to 12:00 at 10 p.m. on April 29, and 8 p.m. on May 29, and 2 a.m. on February 28 (or March 1), and so on.

Just remember, add 2 hours for each month after March 29, or subtract 2 hours for every month before March 29. That works out to one hour every two weeks.

That’s how to make your very own celestial clock. It’s not as accurate as your Timex or Rolex, but it’s far more fun. Try with your kids in KTP.

This is exciting.
I will also be using Stellarium on my notebook to help.
I can now understand your explanation for finding the SCP, just put it into practice
The celestial clock looks like fun.
I think i'm going to run out of time in KTP

I saw the ISS last night (23.11 @ 21:24) rising in the SW & coming right overhead.
Visible for 2 minutes, great to watch it again. Thank you.