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Calculating the Observability of an Astronomical Object

-- Yvette Jones | February 11, 2021

Question:

At what times (roughly what
month or months/days, midnight, 6am, noon, 6pm, etc.) of year could you observe
an object with an RA of 6h at optical wavelengths?

-- Yvette Jones

Answer:

Since the time standard we used is based on the position of the Sun, while the positions of stars move relative to the Sun’s position in the sky throughout the year, the observability of an astronomical object depends upon where you make the observations. You can consult an observability calculator to help with these calculations.

-- Jeff Mangum

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