The Jhamandas Watumull Planetarium

Location: Next to Museum Café
Seating: 70 Max.
Tickets: Included in Main Admission Price

Daily showtimes for the Watumull planetarium: (closed only on Christmas Day):

11:30 am The Sky Tonight
See what’s up and what’s coming up in our Hawaiian skies. A short presentation updating space missions is also covered during this half hour program.

12:45 pm Explorers of Polynesia (In Japanese)

1:30 pm Explorers of Polynesia
Join us on a journey to Tahiti in our planetarium and learn some of the techniques of navigating by the stars as practiced by modern Hawaiian navigators of today.

3:30 pm The Explorers of Mauna Kea
From the peak of the largest mountain on Earth, scientists explore the Universe with some of the best telescopes in the world. Learn why Hawaii is such an ideal spot for the science of astronomy and also why early Hawaiians revered this great White Mountain. 30 min.

The observatory is also usually open for night observation on the first Friday evening of every month following the monthly sky program, “The Sky Tonight”.

Information - 847-8235
Recorded Information - 848-4136
Sky Tonight Reservations - 848-4168

2008 Astronomy Highlights

Equinoxes and Solstices:

Spring Equinox
March 19, 7:49 p.m. Hawai'i Standard Time

Summer Solstice
June 20, 2:00 p.m. HST

Autumnal Equinox
September 22, 5:45 a.m. HST

Winter Solstice
December 21, 2:05 a.m. HST

Moon Phases 2008

New Moon	First Quarter	Full Moon	Third Quarter
Jan 8 1:38 a.m.	Jan 15 9:46 a.m.	Jan 22 3:35 a.m.	Jan 29 7:04 p.m.
Feb 6 5:45 p.m.	Feb 13 5:34 p.m.	Feb 20 5:31 p.m.	Feb 27 4:19 p.m.
Mar 7 7:15 a.m.	Mar 14 12:46 a.m.	Mar 21 8:41 p.m.	Mar 29 11:48 a.m.
Apr 5 5:56 p.m.	Apr 12 8:32 a.m.	Apr 20 12:26 a.m.	Apr 28 4:13 a.m.
May 5 2:19 a.m.	May 11 5:48 p.m.	May 19* 4:12 p.m.	May 27 4:57 p.m.
June 3 9:23 a.m.	June 10 5:04 a.m.	June 18 7:31 p.m.	June 26 2:10 a.m.
July 2 4:19 p.m.	July 10 4:36 a.m.	July 17 10:00 p.m.	July 25 8:42 a.m.
Aug 1 12:13 a.m.	Aug 8 10:21 a.m.	Aug 16 11:17 a.m.	Aug 23 1:50 p.m.
Aug 30 9:59 a.m.	Sep 7 4:05 a.m.	Sep 14 11:14 p.m.	Sep 21 7:05 p.m.
Sep 28 10:13 p.m.	Oct 6 11:05 p.m.	Oct 14 10:03 a.m.	Oct 21 1:55 a.m.
Oct 28 1:15 p.m.	Nov 5 6:04 p.m.	Nov 12 8:18 p.m.	Nov 19 11:31 a.m.
Nov 27 6:55 a.m.	Dec 5 11:26 a.m.	Dec 12** 6:38 a.m.	Dec 19 12:30 a.m.
Dec 27 2:23 a.m.
SMALLEST FULL MOON OF 2008 – MAY 19 *LARGEST FULL MOON OF 2008 - DEC. 12 Large Tides occur on 5/5, 6/3, 11/13-14 (midnight) All times are Hawai‘i Standard Time. Add ten hours for Universal Time.
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Major Meteor Showers

Name	Dates	Peak
QUADRANTIDS	Jan. 5 - Jan. 7	Jan. 3 (8:00 PM)
LYRIDS	Apr. 16 - 25	Apr. 21 (6:00 PM)
ETA AQUARIDS	Apr. 21 – May 28	May 5 (8:00 AM)
PERSEIDS	July 17 - Aug. 24	Aug. 12 (1:00 AM)
ORIONIDS	Oct. 2 - Nov. 7	Oct. 20 (6:00 PM)
LEONIDS	Nov. 10 - 23	Nov. 16 (11:00 PM)
GEMINIDS	Dec. 7 - 17	Dec. 13 (1:00 PM)

Unfortunately, 2008 is not a great year for meteor showers. The Moon is in a bright phase for five out of the seven major showers, leaving only two showers with “great” conditions (Quadrantids and Eta Aquarids). However, at least two others are “fair” (Perseids and Orionids), meaning that the Moon will be an interference for only part of the night and meteors could be spotted around those times. The Lyrids in April, The Leonids in November and the Geminids in December are at very bad times coinciding with the full lunar phases. The Moon is not only very bright during those times but remains in the sky all night.

OTHER ASTRONOMY EVENTS:

EARTH AT PERIHELION: Jan. 2, 2008

EARTH AT APHELION: July 3, 2008

MAKAHIKI INFORMATION:
Pleiades (Makali’i) rises as sun sets – Nov. 17, 2008
Makahiki (lunar calendar) – Nov. 28, 2008 (new moon 11/27)

~ DAYLIGHT SAVINGS~

BEGINS MARCH 9 - ENDS NOVEMBER 2, 2008

Lāhaina Noon 2008

Līhue	May 31 12:35 p.m.	July 11 12:42 p.m.
Kāne‘ohe	May 26 12:28 p.m.	July 15 12:37 p.m.
Honolulu	May 26 12:28 p.m.	July 15 12:37 p.m.
Kaunakakai	May 25 12:24 p.m.	July 17 12:34 p.m.
Lāna‘i City	May 23 12:24 p.m.	July 18 12:33 p.m.
Lāhaina	May 23 12:23 p.m.	July 17 12:32 p.m.
Kahului	May 24 12:22 p.m.	July 17 12:32 p.m.
Hāna	May 23 12:20 p.m.	July 18 12:30 p.m.
Hilo	May 17 12:16 p.m.	July 23 12:26 p.m.
Kailua-Kona	May 17 12:20 p.m.	July 24 12:30 p.m.