Posts Tagged ‘Jupiter’
EarthSky Tonight—September 24, Harvest moon, Jupiter
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org If you live at mid or far northern latitudes, the Harvest Moon and the blazing planet Jupiter will shine from dusk until dawn for yet another night. That is in spite of the fact that the full moon has already passed. (See our September 22 program.) The legendary Full Harvest Moon is famous for ushering in the year’s longest procession of moonlit nights. Why does the Full Harvest Moon in particular – the full moon closest to ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight-Sept 23 Harvest Moon, Jupiter,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The Harvest Moon and the blazing planet Jupiter shine all night long tonight to commemorate the first full night of the autumn season. By common practice, we use the September equinox to mark the start of autumn, and call the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox the Full Harvest Moon. In 2010, the Harvest Moon comes only 6 hours after the September equinox. If you live in the southern hemisphere, the September equinox ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—September 22, Harvest moon,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Comet Hartley 2 might brighten to binocular object in late September The equinox falls at 9:09 p.m. on this Wednesday evening, according to clocks set to Mountain Daylight Time. That translates to 3:09 a.m. tomorrow – on Thursday, September 23 – Universal Time. So some calendars will show today as the equinox, and others will show tomorrow. Everything you need to know about the autumnal equinox of 2010 Here are some sky ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—September 21, Jupiter’s closest
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Comet Hartley 2 might brighten to binocular object by late September 2010 In 2010, Jupiter came closest to Earth on September 20 – yesterday – at 21 hours Universal Time (4 p.m. Central Daylight Time). Then Jupiter was only 368 million miles away. Today Earth passes between the sun and Jupiter, placing Jupiter opposite the sun in our sky. Astronomers call this event an opposition of Jupiter. The 2010 opposition is Jupiter’s ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Tonight September 2, Venus sets
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org All this month – during September 2010 – the queen planet Venus sets in the west as the king planet Jupiter rises in the east. Our chart shows the eastern sky at early evening for mid-northern latitudes, with Jupiter – the sky’s second brightest planet – shining to the lower right of the Great Square of Pegasus. Venus – the sky’s brightest planet – pops out in the west shortly after sunset. As dusk deepens, the ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—August 27, moon near Jupiter –
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The moon is near a bright object on August 27, 2010, but – no matter what anyone tells you – that bright object is not the planet Mars. Instead, it is Jupiter. Will Mars appear as large as a full moon in August 2010? Over the past few days, the waning gibbous moon has approached Jupiter and passed it. Tonight the moon is not as close to Jupiter as it was last night. However, Jupiter is still very noticeable on August 27 as ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—August 26, Jupiter and moon in east
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight’s sky is dominated by Jupiter and the waning gibbous moon. You can see them in the east by mid-evening tonight, after brilliant Venus has disappeared beyond the western horizon. Rising just an hour or two after sunset, Jupiter and the moon can be viewed for the rest of the night among the faint stars of the constellation Pisces the Fish. With a bright moon passing near them, Pisces’ dim outline might not be visible ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—August 24, August full moon is
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The August 2010 full moon is the smallest, farthest full moon of the year. It lies more than 252,000 miles away, in contrast to the moon’s average distance of about 239,000 miles. Farthest and closest full moons recur in regular cycles. The closest full moon comes 7 lunar months – in other words, 7 full moons – after the farthest full moon. Then the farthest full moon comes 7 lunar months after the closest full moon. That ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—August 23, Venus points way to
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org How soon can you spot Venus above the western horizon as the sun sets? From the northern hemisphere, the ecliptic – the line in the sky that marks the path of the sun, as well as its attendant planets – makes a shallow angle with the horizon. The slant of the ecliptic is more perpendicular to the horizon in the southern hemisphere, making Venus stand tall during twilight. Shining at magnitude -4.4, Venus easily pierces the ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 23, Jupiter appears to stop,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Jupiter may be a giant planet, but compared to Earth it moves like an oxcart in the race around the sun. The Earth’s average speed is about 67,000 miles an hour, while Jupiter lumbers along at less than half that speed, or about 29,000 miles an hour. Because of its faster speed and shorter distance to go around its orbit, our Earth laps Jupiter about once every 13 months. It is a lot like a fast racecar in the inner track ... Full Story