Posts Tagged ‘Spica’
Sky Tonight—December 28, Find a variable star in
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org This evening, we zoom in on a variable star – a star whose brightness changes – near the star Vega in the small but distinctive constellation Lyra the Harp. Here is how to locate it. A dark sky brings out the four rather faint stars to the left of Vega. These stars form a parallelogram – a four-sided figure with its opposite sides equally long and parallel to one another. Three fingers at an arm length ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—December 27, Moon, bright star, two
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Before dawn tomorrow (Tuesday, December 28), look in the east for the planet Saturn and star Spica near the last quarter moon. Beneath this threesome – moon, Saturn and Spica – you will see the blazing planet Venus much closer to the eastern predawn horizon. You might be seeing these objects when there is a fair amount of predawn twilight washing the sky. The planets and stars have colors of their own. Saturn ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Nov 24,Venus getting brighter in
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org The planet Venus – the most brilliant celestial object after the sun and moon – is getting brighter day by day in the November predawn sky. This dazzling world was in our evening sky earlier this year. However, it recently passed between earth and the sun, so that it now rises about 3 hours before sunrise as seen from mid-northern latitudes. Moreover, at middle latitudes south of the equator, Venus rises less ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—September 1, Venus, Mars, Spica
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The first few evenings of September 2010 present a celestial trio – the planets Venus and Mars, and the star Spica fitting within a circle that is smaller than 5 degrees in diameter. Because a typical binocular field spans about 5 degrees of sky, there is a good chance of seeing all three luminaries squeezing up together inside a single binocular field. All three should be bright enough to see with the unaided eye, if your sky ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—August 29, Closest celestial trio
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org In a few more days, Venus and Mars will team up with the star Spica to stage this year’s closest celestial trio – three heavenly bodies fitting within a circle smaller than 5 degrees in diameter. A typical binocular field covers about 5 degrees of sky, and you might catch all three snuggling within a single binocular field this early evening. As seen from North America, the threesome cozies up even more closely on Sunday ... 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—August 20, Star-hop from Big Dipper
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The Big Dipper pops out into your northwestern sky on August evenings. On August 3, we star-hopped from the Big Dipper to Polaris, the North Star. Tonight, we star-hop to two bright summer stars: Arcturus and Spica. As shown on our sky chart, we extend the Big Dipper handle “to arc to Arcturus and to drive a spike to Spica.” Arcturus is the brightest star in your western sky, so you cannot miss this yellow-orange beacon. ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—August 14, Look for moon, Spica,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org In the west after sunset tonight, you will find Spica and the waxing crescent moon. The planets to the right of the moon are Mars, Venus and Saturn. Of those planets, Venus will be easiest to see because it is so bright. You might need binoculars for Mars and Saturn. Spica is known as a blue-white star. Can you detect its color in contrast to nearby stars? If not, try looking at Spica with binoculars. Spica isn’t just one ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 18,Moon moves past Spica,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Can you see that the moon is farther from Spica tonight than it was last night? The moon is shifting farther and farthest east, with respect to the stars, each day. The moon always moves toward the east on our sky’s dome. This motion is a translation on our sky’s dome of the moon’s orbit around Earth. You can observe the moon’s orbital motion from one night to the next by watching the moon’s location with respect to ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—June 29: Find the Libra stars
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Before moonlight floods the nighttime at late night tonight, see if you can spot the constellation Libra’s two visible yet modestly bright stars: Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali. If you live at mid-northern latitudes – like in North America, Europe and Asia – you will see these Libra stars rather low in your southern sky at nightfall and early evening. As seen from middle latitudes in the southern hemisphere – like in ... Full Story
