Posts Tagged ‘Venus’
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 19, Venus’ greatest
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Because the planet Venus circles the sun inside of Earth’s orbit, Venus can never appear opposite the sun in Earth’s sky – like the moon does at full moon. In fact, Venus cannot even get as far as 90 degrees from the sun – as the moon does at its first and last quarter phases. As seen from Earth, Venus stays closely tethered to the sun. These next few evenings, however, will find Venus at the end of its tether, at 46 ... 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—August 13, Moon and Venus, more
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The 2010 Perseid meteor shower has been in full swing for at least the past 24 hours, but you still have a last chance to see a good display of meteors before dawn August 14. In addition, as night falls this evening, you can see Venus near the waxing crescent moon in the western twilight sky. Today’s chart shows that lovely sky scene, which will set soon after darkness falls. You really have to be a night owl or an early bird ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 27, Saturn, Mars, Venus –
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The planets Saturn, Mars and Venus are still in the west after sunset, to the delight of stargazers across the globe. In addition, the planet Mercury –our solar system’s innermost world – teams up with Regulus around now in the same part of the sky. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. Tonight, Mercury and Regulus form the year’s closest pairing of a planet with a first-magnitude star. Look for ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 24,Why the hottest weather is
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Look westward at nightfall to see three planets in the July evening sky. In their order of brightness, these worlds are Venus, Saturn and Mars. Venus outshines Saturn and Mars by leaps and bounds. Venus is the first “star” to pop into view after sunset. If you keep watching the western sky into early August, you will see these three form a tight cluster in the west after sunset. EarthSky’s meteor guide for 2010 By the way, ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—Moon close to Mars. Venus, Mercury,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Have you been watching the string of planets adorning the July evening sky after sunset? If so, you might have noticed that the order of the planets from up to down – Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury – has remained steady throughout the month. However, the moon’s position relative to the planetary line-up has been changing, with the moon now climbing this stairway of planets day by day by day by day! Yesterday evening, the ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 13, Young moon, Mercury sit
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Our sky chart shows the sky for mid-northern North American latitudes at about 45 minutes after sunset. If you have a level horizon and crystal-clear skies, you might catch the thin waxing crescent moon and the planet Mercury next to the horizon. Mercury sets about one hour after the sun and the moon sets about one hour and 15 minutes after. So, they’ll be hard to catch in the twilight glare. Try binoculars! Looking for a sky ... Full Story