Posts Tagged ‘Jupiter’
Earthsky Tonight—July 9, 2010: Venus and Regulus in
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The dazzling planet Venus and the star Regulus are in conjunction at 9 p.m. Central Daylight Time this evening. That means they are north and south of one another on the sky’s dome, with a small gap separating the two. This evening, Venus and Regulus shine about the same distance apart as the width of your little finger, held at arm’s length. Although Regulus is a very bright star, it pales next to Venus, which is the ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 3: Moon and Jupiter again
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The darkness between midnight and dawn belongs to the last-quarter moon and Jupiter. They appear in the east as today becomes tomorrow, and steadily climb into the sky. Jupiter is the solar system’s largest planet, more massive than all the other planets, moons, and other debris combined. And we are lucky to have it. Astronomers believe that its gravitational presence has kept Earth safe by sending asteroids and comets out of ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 2: Watch for the moon near
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tonight the moon rises around midnight (daylight saving time). It is slightly gibbous, just a day before first-quarter phase. Brilliant Jupiter soon joins it above the eastern horizon. From mid-northern latitudes, by the time the short, summer night brightens into morning twilight the King of Planets climbs about halfway up the sky in the southeast. Observers in the southern hemisphere, who are enjoying their long, winter nights, ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—June 7: Closest two planets of 2010
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The closest planet/planet pairing takes place in the morning sky on Tuesday, June 8. Jupiter and Uranus stand less than 1/2 degree apart. (For reference, the moon’s diameter spans 1/2 degree of sky.) The brighter of these two planets, Jupiter, beams as the brightest celestial point of light in the dawn and predawn sky. Uranus, though, only appears about 1/2000 as bright as Jupiter. In other words, you will need a dark sky and ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—June 5: Moon and Jupiter pair up
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Before daybreak tomorrow (Sunday, June 6), the two most brilliant heavenly bodies of the early morning sky – the waning crescent moon and the dazzling planet Jupiter – couple up together to light up the dawn and predawn hours. The moon and Jupiter showcase themselves all over the world, except at far northern latitudes near and north of the Arctic Circle. That far north, the June sun shines for 24 hours, or nearly 24 hours, ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—May 9, By morning, moon moving away
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Here are two bright morning objects again, Jupiter and the moon. If you contrast today’s chart with yesterday’s chart, you will see that the moon appears to the left of Jupiter on Monday morning (May 10), yet above Jupiter on Sunday morning (May 9). How could it be otherwise? The moon is constantly moving in orbit around Earth, and this ceaseless motion translates to an eastward (leftward) motion across our sky from one day to ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—May 8: Jupiter and moon close
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Tomorrow, on Sunday morning, May 9, the dazzling planet Jupiter sits beneath the waning crescent moon at dawn. Both the moon and Jupiter light up the constellation Pisces the Fishes. One day later, on Monday, the lunar crescent and Jupiter line up side by side, for another spectacular display at morning dawn. Jupiter has more known moons than any other solar system planet. At the last count, there are 63 moons, though only four of ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—April 10: Crescent moon above
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org About 30 to 60 minutes before sunrise on April 11, look for the waning crescent moon to shine above the dazzling planet Jupiter, with Jupiter barely above the eastern horizon. Binoculars help you to spot these two worlds. Although the moon and Jupiter appear close together at Sunday dawn, they are not really near each other in space. These worlds simply reside on nearly the same line of sight now. The moon, our closest celestial ... Full Story
