Posts Tagged ‘Mars’
LTO Star Night, March 2015
Friday, 18 March 2016 from 7:00 – 11:00 PM Public Star Night at the Little Thompson Observatory 850 Spartan Ave at Berthoud High School park east of the high school; directions are posted on the website www.starkids.org The speaker will be Brian Enke from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder and the title of his talk will be “Where will NASA build its first research facility on Mars?” Since 2006, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on the ... Full Story
Sky Tonight—April 29, Five planets before sunrise
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Only Venus easily visible We show the moon and planets for about 30 minutes before sunrise tomorrow (Saturday, April 30) as seen from North American mid-northern latitudes. At mid-northern latitudes all around the world, the only two worlds that you are likely to see before sunrise tomorrow are the moon and blazing planet Venus. Look for them low in the east some 60 to 30 minutes before sunup. Binoculars might ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Nov 15, Waxing moon close to
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Given clear skies tonight, everyone around the world will see the waxing gibbous moon close to the solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter. After the moon, Jupiter is easily the brightest celestial object in the November 2010 evening sky. But – generally speaking – Jupiter ranks as the fourth brightest celestial object in all the sky, after the sun, moon and planet Venus, respectively. Venus won’t rise into ... 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 25, Orion the Hunter and
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The very noticeable constellation Orion the Hunter can be seen ascending in the southeast before dawn at this time of year. Orion will be visible in the evening by winter, but right now the Hunter lords over the southeastern sky at dawn’s first light. Orion was low in the west after sunset last spring, and, in early summer, this constellation was behind the sun as seen from Earth. Orion only returned to visibility in Earth’s ... 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 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 7, Venus, Mars, Saturn form
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Around August 7 and 8, look in the west after sunset for the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn as they form what is known as a planetary trio. Around August 7 and 8, look in the west after sunset for the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn as they form what is known as a planetary trio. A planetary trio is a grouping of three planets that fits inside a circle that is only 5 degrees wide. Typically, a binocular field spans about 5 degrees, ... 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
