Posts Tagged ‘Moon tonight’
EarthSky Tonight—September 5, Hazy pyramid of light
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Late summer and early autumn present the best time of year to see the false dawn, also known as the zodiacal light. With the moon out of the morning sky for the next two weeks, this is your chance to catch the zodiacal light before dawn. This light can be noticeable and easy to see from latitudes like those in the southern U.S. I’ve seen it many times from the latitude of southern Texas, sometimes while driving a lonely ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Tonight September 4, Orion the
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Mike wrote, “I noticed on your site that Orion returned to the predawn sky in late July. You called it the ghost of the summer dawn. Due to cloudy skies and other conditions, I was not able to see it until August 6. When will Orion return to the evening sky?” Mike, Orion the Hunter is always behind the sun as seen from Earth in June. It comes back to the predawn sky every year in late July. By early September, Orion is rising ... 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—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 31, Moon and Pleiades from
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The moon is not quite yet at its last quarter phase as it and the Pleiades star cluster rise over your east-northeast horizon around midnight tonight. The Pleiades cluster follows the slightly waning gibbous moon upward during the morning hours after midnight on Wednesday. The two luminaries shine high in the southeast as morning dawn starts to color the sky. As seen from Madagascar, the Mauritius Islands to the east of ... 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 22, Almost full moon lights
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org We draw in the arrowhead-shape figure of the constellation Capricornus by the moon on tonight’s chart. However, you are not likely to see this star pattern tonight because of the overwhelming glare of the full-looking waxing gibbous moon. When the moon drops out of the evening sky by the end of the month, you will be able to see this loop of stars in a dark sky. The signpost of the summer skies – the Summer Triangle – ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—August 21, Summer Triangle high
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Our sky chart shows the Summer Triangle asterism as it appears at late evening. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, Vega – the Summer Triangle’s brightest star – shines high overhead around 10:00 p.m. daylight saving time (9:00 p.m. standard time) this evening. Altair resides to the lower left (southeast) of Vega, and Deneb lies to Vega’s left (east). As the stars drift westward during the night, Deneb will swing upward, ... 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
