Posts Tagged ‘planet’
EarthSky Tonight—December 6, Winter Circle up by
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org You will have to stay up until 9 or 10 p.m. tonight to see the exceptionally brilliant and huge Winter Circle filling up the eastern portion of sky. This famous sky pattern is not a constellation. It is an asterism: a noticeable pattern on the sky’s dome. In this case, the pattern is made of the brightest stars of winter, in many different constellations. From a dark sky, you will see the Milky Way’s hazy band ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Nov 29, catch Mercury after sunset
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org You might be able to find the most elusive planet – Mercury – low in the southwest sky at evening dusk for this entire next week. This is the best evening apparition of this planet until March 2011. Even so, you will need an unobstructed southwest horizon and a clear sky – and possibly binoculars – to catch Mercury after the sun goes down. Mercury is hard to spot, not because it is dim, but because it so ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Nov 25, Find the Water Jar of
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Will you spot the Water Jar in the constellation Aquarius to the west (right) of the blazing planet Jupiter tonight? You are only likely to see the Y-shaped Water Jar and the stars of Aquarius if you have access to a dark sky. From downtown in a major city, you have a good chance of spotting Jupiter at nightfall and early evening, but that might be about it. Look for Jupiter to blaze in the southern sky at ... 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—Nov 18, Moon and Jupiter tonight,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org The moon and solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter, shine from dusk until well after midnight tonight. They will be very noticeable as the brightest objects in the night sky. After Jupiter and the waxing gibbous moon set in the west before Friday dawn tomorrow, look for the blazing planet Venus to rise in the east before dawn. The little star near it is Spica in the constellation VIrgo. The planet Saturn is ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Nov 16, Leonid meteors peak before
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Here is the radiant point for the Leonid meteor shower. The 2010 Leonid meteor shower is expected to peak before dawn on Wednesday, November 17, or Thursday, November 18. If you have a dark sky – far from city lights – you might see as many as 10 to 15 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak. The best time to watch will be after the moon sets in the wee hours before dawn. Many ask about the radiant points ... 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—Nov 1, Looking out our Milky Way
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org On this evening with no moon, use the planet Jupiter and Great Square of Pegasus to star-hop to our galaxy’s south window. In other words, you will be looking away from the flat plane of the Milky Way – where most of our galaxy’s stars reside – southward toward intergalactic space. Can you show me a detailed view of the Milky Way center? Here is how to do it. Every year in early November, the Great Square of Pegasus ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Oct. 31, Arcturus is a Halloween
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Every Halloween – and a few days before and after – the brilliant star Arcturus sets at the same time and on the same spot on the horizon as the summer sun. What’s more, this star rises at the same time and at the same place on the horizon as the sun does during the dog days of summer. So – around Halloween – it is as if Arcturus is a fainter ghost of the summer sun. At mid-northern latitudes, Arcturus now sets about 2 ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Tonight October 20, Moon washes out
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The almost full waxing gibbous moon makes 2010 an unfavorable year for watching tonight’s Orionid meteor shower. However, that same big bright moon near Jupiter will be a sight to behold. Meteors first. The Orionid meteor shower will probably rain down their greatest number of meteors for 2010 before dawn on Thursday, October 21, 2010. Only diehard meteor enthusiasts will be watching, however, as the meteors are sure to be few ... Full Story
