Category Archives: Planets

A celestial body inside the Solar System that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

Meteor Showers, Observing, Planets

August’s Gas Giants & Meteor Shower

As August approaches so do the dog days of summer. This time last year Comet NEOWISE was blowing our socks off and cyberspace was a buzz as thousands posted their “dirty snowball” images . Fortunately for us northern hemisphere dwellers as the days heat up so do a few celestial objects and events that are not to be missed. This makes August a perfect time to dust off the binoculars, find a dark sky, set up a telescope and enjoy Jupiter and Saturn as well as the Perseid meteor shower.

Jupiter & Saturn Conjunction December 20, 2020.

Up first is the ringed planet Saturn. You may recall back in December 2020 that Jupiter and Saturn cozied up to each other in the evening sky. Well the pair has been slowly separating as viewed from our vantage point but they’re still relatively close to each other. You can watch Jupiter rise about 30-40 minutes after Saturn in the southeast just after dark.
Continue reading August’s Gas Giants & Meteor Shower →

Conjunction, Observing, Planets

Jupiter and Saturn Converge

Twas the night before the big Jupiter & Saturn conjunction and all through the sky not a creature was stirring except my Nikon clicking away!
Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction
Jupiter and Saturn Conjunction Dec. 20, 2020
I shot these two this evening from my heavily treed backyard. Photo settings were as follows: 100mm, F/5.6, 2.5 second exposure and ISO1600 with a Nikon D5100.
At first glance you might think there is not much to see here, and if you were expecting the festoons of Jupiter or Saturn’s rings you’d be right but looking closer you can definitely make out a few things. Jupiter is clearly brighter than Saturn and Saturn is more orange in color than Jupiter. You can just see a hint of the Galilean moons around Jupiter as well.

Continue reading Jupiter and Saturn Converge →

Moon, Occultation, Planets

Planetary Alignment & Mars Occultation

Planetary Alignment

Tomorrow morning (Monday, February 17, 2020) be on the look out for a nice planetary alignment. If you are up early tomorrow morning and have a good view of the southeastern sky be sure to check out Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and the Moon as they line up in that order.

President’s Day Planetary Alignment

Additionally, for those in the DFW area the International Space Station will be making a fairly bright pass (-0.6 mag) right through this line up! In fact, the space station should pass between Saturn and Jupiter around 6:37 a.m. See the screen shot above that I made from Stellarium for more information regarding the alignment and passing of the ISS through them on Monday, February 17th 2020.

Mars Occulation

There’s more! The next morning Tuesday, Feb. 18th the Moon will occult or pass in front of the planet Mars. Complete details of the timing of this event from numerous locations in the U.S. can be found on the International Occultation Timing Association’s (IOTA) web page.
Continue reading Planetary Alignment & Mars Occultation →

Comets, Planets

Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova

As 2016 comes to a close corks will be popping and fireworks firing to be sure. But make sure in all the excitement you don’t miss the celestial fireworks!

There will be the opportunity for you to see periodic Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova in the constellation Capricornus.  This comet has an orbital period of just 5.25 years that takes out to Jupiter’s orbit before plunging back toward the Sun.

The best time to view will be just after sunset on new years eve, December 31, 2016. The south-western sky will be filled with other great objects for you to observe besides the comet including the Moon, Venus, Mars and Neptune.

Comet P45
Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova on December 31, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. CST as seen from DFW

The sky chart above shows Comet 45P at about 21 degrees above the horizon and roughly 5 degrees away from the Moon. This will make for great viewing with binoculars or a telescope.

In early February this comet will pass within 0.1 AU of the earth. It is predicted to reach maximum brightness of magnitude ~7 in early January.

Continue reading Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova →

Planets, Transit

Mercury Transit 2016

It’s been a decade since the planet Mercury passed in front of the Sun as seen from Earth. These transits happen about 13 times a century and November 8, 2006 was the last time it happened. I took the image below with a 90 mm Meade ETX telescope. Mercury is the small dot. The larger dot to the right is a giant sunspot.  You can see more of my transit images on my website.

Mercury Transit 11/8/06 Enhanced
Mercury Transit 11/8/06 Enhanced

This year on May 9, 2016 Mercury will once again slowly glide across the face of the Sun and it’ll make for a great observing opportunity for those in the U.S.A.  The transit will have already begun (6:12 a.m. CDT) for those in western parts of North America.  So when the Sun rises on May 9, 2016 at 6:34 a.m. CDT Mercury will already be working its way across the Sun. The greatest transit time for the DFW area will come around 9:58 a.m. CDT. Greatest transit is the instant when Mercury passes closest to the Sun’s center.  Mercury should begin to move off the face of the Sun at about 1:38 p.m. CDT. Continue reading Mercury Transit 2016 →

Planets, Transit

A Triple Shadow Transit on Jupiter

Jupiter’s four large moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto) are hard to miss, and a favorite telescopic target of backyard observers. They are commonly referred to as the Galilean Moon’s due to the fact that they were discovered by Galileo Galilei over 400 years ago.

It just so happens that on the night of January 23-24th (Friday night into Saturday morning) these four large moons will be putting on a must see show. A triple shadow transit!

The video above from NASA outlines that transits and events as they unfold on the night of January 23rd.  I have listed them below giving the Central Standard times.

Continue reading A Triple Shadow Transit on Jupiter →

Eclipse, Moon, Planets

Mars @ Opposition & a Total Lunar Eclipse

This month Mars is at opposition (opposite the sun in the sky as seen from Earth). This means our planet is closer to Mars and thus Mars is brighter (-1.5 mag) in our sky, well placed for telescopic observation and generally a lot more interesting to view. Here are some keys dates. On April 8,  2014 Mars will be at opposition (distance to earth: 0.621 AU, brightness: -1.5 mag, diameter: 15.08″). On April 14, 2014 Mars makes its closest approach to Earth (distance to earth: 0.618 AU, brightness: -1.4 mag, diameter: 15.16″). This will be a great time to get out and observe the red planet through a telescope, it’s polar ice caps and light and dark regions, and also how the planet changes over time. It’s not uncommon for dust storms to occur and totally change how we see the planet.

Moon and Mars on morning of 4/15/2014
Moon and Mars in Virgo early on the morning of 4/15/2014.

Continue reading Mars @ Opposition & a Total Lunar Eclipse →

Planets

Venus & Saturn at Sunset

image

Looking West at sunset you can find brilliant Venus and the ringed planet Saturn.  Venus is often mistaken for an airplane or weather balloon it’s so bright.  Venus also goes through phases as seen from our vantage point and this is easily decernable when viewed through a telescope. 

Saturn’s rings are aways a treat to view and often the favorite of those new to observing through a telescope. It’s quickly dipping down sunward so look while you can.

Planets

Mercury, Venus & Jupiter Congregate in the West

Look low in the west after sunset in late May to catch Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury dancing closely in the sky. The best time to see them should be 40 minutes after local sunset. See the video prepared by Sky & Telescope for the planets positions relative to each other over several weeks into June. From Friday, May 24th through Wednesday, May 29th Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury will all be within 5 degrees of each other providing a great opportunity to check them out in binoculars. You should be able to see all three planets in the field of view in your binoculars. Brilliant Venus will be the brightest followed by Jupiter and Mercury. This celestial sky show will take place on the western skyline about 10 degrees (the height of your clinched fist held at arm’s length) above the horizon. Jupiter falls from view beginning on June 6th while the Moon begins to make it’s presence known very low on the horizon on June 9th.

Video courtesy of Sky & Telescope.com
Planets

Saturn in the spring evening sky

image

Saturn is nicely placed and easily found in the evening sky.  Look around 10 pm in the SE.  You’ll find the ringed planet below the bright star Spica in Virgo. A small telescope is needed to reveal the magnificent rings.

Posted from WordPress for Android