Tag Archives: Planets

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 →

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

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 →

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