Night Sky

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The Night Sky – September 2017

THE MOON
Phases
Full Moon: Tuesday September 6th
Last Quarter: 13th
New Moon: 20th
First Quarter: 27th
MERCURY
September offers a good chance to catch a glimpse of the planet closest to the sun.  Mercury is rarely easy.  It is found low on the horizon in the pre-dawn sky, so the window of opportunity is small.  DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN WITHOUT CERTIFIED PROTECTIVE FILTERING!  All that said, this month is our chance to catch Mercury.

VENUS
Venus continues to dazzle in the pre-dawn skies, but is gradually getting lower. Enjoy it in the early morning sky for the next month or so before it disappears from view.

MARS
If you’re lucky and have a really flat horizon to the East, you MIGHT catch a glimpse of Mars before the Sun rises, but odds improve later in September.  It’s quite low but give it a try!

JUPITER
Very, very, last call for Jupiter this month!  At the 1^st of the month it will be low (~15*) in the West at sunset, and will set by 9 pm.   It’s getting lower and lower in the western sky, and by month’s end will be near the horizon, soon to go behind the sun and disappear from view.  It’s been a nice, long run for “The King”, but he’s going away soon, so catch him while you can.  Even in a very small scope, bands can be visible on the planet and the four largest moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto can be seen.  By the end of the month, he sets around 7:20 pm.  Jupiter will reappear low in the pre-dawn sky in November.

 

SATURN
Is visible in the south at sunset, setting around 2 am at the beginning of the month, setting around midnight at the end.  Observing conditions will continue to degrade over the next few months as it continues to sink lower in the sky, before disappearing from view.  That said, the planet is  tilted at a great angle affording a great view of the rings.  The Cassini Gap is visible in a modest scope so give it a look.  This pretty planet is always worth a peek.  Saturn never disappoints.

URANUS
This Ice Giant rises around 11 pm early in the month and is visible for the rest of the night.  Rises around 9 pm at the end of the month.  Noteworthy because it is very high in the sky.  Hasn’t been this high since the 1960’s.  This is a very faint object, very far from Earth, so if you are hunting Uranus, you don’t need me to tell you where it is.  In a telescope it will appear as small, pale, blue-green disk, with no surface detail visible.  Still you will be able to saw you spotted it.

NEPTUNE
This Ice Giant rises around 9:30 at the start of the month and about 7:30 at the end of the month.   Everything from Uranus applies only much more difficult.  September is the best month this year to try to see it.  It is visible for almost the entire night. Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun, more than 30 times more distant than we are.

 

 

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The Night Sky – August 2017

MERCURY
Forget Mercury this month.  It’s too close to the sun to be seen.

VENUS
Venus still reigns in the pre-dawn sky, rising around 2:45 am at the start of the month, and rising about 3:30 am at the end of it.  Enjoy it in the early morning sky for the next two months before it disappears from view.

MARS
Nope, not now.  Look for Mars to reappear in the early morning sky in October.

JUPITER
Last call for Jupiter this month.  It’s getting lower and lower in the western sky, and by month’s end will be near the horizon, so to disappear from view.  It’s been a nice, long run for “The King”, but he’s going away soon, so catch him while you can.  Even in a very small scope, bands can be visible on the planet and the four largest moons can be seen.

SATURN
Is visible in the south at sunset, setting around 2 am at the beginning of the month, setting around midnight at the end.  Observing conditions will continue to degrade over the next few months as it continues to sink lower in the sky, before disappearing from view.  That said, this pretty planet is always worth a peek.  It never disappoints.

URANUS
This Ice Giant rises around 11 pm early in the month and is visible for the rest of the night.  Rises around 9 pm at the end of the month.  Noteworthy because it is very high in the sky.  Hasn’t been this high since the 1960’s.  This is a very faint object, very far from Earth, so if you are hunting Uranus, you don’t need me to tell you where it is.  In a telescope it will appear as small, pale, blue-green disk, with no surface detail visible.  Still you will be able to saw you spotted it.

NEPTUNE
This Ice Giant rises around 9:30 at the start of  the month and about 7:30 at the end of the month.   Everything from Uranus applies only much more difficult.

 

 

THE MOON
First Quarter: 1st
Full Moon: 9th
Last Quarter: 17th
New Moon: 24th

THE  PLANETS

– Mercury is too close to the sun and not visible this month.

– Venus is extremely bright (-4.1 magnitude) this month.  Look for it low (around 18*) in the east in the pre-dawn sky.  There is no mistaking it.

– Mars sets about 90 minutes after the Sun, so Mars will be difficult to see this month because it will be low and lost in the glare of the setting Sun.

– Jupiter At the beginning of the month Jupiter is bright enough (-2.1 magnitude) to be spotted before sunset around 40* in the SSW. The King continues to dominate the evening sky.  A strong pair of binoculars (use a tripod) or a small telescope will easily reveal the four Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto).  With steady conditions, you can see the bands on the planet.

– Saturn rises around 9:20 pm at the beginning of this month, and will rise earlier each night.  By the end of June, it will rise around 7:15 pm.  It will be at it’s closest to Earth on the June 15.   It will be a pretty bright golden object in the eastern sky, (about 0.0 magnitude).  It will be tipped at a good angle for viewing its rings this month, but as the month goes on, it will be lower and lower in the sky, meaning we have to look through more and more atmosphere to see it.  So viewing quality will likely fall off as the month goes on.  Catch it early in the month if you can.

– Uranus rises around 3:15 am at the beginning of  June and 1:30 am by the end.  At magnitude 5.8 it is barely visible to very keen eyes on a very dark, clear night…if you know where to look.  Practically speaking you need binoculars or a telescope to spot this blue world.  You won’t be able to see any detail, but at least you can say you have seen it!

– Neptune rises around 1:44 am at the beginning of June and by the end rises at 11:42 pm.  With a magnitude of 7.9 it is far too dim to be spotted with the unaided eye.  As with Uranus, you won’t be able to see any detail, but at least you can say you have seen it!

 

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The Night Sky – May 2017

THE MOON
Phases
First Quarter: 3rd
Full Moon: 10th
Last Quarter: 19th
New Moon: 25th

MERCURY
Forget Mercury this month.   It’s too close to the Sun to see.

VENUS
Venus starts the month rising just before dawn in the east and gets higher in the sky as the month goes on. It is very bright with a  magnitude of -4.7, which is as bright as it ever gets.  Always be careful to never risk looking at the sun with a telescope.

MARS
Mars starts the month in Taurus with an elevation of around 11 degrees above the western horizon at sunset.  As the month goes on this elevation decreases to only about 5 degrees by the end of the month, becoming lost in the Sun’s glare, then passing behind the Sun.   Mars will not be visible through the entire summer, so get the last few glimoses in while you can.

JUPITER
Jupiter reached opposition on April 7th, which means that the King of the planets now rises at dusk in Virgo. We are pulling away from Jupiter, so it will start to slowly get smaller and dimmer.  That said, it is still one of the brightest objects in the night sky, magnitude -2.3 or so.  Take some time to watch the four Galilean Moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto).  Easily viewed through large binoculars or a small telescope, they revolve around Jupiter at a much faster rate than our Moon revolves around Earth.  In the case of Io, 10 hours.  These are the four largest moons of Jupiter out of 67 moons!  Wow!  That’s a lot!  And they are larger than any of the Dwarf Planets (such as Pluto).  A slightly larger telescope will permit you to observe the bands on the planet as well as the Giant Red Spot.  The King, in all his glory!  Easy and fun!

SATURN
 Saturn is in Sagittarius, rising around 11:30pm. It’s very bright at about magnitude +0.2   It never gets very high for the rest of the year.  Still, though it may be small now, Saturn NEVER disappoints.   Enjoy!

URANUS
Nope.  Not this month.  It rises after the Sun, and sets before the Sun does. ‘Nuf said.

NEPTUNE
Neptune rises around 3 am and will be low in the East before sunrise.  Always be careful to never risk looking at the sun with a telescope.

The Night Sky – April 2017

MERCURY
The beginning of April offers some of the best views of Mercury for the year!  It will be visible after sunset (7:18 pm or so) and should be fairly high in the sky (for Mercury) at about 18° and quite bright (around magnitude zero).  Look for it in the W after sunset.  It is always tricky because it is generally very low in the sky, and terrain can easily block it. Catch it early in the month because it will get lower and lower, and well as dimmer and dimmer, as the month goes on, eventually disappearing from view around the 19^th.   It will reappear very low in the pre-dawn eastern sky at the end of the month.  Always be careful to never risk looking at the sun with a telescope.

VENUS
Venus is now a “Morning Planet” and rises in the east about an hour before sunrise on the first of the month and then climbs a little higher each morning as April progresses.   By the end of the month, Venus reaches its maximum brightness of magnitude -4.7!   It will have an elevation of about 15 degrees.   Always be careful to never risk looking at the sun with a telescope.

MARS
Mars continues to move further away from us and thus is getting smaller, lower, and dimmer as time goes by.  At the start of the month it has an elevation of about 20° above the western horizon at sunset.  By the end of the month it will be only about 10° above the horizon.

JUPITER
The King just keeps getting better and better!  At the beginning of the month, Jupiter rises in the east around 8 pm but won’t be so great until 10 pm, but since it is up all night it will be wonderful for night owls and early risers.  Later in the month is better because it will be high in the sky by dark and visible all night.  Check out the four largest moons (out of 67) with binoculars or a small telescope. They look like tiny stars in binoculars and small telescopes.  Large scopes reveal more. There are also a few excellent opportunities to view the Giant Red Spot, namely; on April 1^st it should be close to the central meridian around 22:00 and again close to the central meridian at the end of the month around 20:50.  Awesome!

SATURN
Saturn rises at about midnight, and climbs to its highest point around dawn.  It never gets very high in the sky however (about 15° or so) so it’s not the greatest for detailed observing.  It will be tough for the remainder of 2017.  Still, Saturn remains a beauty through even a modest telescope, and never disappoints.

URANUS
Uranus will pass very close to the Sun in the sky as its orbit carries it around the far side of the solar system from the Earth and will be unobservable for a few weeks; lost in the glare of the Sun.
Always be careful to never risk looking at the sun with a telescope.
Eventually it will re-emerge in the morning sky, and over the ensuing few months, Uranus will reappear and rise higher and higher in the early morning sky…but not this month!

NEPTUNE
Neptune is very close to the sun and only briefly visible around sunrise and sunset.  Don’t bother.  Wait a month or so.  Always be careful to never risk looking at the sun with a telescope.

METEOR SHOWER
The Lyrids are the oldest known meteor shower.  It is associated with Comet Thatcher which takes 415 years to orbit the Sun. Peak for this shower is April 22, but look for it a few days either side of that date. Not known for lots of meteors but can have some great bursts that exceed 100 per hour!

DEEP SKY
Spring is here, and while some Winter constellations are still around, they slide off to the West and go to bed early in the evening.  Look for the Spring Triangle.  It is a beautiful asterism made up from the brightest stars in Bootes, Virgo and Leo.

April is a good time to locate many easy deep sky objects with binoculars and telescopes.  Ursa Major, and the asterism, The Big Dipper, are rich with many, many, easily observable galaxies.  They are all nice and high in the sky and so free from much of the atmospheric grunge that impedes observing. Messier 81, M81, NGC 3031, M101 to name just a few.

Clear skies!

Patrick

 

 

 

VENUS
On Thursday January 12, Venus will reach it’s point furthest east of the Sun, reaching it’s highest point in the night sky.  It is also in a crescent phase which is fun through strong binoculars or a telescope.

NEPTUNE
Neptune isn’t so easy to see but will be close to Venus this month and will be to the lower left of Venus. You might catch both in the field of view of a low power eyepiece in a small telescope.

Look for Venus and Neptune in the SW after sunset (Venus is actually visible before sunset. At -4.5 magnitude, it is the second brightest object in the night sky, right behind the moon.  With a magnitude of about 8 Neptune is not visible to the naked eye, but being so close to Venus makes it easy to pick up in a small scope).  The weather doesn’t look good for Jan 12 but it does for Jan 13 so give it a try!

MARS
While Mars far away from us compared to last year, it is still easily visible in the southwestern sky.  It is the unmistakable red object and is visible from sunset until it sets about 9:45 pm.

URANUS
Uranus is visible in Pisces from sunset until it sets around midnight through binoculars or telescope.  At magnitude 5.8 it is not easy to see unaided.

COMET VESTA
Tuesday, January 17, asteroid Vesta reaches opposition, the date when it is closest to earth and brightest at magnitude 6, it is visible to the naked eye, binoculars, and telescopes.

MERCURY
For early risers, look for Mercury during most of January in the east for about an hour before sunrise.  It is a tricky one because it is pretty low in the sky, and terrain can easily block it.

SATURN
Saturn is a bit higher and to the right of Mercury in the eastern predawn sky.  A beauty through even a modest telescope, Saturn never disappoints.

JUPITER
The King rises in the east around midnight and is visible until sunrise where he will be found in the south. Four of Jupiter’s moons are visible in a small scope.

 

Clear, dark skies!