Tag Archives: InSight

In the Sky This Week – March 26, 2019

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This entry is part 89 of 159 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife was awarded 2019 Teacher of the Year for her school district! Connie teaches middle-school science in New Haven, Michigan – she is a volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and has an asteroid named after her – I’d like to think she’s a good influence on me. The Moon joins Saturn and Jupiter in the south-southeastern predawn sky for several days this week. The Moon will appear very near Jupiter on the 27th. And a couple days later, the Moon will appear near Saturn. The constellations Orion and Taurus are in the western sky after sunset; nearby, Mars continues a slow crawl towards the Pleiades star cluster. This week’s P.S.: It’s spring, and my parrots are now making it nearly impossible for me to even think; they are completely insufferable this time of year. Globular Cluster M3 Messier 3 (M3 or NGC 5272) is a globular cluster of stars in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. It was discovered on May 3, 1764, and was the first … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 5, 2019

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This entry is part 82 of 159 in the series In the Sky This Week

I would just like to say that the volunteers from the Warren Astronomical Society are simply the best! Two different groups collectively froze their posteriors off running Lunar Eclipse outreach events at Stargate Observatory and assisting Cranbrook Institute of Science with their event, which saw several hundred guests! As Venus moves down towards the horizon, the several weeks-long conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and the star Antares in the southeastern predawn sky is slowly spreading apart. The Moon reappears in the southwestern sky as a waxing crescent later in the week – keep an eye out for earthshine! The Moon appears near Mars high in the southwestern sky after sunset on Feb. 10th. Through binoculars, Uranus and Mars will appear in the same field of view – you may not be able to see Uranus due to the Moon washing it out tho… The Double Cluster and the constellation Cassiopeia appear to the northwest sky early in the morning. NGC 869/884 … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – December 26, 2018

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This entry is part 76 of 159 in the series In the Sky This Week

Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry this post is a tad late, I’ve been a bit preoccupied the last couple days… The multi-planet conjunction in the eastern predawn sky continues this week. Mars remains high in southern sky after sunset all week; Mars is now at magnitude 0.39, down significantly from -2.78 during opposition at the end July 2018. The stars Altair and Vega battle for the title of “evening star” in the western sky at dusk. The Moon appears in the constellation Leo at midnight Dec. 27th. Observing Target: M64 – The Black Eye Galaxy M64 is a spiral galaxy located 17 million light years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. “A collision of two galaxies has left a merged star system with an unusual appearance as well as bizarre internal motions. Messier 64 (M64) has a spectacular dark band of absorbing dust in front of the galaxy’s bright nucleus, giving rise to its nicknames of the “Black Eye” or “Evil Eye” galaxy. Fine details of the dark band are … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – December 18, 2018

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This entry is part 75 of 159 in the series In the Sky This Week

Venus shines so brightly in the southeastern predawn sky, you can practically read by it! Jupiter makes its reappearance this week, joining Mercury, Venus and the star Spica. Mars is high in southern sky after sunset all week; the waxing gibbous Moon appears to the east of Mars on Dec. 18th. The star Altair is now the “evening star” to the west at dusk; Saturn has almost vanished into the glare of the Sun. The Moon appears very near the star Aldebaran high in the western sky around 3:30 AM on Dec. 21st. On Christmas Eve, the waning gibbous Moon will appear in the eastern sky after sunset. Observing Target: M1 – The Crab Nebula M1, the Crab Nebula, is a supernova remnant located in the constellation of Taurus. The supernova was so bright in 1054 that it could be seen during the day for nearly a month; the supernova was documented by astronomers in several countries. X-Ray: Chandra Ultraviolet: ASTRO-1 Visible: DSS … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – November 20, 2018

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This entry is part 71 of 159 in the series In the Sky This Week

Venus and Spica continue their weeks-long conjunction in the eastern predawn sky. Orion and Canus Major are in the southwestern predawn sky all week. A few months ago, I remember writing about Orion just becoming visible in the eastern predawn sky; watching constellations creep across the southern sky over the course of a season is pretty interesting. I’m certainly learning a lot about the sky from writing these posts… Saturn becomes the “evening star” in the southwestern sky at dusk; if you’re lucky, and have a clear horizon, you might catch a glimpse of Mercury very low in the sky around 5:30 PM ET on Nov. 20th. Mars and Neptune will be high in southern sky after sunset all week. Here’s a close-up of where Neptune is near the red giant star Lambda Aquarii (λ-Aqr , 73 Aqr): Uranus is above the Moon! Yea, I said it! Actually, when generating images for this post, this image made me laugh pretty hard… Uranus … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 15, 2018

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This entry is part 44 of 159 in the series In the Sky This Week

Mars and Saturn agree that they rather like the early morning sky, and have decided to stay there forever… or so it seems… Jupiter just past opposition, is slowly leaving the morning planets and making its way towards being visible only in the evenings. I was playing with the equatorial grid feature of Stellarium and noticed how close Polaris was to the North Celestial Pole. So, of course, I HAD to see how the South Celestial Pole looked… and I noticed the the southern hemisphere doesn’t have a convenient star near the pole – which led me to find this article on the One-Minute Astronomer about how to find the South Celestial Pole. The Moon The Moon is new on the 15th, and joins Venus in the western sky near sunset as a thin waxing crescent on the 17th. The Moon will be high in the western sky after sunset on the 20th &21st. The Sun Although there is some impressive coronal loop … Continue reading →

Send Your Name to Mars on InSight

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Mars enthusiasts around the world can participate in NASA’s journey to Mars by adding their names to a silicon microchip headed to the Red Planet aboard NASA’s InSight Mars lander, scheduled to launch next year. “Our next step in the journey to Mars is another fantastic mission to the surface,” said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By participating in this opportunity to send your name aboard InSight to the Red Planet, you’re showing that you’re part of that journey and the future of space exploration.” Submissions will be accepted until Sept. 8. To send your name to Mars aboard InSight, go to: http://go.usa.gov/3Aj3G The fly-your-name opportunity comes with “frequent-flier” points to reflect an individual’s personal participation in NASA’s journey to Mars, which will span multiple missions and multiple decades. The InSight mission offers the second such opportunity for space exploration fans to collect points by flying their names aboard a NASA mission, with more … Continue reading →