Tag Archives: M31

In the Sky This Week – December 3, 2019

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This entry is part 126 of 180 in the series In the Sky This Week

At last night’s meeting of the Warren Astronomical Society, the topic of the Starlink satellite constellation came up during the “In the News” segment, and a groan of dismay could be heard from the entire audience. If you are unfamiliar with Starlink, it is a constellation of potentially tens of thousands of communication satellites created by SpaceX with the goal of providing global high-speed internet – that concept sounds great! Starlink satellites during a meteor shower on Nov. 22. pic.twitter.com/wJVk1qu49E — Patrick Treuthardt, Ph.D. (@PTreuthardt) November 25, 2019 The first time I became aware of Starlink was after the 2nd satellite deployment mission of May of 2019, when 60 satellites were put into a 53° Earth orbit. Almost immediately satellite sightings started pouring in from around the world. Videos show a long trail of lights traversing the sky, virtually painting the orbits of the satellites in your mind’s eye, and literally painting them in the cameras of astronomers and astrophotographers … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 17, 2018

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This entry is part 53 of 180 in the series In the Sky This Week

As Mars opposition nears, the planet shines bright in the southwestern sky before sunrise. I find myself looking out my back window for Mars every morning after I awake. The waxing crescent Moon joins Venus in the western sky near sunset; Jupiter appears more to the south, and is a great observing target for several hours after sunset. The Moon The Moon is a waxing crescent visible in the western sky around dusk. The Moon will be at first quarter on July 20th, after which it will be a waxing gibbous, visible in the southern sky after sunset. The Moon will be a great observing target all week! The Moon will travel across the southern sky all week; the first quarter Moon will appear close to Jupiter in the south-southwestern sky on July 20th. The waxing gibbous Moon will appear very close to Saturn in the south-southeastern sky on July 24th. Observing Target: M31 – The Andromeda Galaxy M31 – … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 18, 2017

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This entry is part 17 of 180 in the series In the Sky This Week

Venus continues to dominate the morning sky in the east, but appears slightly lower in the sky each morning as it pulls ahead of us in its orbit. The waning crescent Moon will appear near Venus the the star Aldebaran on the mornings of July 19th and 20th. The New Moon will be on the 23rd. Jupiter and Saturn appear in the south-southwestern sky after sunset; Jupiter will appear slightly lower in the western sky each day as the Earth pulls ahead of Jupiter in its orbit. The constellations Pegasus and Andromeda appear low in the northeast sky after sunset; the wispy cloud of M31, the Andromeda galaxy, makes a good target for telescope observers. M31 is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. It is 2.5 million light years distant, and heading straight at us; in a little over 4 billion years, it will collide with the Milky way, and the two galaxies will merge into a large … Continue reading →