Tag Archives: Saturn

In the Sky This Week – April 23, 2019

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This entry is part 93 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

Did you get a chance to see the conjunction of Jupiter and the Moon the the predawn sky this morning? I did as I drove my wife to work. Mercury and Venus appear very low in the eastern sky just before sunrise all week – seeing Mercury may be a challenge. There will be a conjunction of the Moon and Saturn in the eastern predawn sky on April 25th; Jupiter and the star Antares continue to appear in the southwest. Mars continues to move away from the Pleiades – which is very close to setting with the dusk; the constellations Orion and Taurus set shortly after sunset. Over the last several months, Earth’s orbit has taken it away from Mars (see solar system images below). M5 – The Rose Cluster Messier 5 or M5 (also designated NGC 5904) is a globular cluster in the constellation Serpens. Under extremely good conditions, M5 is just visible to the naked eye as a faint “star” near the star 5 Serpentis. Binoculars or small telescopes will identify the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 16, 2019

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This entry is part 92 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

Updating the Near-Earth Object stats for this post, I noticed that the number of known NEO’s has crossed the 20,000 threshold! I need to update this chart every time I talk about asteroids – note the steep angle of the discovery curve, and how the curve keeps growing… precipitously! If you get up at the crack of dawn, and look really low towards the eastern horizon, you may catch a glimpse of Mercury near Venus. Both planets will appear a bit lower in the sky each morning this week. Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares appear in southern predawn sky all week; it’s interesting to note that for the last several weeks these all appeared in the south-southeastern predawn sky. Mars and the constellations Orion and Taurus appear in the western sky after sunset. Mars has dimmed significantly since last year; it and the two constellations appear a bit lower in the western sky each evening. Mars continues a slow crawl away … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 9, 2019

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This entry is part 91 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

This Friday, multiple planetariums and observatories in Michigan will host evening astronomy outreach events during Statewide Astronomy Night (SWAN) – the Warren Astronomical Society among them. Observing is planned at all sites, and while activities and presentations may vary between sites, all will be held rain or moonshine! Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares appear in south-southeastern predawn sky all week; I saw Jupiter this morning as the sky began to brighten. The star Vega is high and bright in the east-northeastern sky in the early morning. A very thin waxing crescent Moon appears near the star Aldebaran and Mars in the western sky after sunset on Apr. 9th. The first-quarter Moon appears near the constellation Gemini southwestern sky after sunset on Apr. 12th. Elliptical Galaxy IC 1101 IC 1101 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy at the center of the Abell 2029 galaxy cluster, approximately 320 megaparsecs (1.04 billion light-years) from Earth. … IC 1101 is among the largest known galaxies, but there is debate in the astronomical literature about how to … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 2, 2019

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This entry is part 90 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

Stellarium version 0.19.0 has been released; I use Stellarium to create images for every one of these posts. When I receive new outreach requests, I frequently use Stellarium to see what the nighttime sky will look like on those future dates. The new version has code optimizations, some user interface improvements, and includes 5 new sky cultures. Stellarium is free, and available for the PC/MAC/Linux. Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares appear in south-southeastern predawn sky this week. Mars continues to appear high in the western sky by the Pleiades all week. A very thin waxing crescent Moon appears low in the western sky after sunset on Apr. 6th. Mercury and Venus appear low in the eastern predawn sky Apr. 8th. The Moon joins Mars and the Pleiades in the western sky after dark on Apr. 8th. Coma Cluster The Coma Cluster (Abell 1656) is a large cluster of galaxies that contains over 1,000 identified galaxies. Along with the Leo Cluster (Abell 1367), it is one of … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 26, 2019

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This entry is part 88 of 93 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 – March 19, 2019

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This entry is part 87 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

Third time’s the charm – under clear skies, I got to set up my telescope and show the Moon to attendees of the Astronomy Night event at my wife’s school… finally! As always, looking through my telescope was a first-time for several viewers, and I got the customary “Oh WOW!” from several people! Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares are in the south-southeastern predawn sky all week. The image below is the same patch of sky above seen in infrared light – the disk and bulge of the Milky Way can clearly be seen! The waxing gibbous Moon can be seen setting in the western predawn sky on Mar. 19th. The full and waning gibbous Moon set a bit later each morning. The Moon will appear near the star Spica in the southwestern predawn sky on Mar. 22nd. The Moon joins Jupiter and Saturn in the south-southeastern predawn sky Mar. 25th. Mars continues to crawl slowly towards the Pleiades, high in … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 26, 2019

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This entry is part 84 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

This summer’s nationwide library reading program, “A Universe of Stories,” coincides with NASA’s 60th anniversary, and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The Warren Astronomical Society (Michigan) has received multiple requests from libraries for summer speakers, astronomy programs and display case setups – and they’re still coming in! I’ve reached out to other astronomy clubs and volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors in southeastern Michigan for help covering all the outreach requests. If you are looking for speakers for this summer, Solar System Ambassadors in your state, and local astronomy clubs are a great resource. You can find many clubs and events listed on the NASA Night Sky Network site. Venus and Saturn continue to spread apart this week, and the waning crescent Moon appears very near several planets in the southeastern predawn sky. Mercury can be seen very low in the western sky at dusk this week. Mars and Uranus are high in the west-southwestern sky before midnight; … Continue reading →

NASA Night Sky Notes for March 2019

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Springtime Planet Party By David Prosper March brings longer days for Northern Hemisphere observers, especially by the time of the equinox. Early risers are treated to the majority of the bright planets dancing in the morning skies, with the Moon passing between them at the beginning and end of the month. The vernal equinox occurs on March 20, marking the official beginning of spring for the Northern Hemisphere. Our Sun shines equally on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres during the moment of equinox, which is why the March and September equinoxes are the only times of the year when the Earth’s north and south poles are simultaneously lit by sunlight. Exacting astronomers will note that the length of day and night on the equinox are not precisely equal; the date when they are closest to equal depends on your latitude, and may occur a few days earlier or later than the equinox itself. One complicating factor is that the Sun … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 19, 2019

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This entry is part 83 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

After a heavy snow, the full Moon put on a stunning show this frigid morning; I was able to see Jupiter out my kitchen window, but Venus and Saturn were obscured by low clouds. As I was shoveling, I thought about how my house blocks the sunlight – which never melts snow off my driveway – while the neighbors across the street have nice clear driveways, baked by the Sun… As tends to happen with me, thoughts wander to something astronomical – this time: permanently shadowed regions on the Moon and Mercury. Last Saturday, my wife and I got to see a fantastic presentation by astronaut Terry Virts about his time on the International Space Station! We got a signed copy of his book: “View from Above.” My wife Connie (@Sciteacher84) and I saw Astronaut Terry Virts (@AstroTerry) speak at @MacombCollege about his time on the @Space_Station! pic.twitter.com/oOSRBjY5Pl — Balrog's Lair (@BalrogsLair) February 11, 2019 Several planets are in the southeastern … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – February 12, 2019

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This entry is part 82 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife likes to alter her science student’s misconceptions about what a “scientist” is, and teaches them that anyone can be a scientist! This is especially true for her female students – many of whom never thought about a career in science. Feb. 11th was International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and it was trending hard on Twitter; it was great to see all the different organizations honoring their female scientists! Saturn and Venus are low, Jupiter and the star Antares are high(ish) in the southeastern predawn sky; Venus continues to move down towards Saturn on the horizon. There’s quite a show high in the south-southwestern sky on Feb. 12th! You may note Mars and Uranus nearly on top of each other in the image below: Mars will be less then a degree from Uranus on Feb. 12th,! I expect to post images about this next week. On the evening of Feb. 13th, the Moon will be about 2 … Continue reading →

Across the Universe: The best way to travel

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This entry is part 16 of 182 in the series Across the Universe

First published in The Tablet in January, 2007; we first ran it here in 2015.  Dark and dreary, January is a time to take off to new and exotic climes; or at least, to daydream about such trips. My own January voyage was a visit to my old hometown, snow-dusted Detroit, to attend a science fiction convention. But a panel discussion at that meeting, “Travel Destinations of the Solar System,” challenged us to imagine really exotic localities. Where among the planets would we love to go? And what it would be like to be standing there, in person? Panelist Bill Higgins, a radiation physicist at Fermi Lab in Chicago [and occasional blogger here at The Catholic Astronomer!], regularly presents spaceflight results as a NASA “Solar System Ambassador” at events like this. He described how Pluto and its moon Charon orbit each other while locked in a spin state that keeps each body always facing the other. “What if we could … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – January 15, 2019 – FAW Edition

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This entry is part 78 of 93 in the series In the Sky This Week

This week, I’m in Tucson, AZ helping with the Vatican Observatory Foundation’s 2019 Faith and Astronomy Workshop (#FAWVOF). It’s startling to see how high the waxing gibbous Moon is, and how low Ursa Major is in the sky compared to where I see them in Michigan! Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers) are low in the northern sky at midnight. The conjunction of Jupiter, Venus and the star Antares continues in the southeastern predawn sky all week; I got to see this as I was walking across the facility to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee – Venus was brilliant! Saturn also makes its return to the early morning sky. A waxing gibbous Moon appears near the constellation Taurus high in the southern sky after sunset In Tucson, the star Deneb appears in the western sky after sunset where the stars Altair and Vega appear from Michigan. Mars appears higher in the southwestern sky after … Continue reading →