Tag Archives: Saturn

In the Sky This Week – December 4, 2018

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This entry is part 72 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

A very thin waning crescent Moon joins the weeks-long conjunction of Venus and Spica in the southeastern predawn sky on Dec. 4th. Mars remains high in southern sky after sunset all week; Mars is slowly fading in brightness as the Earth pulls away from it in its orbit (see solar system image below). The very thin waxing crescent Moon will appear near Saturn in the southwestern sky at dusk on Dec. 8th. The constellation Orion is high in the southeastern sky at midnight. Observing Target: M33 – The Triangulum Galaxy Messier 33 (or NGC 598) is a spiral galaxy located approximately 3 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Triangulum. The Triangulum Galaxy is the third-largest member of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes the Andromeda Galaxy and our Milky Way. M33 is one of the most distant objects that can be viewed with the naked eye. NGC 604 is a large star-birth region within The Triangulum Galaxy. NGC 604 is similar to the Orion Nebula in our Milky Way galaxy, but nearly 100 times larger! More … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – November 27, 2018

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This entry is part 71 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

Venus and Spica continue their predawn conjunction in the southeastern sky. Mars is high in southern sky after sunset all week. The International Space Station will pass very near Saturn low in the southwestern sky at 5:42 PM ET on Nov. 27th. To be honest, when I saw this in Stellarium I thought something was a bit weird – I knew there wasn’t going to be a bright star near Saturn … then I clicked on it to find it was the ISS. This ISS flyover will only be visible in southeastern Michigan (sorry). To check of you can see the ISS this week, go to heavens-above.com – you can get charts like this: The nearly third-quarter Moon will appear very near the star Regulus in the southeastern predawn sky on Nov. 29th. The Moon The Moon is a waning gibbous, rising after sunset, high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise. On Nov. 30th the Moon will be at third-quarter, rising … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – November 13, 2018

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This entry is part 69 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

There will be twin “morning stars” in the eastern predawn sky for the next several days; Venus will appear very near the star Spica for the next week. A waxing crescent Moon joins Saturn in the southwestern sky on Nov. 13th. In the south, Mars joins that same waxing crescent Moon on Nov. 13th. The Moon appears very close to Mars high in the southern sky on Nov. 15th after sunset. Apparently this is the week for conjunctions… Observing Target: NGC 7000 – The North America Nebula The North America Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus; the shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America. The nebula covers an area more than four times the size of the Moon, but has low surface brightness, and cannot typically be seen with the unaided eye. Comets Comet Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto (C/2018 V1) was discovered last week by three amateur astronomers! This week, look for the comet near the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – October 30, 2018

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This entry is part 67 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

The Moon will appear low in the eastern sky between the constellations Gemini and Orion during the early morning hours on Oct. 30th. That same Moon will appear high in the sky as dawn’s light begins to show. There will be a conjunction of the crescent Moon and the star Regulus low in the eastern sky, early in the morning hours on Nov. 2nd. A very thin crescent Moon will appear with the star Arcturus in the eastern predawn sky on Nov. 5th. Mars and Saturn continue to put on a show in the southern sky after sunset. Observing Target: The Dance of the Planets Over the next week, the positions of Jupiter and Mercury change drastically in southwestern sky at dusk! Mercury stays low but gets brighter – Jupiter makes a quick dive towards the horizon, and will soon to be hidden by the glare of the Sun. Comets Comet 46P/Wirtanen in the news: You can find Comet 46P/Wirtanen in … Continue reading →

NASA Night Sky Notes for November 2018

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November’s Dance of the Planets By Jane Houston Jones and David Prosper November’s crisp autumn skies bring great views of our planetary neighbors. The Moon pairs up with Saturn and Mars in the evenings, and mornings feature eye-catching arrangements with dazzling Venus. Stargazers wanting a challenge can observe a notable opposition by asteroid 3 Juno on the 17th and watch for a few bright Leonid meteors. Red Mars gleams high in the southern sky after sunset. Saturn sits westward in the constellation Sagittarius. A young crescent Moon passes near Saturn on the 10th and 11th. On the 15th a first quarter Moon skims by Mars, coming within 1 degree of the planet. The red planet receives a new visitor on November 26th, when NASA’s InSight mission lands and begins its investigation of the planet’s interior. News briefings and commentary will be streamed live at: bit.ly/landsafe Two bright planets hang low over the western horizon after sunset as November begins: Jupiter … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – October 23, 2018

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This entry is part 66 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

The constellations Leo and Ursa Major appear in the east-northeastern sky before sunrise; the bright star Regulus is hard to miss in the eastern sky. The constellations Orion and Taurus are high in the southwestern predawn sky. Mars and Saturn are great observing targets this week; sadly, Saturn is getting lower in the southwestern sky each evening. The full and waning gibbous Moon will be visible nearly all night long this week – rising later in the east with each evening. Jupiter and Mercury appear low in the southwestern sky at dusk – Mercury may be quite the challenge to see. Observing Target: Conjunction of the Moon and Aldebaran There will be an early morning conjunction of the Moon and the star Aldebaran on Oct. 27th. Comets Appearing wider than the planet Jupiter, comet 46P/Wirtanen continues to make the news: You can find Comet 46P/Wirtanen low in the southern sky after midnight this week – the Moon may wash it … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – October 16, 2018

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This entry is part 65 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

The constellation Gemini is nearly overhead in the predawn sky – look for the two bright stars, Pollux and Castor near the constellation Orion. The constellation Leo with the bright star Regulus rises earlier each day in the eastern predawn sky. The Moon joins Mars and Saturn in the southern sky after sunset this week. Jupiter is the “evening star,” appearing low in the southwestern sky at dusk, and setting shortly after dark. If you have a clear horizon, you might be able to catch a glimpse of Mercury a few minutes after 5:00 PM. Observing Target: Comet 46P/Wirtanen Comet 46P/Wirtanen is within the orbit of Mars, and it is heading in our direction – it will pass within 11.5 million kilometers (30.23 lunar distances) of Earth – that’s REALLY close! It should be a fantastic observing target. BUT! It’s a comet… I can’t count the number of times I’ve see media prophecies of  “Comet of the Year” fall flat. … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – October 9, 2018

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This entry is part 64 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

The constellations Orion and Canis Major have migrated from the east to the south, and now appear high in the southern predawn sky. The constellation Leo with the bright star Regulus rise in the eastern predawn sky. Ursa Major (with the Big Dipper asterism) and Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) appear in the northern predawn sky. Mars and Saturn continue to be excellent viewing targets in the southern sky after sunset – this week the Moon will not be present to wash them out. Jupiter appears in the southwestern sky at dusk, and sets at 8:36 PM. Observing Target: Mizar and Alcor Mizar and Alcor are a naked-eye double star in the handle of the “Big Dipper” (in Ursa Major). In a small telescope, Mizar and Alcor can easily be “split” or resolved into individual stars: Mizar is actually quadruple star system, with two sets of double stars orbiting around their common center of gravity – also known as their barycenter. … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – October 2, 2018

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This entry is part 63 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

The Moon joins the constellations Gemini and Orion high south in the predawn sky. Mars and Saturn continue to be excellent observing targets in the southern sky after sunset. You might be able to catch a glimpse of Venus this week if you have a clear southwestern horizon; Venus is VERY low in the sky at sunset. Observing Target: M45 – The Pleiades The Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters) is an open star cluster located in the constellation of Taurus. The cluster contains several hot, B-type stars, and is among the nearest star clusters to Earth. The Pleiades easily visible to the naked eye – binoculars work great for viewing the Pleiades; if you want to use a telescope, you’ll need to use a longer focal-length (lower magnification) eyepiece. Time-exposures of the Pleiades reveal a blue nebulosity surrounding the stars; once thought to be left over from the formation of the cluster, it is now thought to be … Continue reading →

Dust Storms on Titan

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Data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has revealed what appear to be giant dust storms in equatorial regions of Saturn’s moon Titan. The discovery, described in a paper published on Sept. 24 in Nature Geoscience, makes Titan the third Solar System body, in addition to Earth and Mars, where dust storms have been observed. The observation is helping scientists to better understand the fascinating and dynamic environment of Saturn’s largest moon. “Titan is a very active moon,” said Sebastien Rodriguez, an astronomer at the Université Paris Diderot, France, and the paper’s lead author. “We already know that about its geology and exotic hydrocarbon cycle. Now we can add another analogy with Earth and Mars: the active dust cycle, in which organic dust can be raised from large dune fields around Titan’s equator.” Titan is an intriguing world — in ways quite similar to Earth. In fact, it is the only moon in the Solar System with a substantial atmosphere and the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – September 25, 2018

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This entry is part 62 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

Happy autumn! The autumnal equinox occurred on September 22nd, this is when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, making the length of day and night approximately the same all over the Earth. With the onset of fall, the constellation Orion is now very high in the predawn sky Jupiter will soon be leaving Mars and Saturn behind in the south-southwestern sky after dusk – catch it while you still can! Jupiter and Venus compete for the “evening star” title, but Jupiter will soon win, as Venus will no longer visible in the southwestern sky in a few short weeks. The Moon The Moon is a waning gibbous just after full; rising in the east at dusk, and setting in the west near dawn. The Moon will be near third quarter early next week, rising around midnight, and visible all morning. Observing Target: Mars Now that the dust from the recent storm has settled, photographers are starting to get some great shots of … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – September 18, 2018

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This entry is part 61 of 72 in the series In the Sky This Week

Canis Major, with the bright star Sirius, is now fully above the horizon in the southeastern predawn sky. The Moon joins Mars and Saturn in the southwestern sky after dusk for several days this week. Venus is very low on the Southwestern sky, and is only visible for about 1/2 hour at dusk before being obscured by trees or buildings on the horizon. Jupiter sets shortly before 10:00 PM The Moon The Moon is a waxing gibbous just after first quarter; visible in the southern sky after dusk, the Moon is an excellent observing target for the next several days. The Moon will be full on September 24th. Observing Target: The Lunar Terminator The lunar terminator – NOT a rampaging cyborg from a dystopian future… but rather the division between the illuminated and dark hemispheres of the Moon. Observing the terminator on the Moon around the time of first or third quarters can be fascinating! Over the course of several hours, you can … Continue reading →