Tag Archives: Saturn

In the Sky This Week – September 15, 2020

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This entry is part 164 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

I’ve been working with the Great Lakes Association of Astronomy Clubs (GLAAC) on their annual Astronomy at the Beach event – Sept. 25 & 26; we’re holding the event online this year for obvious reasons. We have a fantastic set of speakers for the event, and several astronomers will be live-broadcasting from their observatories and driveways across Michigan and from Arizona! Our headliners are Br. Guy & Dan Davis – co-authors of Turn Left at Orion, David Levy – comet discoverer extraordinaire and author on the Sacred Space Astronomy site, and Dolores Hill of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission. Several astronomers from GLAAC-member clubs will be giving presentations and participating in panel discussions about astronomy and space science; I will be giving three presentations myself and monitoring the event’s “Ops Channel” over the weekend. Several of the persons giving presentations are volunteer NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors – like my wife and I. Many of the presenters have expressed a … Continue reading →

Cassini – The Last Splendiferous Hurrah

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The 15th of September 2017 was the day a superb mission to Saturn ended in a spectacle which for the most part was for Saturn’s eyes only. I wrote the following blog back on September 12th 2017,it was updated here in 2018.  Its entitled  The Last Splendiferous Hurrah because it is about the demise of the Cassini Mission to the gas giant. One hopes Cassini 2 is on the drawing board. 2017  Blog The English language is lacking in  affirmations glowing enough to encompass the significance of the Cassini Mission to Saturn. Side winding its way into my mind in the effort to find the right words came a memory of an old TV variety show. In the show, the host announces the artists to perform by pronouncing very large words in rapid precision. Each word is preceded by a judgemental gavel blow. The hyperbolic introductions primed the audience to welcome the splendiferous offerings of the forthcoming show. The pulchritudinous … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – September 8, 2020

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This entry is part 163 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife has recuperated from her appendectomy – for the most part – she’s still in the recliner by evening, taking it easy. Her middle-school opening got delayed for a week, but she had to go into school this morning to do set up. She’s not having any students today – they start tomorrow, and knowing the history of Connie catching everything sick students bring into school… well… if I sit and think about it, I’m quite likely terrified at a situation that seems dangerous and completely out of my control. I’m not sure if playing complicated and immersive video games is “handling the situation very well,” but it sure keeps my mind off it… Saturn and Jupiter appear in the southern sky after sunset near the constellation Sagittarius, and are visible for several hours into the early morning. Mars appears in the east-southeastern sky at 3:00 AM this week – the Moon appears in the eastern sky with Mars … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – September 2, 2020

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This entry is part 162 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

My wife is home recuperating from her appendectomy; she’s healing well and starting to feel better – so naturally, she’s overdoing it… She’s been spending a lot of time in the recliner in the basement, with the parrots and I. Andromeda, our Senegal parrot has been simply loving all the time she’s been spending with Connie! Saturn and Jupiter appear in the southern sky after sunset, moving to the southwest in the late evening and early morning hours; the pair of planets set shortly after 2:00 AM. The Moon appears in the sky above the bright star Fomalhaut for a good part of the night; Fomalhaut rises in the southeast around 10:00 PM, and sets in the southwest around 5:00 AM. Mars rises in the east around 10:00 PM, and appears high in the southwestern sky at sunrise. The Moon appears in a very close conjunction with Mars in the early morning hours of Sept. 6th. Here’s a close-up of … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 25, 2020

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This entry is part 161 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Get Well Connie! As I was working on images for this post yesterday, I had to rush my wife Connie to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy; hospital rules would not allow me to see her after she was admitted, and it was several hours before she was able to get into the operating room… Her appendix was removed and had not ruptured – which is what we were hoping for. As I’m writing this, she is eating for the first time in 24 hours, and it looks like they are starting on release paperwork. I love my wife dearly, but if she had a mutant super-power, it would be the ability to have calamitous things happen to her, or around her, frequently! Honestly, I’ve joked about this oddity for decades! Every time she gets hurt, I hum the first few bars of the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” theme! That theme song is Connie’s ringtone on my smartphone – … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 18, 2020

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This entry is part 160 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Happy Birthday Amanda! Today is my youngest daughter Amanda’s 32nd birthday! Amanda is married to Sam Festian, and they have a 6 month old daughter who is adorable, good-natured, and sleeps through the night. When Amanda was a baby… she was adorable! My wife and I comment frequently how lucky Sam and Amanda are to have a baby that very rarely cries; however, Alayanora is starting to vocalize this weird thing I’m calling the “monster growl.” My wife got some baby dresses with stars and constellations on them – three different sizes… so the baby will be able to wear the “same” dress for months as she grows. Jupiter and Saturn continue to appear in the southern sky during the early morning and predawn hours this week. Keep watching Jupiter  as it slowly gets closer to Saturn over the next couple months. The Pleiades star cluster, Uranus and Mars appear in the eastern sky during the early morning hours this … Continue reading →

Specola Guestbook | Oct 18, 1921: William Pickering

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This entry is part 55 of 60 in the series Specola Guestbook

Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory.  A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints. Today’s guestbook entry is from October 18, 1921, when William H. Pickering made a visit. Next to his name, William Henry Pickering (1858-1938) wrote, “Harvard Observatory, Cambridge U.S.A.”  He was an astronomer who constructed several observatories. He was the brother of Edward Charles Pickering, director of the Harvard Observatory from 1877-1919. Edward was the subject of a previous Specola Guestbook post. He made a visit in 1913. It is possible that the occasion of the visit to the Specola was in preparation for the first General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union.  That meeting took place in May 1922 in Rome. Pickering was an inaugural member, and served on the commission for lunar nomenclature and the commission for planetary physics. Among his scientific contributions, he discovered one … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 11, 2020

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This entry is part 159 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Look up! The Perseid meteor shower is tonight! After midnight, look to the northeast – you may want to grab a lawn chair and a blanket. Just stare at one fixed point in the sky… and wait… Unfortunately, with the Moon being so close to the radiant, fainter meteors may be hidden from view. Jupiter and Saturn appear in the southern sky during the early morning and predawn hours this week. The Moon appears with Mars in the eastern sky during the early morning hours from August 11-13th. The Moon appears near the star Aldebaran in the eastern predawn sky on August 13th. The waning crescent Moon appears in conjunction with Venus and the stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse in the eastern predawn sky on August 14th. On August 15th, the Moon appears about 3 degrees from Venus.   The third-quarter Moon occurs on Tuesday August 11th – rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise. After Tuesday, the … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – August 4, 2020

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This entry is part 158 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Today is my 36th anniversary! Connie and I met at Michigan Tech, and spent many hours under aurora-filled skies while we were in the Keweenaw Peninsula. We have two adult daughters, a six month old granddaughter, and are currently living with Connie’s elderly parents after having sold our house. Connie is a middle-school science teacher, and typically catches something from her students at least three times a year; the thought of her being required to return to an in-classroom environment during on ongoing global pandemic has me both infuriated and nearly frantic. The image below is from the Keweenaw Rocket Range; Connie and I, along with several members of the MTU Science Fiction Club (The PFRC), and a group of SF-fans and teckies (GT) helped fund the monument a couple decades ago – we visited the site in 2016. Jupiter and Saturn appear in the southern sky during the early morning and predawn hours this week. The Moon appears in … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 28, 2020

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This entry is part 157 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

The Moon appears near the star Antares in the southern sky at 10:00 PM from July 27th – July 30th. The Moon appears near Jupiter and Saturn in the southeastern sky at 10:00 PM from July 31st – Aug. 2nd. Mars continues to appear high in the southeastern predawn sky this week. Venus appears high above the eastern horizon, and Mercury appears very low above the horizon all week; Hurry if you want to see Mercury, it gets closer towards the horizon with each morning. The first quarter Moon occurred on July 27th – the Moon is currently a waxing gibbous – visible to the southeast in early evening, and up for most of the night. The full Moon occurs on August 3rd – rising at sunset, visible high in the sky around midnight, and visible all night. Moon News This is NASA's Lunar Gateway — an international research outpost set to orbit the Moon in 2023. Vital for sustainable, … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 21, 2020

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This entry is part 156 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) continues to dominate astronomy news this week; VOF blogger Fr. James Kurzynski posted several beautiful comet pictures of his in an article on this site. Comet NEOWISE appears in the northwestern evening sky before midnight all week. The Moon appears in the western sky near dusk this week – it should make a great observing target by the weekend. Jupiter and Saturn continue to make great late evening and early morning observing targets all week in the southern sky. Mars continues to appear high in the southeastern predawn sky this week. Venus appears near the star Aldebaran, and Mercury appears low above the horizon all week; Mercury reaches its highest point on July 23rd, and then starts back towards the horizon. The new Moon occurred on Monday July 20th – the Moon is not visible at this time… The Moon is now a waxing crescent – visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first quarter … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – July 14, 2020

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This entry is part 1 of 164 in the series In the Sky This Week

Photos of comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE have been all over the news recently, and they have been stunning! What a sight!☄️ Amazing timelapse shows Comet Neowise moving across the sky. pic.twitter.com/vBKyuDbJcZ — TheSpaceAcademy.org✨🔭 (@ThespaceAcad) July 14, 2020 A comet is visiting from the most distant parts of our solar system and making a once-in-a-lifetime visit to our twilight skies! Below are images of comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE as seen by @ISS_Research. Learn more about the comet and how to watch it: https://t.co/HGlMtyCCFU pic.twitter.com/krG2yC1MpZ — NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) July 8, 2020 I’ve seen several images of comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE that appear to show the comet’s nucleus fragmenting! Looks like the core of #comet C/2020 F3 #NEOWISE is breaking up! Source: https://t.co/kDItxOC99C pic.twitter.com/kT5QtOpvL2 — AstroBalrog (@AstroBalrog) July 14, 2020 Comet #neowise shot at f10 with a monochrome CCD – looks like it may be breaking up – or it might be my mount issues pic.twitter.com/pQYPuQVPUv — Phil Michel (@m1che2) July … Continue reading →