Tag Archives: Venus

In the Sky This Week – July 7, 2020

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This entry is part 154 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

The Moon appears with Saturn and Jupiter in the southeastern sky at midnight on July 8th. The Moon appears near mars in east-southeastern sky during the early morning hours on July 11th & 12th. Venus appears in conjunction with the star Aldebaran in the eastern predawn all week.   The Moon is a waning gibbous – rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise. The third quarter Moon occurs on  July 12th – rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise. After July 12th, the Moon will be a waning crescent – visible low to the east before sunrise. Moon News Full Moon from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Jeff Williams pic.twitter.com/ltk0Lr8bBK — Antonio Paris (@AntonioParis) July 4, 2020 The Sun is currently spotless, but SpaceWeather.com reports that a sunspot appears to be emerging on the northern hemisphere, near the center of the Sun’s face. Coronal holes appear at … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – June 30, 2020

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This entry is part 153 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

June 30th is International Asteroid Day, a UN recognized day of awareness and education about asteroids – their role in the formation of our solar system, how we can use their resources, how asteroids can pave the way for future exploration, and how we can protect the Earth from asteroid impacts; I have been a supporter of #AsteroidDay since day 1. June 30th is the anniversary of the 1908 Tunguska impact event – which leveled 830 square miles of forest in a remote region of Russia. It's 30th June also #AsteroidDay On this day in 1908 the Tunguska Event occurred. An enormous meteoric explosion over Siberia. Possibly caused by an asteroid airburst. Pictures Leonid Kulik. pic.twitter.com/NnlTbIPTpt — David Blanchflower (@DavidBflower) June 30, 2020 I’m a complete asteroid fanatic, and I’ve been lecturing about asteroids since before #AsteroidDay came into existence; during #AsteroidDay events at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, I’ve given live-demos of an asteroid rendezvous, capture and redirect missions … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – June 16, 2020

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This entry is part 151 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

Saturn and Jupiter, continuing their months-long conjunction, appear in the southern predawn sky all week. Mars appears in the southeastern sky all week; the waning crescent Moon appears in the eastern predawn sky from June 16-19th. A very thin waning crescent moon appears near the planet Venus in the east-northeastern predawn sky on June 19th; with a good likelihood of earthshine on the Moon, this will be an excellent opportunity to take some astrophotos! The constellation Hercules and the globular cluster M13 appear nearly overhead at midnight this week. The Moon is a waning gibbous – visible low to the east before sunrise. The new Moon occurs on June 21st. After June 21st the Moon will be a waxing crescent – visible toward the southwest in early evening. Moon Humor Sunspot AR2765 from last week is decaying and rotating around the Sun’s western limb. Large coronal holes remain open at both poles. The Sun seen in 193 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet)  … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 26, 2020

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This entry is part 148 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

Mars is now half-way across the southeastern predawn sky from Saturn and Jupiter, and is getting farther away from the pair with each day. Mercury and Venus appear low on the northwestern horizon at sunset – the crescent Moon appears near the star Pollux on May 26th. The Moon appears the star Regulus high in the west-southwestern sky after sunset on May 28 and 29th. The Moon then appears near the star Spica, high in the southern sky after sunset on June 1st. Asterisms galore in the east-northeastern sky at midnight this week: the Summer Triangle, the Northern Cross and the Mini-Cassiopeia – which I didn’t know was a thing… now I’ll have to go look for it! The Moon is a waxing crescent – visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first quarter Moon occurs on Friday May 30th – visible high in the southern sky in the early evening. After May 30th, the Moon will be a waxing … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 19, 2020

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This entry is part 147 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

Mars continues to pull away from Saturn and Jupiter in the southeastern predawn sky; Saturn and Jupiter are getting a little closer with each passing day. Mercury and Venus in the west-northwestern sky are joined by a thin crescent Moon at sunset on May 23-25th.   The Moon is a waning crescent, visible low to the east before sunrise. The new Moon occurs on May 22nd. After May 22nd the Moon will be a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. Moon News: NASA unveils new rules to guide behavior in space and on the lunar surface As @NASA leads a coalition of nations to the Moon, safety, transparency, and coordination are paramount. Hence, the Artemis Accords:https://t.co/liHjCpTQEk — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) May 15, 2020 The Sun has 2 spots rotating into view – you can see the active regions in the videos below – both above and below the equator on the left-hand side. Coronal holes remain open … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 12, 2020

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This entry is part 146 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

When it comes to astronomy, asteroids are pretty much my favorite subject; the Sun comes in #2 by a wide margin. I have a presentation about the Sun that I’ve given numerous times – I’m modifying it to present remotely to my wife’s middle-school science students, and creating a worksheet based on my presentation. Here’s me giving my Sun presentation to the Warren Astronomical Society before the total solar eclipse of 2017: I’ve also suggested to my wife that she show the following videos to her science students: Mars continues to pull away from Saturn and Jupiter in the southeastern predawn sky; the Moon joins the early morning planets from May 12-15th. Mercury appears low on the northwestern horizon at sunset this week. Venus appears a bit lower each evening on the northwestern horizon after sunset.  Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) will be north of Venus and the star Capella, but may require binoculars or a telescope to see.   The Moon … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – May 5, 2020

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This entry is part 145 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

Libraries across the U.S. are looking for online presentations by NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassadors and NASA Night Sky Network members; my wife is having me give my presentation about the Sun (and possibly a tour of the solar system using SpaceEngine) to her science classes using Google Hangouts Meet. If you are an astronomy presenter and you have the equipment to present remotely, you may want to contact libraries and schools in your area to see if they would like you to do an online presentation. Mars continues to pull away from Saturn and Jupiter in the southeastern predawn sky; the Moon joins the early morning planets at the beginning of next week. Venus appears a bit lower each evening at dusk in the western sky. Early next week, comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) will be in the same general region of the sky as Venus, however it will probably not be as spectacular as the depiction in the image below. … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 30, 2020

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This entry is part 144 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

I’ve been having a pretty rough time since the recent loss of my brother – thank you for the kind thoughts. I’ve been an avid computer gamer ever since the first computer games existed; I’ve recently started playing No Man’s Sky, a futuristic space exploration and survival game with more worlds than I could explore in my lifetime – it’s providing the distraction my mind needs right now. The conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn continues in the southeastern predawn sky – Mars has pulled far away from Saturn and Jupiter. Venus appears in the western sky at dusk accompanied by Betelgeuse and Capella. The Moon appears between the stars Regulus and Pollux high in the southwestern sky after sunset on April 30th, and very near the star Regulus on May 1st. The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first quarter Moon occurs on May 1st, it will be visible high in the … Continue reading →

Venus M45 Conjunction

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A truly beautiful conjunction of the planet Venus and the star cluster know n as The Pleiades occurred on the evenings of April 3rd and 4th. This was a line of sight phenomenon because Venus and the Pleiades are many light years away from each other. To the eye, it looked like the planet had joined the cluster but it was a temporary visit. The star cluster is also known as the seven sisters and Messier 45 or M45. Mixed weather on April 3rd was not very inviting however I tried for a sketch (see below). I managed one partial sketch that evening. In my efforts of the 3rd and 4th, I noticed that M45 had many more stars than seven. Venus to the naked eye was sparkling but viewed in my wide eyepiece,  it was just a bigger off white blob among the stars. On April 3rd the planet was low in the western sky, therefore it appeared to … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – April 7, 2020

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This entry is part 142 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

Last night, I gave the featured presentation during the Warren Astronomical Society’s online WebEx/YouTube meeting: The Challenges of Interstellar Travel. I cannot believe how much I learned putting this presentation together; honestly, there’s probably weeks more research I could do, and papers I could read. I discussed sending small probes and giant generation ships to the stars, and the enormous amount of energy, resources and manufacturing it would require. I talked about physical and mental problems related to space travel, and what it would take to keep humans alive during an interstellar voyage. I concluded my presentation suggesting maybe we should make sure all the life-support systems are functioning properly on the generation ship we all share, and are travelling through interstellar space aboard. The NASA at Home page has links to lots of online NASA resources for things to do at home – here’s a couple: Space Place parents and educators page: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/parents-and-educators/ Solar System Exploration’s 10+ things: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1192/10-things-to-do-with-nasa-at-home/ NASA … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 31, 2020

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This entry is part 141 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

A three-planet conjunction of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn continues in the early morning southeastern sky; Mars passes very close to Saturn on March 31st, and by the start of next week will be well beyond Saturn. Venus is high in the western sky well after sunset; each evening, Venus will move a bit upwards towards the Pleiades star cluster, until it appears to be part of the cluster itself on the evening of April 6th!   The Moon is a waxing crescent, visible toward the southwest in early evening. The first-quarter Moon occurs on April 1st, it will be visible high in the southern sky in early evening. After April 1st the Moon will be a waxing gibbous, visible to the southeast in early evening, and up for most of the night. Apollo 8 and 13 – Jim Lovell at 92 Happy Birthday Captain James Lovell 92 today! A former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Naval captain who made historic … Continue reading →

In the Sky This Week – March 10, 2020

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This entry is part 139 of 154 in the series In the Sky This Week

Times are interesting for me right now – we’re packing to move out of our home of 22 years; the big stuff is all in storage, and there are only a couple rooms left to go. The house echoes, and my poor parrots are confused… My granddaughter is a month old, and visits frequently, I’ve got a bit yet to do for taxes, and I’m working on a presentation about interstellar travel for the Warren Astronomical Society… and I keep getting distracted by all the cool things I keep finding – like a paper about suspended animation research being done for Mars missions. The three planets in the early morning southeastern sky are a bit closer than last week – Mars will appear much closer to Jupiter by week’s end. The Moon appears high in the southeastern sky at midnight on March 10th. On March 12th, the Moon appears above the horizon near the star Spica. The Moon joins the … Continue reading →