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Sky Watch

Frayed Knot Nov 13 2020 07:01 PM

Been a while since we had a Sky Watch update ... as I'm sure all of you noticed. So seeing as how all five of the visible planets are on display this month it's a good time to dust off the topic. Those two bright stars you see high up in the southern sky just after sunset or sinking towards the western sky a few hours later are Jupiter and Saturn. Their orbits are essentially 'lined up' with each other which is what makes them so close together from our vantage point. I believe they'll get closer still in the coming weeks as the closer-in and therefore faster moving Jupiter (the much brighter of the two) is in the process of 'passing' Saturn in its trek around the sun, and for a few days next week they'll be joined by a waxing crescent moon. Because of the long orbital periods of those planets, it will be many years before the two are lined up like this again. Arcing over towards the eastern side you can't help but spot the very bright Mars. The fact that it's nearly opposite the sun means Mars is about as close to Earth as it gets and therefore nearly at its maximum brightness and with its distinctive reddish tint at its most obvious. It will stay visible until after midnight, several hours after the other two have set. To round out the quintet, early risers looking low in the eastern sky an hour or so prior to sunrise will see the extremely bright Venus. Just below that somewhere is Mercury but I've never knowingly seen Mercury. Generally it's either blocked on account of being too low in the sky or it gets washed out on account of being too close to the rising sun and the quickly lighten-ing morning sky. But maybe if you've got an unobstructed eastern horizon and a cloudless morning ... Happy gazing.

whippoorwill Nov 15 2020 10:30 AM Re: Sky Watch

I like your skywatches Now that I no longer leave the house before dawn I don't get to watch for what you are telling us anymore though. So keep telling us and I will imagine it!

Frayed Knot Nov 15 2020 10:46 AM Re: Sky Watch Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 18 2020 04:13 PM

I like your skywatches I knew someone was clamoring for it (what's the sound of one person clamoring?) Now that I no longer leave the house before dawn I don't get to watch for what you are telling us anymore though. So keep telling us and I will imagine it! Well the Jupiter / Saturn / Mars trio is in the night sky.

whippoorwill Nov 15 2020 12:12 PM Re: Sky Watch

The problem is we have very little sky to look at at home because of trees When I was driving to my grandkids, I had the whole BaldEagle-Nittany valleys to take in :)

Frayed Knot Dec 18 2020 04:25 PM Re: Sky Watch

So re: the first post in this thread, if you've got clear skies tonight or any of the next couple nights, Jupiter and Saturn are essentially on top of each other at this point (from our point of view obviously) and will almost seem to merge into one "star" at the closest alignment on Monday. Perhaps it's fitting that this is occurring at this time of year as some believe that a similar convergence of a trio of heavenly bodies is a potential explanation for the 'Star of Bethlehem' and was the light the Magi were following some 2,000 years ago. Anyway, southwestern skies starting as soon as it darkens post-sunset until about two hours afterward. Jupiter is the much brighter of the two. Tonight the pair is about halfway between the crescent moon and setting sun although the waxing moon will be moving away from them over the next few days.

whippoorwill Dec 19 2020 07:02 AM Re: Sky Watch

Been waiting for this!

MFS62 Dec 19 2020 07:19 AM Re: Sky Watch

Saw them. It was a very clear night. Thanks for the heads up. Later

Edgy MD Dec 21 2020 07:58 PM Re: Sky Watch

Anybody spot Jupiturn this evening?

whippoorwill Dec 22 2020 06:05 AM Re: Sky Watch

Too cloudy. Hopefully tonight

Frayed Knot Dec 22 2020 10:03 AM Re: Sky Watch

I had a clear night and caught a quick look. It was just after sunset so between it not yet being totally dark and being so close to the brighter Jupiter, Saturn was nearly obscured. When I went back to check they had already disappeared behind the horizon. As they've been getting closer they've also been getting lower in the sky so the viewing window has been getting smaller. What this is really made for is a telescope as this is the one time you could get both in one field of view where they'd look like they were actual neighbors complete with Saturn's rings and one or more of Jupiter's big moons in the same shot. They'll still be in close proximity for the next week or so just getting lower in the sky and further apart each night.

Edgy MD Dec 22 2020 11:08 AM Re: Sky Watch

Getting a shot of Jupe within Saturn's rings would be cool.

whippoorwill Dec 22 2020 11:12 AM Re: Sky Watch

I think it's going to be cloudy again tonight danggit

kcmets Dec 22 2020 11:13 AM Re: Sky Watch

Edgy MD wrote: Anybody spot Jupiturn this evening? Too overcast here.

Edgy MD Dec 22 2020 03:39 PM Re: Sky Watch

I'm seein' it!

whippoorwill Dec 23 2020 09:10 AM Re: Sky Watch

Great! Cloudy last night again.

whippoorwill Dec 24 2020 12:28 PM Re: Sky Watch

Might have seen it last night! There was a planet above the moon but it didn't look like two of them

kcmets Dec 24 2020 12:38 PM Re: Sky Watch

It's not by the moon, Uranus and Mars are though when it rises(d) in the east. The Jupiter/Saturn thing is in the low western sky after sunset, I believe. Haven't seen anything, guess I'll have to wait another 900 years lol...

Frayed Knot Dec 24 2020 02:29 PM Re: Sky Watch

=whippoorwill post_id=52746 time=1608838118 user_id=79] Might have seen it last night! There was a planet above the moon but it didn't look like two of them

Yeah, the bright star/moon near conjunction last night was Mars (not sure how close they got cuz I got all the clouds last night).

Mars has been super bright for over a month now both because it was opposite the sun and therefore a 'full' Mars (rather than a half or crescent) and because

it was at its nearest point to earth. Over the past six weeks it's gradually moved to more like 90 degrees from the sun putting it just about directly overhead

at sunset. Still quite bright, if only a bit less so than it was in November. Mars also has a distinct red tint to it which is noticeable on a clear night.





Jupiter and Saturn will do this again a few years from now when Jupiter, which circles the sun almost three times as fast [a 12 earth-year year vs Saturn at nearly 30], laps the slower Saturn.

The thing about this one is that they so very rarely line up This perfectly as to almost appear to become one. Plus, if their next 'meeting' occurs when they're on the same side of us as

the sun then we'd never see it since it would be daytime. So This perfect an alignment is the thing that's going to take a few centuries.

whippoorwill Dec 24 2020 02:48 PM Re: Sky Watch

I would love to be more of a stargazer! But I always go to bed early and read I guess I'll have to work out a plan!

Frayed Knot Mar 21 2021 03:25 PM Re: Sky Watch

Happy equinox everyone!

whippoorwill Mar 21 2021 06:10 PM Re: Sky Watch

And to you also!

Fman99 Mar 22 2021 06:11 AM Re: Sky Watch

On a related topic, not quite planet watching or star watching but still sky watching, as a computer home hobbyist I used some supplies I already had and purchased a few others to make myself a working ADS-B ground station as per the instructions here. Anyone who wants to can go on to my own "Sky Aware" map, and see what aircraft are visible from the antenna in the front window of my home.

MFS62 Mar 22 2021 06:16 AM Re: Sky Watch

Those aren't stars. They are holes in the cover to allow us to breathe. Later

Willets Point Apr 01 2021 07:33 AM Re: Sky Watch

If you can read this without making a loud guffaw, you are far more mature than I am. [TWEET]https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1377302678141870080[/TWEET]

Edgy MD Apr 01 2021 08:47 AM Re: Sky Watch

"Intriguing Gas Giant" used to be my handle at match.com.

kcmets May 25 2021 07:40 PM Re: Sky Watch

Lunar eclipse tomorrow morning. Google it! Boiled down, we block the sun from shining on moon for few hours.

Frayed Knot May 25 2021 07:49 PM Re: Sky Watch

Moon will set before sunrise so you'll need to be up early for that show.

kcmets May 25 2021 08:10 PM Re: Sky Watch

Frayed Knot wrote: Moon will set before sunrise so you'll need to be up early for that show. Yeah, I was texting with a friend who mentioned it and he said 7:14 but I was like the hair on my fingers have already grown and no way this low moon will last til then so we'll see...

kcmets May 26 2021 03:50 AM Re: Sky Watch

No moon this morning, nothing to see here.

Frayed Knot Mar 02 2023 11:15 AM Re: Sky Watch

If it's a clear sky where you are just after sunset tonight look for a Venus/Jupiter conjunction in the western sky. Venus will be the brighter of the pair as the two appear to be close enough to 'kiss'. A full moon will join them on Tuesday (3/7) but by then the planets will be drifting apart.

Benjamin Grimm Mar 02 2023 11:18 AM Re: Sky Watch

Jupiter and Venus sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Edgy MD Mar 02 2023 11:38 AM Re: Sky Watch

Some of your cooler celestial phenomena can be wrecked by full moons. As for Jupiter kissing Venus, gross. He's, like, her father.

Frayed Knot Mar 05 2023 06:36 PM Re: Sky Watch

After two nights of total cloud cover (THU & FRI) plus one night of forgetting to look (SAT) I finally caught sight of the V/J convergence tonight (SUN) ... but they're already far apart as Venus, taking advantage of the inside lane, sprints away from larger, slower Jupiter. But that doesn't mean that they don't still form a nice pair of bright beacons in the western sky shortly after sunset, to be joined by a full, or full-ish, moon over the next few nights.