STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400
/ FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
 Click Here |
 Click Here |
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. And get ready for some super Jupiter watching because this week Jupiter is at opposition which means that this week it is at its closest to Earth and thus at its biggest and brightest for the entire year. Plus it's parked right next to one of my favorite constellations Scorpius the Scorpion with its wonderful red star Antares. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for all this week about two hours after Sunset facing southeast where the brightest thing you'll see will be the largest of all our planets, 88,000 mile wide Jupiter. And parked just to its right the wonderful stars of my favorite summer constellation Scorpius the Scorpion whose bright red star Antares marks its heart. Now whenever an outer planet is at opposition it means that it is directly opposite the Sun in the sky as seen from Earth. Which logically tells you that it should be visible all the hours that the Sun is not.
And yes indeed all this week just after the Sun sets in the west Jupiter will rise in the east and as hour after hour goes by Jupiter will slowly climb the southern skies until midnight which is really 1 a.m. Daylight Time it will reach its highest point in the heavens due south. Then as hour after hour goes by Jupiter will slowly descend the southwestern sky and set in the west just as the Sun rises in the east. So whenever a planet is at opposition it is visible all night long and always at its best because it is also at its closest and thus biggest and brightest for the entire year, which also makes it look larger and more detailed through a telescope. So those of you who have small telescopes are in luck for the next couple of weeks because you'll be able to see Jupiter at its best and all night long. And Jupiter is fascinating to watch through a telescope because night after night you can watch its four largest moons constantly change their positions as they orbit the planet king.
And talk about close, this week Jupiter is only 400 million miles away, which is a lot closer than its farthest distance which can be as much as 600 million miles away. But what I really like about this opposition is that it is parked just to the left of Antares, which is a gigantic star so huge we could fit over 317 trillion Jupiters inside it. In fact Antares is so gigantic if we placed it where our Sun is it would reach out past the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. And talk about distance. Jupiter is so close it takes its light less than 36 minutes to reach us this week whereas Antares is so far away it takes its light 600 years to reach us! Wow! So watch Jupiter and Antares all week long. Keep looking up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
| Click Here |
Click Here |
Horkheimer: This week Jupiter is at its closest, biggest and brightest for the entire year. Two hours after sunset face southeast and you'll see brilliant 88,000 mile wide Jupiter parked right next to Scorpius and its bright red star Antares. Jupiter is only 400 million miles away this week, a lot closer than its farthest distance of 600 million miles. And you can watch it all night long rising in the east as the Sun sets in the west, reaching its highest point around 1 a.m. and setting in the west as the Sun rises in the east. Jupiter is so close it takes its light only 36 minutes to reach us whereas Antares is so distant it takes its light 600 years to reach us. Keep looking up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
*
This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet Roundup from Sky &
Telescope.
This week's Sky At A Glance displays current week only.
Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
| Click Here |
Click Here |
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. Early next
week you'll be able to use an exquisite waxing Moon to find both
planet #2 and planet #6 and the brightest star of springtime's
most famous constellation. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for Monday June 17th just after sunset facing west where you'll see an exquisite crescent Moon complete with earthshine, which will look like a dim full Moon nestled within the bright crescent or as some people like to call it, "the old Moon in the new Moon's arms." Then if you look up to its left you'll see the most brilliant planet of them all, our so- called sister planet because it's almost the same size as Earth, the planet named for the roman goddess of love, super bright and absolutely dazzling Venus. 24 hours later on Tuesday June 18th a slightly fatter crescent Moon will be well past Venus and still exhibiting earthshine.
And once again if you look up to its left you'll see another beautiful planet, planet #6, the ringed planet Saturn which we're visiting right now with our Cassini space probe. If you look at it through a small telescope it will absolutely stun you. And if you look at Venus you will notice that it looks like a tiny thick crescent Moon. So you've now been able to use the Moon on two nights to find two planets. On Monday the Moon is down to the right of Venus and on Tuesday it's between Venus and Saturn.
But our Moon finder journey is not over because
24 hours later on Wednesday the 19th the Moon will be parked right
next to, visually speaking, the brightest star of springtime's
most famous constellation Leo the Lion. But if you look at it
through a telescope it won't look any bigger, only brighter. And
that's because it's so incredibly far away. How far? Well let's
compare its distance to that of the Moon, Venus and Saturn. Early
next week our 2,000 mile wide Moon will be only 236,000 miles
away. 8,000 mile wide Venus will be 60 million miles away and
75,000 mile wide Saturn will be 900 million miles away. But Regulus
which is a hot blue-white star, is a whopping 4 million miles
wide and so far away we don't use the term miles. Instead we measure
its distance with the speed of light. For instance next week when
you look at the Moon you will be seeing the light that left it
only 1 1/3 seconds ago. But when you look at Venus you'll be seeing
the light that left it 5 1/3 minutes ago. And when you look at
Saturn you'll be seeing the light that left it 82 minutes ago.
Regulus however is so whopping far away it takes its light 78
years to reach us. Wow! Once again use the Moon on Monday to find
Venus, use the Moon on Tuesday to find Saturn and on Wednesday
use the Moon to find Regulus. Keep looking up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
| Click Here |
Click Here |
Horkheimer: Next week you can use the Moon to find two planets and a star. On Monday just after sunset face west and you'll see an exquisite crescent Moon and up to its left dazzling planet #2 Venus. On Tuesday if you look up to the Moon's left again you'll see planet #6 ringed Saturn. And on Wednesday the Moon will be parked right next to Regulus the brightest star of Leo the Lion. But think of this as you look. The Moon is so close we see the light that left it only 1 1/3 seconds ago. We see the light that left Venus 5 1/3 minutes ago and the light that left Saturn 82 minutes ago. But Regulus is so far away it takes its light 78 years to reach us wow! Keep looking up!
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
*
This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet Roundup from Sky &
Telescope.Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
| Click Here |
Click Here |
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. Summer officially
begins for the northern hemisphere this week on Thursday June
21st at 2:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. And I'd like to encourage
you to go outside just after it gets dark because the skies will
be simply loaded with wonderful constellations. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for this week and next, 10 to 11 p.m. facing north where you'll see the Little Dipper at its very highest above the North Star. In fact the North Star is the star in the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Now the Little Dipper is not nearly as large or bright as the Big Dipper which is directly to its left in the northwest. Four stars mark its cup and three stars mark its handle. And once you've found it you can shoot an arrow through its handle to find the third brightest star in the sky Arcturus, which is the major star of Bootes the Herdsman which looks something like a kite. Now if you extend that arrow from Arcturus it will land on Spica the brightest star of Virgo. Remember? "Arc to Arcturus then speed on to Spica."
Next look just above the western horizon and you'll see spring's most famous constellation Leo the Lion. A sickle shaped pattern or backwards question mark of stars marks the front part of Leo and a triangle of stars marks his rear. And in a couple of weeks he'll be kicked below the horizon as summer's stars replace him. Next if you turn 180 degrees around and face east you'll see the three incredibly bright stars which mark the points of the giant Summer Triangle. The brightest is Vega in Lyra the Harp, the second brightest, Altair, in Aquila the Eagle and the third brightest, Deneb, in Cygnus the Swan. And every year as summer begins we always see these three celestial dazzlers rising over the eastern horizon announcing that summer is here. Look south and you'll see my favorite stars of summer, the giant fish hook shaped pattern of stars Scorpius the Scorpion, which is always trailed by the teapot shaped pattern of stars which is part of Sagittarius the Centaur. And this year Sagittarius and Scorpius are joined by the planet king Jupiter, which right now is at its closest and brightest for the entire year. Wow!
So there you have it every direction you look you'll see wonderful stars on the first nights of summer, 2007. In the south Scorpius and Sagittarius joined by Jupiter; in the east the three brilliant stars of the Summer Triangle; in the north both the Little and Big Dippers, plus Arcturus and Spica. And finally, hugging the western horizon, Leo the Lion bidding us farewell. Isn't summer wonderful? Keep looking up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
| Click Here |
Click Here |
Horkheimer: Summer officially begins Thursday June 21st and with it come fabulous stars in every direction. Face north and you'll see both the Little and Big Dippers and the nearby stars Arcturus in Bootes and Spica in Virgo. In the west springtime's Leo the Lion is saying farewell while in the east the three stars of the Summer Triangle announce that summer is here. Look south for Scorpius and the teapot part of Sagittarius along with Jupiter, which is now at its closest and brightest. Fabulous stars in every direction on the first nights of summer. Keep looking up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
*
This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet Roundup from Sky &
Telescope.Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star GazerLorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
| Click Here |
Click Here |
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers.
And have we ever got a super cosmic goodie happening this weekend
because the planet named for the goddess of love will have an
incredibly close meeting with the planet often called the lord
of the rings. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for earlier this week Monday June 25th one hour after Sunset facing west where you couldn't help but notice the brightest of all the planets, 8,000 mile wide Venus. And right now and for the next month it's about as bright as it ever gets and is the third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and our Moon. Now the reason it's so bright is because it is shrouded in a bright cloud cover which acts like a mirror because Venus like all planets does not make its own light but shines by the reflected light of the Sun. And Venus is the most reflective planet in our solar system.
Now up to Venus' left a much bigger planet, 75,000 mile wide Saturn can be easily seen even though it will be less than 1% as bright as Venus because it is so incredibly far away. In fact whereas Venus this week is only 50 million miles away from Earth, Saturn is a whopping 925 million miles away! Now on Monday Saturn and Venus were only 3 1/2 degrees apart from each other. And since a full Moon is half a degree wide this means that 7 Moons could have fit between Saturn and Venus. But things are always changing in the night sky and on Tuesday the 26th only 3 degrees separated them, on Wednesday 2 1/3 degrees, Thursday, 1 2/3 of a degree and on Friday the 29th only 1 degree separates them, which means that only 2 full Moons could fit between them. But ta da! This weekend, Saturday and Sunday night, they'll be at their absolute closest, less than one degree apart, which means that only 1 1/2 full Moons could fit between them. Wow!
And while they'll look wonderful to the naked eye they'll be even more wonderful through a pair of binoculars. And if you have a small telescope, double wow! Because not only will you be able to see the rings of Saturn but you'll also be able to see that Venus will look like a tiny crescent Moon. Don't miss this this weekend please. But if you do they'll still be very close on Monday July 2nd, only slightly more than one degree apart, on Tuesday July 3rd, 1 3/4 degrees apart and on Wednesday the 4th of July if you happen to be out before the fireworks get going they'll still be pretty close, only 2 1/4 degrees apart. Once again. Monday the 25th, Tuesday the 26th, wed. The 27th, Thursday the 28th, Friday the 29th and ta da! Saturday and Sunday June 30th and July 1st, Venus and Saturn can almost reach out and shake hands with each other! Don't miss this weekend please! Keep looking up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
| Click Here |
Click Here |
Horkheimer: This weekend the brightest of all planets Venus will have a super close meeting with the lord of the rings. On Monday June 25th one hour after sunset facing west, 8,000 mile wide Venus is about as bright as it ever gets. Just above it 75,000 mile wide Saturn is also easy to see even though it is less than 1% as bright as Venus because it's so far away. In fact, while Venus is only 50 million miles away this week, Saturn is a whopping 925 million miles away. Watch them each night as they move closer and closer to each other and this weekend they'll be at their absolute closest, less than one degree apart! Wow! If you have a small telescope use it and keep looking up!
How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
*
This week's Sky At A Glance and Planet Roundup from Sky &
Telescope.Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
![[SmilinJack]](jack1sm.jpg)
Return to the [STAR
GAZER Main Page]