It is July 2010 and a great time to see Saturn, Mars and Venus. They are in the constellation Gemini near Pollux and Castor, and Regulus in Leo - if that means much to you.
Just after sunset (the sun sets in the West by the way) look directly West and there should be bright stars that are "not quite right". Mars and Venus are both reddish and disks (not a point source of light like a star) and will not really twinkle (at least will twinkle less than a star). Saturn is a little harder to find, but with binoculars it should look like an enlongated disk. As the evening progresses these will all set following the sun.
It is difficult to find the moons of Saturn, but one can look for maps and try to find them
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/3308506.html
Saturn's moons are not as easy to find as Jupiter's moons which are on a line with Jupiter.
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/planet-triple-play-venus-mars-saturn-100602.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0602/Rare-sky-show-Saturn-Mars-and-Venus-appear-together-this-week
http://www.jackstargazer.com/
(look for July 2010 episodes)
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance
(look for July 2010 editions)
Showing posts with label Mars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mars. Show all posts
Friday, July 9, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Mars and Jupiter January 2010
It is January 2010 and a great time to see Jupiter and Mars.
The opposition of Mars happens on January 29, 2010. Mars is in the constellation Cancer. What does that mean? Most websites go into lots of details. That's fine, but where is Mars in layman's terms? Just after sunset (the sun sets in the West by the way) look directly East and there should be a bright star that is "not quite right". Mars is reddish and it is a disk (not a point source of light like a star) and will not really twinkle (at least it will twinkle less than a star). As the evening progresses Mars will rise and cross the sky (like the moon/sun/stars do).
http://www.earthsky.org/tonightpost/astronomy-essentials/best-time-to-see-mars-in-2010-is-january-and-february
Jupiter is in the southwest in January. Jupiter is in the constellation Aquarius. It was probably best on January 17, 2010 when one could find it near the crescent moon. But it is still there late January 2010, though low in the sky. It takes fairly dark regions to be able to see anything well near the horizon at sunset. Jupiter sets following the sun in the West, so you cannot see it all night. Jupiter is not really very colorful, but it is a disk (not a point source of light like a star) and will not really twinkle (at least it will twinkle less than a star). If you have a telescope or pair of binoculars, you can go hunting bright spots and, if you find Jupiter, you will be rewarded with it having a disk shape (maybe with some bars seen) and a nice little line-group of Jupiter's moons around it. If you watch night to night, and make little drawings of what you see you might be able to track Jupiter's moons' motions. Jupiter's moons are easier to track than Saturn's because they are more-or-less on a line. Saturn's are in a cloud because of our tilted view of their orbits.
http://www.earthsky.org/tonightpost/es-tonight/moon-and-jupiter-move-eastward-through-the-stars
My biggest gripe about Astronomy webposts and blogs is they often omit what YEAR they are writing about. You can spend a half hour trying to figure out what they mean about Saturn only to realize they mean February 14, 2004 (not 2010 or whatever). Please everyone, write out a date and include the YEAR when giving guidance.
The opposition of Mars happens on January 29, 2010. Mars is in the constellation Cancer. What does that mean? Most websites go into lots of details. That's fine, but where is Mars in layman's terms? Just after sunset (the sun sets in the West by the way) look directly East and there should be a bright star that is "not quite right". Mars is reddish and it is a disk (not a point source of light like a star) and will not really twinkle (at least it will twinkle less than a star). As the evening progresses Mars will rise and cross the sky (like the moon/sun/stars do).
http://www.earthsky.org/tonightpost/astronomy-essentials/best-time-to-see-mars-in-2010-is-january-and-february
Jupiter is in the southwest in January. Jupiter is in the constellation Aquarius. It was probably best on January 17, 2010 when one could find it near the crescent moon. But it is still there late January 2010, though low in the sky. It takes fairly dark regions to be able to see anything well near the horizon at sunset. Jupiter sets following the sun in the West, so you cannot see it all night. Jupiter is not really very colorful, but it is a disk (not a point source of light like a star) and will not really twinkle (at least it will twinkle less than a star). If you have a telescope or pair of binoculars, you can go hunting bright spots and, if you find Jupiter, you will be rewarded with it having a disk shape (maybe with some bars seen) and a nice little line-group of Jupiter's moons around it. If you watch night to night, and make little drawings of what you see you might be able to track Jupiter's moons' motions. Jupiter's moons are easier to track than Saturn's because they are more-or-less on a line. Saturn's are in a cloud because of our tilted view of their orbits.
http://www.earthsky.org/tonightpost/es-tonight/moon-and-jupiter-move-eastward-through-the-stars
My biggest gripe about Astronomy webposts and blogs is they often omit what YEAR they are writing about. You can spend a half hour trying to figure out what they mean about Saturn only to realize they mean February 14, 2004 (not 2010 or whatever). Please everyone, write out a date and include the YEAR when giving guidance.
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