Episodes
Thursday Feb 01, 2018
February 2018
Thursday Feb 01, 2018
Thursday Feb 01, 2018
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LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes
Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.
February is a rather uneventful month for beginner’s stargazing, but take advantage of the month-long line up of Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter in the mornings in the East, with the Moon stopping by from the 7th to the 12th. Should make for some good pictures.
Naked-eye PLANETS...
- Around Sunset – None
- Throughout the night – None
- Morning (S) – Saturn, Mars, Jupiter
Mercury
- Not visible this month
Venus
- Not easily visible this month. You might catch it at the end of the month about 10˚ above the setting Sun.
Mars
- Rises by 3:30am. Look SE and find the red object to the left of Jupiter and toward the top of Scorpius.
Saturn
- Rises around 5:15am at the beginning of the month and 3:45am at the end. Look low on the SE horizon, to the left and down from Mars and at the top of Sagittarius.
Jupiter
- Rises around 2am in early February, Midnight in late February, to about 30˚ above the S horizon at sunrise, hanging out right in the middle of Libra.
EVENTS...
Last Quarter Moon – 7th (Visible from midnight into the morning)
7th – 12th – Morning Close Encounter Week – Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn – All week, if you get up after 5:30am, you’ll see all three planets, with the Moon traveling through day to day. Jupiter will consistently be the brightest planet about 30˚ up in the South, with Mars about 15˚ down and to the left, and Saturn about 25˚ down and to the left of that.
7th – The First Quarter Moon will be 6˚ up and to the right of Jupiter
8th – The Moon will be almost right in the middle between Jupiter and Mars
9th – A thinner Moon will be just 4˚ up and to the left of Mars
10th – The Moon will be almost right in the middle between Mars and Saturn
11th – A beautiful crescent Moon will be just 2˚ above Saturn
12th – A very thin crescent Moon will form a nice line of objects, with the Moon visible as early as 5:15am, with Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter finishing the line up and to the right.
New Moon – 15th (darkest skies)
First Quarter Moon – 23rd (Visible until midnight)
CONSTELLATIONS... STRAIGHT UP
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to visually help you out.
If you’re looking straight up above you…
- After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00-5:30pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars.
- Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga (Taurus is right nearby), Gemini
- Midnight – Cancer, Gemini, Lynx, and Leo later in the month
- Early Morning – Corona Borealis, Hercules, Boötes (you can also find the Big Dipper’s handle, and starting from the inside of the handle, follow the arc that those four stars make past the last star in the handle about 30˚ or three fist-widths to the next very bright star you find which is Arcturus, the base of the constellation Boötes. Hence astronomers use the phrase “Follow the Arc to Arcturus”)
SEASONAL CONSTELLATIONS:
Winter: Orion is easy to spot as he already high the South after sunset. You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations.
- Taurus, Pleiades: Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the East after sunset. If you draw a line from the left (bottom) star to the right (top) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V). Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades.
- Canis Major: Draw a line from the right (top) star in Orion’s belt to the left (bottom) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major.
- Gemini, Auriga: Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga. The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky. Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga). It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky.
Monday Jan 01, 2018
January 2018
Monday Jan 01, 2018
Monday Jan 01, 2018
Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.
Mornings are for the planets this month, with Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn all making appearances, including conjunctions of two different pairs of these planets. The Moon will pass by each of these planets, be full twice, and be eclipsed by Earth’s shadow, but only visibly in certain spots.
Naked-eye PLANETS...
- Around Sunset – None
- Throughout the night – None
- Morning (SE) – Mercury (1st half of month), Mars, Jupiter, Saturn (2nd half of month)
Mercury
- You MIGHT be able to catch Mercury about 10˚ above the horizon about half an hour before sunrise, which is around 7:30am, but only for the first week or two. Luckily, Saturn passes only ½˚ away on the morning of the 13th, making it a little easier to find.
Venus
- Not visible this month, on the other side of the Sun – superior conjunction
Mars
- Dim, but 30˚ high in the sky by 7am, rising around 3am. Look SE and find the red object near Jupiter and moving through Libra toward Scorpius throughout the month.
Saturn
- About halfway through the month Saturn might be visible very low on the horizon, and easier to find on the 13th when Mercury is only ½˚ away. But the view just gets better every morning. By month’s end, Saturn rises at 5:30am and is 15˚ high at sunrise. Thus, Saturn’s season of morning appearances begins.
Jupiter
- Rises around 3am in early January, 2am in late January, to about 30˚ above the S horizon at sunrise, moving slowly through Libra.
EVENTS...
Full Moon – 1st (Visible all night) – Happens to be a supermoon, which is when the Moon appears a tiny bit larger in the sky due to the coincidence of the Full Moon and the Moon being at perigee, or closest approach in its (slightly) elliptical orbit.
6th, 7th – Conjunction – Jupiter, Mars – Both mornings, look SSE after 3:30am but at least 20 minutes before sunrise, which is about 7:30am. Find bright Jupiter, with dimmer, but redder, Mars less than ½˚ away (half a pinky’s width held at arm’s length).
Last Quarter Moon – 8th (Visible from midnight into the morning)
11th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars, Jupiter – After 3:00am find the Moon in the SE. Mars and Jupiter will both be within 5˚ to the right and down of the beautifully crescent Moon.
13th – Conjunction – Saturn, Mercury – Rising at about 6:30am, when sunrise is 7:24am, these two will be VERY low on the horizon, but visible in the SE less than 1˚ apart. Mercury should be a little brighter than Saturn, which is right above it. If you’re having trouble, find the crescent Moon and look a little less than 20˚ down and to the left, using two fists held at arm’s length as your guide.
14th, 15th – Close Encounter – Saturn, Mercury, Moon – On the 14th, the Moon will be a little lower, thinner, and closer to Saturn and Mercury, which are a little further apart than yesterday morning. On the 15th, the Moon will be VERY thin, VERY low, and to the left of Mercury and Saturn
New Moon – 16th (darkest skies)
First Quarter Moon – 24th (Visible until midnight)
Full Moon & Total Lunar Eclipse (for some) – 31st (Visible all night) – Find the Moon on the morning of the 31st to catch a glimpse of a total eclipse, but only if you live in the West or Midwest of America, Australia, China, and other places. Eastern U.S. might only see the very beginning of the umbral part of the eclipse, since the Moon will be setting at about that time.
CONSTELLATIONS... STRAIGHT UP
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to visually help you out.
If you’re looking straight up above you…
- After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00pm) – Perseus, Taurus, Auriga – Extra Challenge! Right in the middle of Perseus is an open cluster called Mel 20. If you take binoculars and look around Perseus, you’ll see plenty of stars, but right in the middle where Mel 20 is, there are a lot more than you can see anywhere else in Perseus, hence they call it a cluster of stars.
- Between Sunset and Midnight – Auriga, Taurus, Gemini
- Midnight – Gemini
- Early Morning – Bootes
SEASONAL CONSTELLATIONS:
Winter: Orion is easy to spot as he is visible in the East after sunset. You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations.
- Taurus, Pleiades: Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the East after sunset. If you draw a line from the left (bottom) star to the right (top) star and keep going right about 20 degrees (about 2 fists at arm’s length) until you reach another very bright star, you will have reached the star Aldebaron in Taurus (the V). Follow that line a little more (about another fist) and you’ll find the Pleiades.
- Canis Major: Draw a line from the right (top) star in Orion’s belt to the left (bottom) star, and keep going left about 20 degrees (2 fists again), you’ll come to the brightest star in the sky – Sirius – part of Canis Major.
- Gemini, Auriga: Above these three constellations are Gemini and Auriga. The brightest stars in each of these constellations form a circle in the sky. Going clockwise - Aldebaron (Taurus) – Rigel (Orion – bottom right foot) – Sirius (Canis Major) – Procyon (Canis Minor) – Castor & Pollux (Gemini) – Capella (Auriga). It makes for great stargazing in the winter sky.