Observing With Webb

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A monthly look at the night sky from your favorite Astronomy teacher at Pequea Valley High School

Episodes

Thursday Apr 02, 2020

April 2020

Thursday Apr 02, 2020

WATCH this on YouTube
LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes

Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram

@pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Three planets still hanging out in the early mornings, an early month unusual conjunction, and a meteor shower make this time of socially distancing ourselves a great time to get outside at night!

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.

EVENTS...

First Quarter Moon – 1^st (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 7^th (Visible all night)

Last Quarter Moon – 14^th (Visible from midnight into the morning)

New Moon – 22^nd (darkest skies)

First Quarter Moon – 30^th (Visible until midnight)

2^nd – 4^th – Conjunction – Venus & Pleiades - You won’t see anything like this again until 2028, and it’s super easy to find! Just get out after sunset, look West, find the brightest object in that direction, Venus, which is about halfway up the sky. You’ll be able to see the mini-mini-dipper shape of the Pleiades star cluster in the same spot. See how many of those stars you can see with your naked eye! The 3^rd is when Venus is right in the cluster, below the handle, but on the 2^nd and 4^th it’s still close by. You’ll be looking at two objects of very differing size and age. One a planet about 4.5 billion years old, the other a cluster of stars about 10 light-years wide and “only” 100 million years old. This is the time for binoculars or cheap telescopes, as Venus is easier to find in them, and the detail in the Pleiades really comes out in this modest equipment.

14^th – 17^th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn – Get out after 5:00am but before 6:00am DST each of these 4 mornings to enjoy, moving up and to the right, the lineup of Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter in the SSE, but also enjoy the Moon crashing through the party. The third-quarter Moon will be to the right of Jupiter on the 14^th, right below Saturn on the 15^th, about 4˚ down and to the left of Mars on the 16^th, and, having turned more crescent, far to the left of all of them on the 17^th.

22^nd– LYRID METEOR SHOWER – It doesn’t get any better for observing the Lyrids this year! At only 10-20 meteors per hour, it is a minor shower, but we have a New Moon, so it won’t get drowned out by moonlight. So look North in general in the morning before dawn. The shower is greatest on the 22^nd, but you might see some on the 21^st and 22^nd as well. Technically it peaks in the early morning hours, so getting up early is probably best, but it might be easiest to go out at night before bed. Just remember each meteor is piece of debris left over from a comet, and we’re crashing into it at over 100,000 miles per hour, which crushes the atmosphere it hits, heating it up and causing the bright flash.

Some advice for watching:

Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or something that insulates you from the ground.

Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear

Adapt your eyes to the dark by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something.

If you’re feeling extra nerdy, do a scientific meteor count (S&T and IMO)

Or find out if your local astronomy club or museum is holding a viewing party.

26^th – Close Encounter - Moon, Venus – Get out after sunset and watch the Western sky. The Moon will be a young, thin crescent about three finger-widths from bright Venus. The Moon will also be nearby Venus on the days before and after.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

Sunset

Venus (West) – We are just past maximum Venus, as it reached its highest height above the Western horizon last month, but we still have two good months left of the sunset planet. Just watch the sunset and look West. Venus will be the brightest light and first object you see off in that direction. Through binoculars or a telescope, you’ll be able to see the half-lit phase of Venus in the beginning of the month turn into a bigger crescent phase by the end of the month. Don’t forget about it running through the Pleiades in the first week!

Throughout the night – None

Morning

Saturn, Jupiter, Mars – The main show in the mornings is the lineup of these three planets. Get out well before sunrise (6:47am down to 6:00am at the end of April) any morning, and start by finding the brightest spot in the SouthEast, which will be Jupiter. From here, you can find Saturn and Mars. Saturn will be the bright spot that is consistently less than a fist-width down and to the left of Jupiter all month. Mars has a different story, starting out right below Saturn, just after their conjunction, and then moves further and further left each day, approaching 20˚ or two fist-widths away from Saturn by the 30^th.

CONSTELLATIONS...

Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.

After Dinner:

Leo, Orion & his winter companions – Leo will be high in the South, almost straight above you. It has a backward question mark with a right triangle to the left of the question mark. Also, take a moment to get your last glimpse Orion, Taurus, the Pleiades, Gemini, Auriga, and Canis Major off in the West.

Before Bed:

Big Dipper, Bootes – If you look above Leo, behind you and high in the sky, you should find the Big Dipper: seven very bright stars that form a spoon shape. Now if you take the handle of the Dipper, follow its curve to the next bright star you see, about 30˚ away, which is Arcturus. “Follow the arc to Arcturus.” That’s the brightest star in Bootes, which looks like a kite. Take that same curve, and follow it about another 20˚ to “speed on to Spica”, the brightest star in Virgo, one of my favorite constellations, since it reminds me of the Dickinson Mermaid.

Before Work:

Lyra, Hercules, Hercules Cluster – Look pretty much straight above you, and find the brightest star up there. You’ll notice a parallelogram attached to it. This is the brightest star Vega, part of the constellation Lyra, the harp. Next to that is a keystone shaped constellation called Hercules. On the right side of the keystone is a small cluster of stars known at the Hercules Cluster, which is a collection of hundreds of stars on the outskirts of our galaxy. Given how high it is in the sky right now, you might catch its faint fuzziness with your naked eye, but a set of binoculars or a small telescope will really help you see it.

Don’t forget this podcast is found on my Podbean page, Stitcher, and iTunes. There’s also a video version on my YouTube Channel and I can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @mrwebbpv. The Pequea Valley Planetarium and its events and updates are on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as @pvplanetarium.

Thursday Mar 05, 2020

March 2020

Thursday Mar 05, 2020

WATCH this on YouTube
LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes

Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram

@pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Venus still reigns over the March skies, with two conjunctions, three glorious visible planets each morning, and the astronomical start of spring.

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.

EVENTS...

First Quarter Moon – 2^nd (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 9^th (Visible all night)

Last Quarter Moon – 16^th (Visible from midnight into the morning)

New Moon – 24^th (darkest skies)

8^th – Daylight Savings Time Begins at 2am

17^th – 19^th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn – Get out after 5:30am DST each morning these three mornings and enjoy, moving up and to the right, the lineup of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the SE, but also enjoy the Moon joining the party. The Moon will be up and to the right of Mars on the 17^th, JUST below Jupiter and Mars on the 18^th, and about 6˚ down and to the left of Saturn on the 19^th.

20^th – Spring Equinox - Astronomically the first day of Spring, even though meteorologically Spring starts in the beginning of March. Here’s some more info. (Technically at 11:50pm EDT on the 19th, but…)

20^th – Conjunction! – Jupiter & Mars – Morning sky, within 1˚, see planet info below.

27^th, 28^th – Close Encounter - Moon, Venus – Get out after sunset and watch the SW sky. On the 27^th the Moon will be a young, thin crescent about a fist-width below bright Venus. The next night the Moon moves to about 5˚ to the left of Venus, a little thicker and higher.

31^st – Conjunction! – Saturn & Mars – Morning sky, within 1˚, see planet info below.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

Sunset

Venus (West) – We are reaching maximum Venus! It reaches its highest height above the Western horizon on the 24th. Just watch the sunset and look West. Venus will be the brightest light and first object you see off in that direction. If you have binoculars or a telescope, you’ll be able to see the half-lit phase of Venus.

Throughout the night – None

Morning

Saturn, Jupiter, Mars – Two conjunctions!!! – The main show in the mornings is the lineup of these three planets. Get out after 5am any morning, and start by finding the brightest spot in the SouthEast, which will be Jupiter. From here, you can find Saturn and Mars. Saturn will be the bright spot that is consistently less than a fist-width down and to the left of Jupiter all month. Mars has a different story, starting out on the opposite side Jupiter, about a fist-width up and to the right of Jupiter on the 1^st. Each day it closes in on Jupiter, until it finally passes Jupiter, within 1˚ or one pinky’s width on the 20^th. A GREAT conjunction. But wait, there’s more! Mars then continues this Eastward March and has ANOTHER conjunction on the 31^st, but this time with Saturn, passing again within 1˚ of a planet.

CONSTELLATIONS...

Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.

After Dinner:

Orion & his winter companions – By 7pm, Orion is about as high as it will get for the night about halfway up the southern sky, tempting us to tour the winter constellations. Begin by finding Orion by looking for three stars in almost a straight line and close to each other, Orion’s Belt, which is surrounded by a bigger, vertical, almost rectangle of stars. Orion will be our guidepost for the other winter constellations. Start at the left belt star and draw a straight line connecting them, then continue that line far past the last belt star about 20˚ or two fist-widths held at arm’s length. There you’ll find the V constellation Taurus, with bright red Aldebaran at the top left of the V. Taurus is part of a big cluster of stars known as the Hyades. Remember that line you just made? Follow it just 10˚ further (one fist-width) and you’ll find a mini-mini-dipper of stars call the Pleiades, which is another open cluster of stars within our Milky Way Galaxy. Let’s go back to the belt, but draw the connecting line from right to left, and continue about 20˚ past the belt, where you’ll find the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. Perhaps you can also see the constellation Canis Major, known as the big dog. We’ll stop there for this month, and pick up next month with Gemini, Auriga, and Canis Minor.

Before Bed:

Auriga, Gemini – Look almost straight up, and you’ll find a pentagon shaped constellation which is the Charioteer Auriga, with its brightest star Capella. Gemini, the twins, will be to the left of Auriga, with bright Castor and Pollux heading them up. For reference, Orion will be below both of them.

Before Work:

Big Dipper, Bootes, Virgo – The Big Dipper should be easy to find in the NW. Follow the curve of his tail or handle to the next bright star you see, about 30˚ away, which is Arcturus. “Follow the arc to Arcturus.” That’s the brightest star in Bootes, which looks like a kite. Take that same curve, and follow it about another 20˚ to “speed on to Spica”, the brightest star in Virgo, one of my favorite constellations, since it reminds me of the Dickinson Mermaid.