5.8K
Downloads
87
Episodes
A monthly look at the night sky from your favorite Astronomy teacher at Pequea Valley High School
Episodes
Sunday Dec 27, 2015
Sunday Dec 27, 2015
To see a video of this information, go to my YouTube Channel
January turns out to be a little more interesting than normal, given the four planets you can see in the morning, Comet Catalina still visible (with binoculars), the Quadrantid Meteor shower, and an occultation of bright Aldebaran. It will be cold (maybe), but we have plenty of night to work with.
PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye
Planets you can see around Sunset – None
Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (EàSàSW)
Planets you can see in the Morning – Venus (SE), Saturn (S), Mars (S), Jupiter (S)
Mercury – Not really visible this month.
Venus – Saturn will be visible around 4am in the SE, well below and to the left of Mars and near Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius.
Mars – Look East after 2am and Mars will be the bright-ish reddish light below and the left of bright Spica. By sunrise, it will be directly in the South and 35˚ above the horizon
Jupiter – Look East after 10pm and Jupiter will be the very bright light below Leo the Lion. It will move toward the South and will be in the SW by sunrise.
Saturn – Saturn will be visible around 4am in the SE, well below and to the left of Mars and near Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius.
EVENTS...
Comet Catalina – It’s not likely going to be a Halley’s Comet, but it could reach naked eye visibility, but as comet hunter David Levy says, comets are like cats: They both have tails, and they do precisely what they want. So, really we don’t know how bright it will get. It’s a morning comet, so you’ll have to get up early and look SE. Given the complexity of observing it, check out these two websites, but know that the Moon will get in the way and you’ll likely need binoculars, with best viewing around mid-month when it gets closest to Earth.
Last Quarter Moon – 2nd (Visible from midnight into the morning)
2nd – 3rd – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Mars – Look SE after 2:30am and you’ll find a last quarter Moon directly in between Jupiter and Mars on the morning of the 2nd and on the 3rd, the Moon will be only 5˚ above Mars, and close to the brightest star in Virgo, Spica.
3rd – 4th – Quadrantid Meteor Shower – You have to get up super early to see these, but worth a shot, even with its narrow viewing window and cold temps. See more info here.
6th – 7th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus, Saturn – Look toward the SE on the morning of the 6th after 5:30am, and you’ll find Saturn, Venus, and the Moon in a line, with Saturn lowest, Venus brightest and 3˚ up and to the right and the Moon 6˚ up and to the right of that. The next morning, a VERY thin crescent Moon will be to the left of Saturn and Venus.
New Moon – 9th (darkest skies)
9th – Conjunction – Venus & Saturn – Look toward the SE on the morning of the 9th after 5:30am, and you’ll find bright Venus with Saturn less than ½˚ away. A rare occurrence.
First Quarter Moon – 16th (Visible until midnight)
19th – Moon Occults Aldebaran – On this evening, watch as the dark portion of the Moon crosses over the bright star Aldebaran. For those around me in Lancaster County, we’re looking at Aldebaran disappearing behind the Moon around 9:30pm EST and reappearing about and hour and twenty minutes later, with differences based on where you are on Earth. See predictions for where you live here: lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/bstar You don’t see these often, and this is a super easy one to watch.
Full Moon – 23rd (Visible all night)
27th – 28th – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – On the night of the 27th, Look East after 9:40pm and you’ll see a waning gibbous Moon and Jupiter very close together, only about 2˚ apart. They’ll rise up together throughout the night and move further apart.
Last Quarter Moon – 31st (Visible from midnight into the morning)
CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see...
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
GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS:
Winter constellations: Orion is easy to spot as he is rising in the East around 7:30pm. You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations.
Using Orion: 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.
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.
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.
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.
Wednesday Nov 25, 2015
Wednesday Nov 25, 2015
To see a video of this information, go to my YouTube Channel
The holidays should be merry and bright for astronomers! The morning sky provides us with Jupiter, Mars, and Venus visible with a comet nearby and the Moon riding by early in the month. Additionally, the Geminid Meteor Shower will be extra showery this year, the Moon will occult Venus, and the longest night of the year all occur this December.
PLANETS...well, the ones visible with your naked eye
Planets you can see around Sunset – Mercury after the 16th (SW)
Planets you can see throughout the night – Jupiter (E)
Planets you can see in the Morning – Venus (SE), Mars (S), Jupiter (S), Saturn after the 15th (SE)
Mercury – Starting on the 16th, you should be able to see it in the SW after sunset with binoculars, and by the end of the month it’ll be visible for 1.5 hours after sunset.
Venus, Mars, & Jupiter – Look toward the East after 4:30am and you’ll find all three planets. Venus will be the brightest object, lowest in the sky, with Mars about 15˚ above and Jupiter 20˚ above that in the beginning of the month. Throughout December, they’ll spread apart, with Venus and Jupiter about 70˚ apart by the new year. Jupiter will be up in the east 12:30am in the beginning of the month and 10:30pm at the end of the month. Mars rises around 2am, Venus around 4:30am.
Saturn – Saturn will start being visible before sunrise in the SE, below and to the left of Venus starting on the 15th of the month. It will get higher and closer to Venus each day, until it’s only 10˚ below Venus on the 31st.
EVENTS...
Comet Catalina – This comet has been making some waves in the Northern Hemisphere. Sky & Telescope has a guide to observing it. It’s not likely going to be a Halley’s Comet, but it could reach naked eye visibility, but as comet hunter David Levy says, comets are like cats: They both have tails, and they do precisely what they want. So, really we don’t know how bright it will get.
It’s a morning comet, so you’ll have to get up early and look SE. On the 1st, it’s about a fist-width down and to the left of Venus. It gets very close to Venus (and the Moon) on the 7th, being only 4˚ directly to the left of Venus. From there, it will consistently move higher and higher straight above Venus, and around the holidays it will be near Arcturus (the brightest star in Bootes) about 45˚ above Venus and 45˚ left of the Moon and Jupiter.
Last Quarter Moon – 3rd (Visible from midnight into the morning)
3rd – 7th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Comet Catalina – Look toward the East in the mornings and find the Moon. On the 3rd, the Moon will be above Jupiter, with Mars and Venus below and closer to the horizon. The next morning, the Moon will have moved to be only 3˚ below Jupiter. On the 5th the Moon will be between Jupiter and Mars (closer to Mars), and on the 6th the Moon will be just below Mars. Finally, on the 7th the Moon will be just 2˚above Venus, with Comet Catalina 4˚ to the left of Venus.
7th – OCCULTATION – Venus by the Moon – Find the VERY thin Moon only about 45˚ west of the Sun, or find bright Venus as a dim star in the sky in the same spot. The Moon will pass directly in front of, and block, Venus. When? Sky & Telescope says that in Washington D.C. the disappearance will be at 12:39pm and Venus will reappear at 1:51pm. Your time will vary based on location.
New Moon – 11th (darkest skies)
13th, 14th – Geminid Meteor Shower – It’s a good year for the Geminids, which will produce 120 meteors per hour this year, though you’ll probably see a little bit less, depending on your light pollution levels. Best time is after midnight
Some advice for watching:
Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or swimming pool floaty
Look toward Gemini (in the East). That is where the radiant is - where the meteors will appear to be coming from. Keep a wide eye and try to take in the whole sky, instead of staring at one spot or through binoculars or a telescope.
Dress in multiple layers and bring hot chocolate
Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear (weather.com has a good map here)
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.
You could contribute to science and its accuracy in predicting meteor showers by doing an easy scientific meteor count. Details here: imo.net/visual/major
First Quarter Moon – 18th (Visible until midnight)
21st – Winter Solstice - The longest night and shortest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. More info here: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice.html
Full Moon – 25th (Visible all night)
31st – Close Encounter – Moon & Jupiter – On the morning of the 31st (after midnight on the 30th), look East for the Gibbous Moon 5˚ up and to the right of Jupiter. By morning they will be higher in the sky and closer.
CONSTELLATIONS... (see sky map link at the bottom for a Star Map for this month – or ask Mr. Webb) Look straight up and you'll see...
After Sunset (sunset is around 5:00pm) – Pegasus, Andromeda - Extra Challenge! Using your naked eye (dark-adapted and in a dark area) or binoculars under normal conditions and a star chart, try finding our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy. It’ll be a faint, but bigger, fuzzy in the constellation Andromeda.
Between Sunset and Midnight – Perseus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia
Midnight – Auriga, Taurus, Gemini
Early Morning – Ursa Major’s legs, Leo Minor
GENERAL CONSTELLATION FINDING TIPS:
Fall Constellations: Andromeda, Pegasus
If you can find the Summer Triangle and Delphinus in the West, about 40˚ to the East (leftish – pretty much straight above you) will be the Great Square of the fall constellation Pegasus. Perhaps you’ll even see the two curves of Andromeda off of one side, with the Andromeda Galaxy as a small, faint fuzzy nearby (you’ll need dark skies to see it). A sky map will help you tremendously in finding these.
Winter constellations: Orion is easy to spot as he is rising in the East around 7:30pm. You can use Orion to find many other winter constellations.
Using Orion: Find Orion by looking for the three stars in a row that make up Orion’s belt in the East around 7:30pm. 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.
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.
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.
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.