Observing With Webb

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Brilliant week-long morning dance of the planets and our Moon paired with warmer nights and a challenging evening conjunction and close encounter at the end of the month make May a wonderful month to get out under the stars.

         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...

Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night)

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

New Moon – 22nd (darkest skies)

First Quarter Moon – 29th (Visible until midnight)

11th – 17th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars – Get out after 4:00am but before 5:30am DST each of these mornings to enjoy, moving left to the right, the lineup of Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter in the S, but also enjoy the Moon crashing through the party. The waning gibbous Moon will be about 14˚ to the right of Jupiter on the 11th, 3˚ directly below Jupiter on the 12th, 8˚ below and to the left of Saturn on the 13th.  On the 14th, it becomes a third quarter Moon, and is about a fist-width to the right of Mars, moving to about 4˚ down and to the left of Mars the next morning.  The next two mornings, the Moon is more of a crescent, and creeps away from the planetary lineup, but is still part of the morning party.

21st – Conjunction - Venus, Mercury – Get out after sunset and watch the Western sky.  The first point of light you’ll find is Venus.  As it gets darker, see if you can find Mercury, just one pinky-width down and to the left of Venus.

23rd – 24th – Close Encounter - Venus, Moon, Mercury – Get out after sunset and watch the Western sky on the 23rd.  Again, the first point of light you’ll find is Venus.  As it gets darker, see if you can find Mercury and the very young and thin crescent Moon.  Mercury is 3˚ up and to the left of Venus, and the Moon is about 5˚ below Venus.  You might have better luck on the 24th, however, considering the Moon moves higher and is thicker, just 6˚ up and to the left of Mercury.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

Sunset

• Venus (West) – This is your last chance to check out Venus, as it gets lower and lower in the West every evening. It starts out 35˚ above the horizon, and drops out of sight during the last week of May for its inferior conjunction, when it’s between the Sun and Earth. If you have a telescope, you’ll be able to see the shift from a thick crescent Venus to a thin crescent Venus throughout the month. If you miss it, you’ll have to wake up before sunrise, as it transfers over to a morning star for the rest of the year.

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 (sunrise is between 6:00am and 5:30am) any morning, and start by finding the brightest spot in the South, 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 to the left of Jupiter all month. Mars has a different story, starting out 20˚ or two fist-widths away from Saturn, and then moves further and further left each day, approaching 40˚ or four fist-widths away from Saturn by the 31st.

CONSTELLATIONS...

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

After Dinner, Before Bed:

Leo, Big Dipper, Bootes – 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. 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.

WATCH this on YouTube

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 – 1st (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 7th (Visible all night)

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

New Moon – 22nd (darkest skies)

First Quarter Moon – 30th (Visible until midnight)

2nd – 4th – 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 3rd is when Venus is right in the cluster, below the handle, but on the 2nd and 4th 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.

14th – 17th – 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 14th, right below Saturn on the 15th, about 4˚ down and to the left of Mars on the 16th, and, having turned more crescent, far to the left of all of them on the 17th.

22nd – 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 22nd, but you might see some on the 21st and 22nd 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.

26th – 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 30th.

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.

WATCH this on YouTube

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 – 2nd (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 9th (Visible all night)

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

New Moon – 24th (darkest skies)

8th – Daylight Savings Time Begins at 2am

17th – 19th – 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 17th, JUST below Jupiter and Mars on the 18th, and about 6˚ down and to the left of Saturn on the 19th.

20th – 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…)

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

27th, 28th – Close Encounter - Moon, Venus – Get out after sunset and watch the SW sky. On the 27th 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.

31st – 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 1st. Each day it closes in on Jupiter, until it finally passes Jupiter, within 1˚ or one pinky’s width on the 20th. A GREAT conjunction. But wait, there’s more! Mars then continues this Eastward March and has ANOTHER conjunction on the 31st, 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.

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.

WATCH this on YouTube

         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. 

February starts out slow, but picks up speed as the dawn skies get crowded with some favorite planets, a lunar flyby, an occultation of Mars for some, Venus shining bright all month, and all naked eye planets visible at some point.

EVENTS...

First Quarter Moon – 1st (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 9th (Visible all night)

Last Quarter Moon – 15th (Visible from midnight into the morning)

New Moon – 23rd (darkest skies) 

18th – Moon Occults Mars – The planets, Sun, and Moon all pretty much follow a path in the sky called the ecliptic, varying only a few degrees. That variation makes it uncommon, but not unusual, for the Moon to pass in front planets and completely block, or occult, the planet.  This happens in the morning hours of February 18th. It’ll be tough to spot, as you’ll need a small telescope in order to find Mars in the twilight.  However, whether you see it or not, Mars will disappear behind the Moon at 7:30am and reappear at 9:00am.  If you have a tracking scope, set it up to track Mars in the early morning, then keep watching until it reappears. REALLY want to see it? Go further West, past the Mississippi River to witness it in night skies.

17th – 20th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn – This is the best week of the month to get out there!!!  Get out after 6:00am each morning this Mon - Thurs and enjoy the lineup, moving up and to the right, 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 17th, RIGHT next to, and occults, Mars on the 18th, less than 5˚ to the right of Jupiter on the 19th, and less than 3˚ down and to the left of Saturn on the 20th. 

26th – 28th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus – Get out after sunset and watch the SW sky. On the 26th the Moon will be a young, thin crescent about a fist-width below bright Venus.  The next night the Moon moves to just 6˚ to the left of Venus, a little thicker and higher. Then on the 28th, the Moon is about 14˚ up and to the left of Venus, thicker and higher yet again.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

• Around Sunset – Venus (SW), Mercury (first 2 weeks)

Mercury

• MIGHT catch it during the first two weeks of February, when it’s about 10˚ above the SW horizon by around 6pm. Look for the dot that’s brighter than the stars, but dimmer than Venus.

Venus

• Venus will spend the month climbing to about 40˚ above the WSW horizon. Find a great view of the Western sky and watch the sunset. Venus will be the brightest light and first object you see off in that direction.

Mars

• Get out after 4:30am, but before sunrise, and look SE to find the ruddy red point of light that is Mars between Sagittarius and Scorpius in the beginning of the month and right above the teapot lid of Sagittarius by the end.

Jupiter

• Jupiter will trail Mars by about 25˚ and 2 hours at the start of February, rising around 6am. By the end of the month, it will only be about 10˚ or one fist-width from Mars, and rising around 4:30

Saturn

• Saturn makes its appearance known yet again for another season in the mornings. About two weeks into the month you should be able to find Saturn less than 10˚ down and to the left of Jupiter in the SE. More importantly, however, this starts Saturn’s long, slow slog to catch up to Jupiter for a Winter Solstice conjunction of less than 1/10th of 1˚

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:

Leo, Big Dipper – Leo will be more to the West than before, but the Big Dipper will be super big and bright above Leo’s backward question mark.

Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.

December and January, though probably very cold, will bring us 6 close encounters, 2 meteor showers, all 5 naked-eye planets, and some very long nights.

EVENTS...

December

• First Quarter Moon – 4th (Visible until midnight)

January

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

December

1st – AM Close Encounter – Mercury, Mars – If you’re up around 6:30am, today is the best day to look SE to find Mercury and Mars, since Mercury is diving back toward the Sun from our perspective each day. Mercury will be only 10˚ above the horizon, with Mars 20˚ above, up and to the right of Mercury.

1st – PM Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn – Make sure you watch the western sky after sunset this day, as the Moon will be up and to the left of a brilliant set of the three brightest planets. Venus will be brightest and in the middle between Jupiter and Saturn, with Jupiter lower and to the right, Saturn higher and to the left. If you miss it on the 1st, don’t worry! The lineup will still be there and so will the Moon, but a bit further away from the planets.

10th – Conjunction – Venus, Saturn – Similar to Venus passing Jupiter last month, Venus will get to within 2˚ of Saturn on the 10th. Just get out around sunset, and watch the SW sky for VERY bright Venus, with Saturn about 2 pinky-widths up and a little to the right. This isn’t only cool on the 10th, though, since they are still near other on the nights leading up to and following the 10th. So check it out anytime that week.

13th, 14th – Geminid Meteor Shower – Not a good year for seeing a lot of Geminids, given the moon will be waning gibbous, but don’t give up! You might not see the expected 100 meteors per hour, but if you gaze the opposite direction of the Moon, and go out early after sunset, your chances of catching some great ones will be increased. You should still get about 20 per hour.

Some advice for watching:

    Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or swimming pool floaty

    Look at the whole sky, but note Gemini is where the radiant is - where the meteors will appear to be coming from. Gemini will be in the East after sunset, South after midnight, West in the morning.

    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.

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 

27th – 29th – Close Encounter – Moon, Saturn, Venus – You’ll need some pretty clear skies and a good view of the SW horizon for this one. Get out after sunset (yet again), look SW, and find very bright Venus. On the 27th, start at Venus, look down and to the right about a fist-width or more (13˚), VERY low on the horizon, and you should be able to see a VERY thin crescent Moon with a dim-relative-to-the-sky Saturn just 5˚ (three finger-widths) to the right and a little bit lower.  If you don’t have good luck on the 27th, the 28th will be much easier, since the Moon will be directly below Venus by only about 3˚. Then, on the 29th, The Moon will move to be about 10˚ up and to the left of Venus.

January

3rd, 4th – Quadrantids Meteor Shower – You might catch 15-25 meteors per hour, with a past first quarter Moon setting around midnight. Follow the same advice as the Geminids. Not a big meteor shower, and it’s cold, but could be worth it.

20th – 21st – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars – Get up and out after 4:30am, and look SE to find a nice crescent Moon. On the 20th, just 4˚ below and a little to the left of the Moon you’ll find the red disk of Mars. If you keep watching, you’ll also be able to spot the brightest star in Scorpio, red Antares, to the right a little down from Mars about the same distance. On the morning of the 21st, the Moon will now be about 8˚ down and to the left of Mars, and thinner.

27th – 28th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus – Get out after sunset and watch the SW sky. Bright Venus will be about 7˚ above the Moon on the 27th. On the 28th, the Moon will move to be just 6˚ to the left of Venus, and still a wonderful crescent.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

• Around Sunset – Jupiter (1wk only), Saturn (Dec only), Venus (SW)

Mercury

• MIGHT catch it if you get out around 6:30am and look ESE, but only during the first week of December. Although, if you wait until the last 4 days of January, look WSW after sunset less than 10˚ above the horizon.

Venus

• Venus is BACK and bright! Over these two months, it will rise from just about 10˚ above the SW horizon to about 30˚. Find a great view of the SW horizon with nothing in the way and watch the sunset. Venus will be the brightest light off in that direction.

Mars

• Get out after 5am, but before sunrise, and look SE to find the ruddy red point of light that is Mars. In January, it’ll move into Scorpio, near the red star Antares, whose name means simulating Mars.

Jupiter

• Only really visible for the first couple of days of December, and then the last two weeks of January, but in opposite sides of the sky and times of the day. The first week of December, you’ll have to get out for sunset and watch VERY low on the horizon for the bright, but dimmer than Venus, point of light that is Jupiter. Then, it’s lost in the Sun’s glare for over a month, and reappears in the morning twilight the last two weeks of January. Then, you’ll have to get out around 7am and look SE, low on the horizon. Jupiter will now be a morning planet for the next season or two.

Saturn

• Saturn starts out December up and to the left of Venus and Jupiter in the sunset sky, gets lower in the sky each night, passes Venus on the 10th, and is no longer visible by the end of December

CONSTELLATIONS...

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

After Dinner:

Cassiopeia, Andromeda, & Perseus - Look pretty much straight up you’ll be able to see Andromeda curving off of one corner of Pegasus. If your skies are decently dark, you might catch the faint fuzz that is the Andromeda Galaxy.  Cassiopeia will be relatively easy to find as the “W” in the sky, whose right angle points right to Andromeda and her galaxy.  Perseus is the other cornucopia-shaped constellation, but opposite of Andromeda, with its curves emptying out toward the Pleiades

Before Bed:

Taurus & the Pleiades – Look almost straight up, but down toward the South a little bit and you’ll find the lovely cluster of stars known as the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, Subaru, or the mini-mini-dipper. You can easily see 5 or 6 of them with the unaided eye, and perhaps a 7th, depending on light pollution and your eyes.  To the left about 5˚ will be the V constellation of Taurus the bull, with bright red Aldebaran as its brightest, and one eye of the bull. Oh, and if you follow a line connecting these two to the left about 10˚, you’ll find Orion.

Before Work:

Leo – Look South, halfway up the sky, to find the backward question mark and right triangle that is Leo the Lion.

Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.

WATCH this on YouTube

         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. 

November is turning out to be an AWESOME month for astronomy with lots of events of different types spread throughout. Every naked eye planet is visible, Mercury transits the Sun, 3 close encounter lineups including one on Thanksgiving will happen, and perhaps we’ll be graced with some bonus meteors from the annual Leonid meteor shower.

EVENTS...

First Quarter Moon – 4th (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 12th (Visible all night)

Last Quarter Moon – 19th (Visible from midnight into the morning)

New Moon – 26th (darkest skies)

1st – 3rd – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury – You won’t see a great lineup like this very often at all! (Don’t ask me when.) On the 1st, the Moon will be between Saturn and Jupiter, with Venus and Mercury down by the horizon, barely visible in the SW. The next two nights the Moon will move off to the left of everything. 

3rd – Daylight Savings Time Ends – It’ll get dark faster at night, and in the mornings, the light will come earlier

11th – Transit of Mercury – Mercury will pass directly in front the Sun, from our perspective, which won’t happen again until 2032! The transit begins at about 7:35am EST, reaches midpoint at 10:19am EST, and ends at 1:04pm EST.  How can you see this? DON’T STARE AT THE SUN WITHOUT FILTERS. You’ll at least need eclipse glasses to catch it, but Mercury is very small, so many people are saying you won’t see it without magnification. That means you need to look up white light filters for a camera zoom lens or telescope (Baader makes them) or a way to project the Sun and Mercury onto a sheet of paper using your telescope. A great article covering everything is here: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/transit-mercury-11-november-2019-what-how-see/

17th – Leonid Meteor Shower – This annual, weak, meteor shower can have some wonderful years. 2019 does not appear to be one of them, but there still is some hope. You only have until 9pm to get out, since the Moon will be rising at that time. It’d be nice if the Moon wasn’t there, since the radiant would be able to rise and give us a higher number of meteors visible, but getting out there anyway should yield a couple for you. 

23rd – 25th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars, Mercury – Get out after 6:20am on the 23rd, and you’ll find a thin crescent Moon 13˚ above red Mars, which is about 10˚ above dim Mercury. On the 24th, the Moon will be just 3˚ to the left of Mars, making a nice triangle with Mercury. The 25th will be the hardest day to catch this, since the Moon rises at 6:37am, right near sunrise, but with Mercury and Mars above it.

23rd, 24th - Close Encounter – Jupiter & Venus – Get out after sunset by 5pm and find two bright planets about 10˚ above the SW horizon, only about 1˚ apart! Venus will be below Jupiter on both nights. 

27th – 30th – Thanksgiving Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn – A THIRD great lineup for the month! Jupiter is lowest, with Venus just 4˚ to the left, and Saturn 15˚ up and to the left of Venus. The Moon starts VERY thin on the 27th, down and to the right of Jupiter in the SW. The next night, Venus and the Moon are VERY close! Just 1.5˚ apart for Thanksgiving! Then on Friday the Moon moves to be less than 2˚ below Saturn, and then leaving the group on the 30th.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

• Around Sunset – Saturn, Jupiter, Venus (S to SW)

Mercury

• MIGHT catch it on the 1st when it’s below Venus and sets about an hour after the Sun. Your better bet is to get out around 7am and look ESE, but only during the last week of November. Mercury, Mars, and Spica will line up nicely, adding the Moon on the 23rd and 24th.

Venus

• Venus’ turn to come back as the “Evening Star” until May! Just barely visible over the horizon at sunset at the beginning of the month, it will slowly get a little higher each night, so be patient. Find a great view of the SW horizon with nothing in the way and watch the sunset. Venus will be the brightest light off in that direction, only about 10˚ above the horizon.

Mars

• Get out after 6am, but before sunrise, and look ESE to find the ruddy red point of light that is Mars. The view keeps improving as Mars rises earlier and is higher each morning, until on the 30th it rises at 5:30am and is 24˚ above the horizon by sunrise.

Jupiter

• LAST CHANCE (for a couple months)! Other than Venus if you’re looking for it, Jupiter will probably be the first point of light you can see, looking SW less than 15˚ above the horizon. It will set in the SW by 8:30pm at the beginning of the month. Throughout the month it’ll set earlier, passing Venus, by 7:00pm at the end of the month.

Saturn

• Yet again, Saturn will trail behind Jupiter in the sky by about 20˚. It starts off in the SSW about 20˚ above the horizon, and third in brightness to Jupiter and Venus. Throughout each night it’ll set in the SW earlier, at 10pm in the beginning of the month, by 8:30pm at the end.

CONSTELLATIONS...

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

After Dinner:

Pegasus & Andromeda - Look pretty much straight up you’ll be able to see the Great Square of Pegasus, with Andromeda curving off of one corner. If your skies are decently dark, you might catch the faint fuzz that is the Andromeda Galaxy.

Before Bed:

Andromeda, Perseus, Triangulum, Aries – Find Pegasus off to the West a little bit to find the cornucopia shaped Andromeda again. Keep following the cornucopia shape to find Perseus, which has kind of a similar shape, except opening up toward the southern horizon and the Pleiades.  Below Perseus and Andromeda will be Triangulum, a small thin triangle, and Aries the Ram, which looks more like a curved walking cane on its side.

Before Work:

Orion – Look southwest to find the vertical bow-tie that is Orion the Hunter.

Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.

WATCH this on YouTube

         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. 

October gets us back into the fall observing season with chances to see each naked-eye planet, a bunch of great lunar encounters, and a wonderful night of sights for the trick-or-treaters.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

• Around Sunset – Saturn (S), Jupiter (SSW), Maybe Venus & Mercury (WSW)

Mercury

• Technically just a few degrees to the left of Venus, but it’s much dimmer, so is essentially not visible. Your best chance is probably on October 31st when it’s directly below Venus and sets relatively late.

Venus

• Get the timing and view right, and you might be able to catch Venus in the 30 minutes to an hour after sunset, less than 10˚ above the horizon. Look WSW after the sun sets and find the brightest point of light in that direction.

Mars

• Makes its return! Get out after 6am, but before sunrise, starting mid-month, and look directly East to find the ruddy red point of light that is Mars. The view keeps improving as Mars rises earlier and is higher each morning, until on the 31st it rises at 6am and is 18˚ above the horizon at sunrise.

Jupiter

• Already high in the sky as dusk turns to night off in the SSW and will probably be the first point of light you can see. It will set in the SW by 10pm at the beginning of the month. Throughout the month it’ll set earlier, by 8:30pm at the end.

Saturn

• Yet again, Saturn will trail behind Jupiter in the sky by about 25˚. It starts off in the S about 25˚ above the horizon, and second in brightness to Jupiter. Throughout each night it’ll move toward the South, then set in the SW by midnight at the beginning of the month. Throughout the month it’ll set earlier, by 10pm at the end.

EVENTS...

First Quarter Moon – 5th (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 13th (Visible all night)

Last Quarter Moon – 21st (Visible from midnight into the morning)

New Moon – 27th (darkest skies)

1st – 6th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Saturn – Yet again a great lineup with Saturn and Jupiter starting each night in the SSW, almost 30˚ above the horizon and about 25˚ apart from each other. Beginning on the 1st, the three will be evenly spaced, with the Moon being 25˚ to the right of Jupiter, which is 25˚ to the right of Saturn. The next night the Moon travels to 12˚ to the right of Jupiter, and on the 3rd it closes the gap to just 1.5˚, definitely within a camera’s range. Now the Moon spends the night of the 4th directly between Jupiter and Saturn. On the 5th, Saturn is just 2.5˚ up and to the right of the Moon. On the 6th, the Moon bids adieu to the gassy outer planets and finishes the encounter 12˚ to the left of Saturn, creating a great evening lineup of the Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter until Jupiter sets around 10pm.

20th – 22nd – Orionid Meteor Shower – A decent meteor shower, producing around 20 meteors per hour. The thick waning crescent Moon rises a bit after midnight, making late evening when it’s not out your better chance to see the most meteors. Either way, go out any of these three days, let your eyes get dark adapted (don’t look at your phone), find a nice spot to lie down away from light pollution, and be patient.

26th – Close Encounter – Moon, Mars – In making its comeback, Mars also makes a great view with the very thin crescent Moon just 7˚ above it in the SSE after 6:30am.

29th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus – Might be tough, but if you have a nice clear SW horizon, find bright Venus and a very thin crescent Moon in almost the same spot, the Moon being 4˚ above Venus.

Halloween: 31st – This should be a GREAT night to take the telescope out for those trick-or-treaters. Look SW and the beautiful crescent Moon is just 4˚ to the left of Jupiter, a second awesome target for the scope. Up and to the left is Saturn, a classic outreach object. If you have a great view of the SW horizon, you may even catch bright Venus.

CONSTELLATIONS...

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

After Dinner:

The Summer Triangle: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, Delphinus - Look straight up before 8pm and you’ll be able to see Lyra (the Harp), Cygnus (the Swan), Aquila (the Eagle), (and Delphinus the Dolphin.)  These three constellations have the three brightest stars of the summer constellations (Vega, Deneb, Altair – respectively.)  Those bright stars create the summer triangle.  Off to the east of this is the small but beautiful constellation of Delphinus. If you’re under dark skies (away from city lights) you may just catch a glimpse of the Milky Way passing through Cygnus and Aquila. 

Before Bed:

Fall Constellations: Pegasus & Andromeda - Look pretty much straight up before 10pm and you’ll be able to see the Great Square of Pegasus, with Andromeda curving off of one corner. If your skies are decently dark, you might catch the faint fuzz that is the Andromeda Galaxy.

Before Work:

Orion – Look south to find the vertical bow-tie that is Orion the Hunter.

Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.

WATCH this on YouTube

         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. 

September is very uneventful, with a week of a close encounter lineup of the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn, and the rather uneventful Autumnal Equinox. However, the nights are getting longer and the days shorter and cooler.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

• Around Sunset – Jupiter (S), Saturn (S)

Mercury

• Not really visible.

Venus

• Not really visible.

Mars

• Not really visible.

Jupiter

• Already high in the sky as dusk turns to night off in the South and will probably be the first point of light you can see. It will set in the SW by 11:30pm at the beginning of the month. Throughout the month it’ll set earlier, by 10pm at the end.

Saturn

• Yet again, Saturn will trail behind Jupiter in the sky by about 30˚. It starts off in the SSE about 20˚ above the horizon, and second in brightness to Jupiter. Throughout each night it’ll move toward the South, then set in the SW by 2am at the beginning of the month. Throughout the month it’ll set earlier, by 11:30pm at the end.

EVENTS...

First Quarter Moon – 5th (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 13th (Visible all night)

Last Quarter Moon – 21st (Visible from midnight into the morning)

New Moon – 28th (darkest skies)

3rd – 9th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Saturn – Yet again a great lineup but this time for a full week, with Saturn and Jupiter starting each night in the South, almost 30˚ above the horizon and about 30˚ apart from each other. Beginning on the 3rd, the three will be evenly spaced, with the Moon being 30˚ to the right of Jupiter, which is 30˚ to the right of Saturn. The next night the Moon travels to 18˚ to the right of Jupiter, and on the 5th it closes the gap to just 4˚. Now the Moon spends two nights in between Jupiter and Saturn, closer to Jupiter on the 6th and closer to Saturn on the 7th. On the 8th, Saturn is just 5.5˚ up and to the right of the Moon. On the 9th, the Moon bids adieu to the gassy outer planets and finishes the encounter 18˚ down and to the left of Saturn, creating a great evening lineup of the Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter until Jupiter sets around 11pm.

23rd– Fall Equinox – When all locations on Earth experience a day of almost exactly 12 hours and a night of almost exactly 12 hours.  It is the astronomical first day of fall, even though meteorologically it typically starts in the beginning of September.

CONSTELLATIONS...

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

After Dinner:

Sagittarius – Use binoculars (or even a telescope) and a star chart to scan through the southern constellation of Sagittarius.  Currently the home constellation of Saturn.      There are at least 7 easily visible clusters and nebulas up and to the right of the “teapot” of Sagittarius.

The Summer Triangle: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, Delphinus - Look straight up before 10pm and you’ll be able to see Lyra (the Harp), Cygnus (the Swan), Aquila (the Eagle), (and Delphinus the Dolphin.)  These three constellations have the three brightest stars of the summer constellations (Vega, Deneb, Altair – respectively.)  Those bright stars create the summer triangle.  Off to the east of this is the small but beautiful constellation of Delphinus. If you’re under dark skies (away from city lights) you may just catch a glimpse of the Milky Way passing through Cygnus and Aquila.  If you’re looking past 10pm, they’ll be moving toward the West and lower in the sky.

Before Work:

Cassiopeia – Just a few degrees below the zenith, in the North, is the Queen. Just look North and tilt your head almost all the way up, and you’ll see the 5 bright stars that form an M or upside down W in the sky, depending on what font you normally use. The angle on the left will be ALMOST a right angle, with the one on the right being obtuse.

July is the month of Jupiter and Saturn this year, with both gracing the skies all night, easily visible with the naked eye, and even better through binoculars or a telescope.

Naked-eye PLANETS...

• Around Sunset – Jupiter (S), Saturn (SE)

Mercury

• Not really visible.

Venus

• Not really visible.

Mars

• Not really visible.

Jupiter

• Already high in the sky as dusk turns to night off in the SE and will probably be the first point of light you can see. Throughout each night it’ll move toward the South, then set in the SW by 4am at the beginning of the month. Throughout the month it’ll start higher in the sky and set earlier, by 2am on the 31st.

Saturn

• Saturn will trail behind Jupiter in the sky by about 30˚, rising just after sunset, and setting right around sunrise. Hence, this month it’s Saturn’s turn to reach opposition, giving us a lot of time to observe the planet and its rings.

EVENTS...

New Moon – 2nd (darkest skies)

First Quarter Moon – 9th (Visible until midnight)

Full Moon – 16th (Visible all night)

Last Quarter Moon – 24th (Visible from midnight into the morning)

12th – 16th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Saturn – A great lineup for 5 days, with Saturn and Jupiter starting each night in the SSE, about 30˚ apart from each other. On the 12th, the Moon will be about 10˚ up and to the right of Jupiter. The next night it travels to just 3.5˚ to the left of Jupiter. Now the Moon starts heading closer to Saturn, being almost right between Jupiter and Saturn on the 14th, then just 2.5˚ to the right of Saturn on the 15th. On the 16th, the Moon bids adieu to the gassy outer planets and finishes the encounter 10˚ down and to the left of Saturn, creating a great evening lineup of the Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter for the remainder of the night.

16th – Partial Lunar Eclipse – If you live in South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, or Africa, you’ll be able to see this. Those of us in North America…nope.

CONSTELLATIONS...

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

After Dinner, Before Bed:

Spring Constellations: Big Dipper, Bootes, Virgo, Corona Borealis, Hercules – Gaze almost vertically as you face the NW, and you’ll easily 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.  Now go back to Bootes, and just to the left of Bootes are seven stars that form the northern crown Corona Borealis, which looks more like a small bowl or a “C” in the sky. Continue a little further to the left and you’ll find the keystone asterism which is part of the constellation Hercules. Extra Challenge! Look for M13, the Hercules Cluster in between two of Hercules’ “keystone” stars.  It known as the best globular cluster in the northern skies.  It will be a fuzzy spot in binoculars and will be even cooler through a telescope

Summer Constellations: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila – 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. Directly above you will be Cygnus the Swan, with its brightest star Deneb. It will look like a large cross, or if you look out a little further, a swan flying above you. Below Cygnus and Lyra is the third constellation of the Summer Triangle, Aquila the Eagle, with its brightest star Altair. The three bright stars in this one can be easily confused for Orion’s belt, given their similar size, however they are not in line as straight, and are part of a bigger diamond shape.  Use a star chart to find small Delphinus and Sagitta in the area as well.

Before Work:

Pegasus, Andromeda – Look directly south and most of the way up the sky and you’ll find the very big and almost perfect square of Pegasus, the winged horse. Now if you look to the top left of the square, you’ll see three pairs of stars creating a neat double curve to the left and up from that corner star. That is Andromeda. If you have a little extra time, find the middle pair of stars, connect them with a line, and move toward the inside of the curve about the same distance as those stars are apart. There you’ll find the Andromeda Galaxy, which will be just a small faint fuzzy with your naked eye. The cool part is that you are looking at billions of stars that are 2.9 million light years away, that spread out about 150,000 light years across

Don’t forget to check out my Podbean page, YouTube Channel, and Twitter feed, or get my podcast feed on Stitcher, or iTunes.