Category Archives: saturn

astronomy, Mars, planets, saturn

Planet Viewing

Leave a comment

They’re Up There: You Can’t Miss Them

 

The May night skies, with Saturn and Mars.

 

 

The planets Mars and Saturn are gleaming up there in the sky these May nights.  Saturn is in the constellation Virgo, not far from the bright star Spica. I’ve seen a lot of images people are posting of Saturn, and the rings are standing out. So, if you have a decent pair of binoculars, or even better, a small telescope, you can spot those rings yourself.

When I was a kid, one of the first images of a planet I saw was of Saturn. Those rings absolutely mystified me. They were the most alien thing I could think of “out there” and I often wondered how such things could form. Astronomers knew the rings were made up of particles, but it wasn’t until the Voyager mission to Saturn that they knew just how complex the system really is. And, of course, the Cassini Mission is taking their understanding to new heights.  You can find some gorgeous views of Saturn from Cassini at the mission Web site, and I think they’ll whet your appetite to see the planet for yourself.

Mars is close to the bright star Regulus, in the constellation of Leo the Lion. It’s a reddish-looking blob of light and if you have a fairly powerful backyard telescope, you can make out some of the surface markings (dark and light) on the planet.  Of course, the best way to look at Mars (after you’ve spotted it in your night sky) is to surf over to NASA’s Mars site, or ESA’s Mars Express page.  There, you’ll find many fascinating images of the Red Planet taken by spacecraft visiting the planet “up close and personal”.

Go out these May nights and check out the planets. They’re not hard to find and they’ll pique your curiosity. I guarantee it!

 

 

'Casts, Jupiter, Mars, planets, saturn, venus

Bright Lights in the Sky

Leave a comment

No UFOs Here

The post-sunset view on March 11, planets Venus and Jupiter. Click for a larger view.

Unless you’ve been buried under a blanket of clouds the past few weeks, you’ve probably noticed some bright lights in the western sky just after sunset.  Aside from the Moon (and you know what that looks like, don’t you?), you might be wondering what they are.  Well, if they’re not moving rapidly (like changing position over the space of a few minutes, as aircraft would do), then what you’re seeing are the planets Venus and Jupiter.  Here’s tonight’s view of the pair, well after sunset. You won’t see Mercury (too close to the Sun), but you can’t fail to notice how dazzling the two planets appear these early springish nights.

If you have binoculars or a small telescope, check out Jupiter. You might be able to see its four largest moons. They’ll look like little pinpoints of light on either side of Jupiter.

Mars is just below Leo, and Saturn and Spica rise together later in the evening. Click to ensaturnate.

 

The next couple of nights, these two planets snuggle up really close together in the western sky.   Once you’ve found them, and turn toward the east and look for Mars snuggled up underneath the constellation, Leo the Lion.  An hour or two later, you should be able to find Saturn just rising in the East. It’s a planet spectacular!

Of course, there are a lot of other things to look at in the sky this month, so don’t run back inside after you’ve seen the planet.  Dress warmly (if it’s cold where you are), and explore that sky!  There’s a lot to be found.

By the way, check out “Our Night Sky” at Astrocast.TV for a short program I did on what’s up this month.  It’s free to embed on observatory and planetarium Web sites (with proper credit, of course), so check it out!