In the Sky Tonight
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Moon, Mars, Queen, Messier objects
Friday, Febraury 3, 2006
Looking West-Southwest in Mid Evening
Tonight look for the waxing crescent moon to be in the west in mid-evening. It is accompanied by several distant celestial objects. Above the moon can be found the red planet Mars, still shining bright despite waning in brilliancy since its close encounter with us last year in October. Above Mars is the conspicuously dipper-shaped pattern of stars known as the Pleiades star cluster also known as M45. You may catch a pattern of stars to the right of the moon that appears to form a “W” or “M” -- this is the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen -- and she rules the northwestern sky at this time. Binocular viewing of the area of the sky approximately between the moon and Casssiopeia reveals a hazy object in the sky. This object is known as M32, and it is a small companion galaxy to M31, or the Andromeda Galaxy. -
Moon, Mars, M45 sandwich
Sunday, February 5, 2006
Looking West-Southwest in Mid-Evening
If you look outside in mid-evening, you'll find the now first quarter moon in the west-southwestern sky. Tonight it appears to be sandwiched by two easily recognizable objects in the night sky. Below it, it's flanked by the red planet Mars. Above it is the Pleiades star cluster, or Seven Sisters --an actual cluster in space whose member stars are bound by gravity. The Pleiades appears to the eye as a tiny dipper, wrapped in a veil of mist. Despite the name Seven Sisters, many people see this cluster with the eye alone as six stars. Thus there are legends explaining the whereabouts of the "lost Pleiad." But people have different abilities to see faint stars. It's said that as many as 18 stars may be seen with the eye alone if your sky is exceptionally dark and clear. The cluster lies some 400 light-years away. Most stars in the Pleiades occupy a volume of space about eight light-years across. The misty look to the Pleiades is actually gas floating in space between these stars. Throughout history, and in the lore of many nations, the Pleiades have had their own special mystery. This beautiful sky object has been compared to a swarm of fireflies or bees, to seven maidens, to a flock of doves, and to a hen surrounded by her chicks. -
Galaxy anti-center
Monday, February 6, 2006
Looking Southwest In Mid-Evening
Here’s an important chart for gaining astronomical perspective. To orient this chart, look for the waxing gibbous moon in the southwest in mid-evening. You’ll see that it is still near the Pleiades and the planet Mars, for more on them, see yesterday’s chart. Another bright red object near the moon is Aldebaran of the constellation Taurus the Bull. Now look for El Nath, another, fainter star in Taurus, located at an estimated distance of 131 light-years. El Nath lies nearly in the direction of the “anti-center” of our Milky Way galaxy. The anti-center is the point on the sky’s dome opposite the center of the galaxy, and El Nath is three degrees west of this point. You might find this confusing because there are two systems of perspective at work here. One is the perspective that our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a real three-dimensional realm always surrounding us in space. Our sun and solar system are thought to be located about two-thirds of the way from the center of the galaxy, and, in winter, our night sky faces opposite the center. The other perspective at work here is that there is a sphere of stars surrounding Earth, on which distances like “three degrees west of this point” can be measured. This celestial sphere is imaginary, of course, but convenient. Thus El Nath lies three degrees west of the anti-center of the galaxy . . . that is, three degrees west of the direction on our sky’s dome opposite the direction to the center of the galaxy. Tomorrow evening this time, the moon will have moved ever-eastward in our skies and will be located directly in this direction. -
Moon near Chariot constellation
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Looking South-Southwest In Mid-Evening
Here’s a close-up look at the constellation Auriga the Charioteer in mid-evening tonight. The moon has moved eastward from the point in yesterday’s chart, as it always does. Its brightest star is called Capella. If you’re unsure whether you’ve identified Capella, you can always look nearby for a small acute triangle of stars . . . marked on our chart as Almaaz and Haedus I and II. Capella is sometimes called the Goat Star, and this little triangle is called “the Kids.” Capella is located at one corner of a large five-sided figure. Capella marks the left shoulder of the Charioteer. Menkalinan, the second-brightest star in Auriga, marks the right shoulder. Also, notice the star Elnath, now covered by the waxing gibbous moon at the southern tip of Auriga. This star used to belong both to Auriga, where it was known as the heel of the Charioteer . . .and to the constellation Taurus, where it represented the tip of the Bull’s northern horn. In the last century, though, the International Astronomical Union decreed that this star shall belong only to Taurus! Elnath is also thought to be an outlying member of the Pleiades star cluster, which was marked on yesterday’s chart. -
Arc to Arcturus
Thursday, February 9, 2006
Looking East-Northeast One Hour Before Dawn
TodayÂ’s chart has you facing east-northeast in the hour before dawn. The star Vega is about midway up in this area, and the Big Dipper and star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes are overhead. There's an old saying among stargazers: "follow the arc to Arcturus." It means that if you follow the curve of the Big Dipper's handle outward, you'll come to the orange star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes the Herdsman. Unlike nearly all the stars we see in the night sky with the eye alone, Arcturus doesnÂ’t travel in the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Like all out galaxyÂ’s stars (including our sun), Arcturus orbits the center of the galaxy -- but it does so in a way that causes it to cut almost perpendicularly through the galactic plane. So, although most of the stars we see at night are our longtime traveling companions on our sunÂ’s journey around the galactic center, Arcturus is a temporary visitor to EarthÂ’s night sky. It has been visible to us earthlings for only half a million years, and itÂ’ll pass closest to us several thousand years from now. In half a million years more, ArcturusÂ’ distance will have become so great that itÂ’ll have faded from from earthly view. -
Twins, moon in southeast
Thursday, February 9, 2006
Looking East-Southeast in Mid-Evening
Today's chart is aimed east-southeast in mid-evening. That's where you'll find two bright stars just left of the waxing gibbous moon. Even when the moon has moved on, these stars are noticeable for being bright, yet close together on the sky's dome. They are Castor and Pollux -- brightest lights in the constellation Gemini the Twins. The stars themselves are often referred to as "twins," but they're not really connected in any way. Castor's estimated distance is 52 light-years, while Pollux is estimated to be 34 light-years away -- making these two stars about 18 light-years apart . . . more than four times farther apart than our sun and its nearest neighbor, Alpha Centauri. -
Moon near Leo next few day
Sunday, February 12,2006
Looking East in Mid-Evening
If you look just south of the nearly full moon tonight, you will find the bright star Regulus, alpha star of the constellation Leo the Lion, to its lower right. The other object you may notice is another bright Leo star -- Algeiba -- located to the moonÂ’s lower left. You can picture the lion shape of Leo -- the sickle-shaped asterism that looks like itÂ’s about to hook the moon on the chart is the lionÂ’s head, and the triangle on the left end of the constellation is the lionÂ’s hind legs. There are many myths behind the constellation Leo. One account says that Zeus placed it among the stars simply to honor the animal as the king of all beasts. Another account says that it represents the first labor of Heracles, who sought fame and glory through acts of courage. In this labor, he killed a lion by strangling it with his bear hands. -
Stars of the Lion
Monday, February 13, 2006
Looking East in Mid-Evening
If you look back at yesterday's chart, you can see that the moon has moved even closer to the constellation Leo the Lion on the sky's dome. Yesterday, we pointed out the Lion's brightest stars -- Regulus, which marks the heart of the Lion, and Algeiba, which represents its head. The hindquarters of the Lion is seen as the triangle of stars marked by Denebola, Zosma and Chort (also called Chertan). The star Denebola marks the Lion's Tail. In fact, whenever you see the word "deneb" in a star name, you can be sure it means "tail." For example, there's a star named Deneb representing the Swan's Tail in Cygnus. And there's a Deneb Algedi representing the Tail of the Sea Goat in Capricornus. -
Identify Sirius, Venus for your love today
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Looking South-Southeast One Hour After Sunset
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Looking Southeast Just Before Dawn
Here's a great, inexpensive gift to give your sweetie on this Valentine's Day. Help him or her identify Sirius, the sky's brightest star, and Venus, the planet of love! Both of these charts are set for the southeastern horizon a different times of the day. The chart on the left shows the star Sirius in the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog at about an hour after sunset. No other star outshines Sirius. The chart on the right shows an object that's even brighter than Sirius . . . the planet Venus, now in the southeast every morning at dawn. Venus will attain its greatest brilliancy for its morning appearance on the morning of February 17th. -
Zodiacal light visible next two weeks
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Looking West-Southwest in Early Evening
Starting tonight, about an hour after sunset, the ever elusive zodiacal light will be observable from the western horizon for the next two weeks. The zodiacal light is a faint glow seen along the line of the ecliptic path (marked in todayÂ’s chart as the pink line) caused by sunlight scattering off of interplanetary dust from our solar system . The ecliptic path is the approximate path that the sun, moon, and planets take across our sky. The light is pretty faint, and so a dark sky is a must when trying to view this phenomenon. Observers will notice the light as a triangular-shaped glow emanating from the western horizon. Tonight may just be the night to take that relaxing drive into the country! -
“Morning star” at greatest brilliancy
Friday, February 17, 2006
Looking East-Southeast at Sunrise
The planet Venus, sometimes referred to as the “morning star” though it is actually a planet, is always a sight to behold. It easily outshines any other star or planet in the night sky in even its dimmest apparition. And right now, Venus beams at its brightest in the predawn sky in the east just before sunrise. It’s bright enough now that sharp-sighted people can see her in the daytime. -
Spica, moon get close
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Looking South-Southwest One-Two Hours Before Dawn
The bright star very close to the right of the waning gibbous moon tomorrow morning is Spica in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. In fact, Spica will be so near the moon, that in a few locations (extreme east North America, Central Africa) the moon will appear to occult, or pass in front of Spica. Virgo is associated with Demeter, Greek goddess of the harvest. DemeterÂ’s daughter was Persephone, who was captured by Pluto, god of the underworld. According to the myths, Pluto allowed Persephone to return to her mother for six months of every year. During the time that Persephone and Demeter are reunited, the world is warm and fruitful. But when Persephone returns to the underworld, Demeter withdraws from the world as well . . . and winter falls on the land. Look here for more about the myth of Demeter and Persephone. By the way, if you are wondering about that very bright star in the east just before dawn -- it's the planet Venus. -
Stars in sunlit sky
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Looking South-Southeast in Late Morning (Visualization Only!)
People often ask if stars are up there, beyond our blue sky, during the day. The answer is surely yes, because Earth is a planet in space, surrounded on all sides by stars. Here’s a view looking south-southeast at 11 a.m. this morning. At that time, the sun is nearly at its highest point in its arc across today’s sky. Notice the many stars, whose constellations are marked, drowned from view by the sun’s light. Please don't try to find this in the sky, as you won't see it at this time! It is very dangerous to look directly at the sun without proper protection. By the way, the constellation behind the sun around now is Aquarius the Water Bearer. But will astrologers say that babies born today are of this “sign?” No judgments intended, but the sky doesn’t always correspond with the charts of astrologers. In the real sky, the sun moves each year within the boundaries of the constellation Aquarius between February 16 and March 12. And the other constellations up during the day today are the same ones, in the same relationship to each other, that you will see at approximatelyv11 P.M. six months from now . . . when Earth has moved halfway around in its orbit of the sun . . . and our night sky, not our daytime sky, is pointing out on this region of the galaxy. By the way, if you have been dazzled by a very bright star in the east at dawn -- it’s the planet Venus. -
Jupiter near moon tomorrow
Monday, February 20, 2006
Looking South-Southwest One-Two Hours Before Dawn
The planet Jupiter is the large and bright object to the right of the waning gibbous moon in the south about an hour or two before dawn. It is considered to be the fourth brightest object in the sky after the sun, the moon and Venus. Venus is the unmistakably bright planet in the east at sunrise. But this leaves lovely, bright Jupiter and the moon to reign over the southern sky. -
Moon rests on Crown of Scorpion
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Looking South-Southeast One-Two Hours Before Dawn
Tomorrow morning, the third quarter moon shines in the upper part of the constellation Scorpius in the south-southeastern sky before dawn. The moon rests under the stars sometimes called the “Crown of the Scorpion.” Individually, the stars are Graffias, Dschubba, and Pi Scorpii. It's rare when star patterns on our sky's dome have anything to do with real associations of stars in space, but these stars are thought to be loosely bound by gravity. All three are located at approximately the same distance, about 500 light-years away. All are thought to be members of the Scorpio-Centaurus group, which was first recognized by astronomers in the early part of this century. About 100 stars are known in the Scorpio-Centaurus group, including Antares, the brightest star in Scorpius. -
Moon near Antares tomorrow
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Looking South-Southeast One-Two Hours Before Dawn
Tonight the moon appears to the lower left of the star Antares of the constellation Scorpius the Scorpion. If you look back at yesterday's chart, you'll see that the moon has moved away from the arc of three medium-bright stars. These stars are sometimes called The Crown of the Scorpion. They are Graffias, Dschubba, and Pi Scorpii. These stars are thought to be loosely bound by gravity into a group known as the Scorpio-Centaurus group. These stars share a common motion through space. They were probably all born from a single vast cloud of gas and dust. In other words, these stars are much like a family -- loosely bound -- sharing a common history. See yesterday's chart for more information. As for the star that the moon is near this evening -- Antares -- which represents the fiery heart of the Scorpion. By the way, the brightest star that you see in the east near and at dawn these days is the planet Venus. -
Moon near Venus next two mornings
Friday, February 24, 2006
Looking Southeast Before Dawn
The moon has now waned to a slim crescent that rises in the east shortly before the sun. New moon will come on February 28th. The bright object near the moon tomorrow morning is Venus, and the pair will also be visible on Saturday morning. They are the night sky's two brightest objects. Venus is one planet that's bright enough to see even after sunrise, against the background of a blue daytime sky. The trick is to know where to look in the sky. You can use the moon as a guide for the next two mornings, just check their positions via our charts. -
Tracking Venus, moon, Comet C2006A1
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Looking East-Southeast Before Dawn
Today’s chart is just like yesterday’s chart, except that it’s one day later and the slimming crescent moon has moved in its orbit around Earth. Venus is still shining strong in the east before and at dawn. Comet C2006A1 (also called Comet Pojmanski) -- discovered shortly after this New Year -- is to be visible at a magnitude of about 7.3 in the vicinity of bright Venus tomorrow morning. This brightness measurement translates to “possibly visible to the naked eye.” But this is definitely a veteran skywatcher type of event. The comet will be visible in the constellation of Capricornus the Water-Goat, which is a faint constellation to begin with, and then you’ll have to struggle against the glare of morning twilight, not to mention that it happens under the horizon for a lot of us in the Northern Hemisphere. And so in this chart we have provided a way for you to identify Capricorn. -
Locate stars of the Hunter
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Looking South-Southwest In Early Evening
Here's the constellation Orion the Hunter, one of the most recognizable constellations in the winter sky. To see this constellation, look southward around 8-9 p.m. now for three medium-bright stars in a short, straight row. This is the famous "Belt" of Orion. These stars' names are Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak. On either side of the Belt, you'll find Orion's two brightest stars, reddish Betelgeuse and bluish Rigel. For more on Betelgeuse, check out our chart for February 27th. Bellatrix and Saiph are also fairly bright and definitely easy to see. -
Where stars are born
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Looking South-Southwest In Early Evening
You can see a vast cloud made of gas and dust, floating in the space of our own galaxy. This object is seen by the eye as a fuzzy spot(s) below Orion's Belt, visible in the south in the evening at this time of year. This is the Great Nebula in Orion the Hunter, also called simply the Orion Nebula. Since it can be seen with the eye alone, the Orion Nebula has been known since antiquity. But we, with our modern telescopes and cameras, have the ability to look closer. Our ancestors didn't know, for example, that this fuzzy object is actually a birthplace of new stars. The lighted region is illuminated by hot young stars, newly born, visible only with telescopes. A generally accepted value for the distance to the Orion Nebula is between 1600 and 1900 light-years. At that distance from Earth, the Orion Nebula itself -- the lighted portion we can see -- spans about 30 light-years, or more than 20,000 times the diameter of our solar system. Beyond the lighted part of the nebula, there is a vast complex of clouds in space, mapped by astronomers since the 1970s using infrared and radio telescopes. -
Betelgeuse vs. our sun
Monday, February 27, 2006
Looking Southward in Early Evening
The star Betelgeuse is one of the biggest stars known. But it looks like any ordinary bright star in our night sky. ItÂ’s easily identified as a bright reddish light in the constellation Orion the Hunter. You see different estimates for the distance of Betelgeuse from Earth. The indispensable Observers Handbook lists its distance as 522 light-years . . . while astronomer James Kaler says that Betelgeuse is most likely 425 light-years away. The distance is important because it figures into estimates of the size of this star. Kaler says that, with a distance of 425 light-years, the measured angular diameter of Betelgeuse suggests a radius 630 times that of our sun. If thatÂ’s so, then if Betelgeuse replaced the sun in our solar system, its outer layers would extend 55% of the way to the orbit of the 5th planet, Jupiter! -
Find the Hunter's female warrior star
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Looking South In Early Evening
For the past few days, we've been looking at the stars in the constellation Orion. And what a rich constellation it is! We could spend a whole month on it. One star in Orion whose name is particularly unique is Bellatrix. According to the classic book by Richard Hinckley Allen called Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning, the name Bellatrix means Female Warrior or Amazon Star. Also look for the star Saiph in Orion. If you know Bellatrix and Saiph and Rigel and Betelgeuse, you know quite a lot of stars . . . and all in one constellation. -
Uranus reaches conjunction today
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Visualization Only -- Looking West-Southwest Shortly Before Sunset
Today the planet Uranus cannot be seen in the night sky. Of course, Uranus is never visible in the same sense that Jupiter and Saturn are, anyway. ItÂ’s never easy to see with the eye alone. It reaches what is called its "conjunction." That is when a planet, in this case a superior planet (a planet that orbits the sun outside of Earth's orbit -- such as Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto), is located on the opposite side of the sun as viewed from Earth. (On today's chart, we marked Uranus in black just to show its position behind the sun.) It is therefore impossible to see such a conjunction because the sun blocks our view of the planet. Even an inferior conjunction, or one where an inferior planet (Mercury or Venus) passes in front of the sun -- is rarely possible to see (the June 2004 transit of Venus being a notable exception.) Consequently, when Earth reaches inferior conjunction with respect to the view on a superior planet, that superior planet is said to be "in opposition" with respect to our planet. Most recent examples include Saturn's opposition on January 27th and Mars' opposition on November 7th of last year. -
Why Sirius appears to move about Orion
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Looking South In Early Evening
“A couple nights ago, Sirius was on the upper left of Orion...last night, it was around the belt, and tonight it is below the foot. Please explain its' cycle.” Sirius, in fact, never moves in relationship to the stars of Orion. The stars are so far away that we can't detect their movement in space over the scale of a human life, or even many lifetimes. So, to us on Earth, the stars appear "fixed" relative to each other. What does change is our orientation under the stars, as Earth spins. So we can definitely imagine that you saw Sirius "move" in relationship to Orion, in the sense that the whole sky moves as Earth spins beneath it. Earth's spin causes the stars and constellations to appear oriented differently with respect to the horizon from hour to hour within a single night, or as the seasons pass. But Sirius would never move with respect to Orion's hand or foot because the stars are "fixed." One thing to notice about Orion is that there are two bright stars on either side of the Belt -- reddish Betelgeuse and bluish Rigel. Try looking carefully at these stars, as they'll enable you to notice Orion's orientation with respect to the horizon. -
Highlight of southwest in evening
Friday, March 3, 2006
Looking West-Southwest in Early Evening
Today’s chart a wide view of the southwest in the early hours of nightfall. In this area of the sky, people have been catching sight of a brilliant point of light -- none other than the dogstar Sirius of the constellation Canis Major. For more about Sirius, see yesterday’s chart. To the upper right of Sirius is one of the most easily recognizable and beautiful of constellations -- the constellation Orion -- easily spottable by its famous “Belt” of three bright stars. Towards the upper left of Orion is the bright star Procyon of the constellation Canis Minor. To the upper right of Orion are two bright red lights -- the star Aldebaran and the planet Mars (which has noticeably waned in brilliance since last November.) Near these two red lights is the Pleaides star cluster, known for its striking dipper-like appearance.