Tag: Planets

Urban Astronomy – Jupiter and Venus – just after sunset

Mars, the Moon and Constellation Orion, too.

Revised for March 4,5 – 2023

The night sky is pretty much a mystery to most City Dwellers.  The glare of city light drowns out all but the brightest stars – and planets don’t do much better.  If you are interested, I can tell you where to look to see these far-off worlds.  If you were not interested, you would have stopped reading after the first sentence. 

If the sky is clear, you will find Jupiter Venus the Western sky just after sunset (1). If you manage that, have a look near overhead at Mars (2), the Moon (3) over to the East and for Extra Points, the (4) Constellation Orion. Please see revised chart for March 4, ’23, at 6:30 PM,below

Comet C/2022 E3 – Conjunction with Mars

February 9 – 12 2023

The night sky is pretty much a mystery to most City Dwellers.  The glare of city light drowns out all but the brightest stars – and planets don’t do much better.  If you are interested, I can tell you where to look to see these far-off worlds.  If you were not interested, you would have stopped reading after the first sentence. 

Read this first: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/measuring-the-sky-by-hand.html

There is an “eyes only” comet currently in the Northern Hemisphere skies that will soon be near Mars.

As many of us urban dwellers can attest, “eyes only” means other people can see it.

However, if “Seeing” is good and a good reference body is to be had, binocular-equipped viewers in the worst of urban glare may well be able to pick out the comet in about two weeks and change.

  1.  Below is a sky chart from the point of view of Houston observers for February 10, 2023.  Since Mars moves slowly through the sky, this will suffice to show the relative positions of the constellations and Mars for the four-day period I am analyzing here.  The chart is calculated at 2200  (8 PM CDT) and everything will be moving to the West (right) until things start setting in the West, around 1 or 2 AM. All images credit: Heavens-Above.com
  • Once you have located Mars, get out those binoculars – or use those keen eyes if you are in dark skies.  Use the dated charts below to find where to look for the Comet.

Contact me with any questions: steve.campbell@reagan.com

Hasta Luego,

Steve</b>

Urban Astronomy – Mars/Jupiter Conjunction 05/29/22

Posted May 18, 2022

The night sky is pretty much a mystery to most City Dwellers.  The glare of city light drowns out all but the brightest stars – and planets don’t do much better.  If you are interested, I can tell you where to look to see these far-off worlds.  If you were not interested, you would have stopped reading after the first sentence. 

So, at this point, I know my audience. 

See Mars and Jupiter in Close Conjunction, Sunday, May 29 – around 5:30 AM Central Daylight Time

Sky Chart from Heavens-Above.com   May 29 at 5:30 AM CDT (UTM -5)

You can print out the chart and hold it with East at the bottom while facing East – to match up the planets with the chart.  Cloudy weather is probable, so  check in the days before and after, just in case.

Hasta Luego,

Steve

Urban Astronomy – Venus/Jupiter Conjunction 04/30/22

Posted April 27, 2022

The night sky is pretty much a mystery to most City Dwellers.  The glare of city light drowns out all but the brightest stars – and planets don’t do much better.  If you are interested, I can tell you where to look to see these far-off worlds.  If you were not interested, you would have stopped reading after the first sentence. 

So, at this point, I know my audience. 

See Venus and Jupiter in Close Conjunction, Saturday, April 30 – around 6 AM

Figure 1: As Close as It Gets