See the Moon and Saturn this Sunday

On Sunday evening, there will be telescopes set up at Greenfield in Botetourt for the public to view the crescent Moon and the ringed-planet Saturn. The event will begin at 8:45 and end around 9:45. Go to the end of International Parkway to the turn-around.

Everyone is welcome!

Such is our view from Earth ...

Moon and Jupiter and Venus and Mars

Over the next five mornings, the crescent Moon slides by bright Jupiter, brilliant Venus, and dim Mars. This is a great time to positively ID these distant worlds. Tomorrow morning at 6, look to the south-southeast for the thinning crescent Moon glowing next to Jupiter. The following two mornings, our Moon moves to the east catching Venus on April 22. Look at Venus and the Moon through binoculars. A steady hand reveals Venus' tiny, thin crescent which points towards the not-yet-risen sun. The binoculars show many craters on our Moon.

The following morning, the Moon glides to Venus' east becoming even thinner. It may be difficult to see.

What about Mars? The fourth planet from the Sun, lies to the lower right of Venus. It certainly doesn't stand out in the brightening dawn sky. Over the next nine months it slowly becomes more prominent and by Christmas, it will be nearly as bright as Jupiter.

Such is our view from Earth ...

The Moon below, then above the Pleiades

The crescent moon is always a pretty sight. Tonight and tomorrow night, it joins the Pleiades star cluster in the western sky directly after sunset. Can you see the Earthshine (sunlight reflected off the Earth and cast on to the moon)? How many stars can you see belonging to the Pleiades?

Such is our view from Earth ...

A pairing at dawn

Our moon glides next to Jupiter in the sky 60 minutes before sunrise tomorrow. Look to the southeast for this and you'll see the crescent moon seemingly full with Earthshine just to the giant planet's right. Jupiter is 40 times bigger than our moon, but 2000 times farther away.

Such is our view from Earth ...

Final call for Venus

Over the next several nights, Venus sinks quickly in the western sky directly after sunset. This is your best chance to view through binoculars our nearest planetary neighbor. With a steady hand, you should have no trouble seeing its very thin crescent phase. By next Thursday, the planet will be very difficult to spot because it will be very close to the western horizon as the sun sets.

Such is our view from Earth ...

Count the stars

If you would like to help the understanding of light pollution, Last night began a study of the night sky in which people can participate. The Globe at Night program aims to measure sky glow around the globe by comparing the number of stars seen from many, many locations on our planet. You can observe the number of stars you see in the constellation Orion and submit your results to the GaN folks who will compile all the recordings from across the globe. See Globe at Night for all the details on how you can participate in the fun, but important planet-wide project.

http://www.globe.gov/GaN/

Such is our view from Earth ...

The closest planet

You can't miss Venus shining in the west right after sunset until it sets about 8:30 p.m. If you aim binoculars at this brilliant world, you will see a tiny crescent caught in the glare of the planet. Wear sunglasses for a better view. Over the next few weeks, Venus moves between the Earth and the sun, which it finally does so on March 27. Up until then, the apparent size from tip to tip of the crescent will grow while the thickness of the crescent becomes thinner.

Such is our view from Earth ...