The Sky: Week of March 28, 2010

Evening Sky:


1. Venus is low in the west at 8:30 p.m. setting just after 9:00. It is easily the brightest object in that part of the sky.
2. Mercury shines much dimmer to the lower right of Venus. During the week, it climbs higher each evening to nearly catch Venus on April 4th.

Because Venus and Mercury are so low above the horizon, they tend to twinkle, especially if the earth's atmosphere is turbulent. Venus normally doesn't twinkle at all, but it might this week.

3. Mars is almost overhead at sunset. Look for it nearly centered among the bright stars Procyon, Pollux, and Regulus. It currently lies 1-binocular field of view to the northwest of the Beehive star cluster.

4. Saturn shines in the east-southeast at 9:00 pm. Just after midnight, it lies high in the south.

5. The near full moon lies directly next to the bright star Spica in Virgo. It will be difficult to spot due to the moon's glaring light.

6. Look to the southwest after 9:00 p.m. for the winter constellations and bright stars, especially Orion and the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius.


Morning Sky:

1. Jupiter is difficult to spot this week because it rises shortly before the sunset. By next Sunday, though, it should have climbed high enough in the east to be spotted by 6:30 a.m.

2. The pretty summer constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius stand in the south at 5:30 a.m. If you have binoculars, scan that region of the sky.


Such is our view from Earth ....

A winter solstice treat: the Moon and Jupiter

Monday evening, December 21, the Moon will be positioned next to bright Jupiter in the southwest sky just after sunset. Try viewing this combination through binoculars. What can you see? The binoculars should reveal larger craters on the lunar surface along with mountains. Jupiter will show three starlike moons right next to it (one on its left and two on the right) before 7:20 and four after 7:20. Its moon Io, which is slightly smaller than our Earth's moon, moves out of eclipse at 7:20. It take a few minutes to come into view on the left side of Jupiter.

Such is our view from Earth ...

Bright Jupiter and dim Neptune

This week, easy-to-find Jupiter slides past distant Neptune. You'll need binoculars to see this event, though. Look towards the south-southwest at 7:00 p.m. for bright Jupiter. It is easily the brightest object in that area of the sky.

Neptune is dim, fainter than the three stars that lie almost in a row near Jupiter's position on the 16th. On December 21, Jupiter is at its closest approach to Neptune. The moon may interfere with observations on the 20th and succeeding nights, so try spotting the planetary pair before this Saturday.

Such is our view from Earth ...

Elusive Mercury

Without a doubt, the most difficult to spot of the "bright" planets is little Mercury. It is always close to the sun, most times lost in the solar glare either directly after sunset or right before sunrise. For most of December, curious skywatchers who have a low southwestern horizon can find Mercury close to the horizon at about 5:40 p.m. The best dates to try are those around December 18. On the 18th, the thin crescent Moon floats just above the elusive world. Bring out the binoculars for a better view.

A couple days after Christmas, Mercury drops rapidly towards the sun. By January 4th, it passes between the Earth and the Sun.

Such is our view from Earth ...

The ISS and Shuttle Atlantis passes. Look again tonight!

Last night, the Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Shuttle passed over Southwest Virginia. They were separated by 7 seconds in this 15 second time exposure. Their actual separation was about 30 miles and they were over 220 miles away. The image shows the pair as they are either entering or are about to enter the Earth's shadow. Pesky air traffic give the other streaks.

Atlantis is scheduled to pass this evening. Look low in the west-northwest at 6:42 p.m. It sweeps to the southwest and by 6:46 it disappears in the Earth's shadow low in the south. It passes just below bright Jupiter at about 6:45.

Such is our view from Earth ...

ISS/Shuttle Atlantis update

At the moment, it looks like the shuttle will land before Friday's pass of the International Space Station. This evening, though, should give an interesting configuration. Very possibly, the ISS and the Shuttle will each be visible with one of them following the other by a few seconds. So far, their predicted passing time has not changed.

Such is our view from Earth ...

The International Space Station — Space Shuttle Atlantis

This week sees several passes of the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The two best opportunities for people in southwest Virginia to view this orbiting duo are on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

Wednesday's pass begins at 6:18 p.m. Look low in the northwest for a slow moving starlike object. As it moves high in the northeast (not quite overhead), it brightens significantly becoming much brighter than the planet Jupiter. (Jupiter is the bright object far in the south.) It passes then through the "W" shaped constellation, Cassiopeia. By 6:21, it moves high in the east where it enters the Earth's shadow and subsequently disappears.

Friday's pass follows a similar path as Wednesday's. Beginning at 5:33 p.m., look low in the northwest, again for a slowly moving starlike object. Follow it high in the northeast as it brightens, again becoming brighter than Jupiter. It disappears from view as it sinks low in the east-southeast at 5:33 p.m.

Such is our view from Earth ...