Author Archives
Jeffrey L. Hunt is an educational technologist living in suburban Chicago. When he's not learning about and implementing technology in classes, he's running or looking at the stars.
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2021, June 26 – June 30: Bright Moon, Morning Planets
morning sky before sunrise. Observe that the moon is in a different spot each morning, farther east toward the impending sunrise.
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2021, June 15: Moon, Sickle of Leo
June 15, 2021: The moon is with the Sickle of Leo this evening. Step outside about an hour after sunset to find the crescent moon that is about 30% illuminated over one-third of the way up in the west.
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2021, July 12: Venus – Mars Conjunction
July 12, 2021: Venus – Mars conjunction evening. Evening Star Venus passes 0.5° to the upper right of the Red Planet. The crescent moon is nearby. This is the first of three conjunctions of Venus and Mars – a triple conjunction.
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2021, July 1, Saturn – Mars Opposition
July 1, 2021: Saturn and Mars are in opposite directions in the sky. Mars sets as Saturn rises. In about a week, the two planets are visible in the sky at the same time. This event signals that the planet parade is starting to reorganize. During July, three other planet – planet oppositions occur, leading up to a challenging view of the five bright planets during mid-August.
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2021, June 13: Moon Passes Mars
June 13, 2021: After sunset, look for the thin crescent moon near Mars. The lunar sliver is also to the upper left of the star Pollux.
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2021, June 11: Venus – Moon Conjunction
June 11, 2021: During the early evening brilliant Evening Star Venus and the crescent moon appear together in the west-northwest after sunset. The pairing is the second closest during this appearance of Venus in the evening sky.
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2021, June 23-30: Evening Star Venus, Mars
June 23 – 30, 2021: Venus is quickly catching Mars in the western sky after sun. Venus passes the Red Planet next month.
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2021, August 12: Morning Perseid Meteor Peak
The Perseid meteor shower peaks on the morning of August 12. This year promises favorable observing without the moon. The meteors are the dust from comet that vaporize when they strike the atmosphere. Sirius may be visible in the southeast about 45 minutes before sunrise.
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2021, June 16, Sidewalk Solar System
June 16, 2021: A summer project is to build a sidewalk solar system model. The scale uses the sun’s size as the size of a basketball. Earth’s distance is 88 feet.
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2021: June 20 – 23: Scorpion, Moon
June 20 – June 23, 2021: The bright moon appears near the classic Scorpion. On the first two evenings, the lunar orb appears near the pincers and on the next two, it’s near the scorpion’s heart.
