Tag: astronomy

Venus, Jupiter and the moon, May 21, 2015

Brilliant Venus is joined by the crescent moon this evening in the western sky.  Bright Jupiter appears to the upper left of Venus.  Tonight the pair is separated by about 30 degrees.  The planets appear very close together at the end of June.  Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins, appear above the Venus-moon pairing.  Procyon appears to … Continue reading Venus, Jupiter and the moon, May 21, 2015

Venus and Jupiter Tonight, May 13, 2015

The two bright "stars" in the western sky this evening are Venus and Jupiter.  Venus is the brightest starlike object in the sky, although it shines by reflected sunlight.  It is over six times brighter than Jupiter, which appears higher in the sky and farther south.  The separation between the pair is about 38 degrees … Continue reading Venus and Jupiter Tonight, May 13, 2015

Venus and the Moon Tonight, April 21, 2015

Brilliant Venus is joined by the crescent moon this evening in the western sky.  In the image above, the moon is overexposed in this 10-second exposure.  Tonight the moon is 4 degrees to the upper left of the star Aldebaran and nearly 8 degrees from Venus. In this close-up view of the same scene in … Continue reading Venus and the Moon Tonight, April 21, 2015

Venus & Jupiter, April 2015

Venus and Jupiter gleam from the evening sky during April 2015.  Venus is the bright celestial gem that sparkles in the western sky after sunset.  It sets over three hours after the sun, making it easily observed.  The difference between sunset and the planet setting grows to nearly 3 hours, 40 minutes after sunset by months end, allowing … Continue reading Venus & Jupiter, April 2015

Venus and Moon, March 21 & 22, 2015

Brilliant Venus and the moon appeared near each other during the past two evenings.  On March 21, the crescent moon appeared about 12 degrees below the planet.  Notice that the night portion of the moon is illuminated.  Sunlight reflected from our planet gently illuminated the lunar night.  From the moon, Earth appeared nearly full.  In the … Continue reading Venus and Moon, March 21 & 22, 2015

Venus and Jupiter, March 17, 2015

Brilliant Venus shines in the western sky this evening.  It shines all other visible celestial objects this evening.  During late March is sets nearly three hours after sunset, appearing as a sparkling celestial gem in the western sky.   On Sunday, March 22, the moon appears about 3.5 degrees to the left  of Venus.  Look … Continue reading Venus and Jupiter, March 17, 2015

Venus and Mars, March 2015

Brilliant Venus and Mars shine from the western evening skies during March, just after their spectacular conjunction last month. Venus is the brightest celestial object after the sun and moon.  During March, Venus climbs higher in the sky.  By month's end it sets over three hours after the sun.  It also appears farther north each … Continue reading Venus and Mars, March 2015

Sun & Moon, March 2015

Daylight increases 1 hour, 25 minutes during the month, that's almost 3 minutes each day.  The vernal equinox occurs at 5:45 p.m. CDT when the sun's rays are most redirect at the equator.  After this date and until late September, the sunlight is most directed toward the northern hemisphere.  At the equinox, the length of … Continue reading Sun & Moon, March 2015

Jupiter & Moon, March 1-3, 2015

What's that bright star near the moon tonight?  It's Jupiter!  Jupiter is brightest "star" in the eastern sky during March, following Venus' brilliance in the western evening sky. Separations are difficult to detect to the unaided eye.  In astronomy, we describe the distance between celestial objects in angular degrees, as measured by a protractor with … Continue reading Jupiter & Moon, March 1-3, 2015