Brilliant Venus and elusive Mercury appear near each other in the southwestern sky this evening. The pair is separated by about 1 degree; that's about twice the apparent size of the moon in the sky. Look for the moon and Venus together and with Mercury nearby on January 21. Mercury is difficult to find … Continue reading Venus and Mercury, January 13, 2015
Tag: astronomy
Venus and Mercury, January 7, 2015
Venus and Mercury shine from the southwestern sky this evening as seen from the Chicago area. Clear skies accompany a brutally cold day in the area. During the next several evenings look for the planet pairing. Elusive Mercury is always seen during twilight from Earth. While Mercury stands higher in the western sky during … Continue reading Venus and Mercury, January 7, 2015
January 2015 Sky Watching
Sun Days continue to lengthen after the December solstice. The shaded area of the chart above (click it to see it larger) shows the amount of daylight in January compare to the entire year, the red curve. Daylight increases by nearly 50 minutes during January; by month's end the sun is in the sky for … Continue reading January 2015 Sky Watching
Venus This Evening, December 30, 2014
Venus shines low in the southwestern sky this evening during bright twilight as seen from the Chicago area. (Click the image to see it larger.) Tress, houses or other obstructions may block its view. The planet is currently setting about an hour after sunset. During January it sets 1-2 minutes later each evening. For more … Continue reading Venus This Evening, December 30, 2014
Venus, December 25, 2014
After many cloudy days and nights, the sky broke this evening during twilight. In the image above, Venus -- now making an appearance as an Evening Star -- appears low in the southwestern sky. (Click the image to see it larger.) Tonight it sets about 65 minutes after sunset. Each evening it sets about one … Continue reading Venus, December 25, 2014
Sky Watching December 2014
Sun December, the month of the shortest daylight hours, is upon us. The day with the longest daylight is December 1 with 9 hours, 22 minutes in the Chicago area. The daylight hours decrease (9 hours, eight minutes) until the winter solstice. The sun reaches is farthest south point on December 21 at 5:03 p.m. … Continue reading Sky Watching December 2014
November 2104 Sky Watching
Welcome to November! The length of daylight continues to diminish during November. The northern mid-latitudes lose nearly an hour of daylight during the month. The blue area on the chart above indicates the length of daylight during November. (Click the image to see it larger.) With the switch back to standard time for most of … Continue reading November 2104 Sky Watching
Jupiter and Moon This Morning, October 17, 2014
The crescent moon and Jupiter appear in the southeastern sky this morning at 6:40 a.m. CDT as seen from the Chicago area. The pair is 8 degrees apart. Tomorrow morning (October 18), the moon is 8 degrees below the moon and 7 degrees to the right of the star Regulus. For more about the planets see: … Continue reading Jupiter and Moon This Morning, October 17, 2014
Lunar Eclipse Morning, October 8, 2014
The best part of the lunar eclipse occurs for less than an hour this morning. This image was made at 5:30 a.m. CDT.
Jupiter This Morning, October 8, 2014
While the lunar eclipse nears its total eclipse phase in the western sky, brilliant Jupiter shines through gaps in the clouds in the eastern sky. This morning, Jupiter is about 13 degrees to the upper right of Regulus.