October: Three Planets at Dusk – Sky & Telescope
[ad_1]
This month’s Sky Tour astronomy podcast guides to interesting sites in the starry sky — from Astronomy Day to Halloween . . . and much more.
October 9th is Astronomy Day, a worldwide celebration of all the wonderful sights that can be found in the night sky. (Check our event calendar and club listings to see if there’s a stargazing opportunity near you.)
Now it turns out that the evening sky has something special to offer on October 9th. Look low in the west, beginning about 30 minutes after sunset, and there you’ll behold a beautiful crescent Moon, just four days past new. Look closely at the Moon, and you might see “earthshine,” a ghostly glow on the part of the lunar disk that’s not lit by sunlight.
Sky & Telescope
October 9th’s crescent Moon is beautifully paired with the brilliant planet Venus. The two are separated by 3° or less, depending on where you live. But don’t wait too long to catch this pretty couple, because Venus isn’t very high up as twilight dims, and it sets about 2 hours after sunset.
After gazing at Venus low in the west, make a generous turn to the left. You’ll quickly pick up the bright beacon of Jupiter over the southern horizon. Jupiter is no match for the brilliance of Venus, but it is brighter than any star in the nighttime sky. After all, it’s the largest planet in our solar system, and it’s covered with bright clouds that reflect a lot of sunlight back in our direction. To Jupiter’s lower right, by a little more than the width of your clenched fist at arm’s length, is Saturn, the other gas giant in our planet family.
Now swing your gaze upward to overhead. You should see the three widely spaced stars of the Summer Triangle. The corner of the triangle farthest west, nearest the direction of sunset, is marked by Vega.Farther east and closer to Polaris is the star Deneb. The triangle’s third star is Altair, the head of a celestial eagle that’s winging toward the Swan. The correct pronunciation for this constellation might surprise you — listen to the podcast so you’ll get it right!
Sky & Telescope
At month’s end, of course, is Halloween. When trick-or-treaters invade your neighborhood, set up a telescope so that all those little goblins and their parents can take a quick peek through the eyepiece. Start with Jupiter, then swing over to view Saturn and its famous rings. Then look overhead and point out the Summer Triangle.
And of course be sure to tell them about this month’s Sky Tour podcast! It’s perfect for anyone who wants a fun and informative guided tour of the celestial sights that are overhead during October.
[ad_2]
Original Post
Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.
I am glad to be a visitant of this pure site! , appreciate it for this rare info ! .
Very interesting info !Perfect just what I was searching for!
I likewise conceive thence, perfectly written post! .
Hey! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!
I think this web site contains some very great info for everyone :D. “Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The Eternal.” by Alighieri Dante.
I truly appreciate this post. I have been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You’ve made my day! Thank you again
Very interesting topic, regards for putting up.
Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Firefox. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The design and style look great though! Hope you get the issue fixed soon. Thanks
Puravive is a weight loss supplement that targets the root cause of weight gain issues in men and women.
Fitspresso stands out among the crowded health supplement market as an exceptional product.
I regard something genuinely special in this website .
Unquestionably believe that that you said. Your favourite reason seemed to be on the web the easiest thing to remember of. I say to you, I certainly get irked while folks think about concerns that they plainly don’t understand about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and outlined out the entire thing with no need side effect , folks can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
Woh I like your posts, saved to my bookmarks! .
I have recently started a web site, the information you offer on this site has helped me greatly. Thanks for all of your time & work.
excellent issues altogether, you simply gained a emblem new reader. What may you recommend in regards to your post that you just made a few days ago? Any sure?