Astroblog

 Evening sky on Tuesday, September 27 as seen from Adelaide at 19:46 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Jupiter is at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth. Jupiter is visible all night.

Below Jupiter, Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii.

The insets are the telescopic views of Saturn and Jupiter at the same magnification at this time.

 Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).  

If you go outside now and look to the north-east you will see a bright golden point of light in the sky, the brightest object in the sky (aside from the Moon) at the moment.  That is Jupiter, at it's closest opposition since 1963.

However, as planetary orbits are ellipses, not circles, some years Earth and the outer planet will be closer than others, and when Earth is at aphelion, when it is furthest from the Sun, and the planet is at perihelion, when its is closest to the Sun, we have the best view.

For Mars, these perihelic oppositions occur around15 to 17 years apart 9as Mar's year is roughly 1.9 earth years long, and it takes a while for perihelion and aphelion to come back into alignment) . There was an excellent one in 2003, a very good one in 2018 and the next good one will be in 2035.

Jupiter's year is 11.9 Earth-years long so there is a much larger gap between Earth's aphelion and Jupiter's perihelion aligning.  The last good match was in 1963, 59 years ago. This years isn't perfect, Jupiter's perihelion is January 20, 2023 and Earth's aphelion was on July 4. but it is still the best until October 7, 2129 in 107 years time!

If you are clouded out, don't worry, unlike Mars, whose disk swells and diminishes rapidly at opposition, Jupiter, being so much further away (and larger) grows and shrinks (and brightens and dims) so it will be brilliantly visible for may weeks to come. This is an excellent time to dust off telescopes and binoculars to observe the gorgeous planet and its shuttling Galilean moons. 

Even small telescopes will show Jupiter's bands and perhaps even the great read spot. Binoculars will readily show the bright moons moving from night to night.

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:17 pm 0 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Monday, October 3. Three bright classical planets from a long line in the early morning sky, Saturn and Jupiter low in the west, and Mars to the north. Jupiter is now easy to see in the evening sky was at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 27th of September. The Moon is close to Saturn on the 5th. Mars is between the red star Aldebaran and the the bright star Elnath. 

The First Quarter Moon is Monday, October 3.The Moon is at Perigee, when it is closest to the earth, on the 5th.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise. click to embiggen). 

Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii with Jupiter below.  The waxing Moon is close to Saturn. Jupiter is visible all night.

The insets are the telescopic views of Saturn and Jupiter at the same magnification at this time.

 Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).  

 

Whole sky on Saturday, October 1, 19:44 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). The Milky Way stretches across the mid-sky and the centre of the galaxy is prominent. Saturn and Jupiter are both visible.

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:13 am 0 comments

The New Moon is Monday, September 26. The Earth is at Equinox on the 23rd. Three bright classical planets from a long line in the early morning sky, Saturn and Jupiter low in the west, and Mars to the north. Jupiter is now easy to see in the evening sky and is at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 27th. Mars is between the red star Aldebaran and the the bright star Elnath.  Mercury is lost to view.

The New Moon is Monday, September 26. The Earth is at Equinox on the 23rd.

 Morning sky on Saturday, September 24 as seen from Adelaide at 04:39 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise). Mars is between the red star Aldebaran and the the bright star Elnath.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise. click to embiggen). 

 Evening sky on Tuesday, September 27 as seen from Adelaide at 19:46 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii with Jupiter below. Jupiter is at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth. Jupiter is visible all night.

The insets are the telescopic views of Saturn and Jupiter at the same magnification at this time.

 Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).  

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 7:30 am 0 comments

The Last Quarter Moon is Sunday, September 18. Three bright classical planets from a long line in the morning sky, Saturn and Jupiter low in the west, and Mars to the north. Mars is below the red star Aldebaran and the Hyades cluster.  On the 17th the waning Moon, Mars and Aldebaran form a triangle. Jupiter is now readily visible in the late evening sky below Saturn.   Mercury is rapidly sinking into the evening twilight this week and is lost to view by the weeks end.

The Last Quarter Moon is Sunday, September 18.The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 20th

 Morning sky on Saturday, September 17 as seen from Adelaide at 04:48 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise). Mars is below the Hyades and the bright red star Aldebaran. The waning Moon, Mars and Aldebaran form a triangle.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise. click to embiggen). 

Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii. with Jupiter below.

The insets are the telescopic views of Saturn and Jupiter at the same magnification at this time.

 Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time.  

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 7:41 pm 0 comments

The Full Moon is Saturday, September 10. Three bright classical planets in a line in the morning sky, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. Mars is below the red star Aldebaran and the Hyades cluster.  Jupiter is now readily visible in the late evening sky below Saturn.  The Moon is close to Saturn on the 8th and then is close to Jupiter on the 11th. Mercury is sinking in the evening twilight this week.

The Full Moon is Sunday, September 10.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise. click to embiggen). 

 Evening sky on Sunday September 11 as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 am ACST. 

Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii. 

The waxing Moon is close to Jupiter .

The insets are the telescopic views of Saturn and Jupiter at the same magnification at this time.

 Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time.  

Whole sky on Saturday, September 10, 19:27 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). The Milky Way stretches across the mid-sky and the centre of the galaxy is prominent. Mercury and Saturn are both visible.

Scorpius is prominent above the northern horizon with the teapot of Sagittarius below. From the Sting of the Scorpion through the teapot there is a wealth of binocular objects to discover.

Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are another wealth of binocular objects to discover. However the Full Moon will make these harder to see.

 

  

 Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset). 

 

Mercury is visible above the western horizon in the twilight below the bright star Spica.

Venus is lost in the twilight.

Mars is below the Hyades and the red star Aldebaran. 

Jupiter climbs higher in the late evening sky. Jupiter is near the Full Moon on the 11th.

Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii. Saturn was at opposition, when it was biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 15th of August. The Moon is close to Saturn on the 8th.

 

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 8:48 pm 0 comments

 Morning sky on Saturday, September 3 as seen from Adelaide at 05:08 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise). 

Mars is in between the Pleiades and the bright red star Aldebaran.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise. click to embiggen).

The September edition of Southern Skywatch is now up (sorry about the delay yet again, life happened once more). The planetary action is moving back to the evening skies, Jupiter is at opposition and Saturn is just past opposition. Mercury is still prominent in the first half of the month. Venus is lost to view this month. Saturn, Jupiter and Mars are still visible in the morning skies, though Saturn is progressively harder to see.

September 1-3; Mars between Pleiades and the red star Aldebaran, forming a second eye for Taurus the Bull. September 4; First Quarter Moon. September 8; perigee Moon. September 8; Saturn and waxing Moon close. September 11; Full Moon. September 11; the Full Moon close to Jupiter (2° away). September 18; Last Quarter Moon.  September 17; Mars close to waning moon. September 20; apogee Moon. September 23; Earth at Equinox. September 26; New Moon. September 27; Jupiter at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth.

Mercury  is high(ish) in evening sky, and remains high in the first half of the month then rapidly heads towards the horizon and is soon lost to view.  It is low above western horizon at astronomical twilight, and hour and a half after sunset at after sunset when the sky is fully dark in the first week of the month and gets progressively lower. By mid-month it is best seen an hour after sunset (nautical twilight and is soon lost in the sunset glow after this, returning to the morning sky late in the month.

Venus is lost in the twilight.

Mars is becoming brighter in the morning sky as it nears opposition. On the 1st to 3rd Mars passes between the Pleiades and Hyades, an excellent morning sight with Mars forming a second eye for Taurus the Bull with the red star Aldebaran. By the 13th Mars has left Aldebaran behind. On September 17th, Mars is under 5 ° from the waning Moon. The pair just seen together in binoculars.

Jupiter rises shortly after the sky is fully dark and climbs higher in the evening sky and is an excellent telescopic object in the late evening early morning. Jupiter is at opposition, when it is biggest and brightest as seen from Earth on the 27th. At this time, it is visible the whole night long. On the 11th Jupiter rises just below the Full Moon, with the pair in the same binocular field and Jupiter only 2° away.

Saturn is now visible all evening long setting in the Ealy morning. Saturn was at opposition on the 15th of August and is visible high above the northeastern sky when the sky is fully dark. Saturn will be high enough for good telescopic observation in the mid evening and early morning. Saturn forms a very shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricorn, becoming more elongated as the month wears on.  Sep 6 and 17 sees Titan close to Saturn.
On the 8th (morning 19th) the waxing Moon is close to Saturn.

Moon: September 8; perigee Moon. and September 20; apogee Moon

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:07 pm 0 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Sunday, September 4. Three bright classical planets in a line in the morning sky, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. Mars is between the red star Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster at the beginning of the week.  Jupiter is now readily visible in the late evening sky below Saturn. Saturn is now past opposition, but will be worthwhile viewing for may weeks to come. The Moon is close to Saturn on the 8th. Mercury is still high in the evening twilight this week.

The First Quarter Moon is Sunday, September 4. The Moon is at perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on the 8th.

Mars is in between the Pleiades and the bright red star Aldebaran.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise. click to embiggen).

Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii. The waxing Moon is close to Saturn.

Vesta is just visible to the unaided eye between Saturn and Fomalhaut.

Jupiter is above the horizon.

The insets are the telescopic views of Saturn and Jupiter at the same magnification at this time.

 Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time.  

Whole sky on Saturday, September 3, 19:22 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). The Milky Way stretches across the mid-sky and the centre of the galaxy is prominent. Mercury and Saturn are both visible.

Scorpius is prominent above the northern horizon with the teapot of Sagittarius below. From the Sting of the Scorpion through the teapot there is a wealth of binocular objects to discover.

Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are another wealth of binocular objects to discover. However the waxing Moon will make these harder to see.

 

  

 Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset). 

 

Mercury is visible above the western horizon high in the twilight below the bright star Spica.

Venus is lost in the twilight.

Mars is between the Pleiades and Hyades, especially the red star Aldebaran. 

Jupiter climbs higher in the evening sky low above the horizon.

Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii. Saturn was at opposition, when it was biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 15th of August. Saturn is close to the waxing Moon on the 8th.

 

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 1:05 am 0 comments

The New Moon is Saturday, August 27. Four bright classical planets in a line in the morning sky, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus. Mars is between the red star Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster.  This is the last week to see Venus is before it disappears in the twilight in the twilight. Venus is close to the thin crescent Moon on the 25th and 26th. Jupiter is now readily visible in the late evening sky below Saturn. Saturn is now past opposition, but will be worthwhile viewing for may weeks to come. Mercury is at its highest in the evening twilight this week and is close to the thin crescent Moon on the 29th and 30th.

The New Moon is Saturday, August 27.

The thin crescent Moon is near to Venus low in the twilight

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (30 minutes before sunrise. click to embiggen).

Mars and in between the Pleiades and the bright red star Aldebaran

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise. click to embiggen).

Saturn forms a shallow triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii.

Vesta is just visible to the unaided eye between Saturn and Fomalhaut.

Jupiter is just above the horizon.

The insets are the telescopic views of Saturn and Jupiter at the same magnification at this time.

 Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time.  

Mercury high in the twilight and is easy to see. On the 30th Mercury and the thin crescent Moon are close.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

 

 

Whole sky on Saturday, August 20, 19:15 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). The Milky Way stretches across the mid-sky and the centre of the galaxy is prominent. Mercury and Saturn are both visible.

Scorpius is prominent above the northern horizon with the teapot of Sagittarius below. From the Sting of the Scorpion through the teapot there is a wealth of binocular objects to discover.

Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are another wealth of binocular objects to discover. However the waxing Moon will make these harder to see.

 

  

 Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset). 

 

Mercury is visible above the western horizon higher in the twilight.Mercury is close to the thin crescent Moon on the 29th and 30th.

Venus is lowering in the morning twilight. Venus is close to the thin crescent Moon on the 25th and 26th.

Mars is between the Pleiades and Hyades especially the red star Aldebaran, on the 30th. 

Jupiter climbs higher in the morning twilight below Saturn and above Mars. Jupiter becomes more visible in the evening sky low above the horizon.

Saturn climbs away from Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. Saturn forms a triangle with delta and gamma Capricornii. Saturn was at opposition, when it was biggest and brightest as seen from Earth, on the 15th.

 

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.


 

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http:

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:28 am 0 comments