Tonight: Moon Meets Mars’ Rival
Written by The Night Sky Guy on August 17, 2010 – 6:16 pm -Check out a real pretty celestial get together in the evening sky tonight, Tuesday, about a half hour after sunset. By that time the sky will start to become dark enough to reveal the orange-hued star Antares next to the crescent Moon . Lying more than 600 light years from Earth, Antares is the lead star in the constellation Scorpius and it’s name literally means – Anti-Mars – given to it by ancient Greek astronomers because it reminded them of the Red Planet in the sky. Check out this spectacular pairing for yourself int he southern sky tonight.
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New Night Sky Episode
Written by The Night Sky Guy on August 14, 2010 – 9:54 am -This week we talk about the Perseid meteor shower performance and weekend outlook for more shooting stars and a pretty planet, moon lineup.
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Venus and Moon Sky Show
Written by The Night Sky Guy on June 14, 2010 – 6:12 pm -
Moon and Venus together int he West. Click image to enlarge
Monday and Tuesday evening the second planet from the Sun will be joined in the low western sky by a beautiful crescent Moon. First up on Monday evening the Moon will be below Venus. Look to the right of the pair and you may notice two brilliant stars – Pollux and Castor – the Gemini twins.
By Tuesday evening Earth’s satellite will have skipped over to the left of the planet and will be a bit wider crescent. Keep an eye on the waxing Moon as it continues its trek towards the southern part of the sky over the remainder of the week.
Enjoy the free celestial show.
Tags: Venus
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Moon with Cluster Tonight
Written by The Night Sky Guy on April 19, 2010 – 6:14 pm -
Moon and star cluster tonight; click image to enlarge
Check out the Moon late tonight paired up with the bright cluster M35. Both will be in the constellation Gemini-located at the twin’s feet. While the cluster is visible to the naked-eye from a dark sky, a pair of binoculars will really bring out the details in the 2,800 light year distant cluster nicely, especially from a light polluted suburban backyard. This open star cluster consists of several hundred stars and measures about 24 light years across. In our Earthly skies it takes up about the same chunk of sky as the full Moon does. M35 is one of the eternal favourite targets of beginner stargazers looking for deep sky treasures.
Best time to look for the cluster would be after local 9 pm, before which the sky will be to bright to make out details . Remember that low magnification is all you need when using a telescope to get the whole cluster in your field of view.
Tags: M35
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Tonight: Moon Meets with Planets
Written by The Night Sky Guy on April 15, 2010 – 3:31 pm -Check out the striking waxing crescent Moon in the western horizon at dusk tonight as it huddles together with Venus and Mercury for a beautiful sky show. Try using binoculars to spot Mercury more easily.
Thursday evening Moon/Planet alignment; Click image to enlarge
Tags: Mercury, Venus
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Tonight: Luna and Lord of the Rings
Written by The Night Sky Guy on March 28, 2010 – 4:41 pm -If you found it a challenge to pin down Saturn the last couple of nights then this evening will be your best bet tracking this ringed jewel down in the sky. Check out the pretty celestial pairing of our nearest cosmic neighbour and a planet 1.3 billion km away. The waxing gibbous Moon and Saturn, which looks like a bright, yellowish star, will be side by side in the southeastern sky this evening.
Tags: Saturn
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Mars and Moon Meeting
Written by The Night Sky Guy on March 24, 2010 – 4:50 pm -
Moon and Mars together Tuesday and Wednesday; click image to enlarge
This evening and tomorrow you can take a peek at a pretty double bill showing of our own Moon hanging in the sky close to the fourth planet from the Sun – Mars. The pair will be separated by 14 full moon disks, high in the southwest sky.
If you get clouded out tonight, no worries, then you can see the waxing gibbous Moon jump to left side of the orange-starlike planet tomorrow, Wednesday night. Despite the Red Planet being only one-thrid the Earth’s size and over 130 million km away, it still shines brightly to the naked eye, even from within cities.
Tags: Mars
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Worlds Line Up
Written by The Night Sky Guy on March 17, 2010 – 8:12 pm -Got lucky tonight with clear skies again so I took advantage and snapped a nice photo of the Moon/Venus duo. If you have a chance get outside and take a gander at this beautiful cosmic sight!
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Tonight: Moon and Venus, Act Two
Written by The Night Sky Guy on March 17, 2010 – 11:17 am -If you missed yesterday’s sky show with the super thin crescent moon and Venus in the West at twilight- the planet/moon duo will be at it again this evening. This time look for a slightly fatter crescent above star-like Venus. Since the Moon is now 2 days old and higher in the sky it should be easier to spot.
Look for Crescent Moon and white star-like Venus dominating the western sky; click to enlarge
Tags: Venus
Posted in Planets, The Moon | 9 Comments »
Luna and Venus at Play
Written by The Night Sky Guy on March 16, 2010 – 8:00 pm -Stepped outside this evening and caught brilliant Venus and the super-thin crescent Moon hanging out in the low western horizon at twilight. Seeing the 1 day old crescent Moon is quite a challenge because it is so razor thin, but should be visible even from within city limits. Actually tonight’s Moon is about 27 hours old (counting from New Moon that occurred yesterday). Is this the youngest moon you have ever seen?
the Goddess of Love and Luna paired up in the Western Sky above Montreal suburbia; click image to enlarge
Tags: Venus
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