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Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.1) and Saturn (0.6) become visible in the south-southwest as darkness falls. Jupiter currently sets in the southwest just before 8:30pm, and Saturn just afterward. By mid-December, both planets set just after 7:00pm. The moon passes 2° south of Jupiter and 3° south of Saturn the evening of November 19. Jupiter and Saturn appear to inch closer together with each passing evening. On December 16, the two planets appear about a moon-width apart, with a crescent moon appearing about 3° below them. Then on December 21, Jupiter and Saturn appear just 0.1° apart, meaning the two planets can be seen in the same telescopic field of view at low power. Mars (-1.5) becomes visible high in the eastern sky as darkness falls. The red planet currently sets in the west just after 3:30am. By mid-December, Mars dims by about a full magnitude and sets just before 2:30am. Morning Sky Venus (-4.0) currently rises in the east-southeast around 4:30am, and just before 6:00am by mid-December. The moon appears just above Venus in the early morning hours of December 12. Mercury (-0.7) currently rises in the east-southeast about 5:45am and remains visible until fading into the morning sunlight. The innermost planet rises about five minutes later and appears lower to the horizon each morning, until vanishing into the sun’s glow by the end of November. Meteor Showers The Leonids meteor shower peaked in the early morning hours of November 17 and remains active until November 30. The Geminids meteor shower is active from December 4 to 17, peaking the night of December 13-14. The moon will not be a factor this year, and the best viewing should occur after 11:00pm on December 13 through the early morning hours of December 14. It is typically one of the richest showers of the year and may produce as many as 100 to 150 meteors per hour around the 2:00am peak. The Geminids appear to radiate from a point in the southeastern sky in the constellation Gemini. Moon Phases First (11/21), full (11/30), last (12/7), new (12/14), first (12/21), full (12/29) 
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We regret to say that Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club must cancel this year's Solstice Lantern Walk. We had hoped it would be a go, especially with the City of Longview itself hosting a Halloween event at the Lake. However, the governor's latest directives shut down most outdoor activity until December 14. Even if all goes well by then, five days would not be a reasonable planning window for our December 19th event. All of the sponsors I've been in touch with wanted to go ahead this year. Thank you for your support! We hope to have our normal event in 2021. We may even have an extra summer event. Stay tuned! Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter. 
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.3) and Saturn (0.6) become visible in the southern sky as darkness falls. Jupiter currently sets in the west-southwest just before 11:00pm with Saturn following about 30 minutes later. By mid-November, Jupiter sets about 8:30pm (adjusted for the change to Pacific Standard Time), followed by Saturn about 20 minutes later. The first quarter moon passes 2° south of Jupiter and 3° south of Saturn the evening of October 22. Mars (-2.4) becomes visible in the eastern sky as darkness falls. The red planet reached opposition on October 13 and currently remains visible until setting in the west just before 7:00am. By mid-November, Mars will have dimmed to magnitude -1.7 and will set just before 4:00am (adjusted for PST). The moon appears about 3° south of Mars the evening of October 28 and into the early morning hours of October 29, and just east of Mars the next night. Morning Sky Venus (-4.0) currently rises in the east just before 4:30am, and about the same time in mid-November when adjusted for PST. The moon passes 3° north of Venus in the early morning hours of November 12. Mercury (1.3) returns to the morning sky by November 1, rising in the southeast sky about 45 minutes before sunrise. The innermost planet gets brighter and rises a minute or two earlier each morning, reaching its greatest western elongation the morning of November 10 when Mercury shines at magnitude -0.5. A thin crescent moon appears just north of Mercury the morning of November 13. Meteor Showers The Orionids meteor shower is active from October 2 to November 7, having peaked in the early morning hours of October 21 with a predicted rate of 20 meteors per hour. Just as the Orionids are ending, the Leonids become active on November 6. The shower peaks in the early morning hours of November 17 with a predicted rate of 15 meteors per hour and a favorable moon. The Leonids are active until November 30 and result from the debris trail left by comet 55P/Temple-Tuttle. Moon Phases First (10/23), full (10/31), last (11/8), new (11/15), first (11/21), full (11/30) Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.5) is the first object other than the moon that becomes visible in the southeast twilight. Saturn (0.4) becomes visible east of Jupiter and slightly lower to the horizon as the sky darkens. Jupiter now sets about 1:00am, with Saturn following about 45 minutes later. By mid-October, Jupiter sets just before 11:00pm and Saturn about 30 minutes later. The moon passes less than 2° south of Jupiter the evening of September 24 and about 2° south of Saturn the following night. Mars (-2.2) now rises in the east about 9:00pm, and just over two hours earlier by mid-October, and remains visible until fading into the morning light. On the evening of October 2, the moon passes 0.7° south of Mars. Mars reaches opposition on October 13. That evening the red planet shines at magnitude -2.6, just slightly brighter than Jupiter. While Mars won’t be as close to Earth as it was for its 2018 opposition, it will be higher in the sky. Mercury (-0.1) is visible about 30 minutes after sunset low in the western sky from late September through early October. Although Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation on October 1, it lies south of the ecliptic and only rises about 3° above the horizon. Morning Sky Venus (-4.1) currently rises in the east-northeast about 3:00am, and about an hour later by mid-October. Venus appears about 0.1° south of the magnitude 1.36 star Regulus in the early morning hours of October 2. Orionids Meteor Shower The Orionids meteor shower is active from October 2 to November 7, peaking in the early morning hours of October 21 with a predicted rate of 20 meteors per hour. The moon will not be a factor this year at the peak or for about 10 days before. The meteors are from the debris trail left by Halley’s Comet. Moon Phases New (9/17), first (9/23), full (10/1), last (10/9), new (10/16), first (10/23), full (10/31) Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.7) and Saturn (0.2) both rise in the southeast before sunset. Other than the moon, Jupiter will be the first object visible in the evening twilight. Saturn then becomes visible east of Jupiter and slightly lower to the horizon as the sky darkens. Jupiter now sets about 3:00am, with Saturn following about 45 minutes later. On the evening of August 28, and continuing into the early morning hours of August 29, the moon sits just below Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter appears west of the moon, and Saturn appears just east of it. Mars (-1.5) rises in the east about 10:30pm, and almost two hours earlier by mid-September. The red planet remains visible until fading into the morning light. On September 5, Mars rises about 9:30pm. That evening, and continuing into the early morning hours of September 6, the moon appears just 0.03° north of Mars. Morning Sky Venus (-4.3) currently rises in the east-northeast about 2:30am, and about 30 minutes later by mid-September. In the early morning hours of September 14, Venus appears 4° south of the crescent moon, and 2.5° south of the Beehive Cluster (M44). Perseids Meteor Shower The Perseids meteor shower remains active until August 24. The shower peaked the night of August 11 into the pre-dawn hours of August 12. Moon Phases First (8/25), full (9/2), last (9/10), new (9/17), first (9/23). Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
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