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Sky Report by Ted Gruber
Evening Sky Venus (magnitude -4.2) is easily visible in the west at dusk. The bright planet currently sets just after midnight, and just before midnight by mid-June. The moon and Venus appear about 2° apart the evening of May 23. On the evening of June 21, the moon and Venus appear about 3° apart, with Mars appearing about 5° south of the moon. Mars (magnitude 1.5) becomes visible high in the western sky as darkness falls, currently setting about 1:15am. The red planet dims slightly to magnitude 1.7 by mid-June and sets about midnight. The moon and Mars appear about 4° apart the evening of May 24 and again on the evening of June 22. Morning Sky Saturn (magnitude 1.0) currently rises in the east-southeast about 2:45am, and about 30 minutes earlier by mid-June. The ringed planet remains visible until fading into the morning sunlight. The moon and Saturn appear about 3° apart the morning of June 9. Jupiter (magnitude -2.1) follows Saturn, currently rising about 4:30am. By mid-June, Jupiter rises just before 3:00am and remains visible until fading into the morning sunlight. The moon and Jupiter appear about 1.5° apart the morning of June 14. Mercury (magnitude 0.6) returns to the morning sky at the end of May, rising about 45 minutes before sunrise. The innermost planet brightens quickly, reaching magnitude -1.1 by June 20. The moon and Mercury appear about 4° apart the morning of June 16. Moon Phases New (5/19), first (5/27), full (6/4), last (6/10), new (6/18), first (6/26).
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Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Venus (magnitude -4.1) becomes visible in the west at dusk. The bright planet currently sets just before midnight, and just after midnight by mid-May. The moon makes a close approach to Venus the evening of April 22 and passes about 1° north of Venus the next night. Mars (magnitude 1.2) becomes visible near the zenith as darkness falls, currently setting about 2:15am. By mid-May, the red planet dims slightly to magnitude 1.5 and sets about an hour earlier. The moon passes about 3° north of Mars the evening of April 25. Mercury (magnitude 1.8) becomes visible in the west-northwest about 30 minutes after sunset, currently setting just past 9:30pm. The innermost planet will become more difficult to see in the next few days as it sets sooner and becomes lost in the twilight. The new moon appears about 4° west of Mercury the evening of April 20. The moon sets at 9:07pm that evening. Morning Sky Saturn (magnitude 1.0) currently rises in the east-southeast about 4:30am, and just before 3:00am by mid-May. The ringed planet remains visible until fading into the morning sunlight. The moon passes about 3° south of Saturn the morning of May 13. Jupiter (magnitude -2.1) returns to the morning sky in late April, rising in the east-northeast just before sunrise, and about an hour earlier by mid-May. The giant planet remains visible until fading into the morning sunlight. The moon occults Jupiter the morning of May 17. That morning, the moon rises at 4:34am and Jupiter follows one minute later. From Longview, the occultation begins when Jupiter passes behind the moon at 4:51am, but the pair will only be about 2° above the horizon at that time. Jupiter reappears at 5:30am in the morning twilight and 8.5° above the horizon. Mercury (magnitude 2.0) returns to the morning sky in mid-May, rising in the east-northeast about 30 minutes before sunrise. The moon passes about 3.5° north of Mercury the morning of May 17. Mercury rises at 5:00am that morning. Meteor Showers The Lyrids are a medium-strength meteor shower active from April 15-29, peaking the night of April 22-23. The shower usually produces good rates for three nights centered on the peak. The moon is favorable. The meteors appear to emanate from a point in the constellation Lyra, high in the east-northeast sky. The Eta Aquariids meteor shower is active from April 15 to May 27, peaking the night of May 5-6. The shower is best viewed from the southern hemisphere, but it can still produce rates of 10-30 meteors/hour from the northern hemisphere. Unfortunately the night of the peak coincides with the full moon this year. Moon Phases New (4/20), first (4/27), full (5/5), last (5/12), new (5/19), first (5/27).  Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter. 
Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Venus (magnitude -4.0) and Jupiter (magnitude -2.2) become visible in the southwest at dusk. Brighter Venus becomes visible first and will appear lower to the horizon than Jupiter. Venus currently sets about 8:00pm, followed by Jupiter just before 9:15pm. The two planets appear less than 0.5° apart the evening of March 1, close enough to fit within a binocular field of view. Thereafter, Jupiter will begin setting before Venus and will thus appear lower to the horizon than Venus. By mid-March, Jupiter sets just before 8:00pm, followed by Venus about 9:15pm. Mars (magnitude -0.6) becomes visible high in the eastern sky as darkness falls. The red planet currently sets in the northwest a bit past 3:00am and about an hour earlier by mid-March. The moon passes about 2° south of Venus the evening of February 21, about 1° south of Jupiter the next night, and about 1° north of Mars the night of February 27. Morning Sky Mercury (magnitude -0.2) now rises in the southeast about 6:30am, about 45 minutes before sunrise. However, the innermost planet will be difficult to spot because it is only about 5° above the horizon, and within a few days will be lost in the morning sunlight. Moon Phases New (2/20), first (2/27), full (3/7), last (3/15), new (3/21), first (3/29). Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Venus (magnitude -3.9) and Saturn (0.8) become visible in the southwest at dusk. Brighter Venus currently sets a bit after 6:30pm, with Saturn following about 30 minutes later. Venus passes about 0.4° south of Saturn the evening of January 22, close enough to fit together in a telescope’s field of view. The planetary pair will become visible around 5:30pm, 13° above the southwest horizon as dusk fades to darkness, with the one-day old new moon positioned about 4° south of the two planets. By the end of January, Saturn will become lost in the twilight. Venus passes less than 1° south of Neptune (magnitude 8.0) the evening of February 15, close enough to fit together in a telescope’s field of view. Binoculars or a telescope are required to see the conjunction. Venus sets just before 8:00pm that evening. Jupiter (magnitude -2.3) becomes visible about 40° above the southwest horizon as the sky darkens. It currently sets about 10:30pm and about 9:15pm by mid-February. The moon passes about 2° south of Jupiter the evening of January 25. Mars (magnitude -0.6) becomes visible high in the eastern sky as darkness falls. The red planet currently sets in the west-northwest about 4:30am and about an hour earlier by mid-February. The moon passes about 0.1° south of Mars the evening of January 30, close enough to fit together in a telescope’s field of view. Morning Sky Mercury (magnitude 0.4) currently rises in the southeast about 6:15am, about 90 minutes before sunrise. The innermost planet brightens to magnitude -0.2 and rises about 15 minutes later by mid-February, but by then only about 45 minutes before sunrise. Moon Phases New (1/21), first (1/28), full (2/5), last (2/13), new (2/20), first (2/27). Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
Sky Report by Ted Gruber
Evening Sky Saturn (magnitude 0.7) and Jupiter (-2.7) become visible in the southeast as the sky darkens. Saturn sets first, a little past 10:30pm, followed by Jupiter just before 2:30am. By mid-December, both planets become visible in the south after sunset, with Saturn setting about 9:00pm and Jupiter about 12:30am. The moon passes about 4° south of Saturn the evening of November 28 and about 2.5° south of Jupiter the night of December 1. Mars (magnitude -1.6) currently rises in the east-northeast just past 6:00pm and remains visible overnight. By mid-December the red planet will have already risen in the east-northeast as darkness falls. The full moon occults Mars the evening of December 7. From Longview, Mars disappears behind the moon at 6:49pm and reappears on the opposite side at 7:48pm. Mars reaches opposition the next evening, shining at magnitude -1.9. Venus (magnitude -3.9) and Mercury (-0.6) return to the evening sky in early December. Both planets will be low in the southwest at twilight, setting about 45 minutes after sunset, but will offer better viewing later in December. Morning Sky Mars appears in the west until fading into fading into the morning sunlight. By mid-December, Mars sets in the west-northwest about 20 minutes before sunrise. Meteor Showers The Leonids meteor shower is active from November 3 to December 2, peaking the night of November 17-18, typically producing 10-15 meteors per hour at the peak. The moon rises just before 1:00am and about 32% illuminated the morning of November 18, making fainter meteors invisible. Some predictions call for an off-peak outburst ranging from 50 to 250 meteors per hour between 10:00pm and 10:30pm local time on November 18, but these will not be visible from the western US. The Geminids meteor shower is active from December 4 to 17, peaking the night of December 13-14. This shower can produce rates of 150 meteors per hour during the early morning peak, but also offers strong activity from 10:00pm until midnight on the 13th. The moon will be about 70% illuminated the night of the peak, making fainter meteors invisible. Moon Phases Last (11/16), new (11/23), first (11/30), full (12/8), last (12/16), new (12/23), first (12/30). |
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