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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). 
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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). 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). Sky Report by Ted Gruber
Evening Sky Saturn (magnitude 0.4) becomes visible in the southeast sky as darkness falls and dims slightly to magnitude 0.6 over the next month. Jupiter (magnitude -2.9) now rises in the east just before 7:30pm. By mid-October the bright planet rises before sunset, becoming visible in the eastern twilight. Mars (magnitude -0.4) currently rises in the east-northeast just before 10:30pm. The red planet rises about an hour earlier and brightens to magnitude -0.9 by mid-October. The moon passes about 4° south of Saturn the night of October 5-6 and about 2° south of Jupiter three nights later. On the night of October 14-15, the moon passes less than 4° north of Mars. The moon occults Uranus (magnitude 5.7) the night of October 11-12. From our area, Uranus disappears behind the illuminated side of the moon at 10:03pm and reappears from the unilluminated side at 11:05pm. The moon is 94% illuminated that night. Morning Sky Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars rise in the evening but remain visible into the early morning hours. Saturn currently sets in the west-southwest about 3:30am, with Jupiter setting in the west about 30 minutes before sunrise. By mid-October, Saturn sets just before 2:00am and Jupiter just past 5:30am. Mars remains visible until fading into the morning sunlight. Venus (magnitude -3.9) currently rises in the east about 45 minutes before sunrise, and about 30 minutes before sunrise by early October. Mercury returns to the morning sky in early October. On October 1, Mercury rises in the east a little more than an hour before sunrise but shines at a rather faint magnitude 1.2. Over the next two weeks, Mercury rises about the same time, but sunrise is earlier. The innermost planet brightens each morning, reaching magnitude -0.9 on October 15. Orionids Meteor Shower The Orionids meteor shower is active from September 26 to November 22, peaking the night of October 20-21, typically producing 10-20 meteors per hour at the peak. The moon is favorable at the peak this year, rising just after 3:00am and about 17% illuminated the morning of October 21. The shower is called the Orionids because the meteors appear to emanate from a point in the constellation Orion, but they can be seen across the night sky. The Orionids are one of two annual showers resulting from the Earth passing through the debris trail left by Halley’s comet (the Eta Aquriids in May are the other). Moon Phases New (9/25), first (10/3), full (10/9), last (10/17), new (10/25) Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Mercury (magnitude 0.1) is visible very low above the western horizon just after sunset through the end of August, slightly dimming and appearing a bit farther south with each passing evening. The moon appears about 6° east of Mercury just before sunset on August 29. Saturn (magnitude 0.3) currently rises about 8:00pm and becomes visible in the southeast sky as darkness falls. The ringed planet rises about four minutes sooner each night over the next month. Jupiter (magnitude -2.8) now rises in the east about 9:45pm, and about 7:30pm by mid-September. The moon passes about 4° south of Saturn the night of September 7-8 and less than 2° south of Jupiter three nights later. Mars (magnitude 0.0) returns to the evening sky this month, rising in the east-northeast just before midnight. The red planet brightens to magnitude -0.3 and rises about an hour earlier by mid-September. Morning Sky Venus (magnitude -3.9) currently rises in the east-northeast just past 4:30am. By mid-September, the bright planet rises in the east about 90 minutes later, but less than an hour before sunrise. Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars rise in the evening but remain visible into the overnight hours. Saturn currently sets in the west-southwest about 6:00am and about two hours earlier by mid-September. Jupiter and Mars remain visible until fading into the morning sunlight. The moon passes about 3° north of Mars in the early morning hours of August 19, and does so again the night of September 16-17. The moon appears about 4° west of Venus just before sunrise on August 25. Perseids Meteor Shower The Perseids meteor shower peaked the night of August 11-12 but remains active until August 24. The shower is called the Perseids because the meteors appear to emanate from a point in the constellation Perseus in the northeast sky. Moon Phases Last (8/18), new (8/27), first (9/3), full (9/10), last (9/17), new (9/25) Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Saturn (magnitude 0.6) returns to the evening sky in late June. The ringed planet rises in the east-southeast about 11:30pm on June 30, and about an hour earlier by mid-July. Morning Sky Seven planets, eight if you include Pluto, are visible in the early morning sky from now through early July. Looking from southwest to northeast, Pluto (magnitude 14.3), Saturn (0.6), Neptune (7.9), Jupiter (-2.5), Mars (0.5), Uranus (5.8), Venus (-3.9), and Mercury (-0.6) form the line of planets. Saturn currently rises just past midnight, Jupiter about 1:45am, Mars just after 2:00am, Venus a little after 3:30am, and Mercury around 4:15am. By mid-July, Saturn and Jupiter rise an hour and 45 minutes earlier, Mars an hour earlier, and Venus around the same time. Mercury vanishes into the early morning sunlight by the first week of July. The moon passes 3° south of Jupiter the morning of June 21, less than 1° south of Mars the next morning, and 3° north of Venus on June 26. On June 27, a crescent moon passes 4° north of Mercury, but this will be difficult to see from Longview as the pair will only appear about 6° above the horizon at dawn. Just before midnight on July 15 and into the early morning hours of July 16, the moon appears 4° south of Saturn. The moon and Jupiter rise about 2° apart just past midnight on July 19 and remain together into the early morning hours. Moon Phases Last (6/20), new (6/28), first (7/6), full (7/13), last (7/20), new (7/28). Sky Report by Ted Gruber
Morning Sky Saturn (magnitude 0.8), Mars (0.8), Jupiter (-2.2), and Venus (-4.0) are visible in the early morning southeast to east sky. Saturn currently rises around 2:00am, followed by Mars just before 3:30am, Jupiter about 3:30am, and Venus just past 4:00am. Mercury (magnitude 2.3) joins the morning crowd in early June, rising about 30 minutes before sunrise. All five naked eye planets are then visible spanning the sky from south to east-northeast, in order of decreasing distance from the sun. On June 15, Saturn (0.7) rises about 12:15am, Jupiter (-2.4) just before 2:00am, Mars (0.6) about 2:15am, Venus (-3.9) a bit past 3:30am, and Mercury (0.7) about 4:15am. In addition, Uranus (5.8) lies south of Venus, Neptune (7.9) lies south of Jupiter, and Pluto (14.3) lies southwest of Saturn. The last quarter moon passes about 4° south of Saturn in the early morning hours of May 22. Two mornings later, the moon passes about 3° south of Mars and Jupiter. Venus appears just north of the moon the morning of May 26, and just south of the moon the next morning. Mars appears less than 1° south of Jupiter the morning of May 28. Moon Phases Last (5/22), new (5/30), first (6/7), full (6/14), last (6/20), new (6/28). Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Mercury (magnitude -1.1) returns to the evening sky in mid-April. The innermost planet becomes visible low above the west-northwest horizon as darkness falls. Mercury sets about 9:15pm on April 15, just before 10:00pm on April 22, and at 10:15pm on April 30. Morning Sky Venus (magnitude -4.4), Mars (1.2), and Saturn (0.8) are visible in the southeast sky just before dawn. Venus rises first, currently just before 5:30am, followed by Mars just after 5:30am, and Saturn just after 6:00am. This order reverses by mid-April, with Saturn rising just before 4:30am, Mars about 15 minutes later, and Jupiter just past 5:30am. Between now and then, Venus and Saturn dim very slightly, while Mars brightens very slightly. Jupiter (-2.0) returns to the morning sky next week, rising in the east just before sunrise. The giant planet will be easier to see over the next month, rising about 3 minutes sooner each morning. Venus, Mars, and Saturn appear close together during the last week in March, with a crescent moon joining the trio the morning of March 28. That morning the moon appears about 6° below Mars, while Saturn and Venus appear about 2° apart and about 6° above the moon. Jupiter is also visible low on the horizon. The moon appears 4° below Mars the morning of March 27 and about 4° below Saturn and about 7° south of Venus the next morning. Venus appears 2° above Saturn on March 29, and the moon appears 4° below Jupiter the morning of March 30. Mars and Saturn appear about 0.2° apart the morning of April 4, close enough to appear within the same field of view through a telescope. Jupiter and Neptune appear less than 0.1° apart the morning of April 12, but the conjunction will be difficult if not impossible to see so close to sunrise. Moon Phases Full (3/18), last (3/25), new (4/1), first (4/9), full (4/16), last (4/23), new (4/30) Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.0) becomes visible low on the west-southwest horizon at twilight, setting just past 6:30pm. Although bright, the giant planet will be difficult to spot as it sets about three minutes later and closer to sunset each night. Morning Sky Venus (magnitude -4.0) and Mars (1.3) are currently visible in the pre-dawn southeast sky. Brighter Venus currently rises just past 4:30am and about a minute sooner each day over the next month. Mars currently rises about 30 minutes after Venus, and about 15 minutes after Venus by mid-March. The moon passes about 9° south of Venus and about 4° south of Mars the morning of February 27. Venus passes about 4° north of Mars the morning of March 12. Saturn (magnitude 0.8) and Mercury (0.0) return to the morning sky by the end of February. Both planets will initially be very low above the east-southeast horizon just before sunrise. Mercury remains visible each morning through about March 10 when it fades into the morning sunlight, while Saturn rises a few minutes earlier each morning. The moon passes about 4° south of Mercury and about 4° south of Saturn the morning of February 28. Mercury passes less than 1° south of Saturn the morning of March 2. Moon Phases Full (2/16), last (2/23), new (3/2), first (3/10), full (3/18), last (3/25) Sky Report by Ted Gruber Evening Sky Jupiter (magnitude -2.1) becomes visible in the southwest sky at dusk and currently sets just before 8:00pm. The bright planet remains visible through mid-February, when it appears low in the west-southwest sky and sets a bit after 6:30pm. A very thin crescent moon passes about 4° south of Jupiter the evening of February 2. Morning Sky Mars (magnitude 1.5) and Venus (-4.4) are visible in the pre-dawn southeast sky. Mars currently rises about 5:45am, with much brighter Venus following about 30 minutes later. Both planets brighten slightly over the next month and rise about 30 minutes sooner by mid-February. The moon passes about 2° south of Mars the morning of January 29. Mars appears just south of Venus in early February; the two planets make their closest apparent approach the morning of February 12 when they appear about 6.5° apart. Mercury (magnitude 1.9) returns to the morning sky by the end of January, rising in the east-southeast about 6:30am. The innermost planet brightens quickly through mid-February, shining at magnitude 0.0 when it reaches greatest western elongation on February 16. Mercury rises about 6:00am on that day. Moon Phases Last (1/25), new (2/1), first (2/8), full (2/16), last (2/23) |
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