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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). Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter. 
FoG will take part in the City of Longview's Earth Day festivities at Hemlock Plaza at Lake Sacajawea on Saturday, April 30, from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Stop by and say hello!  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) Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
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) |
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