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Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
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). Click the link below to view or download this month's newsletter.
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.
We had a great time at our fourth event, December 17, 2022.
We brightened the longest night, celebrated the return of longer days, and met great people. Here are some highlights:
Our route followed the Solar System Walk given to the City of Longview by the Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club in 2001. The walk is a series of granite markers showing the relative distances between the Sun and the planets - it's our solar system, scaled down to Lake Sacajawea. The markers follow the path on the west side of Lake Sacajawea, over 1.64 miles. Solar System Walk We had passports for people to take to each planet and get stamped. Thank you to Pat and Bill at Copies Today/Speedy Litho for donating part of the printing for our passports - again. They looked great! speedylitho.com The planets were lit up in a small way or in a big way. Kids got candy at several planets and people got to know some of the great clubs in our community. * * * * * If you walked the whole Solar System (3.7 billion miles!), you saw: The Sun - Friends of Galileo Astronomy Club started off the event with lanterns and passports and candy for the kids. FoG has monthly meetings, sidewalk astronomy, star parties, and our annual overnight event at Mount St. Helens. friendsofgalileo.com Mercury - Santa and Mrs. Claus! It was a very busy time for them, of course, but they came to start off the walk with Christmas cheer. Venus - The Girl Scouts of Western Washington came out again with a big, welcoming tent. They worked with the Boy Scouts to light up the path with luminaria... By the way, it'll be cookie season soon. girlscoutsww.org Earth - Three Rivers Christian School came out again to support the Solstice Lantern Walk. What a great turnout they had! https://3riversschool.net Mars - Shinju Dojo Aikido Martial Arts School was our very first planet sponsor in 2018! Learn self-defense and self-confidence in a friendly, low-impact, non-competitive atmosphere right here in Longview. shinjudojo.com Jupiter - Longview Freemasons Lodge #263 - Our most generous donor. Thank you, Masons! Freemasons have been making good men better for centuries. Longview Lodge will celebrate its first century in 1924. freemasoncowlitz.org Europa - Bethel #65 of Job's Daughters, located in Kelso. They are 10-20 year old daughters of Masons. They learn leadership and develop great friendships. joinjobies.org Saturn - Kelso-Longview Elks, Lodge #1482. The Elks did a great job again. Did you see all the glowing Saturn models? elks #1482 Uranus - The Boy Scouts of America, Cascade Pacific Council didn't just have a good set up and interesting information about their planet ("12 Facts About Uranus!"), they added s'mores and a warming tent! Both were very welcome at that point in the walk. The Boy Scouts worked with the Girl Scouts to cover more than half our route with glowing luminaria to mark the path. What a cheerful trail to follow. Wow! cpcbsa.org Sacajawea - Longview YMCA. On short notice, we had an awesome staff member come out and represent the Y at our event. Have you checked out the Y? Great facilities and classes, and part of Longview for a century! longviewymca.org Neptune - Even with TWO astronomy clubs involved in this event, the Mount St. Helens Hiking Club was the only one to bring along a telescope - four years in a row. mtsthelensclub.org Comet Swift-Tuttle - Columbia River Reader brightened up the outer solar system again. Thanks for supporting us with a great description in the CRR! crreader.com Star Team - Mike Wallin's Star Team with Keller Williams was a new sponsor this year. They did a terrific job helping line the path with beautiful glowing luminaria. mikewallin.kw.com Pluto - Rose City Astronomers came all the way from Portland to set up at the far end of the solar system. Check out their calendar of events next time you're in Portland. rosecityastronomers.net Space Shuttle - thank you Pat Edwards and the Afifi Shrine for helping our walkers get back to the start. Again! The Shriners meet to have fun and to support Shriner Hospitals around the world. afifishriners.org Bonus - Cowlitz River Kayakers had their annual Christmas Paddle at Lake Sacajawea about an hour before we started. What a great trip to see all the lit up kayaks on the lake! Cowlitz River Kayakers. 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.
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