NICE NIGHT SKY—
If you work at it a little bit you can see four planets in the current night sky. Beginning about dark that dazzling object high in the west is the planet Venus. If at the same time you have a clear view of the western horizon, the bright object just a bit north of west and just above the horizon is the planet Mercury.
Wednesday night yet, Saturn will be the brightest object just a bit northwest of the Moon. In fact, all four of these celestial bodies will be in a fairly straight line on a diagonal from nearly overhead to the northwest.
Then, about an hour later the planet Jupiter will climb above the southeastern horizon. It will be the brightest object, by far, in that celestial neighborhood.
I did the moon picture Tuesday evening with a digital, single lens reflex camera attached to my Meade ETX 90 EC telescope. But, even with a pair of 10 x 50 binoculars you can see a nice view of the moon’s craters.
With those same binoculars you can see as many as four of Jupiter’s moons. Draw a sketch of the planet including those tiny bright things you see close by. Then look again the next clear night and compare what you see then with your sketch. Jupiter will be right back in the same place in your sky but the moons will have moved.
If you work at it a little bit you can see four planets in the current night sky. Beginning about dark that dazzling object high in the west is the planet Venus. If at the same time you have a clear view of the western horizon, the bright object just a bit north of west and just above the horizon is the planet Mercury.
Wednesday night yet, Saturn will be the brightest object just a bit northwest of the Moon. In fact, all four of these celestial bodies will be in a fairly straight line on a diagonal from nearly overhead to the northwest.
Then, about an hour later the planet Jupiter will climb above the southeastern horizon. It will be the brightest object, by far, in that celestial neighborhood.
I did the moon picture Tuesday evening with a digital, single lens reflex camera attached to my Meade ETX 90 EC telescope. But, even with a pair of 10 x 50 binoculars you can see a nice view of the moon’s craters.
With those same binoculars you can see as many as four of Jupiter’s moons. Draw a sketch of the planet including those tiny bright things you see close by. Then look again the next clear night and compare what you see then with your sketch. Jupiter will be right back in the same place in your sky but the moons will have moved.
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