Observing The Moon & Planets - Astronomy Central Forum

Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury in late May

John_Brady — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:31:45 -0400

These three planets are in conjunction at the end of May, low in the north west at dusk http://astronomycentral.co.uk/venus-jupiter-mercury-conjunction-may-2013/

mercury tonight

Pilch — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:03:06 -0500

Hi all, Well I spent most of earlier evening hoping to see Mercury with my binoculars. I had a good clear view of horizon after the sun set to sw and watched...and watched and I just couldn't see it. Anybody else viewing tonight, I have my scope set up and ready to go back out.
Dave

Venus is leaving us for now

John_Brady — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:49:01 -0500

Possibly my favourite planet, Venus, has gone out of sight in the glare of the rising Sun in the mornings. But will return in late April as an evening planet, and stays in the sky until January 2014.
http://astronomycentral.co.uk/planets-to-see-in-the-sky-tonight/

Venus Saturn conjunction 27th of Nov

John_Brady — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 06:59:19 -0500

You might have noticed that Venus and Saturn have been slowly creeping towards to each other in the morning sky, all throughout November.

If you actually have a break in this extremely dodgy weather we're having (in the UK anyway), then you can observe a close planetary pair up during the pre dawn hours of the 27th of November. Venus and Saturn will be in close conjunction as they rise in the east at just 33 arc minutes apart. That's roughly the width of the Moon, or half the width of your little finger held at arm's length.

Venus and Saturn rise from the east at 5.04 am GMT on the 27th, and climb into the south-east up to daybreak. http://astronomycentral.co.uk/upcoming-astronomy-sights/

Moon and Jupiter 28th Nov

John_Brady — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 05:49:56 -0500

The full Moon and Jupiter conjunction sure was great last night the 28th of November, and it actually stayed clear all evening.

Lots of people looking up and enjoying it.

The next one comes on Christmas Day http://astronomycentral.co.uk/upcoming-astronomy-sights/

Moon & Jupiter 1st Nov

John_Brady — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 06:31:34 -0400

Hi, you might want to check this out...

On the evening of the 1st of November the waning gibbous Moon is between Jupiter and Aldebaran rising in the NE from around 6pm GMT.

The Moon then moves below Jupiter through the evening, and is less than half a degree from it at around midnight.

Hope you all get clear skies !

At Last Clear Skies...

kensamay — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:14:12 -0400

Hi all,
Went out last night from around 8pm & got some great views off the constellations.
My seven year old daughter join me & viewed Mars through a telescope for the 1st time & also saw her 1st satellite fly past.
Lets hope for more off the same tonight.As my daughter informed me no school on saturday so she can stay up later..LOL

Jupiter and Venus morning of Fri 12th Oct 2012

John_Brady — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 06:32:07 -0400

If you're up and about early on the morning of Friday the 12th, check out the eastern horizon as the thin crescent Moon rises east of Venus, from 3.45 (GMT+1) up to daybreak.

Venus is around 7 degrees from the Moon, but if clear will be one of those classic crescent Moon, and bright planet, with possible earthshine autumn mornings.

Jupiter and Venus in Mornings

John_Brady — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:17:56 -0400

I'm loving the sky show in the late evening/early mornings due east.

Jupiter in Taurus nearby Aldebaran appearing above the horizon before midnight, and Venus blazing even brighter to its SW, rising after 2am (present date 31st Aug)

Also with stunning Orion making its presence felt nearby and other great constellations, Auriga, Perseus, Cassiopeia.

The dark, star studded nights of winter are coming !!

Reports of Jupiter Collision

John_Brady — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:20:15 -0400

Right now, night of 10th Sept, I'm hearing reports of a possible Jupiter collision from a comet or meteor. Apparently someone saw a flash coming from the disk of the planet.

Blue Moon tonight

karl — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:56:04 -0400

Look out for the moon tonight as it's a blue moon.

The lunar event happens when there are two full moons in one month. As a lunar cycle lasts only 29.5 days, blue moons come rarely - on average seven times every 19 years.

The next will take place on 2 July 2015. The rarity of the event gave rise to the phrase: "once in a blue moon".

A full moon occurs as the moon reflects the maximum amount of sunlight from Earth.

The first full moon this month peaked on 2 August and will be at its fullest again at 2.59pm today, though it will have dipped below the horizon by then. It will appear again tonight, when viewers will be able to view a blue moon for the first time since 2010.

Got this info from msn

weather

philbod — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:21:55 -0400

looks like were in for some long nights of cloud cover the weather is really bad in uk especially for the time of year its more like the type of weather we get in november , grey wet windy and cool..its so frustrating ..when you think it shud be warm clear summer nights I just hope it changes for the better soon but long range forecast its lots of unsettled weather ahead...will get back to you as soon as it clears to let you know what i`ve been observing if and when lol tc all hope you av clear skies wer you are

Good Clear Skies

philbod — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:43:19 -0400

Well the last few nights have been excellent for stargazing, I have mainly been looking at the moon and the planet Saturn..the moon as been fabulous the mountains the craters the flat plains wer just beautiful to look at, using 2x barlow and 90x mag was just right .i actually felt i was slowing giding a few mile over the surface as the moon drifted across the scope i managed also to get some movie film usin my digi cam was rally happy with that...Saturn as looked great too the rings and the cassini div showed up well and also some cloud belt shades the moon titon was easy to spot and also i so 3 pin pricks of light which i presume were other moons of saturn.so roughly 4 nights looking at the moonb and saturn..mars as been difficult only appearing as a orangey/red disk about the size of this letter >O< and very bright but no chance of seeing any markings..highlights for me i so also a few shooting stars and when a jet liner passed infront of the moon while i was observing was neat leaft its trail of smoke for a few mins looked quite nice...Well its cloudy tonight so i guess i get to watch a movie and relax..untill the next clear night when i thinks i`m going to pick out a couple of rich constellation and slowly observe and see wat i can see....hope you all ad good clear nights lately and hope you too enjoyed the beautiful starlit skies...till next time..Philbod

Saturn and Mars

philbod — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:42:19 -0400

Well im keeping my eye on the clouds once again there broken at moment some sunshine here early evening 5-30pm infact ..im hoping by the time it gets dark i can go out with the new scope its a tal-1 i just purchased..im hoping to see saturn and mars...i mean hoping too as it keeps clouding over at night and im getting a bit fed up with the british weather lol..anyways .it will be the first time i get to use this tal-1 i read reviews about it and they all seem very good..kinda excited and praying that there will be enough breaks in the clouds to at least let me try it out, had it over a week now and not had one clear night ... :-(

Crescent Moon nearby Venus, dusk 22nd May

John_Brady — Fri, 18 May 2012 07:58:45 -0400

Look low to the north-west at dusk on the 22nd, and see the very thin waxing crescent Moon, 4 degrees south-west of Venus.

Crescent Moon and Venus 24th April

John_Brady — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:28:18 -0400

If you have clear skies, look to over the west after dusk and see the slim crescent Moon 5 degrees below Venus.

could be my lucky night

philbod — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:24:55 -0400

well having purschased my Tal 1 telescope 2 weeks ago,,the signs for my first clear night look somewhat promising...a little windy but it looks favourable wont get dark until after 9pm so I have to cross my fingers and hope it stays clear as its only 5-30pm ere in uk..i will let you know how the telescope goes and deatails of wht i will have view tonite ..later folks ..hope you too get a good nights viewing

Super Moon, 5th of May

John_Brady — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:22:01 -0400

Look out tonight the 5th, and into early hours of the 6th of May and you'll see the Moon at pedigree, the closest to Earth the Moon gets in its orbit.

It will also be exactly at full phase, so check it out close to the horizon tonight (5th) if you can for that added Moon illusion.

The Moon will be 40% larger, and 30% brighter than a full Moon when furthest from Earth in its orbit.

Clear skies !

jupiter?

mrelby — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 01:46:21 -0400

Noticed colorful lights in the south western skyes (california). Think it may be jupiter. anyone confirm...first time observing ......

Three Planets

kensamay — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:20:53 -0400

Hi just been out in back garden at 7pm as the Sun goes down.To the West Venus shining brightly with Jupiter just below it.Then turning to the East there's Mars glowing red .....Awesome!!!

In the past i'd never off notice how fasinating the night sky can be & would off carried on with my head looking down..Now I look forward too the Sun setting just too see these Awesome sights... :)

Just thought i'd share my thoughts with you all ...

Lifes short make the most off it & take it all in... :)

Why do some planets look better than others?

AstralStroll — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:04:47 -0400

Hi,

Like most people I have been taking advantage of the visibility of some of our planetary neighbours. Jupiter looks good, wiht the four Galillean satellites easily visible along with cloud banding on Jupiter. Saturn likewise with the rings clearly visible along with Titan. Venus and Mars, on the other hand, appear somewhat disappointing? Am I being greedy and expecting too much from my current equipment?

Jupiter and Venus

John_Brady — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 09:52:18 -0500

Make sure you check out the gas giant Jupiter and the inner rocky world Venus, now getting real close in the sky.

But they're at vastly different distances, Venus is 81 million miles away, and Jupiter is over 6 times further at 514 million miles away !

A great planetary conjunction !

really basic questions from newcomer

Quaid — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:04:30 -0400

Hi Everyone,
I know practically nothing and can only identify 3 constellations.
Is it realistic to spot planets or constellations from a given town on a given date using compass bearings ?
e.g. If I post a question saying "what is that mag 1.5 object I can see at 22.15 at 285 degrees from Stafford in the Midlands" is that a sensible question ?
Is azimuth the height above the horizon ? How can I work out a mag number accurately for what I see ?
Which is the simplest free star map software ? Please help. Thanks.

Five planets to appear in uk skies

karl — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:27:50 -0400

I just copied this from msn.

Cast your eyes towards the sky over the next few nights and you might see an unusual phenomenon.

For the first time in over a decade, five planets will appear in UK skies over the course of one night. And they will be visible to the human eye - no telescope necessary.

The quintet to look out for are Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn, and they will appear as unusually large bright spots in the night sky.

karl

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Mercury above the eastern horizen before sunrise on april 30th

Tdog — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:44:09 -0400

if you have binoculars and a low eastern horizon then you will see Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury just before sunrise but the ecliptic is at a shallow angle so they will have very low elevation, but you can still see them, cease looking once the sun has risen though. :)

amazing views of planets tonight

Stephen — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 19:02:38 -0500

really good night of observing tonight started with venus then jupiter. think i caught a glimpse of a moons shadow on jupiter. next stop was the moon using my polarizing filter. shadows on the craters are stunning and never get old! ive been viewing saturn now for the last 20 mins. rings are tilted nicely for viewing. just amazing!! time to pack up though, work tomorrow!

The crescent Moon & Venus on 25th Feb (and Jupiter & Mercury)

John_Brady — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:19:15 -0500

Be sure to check out the crescent Moon/Venus conjunction, on the 25th of February in the west at/after dusk. With Jupiter to upper left, and Mercury close to the horizon.

If you're lucky enough to get clear skies, it's going to be a good sight.

Love those crescent Moon and bright planet pair ups...with added Earthshine !

Thanks to this website, we have eventually found out what was the bright object in the sky

martusha1985 — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:57:52 -0500

My partner woke me up recently middle of the night and showed me this bright object like a bright star on the sky. We both got excited as we never seen something that bright on the sky (after sun and moon of course). We have been asking friends what it was and no one knew. Our friend bought telescope few days ago and today we had a first look. We couldnt get a nice clear view of the object so we went back home very dissapointed.
Luckly I found this website and found out that the massive bright object is a Venus.
:)
Anyone there possibly who was thinking about some sort of UFO? hahah or only two of us :) LOL

Mars

lindastar — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:58:32 -0500

Hi all just joined and very excited. I have been out looking at the sky any evening it has been clear, not many lately. The planet Mars was really Red this evening as it was coming up on the horizon, had a few people with me and they were all very impressed. Venus was really bright and just wonderfull to look at? My husband took me to Armagh Planetarium for valentines, very romantic but he is going to buy me a telescope. I have binoculars, not strong enough but they do show the belt of orion and the nebula.
Lindastar

Saturn at Opposition

LIBRA93 — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:16:56 -0500

Hello There
Note For Diary (April 15 2012)
SATURN, the ringed planet will be at its closest approach to Earth on the April 15 2012 and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Saturn and its moons.
Hope for a clear night............................