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Wednesday 8th September, 2010
New Moon
(Quick planet tip…when Venus sets in the west, turn round to the east and see Jupiter rise!)
Venus
You will see Venus low in the west shortly after the Sun has set, sinking towards the horizon. Venus, “Earth’s evil twin” is the third brightest object after the Sun and the Moon, so it is still quite easily visible in the Sun’s glow. It looks like a large star shining through the evening light.
Tonight Venus‘s magnitude is -4.37 with an angular size of 31.5″, it sets at 8.18 pm (GMT+1)
Tonight’s coordinates for Venus RA 13h, 46m / DEC -15, 14′
How long will it be around for? You still have some time to see Venus, it will still be visible during about the first half of September. After this time it will disappear into the evening twilight. But up to this point it will continue to get brighter, and increase in angular size.
Jupiter
Jupiter is up and coming planet as far as observing goes, as Mars and Saturn are virtually out of sight. You can’t really miss the gas giant, you’ll see it shining very brightly in the east. Jupiter first made it’s come back as an early morning planet a few months ago, but is now visible early evening. Jupiter will rise earlier and earlier each night during the coming weeks. No telescope? Then try some good binoculars on it, you’ll see the planet as a small disc but with four pinpoints of light around it…these are Jupiter’s four moons Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa.
As the Sun and Venus set in the west, Jupiter is rising in the east. Tonight the gas giant rises at 8.12 pm (GMT+1), with a magnitude of -2.76, and an angular size of 49.6 , it will get to it’s highest point in the early hours directly south at around 2.30 am (GMT+1)
Tonight’s coordinates for Jupiter RA 0h, 2m / DEC -1, 26′
How long will it be around for? Jupiter is now perfectly placed in the evening sky to observe. It is very obvious, and so bright that would cause someone not even interested in the night sky to wonder what it is. It will continue growing in angular size and brightness, and by mid September the biggest of the planets with it’s collection of four main moons will be at opposition, with a magnitude of -2.78, and angular size 49″. It will now be with us in the evening sky until March 2011.
Mercury
Mercury will be making an appearance in the early morning sky just before sunrise, from the 11th of September onwards. You’ll be able to see it in the east at around 5.30 am (GMT+1), low to the horizon shortly before the Sun gets up. As each morning passes it will get brighter, eventually reaching it’s furthest elongation from the Sun on the morning of the 19th September. This is when it will be at it’s highest point in the morning sky.
How long will it be around for? You’ll see Mercury from about the 11th of September, to roughly the end of the month when it moves back down into the glow of the Sun again. Mercury being the inner most planet means it’s always very close to the Sun which makes it only ever viewable at either sunrise or sunset. It can be seen with the naked eye, but it should NOT be viewed through an optical aid when any part of the Sun is above the horizon.
Goodbye Saturn
Saturn has disappeared into the sunset in the western sky, but it will be back in no time. From mid October onwards you will be able to see the ringed gas giant as a morning planet, rising before the Sun gets up in the eastern sky. But it gets better…instead of it slowly getting dimmer and shrinking in angular size as of late, from this time it’s angular size will increase as well as it’s brightness, and best of all the famous rings start opening out.
…and, goodbye Mars
Mars, like Saturn has gone out of sight into the setting Sun’s glow. But unfortunately our rusty neighbour will be gone for some time, not reappearing until late June 2011 when it will be a morning planet in the east, rising before the Sun. Over the weeks and months from this time, it will gradually increase in size and brightness.
The ice giants
Uranus and Neptune are more of a challenge to observe than the inner planets like Mars and Venus, and you will need a larger telescope to even see them. You will not see them with the naked eye.
Uranus
Uranus from Hubble
Uranus is near a convenient marker point at the moment, being just a few degrees northwest of dazzling Jupiter as it rises in the east early evening. Uranus, the coldest planet in the solar system will get closer and closer to to Jupiter from our vantage point, over the coming months. The last week in September sees Uranus passing just half a degree north of a large and very bright Jupiter, in the south east sky.
Tonight Uranus rises in the east at dusk with magnitude is 5.73 and a diameter of 3.7
Tonight’s coordinates for Uranus are RA 23h, 57m/ DEC -1, 4′
How long will it be around for? The ice giant is an outer planet at a large distance, and so moves slowly across the sky from our perspective. It will stay near Jupiter in the sky for the forseeable future, being available for viewing until around the end of January 2011.
Neptune
Neptune is the outermost planet and lives 30 times further out from the Sun than the Earth. It’s striking blue colour comes from frozen methane high up in it’s atmosphere. You’ll definitely need a telescope for this ice giant, as only Pluto is further. Neptune is in Aquarius, moving slowly in the direction of Capricornus. It rises around 50 minutes before it’s sister ice planet Uranus. Just as it going dark Neptune is rising in the east getting to it’s highest point in the sky in the early hours in the south.
Tonight Neptune rises in the eastern sky in the early evening, it has a magnitude of 7.83, and a angular size of 2.4
Tonight’s coordinates for Neptune are RA 21h, 56m/ DEC -13, 2′
How long will it be around for? Neptune will be available in the night sky for some time. It will be in the south through autumn and the first part of winter, eventually sinking towards the western horizon and disappearing into the evening sky glow by the end of January 2011. Up to this time Neptune will decrease very slightly in angular size to 2.2, while getting around 1 magnitude dimmer. The autumn and winter will see brilliant Jupiter dominating the darker skies, over shadowing the outer solar system wanderers, Uranus and Neptune. While Jupiter will be amazing, why not challenge yourself with the ice giants as well !!
Hi again Betelgeuse,
Not got my head around M13 yet…. I feel I am getting a bit obsessed with it.
Every clear night this last week or so I have been looking between Arcturus and Vega and then looking for M13 about 1/3 down.
I have been using 8 x 42 and 20 x 80 Konus binoculars.
There are a lot of apparent bright stars in this area using this equipment.
Would the Keystone fill the FOV in the 8 x 42s?
I was certain I was looking at the right object about 1/3 down from what I thought were the right side 2 stars but it still looks like a sharp orangish star slightly smaller the than the white flanking stars and definetely not a fuzzy patch.
Having spent many hours looking over the whole region I could not find anything else.
M31 was observed in both binocs and quite large in the 20 x 80s.
Jupiter showed a mid band and Neptune was a sharp green “star”
Reflector is still being considered but want to see as much in binocs before ordering.
Best regards,
Dave (STOCKPORT POOR LIGHT!!)
Hi Dave, between Arcturus and Vega is quite a big area of sky. The key to seeing M13 is to practice locating the 4 stars of the Hercules keystone with your naked eye, then once you have it put the binoculars on it. If you imagine the keystone stars joined to make a box shape, M13 lies on the right hand side of the box, on the line between the corner stars about 1/3 of the way down. Best of luck
I’ve been watching 2 stars appearing fairly low in sky NNE direction over SW England around dusk for last 5 nights – they move slowly eastwards over the hours. They are twinkling VERY bright colours – not noticed other stars with such vibrant colours – blue, red, green, yellow. One is significantly fainter than the other. Are there particular atmospheric conditions at the moment which might cause this? And what are these stars? I only have cheapy binos to watch them with and they don’t really show me much more than I can see with the naked eye. Thanks very much – I would very much appreciate an explanation!
Hi, I think one of these will definitely be the bright star Capella in Auriga, one of the brightest stars in the sky (look at he last comment for more info on this star system). The other one I’m not sure, it could be the orange giant Alderbaran in Taurus, although you’d notice just how orange this one is. Jupiter is VERY bright in the east right now although it won’t twinkle like a star. The different colour twinkling is caused by our atmosphere’s hot and cold air currents disturbing the starlight, the lower a star is then more atmosphere you’re looking through.
I’ve seen a twinlking star low down in north just underneath, and between Polaris and Cassiopea. Does anybody have any ideas what it might be?
Many thanks in Advance
Hi, this sounds like it could be Capella in the constellation of Auriga, it’s one of the brightest stars in the sky. But Capella isn’t just one star but four. It’s actually two stars in a binary system in close orbit around each other, then two further cooler red dwarfs orbiting around the first two.
WOW Thank you iv just searched the web trying to find out what it was i could see, its the 1st proper night without cloud to be able to get a good look. Thank you for your website, for telling me i was looking at jupiter, her rings and and 4 of her moons, absoulutly beautiful. my partner bought me a refractor i think thats right, iv only been able to look at the birds and wildlife within the garden during the day tho as the weather has been rather rubbish at night
cloudy again now but thank you
I see jupiter rings and four moons last night 30/8/2010 good and clear very stunning.i was examining for about an hour.could’nt take my eyes off em.and took some time with the moon.i was using meade 8″ lx 10 schmidt-cassegrain telescope,with 2x barlow(which was’nt really needed)and used 21,15,11mm lenses and a 20mm ultrawide lense lastly.looking at 11.30pm-12.30am.moon and jupiter was very bright.going to do the same tonight.
Hi,
Spent a couple of hours last night trying to find M13 with binoculars.
If I got it right does it appear as an orange speck of light about magnitude 6?
Everything I`ve read indicates that this is a magnificent cluster but it does not impress much in the binocs (if I`ve observed the right object), so is a telelscope required to make it “stand out”.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Dave.
Hi Dave, M13 will look like a small fuzzy glow in binoculars. If you look for the Hercules keystone, which is the central square shape of the constellation. Then locate the two stars that mark the right side the keystone, M13 lies between these two stars. Telescopes over 4in will resolve individual stars in this globular cluster.
I will have to invest in some decent ones as my £10 argos ones don’t quite live up to such a challenge!
Thank you very much, great site you have going, very useful to a novice like me! Keep up the great work!
Hey, I was wondering if you could help me name a star/planet that I’ve seen tonight 23rd august.
It was visible from about 10pm, rose in the east and went high across the sky to the west. (bear in mind I used iPhone compass to locate, so could be totally wrong!). It was really bright. It’s about 3:30am now and in relation to the moon, it’s about where 9/10 o’clock is on a clock face.
Sorry for awful locations! I heard Jupiter was visible during this tim, so wondered if it could be that, or is it just Venus?
Thank you for any explanation!
Yes that’s Jupiter, very bright and rising from the east. If you have any decent binoculars try looking at Jupiter through them. You should see four tiny pinpoints of light around it, these are Jupiter’s moons Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa.
Thank you for the advice.
I was almost sure that the dobsonian reflector was going to be my choice and at £269 from warehouse express its seems a good price.
By the way I have observed Jupiter and the 4 moons with the 20 x 80s and got a very small disc for the planet and 4 very sharp points of light for the moons.
Also could make out the double in Lyra very clearly.
Dave.
Hi, I’m a complete novice when it comes to the night sky however I’m seeing something with the naked eye each night when I return from work which has got caught my imagination.
My location is Northern Italy just west of Turin on the French border and what I’m seeing is a bright flickering star low in the western sky. I can see it at about midnight when I get home but about an hour later its gone. Do you have any idea what this could be? Some say that its Mars, could you confirm this?
If you could help I’d very much appreciate it. Thank you.
Hi,
No this is not Mars, Mars has gone out of sight into the bright setting sun’s light. This sounds very much like Arcturus, the brightest star in the constellation Bootes, and at 37 light years away. The star Arcturus is 25 times the diameter of our Sun, and shines 180 times brighter.
Hi Dave,
Thanks very much for the comments. Binoculars are great for scanning the star clouds of the Milky Way, seeing open clusters, even being able to spot Jupiter’s moons…try your 20X80′s on Jupiter tonight if you haven’t already.
As far as telescopes go, the thing to always remember is that apeture is king. The general rule is to go for the largest aperture you can afford, as the larger it is, the more you will see, and with more detail. More aperture gathers more light, making you able to see faint galaxies etc. Refracting telescopes tend to be smaller in aperture, and can be far more expensive per inch of aperture than reflectors. Good luck
Just found your site and I think its a fantastic concept that you have created.
Just retired and want to renew my childhood interest in astronomy.
I have 8 x 40 and 20 x 80 binoculars at present but would desperately like to purchase a decentish scope from a budget up to £300.
Have you any recommendations that you could share with me.
I have seen Skywatcher Dobsonian 8″ reflectors and 4″ refractors in the range so far.
Best regards and keep up the good work,
Dave
hi folks..its 9-20pm almost and i have my telescope set up im using my starwatcher explorer 150 eq3-2 reflector 6″…the sky as been very clear all evening ere in the nw of england…but i`m looking to the east now and i cant believe wat i`m seeing…CLOUD!!! wer this as come from i dont know but its moving ne to sw and this as to be the most frustrating time of my life …every night as cloud cover apart from the other niight when we had broken cloud and i didnt even get to see the meteor showers but i could see jupiter very well but only glimpses between the cloud breaks…i`m keep my fingers crossed in the hope this cloud isnt gonna spoil things ..but i reckon by 10pm i`m gonna be packing up again as i wont get a chance to view the skies because of the clouds …it gets very annoying…as this as been a real bad couple of months weather wise up ere in the NW of england…will post if i get a chance to see anything at moment i`m feeling very disgrunteld….might i have to move down south ..lol…
We have had clear skies 50% of the time recently here in suburban NW London. Moving south might be a good idea!
Hello,
I love the night sky. I live in Foxdale in the Isle of Man and looking up at the sky on a night like tonight I understand why we have an observatory in Foxdale. The sky is truly amazing. Jupiter has been shining through my windows every night and is spectacular. There has been a number of shooting stars and other stars that seem to move a lot slower. Are these also called shooting stars? They feel so close that it is easy to imagine if I sat on my roof that I could touch them. I hope everyone else has a great view like me tonight
Hi Jan, thanks for your comment! Yes Jupiter really is amazing hanging low and bright in the east. The shooting stars you see will be from the Perseids meteor shower, and will peak wednesday 11th August after midnight, and Thursday 12th after midnight. The “stars” that move slower could very well be satellites.
hi folks
Well its been so dissapointing…cloud cover at night lots of rain…up here in the nw of england we seem to be constantly under a cloud belt ..odd breaks but they are few and far between and the cloud only seems to break in day time…why its as if someone is pulling the blinds shut at around 10pm as the clouds just roll in from the irish sea……so i still avnt seen anything with the new scope…so i av given up till the later months and the cooler nights and i hope by then the skies will disply there glory and the clouds will av passed on lol….hope to chat again soon if you are lucky enough to do some sky watching ..i hope you get some good views….i will watch the nights ere for a good clear night..as for tonite well its just as bad as ever cloudy …i just cant understand why its like this as been all of july..Phil
ive just bought a 76 x 700 telescope. just wondering what kind of images of the planets i would get with it. like is it a good scope lol
Hi Barry,
It sounds like a pretty good entry level scope to me. The Moon will be amazing I’m sure. Mars and Saturn are showing fairly small discs at the moment, but Venus is large in the sky at dusk, as is Jupiter later on.
You will definitely see the moons of Jupiter with it, and be able to make out the planet’s cloud belts.
hi everyone…well after all the excitement of a clear sky…darn wud u believe it as it was getting dark it clouded over ….argggggg talk about frustration…i saw the moon low in the sw naked eye view and sadly watch it go behind the clouds so that was my night goosed again…went to bed slept like a log …lol…well tonite is very clear though still sunny 18:58 at moment so long time b4 it gets dark..but i feel optmistic that tonite is the nite when i get the cover of my star watcher reflector 130 and put it to some real good use..so for now i read thru this site and wait for dark…..Jason i hope you get a clear nite too…keep everything crossed that it stays clear…will let ya know tomorrow if it did …happy viewing folks…Phil….ps there is so much fab reading and info on ere grt pages grt site …
hi jason …not a grt nite it clouded over as it was goin dark..but tonite looks very hopeful..its very clear been a beautiful day up ere….tips ..well jason like you i`m still a beginner really though i av been stargazing for many years..i`m sorta a point and look ..i tend to find a constellation then look around it for a while see wat i can see ..i make a note and then usin a well detailed star map etc ..i can look it up and say wooo i just been looking at that …then i move to the next ..if the planets are in view i will tend to spend time looking at them see wat i can see etc….i will also use this site as a guide too…av fun let me know wat you view ..likewise from me..i hope i can tell u tomorrow if i see anything tonite ..Phil
himeveryone…well after all the excitement of a clear sky…darn wud u believe it as it was getting dark it clouded over ….argggggg talk about frustration…i saw the moon low in the sw naked eye view and sadly watch it go behind the clouds so that was my night goosed again…went to bed slept like a log …lol…well tonite is very clear though still sunny 18:58 at moment so long time b4 it gets dark..but i feel optmistic that tonite is the nite when i get the cover of my star watcher reflector 130 and put it to some real good use..so for now i read thru this site and wait for dark…..Jason i hope you get a clear nite too…keep everything crossed that it stays clear…will let ya know tomorrow if it did …happy viewing folks…Phil….ps there is so much fab reading and info on ere grt pages grt site …
im livin down in cornwall. i like you have no veiw west so depend on anything coming from the east too.
had a good veiw of the good old moon and jupitor and its moons. im new to this so still keeping to the basic’s as not sure where to be looking for differant things like uranus.
how was your night. any tips you could give me? i am looking at getting some differant eye lens as i only have a 20mm and a 4mm son see there lots inbetween.
hi jason i hope you too get clear skies i`m nr Blackpool UK and as i said previously its looking good for a good show tonite …keep in touch tell me how you do and i`ll tell you how it was for me and wat i got to see in the skies if it stays clear lol…Phil
Well i`m keepin fingers ,toes,eyes crossed…this looks like it will be the first clear nite since i bought my telescope ….its 20:02 still awhile be4 it actually goes dark so anything could change by then , but i`m hopefull …it cooler so the air is clear and that means the sky will be a lot clearer too…am i getting excited..you bet ..roll on the darkness…i wont be able to see mars, saturn or venus..as i av said b4 the houses behind me totally block my view west…but everything that rises in the east and there after till they hit the house in the west well i av grt viewing..jupiter shud be grt if the sky stays clear ..maybe look in the milky way too and see if i can spot uranus with the new scope….i hope its clear wer you all are and i hope you get some good viewing….cant believe how blue the sky is at mo, i do hope it stays this way till well after dark…all the best to you all happy sky hunting..Phil
i no how you feel Phil. i been trying to catch the odd momment between the clouds. but not easy.
i belive we are in for some nice weatherin the comming weeks so fingers crossed
ps…im looking out my window now…guess wat? its solid grey cloud so another nite i cant view anything …so sad my new scope still thinks its on the shelf in the shop lol
am totaly new to sky watching. i have a telescope with optmum veiwing of x75 will i see much with this?? please help
Hi Jason, thanks for the comment.
Yes, but it’s important to remember that in astronomy aperture counts far more than magnification. The size of your mirror or lens is the thing that catches all the light, so the larger the lens or mirror then the more light it will catch letting you see more detail, and more distant objects. Conmmon apertures for reflecting telescopes are 4,6, 8, and 10 inch diameter mirrors…all really good, but you’ll see more with a bigger aperture.
Binoculars are great too for scanning the the Milky Way and looking at the Moon, I had a pair of 20×80 ones. They were large, but perfect for astronomy as they caught lots of light.
Regards