PLUTO: Today’s new picture of Pluto, sent back by the New Horizons spacecraft, will very likely be the new “yearbook photo” for this planet, as happened with the gas giants during the Voyager era. Officially, NASA has been remarking about the “heart-shaped” object in Pluto’s southern hemisphere, but many are spying a “Pluto” on the non-planet! So what do… Continue reading
Following the close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus on June 30, these planets will continue to share the evening sky throughout the month of July. They will also remain close to the bright star Regulus, in the constellation Leo. In a very rare and special circumstance, the cycles of Venus and Jupiter will coincide so that these planets will remain… Continue reading
CONJUNCTION REPORT: The weather was a tease all day, with thunderstorms and intermittent showers in between breaks of Sun. I had already committed to setting up my telescope at our church, but had low expectations. But God was gracious and provided everyone a view that we could not have expected. About 30 people arrived at the church, and a… Continue reading
PLANETARY CONUNCTION!!!! At last!!! On the night of Tuesday, June 30, Jupiter and Venus will be right on top of each other! At the precise moment of conjunction, best visible from Australia and the Pacific Ocean, Jupiter and Venus will be separated by a mere 0.4 degrees. This is LESS than a single diameter of the Moon! To put… Continue reading
The convergence of Jupiter and Venus culminates on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 with a CLOSE CONJUNCTION of these planets! At their closest approach, these two planets will be SO CLOSE, only 1/3 of a degree, or 20 arcminutes apart! This is close enough to fit inside the same field of view of binoculars, or a telescope at low power!… Continue reading
LUNAR CONJUNCTIONS: Pay special attention to the Moon this coming weekend, as the New Moon emerges from the glow of the sunset, to signal the beginning of the Hebrew month of Tammuz. The waxing crescent Moon will enter the scene on Friday, June 19, when it will appear below Venus and Jupiter after sunset. By the next evening, Saturday,… Continue reading
Throughout the month of June, Venus and Jupiter have been drawing closer with each passing night. But the closer these two planets get, the more change you will observe with each passing night! By the evening of Monday, June 15, Jupiter and Venus will be separated by only 10 degrees! If you hold out your fist at arm’s length,… Continue reading
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Come spend a week in the natural beauty of the U.P., along the shores of Lake Superior. So far, we only have one dark sky camping event currently in the planning stages for this year. We will return to the pristine, inky-black skies of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from August 11-15, 2015. Last year, we had families come from… Continue reading
