Lunar Conjunction With Jupiter
The First Quarter Moon passes near Jupiter this weekend. Watch the progress over the weekend, to see how quickly the Moon jumps across the sky from night to night Continue reading
The First Quarter Moon passes near Jupiter this weekend. Watch the progress over the weekend, to see how quickly the Moon jumps across the sky from night to night Continue reading
In 2016, the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan begins at sunset on Friday, April 22. The Full Moon of Passover rises above the eastern horizon at sunset. This evening is the “Erev Pesach, ” the Eve of Passover. The Israelites would kill the paschal lamb before the next sunset, and eat the Passover meal early after the… Continue reading
EARLYBIRD SPECIAL! On the morning of Monday, March 28, the waning gibbous Moon will align with the planet Mars. You can’t miss Mars due to its distinct rusty red color, like a new shiny copper penny! The next morning, Tuesday, March 29, the Moon will pass the planet Saturn. If you’re up before the Sun on these mornings, check out… Continue reading
JUPITER LINES UP WITH THE MOON on the evening of Monday, March 21, 2016. Many people think of Jupiter as a far-away planet, known only through NASA photos. But the fact is, Jupiter is one of the brightest “stars” in the sky, and visible nearly every single clear night. The Moon swings past Jupiter and all the other planets as… Continue reading
The evening of Tuesday, February 23 is the monthly conjunction of the Moon with Jupiter. Jupiter is famous for being a picture in a textbook and as subject of NASA exploration. However, for whatever baffling reason, it is NOT famous that Jupiter is in the sky just about every night of our lives, and that the Moon passes this blazingly… Continue reading
As if all those conjunctions aren’t enough sky excitement for you all, there will be a series of monthly lunar occultations throughout 2016 between the Moon and the bright star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus. Most of these events will not be visible from the USA or will only be visible in the daytime. But we will have a prime… Continue reading
The first big event in Saturn’s fun year will be a VERY CLOSE conjunction with Venus on the morning of Saturday, January 9. If you are able to spot these two planets when the Moon was nearby during the week, you should be able to spot them again on Saturday morning when they draw closest. Saturn is the little “speck”… Continue reading
The fun begins in 2016 with the morning conjunction of the waning crescent Moon with the bright planet Venus this week, on the morning of Thursday, January 7, before sunrise. But as a special added bonus, Venus is currently lining up with the planet Saturn, which recently emerged from the sunrise, after being invisibly hidden on the opposite side of… Continue reading
Friends, 2015 was a very interesting year for conjunctions of the Moon and planets. Long-time readers of this newsletter and other experienced sky observers understand that the classical planets are among the brightest objects in the sky, and are brighter that the actual fixed stars. The planet Venus is blazingly bright, the third brightest object in the sky, exceeded in… Continue reading
On Monday, August 21, 2017, there will be a TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN passing over the United States, from coast to coast. A lot of people don’t appreciate the magnitude and significance of such an event. Basically, the Moon will BLOCK OUT the Sun for a couple minutes, and the brightness of noon will become the darkness of midnight,… Continue reading