The planet Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the sky, after the Sun, the Moon and Venus. Even a small telescope reveals the famous “moons” first seen by Galileo. Jupiter is almost always visible in the morning or evening sky.
OCTOBER MORNING PLANETS! In the month of October, 2015, the Sun is aligned with the constellation Virgo, and four of the five visible planets are to the west of the Sun in the constellation Leo, and thus can be seen in the morning sky, before sunrise. Jupiter and Venus are shining brightly, and are joined by Mars and Mercury! Follow… Continue reading
If you were reading our newsletter in the spring and summer of 2015, you read that we enjoyed a rare extended alignment of the blazingly bright planets Jupiter and Venus. If you missed those newsletters, you can read them in the online newsletter archive. As we frequently explain, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest “stars” visible in the sky, respectively… Continue reading
LAST LUNAR CONJUNCTION! Venus and Jupiter are descending together into the sunset throughout July, following their big conjunction on June 30. Keep an eye on these planets on the evenings of Friday, July 17, Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19 as the waxing crescent Moon joins the scene. This will be the last evening conjunction of the season between… 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
JUPITER AND VENUS are drawing very close! These two will get closer and closer in the evening sky over the month of June. In early June, Venus will form a straight line with the bright “twin stars” Castor and Pollux in Gemini. After that, these stars will drop lower toward the sunset, away from Venus, as the Sun begins… Continue reading
