I'm glad you got to see some Geminids, @jo. I didn't see any, mainly due to temperatures around -25C the night of maximum, followed by a few days and nights of snow and light freezing rain.
The last half of this month has also lived up to this month's cloudy reputation, with plenty of snow for Christmas followed by mild temperatures that allowed the snow to sublimate right into thick fog that's persisted over much of the past 10 days or so.
There was a brief pause in the clouds Saturday, and I enjoyed the view of the planets and Orion that evening. Saturn and Venus are a lot closer now than when I saw them last, and will be closest (2 degrees apart) on January 17. Another highlight next month is Mars at opposition January 16 (just 3 days after the Moon covers it for much of North America).
Fun trivia note: the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is roughly opposite the sun this time of year. That means that as we ring in the New Year at midnight tomorrow (or later today, depending on your time zone), it is at its highest in the southern sky (or the northern sky for those Down Under).
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
I had a couple of fun astronomical sightings yesterday (January 3).
First, the Moon was close to Venus, which made for a very pretty sight in the evening. But earlier that day, I used it as a signpost to see Venus in broad daylight, first with binoculars and then with the unaided eye. It's the first time I'd seen Venus in daylight since the total solar eclipse last April, when we were able to follow the planet after the sun began reappearing (I often use the Moon as a 'shortcut' to see Venus in daylight; that was probably the ultimate example of doing so).
Around 6:45 pm, I stepped out to enjoy the nighttime view of the Moon and Venus, and was excited to see a string of about 30 satellites nearby, slowly rising up until they disappeared near the Moon. They turned out to be from the latest Starlink launch on New Year's Eve. It's been a while since I've seen one of these satellite parades.
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
What interesting and lovely sightings, @stargazer! I did not see them that Venus and the Moon that night, as clouds dominated here. How cool you spotted Venus in the daylight, with the Moon being the pointer. And then the satellite train at night. I have not seen a satellite parade for quite awhile now, and it is always fun to see them, usually very unexpectedly.
This morning I was out for a walk for the first time in awhile (previous conditions were somewhat icy, but mostly strong winds), and it was really beautiful to be out walking in the winter's beauty again, albeit cold, with a very slight windchill. For the first time in awhile, as well, the sky was clear for the first part of my walk, with the Big Dipper right overhead, as the handle 'arced to Arcturus' and 'sped on to Spica'. Beautiful! Ruddy Mars was in the NW, with Gemini's Pollux and Castor close by. Orion was beneath the horizon already.
Clouds move in again tonight with more snow, and I don't see a hint of sun forecast over the next week. It remains cold. I love cloudy winter weather, but I do miss regular night sky gazing, which is more frequent for me all autumn season and very early spring.
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'Tis after 24 hours, so ...
Last night's winter walk was so beautiful. There is nothing like crisp, cold, clear skies with no humidity or haze, snow all around on the fields. I started out in twilight, and ended up in the dark (intentional). The stars and planets were so magnificent that I stopped by the Old Silo to record a voice memo so I would not forget anything.
Eastern sky: I saw a very orange Mars rise in the ENE sky. What a beauty! Within 10° above Mars was Pollux and Castor in Gemini. Far above Gemini was Capella.
To the right of Capella was the waxing gibbous Moon—very bright. The shadows on earth were stark and well-defined. Lovely! To the lower left of the Moon is shining Jupiter. About 5° to Jupiter's right was Aldebaran, which made me look for the Pleiades, but I failed to spot that star cluster. And this is why!
That bright orb outshone the nestled-up-the-the-Moon Pleiades, that is for sure.
Below Aldebaran was mighty Orion. Sirius, nor Procyon, had risen yet, but they must have been close to appearing over the horizon.
South: Venus was dazzling. Within 10° was Saturn, and forming a long, thin triangle was Fomalhaut way below Venus and Saturn.
NW: the beautiful Summer Triangle / Cygnus the Swan, as it sinks for the night.
One has to be dressed for the cold, of course, and I was bundled up, but even still, in activity I become warm quite easily, so was careful not to over-bundle.
A lot of snow is coming all through tonight, and clouds dominate over the next week, so that is the last I will see the clear night sky for a while.
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Although I love snow and am thrilled it is falling yet again today, I would like the sky to clear for this evening's occultation of Mars behind the Moon. But there is no chance here. The snow continues!
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Your observation notes sound wonderful, Jo. It was like I was stargazing too.
Clouds have moved in here, but it isn't overcast and they aren't very thick. So there is a chance to see the occultation tonight. The biggest obstacle is the temperature. It's up to a balmy 7F/-14C now but it's expected to be around -4F/-20C by the time the occultation starts.
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
Boy did I feel like an idiot last night. I had not previously seen this was going to happen. My mom texted me that the moon was really close to Mars. I stepped out a few minutes later and didn't even see it. It must have been behind the moon and I didn't realize what was going on. Too bad! We had clear skies. I would have liked to watch it.
Argh, fantasia, that is so frustrating after the fact, isn't it? Because there is no way one can remedy it. I can relate.
stargazer, were you able to view the occultation? Was it clear enough (albeit cold)?
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I'm sorry you missed it, fantasia!
It was overcast here for the occultation, though the skies cleared around midnight and I got to see Mars about a degree from the Moon. By 5.45 this morning they were about 4 degrees apart in the west, and quite pretty.
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
I got to see Mars about a degree from the Moon
Lovely!
I was going to wait until tomorrow to post, but I just got back from my evening winter's walk, and the sky and air and scenery all around was so beautiful, I could not wait.
The air temperature was around -8C / 17.6F, with the windchill feeling -14C / 6.8F. It was a beeauuutiful night for walking. Since we have received so much snow this January, and it has remained cold, the crunch of the snow under my shoes on the country roads was . The path over the Old Silo was even more snow-covered, but thankfully a kindly farmer travels his tractor along there after a snowfall to help us walkers walk without sinking deeply into the drifts.
Anyway, talk about crisp and refreshing! Very invigorating. I come alive in weather such as this.
There was so much to see in the night sky that I made a few voice memos, so as not to forget anything. I began my walk in the dusk, moving into the twilight, then the dark.
Starting with the ENE and eastern sky:
Four planets were easily visible tonight. Ruddy Mars (very orange) really stood out, only a couple of finger-widths to the right of Pollux (of Gemini). Over further to the upper right was bright Jupiter, with Aldebaran a short distance away (to the right). Orion was rising in the east, with Sirius lower above the horizon, and Procyon to its left.
I could not spot the Pleiades until into twilight, at which point it was noticeable, and became moreso as true dark fell. Capella was high above Gemini in the ENE.
In the south Venus stood out like a floodlight, while Saturn hung below Venus as a pendulum. Really cool! Fomalhaut was to the left of these two planets. I was so entranced with the sights in these directions, I completely missed looking in the NW.
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Last night on my walk, the sky cleared, to my delight. It was quite cold out, which means the night sky viewing was wonderful and crisp. The usuals were clearly visible in the eastern and SE sky: Gemini (still lying on its side), Mars, Capella, Procyon, Orion, Sirius, Aldebaran, the Pleaides, bright Jupiter; and in the SW like a mini floodlight, Venus, while a fair bit below it and much harder to see, Saturn.
The nearly full Snow Moon washed out some of the sky, but the familiar shining dots were no problem to find. I walked for nearly an hour from twilight into dark night, and could have gone on. The evening was so very beautiful and fresh, with thick snow-covered landscapes and paths all around. There is something awe-inspiring about standing on the hushed, snowy Old Silo path (thankfully a tractor packed the recently newly-fallen snow down a bit for us walkers) in the crisp, wintry air, having a largely clear view in every direction of the night sky.
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My stargazing has been limited a bit of late by the cold nights we've been having, and since I prefer cool temperatures that's saying something 😉
But this morning I stepped outside to see the pretty crescent Moon about 1 degree to the lower left of Antares, brightest star of the Scorpion. Earthshine was also very pretty.
Right now Venus is a spectacular blazing light in the evening sky, but it will sink into the twilight very quickly, until it passes between the earth and sun (inferior conjunction) on March 22. If you have binoculars, try looking at Venus shortly after sunset (before it gets dark). Its crescent should be visible if the glare is not too much.
I've seen sites touting another "planet parade" in the near future, with all the "official" planets visible in the evening sky (poor demoted Pluto hangs out alone in the morning sky, in Capricornus).
While this is technically true, don't believe the hype. It will be a challenge to see all the planets - I'm not sure it will even possible, especially not for casual viewers. Here's why: 4 of the 7 planets will be deep in twilight and very hard to find.
Mars (in the east), Jupiter (high in the south) and bright Venus will be easy to pick out. Mercury and Saturn will be lurking low in the bright twilight; faint Saturn will likely be problematic (its rings are edge on as viewed from earth on March 23, adding to its faintness, and it will be behind the sun for its own conjunction on March 12).
Ordinarily Neptune requires good binoculars or a telescope, and precise knowledge of where to look, but now it too is near the sun's bright light. Its conjunction is on March 19.
Uranus is an evening object not too far from Jupiter. Under excellent conditions and with good eyesight it can be seen without optical aid. Binoculars or a telescope could help tease it out, but it also requires precise knowledge of where to look to distinguish it from the stars around it.
Sorry to be a Scrooge! Enjoy the planets that light up the evening sky.
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
Planet parade aside, the evening sky continues to have a lot to look at. Mars and Jupiter remain dominant after dusk, though the Red Planet is starting to fade.
Venus blazes in the southwest after dusk, starting to sink as it nears its pass between earth and sun on March 22. I've seen its crescent in 10x50 binoculars recently; give it a try! It's best before the sky gets too dark and the glare becomes overwhelming.
The Moon is back in the evening sky, waxing toward full - and a total lunar eclipse the night of March 13-14 (more on that to come).
While watching Venus in twilight, I walked down the street to a parking lot so I could spot Mercury just above the trees. By about 40 minutes after sunset it was easy to pick out, about 8 degrees high and to the lower left (almost straight below) bright Venus. Good hunting!
But all night, Aslan and the Moon gazed upon each other with joyful and unblinking eyes.
I've seen its crescent in 10x50 binoculars recently; give it a try!
I meant to bring my (10x50) binoculars out last night after my walk to have that closer look at Venus' crescent ... but forgot. Since tonight will be another clear night, my plan is to do so. This should be really lovely to see!
By about 40 minutes after sunset it was easy to pick out, about 8 degrees high and to the lower left (almost straight below) bright Venus.
On Friday evening, while Venus was quite clearly shining amongst the various clouds, there was a larger cloud mass in the lower west, which was hiding Mercury for much of my walk. However, I saw which direction the mass was moving, and figured if I walked long enough , the sky may clear for me to spot Mercury. I was determined not to head back inside until I saw it! And sure enough, in the last ten minutes, there came a clear patch, and there it was, albeit dim. Hurrah!
But last night, the sky was completely clear, and while it was not quite dark enough to spot Mercury in the sunset's glow on the first 20 minutes of my walk, it was absolutely no problem once the sun sunk low enough. There it was, a tad less than 10° to the lower left of brilliant Venus, shimmering in the sky. Really beautiful!
The sky was magnificent last night in every direction. Mars was cozying up to the bright gibbous Moon very high in the SE, with the former almost hard to spot in the shining glare. Both are sitting in Gemini, nearer its heads.
Orion is standing upright in the south, and as I turned toward the NE, the Big Dipper was balanced on the end of its handle, which means Arcturus should be emerging soon above the horizon. I checked again right at the end of my walk, and still could not see it, 'though that could have been because there were hazy thin clouds right on the rim of the earth. I looked at the Planisphere when I arrived home, and Arcturus was barely above the horizon in the last few minutes of my walk. Something to keep an eye for another night. It is always fun to see 'old starry friends' appear again.
This week is to be milder and quite clear (our first mild week in months), and while that will bring snowmelt ( ), these days will be lovely for stargazing, especially in the morning now that we have sprung ahead one hour, but not bad in the evening, as well. So, I don't think I will be swimming much this week with these good walking temperatures, which are hovering around freezing, a few degrees either way at night.
And I look forward to some great night sky sights, including, as stargazer mentioned, the lunar eclipse near the end of this week March 13-14. Here, the forecast is for a mixture of clear and clouds, but hopefully the latter will dissipate for the eclipse! And the nighttime temp? Sitting at a very pleasant 6°C / 42.8F.
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