Yet it is still fairly conspicuous because it still ranks among the 21 brightest stars in terms of brightness.Īnd you can make an instant identification of it, by simply looking up at our fifth celestial object of the evening, the moon. It has correspondingly faded, appearing only 1/13th as bright compared to early in December. On March 27, Mars will be 131.4 million miles (211.4 million km) from Earth - more than 2.5 times more distant than it was late last fall. And ever since then, we've left Mars far behind - in our side view mirror, preverbally speaking. A week later, like two racing cars going around on a track, we passed Mars in our respective orbits - Earth on the inside and Mars on the outside.
30 it was 50.6 million miles away from us and appeared like a very bright fiery hued star, shining with a steady glow. Several months ago, Mars shone brilliantly because it was relatively close to Earth back on Nov. But two months from now, Venus will be noticeably higher in the west-northwest sky about an hour after sunset, and not setting until close to midnight. Right now, it's setting around 10:15 p.m. Venus is becoming increasingly prominent as it slowly gets higher in our western evening sky with each passing night. It's the first planet to look for when the sun goes down. In contrast to Mercury and Jupiter, the third planet on our list will be very easy to see: dazzling Venus, the so-called " Evening Star" (although "Evening Beacon might be a better term). Mercury, on the other hand, will be moving away from the sun's vicinity and will become a bit easier to see during the next couple of weeks. Within just a day or two, Jupiter will disappear from view into the glare of the sun. It is no mean feat to catch two planets positioned so close to the setting sun. If you sight them, congratulate yourself. On the evening of March 27, they will be separated by just 1.3 degrees (just over one-finger width at arm's length.) Mercury will be to the right of brighter Jupiter. Your best chance to pick both planets up is initially to slowly sweep low along the western horizon with the binoculars then after you hopefully have found them, seek them out with your naked eye. But what will make a sighting problematic will be that both may be very difficult to see through the bright evening twilight.Īnd that's where your binoculars come in. Jupiter will appear even more dazzling at magnitude -2.1, which is twice as bright as Mercury. Both planets will set beyond the horizon only 25 to 30 minutes later.īoth planets will be shining brilliantly, Mercury will glow at magnitude -1.4, which is just a trifle dimmer than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. And your viewing time is going to be short. Once you have found a proper viewing site, and with binoculars in hand, wait until approximately 20 to 25 minutes after the sun has set. One is the smallest planet (Mercury) and the other is the largest (Jupiter).
Interestingly, our first two planets are studies in contrast. (Image credit: Starry Night Pro 7 ) Twilight time The alignment will be a challenge to spot, but is possible with the right location and equipment.
Starry night pro 7 atlanta how to#
If you're looking to snap photos of the night sky in general, check out our guide on how to photograph the moon, as well as our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography. If you're hoping to catch a look at the planetary parade, our guides to the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to start. The first number refers to magnification - in both cases, "7 power." The second number refers to the size of the objective lens - the large lens at the front of the binocular - measured in millimeters. The best kind is either 7 x 35 or 7 x 50. Your best option is looking out over a westward-facing shoreline that is perfectly flat and wide open with nothing to block your view.Īnd also make sure to have a good pair of binoculars, as they will be extremely beneficial in your making a sighting. Make sure you do not have any tall objects - buildings or trees - in that direction. In fact, I would strongly suggest that you stake out an observing site with a clear and unobstructed view of the western horizon if you hope to see two of these distant worlds. But like the Messier Marathon bagging all of these objects is going to be a challenge, especially with some of the planets.
0 kommentar(er)
