Holy Planets, Batman!

Quick, my young ward, run outside and view the planets!

No seriously!  Get outside, soon!  There are three planets currently gracing the early evening skies, and you do not want to miss this.

I've been waiting to post this because we've had a serious stretch of rainy weather here in Virginia, and it seemed cruel to write a post telling everybody about the amazing stuff they can't go outside and look at.  But this past weekend was brilliant, and hopefully some nice weather is here for a little while.  So let's talk planets.

Jupiter has been shining bright in our evening sky for some months now.  It's a dramatic, white star-like object high on the western side of the sky in the early evening.  You can't miss it.  It's the brightest thing out there, assuming the Moon is nowhere around.  Grab a pair of binoculars or a small telescope for a real treat - a quick zoom-in will reveal the colorful cloud stripes on the planet and as many as 5 moons orbiting the giant world.

Jupiter and its four largest moons as seen through a small telescope.

Looking more south-southwesterly, you still have time to catch the orangey glow of Mars before it fades away into the distance.  Mars made a close approach to us in April, and is now getting further and further away from us with each passing day.  A good-sized telescope will reveal a mottled surface and possibly a bit of a polar cap on our tiny next door neighbor.  Mars is only half the size of the Earth, so seeing any detail on the planet is difficult.  With Mars being a bit closer now than it normally is to us, here's your best shot at seeing some Martian surface detail for a while...the next close approach will be in about two years.

Mars as seen in a larger telescope during its close approach in April 2014.

Finally, lower in the southwest you will find the golden glow of Saturn.  Here's the big payoff for your binoculars or telescope - those oh-so-spectacular rings.  If you are using binoculars, you'll need to hold them very steady - a tripod will be your best bet.  Remember, you're looking at something about a billion miles away.  But oh, that view is so worth it!

Saturn as seen through a larger telescope.

Don't have a telescope or binoculars?  Not sure exactly where to look?  No worries.  Come on out to the Virginia Living Museum on Saturday May 10 and we'll do the leg work for you.  Our telescopes will be set up (weather permitting) and all you'll have to do is bend your eye to the eyepiece and stare.  Trust me, you'll be glad you came!  For more details on our monthly star party and laser light nights, please visit our website at www.thevlm.org.  And if you can't make the star party, get out there and look up anyway.  No matter which way you face, the universe has a lot to offer!  Enjoy!

Until next time...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

I'm Sorry I'm Confused...

Well, hello!

Sorry about the lack of a post two weeks ago...I wrote one, but for some reason Blogger never posted it.  I've gotten so used to this thing working so well, I never thought to check to see if the scheduled post properly popped up!  I'll have to be more diligent with this thing in future.

I am smack dab in the middle of summer camps this week.  I'm currently teaching rising first and second graders about the planets - and it's TONS of fun!  I love working with kids...they always seem to know way more than I think they will.  It's awesome.

Anyway, since I've got planets on the brain, I thought I'd share a few tidbits about planets that my kids know...but maybe some of our grownups out there don't!  Enjoy!

Did you know...

...Mercury has a thin "borrowed" atmosphere of solar wind surrounding it.  The gases streaming away from the Sun will wrap around Mercury for a little while before continuing their journey through space.  It's not a very nice hug, however...the impact of the gaseous material can blast sodium ions off the surface of the planet!

...Venus rotates backward.  Something quite traumatic must have happened to our neighbor in its early history, as the planet appears to have been tipped completely over by a massive impact.  This same event massively slowed Venus' rotation as well, leaving it with a day which is longer than its year!

...Earth has been visited by spacecraft more times than any other planet.  Indeed, the majority of the spacecraft launched by the various space agencies around the world have been placed in orbit around our home planet for a wide variety of purposes, including scientific study.

...Mars is only half the diameter of Earth.  The much-maligned Red Planet - long considered the home of aliens bent on taking over the Earth to gain its vast supply of precious water - actually boasts several geologic superlatives despite its small size.  Mars is home to one of the largest canyons in the solar system (the Valles Marineris - large enough to stretch from New York City to Los Angeles if placed here on Earth!) as well as the largest volcano in the solar system (Olympus Mons - standing two and a half times the height of Mt. Everest and with a base as large as the state of Virginia!).

...Jupiter has the longest-lived cyclonic storm ever seen.  The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is actually a storm that has been raging in the atmosphere of the giant planet for more than 400 years - at a minimum!  Galileo Galilei first noted the presence of the storm in 1609 when he observed the giant planet through his simple telescope...but of course, since he was the first person ever to see Jupiter in that way, we have no idea how long the storm had been there before he saw it.  The Great Red Spot continues to fascinate amateur and professional astronomers alike to this day.

...Saturn has such a low density that you could float it in a bathtub...if you could find one big enough!  Though the second largest planet in the solar system, Saturn is less dense than water.  So if we could get enough water together, Saturn could float in it.

...Uranus rotates on its side!  Like Venus, it appears this planet also suffered a major whack early on...resulting in an orbital tilt of 98 degrees.  So the moons and rings of Uranus appear vertically around the planet, rather than the horizontal aspect we might expect.

Uranus - the Sideways Planet!  Courtesy NASA.

...Neptune used to have an enormous hurricane too...but now it's gone!  When seen by the Voyager spacecraft in 1989, Neptune boasted the Great Dark Spot, an atmospheric storm of some kind that appeared as a darker blue splotch on the planet.  In 1995, Hubble was aimed at the 8th planet, hoping to get a another look at the dark spot - but it was nowhere to be seen.  Unlike Jupiter, Neptune's storms seem to be short-lived things.

And we really can't finish out a post about planets without mentioning the dwarf planets!  There are officially five dwarf planets in the solar system these days - Ceres, the largest of the asteroids, and 4 Kuiper Belt objects - Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

Pluto now boasts five moons of its own - and they all finally have official names!  Recently, the International Astronomical Union officially named the two moons discovered in 2011 and 2012...so Pluto is now attended by Charon, Hydra, Nix, Kerberos, and Styx.  Not bad for the premiere dwarf planet of the solar system!

Pluto, now a virtual mini solar system of its own.  Courtesy NASA.

Well, that's about all I have time for just now.  Hope you discovered a little something new about the solar system in which you live!  See you in two weeks...assuming Blogger doesn't go crazy on me again.

Until then...Carpe Noctem!
Kelly

Woohoo! It's Time to Star Party!

Greetings, astronomy fans!

Ah, the summer star party.  Sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it?

Actually, we're really excited about our summer star parties.  We'll have time in the early part of the evening to view the Sun, which is pretty awesome right about now.  We're in solar maximum, so there's almost always something cool to see.  And by cool, we mean about 8,000 degrees Fahrenheit.  That's the rough temperature of the average sunspot, a cool, dark region on the solar surface.  I know, it doesn't exactly sound cool...but with the rest of the solar surface hovering around 10,000 degrees, suddenly 8,000 doesn't sound so bad.

The Sun today, June 5, 2013.  Image courtesy NASA and Spaceweather.com

Once the Sun sets, we'll be treated to some wonderful sights in the evening sky.  Saturn is prominent right now, and looking awesome.  At a recent overnight event at the museum, we saw 4 moons (out of Saturn's many dozens), Cassini's division (a large gap in the ring system), and even some faint banding in the clouds of the giant planet (yellow and white clouds generally don't make for great contrast, so when you can see them, it's quite lovely).  Saturn is truly a sight to behold in a telescope, and well worth the wait for the darkness of night.  Beyond Saturn, expect to see some beautiful double stars, like Alberio, in the head of Cygnus the Swan...and perhaps a nebula or two, like the the Ring Nebula in Lyra the Harp.

Still from a video of Saturn shot June 2, 2013.  Image by Dash One using Raspberry Pi.

While you're waiting for the darkening sky to reveal it's secrets, we've got a special treat for you.  The United States Air Force Heritage Combo, the Blue Aces, will be rockin' it out in the Conservation Garden from 6-8pm (if the weather is inclement, they'll move into the lobby of the main museum building).  Trust me, you're going to enjoy that!  And did I mention that everything we've talked about so far is free? No really, FREE!

The Blue Aces.

Beyond the freebies, you can support the Virginia Living Museum and see some amazing stuff this Saturday night.  Only during the three evening star parties of summer can you visit our stunning summer exhibit, Bodies Revealed, without paying admission to the museum as well.  Stand alone tickets to Bodies Revealed will be available for $15 for adults and $12 for kids.  Members, of course, are only $7.  The exhibit is an incredible journey through the human body - you won't want to miss it.

Also available is an expanded slate of shows in the Abbitt Planetarium!  At 5:30pm, you can see Microcosm, our show about the parallel developments of space exploration and medical technology that will also propel you into a possible future where human beings can go inside the human body to cures diseases.  At 6:30pm, take a break and rock on with Laser Pop, featuring pop music across the decades.  At 7:30pm, catch a preview of the evening sky with Virginia Skies, a live sky talk with one of our staff astronomers.  At 8:30pm, the rock and roll goes on with Laser Vinyl, a mix of classic rock hits you won't want to miss. Rounding out the night is a Pink Floyd double feature - The Wall at 10pm and The Vision Bell at 11:30pm.  The Wall features selections from that classic album, while The Vision Bell is a fabulous mix of old and new Pink Floyd favorites inspired by the release of The Division Bell.  It's a double header you won't want to miss.  Shows in the planetarium are $6 each, or catch a double feature (any two shows on the same night) for $10.  Members are always half price!

Besides all this fun, the Wild Things Museum Store and the Wild Side Cafe will be open for your shopping and eating pleasure!  Plus enjoy the beautiful gardens as the Sun goes down and the evening cools off.  All in all, our summer star parties should be a blast!  Our first one is this Saturday, June 8, and will be your only chance to see the Blue Aces.  Come out and join us!

Until next time,
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

When One Giant Sets...Another Rises...

Okay, perhaps not as eloquent or well known as the similar saying about doors...but more relevant to the sky right about now.

I do hope you've had the chance to look at Jupiter during this Winter/Spring season.  For some time now, Jupiter has been the dazzling bright white star-like object in the western sky, easily visible as the Sun sets and lingering for a while afterwards.  Well...the lingering is almost over.  Jupiter is now setting perhaps two hours after the Sun, and that time will grow progressively shorter as the days go by.  By the end of next month, Jupiter will be gone from our skies, disappearing into the glare of the Sun.  Long before that happens, it will become very difficult to catch telescopically, being low to the horizon just after sunset.  The season for Jupiter is ending, my friends, and if you haven't yet spent a pleasant evening outdoors, marveling at the wonders of the solar system's largest planet, I urge you to do so without delay.  It would be a shame to miss it.

Jupiter as seen through a small telescope.  The small "stars" seen around the planet are its four largest moons.  Image by Donald Waid. 

Yet even as Jupiter descends into the evening twilight, Saturn also rises.  Climbing up from the eastern horizon around sunset and visible nearly all night long, Saturn is becoming a better and better target for that telescope lingering in your garage or closet.  As Jupiter disappears below the western horizon, Saturn climbs higher into the south, gently gracing the sky with its golden glow.  Saturn appears like a golden-yellow star in the night sky - one that doesn't appear to twinkle.  Planets rarely twinkle, except under the most humid of conditions (think August!), while stars are so distant from us the moving atmosphere of Earth causes them to twinkle even under the best of seeing conditions.  Look to the southeast at 10pm and you'll be able to spot beautiful Saturn quite easily.  It won't be as bright as Jupiter, but if you look tonight, the Moon will be next door to the right, easily guiding your eye to the planet.  And don't worry if you miss it - Saturn will be with us all summer long.  We expect to see quite a lot of it at our summer star parties here at the Virginia Living Museum - so come on out on the second Saturday of the month and join us.  Trust me, there are few sights in the world more amazing than Saturn's rings in a telescope.  Don't miss it.

Saturn seen up close and personal by the Cassini spacecraft.  Don't worry, you'll be able to see the rings without having to travel a billion miles.  Even a quality pair of binoculars will show you the rings of Saturn.  Image courtesy NASA.

So that's my advice to you - go outside and see the planets.  Take a deep breath.  Relax.  And drink in the wonders of the universe around you.

Until next time,
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

What's Up?

Well, hello.

It's been an eventful time in the astronomy business, thanks to a chunk of rock that decided to scare the living daylights out of a whole lot of people living in Siberia.  Amazingly, they seem to like air-bursting asteroids...once again, just like in 1908, a chunk of space rock exploded rather than impacting.  Since this one did so over a city, many people were injured when they rushed to look out their windows to see what the bright flash of light was.  Once the shock wave hit, the windows shattered, glass went flying, and many people were hurt.  But fortunately, I do not believe there were any deaths associated with the event.  But my goodness, it must have been quite scary to experience that first hand.  We talked about the 1908 event in our previous chat...when I wrote that I had no idea it would be happening again so soon!

The fireball over Siberia on February 15, 2013.

Anyway, let's turn ourselves to a calmer exploration of the sky.  It's been a while since I wrote a nice, simple post about things appearing in the skies above, so I think it's time to do that again.

The early evening skies are currently dominated by the largest planet in the solar system - Jupiter.  Shining brighter than all the visible stars, Jupiter is easily seen high in the southwest after sunset.  It's currently located in the constellation Taurus the Bull, right behind the bull's V-shaped face.  Taurus, of course, is facing off with Orion the Hunter, brightest constellation of our sky and easily visible high in the south.  So just by looking southward after sunset you should be able to quickly find the seven bright stars of Orion.  Use the belt of Orion (three stars in an almost perfect straight line) to find Taurus by following the line it makes away from Orion towards the right.  The belt will point you to the brightest star of Taurus, reddish Aldebaran.  This is the upper left point of the V of Taurus' face.  Right next to the V will be Jupiter, almost shocking in its brightness.

Following Orion's Belt to Aldebaran, the red right eye of Taurus the Bull.  In February of 2013, Jupiter is located between the V of Taurus' face and the Pleiades.

Jupiter is an incredible world.  Ten times bigger than our own planet Earth, Jupiter is a gas giant and the largest of the solar system's planets.  Even so, it is still much too small to be a star...Jupiter would have to be 10 times again as big as it is to become a star like the Sun.  The gravity of mighty Jupiter holds over 60 moons in orbit around the massive world, and even supports a tiny, thin ring system, completely invisible from Earth.  Only visiting spacecraft have the opportunity to see the rings of Jupiter, and they have fortunately sent lovely pictures back to us here on Earth.  Known from ancient times, Jupiter has long fascinated us, and it has been the target of numerous missions including the Voyager space probes and the Galileo spacecraft.  Another mission, Juno, is on its way, with a planned arrival in July of 2016.

The giant planet Jupiter.

The only other planet currently visible to us is Saturn, which graces the early morning sky before the dawn.  You'll see Saturn as a golden-yellow star-like object shining in the south before the Sun rises.  A pair of binoculars is all that is needed to reveal the lovely Saturnian rings, but you will need to hold them very steady.  A tripod will serve you well.  And be prepared to get up quite early - 5AM is the best time to see Saturn these days.  If you'd rather see it at a more convenient time...wait a few months.  Later in the year, Saturn will become an early evening object rather than an early morning one.

Saturn and its amazing ring system.

So everyone take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the sky.  I promise, despite the events of recent days, the world is not coming to an end.  Hopefully the sky will give us a few days to catch our breath before the next potential big event - Comet PANSTARRS.  If the comet becomes something worth venturing outside to see, I'll put out a Cosmic Strings Alert to let you know.

Barring that, I'll see you in two weeks!
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Keep Looking Up

Greetings all!

I know, I know, I'm a day late again.  Once again, the internets refused to let me in to my blog if I'm not at work.  I'm not sure what's broken, but I think I'm going to stop trying to fix it.

Things are still a little shaken up here at the museum as we work on recovering from the flood, but overall, we're trying to get everything settled down into something resembling a routine.  So I thought I'd go back to a routine here as well and just talk about what's visible in the sky right now.  Sometimes doing the "normal" things helps the most when things are decidedly not normal.

We're getting ready to make the transition into fall, with longer nights and cooler temperatures, thank goodness.  It's a pleasure to be outside in the evenings now...you might even find you need a light jacket if you plan to stay outside for any length of time.  What a wonderful thing!

It will still be a couple of months before the brilliant stars of winter begin to grace the evening skies, but until then you can enjoy the last hurrah of summer - The Summer Triangle.  Three bright stars form a brilliant triangle that sits high overhead just after sunset and descends towards the west as the evening passes on.  To the East, you'll find the familiar Great Square of Pegasus - four stars in an almost perfect square dominate the eastern sky and mark the location of the legendary winged horse.  Two simple bright shapes that are pretty tough to miss.

The Summer Triangle and its surrounds.  Courtesy the University of Illinois.  Note that the Milky Way passes directly through the center of the triangle.

Looking westward at sunset might allow you a final quick glimpse of the planets Mars and Saturn, both sinking rapidly towards the Sun.  By the end of the month, both planets will be lost to our view.  Mars will still be in the news regularly however, as Curiosity really gets rolling on its mission to explore the Red Planet.  Sadly, with Mars and Saturn so low, and both relatively dim, you might miss them if you have anything other than a totally clear flat western horizon...hard to come by on the east coast of the United States.

However, don't get too downcast just yet.  If you can stand an early morning wake up call, you can see a pair of beautifully brilliant planets in the early morning sky.  Head outside around 5am and look to the east to see Venus and Jupiter dominate the pre-dawn sky.  Jupiter stands high in the east (almost to the south) with Venus lower but still plenty high enough to be seen quite easily.  These two are the brightest of the planets visible to the unaided eye, and make a stunning pair.  Well worth the effort of rising before the Sun to enjoy them.

Venus, The Moon and Jupiter in the early morning sky.  Photograph by Alan Dyer.  The Moon is the brightest object in the field, with Venus slightly up and to the left.  Jupiter stands up towards the top of the image to the right of the Moon and Venus.

Ah.  Just talking about the beautiful skies of fall helps me feel a bit better.  There's plenty of work still to be done, but taking the time to enjoy the simple things in life really does renew your spirit.

See you in two weeks...and until then...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Nice Work If You Can Get It

Hey everyone!

So today I thought I'd share the story of how I got where I am today.  For some reason, I've been asked the question a lot lately, so the twisted tale of my journey to running a planetarium and observatory has been much on my mind lately.  Besides, it's so bloody hot outside, no one wants to do any observing anyway (but you still have a good shot at seeing Saturn and maybe even Mars in the early evening sky if you want to give it a try...look to the southwest just after sunset!  Saturn is the golden yellow bright "star"...Mars is a faint, dull orangey-looking "star" just to the right a bit).

The night sky of July 18, 2012.  Facing South.

So, me.  Everyone loves talking about themselves, don't they?

I've always been interested in the sky and astronomy, ever since I was a little kid.  I grew up in New York City (New York City!!??!!???) so my skies were most definitely not the best.  Still, when I was old enough to travel into Manhattan by myself, I would spend long days at the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium (now the Rose Center for Earth and Space) enjoying the darkest skies around.

I also loved music, and as I headed into Wagner College on Staten Island, I thought I'd major in that.  But the summer before I began college, I realized that to be a professional singer I needed more talent and an agent, not a degree.  I was also good at math, so I thought I might major in that.  Had no idea what I could do with a math degree except teach, which didn't excite me.  So I went undeclared and sampled lots of cool courses during my first year...including a physics class.  I was hooked.  I majored in physics, doing my senior thesis on energy audits of buildings.

I knew very quickly that I wanted to take a higher degree in physics, and was accepted to the Ph.D. program at the College of William and Mary.  I eventually did my thesis in theoretical nuclear physics, but during my studies I got to do some papers on astrophysics as well.  More importantly, I found I really needed a break from the work, so I started volunteering in the observatory at the Virginia Living Museum, giving me 4 hours a week where I wasn't obsessing about my thesis.

Seven years later I was still plodding along on the thesis, but I was also panicking.  Years of working in the ivory tower had taught me that research was not at all my favorite thing.  Suddenly, I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life.  Luckily, an opportunity came up at the Virginia Living Museum.  Their part-time planetarium lecturer was leaving.  I'd love to say they begged me to work for them, but the truth is I begged them to wait for me.  I needed to finish the thesis...but then I couldn't imagine anything more fun than working in the planetarium and observatory every day.  They were willing, and I got the job.

Fifteen years later I've worked my way around to being in charge of all the astronomy stuff here at the museum.  My job is a wonderful mix of teaching, live performance, film & theater production, and occasionally blowing things up.  It's the best thing I could ever imagine doing.  Okay, maybe the second best thing.  See the image below for the best thing ever.

My husband Philip, me, and our little girl, Margaret.  Totally the best thing ever.

So sometimes it really does pay off to follow your heart and do what you love.  It's worth a heck of a lot to be able to get up everyday and be happy to go to work.  So, I guess the point of today's post is try to find a way to do what you love to do.  When I was trying to figure out what that was for me, I got great help from a book called What Color is Your Parachute?  - I highly recommended it to anyone out there who's trying to figure out what they'd like to do with the rest of their life.

Next time, we'll probably be talking about a certain Mars rover...but until then...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

The Planets Will Go On

Hey everyone!

So I am already excited for this Saturday's Star Party and Laser Light Night here at the Virginia Living Museum.  It's going to be awesome, for two reasons.  Number one is that we'll be enjoying a Titanic theme!  This Saturday, April 14, 2012, is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  We'll be adding a Titanic flair to the night with a special showing of "Night of the Titanic" at 6:30pm.  Then at 7:30pm, we'll have our regularly scheduled "Virginia Skies" but we'll examine the stars of the Northern Atlantic as well and compare them to what we see here in Virginia.  Finally, at 8:30pm, "Laser Magic" features the theme from James Cameron's "Titanic" - Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."  The punned out version of that title which heads up my post tells you the other reason I'm super excited about this Saturday.

Have you looked up in the early evening sky recently?  There are four - count 'em, FOUR! - planets visible to the unaided eye gracing the sky just after sunset.  It's incredible!  If the weather holds and things cooperate, you've got the chance to see all four of these planets through telescopes at the museum this weekend.  And it's free to boot!  How can you beat that?

Looking to the west in the early evening, you can still see Venus and Jupiter decorating the sky after sunset.  Venus is now substantially higher in the sky than Jupiter - the two have been moving apart steadily since their close encounter in March.  Jupiter is lower and fainter than Venus, so look carefully at the western horizon.  Venus will pop right out at you (it is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon, after all), but look down below Venus for the brilliant jewel of the solar system's largest planet, Jupiter.

Venus above and Jupiter below. Credit: Kevin Jung.

Turning your attention to the East will show you two more planets!  Mars is high in the south-southeast just after sunset, and is a distinctive orange color.  If you turn and compare colors between Mars and Venus, the decidedly orange tinge of Mars becomes very clear.  Mars' unique color comes from rust - the soil on Mars is rich in iron, and over time that iron has combined with oxygen to form rust.  The legendary windstorms of Mars have carried that rusty dust all over the planet, resulting the The Red Planet's characteristic hue.

Look low to the eastern horizon to see the fourth and final planet - golden-yellow Saturn.  If you can join us this Saturday, it will be well worth hanging around until Saturn climbs above our treetops so you can see it through a telescope.  It is quite possibly one of the most amazing things you will ever see!  Even at a distance of roughly a billion miles, the rings are quite distinctive, and with our larger scopes, you might even glimpse a few details in the cloud layers.

Saturn through a moderate-sized telescope.

We'll start setting up our telescopes around sunset (about 7:30-8pm these days) and will continue to observe until about 11:30pm or so.  Observing is free!  Planetarium programs begin at 6:30pm and are $6 for one, $10 for two (members are always half price!).  Make an evening of it and grab dinner in the Wild Side Cafe beginning at 6pm - they'll remain open until 10pm for food, snacks and drinks (both kid-friendly and adult).  It's going to be a "Titanic" night - so come join us!

See you then...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Sorry, I Was Looking at the Planets

Holy cow, if you haven't been outside lately, get out there tonight.  It's amazing.

I should have updated yesterday, but circumstances beyond my control kept me away from my computer most of the day.  But no matter, one day late doesn't really make a big difference right now.  We've got a planet-palooza underway out there tonight, and there's more to come.

If you've been outside on any clear night in the early evening over the past month or so, you've likely seen two brilliant objects shining in the west.  They are well visible even before the Sun fully sets.  Two bright white shining "stars."  Guess what - those two stars are Venus and Jupiter.  Venus is the brighter of the two.  In fact, it's the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon.  Jupiter may be the biggest planet in the solar system, but it's much further away (about half a billion miles) and so it looks fainter than our lovely next door planetary neighbor.  These two gorgeous planets have reached their closest approach to one another in our sky, and will now begin steadily moving away from one another.  Keep watching...it's going to be a phenomenal sight to watch these planets part from one another night after night.

Venus and Jupiter in the skies of Pennsylvania in February 2012.  Photo by Jack Fusco.  Courtesy Astronomy Picture of the Day.

To see our other planetary neighbor, the red planet Mars, simply turn around 180 degrees from where you see Venus and Jupiter.  Mars is shining a beautiful deep orange on the eastern side of the sky, again, easily visible well before the sky is truly dark.  A bit dimmer yet again than Jupiter, it is still an impressive sight, especially since the color of Mars is so very obvious.  Past its brightest and slowly fading, Mars will gently, and later more rapidly, dim from our view over the next few months or so.  Enjoy it while it lasts!

Still not enough?  Wait a while, until Venus and Jupiter have set.  By late evening, golden yellow Saturn will rise and join Mars on the eastern side of the sky.  The color difference is lovely between Mars and Saturn.  Break out your telescope and you'll be treated to an delightful view of Saturn's majestic rings.  Breathtaking!

Did you miss our March star party?  It was a fabulous night of clear crisp skies and brilliant planets.  But don't worry, we'll be doing it again on April 14.  Jupiter will have sunk too close to the Sun for good viewing by then, but Saturn will consent to rise earlier, joining Venus and Mars to maintain a powerful trifecta of planets in the early evening skies.  Plus we'll be marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with special shows in the planetairum.  You can get more information on our website.  See you in April!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta get back to those planets.  :-)
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

The Month They Call November

My friends, if you know the song that the title references...you know some obscure music.

But I confess November is my favorite month.  I can't help it.  I love the fall, with cool temperatures and beautifully colored leaves.  I love the early sunsets and long dark nights, growing ever longer as the month progresses.  I love the holiday season, with Thanksgiving leading right into Christmas.

Okay, you got me.  I also love November because I was born in it!  ;D  So let's talk a little about what you can expect to see in the skies during this wonderful month.

You've got some great opportunities for planet watching this month.  Mercury and Venus are putting on a lovely show in the early evening sky, just after sunset.  The trick is you need a super-flat western horizon to see them.  But oh boy, the view is worth it!  If you can get outside on the evening of the 13th or 14th, Mercury and Venus will be very close to one another, and about as far from the Sun as Mercury is going to get for a while.  Give it a try - seeing Mercury even with the unaided eye is something most people have never done!  Let brilliant Venus guide your eye (it is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon).  Mercury will be a smaller star-like object within 2 degrees (about 2 fingers-width) of the bright planet, closer even than in the image below.

Venus and Mercury at sunset on April 5, 2010 by Manu Arregi Biziola.  Image from Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Jupiter also graces the evening skies, looking like a stunning bright white star.  The largest planet in the solar system is rising near sunset, and so it is visible nearly all night long.  You've probably seen Jupiter in the evening sky already - it's pretty darn hard to miss!  It's hovering around between the constellations Aries, Pisces and Cetus...and none of those constellations have any bright stars in them.  So Jupiter is shining all alone in a fairly dark area of sky, which only makes it look that much more impressive.  To give you a sense of how bright Jupiter is, check out the picture below. 

Jupiter seen with the Full Moon in 2009 by Jens Hackman.  Image from Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Even with a Full Moon ablaze in the sky, Jupiter stands out quite nicely.  Imagine how amazing it will look when all alone!  We'll be observing Jupiter for sure at our star party this weekend.  You haven't really seen Jupiter until you've seen it through a telescope!  Observing begins at sunset on November 12th here at the Abbitt Observatory, and as always, it's free!  Here's hoping for clear skies!

If you're hoping to see Saturn or Mars, you'll need to go outside during the pre-dawn hours...and now that we've changed back to Eastern Standard Time, that means being outside in the very early morning...perhaps around 4:30AM.  Your reward for bring an early riser will be a view of the Red Planet shining in the south, and the golden-yellow "star" of Saturn appearing low on the eastern horizon just before the Sun.  It's interesting to see these two planets in the same sky, since they both exhibit such distinct colors.  Towards the end of the month, they'll even be about the same brightness, so see if you can notice the color difference between Mars and Saturn.  Even if you can't, they will both be quite beautiful, as you can tell from the image below.

Saturn (left) and Mars (right)  flank the Beehive Cluster in June of 2006 by Tunc Tezel.  
Image from Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Maybe you prefer something more showy than just planets hanging around in the sky.  Well November can oblige.  The annual Leonid meteor shower peaks on November 17th every year, and this year is no exception.  You may remember the Leonids from the meteor storms of the early 2000s.  While no storm is predicted for this year, we will still pass through a stream of debris left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, resulting in a higher-than-normal rate of meteors being visible all coming from the direction of the constellation Leo.  Since Leo rises around midnight at this time of the year, put the East at your back and watch for shooting stars any time after sunset on November 17th.  Your best view is likely to be had during the wee morning hours of November 18th.  Since the Moon will be on the wane, it too will rise late, giving you some time to see the meteors against the backdrop of a dark sky.  No telescope required for this event - you want to be able to see as much of the sky as possible.  Patience is the key with meteor showers - set up a lawn chair and watch the sky.  The longer you watch the more meteors you will see as your eyes adjust to the darkness.  Enjoy!

The 1999 peak of the Leonid meteor shower by Juan Carlos Casado.
The image is a 20 minute exposure and captured several meteors.

Image from Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Until next time...
Carpe noctem!
Kelly

Over the Moon

Actually, I'm kind of not.

We had an amazing night last Saturday, observing the Moon.  The NASA exhibit was awesome...I touched a piece of the Moon!  Our Moon is incredible!

And that got me thinking...what about all the other moons?  Does anybody realize how incredibly awesome they are?

We tend to focus on our own Moon.  Makes sense...it's big, bright, and plays an important role in the existence of life here on Earth.  But among the major planets there are 168 other moons...all equally fascinating worlds in their own right!  So let's explore some of the other moons out there...and kind of play a little compare and contrast with our Moon, if you will.

Earth has one moon.  That's it...just The Moon.  Most of the other planets have many more moons indeed...Jupiter takes the prize for the most (if you don't count ring particles!) at 64 known satellites.  Even Mars has 2 moons - double what we've got!  The only planets with fewer moons than Earth are Mercury and Venus - neither world has any moons at all. 

Size matters though...Mars' two moons are extraordinarily tiny.  Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Panic), as the Martian moons are named, are most likely captured asteroids.  They are small potato-shaped bodies, barely findable in a telescope from here on Earth...and even then only when Mars makes a close approach to us.  Such jagged chunks of stuff can be found orbiting all of the gas giant planets as well...the majority of the solar system's moons are weird little lumpy leftovers from the formation of the planets.

Phobos (top) and Deimos (bottom).  Courtesy NASA.

On the other hand, our Moon is not the largest in the solar system, either.  That distinction goes to Ganymede, largest moon of Jupiter.  In fact, Ganymede is larger than the smallest major planet...at 3,280 miles across it beats Mercury's size by more than 200 miles.  This massive moon is truly a world in its own right...it shows evidence of tectonic activity, its own magnetic field, and it might even have an atmosphere.  Talk about your colossal moon!

Ganymede from the Galileo spacecraft.  Courtesy NASA.

Speaking of atmosphere, our Moon hasn't got one.  If you plan on visiting the Moon, make sure you bring your own air.  The moon with the densest atmosphere?  Saturn's enigmatic Titan.  The moon, explored by the Huygens lander, has the distinction of being the only moon known with an atmosphere consisting of more than trace gases.  It is a dense soup of hydrocarbons, with numerous distinct layers...shrouding the moon and looking like a heavy layer of orange smog.  So impressive is this moon's atmosphere that it is believed to be, like Venus, a super-rotator - that is, the atmosphere actually rotates much faster than the moon itself does.  The Huygens probe showed us incredible details about Titan, but so much more remains to be learned.

Titan from the Cassini spacecraft.  Courtesy NASA.

The surface of Titan from the Huygens probe.  Courtesy NASA/ESA.

Keep in mind, we've limited ourselves at this point to explore the moons of the major planets.  There are more moons than that in the solar system!  Of the 5 confirmed dwarf planets, 3 have moons: Eris has Dysnomia, Haumea has Namaka and Hi'iaka, and Pluto has Charon, Hydra, Nix, and the newly discovered P4 (it's so new it doesn't have a name yet!).  Pluto is only 2/3rds the size of our Moon - and it has 4 moons of its own!  Incredible!

Pluto and its 4 moons from the Hubble Space Telescope.  Courtesy NASA.

Oh, so you think only planets, be they major or dwarf, can have moons?  Not so...the asteroid Ida has a moon, Dactyl, first discovered by the Galileo spacecraft as it passed by on its way to Jupiter.  The solar system is rich with moons!  Take some time to explore them...both by reading up on them and by checking them out through telescopes - the moons of Jupiter and Saturn can easily be seen in telescopes from Earth!

Ida and its tiny moon Dactyl from the Galileo spacecraft.  Courtesy NASA.

Have fun mooning around, and I'll see you next time!
Carpe noctem,
Kelly

The Dog Days are Back

Hey everyone!

Well, here we are again.  It's August.  The weather is hazy, hot, and humid.  Going outside for more than about 4 seconds results in sticky wet clothes, lots of sweat, and generally feeling nasty really fast.  It is not, by any stretch of the imagination, an astronomer's favorite time of year.

And yet, there's still stuff to talk about, even if we'd rather stay inside while we do it!

Traditionally, August days are called the Dog Days of Summer.  The phrase refers not to the lolling tongues of dogs desperately trying to stay cool, but to the brightest star in the nighttime sky, Sirius.  It's the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog, and therefore it is often called the Dog Star.

The star Sirius.  NASA

The ancient Greeks noticed that in August, when things were getting pretty hot, the star Sirius rose in the East just before the Sun, meaning that Sirius shares the sky with the Sun virtually all day.  Since Sirius is so bright, the Greeks figured it must be pretty close, and the extra heat in August was caused by Sirius adding its light and heat to the powerful rays of our own Sun.  The Romans and the Egyptians also shared this same belief - and in fact, the Egyptians were especially attentive to Sirius, as the Dog Days occured just before the annual flooding of the Nile.  Score one for the ancients, no?

Well, the ancients were unaware of just how far away stars are.  They were correct in their assumption that Sirius is pretty close to us - it's about 8 light years away, or 47 trillion miles.  As close as that is as stars go, that's still much, much too far away for Sirius to have any kind of effect on our weather.  The Sun is only 93 million miles away, and that's the cause of our weather changes.  The heat at this time of year is the result of the Earth's tilt - the Northern Hemisphere is tipped towards the Sun during summer, giving us long days and lots of intense sunlight.  No additional stars required.

Don't feel too bad for the ancients.  They might not have been right about everything, but they did hand down some wonderful stories and ideas that are still fun to share.  Take the exciting tale of Perseus, son of Zeus and legendary hero.  His story is best known today as the campy classic film Clash of the Titans (trust me, for maximum enjoyment, stick to the original, not the sad modern remake).  You might want to rent it around August 12, and enjoy a midnight movie at home.  When the film is over, head outside and look up.  You should be just in time to catch some of the annual Perseid meteor shower, which will peak around 2AM on the morning of August 12.  Meteors will seem to come from the direction of the constellation Perseus, so put him at your back if you can. 

The constellation Perseus.  NASA

Staying away from bright sources of light will also help...and the best way to enjoy any meteor shower is from the comfort of a lawn chair so you can watch the sky as long as possible.  The beautiful streaks of light you see are bits of Comet Swift-Tuttle disintegrating in the Earth's atmosphere.  Want more information on meteor-watching.  Come by the museum any day at 1:30PM for our Virginia Skies program - one of our staff astronomers will be happy to help you with your questions about meteor showers, or any other astronomical topic!

And, just in case you were wondering...that bright golden star in the West in the early evening is Saturn, still nicely visible.  Out a bit late and noticing a bright white star in the East?  That's Jupiter.  Enjoy!

Carpe noctem!
Kelly

The Lord of the Rings

Hey everyone!

No, this post will not be about Hobbits, the Shire, or the Land of Mordor where the Shadows Lie.  Although, as you might guess, I could go on about that for days.

No, for this, our third get-together, I thought I'd give you a little information about what's going on in the sky right now.  After all, that's one of the main reasons I started this blog, and we really haven't gotten down to it yet!  So let's talk summer night skies.

Sadly, they often are not the best.  And I'm not just talking about the perennial 30% chance of evening thunderstorms that rules the weather forecast at this time of year.  Even when the sky is "clear" in the summer here in Hampton Roads...well, it isn't really clear.  If there's one thing southeastern Virginia has in abundance in the summer, it's the three H's - haze, heat, and humidity.  All the water and other particles in the air make the seeing - that's what astronomers call the condition of the atmosphere as regards how well you can image astronomical objects - rather poor.  Even if there is not a cloud in the sky, your view of a planet or the Moon through your telescope will seem to swim around, never quite stay focused, and be rather washed out.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it isn't worth going outside on a clear night in summer - it most certainly is!  You just want to be aware of the limitations the air will put on your ability to see details of the sky.

Another factor for summertime stargazing - time.  Sunsets are late at this time of year, since our long days are made "longer" by daylight savings time.  With the Sun still brightening the sky as late as 9pm, you'll need to wait pretty late to get a truly dark sky for the best viewing.  That's okay, though - the later you wait, the cooler the air will be, relieving some of the seeing problems and making your stargazing more enjoyable.

Right now, two wonderful objects are gracing our early evening skies - Saturn and the Moon.  The Moon is currently waxing, or getting bigger, night after night, heading towards First Quarter.  That's the best time to view the Moon, since the deep shadows created along the line separating day and night on the Moon give you excellent depth perception and let you see a lot of detail.  Saturn is a beautiful golden-yellow "extra star" shining in the constellation Virgo.  Both objects can be seen together in the west-southwestern sky around 10:30pm for the next few days.  After that, the Moon will have moved off, but Saturn will linger there for some time yet.

The sky at 10:30pm on July 9, 2011.  Created with Starry Night Sky Explorer

Both Saturn and the Moon are best enjoyed with a telescope.  Seeing Saturn through a telescope for the first time is truly a life-changing experience.  I can't really describe it...so I'll just give you a little preview.

Saturn from the Cassini spacecraft.  NASA

Okay, that's cheating...Cassini has a way better view than anything you can get from here on Earth.  But nonetheless, seeing Saturn's rings for yourself from about a billion miles away is awe-inspiring!  If you don't have a telescope of your own, come by the museum this Saturday night.  We'll be hosting our monthly Star Party and Laser Light Night on July 9, and if the weather holds, we'll surely be looking at Saturn and the nearby Moon.  Stargazing is free, and there's a host of other things to do in the early evening before it gets dark.  The cafe will be open at 6pm for dinner, drinks and snacks, and all the fun starts after that. 

So now you see why I had to title the post as I did.  Don't miss the opportunity to see the magnificent Lord of the Rings.  By the end of summer, Saturn will be too close to the Sun to see, so get outside soon!  Can't get to the museum this weekend?  No worries.  If you've got a pair of binoculars, you can see the rings of Saturn for yourself.  Just be sure to hold them super-steady - a tripod mount like you might use for a camera will be a real help.  Enjoy the view!

Carpe noctem!
Kelly