Tag: venus
-
A Better View of the July Conjunctions
Today we are again going to look at the July sky, and we’re going to concentrate on the planets that are visible at sunset and sunrise. In order to give ourselves a better view, we’re going to move lower on the planet, closer to the equator. We won’t go too far to start with, just…
-
Venus Transiting Jupiter (1818) AND Mars Transiting Jupiter (1170)!
Today we’re not going to be taking a look at the solstice. I have taken a look at the solstice in a few different ways over the past couple of pieces, so we’re going to look at something a little bit different today. We are going to take a look at an event that was…
-
Zodiac and Retrograde Motion: Astronomy, not Astrology!
Today we’re going to very quickly go over the zodiacal constellations, the constellations that we see in the sky along the path of the ecliptic, which is where we see the planets, the Moon, and the Sun, roughly speaking at least. We’ll start by taking a look at the planets at sunset in June. We…
-
A Close Conjunction in Early June: Venus and Jupiter
Today we are looking ahead to the month of June. We’re not looking very far into the future, just to the 7th, still just at the beginning of the month. Most of the interesting events in June are happening later in the month, for example the summer solstice and Mercury’s greatest elongation. There are some…
-
Multiple March Conjunctions, and Maybe an Occultation!
Today we are going to be looking at some conjunctions, some close conjunctions and even closer, that are happening over the course of the month of March. Just before we take a look ahead to those, we’re going to get rid of the atmosphere and the ground so we can take a look at the…
-
Are They Spheres? Oblateness in Planets and Stars
Today we are going to be discussing the shape of various objects in the sky. Unfortunately, it can be tricky to actually see these shapes, especially with stars, but we will at least be discussing them. We’re taking a little bit of a break from the eclipses, although I will write another piece in the…
-
Mars and Venus Superior Conjunction in January: Something We Can’t See
Today we are going to take a look at a couple of conjunctions that we’re not going to see in January. Some things are only visible from certain locations on Earth, for example, any solar eclipse will only be visible for a reasonably narrow portion of the Earth. This is true for many conjunctions as…
-
Comet 3I/ATLAS: How Close will it Get? Plus other Comets!
Today, we are going to have a quick review of a couple of the major comets that have come through our sky in the past couple of months and will continue through our sky in a few months to come. We’re also going to take a look at one of those comets, 3I/ATLAS, from a…
-
Meteor Showers, and More, in November
Today we will continue to look at the November sky. We are now into November and we’re going to start by taking a look at the sky on the 5th of November. Just as the Sun sets, the radiants of the first meteor showers of the month will already be up. Low in the east…
-
Mercury’s August Morning Elongation and Brightness
Today, we are going to be taking a look at the planet Mercury. Some of this will cover general features of the smallest planet in the solar system, but we are going to be looking at Mercury in particular because of its greatest elongation coming up on the 19th of August. From midday on the…
