Jupiter, Venus, & Mercury+a 1 degree FOV on the morning of May 11th.
(Created by the author in Starry Night).
The planetary conjunctions reach a climax this week, with a close apparent pass of the two brightest worlds in our solar system, Jupiter and Venus in the dawn sky. These worlds seem to meet on the morning of May 11th, with Jupiter shinning at magnitude -1.9 about 0.5 degrees from -3.8 magnitude Venus. This will place both within the same field of view using a low power eyepiece, and may illicit queries of “what are those two stars low in the sky?” [Read more...]
Mercury-Spotting during the First Elongation of 2013.
Mercury as seen by Messenger during its
3rd flyby in 2009.
(Credit: NASA/JPL).
I SEE IT! Catching a glimpse of fleeting Mercury can be an unforgettable experience; orbiting the Sun once every 88 days, the innermost planet never strays far from its perch low in the dawn or dusk sky. February offers your first shot at catching the world low in the dusk as it approaches its first of six elongations in 2013. Though not the best of 2013 for most viewers worldwide (see below), this month’s elongation does offer roughly equal prospects for both northern and southern hemisphere observers as the ecliptic approaches near-perpendicular to the horizon headed towards the March equinox. And as you’ll see, this apparition will set us up for some of the best prospects for catching Mercury later this spring. [Read more...]