Category Archives: Observing

Postings the relate to ‘backyard’ observing events like conjunctions, eclipses, comets, asteroid tracking, ISS sightings, and so on.

Moon and Venus Are in Conjunction – But Not With Each Other

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   Tuesday evening April 24th the waxing gibbous Moon will be over the southwest horizon at sunset local time. The Moon will be about 3o from the star Regulus in Leo the Lion. Over the northwestern horizon at the same time will be the planet Venus about 3o from the open star cluster the Pleiades.

   Venus and the Pleiades will easily fit within the field of view of binoculars.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

April Moon at Ascending Node

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   Monday April 23rd the waxing gibbous Moon will be crossing the plane of the ecliptic moving north relative to the ecliptic. This is known as the ascending node, one of two intersections the Moon’s orbital path has with the ecliptic. The ecliptic is actually the Earth’s orbit and the Moon’s orbit is inclined about 6o from the ecliptic. So there are two node intersections, the ascending and descending nodes.


   On Monday evening April 23rd the 8-day old waxing gibbous Moon will be within the boundaries of Leo the Lion and about 7o west (right) from the ‘Heart’ of the Lion, the star Regulus.

   Does our Moon actually go around the Earth as many graphics show? From our perspective on the Earth the Moon appears to circle around the Earth. However, in reality, the Moon orbits the Sun together with the Earth*

*Click here to read my 2006 Scope on the Sky column “The Real Shape of the Moon’s Orbit”. (PDF)

Read this very informative article about the Earth-Moon system and their orbital motions, written by Joe Hanson. “Do We Orbit the Moon?”

   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

April Moon at Perigee

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   Our Moon reaches perigee, (closest distance from Earth), for this orbit on Friday April 20th. At that time the Moon will be at a distance of 28.9 Earth diameters (368,714 km or 229,108 miles) from the Earth.

   Does our Moon actually go around the Earth as this graphic shows? From our perspective on the Earth the Moon appears to circle around the Earth. However, in reality, the Moon orbits the Sun together with the Earth*


   On the day of the perigee Moon the 5-day old waxing crescent Moon is above the western horizon. The Moon is about 5o west (to the left) from the open star cluster, M-35.

   *Click here to read my 2006 Scope on the Sky column “The Real Shape of the Moon’s Orbit”. (PDF)

   Read this very informative article about the Earth-Moon system and their orbital motions, written by Joe Hanson. “Do We Orbit the Moon?”

   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to go to bobs-spaces.

Sun Enters Astronomical Sign of Aries

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April 19th   Thursday April 19th the Sun in its apparent eastward motion along the ecliptic, moves out of the constellation Pisces the Fishes and into the constellation of Aries the Ram. This is the true or actual position of the Sun as opposed to the pseudoscience of astrology which usually has the astrological Sun one constellation ahead or east from the Astronomical Sun’s position.
   Read a little more about how astrology has the Sun incorrectly placed in a previous blog, and in another blog discussing the effects of precession.
   
   
   


Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

Moon and Venus Conjunction

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   This week I’m kicking back as ‘they’ say at my brother’s place in Phoenix Arizona. Since my arrival this past weekend the sky has been overcast or very hazy due to strong winds blowing dust and sand. However this evening the skies over Phoenix were clear resulting in this picture of the 2-day young waxing crescent Moon about 5 degrees west from the inner planet Venus as the two set in the west.

   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

Saturn, You Are So Far Away!

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click on graphic to see it larger
   Tuesday April 16th the outer ringed planet will be aphelion, its furthest distance from the Sun for this particular orbit. At aphelion Saturn will be approximately 10.0657 AU (1,505,807,287 km; 935,665,269 miles) from the Sun. Sort of splitting the difference Saturn is approximately 9.722 AU (1,454,390,499 km; 903,716,358 miles) from the Earth.
   Saturn is visible over the southern horizon before sunrise local time. It is near the ‘red planet’ Mars to the east, and Saturn is east from the heart of Scorpius the Scorpion, the reddish star Antares, and even further to the west is another outer ringed planet, Jupiter.

   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.

Orbital Ups and Downs

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   All solar orbiting objects will at some point in their respective orbit cross the plane of the ecliptic. The ecliptic is actually the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, however from our perspective on the Earth it appears as if the Sun is moving eastward along the ecliptic.
   On April 12th the inner planet Venus will be at its ascending node as it crosses the ecliptic moving north. And the next day, April 13th, Mercury will be at its descending node moving south as it crosses the ecliptic.

   
   
   

Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for monthly observing information, or here to return to bobs-spaces.