3 Planets Performing Rare Night Sky Show

3 Planets Performing Rare Night Sky Show: How to See It
By Mike Wall | SPACE.com – 9 hrs ago



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Mercury, Jupiter and Venus appear …



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Mercury, Jupiter and Venus appear …

Three planets are coming together in the evening sky at the moment, putting on a celestial show that won't be seen again for more than a decade.
J
upiter, Venus and Mercury are gathering low in the west-northwest evening sky, and next week they'll form the tightest grouping of three naked-eye planets that skywatchers will see until 2026, experts say.
"Here’s a beautiful chance to see three planets all together," Alan MacRobert, a senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, said in a statement. "Add the Earth under your feet, and you’re seeing half of the solar system’s planets at once. They’ll be a lovely part of the spring twilight." [Skywatching Events for May 2013]

"The view should be best about 30 to 45 minutes after sunset," MacRobert added. "And think photo opportunity. Set up a camera on a tripod, zoom to the max, and try different time exposures."

Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest planets in the solar system. They've been approaching each other in the evening sky for weeks, and faint Mercury is now joining them, appearing below and to the right of Venus.

By Friday (May 24), all three planets will fit into a circle 5 degrees wide, Sky & Telescope officials said. (Your clenched fist held at arm's length measures about 10 degrees.)

But the trio will draw closer still. By Sunday (May 26), they'll all fit inside a 2.5-degree circle — meaning your thumb held at arm's length will nearly blot them all out.

Jupiter and Venus will sit side-by-side Monday evening (May 27), and then the solar system's largest planet will start sliding lower and lower in the sky, disappearing completely in early June.

Meanwhile, Venus will shine brightly as the "Evening Star" for the rest of the year.But as Jupiter falls, Mercury soars, climbing higher and higher above Venus in its best evening apparition of 2013, according to Sky & Telescope. Mercury's rise peaks on June 7, after which it will start sinking back toward the horizon, fading all the while.

Mercury is the solar system's innermost planet. Because of its proximity to the sun, Mercury is rarely in view for more than an hour after sunset or an hour before dawn. The tiny planet can be tough to see, but its current grouping with celestial landmarks Venus and Jupiter should help skywatchers out.

While the three planets appear tightly grouped in our night sky, in reality they're very far away from each other. During the last week of May, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will be about 105 million miles (169 million kilometers), 150 million miles (241 million km) and 565 million miles (909 million km) away from Earth, respectively, Sky & Telescope officials said.

Late May also offers up another skywatching treat. On Saturday (May 25), viewers with clear skies across much of the Americas and Africa will see a penumbral lunar eclipse, in which the moon darkens as it passes through the outer part of Earth's shadow (known as the penumbra).

Editor's note: If you snap an amazing picture of the three planets or any other night sky view that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, send photos, comments and your name and location to Managing Editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

http://news.yahoo.com/3-planets-performing-rare-night-sky-show-see-135727567.html

And the Moon continues its dance in the sky rolling to and fro as a drunkard along with it's partner the Earth.

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Luke21:25

Rare Sight: See Bright Saturn Near Moon on Wednesday
By Joe Rao | SPACE.com – 5 hrs ago



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The formation of Saturn's rings …



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This sky map from NASA's Jet Propulsion …

On occasion I'll get an e-mail from someone who says they've just received a telescope as gift and while they've enjoyed looking at the moon and the planet Jupiter or Venus with it, they really would love to get a view of Saturn.

The problem for most people is that unlike Venus and Jupiter, which because their great brilliance readily stand out against background stars, or Mars because of its distinctive fiery orange color, there is nothing overly distinctive above Saturn when viewed with the naked eye. In terms of color, it appears white with a hint of yellow. In terms of brightness, it certainly is quite bright, though it lacks the kind of "here I am!" brightness that Venus and Jupiter can boast.

But this spring and summer I can promise you this: You'll have no problem in identifying Saturn even if you can't make heads or tails out of a simple star chart. And on Wednesday night (May 22), the task will be made all the easier by the proximity of a waxing gibbous moon to the great ringed beauty. [Skywatching Events for May 2013]
Using the moon as your guide

Just wait until it gets sufficiently dark — say about one hour after sunset. Look about one-third of the way up from the horizon to the point directly overhead (called the zenith) and you'll see the moon. Most people will think it's a "full" moon, but that won't happen until late Friday night. The moon actually will be 94-percent illuminated.

Then look off to the left of the moon and a bit above it for a bright, non-twinkling star shining with a whitish-yellow glow. That will be Saturn.
Of course, from our Earthly vantage point, we know that the moon is much closer to us than Saturn. In fact, it's 3,673 times closer to be precise. On Wednesday, the moon will be 225,400 miles (363,000 km) away compared to 828 million miles (1.33 billion km) to Saturn. As such, the moon appears to move much more quickly against the background stars compared to Saturn. During the course of one hour, the moon moves to the east by roughly its own apparent diameter (about one-half degree).

That's why during the overnight hours of Wednesday night to Thursday morning, the moon's position relative to Saturn will noticeably change. By 1:30 a.m. local daylight time — if you're still awake — look toward the southwest sky for the moon and Saturn. The direction you'll need to face by then will have changed thanks to the rotation of the Earth.

But notice also that the moon's position relative to Saturn has changed; now Saturn is not to the moon's left, but soaring almost directly above it. That's because the moon will have moved about 2 degrees — four moon widths — to the east of Saturn over that four-hour time frame.

Find the isosceles triangle

Of course on other nights you won't be able to use the moon to find Saturn, since it will have moved to another part of the sky. I mentioned, however, that you wouldn't have any difficulty in identifying Saturn and that's true too, because this spring and summer Saturn will be part of a bright and conspicuous triangle in the sky.

Not to be confused with the famous Summer Triangle (now emerging into view in the east-northeast), we can see an almost perfect isosceles triangle covering the southeast part of the sky.

This triangle is formed by the bright stars Arcturus, Spica and Saturn. The triangle appears to point almost straight up, with the brilliant yellow-orange star Arcturus at the vertex. The bluish star Spica and Saturn form the bottom of the Triangle; Spica is on the right and Saturn is on the left. Even from a brightly lit city you should be able to make out this triangle, and once you see it you should have no trouble recognizing it on other nights.

And now you know where to point your telescope to see Saturn.
And of course, through a telescope magnifying by at least 30-power, Saturn is quite a spectacle! Saturn's amazing rings are currently tilted about 17.5 degrees, with its north face exposed. Try also to see Titan, Saturn's brightest moon. It will appear as a tiny star, and should be readily visible at its greatest eastern elongation (four ring lengths from the rings' edge) on the night of May 27.

http://news.yahoo.com/rare-sight-see-bright-saturn-near-moon-wednesday-220303976.html