Conjunction- Junction what's your function ??? ...

 

While I'm thinking about it, let me tell you about something I want you to check out this Saturday if you have clear skies. There's going to be a terrific Venus-Jupiter mating, of sorts just after sunset.

 

Starting about 20 minutes after sunset, look low above the horizon due west (left of where the Sun went down). Bring binoculars. The two planets will be less than ½° apart at the time of twilight for most of the world, and only about 0.1° apart for the longitudes of the Americas. That is so close that, unless you have 20-20 or better vision, you may have a hard time determining with your naked eyes whether you are looking at two planets or just one. With binoculars, you should be able to distinguish both the Jovian giant and the "evening star."

 

Check it out Saturday night and let me know what you thought !!!!

Did you know there is a place in our Solar System where it's likely there are huge downpours of diamonds? That's right, it probably rains diamonds... I mean, some HUUUGE carats!!!

 

Stay tuned...

Blue Sunset ???

 

We all love a beautiful sunrise or sunset. What causes those gorgeous hues as the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening ? Dust and other fine particles in the atmosphere scatter the blues and greens from the setting or rising Sun to color it yellow, orange and red. When these tints are reflected off clouds, sunset colors are amplified and spread about the sky.

 

Things are a little different on Mars. The ever-present fine dust in the Martian atmosphere absorbs blue light and scatters the warmer colors, coloring the sky well away from the Sun a familiar ruddy hue. At the same time, dust particles in the Sun’s direction scatter blue light forward to create a cool, blue radiance near the setting Sun. If you were standing on Mars, you’d only notice the blue glow when the Sun was near the horizon, the time when its light passes through the greatest depth of atmosphere and dust.

 

For your pleasure, observe the first-ever Martian sunset observed in color by the Mars Curiosity rover. Image was captured from the Gale Crater in April, 2015.

 

 

 

Look closely at this picture. What do you see?

 

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Edited August 25, 20179 yr by Science Friction

Conjunction- Junction what's your function ??? ...

 

While I'm thinking about it, let me tell you about something I want you to check out this Saturday if you have clear skies. There's going to be a terrific Venus-Jupiter mating, of sorts just after sunset.

 

Starting about 20 minutes after sunset, look low above the horizon due west (left of where the Sun went down). Bring binoculars. The two planets will be less than ½° apart at the time of twilight for most of the world, and only about 0.1° apart for the longitudes of the Americas. That is so close that, unless you have 20-20 or better vision, you may have a hard time determining with your naked eyes whether you are looking at two planets or just one. With binoculars, you should be able to distinguish both the Jovian giant and the "evening star."

 

Check it out Saturday night and let me know what you thought !!!!

 

CORRECTION!!! My apologies.There is a Venus-Jupiter conjunction but it is not until mid November and it will not be nearly as spectacular as the one I described above. The spectacular V-J conjunction occurred on the 27th of last year. It will be 2065 before the two planets will appear that close together again...48 years and counting!!!

 

Again, sorry for the misinformation.

The night sky for tonight through Sept. 2 :

 

Friday, August 25

 

• Look low in the west in twilight for the waxing crescent Moon, innocently sliding away from its blackout of the Sun four days ago. It forms a triangle with Jupiter and Spica, both of them below it.

 

• In the early dawn of Saturday the 26th, spot Venus very low in the east. This morning it forms a straight line with Castor and Pollux, above it or to its upper left.

 

Saturday, August 26

 

• The thickening crescent Moon, no longer so shy, points its round side down nearly toward Jupiter low in twilight.

 

Sunday, August 27

 

• Look for bright Vega passing the zenith as twilight fades away this week, if you live in the world's mid-northern latitudes. Vega goes right through your zenith if you're at latitude 39° north (near Baltimore, Kansas City, Lake Tahoe, Sendai, Beijing, Athens, Lisbon).

 

Monday, August 28

 

• The Moon this evening, barely short of first quarter, forms a wide triangle with Saturn to its right and Antares twinkling below the midpoint between them.

 

Tuesday, August 29

 

• First-quarter Moon (exact at 4:13 a.m. EDT on this date). By evening, can you see that the Moon is just a trace more than half lit? After dark it forms a triangle with Saturn to its left and Antares a greater distance below it.

 

Wednesday, August 30

 

• Now the Moon forms a diagonal line with Saturn and Antares to its lower right. Antares appears about three times as far from the Moon as Saturn does.

 

Thursday, August 31

 

• The wide W pattern of Cassiopeia is tilting up in the northeast after dark. Look below the W's last segment on the lower left, by a little farther than the segment's length, for an enhanced spot of the Milky Way's glow if you have a dark enough sky. Binoculars will show this to be the Perseus Double Cluster — even through a fair amount of light pollution.

 

• Venus and the Beehive: Just before the first light of dawn on Friday morning (in other words, about 90 minutes before your local sunrise), spot Venus shining brightly low in the east-northeast. Binoculars will show the Beehive star cluster only about 1° to its left.

 

Friday, Sept. 1

 

• At nightfall, the waxing gibbous Moon is about equally distant from Saturn, well off to its right, and Altair, high to its upper left.

 

• A dawn challenge: As morning twilight brightens tomorrow (Saturday September 2nd), use binoculars to look for the triangle of Mars, Regulus, and Mercury very low in the east, far beneath Venus. The three are only magnitudes 1.8, 1.4, and a really challenging 3.2, respectively. And that's before atmospheric extinction. Good luck!

 

Saturday, Sept. 2

 

• As twilight fades away into night, look far above the Moon for Altair. Much closer above the Moon (more or less), binoculars will show the wide double stars Alpha and Beta Capricorni. Alpha is the yellow-orange pair on top. The Beta pair is more unequal and probably harder to resolve.

Look closely at this picture. What do you see?

 

[ATTACH]63471[/ATTACH]

 

A baby owl?

A baby owl?

 

And... what else? Look really close.

And... what else? Look really close.

 

OK...I'll get right back to you.

And... what else? Look really close.

 

Not sure if I'm imagining things, but do I see an even smaller bird's head with beak peaking out around the neck area of the owl below his big eye?

 

And of course the other question is what might this have to do with the cosmos? :idunno:

And... what else? Look really close.

 

Ohhhhhh.... do I see the reflection of the crescent moon in his eye?

And... what else? Look really close.

 

BTW... I don't care who you are, baby owls are just too cute for words.

Ohhhhhh.... do I see the reflection of the crescent moon in his eye?

 

Your definitely hooting up the right tree. Close...

Your definitely hooting up the right tree. Close...

 

Is it a reflection of a partial eclipse?

 

If so, was it the recent eclipse?