STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
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Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. And have
we ever got three nifty cosmic items for you. The brilliant planet
Jupiter pairs up with an exquisite waxing crescent Moon this sunday
and Monday and the red planet Mars is getting brighter every night
as it races for its super close meeting in just two weeks. Let
me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for this sunday night January 17th one hour after sunset facing southwest where you will see an absolutely dazzling 88,000 mile wide Jupiter and just below it off to its right a slender sliver of a waxing, that is growing, crescent Moon complete with earthshine which will look like a grey black full Moon nestled within the bright crescent, a phenomenon which has long been called the "Old Moon in the new Moon's arms". And might I remind you that this is the kind of pairing of cosmic objects that has fascinated human beings throughout all recorded history and I'm sure long before record keeping even began. Don't miss this please.
If you do however you'll have a second chance to see a slightly different and almost as dramatic a pairing 24 hours later on Monday night the 18th when the Moon will be just a tiny bit fatter and above Jupiter. Don't miss this please also! And while we're talking about Jupiter let me remind you that 2010 could well be labeled the year of Jupiter because on September 20th it will be at its closest, biggest and brightest since 1963, an event of which I will keep you posted throughout the year.
But just how close will Jupiter come to earth you ask? Well let's do some comparisons between now and then. This weekend, when you look at Jupiter and our nearest neighbor the Moon, our Moon will be approximately 252,000 miles away from earth. Jupiter however will be 540 million miles away! But by September 20th it will be only 367 million miles away, that is 173 million miles closer, which is super close for Jupiter. So see Jupiter now while you can because it will slowly drop lower and lower toward the western horizon and by the end of February will disappear from sight and will not return until April.
And now I'd like to remind you once again that in two weeks time the tiny 4,000 mile rouge gold planet Mars will be at its closest and brightest for all of 2010 and 2011. To find it the next couple of weeks simply look east about two hours after sunset. It will look like a super bright rouge gold steadily glowing light just above the stars which make up Leo the Lion. It is easy to spot and believe it or not during the next two weeks you'll actually be able to watch it grow even brighter each night until it is at its closest on the 27th, only 62 million miles away. Wow!
So there you have it a chance to watch rouge
gold planet Mars as it closes in on Earth and two chances to see
the king of the planets pair with a waxing crescent Moon on sunday
the 17th and Monday the 18th. And all you need to enjoy these
sights is clear skies and your naked eye. Keep looking up!
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Horkheimer: On Sunday and Monday giant Jupiter pairs up with the Moon plus Mars is only two weeks away from its super close meeting. On Sunday one hour after sunset face southwest and you'll see dazzling 88,000 mile wide Jupiter paired up with a waxing crescent Moon, a sight which will take your breath away. 24 hours later on Monday the Moon will have moved above Jupiter and provide yet another exquisite view. Then two hours after sunset face east and you can watch rouge gold Mars get brighter every single night until it reaches its closest and brightest for all of 2010 and 2011 on January 27th. Watch Mars race toward us and enjoy two nights of exquisite Jupiter / Moon pairings. Keep looking up!
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)
* This week's Sky At A Glance and
Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
![[SmilinJack]](jack1sm.jpg)
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