USPS Star Calendar for 17-23 May 10 May 2015
Posted by amedalen in May 2015.Tags: Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, Jupiter, Mercury, new moon, opposition, Procyon, Saturn, Venus
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18 May Less than 24 hours past new. the moon sets not quite an hour after the sun and will be hard to spot low in the west at dusk. Look for Aldebaran ½ finger-width to the moon’s upper left. Mercury is nearly 4 finger-widths to the upper right.
20 May The moon lies midway between Venus, 1 fist-width above, and Betelgeuse, below or to the lower left.
21 May Low in the west at dusk, Venus is 4 finger-widths to the moon’s right. Procyon is 1 fist-width to the left or lower left.
22 May The moon lies in the middle of a triangle formed by Venus, 1½ fist-widths to the lower right, Procyon, 1 fist-width below, and Jupiter, 1½ fist-widths to the upper left. Saturn reaches opposition at 2200 EDT. Lining up opposite the sun, it rises around sunset and sets around sunrise.
23 May Jupiter is 2 finger-widths to the moon’s upper right tonight.
USPS Star Calendar for 19-25 April 12 April 2015
Posted by amedalen in April 2015.Tags: Aldebaran, Alhena, Betelgeuse, first-quarter moon, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Orion, Pollux, Procyon, Venus
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19 Apr At dusk, Mars is less than 2 finger-widths to the moon’s right. Mercury is less than 2 finger-widths to Mars’ lower right.
21 Apr Mercury is less than a finger-width to Mars’ lower left, low in the west this evening. The moon, Venus and Aldebaran form a tight triangle early tonight, with Venus 4 finger-widths to the moon’s right or upper right. Aldebaran is 2 finger-widths to the moon’s lower right. Orion is 1 fist-width to the left.
22 Apr Mercury is less than 1 finger-width to Mars’ upper right.
23 Apr At dusk, Alhena is 1 finger-width below the moon. Betelgeuse is 1½ fist-widths beyond Alhena. Pollux is about 1½ fist-widths above the moon.
24 Apr The moon lies midway between Pollux, 1 fist-width to the upper right, and Procyon, to the lower left.
25 Apr The first-quarter moon lies between Procyon, 1½ fist-widths to the lower left, and Jupiter, 4 finger-widths to the upper left.
USPS Star Calendar for 12-18 April 5 April 2015
Posted by amedalen in April 2015.Tags: Aldebaran, Big Dipper, Cassiopeia, equation of time, Lazy W, Mars, Mercury, Mighty Hunter, North Star, Orion, perigee, Pleiades, Polaris, Seven Sisters, Venus
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12 Apr Follow the pointer stars at the end of the Big Dipper’s handle to the left past Polaris, the North Star, to Cassiopeia, the Lazy “W” constellation near the horizon in the north.
13 Apr Orion, the Mighty Hunter, is low in the west at sunset. Two fist-widths to the right of his belt is Aldabaran. Venus is 1 fist-width to the lower right of Aldabaran. Use your binoculars to spot the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, 1 finger-width to the right of Venus.
15 Apr The equation of time is zero. Local mean time and sun time are equal.
17 Apr The moon is at perigee, 565.60 Earth-radii (361,000 kilometers) away.
USPS Star Calendar for 22-28 March 15 March 2015
Posted by amedalen in March 2015.Tags: Aldebaran, Gemini Twins, Jupiter, Orion, Pleiades, Pollux, Procyon, Venus
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22 Mar The moon is a little higher in the sky this evening. Venus is 1½ finger-widths to the right.
23 Mar The moon lies between Venus, 1½ fist-widths to the lower right, and Aldebaran, to the upper left.
24 Mar High in the west tonight, the Pleiades Cluster is 1 fist-width to the moon’s right, Aldebaran is 2 finger-widths to its upper left, and Orion is 2½ fist-widths to the left.
26 Mar High in the southwest at dusk, the moon lies between Orion and the Gemini Twins. Orion is below the moon, and the Gemini Twins are high above.
28 Mar Procyon is 1 fist-width below the moon, Pollux is the same distance to the upper right, and Jupiter is 1½ fist-widths to the moon’s left.
USPS Star Calendar for 25-31 January 18 January 2015
Posted by amedalen in January 2015.Tags: Aldebaran, Alhena, Hamal, inferior conjunction, Mercury, Mira, Pleiades, Procyon
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26 Jan High in the south early this evening, the moon is between Hamal, a little more than 1 fist-width to the upper right, and Mira, the same distance to the lower left.
28 Jan Tonight high in the south, the Pleiades Cluster is 4 finger-widths above or to the upper right of the moon, and Aldebaran is the same distance to the left or upper left.
30 Jan Mercury is at inferior conjunction, passing between the sun and Earth.
31 Jan Procyon is 2 fist-widths below the moon. Look with binoculars to see second-magnitude Alhena less than 1 finger-width to the moon’s right.
USPS Star Calendar for 28 December-3 January 21 December 2014
Posted by amedalen in December 2014, January 2015.Tags: Aldebaran, Deneb Kaitos, first-quarter moon, Gemini Twins, gibbous moon, Jupiter, Mars, Mira, Orion, Pleiades
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28 Dec High in the south at dusk, Mars is to the far lower right of the first-quarter moon. Jupiter rises 10 minutes after Mars sets.
29 Dec Early this evening, the waxing gibbous moon lies between two second-magnitude stars. Use binoculars to find magnitude 2.2 Mira 2 fist-widths to the moon’s upper left, and magnitude 2.2 Deneb Kaitos 3 fist-widths to the lower right. Later Mira will be directly above the moon and Deneb Kaitos will be directly below.
31 Dec The last day of the year finds the moon high in the east at dusk with Orion and Gemini just above the eastern horizon. The moon won’t catch up with Jupiter until January.
1 Jan High in the east at sunset, the Pleiades Cluster is 1 fist-width above or to the upper left of the moon. Aldebaran is 3 finger-widths to the lower left.
2 Jan Gemini and Orion are high in the southeast by midnight.
3 Jan Just after dark, Gemini is to the moon’s lower left and Orion to its lower right.
USPS Star Calendar for 30 November-6 December 23 November 2014
Posted by amedalen in December 2014, November 2014.Tags: Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, Capella, Deneb Kaitos, full moon, Gemini Twins, gibbous moon, Hamal, iota Ceti, Menkar, Mira, Orion, Pleiades, Pollux, Rigel, Sheratan, Taurus the Bull
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30 Nov High in the southeast at dusk, the waxing gibbous moon is 2 fist-widths above a second-magnitude star, magnitude 2.2 Deneb Kaitos. Can you see the fourth-magnitude star midway between them? You may need binoculars to make out magnitude 3.8 iota Ceti.
2 Dec Tonight look for magnitude 2.0 Mira, 1½ fist-widths below the moon.
3 Dec The moon is surrounded by two second-magnitude and two third-magnitude stars this evening. The brightest, magnitude 2.0 Mira is 1½ fist-widths to the lower right. Next in brightness, magnitude 2.2 Hamal is about the same distance to the upper left. Two finger-widths to Hamal’s right is magnitude 2.7 Sheratan. Finally, magnitude 2.8 Menkar is below and slightly right of the moon. You will need binoculars to get the most out of this viewing opportunity.
4 Dec The Pleiades Cluster is 1 fist-width to the moon’s left or upper left this evening. Aldebaran is 1½ fist-widths to the lower left. The moon is more than 90 percent illuminated.
5 Dec The nearly full moon rises in the middle of the constellation Taurus, the Bull, shortly before sunset. The brightest star, Aldebaran, is 1 finger-width to the moon’s lower left at dusk. Passing within less than 1 degree, the moon grows closer to Aldebaran as the evening passes. At midnight, the pair stands high in the south with Aldebaran to the moon’s lower right.
6 Dec By mid-evening the full moon is high in the east surrounded by several first-magnitude stars. Aldebaran is 1 fist-width to the upper right. Capella is nearly 3 fist-widths to the upper left. Far below Capella is Pollux, the brighter of the Gemini Twins. Orion is to the lower right of the moon with its two first-magnitude stars, Betelgeuse 1 fist-width to the moon’s lower right, and Rigel at the opposite corner, beyond the belt.
USPS Star Calendar for 16-22 November 9 November 2014
Posted by amedalen in November 2014.Tags: Aldebaran, Altair, Big Dipper, Capella, Deneb, Edwin Hubble, Gemini Twins, Milky Way, Orion, Pleiades, Seven Sisters, Spica, Summer Triangle, Vega
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16 Nov The moon rises early tomorrow morning, so dark skies tonight make exploration a little easier. Look high in the west 3 or 4 hours after sunset. The Summer Triangle, made up of the only first-magnitude stars in the area, dominates the western sky. The brightest, magnitude 0.1 Vega, forms the lower right corner of the triangle. The next brightest, magnitude 0.9 Altair, anchors the lower left corner, a little more than 3 fist-widths to Vega’s left or lower left. Magnitude 1.3 Deneb sits at the triangle’s top, a little more than 2 fist-widths above or to the upper left of Vega.
17 Nov Only two first-magnitude stars are in the east tonight. The brightest is magnitude 0.2 Capella. Three fist-widths to its lower right is magnitude 1.1 Aldebaran. The moonless sky gives us the perfect chance for a good view of the Pleiades Cluster, the Seven Sisters. With your naked eye, look a little more than 1 fist-width above Aldebaran and see how many of the sisters you can spot. Now look with your binoculars.
19 Nov Low in the east before dawn, Spica is 1 finger-width below the waning crescent moon, which is only 10 percent illuminated.
20 Nov Edwin Hubble was born on this day in 1889. Among his greater contributions to astronomy was the confirmation that the Milky Way is just one of billions of galaxies in the visible universe. He also discovered that the universe is expanding in all directions, relative to everything else in the universe. In recognition of his achievements, NASA named its large space telescope for him.
21 Nov Only one day before new, the moon sets a few minutes after sunset, making for dark skies and good viewing opportunities. About 4 hours after sunset, Orion and Gemini appear above the eastern horizon. To the north, the Big Dipper is just above the horizon. For viewers in southern states, the Big Dipper is below the horizon.
USPS Star Calendar for 2-8 November 26 October 2014
Posted by amedalen in November 2014.Tags: Aldebaran, Daylight saving time, Kaus Borealis, Mars, Mercury, perigee, Pleiades, Sagittarius, Spica, Teapot
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2 Nov Turn your clocks back. Daylight saving time ends this morning at 0200. Technically, the clock hour 0100 to 0200 is repeated. Déjà vu.
3 Nov Magnitude 0.9 Mars is less than ½ finger-width above magnitude 2.9 Kaus Borealis, the uppermost star in the dome of the Teapot constellation, Sagittarius. The moon is at perigee, 57.68 Earth-radii (368,000 kilometers) away.
5 Nov Mercury and Spica rise side by side, 1½ hours before the sun.
7 Nov The moon forms a triangle with magnitude 1.1 Aldebaran, less than 1 fist-width to the lower left, and the Pleiades Cluster, the same distance to the upper left.
8 Nov Aldebaran is 2 finger-widths to the moon’s upper right tonight.
USPS Star Calendar for 5-11 October 28 September 2014
Posted by amedalen in October 2014.Tags: Aldebaran, full moon, perigee, Pleiades, total lunar eclipse
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5 Oct The moon rises less than 2 hours before sunset and is high in the southwest by midnight. More than 80 percent of the moon’s surface is illuminated.
6 Oct The moon is at perigee, 56.83 Earth-radii (362,000 kilometers) away.
8 Oct A total lunar eclipse will be visible for much of the U.S. before dawn as Earth’s shadow covers the full moon.
10 Oct Rising less than 2 hours after sunset, the waning gibbous moon is high in the east by midnight. You may need binoculars to see the Pleiades Cluster is 1 fist-width to the left.
11 Oct The moon rises 2½ hours after sunset and is followed a few minutes later by magnitude 1.1 Aldebaran. By midnight, they have climbed higher in the east with Aldebaran 1 finger-width to the moon’s lower left. The Pleiades Cluster is 1 fist-width above the moon.
