USPS Calendar for 24-30 May 17 May 2015
Posted by amedalen in May 2015.Tags: apogee, Castor, Gemini Twins, Jupiter, Pollux, Regulus, Saturn, Spica, Venus
add a comment
24 May Regulus is 2 finger-widths above the moon this evening, and Jupiter is 1 fist-width to the right.
25 May Regulus is 1 fist-width to the moon’s right.
26 May High in the south at dusk, the moon lies between Regulus, 2 fist-widths to the right or upper right, and Spica, 3 fist-widths to the left or lower left. The moon is at apogee, 63.38 Earth-radii (404,000 kilometers) away.
28 May Spica is 4 finger-widths to the moon’s lower left this evening. Venus sweeps past Pollux and Castor, the Gemini Twins, over the next few nights. Tonight Venus is 1 finger-width to Pollux’s lower left.
29 May Spica is 1 finger-width to the moon’s right or lower right.
30 May The moon lies between Spica, 1½ fist-widths to the upper right, and Saturn, 2 fist-widths to the lower left. Venus is a little higher this evening to Pollux’s lower left.
USPS Star Calender for 7-13 December 30 November 2014
Posted by amedalen in December 2014.Tags: Alhena, apogee, Gemini Twins, gibbous moon, Jupiter, Orion, Procyon, Regulus, Sirius, Spica
add a comment
7 Dec The moon lies between Orion and Gemini this evening. Magnitude 1.9 Alhena is 2 finger-widths below the moon.
8 Dec The Gemini Twins rise with the moon, more than 2 hours after sunset. By midnight, they are high in the east with Procyon 1 fist-width to the moon’s lower right.
9 Dec Magnitude 0.5 Procyon and the moon rise more than 3 hours after sunset. Procyon is 1 fist-width to the moon’s right. Sirius is another 2 ½ fist-widths beyond Procyon.
10 Dec The moon rises a little more than 4 hours after sunset, and Jupiter follows a half hour later. By midnight, they are still fairly low in the east. Procyon is 2 fist-widths to the moon’s upper right, and Jupiter is 1 fist-width to the lower left. Regulus is 4 finger-widths to Jupiter’s lower left.
11 Dec Jupiter rises 1 hour 20 minutes after sunset, followed by the moon 20 minutes later. Together with Regulus, they form a tight triangle low in the east late this evening and early tomorrow morning. Four fingers held at arm’s length will cover all three.
12 Dec The waning gibbous moon rises late tonight, with Regulus and Jupiter directly above it. The moon is at apogee, 63.44 Earth-radii (405,000 kilometers) away.
13 Dec Right to left, Jupiter, Regulus and the moon line up high in the south in the pre-dawn sky. Spica is far to the lower left.
USPS Star Calendar for 9-15 November 2 November 2014
Posted by amedalen in November 2014.Tags: Alhena, apogee, Gemini Twins, Jupiter, last-quarter moon, Mighty Hunter, Orion, Procyon, Regulus
add a comment
9 Nov The moon rises 2½ hours after sunset, followed shortly by the Gemini Twins to the lower left and Orion, the Mighty Hunter, to the lower right. They are high in the west before dawn tomorrow with the twins above the moon and the hunter below.
10 Nov The moon rises 3½ hours after sunset, about the same time as Gemini and Orion. The star 1 finger-width to the moon’s right or upper right is magnitude 1.9 Alhena, part of the Gemini constellation.
11 Nov Rising late, the moon is high in the east at midnight with the Gemini Twins 1 fist-width to the upper left and Procyon the same distance to the lower right.
13 Nov The moon and Jupiter rise side by side shortly before midnight and are separated by less than 3 finger-widths.
14 Nov Regulus, Jupiter and the last-quarter moon form a tight triangle high in the south at first light. Jupiter is 2 finger-widths above or to the upper left of the moon while Regulus is 1 fist-width to the moon’s left or upper left.
15 Nov The moon and Regulus rise a few minutes apart shortly after midnight. They are high in the south at sunrise with Regulus less than 3 finger-widths above the moon. Jupiter is to the upper right. The moon is at apogee, 63.39 Earth-radii (404,000 kilometers) away.
USPS Star Calendar for 12-18 October 5 October 2014
Posted by amedalen in October 2014.Tags: apogee, Gemini Twins, Jupiter, Orion, Procyon, Regulus
add a comment
13 Oct The moon rises late, 4 hours after sunset, with Orion rising at the same time to its right.
14 Oct High in the south before first light, Orion stands tall to the moon’s lower right. The Gemini Twins are 2 fist-widths to the upper left.
15 Oct The bright star 1 fist-width below the moon this morning is magnitude 0.5 Procyon.
17 Oct Magnitude –2.0 Jupiter is 4 finger-widths to the moon’s lower left before dawn. About 40 percent of the moon’s surface is illuminated.
18 Oct The waning crescent moon is 4 finger-widths to Jupiter’s lower right this morning. Magnitude 1.3 Regulus is nearly 4 finger-widths to the moon’s lower left. Together, the trio form a triangle you can cover with your fist held at arm’s length. The moon is at apogee, 63.48 Earth-radii (405,000 kilometers) away.
USPS Star Calendar for 24-30 August 17 August 2014
Posted by amedalen in August 2014.Tags: apogee, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Spica
add a comment
24 Aug The moon is at apogee, 63.74 Earth-radii (407,000 kilometers) away. Now to Saturn’s left, Mars continues to move left while the ringed planet appears stationary against the background stars during the next few weeks.
27 Aug Setting less than one hour after the sun, the waxing crescent moon is low in the west as the sky darkens. Magnitude –0.4 Mercury is 1 fist-width to the moon’s right. About 5 percent of the moon’s surface is illuminated.
28 Aug The moon lies between Mercury, 2 fist-widths to the lower right, and magnitude 1.2 Spica, 1 fist-width to the upper left. The moon sets less than 1½ hours after the sun.
29 Aug Low in the east at sunset, Spica is 1 finger-width to the moon’s lower right.
30 Aug The waxing crescent moon lies between Spica, 1½ fist-widths to the lower right, and the planets Mars and Saturn, about 1 fist-width to the upper left. Mars is much farther to Saturn’s left.
USPS Star Calendar for 27 July-2 August 20 July 2014
Posted by amedalen in August 2014, July 2014.Tags: apogee, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Ranger 7, Spica, Venus
add a comment
28 Jul The moon is at apogee, 63.74 Earth-radii (407,000 kilometers) away, the most distant apogee of the year.
29 Jul A few hours before sunrise, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter rise in quick succession above the eastern horizon. Magnitude –3.9 Venus rises 2 hours before the sun, magnitude –1.3 Mercury comes up an hour later, and magnitude –1.8 Jupiter rises 40 minutes later as the sky brightens, making it harder to spot.
31 Jul On this day in 1964, the U.S. reached the first Moon Race milestone when the Ranger 7 spacecraft transmitted more than 4,300 lunar photos before it crashed into the lunar surface, giving scientists detailed pictures and paving the way for future missions.
1 Aug Low in the southwest at sunset, magnitude 1.2 Spica is 4 finger-widths to the left of the thin waxing crescent moon. Magnitude 0.4 Mars is 1 fist-width beyond Spica.
2 Aug The moon is between Spica, 3 finger-widths to the lower right, and Mars, the same distance to the left.
USPS Star Calendar for 29 June-5 July 22 June 2014
Posted by amedalen in July 2014, June 2014.Tags: aphelion, apogee, first-quarter moon, Jupiter, Leo, Lion, Mars, Regulus, Spica
add a comment
29 Jun Jupiter is a little more than 1 fist-width to the right of the moon, which is a little higher above the western horizon tonight. The moon is less than 10 percent illuminated.
30 Jun Low in the west at dusk, the thin waxing crescent moon sets only two hours after the sun. Magnitude 1.3 Regulus in the constellation Leo, the Lion, is 1 fist-width to the upper left. The moon is at apogee, 63.65 Earth-radii (406,000 kilometers) away.
1 Jul Low in the west at dusk, magnitude 1.3 Regulus is 2 finger-widths to the thin waxing crescent moon’s upper right. About 10 percent of the moon’s surface is illuminated.
3 Jul The moon lies midway between Regulus, 2½ fist-widths to the lower right, and magnitude 0.1 Mars, to the upper right. The moon’s surface is about 20 percent illuminated.
4 Jul Much closer to Mars tonight, the moon is 1 fist-width to the right of the red planet. Around midnight, earth is at aphelion, its farthest point from the sun for the year. At 1.01682 AU, it’s about 1.5 million miles farther than its average distance of 93 million miles.
5 Jul Tonight the first-quarter moon passes within a quarter-degree of Mars. Viewing is best as Mars becomes visible in the darkening sky. As evening passes, the moon slides to Mars’ left and is between Mars and Spica when the trio sets early tomorrow morning.
USPS Star Calendar for 1-7 June 4 June 2014
Posted by amedalen in June 2014.Tags: apogee, Jupiter, Mars, Regulus, Saturn, Spica
add a comment
1 Jun The moon moves to Jupiter’s upper left tonight.
2 Jun The waxing crescent moon is midway between Jupiter, 2 fist-widths to the lower right, and magnitude 1.3 Regulus, the same distance to the upper left.
3 Jun Regulus is 4 finger-widths to the moon’s upper left this evening. The moon is about one-third illuminated. It is at apogee, 63.49 Earth-radii (405,000 kilometers) away.
4 Jun Climbing higher in the west with each passing day, the waxing moon is now to Regulus’ lower left. Mars is far to the moon’s upper left.
5 Jun Regulus is 2 fist-widths to the right or lower right of the first-quarter moon tonight. Mars is a little more than 2 fist-widths to the upper left.
6 Jun The moon is high in the south as the sky darkens this evening. Magnitudes -0.4 Mars, 1.2 Spica, and 0.2 Saturn line up to the left. The moon will pass them, one by one, over the next few days.
7 Jun The moon passes Mars, which is only 1 finger-width to the moon’s upper right tonight.
USPS Star Calendar for 4-10 May 27 April 2014
Posted by amedalen in May 2014.Tags: apogee, first-quarter moon, Jupiter, Mars, opposition, Procyon, Regulus, Saturn, Spica
add a comment
4 May The moon lies 4 finger-widths to Jupiter’s left, high in the west at sunset. Procyon is 1 fist-width to the moon’s lower left.
5 May Procyon is a little more than 1 fist-width below the moon at dusk.
6 May The moon is at apogee, 63.39 Earth-radii (404,000 kilometers) away.
7 May Regulus is 3 finger-widths to the first-quarter moon’s upper left, high in the south at dusk.
8 May Regulus is 1 fist-width to the moon’s upper right this evening. Mars is 3 fist-widths to the lower left. Noticeably dimmer Spica is 1½ fist-widths beyond Mars.
9 May Mars is 1½ fist-widths to the moon’s lower left tonight.
10 May High in the southeast at dusk, Mars stands about 2 finger-widths to the moon’s left. Saturn, at opposition, rises at sunset and is visible all night.
