USPS Star Calendar for 31 May-6 June 24 May 2015
Posted by amedalen in June 2015, May 2015.Tags: Antares, full moon, Gemini Twins, Pollux, Sagittarius, Saturn, Teapot, Venus
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31 May Saturn is less than 4 finger-widths to the moon’s lower left tonight.
1 Jun This evening Saturn is two finger-widths to the moon’s upper right.
2 Jun Tonight Venus is a little more than 2 finger-widths to the left of Pollux, forming a straight line with the Gemini Twins. Antares and the moon rise a few minutes after sunset.
4 Jun Before dawn, the moon is above the dome of the Teapot constellation, Sagittarius.
5 Jun Only three days past full, the moon rises shortly before midnight and is low in the southwest at first light.
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
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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 Calendar for 10-16 May 3 May 2015
Posted by amedalen in May 2015.Tags: Alhena, Big Dipper, Castor, Gemini Twins, Jupiter, Kochab, Leo, Lion, Little Dipper, perigee, Pherkad, Polaris, Pollux, Regulus, Saturn, Spica, Venus, Virgo
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10 May Look to the lower left of the Big Dipper for the Gemini Twins, Pollux and Castor, in the west. Brilliant Venus is 2 fist-widths to the Twins’ lower right. You should be able to spot two bright stars to Venus’ left. Alhena is the brighter of the two. How many stars can you see between Alhena and Pollux? Now look again with binoculars.
12 May This evening, Jupiter is high in the southwest. Regulus, in the constellation Leo, the Lion, is 1½ fist-widths to Regulus’ left. Five fist-widths beyond Regulus is Spica, in the constellation Virgo. Saturn is nearly 4 fist-widths to Spica’s lower right, near the horizon in the southeast.
13 May To find the Little Dipper, follow the pointer stars at the end of the Big Dipper’s handle 3 fist-widths to the lower right to Polaris. Polaris is at the end of the Little Dipper’s handle. Kochab, 1½ fist-widths to Polaris’ upper right, is one of the Little Dipper’s corners. Another corner is Pherkad, 2 finger-widths to Kochab’s right or lower right. You may need binoculars to see the other stars of the dipper and handle.
15 May The moon is at perigee, 57.39 Earth-radii (366,000 kilometers) away.
16 May Only two days before new, the moon rises less than an hour before the sun and is no more than a thin sliver, low in the east before dawn.
USPS Star Calendar for 18-24 January 11 January 2015
Posted by amedalen in January 2015.Tags: Alpheratz, Big Dipper, Deneb Kaitos, Gemini Twins, Jupiter, Leo, Mars, Mercury, Mira, Orion, Venus
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18 Jan Without the moon’s light, it should be easy to see a planet trio low in the west at sunset. Mercury is to the lower right of brilliant Venus, and Mars is 1½ fist-widths to the upper left.
19 Jan Tonight is another dark night good for stargazing. Look for Gemini and Orion low in the west at dusk. Later this evening they are high in the south, while Jupiter and Leo the Lion take their place. To the left, the Big Dipper stands on its handle.
21 Jan Low in the west at dusk, Venus is 2½ finger-widths to the moon’s left, and Mercury is 2 finger-widths below.
22 Jan Early this evening, Mars is 2 finger-widths to the moon’s left, and Venus is 1 fist-width below.
23 Jan Forming a straight line tonight, Mars is 1 fist-width to the moon’s lower right, and Venus is a fist-width beyond Mars.
24 Jan High in the southwest at dusk, the thin crescent moon is in a straight line between Deneb Kaitos, 2 fist-widths to the lower left, and Alpheratz, a little farther to the upper right. Mira is 3 fist-widths to the left.
USPS Star Calendar for 4-10 January 28 December 2014
Posted by amedalen in January 2015.Tags: aphelion, astronomical unit, Big Dipper, Gemini Twins, Jupiter, perihelion, Procyon, Regulus, Spica
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4 Jan Earth is at perihelion, 0.98328 AU away from the sun. Compare that to Earth’s distance of 1.01668 AU from the sun at aphelion on 6 July. An astronomical unit, or AU, is about 150,000,000 km or 93,000,000 miles.
5 Jan As evening passes, it should be easy to spot the Gemini Twins 1 fist-width to the moon’s upper left and Procyon the same distance to the lower right.
6 Jan High in the east by midnight, Jupiter is about 1 fist-width to the moon’s lower left. Procyon is 1½ fist-widths to the upper right.
7 Jan By midnight, the moon, Jupiter and Regulus form a tight triangle in the east, with Jupiter 2 finger-widths to the moon’s upper left and Regulus 4 finger-widths to the moon’s lower left. The Big Dipper stands on its handle to the left.
8 Jan Jupiter is directly above the moon low in the east by midnight, and Regulus is to the moon’s upper left.
9 Jan The moon forms a nearly straight line with Regulus, 1½ fist-widths above, and Jupiter, less than 1 fist-width beyond.
10 Jan High in the southwest before dawn, the moon lies between Regulus, 2 fist-widths to the right, and Spica, 3½ fist-widths to the 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
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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.