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Look Up!

Planetary Treats
A New Orbit Brings Us Closer to Venus!
Seeing Mercury in a New Light
Saturn’s Auroral Emissions ~ Eerie Aurorae Sounds
Martian Water
Jupiter's 3 Red Spots Converge!
Celestial Delights
Sirius Reappears ~ The Dog Days End
The Sirius / Leo Festival
Plus ...
Sky Lights
Printable Date Tables
Moon Dances 7/2-8/1
Moon Dances 8/1-8/30
The Night Sky ~ Home Page

 

Planetary Treats

A New Orbit Brings Us Closer to Venus!

Image: NASA / Magellan spacecraft

NASA's Magellan spacecraft took the above photograph of Venus. Planetary scientists used the radar data captured by Magellan to build up 3-dimensional images of the planet's surface. This is an image of the Eistla Regio region, which contains volcanoes and impact craters.

We're Getting Closer to Venus!

This is happening in two different ways. The European Space Agency (ESA) is changing the orbit of the Venus Express Spacecraft to bring it closer to the planet Venus. In addition, Venus reached its furthest point from Earth June, 2008 about 1.7 AU. Its orbit is now swinging it back in our direction. Venus is moving toward, closer to our planet.

ESA’s New Polar Orbit Around Venus

ESA’s Venus Express has been studying Venus for over two years. Until now, the spacecraft has occupied a highly eccentric polar orbit with its closest point to the northern polar region to better study this hemisphere and its atmosphere. Its furthest orbital point is to the south, which facilitates the observation of the southern hemisphere for extended periods.

July 17, 2008 it was announced that maneuvers were being made to lower the northern part of the orbit by August 4, 2008. This will allow scientists: 1.) To study the magnetic field of the northern polar region 2.) To study the plasma environment deeper in the ionosphere 3.) To indirectly deduce the density of the planet’s atmosphere.

Venus Express will eventually get close enough to the planet to dip slightly into the atmosphere, testing out its aerobraking capabilities to further alter its orbit, as well as evaluating the density of the upper atmosphere by measuring the drag on the spacecraft with its on-board accelerometers. Universe Today

Full ESA News Release

Venus Express ~ ESA’s Orbiter
Successful Launch ~ November 9, 2005
Orbital Arrival ~ April 11, 2006
Mission Extension ~ To Early May 2009
Objectives ~ Images+Videos ~ Status Reports

Venus Orbits Closer to Earth

The orbit of Venus has brought it out of the morning sky, around the far side of the Sun into the evening sky. When Venus started looping around Sun, after its superior conjunction June 9, it began moving toward Earth. As Venus gets closer to the Earth, we witness the planet getting brighter and bigger in our sky. 

Venus requires planning and dedication to be seen during Leo. The planet appears low in the west-northwest about 15 minutes after sunset. This means you'll need a flat unobstructed horizon, a clear sky and right timing to view the goddess of love. Once these requirements are met expect to see the planet pop through the twilight. Venus sets just before 9:00pm in the beginning of Leo and shortly after 9:00pm at its end.

Observe the planet first moving closer to difficult to see Regulus, the heart star of the constellation Leo the Lion, and beyond this star southeasterly toward Saturn located near the Lion's belly.

In July plan to see a sunset and watch Venus pierce the twilit sky. After you have spotted Venus, get out those binoculars and look above the planet. Can you see Regulus, Saturn and Mars all in the constellation Leo the Lion? 7/27 8:30 Map Keep looking for them as the sky gets darker and Venus sets. Look southeast to see brilliant Jupiter.

Caution: Do not look at the Sun with binoculars!

In August use those binoculars to watch dazzling Venus nestle next to a variety of not so easy to see celestial bodies in a light sky. Are you up for the challenge?

See this Date Table for additional heavenly events.

Venus moves from the west-northwest in August to the southwest in December. Venus is best seen in November and December.

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Seeing Mercury in a New Light

Image Produced by NASA / JHUAPL / ASU / CIW
Image Reproduced Courtesy of Science / AAAS

The view above is a color enhanced image of Mercury's Caloris basin and adjacent regions. Orange hues just inside the basin's rim mark the locations of features thought to be volcanic vents. The craters on the floor of the basin show several different colors on their rims, indicating different depths of excavation, and some have been embayed, suggesting post-impact volcanic activity. The Caloris basin is one of the Solar System's largest and youngest impact basins. Larger Image ~ Press Conference Multimedia Page

Note: America’s MESSENGER spacecraft gave us our first look of this area January 14, 2008. This hemisphere was unseen by Mariner 10 thirty years ago.

NASA Sends a MESSENGER to Mercury!
This is NASA’s first trip to the planet in 30 years.
Successful Launch ~ August 2/3, 2004
Orbital Arrival ~ March 2011
News Center

Seeing Mercury in a New Light

This is happening in two different ways. First by the new discoveries described in a series of 11 papers published in a special July 4, 2008 issue of Science Magazine. Second by the fact that Mercury begins switching horizons when it reaches superior conjunction July 29. After the first week of August we see the planet in the evening's twilight rather than in the dawn's early light!

SOHO's coronagraph sees Mercury's solar conjunction.

New Discoveries at Mercury

At a July 3, 2008 press conference scientists discussed the data of MESSENGER's first flyby in January, 2008. Among the findings it was discovered that Mercury's magnetic field is alive and active; volcanic activity has played a more extensive role in shaping the surface of Mercury than previously thought; there is a mysterious, widespread low-reflective rock on Mercury's surface and deep within the crust, yet these areas have very little ferrous iron; material in Mercury's ultra thin atmosphere, the exosphere, comes mainly from the planet's surface, knocked aloft by solar radiation, solar wind bombardment and meteoroid vaporization.

... when you experience Mercury close-up through all of MESSENGER's 'senses' seeing it at different wavelengths, feeling its magnetic properties, and touching its surface features and energetic particles, you perceive a complex system and not just a ball of rock and metal. MESSENGER Project Scientist Ralph McNutt

It's remarkable that this rich lode of data came from two days of imaging, just 30 minutes of sampling the planet's magnetosphere and exosphere, and less than ten minutes carrying out altimetry and collecting other data near the time of its closest approach. MESSENGER's flyby was a huge success. MESSENGER Principal Investigator Sean Solomon

The above was culled from the following sources:

New Discoveries at Mercury

MESSENGER Provides New Insights on Mercury

Mercury is switching horizons during Leo. The planet reaches superior conjunction July 29 and enters the evening's twilit sky August 8, when it is a mere 2 degrees above the horizon 20 minutes after sunset. Mercury continues to hug the north-northwest horizon, setting by 8:45pm during Leo. You'll need an unobstructed view, clear skies and binoculars, to see this planet in a light sky. Observations are better in the Southern Hemisphere, where Mercury is seen at a higher altitude.

Get out those binoculars! August 13 Mercury lies below Venus and Saturn. Map August 14-20 watch the changing relationship of Mercury, Saturn and Venus. August 15 view Mercury and Saturn at their closest. August 20 view Mercury and Venus at their closest. See this date table for additional celestial events.

Mercury, even at its greatest elongation (27º) September 11, gives a poor performance for those in the Northern Hemisphere.

Saturn’s Auroral Emissions
Eerie Aurorae Sounds
Cassini Mission Is Extended!

Image: JPL’s PhotoJournal

The Above Images ~ Saturn’s Auroral Research

A team from the University of Colorado at Boulder obtained the above images June 21, 2005, while using an instrument on the Cassini spacecraft to show Saturn’s polar emissions. In the false-color ultraviolet images, blue represents aurora emissions from hydrogen gas excited by electron bombardment, while red-orange represents reflected sunlight.

Major changes in the emissions inside the Saturn south-pole aurora are evident by comparing the two images, which were taken about one hour apart, they said. The brightest spot in the left aurora fades, and a bright spot appears in the middle of the aurora in the second image. CU News Release 8/4/05

A few months earlier in January 2005, there was an unusual coordination of the Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope circling Earth. In this combined effort, Hubble snapped ultraviolet pictures of Saturn’s aurora over several weeks and Cassini recorded radio emissions from the same regions while measuring the solar wind. A team of Boston University astronomers unified the measurements, which yielded the most accurate glimpse yet of Saturn’s aurora. They found that Saturn’s polar emissions may be a phenomenon unique within our solar system. Their results were published February 17, 2005. Learn more.

Like terrestrial aurorae, electrons streaming toward Saturn’s magnetic poles create not only dancing light, but also radio emissions that scientists can convert into sound. Saturn’s eerie aurorae sounds!

The Cassini Mission Is Extended!

NASA's Cassini spacecraft, in space for nearly 11 years and in orbit around Saturn for 4 years, got the go ahead for 2 more years of exploration. This extended mission has been dubbed the Cassini Equinox Mission.

The so-called Cassini Equinox Mission will study Saturn as the planet passes through its vernal equinox in 2009 - the first time the Sun has shone directly down on Saturn's equator and the plane of the planet's rings in nearly 14 years. The extended mission will give scientists the chance to see what happens to the giant planet's atmosphere as the Sun shifts from south to north of the equator. Astronomy.com 7/08 Press Release

Cassini's mission originally had been scheduled to end in July 2008. The newly-announced two-year extension will include 60 additional orbits of Saturn and more flybys of its exotic moons. These will include 26 flybys of Titan, seven of Enceladus, and one each of Dione, Rhea and Helene. The extension also includes studies of Saturn's rings, its complex magnetosphere, and the planet itself. Cassini News Release 4/15/08

NASA’s Cassini-Huygens Mission
Successful Launch ~ October 15, 1997
Orbital Arrival ~ June 30, 2004
Mission Extension ~ To June 30, 2010
(Newly Dubbed Cassini Equinox Mission)

Saturn is distancing from Mars, as it sinks faster toward the western horizon and the Sun's glowing light. The planet at magnitude .08 shines at about the brightness of Altair, the head of Aquila the Eagle and the southern point of the Summer Triangle. Binoculars help view Saturn in a light sunset sky. Saturn sets in the beginning of Leo at 10:00pm and by its end at 8:45pm. Note: Saturn lies in the constellation of Leo the Lion during the sign of Leo. The difference between signs and constellations is discussed here.

A slim Crescent Moon is close to Saturn and Mars August 3. Map ~ Map/Reflections Saturn and Venus are at their closest approach August 13 with Mercury below and Mars above. Map August 14-20 use binoculars to watch the changing relationship of Mercury, Saturn and Venus; August 15 view Mercury and Saturn at their closest. See this date table for additional celestial events.

As Saturn nears our central luminary it becomes lost in the solar glare and disappears from the evening sky. Saturn is in exact conjunction with the Sun September 3. During this time the planet switches horizons. Look for Saturn to reappear in the morning sky mid-late October. BTW: Saturn's rings are closing toward their 2009 edge-on view.

Wet Environment on Ancient Mars
“Touching and Tasting” Today’s Martian Water
Secretive Martian Discovery

Image: NASA / JPL / JHUAPL / MSSS / Brown University

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the above color-enhanced, high-resolution photo of Jezero Crater, which once held a lake about the size of California’s Lake Tahoe, approximately 25 miles in diameter. Keep reading to learn more about the image.

 

Wet Environment on Ancient Mars

Findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and two recent studies (6/2, 7/17) reveal that the Red Planet once had vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that could potentially support life.

The spectral data in the above image show ancient rivers ferried clay-like minerals (in green) into the lake, forming a delta. These minerals, called phyllosilicates, are a unique record of the interaction of water with rocks dating back to approximately 4.6 billion to 3.8 billion years ago.

Thousands to millions of years after the clays formed, a system of river channels eroded them out of the northern Martian highlands and concentrated them in the delta where the river emptied into the Jezero Crater Lake.

The distribution of clays inside the ancient lakebed shows that standing water must have persisted for thousands of years. Clays are wonderful at trapping and preserving organic matter, so if life ever existed in this region, there's a chance of its chemistry being preserved in the delta. Bethany Ehlmann of Brown University

Full NASA Article 7/16/08

“Touching and Tasting” Today’s Martian Water

The July 31, 2008 announcement of water on Mars is not the first discovery of water on the planet, rather it is a confirmation of previous data. "They have discovered water on Mars for the third or fourth time," one senior Mars scientist joked.

We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month [June], but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted. William Boynton U of A / Universe Today

The Phoenix Lander has been studying Martian soil since its landing May 25, 2008. It does this by digging trenches and scooping up samples of the Red Planet’s soil for analysis. It studies the soil with both TEGA the oven / mass spectrometer, which shows the transitions from solid to liquid to gas of the different soil materials and MECA the microscope / wet-chemistry instrument, which determines the pH, origin, and mineralogy of soil grains.

In June, when soil was being put into the onboard laboratory oven it got stuck on a screen at the oven's door. It was too clumpy. In July fine soil shavings were made, yet most of this soil stayed stuck in the scoop! Finally a soil sample was successfully deposited into one of the lander's internal ovens. Heat was applied and water vapor emerged!

The exciting search for water on Mars is really about the search for life. On Earth scientists have found that life can adapt to any environment no matter how extreme, as long as there is water.

Full NASA Article

Secretive Martian Discovery

Not all of the Phoenix findings were made known at the July 31 news conference. This omission was to prevent any questions that could reveal information before NASA was ready to make an announcement. However, the White House has been briefed on the new information, which could be released as early as mid-August or possibly September, to allow for additional analysis.

With the July 31 confirmation of water and the June 26 landmark discovery that Martian soil can support life, it’s curious as to what the undisclosed information reveals. Mars investigators say the key is in the soil and water, and how the two behave together.

Full Aviation Week Article 

***August 5, 2008 Update***

BTW: Phoenix’s time on the surface of Mars was to last only 90 days. It has been extended 5 weeks, through September 30.

Phoenix Mars Mission
Successful Launch: August 4, 2007
Martian Landing: May 25, 2008
Mission Extension ~ Through September 2008
Additional Website

Mars is faint and positioned low in a dark western sky. Binoculars may be helpful in spotting the planet. It sets around 10:15pm at the beginning of Leo and by its end at 9:30pm.

August 1-4 a slim Crescent Moon transits the NW-SE line-up of Venus, Saturn and Mars. Use binoculars for a lunar treat and to spot the planets. Click Moon Dances for a map and reflections.

August 13 Mars lies above the pairing of Saturn and Venus at their closest and Mercury lies further below the pair. Look 20 minutes after sunset. Map Mars exits the constellation Leo the Lion and enters Virgo the Virgin in mid-August.

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Jupiter’s 3 Red Spots Converge!

Image: NASA, ESA, A. Simon-Miller (GSFC), N. Chanover (NMSU), and G. Orton (JPL)

All images from this news release

Three Red Storms Converge!

The Hubble Space Telescope took these natural-color images of Jupiter’s 3 swirling red storms during their convergence from May-July 2008. The Great Red Spot (GRS) storm system is twice the size of Earth and has been observed for about 300 years. Red Spot Jr. seen below GRS first appeared in March 2006 when its white oval-shaped storm (Oval BA) became more powerful and turned red. Little Red Spot (LRS), the baby of the three, in the same latitude as GRS, was first seen in February 2008.

Converging left to right, Red Spot Jr. passed below GRS, but baby LRS was pulled into the Great Red Spot and emerged deformed, appearing stretched and pale to the right of GRS indicated by the arrow. Larger Image Baby Red is expected to be pulled back into Great Red and become part of the giant storm system. Hubble Description

BTW: Red Spot Jr. survived another close encounter with Great Red Sr. in mid-July 2006. No one knew for sure what would happen as the outer bands of these two huge storms converged.

Jupiter Observing Guide

Transit Times of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Locate Jupiter’s Four Brightest Moons

Jupiter, a fun to watch planet, can be seen in the southeast at sunset and at its highest in the south at 11:00pm. Try observing this giant planet with binoculars or a telescope. Can you see its four largest moons, which appear as points of light around the planet? Best telescope viewing occurs when the planet is at its southerly zenith, above the turbulent atmosphere, around 11:00pm. The planet sets in the west at 4:45am in the beginning of Leo and at 3:00am by its end.

Jupiter having recently reached opposition still gives a brilliant performance. After 9:00pm, when twilit Venus at magnitude -3.8 sets, Jupiter at magnitude -2.6 is the brightest object in the sky with the exception of the Sun and Moon.

The planet remains located at the eastern border of the constellation Sagittarius throughout 2008. Jupiter retrograde (5/9-9/6) is moving westward toward the star Nunki, on the handle of the teapot-shaped asterism of Sagittarius. Look for the fish hook of Scorpius to the west. Image

The Gibbous Moon moves toward Jupiter August 6-13 and both are a dazzling duo August 12-13. The Summer Triangle lies to the north. Click Moon Dances for a map and reflections; learn more about the Sagittarian realm of the Zen Archer.

Note: The night of August 11/12 the Perseid Meteor Shower peaks. Begin looking northeast at 9:00pm, best viewing at 2:00am. Map

 

The Planets
Is it a planet? ... What planet? When you look up at the night sky, how do you know you are looking at a planet? Click here. ... Learn what a plutoid is and where the planets are now.

 

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Celestial Delights

Sirius Reappears in the East Just before Sunrise
Thursday, August 7, 2008 - Pacific Time Zone
The Dog Days Come to an End

Image: Classical Astrologer

Sirius Reappears briefly in the morning sky August 7 for observers in the Pacific Time Zone. This brightest star in the heavens has been in the embrace of the Sun for 73 days, hidden from our view. Sirius can be seen rising around 5:40am PDT very low on the southeastern horizon. On this morning it is separated from the Sun by 7 degrees. This heliacal rising of Sirius marks the ending of the Dog Days.

Dog Days
What are they? How long do they last?
How did these canicular days affect Egypt?
What is the heliacal rising and setting of Sirius?
What does any of this have to do with the 13 Moon Calendar?

In celebration of our evolutionary link to Sirius and in preparation for becoming the Shining Ones on Earth, I offer this excerpt from the Invocation of Osiris.

I am He who is clothed with the body of flesh yet in whom flames the spirit of the eternal Gods. I am the Lord of Life. I am triumphant over Death, and whosoever partaketh with me shall with me arise. I am the manifester in Matter of Those whose abode is the Invisible. I am the purified. I stand upon the Universe. I am it's Reconciler with the eternal Gods. I am the Perfector of Matter, and without me the Universe is not.

The Sirius ~ Leo Festival

The Sirius / Leo Festival occurs at Leo's Full Moon on Saturday, August 16 at 2:16pm PDT; 21:16 UT. This Festival is dedicated to the task of making contact with Sirian force. It is said that all great Avatars and evolutionary energies originate from Sirius, the brightest star in our heavens. The influences of Sirius are focused through Regulus, the heart of the Lion, found in the constellation of Leo. According to the works of Alice Bailey, the Leo-Sirius connection is key to humanity's spiritual evolution and the building of a new unifying world religion. This Sirius / Leo Festival offers a great and unique opportunity, to become aware of these cosmic energies.

These words from Marianne Williamson capture the essence of the Leo mysteries. "... We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." When Leo is in its strength and power this energy knows and remembers its radiant and shining divine essence shared by all life. Shamanic Astrology 7/03

Leo the Lion ~ Zodiacal Deity

Click Moon Dances for a star map and reflections.

Way up there,
Where peace remains,
Where silence thunders,
Angels sing.
Imagination and amazing grace
Brings us closer to our home in space.

Verse from: NASA

Venus appears low in the WNW about 15 minutes after sunset and sets just before 9:00pm in the beginning of Leo and shortly after 9:00pm at its end. With an unobstructed view and right timing expect to see this planet pop through the twilight. During the sign of Leo watch the planet first move closer to difficult to see Regulus, the heart star of the constellation Leo the Lion, and then southeast toward Saturn located near the Lion's belly. Binoculars are helpful in spotting the star and Saturn. 8/1-2 a very slim Crescent Moon lies below then to the left of Venus. 8/3 the slim Moon moves above Venus, close to Saturn and Mars Map; 8/4 Venus lies to the right of Regulus. 8/13 it is at its closest approach to Saturn with Mercury below and Mars above. Map 8/14-20 use binoculars to watch the changing relationship of Mercury, Saturn and Venus. 8/20 view Mercury and Venus at their closest. Venus moves along the horizon from the WNW in August to the SW in December. Venus is best seen in November and December.

Mercury hugs the NNW horizon and sets by 8:45pm during Leo so you'll need an unobstructed view, clear skies and binoculars, to view this planet in a light sky. Observations are better in the Southern Hemisphere, where Mercury is seen at a higher altitude. 8/8 you might be able to spot Mercury a mere 2 degrees above the horizon 20 minutes after sunset. 8/13 Mercury lies below Venus and Saturn. Map 8/14-20 watch the changing relationship of Mercury, Saturn and Venus. 8/15 view Mercury and Saturn at their closest. 8/20 view Mercury and Venus at their closest. 9/11 Mercury, even at its greatest elongation (27º), gives a poor performance for those in the Northern Hemisphere.

Saturn in the constellation Leo the Lion is distancing from Mars, as it sinks faster toward the western horizon and the Sun's glowing light. Binoculars help view Saturn in a light sunset sky. Saturn sets in the beginning of Leo at 10:00pm and by its end at 8:45pm. 8/1-4 a slim Crescent Moon transits the NW-SE line-up of Venus, Saturn and Mars. It is close to Saturn and Mars 8/3. Map 8/13 Saturn and Venus are at their closest approach with Mercury below and Mars above. Map 8/14-20 use binoculars to watch the changing relationship of Mercury, Saturn and Venus; on 8/15 view Mercury and Saturn at their closest. Saturn is in conjunction with the Sun 9/3. Look for the planet to reappear in the morning sky mid-late October. Saturn's rings are closing toward their 2009 edge-on view.

Mars is faint and positioned low in a dark western sky. Binoculars may be helpful in spotting the planet. The planet sets around 10:15pm at the beginning of Leo and by its end at 9:30pm. 8/1-4 a slim Crescent Moon transits the NW-SE line-up of Venus, Saturn and Mars. Use binoculars for a lunar treat and to spot the planets. A slender Crescent Moon lies below Mars to the left of Saturn 8/3. Map 8/4 the growing Moon lies above Mars, while Saturn lies below. 8/13 Mars lies above the pairing of Saturn and Venus at their closest and Mercury lies further below the pair. Map Mars exits the constellation Leo the Lion and enters Virgo the Virgin in mid-August.

Jupiter can be seen in the southeast at sunset and at its highest in the south at 11:00pm, the best time for telescopic views. The planet sets in the west at 4:45am in the beginning of Leo and at 3:00am by its end. Jupiter having recently reached opposition still gives a brilliant performance. After Venus at magnitude -3.8 sets, Jupiter at magnitude -2.6 is the brightest object in the sky with the exception of the Sun and Moon. The planet remains located at the eastern border of the constellation Sagittarius throughout 2008 and is retrograde from 5/9-9/6. Jupiter and the Gibbous Moon are a dazzling delight 8/10-14. 8/12 10:00pm Sky Chart

Arcturus is the bright golden star seen in the west. Use the handle of the Big Dipper to arc down to Arcturus from there, spike down to blue-white Spica in the south! The westward movement of Arcturus and the Big Dipper can be observed in the beginning of Leo until 2:00am and by its end until 12:45am. Notice the seasonal position of the Big Dipper's bowl. Big Dipper Navigation

Scorpius the cosmic scorpion, a sprawling j-shaped constellation, is seen in the south at sunset. Antares is the red heart star of Scorpius. Look for brilliant Jupiter to the east. With binoculars on a moonless night you can spot the star clusters M6 and M7 above the Scorpion's stinger. Maps/Text Throughout the year you can Track Bunny's Footprints in Scorpius!

The Summer Triangle a stellar right triangle is high in the northeast at sunset. Vega is the brightest star and western point; Deneb the dimmest star and eastern point, Altair is the southern point. Hercules the Strong Man lies about a third of the way from bright white Vega to golden Arcturus in the northwest. Look for his four star wedge-shaped torso. Star Chart

The Milky Way appears like a faint cloud extending from Scorpius on the southern horizon, to the Summer Triangle high overhead, and onward toward Cassiopeia (M or W shaped) on the northern horizon. Star Map.

Printable Date Tables

Lunar cycle 7/2/08-8/1/08

Lunar cycle 8/1/08-8/30/8

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May your Night Sky traveling always be filled
with Celestial Delights and Treats!
Susan Sun

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