Observing With Webb Rob Webb

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         Venus shines bright at sunset all month, with Mars nearby, while Saturn, Jupiter, and even Mercury shine in the mornings, and the Beehive Cluster gets two wandering guests, all in the solstice month of June.
         Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. 
 
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset
Venus – Look W after sunset. It’ll be the brightest object and probably the first “star” you’ll see, about 30˚ above the horizon. Sets between midnight and 11pm.  Get your looks in now, because once August starts, your view of Venus in the evening will disappear, and return to the mornings of September.
Mars – Look W and about 5 or 10˚ up and to the left of Venus, for a dull reddish dot in the sky, hanging out in Cancer, and slowing moving toward Leo. Sets between midnight and 11pm.
Throughout the night - None
Morning – (from left to right) Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn
Saturn – Beginning of the month: Rises at 1:30am in the ESE, and is 30˚ above the SE horizon by dawn. End of the month: Rises at 11:30pm in the ESE, and is 40˚ above the S horizon at dawn.  About 60˚ to the right of Jupiter.
Jupiter – Beginning of the month: Rises at 4am in the E, and is just 15˚ above the E horizon by dawn. End of the month: Rises at 2am in the E, and is 35˚ above the E horizon at dawn.  About 60˚ to the left of Saturn.
Mercury – For the first 3 weeks of June, Mercury is less than 10˚ above the horizon, to the left of East. Hard to find, but not impossible.
 
EVENTS
Full Moon – 3rd (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – 10th (Visible midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 17th (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 26th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
 
2nd – Mars, Beehive Cluster (M44) – Find that dull red dot in the sky which is Mars, then take some binoculars out, or a telescope, and witness Mars being directly in M44, the Beehive Cluster, so named because of its resemblance to a swarm of bees. The day before and after, Mars will be on either side of the cluster. Definitely worth at least a look, if not a picture.
9th + 10th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER - Moon, Saturn – Get up early, look SE, and find a gibbous Moon with Saturn about 8˚ above and to the left on the morning on the 9th.  On the 10th, the Moon will have moved to be 7˚ down and to the left of Saturn.
13th – Venus, Beehive Cluster (M44) – Find that bright brilliant dot in the sky which is Venus, then take some binoculars out, or a telescope, and witness Venus being ALMOST directly in M44, the Beehive Cluster. The day before and after, Venus will be on either side of the cluster. Definitely worth at least a look, if not a picture.
14th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER - Moon, Jupiter – Get up early, after 3am, look E, and find a very thin crescent Moon with bright Jupiter only 2˚ to right.
21st – Summer Solstice – This is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.  There’s a bit of explanation as to why here.
20th – 22nd – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Venus, Mars – Check this out right after sunset! Look West and you’ll easily see Venus being super bright. Each day, Mars will be about 5˚ (or three finger-widths) up and to the left of Venus.  The best part is the Moon traveling through.  On the 20th, a super-duper thin Moon will be about 13˚ down and to the right of Venus.  But on the 21st, the Moon moves to be just 3˚ to the right of Venus, and is a little bigger and easier to spot.  Then, on the 22nd, the Moon moves up and to the l

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          Thanksgiving, 3 planets, a meteor shower (with the possibility of a storm), and a TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE.  November is going to be great!
         Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. 
 
 Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset
Saturn – About 30˚ above the horizon in the S. Fairly dim, but still brighter than all the stars around it.
Jupiter – SUPER bright in the SE after sunset. Just find the brightest point of light in that direction, and you’ve got it.
Throughout the night
Saturn & Jupiter – Starting off in the SE, with brightest Jupiter on the left and dimmer Saturn about 40˚ to the right, these two march westward through the night, with Saturn setting around 11pm and Jupiter setting around 2am.
Mars – Rises at about 8:30pm in the beginning of the month, and just after sunset by the end. Look East early in the evening for a dull reddish dot in the sky, above Orion and between the tips of Taurus’s horns.
 Morning
Mars – By morning, Mars will have moved to the S or SW, still between Taurus’s horns above Orion, about 2/3 of the way up the sky.
 
EVENTS
First Quarter Moon – 1st (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 8th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – 16th (Visible midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 23rd (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 30th (Visible until midnight)
 
4th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Jupiter – A waxing gibbous Moon is below Jupiter by just 3˚.  Visible all night.
6th – Daylight Savings Time Ends
 8th – TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE – Only the West coast of the U.S. can pretty much see all of it, with the rest of the U.S. seeing only portions before sunrise.  Here’s the game plan:

           4:09am EST – Partial Eclipse Begins – Just look West to find the Full Moon, and watch as the Earth’s shadow appears to nibble on the Moon from the top down, but a little off-center to the left. This phase will last about an hour, and the Moon will drop about 10˚ closer to the horizon. (You might hear that the penumbral portion of the eclipse starts before this.  While true, it is essentially undetectable with the naked eye.)
           5:16am EST – Totality Begins – Now the umbra of the Earth’s shadow is completely engulfing the Moon, and only the light from all the sunrises and sunsets on Earth are illuminating our orbital partner’s surface, making it appear anywhere from dark yellow to orange to red to brown.  This phase will last almost an hour and a half, leading into dawn for those of us on the east coast.
           6:42am EST – Totality ends, Partiality begins again – now the shadow leaves the Moon, starting to expose its surface from the top down.
           7:49am EST – Partial Eclipse Ends, but the Sun is up and the Moon is setting.
        Other things to notice during the eclipse


As the Moon gets darker, more and more stars will be visible


The Pleiades are above the Moon


Taurus is up and to the left of the Moon


Orion is off to the left of Taurus

10th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Mars – The Moon is 6˚ above and to the right of Mars.  Visible in the NE around 8:30pm, and high in the W by sunrise.
17th – 18th – Leonid Meteor Shower – This annual, weak (10-15 per hour), meteor shower can have some wonderful years.  Could this be one of those years? MAYBE.  Some predict we could get up to 250-300 meteors per hour after midnight on the 18th.  Am I banking on it? No. But am I going out anyway? A

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Halloween month brings us some spooooooooky astronomy.  Saturn and Jupiter soar ominously above, Mars creeps in, and rocks fall from the sky.
         Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. 
 
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset
Saturn – About 30˚ above the horizon in the SSE. Fairly dim, but still brighter than all the stars around it.
Jupiter – SUPER bright in the East after sunset. Just find the brightest point of light in that direction, and you’ve got it.
Throughout the night
Saturn & Jupiter – Starting off in the SE, with brightest Jupiter on the left and dimmer Saturn about 45˚ to the right, these two march westward through the night, with Saturn setting around 2am and Jupiter setting around 5:30am.
Mars – Rises at about 10pm in the beginning of the month, and 8:30pm by Halloween. Look East early in the evening for a dull reddish dot in the sky, above Orion and between the tips of Taurus’s horns.
Morning
Mars – By morning, Mars will have moved to the S or SW, still between Taurus’s horns above Orion.
 
EVENTS
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 2nd (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 9th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – 17th (Visible midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 25th (darkest skies)
 
5th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Saturn – The Waxing Gibbous Moon is just 6˚ below and to the left of Saturn. Visible after sunset in the SSE, and past midnight.
 
8th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Jupiter – The essentially Full Moon is below Jupiter by just 4˚.  Visible all night.
 
14th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Mars – The Moon is just 3˚ above Mars.  Visible in the NE around 9:30pm, and high in the SSW by sunrise.
 
20th – 22nd – Orionid Meteor Shower – Usually a decent meteor shower, producing around 15 meteors per hour.  This year we don’t have to worry about the Moon, since it won’t rise until very early morning as a crescent.  Get out there whenever you can, let your eyes get dark adapted (don’t look at your phone), find a nice spot to lie down away from light pollution, be patient, and look at the whole sky, with an understanding that they will be coming from a spot in Orion’s club.
Some advice for watching:
    Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock
    Look above Orion’s head, near his club.  That is where the radiant is - where the meteors will appear to be coming from.
    The strategy to observe this year is to get out there whenever you can, but the later you stay up, the more you’ll see, since the radiant will be higher and you’ll be closer to the peak. 
Check the weather to see if the skies will be clear
Adapt your eyes to the dark by staying away from light sources or using a red light if you need to look at a star chart or not trip over something. 
If you’re feeling extra nerdy, do a scientific meteor count (S&T and IMO)
 
31st – Halloween – Halloween will have three great telescopic objects to find: a thick crescent Moon in the South, a super bright Jupiter toward the SE, and Saturn in between the two.  If you have a telescope, this would be a FANTASTIC year for getting the scope out for some sidewalk astronomy.
 
CONSTELLATIONS...
Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out.
After Dinner:
The Summer Triangle: Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, Delphinus - Look straight up before 8pm and you’ll be able to see Lyra (the Harp), Cygnus (the Swan), Aquila (the Eagle), (and Delphinus the Dolphin.)  These three constel

 
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2022 is the summer of morning planets!  Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus are all quite prominent, with Mercury stopping by in June.  Throughout the summer, get up early to see the weeks where the Moon drives by the planets, and maybe catch a few meteors in August, as some of the planets return to the evening skies.
         Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. 
 
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset – only in August
Mercury – All of August, look W right after sunset and you might be able to catch Mercury less than 10˚ above the horizon, the first “star” appearing at dusk in that direction.
Saturn – The beginning of the ringed planet’s nightfall appearance schedule is August. August 1st it rises at 9:30pm in the ESE, and is already up in the SE about 10˚ above the horizon at month’s end.
Throughout the night – Saturn & Jupiter – about 45˚ apart
Saturn – Saturn starts rising before midnight in the SE in July and August, and will be visible into the mornings all summer off in the SW.
Jupiter – Jupiter starts rising before midnight in the SE around mid-July, and will be visible into the morning all summer off toward the South.
Morning – Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn ALL SUMMER
The basic setup for the 3 months is, from left to right, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, all easily visible in the morning sky.  They start June within 70˚ of each other from East to South, ending August with Venus and Saturn on complete opposite sides of the sky.   How far apart are they from each other?  Below are the measurements between each planet in the lineup, on the 1st of each month.

June 1:   Venus – 28˚ – Mars –   2˚ – Jupiter – 38˚ – Saturn
Mercury – joins the party for much of June, getting to within 10˚ of Venus mid-month. Just look down and to the left of Venus.
July 1:   Venus – 42˚ – Mars – 20˚ – Jupiter – 43˚ – Saturn
August 1: Venus – 60˚ – Mars – 40˚ – Jupiter – 45˚ – Saturn
August 31: Venus – 77˚ – Mars – 60˚ – Jupiter – 46˚ – Saturn

Venus (E) – will be consistently about 10˚ above the Eastern horizon and hard to miss. As the brightest object in the morning sky, it will blaze as a “morning star”.
Mars – Reddish Mars starts right next to Jupiter, but Jupiter moves away, while Mars creeps ever closer to Taurus throughout the summer, ending up between the V of Taurus and the Pleiades by August 31st.
Jupiter ­– Hanging out around Pisces, be sure to find the Galilean Moons, notice their motion day by day, or even hour by hour, or even look up when to see one of its moon’s shadows transits the planet.
Saturn – Hanging out in the corner of Capricornus, find a friend with a telescope and stare at its rings, made up of rocks and dust the size of pebbles to the size of a car.
 
EVENTS
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – June 7th/July 6th/August 5th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – June 14th/July 13th/August 11th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – June 20th/July 20th/August 19th (Visible midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – June 28th/July 28th/August 27th (darkest skies)
 
June 1st – CONJUNCTION – Jupiter, Mars –  Jupiter is less than 2˚ away from Mars in the ESE.  You can start seeing them after 3am.
June 17th - 27th – June’s Lunar Close Encounters – Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus – The Moon joins the sunrise planet party, starting near Saturn on the 17th and ending to the left of Mercu

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Lunar Eclipse Month!!! Get ready for a May that boasts a wonderful blood moon and an array of morning planets all month long.
         Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. 
 
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset – Mercury (first week of May)
Mercury (WNW) – It sounds like this apparition of Mercury will be the best one of the year. Just get out after sunset, look WNW, and the first point of light you’ll see is Mercury.  BONUS: On the 2nd, Mercury will be right next to the Pleiades, with the Moon. Get out some binoculars or a low-power scope to see both of them in the same view.
Throughout the night – None
Morning – Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn (SE)
Let’s use Venus as our guidepost for the month, as it is the most visible object in the morning sky.
Venus (E) – Keep an eye out after 4:30am, looking E, for the highlight of the spring and summer mornings this year, Venus. About 15˚ above the horizon and hard to miss, the brightest object in the morning sky will blaze as a “morning star”.
Jupiter (ESE) ­– Jupiter starts May less than 1˚ away from much brighter Venus, then travels 30˚ rightward to finish the month right next to Mars in the SE
Mars (ESE) – Mars starts May about 15˚ away from Venus, to the right, and travels away to 30˚ from Venus by the end of the month, with Jupiter joining it.
Saturn (SE) – Saturn starts cautiously leaving the group of morning planets in May, starting less than 20˚ to the right of Mars, and ending up double that distance away.
 
EVENTS
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 8th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 17th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – 22nd (Visible from midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
New Moon – 30th (darkest skies)
 
1st – CONJUNCTION – Jupiter, Venus – Less than 1˚ apart, Jupiter and Venus rise together this morning.  Get out and look low in the East after 4:30am (when they rise) for the brightest object, Venus, with Jupiter barely up and to the right.
2nd – Close Encounter – Mercury, Pleiades, Moon – Get out just after sunset, with a nice view of the NWN horizon.  The first light in the sky will be Mercury, in its crescent phase, with the Pleiades about 2˚ down and to the right.  Get your binoculars and scopes out!  The Moon can also be your guide, being 4˚ up and to the left of Mercury.
15th – 16th – TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE – Sunday night into Monday morning
           Watch the Moon pass through the Earth’s shadow and witness the light from all the sunrises and sunsets on Earth at the same time! No telescope needed for this event! (Though it will certainly make the event even cooler)  Make sure you have a view of the Moon.  For those of us on the east coast, you’ll be looking South about 25˚ above the horizon.  Those nearby trees could get in the way.  Try going out the night before from 10pm to midnight.  The moon will be in a similar direction, but about 5˚ higher on the 14th.
Partial Phases starts: 10:28pm EDT – This is when the dark umbra of the Earth’s shadow will start to “eat away” at the Moon.
Totality Starts – 85 minutes – 11:29pm EDT – This is when the Moon is FULLY in the umbra of the Earth’s shadow.  Only the light that has passed through the Earth’s atmosphere and bent toward the Moon is visible.  The atmosphere scatters the blue, violet, green, and yellow, leaving only the orange and red to reach the moon, similar to what you see during a sunrise or sunset.  Notice that the top of the

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         Quite the exciting month for planets…if you like getting up early.  4 of the 5 visible planets are hanging out together in the mornings, with Mercury having its best apparition for the year in the evenings, along with two conjunctions of morning planets and some possible meteors.
         Welcome to Observing With Webb, where a high school astronomy teacher tells you what you’re looking at, why it’s so cool, and what you should check out later this month…at night. 
 
Naked-eye PLANETS
Sunset – Mercury (last week or two of April)
Mercury (WNW) – It sounds like this apparition of Mercury will be the best one of the year. The last two weeks of April it SHOULD be visible, but the 30th will be the best day, given Mercury will be higher in the sky than ever, and doesn’t set until 9:45pm.  Just get out after sunset, look WNW, and the first point of light you’ll see is Mercury.  BONUS: On the 30th, Mercury will be right next to the Pleiades.  Get out some binoculars or a low-power scope to see both of them in the same view.
Throughout the night – None
Morning – Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn (SE)
Let’s use Venus as our guidepost for the month, as it is the most visible object in the morning sky.
Venus (SE) – Keep an eye out after 5am, looking SE, for the highlight of the spring and summer mornings this year, Venus. About 20˚ above the horizon and almost impossible to miss, the brightest object in the morning sky will blaze as a “morning star”.
Mars (SE) – Mars starts February about 5˚ to the right of Venus, with Saturn nearby as well. Mars is considerably dimmer than Venus, so you’ll have to get out there before dawn starts, when it’s still dark, and look right around Venus for it.  Throughout April, Venus moves away from Mars to be about 15˚ to the right by the 30th.
Saturn (SE) – Saturn begins the month in between Mars and Venus, but a little lower. By the 5th, Saturn passes Mars in its rightward march away from the cluster of planets, and is less than one degree away from Mars. Onward through the month, Saturn continues to move rightward, ending April about 17˚ degrees to the right of Mars.
Jupiter (SE) ­– Jupiter is coming into its own as a morning planet this month. On April 1st, it rises after 6am, so it will be low and hard to see in twilight, and far away (25˚ to the left) from the cluster of Venus, Saturn, and Mars.  Each day from there though, it rises earlier and is higher, pretty easily visible by mid-month, when Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn are lined up and about equally spaced. Venus then closes in on Jupiter, and on April 30th, the pair are less than 1˚ apart, rise around 5am, and are easily visible.
 
EVENTS
New Moon – 1st (darkest skies)
Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset)
First Quarter Moon – 9th (Visible until midnight)
Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset)
Full Moon – 16th (Visible all night)
Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night)
Last Quarter Moon – 23rd (Visible from midnight into the morning)
Morning Crescents (look East in the AM)
 
5th – CONJUNCTION – MARS, SATURN – The first of a couple conjunctions this month, go out early in the morning after about 5am and find Venus (the brightest one). About 7˚ to the right of Venus will be both Mars and Saturn less than half a degree apart.  Them being so close should allow some good telescope opportunities, astrophotos, and a chance to see how differently colored they are, Mars being red, Saturn typically described as light caramel.
22nd – LYRID METEOR SHOWER – At only 10-20 meteors per hour, it is a minor shower, and we have a Moon washing out the fainter ones starting at 2:30am.  You’ll still be able to see SOME meteors at night, but don’t get too excited.  The showe