|
|
Browse All
:
ALDEBARAN and Moon of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Hawaii
|
Printer Friendly |
Planets Above The Clouds
| Title |
Planets Above The Clouds |
| Explanation |
Clouds scatter the faint orange rays of the setting sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000115.html ] in the foreground of this breathtaking photograph from the summit [ http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/mko.html ] of Mauna Kea, Hawaii [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980725.html ]. Taken on April 7th, this skyscape features a dramatic lunar and planetary alignment [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000406.html ]. An overexposed crescent moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991108.html ] dominates the celestial scene, but the bright "star" just below and to its right is Saturn [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/Kids/stories/ ] while further below Saturn is a close pairing of brilliant Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000429.html ] and a fainter, yellowish Mars [ http://marsnt3.jpl.nasa.gov/education/students.html ]. Red giant star Aldebaran [ http://www.bo.astro.it/copernic/alde-eng.html ] is almost directly above the moon near the top of the image and the bright blue stars of the Pleiades cluster [ http://www.aao.gov.au/images.html/captions/uks018.html ] are visible about midway up and to the right of the moon-Aldebaran line. The good news is that planetary alignments [ http://www.skypub.com/news/special/whypanic.html ] like this one do not portend [ http://tech-two.mit.edu/Shakespeare/Tragedy/macbeth/ macbeth.html ] disasters, are relatively common, and can clearly make inspirational viewing for casual stargazers and astronomers alike. The bad [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planets.html ] news is that the world is not going to end because of the highly publicized planetary alignment [ http://www.griffithobs.org/SkyAlignments.html ] occurring tomorrow, May 5th -- so you probably will have to go to work [ http://www.nasa.gov/newsinfo/alignment.html ]! |
|
Planets in the West
| Title |
Planets in the West |
| Explanation |
Have you seen any bright planets lately? Chances are if you've been outside under clear skies [ http://currentsky.com/ ] just after sunset, then you have. Now shining in the west as bright "stars [ http://nfo.edu/astro/planets.htm ]" in the night sky, are all five planets of the solar system known to [ http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/etp/discovery/ etpdiscovery.html ] ancient astronomers - Mercury, Venus, Mars [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ funzone.html ], Saturn, and Jupiter [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/ jupiter.html ]. Recorded from Holt, Michigan, USA about 40 minutes after sunset on April 14th, this digital image [ http://www.pa.msu.edu/people/frenchj/const/index2.html ] captures three of them, Venus, Mars, and Saturn [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/planets/ saturn_index.html ], along with a young crescent Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000728.html ]. Also indicated are the Pleiades [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010506.html ] star cluster and bright red giant star Aldebaran [ http://www.earthsky.com/Features/ Skywatching/pronounce.html ] in Taurus. Mercury [ http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Jan97/ MercuryUnveiled.html ], setting, is lost in the trees and glow along the horizon, while Jupiter is off the top of this view. The coming weeks [ http://www.darkhorizons.org/planets.htm ] will see photo opportunities galore as all five planets gradually move closer together, posing after sunset with the Moon and stars in the western sky [ http://www.skyviewcafe.com/skyview.shtml ]. Venus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020330.html ], Mars, and Saturn will form the closest trio, drawing within a 5 degree circle (about the apparent size of your fist with arm extended) above Aldebaran by May 3rd. |
|
|
