Episodes

  • June 2023

    June 2023
    Jun 2 2023
    WATCH this on YouTube LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram @pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 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 left again, forming a nice curved line with Mars and Venus. Definitely worth a look, though pictures will prove to be difficult, given the relative brightness of each object. CONSTELLATIONS... Use a sky map from www.skymaps.com to help you out. After Dinner, Before Bed: Spring Constellations: Big Dipper, Bootes, Virgo, Corona Borealis, Hercules – Gaze almost vertically as you face the NW, and you’ll easily find the Big Dipper: seven very bright stars that form a spoon shape. Now if you take the handle of the Dipper, follow its curve to the next bright star you see, about 20˚ away, which is Arcturus. “Follow the arc to Arcturus.” That’s the brightest star in Bootes, which looks like a kite. Take that same curve, and follow it about another 20˚ to “speed on to Spica”, the brightest star in Virgo, one of my favorite constellations, since it reminds me of the Dickinson Mermaid. Now go back to Bootes, and just to the left of Bootes are seven stars that form the ...
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    20 mins
  • November 2022 - ECLIPSE TOMORROW!

    November 2022 - ECLIPSE TOMORROW!
    Nov 7 2022
    LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram @pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 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? Absolutely. I wouldn’t want to miss it, and I don’t need to set anything up to witness a meteor storm. Some advice for watching: Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or hammock Look around Leo’s head. 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) That said, you never know when a nice meteor will burn up, to take a nice look at the sky in general, noting that the meteors will appear to go from the radiant in the head of Leo and outward. 25th – ...
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    18 mins
  • October 2022

    October 2022
    Oct 3 2022
    WATCH this on YouTube LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram @pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 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 constellations have the three brightest stars of the summer constellations (Vega, Deneb, Altair – respectively.) Those bright stars create the summer triangle. Off to the east of this is the small but beautiful constellation of Delphinus. If you’re under dark skies (away from city lights) you may just catch a glimpse of the Milky Way passing through Cygnus and Aquila. Before Bed: Fall Constellations: Pegasus & Andromeda - Look pretty much straight up before 10pm and you’ll be able to see the Great Square of Pegasus, with Andromeda curving off of one corner. If your skies are decently dark, you might catch the faint fuzz that is the Andromeda Galaxy. Before Work: Orion – Look south to find the vertical bow-tie that is Orion the Hunter. Don’t forget this podcast is found on my Podbean page, Stitcher, and iTunes. There’s also a video version on my YouTube Channel and I can be found on Twitter and Instagram as @mrwebbpv. The Pequea Valley Planetarium and its events and ...
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    12 mins
  • Summer 2022

    Summer 2022
    Jun 6 2022
    (In a week or two...) WATCH this on YouTube LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram @pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 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 Mercury on the 27th. June 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. July 15th – 16th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Saturn – The Moon is down and to the right of Saturn on the 15th, and down and to the left of Saturn on the 16th. Visible starting 10:45pm due SE. July 19th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Jupiter – The Moon is down and to the left of Jupiter by just 4˚. Visible starting 12:30am due East. July 21st – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Mars – The Moon is just 3˚ to the right of Mars. Visible starting 1:15am due East. July 26th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Venus – A wonderfully thin crescent Moon will be just 4˚ above bright Venus. Visible starting 4:15am due East. August 11th – CLOSE ENCOUNTER – Moon, Saturn – The Full Moon is just 5˚ below Saturn. Visible after sunset in the SE. August 11th – 12th – Perseid Meteor Shower – Not a great year for the ...
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    22 mins
  • May 2022

    May 2022
    May 4 2022
    WATCH this on YouTube LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram @pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 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 SEMars (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 Moon will be darkest while the bottom will be lightest.Greatest eclipse 12:12am – This is when the Moon is as deep in the Earth’s shadow as possible for this eclipse. Not quite dead center, but about halfway there.Totality Ends – 12:54am EDT on the 16th – The Moon leaves the umbra of the Earth’s shadow and is back to be a partial lunar eclipse until…Partial phase ends: 1:56am EDT – Eclipse is over! (Technically, it’s in the penumbra of the Earth’s shadow for about another hour, but that’s really hard to detect with the naked eye. 21st - 27th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Saturn – The Moon joins the sunrise planet party this week! To set the scene, each morning get out between 4:30am and 5am, and you’ll be able to see Venus, with Jupiter to the right about 15˚, Mars to the right of that 5˚, and Saturn about 30˚ even further to the right of Mars. From left to right, that’s Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn. What happens over the next ...
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    15 mins
  • April 2022

    April 2022
    Apr 5 2022
    WATCH this on YouTube LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram @pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram 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 shower is greatest on the 22nd, but you might see some on the 21st and 23rd as well. Just remember each meteor is piece of debris left over from a comet, and we’re crashing into it at over 100,000 miles per hour, which crushes the atmosphere it hits, heating it up and causing the bright flash. Some advice for watching: Find a dark location and lie down in a reclining chair or something that insulates you from the ground. 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) 23rd - 27th – Close Encounter – Moon, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Saturn – The Moon joins the sunrise planet party this week! To set the scene, each morning get out between 4:30am and 5am, and you’ll be able to see Venus, with Jupiter to the left 6˚, Mars to the right 13˚, and Saturn about ...
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    16 mins
  • Dec 2021 + Jan 2022

    Dec 2021 + Jan 2022
    Dec 2 2021
    Why get out there in the cold of December and January? It’s a time of transitions and wonder. We’ve got two meteor showers, plenty of lunar encounters, potentially a comet, planets visible but changing, and very long nights. 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, Saturn, Jupiter (and a week of weak Mercury in January) Venus (SW) – For the LAST month, Venus stays about 10˚ above the horizon at sunset, setting around 7:30pm, almost all December, but dives toward the horizon around Christmas time. At this point it will be too close to the Sun to see until it pops up in the SE in the mornings of mid-January. Saturn, Jupiter (SW) – Throughout December, Saturn and Jupiter will appear in the Southwest right as it gets dark, but each night they will get lower in the sky and set earlier and earlier. Jupiter will be the bright point of light on the left, with Saturn about 15˚ to the right. You can anticipate Saturn getting lost in dusk by the first week of January, Jupiter by the end. Throughout the night – None Morning – Mars?, then Venus in January Mars (SE) – Mars starts December VERY low on the morning SE horizon. It’ll be interesting to see what day we will finally be able to see it clearly in the dawn twilight. In fact, it doesn’t even progress much higher throughout January, staying about 10-15˚ above the horizon. Mars will be a challenge, but should get easier in the new year.Venus (SE) – Keep an eye out after 6:30am midway through January, looking SE. The super-bright object low on the horizon will be Venus. It will keep getting a little higher and rising earlier each day. This time of Venus being a “morning star” will last until September. EVENTS... December Morning Crescents (look East in the AM) New Moon – 4th (darkest skies) Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset) First Quarter Moon – 10th (Visible until midnight) Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset) Full Moon – 18th (Visible all night) Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night) Last Quarter Moon – 26th (Visible from midnight into the morning) Morning Crescents (look East in the AM) January New Moon – 2nd (darkest skies) Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset) First Quarter Moon – 9th (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 – 25th (Visible from midnight into the morning) Morning Crescents (look East in the AM) December – Comet Leonard – There is much to say about an comet; it’s track, speed, brightness. Many variables interfere with being able to say what you’re going to see, if you even see it at all. At this time, keep an eye out and ears open on social media regarding this comet. It passes closest to us on the 12th, and might just become naked-eye visible at some point this month, but there’s more to consider. When will the Moon be up? How close to the horizon will it be? Will it get lost in dusk? December 6th – 10th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter – What a great 5 days of lunar encounters! We know the planetary setup from the past couple months. Venus is low in the SW, but SUPER bright and easy to find. Hold your fist out in front of you with your pinky and pointer fingers extended, and move one width (15˚) up and to the left and you’ll find Saturn. Go another 15˚ and you’ll see much brighter Jupiter. But starting on the 6th, a very thin crescent Moon joins this party. On the 6th, the Moon is just 4˚ below Venus. Each night the Moon will move to the left 13˚, and get a bit thicker. Hence, on the 7th, it will be 6˚ below Saturn. On the 8th 8˚ below and to the right of Jupiter. On the 9th, about the same distance away from Jupiter, but to the left. Finally, on the 10th, the Moon starts migrating away from our bright planets, being about 15˚ away from Jupiter, making a nice evenly spaced line up of celestial objects. December 13th – 14th – Geminid Meteor Shower – This is a decent year for the strongest annual meteor shower known as the Geminids, especially if you don’t mind getting up early. The waxing gibbous Moon will make evening observing less fruitful, given its light pollution, but it will set around 3am, which is also when the peak will occur. So get out there in the morning and take advantage of the possible 150 meteors per hour! But be well prepared… When? The peak is the morning of December 14th, 2am local time. Commit yourself to staying out at least 20 minutes.Where do I go? Dark area, away from lights, comfortable chair, pool float, hammock.Where do I look? The whole sky, but note Gemini is where the radiant is - where ...
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    21 mins
  • November 2021

    November 2021
    Nov 4 2021
    WATCH this on YouTube LISTEN as a podcast on Podbean, Stitcher, or iTunes Social Media: @mrwebbpv on Twitter and Instagram @pvplanetarium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Why get out there at night in November? It’s Lunar Eclipse Month! Well, partially… Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter are rocking the sunsets, we technically have a meteor shower, turkey day night will be awesome, and, most importantly, we can witness an almost total lunar eclipse. 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, Saturn, Jupiter Venus (SW) – Once again, staying about 10˚ above the horizon all month, Venus is a glorious sight for those looking West after sunset. Venus sets around 8:30pm.Saturn, Jupiter (S) – Throughout November, Saturn and Jupiter will appear in the South right as it gets dark. Excitingly, they move closer and closer to Venus in the SW until they are almost equally separated by the 30th. Jupiter will be the bright point of light on the left, with Saturn about 15˚ to the right. In the beginning of the month Saturn sets at midnight, with Jupiter trailing at 1am. By the end of the month, Saturn and Jupiter set in the SW at about 10pm and 11:30pm, respectively. Throughout the night – None Morning – None EVENTS... Morning Crescents (look East in the AM) New Moon – 4th (darkest skies) Evening Crescents (look West after Sunset) First Quarter Moon – 11th (Visible until midnight) Evening Gibbous (Mostly lit, after Sunset) Full Moon – 19th (Visible all night) Waning Gibbous (Mostly lit, rises later at night) Last Quarter Moon – 27th (Visible from midnight into the morning) 2nd – 3rd – Close Encounter – Moon, Mercury – Even though this would be a tough find, maybe you’ll get lucky. Look ESE after 6:30am, but before sunrise. You might catch a glimpse of a VERY thin crescent Moon VERY low on the horizon. If you’re even luckier, you’ll see Mercury just 3˚ (pinky-widths held at arm’s length) below it. In this moment you are looking at two objects in the solar system that, when shown up-close pictures, are often confused for each other. 7th – Daylight Savings Time Ends 7th – 12th – Close Encounter – Moon, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter – What a great week of encounters! Imagine the planetary setup. Venus is low in the SW, but SUPER bright and easy to find. Hold your fist out in front of you with your pinky and pointer fingers extended, and move three of these widths (15˚ each) up and to the left and you’ll find the pretty darn bright planet Jupiter (the brightest part of that area of the sky). If you backtrack 1/3 of the way toward Venus, you’ll find the modestly bright Saturn. But starting on the 7th, a very thin crescent Moon joins this party. On the 7th, the Moon is all the way to right of them, just 4˚ to the right of Venus. Each night the Moon will move to the left 13˚, and get a bit thicker. Hence, on the 8th, it will be between Venus and Saturn, but closer to Venus. On the 9th, still in between, but closer to Saturn. Then on the 10th, the Moon moves to about 5˚ below and to the left of Saturn. On the 11th 5˚ below and to the left of Jupiter, and now a First Quarter Moon. Finally, on the 12th, the Moon starts migrating away from our bright planets, being 15˚ away from Jupiter. 17th – Leonid Meteor Shower – This annual, weak (10-15 per hour), meteor shower can have some wonderful years. This is not one of them Why? We essentially have an almost Full Moon, so there’s far too much light pollution interfering with our observing. That said, you never know when a nice meteor will burn up, to take a nice look at the sky in general, noting that the meteors will appear to go from the radiant in the head of Leo and outward. 19th – Partial Lunar Eclipse (almost Total) – This one snuck up on me! 97% of the Moon’s surface will be in the shadow of the Earth at the deepest part of this eclipse, making it a partial lunar eclipse, meaning that 3% of the Moon (just a sliver) will be lit up, while the rest is somewhere between a dark yellow and brown. North America can pretty much see all of it, with the rest of the world seeing only portions. Here’s the game plan: 2:18am EST – Partial Eclipse Begins – Just look West-ish 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 right. It will take about 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach maximum eclipse. (You might hear that the penumbral portion of the eclipse starts before this. While true, it is essentially undetectable with the naked eye.) 4:04am EST – Maximum Eclipse – 97% of the surface is in the shadow of the Earth....
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    17 mins