Summer 2022

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Summer 2022

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(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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