Roughly one Moon-diameter (just over half a degree) will
separate them this weekend with Saturn sitting just above Venus. Saturn is about
100 times dimmer than Venus, but once evening twilight begins to fade you should
have no difficulty spotting it with the naked eye.
The Venus-Saturn conjunction is only a line-of-sight effect.
Whereas Venus is very close – 80 million km away, Saturn is 20 times as distant.
Venus is currently a thick crescent through a telescope, but as it moves between
the Sun and Earth over the coming weeks it will widen and become a thin crescent
– a sight worth catching as it only occurs every few years.
See the diagrams in the June and the July issues of our
magazine, both are on page 26. Even simple cameras should record the scene in
twilight every evening. Email observe@astronomy.ie and tell us what you
see.
In a telescope, the view of Saturn (with its rings) and Venus
(a growing crescent) both being visible in the same field of viewing should be
stunning. You can then watch Venus' crescent swell in size and become an even
thinner cresent as it closes in on Earth during July. This too is quite rare and
you'll only see Venus as a big thin crescent for a few weeks every few years so
get your telescope out every clear night. Saturn will sink in to the Sun's glare
soon so get your last telescopic views of its rings and moons now.
Jupiter is also on view to the south during the evening. The
Moon was near it on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Seen in a telescope it is
perhaps the best planet to view with its 4 main moons always providing interest
and its cloud belts and Great Red Spot (times to see it are in the magazine's
Sky Diary pages).
Add in the Moon being in evening skies every 2 weeks and there
is a lot of planetary viewing to be done with telescopes in the coming
weeks!
if you don't get Ireland's only monthly colour astronomy
magazine, with details of these and many other sights you might miss, please do
so now at www.astronomy.ie/sub and
call our Shop staff for advice on choosing and using a telescope 6 days a week
on (01) 847 0777
2. Blue Moon on Saturday
The Full Moon on Saturday June 30 is the second Full Moon of
the month. This "second Full Moon in the same calendar month" is some times
referred to as a "Blue Moon" from the expression "once in a blue Moon" because
only every 2 or 3 years is there a month that has two Full Moons. Despite the
title the Moon will not change colour.
The Full Moon will be very low on the horizon. To many people
it will appear larger than when high in the sky, however, this is just an
optical illusion. If you stand with your back to the Full Moon, bend over and
view it upside-down between your legs, it should appear normal sized again. Try
this, and let us know if this breaks the illusion by emailing observe@astronomy.ie
3. Mars Dust Storm
To see the planet Mars you will have to get up around dawn,
and the planet is still a fairly small (8 arcsecond) disk in a telescope. But
experts around the world are reporting that a dust storm has appeared on the
planet. It started in the Hellas basin and is moving West. Owners of larger
telescopes should check this out and email observe@astronomy.ie. Mars is coming
closer to Earth and will be a spectacular naked eye sight later in the
year.
4. Coming Events:
Sept. 8: Star-B-Q - Ireland's Biggest Annual
Astro Event.
Astronomy
Ireland
Telescope Advice Monday to
Saturday:
Tel (01) 847
0777
