I know it's kind of late on a Saturday night and you might be wondering why I'm writing a post right now. But I just had to share my star gazing experience tonight. First, let me say that it overcast and rainy all day long today. So when I drove home after eating dinner with my parents tonight I didn't expect to see a clear sky when I got out of my car. But what a sky I saw! It had completely cleared up and the stars were out in full force. One of my favorite things about living in Tucson is how dark it is, making it great to star gaze. I looked up and saw Orion right away. That is the easiest constellation to spot this time of year. But off in the east was a really bright star. I immediately thought that it was way too bright to be a star. It had to be a planet. So I busted out my planisphere to check what it might be and there should be nothing that bright in that area. My planet theory was starting to make more sense, but I didn't know which planet. My initial guesses were Venus or Jupiter, as they are usually the brightest and easiest planets to spot. So I took to the internet to try to find out more. I came across this guide to the five visible planets in the month of December.
http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury
Jupiter seemed to be the right choice. So I went back outside with my planisphere to do some more research and confirm my assumptions. I lined everything up and sure enough that appeared to be Jupiter smack dab in the middle of Gemini. Even though I don't have a telescope, it was still cool to look at. That is, until I started to feel the fact that it is 40 degrees outside. Then cool became cold and I went back in. And I should clarify, I do have a telescope but I don't have a tripod to set it up on, which makes it hard to use. Any way, if you get a chance to go check it out either tonight or another night, you should. And look for Venus around dusk too!
Here's what I could be seeing if I had a working telescope.
No comments:
Post a Comment